Credibilis has the i of the antepenultimate short; but credible, in French, has the accent on the i; in English, on the preceding e. Compare also Fallible Possible Fállible In a future generation this little defect in our accentuation may be remedied, meanwhile let us protest against any inteference with a mode of spelling, which has been adopted "always, everywhere, and by all." Of words ending in le, some are substantives: Angle, axle, beetle, bramble, bugle, canticle, circle, cockle, constable, dingle, fable, gargle, hurdle, icicle, kettle, kirtle, mantle, mettle, muscle, needle, parable, pebble, principle, radicle, shambles, shingle, shuttle, skittle, spittle. Others are adjectives: Affable, agreeable, ample, feeble, fickle, gentle, little, nimble, noble, sable, simple, single. Others are verbs: Babble, cobble, crackle, curdle, dazzle, gabble, garble, grumble, huddle, jangle, kindle, mangle, mingle, rustle, settle, shuffle, spangle, speckle. Others are mixed: Bottle, bridle, bubble, couple, gingle, handle, knuckle, ladle, nettle, pickle, prickle, raffle, ruffle, scruple. Of words ending in al, the majority are adjectives, a few only are substantives: Approval, avowal, capital, carousal, cathedral, central, coeval, cordial, critical, cubital, dental, dual, fatal, festal, feudal, formal, fraternal, funeral, general, guttural, herbal, hospital, medal, medicinal, metal, mineral, missal, moral, natural, neutral, original, oval, parental, pedal, penal, practical, pontifical, portal, radical, rival, royal, satirical, several, signal, synodal, temporal, total, tribunal. Of words ending in el, the majority are substantives, a few are both substantives and verbs: Apparel, barbel, barrel, channel, citadel, corbel, cornel, counsel s. and v., cruel, cudgel, drivel s. and v., duel, fuel, funnel, gabel, garbel, gospel, gravel s. and v., hazel, jewel s. and v., kennel, label s. and v., libel s. and v, lintel, mantel, model s. and v., morsel, parcel s. and v., quarrel s. and v., satchel, scoundrel, sequel, shovel s. and v., tinsel, vessel, weasel. Cancel is a verb; level is a substantive, an adjective, and a verb. Of words ending in re preceded by a consonant, the majority are substantives: Acre, centre, fibre, lucre, lustre, massacre s. and v., metre, mitre, nitre, ochre, petre, sabre, sceptre, spectre, sepulchre, theatre; mediocre is an adjective; accoutre is a verb. The unaccented terminations ar, er, ir, or, ur, our, have one and the same sound: "Peninsular,' "carrier," "elixir," "junior," murmur," " 'fervour." 99 66 Words ending in ar, are for the most part derived from Latin adjectives in aris: "Familiar," "jocular," "popular." Words ending in er are Saxon verbal substantives: Maker from "make," keeper from "keep," lover from "love," driver from "drive;" or adjectives of the comparative degree: Greater from "great," weaker from "weak," wiser from wise," lower from "low," truer from "true." 66 Words which end in or, are generally concrete nouns, taken entire from Latin, or formed from Latin supine-stems Abominator, abrogator, acceptor, accumulator, actor, aggressor, agitator, assertor, assessor, auditor, confessor, creator, dedicator, dictator, director, editor, elector, exactor, factor, inspector, narrator, preceptor, professor, testator, tutor. Words which end in our are derived chiefly from Latin abstract nouns terminating in or, and increasing long in the genitive: Clamour, colour, fervour, honour, humour, rigour, savour, tenour, tremour. The concrete noun arbour is from the Latin "arbor ŏris ;" endeavour, s. and v., from the French "endevoir;" flavour, from the French "flaveur ;" governour, now usually spelt governor, is from the French "gouverneur;" harbour, s. and v., is an essentially English word, unless it be derived from the French "herbage;" neighbour is from the Saxon "nehgebur;" behaviour and Saviour are irregular, though not inelegant derivatives from the verbs "behave," save." 66 A great clamour has been raised from time to time for the suppression of the u in the termination our. When we consider how few words there are which terminate in our, we can but feel surprised that they should have been the occasion of so much literary controversy. Those who are bent upon obliterating the u of our, ought, in order to be consistent, to obliterate the o or the u of the termination ous, and the like. Such alterations tend to distort, rather than to improve, the settled features of the English language. AI, AY, EI, EY, IE, EA, EO, OW, IN UNACCENTED FINAL SYLLABLES. AI has the sound of modified i in Captain, fountain, mountain. In Britain, certain, curtain, villain, ai is almost null. AY has the sound of modified i in names of the week, Sunday, &c. EI, in Foreign, forfeit, sovereign, surfeit. EY, in Abbey, alley, covey, donkey, galley, hackney, honey, Jersey, journey, kidney, lackey, Liffey, malmsey, medley, money, monkey, motley, pulley, tourney, valley, volley. IE, in the plural of substantives; in the third person singular, present, indicative, active; and in the preterite of verbs, which end in modified y: Copies, duties, worried. EA has the sound of modified a in Pageant, sergeant, vengeance. EO has the sound of the Anglican modified u in Bludgeon, dudgeon, gudgeon, widgeon, dungeon, pigeon, surgeon, sturgeon, luncheon, puncheon, truncheon, scutcheon. OW, in unaccented final syllables, has the sound of o pure: Arrow, bellow, hallow, mellow, sallow, shallow, tallow, wallow. In the several terminations of Grandeur, hideous, cordial, remedial, odious, tedious, filial, million, pavilion, minion, pinion, e and i have a semi-consonant sound, equivalent to y in "yet," the vowels which follow being indistinctly pronounced. CHAPTER XI. DISSYLLABLES ACCENTED ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE. We have already considered those dissyllables, the former syllable of which is simple and accented. We have only to add here that all dissyllablès, the latter syllable of which is servile, are accented on the former, i. e., on the root-syllable, and are generally considered Trochees; though it may be fairly questioned whether those which have the vowel of the termination long by nature, as "hallow," be Trochees, and not Spondees: Burn-ish, child-ish, chart-er, found-er, great-er, bill-et, tick-et, hard-en, sick-en, pil-lage, hol-low, nar-row, fol-ly, mud-dy, and the like. DISSYLLABLES ACCENTED ON THE SECOND SYLLABLE (Generally called IAMBIC). Walker has observed that there is a remarkable coincidence of accent between Latin words of three syllables commencing with a preposition, and English words of two syllables, derived from them by dropping a syllable, as "excel" from "excello." "This propensity," he continues, "of following the Latin accent, formed a general rule, which at last neglected the Latin accent in words of this kind; as we find prefer, confer, have the accent on the second syllable, though præfero, confero have the accent on the first." It is difficult to understand what is meant by "the |