A similar method is recommended to those polite speakers who are so fond of imitating the English stage pronunciation as to embrace every singularity, however disagreeable. I refer to the very modern pronunciation of _kind_, _sky_, _guide_, &c. in which we hear the short _e_ before _i_, _keind_, or _kyind_, _skey_, &c. This is the same barbarous dialect, as the _keow_ and _veow_ of the eastern country people. Yet, strange as it may seem, it is the elegant pronunciation of the fashionable people both in England and America. Even Sheridan, who has laid it down as a rule that _i_ is a dipthong, composed of _aw_ and _ee_, has prefixed a _y_ short to its sound in several words; as _kyind_, _skyi_, _gyide_, &c. We may with equal propriety prefix _e_ to the dipthong _ow_, or to _o_ in _poll_, or to _oo_ in _fool_, or to any other vowel. It is presumed that the bare mention of such barbarisms will be sufficient to restrain their progress, both in New England and on the British theater. Some of the southern people, particularly in Virginia, almost omit the sound of _r_ as in _ware_, _there_. In the best English pronunciation, the sound of _r_ is much softer than in some of the neighboring languages, particularly the Irish and Spanish; and probably much softer than in the ancient Greek. But there seems to be no good reason for omitting the sound altogether; nor can the omission be defended on the ground, either of good practice or of rules. It seems to be a habit contracted by carelessness. It is a custom very prevalent in the middle states, even among some well bred people, to pronounce _off_, _soft_, _drop_, _crop_, with the sound of _a_, _aff_, _saft_, _drap_, _crap_. This seems to be a foreign and local dialect; and cannot be advocated by any person who understands correct English. [L] In the middle states also, many people pronounce a _t_ at the end of _once_ and _twice_, _oncet_ and _twicet_. This gross impropriety would not be mentioned, but for its prevalence among a class of very well educated people; particularly in Philadelphia and Baltimore. _Fotch_ for _fetch_ is very common, in several states, but not among the better classes of people. _Cotched_ for _caught_ is more frequent, and equally barbarous. _Skroud_ and _skrouge_ for _croud_, are sometimes heard among people that should be ashamed of the least vulgarism. _Mought_ for _might_ is heard in most of the states, but not frequently except in a few towns.[M] _Holpe_ for _help_ I have rarely heard except in Virginia. _Tote_ is local in Virginia and its neighborhood. In meaning it is nearly equivalent to _carry_. I have taken great pains to discover the etymology of the local terms used in the several states; but this word has yet eluded my diligence.[51]