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rule which, if pushed to its legitimate application, would give currency and weight to any piece of vulgarity or slang.

The best proof that this use of the singular is objectionable, is that it is of rarest occurrence in those writers who are reputed the most correct. Hallam and Macaulay have few examples of it; Roscoe and Southey fewer still.

There is another form of phrase in which the singular is often employed, although it would be more consistent with grammar to use the plural. Here is an example :--

"Valentia is one of the most delightful cities which is to be found in Europe."-ALISON. History of Europe.

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To be convinced of the propriety of employing the plural here, we have only to reflect that "which" is the nominative to "is;" and that the direct antecedent of "which" is the plural "cities." Another way of testing the accuracy of all such phrases is to invert the order of the words thus:

"Of the most delightful cities which is to be found in Europe, Valentia is one."

The following are further examples :

"Mr. Dodsley this year brought out his 'Preceptor,' one of the most valuable books for the improvement of young minds that has appeared in any language."--BosWELL. Life of Johnson.

"Sully bought of Monsieur de la Roche Guyon one of the finest Spanish horses that ever was seen."-SOUTHEY. The Doctor.

"It was one of the most important alliances that ever was formed."-RosCOE. Life of Leo X.

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Alexander, emperor of Russia, is one of the sovereigns of modern times who has left the greatest name in history."ALISON. History of Europe.

I will go further, and assert of all such phrases, that they contain a contradiction in terms. Take, for example, our last quotation. The writer means to say that the circumstance of leaving the greatest name in history is common to Alexander and other sovereigns; and yet he affirms that circumstance of Alexander alone. The truth is, the writer is betrayed into this inaccuracy, because the phrase sounds as if he had said :

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Alexander, emperor of Russia, is the sovereign of modern times who has left the greatest name in history."

The following sentence contains an error somewhat analogous to the foregoing:

"Suchet's administration was incomparably the least oppressive of that of any of the French generals in the Peninsula."ALISON. History of Europe.

It would have been correct to say :

"Suchet's administration was incomparably less oppressive than that of any of the French generals in the Peninsula."

And that is probably what the writer was thinking of. But (as I shall have occasion to show in the course of this work) the "thinking" and the "writing" of an author are seldom in

accordance with each other. It never occurs to those who use this expression that the superlative degree cannot be formed with only one thing as a means of comparison.

In the foregoing examples, we have the singular improperly put for the plural. The use of the plural instead of the singular is no less common. The following are instances:

"The terms in which the sale of a patent to Mr. Hine were communicated to the public."-JUNIUS. Letters.

"If Machiavel had not known that an appearance of morals and religion are useful in society."—Ibid.

"To heighten the calamity which the want of these useful labours make every literary man feel."-D'ISRAELI. Calamities of Authors.

"It is in such moments of gloom and depression that the immortal superiority of genius and virtue most strongly appear." -ALISON. Essay on Châteaubriand.

"It is refreshing to see those just and manly sentiments, after the sickly partiality for Roman Catholic agitators, which, for the purposes of faction, have so long pervaded many of his party." ALISON. Essay on Macaulay.

"It has already been stated that the difference between the new and the old German, the Dutch and the Frisian, the Italian and the Latin, the Romaic and the Greek, are precisely similar."-LATHAM. The English Language.

"The authority of Addison, in matters of grammar; of Bentley, who never made the English grammar his study; of Bolingbroke, Pope, and others, are as nothing."-HARRISON. On the English Language.

In order to show the prevalence of this error, I shall quote some examples of it from Gibbon, who is justly reckoned one of our most correct

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writers. The citations are all taken from the fifth volume of his great work, as edited by Dean Milman:

"The use of fraud and perfidy, of cruelty and injustice, were often subservient to the propagation of the faith.”—Decline and Fall.

"The richness of her arms and apparel were conspicuous in the foremost ranks."-Ibid.

“The jurisdiction of the presidents, the consulars, and the counts, were superseded by the institution of the themes or military governments.”—Ibid.

"The pronunciation of the two vowels have been nearly the same."-Ibid.

Such are ordinary instances of the occurrence of this fault; but there are other forms of it which are quite as incorrect, though not quite so palpable. These arise in connexion with the words or, neither, no one, each, every one, everything, as well as, much, more, less, many a, with, little, nothing.

Or.

As the proper office of "and" is to conjoin, so that of "or" is to disjoin. And yet, how commonly do we meet with "or" performing the function of conjoining nouns singular! Examples:

"Those whose profession or whose reputation regulate public opinion."-D'ISRAELI. Curiosities.

"When the helplessness of childhood, or the frailty of woman, make an appeal to her generosity."-JEFFREY. Essays.

Satire, a poem in which wickedness or folly are censured.” -WALKER. Sub voce Satire."

"Often Caulincourt or Duroc were up with him hard at work all night."-ALISON. History of Europe.

"Either a pestilence or a famine, a victory or a defeat, an oracle of the gods or the eloquence of a daring leader, were sufficient to impel the Gothic arms."-GIBBON. Decline and Fall.

Surely, the writer's meaning is that any one of those causes was sufficient to impel the Gothic arms; and not (as his use of the plural would imply) that all those causes were sufficient to produce that effect. The same remarks apply to

Neither.

"Neither Charles nor his brother were qualified to support such a system."-JUNIUS. Letters.

"How happy it is that neither of us were ill in the Hebrides!" -JOHNSON. Letter to Boswell, 17th Feb. 1774.

"In the names of objects which address the sight only, where neither noise nor motion are concerned." BLAIR. Lectures.

"Neither bear any sign of case at all."-LATHAM. The English Language.

No one.

"No one can have lost their character by this sort of exercise."-D'ISRAELI. Curiosities.

Each.

"How far each of the three great Epic poets have distinguished themselves in this part."-BLAIR. Lectures.

"Each of these chimerical personages come from different provinces in the gesticulating land of pantomime."-D'ISRAELI. Curiosities.

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