burning, and the ugly flint and steel in his hand. He prayed and prayed.
At last he appeared exhausted. He stopped and eyed the purses, and then
emptied one of them out on the table. He appeared surprised, and, I
thought, gratified at the largeness of its contents.”
“We now thought we should have leave to retire; but, to our dismay, ‘The
Old Gardener’ said:
“‘Now, we will praise God by singing the 100th Psalm.’”
“This was agony to us all. After the Psalm, the old man took up the
second purse, and while he was examining its contents, Ryder, who was
close behind Tom and myself, whispered softly:
“‘I have unfastened the door, and when you hear me move, make a rush.’”
“‘The Old Gardener,’ then, pouring out the contents of the second purse,
exclaimed:
“‘Why, there is almost enough to build our new house of God. Let me see
what the third contains.’”
“He took up the third purse.”
“‘Now,’ whispered Ryder, ‘make a rush.’”
“We did so; and at the same moment heard the old fellow hammering away at
his flint and steel. We expected to be instantly blown into fragments.
The front door, however, flew open before us: and the next moment we
found ourselves in the garden. The night was pitchy dark. We rushed
blindly through brambles and prickly shrubs, ran our heads against trees,
and then forced our way through a thick hedge. At last, with scratched
faces, torn hands, and tattered clothes, we tumbled over a bank into the
high road.
_Section 250._
A STORY WORTH READING.
III.
“Our horses we soon found, and we galloped to Ryder’s residence. Lights
were produced, and we sat down. We were black, ragged, and dirty. We
looked at each other, and, in spite of our miserable adventure, roared
with laughter.”
“‘We may laugh,’ exclaimed Tom, ‘but if this adventure becomes known, and
we are found out, Cornwall will be too hot for us the next seven years.
We have made a pretty night of it. We have lost our money, been obliged
to pretend to pray for two long hours, before a great heap of gunpowder,
while that grim-faced, ugly, red-capped brute threatened us with an
immediate passage into eternity. And our money forsooth must go to build
a meeting-house! Bah! It is truly horrible. The old fellow has played the
old soldier on us with a vengeance, and we shall be the laughing-stock of
the whole country.’”
“The affair was not yet ended. Reports were spread that three men
disguised as black demons, with horns and tails, had entered the
cottage of ‘The Old Gardener,’ who had not only terrified them, but had
frightened them out of a good sum of money, which he intended to devote
to the building of a new Methodist meeting-house. It was given out that
on the following Sunday ‘The Old Gardener’ intended to preach a sermon,
and afterwards solicit subscriptions for the meeting-house, when he
would relate the remarkable manner in which he had been providentially
assisted with funds for the building. Our mortification was complete.
Tom, whose hatred of Methodism was intense, declared he would blow up
the meeting-house as soon as it was built. Our curiosity, however, was
excited, and we all three determined to hear our adventure of the night
related by ‘The Old Gardener,’ if we could contrive to be present without
being suspected.”
“Sunday evening arrived. The meeting-house was crammed to suffocation;
and with the dull lights then burning in the chapel, we had no difficulty
in concealing ourselves. The sermon was short, but the statement of our
adventure was related most minutely and circumstantially in the old man’s
quaint, homely, and humorous phraseology. This evening he seemed to excel
himself, and was exultingly humorous.”
“‘I never,’ said he, ‘saw black faces pray with greater devotion. I have
some doubt, however,’ he slily observed, ‘if their prayers were quite
heavenward. They sometimes turned their faces towards the door, but a
lifting of the flint and steel kept them quiet.’”
“He then added, with a shake of the head and an exulting laugh: ‘But they
had not smelt powder like the old soldier they came to rob. No, no; it
was a large heap—ay, large enough to frighten old General Clive himself.
The candle was lighted, the flint and steel were ready. You may ask, my
friends, if I myself was not afraid. No, no, my dear friends,’ shouted
he, ‘this large stock of apparent gunpowder was—it was my whole year’s
stock of leek (onion) seed!’”
“The whole congregation somewhat irreverently laughed; even the saints
almost shouted; many clapped their hands. I was for a moment stupefied by
the announcement, but at last could hardly suppress my own laughter.”
“We subscribed to the fund to avoid suspicion, and left the meeting.
After the sermon we joined each other, but could not speak. We could
hardly chuckle ‘leek-seed,’ and then roared with laughter.”
“It was a good joke, though not exactly to our taste. It has, however,
more than once served for subsequent amusement.”
“The chapel was built with the money collected by the gardener. Time and
circumstances now induce me to think that there has been no detriment
to morality or religion by the erection of the meeting-house, which was
afterwards known as ‘The Leek-seed Chapel.’”—ST. JAMES’S MAGAZINE.
APPENDIX.
A. ESSENTIALS OF CONSTRUCTION.
I. PRINCIPAL AND CO-ORDINATE CLAUSES.
(See § 24.)
§ 1. =Infinitives, Participles, and that form of the Infinitive preceded
by +zu+ which is called Supine, stand at the end of the clause=; as—
+Er war ärmlich, aber doch sauber ~gekleidet~.+
He was poorly, but yet neatly dressed.
+Sein zürnender Oheim hatte ihn zu sich ~gerufen~.+
His angry uncle had bid him come to him.
+Seine Tante wird morgen zu uns ~kommen~.+
His aunt will come to us to-morrow.
+Sie hat uns ~versprochen~, morgen zu ~kommen~.+
She has promised us to come to-morrow.
§ 2. In a clause containing _both_ an infinitive and a participle, =the
infinitive stands last=; as—
+Der Diener würde es ~nicht gethan haben~, wenn er ihn nicht
freundlich darum gebeten hätte.+
The servant would not have done it, if he had not kindly asked
him to do it.
+Der Brief muß gut ~geschrieben werden~, denn er enthält
wichtige Mitteilungen.+
The letter must be well written, for it contains important
communications.
§ 3. In a clause containing =two infinitives, the one governing the other
stands last=; as—
+Er mag mit einem solchen Menschen nichts ~zu thun haben~.+
He does not like to have anything to do with such a man.
§ 4. =Separable prefixes= of compound verbs =are placed at the end= of
the clause when the verb is used in a _simple tense_; as—
+Der König ~ging~ jeden Morgen um elf Uhr ~aus~ und ~kam~ gegen
zwölf Uhr ~zurück~.+
The king went out every morning at eleven o’clock and returned
towards twelve o’clock.
§ 5. In a clause containing =two objects=, both =expressed by nouns=,
that of the =person= stands =before= that of the =thing=; as—
+Am nächsten Abend gab er ~dem Manne~ das ~Geld~ zurück.+
The next evening he returned the money to the man.
§ 6. When _both_ objects represent _persons_, the =accusative generally
stands first=; as—
+Man hat ~den~ Verbrecher ~dem~ Richter überliefert.+
They have delivered the criminal to the judge.
§ 7. In clauses containing _two_ objects, one being _a personal pronoun_
and the other _a noun_, =the pronoun stands first=; as—
+Der fremde Herr gab ~mir einige Äpfel~ und Birnen.+
The stranger gave me some apples and pears.
§ 8. When =both objects are personal pronouns=, the =accusative=
_generally stands_ =first=; as—
+Sie hat ~es mir~ gesagt.+
She has said it to me.
+Man hat ~sie ihm~ genommen.+
They have taken her away from him.
§ 9. _A._ Adverbial expressions of =time= generally stand =before
the object= (except it is a pronoun) and =always before= adverbial
expressions of =manner= and =place=; as—
+Wir haben ~gestern drei~ Briefe erhalten.+
Yesterday we received three letters.
+Er ist ~heute plötzlich~ nach ~London~ abgereist.+
He has suddenly left for London to-day.
But we must say—
+Wir haben ~Sie heute~ mit Ungeduld erwartet.+ (+~Sie~+ pers.
pron.)
We have been expecting you to-day with impatience.
_B._ Adverbial expressions of =manner= and =place= generally stand before
the Infinitive or Participle when the verb is in a compound tense, but
take the last place in the clause when the verb is in a simple tense; as—
+Die Schüler haben ihre Aufgaben ~sehr gut~ gemacht.+
The pupils have done their lessons _very well_.
+Sie machen ihre Aufgaben ~immer sehr gut~.+
They do their lessons always very well.
+Sind Sie ~gestern im Theater~ gewesen?+
Were you _at the theatre yesterday_?
+Ich gehe ~nie ins Theater~.+
I _never_ go _to the theatre_.
=When the subject, which may be preceded by its attributes, occupies the
first place in a principal clause, either the copula or the verb must
follow immediately.=
§ 10. The negation +=nicht=+ stands =after= the =accusative=; as—
+Er schreibt den Brief ~nicht~, sondern sein Bruder.+
He is not writing the letter, but his brother is.
+Er hat den Brief ~nicht~ geschrieben.+
He has not written the letter.
§ 11. In questions +=nicht=+ sometimes stands =before= the =accusative=;
as—
+Haben Sie ~nicht~ meinen Brief erhalten?+
Have you not received my letter?
§ 12. In general the negation +=nicht=+ stands before that part of the
sentence which it affects; as—
+Ich bin ~nicht~ krank gewesen.+
I have not been ill.
+Wir sprechen ~nicht~ von ihm, sondern von seinem Vetter.+
We do not speak of him, but of his cousin.
+Die Natur hatte sie ~nicht~ mit Schönheit ausgestattet.+
Nature had not endowed her with beauty.
II. INVERTED CONSTRUCTION.
§ 13. The _ordinary_ way of arranging the words is to place the =subject=
and its adjuncts =first=, and the =predicate= with its adjuncts =after=;
as—
+Der gute Vater+ (subj.) +ist heute Morgen mit seinen drei
Töchtern nach London abgereist+ (predicate with adjuncts).
The good father has left this morning for London with his three
daughters.
=But this construction is sometimes inverted, so as to place the
predicate, or a part of the predicate, before the subject.= This is the
case:
(_a_) =In interrogative clauses=; as—
+~Kommt~ der Mann heute?+
Does the man come to-day?
+~Ist~ der Vater nach London abgereist?+
Has the father left for London?
+~Hat~ er kein Geld bei sich?+
Has he no money about him?
(_b_) =In imperative clauses=; as—
+Senden Sie diesen Brief zur Post!+
Send this letter to the post-office!
(_c_) =In exclamatory clauses=; as—
+~Hätte~ er auf mich gehört!+
Would he had listened to me!
(_d_) =In subordinate clauses beginning with an adverbial conjunction.=
(See § 124 of Lange’s German Grammar.)
§ 14. The _ordinary_ way of arranging the words is often departed from
for the sake of =emphasizing a part of the predicate=. In this case the
part to be emphasized is placed at the _beginning_ of the sentence, and
the =construction must be inverted=, that is to say the =subject= must be
placed =after the verb=; as—
+~Die letzten Worte hatte~ der junge Mensch mit gehobener
Stimme gesprochen.+
The last words the young man had spoken with an elevated tone
of voice.
+~Heute kann~ er nicht abreisen, sondern morgen.+
He cannot depart to-day, but to-morrow.
+~Mit dem zwölf Uhr Zuge kann~ er nicht mehr fahren, denn es
ist zu spät.+
He cannot go by the twelve o’clock train, for it is too late.
These sentences would read in the _ordinary_ construction: +Der junge
Mensch hatte die letzten Worte mit gehobener Stimme gesprochen. Er kann
nicht heute abreisen, sondern morgen. Er kann nicht mehr mit dem zwölf
Uhr Zuge fahren, denn es ist zu spät.+ The words »+Die letzten Worte+,«
»+heute+,« »+mit dem zwölf Uhr Zuge+,« have been made _emphatic_ by being
placed at the _beginning_ of the sentence, which required the _verb_ and
the _subject_ to interchange places.
§ 15. Sometimes =a subordinate clause= (that is to say a clause dependent
on another clause, without which it would not be understood) =is made
emphatic by being placed before the principal clause=. Then also the
=subject= of the _principal clause_ must be placed =after= the =verb=; as—
+Als er in die Stube kam, ~fand er~ mich am Schreibtische.+
When he came into the room, he found me at the desk.
In this example the _principal_ clause is »+er fand mich am
Schreibtische+,« and the _subordinate_ clause is contained in the words
»+Als er in die Stube kam+;« this latter clause has been emphasized by
being placed before the principal clause, but it required the _principal_
clause to be _inverted_, so as to place the _subject_ (+er+) after the
_verb_ (+fand+).
Here are some more examples of the same class:
+Weil er ein guter Junge ist, ~will~ ich ihm seine Bitte
gewähren.+
Because he is a good fellow, I will grant his request.
+Nachdem er gegessen und getrunken hatte, ~ging er~ nach Hause.+
After having eaten and drunk, he went home.
III. SUBORDINATE CLAUSES.
(See § 24.)
§ 16. In subordinate clauses beginning with a relative pronoun, a
relative conjunction, or a subordinative conjunction, =the verb= stands
=at the end=; as—
+Man zeigte mir ein Buch, ~das~ viele schöne Bilder ~enthielt~.+
They showed me a book which contained many beautiful pictures.
+Wir waren im Zimmer, ~als~ er ~eintrat~.+
We were in the room when he entered.
§ 17. When the =verb= is in a =compound tense=, the =auxiliary= verb
stands =last=; as—
+Nachdem sie ihn ~begrüßt hatte~, kam sie schnell auf mich zu.+
After she had welcomed him, she approached me quickly.
§ 18. When there are _two_ verbs, one of which is a verb of mood, =the
verb of mood stands last=; as—
+Er sagte, daß er nicht ~kommen könne~.+
He said that he could not come.
§ 19. When there are _two_ verbs, the one being an infinitive, and the
other an inflected verb, =the inflected verb stands last=; as—
+Der Sohn starb gerade zu der Stunde, in welcher sein Vater ihn
~wiederzusehen hoffte~.+
The son died the very hour his father hoped to see him again.
§ 20. When there are _two infinitives_ and _an auxiliary verb_, the
=auxiliary= verb has the =first= place, whilst the =governing infinitive=
stands =last=; as—
+Er überlegte, wie er es ~werde vermeiden können~.+ (+können+
is the governing verb.)
He considered how he might be able to avoid it.
+Er sagte, daß er es nicht ~habe thun mögen~.+ (+mögen+ is the
governing verb.)
He said that he did not like to do it.
§ 21. Sometimes the =conjunction=, which generally connects the
subordinate clause with the principal clause, _is_ =omitted= _and
understood_. In this case the construction is like that of a _principal
clause_; as—
+Er fürchtete, ~ich könne~ mich erkälten.+ (+Er fürchtete, daß
ich mich ~erkälten könne~.+)
He was afraid I might catch cold.
§ 22. Sometimes the =auxiliary= verb is =omitted= _and understood_; as—
+Daß er mir ~genommen~ (wurde), ist mein größtes Leid.+
That he was taken from me is my greatest sorrow.
§ 23. =In subordinate clauses the prefixes of separable compound verbs
are not separated from the verb=; as—
+Er war so beschäftigt, daß er in vierzehn Tagen nicht
~ausging~.+
He was so busy that he did not go out for a fortnight.
§ 24. _A._ The co-ordinative conjunctions—+~aber~+, +~allein~+, +~denn~+,
+~nämlich~+, +~oder~+, +~sondern~+, +~sowohl — als~+, and +~und~+—serve
to connect two or more independent statements with each other, which
have either one common subject or predicate, or have each a subject and
predicate of their own (co-ordinate clauses). =Co-ordinative conjunctions
do not affect the regular order of construction explained in= §§ 1-12,
and generally stand at the beginning of the co-ordinate clauses which
they introduce; but +~aber~+ and +~nämlich~+ are often placed after the
verb, and sometimes even stand in the middle of the clause; as—
+Die Frau war dem Manne früh gestorben; dieser ließ dem
hinterlassenen Kinde ~aber~ jede mögliche Sorgfalt angedeihen.+
A subordinate clause, i.e. a clause dependent on another clause, without
which it would not be understood, is joined to a principal clause by
means of a relative pronoun, or a conjunction, which latter may be either
a relative, a subordinative, or an adverbial conjunction. (See § 124 of
Lange’s German Grammar.) The effect produced upon the construction by
relative pronouns, relative conjunctions, and subordinative conjunctions
has been explained in §§ 16-23.
_B._ =Adverbial conjunctions, like all other adverbial expressions
commencing a clause, require the verb to stand before the subject=, as
has been pointed out in § 124 of Lange’s German Grammar.
B. THE INDICATIVE MOOD.
§ 25. The Indicative Mood is the Mood of Actuality, whilst the
Subjunctive Mood is the Mood of Possibility. The nature of the Indicative
may be said to be _objective_, because it is used to express positive
facts. The nature of the Subjunctive may be said to be _subjective_,
because it represents the statement made as a mere subjective
supposition, or as resting on the mere hearsay evidence of other persons.
=The Indicative Mood denotes Positiveness and Certainty.=
=Conjunctions never determine the mood in which a verb is to be used.=
The mood is always determined by the nature of the statement we wish to
make. So one and the same verb may be followed, in the dependent clause,
either by the Indicative or the Subjunctive Mood.
EXAMPLES.
+Der Gefangene ~ist~ tot; er ~ist~ heute Morgen gestorben.+
(Positive statement.)
The prisoner is dead; he died this morning.
+Ich bin überzeugt, daß er es ~gesagt hat~.+ (Certainty.)
I am convinced that he has said it.
+Der Mensch ~ist~ sterblich.+ (A fact.)
Man is mortal.
+Ich habe gehört, daß er zum Minister ~ernannt ist~.+
I have heard that he has been appointed a minister, (and I do
not doubt it).
(Here the Indicative Mood is used, because I wish to imply that I have
_no doubt_ about the accuracy of the statement.)
+Ich habe gehört, daß er zum Minister ~ernannt sei~+ (see § 30).
I have heard that he has been appointed a minister, (but I
rather doubt it).
(Here the Subjunctive Mood is used because I wish to express a _doubt_
about the accuracy of the statement, which is expressed in English by the
words ‘but I rather doubt it.’)
C. THE SUBJUNCTIVE (OR CONJUNCTIVE) MOOD.
(See § 25.)
§ 26. Since, in the best modern works of English Literature, we
frequently find the Indicative employed instead of the Subjunctive in
clauses of uncertainty and supposition, and since, with the exception of
the verb _to be_, it is evidently the tendency of the English language
to reject the distinction of the Subjunctive Mood, the student will
encounter no small difficulty in learning the right use of the German
Subjunctive, which is most extensively used, and gives often great power,
conciseness, and elegance to the mode of speaking.
=The Subjunctive Mood= is used both in principal and subordinate clauses,
and =denotes Uncertainty and Supposition=.
EXAMPLES.
+Man sagt er ~sei~ gestorben+ (see § 29). (Uncertainty.)
People say (i.e. it is rumoured) he is dead.
+Plato glaubte, daß nur ~ein~ Gott ~sei~.+ (Supposition.)
Plato thought that there was only _one_ God, (but that it was a
matter of doubt).
§ 27. =The Subjunctive expresses Command, Wish, and Concession.=
EXAMPLES.
+Er ~nehme~ seine Weite, wie’s Brauch ist!+ (Schiller.)
(Command.)
Let him take his distance as it is customary!
+Gott ~sei~ mit dir!+ (Wish.)
God be with you!
+Er ~gehe~, wohin er Lust hat.+ (Concession.)
He may go wherever he pleases.
§ 28. =The Subjunctive is used in Indirect Speech= (oratio obliqua),
i.e. when words which have been actually spoken are _quoted_ not as they
were spoken, but _in substance_ only; it stands especially after the
verbs +~sagen~+, to say; +~erzählen~+, to relate; +~melden~+, to report;
+~berichten~+, to relate, to report; +~hören~+, to hear; as—
+Er sagte ihm, er ~sei~ ein Verschwender.+
He told him he was a spendthrift.
+Sie behauptete, sie ~habe~ den Brief nicht erhalten.+
She asserted that she had not got the letter.
+Sein Freund meldete, daß er nicht kommen ~könne~, mich zu
besuchen.+
His friend reported that he could not come to see me.
§ 29. =The Subjunctive is used when the statement made in the subordinate
clause is intended to be represented not as a fact, but as a mere idea,
as a mere conception of the person speaking.= We find it, therefore,
especially after verbs denoting _a request_, _a wish_, _a hope_, _an
apprehension_, _a permission_, _an advice_, and _a command_; as—
+meinen+, to mean.
+glauben+, to believe.
+vermuten+, to presume.
+zweifeln+, to doubt.
+scheinen+, to seem.
+hoffen+, to hope.
+fürchten+, to fear.
+wollen+, to be willing.
+bitten+, to ask.
+befehlen+, to command.
+verlangen+, to demand.
+ermahnen+, to admonish.
+raten+, to advise.
+bestehen+, to insist upon,
And others of a like meaning.
EXAMPLES.
+Lassen Sie uns ~hoffen~, daß unser Streben von Erfolg ~sein
werde~.+
Let us hope that our endeavours may be successful.
+Ich bat ihn, daß er mir ~helfen möge~.+
I asked him to help me.
+Ich ~fürchtete~, daß er ein Bein ~gebrochen habe~.+
I was afraid that he had broken a leg.
+Wir ~bitten~, daß der Gefangene frei ~gelassen werde~.+
We request that the prisoner be released.
+Er ~zweifelt~ daran, daß man ihn für unschuldig ~erklären
werde~.+
He doubts if he will be declared innocent.
+Wir werden stets ~verlangen~, daß man uns unsere Rechte
~gewähre~.+
We shall always demand that our rights be given to us.
+Ich ~rate~ dir, daß du fleißiger ~werdest~.+
I advise you to become more industrious.
+Ich ~bestehe darauf~, daß sich der Lord ~entferne~.+
(Schiller.)
I insist upon the Lord’s retiring.
§ 30. With regard to the _Tense_ in which the Subjunctive ought to stand
in subordinate clauses of the character mentioned above, the general rule
is, that—
=We use the same tense of the Subjunctive Mood which, in
direct speech, or in a principal clause, would be used in the
Indicative Mood=,
except that
=the Perfect of the Subjunctive is used instead of the
Imperfect of the Indicative, and that the Pluperfect of the
Indicative is changed into the Perfect of the Subjunctive,
with the help of one of the conjunctions +ehe+, +bevor+, and
+nachdem+.=
The following table will make this clear:—
_Direct Speech._ _Indirect Speech._
+Er sagte: »Ich lese.«+ +Er sagte, er lese.+ (Present
(Present.) Subj.)
+Er sagte: »Ich habe gelesen.«+ +Er sagte, er habe gelesen.+
(Perfect.) (Perfect Subj.)
+Er sagte: »Ich werde lesen.«+ +Er sagte, er werde lesen.+
(First Future.) (First Future Subjunctive.)
+Er sagte: »Ich werde gelesen +Er sagte, er werde gelesen haben+
haben+ (Second Future), +wenn (Second Future Subj.), +wenn sein
mein Freund mich abholen wird.«+ Freund ihn abholen werde+ (First
(First Future.) Future Subjunctive).
But— But—
+Er sagte: »Ich las, als sein +Er sagte, er =habe gelesen=, als
Freund schrieb.«+ (Imperfect.) sein Freund =geschrieben habe=.+
(Perfect Subjunctive.)
+Er sagte: »Ich hatte gelesen+ +Er sagte, er =habe gelesen=+
(Pluperfect), +als mein Freund (Perfect Subjunctive), +=ehe=
schrieb.«+ (Imperfect.) sein Freund =geschrieben habe=.+
(Perfect Subjunctive.)
It will be seen, therefore, that =the verb= in the subordinate clause
=stands either in the Present, in the Perfect, or in the Future=.
EXAMPLES.
+Der Diener antwortete, er ~sei~ nicht imstande die Arbeit zu
thun, denn er ~sei~ zu schwach.+ (Present Subj.)
The servant answered that he was unable to do the work, for he
was too weak.
+Er erzählte mir, er ~habe~ ein Unglück ~gehabt~.+ (Perfect
Subj.)
He told me he had met with a misfortune.
+Sie behauptete, daß sie nie in ihrem Leben krank ~gewesen
sei~.+ (Perfect Subj.)
She affirmed that she had never been ill in all her life.
+Er sagte, daß er sich um eine Stelle bewerben ~werde~.+ (First
Future.)
He said that he was going to apply for a situation.
§ 31. =The Imperfect and Pluperfect Subjunctive, however, must be used
instead of the Present and Perfect Subjunctive, and the Conditional
instead of the Future Subjunctive=, when any ambiguity might arise as to
the mood employed, that is to say in cases where the form of the Present,
of the Perfect, or of the Future is _identical_ both in the Indicative
and the Subjunctive Mood. For example, in the sentence—
»+Sie sagte mir, ihre Töchter ~gingen~ niemals auf Bälle+;«