used for infringe, and ibory for ivory. And thus Veda is pronounced Beda; and Venares, Benares, in Bengal; the Bengalee having no such letter or articulation as V.

Infants, before they cut their teeth, are constantly using labials too freely, as the lips press together without resistance; and hence they de light in iterating the same labial sound: and it is from a copy of such infantile iteration that we derive the names of pa-pa and ma-ma, which they first learn to utter.

Persons in a state of intoxication, from the tremulous debility of their lips, often exhibit the same reduplications of the labial sounds; and thus make an approach towards one of these varieties. It is also to be found in persons whose lips are unduly thick and broad,—a deformity distinguished vernacularly by the name of blobber-lipped: to which cause Quintilian, who notices this variety of vitious expression, chiefly ascribes it; and hence distinguishes it by the name of plateiasma, probably from Theocritus

Cooing like pigeons, with your blobber-lips."

A verse designed to ridicule the Doric dialect, and consequently intimating that this kind of vitious enunciation was common to a considerable part of Achaia.

The erroneous articulation constituting the next variety, is of a character precisely opposite to the preceding; and consists in omitting the labials altogether, or exchanging them for others that are softer and more easily uttered.

Thus mantle is broken down into antle, fish into vish, and pilfer into filfer: so in the Spanish, the Latin ferina becomes harina, and paba, hava; and in French, the Latin sibilo, siffler. This blemish is especially common to those who are hare-lipped, or have any other kind of defect in either lip, so that the two will play in harmony; and more particularly still, if any of their front teeth be wanting.

In the dentiloquent variety, the dental sounds, as of c, s, t, z, are too frequently employed, producing the effect of what is called lisping, or in common language, speaking through the teeth. This, also, is often an affected blemish, as though it were an elegance instead of a fault in enunciation. It is produced by having a tongue naturally too long, and hence perpetually thrust against the front teeth from necessity, and from a habit of pressing it in this direction too frequently.

The guttural or palatine letters, as g, h, j, c, x, are sometimes uttered imperfectly, by being introduced where they ought not or withheld where they should be distinctly enunciated; and in this consists the last variety it may be necessary to notice.

One of the most common examples is in the superfluous use of the aspirate, or h, by means of which, exalt and exasperate are pronounced exhalt and exhasperate; so collar is called khollar, and custom, khustom. And not unfrequently, among men of unfinished education, the aspirate is just as uniformly omitted when it ought to be employed, and employed where it ought to be omitted; whence, for this sentence-" the upper part of the house is to be let unfurnished," we have "the hupper part of the ouse his to be let hunfurnished;" and if the palate be fissured, or in any other way imperfect, "ghost" is pronounced "host;" "jolly," "iolly" or "yolly;" "coffee," "dhoffee;" "Xerxes," "Zherzes."

The hissing of the letter S-that reproach to our language is as far as possible to be moderated, both by attention to composition and enunciation, and should not be exaggerated, as some are found to do.

The letters M and N, are also subject to be imperfectly sounded: instead of passing the sound of M, when produced by closing the lips, entirely through the nose, it is stopped or resisted apparently between the bony and cartilaginous part of the nose, and does not issue freely: this may be proved by holding the nose in the fingers, and endeavouring to pronounce words in which those

nose,

letters require to be sounded, such as hummums, nung, (a German word), singing, ringing, &c., when the sound will appear to be violently impeded in the place mentioned. This defect is called, by a contradictory appellation, speaking through the and is seldom difficult to remove. The sound of the letter N, when formed by pressing the upper part of the tongue against the palate, should also pass entirely through the nose, but more gently than that of M. In its original combinations imperfect articulation is not so disagreeable as when combined with the letter G,-a combination very frequent in our language, and altogether offending to the ear when not perfectly enounced. words ringing, singing, sound as if the n were omitted, and are uttered most disagreeably, as if they were riggig, siggig. The defective articulation of both these letters may be successfully got over by attention and practice, except in cases where nature or accident may have denied the sounds a passage through the proper organ.

The

INSTRUMENTS FOR SUPPLYING DEFICIENCIES.

When the palate, or any of the parts about the roof or back part of the mouth, are deficient either by accident, by disease, or, what is more common, from birth, the ingenuity of modern surgeons has devised several successful methods of supplying

the deficiency, so as to improve the articulation. Among these we may particularly mention the inventions of M. de la Barre, and Mr. Snell. From the recent observations of the latter on Artificial Palates, we shall borrow a description of these instruments, or Obturators, as they are called.

"M. de la Barre's instrument is a complete palate, intended to supply the whole of the bony and membranous roof of the mouth. It is constructed in the following manner:-An upper set of mineral teeth, surmounted by a palatine roof, and a circle, or saddle, which surrounded it like the lost substance, in the inside of which was carved a very thin cavity, that represented the thickness and figure of the nasal palatine floor. The teeth and palate were attached to each other by stems inserted into the metallic part in which the teeth were set. To the back part of this instrument was attached a movable velum and uvula, composed of elastic gum. That these might fulfil the natural movements of those parts, during swallowing, an oval aperture was formed upon the forepart of the plate, to which was connected a valve closing hermetically, this being retained in its situation by a small spring. To this little plate was soldered a lever, which being carried backward, was made to rest upon another that was held equally both ways; being long enough to