OBS. 6.—­Nouns of time, measure, distance, or value, have often so direct a relation to verbs or adjectives, that the prepositions which are supposed to govern them, are usually suppressed; as, “We rode sixty miles that day.”  That is,—­“through sixty miles on that day.”  “The country is not a farthing richer.”—­Webster’s Essays, p. 122.  That is,—­“richer by a farthing.”  “The error has been copied times without number.”—­Ib., p. 281.  That is,—­“on or at times innumerable.”  “A row of columns ten feet high, and a row twice that height, require different proportions.” Kames, El. of Crit., ii, 344.  That is,—­“high to ten feet,” and, “a row of twice that height.” “Altus sex pedes, High on or at six feet.”—­Dr. Murray’s Hist of Europ.  Lang., ii, 150.  All such nouns are in the objective case, and, in parsing them, the learner may supply the ellipsis;[365] or, perhaps it might be as well, to say, as do B. H. Smart and some others, that the noun is an objective of time, measure, or value, taken adverbially, and relating directly to the verb or adjective qualified by it.  Such expressions as, “A board of six feet long,”—­“A boy of twelve years old,” are wrong.  Either strike out the of, or say, “A board of six feet in length,”—­“A boy of twelve years of age;” because this preposition is not suited to the adjective, nor is the adjective fit to qualify the time or measure.

OBS. 7.—­After the adjectives like, near, and nigh, the preposition to or unto is often understood;[366] as, “It is like [to or unto] silver.”—­Allen.  “How like the former.”—­Dryden. “Near yonder copse.”—­Goldsmith. “Nigh this recess.”—­Garth.  As similarity and proximity are relations, and not qualities, it might seem proper to call like, near, and nigh, prepositions; and some grammarians have so classed the last two.  Dr. Johnson seems to be inconsistent in calling near a preposition, in the phrase, “So near thy heart,” and an adjective, in the phrase, “Being near their master.”  See his Quarto Dict. I have not placed them with the prepositions, for the following four reasons:  (1.) Because they are sometimes compared; (2.) Because they sometimes have adverbs evidently relating to them; (3.) Because the preposition to or unto is sometimes expressed after them; and (4.) Because the words which usually stand for them in the learned languages, are clearly adjectives.[367] But like, when it expresses similarity of manner, and near and nigh, when they express proximity of degree, are adverbs.