A PARSING LESSON.

There must needs be some way of doing whatever is done. I propose to show in this article, how I would like to have a lesson in parsing recited. The lesson supposes some progress in the study of English Grammar, but not greater than is within the reach of most pupils in our common schools.

I select for a lesson a passage from Isaac Walton's Life of Mr. Richard Hooker. Walton reports Bishop Sandys to have said: "I will have a Tutor for my son, that shall teach him learning by instruction, and virtue by example."

After reading the lesson aloud, pupil No. 1 begins as follows: I is a pronoun, represents the speaker as a subject, personal, com. gend., first person sing., nom.; declined sing., nom. I, poss. my or mine, obj. me, ind. me or I; plural nom. we, poss. our or ours, obj. us, ind. we; and subject of will have. "The subject of a finite verb must be in the nominative case."

Quest. Distinguish between personal and relative pronouns ? Ans. The personal pronouns refer always to an object directly or to a noun, while the relative pronouns may refer to a pronoun as well as to a noun, and may not refer directly to an object. Quest. Distinguish between the personal pronouns of the first and second persons and those of the third? Ans. The pronouns of the first and second persons refer always, or generally, to the person represented, not to a noun; while the pronouns of the third person refer, generally, to a noun, though sometimes to the person or thing directly. Quest. Distinction in the use of my and mine, our and ours? Ans. My and our are used when the limited word is expressed, mine and ours when the word limited by them is understood.

[Pupil.] Will have is a verb from to have, means to hold as property or to possess, irregular; prin. parts, have, had, had; transitive, active, indicative, future, first, singular, and agrees with I. "A finite verb must agree with its subject in person and number.”

Quest. Tense signs of the verb in the active voice indicative node? Ans. Pres. the root, past-ed in regular verbs, in irregular verbs commonly a new root, fut. shall or will, pres. perf. have, past perf. had, fut. perf. shall have or will have. Quest.

What is a transitive verb? Ans. A transitive verb is one which, in its simple forms, i. e., its forms uncompounded with the verb to be, requires an object to complete its meaning. Quest. Account for the irregularity of the verb to have? Ans. The verb to have is said to be irregular by contraction-haved equals ha(ve)d, equals had.

[Pupil.] is a definitive adjective, called also an indefinite article, means one, and belongs to Tutor. "Adjectives belong to nouns which they qualify or define."

Quest. What other form has a, and when is each used? Ans. An, which is used before a word beginning with a vowel sound; while a is used before words beginning with a consonant sound. Quest. Which is the older form, a or an? An; the n is dropped before a consonant.

[Pupil.] Tutor is a noun, means teacher, com., masc., third, sing.; s. Tutor, p. Tutors, objective, and governed by will have. "Transitive verbs in the active voice govern the objective case."

Quest. Account for the capital in Tutor. Ans. Tutor is an important word in the sentence, and, as such, may begin with a capital. Quest. State the difference in use between tutor and teacher? Ans. Tutor is applied to persons who give private instruction to youth of distinction, and to instructors, in colleges, of lower rank than professors. Teacher is applied to persons who instruct in schools of a lower grade than colleges, and who instruct pupils in private life. Quest. Derivation and primitive meaning of tutor? Ans. Tutor is derived from the Latin tueri, to defend; and is so a guardian or defender. [Rem. And well may he be so called, who is a faithful teacher, for a man's surest safeguard and defence is to have attained to habits of dilligence, in the acquisition of knowledge, and in the practice of virtue; and he who promotes such habits is indeed a defender.]

[Pupil.] For is a preposition, means to be over or in charge of, and shows the relation of son to Tutor. A preposition shows the relation of its object to the word on which the latter depends.

Quest. Radical meaning of for? Ans. Going, and may be to an object or from a cause. Quest. Mention some word or words of the same derivation as for. Ans. Fare, to go; fare on

a rail road, that because of which you may go; fare at a hotel, that in the strength of which you go.

[Pupil.] My is a personal pronoun, denotes the speaker as a possessor, *com., first, sing., poss., and is governed by son. "A noun or pronoun in the possessive case, is governed by the noun which denotes the thing possessed."

Son is a noun, means a male child, common, masc., third, sing.; s. son, pl. sons, objective, and governed by for. "Prepositions govern the objective case."

Quest. Why the comma after son? Ans. A comma is placed before a relative clause, when it is explanatory of the antecedent or presents an additional thought.

[Pupil.] That is a relative pronoun, relates to Tutor for its antecedent, and connects the clauses of which will have and shall teach are the verbs, masc., third, sing. "A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in gender, num. ber, and person.' Nom., and subject of shall teach. "The subject of a finite verb must be in the nominative case."

Quest. How is that declined? Ans. That is indeclinable. It is used in the nominative and objective cases and in both numbers without change of form. It has no poss. case, but the poss. of who is used instead. Quest. Of what parts of speech is that? Ans. That is a relative pronoun, a demonstrative adjective pronoun, or a conjunction. It is a relative pronoun when it represents some preceding noun or pronoun, sentence or clause; a demonstrative adjective, when it points out and belongs to some following noun, expressed or understood; a conjunction, when it stands for and introduces a sentence following it.

[Pupil.] Shali teach is a verb from to teach, meaning to aid or cause to learn, irregular; prin. paris, teach, taught, taught, transitive, active, indicative, future, third, singular, and agrees with that. A finite verb must agree with its subject in number and person.

Quest. Derivation and meaning of teach? Ans. Teach is from take, and is causative, to cause to take; it pertains not to the physical but to the intellectual and spiritual, to cause the mind to

*I am aware that many will declare I and my to be of masculine gender.

take. [Rem. To teach, then, is not to fill the mind as a vessel, but to cause the mind to reach forth and take for itself.]

[Pupil.] Him is a personal pronoun, denoting a male person spoken of as an object, masc., third, sing., nominative; nom. he, poss. his, obj. him, ind. he, and governed by to understood. "Prepositions govern the objective

case."

Quest. How will you show that him is governed by to? Ans. By transposing thus: Shall teach learning (to) him.

(Pupil.) Learning is a noun, means knowledge gained by study and instruction, common, participial, neuter, third, singular, plural wanting, objective, and governed by shall teach. "Transitive verbs in the active voice govern the objective case."

By is a preposition, means through means of or making use of, the primary sense is near, shows the relation of instruction to shall teach. "A preposition shows the relation of its object to the word on which the latter depends."

Instruction is a noun, and means a leading of the mind. to obtain knowledge, common, neut., third, sing., s. instruction, pl. instructions, objective and governed by by. "Prepositions govern the objective case."

Quest. Derivation and etymological meaning of instruction? Ans. Instruction is derived from the Latin instruere, and signifies building within. [Rem. Here is expressed the method of all true teaching. It is building or rather causing to build within. Doing this implies two things: 1st, a knowledge of the pupil's mental power, and of the methods by which he comes to know, and may best come to know, the certainty of the things studied. This can be acquired only by carefully analyzing the subject taught, clearly perceiving and definitely stating, to one's self at least, the modes of presenting the subject, and by a watchful observance of results in the actual progress of pupils. The power to do this implies the second thing referred to above, which is a constant searching out, on the part of the teacher, of the methods by which he himself came to a certain knowledge of the things he teaches.]

(Pupil.) And is a conjunction, means add, and con

nects the phrases, learning by instruction, and virtue by example, of which learning and virtue are the principal words. "Conjunctions connect sentences and like parts of a sentence."

Quest. Why is and preceded by a comma? Ans. Phrases and clauses, in the same construction, are separated by a comma from each other, and, when the sentence is incomplete, from what follows.

(Pupil.) Virtue is a noun, means moral goodness, com., neut., third, sing.; s. virtue, pl. virtues, objective, and governed by shall teach. "Transitive verbs in the active voice govern the objective case."

Quest. Derivation and primary meaning of virtue? Ans. Virtue is derived from the Latin virtus which is from vir, whose primary meaning is strength. [Rem. How true the declaration of this word, that moral goodness is strength!]

(Pupil.) By shows the relation of example to virtue, otherwise is parsed as before.

Example means a copy or pattern, and is parsed like instruction.

Quest. Derivation and primative meaning of example? Ans. Example is from the Latin exemplum, and is something taken out from a mass as a specimen. [Rem. Set out, as specimens of manly performance, are the acts of the teacher before the child. How careful should he be whose acts are the patterns which so many will imitate!] E. C.

OUR GOVERNORS.

The perilous times that have come so suddenly upon our country, have taxed, unprecedentedly, the executive abilities of the Governors of the free states. The people of these states have great reason to be proud of the faithfulness, zeal and integrity which they have evinced in the discharge of their sacred trusts.

Our own Vermont was very fortunate in having for Governor a man of very large financial experience with business men throughout the country, and also of tried