The

LESSONS IN ITALIAN GRAMMAR.-No. XXIII.
By CHARLES TAUSENAU, M.D.,

energy so necessary in manufacturing operations. absorption of chlorine by water gives rise to a liquid agent, which the manufacturer can easily apply; but there are other absorptive agents, especially lime, even preferable to water in Of the University of Pavia, and Professor of the German and Italian this respect. They will come under our notice hereafter. Languages at the Kensington Proprietary Grammar School.

ADJECTIVES.

ITALIAN adjectives either terminate in o or in e; e. g. pô-ve-ro,
poor, for-te, strong.

and become feminine by changing o into a.
The adjectives terminating in o are of the masculine gender,
The masculine
adjectives of this class, in the plural, change o into i, and the
feminine, a into e; e. g.
I pó-ve-ri tri-mini
The poor

man

don-na
woman

Le

pó-ve-re The poor

m n don-ne women

Chlorine as a Bleaching Agent.-Chemists of a bygone era, misled concerning the nature and analogies of chlorine, considered it as an acid, which they denominated" Oxymuriatic Acid," that is to say, a compound of muriatic acid plus oxygen. It remained for Sir Humphry Davy to demonstrate that it was neither an acid nor did it contain oxygen, but that it was a simple chemical element. He termed it chlorine. The exact line of demonstration pursued by that great chemist we are 11 pô-ve-ro κό-πο not quite in a condition to follow; but we can at least show The poor that it is devoid of two of the most general properties of an acid, La pô-ve-ra being neither sour to the taste nor having the property of redThe poor dening litmus paper. That it is not acid to the taste may be recognised by bringing in contact with the tongue a little of its which immediately follows it; e. g. il sub-li-me e-sem-pio, The article is determined by the initial letter of the word watery solution. That it does not (permanently) reddene-sem-pio sub-li-me, the sublime example; i sub-lí-mı e-sêmlitmus paper, may be demonstrated by dipping a slip of pj, gli e-sem-pj sub-li-mi, the sublime examples; l'a-bi-to moistened litmus paper into a bottle containing chlorine, or a stret-to, lo stret-to d-bi-to, the tight dress; l' im-pré-sa pe-ri-cobottle of its aqueous solution. At first there is a redness pro- ló-sa, la pe-ri-co ló-sa im-pré-sa, the hazardous undertaking. duced, not due to chlorine, however, but to the presence of hydrochloric acid developed by the reaction of chlorine on The adjectives terminating in e are used for the masculine aqueous moisture; soon, however, the redness disappears, and the plural; e. g. as well as for the feminine gender. They change e into i in the paper is bleached. I cap-pêl-li vér-di

If, instead of litmus paper, a sprig of green vegetable, such as parsley, be employed, or a strip of indigo, dyed cloth, or cloth dyed Turkey-red, or generally any coloured vegetable or animal body, bleaching will equally result. Hence we may conclude that bleaching is a general function of chlorine. (4) Solvent Action.-Into a bottle containing chlorine introduce a slip of gold leaf attached to a glass rod. aqueous solution of chlorine introduce another piece of gold leaf. In either case the chlorine will rapidly act on the metal; in the latter case completely dissolving it. This is a very important test, not merely indicating the presence of chlorine generally, but that the chlorine is free or uncombined.

Into an

vér-de
hat
vér-de
leaf.

The green

Le fo-glie
The green

hats

vér-di

leaves

17 cap-pêl-lo The green La fo-glia The green Nouns terminating in the masculine in tó-re, and in the feminine in tri-ce, frequently stand for adjectives following a substantive; e. g. ni mo vin-ci-tô-re, victor (i. e. conqueror); dón-na vin-ci-tri-ce, victress (i. e. womanconqueror).

man

belong or refer, in gender and number, when they stand Italian adjectives must agree with the nouns to which they immediately before or after these nouns, and even when they (5) Chlorine as a Supporter of Combustion.-Viewed under this uo-mo dot-to e ra-gio-né-vo-le, a learned and sensible man; uôare separated from them by verbs or other words; e. g. un aspect, chlorine is a very extraordinary substance. Its rela-mi ni dot-ti e ra-gio-ne-vo-li, learned and sensible men; u-na tions to combustion are far too numerous and of too great importance for summary discussion in this lesson. We will treat fully concerning this subject in our next: meanwhile prepare the following experiments.

Procure a piece of wood charcoal, of such dimensions that it can easily be immersed in a bottle full of chlorine gas.

Fig. 35.

Wind round about it, as represented, some fine copper wire, thus made to enclose the charcoal tightly in a sort of cage, and mount the wire on a perforated zinc disc and cork, in the manner already followed during our experiments on oxygen.

Les louanges refusées savent bien revenir avec plus de force, et il est peut-être au si modeste de leur laisser leur cours naturel en ne les prenant que pour ce qu'elles valent.-Fontenelle.

don-na sa-via e pru-dên-te, a wise and prudent woman; quél-le don-ne só-no sd-vie e pru-den-ti, those women are wise and prudent; gio-va-ni pa-sto-rêl-le, quan-to siê-te fe-lí-ci! young shepherdesses, how happy you are!

singular, either agrees with the nouns or remains unaltered. It Méz-zo, when it means la me-tà, the half or moiety, in the must remain unaltered in the plural; e. g. un ó-ra e mêz-za or un ó-ra e méz-zo, one hour and half; ú-na lib-bra e mêz-za or ú-na líb-bra e mêz-zo, one pound and a half; dú-e líb-bre e mêz zo, two pounds and a half.

Mêz-zo, when it is used as an adverb before an adjective or participle, also remains unaltered; e. g. ê-ra mêz-zo môr-ta perlo spa-ven-to, she was half-dead with fright.

Of adjectives connected with and following each other, only the last agrees with the noun in gender and number; e. g. os-ser-va-zió-ni stô-ri-co cri-ti-che, historical and critical remarks; stu-dj po-li-ti-co-le-gá-li, political and legal studies. An adjective which refers to two nouns of different genders, takes the plural number and the masculine gender; e. g. l' uomo e la dôn-na só-no sog-gêt-ti ál-le stés-se pas-sió-ni, man and woman are liable to the same passions; gli ál-be-ri e le vi-ti | fú-ron di-strut-ti dál-la gra-gnuô-la, the trees and the vines were destroyed by the hail.

An adjective which refers to more than two nouns of different genders, generally takes the gender of the majority of the nouns to which it refers; e. g. il pá-dre, la zi-a e le cu-gi-ne só-no-par-ti-te, the father, the aunt, and the (female) cousins have departed; le so-rêl-le, il pá-dre ed i fra-têl-li só-no an-dá-ti a pas-seg-gia-re, the sisters, the father, and the brothers have gone out to take a walk.

The adjectives bêl-lo, beautiful; grán-de, great, large; sán-to, holy; and the masculine pronoun quél-lo, that; sometimes drop the last syllable. With regard to this abbreviation, the following rules must be adhered to:

1. The above-mentioned words can only drop their last syllable when they precede a noun.

2. The initial letter of this noun must be a consonant which is not the s impure.

3. They take the apostrophe before nouns commencing with a vowel,

4. They must never be abbreviated before nouns beginning with the s impure.

5. Bél-lo and quél-lo only drop the last syllable in the singular and before nouns of the masculine gender.

6. Grán-de also drops the last syllable in the singular and before nouns of the masculine gender; but, in addition to this, it may lose its last syllable before a noun of the feminine gender, and also in the plural before nouns of both genders. 7. San-to only drops the last syllable before a proper name of the masculine gender and singular number, but not before an appellative or common name. It must also immediately precede the proper name; e. g.

Adjectives very frequently are used in the place of nouns, and in such cases have the article before them; e. g. il vér-de ná-sce da ú-na com-po-si-zió-ne del giál-lo e del tur-chi-no, the green colour springs from a mixture of (the) yellow and (the) blue; un pô-co di bê-ne, un pô-co di ma-le, a little of what is good, a little of what is bad.

In most cases, emphasis or euphony will be the best guide for deciding whether an adjective is to be placed before or after a noun; e. g. con ver-gó-gna e-têr-na or con e-tér-na ver-gó-gna, with eternal dishonour; un ca-val-lo bel-lis-si-mo or un bel-lis si-mo ca-vál-lo, a very beautiful horse; un con-té-gn pre-giúbi-le or un pre-gia-bi-le con-té-gno, an estimable appea. ance. In the following cases, however, the learner will do best, at least in prose, strictly to adhere to the practice of placing the adjective after the noun :

them; e. g. un véc-chio ra-gio-né vo-le, a sensible old man; ú-na don-na gra-zió-sa, a gracetul woman; un li-bro pô-co ú-ti-le, a not very useful book; un o-dór mól-to grá-to, a very agreeable odbur; un us-mo trip-po pe-ri co-ló-so, a too dangerous man; ú-na ma-ri-na bên im-por-tan-te, a very considerable navy; un bô-sco co-si fól-to, so dense a wood,

4. When participles are used in the place of adjectives ; e.g. ú-no sguar-do com-mo-vên-te, a moving look; un uô-mo e-ru-di-to, let-te-rd-to, a learned man.

5. When adjectives denote natural qualities perceivable by the olfactory organs, by the sense of tasting, or by any other of the senses, or when they express bodily defects and infirmities or official employments and rank; e. g. pan-no fi-no, fine cloth; êr-ba a-ma-ra, bitter herb; lé-gno séc-co, dry wood; pan fré-sco, new bread; a-mór ciê-co, blind love; a pie zôp-po, with a lame foot; il mán-to im-pe-ri-le, the imperial mantle; il consi-gliê-re aú-li-co, the aulic counsellor; il giar-dí-no im-perid-le, the imperial garden.

Where common usage has assigned to an adjective à place before or after a noun, no positive rules can be stated, and only a practical acquaintance with such usages, and the attentive reading of good writers, will enable the learner to see his way in such cases. Where, on the contrary, usage gives no preference to the place of an adjective before or after a noun, euphony, the great guide in the arrangement of Italian words, will best decide the matter. Some adjectives have a different meaning, according to their position before or after a noun. To illustrate this, a few of the most important phrases of this kind will be, I think, sufficient :

Un ga-lunt uô-mo, an honest man.

Un uo-mo ga-lán-te, a genteel, polite man.

E-gli a-vé-va prô-prio ve-sti-to, he had his own dress.

Un-ve-sti-to pro-priu, a neat, clean dress.

Un gen-til uó-mo, a gentleman by birth, a nobleman.

Un us-mo gen-ti-le, a well-bred, genteel, courteous man.

Il pó-ver uô-mo! quan-to dê-ve soffri-re, poor, unfortunate man! how much must he suffer.

L'uô-mo pô-ve-ro, the poor man (opposed to rich).

Gran cô-sa ve-ra-men-te, a wonderful thing indeed.
Cô-su rán-de, a great thing.

Un dól-ce són-no, a soft or calm sleep.

Un têm-po dól-ce, a mild season (or mild weather.)

U-na cer-ta no-tí-zia, certain (i. e. a kind of) news.

U'-na no-ti-zia cér-ta, certain (i. e. indubitable, positive) news.

U-no drops the final vowel before any word commencing with a consonant which is not the s impure. Buô-no only drops its final vowel when immediately preceding a noun of cular prepositions after them; e. g. in, per, etc. Adjectives frequently require a particular case or partithis description; e. g. un giar-dí-no, a garden; un po-co, ation must be bestowed by the learner upon this peculiarity; Great attenlittle; buôn fi-glio, good son; un buô-no ed o-nê-sto vêc-chio, a and in reading Italian writers, he ought never to lose sight good and honest old man. of the peculiar and, therefore, invariable or frequently recurring cases or prepositions connected with some adjecsick in body and in mind; a-vu-ro, cú-pi-do di da-ná-ri e rictives; e. g. am-ma-lá-to, in-fér-mo di côr-po e di á-ni-ma, chez-ze, greedy of money and riches; con-tên-to del-la sú-a sor-te, satisfied with his lot; frún-co di pô-sta, post-free, postpaid; é-gli mi è in-fe-ris-re di ran-go, he is my inferior in rank; po-ve-ro di spi-ri-to, poor in spirit; ric-co di bê-ni di for-tú na, rich in gifts of fortune; as-sa-i prá-ti-co del-le câ-se an-ti-che, very expert or skilful in matters of antiquity; nô-bi-le di násci-ta e co-stu-mi, noble by birth and in his manners; in-nocên-te dell' o-mi-cí-dio, innocent of the murder or manslaughter; col-pé-vo-le del de-lit-to, com-pli-ce del fur-to, con-sa-pe-vo-le del fat-to, ré-o di môr-te, guilty of the crime, accessory to the theft, privy to or acquainted with the deed, guilty of death - buô-no ul-lo seo-po, good for the purpose; buô-no a niên-te, good for nothing; de-sti-na-to a vén-de-re, destined for sale; di-spó-sto, pre-pa-rá-to, prón-to a ser-vir-vi, ready to serve you; tutto inten-to dl-la mu-si-ca, wholly occupied with music; o-dió- so al pô-po-lo, odious to the people; sog-gêt-to a nes-sú-no, dependent on nobody; ú-na cit-tà vi-ci-na al má-re, a town near the seaa-lie-no dal-lo stu-dio, averse to study; de-ca-du-ti dai pri-vile-gi di cit-ta-di-no, deprived of civil rights; ê-su-le dal-la pátria, exiled from one's native country; e-sin-te da qua-lúnque su-per-sti-zió-ne, im-mú-ne da 6-gni gra-véz-za, free from every superstition, from every burden; stán-co dal viag gio, tired by the journey-vir-tuo-so nel can-to, accomplished in singing; va-len-te, eo-cel-len-te in poe-si-a, skilful, excellent

1. When adjectives are derived from proper names of nations, countries, and towns; e. g. la let-te-ra-tu-ra in-glé-se, English literature; l'ac-ca-de-mia fio-ren-ti-na, the Academy of Florence; il pô-po-lo spa-gnuô-lo, the Spanish people.

2. When adjectives express the form or colour of a thing; e. g. ú-na piáz-za ro-tón-da, a round market-place; ú-na fi-gú-ra qaa-drá-ta, a quadrangular figure; in-chio-stro né-ro, black ink; ber-rét ta rós-sa, red cap; d-bi-to tur-chi-no, blue dress.

3. When adjectives have more syllables than their nouns, or the words po-co, little; mól-to, much; as-sa-i, enough, much, greatly, very; trop-po, too much, too, excessively; be-ne, well, justly, rightly, right; co-si, so, thus; and similar adverbs before

in poetry; és-ser as-sí-duo in un la-vó-ro, dê-stro, spe-di-to in quésta cô-sa, to be assiduous in a work, clever, expeditious in this thing; in-fá-me per mól-ti mis-fát-ti, infamous on account of many misdeeds; un uô-mo chiú-ro per no-bil-tà, e fa-mó-so per le sú-e im-pré-se, a man noble by birth and famous for his exploits; pre-gid-bi-le per la sú-a ma-gna-ni-mi-tà e per il sú-o in-gé-gno, estimable for his generosity and for his intellect; de-sti-ná-to per la so-lên-ne fun-zió-ne, destined for the solemn function.

EXERCISE.-ENGLISH-ITALIAN.

We now have

You have beautiful weather for travelling.
beautiful days continually. He had last year a large garden out
of the town, in which there were beautiful flowers and beautiful
fruit-trees. That book treats of the life of St. Stephen and of
St. George, and in this there are interpretations of some pas-
sages from the epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter. Theodosius
the Great died at Milan, in the arms of St Ambrose. That

writing contains one beautiful thought on the advantages of
commerce. Those princes are happy who are loved by their sub-
jects. In this business, one must have great precaution and
great courage. Rome and Carthage had great wars with one
another. Demosthenes was a great Greek orator.
He is a
good lad, and has a great talent to learn every thing with ease.
The precious stones are transparent bodies; such are: the
white diamond, the red ruby, the blue sapphire, the green
emerald, and the yellow hyacinth. The pearls, small or large,
grow in shells; and the corals in the sea, in the si ape of small
trees. The uncle has given me a French book. Godtrey has
a large stock of Hungarian and Austrian wines. The Spanish

horses are as dear as the English.

You have, voi a-vé-te

Weather, têm-po
For, per

Travelling, viag-giá-re
Now, a-des-80

We have, ab-biá-mo

VOCABULARY.

b

Je suis, dit-il, un commerçant de Moscou ; j'avais entrePrisa un voyage à Varsovie. Avant de m'éloigner, j'ai voulu aller visiter un gentilhomme que je connais, et qui demeure à quelque distance; armé d'un fusil, je me suis rendu à pied à son château, où je me suis attardé. La neige tombait à gros flocons, je me suis égaré, je cherchais en vain ma route, quand je vis venir à moi deux hommes à qui je m'empressai de demander quelques renseignements. Je n'avais aucune défiance, et j'attendais tranquillement leur réponse, quand tout à coup ces deux scélérats, se précipitant sur moi, me terrassèrent et me dépouillèrent du peu d'eux tira sur moi un coup de pistolet, car ils voulaient me d'argent que j'avais. Je poussai un cri; c'est alors l'un. que

tuer.

One must have, bi-só-gna a

vé-re

| Precaution, cir-co-spe-zió-ne, f.
Courage, co-rág-gio
Rome, Ró-ma

L'étranger parut éprouver quelque repugnance 12 à satisfaire à cette demande; néanmoins, en réfléchissant au service qu'il avait reçu, il n'osa refuser. En décrivant le triste spectacle de ce vaste incendie, sa voix trahissait de vives émotions.13 Mais quand il commença à raconter ses propres With one another, tra di ló- malheurs il versa des larmes abondantes;1 et poussant un

Carthage, Car-tá-gi-ne
Had, a-vé-va-no

ro

In which, nel quá-le (or in War, guêr-ra

There were, tro-vá-van-si

Flower, fió-re, m.

Fruit-tree, dl-be-ro da frút-ti
Book, li-bro

Treats, trát-ta

Life, vi-ta (with the genitive)
Stephen, Ste-fa-no
George, Gior-gio
There are, vi só-no

Interpretation, spie-ga-zió-ne,
f.

Demosthenes, De-mô-ste-ne

Was, ê-ra

Greek, grê-co

Orator, o-ra-tó-re, m.
Lad, gió-va-ne, m.
Talent, di-spo-si-zió-ne, f.
To learn every thing with
ease, d'im-pa-rár tút-to fa-

cil-mén-te

Precious stone, gém-ma, f.
Body, cór-po
Transparent, did-fa-no (or
diú-fa-no (or
tras-pa-rén-te)
Such, tá-le
White, bian-co

Diamond, dia-mán-te, m.
Red, rós-so

Ruby, ru-bi-no
Blue, tur-chi-no
Sapphire, zaf-fi-ro
Green, vér-de
Emerald, sme-rál-do
Yellow, gial-lo

profond soupir, il dit:

-Hélas! ce terrible incendie ne m'a pas seulement enlevé une grande partie de ma fortune,15 mais encore ce qui faisait tout notre bonheur, ma fille bien-aimée. Tandis qu'au milieu du désordre affreux excité par l'épouvantable catastrophe, nous cherchions, ma femme et moi, à soustraire à la voracité des flammes nos objets les plus précieux, nous perdimes notre enfant, alors dans sa sixième année; sa bonne l'avait prise avec elle afin de la conduire dans la maison d'un ami" qui demeurait dans une rue écartée, où le feu ne sévissait pas encore. Mais ni la bonne ni l'enfant n'ont reparu, et, depuis cet événement,18 toutes nos informations ont été stériles. Probablement, quelque édifice, en croulant, les aura englouties sous ses décombres.

A ces mots Fodora, qui avait écouté avidement toutes les particularités de ce récit, ne puth contenir davantage les émotions 19 qu'il avait excitées en elle. Elle se précipita au cou de l'étranger, en s'écriant: