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Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in trie year one thousand eight hundred and ninety -seven, by TiiK Corp, Clark Company, Limited, Toronto, Ontario, in the Office of the Minister of Agriculture. T^ ! ^. EDITOR'S NOTE. ito, The exercises and examination papers collected here have been found serviceable in the editor's own classes, and he now publishes them in this handy form with the hope that many other teachers may find them an aid. Indeed, it is believed that a thorough mastery of all the matter covered by these exercises will be a sufficient preparation for the departmental examination in rhetoric. A few extracts have been given without question or comment to allow each teacher a free field for individual treatment. In the Appendix will be found some "Lessons in Rhetoric" which appeared in The Educa- tio7ial Journal a few years ago. These " Lessons " are reprinted hero for reference only. ' 3 DEPARTMENTAL EXAMINATION PAPERS. SENIOR LEAVING, 1895. (i) Here is wisdom. Here are the principles on which nations are to be governed. Hose-bushes and poor-rates, rather than steam-engines and independence. Mortality and cottages with weather-stains rather than health and long life with edifices which time cannot mellow. We are told that our age has invented atrocities beyond the imagination of our fathers ; that society has been brought into a state compared with which extermination would be a blessing; and all because the dwellings of cotton-spinners are naked and rectangular. Mr. Southey has found out a way, he tells us, in which the effects of manufactures and agriculture may be compared, and what is this way? To stand on a hill, to look at a cottage and a factory, and to see which is the prettier. Does Mr. Southey think that the body of the English peasantry live, or ever lived, in substantial or ornamental cottages, with box hedges, flower-gardens, bee-hives, and orchards? If not, what is his parallel worth? (ii) It was not, however, destined that she or her child should inhabit that little garret. We were to leave our lodgings on Monday morning ; but on Saturday evening the child was seized with convulsions, and all Sunday the mother watched and prayed for it ; but it pleased God to take the innocent infant from us, and on Sunday, at midnight, it lay a corpse on its mother's bosom. Amen. We have other children, 6 EXERCISK8 IX RHETORIC. happy and well, now round about us, and from the father's heart, the memory of this little thing has almost faded ; but I do believt; that every day of her life the mother thinks of the first-born that was with her for so short a while : many and many a time has she taken her daughters to the grave, in Saint Bride's, where he lies buried ; and she wears still at her neck a little, little lock of gold hair, which she took from the head of the infant as he lay smiling in liis coffin. It has happened to me to forget the child's birth day, but to her never ; and often, in the midst of common talk, comes some- thing that shows she is thinking of the child still, — some simple allusion that is to me inexpressibly afiecting. (a) What quality or qualities of style are exhibited in tiiese extracts ? (b) Show by what devices the rhetorical effects are produced. (c) Write a brief note on the vocabulary of the second extract. I SENIOR LEAVING, 1894. John Quincy Adams, making a speech at New Bedford, many years ago, reckoned the number of whaleships (if I remember rightly) that sailed out of that port, and, comparing it with some former period, took it as a type of American success. But, alas ! it is with quite another oil that those far- shining lamps of a nation's true glory which burn forever, must be filled. It is not by any amount of material splendour or prosperity, but only b}'^ moral greatness, by ideas, by works of imagination, that a race can conquer the future. No voice comes to us from the once mighty Assyria but the hoot of the owl that rests amid her ruined palaces. Of Carthage, whose merchant fleets once furled their sails in every port of the known world, nothing is left but the deeds of Hannibal. She lies dead on the shore of her once-subject sea, and the wind of KXAMINATIOy PAPERS. 7 the desert only flings its handfuls of burial sand upon her corpse. A fog can blot Holland or Switzerland out of exist- ence. But how large is the space occupied in the maps of the soul by little Athens and powerless Italy ! They were great by the soul, and their vital force is as indestructible as the soul . 1. (a) What proposition does the author seek to establish in this paragrapli ? (h) Show in what way each sentence contributes tf) this end. 2. VVliat devices are employed in the paragraph to promote force in expression ? Additional Questions by the Editor. 1. Apply to the section these " Paragraj)h Laws " : (a) The Law of the Topic Sentence. (/>) The Law of Method. (c) The Law of Explicit Reference. 2. Improve, if possible, the order of words in the sentences beginning : (a) "But, alas!"— (h) "No voice"— (c) ' ' They were great " — Tell in each case why you tliink the changed order is an iinj)rove- ment. 3. Point out in the paragraph two examples oi poetic conceptions, and give the ) Improve the last sentence of the extract as to clearness of reference. 2. (a) In the 7th sentence ("We can live inevitable 'pad- ding.' ") what is the relation in thought of the two parts separated by the colon ? (6) Rewrite the sentence as two sentences. (e) Criticize the structure of the 9th sentence ("The central interest his short pieces.") and show how it may be improved. 3. Write notes on the nillowing sentences as to the order of words, phrases and causes ; wliere necessary, improve the order, giving reason.^ for any changes made : (a) Misty, therefore, tlie poet has ou/ kind jjermission some- times to be ; but muddy, nevrr ! (h) We can live o~^.ly in the hope that he will also be triumph- ant in the novel. (o) Me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. (d) Though some of the European rulers may be females, when spoken of altogether, they may be correctly classi- fied as kings. JUNIOR LEAVING, 1894. Cast" your eyes over the world, and see how the masses of men, how the majority of nations, labour not only in mental, but in moral degradation, to support a high and fine type EXAMINATION PAPERS. 13 of humanity in the few. Examine any ]>eautiful work of art, and consider how coarse and dark is tlie life of those who have dug its materials, or the materials for the tools which wrought it, out of the quarry or the mine. Things ahsolutely essential to intellectual progress are furnished by classes which for ages to come the great results of intellect cannot reach, and the lamp which lights the studies of a Bacon or a Leibnitz is fed by the wild, rude fisherman of the Northern Sea. It is true that Mdierever service is rendered, we may trace some reciprocal advantage, either immediate or not long deferred. The most abstract discoveries of science gradually assume a practical form, and descend in the shape of material conveniences and comforts to the masses wl lose labour supported the discoverer in intellectual leisure. ISiW are the less fortu- nate ages of history and tlie lower states of society without their consolations. The intervals between great moral and intellectual efforts have functions of their own. Imperial Rome, amidst her moral lassitude, makes great roads, pro- motes material civilizatiom, codifies the law. The last century had no poetry, but it took up with melody, raid produced the Handels and INFozarts. Lower pains go with lower pleasures, and the savage life is not without its immunities and enjoy- ments. The life of intense hope that is lived in the morning of great revolutions may partly make up for the danger, the distress, and the disappointment of their later hour. But these, if they are touches of kindness and providence in Nature, welcome as proof that she is not a blind or cruel power, fall far short of the full measure of justice. 1. {a) Give verj' ocjncisoly the substance of ea-^h paragra^ih. (6) What is the relation i" thought between the two para- graphs? (c) Explain the function of the expression "It is true," at the beginning of the second paragraph. u p:x1<;kcisks it: ruiETORir. 2. (a) Rewrite the first sentence of tlie extract, substituting for the imperative some other construction, and com})are as to rlietorical ett'ect. (6) In the third sentence ("Tilings Northern Sea ") state the relation in thought of the second member of the sentence to the first. (<■) Rewrite the last sentence of the extract so as to improve it in respect to clearness. .'^. Explain and illustrate from the extract what is meant by method or eonsecidire in-nnKjemeid in a paragraph. JUNIOR LEAVING, 1893. / " There is no place in the town which I so much love to fre- quent as the Royal Exchange. :- It gives me a secret satisfaction, ai:d, in some measure, gratifies my vanity, as I am an English- man, to see so rich an assembly of countrymen and foreigners consulting together upon the private business of mankind, and making this mt oropolis a kind of emporium for the \\ hole earth. ^ I must confess I look upon high-change to be a great council, in which all considerable nations have their representatives. f-i Factors in the trading world are what andoassadors are in the politic world ; they negotiate affairs, conclude treaties, and maintain a good correspondence between those wealthy soci- eties of men that are divided by seas and oceans, or live in the different extremes of a continent. / ^I have often been pleased to hear disputes adjusted between an inhabitant of Japan and an aldennan of London, or to see a subject of the Great Mogul entering into a league with one of the Czars of Muskovy. -f I am infinitely delighted in mixing witli these several ministers of counnerce, as they are distinguished by their different walks and languages ', sometimes I am jostled by a body of Armenians; sometimes I am lost in a crowd of Jews; and sometimes make one in a gi'oup of Dutchmen. ''/I am a Dane, EXAMINATION PAPKKS. m Swede, or Freiicliinan at different times ; or rather fancy my- self like the old philosophei, who upon ))eing asked wliat countryman he was, replied that he was a citizen <»f the world." 1. (a) Trace the development of the foregoing paragi'aph from the topic sentence. (6) Point out sentences that aj)pear to y«tu to jK)SRess special merit in tlie matter of constructioii (i) for clearness, (ii) for force, or (iii) for melody ; in each case give reiisons for your judgment. 2. Show fully and deiinitely the extent to which this paragraph illustrates («) the simplicity and (6) the elegance of the author's style. / JUNIOR LEAVING, 1892. The life of the Custom-House lies like a dream behind me. The old Inspector, — who by the way, I regret to say, was overthrown and killed by a horse, s(jme time ago ; else he would certainly have lived forever,— he, and all th 1. (a) State the theme of the foregoing paragraph. {h) Show briefly the bearing of each successive sentence upon the theme. (c) Discuss briefly the unity of the paragraph. {d) Account for the order in which the thoughts of the para- graph are presented ; comment on the effectiveness of the order. 2. Discuss the effect on the style of the paragraph, if we substi- tute the following words for the words in the text : — (a) "old persons" (for "venerable personages," line 5) ; (6) "men" (for "images," line?); (c) "merchants" (for " men of traffic, " line 11) ; {d) "to occupy" (for "to people," line 19) ; (e) "of Lenox " (for "of somewhere else," l>ne 22) ; (/) "ancestors" (for "forefathers," line 26). 3. State the qualities of style you judge the paragraph to possess ; indicate in detail with each quality you mention the grounds on which you base your judgment. \ K 1 EXAMINATION PAPERS. 17 JUNIOR LEAVING, 1891. X'xhis delusive itch for slander, too common in all ranks of people, whether to gratify a little ungenerous resentmen t ; whether oftener out of a principle of levelling, from a narrow- ness and poverty of soul, ever impatient of merit and superiority in others ; whether from a mean ambition, or the insatiate lust>. of being witty (a talent in which ill-nature and malice are no ingredients); — or lastly, whether from a natural cruelty of disposition, abstracted from all views and considerations of self ; — to which one, or whether to all jointly, we are indebted for this contagious malady, thus much is certain, from what- ever seeds it springs, the growth and progress of it are as destructive to, as they are unbecoming, a civilized people. To pass a hard and ill-natured reflection upon an undesigning action ; to invent, or which is equally bad, to propagate, a vexatious report without colour and grounds ; — to plunder an innocent nuui of his character and good name, a jewel which perhaps he has starved himself to purchase and probablv would hazard_his life to secure ; — to rob him at the same time of his happiness and peace of mind, perhaps his bread : -the bread, may be, of a virtuous family; and all this, as Solomon says of the madinan who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, and saith, "Am I not in sport?" all this out of wantonness, and oftener from worse motives, — the whole appears such a compli- cation of badness as requires no words or warmth of fancy to aggravate.— Pride, treachery, envy, hypocrisy, malice, cruelty ; and self-love may have been said, in one shape or other, to have occasioned all the frauds and mischiefs that ever happened in the world ; but the chances against a coincidence of them all in one person are so many, that one would have supposed the character of a common slanderer as rare and difficult a production in nature as that of a great genius, which seldom happens above once in an age. 2 y '0 18 EXKKCISES IN KlIKTOIlIt'. 1. Diseriininato tlie following pjiirs of words, and use each word in a phrase in which the other could not he used : Ranks, classes ; resentment, animosit}' ; merit, worth ; in- satiate, insatiable ; talent, genius ; ingredient, com- ponent ; malady, disease ; invent, discover ; vexatious, annoying ; plunder, rob ; hazard, risk ; complication, combinatioii, 2. Criticize briefly each sentence in the paragraph as to the order of words and terms, clearness and strength, showing the effect of the rhetorical expedients employed. 3. Discuss the propriety of each of the following phrases as used in the extract : — • ' Delusive itch for slander, too common, are no ingredients, we ", are indebted, contagious malady, undesigning action, reports^" without colour and gi'ounds, plunder of his character, to purchase, out of wantonness or worse motives, to aggravate, in one shape or other, that ever happened, the coincidence. 4. Discuss the propriety and the order oi each member of the following i)airs of terms as used in the extract : — Meanness and poverty, merit and superiority, ill-nature and malice, views and considerations, growth and progress, hard and ill-natured, colour and grounds, character and good name, happiness and peace of mind, words or warmth of fancy, frauds and mischiefs, rare and diffi- cult. ♦,■ q ^ >/ PRIMARY, 1895. r V' The accession of George the First marked a change in the position of England in the European Commonwealth. From the age of the Pl}7,ntagenets the country had stood apart from more* than passing contact with the fortunes of the Continent'. But the Revolution had forced her to join tlie Great Alliance of the European peoples ; and shameful as were some of its > \ V EXAMINATION PAPERS. 19 used )f the incidents, the Peace of Utrecht left her the main barrier against the ambition of the House of Bourbon. And not only did the Revolution set England irrevocably among the powers of Europe, but it assigned her a special place among tliein. The result of the alliance and the war had been to establish what was then called a "balance of power" between the gi-eat European states ; a ])alance which rested indeed not so much on any natural equilibrium of forces as on a compromise wrung from warring nations by the exhaustion of a great struggle ; but which, once recogiiized and established, could l)e adapted and readjusted, it was hoped, to the varying political condi- tions of the time. Of this balance of power, as recognized and defined in the Treaty of Utrecht and its successors, England became the special guardian. ' The stubl)orn policy of tlie Georgian statesmen has left its mark on our policy ever since. ,' In struggling for peace and the sanctity of treaties, even though tlie struggle was one of selfish interest, England took a ply which she has never wholly lost. ' Warlike and imperious as is her national temper, she has never been able to free herself from a sense that her business in the world is to seek peace alike foi herself and for the nations about lier, and that the best security for peace lies in her recognition, amidst whatever difficulties and seductions, of the force of in- ternational engagements and the sanctity of treaties. i \^ ^' (") Wliat is the main statement of this paragraph, and where ^ is it found ? {h) What is the bearing of each of the first four sentences on ^ this statement ? 2. (a) Rewrite sentence ("Of this guardian"), substi- tuting the natural for the inverted order; and state, giving reasons for yoiu* choice, which you consider pre- ferable. i 20 EX^RCISKS IN RHETORIC. X (b) Rewrite the last sentence, replacing the concessive clause (" Warlike temper ") by a phrase, and the con- cessive phrase (" anxidst seductions ") by a clause. 3. Give three rules for Paragraph-structure, and show how far the paragraph here given complies with each. PRIMARY, 1894. " On summer days of cloudless glory, the air is sometimes still, and the heat relaxing upon the mountains. The glacier is then in the highest degree exhilarating. Down it constantly rolls a torrent of dry tonic air, which forms part of a great current of circulation. From the heated valleys the light air rises, and coming into contact with the higher snows, is by them chilled and rendered heavier. This enables it to play the part of a cataract, and to roll down the glacier to the val- ley from which it was originally lifted by the sun. But the action of the sun upon the ice itself is still more impressive. Everywhere around you is heard the hum of streams. Down the melting ice-slopes water trickles to feed little streamlets at their bases. These meet and form larger streams, which again, by their union, form rivulets larger still. Water of exquisite purity thus flows through channels flanked with azure crystal. The water, as if rejoicing in its liberty, rushes along in rapids and tumbles in sounding cascades over cliffs of ice. The streams pass under frozen arches, and are spanned here and there by slabs of rock, which, acting as natural bridges, render the crossing of the torrent easy from side to side. Sooner or later these torrents plunge with a thunderous sound into clefts or shafts, the latter bearing the name of moulins or mills, and thus reach the bottom of the glacier. Here the river produced by the melting of the surface-ice, rushes on un- seen, coming to the light of day as the Rhone, or the Massa, or the Visp, or the Rhine, at the end of the glacier." 1 ^' EXAMINATION PAPERS. 21 1. (a) State concisely the subject of this paragraph. (6) If the extract were to be written in two paragraphs instead of one, where should the division be made ? (c) What would be the subject of these two paragraphs ? 2. Show clearly Liie connection in thouglit of each of the first five sentences of the extract with Avhat precedes it. 3. Discuss the sentence-structure of the extract under the follow- ing heads : — (a) Length. (b) Order of words and dantses. 4. In the last sentence make the following substitutions, and compare, as to effect, each substituted expression with the original : — (a) "Stream "for "river;" (b) "Flows "for "rushes ;" (c) " Appearing " for "coming to the light of day ; " (rf) " A river " for " the Rhone, or the Massa, or the Visp, or the Rhine." X PRIMARY, 1893. " A peculiar feeling it is that will rise in the Traveller, when turning some hill-range in his desert road, he descries lying far below, embosomed among its groves and green natural bul- warks, and all diminished to a toy-box, the fair Town, where so many souls, as it were seen and yet unseen, are driving their multifeirious traffic. Its white steeple is then truly a star-ward pointing finger ; the canopy of blue smoke seems like a sort of Lite-breath : for always of its own unity, the soul gives unity to whatso it looks on ^vitli love ; thus does the Dwelling-place of men, in itself a congeries of houses and huts, become for us an individual, almost a person. But what thousand other thoughts unite thereto, if the place has to our- selves been the arena of joyous or mournful experiences ; if perhaps the cradle we were rocked in still stands there, if our loving ones still dwell there, if our buried ones there slumber." 22 EXKHCISKS IN HIIKTOUIC. 1. (a) State briefly the subject-matter of the forep^oing paragraph. (/>) (i) FiX.'imine the connection of the thouglit of each sentence with the theme of the paragruph. (ii) On this examina- tion found a judgment as to the unity of tlie jKuagraph, 2. Explain any six of the following expressions and justify their use: — ((() "green natural bulwarks" ; (/>) "diminished to a toy-box"; (o) " seen yet unseen " ; {(J) "a star-ward point- ing finger" ; (e) " Life-l)reath" ; (/) "of its own unity the soul gives unity to whatso it looks on with love "' ; (s bound to distant climes — with what longing eyes would I ga/e after their lessening sails, and waft myself in Imagination to the ends of the earth. — Washi}Kjton Irv'my : The Sketch Book. 1. (a) (Jive in a word or plirase (i) tlie subject of the wliole extract ; (ii) the sul)ject <'f eacli of the various parts into which the selection may be divided. (6) Show that Irving follows a regular order of deve]o])nient in presenting the thoughts of the selection. (c) (i) What is the object of paragrapli divisions ? (ii) On what principle are paragra])h divisions made? (iii) Justify the j)aragraph division as made above. 2. (m) Point out what is peculiar in the meaning of the following phrases as used in the selection. (6) Why is the autlu)r justified in using these phrases as he does ? (i) " tours of discovery," • ■ ■■ (ii) " foreign parts, " (iii) " a ghost seen," (iv) " their sages and great men, " (v) '"terra incognita.' " (c) Show tlie difference in meaning between the following words : (i) "emolument" and "profit," (ii) "observations" and " observance -," ii 24: EXERCISES IN KHETORIC. (iii) "rambles" and "wanderings," ^ (iv) "habits" and "customs," / (v) "conversing" and "talking," (vi) "wistfully" and "eagerly," /^(vii) "lessening" and "departing." y 3. (a) Select from the following rhetorical terms those which in your opinion best describe the nature of the style of the selection : — simple in thought, sin\ple in diction, abstruse, clear, obscure, concise, verbose, picturesque,^^ varied, monotonous, lively, lofty, humorous, witty, elegant, mel- odious, pathetic. (6) With each one you select, give briefly the grounds for your judgment. PRIMARY, 1891. It cannot be denied, however, that his piety was mingled with superstition, and darkened by the bigotry of the age. He evidently concurred in the opinion, that all nations which did not acknowledge the Christian faith were destitute of natu- ral rights ; that the sternest measures might be used for their conversion, and the severest punishments inflictf d upon their obstinacy in unbelief. In this spirit of bigotry ho considered himself justified in making captives of the Indians, and trans- porting them to Spain to have them taught the doctrines of Christianity, and in selling them for slaves if they pretended to resist his invasions. In so doing he sinned against the natural goodness of his character, and against the feelings which he had originally entertained and expressed towards this gentle and hospitable people ; but he was goaded on by the mercenary impatience of the crown and by the sneers of his enemies at the unprofitable result of his enterprises. It is but justice to his character to observe, that the enslavement V-: EXAMINATION PAPERS. 25 of the Indians thus taken in battle was at first openly counten- anced by the crown and that when the question of right came to be discussed at the entreaty of the queen, several of the most distinguished jurists and theologians advocated the prac- tice ; so that the question was finally settled in fav our of the Indians solely by the humanity of Isabella. As the venerable Bishop Las Casas observes, where the most learned men have doubted, it is not surprising that an unlearned mariner should err. These remarks in palliation of the conduct of Columbus, are required by candor. It is proper to show him in connection with the age in which he lived, lest the errors of the times should be considered as his individual faults. It is not the intention of the author, however, to justify Columbus on a point where it is inexcusable to err. Let it remain a blot on his illustrious name and let others derive a lesson from it. • 1. What is the main tlieme and the topic sentence of each of these paragraphs ? How is the relation of each paragraph to Avhat has gone before shown ? What is gained by making two paragraphs here ? 2. Examine the first paragraph showing the main theme, the nature and intention of each sentence and its relation tt) the main theme. Point out also the various means employed to maintain explicit reference. 3. Briefly examine each sentence in the first paragraph as to the merits of the direct and indirect order employed, and as to the use or omission of connectives. . THIRD CLASS, 1890. (!•) " Another morning came, and there they sat, ankle-deep in ^ cards. No attempt at breakfast now, no affectation of making L a toilet or airing the room. The atmosphere was hot, to be i 26 KXEHCISKS IN UHETORIC. sure, but it well l)ecame such a Hell. There they sat, in total, in positive forgetfulness of e-.tny thing but the hot game they were hunting down. There ^vas not a man in the room, except Tom Cogit, who could have old you the name of the town in which they were living. There they sat, almost breathless, watching every turn with the fell look in their cannibal eyes which showed their total inability to S3'm}>atlrize with their fellow-beings. All forms of society had been long forgotten. There was no snufl-box handed about now, for courtesy, admiration, or a pinch ; no affectation of occasionally making a remark upon any other topic but the all-engrossing one. Lord Castlet'ort rested witli his arms on the table: a false tooth had got unhiui/ed. His Ltjrdship, who, at any other time, would havo been most ar.noyed, coolly put it in his pocket. His cheeks had fallen, and he looked twenty years older. Lord Dice had torn off' his cravat, and his hair hung down over his callous, })loodless cheeks, straight as silk. Temple Grace looked as if he were blighted l)y lightning; and his deep blue eyes gleamed like a hyena's. Tlie Baron was least changed. Tom Cogit, who smelt that the crisis \vas at hand, was as quiet as a bribed rat." 1. («) What are the main subject and the subordinate subjects of this para<,'r!i]>li / (h) Show in full detail how the subordinate subjects are ampli- lied and related to one another. ■ • 2. Stating, with reasons in each case, which cxprt'.'jsion you pre- fer in the above- Disraeli's or that with which it is coupled — (Uscriminat(j l)etween the meanhigs of : "affectation," 1. 2, and "pretence " ; "such a Hell,'' 1.-4, and " sucii an abode of wicked- ness" ; "with the fell look in their cannibal eyes,'' 1. 9, and "with the cruellook in their inlnunaii eyes"; "Lord Dice had torn off' his cravat," 1. fU, and " Loid Dice had taken off his cravat"; "Temple (Jrace Iiyena's," 11. 21 22, and "Temple Cracc looked blighted; and his deep blue eyes gleamod"; and "Tom *<•■"; EXAMINATIOX PAPERS. 27 Cogit, who smelt that," etc., 11. 23-24, ami "Tom Cogit, who felt that," etc. 3. State, with reasons, which of the following expressions you prefer in the above — Disraeli's or that with which it is coupled : "No attempt at breakfast now, no affectation of making a toilet or airing the room," 11. 2-3, aiul "There was no attemi)t at In-eakfast now, and no affectation of making a toilet or airing the room" ; "The atmosnhere was hot, to be sure, but it well became such a Hell," 11. 3 4, and " The atmosphere was hot, but it became such :. ITell well"; " Tliere tney s.it," 11. 4. and 8, and "They .sat there" ; and "Lord Castlefort rested with his arms on the table: a false tooth." etc., 11. 15-1(>, and "Lord Castlefort rested ...:h his arms on the table. A false tootli had got unhinged, and his Lordship who," etc. THIRD CLASS, 1890. (ir.) Method is of advantage to a work, botli in respect to the writer and the reader. In regard to the first, it is a great help to invention. When a man lias planned his discourse, he finds a great many thought s arising out of every head, that do not offer l^^emselves upon the general survey of a subject. His thoughts are at the same time more intelligible, and better discover their drift and meaning, when they are placed in their proper light and folk)W one anotlier in a regular series, than when they are thrown together without order and connexion. Tliere is always an obscuiity in confusion, and the same sentence that would have enliglitened tlie reader in one part of a discourse perplexes him in another. For the same reason likewise any thought in a methodical discourse shows itself in its greatest beauty, as the stn-eral figui-es in a piece of painting receive n(>w gi-ace from their disjtosition in the picture. The iidvantages of a reader from a methodical discourse are correspondent with those of the writer. He 28 EXEUCISES IN RHETORIC. I 1^1 I comprehends everything easily, takes it with pleasure, and retains it long. Method is not less requisite in ordinary conversation than in writing, provided a man would talk to make himself un- derstood. I, who hear a thousand coffee-house debates every day, am very sensible of this want of method in the thoughts of my honest countrymen. T here is not one dispute in ten which is managed in those s chools of politics, where, after the three first sentences, the question is not entirely lost. Our disputants put me in mind of the cuttle-fish, that when he is una'ljle to extricate himself, blackens all the water about him till he becomes invisible. The man who does not know how to methodize his thoughts has always, to Iwrrow a phrase from the dispensar}'^, " a barren superfluity " of words ; the fruit is lost amidst the superfluity of leaves. V 1. What is the subject of both of these paragraphs? What two main subdivisions of this subject are suggested by the opening sentences of the paragraplis ? 2. What subdivisions of the first paragraph are suggested by the opening sentence ? tState what part of the first paragraph is included in each subdivision. Set down, as briefly as possible, the particulars of the first subdivision. Show why th« second subdi- vision is shorter than the first, and compare its particulars with those of the first. Discuss the suitability of the expression "this want of method, " 1. 23, and explain how the main thought in the second paragraph is developed. '^^ 3. Assigning reasons, make such changes in the paragraph as seem to you necessary to secure good literary form. THIRD CLASS, 1889. " The plague of locusts, one of the most awful visit ation s to which the countries included in the Roman empire were exposed, extended from, the Atlantic to Ethiopia, from Arabia V- EXAM IN ATI 0\ PAPERS. 29 to India, and from the Nile and Red Sea to Greece and the north of Asia Minor. Instances are recorded in history of clouds of tlie devastating insect crossing the Black Sea to Poland, and the Mediterranean to Lombardy. It is as numerous in its species as it is wide in its range of territory. Brood follows brood, with a sort of family likeness, yet with distinct attributes. It wakens into existence and activity as early as the month of Ma"ch ; but instances are not wanting, as in our present history, of its appearance as late as June. Even one flight comprises myriads upc uiyriads passing im- agination, to which the drops of rain or the sands of the sea are the only fit comparison ; and hence it is almost a pro- verbial mode of expression in the East, by way of describing a vast invading army, to liken it to the locusts. So dense are they, when upon the wing, that io is no exaggeration to say that they hide the sun, from which circumstance indeed their name in Arabic is derived. And so ubiquitous are they when they have alighted on the earth, that they simply cover or clothe its surface. This last characteristic is stated in the sacred u,ccount of the plagues of Egypt, where their faculty of devastation is also mentioned. The corrupting fly and the bruising and prostrating hail preceded them in that series of visitations, but theij came to do the work of ruin more thoroughly. For not only the crops and fruits, but the f oliage of the forest itself, nay, the small twigs and the bark of the trees are the victims of their curious and energetic rapacity. They have been known even to gnaw the door-posts of the houses. Nor do they execute their task in so slovenly a way, that, as they have succeeded other plagues, so they may have successors themselves. They take pains to spoil what they leave. Like the Harpies, they smear every thing that they touch with a miserable slime, which has the effect of a virus in corroding, or as some sav, in scorching and burning. And then, per- 30 EXEROrSES TX RHETORIC. haps, as if all this were littl* , when they '^an do nothing else, they (lie ; as if out of sheer malevolence to man, for the poisonous elements of their nature are then let loose and dispersed abroad, and create a pestilence ; and they manage to destroy many more h}' their death than in their life." 1. What is the main suhject of each of these })aragraphs ? What are the sul)()r(linate subjects, and what sentences are included under each ? 2. Give the terms that descri})e the style and exemplify their iapjilication from the extract. 3. Showing in each case which is preferable, discriminate be- tween tiie meanings of "awful visitations," and "dreadful visits ;" "devastating," and "ravaging;" "range," and "extent;" "vast," and "large;" "characteristic,"' and " ([uality ;" "foliage," and "leaves;" "succeeded," and "followed;" and "pestilence," and "visitation." 4. State, with reasons, which of the following is preferable : "The plague — Asia IMincu-," or " Tlie plague of locusts extended over many of the countries included in the Romaii Empire ;" " It is — territory," or "It is also numerous in its species;" "And so ubiipiitous are they," or "They are also so tdjiquitous ;" "they simply cover or clothe," or " they clothe ;" " even togn;t.w," or "to gnaw even-" and "Like the Harpies, they smear," or "They smear." 5. By means of four well marked instances, show how the (juality of Strength (or Force) has been secured ; and, by means of two well marked instances, show how the quality of Melody has been secured. > THIRD CLAkSS, 1888. ' ■ • ('•) •■ - V It was one of their ha})py mornings. They trotted along and sat dov.n together, with no thought that life woidd ever chaiige much for them : they woidd only get bigger and not go \ fi EXAMINATIOX PAPERS. 31 to school, and it would always be like the holidays ; they would always live together and be fond of each other. And the ^ mill with its booming — the great chestnut-tree under which j they played at houses — their own little river, the Ripple, where j the banks seemed like home, ami Tt)m was always seeing the water-rats while Maggie gatliered the pui-i)ie ijlumy lops of the j reeds, which she foi'got and dro])ped afterward — above all, the i great Floss, along which they wandered with a sense of travel, j to see tiie rushing spring-tide, the awful Eagre, come up like a j hungry monster, or to see the Great Ash which had once j wailed and gi'oaned like a man — these things would always be j just the same to them. Tom thought people were at a disad- j vantage who lived oil any other spot of the ghjbe ; and Maggie, when she read about Christiana passing "the river over which there is no bridge,'' always saw the Floss between the green pastures by the Great Ash. Life did change for Tom and Maggie ; and yet they were not wrong in believing that the though ts and loves of these first years would always make pai't of their lives. AVe could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it —if it were not the earth where the same flowers come up again every spring that we used to i^atlier with our tiny fingers, as we sat lisping to ourselves on the grass — the same hii)s and haws on the autumn hedgerows — the same red-breasts that we used to call " God's birds," because they did no harm to the precious crops. What noveUy^ is worth that sweet monotony where everything is known, and lotted because it is known ? 1. What are the subjects of the foregoing paragraphs, and which are the topic sentences i Wliat part does "Life — Maggie," play in the parjigraph-structure of the extract .' ., 2. Name and explain the value of the different kinds of sentences in' the extract, pointing out the most marked example of each kind. Exemj)lify, from the paragrapli, the principle of Parallel Construc- tion. 32 EXERCISES IN RHETORIC. - 3. Distinguish "booming," and "roaring ;" " at a disadvantage," and "at a loss;" "gather," and "collect;" "tiny" and "little;" and " lisping," and "talking." 4. State, with reasons, which of tlie following is preferable in the foregoing extract: "bigger," or "larger;" "great," or "big;" "come up like a hungry monst'jr," or "come up;" "green pas- tures," or "verdant meadows;" "not wrong," or "right;" and "What novelty — known ?" or " No novelty is worth — known." 5. Point out and account for the difference between the diction of "And — them," and "Wo — crops," and that of ordinary prose. Comment on the ellipses in " We— crops." / 6. What qualiti3S of style are exemplified in the extract ? Point out one marked example of each quality. THIRD CLASS, 1888. (11.) / " It was six o'clock : the battle liad continued with un- changed fortune for three hours. : The French, masters of La Haye Sainte, could ne*. er advance further into our position. They had gained the orchard of Hougouniont, but the chateau was still held by the British Guards, although its blazing roof and crumbling walls made its occupation rather the d esperate stand of unflin ching valor than the maintenance of an import- ant position. , The smoke which hung upon the field rolled in slow and heavy masses back upon the French lines, and gradu- ally discovered to our view the entire of the army. We quickly perceived that a change was taking place in their position. The troops which on their left stretched far beyond I Hougoumont, were now moved nearer to the centre. The attack upon the chateau seemed less vigorously supported, while the oblique direction of their right wing, which, pivot- ing upon Planchenoit, opposed a face to the Prussians,— all denoted a change in their order of battle. It was now tV.o I EXAMINATION PAPERS. 33 Point hour wlien Napoleon was at last convinc ed that nothing but A the carnage he could no longer £upjK)rt could destroy the | unyielding ranks of British infantry ; that although Hougou- / raont had been partially, La Haye Sainte, completely, won ; that although upon the right the farm-houses Papelotte and La Haye were nearly suirounded by his troops, which with any other army must prove the forerunner of defeat : yet still the victory was beyond liis grasp. The bold stratagems, whose success the experience of a life had proved, were here to be found powerless. The decisive manci'uvre of carrying one important point of the enemy's lines, of tuining him upon the flank, or piercing him through the centre, were here found impracticable. He might launch his avalanche of grape-shot, he might pour down his crashing columns of cavalry, he might send forth the iron storm of his brave infantry ; but, though death in every shape heralded their approach, still were otiiers found to fill the fallen ranks, and feed with their heart's blood the unslaked thirst for slaughter. AVell might the gallant leader of this gallant host, as he watched the reckless o nslaught of the untiring enemy, and looked upon the unflinching few, who, bearing the proud badge of Britain, alone sustained the fight, well might he exclaim, ' Night, or Bliicher ! ' " ■ •**■-••. —.- 1. What are the subjects — leading and subordinate — of the fore- going paragraph, and wliich sentences contain them ? Account for the order in which the subjects are introduced. 2. Name and explain the value of the different kinds of sentences in the paragrai)h, pointing out the most marked example of each kind. Exemplify from the paragraph the principle of Parallel Construction. 3. Distinguish "desperate, and "hopeless;" "unflinching," and "unyielding;" "convinced," and "certain;" " carnage," and "slaughter ;" and "reckless onslauglit," and "thoughtless attack." 4. State, with reasons, wliich of the following is preferable in the foregoing extract : " fortune," or "luck;" "tlie entire of the army," 34 EXERCISES IN KIIETORIC. or " nil the army ; " " support," or " nidintain ; " " forerunner," or "forerunners;" "whose Muceess,'' or "the success of which;" "were," or " was ;" and " well might he exclaim," or " exclaim." 5. Point out and account for the difference between the dicticm of the last two sentences and that of ordinary prose, ^^'rite a plain unadorned paraphrase of these sentences, using as few words as possible. 6. What qualities of style are exemplified in the par.igraph ? Point out one marked example of each (piality. I . m ■I I Uli THTPv]) CLAS8, 1887. 0-) " I observed one particular weight lettered on both sides, and upon applying myself to the reading of it, I found on one side written, ' Ja the (luilect of men,' and underneath it, 'CALA- MiTiKs;' on the other side was written, ^ la the Jdngnage of i/ie (/o(/«,' and underlie tth, ' BLESsiNds.' I found the intrinsic value of this weight to be much greater than I imagined, for it overpowered healtli, wealth, good-fortune, and many other weights, which were much more ponderous in my hand than the other. There is a saying among the Scotch, that ' an ounce of mother is wortli a pound of clergy ; ' I was sensible of the truth of this saying, when I saw the difference between the weight of natural parts and that of learning. The observation which I made upon these two weights opened to me a new field of discoveries, for notwithstanding the weight of natural parts was much heavier than that of learning, I observed that it weighed an hundred times heavier than it did before, when I put learning into the same scale with it. I made the same observation upon faith and morality ; for notwithstanding the latter outweighed the former separately, it received a thousand EXAMINATION PAPERS. 35 times more additiomil weight from its conjunction witli the former, than what it had ])y itself. This odd phenomenon sliowcd itself in ot'iier particulars, as in wit and judgment, philosophy and religion, justice and humanity, zeal and charity, depth of sense and perspicuity of style, with innumerable other particulars, too long to be mentioned in this paper." 1. Show to what extent the paragraph laws are observed in the second of the above })aragraphs. •insio I same the I sand (II.) The wood I walk in on this mild May day, with the young yellow-brown folio ge of the oaks between me and the blue sky, the white star-flowers, and the blue-eyed speedwell, and the ground-ivy at my feet — what grove of tropic palms, what strange ferns or splendid broad-petaled blossoms, could ever thrill such deep and delicate Jibi'es ivithin me as this home-scene'? These familiar flowers, these well-remembered bird-iiotes, this sky with its fitful brightness, these furrowed and grassy fields, each with a sort of personalitij given to it hy the capricious hedgerows — such things as these are the mother tongue of our imagination, the language that is laden with all the subtle inextricable associations the fleeting hours of our childhood left behind them. Our delight in the sunshine on the deep- bladed grass to-day might be no more than the faint perception of loearied soids, if it were not for the sunshine and the grass in the far-off years, which still live in us, and transform our perception into love. 1. What is the subject of the above extract ? 2. State in simple language the meaning of the italicized ex- pressions. 3. Point out the effects produced upon the structure of the first and second sentences by the author's desire f(>r eni[)hasi8. an L L.. 'h" / (Hyt^v-U" . 36 tXERnSES IN HIIETOHIC. 4. Sliow tlie appropri.'ifcenc'ss of tho itulici/fd words in the follow- iii},' : "Jiff "I Id-ightiuiss," " tli;it i.s laden ; " '\flniiity liours.'' 5. Kx{)ljiiii, us wi'll as possihlu, wherein consists tlie Iteauty of the above extract. jl j 1 ! rAPETlS ON ^LVCAULAY. (Tlie followhuj deparlnienftd papers on extracts from Macanlay tvill Ite found of great value, as Macanlaif in a wader of the art of rJietoric.) 0-) Tlie place was worthy of such a trial. It was the g reat ha ll of William Kufus, t he h all which had resounded with accla- mations at tlie inauguration of thirty kings, the hall which had witnessed the just sentence of J->acon and the just absolu- (- tion of Soniers, the hall where the elociuence of Strajfford had for a moment awed and melted a victorious party inflamed with just resentment, the hall where Charles liad confronted the High Court of Justice with the placid courage which has half redeemed his fame. Neither military nor civil pomp was /• wanting. The avenues were lined with grenadiers The streets were kept clear by cavalry. The peers, robed in gold and ermine, were marshalled by the heralds/iinder Garter King- at-arms. The judges in their vestments of state attended to give advice on points of law. Near a hundred and seventy / lords — three fourths of the Upper House, as t he Upper Hous e then was — walked in solemn order from their usual place of assembling to the tribunal. The junior Baron present led the way, George Eliott^ Lord Heathfield, recently ennobled for his memorable defence of Gibraltar against the fleets and armies of France and Spain. The long procession was closed by the Duke of Norfolk, Eai-l Marshal of the Realm, by the great dignitaries, and by the brothers and sons of the King. Last of all came the Prince of Wales, conspicuous by his fine person and noble bearing. The grey old walls were hung with scar- ^i'^let. The long galleries were crowded by an audience such as 4 II KXAMINATION PAPERS. 37 ffold \i scar- :h as u has rarely excited the fears or the emulation of an orator. There were gathered together from all parts of a great, free, enlightened and prosperous empire, gr ace and female lovelines s, wit and learning, the representatives of every science and of every art. Tiiere w ere se ated round the Queen the fair-haired young daughters of the house of Brunswick. There the am- bassadors of great kings and commonwealths gazed with admiration on a spectacle which no other country in the world could present. There Siddons, in the prime of her majestic beauty, looked witli emotion on a scene surpassing all the imitations of the stage. There the historian of the lloman Empire thought of the days when Cicero pleaded the cause of Sicily against Verres, and when, before a senate which still retained some show of freedom, Tacitus thundered against the oppressor of Africa. There were seen, side by side, the great- est painter and the greatest scholar of the cage. The spectacle had allured Reynolds from that easel which has preserved to us the thoughtful foreheads of so many writers and statesmen, and the sweet smiles of so many noble matrons. It had in- duced Parr to suspend his labours in that dark and profound mine from which he had extracted a vast treasure of erudition, a treasure too often buried in the earth, too often paraded with injudicious and inelegant ostentation, but still precious, mas- sive, and splendid. There appeared the voluptuous charms of her to whom the heir of the throne had in seci'et plighted his faith. There too was she, the beautiful mother of a beautiful race, the Saint Cecilia, whose delicate features, lighted up by love and music, art has rescued from the common decay. There were the members of that brilliant society which quoted, criticized, and exchanged repartees, under the rich peacock hangings of Mrs. Montague. And there the ladies whose lips, more persuasive than those of Fox himself, had carried the Westminster election against palace and treasury, shone round Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. 38 EXERCISES IN liUETORIC. 1 I;, - 1. What is the main subject of this paragraph ? What sentences contain the chief subordinate subjects ? 2. Show how the author observes tlie principles that govern the construction of a paragraph, referring especially to (a) unity, (6) continuity, and (c) variety. 3. Show how the author ap[/"js the principle of Contrast in 11. 24-59. What is the effect of the device ? 4. Counnent generally on the length and the other characteristics of the sentences, and explain the effect thereof upon the style. 5. Point out three marked examples of the repetition of words for different purposes, explaining the purpose in each case. 6. Point out tiiree marked examples of Avords placed in unusual positions for different purposes, explaining the purpose in each case. 7. Illustrate from the above extract Macaulay's fondness for a climax of sound. 8. Justify the order of particulars in 11. 2-0, and compare the order of the particulars in 11. 11-24 with that in 11. 27-59. 9. Show with regard to "resounded," "acclamations," "al)solu- tion," "resentment,"' and "confronted," how light )nay be thrown on the exact force of a word by distinguishing it from its synonyms. 10.' Give the terms that describe the style of the above extract, and explain their api)lication. (ifc) But neither the culprit nor his advocates attracted so much notice as the accusers. In the midst of the blaze of red drapery, a space had been fitted up with gi-een benches and tables for the Commons. The managers, with Burke at their ^. *head, appeared in full dress. The collectors of gossip did not fail to remark that even Fox, generally so regardless of his appearance, had paid to the illustiious tribunal the compliment of weai-ing a bag and sword. Pitt had refused to be one of the conductors of the impeachment ; aud his commanding, '■% EXAMINATION PAPERS. 39 t lO copious, and sonorous eloquence was v/anting to that great muster of various talents. Age and blindness had unfitted Lord North for the duties of a ])ublic prosecutor; and his friends were left without the help of his excellent sense, his tact, and his urbanity. But, in si)ite of the absence of these / J two distinguished members of the Lower House, the box in which the managers stood contained an array of speakers such as perhaps had not appeared together since the great age of Athenian eloquence. / There were Fox and Sheridan, the Eng- lish Demosthenes and the English Hyperides. There was 7 Burke, ignorant, indeed, or negligent, of tlie art of adapting his reasonings and his style to the capacity and taste of his hearers, but in amplitude of comprehension and richness of imagination superi(jr to every orator, ancient or modern. There, with eyes reverentially fixed on Burke, a})])eared the ^ J finest gentleman of the age, his form developed by every manly exercise, his face beaming with intelligence and spirit, the ingenious, the chivalrous, tlie high-soul(>d Windham. /Nor, though surrounded by such men, did the youngest manager pass unnoticed. At an age wlien most of those who distin- - ^ guish themselves in life are still contending for prizes and •fellowships at college, he had won for liimself a conspicuous place in Parliament. No advantage of fortune or connection was wanting that could set off to the height his splendid talents and his unblemished honour. At twenty-tlirec he had ^ij'ljeen thought worthy to be ranked with tlie veteran statesmen who appeared as the delegates of the British Commons, at the bar of the British nobility. All who stood at that bar, save him alone, are gone, culprit, advocates, accusers. To the generation which is now in the vigour of life he is the sole A /) representative of a great age which has passed away. But those wlio, within the hist ten years, have listened with delight, till the moi'ning sun shone on the tapestries of the House of Lords, to the lofty and animated elo(|uence of Hi H 40 EXERCISES IN RHETORIC. U. It a Charles, Earl Grey, are able to form some estimate of the 'powers of a race of men among whom he was not the foremost. 1. What is the main subject of this i)aragraph ? What are the chief subordinate subjects 'i 2. Show how, in tlie above extract, the author observes the principles that govern felio construction of a paragraph, with especial reference to its (d) imity, (6) continuity, and (c) variety. 3. Account for the reference to the culprit and his accusers ir the first sentence. 4. Account for the order of the personal descriptions. 5. Wliy are the names of Windham and Earl Grey introduced each after the description of the man himself ? What name is given to tliis device ? 6. Show, in each case, the effect of the repetition of "his," 11. 13 and 14; "English," 1. 10; "There," 11. 18, 19, and 24; and "British," 11. 30 and 37; and of the use of "the ingenious, the cliivalrous, tlie high-souled,'' 11. 2(5 and 27 ; " unblemisl d,' 1. 34 ; and "culprit, advocates, ;iccusers," 1. 38. 7. Ci)ntrast the effect of tlie last sentence in the above extract with that of the following one, accounting foi- INlacaulay's use of the additional particulars : B)(t those irho, within the hist ten, iicars, luwe lidened till tnoricing in ttie House of Lords, to the eloquence of Karl (rrcy, can form an estimate of the poivcrs of men some of icliom irere better than he. 8. By reference to "illustrious," 1 7; "url)anity," 1. 14; "reverentially," 1. 24 ; "delegates," 1. 30 ; and "animated," 1. 43 ; show how light may be thrown upon the exact meaning of a word by distinguishing it from its synonyms. 9. Give tlie terms that describe the style of the above extract, and explain their application. 10. Illustrate from the above extract the characteristics of Macaulay's style, (a) wliicli writers should imitate, and (/>) which they should av()id. (iive in eacli case the reasons for your o])inion. EXAMINATION PAPERS. 41 ^>' I ■'3 (III.) ^ The last moments of Addison were perfectly serene. "His interview with his son-in-law is universally known. "See," he said, "how a Christian can die!" The piety of Addison was, in truth, of a singularly cheerful character. The feeling which predominates in all his devotional writings, is grati- tude. ■ God was to him the all-wise and all-powerful friend, who had watched over his cradle with more than maternal tenderness ; who had listened to his cries before they could form themselves in prayer ; who had preserved his youth from snares of vice ; who had made his cup run over with worldly blessings ; who had doubled the value of those blessings, by bestowing a thankful heart to enjoy them, and dear friends to partake them ; who had rebuked the waves of the Ligurian gulf, had purified the autumnal air of the Campagna, and had restrained the avalanches of INFont Cenis. /Of the Psalms, his favourite w;is that which represents the ]?uler of all things under the endearing image of a shepherd, whose crook guides the flock safe, through gloomy and desolate glens, to meadows well watercnl and rich with heroage. On that goodness to which he ascribed all the happiness of his life, he relied in the hour of death with the love which casteth out fear. He died on the 17th of June, 1719. He had just entered on his forty- eighth year. His body lay in state in the Jerusalem Chamber, and was borne thence to the Abbey at dead of night. The choir sang a funeral hymn. JJisliop Atterbury, one of those tories who had loved and honored the most accomplished of the whigs, met the corpse, and led the proc(\ssion by toi'ch-light, round the shrine of Saint Edward and the graves of the Plantagenets, to the chapel of Henry the Seventh. On tlie north side of that chapel, in the vault of the house of Albemarle, the coflin of Addison lies next to the cotiin of Montague. Yet a few 42 EXERCISES IN RHETORIC. I' I yt / J I ■" /J months — and the same mourners passed again along the same aisle. The same sad anthem was again chanted. The same vault was again opened ; and the coffin of Craggs was placed close to the coffin of Addison. 1. (o) What is the real subject of the first paragraph ? What is the bearing of the latter part of tlie paragraph ("Of the Psfilms, etc.") on the preceding ? (6) Point out any violations of the laws that govern tlie con- struction of the paragraph. (o) Show liow these paragraphs illustrate Macaulay's style with regard to vocabulary, balanced sentences, periodic structure, iteration of ideas, figurative language. 2. Illustrate, by referring to the extract, sf)uie of the factors that conduce to («) clearness, (/>) strength, and (c) rhythm of style. «S5- (IV.) /• In truth we are under a decepticm similar to that which misleads the traveller in the Arabian desert. Beneath the caravan all is dry and bare: l)ut far in advance, and far in the real', is the semblance of refreshing waters. The pilgriins ' hasten forward and find nothing but sand where an hour before they had seen a lake. They turn their eyes and see a lake where, an hour before, they were toiling through sand. A ^ similar illusion seems to haunt nations thi\*agh every stage of I the long progress from poverty and barbarism to the highest (degrees of opulence and civilization. But if we resolutely cluise the mirage backward, we shall find it recede before us into the regions of fabulous antiquity. It is now the fashion to place the golden age of England in times when noblemen were destitute of comforts tlie want of which would be intoler- "^ able to a modern footman, when farmers and shopkeepers breakfasted on loaves the veiy sight of which would raise a EXAMINATION PAPERS. m the same fhe same as placed What, is ("Of the itl le con- ly's style periodic :tors that ) rhythm ' which tth the in the ilgrims before a lake (J. A ;age of ighest lutely )ve us IS h ion emeii toler- epers ise a riot in a modern workhouse, when to have a clean shirt once a week was a privilege reserved for the higher class of gentry, when men died faster in the purest country air than they now die in the most pestilential lanes of our towns, and when men I died faster in the lanes of our towns than they now die on the \ coast of Guiana. We too shall, in our turn, be outstripped, and in our turn be envied. It may well be, in the twentieth century, that the peasant of Dorsetshire may think himself miserably paid with twenty shillings a week ; that the carpen- ter at Greenwich may receive ten shillings a day ; that labor- ing men may be as little used to dine without meat as they now are to eat rye bread ; that sanitary police and medical discoveries may have added several more years to the average length of human life ; that numerous comforts and luxuries which are now unknown, or confined to a few, may be within the reach of every diligent and thrifty working man. And yet it may then be the mode to assert that the increase of wealth and the progress of science have benefitted the few at the expense of the many, and to talk of the reign of Queen Victoria as the time when England was truly mei-ry England, when all classes were bound together by brotherly sympathy, when the rich did not gi-ind the faces of the poor, and when the poor did not envy the splendour of the rich. A fine exercise may l)e jtrepared (>u this extract by following the mode of treatnie^it suggested by the three foregoing papers. m »''<] at I 44 EXERCISES IN RHETORIC. EXERCISES. Hi I One comes away from a company in which it may easily happen he has said nothing, and no important remark has been addressed to liim, and yet, if in sympathy with the society, he shall not have a sense of this fact, such a stream of life has been Howinuc into him and out from him throucfh the eyes, v There are eyes, to be sure, that give no more admission into the man than l)lueberries. ^ Others are liquid and deep, wells that a man might fall into; others are aggressive and de- vouring, seem to call out the police, take all too much notice, and require crowded Broadways and the security of millions to protect individuals against them. The military eye I meet, now darkly sparkling under clerical, now under rustic brows, i'' Tis the city of Laceda^mon, 'tis a stack of bayonets. There are asking eyes, asserting eyes, prowling eyes, and ej'es of fate — some of good and some of sinister omen. The alleged power to charm down insanity, or ferocity in beasts, is a power behind the eye. I It must be a victory achieved in the will before it can be signified in the e3^e. q 'Tis very certain that each man carries in his eye the exact indication of his rank in the immense scale of men, and we are always learning to read it. I sThe reason why men do not obey us is, because they see the mud at the l)ottom of our eye. — H. W. Emerson. \ 1. State the subject of the extract. 2. Where is the main topic found ? 3. Does the passage possess unity ? 4. Show that there is some method in the order in which the thoughts are introduced. 5. How is the connection of tlie thoughts made explicit ? (). Point out the principal tigures and state their value. ^ 7. What qualities of style are displayed here i EXAMINATION PAPERS. 45 X^oo ay easily nark has with the stream of ough the Amission nd deep, i and de- 1 notice, ilJions to I meet, brows. There s of fate d power I- power the will tin that rank in to read hey see raon. cli the Tt must as a _£air be confessed tlu of twins. T won I wood fire needs as much tending Id as soon liave an Englishman without sidewhiskers as a fire without a big l)ac'k]<>g ; and I would rather have no fire than one that required no tending; — one of dead wood that could not sing again the imprisoned songs of the forest, or give out, in brilliant scintillations, the sunshine it a,l)sorbed in its growth, A wood fire on the hearth is a kindler of the domestic virtues. It brings in cheerfulness and a family centre, and, besides, it is artistic. I should like to know if an artist could ever represent on canvas a happy family gathered round a hole in the floor, called a register. Given a fireplace, and a tolerable artist could almost create a pleasant family round it. But what could he conjure out of a register ! If there was any virtue among our ancestors — and they laboured under a great many disadvantages, and had few of the aids which we have to excellence of life — I am con- vinced they drew it mostly from the fireside. If it was difii- cult to read the eleven comiraandments by the light of a pine knot, it was not diflicult to get the sweet spirit of them from the countenance of the serene mother knitting in the chimney- corner. — C. D. Warner. " 1. Wliat is the topic ? Where is it found ? 2. Does the paragraph keep to tlie one topic throughout ? .3. Are all the thoughts introduced in due order 1 4. How are tlie sentences linked together? Answer in detail. 5. Is the ditiereiice in length betueen the opening and the closing sentence accidental or artistic ? ^ 6. P]xanune the ])assage for ahnUitHiles and contnists. 7. Characterize the style of the passage. 46 KXKHCKSES IN RHETORIC. (III.) All honour and reverence to the divine l^eauty of form ! Let us cultivate it^^to the utmost in men, women, and children — in our gardens and in our houses ; but let us love that other beauty, k>o, v/hich lies in no secret of proportion, but in the secret of deep human sympathy. Paint us an angel, if you can, with a floating violet robe, and a face pa^ed by the celestial light ; paint us yet oftener a Madonna, turning her mild face upward, and opening her arms to welcome the divine glory ; but do not impose on us any aesthetic rules which shall banish from the region of Art those old women scraping carrots with their work-worn hands, those heavy clowns taking holiday in a dingy pot-house — tliose rounded backs and stupid, weather- beaten faces that have bent over the spade and done the rough work of the world — those homes with their tin pans, their brown pitchers, thfh' rough curs, and their clusters of onions. In this world there are so many of these common, coarse people, who have no pictures(i[ue sentimental wretchedness ! It is so needful we should remember their existence, else we may happen to leave them (juite out of our religion and phil- osophy, and frame lofty theories which onli/ fit a world of ex- tremes. — George Eliot : Adam Bede. 1 4 \ 1. Apply to this Section : - ((() Tlie Law of the Toi)ic Sentence, ■ih) The Law of Unity, ((•) The Law of Method, {d) The Law of the opening and the closing sentence, y{e) The Law of Explicit Reference. y 2. Examine the long sentence for parallel construction. 3. Examine the passage to determine the need of the italicized worda. i EXAMINATION PAPERS. 47 4, Whrat resthetic qualities in the passage ? 5. Try the eftect of the substitution of "exclude" for "banish," "realms" for "region," "rough" for "work-worn," "laborers" for "clowns," "tavern" for "pot-house," "brown" for "weather-beaten," "necessary" for "needful," "make" for "frame." rlor (IV.) The dream commenced with a music which now I often heard in dreams — a music of preparation and of awakening suspense ; a music like the opening of the Coronat.on Anthem, and which, / like that, gave the feeling of a vast^maich — of infinite caval- cades filing off — and the tread of innumeraljle armies. The morning was come of a mighty day~^$i day of crisis and of final hope for human nature, then suffering some inystj^rious eclipse, and labouring in some dread extremity. ;/ Somewhere, I knew not where — somehow, I knew not how — by some beings, I knew not whom — a battle, a strife, an agony, was conducting — was evolving like a great drama, or piece of music ; with which my sympathy was the more insupportable from my confusion as to its place, its cause, its nature, and its possible issue. I, as is usual in dreams (where, of necessity, we make ourselves central to every movement), had the power, and yet had not the power, to decide it. Jj I had the power, if I could raise myself, to will it ; and yet again had not the power, for the weight of twenty Atlantics was upon me, or the oppression of inexpiable guilt. " Deeper than ever plummet sounded," I /lay inactive. Then, I like a chorus, the passion deepened. Some greater interest was at stake ; some mightier cause than ever yet tlK^sword had pleaded, or ti-umpet had proclaimed. Then came sudden alarms ; hurryings to and fro : trepidations of innumerable | fugitives, I knew not whether from the good cause or the bad : darkness and lights : tempest and human faces ; and at last, j V c ^ 4d EXERCISKS IX ItllETORIC. I: ;-' i! witli the sense that all was lost, female forms, and the features that were worth all the world to me, and but a moment allow- ed, — and clasped hands, and heart-breaking partings, and then — everlasting farewells ! and with a sigh, such as the caves ) of Iiell sighed when the incestuous mother uttered the abhorred name of d 7 ^/-•.i. /> ( ' r / { ^ r-i r . ■ c 50 JCXKItClSKS IN NIIKTOIUC. li 5 ! \ (VI.) Tlie first sparrow of spring ! The year beginning with younger h()])e than ev(M' I The faint, silvery warhHngs heard over the pai'tially baie and moist fichls from the blue-bird, the song-sparrow, and the red wing, as if the last flakes of winter tinkled as they fell ! What at such a time are his- tories, chronologies, traditions, and all written revelations? The brooks sing carols and glees in the spring. The marsh- hawk sailing low ovei* the meadow is already .seeking the first slimy life that awakes. The sinking sound of melting snow is heard in all dells, and the ice dissolves apace in the ponds. The grass flanu's up on the hidsides like a spring fire, — "et primitus oritur herl)a imbi'il)i. ; primoribus evocata,"' — as if the earth sent forth an inward heat to greet the returning sun ; not yellow but green is the colour of its flame ; — the symbol of peri)etual youth, the gras.s-])lade, like a long green ribbon, streams from the Sdd into the sunnner, checked indeed by the frost, but anon pushing on again, lifting its spear of last year's hay with the fresh life below. It grows as steadily as the rill oozes out of the ground. It is almost identical with that, for in the growing days of June, when the rills are dry, the grass blades are their channels, and from year to year the herds drink at this perennial green stream, and the mower draws from it betimes their winter supply. So our human life but dies down to its root, and still puts forth its green blade to eternity. — Thoreau : Spring. 1. Exiiuiine the jjassagej/as to ((«) Topic, {h) Unity, ((•) Method. • 2. What deniunts of Force in the extract ? EXAMINATION PAPKRS. 61 .'{. What elements of Ili'aiity do you notice 'i 4. Analyse the passage for (ff) Similitudes, (/>) Contrasts. 5. When does the author pass into the spirit or the manner of poetry i (v.i.) " As I crossed the bridge over the Avon, on my return, 1 pcaused to contemplate the distant church in which the poet lies buried, and could not but exult in the malediction which has kept his ashes undisturl^ed in its quiet and hallowcHl vaults. What lionour could his name have derived from being mingled in dusty companionship with the epitaphs and escutcheons and venal eulogiums of a titled multitude ? What would a crowded corner in Westminster Abbey have been, compared with this reverend pile, which seenis to stand in beautiful loneliness as his sole mausoleum ! The solicitude about the grave may be but the offspring of an overwrought sensibility ; but human nature is made up of foibles and pre- judices ; and its best and tendere>:t affections are ii.'ngled with these factitious feelings. He who has sought renown about the world, and has reaped a full harvest of vorldly favour, will find, after all, that there is no love, no admiiation, no applause, so sweet to the soul as that which springs up in his native place. It is there that he seeks to be gathered in peace and honour, among his kindred and his early friends. And when the weary heart and failing head begin to warn him that the evening of life is drawing on, he turns as fondly as does the infant to the mother's arms, to sink to sleep in the bosom of the scene of his childhood." —The Sketch Book. KtU'^^' I I afl I fl -U FA'EHCimKS IS KIIKTORIC. I;! U ! i- h! i. Writo a topic for tliis ii;ir;i!j;raph. 2. Sliow, in order, tlio bearing of eacli sentence on the topic you give. 3. What is meant by " precision in diction "? Show whether or not the foUowhig words are used with precision: — "con- template," "ashes," "venal," "reverend," "factitious." 4. Discuss the advantage of making the following changes in order : (rt) "on my return " place bt.ore " .is I crossed." (h) " dusty " i)hice before "epitaphs." (c) "renown about the world" — "about the world for renown. " 5. How do the following ex}n'essions give merit to the style of the passage ? (ti) " the epitaphs anci escutcheons and venal eulogiums of a titled multitude.'" (h) "has reaped a full harvest of worldl}' favour. ((■) "no love, no admiration, no applause," ('!) " gathered among his kindred." 6. Make a rhetorical conuuent on the last sentence, pointing out whatever contributes to force and beauty. (VIII.) "Men say," thus ran liia thoughts, in these anxious and repentant moments, "that I might marry Elizabeth, and be- come King of England. All things suggest this. The match is carolled in ballads, while the rabble tlirow their caps up — Tt has been touched upon in the schools — whispered in the presence-chamber — reconnnentled fi'oni the pulpit — prayed for in the Calvinistic churches a})road — touched on by statists in the very council at home — These bold insinuations have been 111 il||iiiipig||ii,Liuiii .ijni! ^1 EXAMINATION PAPERS. 53 rebutted by no rebuke, no resentment, no chiding, scarce even by the usual female protestation that she would live and die a virgin princess. — Her words have been more courteous than ever, though she knows such rumours are abroad — ^her actions more gracious — her looks more kind— nought seems wanting to make me King of England, and place me beyond the storms of court-favour, excepting the putting forth of mine own hand to take that crown imperial, which is the glory of the uni- verse ! And when I might stretch my hand out most boldly, it is fettered down by a secret and inextricable bond ! — And here I have letters from Amy," he would say, catching them up with a movement of peevishness, "persecuting me to acknow- ledge her openly — to do justice to her and myself — and I wot not what. Methinks I have done less than justice to myself already. And she speaks as if Elizabeth were to receive the knowledge of this matter with the glee of a mother hearing of the happy marriage of a hopeful son ! — ^She, the daughter of Henry, who spared neither man in his anger, nor woman in his desire — she to find herself tricked, drawn on with toys of passion to the verge of acknowledging her love to a subject, and he discovered to be a married man ! — Elizabeth to learn that she had been dallied with in such fashion, as a gay cour- tier might trifle with a country wench ! — We should then see to our ruin fnrens quidfmniina /" 1. {a) State the theme of the paragraph submitted. (/)) Show briefly the hearing of each successive sentence on the theme. ((•) Account for tlio order in which the thoughts of the para- grapli arc presented. 2. Comment on the variety and fitness of the diction in the fourth sentence — ■ " touclied upf)n " — " whispered " — "recommended" — " prayed for " — "touched on." Is there any hlemish here ? 54 EXEliCISKS IN' miETOUIC. 3. Show -what merit there is in the style of these ex[)ressions :- (a) "no rebuke, no resentment, no chiding." (/)) "heytmd the stoi'ms of court-favour." (f) " which is the gh)ry of tlie universe ! '' (d) "it is fettered. . . .bond."' (e) " with the glee. . . .son." (/) " who spared. . . desire." (f/) The Latin (quotation at the end. ft >< EXTRACTS FOR ANALYSIS. 1 i i / It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France, then tlie l)auj»hiness, at Versailles; and surely never liglited on this orl), wliicli she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. ^I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheei-iiig the ek^vated sphere; she just l)egan to move in; glittering like the morning star, full of life, and splendour, and joy. ^. Oh. ^vhat a revolution ! and what a heart must I have, to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall ! /Jjittle did I di-eam, when she added titles of veneration to thos(» of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, th/it she should evei* 1)0 o])liged to cany the sharp antidote against disgiace concealed in that bosom ; little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honour, and of cavaliiMS. ^,'1 thought t(Mi thousand ,s\voi"ds nuist havo leaped from their scabbards to aveng(5 even a look that thi'(;atene. EXAMINATION' PAPERS. 55 glory of Europe is extinguished for ever. ^ Never, never more, shall we behold that genei-ou.s loyalty to rank and sex, that proud submission, that dignified ol^edience, that su))ordination of the heart, which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom, ^j The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of numly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is gone!/rIt is gone, that sensibility of principle, that chastity of honour, which felt a stain like a wound, which inspired courage whilst it mitigated ferocity, which ennobled whatever it touched, and under which vice itself lost half its evil, by losing all its grossness. — Edmund Burke. \ t iwf » ft c (II.) To sit as a passive bucket and be pumped int(», whether you consent or not, can in the long-run be exhilarating to no creature ; how elot^uent soever the flood of utterance that is descending. But if it be withal a confused unintelligible flood of utterance, threatening to submerge all known land- marks of thought, and drown the world and you I — I have heard Coleridge talk, with eager musical energy, two stricken hours, his face radiant and moist, and communicate no meaning whatsoever to any individual of his hearers,- — certain of whom, I for one, still k(^pt eagerly listening in hope ; the most had long before given u}), and formed (if the room were large enough) secondary hunnning groups of their own. He began any- where : you put some question to him, made some suggestive ol)servation : instead of answering this, or decidedly setting out towards answer of it, lie would accunudate formidable apparatus, logical swim-bladders, transcendental life-})reserver8 and other pr'ecautionary and vchicuiatcny gear", for setting out; pcM'haps did at last get under way, -but was swiftly solicitinl, turned aside by the glance of some radiant new game on thisj 5C EXEKCLSES IN RHETORIC. hand or that, into new courses ; and ever into new ; and before long into all the universe, where it was uncertain what game you would catch, or whether any. — Thomas Carlyle. V '^ - Or, within our own century, look at the great modern statesmen who have shaped tlie politics of the world. They are educated men ; weie they therefore visionary, pedantic, impracticable? Cavour, whose monument is United Italy — one from the Alps to Tarentum, from the lagunes of Venice to the gulf of Salerno : Bismarck, who has raised the German empire f lom a name to a fact : Ghulstone, to-day the incarnate heart and conscience of England : they are the perpetual refutation of the sneer that high education weakens men for practical affairs. Trained themselves, such men know the value of training. All countries, all figes, all men, are their teachers. The broader their education, the wider the horizon of their thought and observation, the more affluent their resources, the more humane their policy. Would Samuel Adams have been a truer popular leader had he been less an educated man ? Would Walpole the less truly have served his country had he been, with all his capacities, a man whom England could have revered and loved 1 Could Gladstone so sway England with his serene eloquence, as the moon the tides, were he a gambling, swearing, boozing squire like Walpole? Tbere is no soi)histry more poisonous to the state, no folly more stupendous and demoralizing, than the notion that the purest charncter and the highest education are incompatible with the most commanding mastery of men and the most efficient administration of affiiirs. ^ — George William Curtis, EXAMINATION PAPERS. 57 \ (IV.) " There stands an ancient architectural pile, with tokens of its venerable age coverirg it from its corner-stone to its top- most turret ; and some imagine tJiese to be tokens of decay, while to others they indicate, by the years they chronicle, a massiveness that can yet defy more centuries than it has weathered years. Its foundation is buried in tiie accumulated mould and clustered masses of many generations. Its walls are mantled and hidden by parasitic vines. Its apartments are, some of them, dark and cold, as if their very cement were dissolving in chilly vapours. Others, built against the walks, were never framed into them ; and now their ceilings are broken, their floors are uneven as the surface of a billow, their timbers seem less to sustain one another than to break one another's fall. You dig away the mould, and lo ! the founda- tion was laid by no mortal hand ; it is primitive rock that strikes its roots down an unfathomable depth into the solid earth, so that no frosts can heave it, no convulsions shake it. Such an edifice is Christianity." — Peabody. V- (V.) " Deep sleep had fallen on the destined victim, and on all beneath his roof. A healthful old man, to whom sleep was sweet, the first sound slum})ers of the night held him in their soft but strong embrace. The assassin enters, through the window a'»'eady prepared, into an unoccupied apartment With noiseless loot he paces the lonely hall, half lighted by the moon ; he winds up the ascent of the stairs, and reaches the door of the chamber. Of this he moves the lock, by soft and continued pressure, till it turns on its hinges; and he enters, and beholds his victim before him. The room was 58 EXEHCISES i.V RHETORIC. iS V 'J uiiconiinonly open to the admission of light. The face of the innocent sleeper was turned from the nmrderer ; and the beams «,r the moon, resting on the gray locks of his aged temple, showed him where to strike. The fatal blow is given ! and tlie victim passes without a struggle or motion, from the repose of sleep to the repose of death ! " — Webster. ' (VI.) / There was reason to suppose, from the appearances upon opening the body, that in the course of nature he might have attained, like his father, to a good old age. ' Yet he cannot be said to have fallen prematurely whose work was done, nor ought he to be lamented who died so full of honours and at the height of human fame. " The most triumphant deatli is that of the mai-tyr ; the most awfui is that of the martyred patriot ; the most splendid that of the hero in the hour of victory ; and if the chariot and the horses of fire had been vouchsafed for Nelson's translation, he could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaze of glory, ^f- He has h^ft us, not indeed liis mantle of inspiration, l)ut a name and an example which are at this hour inspiring thousands of the youth of England — a name which is our pride, and an example whicli will continue to be our shield and our sti'ength. 4" Thus it is that the spirits of the great and the wise continue to live and to act after them, verifying in this sense the language of the old mythologist : Spirits are tlioy, through iniahty Jove's decrees Noble, of earth, guardians ul mortal men. Son they. ■ m tm m mm. EXAMINATION PAI'KRS. r)9 (VII.) The league between virtue and nature engages all things to assume a hostile fr-ont to vice. The beautiful laws and sub- stances of the world i)ersecute and whip the traitor. He finds that things are arranged for truth and benefit, but there is no den in the wide world to hide a rogue. Commit a crime, and the earth is ma