I remember him in his cradle at St. James’s.—­THACKERAY.

     Kate saw that; and she walked off from the don’s.—­DE QUINCEY.

[Sidenote:  The double possessive.]

68.  A peculiar form, a double possessive, has grown up and become a fixed idiom in modern English.

In most cases, a possessive relation was expressed in Old English by the inflection _-es_, corresponding to ’s.  The same relation was expressed in French by a phrase corresponding to of and its object.  Both of these are now used side by side; sometimes they are used together, as one modifier, making a double possessive.  For this there are several reasons:—­

[Sidenote:  Its advantages:  Euphony.]

(1) When a word is modified by a, the, this, that, every, no, any, each, etc., and at the same time by a possessive noun, it is distasteful to place the possessive before the modified noun, and it would also alter the meaning:  we place it after the modified noun with of.

[Sidenote:  Emphasis.]

(2) It is more emphatic than the simple possessive, especially when used with this or that, for it brings out the modified word in strong relief.

[Sidenote:  Clearness.]

(3) It prevents ambiguity.  For example, in such a sentence as, “This introduction of Atterbury’s has all these advantages” (Dr. Blair), the statement clearly means only one thing,—­the introduction which Atterbury made.  If, however, we use the phrase of Atterbury, the sentence might be understood as just explained, or it might mean this act of introducing Atterbury. (See also Sec. 87.)

The following are some instances of double possessives:—­

     This Hall of Tinville’s is dark, ill-lighted except where she
     stands.—­CARLYLE.

     Those lectures of Lowell’s had a great influence with me, and
     I used to like whatever they bade me like.—­HOWELLS

     Niebuhr remarks that no pointed sentences of Caesar’s can have
     come down to us.—­FROUDE.

     Besides these famous books of Scott’s and Johnson’s, there is a
     copious “Life” by Thomas Sheridan.—­THACKERAY

     Always afterwards on occasions of ceremony, he wore that quaint
     old French sword of the Commodore’s.—­E.E.  HALE.

Exercises.

(a) Pick out the possessive nouns, and tell whether each is appositional, objective, or subjective.

(b) Rewrite the sentence, turning the possessives into equivalent phrases.

1.  I don’t choose a hornet’s nest about my ears.

2.  Shall Rome stand under one man’s awe?

3.  I must not see thee Osman’s bride.

4.  At lovers’ perjuries,
   They say, Jove laughs.