“Yes, sir,” said Royal; “and, besides, I don’t think that convalescent box would be a very good name, for that would mean that the box itself was getting well,—whereas, in fact, it is only the children.”
“True,” replied his father; “that is an objection. But let me see; I believe we do use descriptive epithets in that way.”
“Descriptive epithets,” repeated Royal; “what are descriptive epithets?”
“Why, the word convalescent,” replied his father, “is an epithet. It is applied to box, in order to describe it; and so it is called a descriptive epithet.”
“Then I think,” said Royal, “that it ought to describe the box, and not the persons that are to use it; or else it is not a good descriptive epithet.”
“So should I,” added Royal’s mother.
“But I believe we do use epithets in that way. For example, we say a sick room; but we don’t mean that the room is sick, but only the persons that are in it. And so we say a long and weary road; but it is not the road that is weary but only the people that travel it.”
“It is the road that is long,” said Royal.
“Yes,” replied his father, “but not weary.”
“But perhaps,” said Lucy’s mother, “all such expressions are incorrect.”