rative of the attempt to Assassinate Art. 10. Literary and Scientific Intelli- the King of Poland.-New View of London.--Biography of Baron C. W. Art. 11. Religious Intelligence. 224 Art. 12. Poetry 225 110 Art. 13. Monthly Summary of Political Art. 9. Literary and Philosophical In Art. 14. Domestic Occurrences. 227 · 133 Art. 15. Cabinet of Varieties. Meteo- Art. 10. Religious Intelligence. rological Retrospect.-Remarkable ib. Discovery of a Murder.—The Arctic Art. 12. Monthly Summary of Political Expeditions.--Jeu d'Esprit.—Tour of 141 the Crown Prince of Bavaria.-Anec- Art. 13. Domestic Occurrences. - 151 dote of Professor Jahn. Antiquities. Art. 14. - Analecta, viz.-Inglis, on the -Anecdote of Fouche.-New Kind of Gas. 229 239 regard to Pompeii and Herculaneum. New Comet.-Polar Ice.--Count Von Kunheim.-Physical Phenomena.--- Coffee.-Russian Embassy to China. - The Greek Church. Extraordi- nary Circumstance.-French Trans- Art. 1. Review of Demetrius, the Hero Art. 2. Review of Coote's History of Art. 3. Review of the Outline of the Revolution in Spanish America. 254 Art. 4. Review of the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phi- Art. 1. Review of M. M. Noah's Dis Art. 5. Review of Scott's Lord of the Art. 2. Review of S. Woodworth's Art. 6. New Invention. 165 Art. 7. Original Communications, viz.- Art. 3. Review of the Fudge Family in Papers read before the Lyceum of 168 Natural History, July 13, 1818.-S. Art. 4. Review of Eaton's Index to the W. G. on the Salivation of Horses.- Geology of the Northern States. · 175 Queries by the late John H. Eddy- 178 nous Productions of Pennsylvania.- Mr. Blunt's Answer to Mr. Hitch- 289 Art. 7. Review of Demetrius, the Hero Art. 8. Literary and Scientific Intelli- Art. 8. Review of the Fourth Canto of Art. 9. Monthly Summary of Political Art. 9. Original Communications, viz. Art. 10. Domestic Occurrences. 307 R. N. K. on Burying Places in Cities. Art. 11. Analecta.-On Flax Steeping, . -Hitchcock's List of Errors in the and its Effects on the Colour and Nantical Almanac.-P.Q's. Answer to Quality - Account of a Meteor.-On J. G.--Singular Effects of Cold on the Kaleidoscope. the Ignition of Gun-Powder.-Staples Art. 12. Cabinet of Varieties. Anec- Anecdote of a Russian Princess, nelon.-Heylin.-Peter the Great.- Dog Mime.-Antique Ring.–Anec Hogarth.-Orme.-Anecdote of Dr. dote of Christian IV. King of Swe Garth.-Spartan Oath.--Anecdote of Art. 1. Review of Rambles in Italy. 321 Art. 1. Review of the Literary Cha- 401 334 Art. 2. Review of Considerations on the Art. 3. Museum of Natural History. Great Western Canal. 413 422 445 Seal of the Long Island and New Art. 5. Original Communications, viz. 354 Account of Captain Partridge's Pe- Art. 4. Original Communications, viz. destrian Tour.-On the Importance Progress of the Human Mind from and Restoration of the Nose. Jour- 448 Art. 5. Literary and Scientific Intelli Art. 6. Literary and Scientific Intelli- Art. 7. Monthly Summary of Political Art. 8. Monthly Summary of Political Art. 9. History of the British and Fo Art. 10. Cabinet of Varieties. All the 382 World a Kaleidoscope.—New Disco- tion of the Plague in Malta.--Natural Man.-Description of Edinburgh. of Fish.-An Old Man's Advice to a tion,Hail.–St. Andrew's Cross.- Young Member of Parliament. 472 Frederick the Great.-Memory and Art. 11. Report of Diseases. 479 . THE AMERICAN MONTHLY MAGAZINE AND CRITICAL REVIEW. No. I...... Vol. III. MAY, 1818. Art. 1. ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS, ance. MESSRS. EDITORS, 1. “ The possession of the goods way TI THERE has lately crept into our lan- altered, by the owner taking them into guage a very uncouth and inaccu- bis own custody.” [Marshall on Insurrate form of speech, which ought, before this time, to have been made the subject 2. “ In conscquence of the king of of some authoritative critical censure. Prussia invading Saxony and Bohemia, Thus far, however, it has escaped, I be- the Aulic council voted his corduct to be lieve, all public animadversion; and it is a breach of the public peace.” (Edinb. a matter of no little surprise, that some Encylop. of the professed literati, both in Great 3. “ The secretary wearing a sword Britain and this country, are contributing and uniform, was a circumstance which to its currency by their own example. added greatly to his natural awkward. Indeed, from an inherent propensity, in ness. [Notices of Mr. Hume. our language, to that particular combina 4. “Niany valuable lives are lost, by tion of words, or mode of expression, in reason of studious men indulging too much which the fault in question always ori- in sedentary habits." (Anon. ginates, it is now becoming a character 5. “I rise in consequence of the hon. ístic blemish in many of the most respect- gentleman having alluded to a remark of able written compositions and public mine." (Congr. Debates. speeches of the day. There is certainly 6. “ The fact of an appointment having no extravagance in saying, that it dis- been made, would not prevent its being graces a great proportion of both. recalled.” [Lord Castlereagh. The inaccuracy to which I refer, con 7. 3. How will this idea consist with the sists in improperly using a noun in the Sabbath having been a ritual appointment nominative or objective case, instead of to Israel ?” (Christ. Observ. the possessive, where the clause itself, in 8. “ Instead of Asia Minor having rewhich the noun is used, or some other ceived them from Greece, a directly connoun, stands, in sense, and ought to stand, trary process took place.” (Quart. Rev. in grammatical construction, as the no 9. “ The gentleman having advanced minative or objective. To illustrate my a doctrine, which I regard as unconstitumeaning, I subjoin a list of examples, tional, is my apology for troubling the selected at random, from a few hours' house," &c. [Congr. Debates. miscellaneous reading, and generally from 10. “ In New England, there is no a class of compositions in which one might test to preventchurchmen holding offices.', reasonably expect to find, at least, "pro- [Edinb. Rev. per words in proper places.” The exam 11. “ Observers—who reject all idea ples are numbered, for the purpose of fa- of their elevation being owing to volcanie ciutatiog particular references to them. cropticas." (Quart. Rev. 12. " The accident of a horse neighing of the hon. gentleman himself, who had once decided the succession to the throne made the allusion. In the ninth, the of a mighty empire.” [Anon. gentleman referred to-not his having adSelections of the same kind, from re- vanced an unconstitutional doctrine-is, cent publications, might be multiplied according to the true construction of the indefinitely; but there can be no need of sentence, the speaker's apology: And in augmenting the number. . Of those which the twelfth, the horse, instead of his have now been presented, it must be per- neighing, is made the accident which defectly obvious to every English scholar, cided the succession. An examination that there is not one in which the gram- of all the other examples would present matical construction corresponds with the similar results. real meaning of the writer or speaker Now, all this blundering and absurdity in other words, not one in which the fact might have been avoided, and the inor idea intended to be communicated, is tended sense of the several passages cited, expressed by the language employed; have been made to correspond with their and, of course, not one in which the rules syntax, by merely using the possessive of composition are not grossly violated. case of the noups, put in italics, in the This may be made very apparent by a several examples : as, by writing owner's, partial analysis of a few of the examples: instead of owner”—Prussia's, instead To take the first-the meaning of the of“ Prussia”-secretary's, instead of “sewriter certainly is, not that the owner cretary,” &c. was the means by which the possession of If any one can doubt the justness of his goods was altered, but that his taking these strictures, he may bring them to a them into his own custody was so. In very simple and decisive test, by substigrammatical construction, however, the tuting pronouns for nouns, in each of the language expresses the former meaning, passages cited. Thus: “The possession and no other. of one's goods is altered, by him taking In the second example, the fact which them into his own custody.” “ The Aulic the bistorian intended to state, is, in sub- council voted the king's conduct to be a stance, that in consequence of the inva- breach of the public peace, in consesion of Saxony anu Bohemin by the king quence of him invading Saxony,” &c. of Prussia, the Aulic council voted, &c. “ He wearing a sword and uniform was But, according to the grammatical pur a circumstance which added to his natural port of the sentence, as it now stands, awkwardness." 66 The lives of many the words, “ invading Saxony and Bo- studious men are lost, by reason of them hemia,” express merely an incidental indulging,” &c. This, it will readily be circumstance, which might have been agreed by every reader, is absolutely inthrown into a parenthesis, or a distinct tolerable: and yet it does not at all surclause; and the whole sentence might, pass, in grossness of inaccuracy, any one without any material alteration of the of the original passages cited. sense, as expressed by the writer, be pa It is really a reproach to the literature raphrased thus: “ In consequence of the of the age, that so much of it should be king of Prussia-who, by the by, had disgraced by this awkward hallucination. invaded Saxony, &c. the Aulic council Barbarous as it is, however, it has not, voted his conduct to be a breach of the thus far, I believe, become strictly vulpublic peace.” If the paraphrase is non gar; that is, it has not, as yet, interwoven sense, it is the nonsense of the original. itself as an idiom, with our common col In the third, the meaning expressed by loquial style. If so, it is not, perhaps, the words, is, that the secretary, (who too inveterate for correction : and surely bappened, indeed, to wear a sword and so rank a barbarism ought, if possible, uniform), was himself the circumstance and as speedily as possible, to be banished which added to his own patural awkward-, from the English tongue. hess. The fact intended to be commu J. G. nicated is, that his wearing a sword, &c. was that circumstance. To avoid unnecessary particularity, I An Historical Essay on the Rise and Prowill advert to only two or three more of gress of Civil Liberty in Asia. the examples:- In the fifth, the declara We e can scarcely conceive a more imtion of the speaker, if construed accord- portant study than the examination of ing to the rules of syntax, is, that he pripciples manifestly operating upon a nurises, not in consequence of the allusion merous, high-minded, and intelligent peomade to a remark of his own, by thc pie, to the production of national gran* hoa. gentleman; but ia consequence deur, power, and prosperity. We are |