The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-25
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.

Can you tell me what authority Bernard
| Shaw had in the sentence from Fanny,
| First Play" page 170-"Bannal Is OBJ
viously one of those unemployables o
the business class who manage to pich
/ up living by a sort OF courage whIct
! gives him." &c.-for making the yert
manage plural? Why does he not max,
1t singular to agree with one?
MILDRED KELLiHER.
The sentence involved a rather inter.
estlng device on the part of Mr. Shaw &c
express the nicely of his meaning Tn,
verb manage" IL properly In the plura
concord with its subject who" which
distinctly corelates with It's antecedcnt
''unemployables" In the straitest sect
Of the scribes there is somewhere a rule
that the verb should agree with the
singular subject one" This entails a
distinct loss OF power; the sense IL moi
merely that this individual manages &c
pick up a living. but that no IL an In
divldual unit OF class all OF whom mar
/ age the same sort of living. AZ the end
OF the sentence the author. by "A bold do
nance OF the rules OF formal grammar
selves upon the courage which IL poe.
| session OF the whole class and by particu-
| larizing its possession TO him out OF ths
general class OF unemployables olinches
the plural depression as the enunciatior
OF general principle and brings his
| narrative back to the Individual with
which II IL most concerned This sort OF
thing IL permissible only TO those who ar,
masters of their trade syntax is only fol
the commonplace.
I am able to ada an item or two in re-
lation to tho Crosby Opera House men.
toned In your column.
Crosbys Opera House In Chicago wa.
built about ise2-s3 by U. II. Crosby. Hav.
suppose he wanted 20 get on a higher
plane Tho venture was a financial fail.
ure and two or three years later she Art
Association was devised for the purpos,
| OF disposing OF the property by lottery
| Two pictures we're included In the scheme
"A gorgeous chrome called "Cropsey's
Autumn" and AZ engraving. the subject
| Of which do not recall, either one worth
tho price OF ticket. and tho choice o.
either with a fighting chance for the opera
house itself could be had for IS don't
| "HlNn Oiis CnOrtt, OUT III tOGnf
personal Inconvenience I invested IS
/ Unfortunately for musical art IN Chicago
countryman somewhere In central ILL
nois was the lucky man instead of I. and
| by prompt and clever management wa.
convinced that the thing would be q
burden on the new owners hands ant
persuaded to sell Il back TO the Crosby
party for 100000. This was. I should
say. In 1865. The use " the house FOL
operate and theatrical purposes was con-
tlnued until 20. when It went up in tn,
| big fire. f. w. w.
| What is the meaning OF the name Ron
| aire AS applied to one OF the smaller
| Islands OF the Dutch West Indies?
C. M C.
The common explanation Is that II 4,
| the Spanish Buen Aire corrupted to Bor
Alre and used in reference TO the agree
able climate OF the island. C1imatologicslly
| this ascription leaves much to he desired
| for the humid heat OF the low lying Bon
aire does not imply anything of the sug-
! ges;!on OF pleasantly cool and invigorat-
| ing breezes which have led the Spaniard:
| to use buen a,re. notably in the care OF
| Ruenos Aires in the Argentine. II Is pos
sib.e. though not satisfactorily established
| that Cast!lian discoveries in the Spanish
main named the island. The form Bon
| aire, then. suggests French corruption
| OF the Spanish. and the historical record.
are silent as 10 the period In which the
| French were In possession OF the island
| long enough TO cause the change. on the
other hand II is held by scholars in Vene-
zucla. and accepted generally by the Dutch
| that the name derives from the aborginn
| Guarani speech and that It was merely
| descriptive in the sense OF "A low island
an apt destination.
cannot agree with you In your rilinr
| that than" may never he used as \
proposition. for then how do You dispose
| OF than whom? GRAMMARGAN.
Imprimis. far be II from us to ente'
upon the polemics OF the grammarian''
grabbed art It is not all OF life to parse
| Item, there IL no record that We hav,
committed ourselves on the prepostiona
quality Of than. The locutOn thar
whom" has become so fixed in die
ton that even the precisians are forced
grudgngly to allow 1t the place It IA,
| conquered. Clearly this is because tbs
users Of English have found need to en-
ploy than" In preposltional sense. II
is not n modern corruption, for we recall
from Matthew PrIors ITO Chloe Jealous
n double instance:
Then finish. dear Chloe, this pastc.al war
And let us. like Horace and Lydia
|
For thou art a girl an much brighter
| than her
| As he was a poet sublmer than me.
| What is meant in English business BY
| crossing a check? p. S. WELLEs.
| II IL a device for limiting the circuls
ton OF a check as a commercial obligation
or instrument OF credit. After drawing
the check payable TO the dndividua
parallel diagonal lines are drawn acros,
the face OF the check. Within these linei
the drawer writes tho limiting directions
For instance II the cross reads Bar
| clay Co." II In a direction that thu
| check shall be cashed only at Barclay
| Bank IL the cross reads account psyee'
the check Is 10 be cashed only to TN
bank holding the payoe's account; II tn
| cross reads mot negott BILE" the checl
cannot be Endorsed 10 another party .
as to give a better title than the holde
has