Art. 1. Review of Rambles in Italy. 321 Art. 2. Review of Hogg's Brownie of Art. 3. Museum of Natural History.— Rafinesque's Discoveries in the Wes- tern States.—Engrafting Spurs of Cocks upon their Combs.-On the Mongrel Races of Animals.-Mit- chill's Description of the common Seal of the Long Island and New- Art. 4. Original Communications, viz.— Progress of the Human Mind from Rudeness to Refinement.-Journey Art. 7. Monthly Summary of Political Art. 9. History of the British and Fo- Art. 10. Cabinet of Varieties. Descrip- tion of the Plague in Malta.-Natural History of Algiers.-Present State of Barbary-Perpetual Motion.-Ger- man Literature.-The Arctic Expedi- tion-Hail.-St. Andrew's Cross.- Art. 10. Cabinet of Varieties. All the World a Kaleidoscope.-New Disco- very in Optics.-The Incombustible Man.-Description of Edinburgh.- Animal Remains: Mammoth, Croco- dile.-Natural History: Propagation of Fish.-An Old Man's Advice to a TH HERE has lately crept into our language a very uncouth and inaccurate form of speech, which ought, before this time, to have been made the subject of some authoritative critical censure. Thus far, however, it has escaped, I believe, all public animadversion; and it is a matter of no little surprise, that some of the professed literati, both in Great Britain and this country, are contributing to its currency by their own example. Indeed, from an inherent propensity, in our language, to that particular combination of words, or mode of expression, in which the fault in question always originates, it is now becoming a characterístic blemish in many of the most respectable written compositions and public speeches of the day. There is certainly no extravagance in saying, that it disgraces a great proportion of both. The inaccuracy to which I refer, consists in improperly using a noun in the nominative or objective case, instead of the possessive, where the clause itself, in which the noun is used, or some other noun, stands, in sense, and ought to stand, in grammatical construction, as the nominative or objective. To illustrate my meaning, I subjoin a list of examples, selected at random, from a few hours' miscellaneous reading, and generally from a class of compositions in which one might reasonably expect to find, at least," proper words in proper places." The examples are numbered, for the purpose of fa chitating particular references to them. 1. "The possession of the goods was altered, by the owner taking them into his own custody." [Marshall on Insur ance. 2. "In consequence of the king of Prussia invading Saxony and Bohemia, the Aulic council voted his conduct to be a breach of the public peace." [Edinb. Encylop. 3. "The secretary wearing a sword and uniform, was a circumstance which added greatly to his natural awkwardness." [Notices of Mr. Hume. 4. "Many valuable lives are lost, by reason of studious men indulging too much in sedentary habits." [Anon. 5. "I rise in consequence of the hon. gentleman having alluded to a remark of mine." [Congr. Debates. 6. "The fact of an appointment having been made, would not prevent its being recalled." [Lord Castlereagh. 7. "How will this idea consist with the Sabbath having been a ritual appointment to Israel?" [Christ. Observ. 8. "Instead of Asia Minor having received them from Greece, a directly contrary process took place." [Quart. Rev. 9. "The gentleman having advanced a doctrine, which I regard as unconstitutional, is my apology for troubling the house," &c. [Congr. Debates. 10. "In New England, there is no test to prevent churchmen holding offices.", [Edinb. Rev. 11. "Observers-who reject all idea of their elevation being owing to volcanic eruptions." [Quart. Rev. 730628 12. "The accident of a horse neighing once decided the succession to the throne of a mighty empire." [Anon. Selections of the same kind, from recent publications, might be multiplied indefinitely; but there can be no need of augmenting the number. Of those which have now been presented, it must be perfectly obvious to every English scholar, that there is not one in which the grammatical construction corresponds with the real meaning of the writer or speakerin other words, not one in which the fact or idea intended to be communicated, is expressed by the language employed; and, of course, not one in which the rules of composition are not grossly violated. This may be made very apparent by a partial analysis of a few of the examples: To take the first-the meaning of the writer certainly is, not that the owner was the means by which the possession of his goods was altered, but that his taking them into his own custody was so. In grammatical construction, however, the language expresses the former meaning, and no other. In the second example, the fact which the historian intended to state, is, in substance, that in consequence of the invasion of Saxony and Bohemia by the king of Prussia, the Aulic council voted, &c. But, according to the grammatical purport of the sentence, as it now stands, the words, "invading Saxony and Bohemia," express merely an incidental circumstance, which might have been thrown into a parenthesis, or a distinct clause; and the whole sentence might, without any material alteration of the sense, as expressed by the writer, be paraphrased thus: "In consequence of the king of Prussia-who, by the by, had invaded Saxony, &c. the Aulic council voted his conduct to be a breach of the public peace." If the paraphrase is nonsense, it is the nonsense of the original. In the third, the meaning expressed by the words, is, that the secretary, (who happened, indeed, to wear a sword and uniform), was himself the circumstance which added to his own natural awkwardness. The fact intended to be communicated is, that his wearing a sword, &c. was that circumstance. To avoid unnecessary particularity, I will advert to only two or three more of the cxamples:-In the fifth, the declaration of the speaker, if construed according to the rules of syntax, is, that he rises, not in consequence of the allusion made to a remark of his own, by the hon. gentleman; but in consequence of the hon. gentleman himself, who had made the allusion. In the ninth, the gentleman referred to-not his having advanced an unconstitutional doctrine-is, according to the true construction of the sentence, the speaker's apology: And in the twelfth, the horse, instead of his neighing, is made the accident which decided the succession. An examination of all the other examples would present similar results. Now, all this blundering and absurdity might have been avoided, and the intended sense of the several passages cited, have been made to correspond with their syntax, by merely using the possessive case of the nouns, put in italics, in the several examples: as, by writing owner's, instead of "owner"-Prussia's, instead of "Prussia"-secretary's, instead of "secretary," &c. If any one can doubt the justness of these strictures, he may bring them to a very simple and decisive test, by substituting pronouns for nouns, in each of the passages cited. Thus: "The possession of one's goods is altered, by him taking them into his own custody.' "The Aulic council voted the king's conduct to be a breach of the public peace, in consequence of him invading Saxony," &c. "He wearing a sword and uniform was a circumstance which added to his natural awkwardness." "The lives of many studious men are lost, by reason of them indulging," &c. This, it will readily be agreed by every reader, is absolutely intolerable: and yet it does not at all surpass, in grossness of inaccuracy, any one of the original passages cited. It is really a reproach to the literature of the age, that so much of it should be disgraced by this awkward hallucination. Barbarous as it is, however, it has not, thus far, I believe, become strictly vulgar; that is, it has not, as yet, interwoven itself as an idiom, with our common colloquial style. If so, it is not, perhaps, too inveterate for correction: and surely so rank a barbarism ought, if possible, and as speedily as possible, to be banished from the English tongue. J. G. An Historical Essay on the Rise and Pro gress of Civil Liberty in Asia. We can scarcely conceive a more important study than the examination of principles manifestly operating upon a numerous, high-minded, and intelligent people, to the production of national grandeur, power, and prosperity. We are |