transition. It is very often preceded by another point. "And Huitzilopochtli-a sweet name to roll under one's tongue-for how many years has this venerable war-god blinked in the noonday sun! "Crowds gathered about the newspaper bulletins, recalling the feverish scenes that occurred when the President's life was thought to be hanging by a thread. 'Wouldn't it be too bad,' said one, ‘if, after all- ro, I won't allow myself to think of it."" "Was there ever- but I scorn to boast." "You are no, I'll not tell you what you are."

"

He suffered-but his pangs are o'er ;

Enjoyed-but his delights are fled;

Had friends-his friends are now no more;

And foes-his foes are dead."-Montgomery. "Greece, Carthage, Rome-where are they?" "He chastens; but he chastens to save."

Dashes are much used where parentheses were formerly employed. "In the days of Tweed the expression to divide fair—forcible, if not grammatical-acquired much currency." "In truth, the character of the great chief was depicted two thousand five hundred years before his birth, and depicted -such is the power of genius-in colors which [that] will be fresh as many years after his death." "To render the Constitution perpetual-which God grant it may be !—it is necessary that its benefits should be practically felt by all parts of the country."

PARENTHESIS.—This mark is comparatively little used nowadays. The dash is preferred, probably because it disfigures the page less. The office of the parenthesis is to isolate a phrase that is merely incidental, and that might be omitted without detriment to the grammatical construction.

"Know then this truth (enough for man to know),
Virtue alone is happiness below."-Pope.

"The bliss of man (could pride that blessing find)

Is not to act or think beyond mankind."

BRACKETS are used principally to inclose words improperly omitted by the writer, or words introduced for the purpose of explanation or to correct an error. Brackets are often used in this book to correct errors.

THE APOSTROPHE.-This point is used to denote the omission of letters and sometimes of figures; as, Jan'y, '81; I've for I have; you'll for you will; 'tis for it is; don't for do not; can't for can not; it was in the year '93; the spirit of '76; it was in the years 1812, '13, and '14.

Also to denote the possessive case; as, Brown's house; the king's command; Moses's staff; for conscience' sake; the boys' garden.

Also with s to denote the plural of letters, figures, and signs; as, Cross your t's, dot you i's, and mind your p's and q's; make your 5's better, and take out the x's.

CAPITALS.-A capital letter should begin every sentence, every line of verse, and every direct quotation.

All names of the Deity, of Jesus Christ, of the Trinity, and of the Virgin Mary must begin with a capital. Pronouns are usually capitalized when they refer to the Deity.

Proper names, and nouns and adjectives formed from proper names, names of streets, of the months, of the days of the week, and of the holidays, are capitalized.

Titles of nobility and of high office, when used to designate particular persons, are capitalized; as, The Earl of Dunraven; the Mayor of Boston; the Baron replied; the Cardinal presided.

THE PARAGRAPH.—In writing for the press, the division of matter into paragraphs is often quite arbitrary; in letterwriting, on the contrary, the several topics treated of should, as a rule, be isolated by paragraphic divisions. These di

visions give one's letters a shapely appearance that they

otherwise never have.

Purchase. This word is much preferred to its synonym buy, by that class of persons that prefer the word reside to live, procure to get, inaugurate to begin, and so on. They are usually of those that are great in pretense, and that would be greater still if they were to pretend to all they have to pretend to.

Purpose. See PROPOSE; also INTEND.

Put up. We sometimes find slang where we least expect to find it.

"The watch will be handed to Mr. Dutcher on his return to Brooklyn. A few of his Republican friends, it is understood, put up the money that was paid for its return."-N. Y. Sun.

Quantity. This word is often improperly used for number. Quantity should be used in speaking of what is measured or weighed; number, of what is counted. Examples: "What quantity of apples have you, and what number of pineapples? " "Delaware produces a large quantity of peaches and a great number of melons."

Quit. This word means, properly, to leave, to go away from, to forsake; as, “Avaunt! quit my sight!" This is the only sense in which the English use it. In America, it is commonly used in the sense of to leave off, to stop; as, Quit your nonsense"; "Quit laughing"; "Quit your noise"; "He has quit smoking," and so on.

Quite. This word originally meant completely, perfectly, totally, entirely, fully; and this is the sense it was used in by the early writers of English. It is now often used in the sense of rather; as, "It is quite warm"; "She ́ is quite tall"; "He is quite proficient." Sometimes it is incorrectly used in the sense of considerable; as, quite an

amount, quite a number, quite a fortune. Quite, according to good modern usage, may qualify an adjective, but not a noun. "She is quite the lady " is a vile phrase, meaning, "She is very or quite ladylike."

Quite often holds in signification a place intermediate between altogether and somewhat. The French assez and

the Italian assai have a similar acceptation."-Hall.

Railroad Depot. Few things are more offensive to fastidious ears than to hear a railway station called a depot. A depot is properly a place where goods or stores of any kind are kept; and the places at which the trains of a railroad-or, better, railway-stop for passengers, or the points they start from and arrive at, are properly the stations.

Railway. The English prefer this word to railroad, and it is growing in favor in this country.

Raise. This word is much misused in the sense of rear. Properly, we rear children and raise animals.

Raise the rent. An expression incorrectly used for increase the rent.

Rare. "Our request for information," says the Academy, as to the use of the word rare in the sense of underdone has brought us so many letters that we can acknowledge them only en masse. That a so-called 'Americanism' should turn out to be genuine English vernacular is no new thing; but we confess to surprise that this particular word should be common almost throughout the length and breadth of the country, and in Ireland as well. From Scotland we have heard nothing."

Rarely. It is no uncommon thing to see this adverb improperly used in such sentences as, "It is very rarely that the puppets of the romancer assume,” etc.—Appletons' Journal. "But," says the defender of this phraseology, 'rarely qualifies a verb-the verb to be." Not at all. The

sentence, if written out in full, would be, "It is a very rare thing that," etc.; or, "The circumstance is a very rare one that," etc.; or, "It is a very rare occurrence that," etc. To those that contend for "It is very rarely that," etc., I would say, It is very sadly that persons of culture will write and then defend-or rather try to defend-such grammar.

"So rarely [rare] is it that any exploration of the upper atmosphere can be made that one of the thermal observations recorded by," etc.-N. Y. Herald.

"It is rarely [rare] that one hears of so homogeneous a family."-N. Y. Tribune.

"It is very rarely [rare] that a mother comes here to look for her child,' remarked one of the attendants at the Foundling Asylum."-N. Y. Herald.

Rarely is sometimes misused for exceedingly; thus, "The evening was rarely enjoyable."

Ratiocinate. See EFFECTuate.

See page 324.

Real. This adjective is often vulgarly used in the sense of the adverb very; thus, real nice, real pretty, real angry, real cute, and so on.

Recommend. This word, which means, to commend or praise to another, to declare worthy of esteem, trust, or favor, is sometimes put to strange uses. Example: "Resolved, That the taxpayers of the county be recommended to meet," etc. What the resolving gentleman meant was, that the taxpayers should be counseled to meet.

Redundancy. See PLEONASM.

Reflexive Pronouns. The reflexive pronouns myself, yourself, etc., should not be used for I, you, etc. They have a meaning peculiar to themselves, and are not true nominatives. Formerly the personal pronouns were used reflexively, "I never did repent me doing good." The addition of self only rendered them more emphatic. Self