junction "And, Et."-Whenever an adjective is preceded or followed by several nouns of the same gender, and united by the con

of the same gender as the nouns; as in, The Arabs have their face and body burnt by the heat of the sun, Les Arabes ont le visage et le corps brulés de l'ardeur du soleil.

(2.) But when both adjectives could individually be placed before the noun, it becomes a matter of taste and euphony, whether they precede or follow it; as in, A brave and intrepid soldier, Un brave et intrépide soldat, or, Un soldat brave et intrépide; A large and fine city, Une grande et belle ville, or, Une ville grande et belle.

There is a natural analogy between the idea of a soldier and that of bravery and intrepidity, and between the idea of a city and that of splendour and size.

(3.) When two adjectives are used to indicate the external appearance of persons and things, and one of them may on account of its meaning, be placed before the noun, that noun may be placed between the two; as in, I placed my goods in a large open basket, Je plaçai mes marchandises dans un grand panier ouvert; He is a tall, thin man, C'est un grand homme maigre.

Remark.-It should be observed, that an adjective can never, as in English, be placed before a noun without being united by the conjunction and or neither, or, et, or ni, ou, but they may follow it when there are more than two, and the conjunction et placed before the last; as in, Your sister is a pretty, amiable, rich, generous, and well-bred woman, Votre sœur est une, femme jolie, aimable, riche, généreuse, et bien née.

Of Adjectives considered in reference to their relations with other words.-The relations of adjectives with other words are the following: 1st. Agreement of adjectives with nouns; 2nd. Use of adjectives with the article; 3rd. Object of the adjective.

Of the Agreement of Adjectives.-The adjective makes but one with the noun which it qualifies; consequently, it must follow the inflection of the noun and agree with it in number and gender; as, Good father, Bon père; Good mother, Bonne mère, Exquisite wine, Excellents vins; Handsome women, Belles femmes.

Of Adjectives qualifying several Nouns of the same Gender, and united by the Con- |

But if the nouns should have some similarity in their signification, as they would then in fact represent but one idea, the ad

agree with the last; as in, He received us with an insufferable ostentation and pride, Il nous reç ut avec un faste et un orgueil insupportable.

Of Adjectives qualifying several Nouns of a different Gender.-Whenever an adjective is used to qualify several nouns of a different gender, it is used in the plural number and masculine gender; as in, The inhabitants of the Strait of Davis eat their fish and meat raw, Les habitans du détrait de Davis mangent leur poisson (m.) et leur viande (f.) crus.

Euphony sometimes requires that the feminine noun should be expressed first when the adjective has not the same termination in either gender; thus we must say, The actor plays with perfect dignity and taste, Cet acteur joue avec une noblesse et un goût parfaits, rather than, Cet acteur joue avec un goût et une noblesse parfaits; because in this last sentence the feminine noun noblesse and the adjective parfaits, plural masculine, would form a dissonance disagreeable to the ear.

Of Adjectives qualifying several Nouns which are united by the Conjunction "And, Et."-When two or several nouns are synonymous in their meaning, and one only is intended to be qualified by the adjective which follows them both, this adjective agrees with the last. His whole life has been spent in continued labour and occupation, Toute sa vie n'a été qu'un travail et une occupation continuelle.

The same rule is applied whenever there is a gradation in the meaning of the several nouns qualified by the adjective; as in, The knife, the headband, the fire, all is ready, Le fer, le bandeau, la flamme, est toute prête.

Of Adjectives preceded by two or several Nouns, and relating only to the last.—When an adjective is preceded by several nouns, united or not by the conjunction and, et, and qualifies only the last, it should agree with this one, and should not be used in the plural on account of those which precede it;

eure.

Of Adjectives preceded by several Nouns, separated by the Conjunction, “Or, Ou.”. When an adjective is preceded by two nouns separated by the conjunction or, ou, it agrees with the last if it is intended to qualify only one of them; as in, As Rome was no longer free, and could no more be such, it mattered but little who would be its master, whether Pompeius or Cæsar Rome n'étant plus libre et ne pouvant plus l'être, qu'importait que Pompée ou que César fût maître. Maître is in the singular, because there could be but one master in Rome.

But if the adjective should at once qualify the two nouns, the agreement should take place with both; as in, Who is the father who would not mourn over his son and daughter being lost for the world, Quel est le bon père de famille qui ne gémisse de voir son fils ou sa fille perdus pour la société ?

Perdus is in the plural, because the mind refers to both as being lost.

Of Adjectives qualifying sometimes the first, sometimes the second Noun, when it is preceded by several Nouns separated by the Preposition "Of, De." -When an adjective is preceded by two nouns separated by of, de, it agrees with the first or the last, according to the sense of the sentence; as in, White silk stockings, Des bas de soie blancs; A skein of white silk, Un écheveau de soie blanche. In the first sentence, the mind does not think of the material which, being white, renders the stockings of that colour, but of the stockings themselves, which strike the eye as being white.

In the second example, it is the material which occupies the mind, the skein being only the shape in which it is presented to

the eye.

Of Exceptions to the rules relating to the agreement of the Adjective.-Of the Adjective "Feu," late. The adjective feu, late, is invariable when placed before the article or adjective possessive pronoun, but it varies if placed after them; as in, The late Queen, Feu la reine, or la feue reine; My late mother, Feu ma mère or ma feue mère.

Of the Adjective "Nu," Naked.-The adjective nu, naked, remains invariable when it precedes a noun, but it agrees with that noun when it follows it; as in, He goes barefooted, Il va nu pieds or les pieds nus. But when the adjective nu is preceded by the article the used in the feminine, it agrees with the noun which it qualifies, although it is placed before it; as in, My father has kept for himself the title to his lands, and given the revenue to his children, Mon père s'est conservé la nue propriété de ses terres et en a abandonné l'usufruit à ses enfants.

Of the Adjective "Demi," Half.-Whenever the adjective demi is placed before a noun, it forms with that noun a compound expression in which the two words are joined by a hyphen, and remains invariable; but when placed after the noun, it agrees with that noun in gender but not in number, for two halves make one whole; three halves make one whole and a half, &c.; thus we say: One hour and a half, Une heure et demie; | Half an hour, Une demi-heure.

But if the word demi should be used as a noun in a sentence like the following, it should be used in the plural: This clock strikes the hours but not the half-hours, Cette horloge sonne les heures, mais elle, ne sonne pas les demies.

Demi, although an adjective, is sometimes used as an adverb, and then it never varies; as in, Half-fool, half-dead, halfrotten, &c., Demi-fou, demi-mort, demipourri, &c.

Of the Adjectives Excepté, "Excepted," Passé, "Past," Supposé," Supposed," Vu, "Considering," Y Compris, "Here Included," Franc de Port," Free of Postage," &c.-When the above expressions, or any of the same nature, are placed before a noun, they act as prepositions, and remain invariable; but they do vary when they follow it; as in, All is well made in this house except the doors, Tout est bien fait dans cette maison excepté les portes; You will find here included a copy of my last letter, Vous trouverez ci-inclus une copie de ma derniere

lettre; I recommend you the five letters here included, Je vous recommande les cinq lettres ci-incluses; You will receive this letter free of postage, Vous recevrez cette lettre franche de port; Vous recevrez franc de port la lettre ci-jointe.

Of Adjectives performing the parts of Adverbs or Nouns.-When an adjective is used to modify the signification of a verb, it acts the part of an adverb and does not vary; as in, This woman sings out of tune, Cette femme chante faux; This rose smells good, Cette rose sent bon.

If an adjective, used as such, acts the part of a noun, it never varies; as, The moulting of the agate canary-birds lasts longer than that of others, La mue des serins agate (de couleur agate) est plus longue que celle des autres.

When there are in a sentence two adjectives, the first of which is modified by the second, these two adjectives remain invariable; as, These tissues are of a dark blue, Ces étoffes sont (d'un) bleu-foncé; His hair is of a light chesnut colour, Il a les cheveux (d'un) châtain-clair.

But if the two adjectives, placed one after another, are both used to qualify the same noun, they must then agree with that noun; as, The hair of that child was chesnut, brown, and fine, Les cheveux de cet enfant étaient châtains, bruns et fins.

Of the Compound Adjectives "New-born, Dead-drunk, &c.-When in a compound adjective, the first is used adverbially, it remains invariable, and the second only changes; as in, New-born animals want their mother only for a few months, Les animaux nouveau-nés n'ont besoin, de leurs mères que pendant quelques mois.

Nouveau is used here instead of the adverb nouvellement, newly.

It should be observed that nouveau cannot be used adverbially before an adjective relating to a feminine noun; thus, we cannot say, Une fille nouveau-neé, but Une fille nouvellement neé, for A new-born girl.

will therefore state here what we think to be consecrated by usage and the authority of good writers.

Avoir l'air, to have the appearance, to appear, may be used in speaking of animated beings or things.

(1.) When this expression is applied to animated beings, the adjective which is preceded by the word air expresses either a moral faculty, a quality, a metaphysical distinction, or else it designates a form, a manner of being merely physical.

In the first instance, as the adjective may always reasonably qualify the word air, it should agree with the noun; so we say, She looks frivolous and absent, Elle a l'air léger et distrait; They look haughty, but at the same time they are familiar, Elles ont l'air hautain, mais l'accueil familier; Do not have yourself painted in a riding-dress; you look too gentle for it, Ne vous faites pas peindre en Amazone; vous avex l'air trop doux; Parisian women do not appear awkward and embarrassed in their manners, Les Parisiennes n'ont pas l'air gauche et embarrassé.

In the second instance, as a physical quality cannot be applied to the word air, the adjective which follows that noun should agree with the animated being spoken of; as in, This lady seems to be well made, Cette dame a l'air bien faite; She looks pleased with what has just been said to her; Elle a l'air contente de ce qu'on vient de lui dire.

(2.) When avoir l'air is applied to things, there is no difficulty; for the adjective cannot qualify the noun air, as inanimate beings can only have physical qualifications; then we should say, This house looks as if it were strongly built, Cette maison a l'air solidement bâtie; This soup appears to be very good, Cette soupe a l'air très bonne.

Of the Gender of Adjectives used with the word "Air, Appearance."-As it is sometimes difficult to ascertain the gender of the adjective which is used to qualify the word air, we will try to give some explanation on the subject.

Grammarians differ on this difficulty; we

Of the agreement of Adjectives used in the Superlative Degree. An adjective, when used in the superlative degree, has lost nothing of its nature of a qualificative, since it expresses still a quality in a very or in the highest degree; it therefore follows the general rule; but it is sometimes the case that a superlative refers to a noun

which is not expressed; the sentence is then elliptical, and the mind supplying the noun understood, the adjective agrees with it; as in, Winter is the dullest of seasons, L'hiver est (la saison) la plus triste des saisons.

Remark.-Adjectives in the comparative or superlative degree in French, are most generally placed after the noun.

Of Adjectives as qualifying Nouns of Persons or Things only. There are adjectives which can only qualify nouns of persons; such as, économe, saving; inconsolable, inconsolable; patriote, patriotic; despote, despotic, &c.; and others which can only be applied to things; as, despotique, despotic; économique, economical; pardonnable, excusable; patriotique, patriotic, &c. Adjectives which are derived from the verbs, such as, pardonnable, inconsolable, which come from pardonner, consoler, are applied to persons or things, inasmuch as these verbs have for their direct object a noun of person or thing: therefore, as we do not say in French, Pardonner une personne, we cannot use the expression, Une personne pardonnable; but as we say, Pardonner une chose, we can say, Une chose pardonnable. For the same reason, we cannot apply the adjective inconsolable to things, for persons and not things are to be consoled.

But although this rule is applicable in most cases, there are a few exceptions which usage renders legitimate, as the following: Un roi obéi, a king who is obeyed; Une chose convenue, a thing agreed upon; Un état désespéré a hopeless situation; although we cannot say, Obéir un roi, but à un roi; Convenir une chose, but d'une chose; Désespérer une chose, but d'une chose. There are other exceptions which the pupil will easily ascertain as he advances in a knowledge of French.

(To be continued.)

TRADE MARKS UPON PORCELAIN. IT has been the practice at all the great porcelain manufacturies to stamp upon the bottom, or some other convenient part not exposed to view, of each article fabricated, a peculiar distinctive mark, by which the place of its manufacture shall be always capable of being ascertained. It will not be without interest here to indicate some of the principal of these marks.

The Dresden porcelain, manufactured at the royal manufactory of Meissen, bears the

From 1830 to 1834, the symbol of equality, a double equilateral triangle was used: and from 1834 to the revolution in 1848, the articles bore the cypher of Louis Philippe.

By these indications the amateur will be enabled to determine the epoch of the manufacture of such articles as may fall under his notice.

spot so often as to make it a bare oircular path." The appearance of a female is the signal for a general battle among the gallant lords of the fen, who are said to be superior in number to the softer sex. The whole of this splendid head-dress, with the brilliant hue of the skin, dies away at the termination of the love season, and the plumage of the bird is so altered, that even naturalists seek in vain for him amidst the kindred tribes of sandpipers that throng our shores in autumn and winter. The female, the Reeve, is destitute of all this finery, and is a plain, simple bird, never altering in "personal charms." The splendid tuft of the male differs so much in different individuals, that out of a hundred specimens, scarcely two are alike; they are black, white, and brown, but generally striated with these colours upon a white ground. The amativeness of the bird, however, often proves its ruin. The fowler, concealed in the reeds, has erected a long net, propped up in an inclined position, under which he places his "stales" or stuffed birds. The Ruffs, and sometimes even the Reeves, rush under this net, which is immediately let down upon them; and thus numbers are captured. It was formerly the custom to fatten them with hempseed, boiled wheat and milk, with the addition of a little sugar, and it was said to be a matter of some judgment to ascertain when they reached the utmost point of fatness, for if this carbonaceous diet was continued too long, the bird, after a certain point, would sicken and pine.

THE RUFF AND REEVE (Macheles pugnax). This bird, which belongs to the tribe of sandpipers, is known in the male as the Ruff, and in the female as Reeve. This distinguishing name is given to the male bird on account of the peculiarity of his head gear at this season. Like all other sparks who "go a-courting," he is arrayed in his very best suit of a Sunday, or, more properly, summer clothes. Round his neck he wears a ruff, somewhat similar in shape to that worn by the virgin queen of England, Elizabeth, of vast size compared with his own bulk, and altogether a very singular addendum to his ordinary clothing. In addition to this, a space round the eyes, which is void of feathers, becomes at this period of a bright red colour, and covered with small tubercles. And when to this imposing mien you add the pugnacity of his disposition, he is altogether as gallant a lover as the days of chivalry could ever boast. Linnæus, who was one of the happiest nomenclatists the world has seen, fixed the synonyme of this bird as Tringa pugnax, the pugnacious sandpiper, a most felicitous expression, as in the season of courtship the battles that occur amongst the males, for the possession of the females, are of a formidable character. The male is said to take his stand on a dry bank near some small pond, "running round a particular

The head was then cut off with scissors, and when sent to market they fetched a high price. The birds which reach the metropolitan markets now, however, are mostly procured with the gun, as have diminished the number of these birds, which the drainage of the fens, and increased cultivation, formerly not only visited those tracts, but there reared up their young without danger of molestation.

A DONKEY'S REVENGE.

A strange occurrence took place a few days ago at Gardanne (Bouches-du-Rhone). A farmer had been in the habit of ill-treating a donkey, and on the day in question had beaten the poor animal more brutishly than usual. The proverbial patience of the long-eared animal appears to have been at length exhausted; and, taking advantage of the moment when the man had just taken off the harness, the donkey rushed forward, knocked him down, and then began tearing him in the most dreadful manner with its teeth, striking him also with its fore feet. The man cried out for assistance; but before aid could arrive he was so dreadfully mangled that he died in a few hours.