The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-06-23
Rithmond 1ispatth.


using such expressions as lS pcihS p"'i',
are being removed" etc.
am truly sorry that You dissent from
the journal on this point. Such paper
IS YOURS ought to contend for pure Eng
EL. "IS being built is Yankee invcn-
ycn,ion. never heard of until about the
wear 1880. when people began to spell
Dgblick without the final k, honour without
the IL. and tran9,dRity with one |. What Il
shame that the English language should be
thus tramplcd upon by common school y
| Yankees,
The expression "thc house is building
/ belongs 10 class of forms that serve to
adorn our noble language. We say the
/ land ploughS WE'LL" "the horse rides
well. 81 the sermon reads we'll" No one
SuppoScS that We mean to "imply action
on the part of the land, or that we mean to
say the horse rides in the active sense.
! These forms are anomalies, as old as the
language itself, and priced highly by our
! best English caSSickS. How would you
apply Your strict notion of the passive
voice in describing an event as passing
prior To some other event specified Sup
pose wish to express the idea that Rich
mond has not progressed so rapidly a> It
| ought to have donct Your notion of the
passive form would drive me TO say, erich
| mond, though il has been being built more
than century, has fewer houses than St.
! Louis, which has been being built not more
than half so long" "Thc horse has been
| being shod for two hours, and the betng
! ,hod is not yet complctcd.",
The expression sis being built is Ger
tainly OF modern origin. ! remember well
the first time ever heard it. In company
with friend, he proposed that we should
vow a lifetime opposition to this mon
strous innovation; to which agreed; and
from that day to this have earnestly de-
! sired that all such forms of expression
! should stay "to homc," where they justly
| belong. 4 LOVER OF Pure ENGLISH.
COMMENTS.
If we could spare the space we should
like to discuss such points, especially with
our learned correspondent. We should
not hesitate 10 "brcak a lance" with the
best grammarian in the country in defence
of what We hold to be "purc English"
But there is no disputed point between
our correspondent and ourselves which ar
gumcnt can settle. He admits that good
writers employ the phrases to which he OBJ
icctS, and we have already conceded that
good grammarianS condemn them. The
question of taste is all that remains; and
as to that, de yG>tjbu$, &C., is all we need
sav. Nevertheless We will add II few com
mcnts.
Our correspondent misses the point en-
tircly !. his examples. "PloughS, y"
rides" und "rcadS,' are not only transi-
tive bUt intranSitve verbs, and are pro-
pcrlv used by our correspondent. But
suppose he should use them according to
his idea of the proper mode of employing
the passive form of speech; then We should
have, "Thc land is blowing" "thc horse
is riding" and "thc sermon is reading"
instead of the very precise expressions,
The land is being plowed,' "Thc horse
is being riddcn,' "Thc sermon is being
read" And this "The land is plowing,
the wheat is sowing, and the corn is plant
ing" Surely no one will second our cor
! respondent in contending for S"ch "pure
English" And he cannot reply that he
would say, "The land is plowcd, the
wheat is sown, and the corn is planted
for that language would express acts com
pletcd. Then there is no possible way OF
stating in the passive form the facts in
tended to be stated except this: "The
land is being plowed, the wheat is being
sown, and the corn is being planted"
! Ergo. this last is the correct mode, and is
"purc English Yet we are willing to
promise to discard its Use whenever the
"rcpublic of letters in this country shall
conclude to return TO the antiquatcd mode
OF spelling preferred by our correspondent.
[Mmoranl,m.-Thcre is no authority for
spelling " tranquility" with one 81" and
we have never seen it SO spelled in Il book,
nor, we believe, in any " Yankee peri
odical, nor in any paper published outside
Of Virginia.l
Our correspondent is more successful i'll
suggesting objections to or passive form
Of speech than in reconciling those we
make to his. We might well wait to hear
his explanation of the Objectionable phrases
WE have quoted before defending our
neoogisms. But we can afford to be can
did. The phrase has been being built "
is very awkward, but not therefore neceS-
| sarily incorrect. All grammarians, we be-
lieve, admit this sentence to be good
English: "IIe said that that that that
that man used was improperly employed"
Yet it is awkward, and we cannot COM
mend its use. SO of the sentences quoted
by our correspondent.
a Plea for the Queens English" a
new and most excellent little book, written
by HENRY AFFORD, D.. d., Dean OF
Canterbury, (which we have this morning
seen for the first time makes the follow
ing remark upon this point, which remark
is almost identical with what we said in
our first paragraph:
"sThe letter was being written The
dinner is being cooked Such combina-
tions were, believe, not used by our best
and most careful writers until connpara-
tireiy recent date"
That is, "the very best rost careful
writer's" in England d them
MI k.~txz