134 



THE POPULAR EDUCATOR. 



mountain wall, which almost or quite encloses it. Not unfre- 

 quently a solitary peak stands erect in the middle of this plain, 

 attaining nearly the same height as the sides ; in other instances 

 the interior ia so large that mountain-chains run across it. The 

 number of these cavities, especially in the southern hemisphere, 

 is very great, and some of them are of such a size as to be aptly 

 designated walled plains. Even with the most powerful telescopes 

 we are unable to distinguish any of the more minute features of 

 these mountains and ranges : the whole appearance of them, how- 

 ever, seems to speak most strongly of the violent action of vol- 

 canic force, and shows that in former times great convulsions of 

 nature have taken place here. 



The telescope also shows many level plains on the moon's sur- 

 face, which were formerly taken to be seas, and which still retain 

 their names, though it is now evident that they are merely dry 

 plains. The Sea of Clouds, the Bay of Bainbows, and the Ocean 

 of Storms, are some of these spots. It is now believed that no 

 water at all exists on the moon, or, at least, on the side of it 

 turned towards us ; some, indeed, have supposed that its centre 

 of gravity is nearer the other side, and that hence all the air and 

 water are accumulated there, but this is not known. 



The motion of the moon is very complicated indeed, as so many 

 disturbing causes affect it. It is, in fact, a very difficult problem 

 to calculate exactly the position it will occupy at any given time : 

 this problem has, however, been solved, and its movements are 

 now fully understood. Its principal motion is, as has been 

 explained, one of revolution round the earth ; the earth is, how- 

 ever, at the same time pursuing its journey round the sun, and 

 thus the combination of these two movements makes it describe 

 a path which is in reality a succession of curves. If a pencil 

 were attached to one of the spokes of a wheel, and made to trace 

 a line on a piece of paper as the wheel travelled onwards, we 

 should obtain a rough representation of this path. There are, 

 however, several inequalities in its motion. One of the prin- 

 cipal of these is the evection, which arises from the alteration in 

 the eccentricity of the moon's orbit produced by the different 

 positions of the sun with regard to it, and at times makes a dif- 

 ference of 1 20' in the moon's longitude. The variation is 

 another irregularity likewise dependent upon the position of the 

 sun : when in that part of its orbit in which it is moving away 

 from that luminary, the moon's motion is retarded by the sun's 

 attraction, and when in the opposite part of its orbit it is ac- 

 celerated to a similar extent. The other variations are so slight 

 that they need not be referred to here. 



LESSONS IN, SPANISH. Y. 



POSSESSIVE PKONOUNS. 



THE possessive pronouns are, mio, my ; tuyo, thy ; suy<?, his, 

 lier, its, or their; nuestro, our; vuestro, your. They are de- 

 clined in the following paradigm : 



Singular. Plural. 



MASCULINE. FEMININE. MASCULINE. FEMININE. 



Mio, mia; mios, mias. 



Tuyo, tuya; tuyos, tuyas. 



Suyo, suya; suyos, suyas. 



Nuestro, nuestra; nuestros, nuestras. 



Vuestro, vuestra; vuestros, vuestras. 



The possessive pronouns mio, tuyo, and suyo, with their femi- 

 nines, drop their last syllable when they precede the noun to 

 which they belong ; as 



Mi padre, mi madre, 

 Sus caballos, 



Iffy father, my mother. 

 His (her or their) horses. 



If mio, tuyo, or suyo come after the noun to which they 

 belong, the last syllable is retained ; as 



i Padre mio ! j madre inia ! My father ! my mother .' 



Este libro es suyo, This look is his (or hers, or theirs). 



The possessive pronouns agree in gender and number with 

 the object possessed, and not with the person or thing possess- 

 ing. Thus, su libro may mean his book, her book, or their book; 

 sus libros may mean his books, her books, or their books. 



The context will generally show whether suyo should be ren- 

 dered his, her, or their. Otherwise, to prevent ambiguity, de el, 

 of him ; de ella, of her ; de ellos, of them (mass.) ; de ellas, of 

 them (fern.), etc., are added ; as 



Este libro es suyo de 1, This book is his. 



Este libro es suyo de ella, This book is hers. 



Estos libros son suyos de vmd., These books are yours. 



Estos libros son suyos de ellas, These books are theirs (fein.). 



The absolute possessive pronouns mine, thine, his own, her 

 own, its own, ours, yours, theirs, are formed by placing the 

 definite article before the possessive pronouns ; thus, el mio, la 

 mia, los mios, las mias, mine; el nuestro, la nuestra, los nuea- 

 tros, las nuestras, ours; as 



Su hermano y el mio, 



Tu rnadre y la mia, 



Vuestras hermanas y las mias, 



His brother and miue. 

 Thy mother and mine. 

 1'our sisters and mine. 



When in English the preposition of comes before the absolute 

 possessive pronoun, as in such phrases as "a horse of ours," 

 " a dog of mine," etc., the preposition is not used in Spanish ; 

 as 



Un bijo mio es capitau, A son of mine is captain. 



Instead of the personal pronouns, the definite article is used 

 in Spanish when any member or part of the human body is 

 described as being acted upon in such a manner as to make it 

 evident that it refers to the person himself to whom the member 

 or part belongs ; as 



El la toino por la mano, 

 Ella levanto los ojos, 



Ho took her by her (the) hand. 

 She raised her (the) eyes. 



He touched the hand to-liim. 

 The hand to-him trembles. 

 He to-thee took the boots. 



If, however, part of the human body, or parts of dress, be 

 described as acting, or the object of an action, and the article 

 alone would not leave it evident to whom such part belongs, 

 then (instead of a possessive pronoun) a personal pronoun and 

 the definite article are both used ; as 



El le toco la mano, 

 La mauo le tiembla, 

 El te tomo las botas, 



In these examples the learner will perceive that in English 

 the possessive pronoun alone would have been employed : for 

 example he touched his hand ; his hand trembles ; he took 

 thy boots. 



To prevent ambiguity, vmd. or vmds. (your ivorship or your 

 worships) is often used in addition to the possessive pronoun 

 or the definite article ; as, Yo le doy a vmd. muchas gracias, I 

 to him give to your worship many thanks ; that is, J give you 

 many thanks. Sus or los hijos de vmd., seuor, son amablcs, his 

 or the sons of your worship, sir, are amiable; that is, your 

 sons, sir, are amiable. Mis hijas y las suyas de vmd. son jovenes, 

 my daughters and yours (his of your worship) are young. 



Cabeza, liead. 

 Calle, f., street. 

 Duele, (it) pains, (it) 

 aches. 



VOCABULARY. 



Garganta, throat. 

 Levanto, (he) raised. 

 Mano, f., hand. 

 Ojo, eye. 



Por, by, through. 

 Sobrino, nephew. 

 Tomo, (he) took. 



MODEL SENTENCES. 



Las casas son suyas, the houses are 

 his (or Tiers, or theirs). 



Los sombreros son suyos de el, the 

 hats are his. 



Tu hermaua y la mia tienen ham- 

 bre y sed, thy sister and mi/ie 

 are hungry and thirsty. 



Pedro es amigo mio, Peter is a 



friend of mine. 

 La inuger levanto los ojos, the 



woman raised her (the) e'jes. 

 Le duele la garganta de Pedro, 



the throat of Peter pains him;* 



i.e., Peter's throat ia sore. 



EXEBCISE 11. SPANISH-ENGLISH. 



1. El juez hablo a sus aruigos. -. Mi madre tiene hambre. 3. Su 

 criado tieue sed. 4. Su. hija tiene tves cucharas. 5. Nuestras criadas 

 son. culpables. 6. El libro es mio. 7. La cuchara es tuya. 8. Los 

 sombreros sou nuestros. 9. Mi padre ine vio. 10. Los caballos son. 

 suyos de ella. 11. Las cucharas son suyas de ellos. 12. Las casas son 

 mias. 13. El medico es arnigo mio y suyo de el. 14. El dio el libro 

 a un amigo nuestro. 15. El levanto las rnaiios. 16. Ella levanto los 

 ojos. 17. El criado tieue uu sombrero en la mano. 18. La cabeza me 

 duelo. 19. Me duele la garganta. 20. El piutor le tomo el sombrero, 

 y fue a casa del mddico. 21. Mi sobrino levanto la cabeza. 22. Vmd. 

 tiene su diuero. 23. La muger tiene su libro. 24. Vmd. escribio 

 algunas cartas a sus amigos. 25. Vms. dieron tres libros a sns criadas. 

 26. El medico le dio a vmd. muchos libros. 27. Lns casas sou suyaa 



* Literally, "to-him pains the throat of Peter.' 



