feminine; its case, possessive or objective; we do not often use it in any of these ways.  In some instances, the latter verb is attended with an other pronoun, which represents the same person or persons; as, “And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.”—­Rev., xxii, 17.  The case of this compound relative always depends upon what follows it, and not upon what precedes; as, “Or ask of whomsoever he has taught.”—­Cowper.  That is—­“of any person whom he has taught.”  In the following text, we have the possessive plural:  “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them.”—­John, xx, 23.  That is, “Whatever persons’ sins.”

OBS. 16.—­In such phraseology as the following, there is a stiffness which ought to be avoided:  “For whomever God loves, he loves them in Christ, and no otherways.”—­Barclay’s Works, Vol. iii, p. 215.  Better:  “For all whom God loves, he loves in Christ, and no otherwise.”  “When the Father draws, whomever he draws, may come.”—­Penington.  Better:  “When the Father draws, all whom he draws, (or, every one whom he draws.) may come.”  A modern critic of immense promise cites the following clause as being found in the Bible:  “But he loveth whomsoever followeth after righteousness.”—­O.  B. Peirce’s Gram., p. 72.  It is lamentable to see the unfaithfulness of this gentleman’s quotations.  About half of them are spurious; and I am confident that this one is neither Scripture nor good English.  The compound relative, being the subject of followeth, should be in the nominative case; for the object of the verb loveth is the antecedent every one, understood.  But the idea may be better expressed, without any ellipsis, thus:  “He loveth every one who followeth after righteousness.”  The following example from the same hand is also wrong, and the author’s rule and reasoning connected with it, are utterly fallacious:  “I will give the reward to whomsoever will apprehend the rogue.”—­Ib., p. 256.  Much better say, “to any one who;” but, if you choose the compound word, by all analogy, and all good authority, it must here be whoever or whosoever.  The shorter compound whoso, which occurs very frequently in the Bible, is now almost obsolete in prose, but still sometimes used by the poets.  It has the same meaning as whosoever, but appears to have been confined to the nominative singular; and whatso is still more rare:  as, “Whoso diggeth a pit, shall fall therein.”—­Prov., xxvi, 27.

   “Which whoso tastes, can be enslaved no more.”—­Cowper.

    “On their intended journey to proceed,
    And over night whatso thereto did need.”—­Hubbard.