367. "He, from that moment, doubled his _kindness and caresses of me_:" say, "kindness _for_ and caresses of me;" by omitting _caresses_ we have, "He doubled his _kindness of_ me," which is not good English.
368. _To differ from_ and _to differ with_: to _differ from_ a man means to have an opinion different from his; to _differ with_ a person signifies a _quarrel_ or _rupture_.
369. "He barely escaped having _one or two broken heads_:" a man has but _one_ head, let it be broken or whole. Say, "He _once or twice barely escaped_ having a broken head."
370. "Whenever _I fall into that man's conversation_ I am entertained and profited:" say, _fall into conversation with that man_.
371. "The lecturer _spoke to several points_:" say, "spoke _on_ several points." He spoke _to_ his audience.
372. "I shall regard your _strictures_ only so far as _concerns_ my own errors:" say, _concern_; the phrase when filled out should read, "only so far as _they concern_ my own errors."
373. "I found him better than I expected _to have found him_:" say, _to find him_.
374. "I perceived that he was totally blind _with half an eye_:" say, "I perceived, with half an eye, that he was totally blind." Otherwise, to a man _totally blind_ you allot _half an eye_!
375. The word _only_ is often wrongly placed in the sentence, and made to express an idea which is not designed to be conveyed. "Not _only_ Chinese are superstitious," implies that others besides the Chinese are superstitious. "Chinese are not _only_ superstitious," implies that in addition to being superstitious, they have some other characteristics. "Chinese not _only_ are superstitious," leaves room for something still further to be implied of the Chinese than superstition, and which is not necessarily the predicate of _are_; as, "Chinese not only are superstitious, but they persecute those who do not put faith in Confucius."
376. _Not the least_ and _nothing less than_, sometimes literally convey just the opposite of what is intended. "He has _not the least_ excuse for going," may mean that he has _a great excuse_, or _none at all_. "He seeks _nothing less than_ worldly honor," may signify that nothing inferior to worldly honor will satisfy his desire; or, on the other hand, it may mean that nothing is less sought by him than worldly honor. Such expressions, therefore, are to be used with caution, else they will mislead.