426 



On the English Verb. 



[Dec. 1, 



■written), on an injury done the bees by 

 a perfon who did not like they fhould 

 vifit his garden. It fecins to me Dam- 

 nwnjhie injuria. Thefe aerial trefpojferx 

 (if tiefpalYers tiiey niuil be called) are 

 at lead privileged by the courtefy of 

 conuTQon conibiit ; aud if the farmer fiif- 

 fcrs gawe on his laud, which ol'tcn lie 

 may not tatjc, the gentleman may with 

 jnuch greater reafon futier the bee.t of 

 his poorer neighbour. Befides, they 

 hardly confine themfelves to liis garden : 

 heaths, or fields of clover or buck-wheat. 

 are in moft places to be found. If his 

 repugnance to them be not too great, 

 ]ie may keep hees of his oun, who will 

 probably defend their territory againfl 

 invaders. 



EELS. 



Tliefc, I believe, may be killed by 

 drawing a filk thread dipped in oil of 

 tobacco under the (kin near the cheek, 

 as recommended by Henry Baker, in 

 bis Account of the Microfcope j or by let- 

 ting them fall their whole length at once, 

 drawn out fuaight, on a ftone-pavement; 

 vhich I underftand, from memory, to be 

 the recommendation of the benevolent 

 Dr. Hawe:a, the founder of the Humane 

 Society. I am, Sir, youi-s, &c. 



Capll Lorn. 



Tro/ion, Nov. 9, 180C. 



To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 



STT!, 



MR. Pytclie?, in his letter to j'ou in 

 your laft number, concerning the 

 Tery important work in which he is en- 

 gaged of writing a new Englilh dictionary, 

 fays " It is a univerfally received pro- 

 talis among grammarians, that the fnft 

 terms of every language were nouns, 

 which were turned into verbs hy putting 

 them in action." I confcfs I do not pre- 

 cifely know what is. jicre meant by put- 

 ting nouns in attion. I have heard dif- 

 ferent opinions advanced refpcfting the 

 nature ar.d origin of the verb. Mr. Horn 

 Tooke, the moft eminent grammarian 

 of the prtfent age, though he has written 

 much about verbs, has not yet given us 

 his opinion concerning their precife na- 

 ture and origin ; hut has priinifed to do 

 it in his next volume. This is certainly 

 a proof that he thinks it a fubject of 

 fome difficulty, about which grammarians 

 do not univerfally agree. 



I fuppofe the fiiil words in every ori- 

 ginal language to have been nouns, i. e. 

 names of things, names of their qua- 



lities, and names of their a6tions ; and 

 that the names of attions became verbs 

 by lieing united with the copula, or verb 

 of exijlence, to be, el re, ejj'e, a word ef- 

 fentially neceflftiry in e\ery language. 

 Thus raining, or rain is, thunder is, 

 hail is, would foon be contracted into 

 rains, thunders, hails. In like matnicr 

 fuch words as liviiig, or live is, cat is, 

 drink is, deep is, fit is, ftand is, walk is, 

 &c., would e.iiily become lives, eats, 

 drinks, ilecps, fits, ftands, walks, &c. 

 This opinion I ventured to lay before 

 the public in my Diirortation on the 

 Englilh \'erb, printed 1789. I then af- 

 fcrted it with foiue dilhdence, I now do 

 it with more confidence ; not only be- 

 caufe it has been approved by many 

 friends whofe judgment I value, but be- 

 caufe the fame opinion has been very 

 ably maintained hy the learned Dr. A'in- 

 cent, with refpcct to the Greek verb, in 

 his treatifc on that fubjcrt ; and likcwife 

 by Mr. .Sever, particularly with rcipeft 

 to imperfonal verbs, in his valuable Syn- 

 tax of the Latin Verb. I am, <kc. 



J. I'iCKBOURX. 



Kackneij, Ofl. 28, 1306. 



For the Monthli/ Magazine. 



A LETTER frOm MR. H. TOILMIN, /or 



foitie years principal SECRET.vuy to 

 the governor and state of kh.n- 

 xrCKY; ;!0(i; fl DISTRICT ivdoe of the 

 cxr.ciiT COURT in the mississipi ter- 



TORY, to MR. G of . 



SIR, 



IT was but a few days fince I received 

 your letter of April 2oth. I (liould 

 have been happy to have fccn you in 

 Kentucky on your firft arrival in Ame- 

 rica ; and I Ihall be glad, when you do 

 come, to render you any fcrvices in niy 

 power. I will proceed to give you fuch 

 information refpccting this country as you 

 may j)robably will) ; though, as it is 

 likely you are not entirely a ftrangcr to 

 it, 1 may poliihly mention circuniltances 

 )!:any of which you are already acquaint- 

 ed with. 



Yon a(k me at what price an liundred 

 acres of hind, with twenty or tljirty 

 cleared, can be oi)lainedr — The prices 

 are very various, from one doilar to ten 

 per acre, according to the fituation. 

 Near this place, which is the feat of our 

 government, fuch a tradt would coft 

 f) om 5 to 600 dollars. At the dillance 

 of three or four rnilcs from town, near 

 Lexington, it would be fomcwhat hieher. 



' But 



