Compound
Versification
Worth
What, which, who
You




PREFACE

There appears to be something assuming in the act of writing, and
thrusting into public notice, a new work on a subject which has already
employed many able pens; for who would presume to do this, unless he
believed his production to be, in some respects, superior to every one
of the kind which had preceded it? Hence, in presenting to the public
this system of English Grammar, the author is aware that an apology will
be looked for, and that the arguments on which that apology is grounded,
must inevitably undergo a rigid scrutiny. Apprehensive, however, that no
explanatory effort, on his part, would shield him from the imputation of
arrogance by such as are blinded by self-interest, or by those who are
wedded to the doctrines mid opinions of his predecessors, with _them_ he
will not attempt a compromise, being, in a great measure, indifferent
either to their praise or their censure. But with the candid, he is
willing to negotiate an amicable treaty, knowing that they are always
ready to enter into it on honorable terms. In this negotiation he asks
nothing more than merely to rest the merits of his work on its practical
utility, believing that, if it prove uncommonly successful in
facilitating the progress of youth in the march of mental improvement,
_that_ will be its best apology.