AN APPENDIX, AND A KEY TO THE EXERCISES,

DESIGNED

FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND PRIVATE LEARNERS.

BY SAMUEL KIRKHAM.

Stereotyped by Wm. Hagar & Co., New-York.

TWENTY-SEVENTH EDITION, ENLARGED AND IMPROVED.

ROCHESTER, N. Y.:

MARSHALL & DEAN.

There appears to be something assuming in the act of writing, and thrusting into publick notice, a new work on a subject which has already employed many able pens; for who would presume to do this, unless he believed his production to be, in some respects, superiour to every one of the kind which had preceded it? Hence, in presenting to the publick this system of English Grammar, the author is aware that an apology will be looked for, and that the arguments on which that apology is grounded, must inevitably undergo a rigid scrutiny. Apprehensive, however, that no explanatory effort, on his part, would shield him from the imputation of arrogance by such as are blinded by self-interest, or by those who are wedded to the doctrines and opinions of his predecessors, with them he will not attempt a compromise, being, in a great measure, indifferent either to their praise or their censure. But with the candid, he is willing to negotiate an amicable treaty, knowing that they are always ready to enter into it on honourable terms. In this negotiation he asks nothing more than merely to rest the merits of his work on its practical utility, believing that, if it prove uncommonly successful in facilitating the progress of youth in the march of mental improvement, that will be its best apology.

The

When we bring into consideration the numerous productions of those learned philologists who have laboured so long, and, as many suppose, so successfully, in establishing the principles of our language; and, more especially, when we view the labours of some of our modern compilers, who have displayed so much ingenuity and acuteness in attempting to arrange those principles in such a manner as to form a correct and an easy medium of mental conference; it does, indeed, appear a little like presumption for a young man to enter upon a subject which has so frequently engaged the attention and talents of men distinguished for their erudition. author ventures forward, however, under the conviction, that most of his predecessors are very deficient, at least, in manner, if not in matter; and this conviction, he believes, will be corroborated by a majority of the best judges in community. It is admitted, that inany valuable improvements have been made by some of our late writers, who have endeavoured to simplify and render this subject intelligible to the young learner, but they have all overlooked what the author considers a very important object, namely, a systematick order of parsing; and nearly all have neglected to develope and explain the principles in such a manner as to enable the learner, without great difficulty, to comprehend their nature and use.

By some this system will, no doubt, be discarded on account of its simplicity; whilst to others its simplicity will prove its principal recommendation. Its design is an humble one. It proffers no great advantages to the recondite grammarian; it professes not to instruct the literary connoisseur; it presents no attractive graces of style to charm, no daring flights to astonish, no deep researches to gratify him; but in the humblest simplicity of diction, it attempts to accelerate the march of the juvenile min l'in its advances in the path of science, by dispersing those clouds that so often bewilder it, and removing those obstacles that generally retard its progress. In this way it endeavours to render interesting and delightful a study which has hitherto been considered tedious, dry, and irksome. Its leading object is to adopt a correct and an easy method, in which pleasure is blended with the labours of the learner, and which is calculated to excite in him a spirit of inquiry, that shall call forth into vigorous and useful exercise, every latent energy of his mind; and thus enable him soon to become thoroughly acquainted with the nature of the principles, and with their practical utility and application.

Content to be useful, instead of being brilliant, the writer of these pages has en leavoured to shun the path of those whose aim appears to have been

to dazzle, rather than to instruct. As he has aimed not so much at org nality as utility, he has adopted the thoughts of his predecessors whose labours have become publick stock, whenever he could not, in his opinion furnish better and brighter of his own. Aware that there is, in the publick mind, a strong predilection for the doctrines contained in Mr. Murray's grammar, he has thought proper, not merely from motives of policy, but from choice, to select his principles chiefly from that work; and, moreover to adopt, as far as consistent with his own views, the language of that emi nent philologist. In no instance has he varied from him, unless he conceived that, in so doing, some practical advantage would be gained. He hopes therefore, to escape the censure so frequently and so justly awarded to those unfortunate innovators who have not scrupled to alter, mutilate and torture the text of that able writer, merely to gratify an itching propen sity to figure in the world as authors, and gain an ephemeral popularity by arrogating to themselves the credit due to another.

The author is not disposed, however, to disclaim all pretensions to origi nality; for, although his principles are chiefly selected, (and who would presume to make new ones?) the manner of arranging, illustrating, ana applying them, is principally his own. Let no one, therefore, if he happen to find in other works, ideas and illustrations similar to some contained in the following lectures, too hastily accuse him of plagiarism. It is well known that similar investigations and pursuits often elicit correspond ing ideas in different minds: and hence it is not uncommon for the same thought to be strictly original with many writers. The author is not here attempting to manufacture a garment to shield him from rebuke, should he unjustly claim the property of another; but he wishes it to be understood, that a long course of teaching and investigation, has often produced in his mind ideas and arguments on the subject of grammar, exactly or nearly corresponding with those which he afterwards found, had, under similar circumstances, been produced in the minds of others. He hopes, therefore, to be pardoned by the critick, even though he should not be willing to reject a good idea of his own, merely because some one else has, at some time or other, been blessed with the same thought.

As the plan of this treatise is far more comprehensive than those of ordi nary grammars, the writer could not, without making his work unreasonably voluminous, treat some topicks as extensively as was desirable. Its design is to embrace, not only all the most important principles of the science, but also exercises in parsing, false syntax, and punctuation, sufficiently extensive for all ordinary, practical purposes, and a key to the exercises, and, moreover, a series of illustrations so full and intelligible, as completely to adapt the principles to the capacities of common learners. Whether this design has been successfully or unsuccessfully executed, is left for the publick to decide. The general adoption of the work into schools, wherever it has become known, and the ready sale of forty thousand copies, (though without hitherto affording the author any pecuniary profit,) are favourable omens.

In the selection and arrangement of principles for his work, the author has endeavoured to pursue a course between the extremes, of taking blindly on trust whatever has been sanctioned by prejudice and the authority of venerable names, and of that arrogant, innovating spirit, which sets at de fiance all authority, and attempts to overthrow all former systems, and convince the world that all true knowledge and science are wrapped up in a crude system of vagaries of its own invention. Notwithstanding the author is aware that publick prejudice is powerful, and that he who ventures much by way of innovation, will be liable to defeat his own purpose by fall ing into neglect; yet he has taken the liberty to think for himself, to inves tigate the subject critically and dispassionately, and to adopt such principles only as he deemed the least objectionable, and best calculated to effect the object he had in view. But what his system claims as improvements on

hers, consists not so much in bettering the principles themselves, as in the method adopted of communicating a knowledge of them to the mind of the learner. That the work is defective, the author is fully sensible: and he is free to acknowledge, that its defects arise, in part, from nis own want of judgment and skill. But there is another and a more serious cause of them, namely, the anomalies and imperfections with which the language abounds. This latter circumstance is also the cause of the existence of so widely different opinions on many important points; and, moreover, the reason that the grammatical principles of our language can never be indisputably settled. But principles ought not to be rejected because they admit of exceptions. He who is thoroughly acquainted with the genius and structure of our language, can duly appreciate the truth of these remarks.

To conform, in our orthography and orthoepy, to some admitted stand. ard, the author deems a consideration of sufficient importance to justify him in introducing into his work an article on each of these subjects, in which many words that are often misspelled or mispronounced, are corrected aocording to a work,* which, in his estimation, justly claims a decisive preference, in point of accuracy, to any other Dictionary of the English language. *Should parents object to the Compendium, fearing it will soon be destroyed by their children, they are informed that the pupil will not have occasion to use it one-tenth part as much as he will the book which it aocompanies: and besides, it it be destroyed, he will find all the definitions and rules which it contains, recapitulated in the series of Lectures.

HINTS TO TEACHERS AND PRIVATE LEARNERS. As this work proposes a new mode of parsing, and pursues an arrangement essentially different from that generally adopted, it may not be deemed improper for the author to give some directions to those who may be disposed to use it. Perhaps they who take only a slight view of the order of parsing, will not consider it new, but blend it with those long since adopted. Some writers have, indeed, attempted plans somewhat similar; but in no instance have they reduced them to what the author considers a regular systematick order.

The methods which they have generally suggested, require the teacher to interrogate the pupil as he proceeds; or else he is permitted to parse without giving any explanations at all. Others hint that the learner ought to apply lefinitions in a general way, but they lay down no systematick arrangement If questions as his guide. The systematick order laid down in this work, if ursued by the pupil, compels him to apply every definition and every rule that appertains to each word he parses, without having a question put to him by the teacher; and, in so doing, he explains every word fully as ne goes along. This course enables the learner to proceed independently; and proves, at the same time, a great relief to the instructer. The conve nience and advantage of this method, are far greater than can be easily conceived by one who is unacquainted with it. The author is, therefore, anxious to have the absurd practice, wherever it has been established, of causing learners to commit and recite definitions and rules without any si multaneous application of them to practical examples, immediately abol ished. This system obviates the necessity of pursuing such a stupid course of drudgery; for the young beginner who pursues it, will have, in a few weeks, all the most important definitions and rules perfectly committed, simply by applying them in parsing.

If this plan be once adopted, it is confidently believed that every teacher who is desirous to consult, either his own convenience, or the advantage of his pupils, will readily pursue it in preference to any former method. This

The work alluded to, is "Walker's Dictionary," revised and corrected by Ma Lyman Cobb.