The council were divided in their sentiments."

We ought to consider whether the term will immediately uggest the idea of the number it represents, or whether exhibits to the mind the idea of the whole as one thing. n the former case, the verb ought to be plural; in the later it ought to be singular. Thus, it seems improper to say, The peasantry goes barefoot, and the middle sort makes use of wooden shoes." It would be better to say, "The Deasantry go barefoot, and the middle sort make use," &c. because the idea in both these cases, is that of a number. On the contrary, there is a harshness in the following senences, in which nouns of number have verbs plural; because the ideas they represent seem not to be sufficiently divided in the mind "The court of Rome were not without solicitude." "The house of lords were so much influenced by these reasons." "Stephen's party were entirely broken up by the captivity of their leader." "An army of twentyfour thousand were assembled." "What reason have the church of Rome for proceeding in this manner?" "There is indeed no constitution so tame and careless of their own defence." "All the virtues of mankind are to be counted upon a few fingers, but his follies and vices are innumerable." Is not mankind in this place a noun of multitude, and such as requires the pronoun referring to it to be in the plural number, their ?

RULE V.

Pronouns must always agree with their antecedents, and the nouns for which they stand in gender and number: as, "This is the friend whom I love;""That is the vice which I hate ;" "The king and the queen had put on their robes ;""The moon appears, and she shines, but the light is not her own."

The relative is of the same person as the antecedent, and the verb agrees with it accordingly as "Thou who lovest wisdom;" "I who speak from experience."

ular bounds, and content themselves with their particular districts :" better thus: " keep within their particular bounds," &c on their entrance into the world, be fully shall not be deceived?" "on his entran shall" "One should not think too favoura "of one's self" "He had one acquaintanc his principles;" who poisoned."

Every relative must have an anteceden fers, either expressed or implied: as, " others is so to himself;" that is, "the m others."

Who, which, what, and the relative that jective case, are always placed before the their compounds, whoever, whosoever, & ye seek ;""This is what, or the thing y want;""Whomsocver you please to ap

What is sometimes applied in a manne be exceptionable; as, "All fevers, exc nervous," &c. It would at least be bett those which are called nervous."

1. Personal pronouns being used to s the noun, are not employed in the same as the noun which they represent: for i er to say, "The king he is just ;" "I sa "The men they were there ;" "Many speech;" "My banks they are furnished personals are superfluous, as there is no for a substitute in the same part where is present. The nominative case they, i tence, is also superfluous: "Who, ins doing good, they are perpetually intent up

2. The pronoun that is frequently ap well as things; but after an adjective in gree, and after the pronominal adjective ly used in preference to who or which; king of Sweden, was one of the grea the world ever saw;" "Cataline's follo profligate that could be found in any same man that we saw before." Ther we cannot conveniently dispense with t

i woman, anu tnt Cɔtait, onut became me portions Wolo

much for his moderation." In neither of these exams could any other relative have been used.

3. The pronouns whichsoever, whosoever, and the like, elegantly divided by the interposition of the correspondsubstantives; thus, "On whichsoever side the king cast eyes;" would have sounded better, if written, "On ich side soever," &c.

4. Many persons are apt, in conversation, to put the obctive case of the personal pronouns, in the place of these d those: as, "Give me them books;" instead of "those oks.” We may sometimes find this fault even in wring: as, "Observe them three there." We also frequentmeet with those instead of they, at the beginning of a entence, and where there is no particular reference to an ntecedent; as, "Those that sow in tears, sometimes reap joy." They that, or they who sow in tears.

It is not, however, always easy to say, whether a personal ronoun, or a demonstrative is preferable, in certain con_ructions. "We are not unacquainted with the calumny f them [or those] who openly make use of the warmest rofessions."

5. In some dialects, the word what is improperly used for that, and sometimes we find it in this sense in writing: They will never believe but what I have been entirely to lame." "I am not satisfied but what," &c. instead of "but hat." The word somewhat, in the following sentence, seems to be used improperly. "These punishments seem co have been exercised in somewhat an arbitrary manner." Sometimes we read, "In somewhat of." The meaning is, "in a manner which is in some respects arbitrary."

6. The pronoun relative who is so much appropriated to persons, that there is generally harshness in the application of it, except to the proper names of persons, or the general terms man, woman, &c. A term which only implies the idea of persons, and expresses them by some circumstance or epithet, will hardly authorise the use of it: as, "That faction in England who most powerfully opposed his arbitra ry pretensions." "That faction which," would have been better; and the same remark will serve for the following

"The family whom they consider as In some cases it may be doubtful, wh is properly applied or not: as, "The nur inhabitants with whom some cities abo term directly and necessarily implies per ny cases claim the personal relative. ny whom he most affected, could cure hir under which he laboured." The word have the same construction.

7. We hardly consider little children that term gives us the idea of reason therefore the application of the person this case, seems to be harsh: "A chil more improperly applied to animals; " that fowl whom nature has taught to dip

8. When the name of a person is use and it does not refer to the person, the not to be applied. "It is no wonder i shine at the court of queen Elizabeth, name for prudence and economy." B name was but another word for prude whose begins likewise to be restricted not done so generally, but that good w use it when speaking of things. The however, generally pleasing, as we ma instances: "Pleasure, whose nature, & duction, whose parts and whose nature,

In one case, however, custom autho with respect to persons; and that is tinguish one person of two, or a parti number of others. We should ther two," or "which of thein, is he or she

9. As the pronoun relative has no we sometimes find an ambiguity in th we say, "the disciples of Christ, w may mean the imitation either of Chi The accuracy and clearness of the much upon the proper and determin so that it may readily present its ant the hearer or reader, without any obs

10. It is and it was, are often, a

ngleader: "178 luty that are the real authors, though. e soldiers are the actors of the revolution;" "It was. e heretics that first began to rail," &c.; “'Tis these that rly taint the female mind." This licence in the construcon of it is, (if it be proper to admit it at all,) has, however, een certainly abused in the following sentence, which is ereby made a very awkward one. "It is wonderful the ery few accidents which in several years, happen from. his practice."

11. The interjections. Q! Oh and Ah! require the bjective case of a pronoun in the first person after them: s, "O me! Oh me! Ah me!" But the nominative case n the second person: as, "O thou persecutor!" Oh ye ypocrites!" O thou, who dwellest," &c.

The neuter pronoun, by an idiom peculiar to the English language, is frequently joined in explanatory sentences, with a noun or pronoun of the masculine or feminine gender: as "It was I;" "It was the man or woman that did it." The neuter pronoun it is sometimes omitted and understood; thus we say, 66 Appears as follows;" for "As it ap pears, as it follows;" and "May be," for "It may be.” The neuter pronoun it is sometimes employed to express; 1st. The subject of any discourse or inquiry: as, "It happened on a summer's day ;""Who is it that calls on me?" 2d. The state or condition of any person or thing: as, "How is it with you?"

3. The thing, whatever it be, that is the cause of any effect or event, or any person considered merely as a cause: as, "We heard her say it was not he;" "The truth is, it was I that helped her.'

وو

RULE VI.

The relative is the nominative case to the verb, when no nominative comes between it and the verb: as, "The master who taught us;" "The trees which are planted."

When a nominative comes between the relative and the verb, the relative is governed by some word in its own member of the sentence: as, "He