In Hindoostanee, also, the genitive case, so designated by the writers on that language, conforms itself in its terminations to the gender, number, and case of the noun by which it is governed, just as an adjective would do.

Notwithstanding these facts, there is, we apprehend, in the English language no possessive adjective pronoun distinct from the possessive case of the substantive pronoun.

For, in the first place, adjectives are not inflected in English. There is, originally, no essential difference of meaning between the possessive case of the substantive and the possessive adjective; and in languages which have no inflection, as the Chinese, it is a matter of indifference whether certain forms are called the possessive case of the substantive or a possessive adjective. As adjectives in English are not declined, we have not this means of distinguishing them from substantives.

In the second place, mine and my, thine and thy, are severally both derived from an ancient genitive; as, mine and my from Gothic meina, gen. of ik, Anglo-Saxon min, gen. of ic, and not from Gothic meins, meina, mein, Anglo-Saxon min, mine, min, the adjective. So thine and thy from Gothic theina, gen. of thu, Anglo-Saxon thin, gen. of thu, and not from Gothic theins, theina, thein, Anglo-Saxon thin, thine, thin, the adjective.

And, in the third place, the different uses of my and mine, thy and thine, severally, are merely euphonic. The longer forms are used at the end of a sentence or clause for the better cadence. As the indefinite articles an and a are mere abridgments of the ancient numeral for one, being distinguished from it euphonically, so mine and my, thine and thy, are severally mere abridgments of ancient longer forms. Thus we say, "It is my book;" but "The book is mine," or "Mine is the book," just as we say, "Will you give me a book?" Answer. "Here, take one.". Also, we say, "My book;" but anciently altogether, and now, in more solemn style, "Mine hour," "mine iniquities," just as we say, "A book," " an hour," "an elephant." Thus the longer forms are used at the end of a sentence or a clause, whenever the word with which it stands most immediately connected is

either omitted or begins with a vowel. If our views are cor rect, it follows,

1. We can not approve of the course of the older English grammarians, as Wallis, Greenwood, Wiseman, Priestley, who make mine and my, thine and thy all adjective pronouns, unless one goes further and makes, also, John's and Peter's adjective nouns. No one, we fancy, will incline to do this.

2. We can not approve of the course of most modern English grammarians, as Lowth, Murray, Barrett, Ingersoll, Lennie, who make mine and thine possessive cases of the personal pronoun, and my and thy possessive adjective pronouns; for the etymology or derivation does not sustain such a distinction, and the addition of a substantive following is no more necessary for an adjective than for a genitive case.

3. We can not approve of the principle adopted by a late celebrated English grammarian, that mine and thine are not the genitive or possessive case of the personal pronouns, but pronouns or substitutes which may stand of themselves directly in the nominative or accusative case, or be preceded by of, the sign of the genitive; for all the examples usually adduced may be explained by supplying the ellipsis of the substantive, and making the change in the form of the pronoun which the principles of euphony require. Thus, "My book is lost, but thine and John's are not," i. e., "Thy book and John's book are not ;" "They stole my book, but not thine and John's;" "They stole my book, but not thy book, and not John's book;" "He is my friend, but not a friend of thine and Peter's," i. e., "Not one of thy friends, and not one of Peter's friends." So Jehovah might say, "Worship me, all ye saints or holy ones of mine," for he hath others who are not saints.

4. Much less can we approve of the opinion which Mr. Joab Brace, in his English Grammar, has incorrectly ascribed to Dr. Webster, that my and thy are strictly adjectives, and not adjective pronouns; for the characteristic of the pronoun, which consists in demonstrating or pointing out, and not in naming, like the noun, is as perceptible in my and thy as in I and thou.

CHAPTER VIII.

"SELF" USED INSTEAD OF A REFLECTIVE PRONOUN.

§226. SELF; Anglo-Saxon Sylf; Maso-Gothic Silba; Plural, Selves. Several considerations go to show that Self is a Substantive, or has a Substantival power, though Sylf in the Anglo-Saxon was declined as an Adjective.

1. In myself, thyself, ourselves, yourselves, it appears to be a Substantive preceded by a Genitive Case. Myself=my individuality.

2. In himself and themselves, the construction is that of a Substantive in Apposition with a Pronoun in the Accusative. 3. When himself and themselves are used as Nominatives, they must be explained on another principle. The two words himself, themselves, must be viewed each as a single word compounded; and even then the compound will be of an irregular kind, inasmuch as the inflectional element -m is dealt with as part and parcel of the root.

4. Self has Selves, the plural form of a Noun, and not that of an Adjective.

In the German phrases min lip, din lip, my body, thy body, there are the equivalents to myself and thyself.

5. It is used as a noun; as, the lover of self.

6. The circumstance that if self be dealt with as a noun, such phrases as my own self, my great self, my single self, &c., can be used, by which the language would be a gainer. In the Anglo-Saxon, it is added to personal pronouns in the same gender and case; as, N. Icsylf, I myself; G. Minsylfes, of myself, &c. N. Wesylfe, we ourselves; G. Uresylfra, of ourselves, &c. It was also annexed to Nouns ; as, Petrus-sylf, Peter's self; Crist-sylf, Christ himself.

§ 227. Formerly self was used as an Adjective; as, "At that self-same moment."-Dryden. Self-same is equivalent to "very same." Formerly hisself and theirselves were in use even in the objective case, after a preposition. "Every

of us, each for hisself, labored how to recover him."--Sydney. That they would willingly and of theirselves endeavor to keep a perpetual chastity." Ourself is peculiar to the Regal style.

§ 228. There is no true Reflective pronoun in the English Language. "Vox self, pluraliter selves, quamvis etiam pronomen a quibusdam censeatur (quoniam ut plurimum per Latinum ipse redditur), est tamen plane nomen substanti vum."-WALLIS, c. vii.

In the Moso-Gothic one is found in three cases: Seina, sis, siksui, sibi, se. In Old Norse there is one found in three cases: Sin, ser, sik. In Old Frisian, in Old Saxon, in Old High-German, in Anglo-Saxon, there are traces of a Reflective pronoun, at least in its Adjectival forms.

In Dutch, Danish, and Swedish the true Reflectives occur, so that the Modern Frisian and English stand alone in respect to the entire absence of them.

The absence of the true Reflective in English renders the use of the word self much more necessary than it would be otherwise. In the English language, reflective forms for the Accusative case are obtained from the personal pronouns by the addition of self and its plural selves to the Genitive of the first two persons, and to the Accusative of the third; as, I abhor myself; thou enrichest thyself; he loves himself; she admires herself; it pleases itself; we value ourselves; ye hurry yourselves; they see themselves.

In the Nominative case, and sometimes when governed by a preposition, these compounds express Emphasis; as, I myself will write; I will examine for myself; thou thyself shalt go; thou shalt see for thyself; you yourself shall write; you shall see for yourself; he himself shall write; he shall examine for himself; she herself shall write; she shall examine for herself; the child itself shall be carried; it shall be pres ent itself.

§ 229. To make the Genitives his, her, its, our, your, their, mine, thine Emphatic or Reflective, the pronominal adjective own is used; as, "He killed himself with his own sword." "Let them fall by their own counsel."

CHAPTER IX.

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS.

§ 230. THE Demonstrative Pronouns (Latin demonstrare, to show) are, THIS, plural THESE; THAT, plural THOSE. They are so called because they eminently point out the objects to which they relate; as, "This is true charity; that is only its image."

"The only good on earth

Was pleasure; not to follow that was sin."

In the last example, that stands simply for pleasure; there is no ellipsis, for we can not put in the word "pleasure" without striking out that. "That" stands for "pleasure," and not for that pleasure. It is, therefore, a Pronoun, and not an Adjective. This refers to the nearest person or thing, and that to the most distant. This indicates the latter or last mentioned, that the former or first mentioned; as, "Both wealth and poverty offer temptations; that tends to excite pride, this discontent."

"Demonstrative Pronouns are those which express the demonstrative relation, namely, a relation either to the speaker or to another notion, establishing a distinction from other persons or things."-Becker.

This and these answer to the Latin Hic and hi, and to the Greek OUTOS, OUTO; That and those, to the Latin Ille and illi, and the Greek ἐκεῖνος, ἐκεῖνοι.