eray in fun.

Conductress, paintress, and sculptress are to be found in old writers, and are still sometimes seen; but the best modern usage is against them. Since women have taken the management of large hotels in England, manageress has come into vogue there; but it may be doubted whether it will secure a place in the language. Doctress, instructress, and preceptress are not in good use. Surgeoness and teacheress I have never seen; but they are no worse than dudess or "the celebrated globe-trottress."

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e. g., ma

Forms in -ist. Some nouns in "ist" chinist," "pianist," "violinist" are in good use; others, if they ever were in good use, are not so now: e. g., harpist for "harper;". or they have not yet come into good use: e. g., pokerist for "poker-player," poloist for "polo-player," polkist for "polka-dancer." Others are simply vulgar: e. g., walkist for "walker," fightist for "fighter."

Abbreviated Forms. Good use adopts some abbreviated forms, but brands as barbarisms many others.

Some of those condemned by "The Spectator" at the beginning of the last century are current still: e. g., hyp for "hypochondria," incog for "incognito," phiz for "physiognomy," poz for "positive." Others e. g., plenipo for "plenipotentiary," rep for "reputation "—have disappeared; but their places have been more than filled: e. g., ad for “advertisement," cap for "captain," co-ed for "female student at a co-educational college," compo for "composition," confab for "confabulation," curios for "curiosities," cute for "acute," exam for “examination," gent for "gentleman," gym for gymnasium," hum for "humbug," mins for "minutes," pants ("the trade name," it is said) for "pantaloons"

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("trousers" is far preferable), pard for "partner," ped for "pedestrian," perks for "perquisites," phone for "telephone," photo for "photograph," prelim for "preliminary examination," prex for "president," prof for "professor," quad for "quadrangle," spec for "speculation," typo for "typographer," varsity for "university."

e. g.

On the other hand, some abbreviated forms"cab" from " cabriolet," "chum" from "chamber-fellow or (perhaps) "chamber-mate," "consols" from "consolidated annuities," "hack" from "hackney-coach," "mob" from mobile vulgus, "penult" from "penultima," "proxy and "proctor" from "procuracy" and "procurator," from "vanguard" have established themselves.

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van

Misused Nouns. - As the number of nouns in the language is very large, the opportunities to use those which do not exactly express the meaning, instead of those which do, are many, so many, indeed, that the task of enumerating all the cases in which nouns may be mistaken for one another must be left to makers of dictionaries or of books of synonyms. All that can be attempted here is to note some of the pitfalls which lie in the way of unpractised writers.

Few of us, it is to be hoped, need to be warned against confounding allegory with "alligator," as Mrs. Malaprop does in "The Rivals," or asterisks with "hysterics," as Winifred Jenkins does in "Humphrey Clinker;" but blunders a little less gross are not uncommon.

I.

There are constant drafts on the resources of the Government.

Is the rocking-chair an article (or, Is the rocking-chair) peculiar to America?

II.

There are constant appeals upon the resources of the Government.

Is the rocking-chair a device peculiar to America?

No one who knows what "device means calls a rocking

chair a device.

I.

That sunbeam played a great part in the landscape.

II.

That sunbeam was a mighty factor in the landscape.

In school and college compositions one often finds factor, -a word which fills an important place in the study of mathematics, but which might well be confined to a sense suggestive, directly or indirectly, of problems of some sort.

"Person" is correct, party incorrect; for the reference is not to a "party" of men, nor to one man considered as a “party” to a suit or to a legal document, or in any way as distinct from, or opposed to, another "party," but to a man as an individual. "Punch" illustrates the wrong use of party thus:

Obliging Railway Official. Any luggage, Miss?

Lady. No; I was waiting for a party who were to have come by this train.

O. R. O. A Party, Miss? Ah, let me see whiskers?

[confidentially] with

An "assertion" is a declaration, or affirmation, of facts or opinions; a "statement" is a formal embodiment in language of facts or opinions, a setting down in detail of particulars. A man may "state" why he is ignorant of a subject; he "asserts or "affirms" that he is ignorant.

I.

The magazine was successful

from the start.

II.

The magazine was a success from the start.

We may properly say that a magazine has "success," but not that it is a success.

It

"Foot

Team is improperly used to include the carriage. means "two or more animals working together." ball team" is, therefore, correct.

I.

That the workingman has so far realized his advantages is a proof of his intelligence.

The testimony of men of middle

age is decisive as to the value of college friendship.

II.

That the workingman has so far realized his advantages is tribute to his intelligence.

The verdict of men of middle age is decisive as to the value of college friendship.

"Men of middle age" give their views as individuals; "testimony," not verdict, is therefore the proper word. "Verdict" may be used of other decisions than those of a jury, e. g., "he was condemned by the verdict of the public,” — but it should be confined to the decisions of men acting, or thought of as acting, as a body.

I.

Smoking is not permitted in this compartment unless all the passengers concur.

II.

Smoking is not permitted in this compartment unless the whole of the passengers concur.

The whole means a thing from which no part is wanting; it fixes the attention on a thing as entire: "all" refers to individual persons or things. It would be proper, though unusual, to say that the whole of each passenger went against smoking.

Two nouns may look, or sound, so much alike as to be confounded one with the other by careless writers.

In the last three examples, "acts" is preferable to ac tions; for the writer is speaking of things done, not of pro