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sible care of him; had half the doctors in town to prescribe for him, made him take all their prescriptions, and dosed him with physic enough to cure a whole hospital. All was in vain. My uncle grew worse, and at length died.

LESSON LXXVI.

Alas! they had been friends in youth;
But whispering tongues can poison truth;
And constancy lives in realms above;
And life is thorny; and youth is vain;
And to be wroth with one we love,

Doth work like madness in the brain.
They stood aloof, the scars remaining,
Like cliffs which had been rent asunder;
A dreary sea now flows between :

But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder,
Shall wholly do away, I ween,

The marks of that which once hath been.

LESSON LXXVII.

There is no flock, however watched or tended,
But one dead lamb is there!

There is no fireside, howsoe'er defended,

But has one vacant chair!

The air is full of farewells to the dying,

And mournings for the dead;

The heart of Rachel, for her children crying,
Will not be comforted!

Let us be patient: these severe afflictions

Not from the ground arise;

But oftentimes celestial benedictions

Assume this dark disguise.

PART FOURTH.

SYNTAX.

SYNTAX is that part of Grammar which treats of the proper arrangement of words in a sentence.

Syntax is divided into two parts-Concord and Government.

Concord is when one word agrees with another in gender, number, case, or person.

Government is when one word requires another to be put in a certain case or mood.

CONCORD.

RULE I.-A Verb agrees with its Nominative in number and person.

LESSON I.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rule:

I saw him. The man ran away. The goats were feeding on the mountain-side. Thou hast returned to thy home. We wandered across the meadow. You hastened along. They soon followed the example of the others. The king drew up his soldiers in order of battle. The women cried out for fear. It was wearisome to listen to him.

Men may come, and men may go. Where have you been? Has he

written the letter?

Had they arrived when you left the town? Tell *

* Singular or plural, according as one or more are addressed. The context will always decide.

him not to leave. Soldiers! arise, or be for ever lost. May I have that pen?

His house was known to all the vagrant train:

He chid their wanderings, but relieved their pain.

RULE II.-Collective Nouns require a Verb in the plural when the sense is plural, but in the singular when the sense is singular.

LESSON II.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules:

The army was large. The regiment was composed of many men. The people were greatly displeased. The news is quite true. The cannon belched forth smoke and fire. The infantry advanced, but were immediately compelled to retire. Campbell's "Lives of the Chancellors" extends to ten volumes. The fleet was scattered by the storm. His means of defence are inconsiderable. The bulk of his property was lost at sea. The soldier refused to obey orders. I was greatly displeased with his conduct. You should have waited for orders. The sober herd lowed to meet their young. A flock of sheep was passing at the moment. Riches take to themselves wings.

RULE III.-Two or more singular nominatives, connected by Conjunctions so as to form a plural, require a Verb in the plural.

LESSON III.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules :-

John and his sister were much beloved. The king and his queen returned from the continent. Spain and Portugal are called a peninsula. Cowardice and treachery generally go together. The horse, the sheep, and the cow are called domestic animals. Joy and temperance and repose bar the door on the doctor. Parliament meets in February. The cavalry was much cut up. Letters pass through the post-office. Were you at the review? Could they have gone all the distance? Too many cooks spoil the broth. Industry and perseverance are sure to succeed.

RULE IV. Two or more singular Nouns, connected by a Conjunction or by a Preposition so as to form a singular subject, require a Verb in the singular.

LESSON IV.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules:

Either the man or his wife has stolen my watch. Neither the day nor the hour has been fixed. Napoleon* with his officers was captured. The thief with his associates were put in prison. Bread and cheese form good food. A horse and cart was passing along the road. A horse and cart cost money. My nearest relative and friend has just departed. To praise virtue and to practise vice is gross hypocrisy. The verb and its nominative require to agree in person. The crowd soon dispersed. James was repeating his lesson when you entered the room. Take her up tenderly.

LESSON V.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules:

Neither the king nor his soldiers were set at liberty.+ Either the man or his servants were to blame. Concession after concession was made in this way. Borough after borough was compelled to surrender its privileges. My poverty, but not my will, consents.

For a laggard in love and a dastard in war
Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.

So

There is much hope, and no small comfort, in the intelligence. My confident hope and expectation is that the war may soon cease. there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail. The robust youth of the sea-coast was chained to the oar.

His queen, the garden queen, his rose,
Returns the sweets by nature given.

And if at times a transient breeze
Break the blue crystal of the seas,
Or sweep one blossom from the trees.

But now two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough.

* The main idea here is the capture of Napoleon, hence the Verb is singular. In the next sentence, the imprisonment of the associates is in view, and so the Verb is plural.

+ There is no need for forming a special rule for examples of this sort. The Verb follows the general rule.

RULE V.-If the Nominatives to a Verb are of different persons, connected by a Copulative Conjunction, the Verb is of the first person rather than of the second, and of the second rather than of the third; but if the Nominatives are of different persons, and connected by a Disjunctive Conjunction, the Verb agrees with the last.

LESSON VI.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules:

My father and I* have come home. If your sister and you are well, I and my friend rejoice. Both he and I have learned our lessons. You and I must mind our duty. Either she or I am to go. I or William is in fault. He or his brothers were there. My brothers and I, as well as my cousins, went to the boat-race. Either you or he is to blame. Either your sister or you must go. Either she or I am to go. Neither thou nor she can sing that song.

RULE VI.-When two Nouns come together signifying the same thing, they agree in case.t

LESSON VII.

Parse the words in the following Exercise, and apply the Rules:

The river Clyde flows through Glasgow. Solomon, the son of David, reigned over Israel. Cicero, the greatest orator among the Romans, was put to death. Edward the Confessor succeeded to the throne. Elizabeth, Queen of England, rode through the ranks. The sun, the great fountain of light, showered down his rays. Wellington, the conqueror of Waterloo, was carried to his grave. Moses, the prophet, legislator, and saint. son, priest in his stead. Money, the root Sleep, gentle sleep, nature's soft nurse, at length visited my weary frame. This man, the very incarnation of evil, was made emperor. We petty men walk under his huge legs. I, John Barclay, solemnly

swear.

They mourned for They made Eleazar, his of all evil, was his ruin.

* Ask the pupil what Pronoun would stand for My father and I, and the person of have come will be manifest at once.

This agreement or concord is called apposition." In every case of apposition the two Nouns must express the same thing, and they must explain each other."

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