92 On Figurative Language. 
of extensive use in English, as in the follow- 
ing expressions, and numerous other similar 
ones: sea-water, dragon-fly, master-key, day- 
light, &c. &e. Mr. Horne Tooke has very 
fully explained this part of the subject. 
The consideration of prepositions and con- 
junctions, I think, may be safely omitted, as 
the author just mentioned has demonstratively 
proved them to be the fragments of other 
parts of speech, especially of verbs, the de- 
velopement of which has been already at- 
tempted in this essay. I do not however 
judge it amiss to add the following attestation 
of Mr. Kirwan, to the truth of the theory : 
The celebrated Mr. Horne Tooke, in a 
very subtle and ingenious work, has shewn 
that even those particles that denote the rela- 
tion of objects, or of sentences, with each 
other, originated from circumstances apparent 
to the senses.” —Kirwan’s Logic, v. 1. p. 12. 
In regard to the verb, substantive, and the 
pronouns, I do not well see how they can be 
traced to their sources, by the methodof the 
formation of language now proposed ; nor 
indeed am I acquainted with any satisfactory 
theory of their formation. This, however, is 
by no means sufficient to overpower the evi- 
dence which has been adduced. It is only 
a negative kind of objection. At best it is 
