A D V 



A D V 



Adventure JJlan^, nii iflaiid in the Pacific Ocean, dif- 

 eoveied by captain Cook, in the run from New Zealand to 

 Otahcite, iind io called from the Ihip yldiicnliiiY, in which 

 captain Furueaux failed in this voyage. He fuppofed it to 

 be one of the dullei- of illands defcrihed by M. Bougainville, 

 under the appellation of the Dangerous Archipelago.- S. lat. 

 XT'- 5' 15". W. long. 144- 1 7' 45". 



AD\ ENTITR Lll, in a general fenfc, a prrfon who 

 engages in any undertaking with fome ridv or ha/.ard. 



Adventurers more particularly denote an ancient 

 eompany of merchants and traders, cllablilhed for the dif- 

 coveiy of lands, territories, trades, &c. unknown. Sec 

 R'.iffia Company. 



The fociety of merchant-adventurers, fo called, bccaufe 

 tliey adventured their merchandifc into foreign parts, which 

 was inilituted for the improvement of the woollen manufac- 

 ture, and the vending of the cloth abroad, particularly at Ant- 

 werp, is faid to have fprnng out of the guild of mercers of 

 the city of London ; and their origin in this country is 

 traced to the clofe of the reign of king Edward \. when 

 they attempted the commencement of a woollen manufaclure 

 in England. In the year 1296, they obtained privileges of 

 John duke of Brabant, and ilapled themfelves at Antwci-p, 

 joining in fociety with tliemfelves all other Englifli merchants 

 reforting thither. But this fociety had not the name of Mtr- 

 chaiit-Ad'ucntnrets as a company, till the reign of king Henry 

 VH. Some writers trace the rife of this fociety to an atTo- 

 ciation of merchants, which was formed in 135(5, under the 

 appellation of the Brotherhood of St. Thomas a Bechct.; 

 though a fociety of this name is known to have cxilled in 

 the year 1248, and to have given rife to the merchants of 

 tlie Staple of England. The privileges of the fociety of 

 merchant-adventurers were fucceflivelv confirmed by Edward 

 III. and IV. Richard III. Henry' IV. V. VI. who, in 

 1430, gave them a charter; and Henry VII. who, in 1505, 

 gave them the appellation ol Murchnnl-Ad-centurers ; byHenry 

 VIII. Edward VI. and queen Elizabeth, who, in 1564, 

 formed the company into an Englifh corporation ; and, in 

 1586, confirmed all former charters; by James I. in 1604 

 and 161 7, who gave it new charters ; by Charles I. in 1639, 

 and their fucceffors. 



In the reign of Henry VII. there was a contell between 

 tT.vo companies of JlTiirhanl-Au-veiiturers, viz. thofe who 

 called themfelves the company of Merchaiit-Adveuturt-rs of 

 Jjondon, and the merchants who refided in other cities and 

 towns, and who were diftinguilhed by the title of the I\ln-- 

 thciut- Adventurers of England. The London company had 

 been longaccullomed to impofe a kind of tax on the Englifli 

 merchants rcfiding in other places, for liberty to buy and fell 

 in the great fairs of Flanders, Brabant, and other countries 

 on the continent. This tax was at firft only an old noble, 

 (6s. 8d.) and was demanded by the London merchants, 

 who called themfelves the fiaternity of St. Thoiiias Becket 

 on a religious pretence, to enable them to do honour to 

 their favourite iaint, and thus gain his protection. But 

 this impofition had gradually increafed, and it amounted at 

 the period to which we refer to 40 1. to the great difcou- 

 ragement of trade. The Merchant-Adventurers, rcfident in 

 the out-ports, applied to parliament for a redrefs of this 

 grievance, and an att was made A. D. 1497, reducing that 

 fine to ten marks, or 6 1. 13 s. 4d. flerhng. Stat. 12 Hen. 

 VII. c. 6. The company of Merchant-Adventurers of 

 England were much injured in their commerce by the Ger- 

 man merchants of Steelyard, who formed a rich and powerful 

 fociety, compofed almoft wholly of foreigners. Their com- 

 plaints, however, drn-ing the whole reign of Henry VI 11. 

 were unavailing ; but iu the fc.ccetding reign tlicy obtjuned 



redrefs, when the privileges enjoyed by tlic niercliants of 

 the Stkelyari) were revoked, and their corporation abo- 

 liflied by the privy council. 



Such was the influence of the Englilli Merchant-Adven- 

 turers, that they prevented the emperi>r Chailes V. fron\ in- 

 frodncing the inqnilition into Antwerp in the year 1550, 

 when it was eftablifiied in other parts of the Nttlicrlandi>. 

 See Hiimhiirgh CoMrrfNY. 



By oiu- llatutes, adveiiturers making fettlements in any 

 part of America, belonging to the enemy, may obtain a 

 charter from the king. 13 Geo II. c. 4. § 13. 

 Anvrs ruRER, Mine. See MiKf.-Ai/venliirer. 

 ADVERB, Advkrbium, in Grammar, a particle joined 

 to a verb, adjeftive, »r particljjle, to explain their maimer 

 of acting or fufiering ; or to mark fomc circumllancc or 

 quality fignilied by them. 



The word is formed from the prepofilion ad, fo, and 

 verbum, a verb ; and fignifies literally a word joined to a 

 verb, to (liow how, when, or where, one is, does, or fuffers ; 

 as, the bov paints neatly, writes ;//; the lioufe Hands ihere^. 

 &c. 



Not that the adverb is confined purely to the verbs ; but 

 becaafe that is its mofl ordinary ufc ; whence it becomcj 

 fo denominated xj^t' cJo;^w'. We frequently Ihid it joined 

 to adjeftives; and fometimes even to fubitantives, particu- 

 larly where thofe fubllantives fignify an attribute, or quality 

 of the thing fpokcn of ; v. gr. he is very lick ; he is truly 

 king. 



An adverb is likewife joined fometimes to another adverb, 

 to modify its meaning ; v. gr. very dei'oully, &c. Whence 

 fome grammarians chule rather to call adverbs modilicativcs: 

 comprlfing under this one general term, adverbs, conjunc- 

 tions, prepofitions, and even adjectives. 



Adverbs are very numerous ; but they may be reduced 

 under the general claffes of adverbs of time, place, order, 

 diftance, motion, relation, quantity, both continuous and 

 difcrete, quality, manner, affirmation, negation, demonllra- 

 tion, interrogation, diminution, doubting, exception and 

 coir.parifon. 



In Englifli, fays Dr. Lowth(Gram. p. 1 12.), they admit 

 of no variation, except fome few of them, which have the 

 degrees of comparifon, as focm, fooner, foonell ; and thofe 

 irregulars, derived from adjeftives in this rtfpecl likewife ir-- 

 regular, as very muc.i, not very prudently. He obferves, 

 however, that the formation of adverbs in general with the 

 comparative and fuperlative terminatims feenis to be impro- 

 per ; at leai} that it is now become ^hnofl obfolete, as eiif- 

 lier, Jlronglier, hardlieft, highliejl, righlefi, though ufed by 

 Hooker, Raleigh, liobbes and Shaftefbury. In poetry, 

 compai-ative adverbs are fometimes allowable. 



Adverbs are denominated by Mr. Harris attributes of at- 

 tributes, or attributives of the fecond order : and he defines 

 an adverb, a part of fpeech, the natural appendage of verbs, 

 extending the fignification of the word verb properly fo 

 called, to participles and adjectives. After explaining the 

 general nature of adverbs as attributes of attributes, and enu- 

 merating their principal forms, amongfl which he reckons 

 intenfion and remiifion, he fliews that adverbs may be de- 

 rived from alnioll evciy part of fpeech, from prepofitions as 

 aftevwards, from participles, as knotvingly, from adjectives, 

 as virtiioiijly, from fubllantives, as apijhly, and from proper 

 names, s-i Socratically. Adverbs, according to Gaza in 

 his grammar, may be found in every one of the prediea- 

 ments, and he thinks that the readitll way to reduce their 

 inilnitude, is to refer them by clafles to thofe tcrv univcrfal 

 genera. The Stoics called the adverb by the name of 

 1 1 »vu :.".>,■, with a view to its multiform . nature. Hermes, 



p. Iy2. 



