208. The Apostrophe '
is used to indicate the combining of two words in one,—as John's book, instead of John, his book; or to show the omission of parts of words, as Glo'ster, for Gloucester—tho' for though. These abbreviations should be avoided as much as possible. Cobbett says the apostrophe "ought to be called the mark of
laziness
and vulgarity." The first use, however, of which we gave an example, is a necessary and proper one.
209. The Hyphen -
or conjoiner, is used to unite words which, though they are separate and distinct, have so close a connection as almost to become one word, as water-rat, wind-mill, &c. It is also used in writing and printing, at the end of a line, to show where a word is divided and continued in the next line. Look down the ends of the lines in this column [in the original printed text], and you will notice the hyphen in several places.
210. The Note of Interrogation ?