The written language is the same everywhere, save that the speech and literature of each country have adopted many words of native origin. It will be found expedient to acquire first the true Spanish word, and afterward to take up the native variant.

June, 1899.

PREFACE.

Ir is an undoubted fact that in teaching, not only languages, but any other science or art, there neither is, nor can be, any other method than that of uniting theory with practice; and the various modes of applying the one to the other, the extent of the application, and the time at which it should be commenced, have produced the great number of methods hitherto published.

This fact is now universally acknowledged, and each new author proclaims himself to be the only one who has put it into execution. The most insignificant little phrasebook does not fail to announce, in its introduction, that it combines theory and practice; and grammars containing nothing more than confused masses of rules, heaped one upon another, are entitled "Theoretical and Practical." It is admitted or all hands that much progress has been made within the last few years in the art of teaching languages; and, in testimony of this, we have only to mention the excellent oral and practical methods of Jacotot, Manesca, Ollendorff, Boulet, Robertson, and others who have followed in their footsteps, all of which are ably treated, and have done much good in their way. But each one of the grammarians referred to, satisfied with his own invention, looked

with disdain upon that of his predecessor. Hence the enmity and the almost unaccountable diversity of opinion which we observe amongst them. Had they studied each other with impartiality, and .endeavored to profit by the experience, and even the defects of the several systems, their labors would certainly have been attended with still more favorable results, and of course more considerable benefit would have accrued thereby to the science in general. Numberless points of excellence are to be found, scattered here and there, throughout the various ancient and modern systems, and chiefly those already alluded to; and it has been taught that, if carefully sifted out and judiciously combined, they would form a new method which would be in details essentially superior to any of the old ones.

This conviction, joined to twenty years' experience in teaching the Spanish language, sometimes through the medium of one, sometimes of another of the systems mentioned above, has led the author to prepare and publish the CoмBINED METHOD, which he now offers to those desiring to learn the noble language of Cervantes.

Whether he has successfully attained his object the public will decide.

OBSERVATIONS

ON SOME OF THE ADVANTAGEOUS FEATURES OF THE "DE TORNOS'S COMBINED METHOD."

1st. THE advantage of presenting the verb as the first and principal part of speech, which serves as the axis upon which all the other parts revolve. These, too, have been introduced in their turn, not in grammatical order, nor by mere chance, but in the logical and natural order in which they occur in discourse, whether written or spoken.

2d. That of explaining these parts of speech in the order just mentioned, not in an isolated manner, but united to form a homogeneous whole, and in such a way that the learner will have no difficulty in finding the explanation relative to the use of each one of them respectively, as often as occasion may require.

3d. These explanations, which embrace the whole theory, and form a complete grammar of the language, are separate from and independent of the exercises; the latter being composed in strict accordance with the examples accompanying each lesson, in such a manner that those unacquainted with grammar in general, and those who have no desire to enter into the theory of the language, or, finally, those who are too young or too old to learn grammar, may acquire a thorough conversational knowledge of Spanish, by merely committing to memory the Vocabulary, studying the Compositions, and carefully writing the Exercises.

4th. From this arrangement arises another great advantage, namely, that all the elements are found in the vocabulary of each lesson, separated and detached from the examples and rules given in the explanation; thus enabling the student to see at one glance all that he has to commit to memory for each recitation.

5th. And this division of the lessons into Elements, Composition, Explanation, Version, and Exercise, enables the teacher to divide each lesson into two, three, or even four parts, according to the age and capacity of the student.

6th. Repetition, and constant repetition, is indispensable in acquiring any language; but by repetition should not be understood the simple reiteration of single words and easy phrases; but repetition of the idioms, and of those forms of expression differing most widely from the idiomatical construction of the learner's native tongue. It is true, that though this is the proper plan for acquiring a thorough knowledge of a language, that feature might tend to make the present work appear, at first sight, more difficult than the books hitherto used; but such will not be found the case; for when there is frequent change of matter there cannot be monotony; and variety renders study at the same time easy and agreeable. This repetition, then, of useful forms of expression and contrast of style will be found on every page of our "COMBINED METHOD," in which it has been our endeavor to introduce gradually, and with the necessary explanations of each, the most important idioms of the Spanish language.

7th. Although we are of opinion that to learn a language, and, above all, to learn to pronounce it, it is always preferable to have the assistance of a skilful teacher, and one who speaks the language with purity and correctness; yet, as it is not always possible to procure such, we have placed at the end of the Method a Vocabulary, containing all the words used in the course of the work, and the pronunciation of each, so that nothing may be wanting to second the efforts of those who, from choice or necessity, may be their own instructors.

8th. The Vocabulary, besides giving the pronunciation and meaning of the words, indicates the lesson in which the explanation of each has been given in the Grammar. By this means the learner can with ease refer to the explanation of all those words of which it has been deemed essential to give one.