The Consonants are those letters which can not be perfectly sounded without the aid of a vowel.  The consonants are b, c, d, f, g, h, l, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, z, and sometimes i, u, w, and y.  The consonants are divided into mutes and semi-vowels.

The Mutes are those consonants that admit of no sound without the aid of a vowel.  They are b, d, k, p, q, t, and c and g hard.

The Semi-vowels are those consonants that can be sounded imperfectly by themselves.  They are f, h, j, l, m, n, r, s, v, x, z, and c and g soft.

Four of the semi-vowels are called liquids; viz., l, m, n, and r.  They are called liquids because they unite so readily with other sounds, or flow into them.

OF SYLLABLES AND WORDS.

A Syllable is a sound, or a combination of sounds, uttered by a single impulse of the voice:  it may have one or more letters; as
  a, bad, bad-ness.

A Word is either a syllable or a combination of syllables; as, not, notion.

A word of one syllable is called a Monosyllable; as, man.

A word of two syllables is called a Dissyllable; as, manly.

A word of three syllables is called a Trisyllable; as, manliness.  Words of more than three syllables are called Polysyllables.

Accent is a stress of voice placed upon some one syllable more than the others.  Every word composed of two or more syllables has one of them accented.  This accent is denoted by a mark (’) at the end of the accented syllable; as, mid’night, a ban’don.

A Primitive Word is one which is not derived from any other word; as, man, great, full.

A Derivative Word is one which is formed from some other word by adding something to it; as, manful, greatness, fully.

A Simple Word is one which is not composed of more than one word; as, kind, man, stand, ink.

A Compound Word is one that is composed of two or more simple words; as, ink-stand, wind-mill.

Spelling is naming or writing the letters of a word.

Script Alphabet [Illustration:  The following letter are shown in an ideal hand-written script.]

Capital letters. 
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

LOWER-CASE LETTERS. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

THE ALPHABET.  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

THE ALPHABET. a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

PICTORIAL ALPHABET.

A [Illustration:  Axe]
B [Illustration:  Boy]
C [Illustration:  Cat]
D [Illustration:  Dog]
E [Illustration:  Elk]
F [Illustration:  Fox]
G [Illustration:  Girl]
H [Illustration:  Hen]
I [Illustration:  Ink]