for the indefinite article is capable of changing entirely the meaning of a sentence. "That is a ticket" is the assertion of a certain fact; but "That is the ticket!" means something which is quite different.
The article is not prefixed to a proper name; as, Stubbs, Wiggins, Brown or Hobson, except for the sake of distinguishing a particular family, or description of persons; as, He is a Burke; that is, one of the Burkes, or a person resembling Burke.
The definite article is frequently used with adverbs in the comparative and superlative degree: as, "The longer I live, the taller, I grow or, as we have all heard the showman say, "This here, gentlemen and ladies, is the vonderful heagle of the sun; the 'otterer it grows, the higherer he flies!"
CHAPTER III
Proper names, or substantives, are the names belonging to individuals: as William, Birmingham.
These are sometimes converted into nicknames, of improper names: as Bill, Brummagem.
Common names, or substantives, denote kinds containing many sorts, or sorts containing many individual» under them: as brute, beast, bumpkin, cherub, infant, goblin, &c.
Proper names, when an article is prefixed to them, are employed as common names: as, "They thought him a perfect Chesterfield; he quite astonished the Browns."
Common names, on the other hand, are made to denote individuals, by the addition of articles or pronouns: as,
"There was a little man, and he had little gun."
"That boy will be the death of me!"
Substantives are considered according to gender, number, and case; they are all of the third person when spoken of, and of the second when spoken to; as,
Matilda, fairest maid, who art
In countless bumpers toasted,
O let thy pity baste the heart
Thy fatal charms have roasted!
The distinction between nouns with regard to sex is called Gender. There are three genders: the Masculine, the Feminine, and the Neuter.
The masculine gender belongs to animals of the male kind: as, a fop, a jackass, a boar, a poet, a lion.
The feminine gender is peculiar to animals of the female kind: as, a poetess, a lioness, a goose.
The neuter gender is that of objects which are neither males nor females: as, a toast, a tankard, a pot, a pipe, a pudding, a pie, a sausage, &c. &c. &c.
We might go on to enumerate an infinity of objects of the neuter gender, of all sorts and kinds; but in the selection of the foregoing examples we have been guided by two considerations: —
1. The desire of exciting agreeable emotions in the mind of the reader.
2. The wish to illustrate the following proposition, "That almost everything nice is also neuter."
Except, however, a nice young lady, a nice duck, and one or two other nice things, which we do not at present remember.
Some neuter substantives are by a figure of speech converted into the masculine or feminine gender: thus we say of the sun, that when he shines upon a Socialist, t he shines upon a thief; and of the moon, that she affects the minds of lovers.
There are certain nouns with which notions of strength, vigor, and the like qualities, are more particularly connected; and these are the neuter substantives which are figuratively rendered masculine. On the other hand, beauty, amiability, and so forth, are held to invest words with a feminine character. Thus the sun is said to be masculine, and the moon feminine. But for our own part, and our view is confirmed by the discoveries of astronomy, we believe that the sun is called masculine from his supporting and sustaining the moon, and finding her the wherewithal to shine away as she does of a night, when all quiet people are in bed; and from his being obliged to keep such a family of stars besides.
The moon, we think, is accounted feminine, because she is thus maintained and kept up in her splendor, like a fine lady, by her husband the sun. Furthermore, the moon is continually changing; on which account alone she might be referred to the feminine gender. The earth is feminine, tricked out, as she is, with gems and flowers. Cities and towns are likewise feminine, because there are as many windings, turnings, and little odd corners in them as there are in the female mind. A ship is feminine, inasmuch as she is blown about by every wind. Virtue is feminine by courtesy. Fortune and misfortune, like mother and daughter, are both feminine. The Church is feminine, because she is married to the state; or married to the state because she is feminine – we do not know which. Time is masculine, because he is so trifled with by the ladies.
The English language distinguishes the sex in three manners; namely,
1. By different words; as,
MALE. FEMALE.
Bachelor Maid.
Brother Sister.
Wizard Father And several other
Witch Mother, &c.
Words we don't mention,
(Pray pardon the crime,)
Worth your attention,
But wanting in rhyme.
2. By a difference of termination; as,
MALE. FEMALÉ.
Poet Poetess.
Lion Lioness, &c.
3. By a noun, pronoun, or adjective being prefixed to the substantive;
as, male. female.
A cock-lobster A hen-lobster.
A jack-ass A jenny-ass (vernacular.)
A man-servant, A maid-servant, or flunkey. or Abigail.
A male flirt (A common animal) A female flirt (A rare animal.)
We have heard it said, that every Jack has his Jill. That may be; but it is by no means true that every cock has his hen; for there is a
Cock-swain, but no Hen-swain.
Cock-eye, but no Hen-eye.
Cock-ade, but no Hen-ade.
Cock-atrice, but no Hen-atrice.
Cock-horse, but no Hen-horse.
Cock-ney, but no Hen-ney.
Then we have a weather-cock, but no weather-hen; a tum-cock, but no turn-hen; and many a jolly cock, but not one jolly hen; unless we except some of those by whom their mates are pecked.
Some words; as, parent, child, cousin, friend, neighbour, servant and several others, are either male or female, according to circumstances.
It is a great pity that our language is so poor in the terminations
