4. In what way do adjectives change their form? Of how many degrees of comparison do they admit? What is the general rule of the formation of the comparative and superlative degrees? Are the words "better," "best," "worse," and "worst," to be considered as exceptions to this rule? How do you form "more," "latter," "former," "least," and "first?"

5. What is a verb? Of what change does it admit? What place does it hold amongst the parts of speech? Give your

reason.

6. Parse" could," "quoth," "methinks," "forlorn," "myself," "ought," and "sixpence."

7. Parse" But the mention of his name gives occasion to Burnet to speak of the Chief Baron's other friends amongst the clergy, who were Barlow, Ward, Barrow, Tillotson, Stillingfleet, all eminent men.' 8. Show, by instances, the different forms taken by the prefixes "in, ad, con, ob, ex."

We should like to know which of these questions would prove that the "certificated" mistress was competent to correct her pupils on the occurrence of such ordinary expressions as, "I sees him," "Her don't know," "I telled they," "We all likes she," "Warn't that him as I met ?" et cetera. Our limits do not permit of our giving the questions for the masters in full, but, with the addition of a little smattering of Latin, they are mostly of the same non-practical character.

Now Mr. Bromby's work is just calculated to enable the pupils to answer such questions as these, rather than to give them sound views as to the right use of language and collocation of words. There is one of the questions, however, in answering which Mr. B's. pupils might rather surprise their examiners: Explain what you mean by moods and tenses in the verb?" for he would do away with moods altogether. "Many grammars," he says, “recognise in the verb what are called moods, or different modes or states in which the action is performed. But this is a mistake." "I may go," Mr. B. teaches, "is not the potential mood of the verb to go." That is true enough, for it is only the union of the defective verb I may with the infinitive go; but he has omitted to observe that "I may go" has a very different meaning from "that I may go," subjoined to another sentence.

Thus "I may learn" means only "I am permitted to learn ;" but "I come here that I may learn," shows that there is a dependence of the one fact on the other; it means, "I come in order to learn." In translating the first sentence you would say "Licet discere," "Je puis apprendre;" the second you would render "Venio ut discam,' « Je viens ici, à fin que j'apprenne." The same remark applies to the second tense of the subjunctive mood. "I might learn if I would" has a very different sense from "I came here that I might learn." Mr. Bromby would also do away with that other subjunctive mood, which may be considered peculiar to the English language, "If I love, if thou love, if he love," &c. But though we agree with him in supposing that this form originated in the elision of the shall or should, which may always be supplied, yet it is one of such general use that it is well to give it a distinctive position, more especially as in the verb to be, and consequently in all the passive verbs, a second tense must be supplied to this mood. "If I were, if thou wert, if he were," &c. The confusion of this subjunctive with the indicative mood is the source of much error in speaking, e. g. "I shall not go out if it rains to-morrow," instead of "if it rain;"" if he was here, it would be very different," instead of "if he were here."

But there is another work on our list which, under the modest title of "The Etymology and Syntax of Murray's English Grammar, systematically arranged by C. Kennion," bids fair, we think, to raise English Grammar much nearer the rank of an "exact science" (if the application of that term may be allowed) than it has hitherto attained. The great beauty of this book is its thoroughly practical character, and its remarkable perspicuity. Take for instance the table of proofs (page 6). Probably every teacher of Elementary Grammar has experienced the great difficulty of making his pupil distinguish the different parts of speech. A definition alone is a very incomprehensible thing to an unexercised mind, because it requires a degree of abstraction and generalization of which an untrained mind is utterly incapable. For instance,

teach a child these definitions: "A noun denotes any thing which has a name, and which we can see, hear, &c. or about which we can form any idea." (Bromby, p. 38). "An adjective is a word which is put before the noun to express its kind or number." (Bromby, p. 39.) In exemplifying your definitions the sentence occurs, 66 This coat is red." You ask, "What part of speech is red?" Answer. "It is something I can see; it is not placed before the noun; it must be a noun." You explain that it describes the kind of coat, and at last you persuade your pupil that red is an adjective. You proceed a little further and meet the expression," the redness of the coat." He looks up, quite sure he is right

this time: "Ah! that shows the kind of coat, and it is before the noun too; it must be an adjective." And he is quite puzzled when he finds this time it is a noun. But place before him the table of proofs: "A substantive may be distinguished by putting before it my, the, one, or two; an adjective by adding man, woman, or thing." And you easily show that he cannot say my red, or redness man. And so on with the other parts of speech.

Again, one of the greatest practical difficulties is the distinction between adjectives and adverbs. Now in neither Latham nor Bromby can we find any clear rule to teach us whether a word in a given situation is adjective or adverb. Indeed, they seem scarcely aware how many words are both adjectives and adverbs. Latham says (page 167) that words in ly are adverbs. Manly, lively, lovely, ghastly, silly, folly, with several others, are never adverbs. Bromby tells us (page 84)

Much, more, most are adverbs; many, more, most are adjectives.

What does he make of much in such sentences as "much nonsense has been written," "much money has been expended?" We turn to Kennion (page 9) and find this clear rule

The adjective qualifies two parts of speech, the substantive and the substantive pronoun. The adverb qualifies three parts of speech, the verb, the adjective,

and sometimes another adverb.

So that at once, on seeing what part of speech a word qualifies, we decide whether itself is adjective or adverb.

But we cannot hope to do justice to the clearness and accuracy which distinguish this work above its compeers, since our limits will not allow of our going sufficiently into detail. One or two specimens must suffice.

BROMBY, p. 116, Rule vii. In subjoined sentences care should be taken to adopt the suitable tense. Ex.-I intended to speak,-not to have spoken.

KENNION, p. 118, Rule xiii. All verbs expressive of hope, desire, intention, or command, must invariably be followed by the present, not the past, tense of the in

finitive.

LATHAM, p. 143, § 313. The word as, naturally a conjunction, is occasionally used as a relative pronoun,-the man as rides to market. This mode of speaking or writing should not be imitated.

when it follows the adjectives such and BROMBY, p. 57, § 7. As is a relative the same, because then it relates to the noun connected with those adjectives (xxx). The same, in English, is followed sometimes by as, and sometimes by which. Ex. This is the same dog which, or as, I lost.

KENNION, p. 104, Rule ix. note v. When the antecedent is qualified by such, or so many, or as many, as is the only relative that can be employed. P. 103, rule x. note iv. After (xxx) the adjective same (xxx) that is the relative which is to be preferred.

The following rules from Kennion are adapted to correct common errors, to which we can find no reference in the other grammars.

P. 85, Rule vi. note v. Some active verbs govern two objective cases, the one a person, the other a thing. Ex.—“I teach

him grammar." Such active verbs retain

the object denoting a thing in the passive voice, as "He is taught grammar by me."

P. 117, Rule xii. note vi. When the superlative degree is used, the person or thing compared must be one of those with whom he, she, or it is compared. Ex."Eve was the fairest of women," not "of her daughters."

P.119, Rule xiv. There are a few neuter verbs which generally form the compound of the present tense, and the compound of the preterimperfect tense with the verb to be, instead of the verb to have; of this number are "to arrive," ""to go," "to grow," "to become." &c.

A very valuable portion of this little work must not be overlooked: viz. the Exercises, which comprise a number of sentences arranged under rules,

so as to bring the principal difficulties of grammar in succession before the pupil. The system of parsing is as admirable as it is novel: viz. the use of letters instead of words, and the employment of a few simple signs, by means of which the relation and connection of the words of a sentence are made perfectly clear to the eye and mind of the pupil.

Perhaps we ought to apologise for dwelling at such length on what may be called the technical part of a technical subject, but these are not the times in which educational subjects can be passed over in silence by any persons who profess to keep pace with the literature of the day. Amongst these subjects are few of greater importance than the study which has for its end and aim to ensure correctness and elegance in speaking and writing. We suspect that few public addresses, few popular sermons, and, above all, few ladies' letters, if tested by the rules of grammatical accuracy, would be found free from errors-errors of so essential a character as often to leave in doubt what is the real meaning of the speaker or writer. We cannot look over the advertising columns of a newspaper without observing glaring faults of this kind, as may easily be exemplified.

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WORTH KNOWING. For distressed friends, or those who are better with strangers than with their friends.-Any person having a dependant for whom they wish to provide has an opportunity of placing them at a respectable establishment for the charge of 98. or 10s. per week.

WANTED, apartments, unfurnished, in the house of a respectable family, where there are no other lodgers, by a lady of quiet and retired habits, with two little girls, and in which, if made comfortable, she may permanently reside. They must consist of a sitting room and bed room on the first floor, having a direct communication with each other, and a third and adjoining room for extra effects.

WANTED, to go abroad, as servants, with a respectable family, where they would have a permanent home, a gentleman and his wife, ages 30 and 24, having through unforeseen circumstances lost their property. Has a thorough knowledge of medicine, &c. Dispositions of both kind and cheerful.

NURSE, or Parlourmaid, or to attend on an elderly lady, a respectable young woman, 26 years of age. The party putting in this

advertisement will be happy to give her an excellent character, in whose family she has been living some years.

TO LADIES.-A most desirable opportunity offers to a lady, possessing about 150l. to join as partner in a ladies' school

some few miles from London. It has been sometime established, and it is desired to meet the assistance of a pious lady, and of liberal education, and whose connexions would tend to increase the number of pupils.

TO WIDOWS, HOUSEKEEPERS, &c.—A desirable opportunity occurs for any domesticated lady commanding about 3007. wishing to increase her income, by taking a genteel house and furniture in a fashionable neighbourhood. The upper part is well let off, and two gentlemen wish to remain as partial boarders on the ground floor.

A LADY is desirous of recommending a respectable widow to take charge of an invalid child or others, having had the care of an idiot grand-daughter for last three years, much to her satisfaction.

FURNISHED APARTMENTS.-The proprietor of a house of business, at Knightsbridge, having, from the smallness of his family, no use for front drawing room and bed room, is desirous of obtaining a gentleman he will find the best of attention.

NURSE, COOK, AND HOUSEMAID wanted in a small gentleman's family where no man-servant is kept. Each in their various capacities must thoroughly understand their business, and good personal characters indispensable.

TO THE WEALTHY AND HUMANE.-A lady, the near relative of a deceased clergyman, who is in great distress, earnestly solicits those who are blessed by providence with the means and disposition to aid the unfortunate to kindly afford her a little pecuniary assistance, or if they would lend her a small sum of money for a few months. Respectable references given.

These advertisements were taken almost at random from a few recent numbers of the Times newspaper; they may therefore be considered fair specimens of the ordinary style of composition employed by a numerous and respectable class of persons who would consider themselves much affronted if termed uneducated. (We have purposely avoided giving the advertisements of persons in the lower grades of society.) A better acquaintance with grammar would certainly have helped these individuals to be more intelligible, as well as more correct in their language.

We abstain from citing instances of grammatical inaccuracy from the writers of the day, not because it would be difficult, but because selection might be invidious, and because our remarks are intended to apply rather to ordinary communications than to literary compositions. Those who read with an observant eye will not fail to recal how often they have found the sense of an author obscured by a failure in one of the great concords which are the foundation of grammar, viz. the agreement of the verb with its nominative, of the relative with its antecedent, and of the pronoun with the noun for which it stands, or by the use of adjectives for adverbs, active for neuter verbs, and subjunctive for indicative moods. Those who have not hitherto been thus observant may be as astonished to find how few persons speak and write grammatically, as Molière's "bourgeois gentilhomme" was to find that all his life he had spoken prose. It is a true and striking paradox that has lately been brought forward by a writer of no common order, that "Men usually see little of what is before their eyes,' and to this we must impute it that people are so little aware of grammatical deficiencies in themselves or in others. It is curious to observe the style of composition which is often published

by local authorities. For instance, in a well-known bathing-place in the south of England we have seen for years the following words over a passage in a public and aristocratic part of the town, "No thoroughfare except to Nos. 5 and 6, and all other persons are requested to keep the road;" and such an inscription is by no means a singular one.

There is one point of view in which the subject of English grammar assumes a peculiar importance, and that is the vast and increasing multitudes of men by whom our language is spoken. According to recent calculations it is probable that English is already the language of sixty millions of human beings, and that number is augmenting at a continually increasing ratio. Surely it is of the first importance that the rules of such a language should be wisely and firmly fixed, that its purity may, as much as possible, be maintained in our colonial dependencies, and preserved from further degradation, if it cannot be wholly restored, among our brethren on the other side of the Atlantic. Should our remarks contribute to that result, or should they only lead our readers to a higher estimation of grammar as a science, or to a more careful study of its rules as an art, we shall not have written in vain.

THERE is, perhaps, no symbol to which such an affectionate regard has been paid as that of the Dove. Mankind instinctively invest certain creatures with attributes derived from their real or supposed natures, their outward shape, and the sentiments of disgust or pleasure that such produces upon them. This is certainly the groundwork of some of the ancient ideas connected inseparably with the forms of the hog, the serpent, the owl, the raven, and the dove. The supposed gentle nature of the last, and its beauty of form, constituted it, under the old mythologies,

the attendant upon the goddess of love; and the poetry of all nations has used it as synonymous with purity of spirit. Numerous passages in concert with this idea occur in different parts both of the Old and New Testament. "Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves," was the injunction of Christ to his apostles, and in this we perceive ideas originating in the opinions entertained of those creatures. The dove, which brought to Noah the olive-branch, was a harbinger of hope and mercy; but it is as a symbol of the Holy Spirit that it has received such a long-con

tinued reverence, and as such is applied to several of the saints. In the early church it was also one of the symbols of Christ. Tertullian says, "The dove is used to show forth Christ;"* and in another place he calls the Church of God "the house of our dove." In the early times, also, it was considered as an emblem of the soul; and it is not improbable that this idea gave rise to the story of a dove flying from the burning pyre in the martyrdom of St. Polycarp. But, in whatever way the dove appears attached to the representations of saints, it will in most instances have some reference to the Holy Spirit; as, for instance, in very numerous examples of bishops receiving the ordination by the pastoral staff, the dove appears as the Holy Spirit, which the Church supposes to be transmitted on the imposition of hands. Therefore, when the dove is represented, it may indicate some especial grace of inspiration, as in the case of King David or St. Gregory the Great, and many others. In these instances the dove is either on the shoulder, or above the head, or near the ear.

St. Gregory the Great is one who is represented in the full pontificals as pope, and a dove upon his shoulder. A legendary writer of the ninth century, Paul Warnfrid, says that the Holy Ghost, in the form of a shining dove, came over him as he dictated to his scribe the interpretation of Ezekiel's vision. The story is given in full in the Golden Legend, on the authority of Peter the Deacon, with whom St. Gregory was most familiar, and with whom he disputes in his Dialogues. Peter asserted, that he had frequently seen the Holy Spirit in the similitude of a dove hovering over the head of Gregory. This story was narrated by the deacon on the occasion of an envious feeling against the saint, whose books were about to be burnt, and Peter offered to confirm his words by oath, saying, however, that Gregory had often told him that if he revealed the miracle of the vision of the dove, he would not afterwards live. Peter, attired in his deacon's habit, approached, and taking the Gospels in hand at

tested to the sanctity of his master, and immediately his spirit fled, whilst uttering the words of his true confession. He died in the year 604.

Another pope, and a martyr of the early ages, St. Fubian, is distinguished by a dove, as well as by a sword, the instrument of his martyrdom. Eusebius gives the story of his election to the pontifical chair, as being by the special revelation of God; for after the death of St. Anterus, also a martyr, the clergy and Roman people being assembled together to elect his successor to the papal chair, as was customary at that period, and there being different opinions as to whom the supreme dignity should be committed, one nominating one, and others another, it happened that Fabian, returning from the town with some of his friends, entered into the church, and wished to know how the affair was proceeding, and who was appointed as supreme pointiff. Whilst he was standing quite pensive, there suddenly descended from heaven a dove, "like to that which appeared over Christ our Redeemer in the river Jordan at his holy baptism," and so placed itself above the head of Fabian. Every one fixed his eyes upon him, and knowing that that could not be by chance, but by the particular providence of God, who wished to make his will manifest to them whom they ought to elect for Father, Master, and Pastor of the Universal Church, moved by the spirit of the same Lord, with one united voice they elected Fabian for pope, and placed him in the seat of St. Peter. Thus it is that the dove is appropriated to him. He suffered martyrdom by decapitation, under Decius, in the year 253.

St. Severus of Ravenna lived in the fourth century, and was a poor weaver, who, being among the people met together to deliberate upon the election of a new bishop in the place of Agapitus, was, through the appearance of a dove which sat upon his head, marked out as the person to be elected. He is sometimes represented in company with St. Vincentia, who was his wife, and Innocentia, his daughter, in reference to his remarkable death. Having