His tuneful brethren all were dead,
And he, neglected and oppressed,
Wished to be with them, and at rest.

All day the low hung clouds

Have dropped their garnered fulness down.

There has not been a sound to-day

To break the calm of nature,
Nor motion, I might almost say,
Of life, or living creature,
Of waving bough or warbling bird,
Or cattle faintly lowing;

I could have half believed I heard
The leaves and blossoms growing.
In an attitude imploring,

Hands upon his bosom crossed,
Wondering, worshipping, adoring,
Knelt the monk in rapture lost.

Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,
Where health and plenty cheered the labouring swain,
Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid,
And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed.
Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,

Onward through life he goes.

With upraised eyes, as one inspired,
Pale Melancholy sat retired.

Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

GERUNDS.1

264. A Participle may be called a Verbal-Adjective; a Gerund may be called a Verbal-Noun.

265. The Gerund is formed like the Imperfect Participle, by adding -ing to the Verb, but the two are entirely different in origin and in use.

266. A Gerund has Case like a Noun, but it may also govern Case like a Verb.

'See 'Notes for Teachers,' p. 258, Note 27. Gerund, from the Latin ger-ere (Future p. p. gerundus), to carry on. The reason for the term cannot be clearly seen in modern English.

Examples of Gerund as Subject.

Reading is interesting.

Walking is a healthy exercise.

Writing is a useful art.

Examples of Gerund as Object.

I like riding.

Jack taught him swimming.

Mary learns drawing.

Examples of Gerund in the Objective Case after Prepositions. Mr. Sidney is fond of hunting.

Wash before eating.

Men who believe in working get on.

Examples of Gerund governing and governed.

I like reading history.

Tom is fond of chopping wood.

Herbert objects to studying music.

267. Compound Gerunds may be formed from have and be, followed by the Perfect Participle of the principal Verb; as, The man is sad from having lost his son;' to keep his face from being seen.'

The prophet wore a veil

6

268. Sometimes it is a little hard to say whether a word is an Abstract Noun or a Gerund. When it has an Article before it, or is followed by of, it had better be called a Noun [as, After the passing of the Act,'] and when it has an Object it must be called a Gerund.

In Parsing a Gerund say from what Verb it is formed, in what Case it is, and what Case (if any) it governs.

Pick out

Exercise 143.

a. The Imperfect Participles.
b. The Gerunds,

and parse the Gerunds.

In keeping Thy commandments there is great reward. Seeing is believing [Nom. Case]. After hearing the news I came away. Stanley, travelling

across Africa, found Livingstone. Travelling is interesting. I am fond of travelling. Whipping a dead horse is foolish. The boy whipping a top is Richard Nolan. Giving is more blessed than receiving [Nom. Case]. After receiving the letter the woman went out. Sowing comes before reaping. I failed through taking no pains. The soldier was promoted for doing his duty. Ready writing makes not good writing, but good writing brings on ready writing. The boy had a passion for wandering and seeking adventures.

TENSES.

269. Notice the following sets of sentences:

(1) Mr. Marshall lives in London.

Mr. Marshall lived in York.

Mr. Marshall will live in Naples.

(2) Jack is in the playground now.
Jack was in school this morning.

Jack will be on the river this evening.

270. Each Verb gives us some notion of the time.

Is and lives speak of present time.

Was and lived speak of past time.

Will be and will live speak of future time.

271. A Verb may thus have three times or Tenses 1-the Present, Past, and Future.

272. The Future Tense is formed by means of the Auxiliaries shall and will.

In expressing simple futurity shall is used with Subjects of the First Person, and will with Subjects of the Second and Third Persons;

as:

We shall

They will go to school this afternoon.

In expressing strong emphasis or determination, will is used with the First Person, and shall with the Second and Third; as :

I WILL go to school this afternoon; nothing SHALL hinder me.

The foreigner who fell into deep water was therefore doubly wrong when he called out I will drown and no one shall save me.'

From the French temps, time; from the Latin tempus, time.

Exercise 144.

a. Give the Tense of each Verb.

The wind blows hard. The wind blew hard. The wind will blow. The cock crows loudly. The cock crew at sunrise. The cock will crow to-morrow morning. Baby sleeps in the cradle. Baby slept on the bed. Baby will sleep in the cot. Mary loves her little lamb. Mary loved her little lamb. Mary will love her little lamb. I have a new top. I had a new top. I shall have a new top. Ethel has a rose. Ethel had a rose. Ethel will have a rose. Cromwell won many victories. The sun rises in the east. The little dog laughed. Our teacher will read us a story. I shall leave school next week. Jack sold his mother's cow. The green field sleeps in the sun.

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky;

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die.'

b. Fill the blank in each sentence with each Tense of the Verb given in the margin.

273. With the help of be and have 2 we can give more definite notions of time than wculd be possible without Auxiliaries. Compare the four sentences:

I learn.

I am learning.

I have learned.

I have been learning.

Do not try to give the Tenses of these Verbs. 2 See 'Notes for Teachers,' p. 258, Note 28.

(1) The first sentence shows that the action is present, but gives no more definite idea of time. Learn is therefore in the Present Indefinite Tense.

(2) The second sentence shows that the action is going on at the present time-in other words, that it is not finished. Am learning, therefore, is in the Present Imperfect Tense.

(3) The third sentence shows that at the present time the action is finished. Have learned is therefore in the Present Perfect Tense.

Be careful not to say that have learned is in the Past Tense. It is true that the action is finished, but we only speak of it as being finished at present.

(4) The fourth sentence shows that the action has been going on and is now finished. Have been learning is therefore in the Present Perfect Continuous Tense.1

274. The Past and Future Tenses are divided in the same way as the Present; thus :

Indefinite.

Past

Present [I] learn
[I] learned

[I] am learning [I] have learned [I] have been
learning
[I] was learning [I] had learned [I] had been
learning
[I] shall have
been learning

Future [I] shall learn [I] shall be learn- [I] shall have

275. Note that

ing

learned

(1) In the Imperfect Tenses we have a part of the Verb to be and the Imperfect Participle.

(2) In the Perfect Tenses we have a part of the Verb to have and the Perfect Participle.

(3) In the Perfect Continuous Tenses we have a part of the Verb to have, the Perfect Participle of the Verb to be and the Imperfect Participle of the principal Verb.

Exercise 145.

Give the Tense of each Verb.

Our dog howls in the night. Our dog is howling. Our dog has howled for an hour. Our dog has been howling. The snow fell thick. The snow 1 See 'Notes for Teachers,' p. 258, Note 29.