We are particularly pleased with the maps, which are certainly unsurpassed, if equalled, in any other Geography. We like the plan adopted in this work of connecting Physical Geography with the facts commonly embraced in geographical textbooks. The great leading features of any country are physical, and as soon as possible the pupil should be made acquainted with it. The Physical Maps in this book are such as to give the student a complete knowledge of the physical appearance of every part of the world. We commend the book to the careful perusal of teachers, feeling assured they will not only be pleased with it but will derive much useful knowledge by the study of it.

DOTTY DIMPLE. By Sophie May.

THE FAIRY BOOK. By Sophie May. Lee & Shepard: Boston.

These books belong to the Prudy Series, and are charming stories for children. Dolly Dimple acts and talks just like a real child about what grown up people call the trifles of child-life; but what is most real and of much importance to little folks. The Fairy Book is filled with interesting stories such as children never tire of hearing, though repeated daily. Sophie May understands a child's nature and what will please it.

THE YANKEE MIDDY; or, The Adventures of a Naval Officer. By Oliver Optic. Boston: Lee & Shepard.

We have followed Oliver Optic on the land for a long time, and now we have taken a trip wtth him on the sea, and we find him just as much at home on the one element as on the other. Quite an amphibious animal, this Optic. We shall expect to see him take to some of the other elements soon, either fire or air. If so, we will agree to follow him. Lee & Shepard are fortunate in being the publishers of the works of so popular an author.

THE "LITTLE FOLKS" ought to thank the various publishers of Games for the great variety and pretty designs of the present season.

Lee & Shepard give them the "Little Pet's Scarlet Alphabet," a Game and Puzzle, which makes the first steps to knowledge so very pleasant that it is only amusement to learn.

Lee & Shepard also publish Mother Goose's Patch Work, with Mother Goose's Melodies thrown in on every patch. The stitches must run smoothly, equal to Singer's"

THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT; or, The Adventures of an Army Officer. By Oliver Optic. Boston: Lee & Shepard.

Oliver Optic is so well known, and anything relating to the loyal army in the late Rebellion is so interesting, that it is sufficient to give the title and author to insure the book's being purchased and read. This volume does not fall behind the author's other works in style and interest, which is sufficient paaise.

LIFE OF HORACE MANN. By His Wife. Boston: Walker, Fuller & Co.

Besides the public acts of every great man we wish to know something of him in the retirement of home and social life, when he was preparing for his public efforts. No one could tell us so well as Mrs. Mann, all the trials, discouragements, annoyances

and opposition that Mr. Mann had to meet and overcome.

Mr. Mann was a leader, a

pioneer, in the cause of popular education in this country, and his life should be read by every one, that we may all know to whom we are indebted, more than to any one else, for our present advanced state of public schools, and for our improved and elegant school houses, for our graded system and all our other facilities and improvements in an educational point of view. This is a beautiful edition and ought to be found in every library.

Translated from the German of Madame
Boston: E. P. Dutton & Co.

OTTALIE'S STORIES FOR THE LITTLE FOLKS. Ottalie Wildermuth. By Anna B. Cooke. Like all German story books, this volume mingles fact with fancy. The German peasantry are a simple people, with a deeply religious faith in God as a rewarder of honest, truthful lives; and yet they have almost as great faith in Fairies, to help them in their trials, as in an all-wise, overruling Providence. This book teaches a beautiful moral lesson with Fairy accompaniments.

CUSHIONS AND CORNERS; or, Holidays at Old Orchard. By Mrs. R. J. Greene. Boston: E. P. Dutton & Co.

This is a

We would like to go to Old Orchard to Christmas, and we would try to find all the cushions and avoid all the corners, and have a jolly good time every hour. capital book, and we will promise all the children that they will like it.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS AT CEDAR GROVE. By Mary Alice Seymour. Boston: E. P. Dutton & Co.

This is an interesting book, and though designed for children it conveys much instruction and a good moral influence, and will interest children of a larger growth. We have so proved it.

JEAN INGELOW'S POEMS. Boston: Roberts Brothers.

Those who have read Jean Ingelow's “ High Tide" and Songs of Seven, will need no words of ours to induce them to purchase the complete volume of the author's poems, which are full of beauty and tenderness. Roberts Brothers have just issued "The Songs of Seven," in beautiful binding and illustrated in the highest style of art; a very attractive Christmas gift.

THE PRIVATEERSMAN. Adventures by Sea and Land, in Civil and Savage Life, one Hundred Years Ago. By Captain Marryat, R. N. Boston: Roberts Brothers. Boys will be delighted with this book; for it is full of incidents, daring adventures, heroic acts, hair breadth escapes, and amusing anecdotes. The illustrations are very good.

LESSONS FROM The World of Matter and the World of MiND. By Theodore Parker. Selected from notes of unpublished Sermons. By Rufus Leighton. Boston: Charles W. Slack.

Theodore Parker was a man of wonderful powers of mind, of pure heart and life, extensive knowledge, of uncorruptible integrity, and whose whole soul and being was devoted to the elevation of man and woman from every sordid and degrading propensity, and to the breaking every yoke of oppression in church or state. He was

a reformer and therefore an enthusiast; and all reformers, in their zeal for their work, become in a measure intolerant to their opponents. But even they who were most offended with his theology and his criticisms, during his life, have, since his death, awarded him the mead of purity of motive and an earnest desire to do good for the cause of humanity. The Bibliotheca Sacra, for October, says: "If his mischievous theology is put out of sight our generation furnishes no better type of the vigorous and many-sided life of New England, or of its broad philanthrophies, than Theodore Parker."

The book before us contains some of Mr. Parker's best thoughts and words, on almost every topic which can interest the mind and heart of a thoughtful man or woman.

D. B. BROOKS & BROTHER, 55 Washington Street, Boston, are the publishers of Brown's Pocket Memorandum and Almanac.

This memorandum is the pioneer of all others, the present number being the XXIX. It is interesting to know from how small a beginning the present immense trade in memorandums and diaries has grown.

Brooks & Brother also publish the Picture Password, by Rev. Joseph Banvard, D.D., designed to teach Scripture lessons with amusement; a very pretty game.

They also publish Art Games of Painters and Paintings, Ancient and Modern, an instructive and entertaining game. The same pnblishers have a great variety of tablet cards from tiny ones of two leaves to very beautiful ones in ornamented wood and ivory cases. The latter are very pretty for Holiday presents.

THE LADY'S FRIEND.-The publishers of this beautiful magazine have issued a magnificent number for January. The leading steel engraving, “The Forest Gleaner,” is a perfect gem of beauty. We do not know where the publishers of the Lady's Friend get such beautiful designs for their engravings. Then we have a gorgeous colored plate," The Hand Banner Screen in Chenille on Velvet," which the ladies say is magnificent. The large double colored steel fashion plate is as usual superb-we had almost said unequalled. Another engraving, called "Stephen Wharton's Will," which illustrates a fine story, is very suggestive. Then we have a beautiful plate of Children Skating, intended to illustrate the winter styles of children's clothing; with numerous other plates illustrating Hair Nets, Winter Dresses, Borders for Jackets, various new styles of Bonnets, Winter Casaques, Paletots, Jackets, Embroidery, Chemises, Night Dress, Ancient Head-Dresses, Patchwork, &c., &c.

The literary matter is excellent. Among the articles we note " Stephen Wharton's Will," " Mrs. Trunk," by Frances Lee; "Paul's story, or French Lessons ;" "Clarice," by August Bell; "The Two Nightingales," "Stories of our Village," by Beatrice Colonna; "In Illness," by Florence Percy; "Rachel Dana's Legacy," by H. A. Heydon; "Arthur's Wife," "Loving Mary," Editor's Department, The Fashions, Household Receipts, &c.

Price $2.50 a year. 2 copies $4.00; 8 copies (and one gratis) $16. Now is the time to get up clubs for 1866. Specimen numbers for this purpose will be sent for 15 cents. Wheeler & Wilson's celebrated Sewing Machines are furnished as premiums in certain cases. The Prospectus of this Magazine for next year embodies a splendid

list of contributors.

Address Deacon & Peterson, 319 Walnut Street, Philadelphia.

THE

RHODE ISLAND SCHOOLMASTER.

FEBRUARY, 1866.

VOLUME TWELVE.

NUMBER TWO.

[Continued from page 261, December Number, 1865.]

BRIEF DISCUSSIONS OF WORDS, PHRASES, AND USAGES IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

BY REV. S. A. CRANE, D. d.

PHRASES AND SYNTAX.

Grammarians This may correct Try it, say to an

"You had better do this or that," is a phrase supported by the best use. Very bad grammar, but strong utterance; and does us good service, and we had better let it retain its place. have proposed to substitute "would" for "had." the grammar, but it takes away the strength. insolent boy, "You had better not do that to me." It is an earnest admonition and a strongly implied threat; and he will most likely 'heed it. But say to him, "You would better not do that to me." Will he not look you in the face with a twinkle of his eye which says," Who cares for that?"

In our language the infinitive mood is made up of two parts, the word, "to," and the verb, as voice and tense may require. Between the word, "to," and the other part of the active infinitive present, no qualifying words should ever be admitted. "To carefully consider," is a gross and intolerable corruption; and I am sorry to say it is becoming more and more frequent both in speaking and in writing. I feel very confident in the assertion that it can be found in few, if any, standard writers, English or American, till within thirty

years. It enfeebles the expression; and not seldom leaves the mind in suspense whether the "to" is a preposition, or part of a verb to be looked for somewhere in the progress of the sentence. Of course in the perfect active, and in the passive voice of the infinitive, qualifying words may be admitted; and when so admitted the proper place for them is between the auxiliary and the principal verb.

In the construction of the substantive pronouns we express the various functions of the genitive case either by the preposition" of " and the substantive pronoun; or by what some grammarians call the possessive case of these pronouns, and others possessive pronouns. Thus we may say, "the fear of us," or, "our fear." But the two forms are not always equivalents; and are not so in this example. "Our fear" is the fear which we feel in respect to some person or thing. "The fear of us" is the fear which others feel in respect to us. The possessive pronoun can be properly used only when, as in the example given, the design is to express some possession or attribute of the substantive for which the pronoun stands. Hence the common phrases, "in our midst," "in your midst," "in their midst," are clearly ungrammatical; because they do not indicate possession or attributes of any sort. They are simply modifiers of relative place; and their proper form is "in the midst of us," or, "among us."

The free, graceful, and effective use of language is often hindered by attempting to introduce trivial matters, or such as are entirely irrelevant to the principal thing intended to be said. An instance of this we have when a writer says, "I published over my own name; instead of the old form, "under my own name." The only reason for this innovation is the puerile conceit of stating more precisely the relative position of the publication and the name, on the printed page. Often it does not do even this. But if it did, of what importance is it? Who cares to know it? What, and all we want, is the name properly attested. The old form known to the law, "Given or Done under my hand and seal," effectually and precisely does this, strongly attesting the actual presence of the writer's hand making the letters and pressing on the seal. Under my own name, is, therefore, a much surer mark and proof of genuineness than over my own name. Besides, this is a misuse of the word, over. There is no definition of this preposition, which can make this use of it proper; while Webster gives as one of the definitions of under," attested by," "signed by." Clearly, therefore, we do not condemn this innovation too strongly,