"For David my servant's sake;" "Cive me John the Baptist's head;" "Paul the apostle's advice." But when a pause is proper, and the governing noun not expressed.; and when the latter part of the sentence is extended; it appears to be requisite that the sign should be applied to the first genitive, and understood to the other: as, " I reside at lord Stormont's my old patron and benefactor;' "Whose glory did he emulate? He emulated Cæsar's, the greatest general of antiquity." In the following sentences, it would be very awkward to place the sign, either at the end of each of the clauses, or at the end of the latter onealone: "These psalms are David's the king, priest, and prophet of the Jewish people;" "We staid a month at lord Lyttleton's, the ornament of his country, and the friend of every virtue." The sign of the genitive case may very properly be understood at the end of these members, an ellipsis at the latter part of sentences being a common. construction in our language; as the learner will see by one or two examples: "They wished to submit, but he did not ;" that is, " he did not wish to submit ;"" He said it was their concern, but not his ;" that is, "not his concern."

If we annex the sign of the genitive to the end of the last clause only, we shall perceive that a resting place is wanted, and that the connecting circumstance is placed too remotely, to be either perspicuous or agreeable: as, "Whose glory. did he emulate ?" "He emulated Cesar, the greatest general of antiquity's," "These psalms are David, the king, priest, and prophet of the Jewish people's." It is much better to say, "This is Paul's advice, the christian hero, and great apostle of the gentiles," than, "This is Paul, the christian hero, and great apostle of the gentiles" advice." On the other hand, the application of the geni tive sign to both or all of the nouns in apposition, would be generally harsh and displeasing, and perhaps in some cases incorrect as, "The emperor's Leopold's" "King's George's" Charles's the second's ;""The parcel was

left at Smith's the bookseller's and stationer's." The rules which we hate endeavoured to elucidate, will prevent the inconvenience of both these modes of expression; and they appear to be simple, perspicuous, and consistent with the idiom of the language.

5. The English genitive has often an unpleasant sound; so that we daily make more use of the particle of to express the same relation. There is something awkward in the following sentences, in which this method has not been taken. "The general, in the army's name, published a declaration." "The commons' vote." "The Lords' house." "Unless he is very ignorant of the kingdom's condition." It were certainly better to say, "In the name of the army;" "The votes of the commons ;" "The house of lords:" "The condition of the kingdom." It is also rather harsh to use two English genitives with the same substantive; as, "Whom he acquainted with the pope's and the king's pleasure.” "The pleasure of the pope and the king," would have been better.

We sometimes meet with three substantives dependent. on one another, and connected by the preposition of applied to each of them; as, "The severity of the distress of the son of the king, touched the nation;" but this mode of expression is not to be recommended. It would be better to say, "The severe distress of the king's son, touched the nation." We have a striking instance of this laborious mode of expression, in the following sentence: "Of some of the books of each of these classes of literature, a cata-logue will be given at the end of the work."

6. In some cases, we use both the genitive termination and the preposition of; as, "It is a discovery of Sir Isaac Newton's." Sometimes indeed, unless we throw the sentence into another form, this method is absolutely necessary, in order to distinguish the sense, and to give the idea of property, strictly so called, which is the most important of the relations expressed by the genitive case: for the ex

pressions, "This picture of my friend," and "This picture of my friend's," suggest very different ideas. The latter only is that of property in the strictest sense. The idea would, doubtless, be conveyed in a better manner, by saying, "This picture belonging to my friend.”

When this double genitive, as it may be called, is not necessary to distinguish the sense, and especially in a grave style, it is generally omitted. Except to prevent ambiguity, it seems to be allowable only in cases which suppose the existence of a plurality of subjects of the same kind.. In the expressions, "A subject of the emperor's ;"" A sentiment of my brother's;" more than one subject, and one sentiment, are supposed to belong to the possessor. But when this plurality is neither intimated, nor necessarily supposed, the double genitive, except as before mentioned, should not be used: as, "This house of the governor is very commodious;" "The crown of the king was stolen ;""That privilege of the scholar was never abused." (See page 56.) But after all that can be said for this double genitive, some grammarians think that it would be better to avoid the use of it altogether, and to give the sentiment another form of expression.

7. When an entire clause of a sentence, beginning with a participle of the present tense, is used as one name, or to express one idea or circumstance, the noun on which it depends may be put in the genitive case; thus, instead of saying, "What is the reason of this person dismissing his servant so hastily?" that is, "What is the reason of this person in dismissing his servant so hastily?" we may say, and perhaps ought to say, "What is the reason of this person's dismissing of his servant so hastily?" Just as we say, "What is the reason of this person's hasty dismission of his servant?" So also, we say, "I remember it being reckoned a great exploit ;" or more properly, "I remember its being reckoned," &c. The following sentence is correct and proper: "Much will depend on the pupil's composing but more on his reading frequently." It would not be ae

curate to say," much will depend on the pupil composing,” &c. We also properly say; "This will be the effect of the pupil's composing frequently ;" instead of, "Of the pupil composing frequently."

RULE XI.

Active verbs govern the objective case: as, "Truth ennobles ber;"" She comforts me;" "They support us," "Virtue rewards them that follow her."

In English, the nominative case, denoting the subject, usually goes before the verb; and the objective case, denoting the object, follows the verb active; and it is the order that determines the case in nouns; as, " Alexander conquered the Persians.' But the pronoun having a proper form for each of those cases, is sometimes, when it is in the objective case, placed before the verb; and, when it is in the nominative case, follows the object and verb; as," Whom ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

This position of the pronoun sometimes occasions its proper case and government to be neglected: as in the following instances: "Who should I esteem more than the wise and good?" "By the character of those who you choose for your friends, your own is likely to be formed." "Those are the persons who he thought true to his interests." “Who should I see the other day but my old friend?" "Whosoever the court favours." In all these places it ought to be whom, the relative being governed in the objective case by the verbs "esteem, choose, thought," &c. "He, who under all proper circumstances, has the boldness to speak truth, choose for thy friend;" It should be" him who," &c.

nouns.

Verbs neuter do not act upon, or govern, nouns and pro"He sleeps; they muse ;" &c. are not transitive. They are, therefore, not followed by an objective case, specifying the object of an action. But when this case, or an

object of action, comes after such verbs, though it may carry the appearance of being governed by them, it is affected by a preposition or some other word understood: as, "He resided many years [that is, for or during many years] in that street;" "He rode several miles [that is, for or through the space of several miles] on that day;" "He lay an hour [that is, during an hour] in great torture." In the phrases, " To dream a dream,” “ Tolive a virtuous life," &c. it appears that the noun expresses the same notion with the verb, and that it is no object of an action.

I. Some writers, however, use certain neuter verbs as if they were transitive, putting after them the objective case of the pronoun which was the nominative case to it, agreeably to the French construction of the reciprocal verbs ; but this custom is so foreign to the idiom of the English tongue, that it ought not to be adopted or imitated. The following are some instances of this practice. "Repenting him of his design." "The king soon found reason to repent him of his provoking such dangerous enemies.” “The popular lords did not fail to enlarge themselves on the subject." "The nearer his successes approached him to the throne." "Go flee thee away into the land of Judah." "I think it by no means a fit and decent thing to vie charities," &c. "They have spent their whole time and pains to agree the sacred with the profane chronology."

2. Active verbs are sometimes as improperly made neuter; 25, "I must premise with three circumstances." "Those that think to ingratiate with him by calumniating me."

3. The neuter verb is varied like the active; but, having in some degree the nature of the passive, it admits, in many instances, of the passive form, retaining still the neuter signification, chiefly in such verbs as signify some sort of motion, or change of place or condition: as, come; I was gone; I am grown ; I was fallen." The following examples, however, appear to be erroneous, in.

"I am