Besides Holland, there are various kinds of ginghams, and fancy patterns, and transparencies, which are used for roller blinds, any one of which may be chosen according to taste or other circumstances. There are also various contrivances, by spring rollers and otherwise, to make blinds run up and down, as well as the usual line and rackpulley.

In rooms much exposed to the scorching sun of summer, Venetian blinds are frequently used inside or outside. The laths of these blinds hang across the window, and as they can be set to any angle, they keep out the light and glare, but give free admission to the air, a matter of much consequence in hot weather. Outside Venetian blinds, whch are altogether of a stronger make, instead of being made to rise and fall, are mostly contrived to open or close as shutters, and with the laths fixed at the proper angle for intercepting the superabundance of light. It is, however, possible to have the laths made moveable, but at a greatly increased expense. Shutter blinds require to be very strongly fixed, as they are powerfully acted on by the wind.

Of late years outside blinds of stout striped canvas have come greatly into use, and are much liked on account of the convenient arrangement and pleasing appearance. When there is a balcony or a rail fixed two or three feet in front of the win. dow, they can be fitted as outside roller blinds at but little cost and trouble. blind being drawn down, the lower end is tied to the rail, so that it presents the appearance of a long sloping verandah, which excludes heat and light, without hiding the view from those in the room. This is the

Fig, 14.

The

way of fixing very frequently seen on the continent, where this form of outside blind was first introduced.

The windows, however which have a

balcony or rail in front are comparatively few; for the others a different mode of fitting the blinds has been applied. This is shown in figure 14. The deep cornice at the top forms a case into which the blind is drawn when raised, and thereby protected from rain and other casualties of weather. The mode of construction of this kind of blind is shown by the next two figures. In figure 16, the straight line a represents an iron rod fitted inside the wooden frame or case of the blind, which of course is made to fit the window. Three feet six inches, as a general rule, will be a sufficient length for this rod, and it must be fixed about half an inch from the wood to allow the swivel to work freely up and down upon it. This swivel is attached to the rod b, which forms, so to speak, the mouth of the blind, as shown in figure 14;

Fig. 16.

a

d

Flg. 15. it is to be twenty-eight inches long from back to front. Figure 15 shows the lath, and the arrangement of pulleys for raising or lowering the blind; it is similar to that described for the festoon curtain, figure 3. The line c is carried to the pulley on the extreme left; d goes to the centre pulley, while the line e descends over its own pulley on the right. These three lines being tied together a short distance below the lath, form a single rope. The lines led through the pulleys extend to the lower edge of the blind, being carried down the inside by small rings: and when they are pulled, the rod b rises to a perpendicular, and is lifted up with its canvas hood into the case at the top of the window. Hooks are usually fixed at the side of the window to secure the lines upon, so that the blind may be easily managed by any one standing in the room."

There are many practical inconveniences attending the use of these hooks, one of which is that the blind cannot always be

LESSONS IN FRENCH.

(Continued.)

THE ARTICLE.

verbial; and the nouns, being used adjectively with the prepositions, are indefinite therefore, they admit of no article.

OF THE SUBSTANTIVE.

Entendre la raillerie, signifies to know how to rally, to jeer.

Entendre raillerie, signifies to know how to take a joke.

Demander la raison d'une chose, means to ask for the cause of a thing. Demander raison d'une chose is to de

mand satisfaction for an offence.

Un homme de génie, is a man of genius. Un homme du génie, is a man who belongs to the corps of engineers. A few examples in which the Article is not used,

In all these sentences the nouns are taken in reference to their signification alone, and therefore have no article before them, as well as in the following: I have a knave of a brother, J'ai un coquin de frère, an elliptical sentence, which means, Which is of the species of a brother, Qui est de l'espèce de frère; An honest father, Un honnête homme de père. Elliptical sense, meaning,-An honest man, having the quality of a father, Un honnête homme ayant la qualité de père.

These constructions, as well as all similar ones, are in conformity with the rules already laid down, by the means of the ellipsis.

The following expressions, To act by feeling, Agir par sentiment; To speak with wit, Parler avec esprit; To make a graceful appearance, Représenter avec grâce; To act with passion, Agir par colère; To act by spite, Agir par dèpit; To act by love, Agir par amour, are ad

The substantive is also called Noun, because it is used to name the persons, things, ideas, or feelings, which they represent; man, homme; horse, cheval; fish, poisson, are nouns representing beings which have the appearance of man, horse, and fish. Hope, espérance; perfection, perfection; happiness, bonheur, are nouns representing ideas and feelings through the operation of

our minds. Tree, arbre; table, table; book, livre, are nouns representing objects so designated by the general agreement of so

ciety.

There are two sorts of substantives.

Those which are used to designate the whole of the species which they represent; as, homme, cheval, espérance, arbre, are called Common Nouns, because they are common to all beings or things of the same kind.

Those which are used only to designate a single individual or thing as, Alexandre, Virgile, Paris, Vienne. They are called Proper Nouns, because they belong to a single individual of the species which they represent, at least in the mind of the person who speaks.

The substantive has two properties, Number and Gender.

Of Number in the Substantive.-Number is the property which the noun has to represent a unity or a plurality.

Therefore, there are two numbers; the Singular, which represents but a single individual or thing, &c.; as, a man, un homme; a tree, un arbre; a hope, une espérance; and the Plural, which represents more than one individual or thing, &c.: as, men, les hommes; two trees, deux arbres; hopes, les espérances. Among nouns, the generality may be used in either number; but there are some few which have no plural, and others which have no singular. We will speak of them hereafter.

Of Gender in the Substantive.-Gender is the property which a noun has to represent

a distinction between the two sexes.

There are, consequently, two genders: the Masculine, which belongs to man and the males among animals, and the Feminine, which belongs to females in general;

as, man, homme; lion, lion; are masculine, because they represent males.

Woman, femme; mare, jument; are feminine, because they represent females.

By imitation, the nouns which represent objects or ideas which are neither male or female, have received one or the other of these two qualifications, and some of them are sometimes masculine and sometimes feminine, according to their signification. The distinction of the genders in those nouns is one of the greatest difficulties of the French language for foreigners. We have already, at the beginning of this Grammar. given a complete system for the classification of nouns; but in most cases the exceptions are so numerous, that it is always prudent not to trust memory alone, and to consult a good dictionary.

We see, then, that the nouns which are neuter in English, have not the same qualification in French, which is deprived of such a gender.

To mark the difference in sexes, males and females are sometimes called by different names: as,

nouns ending with a consonant or with the vowels é, i, u, form their feminine termination by the addition of a mute e; as, Le serin, la serine; a canary bird; Le bienvenu, la bienvenue; welcome; Un idiot, une idiote; an idiot; Un jardinier, une jardinière; a male or female gardener.

The following nouns are an exception to this rule :-Bachelier, a bachelor; Due, a duke; Mortel, a mortal, Quaker, a quaker; Roi, a king; Paysan, a peasant; Juif, a jew; Bailli, a bailiff; Abbé, an abbot; Sot, a fool; Veuf, a widower; Malin, a shrewd fellow; Favori, a favourite. Which makes in the feminine: Bachellete, duchesse, mortelle, Quakeresse, reine, paysanne, Juive, baillive, abbesse, sotte, veuve, maligne, favorite, &c.

Formation of the Feminine in Nouns ending with a mute e.-Masculine nouns ending with a mute e do not change their termination in the feminine; as Un esclave, une esclave; a male or female slave. impie, une impie; an impious man or woman; un sauvage, une sauvage; a male or female savage, &c.

Un

Some few nouns, however, although ending with a mute e, form their feminine termination by changing e, into esse; as, Ane, anesse; an ass; Tigre, tigresse; a tiger; Chanoine, chanoinesse; a canon, a canoness; Prince, princesse; a prince, a princess; Négre, négresse; a negro, a negress; Prétre, prétresse; a priest, a priestess; Traître, traitresse; a traitor, a traitress; Ivrogne, ivrognesse; a drunkard, a drunken woman; Pauvre, pauvresse; a pauper, a beggar. woman, &c.

Formation of the Feminine in Nouns ending in en, on, et.-Nouns ending in en, on, and et, in their masculine signification, from their feminine in doubling their last consonant, and adding a mute e; as Un Chrétien, une Chrétienne; a Christian; Un Indien, une Indienne; an Indian; Un fripon, une friponne; a cheat; Un coquet, une coquette; a beau, a coquette, &c. Exceptions: Compagnon, a companion; Patron, a patron; Indiscret, a telltale, make in the feminine, Compagne, patron and patronesse, indiscrète.

Formation of the Feminine in Nouns ending in eur.-Masculine nouns ending in

either sex.

form their feminine termination by chang

Chanteur, chanteuse, a singer (from chantant, present participle of chanter, to sing).

Boudeur, boudeuse, one that pouts (from boudant, present participle of bouder, to pout). Connaisseur, connaisseuse, a connoisseur (from

Of Nouns which are either Masculine or Feminine, according to their Number and Signification.-Nouns have generally but one gender; however, there are some which are sometimes masculine, sometimes feminine: this is the result of habit, men having applied to those nouns, sometimes a masculine, sometimes a feminine idea. We will examine succesively those which are the most generally used in either gender.

Aigle, an eagle.--Aigle, eagle, is masculine when it designates the male of the bird of prey of that name, and when, being used metaphorically, it signifies, a man of genius; there is also a kind of paper called grand aigle, that is to say, of the largest size. Aigle is feminine, if it designates the female of the bird of prey, and also when it signifies a military standard, or when used in speaking of coats of arms, constellations, and emblems; and also when it designates a kind of fish called l'aigle marine.

Amour, love, Cupid.-Amour, love, in the singular, is always masculine, either in prose or in poetry; it is also masculine in the plural when it signifies, (1,) All kinds of love. (2.) When it designates little Cupids which are used as emblems in the arts. Amour, in the plural, is feminine when it implies the idea of a passion; as, Foolish inclinations, folles amours. First love, les premières amours.

Automne, autumn.-Automne, autumn, was formerly of either gender; it is now always masculine, as well as the names of the other seasons.

Couple, couple.- Couple, is masculine when it designates two animated beings united by an act of their will, a feeling, or any cause making them act in concert; as, A happy couple (speaking of man and wife). un heureux couple.

A couple of pigeons, un couple de pigeons (a male and a female).

Un couple de chevaux, a team of two horses, &c. Couple is feminine when it only conveys the numerical idea of two persons or things of the same kind accidentally put together, without any idea of feeling, participation, or common purpose between them; as,

A couple of pigeons (meaning two pigeons), une couple de pigeons.

A couple of families, une couple de menages. A couple of horses, une couple de chevaux (meaning only two horses, without the idea of their forming a team).

Délice, delight.-Délice is masculine in the singular, and feminine in the plural; but for the sake of euphony we say, Un de mes plus grands délices, One of my greatest delights, with grands in the masculine, because it would be shocking to meet in the same proposition with two adjectives of different genders, relating to the same noun.

Enfant, child. Enfant is masculine when it designates a boy, and feminine when it points out a girl.

Exemple, example, copy.-Exemple is now used in the masculine, whether it signifies an example or a copy.

Foudre, thunderbolt, vengeance, fury, &c.-Foudre is feminine whenever it is used to designate a thunderbolt; it is of either gender, if it signifies the weapon of Jupiter. It is still feminine when used for vengeance, fury, &c.; as, La foudre esdans ses yeux; Anger is in his looks.

Foudres in the plural, used metaphorically, and signifying either pieces of cannon, celestial anger, or excommunication from the court of Rome, is of either gender.

Foudre, applied to man, and signifying a great conquerer, a man who has gained many victories, is always masculine; thus we say, This general was a thunderbolt of war, Ce général était un foudre de guerre.

Speaking of a great orator, we also say, C'est un foudre d'éloquence.

Gens, people, men.-Gens, people. This word in the plural is masculine when followed by an adjective; as, They are happy people; Ce sont des gens heureux. But it is feminine when preceded by an adjective;