OBS. 19.—­In some instances, as it appears, not a little difficulty is experienced by our grammarians, respecting the addition or the omission of the possessive sign, the terminational apostrophic s, which in nouns is the ordinary index of the possessive case.  Let it be remembered that every possessive is governed, or ought to be governed, by some noun expressed or understood, except such as (without the possessive sign) are put in apposition with others so governed; and for every possessive termination there must be a separate governing word, which, if it is not expressed, is shown by the possessive sign to be understood.  The possessive sign itself may and must be omitted in certain cases; but, because it can never be inserted or discarded without suggesting or discarding a governing noun, it is never omitted by ellipsis, as Buchanan, Murray, Nixon, and many others, erroneously teach.  The four lines of Note 2d below, are sufficient to show, in every instance, when it must be used, and when omitted; but Murray, after as many octavo pages on the point, still leaves it perplexed and undetermined.  If a person knows what he means to say, let him express it according to the Note, and he will not fail to use just as many apostrophes and Esses as he ought.  How absurd then is that common doctrine of ignorance, which Nixon has gathered from Allen and Murray, his chief oracles!  “If several nouns in the genitive case, are immediately connected by a conjunction, the apostrophic s is annexed to the last, but understood to the rest; as, Neither John (i. e.  John’s) nor Eliza’s books.”—­English Parser, p. 115.  The author gives fifteen other examples like this, all of them bad English, or at any rate, not adapted to the sense which he intends!

OBS. 20.—­The possessive case generally comes immediately before the governing noun, expressed or understood; as, “All nature’s difference keeps all nature’s peace.”—­Pope.  “Lady! be thine (i. e., thy walk) the Christian’s walk.”—­Chr.  Observer. “Some of AEschylus’s [plays] and Euripides’s plays are opened in this manner.”—­Blair’s Rhet., p. 459.  And in this order one possessive sometimes governs an other:  as, “Peter’s wife’s mother;”—­“Paul’s sister’s son.”—­Bible.  But, to this general principle of arrangement, there are some exceptions:  as,

1.  When the governing noun has an adjective, this may intervene; as, “Flora’s earliest smells.”—­Milton.  “Of man’s first disobedience.”—­Id. In the following phrase from the Spectator, “Of Will’s last night’s lecture,” it is not very clear, whether Will’s is governed by night’s or by lecture; yet it violates a general principle of our grammar, to suppose the latter; because, on this supposition, two possessives, each having the sign, will be governed by one noun.