heart of the inexperienced traveler-boxes, bags, rugs, cases of prepared food, liquors, medicines, mineral waters, and children's playthings.-J. VERENS.

Copy all the nouns in "The Travelers" that indicate possession, writing the singular ones in one list and the plural ones in another.

Notice the difference between the two plural possessive forms, cats' and children's.

In the plural, if the nominative ends in s, the possessive takes the apostrophe only. If the nominative does not end in s, the possessive is formed by adding s with the apostrophe.

Write the possessive plural of ox, mouse, woman, man, girl, merchant, king, queen.

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Possessive Forms for Two or More Words

If you were to write Miss Jones as one name in the possessive, you would use the possessive ending with the word Jones only, as Miss Jones's book.

If Jones and Smith were in partnership and owned a store together, you would use the possessive with the last word only, as Smith and Jones's grocery.

In writing several words indicating single or joint possession, use the possessive form with the last word only.

You say Stevenson's and Field's poems because they did not write poems together, but each wrote separately.

Write in the possessive form the following:

The offices of Silver, Burdett & Company are at 85 Fifth Avenue, New York.

The offices of the members of the Cabinet are in the several departmental buildings.

The party that the Misses Endicott gave was brilliant. The sign of Scrooge and Marley had never been changed. The novels of Dickens and of Thackeray are different in both subject and style.

Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair; and his only alternative to escape from the labor of the farm and the clamor of his wife was to take gun in hand and stroll away to the woods. Here he would sometimes seat himself

at the foot of a tree and share the contents of his wallet with Wolf, with whom he sympathized as a fellow-sufferer in persecution. "Poor Wolf," he would say, "thy mistress leads thee a dog's life of it; but never mind, my lad, whilst I live thou shalt never want a friend to stand by thee!" Wolf would wag his tail, look wistfully in his master's face, and if dogs can feel pity, I verily believe he reciprocated the sentiment with all his heart. - IRVING.

In the above selection name the common nouns; the proper nouns.

Copy all the nouns and pronouns that indicate sex, that is, that tell whether the person or the animal is male or female, putting the males in one column and the females in another.

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Nouns and pronouns that name males are said to be of the masculine gender; those that name females are of the feminine gender.

Does the word cat tell the sex of the animal?

Names of persons or animals that may be used for either sex are of the common gender.

Bird, deer, person, cattle, are of the common gender. Copy the nouns of common gender in the above selection from Irving.

Names of things neither male nor female are of the neuter gender.

Rock, house, tree, are of the neuter gender.

Copy the nouns of neuter gender in the selection.

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Some nouns add ess to the masculine to form the feminine.

What changes, besides the ending, do you observe in the formation of any of these plurals?

Write two nouns that form the feminine by using some other ending than ess.

Write four masculine nouns for whose feminine different words are used. Write the feminine words.

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Sometimes things that are of the neuter gender are spoken of as persons having sex, as when Longfellow writes of the ship:

"There she stands

With her foot upon the sands,

Decked in flags and streamers gay,
In honor of her marriage day."

This is a figure of speech called personification.

When I was a little boy, I remember, one cold winter's morning, I was accosted by a smiling man with an ax on his shoulder.

"My pretty boy," said he, "has your father a grindstone?" "Yes, sir," said I.

"You are a fine little fellow," said he; "will you let me grind my ax on it?”

Pleased with the compliment of "fine little fellow," "Oh yes, sir," I answered. "It is down in the shop."

"And will you, my man," said he, patting me on the head, 66 get me a little hot water?"

How could I refuse? I ran, and soon brought a kettle full. "How old are you and what's your name?" continued he, without waiting for a reply; "I am sure you are one of the finest lads that ever I have seen. Will you just turn a few minutes for me?"

Tickled with flattery, like a little fool, I went to work, and bitterly did I rue the day. It was a new ax, and I toiled and tugged till I was almost tired to death. The school bell rang and I could not get away. My hands were blistered, and the ax was not half ground. At length, however, it was sharpened, and the man turned to me with, "Now, you little rascal, you've played truant; scud to the school or you'll rue it!"

"Alas!" thought I, "it was hard enough to turn a grindstone this cold day, but now to be called a little rascal is too much." - BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

Who is telling this story?

For whom does I in the first sentence stand? his?

Who says, "My pretty boy, has your father a grindstone?"

Who is he?

To whom does your refer?

Who says, "Will you let me grind my ax on it?"
To whom does you refer? me? my?

To what does it refer?

What part of speech are I, you, and he?