XXIV PREFACE. 



subject, he found it expanding under his 

 hands ; and being a thing in the purposed 

 mode of treating it so totally novel, it is 

 natural that he should be averse to its 

 passing out of them, in less than a state of 

 perfect order. Impressed by sentiments 

 of this nature, I know that it was in his 

 contemplation, after having completely 

 rounded his scheme of discipline, entirely 

 to re-model the whole, by a re-arrangement 

 of the matter in chapters, upon the pro- 

 gressive points of duty, in which these 

 points, with all their various relations, 

 should be separately discussed; and doing 

 away entirely the present form of personal 

 address, in the familiarities connected with 

 which the public might not be in the 

 humour of feeling much interest, to give 

 unto it the more assuming form of a regu- 

 lar treatise on the subject; in which the 

 general rule should precede, agreeably to 

 grammatical order, and be immediately 

 followed by elucidation through all the 

 variations of practice. Now that this is 

 the very best possible mode of teaching 

 grammar, I am not without some doubts ; 



