sailing, perf. sailed, comp. having sailed--it is a
present or imperfect participle, because it denotes the continuance of
an unfinished action--and refers to the noun "vessel" for its subject,
according to
RULE 27. _The present participle refers to some noun or pronoun denoting
the subject or actor_.
"Not a breath disturbs the _sleeping_ billow."
_Sleeping_ is a participial adjective, a word added to a noun to express
its quality--it cannot, with propriety, be compared--- it belongs to the
noun "billow," agreeably to
RULE 18. _Adjectives belong to, and qualify, nouns expressed or
understood_.
You will please to parse these two words several times over, and, by a
little reflection, you will perfectly understand the 27th RULE.
Recollect, the participle never varies its termination to _agree_ with a
noun or pronoun, for, as it has no _nominative_, it has no agreement;
but it simply _refers to_ an actor. Examples: I see a _vessel_ sailing;
or, I see three _vessels_ sailing. You perceive that the participle
_sailing_ refers to a singular noun in the first example, and to a
plural noun in the second; and yet the participle is in the same form in
both examples.
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