230. “He is now settled in Worcester:” pronounce as if written Wooster. Gloucester and Leicester are pronounced Gloster and Lester. The termination cester or chester, occurring in the names of many English towns, is derived and corrupted from the Latin Castra, camps; and every town so named is supposed to have been the site of a camp of soldiers, during the possession of Britain by the Romans.
231. “Relatives and Relations:” both these words designate kinsfolk, and are in most instances used indiscriminately. Relatives, however, is by some deemed the more proper and elegant.
232. “What a long lirry he has to say!” This word should be pronounced and spelt lurry; its more general meaning is a “heap,” a “throng,” a “crowd,” but is often applied to a long dull speech.
233. “Diamonds are charcoals:” pronounce diamonds in three syllables.
234. “Honor to the patriot and the sage:” divide the syllables like pa-tri-ot, not pat-ri-ot. Irish rowdyism has been called “Pat-riot-ism.”
235. “Do you believe that he will receive my letter?” observe that in the former word the diphthong is ie, and in the latter ei. A convenient rule for the spelling of such words is the following: c takes ei after it; all other consonants are followed by ie:—as, deceive, reprieve.
236. “He is now confirmed in idiotcy:” say, idiocy; the t in idiot is dropped in forming the word.
237. “He raised the national standard:” pronounce the first two syllables like the word nation, never as if written nash-ion-al.
238. Principal and Principle: be careful to observe the distinction between these words. Principal signifies chief; principle, motive.
239. “He favors the Anti-Slavery reform:” pronounce Anti with a distinct sounding of the i; else the word becomes ante, which means not “against,” but “before,”—as “ante-deluvian,” signifying “before the Deluge.”