We have already seen, however, that the word his is obliged to perform the double office of definitive and possessive, thus,

"His bouse is better than kers, but hers is finer than bis."

In which example, the first bis, stands as a definitive, and as such requires to be joined with the nour it defines; and the last bis, stands as a possessive, and requires not the noun to be added.

In like manner, should we attempt to exprefs the meaning of this sentence, by repeating the names of the persons, without using any pronomial word whatever, we shall find that these genitives, as they have been called, may be in all cases applied equally in place of the definitives, my, thy, &c. and the possefsives, mine thine, &c. like the word bis, without any change. Thus, the sentence,

“James's house is better than John's, but John's is finer than JAMES's." is equivalent to

"My house is better than his, but bis is finer than MINE, OF MY HOUSE.

Here the word James's performs alike the part of my, and of mine. For, similar to mine, we say as above, James's, or similar to my house, we might equally say," finer than James's house." In like manner we may either say, as above, "better than John's," or at pleasure, "better than John's house;" the word house, or the noun explained by the definitive, being in all cases of this sort, either added or suppressed at the pleasure of the composer, which cannot be done either with the words mine or hers. To render this still more plain, I shall vary this sentence in many different ways, as in the table annexed.

John's, or John's house, without change But John's, or John's house'

Theirs or their house, not theirs house But theirs, or their house

Mine, or my house, not mine house But mine, or my house

James's, or James's house

John's, or John's house

Mary's, or Mary's house

Ours, or our house, not ours house
Yours, or your house

N. B. In this table all the words in the first column, my, her, &c. are definitives. Those in the second
column, are all of that clafs of words which we have called pronouns possessive; as are those of the
third and fourth columns also. By glancing the eye on these columns, from top to bottom, is seen at
one glance, where the language is regular, or the reverse. Where the same word occurs in both columns,
the language is defective ;—in other words, there is a want either of a regular definitive or possessive.
Thus we perceive that the word his, is irregular; and that, in the same manner, all those definitives
that have been called genitives, are obliged to perform alike the office of a definitive and possessive.

250 From a consideration of this table, it clearly appears, that the supposed English genitives perform, in all cases, a double office, exactly analogous to that which is performed by the word his; which, by not having been adverted to, has augmented the perplexity that these words have occasioned in our grammatical arrangements.

To be continued.

ESSAY ON WATER.

CONSIDERED AS A MOVING POWER ON MACHINERY.

Continued from p. 210:

If a considerable weight is appended to one side of a wheel that rests upon a pivot in the center, and none at all upon the other side of it, it will follow that the side with the weight appended to it will always descend, and the light side rise upwards, so as to com municate a continued rotatory motion to the wheel..

It is in this way that water becomes a moving power, by its dead weight; for if buckets be so fixed upon the wheel as to have their mouths upwards, and open to receive a stream of water as they pass under it, at, or near the top of the wheel on one side, so as to descend full, the mouth of these buckets must be turned downwards at the bottom of the wheel, if immoveably fixed upon it, so as to ascend empty. The inequality of weight between the two sides of the wheel must thus continue as long as the water flows into the buckets, and of course the rotatory motion of the wheel must continue also.