So we have _body,_ with one _d,_ though we have _shoddy_ and _toddy_
regularly formed with two _d_'s, and we have _finish, exhibit,_ etc.;
in _col'onnade_ the _n_ is doubled in a syllable that is not accented.
The chief exception to the general principle is the entire class of
words ending in _ic,_ such as _colic, cynic, civic, antithetic,
peripatetic,_ etc. If the root is long, however, it will remain long
after the addition of the termination _ic,_ as _music_ (from _muse_),
_basic_ (from _base_), etc.
But in the case of words which we form ourselves, we will find practically
no exceptions to the rule that a short vowel in a syllable _next_ to the
last _must_ be followed by a _double consonant_ when accented, while a
short vowel in a syllable _before_ the next to the last is _not_ followed
by a double consonant when the syllable is accented.
2. Our second law tells us that the original form of a word or of its
root must be preserved as far as possible. Most of the words referred
to above in which single consonants are doubled or not doubled in
violation of the general rule are derived from the Latin, usually through
the French, and if we were familiar with those languages we should have a
key to their correct spelling.
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