PRACTICE BOOK IN 
 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 ALFRED : M: HITCHCOCK
 
 « \ 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 GIFT OB 
 
 Dr. Waldemar Vies tergaard
 
 tymjL^t^.o^ ^^-j^
 
 A PRACTICE-BOOK 
 
 IN 
 
 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 BY 
 
 ALFRED M. HITCHCOCK 
 
 Hartford Public High School 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 HENPwY HOLT AND COMLANY 
 
 1907
 
 Copyright, 1906 
 
 BV 
 
 HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 
 
 ROBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER. NEW YORK.
 
 /4|3 
 Hfc3 
 
 f 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Present day conditions seem to call for a very 
 plain, practical text-book, brief, yet sufficiently 
 varied in contents to provide both oral work and 
 written work, home tasks and unprepared class- 
 room drill; a course so contrived that definite, de- 
 sirable results may be obtained without over- 
 burdening the teacher. 
 
 The Practice-book attempts to meet these con- 
 ditions. It is not a rhetoric nor a complete 
 manual of composition. Instead of elaborate 
 statements of theories, principles, and rules, it 
 contains merely a few simple suggestions slipped 
 in here and there informally — cautions against 
 common errors, and hints in regard to how 
 compositions may be made effective. Models 
 are used sparingly, partly because the youthful 
 mind learns to express itself more freely and 
 with greater power when not asked too often to 
 imitate, and partly because the most inspiring 
 models are not extracts from the great master- 
 
 111 

 
 iv PREFACE 
 
 pieces but the clever little compositions which 
 every teacher is sure to receive now and then. 
 
 No small part of the book is made up of exer- 
 cises in spelling, punctuation, and sentence- 
 structure. Drill of this kind is not popular, but 
 practiced teachers realize that, to-day as never 
 before, it is necessary. Nor do such teachers 
 fear in the least that drill in mechanical accuracy 
 will check spontaneity. Spontaneity that sprawls, 
 and tangles, and disregards grammar and dic- 
 tionary had better be checked. Genius some- 
 times rebels, but it cannot be killed; it is the 
 last thing a teacher need worry about. Nor is 
 it any longer considered a pedagogic crime to 
 place before the eyes of the impressionable young 
 a faulty sentence and say This is wrong. Why 
 is it wrong ? How can it he made right ? Some 
 errors, to be sure, disappear of their own accord; 
 but others remain and torment till they are rooted 
 out. 
 
 In arrangement the Practice-hook differs from 
 the ordinary. It is divided into two sections. 
 Part I calls for short compositions, ora,l and 
 written; Part II takes up an entirely different 
 kind of work, training in mechanical accuracy. 
 The usual method of combining more closely these 
 two branches has not been adopted, first, be- 
 cause they are distinct, to a degree hostile to each
 
 .\( 
 
 other, and should thcreforo he kept separate; 
 second, because no text-book maker is sufHciently 
 wise to be able to foresee at what point in the 
 course this or that error will need correction 
 through special drill. It has seemed better to 
 place by themselves all corrective exercises and 
 assume that the teacher will have wit enough to 
 turn to them at the proper time, using them now 
 to exterminate an evil which threatens to be- 
 come epidemic, now to avoid errors which ex- 
 perience tells him are reasonably sure to appear. 
 Since the exercises in Part II are to be taken as 
 occasion requires, and not necessarily in the order 
 in which they appear in the book, they are but 
 loosely grouped. Part I is far more carefully 
 organized. Yet here too it may well be that the 
 sequence recommended will not please everybody. 
 Some prefer to place exposition after description, 
 others to place letter-writing first of all. In 
 recognition of this difference in practice, each 
 chapter has been made a brief course by itself, 
 reasonably independent, so that changes may be 
 made without seriously interfering with the 
 general plan. The order recommended, how- 
 ever, is not the result of caprice; it has been care- 
 fully thought out and thoroughly tested. 
 
 Of the many text-books which have appeared 
 during the past fifteen years, three have been
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 most helpful to the maker of this little work, 
 not necessarily because better than the rest, but 
 because they brought to a struggling teacher 
 what at the time he needed most. These are 
 Wendell's well-known English Compositiofi and 
 two elementary manuals, Chittenden's Elements 
 of English Composition and Newcomer's English 
 Composition. From more recent works have 
 come many suggestions which should be specific- 
 ally acknowledged were it possible to do so. 
 Where hundreds of able, enthusiastic teachers 
 are experimenting, inventing, it is difficult to de- 
 termine priority. But nice acknowledgment is 
 perhaps unnecessary on the part of one who 
 wishes simply to share with others what he has 
 found usable in his own classes. Thanks are due 
 to several publishers for permission to reprint 
 copyrighted material. In every case this cour- 
 tesy is acknowledged in the form of a foot- 
 note. Special mention should be made, however, 
 of three photographs kindly furnished by Mr. 
 Eugene D. Field of Hartford.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PART I 
 
 C'llMTKIl PACK 
 
 A Pbeuminary Word to the PTi-ir. xi 
 
 1. Narration 3 
 
 II. Narration — Conlinued 13 
 
 III. KxposiTioN 22 
 
 IV. Description 36 
 
 V. Description — Continued . . 42 
 
 V'l. Argument 49 
 
 V'll. Letter- WRITING 58 
 
 VIII. Letter- WRITING — Continued. .' 70 
 
 IX. Letter- WRITING — Continued 82 
 
 X. Story-telling 89 
 
 XL Miscellaneous 99 
 
 PART II 
 
 Xn. Sentence Analysis 113 
 
 XIII. Substitution and Combination 1 19 
 
 XIV. Unity 137 
 
 XV. Coherence 144 
 
 XVI. Coherence — Continued 154 
 
 XVII. Punctuation 163 
 
 XVIIL Spelling 188 
 
 XIX. Troublesome Verbs 199 
 
 XX. Correcting Proof 217 
 
 vii
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 Young Handel 12 
 
 Franklin's Birthplace 36 
 
 The Old Home 38 
 
 The Dining-room 40 
 
 Rydal Water 44 
 
 Song of the Lakk 4G 
 
 The Last Muster 98 
 
 Snow-bound 102 
 
 The Untravelled Road 104 
 
 The Visit 110 
 
 ix
 
 A PRELIMlNAin' WORD To TIIK PUPIL 
 
 In Scott's Ivanhoe when the mysterious Bhick 
 Knight and his doughty companions are about 
 to storm Torquilstone Castle, they prepare a 
 challenge, as was the custom seven hundred 
 years ago. The archer Locksley signs this docu- 
 ment not by writing his name but by drawing a 
 picture of an arrow. The jester Wamba uses a 
 cock's head for his mark, and a rude cross 
 suffices for Gurth the swineherd. Apparently, 
 of all the attacking party the Black Knight 
 alone knows how to write. And when the 
 challenge is delivered to the lord of the castle, 
 he turns it this way and that as if it were a puzzle, 
 then hands it to a fellow Norman, who promptly 
 confesses that he too can neither read nor write. 
 Scott's descriptions may not be literally exact; 
 yet doubtless most of even the great men of 
 the Middle Ages lived, fought, and died without 
 ever learning to write. 
 
 If we may trust a recent newspaper item, from 
 
 xi
 
 xii A WORD TO THE PUPIL 
 
 900,000 to 1,000,000 letters are mailed at the 
 general post-office in New York City between 
 four in the afternoon and nine at night every 
 business day. Think, then, of all the letters 
 written daily in all the world, of the newspapers 
 and the magazines and the books, of the pens 
 that race and the typewriters that clatter day 
 in and day out from one end of the year to the 
 other. Times have indeed changed. 
 
 Occasionally we may wish that times had not 
 changed so much. Spelling books, grammars, 
 and composition manuals, comparatively recent 
 inventions, bring little joy. When struggling to 
 put on paper a few simple statements which would 
 be easy enough to make by word of mouth, we 
 may vainly wish we had been born centuries ago 
 when the battle-axe was mightier than the pen. 
 Sometimes we foolishly try to persuade ourselves 
 that even to-day it is possible to get along fairly 
 well with only very slight skill in expressing our- 
 selves. Many, it is argued, do succeed who can- 
 not even write a moderately correct letter. 
 
 But such reasoning is not sound. It is possible, 
 of course, for a cripple to limp from San Francisco 
 to New Orleans; but he had better travel by 
 train, if he can. It may be possible, under some 
 circumstances, to succeed in life without skill as a 
 writer; but those who have so succeeded will tell
 
 A WOIM) TO nil-: I'llMI. xiii 
 
 you that success came to thciii in spite of this 
 drawback, not Ix'cause oi it. A^aiii ami a;^Miii 
 have they lost time, money, pleasun-, opportu- 
 nity to serve others, because of their inability to 
 express themselves with ease and force. They 
 will say emphatically that though by itself mere 
 ability to write and talk effectively is of no value, 
 it is a most necessary aid, no matter what one's 
 lot in life may be. 
 
 Nor is it wise to assume that all the skill needed 
 may be acquired without special training; that 
 through daily conversation, through reading news- 
 papers and books, and through writing now and 
 then a letter one can gain all the power that is 
 necessary. Some kinds of conversation, some 
 kinds of reading and letter-writing, are indeed a 
 very great help. It would be pleasant if they were 
 the only aids necessary. But they are not. The 
 football player acquires vim, quickness, ability 
 to meet emergency, not by playing a game now 
 and then, but through hard, systematic training. 
 The West Point cadet cannot get along without 
 "setting-up" exercises to give him full control 
 of his body. The musician patiently endures 
 "five finger" exercises. The sculptor, the artist, 
 the craftsman, all have to learn through long 
 practice how to use the tools with which their 
 work is done. And the writer is no exception;
 
 xiv A WORD TO THE PUPIL 
 
 there is no royal road for him, no easy, always 
 pleasant way of gaining mastery. If we wish to 
 be able to make known our wants, able to per- 
 suade others to our way of thinking; if we wish 
 to share with others what we have seen and heard, 
 what we have thought and felt and imagined, we 
 must first learn through long, patient practice 
 how to express ourselves readily with clearness 
 and force. 
 
 This is a practice-book. It contains, first and 
 last, many hints which should be of service to 
 the untrained writer and talker. It points out 
 little errors to which he is inclined, and suggests 
 ways of avoiding them. It contains many 
 exercises, some new, some centuries old no 
 doubt, but all designed to furnish profitable drill. 
 It is based on the belief that we grow in usefulness 
 and happiness only by sharing what we have 
 with others, that much which is best worth 
 sharing can ba passed about only through the 
 medium of composition, and that to succeed in 
 composition as in any other line of activity OKe 
 must be willing to endure hard labor.
 
 PART I 
 
 EXERCISES IN SIMPLE COAIPOSITION
 
 EI^GLISII COAIPOSITION 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 NARRATION 
 
 Here are three stories which you may have 
 heard many times, for they are old ones. Read 
 them carefully that you may be prepared to do 
 the tasks assigned on a later page. 
 
 An Italian nobleman was going to he married, and 
 everybody at his castle was busy hcl])ing to get ready 
 the marriage feast. There was one great drawback: 
 there had been such dreadful storms at sea that the 
 fishermen had not dared to venture out, and consequently 
 there was no fish to be had. On the very morning of 
 the feast, however, a poor fisherman appeared before 
 the castle gate with a large turbot on his back. The 
 ser^^ants 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 
 surprise of all, the fisherman said. "My price is one 
 hundred lashes on my bare back, and I cannot bate a 
 single stroke!"
 
 4 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 "Nonsense," said the nobleman, "you are joking. 
 Come, tell us. What is your price?" 
 
 The fisherman made the sarne 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 
 promised to give half of whatever I got for the turbot. 
 I want to keep my promise." 
 
 "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 then 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.* 
 
 A Spaniard was riding across a wide and uninhabited 
 tract of country in South America and had yet a long 
 distance to travel, when suddenly his horse fell lame. 
 He was in dismay, for he saw that it would never be able 
 to carry him home. While debating what to do, he met 
 
 * This story and the two following are taken, by permission, 
 from Fables, Anecdotes, and Slorics, published by the Boston 
 School Supply Co.
 
 NARKAIION 5 
 
 an Iiidiun ricliii;; on a line fic.-h lior.sc; whereupon lie 
 ask(>d the Indian to exchange. 'Ihis the Indian refused 
 to do; so the Spaniard by force compelled him to dis- 
 mount, and taking the fresh animal rode away, leaving 
 the lame horse for the Indian, wlio was soon left far 
 behind. 
 
 The Indian followed the tracks, however, \mtil he 
 reached a town where he found the Spaniard and sum- 
 moned him to appear before a judge. When accused of 
 the theft the S})aniard swore that the horse was his own, 
 and that he had reared it from a colt. Then the Indian 
 besought the judge to send for the horse. This was done; 
 and the Indian, throwing his cloak over the horse's head, 
 said to the judge, "This man swears he has had the horse 
 since it was a colt. Let him therefore (ell }()U in which 
 of its eyes it is blind." 
 
 The Spaniard, not daring to hesitate, said at once, 
 "The right eye." 
 
 "Neither the right eye nor the left," said the Indian, 
 taking off the cloak. "He is not blind at all." 
 
 This was a proof so strong that the judge at once 
 ordered that the horse be restored to its owner, and 
 sentenced the Spaniard to pay a heavy fine. 
 
 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 l)itterly for herhusl)and. When 
 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. flo home, and bring with you when 
 5'ou come again a live black beetle and a little butter. 
 Bring also a ball of fine silk, a ball of thread, a ball of
 
 6 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 stout twine, and a coil of strong rope." His wife went, 
 and quickly returned with all these things. 
 
 "Now touch the beetle's head with butter," said the 
 vizier, "and tie one end of the silk thread round his body 
 and put 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 the tower, then slid down to the ground, 
 and under cover of darkness fled. 
 
 EXERCISE I 
 
 Written 
 
 Putting the hook aside, retell the story you like 
 best, giving it an appropriate title. 
 
 Do not try to recall the language of the book, 
 yet do not reject any phrase which you may 
 remember. The main thing is to tell the story 
 in your own way, bringing out the point as clearly 
 and. effectively as you can. The first draft should 
 be made with moderate care, yet with little 
 attention to such matters as punctuation. When 
 revising this first draft, look closely at each sen- 
 tence to see that it is correct. As a final test
 
 .\.\i;i;.\rio\ 
 
 before making a neat copy, read aloud what ycju 
 have written. The ear is a good critic, often 
 detecting errors which the eye overlooks. 
 
 EXERCISE 2 
 Written 
 
 Read carejully the two stories that follow; then, 
 putting the book aside, retell one of thern. 
 
 This task is more difficult than the first, partly 
 because each poem is little more than a bundle 
 of hints suggesting a story rather than telling 
 one, and partly because if you WTite in a natural 
 way you will use prose rather than poetry and 
 must therefore select your own words. You 
 cannot, of course, hope to do as well as the poet 
 has done; yet you can make your version of the 
 story effective, perhaps adding details supplied 
 by the imagination. Before beginning, turn back 
 to the stories used in Exercise 1 and study them 
 for a few minutes. Notice that each has three 
 parts: first a sentence or two explaining circum- 
 stances, then the main incident, then the point — 
 the little surprise at the end. It is this surprise 
 that makes a story. And it is well, you will 
 agree, to keep the reader in suspense as long 
 as possible. Yet unnecessary details should be
 
 8 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 avoided, that the story may unfold rapidly and 
 not grow tiresome. When the surprise has come, 
 when the secret has been revealed, the narrative 
 should be brought quickly to a close. 
 
 The Sad Little Lass* 
 
 "Why sit you here, my lass?" said he. 
 "I came to see the king," said she, — 
 ''To see the king come riding by, 
 
 While all the eager people cry 
 '(iod bless the king, and long live he!' 
 
 And therefore sit I here," said she. 
 
 "Why do you weep, my lass?" said he. 
 "Because that I am sad," said she. 
 "For when the king came riding by, 
 
 And all the people raised a cry, 
 
 I was so small I could not see; 
 
 And therefore do I weep," said she. 
 
 "Then weep no more, my lass!" said he. 
 "And pray, good sir, why not?" said she. 
 "Lift up your eyes of bonnie blue. 
 
 And look and look me through and through; 
 
 Nor say the king you could not see. 
 
 I am the king, my lass!" said he. 
 
 Margaret Johnson 
 
 * Reprinted from St. Nicholas Magazine by permission of the 
 author and the Century Publishing Co.
 
 XARHA'no.V 
 
 Incident ok Tiih: I'kiach ('wii- 
 
 You know, we French stornu'd Rutisbon. 
 
 A mile or so away, 
 On a little mound, Napoleon 
 
 Stood on our storming-day ; 
 With neck out-thrust, you fancy how, 
 
 Legs wide, arms locked behind, 
 As if to balance the prone brow 
 
 Oppressive with its mind. 
 
 Just as perchance ho mused " My plans 
 
 That soar, to earth may fall, 
 Let once my army-leador Lannos 
 
 Waver at yonder wall" — 
 Out 'twixt the battery-smokes there flew 
 
 A rider, bound on bound. 
 Full-galloping; nor bridle drew 
 
 Until he reached the mound. 
 
 Then off there flung in smiling joy, 
 
 And held himself erect 
 By just his horse's mane, a boy; 
 
 You hardly could suspect — 
 (So tight he kept his lips compressed, 
 
 Scarce any blood came through) 
 You looked twice ere you saw his breast 
 
 Was all but shot in two. 
 
 "Well," cried he, "Emperor, by God's grace 
 
 We've got you Ratisbon! 
 The Marshal's in the market-place. 
 
 And vou'U be there anon
 
 10 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 To see your flag-bird flap his vans 
 
 Where I, to heart's desire, 
 Perched him!" The chief's eye flashed; his plans 
 
 Soared up again like fire. 
 
 The chief's eye flashed; but presently 
 
 Softened itself, as sheathes 
 A film the mother-eagle's eye 
 
 When her bruised eaglet breathes. 
 "You're wounded!" "Nay," the soldier's pride 
 
 Touched to the quick, he said; 
 "I'm killed, Sire!" And his chief beside 
 
 Smiling the boy fell dead. 
 
 Robert Browning 
 
 EXERCISE 3 
 Written 
 
 Retell in the first person any one of the stories in 
 the first two exercises^ imagining that you are the 
 porter, the wicked Spaniard, Napoleon, the king 
 who comforted the little lass, or the beetle. 
 
 What advantage is there in telling a story in 
 the first person? What advantage is there in 
 using the third person? Conversation gives life 
 to a narrative. If you are uncertain how con- 
 versation should be arranged, and how capitals 
 and quotation-marks are used, turn to page 179.
 
 NARliAlloX 11 
 
 EXERCISE 4 
 Oral 
 
 Come to class prepared to tell the best story you 
 can find. Consider this exercise a contest, the class 
 deciding by vote at the end of the hour which story- 
 teller has done best. 
 
 Good anecdotes appear in every issue of the 
 Youth's Companion, and occasionally one may 
 be found in the newspaper. Better than these 
 are the favorites which nearly everybody has in 
 mind — stories which father or mother tells over 
 and over again. But never mind the source; the 
 main thing is to get a good story and tell it in an 
 entertaining way. Be careful to vary the sen- 
 tence form when reporting conversation. In- 
 stead of beginning with He said, divide the 
 quoted sentence and slip he said in between the 
 two parts; or invert the words, putting said he at 
 the close of the sentence. Notice, when reading 
 books, how skillfully the trained story-teller uses 
 these two words and similar expressions.
 
 12 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 5 
 
 Written 
 
 Here is a picture which doubtless you have 
 seen before. Perhaps the story it tells is famil- 
 iar to you, or to your instructor, who will supply 
 you with a hint or two. If not, use your imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 Invent a story to match the ^picture, following in 
 a general way the flan used by Browning in his 
 Incident of tlie French Camp. Imagine that you 
 are young Handel, or some member of the group 
 standing in the doorway.
 
 IIIAI^ER II 
 
 j!iARRXTlO^— Continued 
 
 The tasks in Chapter I provide practice in 
 reproduction; that is, practice in retelling with 
 only slight changes what one has read or has 
 heard. The incidents are furnished and, ex- 
 cept in the last exercise, the language is sug- 
 gested. The exercises in Chapter II are a little 
 more difficult, perhaps, in that you are asked to 
 find incidents for yourselves, and must use 
 language that is all your own. 
 
 EXERCISE 6 
 
 Written 
 
 Write a clear, connected account of something 
 that has actually happened to you, smnething which 
 can properly he called, in the title of the composition, 
 A first experience. 
 
 Suggestions: 1. My first party. 2. My first serious 
 accident. 3. ]\Iy first attempt to swim. 4. The first 
 time I ever ran away. 5. ^ly first experience with a 
 
 13
 
 14 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 dentist. 6. My first severe punishment. 7. My first 
 experience as a cook. 8. My first day in school. 9. My 
 first shopping expedition. 10. ]\Iy first football game. 
 
 EXERCISE 7 
 Oral 
 
 Criticise the school co7nposition given helow, 
 fointing out the good as well as the had. 
 
 For example, has the writer chosen an in- 
 teresting incident, one that is worth narrating? 
 Do you like the plan of the composition, the 
 incident proper coming between two short para- 
 graphs one leading up to the story and one away 
 from it? Is it correct to write he with two other 
 hoys were coming home? What other expressions 
 do you find which you think should be changed? 
 
 Seeing the Dog Swim 
 
 My sisters and I are fond of having father tell us stories 
 on Sunday evenings. These stories ahva3^s begin this 
 way: "When I was a boy, out in Ohio," etc., etc. Not 
 long ago he told us this one: 
 
 Father was about twelve years old. One spring after- 
 noon, when it was just beginning to get a little warmer, he 
 with two other boys were coming home in a light wagon. 
 They had been staying at the farm of the boys' father, 
 a Mr. Hall, about tweh-e miles from Columbus. AYhen 
 half-way home they came to what is called Alum Creek.
 
 NARRATION 15 
 
 It was about one huiRlivd feet wide, l)Ut (luile shallow — 
 perhaps four feet deep. 1 here was a bridf!;e across but, 
 boylike, fatlier and liis friends j)referred fording it. 
 
 When near the middle of the stream, one of the boys 
 suddenly said, "Let's pitch the dog in and see him 
 swim!" So father went to the back of the wagon, and 
 taking the dog in his arms threw him in with a great 
 splash. The liorse, which had been drinking, was 
 awfully frightened, and pranced, pranced, pranced, over 
 to the other side and up onto the road. At the first great 
 leap the wagon was given a sudden jerk, and this pitched 
 father head first into the water. At the same jerk the 
 wagon seat tipped over backwards, and the two Halls 
 lay rolling on their backs, choking with laughter. Father 
 picked him.self up ciuickly, for the water was yet very 
 cold. He chased after the boys, but didn't catch up to 
 them till on the road. He, and the dog too, were soak- 
 ing wet from head to foot, and they had to drive six 
 miles more, facing the wind. To use his own words, he 
 "was nearly perished." 
 
 For a long time after, my grandfather had a way of 
 bringing up the sad incident before any guests who might 
 be at the table, when stories were being told. "George," 
 he would ask of father, "what was that story about the 
 dog?" But father would only hang his head, so grand- 
 father would feel obliged to tell the story.
 
 16 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 8 
 
 Written 
 
 Write a short composition similar to the one 
 called for in Exercise 6, this time giving not your 
 own experience but the experience of some one else. 
 Invent an appropriate title. 
 
 Perhaps reading the anecdote given in Exer- 
 cise 7 has suggested some similar one which you 
 would like to give. Nearly every family has a 
 score or more of such stories which father, mother, 
 or grandparents tell concerning what happened 
 to them long ago when they were young. Tell 
 your favorite of all these "fireside reminis- 
 cences." 
 
 When reading aloud what you have written, 
 are you sometimes surprised to find that you have 
 used some word over and over again till the repe- 
 tition is unpleasant to the ear? For example, 
 the first story under Exercise 1 contains this 
 sentence: There was one great drawback: there 
 had been such dreadful storms at sea that the 
 fishermen had not dared to venture out, and 
 consequently there was no fish to be had. The 
 repetition is unpleasant, and would have been still 
 more so had therefore been used in place of con- 
 sequently. The word horse is used somewhat
 
 NAIIUAI 1().\ 17 
 
 freely in the second story, though the narrator 
 has tried to avoid the word by employing 
 synonyms. Such repetition, often difficult to 
 avoid, is not a serious matter, yet it is one that 
 the careful writer tries to remedy before making 
 a final copy of his work. Read aloud some of 
 the compositions you have written, to see if you 
 are repeating words unpleasantly. See Exercise 
 80 on page 134. 
 
 EXERCISE 9 
 Written 
 
 Write a composition, the length to be determined 
 by your instructor, to which can appropriately be 
 given the title A day of my life. 
 
 There are days and days, some interesting, 
 others comparatively humdrum. You may select 
 either kind, though presumably you will prefer 
 the former. An absolutely faithful record of 
 everything done from morning till night would 
 contain much that is of little interest. In most 
 narratives the writer has to select his material, 
 picking out the important things and passing by 
 what every one takes for granted. Do not say 
 that on arising in the morning you washed your 
 face and hands and dried them with a towel, 
 for of course you do that every morning. It is
 
 18 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 not necessary to say that when the train reached 
 your station you got out; for of course you 
 would get out, unless for some reason you forgot 
 to do so. Items of that sort are unnecessary. 
 
 Which is the better expression — two hoys and 
 myself, or three of us hoys? Is it polite to say 
 / and my friend ? 
 
 EXERCISE 10 
 "Written 
 
 Write a composition, the length to he determined 
 hy your instructor, to which can he properly ap- 
 plied one of the following titles: A narrow escape, 
 A sad accident, Almost a catastrophe. All due 
 to carelessness. 
 
 Let this be a truthful account of something 
 you have actually witnessed. In some respects 
 this is the most difficult task you have been 
 given. Try to do it well. Perhaps it will be 
 wise to keep in mind, while writing, an outline 
 like the following: 
 I Time and place 
 
 II Circumstances leading to the exciting mo- 
 ment 
 
 III The exciting moment 
 
 IV 
 
 A single sentence may be enough for the first
 
 XARR.\'H<».\ 19 
 
 topic, but the second may call for ten. Be sure 
 that every circumstance is made clear, otherwise 
 the reader will become confused, not seeing 
 things distinctly but guessing at them and some- 
 times guessing wrong. Failure to state some one 
 little particular may spoil the entire narrative. 
 The third topic, however, will be most trying of 
 all; for at exciting moments a great deal happens, 
 the senses receive many impressions, and the 
 emotions are ever changing. Follow the chrono- 
 k:>gical order if possible; that is, narrate first 
 what happened first, second what happened next, 
 and so on. Can you guess what the fourth topic 
 should be? Perhaps as you will narrate the 
 incident no fourth topic \\i\\ be necessary. 
 
 EXERCISE II 
 Oral 
 
 Criticise the following hastily written school 
 theme, pointing out the good as well as the bad. 
 
 Is the composition well planned? Do you 
 miss any details necessary for a clear under- 
 standing of things? By what devices does the 
 writer convey the idea of excitement, toward the 
 end of the narrative? If asked to rewrite the 
 composition, what changes should you make?
 
 20 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 An Exciting Contest 
 
 The track was fine and smooth, without much dust, 
 and there could not have been a better day for a race. 
 The grandstand was crowded. AH along the fence 
 lining the track were hundreds of automobiles. Behind 
 the grandstand there was a continuous roar from the 
 big racers. 
 
 A race had just been finished and there was a moment's 
 pause. Then out on the track came a large Peerless 
 followed by a small White steam. The Peerless was a 
 sixty -horse-power car driven by the well-known Barney 
 Oldfield, while the White was a sm.aller car of about 
 fifteen horse-power driven by Webb Jay, also well known 
 in racing circles. Most of the crowd were inclined to 
 laugh at the White, but men who knew more were of a 
 different opinion. 
 
 The cars were on the line, the Peerless making a noise 
 like ten Catling guns, the White making the peculiar 
 hiss due to the fierceness of the fire under her boiler. 
 The signal was given and the cars were off, each striving 
 for the inside at the first turn. Great clouds of dust 
 rolled up, hiding them from view as they passed the 
 first turn, the Peerless leading. It seemed but a second 
 or two before they were round again. As they turned 
 into the home stretch all you could hear was the peculiar 
 hum of the wheels. This, as they drew near, grew 
 louder, and as they got opposite there was a very great 
 noise, a flying of dust — and they are taking the next turn. 
 Within a minute they were round again, plowing through 
 the dust which had not had time to settle. 
 
 Four times they went round the course at that fearful 
 pace. As they started the fifth, the people went wild
 
 NARRATION 21 
 
 with excitement, for the little White was leading. 
 Around the turn they po, fjroat clouds of dust rolling up. 
 Down the bac k stretch they fly, around the curve at the 
 far end of the course, and turn into the home stretch. 
 The excitement is intense. On come the cars like 
 battleships firing all their guns. The White is gaining, 
 gaining, gaining at a good rate. Nearer and nearer they 
 come. The White draws further away from the Peer- 
 less. The dust is so thick that the cars can hardly be 
 seen. There is a final rush and a roar, and one of the 
 most exciting races ever run on a circular track is fin- 
 ished. The jjlucky little Wiiite is winner. 
 
 EXERCISE 12 
 Written 
 
 Write a short composition to which you can give 
 the title An exciting moment. 
 
 This may be a bit of adventure, a critical point 
 in some game or contest, or an experience similar 
 to the one called for in Exercise 10. Do not 
 waste time by giving too many preliminaries, but 
 come quickly to the exciting moment. Then 
 try the effect of a number of short sentences; 
 often they are better than long ones, when the 
 writer is trying to convey the idea that much is 
 happening all at once. Try using the present 
 tense, but be careful not to mix tenses. See 
 Exercise 82 on page 139.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 EXPOSITION 
 
 Chapters I and II are made up of exercises 
 in narration, a form of composition which gives 
 an orderly report of action. A story is a narra- 
 tion. An orderly account of what you did last 
 Saturday would be a narration. Any composi- 
 tion, long or short, which gives in orderly fashion 
 the particulars of an event or a series of events 
 is a narration. It is the commonest, though not 
 necessarily the simplest, kind of composition used 
 in talking and writing. 
 
 One secret of a good narrative lies in the word 
 orderly. Unless particulars are given in proper 
 order, the account becomes "all mixed up." 
 Usually it is best to follow the chronological order, 
 telling first what happened first, second what 
 happened next, and so on to the end. But even 
 though orderly a narrative is sometimes faulty 
 because incomplete. How often when telling a 
 story, especially if the listener be a child, is one 
 interrupted by questions. The questions come 
 
 22
 
 i:xr()si riox 23 
 
 because particulars have been overlooked which 
 are quite necessary for a clear comprehension. 
 
 Oftentimes these particulars have to do with 
 what is called Exposition. A perfect definition of 
 this word would lead us into deep waters. For 
 the present it is enough to say that exposition- 
 means almost the same as explanation. We use 
 exposition when we tell how we did a certain 
 example in arithmetic. We use it in telling how 
 ice cream is made, why some birds go south for 
 the winter, what makes the locomotive puff, or 
 why we were late for school. This paragraph is 
 an example of exposition, in that it tries to ex- 
 plain the meaning of a word. 
 
 Order and completeness are quite as essential 
 in exposition as in narration. Not always is it 
 possible to follow a chronological order, but a 
 plan of some sort is desirable lest the explanation 
 become confusing. And it is necessary to w^atch 
 lest some important detail be overlooked, es- 
 pecially when one is explaining something very 
 familiar to himself but quite unfamiliar to the one 
 he is addressing. Your aunt, though learned in 
 many ways, probably knows but little about 
 boys' games. If explaining to her how squash 
 is played, it would be necessary to give many 
 particulars which at first might seem to you 
 quite unnecessary.
 
 24 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 The tasks which follow may seem simpler than 
 those in the preceding chapters, but in reality 
 they are more difficult. If it be true that there 
 are fifty who "take in" all that they witness where 
 there are but twenty-five who are able to record 
 what they have seen in an orderly narrative, it 
 is probably true that there are twenty-five who 
 "see through" things where there is one who has 
 the ability to explain to others what he has seen 
 through. Clear minds are rare. 
 
 EXERCISE 13 
 Oral and Written 
 
 Write answers to as many of the following 
 questions as you can in the time allotted, and come 
 to class pre'pared to answer orally several more. 
 
 Do not attempt too much. You will do well 
 if you succeed in giving clear, complete answers 
 to three or four questions. Write as if to one 
 who does not grasp things easily and must have 
 everything explained very clearly and in simple 
 language. When convenient, let the first sen- 
 tence of an answer include the wording of the 
 question. If several reasons are advanced, per- 
 haps it is well to begin with the simplest, the 
 most obvious. 
 
 Probably in doing this task and others soon
 
 i;xi'()srn().\ 25 
 
 to follow you will use somewhat frequently sen- 
 tences containing enumerations. On page 177 
 are examples showing how such sentences should 
 be punctuated. 
 
 1 . Why do birds hav^c bills instead of teeth? 2. What 
 advantage is there in using a "bob" wlicn fishing? 3. 
 Why is the baseball made sphorit-al, the football 
 spheroidal? 4. What things affeot the climate of a 
 place? 5. Why are story books illustrated? 6. Why 
 does not the pond begin to freeze at the bottom? 7. Of 
 what use are city parks? 8. W^hat causes tides? 9. 
 Why is football condemned by so many? 10. Why is 
 a flash of lightning followed by thunder? 1 1 . What 
 causes day and night? 12. \Mi>- do ^o many rivers 
 flow by large cities? 13. Why are so many pupils late to 
 school? 14. Why are the ball bat and the tennis racquet 
 so different in shape? 15. How do boys' l)Ooks differ 
 from the ])Ooks girls enjoy reading? 16. Why do so 
 manv foreigners come to our country? 
 
 EXERCISE 14 
 Oral or Written 
 
 Ability to make things clear often receives a 
 severe test when one is unexpectedly asked to 
 direct a stranger on his way. Possibly all of us 
 know how unpleasant the feeling is w^hich comes 
 when, a few minutes too late, it flashes across us 
 that we have carelessly misdirected some one.
 
 26 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 No doubt all of us have ourselves been mis- 
 directed and know what it means to tramp a 
 weary mile or two simply because some one has 
 been careless. What respect we have for the 
 clear-headed farmer who obligingly stops his 
 horses and gives directions as unmistakable as 
 his furrow is straight, not forgetting distances, 
 points of compass,the noticeable objects along the 
 way. Possibly he traces a rude map of the 
 region, marking out in the sand with the butt of 
 his whip each road and crossroad. At any rate, 
 he makes the way clear before he returns to his 
 plowing. 
 
 Give brief yet clear directions for finding four 
 or five ^places suggested, by the list below. Write 
 as if to one unacquainted with your town. 
 
 1. A certain pool in a trout stream. 2. A certain 
 counter in a department store. 3. The nearest fire-alarm 
 box. 4. A hollow tree in which you have hidden your 
 rifle. 5. A place where arbutus, or some other favorite 
 wild flower, grows. G. Your doctor's oflfice. 7. The 
 railroad station. 8. A good restaurant.
 
 EXl'USniON 27 
 
 EXERCISE 15 
 Written 
 
 Give careful directions for making something in 
 the following list. Select, if possible, something 
 you yourself have made. 
 
 1. A work-bench. 2. A fancy lamp-shade. 3. A 
 cornstalk fuldlo. 4. Pop-corn balls. 0. An ice-boat. 
 6. A log cabin. 7. Coffee. 8. A camp stove. 9. A 
 window-garden. 10. A magic lantern. 11. A cata- 
 maran. 12. Mai)le sugar. 13. A water-wheel. 14. 
 Butter. 15. A willow whistle. 16. A double ripper. 
 17. A bead chain. 18. A raft. 19. Apple dumplings. 
 20. An aquarium. 21. Ice cream. 22. A water tele- 
 scope. 23. A toboggan-slide. 24. A cosey corner. 
 25. A balloon. 26. A tree-top house. 27. A pretty 
 apron. 28. A canoe. 29. A beehive. 
 
 Try to imagine what mistakes a novice might 
 make in following your directions, and warn 
 against them. Tell what should not be done, 
 as well as what should be done. Even thouo;h 
 you have little skill in drawing, try to make clear 
 your plans by means of rough illustrations. The 
 eye may see at a glance something which would 
 be difficult to indicate even by writing a long 
 paragraph.
 
 28 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE i6 
 
 Written 
 
 Explain how some simple instrument, contri- 
 vance, or machine does its work. Select, if you 
 can, from the following list. 
 
 1. A grindstone. 2. A nutmeg-grater. 3. A tlier- 
 mostat. 4. A churn. 5. A compass. 6. A mouse-trap. 
 7. An ash-sifter. 8. A fountain-pen. 9. A spirit-level. 
 10. A horse-rake. 11. An egg-beater. 12. A ther- 
 mometer. 13. A sun-dial. 14. A wrench. 15. A 
 student-lamp. 16. A carpet-sweeper. 
 
 EXERCISE 17 
 Oral or Written 
 
 Read carefully the following composition, then 
 prepare a similar account telling how some com- 
 mon thing is made. 
 
 This task will take you to some mill or factory 
 and will call for accurate observation. Before 
 telling how a machine does its work, it is often 
 necessary to describe it — tell what it looks like. 
 In other words, it is often necessary to compare 
 that which is unfamiliar with that which is well 
 known, pointing out similarities and differences. 
 Every one has seen a pair of shears; how proper 
 it was for Mr. Frentz to say that the device he
 
 EXPOSniO.V 20 
 
 was describing was little more than a strong pair 
 of shears. How large a machine? As large as a 
 sewing-machine. 
 
 Nails * 
 
 The making of nails is one of the oldest American, as 
 it is one of the oldest English, industries; but in Great 
 Britain the greater part of the product has been hand 
 work, in America machine work. 
 
 Of modern nails, the wire, or French, nails, and the 
 common cut nails are made in quantities which far ex- 
 ceed all other kinds. The wire nails have increased 
 enormously in general use during tlie last fifteen or 
 twenty years, but there are still many purposes for 
 which cut nails are preferred. 
 
 The process of making wire nails is exceedingly simple 
 and almost wholly automatic. A large reel or spool of 
 wire of a size equal to that of the shank of the nail to 
 be made feeds forward at each revolution of the machine 
 a piece of wire equal to the length of the nail and a 
 fraction of an inch more. 
 
 This is seized firmly by clamps, which straighten while 
 they hold it, and at the same time a pair of jaws so cut 
 the wire as to leave a sharp point to the nail. 
 
 Before the clamps let go their hold, a hammer, the 
 face of which is a die, strikes the other end of the wire a 
 sharp blow, which forms the head. 
 
 The clamps have corrugated surfaces, not merely to 
 hold the nail more securely, but to impress upon it a 
 
 * Reprinted from the Youth's CompanioH by permission of 
 the Perry Mason Co.
 
 30 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 series of ridges and depressions, which make it harder to 
 draw out when once driven home. 
 
 The making of cut nails is less automatic and much 
 harder. Any one who has seen a nail-maker at work will 
 understand the aptness of the old expression, to "work 
 like a nailer." The iron for cut nails is first rolled into 
 sheets, the thickness of which is equal to the thickness of 
 the nail. It is then cut into plates as wide as the nail 
 is long, and of such length as a man can handle con- 
 veniently — say from fifteen to twenty inches. 
 
 The nail-cutting machine is a heavy, compact piece 
 of mechanism not much larger than a sewing-machine, 
 before which the nail-maker sits on a stool. It consists 
 of but little more than a pair of shears strong enough to 
 cut iron three-eighths of an inch thick, and a heading 
 hammer. 
 
 Any one who will examine a cut nail will find that the 
 shank tapers, not on all four sides from the head, as he 
 may have supposed, but on two sides only. The other 
 two sides are parallel. It is the neglect to notice this fact 
 which leads so many persons to start a nail into wood 
 in a way which splits it. 
 
 From a small furnace near the machine the nail-maker 
 draws a plate which has come to a dull red heat. Hold- 
 ing this by means of pincers, he feeds the edge farthest 
 from him to the jaws of the machine. As they descend 
 they shear a tapering strip from the edge. This is seized 
 by clamps, which hold it just long enough for the heading 
 hammer to strike the blow which forms the head, and 
 then drop it. 
 
 Now if the nailer were simply to push the plate for- 
 ward again, the tapering character of the strip which is 
 sliced off would destroy the rectangular shape of the
 
 EXPOSITION 31 
 
 plate, and the nails would ncitiier be of a length nor have 
 square heads and points. To obviate this difliculty, 
 the plate must be turned over between every two nails 
 that are cut, so that the head of the nail will come 
 alternately from one side of the i)late and from the other. 
 
 This — and it is the principal part of the nailer's work — 
 is done with a simple turn of the wrist, and the plate is 
 fed forward as before. As the machines run at consider- 
 able speed, and the "flop" must be accurately timed in 
 order that the end of the plate may meet the shears at 
 the right moment and in the right place, the difficulty 
 and the tiresome nature of a nail-maker's work may be 
 imagined. Some idea of it may be had by holding the 
 thick end of a shingle in a pair of tongs and attempting 
 so to turn it witli a single motion of the wrist that alter- 
 nate sides will lie uppermost on a table. 
 
 A good nail-maker will make from two to four flops — 
 that is, will cut from two to four nails — a second, the 
 smaller nails, of course, being made more rapidly than 
 the larger ones. As the plate grows cool it is returned to 
 the oven to be reheated, and another plate takes its 
 place. 
 
 A nail-maker's hands and arms always show the 
 character of his work by the tremendous development 
 of certain special muscles and by callouses, which be- 
 come as hard as horn. 
 
 The common names of nails — sixpenny, eightpenny, 
 tenpenny, and so forth — are believed to be corruptions 
 of six-pound, eight-pound and ten-pound — names given 
 in England to denote the weight of one thousand of a 
 given kind of nails. Sixpenny and eightpenny was an 
 easy step from "sLx-pun' " and "eight-pun'." 
 
 Edward Williston Frentz
 
 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE i8 
 Oral 
 
 Read the following with great care, that you may 
 he able to answer questions concerning it later on. 
 
 How TO Pitch a Tent* 
 
 When five or six o'clock draws near, begir^ to look 
 about you for a good level dry place, elevated some few 
 feet above the surroundings. Drop your pack or beach 
 your canoe. Examine the location carefullv. You 
 will want two trees about ten feet apart from which to 
 suspend your tent, and a bit of flat ground underneath 
 them. Of course the flat ground need not be particularly 
 unencumbered by brush or saplings, so the combination 
 ought not to be hard to discover. Now return to your 
 canoe. Do not unpack the tent. 
 
 With the little axe clear the ground thoroughly. By 
 bending a sapling over strongly with the left hand, 
 clipping sharply at the strained fibers, and then bending 
 it as strongly the other way to repeat the axe stroke on 
 the other side, you will find that treelets of even two or 
 three inches diameter can be felled by two blows. In 
 a very few moments you will have accomplished a hole 
 in the forest, and your two supporting trees will stand 
 sentinel at either end of a most respectable-looking 
 clearing. Do not unpack the tent. 
 
 * Reprinted from The Forest by permission of Messrs. McClure, 
 Phillips, & Company.
 
 lixrosiriox 33 
 
 Now, althougli the ground seems free of all Ijut un- 
 important growths, go over it thoroughly for little shrubs 
 and leaves. They look soft and yielding, but are often 
 possessed of unexpectedly abrasive roots. Besides, they 
 mask the face of the ground. When you have finished 
 pulling them up by the roots, you will find that your 
 supposedly level plot is knobby with hummocks. Stand 
 directly over each little mound; swing the back of your 
 axe vigorously against it, adze-wise, between your legs. 
 Nine times out of ten it will crumble, and the tenth 
 time means merely a root to cut or a stone to pry out. 
 At length you are possessed of a plot of clean, fresh 
 earth, level and soft, free from projections. But do not 
 unpack your tent. 
 
 Lay a young birch or maple an inch or so in diameter 
 across a log. Two clips will produce you a tent-peg. 
 If you are inexperienced, and cherish memories of 
 striped lawn markees, you will cut them about six 
 inches long. If you are wise and old and gray in 
 woods experience, you will multiply that length by 
 four. Then your loops will not slip off, and you will 
 have a real grip on mother earth, than which nothing 
 can be more desirable in the event of a heavy rain and 
 wind squall about midnight. If your axe is as sharp 
 as it ought to be, you can point them more neatly by 
 holding them suspended in front of you while you snip 
 at their ends with the axe, than by resting them against 
 a solid base. Pile them together at the edge of the 
 clearing. Cut a crotched sapling eight or ten feet 
 long. Now unpack your tent. 
 
 In a wooded country you will not take the time to 
 fool with tent-poles. A stout line run through the 
 eyelets and along the apex will string it successfully
 
 34 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 between your two trees. Draw the line as tight as 
 possible, but do not be too unhappy if, after your best 
 efforts, it still sags a little. That is what your long 
 crotched stick is for. Stake out your four corners. 
 If you get them in a good rectangle and in such relation 
 to the apex as to form two isosceles triangles of the 
 ends, your tent will stand smoothly. Therefore, be 
 an artist and do it right. Once the four corners are 
 well placed, the rest follows naturally. Occasionally 
 in the North Country it will be found that the soil is 
 too thin, over the rocks, to grip the tent-pegs. In 
 that case drive them at a sharp angle as deep as the}^ 
 will go, and then lay a large flat stone across the slant 
 of them. Thus anchored, you will ride out a gale. 
 Finally, wedge your long sapling crotch under the line 
 — outside the tent, of course — to tighten it. Your 
 shelter is up. If 5^ou are a woodsman, ten or fifteen 
 minutes has sufficed to accomplish all this. 
 
 The Forest, by Stewart White. 
 
 Are Mr. White's directions clear, orderly, 
 complete? What one thing above all others 
 does Mr. White wish to impress upon the reader? 
 How does he do this? How many things does 
 he warn the reader not to do? Has Mr. White 
 used you and your more freely than was neces- 
 sary? Try to reconstruct some of his sentences, 
 omitting these words. Suggest an appropriate 
 title for each paragraph. Put a plan of this com- 
 position on the blackboard.
 
 EXPOSITION 35 
 
 EXERCISE 19 
 Written 
 
 Write a composition, about half as long as Mr. 
 White's, in which you tell how to do something. 
 Draw from your own experience, yet select if pos- 
 sible from the list which follows. 
 
 1. How to mark out an elliptical flower-bed. 2. How 
 to darn stockings. 3. How to get up an amateur circus. 
 4. How to build a fire out of doors. 5. How to remove 
 stains from clothing. <>. How to mark out a tennis- 
 court. 7. How to clean windows. 8. How to locate a 
 bee-tree. 9. How to make hay. 10. How to manage 
 a Hallowe'en party. 11. How to wash dishes. 12. 
 How to sweep a room. 13. How to mark out a base- 
 ball diamond. 14. How to take care of a bicycle. 15. 
 How to catch trout. 16. How to train a bird-dog. 
 17. How to take a picture. IS. How to learn to swim.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 A STORY which fails to let the reader know how 
 its characters look and in what kind of place they 
 live does not satisfy. Frequently an exposition 
 is as blind as can be, until a picture is given of 
 the thing — a machine, we will say — the workings 
 of which are being explained. In fact it matters 
 little what we may be talking or writing about, 
 we are sure to need pictures sooner or later. 
 The kind of composition which gives a picture is 
 called description. Speaking with greater ac- 
 curacy, all records of what the eyes see, the ears 
 hear, the nose smells — all records of impressions 
 are called descriptions. 
 
 What is the secret of this important kind of 
 composition? Evidently it is clearness. Before 
 we can describe anything clearly, we must see it 
 clearly. But even though we see a thing clearly, 
 have it before us as we talk or write, it is seldom 
 easy to describe it. Perhaps we use words in- 
 accurately, or carelessly forget to mention some 
 
 36
 
 IX - l:lis 
 
 Copyrighted liy the iVrry Pictures Coinpani'. Lst»l by [>ermissiOD
 
 i)i':scRiP'ri().\ 37 
 
 important detail. And own thougli we have 
 seen clearly, have used words with |)rocision, and 
 have forgotten no detail, all may be confusing 
 because the description is not given in an orderly 
 manner. It is like a machine improperly put 
 together. If you would make your descriptions 
 clear, be thorough, he accurate, be orderly. 
 
 EXERCISE 20 
 Written 
 
 Imagine that one of the folloiving things has been 
 lost or stolen and that you have been called upon to 
 give in ten or fifteen lines an accurate description 
 of it. Use complete sentences. 
 
 1. A set of okl china. 2. A piece of furniture. 3. A 
 postal album. 4. A piece of jewelry. 5. A dog. 6. A 
 cat. 7. A horse. 8. The schoohoom clock. 9. An 
 overcoat. 10. A boat. 11. A bicycle. 12. An odd 
 cane. 13, A school-book. 14. A canary. 15. A piece 
 of statuary. 
 
 EXERCISE 21 
 Written 
 
 Perhaps Mars is inhabited and perhaps not. 
 We will imagine that it is, and that wireless tele- 
 graph communications have been established.
 
 38 ENGLISH COMPOSFFION 
 
 Messages are flying back and forth, for the 
 Martians want to know all about our world and 
 we are equally curious about theirs. We learn 
 that there are no church spires in Mars, no ferry- 
 boats, no easy chairs; in fact there are very few 
 things such as are familiar to us. 
 
 Write a twenty -line description for an inhabitant 
 of Mars, selecting a subject from the following 
 list. Make your description clear as sunlight; 
 otherwise you will not be understood. Bring in 
 explanation, if it is needed. 
 
 1. Church spires. 2. A ferry-boat. 3. Easy-chairs. 
 4. A telescope. 5. The peanut man's outfit. 6. A hurdy- 
 gurdy. 7. A watch. 8. A jack-knife. 9. A school- 
 room desk. 10. A postage stamp. 11. A bicycle. 12. An 
 apron. 13. An electric light. 14. A banjo. 
 
 EXERCISE 22 
 Written 
 
 Opposite page 36 is a picture of Franklin's 
 birthplace. In many ways it differs from the 
 houses we see nowadays. Notice the overhang- 
 ing upper story, the projecting foundations, 
 the cellar door, the small-paned windows. If 
 you were describing it, what should you mention 
 first? What next? How would it do to begin 
 at the bottom of the picture and work up? Or
 
 i)i-;s('i:ini(>\ 
 
 at the top and work down? Or would it he 
 bettor to give in a sentence or two a general 
 description, then go into details, finally giving 
 the impression the picture as a whole makes on 
 
 vou? 
 
 Sludij the picture, determine how i/ou will proceed, 
 then describe it as well as you can in fifteen lines. 
 
 EXERCISE 23 
 Written 
 
 Opposite page 38 is the picture of another 
 old buildinf;^. It is a larger, more elaborate 
 dwelling than Franklin's; there is more in the 
 picture to describe. Notice the trees, the 
 shadows, the roadway — a score of things which 
 the other picture lacks. There is more feeling in 
 this picture, more to stir the emotions. You 
 cannot help thinking of how much has taken place 
 in this ancient dwelling, of the good times and the 
 sorrowful times it knew before the days of the 
 telephone and the telegraph. Who planted the 
 elm trees and the lilac bushes? 
 
 Write a forty-line description of this photograph. 
 Let the first four or five lines sJcetch the scene in 
 outline, then give in systematic order the details. 
 End with an account of how the picture impresses
 
 40 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 you, what it calls to mind. Personify the dwelling, 
 if you wish. 
 
 EXERCISE 24 
 
 Oral 
 
 Describe a building with which you are well ac- 
 quainted. Perhaps the following list will prove 
 suggestive. 
 
 1. The oldest house in town. 2. My house. 3. The 
 house across the way. 4. The schoolhouse. 5. A sky- 
 scraper. 6. A deserted farmhouse. 7. A log cabin. 
 8. The blacksmith-shop. 9. A factory. 10. The rail- 
 road station. 11. The roundhouse. 
 
 EXERCISE 25 
 
 Written 
 
 Here is an architect's drawing showing a 
 dining-room in a model house. Examine it care- 
 fully to see whether you like it. What, should 
 you say, are its dimensions? What are its most 
 noticeable features, distinguishing it from other 
 dining-rooms you have seen? 
 
 Describe this picture in ten or fifteen lines; then, 
 if you care to, add five or ten lines giving your 
 approval or disapproval of the architects plan.
 
 DKSCRIP'IIOX 41 
 
 EXERCISE 26 
 Oral or Written 
 
 Give as accurate and fel/ing a picture as you 
 can of one of the following interiors. Imagine that 
 you are talking to a blind boy. Do not forget that 
 you have other senses besides the sense of sight. 
 
 1. Our attic. 2. ( )ur cellar. 3. A store window. 
 4. The bird store, o. A stateroom. 6. A I'ullnian car. 
 7. A country store. 8. Our pantry. 9. The woodshed. 
 10, A boy's room. 11. A cosey corner. 12. A beehive, 
 l'-). The waiting-room at the dentist's. 14. The school- 
 room. 15. The waiting-room at the raih'oad station. 
 16. A section of a department store. 17. A studio. 
 18. The reading-room. 19. The ])lacksmith-shop. 
 20. The gymnasium. 21. A cave. 22. Amine. 23. A 
 log cabin. 24. An auction room. 25. A church steeple. 
 26. An engine-room.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 DESCRIPTION— Con^mi/e(Z 
 
 A CAMERA, if given sunlight, tells the truth. 
 Whatever comes in front of its lens appears in the 
 photograph. No detail is forgotten, nothing is 
 out of its proper place. The human eye is a 
 camera. In a way it is right to say that what- 
 ever comes in front of it is photographed on the 
 retina. Yet we all know that much which the 
 eye sees does not make any permanent impres- 
 sion; we retain merely what interests us and 
 let the rest fade away. And in describing what 
 we have seen not only do we give far fewer de- 
 tails than the camera gives, merely selecting an 
 item here, an item there, and assuming that the 
 imagination of the one to whom we are writing 
 or talking will supply the rest, but we tell how 
 we are impressed. We give our emotions. A 
 camera does not select, a camera does not express 
 emotions peculiar to itself; for a camera is with- 
 out brains and heart. 
 
 It will be well to remember this distinction 
 
 42
 
 DKSCRiniOX 43 
 
 between a camera and a person, while doing the 
 tasks which f()lh)W — tasks somewhat more dilJi- 
 cult than you have attempted thus far. Remem- 
 ber that you have a brain and a heart. Re- 
 member that what you see in a picture or a scene 
 dilTers from what any one else sees in it; for no 
 two pairs of eyes select the same things. But he 
 like the camera in one respect. A camera stands 
 still, except when moved by the photographer. 
 Sometimes when we are describing a scene we tell 
 what we see from one standpoint, and then, with- 
 out notifying the reader, we continue our descrip- 
 tion from another standpoint. This, of course, 
 causes confusion. It is well to let the reader 
 know at the beginning of a description what the 
 describers viewpoint is, and of course it is es- 
 sential that the reader be notified whenever there 
 is a change in viewpoint. 
 
 EXERCISE 27 
 
 Written 
 
 Think of some place out of doors which interests 
 you exceedimjl ij , a place you like to visit over and 
 over again. Describe it for a friend who lives across 
 the Atlantic. Try not only to make him see it, but 
 to make him like it. Perhaps the following titles 
 will prove suggestive.
 
 44 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 1. Our swimming-hole. 2. A trout-pool. 3. A way- 
 side watering-trough. 4. A village green. 5. A nook 
 in the woods. 6. A flower garden. 7. A maple grove. 
 8. The picnic-grounds. 9. The apple-orchard. 10. The 
 school-yard. 11. The lumber-camp. 12. A bit of a 
 city park. 13. The w^harves. 14. The athletic field. 
 15. The mill-pond. 16. The tennis-courts. 
 
 To describe clearly an extended view calls for 
 more ability than any task assigned thus far, for 
 where the eye sees so much the necessity of 
 selecting a few things from among many becomes 
 great, as does the necessity of having a definite 
 plan. In the first canto of Scott's Lady of the 
 Lake there is a most elaborate description of the 
 Trossachs, a wild glen. First, Scott gives in a 
 few sentences a general description. Then, be- 
 ginning at the bottom of the ravine and gradually 
 climbing to lofty peaks, he describes the vegeta- 
 tion. Finally he pictures a rivulet running 
 through the glen, telling how it winds in and out, 
 and, growing larger and larger, at length flows into 
 Loch Katrine. Not only is his description very 
 thorough and orderly; it is made beautiful and 
 vivid, by means of comparisons. The rocky sum- 
 mits suggest to him turrets and domes and 
 battlements. The brier-rose and the creeping 
 shrubs are banners. The streamlet, as it broad- 
 ens here and there, forms a dark-blue mirror.
 
 J
 
 DlCSClMI'l lov 4^) 
 
 Many of tlie trees clinging to tlic rocks arc 
 likened to brave warriors. Scott was a poet, 
 with an eye trained to see beauty, and a mind 
 that was quick to discover likenesses. But we 
 are all poets, to a degree, and can train ourselves 
 to make, in a natural way, little comparisons 
 that add beauty and vividness. Keep this in 
 mind when performing the next two tasks. 
 
 EXERCISE 28 
 Oral or Written 
 
 Describe the English lake shown in the illustra- 
 tion entitled Rydal Water. Trtj to -jirofjt h)/ the 
 suggestions given in the preceding paragraph. 
 
 EXERCISE 29 
 Oral or Written 
 
 Describe an extended view with which you are 
 very familiar, giving your composition one of the 
 titles suggested below. 
 
 1. The city as seen from the top of a high building. 
 2. From the brow of the hill. 3. A large pond. 4. A 
 (oiintry road. 5. Tracing the course of a stream. 
 ('). A range of hills. 7. Looking down on the harbor. 
 S. A farm. 9. A \illage seen in the distance. 10. A 
 battle-field. 11. Looking down a city street. 12. A 
 park.
 
 46 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 30 
 
 Written 
 
 Here is a reproduction from a painting by 
 Breton. It is called Song of the Lark. Does 
 it interest you at all? It may not at first, but 
 probably if you study it long enough interest 
 will come. Where, should you guess, is the scene 
 laid? Is it the sun that is rising behind the trees 
 in the background, or the moon? Where is the 
 girl going? How old is she? Does she look 
 strong, vigorous, healthy? Is she an intelligent 
 girl? Is she happy? Is she poor? In what 
 respect is her costume unusual? She is listening, 
 is she not? How does the painter let you know 
 that she is listening most intently? When a 
 great painter makes a picture, he has, usually if 
 not always, a thought which he wishes to impress. 
 Do you catch the thought lying back of this 
 picture? 
 
 Describe Breton's Song of the Lark and tell what 
 the picture means. Pay particular attention to the 
 expression of the girVs face. 
 
 To give in a few lines a clear description of a 
 person is of course most difficult; for such a 
 description should tell far more than that which 
 the camera tells. Notice the following, for
 
 Song of the Lark
 
 DESCKil'IiOX 47 
 
 exaiiipK', taken from a recent number of the 
 Literary IHtjest. 
 
 He is forty-six, a shy, gentle httle iiuui, seklom speak- 
 ing, bhishing wlien applauded, stuttering if suddenly 
 aecostcd, and dismayed \vh(>n ])eople call him 'master.' 
 He wears a close-fitting black frock coat. He is bald 
 as an egg; his cheeks arc 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 wearied. 
 
 No doubt you will agree that this is a good 
 description, and that it is good because it tells 
 far more than could any photograph. 
 
 Here is another pen-portrait, taken from 
 Dombey and Son. Perhaps it tells but little 
 more concerning; ^Ir. Bunsby than would a 
 photograph; but it surely reveals the personality 
 of Mr. Dickens. Can you tell how this portrait 
 differs from the one just considered, as regards 
 the method of description? 
 
 Immediately there appeared, coming slowly up above 
 the bulkhead of the cabin, another bulkhead — human, 
 and verj' large — with one stationar\' eye in the mahogany 
 face, and one movable one, on the i)rinciple of some 
 lighthouses. This head was decorated with shagg\' hair, 
 like oakum, which had no governing inclination towards 
 the north, east, west, or south, but inclined to ever}- 
 point upon it. The head was followed by a perfect 
 desert of chin, and l)y a shirt-collar and neckerchief, and
 
 48 ENGLISH .COMPOSITION 
 
 by a dread-nought pilot-coat, and by a pair of dread- 
 nought pilot-trousers, whereof the waistband was so 
 broad and high that it became a succeedaneum for a 
 waistcoat, being ornamented near the wearer's breast- 
 bone with some massive wooden buttons, like back- 
 gammon men. As the lower portions of these pantaloons 
 became revealed, Bunsby stood confessed; his hands 
 in their pockets, which were of vast size; and his gaze 
 directed, not at Captain Cuttle or the ladies, but to the 
 mast-head. 
 
 EXERCISE 31 
 Written 
 
 Write a description from ten to twenty lines 
 long, suggested by one of the titles given below. Try 
 to make the portrait reveal character. Imagine 
 that the person who7n you are describing is doing 
 some characteristic thing. 
 
 1. Grandmother. 2. The tramp. 3. A small boy 
 with new rubber boots. 4. The disgusted fisherman. 
 5. The postman. 6. My best friend. 7. A beggar. 
 8. The baby. 9. The grocer's clerk. 10. Father. 11. Our 
 doctor. 12. George Washington. 13. The electric car 
 conductor. 14. The automobilist. 15. ''Any rags!" 
 16. The hotel clerk. 17. The organ-grinder. 18. The 
 boy who sits across the aisle. 19. The peanut man. 
 20. The girl behind the notion counter. 21. The 
 football novice. 22. The small boy at the circus. 
 23. Faces seen at the Zoo. 24. The judge. 25. A face 
 from the family album. 26. A successful cartoon. 
 27. Our parrot. 28. A mischievous girl in school.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 ARGUMENT 
 
 Narration tells a story, exposition explains, 
 and description pictures. A fourth kind of 
 composition, which consciously or unconsciously 
 we use many times a day, is argument. When 
 we try to reason out what is true, what is right, 
 what is expedient, we argue. Success in life 
 depends in no small measure upon one's ability 
 to argue, for through argument we convince 
 others and persuade them to do as we wish. 
 Training counts here quite as much as it does 
 in other kinds of battle, and there is no better 
 place in which to begin systematic training than 
 a school debating club. By all means join one as 
 soon as you can, whether you are a boy or a girl. 
 Learn to talk fearlessly when facing an audience. 
 Learn how to defend yourself without losing your 
 head or your temper when under fire. Here 
 are a few simple suggestions which may help 
 you in your early attempts. 
 
 L In preparing a debate it is necessary to 
 
 49
 
 50 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 spend a good share of your time in collecting facts. 
 Before you can argue intelligently you must 
 know your subject thoroughly. The judges too 
 must be educated: otherwise thev cannot deter- 
 mine whether your arguments are sound. Burke, 
 one of England's ablest debaters, often devoted 
 over a third of a speech to a clear statement of 
 facts — information which his hearers needed 
 before they could see the force of his arguments. 
 Lincoln, it is said, won his law cases largely 
 through his patient, thorough way of spreading 
 out before judge and jury all the facts, rather 
 than through shrewdness in argument. Be well 
 informed yourself, then inform those whom you 
 are addressing: that is surely the first thing in 
 all debate. 
 
 2. The facts having been ascertained and 
 clearly presented, it is time to advance reasons 
 or proofs. In later years, if you remain in school, 
 you will learn that there are certain definite 
 ways of proving things, but to attempt to 
 explain them now would probably end in 
 confusion; so we will confine ourselves to three 
 suggestions. 
 
 First, do not try to give too many proofs. Of 
 ten which may occur to you, probably several are 
 a little wide of the mark, do not really prove any- 
 thing which you are under obligations to prove;
 
 ARGUMENT 51 
 
 and several others, it may be, are after all too 
 feeble to be of much value. Can you not spare 
 them? Two or three strong proofs will be 
 enough. A well-directed cannon is worth dozens 
 of shot-guns. 
 
 Second, remember that merely stating an 
 argument amounts to little. You must put facts 
 back of it; you must restate it this way and that, 
 illustrating it by example after example; you 
 must clear away objections which may interfere 
 with its acceptance. Drive it home. 
 
 Third, see that your matter is well arranged. 
 Let your hearers know early in your plea what, 
 in a general way, is to be your line of proof. It 
 is equally important that you turn back, just 
 before closing, and review what you have said, 
 summarizing, condensing everything into a nut- 
 shell. 
 
 EXERCISE 32 
 Oral 
 A statement to be debated is called a proposi- 
 tion. The proposition should be so simply and 
 clearly stated that there can be no doubt in 
 regard to what it means; for if one side under- 
 stands the question in one way and the opposing 
 side in another way, there can be no fair contest.
 
 52 • ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Many school debates end in a tangle because this 
 matter is not properly attended to; and in the 
 world at large it is probably true that wrangling 
 and the hard feelings sure to follow are due less to 
 a real difference in opinion than to carelessly 
 worded and carelessly interpreted statements. 
 
 Point out words in the following propositions 
 which are too indefinite. Try to so reword each 
 statement that it will no longer be vague. 
 
 1. Sunday recreations should be prohibited. 2. Girls 
 should be taught manual training. 3. Cheap books ought 
 not to be circulated by pubHc libraries. 4. It is wrong to 
 hunt and fish. 5. Polar expeditions do not pay. 6. Too 
 many hours a day should not be devoted to exercise. 
 7. Everybody should attend church. 8. City stores 
 should close half a day a week during warm weather. 
 
 EXERCISE 33 
 
 Written 
 
 Select two propositions from those found below. 
 Find three reasons in support of each and three 
 against; arrange these in the order of their im- 
 portance, placing the strongest last. 
 
 1. Two half-holidays a week would be better for our 
 school than one whole holiday. 2. Two sessions, one 
 in the forenoon and one in the afternoon, would be better 
 for our school than the present single session. 3. Monday
 
 AR(ir.Mi-:.\ r r,:i 
 
 would make a bettor school holiday than Saturday. 
 4. Every boy should own a do";. '). All cats should be 
 exterminated. G. Girls should contribute money to 
 help defray the expenses of our athletic association. 
 7. If a street car is crowded, able-bodied men should 
 ofTer their seats to ladies who are standing. 
 
 EXERCISE 34 
 
 Written 
 
 Take one of the reasoyis which you advanced in 
 the preceding exercise and, using it as the first sen- 
 tence of a paragraph, add a number of sentences 
 reenforcing it. Explain, illustrate, or do whatever 
 you think necessary to make your reasoning effective. 
 
 Take one of the reasons which you advanced in 
 the previous exercise and try to show that it is weak 
 or wholly false. 
 
 EXERCISE 35 
 Oral 
 
 No matter how carefully a military campaign 
 may be planned, the opposing generals are 
 practically sure to meet some surprises. The 
 unexpected happens; things do not work out as 
 planned. It is the same in debate, which after 
 all is a kind of warfare. Frequently the enemy
 
 54 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 discovers weak spots in what you have thought 
 were your strongest arguments. Even though 
 you have, very properly, studied both sides of the 
 question with equal care, counter-arguments will 
 be advanced which have not occurred to you at 
 all, it may be. Such unexpected turns call for 
 quick, clear thinking, ability to judge whether an 
 attack is worth noticing or merely a ruse, ability 
 to detect in one's opponent's argument a fallacy. 
 A fallacy is an unsound or deceptive course of 
 reasoning. It may take many different forms, 
 and when cleverly disguised is often hard to 
 detect, especially in the heat of debate. 
 
 Show wherein consists the fallacy in each of the 
 following. Make your explanation as dear as if 
 you were taking part in a debate. 
 
 1. Boys should not be allowed to go in bathmg, for 
 bathing frequently leads to fatal accidents. 2. For 
 three years in succession it has rained on circus day; 
 therefore circuses cause rain. 3. It always rains on 
 circus day. To-morrow is circus day; therefore it will 
 rain to-morrow. 4. WTien I asked Mary what time it 
 was, she glanced at the clock and then said/' Ten-thirty." 
 But when I looked at the clock a minute later, it was 
 but twenty-nine minutes of ten. Therefore Mar>' meant 
 to deceive me. 5. Mr. Clark the machinist says that my 
 bicycle is very well made, but Tommy Jones and his 
 brother William both say that it is worthless. Since 
 two pronounce the wheel poor and only one pronounces
 
 AR(.I Mi:\T 55 
 
 it good, I conclutlo that I have a poor wheel. 6. Many 
 great men have been wretched jwnmen. I am a wretched 
 penmen; therefore I sliall l>e a great man. 7. Bird.s 
 can fly. I am muih larger and wiser than any bird; 
 therefore I too should be able to fly. S. If I want a canoe 
 I must buy one or else steal one. Since I cannot de- 
 grade myself sufliciently to steal, I shall never have a 
 canoe unless I buy one. 9. Mary, who is five feet tall, 
 looks charming in a blue gown. Therefore Edna, who is 
 also five feet tall, would look charming in a blue gown. 
 10. The flowers of the field do not toil, yet how beautiful 
 and hapjiv they arc! Therefore I will not toil. 11. I 
 have never seen a purple cow, nor have I ever heard of 
 one; therefore there are no purjile cows. 12. Either 
 it rains or it does not rain. It does not rain; therefore 
 it rains. 13. The umpire said that the runner was .safe 
 at third base; but the ruimer admits that he was out. 
 The third baseman is uncertain. I conclude that the 
 runner was out. 
 
 EXERCISE 36 
 Oral 
 
 Let every pupil come to class prepared to ad- 
 vance arguments for or against two of the following 
 statements, the two to be previously selected. 
 
 The instructor will arrange in parallel columns 
 on the blackboard ary;uments given for and 
 against each proposition. As often as an argu- 
 ment is fairly refuted by any one, a line will be
 
 56 E.N'GLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 drawn through it. At the close of the period a 
 vote will be taken to determine whether the 
 statements are true. 
 
 1. The girls should have an athletic association as 
 well as the boys. 2. Pupils ought not to tn- to earn 
 money while attending high school unless compelled to 
 do so to support themselves. 3. Latin is a more useful 
 language than French. 4. Ever^- boy should be taught 
 how to use firearms. 5. Football should be abolished. 
 6. Badges of honor should be given for excellence in 
 scholarship, just as now they are given for success in 
 athletics. 7. The school paper is of as much importance 
 as the school athletic association. S. Tennis is a better 
 game than golf. 
 
 EXERCISE 37 
 Oral 
 
 Let the class select jour members to debate one of 
 the following propositio)is a week later. Those not 
 selected will have the privilege of volunteering on 
 either side. 
 
 1. The orator exerts a greater influence than the 
 editor. 2. The dramatist exerts a greater influence than 
 the novelist. 3. Sh^-lock is a nobler character than 
 Isaac of York. 4. Rebecca is a nobler woman than 
 Rowena. 5. The posting of advertisements on bill- 
 boards should be prohibited by law. 6. The million- 
 aire is more to be pitied than the man who has an income
 
 AR(jrMi:.\r 57 
 
 of fifteen liundred dollars a year. 7. The ])uhli.sliing 
 of cartoons of the President should be prohibited by 
 law. S. The dog is a nobler animal than the horse. 
 
 9. The doctor's profession is nobler than the lawyer's. 
 
 10. Two years of travel constitutes a better prepara- 
 tion for life than four years in college. 
 
 EXERCISE 38 
 Written 
 
 Defend either side of one of the following 'pro'po- 
 sitions. 
 
 1. A private workshop is better for the average boy 
 than a library of one hundred well-chosen books. 2. A 
 sailboat would be better for me than an automobile. 
 3. Our school should have an athletic field. 4. Birds 
 reason. 5. The boy who livci^ in the country is more 
 to be envied than the boy who lives in the city. 6. It 
 is dishonest to get aid from a fellow pupil. 7. It is 
 useless to own books, if one has access to a good pul^lic 
 library. 8. Lee was a greater commander than Grant. 
 9. The Xavy did better ser\-ice, during the Civil War, 
 than the Army.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 LETTER-WRITING 
 
 A LETTER is but a composition. Whatever 
 practice we give ourselves in telling accurately 
 and in a pleasing manner what we have heard or 
 seen, what we have felt, what we believe, will help 
 us to write better letters. There are, however, 
 certain rules with which one should be familiar, 
 rules established by custom in regard to how 
 letters should begin and close. These will now 
 be considered. 
 
 Every complete letter, it is well to remember, 
 has seven parts: the heading, which tells where 
 and when the letter is written; the address, which 
 tells to whom it is written; the salutation or greet- 
 ing; the body or letter proper; the leave-taking — 
 Yours truly or Very truly yours, for example; the 
 signature of the writer; the superscription, or that 
 which is written on the envelope. Perhaps the 
 best way to fix in the mind how these parts 
 should be arranged will be to examine them one 
 or two at a time through illustrations. 
 
 58
 
 LF/iTKR-WRrrixr; 59 
 
 The heading is commonly placed in the upper 
 right-hand corner of the first page, an inch or two 
 from the top and fairly near the right-hand edge. 
 
 Heading 
 
 158 Corporal St., Hartford, Conn. 
 Oct. 25, 1904 
 
 In the model above, the various items are arranged 
 in two lines; but one, two, or three lines may be 
 used, according to the writer's taste. The date 
 always comes last, and should never be omitted, 
 no matter what the character of the letter may 
 be. But the rest of the heading — that which 
 tells where the letter is written — need not be 
 given in full or at all, if the one to whom 
 the letter is written knows perfectly well where 
 the sender lives. Sometimes in social corre- 
 spondence, but never in a business letter, the ad- 
 dress of the sender and the date of writing are 
 placed at the close rather than at the begin- 
 ning. This is shown in specimen letters on later 
 pages. Note that where two or more items are 
 in the same line they are separated by the comma, 
 but that no comma is placed at the end of a line, 
 and no periods are used except after abbrevia- 
 tions. In other words, punctuation-marks are 
 placed only where they are actually needed.
 
 6i) 
 
 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Heading and address 
 
 158 Corporal St., Hartford, Conn. 
 Oct. 25, 1904 
 
 Ditson, Spalding, & Company 
 
 21 Elk St., Philadelphia 
 
 In a business letter the address comes in- 
 variably a space or two below the heading and 
 near the left margin, the items being arranged in 
 one, two, or three lines, grouped symmetrically. 
 Here, as in the heading, no punctuation is 
 needed at the ends of lines. In letters not of 
 a business character, the address is commonly 
 placed at the close. In writing to intimate 
 friends or to relatives, the address is of course 
 unnecessary and is omitted altogether. 
 
 Heading, address, and salutation 
 
 158 Corporal St., Hartford, Conn, 
 Oct. 25, 1904 
 
 Ditson, Spalding, & Company 
 
 21 Elk St., Philadelphia 
 (Jentlemen: 
 
 I am in receipt of your letter of the second
 
 ij;r'ri:iv'-\\ i;ri i.\<; 6i 
 
 The salutaHon, you will noto, comos a space 
 below the address, in a business letter; in other 
 letters wliere th«^ address is omitted, a space or 
 two below the heading. h\ cither case, it begins 
 at the left margin. If, however, the address is 
 all on one line, and is very short, it is better to 
 begin the salutatic^n below the last letter of the 
 address. Generally it is followed by a colon. 
 \Vhat the salutation should be varies widely 
 
 Heading, address, and salutation 
 
 15S ('nr])oral St. 
 
 Hartford, Conn. 
 Oct. 24, 1904 
 
 Professor Jolni Tabb, 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 It will givo the mem- 
 bers of the Primrose Club great pleasure if they 
 may have your 
 
 with circumstances. Sir and Madam are seldom 
 used in ordinary correspondence, being very 
 formal and frigid. Dear Sir, Dear Madam, My 
 dear Sir, and My dear Madam are commonly 
 used in business correspondence, and in letters 
 to strangers or to those with whom one is not 
 intimately acquainted. They are dignified and
 
 62 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 courteous. Dear Madam is the proper saluta- 
 tion in a letter to an unmarried woman with 
 whom one is not acquainted, yet it is also correct 
 to write My dear Miss Blank. Gentlemen and 
 Mesdames are practically the only forms now 
 used in writing to business firms. My dear Mr. 
 Blank, My dear Mrs. Blank, and My dear Miss 
 Blank are used in social correspondence, though 
 if Miss Blank is no longer young, Dear Madam is 
 a better form. It is not necessary to suggest the 
 scores upon scores of informal and affectionate 
 salutations, of which Dear John and Dear Mary are 
 the simplest types. Note that in all salutations 
 dear does not begin with a capital except when 
 it stands first, but that Sir, Madam, Miss, etc., 
 being titles of respect, do begin with capitals. 
 
 The body, or letter proper, should begin a space 
 below the salutation and immediately under the 
 colon. There are few set rules to observe, yet 
 here are hints which may be of service. First, 
 business letters should be clear and brief, for time 
 is valuable and misunderstandings expensive. 
 Second, to begin with As I have nothing else to 
 do, I will write, etc., etc., or Having nothing else 
 to do, I thought I would, etc., etc., is surely un- 
 complimentary. It is, of course, unnecessary to 
 conclude a letter with Having nothing else to say, 
 I will bring my letter to a close. Especially in
 
 LElTKR-WlU'IIXf; C)3 
 
 business correspondence, it is well when answering 
 a letter to refer to it in the first sentence, giving 
 its date. Thirdly, avoid contractions. YWs for 
 yours, rec'd for received, <& — except in firm names 
 — for and are not in good taste. We may write 
 etc. for et cetera, however, and in business corre- 
 spondence inst., prox., and ult. are allowable ab- 
 breviations for Latin words meaning this month, 
 next month, and last month, as in the expression 
 your letter of the 2lst inst. Other indications of 
 haste, such as undotted i's, uncrossed t's, lines 
 crowded at the ends, neglected indentions, and 
 above all scrawling penmanship, are, even though 
 not intended to be so, disrespectful. Finally, fill 
 the pages in regular order, unless but two pages 
 of a folded sheet are needed, when the first and 
 third may be used; and write across the page 
 as the lines are arranged in a printed book. 
 
 You will find enclosed a check for ten dollars 
 and fifty cents, the amount due according to your 
 price-list. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 William H. Burbank 
 
 Leave-taking and signature 
 
 The leave-taking should come a space below 
 the body. Its position varies somewhat, accord- 
 ing to its length. There are many forms, the
 
 64 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 most common being Yours truly. Very truly yours, 
 Yours respectfully, and Yours sincerely. Note 
 that only the first word of the leave-taking begins 
 with a capital, and that the last word is followed 
 by a comma. It is best not to conclude the 
 body of a letter with a sentence beginning with a 
 participle and tacked on to the leave-taking. 
 Intsead of Hoping I may hear from you soon, I 
 remain, etc., write simply I hope to hear from 
 you soon. I remain, once popular, is seldom used 
 to-day. Be very careful not to write Yours 
 respectively for Yours respectfully. 
 
 The signature comes a space below the leave- 
 taking, and near the right edge of the page. Ex- 
 cept in informal letters, use for signature the 
 name you wish your correspondent to use in 
 reply. Confusion often arises when married 
 women employ two signatures interchangeably. 
 Mrs. Clark may sign her letters Mary Alton 
 Clark, yet wish to be addressed as Mrs. John 
 K. Clark. In such case she writes, a space be- 
 low her signature, and near the left margin, 
 Please address Mrs. John K. Clark. Confusion 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 Mary Alton Clark 
 Please address 
 
 Mrs. John K. Clark 
 
 Leave-taking and signature
 
 LE'rri;i{-\\ iinixc 
 
 05 
 
 arises also in regard to tlie signature of an un- 
 married woman. If Mary Alton is unmarried, 
 she should, in writing to a strang(;r, follow 
 the rule just laid down for married women, 
 writing below her signature and to the left, Please 
 address Miss Mary Alton. 
 
 The proper arrangement of the sufzr serif tion 
 varies with the shape of the envelope. Note 
 the order in which the items are given: name, 
 street address, city, state. The postal regula- 
 tions call for a fourth item, the county. This is a 
 
 Superscription 
 
 Mr. Henry K. Winslow 
 
 234 Spangler Avenue 
 Philadelphia 
 
 Pennsvhania 
 
 reasonable request, but is often disregarded, es- 
 pecially in New England. If used, it should be 
 on a line below the city or town. Note that all 
 punctuation is omitted except the period follow- 
 ing abbreviations. Here are a few hints in 
 regard to superscriptions:
 
 66 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 First, see that the envelope is right side up 
 before addressing it. Second, place the stamp 
 where it belongs — in the right-hand corner, not 
 upside down nor diagonally. Third, write the 
 
 Miss Mary Alton 
 
 234 Slangier Ave. 
 Philadelphia 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 address very plainly, giving the county except in 
 cases where you are positive that it is unneces- 
 sary, and giving the state without abbreviation. 
 
 Mr. John H. Williams 
 
 9521 Calumet Ave. 
 Chicago 
 Illinois 
 Care of Mr. Edward F. Jones
 
 Li':i'ii:i;-wiM'ri\'r, 67 
 
 It is never quite safe to write merely i'ltij or 
 Town, when sending in-town letters, yet the 
 practice is unfortunately common in social corre- 
 spondence. In writing to a person who is away 
 from his home — for example, staying with a 
 friend — send the letter Care of the one with 
 whom he is staying. Fourth, unless you use the 
 regulation stamped return envelope furnished by 
 the government, it is safest for the sender to write 
 his name and address in the upper left-hand 
 corner of the envelope. Fifth, write 28 West 56 
 Street, not No. 28 W. 56th St.; Reverend John 
 M. Clark, D.D., not Rev. Dr. John M. Clark; Dr. 
 JohnM. Jones, not John M. Jones, M.D.; Pro- 
 fessor Harold L. Lake, not Proj. Harold L. Lake, 
 M.A.; John M. Geer, Esq., not Mr. John M. 
 Geer, if Mr. Geer is a lawyer, or prominent in 
 public affairs; Mr. John M. Clark, Principal of 
 Blank Academy, not Prin. John M. Clark. Place 
 Hon. before the names of judges, mayors, and 
 governors. 
 
 No doubt many of the details given above 
 are familiar to most young people, for we are 
 taught how to write letters almost as soon as 
 we know how to read. But merchants, manu- 
 facturers, and business men generally, con- 
 stantly complain that their clerks do not know 
 some of the simplest rules of letter- writing; and
 
 68 EXGLISH COMPOSITIOX 
 
 it is to be feared that the same charge might be 
 brought against those who write social notes. 
 We are growing careless. It has seemed best, 
 therefore, to treat the subject with unusual 
 thoroughness. Here are a few final words of 
 caution: 
 
 Use black ink, a good pen, and white paper 
 of good quality, unruled, unperfumed. En- 
 velopes and paper should match. Beware of 
 "Letter Writers," little volumes containing 
 specimen compositions to meet every occasion. 
 It is better to be one's self, even if mistakes do 
 occur, than blindly to follow a model. There 
 are, however, reliable works which are well 
 worth consulting. The Etiquette of Correspond- 
 ence by Helen Gavit, Studies for Letters by 
 Frances Callaway, and The Correspondent by 
 James Wood Davidson are full of good sugges- 
 tions. 
 
 EXERCISE 39 
 Oral 
 Answer the following questions. 
 
 1. Name the seven parts of a complete letter. Under 
 what circumstances may some of the parts be omitted? 
 
 2. Wliat information is given in the heading? In 
 what order are the items arranged? What item of the
 
 LETTER-\VRI1I\(; 69 
 
 heading should never be omitted? How should the 
 heading be punctuated? If the address given in the 
 heading is not the one to which the \^Titer wishes a reply 
 sent, how does he indicate this? 
 
 3. "WTiat Ls the proper place for the address? How 
 should it be punctuated? Why in a business letter is 
 it best to place the address before the body? Why is 
 the address necessarj* at all? 
 
 4. How should the salutation be capitalized and 
 punctuated? Where should it be placed? ^^^lat is the 
 proper salutation for a letter to an unmarried woman? 
 
 5. TMiere should the body of a letter begin? Why 
 is it advisable in answering a letter to refer to it by date? 
 What two objections can you make to the following 
 beginning: As I have nothing else to do. I thought I would 
 write you a letter? 
 
 6. Give the more common forms of leave-taking. 
 How should the leave-taking be capitalized and punc- 
 tuated? 
 
 7. AMiat advice can you give in regard to the signature 
 of a letter? 
 
 S. WTiat items of information should appear in the 
 superscription?
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 LETTER-WEITING 
 
 Continued 
 
 Here are sixteen specimen letters. Study 
 them carefully. Try to find in them things which 
 are not quite as you think they should be. 
 There are questions on a later page which will 
 test the thoroughness with which your work is 
 done. 
 
 1 
 
 158 Corporal St., Hartford, Conn. 
 Oct. 25, 1904 
 Ditson, Spalding, & Co. 
 
 21 Bow St., Philadelphia 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 Please send by Adams Express the following 
 articles : 
 
 1 doz. Keep well tennis balls. . . .$4.00 
 
 1 Kramer racket, 16 oz 4 . 00 
 
 1 Kramer racket, 14 oz 4.00 
 
 1 tennis net, "Quality A" 1.60 
 
 1 marker 75 
 
 You will find enclosed my check for the proper amount. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 William H. Burbank 
 70
 
 Li:i'ii:R-\vKriL\G 71 
 
 DiTsoNT, Spalding, & Company 
 
 Dealers in Athletic Goods 
 
 21 Bow Street, Philadelphl\, Penna. 
 
 miiladolphia, Oct. 26, 1904 
 Mr. William II. lUirbank 
 
 15S Corporal St.. Hartford, Conn. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Accept our thanks for your favor of the 25th 
 in.st. containing an onhv for tennis goods and enclosing 
 check for fourteen dollars thirty-five cents (S14.35). 
 We are sending the articles by to-day's express, charges 
 paid. You will find enclosed a receipted bill. 
 Gratefully yours, 
 
 Ditson, Spalding, <fe Com})any 
 
 123 Garden Street 
 
 ^laplewood, ^'ermont 
 Nov. 3, 1904 
 Cairn & Company 
 29 Mayflower St. 
 Boston, Mass. 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 The Round Table, a literary club of forty 
 seniors in Maplewood High School, is to take up this 
 winter a study of letters based upon the published 
 corresjiondence of Longfellow, Stevenson, and one or 
 two otliei's. Our jmrpose in planning such a course, 
 aside from the enjoyment coming from a somowhnt
 
 72 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 intimate acquaintance with the authors studied, is to 
 teach ourselves something of the art of letter-writing. 
 It has occurred to us that the first requisite of a good 
 letter is good stationery. Your local representatives, 
 Messrs. Wood & Towles, suggest that perhaps you will 
 be willing to send us a few samples of what you con- 
 sider correct in quality and style. 
 
 Our club has no treasury; it can therefore offer you no 
 compensation, except the comfortable feeling that one 
 experiences when aiding a good cause. It would be 
 known, however, that you were the donors, and that your 
 line of stationery is carried by a local firm. Perhaps 
 some of our members would be led, sooner or later, to 
 adopt your papers. But this is, of course, conjectural. 
 If the request seems unreasonable, be assured that we 
 shall in no way be offended. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Alice Helene Cowles, 
 
 Secretary 
 
 Cairn & Company 
 
 Fine Paper Manufacturers 
 
 20 Mayflower St., Boston, Mass. 
 
 November 5, 1904 
 Miss Alice Helene Cowles 
 
 Maplewood, \^ermont 
 My dear Miss Cowles : 
 
 Your letter of the 3d inst. is at 
 hand and noted. We will make up for you three folders 
 showing various styles of high-grade papers in different 
 sizes, and arranged in such a way that they can be 
 exhibited conveniently. It will take several days to
 
 jMCI ri:K-\vi;i riNC 73 
 
 ]ircj);trc tlirsf foldors; wc will, howcvor, Mini tliciti u.s 
 soon as possii)l(\ 
 
 Wc arc interostcd in the plan of your clul), mikI wisli 
 you to fed that we esteem it a privilege to grant your 
 retjucst. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Cairn it ('()ni])anv 
 
 5 
 
 111 I'ine St. 
 
 Decrford, R. I. 
 Oct. 2, 1004 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Permit me to thank you for your letter pul)- 
 lished in a recent issue of the Morning Chronicle. We 
 boys feel precisely as you do about the matter. It does 
 seem as if in a city containing so many parks there might 
 be found some place where football could be played. 
 We realize that the game is not one that helps grass to 
 grow, and that spirited contests often attract noisy 
 crowds. Doubtless there are still other drawbacks. 
 Yet it does seem as if there were good points enough to 
 overbalance the bad ones, and that the game deserves a 
 public field. It is therefore a great pleasure to have 
 you champion the cause. 
 
 You will pardon me, I hope, for sending }ou this note. 
 Your letter pleased me so much that I have allowed 
 myself to forget that you are a stranger, and probabl}^ 
 too busy to read a boy's letter. 
 
 Respectfullv yours, 
 
 John Hartley Hale 
 Mr. Henry Clark Wilson 
 
 38 Schumann Terrace
 
 74 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 6 
 
 38 Schumann Terrace 
 October 5 
 My dear young friend : 
 
 Few men are too busy to read a 
 carefully written letter from a schoolboy, especially if 
 it contain a com})liment. At any rate, I have read your 
 letter with interest. 
 
 Just what can be done to bring about the end we both 
 desire, I do not at present clearly see; but perhaps some 
 way will appear before long. It occurs to me as I write 
 that I might, temporarily, help out by letting the boys 
 use my lot, corner of Broad and Lincoln streets. It is 
 not perfectly level, and there is a muddy spot in one 
 corner which would have to be filled in. To remedy this 
 defect would cost but little, however, and I think I could 
 attend to it. 
 
 If the plan pleases you, will you not call at my house 
 Friday evening at eight that we may talk it over? 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Henry C. Wilson 
 
 264 Capron Street 
 January 4 
 Mrs. J. C. Simpson 
 
 239 May Street 
 Dear Madam: 
 
 I learn through your advertisement in 
 to-night's Times that you desire a young girl to read to 
 you and to wTite letters from dictation. Please con- 
 sider me an applicant. 
 
 I am sixteen, a high school senior. I am not a trained
 
 LE'iTKR-WH rnxr. 75 
 
 reader; that is, I cannot read with elorutionary effect. 
 Nor can I claim to 1)(> unusually good in comj)osition. 
 It seenxs to nie, however, that I should be able to read 
 ordinary prose distinctly, and write with reasonable 
 accuracy. By permission I refer you to Principal Wilbur 
 F. Howells, who may be addressed at the high school. 
 
 I shall l)e pleased to call at your home whenever it 
 may be convenient to you. 
 
 ^'e^y truly 30urs, 
 
 Adele M. Peberdy 
 
 8 
 Dear Ellinwood : 
 
 This will introduce to you my very good 
 friend John Hartwell, who is to be in Waveland for a 
 few weeks, ^'ou will find him a capital fellow, with 
 athletic likings similar to your own. I am sure you will 
 take pleasure in doing what you can to make his stay 
 agreeable. 
 
 Your old-time college mate, 
 
 Marshall Hagar 
 34 Edgewood Place 
 Novemlx^r 2-4 
 
 9 
 Dear Miss White: 
 
 Please excuse me for being absent 
 yesterday, and for not being prepared to recite to-day's 
 lessons. Mother was quite ill, and it became necessary 
 for me to remain at home ancFcare for her. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Alfroda Roeder 
 June third
 
 76 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 10 
 
 Wednesday, 8 a.m. 
 Dear Tom: 
 
 Lunch at twelve to-day. Come. Don't 
 wear fine clothes, for the ponies need exercising. We 
 shall want to take a long scamper out to the Camp and 
 back. Remember, I never take "No" for an answer. 
 James, who bears this note, has orders to seize you by 
 force of arms if you show the slightest sign of resistance. 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Pembroke the Terrible 
 
 11 
 
 69 Peebles Court 
 My dear Miss Chadwick: 
 
 If you have no engagement for 
 Wednesday evening, October tenth, will you not give 
 us pleasure by dining with us informally at seven? 
 , Very sincerely yours, 
 
 Margaret Harmon 
 Saturday, October sixth 
 
 12 
 
 2251 Girard Avenue 
 My dear Miss Harmon: 
 
 It will be a great pleasure to 
 dine with you Wednesday, October tenth. How thought- 
 ful you were to remember that mother's absence from, 
 home would leave me alone! 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Elizabeth Chadwick 
 IMonday, October eighth
 
 Li':rii:i;-\\ i;i riNfi 77 
 
 Mr. atul Mrs. Simpson n'(|Ucst tlio ])lf';i,sun' of .Mr. 
 Wliool(>r's coinpany al dinner on \\'('(ln(\s(ia\ , June 
 twenty-third, at seven o'clock. To meet Mr. James 
 Lurk in. 
 
 23 Lear Street, June nineteenth 
 
 14 
 
 Mr. Wheeler regrets that a previous engagement pre- 
 vents him from accei)ting Mr. and Mrs. Simpson's kind 
 invitation to dine with them Wednesday, June twenty- 
 third. 
 
 15 
 
 Mr. Wheeler accepts with pleasure Mr. and Mrs. Simp- 
 son's kind invitation to dine witii thom Wednesday, 
 June twenty-third, at seven o'clock. 
 
 11 Rowc Avenue, June twenty-first 
 
 16 
 
 Simsbury, Conn. 
 
 October 13, 1904 
 Dear Mother: 
 
 It seems an age since you left us, but I 
 suppose you have barely arrived and begun to "do" the 
 Fair. 
 
 The post-cards came, and are almost as pretty as the 
 German ones. We have swapped, because Fay liked 
 mine better than hers, and she has taken her birthday 
 money to buy an album. I have promised to help her 
 put all her cards into it next Saturday, if it liappens
 
 78 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 to be rainy so that we cannot go chestnutting again. 
 Privately, I hope it will be pleasant. 
 
 She and I take turns sitting at the head of the table, 
 and you can imagine what a morsel she looked last night, 
 sitting there so erect and dignified in your great carved 
 chair. Katy had another accident with the china — 
 only a common blue cup,— and you would have smiled 
 to hear her say "It doesn't matter," just as kindly as 
 you would have done. And she declined a second 
 portion of pudding too, though it was the kind she 
 ordered and was very good. 
 
 I believe I promised to write you about my new 
 teachers. I was so unreconciled to parting with my dear 
 Mr. Graves, and I even dared to tell him so. But he 
 smiled at me in his own pleasant way, and only said, 
 "You see. Miss Dale, I can't be with you always!" I 
 haven't had time to "size up" the new ones yet, but 
 thus far one of them seems so stern and the other so 
 lovely and expectant that I can't possibly slight either 
 lesson, and so, between the two of them, I see strenuous 
 days ahead. 
 
 Your loving eldest, 
 
 Edith 
 
 P. S. Fay sends love, and says to write to her. 
 
 EXERCISE 40 
 Oral 
 
 Answer the following questions. 
 
 1. In the first specimen letter, might the heading 
 lia\e been given a different arrangement? Why is the
 
 LE'rTER-\\'PvrrTNO 70 
 
 state not fi;ivcn in the address? Is tlif <'()iiiina after 
 Spalding necessary? What advantage is there in placing 
 each item of the order on a separate line? Was it neces- 
 sary to mention the price of each article? Why mention 
 that a check accompanies the letter? 
 
 2. Was it necessary, in the second letter, to repeat the 
 word Philadelpliia in the heading? What is the meaning 
 of inst.? \\'hat would the 25th ult. mean? Wliy do 
 Ditson, Spalding, ct Co. mention the recei])t of their 
 customer's letter? 
 
 3. How does the arrangement of the heading and 
 address in the third letter differ from the arrangement 
 of the heading and address in the first two? What is the 
 uncontracted form of Messrs.? AVhy did not the sec- 
 retary of the Round Table put Miss before her name? 
 
 4. Why, in the fifth letter, is the address placed after 
 the body? Why in the sixth is it omitted? How do 
 you account for the difference betwec^n the lea^•e-takings 
 in these two letters? 
 
 5. Account for the incompleteness of the heading and 
 the address in the seventh letter? Where else might the 
 heading have been placed? Had ]\Irs. Simpson been 
 unmarried, what would have been the proper salutation? 
 Criticise this letter of application, noting the good points 
 and also anything which you think might be improved. 
 What ought a letter of application to tell? Wh}^ should 
 it, ordinarily, be brief? 
 
 6. Is it polite to seal a letter of introduction? What 
 advantage is there in WTiting in the lower left-hand 
 corner of the envelope containing a letter of introduc- 
 tion the words Introducing Mr. ? Why, in this 
 
 specimen letter, is the heading placed after the body 
 and abbreviated somewhat? Under what circumstances
 
 80 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 should a letter of introduction contain the complete 
 address of the sender? Why should such a letter be 
 brief and contain nothing but the introduction? 
 
 7. Study carefully the invitations contained in letters 
 ten, eleven, and thirteen; then explain with accuracy 
 how and why they differ. Comment in the same way 
 on the replies to these invitations. Why do letters 
 thirteen, fourteen, and fifteen contain no signature? 
 
 8. Important as it is to be careful about the conven- 
 tionalities of letter-writing, they are, after all, of second- 
 ary consideration. What makes a letter from a friend 
 delightful? Why do you read some letters many times, 
 while others fail to interest you at all? What, then, is 
 the secret of good letter-writing? 
 
 EXERCISE 41 
 Written 
 
 Come to class f re/pared to do the following tasks 
 at the blackboard. 
 
 1. Write the introductor}^ and concluding parts — all, 
 that is, except the body — of letters to five different firms. 
 
 2. Write the introductory parts of letters to the fol- 
 lowing: a doctor, a clergyman, a professor, the principal 
 of a school, and a Miss Mary L. Jordon of 2251 Hecla 
 Avenue in Chicago. 
 
 3. Direct envelopes to the following: a business house 
 in New York, a clergj'man in Cleveland, a physician 
 living in a Maine village, the editor of a newspaper, a 
 cousin of your own age who is visiting relatives in New 
 Orleans, a boy friend who is spending the winter in
 
 ij';rn:i{-\\ iMi i.\<. si 
 
 Kdinhtir^Ii. u lawyer of your own (own, tho socrrtary of 
 a collofic, the mayor of your city or the fii-st solcotman 
 of youi' town, your nuiit who is staying at tho Waldorf 
 Astoria in New ^'ork. two sisters whom you arc inviting 
 lo lunch, Mr. and Mis. J-Jlank whom you arc inviting to 
 tliimer. 
 
 4. Write appro])riate headings for letters supposed 
 to be written to-day from the following places: your 
 home, the school, the Auditorium Hotel in Chicago, the 
 steamship Tethys in mid-ocean, a \illage in Arizona, a 
 camp in the woods.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 LETTER-WRITING 
 
 Continued 
 
 EXERCISE 42 
 
 Written 
 
 Write one or more letters, according as your 
 instructor may determine, selecting from the fol- 
 lowing group. 
 
 1. To a friend, congratulating him on having won a 
 prize in a tennis tournament. 2. To a school friend, 
 inviting him to dine with you informally. 3. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Blank, accepting an invitation to dine with 
 them Wednesday. 4. To your postmaster, asking him 
 to forward your mail to a certain place for a given time. 
 5. To Perry Mason Company, asking them to send you the 
 Youth's Companion for one year. 6. To the secretary 
 of Blank College, asking him to send you a catalogue and 
 also specimen entrance examination papers. 7. To the 
 local paper, asking to have inserted for three issues an 
 advertisement which you enclose. 8. To a friend, in- 
 forming him that he has been elected a member of the 
 school debating club, and explaining to him the nature 
 of the organization, the time and place of meeting, etc. 
 
 82
 
 Lin TKR-WH I'll X(l 83 
 
 Express tlu; hupe lliul he will at-cept llif election. 9. 'Jo 
 the secretary of the debating club, answering the letter 
 called for in the preceding. 10. To your teacher, asking 
 to !)(■ excused from reciting. 11. To your teacher, ex- 
 plaining your absence from school. 
 
 EXERCISE 43 
 Written 
 Perform one of the tasks called for below. 
 
 1. You are contemplating spending your next long 
 
 vacation in . Write to a friend who has been 
 
 there, asking for information in regard to such things as 
 you wish to know before making your decision. 2. An- 
 swer a letter inquiring about the place in which you 
 spent your last vacation. Imagine that the letter is 
 
 from a friend of your own age. 3. Your friend 
 
 is coming to town with some friends who wish to see 
 the principal places of interest. He writes to you for 
 advice. Map out for him a forenoon, or a whole day, of 
 sight-seeing. Doubtless the party will get hungry; 
 suggest where a good dinner may be obtained. Be very 
 clear in all your statements. 4. Reply to a letter from 
 some one of your own age asking what to read. Do a 
 little more than give the titles of books, but do not in- 
 terfere with your friend's enjoyment by telling too much 
 about the volumes you recommend. 5. Write a mid- 
 summer letter to a classmate, asking him to contribute 
 an article to the school paper. Explain that as editor 
 you have found it difficult to obtain suitable material 
 for the October number. Discuss the kind of article
 
 84 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 you think the readers would enjoy, and mention two or 
 three topics on which you think he could write enter- 
 tainingly. 6. Imagine that you are a college graduate. 
 Write to a schoolgirl who has consulted you in regard to 
 the advisability of joining a debating club. 
 
 EXERCISE 44 
 Written 
 Perform one of the tasks called for helow. 
 1. Answer one of the following advertisements: 
 
 Wanted : A high school boy who writes a good 
 hand and can spell correctly, to do clerical 
 work afternoons and Saturdays. Apply by letter 
 to J. D. Flynn, 86 Miles Building. 
 
 Wanted : High school girl to act as amanuensis 
 afternoons to elderly lady. Apply by letter to 
 Miss Sarah Levermore, 99 Cordial St. 
 
 2. John Carrol advertises that he wishes to exchange 
 his canoe for a bicycle. The canoe can be seen at Dol- 
 phin's boat-house, foot of Barnacle St. Write the ad- 
 vertisement and also a letter in reply to it. 
 
 3. The local paper has credited you with a brilliant 
 play in football which in reality was made by some one 
 else. Write to the editor suggesting that correction be 
 made.
 
 EXERCISE 45 
 
 Written 
 
 Perform one of the tasks called for below. 
 
 1. Charles, in his letter to you, finds fault with Mr. 
 Henty'.s stories. Reply, defending the author. 2. Mary, 
 with whom you have attended school in the city for years, 
 has moved to a small town. In a fit of homesickness 
 she writes a letter in which she l^ewails her fate and 
 enumerates the many disagreeable features, Ijoth in 
 school and out, of life in a small town. You reply, trying 
 to cheer her, and attempt to show^ that what seem to be 
 disadvantages may in time prove blessings. You remind 
 her of some of the disadvantages of city life which she 
 has overlooked. Do not simply give enumerations, but 
 enlarge upon each argument till it acquires force. 3. Write 
 to your friend the park commissioner, trying politely to 
 persuade him that the parks should be thrown open 
 for athletic contests. Write his reply in which he states, 
 with politeness equal to your own, the reasons why your 
 request cannot be granted. 4. Write to a friend giving 
 an account of a spirited school delmtc to which you have 
 recently listened. 
 
 EXERCISE 46 
 Written 
 
 The tasks in this exercise call for chains of 
 letters. Select the one which aj) peals to you most 
 strongly. 
 
 1. While crossing the Atlantic, you send adrift in a 
 securelv corked bottle a brief letter inviting the one who
 
 86 ENGLISH COiMPOSITION 
 
 finds the bottle to communicate with you. Write the 
 letter sent adrift, the letter sent by the finder, and your 
 reply. 
 
 2. On coming out of a store you take by mistake the 
 wrong bicycle. Discovering your error an hour later, 
 you hurry back to find yovir own wheel, which you had 
 left at the curb, gone. You advertise. Give the ad- 
 vertisement, the reply received, and your final apology. 
 
 3. Mr. of , a neighboring town, adver- 
 tises that he has lost a valuable dog, a brief descrip- 
 tion of which he gives. A reward is offered. You have 
 found a dog answering fairly well the description given; 
 
 so you write to Mr. , asking him to call or send 
 
 a messenger. But he replies that his dog has just re- 
 turned; the dog found cannot, therefore, be his. He 
 regrets that he has caused you trouble. Meanwhile 
 
 your friend , who has recently removed to a 
 
 neighboring town, writes you a letter telling of his first 
 impressions of his new home. Quite incidentally he 
 mentions that he has lost his dog, purchased soon before 
 his removal. He thinks that perhaps the dog may have 
 preferred old quarters to new, and has therefore gone 
 back to them. You are asked to be on the lookout. 
 
 You reply, telling of your experience with Mr. , 
 
 and expressing joy that at last 3^ou have found the right- 
 ful owner. You are surprised that you did not at once 
 recognize the little fellow. You will ship the dog at once. 
 But back comes a note that the dog has been received; 
 not the right one, however. He asks what he had better 
 do with it. Write the advertisement and all the letters 
 called for by the above circumstances; also write a letter 
 to your invalid uncle, telling him all about your ex- 
 periences and telling him what finally became of the dog.
 
 i.K'ni^R-wiu'rixr, s7 
 
 4. "^'nu write to Mr. A , who owns a farm on 
 
 the shores of , asking ])crmission to camp next 
 
 summer on his grounds. You describe the particular 
 spot you have selected, a place you noted while driving 
 
 by, a year or two ago. Mr. A replies granting 
 
 your request, but suggesting that you may prefer one 
 or two other spots, which he describes, giving the ad- 
 vantages of each. You write to Jack telling him that 
 you are arranging a camping party for the coming 
 summer and inviting him to join. You give him as 
 many particulars as you think he should know, and add 
 a little advice in regard to what he had better carry. 
 Friend Jack replies accepting 3our invitation. He 
 asks for further information on certain points. 
 
 5. You order from a New York firm dealing in camp 
 equipment a bill of goods, giving explicit directions in re- 
 gard to prices, when and where goods should be shipped, 
 etc. The firm in its reply states that it has not in 
 stock some of the articles desired, and inquires whether 
 it may substitute others. 
 
 6. Charles writes from camp a birch-bark letter to 
 Henry, who has been prevented by sickness from joining 
 the party. Henry, on the campers' return, invites all to 
 dine with him. Write his note to Charles, also Charles's 
 reply. Clyde cannot come. A\'rite his letter of regrets. 
 
 EXERCISE 47 
 
 Written 
 
 Perform one of the tasks called for below. 
 
 1. Write to Mr. K , cabinet-maker, ordering 
 
 him to make you a bookcase, or some other article.
 
 88 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Give accurate particulars concerning materials, design, 
 finish, etc. Make clear, if you wish, by means of draw- 
 ings. 2. You are on a journey. Write a letter home 
 telling about the trip. 3. You have been in a railroad 
 accident. To allay possible anxiety, first telegraph 
 home that you are safe, then write a letter giving par- 
 ticulars. 4. You have witnessed an electric-car accident 
 in which several persons were injured. The electric 
 railway's attorney writes asking you to state, as accu- 
 rately as you can, all that you saw. Give his letter and 
 your reply. 5. You have moved recently into a new 
 house and are very enthusiastic about it, though you 
 miss some things you had come to like in the old home. 
 Write to a friend about it, making the description of the 
 new home so vivid that your friend will get a correct 
 impression. Be systematic, determining beforehand 
 what order you will adopt in your description. Pay 
 particular attention to your own room, or to some other 
 which particularly interests you.
 
 CHAFrER X 
 STORY-TELLING 
 
 It is improbable, though by no means impos- 
 sible, that any one into whose hands this book 
 may fall will ever become a great novelist. 
 Yet it is doubtless true that many young 
 people — perhaps it is safe to say most young 
 people — have at times a secret longing to be 
 great story-tellers. Not a few actually try a 
 hand at it, only to find that longing to be a 
 second Dickens or a second Scott, and trying 
 to be one, and actually becoming one are three 
 very different things. Great story-tellers, like 
 great poets, are born, not made. 
 
 It often happens, however, that trying hard 
 to do some worthy thing which is beyond our 
 ability helps us in many ways. Trying to 
 write a story, for example, may not produce 
 a masterpiece, but it is pretty sure to increase 
 our respect for those w^ho have succeeded 
 where we have failed. It makes us more sen- 
 sitive to the beauty and strength of the works 
 
 89
 
 90 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 of Hawthorne and Poe and the other masters. 
 We read their stories with greater pleasure. 
 Perhaps this is the main reason why a little 
 practice in this line is profitable. But there is 
 another, more practical reason. Back of all 
 fiction lies imagination, the ability to put one's 
 self in another's place. When Mr. Dickens 
 wrote Great Expectations, he had to be many 
 other people besides himself; he had to be an 
 honest blacksmith named Joe Gargery, a little 
 lad named Pip, a coarse convict with a vein 
 of gold in his character, a steel-hearted lawyer, 
 and a score of other people, shrewdly imagining 
 what each would do and say under certain 
 conditions. That is what every novelist must 
 do; that is what you try to do when you write 
 a tale for your classmates. And it is some- 
 thing very similar to this, is it not, that the 
 merchant, the doctor, the teacher, the states- 
 man has to do. It is difficult for any one to 
 succeed in a great undertaking unless he has 
 the power to put himself in another's place; it 
 is difficult for him to succeed unless he has 
 imagination. 
 
 Exercising the imagination through story-tell- 
 ing ought, therefore, to be exceedingly profit- 
 able; it should not be altogether disagreeable. 
 T'irst attempts may be somewhat crude, though
 
 s'I()H\-'i"i:llix(; 91 
 
 they are seldom uninteresting. The beginner 
 often succeeds remarkably well, turning out 
 little stories that are well worth listening to; 
 and through practice many things at first very 
 diificult become easier. For example, there is 
 the matter of finding a plot. We discover 
 sooner or later that there are events in our own 
 lives which, when enlarged upon and changed 
 a little — a story-teller has the right to tell 
 things as they might have happened; he need 
 not stick to the truth — make interesting little 
 comedies and tragedies. We train our eyes 
 to see stories lurking back of paragraphs in the 
 daily paper. We form the habit of inventing 
 stories to go with our favorite pictures, or to 
 match a face seen but for an instant in the 
 crowded street. No matter where we turn, we 
 see, if our eyes are properly trained, tales well 
 worth telling. 
 
 An old story tells that years ago, when pirates 
 infested the seas, a small merchantman laden 
 with dairy products w\as being pursued by an 
 ill-looking craft, swift sailing and evidently 
 well armed. Capture seemed inevitable, and 
 the captain of the merchantman had made up 
 his mind to surrender. But one of his crew 
 hit upon a clever scheme. Several tubs of but- 
 ter were brought up from t]i(> hold, and the
 
 92 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 sides and deck of the ship, save for a little 
 space about the companionway, were liberally 
 smeared with the contents. When the pirates — 
 But never mind the rest of that story. Here 
 is a second. 
 
 Years ago, when robbers were a terror to 
 the highways of England, a party of gentlemen 
 and ladies were traveling by coach to London. 
 As they became better acquainted, they fell into 
 conversation; and as was quite natural, their 
 talk drifted toward robberies and what should 
 be done if the coach were attacked. All were 
 more or less nervous, especially one gentleman 
 who confessed that he had with him twenty 
 pounds. A lady more calm than the rest sug- 
 gested that he hide his money in his boots, a 
 bit of advice which he acted upon at once. 
 
 Not many minutes later the robbers actually 
 appeared. The door was throv/n open, and a 
 masked villain demanded money. Thereupon 
 the lady spoke up promptly and said, " You 
 will find what you want in that gentleman's 
 boots." Off came the boots, and away went 
 the robber, evidently satisfied with his find. 
 When asked to explain her seemingly unpar- 
 donable conduct, the lady declined, for the time 
 being, but invited all the passengers to dine 
 with her the following evening at her London
 
 ST()in"ri:i.i.!.\(i 03 
 
 home. After dinner she would exj)]ain all to 
 their complete satisfaction. 
 
 EXERCISE 48 
 Written 
 
 Complete either of these stones, adding details 
 supplied by your imagination, and introducing 
 conversation wherever possible. Perhaps you will 
 prefer to tell your story in the first person, pre- 
 tending that you are the nervous gentleman who 
 lost his money, or the outwitted pirate. 
 
 EXERCISE 49 
 Written 
 
 Let each pupil bring to class four-fifths of a 
 short story. After each has told his fragment of 
 a tale, let the rest of the class try to invent an 
 appropriate eliding. 
 
 EXERCISE 50 
 Written 
 
 Write a short story based upoti one of the fol- 
 lowing: 
 
 1. Joliii and liis sister are standing in a badly crowded 
 street-car. He slyly removes hci- purse from her 
 jacket pocket, meaning to tease her later on wIkti she
 
 94 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 discovers her loss. But by mistake his hand goes into 
 the wrong pocket — not his sister's at all. Discovering 
 what he has done, an hour later, he tries to find out 
 whose money he has stolen. 
 
 2. Articles unclaimed at the custom house are after 
 a while auctioned off. A bed-quilt was bought by a poor 
 man at an auction. After being used for many years, 
 it was ripped open and found to contain . 
 
 3. A gentleman returning from Canada by train 
 brought with him a set of furs for his wife. Thinking to 
 avoid paying duty on them, he persuaded a stranger 
 sitting near him to wear them. The ruse was successful, 
 so far as deceiving the customs officer was concerned, 
 but when he wished the lady to return the furs, she 
 objected. How did the incident end? 
 
 4. Some little boys were sailing a clockwork steamer 
 on a small, rectangular reservoir. Setting the rudder at 
 what seemed a proper angle, they launched the craft. 
 The boat took a spiral course and finally "ran down" 
 in the middle of the reservoir, too far from shore to be 
 rescued by the stone-and-string method. The boat 
 leaked; it must be rescued ciuickly. The boys could not 
 swim. How was the steamer saved? 
 
 5. An anarchist plans to blow up the state capitol. 
 He is crossing the park, towards dusk, carrying a satchel 
 containing an infernal machine securely nailed up in a 
 neat box and set to explode in one hour. Suddenly fear 
 or repentance seizes the anarchist: he must rid himself 
 of the satchel, placing it where no harm Avill be done. 
 He does not understand infernal machines. He is very 
 nervous, of course. What does he do?
 
 8T()R\-rKLLING 95 
 
 EXERCISE 51 
 Written 
 
 No doubt you have discovered by this time 
 how difficult it is to make characters talk in a 
 natural manner. Yet the life of a story is 
 often in its dialogue. When drawing a book 
 from the library, do you never run through 
 the volume hastily to see if it contains a liberal 
 amount of conversation? It is excellent prac- 
 tice to imagine what various people would say 
 under given circumstances. 
 
 Write a page or tivo of conversation suggested 
 by the titles found below. Use synonyms of He 
 SAID, to avoid inonotony. Throw in little phrases 
 here and there telling how the characters say this 
 and that — with what facial expression^ what ges- 
 tures, ivhat tone of voice. Bring out the per- 
 sonality of the speakers. 
 
 1. Mary helps l']mily unpack her trunk. They talk. 
 2. Overheard at the bargain counter. 3. A recess time 
 chat. 4. Just before the game, John explains things 
 to his Aunt Mary. Aunt ^lary is from the country. 
 5. A schoolboy tries to persuade his fathar to buy him 
 a canoe. 6. Two tramps plan the day's campaign. 
 7. Just before the battle. 8. A woman with four 
 children and many bundles boards a train. Mary wants 
 a drink, Tonnny asks questions, etc., etc. 9. Two dogs
 
 96 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 discuss their master. 10. The defeiited football cai)taiii 
 is consoled by his mates. 11. Conversation between a 
 deaf lady and a street-car conductor. 12. A play- 
 ground quarrel. 13. A country boy and a city boy 
 praise their schools. 14, Tom Sawyer and Little Lord 
 Fauntleroy. 
 
 EXERCISE 52 
 Written 
 
 Oftentimes in plays, and in story-books too, 
 a character is made to talk to himself — think 
 out loud. Talking to one's self is called solilo- 
 quy. It' is an ingenious device, as you can 
 easily see. But soliloquy is more difficult than 
 dialogue. 
 
 Imagine any one of the following persons or 
 things thinking aloud, first telling in a sentence 
 or two the circumstances under which the solilo- 
 quy occurs. 
 
 1. The waste-basket. 2. The school clock. 3. A 
 football. 4. A show-window model. 5. A parrot at the 
 bird-store. 6. The family cat. 7. The striker. 8. An 
 old lady knitting. 9. A ragged man who cannot find 
 employment. 10. The ragpicker. 11. The West Wind. 
 12. An ink-bottle. 13. An old sailor. 14. A broken 
 paddle. 15. A mirror. 16. A cake of ice in the re- 
 frigerator. 17. A worn doorstep.
 
 S'i"()in'-ri:f.Li\(i 97 
 
 EXERCISE 53 
 Written 
 
 In the eighteenth century it was the fashion 
 to tell stories in diary form. Sometimes letters 
 were introduced. High school })upils of the 
 present day occasionally employ this device 
 with success, turning out short stories that are 
 bright and readable. Perhaps you can do 
 what others of your years have done. 
 
 Write a few pages ynade up of extracts from an 
 imaginary diary. Do not try to tell a story, 
 unless this comes easy to you, but try to make what 
 you write reveal character — make the reader ac- 
 quainted with the one whose diary is presented. 
 Perhaps the following titles will prove suggestive. 
 
 1. The diary of a small boy. 2. The confessions of a 
 schooltrirl. 3. The diary of a yellow doo;. 4. The diary 
 of a soldier. 5. The diary of an electric light. 
 
 EXERCISE 54 
 Written 
 
 It is a good plan occasionally to attempt a 
 short narrative of the fairy-tale order, giving 
 the imagination full sweep. Stop at nothing
 
 98 ENGLISH COMPOSITION" 
 
 preposterous; remember that in the realm of 
 make-believe all things are possible. 
 
 Write a short story suggested by one of the fol- 
 lowing titles. 
 
 1. The interior of an iceberg. 2. The land where lost 
 things go. 3. Riding on the back of the North Wind. 
 4. South-east of Nowhere. 5. The manuscript found 
 in a bottle. 6. Seaweed Villa. 7. A day in an airship. 
 8. The subterranean passages recently discovered be- 
 neath our town. 9. To the center of the earth and back. 
 10. A fairy tale brought up to date. 11. Told by a piece 
 of driftwood, 12, Ink-bottle imps and how they live. 
 
 EXERCISE 55 
 Written 
 
 Here is a reproduction of Herkomer's The 
 Last Muster. Who are these aged men, and 
 for what purpose are they assembled? As your 
 eye wanders from face to face, to what central 
 figtire does it inevitably return? What is the 
 meaning of the title? 
 
 Perform one of the following tasks: (1) De- 
 scribe the picture as a whole. (2) Describe in 
 detail one or two figures. (3) Invent a story 
 suggested by the picture.
 
 Thk Last Mustkr
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Life is full of contrasts: tears and laughter, 
 wisdom and folly, strength and weakness, suc- 
 cess and failure, and so on and on through the 
 round of human experience. In nature it is the 
 same. Darkness follows light and light follows 
 darkness. Summer brings heat, winter snow 
 and ice. Beneath the lofty mountain peaks 
 which battle with every wind that blows, lie 
 peaceful green valleys. The ocean is now an 
 angry demon, now a mild, sleepy giant. 
 
 Writers have a way of using contrast to make 
 their compositions strong and effective. They 
 know that white never looks more pure than 
 when placed against something black and re- 
 pulsive; that the hero will not seem really 
 heroic unless there is a villain about; that the 
 happy ending will not be appreciated unless it 
 comes after many chapters full of sorrow and 
 struggle. All this you have noticed many 
 times, for the device is a common one; but it 
 
 99
 
 100 ENGLI8H COMPOSITION 
 
 may not have occurred to you to use it in 
 your compositions. Notice how effectively it 
 is employed in this schoolgirl theme: 
 
 Before and After 
 
 April 9. — Oh, I am so tired to-day. I came down to 
 breakfast, and afterwards I must have walked quite 
 half a mile. I suppose I ought to take an egg, but some- 
 how I don't want one. No, I do not know where your 
 hat is, George. Find it yourself. By the bye, George, 
 get me that book I was reading. I don't know where it 
 is. Oh, you have plenty of time, for it is only ten 
 minutes past one. After all, what does it matter if 
 you are a little late to school? Everybody seems to be- 
 going to school. I wish I were. I wish I could even 
 go to the grammar school; anything would be better 
 than doing nothing ! The doctor is horrid not to let me 
 go. If I ever do go, I shall be older than every one else. 
 No, I do not want an egg-nog; a raw egg goes down 
 more easily. Well, I might as well try to finish this book. 
 
 November 9. — Mother, have you seen my gloves? 
 They are not with my coat and hat. Oh yes, here they 
 are in my muff. Now I can't find my hat-pins. Never 
 mind; I have not time to look for them. Is breakfast 
 never to be ready? I am sure I shall be late if it is not 
 ready. Need I eat an egg? There is not time to eat an 
 egg and porridge too. Very well, I will. I am afraid I 
 shall not know my French. I only read it over. Is 
 "J'ai tombe" correct, or is " Je suis tombe" ? Oh yes, 
 of course; I remember now. I can't eat any more, truly. 
 Now where are my books? Bother! I forgot to sharpen
 
 ,"\nS^('ELLAMJ)l S 101 
 
 thoftc j»encils. I .-hall have to <1<> it at schooh By tlic 
 bye, which sliould one say, "will 1 " or^siiall I" ? I am 
 sure that clock is .slow. It iiiiist be more tlian five 
 minutes past ei^ht. Won't it be fun to-day, for I have 
 five recitations instead of three! I hope I won't be 
 hvte. Good-])ye. Clood-byc. 
 
 Probably you would find it somewhat diffi- 
 cult to write a composition similar to this 
 theme; for it is what is called a monologue, a 
 kind of writing which requires unusual ability. 
 It is not at all difficult, however, to bring out 
 clearly a striking contrast. 
 
 EXERCISE 56 
 
 Written 
 
 Write a two- or three-paragraph composition to 
 which you can give the title A Contrast. The 
 following may suggest material: 
 
 1. The football player as he looks and feels when going 
 to his first game, and as he looks and feels when returning. 
 2. The dwelling as it looked just before the fire broke 
 out, and the ruins which remained an hour later. 3. The 
 small boy just before and just after Thanksgiving dinner. 
 4. A thrifty farm and a deserted farm. 5. The mill- 
 pond, winter and summer. 6. Going fishing and coming 
 home. 7. A stuffy parlor, and one that isn't stuffy. 
 8. Tommy's e^•ery-day table manners and his company
 
 102 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 manners. 9. Ooing to school and returning from school. 
 10. What the boy looking through the window at the 
 bird-store thought of the parrot, and what the parrot 
 thought of the boy. 11. The good traits and the bad 
 traits of my best friend. 12. My party gown before and 
 after being caught by a summer shower. 13. A ship 
 starting on a long cruise, and the same ship returning to 
 harbor. 14. The mountain side as it looked before and 
 after being swept by a fire. 15. How the victors felt and 
 how the vanquished felt. 16. A story-book as it looked 
 when first it came from the store, and as it looked years 
 afterward. 17. The beggar and the proud banker. 
 18. June and November. 19, Saturday and Sunday. 
 20. A city street, 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. 21. A country road 
 and a city thoroughfare. 22. The skyscraper and the 
 cobbler's shop. 23. The village elm and the field daisy. 
 24. The poor man's parlor and the rich man's. 25. A 
 meal in the woods and an elaborate course dinner. 26. 
 The athletic field just before and just after a great 
 game. 27. The schoolroom, 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. 
 
 EXERCISE 57 
 Written 
 
 Here is a photograph of a wintry scene in the 
 country. Describe it as accurately and feelingly 
 as you can; then describe the same scene as you 
 fancy it may appear in midsummer.
 
 Snow-bound 
 
 Photographed bv Eugene X>, l-ield
 
 MISCJJJ.A.NKOUS 103 
 
 EXERCISE 58 
 Written 
 
 Opposite page 104. is a picture entitled the Un- 
 traveled Road. Describe the scene in not more than 
 fifty words. Then describe a scene as different from 
 this as you can imagine — a crowded city street 
 in midsummer, for example. 
 
 EXERCISE 59 
 Oral 
 
 Contrast calls for extremes. The two thiiK^s 
 compared, though alike in some respects, must 
 be strikingly different in other respects. And 
 therein lies a grave danger; for in our eager- 
 ness to make a contrast sharp and unmistak- 
 able, we are sometimes led to exaggerate, to 
 picture things worse or better than they really 
 are. The first rule in composition is Tell the 
 truth. Honesty underlies all art. 
 
 Exercise 59 involves comparison, but not 
 necessarily sharp contrast. It calls, however, 
 for an eye, a mind, which detects differences, 
 and no little ability to point out clearly to 
 others w^hat the eye and the mind have dis- 
 covered. The task is far more difficult than at 
 first appears.
 
 104 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Prepare a talk, from five to ten minutes long, 
 suggested by some tofic in the list below. If you 
 can make yourself clearer by means of rough illus- 
 trations, use the blackboard. 
 
 1. Three old coins. 2. Three rare stamps. 3. Two 
 beauties from my collection of butterflies. 4. Two or 
 three picture postals. 5. Easy-chairs that I have tried. 
 6. Several kinds of mouse-traps. 7. Three ways of 
 heating houses. 8. Ways of lighting rooms. 9. Some 
 of the latest styles of hats. 10. Various kinds of sum- 
 mering places. 11. Birds' nests. 12. Street enter- 
 tainers. 13. What I like best in three of my friends. 
 14. Two styles of automobiles. 15. The duties of 
 quarter-back compared with those of full-back. 16. The 
 woods at different seasons of the year. 17, Two attract- 
 ive magazine-covers. 
 
 EXERCISE 6o 
 Written 
 
 It is by no means easy to describe outward 
 appearances — what the eye sees; but it is far 
 more difficult to describe emotions. Perhaps the 
 best thing about the composition quoted on page 
 100 is that it tells us so vividly how the girl 
 who wrote it felt on two occasions. 
 
 Write a short composition — a single fara- 
 graj)h will do — to which you can give the title
 
 a 
 
 > 
 
 ci 
 
 a 
 
 w
 
 MIS(KLLA.\i;orS \0'> 
 
 How I feci. Use the present tense. Refer to the 
 list below for suggestions. 
 
 1. How I fot'l when al)()ut to get up on a frosty mom- 
 mp.. 2. Mustering courage to "duck under" when in 
 swimming. 3. When I have not prepared my lesson 
 and expect to be called on next. 1. When I am obliged 
 to work Saturday morning before I can play. 5. When 
 I am taking my music lesson. 0. When I am having 
 my picture taken. 7. What I think about when waiting 
 my turn at the dentist's. S. When we ha\e company 
 to dinner. 9. When dinner is late and I am "hungry as 
 a bear." 10. When the whistle l)lows announcing that 
 there will be no school. 11. When I am caught in a 
 shower. 12. When I find, on boarding a car, that I 
 have no money with me. 13. When I am entertaining a 
 caller whom I do not like. 1-4. When I am trying to 
 get to sleep. 15. When I am trying to write a com- 
 position and can think of nothing to say. 
 
 Not long ago the members of a first-year class 
 were invited to engage in a friendly competition 
 to see who could write the composition best 
 deserving the title Wet ! The terms of the com- 
 petition were exceedingly simple. The theme 
 might be ten words long or five hundred. It 
 might take the form of a story, or it might be 
 an account of a personal experience, or it might 
 be a bit of description. The one thing to be 
 kept in mind was that the composition should 
 be very wet indeed and give the readej the
 
 106 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 sensations of wetness. The theme given below 
 was selected by the class as being the best 
 handed in. 
 
 Wet! 
 
 On a wet day during the freshets the snow becomes 
 slush, the river rushes past bearing large himps of fast- 
 melting ice, the streets become veritable rivers, and as 
 for the people . . . ! 
 
 There comes a man carrying an umbrella from which 
 streams of water fall. He rushes madly by, as if he 
 would get less wet when running; but in trying to avoid 
 an unusually large puddle he steps off the sidewalk into 
 the wet snow, from which he emerges minus a rubber 
 and wetter than before. As he disappears we see half 
 a dozen girls crowded under one umbrella, their hair 
 sticking in wisps to their faces, their skirts held very 
 high, and their soaking "picture hats" hanging limply 
 over their eyes. As they cross the street (or canal), a 
 cart passes splashing mud and water over them, and so 
 confusing a bicycler that his wheel slips on the slithery 
 pavement, overturning him into, the flowing brook of a 
 gutter. Now passes an automobile in which sit creatures 
 in rubber coats and hats down which flow countless 
 rivulets ending in a large puddle in each lap. Here, 
 walking or rather plodding along, goes a man the very 
 picture of wretchedness. His trousers cling to him, his 
 once fine silk hat looks like a private waterfall, and he 
 has in disgust at last folded his umbrella. By his side is a 
 little lady who looks as if she had just been drowned, lead- 
 ing a poor bedraggled dog something like a wash-cloth. 
 Still it rains, and still it thaws, and still the gutters
 
 mis('i;i.i..\m:()US io7 
 
 leak; and on tlio criling.s come damp .si)ots; and always 
 from everywhere comes a steady drip, drip, drip. 
 
 This composition is by no means perfect, but 
 in some respects it is well done We feel that 
 it deserves its title. Notice how many wet 
 words there are in it, the king of them all bein<.' 
 the uncommon term slithery. The street is a 
 river, the gutter a brook, the silk hat a "private 
 w^aterfall," the dog " something like a wash- 
 cloth"; and through it all is the drip, drip, 
 drip of the ceaseless rain. The reader cannot 
 help feeling uncomfortably moist. 
 
 Such exercises are valuable, for they teach 
 us how to make wliat we write tahe hold of the 
 reader. Too often our compositions are pain- 
 fully correct and cover a great deal of ground, 
 but still do not make the reader feel as we want 
 him to feel. We witness an accident so terrible 
 that the memory of it haunts us day and night. 
 We cannot get it out of our minds. But when we 
 give an account of it, the reader does not shudder. 
 We have a jolly good time out in the woods, we 
 try to cook a dinner with humorous results, we 
 get lost; but when we write an account of it all, 
 how tame and uninteresting it seems! That is 
 because we have not learned to say I will in- 
 terest the reader. He shall see things as I have 
 seen them. I will make him feel as I have felt.
 
 108 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 6 1 
 
 Written 
 
 Write a composition, long or short as you 
 please, that will really deserve one of the follow- 
 ing titles. Make the composition take hold. 
 
 1. Wet. 2. Dry. 3. Hot. 4. Cold. 5. Hungry. 
 6. Tired. 7. Discouraged. 8. Dusty. 9. Neat. 10. Craf- 
 ty. 11. Cruel. 12. Homesick. 13. Dark. 14. Sun- 
 shine. 15. Joy. 16. Greedy. 17. Breezy. 18. Pride. 
 
 EXERCISE 62 
 
 Written 
 
 Doubtless many of us have thought at times 
 how easy it would be to write interesting com- 
 positions if only we could go where no one else 
 has gone and bring back accounts of strange 
 things — lands and people whom no one has 
 written about. The corner of the world with 
 which we are acquainted seems so common- 
 place! Perhaps we are partly right in so think- 
 ing, though it should be remembered that great 
 writers find a way of making common things 
 interesting. At any rate, few of us can ever 
 hope to travel to strange lands; so why not be
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 100 
 
 content to stay at home and use our imaf]jina- 
 tion, makin*jj liomely things seem of greater value 
 than they really are? 
 
 Jmdffine that you are a (jreat exj)lorer sent out 
 by some learned society. Ik thorough, and bring 
 back a care f idly prepared report. Here are places 
 to investigate. 
 
 1. The refrigerator. 2. 'J lie ])antry. 3. The cellar. 
 4. The attic. 5. !My neighbor's back yard. 6. I^rother's 
 den. 7. The family album. 8. A neglected book-shelf. 
 9. A table drawer. 10. A waste-basket. 11. A vacant 
 lot. 12. A near-by brook. 13. An emj)ty liouso. 
 14. A chest of old toys. 15. A woodshed. 10. A tree. 
 17. A church spire. IS. A barn. 19. A house-boat. 
 20, The schoolroom. 
 
 EXERCISE 63 
 
 Written 
 
 The preceding exercise invited you to write 
 about things so common and homely that you 
 may have thought the task hardly worth per- 
 forming. But the next exercise should com- 
 mand your very best effort, for it is one which 
 for ages writers great and small have considered 
 worth while. 
 
 Write a composition, somewhat longer than 
 those called for in previous exercises, describing 
 the doings of nature. Tel! nothing which you
 
 110 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 have not yourself actually observed. Use the 
 present tense. Here are suggestive topics. 
 
 1. A glorious sunset. 2. How day comes. 3. An 
 ice-storm. 4. A thunder-storm. 5. The story of a 
 blizzard. 6. A hot day. 7. A spring freshet. 8. Watch- 
 ing the clouds. 9. The woods during a storm. 10. A 
 bit of April weather. 11. The fog. 12. A tornado. 
 
 EXERCISE 64 
 Written 
 
 Write a composition similar to the preceding 
 on a topic chosen from the following list. Let it 
 he a test of your power to observe accurately. Use 
 the present tense. 
 
 1. Watching a spider. 2. How school assembles. 
 3. Watching the small boys play. 4. The approach of 
 a ship. 5. Watching the sparrows. 6. Watching the 
 postman. 7. Waiting for the papers, 8. The arrival 
 and departure of a train. 9. Half an hour from the life 
 of my dog. 10. A balky horse. 11. A busy street 
 corner. 12. At the auction. 13. When they clean 
 house next door. 
 
 EXERCISE 65 
 Written 
 
 Write a short story suggested by Geoffroy's The 
 Visit. Or if you find story-writing too difficult, 
 describe the picture as sympathetically as you can.
 
 y 
 
 Bv {•frmi^bioii oi llie (.'■ 
 
 /. i?- , 
 
 Thk \isit
 
 PART II 
 
 EXERCISES IN SENTENCE-BUILDIXG, PUNO 
 TUATIOX, SPELLING, AND PROOF- 
 READING
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 SENTENCE ANALYSIS 
 
 Writers of poor English may be divided into 
 three classes. To the first belong those who 
 make many mistakes without knowing it, be- 
 cause they are so little acquainted with the 
 simple rules of grammar and composition. To 
 the second belong the careless and indifferent 
 ones who might do very much better if they were 
 willing to take pains. The third class is made 
 up of those who know what is right and what 
 is wrong, and are willing to take pains, yet find 
 composition exceedingly laborious. Oftentimes 
 they think clearly and seem to know what they 
 wish to say, but in transferring their thoughts to 
 paper they "get all tangled up." Their sen- 
 tences are awkward, sprawling affairs, and all 
 attempts to remedy matters seem but to add 
 confusion. They have not the faculty of writ- 
 ing easily, naturally; expression comes hard to 
 them. 
 
 113
 
 114 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Part II is made up of exercises that have been 
 found helpful to all three of these classes. It 
 points out common errors and tells how they 
 may be corrected. It tries to arouse the care- 
 less and the indifferent by holding up a mirror 
 that they may see how very faulty their sen- 
 tences are, and how difficult to understand. Nor 
 are those forgotten who belong to the third class. 
 Practically all the exercises are planned to give 
 a kind of drill which lightens the burden of com- 
 position by making correct expiession so much 
 a matter of habit that the writer may put nearly 
 all his thought upon what he wishes to say and 
 not be obliged to halt repeatedly to consider 
 whether his language is correct. 
 
 EXERCISE 66 
 
 It is impossible to write correctly unless one 
 understands very clearly what a sentence is — 
 what are its parts and how these parts should 
 be put together. Years ago we were taught 
 that every sentence must have a subject, and 
 that this may be a noun, or some word or group 
 of words used like a noun. We were taught, 
 too, that a simple subject may be modified by 
 an adjective, or by a group of words used like 
 an adjective. It will do no harm, however, to 
 review a little.
 
 SENTENCr: ANALYSIS lir. 
 
 Pick out the simple subject of each of the sen- 
 tences below. Pick out the complete subject and 
 analyze it, telling whether each modifier is an ad- 
 jective, a phrase, or a clause. How many varie- 
 ties of subjects can you fi7id in this exercise ? In 
 which of the sentences does the subject come after 
 the verb ? 
 
 1. Daisies are in bloom. 2. Buttercups and daisies 
 grow side by side. 3. Marj^'s lilies are well cared for. 
 4. The flowers in the garden are Helen's. 5. The 
 flowers that grow in the fields are fairest. G. Some of 
 the flowers faded quickly. 7. That was too bad. 8. Who 
 forgot to water them? 9. Weeding the garden takes 
 time. 10. To make roses grow requires patience and 
 skill. 11. Live and let live is a good motto. 12. \ATio- 
 ever w^ould reap must first sow. 13. Where are the 
 reapers? 14. Daisies, brightest of flowers, grow every- 
 where. 15. The fairest are not always the dearest. 
 
 16. It is not a difficult matter to grow geraniums. 
 
 17. All they need is fresh air and water. 18. Give me 
 a rose, John. 19. Are you sure that you deserve one? 
 20. There are many kinds of subjects in the sentences 
 on this page. 21. It will pay you to study them with 
 care. 22. Seeing is not always believing. 23. The 
 grapes are sour. 24. John is an industrious boy. 
 
 25. He who fights and runs away 
 May live to fight another day.
 
 116 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 67 
 
 Every predicate must contain a verb. This 
 verb may be modified by an adverb, or by a 
 group of words used like an adverb. It may be 
 "complemented" by a noun, a pronoun, or an 
 adjective (called a predicate noun, a predicate 
 pronoun, a predicate adjective) which helps the 
 verb to tell something about the subject. It 
 may be complemented by a noun, a pronoun, or 
 a group of words used like a noun, called the 
 obj ect. 
 
 Pick out the verb which forms the simple predi- 
 cate in each of the sentences below. Pick out and 
 analyze the complete predicate. Note in each 
 case whether the modifiers precede the verb or fol- 
 low it. In which of the sentences does the verb 
 precede the subject ? 
 
 1. Birds fly. 2. Birds fly swiftly to their nests when 
 the clouds gather. 3. Noisily chirps the robin. 4. Into 
 the garden he hops. 5. When cherries are ripe he comes 
 to my tree. 6. The robin comes and the cherries go. 
 7. Come again, Mr. Robin. 8. It might have been worse. 
 9. You should have come earlier. 10. May we go now? 
 11. He will never come. 12. The book is in many re- 
 spects a good one. 13. I wiU, if I can, come early. 
 14. How did you do it? 15. Lying in the path was a 
 purse. 16. He hastened to pick it up. 17. Did he 
 mean to steal?
 
 SENTENCE ANALYSIS 117 
 
 EXERCISE 68 
 
 The sentences below contain verbs that are com- 
 plemented, either by objects, or by predicate nouns, 
 pronouns, adjectives. Pick out the verbs which 
 form the simple predicates. Pick out and analyze 
 the complements of these verbs. 
 
 1. Henry plays football. 2. He said, "I am ready." 
 3. I know what you want. 4. I wonder where he is. 
 5. I will ask to be excused at ten o'clock. G. Who did 
 you say he was? 7. Whom shall we ask to do it? 8. Wilt 
 thou my fate reveal, O wise man? 9. I saw it sailing 
 through the air. 10. "What is wanted?" he asked. 
 11. "What," said he, "do you think of that?" 12. Sure- 
 ly it is John. 13. Yes, it is he. 14. Do you think he is 
 well? 15. He is to be pitied. 16. He enjoys being 
 pitied. 17. Is it he who was injured in the game? 
 18. This is the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house 
 that Jack built. 
 
 EXERCISE 69 
 
 Pick out the noun clauses and tell how each is 
 used, whether as subject, object, or in some other 
 way. 
 
 1. What you say is true. 2. He did what was right. 
 3. That is what I mean. 4. I do not know where he is. 
 5. He was riding in what is called the caboose. 6. He 
 sold the dog for what he could get. 7. \\Tiat we seek 
 is not always what we should have. 8. The fact that
 
 118 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 he is poor should make no difference. 9. His last words 
 were these: "Don't give up the ship." 10. That he is 
 brave is beyond question. 11. It does not matter what 
 we do. 12. He will tell us where we can find them. 
 13. What he thinks of you we know very well. 14. Tell 
 me what he said. 15. "How are you?" he exclaimed, 
 holding out a hand. 
 
 EXERCISE 70 
 
 Pick out subordinate clauses and tell how 
 each is used, whether as an adjective or as an 
 adverb. Tell what each clause modifies. 
 
 1. The watch that you gave me keeps accurate time. 
 2. Go where glory waits. 3. When you have finished, 
 come to me. 4. He who strives does not always suc- 
 ceed. 5. The reason why he did it was never known, 
 6. The time has come when we must part. 7. I know 
 a place where doffodils are in blossom. 8. It happened 
 in the field where we were playing. 9. I cannot skate as 
 gracefully as you. 10. Although it was snowing hard, 
 he went willingly. 11. As my father did before me, 
 so shall I do now. 12. Won't you have your shoes 
 shined while you wait?
 
 CHAPTER XITI 
 
 SUBSTITUTION AND COMBINATION 
 
 It matters little whether we write He lives in 
 the house which stands on the corner. He lives 
 in the house on the corner, or He lives in the 
 corner house. The three statements are nearly 
 identical in meaning. Yet in the first the word 
 house is modified by a clause of five words, in 
 the second by a phrase of three words, in the 
 third by a single word. The skilled writer knows 
 how to gain force by making his statements brief 
 and concise, how to gain clearness by spreading 
 out a sentence, how to avoid an unpleasant com- 
 bination of sounds or escape monotony of structure 
 by shifting from clause to phrase, from phrase to 
 adjective or adverb or noun. He knows when 
 to combine several statements into a single sen- 
 tence; when to cut up a long, intricate sentence 
 into a number of short, simple ones. This he 
 has learned through practice, just as you may 
 learn it. But it is not an easy matter. Even 
 
 119
 
 120 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 after years of training the careful writer finds that 
 he must spend no little energy, when revising 
 his work, in changing sentences this way and 
 that to make them clear, forceful, harmonious. 
 
 EXERCISE 71 
 
 In the first group of sentences below, substitute 
 single words for phrases; in the second group, sub- 
 stitute phrases for single words; in the third group, 
 substitute simpler expressions — words or phrases — 
 for clauses. Try to determine in each case whether 
 anything is gained by the change. 
 
 1. He was a man of courage. 2. We acted with de- 
 liberation. 3. In the morning the air is sweet and pure. 
 4. His muscles are as strong as bands of iron. 5. He 
 clung to his purpose with tenacity. 6. The house of Mr. 
 Jones was struck by lightning. 7. He has the strength 
 of an ox. 8. She wore a gown of light blue. 9. He turned 
 the leaves in a quiet manner. 
 
 1. The royal palace is well guarded. 2. Gradually he 
 crept nearer the sentinel. 3. Instantly the report of a 
 musket was heard. 4. The cave's entrance was funnel- 
 shape. 5. He died poor. 6. He plays more skilfully 
 than Harold. 7. Please go home immediately. 8. Away 
 she sailed on golden wings. 9. Her cheeks are rosy. 
 10. The cane has a golden head. 
 
 1. What we ate was well cooked. 2. I think I know 
 what he intends to do. 3. The man who is poor may not 
 be to blame for his poverty. 4. He is safest from danger 
 who is on his guard. 5. He is guilty of a crime that is
 
 SUBSTITUTION AND LO-MIJINATION 121 
 
 punisliablc by death. G. When he returned, he bought the 
 store. 7. licrries that grow by the wayside are smaHer 
 yet sweeter than berries that are grown in gardens. 
 8. A lad who seems to be stupid may be a genius. 9. Boys 
 who grow up in the country are often stronger than those 
 who live in the city. 10. Let those icho are to speak come 
 to the platform. 11. I experienced a feeling of joy that 
 cannot be described. 12. He was admired by all who 
 lived in his time. 
 
 EXERCISE 72 
 
 Infinitive and participle constructions are 
 often convenient. Instead of He came to the 
 city that he might see the capital building, we may 
 write He came to the city to see the capitol build- 
 ing. Instead of When Ms task was completed, he 
 went out to play, we may substitute Having 
 completed his task, he went out to play. For 
 Girls who whistle do not always meet bad ends, 
 we may substitute Whistling girls do not always 
 meet bad ends. 
 
 Substitute infinitives and participles wherever 
 you can, in the following sentences, noting in each 
 case whether anything is gained by the change. 
 
 1. When he had finished the regular course, he de- 
 cided to remain two years more. 2. She burst into tears 
 and threw herself at his feet. 3. Men who labor must 
 have their recreation. 4. He strained e^•ery muscle, for 
 he was determined to win. 5. If you turn to the north,
 
 122 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 you will see a mountain which rises abruptly from the 
 plain. 6. He hoped to find his companion, so he turned 
 back. 7. A tall pine crowns the bluff and seems to 
 guard the bay. 8. The room is a spacious one which 
 will seat fifty pupils. 9. Then Sweet made a run, which 
 tied the score. 10. The duke, who thought the fisher- 
 man was jesting, agreed to give one hundred lashes for 
 the fish. 
 
 EXERCISE 73 
 
 When reciting a lesson or telling a story, the 
 temptation is strong to link together assertion 
 after assertion with the conjunction and, making 
 of an extended narrative a single long, rambling 
 sentence. We do this largely through habit; 
 or is it because and acts as a kind of easy- chair 
 for the mind, giving it a little rest between each 
 two statements? Whatever the cause may be, the 
 practice is a bad one. It is better to use short, 
 abrupt sentences than to join by and assertions 
 that are not closely related or are of unequal 
 value. It is better still to learn to subordinate 
 dependent statements, using simple and complex 
 sentences freely, the compound sentence rarely. 
 
 Subordinate statements of minor importance by 
 substituting participial y infinitive, and appositional 
 phrases for clauses. 
 
 1. West Point is a small town in Orange County, New 
 York, and has a population of about one thousand.
 
 SUBSTITUTION AND COMBINATION 123 
 
 2. He walked up the main street and found all (he 
 stores closed. 3. In the gymnasium exhibition, we 
 played an important part and covered ourselves with 
 glory. 4. Wright Lorimer played the part of David, 
 and he is the author of the play. 5. We started south 
 and made Goodwin Park our objective point. 6. Ellen 
 suspected Red Murdock, and sent Allan to learn from 
 him his purpose in bringing Fitz James to the cave. 
 7. He sprang to his feet and demanded his name. 8. The 
 odor is faint and recalls that of sweet violets. 9. We 
 pushed on and soon emerged into a stumpy field at the 
 head of a deep valley. 10. The ancients were not 
 accurate observers, and in this respect they were like 
 women and children. 11. Of a warm thawy day in 
 February the snow is suddenly covered with myriads 
 of snow-fleas, and these look like black, new powder just 
 spilt there. 12. The wind began to blow and the man 
 turned up his coat-collar. 13. They disputed for a while 
 and then the Wind saw a traveller passing by. 14. It 
 was a disastrous fire, and the loss proved to be over 
 twenty thousand dollars. 15. Unceasing efforts were 
 made to relieve his pain, and at last he was made com- 
 fortable. 16. I looked down and saw footprints. 
 17. Boswell was a Scotch law>'er and was a great ad- 
 mirer of Samuel Johnson. 18. One hand is spread out, 
 and the fingers are extended, and the palm is turned 
 down, in a typical singer's attitude. 19. Swift was born 
 in Dublin in 1667, and was the greatest satirist of his 
 day. 20. The sunshine-recorder is a recent addition to 
 the Weather Bureau equipment and plays an important 
 part in forecasting. 21. He was completely discouraged 
 and began to cry. 22. The sky had been dark with 
 threatening clouds, but now it was everj^vhere clear.
 
 124 ENGLISH COxMPOSITION 
 
 23. The birds were badly frightened and soon abandoned 
 their nest. 
 
 EXERCISE 74 
 
 Make each sentence in the first group either 
 simple or complex. Make each sentence in the 
 second group simple. Try to give prominence to 
 statements which seem most important. 
 
 1. I have a partner and he is your porter and he 
 should receive a share of the reward. 2. I was sewing 
 by the window and I happened to look up from my work 
 and there was father coming in through the gate. 3. Faith 
 is lost, honor dies, and the man is dead. 4. I went to bed 
 at half-past nine and it was still snowing. 5. The dishes 
 were washed, the kitchen swept, and then we went 
 berrying. 6. The conversation was not very brisk for 
 a few minutes, but after a while it became animated. 
 7. We rounded a deeply wooded point and there before 
 us was the town of Hamilton. 8. The gong sounded 
 nine times and we all prepared for fire-drill. 9. He 
 turned to close the door and I noticed that his hand 
 trembled. 10. The guide walked ahead of us, pointed 
 out the trail, and warned us against hidden dangers. 
 
 1. Once upon a time there was a nobleman who was 
 going to marry a peasant girl. 2. After again calling 
 Burt, who did not answer, we started for liome. 3. We 
 did not come here that we might annoy you. 4. When 
 he saw how things were going, he gave up all hope. 
 
 5. The boy, who was an idle fellow, made little progress. 
 
 6. Enfield, which is a sleepy little town, came next into
 
 SUBSTITUTION AND rOMP.TNATION 125 
 
 viow. 7. A brook which is near by furnishes cool water. 
 <S. Th(; l)ook is full of stories which are exciting enough 
 for anyone. 9. When the life-saver saw the lad's peril, 
 he ran to the rescue. 10. I am just foolish enough so 
 that flattery pleases me. 
 
 EXERCISE 75 
 
 Substitute for each group of sentences a single 
 sentence in which are cotnbined all the assertions 
 of the group. Avoid the compound sentence. Be 
 care fid to subordinate statements of tninor im- 
 portance. 
 
 1. A nobleman was to marry a princess. His servants 
 were busy. They were preparing the wedding feast. 
 2. A stranger climbed the glade. This he did as the 
 ministrel finished his song. The glade led to the cave. 
 The stranger was dressed in a hunting suit of Lincoln 
 green. 3. He gave her a ring. This, he said, the king 
 had given him for saving his life. 4. The sumac presents 
 in early spring a mere fuzzy knot. From this knot, 
 by and by, emerges a soft, furry kitten's paw. John 
 Burroughs writes this. The paw is ta'v\Tiy-colored. 
 5. The skipper was an old man. His face was brown 
 and wrinkled. He liked to spin yarns. 6. John Bright 
 became an excellent speaker and writer. This he ac- 
 complished by studying the best English authors. 7. You 
 seem timid. This puzzles me. You will pardon me 
 for saying so. 8. My den is in the attic. It is a large, 
 airy room. There is little furniture in it. The walls are 
 bare. 9. Two ladies stop before one of the shop windows.
 
 126 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 They appear to be mother and daughter. They talk 
 excitedly about the Christmas display. 10. The Richard 
 had forty guns. Six of these were eigh teen-pounders. 
 The rest were twelve-, nine- and six-pounders. 1 1 . Hep- 
 zibah grew deadly white. She staggered toward Phoebe. 
 She let her head fall on the young girl's shoulder. This 
 she did no sooner than the judge had disappeared. 
 12. Phoebe then threw down a whole handful of pennies. 
 The monkey picked them up. This he did with joyless 
 eagerness. He handed them to the Italian for safe 
 keeping. Immediately he recommenced a series of 
 pantomimic petitions for more. 
 
 EXERCISE 76 
 
 Combine each of the following groups of related 
 assertions into a single sentence. Be careful to 
 arrange the statements in proper order. Subordinate 
 statements of minor importance. 
 
 1. Harry has been invited. Mary has been invited. 
 Ellen has been invited. 2. Her eyes are clear. They 
 reveal her character. They are gray. They are fear- 
 less. 3. He hunted for the ring in the house. He 
 hunted for it in the garden. He searched for it in the 
 street. The ring was of great value. The lady lost it 
 yesterday. The search was in vain. 4. Morning came. 
 John arose early. He breakfasted hastily. He did not 
 stop to light the camp fire. He paddled hastily across 
 the lake. He hoped to find his companion. This com- 
 panion he had lost the day before. 5. He lives in a 
 cabin. This cabin is built of logs. It is thatched with
 
 SUBSTITUTION AND ("OMPJNATIOX 127 
 
 licmlock IjoujThs. It .stands near a sprinp;. It is at 
 this spring that the canipors got tlioir water. He lives 
 alone. G. The man had no covering for liis head. His 
 licad was defended by his own thick hair. This hair was 
 matted and twisted together. It was scorched by the 
 sun. It was a rusty dark red in color. It formed a con- 
 trast with the beard on his cheeks. The beard w^as 
 overgrown. It was yellow or amber in color. 7. 'J'he 
 house stands half-way down a by-street. The by-street 
 is in one of our New England towns. The house has 
 seven acutely peaked gables. These gables face toward 
 various points of the compass. It has a huge, clustered 
 chimney. It is a rusty, wooden house. 8. The boys 
 had selected a site for their camp. This they had done 
 before I had arrived. The site chosen was on high, dry 
 ground. It was in a grove of pines. The pines bordered 
 a beautiful sheet of w^ater. This sheet of water is about 
 three miles in circumference. 9. He seized upon Ivan- 
 hoe. This he did with as much ease as the Templar had 
 shown in carrving off Rebecca. He rushed with him to 
 the postern. He again entered the castle. This he 
 did after delivering his burden to the care of two }-eo- 
 men. He entered the castle to assist in the rescue of 
 the other prisoners. 
 
 EXERCISE 77 
 
 A paragraph made up of short, jerky sentences 
 is unpleasant to read, but is preferable to one that 
 rambles on and on, conjunctions and commas 
 taking the place of periods. So exasperating is 
 this form of poor English that many hard names
 
 128 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 have been given it. It has been called "the bad 
 error," "the child's error," "the badge of igno- 
 rance," "the badge of shiftlessness," "the hope- 
 less error." Calling names seldom does any good. 
 We had better forget all these epithets and simply 
 bear in mind that the habit of running sentences 
 together is an exceedingly unfortunate one, very 
 hard to overcome. It can be broken up only by 
 long, determined effort. In Exercise 74, you 
 were asked to improve sentences containing 
 several statements by subordinating the less im- 
 portant assertions. Exercise 77 is made up of 
 sentences, some of them taken from school com- 
 positions, some from printed books, which contain 
 too much. Subordinating one or two statements 
 will not do; the sentences need to be cut up into 
 shorter ones. 
 
 Cut up the following sentences into shorter ones, 
 making whatever changes you think necessary. 
 
 1. The tower was now blazing fiercely and the firemen 
 seemed unable to cope with it, as there were so few 
 engines there, the rest being busy at another fire. 2. The 
 large tower clocks were destroyed, and after the fire was 
 out the hands pointed to a few minutes after the fire 
 broke out. 3. This tree is thirty years old, the trunk 
 seven feet in circumference, spreading out, when about 
 four feet from the ground, into numerous and graceful 
 branches; it is nearly flat on top; the leaf is of a dark and 
 glossy green. 4. A little to the. eastward is the residence
 
 SUBRTITUTION AND rOMRIXATIOX 129 
 
 of the American Consul; during the RehelHon he rendered 
 his government great service, and his berth liere during 
 that period was anything but a bed of roses, for as these 
 islands were a base from whence the blockade-runners 
 drew their supplies, he was regarded l)y tliat fraternity 
 and their sympathizers here in the light of a spy upon 
 their movements. 5. Strange talcs are told of the 
 voracity of these finny monsters — of unfortunate dogs 
 slipping in and being devoured, and if the visitor should 
 come to the place when the gropers are hungry, and dip 
 the end of his boot or his pocket handkerchief among the 
 gaping throng, he will soon become convinced that they 
 are a fearful lot of creatures. 6. I started to wheel 
 round the square and to do so I went down Court street 
 and turned up Main, and just as I turned the corner I 
 felt something strike me, and it was the shaft of an 
 express wagon. 7. There are many private gardens in 
 the vicinity of Hamilton that are exquisitely laid out 
 and kept in perfect order, some of them contain mag- 
 nificent specimens of the India-rubber tree, one ver}-- 
 near the Hamilton House can be seen that was sent here 
 thirty-five years ago from Essequebo; it is now grown 
 to be an enormous tree, the trunk twelve feet in circum- 
 ference, running up three or four feet from the ground, 
 and covering with its dense shade space all around of at 
 least seventy feet. 8. A good way is to put the coffee 
 in a small muslin bag, tied loosely, then boil it five 
 minutes, and your grounds can be removed before ser\-ing. 
 9. I like all out-door games, but tennis is best of all, it not 
 only affords good exercLse but is exciting. 10. Half-way 
 down the side street stands a seven-gabled structure, this 
 is the Pyncheon house. 11. Then two young girls came 
 and glanced at the window; and one cried, "Oh! aren't
 
 130 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 those pins just lovely, one of them would look too sweet 
 on my dress, it's just the dearest thing I ever saw." 
 12. I was beginning to get impatient when I saw two old 
 gentlemen, one was very short and stout, the other tall 
 and thin, wearing a black suit and a high hat. 13. The 
 Sun then began the contest, he darted hot rays at the 
 traveller's head. 14. I hear that it is good skating, out 
 at the lake, crowds are going out there on the electrics. 
 15. Sirens are great horn-like affairs blown by com- 
 pressed air, sounds from a siren have been heard at a 
 distance of twenty-five miles. 16. Then the wind blew 
 as hard as it could, the harder it blew the tighter the 
 man drew his cloak about him. 17. The last thing at 
 night take a few handfuls of clean, dry pebbles, heat them 
 in the frying-pan until very hot, place them in the wet 
 boots, they will dry them out thoroughly in a few hours, 
 shake once in a while. 18. I am sure you will like our 
 city, it is very pretty and contains many parks, the most 
 central is Bushnell park where the fountain is, this park 
 is overlooked by the Capitol. 19. There are many 
 places of interest here, perhaps the one that you will 
 like best is the art museum. 20. We have our camp 
 in a grove, in front is a lake a mile long. 21. The ride 
 to Rainbow is beautiful, all along the route the fields are 
 white with daisies. 22. As we were walking up the street 
 we met Tom, and he suggested that we go down to the 
 river and see the boat come in, so down we went and 
 arrived just in time to see her come up to the wharf, and 
 much to our surprise we found Uncle Harry there, he 
 was down there waiting for a friend. 23. Passing up 
 the side street we came to the main thoroughfare, and 
 there we saw many stores, and I suggested to my friend 
 that we do a little shopping, for I needed several things,
 
 SUBRTITT'TTOX AND rOMP.TNATTOX 131 
 
 and she af2;roocl that this was a good plan, so we entered 
 one of the largest establishments. 
 
 EXERCISE 78 
 
 Inability to see where sentences end leads to 
 a second error, the opposite of that noted in the 
 preceding exercise. A clause or a phrase which 
 comes at the end of a sentence is treated as if it 
 were an independent assertion. Appositional 
 phrases, explanatory participial phrases begin- 
 ning with a pronoun, relative clauses beginning 
 with who or which, and clauses beginning with 
 while or since used as a conjunction, are especially 
 troublesome. 
 
 Correct the foUoiving. Name each amputated 
 part, telling whether it is a phrase or a clause, and 
 show clearly that it belongs to the rest of the sen- 
 tence and cannot stand alone. 
 
 1. The mountains, to be sure, are grand to look at, 
 but one tires of their monotony. While the ocean, ever 
 changing, is always fascinating. 2. No doubt this state- 
 ment is quite true. Since few wealthy boys care enough 
 about sports to engage in them enthusiastically. 3. Seed 
 covered with too much earth may never sprout, or if 
 they do sprout, the little shoots will never reach the 
 surface. Especially flower seeds, which should be 
 planted very near the surface. 1. The story had to be 
 told to Mrs. Richards. How they had all three spoken
 
 132 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 of the skating. How each had made up his mind to go 
 without letting the others know about it. How they had 
 all met unexpectedly while on the pond, 5. The porter 
 was given a beating and then discharged. While the fish- 
 erman received a good reward. 6. In order to form a 
 just conclusion two topics must be considered. First, 
 whether the prisoner committed the crime. Second, 
 whether he is of sound mind. 7. The skating on the 
 pond is seldom good. The reason being that, as the 
 water is drawn off by the mills, the ice breaks away from 
 the banks. 8. Some of Pope's poetry is shallow, treating 
 serious matters with levity. While that of Tennyson is 
 more serious. 9. I cannot begin to tell all the fun we 
 had. The picnics, the fishing parties, the straw rides. 
 10. Wamba furnishes fun by his wdt, the Friar by his 
 remarks. While Athelstane amuses by his actions. 
 Isaac a target for the wit of others. 11. I think Scott 
 introduces this incident for two reasons. First, to give 
 Fitz James good cause for hating Roderick; second, to 
 show which side, according to Brian's prophecy, is going 
 to win. 12. Then it was tear, tug, tussle. Neither side 
 having the advantage. 13. There are two good hotels. 
 One at the north end and one at the south. 14. On a 
 bare table the Friar set pulse and water for the Knight. 
 Who, noticing the hermit's healthy appearance, de- 
 clined to believe that the fare offered him was the best 
 the larder afforded. 15. The train, contrary to custom, 
 slowed up at the cross-road and finally stopped. Which 
 was just what we wished. 16. Donald was chosen 
 captain. He being the oldest boy in the party.
 
 SUBSriTUTlON AND COMBINATION 133 
 
 EXERCISE 79 
 
 When reading a story, we very much prefer to 
 find given the exact words of the characters 
 rather than a mere general report of what has 
 been said. That is to say, we prefer direct dis- 
 course to indirect discourse. Yet when we are 
 asked to tell a story, we seem afraid to use 
 quotation-marks, afraid to introduce a little con- 
 versation now and then. Perhaps that is why 
 we fail to be interesting. 
 
 Change the following from indirect to direct 
 discourse. 
 
 1. He asked the lad his name, and the boy replied 
 that his name was Miltiades but that he was called Ti for 
 short. 2. Phoebe asked her cousin Hepzibah if she had 
 just spoken to her, and Hepzibah repUed that she had not. 
 
 3. Astonished at the sight of a strange soldier descending^ 
 steed in hand, from that solitary mountain, the corporal 
 stepped forth and challenged him. He asked w^ho went 
 there. The soldier replied that it was a friend. Then the 
 corporal asked who and what he was. Thereupon he was 
 answered that he was a poor soldier just from the wars, 
 with a cracked crown and an empty purse for reward. 
 
 4. When the girl was alone, the manikin came again 
 for the third time, and asked her what she would give 
 him if he would spin the straw for her this time also. 
 The girl answered that she had nothing left that she could 
 give. He then asked her to promise that if she should
 
 134 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 become queen she would give him her first child. 
 5. Johnny asked the teacher, as he came into the primary 
 room one morning in June, what the flag was upon the 
 school building for that day. The teacher thought for a 
 moment and then answered that really she could not 
 remember. She said that he might go to the principal's 
 room and look at the card and then come back and tell 
 her and the pupils. Johnny dashed off and a few 
 moments later returned, looking important. The teacher, 
 thereupon, asked Johnny to tell what the flag was up for. 
 Johnny replied promptly that it was to celebrate some- 
 body's wedding. The teacher repeated Johnny's words 
 slowly, then said that that could not be, for there was no 
 flag-day which celebrated a wedding. Johnny main- 
 tained stoutly that it had something to do with a wedding, 
 for the card said so. The teacher was not convinced, 
 and leaving the room she went to make a personal in- 
 vestigation. Under the date of the day in question she 
 found that it was the engagement of the Monitor and 
 the Merrimac. 
 
 EXERCISE 80 
 
 Nearly all the words and phrases in common 
 use have many equivalents. The word beautiful, 
 for example, has at least fifteen synonyms. 
 There seems, then, to be little excuse for un- 
 pleasant repetitions. Yet unless we watch our- 
 selves closely we often use the same word over 
 and over again. The best way to discover errors 
 of this sort is to read aloud what we write. The 
 ear is a nicer critic than the eye.
 
 SUBSTITUTION A.NJ) (O.Mlil NATION 135 
 
 Reconstruct the joU owing sentences, avoiding 
 unpleasant repetition. 
 
 1. At first it only sprinkled and we thought it was 
 only a passing shower. 2. Ice could be seen on most 
 store windows so that very Uttlc could be seen of what 
 was within. 3. The wind grew colder and colder; but 
 the man would not take off his coat but pulled it closer 
 about him. 4. As the sun grew still warmer, he took off 
 the rest of his clothes and bathed in a brook to cool off. 
 5. The day was spent very quietly, but we decided it 
 had been a very pleasant clay. 6. There are drawbacks 
 to all attempts to earn money to pay for a person's 
 education; for example, a person is often tempted to 
 attempt too much. ^ 7. Pushing other things aside, I 
 came to an old chest standing grim and silent, and 
 thickly covered with dust. A moment's thought told 
 me that it was the old chest containing the toys of my 
 childhood days. 8. The sun is sinking, and there is 
 a glorious flood of pink light flooding the distant moun- 
 tains. 9. The robins would run a little way, then stop 
 and pick up something, then raise their heads and look 
 about quickly as though looking to see if there was any- 
 thing to harm them. 10. The first thing I noticed as I 
 sat down before the window to take down notes was the 
 red sky in the northeast. It was a very dark red near 
 the horizon, but grew into the blue after reaching far 
 up. 11. There is a large ])ond here, bordered with 
 bushes. We walked around the pond and up the hill 
 on the west side of the pond. 12. One by one the girls 
 walked away. One could see them strolling about. 
 13. He fished with a long bamboo pole at least ten feet 
 long. 14. Addison soon became interested in this field
 
 136 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 of work and soon drifted from politics to literature. 
 15. Now he has broken off a stick for Mary; so off they 
 scamper. 16. He attended school at the Hillhouse 
 school. 17. This little girl wore dresses called French 
 dresses. The dresses were very short and very becoming. 
 18. After talking about the boat with a man who had 
 long made a business of making boats, we decided to 
 make our boat of cedar wood. 19. After my long tramp, 
 I felt very tired; so I retired early. 20. It is very warm 
 here in the summer time ; but you will not mind that, as 
 that is the time that people go away to the shore or to 
 the mountains.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 UNITY 
 
 Several of the exercises in the preceding chap- 
 ter are designed to show that too much should 
 not be crowded into one sentence; that when 
 several statements are combined, they should be 
 closely related in thought; and that when several 
 statements are so combined, the most important 
 one should be made a principal clause,- the less 
 important ones being subordinated — kept in the 
 background. In other words, every sentence 
 should have unity of subject-matter. 
 
 There is another kind of unity which is quite 
 as important. Take for example the sentence 
 As one stands on the wharf you can see great 
 ships riding at anchor. Here there is an unfor- 
 tunate change from the third person to the second. 
 Note also the sentence When any one who de- 
 served protection passed through the woods, 
 Jupiter sends a spirit to guard him. Here there 
 is a change from past tense to present. Errors 
 of this sort, for the most part due to careless- 
 
 137
 
 138 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 ness, seldom make sentences wholly unintelligible; 
 but they produce a disagreeable blur similar to 
 that caused in a picture when the object photo- 
 graphed has moved slightly at the critical 
 moment. 
 
 EXERCISE 8 1 
 
 Make the corrections necessary to bring about 
 unity in person, number, and gender. 
 
 1. Every one took off their hats and gave a rousing 
 cheer. 2. The trout, who by this time was exhausted, 
 allowed itself to be lifted into the boat. 3. Our Climax 
 tooth-brush takes the lead. Try them. 4. All is still 
 and dark, and one feels as if they would never see daylight 
 again. 5. Your reporter, being confined to his house, 
 could not be present, but was thankful to be able to 
 enjoy the nice supper sent me. 6. Everybody has more 
 or less goodness in their nature. 7. Pretty soon I saw 
 a red squirrel run up a tree. They are small, but better 
 than nothing; so I fired. 8. He possessed the Puritan's 
 love for God, and their strict ideas in regard to conduct. 
 
 9. He said the malady w^as one that her husband was 
 subject to, but that they lasted only a few minutes. 
 
 10. We were given our station billets. This was a slip 
 of paper on which is written the number that you are 
 to take. 11. Those who drank of the liquor, she touched 
 with her magic wand and changed him into a beast. 
 
 12. Has the other side stated all their arguments? 
 
 13. Theoretically the committee has unlimited power, 
 but in reality they can do little. 14. The proud yacht,
 
 UNITY 139 
 
 every inch of her canvas spread, raced ahead, the fouiu 
 curving gracefully from its bows. 15. Evidently its 
 wing was not broken; but the mother bird pretended that 
 it was, and fluttered about as if helpless. This she did 
 to draw the attention of the hunter away from her little 
 ones, which were sccurrying away through the long grass. 
 16. The crowd which is now entering the park are high 
 schoolboys. 17. Every one tried their best. 18. Frank- 
 lin's invention of the lightning-rod was a great triumph, 
 but since his day they have been greatly improved. 
 19. I have been told that in Japan every soldier, sailor, 
 and policeman have been taught, as a matter of course, 
 the science of jiu-jitsu. 20. The Indian club is shaped 
 like a wine bottle, and formerly was weighted at the 
 large end; but now they are made light, to develop 
 quickness rather than strength. 21. When a "plebe" 
 or freshman at West Point has finished his course, 
 they are called "yearlings." 22. The breeze seems to 
 wake one up and put new life into you. 23. When one 
 has a vacation, their first thought is to go away some- 
 where. 24. The following polite note accompanies one 
 of Du Maurier's drawings: Mr. Smith presents his com- 
 pliments to Mr. Jones, and finds he has a cap which isn't 
 mine. So if you have a cap which isn't his, no doubt 
 they are the ones. 
 
 EXERCISE 82 
 
 Change the following sentences in such a way as 
 to bring about unity in tense and mode. 
 
 1. Be honest, but 3^ou should be shrew^d too. 2. I 
 intended to have gone long ago. 3. No one would
 
 140 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 invest his money in an invention unless he thinks it 
 a useful one. 4. No sooner had we landed and began 
 to look about than we discovered their tracks. 5. Pretty 
 soon the bakery cart came along. As it approaches the 
 cornfield, the baker cries out to the scarecrow, "Good 
 morning, farmer Jones." 6. His boyhood was un- 
 eventful, very different from his later life, in which are 
 so many unusual happenings. 7. You said in your last 
 letter that you are coming to town, but I do not 
 think you came. 8. I think the passage means that 
 Milton will stay up in the tower till the stars died away 
 in the morning. 9. Those who drank of the liquor 
 she touches with her magic wand. 10. As they drew 
 near, John says laughingly to Pete, "Well, you are a 
 good one." 11. I should greatly appreciate the favor 
 if you will call at my office to-morrow. 
 
 EXERCISE 83 
 
 And and but are coordinate conjunctions. 
 They should therefore join sentence elements 
 of the same kind. Among young writers, how- 
 ever, there is a tendency to use these conjunctions 
 to join relative clauses to plirases or single words. 
 There are several ways of remedying the evil. 
 Sometimes the conjunction may be omitted, but 
 often it is better to make the elements joined 
 alike. Occasionally it is necessary to cut a 
 troublesome sentence in two.
 
 UNITY 141 
 
 Reconstruct the following sentences in such a 
 way as to bring about unity. 
 
 1. I was writing to a friend niucli cl(;vercr than I, and 
 who would be sure to notice every little mistake. 2. I'i- 
 nally we came to the Connecticut River, a much wider 
 stream than the Farmington, and which therefore is 
 crossed by fewer bridges. 3. The first customer was a 
 little fellow with a ruddy face, and who wanted a ginger- 
 bread camel. 4. Leading from this busy thoroughfare 
 is a quiet court lined with modest dwellings, and which 
 goes by the name of Edgewood Place. 5. The rug, 
 soiled though it was and moth-eaten, and which was all 
 but worn out, was treasured as if priceless. 6. We are 
 glad to have with us this evening Colonel Humpty, the 
 well-known orator, and who will now address us. 7. New 
 Haven, the largest city in the state, and which is the 
 home of Yale College, was the next place visited. 8. It 
 is a beautiful lake, high up among the hills, but which is 
 seldom visited except by local fishermen. 0. It is an 
 exceedingly interesting book, full of advice helpful to 
 campers, but which contains many grammatical ab- 
 surdities. 10. This proves the milk is pure, and not 
 having undergone a change before or during the process. 
 
 EXERCISE 84 
 
 The participle is a verbal adjective, the in- 
 finitive a verbal noun. Neither one is a verb; 
 yet often the infinitive, and sometimes the par- 
 ticiple, is wrongly used as if it were the verb's 
 equal. In the first sentence below, for example,
 
 142 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 the participle realizing is paired of! with the 
 finite verb saw. Such a change in construction 
 is undesirable. Infinitives, moreover, have two 
 forms, one with the preposition to, and one ending 
 in -ing. Each has its use, and often one can be 
 substituted for the other without any change in 
 meaning; but a sentence which contains both 
 forms, both in the same construction, usually 
 needs to be remodeled. The seventh sentence 
 below, for example, contains three infinitives, 
 two ending in -ing, and one accompanied by the 
 preposition to. The sentence would be better 
 if all three had the same form. 
 
 Bring about unity of structure in the following 
 sentences. 
 
 1. When the king saw how sorely he was wounded, 
 and reahzing that he had but a few hours to live, he 
 called his sons to him. 2. Take time to do things well 
 rather than trying to do things quickly. 3. He agreed 
 to pay for the boat, and that never again would he take 
 anything without permission. 4. We are said to be 
 lacking in courage, and that we do not dare make the 
 attack. 5. I decided to practice daily and, if oppor- 
 tunity came, I would enter the contest. 6. The story 
 ends by Ivanhoe's marrying Rowena and Rebecca 
 refuses the hand of Bois-Gilbert. 7. I like fishing, swim- 
 ming, and to take long walks. 8. Before Addison could 
 fill the position acceptably, it was necessary that he 
 become acquainted with the French language, and
 
 UNITY 143 
 
 to study the jiolitical situation in lOuropo. 0. liunning 
 away is better than to stay and be shot. 10. Tlu-y Ije^an 
 to think of going home, and wondering whether they 
 would ever be able to find their way back to the road. 
 11. There are two ways of reaching the village: first, 
 by taking a car to CJlastonbury, then driving over liigh 
 hills; second, to take the train to East Hampton and 
 then walk five miles. 12. We never tire of watching the 
 moon rise over the hill-tops, or an ajjproaching storm 
 gathering. 13. The rules forbid loud talking in the 
 corridors; also to eat lunch at recess time anywhere ex- 
 cept in the lunch-room.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 COHERENCE 
 
 Oftentimes a sentence is faulty because im- 
 properly arranged, parts which belong together 
 being needlessly separated from each other. 
 For example, words intrude between subject and 
 predicate, between the verb and its complement; 
 or modifiers, especially phrases and clauses, are 
 placed so far away from the words they modify 
 that the meaning of the sentence is changed or 
 becomes obscure. 
 
 EXERCISE 85 
 
 Reconstruct the following sentences, improving 
 their arrangement. When puzzled in regard to 
 where a phrase or a clause should go, try placing 
 it at the beginning of the sentence. Often this is 
 the best place for it, certainly much better than the 
 end of the sentence, where too often it dangles 
 untidily. 
 
 1. The two first boys to arrive were Arthur and John. 
 2, I have only been tardy twice. 3. He drove all the 
 
 144
 
 COmORENCE 145 
 
 clouds away that the wind had gathered. 4. The dog 
 almost seems human. 5. He answered all the questions 
 that were asked him quickly. G. My uiule lives in the 
 country and of course keeps chickens like the majority 
 of farmers. 7. Take one of these ])Owders on retiring 
 in a little hot water. 8. He not only was ])oor but also 
 sick. 9. He both excels in studies and in athletics. 
 10. He went strolling down the lane with a smile. 11. By 
 touching the j^erson who drank tlic enchanted wine with 
 her wand, she changed him into a beast. 12. The 
 dancers were a pleasing sight, dressed in delicate shades 
 of blue and pink. 13. He had no sooner looked at the 
 picture than lie l)ogan to laugh. 14. Last Saturday 
 we went after marigolds, called by some cowslips. 15. He 
 is neither blind in the right eye nor the left. 10. I not 
 only forgot my gloves but my hat also. 17. He nar- 
 rated the incident he had witnessed with minuteness of 
 detail. 18. The hides are dipped into first clear water 
 and then into lime. 19. You can neither borrow the 
 yacht nor the canoe. 20. Scott, no doubt, in his novel 
 Ivanhoe, cared less to make his readers laugh than to 
 show what was considered laughable in King Richard's 
 day. 21. There is a stone wall between the sidewalk 
 and the lake which is several miles long. 22. Try only 
 to see the bright side. 23. They enjoy sleeping in the 
 open air, to all appearances. 24. The Queen relates a 
 story concerning Arthur's birth which she was told by 
 Bleys to Leodogran. 25. Mr. Crane lost a valuable cow 
 last week. She fell into a large hole on her back.
 
 146 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 86 
 
 Reconstruct the following sentences, im'proving 
 their arrangement. 
 
 1. We were kept in camp for a few days and were then 
 transferred to a prison, to our horror. 2. Juvenile courts 
 are only of use in large cities. 3. I shouted for John 
 while returning through the woods a hundred times. 
 4. We remember very well a short time ago a storm that 
 did much damage to the peach orchards. 5. As Addison 
 was about to take office, William III. died and Queen Anne 
 came to the throne, who had a strong disUke for Whigs. 
 6. The meetings generally were held in the attic. 7. We 
 thought the boat would turn over several times before 
 we reached the shore. 8. An angel had been sent to 
 protect her, disguised as a shepherd. 9. Some of the 
 flowers have already blossomed; all that is left of them 
 is their beautiful leaves, such as the hepatica, the blood- 
 root, and the adder's-tongue. 10. Mr. White is ex- 
 cavating under his house on Academy avenue for a 
 cellar, now occupied by Dr. Brown. 11. Clinging to the 
 organ-grinder's arm I saw a monkey. 12. An unknown 
 man was found lying by the railroad track with a frac- 
 tured skull. 13. The expert wrestler can practically 
 throw his antagonist in any way he pleases. 14. He 
 was kept after school for throwing snowballs almost an 
 hour. 15. He carried the dog to the police station 
 which he had found at his door. 16. Rover finally lost 
 the use of his legs; so we had to shoot him out of human- 
 ity. 17. Lost: A green gentleman's pocketbook con- 
 taining a sum of money, probably on Church street.
 
 foTTKPvEXrE 1-17 
 
 IS. I'inally lio solcctcd a l)ir(rs-oyo maple lady's writing- 
 desk. 19. Mother put up a lunch for we were to sppiid 
 the day in a tin pail. 
 
 EXERCISE 87 
 
 A participle is a verbal adjective. That is, it 
 takes the modifiers of a verb and at the same time 
 modifies a noun or a pronoun. Skillfully used, 
 it is exceedingly helpful in sentence-building; 
 clumsily used, it may prove but an annoyance. 
 The one thing to remember is that it must 
 modify something. Occasionally an untrained 
 writer will make a participle modify a word that 
 he has in his mind but which is not expressed at 
 all in the sentence. Occasionally he will use a 
 participial phrase in such a way that the reader 
 must guess which of two words it modifies. In 
 either case confusion arises. 
 
 The following sentences contain participial 
 phrases improperly used. Reconstruct the sen- 
 tences in such a way that the reader cannot have 
 the slightest doubt what word each phrase modifies. 
 
 1. Walking through the fields in June, pretty flowers 
 are seen on every side. 2. Hiding in this dark corner of 
 the woodshed, they could not find us, though they 
 prowled about for at least ten minutes. 3. The solution 
 of the problem is not difllicult, being nothing more than 
 an example in simple addition. 4. A bed may be made
 
 148 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 without difficulty, using hemlock boughs and spreading 
 them carefully over the ground. 5. Greedily cropping 
 the grass by the wayside w^e could see a large red cow. 
 
 6. While eating our dinner the yacht was speeding on. 
 
 7. Getting up early in the morning, the first thing 
 noticeable is the freshness of the air. 8. Standing on the 
 platform we could see many people about to take the 
 train. 9. The boat was returned to its owner, having 
 decided not to go fishing. 10. Determined to go, I could 
 not persuade him to remain. 
 
 EXERCISE 88 
 
 Every 'pronoun should have a definitely ex- 
 pressed, easily discoverable antecedent. Recon- 
 struct the following sentences, making whatever 
 changes are necessary for clearness. 
 
 1. Boys often work in stores at Christmas time when 
 they are short of help. 2. Before the boat could reach 
 the ship it sank. 3. When he was brought before the 
 judge he smiled. 4. While Henry Houston was hitching 
 up his horse Wednesday afternoon in front of the Grand 
 View stable, he was frightened by two dogs that were 
 fighting and ran away before he was wholly hitched up. 
 5. Cerberus was an ugly three-headed dog guarding the 
 entrance to Hades whose jaws dripped poison. 6. A friend 
 of Mr. Jones named King, son of Commodore King, who 
 had been his college chum, sailed for Liverpool this after- 
 noon. 7. The recent discovery of radium has aided the 
 surgeon in many ways, but it is as yet far too crude to
 
 COHERENCE IVJ 
 
 know its full practical value. S. Fitz James gave Ellen 
 a ring which, he said, the king had given him after saving 
 his life. 9. Much that boys see when sent to saloons 
 is at first revolting, but if brought in contact with these 
 people too often they become used to it. 10. John's 
 father died when he was quite young. 11. The sail 
 disappears, and the top of the mast becomes a speck on 
 the horizon which soon vanishes. 12. There is a good 
 ball-ground here where they have games twice a week. 
 13. Although in Massachusetts snow-shoes are seldom 
 necessary in any snow that they have, they are sometimes 
 a great aid. 14. Between recitations are whispering 
 recesses, thus enabling the pupils to relax a little. 
 
 15. Henry lost his dog when he was but four years old. 
 
 16. No doubt Henry is clever, but it will not make up for 
 his negligence. 17. I have often seen an advertisement 
 accompanied by a picture of a little chicken underneath 
 which are the words "Hasn't scratched yet." Never- 
 theless one of the first lessons the mother hen teaches 
 them is how to scratch. 18. Untying her apron-strings, 
 she tossed it over the back of a chair. 19. The street 
 on which I live is near the center of the city, which is 
 very convenient for shopping. 20. In those days they 
 served fish at wedding feasts. 21. A wedding feast was 
 to be given, and they had nearly ever>^thing ready. 
 22. The train did not leave the station that day, for they 
 considered the road-bed unsafe. 23. Have you ever been 
 in Ashuelot? They had a disastrous freshet there, a 
 year ago. 24. Uncertainty of weather interferes but 
 little with the game of hockey in cities, where they 
 have artificial rinks. 25. Between Stonington and New 
 London the roads were in poor condition, for they were 
 repairing them. 26. Our defeat was due to our lack
 
 150 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 of training, they say. 27. Occasionally a train started 
 out, but as soon as the water rose they turned back. 
 28. I was told recently that they adulterate chocolate 
 with clay, sometimes. 29. Before the days of steam- 
 cars they used to travel by stage coach. 
 
 EXERCISE 89 
 
 The four exercises immediately preceding 
 emphasize the fact that a sentence, to be easily 
 understood, must cohere, or hang together. 
 Parts closely related should be near each other, or 
 at any rate should be so placed and expressed that 
 their relationship is readily apparent. The next 
 exercise is planned to show that sentences are 
 often misleading because necessary words are 
 lacking. Such omissions are like ditches which 
 the reader has to bridge before he can pass on. 
 Courtesy should prompt us to make the path 
 that the reader's mind must travel as easy as 
 possible. 
 
 Supply necessary words missing from the follow- 
 ing sentences. 
 
 1. You make the custard first, and when cooked pour 
 into the freezer-can. 2. Oliver Twist, one of Dickens's 
 novels, is as interesting to a boy as a girl. 3. It is as 
 quick, if not quicker than, the other. 4. He never has, 
 and I fear he never will be, fond of reading. 5. He then 
 suggested we go 'see the hens. 6. The instruments used 
 in recording the weather are the barometer, wind-gauge,
 
 COHKllENCE lol 
 
 anemometer, sunshine-recorder, rain-gaup;e, and snow- 
 gaufje. 7. Will the person who by mistake took a bicycle 
 from in front of the post office yesterday kindly return 
 or notify A. M. Clarvin? S. Wanted: A servant who can 
 cook and care for children. 9. It was a beautiful Juno 
 evening that our party gathered about the camp fire. 
 10. Whiledriving to town, the horse ran away. 11. The 
 leader directs the orchestra, a task calling for great tact, 
 especially so since many players arc foreigners whose 
 customs are different from ours and are easily offended. 
 12. Her character was c[uite unlike the other members 
 of the family. 13. Perhaps squirrels think autumn 
 too short a season to prepare for winter. 14. In those 
 days every lady of refinement, as well as man, could 
 read Greek. 15. Newcastle is only eighteen miles from 
 Canton, and v/e knew that when trains run on time it 
 takes about an hour. 16. The dog goes after the cows, 
 and he brings them successfully, if nothing is the matter, 
 when one of the men has to go and call them. 17. He 
 showed me a lot of medals he won. 18. -He decided that 
 he did not care for the position, so gave it up. 19. She 
 beats the mixture till smooth. 20. Why is it that so many 
 more study French than Latin? 21. We stopped to get 
 some gasoline and oil up. 22. I had great fun driving 
 the horse from the top of the hay-load. 23. The training 
 squad needs but out-door practice to develop it into 
 as promising a squad as the school has had for years, 
 and from which can be picked a winning team. 24. If 
 the seams of your gloves hurt you, turn inside out. 
 25. Clean the meat thoroughly, then roll in flour. 26. Do 
 not forget forty pounds is the limit of man's pack. 
 More is making a pack-mule of him. 27. Saturday is 
 better than any day in the week. 28. There were
 
 152 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 twenty posts, with a space of ten feet between each. 
 29. We went to pick flowers and fish. 30. The reader 
 is shown first an EngHsh forest, then a Saxon home; 
 from there to tournament grounds near a small town, 
 then to the home of a wealthy Jew. 
 
 EXERCISE 90 
 
 The following sentences contain too many 
 words. In the first, for example, he is an idler, 
 doing nothing. The phrase for their destination^ 
 in the second, is not an idler, but it does nothing 
 that is worth while; for of course trains must 
 start for their destination. In the sixteenth, 
 twenty- eight words are employed to tell what 
 half the number may be made to say quite as 
 well. Unnecessary words are simply in the way; 
 they interfere with coherence. It is a poor plan 
 to scrimp, when writing; yet it is well for the 
 writer who is inclined to be extravagant to use 
 words as sparingly as if each were a gold-piece. 
 
 Reconstruct the following sentences, exercising 
 economy. 
 
 1. Henry gave up at once, but Edward he stuck to the 
 task. 2. From this mammoth station trains start every 
 few minutes for their destinations. 3. After dinner we 
 sang some songs and played some games. 4. What kind 
 of a bird is it? 5. The sea-fight was a wonderful spec- 
 tacle to the spectators. 6. "I think," she said, "that if
 
 COHERENCE 153 
 
 a person has a talent for anything, even if it is only for 
 washing windows, that she should cultivate it." 7. Like 
 all new novelties, this device must win popularity. 
 8. It must have been an interesting sight to see the 
 two commanders under the elm tree. 9. At the age of 
 fourteen years he went to sea. 10. I think that by leav- 
 ing home when he was young that John acquired the 
 ability to look out for himself. 11. At about ten o'clock 
 we all went home. 12. The present system of fore- 
 casting the weather now used was developed in 1S70. 
 
 13. Although personally I have had no experience my- 
 self, I can tell what others of experience have reported. 
 
 14. Of course there are many other ways of which I 
 know nothing about. 15. Ellen skates very well for a 
 new beginner. 16. After talking about the boat with 
 a man who had long made a business of making boats, we 
 decided that we would make our boat of cedar wood. 
 
 17. She did not look to see where she was going to. 
 
 18. The store contained drv^ goods, groceries, and etc. 
 
 19. He would rather die than to live in disgrace. 20. In 
 some of the cities there are large mills where cotton goods 
 are made, which afford work for many people. 21. The 
 cat stays in on rainy days because that she does not like 
 to wet her feet. 22. The loftiest mountains in this 
 fairyland, I do not think, were not over six feet high. 
 23. The road is poor, it being sandy. 24. I have got you 
 now. 25. It was so foggy we couldn't hardly see the 
 shore. 26. Where was I at, Mr. Speaker? 27. They 
 feared the consequences that would follow. 28. Nearly 
 every day we visit the shore and go in bathing, fishing, 
 or sailing.
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 COREUE^C^— Continued 
 
 Sturdiest of all words, and hardest worked, 
 are the nouns and the verbs. Next, perhaps, 
 come adjectives and adverbs — handmaidens, so to 
 speak, to nouns and verbs; little helpers often 
 quite indispensable. Fewer, and perhaps less 
 thought of, yet after all extremely important, are 
 certain words which serve as guides or heralds, 
 leading the reader's mind from one part of a sen- 
 tence to another part, or from one sentence to 
 the next, and explaining the relationship of what 
 is coming to what has gone before. 
 
 Best known of all these guides is and, which 
 simply bids the reader go right on; what follows 
 is but a continuation, or is like what precedes. 
 And corresponds to the plus sign in arithmetic. 
 But, on the contrary, warns that exception is to 
 be taken to a previous statement; it announces 
 opposition, or a contrast. If what follows is 
 
 154
 
 COHERENCE 15.5 
 
 merely an explanation of what is behind, there 
 stands for announcing a cause or reason. There- 
 fore heralds a conclusion or consequence. Then 
 and there are time and place keepers, helping 
 the reader to keep orderly track of things as they 
 happen one after another. And, hut, for, there- 
 fore, then, and there, to which may be added if 
 announcing a condition, are guides which save a 
 great deal of trouble. Or we may think of them 
 as links binding together the parts of a sentence, 
 or as bridges leading from one statement to 
 another. Whether we think of them as bridges, 
 links, guides, or heralds, we see their purpose. 
 It takes years of practice, however, to learn to 
 use them effectively. Indeed, an untrained writer 
 is detected at once by the clumsiness with which 
 he links statement to statement, just as an 
 unskilled carpenter is betrayed by his poor 
 *' joinery." The tendency is to omit the links 
 altogether, or to use a weak word where a 
 strong one is needed, or to use and, hut, etc., 
 over and over, as if there were not manv 
 words which serve admirably as synonyms for 
 each.
 
 156 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 91 
 
 The principal members of the and group are 
 
 TOO, ALSO, LIKEWISE, BESIDES, FURTHERMORE, 
 MOREOVER, AGAIN, IN ADDITION TO THIS, IN LIKE 
 
 MANNER. Select from this list a word or a phrase 
 for each dash in the following sentences. Try not 
 to use the same expression twice. 
 
 1. He promised us a cottage free of charge, and the 
 
 use of a boat too. he said we might help 
 
 ourselves to his corn and potatoes. 2. The guide 
 crossed the fissure by crawling cautiously along a de- 
 cayed log which threatened every moment to give way 
 
 beneath him. — every member of his party 
 
 reached the other side in safety. 3. I think we had 
 
 better return at once, for it looks like rain. we 
 
 promised to be back before dark, and it is now after 
 six o'clock. 4. Apples are indeed a wholesome fruit; 
 
 no one will deny that. Cherries are excellent. 
 
 But give me peaches, if you please. 5. Think of the 
 fun we shall have in camp, cooking our own meals, wash- 
 ing our own dishes, and all that. Think of 
 
 the poor fellows who never get an outing. 6. Our 
 opponents may claim that in a small college one forms 
 
 closer friendships with his classmates. they 
 
 may maintain that in the smaller institution one comes 
 immediately under the professors and is not entrusted 
 to tutors. 7. I think the girls did exceedingly well, if 
 we consider that they were younger than their opponents. 
 We should remember that their strongest de- 
 bater was unable to be present. 8. Consider, if you
 
 COHERENCE 157 
 
 please, that our task was exceedingly difTirult. Con- 
 sider that we were inexperienced. 9. We fur- 
 nished them shelter for the night, and in the morning 
 
 a hearty breakfast. we sujjplied them with 
 
 money enough to take them back home. 
 
 EXERCISE 92 
 The principal members of the but group are 
 
 YET, STILL, NEVERTHELESS, HOWEVER, FOR ALL 
 THAT, ON THE CONTRARY, AT THE SAME TIME, ON 
 
 THE OTHER HAND. Select jrom this list a word or 
 a phrase for each dash in the following sentences. 
 Try not to use the same expression twice. 
 
 1. Janet is not a brilliant girl, and much of her time 
 
 is given to home duties. she is so persevering 
 
 that I think she may win the scholarship prize. 2. We 
 stated our case and asked him to help us, but it was of 
 
 no use. He did agree to try to interest others 
 
 in our cause. 3. There are, it must be admitted, serious 
 
 obstacles in our way, and we may fail altogether. 
 
 let us try, and try hard. 4. In autumn, when the young 
 birds have flown, you can collect many nests and study 
 
 their beautiful workmanship; pray keep your 
 
 hands off them while they are in use, for it is neither 
 kind nor polite to meddle. 5. It rained almost con- 
 tinuously throughout the day, the wind was cold, and the 
 
 work disagreeable. no one uttered a word of 
 
 complaint. G. Do you fancy that Gaytown is an ugly 
 little village with shabby stores and ill-kept streets? 
 it is as pretty a place as one cares to see.
 
 158 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 7. To be sure, your garden is ruined, and I cannot blame 
 you for feeling provoked. you should remem- 
 ber that the mischief-makers were very little fellows 
 and did not realize what grief they would cause you. 
 
 8. An automobile never shies, never gets tired, never 
 
 gets sick. A horse is thoroughly unreliable, "a 
 
 vain thing for safety." 9. Of course it is laughable that 
 we hunted through meadow after meadow, and at last 
 
 found the plant growing in our own back yard ; 
 
 who ever would have thought of looking there for it ! 
 
 EXERCISE 93 
 
 The principal members of the therefore group 
 are consequently, accordingly, thus, then, 
 so, hence, as a result, as a consequence. 
 Invent pairs of sentences, in each case introducing 
 the second sentence by some member of the there- 
 fore group. Try to use every member. 
 
 The principal members of the then group are 
 
 PRESENTLY, MEANWHILE, THEREUPON, EVENTU- 
 ALLY, TO CONCLUDE, THEREAFTER, INCIDENTALLY, 
 
 TO CROWN ALL. Invent two or three short para- 
 graphs, using in each as many of the above terms as 
 you can conveniently. 
 
 EXERCISE 94 
 
 Supply an appropriate word or phrase for each 
 dash in the following sentences. 
 
 1. After dinner we went to the music-room, where 
 Mary and Helen entertained us by playing duets.
 
 COHERENCE 150 
 
 a most delightful evening was spent. 2. Success in life 
 
 does not always mean accumulated wealth; here 
 
 in America, we are told, it is coming to mean that. 3. In 
 schools and colleges we do not find education without 
 
 athletics; it has frequently been shown that 
 
 the exaltation of one weakens the power of the other. 
 
 4. Some are inclined to think that exercise is unim- 
 portant; Addison says that, were not exercise 
 
 absolutely necessary for our well-being, nature would 
 not have made the body so proper for it. 5. The sun 
 
 came out, the man felt warm took off his 
 
 coat. 6. A Spaniard was riding through a barren 
 country when his horse fell lame. He was in dismay 
 
 he spied an Indian coming toward him on a 
 
 fresh horse. 7. Owing to recent storms no fish could 
 
 be had for the feast. On the eventful morning 
 
 a poor fisherman came to the gate carrying a large 
 
 turbot. 8. Isaac stumbles and falls; Wamba 
 
 jumps forward and triumphantly waves his wooden 
 sword. 
 
 EXERCISE 95 
 
 Improve the following sentences by substituting 
 better words or phrases for the words italicized. 
 
 1. Reluctantly the king ordered his ser\'ants to whip 
 thelittleboy, and to lay the blows on lightly. 2. During 
 the summer he enjoyed a pleasant outing as ivell as 
 earning a little money. 3. The athlete feels defeat like 
 a soldier does who has lost a battle. 4. Determined to 
 get the man's cloak, the wind blew harder and harder; 
 and the traveler merely wrapt it the closer about him. 
 
 5. Won by flattery, I consented to turn the grindstone;
 
 160 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 and long before the scythe was sharp I felt sorry that I 
 had agreed to help him, 6. Better keep your wood dry 
 by stacking it under a tree; and should rain fall, it will 
 remain fairly dry. 7. The Spaniard asked the Indian 
 to exchange horses, and the Indian refused; and the 
 Spaniard forced him to do it. 8. The prisoner did not 
 dare to hesitate; and he answered promptly, "The left 
 eye, sir." 9. I watched for several minutes and to my 
 surprise I saw the muskrat reappear. 10. At last the 
 Wind gave it up, as he saw that it was of no use to blow 
 any longer. 11. It taught me a good lesson, because 
 after that I used greater care. 12. The snow was knee 
 deep but I went to school; but I had to turn back, as 
 there was no session that day on account of the storm. 
 13. A traveler came along just then, and the Wind said, 
 "I will make him take off his coat." 14. He thought he 
 was not strong enough for the mile run, and entered the 
 half-mile. 15. The reason for the postponement was 
 because it was very stormy. 16. I took the seven-fifteen 
 train from Hartford and due in New Haven about eight- 
 forty-five. 17. Many objections are raised against, this 
 plan. 18. They procured him a pension of three hundred 
 pounds which besides his private means made him well 
 off. 19. Most of the trees are birches, and there are a 
 few pines. 20. It looked like some one had capsized. 
 
 EXERCISE 96 
 
 The link- words noted in the preceding ex- 
 ercises are by no means the only ones. For 
 example, the pronouns he, she, it, this, that, these, 
 those are commonly employed to refer to some
 
 COHERENCE 161 
 
 person or thing previously mentioned. Often, 
 too, a word or a phrase in one sentence is found 
 repeated near the beginning of the next, a re- 
 lationship being thereby pointed out. Open at 
 random almost any well- written book, and you 
 will find that by one device or another sentences 
 are closely knit each to each. 
 
 Pick out the words which make the sentences of 
 the following paragraphs cohere — hang together. 
 
 The social and domestic little world also, in which I 
 had been moving, had become singularly endeared to 
 me; and the concern evinced by them at my intended 
 departure convinced me that my kind feelmgs were re- 
 ciprocated. Indeed, when at length the day arrived, 
 I did not dare venture upon a leave-taking at the good 
 dame Antonia's; I saw the soft heart of little Dolores, 
 at least, was brimful and ready for an overflow. So I 
 bade a silent adieu to the palace and its inmates, and 
 descended into the city as if intending to return. There, 
 however, the tartana and the guide were ready; so, after 
 taking a noonday's repast with my fellow traveler at the 
 
 Posada, I set out with him on our journey. 
 
 Irving's The Alhambra. 
 
 The king, on his part, studied how he might supply, by 
 address and stratagem, what he wanted in numbers and 
 strength. He knew the superiority of the English, both 
 in their heavy-armed cavalry, which were much better 
 mounted and armed than that of the Scots, and in their 
 archers, who were better trained than any others in the
 
 162 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 world. Both these advantages he resolved to provide 
 against. With this purpose, he led his army down into 
 a plain near Stirling, called the Park, near which, and 
 beneath it, the English army must needs pass through 
 a boggy country, broken with watercourses, while the 
 Scots occupied hard, dry ground. He then caused all 
 the ground upon the front of his line of battle, where 
 cavalry were likely to act, to be dug full of holes, about 
 as deep as a man's knee. They were filled with light 
 brushwood, and the turf was laid on top, so that it ap- 
 peared a plain field, while in reality it was all full of 
 these pits, as a honeycomb is of holes. He also, it is said, 
 caused steel pikes, called calthrops, to be scattered up 
 and down in the plain, where the English cavalry were 
 most likely to advance, trusting in that manner to lame 
 and destroy their horses, 
 
 Scott's Tales of a Grandfather.
 
 CHAPTER X\'II 
 PUNCTUATION 
 
 Maxy hard tilings have been said of punctua- 
 tion, but for the most part they are untrue. 
 No matter what you may have heard to the 
 contrary, rest assured that punctuation is ex- 
 ceedingly important, and is so regarded by care- 
 ful writers. What is more, an examination of 
 half a dozen of our best magazines, or of the 
 works of our standard authors, shows conclusively 
 that, though no two men punctuate precisely 
 alike, the important rules for the use of the 
 comma, the period, and the other points are well 
 established. Nor is it a difficult matter to master 
 these rules, if one will but take pains to under- 
 stand them. Mere memorizing amounts to little 
 or nothing; it takes brains to punctuate. We 
 will begin with a short paragraph of general 
 caution, then consider carefully a few of the 
 simpler rules — the ones we must use, in school 
 
 and out, nearly every time we write. 
 
 163
 
 164 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 First, before attempting to punctuate a sen- 
 tence be sure that it is properly constructed. 
 For if a sentence is poorly arranged, clumsily put 
 together, no amount of "pointing" will make it 
 much better. Second, keep clearly in mind that 
 the purpose of punctuation is to help the reader 
 to grasp the meaning easily. A sentence bristling 
 with commas and semicolons is more confusing 
 than if not punctuated at all. Therefore use 
 points sparingly. Third, do not separate words 
 or groups of words which belong together. 
 Almost never should a point separate a subject 
 from its predicate, a verb from its complement, or 
 a modifier from the word it modifies, unless the 
 parts of a sentence are out of their natural order. 
 
 How TO PUNCTUATE A SERIES. — TJse commas to 
 separate the terms of a series when they are all in 
 the same construction. If all the terms are connected 
 by conjunctions, commas may not be needed; but 
 if only the last two terms are so joined, the comma 
 should be used regardless of the connective. 
 
 The series may consist of a number of nouns 
 all subjects of the same verb, a number of verbs 
 having a common subject, a number of modifiers 
 — adjectives, adverbs, phrases, or clauses — 
 governed alike. It may consist of the coordinate 
 clauses of a compound sentence, and occasionally, 
 though rarely, of a number of short, closely re-
 
 PUNCTUATION 165 
 
 lated independent statements. The important 
 thing to remember is that the words or groups of 
 words separated must be in the same construc- 
 tion. 
 
 EXERCISE 97 
 
 Pick out the words, phrases, and clauses which 
 form series the terms of which are in the same con- 
 struction. Punctuate. 
 
 1. Longfellow Wliittior Lowell Holmes and Emerson 
 are New England poets. 2. It was a cold dreary day. 
 
 3. He obeyed willingly cheerfully and without delay. 
 
 4. He searched for it at home on the street at his office. 
 
 5. Limch consisted of cold tongue bread and butter and 
 raspberry tarts. 6. Hot or cold rain or shine he went 
 his rounds. 7. He sprang to his feet ran to the stream 
 and without hesitating a moment plunged in. 8. He 
 laughed he cried he capered about. 9. Tired dis- 
 couraged ready to give way to despair by mere chance 
 he found a way out of the difficulty. 10. We trade with 
 Smith Jones and Company. IL Go when you please 
 where you please as often as you please. 12. Some 
 books are to be tasted others to be swallowed and some 
 few to be chewed and digested. 13. Thus he spoke and 
 willingly they heeded and obeyed. 14. He lights on the 
 fence caws several times and then flies off. 15. Reading 
 maketh a full man conference a ready man and writing 
 an exact man. 
 
 16. Ring out wild bells to the wild sky 
 The flying cloud the frosty light.
 
 166 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 How TO TREAT PARENTHETICAL EXPRESSIONS. 
 
 — Use commas to set off expressions which in- 
 terrupt the thought or the grammatical order of a 
 sentence. 
 
 The interruption may be caused by words 
 coming between subject and predicate, or be- 
 tween a verb and its complement. It may 
 consist of words independent by address, words or 
 phrases in apposition, or an explanatory phrase 
 interrupting a clause. Among brief expressions 
 often, though not always, used parenthetically 
 or almost independently are too, also, more- 
 over, indeed, namely, again, no doubt, in short, 
 of course, consequently, for instance, so to speak, 
 in truth. In a word, whatever interrupts 
 parenthetically usually needs setting off by 
 marks of some kind, and most frequently by 
 commas. 
 
 EXERCISE 98 
 
 Pick out the expressions which seem to you to 
 interrupt the thought or the grammatical order 
 sufficiently to warrant setting off. Punctuate, re- 
 membering that usually it takes two marks to set 
 off an expression. 
 
 1. Iron which of course is far heavier than wood sinks 
 quickly. 2. He gave I am told all that he had. 3. No
 
 PUNCTUATION 167 
 
 John you cannot go. 4. lioston capitol of Massa- 
 chusetts is a long way from the center of the state. 5. 
 This by the way is where Tennyson once lived. 0. Nep- 
 tune seeing the Greeks so pressed came to their assistance. 
 
 7, The field he said belonged to the game preserve. 
 
 8. Are you sure sir' that there is no mistake? 9. Men; 
 energy if not wisely directed accomplishes nothing. 
 10. Finally his chair being deep and softly cushioned 
 Clifford fell asleep. 11. You are to speak frankly over- 
 confident. 12. Mary who by the way was not at home 
 knew nothing about it. lo. It is possible though un- 
 usual for a dull boy to win great fame. 14. This book 
 if you are willing I will take home with me. 15. Emily 
 I am pleased to say is very well. 16. To-day October 
 twenty-first I found the air in the bushy fields and lanes 
 under the woods loaded with the ])erfume of the witch- 
 hazel writes John Burroughs. 17. I pray thee O Lord 
 that I may be beautiful within. 
 
 18. The streams rejoiced that winter's work is done 
 Talk of to-morrow's cowslips as they nni. 
 
 EXERCISE 99 
 
 Sometimes parenthetical expressions are so 
 short as to occasion little or no interruption. 
 This is especially true of certain words in apposi- 
 tion, and of adverbial phrases used independently 
 or nearly so. 
 
 Which of the jollowing sentences are clear without 
 punctuation? Haw should the rest be punctuated? 
 
 1. Bring John too. 2. Tliink too of the honor they 
 have gained. 3. It is indeed pitiful. 4. We tried in-
 
 168 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 deed not only the plans you suggested but many others 
 as well. 5. The plan you outline is a costly one; again 
 it calls for more time than we can spare. 6. You have 
 read The Deacon's Masterpiece no doubt. 7. No doubt 
 you have read it many times. 8. Perhaps your way is 
 better but I cannot get used to it. 9. Your way is better 
 perhaps but I cannot get used to it. 10. It must be 
 then that he is displeased. 11. He will come perhaps 
 but you had better not count on him. 12. A single 
 failure however does not mean defeat. 13. He could 
 not have escaped of course had it not been dark. 14. The 
 novelist Dickens was present with his friend Collins. 
 
 15. Dickens author of David Copperfield was born 1812. 
 
 16. Scott himself would not deny it. 17. Longfellow 
 the lecturer was as delightful as Longfellow the poet. 
 18. Their best player you will recall was absent. 19. 
 The main difficulty he thought was to find what one 
 was prepared to do. 20. Run child and tell your mother. 
 
 21. He did not like the Puritans scorn all pleasure, 
 
 22. He carried with him Arthur's sword Excalibur. 
 
 How TO SET OFF NON-RESTRICTIVE PHRASES 
 
 AND CLAUSES. — Use commas to set off phrases 
 and clauses when they are non-restrictive. 
 
 This rule is but a slight modification of the 
 one immediately preceding. A phrase or a clause 
 is restrictive when it narrows or closely defines 
 what it modifies; or when it picks out one thing 
 from among several, as do the words this and that. 
 A phrase or a clause is non-restrictive when it 
 contains an additional statement, incidental or
 
 PUNCTUATION 1G9 
 
 explanatory. In the sentence The greatest man 
 is he who does not lose his child's heart, the clause 
 beginning with who is restrictive. In the sen- 
 tence Affliction, like the iron-smith, shades as it 
 strikes, the phrase beginning with like is non- 
 restrictive. A non-restrictive expression, then, 
 is really parenthetical in nature. 
 
 EXERCISE 100 
 
 Punctuate the following sentetices, taking care 
 not to use a single comma unnecessarily. 
 
 1. The man who works dcserv^es success. 2. Mr. 
 Clark who really had worked very hard felt that ho 
 deserved a reward. 3. The gentleman whom we saw 
 just now is my uncle Henr}-. 4. Mr. Cavendish whom 
 you met yesterday will sail for Southampton Monday. 
 5. Go where glory waits. 6. Chittenden where the 
 horses were changed and we had our lunch is a little 
 settlement half-way up the mountain. 7. Bermuda 
 which is I think one of England's oldest colonies lies near 
 the American coast. 8. My father who is an enthusiastic 
 fisherman and does not mind following a stream for 
 hours cannot see any fun whatever in hunting. 9. Per- 
 haps the greatest of American authors is Hawthorne 
 whose works we have in our library. 10. Give this to 
 the girl having the highest mark in Latin. 11. Teddy 
 having sold all his papers went for more. 12. He who 
 runs may read. 13. The boy who was I think thoroughly 
 frightened ran like a deer. 14. Ye who hear my voice
 
 170 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 attend my words. 15. The girls having sung a song or 
 two the boys took their turn. 16. The girls having sung 
 several songs thought that it was their turn to listen. 
 17. They were looking curiously at the gentleman wear- 
 ing a green jacket. IS. Take the road turning to the 
 left just beyond the barn. 19. The road turning to the 
 left just beyond the barn climbs a steep hill. 20. The 
 gain which is made at the expense of reputation should 
 be considered a loss. 21. None but the brave deserves 
 the fair. 22. That style is best and purest which needs 
 the fewest sign-posts to its sentences. 
 
 How TO PUNCTUATE A SENTENCE BEGINNING 
 
 WITH A SUBORDINATE ELEMENT. — When a de- 
 pendent or subordinate clause beginning with if, 
 WHILE, WHENEVER, WHERE, or some similar limit- 
 ing word stands -first, it is almost always set off 
 from the rest of the sentence by a comma, even 
 though the clause is quite short. 
 
 A long phrase coming first is sometimes set off, 
 especially if without the aid of a comma the eye 
 would not readily perceive where the phrase ends 
 and the rest of the sentence begins. Perhaps 
 participial phrases are set off more commonly 
 than any other kind.
 
 PU.XCTL'ATJOX 171 
 
 EXERCISE 10 1 
 
 Which of the following sentences begin with de- 
 pendent elements ? Which need punctuating ? 
 
 1. While we were eating a terri]:)le thunder storm came 
 on. 2. As soon as he had left Portia sent a messenger to 
 Padua. 3. If he fails you let me know at once. 4. In 
 the confusion that followed Ben Jones was forgotten. 
 
 5. Soon after the workman came to repair the damage. 
 
 6. After the bottom was nailed on the ends of the boards 
 were cut off even with the sides. 7. While we were eating 
 one of our companions told a storj-. 8. ( )n scanty rations 
 besieged on every side knowing that liope of succor or 
 escape was vain the garrison has fought with a stub- 
 bornness that has evoked the admiration of the world. 
 9. As you know Saturday afternoon we went to Middle- 
 towTi by boat. 10. Among the famous beauties at the 
 court of the Stuarts was Mary ^'illiers Duchess of Rich- 
 mond and Lennox. 11. If the number was inexact it \vr>s 
 scarcely an exaggeration. 12. In the morning we will 
 go to them. 13. Crossing the river by the new stone 
 bridge we were soon in the heart of the city. 14. Having 
 purchased our tickets we went in search of our state- 
 rooms. 15. Determined to have every sentence correct 
 he rewrote the letter several times. IG. Admitting all 
 that you say we feel nevertheless that the wrong was 
 done unintentionally. 17. By all means come. IS. Of 
 those present six favored the plan. 19. In the little 
 red house below the hill you will find a family of bright 
 youngsters. 20. For the purpose of helping the back-
 
 172 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 ward please explain the problem again. 21. Arithmetic 
 and algebra mastered we began the study of geometry. 
 
 When to place a comma before a con- 
 junction. — Plax^e a comma before a coordinate con- 
 junction (and, but, for, as, because, or, nor) 
 if by so doing the sentence is rnade clearer. Avoid 
 placing a comma before that, if, whether, when, 
 WHERE, when they introduce object clauses. 
 
 The justice of the second part of this rule is 
 evident; for it is always undesirable to separate 
 a verb from its object. The reason for the first 
 part of the rule becomes apparent when we study 
 certain sentences where, were not the comma 
 used, the reader's mind would run on too rapidly 
 and, for a moment, miss the meaning. Take for 
 example the sentence He wears a dark blue Rus- 
 sian blouse trimmed with gilt buttofis and dark 
 blue knickerbockers. Without a comma before the 
 conjunction the rapid reader finds himself trying 
 to imagine how a blouse trimmed, with knicker- 
 bockers would look. Here is a similarly con- 
 structed sentence: They were looking for some one 
 who wanted a carriage or a trunk carried to the 
 depot. The boy who wrote this did not mean 
 that the hackmen were looking for some one who 
 wanted a carriage taken to the depot, yet that is 
 what the sentence says. A comma is needed 
 before or.
 
 PUNCTUA'lION 
 
 EXERCISE 102 
 
 t -J 
 
 Punctuate the following sentences, using commas 
 only when absolutely necessary for clearness. 
 
 1. The ancestors of the Nornmns came from Norway 
 Sweden and Denmark and they are often called the 
 Northmen. 2. Wickedness takes the shorter road and 
 virtue the longer. 3. It rained and rained and rained 
 and so our drive was abandoned. 4. The log lazily 
 floating near shore was at last drawn into the eddy where 
 I was struggling and that saved my life. 5. He may be 
 all this yet let us save his life. 6. He was a good athlete 
 and when it came to books he proved himself a good 
 scholar. 7. Clay or sand will do. 8. Saleratus or 
 common baking soda will relieve the pain. 9. He ran 
 and jumped into the stream. 10. She added butter and 
 milk and I have forgotten what else. 11. There we 
 found shade trees and benches to rest on. 12. He is 
 slow but sure. 13. Neither half-back nor full-back 
 could overtake him. 14. He is not dishonest nor should 
 I call him selfish. 15. Of Cooper's thirty-two novels 
 writes a critic not more than half have ever been read 
 and eight are far superior to all the rest. 16. Thus he 
 spoke and willingly they heeded and obeyed. 17. Did 
 you say that you had read The Newcomes? IS. Wind 
 and rain and frost have stormed those walls in vain. 
 19. I appreciate your motives but I cannot accept the 
 aid you proffer. 20. He is gone but not forgotten. 
 21. It is the frost that kills our wild creatures and not the 
 snow which protects and keeps them warm. 22. Please 
 tell him that we waited over an hour. 23. I do not
 
 174 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 know whether he will come or not. 24. He never came 
 back again and there the story ends. 25. Bassanio said 
 that he had promised never to part with it. 26. I Avrite 
 to tell you how glad I am that you are coming. 27. A 
 friend told me that we were to have a celebration next 
 Wednesday. 28. Ask him if we may visit the park. 
 29. It is too bad that you cannot go. 
 
 30. Jack fell down and broke his crown 
 And Jill came tumbling after. 
 
 When to use the semicolon. — 1. Use the 
 semicolon as if it were a large comma, placing it 
 between phrases or clauses in the same construc- 
 tion when they are exceptionally long and loosely 
 connected, or when one or both are so broken by 
 commas that, were not the semicolon used, the eye 
 would not readily perceive where one phrase or 
 clause ends and the next begins. 
 
 2. Use the semicolon as if it were a small 
 period, placing it between independent sentences 
 so closely related in thought that it is undesirable 
 to separate them with a period. 
 
 One often reads page after page of a well-written 
 book without finding a single semicolon. When 
 a semicolon is found, it is usually in a long, com- 
 plicated sentence which might well be recast in 
 simpler form; or in a very short, pithy sentence 
 such as is seldom used in plain composition. 
 The young writer is advised to make his sentences 
 so simple that the semicolon is seldom needed.
 
 PUNCTUATIOX \:r, 
 
 Always, wlicn hesitating between a period and a 
 semicolon, choose the period. Tliat the point is 
 a convenient one, if not (juite indispensable, is 
 shown by the following examples. 
 
 He told us how he had been left alone on the 
 island; hoiv for ynany days he had lived wpon ber- 
 ries, roots, and the bark of trees; how at last, when 
 nearly dead with hunger and exposure to cold winds, 
 he had been rescued. 
 
 Some there may be who think that if a thing be 
 said often enough, it must be true; if it be said loud 
 enough, it must be important. 
 
 The elephant hath joints, but not for courtesy; 
 his legs are legs for necessity, not for flexure. 
 
 Idleness is emptiness; the tree in which the sap 
 is stagnant remains fruitless. 
 
 EXERCISE 103 
 
 Punctuate the following sentences, usiyig the 
 semicolon sparingly. 
 
 1. Honors says a Chinese maxim come by diligence 
 riches spring from economy. 2. One goes to the right 
 the other to the left both are wrong but in different 
 directions. 3. Books are the best of things well used 
 abused among the worst. 4. He always went into the 
 darkest and deepest recesses that is he took up the part 
 which no one had touched. 5. Do not take all the 
 apples simply because you get them for nothing leave
 
 176 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 some for the others. 6. If I uncover the earth in 
 any of my fields ragweed and pigweed spring up if these 
 are destroyed harvest grass or quack grass or purslane 
 appears. 7. He had to choose one of three things: 
 wealth but wealth gained dishonestly fame but fame 
 unjustly acquired or poverty with honor and happi- 
 ness. 8. Fairfax a brave soldier but of mean under- 
 standing and irresolute temper was the nominal Lord 
 General of the forces but Cromwell was their real lord. 
 9. I cannot hide what I am I must be sad when I have 
 cause and smile at no man's jests eat when I have 
 stomach and wait for no man's business laugh when I 
 am merry and claw no man in his humor. 10. The 
 spray of the billows which attained in fearful succession 
 the foot of the precipice overflowing the beach on which 
 they so lately stood flew as high as their place of tem- 
 porary refuge and the stunning sound with which they 
 dashed against the rock beneath seemed as if they still 
 demanded the fugitives in accents of thunder as their 
 destined prey. 
 
 IL He that fights and runs away 
 May live to fight another day 
 But he that is in battle slain 
 Will never rise to fight again. 
 
 —Ray. 
 
 How TO PUNCTUATE A SENTENCE CONTAINING 
 
 AN ENUMERATION. — A Sentence containing an 
 enumeration or a series of particulars explaining 
 a previous statement may be cast in so many- 
 different forms that it is impossible to invent 
 a rule broad enough to cover all cases. We
 
 PUNCTUAIIOX 177 
 
 will therefore not attempt it, but simply study 
 a few examples. 
 
 1. Longfellow, Whither, Lowell, Emerson, and 
 Holmes are New England poets. 
 
 2. Five New England poets are Longfellow, 
 Whittier, Lowell, Emerson, and Holmes. 
 
 3. There are five prominent New England poets; 
 namely, Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Emerson, and 
 Holmes. 
 
 4. There are five promhient New England 
 poets: Longfellow, Whittier, Lowell, Emerson, and 
 Holmes. 
 
 5. The New England poets are as follows: Long- 
 fellow, Whittier, Lowell, Emerson, and Holmes. 
 
 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 be- 
 fore, or an expression in apposition to something 
 already mentioned. It has been called the mark 
 of "expectancy or anticipation." The colon, 
 then, is the proper point to place before an enu- 
 meration. It is not used in the second sentence 
 above, ioi Longfello2v, Whittier, etc., are predicate 
 nouns and should not be separated from the verb. 
 Such expressions as namely, for instance, for 
 example, and that is, when introducing an enumer- 
 ation, are almost always preceded by a semicolon 
 and followed by a comma. This practice is
 
 178 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 somewhat arbitrary, yet there is something of 
 reason in it. 
 
 EXERCISE 104 
 
 Study the following sentences till you can 
 'punctuate them without hesitation when they are 
 written on the blackboard. 
 
 1. Pine, hemlock, spruce, and cedar are evergreen 
 trees. 2. Four common varieties of evergreen are pine, 
 hemlock, spruce, and cedar. 3. There are at least four 
 common varieties of evergreen: pine, hemlock, spruce, 
 and cedar. 4. The four varieties of evergreen which he 
 mentions are as follows : pine, hemlock, spruce, and cedar. 
 5. Four common varieties of evergreen are these: pine, 
 hemlock, spruce, and cedar. 6. Carlyle says, "There are 
 but two ways of paying a debt: increase of industry in 
 raising income, increase of thrift in laying out." 7. Per- 
 haps the greatest lesson which the lives of literary men 
 teach us is told in a single word: Wait! 8. Since Sep- 
 tember first I have read three books; namely. Great 
 Expectations, Kenilworth, and Sentimental Tommy. 
 
 Construct five sentences in which the following 
 expressions are used: namely, that is, such as, 
 AS FOLLOWS, FOR EXAMPLE. Be surc not to place a 
 comma after such as. 
 
 Make the following statement in as many different 
 ways as you can: Three well known works by 
 Francis Parkman are Montcalm and Wolfe, The 
 Conspiracy of Pontiac, and The Oregon Trail.
 
 PUNCTUATIOX 170 
 
 How TO TREAT QUOTED PASSAGES. — We leam 
 
 early in school life that when the exact words of 
 some one are quoted they should be set off hv 
 quotation-marks. One cannot read books and 
 newspapers year after year without getting this 
 simple rule well fixed in mind. There are, 
 however, a number of mistakes which young 
 writers are apt to make, and these will now be 
 considered. 
 
 1. Be sure that the ^passage enclosed hy marJis 
 contains the exact words of the one quoted. For 
 example, it is incorrect to write He said "that 
 he could not come till Tuesday." Either the 
 quotation-marks should be removed, or the sen- 
 tence changed to read He said, " I cannot come 
 till Tuesday." 
 
 2. If a quoted passage is made up of several 
 paragraphs, place marks before each paragraph, but 
 after the last paragraph only. For if each para- 
 graph were enclosed, the reader might think each 
 a separate quotation. 
 
 3. A quotation within a quotation is set off by 
 single marks. Note this sentence: " I remember," 
 said he, " his exact words. They were these : 
 'Don't give up the ship.' " 
 
 4. If a quoted sentence is interrupted by some 
 such expression as said he, do not begin the first 
 word of the second part with a capital simply be-
 
 180 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 cause it is preceded by quotation-marks. It is 
 wrong to write " I think," said he, "That we 
 must go." 
 
 5. Never use a semicolon to introduce a quota- 
 tion. If the quoted passage is long and formal, it 
 may be preceded by a colon; if short, a comma will 
 do. 
 
 6. When writing conversation, avoid introducing 
 remark after remark with He said or She said. 
 Tuck in the expressions parenthetically, or place 
 them after the remarks. Avoid monotony by 
 using synonyms for said. 
 
 1. When writing an extended conversation — 
 something more than is found in a brief anecdote, 
 indicate by means of indention where one speaker 
 concludes and another begins. 
 
 EXERCISE 105 
 
 Punctuate the following and supply capitals 
 where they are needed. 
 
 Bring to class a list of ten expressions which 
 may be substituted for said he. 
 
 1. Yes said he the stranger must be treated cour- 
 teously. 2. He replied at once I cannot come to-day 
 if to-morrow will do I will come then. 3. His last 
 words were nearer my God to thee. 4. What can I do 
 for you inquired the saleswoman? 5. In reading John 
 Burroughs this evening I ran across this statement for 
 my part my nearest approach to a strange bedfellow
 
 PUNCTUATION ISl 
 
 is the little gray rabbit that has taken iij) licr abode 
 under my study floor. 6. I will not take a penny less 
 said the merchant so pay me my price and go. 7. I 
 came she said to see the grand procession and to hear 
 the people shout long live the king. 
 
 How TO USE THE APOSTROPHE. — The apos- 
 trophe is used to indicate the possessive form of 
 nouns, to indicate the omission of one or more 
 letters, and to indicate the plural of letters and 
 figures. 
 
 EXERCISE io6 
 
 Criticise the following sentences. 
 
 1. Its growing dark; lets start for camp. 2. Who's 
 dog is it? 3. He purchased a thousand dollar's worth. 
 4. Are you fond of Dicken's works? 5. We filled our 
 pocket's with apples. 6. Your always losing something. 
 7. Dot your is and cross your ts. 8. She cannot ap- 
 prove of Harry having a canoe. 9. Where is you're 
 gun? 10. You may all pass to Miss Robbinses room. 
 
 11. I think you should make better fours and 7s. 
 
 12. He found a ladies glove. 
 
 EXERCISE 107 
 
 Show that the meaning of the following sentences 
 changes according as they are punctuated. Which 
 of the sentences need rewriting? 
 
 1. Clarkson was the favorite of the day after the battle. 
 2. Among his intimate friends were Eustace Budgell
 
 182 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 his cousin Ambrose Phillips and Richard Steele, 3. The 
 poem was written about Edward King a very dear 
 friend of John Milton who was drowned while crossing 
 from England to Ireland. 4. Go see Breakers Ahead 
 the best melodrama ever written by John Nemo. 5. John 
 the gardener will attend to it. 6. No fishing is per- 
 mitted here. 7. "May I go to New York for Thanks- 
 giving? Jack invites me." "I do not see how you 
 can stay in Albany." 8. They did not seize the wand 
 as the guide directed. 9. Ivanhoe marries Rowena 
 instead of Athelstane as Cedric had wished. 10. We 
 manufacture everything made out of canvas bags tents 
 awnings, etc. 11. The nobleman thinking him mad 
 again asked him to set a price on his fish. 12. He 
 answered nervously looking this way and that. 13. The 
 boy said the man was trying to stand on his head. 14. He 
 said nothing at all. 
 
 15. What do you think 
 
 I'll feed you for nothing 
 
 And give you a drink 
 
 EXERCISE io8 
 
 Criticise the punctuation of the following sen- 
 tences. 
 
 1. I think, that they will come, but I am not sure. 
 2. In the window were many small fancy articles; such 
 as, bags, pins of all descriptions and ribbons. 3. As 
 she neared the market place she heard cries of, long live 
 the king. 4. Macaulay was a man, who liked to argue. 
 5. I am sitting on the piazza watching my little brother, 
 Francis and another boy, Johnny playing. 6. The story
 
 PUNCTUATION 183 
 
 ends by Ivanhoe marr^'ing Rowena. 7. "Come, come," 
 said he, "You're only jesting. 8. In escaping the riot, 
 the king and his son, Theodore became separated from 
 us. 9. Among his intimate friends were liudgell, his 
 cousin, and Steele. 10. Therefore, Antonio was set 
 free. 11. The library no doubt, would interest you. 
 12. It was a cold, dreary, afternoon, the wind was 
 whistling round the house and everything outside 
 looked bare and frozen. The snow was beginning to 
 fall; the streets were deserted, ever^-one seemed to have 
 shut himself up for the night. 13. Not all of his time 
 was spent in France, during the winter months he visited 
 Italy. 14. There are many inconveniences, for instance; 
 we have to go a long way for water. 15. Fruits are very 
 abundant. Such as peaches pears and plumus. 16. I 
 drew out Robinson Crusoe. That being the only book 
 I cared to read. 17. John went to the fair, Mary, staid 
 at home. 18. My reason for thinking so is, that I saw 
 him running through the yard. 
 
 EXERCISE 109 
 
 Punctuate the following sentences. Use all 
 marks except the period sparingly. 
 
 1. Yes Mr Brown I will go. 2. London is I think the 
 most interesting city we visited. 3. Through the woods 
 across the field and down the road he ran. 4. I came 
 I saw I conquered. 5. ^Vhen he has investigated 
 thoroughly when he is perfectly satisfied then we will go. 
 6. It is I admit a pleasant day and we all wish to go but 
 think on the other hand how unfair it would be to the
 
 184 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 rest if we should leave them behind. 7. The woman 
 was weak from exliaustion he could not well refuse to aid 
 her. 8. I think he replied that I recall his words he said 
 if I mistake not there are three roads but all lead to town. 
 9. Brilliancy is well enough but character is better it 
 stands the wear and tear of life. 10. If you take the 
 right hand road it will lead you to Oxford if you take 
 the left it will lead you to London. 11. Among Words- 
 worth's contemporaries are Byron Shelley Coleridge 
 and Keats. 12. If any man doubt my sincerity and 
 some may doubt it I will try to satisfy him. 13. I have 
 seen Edinburgh at last isn't it a romantic town? 14. I 
 cannot of course speak from experience I can only re- 
 peat what the book says. 15. Dickens is my favorite 
 author all his faults therefore I readily overlook, 16. I 
 am quite sure he is the one why do you ask? 17. So 
 into the plain they came where grew the grain and 
 through this by and by they reached their journeys end. 
 18. A very dark night screened the sky no man observed 
 us secretly I took his life. 19. It was formed of five 
 metal plates two were of brass two of tin and one of gold. 
 20. On all sides were large trees maples birches chestnuts 
 all of which we were glad to find. 21. Anger says 
 Richter wishes that all mankind had only one neck love 
 that it had only one heart grief two tear-glands pride 
 two bent knees. 22. The day was Saturday the date 
 June tenth the time two o'clock the place Lewis Park 
 and our opponents the Ben Hurs. 23. The Friar who is 
 unconsciously funny and Wamba who is by profession 
 a jester are leading humorous characters. 
 
 24. Some are born great some achieve greatness 
 And some have greatness thrust upon them.
 
 rUNCTUATION ISo 
 
 25. Three Silences there are the first of speech 
 The second of desire the third of thought. 
 
 EXERCISE no 
 
 Punctuate the j allowing y taking great fains to 
 place periods where they belong. 
 
 1. The wliite flag meant come over I have something 
 to tell you the red flag meant come over the fire is hot 
 and we will make candy the black flag meant come over 
 I am lonely. 2. Here is one of Coleridges clever sayings 
 concerning readers some like jelly-bags let slip all that 
 is pure and good and retain only the impure some like 
 sponges suck up all and give it back again only a little 
 dirtier others read as the sand runs in and out of the 
 hour-glass and leaves no trace behind still others like 
 the slave in thc> diamond mine retain the gem and cast 
 aside the dross and dust. 3. When the barbican was 
 carried the Sable Knight sent notice of the happy event 
 to Locksley requesting him at thv same time to keep 
 such a strict observ'ation on the castle as might prevent 
 the defenders from combining their forces for a sudden 
 sally and recovering the outwork which they had lost 
 this the Knight was chiefly desirous of avoiding con- 
 scious that the men whom he led being hasty and un- 
 trained volunteers imperfectly armed and unaccustomed 
 to discipline must upon any sudden attack fight at a 
 great disadvantage with the veteran soldiers of the 
 Norman knights who were well provided with arms both 
 defensive and offensive and who to match the zeal and 
 high spirits of the besiegers had the confidence which
 
 186 ENGLISH CO^irOSITION 
 
 arises from perfect discipline and the habitual use of 
 weapons. 4. The cave has double doors one to the 
 north accessible to men one to the south for gods by this 
 men do not enter. 5. Standing so high and with so 
 little shelter it was a cold exposed house splashed by- 
 showers drenched by continuous rains that made the 
 gutters to spout beaten upon and buffeted by all the 
 winds of the heavens and the prospect would be often 
 black with tempest and often white with the snows of 
 winter. 6. In the class of 1903 at Yale writes one who 
 should know fifteen of the nineteen highest appoint- 
 ments at graduation fell to men who had received 
 tuition scholarships in the class of 1902 eighteen out 
 of thirty-three appointments were made to hard working 
 students. 7. The speakers were as follows affirmative 
 Jones and Smith negative Clark and Hermann. 8. Our 
 nine had the following battery catcher Johnson pitcher 
 Sullivan. 9. Here are the particulars name John Smith 
 height 5 ft 6 in weight 160 lbs. 10. Admission fifty 
 cents children half price. 11. All mankind states an 
 adage may be divided into three classes first and this 
 is a very small class those who discover things for them- 
 selves second a somewhat larger class those who can 
 see things which are pointed out to them third those 
 who cannot discover things for themselves nor can they 
 see them when pointed out and this is a very large class 
 indeed. 12. If a man's fortune does not fit him it is like 
 the shoe in the story if too large it trips him up if too 
 small it pinches him. 13. Youth writes Carlyle is to all 
 the glad season of life but often only by what it hopes 
 not by what it attains or what it escapes. 14. There 
 were bright tongues of fiery cloud burning and quivering 
 about them and the river brighter than all fell in a
 
 PUNCTUATION 1,S7 
 
 wavering column of })ure gold from jiroripicc to precipice 
 with the double urch of a broad purple rainbow stretched 
 across it flashing and fading alternately in the wreaths 
 of spray. 
 
 15. What in me is dark 
 
 Illumine what is low raise and support.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 SPELLING 
 
 A CERTAIN well-known dictionary contains over 
 317,000 terms. The number is appalling unless 
 we bear in mind that one may enjoy life without 
 mastering the English language from A to Z. 
 It is necessary, however, that everyone have 
 absolute command over a reasonably large num- 
 ber of words — know not only what they mean but 
 how they are spelled. 
 
 If you are a poor speller, bear in mind that to 
 accomplish anything worth accomplishing hard 
 work is necessary. No one else can help you 
 very much; you must do it — not in a day nor a 
 month, but by long, persistent effort. Eid your- 
 self of the false notion that you cannot do it. 
 Others may find it less difficult than you; but if 
 you will, you too can accomplish it. Here are 
 a few suggestions. 
 
 First, form the habit of reading aloud a few 
 minutes every day, taking great pains to pro- 
 
 188
 
 SPELLING 189 
 
 nounce every word distinctly, correctly. In the 
 haste of every-day talk most of us clip syllables 
 and speak so indistinctly that many words reach 
 the ear mangled. We are apt to recall, when 
 writing, what the ear has heard many times, 
 rather than what the eye sees but occasionally in 
 the printed page. Reading aloud every day, 
 the eye trying to see words just as they are, and 
 the voice trying to pronounce them correctly, 
 tends to lessen this evil. 
 
 Second, stop guessing. When in doubt, con- 
 sult a good dictionary. But remember that 
 merely looking up a word does little good. You 
 must note carefully where the difficulty lies, why 
 the word is hard to spell. Try to fix the word in 
 your mind for all time. Take a long look at it, 
 noting it carefully syllable by syllable; then shut 
 your eyes and try to form a picture of it in your 
 mind. 
 
 Third, keep a list of the common words which 
 you catch yourself misspelling. You will be 
 surprised, perhaps, to find how short this list will 
 be; for as a rule we misspell not a great many 
 words but a few words over and over again. 
 Study this list faithfully from time to time, 
 striking out words as often as you are sure that 
 you have mastered them, adding new ones as 
 they appear.
 
 190 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Fourth, if you are studying a foreign language, 
 especially if it be Latin, note the derivation of 
 English words. Most Latin scholars are accurate 
 spellers. 
 
 Fifth, learn thoroughly a few rules. Perhaps 
 there are exceptions to all rules for spelling, but 
 never mind; even with exceptions, they are 
 worth knowing. 
 
 Here are fourteen groups of words which in- 
 vestigations extending over several years show 
 that high school pupils commonly misspell or 
 misuse. Master each group; and whenever a 
 rule is given, master that too. 
 
 EXERCISE III 
 
 Words containing ei or ie. — If the diph- 
 thong has the sound of long e, i comes first except 
 when the diphthong is preceded by c. 
 
 The most troublesome words are those in 
 which the diphthong follows c or /. Perhaps you 
 can remember the rule by associating it with 
 the word police, in which i follows I and e follows 
 c. Or perhaps the following rhyme will be easily 
 remembered: 
 
 If the letter c you spy, 
 Place the e before the i.
 
 SPELLING 
 
 191 
 
 Important exceptions to the rule are weird and 
 seize. 
 
 believe 
 
 wield 
 
 deceive 
 
 shriek 
 
 deceit 
 
 receive 
 siege 
 tier 
 receipt 
 thief • 
 
 perceive 
 
 shield 
 
 fierce 
 
 hygiene 
 
 yield 
 
 retrieve 
 
 niece 
 
 fiend 
 
 lief 
 
 ceiling 
 
 EXERCISE 112 
 
 The plurals of nouns ending 
 
 is 'preceded by a vowel, the plural 
 adding s. // y is preceded hy a 
 changes to i and es is added. 
 Form the plurals of the following 
 
 lady ferry folly 
 
 valley duty delay 
 
 alley tally miscellany 
 
 ally fallacy strategy 
 
 mercy display ecstasy 
 
 IN Y. — If Y 
 
 is formed hy 
 consonant, y 
 
 words. 
 
 chimney 
 
 caddy 
 
 study 
 
 hypocrisy 
 
 courtesy 
 
 EXERCISE 113 
 
 y before a suffix. — When preceded hy a 
 consonant, y changes to i hefore a suffix not begin- 
 ning with I; otherwise it does not change. 
 
 holiness ironical tyrannical driest 
 dutiful studying ninetieth sprier
 
 192 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 joyous played pitiful annoyance 
 
 prettily modifier j oiliest business 
 
 weariness pliable appliance drier 
 
 EXERCISE 114 
 
 A CONSONANT BEFORE A SUFFIX. — A WOrd 
 
 ending in a single consonant preceded by a single 
 vowel doubles the consonant before a suffix beginning 
 with a vowel, if the word formed is to be accented 
 on the syllable preceding the suffix. 
 
 goddess poetess mapped deference 
 
 deferred beginner nutting compelling 
 
 controlling intermittent occurred preference 
 
 remittance admittance summary planned 
 
 popped pinned identically preferred 
 
 EXERCISE 115 
 
 Silent e before a suffix. — Silent e disap- 
 pears before a suffix beginning with a vowel, remains 
 before a suffix beginning with a consonant. But 
 words ending in ce or ge usually retain the e before 
 a suffix beginning with A or o; and words ending 
 in IE change the IE to y before adding ing. 
 
 Truly and duly are important exceptions. 
 
 perseverance advertisement peaceable 
 tying practicing organization
 
 SPELLING 
 
 193 
 
 sponging 
 
 senseless 
 
 pleasurable 
 
 manageable 
 
 changeable 
 
 attractiveness definitely 
 comparatively infringement 
 purity blamable 
 
 courageous 
 describable 
 
 sensible 
 vying 
 
 EXERCISE ii6 
 
 State the rule governing the spelling of each 
 word. 
 
 immediately pierce 
 
 hungriest 
 noticeable 
 relieve 
 baggage 
 
 pitiable 
 
 engagement 
 
 shammed 
 
 referring necessarily 
 
 spying comedies 
 
 conceivable merciless 
 
 conceit 
 
 dying 
 
 fairies 
 
 pitiful 
 
 EXERCISE 117 
 
 A homonym is a word agreeing in sound with 
 another word, but differing from it in meaning. 
 Make sentences containing homonyms of the fol- 
 lowing words. If possible, let each sentence contain 
 both the original word and its homonym. 
 
 course 
 
 cord 
 
 leaf 
 
 hew 
 
 isle 
 
 colonel 
 
 pier 
 
 base 
 
 faint 
 
 sight 
 
 wave 
 
 assent 
 
 raise 
 
 sweet 
 
 skull 
 
 sore 
 
 piece 
 
 core 
 
 two 
 
 bare
 
 194 
 
 ENGLISH COxMPOSITIOx'^ 
 
 EXERCISE ii8 
 
 This exercise contains pairs of words so similar 
 in sound or in spelling that one word is often 
 wrongly substituted for the other. Invent sen- 
 tences as in the preceding exercise, letting each 
 sentence, if possible, contain a pair. 
 
 angel 
 
 lose 
 
 capital 
 
 accept 
 
 angle 
 
 loose 
 
 capitol 
 
 except 
 
 principal 
 
 lead 
 
 disease 
 
 their 
 
 principle 
 
 led 
 
 decease 
 
 there 
 
 coarse 
 
 illusion 
 
 prosecute 
 
 past 
 
 course 
 
 allusion 
 
 persecute 
 
 passed 
 
 affect 
 
 proceed 
 
 hef 
 
 respectively 
 
 effect 
 
 precede 
 
 leave 
 
 respectfully 
 
 cloths 
 
 admittance 
 
 duel 
 
 eligible 
 
 clothes 
 
 admission 
 
 dual 
 
 legible 
 
 diary 
 
 statue 
 
 human 
 
 pillar 
 
 dairy 
 
 stature 
 
 humane 
 
 pillow 
 
 
 partition 
 
 stationary 
 
 
 
 petition 
 
 stationery 

 
 SPELIJNG 
 
 195 
 
 EXERCISE 119 
 
 Here are simple words that are misspelled 
 through mere carelessness. 
 
 too 
 
 quite 
 
 marriage 
 
 merely 
 
 barely 
 
 using 
 
 forty- four 
 
 disobey 
 
 attacked 
 
 victuals 
 
 becoming 
 
 remedy 
 
 altogether 
 
 till 
 
 queer 
 
 whether 
 
 across 
 
 ninth 
 
 neither 
 
 hurried 
 
 exhaust 
 
 arose 
 
 color 
 
 attract 
 
 loving 
 
 accurate 
 
 until 
 
 writer 
 
 always 
 
 almost 
 
 already 
 
 destroy 
 
 muscle 
 
 visitor 
 
 professor 
 
 enemies 
 
 success 
 
 commerce 
 
 despise 
 
 divided 
 
 also 
 
 college 
 
 gas 
 
 twelfth 
 
 speech 
 
 afraid 
 
 orator 
 
 villain 
 
 immense 
 
 spherical 
 
 scheme 
 
 salary 
 
 
 EXERCISE 120 
 
 
 The following words are commonly misspelled 
 because they are commonly mispronounced. 
 
 tragedy chestnutting athletics 
 
 strategy intellectual 
 
 partner ambassador 
 
 surprise bachelor 
 
 messenger accidentally 
 
 farthest 
 reenforcement 
 genealogy 
 medicinal
 
 196 
 
 ENGLISH COMPSOITION 
 
 boundary 
 
 sentinel 
 
 divided 
 
 preparation 
 
 perseverance 
 
 similar 
 
 preposition 
 
 religious 
 
 prescription 
 
 recognition 
 
 undoubtedly 
 
 emergency 
 
 laboratory 
 
 opportunity 
 
 feminine 
 
 obedience 
 
 fiery 
 
 surpass 
 
 machinery 
 
 despise 
 
 incidentally 
 
 military 
 
 pronunciation 
 
 superintendent 
 
 probably 
 
 melancholy 
 
 drowned 
 
 government 
 
 neuralgia 
 
 humorous 
 
 separation 
 
 enthusiasm 
 
 remembrance 
 
 accommodate 
 
 secretary 
 
 independent 
 
 representative 
 
 visible 
 EXERCISE 121 
 
 privilege 
 
 These words are troublesome because it is hard 
 to remember whether certain consonants should 
 be doubled. 
 
 immediately 
 
 immigrant 
 
 occupant 
 
 accede 
 
 apparent 
 
 syllable 
 
 parallel 
 
 excellent 
 
 fulfil 
 
 alert 
 
 aperture 
 
 apparel 
 
 misspell 
 
 appearance 
 
 impel 
 
 irresistible 
 
 haggard 
 
 necessary 
 
 committee 
 
 immaterial 
 
 accompany
 
 Sl'lM.I.IXG 
 
 107 
 
 possession 
 
 association 
 
 tyrannize 
 
 annoyance 
 
 centennial 
 
 recollect 
 
 preference 
 
 assassinate 
 
 colossal 
 
 massacre 
 
 recommend 
 
 necessity 
 
 correspondent 
 
 sufficient 
 
 excel 
 
 EXERCISE 122 
 
 Here are words that are difficult because un- 
 familiar. Construct sentences in which they are 
 used in such a way as to reveal their meaning. 
 
 plagiarism exorbitant dubious irascible 
 
 vicious decorous congenial supersede 
 
 edible predecessor plausible effervescent 
 
 optician convalescent abstruse pecuniary 
 
 EXERCISE 123 
 
 The following words are puzzling for various 
 reasons. They are worth mastering, however, 
 for all are in common use. 
 
 dyspepsia 
 
 righteous 
 
 sensible 
 
 paralyze 
 
 benefit 
 
 descendant 
 
 miracle visible 
 
 vertical vegetable 
 
 organization existence 
 hypocrisy schedule 
 beneficial fascinating 
 mucilage spherical 
 
 souvenir 
 
 apostrophe 
 
 liniment 
 
 acquire 
 
 dilapidated 
 
 descriptive
 
 198 
 
 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 ridiculous 
 
 physical 
 
 privilege duteous 
 
 fallacy 
 
 diphthong 
 
 separate parliament 
 
 barbarous 
 
 sovereign 
 
 millinery adjacent 
 
 simile 
 
 hypocrite 
 
 fictitious comical 
 
 repetition 
 
 partridge 
 
 miraculous lucrative 
 
 divisible 
 
 malady 
 
 mysterious comparative 
 
 mischievous architecture extraordinary
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 TROUBLESOME VERBS 
 
 Unquestionably the most troublesome part 
 of speech is the verb. To master it in all its 
 many forms calls for a good memory, a good 
 brain, and long, careful practice. Many never 
 do master it. Especially in our every-day talk 
 are we inclined to be careless. We forget which 
 of two forms is correct, or we do not stop to think. 
 We say shall when we mean will, and may when 
 we mean can; we use lay for lie, and would for 
 should; we commit dozens of errors which may be 
 pardonable in hurried conversation yet are hardly 
 to be overlooked in written work. The exercises 
 which follow are not interesting; some of them 
 are exceedingly difficult, though at first they may 
 seem simple. But they are worth mastering. 
 It takes courage and a willingness to endure dis- 
 agreeable things, to make a good writer, just as it 
 does to make a good athlete or a good scholar 
 or a good soldier. 
 
 199
 
 200 
 
 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 124 
 
 Study the following list of troublesome verbs till 
 you know them so thoroughly that if a 'principal part 
 of any one is given, you can without hesitation 
 supply the remaining parts. 
 
 Present 
 
 Past 
 
 Past Participle 
 
 awake 
 
 awoke 
 
 awaked 
 
 beat 
 
 beat 
 
 beaten 
 
 begin 
 
 began 
 
 begun 
 
 bite 
 
 bit 
 
 bitten 
 
 bid 
 
 bade or bid 
 
 bidden 
 
 break 
 
 broke 
 
 broken 
 
 bring 
 
 brought 
 
 brought 
 
 choose 
 
 chose 
 
 chosen 
 
 cling 
 
 clung 
 
 clung 
 
 do 
 
 did 
 
 done 
 
 drown 
 
 drowned 
 
 drowned 
 
 drink 
 
 drank 
 
 drunk 
 
 eat 
 
 ate 
 
 eaten 
 
 fling 
 
 flung 
 
 flung 
 
 flow 
 
 flowed 
 
 flowed 
 
 fly 
 
 flew 
 
 flown 
 
 forbid 
 
 forbade 
 
 forbidden 
 
 forget 
 
 forgot 
 
 forgotten 
 
 freeze 
 
 froze 
 
 frozen 
 
 go 
 
 went 
 
 gone
 
 TROL'BLESOMK VERBS 
 
 201 
 
 Prksent 
 lay 
 lead 
 lie 
 lie 
 
 loose 
 lose 
 run 
 see 
 set 
 
 shrink 
 sit 
 slay 
 sling 
 speak 
 steal 
 swear 
 swim 
 swing 
 throw 
 wake 
 wear 
 wring 
 write 
 
 Past P 
 
 AST PaKTICIPLI' 
 
 laid 
 
 laid 
 
 led 
 
 led 
 
 lav 
 
 lain 
 
 lied 
 
 lied 
 
 loosed 
 
 loosed 
 
 lost 
 
 lost 
 
 ran 
 
 run 
 
 saw 
 
 seen 
 
 set 
 
 set 
 
 shrank 
 
 shrunk 
 
 sat 
 
 sat 
 
 slew 
 
 slain 
 
 slung 
 
 slung 
 
 spoke 
 
 spoken 
 
 stole 
 
 stolen 
 
 swore 
 
 sworn 
 
 swam 
 
 swum 
 
 swung or swang 
 
 swung 
 
 threw 
 
 thrown 
 
 waked or woke 
 
 waked 
 
 wore 
 
 worn 
 
 wrung 
 
 wrung 
 
 wrote 
 
 written
 
 202 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 125 
 
 Without consulting the previous exercise, insert 
 verbs as indicated, using active forms unless 
 otherwise directed. 
 
 1. He said that they (pluperfect of awake). 2. Try 
 my remedy. It can't be (past participle of heat). 
 
 3. We (past of hegin) where they (pluperfect of begin). 
 
 4. If you (pluperfect passive of hite) by the dog, you 
 would not like it. 5. He (past of hid) James do as he 
 (pluperfect passive of hid). 6. Did you say that his 
 arm (past passive of hreak) ? 7.1 wish you (pluperfect of 
 hring) him along too. 8. I might have gone had I (past 
 participle of choose). 9. He (past of ding) to it that 
 he was right. 10. He (past of do) it. I saw him when 
 he (past of do) it. 11. Did you say that he (past of 
 drink) after all the rest (pluperfect of drink)? 12. The 
 servant (past of eat) after the others (pluperfect of eat). 
 
 13. Up he (past of fling) his cap and shouted for joy. 
 
 14. The bird flew in the same direction that the river 
 (past of flow). 15. After all the others (pluperfect of 
 flij), the old crow (past of fly) too. 16. He (past 
 of forhid) loud talking in the corridor, 17. The 
 boy (pluperfect of forget) all about it. 18. My fingers 
 
 present passive of freeze). 19. I wonder if the 
 pond (present passive of freeze) solidly. 20. It hap- 
 pened after they (pluperfect of go) for help. 21. He 
 (past of lay) the apple on the plate, and there it still 
 lies. 22. The log has lain for years just where it 
 (past passive of lay). 23. They (past of lead) the 
 way. 24. We (past of lie) for hours where you (pluper-
 
 TKonuj;soML<: nkrhs 203 
 
 feet of lie). 25. He (past of /a//) the mattress on the 
 ground and there we (past of lie). 26. If you take the 
 dog, I fear you (future of /o.sr) him. 27. It is easy 
 (infinitive of lose) the way. 28. Hy that time the boy 
 (pluperfect of run) away. 29. He (past of .sec) us when 
 we (past of do) it. 30. As he (past of sit) down he 
 (past of set) his hat on the table. 31. If you (pluper- 
 fect of set) the vase on the shelf, it would not have fallen. 
 
 32. The dog (pluperfect of shake) the life out of the rat. 
 
 33. We (past of shrink) from the undertaking just as 
 you (past of shrink) from it. 34. He said the garment 
 (pluperfect of shrink). 35. He (past of sit) down in the 
 chair that (past of set) in the corner. 36. His books 
 (past passive of sling) over his shoulder. 37. Not till 
 he (pluperfect of speak) did he consider it useless to try. 
 38. He knew that the steel bar (pluperfect of passive 
 steal). 39. I thought he (pluperfect of sivear) that it was 
 true. 40. After he (plujicrfect of sivim) the river, he 
 found himself exhausted. 41. If he (pluperfect of throw) 
 the ball to first, the run would not have counted. 42. You 
 (past of ivake) John, but Henry (past of awoke) of his 
 own accord. 43. I wish I (pluperfect of wear) a heavier 
 coat. 44. She (past progressive of wring) the clothes 
 when the bell (past of ring). 45. You may read what 
 you (perfect of write). 
 
 EXERCISE 126 
 The preceding exercise is designed to call at- 
 tention to mistakes arising through the use of one 
 form of a verb when another is needed; for ex- 
 ample, the past form for the past participle, as in 
 the sentence After he had ran a mile, he fell ex-
 
 204 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 hausted. Another class of mistakes is due to con- 
 fusing verbs that are similar in form but have dif- 
 ferent meanings. Note carefully the following: 
 
 awake awoke awaked 
 
 wake woke waked 
 
 The first of these verbs is intransitive, the 
 other transitive. It is therefore incorrect to 
 write John awoke Henry. The correct form is 
 John woke Henry. Mary awoke at six is correct; 
 Mary woke at six is incorrect. 
 
 flow flowed flowed 
 fly flew flown 
 
 Rivers flow; birds fly. It is therefore incorrect 
 to write The river has always flown by the mill. 
 
 lay laid laid 
 
 lie lay lain 
 
 lie lied lied 
 
 The first of the three is a transitiv,e verb mean- 
 ing to place or to put down; the second is an in- 
 transitive verb meaning to recline; the third 
 means to tell an untruth. As a rule the third 
 verb is used correctly, though it is easy to forget 
 that the participle is lying, not lieing. The 
 other two are frequently misused. We write It 
 hifd laid there for years, when we should write It 
 had lain there for years; and He lay the gloves
 
 'I'ROI lil.i:S().MK \ERBS 205 
 
 on the table, when we should write lie laid the 
 gloves on the table; and lie laid down to rest, 
 when he should write He lay down to rest. 
 
 loose loosed loosed 
 
 lose lost lost 
 
 The first of these means to unfasten or release; 
 the meaning of the second is well understood. 
 Did you loose your gloves? is wrong. The sen- 
 tence should be Did you lose your gloves? 
 
 ring rang or rung rung 
 
 wring wrung wrung 
 
 We ring a bell; we wring wet clothes. 
 
 sit sat sat 
 
 set set set 
 
 We sit in chairs; we set an object where we 
 wish it to be. Set down, won't you? is a sentence 
 containing a very common mistake. 
 
 EXERCISE 127 
 
 Complete the following sentences, using forms of 
 AWAKE and WAKE in the first g/oup, flow and 
 FLY in the second group, and so on. 
 
 1. I at six. When did you ? Did 
 
 you of your own arrord. or did you have some 
 
 one you? Had he when you knocked?
 
 206 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Who the others, yesterday morning? Please see 
 
 if father has ; if he has not, please him. 
 
 Emily too. 
 
 2. Where did the river formerly ? How long 
 
 has it in its present channel? If we say that the 
 
 brook fairly flew by the door, do we mean simply that 
 
 it by the door? Will the water that has 
 
 by the mill never return? John carelessly said that the 
 
 river over its banks last spring. Of course he 
 
 meant that it its banks last spring. 
 
 3. I think I will down for a few minutes. 
 
 Please the blankets out in the orchard where you 
 
 them yesterday. How often have I there 
 
 this summer ! Where is my book? I must have mis 
 
 it. Perhaps it on the library table. I think you 
 
 will find it there. If any one should call, do not 
 
 say that I am not at home; for that would be . 
 
 4. I am always things. This is the third 
 
 thimble I have lost within a year. How much time 
 
 one while hunting for lost things ! Do you ever 
 
 things? things is one of my worst failings. 
 
 By the way, isn't this nut a little ? Please get 
 
 a wrench and tighten it. But do not get it too tight; 
 it should be a httle . 
 
 5. the bell would mean twisting it; the 
 
 hands would mean making them give forth the sound of 
 
 a bell. Was not John wet when they pulled him 
 
 out of the stream ! His cries for help have been 
 
 in my ears all day. How it did his mother's heart 
 
 to see him struggling in the water! Well, get his clothes 
 and we will run them through the . 
 
 6. He has set his heart on getting the prize, and has 
 up night after night to study. Do down
 
 TR()('BLKSr).MK \'I:RHS 207 
 
 anil let mo tell }ou iil)Out it. your hat on the 
 
 table. You wi.sh ii fan? still and let ine get 
 
 one. 1 ought not to be here using one myself 
 
 without offering you one too. Will you excuse me a 
 
 minute? Just before you came into the room, 
 
 I something on the stove. I'm afraid there will 
 
 be trouble if it there much longer. What a hard 
 
 cold you have! T mistrust you caught it by on 
 
 the grass yesterday while John was out the 
 
 shrubs. 
 
 WAS WERE 
 
 The person who writes John and Mary ivas 
 present, or I thought you said that John ivere 
 the only one present, does so through carelessness. 
 He knows better, of course. In writing con- 
 ditional sentences, however, mistakes arise not 
 only through carelessness, but through misunder- 
 standing what is correct usage. 
 
 There are two kinds of conditional sentences: 
 first, the pure, simple conditional; second, the 
 conditional which contains the idea of uncertainty, 
 doubt, or a state of affairs that is simply imagined 
 but does not really exist. For example, in the 
 sentence If John is in town he will come, the 
 writer does not express certainty or uncertainty, 
 doubt or belief, in regard to John's being in town. 
 Nor does he "make believe" that John is in 
 town. He simply affirms that if John is in town, 
 he will come. The sentence therefore contains
 
 208 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 a simple or pure condition. But had the sen- 
 tence been If John were in town, he would come, 
 the idea would be that John is not in town. The 
 sentence tells merely what would have happened 
 if something were true which is not true. The 
 condition is not, therefore, a simple one; it is a 
 condition "contrary to fact." 
 
 In all sentences where the condition is not 
 simple but contains the idea of uncertainty or 
 supposition, were is used with all three persons, 
 in the singular as well as the plural. Thus we 
 have 
 
 if I were if we were 
 
 if you were if you were 
 
 if he were if they were 
 
 EXERCISE 128 
 
 Complete the following sentences hy inserting 
 WERE and WAS, in each case giving a reason for 
 your choice. 
 
 1. If I you, I would tell everything. 2. 
 
 I sure of it, I would say so. 3. Oh I where I 
 
 would be! 4. If he   with you, why did he not 
 
 tell you his troubles? 5. If I wrong, you should 
 
 have told me. 6. he king, I would not obey him. 
 
 7. If he industrious, I shall reward him. 8. If 
 
 he industrious, I should overlook his failures. 
 
 9. If the work done, we could play. 10. He
 
 TROUBLESOME \ERIiS 209 
 
 speaks as if he in earnest. 11. Tf ho 
 
 generous, he would not treat them so. 12. Suppose you 
 — given the money, what could you do? ]'.\. Speak 
 
 as if you confident. II. If he cho.sen, he 
 
 could not do the work. 15. If he disappointed, 
 
 he has kept quiet about it. 16. I wish I as happy 
 
 as you. 17. They consulted the barometer to see if it 
 
 going to rain. 18. The squirrels are scampering 
 
 about as if autumn all too short. 19. To him 
 
 the little light seemed as if it a comforting friend. 
 
 20. The hailstones rattled against the windows as if some 
 
 one throwing pebbles. 21. While making a 
 
 humorous remark he preserved a stern expre.ssion as if 
 
 what he saying the most serious thing 
 
 imaginable. 
 
 MAY CAN 
 
 Can denotes ability. When a boy says I can 
 do it, he means that he is able to do it. When 
 he asks Cari I do it? he asks your opinion in 
 regard to his ability to do something. May some- 
 times denotes a wish, as in the sentence May 
 you live long and may you prosper; and some- 
 times possibility in contrast to definite assertion, 
 as in the sentence I think he may be in the garden, 
 but I do not know for certain. Its most common 
 use, however, and the one which leads to con- 
 fusion between ca)i and 7nay, is to denote per- 
 mission. May I do it? means Will you permit 
 me to do it?
 
 210 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 Can, then, denotes ability to do a thing; may 
 denotes permission to do a thing: that is the dis- 
 tinction to remember. 
 
 EXERCISE 129 
 
 Insert can and may where they are needed in the 
 following sentences. 
 
 1. Father says I take the boat. 2. He says I 
 
 sail it better than he. 3. a dog cHmb a 
 
 tree? 4, we have some too? 5. I go 
 
 with the rest. 6. I have it? 7. You say 
 
 that I did it. I give you permission to say so. 8. 
 
 it be true that the book was returned? 9. I ask 
 
 a favor? 10. we have the pleasure of your com- 
 pany to dinner? 
 
 Explain the change in meaning according as 
 may or can is used in the following sentences. 
 
 1. I assist you? 2. I ride the bicycle? 
 
 3. you go with us? 4. he talk French? 
 
 5. they not see more than we? 6. He says you 
 
 do it. 7. You go now. 8. I de- 
 pend on you? 9. I say that he is honest. 
 
 10. you say that he will do it? 11. thou 
 
 bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or loose the bands of 
 OrioQ? 
 
 SHALL WILL 
 
 Shall and will are exceedingly troublesome be- 
 cause each performs a double duty, sometimes
 
 tRori'.Li:s(».Mi: \i.ui',i^ l>ii 
 
 expressing ;i simplo future anf] snmotimes what is 
 called volition. \'olition is an act of the will. 
 When we say that we are determined to do a cer- 
 tain thing, we express volition; so too when we 
 agree to do it, or express willingness to do it. 
 Unless this distinction between futurity and 
 volition is clearly understood, it is useless to 
 learn the following rules, which after all do not 
 cover all possible cases, though they go a long 
 way towards preventing the more common 
 mistakes. 
 
 I. To express a simple future, use shall with the 
 first person, will with the second and the third. 
 
 I shall go we shall go 
 
 you will go you will go 
 
 he will go he will go 
 
 II. To express volition, use will with the first 
 person, shall with the secotid and the third. 
 
 I will go We will go 
 
 you shall go you shall go 
 
 he shall go they shall go 
 
 III. In a question use shall with the first person; 
 with the second and third persons use shall when 
 shall is expected in the answer, will when will 
 is expected in the answer. 
 
 These rules seem simple, but they are often
 
 212 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 difficult to apply; for sometimes it requires no 
 little thought to determine with nicety whether 
 we wish to express volition or a simple future. 
 Perhaps it will be well to study a few illustrative 
 sentences. 
 
 / shall he sixteen to-morrow. (Pure future) 
 The speaker here states what is bound to happen 
 regardless of his will. 
 
 I will go with you. (Volition) 
 In this sentence the speaker means that he 
 agrees to go, or that he is determined to go. In 
 either case, there is an expression of the will. 
 Had he wished to express a simple future without 
 any idea of determination or willingness, the 
 sentence would have been I shall go with you. 
 
 You will he surprised, I think. (Pure future) 
 The speaker does not mean that he is determined 
 that you shall be surprised, nor that he is willing 
 to have you surprised, but that he believes the 
 surprise is certain. The word will describes 
 the person spoken to, of course, not the person 
 speaking. 
 
 You shall he surprised. (Volition) 
 Here the speaker shows determination. The 
 surprise shall come, if he can possibly bring it 
 about, regardless of the wishes of the person 
 addressed. 
 
 John will find me at home. (Pure future)
 
 'JKOL"l',I>i:S().MI': VERBS 213 
 
 John shall find me at home. (Volition) 
 In the first of these two sentences the speaker, 
 presumably knowing that he is to be at home and 
 that John is sure to come, feels that he can with 
 assurance make the statement that John will 
 find him — cannot help find him. In the second, 
 he promises to be at home when John calls, or 
 expresses a determination that John shall find 
 him. He wills that it shall be so; in other 
 words, he exercises volition. 
 
 Shall you go to the game? (Pure future) 
 Will you go to the game? (Volition) 
 The first is an inquiry, pure and simple. It 
 expects an answer containing the word shall. 
 The second is a petition and means Will you agree 
 to go to the game? It expects an answer con- 
 taining the word will or its equivalent, or possibly 
 the word cannot. 
 
 EXERCISE 130 
 
 Show that each of the following sentences may 
 have two or more meanings according as shall 
 or WILL is used. 
 
 1. I come. 2. I preserve order. 
 
 3. he be invited? 4. You pay for it. 
 
 5. If you work you be rewarded. 6. you 
 
 try for the position? 7. What Mrs. Grundy say? 
 
 8. such things be permitted? 9. You see
 
 214 ENGLISH COMPOSiriON 
 
 strange sights. 10. We start Wednesday. U. 
 
 None but the bravest win her. 12. The heavens 
 
 reveal his iniquity, and the earth rise up 
 
 against him. 
 
 Explain the meaning of each of the following 
 
 sentences. 
 
 1. I shall meet father at eight. 2. He will be on time. 
 3. Shall Kate go too? 4. Will you take me along? 
 5. They shall see what I can do. 6. I will hurry along. 
 7. I shall get out of breath, though. 8. You will pardon 
 me, I am sure. 9. Thou shalt not steal. 10. Nay, 
 thou wilt not steal. 11. I will not have thee die. 12. I 
 shall not look upon his like again. 
 
 Insert the proper words. 
 
 1. We be pleased to see you Thursday. 2. When 
 
 . you come? Make me a definite promise. 3. 
 
 there be time to do it? 4. we invite him too? 
 
 Would it be right? 5. I have completed the task 
 
 by Friday. 6. How dark it grows! We surely 
 
 get wet. 7. We need umbrellas, I think. 8. We 
 
 surely capsize. 9. You surely capsize. 
 
 10. They surely capsize. 11. When I 
 
 call for you? 12. I am determined that they do 
 
 it. 13. we win, do you think? 14. we 
 
 be given a holiday if we are good? 15. Some day he 
 
 realize what he has done. 16. we be 
 
 believed, if we tell such a story? 17. We hear it 
 
 all, then return to you. 18. I get it for you. 
 
 19. I think I — be back by eight. 20. I think he 
 
 be back by eight. 21. "How," he asked, " 
 
 we decide the question?"
 
 TROUBLESO.MK \KRHS 215 
 
 SHOULD UOri.l) 
 
 Should sometimes means oiajht, as in tin* sen- 
 tence Fathers should l)e polite to their sons. 
 Would sometimes means accustomed action, as 
 in the sentence Whenever the bell ranij, the do" 
 would bark. But should and would are also used 
 somewhat like shcdl and will, should being the 
 shall word, and would the will word. Broadly 
 speaking, it may be said that the same rules 
 govern both sets of words. Fortunately con- 
 fusion seldom occurs except in one or two cases, 
 and perhaps most often in sentences where should 
 and would are used with the first person, the 
 temptation being to use would where should is the 
 proper form. The following rule covers most 
 cases. 
 
 Use WOULD with the first person to express voli- 
 tion; use SHOULD with the first person in all other 
 cases. 
 
 EXERCISE 131 
 
 Keeping the above rule in mind, defend the use 
 of SHOULD in the following sentences. 
 
 1. If he were to come, we should be surprised. 2. I 
 knew we should not fail. 3. If ho wore to succeed, we 
 should be greatly pleased. 4. Had 1 known where you 
 were, I should not have worried. 5. I should be pleased 
 to know why he did not come. 6. Had we been treated
 
 216 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 kindly, we too should have been pleased. 7. Had I 
 been you, I fear I should have perished. 8. If you were 
 to go, I should think you imprudent. 9. If it should rain, 
 would you care to go? 10. If I were to see a bear, I 
 should tremble with fear. 
 
 Complete the following sentences by supplying 
 SHOULD and would as you think they are needed. 
 
 1. He was determined thatl see him. 2. I 
 
 like to know who that man is. 3. I thought I 
 
 not like rowing, but I do like it. 4. I was afraid I 
 
 be late. 5. Even if I missed the train, I be able 
 
 to walk home. 6. If it were to offend him, I 
 
 never forgive myself. 7. What we do if the 
 
 water supply were to fail? 8. We be delighted 
 
 to have you come. 9. If you fail, how sorry I 
 
   — be. 10. I prefer to have you go in my 
 
 place. 11. Had we started a minute sooner, we 
 
 have caught it. 12. Were I to fail, I be dis- 
 couraged. 13. He said we do as we pleased. 
 
 14. I think you would try again. 15. At this 
 
 point we like to ask a question. 16. I said that 
 
 I be sixteen to-morrow. 17. You be 
 
 surprised to see how he has grown. IS. If you were to 
 
 come after six, you find me at home. 19. If we 
 
 were to start now, do you think we be in time? 
 
 20. If it rain, we feel like going? 21. She 
 
 was sure every minute that siie be thrown off 
 
 and hurt. 22. I as lief do one thing as the other. 
 
 23. Where I go. 24. If you call me by 
 
 my real name, you oblige me.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 CORRECTING PROOF 
 
 SooNEK or later nearly every one has occasion to 
 get something printed. It may not be a book, 
 perhaps nothing more than a pamphlet, a cir- 
 cular, or a plain advertisemrnt; yet it is seldom 
 possible to escape the printer altogether. When 
 " copy" has been " set up" and an " impression" 
 taken, the printer sends to the writer "proof- 
 sheets"; for there may have been errors in the 
 manuscript given to the compositor, and still 
 other errors may have crept in during typesetting. 
 Then comes proof-reading. 
 
 Every one should know how to correct proof. 
 But to do this easily one must first learn to use 
 certain symbols, a kind of sign-language cm- 
 ployed by printers. Usually it takes two marks 
 or signs to indicate a desired correction, one in 
 the printed matter to point out where the change 
 is to be made, and one in the broad margin always 
 found in proof-sheets to tell the printer what 
 
 217
 
 218 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 change to make. The most important of these 
 signs are the following: 
 
 ^ Insert at this pnint. That which is to be 
 inserted is placed in the margin. If a 
 letter, a word, or a punctuation-mark is 
 wrong, a line is drawn through it, and the 
 right letter, word, or punctuation-mark is 
 placed in the margin. 
 
 (^ Insert or substitute a period at the point indi- 
 cated. 
 
 \^^ Insert an apostrophe. 
 
 \^ \^ Insert quotation-marks. 
 
 » Insert a hyphen. 
 
 sfj= Make a space at the point indicated. 
 
 O Join. 
 
 S- Take out. A line is drawn through whatever 
 is to be removed. 
 
 * . c . Change from capital to small letter. The small 
 letters are kept in the compositor's lower 
 case. 
 
 dOyfy. Change to capital. 
 
 -*^^^- Change to italics. 
 
 ^^^^*y^. CJiange to roman type. In preparing copy for 
 the printer the writer imderlines once words 
 to be put in italics, twice words to be put 
 in small capitals, thuee times words to be 
 put in large capitals.
 
 C'ORRKfniXC TRooF 219 
 
 tu-.-i. "'""".'//""/■ IJiiil is, the letter thr()iji;li which 
 ^ a line is (hawn is not of the proi)er size or 
 
 yLyle. 
 X Dejcciivc inpr. 
 9 Letter upside doim. 
 ^ Transpose. The words or letters whirh 
 should change places are hnl<(>d by 
 
 <5r Begin a new parayraph licrr. When the break 
 occurs in a hne, the dividing point is indi- 
 cated by an \ 
 
 TtjcT ^ No paragraph here. 
 
 ,4^trt. Restore. If llie i)roof-reader makes a change 
 which afterwards he finds unnecessary, he 
 places a row of dots underneath his blunder, 
 and writes stet. in the margin. 
 
 Qu. Is this right ? These two symbols are used 
 ^ principally by the printer to call the writer's 
 
 . attention to something wrong which he 
 
 thinks may have escaped attention. 
 
 The main thing in correcting proof is to make 
 the printer understand what is wanted. It is 
 better to write out corrections in full, if bv so 
 doing the desired change can be more clearly 
 indicated. Where several corrections occur in 
 the same line, they should be separated by an 
 obUque / line. Just how this is done, and how 
 the various symbols are employed, will be seen 
 in the following exercise.
 
 220 ENGLISH COMPOSITION 
 
 EXERCISE 132 
 
 Explain the meaning of the symbols found in this 
 specimen proof-sheet. 
 
 Ca^jLt../ The three spinsters. 
 
 .-<fc c./ T here was once a girl who was lazy and would 
 
 yz^yru / ^ sp^'w and her mother could not persuade her 
 
 ', / to do it. do what she would. At last the mother 
 
 became angry and out of pat/lience, and gave ^ 
 £.c./ her a good ^eating, so that she cried out loudly. 
 fl^ cfj-/ f At that moment the ^ueen was going by< ^s caji./ qJco^.I 
 y she heard the crying she stopped and, goin^into :^ ' 
 
 the house, she asked the mother why she was 
 O beating her dauglOer so that everyone outside 
 
 in the street could hear her criei.l The woman '7/ 
 was ashamed to tell of her daughters laziness, ^y/ 
 ;/ ^'f so she said I cannot stop her from spinning. 
 A' 9/ She is for/ever at y^t, and I am poor andean' «/ 
 not furnish her with flax enough." 
 
 Then f answered ] the Queerk "I like nothing ^./ 
 .^yCa^K./ better the sound of the spinning wheel; let 
 
 me take your daughter with me to castle 1 have '^^^^/^./ 
 ,1 plenty of flaxy she shall spin there to her heart's • / 
 
 content." 
 
 The mcth.er was cnly 1-erglad of the offer, and Z^/ 
 the Queeji tcck the girl with her. Wh^^the 
 Queen. sKowed her three rooms which,j>«5fe filled 
 ^/«r,//witX the fines^flax as full as thep-tSould hold. 
 
 / "Now yoU;C^*-spin me^tnis flax," said she,. ?)w i '>f- 
 '/ .and when you can show it me all done you shall / 
 
 w nave my eldest son for bridegroom. You may 
 ylf be pool, but I make nothiii g of that. Your i 
 industry is dowry enough." 
 
 Grimm, Brothers. .ot:aj^/ 
 
 ■// 
 
 Mi^/ 
 
 XJu<^ ruju-'.^i^ .^6^ CA»Z^ /
 
 CORRECTING i'ROOl" 221 
 
 EXERCISE 133 
 
 Point out the errors in the jolloivimj ynutilated 
 extract from Irving\s Legend 0/ Sleepy Hollow, and 
 explain to the class what symbols you would use 
 in telling the printer to correct these errors. 
 
 Poor rip was atlast reduced almost to despair; 
 and his only alternative, to escape the labor of the 
 farm and the clamor of his wife, was to take in 
 hand his gun and stroll away in to the woods. 
 Here he would sometimes seat himself at the foot 
 of a tree, and share the contents of his wallet with 
 Wolfe, with whom he sympathized as a fellow- 
 sufferer in persecution. 
 
 " Poor Wolf," he would say thy mistres leads 
 thee a dogs life of it But never mind my lad, 
 whilst I live live thou shalst never want a friend 
 to stand by thee!" 
 
 Wolf would wag his tail, look wistfully in his 
 masters face; And if dogs can feel pity, I verily 
 beleave he reciprocated the sentiment with all 
 his heart. 
 
 EXERCISE 134 
 
 The following anecdote is taken from The 
 Youth^s Companion. But many changes have 
 been made. Here and there a word has been 
 misspelled or omitted. Puuctuatiun-murks have
 
 222 ENGLISH COMPOSITIOxN' 
 
 been removed or otherwise tampered with. The 
 conversation has been printed solidly; that is, 
 each remark no longer appears as a separate para- 
 graph. In the original, the word Tribune is, very 
 properly, printed in italics; here it is in romans. 
 How would you indicate hy means of printer'' s 
 symbols the changes that should be made to restore 
 this anecdote to its original form? How would 
 you indicate that at its head should stand in large 
 capitals the title He paid his debt promptly ? 
 
 A train was just starting to leave suburban station says 
 the New York Tribune when an olderly man rushed acrost 
 the platform and jumped on one of slowly moving cars 
 the rear end brakeman who was standing by reached up 
 just as the the man got abroad grabbed his coat tails and 
 pulled him off there he said sternly I have saved your life ! 
 dont ever try to board a train that way again Thank 
 you said the old man calmly thank you for your thought- 
 ful kindness it is three hours till the next trane isent it 
 three hours and a quarter said the breakman But it 
 is better to wait that length of time then be killed. The 
 long train, mean while had been slowly gliding by slowly 
 gathering Spead. Finaly the {ast car apeared. This 
 was the brakeman 's car the one for which he had been 
 waiting and with the easy grace borne of long practice he 
 started to step magestcly on it. But the old gentleman 
 siezed him by the coat and with a strong jerk pulled him 
 back and held him until it was too. One good turn 
 deserves another said the old gentleman with a smile, 
 you saved my life I have saved yours now we arequits.
 
 ( ()i{pvi;("i i.\<; I 'i{( )()!•' 223 
 
 EXERCISE 135 
 
 Ccypy as carelessly as you please any ten-line 
 anecdote from the Youth's CoiMPanion or some 
 other periodical, then indicate by means of printer^s 
 symbols what corrections should be made to restore 
 it to its original form.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Alhnmhrn, extrart from. ir>l 
 Appositioiial nlirases, 122- 123 
 Argument, 49-57 
 
 Befnrr mul after, pupil's theme, 
 
 100-101 
 Bunsbi/, extract from Dombcy 
 
 and Son, 47 
 
 Child Handel, illustration, 12 
 Clauses: picking out, 117-llH; 
 substituting phrases for, 120- 
 124; dependent used a.s inde- 
 pendent, 131-2 
 Coherence: rearrangement of 
 elements, 144 147; unat- 
 tached participial phrases, 
 147-148; pronouns without 
 clearly defined antecedents, 
 148-150; words otnitted. 1;'0- 
 152; unnecessary words, 152- 
 153; introductory and con- 
 necting words, 154-1()2 
 Connectives, 154-ir)2 
 Contrast and comparison. 09- 104 
 Conversation, 133-i;U, 179-181 
 Correcting Proof, 217-223 
 
 Debate. 49-57 
 
 Dependent elements wront'ly 
 
 used as independent, 131-2 
 Description, 3()-48 
 Dining-room, architect's drawing 
 
 of, 40 
 
 Exriling contest, pupil's theme, 
 
 20 
 Exposition, 22-.35 
 
 Franklin's birthplace, illustration, 
 38 
 
 How to pitch a tent, extract, 32- 
 34 
 
 Incident of the French camp, 9-10 
 Indirect and direct discourse, 
 
 1.33 134 
 Infinitive constructions, 121-4 
 
 141 143 
 Introductory words, 154-162 
 
 iM-st muster, illustration. 98 
 Letter- writinc:: parts of a 
 complete letter. .")8-()9; speci- 
 men letters, 70-81; tasks in 
 letter MTiting, 80-88 
 
 May and can, 209-210 
 MiscEi.i.ANEors exercises in 
 composition, 99-110 
 
 A'«(7«. 29-31 
 Narration, 3-21 
 
 Participial phrases, 121-124, 
 
 141 14.3. 147-14S 
 Pronouns. 148-1.50 
 Proof-correcting, 217-223 
 
 225
 
 226 
 
 iNDE>^ 
 
 Punctuation: general advice, 
 164; series, 164-165; paren- 
 thetical expressions, 166-lb8; 
 non-restrictive clauses, 168- 
 170; sentences beginning with 
 subordinate elements, 170- 
 172; comma before a conjunc- 
 tion, 172-174; semicolon 
 174-6; enumerations, 176-8 
 quoted passages, 179-181 
 apostrophe, 181; miscellane- 
 ous exercises, 181-187 
 
 Repetition, unpleasant, 134-6 
 
 Reproduction, 3-12 
 
 Rydal Water, illustration, 45 
 
 Sad little lass, 8 
 
 School compositions to criticise, 
 
 14, 20 
 Seeing the dog swim, pupil's 
 
 theme, 14 
 Sentence Analysis, 113-118 
 Shall and will, 210-214 
 Should and would, 215-216 
 Snow-bound, illustration, 102 
 Song of the lark, illustration, 46 
 Spelling, 188-198 
 Stoby-telling, 89-98 
 
 Spbstitution and Combina- 
 tion, 119-136 
 
 Tales of a grandfather, extract 
 
 from, 161-2 
 Trossachs, description of, 44 
 Troublesome V'erbs, 199-216 
 
 Unity: subordinating minor 
 statements, 122-126; combin- 
 ing sentences closely related, 
 125-127; breaking up sen- 
 tences loosely constructed, 
 127-131; unity in person, 
 member, and gender, 137-139; 
 unity in tense and mode, 139- 
 140; coordinate conjunctions 
 wrongly used, 140-141; faulty 
 participial and infinitive con- 
 structions, 141-143 
 
 Untraveled road, illustration, 103 
 
 Visit, The, illustration, 110 
 Verbs, troublesome, 199-216 
 
 Was and were, 207-209 
 IFe//— pupil's theme, 106-107 
 Words omitted or intruded, 150- 
 153
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 S\l ^sl''' 
 
 
 7pt .^ 
 
 fg^^-^ 
 
 1 193:1 
 
 
 4 ii. C E 
 
 LOPN 
 
 OCT 3 
 
 A.M. 
 
 7IB|9!.10111112 
 
 I V E D 
 
 DESK 
 
 P.M. 
 
 H 91 3141 516 
 
 Form L9-25(rt-9,'47(A5618)444 
 
 -.'v?-^ LIBRARY 
 ,r-.^-"^•v^^^TY OF CALIFORNU
 
 3 1158 00864 6571