437. Thou and thee are no longer used in spelling or writing, except by some of The Friends; but proverbial citations, originally expressed in that form, lose much of their beauty and force by alteration; as, “If thou seest thy house in flames, approach and warm thyself by it.” How greatly would a change of person tame the spirit of this fine proverb!
438. “By the street of ‘By-and-By,’ one arrives at the house of ‘Never.’” Do not say, By’mby.
439. Be careful to observe the two plurals of the following nouns:
| Singular. | First Plural. | Second Plural. | ||
| Brother, | Brothers (of the same parents), | Brethren (of the same society). | ||
| Die, | Dies (for coining), | Dice (for gaming). | ||
| Index, | Indexes (tables of contents), | Indices (signs in algebra). | ||
| Pea, | Peas (referring to a limited number), | Pease (referring to the whole species). | ||
| Penny, | Pennies (coins), | Pence (the value). | ||
| Cow, | Cows (a herd of cattle), | Kine (the species). | ||
| Sow, | Sows (a litter), | Swine (the species). | ||
| Genius, | Geniuses (men of genius), | Genii (imaginary spirits). |
440. Different shades of meaning may be expressed by slight variations in the position of the important words in a sentence. For example, “The Paradise Lost of Milton,” is not exactly the same in import as, “Milton’s Paradise Lost;” in the former, attention is called to the author—in the latter, to the poem.
441. In uniting the plural of one, two, three, do not use the apostrophe [’] as one’s, two’s, three’s. Good writers never conform to the latter mode. Wordsworth, who was remarkably particular, not only in the choice of his words but in their orthography, wrote:
“The sun has long been set,
The stars are out by twos and threes;
The little birds are piping yet
Among the bushes and the trees.”
442. “How’s yourself, this morning?” an exceedingly common, but very objectionable expression: say, “How are you;” &c.
443. “Wanted, two apprentices, who will be treated as one of the family:” great practical difficulty would be found in realizing such treatment! Say, “as members of the family.”
444. The following lines afford an instance of the ingenious uses to which the English language may be put: