The sentence would have been better thus: "My mistress has a younger sister who lives in the house with her; and who, though some thousands below her in estate, is continually heaping favours on her maid; so that the latter can appear every Sunday, for the first quarter, in a fresh suit of clothes, with all other things corresponding, of her mistress's giving."

VERBS.

"A rusty nail or a crooked pin, shoot up into prodigies." -Spec. No. 7.

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"Shoots," this should be; for the nominative is in the singular; and of course, then, "into prodigies," should be into a prodigy.

"One may see by his action that his greatest care and concern is to keep the plume of feathers from falling off his head."-Spec. No. 42.

What is the nominative to "is ?" "Care and concern," and therefore the verb should be are.

"A good courtier's habit and behaviour is hieroglyphical. -Spec. No. 64.

The error here, is similar to the preceding one; "habit and behaviour are," the sentence should stand.

Every now and then Sir Roger inquires how such a one's wife, or, mother, or son, or father do."Spec. No. 112.

The nominative is in the singular; and the verb, of course, must be so, too; must be does.

"The reception, manner of attendance, undisturbed freedom and quiet, which I meet with in the country, has confirmed me in the opinion I always had."-Spec. No. 107.

Here the nominative is "reception, manner of attendance, undisturbed freedom and quiet; four things; and the verb to agree with these, is put in the singular! Have was required.

"The many adventures which attend their way of life, makes their conversation so full of incidents, and gives them so frank an air in speaking."-Spec. No. 152.

The plural noun "adventures," is the nominative; and therefore makes and gives should be make and give.

"A young man whose passion and ambition is to be good and wise."-Spec. No. 157.

"Passion and ambition" are the nominative; and the verb should correspond with these; should be are.

"The stamp and denomination still continues, but the intrinsic value is frequently lost."-Spec. No. 219.

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Stamp and denomination" are the nominative; and the verb should agree with these; should be continue. "A thousand rumours spreads."—Spec. No. 220. "Spread," of course, this must be; for the deuce is in the thing, if "a thousand' are not enough to make a plural.

"Sir, the subject of this present address, are a set of women."-Spec. No. 244.

"Subject' is the nominative, and the verb should be made to agree with this; should be is.

"A few general rules extracted out of the French authors, with a certain cant or words, has set up an illiterate heavy writer for a most judicious and formidable critic."-Spec. No. 291.

Here the writer is denouncing another writer for being "illiterate," and at the same time is using words that prove him to be as justly liable to the charge, as the individual accused: "A few general rules has ;" a certain cant or words;" "illiterate heavy writer," are certainly choice specimens of correct writing!

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But youth and beauty, if accompanied with a graceful and becoming severity, is of mighty force to raise, even in the most profligate, a sense of shame."-Spec. No. 292.

You have had so many examples of the wrong employ. ment of the singular number of the verb, when applying to a plural nominative, that I need not point out to you the error in the above extract.

"But injured innocence and beauty in distress is an object that carries in it something inexpressibly moving; it softens the most manly heart with the tenderest sensations of love and compassion, until at length it confesses its humanity, and flows out into tears.-Spec. No. 302.

This paragraph is one mass of error. "Innocence and beauty" are certainly two things. And if so, "is," should have been are; "an object,” should have been objects; "that carries in it," should have been, that carry in them; and "it softens," should have been, they soften. "It confesses its humanity," appeared to me, when I first read the paragraph, to stand for, and apply to, whatever the pronouns and verbs previously used, did; and it was not until I had read the whole over two or three times, that I discovered "it confesses its humanity," to mean the heart "confesses its humanity." Obscurity like this, weakens the force of a sentence very much, and should be carefully guarded against. The extract would have been better thus: “But injured innocence and beauty in distress, form an object that carries in it something inexpressibly moving; an object that softens the most manly heart with the tenderest sensations of love and compassion, until at length the fountain of the affections confesses its humanity, and flows out in tears."

"Since the regular methods of making friends and a fortune by the mere force of a profession is so very slow and uncertain, a man should take all reasonable opportunities, by enlarging a good acquaintance, to court that time and chance which is said to happen to every man."-Spec. No. 360.

"Regular methods is," "time and chance is," you can correct without any assistance from me.

"The several presses which are now in England, and the great encouragement which has been given to learning for some years last past, has made our own nation as glorious upon this account, as for its late triumphs and conquests."-Spec. No. 367.

You see that the verb "has," has for its nominative, "the several presses, and the great encouragement;" and that therefore, have was required in place of "has."

"Truth and matter of fact sets the person actually before us."-Spec. No. 397.

"Sets," having "truth and matter of fact," two things, for its nominative, should be, set.

"I am an Irish gentleman that have travelled many years for my improvement; during which time, I have accomplished myself in the whole art of ogling, as it is at present practised in the polite nations of Europe.”— Spec. No. 46.

Here is confusion in the persons: "An Irish gentleman that have," is what very few, indeed, could say. It sounds badly; and the "have" seems to apply to "gentleman," and not to "I." To place has, however, in the place of "have," would make the matter much worse; for then we would have, "an Irish gentleman that has travelled many years for my improvement; during which I have accomplished myself." The sentence should run, "I, who am an Irish gentleman, have travelled many years for my improvement." Or, "I am an Irish gentleman; and have travelled many years for my improvement."

"And you may believe it, when so lazy a creature as am, undergo the pains to assure you of it."-Spec. No. 284. What is the nominative to this verb, "undergo?" It is "creature" third person; and the verb to agree with this is put into the first person! Undergoes must be substituted for "undergo."

"A modern writer that had observed how this had took in other plays."-Spec No. 44.

"She had just drank tea."-Spec. No. 87.

"Can you then neglect him who has forgot."-Spec.

No. 71.

"There have arose in this university."-Spec. No. 17. "A new sect of philosophers which have arose."-Spec. No. 54.

"He had not broke windows."-Spec. No. 105.

In all these instances, the past time is used instead of the passive participle. "Had taken;" "had just drunk ;" "has forgotten;" "have and has arisen;" broken;" are the corrections.

"had not

"I am so surprised at the question you were pleased to ask me yesterday, that I am still at a loss what to say to it."-Spec. No. 401.

Here is an error of time. still at a loss what to say," ed that I am still at a loss

"I am so surprised that I am should be, "I was so surpriswhat to say."

If a man tells her a wagish story, she gives him a push with her hand in jest, and calls him an impudent dog; and if her servant neglects his business, threatens to kick him out of the house.-Spec. No. 57.

"If he looks upon himself in an abstracted light, he has not much to boast of; but if he considers himself with regard to others."-Spec. No. 73.

"The next way of a man's bringing his good nature to the test is, to consider whether it operates according to the rules of reason and duty; for if notwithstanding its general benevolence to mankind, it makes no distinction between its objects, if it exerts itself promiscuously towards the deserving and the undeserving; if it relieves alike the idle and the indigent, if it gives itself up to the first peti. tioner, and lights upon any one rather by accident than choice, it may pass for an amiable instinct, but must not assume the name of a moral virtue."-Spec. No. 177.

The subjunctive mode, and not the indicative, is required in all these instances. In the latter part of the last sentence, we have a little nonsense: "moral virtue!" The writer must of course have thought there were immoral virtues, as well as moral ones, or why make the distinction? If he could correctly say "moral virtue," he could also correctly say immoral vice; and to say this would imply that he thought there was such a thing as moral vice in the world. "Moral virtue," is moral morality; or virtuous virtue. It is like frosty ice, or wet water.

"I could not have thought it had been in the child.”— Spec. No. 67.

"Ben Jonson used to say he had rather have been the author of it than of all his works."-Spec. No. 70.

The double past time, amounting to nonsense, is used in both these instances. The first should be, "I could not have thought it to be, or could not have thought it was, in the child" and the second, "he would rather have been," or, "he would rather be the author of it than of all his works."

PREPOSITIONS.

"I shall endeavour, as much as possible to establish among us a taste of polite writing."-Spec. No. 58.