expressed a determination to which shall adds nothing but preposterousness. The case were different if he had begun with shall. The announcement of an intention to do a thing may be followed, without impropriety, by expressing a resolution to do it.

Perfect and Imperfect Tenses.

Next to shall and will there is no point in English composition that presents such a stumbling-block as the "perfect" and "imperfect' tenses. The general rule I take to be as follows:When the time spoken of is a connected with the present, in some manner either expressed or implied, then the perfect tense should be used. We say, "I have written to him this year, this month, this week, this day;" and not, "I wrote to him this year, this month, this week, this day." When the time spoken of is past, and there is nothing either expressed or implied to connect it with the present, the imperfect tense should be used. Thus, we say "I wrote to him last year, last month, last week, yesterday;" and not, "I have written to him last year, last month, last week, yesterday." As regards the expression "this morning," it admits of either tense, according to the time at which it is employed. If in the forenoon, we say, "I have written to him this morning;' if in the afternoon, we must treat it as a division

of time that is past, and say, "I wrote to him this morning."

The following examples will illustrate the first part of this rule.

1. "I have written to him twice these ten years." Here the word "these "connects the time with the present, and it would be incorrect to say "I wrote to him twice these ten years."

2. "I have written to him several times since I received his reply." The meaning here is "from the time of receiving his reply to the present time;" and it would be inaccurate to say "I wrote to him several times since I received his reply."

In explanation of the second part of the rule, it may be stated that the imperfect tense is employed in the following instances:

1. When a particular day or division of time is specified; as, "I wrote to him on the first of January."

2. When a specified period of time has elapsed since the thing is stated to have occurred; as, "I wrote to him ten years ago."

3. When the time, without being specified, is made to precede an event that is past; as, "I wrote to him several times before I received his reply."

The best apology for the triteness of these remarks is the frequency with which the tenses in question are confounded or misapplied. From

numerous instances that might be cited from our most approved writers, I have selected the following, in which the perfect tense is incorrectly employed instead of the imperfect.

"Our club has recommenced last Friday, but I was not there." JOHNSON. Letter to Boswell, 1777.

"You may remember I have formerly talked with you about a military dictionary."--IDEM. Letter (without date) to Mr. Cave.

"It is now about four hundred years since the art of multiplying books has been discovered."-D'ISRAELI. Curiosities. "Many years after this article was written, has appeared the history of English Dramatic Poetry by Mr. Collier.”—Ibid. "You may do what you have done a century ago, made the Catholics worse than Helots."-SYDNEY SMITH. Essays.

Formerly we have conversed, together with Pericles, on this extraordinary man." SAVAGE LANDOR. Pericles and Aspasia.

66

During the last century no prime minister, however powerful, has become rich in office."-MACAULAY. History of England.

"Of this admirable work a subsequent edition has been published in 1822."-ALISON. Essay on Humboldt.

“Out of the walls of Cadiz, in 1810 and 1811, has issued the cloud that now overspreads the world."-IDEM. History of Europe.

In these sentences the words in italics should be repectively "recommenced"

"was

"talked ".

appeared"-" did "-" conversed"

"became "-" was "-" issued." 66

In every case

the time is unconnected with the present, or specified as past, and the imperfect tense should have been employed.

F

Other Errors in regard to the Moods and
Tenses.

In the following example the indicative is improperly put for the subjunctive. "Writes" should be "write" or "should write:"_

"With all these objections (and we only mention them in case Mr. Hope writes again) there are few books that contain passages of greater power."-SYDNEY SMITH. Essays.

Sir A. Alison has a passage in which the imperfect tense of the indicative is used instead of the subjunctive :

"If that system were rigorously carried into executionif a first imprisonment was in every instance made so long as to teach the young novice in crime an honest trade, the continual stream of depravity which now pollutes the British islands would be lessened."-History of Europe.

Here the writer, speaking hypothetically, begins very properly with the subjunctive mood; but in the very next line, which requires the same mood, he abandons it for the indicative, and thus makes nonsense of the sentence.

Here is another example:

"Of Montgomery's prose we might say much that was favourable."-GILFILLAN. Literary Portraits.

Chenevix has an instance of the opposite fault, where he uses the subjunctive instead of the indicative :

"Henry V., indeed, if Shakespeare were well informed,

was a dexterous wooer in his way."-Essay on National Character.

In the following example we have one of the greatest of English classics unaccountably employing a past tense to express a future :

-

"This paper, should properly have appeared to-morrow."JUNIUS. Private Letter, No. 24.

There is a misapplication of the verb which is of common occurrence even in some of our ablest writers; and which consists in the use of the infinitive in the past tense, instead of the infinitive present. Examples:

"Had this been the fate of Tasso, he would have been able to have celebrated the condescension of your majesty in noble language."-JOHNSON. Dedication of Hoole's Tranlation of

Tasso.

"Gray might perhaps have been able to have rendered him more temperate in his political views."-SOUTHEY. The Doctor.

"Byron's modesty was shocked at the sight of waltzing, which he would not have suffered the Guiccioli to have indulged in even with her own husband."-WILSON. Recreations of C. North.

"Swift, but a few months before, was willing to have hazarded all the horrors of a civil war."-JEFFREY. Essays.

"That he was willing to have made his peace with Walpole is admitted by Mr. Scott."-Ibid,

"It was universally expected that his first act, upon being elevated to the office of Prince Regent, would have been to have sent for Lords Grey and Grenville."-ALISON. History of Europe.

"Those who would gladly have seen the Anglo-Saxon to