Good-by

Instead of its being " a corruption of God be with you (b' wi' ye)," as " Webster'B Unabridged Dictiouary " teaches, or a corruption of any other expression, good-Viy consista as plainly and truly of two honest, hearty, and well-meaning Saxon works as its kindred expression good-morning or good-night. The word " by " as a noun, has long since gone into disuse in English, except in two or three phrases. As a synonym of way or journey, it is no longer in general use, And yet it is as suoh that it appears In the expression good-by. As good-inorning, good-evemng, gooa mgni are but contractions of the phrase " a good-morning to you," "a good-evening to you," "a ■ good-night to you," so "good-by" ia but a contiaction of " a good-by (journey) to you," for which we Btill say " a pleasant journey to you," and nothing but the fact of the obsoleteness of the word " by " in this sense would have ever suggested any other origin or meaning for the expreaaions. The idea of God being with the one addressed, therefore, it will be Been, does not inhere in good-by any more than in göod-morniug, good night, etc. Yet, in uaing these expressions, a devout mind may connect it with them all.