purpose are they used? How do the personal pronouns agree with their antecedents? Do they ever agree in case? What does their agreement and non-agreement in case depend on ? Construct sentences in which an agreement and non-agreement in case will appear.

What are relative pronouns? Name them. Whence the term relative? What danger is involved in calling such words exclusively relative? What entitles a word to be considered relative? State Locke's exposition on the subject. Give a list of words expressing natural relationships, and also acquired. Decline who, which. When is who used? When which? Give examples. How is it discoverable when that is a relative? Give examples. What kind of relative is what? Why the name? Give examples of its use. What is as sometimes called? Prove by an example that it is a relative. How do the relative and antecedent agree? Give examples. May they agree in case? Give examples. Construct sentences in which the relative refers to a whole clause as its antecedent, and also to several clauses.

Whose is sometimes used as the possessive case of which. Give an example. State the two explanations given by Latham of this fact. Which appears the more correct one? Why? What is observable with regard to the use of the relative that? Name the compound relatives. What is whoever, &c. used for? Analyze them. Which of the compound relatives is becoming obsolete ?

ON THE ADJECTIVE.

AN adjective is a word which expresses the quality, and limits or extends the application of the noun to which it is attached. The word man is a noun; the plural of it is men. In the expression, "Alexander and Julius Cæsar were illustrious men," illustrious is an adjective, as expressing some quality in the individuals named. Again, in the expression, "All men are mortal; some men are

avaricious," all and some are adjectives qualifying men— the former showing the extent to which the assertion made is capable of being asserted of the individuals called men: the latter limiting the application of the term avaricious, and indirectly asserting that it cannot be applied to all individuals called men. The term adjective, from ad = to, or near, and jectum to throw, is applied to this class, because it is always placed near or alongside the noun which it qualifies.

It may be remarked, moreover, that the position of the adjective in the English language is before the qualified word, as a good man, a wet day, except in the case of expressions wherein the application of the adjective itself is limited by some modifying phrase, as- "A man irresolute and fickle in his dealings with his fellows;" whereas, in the Latin language, from which the term in question is derived to us, it was as usual to place the adjective before as after the noun it qualified.

In the dissertation on the noun, it was shown that, by the process of abstraction, beginning with individual names or proper nouns we arrive at general terms, and that, in proportion to the number of successive abstractions, the names arrived at are applicable to a greater or less number of individuals; thus, by operating, through the abstracting powers peculiar to man as distinguished from the inferior animals, on the term Caesar, the proper name of a greyhound, we arrive at the term greyhound: by operating on this we get the term hound, and so on dog, quadruped, animal, creature, &c. &c. This process, moreover, was shown to be useful in rendering unnecessary the burthening of the memory with names for every individual existence. By observing closely the use of the adjective, we observe the same purpose served, though by a process apparently somewhat different. When we use the word table, for instance, we express a name for all articles of furniture of a certain kind, such name being applicable to them all in common. When we wish to speak of a particular kind of table, we use the adjective, and say, a long table, a round table, and hereby (the adjective and noun together being taken as one name) arrive at a term less extensive in its application than the original term table on which we have operated.

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In the English language, the adjective is frequently converted into a noun: thus, we say the hollow deep; deep, an adjective, being applied as a name pre-eminently to the sea, on account of its presenting to the mind, from its unfathomableness, the idea of depth in an eminent degree. Of this species of conversion Milton is very fond.

The opposite more frequently takes place, and the noun is used as an adjective; with this difference, that, when so used, it is combined with another noun, as in the words, side-glance, water-colour, surface-knowledge. Such combinations are called compound nouns, the words composing them being usually connected by a stroke, called a hyphen. It is evident, on consideration, that such convenient combinations result from that desire so universally prevalent amongst, and in many other instances exhibited by, men, of saving time by shortening language, and that the expressions in question may be accounted for on the principle of ellipsis, surface-knowledge being evidently equivalent to "The knowledge which exists on the surface alone."

Under the head "Composition," Latham has some excellent remarks, a few of which are subjoined :

"In the following words, amongst many others, we have indubitable specimens of composition-day-star, vine-yard, sun-beam, apple-tree, ship-load, silver-smith, &c. &c. Now, in each of these compounds it may be seen that it is the second word which is qualified or defined by the first. Of yards, beams, trees, loads, smiths, there may be many sorts; and, in order to determine what particular sort may be meant, the words vine, sun, &c. &c., are prefixed. That the idea given by the word apple-tree is not referable to the words apple and tree, irrespective of the order in which they occur, may be seen by reversing the position of them: the word tree-apple, although not existing in the language, is as correct a word as thorn-apple. In tree-apple, the particular sort of apple meant is denoted by the word tree and if there were in one garden various sorts of plants called apples, of which some grew along the ground, and others upon trees, such a word as tree-apple would be required, in order to be opposed to earth-apple or groundapple, or some word of the kind. In the compound words

tree-apple and apple-tree, we have the same elements, differently arranged. However, as the word tree-apple is not current in the language, the class of compounds indicated by it may seem to be merely imaginary. Nothing is farther from being the case. A tree-rose is a rose of a particular sort, the generality of roses being on shrubs; this grows on a tree. A ground-nut is a nut particularised by growing in the ground. A nut-ground is a ground particularised by producing nuts. A finger-ring, as distinguished from an ear-ring, is a ring for the finger. A ringfinger, as distinguished from other fingers, is a finger whereon rings are worn. Of the two elements of a compound word, which is the most important? In one sense, the latter; in another sense, the former. The latter word is the most essential, since the general idea of trees must exist before it can be particularised. The former word, however, is the most influential. It is by this that the original idea is qualified: the latter word is the staple original element; the former is the superadded influencing element compared with each other, the former element is active, the latter passive."

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Adjectives may be subdivided into adjectives of quality (attributive); adjectives appertaining to number (numeral), distributive, pronominal, and participial adjectives. Adjectives of quality are such as white, great, virtuous, eminent, &c. &c. Adjectives of number are such as one, twentieth, five thousand, &c. &c. Distributive adjectives are such as each, every, either, neither, which, whether, &c. &c. (The two latter may be called distributive in such expressions as "Which, or whether, of the two.")

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Pronominal adjectives are such as my, thy, our, your, their, own, its, his, her. (The three last are pronominal adjectives when used with a noun; as in the expressions, My book," "Her property;" otherwise they are personal pronouns; the two first in the possessive singular of it and he respectively; the last in the objective of she.) Participial adjectives are such as loved, enlightened.

The great bulk of adjectives belongs to the class called attributive. In looking at the expression, "He built a great house," we perceive that great is an adjective, qualifying the noun house. At first, there appears to be no com

parison instituted by the use of the word great so applied; on looking more closely, however, into the expression, it is at once seen that, unless there be some comparison implied by the word, it has no positive meaning, and that " a great house means nothing, unless it means a house great as compared with some other house, or the generality of houses.

Again, in the expressions, " He built a larger house than he at first contemplated;"- "He built the largest house in London,"- —we perceive the same word large modified in its termination, so as to imply comparison between the house qualified by its several forms and some other or others: this is what is meant by the comparison of the adjective, which, in the English language, is very simple.

There are said to be three degrees of comparison, which, no doubt for want of a more appropriate name, have been called the positive, comparative, and superlative. The adjective in the positive degree is in its simple state, asgood, wise, great. In the comparative degree, which is formed by adding r or er to the positive, according as the positive ends in e or a consonant, an excess of measure is implied, as better, wiser, greater. In the superlative (from super above, and latum=to carry), which is formed from the positive by adding to it st or est, according as the positive ends in e or a consonant, a measure of excess is implied to the largest extent possible, as-best, wisest, greatest. The inconvenience that would result from making long words longer by adding to them a syllable, is obviated by comparing adjectives (as a general rule, of more than two syllables), by prefixing, for the comparative more, and for the superlative most: thus-illustrious, more illustrious, most illustrious.

The positive or simple state of the adjective is denied by some grammarians to be a degree of comparison, and they accordingly say there are but two degrees, comparative and superlative. In the expressions, however, "This is a fine day;"--"My brother is a tall man," there is evidently a comparison instituted. We form to ourselves an idea of what entitles a day to be called fine; and in considering the character of a particular day, we refer it to the standard set up; and pronounce it fine in comparison therewith;