Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by WILSON, HINKLE & CO., In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, for the COPYRIGHT, 1878, BY VAN ANTWERP, BRAGG & CO. ELECTROTYPED AT ECLECTIC PRESS VAN ANTWERP, BRAGG & CO. CINCINNATI PREFACE. THIS treatise is a revision of the author's Practical Grammar, first published ten years ago. In the work of revision, as in the preparation of the original treatise, the ever-recurring wants and requirements of the class-room have been kept constantly in view. Some matter of minor importance has been omitted to make room for a more extended as well as more satisfactory treatment of several essential subjects; a few definitions have been modified, and, it is believed, improved in expression and accuracy; the number of technical terms to be used in parsing and analysis has been diminished; but the distinguishing features of the treatise have been preserved, and its general plan has not been changed in any important particular. Nothing has been omitted that, in the judgment of the author, ought to be retained, and nothing has been added that did not seem to be essential to completeness or desirable as an aid to the student. Accuracy and facility in the use of language, both spoken and written, are the chief ends to be secured by the study of grammar. To secure these ends, a thorough acquaintance with the elements, forms, structure, and laws of our mother tongue, is indispensable; and a practical knowledge of these can be acquired only by patient, persistent exercise in the analysis and synthesis of syllables, words, and sentences. The plan of this treatise is in strict accordance with this educational doctrine. The author has endeavored to present |