Part 30
“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+;«
‘She said to me that her daughters never went to balls;’
the verb +~gingen~+ stands in the _Imperfect Subjunctive_ and _not_ in the _Present_, because the third person plural of the Present Indicative and the corresponding person of the Present Subjunctive _are identical_ in the conjugation of this verb. Both are »+~sie gehen~+,« the verb, therefore, must be put in the _Imperfect Subjunctive_ to show clearly the mood employed.