Every-Day Errors of Speech Part 30

_Lionel_, _prejudiced_ against the world on account of _onerous_ cares, concluded to make a _sacrifice_ of his wealth and position and become a _recluse_. His little _hovel_ on the _heather_, whitened with lime which he himself _slaked_, and the little flower garden _redolent_ of spring, present a strange contrast with his former mansion and magnificent grounds.

_Eva_ answered the _inquiry_ of the French gentleman, "Parlez-vous francais?" with a "Oui;" but when she came to converse with him, he understood about as much of her _patois_ as he did of _Hindoostanee_.

There is a fabulous report that the _upas_ tree exhales a _subtile_ vapor that is fatal to animal life.

Since _Joshua_ has obtained his lucrative _sinecure_, he spends his time in riding about in his _phaeton_ and reading _romances_. He is _loth_ to acknowledge that he was ever a _plebeian_ and did all kinds of _servile_ work. He is confident that his _genealogy_, if known, would show that he was unto a _manor_ born, and that some _supposit.i.tious_ child robbed him of his rights.

The knight dropped his _wa.s.sail cup_ and sprang to the a.s.sistance of the ladies. "_Gramercy_," _quoth_ they, _simultaneously_.

The _veterinary_ physician said that the disease was _murrain_.

An _infinitesimal_ quant.i.ty of _yeast_ excited the fermentation.

_Augustine_ studied _microscopy_ just long enough to learn that a _monad_ is one of the simplest kind of minute _animalcules_; he then tried chemistry and _mineralogy_, but he could not master the _nomenclature_; he then took a fancy for _telegraphy_, but soon abandoned the idea of becoming a _telegraphist_. At last accounts, he apprenticed himself to a druggist, but was told to _vamos_ soon after making up a lot of _Seidlitz_ powders with oxalic instead of _tartaric_ acid.

_Artemas_ has applied for a _patent_ on an improved _turbine_ wheel.

Mr. B., recollecting the _precedent_ services of his servant, advanced him money enough to lift the _lien_ on his dwelling.

The _lithographer_ had only a poor _melanotype_ to copy from, but he succeeded in making an excellent print.

"Thou shalt destroy them that speak _leasing_," is found in the sixth verse of the fifth _psalm_.

At the examination in _orthoepy_, _Deborah_ had the following words given to her: _contumely_, _crinoline_, _feudal_, _fetid_, _fetor_, _gerund_, _gneiss_, _gyrfalcon_, _harem_, _Hawaiian_, _hygiene_, _lariat_, _leverage_, _nonillion_, _obligatory_, _platina_, _platinum_, _psalmody_, _psychical_, _purulent_, _pyrites_, _recherche_, _resume_, _sacerdotal_, _sacrament_, _schism_, _shekel_, _stearine_ and _troches_.

The objective, me, is _often_ erroneously used instead of the _nominative_, I, in answer to the question--"Who is there?"

In the _dramatis personae_ of "Midsummer Night's Dream," _Oberon_ and _t.i.tania_, king and queen of the fairies, are introduced.

At the examination in geography, _Ada_ was required to draw a map of _Asia_, which would have been well done, if she had not drawn _Persia_, _Afghanistan_ and _Beloochistan_ nearly twice their proper size. She was then asked to give the location and length of the _Altai_ and _Vosges_ mountains, and the height of their princ.i.p.al peaks; a description of the _Aral_, _Adriatic_ and _Caribbean_ seas; the course and length of the _Amoor_ and _Yang tse-kiang_; and the location and population of _Valparaiso_ (_Chili_), _Bantam_, (_Java_), _Norwich_, (Eng.), _Pesth_, _Quebec_, _Valenciennes_, _Neufchatel_, _Nantes_ and _Aix-la-Chapelle_.

Her sister, _Frances_, was told to draw maps of _Buenos Ayres_ and _Otaheite_, and to bound _Venezuela_ and _Arkansas_; to give the length and direction of the _Araguay_, _Juniata_, _Kankakee_, _Barbados_ and _San Joaquin_; the location of Cape _Agulhas_; the situation and population of _Bingen_, _Calais_, _Canton_, _Acapulco_, _Chuquisaca_, _Delhi_, _Dubuque_, _Jeddo_, _Quereturo_, _Truxillo_, _Leicester_ and _Vevay_, and a description of _Sumatra_, _Zanzibar_, _Barbadoes_ and the _Antilles_.

_Sigismund_ has just returned from _Yosemite_ Valley.

_Cecily_, _Chloe_ and _Viola_ have just pa.s.sed their examination in biography. The names presented to them were the following: _N. S.

Adam_ (Fr.), _G. Adam_ (Ger.), _Beatrice Cenci_, _Blucher_, _Boccaccio_, _Anne Boleyn_, _Marco Bozzaris_, _Joseph Buonaparte_, _D'Aubigne_, _Daubigny_, _Drouyn de Lhuys_, _Juarez_, _Lavater_, _Marat_, _Marion_, _Catherine de Medici_, _Moultrie_, _Ovid_, _Pliny_, _Ponce de Leon_ and _Richelieu_.

VIOLATED RULES OF GRAMMAR.

Many, who claim to be good grammarians, are occasionally guilty of the violation of certain important rules. Attention is solicited to a few of the more common errors of this nature.

NUMBER.

Certain compounds change the form of the first word in pluralizing, as: _court-martial_, _brother-in-law_, _sister-in-law_. Plural, _courts-martial_, _brothers-in-law_, etc. "John has three brother-in-laws," then, is incorrect.

But _tea-spoonful_, _table-spoonful_, _cupful_, _pocketful_, etc., are not considered such compounds; therefore, "two tea-spoonsful of medicine" and "two-cupsful of flour," should be, "two tea-spoonfuls of medicine," and "two cupfuls of flour."

When name and t.i.tle are given, with a numeral adjective prefixed, the _name_ is pluralized. "Are the two Misses Wilson at home?" should be, "Are the two Miss Wilsons at home?" But when the numeral is omitted the _t.i.tle_ must be pluralized. "Were the Dr. Browns there?" should be, "Were the Drs. Brown there?" The rule has been given that the _name_ only of married ladies is pluralized, but there appears to be no reason except that of euphony: the _Mrs. Clarks_ certainly sounds more agreeably than the _Mistresses Clark_. In giving the plural of such t.i.tles as: _Hon._, _Rev._, _Squire_ and _Capt._, euphony is also often considered; but in such cases it would doubtless be better to add the numeral, as: the _three Hon. Jacksons_.

EACH OTHER--ONE ANOTHER.

_Each other_ applies to two; _one another_ to more than two. "The three witnesses contradicted each other," and "the two men accused one another," are incorrect.

NEITHER, NOT--NOR.

_Neither_ and _not_ are followed by _nor_, not _or_. "Neither James or Charles will come," and "it is not white or black," are incorrect.