he is spoken _to;_ but the noun _man_ is of the _third_
person, because he is spoken _of_. Again, if I say, young _man_, have
you seen my son? _man_ is of the _second_ person, and _son_ is of the
_third_.

"Hast thou left thy blue course in the heavens, golden-haired _sun_ of
the sky?"

"_Father_, may the Great Spirit so brighten the chain of friendship
between us, that a child may find it, when the sun is asleep in his
wig-wam behind the western waters."

"Lo, earth receives him from the bending skies!
Sink down, ye _mountains_, and, ye _valleys_, rise!"
"Eternal _Hope_, thy glittering wings explore
Earth's loneliest bounds, and ocean's wildest shore."

In these examples, the nouns, sun, father, mountains, valleys, and hope,
are of the _second_ person, and, as you will hereafter learn, in the
nominative case independent. Course, heavens, sky, Spirit, chain,
friendship, child, sun, wig-wam, waters, earth, skies, wings, earth,
bounds, ocean, and shore, are all of the _third_ person.

NUMBER.

Number is the distinction of objects, as one or more. Nouns are of two
numbers, the singular and the plural.

The _singular_ number implies but one; as, a _book_.

The _plural_ number implies more than one; as, _books_.

NOTES.

1. Some nouns are used only in the singular form; as, hemp, flax,
barley, wheat, pitch, gold, sloth, pride, honesty, meekness,
compassion, &c.; others only in the plural form; as, bellows,
scissors, ashes, riches, snuffers, tongs, thanks, wages, embers,
ides, pains, vespers, &c.

2. Some words are the same in both numbers; as, deer, sheep, swine;
and, also, hiatus, apparatus, series, species.

3. The plural number of nouns is generally formed by adding _s_ to
the singular; as, dove, doves; face, faces; but sometimes we add
_es_ in the plural; as, box, boxes; church, churches; lash, lashes;
cargo, cargoes.

4. Nouns ending in _f_ or _fe_, are rendered plural by a change of
that termination into _ves_; as, half, halves; wife, wives: except
grief, relief, reproof, and several others, which form their plurals
by the addition of _s_. Those ending in _ff_, have the regular
plural; as, ruff, ruffs; except staff, staves.

5. Nouns ending in _y_ in the singular, with no other vowel in the
same syllable, change it into _ies_ in the plural; as, beauty,
beauties; fly, flies. But the _y_ is not changed, where the