said such things, and they always will say such things, which is the best warrant for saying them. Hearing chiefest and supremest, the purist may point out that there can be bur one chief and one supreme. Yet the legitimate needs of emphasis, of iteration, of euphony, of rhythm will lead even the best of writers and speakers to disregard the mathematics of it and to convey their shades of meaning in a way sanctioned by usage practically universal.

Use the comparative degree when comparing only two things; e. g. 'He is the elder of the two brothers;' but, 'He is the youngest of the trio.'

The confounding of adjectives and adverbs makes much mischief. Whenever manner is to be expressed, use the adverb; whenever quality is to be expressed, use the adjective. Putting the rule in another form: Verbs of doing take the adverb; verbs of seeming and being take the adjective; e. g. 'He walks slowly, his voice sounds harsh, he limps painfully, his breath smells bad, his coat feels rough, and he acts strangely. Say 'She looks pretty,' if you mean to describe her appearance; but, 'She looks prettily,' if, for instance, she holds her opera glass gracefully. In the sentence, 'It is rarely that this happens,' rarely is as inappropriate as sadly or wisely or fortunately would be; use the adjective, rare, sad, wise, fortunate. There is no excuse for 'the then monarch;' and little for, "These occasions were seldom.'

Adverbs should be placed as near as possible to the words they modify.

After any form of the verb to be, use the same case as that which precedes it. Do not say, 'It was me,' 'I know you to be he,' 'He is much stronger than me.'

Transitive verbs must have an object; intransitive verbs do not admit of an object. Errors are very frequently made in the use of the following six verbs :—

Present. Past. Participle.

He lay on the bed and laid the book on the table.

After he had lain awhile and had laid the book on the table, he rose, raised the book, and sat down where he had set the chair.

WRONG:

I will lay down awhile.

He raised up and then he set still.

I sat him in the chair..

Shall and Will. I shall, you will, he will, are the forms of the future, and merely foretell what will take place: I will, you shall, he shall, are the forms of the potential, and express will or determination on the part of the speaker. Will in the first person expresses a resolution or promise; it must never be used in questions with nominative cases in the first person. Would and should follow will and shall.

The careless use of the present tense for the future often annoys editors. Say, 'Mr. B. will preach two weeks from today;' not, 'Mr. B. preaches two weeks from today.'

Most grammarians think that the active infinitive should be treated as one word, and, therefore, should not be separated. They argue that it is as bad to say, 'To properly write,' as it would be to say, 'con often flict,' for 'often conflict.' Although writers respectable in

number and position have split the infinitive, it is not done by those of the highest authority. As it is a practice particularly obnoxious to many cultivated persons, it may well be avoided.

When a conjunction indicates some uncertainty, use the subjunctive after it; when anything is spoken of as an actual fact, or as in absolute existence, the indicative is used. Compare the following correct sentences: 'Do not give him the money unless he return you the goods;' 'Though friends be false, yet will I do my duty.' Parry Gwynne has well illustrated this knotty point: "Thus a gentleman, giving an order to his tailor, may say, 'Make me a coat; if it fit me well, I will give you another order;' because the 'fit' alluded to is a thing which the future has to determine. But when the coat is made and brought home, he cannot say, 'If this cloth be good, I will give you another order,' for the quality of the cloth is already determined; the future will not alter it. It must be rendered in the indicative mood, 'If this cloth is good,' etc."

When two or more singular nominatives are separated by or, nor, as well as, or other disjunctive, the verb should be in the singular; but if either nominative is plural, the verb also should be plural.

The discussion over Kipling's line, 'The tumult and the shouting dies,' called attention to an admitted exception to the rule that two or more subjects connected by and require the verb to be in the plural, for if the subjects are so intimately associated in thought as to constitute a logical unity, the verb may be in the singular: e. g. 'The head and front of my offending hath this extent.' The same is true when two nouns are names for the same

thing, and when two words almost synonymous are used for the sake of emphasis.

One of the rules of rhetoric most frequently violated is that which says: "Never omit a verb that is needed to make the meaning clear or the sentence grammatical."

The chin was bold, the lips sunken.-Leigh Hunt.

Her eyes were bright and face comely.-Justin McCarthy. Events there are none, and scarcely a character of any interest. Sydney Smith.

His head was thrown back and his eyes fixed on the opposite wall. Henry James.

Lack of space forbids detailed discussion of the errors in the following sentences.

It is hoped that the correct

form or the slight explanation in brackets may indicate the mistake clearly enough:

'He is sure of the bill [bill's] passing the house.'

'Unless Rhode Island should some time surrender one of her superfluous capitals.' [Rhode Island has but two capitals, and both could not be superfluous.]

'From the report of the grand secretary of Odd Fellowship in Massachusetts, it appears that the order is now the largest, in point of membership, of any similar organization in the state.' [How can it be 'the largest of any similar organization?]

'Neither of these colors are [is] familiar.'

'One of the most valuable books that has [have] appeared in any language.'

'Not one of them knew who did it or they [he] would would have told.'

'I am one of those who cannot describe what I [they] do not see.'

'Not a single one of the numerous candidates were [was] there.'

'The Legislature meets today, and Mr. Smith speaks

to them [it].'

'Each of the boys were [was] examined.'

'Who [whom] do you mean.'

'I meant to have written [to write].'

'Men whom I thought were friends.' [See how it reads transposed: 'Men whom were friends, I thought.']

'The shoe factory are [is] employing only about twothirds of their [its] usual help.' [Query-Is 'help' permissible?]

'The gain to the city will be as great if not greater than to the church.' [Insert as after great.]

'Benson's testimony, like that of the preceding witness, was not conclusive nor convincing in any particular, having a convenient memory on direct examination, and rather unpleasant results accrued when attempting retrospective under fire of the cross-examination.' [Did the testimony

have'the memory?]

'Believing that the writer was a spotter, a huge fist collided with his nose, after which he was fired out, since which time he has not been seen.' [Did the fist believe?]

'The torch was applied, and when raging with fury three grenades were thrown from a distance of about forty feet, and inside of about fifteen seconds the flames were extinguished.' [How could a torch rage with fury?]

'The Mann boudoir car Carmen left here today for Richmond whence she will haul a party to the Exposition.' [Can a car haul a party?]

'I doubt if [whether] this will ever reach you.'

'Her parents are entitled, as they are receiving, the sympathy of their friends.' [At best a poor sentence, but only permissible when to is supplied after entitled.]