have carelessly confused it with predict, (with which it has nothing in common save sound,) that the prudent man will avoid it altogether, particularly as affirm will answer every purpose outside a treatise on logic.

You may say,

Predict. Refers to what is to occur. 'I predict it will be found that the man was murdered,' but not, 'I predict that the man was murdered.'

Present. Why not say this week, this month, this year, rather than the present week, the present month, the present year?

Quite. The best way to treat this much abused word is never to use it except in the sense of wholly. There is little authority for its use as a synonym for rather.

Receive. One man may receive a thing from, but never of, another, blank forms of receipts notwithstanding. Reek. Means to emit vapor, steam, smoke. 'Reeking with filth,' therefore, is seldom a truthful phrase.

Relatives. Better than relations to express kindred. Reliable. J. R. Lowell called this 'an abominable word.' Though argument is found in its favor, the weight of authority is against it. Better be on the safe side and say trustworthy.

Render. May properly be applied to music, acting, elocution, when interpret might be substituted. As merely a synonym for play, sing, act, speak, it is pompous.

Replace. Means to restore to its place. Wrongly used for displace, succeed, supercede, take or supply the place of.

Restive. Inasmuch as there is no occasion to make this word a substitute for restless, uneasy, (of which in fact it is the direct opposite,) it seems a pity that it has

been so frequently perverted as to incline the prudent writer to abandon it altogether.

Retire, Rise. Ordinary people go to bed and get up. Return. Applied to travel and tickets, should be yoked with another verb. Manifestly the Supreme Court of Illinois was careless when it said: "The train ran from Quincy to Hannibal and return.'

Role. Part is English.

Rotten. Rotten, stink, and some other words that will suggest themselves, once in common use, have been dropped from polite usage because of their unsavory suggestion.

Sensational. A word fallen from grace by getting into bad company.

Sick. In England restricted by usage to nausea. The logic, however, is with the broader American use, for even the English do not speak of 'an ill-room.' In writing for Americans, ill may wisely be restricted to adverbial use. Above all, never write illy. Do not say unwell when you mean sick.

Some. Do not use for about or for somewhat. Sophisticated. Means 'adulterated, not pure, not

genuine.'

Splendid. Literally means shining. Its use to express very great excellence is thoughtless.

Standpoint. Rejected by many authorities. To keep their good-will use point of view. Viewpoint has been suggested as allowable where but one word is wanted.

Storm. Should not be used to describe moderate rain or snow. It implies a violent movement of the atmosphere, whether with or without rain, snow, or sleet.

Sum. As a rule figures must not begin a sentence,

and so it is sometimes convenient to begin with, 'The sum of $25,000,' or the like. Elsewhere in the sentence, for newspaper purposes at least, the sum of is worse than

useless.

Supposititious. Supposed by some to carry the idea of supposition because it begins with supposit. Really, though, it means spurious, counterfeit.

Sympathy.

You sympathize with your afflicted

friend and have sympathy for him.

Tapis. 'On the tapis' is bad. Say 'on the carpet.' The French phrase is sur le tapis, and we have no right to translate two words and not the third.

Tasty. Not a tasteful word.

Team. Should always convey the idea of plurality, as, a number of animals moving together, two or more horses, oxen, or other draught animals harnessed or yoked together. It does not refer to the vehicle.

Tender. Not the equivalent of give. Means offer, and whether the thing offered or tendered is given, usually depends on whether the offer or tender is accepted.

The. Whenever of immediately follows the present participle, the must precede it, and vice versa. Say 'the giving of charity' or 'giving charity,' but not 'giving of charity' nor 'the giving charity.'

Then. Wrongly used as an adjective, as in, 'the then mayor of Philadelphia.'

Those kind. Ungrammatical, as is also those sort. To. Implies motion. 'I was down to the hall' is wrong. 'I went down to the hall' is right.

Transpire. Correctly used if leak out can be substi

tuted for it; wrongly used if take place can be substituted

for it.

Ult., inst., prox. avoid elsewhere.

month.

United States.

Do not use in book work, and Say last month, this month, next

The constitution says: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort." Nevertheless, the idea of unity is now so firmly established that few writers use the plural pronoun or verb.

Want. The purists would restrict this to the idea of lack or need, and use wish when desire is meant, but the dictionary quotes Addison as saying, 'What wants my

son?'

Weary. Only a transitive verb. So it is improper

Wed. A Saxon word stronger and shorter than the Latin marry, yet with an archaic sound, so general has become the substitution of the weaker term.

Wended. No such word. The past of wend is went. Whereabouts. Do not use as the subject of a plural verb. Say, 'The whereabouts of the criminal was unknown,' not, 'were unknown.'

Whose. May be applied to brutes and inanimate things as well as human beings; e. g. 'The dogs whose barking I heard and the houses whose roofs I saw led me to think a village was near by.'

Within. Not an adjective. If you could properly say, 'the within statement,' you should be able to say, 'the more within statement.'

"Pants are worn by gents who eat lunches and open

wine, and trousers are worn by gentlemen who eat luncheons and order wine."-ALFRED AYRES.

Reliable parties commence operations for the erection of a depot; trustworthy men begin building a station.

DISCRIMINATIONS.

Abbreviation-Contraction. Abbreviation, as applied to words, may well be restricted to cutting off at the end; contraction, to omitting an inner part and drawing the ends together.

Ability-Capacity.

Ability has reference to the active exercise of our faculties. It always supposes something to be done and the power of doing it. Capacity has reference to the receptive powers, carrying with it the idea of resources and undeveloped power. Capacity is requisite to devise a great enterprise; ability, to execute it. Abstinence-Temperance. Everybody knows the difference, yet many persons thoughtlessly confound the words and the ideas.

Adapted-Dramatized. Stories are dramatized when they are changed from the narrative to the dramatic form; plays are adapted when they are altered.

Affect Effect. To effect is to execute, to accomplish; to affect is to produce an effect, to move the feelings, to show fondness for, to feign.

Ago-Since. Use ago where 'in the past' might be substituted; since, as a preposition. 'Four years ago the house was built and since that time it has been painted twice.'

Alone-Only. Alone is always an adjective, and adjectives never modify verbs. Only is sometimes an adverb, as in, 'I only speak French,' which implies that I do not write it; and sometimes an adjective, as in, 'I