he gives “as if and “as though.”—­Gram., p. 25.  But when he comes to speak of ellipsis, he says:  “After the conjunctions than, as, but, &c., some words are generally understood; as, ‘We have more than [that is which] will suffice;’ ’He acted as [he would act] if he were mad.’”—­Ib., p. 41.  This doctrine is plainly repugnant to the other.

[315] Of the construction noticed in this observation, the Rev. Matt.  Harrison cites a good example; pronounces it elliptical; and scarcely forbears to condemn it as bad English:  “In the following sentence, the relative pronoun is three times omitted:—­’Is there a God to swear by, and is there none to believe in, none to trust to?’—­Letters and Essays, Anonymous. By, in, and to, as prepositions, stand alone, denuded of the relatives to which they apply.  The sentence presents no attractions worthy of imitation.  It exhibits a license carried to the extreme point of endurance.”—­Harrison’s English Language, p. 196.

[316] “An ellipsis of from after the adverb off has caused the latter word sometimes to be inserted incorrectly among the prepositions.  Ex. ‘off (from) his horse.’”—­Hart’s Gram., p. 96. Off and on are opposites; and, in a sentence like the following, I see no more need of inserting “from” after the former, than to after the latter:  “Thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up.”—­2 Kings, i, 16.

[317] “Who consequently reduced the greatest part of the island TO their own power.”—­Swift, on the English Tongue.  “We can say, that one nation reduces another TO subjection.  But when dominion or power is used, we always, as [so] far as I know, say, reduce UNDER their power” [or dominion]—­Blair’s Rhet., p. 229.

[318] “O foy, don’t misapprehend me; I don’t say so.”—­DOUBLE DEALER:  Kames, El. of Crit., i, 305.

[319] According to Walker and Webster, la is pronounced law; and, if they are right in this, the latter is only a false mode of spelling.  But I set down both, because both are found in books, and because I incline to think the former is from the French la, which is pronounced lah.  Johnson and Webster make la and lo synonymous; deriving lo from the Saxon la, and la either from lo or from the French la. “Law, how you joke, cousin.”—­Columbian Orator, p. 178. “Law me! the very ghosts are come now!”—­Ibid. “Law, sister Betty!  I am glad to see you!”—­Ibid.

   “La you!  If you speak ill of the devil,
    How he takes it at heart!”—­SHAKESPEARE:  Joh.  Dict., w.  La.