The Queen's English: Stray Notes on Speaking and Spelling 0076265446

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THE

QUEEN'S ENGLISH: m f pcalung

Bim) ptcs

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BY

HENRY ALFORD,

D.D.,

DEAN OF CANTERBURY.

LONDON CAMBRIDGE

:

STRAHAN & Co. DEIGHTON, BELL, :

1864.

ib

CO.

LONDON

:

miADIIt RV ANLl EVANS, PRINTERS, WIIITBFRIAR.S.

r INDEX.

INDEX.

^'a

"Pharaoh" Mis-sjiellinp; in

"Ize"

or

"Show"

newspapers "ise" . and "shew"

Pronunciation

"A"

" an

or

"

Only one hen

....

before a vowel

"Such an one" "

,

— misuse of the aspirate in

Venice

.

"

"Idear" Calling

"u" "oo"

.

"neritor," "curator"

"Manifold"

"Prophecy"

.... ....

"Alm8,"&c "Cowper" "Cucumber"

.

.

.

.

.

Mispronunciation of Scripture names Examples of alwve

...

"Drbane" "Junias" "Covetous"

....

" The Revelation " Criticism in the "Nonconformist" Usage and construction .

Idiom

.

.

......

Lliumatic mode of address

.

Elliptical UKages Cii]iri

\

" ever so

fa-

"

in

:

solemn and

find " never so."

ele-

We

"If you ask say to a troublesome petitioner, it me ever so much, I won't give you :" but

we

" read,

Which

of the chai^mer,

refuseth to hear the voice

charm he

7iever so wisely."

AVhat is give any account of this ? the Bebetween difference the expressions?

Can we

cause one would think there must be some difference,

when two such words

are

con-

cerned, which are the very opposites of one

Sentences

anotlier.

similarly

constructed

with these two words are as different in " Had he ever loved at meaning as possible. all,"

and

so,

we

"Had

he never loved at

all,"

are

meaning to one another. And and actually literally, are the two which

opposite

are

in

now

considering

:

but in the general

sense they both convey the meaning which intended.

This

may

be made plain as

is

fol-

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. "

lows

:

Be

it ever

so large," means,

77

"

though

" attain every imaginable degree of size " " be it never so large," means, though there

it

:

be no imaginable degree of size "vvhich it does not attain." The former is inclusively affirmative

;

the latter

is

exclusively negative

:

and these two amount to the same.

some curious phenomena coming under the same head as this last. I may say, "What was my astonishment," and I 106. There are

may and

" say,

Wliat was not

'-

my

" what was, "-wliat was not."

astonishment,"

convey the same meaning. By the former I mean, " how great was my astonishment ;" by the latter, that no astonishment I

may

could be greater than mine was. 107.

Another correspondent mentions a ""no"" and the

curious fact about negatives and affirmatives, If

we were

to ask the question,

only the children with you ? of tlie

Tweed

"Had you

"

a person south " would answer ?zo," and a per-

son north of the Tweed " yes" both meaning the same thing viz., that only the children

—

were there.

I

think I should myself, though

a Southron, answer yes. But there is no doubt that such questions are answered in the

two ways when the same meaning to be conveyed.

The account

" this seems to be, that " only

is

intended

to be given of " none but." is

yes same.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

5l8

"

and the answer ,

"

Had you none but is

the children with you ? "JVone," affirming the ques-

So that the negative form naturally occurs to the mind in framing its answer, and " none " becomes *' no.'' Whereas in the other tion.

case this form does not occur to the mind, but

simply to affirm the matter inquired of, viz., and the answer

the having only the children " Even so" or " Yes." is

some

108. In

"oldest inmate."

expressed,

meaning.

"one of

establishment has been founded

A

years.

fifty

stand that he those

me

Am

that he

is

I to under-

to

it

at or near its first foun-

which case he

in

fifty

tells

one of the few survivors of

is

who came

dation,

above

person

oldest inmates."

its

unobjectionably

impossible to be sure of the

it is

An

sentences

:

;

or

at the present

am

I to

may be any age understand that he is

moment one

of the oldest in

age of the inmates there, which would bring

between eighty and ninety ? " other words, does the tenn " oldest

his age

In

qualify

up

him

to

absolutely, or only as an inmate

of that establishment "lesser."

109. rison

1

The mciation of degrees leads

me

to another

of compa-

point,

which

I

have been requested to notice by more than one correspondent. It is the use of lesser in

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. certain combinations, instead of

Are we

less.

to stigmatise this as an impropriety, or to

regard

it

as an idiomatic irregularity

we must be content to

me

to tolerate

must be our

that the latter

The usage

is

coiu'se.

sanctioned by our best writers,

and that not here and "

which seems

It

?

God made two

but uniformly.

there,

great lights

:

and the

light to rule the day,

the

gi-eater

lesser light

to

rule the night."

110, to be

The account

somewhat

to be given of

former irregularity

:

seems

it

which we gave of a

like that

that

it

has arisen origi-

nally by the force of attraction to another word, greater, which in such sentences pre-

cedes

it.

For example, when we have spoken

of " the greater

light,''

halting and imperfect er is

" the

" less light

sounds

and the termination

;

Some-

added to balance the sentence.

times the usage occurs where the other word " the lesser as when we say is not expressed :

of two evils

" :

but

still

the comparison

is

in

It may the mind, though not on the tongue. too, that it is not only the sound of the

be

one word

"

companion every other

greater,''

of

which

" lesser,"

comparative

which has produced the

is

usually the

but that of almost in

effect

the ;

for

language,

they are

.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

so

almost

T;vithout

exception dissyllables.

It

is

a confirmation of the account which we have

been giving of this usage, that no one thinks

" less " of attaching the additional syllabic to when it is combined with " more ;" more and less

"replace."

being already well balanced,

m.

Complaint

made

is

practice of using the

word

of the growing "

replace^' to sig-

real nify just the opposite of its

meaning.

" Lord Derby went out of office, and tvas reiMced by Lord Palmerston." This, as now used, conveys the meaning, '^was succeeded hy But put the sentence Lord Palmerston."

before our grandfathers, and they would have

understood out of

it

office,

to

mean

that Lord Derby went

and Lord Palmerston

^)?t«

him in

again he was replaced by Lord Palmerston. 112. I need not say that the usage is 1 )or;

" rowed from that of the French remplacer." But there is this difference, that the French

verb does not

mean

nor has

its

it

in

to replace, in our sense,

derivation anything to do " " to is remplir la place,''

with " replace" but fill

the placed'

and thus has

meaning that which

it

is

for its proper

now attempted

to

Lord Derby give the English word replace. went out of office, and was "remplace," i.e., Iiis place was filled,

by Lord Palmerston

;

but he

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. was not

replaced,

81

put hack again, by his

i.e.,

rival.

The

113. it

"enclosure'" of a letter,

which

Is it that

?

the envelope

or

1

encloses

it

is

what

the letter,

is "enclosure.

viz.,

something enclosed in

the letter, as a dried flower, or a lock of hair

?

is it something enclosed with the letter, as another letter of the same size, or a map or

or

plan of a larger

size

1

114. Strictly speaking, I suppose the is

an abstract one, signifying

means

closing, as exposure

noun

the act of en-

the act of exposing.

In this sense we might say " the enclosure of letters in envelopes, before the

was established,

penny postage

incurred the

payment

of

double postage." Then, when we pass from the abstract to the concrete use of the word, i.e.,

use

it

to signify not the act of enclosing,

but something which

or result of that

object, arises,

ought

closing,

it

or the

thing enclosed

the act of girding. girds,

the question

act,

to signify the the thing en-

examples both ways.

which

the instrument, or

is

A

There are

1

Cincture cincture

is is

not the thing which

But on the other hand, a

properly

the thing is

girded.

fissure is the rift

produced by cleaving, not the thing which There seems no reason why enclocleaves it.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

82 sure

may

which

not be used in both senses, that

encloses,

and that which

is

enclosed.

We may

" the flock say of sheep in a fold,

was

within

all

the

enclosure,"

meaning,

within the hurdles surrounding the square ; or we may say that " the flock occupied the

whole of the enclosm-e," meaning the whole of In the case in question,

the square enclosed.

usage seems to have fixed the meaning in the latter of these two senses, viz., the thing enclosed.

An

envelope

is

not said to be the

enclosure of the letter, but the letter

is

to be the enclosure of the envelope.

said If I

write to the Committee of Council on Education,

I receive printed directions as to

correspondence, the

first

of which

letter containing enclosures should

them

our

"

Every enumerate

is,

specially."

115. Cleai'ly however, in strict

pi-opriety,

the word ouglit to api)ly to matter enclosed But when in, and not merely ivith, the letter. this

is

departed from, when we write on a

sheet of note-paper, and speak of a drawing three times its size as the enclosed, or the enclosure of this letter,

using the word

we may say that we are

letter in

meaning the envelope as opened from the post.

its it

wider sense, as is received un-

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

A

116.

83

curious exteusion of this license

sometimes found.

I

is

remember some years

ago receiving a letter from my tailor to the " Rev. Sir, the enclosed to following effect :

—

your kind order, which hope will give

satis-

faction, and am, respectfully and obliged." Now " the enclosed " in this case was a suit of

clothes, sent

by

days after the

coach,

and arriving some two

letter.

117. It will be well to attempt some expla- "who" and " nation of the usages of " ivho and " which^' especially in our older writers.

It

may

per-

haps serve to clear

a matter which

confusion and caprice.

The common modern

up may have perplexed some, and to show that there is reason and meaning, where all has appeared distinction relative

between these two fonns of the

pronoun " tvhich"

persons,

is,

" that " ivho

of things.

is

used of

And

this,

if

borne in mind, will guide us safely throughIt may be well to notice that what I out.

am

about to say does not apply to colloquial

English at all

:

;

indeed, hardly to

for this reason, that

commonly use

modern English now we do not

either the one or the other of

make the more convenient one, " that," do duty for both. We do not say, " the man who met me," nor " the

these pronouns, but

G 2

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

84

cattle

which

I

saw grazing," but " the

man

" We the cattle that I saw," that met me," must take care, however, to remember that

which was not always accounted the neuter of Di'. Latham who, nor is it so in grammar. "

says

:

and

to

To

follow the ordinary grammarians,

call ivhich

blunder.

It

is

pound word." and

the neuter of

no neuter at It is

all,

made up

of

a

is

trho,

but a com-

wAo and

like

:

he shows by tracing it through the various Gothic and German forms, till we come this

to the Scottish ivhilk

and the English

118. Both Wio and Ww'c7i writers used of persons.

ai'e

When

ivhich.

in our older this is so,

is

there any distinction in meaning, and if so, what is it ? I think we shall find that the

composition of the word like, will in

answer

;

ivhich,

out of

tvJio

and

some measure guide us to the

and

I think,

without presuming to

say that every case may be thus explained, that the general account of the two ways " wlio " whereas is this :

" ivhich " classifies.

merely identifies, Let us quote in

illustra-

one of the most important and weUknown instances. If, in the solemn address, " who " " Oxrc Father which art in heaven," tion

had been used

instead, then

we

shoiild

have

been taught to express only the fact that HE,

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

85

whom we

address as our Father, dwelleth in

heaven.

But

I

as the sentence

understand

we

it,

fact that the relation of

is

;

stands, as

Father in which

He

not an earthly but a heavenly that whereas there is a fatherhood which

stands to us

one

now

are taught to express the

on

eai-th,

heaven lators

.

is

His

And

is

a Fatherhood which

in

herein I believe that our trans-

have best followed the mind of

who gave us

is

the prayer.

The bare

Him

construc-

tion of the clause in the original does not

determine for us whether the relative pronoun applies to the person only of

Him whom we

But from address, or to His title of Father. of the term our Lord's own use so frequently "

your heavenly Father,"

I

think they were

right in fixing the reference to the relationship,

rather than to the person only, 119. There is a use of the word "iw^/'H^'jl principally

to

be found in our

provincial

" leaking upnewspapers, but now and then wards" into our more permanent literature.

when that conjunction is made the connecting link between two adjectives which do

It is

We may not require any such disjoining. a man is old, hut vigorous, because that say is something unexbut we have no right to say old hut

vigour united with age pected

;

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

86

respectable, is

because respectability with old age Even while I

not something unexpected.

VTite,

my train

stops at a station on the Great

Western Railway, where passengers are invited to take a trip to Glasgow, "to witness the loild

grand scenery of Scotland." Now, because scenery is wild, there is no reason why it should hut

not be also grand ; nay, wildness in scenery is most usually an accompaniment of grandeur. Wild hut not grand would be far more reasonbecause wildness raises an expectation of " hut'''' contradicts. grandeur, which the 120. A correspondent writes " Many, especially I think ladies, say, He is not as tall as able,

"

" iis

" so."

and

:

'

his brother.'

Am

after a negative

'

I '

so

not right in saying that

should be used

— He '

is

"

'

Such certainly to be the of our usage appears language, how-

not

so tall as his

ever difficult " one We

it

brother

may

be to account for

of speaking

it.

as

way good as but when we this ; deny propowc arc obliged to say, " one way of

say,

the other sition,

?

is

"

speaking is not so good as the other." So cannot be used in the affirmative proposition,

nor as in the negative.

Change the fomi of

the sentence into one less usual and " the one allowable,

way

of speaking

is

still

equally

good with the other," and the same adverb

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. both affirmative and negative

will serve for

"the one one

is

121.

is

equally good with the other ;

" "

:

the

not equally good with the other." A question has been asked about the "had ^^

expressions or "as

as soon"

"had"

in these

What

We

it

really

If

?

it

cannot use "

other tense language.

Is all

:

it is

And

tlie

is

paii;

to

the verb

of

how do we

is,

ra-

ther.'

I had rather" " I had

lief."

sentences 1 " have " at it 1

87

explain

have 7'ather " in any

no recognised phrase in our it has been sug-

therefore

gested, that the expi'ession"7/iarf rather

"has

originated with erroneous filling up of the abbreviated Td rather, which is short not for

/ had

rather,

but I would

"

rather.

I umdd

rather be" is good English, because " I woidd " / " had rather he " is is good English ; but he

not good English, because "

/ had

he

good English. to the 122. One word with regard °

"

is

not

CoUoqui^ii colloquial ^ contnac-

just now mentioned. We occasionally hear some made use of, which For instance, " I ainH cannot be defended. certain," "/ ainH going." This latter, in the contractions which

I

past tenses, degenerates

mere vulgarism,

still

"/ warnt

further into the going."

This

heard only as a vulgarism ; but the other two are not unfrequently used by latter

is

*''*""•

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

88

The main objection

educated persons.

them

that they are proscribed

is

but exception may their

own

retain

which " ain't

to

by usage

;

be taken to them on

also

A conti'action must

account.

siu-ely

some trace of the resolved form from it ?

abbreviated.

is

"

is

"

What

very plain

What, then,

cannot be a contraction of

It

^'am not" is

t

it

;

arnt" is contracted from once was " are not,''' which, be constructed with the

of course, cannot

The only legitimate person singular. " " / am not,'* is colloquial contraction of " " " " not going ; not quite sure.'' not : first

Pm

Pm

Pm

The same way

of contracting

case of "are not."

is

used in the

It is usually contracted

by attaching the verb to the personal pronoun, not by combining it with the negative We say " YoiCre not in time," not particle. ^'you arn't: am't,'' or Feminine

123.

A

"

"

" tliey're

ain't."

fow remarks

substantives,

use

in

not coming,'' not " they

English

of

may bo made on

feminine

the

substantives.

Certain names of occupations and offices seem to require them, and others to forbid them.

We

^^

emperor" and

'*

empress;" but we do not in the same sense say "governor" and ^dij

"governess."

In this latter case the feminine

form has acquired a meaning of

its

own, and

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. refuses to part with

the

first

I

it.

89

remember, during

weeks of our present Queen's

reign,

" Alexandrina, hearing a clergyman pray for our most gracious Queen and governess." Very

many, indeed most names of occupations and it offices, are common to both sexes, and savours of pedantry to

ence.

stance,

yet I

The

description

may

include both

make

a

"p^7^r^m,"

diff'er-

for

in-

men and women

;

saw the other day advertised, "The

Wanderings of a is

attempt by adding

feminine termination, to

the

jnlgriiness," &c.

to apply to the porter,

we

But

our knock.

ments we

many

gate" answer to public establish-

see the ^'port7'ess"

whom we

the person to

are told

are not surprised

to see "her that keeps the in

'^Porter"

When we

another of these words.

are

announced as to

"

apply.* I " and " tea-

expect we

shall soon see

dealeress,"

and licenced " vendress of stamps."

A

groceress

rule regarding the classification of

both

sometimes forgotten. When under one head, the masof are both spoken

sexes together

is

culine appellation

is

" The word " portress

used.

Thus, though

We is legitimate enough. " But it the portress of hell gate. does not follow, because it is used in poetry, that we may use it in our common discourse. *

have in Milton

'

'

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

90

some of the European

when spoken

of

rulers

It has

Bacon * does

this

be females,

they may be the denomination

altogether,

coiTectly classified under ''kinffs."

may

been pointed out that Lord even in the case of two,

"Ferdinand and

Isabella, kings of Spain.'' This would hardly be said now ; and in ordinaiy language, we should perhaps rather

choose to

But

call

the European rulers sovereigns.

no reason why the rule should be forgotten, nor why sentences, when it is observed, should be charged with incoiTCctthis is

or

ness,

altered

to suit

modern

ears.

A

con-espondent writes that his clergyman, in the following sentence in the prayer for the

Queen, in the Communion

" service,

We

ai*e

taught that the hearts of kings are in Thy rule and governance," alters the word kings into sovereigns.

124.

From

pronunciation we will come to

punctuation, or stopping.

I

remember when

* corresiwndent has charged me with falling into the blunder of calling this distinguished philosopher Lord Bacon, which he never was. Surely one who is

A

contending for usage against pedantry stands acquitted How far the title, " Lord Bacon," has prevailed, here.

may

be seen in the lettering of the backs of the volumes

of the only good edition of his works, that by Heath, Ellis,

and Spedding.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

91

was young in printing, once correcting the punctuation of a proof-sheet, and complaining

I

of the hberties which

manuscript.

had been taken with my

The pubhsher

quietly answered

me, that piinctuation tvas always compositors.

of it.

And

the

to

left

a precious mess they

make

The great enemies to understanding any-

thing printed in our language are the commas. And these are inserted by the compositors,

without the slightest compunction, on every possible occasion.

Many words

always hitched off with two

are

rule

by

commas

one

;

; nursed, as the Omni" Too " is one of call it.

before and one behind

bus Company would these words ; " however^'' another another

;

" also"

;

the sense in almost every such case

if not destroyed by the proremember beginning a sentence with "However true this may be.'' When it

being disturbed, cess.

—

came

I

in

proof,

the

inevitable

after the however, thus of com-se

sense of

some

my

comma was making non-

unfortunate sentence.

satisfaction in

have

I

reflecting, that, in

the

course of editing the Greek text, I believe I

have

destroyed

more

than

commas, which prevented

a

the

thousand

text

being

properly understood. 125.

One very provoking

case

is

that where

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. two adjectives come together, belonging to the same nomi-substantive. ing a after

Thus, in print-

comma

young man, a

nice

is

placed

you "will obsei*ve, a very sense from that intended bringing

nice, giving,

different

:

before us the fact that a

man

is

both nice

and young, whereas the original sentence introduced to us a young man that was nice.

Thus too

in the

expression

"a

great

black dog,'^ printed without

commas, eveiybody knows what we mean ; but this would be printed " a gi-eat, black dog." Take again the case where adjectives

wide

being "

ivorld,''

meaning

the

deep

intensified

is

— repeated

as in

deep

by

" the wide

sea."

Such

expressions you almost invariably find printed " tJie '^ " the wide, wide world deep, deep sea,** if

thereby making them, at

all,

judged by any rule

absolute nonsense.

12G. Still, though too may commas are bad, too few are not without inconvenience also. " I saw the other day a notice of the Society for Promoting the Observance of the Lord's-

day which was founded

in 1831," giving the

notion

not

that

founded in

the tliat

1631, instead of tation

day, year. 18,

the

Had

society,

was

the date been

an awkwai'd interpre-

might have been possible.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. take the following, verbatim aud

127. I

from a religious newspaper of In a "Education. present year:

punctuatim, this

—

conducted

School

Ladies'

struction

on

Evangelical

about nine in number, good

principles is

am upon

I

word

stops, a

notes of

concerning

necessary

in-

given, &c."

128. While

A

93

is

admiration.

note of admiration consists, as we know,

of a point with an upright line

over

off

jumping These

suspended

strongly suggestive of a gentleman

it,

shrieJcs,

scattered

the

ground with amazement.

as they have been called, are

up and down the page by the com-

positors without mercy.

If one has written

the words "

they ought to be

written,

as

sh^j"

and are written

in Genesis

xliii.

20,

"

" and no stop, viz., with the plain capital " and then a comma after Sir," our friend the is

compositor shriek

(!)

"iSir"

write

sure to

"

and to put another

Oh " with a shi'iek

after

Use, in writing, as few as possible of

these nuisances.

They always make the

sense

weaker, where you can possibly do without

The only

them.

case I

are really necessary,

pm*e night

is

exclamation, as " " that I

!

or,

know

of where they

where the language in

"

How

beautiful

" might find him !

is is

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

H centre."

129. The veiy simple and intelligible word " centre'' comes in for a good deal of mal-

treatment in our days.

point

:

Centre

'^

Greek word

from the

is

meaning merely a

Kentro7iy'

the point of a needle, or of a sting,

and hence used in anything else to that denote geometry point round which of

or

a

:

or any other

circle

And

drawn. original

line, or,

"

is

its

use always to be should always designate a point,

middle space. from.

symmetrical curve accordance with this

meaning ought

a centre never a

in

A

gangway I

:

except as pi-esently defined, a

But we

centre of the room," departure.

its

see this often departed will is

be

left

down the

a clear case of such

do not of course mean to advo-

cate absolute strictness in this or in any other

one thing, punctilious-

usage.

Accuracy

is

ness

another.

The one should be always

is

the other always avoided. While not to say tliat I rvalked up and doion the centre of the lawn, I should

obsei-ved,

I should take care

not object to say that there

is a large bed of geraniums in the centre, although strictly speaking the centre of the lawn is in the bed,

not the bed in the centre. 130.

And

word, and of

in all

the

figm-ative

use

words, intelligent

of

this

common

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. than punctiliousness, ought to

sense, rather

our guide.

be

95

and

Centre,

its

adjective

used in speaking of objects of thought, as well as of sight. Let it be

central, are often

borne in mind, when this

is

done, that these

words apply only to a principal object round which others group themselves, and not to one which happens to be pre-eminent amongst

To say that some conspicuous person

others.

in

an assembly was correct

perfectly

subject

of

the centre of attraction, is

but

;

more

to occupy

happened

say that some

to

conversation,

merely because it of the time than

other subjects, was the central evening, 131.

incorrect

is

Ought we

toijic

of the

and unmeaning.

to

write hy

and

&?/,

or 6y " by by."

and

hye

1

hy the hy, or hy the hye

a tendency to add a vowel in pronunciation

emphasis used as an adverb.

is

the preposition "

to,"

ball, at cricket, is

not

so

in

Thus

" too "

emphasized

;

a

is

only "

" hye

only a ball that runs

hy-jylay,

is

by way of giving when a preposition

In this latter case the added "

but

There

?

e

" is

hy.

universal

:

which are

hy-end,

sometimes spelt with it and sometimes without And we never add it when " hy " is used it. as

an adverb in construction

in passing

by.

This being

in a sentence, as so,

it

is

better,

,uid

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

96

perhaps, to 'confine this

way

the only case where

seems needed, the

h^e the

"endeavour

it

and to WTite

ball,

"%

of spelling to

aiid

fty,"

"by

byr

132.

our

A

mistake

clergy

in

is veiy generally made by reading the collect for the

second Sunday after Easter. We there pray, with reference to Our Lord's death for us,

and His holy example, " that we may thankreceive -that his inestimable benefit, and fully also daily

endeavour ourselves to follow the

blessed steps of his most This is holy life." often read with an on the word emphasis '^ourselves," as

and

if it

were in the nominative

to be distinguished

from some other But no other persons have been person. mentioned, and the sense is thus confused case,

for the hearer. is

The

fact

is,

" that " ourselves

not in the nominative case at

the

accusative

after

all,

but in

the verb ''endeavour,"

which at the time of the compiling of our Prayer-book was used as a reflective verb.

To endeavour

myself, is to consider myself That this is so, appears duty bound. clearly from the answer given in the Ordinain

where the Bishop asks, " Will be you diligent in prayers and in reading of the Holy Scriptm-es, and in such studies as tion service,

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. help to the knowledge of the same

And

the

candidate

vour myself so to

replies,

"I

97 .

.

the Lord being

do,

T

.

endea-

-will

my

helper."

The usage of the verb to mistake is somewhat anomalous. Its etymology seems 133.

simple enough

—

to

talce

amiss.

And by

'''''"

lakcu.'-

the

" " analogy of misunderstand," misinterpret,"

"mislead,"

"misinform,"

miscalculate,"

it

an active verb, as in the ought mistook phrases, "you my meaning," "he had mistaken the way," This would give as to be simply

its

passive use,

"my

meaning was mistaken

by you." But our English usage is different ; we have these phrases, it is true, but we more commonly use the verb in the passive, to carry what should be its active mean-

far

ing.

To

he

mistaken

is

not, with us, to

be

misapprehended by another, but to commit a mistake oneself. This is a curious translation of meaning, but

it

is

now rooted

in the

language and become idiomatical. "I thought so, but I was mistaken," is universally said, not " I mistook."

We

" you expect to hear

are mistaken," and should be surprised at hearing asserted "you are mistaking," or

"you sative^

mistake," unless followed by an accu-

"the meaning," or "me."

When wc n

THE QUEE^"S ENGLISH.

98

hear the former of these, we begin to consider whether we were right or wrong ; when the latter, we at once take the measui'e of

our friend, as one who has not long escaped

from the study of the rules of the lesser grammarians, by which, and not by the usages of society, cu'cumstances have compelled "good

"

or look-

134.

him

to learn his language.

A correspondent

asks me, good looTcing

looking

"weu

Here

or well lookinq?

is

another instance of

idiom vei'sus accuracy. And idiom decidedly has it. To speak of a well-loohing man would be to make oneself ridiculous all usage is :

But, at the same time, to

against the word.

be good looking

is

looh ivell ; or, if

not to

we

will,

looTc

good.

It

So that the whole matter seems to be usage, which in this case "latter," of

more than

135.

is,

to

to have good looks. left to

is decisive.

One ^point made very j much of by j the

oFoni 'two" PJ'Scisians

is,

the avoiding of the use of "

latter''

when we have spoken of more than two " last " when we have spoken things, and of of only two. Is this founded in any necessity or propriety of the laws of thought ; or

a mere arbitrary regulation laid down by persons who know little and care little about those laws 1 is it

136. Let us inquire into the matter.

The

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

9ft

is, that in speaking of two things, we can have only positive and comparative ; that

notion

for a superlative

we

require three or

more

;

and when we have three or more, we must use the superlative. Thus if I speak of two

must

invasions of Great Britain, I

the former,

earlier

second the

not the

speak of three invasions,

must

I

the

it

is

undoubtedly the ^^

'•'

first is

is

first,

137.

I

the

call

not the

last,

Let us look

1

the later the second.

a superlative

designated by

the other

the if

Of two invasions, the earHer

in this light.

at

one

it,

But

last.

Is there reason in this

latter.

Now

to

in referring

third,

and

first,

not the

latter,

the

call

;

and

if

a superlative,

of two,

why

not

1

Still, this

is

not digging to the root

only arguing from the a form in one case, to use of acknowledged

of the matter

its legitimate

us take

it

;

it

is

use in an analogous one. Let ^^ First"

in another point of view.

unavoidably used of that one in a series with which we begin, whatever be the number

is

which follow

;

should not "

last'"

series

?

many

or few.

Why

be used of that one in a

with which we end, whatever be the

number which few

whether

preceded, whether

The second

invasion,

many when we spoke H 2 .

or of

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

100

only t?ro, T\-as undoubtedly the last mentioned ; and surely therefore may be spoken of in referring back to it, as the last, -without

any violation of the laws of thought.

Nor

138.

does the comparative of neces-

suggest that only two are concerned, though it may be more natural to speak, sity

of the greatest of greater.

"superior," "inferior."

more than two, not of the

For that which

is greatest

of any

number, is greater than the rest, 139. Thcrc is an expression creeping, I fear, into general use, than which nothmg can well be worse in grammar, "a

man;" "a vciy inferior know what is meant and :

defence

We

all

a certain sort of

be set up for it by calling it by saying that the comparatives

may

elliptical

arc to

person."

superioi-

:

be

filled

iip

by

most

inserting "to

men," or the like. But with all its convenience, and all the defence which can be set lip for if

it,

way

of speaking

is

odious

;

and

followed out as a precedent, cannot but

vulgarize "tjiicntcd"

this

140.

and deteriorate our language, seem rather unfortunate in our

Wo

designations for our

men

of

ability.

For

another term by which we describe them, " What talented,'' is about as bad as possible. is it ?

It looks like a participle.

From what

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

,101

" to talent ! " Fancy such a verb as Coleridge somewhere cries out against this

verb

?

newspaper word, and says, Imagine other parformed by this analogy, and men to be pennied, shillinged, or said being ticiples

He perhaps forgot that, by an " " abuse, men are said to be moneyed

pounded. equal

men, or as we sometimes see it spelt (as if the word itself were not bad enough without

making

it

worse by false orthography), " mo-

niedy 141. Another "gifted,"

Every

is

formation

at present very

man whose

of

this

much

kind,

"si'ted."

in vogue.

parts are to be praised,

is

a gifted author, or speaker, or preacher.

Nay, sometimes a very odd transfer is made, and the pen with which the author writes is said

to be "gifted,^'' instead of himself.

142. Exception has been taken to what has

been called the neuter use of the verb to leave

But

:

it

neuter

" I shall not leave before is

use

The verb suppressed.

December

1."

not correct to describe this as a ;

is

is

it

still

rather the active,

Thus,

if

absolute

use.

but the object

is

there are three persons

in a room, one reading the Bible, another the

newspaper, and that they are

the third

all

a review,

I

say

reading, without depriving

"

to leave," absolute.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

102

the verb of

active force

its

one

too, if of three persons

it

using

;

is

as

an

them all. Thus,

absolute predicate applicable to

leaving his ovrn

home to-morrow, another

a friend's house, and

the third an hotel, I

say that they are

leaving to-morrow. is is

may And

all

this absolute usage

perfectly legitimate where one person only " I shall not read this morning, concerned.

but

I

may

shall write."

when

leave

my

be more or

"It

lease

is

my

is

up."

intention to

How

far

under given

less elegant

it

cir-

cumstances to speak thus, is another question, which can only be decided when those circumstances are

"could not

known

;

but of the correctness of

the usage I imagine there could be no doubt. 143. Connected with the last are, or may -^ '

get."

.

seem to

be, certain elliptical usages which can-

not be similarly defended. Thus when the has to been visit a friend, or to attain object a certain point,

we sometimes hear the excuse

" I meant to come for failure thus expressed, " to you," I fully intended to be there;" or,

—

"but I couldnt

The

(jet."

would

in this case be,

you;"

or,

"I couldn't get

verb " to get " that

it is

"

is iised

hardly

Jjcsides that

fit

for

full

there."

in so tliis

expression

couldn't get to

I

many

But the meanings,

elliptical position.

the sentence ends inelegantly

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

103

and inharmoniously, an ambiguity is sugwhat?" a horse? or

gested: "couldn't get

time

or

1

money

to

one to show the way

the verb " to helongP

to the

she

fare

?

some

or

word objectionably thus used

144. Another is

pay the ?

" Is

does not

helong ;"

does not

Miss A. coming

"No:

Amateur Concert to-night?"

belong to the Society.

''

meaning, does not

And

then perhaps

"though she does not this she means to belong next.'' belong year, Here again we may say that belong is a verb

we

that

told

are

of so wide a signification, that

it will

hardly

admit of being thus detached from its dents, and used absolutely and generally. 145.

The verb

by one of

friends as a

my

This

canism.

speare uses

it

in

But you

is

challenged "topro-

modern AmeriShak-

not strictly accurate.

is

" Let me mpe That

to "progress','

King John, act off this

acci-

honourable

v. sc.

2

:

de-n',

silverly doth progress on thy cheeks."

*

will observe that the line requires

the verb to be pronounced progress, not pro* I mention, as in courtesy hound, an account of this construction which has been sent me by a correspondent anxious to vindicate

Shakspeare from having used a

modern vulgarism. He would understand "doth progress" as "doeth progress," the latter word being a substantive.

Surely, he can hardly be in earnest.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

104

perhaps hardly a case in to the word, a verb formed on point, except as is gr^ss, so that this

the noun

jy'i'ogress.

146. Milton also uses such a verb, in the " magnificent peroration of his Treatise of Re-

formation

in

England." citing the whole passage, as to

my readers

"Then amidst

the

of saints, some

one

may

relief

Hymns and Hallelujahs may perhaps be heard new and

lofty

mea-

and celebrate thy divine mer-

and marvellous judgments

throughout

forbeai*

be a

:

offering at high strains in

cies,

it

cannot

and to myself in the midst of

these verbal enquiries

sures, to sing

I

all

ages

;

whereby

in this land

this great

and

warlike nation, instructed and inured to the fervent and continual practice of Truth and

Righteousness, and casting far from her the rags of her old vices, may press on hard to that high and happy Emulation, to be found

the soberest, wisest, and most Christian people at that day, when Thou the Eternal and shortly expected King, shalt open the clouds to judge the several

kingdoms of the world, and distributing national honours and rewards to religious and just commonwealths, shalt put an end to

all

earthly T}Tannies, proclaiming

thy universal

and mild Monai-chy through

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. Where they undoubtedly,

heaven and earth. that

by

105

their labours, counsels and prayers,

have been earnest for the common good of Religion and their country, shall receive above the inferior orders of the Blessed, the regal addition of Principalities, Legions, and Thrones into their glorious Titles, and, in superemi-

nence of beatifick

vision, 2^^og7'essing the date-

and irrevoluble

less

clasp inseparable

circle

of Eternity, shall

Hands with Joy and Bliss,

in

over measure for ever." 147. It

may

be noticed again that Milton's is not exactly that which is

use of the verb

He seems

become common now.

to

make

it

^^ moving "moving along" or equivalent faThese sense. an active in throughout" voured ones are to j^rogress the circle of Eter-

to

nity,

i.e.,

I suppose, to revolve for ever

and round

it.

verb neuter

;

round

The present usage makes the to i^rogress

meaning to advance,

make progress. I can hardly say I feel much indignation against the word, thus used. We seem to want it and if we do, and it to

;

does not violate any

by

all

first

means

of

formed *

My

its

let

own

known law

us have

it.

family;

aggress, regress,

of formation,

True,

it

is

the

we have not yet

egress,

or retrogress,*

Censor has found some of these words set down

,

TUE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

105

into verbs

but we have doue iu substance

;

the same thing, by having admitted long ago the verbs suggest, digest, x>roject, object, reject,

•

eject ; for all

these are fonned from the same

part of the original Latin verbs, as this "p7'0" gress ^

on which wo have been speaking.

148. In treating of this verb to ''progress,"

StoTertf

a correspondent notices that there prevails a " The tendency to turn nouns into verbs :

"

" tlie church is being ship remained to coal : " was he ;" prevailed on to head the jieived

movement,"

I

do not see that we can object it has

to this tendency in general, seeing that

grown with the growtli of our language, and under due regulation is one of the most obvious means of enriching it. Yerbs thus formed

will carry themselves into use, in spite

Some years

of the protests of the purists.

as English verbs in the folio edition of Bailey's UniBut there is Dictionary, published in 1755.

versal

wide a difference between dictionary words and English words, as between vocabulary French and spoken French. A list of dictionary words might be as

found in a few minutes which would introduce us to

some strange acquaintances.

What do we

think of

"abarcy," "aberuncate," "abolishable," "abstringe,"

"

ad jugate," " adusadvolation," "admetiate," "adminicle," DictionThousands of words in the tible," &c., &c.

"abstrude,"

"acervate,"

"acetosity," *'

aries are simply Latin,

any authority

made English

for their use.

in form, without

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

107

ago, precise scholars used to exclaim against " and a very ugly the verb " to experience;

candidate for admission into the language

Milton introduced

was.

he wrote,

"

He through

his experienced

its

Still,

eye."

participle

the armed as

files

it

when Darts

we know

in

the case of ''talented" and ''moneyed^'' the participle

verb

is

may

be tolerated long before the and no instance of the verb

invented

:

'Ho experience"

But

all

occurs

till

attempts to exclude

quite it

noiv

recently.

would be

quite ineffectual.

To treat which we please. 149.

of,

or to

To

treat

treat 1 is

Plainly,

to handle, to

have under treatment, to discuss.

"J_

or

''to

'^^^^'^''•

The verb

used with an object following it, to treat a subject : or it may be used absolutely,

may be

to

'*

" treat concerning," or of," a subject.

It

one of those very many cases so little understood by the layers down of precise is

where writers and speakers are left to choose, as the humoiu* takes them, between

rules,

different

ways of expression.

150. There

''

is

sadly

common

which

I

a piece of affectation becoming ° ^ our clergy, among younger

had already marked

for notice,

when

I received a letter, from which the following is

an extract

:

—"

I

wish to

call

your atten-

tii°

book

Genesis,

"

oity

t^|

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

lOS

tion

the ignorance which

to

exhibited

of the true

of the preposition in such expres-

meaning '

sions as of "

the city of Canterbuiy,'

We

'

Hamlet."

'

the play

sometimes hear

it

pro-

claimed

from

the

first

and

we

chapter of the book read in parochial documents

the

*the parish of .

sometimes

is

by clergy and others

St.

desk,

St.

Mary,' instead

'Here

'

:

of

'the

parish of of St. George's,' ' of St.

George,' '

beginneth Genesis

Mary's,' &c."

151.

beheve the excuse,

I

called one, set that "

up

the book

is,

of Daniel

if

can be

it

for this violation of usage " of Genesis and «

the book

"

cannot both be right, because the former was not written by Genesis, as the latter

was by Daniel.

pondent

But, as

my

corres-

says, this simply betrays ignorance of

the meanings of the preposition "

o/."

It is

used, in designations of this kind, in three different senses:

1.

To denote authorship, as 2. To denote subject-

^Hhe hook of Daniel :"

" the " matter, as 3. As first look of Kings : " a note of apposition, which is," or signifying, " which is " the book called," as of Genesis;' This last usage meets us ''of Exodus;' kc. at every turn it

;

and the pedant who ignores

in the reading desk,

must, in consistency.

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH. drop

it

everywhere

Imagine his

else.

summer

describing his

109

holiday

:

letter

" I left the

London, and passed through the county Kent, leaving the realm England at the town

city

Dover, and entering the empire France at the

town

Calais,

on

my way

to

the

Republic

Switzerland." 152. I

may remark

again usage

in passing, that here

comes in with

its

prescriptive

and prevents the universal application of rules. While we always say " the city of

laws,

we never say " the river of " the river but Nile," always Nile." So too " the city of London," but " the Cairo," not "the city Cairo,"

river

Thames."

153. It seems astonishing that

many

of our "

revere?i^.''

I

saw lately a description of a certain person as being

"

irreverend."

unintentionally

The

writer (or printer) of this forgot that "reverend" (^reverens,-entis)

is

the

subjective

scribing the feeling within a ject,

whereas '^reverend"

man

word,

de-

as its sub-

(i-everendus) is

the

word, describing feeling with which a man is regarded, of which he is the

objective

object from without.

—

the

Dean

reverend,

and "re-

writers should not yet be clear in their dis" " tinctive use of reverence and "

Swift might be

"very reverend," by common courtesy; but

verent."

THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.

110

he was certainly not " very reverent " in his conduct or in his writings. Subjective objective words,

154.

and

and

A few words more about thesc

objective

to laugh

and

at

objective.

those

who do

of the

It has

words.

sif6/ec;.:3ie*:.>'

000 352 416

FACm

2