LYMAN— BRIEF NOTES. 631 



mines. The instinct in the matter is much stronger and more cor- 

 rect in England than in America. The English quite naturally say 

 correctly, Public Works Department, while in America, we some- 

 times, as a result of dangerous little knowledge, meet with Depart- 

 ment of Public Works, that is, intended as a literal translation from 

 the French, which would be literally department concerning public 

 works. The adjectival relation gives practically the same meaning, 

 showing that the department is the one concerned with public 

 works, not of them (which would be one of them, not including 

 them all). The difference is: a department that has to with all 

 the public works; and a department among (or off from) public 

 works. 



