[553] The word “any” is here omitted, not merely because it is unnecessary, but because “every any other piece,”—­with which a score of our grammarians have pleased themselves,—­is not good English.  The impropriety might perhaps be avoided, though less elegantly, by repeating the preposition, and saying,—­“or of any other piece of writing.”—­G.  BROWN.

[554] This correction, as well as the others which relate to what Murray says of the several forms of ellipsis, doubtless conveys the sense which he intended to express; but, as an assertion, it is by no means true of all the examples which he subjoins, neither indeed are the rest.  But that is a fault of his which I cannot correct.—­G.  BROWN.

[555] The article may be repeated in examples like these, without producing impropriety; but then it will alter the construction of the adjectives, and render the expression more formal and emphatic, by suggesting a repetition of the noun.—­G.  BROWN.

[556] “The whole number of verbs in the English language, regular and irregular, simple and compounded, taken together, is about 4300.”—­Lowth’s Gram., p. 59; Murray’s, 12mo, p. 98; 8vo, p. 109; et al.

[557] In Singer’s Shakspeare, Vol. ii, p. 495, this sentence is expressed and pointed thus:  “O, shame! where is thy blush?”—­Hamlet, Act III, Sc. 4.  This is as if the speaker meant, “O! it is a shame! where is thy blush?” Such is not the sense above; for there “Shame” is the person addressed.

[558] If, in each of these sentences, the colon were substituted for the latter semicolon, the curves might well be spared.  Lowth has a similar passage, which (bating a needful variation of guillemets) he pointed thus:  “as ——­, as; expressing a comparison of equality; ’as white as snow:’  as ——­, so; expressing a comparison sometimes of equality; ‘as the stars, so shall thy seed be;’ that is, equal in number:  but” &c.—­Lowth’s Gram., p. 109.  Murray, who broke this passage into paragraphs, retained at first these semicolons, but afterwards changed them all to colons.  Of later grammarians, some retain the former colon in each sentence; some, the latter; and some, neither.  Hiley points thus:  “As requires as, expressing equality; as, ’He is as good as she.’”—­Hiley’s E. Gram., p. 107.