belle dame, p. 1. c. 1._

"Ful sound _on sleep_ did caucht thare rest be kind."
_Douglas_, b. 9, p. 283.

"In these provynces the fayth of Chryste was all quenchyd and _in
sleepe_."--_Fabian._

A numerous portion of these contractions are nouns, which, from their
frequent recurrence, are used without their usual connexion with small
words. The letter _a_ is compounded with many of these words, which may
have been joined to them by habit, or as a preposition, meaning _on_,
_to_, _at_, _in_, as it is used in the french and some other languages.
You often hear expressions like these, "he is _a_-going; he is
_a_-writing; he began _a_-new," etc. The old adverbs which take this
letter, you can easily analyze; as, "The house is _a_-fire"--on fire;
"He fell _a_-sleep"--he fell _on_ sleep. "When deep sleep falleth on
men."--_Job._ "He stept _a_-side"--on one side. "He came _a_-board"--on
board. "They put it _a_-foot"--on foot. "He went _a_-way"--a way,
followed some _course_, to a distance. "Blue bonnets are all the _go_
now _a_-days," etc.

The following extracts will give you an idea of the etymology of these
words:

"Turnus seyes the Troianis in grete yre,
And al thare schyppis and navy set _in fire_."
_Douglas_, b. 9, p. 274.

"Now hand in hand the dynt lichtis with _ane_ swak,
Now bendis he up his bourdon with _ane_ mynt,
_On side_ (a-side) he bradis for to eschew the dynt."
_Idem._

"That easter fire and flame aboute
Both at mouth and at nase
So that thei setten all _on blaze_," (ablaze.)
_Gower._

"And tyl a wicked deth him take
_Him had_ leuer _asondre_ (a-sunder) shake
And let al his lymmes _asondre_ ryue
Thane leaue his richesse in his lyue."
_Chaucer._

Examples of this kind might be multiplied to an indefinite length. But
the above will suffice to give you an idea of the former use of these
words, and also, by comparison with the present, of the changes which
have taken place in the method of spelling within a few centuries.

A large portion of adverbs relate to _time_ and _place_, because many of
our ideas, and much of our language, are employed in reference to them;
as, _then_, _when_, _where_, _there_, _here_, _hence_, _whence_,
_thence_, _while_, _till_, _whether_, etc. These are compound words
con