or, “at the very time at which.” (2.) “The author of this work, at the same time THAT he has endeavoured to avoid a plan, which may be too concise or too extensive, defective in its parts or irregular in the disposition of them, has studied to render his subject sufficiently easy, intelligible, and comprehensive.”—­Murray’s Gram., Introd., p. 1.  This sentence, which is no unfair specimen of its author’s original style, needs three corrections:  1.  For “at the same time that,” say while:  2.  Drop the phrase, “which may be,” because it is at least useless:  3.  For “subject,” read treatise, or compilation. You will thus have tolerable diction.  Again:  (3.) “The participles of active verbs act upon objects and govern them in the objective case, in the same manner that the verbs do, from which they are derived. A participle in the nature of an adjective, belongs or refers to nouns or pronouns in the same manner that adjectives do; and when it will admit the degrees of comparison, it is called a participial adjective.”—­Sanborn’s Gram., p. 38.  This is the style of a gentleman of no ordinary pretensions, one who thinks he has produced the best grammar that has ever appeared in our language.  To me, however, his work suggests an abundance of questions like these; each of which would palpably involve him in a dilemma:  What is here meant by “objects,” the words, or the things? if the former, how are they acted upon? if the latter, how are they governed?  If “a participle is called an adjective,” which is it, an adjective, or a participle?  If “a participle refers to nouns or pronouns,” how many of these are required by the relation?  When does a participle “admit the degrees of comparison?” How shall we parse the word that in the foregoing sentences?

OBS. 19.—­The word as, though usually a conjunction or an adverb, has sometimes the construction of a relative pronoun, especially after such, so many, or as many; and, whatever the antecedent noun may be, this is the only fit relative to follow any of these terms in a restrictive sense.  Examples:  “We have been accustomed to repose on its veracity with such humble confidence as suppresses curiosity.”—­Johnson’s Life of Cowley. “The malcontents made such demands as none but a tyrant could refuse.”—­Bolingbroke, on Hist., Let. 7.  “The Lord added to the church daily such [persons] as should be saved.”—­Acts, ii, 47.  “And as many as were ordained to eternal life, believed.”—­Acts, xiii, 48. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.”—­Rev., iii, 19.  “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into