iiii (!)<»:•> R ENGLISH BOOK FRED:m;fflTCH GIFT OF Ci.i&, ^J«i)«r Vl.(o-\^ =^ JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK BOOKS BY ALFRED M. HITCHCOCK of the Hartford (Conn.) Public High School PRACTICE BOOK IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION. 226 pp. 12ino. NEW PRACTICE BOOK IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION. 447 pp. 12mo. ENLARGED PRACTICE BOOK IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION. 381 pp. 12mo. WORDS, SENTENCES AND PARAGRAPHS. 239 pp. 12mo. RHETORIC AND THE STUDY OF LITERATURE. 410 pp. 12mo. HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK BY ALFRED M. HITCHCOCK HARTFORD PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY V;- i COPYRIGHT 1920, BY HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY PREFACE The Junior English Book, designed for use in the critical but somewhat neglected eighth and ninth years, advances no new theory of instruction. The purpose of such a man- ual, it is assumed, must be to aid the teacher in his efforts to encourage the formation of habits of correct, clear, truth- ful expression. It is also assumed that training of two kinds is necessary: (1) practice in simple composition, oral and written; (2) word and sentence drill. Part I presents ten separate Courses, each containing a group of related tasks in composition, graded as to diffi- culty, followed by smaller groups of drill exercises in which attention is paid to such matters as pronunciation, spelling, punctuation, and sentence revision. Part II presents a simple treatment of grammar, with more than haK of the exercises aimed directly at common errors. The tasks in composition number about 150, more than can be used in two years. In selecting material for these tasks care has been taken to provide training of immediate value. This is illustrated in the Courses entitled Letters and Business English, where the treatment, though prac- tical, is designedly elementary. It has been definitely recognized, moreover, that the young do best when they are interested. Not only are the subjects for compositions taken from the world as it is known to boys and girls, but ingenuity has been taxed in presenting matter in such form as may appeal to the spirit of youth — imaginative, nature- loving, fun-loving, ambitious, fond of measuring strength 462234 vi PREFACE in competition, quickly responsive to praise, sensitive to rebuke, keen in detecting insincerity. The drill exercises also number about 150. They correspond in some measure to the grinding but necessary drill a soldier undergoes in training-camp. Yet through novelty and through the in- troduction when possible of an element of competition, the tedium is somewhat relieved. No exercise has been introduced merely to provide activity; each serves a practical purpose. The value of any manual of composition depends only in part on the measure of success with which the capacity, needs, and interests of the pupils have been gauged. The manual fails if it throws upon the teacher too heavy a burden. It fails, also, if instead of aiding the teacher it curbs him, forcing him to follow a hard and fast sequence. Attention is therefore directed to the following character- istics of the Junior English Booh. 1. The burden of reading and correcting, necessarily heavy under any effective plan, has been reduced to a mini- mum and carefully distributed. Three-fourths of the work is oral, or of such a character that correcting may be done quickly and with little effort. The drill exercises in Part I are designed not to be taken consecutively but to be sand- wiched between the exercises in composition. By alternat- ing the grammar sections in Part II with the Courses in Part I, still further relief may be gained. 2. Every effort has been made to lighten the burden of correction through anticipating errors that are likely to occur. The tasks in composition are very definitely stated, ^uch cautions and hints as are legitimate are given in abundance. Models, chiefly school compositions by children who have performed similar tasks, are used freely. More- over, the drill exercises in both Part I and Part II call attention to common errors and tend to establish habits of correct expression. PREFACE vii 3. Although the sequence of work has been determined by what has been found best in classroom experience, and may therefore be safely followed, it permits of rearrange- ment, for there is little of interlocking. The drill exercises in Part I — in spelling, punctuation, etc. — follow, as they should, a progressive sequence; but the related gi-oups of composition tasks are independent units. They may be shifted. For example, there is no reason why, if it is de- sired, Business English should not be taken immediately after Letters. Moreover, within each group, since the tasks are arranged in the order of their diflSculty, there is oppor- tfunity for the teacher to adapt the work to the maturity of his pupils by omitting what seems too simple or too diflScult. In the preparation of this manual I have been ably assisted by Miss Elizabeth P. Peck of Hartford Public High School. Miss Peck has not only shared the burden of reading proof-sheets, but has made many suggestions growing out of her experience as a successful teacher. I am deeply grateful to her. A. M. H. CONTENTS PART ONE PRELIMINARY TESTS PRACTICE IN COMPOSITION— WORD AND SENTENCE DRILL PAGE Preliminary Tests 3 COURSE I Composition Old Stones To Tell 17 Drill Exercises The Dictionary: Dictionary uses; the making of lists; alpha- betical arrangement 35 Punctuation: The period; the comma between terms of a series 384 COURSE II Composition True Narratives 47 Drill Exercises Word Games 62 Spelling: Words often confused 62 Punctuation: Quotation marks 65 -^ COURSE III Composition Letters 71 Drill Exercises Word Derivation 97 Pronunciation: Final g and other slighted consonants; ath el etics and similar mispronunciations 100 ix CONTENTS PAGE Spelling; Words containing ei or ie; silent e before a suffix 102 Punctuation: Commas used to set off parenthetical elements; comma used to set off a dependent element at the beginning of a sentence 106 COURSE IV Composition Explaining 113 Drill Exercises Pronunciation: Correct sound of vowels 133 ^ Spelling: Adding suffixes to words ending in a consonant 134 Punctuation: The colon; ways of punctuating enumerations; the interrogation point; the exclamation point; the apostrophe 137 COURSE V Composition Picturing 145 Drill Exercises Pronunciation: Words containing th or ptk; correct sound of vowels 171 Spelling: Homonyms; words often confused 172 Punctuation: Commas used to set off a non-restrictive ele- ■*■ ment; the comma used before a connective 173 COURSE VI Composition Business English 181 Drill Exercises Pronunciation: Common words often mispronounced; correct placing of accent; common French words 208 Spelling: Business terms; words used in correspondence 209 Punctuation: The semicolon 212 CONTENTS xi COURSE VII Composition page Making Up One's Mind 219 Drill Exercises Pronunciation: Final tests 235 Spelling: Words often confused 236 Punctuation: The parenthesis; the dash; review exercises . . 238 COURSE vni Composition Convincing Others 247 Drill Exercises Spelhng: Difficult words 259 Sentence Revision: Substitution of elements nearly equivalent; avoiding unpleasant repetition; removing unnecessary words; changing from compound to simple or complex .... 263 COURSE IX Composition Traijiing The Imagination 271 Drill Exercises Spelling: Latin prefixes 286 - Sentence Revision : Avoiding and; practice in substitution 292 • Choice of Words: Words that picture 296 COURSE X Composition The Paragraph 305 Drill Exercises Spelling: Difficult yet common words 319 " Sentence Revision: Making participial reference unmistakable; bringing about uniformity in person, number, tense, etc.; unifying terms in parallel construction 320 Choice of Words: Synonyms 322' xii CONTENTS PART TWO GRAMMAR WITH ATTENTION DIRECTED TO COMMON ERRORS PAGE I. The Eight Parts of Speech 327 II. The Sentence 334 III. Nouns 341 IV. Pronouns 353 V. Adjectives 366 VI. Adverbs 371 VII. Verbs 376 VIII. Prepositions and Conjunctions 406 IX. Sentence Analysis 420 Sequence Guide to Drill Exercises 437 Index 441 PART ONE PRELIMINARY TESTS EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION WORD AND SENTENCE DRILL PRELIMINARY TESTS The gymnasium instructor begins the year's work with a series of tests. He weighs each boy, measures his height, gauges his lungs, and hstens to the beating of his heart to see if the action is strong and regular. Perhaps he asks the boy to show how many times he can "chin" himself, and gives him a little contrivance to squeeze as tightly as pos- sible in his hand, by way of measuring his "grip." This, and perhaps much more, he does by way of getting ac- quainted. He wants to know how much of a boy — how many pounds, how many inches, how much breathing power, how strong a heart, etc. — he has entrusted to him. He wants the boy to become acquainted with himself, know wherein he is strong, perhaps above the average, and wherein he is weak and in need of building up through health-giving exercises. The record card that he hands the boy at the close of the examination is for him to keep, that he may watch himself grow. We will follow the good example set by the gymnasium instructor. Here are a number of tests. They have little to do with muscles, yet they try out your eyes, your ears, your memory. They test you in many ways, revealing to you and to your instructor whether you are likely to become in time a master workman, capable of accomplishing great things. Make as good a record as you can. TEST 1 Have you good eyes? When you tell them to look at something and report what is there, can you depend upon them? Are they reliable servants? 3 4 : . •••. JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Copy one of the following ^paragraphs, in good penmanship. Copy it accurately. Punctuation counts , everything counts , except keeping a perfect margin at the right of (he page. A single error means failure; there must he no flaws whatever. Can you do it? "Among my earliest recollections," said Lincoln, "I remem- ber how, when a mere child, I used to get irritated when any- body talked to me in a way that I could not understand. I do not think I ever got angry at anything else in my life; but that always disturbed my temper, and has ever since. I can remember going to my little bedroom, after hearing the neighbors talk of an evening with my father, and spending no small part of the night walking up and down and trying to make out what was the exact meaning of some of their, to me, dark sayings. I could not sleep, although I tried to, when I got on such a hunt for an idea, until I had caught it; and when I thought I had got it, I was not satisfied imtil I had repeated it over and over; until I had put it in language plain enough, as I thought, for any boy to comprehend." 2 A volcano is a vent in the earth's crust out of which hot rock comes. The hot rock may flow out in liquid form (called lava), or it may be thrown out in solid pieces. It is generally built up into a cone, which may become a mound, a high hill, or even a high mountain. Quantities of gases and vapors are dis- charged along with the hot rock. There is a hollow, called the crater, in the top of most volcanic cones. Craters vary greatly in size, some of the larger ones being two or three miles across. While the volcano is active, an opening leads down from the crater to the source of the lava, at an unknown depth. From Modern Geography for High SchooLt, by Salisbury, Barrows, and Tower PRELIMINARY TESTS Down in the sea, very far down, under five miles of water, somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, there is a sea cave, all roofed with coral. There is a brightness in the cave, although it is so far below the sea. And in the light there the great sea- snake is coiled in immense blue coils, with a crown of gold upon his horned head. He sits there very patiently from year to year, making the water tremulous with the threshing of his gills. And about him at all times swim the goggle-eyed dumb creatures of the sea. He is the king of all the fishes, and he waits there until the judgment day, when the waters shall pass away for ever and the dim kingdom disappear. At times the coils of his body wreathe themselves, and then the waters above him rage. One folding of his coil will cover a sea with shipwreck; and so it must be until the sea and the ships come to an end together in that serpent's death-throe. From Port of Many Ships, by John Masefield By permission of the publishers, The Macmillan Company TEST 2 Have you good ears? Are they dependable servants, trained to report messages accurately? Here is a simple test. While the teacher reads one of the jollowing .selections — reads it slowly , distinctly , 'punctuation and all, write it down neatly word for word, punctuation mark for punctuation mark. Remember that getting the message nearly correct will not do; a single slip means failure. Like the first, this second task is a practical one. In every business office a considerable part of the work consists in merely reproducing things accurately, an eyeful or an earful at a time. "Accuracy first" is the motto of a good clerk. JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK The New London Day tells of a boy who was riding his bicycle on the wharf at the foot of State street when he went over- board, bicycle and all. People in a rowboat rushed to his rescue; but the little fellow, ten years old, called out, "Never mind me; I can swim. Get my wheel." That boy's education has not been wasted. Somewhere he has learned the simple art of swimming. If he had not learned it, what a different picture would have been presented! Boys and girls, all of them compelled by law to go to school, should have as a part of their course instruction in swimming. 2 While walking through the school grounds, the other day, I stopped to watch a game of ball between two nines made up of the younger boys, and incidentally saw a technical point settled in a manner that ought to interest the sporting editors. One of the youngsters batted the ball so that it landed on the fire escape on the second floor level. The batter ran for dear life, and made a home run before the outfielder scrambled up the fire escape and grabbed the ball. He did not throw it to the home plate to head off the runner; he simply stood there and claimed that he had caught it. Of course there was an argument in which the fine points of the game were debated with some warmth; but the umpire finally ruled that the outfielder had caught the ball before it had touched the ground, and therefore the batter was out. What do you think of his decision? Tulips are noted for their ability to walk. If planted in dark, shady places, where it is cold and damp, they will de- liberately walk away from the dark place to a more desirable part of the garden. They usually move into the sun. The bulb that was planted does not itself actually move, but its substance is transferred little by little, and only the outer wrapping of brown tissue is left. The bulb sends out a delicate PRELIMINARY TESTS 7 shoot that runs horizontally below the ground till it has reached a distance of several inches. Then, near its point, a swelling begins to take the shape of a tulip bulb, which grows larger and larger as the food-material of the old bulb is brought into it. This is done by the little shoot. If the particular sunny or light spot toward which the tulip is walking should un- expectedly be shaded, it will immediately begin to move in some other direction. From The Human Side of Plants, by Royal Dixon Benjamin Franklin tells in his Autobiography how, when he was a young man, he trained himself to write through studying the work of a master. He had bought, and read over and over with great pleasure, a volume of the Spectator^ which was very popular in his day. The Spectator is a collection of es- says, each two or three pages long, many of them somewhat like the editorials one finds in the newspapers of our time, though some are simple tales. After reading one of these *' papers," as they are called, Franklin would jot down in regular order hints, or reminders, in regard to the ideas it contained. These he would put aside for a time, then try, with their aid, to reproduce the paper in his own words. By comparing what he had written with the original, he would discover his faults, especially in the choice of words and the arrangement of sentences. Later he adopted a more difficult plan. Having read a paper and made his notes, he jumbled the notes all together so that he could not tell which came first. A few weeks later, before trying to reproduce the paper, he would try to rearrange the notes in the best order. Some- times, though not often, he thought that he hit upon a better arrangement than that employed in the Spectator. This taught him not only to use care in selecting words and in constructing sentences, but to arrange his thoughts in proper order before trying to express them. 8 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK TEST 3 We employ English very commonly in reporting what we have witnessed. Are you a good witness? Are your senses alert? Can you give, in clear English, an accurate account of simple happenings? Here is a practical test. Watch the teacher closely, letting nothing escape you^ while he does a few things. For example, he may walk down a certain aisle, open a window, speak a word or two to a pupil, stoop and pick up a scrap of paper, then return to his desk. Write a brief account of his actions, employing the same care you would use if you were testifying in court. TEST 4 Have you a good memory? Can you read a page or two of simple prose, keep it in mind for a day, then reproduce it, not word for word, but in your own language? Read, tonight, the following selections, going over them a number of times. Come to class tomorrow prepared to re- produce orally whichever one the instructor may call for. 1. Belling the Cat A certain cat that lived in a large country-house was so watchful and active that the mice, finding their numbers sadly thinned, held a council, behind closed doors, to consider what they could do about it. Many plans had been talked over and given up when a young mouse, rising and catching the eye of the president, said that he had a proposal to make which he was sure would meet with the approval of all. *'If,'* he said, **the cat wore round her neck a little bell, every step she took would make it tinkle; and so, being thus warned of her ap- proach, we should have time to reach our holes before she could catch us. By this simple means we should live in safety and defy her powers.*' The speaker resumed his seat with an air of self-satisfaction, and a murmur of applause arose from the audience. But an old gray mouse, with a merry twinkle PRELIMINARY TESTS 9 in his eye, soon got up and said, **The plan proposed by the last speaker is an admirable one, but I fear it has one draw- back. He has not told us who should put the bell round the cat*s neck." From Aesop's Fables 2. The Two Bootblacks Mr. Lorin Deland tells of watching two bootblacks, one Saturday afternoon. They were stationed on opposite sides of a busy street, one stand being as favorable for business as the other. They had the same tools, and apparently each was a good workman; yet one boy was getting twice as much trade as his competitor. What was the explanation.^ Mr. Deland gives it somewhat as follows: The cry of the unsuccess- ful bootblack was simply "Shine your boots here!" The other boy was calling out, "Get your Sunday shine!" The first cry merely announced that here was an opportunity to get one's boots blacked. The second cry did far more. "Tomorrow is Sunday," it made the passer-by think. "On Sunday, of all days, I must look neat. What would my wife say if I were to start for church wearing muddy shoes! What would the neighbors say.'^ Sure enough, it is Saturday night; this is my last chance. I must get a shine." The successful bootblack used imagination. Mr. Deland is so sure that success in business is dependent largely upon imagination that he has written a book about it. 3. Saved by a Beetle A vizier who had displeased the Sultan was condemned to be imprisoned for life in a high tower from which escape seemed impossible. One night his wife came to the foot of the tower, weeping bitterly for her husband. W^hen he heard her, and knew who it was, he called out softly to her, "Do not weep, for I may yet be saved, if you will do as I bid you. jGo home, and bring with you when you come again a live black beetle and a little butter. Bring also a ball of fine silk, a ball of thread, a ball of stout twine, and a coil of rope." His wife went, and quickly returned with all these things. 10 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK "Now touch the beetle's head with butter," said the vizier, **and tie one end of the silk thread round his body and place him on the tower directly beneath my window." All this was quickly done. The beetle, thinking from the smell of the butter that there must be a store of it above, crawled straight up till he came to where the vizier stood. In this way the prisoner got hold of one end of the silk. But this had been tied to the thread, and the thread to the stout twine, and the twine to the rope. When the vizier had pulled up the rope, he fastened one end of it inside of the tower, then slid down to the ground, and under the -cover of darkness fled. TEST 6 Can you work rapidly and yet be accurate, or do you be- come confused when asked to "speed up".'^ Here is a test. Arrange the following names quickly in alphabetical order, in each case letting the given name come last. That is, William Shakespeare shmdd be written Shakespeare, William. There must be no mistakes in spelling. The penmanship must be plain, the margins carefully preserved. Alfred Tennyson John Keats Charles Kingsley Edmund Burke Robert Browning John Milton John Henry Newman William Shakespeare William Wordsworth Thomas Babington Macaulay TEST 6 Have you an active imagination? Can you see things with your eyes closed? Can you invent a story to go with a strange face, or with a deserted house, or with a bit of wreckage cast up by the tide? Study the illustration entitled Fisherman* s Luck. Who are these four boys? Do they all belong to the same company? Can you not invent a story to go vnth the picture? Try it. PRELIMINARY TESTS il Fisherman's Luck 12 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK TEST 7 Do you speak English? Are you sure? Prove it. Read aloud the following nonsensical paragraphy while your classmates listen for errors. Be very careful, for the paragraph contains about fifty words that are commonly mispronounced. A deaf Italian architect and his partner, an athletic gentle- man with a high forehead and a black mustache, spent a Tues- day evening, last February, in going over columns of figures, some of which had to do with an aeroplane designed for ex- ploration among the Arctic mountains, and some with finance. The Italian was as solemn as if he were coming down with diphtheria, but the athlete kept laughing. Perhaps the coffee he was sipping mischievously influenced his judgment. Apparently he took genuine delight in everything. Acciden- tally, however, he upset his coffee. Then an evil mood seized him, and perhaps he might have quarreled vehemently with his ally. But at that moment they saw their hostess approach- ing bringing hot potatoes and a plate of steaming chestnuts. The details of what followed were given in the morning news- paper. This incident undoubtedly illustrates the soothing influence of hospitable victuals upon combatants; at any rate, it shows that correct pronunciation may not be as common as is supposed. TEST 8 Here are fifty common words. A boy of twelve should be able to spell them correctly without hesitation. Can you? Following the list is a word mixture made from it. There is little sense to it, but never mind. Can you write it from dictation? Remember that though in school you may be promoted from grade to grade if your work is, let us say, seventy percent perfect, in the business world one hundred percent is expected of you, and a single misspelled word is a serious blemish in a social letter. PRELIMINARY TESTS 13 Spell the following words, 'paragraph. Write from dictation the nonsense chief writer studied lose those among forty sure meant together commence until copy busy led scheme whether almost neither balance different clothes whose which does speech queer huge breathe across safety careful usually already around always bigger village imitate visitor truly also woman partner surprise their image enemy career awful Almost forty of the chief writers studied together. Usually those whose clothes were different looked queer. Among the visitors was a busy woman of careful speech. Her partner meant to copy it, but was led to give up the scheme in the midst of his career. Do not commence until the enemy does. He is sure to lose his balance as soon as he begins to breathe. Around the village and also across the stream they had already gone in safety. Much to their surprise, the awful image was always hard to imitate. Whether neither was bigger than the huge one which we saw was always truly doubtful. TEST 9 Here is a final test. The paragraph below contains about twenty errors. They are errors that few editors would care to have appear in their newspapers. No careful business man would think that he could afford to have any of them appear in a sales letter. And yet the sentences are such as one hears all too commonly. Possibly they are the kind you employ. No, we will not say that; yet among the errors are perhaps a few which you make occasionally. Copy the following paragraph, correcting all the mistakes. 14 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK It must have been him; at any rate, I know that he with his two brothers were going to be there, and them Jones boys said that they seen him too. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he was trying to avoid us. He don't seem to care for our com- pany. If I was you, I would lay down and rest for a while. Fred says you can take his blanket. Was you frightened when it begun to thunder.^ I wasn't; but I felt different than what I do when it is pleasant. It must of rained awful in Ludlow. John says to me, "Be you getting wet, Bill.?" "Sure," says I; ** ain't it raining.'^ " He looked like a drownded rat. Did you dry your clothes yet, or are you going to wait till you get home? And now, with preliminary tests out of the way, we are ready to go into training. Plunge in with a determination to do your best ! Never mind if some of the tasks prove dif- ficult and uninteresting; no great thing is easily gained. Do your part so well that the completion of each Course will find you a little nearer the goal toward which you are striv- ing: ability to express yourself truthfully in correct, clear English. COURSE I COMPOSITION Old Stories to Tell DRILL The Dictionary Dictionary uses The making of word lists Alphabetical arrangement Punctuation The period The comma between terms of a series OLD STORIES TO TELL Everybody enjoys a good story. Nearly everybody likes to tell a good story; yet few do it well, for it is an art. What is the secret of this art? Much of it lies hidden in the word imagination. The skilled story teller pictures everything clearly in his mind. He imagines how the characters look and how they "feel" as they do this and that, and how he would feel under similar circumstances. Like the actor in a play, he puts himself in the place of others. Keep this in mind when preparing the following exercise. Memorizing word for word will not do at all; use your imagination. EXERCISE 1 Read the following stories. Select two that you like and make yourself so familiar with them that you can tell them smoothly. If you wish, you may bring to class a slip of paper on which are jotted down a few notes to help your memory. 1. A Munchausen Adventure While traveling on horseback through Russia, one winter, the Baron encountered a great deal of severe weather. The cold was extreme and the snowstorms were frequent and heavy. On one occasion he lost his way. No village was to be seen, not even a peasant's home. To make matters worse, night and darkness overtook him. At length, being very tired, he alighted, tied his horse by the bridle rein to what appeared to be the stump of a small tree, and lay down in the snow, where he soon fell into a sound sleep. 17 18 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK When he awoke in the morning, he was surprised to find himself lying in a village churchyard. His horse had dis- appeared; but hearing a neigh, the Baron looked up and there was his horse hanging by the bridle rein from the tip of the church steeple. He at once guessed what had happened. The village had been covered by a deep snow. What in the growing darkness he had taken for the stump of a tree was really the tip of the church spire. During the night there had come a thaw. The snow had melted rapidly, and the Baron, still sleeping soundly, had sunk gently by degrees to the ground. Immediately drawing his pistol, he shot the bridle rein in two. Down dropped the horse. The Baron mounted the saddle and proceeded on his journey. Adapted from The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 2. A Japanese Legend Once upon a time, long ago, a poor old peasant was cutting wood far up on a mountainside when he found a spring of pure cool water. He knelt down and drank, for it was a warm day and he was very thirsty. The water was wonderfully refresh- ing; but more wonderful still, as he caught sight of his re- flection in the pool he was amazed to find that he had suddenly grown young. The wrinkles were all gone from his face, his eyes were clear, and his head, which a moment before had been bald, was covered with thick black hair. As he arose to his feet, he felt the vigor of young manhood pulsing through his body. He had drunk at the fountain of jouth! In great joy he ran down the mountainside, to tell the glad news to his wife. As he rushed into the little thatched cottage, he gave the poor woman a terrible fright, for she could not imagine who this strange young man could be, so changed was he from the old man of the morning. It was with difficulty that he calmed her and convinced her that he was really her husband. And then she fell to weeping, for she feared that so handsome a young man would not oare for a feeble old woman. "But you too shall drink," he cried; "we shall both be young. OLD STORIES TO TELL 19 I can easily direct you to the spring. Go, while I remain to guard the cottage." An hour passed, two hours, a long time, yet she did not return. What could have happened.? Had she lost her way.? At last, thoroughly alarmed, he set out in search of her. With- out difficulty he found the spring, but not his wife. She was nowhere to be seen, nor did she answer when he called. In despair he was about to give up the search when he heard, coming from a neighboring thicket, a plaintive little wail; and pushing aside the branches, he found a little baby girl. The poor woman in her eagerness had drunk too deeply. 3. The Giant and the Dwarf Once upon a time a Giant and a Dwarf were friends and kept together. They made a bargain that they would never forsake each other, but go seek adventures. The first battle they fought was with two Saracens; and the Dwarf, who was very courageous, dealt one of the champions a most angry blow. It did the Saracen very little injury, who, lifting up his sword, fairly struck off the poor Dwarf's arm. He was now in a woeful plight; but the Giant, coming to his assistance, in a short time left the two Saracens dead upon the plain, and the Dwarf cut off the dead man's head in spite. They then traveled on to another adventure. This was against three bloody-minded Satyrs, who were carrying away a damsel in distress. The Dwarf was not quite so fierce as before, but for all that, struck the first blow, which was re- turned by another that knocked out his eye. But the Giant was soon up with them, and, had they not fled, would certainly have killed them every one. They were all very joyful for this victory, and the damsel who was relieved fell in love with the Giant and married him. They now traveled, and farther than I can tell, till they met with a company of robbers. The Giant, for the first time, was foremost now; but the Dwarf was not far behind. The battle was stout and long. Wherever the Giant came, all fell before him; but the Dwarf had like to have been killed 20 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK - 'L^'*'--? J Ormtirr- V» The Fight with the Saracens OLD STORIES TO TELL 21 more than once. At last the victory was declared for the two adventurers; but the Dwarf had lost a leg. The Dwarf had now lost an arm, a leg, and an eye, while the Giant was without a single wound; upon which he cried out to his little companion, **My little hero, this is glorious sport! Let us get one victory more, and then we shall have honor forever." **No," cried the Dwarf, who by this time was grown wiser, "No, I declare off; I'll fight no more. For in every battle you get all the honors and rewards, but all the blows fall upon me.'* Goldsmith 4. The Wise Dervish A dervish was journeying in the desert when two merchants suddenly met him. "You have lost a camel," said he to the merchants. "Indeed we have," they replied. "Was he not blind in one eye and lame in his left leg.'^" "He was,'' replied the merchants. "Had he not lost a front tooth.'^" "He had." "And was he not loaded with honey on the one side and with wheat on the other .f*" "Most certainly he was," they replied; "and since you have seen him so lately and marked him so particularly, you can, in all probability, conduct us to him." "My friends," said the dervish, "I have not seen your camel, nor ever heard of him but from you." "A pretty story, truly," said the merchants; "but where are the jewels which formed a part of his cargo?" "I have seen neither your camel nor your jewels," repeated the dervish. On this they seized him and forthwith hurried him before the cadi, where, on the strictest search, nothing could be found upon him, nor could any evidence whatever be adduced to convict him either of falsehood or of theft. They were about to proceed against him as a sorcerer, when the dervish, with great calmness, thus addressed the court: 22 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK **I have been much amused with your surprise, and own that there has been some ground for your suspicions. I have lived long alone; I can find ample scope for observation in the desert. I knew that I had crossed the track of a camel that had strayed from its owner, because I saw no mark of a human footprint on the same route. I knew that the animal was blind in one eye, for it had cropped the herbage on only one side of the path; and I perceived that it was lame in one leg from the faint impression that particular foot produced on the sand. I concluded that the animal had lost a tooth, because wher- ever it had grazed a small tuft of the herbage was left unin- jured in the center of its bite. As to what formed the burden of the beast, the busy ants informed me that it was grain on the one side, and the clustering flies that it was honey on the other." From The National Preceptor (an old school reader) EXERCISE 2 Here is a second hint. Like the first, it concerns imagina- tion. The skilled story teller not only pictures everything clearly in his mind and tries to put himself in the place of the characters, but thinks constantly of his listeners. "Are they seeing things as I see them.^'* he asks himself. **Am I succeeding in making them share the emotions of the giant, the dwarf, the two old peasants, the dervish, the angry merchants?" That is to say, he loses himself in the story, lets himself be carried away by it; yet all the time he is calculating how he can make his listeners lose themselves, too, swept along by the story, all else forgotten, even the narrator. That is difficult indeed. When you have learned to do it, you are a master. Paying attention to two little things will bring you several steps nearer this desired goal. If you employ words that are not quite familiar — dervish, for example, or cadi — what is the result? Attention is weakened, the picture blurred, while the listener is guessing what the strange terms mean. OLD STORIES TO TELL 23 Use simple language, then. If you must employ a strange word, stop and explain its meaning. Suppose, too, that you have the unfortunate habit of slipping in and, or and-a, between sentences. Do you like to hear others do it.^^ Doesn't it irritate you a little, distract your attention.^ Then guard against it. Make your listeners comfortable. Read the following stories Select two that you like and make yourself so familiar with them that you can retell them smoothly. Avoid strange words. Guard against the and-a habit. 1. Partners An Italian nobleman was going to be married, and everybody at his castle was busy helping to get ready the marriage feast. One thing was causing not a little anxiety. There had been such dreadful storms at sea that there was no fish to be had. On the very morning of the wedding feast, however, a poor fisherman appeared before the castle gate with a large turbot on his back. The servants were so delighted that they took him at once to the nobleman, who, in the presence of his guests, bade him name his price and it should be paid. To the sur- prise of all, the fisherman said, **My price is one hundred lashes on my bare back, and I cannot bate a single stroke!" "Nonsense," said the nobleman, *'you are joking. Come, tell us. What is your price.^*" The fisherman made the same answer as before. **Well," said the nobleman, "this is a strange jest; but we must have the fish, so lay the lashes on lightly." After fifty strokes had been given, the fisherman cried, "Stop! I have a partner in this business. He must have his share." "What!" cried the nobleman, "are there two such madmen in the world? What is his name? We will send for him at once." "You have not far to go," answered the fisherman; "he is your own porter. He would not let me in till I had promised to give half of whatever I got for the turbot. I want to keep my promise." 24 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK "Aha!" said the nobleman, "bring him here at once." The porter was brought. He received his full share of the lashes, and they were not laid on lightly. He was turned away from the castle. The fisherman, on the other hand, had an excellent dinner set before him, and was sent away with a handsome present. 2. The Sword of Damocles Dionysius, the ruler of Sicily, was far from happy, though he possessed great riches and all that wealth and power can procure. Damocles, one of his flatterers, deceived by this false appearance of happiness, took occasion to compliment him on the extent of his power, his treasures, his royal magnificence, and declared no monarch had ever been greater or happier. "Should you like," said the king, "to taste this happiness and know by experience what the enjoyments are of which you hold so high an idea?" Damocles with joy accepted the offer. So the king ordered a royal banquet to be prepared, and a gilded sofa to be placed for his favorite. Sideboards laden with gold and silver dishes of immense value were arranged in the apartment. Pages of extraordinary beauty were ordered to attend the table, and to obey his commands with the utmost readiness and the utmost submission. Fragrant ointments, garlands of flowers, and rich perfumes were added to the entertainment. The table was loaded with the most exquisite delicacies of every kind. Intoxicated with pleasure, Damocles fancied himself amongst superior beings. But in the midst of all this happiness, as he lay indulging himself in state, he saw let down from the ceiling, exactly over his head, a glittering sword hung by a single hair. This put a speedy end to his joy and reveling. The pomp of his attendance, the glitter of the carved plate, and the delicacy of the food ceased to give any pleasure. He dreaded to stretch forth his hand to the table. He threw off the garland of roses. He hastily left his dangerous situation, and earnestly entreated the king to restore him to his former humble condition, for he no longer desired to enjoy a happiness so terrible. OLD STORIES TO TELL 25 By this device Dionysius revealed to Damocles how miserable he was in the midst of all his treasures, and in possession of all the honors and enjoyments that royalty could bestow. Cicero 3. The Stoiy of a Wooden Horse Among the best of old Greek stories are those which tell of the ten years' siege of Troy, a walled city in Asia Minor, near the coast. Victory finally came to the besieging Greeks through a crafty trick. They constructed a huge wooden horse and in it concealed a number of their bravest warriors. Then, pretending that they were discouraged and were going back home to Greece, they burned their camps and sailed away leaving the horse behind. The ships did not go far, however, but hid behind an island off the coast. Out from the besieged city flocked the Trojans, happy in the thought that the enemy had departed. The huge horse puzzled them greatly. They could not understand it at all. **Let us destroy it at once," some said, for they feared treach- ery. One Trojan, a priest, seized a spear and thrust it through the side of the horse, whereupon the arms of the concealed warriors were heard to rattle. It was a trying moment for the brave Greeks. We wonder that the Trojans did not immedi- ately set fire to the horse or tear it to pieces. But in those days, you will learn, if you read many of the old Greek tales, things were determined mainly by the will of the gods. On this occasion a goddess who favored the Greeks sent a huge serpent up from the sea. The serpent singled out the priest and killed him and his two sons. Then it seemed probable that the horse might be something sacred, and that the spear- thrust had offended the gods. Perhaps it would be better, some thought, to drag the horse into the city. While they were still hesitating, there suddenly appeared a man whom the cunning Greeks had left behind, a man with hands bound, apparently in great distress, who told the aged king of the Trojans a pitiful tale. He had managed to escape from the Greeks just as they were about to sacrifice him to the gods. In reply to their questions he explained that the horse 26 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK was indeed sacred, a tribute to a goddess whom the Greeks had offended, purposely built huge so that it could not be taken through the gate into the city. His story was believed. The Trojans pulled down a section of the wall, dragged the horse through the gap into the very heart of their city, and that night gave themselves up to riotous banqueting. When at length all was quiet, the crafty man who had pretended that he had barely escaped being sacrificed released the warriors from the horse. Under cover of darkness the gates of the city were thrown open. At a given signal the ships had left their hiding place and slipped back to the shore. In through the gates and the breach in the wall rushed the sol- diers. The Trojans, roused from heavy sleep, fought valiantly but in vain. The city was soon in flames. Thus Troy fell. 4. An Eastern Tale When strangers, passing Hoseyn's tent, pitied him because he was poor, friends would say, "Your pity is wasted. What cares Hoseyn though he live in poverty! Has he not Muley- keh, fleetest of mares, never beaten in the race? Dearer to him is his Pearl, as he calls her, than flocks and herds." Now Duhl came riding to Hoseyn's tent. "You are poor," said he. "But I can remedy that. 'Tis said that Muleykeh, your Pearl, is worth the price of a hundred camels. I gener- ously offer you a thousand. Speak!" Hoseyn smiled. "You have flocks of famous breed, not a weak creature among them. But I love my Pearl's face, her forefront which whitens like a yellowish wave's cream-crest, her fetlock foam-splashed too. Keep your camels. I am richer than thou." A year later came Duhl again. "O Hoseyn," said he, "you are open-hearted like a prince. Why should I speak of buying? Let Muleykeh be your simple gift to me. My son is pining unto death for her beauty. My wife bade me beg for the mare to save the boy's life. God will repay you seven- fold." Said Hoseyn, "You have your son; I have my Pearl. Would OLD STORIES TO TELL 27 I beg your son to cheer me if Muleykeh died? What would be left in life for me without her?" Another year passed. On a dark night came Duhl to Hoseyn's tent. "I have tried to buy and he would not sell, though he was hunger-bitten. Then I tried guile, through that tale of my wife and son. Now I resort to force." Hoseyn lay sleep- ing, the head-stall of Muleykeh thrice wound round his wrist. Near by, all saddled for pursuit should anyone steal away his treasure, stood a second steed, Muleykeh's sister, almost as fleet. Cautiously entering the tent, Duhl cuts the head-stall, tightens the girth, springs to Muleykeh's back, and *'is launched on the desert like bolt from bow." Up starts the plundered man. Though he is crushed with grief, his head is clear. He springs to the saddle and is off in pur- suit. Nearer he draws and nearer. Now they are racing almost neck by flank. The robber knows not how to call out the mare's best speed. She misses the touch of her master's hand, the sound of his voice. Will she be overtaken, she who has never been beaten in race? Her sister is mad with hope. But Hoseyn — Hoseyn in anger — shouts, " Dog Duhl, touch the right ear and press with your foot my Pearl's flank!" Duhl was wise. He touched the right ear and pressed her flank. Hearing her master's voice and perceiving who it was that urged redoubled pace, Muleykeh leaped ahead and was lost to Hoseyn forevermore. When in the sunrise Hoseyn sat upon the ground weeping and neighbors came to question why he grieved, he told the whole story from beginning to end, and how his Pearl might have been overtaken had he not cried out to the clumsy rider. And they jeered him, one and all. **Poor Hoseyn, crazed past hope! To hold your tongue were easy; had you kept quiet, Muleykeh, the child of your heart, your life, would still be here!" "Speak not, and see my horse beaten in speed?" wept Hoseyn. **You never have loved my Pearl." Thus runs the tale as we find it in Browning's Muleykeh, but the poet tells the story far better than I. 28 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 3 It was an ''old gray mouse, mith a merry imnkle in his eye,'' who pointed out that the plan for belling the cat had one serious drawback. Could the words in italics be spared, or do they help you to get the picture? In the story en- titled The Sword of Damocles we are not simply told that the king prepared an elaborate banquet; details are given, not many, but enough to impress the idea that the banquet was an unusually fine one. In An Eastern Tale we are told what passes through the mind of the thief as he creeps into Hoseyn's tent, that dark night. Little details make a story "come to life." They may concern outward events, the actual happenings. They may concern what goes on in the mind; or they may have to do with the expression of the face, or with gestures which betray emotions. None of the stories we have had thus far is remarkable in its at- tention to details, nor are the stories which follow unusual in this respect; but be careful not to neglect such details as there are. Remember your listeners; remember that de- tails help the imagination to picture things. Make yourself familiar vnth the two stories that follow and prepare to tell them in class. Dont forget any of the little de- tails. Be careful not to overwork the word and. 1. The Winning of Rosamond A certain king had an only daughter named Rosamond. She was entrancingly beautiful, as every story-princess should be; but that was not all. Ever since her childhood days she had been the fleetest of runners. Now the king issued a proclamation that whoever should win a race from his daughter might marry her, and whoever married her should succeed to the throne. He imposed, how- ever, one stern condition. Whoever failed in the race must forfeit his head! Even under this stern condition, many OLD STORIES TO TELL 29 ventured; for the maiden was very beautiful, and thrones, in those days, were considered more desirable than they are at present. Many ventured, and all perished in the attempt. Now there was a young man, extremely poor and by no means of noble birth, named Abibas. When he read the proclamation, he said to himself, "What a fine thing it would be, not only for me but for all my family, if I should win the princess. If I fail, it will but mean one poor man the less." Abibas, however, was not only venturesome but clever, as you shall shortly see. First he made a wreath of roses, for he had heard that roses were a favorite with the princess. Then he procured a sash of finest silk. "What maiden," reasoned he, "does not like pretty things to wear!" Last of all he purchased a beautiful bag, this too of finest silk, in which he placed a golden ball inscribed as follows: "Who plays with me shall never grow tired of play." Concealing these treasures in his blouse, he proceeded to the palace and knocked at the gate. Now the princess stood at the window. You can imagine her feelings when she saw this ragged young fellow and heard him boldly make known his errand to the porter. Her face burned with anger; yet being a dutiful daughter, she prepared for the contest. The race began. Abibas would soon have been left behind — for though he was fleet, the princess ran like the wind — had he not quickly taken from his blouse the wreath and skillfully thrown it upon Rosamond's head. Roses! her favorite flower — how beautiful they were and how fragrant ! She paused to enjoy them, and Abibas, seizing the opportunity, rushed ahead. Instantly noting what had happened, Rosamond threw the wreath aside and darted ahead, crying, "Never shall the king's daughter marry such a miserable man as thou!" But just as she was on the point of passing him, he drew forth the girdle and threw it at her feet. Poor maiden! The temptation was too great. She stooped and picked it up. It was very beautiful; she must bind it about her waist. And while she was doing this, Abibas shot ahead. 30 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Tears of anger filled the eyes of the princess as she saw the consequence of her folly. Off she tore the girdle, and speeding faster than ever, once more she overtook the panting runner. "Fool," she shrilled, "thou shalt never marry me!" Faster and faster she ran; but Abibas, springing forward, threw at her feet the silken bag. She stooped and picked it up, and having it in her hands, she must open it to see what it contained. Reading the inscription, *' Who plays with me shall never grow tired of play," she played so long that Abibas came first to the goal. They were married, but whether they lived happily ever after, the tale does not tell. Adapted from Gesta Romanorum 2. The House Dog and the Wolf A lean, hungry wolf chanced one moonlight night to fall in with a plump, well-fed house dog. After the first compliments had been passed between them, the wolf said, "How is it, my friend, that you are so sleek.'* How well your food agrees with you. Here am I striving for a living night and day, and barely able to save myself from starving." "Well," said the dog, "if you would fare like me, you have only to do as I do." "Indeed," replied the wolf, "and what is that.'*" "Why, just guard the master's house and keep oflF the thieves at night." "With all my heart," said the wolf; "for at present I have but a sorry time of it. This woodland life, with its frosts and rains, is sharp work for me. To have a warm roof over my head and plenty of victuals always at hand will, methinks, be no bad exchange." "True," replied the dog; "therefore you have nothing to do but to follow me." Now as they were jogging along together, the wolf noticed a mark on the dog's neck and could not resist asking what it meant. "Pooh! nothing at all," said the dog. "Nay, but pray " OLD STORIES TO TELL 31 *'0h, a mere trifle; perhaps the collar to which my chain is fastened " *' Chain!" interrupted the wolf; "you don't mean that you cannot rove when and where you please?" "Why, not exactly that, perhaps. You see I am looked upon as rather fierce; so they sometimes tie me up in the daytime. But I assure you I have perfect liberty at night; and my master feeds me off his own plate, and the servants give me their tit- bits, and I am such a favorite, and But what is the matter? Where are you going?" "Oh, good night to you," said the wolf. "You are welcome to your dainties; but for me, a dry crust with liberty rather than a king's luxury with a chain." From Aesop^s Fables EXERCISE 4 Perhaps you have noticed, while listening to classmates, that when they reproduce stories they change direct dis- course to indirect. That is, they report in a general way the substance of what the characters say rather than the actual words spoken. For example, you may have heard some one report the conversation between the merchants and the dervish after this fashion: "The dervish asked if the camel was not blind in one eye and lame in the left leg; and the merchants said that he was. Then the dervish asked if the camel had not lost a front tooth, and they said that he had lost a front tooth." Dialogue reported directly, word for word, is better. It not only adds crispness, but is a great aid to the imagination of the listener, who is made to feel almost as if he were present and overhearing the characters as they speak. Review all of the stories given thus far in this Course. Pre- pare to tell them in class. Keep in mind the following things: 1. Before you can tell a story well, you must master it by imagining it clearly. 2. Using strange, unfamiliar words may interfere with the 32 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK listener's ability to get a clear impression. 3. Employing and-a may annoy the listener, make him think of you rather than of the story. 4. Details help bring a story to life, especially details that describe emotions. 5. Conversation reported word for word adds crispness. 6. Finally, try to tell the story as if it had never been told before. It will help not a little if you will stand facing the class and look straight into the eyes of the listeners. If you feel nervous, smile! EXERCISE 5 You are at the story book age. What is the most inter- esting book you have read during the past year? Is it one that you can recommend to others? Is there a chapter in it more interesting than the rest? Does not some one in- cident, perhaps a thrilling adventure, at once come to your mind? Prepare to relate to the class an incident from a book that you like well enough to recommend. In performing this task it will be well to adopt a plan. First tell the title of the book and the author's name. Then give, in one or two sentences only, a general idea of what the book is about. Finally narrate the particular incident that has captured your interest — the happening or series of happenings which you are sure will prove interesting to your hearers. EXERCISE 6 From all the stories given thus far^ select the One you like best. Read it carefully again; then put the book aside and re- produce the story in writing^ using words of your own unless the language of the book happens to occur to you. Here are a few suggestions: It is well to make two copies of a written exercise. This is no more than everj^ careful business man does when composing a really important letter. OLD STORIES TO TELL 33 In making the first draft use only moderate care in regard to spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing; keep your mind on the story. But in revising this first draft, look closely at each sentence to see that it is correct. Read it out loud. The ear is sometimes a better critic than the eye. Perhaps you have already observed how conversation is reported, each speech beginning on a line indented. In- dented means bitten into. Make the "bites" an inch deep. Probably you have noticed also that quotation marks are used to set off the words of a speaker, and that capitals are sometimes employed, but not always, when a speech is interrupted by said he or some such expression. It is all explained in detail on page 65. In addition to indentions in dialogue, you will note that there are a few paragraph indentions. Do not make too many of these; just a few will be sufiicient to show the broad divisions or sections of the story. By way of conclusion, read the following composition, in which bits of advice given in connection with the preceding exercises are brought together. Story Telling An old recipe for rabbit pie begins with "First catch the rabbit." A good recipe for story telling might well begin with "First catch the story." "Catching" the story means more than merely reading it in a book or hearing it told. It includes making it yours through imagination. That is what words are for — to feed your imagination, help you to lose yourself till you see and feel as the characters in the story see and feel. Then catch your audience. The surest way to do this is just to let yourself go, swinging along at a good pace. Keep the listeners' imagination busy by giving all details that are really necessary as aids in picturing things. Introduce dialogue, for dialogue adds an air of reality. And bear in mind a few "don'ts." Don't blindly repeat words from memory, lest the 84 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK listeners say to themselves, "He's not telling us anything; he's just reciting.'' Don't let your eyes slip away. "He's talking to a crack in the floor," some one may say, "or to the trees outside the window." Don't use strange words, for strange words blur things. Don't fall into the and-a habit or any other that may draw attention away from the story. And above all be careful not to " let the cat out of the bag," as it is called. That is, keep back the little surprise that usually comes at the tip-end of a good story; for just as soon as the secret is out, away goes the attention of your audience. If you are writing a story, be careful about penmanship, punctuation, indention, and other little things which make it easy for the reader to get your message. Finally, remember that story telling is a form of entertain- ment. Accept your responsibility as an entertainer, then, and go about it earnestly, yet with a smile on your face rather than with a wooden expression. Do your part cheerfully. Make story telling a game rather than a task. It is a game, and one that requires skill — skill in capturing the imagination of those before you, making them see, through imagination, all that you wish to have them and feel the way you wish to have them. It is well worth while to learn to play the game well, for ability to move others by controlling their imagination is necessary in many a great undertaking. DRILL EXERCISES THE DICTIONARY The dictionary is a collection of condensed compositions, each telling all that the average person cares to know about some word: how it is spelled and pronounced, and what are its meanings. Frequently a brief sentence containing the word properly employed is given, and sometimes one or more synonyms, or terms which have nearly the same mean- ing. The dictionary does still more. Whenever possible, it gives the life-story of a word — where it came from, what it meant originally, and what changes in meaning it has un- dergone; for words — at least some of them — do change in meaning from age to age. Many of these life-stories are intensely interesting. But there is another way of regarding the dictionary. It is a law book. Ours is a free country, yet we are not free to do what we please. For the common good, we submit to restraint of many kinds. Words are free; but when we misuse them, we become law-breakers. The dictionary, stern book, lays down laws regarding spelling, pronunciation, meanings. Word-respecting people obey these laws. Own a dictionary as soon as you are able. A dictionary like the one which in all probability lies on the reference table in your schoolroom, a big volume containing hundreds of thousands of words, would be not only expensive but too bulky for frequent use. There are many ** pocket " editions, costing fifty cents or less. One of these would be better than nothing, but it contains too little to be of 35 36 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK much value. For daily use, the Students Standard Dic- tionary and Webster* s Secondary School Dictionary are per- haps the most satisfactory. Form the habit of consulting a dictionary freely. See what the law says about this term and that which you are using repeatedly, yet with a suspicion that you may be using it improperly. Lay down the book you are reading, now and then, and look up the meaning of some new word. If an expression has an odd sound, and you find yourself wondering where the word came from, or how it obtained its present meaning, turn to the dictionary. Perhaps it will tell you precisely what you wish to know. Practice of this kind soon becomes fascinating, and it strengthens powers of expression in a wonderful way. By way of testing your vocabulary y make out a listy in neatly arranged columns, of one hundred words which you are sure you have mastered — terms that you can spell and pronounce correctly, and can use with their proper meanings. Unless forced to do so, do not include such little words as the, for, by, and it. Having finished the list, read it to the class. Perhaps some one unit discover slips in pronunciation. Then exchange list^ with a classmate. He may ferret out a few errors in spelling. Of course you can say the alphabet; you are perfectly sure of it. Then arrange alphabetically, just a^ they would be ar- ranged in a dictionary, the first fifty words in your list. This is a practical task, as any business man will tell you. For the purpose of discovering errors, exchange lists with a class- mate. DRILL EXERCISES 37 Although your vocabulary is small, probably it is better, in some respects, than your neighbor's. It may even contain words with which your teacher is unfamiliar. Test this in the following way. Make a list of words suggested by any one of the titles found below. Be sure that no word is misspelled. Be prepared to explain the meaning of any word which is not understood by the rest of the class. 1. Words connected with some sport or game; for example, the words connected with basket ball 2. Words brought into prominence by the war, such as camouflage, zeppelin, trench 3. Words that live in kitchens mainly — kettle, skillet, poach, simmer, etc. 4. The Boy Scout's vocabulary — patrol, scout, tenderfoot, etc.; or the Campfire Girl's vocabulary 5. Words that have to do with automobiles, such as car- buretor, accelerator 6. Dry goods words 7. Grocery store words 8. Words that live chiefly on farms 9. City words that might confuse a man from the country 10. The carpenter's every-day vocabulary 11. Words used in buying and selling 12. Words that live mainly on the street and are ashamed to appear in good society 13. Words that you consider rather too prim and proper for daily use Arrange the words called for in the preceding exercise in alphabetical order. Exchange lists with a classmate and be prepared to explain the meaning of any term with which he is not familiar. Explaining the meaning of a term, accurately, in correct English, is a difficult task. 38 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK / Read, in any newspaper or magazine, for twenty minutes, and make a list of all the words whose meanings you do not know. Include every word that you are not perfectly sure about. Do not consult a dictionary; bring your list to class and see if your classmates cannot help you. Make a second list of words whose meanings you know per- fectly, but which you suspect some of the members of your class may not know. Be prepared to explain. The word line has over fifty different meanings; the word head has over forty. Comparatively few nouns are used to name but a single thing. Without consulting a dictionary, make a list, alphabetically arranged, of at least ten words each of which has at least two meanings. PUNCTUATION Here are the marks commonly used in punctuation: . period ( ) marks of parenthesis , comma — dash ; semicolon ' apostrophe : colon ? interrogation point " quotation marks ! exclamation point These marks are for clearness. They help the reader to see at a glance what words go together. They should be used sparingly. A page peppered with commas is more confus- ing than if not punctuated at all. If sentences are well constructed, few marks are necessary. Are not the follow- ing reasonably clear? Would anything be gained by sprin- kling in commas? DRILL EXERCISES 39 1. It is said that a well regulated sneeze calls into play one hundred ten muscles. 15 words 2. The reputation of being absolutely accurate and pains- taking is equal to a large amount of capital to a young man going into business for himself. 25 words 3. I have recognized the voice of a friend when it came over four hundred miles on a telephone wire as plainly as if he had been in the next room. 30 words 4. A long procession of lights issuing from the fort was seen to flit across the black face of the waters in the dead of night and the whole city wall between the Cow- gate and the Tower of Burgundy fell with a loud crash. 43 words Punctuation marks must be used correctly. Mr. Edison once failed to secure a valuable patent because in his ap- plication for the patent a comma had been incorrectly used. That one little comma changed the meaning completely and spoiled everything. Even though your knowledge of punc- tuation is not very great, you should be able to see that in the following sentences the meaning is controlled by the marks. 1. The boy said the man was trying to stand on his head. "The boy," said the man, "was trying to stand on his head." 2. We manufacture everything made out of canvas, bags, tents, awnings, etc. We manufacture everything made out of canvas: bags, tents, awnings, etc. 3. Go see Breakers Ahead, the best melodrama ever written, by John Nemo. Go see Breakers Ahead, the best melodrama ever written by John Nemo. 4. He asked me what I was doing and I said nothing. He asked me what I was doing and I said, "Nothing." 5. He was asked to take the place of the third runner who had sprained an ankle. 40 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK He was asked to take the place of the third runner, who had sprained an ankle. Every lady in this land Hath twenty nails upon each hand, Five and twenty on hands and feet; And this is true without conceit. Every lady in this land Hath twenty nails — upon each hand Five, and twenty on hands and feet; And this is true without conceit. Make on the blackboard the ten marks used in punctuation and write after each its name. Watch your spelling. Rule . — Avoid placing a punctuation mark of any kind between such parts of a sentence as are closely related and are in their natural order. Subject and predicate are closely related. Their natural order is subject first, then predicate. To place a mark be- tween subject and predicate when they are in this natural order is undesirable, and very seldom is it necessary. The verb and its complement are closely related. The natural order is verb first and then complement. It is undesirable to separate the two by any mark. When an adjective modi- fier comes immediately before the word it modifies, avoid separating the two. Keep together words that go together naturally; do not let punctuation marks intrude. Often in reading we pause between an adjective and the noun follow- ing it, between subject and predicate, and between a verb and its object; but forget this when you punctuate. Rule. — The period is used after a declarative or an imper- ative sentence. DRILL EXERCISES 41 This is a simple rule. Probably it is the first rule for punctuation that you were ever taught, but it may be that you have not mastered it. You know well enough what the words declarative and imperative mean, but it may be that you do not know what a sentence is. You cannot quickly tell, perhaps, whether a given collection of words forms one sentence, two sentences, or a part of a sentence. Note the following: (Wrong) They came from all directions. Some from up- stairs, some from downstairs, some from adjoining rooms. (Right) They came from all directions, some from upstairs, some from downstairs, some from adjoining rooms. (Wrong) Then she snatched the diamonds from him and threw them into the river. Where they remain to this day. (Right) Then she snatched the diamonds from him and threw them into the river, where they remain to this day. Why, in the examples marked (Wrong) is the period in- correctly used? If you cannot tell, you have not mastered the rule. Study the following: (Wrong) I felt a tug at my line and pulled up a big fish, it was a flounder. (Right) I felt a tug at my line and pulled up a big fish. It was a flounder. (Wrong) At that moment he was startled by a timid knock- ing, hastily slipping on his coat, he opened the door. (Right) At that moment he was startled by a timid knock- ing. Hastily slipping on his coat, he opened the door. Can you see why the examples marked (Wrong) are incor- rectly punctuated? If a group of words contains a subject and a predicate and makes sense when standing alone, it is a sentence. If a group of words standing alone does not make sense, even though the group contains a subject and 42 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK a predicate, it is not a sentence. Where they remain to this day is not a sentence; it is but part of a sentence. It was a flounder is a complete sentence. So too is / Jelt a tug at my line and pulled up a big fish. To apply the rule accurately, one must know what a sentence is. He must be able to see where a sentence begins and where it ends. Rule. — The period is used after an abbreviation. This simple rule is illustrated in the following sentence: Mr. A. B. Clarke of Nashville^ Tenn., was present. 2 Write on the blackboard the first three rules for punctuation. 3 Criticize the punctuation of the following: 1 I know you will like the book, it is the most interesting I have read this year. 2. By the time the guests had arrived, you should have seen him. Covered with mud from head to foot. 3. The great game began promptly at three o'clock. The home team kicking off to their opponents. 4 The college catalogue will tell you all about it, why not send for one? 5. Til ton, our half-back, excelled in speed and in strength too. While Farrel, his opponent, excelled in nerve and judgment. 6. Mr. Snow is a tall man, but carries himself erect, he has gray hair and a ruddy countenance. 7. The pavement was very slippery and the streets were crowded. Autos coming and going. I thought there would surely be a crash, my fears were realized. 8. Please come, if you cannot, let me know by Tuesday. DRILL EXERCISES 43 9. At last a vote was taken. The result proving beyond question that Miles was the favorite. 10. Please excuse Martha from reciting today, because of illness she was unable to prepare her lessons. Rule. — The comma is used to separate the terms of a series. The series may consist of several nouns, subjects of the same verb, several verbs having the same subject, several modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, phrases, clauses) modifying the same word. That is, the terms must be in what is called parallel construction. When there are conjunctions be- tween the terms, commas are seldom necessary. If, how- ever, only the last two terms are joined by a conjunction, the comma is used regardless of the conjunction. Here are examples: Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday were pleasant. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were pleasant. It was large, smooth, round. He went down the road, through the pasture, and into the woods. Tell us when he did it, how he did it, and why he did it. Be careful, when punctuating a series of modifiers, not to place a comma between the last modifier and the noun it modifies. (Wrong) An old, shabbily dressed, forlorn looking, soldier went limping by. (Right) An old, shabbily dressed, forlorn looking soldier went limping by. Sometimes, however, the modifiers follow the noun. Then the last term must be set off. This is illustrated in the fol- lowing sentence: An old soldier, shabbily dressed, forlorn looking, went limp- ing by. '44 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Pick out the terms in each series and show that they are in parallel construction. Punctuate the sentences. 1. Punctuality is the politeness of kings the duty of gentle- men the necessity of business men. 2. Chrysanthemums require very rich soil must have sun and do best against a building or wall. 3. One wave smashed like an avalanche against the chart house, tearing away everything loose bending the steel sides of the deck house and breaking the glass of the lookout windows on the bridge. 4. Tom took a last look at the fire at the still woods at the lake glimmering down through the trees. 5. Their families their friends and their fellow citizens will be proud when they learn of their death. 6. Care should be observed in using a ladder for painting for putting up and removing awnings and shutters and for other work about the house. 7. The test was to tie four knots tell the history of the flag and give the Scout sign the Scout law and the Scout oath. 8. The pick stone-saw wedge chisel and other tools were already in use when the Pyramids were built. 9. North south east and west call for the capital letter when they are used to desig- nate sections of a country. 10. Lunch consisted of cold tongue bread and butter and raspberry tarts. COURSE II COMPOSITION True Narratives DRILL Word Games Spelling Words often confused Punctuation Quotation marks TRUE NARRATIVES Not every story is so fortunate as to gain long life through being printed and becoming literature. Many quite as en- tertaining as those found in the preceding Course simply pass about from mouth to mouth for a few months or for a few years and then are forgotten. Every family has a score or more of interesting stories which mother, father^ or uncle, or aunt, or grandparent tells concerning what hap- pened long ago. Here is an example. As Father TeUs It One of the stories my father tells is about a fine shot that he made with a pistol when he was a boy. He likes to tell it when he has been beaten at target-shooting. This is about the way it runs: "One day we boys on the farm got hold of an old 32 caliber pistol. We took it down into the lot back of the barn near the road and began shooting at targets to see who was the best shot. I had made some good shots and of course I felt quite big. A little while afterward some boys came along and began to say, 'Oh, you couldn't hit anything. You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.' 'I bet I can hit that little sapling,* I replied, pointing to a very small birch a few rods away. They all laughed and yelled, 'Prove it! Prove it!' "I cocked the pistol and slowly raised my arm until I had the bead on the slender stem of the birch. Instantly I pulled the trigger. When the smoke had drifted away, there stood the tree apparently untouched. How those boys did yell. 'You never hit it!' they cried. 'You go and see,' I replied, not for once supposing that I had hit it. They went to look, 47 48 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK and had hardly touched the sapling when it fell over. It had been shot right in two by the bullet. "Well, I told them that I guessed I wouldn't shoot any more." Such stories, it is true, are especially interesting to those who know the actors in them; yet you will agree that if all the stories told in twenty-five different homes could be brought together, they would form a collection far from dull. Something of this sort we can do, if all will enter heartily into the undertaking. EXERCISE 1 Come to class tomorrow prepared to tell a personal experience story that has been told to you by some member of your family. But first study the schoolboy composition that has been used as a model. Is the incident interesting? Is the language stiff and bookish, or the kind we employ in natural conversation? Do you like the brief introduction? Do you like the abrupt way in which the story ends? Is the nar- rative free from errors? Do you think you could improve it a little here and there? EXERCISE 2 It is strange if you have not heard, from some member of your family or from an acquaintance, more than one thrilling tale about the great World War, stories, possibly, in which the narrators were themselves actors. If no such tales have come to you in this way, no doubt you will recall a number that you have read in the newspapers or in the many books of personal experience WTitten by soldiers. Search your memory for such a tale. Review it in your mind and prepare to tell it — tell it well. Try to do rjour best to make the hour given to war stories one not soon to be forgotten. TRUE NARRATIVES EXERCISE 3 Write out the story called for in Exercise 1; or, better stilly write another story of the same kind. It will be well, while doing this task, to keep in mind a simple outline like the following: Time and place Circumstances leading up to the exciting moment The exciting moment A single sentence, or less, may be sufficient for the first topic, but the second may call for several; for unless every cir- cumstance is made clear, the readers may become confused, not seeing things distinctly but guessing at them, and some- times guessing wrong. The third topic, however, will re- quire most care of all; for at exciting moments a great deal happens, the senses receive many impressions all at once, and the emotions are ever changing. Follow the chrono- logical order if possible; that is, keep going forward, telling what happens in the order in which it happens. Perhaps as you narrate the incident a fourth topic will be necessary, but that is for you to decide. Do not forget about avoiding and; employ it only when it is necessary. Another little error, very common, is seen in the sentence This boy he threw a stone through the window- pane. The word he serves no useful purpose; it should be omitted. Here is one more hint. Slang looks worse than it sounds, so try to get along without it when you write. Yet do not be bookish. If you are bookish, some one may say, "It isn't a bit like him." That would be severe criticism. The simple, familiar words that we use every day, if they are wholesome, are quite good enough. One way to avoid bookishness is to imagine, as you write, that you are talking to a friend. 50 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 4 Among the best school compositions are those which tell of the writer's own experiences, particularly the happenings of childhood days. We all have done things which, as we look back on them, cause us to smile, even though at the time they seemed almost tragic, or at least of great im- portance. Even happenings of a later day, if they are first experiences, or if they stand out in memory as unusual, are often more interesting than much that the authors of story books invent. Here are two compositions which came directly from personal experience. Are they interesting? Which is the better? Do you notice, in the first composi- tion, how little time is wasted in getting the story started? Do you find in either composition a place here and there where the English might be improved? Does either com- position bring to mind a story that you could tell? Mr. Woodchuck I had often wondered what kind of animal lived in the hole on the side of the hill near the clearing; but I never knew till one day, as I was coming home from a morning's hunt with a rabbit in one hand and my gun in the other, I heard a noise in the brush near the hole. On looking up I saw a large wood- chuck eyeing me with as much interest as I was eyeing him. He was sitting on his haunches like a dog begging for a piece of meat. His position gave me a chance for a shot, but before I could raise my gun the woodchuck had popped into his burrow. I wondered what to do, because I wanted very much to get him; but I knew he was very cunning and I had no trap. At last, however, I thought of a plan which was at least feasible. I laid down the rabbit in a very conspicuous position in the middle of the road and then went and sat down a yard or so on the other side of the den, with my gun pointed where his head would pop up if he came out at all. I waited some time, and as I thought of the cunning of the old fellow I was going TRUE NARRATIVES 51 lo give up when a furry gray head appeared at the top of the hole. As I had hoped, he did not look behind him but down at the road where he had seen me last. Should I shoot or not? After a second's thought I decided to wait and watch. Down went the woodchuck's head, for he had seen the rabbit in the road; but it appeared again, and although he popped down several times, he at last crawled right out and got up on his haunches right in front of me, watching the rabbit with intense interest. All this time I sat behind him with a beating heart, so excited I could hardly think. At last I decided to shoot. Slowly I raised my gun. Would he hear the click of the hammer as I pulled it back? He did not. At last I got my aim. Bang ! ! went the gun. Mr. Woodchuck gave a blood-curdling squeal and rolled down into the road. He was on his feet in a second, however, and into his hole before I could stop him. I could hear him chattering with rage and fright, but I believe he was none the worse for the bullet which knocked him down the bank, for since that day as I have come down the road I have seen him disappear with unceremonious haste into his under- ground den. 1. At The Dentist»s When I was younger, about five or six years old, my one great dread was of the dentist. I would much rather bear the pain of a toothache, or if I had a baby-tooth loose, I would rather tie a string to it, the string to an open door, and then slam the door shut, than go to the dreaded dentist's. I re- member hoping that my teeth would not have to be attended to until I was at least twelve years old, for then I thought I should be so old I would be brave. But my hopes were in vain. At length I had to confess to my mother that I had a loose tooth, after having lived for two weeks in fear that some- time I might swallow it in my sleep. My grandmother took me to the dentist, who was my uncle, and how I screamed as I eat in the waitingroom. I remember grandmother tried to interest me in a china bulldog standing on the mantel, but it was of no use. Then my turn came. 52 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK My uncle came out and smiled, then took me into the other room and talked about everything except having teeth pulled. He gave me quicksilver to play with, and showed me a set of teeth that opened and shut mechanically, and then he slyly drew a pair of pinchers from a drawer. I screamed! My other uncle came in from the workroom and told me it wouldn't hurt. My grandmother coaxed me with promises of little dolls, candy, soda, anything. I screamed louder! My uncle put down his pinchers. "I'll be bound before I'll pull out her tooth and have her hate me all her life. Take her somewhere else!" He stalked from the room. His brother patted me on the shoulder. "Come," he said, **it won't hurt. Think of all the nice things you'll get and I'll add to them. There, that's it. There!" The tooth was out. It hadn't hurt a bit. And then with a beaming face I took grandmother's hand and trudged up town to make her fulfil her promises. Write an account of something that has actually happened to you, an experience called to mind by one of the compositions you have just read or by one of the following titles. Before be- ginning, read the paragraph which follows the list of titles. 1. My first day in school. 2. My first fish. 3. My first serious accident. 4. A long remembered punish- ment. 5. My first night in a tent. 6. My first business venture. 7. The time I ran away. 8. "When father took me along. 9. My first attempt at driving an automobile. 10. My first day behind the counter. 11. My first party. 1*2. Taking the cook's place for a whole day. 13. My first night away from home. 14. Terribly frightened. 15. Speaking my first "piece." 16. Lost. 17. My first fight. 18. An early shopping expedition. 19. The day I broke the window- pane. A little child, lost in the crowd, may not take more than a hundred steps before she is found by her mother. Com- pared with her emotions of fear and grief, the few steps form an insignificant part of the adventure. A home run TRUE NARRATIVES 53 as it appears to the crowd in the grandstand is not the vital thing to the player who makes it, but rather the emotions he experiences as he dashes from base to base. When not talking with others, we are silently talking to ourselves — thinking things over, we call it, or meditating, day dreaming, worrying, etc. Do not forget, when telling of some little experience of yours, to include your emotions, your secret "inside" conversation. EXERCISE 6 Tell orally, in a simple way, of a little comedy or tragedy in which you have played a part. Below is a list of titles that may help you to decide which of your many adventures to tell. 1. Forgot my ticket. 2. While mother was away. 3. That unprepared recitation. 4. Attempting to earn money by following the directions in an advertisement. 5. How I almost caught the fox. 6. Landing a big fish. 7. Forgot my piece. 8. An untimely rip. 9. When company came unexpectedly to tea. 10. Served me right. 11. Outwitted. 12. Reduced to twenty cents. 13. Ten minutes before the bell rang. 14. Didn't know it was loaded. 15. A case of mistaken identity. 16. More scared than hurt. 17. Befriending a stranger. 18. My inglorious Fourth. 19. A pleasant surprise. 20. A surprise party that failed. 21. Three minutes to play, and three yards to gain. 22. Almost a tragedy. 23. Locked out. 24. A clear case of truancy. 25. The tables turned. Remember that it is not at all disagreeable to be laughed at if you laugh too, joining in heartily, especially if it is you who start the laughter. So hold back nothing; tell the whole story. The whole story, of course, includes not only what you did, but your hidden emotions as well. On the other hand, do not exaggerate for the purpose of making some experience seem more comic or more tragic than it really was. Tell the truth. 54 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 6 Write a short composition similar to the one called for in Exercise 4, this time telling of what happened not to you but to some one else, perhaps a brother or a playmate. If possible, select an incident that you have witnessed. Although, as has been mentioned, we all carry on secret conversations with ourselves, concealing emotions, we are not always successful in hiding our feelings. The "faces'* we make, the little bodily actions of which we are uncon- scious, no less than the words we speak and the manner in which they are spoken, betray us, especially when off our guard. If you have read Dickens's Tale of Two Cities^ you will recall that Jerry Cruncher, on a certain occasion when he was confronted with guilt, "changed the leg on which he rested, as often as if he had fifty of those limbs, and were trying them all; he examined his fingernails with a very questionable closeness of attention; and whenever Mr. Lorry's eye caught his, he was taken with that peculiar kind of short cough requiring the hollow of a hand before it, which is seldom, if ever, known to be an infirmity attendant on perfect openness of character." You need not wait till you become a novelist before taking note of such telltale matters; they form a part of every good narrative. You mention them freely in your recess hour exchange of news and gossip. Do not exclude them when you write a school composition. EXERCISE 7 Write a composition entitled A Day of My Life. A schoolboy, asked to give an account of what he had done on the preceding Saturday, or on Sunday if Sunday had been more eventful, handed in the following composi- tion: "Last Saturday I was sick a-bed. Sunday I did the same." That was all, and, under the circumstances, quite enough. But, please, do not pick out a sick a-bed day. TRUE NARRATIVES 55 Take one of average interest. Let your record be a per- fectly plain one, not ** dressed up." The account should contain a httle more than you would naturally record in a diary, but nothing that every one takes for granted, like washing face and hands on getting up in the morning. Two hundred words ought to be suflficient, unless the day was "one long to be remembered." Which is the better expression, two boys and myself, or three of us boys? Is it polite to say / and my friend? Is it better to say another fellow and I or Tom Jones and I? It will be well to decide these matters before beginning to write. EXERCISE 8 It was hinted in the preceding exercise that matters every one takes for granted without being told should be omitted. They simply delay the narrative, which should keep moving on. Particularly is this true in accounts of trips, excursions, entertainments, and "good times" in general. And it is well to hurry over the less interesting details, such as the time-table arrangements — what car line you took, when you left home, at what hour you reached the picnic grove, etc. Usually the important part of a picnic narrative is the picnic itself, not the going and coming, though condi- tions can be imagined that would make the going or the coming overshadow in importance everything that takes place in the grove. But this is the point: When the really important part is reached, you can hardly overdo the matter of going into details. Little descriptive touches, little ex- planations, whatever helps the imagination to see things and enter into the fun, should be freely employed. Give orally a jive-minute account {not imaginary) suggested by one of the following titles: 1. A little journey. 2. A Saturday expedition. 3. My summer on a farm. 4. A fishing trip. 5. A trolley trip. 56 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK 6. After rabbits. 7. At the picnic. 8. A church entertain- ment. 9. A meeting of the society. 10. Getting up a show. 11. Exploring. 12. Clerking it. 13. Selling bonds. 14. A . championship game. 15. A night in camp. 16. A day in the woods. 17. A house party. 18. Clamming. 19. A rainy Saturday. 20. A day that was really worth while. EXERCISE 9 Here is a composition written after a fishing trip. How does it begin.? Not by telling that the possibility of making a trip was first talked over and that plans were finally settled upon; nor with an account of the journey to the pond, the engaging of a boat, and the long wait. It begins at the point where something of tremendous interest happens, a "strike.'* The trip may have lasted a day or a week. The only part really worth telling about was the ten minutes or so occupied by the combat between the boy and the fish. How does the composition end.'^ Not with an account of the journey home, not even with a detailed account of the boy's emo- tions, which can be easily imagined, but with a "silver flash" announcing that the contest is over, the game lost and won. A Contest with a Salmon Trout **B-R-R-R, hr-r-r, br-r-r;' sounded the reel. '' Br-r-r, br, br-r-r-r." I awoke from my half unconsciousness with a start. Dropping the oars, I grabbed my rod. I started reeling in, but I felt nothing. There was a second when I thought I had lost it, then, about a hundred yards back, I saw the gigantic form of a salmon trout come out of the water, shake itself, and fall back with a loud splash. Of course I was excited, for I then experienced the feeling which comes to every fisherman when he has a big fish on his line, the feeling which is so difficult to describe. My hands trembled. I began to reel in as fast as I could. Suddenly the line stopped with a jerk, and in spite of all I could do the TRUE NARRATIVES 57 reel began to turn backwards. When the line had gone out until twenty, fifteen, and at last but ten yards remained, I endeavored to snub it by putting my hand over the reel. As I did this, the reel, which had become looser every minute, fell from the rod to the bottom of the boat. Luck was in my favor, however, for the fish stopped its mad rush before the line was completely run out. I gathered up the reel and replaced it on the rod as quickly as possible, fearing that if I gave the fish too much slack it would break away. Another rush followed the first, but was in the opposite direction, coming toward the boat. As the trout came nearer, it went deeper into the lake, and as the water was not very deep at this point, I pulled on the line gradually and steadily. When I had succeeded in getting it near enough to see its immense body, it made a third attempt to gain liberty. My right hand ached with the strain which had been put upon it. Finally, after many more dashes, both long and short, the fish began to give in to what it knew to be the greater power. It pulled on my line like a dead weight, now and then making feeble yanks. After I had got it within a few yards of the boat, I dropped the rod and, taking the net, slowly attempted to dip it. The movement of the net frightened the trout into making a last final dash. In grabbing for the net I had dropped the rod, so that the handle of the reel was not free to move. As it was suddenly snubbed, the bait slipped from its mouth. However, the fish did not seem to realize that it had gained its liberty, but floated upward until within a foot of the surface and about a yard from the boat. I was fascinated by its size and beauty. It was about two feet long, its silver body dotted here and there with bright red spots. Evidently the fish was somewhat dazed, and nearly ex- hausted by the long struggle. Its gills moved lazily as if it were completely tired out. Could I allow this prize which was within three feet of me to escape? Could there not be a way for me to capture it.?^ I remembered how, a few days before, I had seen a large black bass successfully jigged. Could I not get this one with the 58 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK net? I took the net and lowered it, but before it touched the water there was a silver flash. The trout had won. Here is a second composition in which the action de- scribed is confined to a very few minutes. The writer's purpose was to crowd into a single paragraph an account of an exciting moment in a ball game. Is the composition a success? What in particular do you like? What, if any- thing, do you find to criticize? Could you do better? Safe! At that moment Pete knocked out what proved to be a three-bagger. Away towards right field shot the ball and Pete streaked off for first base. The north-end bleachers suddenly sprang into life; a surge of blue and white waved over the stand. The umpire raced with long strides to get a better view. *' Lefty," the un vanquished pitcher, eyed hi? catcher with a discouraged smile. On the players' bench appeared a mix-up of legs and arms as Pete's team-mates hugged each other and cheered him on. Far out in right field a red- stockinged player was making a two-four clip after the ball, while the cheerers for the red sat in strained silence. Pete slid into first base in a cloud of dust and, picking himself up, started his two hundred pounds towards second. Over the farthest corner of the fence tumbled the pursuing fielder. Up in the air arched the ball, and the center fielder in a flurry muffed it. Cheers from the north and groans and cries from the south! In shot the ball to second as Pete rounded that base for third. Straight after him came the ball while he ran as if chased by something much more dangerous than a mere sphere of leather. A cloud of dust enveloped third base; all waited for the umpire's decision. And then through the growing murmur rang the word "Safe!" Write a short compositioUy patterned after one of the two you have just read, to which you can give tlie title An Exciting Moment. TRUE NARRATIVES 59 Do not waste time in giving unnecessary explanation, but come quickly to the exciting part. Try hard, by slipping in a color or sound word here and there, to help the reader's imagination. Experiment with the short sentence, using it to indicate that much is happening quickly. Finally, the exciting moment having been described, close abruptly. EXERCISE 10 Select from an account you prepared in one of the earlier exercises in this Course a single incident occupying half an hour, fifteen minutes, ten, or five even, and cover it in detail. Let there be no introduction, no conclusion, hut just the inci- dent itself. If you prefer, you may tell an entirely new story, some little happening chosen from a ''red letter'^ occasion. Whichever you decide to do, narrow things down to the really exciting moment. Composition tasks in this Course and the preceding one come under the head of what is called Narration, the form of expression employed in giving an orderly report of action. A story is a narrative. An orderly account of what you did last Saturday would be a narrative. Any composition, long or short, presenting in an orderly manner the particulars of an event or a series of events, is a narrative. A narrative may include much that is purely explanatory. You not only tell, for example, that you pitched your tent in a certain place, but explain why you chose that spot rather than some other. A narrative commonly contains not a little that is pure description. You wish to tell not only that you pitched your tent, and why you pitched it where you did, but how it looked after the last peg was driven and the last rope made taut; so you give a word- picture of it, looking so white and so tiny against the back- ground of tall pines, with the little clearing in front leading 60 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK down to the lake. The narrative may contain even more; it may record emotions, as the feehng of pride and soHd satisfaction you experienced when the tent was finally ready for occupancy. A complete narrative, then, may be quite a complicated affair into which enter many elements. Here is a composition gathering up and restating the bits of advice given in connection with the preceding exercises. Putting Life into Narration 1. Skip. Skip the long introduction. A few words of explanation may be necessary at the outset, but waste no time. Take warning of Miltiades Peterkin Paul, who, setting out to jump across the brook, went so far back for a good long run, by way of getting a start, that he had to stop and rest before he reached the bank. Skip the little things which everybody takes for granted. They will never be missed. Skip the long con- clusion. When the narrative proper is ended, stop. You're through. 2. Pick. In nearly every narrative it is necessary. There is not time to include everything; you must pick, choose, weigh the impor- tance of things. Some items, though deserving mention, should be disposed of quickly. A chimney is but a chimney; it should not be made as big as all the rest of the house. Slip along, then; pick out the important things and get at them as quickly as possible. 3. Picture. From start to finish, but especially when dealing with the important parts of the narrative, be lavish with pictures. Help the imagination, through an abundance of details, to see. We had a lively time on the way back may call up in the mind of the one who makes the statement twenty things that made the return a lively one; but how little it helps anybody else! Picture through explanation. Picture emotions. The hidden or half re- vealed feelings are the most important part of most happenings. TRUE NARRATIVES 61 4. Be true. Get things right. Train the eyes and the other senses to be accurate. Train the memory to retain what the senses present. Keep your impressions fresh; do not let them fade away. Be sure that your words do not misrepresent; say what you mean. Be true in another way. Barring slang and the gram- matical errors which may creep into your speech in careless moments, employ the language of your every-day talk. Be your natural self. Note. Fox additional exercises in narration, see Course IX. DRILL t:XERCISES WORD GAMES There are many word games. One of the simplest is played as follows: A word is selected, let us say temperature. Ten minutes is given in which to form new terms from it, no letter to be used more times than it appears in the given word. Thus from temperature may be formed temper, at, tar, raty part, etc. Plurals and proper nouns are not to be used. Each word counts one. A word misspelled counts off four. A tvord having been selected, play the game. Then let each pupil arrange his list alphabetically and hand it to a class- mate for criticism. 2 Here is a speed contest. The instructor will select ten words. With dictionaries before you, find the words as quickly as pos- sible, as each is given out. Stand and give the first meaning of the word as soon as you have found it. SPELLING 1 This exercise calls attention to ten troublesome pairs. They are common pests. Possibly you have already mastered all but one or two of them. If so, master the one or two. threw through Surely you know the difference between these simple words. Is it purely by accident that you DRILL EXERCISES 63 sometimes write Jim through the hall to first base? Let there be no more such accidents. to too It is pure carelessness, is it not, that causes you to write, occasionally, to had instead of too had? Then stop being careless. An error is an error, no matter what causes it. woman women Look carefully at these familiar words. One is singular, the other plural, like man and Tuen. Do not ever again write A women's glove was found. cloths clothes The dry goods stores sell cloths of many kinds. The maid uses dish-cloths. We all wear clothes. their there Their is a possessive. The two words are cor- rectly used in this sentence : There were a few who left their friends over there. lead led Lead, the present tense form of the verb, rhymes with agreed; led rhymes with hed. They all agreed to let Tom lead. He straightway led them all to bed. forth fourth Fourth is a numeral. The colonel led forth his troops for the fourth time. The abbreviation etc. means and so forth. coarse course Coarse is the opposite of fine, of course. We enjoy a iour-course dinner; we visit the race-course. All pupils take an English course. loose lose Loose rhymes with goose; it means the opposite of fastened or secured. Lose rhymes with twos. The past tense of lose is lost. Notice that both lose and lost are spelled with one o. Possibly the following jingle will help you to remember; The old white goose, They say, is loose. By ones and twos Our geese we lose. 64 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK breath breathe Our breath comes and goes as we breathe. Writey as the teacher pronounces the words to which aUen- tion has been called, sentences in which they are correctly used. Here are nine more troublesome pairs. Are you sure that you have mastered them? seams seems Seams is a noun, seems a verb. The seams, it seems, were not securely sewed. bare bear Bare means uncovered. To bear is to carry. The polar bear bears a heavy coat. Let's go barefoot. grease Greece What a serious error to confuse animal fat and an ancient country! angel angle When placed side by side, these words are simple enough. Study the endings — gel, gle. Pronounce each twenty times. Write them. Master them! leave lief Lief is employed in such sentences as Fd just as lief. It means willingly. It is incorrect to say Fd just as leave go. It is correct to say Fd just as lief go, or Fd just as soon go. Leave is also confused with let. Leave him alone and Let him alone do not mean the same thing. What is the difference in meaning? almost already also always all most all ready all so all ways T^otice that each word in the top line begins not with all but with al. Study these sentences: AU most willingly contributed and almost emptied their purses. Are you all ready? The signal has already been given. They were all so insistent that Peter was allowed to go also. All ways of doing the example were always explained. Write, as the teacher pronounces the words to which attention has been called, sentences in which they are correctly used. DRILL EXERCISES 66 Write from dictation the following sentences: 1. Their commander had already led them forth when news came that pepce had been declared. 2. Are you all ready? Then please remember that the broth is always spoiled by too many cooks; and don't forget to grease the tins. 3. The angel almost smiled and said the woman's name was Caroline. 4. She lives in Athens, Greece. 5. It was also difficult to breathe; I thought I should surely lose my breath. 6. Tents, provisions, and so forth were abandoned; even then we barely escaped the bear. 7. He made his clothes from pieces of coarse cloth, and the seams were unusually wide, if the bare truth must be told. 8. I'd as lief not go if we must leave him behind. 9. What is the difference in meaning between Leave me alone and Let me alone? 10. Almost always we had cake also, and pickles too. PUNCTUATION Rule. — Double quotation marks are used to inclose a direct quotation. This is the general rule, related to which are a number of others which call for careful attention. 1. The words included within the marks must be the ex- a6^aA\WiicL tuiBLfeb . Ue^trr^ t*u/*Jc« it >K**At K,ou»« tetAt, ol UmJUL^vo- CI L*U«.>»^aAv teed. -Wi-fc U«. tL>«^U: U: uro^ a. StiEJb . yV\u Vuftt >«.«l4 ^n4>tArM. /6iv«.ft. **n^ tjJLni Ifijrd. UtAwTma Model 2 LETTERS 75 purpose of the Heading? In what order are the items of information given? There are but three things to be noted concerning the Salutation, the Une containing the name of the person ad- dressed. First, it is two or three spaces below the Heading. Second, it begins not at the edge of the sheet but at the margin preserved in the letter proper. Third, it is followed by a colon. The message of the letter does not concern us at present; but observe carefully that the first line of the Body of the letter, as it is called, begins under the colon which follows the Salutation, and that indentions show where new para- graphs begin, as in other compositions. Following the Body of the letter come the polite Leave-taking and the writer's Signature. What do you note concerning their position? What do you note concerning the punctuation and the use of capitals? EXERCISE 1 Without referring to the hooh^ tell everything you can about Harold's letter to Mr. Vanderbilt. That is, explain in detail what you have observed concerning the Superscription, the Re- turn Address, the Heading, the Salutation, the Body of the letter, the Leave-taking, and the Signature. Call attention to anything in Models 1 and 2 which you think is not as it should be. Model 3 shows a letter in which new features appear. Part of the Heading is printed, a common practice. The date, therefore, stands by itself. Note its position. A more striking feature is the Inside Address, as it is called, dupli- cating the address found on the envelope. It is commonly used except in letters and notes between close friends and between relatives. Note the oblique arrangement, the first fine beginning at the margin of the written page. That the letter is a little more formal than the one addressed to JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK 903 9IOOURNKY 8TKEET HARTFORD. CONN. 37 6dtt Lv.«>m/ "fLc y{/| A4£ OAjujk/ to ■flxA. iiL, of "Uu. >vM>u/vt.tcuA«- , oJ^otA^ "tUna "KvLU^ ; (UmJL tluAV, IvviUL^ iLcn«.. unit Cery*\JL'ic Cl. )pU.cX UJKtA*. Ukjl. /vaixA, /)ma»-6 Ha. umJl I Ia^. Uicu/*v ^i^QldT lAw cu -k-clLC u^ -fLc UlloW ^ OA*. e(4 a),|j£t."ttu. wL'ciw. •StiLAJU >u«ui, "iM. lotncu.. IjouA^ VLrtu UuLi «S)caUn^ 3uLtro6t 3 Model 3 LETTERS 77 Mr. Vanderbilt is suggested by the less intimate Salutation. Following the writer's signature is his official title. Note its position. EXERCISE 2 Draw on the blackboard a rectangle to represent a letter- sheet; then picture by means of straight lines the correct posi- tion of the parts of a letter like Harold's to Mr, Allen. Draw also a rectangle to represent an envelope, and picture by means of lines the position of the Superscription and the Return Address, Explain both diagrams to the class and meet whatever criti- cism may be offered. The three models examined thus far make plain nearly all that one needs to know about the formalities of correspon- dence, yet it will be neccessary to study each letter-part a little more closely, taking note of permissible variations and considering with care the problems which trouble inex- perienced letter writers. The Superscription. Model 4 shows a number of ad- dressed envelopes, each illustrating something new. No ex- planation is necessary; a glance shows why the model given on an earlier page has not been followed. Perhaps you have seen envelopes addressed in still other ways. The one thing to be kept in mind is that the message on the en- velope should tell all that the postal clerk and the letter carrier need to know. The Heading. In a simple note, as to a neighbor, the street and town address might not be necessary. The date should never be omitted. The Salutation. It is sometimes puzzling to know what salutation is best in a given case. The salutations given at the top of page 79 are commonly found in letters so inti- mate that the Inside Address is not used. 78 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK 5-if T7uA«.t«.ll St. Thc VAA\Aff»». (B*&t>/>^ (« CoAA e| £cL>rBL>ul. r3. Sowfa. (ie>*aAal^«^ ■R.T.'&.it Model 4 LETTERS 79 Dear Mother: My dear Mr. Collins: Dear Uncle Tom: My dear Miss Collins: Dear cousin George: My dear Mrs. Reynolds: Dear Mary : Dear Dr. McKee : Dear Mr. Collins : Dear Professor Fiske : Strangely enough, Dear is considered a more intimate salu- tation than My dear. Except when it comes first, dear does not begin with a capital letter. Uncle, aunty father, mother, and titles of respect do begin with a capital. It is better not to abbreviate a title, with the exception of Mr., Mrs., and Dr. Never write Dear Prof., nor Dear Professor, but Dear Professor Blank. Here are salutations used with the Inside Address. They are less intimate in character. Mrs. William H. Taylor Mrs. WilHam H. Taylor 1053 Collins St. 1053 Collins St. Denver, Col. Denver, Col. My dear Mrs. Taylor: Dear Madam: Miss Mary L. Taylor Miss Mary L. Taylor 1053 ColUns St. 1053 Collins St. Denver, Col. Denver, Col. My dear Miss Taylor: Dear Madam: Dear Sir and Dear Madam are more formal than Dear Mr. Blank and My dear Mrs. Blank. Notice that Madam may be used even when the letter is addressed to an unmarried woman, especially if the one addressed is a stranger; but My dear Miss Blank is much more commonly employed. EXERCISE 3 Answer the following questions: 1. How would you address an envelope to your brother or some other member of the family if he were staying with friends in a large city? 2. An office building sometimes houses many different concerns. How would you address an envelope to an 80 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK employee of a firm having an oflfice in such a building? 3. Sup- pose you were planning to stop over in Chicago a few days while on your way to the Coast and did not know at what hotel you would stay. What directions could you give your brother in regard to where to send your mail while you were in Chicago? 4. What is the meaning of R. F. D. 23? 5. What part of the Heading should never be omitted? 6. Can you think of any advantage there may be in placing the address of the writer and the date at the close of a letter instead of at the beginning? 7. When you write, do you prefer a two-line Heading, or a three- line? W^hy? 8. When should the Inside Address be used? 9. How does its arrangement differ, if at all, from that of the Superscription? 10. Have you ever seen a letter in which the Inside Address came at the close, below the Signature and to the left of it? 11. What Salutations are correct in a letter addressed to a married woman whom you do not know intimately? What Salutations are used in letters to unmarried women? 12. What rules for the use of punctuation and capitals apply to the Salutation? The Body of the Letter. For the present, one point only will be emphasized. For many young writers the difficult parts of a letter are the beginning and the concluding sen- tences. Why not omit them altogether? It is much better to do so than to employ sentences that are merely polite — sentences that are used so commonly that they make little impression. The old way of going gracefully from the letter proper to the Leave-taking by means of a worn "stock'* phrase is losing favor. (The old way) Hoping that I may hear from you soon, I remain Yours very truly, Arthur B. Cole (A better way) I hope to hear from you soon. Yours very truly, Arthur B. CoJe LETTERS 81 Leave-taking. The commonest form, correct under nearly every circumstance, is Yours truly; but many others are employed. Here are the more usual ones. Note that the first word only begins with a capital. Truly yours Sincerely yours Gratefully yours Very truly yours Affectionately yours Respectfully yours The last of these is appropriate for a young person to em- ploy in a somewhat formal letter to an older person, or for any one to employ in a letter to a person of higher dignity, for example a mayor or a judge. The Signature. If a stranger signs her letter Mary A. Clarke, it is often impossible to tell, in replying, whether she should be addressed as Miss Clarke or Mrs, Clarke. Here are ways in which the confusion may be avoided : Very truly yours, (Miss) Mary A. Clarke Very truly yours, (Mrs.) Mary A. Clarke Yours very truly, Please address Mary Alton Clarke Mrs. John K. Clarke Model 5 82 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK The Letter-picture. This is a term which may be applied to the general appearance of a letter. An uneven margin at the left, lines crowding to the right edge and i)erhaps curving up at the end to make room for one more word, lines that are not even approximately parallel, afterthought lines written in the margin, words crossed out, blots, scrawl- ing penmanship, and flourishes are among the things which make the picture untidy and suggest lack of breeding. Here are still other matters to keep in mind : 1. When the letter-sheet is very small, the preliminaries — Heading, Inside Address, Salutation — may monopolize nearly all of the first page. That makes a poor picture. One remedy is to put the Inside Address at the close as in model 6. This is a fashion that is growing in favor even where stationery of liberal size is used. Another diflSculty arises when the Salutation extends nearly across the page. If the first line of the letter proper begins under the colon following the Salutation, the appearance may not be good. In such a case the indention of the first paragraph of the letter may be made to conform with that of the other paragraphs. Yours very truly, (Miss) Mary L. Peters Mr. Charles D. Evans 13 Chocolate Lane Madison, Wisconsin Model 6 2. Do you sometimes find, when writing a letter, that there is not quite room enough for all that you wish to say? What do you do — crowd the lines at the bottom of the page, or place the Leave-taking and the Signature at the top of LETTERS 83 the next sheet? Neither makes a good picture. The best way is to rewrite the letter, this time preserving a wider margin. If this is hkely to prove insufficient, begin the letter a Httle lower down. 3. Suppose your letter is quite brief, a mere note calling for less than half a page. Do you Uke to see the lower half of the sheet blank .^ It is an excellent plan to have two sizes of letter-paper, one for notes and the other for regular cor- respondence. If the larger size must be used, try ** center- ing." That is, place the Heading a little lower down and shorten the lines by preserving wider margins. 4. Have you ever received a letter which jumped from the first page to the fourth, then slipped back to page two with the lines now running the long way of the page? Do you like this find-me-if-you-can way of skipping about? It is far better to fill the pages in one-two-three-four sequence, the lines running across the sheet as in a printed book. 5. A good letter-picture calls for a clean pen, good ink (black or blue-black), a blotter, and good stationery. White paper, unruled, with envelope to match, is always in good taste. Courtesy to those who are to receive your letters should prompt you to use as good a quality of paper as you can afford. Styles change from year to year; the stationer tempts with new shapes, sizes, and tints. Avoid the ex- tremes as you avoid extremes in dress. EXERCISE 4 Answer the folloioing questions: 1. Where should the first line of the Body of the letter begin? 2. What are the most common forms of Leave-taking? 3. Which one is appropriate for a young person to use when writing to an older person, especially a person of higher dignity? 4. How should women sign their letters? 5. What dij95culty do you have in giving a good appearance to (a) the addressed envelope, (6) the 84 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Heading, (c) the Inside Address, (d) the Leave-taking? 6. What advice can you give concerning what to do (a) if the length of the letter is such that the Leave-taking and the Signature come at the top of a page; (6) if the letter is so brief that it fills less than half a sheet; (c) if the letter-sheet is so small that the preliminary parts of the letter fill nearly a page? Thus far attention has been directed mainly to the for- malities of letter writing, such as the arrangement and the wording of the Heading and the Salutation and the correct use of punctuation marks and capitals. From this point on, the message that the letter contains, which after all is the essential thing, will command chief attention, though formalities must still be kept in mind. Each exercise asks you to study a typical letter and then write one. EXERCISE 5 My dear Miss Pratt: Please excuse John's absence yesterday. Owing to sickness in the family, it became necessary for him to remain at home. Yours very truly, Mrs. Charles Ward October 15, 1919 Which would be better for a note of this kind, a card or a letter-sheet? How else might Mrs. Ward have signed her name? Would it have been better had she given her home address? Is the date necessary? Whichy if anyy of tJie following do you like? Give reasons. 1. Please excuse Jane's absence owing to sickness. 2. Please excuse Jane as she was sick and oblige Yours truly, Mrs. Brown. 3. Jane being ill was the cause of her absence. Please excuse her. 4. Please excuse Jane's tardiness owing to the car was late, 5. John has been sick for the passed two days. There- fore could not attend school. 6. Would you please excuse John LETTERS 85 for being absent on Mon. Nov. 3, 1919. 7. Kindly excuse John Hov. 3 he had a sick headache. 8. Kindly excuse John for being absent Monday which was due to illness and oblige. 9. Please excuse my son, Samuel from being absent Thursday. Write one of the following and submit it for class criticism, 1. A note to a teacher explaining why you have not prepared a certain lesson and asking to be excused from reciting. 2. A note from a boy to his employer explaining why he will be unable to report for work on Monday morning. 3. A note to a teacher explaining that you are ill and asking for the lesson assignments for the past week. EXERCISE 6 The Burbank Literary Club meets in Room 9 on Friday, December 10, at four. This will be an open meeting. All Seniors and Juniors are invited to attend. The program follows. Piano selection Eleanor Russell Talk on letter writing Beatrice Lyman Songs Derfla Stone Some famous letters Genevieve Lane Songs Girls' Glee Club Mary Towne, Secretary What criticism can you make of the blackboard notices which appear in your school? Why should such notices be brief? Why should they be dated? Write one of the following: 1. A blackboard announcement of a club meeting, concert, or game to which the public are invited. 2. Copy for a printed 86 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK invitation to a school aflPair, or for a printed ticket of admis- sion. 3. A notice, to be posted in a country post-office, announcing a picnic or an entertainment. 4. A notice for a church calendar, calling attention to a meeting of some club or society. 5. A blackboard notice giving a general invitation to join a school club. 6. A blackboard notice calling for sup- port for the school paper. 7. A notice announcing the results of a club election. 8. A notice designed to get everybody to attend an important game. EXERCISE 7 84 Evergreen Avenue Middletown, N. Y. April 6, 1919 Secretary of Williams College Williamstown, Mass. Dear Sir: Kindly send me a copy of the College cata- logue and whatever other printed matter you may have for general distribution that would be of interest to a candidate for admission. Yours very truly, Samuel C. Hartley Where else in the letter might the Inside Address have been placed.^ What advice can you give regarding how to make so brief a note look right on the letter-sheet? Would the letter be improved if it closed with Thanking you in advance, I remain, etc.? Is it necessary to send a note of thanks upon receipt of a catalogue? Why should a letter like the above be brief? Write one of the following: 1. A postcard note requesting a postmaster to forward your mail, till further notice, to a certain address. * 2. A letter to a school principal asking for the course of study and for in- formation concerning admission requirements. LETTERS 87 EXERCISE 8 Centertown High School April 9, 1919 Manager of Baseball Nine High School, Chester Dear Sir: Centertown High would like to arrange for a game with your school. Our schedule is full except for two dates, June 16 and 23. Owing to school regula- tions, we cannot play out of town except on the second of these dates. Wesley Field can be secured for June 16. In case you should come to Centertown, the gate receipts, less the amount spent in necessary expenses, would be equally divided. We should expect the same arrangements if we played in Chester. An early reply will be greatly appreciated. Yours truly, Earl B. Rood Manager Why does Sir, in the Salutation, begin with a capital.^ Should the words high school always begin with capitals.'* Should you like the letter better if it closed with An early reply will oblige Yours truly y etc.? What criticism, favorable or unfavorable, can you make of the letter? Write one of the following: 1. A reply to Earl Rood's letter. 2. A letter in which you propose a joint meeting of two clubs. You are to imagine that you are secretary of one of the clubs. 3. A letter to the owner of a field, or to the park commissioners, asking for the use of grounds for a game to be played next Saturday morning. 4. A letter to your parents asking permission to accept an invitation to spend the week-end at the home of a friend. 88 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 9 Deerford High School March 9, 1919 Dear Mr. BuUard: The annual contest between the boys' debating clubs comes Friday evening, March 15, at eight o'clock. The members of the two teams have expressed, unanimously, the desire that you serve as one of the judges. If you find it possible to accept this invitation, a car will call for you at a quarter to eight on the evening of the debate. Yours very truly, Edgar F. Blake President of Hopkins Club John K. Bullard, Esq. 87 Newfound Avenue Where else might the Inside Address have been placed? What does the title Esq. indicate.'^ Would it be correct to write Mr. John K. Bullardy Esq.? Why was it best for Edgar to give his official title? Would Respectfully yours have been a more appropriate Leave-taking? Write one of the following: 1. A note from Judge Bullard accepting or declining the invitation. 2. A blackboard notice of the debate. 3. A note to a friend inviting him to attend the debate or some other school affair. 4. A note to a teacher inviting her to accompany a group of young people to a play. EXERCISE 10 Dear Mr. Williams: This will introduce to you Edward Parsons, a classmate of mine in Derby High School. His family is moving to Cleveland and it is probable that he will attend University School, which • means that soon he may be reciting to you in history. LETTERS 89 Whether or not this good fortune comes to him, I am sure that you will enjoy meeting him and that he will value your friendship. Yours truly, Henry F. Soule Oldaeres April 10, 1919 Should a letter of introduction be sealed? Why is it custo- mary to write on the envelope containing the introduction the words Introducing Mr. ? Why should such a letter be brief and contain nothing but the introduction? Why did Henry omit a part of the Heading? Write a letter similar to the abovCy for some one who is plait" ning to spend a vacation in a town where you have friends. Write a letter to a friend living in a distant town, telling him about a schoolmate of yours who is planning to move to that town. That is, write such a letter as Henry Soule may have written to Mr. Williams soon after giving a letter of introduc- tion to Edward Parsons. EXERCISE 11 59 Medway Road September 2, 1919 Dear Ellen: Next Saturday all the Joneses, includ- ing Rags and Towser, are to make a grand excursion to Congamong Lake. If you don't mind sitting four to a seat, we will call for you at nine. Don't put up lunch. Hannah has entire charge of meats and drinks and will tolerate no interference. But you will need warm wraps, for we may not be back before bedtime. Such an important note as this, Ellen, demands an answer by return post. Sincerely, Margaret Jones 90 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Why is part of the Heading omitted? Why is {Miss) omitted from the signature? Why should such an invitation be an- swered promptly? Write one of the following: 1. An invitation from one boy to another, or from one girl to another, to do something interesting — take a Saturday *'hike," go sailing, attend a concert, join a house-party. 2. A letter from Ellen to Margaret, accepting or declining her in- vitation. 3. An invitation from a boy or a girl to an older person. EXERCISE 12 Home August 2 Dear Bob: • Here are a few directions about the journey you are to make. Most of them you may not need, but since it will be your first journey alone, perhaps you will not mind my going into particulars. Send your luggage home by express, "collect," which means that the charges will be paid at this end. You won't mind that, I'm sure, nor the inclosed tags, all beautifully addressed, to tie securely to handles. Purchase a ticket not for home but for Boston. The train you are planning to take goes through with- out change at Portland and reaches Boston at 4:35. I hope to meet you at the North Station ; but business may keep me at home, or I may have two punctures and a blowout, which might interfere with my being on hand. In case I do not appear, take the Elevated (reached by wide staircase without your leaving the station) for South Station, buy another ticket, and proceed home on the 5:55 express via Willimantic. Here is just one more point. Your train may be late. You might not reach Boston in time to catch the express. Then what? Why, it's perfectly simple. You LETTERS 91 take a taxi for the Bellevue and put up for the night. I'll find you there; or, if I should not appear, you can take a morning train. In case you do fail to make connections, be a good boy and send Mother a telegram so that she won't be worrying about a lost son. If any other emergency arises, meet it. You're fourteen. Policemen are mighty fine people, when you are in a fix. There's a Y. M. C. A. in every city, aching to help you; it's their business. Then there's a telegraph station, and there's the long distance 'phone. If you get stranded, send word home and probably some member of the family will think it worth while to go after you, for you will be useful next winter in cleaning the sidewalks and doing other odd jobs. Please give my regards to the Barstows and tell them again how much we appreciate their kindness in keeping you for an extra two weeks after the rest of us had to return home. Yours truly. Brother Tom Robert Peterkin, Esq. New Harbor, Me. Is this a good letter? Are the directions clear .^ Do you approve of the Heading.'^ Did Tom give his brother's address at the close of the letter in a spirit of fun, or for a special reason? Write one of the following: 1. A letter to a friend who is coming to town, giving di- rections for finding your home, or a field where a game is to be played, or whatever other place you please. 2. A letter to a person who is to spend the summer in a town where you have spent a vacation, giving whatever suggestions you may think desirable. 3. A postcard note from Bob acknowledg- ing receipt of his brother's letter. 4. A telegram from Bob announcing that he is staying for the night at the Bellevue. (Before performing this task, get a telegraph blank and study the printed directions.) JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 13 Nara, Japan November 30, 1917 Dear Folks at Home: A few nights ago when in Osaka, a big city down by the Inland Sea, I took a walk which you may like to hear about. It was through a business section, yet the streets, which were without sidewalks, were so narrow that two auto- mobiles could not pass without one crawling under the other. Finally I saw ahead many lanterns, large red ones, in front of the little shops, and hastened on to see what might be the fun. It seems a temple had recently undergone repairs, and while the workmen were busy, the gods (idols) had been removed to another place. Now that all was spic and span again, the gods had been brought back, and the neighborhood was holding a festival. The temple was brilliantly lighted with beautiful lanterns. Priests in white and gold were sitting on a sort of side porch, and at intervals a girl, about your age, Ethel, danced slowly while a priest beat a drum. Thousands came to worship. That is, each ap- proached the temple, bowed, clapped his hands two or three times, whispered a few words of prayer, then tossed a coin into a big contribution box which had slats across the top. In the temple yard were many little stands where all sorts of trinkets were for sale — balloons, dolls, toys, cakes, candies, and I can't re- member what else. There were ever so many boys and girls about, and scores of babies strapped to their mothers' backs by means of broad sashes. I bought a doll for eight cents and gave it to a little mite about your age, Mildred, who had been looking wistfully at it for a long time but did not have enough money by sixteen sen (eight cents) to become its mother. LETTERS 93 Around the temple yard (it was about the size of a city school yard) were stone posts about six feet high, with cavities near the top for lanterns; and all the little shops for half a mile in every direction were gay with red lanterns. Shops, you know, are little stores each about the size of our diningroom, where everything under the sun is sold. They have no front windows but are open to the street. Hour after hour the happy crowds, not at all noisy as they might be in America, passed up and down, buying things, praying, then buying more things or simply drifting along, the scraping of their clogs making a refrain very different from the roar of our city streets. In my next letter, Mildred, I mean to tell you about a theater in Osaka where all the actors and actresses are dolls, perhaps four feet high, wearing lovely clothes, each doll held by an attendant in black whom you are not supposed to look at, who makes the doll's hands and head move as if it were alive, while a singer chants the story which the dolls act out. Thank you, Donald, for your newsy letters. I thought of you and your love for astronomy, recently, when I turned out at four in the morning to take a steamer down the Inland Sea. The stars were very bright and remained so until nearly six, when they faded and left a pale moon — like a monarch deserted by all his hosts. Love to everybody in the house, and best regards to all the neighbors. Uncle Tom Does this letter begin too abruptly to suit you.f^ Is it con- versational in tone? What is the secret of a good travel letter .?* Do you happen to have at home a travel letter that you would be willing to read to the class.'* Is the postage for a letter going to a foreign country the same as for other letters .f* Why are letters received from foreign countries so often written on very thin paper.'* 94 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Write one of the Jollowing: 1. A home letter, full of news, to a friend who, you may imagine, is traveling in France. 2. A letter full of school news to a schoolmate who is recovering from severe illness. 3. A letter to a cousin telling of a recent good time. 4. A steamer letter; that is, one to be read on board ship. EXERCISE 14 Cvt paper to represent envelopes^ or mark ovt rectangles to represent them. Address one for each letter in this chapter and submit them for class criticism. Take great pains not only to make the address correct in form but to give the envelope a neat appearance. That is, be careful that lines are parallel and the items so placed that the '^picture'' is attractive, EXERCISE 15 Inventing appropriate names, address an envelope to each of the following. Instead of a real envelope a rectangle of paper may be substituted. A clergyman in Indianapolis; the principal of a city high school; a friend who is visiting relatives in Seattle; the editor of a newspaper; a gentleman staying at a New York hotel; a friend passing through Baltimore, who is to call at the general delivery window at the post-office for his mail; a lady visiting Mrs. J. G. Holland, who occupies apartment 14 of the Wood- stock, 30 Pershing St., San Francisco. EXERCISE 16 Write one or more letters, as your instructor may ddcrminCy selecting from the following: 1. To a teacher, asking to be excused from a recitation. 2. To a friend, informing him that he has been elected a mem- LETTERS 95 ber of a club, the nature of which you explain. 3. To the secretary of the club mentioned in 2, declining or accepting membership. 4. To a friend, congratulating him on a re- cently won victory. 5. To a friend of your own age, inviting him (or her) to take lunch with you. 6. To the publishers of the Literary Digest (Funk & Wagnalls, New York) asking them to send you the magazine for a year. The price is four dollars. How will you send the money? EXERCISE 17 Perform one of the following tasks. Write naturally, keep- ing in mind the purpose of your letter. 1. Write a letter to a friend, describing a journey you have taken recently, or a good time of some sort. A real friend, in this task, will be preferable to one imagined, a real chain of happenings preferable to anything " make believe." 2. Write a letter to your parents, who are away from home. 3. Charles Glegg of 13 Wallace Terrace, Edinburgh, is a friend of yours. The school he attends has no gym- nasium; he would like a description of yours. Write to him. (For gymnasium you may substitute some- thing else having to do with school. If you are a girl, you may write to Jean Glegg, who is sister to Charles.) 4. If you are a girl, write to a friend, real or imagined, de- scribing certain, costumes you have admired recently. 5. A child has been made a cripple for life by an accident. Your school is sending him a wheel-chair. Write the letter which is to go with the gift. EXERCISE 18 Com£ to class prepared to write, from the instructor's dicta- tion, three or four letters. Make neat copies of these letters and hand them to the instructor the day following. 96 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 19 What replies would you make to the follovnngf 1. "It isn't necessary for me to learn to write letters; I mean to have a stenographer to attend to my corre- spondence.'* 2. **Who cares how a letter is punctuated or how the parts are arranged? What the letter says is the whole thing." 3. ** Letter writing isn't in my line. I never could write a decent letter and I never shall be able to.'* 4. "Some of the best letters I've ever received have been hastily scrawled affairs, more blots than punctuation marks." 5. "Many a business man has made his fortune without being able to write more than his name.** 6. " Some of the stupidest letters I have ever received have been perfect in form." 7. "It's all nonsense to say that a man's character is re- vealed by the kind of letter he writes, and that he is judged by his letters as he is judged by his personal appearance and by his speech in daily conversation.'* Note: For additional exercises in letter writting, see Course VI. DRILL EXERCISES WORD DERIVATION Have you ever, while eating a sandwich, paused in the middle of a bite to wonder where the agreeable combination of meat and bread got its name? Nothing about it suggests sand or witches. Scholars tell us that it bears the name of a certain English earl who, long ago, brought this form of hasty luncheon into aristocratic favor. There is an interest- ing story concerning it. Where did the word dunce come from? We trace it back to a man's name. The man is forgotten; the name lives on. A century hence people may be wondering how the word ford, applied to a certain type of automobile, originated. Many new things bear the names of people. Fuchsia, dahlia^ and wistaria are not the only flowers bearing the names of botanists. Macadam was invented by a Mr. Macadam. Things are named also after places. It is easy to guess that spaniels were first so called because they came from Spain. Copper came from Cyprus, currants from Corinth, sardines from Sardinia. The words in the following list have nothing to do with persons or places. How did they originate? Can you not add to the list? mew hiss bang snarl grunt click howl chuckle chirp whiz chickadee twitter chatter zip snore 97 crackle 98 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK It is estimated that nearly one-third of our language is, directly or indirectly, of Latin origin. That is, we have taken words once spoken by the Romans and made them over. But words have been borrowed not only from the Romans; they have been adopted from every part of the world. Perhaps you can guess where some of the following came from. A good dictionary will tell you about the rest. It may take five or ten minutes to learn the meaning of the letters and symbols employed in the dictionary in giving such information. Don't grudge the time. It pays well to learn how to use a dictionary. wigwam chauffeur telephone crag tea kimono postscript molasses sabbath soprano adieu macaroni czar yacht mosquito sombrero 3 Rufus originally meant red. What does your birth name mean? Perhaps the dictionary will tell you. Here are other names which may interest you. Margaret Harold Alfred Theodore Dorothea Blanche Clara Flora Ethel Winifred Gertrude Peter Elizabeth Henry Francis Phyllis Sometimes a word, in addition to conveying a meaning, suggests a story. Babely for example, not only expresses the idea of tumult or confusion, but brings to mind the Bible story of the building of the tower of Babel. When the word atlas is mentioned, we think first of a large book full of maps; but if we are familiar with Greek myths, we may think also of the giant who groaned under the burden of holding up DRILL EXERCISES 99 the world on his shoulders. Volcano suggests the forge of the blacksmith god Vulcan; viorphine brings to mind Mor- pheus, god of sleep; and the tragic story of Tantalus is brought back by tantalize. Other words, when their origin is known, suggest pictures, if the imagination is at all active. Smuggle is traced to a word meaning to creep. Squirrel probably comes from two old words meaning shadow and tail. Can you not see the picture? Anguish is from the Latin ango, to choke; torment is from the Latin torqueo, to twist. Debate really means to strike down. The original meanings of other words cause us to smile. It seems that a nasturtium is a nose-twister, an amateur is a lover, a butler one who looks after bottles, an acrobat one who walks on tiptoe. To indent a paragraph is to take a bite out of it. To fret is to eat. Parrot means little Peter, and tassel seems to be derived from ankle-bone. Pos- sibly the far-away source of ivheedle is a Greek verb meaning to wag the tail! The derivations of still other words reveal their essential meaning. A climax is a ladder. An anchor is a hook. A periscope is an instrument for looking around. Centipede means a hundred feet. It may be that the dictionary which you are accustomed to use does not trace words to their source, but probably there is one in the schoolroom that does. You may have difficulty at first in understanding the dictionary's way of explaining derivations; yet it is well, teacher and pupils working together, to examine a few words. It will help to interest you in language, and through such interest will grow a desire to treat words with greater respect. Look up the derivation of the following words: umbrella circus accumulate lunatic Bible style manicure telegraph cranberry silly dandelion error 100 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK smear coffin salary thimble cunmng unanimous crystal senate Look up the derivation of the following: neighbor autograph courage athlete pastor minister mayor manufacture submarine alphabet colossal handkerchief bicycle agriculture automobile cauliflower cyclometer millinery alderman dexterity PRONUNCIATION Y-e-s spells yes, not yep nor ayup nor ayuh. N-o spells wo, not nope nor naw. There is a difference in meaning be- tween don't you and dont chew. W-h-a-t d-i-d y-o-u s-a-y? is not pronounced Huh? Does it matter? Everybody says nope and ayuh and huh. No, not everybody; and there are times and occasions when few of us employ such expressions intentionally. If they do slip out at unguarded moments, we are ashamed, just as we are when a yawn overtakes us. We are well aware that faulty pronunciation is a sign of ill breeding. Many common mispronunciations are due solely to care- lessness, but many arise from ignorance. They are like rips in a garment, or spots, which the wearer of the garment does not perceive because they are where he cannot see them. Even if no one noticed our slips, to mistreat a word would be bad manners just the same. Remember that the English language is our language. Respect it! Have a pride! Learn to employ it as well-bred men and women do. Watch your speech. Good evenin'. Bill. Where you workin*?" I'm doin' nothin' at present, Tom; just livin'." DRILL EXERCISES >01 You have heard people talk this way, clippin' every final g. Usually such people also say kep for kept and pronounce strict as if it were spelled strick. Practice saying the following. DonH let final g and t escape you. going doing learning pudding something nothing everything anything speaking asking running amusing evening including leaving waiting fact strict direct perfect connect extract expect kept except tract attract select 2 A consonant occurring elsewhere than at the end of a word is sometimes slighted. Recognize, in careless speech, becomes reconize. Sometimes an entire syllable is clipped. For usually, we say usally. Practice pronouncing the following: quarter partridge Arctic recognition orphan government adjoining chestnut February library surprise eleven mystery history perhaps regular governor usually poem enthusiasm delivery actually calculate reasonable machinery superintendent majestically several particular miserable personal national interest general barrel really memory laboratory accidentally different reverend quarrel aerial aeroplane military natural vowel jewel Here is a nonsense paragraph containing fifty or more words which, in careless speech, might be mispronounced. Try it. 162- JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK At a quarter of eleven, several military gentlemen direct from the laboratory, where the superintendent and the governor had accidentally met them, imparted an air of mystery by entering the adjacent library where they looked up the meaning of par- tridge and Arctic pudding. This was of particular interest, perhaps, to the honest general delivery clerk who happened to be g(nng by reciting from memory a poem about an orphan who accidentally fell into a barrel while seeking a jewel, and was rendered miserable. Really, it was something majestically different. National history was made on that memorable Febru- ary evening of many surprises. Yet the clock kept ticking as usual, all its machinery being in perfect running order. But this narrative grows unusually tiresome for several reasons. My enthusiasm actually wanes. You may summon my aeroplane. I must be going. Good evening. 4 Ath el et ics, sawr, and drown ded are common mispronunci- ations of ath let ics, saw, and drowned. Occasionally a silent letter is sounded. Often should be pronounced ofn, and herb should be pronounced erb. Study the following: ath lete (not ath el etc) um brel la (not um ber el la) a cross (not a crost) hin drance (not hin der ance) saw (not sawr) col umn (not col yum) Wales (not Whales) spasm (spaz'm, not spaz um) moun tain (not ma oun tain) law (not lawr) chasm (kaz'm, not kaz um) per se vere (not per ser vere) salmon (sam un, not sal mon) now (not na ow) house (not haouse) sword (sord, not sword) used (not ust) listen (hs'n, not lissun) SPELLING In spelling niece, relieve, and other words in which the diphthongs ei and ie have the sound of long e, perhaps you are sometimes in doubt which of the two letters making up DRILL EXERCISES 103 the diphthong should come first. When in doubt, note what consonant comes immediately before the diphthong; then apply this rule: If the letter c you spy. Place the e before the i. If you do not spy a c. Place the i before the e. But either, neither, leisure, seize Are four exceptions, if you please. Even if you do not remember more than the first two lines of this jingle, it may help in time of need. Here are the principal words to which the rule applies. Notice that in. each case the diphthong has the sound of long e, as in be and tree. receive believe piece fierce receipt belief pierce grief deceive relieve shriek grieve deceit relief chief fiend conceive achieve niece yield perceive besiege thief ceiling Write the rule from memory. Write from dictation the following sentences. Do not forget the exceptions. 1. When my niece perceived the thief, her piercing shriek brought the chief of police to her relief. 2. He seized the fierce fiend, who now is repenting at his leisure. 3. Little is achieved through deceit. 4. A piece of the ceiling fell; what caused it to come to grief I cannot conceive. 5. Neither can either of the plasterers, though I besieged them with questions. 6. I shall soon receive from them a receipted bill. Nobody misspells change, and there are few simpler sujBfixes than able. But does change + able make changeable 104 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK or changahle? What an easy word is write. Add er to it, and then what do you have — writer or writter? Joints are trouble-spots; for frequently they mean the doubling, or changing, or omitting, of a letter. Word-joinery is learned mainly through observation, but there are a few rules which every one should know. As useful as any is the rule for add- ing sufl&xes to words ending in silent e, for such words are very numerous and also very troublesome. Silent e is usually kept before a suffix beginning with a conso- nant, and dropped before a suffix beginning with a vowel, but words ending in ce or ge retain the e before a suffix begin- ning with a or o. Words ending in ie drop the e and change the i to y before the suffix ing. Safe -{- ty makes safety, for the suffix begins with a con- sonant. Hope -f- ing makes hoping y for the suffix begins with a vowel. But notice + able makes noticeable; for though the suffix begins with a vowel, that vowel is a, and the parent word ends in ce. Likewise courage -|- ous makes courageous; for the parent word ends in ge and the suffix begins with o. Die + i^g makes dying, the final silent e being dropped and the i changed to y before the suffix ing. Here are additional words illustrating how the rule works: positive -|- ly = positively. (Suffix begins with a consonant.) engage + ment = engagement. (Suffix begins with a consonant.) dine + ing = dining. (Suffix begins with a vowel.) write + ing = writing. (Suffix begins with a vowel.) peace + able = peaceable. (Word ends in ce; suffix begins with a.) advantage -|- ous = advantageous. (Word ends in ge; suffix begins with o.) vie + ing = vying. (Word ends in ie; suffix is ing.) Notice that usually occurs twice in the rule. This means that there are exceptions, though they are few in comparison DRILL EXERCISES 105 with the total number of words concerned. Singeing and dyeing retain the e to distinguish them from singing and dying. Trulyy duly, awful, wholly, argument, and judgment are other important exceptions. But these words, for- tunately, are seldom misspelled. Learn the rule so thoroughly that you can write it word for word and give the exceptions. Be sure that in giving a rule for spelling you do not misspell any words. Be prepared to explain the meaning of suffix, vowel, and consonant. 3 Do the following tasks in word-joinery. Explain in paren- thesis how the rule applies. love + able = come + ing = amaze + ment = courage + ous = bone + y = sale + able = nine + ty = prove + ing = tie + ing = Write again the complete rule for adding suffixes to words ending in silent e. Do the following tasks in word- joinery. In each case ex- plain in parenthesis how the rule applies. positive + ly = plane + ing = lie + ing = service + able = nine + teen = change + able = advertise + ment = advertise + ing = conceive + able = arrange + ing = arrange + ment = move + able = Show that each of tJie following is an exception to the rule: truly, duly, wholly, awful, judgment, argument, singeing, dyeing. 106 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK PUNCTUATION Rule. — The comma is sometimes necessary to set ofif words or groups of words when th^ interrupt the thought or the grammatical sequence. This is a broad rule covering many cases. It cannot be followed blindly; judgment must be exercised. Some in- terruptions are so slight that they do not call for punctua- tion. Here are a few examples of sentences requiring commas : 1. We think, gentlemen, that we have proved our point. The word gentlemen is "independent by address." It breaks in upon the grammatical sequence. Notice that two com- mas are required. If the independent element stands first in the sentence, but one is called for. Thus we write Tom, I want to see you. 2. Peter, the youngest in the party, soon began to lag. Here we have a phrase in apposition coming between the simple subject and its verb. Nearly all such appositives are thus set off, but not quite all. We write, correctly, Longfellowy the author of many poems, 7vas a Harvard pro- fessor. But we also write The poet Longfelloiv was a Harvard professor; for in this sentence poet is used like an adjective, and we prefer not to separate it from Longfellow, just as we would not write The gentle, Longfellow. 8. At nine o'clock, no word having been received from head- quarters, we crossed the river. In this sentence no word having been received from head- quarters is a participial phrase in "absolute construction,'* as it is called. It interrupts the simple sentence At nine o'clock we crossed the river. It is a bit of explanation thrown in parenthetically. DRILL EXERCISES 107 4. This, moreover, would take too much time. Moreover is but one of many expressions — for example however, indeed, no doubt, of course, on the contrary, neverthe- less — which have a way of slipping in between subject and verb and between verb and object. 5. Yoke pond, I am inclined to believe, is my favorite vaca- tion spot. Here we find a complete sentence, / am inclined to believe, introduced between yond and the predicate is, though if we were analyzing the sentence, we should explain that the object of to believe is Yoke pond is my favorite vacation spot, 1 Punctuate the following: 1. Do you think sir that I can do it? 2. He gave I am told all that he had. 3. The range of the bee unless urged by hunger is about two miles. 4. If any man doubt my sin- cerity and some may doubt it I will try to satisfy him. 5. Neptune seeing the Greeks hard pressed came to their assistance. 6. This book if you are willing I will take home with me. 7. A single failure however does not mean defeat. 8. It is but a little land barren and rocky and looks to the northeast. 9. June 30 the first day of vacation seemed ages away. 10. The following day the weather being fine we made good progress. Rule. — The comma is placed after a dependent clause standing first in a sentence. Example: When you are ready, let me know. The purpose of this rule is to show the reader, by means of the comma, where the dependent element ends and the principal element begins. Sometimes, it is true, a sentence is perfectly clear even though this rule is not observed; yet so frequently is the comma an aid to rapid reading that 108 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK it is well for the young writer to form the habit of always setting off the dependent clause when it comes first. But there is one important exception. Noun clauses are classed as dependent. They may be used as subjects, and usually it is not well to separate subject and predicate. Therefore when a noun clause serving as subject stands first, it is seldom necessary to set it off. In the sentence What had happened was soon explained, the clause What had happened serves as subject. A comma after happened is unnecessary. Study the following, asking yourself in each case whether taking out a comma or putting one in would add clearness. // anyone should ask pou, tell him the truth. While we were eating, one of our company stood guard. How we could get across the river was a puzzling matter. Pick out the dependent clauses. Punctuate the sentences. Try to show that placing a comma after the dependent clause helps the reader to grasp the meaning quickly. 1. As he was passing by the door opened suddenly. 2, While we were eating threatening clouds were darkening the sky. 3. As soon as he had left Portia sent a messenger to Padua. 4. When the fish is nibbling the float goes under. 5. After the bottom was nailed on the boards were sawed off even wfth the sides. 6. As you know the earth turns on its axis daily. 7. While a thousand candle-power firefly flitting up and down a street would be cheaper than an equivalent number of electric lights the insect would not be a complete success. 8. Unless they begin a sentence the words oh and ah do not require capitals. 9. When pianos tables or other heavy pieces of furniture are to be moved about the rooms it is better to get behind and push instea^jj of pulling. 10. As the thin cables streamed upward and over the sheave-wheels above the shaft and down to the reeling-drums I looked at the men DRILL EXERCISES 109 about me and felt a sudden mortification at the clean blue of my overalls and the bright polish of my pick and shovel. Rule. — The comma is sometimes necessary, but not often, after a phrase standing first in a sentence. Nothing is gained by setting off simple phrases such as are found in the following sentences: Behind the tent was a grove of trees. In the afternoon we went shopping. But occasionally when a phrase is very long, perhaps con- taining a clause, a comma to mark its end is an aid to clear- ness. Occasionally a phrase containing a participle or an infinitive, or one ending with a preposition, really needs setting off lest the reader take it for granted, for an instant, that some word farther along in the sentence is the object of the participle, the infinitive, or the preposition. In each of the following sentences, for example, the comma is un- doubtedly of some service to the reader. To begin with, John proved an unsatisfactory cook. Having gone so far that it seemed a pity to turn back, they de- cided to push on. After all, the dinner was a great success. Admitting all that you say, we still feel that the boys were not wholly to blame. The signal having been given, we scrambled out of the trench and rushed ahead. Each of the following sentences begins with a phrase. Which of the phrases do you think should be followed by a comma? 1. In the confusion that followed Ben Jones was forgotten. 2. Crossing the river by the new stone bridge we were soon in the heart of the city. 3. Admitting all that you say we feel nevertheless that the wrong was unintentional. 4. Soon 110 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK after the workmen came to repair the damage. 5. By the way the mail arrives at seven. 6. Not long after the door of the coach was thrown open and a masked robber appeared. 7. For the purpose of helping those who do not understand please explain the problem again. 8. The night before he had said that there was no danger. 9. Having arranged for our seats at the table we went in search of our staterooms. 10. Staying at home because you do not care to go is not like stay- ing at home because you cannot go. 11. Every possible care having been taken to avoid accidents we did not feel at all to blame. 12. In the meanwhile Sir Lancelot of the Lake still lay asleep under the apple tree. COURSE IV COMPOSITION Explaining Simple exercises in exposition DRILL Pronunciation Correct sound of a, o, and other vowels Spelling Adding suffixes to words ending in a consonant Punctuation The colon Ways of punctuating enumerations The interrogation point The exclamation point The apostrophe EXPLAINING "Which way to the railroad station?" The busy traffic officer jerks a thumb over his shoulder, holds up three fingers, then points full arm to his left. "Thanks," you shout as your car shoots ahead. The wordless message is as clear as if he had taken time to say, "Straight ahead for three blocks, sir, then turn to your right." Practice has made him both quick and accurate in giving directions. You covet his ability. The farmer who obligingly stops his horses to answer your question is more deliberate than the traffic officer. He may even trace a rough map of the region, marking out in the sand with the butt of his whip each road and cross- road, dotting in here and there the noticeable landmarks, and warning against possible mistakes. Before he returns to his plow, everything has been made as clear as his furrow is straight. You envy the farmer. For it is probable that you have felt more than once that most disagreeable sensation which comes when it flashes upon you, a moment too late, that you have carelessly misdirected a stranger; and very likely you know through bitter experience what it means to tramp a weary mile or two in vain, all because some one who tried to tell you the way "got you all mixed up." It is not an easy matter to give accurate directions so worded as to be readily understood. EXERCISE 1 Write out brief yet complete directions for finding at least two places or things suggested by the list below. In a pre- 113 114 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK liminary sentence explain where you are at the time you give the directions, and to whom they are given — a child, a stranger, or some member of your family who frequently loses his way. 1. The post-office. 2. The railroad station. 3. The police station. 4. A certain church. 5. Your home. 6. Farmer 's house. 7. A certain doctor's office. 8. A fire alarm box. 9. A certain counter in a large department store. 10. A certain book in a public library. 11. Some small article which you wish forwarded to you from your home. 12. A leak in a boat. 13. A certain bird's-nest. 14. A favorite nook in a city park. 15. A certain pool in a stream. 16. A shack in the woods. 17. A place where arbutus, or some other flower, grows. 18. A treasure which you may imagine that you have cunningly hidden. Here are a few hints: (1) Use your imagination. Put yourself in the place of the person whom you are addressing. What will this person, a mere child, perhaps, be likely to misunderstand if you do not make things very clear? (2) Employ freely such guiding words as first, next, a little beyond this turn, keeping the river on your left. Don't use somewheres; there is no such word. (3) If you can make directions clearer through a simple drawing, by all means include one. EXERCISE 2 Write answers to one or more of the following questions — 05 many as you can in the time allotted. Come to class pre- pared to answer orally at least two more. 1. Why are you attending school? 2. What are the main reasons why pupils leave school before graduating? 3. What are the main causes for tardiness? 4. In what ways is a difficult study for you? 5. Of what use to a business man is a good command of English? 6. Why is it better not to have the long vacation come in wintertime? 7. What makes a dollar bill worth anything? 8. Why are checks so commonly EXPLAINING 115 used instead of money? 9. Why does the government make you put a stamp on every letter? 10. Why are wages higher in wartime? 11. What would be an ideal location for a mill manufacturing cotton cloth? 12. What are the principal com- mercial advantages of any one of the following cities: New York, New Orleans, Seattle, San Francisco, St. Louis? 13. Of what use are city parks? 14. Why are there apt to be cases of typhoid in the fall after people return from summer vacation trips? 15. Why is sleeping in the open air beneficial? 16. Why is a man with poor teeth an undesirable soldier? 17. W^hat are some of the common causes of poverty? 18. What are some of the ways in which a man who never breaks a law may be, nevertheless, a poor citizen? 19. What are some of the ways in which boys and girls may help to make the city in which they live a better city? 20. What are some of the advantages in opening the doors of a nation to people from other countries? Since this is a difficult exercise, far more so than at first appears, be sure to go about it in the right way. Here are suggestions : 1. Do not attempt too much. It will be better to answer a single question well than to answer several carelessly. 2. Think before you begin to write. Get everything clear in your own mind before attempting to explain to others. 3. Write as if to one who does not grasp things readily. Usually it is best to begin with what is simple, easy to un- derstand, and work up to what is difficult. Illustrations help wonderfully. For example, in telling about the convenience of paying by check, you might show how troublesome it would be in some particular case if a purchaser could not pay by check. 4. Watch your English. Do not write The reason is because. A better form is The reason is thaty or The reason is as follows, or This is the reason. Probably you will need ne: JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK to employ one or two sentences containing enumerations. On page 138 the correct way of pmictuating an enumeration is explained. EXERCISE 3 Write answers to as many of the following questions as you can in the time allotted, and come to class prepared to answer orally several more. 1. What causes day and night? 2. What causes thunder? 3. What things aflfect the climate of a place? 4. What causes leaves to change their color in the fall? 5. How does a cricket "chirp"? 6. What causes tides? 7. Why will a cambric needle float if rubbed with an oily cloth? 8. Why does moisture sometimes appear on the outside of a pitcher of water? 9. Why does the sun look larger when near the horizon? 10. Why is the sky blue? 11. Why is it easier to lift a weight when it is under water? 12. Why does the cook use baking powder? 13. What keeps an iron steamship from sinking? 14. Why is it so difficult to fill an empty bottle held in a stream of water? 15. Why do steamers crossing the Atlantic take a route far- ther south in summer than in winter? 16. How do you know that the center of the earth is hot? 17. Most people live on plains; would it be better if the earth were without mountains? 18. What makes the locomotive "puff"? 19. What causes freckles? 20. Why is the air in a large city purer at night than in the daytime? Before beginning, read again the notes which accompany the preceding exercise. And here is an additional hint: If the explanation can be made clearer through some simple sketch, make one, even though you are not very skillful at drawing. For example, in explaining what causes day and night, draw a diagram of the earth and the sun. EXERCISE 4 "Joe Finneran, pitching in a lost cause, got away poorly and then settled down to do fine work. His support failed him EXPLAINING 117 in the third and fourth innings to the extent of three runs which should not have been scored, a muff by Fournier making two possible and a poor peg by Pratt presenting the home team with another. A pass to Shotton in the first inning sent the Senators on their way to victory. He advanced on Foster's out and scored on Judge's double to left. Joe completed the circuit when Milan lashed a double to right, and Schulte chased Milan across with a single to right." Do you understand.'^ It depends upon whether you are familiar with baseball "lingo." Read such an account to a young American in a French hospital, and the proba- bilities are that he will forget all pains while his imagina- tion pictures with remarkable accuracy the "plays" in which Joe and Pratt and the rest figure. But he would make sorry work of a fashion review. Just imagine him trying to follow the nurse as she reads from the Delineator or some other magazine written principally for women! Technical terms are indeed puzzling, for they do not pro- vide the imagination with sufficient material out of which to make mind-pictures. And technical terms are often very difficult to explain, as you will find in performing the following task. Explain all the terms in the quoted passage, or else explain three or four terms suggested below. 1. Terms commonly employed in tennis or some other game; for example, love-thirty, forward pass, foul ball, off-side play, king-row. 2. Terms you have become familiar with through reading war news or talking with soldiers; for example, over the top, ensign, camouflage, gas mask. 3. Terms you have become acquainted with in your early attempts to earn money by working in a store, an office, or a factory. 4. Terms that often puzzle men folks, such as expressions employed by cooks, dressmakers, or milliners. 5. Terms employed by Boy Scouts or by Campfire Girls. 118 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Take plenty of time for this task. Talk slowly, and watch your audience to see that they are following you. Be care- ful, in explaining, not to introduce still other technical words. If you can make yourself clearer by means of simple drawings, use the blackboard. And watch your English. Don't begin a sentence after this fashion: A foul ball is when, etc. EXERCISE 6 '"Why, sure, honey, I'll tell you jess how to do it. You takes as much meal as you wants, mix in some flour an' three or four aigs, put in milk 'nough to make it thick as it oughter be, don't forgit a pinch or two o' salt, and a good-sized lump of butter; drop in a little sugar, too, den fill de little pans an* put *em in de oven — till dey's done, honey." That is the way, according to the Newark Call, that the old Southern "mammies" used to tell how they made their delicious corncakes. The "mammies," dear souls, were natural-born cooks, but they were not perfect in the art of making things clear. Mr. White is somewhat more skillful. Read and study Mr. White's directions for building a camp fire. Prepare to answer the questions which follow it. How to Build a Camp Fire * Your fireplace you will build of two green logs laid side by side. The fire is to be made between them. They should converge slightly, in order that the utensils to be rested across them may be of various sizes. If your vicinity yields flat stones, they build up even better than logs — unless they hap- pen to be of granite. Granite explodes most disconcertingly. Poles sharpened, driven upright into the ground, and then pressed down to slant over the fireplace, will hold your kettle a suitable height above the blaze Fuel should be your next thought. A roll of birch bark * From The Forest. Used by courteous permission of the publishers, Doubleday, Page & Co. EXPLAINING 119 first of all. Then some of the small, dry, resinous branches that stick out from the trunks of medium-sized pines, living or dead. Finally, the wood itself. If you are merely cooking supper, and have no thought for a warmth-fire or a friendship- fire, I should advise you to stick to the dry pine branches, helped out, in the interest of coals for frying, by a little dry maple or birch. If you need more of a blaze, you will have to search out, fell, and split a standing dead tree. This is not at all necessary. I have traveled many weeks in the woods without using a more formidable implement than a one-pound hatchet. Pile your fuel — a complete supply, all you are going to need — by the side of your already improvised fire- place. But, as you value your peace of mind, do not fool with matches. It will be a little difficult to turn your mind from the con- cept of fire, to which all these preparations have compellingly led it, — especially as a fire is the one cheerful thing your weariness needs the most at this time of day, — but you must do so. Leave everything just as it is, and unpack your pro- visions. First of all, rinse your utensils, hang your tea-pail, with the proper quantity of water, from one slanting pole, and your kettle from the other. Salt the water in the latter receptacle. Peel your potatoes, if you have any; open your little provision sacks; puncture your tin cans, if you have any; slice your bacon; clean your fish; pluck your birds; mix your dough or batter; spread your table tinware on your tarpaulin or a sheet of birch bark; cut a kettle-lifter; see that everything you are going to need is within direct reach of your hand as you squat on your heels before the fireplace. Now light your fire. The civilized method is to build a fire and then to touch a match to the completed structure. If well done, in a grate or stove, this works beautifully. Only in the woods you have no grate. The only sure way is as follows: Hold a piece of birch bark in your hand. Shelter your match all you know how. When the bark has caught, lay it in your fireplace, assist it with more bark, and gradually build up, twig by twig, stick by stick, from the first pin-point of flame, all the fire you are 120 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK going to need. It will not be much. The little hot blaze rising between the parallel logs directly against the aluminum of your utensils will do the business in very short order. In fifteen minutes at the most your meal is ready. And you have been able to attain to hot food thus quickly because you were prepared. In case of very wet weather the affair is altered somewhat. If the rain has just commenced, do not stop to clear out very thoroughly, but get your tent up as quickly as possible, in order to preserve an area of comparatively dry ground. But if the earth is already soaked, you had best build a bonfire to dry out by, while you cook over a smaller fire a little distance removed, leaving the tent until later. Or it may be well not to pitch the tent at all, but to lay it across slanting supports at an angle to reflect the heat against the ground. It is no joke to light a fire in the rain. An Indian can do it more easily than a white man, but even an Indian has more trouble than the story-books acknowledge. You will need a greater quantity of birch bark, a bigger pile of resinous dead limbs from the pine-trees, and perhaps the heart of a dead pine stub or stump. Then, with infinite patience, you may be able to tease the flame. Sometimes a small dead birch contains in the waterproof envelope of its bark a species of powdery, dry touchwood that takes to flame readily. Still, it is easy enough to start a blaze — a very fine-looking, cheerful, healthy blaze; the difficulty is to prevent its petering out the moment your back is turned. Stewart White 1. Does Mr. White know how to build a camp fire.'* 2. Do you think that you could build one, now that you have been told how? 3. Has Mr. White forgotten anything, or are his directions complete? 4. Are the directions given in the best order? 5. How did Mr. White determine what order to fol- low? 6. Is each paragraph devoted to some one thing? 7. Can you suggest appropriate titles for the different paragraphs? 8. How many things is the camper warned not to do? 9. Is any word used the meaning of which you do not know? ,10. Is the account intended for young people or for grown- EXPLAINING 121 ups? 11. Can you find sentences which a teacher might criticize? 12. What have you found to like in Mr. White's way of giving directions? EXERCISE 6 Nearly every one is an expert. He can do something, it may be but sharpening a pencil, or tying a four-in-hand, or pitching "curves," extremely well. What is your specialty? Building a camp fire may be entirely out of your line, but no doubt you do many things much better than Mr. White can do them. In one respect, however, Mr. White is your superior, no doubt: he is a good teacher. What pains he takes, as a teacher must. How carefully he plans. His directions are arranged in the best possible order, and he unrolls them in such a way that but one thing at a time re- ceives attention. How thorough he is, omitting nothing. And apparently he keeps asking himself, "Am I making this clear? What mistakes should I warn against? What mistakes did I make before I became expert? '* He is a good sportsman, entering whole-heartedly into the contest; for it is a contest, in which the game is to make everything so clear that the pupil must understand. Think over your accomplishments. What can you do? Keeping in mind Mr. White's method, prepare to tell the class how to do something. Stand near the blackboard y when giv- ing your talk, for you may find it convenient to illustrate some little point with a rough sketch. If you fail to make everything clear, questions will be asked, but not until you have completed your talk. The following list may help you in selecting a topic. 1. Pitching a tent. %. Starting an automobile or a power boat. 3. Installing an electric doorbell. 4. Loading a camera. 5. Catching a fish (some particular kind). 6. Taking off and putting on a tire. 7. Cleaning a gun. 8. Setting a pane of glass. 9. Applying "first aid" (some particular kind of 122 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK accident). 10. Getting a crowd to attend a game. 11. Getting and managing a paper route. 12. Training a dog. 13. Set- ting a dinner table. 14. Washing dinner dishes. 15. Packing a lunch basket. 16. Equipping and caring for a kitchen sink. 17. Cleaning a living-room. 18. Making jelly or preserves (a particular kind). 19. Using the telephone. 20. Using a railroad time-table. 21. Playing the game of . 22. Pre- paring a lesson in . 23. Starting a savings account. 24. Trimming a Christmas tree. 25. Marking out a baseball diamond or a tennis court. 26. Keeping a baseball score. EXERCISE 7 Write a composition, about one-third as long as Mr. Whitens, in which you tell how to do something. Draw from your own experience, yet select if possible from the list given with the preceding exercise. Here are three suggestions: (1) Plan your composition — plan it by paragraphs, one for each of the two or three or four divisions of your task. (2) Don't let getting started bother you at all. A polite introduction is not needed; just begin, naturally, as you would if you were talking to a friend. (3) Keep in mind the purpose of your composition. Everything must be made very clear, and you must warn against possible mistakes. EXERCISE 8 Here are the working plans ^ for a bird-house. You will agree that they are exceptionally clear and complete. Even a girl, if she has been taught to use saw and hammer, should be able to make a bird-house that will not fall apart during the first winter. But suppose you were asked to give orally directions for making this simple piece of carpentry. Could you make them clear? Try it. * From the Industrial and Applied Art Books, Fourth Year. By per- mission of Atkinson, Mentzer & Company. EXPLAINING 123 Keeping the book open so that you may have the drawings to guide yoUy give your classmates directions for making a bird- house. Whenever you make a slip, some one will politely call your attention to it. FIR-bT NMLTHE E.^CKI|THEN ADD ^NOTHLHII THEN PUT ON || KDO THE TOP AND IT TO THE SIDE 11 5lDLyTHL bOTTOM II THE. FI^ONT Ill5 REAPYTO PUTUP EXERCISE 9 More than once, no doubt, you have loitered before a window or door, fascinated by what busy people within were doing. You have watched, perhaps from a front porch, the workmen who care for the street in front of your house, or dig trenches for water or gas, or erect telephone poles and string wires. It is strange if the house in which you live has not, somewhat recently, undergone repairs, and no doubt you occasionally got in the way through your desire to see 124 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK just how the carpenters or the painters did their work. When away on your summer vacation, if you were fortunate enough to get away, you saw many workers — fishermen drying their nets, it may be, or men repairing a bridge. Perhaps you have at some time visited a foundry or a fac- tory, and have become famiUar with some Hne of industry. Finally, it may be that you have been yourself employed in shop or store, where part of your fun consisted in watching at close range skillful clerks and mechanics. In one way or another you have picked up through observation a great deal of information concerning how things are done, information which you should be able to pass along to others. Write a composition meriting one of the following titles: (1) Watching to See How It Is Done, (2) What I Learned by Looking through a Window, (3) What the Workmen Did, (4) How Easy It Is when You Know How. Preface the account with a sentence or two explaining the circumstances under which you played the part of observer. EXERCISE 10 Criticize this schoolboy composition, bearing in mind that criticism includes pointing out the good as well as calling at- tention to the bad. Questions found at the close of the compo- sition will help you in performing this task. How to Make a Squirrel Trap The material needed for this trap is 11 feet of 6" X }'' pine or spruce, also two hinges and a quarter of a pound of 3 in. nails. First saw off four pieces 2 ft. long and one 6 in. square. Next make a piece in the form of Fig II. Three inches from the bottom and side of this piece bore a i in. hole, through which passes the trigger. EXPLAINING 125 Then nail Ihe long pieces together in a box shape, and also the tall piece on one end of the other long piece. On the other end of the long piece screw down the two hinges and fasten them to the tall piece. Next make a round, pointed stick eight inches long which will pass easily through the hole. In the stick make a notch about two inches from the end. Make a notch in the tall piece the same size. Make another round stick 3 in. long and taper the ends. Fasten a string on the end of the cover and Tiq.I bring it through a small hole or notch in the top of the tall piece, then tie it in the middle of the short round stick. To set the trap, stick a piece of apple or other bait which a squirrel likes, then pull the cover up and put the small piece in the two notches and the trap is set. It is simple in con- struction but is sure to work. Is the composition well planned, with the items given in the best order? Are you satisfied with the paragraphing? Have any necessary directions been overlooked? Are the directions given sufficiently clear — so clear that a boy of average ability could follow them? Can you pick out one or two sentences which might be made clearer, or expressed in better English? Do you like the concluding sentence? Would the drawings be of real service to a boy making a trap ? Would the directions be clear without the drawings? 126 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 11 Give diredionsy orally or in writing as the instructor may wish, for making something. The following list is but sug- gestive; you need not choose from it unless you wish. But the directions must be all yours, not second-hand; they must be based upon your own experience. Before beginning, suppose you say to yourself, "There are certain failings of mine, namely and , which I must guard against." 1. Something made in the manual training, domestic science, or domestic art department; for example a T-square, a paper cutter, a napkin ring, a book case, an easel, a table, a book- rest, an article of wearing apparel. 2. Something made in connection with your activities as a Boy Scout, Campfire Girl, or Red Cross worker; for example a shelter tent, a shack, a piece of shack furniture, a camp bed, a camp stove, a rustic seat, a tree-top house, a trap, an emergency stretcher, a diving board, a boat landing, a com- fort kit bag. 3. Something that you have made at home; for example a window-ledge flower-box, an aquarium, a cozy corner, a linen-chest, a chicken coop, a dog kennel, a work bench. 4. A toy or plaything for yourself or others; for example a willow whistle, a sling-shot, a jack-o'-lantern, a kite, a see- saw or other piece of playground apparatus, a double ripper, a cart for little Tommy. 5. Something to serve as a gift for birthday or Christmas. 6. Something you have made as a wage-earner in factory, shop, or store. EXERCISE 12 Here is a composition to study. Is every part of it clear? Does it tell all that you care to know? Is the information given in the best order, or would it have been better to begin with the weight and size of the ball, then tell about the cover, and work down step by step to the rubber sphere at EXPLAINING 127 the center? Can you find places where the writer explains not only what is done but why it is done? How Base Balls Are Made At the entrance to the factory you are confronted by a sign which informs you, courteously yet positively, that you cannot go in. Courteously yet positively the gentleman back of the oflSce window informs you that the sign is truthful. So there you are, halted on the threshold of a great mystery. Ap- parently it does not matter in the least whether you are presi- dent of a baseball league or merely president of the United States; when you have reached the office window, which is very near the front door, you have reached the end of the line. Part of the mystery, however, may be solved notwithstanding that forbidding sign. Trade magazines in which sporting goods are advertised tell nearly all there is to know about the materials used and something of the process of manufacture. You can saw a ball in two and discover things for yourself. Finally, the gentleman at the office window, though he cannot break a rule of the establishment, is extremely obliging, apparently willing to answer any reasonable number of questions — pro- vided you do not ask the wrong ones. From all the sources of information available, this is what you eventually learn: The ball is built round a vulcanized rubber sphere precisely one and three-eighths inches in diameter, weighing precisely an ounce. This elastic sphere supplies the ball with the "bounce" so neces- sary if the batsman is occasionally to have the pleasure of seeing a "fly" sail over the center fielder's head. On the sphere, four- ply blue woolen yarn is wound very tightly till the ball is about one-half its final size. For many years the winding was done by hand, but about thirty-five years ago a winding-machine was in- vented. This wonderful device i^ among the guarded mysteries of the business. Think what it has to do. The yarn must be wound very tightly over a surface constantly growing larger, and the sphere must be kept revolving in several directions to prevent the forming of yarn-ridges. Can you puzzle out how it is accom- plished? 128 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK The next step varies, you will learn, according to the grade of ball manufactured. Sometimes a leather cover, similar to the outside cover, is sewed on by hand. Without some such reen- forcement the terrific batting the ball receives might burst the rubber sphere and even break the windings of yarn. One manu- facturer guards against such a possibility by giving the rubber sphere a cork center. If an inner cover is not used, three-ply white yarn is wound on, forming a layer about one- fourth of an inch thick, after which the ball is given a coat of cement to make it firm and is put aside to dry. Next comes another winding of blue woolen yarn, like the first, over which there is a thin winding of strong cotton thread. The ball then receives another coating of cement, and when this is dry it is ready for its cover — tanned horsehide, in the better grades. The peculiar shape of the two sections of the cover is familiar to every American boy. If he has thought at all about it, he can tell you why this shape is better than any other. He knows where the stitches would begin to rip if the cover were in sections similar to the four usually made in removing the peel from an orange. Probably he does not know, though he may have guessed it, that the cover is in a semi-raw, damp state when it is cemented to the ball. That is why the cover, shrinking as it dries, fits so snugly and smoothly. The stitching is done entirely by hand. It is strange that men clever enough to invent a winding machine have never been able to make a machine to beat the skilled workman who, using two needles, takes, according to a well known advertise- ment, precisely 232 stitches, "116 red, no more; 116 black, no less," bringing the edges together so accurately, drawing the strong cord so tightly, that the ball when completed has no rough seams nor wrinkles to hurt the hand. There is little mystery about the number of stitches, however, for the holes through which the needles pass so rapidly are all pierced by machine when the covers are cut from the hide. How the cords are fastened when the last stitch has been taken is a slight mystery. "They are fastened on the inside," you will be told, with a smile. Although the process of manufacture is rapid, every step must EXPLAINING 129 be closely watched. Regulations specify that the league ball must weigh not less than five nor more than five and a quarter ounces, and that the circumference must be not less than nine nor more than nine and a quarter inches. To meet these requirements the ball, during its construction, is weighed and measured five times. Close inspection for other matters is also necessary. A thin spot in the leather, for example, or a weak spot in the stitching, would mean short life to the ball; for of all the "playthings" with which Americans amuse themselves, few must stand rougher treatment. No one but a small boy will tolerate a cheap ball of the ten cent grade — a compressed sphere of cotton bound together with a few windings of thread and covered with artificial leather, easily batted out of shape and more easily ripped; and even the small boy soon learns to demand something better. As for the grown-up professional, he has a keen eye for every defect and is satisfied with nothing but the best. The manufacture of base balls is about seventy years old, the first to establish the business being Mr. Harrison Harwood, senior member of H. Harwood and Sons of Natick, Mass. It was Mr. Harwood who invented the two-piece cover now universally used. 7/ you have ever visited a factory and watched the making of some article, or if you have ever taken something to pieces to discover how it was made, prepare to give an account similar to the one you have studied. EXERCISE 13 Here is a schoolboy composition explaining how a nutmeg grater does its work. Is it perfectly clear? A Nutmeg Grater A nutmeg grater is usually made from a piece of tin ranging from two and one-half inches to six inches in length by one and a half inches in width, and convex in shape with a flat piece of tin fastened to the sides of the convex piece, forming a bottom to the grater. The convex portion has holes punched through from the under side, leaving a very rough surface on which the 130 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK nutmeg is rubbed up and down. The little points on the con- vex side (made by the punching of the holes) catch and break off small particles of nutmeg which drop through holes into the bottom of the grater. If the grater is held at an angle, the little particles will slide down to the bottom into a dish or whatever is under it. Write a composition in which you explain the construction and workings of some machine, instrument, or contrivance. If you can, make things clear by means of pen sketches. Here are suggestions. Clothes reel, stove damper, ash sifter, mouse trap, thermostat, ice cream freezer, meat grinder, egg beater, vacuum cleaner, cream whip, waffle iron, kerosene lamp, fire extinguisher, churn, cream separator, thermometer, barometer, sun dial, compass, spirit level, waterwheel, hay rake, mimeograph, pencil sharpener, adding machine, periscope, motor car clutch, parachute, spoon hook, fire alarm, canal lock, grocer's scales, carburetor. You will have better success, perhaps, if you have in mind a definite purpose. Imagine that you are talking to some one, a child, for example, besieging you with questions con- cerning the thermometer; or your sister (you are teaching her to drive a motor car), who is mystified when you tell her to throw out the clutch; or a farmer*s wife, to whom you are trying to sell a vacuum cleaner. Profit by what you learned through studying How Base Balls Are Made. Picture things; make clear strange things through comparing them to what is familiar to all. The exercises in this Course all come under the head of what the textbooks call exposition, exposition being little more than another name for explanation. The composi- tion which follows is an example of exposition. In it the scraps of counsel scattered among the exercises, and a few EXPLAINING 131 more whkh doubtless have received your attention in class- room, are brought together and rearranged for final review. The Art of Explaining First of all, do not for a moment lose sight of what you are trying to accomplish. You are not trying to show how well you can write, though good penmanship is a form of courtesy which all should cultivate; nor are you trying to show what beautiful language you employ when writing or talking. Your sole puqDose is to explain, to make others understand. That is the whole game. In the second place, remember that you cannot give what you do not possess. Whatever is not perfectly clear to you cannot be made clear to others. It is embarrassing to be interrupted by an unexpected question to which you are forced to reply, "I'm afraid I don't quite understand that myself. I thought I did when I began, but it seems I didn't." Getting every- thing clearly in mind before you start is half the battle. What next.f* Have a plan. Don't let the explanation tumble out; unroll it. By unrolling an explanation is meant display- ing but one thing at a time. Finish one part of the task before taking up the next. Because explanation takes so many differ- ent forms, it is impossible to invent an arrangement, or order sequence, that will serve equally well in all cases. Mr. White, in telling how to build a camp fire, followed a time sequence. He mentioned the things to be done in the order in which they should be done. In telling of the ways in which parks are useful, it would be well to begin with simple ways such as come to mind at once, then work up to ways less apparent. A plan of some sort is quite necessary, a well-defined road down which to lead the reader or listener. And next? Make the way smooth. See that it is well lighted. Put up signs wherever the traveler is liable to go astray. A word not readily understood, or a sentence that is bungled, is an obstacle in the path. Your language, therefore, must be simple and clear. You can light your thoroughfare by means of illustrations, which are like electric lights driving the shadows from dark places. Illustrations 132 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK include not only simple pen or crayon sketches but anecdotes or ''specific instances," as they are called in textbooks. Why are pupils late for school? You can illustrate, perhaps, by telling how, on a certain occasion, you were late, and why. Comparisons, too, are illuminating, as when you bring to the minds of others the appearance of a machine by comparing it to something familiar to every one. That is all: never forgetting what you are to do, never beginning till that which you are to explain is very clear in your own mind, never beginning till you have planned out the route to be followed; then leading slowly along the route, putting no obstacles in the way, keeping the path well lighted by fre- quent illustration, and warning wherever there is danger that some one may go astray. DRILL EXERCISES PRONUNCIATION 1 Watch the vcmels in the following words. Do not turn sub- ject into subjict, nor catch into ketch. catch far rather get America foreigner destroy stomach creek honorable nominate secretary candidate gentlemen salesmen subject object agreement tenement statement judgment argument providence evidence experience difference extravagant visitor ancestor bachelor extra solemn yesterday since because was Give the vowel o 2 its full sound. Do not substitute some othei letter; do not insert r. fellows potatoes tomatoes meadows windows yellow pillow swallow borrow hollow piano eloquent innocent professor proportion introduce accommodate society chocolate hoist 3 You cannot mispronounce arm unless you try very hard; the sound of sl is bound to be correctly given. Give the same sound to a in the following: laugh, half, drama, calf, aunt. 133 134 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Probably you pronounce ask correctly. If you do noty the teacher will pronounce it correctly for you. Give the same sound to a in the following: past, path, bath, pastor. You can pronounce day. Give a the same sound in the fol- lowing: chaste, gratis, data, apparatus. SPELLING hoping planing dining spiting hopping planning dinning spitting The words forming each of the above pairs differ widely in meaning; to substitute one for the other would be a serious error. The error is a common one, however, but it is seldom made by those whose attention has been called to a certain rule. The terms in the upper line obey the rule for adding suffixes to words ending in silent e. Hope + ing = hoping, plane + ing = planing, dine + ing = dining, spite + ing = spiting. The words in the lower hue do not end in silent e, nor in any other vowel. They obey another rule. A single consonant preceded by a single vowel is usually doubled before a suflftx beginning with a vowel, if the accent is to fall on the syllable preceding the suflix. hop + ing = hopping plan + ing = planning din + ing = dinning spit + ing = spitting Each word, it will be noted, ends in a single consonant pre- ceded by a single vowel, and the new word is accented on the syllable preceding the suffix. Here are additional ex- amples. You will see that in each case the two conditions of the rule are fulfilled: the word ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, and the new word is accented on the syllable preceding the suffix. DRILL EXERCISES 135 begin + ing = beginning forget + ing = forgetting begin + er = beginner remit + ance = remittance sum + ary = summary occur + ence = occurrence The conditions are not met in the following words: prefer + ence = preference. (Accent not on syllable preceding the suffix.) benefit + ed = benefited. (Accent not on syllable preceding the suffix.) pass + able = passable. (Word does not end in a single consonant.) peel + ing = peeling. (Final consonant not preceded by a single vowel.) Among words one is likely to misspell, there are few excep- tions to this rule. Here are two which should not be over- looked: crocheting i transferable. Write the rule from memory^ being careful not to misspell consonant, preceded, snflSx, and syllable. Do the following task in word-joinery, and show that in each case the conditions of the rule are met: bag + age = god + ess = occur + ing = red + en = hot + er = sad -f er = admit + ance = stop + ing = slim + er = wrap + ing = mad + er = refer + ing = 2 Three suflSxes which you should train your eye to notice are /wZ, aZ, and ly. Notice that the first of the three is not full but ful. If you hunt the dictionary through, it is prob- able that you will not find a word ending in full, but many like the following: awful cheerful changeful doubtful thoughtful useful powerful plentiful faithful handful spoonful harmful 136 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK The ending al is even more common. Notice the following: comical musical graphical usual physical majestical general final principal municipal actual metrical This ending is never misspelled. But trouble arises when, to words ending in ful or al, the suffix ly is added. Awful + ly does not make awfuly but awfully. Final + ly does not make jinaly but finally. Be careful not to reduce ly to y. Be careful not to overlook al. thoughtful + ly = thoughtfully faithful + ly = faithfully changeful + ly = changefully doubtful + ly = doubtfully useful + ly = usefully comic + al + ly = comically general + ly = generally final + ly = finally principal + ly = principally plentiful + ly = plentifully physic + al + ly = physically actual + ly = actually intention+al+ly = intentionally metric + al + ly = metrically Write from dictation the above words, underlining the syl- lables ful and al wherever they occur. Make an additional list of ten words, five ending in ful and five in al. From these form ten more wards by adding the suffix ly. Here are fifty words chosen from preceding exercises. Pre- pare to spell them from dictation. Do not be content with getting forty-nine correct. Get fifty. preferred dying hoping municipal tying principally beginner peaceable generally sadder believe proving dining handful relief positively crocheting ninety arrangement goddess nineteen judgment niece movable receipt awful summary baggage physically piece occurrence referring admittance peeling redden changeable DRILL EXERCISES 137 wholly comically ceiling useful finally remittance advertising writing actually occurring salable preference benefited slimmer PUNCTUATION Rule. — The colon is used after as follows, the following, in the following manner, thus, this, these, and similar expres- sions, when they introduce quotations, enumerations, or explanations. According to Newton, the primary colors are as follows : violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. His last words were these: "Don't give up the ship.'* When the enumeration follows the verb are^ the colon is not used, nor is the comma necessary. Thus we write, correctly. The primary colors are violet^ indigo^ hlue^ green, yellow^ orange^ and red. A comma or a colon would but separate the verb from its complement. Rule. — The colon is used after the salutation in letter writing. It is also used after a formal salutation preceding a speech, such as Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr, President, and Honorable Judges. 1 Punctuate: 1. The debaters were as follows affirmative Jones and Smith; negative Clark and Hermann. 2. The address of General Bordeaux at the funeral of the first American soldiers to fall on the French front began as follows In the name of the Division in the name of the French army I bid farewell to Corporal Gresham Private Enright and Private Hay of the Sixteenth Infantry American Army. 3. Here are the particu- lars name John Smith; height five feet six inches; weight 16(> pounds. 4. Our nine had the following battery catcher John- son pitcher Sullivan. 138 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK The following sentences illustrate various ways of punc- tuating sentences in which an enumeration occurs. 1. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the first four days of the week. 2. The first four days of the week are Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Notice that in the first sentence no mark follows Wednes- day; to place one there would be separating subject from predicate. No mark is placed after are in the second ; the nouns following the verb are its complement. 3. We were in Rome four days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. 4. The first four days of the week are these: Sunday, Mon- day, Tuesday, and Wednesday. 5. The first four days of the week are as follows: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. In these three sentences the colon appears immediately preceding the enumeration, but not separating subject from predicate nor verb from complement. The colon has been called the "mark of expectancy.*' When the reader sees the colon, he assumes at once that what follows it will be an enumeration, an explanation of something which has gone before, or an expression in apposition to something already mentioned. 6. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday — these are the first four days of the week. In this sentence the dash is used to indicate a change in construction. The sentence begins as if Sunday, Monday, Tuesday y and Wednesday were to be the subject; but these, summing up what has gone before, becomes the new sub- ject. DRILL EXERCISES 139 7. The first four days — Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday — were spent in Rome. 8. The first four days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) were spent in Rome. 9. For three days, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, it rained. In these three sentences the enumeration forms a paren- thesis. Dashes, commas, and marks of parenthesis are, perhaps, equally correct, though probably most writers would prefer the dashes, especially in a long sentence. The commas are not so desirable if the enumeration is a long one; perhaps you do not need to be told why. 10. The first four days, namely Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, were unpleasant. 11. We remained in Rome four days, namely Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. 12. There are many points of interest, such as the lighthouse, the life-saving station, and the boat-landing. These sentences illustrate the use of namely and such as before an enumeration. Notice that in each case a comma precedes the expression, but no comma follows it. Write from dictation the twelve examples showing ways of punctuating sentences in which enumerations occur. Punctuate the following. Supply capitals where they are needed. 1. There are seven simple colors red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet. 2. The seven simple colors are red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet. 3. There are seven simple colors namely red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet. 4. The seven simple colors are as follows red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet. 5. The simple colors are these red orange yellow green blue indigo and violet. 6. The recipe for rabbit pie begins thus first catch the rabbit. 7. The address began as follows there are three kinds of people whom I like men women and children. 8. Our reason for postponing 140 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK the trip was this the roads owing to recent rains were in a bad state. 9. The hour was spent in the following manner first we wrote for ten minutes on some familiar topic then a few of the compositions were read and criticized after which we were given practice in extemporaneous speaking. 10. The message was this come Thursday if possible. Rule. — The interrogation point is used (a) at the close of a direct question, (b) in parenthesis to indicate doubt. This simple rule is illustrated in the following sentences: What time is it? "Where are you going?" she asked. I gave it to the friend (?) who had just flattered me. Notice that in the second example the interrogation point comes immediately after the question, not at the close of the completed sentence. In the third sentence the question mark suggests that one who flatters you can hardly be called a friend. It questions the appropriateness of the word friend. Rule. — The exclamation point is used after interjections, exclamatory words and phrases, and sentences expressing strong emotion. This is not a rule to be followed blindly. Judgment is necessary in determining where a point will add needed force. O Antony, beg not your death from us! Oh that today were Saturday! Oh! how that hurt! He thinks I am angry. How absurd! Rule. — The apostrophe is used (a) to distinguish the pos- sessive case of nouns, (h) to indicate the plurals of letters and figures, and (c) to show the omission of letters. These three uses are illustrated in the following sentence: DRILL EXERCISES 141 John's b's and 6's, 'tis true, look much alike. Remember that the possessive forms of pronouns do not call for the apostrophe. It's is not the possessive form of it, but a contraction of it is. Who's is not the possessive form of who, but a contraction of who is. 3 Write the following from dictation. Try your best not to make a single mistake in the use of the apostrophe. 1. It's growing dark; let's start for camp. 2. Whose dog is it? 3. Are you fond of Dickens's novels? 4. You're always forgetting things. 5. Dot your i's and cross your t's, please. 6. He found a lady's glove. 7. Where is your gun? 8. I think you should make better fours and 6's. 9. He purchased a thousand dollars' worth. 10. You may all pass to Miss Collins's room. 11. He filled his pockets with apples. 12. One of the lady's friends called for her at six o'clock. 13. You've hurt their feelings, haven't you? 14. It's time the bird had its supper. 15. I'm very tired; aren't you? 16. They're going with Alice's uncle. 17. I'm surprised to hear a college graduate say cunnin' and doin\ 18. Who'll pay the freight? 19. I hope I haven't made a mistake. 20. The horses' names were Bob and Jim. COURSE V COMPOSITION Picturing Exercises in simple description DRILL Pronunciation Words containing th or pth Correct sound of vowels Spelling Homonyms Words often confused Punctuation The comma used to set off a non-restrictive element The comma used before a connective PICTURING "Description is the part you skip when reading a story.** That is a boy's definition. The teacher, commenting on it, repHes, "If by description you mean word-pictures, your definition will hardly do, John. Why, some stories are little more than word-pictures strung together like so many beads, with an explanatory bead cunningly slipped in here and there. Have you ever stopped to think what a story would be with all the picture words carefully removed? Which of these two sentences do you prefer — He crossed the deck, or He hobbled, 'painfully across the deck? Even in the conversa- tional parts of a story, which of course you find pleasantest to read, the author commonly slips in a few pictures; for example : " I d-dropped the bag and — all the beans spilled," said Tom, with a feeble grin. "Dropped the bag!" cried the merchant, ^w face flushing with anger. " Probably what you mean is that you do not like too much description all at once, especially if it * slows up* the narrative at an exciting moment. In that respect you are not very different from other people. But your definition, John, is misleading in another way. Description is found elsewhere than in stories. Even in explaining things, mak- ing clear how a machine works, for example, pictures are quite necessary, though in exposition the picture beads may be few in number.*' Sometimes the purpose of a speaker or writer is merely to picture, nothing more. Take for instance your fountain 145 146 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK pen. You may not care to explain that hidden in its barrel is a little rubber sack from which ink slowly escapes when the pen-point is pressed against the paper, and that to refill the sack you dip the pen-point into ink and then pump with an ingeniously contrived lever attached to the barrel. That would be exposition — exposition into which a few pictures might creep in spite of you, however. You may not care to recount some experience connected with the pen, as how it slipped from your pocket, one day, but was found a week later when you were raking up the leaves in the back yard. That would be narration. It may be that all you care to do is to picture the pen — its black, shining, slender barrel, its pen-point of gold, its nickel clip — so that some one miles away can form in his mind an image of it. That would be pure description. Whether employed in narration or exposition or alone by itself, description is invaluable. The traveler returning from a strange land surely needs it; and the reporter who desires not only to tell how many miles the army has ad- vanced in its latest drive, but to reveal the fury of battle in vivid detail. The merchant needs it when he makes out his descriptive catalogue. A little thought will convince you that ability to picture is of very great value to the scientist, the inventor, the teacher, the preacher, the lawyer. It is a good thing for any one to possess, a good thing for you. EXERCISE 1 This morning you followed a trail leading from your home to the school building. It was but one of a great number of trails, no two alike, each starting at a home where there are young people who go to school. More varied than the trails were the pictures collected along the way; for no two pairs of eyes are attracted by the same things. If all the pictures thus gathered in a single morning could somehow be trans- PICTURING 147 ferred to a great canvas, they would make a wonderful dis-. play. We will try an experiment along this hne. Tomorrow come to class prepared to picture in words some- thing you have seen on the way to school. It may be a build- ing, a yard, a little child, a street vender, a fruit stand, a window display, a beetle, a costume, a cloud, — anything whatever that attracts your attention and holds it for an instant. Per- haps the instructor will ''recite'' first. Here is a single hint. Some of your kodak pictures dis- appoint you. They do not come out clear and "sharp." The clerk at the shop where they have been developed explains it, perhaps, in a single word: "Under-exposed." He means that you did not give the sunlight time to travel through the lens and imprint a clear picture on the sensitive gelatine-covered film. It takes time to register a picture with the eye, which is but a lens with a sensitive plate back of it. Do not hurry, therefore. Take a good long look at whatever you mean to describe. EXERCISE 2 How did yesterday's experiment work? What was the best picture brought in? What made it praiseworthy? In your own case, if you did not succeed very well, what was the chief difficulty? Have you learned anything, through the experiment, about the art of describing? Could you do better another time? Here is your opportunity to find out. On your way home from school, keep your eye alert. Pick out something, as in the previous task, and memorize it — im- press it upcm your mind. Bring to class the picture in the form of a written descripticm of one or two hundred words. Be prepared to tell what difficulty you had in writing it. In a friendly way criticize the descriptions brought in by the others. 148 JU>^OR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 3 Things disappear mysteriously. We leave them behind us on car seats. They shp unnoticed from our hands as we are hurrying along the street. Articles borrowed are not always returned; we forget what has become of them. And there is the light-fingered thief. This tendency of things to disappear suggests a practical task in description. Imagine you have lost something that is suggested hy the list found below. First write an advertisement, not over twenty words, for the Lost and Found column in the evening paper. Then write a detailed description of the article lost, employing perhaps a hundred words. 1. An overcoat, or some other garment. 2. A watch, or something else purchased at the jeweler's. 3. A cane or an umbrella. 4. A camera. 5. A bicycle or an automobile. 6. A pocketbook, a handbag, or a valise. 7. A kit of tools. 8. A piece of furniture. Before beginning, study carefully the object to be de- scribed. What distinguishes it from others of its kind? What are the unmistakable marks by which it can be identi- fied? Imagine that the one who has found the article is questioning you very closely to make sure that you are the rightful owner. Use few words and make every word count. In the detailed description, use none but complete sentences. EXERCISE 4 Imagine that one of the following is lost and that you have been called upon to give, orally, an accurate description in ap- proximately two hundred words. 1. A dog. 2. A cat 3. A parrot. 4. A horse. 5. A little boy or a little girl. 6. An old gentleman. Animals and persons are more difficult to identify than inanimate things; hence you will need to exercise unusual care. Do not make the description imaginary; describe a PICTURING 149 real dog, a real horse, etc. But you may imagine that a great deal depends on the clearness, accuracy, and com- pleteness of your account. EXERCISE 5 We will hold a sale, purely imaginary of course, and un- like any that you have ever attended. Each member of the class may furnish one article — whatever he pleases. He will bring to class not the article itself, however, but the very best description of it that he can write. It must be an ab- solutely truthful description, not a statement in any way misleading, though the description may be made as attrac- tive as honesty and cleverness permit. The descriptions will be read by an auctioneer — the teacher — in an impartial manner. Each pupil may bid for one article only, not the one he desires most to possess, but the one that is best de- scribed, presenting the clearest, most attractive picture. Which article will bring the highest amount, each vote count- ing a penny, or a dollar .^^ Your part in the sale, then, is this: Bring to class tomorrow a written word-picture of something to sell, something that was before your eyes as you described it. Anything will do, from a pair of old shoes to a new piano — or an elephant, if you happen to have one. Do not forget that the picture must be absolutely truthful. Do not forget that it must be a picture. EXERCISE 6 On page 150 is a picture of Franklin's birthplace. What first catches your attention as you study it.? That it is small, plain, "blocky"? That the second story overhangs the first? That the windows are heavily cased, and the panes rather small ? Notice the door, the chimney, the cellar wall, the covered hatchway, the paved area. If asked to describe this dwelling, where should you begin? To go methodically from left to right or from top to bottom would 150 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK not do. The best way, perhaps, would be to present the items in the order in which the imagination needs them — the big, striking things first, then whatever is less notice- able. Here is a description that follows such a plan: Franklin's Birthplace The picture before me shows a very plain little gable-roofed house without ells or piazzas or porches, resting on a founda- tion not more than twenty-five feet square. That it is not a building of our day is shown by the fact that the second of its two stories slightly overhangs the lower, and the somewhat heavily framed windows have small panes, six to each sash. The side of the house is well supplied with windows, two for each story and a fifth in the gable. The front is not so well PICTURING 151 supplied; there are but two, one above the other. The one door is at the extreme right, in the front wall. I see no path leading up to it; but flagstones lead to a paved area at the side, where there is a low-roofed hatchway giving entrance to the cellar. The rooms must have low ceilings, and in one of the rooms, that into which the front door opens, there is probably a fireplace, for a substantial chimney rides the ridgepole at one end. There is no suggestion that the building has ever been painted. The picture does not show the surroundings, but one gets the impression that they are not attractive. Sunshine brightens somewhat the paved area and lights up the windows in the gable end, but the front of the house, which lies in deep shadow, looks gloomy enough. In this little house, so plain, so unattractive, Benjamin Franklin was born. The Shack Here is a picture of another building, almost as easy to describe as Franklin's birthplace. How does it differ from the house in which you live? What do you notice about it first? What things not observed at first glance do you 152 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK notice upon more careful study? Can you think of four or five adjectives or phrases which might be used in picturing it? In what order should they be used? Describe the building, employing about 300 words. EXERCISE 7 Now for a task somewhat more difficult. Here is a picture of an old homestead. Do you Uke it? What in The Old Homestead particular pleases you? If you were to make a list of all the many things which could be said about it — about the house itself, the yard, the trees, the roadway — it would be a very long one. Because there is so much to tell, great care would be needed in picturing things in the best order. Write a 300 word description of this old home. Mention the big^ prominent things first. If you have been especially PICTURING 153 Utr acted by one or two things, keep these in mind as you write. Doing so will give your description a degree of unity; and he- sides, it will enable you to put something of yourself into the composition. EXERCISE 8 In a three-minute talk picture some building as it appears to the passer-by. It is not necessary that you select from the list found below. It is necessary that you describe a building that you have actually seen and can recall to memory with a good degree of accuracy. 1. Where I live. 2. The house across the way. 3. The school building. 4. Our shack. 5. Seen at the military en- campment. 6. An ancient dwelling. 7. Where poverty dwells. 8. A deserted house. 9. Where farmer lives. 10. A factory. 11. A settler's cabin. 12. A country store. 13. A hotel. 14. A lighthouse. 15. An oflGice building. 16. A proud mansion. 17. Down by the river. 18. The rail- way station. 19. At a summer camp. 20. A barn. 21. A garage. 22. Just a shanty. Here are two suggestions. First, try to emphasize some one thing — the age of the ancient building, the "we-made- it-all-ourselves'* appearance of the shack, the attractive, homey air of the house in which you live, the air of neglect which marks the house across the way, etc. It will help to give your description unity. Second, do not make the picture cold, impersonal; let your likes and dislikes color it. A camera does nothing but register whatever comes in front of its lens. It cannot select items; it cannot unify by emphasizing some one thing; it cannot express likes and dislikes. But you can. You have a mind and a heart. Use them. EXERCISE 9 Here is a description of a room. It was written not by a pupil but by a teacher, yet you may criticize it freely. 154 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Does it present a clear picture? Can you find anything to praise? Is the description orderly, or are the items thrown together without much system? Are one or two things strongly emphasized? Has the writer neglected to mention colors? My Room It is on the top floor, a corner room about twenty feet square, with sloping ceiling, lighted by an east wmdow and a south window and a single gas jet. The floor of wide boards (ours is an old house) is painted a faint pumpkin yellow, with the brown of an earlier coat beginning to show through; the walls are papered with tan-colored "oatmeal," and the ceiling, likewise papered, is an ancient gray. The woodwork is white. You can see at a glance that it is a man's room, a booklover's room, a literary workshop. Home-made shelves, about five feet high, conceal much of the wall space. They are crowded. Odd volumes are squeezed in above the regular rows, and a long line on top patiently wait for a chance to get in somewhere. There are books on the big *' mission" table between the win- dows, and in two revolving cases, one case large enough to hold an encyclopedia in twenty-four volumes, the other a mere youngster little more than two feet high. There's a book on top of the Franklin stove which helps out the cellar furnace on cold days; and, I regret to add, books lie here and there on the floor — not many. Pictures, mainly photographs of scenes "down East" or across the ocean (reminders of vacation days), a large map of the battlefields in Europe, and a huge calendar, two feet by three, conceal more of the wall space. The east wall shows a strange eruption. Suspended from picture hooks and from nails driven in ruthlessly here and there are clips, each holding in its jaws a collection of cards, newspaper cuttings, memoranda of various kinds, in disorderly array, but most convenient to get at. The furniture is miscellaneous, with one comfort- able armchair to redeem it, and a most uncomfortable bent- wood affair with a swivel that goes with the little typewriter table beneath the gas jet, a leather-cushioned ottoman which PICTURING 155 serves no purpose whatever, and an old wastebasket, dilap- idated but still cherished. The room is not orderly, nor very well lighted, nor always comfortably warm; but it is mine, has been for many years, and I like it. I like it best at night when other people are asleep, and the piano next door has sent forth its final burst of ragtime, and the traffic has deserted the street beneath the east window, and the rain is drumming softly on the tin roof above. Here is a sketch of a dining-room. How do you like this room.f* Is it home-like? Does it suggest poverty. The Dining-room wealth, or a moderate income? Is it a large room? Does it contain much furniture, or has there been an attempt to keep it simple? Is any of the furniture old fashioned? What is a highboy? Let the clasSy worlcing together, plan a description of the dining-room. First make a list of all the things to be mentioned. 156 . JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Next determine one or two things to he emphasized. Finally make a Utile plan shovnng what each of the two or three para- graphs to be employed shall tell. EXERCISE 10 Write a description of the dining-room. Or if you prefer, describe, in writing, the room pictured on this page. The Parlor EXERCISE 11 Describe, in writing, any interior with which you are familiar, selecting if convenient from the folloiving list: 1. Any room in your home: pantry, kitchen, cellar, your own room. 2. A room in the school building: the principal's office, the gymnasium, the lunch room, the room in which you sit, the library. PICTURING 157 S. A room in one of the buildings mentioned in connection with Exercise 8. Try especially hard, this time, to emphasize some one thing. A boy's room is pretty sure to show that it is a boy*s room. It may even reveal what kind of boy occupies it. Keep this in mind, if you are describing a boy's room. If you are describing a kitchen, make it very kitcheny. Here is another suggestion. Boys especially, in describ- ing things, neglect color. They give dimensions, they in- ventory; but color is too much for them, or perhaps they think little about it. The colors are there; they are a part of every room, unless it is pitch dark. Be a bit braver than usual and put in a few "dabs," even though you are, at first, somewhat clumsy at it. EXERCISE 12 Your eyes and your ears are servants. Unlike other servants, however, they cannot be dismissed. Good or bad, they remain with you for life. Hence it is well to train them; for if they are not trained to keep alert and report with promptness and accuracy, they will hamper you in business and interfere with your pleasure. A main reason why exercises in description are valuable in a very practical way is that they force you to train your senses to do accurate work. It is capital exercise, and not bad fun, to observe minutely where something is "going on," noting every movement, and picturing it in a carefully prepared report, as a scout might, or a detective, or a naturalist. Here is a good re- port by Edward Forbush, who has written fascinating books about birds. One sunny day in early boyhood I watched a Vireo singing in a swampy thicket. He sang a few notes, his head turning 158 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK meanwhile from side to side, his eyes scanning closely the near-by foliage. Suddenly the song ceased; he leaned forward, sprang to another twig, snatched a green caterpillar from the under side of a leaf, swallowed it, and resumed his song. Here is a second picture-incident: One day, as I stopped to drink at a spring in the woods, a beautiful male Black-throated Green Warbler shot down from a tall tree and alighted on a moss-grown rock that bordered the diminutive pool. Evidently he had not expected me, but was not at all afraid. He looked up at me inquiringly for a moment, and then, stepping into the shallow water, dipped his head and threw the drops in showers as he shook out his brilliant plumage in the bath. His ablutions finished, he mounted again to a tree and sent back his drowsy song. Here are three school compositions. If you were acting as judge in a contest, to which of the three would you give first 'prize? The two points to he considered are first, ability to observe accurately; second, ability to record observations in correct, clear, attractive English, 1. How a Cat Crosses a Muddy Road First her ladyship looks up and down the street, and then from her vantage-point on the walk gingerly stretches forth one paw into the muddy expanse beneath her. Perhaps the spot doesn't strike her as being fordable; then she tries another place about a foot away. Perhaps it does suit her; if so, she proceeds to get the rest of her feet "into the works," where- upon she again stops, lifts a paw and shakes it in a disgusted manner. The very contact of anything so polluting as mud shocks her dainty mind. But the longed-for goal is the other side of the street; so she carefully picks out her way in a per- severing manner, every few steps shaking a defiant paw in the direction that she has come. Finally the curbstone is near. She makes a final leap — and is over. PICTURING 159 2. Perils of the Chase One dark and cloudy afternoon, when I was looking out of the window at a somewhat dreary prospect, wishing for some kind of excitement other than that of perusing the rather dry and dusty efforts of a certain Mr. Cicero, I happened to notice a squirrel, which was jumping about in a tree below the window. A beautiful little gray fellow he was, with smooth fur and a long, thick tail. He seemed unusually happy, springing from limb to limb and chattering gleefully to himself. I watched him as he climbed down the tree, head first, in the pretty way they have; and when he reached the ground, I noticed how delicately he stepped about on his stout little legs, and how daintily he nibbled a nut which he dug up from some secret hiding-place of his. As he was standing up on his hind legs, rapidly consuming the nut, for all the world like a little colored brother with a slice of watermelon, I noticed something else. It was a cat, a tiger cat, beautiful also, with its sleek, yellow coat and lightly waving tail, but beautiful in a different way; for as it stepped slowly and silently toward the unsuspecting squirrel, it seemed to be the very personification of sure and silent purpose. The squirrel finished his nut and, dropping to his fore legs again, began searching about in the grass for more. The instant he moved, the cat *' froze." As the squirrel did not notice, it slowly flattened to the ground and remained so quiet and so flat that it seemed a part of the earth itself, except for its ears, which moved back and forth nervously. The squirrel wandered aimlessly one way and another, but all the time he was approaching the waiting cat. They were but six feet apart, then five, then four. Even the cat's ears had ceased moving; its eyes watched as steadily and brightly as though they were of glass. The cat was barely a yard away. I saw its hindquarters move almost imperceptibly as it pre- pared to spring. I became aware of the fact that I was grip- ping the chair-arms with quite remarkable convulsiveness. But the squirrel turned away to the side and the cat did not spring. 160 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK s He continued wandering for a little while, and then stood up on his hind legs and looked around. Surely he could not but see the danger which was still so near, but apparently he saw nothing, for he calmly turned his back and hopped over to the foot of the tree. After stopping an instant, he began leisurely to ascend. The cat, angry at having lost so easily the prize which had been within its grasp, sprang after the squirrel and up the tree. Up to this time, I had not thought of interfering; I had been too interested. Now it seemed too late. But the cat had made an error in leaving its native element, the earth, for the squirrel's own territory, the tree-tops. To show the way he felt about the intrusion, the squirrel turned around, rushed down the tree-trunk, and clawed that cat with his very sharpest claw, square on that tenderest and most cherished possession, the nose. A more surprised or more thoroughly cowed cat, you never saw. It did not stop to climb out of that tree; it jumped. At the rate it was going, as I saw it go under the hedge at the other side of the yard, I should say it was running yet. As for the squirrel, he turned and ran up the tree again, still chattering joyfully to himself. 3. Ten Minutes in the Life of a Cat I had settled down to read a good story, this afternoon, and was just getting interested in it when my cat came into the room. I said, "Hello, Jack." "Purr-r-r meow," he answered. He is pure white, and just at the age when cats seem to play most; that is, when they have about reached their full growth but have not become night-prowlers. I have an old squirrel skin tied up in my room for him to play with, which he likes very much. He walked over to this and began to tap it with his paws. Then he hit it and began to rush it around and do all sorts of stunts just as if he were play ing with a live animal. Then, seeming to become tired of jumping around so, he lay on his back, holding the skin to him with his front paws and trying to kick it away with his hind paws, just as if his front and hind legs were engaged in a trial of PICTURING 161 strength. Finally, taking hold of it with his teeth, he stood on his hind legs and began to pull with all his might. Snap! tump! and he was on his back with the squirrel skin in his mouth, and the string was dangling. He got up, dropped the skin, walked away a few feet, and sat down to look at it. He seemed surprised and angry at it, as nothing like this had ever happened before, and cat-like he blamed the skin instead of the string, and refused to play with it for a while. He walked over to my table on which I have a can full of catnip and began to beg for some. I put some on the floor, made him sit between my feet, held my hands clasped together about three feet high, and told him to jump. He cleared my hands with a graceful bound and began to eat the catnip as if he hadn't had any for a month. When he had eaten this, I gave him some more. As catnip affects cats somewhat as liquor affects men, I watched him to see when it would take effect. After he had eaten perhaps half of it, he began to get fool- ish. He rolled in what was left, clawed the floor, scraped his face in it, and acted generally foolish. Soon he got up and walked unsteadily over to the squirrel skin and lay down on it fast asleep. I turned to look at the clock and was surprised to see that it was only ten minutes since I had started to read. Yet the cat had come in, played a while, hurt himself, got intoxicated, and gone to sleep in that time. EXERCISE 13 Play the 'part of careful observer. Write a descriptive ac- count like the one you have just ready recording with thorough- ness and accuracy what you have observed. Imagine nothing; just ''stopy look, listen.'* Here are suggestive titles: 1. Watching a match burn. 2. A little experiment in chemis- try. 3. How night comes. 4. What the hens did. 5. Kin- dling a fire. 6. Watching a spider. 7. The hardworking ant. 8. A honey bee at work. 9. The ways of goldfish. 10. How 162 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK the storm began. 11. Ten minutes in the life of my dog. 12. Watching a fellow pupil. 13. The clerk, doing up a parcel. 14. How sister telephones. 15. Watching little sister play. 16. The traffic policeman. 17. Catching a fish. 18. Father cranks the car. 19. A newsboy selling papers. 20. The um- pire makes an unpopular decision. EXERCISE 14 Facing page 164 is a reproduction of a water-color sketch. The view that it pictures is so simple that it should prove easy to describe. The main objects, of course, are the boats. It is to these that the eye is directed first of all, and the eye does not leave them till it has noted many things, particu- larly the shadows. Next, perhaps, we are attracted by the water, its surface almost like that of a mirror, and the shore which bounds the little cove where the boats are moored. Then perhaps we note the group of buildings in the back- ground, and the sky full of huge puffs of white. What time of year is it? What time of day? Is the water fresh or salt? Has the artist tried to emphasize some one thing? What would be an appropriate title for the picture? Write a description of this sceney employing about two hundred words. Don't forget the colors, EXERCISE 15 Think of some place out of doors which interests you ex- ceedingly , a place you like to visit over and over again. Z)e- scribe it from memory. You will be more successful, perhaps, if you imagine you are writing to a friend. Try not only to make him see what you describe, but to like it as well as you do. Here are hints : 1. Have a plan. Probably it will be best to mention the large, striking things first, then sketch in the details; but you may think of a better way. PICTURING 163 2. Give your picture unity. Keep in mind some par- ticular kind of day, some season of the year, some particular kind of weather. Do not shift your view-point without giving notice. 3. Make the description easy to follow by introducing guide words and guide phrases, such as at the extreme left, a little beyond, nearer at hand, turning now till you face the east. 4. Remember that you have five senses, and that all five may be employed if the description calls for it. A descrip- tion of the seashore, for example, might register the shore- line of a bay, the color of the water, the "feel" of the hard, sun-warmed rock on which you may be sitting, the sound of the breakers pounding on the shingle, the smell of the sea- weed drying at your feet, and even the taste of the salty spray that dampens your face. Here are suggestive titles: 1. Our swimming-hole. 2. A deserted lumber camp. 3. A corner of a city park. 4. Where the old highway once ran. 5. The wharf. 6. A nook in the woods. 7. A flower garden. 8. A trout pool. 9. The orchard. 10. A wayside watering-trough. 11. The parade ground. 12. The mill pond. 13. The school yard. 14. The picnic grounds. EXERCISE 16 "The king," writes Kipling in one of his stories, "was dressed in a purple velvet jacket, white muslin trousers, and a saffron-yellow turban of price." This one sentence of less than twenty words presents a fairly good portrait, though it tells merely how the king was dressed. In one of Dickens's stories we find the following sentence: "Except on the crown, which was raggedly bald, he had stiff, black hair, standing jaggedly all over it [his head], and growing down-hill almost to his broad, blunt nose." This also is good description, yet it includes but one or two of the 164 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK many particulars necessary for a complete portrait. More nearly complete is the following, in which many items are given, including a few which have to do with character or personality: "He is forty-six, a shy, gentle little man, seldom speaking, blushing when applauded, stuttering if suddenly accosted, and dismayed when people call him * master.' He wears a close-fitting frock coat. He is as bald as an egg; his cheeks are bordered with a short gray beard; his strong, straight nose carries a pair of thick, round glasses, and the eyes that look through them are mild and a trifle worried." Finally, here is a portrait by a high school girl. It is patterned after one found in Chaucer's Canterbury TaleSy though the girl pictured is a real person. Do you like it? There was also in this company a Westerner, a girl about twenty years of age. Her eyes were black as night, and sparkled with joy and merriment under dark lashes. Her teeth were even and pearly, and when her red lips parted in a smile, no one could resist her. She was mounted on a broncho, and from the pommel of her saddle dangled a lasso. Her face, tanned by sun and wind, was framed with dark hair which looked almost black. On her head she wore a gray felt hat, turned up on one side, in which a red feather was stuck jauntily. She was dressed in khaki skirt and middy blouse. From beneath her skirt could be seen just the tip of her tan riding boot. Around her waist was a cartridge belt, containing a six-shooter. She wore no jewelry except a curious old Indian pin at her neck. As she rode, she looked the perfect picture of ease and grace. Word portraits, good ones, are difficult to make. It is not a simple matter to pick out distinguishing character- istics, nor to find just the right words with which to picture the characteristics. Memory, too, plays an important part. You cannot always remember, on the spur of the moment, the details needed for a complete portrait even of one whom you know intimately. But ability to picture people is of prac- tical value, as a little thought will probably convince you. VHP" m 'tOHMHSH h By Koch Copyrighted by the Prang Publishing Co. A Water-color By Verneer Reprinted by permission of the Metropolitan Museum Young Woman Opening A Casement PICTURING 165 In an earlier exercise you were asked to contribute to a collection of miscellaneous pictures gathered on the way to school. A little later you brought articles — descriptions of them — for what might have been called a rummage sale. Now for an album of portraits, or shall we call it a grand as- sembly of people, our guests for a single hour? Tomorrow let each member of the class bring , in the form of a word 'portrait of not more than fifteen lines, a friend or a chance acquaintance, or even a total stranger. All the people must be real, none imaginary ^ and there must be no impolite exaggera- tion such as the playful cartoonist is privileged to enjoy. You need not try to exclude details which may reveal the person's character. EXERCISE 17 Facing this page is a reproduction of a painting entitled Young Woman Opening a Casement. It is by the Dutch artist Vermeer. Study it carefully. Isn't the young woman quaintly dressed.'* Why is she opening the casement? Are there flowers on a window ledge to be watered from the pitcher? Can it be that the water is intended for a passer-by, or is there no trace of mischief in her counte- nance? Notice how careful the artist has been of every de- tail. Study the table spread, for example, and the casement. What is the blue garment thrown over the back of the chair? Why did the artist include the ugly wall map? Can it be that it was his custom to paint homely scenes just as they are, and because he found a map on the wall he thought it should remain there? Where does the light come from and what does it throw into prominence? What do you like most of all in the picture? Come tomorrow prepared to help your classmates to plan a description of this picture. The title of the picture furnishes a hint concerning how the description might begin. 166 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK EXERCISE 18 Facing page 180 is a colored illustration by Rockwell, whose magazine covers and posters no doubt have often made you smile. Surely you will find little difficulty in describing it. Study the countenances, the postures, the costumes. Don't forget the home plate. Twenty lines should prove sufficient. EXERCISE 19 Here is a picture-narrative to study, one of thousands which have appeared in books and newspapers reporting scenes on the field of battle. It tells of the moving forward of troops in preparation for a fresh drive following a victory. It is an astounding pageant, these hundreds of thousands of men — English, Welsh, Canadians, Scottish, and Australians — all moving in a long reaching tide with horses and guns and transport along tracks over old battlefields, going forward mile by mile very slowly because of the surge of traffic over narrow ways, but never stopping. Dust rises from the moving legions in brownish clouds which the wind tosses above their steel helmets, and through this dust, in which the sun is shining hotly, there is a vision of brown masses of men with the glint of steel on rifles and helmets, and twinkling colors, red and blue and green, of staff badges and pensions. Every man marches in a white mask of dust through which his eyes shine. Dispatch riders are threading their way through long lines of transport. The endless columns of lorries, field batteries, and gun horses are grotesque, like millers all floured from head to feet. The horses are supers and in splendid form, as though from an exhibition, and it goes to the heart to see so many lying dead on the fields after recent battles. There is a great music of war over all this scene. Scottish battalions go forward to the fighting line led part of the way by their pipers, and across the battlefields come the wild cry of PICTURING 167 the pibroch and the drone of many pipes. The English bat- tahons are marching with brass bands playing old English marching tunes, and, between whiles, merry bursts of ragtime. The crunching of gun wheels over rough ground, officers shout- ing orders to their men, the hooting of lorry horns, and an incessant hum of airplanes overhead all make up a symphony which has a song of triumph in its theme. Philip Gibbs, in the New York Times Do you like the description.? In what respects is it better, probably, than anything you could have written had you been a war correspondent viewing the same scene? What is a pageant.? What is a symphony? Did Mr. Gibbs record his impressions just as he received them, or follow a definite plan? In other exercises you were advised to begin with big, striking things, then sketch in details. Is such a method apparent in this description? Either through quick sug- gestion, as in such single words as tide and surgCy or through direct comparisons, an attempt is made in a number of places to help the reader's imagination. How many such places do you find? Can you find a place where a few words of explanation have been inserted? Has Mr. Gibbs simply recorded color, form, movement, sound, without at any point revealing his emotions? One secret of success in writing description lies in the care with which words are chosen. Pick out a few well-chosen words. Pick out, in the last paragraph, all the words that help to suggest the sounds that are being recorded. Pretty, flowery language spoils a description; for the reader thinks the writer may be less desirous of picturing things than of showing what a fine writer he is. Does Mr. Gibbs tend strictly to the business of producing a clear impression of all that his eye and his ear recorded? Difficult as is a pageant-symphony description like the one presented by Mr. Gibbs — that is, a vivid account of everythiQg recorded by the eye and the ear of one before 168 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK whom a throng is moving — young people are better at it, oftentimes, than their elders. The reason is not far to seek. The young have keener senses. Their interest is greater; the world is newer to them. It is great to be still young. Write an account patterned after that of Mr. Gihhs, making it as vivid as your keeUy youthful senses can. Select^ if possible, from the following list of titles: 1. The gathering of a crowd at a game. 2. When the school meets in the assembly hall. 3. Circus day. 4. A busy city thoroughfare. 5. The departure of a ship. 6. A harvest scene. 7. The coming of a storm. 8. When the train comes in. 9. Recess. 10. Lunch time. 11. At the mihtary camp. 12. The parade. 13. Watching the bulletins. 14. A street accident. 15. The crowd at the ** movies." Avoid "fine" language; get right down to the real busi- ness of doing a difficult task well. Do not try to keep yourself out. What is desired is an account of a scene as it impressed you, a young person. Above all things, do not try to be a "grown-up"; be yourself. We will now cull out and rearrange the hints and sug- gestions scattered through the exercises of this Course, combining them into a brief composition. The Art of Picturing The title is not a perfect one; for description really includes whatever is recorded by any of the senses. Thus we might try to describe the form, color, and movement of an aeroplane, the faint sounds that filter downward when geese fly north in early spring, the perfume of flowers, the flavor of fruits, the velvety feeling of a tuft of moss. But sound, perfume, flavor, and the "feel of things" are so difficult to express through language that to describe commonly means little more than to picture. PICTURING 169 1. Getting Getting and giving, gaining complete possession and sharing freely with others: these are the two steps in successful descrip- tion. In connection with getting, five suggestions may be made. 1. Keep alert. Keep all your senses alert. There is such a thing as falling into the habit of being dull, half-awake. Rouse up! "Poor film," the photographer sometimes explains when your pictures do not come out well. He means that the gelatine surface of the roll on which the sunlight prints was not fresh and sensitive. Keep your mind sensitive. 2. Take a good look, a good listen. Merely keeping alert is not suflScient. Make the "exposure," to use a photographic term, long enough for a clear impression. 3. Memorize. You can commit to memory a house or a scene just as you commit a poem. After the good long look, shut your eyes and try to recall in detail what you have looked upon. Do this again and again. Don't permit yourself to fall into the habit of letting your pictures fade quickly away. "Fix" them, just as the photographer "fixes" the negative by placing it in a certain chemical bath. 4. Train yourself to pick out marks of identification, the dis- tinguishing, characteristic features; for you cannot hope to carry away everything. The camera misses nothing, but you are not a camera; you can select. 5. There is a fifth point very difficult to talk about. To take full possession, you must not only employ all five senses, and study for the purpose of discovering the marks of identification, but also turn loose your feelings, as we call them in common speech. You may have a pretty clear mind- picture of a Scotch collie whose acquaintance you have recently formed; but you will soon have a much better picture if, by any chance, that collie becomes yours — your constant companion. Mind-pictures of home faces become far more than mere photographs when a boy lies wounded in a hospital thousands of miles away from home. They are colored with the light of intense longing and deepened affection. These are extreme illustrations; but there is such a thing as letting the emotions play about whatever passes before the eyes. If you wish full 'oossession, "let yourself go" — all of you: senses, mind, emotions. 170 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK 2. Sharing with Others Now for the difficult yet pleasant task of sharing with others. 1. You must have a plan, of course. It may be possible to follow a simple time sequence as in telling a story; or a space se- quence, going from one item to that which lies next to it; but frequently the best plan is to begin with the large, striking things and then sketch in details, supplying the imagination with ma- terial in the order in which the imagination needs it in building up the picture. 2. Try to give your description unity. There are many ways. A very simple way is to keep in mind, as you write or talk, some one person. Another way is to try to emphasize some one thing throughout, just as the photographer oftentimes focuses his camera and arranges his lights in such a way as to bring into prominence some one thing. In A Tale of Two Cities Dickens describes the quarter of St. Antoine in such a way as to emphasize poverty. Having a definite purpose of this kind keeps one from throwing out items in hit-or-miss fashion. 3. Help the imagination in every way you can. Do this by giving many details, by putting in little guide-words and guide- phrases to aid in keeping track of things, by slipping in an ex- planatory sentence now and then if it is needed, and by employing many comparisons. 4. Choose your words with great care. There are picture- bringing words, if you will but search for them, so much better, it may be, than the first that pop into your mind. Above all, avoid flowery speech — "fine language," employed with the de- finite purpose of **prettifjang" a composition. A rough, crude picture, like a charcoal sketch made on a shingle, is better than an elaborate product that is not sincere. 5. Finally, remember that you are not sharing absolutely, with big-hearted generosity, unless your picture is frankly colored with your emotions. Something of yourself must go with the picture. This may not be true of scientific description, where accuracy alone is desired, but in the type of description you most commonly employ it is a great mistake to keep yourself out alto- gether. DRILL EXERCISES PRONUNCIATION Thy pth, and ngth are combinations hard for some tongues. The dictionary will help little in mastering them. Listen attentively while your teacher pronounces the following. Perhaps, unconsciously, you may have been mispronouncing some of these common words. Pronounce them after the teacher. thousand throat through Thursday threw thought with together diphtheria diphthong length strength width breadth father mother The first syllable of Italian does not rhyme with pie. It is pronounced like the first syllable of Italy. In evily hostile , reptile^ and juvenile, the last syllable rhymes with bill. The last syllable of genuine rhymes with bin. Read this sentence: A genuine evil Italian reptile is hostile to juveniles. Pure is never mispronounced. Try to give u the same sound in the following: Tuesday enthusiasm avenue tube blue altitude annual stupid solitude tutor latitude picture student duke duel peculiar produce rude 171 tuition truth 172 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK SPELLING Inability to distinguish between words that are similar sometimes leads to embarrassing mistakes. There is a wide difference between a hony lass and a honny lass. Later and latter do not mean the same thing. First 'pronounce the following words, then note how they are spelled. Write sentences in which they are so employed as to show that you understand their meaning. bony bonny later latter striped stripped corps coma comma suit human comma humane desert corpse suite dessert 2 Here are homonyms, as they are called, or words that are pronounced alike but spelled differently. Write sentences in which they are correctly employed. aisle isle scene seen pair pear steal steel pane pain soar sore waste waist straight strait berth birth ascent assent shone shown cereal serial Copy the following sentences, retaining in each but one of the homonyms found in parenthesis. Do not guess; when in doubt concerning the meaning of a word, look it up. Having looked up the meaning, try to fix it in your mind. 1. He purchased a (bale bail) of cotton. 2. Let's (bale bail) out the boat. 3. The prisoner is out on (bale bail). 4. A (peal peel) of laughter was heard. 5. Remove the (peal DRILL EXERCISES 17S peel) before eating the orange. 6. The (sealing ceiling) fell as he was (ceiling sealing) the letter. 7. He (pores pours) the water into the glass. 8. The (pores pours) of the skin must be kept open. 9. He removed his (fir fur) gloves while standing near the (fur fir) tree. 10. Her (mantel mantle) was trimmed with (fir fur). 11. Over the fireplace was a narrow (mantel mantle). 12. The gas burner needs a new (mantel mantle). 13. (Currant current) expenses were met by volun- tary subscriptions. 14. We had (currant current) jelly roll for supper. 15. The stream's (currant current) was swift. Copy the following sentences, retaining in each hut one of the words found in parenthesis. 1. (Miners minors) cannot vote. 2. The (miner minor) wears a lamp in his cap. 3. My objections are but (miner minor) ones. 4. He played in a (miner minor) key. 5. The two counts fought a (dual duel). 6. Hartford High and New Britain High held a (dual duel) meet. 7. Whatever is (sta- tionary stationery) remains in one place or position. 8. By (stationary stationery) I mean envelopes and note paper. 9. The horse wears a (bridal bridle). 10. A (bridal bridle) party is a wedding party. 11. To (altar alter) anything is to change it. 12. If we wish to see an (altar alter), we must go to church. 13. We consult a (calendar calender) to see what day of the month it is. 14. A (calendar calender) is a machine used in making cloth and paper. 15. Tom won a (medal meddle). 16. Little children must not (medal meddle). 17. Is it made of wood or of (metal mettle)? 18. Boys, show your (metal mettle) by winning the game. PUNCTUATION Rule. — Commas are used in setting off a non-restrictive clause or phrase. This troublesome rule becomes very simple when once understood. The difficulty lies in the word non-restrictive. 174 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK Let us, then, master this word. Note the following sen- tences : The cadets who were in uniform were invited to join the parade. The cadets, who were in uniform, were invited to join the parade. Were all the cadets in uniform? Were all invited to join the parade? According to the first sentence, some of the cadets may not have been in uniform; only those in uni- form were invited to parade. The invitation was limited — restricted — to a part of the cadets. The clause who were in uniform does the restricting. It is a restrictive clause. We do not set it off; it belongs with the word cadets, modifying or limiting it closely, like an adjective. In the second sentence, apparently all the cadets were in- vited. Just as a matter of added information, it is stated that they were in uniform, or the clause may have been used to explain why the cadets were invited. The invitation is in no way confined, restricted. The clause is not restrictive but parenthetical, explanatory, non-restrictive. That is why it is set off by commas. The commas are necessary to make the meaning clear. Pupils having a daily average of ninety were excused from examinations. Ethel, having a daily average of ninety, was excused from examinations. Here we have phrases instead of clauses. In the first sentence the phrase is restrictive. It shuts out all but a few — the few who had a daily average of ninety. In the second sentence the phrase is explaijatory, not restrictive. It explains why Ethel was excused from examinations. Because the phrase is explanatory and not restrictive, it is set off. DRILL EXERCISES 175 Which of the italicized phrases and clauses are restrictive? Punctuate the sentences, 1. Emily having the highest mark was given the prize. 2. Give this to the girl having the highest mark. S. The boy who tries hard deserves success. 4. Jim who tries hard deserves success. 5. The one boy who was frightened ran away. 6. The boy who probably was never more frightened in his life ran away. 7. The gentleman whom you saw just now is Mr. Arm- strong. 8. Mr. Armstrong whom you saw just now is a Second Lieutenant. 9. They were looking curiously at the gentleman wearing a green coat. 10. He marched with Jim and Pete wear- ing his green coat. 11. The gain that is made at the expense of reputation should be considered a loss. 12. This gain since it was made at the expense of reputation should be considered a loss. 13. Mary wanted a hat like Kate's. 14. Mary's hat like Kate's was trimmed with blue. 15. Have those whom I told to do the deed returned? 16. Have Arthur and Edgar whom I told to do the deed returned? 17. My friend proposed that we should alight and walk through the park to the hall which was at no great distance. 18. Lights from the hall which was at no great distance gleamed through the trees. 19. This law was passed largely through the efforts of the farmers whom it is benefiting. 20. DeSoto who died of fever on the expedition was buried in the river which he had discovered. Rule. — A comma is sometimes necessary before and, but, for, or, nor, as, because, and other connectives, to make the meaning of the sentence quickly apparent. This, like the preceding rule, calls for thought; it cannot be applied blindly. Examine the following sentences, noting the effect of the punctuation: 1. Oranges were given to Mary and Ellen and Edith re- ceived candy. 2. Oranges were given to Mary, and Ellen and Edith re- ceived candy. 176 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK 3. Oranges were given to Mary and Ellen, and Edith received candy. 4. He went disguised as the King had requested. 5. He went disguised, as the King had requested. 6. He ran as fast as he could for the boat left promptly at five. 7. He ran as fast as he could, for the boat left promptly at five. In the first sentence there is no way of telling how the oranges and candy were distributed. In the next two sen- tences the comma explains very definitely how the dis- tribution was made. Asy in the fourth, might mean in the manner that. As in the fifth has the force of because. This the comma tells us. In reading the sixth, the eye hastens along till it reaches boat; then it discovers that for the boat does not go with ran as fast as he could but with left promptly at five. All is plain in the seventh; the comma before /or warns that a new clause is coming. From these examples, and from examples found under previous rules, we rightly conclude that one of the main uses of the comma is to separate words or groups of words which do not belong together. They warn the reader to pause, whenever he is in danger of rushing ahead and blunder- ing. They are like the signs commonly posted along our thoroughfares for the benefit of automobilists : "Sharp curve ahead," "Take the right-hand road for Blanktown,'* "Railroad crossing two hundred feet ahead," "Schoolhouse ahead; go slowly," etc. Punctuate such of the following as you think require it, 1. For lunch we had bread and butter and nothing else could have pleased me more. 2. I got a man and a rifle and together we hiked four miles and got the report to the Colonel. 3. It was no use to argue the point for she had a very small DRILL EXERCISES 177 head. 4. He liked none but the first and the last of the songs pleased me very much. 5. He wears a dark blue Russian blouse trimmed with gilt buttons and dark blue knickerbockers. 6. Remember that water is likely to spread the flames from gaso- line and kerosene and is not to be relied on for extinguishing fires. 7. Never tamper with the gas meter and do not pile up kindlings wood paper or other inflammable material near it. 8. The glass of the skylight was dashed into a thousand pieces and a man leaped through and landed on the floor. 9. They were looking for some one who wanted a carriage or a trunk carried to the depot. COURSE VI COMPOSITION Business English Letters and forms Reports Good manners in the business world DRILL Pronunciation Common words often mispronounced Correct placing of accent Common French words Spelling ^ Business terms Words employed in correspondence Punctuation The semicolon By Rockavf.ll Copyright by Life Pub. Co. An American Missionary in France By Waltz M()(TNI 1 r CiAKI.E.S in roliiiar. Alsace BUSINESS ENGLISH This is a specimen of business English — a bill presented by a very small boy to his father. It suggests, what is doubtless true, that in our commercially great country we **go into business" at an early age. The bill made out by Mr. H. B. Hicks (more commonly known to the neighborhood as Harold) has one good feature. It is polite. Notice the respect to an elder shown in Dear Sir, and the recognition of the fact that there are times when paying for services rendered is not at all *'plesent.'* In other respects, however, Harold's bill will hardly serve as a model. Here is a better one: Model 1 8 Amity St., Hartford, Conn. Sept. 10, 1919 Mr. Arthur R. Thompson To Mark L. Thompson, Dr. Aug. 1 Hoeing garden 4 hrs at .15 .60 " 4 Mowing lawn .50 " 11 Washing car .75 " 20 Cleaning cellar 2 hrs at .15 ,30 S2.15 Received payment, 181 182 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK A bill is but a letter with all unnecessary words omitted, for in the business world time is very valuable. There is no polite Salutation, no Leave-taking. When Mark re- ceipts his bill by signing his name, he may add a polite Thank yoUy but even this is not necessary. Note, however, that nothing is omitted which Mr. Thompson would wish to know before paying Mark. EXERCISE 1 Answer the following questions: 1. Does the Heading in Mark's bill differ in any way from the Heading in a social letter? 2. What does Dr. mean? 3. What do you observe in regard to the use of capitals and punctuation? 4. Why is each item placed on a separate line? 5. Is anything gained by placing the decimal point before the various sums? 6. Are the decimal and the dollar signs really necessary in the total? Make out a similar bill for services rendered^ inventing appropriate items. Try hard to make the bill a model. This will call for care in spacing and neatness in penmanship. EXERCISE 2 Model 2 shows a bill such as a business house sends out. Everything is printed that can be — the firm's name and address, the words Sold Toy and the lines lower down form- ing separate compartments for dates, items of purchase, and sums. Even in receipting the bill, a stamp with an adjustable dating device is employed; so the clerk does not have to use a pen at all except in signing his initials, which, in the case of Model 2, are M. M. Notice that in the typewritten part of the bill the purchaser's name and address are given in full. Compare Models 1 and 2. In how many respects do they differ? BUSINESS ENGLISH 183 Model 2 G. F. WAKEFIELD & CO. TBookatUttfi anti dtationer0 77 and 79 Harbor Street, Hartford, Conn. Oct. 1. 1919 SOLD TO Mr. Arthur R. Thompson 23 Amity St. Hartford, Conn. Sept. 8 1 Home Fires in France 1.35 II 1 Astronomy with the Naked Eye 1.40 II 1 Home Book of Verse 7.00 Sept 9 1 Community Civics Received payment Oct. 10. 1919 G. F. WAKEFIELD & CO. By M, M. 1.00 10.75 Pretending that you are a merchant^ make out a bill for goods sold to an imaginary customer. Begin by inventing an appropriate billhead. Take pains with the ruling. EXERCISE 3 If you were to make a study of the bills sent out by a hundred different houses, it is probable that you would find many little variations from the two models shown, each fitting the requirements of a particular line of business. The models, nevertheless, are safe ones to follow; they represent forms widely adopted. Get from your parents or from some other source a number of bills and study them to see how they differ. If you are permitted to do so, bring them to class and point out the pe- 184 JUNIOR ENGLISH BOOK culiarities you have discovered. Otherwise, come to class pre- pared to talk about them, illustrating by means of forms placed on the blackboard. The bill from G. P. Wakefield & Co. is receipted, showing that it has been paid. The date of payment, you will ob- serve, is given and also the initials of the clerk who received the remittance. If Model 2 were a perfect reproduction, the initials M. M. would be penned; for though a rubber stamp is commonly used in receipting bills, the initials of the one who receives the money or the check are always written. Most bills are paid by check. Here is a picture of one that has been filled out. ©^ OF HARTFORD :ifi^ 18- ■-|«o jq^ (ktfi.... "R .T€.