FEMININE.

The gender then of Jane is what?
Feminine. I'll remember that.
Or Jessie? she's the same;

And Mrs. White, or Fanny Frew,
Why both are feminine gender too,
Or any female's name.

MASCULINE GENDER.

A king, a prince, a father, brother?
All masculine-for one and other
Are males and so is Harry.

All boys, lords, dukes, and archdukes too,
And captains, officers-all who

Are sailors too like Parry.

NEUTER GENDER.

Then things that have no life at all
Like George's boat, and Harry's ball,
Well these are called the neuter.
All vegetables too, I'm told,

And metals, minerals, silver, gold,
With iron, tin, and pewter-

Are neuter-or we call them so,
Merely, dear child, to let you know
They're neither one nor other.

Then coat or frock, hat, what are you?
The masculine or feminine?-pooh!
I'm neither, call me neuter.

What then's the gender of papa ?

He's masculine. And what's mamma?
So are you.

She's feminine.

And sister Agnes, cousin Jane,

And Jessie, Emily-all the same,
Lucy and Mary too.

Now we shall read no more to-day,
This list below-I'll hear you say
The whole of it to-morrow.

When I say duchess-say you-duke.
(Take care you do not lose this book
Lest you require to borrow).

REGULAR GENDER.

The feminine 's formed by adding ess,
Thus lion becomes lioness,

Tiger's made tigress too.
The poet and the poetess,
The mayor and the mayoress,

The Jewess from the Jew.

COMMON GENDER.

Some nouns have common gender too,
We call them one, and yet they're two,
Like you two children there.

All boys and girls, I don't care which,
I say when both the sexes mix,
Where are you children? where?

I think you know these genders well,
The numbers too, I've heard you tell,
Of all the kinds of nouns.

Next you must parse me or point out
The nouns I ask you round about,
These lakes, and seas, and towns.

In this short sentence where's the noun ?
"I'd like to visit London town?"
Why town and London too.

Their number's singular (each one),
Their gender's neuter-sex they've none ;
The kind of noun ? say you!

Town is a name for every town,
Then it is called a common noun;
London! what can it be?

Why London is a proper name,
A city too of world-spread fame,
Which I should like to see.

FOR EXAMPLE.

Parse the following nouns, telling

Number and Gender.

Noun.

Sort or kind.

Parse in the same manner, and form the plural of

the following nouns :

Sailor-lady-island-son-daughter-bride-madam-sir-insect-papa-brother-troop-dancingsheep-dust-pride-wisdom-needle-blackness

Some of them may have no plural.