I 
 
GOOD ENGLISH 
 
j^^y^ 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO • DALLAS 
 ATLANTA • SAN FRANCISCO 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., Limited 
 
 LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. 
 
 TORONTO 
 
GQDD ENGLISH 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY SEIDEL CANBY 
 
 ^ AND 
 
 JOHN BAKEI\OPDYCKE 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS BY 
 
 MAUDANDMISK^ PETERgHAM 
 
 THE MA.CMILLAN COMPANY, PUBUSHEI^ 
 NEV YOI^ MCMXX 
 
// 
 
 COPTBIGHT, 1918, 
 
 bt the macmillan company. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published May, 1918, 
 
 NortnooD ^xt»9 
 
 J. 8. Cashing Co. — Berwick A Smith Co. 
 
 Norwood, Maaa., U.S.A. 
 
C 2 ^ 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Although there has been a deluge of writing upon good 
 EngUsh, the theory of composition in our language has 
 been little changed since the days of those good old rhetorics 
 of the later nineteenth century that every textbook maker 
 mentions by way of honorable reference in his preface. But 
 the practice of teaching written and oral English has altered, 
 and is altering, with startling rapidity ; and this is the suffi- 
 cient excuse for another book in the field of elementary in- 
 struction. Rhetoric in the ^nineties was discipline plus in- 
 struction; rhetoric today is instruction plus stimulation. 
 We are thinking less of rules and more of writing and speak- <t^ 
 ing; we are working less among abstract principles drawn 
 from masterpieces, and more in the laboratory of" actual 
 experience where each and all are busy with experiments 
 leading toward a prose that may unlock the lips and speed 
 the pen. For such an endeavor a textbook cannot be too 
 fresh and apposite, or too closely related to the moving 
 thought and emotion of the time. 
 
 Not a book of the scores of manuals upon English that 
 have been pubHshed since this new view of rhetoric began, 
 but will show somewhere, somehow, a response to the call 
 of the new generation for bread instead of stones. Praise 
 is due them. Yet the older masters were not so graceless 
 as our moderns seem to believe. They grasped some essen- 
 tials of practical teaching that this adventurous age is prone 
 
 459884 
 
VI PREFACE 
 
 to forget. The books they wrote may have been weighted 
 with abstractions ; at least they pubhshed no inchoate 
 encyclopedias of miscellaneous experiment. They were 
 aware that there are principles underlying expression ; they 
 knew that a book on composition, like a book on chemistry 
 or the theory of sin, must have a beginning, a middle, and an 
 end. This they never forget ; and their students were never 
 allowed to forget it as they read. 
 
 Is it possible to make a book upon composition that gets 
 somewhere definitely; that is organized — and yet experi- 
 mental in its method, informal in its treatment, and related 
 to English as it is written or spoken rather than to rhetoric 
 as the doctrinaire has devised it in his brain ? It is not only 
 possible, it is necessary, if, from our teaching of English, we 
 are to get results. 
 
 This textbook on Good English is offered as a labor in 
 this very field. It is offered to those who believe with the 
 authors that the teaching of composition may be as informal, 
 as flexible, as vital as the living speech itself, and yet never 
 lose sight of a harmonious development and a definite goal. 
 
 The plan of the book speaks for itself in the table of con- 
 tents. We have chosen our categories, not in medieval 
 fashion from the logical abstractions of the subject, but 
 from the real needs of the youth of from twelve to fifteen. 
 Unity, Coherence, and Emphasis, or the Composition, the 
 Paragraph, the Sentence, — these are not the handles by 
 which a boy would grasp expression and subdue it to his use. 
 We have chosen a more sympathetic classification. And 
 once this change is made, the rest is easy. To be clear, one 
 must be coherent, one must write good paragraphs; to be 
 interesting, one must use right words ; to be convincing, one 
 must be emphatic ; and thus the fundamental principles 
 and divisions of rhetoric come in when they are needed, and 
 
PREFACE VU 
 
 are no longer rules merely, to be learned and quickly for- 
 gotten. 
 
 Again, Narration, Exposition, Argument, Description, — 
 these are the ''forms of discourse." But who sets out to 
 write Narration or Exposition at the age of fifteen, unless 
 commanded ! It is stories we write, or letters, or essays on 
 this or that. And in such a fashion is this book arranged. 
 Letters come first in each chapter, because it is usually in 
 the writing of a letter that the need for good expression is 
 first brought home to the youth. A letter is something that 
 needs to be done, not an exercise merely for practice under 
 command. He feels his deficiencies more sharply then; 
 sees most clearly what full expression may demand of him. 
 Indeed, it is one task to teach sentence structure or para- 
 graph development for its own sake ; it is another, and a far 
 easier one, to teach them to pupils who have wrestled with 
 business letters or explanations, and failed in clearness 
 because these useful tools of composition were not adequately 
 controlled. • 
 
 And finally, we have not been so oblivious of psychology 
 as to forget that in every process of writing and speaking, 
 preparation comes first and expression afterward. Some- 
 times it is not possible, or practicable, to separate them in 
 teaching; but, whenever expedient, the lessons that follow 
 are constructed with a view to the natural progression from 
 a kindhng mind to the written or spoken word. 
 
 Such is the idea and such the plan of the book; and its 
 text falls easily and naturally into lessons with accompany- 
 ing sets of exercises. To have made, however, all the les- 
 sons exactly identical in length and difficulty would have 
 led to a confusion of that very sense of unified development 
 for which we have striven. Some lessons must be harder 
 than others because some subjects cannot be divided for 
 
Vlll PREFACE 
 
 treatment without evident loss. Some lessons will take 
 longer for the class as a whole to master, just as any lesson 
 will be more difficult for a few pupils in each group than for 
 the rest. It is not possible to lift the responsibility for ad- 
 justing subject matter to capability from the shoulders of 
 the teacher, where it belongs; but the division scheme of 
 this book will make the task easy and profitable. 
 
 The aids to expression — grammar, punctuation, capitali- 
 zation, spelling — which are not composition, and yet must 
 be mastered before or beside it, have been given due weight 
 in this text. Sometimes they are inseparable from an ex- 
 planation of how to write — as with punctuation in letter 
 writing or common errors in the revision of written work — 
 and then they will be found in the lessons where they belong. 
 But often it is for reference chiefly that the student will 
 need them ; and therefore these appendices, brief but com- 
 prehensive, have been placed together conveniently at the 
 end of the book. 
 
 The Elements of Composition, by the same authors, where 
 the art and practice of writing are set forth for students 
 more mature in years and experience, will prove a good 
 companion to this volume. The two books have one ideal 
 in common: clear and interested thinking, accurate and 
 expressive writing, true and vigorous speaking for the next 
 generation in America. 
 
 The selections from James T. Fields, John G. Saxe, and 
 Ehzabeth Stuart Phelps are used by permission of, and by 
 special arrangement with, the Houghton, Mifflin Company, 
 the authorized publishers; the Lincoln letters are quoted 
 by permission of the Century Company ; and the Stevenson 
 letter by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons. The 
 authors are also under obligation to the following for their 
 generous response to requests for permission to use illus- 
 
PREFACE IX 
 
 trative material: The Boy Scouts of America, The Camp 
 Fire Girls, Mr. Edgar A. Guest, Mr. John A. Moroso, the 
 editor of School News, the editor of American Educa- 
 tion, American Book Company, Funk and Wagnalls Com- 
 pany, Doubleday, Page- and Company, Russell Sage 
 Foundation, Reilly-Britton Company, Macmillan Company, 
 and the New York State Board of Regents. 
 
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 
 
 A GOOD textbook should not be a machine; it should 
 have the flexibility and power of adjustment of life itself. 
 It should be usable in one fashion for a class of backward 
 students and in still another for a group varied in ability; 
 it should cap the needs of the boy whose English comes by 
 descent and yet be valuable for the son of an immigrant. 
 Specific, mechanical directions designed to encourage the 
 teaching of the same paragraphs and the same exercises at 
 the same time and in the same sequence for every student, 
 everywhere, are not only impertinent, they attack the very 
 principle of good teaching of English. It is not only me- 
 chanics that we would teach, but the power of the individual 
 to express himself. 
 
 General directions, however, are possible and may be of 
 real service. The wise teacher begins a course in English 
 by searching the minds, the capabilities, and the deficien- 
 cies of the class. For such a purpose. Chapter V of this 
 book will prove to be invaluable. Test the class at the 
 beginning with portions of this chapter. Test them again 
 more rigidly at the end of the course. Let them discover 
 for themselves what they have learned and where their 
 education in English is still incomplete. 
 
 Once you know your class, it is possible to determine the 
 length of lesson and the character of exercise best adapted 
 to their needs. This done, the book lies before you. It 
 
 xi 
 
Xll HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 
 
 has been planned with the principle of selection ever in view. 
 The teacher who knows her class will find, not one exercise 
 that must be forced upon every mind, but many, from which 
 she may select those that fit. She will find, not a cut-and- 
 dried progression of subjects, but an arrangement thoroughly 
 sound and workable, yet capable of changes in sequence to 
 fit special needs. She will find, not sliced sections each of 
 which must constitute a day's work, but lessons which em- 
 brace topics and may be divided according to the rate of 
 progress she desires and the class can compass. And the 
 authors have spared no pains to make these lessons rich in 
 illustrations and in exercises, because they feel that what the 
 teacher wants (and should want) most of all from a text- 
 book is good material, clearly arranged, from which she can 
 select. 
 
 The brief introductions are quite as much for the teacher 
 as the pupil. They are intended to serve as guideposts, 
 pointing the way along a logical development of thought. 
 The poetry is for reading rather than careful study and 
 analysis. Few exercises are based upon it, but it will be 
 no less useful for this. Let the pupil feel that some writing, 
 at least, is done for the joy of it, not merely to illustrate 
 the theories of good Enghsh. 
 
 The instruction in this book, with certain definite ex- 
 ceptions, is for both oral and written work. Letter-writing, 
 of course, must be chiefly written, debating, chiefly oral. 
 But in the planning of sentences, paragraphs, compositions 
 in general, the tongue is as much concerned as the pen. 
 Therefore, in the majority of the following lessons, the pupil 
 is taught to feel that he must know how to torite his thoughts, 
 with due consideration of spelling, punctuation, and ar- 
 rangement of parts ; and also how to speak his thoughts, with 
 all that this involves as to enunciation, pronunciation, and 
 
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK xiil 
 
 voice control. To separate oral and written composition, 
 except in certain special fields and for certain definite pui' 
 poses, is a dangerous expedient. 
 
 The appendix is for reference. It is not to be taught by 
 lessons. Teach it inductively, when its material is really 
 needed for work being done elsewhere, or to make clear the 
 many doubtful points in the customs of writing that will 
 always trouble the beginner. 
 
 In sum, let your own personality and your own best 
 methods work through and with this book; let the needs 
 of your class determine the how and the what and the where 
 and the why in using it. If you do this heartily, you will 
 find its abundance, its logical development, and its careful 
 division into topic lessons helpful in the great problem of 
 teaching many minds good English. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PAGX 
 
 Chapter I. On Writing and Speaking . . . . 1 
 
 Chapter II. How to Be Interesting .... 6 
 Introduction — Lesson 1, Friendly Letters — Lesson 2, 
 Form in Friendly Letters — Lesson 3, Punctuation and 
 Placement of Letter Parts — Lesson 4, Interest in Letters 
 
 — Lesson 5, The Envelope — Lesson 6, Stories in Prose 
 Told in the Third Person — Lesson 7, Stories in Prose 
 Told in the First Person — Lesson 8, Planning a Story — 
 Lesson 9, Stories in Poetry Told in the Third Person — 
 Lesson 10, Stories in Poetry Told in the First Person — 
 Lesson 11, Interest in Story Telling — Lesson 12, Interest 
 in Words — Lesson 13, The Dictionary — Lesson 14, 
 Speaking — Lesson 15, The Right Use of Words. 
 
 Chapter III. How to Be Clear 113 
 
 Introduction — Lesson 16, Business Letters — Lesson 
 17, Letters of Application — Lesson 18, Special Business 
 Letter Forms — Lesson 19, Formal Notes — Lesson 20, 
 The Sentence — Lesson 21, Making Sentences Clear, 
 Unity — Lesson 22, Making Sentences Clear, Coherence 
 
 — Lesson 23, Explanation — Lesson 24, Planning an 
 Explanation — Lesson 25, Other Methods of Explana- 
 tion — Lesson 26, The Paragraph — Lesson 27, Making 
 Paragraphs Clear — Lesson 28, Description — Lesson 29, 
 Planning a Description — Lesson 30, Description of 
 People — Lesson 31, Poetry that Explains and Describes 
 
 — Lesson 32, Words — Lesson 33, Clearness in Speaking. 
 
 XV 
 
XVI TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter IV. How to Be Convincing .... 229 
 Introduction — Lesson 34, Letters that Convince — 
 Lesson 35, Special Letters — Lesson 36, Emphasis in the 
 Sentence — Lesson 37, Ar^ment — Lesson 38, Plan- 
 ning an Argument — Lesson 39, Poetry that Argues — 
 Lesson 40, Paragraphs that Convince — Lesson 41, 
 Speaking to Convince — Lesson 42, Words that Convince. 
 
 Chapter V. How to Be Thorough .... 288 
 
 Introduction — Lesson 43, Correcting your own Com- 
 positions — Lesson 44, Testing your Speech — Lesson 45, 
 Testing your Words — Lesson 46, Testing your Sentences 
 — Lesson 47, General Tests. 
 
 Appendix 341 
 
 Capitalization — Punctuation — Word Lists — Re- 
 view of Grammar. 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 *'He held me close and I went to sleep that way" ... 42 
 
 " Don't kill him, don't kill him, chief ! " .... 52 
 
 '"Now run! run!' she cried" 59 
 
 Tobogganing 89 
 
 A pass in hockey 112 
 
 Making a goal . . . . 144 
 
 "What a meal he can prepare!" 167 
 
 "Ready!" 179 
 
 Such turnips I 189 
 
 Surf board riding 196 
 
 The caddy 200 
 
 "Out!" 207 
 
 The trail blazers 220 
 
 "Down!" 228 
 
 On the skis 246 
 
 Owl against robin 266 
 
 "But oh, the sweetness, and oh, the light of the high-fastidious 
 
 night!" 268 
 
 "Votes for women!" 276 
 
 Breaking the bronco 287 
 
 Around the campfire 836 
 
 XVI 1 
 
GOOD e:n^glish 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 ON WRITING AND SPEAKING 
 
 Language began when man still lived in caves and fought 
 for his life with wild beasts of monstrous shape. 
 
 At first this language was only grunts and coughs and 
 birdlike notes, but these strange noises meant something, 
 and it was this rude meaning that made them language. 
 In the beginning they signified little more than the purr of 
 the cat or the squeak of the monkey. But soon there 
 must have been a sound for hunger ; a sound for terror that 
 came through the eyes and for terror that came through 
 the ears ; a sound for pain through touch ; a sound for bad 
 smells and for good. Each of the five senses had its group 
 of sounds that carried meaning to woman as she crouched 
 in the cave listening to her man in the forest without. And 
 as together they fitted sounds to the feelings of smooth and 
 rough, and foul and sweet, language began to develop, and 
 man came to differ more and more from the beasts. 
 
 Ever since, language has been growing, always trying to 
 express by fitter sounds the feelings that touch and taste 
 and smell and sight and hearing bring to man. It was far 
 more difficult for savage men to agree upon a sound for the 
 fire that warmed them on bitter days in their cave, than for 
 you to learn the hundreds of words that are needed to ex- 
 B 1 
 
2 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 press the sensations and thoughts that come to you in an 
 hour of civihzed Ufe. But you are carrying on their task. 
 Like them, you must find new words. 
 
 Long after the birth of language, when civiUzation had 
 actually begun, came the next step, writing. Writing began 
 as pictures, hieroglyphics, as we call them when we see them 
 on Aztec monuments or Egyptian obelisks today. The 
 thing itself — a man running fast, a basket of corn, a dog, 
 a lightning flash — was rudely pictured. The difficulty 
 was that so much even of what could be seen or tasted could 
 not be drawn. And thought was harder still to put into 
 pictures. 
 
 The problem was solved after centuries. Pictures of 
 things became letters representing sounds. Letters put to- 
 gether meant sounds put together into words. The change 
 in our life that has come from steam and electricity is as 
 nothing compared to the effects wrought by this simple 
 invention. But, after all, our task in learning to write is 
 not utterly different from the iiide barbarian's problem. 
 His scratches upon stone had to mean the right thing, 
 or they were worthless. Our writing must name our many 
 feelings and our complex thoughts accurately, or it is a 
 waste of time and space. 
 
 Fortunately, though language is the most complicated 
 of all human instruments (far more so than any machine), 
 it is not so hard for us to master language now as it was 
 for men to make it in past ages. Man's language is much 
 like man's automobile. He does not have to build an auto- 
 mobile ; it is ready built for him. He does not even have 
 to understand the hundred complexities of valve and shaft 
 and bore and cylinder that went into its design. All that 
 he must do, is to run it. All he must know, in order to run 
 it, are the physical laws that govern the action of his engine 
 
ON WRITING AND SPEAKING 3 
 
 and its control ; and the customs that direct how and where 
 his car shall be run. If he lets his gasoline tank become 
 empty, or tries to start with his brake on, or changes gears 
 without slipping out his clutch, the automobile will not run. 
 He has broken its laws. If he turns to the left instead of 
 the right when he meets another car, if he runs on the side- 
 walk instead of on the roadway, if he speeds in a busy street, 
 he is sure to get into trouble. He has offended against the 
 customs that govern the traffic of the automobile. 
 
 Just so with language. Your object is not to learn its 
 history so as to be able to create a new one, but to use well 
 the language that centuries of endeavor have made for you. 
 To do this you must know the laws of language and the 
 customs of language ; and by much practice you must learn 
 to observe both. 
 
 The great laws of language are those by which words — 
 the names of ideas or things — are built up into sentences 
 and paragraphs and whole compositions. They are really 
 the laws of clear thinking, and they hold for all languages 
 and all times. A bad paragraph in English would be bad 
 in French or Latin or Spanish, because clear thinking is 
 the same everywhere and always. It is with these laws 
 that composition, or rhetoric as it is often called, is chiefly 
 concerned. 
 
 The lesser laws of language govern word-building, the 
 choice and use of sounds by which words are made; and 
 also grammar, the inflections and other means by which the 
 relations among words in a sentence are shown. These 
 lesser laws are really customs that have hardened into laws. 
 Each one holds good for its especial language only, and 
 it changes, though very slowly. English grammar has 
 changed in not a few details since the days of Shakespeare. 
 
 The customs of language are arbitrary ; that is, they are 
 
4 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 adopted for the sake of convenience, and depend upon usage. 
 They change when the customs of the best writers and 
 speakers change, which happens from generation to gener- 
 ation. SpelUng, punctuation, capitahzation, and pronun- 
 ciation are all customs of language. Look into a book 
 printed in 1600 and you will find the first three very differ- i 
 ent from our present practice. The Englishman of Queen 
 Anne's day pronounced tea, tay. Chaucer's EngUsh would 
 probably have sounded to you like Italian or French. 
 
 The dictionary does not, as many think, 7nake the customs 
 for spelling and pronunciation. It records what the best 
 usage is today. In the dictionary you will find recorded 
 this best usage as regards English spelling and pronun- 
 ciation. But, of course, the fact that these rules are 
 customs only and change slowly through the ages, gives you 
 no license to spell and pronounce and capitalize and punctu- 
 ate as you please. The best usage for the first three varies 
 now very little and changes only in minor details, and then 
 slowly. As for punctuation, while it was once merely a 
 custom, more honored in the breach than in the observance, 
 it has become almost a science, and is nearly as important 
 to clear writing as a good arrangement of clauses in a sentence. 
 
 Language is a practical instrument. Man has spoken 
 and written from the earliest savage days until now, not to 
 make a noise, nor to exhibit his skill in grammar or in words, 
 but in order to be understood. He has wished to be inter- 
 esting, to be clear, to be convincing. In order to succeed 
 he has found it necessary to follow the great laws of language 
 and the lesser ones also. In order to succeed, he has been 
 forced to obey the customs that governed the language of 
 his time. How to be interesting, how to be clear, how to be 
 convincing are the divisions of this book; with a fourth 
 one added, how to be thorough in carrying out these inten- 
 
ON WRITING AND SPEAKING 5 
 
 tions of all speech. How to be interesting comes first, not 
 because it is most important, but because, instinctively, we 
 try to catch our hearer's attention before we think of being 
 clear or of convincing people. 
 
 Shall you speak, or shall you write, in learning good Eng- 
 lish? You must do both, of course. Letter-writing, it is 
 true, is a problem for the pen chiefly. Conversation, debat- 
 ing, and public speaking are mainly for the tongue. But 
 throughout the lessons that follow you will find constant 
 employment for each. Thinking comes before expression. 
 When you have thought, then you may either speak or write. 
 Usually, in what follows, you will be asked to do both. If 
 you speak, those customs of language which have to do with 
 pronunciation and the use of your voice will be important. 
 If you lurite, those other customs that govern punctuation, 
 spelling, and the arrangement of the written words upon the 
 page, must be in mind. But in either case the great laws 
 of clear thinking apply; and they must control whatever 
 you do, if you wish to be interesting, to be clear, to be con- 
 vincing in what you write and what you speak. 
 
 In the appendix to this book, you will find the customs 
 of our language ready for reference as, like primitive man, 
 but with far more power and a far better instrument of 
 expression, you practice writing and practice speech. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 HOW TO BE INTERESTING 
 
 Introduction 
 
 What is interest f How can you be interesting when 
 you speak and when you write ? These introductory para- 
 graphs will tell you. The lessons and the drills that 
 follow will show you how to be interesting if there is a letter 
 to be written or a story to be told. 
 
 When a boy is interested in a game, his eyes are steady, 
 his mind is fixed upon the next move, every muscle is ready 
 to do its share. When a girl is interested in a story, her 
 thoughts pursue the events as they happen, she feels sad 
 when the tale is sad, merry when it is merry ; she shares in 
 the excitement of the story. And that is just what interest 
 always does; it makes us share in what is being done or 
 said or written ; it rouses us from the sleepy hollow of just 
 living along, and makes us pay attention to things that 
 matter. Indeed, ''interest" comes from a Latin word that 
 means "it matters" — it is important for you, it makes 
 some difference to you, you must pay attention or lose some- 
 thing worth while. 
 
 No one needs to be told how useful it would be to get 
 attention always for whatever is written or said. If your 
 stories were always listened to, if your letters were always 
 read with interest, if every one were eager to hear whatever 
 
 6 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 7 
 
 information you might have to give — well, the world would 
 seem a very Idndly place. Moreover, what could possibly 
 be more valuable, when the time came to make a living, 
 than to know how to get the attention of older men and 
 women ! But how can you get people to listen to you ? 
 
 The easiest way, but unfortunately not a very practical 
 one, is to be an important person. Ex-Presidents of the 
 United States, for example, usually write and speak easily, 
 having had plenty of practice; but even if they talked 
 badly they would get our attention, just because of their 
 personal distinction. 
 
 You, who are not yet distinguished, can count on no such 
 easy way of being interesting. You cannot talk badly and 
 hold the attention of your hearers. Your talk must be 
 good, your writing must be good. Two people tell a story. 
 One tells it clearly, simply, effectively, bringing out the 
 point; the other starts at the wrong place and has to go 
 back, gives away the plot before he is well started, and 
 mumbles off finally into awkward silence. They tell the 
 same story, but with very different results. In short, you 
 must speak well and write well, if you would be interesting. 
 
 Good speaking and good writing, however, will never of 
 themselves be interesting, or, at least, not for long. Your 
 thoughts, your observations, your experiences, whatever 
 you have to tell or to write, must be interesting in them- 
 selves, or your words, no matter how well chosen, and your 
 sentences, no matter how clear, will never be interesting. 
 The old ballads that the English peasants sang are rough 
 and simple, but they are far more interesting than many 
 modern poems just because the stories they tell are so full 
 of life and interest. The speaker at a political meeting 
 who thinks out a new argument for his party will be listened 
 to, even if he speaks crudely, while some polished orator, 
 
8 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 who has more words on his tongue than thoughts in his 
 head, will lose the attention of his audience five minutes 
 after he has begun to speak. 
 
 It is important, then, that subject matter be interesting. 
 How do you know when it is interesting ? When it interests 
 you. If it does not interest you, you will never make it 
 interesting to others. Write when you have something 
 worth writing about, speak when you have something worth 
 saying, and your friends will read your letters eagerly and 
 listen to you with attention. They will be glad to share 
 in thoughts and experiences that have aroused your atten- 
 tion. The naturalist, in the old story, sought over half 
 the world for the rare flower he needed to complete his 
 collection, and coming home, empty-handed, found it bloom- 
 ing in his own garden. You will best learn to interest other 
 people by searching in your mind for the thoughts and memories 
 that interest you. 
 
 LESSON ONE 
 
 Friendly Letters 
 
 A friendly letter is hardly worth reading unless it is inter- 
 esting. Furthermore, your first real need for being interesting 
 in written words comes when you write letters to your family 
 and your friends. Read the following letters carefully, 
 decide whether they are interesting and why, and be able 
 to tell what you have read. 
 
 Helen Keller to the Editor of St. Nicholas * 
 
 Dear St. Nicholas, — It gives me very great pleasure to 
 send you my autograph because I want the boys and girls who 
 read St. Nicholas to know how blind children write. I suppose 
 
 * Used by special permission of The Century Company. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 9 
 
 some of them wonder how we keep the Hnes so straight so I will 
 try to tell them how it is done. We have a grooved board which 
 we put between the pages when we wish to write. The parallel 
 grooves correspond to Unes, and when we have pressed the paper 
 into them by means of the blunt end of the pencil, it is very easy 
 to keep the words even. The small letters are all made in the 
 grooves, while the long ones extend above and below them. We 
 guide the pencil with the right hand, and feel carefully with the 
 forefinger of the left hand to see that we shape and space the 
 letters correctly. It is very difficult at first to form them plainly, 
 but if we keep on trying it gradually becomes easier, and after a 
 great deal of practice we can write legible letters to our friends. 
 Then we are very, very happy. Some time they may visit a school 
 for the blind. If they do, I am sure they will wish to see the pupils 
 
 write. 
 
 Very sincerely your little friend, 
 
 Helen Keller. 
 
 Lewis Carroll^ to Gertrude 
 Christ Church, Oxford, October 13, 1875. 
 
 My dear Gertrude, — I never give birthday presents, but you 
 see I do sometimes write a birthday letter : so, as I've just arrived 
 here, I am writing this to wish you many and many a happy return 
 of your birthday tomorrow. I will drink your health if only I 
 can remember, and if you don't mind — but perhaps you object? 
 
 You see, if I were to sit by you at breakfast, and to drink your 
 tea, you wouldn't hke that, would you? You would say, ''Boo! 
 hoo ! Here's Mr. Dodgson drunk all my tea, and I haven't got any 
 left!" So I am very much afraid, next time Sybil looks for you, 
 she'll find you sitting by the sad sea waves and crying "Boo ! hoo ! 
 Here's Mr. Dodgson has drunk my health, and I haven't got any 
 left!" 
 
 And how it will puzzle Mr. Maund, when he is sent for to see you ! 
 "My dear madam, I'm sorry to say your little girl has got no health 
 
 * Author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Used by courtesy of The 
 Century Company. 
 
10 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 at all ! I never saw such a thing in my life ! " " You see she would 
 go and make friends with a strange gentleman, and yesterday he 
 drank her health!" "Well, Mrs. Chataway," he .will say, "the 
 only way to cure her is to wait till his next birthday, and then for 
 her to drink his health." 
 
 And then we shall have changed healths. I wonder how you'll 
 like mine! Oh, Gertrude, I wish you would not talk such non- 
 sense ! . . . Your loving friend, 
 
 Lewis Carroll. 
 
 Charles Dickens to Mrs. James T. Fields 
 
 Gad's Hill, Higham, by Rochester, Kent, 
 
 May 25, 1868. 
 My dear Mrs. Fields, — As you ask me about the dogs, 
 I begin with them. When I came down first, I came to Gravesend, 
 five miles off. The two Newfoundland dogs, coming to meet me 
 with the usual carriage and the usual driver, and beholding me 
 coming in my usual dress out at the usual door, it struck me that 
 their recollection of my having been absent for any unusual time 
 was at once canceled. They behaved (they are both young dogs) 
 exactly in their usual manner ; coming behind the basket phaeton 
 as we trotted along, and lifting their heads to have their ears 
 pulled — a special attention which they receive from no one else. 
 But when I drove into the stable yard, Linda (the St. Bernard) was 
 greatly excited; weeping profusely, and throwing herself on her 
 back, that she might caress my foot with her great fore paws. 
 Mamie's little dog, too, Mrs. Bouncer, barked in the greatest agi- 
 tation on being called down and asked by Mamie, "Who is this?" 
 and tore roimd and round me, like the dog in the Faust outlines. 
 You must know that all the farmers turned out on the road in their 
 market chaises to say, "Welcome home, sir!" and that all the 
 houses along the road were dressed with flags ; and that our ser- 
 vants, to cut the rest, had dressed this house so that every brick 
 of it was hidden. They had asked Mamie's permission to "ring 
 the alarm bell" ( ! ) when master drove up, but Mamie, having some 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 11 
 
 slight idea that that compUment might awaken master's sense of 
 the ludicrous, had recommended bell abstinence. But on Sunday 
 the village choir (which includes the bell ringers) made amends. 
 After some unusually brief pious reflections in the crowns of their 
 hats, at the end of the sermon, the ringers bolted ou", and rang 
 like mad until I got home. There had been a conspiracy among 
 the villagers to take the horse out, if I had come to our own sta- 
 tion, and draw me here. Mamie ^ and Georgy ^ had got wind of 
 it and warned me. 
 
 Divers birds sing here all day, and the nightingales all night. 
 The place is lovely, and in perfect order. I have put five mirrors 
 in the Swiss chalet (where I write), and they reflect and refract 
 in all kinds of ways the leaves that are quivering at the windows, 
 and the great fields of waving corn, and the sail-dotted river. My 
 room is up among the branches of the trees, and the birds and the 
 butterflies fly in and out, and the green branches shoot in, at the 
 open windows, and the lights and shadows of the clouds come and go 
 with the rest of the company. The scent of the flowers, and indeed 
 of everything that is growing for miles and miles, is most delicious. . . . 
 
 Ever, my dear Mrs. Fields, your most affectionate friend, 
 
 Charles Dickens. 
 
 Robert Louis Stevenson to a Child ^ 
 
 Tautira, Island op Tahitl [November, 1888.] 
 Dear Tomarcher,^ — This is a pretty state of things ! seven 
 o'clock and no word of breakfast ! And I was awake a good deal 
 last night, for it was full moon, and they had made a great fire of 
 cocoanut husks down by the sea, and as we have no bhnds or shut- 
 ters, this kept my room very bright. And then the rats had a 
 wedding or a school-feast under my bed. And then I woke early, 
 and I have nothing to read except Virgil's /Eneid, which is not good 
 fun on an empty stomach, and a Latin dictionary, which is good 
 
 1 His children. 
 
 'Used by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons. 
 
 'Son of William Archer, the English dramatic critic. 
 
12 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 for naught, and by some humorous accident, your dear papa's 
 article on Skerry vore. And I read the whole of that, and vtry 
 impudent it is, but you must not tell your dear papa I said so, or 
 it might come to a battle in which you might lose either a dear 
 papa or a valued correspondent, or both, which would be prodigal. 
 And still no breakfast ; so I said "Let's write to Tomarcher." 
 
 This is a much better place for children than any I have hitherto 
 seen in these seas. The girls (and sometimes the boys) play a 
 very elaborate kind of hopscotch. The boys play horses exactly 
 as we do in Europe ; and have very good fun on stilts, trying to 
 knock each other down, in which they do not often succeed. The 
 children of all ages go to church and are allowed to do what they 
 please, running about the aisles, roHing balls, steaHng mamma's 
 bonnet and pubhcly sitting on it, and at last going to sleep in the 
 middle of the floor. I forgot to say that the whips to play horses, 
 and the balls to roll about the church, — at least I never saw them 
 used elsewhere, — grow ready-made on trees ; which is rough on 
 toy-shops. The whips are so good that I wanted to play horses 
 myself ; but no such luck ! my hair is grey, and I am a great, big, 
 ugly man. The balls are rather hard, but very light and quite 
 round. When you grow up and become offensively rich, you can 
 charter a ship in the port of London, and have it come back to you 
 entirely loaded with these balls, when you could satisfy your mind 
 as to their character, and give them away when done with to your 
 uncles and aunts. But what I really wanted to tell you was this : 
 besides the tree-top toys (Hush-a-by, toy-shop, on the tree-top !), 
 I have seen some real made toys, the first hitherto observed in the 
 South Seas. 
 
 This was how. You are to imagine a four-wheeled gig; one 
 horse ; in the front seat two Tahiti natives, in their Sunday clothes, 
 blue coat, white shirt, kilt (a little longer than the Scotch) of a 
 blue stuff with big white or yellow flowers, legs and feet bare ; in 
 the back seat me and my wife, who is a friend of yours ; under our 
 feet, plenty of lunch and things : among us a great deal of fun in 
 broken Tahitian, one of the natives, the subchief of the village, 
 being a great ally of mine. Indeed we have exchanged names; 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 13 
 
 so that he is now called Rui, the nearest they can come to Louis, 
 for they have no I and no s in their language. Rui is six feet three 
 in his stockings, and a magnificent man. We all have straw hats, 
 for the sun is strong. We drive between the sea, which makes a 
 great noise, and the mountains; the road is cut through a forest 
 mostly of fruit trees, the very creepers, which take the place of 
 our ivy, heavy with a great and delicious fruit, bigger than your 
 head and far nicer, called Barbedine. Presently we came to a 
 house in a pretty garden, quite by itself, very nicely kept, the doors 
 and windows open, no one about, and no noise but that of the sea. 
 It looked Uke a fairy tale, and just beyond we must ford a river, 
 and there we saw the inhabitants. Just in the mouth of the river, 
 where it met the sea waves, they were ducking and bathing and 
 screaming together like a covey of birds : seven or eight little naked 
 brown boys and girls as happy as the day was long; and on the 
 banks of the stream beside them, real toys — toy ships, full rigged, 
 and with their sails set, though they were lying in the dust on their 
 beam ends. And then I knew for sure they were all children in a 
 fairy story, living alone together in that lonely house with the 
 only toys in all the island ; and that I had myself driven, in my four- 
 wheeled gig, into a corner of the fairy story, and the question was, 
 should I get out again ? But it was all right ; I guess only one of 
 the wheels of the gig had got into the fairy story; and the next 
 jolt the whole thing vanished, and we drove on in our seaside forest 
 as before, and I have the honor to be Tomarcher's valued corre- 
 spondent, Teriitera., which he was previously known as 
 
 Robert Louis Stevenson. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln to Miss Fanny McCullough 
 
 December 23, 1862. 
 Dear Fanny : It is with deep regret that I learn of the death 
 of your kind and brave father, and especially that it is affecting 
 your young heart beyond what is common in such cases. In this 
 sad world of ours sorrow comes to all, and to the young it comes 
 with bittered agony because it takes them unawares. The older 
 
14 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 have learned ever to expect it. I am anxious to afford some allevia- 
 tion of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible except 
 with time. You cannot now realize that you will ever feel better. 
 Is not this so ? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy 
 again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you som>. 
 less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what 
 I say, and you need only to beheve it to feel better at once. The 
 memory of your dear father, instead of an agony, will be yet a sad, 
 sweet feeling in your heart, of a purer and holier sort than you have 
 known before. 
 Please present my kind regards to your afflicted mother. 
 
 Your sincere friend, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 Thomas Hood to his Daughter 
 
 Halle, October 23, 1837. 
 My dear Fanny, — 
 
 I hope you are as good still as when I went away — a com- 
 fort to your good mother and a kind playfellow to your Httle 
 brother. Mind you tell him my horse eats bread out of my hand, 
 and walks up to the officers who are eating, and pokes his nose 
 into the women's baskets. I wish I could give you both a ride. 
 I hope you liked your paints; pray keep them out of Tom's 
 way, as they are poisonous. I shall have rare stories to tell you 
 when I come home; but mind, you must be good till then, or I 
 shall be as mute as a stock-fish. Your mama will show you on the 
 map where I was when I wrote this ; and when she writes will let 
 you put in a word. You would have laughed to have seen your 
 friend Wildegans running after the sausage-boy to buy a wurst} 
 There was hardly an officer without one in his hand smoking hot. 
 The men piled their gims on the grass, and sat by the side of the 
 road, all munching at once like ogres. I had a pocket full of bread 
 and butter, which soon went into my 'cavities,' as Mrs. Dilke calls 
 them. I only hope I shall not get so hungry as to eat my horse. 
 
 1 Sausage. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 15 
 
 I know I need not say, keep school and mind your book, as you 
 love to learn. You can have Minna sometimes, her papa says. 
 Now God bless you, my dear little girl, my pet, and think of 
 
 Your loving father, 
 
 Thomas Hood. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Which of the above letters is the most interesting to you? 
 
 What makes it so ? 
 
 2. From which of the letters do you get most information? Tell 
 
 just what you have learned from it. 
 
 3. After reading each of these letters, what can you tell of the 
 
 writer? Of the one written to? 
 
 4. Explain the words phaeton, chaise, refract, in the Dickens let- 
 
 ter. 
 
 5. Which of the letters seems to you to have the most interesting 
 
 subject matter? Which is the best written one? 
 
 6. How do all of these letters differ from letters that are written 
 
 to a shop ordering goods or from letters of application? 
 Why are these called friendly or informal letters and those 
 on pages 116-120, business letters? 
 
 7. Notice carefully how each one of these excellent letter writers 
 
 addresses the person to whom he is writing and how he closes 
 his letter. Point out the differences in both these respects. 
 
 LESSON TWO 
 
 Form in Friendly Letters 
 
 Study the last letter above from the point of view of 
 form. 
 
 The place and time of writing are given first, — 
 
 Halle, October 23, 1837. 
 
 This is called the heading. It may be written in various 
 ways, as, — 
 
16 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Halle, 
 October 23, 1837. 
 
 10 Wabash Avenue, 
 Chicago, Illinois, 
 April 12, 1918. 
 
 15 Queen's Terrace, 
 Exeter, England, 
 February 5, 1918. 
 
 14 State Street 
 Boston, Mass. 
 May 13, 1918 
 
 243 Market Street 
 Philadelphia, Pa., May 3, 1918 
 
 It may occupy one line, two lines, or three lines, and it 
 may be arranged in still other ways. In the business letter 
 it is usually placed in the upper right-hand corner; but 
 in the friendly letter it may be placed either here or in the 
 lower left-hand corner, below the signature. 
 
 My dear Fanny is the salutation. It must be placed 
 on the left-hand side of the letter on a line below the head- 
 ing. Other forms of salutation are, — 
 
 Dear Fanny, My dear John — Dear Brother, — 
 
 Notice that the salutation may consist of either two or 
 three words. It is preferable not to capitalize dear when 
 it stands as the middle word in a salutation. In friendly 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 17 
 
 letters the salutation is usually followed by a comma. It 
 may be followed, however, by a dash, or by a comma and a 
 dash. The colon is rarely used after the salutation in 
 friendly letters. It is usually placed after the salutation 
 in business letters, as, — 
 
 Dear Sir : Sir : My dear Sir * 
 
 Dear Sirs : Madam : Gentlemen : 
 
 The semicolon is never used after the salutation. 
 
 That part of a letter which follows the salutation is 
 called the body. It may follow on the same line with the 
 salutation, or it may start on the line below, immediately 
 at the end of the salutation. This is the letter proper, — 
 the part that contains the message of interest. It should 
 be written neatly and plainly. It should be carefully 
 paragraphed, particularly if the letter is long. There should 
 be a liberal and regular left-hand margin; there should 
 also be a right-hand margin, though it is impossible to keep 
 this margin quite regular. 
 
 The content of the letter should be expressed naturally, 
 without any affectation whatever. If, when your friend 
 or relative reads your letter, he exclaims, ''That's just like 
 the fellow!" he pays you a compliment as a letter writer. 
 
 That part of a letter which follows the body is called the 
 complimentary closing. In the Hood letter above it is, — 
 
 Your loving father. 
 
 Other forms of complimentary closing are, — 
 
 Your son. Cordially yours, 
 
 Your friend. Faithfully yours, 
 
 Yours sincerely. Very truly yours. 
 
 The form of the complimentary closing in friendly letters 
 depends upon the relation between the writer and the one 
 
18 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 written to. Very truly yours, Sincerely yours, Cordially 
 yours, are used when the two are not closely related. More 
 intimate forms are used in writing to members of your own 
 family and to intimate friends. Very truly yours, or 
 Yours very truly, is the most common complimentary 
 closing in business letters. The complimentary closing 
 is always followed by a comma; the first word only is 
 capitalized. 
 
 The signature follows the complimentary closing and is 
 set in slightly to the left. It may or may not be followed 
 by a period. It is better to sign your name in full, so that 
 the letter may be returned to you in case it is lost. Fre- 
 quently, however, the first name or a nickname only is 
 signed here, especially if the letter is to one with whom 
 you are on intimate terms. 
 
 The parts of a letter therefore consist of, — 
 
 1. Heading 
 
 Place 
 Date 
 
 2. Salutation 
 
 Greeting 
 
 3. Body 
 
 Message or 
 Letter content 
 
 4. Complimentary closing 
 
 5. Signature or name 
 
 A sixth part is always included in business letters, namely, 
 the address of the one written to. This is usually placed 
 just above the salutation on a line below the last line of the 
 heading, thus, — 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 19 
 
 125 Hargrave Ave., 
 Los Angeles, Cal., 
 October 19, 1917. 
 
 James Turner, Esq., 
 18 Market Street, 
 St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 My dear Sir : 
 
 It is best to include this address in friendly letters also. 
 When included, it should be placed in the lower left-hand 
 corner of the letter, on a line directly beneath the signa- 
 ture, thus, — 
 
 Cordially yours, 
 James Everett. 
 
 Miss Sara Everett, 
 Asheville, 
 
 North Carolina. 
 
20 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The whole letter picture may now be summarized as 
 follows ; note especially the placement of the various 
 parts : — 
 
 Heading 
 
 
 418 High Street, 
 Ithaca, New York, 
 October 20, 1917. 
 
 Salutation 
 
 My dear Clara, 
 
 
 Body 
 
 
 "■ 
 
 Compli- 
 mentary 
 dosing 
 Signature 
 
 Address 
 
 Miss Clara Force, 
 130 West 80 Street, 
 New York City. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 Mary Brady 
 
 Just as we may be informal in the presence of our intimate 
 friends and in our conversation with them, so we may be 
 informal in the letters we write them. All the letters above 
 do not comply with the directions here set down. Liberties 
 have been taken. It is a good rule, however, never to ignore 
 accepted standards altogether in friendly letters. If, for 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 21 
 
 instance, the full name and address of the writer of a letter 
 are omitted; the letter, if it is not deUvered, cannot be re- 
 turned to the sender. The name and address of the writer, 
 as well as of the one written to, should be given in all letters. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Name the parts of a letter. Tell where each belongs in the 
 
 make-up of the letter. 
 
 2. Draw a diagram showing, by means of lines, the relative place- 
 
 ment and size of the letter parts. 
 
 3. Of what items does the heading consist? At what two posi- 
 
 tions in a letter may it be placed? 
 
 4. Where should the salutation be placed? How should it be 
 
 punctuated ? 
 
 5. Explain the capitaUzation and the punctuation of the compli- 
 
 mentary closing. 
 
 6. What is meant by the body of a letter ? Where should it begin ? 
 
 7. Is the address used in a friendly letter? Where should it be 
 
 placed ? 
 
 8. Explain why the foregoing rules about letter writing are im- 
 
 portant. 
 
 9. You have just returned from a visit to a friend. Write an ap- 
 
 propriate letter to her. (A letter such as this, written in 
 acknowledgment of hospitahty, is sometimes called a "bread- 
 and-butter" letter.) 
 
 10. Your school is to give a special entertainment on a certain date. 
 
 Write to a friend asking her to be your guest. 
 
 11. Write to her again, telUng her how to reach your house from 
 
 hers, or your town from the town in which she Kves. 
 
 12. Write your friend's reply to the invitation. 
 
 13. Write a friendly request to your teacher asking to be excused 
 
 from a recitation and giving reasons therefor. 
 
 14. Write the teacher's reply to your request, granting it. 
 
 15. Write a letter to your favorite author, telling him what you 
 
 enjoy most in his books. 
 
22 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 16. Write an imaginary letter from one well-known character in a 
 
 novel or play to another. 
 
 17. Nothing interesting has happened for a week. Write a letter 
 
 to a friend which will make him beheve it. 
 
 18. There is one day above all others most interesting in your life. 
 
 Write a letter to a friend that will make it seem so. 
 
 LESSON THREE 
 
 Punctuation and Placement of Letter Parts 
 
 You may mar the interest and the purpose of your letter 
 if you are not careful to punctuate it accurately. The 
 comma should be used, — 
 
 (1) To denote the omission of words, — 
 
 120 Lenox Avenue, 
 New York City, 
 May 25, 1918. 
 
 Here the comma takes the place of an omitted on or in. 
 Expanded, the full heading would read, — 
 
 120 Lenox Avenue, in 
 New York City on 
 Mdiy 2b during \^\%, 
 
 (2) To denote apposition, — 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 James Ferguson. 
 
 The name or signature is in apposition with Yours sincerely 
 and should be separated from it by the comma. 
 
 (3) To denote something to follow. The comma may thus 
 be used after the salutation, which is a form of address in- 
 dicating that something is to follow, thus, — 
 
 Dear Tom, 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 23 
 
 As pointed out above, the dash, or the comma and the dash, 
 the colon, or the colon and the dash, may be used with the 
 same purpose. The last two are considered more formal 
 than the first two; they are therefore not so commonly 
 used in friendly letters. Never make the mistake of plac- 
 ing a period or a semicolon after the salutation. 
 
 The period should be used after abbreviations, such as, 
 St., Ave., N. Y., Pa., Colo., etc. 
 
 There is a growing tendency to omit all punctuation at 
 the ends of lines in headings and addresses, except after 
 abbreviations. But if you omit punctuation, omit it con- 
 sistently at the ends of all lines in the heading, and also in 
 the address both within the letter and on the envelope. 
 If you are inconsistent in this, you will be considered care- 
 less and slovenly. 
 
 100 Broadway, 
 New York City, 
 May 3, 1918. 
 
 or 
 
 100 Broadway 
 New York City 
 May 3, 1918 
 
 not 
 
 100 Broadway, 
 New York City 
 May 3 1918. 
 
 Be consistent also in the arrangement of the letter parts. 
 If you use a vertical margin for the heading, use it also in 
 all other parts in the letter and in the address on the en- 
 velope, thus, — 
 
24 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 
 100 Broadway, 
 New York City, 
 May 3, 1918. 
 
 James Ferguson, Esq., 
 114 State Street, 
 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 
 My dear Mr. Ferguson : 
 
 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 
 Thomas Everett. 
 
 But if you begin with the diagonal arrangement, thus, — 
 
 100 Broadway, 
 New York City, 
 May 5, 1918. 
 
 keep to this arrangement, as in the letter form on page 20. 
 
 You should so place the parts of your letter that they will 
 present a consistent and harmonious picture. Never be 
 careless about the form of a letter, even when writing to 
 your most intimate friends. Courtesy demands that you 
 make your letter pleasant to see as well as to read. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 25 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. State three rules for the use of the comma that apply particu- 
 
 larly to letter writing. 
 
 2. State one rule for the use of the period that applies particularly 
 
 to letter writing. 
 
 3. What caution can you give as to the omission of punctuation 
 
 from the parts of a letter? 
 
 4. What is meant by the placement of parts in a letter? 
 
 5. Correct the following heading : — 
 
 215 State St. 
 Chicago lU. 
 Oct. 10, 1917. 
 
 6. Correct the following salutations : — 
 
 Dear Bill. 
 Dear Mother ; 
 
 7. Correct the following letter picture : — 
 
 
 18 Park Place 
 Brooklyn 
 New York Jan. 2, 1918. 
 
 Dear Father — 
 
 
 Yours truly 
 
 BiU 
 
26 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 8. Test the letters in Lesson One for accuracy in punctuation ana 
 
 placement. 
 
 9. Test the letters you wrote under Lesson Two for accuracy in 
 
 punctuation and placement. 
 10. Is it allowable to take liberties with letter punctuation and 
 placement in writing to your intimate friends? Explain 
 in what respects. 
 
 LESSON FOUR 
 
 Interest in Letters 
 
 You should remember from the first chapter of this book 
 that good writing has its laws and its customs, the first 
 controlling the way in which thought turns itself into words, 
 the second having to do merely with the forms of punctua- 
 tion, spelling, and capitalization, that general usage has 
 determined for us. In the two preceding lessons you have 
 been studying the accepted customs of letter writing. They 
 are important, because if they are not observed it is just 
 so much the more difficult to be interesting. Indeed, letter 
 writing is the best of all exercises for acquiring the habit 
 of good form in composition. But before you can write 
 interesting letters you must have something interesting to 
 say. 
 
 If you are interested in writing a letter, you will probably 
 have no difficulty in making your letter interesting to others. 
 Have something you really wish to say. Say it. Be your- 
 self. Avoid "filling up space." Do not write because you 
 have to. There are a hundred things happening to you 
 every day that your absent friends will be interested in 
 hearing about. Put these things in a letter and send it off. 
 Of course, every friendly letter must show some interest 
 in the person to whom it is written — it must express a 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 27 
 
 desire to know about him, what he is doing, how he is getting 
 along, and so forth. And it must not dwell at length 
 upon your cares and troubles, for these will not always 
 interest the reader. But you may bring a reply in the very 
 next mail (provided your correspondent does not live too 
 far away) if you will tell him of some interesting happening 
 — how you were the first to discover a fire, how the dog 
 brought down a possum, how Bill got caught by the street 
 sprinkler. Tell him about these matters in your own 
 natural way, and you will probably make your letter most 
 interesting. Letters are only written conversations. Don't 
 search the dictionary for big words. Just use your every- 
 day, conversational language and tell about the ordinary 
 happenings of your daily round. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. What incidents of particular interest are mentioned in the third 
 
 letter in Lesson One ? 
 
 2. Do the letters in Lesson One show interest in the affairs of the 
 
 one "written to ? 
 
 3. How much in these letters in Lesson One deals with the writer 
 
 himself ? 
 
 4. Write a letter to a friend upon any one of the following 
 
 subjects : — 
 The morning I overslept. The runaways. 
 
 The day I failed. Making the beds. 
 
 Jim's fine run. Drying the dishes. 
 
 5. Write replies from Tomarcher to Robert Louis Stevenson and 
 
 from Fanny to Thomas Hood. (See pages 11 and 14.) 
 '6. Write a letter to your friend Bob in which you tell all about 
 your friend Charles, whom Bob does not know. 
 
 7. Write a letter to Charles telling him all about Bob. 
 
 8. Invite both Bob and Charles to visit you on a certain after- 
 
 noon when Mary and Alice are to be present. 
 
28 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 9. Write to your sister, who was away at the time of your party, 
 telling her all about Bob and Charles and Mary and Ahce, 
 and your pleasant afternoon. 
 
 10. Write your sister's reply to your letter in 9. She shows interest 
 in your affairs and tells you something about her own. 
 
 LESSON FIVE 
 
 The Envelope 
 
 There are other customs observed in letter writing as 
 important as those explained above. The address on the 
 envelope is called the outside address or the superscription. 
 It should be the same as that written in the letter. The 
 placement of the superscription depends somewhat upon 
 the shape and the size of the envelope. Usually it should 
 be placed somewhat lower than the middle, and slightly 
 to the right. It must give the name, the stre?+ address, 
 the city, and the state. These four items should stand 
 alone, prominently, in the order above indicated. Other 
 data, such as the county, the rural free-delivery direction, 
 the number of room in a large office building, the "in care 
 of" notice, are better placed in the lower left-hand corner. 
 The address of the sender may be put in the upper left-hand 
 corner. Punctuation (except after abbreviations) may be 
 omitted from the superscription ; should be, if it has been 
 omitted in the heading and the address of the letter. If 
 punctuation is used, a comma is placed at the end of all lines 
 except the last, which is followed by a period. Note that the 
 margin of the superscription may be vertical or diagonal. 
 The tendency at present seems to favor the vertical margin. 
 Observe the following models : — 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 29 
 
 Mr. Willard Quick, 
 
 Washington, 
 
 D.C. 
 
 R. F. D. — Route 4. 
 
 Fred Britton, Esq., 
 Jonesboro, 
 Tenn. 
 
 % Mrs. Thos. A. Britton. 
 
 H. S. Brown 
 
 Wilmot 
 
 Ohio 
 
 Dr. Thomas Conard 
 260 EucUd Avenue 
 Cleveland 
 Ohio 
 
 Room 875 
 
30 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 It is needless to say that the envelope should be clearly 
 and accurately addressed. Be sure that you have it right 
 side up before you address it. Place the stamp squarely 
 in the extreme upper right-hand corner. Do not write 
 City or Town on local letters instead of the actual name 
 of the city or town. 
 
 The following forms of address should be noted : — 
 
 Mr. John W. Blank 
 
 or 
 John W. Blank, Esq. 
 
 Mr. is more commonly used than Esq. Never use both. 
 In addressing more than one person, the following forms 
 are good : — 
 
 Messrs. Carlton and Donohue, 
 
 or 
 The Messrs. Carlton and Donohue, 
 
 Misses Sears and Barton, 
 
 or 
 
 The Misses Sears and Barton, 
 
 In addressing a married woman, her wishes regarding the 
 form of address used should be respected. She should 
 indicate underneath her signature to a letter the form she 
 prefers, as, — 
 
 Yours cordially, 
 
 Mary R. Barton 
 (Mrs. Seth T. Barton) 
 
 or 
 (Mrs. Seth T.) 
 
 The form in parentheses is the one to be used in addressing 
 her. In case she is a widow, or prefers to be addressed by 
 her own name, she should indicate it as follows : — 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 31 
 
 Yours cordially, 
 
 (Mrs.) Mary R.Barton 
 
 Dr. before a physician's name is preferable to M.D. after 
 it. Never use both. Do not use Prof, for Professor. Never 
 abbreviate a name in part, as Kansas C. or K. City, or 
 N. Y. City. For the proper forms to be used in addressing 
 ministers, officials, and business men see page 132. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Draw the plan of an envelope properly addressed and stamped. 
 
 2. Address an envelope to a friend of yours who lives in St. Paul. 
 
 Invent names and details. 
 
 3. Address an envelope to a doctor in Chicago, in care of some 
 
 hospital. 
 
 4. Address an envelope to a girl friend of yours and her sister. 
 
 5. Address an envelope to Mary K. Altman (Mrs. C. V.), 130 
 
 West End Ave., New York City, in care of R. M. Richardson. 
 
 6. Address an envelope to a friend of yours living on a rural free 
 
 mail-delivery route in the country. 
 
 7. Criticize and correct the following addresses : — 
 
 Mr. C. V. Alger, Esq. 
 No. 2 Curtis Ave, 
 
 Brooklyn. , 
 
 N. Y. City. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Keller M. D. 
 No. 12 E. Lancaster St 
 Albany, 
 New York 
 
 8. Address envelopes for the letters you wrote under Lesson Four, 
 
 page 27. 
 
32 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 9. Explain the purpose of the note in the upper left-hand corner 
 
 of the envelope. 
 10. Explain what use should be made of the lower left-hand comer 
 of the envelope. 
 
 LESSON SIX 
 
 Stories in Prose Told in the Third Person 
 
 Read one of the following stories and be able to tell it 
 in your own words to your classmates. Note especially 
 that while these stories are told for the most part in the 
 third person, yet the first and second persons both figure 
 in certain parts for the effective handling of the narrative. 
 Observe the following points in retelling the first story : — 
 
 1. Lena's letter. 2. Lena's dream. 3. Hondo Bill's 
 reproof. 
 
 The Chaparral* Prince 2 
 (By 0. Hmry) 
 
 Nine o'clock at last, and the drudging toil of the day was ended. 
 Lena climbed to her room in the third half-story of the Quarrymen's 
 Hotel. Since daylight she had slaved, doing the work of a full- 
 grown woman, scrubbing the floors, washing the heavy ironstone 
 plates and cups, making the beds, and supplying the insatiate 
 demands for wood and water in that turbulent and depressing 
 hostelry. 
 
 The din of the day's quarrying was over — the blasting and 
 drilUng, the creaking of the great cranes, the shouts of the foremen, 
 the backing and shifting of the flat-cars hauUng the heavy blocks 
 of limestone. Down in the hotel office three or four of the laborers 
 were growling and swearing over a belated game of checkers. 
 
 1 A hardy shrub covering large tracts of land in Texas. 
 » Copyright, 1907, by Doubleday, Page and Company. Used by permia- 
 eion of the publishers. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 33 
 
 Heavy odors of stewed meat, hot grease, and cheap coffee hung Uke a 
 depressing fog about the house. 
 
 Lena ht the stump of a candle and sat lunply upon her wooden 
 chair. She was eleven years old, thin and ill-nourished. Her 
 back and limbs were sore and aching. But the ache in her heart 
 made the biggest trouble. The last straw had been added to the 
 burden upon her small shoulders. They had taken away Grimm. ^ 
 Always at night, however tired she might be, she had turned to 
 Grimm for comfort and hope. Each time had Grimm whispered 
 to her that the prince or the fairy would come and deUver her out 
 of the wicked enchantment. Every night she had taken fresh 
 courage and strength from Grimm. 
 
 To whatever tale she read she found an analogy in her own 
 conditions. The woodcutter's lost child, the unhappy goose girl, 
 the persecuted stepdaughter, the little maiden imprisoned in the 
 witch's hut — all these were but transparent disguises for Lena, 
 the overworked kitchenmaid in the Quarrymen's Hotel. And 
 always when the extremity was direst came the good fairy or the 
 gallant prince to the rescue. 
 
 So, here in the ogre's castle, enslaved by a wicked spell, Lena 
 had leaned upon Grimm and waited, longing for the powers of 
 goodness to prevail. But on the day before Mrs. Maloney had 
 found the book in her room and had carried it away, declaring 
 sharply it would not do for servants to read at night; they lost 
 sleep and did not work briskly the next day. Can one only eleven 
 years old, Uving away from one's mamma, and never having any 
 time to play, Uve entirely deprived of Grimm? Just try it once, 
 and you will see what a difficult thing it is. 
 
 Lena's home was in Texas, away up among the Uttle mountains 
 on the Pedernales River, in a little town called Fredericksburg, 
 They are all German people who Uve in Fredericksburg. Of 
 evenings they sit at httle tables along the sidewalk and drink beer 
 and play pinochle ^ and scat.^ They are very thrifty people. 
 
 Thriftiest among them was Peter Hildesmuller, Lena's father. 
 And that is why Lena was sent to work in the hotel at the quarries, 
 
 1 The Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales. 2 Card games. 
 
 D 
 
34 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 thirty miles away. She earned three dollars every week there, 
 and Peter added her wages to his well-guarded store. Peter had 
 an ambition to become as rich as his neighbor, Hugo Heffelbauer, 
 who smoked a meerschaum pipe three feet long and had wiener 
 schnitzel ^ and hasenpfeffer ^ for dinner every day in the week. And 
 now Lena was quite old enough to work and assist in the accumu- 
 lation of riches. But conjecture, if you can, what it means to be 
 sentenced at eleven years of age from a home in the pleasant httle 
 Rhine village to hard labor in the ogre's castle, where you must fly 
 to serve the ogres, while they devour cattle and sheep, growhng 
 fiercely as they stamp white limestone dust from their great shoes 
 for you to sweep and scour with your weak, aching fingers. And 
 then — to have Grimm taken away from you ! 
 
 Lena raised the lid of an old empty case that had once contained 
 canned corn and got out a sheet of paper and a piece of pencil. 
 She was going to write a letter to her mamma. Tommy Ryan was 
 going to post it for her at Balhnger's. Tommy was seventeen, 
 worked in the quarries, went home to Balhnger's every night, and 
 was now waiting in the shadows under Lena's window for her to 
 throw the letter out to him. This was the only way she could send 
 a letter to Fredericksburg. Mrs. Maloney did not Uke for her to 
 write letters. 
 
 The stump of candle was burning low, so Lena hastily bit the 
 wood from around the lead of her pencil and began. This is the 
 letter she wrote : 
 
 "Dearest Mamma, — I want so much to see you. And Gretel 
 and Glaus and Heinrich and httle Adolf. I am so tired. I want to 
 see you. Today I was slapped by Mrs. Maloney and had no supper. 
 I could not bring in enough wood, for my hand hurt. She took my 
 book yesterday. I mean 'Grimms's Fairy Tales,' which Uncle 
 Leo gave me. It did not hurt any one for me to read the book. I 
 try to work as well as I can, but there is so much to do. I read only 
 a httle bit every night. Dear mamma, I shall tell you what I 
 
 * Vienna veal chops. 
 
 * Rabbit meat (or a substitute for it) prepared as a stew. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 35 
 
 am going to do. Unless you send for me tomorrow to bring me 
 home I shall go to a deep place I know in the river and drown. It 
 is wicked to drown, I suppose, but I wanted to see you, and there is 
 no one else. I am very tired, and Tommy is waiting for the letter. 
 You will excuse me, mamma, if I do it. 
 
 "Your respectful and loving daughter, 
 
 "Lena." 
 
 Tommy was still waiting faithfully when the letter was concluded, 
 and when Lena dropped it out she saw him pick it up and start up 
 the steep hillside. Without undressing, she blew out the candle 
 and curled herself upon the mattress on the floor. 
 
 At 10 : 30 o'clock old man BaUinger came out of his house in 
 his stocking feet and leaned over the gate, smoking his pipe. He 
 looked down the big road, white in the moonshine, and rubbed one 
 ankle with the toe of his other foot. It was time for the Fredericks- 
 burg mail to come pattering up the road. 
 
 Old man Balhnger had waited only a few minutes when he heard 
 the lively hoof beats of Fritz's team of little black mules, and very 
 soon afterward his covered spring wagon stood in front of the gate. 
 Fritz's big spectacles flashed in the moonhght and his tremendous 
 voice shouted a greeting to the postmaster of BalUnger's. The 
 mail carrier jumped out and took the bridles from the mules, for he 
 always fed them oats at Ballinger's. 
 
 While the mules were eating from their feed bags, old man Bal- 
 linger brought out the mail sack and threw it into the wagon. 
 
 "Tell me," said Fritz, when he was ready to start, "contains the 
 sack a letter to Frau H"ldesmuller from the little Lena at the 
 quarries ? One came in the last mail to say that she is a little sick, 
 already. Her mamma is very anxious to hear again." 
 
 "Yes," said old man Balhnger, "thar's a letter for Mrs. Helter- 
 skelter, or some sich name. Tommy Ryan brung it over when he 
 come. Her little gal workin' over thar, you say?" 
 
 "In the hotel," shouted Fritz, as he gathered up the lines; 
 "eleven years old and not bigger as a frankfurter. The close-fist 
 of a Peter Hildesmuller ! — some day shall I with a big club pound 
 
36 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 that man's dummkopf ^ — all in and out the town. Perhaps in 
 this letter Lena will say that she is yet feeling better. So, her 
 mamma will be glad. Auf wiedersehen,^ Herr Ballinger — your 
 feets will take cold out in the night air." 
 
 ''So long, Fritzy," said old man Ballinger. "You got a nice 
 cool night for your drive." 
 
 Up the road went the little black mules at their steady trot, while 
 Fritz thundered at them occasional words of endearment and cheer. 
 
 These fancies occupied the mind of the mail carrier until he 
 reached the big post oak forest, eight miles from Ballinger 's. Here 
 his ruminations were scattered by the sudden flash and report of 
 pistols and a whooping as if from a whole tribe of Indians. A 
 band of galloping centaurs closed in around the mail wagon. 
 One of them leaned over the front wheel, covered the driver with 
 his revolver, and ordered him to stop. Others caught at the bridles 
 of Bonder and Blitzen. 
 
 "Donnerwetter!" 3 shouted Fritz, with all his tremendous voice 
 — "was ist? Release your hands from dose mules. Ve vas der 
 United States mail ! " 
 
 "Hurry up, Dutch!" drawled a melancholy voice. "Don't 
 you know when you're in a stick-up? Reverse your mules and 
 climb out of the cart." 
 
 It is due to the breadth of Hondo Bill's demerit and the largeness 
 of his achievements to state that the holding up of the Fredericks- 
 burg mail was not perpetrated by way of an exploit. As the lion 
 while in the pursuit of prey commensurate to his prowess might set 
 a frivolous foot upon a casual rabbit in his path, so Hondo Bill 
 and his gang had swooped sportively upon the pacific transport of 
 Meinherr Fritz. 
 
 The real work of their sinister night ride was over. Fritz and 
 his mail bag and his mules came as a gentle relaxation, grateful 
 after the arduous duties of their profession. Twenty miles to the 
 southeast stood a train with a killed engine, hysterical passengers, 
 
 * German for blockhead. 
 
 * German for Good-by. Literally, "I'll see you again." 
 
 * Thunderation ! 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 37 
 
 and a looted express and mail car. That represented the serious 
 occupation of Hondo Bill and his gang. With a fairly rich prize of 
 currency and silver the robbers were making a wide detour to the 
 west through the less populous country, intending to seek safety 
 in Mexico by means of some fordable spot on the Rio Grande. The 
 booty from the train had melted the desperate bushrangers to jovial 
 and happy skylarkers. 
 
 Trembling with outraged dignity and no little personal appre- 
 hension, Fritz climbed out to the road after replacing his suddenly 
 removed spectacles. The band had dismounted and were singing, 
 capering, and whooping, thus expressing their satisfied delight in 
 the life of a jolly outlaw. Rattlesnake Rogers, who stood at the 
 heads of the mules, jerked a little too vigorously at the rein of the 
 tender-mouthed Bonder, who reared and emitted a loud, protesting 
 snort of pain. Instantly Fritz, with a scream of anger, flew at the 
 bulky Rogers and began to assiduously pommel that surprised free- 
 booter with his fists. 
 
 ''Villain!" shouted Fritz, "dog, bigstiff! Dot mule he has a 
 soreness by his mouth. I vill knock off your shoulders mit your 
 head — robbermans ! " 
 
 "Yi-yi!" howled Rattlesnake, roaring with laughter and ducking 
 his head, "somebody git this here sauerkrout off'n me !" 
 
 One of the band yanked Fritz back by the coat tail, and the 
 woods rang with Rattlesnake's vociferous comments. 
 
 "The . . . little wienerwurst," ^ he yelled, amiably. "He's not so 
 much of a skunk, for a Dutchman. Took up for his animile plumb 
 quick, didn't he ? I like to see a man like his hoss, even if it is a mule. 
 The dad-blamed little Limburger, he went for me, didn't he ! Whoa, 
 now, muley — I ain't a-goin' to hurt your mouth agin any more." 
 
 Perhaps the mail would not have been tampered with had not 
 Ben Moody, the lieutenant, possessed certain wisdom that seemed 
 to promise more spoils. 
 
 "Say, Cap," he said, addressing Hondo Bill, "there's liable to 
 be good pickings in these mail sacks. I've done some hoss tradin' 
 with these Dutchmen around Fredericksburg, and I know the style 
 ^ Literally Vienna Sausage. Slang for " worthless." 
 
38 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 of the varmints. There's big money goes through the mails to that 
 town. Them Dutch risk a thousand dollars sent wrapped in a piece 
 of paper before they'd pay the banks to handle the money." 
 
 Hondo Bill, six feet two, gentle of voice and impulsive in action, 
 was dragging the sacks from the rear of the wagon before Moody 
 had finished his speech. A knife shone in his hand, and they heard 
 the ripping sound as it bit through the tough canvas. The outlaws 
 crowded around and began tearing open letters and packages, 
 enlivening their labors by swearing affably at the writers, who 
 seemed to have conspired to confute the prediction of Ben Moody. 
 Not a dollar was found in the Fredericksburg mail. 
 
 "You ought to be ashamed of yourself," said Hondo Bill to the 
 mail carrier in solemn tones, 'Ho be packing around such a lot of 
 old, trashy paper as this. What d'you mean by it, anyhow? 
 Where do you Butchers keep your money at?" 
 
 The Ballinger mail sack opened like a cocoon under Hondo's 
 knife. It contained but a handful of mail. Fritz had been fuming 
 with terror and excitement until this sack was reached. He now 
 remembered Lena's letter. He addressed the leader of the band, 
 asking that that particular missive be spared. 
 
 "Much obliged, Dutch," he said to the disturbed carrier. "I 
 guess that's the letter we want. Got spondulicks in it, ain't it? 
 Here she is. Make a light, boys." 
 
 Hondo found and tore open the letter to Mrs. Hildesmuller. 
 The others stood about, lighting twisted-up letters one from another. 
 Hondo gazed with mute disapproval at the single sheet of paper 
 covered with the angular German script. 
 
 "Whatever is this you've humbugged us with, Dutchy ? You call 
 this here a valuable letter ? That's a mighty low-down trick to play 
 on your friends what come along to help you distribute your mail." 
 
 "That's Chiny writin '," said Sandy Grundy, peering over Hondo's 
 shoulder. 
 
 "You're off your kazip," declared another of the gang, an effec- 
 tive youth, covered with silk handkerchiefs and nickel plating. 
 "That's shorthand. I seen 'em do it once in court." 
 
 "Ach, no, no, no — dot is German," said Fritz. "It is no more 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 39 
 
 as a little girl writing a letter to her mamma. One poor little girl, 
 sick and vorking hard avay from home. Ach! it is a shame. 
 Good Mr. Robberman, you vill please let me have dot letter?" 
 
 "What the devil do you take us for, old Pretzels?" said Hondo 
 with sudden and surprising severity. ''You ain't presumin' to 
 insinuate that we gents ain't possessed of sufficient politeness for 
 to take an interest in the miss's health, are you? Now, you go on, 
 and you read that scratchin' out loud and in plain United States 
 language to this here company of educated society." 
 
 Hondo twirled his six-shooter by its trigger guard and stood 
 towering above the little German, who at once began to read the 
 letter, translating the simple words into English. The gang of 
 rovers stood in absolute silence, listening intently. 
 
 "How old is that kid?" asked Hondo when the letter was done. 
 
 "Eleven," said Fritz. 
 
 "And where is she at?" 
 
 "At dose rock quarries — working. Ach, mein Gott — little 
 Lena, she speak of drowning. I do not know if she vill do it, but 
 if she shall I schwear I vill dot Peter Hildesmuller shoot mit a gun." 
 
 "You Dutchers," said Hondo Bill, his voice swelling with fine 
 contempt, "make me plenty tired. Hirin' out your kids to work 
 when they ought to be playin' dolls in the sand. ... I reckon 
 we'll fix your clock for a while just to show what we think of your 
 old cheesy nation. Here, boys ! " 
 
 Hondo Bill parleyed aside oriefly with his band, and then they 
 seized Fritz and conveyed him off the road to one side. Here they 
 bound him fast to a tree with a couple of lariats. His team they 
 tied to another tree near by. 
 
 "We ain't going to hurt you bad," said Hondo reassuringly. 
 "'Twon't hurt you to be tied up for a while. We will now pass 
 you the time of day, as it is up to us to depart. Ausgespielt — 
 nixcumrous,! Dutchy. Don't get any more impatience." 
 
 * Like so many other expressions of the robbers, these are fragments of real 
 German, nonsensical and humorous imitations of Fritz's speech ; part Ger- 
 man, part nonsense, equivalent to our slang phrases "All over! Nothing 
 doing ! " 
 
40 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Fritz heard a great squeaking of saddles as the men mounted 
 their horses. Then a loud yell and a great clatter of hoofs as they 
 galloped pell-mell back along the Fredericksburg road. 
 
 For more than two hours Fritz sat against his tree, tightly but 
 not painfully bound. Then from the reaction after his exciting 
 adventure he sank into slumber. How long he slept he knew not, 
 but he was at last awakened by a rough shake. Hands were untying 
 his ropes. He was lifted to his feet, dazed, confused in mind, and 
 weary of body. Rubbmg his eyes, he looked and saw that he was 
 again in the midst of the same band of terrible bandits. They 
 shoved him up to the seat of his wagon and placed the lines in his 
 hands. 
 
 "Hit it out for home, Dutch," said Hondo Bill's voice com- 
 mandingly. "You've given us lots of trouble and we're pleased to 
 see the back of your neck. Spiel ! Zwei bier ! Vamoose ! " ^ 
 
 Hondo reached out and gave Blitzen a smart cut with his quirt. 
 The little mules sprang ahead, glad to be moving again. Fritz 
 urged them along, dizzy and muddled over his fearful adventure. 
 
 According to schedule time, he should have reached Fredericks- 
 burg at daylight. As it was, he drove down the long street of the 
 town at eleven o'clock a.m. He had to pass Peter Hildesmuller's 
 house on his way to the post-office. He stopped his team at the 
 gate and called. But Frau Hildesmuller was watching for him. 
 Out rushed the whole family of Hildesmullers. 
 
 Frau Hildesmuller, fat and flushed, inquired if he had a letter 
 from Lena, and then Fritz raised his voice and told the tale of his 
 adventure. He told the contents of the letter that the robber 
 had made him read, and then Frau Hildesmuller broke into wild 
 weeping. Her little Lena drown herself ! Why had they sent her 
 from home? What could be done? Perhaps it would be too late 
 by the time they could send for her now. Peter Hildesmuller 
 dropped his meerschaum on the walk and it shivered into pieces. 
 
 "Woman!" he roared at his wife, "why did you let that child 
 go away? It is your fault if she comes home to us no more." 
 
 1" Vamoose" means "get out." "Spiel" and "Zwei bier" are good 
 German words but nonsensical here. Hondo Bill is making fun of Frita. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 41 
 
 Every one knew that it was Peter Hildesmuller's fault, so they 
 paid no attention to his words. 
 
 A moment afterward a strange, faint voice was heard to call: 
 *'Mamma!" Frau HildesmuUer at first thought it was Lena's 
 spirit calling, and then she rushed to the rear of Fritz's covered 
 wagon, and, with a loud shriek of joy, caught up Lena herself, cov- 
 ering her pale little face with kisses and smothering her with hugs. 
 Lena's eyes were heavy with the deep slumber of exhaustion, but 
 she smiled and lay close to the one she had longed to see. There 
 among the mail sacks, covered in a nest of strange blankets and 
 comforters, she had lain asleep until awakened by the voices around 
 her. 
 
 Fritz stared at her with eyes that bulged behind his spectacles. 
 
 "Gott in Himmel!" he shouted. "How did you get in that 
 wagon ? Am I going crazy as well as to be murdered and hanged 
 by robbers this day?" 
 
 "You brought her to us, Fritz," cried Herr HildesmuUer. "How 
 can we ever thank you enough?" 
 
 "Tell mamma how you came in Fritz's wagon," said Frau 
 HildesmuUer. 
 
 "I don't know," saidXena. "But I know how I got away from 
 the hotel. The Prince brought me." 
 
 "By the Emperor's crown!" shouted Fritz, "we are all going 
 crazy." 
 
 "I always knew he would come," said Lena, sitting down on her 
 bundle of bedclothes on the sidewalk. "Last night he came with 
 his armed knights and captured the ogre's castle. They broke 
 the dishes and kicked down the doors. They pitched Mr. Maloney 
 into a barrel of rain water and threw flour all over Mrs. Maloney. 
 The workmen in the hotel jumped out of the windows and ran into 
 the woods when the knights began firing their guns. They wakened 
 me up and I peeped down the stair. And then the Prince came up 
 and wrapped me in the bedclothes and carried me out. He was so 
 tall and strong and fine. His face was as rough as a scrubbing- 
 brush, and he talked soft and kind and smelled of schnapps .^ He 
 
 1 Holland gin. 
 
HE HELD ME CLOSE AND I WENT TO SLEEP THAT WAY. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 43 
 
 took me on his horse before him and we rode away among the 
 knights. He held me close and I went to sleep that way, and didn't 
 wake up till I got home." 
 
 "Rubbish!" cried Fritz Bergmann. "Fairy tales! How did 
 you come from the quarries to my wagon?" 
 
 "The Prince brought me," said Lena, confidently. 
 
 And to this day the good people of Fredericksburg haven't been 
 able to make her give any other explanation. 
 
 Buddy and Waffles^ 
 (By John A. Moroso) 
 
 They were two of a kind — Buddy and his dog, Waffles. "That 
 child," declared Mrs. H. Orrison Finch, president of the Ladies' 
 Village Improvement Society, when the disreputability of Buddy 
 was brought up for consideration, "is a disgrace and a hurt to the 
 community ! The first thing a visitor to the town sees is a bundle 
 of old clothes piled in the sun on a bench in front of the station. 
 The bundle stirs on the arrival of a train, gets up, and the visitor 
 is confronted with that shocking spectacle which has the name of 
 a human being ! " 
 
 "Where did the boy come from, Madam President?" asked 
 Mrs. Mary Amelia Sitt, chairman of the Committee on the Beau- 
 tification of Railroad Parks and Stations. 
 
 "He looks as if he had escaped from a ragpicker's bag," replied 
 Mrs. Finch. "But I believe that he was born in the county poor- 
 house, and that an old widow, now dead, adopted him and left 
 him, after her demise, to grow up like a rank and noxious weed." 
 
 "Who feeds him?" asked another member. 
 
 "He feeds himself somehow and also feeds his cur dog, who is as 
 much a disgrace to the town as his master," the president informed 
 ^ Reprinted by special permission of the author. 
 
44 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 the society. "We should and must get rid of the two of them. It 
 is high time." 
 
 The hour for the bridge game was at hand, and on that afternoon 
 it was to be played in the very comfortable and even richly appointed 
 home of the president. 
 
 "I move, Madam President," said Mrs. Nales, "that the Com- 
 mittee on Beautification of Railroad Parks and Stations be in- 
 structed to take such action as is necessary to have this nuisance 
 abated. If the dog has no license he may be easily disposed of. 
 The boy might be placed in some institution." 
 
 "Second the motion!" came from all over the meeting room, 
 and, as it was carried unanimously, a motion to adjourn followed, 
 and the ladies trooped off to their fun. 
 
 Now, they had to cross the railroad tracks to reach the home 
 of their hostess, and there sat Buddy on his favorite bench in the 
 sun, making fast a cord to a slender branch of a tree laid across 
 his knees, with a tin can filled with worms beside him, and, looking 
 up into his face, his dog and only friend : a gaunt, shaggy cur, dingy 
 brown in color. Buddy was about twelve years old, and his eyes 
 shone from a dirty face like two blue patches of summer sky through 
 shower-promising clouds. One of his shoes was intended for a 
 male person and the other, from which he had removed the high 
 heel, had been made for a female. His coat had been cut for a 
 man, and the bifurcation of his trousers was lost in an amplitude 
 of cloth. He stopped fixing his fishing tackle to caress the dog — 
 at the dog's own earnest and caudal beseeching — and the ladies 
 passed with sniffs of contempt and disgust, and with glances which 
 said plainly : "We'll take up your case after the bridge ! " 
 
 Thinking that his friend was hungry Buddy fished in a cavernous 
 pocket, pulled out half a loaf of bread and wrenched off a goodly 
 piece. He emptied his bait from the can and filled it with water 
 from a near-by rain barrel, placing it beside his pet and putting 
 the wriggling, protesting worms in his coat pocket, stufl&ng a piece 
 of newspaper on top of them to hold them captive. 
 
 Waffles did not beg often, for he was a good self-provider. By 
 upsetting a boy and stealing the contents of a tray which he was 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 45 
 
 carrying to a neighbor's home one morning Buddy's dog secured 
 a breakfast that day of a dozen well-browned and buttered waffles, 
 which not only gave him internal satisfaction, but also caused his 
 christening by other boys who saw him make the raid. 
 
 The dog finishing his repast and quenching his thirst. Buddy 
 filled his own mouth with bread, rinsed out the bait can, wet his 
 own throat, and departed whistling, with his rod, line, worms, and 
 four-footed friend, in the direction of the brook. The heart of 
 the lad was light within him. The winter had passed ; the robins 
 had come up from the South to steal all the worms they could 
 from small boys who would a-fishing go; and the grackles were 
 flying overhead in countless air squadrons, making a noise like 
 crackling twigs in a brisk forest fire. Over the untilled fields the 
 dandelions spread their golden carpets; the trees had well ad- 
 vanced in leafing, the fish were nibbling, and Buddy would no 
 longer be compelled to beg a shelter in bams or in the rear of village 
 shops at the coming of night. 
 
 II 
 
 It was probably the spirit of pride and responsibility in owner- 
 ship which early determined Buddy thoroughly to educate his 
 dumb friend. He knew nothing about praying, but he did Imow 
 of the posture for praying, so he taught Waffles to kneel down with 
 his head between his forepaws and not stir until he heard the magic 
 word ''Amen." This concession having been made to the demands 
 of a Christian nation Waffles was taught to say "Good morning" 
 and ''Good night," and his deportment was established. Next, 
 Buddy taught him to ask for food and water when there were any 
 with which to accede to his request. Waffles in time also acquired 
 the art of playing sick, writhing in great pain on the ground and 
 then lying stark and stiff in death until the magic words "Git up ! " 
 brought him back to the living. 
 
 Buddy further taught his friend to be useful, having him carry 
 his ragged cap or tattered shoes on hot days, or the fishing pole 
 or the bait can. It was not necessary to teach him to love his 
 master: that was born in his puppy soul when Buddy crawled 
 
46 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 under the freight station platform one winter's morning and saved 
 him from death by cold and starvation. 
 
 So the sweetest season of the year began with a well-educated 
 dog and a thoroughly happy and uneducated boy, neither asking 
 anything of life save plenty of sunshine and a bite to eat. Nature 
 offered them both, and a little later in the year Man would offer 
 the lad the highest and greatest blessing that can come to a boy 
 — the circus ! 
 
 Buddy was already coping with the problem of acquiring enough 
 money to pay his way through the gates of boyhood's heaven. He 
 lived from circus to circus ; and as each springtime came he planned 
 to gaze long and lovingly upon every freak in every side show, every 
 animal in the menagerie; planned for a top seat in the big tent, 
 where he could rub his back against the beloved canvas and watch 
 all three rings at once; and laid out appropriations for peanuts, 
 lemonade,,and the concert that always followed the regular show. 
 
 Buddy earned his circus money by fishing. A little piece of red 
 flannel rag on his line served him for trout, if trout were running, 
 and if they were not running, the wriggling worm on his hook and 
 a light sinker brought up perch. He sold his catches to elaborately 
 equipped fishermen who failed to fill their baskets. This money 
 he hoarded, burying it and marking the treasure-trove against the 
 time when the glittering caravans would pass from the dreams of 
 childhood to the reality of the Fair Grounds in the nearest big town. 
 
 "How much ye got now. Buddy?" asked Tom McCue, the 
 village constable, when circus rumors began to spread. 
 
 "Ninety-eight," the boy replied. 
 
 "Better'n last year, am't it?" inquired the police arm of the 
 village law. 
 
 "Ten cents better." 
 
 "Glad to hear it, Buddy; glad to hear it!" McCue, bearing 
 a badge that was as a shield to his whole big heart, was the one 
 person not among the absolutely poverty stricken who would 
 converse openly with the boy. He was old ; his hands shook with 
 incipient palsy; his white whiskers twinkled as he constantly 
 nibbled at a bit of plug tobacco ; in fact he was just the sort of man 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 47 
 
 to give all his time to the preservation of law in a village so small 
 and peaceful that no harm was ever done within its confines beyond 
 tearing a reputation to tatters or shooting down a defenseless and 
 harmless dog. 
 
 ''You going to the circus, too, Chief?" Buddy asked. 
 
 ''Sure; if everything is quiet and I can git off," replied the 
 constable. They drew back against the side of the station to 
 escape the suction of a passing express. "Be you teaching Waffles 
 any new tricks, Buddy?" 
 
 "I guess he knows everything now. Chief," the boy replied, rubbing 
 his dog's ears. "He can walk on his hands, stand on his head, and 
 turn the back flipflap." 
 
 "Is that so? He can, eh?" cried McCue. "You know you'd 
 make a barrel of money with him if you joined the circus. Buddy. 
 I have saw many a trick dog that couldn't tech him; no, sirree, 
 not for a minute. And think of traveling all over the country, 
 with a parade every day, the steam planner just hittin' it up all 
 the time, and feeding the animules every day!" 
 
 "Lawsy!" exclaimed Buddy, his eyes like two blue saucers. 
 
 "I'd try it when ye got a little bigger. Buddy. Dinged if I 
 wouldn't, ef I was you." 
 
 "Why don't you make that boy and dog keep away from the 
 station?" sounded a strident voice behind them; and constable 
 and boy turned to face Mrs.i Sitt and Mrs. Nales, members of the 
 station committee. 
 
 "What they doin', ma'am?" quavered old Tom. 
 
 "You'll find out what they're doing," retorted Mrs. Sitt; "and 
 you'll find it out after the next meeting of the improvement society ! " 
 
 Buddy dodged around the comer of the station, with Waffles at 
 his heels, both feeling that they had unwittingly committed some 
 crime, or that, perhaps, something had happened in the village for 
 which they were blamed. Something was certainly wrong some- 
 where. Buddy was not old enough and not sapient enough to 
 know that the only crime he and his dog were guilty of was the 
 crime of being alive, or of being accessories after the fact to having 
 been born. 
 
48 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 m 
 
 At last the morning of the circus came, and Buddy had two 
 dollars, every cent of which he was prepared to squander. The 
 circus town was ten miles away across country and nearer a more 
 profitable railroad line. To reach it on the cars he would have 
 had to spend one of his two precious dollars in a long and round- 
 about journey. With better shoes he could have made the ten 
 miles easily in a little over three hours, for he was stout of legs and 
 of fine wind. He prepared for the hike across country by having 
 the village cobbler tack a heel on his "female" shoe. 
 
 The day was glorious and he felt very thankful over the prospects, 
 and was especially kind to Waffles when he chained him to a post 
 under the freight-station platform, where he would have plenty of 
 shade. He fed his faithful friend with ten cents' worth of beef 
 bones, placed a big can of water beside him, and kissed him good-by. 
 
 "Chief" McCue was at the station on duty as usual, and he 
 promised Buddy that if the freight house caught fire he would un- 
 chain the dog even before he turned in an alarm. "You leave 
 him to me. Buddy," said the old constable. "When things is 
 dull, about two o'clock, I'll give him fresh water and take him 
 for a little walk just to cheer him up. You go ahead and have a 
 good time. Fm going to the show tonight — if nothing happens." 
 
 With a word of gratitude Buddy peeled off his heavy coat, threw 
 it nonchalantly over his arm and was off down the road. It was 
 eight o'clock and he counted on covering the ten miles by noon. 
 He wanted at least an hour for the calm inspection of the circus 
 encampment and a personal view of each freak in the side shows. 
 Then he would need an hour for the menagerie and a careful study 
 of the "Bengal Man-eater" and "Majestic, the Untamable African 
 Lion, Who Has Devoured Four Keepers." He quickened his 
 stride as he busied his mind with these details. 
 
 Only three times did Buddy stop to rest, and, as he had been 
 unable to sleep the night before because of excitement, he rested 
 either standing up or seated on a fallen log for fear that he might 
 doze off. At the last resting place he found that the newly nailed 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 49 
 
 heel on his shoe had been lost. With two rocks he hammered the 
 tacks flat and was off in the stretch. The sun was directly over- 
 head when he saw the waving banners above the tented city and 
 then the softly gleaming white tops of the tents themselves. 
 
 When he reached the circus grounds, he found a pump and stuck 
 his mouth under it, working the handle himself as only a thirsty 
 boy can. Then he bought a big sandwich, and with this to nibble 
 on luxuriously he made the preliminary inspection of the tents, 
 examining every guy rope, flap, and peg, studying the layout of 
 the kitchen and mess tents, and learning the locations of dressing 
 rooms for the men and women. 
 
 Presently he personally met a Clown! At first it seemed that 
 he was dreaming, but there stood the Clown, his white face and 
 egglike head unmistakably real. He was speaking to him — speak- 
 ing to Buddy Noname ! 
 
 ''Hi, kid ! " Buddy heard him say. "I'd like to buy them clothes 
 from you. They'd do for a make-up, believe me." 
 
 He stood at the entrance of the dressing tent for men, grinning 
 hideously in his paint and powder. 
 
 ''I ain't much on clothes, Mister Clown," Buddy finally managed 
 to say; ''but I'll betcher I got a dog can lay over any dog you got 
 in this show." 
 
 "You* have, eh? And wot might be his name?" 
 
 "Waffles." 
 
 "Waffles!" cried the Clown. "It's a fine name. Wot's 
 yours?" 
 
 "Buddy." 
 
 The Clown roared. "Say," he said, "if you ain't got no family 
 ties and want to join the circus, come to see me. Ask for Smithy 
 — Boob Smithy — and I'll take you along. I need a boy clown 
 and a trick dog." Then he disappeared behind the canvas flap. 
 
 For the rest of the afternoon Buddy remained in a dream. Al- 
 most mechanically he carried out his program of seeing all the 
 freaks and getting his top seat for the big show; but all the time 
 the thought of fetching Waffles to that dressing tent and showing 
 Boob Smithy what that wonderful dog could do filled his mind. 
 
60 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 He cut out the concert and started comparatively early on the 
 long hike back to base. It was pitch black by the time he had 
 covered the fifth homeward mile, and he found that, the shoe with 
 the lost heel having given up trying to keep up with him, his foot 
 was torn and bleeding. Sitting down in the road he tore off half 
 his shirt and bandaged the wounded member, starting off with a 
 limp to do the next five miles. It was well after daybreak when 
 he crawled into the village. 
 
 He dragged himself across the railroad tracks and groped beneath 
 the freight platform for Waffles. 
 
 He was gone ! 
 
 rv 
 
 Nobody bothered about Buddy as he lay on the ground, half 
 under the freight station, any more than anybody had bothered 
 about him previously. He lay half-hidden and half-senseless, 
 certain of only one friend — Waffles ; and he was gone ! Used to 
 neglect. Buddy soon fell off into a sleep of exhaustion against the 
 breast of the only mother he had ever known. He was awakened 
 by a familiar voice, and, lifting himself on an elbow, was rejoiced 
 to see Waffles tugging at the end of a chain held by McCue. 
 
 "Hi, Chief!" he called, scrambling to his feet and limping across 
 the tracks. "Here I am! Did ye think I was lost?" Waffles 
 in a paroxysm of joy howled at the top of his voice. "I was late 
 getting back," continued Buddy as he reached for the leash of his 
 friend. "Me feet give out on the way." 
 
 McCue did not surrender the chain to the boy. His face was a 
 shade whiter than usual. 
 
 "Lemme take him now. Chief," the boy urged. "It's been 
 mighty kind of you to look out for the old feller for me." 
 
 "Ye can't take him. Buddy," the constable replied in a low 
 voice. "Ten o'clock yestiddy the Mayor serves me with an order 
 to kill him within twenty-four hours because he ain't got no license 
 and a lot of ladies signed a complaint against him. I wanted 
 to—" 
 
 "Kill me dawg!" cried Buddy. "Kill Waffles? Wot's he 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 51 
 
 done? Did he bite anybody, Chief?" He fell on his knees and 
 put his arms about his friend's neck. 
 
 "He ain't done nuthin'/' replied McCue. "They ain't done 
 said a thing agin him 'ceptin' he was a nuisance." 
 
 A sob broke from Buddy's lips. "Ye can't kill him; ye can't 
 kill him!" the boy moaned, pressing the cur to his breast. "Kill 
 me, Chief, won't ye, please? Kill me 'stead of him. Please, 
 Chief, don't you shoot me dawg." 
 
 It was a job to be done with in a hurry, and McCue was sorry 
 that his ragged friend had come back. In a few minutes the station 
 would be crowded with people — respectable people — and swift 
 commission of this duly ordained murder could not be enacted 
 there. The old constable dragged the dog from the arms of his 
 little master and started down the hard-beaten track beside the 
 rails. Waffles struggled in vain, calling on Buddy to come along 
 too. 
 
 The boy rubbed the mud made by his tears clear of his eyes and 
 started after the constable and his dog. His bandaged left foot 
 dragged heavily, his sobs broke the quiet of the country air, his 
 lips writhed in anguish, his poor rags fluttered about him, and his 
 pitiful little soul within him was dying with crucifying pains. 
 
 Because of the struggles of Waffles, Buddy managed to catch 
 up with them. A quarter mile down the track McCue stopped 
 and pulled out a big, old-fashioned silver watch. 
 
 "In twenty-four hours. Buddy," he said solemnly. "They give 
 me the order at ten o'clock yestiddy. It's nine-fifty now." 
 
 Buddy dropped to the ground, his arms about the neck of his 
 dog. " Don't km him, don't kill him, Chief ! " he begged. 
 
 "He's only got ten minutes. Buddy." 
 
 "I ain't never had another friend on earth," moaned Buddy. 
 The dog whimpered and licked the chin and cheeks of his master. 
 
 ".Time's up. Buddy; you'd better go away now." The con- 
 stable dropped his watch into his pocket and heaved forth an old- 
 fashioned horse pistol. As he did so Waffles yanked himself free, 
 but only for a moment, for the big foot of McCue came down on 
 the chain. 
 
DON T KILL HIM, DON T KILL HIM, CHIEF ] 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 53 
 
 "You ain't going to shoot him chained up," begged Buddy. 
 "He won't go away from me and I can't run with a lame foot. 
 Loosen him, won't you?" 
 
 "I don't mind doing that for ye, son," replied McCue. "There 
 ain't nothing in the order about shooting him chained up. It says 
 just to shoot and kill him." 
 
 McCue unleashed the dog, and, with a word lifted on a sob, 
 Buddy ordered his friend to stand at attention. Not a muscle, 
 sinew or hair of the brute moved after the word was spoken. But 
 in his brown eyes came a message of affection, fidelity, and undying 
 faith to the eyes of his master. 
 
 McCue was aiming his great pistol. 
 
 "Sit up!" came the command from the swollen lips of the boy. 
 Waffles rose to his haunches, his forepaws pointed downward 
 pathetically. " Take aim !" cried Buddy. "Fire!" As he shouted 
 the last word he fell against the side of old Tom, the horse pistol 
 roaring to the clear heavens, spitting a tongue of fire and a cloud of 
 smoke. 
 
 Waffles dropped over on his side and lay stark and still in the 
 path. 
 
 "By gum!" cried McCue. "I done it with one shot. I'm glad 
 of that, Buddy." He slipped his pistol into its holster under his 
 coat and turned to the boy, taking his dirty, tear-stained face in 
 his shaky hands. "Don't blame me, son," he said in a husky 
 voice. "I had to obey orders. You take him and bury him. I 
 know how you loved him." 
 
 "I'll put him away in the woods over yonder," replied Buddy. 
 
 McCue tm-ned and trudged up the path beside the rails toward 
 the station, shaking his head sadly. 
 
 Buddy lifted his stark friend to a shoulder and stole into the 
 underbrush beside the tracks, burrowing deeper and deeper until 
 his strength gave out. Now, fully screened from all eyes, he laid 
 down his precious burden and uttered the one magic word : "Waf- 
 fles!" 
 
 The corpse stirred. 
 
 "Sit up!" 
 
54 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The corpse sat up. 
 
 Buddy pointed a finger at him and said slowly: "Take aim' 
 Fire!'' 
 
 Wafiles flopped over on his side. 
 
 ''Git up!" 
 
 The corpse got up again. 
 
 "Come over and kiss your boss." 
 
 Waffles needed no further invitation. 
 
 Buddy then cleared a spot in the underbrush and with a grateful 
 sigh threw himself on the bare ground. 
 
 "Now we'll go to sleep," he said; and his dog coiled up close 
 to the empty stomach of his master, warming it, "When we both 
 git up we'll start after that circus," added Buddy drowsily. "We'll 
   — show — them — sumpin' — eeyah ! — won't we ? " 
 
 To THE Death 1 
 (From Jack London's The Call of the Wild, Chapter III) 
 
 . . . Spitz, cold and calculating even in his supreme moods, left 
 the pack and cut across a narrow neck of land where the creek made 
 a long bend around. Buck did not know of this, and as he rounded 
 the bend, the frost wraith of a rabbit still flitting before him, he 
 saw another and larger frost wraith leap from the overhanging bank 
 into the immediate path of the rabbit. It was Spitz. The rabbit 
 could not turn, and as the white teeth broke its back in mid air 
 it shrieked as loudly as a stricken man may shriek. . . . 
 
 Buck did not cry out. He did not check himself, but drove in 
 upon Spitz, shoulder to shoulder, so hard that he missed the throat. 
 They rolled over and over in the powdery snow. Spitz gained his 
 feet almost as though he had not been overthrown, slashing Buck 
 down the shoulder and leaping clear. Twice his teeth clipped 
 together, Hke the steel jaws of a trap, as he backed away for better 
 footing, with lean and lifting lips that writhed and snarled. 
 
 In a flash Buck knew it. The time had come. It was to the 
 death. As they circled about, snarling, ears laid back, keenly 
 ^ Used by permission of The Macmillan Company. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 55 
 
 watchful for the advantage, the scene came to Buck with a sense of 
 familiarity. He seemed to remember it all, — the white woods, 
 and earth, and moonhght, and the thrill of battle. Over the white- 
 ness and silence brooded a ghostly calm. ... It was as though it 
 had always been, the wonted way of things. 
 
 Spitz was a practised fighter. ... He never rushed till he was 
 prepared to receive a rush ; never attacked till he had first defended 
 that attack. 
 
 In vain Buck strove to sink his teeth in the neck of the big white 
 dog. Wherever his fangs struck for the softer flesh, they were 
 countered by the fangs of Spitz. Fang clashed fang, and lips were 
 cut and bleeding, but Buck could not penetrate his enemy's guard. 
 Then he warmed up and enveloped Spitz in a whirlwind of rushes. 
 Time and time again he tried for the snow-white throat, where life 
 bubbled near to the surface, and each time and every time Spitz 
 slashed him and got away. Then Buck took to rushing, as though 
 for the throat, when, suddenly drawing back his head and curving 
 in from the side, he would drive his shoulder at the shoulder of 
 Spitz, as a ram by which to overthrow him. But instead Buck's 
 shoulder was slashed down each time as Spitz leaped Ughtly away. 
 
 Spitz was untouched, while Buck was streaming with blood and 
 panting hard. The fight was growing desperate. And all the 
 while the silent and wolfish circle waited to finish off whichever 
 dog went down. As Buck grew winded. Spitz took to rushing, 
 and he kept him staggering for footing. Once Buck went over, and 
 the whole circle of sixty dogs started up ; but he recovered himself, 
 almost in mid air, and the circle sank down again and waited. 
 
 But Buck possessed a quality that made for greatness — imagina- 
 tion. He fought by instinct, but he could fight by head as well. He 
 rushed, as though attempting the old shoulder trick, but at the 
 last instant swept low to the snow and in. His teeth closed on 
 Spitz's left fore leg. There was a crunch of breaking bone, and the 
 white dog faced him on three legs. Thrice he tried to knock him 
 over, then repeated the trick and broke the right fore leg. Despite 
 the pain and helplessness. Spitz struggled madly to keep up. He 
 saw the silent circle, with gleaming eyes, loUing tongues and silvery 
 
56 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 breaths drifting upward, closing in upon him as he had seen similar 
 circles close in upon beaten antagonists in the past. Only this 
 time he was the one who was beaten. 
 
 There was no hope for him. Buck was inexorable. Mercy was 
 a thing reserved for gentler cUmes. He manoeuvred for the final 
 rush. The circle had tightened till he could feel the breaths of the 
 huskies on his flanks. He could see them, beyond Spitz and to 
 either side, half crouching for the spring, their eyes fixed upon him. 
 A pause seemed to fall. Every animal was motionless as though 
 turned to stone. Only Spitz quivered and bristled as he staggered 
 back and forth, snarhng with horrible menace, as though to frighten 
 off impending death. Then Buck sprang in and out ; but while he 
 was in, shoulder had at last squarely met shoulder. The dark 
 circle became a dot on the moon-flooded snow as Spitz disappeared 
 from view. Buck stood and looked on, the successful champion, 
 the dominant primordial beast who had made his kill and found it 
 good. 
 
 The Parable of the Talents 
 (From the New Testament) 
 
 For it is as when a man, going into another country, called his 
 own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one 
 he gave five talents, to another two, to another one ; to each accord- 
 ing to his several ability ; and he went on his journey. Straight- 
 way he that received the five talents went and traded with them, 
 and made other five talents. In hke manner he also that received 
 the two gained other two. But he that received the one went away 
 and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. 
 
 Now after a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and 
 maketh a reckoning with them. And he that received the five 
 talents came and brought other five talents, saying. Lord, thou 
 deliveredst unto me five talents: lo, I have gained other five 
 talents. His lord said unto him. Well done, good and faithful 
 servant : thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee 
 over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And he 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 57 
 
 also that received the two talents came and said, Lord, thou de- 
 liveredst unto me two talents : lo, I have gained other two talents. 
 His lord said unto him, Well done, good^and faithful servant : thou 
 hast been faithful over a few things, I will set thee over many things ; 
 enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 
 
 And he also that had received the one talent came and said, 
 Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou 
 didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter; and I 
 was afraid, and went away and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, 
 thou hast thine own. But his lord answered and said unto him, 
 Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I 
 sowed not, and gather where I did not scatter; thou oughtest 
 therefore to have put my money to the bankers, and at my coming 
 I should have received back mine own with interest. Take ye 
 away therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath 
 the ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and 
 he shall have abundance : but from him that hath not, even that 
 which he hath shall be taken away. 
 
 LESSON SEVEN 
 
 Stories in Prose Told in the First Person 
 
 Read one of the following stories and be able to tell it in 
 your own words to your classmates. Observe that these 
 stories are told in the first person. Note especially, in re- 
 telling the first of the group, these points : 1. Hugh and 
 his mother. 2. Hugh and his father. 3. Hugh's honesty. 
 4. David Dove and Hugh's father. 
 
 Hugh's School Days^ 
 
 (From S. Weir MitcheWs Hugh Wynne: Free Quaker, Chapter II) 
 
 The day I went to school for the first time is very clear in my 
 memory. I can see myself, a stout little fellow about eight years 
 1 Used by permission of The Century Company. 
 
58 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 old, clad in gray homespun, with breeches, low shoes, and a low, 
 flat beaver hat. I can hear my^mother say, "Here are two big 
 apples for thy master," it being the custom so to propitiate peda- 
 gogues. Often afterward I took eggs m a little basket, or flowers, 
 and others did the like. 
 
 ''Now run ! run !" she cried, "and be a good boy ; run, or thou 
 wilt be late." And she clapped her hands as I sped away, now and 
 then looking back over my shoulder. 
 
 I remember as well my return home to this solid house, this first 
 day of my going to school. One is apt to associate events with 
 persons, and my mother stood leaning on the half-door as I came 
 running back. She was some Uttle reassured to see me smil- 
 ing, for, to tell the truth, I had been mightily scared at my new 
 venture. . . . 
 
 As I came she set those large, childlike eyes on me, and opening 
 the lower half-door, cried out : 
 
 " I could scarce wait for thee ! I wish I could have gone with 
 thee, Hugh ; and was it dreadful? Come, let us see thy little book. 
 And did they praise thy reading? Didst thou tell them I taught 
 thee? There are girls, I hear," and so on — a way she had of ask- 
 ing many questions without waiting for a reply. 
 
 As we chatted we passed through the hall, where tall mahogany 
 chairs stood dark against the white-washed walls, such as were in 
 all the rooms. Joyous at escape from school, and its confinement 
 of three long, weary hours, from eight to eleven, I dropped my 
 mother's hand, and, running a Uttle, shd down the long entry over 
 the thinly sanded floor, and then slipping, came down with a rueful 
 countenance, as nature, foreseeing results, meant that a boy should 
 descend when his legs fail him. My mother sat down on a settle, 
 and spread out both palms toward me, laughing, and crying out : 
 
 "So near are joy and grief, my friends, in this world of sorrow." 
 
 This was said so exactly with the voice and manner of a famous 
 preacher of our Meeting that even I, a lad then of only eight years, 
 recognized the imitation. Indeed, she was wonderful at this trick 
 of mimicry, a thing most odious to Friends. As I smiled, hearing 
 her, I was aware of my father in the open doorway of the sitting- 
 
NOW RUN 1 EUN I " SHE CRIED. 
 
60 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 room, tall, strong, with much iron-gray hair. Within I saw several 
 Friends, large rosy men in drab, with horn buttons and straight 
 collars, their stout legs clad in dark silk hose, without the paste or 
 silver buckles then in use. All wore broad-brimmed, low beavers, 
 and their gold-headed canes rested between their knees. 
 
 My father said to me, in his sharp way, "Take thy noise out into 
 the orchard. The child disturbs us, wife. Thou shouldst know 
 better. A committee of overseers is with me." He disUked the 
 name Marie, and was never heard to use it, nor even its English 
 equivalent. 
 
 Upon this the dear lady murmured, "Let us fly, Hugh," and she 
 ran on tiptoe along the hall with me, while my father closed the 
 door. "Come," she added, "and see the floor. I am proud of it. 
 We have friends to eat dinner with us at two." . . . 
 
 And thus began my Ufe at school, to which I went twice a day, 
 my father not approving of the plan of three sessions a day, which 
 was common, nor, for some reason, I know not what, of schools 
 kept by Friends. So it was that I set out before eight, and went 
 again from two to four. . . . 
 
 I have observed that teachers are often eccentric, and surely 
 David Dove was no exception, nor do I now know why so odd a 
 person was chosen by many for the care of youth. I fancy my 
 mother had to do with the choice in my case, and was influenced by 
 the fact that Dove rarely used the birch, but had a queer fancy for 
 setting culprits on a stool, with the birch switch stuck in the back 
 of the jacket, so as to stand up behind the head. I hated this, and 
 would rather have been birched secundum artem ^ than to have seen 
 the girls gigghng at me. I changed my opinion later. . . . 
 
 Our school Ufe with Dove ended after four years in an odd fashion. 
 I was then about twelve, and had become a vigorous, daring boy, 
 with, as it now seems to me, something of the fortunate gayety of 
 my mother. Other lads thought it singular that in peril I became 
 strangely vivacious ; but underneath I had a share of the relentless 
 firmness of my father, and of his vast disUke of failure, and of his 
 love of truth. I have often thought that the father in me saved me 
 
 * According to the usual method. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 61 
 
 from the consequences of so much of my mother's gentler nature 
 as might have done me harm in the rude conflicts of life. 
 
 David Dove, among other odd ways, devised a plan for punishing 
 the unpunctual which had considerable success. One day, when I 
 had far overstayed the hour of eight, by reason of having cUmbed 
 into Friend Pemberton's gardens, where I was tempted by many 
 green apples, I was met by four older boys. One had a lantern, 
 which, with much laughter, he tied about my neck, and one, march- 
 ing before, rang a bell. I had seen this queer punishment fall on 
 others, and certainly the amusement shown by people in the streets 
 would not have hurt me compared with the advantage of pockets 
 full of apples, had I not of a sudden seen my father, who usually 
 breakfasted at six, and was at his warehouse by seven. He looked 
 at me composedly, but went past us saying nothing. 
 
 On my return about eleven, he miluckily met me in the garden, 
 for I had gone the back way in order to hide my apples. I had an 
 unpleasant half-hour, despite my mother's tears, and was sent at 
 once to confess to Friend James Pemberton. The good man said I 
 was a naughty boy, but must come later when the apples were red 
 ripe, and I should take all I wanted, and I might fetch with me 
 another boy, or even two. I never forgot this, and did him some 
 good turns in after-years, and right gladly too. 
 
 In my own mind I associated David Dove with this painful inter- 
 view with my father. I disliked him the more because, when the 
 procession entered the school, a little girl for whom Warder and I 
 had a boy friendship, in place of laughing, as did the rest, for some 
 reason began to cry. This angered the master, who had the lack 
 of self-control often seen in eccentric people. He asked why she 
 cried, and on her sobbing out that it was because she was sorry for 
 me, he bade her take off her stays. These being stiff, and worn 
 outside the gown, would have made the punishment of the birch 
 on the shoulders of trifling moment. 
 
 As it was usual to whip girls at school, the little maid said nothing 
 but did as she was bid, taking a sharp birching without a cry. 
 Meanwhile I sat with my head in my hands, and my fingers in my 
 ears lest I should hear her weeping. After school that evening, 
 
62 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 when all but Warder and I had wandered home, I wrote on the out- 
 side wall of the school-house with chalk, ''David Dove Is A Cruel 
 Beast," and went away somewhat better contented. 
 
 Now, with all his seeming dislike to use the rod, David had turns 
 of severity, and then he was far more brutal than any man I have 
 ever known. Therefore it did not surprise us next morning that 
 the earlier scholars were looking with wonder and alarm at the 
 sentence on the wall, when Dove, appearing behind us, ordered us 
 to enter at once. 
 
 Going to his desk, he put on his spectacles, which then were 
 worn astride of the nose. In a minute he set on below them a 
 second pair, and this we knew to be a signal of coming violence. 
 Then he stood up, and asked who had written the opprobrious 
 epithet on the wall. As no one repHed, he asked several in turn, 
 but luckily chose the girls, thinking, perhaps, that they would 
 weakly betray the sinner. Soon he lost patience, and cried out he 
 would give a king's pound to know. 
 
 When he had said this over and over, I began to reflect that, if 
 he had any idea of doing as he promised, a pound was a great simi, 
 and to consider what might be done with it in the way of marbles 
 of Amsterdam, tops, and of certain much-desired books, for now 
 this latter temptation was upon me, as it has been ever since. As 
 I sat, and Dove thundered, I remembered how, when one Stacy, 
 with an oath, assured my father that his word was as good as his 
 bond, my parent said dryly that this equahty left him free to choose, 
 and he would prefer his bond. I saw no way to what was for me 
 the mysterious security of a bond, but I did conceive of some need 
 to stiffen the promise Dove had made before I faced the penalty. 
 
 Upon this I held up a hand, and the master cried, "What is it?" 
 
 I said, "Master, if a boy should tell thee wouldst thou surely give 
 a pound?" 
 
 At this a lad called "Shame !" thinking I was a telltale. 
 
 When Dove called silence and renewed his pledge, I, overbold, 
 said, "Master, I did it, and now wilt thou please to give me a pound 
 — a king's pound?" 
 
 "I will give thee a pounding!" he roared; and upon this came 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 63 
 
 down from his raised form, and gave me a beating so terrible and 
 cruel that at last the girls cried aloud, and he let me drop on the 
 floor, sore and angry. I lay still awhile, and then went to my seat. 
 As I bent over my desk, it was rather the sense that I had been 
 wronged, than the pain of the blows, which troubled me. 
 
 After school, refusing speech to any, I walked home, and min- 
 istered to my poor little bruised body as I best could. Now this 
 being a Saturday, and therefore a half-holiday, I ate at two with my 
 father and mother. 
 
 Presently, my father detecting my uneasy movements, said, 
 "Hast thou been birched today, and for what badness?" 
 
 Upon this my mother said softly, "What is it, my son ? Have no 
 fear." And this gentleness being too much for me, I fell to tears, 
 and blurted out all my Uttle tragedy. 
 
 As I ended, my father rose, very angry, and cried out, "Come 
 this way ! " But my mother caught me, saying, "No ! no ! Look, 
 John ! see his poor neck and his wrist ! What a brute ! I tell thee, 
 thou shalt not ! it were a sin. Leave him to me," and she thrust 
 me behind her as if for safety. 
 
 To my surprise, he said, "As thou wilt," and my mother hurried 
 me away. We had a grave, sweet talk, and there it ended for a 
 time. I learned that, after all, the woman's was the stronger will. 
 I was put to bed and declared to have a fever, and given sulphur and 
 treacle, and kept out of the paternal^ paths for a mournful day of 
 enforced rest. 
 
 On the Monday following I went to school as usual, but not 
 without fear of Dove. When we were all busy, about ten o'clock, 
 I was amazed to hear my father's voice. He stood before the desk, 
 and addressed Master Dove in a loud voice, meaning, I suppose, to 
 be heard by all of us. 
 
 "David Dove," he said, "my son has been guilty of disrespect 
 to thee, and to thy office. I do not say he has hed, for it is my 
 beUef that thou art truly an unjust and cruel beast. As for his sin, 
 he has suffered enough [I felt glad of this final opinion] ; but a bar- 
 gain was made. He, on his part, for a consideration of one pound 
 sterling, was to tell thee who wrote certain words. He has paid thee 
 
64 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 and thou hast taken interest out of his skin. Indeed, Friend Shy- 
 lock, I think he weighs less by a pound. Thou wilt give him his 
 pound, Master David." 
 
 Upon this a Httle maid near by smiled at me, and Warder punched 
 me in the ribs. Master Dove was silent a moment, and then 
 answered that there was no law to make him pay, and that he had 
 spoken hghtly, as one might say, "I would give this or that to 
 know." But my father replied at once : 
 
 "The boy trusted thee, and was as good as his word. I advise 
 thee to pay. As thou art Master to punish boys, so will I, David, 
 use thy birch on thee at need, and trust to the great Master to 
 reckon with me if I am wrong." 
 
 All this he said so fiercely that I trembled with joy, and hoped 
 that Dove would deny him ; but, in place of this, he muttered some- 
 thing about Meeting and Friends, and meanwhile searched his 
 pockets and brought out a guinea. This my father dropped into 
 his breeches pocket, saying, "The shilling will be for interest" (a 
 guinea being a shilling over a king's pound). After this, turning to 
 me, he said, "Come with me, Hugh," and went out of the school- 
 house, I following after, very well pleased, and thinking of my 
 guinea. 
 
 The Day of Judgment 
 (From Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward's Trotty's Wedding Tour) 
 
 I am fourteen years old and Jill is twelve and a quarter. Jill 
 is my brother. That isn't his name, you know ; his name is Timothy 
 and mine is George Zacharias; but they've always called us Jack 
 and Jill. . . . 
 
 Well, Jill and I had an invitation to Aunt John's this summer, and 
 that was how we happened to be there. . . . 
 
 I'd rather go to Aunt John's than anywhere else in this world. 
 When I was a little fellow I used to think I'd rather go to Aunt 
 John's than to go to Heaven. But I never dared to tell. . . . 
 
 She'd invited us to come on the 12th of August. It takes all 
 day to get to Aunt John's. She lives at Little River in New 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 65 
 
 Hampshire away up. You have to wait at South Lawrence in a 
 poky little depot, . . . and you get some played out. At least I 
 don't but Jill does. So we bought a paper and Jill sat up and read 
 it. When he'd sat a minute and read along : 
 
 "Look here!" said he. 
 
 ''Look where?" said I. 
 
 *'Why, there's going to be a comet tonight," said Jill. 
 
 "Who cares?" said I. 
 
 Jill laid down the paper, and crimched a pop-corn all up before 
 he answered that. Then said he, "I don't see why father didn't 
 tell us. I s'pose he thought we'd be frightened, or something. 
 Why, s'posing the world did come to an end? That's what this 
 paper says. 'It is predicted' — where's my place? ! I see — 
 'predicted by learned men that a comet will come into con — con- 
 junction with our plant' — no — 'our planet this night. Whether 
 we shall be plunged into a wild vortex of angry space, or suffocated 
 with n-o-x — noxious gases, or scorched to a helpless crisp, or 
 blasted at once into eternal an-ni-hi '" 
 
 A gust of wind grabbed the paper out of Jill's hand just then, and 
 took it out of the window ; so I never heard the rest. . . . 
 
 "Father isn't a goose," said L "He didn't think it worth men- 
 tioning. He isn't going to be afraid of a comet at his time of life ! " 
 
 So we didn't think any more about the comet till we got to 
 Aunt John's. . . . There was company there. ... It wasn't a 
 relation, only an old schoolmate, and her name was Miss Togy ; so 
 she'd come without an invitation, and had to have the spare room 
 because she was a lady. That was how Jill and I came to be put 
 in the little chimney bedroom. . . . 
 
 That little chimney bedroom is the funniest place you ever slept 
 in. . . . There'd been a chimney once, and it ran up by the window, 
 and grandfather had it taken away. It was a big, old, oZc^-fashioned 
 chimney, and it left the funniest little gouge in the room ! So the 
 bed went in as nice as could be. We couldn't see much but the 
 ceihng when we got to bed. 
 
 "It's pretty dark," said Jill; "I shouldn't wonder if it did blow 
 up a Uttle. Wouldn't it scare — Miss — Bogy ! " 
 
66 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 "Togy," said I. 
 
 "Well, T-o — " said Jill; and right in the middle of it he went 
 off as sound as a weasel. 
 
 The next thing I can remember is a horrible noise — I can't 
 think of but one thing in this world it was like, and that isn't in 
 this world so much. I mean the Last Trumpet, with the Angel 
 blowing as he blows in my old Primer. 
 
 But the next thing I remember is hearing Jill sit up in bed, — for 
 I couldn't see him, it was so dark, — and his piping out the other 
 half of Miss Togy's name just as he had left it when he went to 
 sleep : 
 
 ^'Gy! Bo-gy! Yo-gy! Soa-ky! — 0," said Jill, coming to at last, 
 ''I thought . . . why, what's up?" 
 
 I was up, but I couldn't tell what else was, for a little while. 
 I went to the window. It was as dark as a great rat-hole out-of- 
 doors, all but a streak of lightning and an awful thunder, as if the 
 world was cracking all to pieces. . , . 
 
 "Come to bed !" shouted Jill, "you'll get struck, and then that'll 
 kill me." 
 
 I went back to bed, for I didn't know what else to do. We 
 crawled down under the clothes and covered ourselves all up. 
 
 "W-ould — you — call Aunt — John?" asked Jill. He was 
 'most choked. I came up for air. 
 
 "No," said I, "I don't think I'd call Aunt John." 
 
 I should have liked to call Aunt John by that time ; but then I 
 should have felt ashamed. 
 
 "I s'pose she has got her hands full with Miss Croaky, anyway," 
 chattered Jill, bobbing up for a breath, and then bobbing under 
 again. 
 
 By that time the storm was the worst storm I had ever seen in 
 my life — it grew worse and worse. Thunder, lightning, and wind ! 
 Wind, lightning, and thunder ! Rain and roar and awfulness ! I 
 don't know how to tell how awful it was. . . . 
 
 In the middle of the biggest peal we'd had yet, up jumped Jill. 
 "Jack!" said he, "that comet!" I'd never thought of the comet 
 till that minute; I felt an ugly feeling and a little cold all over. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 67 
 
 'It is the comet!" said Jill. "It is the Day of Judgment, 
 Jack." . . . 
 
 Then it happened. It happened so fast I didn't even have time 
 to get my head under the clothes. 
 
 First there was a creak. Then a crash. Then we felt a shake as 
 if a giant pushed his shoulder up through the floor and shoved us. 
 Then we doubled up. And then we began to fall. The floor opened, 
 and we went through. I heard the bed-post hit as we went by. . . . 
 Then I felt another crash. Then we began to fall again. Then 
 we bumped down hard. After that we stopped falling. I lay 
 still. My heels were doubled up over my head. I thought my neck 
 would break. But I never dared to stir. I thought I was dead. 
 
 By and by I wondered if Jill were not dead too. So I undoubted 
 my neck a little and found some air. It seemed to be just as un- 
 comfortable ... to breathe without air when you were dead as 
 when you weren't. 
 
 I called out softly, "Jill!" No answer. "Jill!" Not a sound. 
 "O — JILL!" 
 
 But he did not speak. So then I knew Jill must be dead, at 
 any rate. I couldn't help wondering why he was so much deader 
 than I that he couldn't answer a fellow. Pretty soon I heard a 
 rustling noise around my feet. Then a weak, sick kind of a noise — 
 just the noise I always had supposed ghosts would make if they 
 talked. 
 
 "Jack?" 
 
 "Is that you, Jill?" 
 
 "I — suppose — so. Is it you, Jack?" 
 
 "Yes. Are ^ow dead?" 
 
 " I don't know. Are you ? " 
 
 " I guess I must be if you are. How awfully dark it is ! " 
 
 "Awfully dark ! It must have been the comet ! " 
 
 "Yes ; did you get much hurt ? " 
 
 " Not much — I say — Jack ? " 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "H it is the Judgment Day — " Jill broke up. So did I. We 
 lay as still as we could. If it were the Judgment Day 
 
68 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 "Jill!" said I. 
 
 "Oh, dear me!" sobbed Jill. 
 
 We were both crying by that time. I don't feel ashamed to own 
 up, as far as I'm concerned. 
 
 "If I'd known," said I, "that the Day of Judgment was coming 
 on the 12th of August, I wouldn't have been so mean about that 
 jack-knife of yours with the notch in it ! " 
 
 "And I wouldn't have eaten up your luncheon that day last 
 winter when I got mad at you," said Jill. 
 
 "Nor we wouldn't have cheated mother about smoking, vaca- 
 tions," said I. 
 
 " I'd never have played with the Bailey boys out behind the bam ! " 
 said Jill. 
 
 "I wonder where the comet went to," said I. 
 
 "'Whether we shall be plunged into,'" quoted Jill, in a horrible 
 whisper, from that dreadful newspaper, "'shall be plunged into a 
 wild vortex of angry space — or suffocated with noxious gases — 
 or scorched to a helpless crisp — or blasted ' " 
 
 "When do you suppose they'll come after us?" I interrupted Jill. 
 
 That very minute somebody came. We heard a step, and then 
 another. Then a heavy bang. Jill howled out a httle. I didn't, 
 for I was thinking how the cellar door banged like that. 
 
 Then came a voice, an awful, hoarse and trembling voice as 
 ever you'd want to hear, "George Zacharias!" 
 
 Then I knew it must be the Judgment Day and that the Angel 
 had me up in court to answer him. For you couldn't expect an 
 angel to call you Jack when you were dead. 
 
 "George Zacharias !" said the awful voice again. I didn't know 
 what else to do, I was so frightened, so I just hollered out, "Here !" 
 as I do at school. 
 
 "Timothy!" came the voice once more. 
 
 Now Jill had a bright idea. Up he shouted, "Absent!" at the 
 top of his lungs. 
 
 "George! Jack! Jill! where are you? Are you killed f 0, 
 wait a minute and I'll bring a light!" 
 
 This didn't sound so much like Judgment Day as it did like 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 69 
 
 Aunt John. I began to feel better. So did Jill. I sat up. So did 
 he. It wasn't a minute till the light came into sight and something 
 that looked Uke the cellar door, the cellar stairs, and Aunt John's 
 spotted wrapper, and Miss Togy in a night-gown, away behind, as 
 white as a ghost. Aunt John held the Ught above her head and 
 looked down. I don't believe I shall ever see an angel that will 
 make me feel any better to look at than Aunt John did that night. 
 
 "0 you blessed boys!" said Aunt John, — she was laughing 
 and crying together. "To think that you should have fallen 
 through the old chimney to the cellar floor and be sitting there alive 
 in such a funny heap as that ! " 
 
 That was just what we had done. The old flooring — not very 
 secure — had given way in the storm ; and we'd gone down through 
 two stories, where the chimney ought to have been, jam ! into the 
 cellar on the coal heap, and all as good as ever excepting the bed- 
 stead ! 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 (On stories in Lesson Six and Lesson Seven) 
 
 1. Make a list of the unfamiliar words in one of the foregoing sto- 
 
 ries and look them up in the dictionary. 
 
 2. Write a letter from Frau Hildesmuller to her daughter Lena. 
 
 Invent the details. 
 
 3. Imagine that Mr. Wynne, instead of calhng at David Dove's 
 
 school, had written him a letter. Reproduce the letter. 
 
 4. Jack writes a letter to a friend about his visit to Aunt John's 
 
 and the Day of Judgment. Reproduce the letter. 
 
 5. Write a letter to the author of one of the above stories, telling 
 
 him why you Uke it. 
 
 6. Which of the characters portrayed in the stories you read do 
 
 you like best? Give your reasons. 
 
 7. Show that the events in the stories you read follow one an- 
 
 other naturally ; show that each event grows out of a pre- 
 ceding one. 
 
 8. Imagine David Dove in Jack and Jill's place at Aunt John's. 
 
 Tell just how you think he would have behaved. 
 
70 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 9. Tell one of the above first-person stories in the third person. 
 Is anything lost ? Anything gained by the change ? Explain. 
 
 10. Tell the story of The Chaparral Prince in the first person, as 
 Lena told it in after years to her children. 
 
 LESSON EIGHT 
 Planning a Story 
 
 Remember again the two elements that make for interest 
 in composition — good writing and something to say. 
 Under good writing, in the lessons on letters, we were chiefly 
 concerned with forms, the customs that good letter writers 
 follow in order to make their letters easy to read and to 
 answer. In story telling, there are not so many customs 
 to trouble us, or, rather, the customs of story telUng are 
 those of all good writing, and deal with such things as spell- 
 ing, punctuation, and capitalization. But story telling 
 offers an excellent opportunity to begin the consideration 
 of one of the chief rules for all good writing — the careful 
 planning of all you propose to say. 
 
 Whenever you speak, whenever you write, there are two 
 steps to take — first the preparation, second the actual 
 speaking or the writing out. Planning is just getting the 
 results of your preparation in clear and visible form. 
 
 Everything that is worth while doing must be thoroughly 
 planned. You can see evidence of this truth all about you, 
 not only in the achievements of men but also in the workings 
 of nature. Every bolt and screw in a large building is ac- 
 counted for in the plans for that building before human 
 hand is permitted to touch the material out of which it is 
 made. Nature observes the strictest regularity of plan in 
 the succession of days and nights, of months and years, of 
 seasons and centuries. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 71 
 
 In writing and speaking you must know not only just 
 what you are going to say but just how you are going to say 
 it as well. And you must learn to plan so easily and so 
 naturally, that, as soon as you are given a task to do, you 
 will, as you prepare, almost unconsciously hit upon a method 
 for the performance of that task. 
 
 Here is a little plan for the story on page 54. Just 
 below it is a plan for the story on page 56. Study these 
 two plans in connection with the stories from which they 
 are taken. 
 
 To THE Death 
 
 1. Spitz brings down the rabbit 
 
 a. A contest with Buck 
 
 2. Buck attacks Spitz 
 
 a. A close match 
 
 b. A fight to the death 
 
 3. Spitz gains in the struggle 
 
 a. The waiting wolfish circles 
 
 b. Spitz's method of rushing 
 
 4. Buck fights by head as well as by instinct 
 
 a. Sweeps low and in 
 
 b. Breaks Spitz's left foreleg 
 
 c. Breaks Spitz's right foreleg 
 
 5. Spitz is done for 
 
 a. A game loser 
 
 b. The inclosing circle 
 
 c. Spitz's disappearance 
 
 6. Buck stands proudly victorious 
 
 The Parable of the Talents 
 
 Introduction 
 
 1. The master 
 
 2. The three servants 
 
 3. The three gifts 
 
72 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Discussion 
 
 1. The report of the first servant 
 
 a. "I have gained other five talents " 
 
 2. The report of the second servant 
 
 a. " I have gained other two talents " 
 
 3. The report of the third servant 
 
 a. "I hid thy talent in the earth " 
 Conclusion 
 
 1. The master's reproof 
 
 2. The punishment 
 
 3. The lesson 
 
 In planning a story, you may enumerate the principal 
 events in the order in which they occur. This is called the 
 time or chronological order. But it is often better to reserve 
 the most interesting happening for a place near the end. 
 It is sometimes necessary, also, at the outset to explain the 
 situation or to describe the scene of the story or to discuss 
 certain of the important characters. The following general 
 plan will be found useful in preparing to write out stories : — 
 
 1. Situation 
 
 a. Time 
 
 b. Place 
 
 c. Characters 
 
 2. Happenings 
 
 The important events, with the most interesting last 
 
 3. Result 
 
 What follows as the result of the event of greatest interest 
 
 Sometimes, however, a story starts in the middle of things. 
 Such is the case with The Chaparral Prince on page 32. 
 The story opens with Lena in the midst of a sorry situation. 
 Thence, by degrees, it is unfolded, until the reader is taken 
 back to the beginning of Lena's troubles and Lena's hopes. 
 This plan has the advantage of gripping the interest of the 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 73 
 
 reader at once. It is the method of The Odyssey, of Paradise 
 Lost, and many of the great stories of the world. 
 
 You may make your stories more vivid and real by telling 
 them in the first person. This sometimes presents diffi- 
 culties, especially when the narrator has to be in one place 
 and the events of the story occur elsewhere. But the diffi- 
 culty may be met by various devices, such as a letter or a 
 diary in which occurrences are reported that took place in 
 the story teller's absence. You will find it an interesting 
 exercise to change a story from one person to another, or 
 to tell a story by means of the conversation of many differ- 
 ent characters. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Why is a plan necessary to the telling of a story? 
 
 2. How should one go about planning a story? 
 
 3. Make a plan for The Day of Judgment (page 64), for Hugh's 
 
 School Days (page 57), for Buddy and Waffles (page 43). 
 
 4. Explain how these plans differ from those given on pages 176, 
 
 177, 203. 
 
 5. Make a plan and write a short story on one of the following 
 
 topics : — 
 Why Bill left school. The biography of a school boy. 
 
 The fish that wouldn't bite. Late — and then ! — . 
 When the canoe upset. Grandma's Wedge wood platter. 
 
 A day I shall never forget. Finding the treasure. 
 
 6. Tell the story of To the Death according to Buck ; that is, use 
 
 the first person throughout and let Buck do the telling. 
 
 7. Imagine that Aunt John was observing Jack and Jill during 
 
 their frightful night. Tell the story of The Day of Judgment 
 in her words. 
 
 8. Plan and write a story in which you show the superior character 
 
 of some animal by what he does. The following topics may 
 
 be suggestive : — 
 Toby, the truck horse. Tabby, the patient heroine. 
 Rex, the rescuer. King, the trusty knight of the harness. 
 
74 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 9. Plan and write a story suggested by one of the following : — 
 Pluck Slacker Downed Stuck 
 
 Nerve Game Cornered Sand 
 
 10. Plan and write a story suggested by one of the following : — 
 
 My first real work. My last penny. 
 
 My first failure. My first party. 
 
 My best lesson. My first whipping. 
 
 My pleasantest surprise. My oldest trick. 
 
 11. Tell the story of what happened to Hugh Wynne at school, by 
 
 means of conversation between Hugh's father and mother. 
 
 12. Tell the story of some school contest by means of conversation 
 
 (1) Among the teachers, or 
 
 (2) Among the pupils, or 
 
 (3) Among the parents of the pupils who took part. 
 
 LESSON NINE 
 
 Stories in Poetry Told in the Third Person 
 
 Read some or all of the poems that follow. Which do you 
 like best? Draw up a brief plan for it. Look up the mean- 
 ings of any unfamiliar words. 
 
 The Old Man and Jim^ 
 
 (By James Whitcomb Riley) 
 
 Old man never had much to say — 
 
 'Ceptin' to Jim, — 
 And Jim was the wildest boy he had, 
 
 And the old man jes' wrapped up in him ! 
 Never heerd him speak but once 
 Er twice in my life, — and first time was 
 When the army broke out, and Jim he went, 
 
 ^ From the Biographical Edition of the Complete Works of James Whit- 
 comb Riley, copyright 1913. Used by special permission of the publishers. 
 The Bobbs-Merrill Company. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 75 
 
 The old man backin' him fer three months ; 
 And all 'at I heerd the old man say 
 Was, jes' as we turned to start away, — 
 
 " Well, good-by, Jim : 
 
 Take keer of yourse'f !" 
 
 Teared like he was more satisfied 
 
 Jes' lookin' at Jim 
 And likin' him all to hisse'f-like, see ? 
 
 'Cause he was jes' wrapped up in him ! 
 And over and over I mind the day 
 The old man come and stood round in the way 
 While we was drillin', a-watchin' Jim ; 
 And down at the deepot a-heerin' him say, — 
 
 "Well, good-by, Jim : 
 
 Take keer of yourse'f !" 
 
 Never was nothin' about the farm 
 
 Disting'ished Jim ; 
 Neighbors all ust to wonder why 
 
 The old man 'peared wrapped up in him : 
 But when Cap. Biggler, he writ back 
 'At Jim was the bravest boy we had 
 In the whole dern rigiment, white er black, 
 And his fightin' good as his farmin' bad, — 
 'At he had led, with a bullet clean 
 Bored through his thigh, and carried the flag 
 Through the bloodiest battle you ever seen, — 
 The old man wound up a letter to him 
 'At Cap. read to us, 'at said, — " Tell Jim 
 
 Good-by ; 
 
 And take keer of hisse'f !" 
 
 Jim come home jes' long enough 
 
 To take the whim 
 'At he'd like to go back in the calvery — 
 
 And the old man jes' wrapped up in him ! 
 
76 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Jim 'lowed 'at he'd had sich luck afore, 
 Guessed he'd tackle her three years more. 
 And the old man give him a colt he'd raised, 
 And foUered him over to Camp Ben Wade, 
 And laid around fer a week er so, 
 Watchin' Jim on dress-parade ; 
 'Tel finally he rid away. 
 And last he heerd was the old man say, — 
 
 "Well, good-by, Jim : 
 
 Take keer of yourse'f !" 
 
 Tuk the papers, the old man did, 
 
 A-watchin' fer Jim, 
 Fully believin' he'd make his mark 
 
 Some way — jes' wrapped up in him I 
 And many a time the word 'ud come 
 'At stirred him up like a tap of a drum : 
 At Petersburg, fer instunce, where 
 Jim rid right into their cannons there. 
 And tuk 'em, and p'inted 'em t'other way, 
 And socked it home to the boys in gray, 
 As they skooted fer timber, and on and on — 
 Jim a lieutenant, — and one arm gone, — 
 And the old man's words in his mind all day, - 
 
 "Well, good-by, Jim : 
 
 Take keer of yourse'f!" 
 
 Think of a private, now, perhaps, 
 
 We'll say like Jim, 
 'At's clum clean up to the shoulder-straps — 
 
 And the old man jes' wrapped up in liim ! 
 Think of him — with the war plum' through 
 And the glorious old Red-White-and-Blue 
 A-laughin' the news down over Jim, 
 And the old man, bendin' over him — 
 The surgeon turnin' away with tears 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 77 
 
 'At hadn't leaked fer years and years, 
 As the hand of the dyin' boy clung to 
 His Father's, the old voice in his ears, — 
 
 "Well, good-by, Jim : 
 
 Take keer of yourse'f !" 
 
 First Appearance at the Odeon 
 (By James T. Fields) 
 
 " I am Nicholas Tacchinardi, — hunchbacked, look you, and a 
 
 fright ; 
 Caliban himself might never interpose so foul a sight. 
 Granted ; but I come not, masters, to exhibit form or size. 
 Gaze not on my Umbs, good people ; lend your ears and not your 
 
 eyes. 
 I'm a singer, not a dancer, — spare me for a while your din ; 
 Let me try my voice tonight here, — keep your jests till I begin. 
 Have the kindness but to hsten, — this is all I dare to ask. 
 See, I stand beside the foothghts, waiting to begin my task. 
 If I fail to please you, curse me, — not before my voice you hear, 
 Thrust me not from the Odeon. Hearken, and I've naught to fear." 
 
 Then the crowd in pit and boxes jeered the dwarf, and mocked his 
 shape ; 
 
 Called him "monster," "thing abhorrent," crying "off, presump- 
 tuous ape ! 
 
 Off, unsightly, baleful creature ! off, and quit the insulted stage ! 
 
 Move aside, repulsive figure, or deplore our gathering rage." 
 
 Bowing low, pale Tacchinardi, long accustomed to such threats, 
 Burst into a grand bravura, showering notes like diamond jets, j— 
 Sang until the ringing plaudits through the wide Odeon rang, — 
 Sang as never soaring tenor ere behind those foothghts sang ; 
 And the hunchback, ever after, like a god was hailed with cries, — 
 "Eling of minstrels, live forever! Shame on fools who have but 
 eyes!" 
 
78 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The Ballad of the Oysterman 
 (By Oliver Wendell Holmes) 
 
 It was a tall young oysterman lived by the river-side, 
 His shop was just upon the bank, his boat was on the tide; 
 The daughter of a fisherman, that was so straight and slim, 
 Lived over on the other bank, right opposite to him. 
 
 It was the pensive oysterman that saw a lovely maid. 
 Upon the moonlight evening, a sitting in the shade ; 
 He saw her wave her handkerchief, as much as if to say, 
 "I'm wide awake, young oysterman, and all the folks away." 
 
 Then up arose the oysterman, and to himself said he, 
 
 " I guess I'll leave the skiff at home, for fear that folks should see ; 
 
 I read it in the story book, that, for to kiss his dear, 
 
 Leander swam the Hellespont, — and I will swim this here." 
 
 And he has leaped into the waves, and crossed the shining stream, 
 And he has clambered up the bank, all in the moonlight gleam ; 
 O there were kisses sweet as dew, and words as soft as rain, — 
 But they have heard her father's step, and in he leaps again ! 
 
 Out spoke the ancient fisherman, — "0 what was that, my 
 
 daughter?" 
 '"Twas nothing but a pebble, sir, I threw into the water;" 
 "And what is that, pray tell me, love, that paddles off so fast?" 
 "It's nothing but a porpoise, sir, that's been a swimming past.'* 
 
 Out spoke the ancient fisherman, — "Now bring me my harpoon ! 
 I'll get into my fishing-boat, and fix the fellow soon ; " 
 Down fell that pretty innocent, as falls a snow-white lamb, 
 Hor hair drooped round her pallid cheeks, like sea- weed on a clam. 
 
 Alas for those two loving ones ! she waked not from her s wound. 
 And he was taken with the cramp, and in the waves was drowned ; 
 But Fate has metamorphosed them, in pity of their woe. 
 And now they keep an oyster-shop for mermaids down below. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 79 
 
 The Highwayman^ 
 
 (By Alfred Noyes) 
 
 Part One 
 
 The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees, 
 The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, 
 The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, 
 And. the highwayman came riding — 
 
 Riding — riding — 
 The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door. 
 
 He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin, 
 A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doeskin ; 
 They fitted with never a wrinkle : his boots were up to the thigh ! 
 And he rode with a jeweled twinkle. 
 
 His pistol butts a-twinkle. 
 His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn yard, 
 And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and 
 
 barred ; 
 He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting 
 
 there 
 But the landlord's black-eyed daughter, 
 
 Bess, the landlord's daughter. 
 Plaiting a dark red love knot into her long black hair. 
 
 IV 
 
 And dark in the dark old inn yard a stable-wicket creaked 
 Where Tim the ostler listened ; his face was white and peaked ; 
 His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like moldy hay, 
 
 * Used by permission of The Macmillan Company. 
 
80 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 But he loved the landlord's daughter, 
 The landlord's red-lipped daughter, 
 Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say — 
 
 "One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize tonight, 
 But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light ; 
 Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day. 
 Then look for me by moonhght. 
 
 Watch for me by moonhght, 
 I'll come to thee by moonhght, though hell should bar the way." 
 
 VI 
 
 He rose upright in the stirrups ; he scarce could reach her hand, 
 But she loosened her hair i' the casement ! His face burned Uke a 
 
 brand 
 As the black cascade of perfume came tumbHng over his breast ; 
 And he kissed its waves in the moonhght, 
 
 (Oh, sweet black waves in the moonhght !) 
 Then he tugged at his rein in the moonhght, and galloped away to 
 
 the West. 
 
 Part Two 
 
 He did not come in the dawning ; he did not come at noon ; 
 And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon, 
 Wlien the road was a gypsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor, 
 A redcoat troop came marching — 
 
 Marching — Marching — 
 King George's men came marching, up to the old inn door. 
 
 n 
 
 They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead. 
 But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her 
 narrow bed ; 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 81 
 
 Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side ! 
 There was death at every window ; 
 
 And hell at one dark window ; 
 For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would 
 ride. 
 
 in 
 
 They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest ; 
 They had boimd a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her 
 
 breast ! 
 "Now keep good watch !" and they kissed her. 
 She heard the dead man say * 
 Look for me by moonlight; 
 
 Watch for me by moonlight; 
 I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way ! 
 
 IV 
 
 She twisted her hands behind her ; but all the knots held good ! 
 She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood ! 
 They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled 
 
 by like years, 
 Till, now, on the stroke of midnight. 
 
 Cold on the stroke of midnight. 
 The tip of one finger touched it ! The trigger at least was hers ! 
 
 The tip of one finger touched it ; she strove no more for the rest ! 
 Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast, 
 She would not risk their hearing ; she would not strive again ; 
 For the road lay bare in the moonlight ; 
 
 Blank and bare in the moonhght ; 
 And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's 
 refrain. 
 
 ^ She already thought of her lover as dead. 
 
82 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 VI 
 
 Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs ringing 
 
 clear ; 
 TloHlotf tlot-tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did 
 
 not hear ? 
 Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill, 
 The highwayman came riding, 
 
 Riding, — riding ! 
 The redcoats looked to their priming ! She stood up, straight and 
 
 still! 
 
 VII 
 
 Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence ! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night ! 
 Nearer he came and nearer ! Her face was like a hght ! 
 Her eyes grew wide for a moment ; she drew one last deep breath, 
 Then her finger moved in the moonUght, 
 
 Her musket shattered the moonhght, 
 Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him — with her 
 death. 
 
 vin 
 
 He turned ; he spurred to the Westward ; he did not know who 
 
 stood 
 Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red 
 
 blood ! 
 Not till the dawn he heard it, and slowly blanched to hear 
 How Bess, the landlord's daughter, 
 
 The landlord's black-eyed daughter, 
 Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness 
 
 there. 
 
 DC 
 
 Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky, 
 With the white road smoking behind him, and his rapier brandished 
 
 high! 
 Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his 
 
 velvet coat ; 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 83 
 
 When they shot him down on the highway, 
 
 Down like a dog on the highway, 
 And he lay in his blood on the highway, with the bunch of lace at 
 his throat. 
 
 And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees, 
 When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas, 
 When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor, 
 A highwayman comes riding — 
 
 Riding — riding — 
 A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn door. 
 
 XI 
 
 Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn yard; 
 And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred; 
 He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there 
 But the landlord's black-eyed daughter, 
 
 Bess, the landlord's daughter, 
 Plaiting a dark red love knot into her long black hair. 
 
 LESSON TEN 
 
 Stories in Poetry Told in the First Person 
 
 Which of the following poems do you like the better? 
 Draw up a brief plan for The Yarn of the Nancy Bell. Look 
 up all unfamiliar words in these poems : — 
 
 Bird Thoughts 
 
 I lived first. in a little house, and lived there very well, 
 I thought the world was small and round, and made of pale blue 
 shell. 
 
 I lived next in a little nest, nor needed any other, 
 
 I thought the world was made of straw, and brooded to my mother. 
 
84 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 One day I fluttered from the nest to see what I could find, 
 
 I said : ''The world is made of leaves ; I have been very blind." 
 
 At length I flew beyond the tree, quite fit for grown-up labors, 
 I don't know how the world is made, and neither do my neighbors ! 
 
 The Yarn of the "Nancy Bell" 
 (By W. S. Gilbert) 
 
 'Twas on the shores that round our coast 
 
 From Deal to Ramsgate span, 
 That I found alone, on a piece of stone, 
 
 An elderly naval man. 
 
 His hair was weedy, his beard was long, 
 
 And weedy and long was he ; 
 And I heard this wight on the shore recite, 
 
 In a singular minor key : 
 
 "Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold, 
 
 And the mate of the Nancy brig. 
 And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, 
 
 And the crew of the captain's gig." 
 
 And he shook his fists and he tore his hair, 
 
 Till I really felt afraid. 
 For I couldn't help thinking the man had been drinking, 
 
 And so I simply said : 
 
 "Oh, elderly man, it's little I know 
 
 Of the duties of men of the sea. 
 And I'll eat my hand if I understand 
 
 However you can be 
 
 "At once a cook, and a captain bold, 
 
 And the mate of the Nancy brig, 
 And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, 
 
 And the crew of the captain's gig." 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 85 
 
 Then he gave a hitch to his trousers, which 
 
 Is a trick all seamen larn, 
 And having got rid of a thumping quid, 
 
 He spun this painful yarn : 
 
 "'Twas in the good ship Nancy Bell 
 
 That we sailed to the Indian Sea, 
 And there on a reef we come to grief, 
 
 Which has often occurred to me. 
 
 "And pretty nigh all o' the crew was drowned 
 
 (There was seventy-seven o' soul), 
 And only ten of the Nancy^s men 
 
 Said ' Here ! ' to the muster-roll. 
 
 "There was me, and the cook, and the captain bold, 
 
 And the mate of the Nancy brig, 
 And the bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite. 
 
 And the crew of the captain's gig. 
 
 "For a month we'd neither wittles nor drink, 
 
 Till a-hungry we did feel, 
 So we drawed a lot, and, accordin' shot 
 
 The captain for our meal. 
 
 "The next lot fell to the Nancy's mate, 
 
 And a delicate dish he made ; 
 Then our appetite with the midshipmite 
 
 We seven survivors stayed. 
 
 "And then we murdered the bo'sun tight. 
 
 And he much resembled pig ; 
 'Then we wittled free, did the cook and me, 
 
 On the crew of the captain's gig. 
 
 "Then only the cook and me was left, 
 
 And the deUcate question, ' Which 
 Of us two goes to the kettle ? ' arose. 
 
 And we argued it out as sich. 
 
86 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 " For I loved that cook as a brother, I did, 
 
 And the cook he worshipped me ; 
 But we'd both be blowed if we'd either be stowed 
 
 In the other chap's hold, you see. 
 
 '"I'll be eat if you dines off me,' says Tom. 
 
 'Yes, that,' says I, 'you'll be, — 
 I'm boiled if I die, my friend,' quoth I ; 
 
 And 'Exactly so,' quoth he. 
 
 " Says he : ' Dear James, to murder me 
 
 Were a fooUsh thing to do. 
 For don't you see that you can't cook me. 
 
 While I can — and will — cook you ! ' 
 
 " So he boils the water, and takes the salt 
 
 And the pepper in portions true 
 (Which he never forgot), and some chopped shalot, 
 
 And some sage and parsley too. 
 
 "'Come here,' says he, with a proper pride, 
 
 Which his smiling features tell, 
 * 'Twill soothing be if I let you see 
 
 How extremely nice you'll smell.' 
 
 "And he stirred it round and round and roimd, 
 And he sniffed at the foaming froth ; 
 
 When I ups with his heels, and smothers his squeals 
 In the scum of the boiling broth. 
 
 "And I eat that cook in a week or less, 
 
 And — as I eating be 
 The last of his chops, why, I almost drops, 
 
 For a wessel in sight I see. 
 
 ******* 
 "And I never larf, and I never smile, 
 
 And I never lark nor play ; 
 But sit and croak, and a single joke 
 
 I have — which is to say : 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 87 
 
 " Oh, I am a cook and a captain bold 
 
 And the mate of the Nancy brig, 
 And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, 
 
 And the crew of the captain's gig !" 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 (On poems in Lesson Nine and Lesson Ten) 
 
 1. In which of the above poems are the most unusual events set 
 
 forth ? Explain. 
 
 2. Which of these poems portrays the most lovable human char- 
 
 acter? Tell something about this character. 
 
 3. Reproduce Captain Biggler's letter (mentioned in the second 
 
 stanza on page 75) . Follow good letter form and add to the 
 contents of the letter from your imagination. 
 
 4. Which of the above poems is most interesting because of its 
 
 characters ? Which is the most interesting because of its 
 events? Which has the most interesting scene or setting? 
 
 5. Tell the story of The Ballad of the Oysterman or of The Highway- 
 
 man or of Bird Thoughts, in a letter to a friend. 
 
 LESSON ELEVEN 
 Interest in Story Telling 
 
 A well-planned story will always be interesting, if its 
 subject matter is interesting. The best-planned story 
 about the tiresome events of a dull hour waiting for a train 
 in a country station would probably not awake attention. 
 On the other hand, a story badly told of the wild ride of a 
 plunging, driverless automobile down the main street of a 
 village would be interesting, — though it would be much 
 more interesting if told well. 
 
 What makes interesting subject matter for stories? The 
 answer is the same as to the questions, "What interests you 
 
88 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 in your life? What arouses your attention? " First of all, 
 perhaps, events a little out of the ordinary, events that 
 stir your imagination because you enjoy them; or that 
 leave a vivid impression because, even if unpleasant, they 
 are so different from the ordinary run of experience. No 
 one is, or should be, content with the dull routine of doing 
 just the same things day after day. It is human nature to 
 follow one's impulses occasionally and seek for something 
 new; or if novelty comes of itself, to enjoy it. Men and 
 women who have been condemned by hard circumstances 
 to labor for many years at monotonous tasks, with few 
 holidays and no break in routine, become cramped in mind, 
 and incapable of enjoyment when the opportunity arrives. 
 
 Now, many stories deal with events that are different 
 from everyday experience, and it is this that makes them 
 so interesting. Indeed, stories have comforted the human 
 race in the midst of monotonous toil since the beginning 
 of recorded time. And it is precisely the unusual events 
 that you yourself have seen, or imagined, which will make 
 interesting subject matter for stories. Plan the telling of 
 these events and they will be more interesting still. 
 
 But events do not constitute the only interesting elements 
 in a story. Some one must act and think and speak in the 
 events of which you are going to tell. There must be, as 
 the old books put it, a "hero" or a ''heroine" ; and he or 
 she must usually have companions. We are interested 
 ordinarily in the people in our stories quite as much as in 
 the events ; sometimes we are interested more. And we 
 are especially interested in what we call their "character" 
 or their "personality." 
 
 Sometimes this character is humorous (events, of course, 
 can be humorous, too). Sometimes it is pathetic; some- 
 times it is strong; sometimes weak. But as long as it 
 
^^^^^^^^^m 
 
 ^ }' ^ fc 'P > ^ SJri^^ ''^-^ '^ % 
 
 / 
 
90 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 bears some resemblance (even a humorous one) to human 
 nature, we are interested. Indeed, it does not have to be 
 human in order to be like human nature. In The Jungle 
 Books, Kipling gives the traits of men to animals, and so 
 does Ernest Seton-Thompson in Wild Animals I Have Known. 
 In Kipling's .007 a locomotive is the hero ; a bowlder in the 
 field, a house, an ant, a day, the moon, can be given a char- 
 acter and made the hero or the heroine of a story. 
 
 And there is still one other element in a story that makes 
 for interest. This is the scene, the background, the " setting '* 
 as it is often called. Every scene is interesting if you study it 
 closely and sympathetically, even the slum backyard with 
 its piles of refuse, even the stretch of desert with its monoto- 
 nous sage brush and sand. However, other scenes will 
 probably be much more interesting for you than these. It 
 is the scene that interests you — your own town, the 
 country you see in the summer, the wild mountains you 
 saw from the train window — that should go into your 
 stories. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Select the incidents from an unusually exciting school day 
 
 that might be interesting enough to use in a story. 
 
 2. Look over the stories you have written in earlier lessons and 
 
 decide whether you have always selected the most interesting 
 of possible events. 
 
 3. Make a list of interesting characters you have known that 
 
 might be used in stories. Write a story about one of them, 
 planning it first. 
 
 4. Make a list of possible "heroes" for stories, drawn from the 
 
 animal or the inanimate world. Write a story about one of 
 them, planning it first. 
 6. Study the picture on the preceding page. Plan and write a 
 little story suggested by it. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 91 
 
 LESSON TWELVE 
 
 Interest in Words 
 
 Suppose that what you have to say, whether in a letter 
 or a story, is worth the saying. Suppose that, if it is in a 
 letter, you have comphed with all the customs of good 
 letter writing. Suppose that, if it is in a story, you have 
 planned it well, selected the most interesting episodes, 
 chosen the best form of telling. Suppose that you have 
 seen and felt truly, thought well, and carefully expressed 
 what lies in your mind. Nevertheless, you may still fail 
 to be interesting (or clear or convincing) unless you have 
 found the right words. And if the compositions you have 
 written for the previous lessons are not nearly so interesting 
 as the subjects seemed to be when you chose them, the 
 trouble probably lies in your choice of words. 
 
 A word is a name. Call John, Joseph, and he will not 
 answer. Call a sluggish horse a slow one and your reader 
 will not get the truth. The thing, the thought, the action, 
 the color, the smell, the feeling, — all in the world about 
 us or the mind within us that can be named by words, must 
 be exactly named before we can write accurately and well. 
 Only by an exact knowledge of words and by precision 
 in their use is it possible to make speaking and writing 
 interesting. Words themselves are interesting. A little 
 study of them reveals in many cases an origin and a history 
 that make absorbing reading. And there is perhaps no 
 study that pays so well in the end as the study of words. 
 You cannot express yourself with accuracy and fineness 
 unless you have a large vocabulary that is ready at hand 
 when you need it. The ignorant person who is obliged to 
 depend upon but few words for the expression of his ideas 
 
92 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 is at a decided loss to make his wants known with any degree 
 of nicety. A Milton or a Shakespeare, with thousands of 
 words at his command, can secure the finest shades of mean- 
 ing in his expression, and thus insure his work against time. 
 You yourself, as you add new words to your vocabulary in 
 order to express the new things you are learning and think- 
 ing, will feel your power over expression grow. You will 
 not only write better, you will also think better. 
 
 The most interesting study of words is not of their classi- 
 fications, but of the use to be made of them. There are 
 a few definitions and classifications of words, however, that 
 should be learned first. Study carefully those that follow : — 
 
 A STANDARD WORD is oue that is used by the best speakers 
 and writers. You will invariably find it in any good dic- 
 tionary. 
 
 A TECHNICAL WORD is One that applies to some narrow range 
 or field of activity. Every trade, every profession, every 
 pursuit, has a vocabulary peculiar to itself. Piston is a 
 technical engineering term; tee belongs to golf; riveting 
 to construction work; parboil to domestic science, and so 
 forth. 
 
 A COLLOQUIAL WORD or phrase is used in ordinary conversa- 
 tion, but not, as a rule, in formal writing or speaking. The 
 folks, All right, Hold on (in the sense of "Wait for me") 
 are colloquial expressions. 
 
 A COINED WORD is a word invention made for the purpose of 
 meeting a new need of expression. When the cinematograph 
 came into general use, there was no simple word at hand to 
 name the pictures. The movies was coined from ''moving 
 pictures," and has been widely adopted. Marconigram is 
 another coinage, this time from the name of the inventor 
 of wireless telegraphy. Coinages are usually made by com- 
 bination rather than by outright invention. Motor was 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 93 
 
 originally a noun only. Since the gasoline engine has be- 
 come so common, it is used not only as a verb, motored^ 
 motoring, but has also been placed in more than one com- 
 bination, motor car, motor boat, etc. 
 
 Slang is made up of coined and colloquial words that are 
 not in good usage. It is often language in the making ; it 
 is quite as often language breaking down, losing its fine 
 shades of meaning, and therefore its expressiveness. Do'pe, 
 rooky, get on the hand wagon are examples. The first and 
 last are too vague or too local in their meanings to be valu- 
 able. The second, as a name for a new recruit, is really 
 expressive, and may survive. Slang is dangerous because 
 it tends to limit the vocabulary, one slang expression serv- 
 ing for many meanings ; and because it is never generally 
 understood. New York slang is often meaningless to a 
 Texan. 
 
 Synonyms are words that mean almost the same thing, 
 as, — like and similar; system and method; fun and sport. 
 
 Homonyms are words that are pronounced alike but have 
 different meanings, as, — in and inn; hart and heart; mantel 
 and mantle. 
 
 Antonyms are words directly opposed to one another in 
 meaning, as, — short and long ; praise and scorn ; anxiety and 
 apathy. Antonyms are frequently formed by the use of a 
 negative prefix, as, — regular and irregular ; resistance and 
 non-resistance. 
 
 There are other, less important classifications of words 
 that it is well, at least, to know about. An obsolete word 
 is one that was once in good standing in the language but 
 has passed out of use, as favour for appearance. An archaic 
 WORD is obsolete as far as general usage is concerned, but has 
 been revived for poetry, or for writing that aims to create 
 an old-time atmosphere, as y-clept for called, or an for if. A 
 
94 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 PROVINCIAL WORD is used only in a limited section of the 
 country, as reckon in the South, and guess in New England 
 and elsewhere, for think. A dialectic word belongs to some 
 dialect that differs somewhat from the standard language, 
 as bonny in Scottish for comely or satisfactory. Foreign 
 WORDS or PHRASES are often borrowed from another language 
 to express meanings not easily or exactly conveyed in Eng- 
 lish, as tete a tete, au revoir, status quo. Be moderate in their 
 use. Use English where Enghsh will serve. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 1. Explain the meaning of the following words 
 
 2. 
 
 3. 
 
 footballing 
 
 aviation 
 
 you-all 
 
 chores 
 
 sware 
 
 pedal 
 
 right (in "he is right good") 
 
 lot (in **a lot of dogs") 
 
 aeroplane 
 
 alderney 
 
 shunt 
 
 audit 
 
 carburetor 
 
 auld lang syne 
 
 binder 
 
 label 
 
 hoof 
 
 passport 
 
 Classify the words above according as they are archaic, techni- 
 
 cal, colloquial, provincial, ( 
 
 iialectical, slang, or coined. 
 
 Look up the following words 
 
 in the dictionary. What do they 
 
 mean? What does the dictionary tell you of their interesting 
 
 origin? 
 
 
 alphabet derrick 
 
 lynch quixotic 
 
 babel dunce 
 
 macadamize shrapnel 
 
 bloomer fad 
 
 mackintosh sophomore 
 
 boycott galvanic 
 
 namby-pamby volt 
 
 daily gerrymander 
 
 pompadour zeppelin 
 
 One pupil asked another, "Have you Csesared yet?" He 
 meant, "Have you studied the lesson in Csesar yet?" In- 
 vent similar coinages that pertain to your work. Which, 
 if any, do you think possible of permanent adoption in the 
 language? Why? 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 
 
 95 
 
 5. Give homonyms for the following : — 
 
 fain greave heard medal seen 
 
 flue hair heir our sere 
 
 fur hale bear raise tail 
 
 gait hart limb rap you 
 
 6. Give antonjrms for the following : — 
 
 advance clear fierce good rapid 
 
 aid dull genius irregular run 
 
 beneficial earn get learned save 
 
 certain end give neglect work 
 
 7. Give synonyms for the following : — 
 
 able aged balk check hard 
 
 above argument beauty claim obstinate 
 
 accurate art belief coldness prepare 
 
 acquire avenge calmness game queer 
 
 8. What is your own opinion of the following words? How did 
 
 they come into use, do you suppose ? Tell as nearly as you 
 can, without looking them up, what they mean : — 
 bang clatter hark swish twitter 
 
 buzz cUck hiss tinkle whew 
 
 chatter fizz jingle titter whiz 
 
 clang growl mew turnpike wow 
 
 9. Make lists of words that bear upon your father's work ; upon 
 
 your mother's work ; upon some game you like to play ; upon 
 some work you have to do every day ; upon the subjects you 
 have studied or are now studying. 
 10. Write five sentences, each containing a slang word or phrase, 
 or a colloquial word or phrase. Rewrite them in standard 
 English. 
 
 LESSON THIRTEEN 
 
 The Dictionary^ 
 
 If you would be expert in the use of words, acquire the 
 dictionary habit. A good dictionary registers the best 
 
 1 The major part of this lesson is taken from E. W. Gavins' Teaching the 
 Use of the Dictionary in the School News for September, 1917. 
 
96 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 usage of the best speakers and writers of the time. It will 
 correct your misuse of words, your misspelUngs of words, 
 and your mispronunciation of words. It will do more than 
 this, — it will help you to increase your vocabulary. You 
 must have a large number of words that are your own. 
 Milton, you know, *' owned ^' 8000 words ; Shakespeare, twice 
 that many. The modern dictionary hsts upwards of 500,000 
 words that are now in use in one place or another, in one 
 form or another. Many children on entering school have 
 a vocabulary of about 3000 words. A child of twelve is 
 not infrequently acquainted with from 7000 to 10,000 words. 
 The number of words in the speaking vocabulary of a scholar 
 is often 30,000. 
 
 It is a good plan to have a small pocket dictionary with 
 you all the time, in order to look up an unknown or doubtful 
 word when you encounter it. To delay, as a rule, means 
 to forget. Once you have found the word in a dictionary, 
 be sure that you know the signs and directions that help 
 explain it. These are the symbols that should be kept in 
 mind, — 
 
 ' means the primary or chief accent, — heart'y. 
 " means the secondary or less heavy accent, — in"sig'nif'i'€ant. 
 - is used to separate syllables when accent marks do not. 
 * is used by the Standard Dictionary to denote hyphen ; and the 
 heavy dash(-) is used by Webster for the same purpose, thus 
 fire-escape, or driving-wheel. 
 < means that a word is derived from another one. 
 t means that a word is obsolete. 
 II means that a word is archaic. 
 § means that a word is rare. 
 
 X means that a word is variant ; that is, a slightly different form 
 of another word meaning almost the same thing. Fuze is 
 a variant of fuse. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 
 
 97 
 
 Here are some of the more important abbreviations used 
 in the dictionary. If you famiharize yourself with them 
 you will be greatly helped in looking up words. A complete 
 list will be found in any good dictionary, — 
 
 a. 
 
 adjective 
 
 i. e. 
 
 that is (id est) 
 
 abbr. 
 
 abbreviate 
 
 inter j . 
 
 interjection 
 
 A. D. 
 
 Anno Domini 
 
 L. 
 
 Latin 
 
 adv. 
 
 adverb 
 
 myth. 
 
 mythology 
 
 ant. 
 
 antonym 
 
 n. 
 
 noun 
 
 AS. 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 obs. 
 
 obsolete 
 
 B.C. 
 
 Before Christ 
 
 pert. 
 
 pertaining 
 
 Bib. 
 
 Bible 
 
 pi. 
 
 plural 
 
 cap. 
 
 capital 
 
 poet. 
 
 poetry 
 
 of. 
 
 compare (confer) 
 
 p. 
 
 page 
 
 colloq. 
 
 colloquial 
 
 pp. 
 
 pages 
 
 conj. 
 
 conjunction 
 
 pop. 
 
 population 
 
 contr. 
 
 contraction 
 
 p. p. 
 
 past participle 
 
 deriv. 
 
 derivation 
 
 p. pr. 
 
 present participle 
 
 dial. 
 
 dialectic 
 
 prep. 
 
 preposition 
 
 dim. 
 
 diminutive 
 
 pres. 
 
 present 
 
 Eng. 
 
 English 
 
 prob. 
 
 probably 
 
 esp. 
 
 especially 
 
 prov. 
 
 provincial 
 
 etal. 
 
 and others 
 
 r. 
 
 rare 
 
 etc. 
 
 and so forth 
 
 rhet. 
 
 rhetoric 
 
 etym. 
 
 etymology 
 
 Rom. 
 
 Roman 
 
 fig. 
 
 figurative 
 
 sp. 
 
 spelUng 
 
 F. 
 
 French 
 
 syn. 
 
 synonym 
 
 fr. 
 
 from 
 
 U.S. 
 
 United States 
 
 Gr. 
 
 Greek 
 
 V. i. 
 
 verb intransitive 
 
 gram. 
 
 grammar 
 
 V. t. 
 
 verb transitive 
 
 There are certain signs used to indicate the sound and 
 quantity of letters, particularly of vowels. Two dots over a, 
 for instance, (a), means that it is to be sounded ah as in art. 
 
 H 
 
98 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 A dash over c, (e), means that it is to be pronounced Uke a, as 
 in prey. Other such modifications are hsted and explained 
 in the dictionary, usually on the page preceding the first 
 page of words, under the title Key to Pronunciation. This 
 key should of course be consulted whenever you are in doubt 
 about the sound of a letter. 
 
 The correct pronunciation of a word is given immediately 
 after the word itself. If more than one pronunciation is 
 allowable, the preferred one is given first. The same is 
 true when two spellings are permitted. 
 
 Next, the part of speech is indicated by means of an 
 abbreviation written in italics or small capitals. The parts 
 of verbs are given in parentheses, as is also the comparison 
 of adjectives. 
 
 The source from which a word comes is given in paren- 
 theses, usually after the definition. 
 
 If a word is technical, the trade or profession or 
 science to which it belongs is indicated also. Brigade, 
 for example, is a technical word that belongs to military 
 science. 
 
 If a word is used as two parts of speech, it is defined in 
 two ways, and the definitions are separated. Similarly, 
 if the word has two or more separate and distinct uses or 
 meanings, these are given in numbered order. 
 
 Words that are used in making up compound words are 
 compounded, usually in heavy type, below the definition 
 proper. 
 
 These are the principal ''means of identification" that 
 you should be familiar with, if you are to look up words 
 intelhgently. All of them are not to be found in the small 
 pocket dictionary, for the little book has to be too closely 
 printed to admit of elaborate word analysis. It must be 
 remembered, too, that the different dictionaries — the Cen- 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 99 
 
 tury, the Oxford, the Standard, the Webster, the Worcester 
 — disagree to some extent in the use of these marks. All 
 dictionaries do not use all of them ; some dictionaries use 
 additional ones. While the majority of the marks are 
 used in the ordinary desk dictionary, a much fuller word 
 analysis is of course to be found in the large unabridged 
 dictionary. 
 
 Learn to find words quickly, and to employ the vast re- 
 sources of the dictionary in your everyday work. Time 
 spent in learning to use the dictionary is time well spent, 
 for more than one reason. It will mean a saving of time 
 later on, not only in using the dictionary itself, but in con- 
 sulting encyclopedias, city and telephone directories, and 
 alphabetical lists of all kinds. Make use of the ** Guide 
 Words,'' the words in large type at the top of each page 
 of the dictionary. There is no need of running down col- 
 umns. "Pounce" on words, do not hunt. Use judgment; 
 open the dictionary not more than twice for each word. 
 While the middle of the alphabet is between m and n, the 
 middle of the dictionary is between k and L The end of 
 the first quarter is in the d's ; of the third quarter, in the r's. 
 Many words begin with s, c, and p ; few with j, k, q, x, y, z; 
 five times as many begin with s as with k, q, x, y, or z. 
 
 If you use respectively when you mean respectfully, if you 
 pay pos-i-tive'ly for pos'i-tive-ly, if you spell coming with an 
 e, thus, comeing, you will quite properly be called an illiter- 
 ate person. The diligent use of the dictionary will save 
 you from these pitfalls. Regard it as an old friend. Con- 
 sult it freely for advice. Have you noticed that you nearly 
 always hesitate when you are about to use a word that you 
 are not quite certain of? This is a warning. Heed it as 
 you would heed orders from your physician in case of 
 illness. 
 
100 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. The following excerpts are taken from the Standard Dictionary, 
 
 by permission of Funk & Wagnalls Company. Study the 
 signs used and the form of word analysis : — 
 
 ac-com'pIishS 1 a-kem'pli^; 2 a-cSm'plIsh, vt. t. To 
 bring to pass; perform; effect. . 2. To bring to comple- 
 tion; finish. [ < L.*" ad, to, + compleo; see complete, v.] 
 Synj achieve, complete, consummate, discharge, do. 
 effect, execute, finish, fulfil, perform, realize. Perform and 
 accomplish both Imply working toward the end: but perform 
 always allows a possibility of not attaining, while accomplish 
 carries the thought of full completion. In Longfellow's 
 lines, "'Patience; auomplis h thy lahor," etc. .perform could 
 not be substituted without great loss. As between complete 
 and accomplish, complete conaiderarsither the thing as done; 
 accomplish, the whole process of doing it. Achieve— to do 
 something worthy of a chief — signifies always to perform 
 some great and generally some worthy exploit. See attain; 
 
 BFF?CT. 
 
 fcour'te-sy, 1 k'Or'ti-si; 2 cOr'te-sy, n. [-sies^, pi] 1. 
 Genuine and habitual politeness ; courtliness. 2. A cour- 
 teous favor or act. 3. Common consent. [ < F. cour- 
 toisie.] cur'tc-syt. Syn.: see address. Compare polite. 
 —courtesy (or curtesy) of England, the tenure by 
 which a man holds for life the estates of his deceased wife 
 Inheritable by their children. 
 
 8yn'o-nym, 1 sin'o-nim; 2 si^n'o-n^m, n. 1. A word 
 having the same or almost the same meaning as some 
 other; oftener, one of a number of words that have one 
 or more meanings in common. 2. The equivalent of a 
 word in another language. ( < Gr.^"*"*" syn, together, + 
 onoma, name.] syn'o-nymej. — sy-non'y-mist, n. A col- 
 lector and expounder of synonyms.— syn''o-nym'i-ty, n. 
 — sy-non'y-mlzc, vt. [-mized; -miz'ing.) To give the 
 synonyms of; express by words of different meaning. 
 
 2. There is much confusion about the use of the hyphen in certain 
 
 Enghsh words. Even the dictionaries do not agree as to the 
 compounding of certain words. 
 
 Some words are usually written with the hyphen, — horse- 
 power, nickle-plated, sheet-iron. 
 
 The following are better written as single words : — meantime, 
 maybe, meanwhile, anyway, awhile. 
 
 Any one and every one are usually written as two words, but 
 the following should be written as single words : — anybody, 
 everybody, anything, nothing, nobody, everything, forever. 
 
 Usage varies as to the hyphen in tonight, today, and tomorrow ; 
 there is a growing tendency to regard them as single words. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESl'II^ 
 
 ibi 
 
 Which of the following should be written as compound words 
 with hyphen, which as single words, and which as two or more in- 
 dependent words? Look up each one in the dictionary : — 
 
 5. 
 
 base ball 
 
 foot ball 
 
 rail road 
 
 bird's eye view 
 
 frame work 
 
 shoe maker ' 
 
 black smith shop 
 
 ginger cake 
 
 sitting room 
 
 book keeping 
 
 head ache 
 
 steam boat 
 
 business like 
 
 ice house 
 
 stomach ache 
 
 canal boat 
 
 Jew's harp 
 
 store room 
 
 class room 
 
 lumber yard 
 
 tooth ache 
 
 composing room 
 
 mid way 
 
 type writing 
 
 cook book 
 
 note book 
 
 ware house 
 
 dining car 
 
 per cent 
 
 wheat field 
 
 death's head 
 
 printing press 
 
 work shop 
 
 dress maker 
 
 rabbit's foot 
 
 every day 
 
 Syllabize and accent properly the following words. Use the 
 
 dictionary : — 
 
 
 
 absolutely 
 
 anxiety familiar 
 
 predecessor 
 
 accountant 
 
 athletics governor 
 
 prejudice 
 
 adjective 
 
 beneficial legislature 
 
 punctuation 
 
 administration 
 
 colonel laboratory 
 
 regular 
 
 admittance 
 
 convenient operator 
 
 representative 
 
 agriculture 
 
 disability persuasion 
 
 reversible 
 
 antagonistic 
 
 embroidery precedent 
 
 yesterday 
 
 Look up the following words and tell how the dictionary explains 
 
 them : — 
 
 
 
 a-gley 
 
 hustle nonne 
 
 pub 
 
 bungalow 
 
 ilk nonesuch 
 
 pucka 
 
 fere 
 
 kern pseudo 
 
 shack 
 
 Ex- 
 
 Look up the following words for definition particularly, 
 plain what you find out about each one : — 
 
 chief judge part rare sober 
 
 endeavor note prediction sample transit 
 
 6. Study the signs indicating the pronunciation of letters, as found 
 in your dictionary. Write ten words and indicate their pro- 
 nunciation by means of certain signs. 
 
102 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 13. 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 
 16. 
 
 Examine the appendix of an unabridged dictionary. What infor- 
 mation is contained there ? Should a dictionary be a word book 
 only, do you think, or a book of general information? Why? 
 
 As you glance through an unabridged dictionary, you see certain 
 illustrations. Why are some words illustrated and others 
 not ? Explain. 
 
 Use all the diacritical marks you know for the letter a. 
 
 What are guide words ? Where are they found and what does 
 
 each indicate ? 
 What is the key hne in the dictionary ? Where is it and how is 
 
 it used? 
 How does the dictionary help you to pronounce a word? 
 In what way is syllabication indicated in the dictionary ? 
 How are compound or hyphenated words distinguished in the 
 
 dictionary from other words written with a hyphen between 
 
 certain syllables? 
 Compete with your classmates in finding the following words 
 
 in the dictionary. Look them up in the order given : — 
 
 dis course 
 
 ly ce um 
 
 ro bust 
 
 re com-se 
 
 com pa ra ble 
 
 mus tache 
 
 ad dress 
 
 har ass 
 
 gon do la 
 
 vi Un 
 
 a dult 
 
 op po nent 
 
 ho ri zon 
 
 for mid a ble 
 
 hos pit a ble 
 
 i de a 
 
 pre tense 
 
 re cess 
 
 ex qui site 
 
 in ven to ry 
 
 lam en ta ble 
 
 ro mance 
 
 des sert 
 des pi ca ble 
 
 ally 
 
 Compete with your 
 
 classmates in arranging the following words 
 
 alphabetically : — 
 
 - 
 
 
 observe 
 
 construction 
 
 measurement 
 
 measure 
 
 hollyhock 
 
 tennis 
 
 material 
 
 obsolete 
 
 following 
 
 tenant 
 
 proposition 
 
 constitution 
 
 foolscap 
 
 thermometer 
 
 proposal 
 
 observation 
 
 theory 
 
 penman 
 
 pennant 
 
 whether 
 
 obstacle 
 
 metric 
 
 cucumber 
 
 hoUowness 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 103 
 
 LESSON FOURTEEN 
 
 Speaking 
 
 When a good story is well written, that is, well planned, 
 and well worded, it will be interesting, unless it is badly 
 read. And if your stories are to be told and not written, 
 bad speaking can ruin the very best of material. Further- 
 more, just as your choice of words will often indicate your 
 brain power, so your manner of speaking will usually indi- 
 cate the degree of refinement and true cultivation that 
 you have attained. To speak well is an accomplishment 
 as valuable as good writing ; and it must be acquired, if ever, 
 when you are young. 
 
 Here are just a few general rules for speaking, — 
 
 1. Breathe long, deep breaths. Feel your body contract 
 and expand all the way from your diaphragm to your head, 
 as you exhale and inhale. 
 
 2. Look the person or the people to whom you are speak- 
 ing straight in the eyes when you speak. 
 
 3. Be sure to pronounce your words correctly and clearly 
 and distinctly. Be equally sure that your sentences, even 
 though far looser and more informal than in writing, are 
 complete. 
 
 No mere statement of such rules as these will be of much 
 use to you unless you wish to speak well. In a very large 
 measure you must be your own teacher. Do not be afraid 
 to speak as well as you can. It is not affectation to speak 
 good EngUsh, for good English well spoken is the simplest, 
 clearest, and most natural expression for your thoughts. Use 
 good words rather than big ones. Do not assume "airs and 
 graces," in your speech, but aim to pronounce simple words 
 clearly and correctly. Americans have a national habit of 
 
104 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 " slurring '^ their words, even when they pronounce them 
 correctly. It is a bad habit, for it makes speech difficult 
 to understand and unpleasant to the ear. They have an 
 equally bad habit of talking through the nose, so that in a 
 group of mixed races an American can be distinguished by 
 the unpleasant qualities of his voice, and the difficulty of 
 understanding the words he slurs or nasalizes. This genera- 
 tion will never be rid of these faults. They have become 
 second-nature and will stick. But you, the new generation, 
 can restore good speaking in America, if you will take 
 seriously your voices and your words. Good speech habits 
 are no harder to acquire than bad ones. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 Perhaps the most dangerous errors to be guarded against are the 
 two indicated in the third rule above, — mispronunciation and faulty 
 construction. In this exercise you are asked to give most of your 
 attention to the correction of mispronunciation. In the practice on 
 pages 149 and 160 bad constructions are treated. 
 
 Practice the proper pronunciation of the words in the lists below. 
 They are by no means exhaustive. Add to them for practice your 
 own special word troubles. Know also how to spell these words 
 and how to use them ; in short, make them your own. And above 
 all remember that a word correctly pronounced is not well spoken 
 until it is said clearly and distinctly, with due expression for each of 
 the syllables, — until, in other words, it is properly enunciated. 
 
 1. The pronunciation of n^, — 
 
 Do not pronounce ng as nk\ do not pronounce nfc as ng, — 
 bring, not brink; king, not kink; ring, not rink; sink, not sing; 
 think, not thing. 
 
 Do not sUght ng in the middle of a word, — length, not lenHh; 
 strength, not strength. 
 
 Do not repeat the g in the combination ng, — bringing, not bring- 
 ging; figure, not Jigger ; flinging, not flingging ; singing, not singging. 
 
 Do not missyllabize words in which ng occurs, — an-ger, not 
 ang-er; fin-ger, not fing-er; lin-ger, not ling-er; sin-gle, not sing-le. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 105 
 
 Do not omit g from the syllable ing, — coming, not comin' ; cuu' 
 ning, not cunnin' ; going, not goin' ; playing, not playin\ 
 
 2. The pronunciation oi th, — 
 
 Do not slight or mispronounce th when it occurs at the end of a 
 word, — depth, eighth, twelfth, with. 
 
 Do not pronounce th as if it were t, — think, not Vink ; thirst, not 
 first; thought, not fot; thousand, not thousand; throat, not froat; 
 through, not tru; throw, not tWow. 
 
 Do not pronounce th (voiced) as if it were d, — that, not dat; 
 the, not de; then, not den; there, not dere; this, not dis. 
 
 Do not pronounce ^^ as if it were p in the word something, — 
 something, not sumpi?i\ 
 
 3. The pronunciation of wh, — 
 
 Do not pronounce wh as if it were w, — what not wat ; when, not wen ; 
 which, not wich; whisper, not wisper; white, not lyiie; why, not lyy. 
 
 4. The pronunciation of r, — 
 
 Do not pronounce r as if it were w, — red, not wed; rise, not 
 wise; rough, not wough. 
 
 Do not omit r when it occurs at the end of a word, — bar, not 
 hah; butter, not buttah; car, not cah. 
 
 But do not roll r when it occurs at the end of a word, — bar, not 
 barr ; car, not carr. 
 
 Do not add or insert or misplace r in the following words : — 
 children, not childern; drawing, not drawring; hurrah, not hurroar ; 
 idea, not idear ; law, not /!ore; row;, not roar; saw, not soar; <o, not 
 ter; you, not yer. 
 
 Do not pronounce ir or ur as if it were oi, — first, not /ois^ ; Ger- 
 man, not Goiman; girl, not groiZ; journal, not joinal; third, not 
 thoid; Thursday, not Thoisday ; turn, not ^ow; lyor/:, not lyoiA;. 
 
 On the other hand, do not pronounce oi as if it were er, — join, 
 not jern ; oil, not erZ ; oyster, not erster. 
 
 5. The prontmciation of u, — 
 
 Do not pronounce u as if it were oo in such words as avenue, 
 duty, educate, figure, institute, picture, student, stupid, Tuesday, tune. 
 
 6. The pronunciation of s and sh, — 
 
 Do not confuse the sounds of s and sh with z, — assure, not 
 azhure; cease, not ceaze; classify, not clazzify; guess, not guez; 
 gust, not guzt; similar, not zimilar; soften, not zoften; yes, not yez. 
 
106 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 On the other hand, do not pronounce hard s soft, — please, not 
 pleass; msible, not vissible; was, not wass; whereas, not whereass. 
 
 7. The pronunciation of J and ch, — 
 
 Do not confuse the sounds of j with ch, — German, not Cherman; 
 John, not Chon; joined, not chained; rejoice, not rechoice. 
 
 8. The pronunciation of d and /, — 
 
 Do not pronounce d as if it were t, — had, not hat; had, not hat; 
 readily, not reatily ; saddle, not sa^fZe. 
 
 Do not pronounce t Hke d, — battle, not baddle; bottle, not hoddle; 
 butter, not budder ; eighteen, not eideen; gate, not gfade; Saturday, 
 not Sadder day ; water, not wader. 
 
 9. The pronunciation of the vowels a, e, i, o, u, — 
 
 Do not sUght or mispronounce these letters, — audience, not 
 audyence; catch, not cetch; detective, not detectuve; difference, not 
 diffrunce ; for, not /er ; February, not Febrary ; get, not g'i< ; judg- 
 ment, not jedgment; just, not ^ts^; library, not libry ; of, not wy; 
 officer, not ufficer ; oral, not aral ; object, not objict ; parent, not pur- 
 ent; program, not progrum; was, not lywz; i/e^, not ^^ 
 
 10. The addition and subtraction of syllables, — 
 Do not omit syllables in the pronunciation of 
 
 accompanying 
 
 hurrying 
 
 poem 
 
 carrying 
 
 incidentally 
 
 popular 
 
 convenience 
 
 interesting 
 
 perhaps 
 
 curiosity 
 
 laboratory 
 
 regular 
 
 deUvery 
 
 memory 
 
 sarsaparilla 
 
 famiUar 
 
 miserable 
 
 superintendent 
 
 general 
 
 Niagara 
 
 singular 
 
 governor 
 
 original 
 
 vulnerable 
 
 history 
 
 poetry 
 
 particularly 
 
 not add syllables 
 
 in the pronunciation of 
 
 athletics 
 
 lightning 
 
 probably 
 
 boisterous 
 
 memorable 
 
 several 
 
 decorous 
 
 mischievous 
 
 similar 
 
 drowned 
 
 mountainous 
 
 stupendous 
 
 Elizabethan 
 
 parliament 
 
 tremendous 
 
 familiar 
 
 preposterous 
 
 work 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 
 
 107 
 
 11. 
 
 12. 
 
 13. 
 
 The following words are frequently mispronounced, 
 them up and be sure of their pronunciation : — 
 
 Look 
 
 administrative 
 
 data 
 
 joust 
 
 almond 
 
 deaf 
 
 juvenile 
 
 amateur 
 
 debris 
 
 Niagara 
 
 apron 
 
 docile 
 
 odious 
 
 bouquet 
 
 elite 
 
 patriotism 
 
 bronchitis 
 
 exigency 
 
 precedent 
 
 casualty 
 
 fiane6 
 
 recognize 
 
 cement 
 
 financier 
 
 reptile 
 
 censor 
 
 gape 
 
 reservoir 
 
 censure 
 
 garage 
 
 salve 
 
 champion 
 
 hearth 
 
 suite 
 
 chauffeur 
 
 hundred 
 
 tedious 
 
 creek 
 
 immediate 
 
 victuals 
 
 tie following words i 
 
 are frequently accented 
 
 on the wrong syl- 
 
 lable. Look them 
 
 up and be sure of their pronunciation : — 
 
 acclimate 
 
 detail 
 
 inquiry 
 
 address 
 
 discourse 
 
 interesting 
 
 adult 
 
 entire 
 
 mustache 
 
 alias 
 
 essay 
 
 positively 
 
 alternately 
 
 estimate 
 
 preferable 
 
 applicable 
 
 express 
 
 produce 
 
 champion 
 
 exquisite 
 
 protest 
 
 comparable 
 
 formidable 
 
 pumpkin 
 
 deference 
 
 hospitable 
 
 recess 
 
 deficit 
 
 illustrate 
 
 resource 
 
 demonstrate 
 
 influence 
 
 romance 
 
 Make a speech to your classmates on one or more of the follow- 
 ing subjects. Stand erect, speak with a clear voice, form 
 your words so well that your audience will be helped in hear- 
 ing you by watching your lips : — 
 
 How the dictionary teaches pronunciation. 
 
 Special troubles in pronunciation. 
 
 Do I mumble, or are you deaf? 
 
 Suiting the voice to the size of the room. 
 
 Rules for correcting faulty speech. 
 
 My pet mispronunciations and how I am correcting them. 
 
108 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Mistakes heard in school. 
 
 How good speech afifects my marks in subjects other than 
 
 English. 
 The influence of correct and of incorrect speech. 
 Incorrect speech and — getting a job. 
 Too lazy to speak well. 
 
 Let me hear a man speak and I'll tell you what sort of man he is. 
 English on the football field. 
 English in the gymnasium. 
 
 14. Practice the correct pronunciation of the following. Under 
 
 which of the above groups is each incorrect word Usted ? 
 Wistle a toon. 
 The luv of the govermint. 
 Witch yer goin' ter do ? 
 The kink is ringging de bell. 
 He's readin' de Joinal. 
 He's doin' dis drawrin' wurruk. 
 Dey jist went over ter Thoid Avener. 
 De wader is berlin'. 
 Bode uv de gades were oben. 
 Pleass pazz me de budder. 
 Once upon a roar and guzty day. 
 
 15. List the mispronunciations of words that you hear every day 
 
 in home and street and school. Present them to your class- 
 mates for correction. 
 
 LESSON FIFTEEN 
 The Right Use of Words 
 
 The lessons on the word that have gone before have been 
 designed to make you familiar with the various classes of 
 words, a ready user of the dictionary, and a good speaker. 
 Whatever you have learned is just so much more power 
 added to tongue or pen. The real test of this power, how- 
 ever, comes not in answering questions about word-classes, 
 but in finding just the right word for whatever you wish 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 109 
 
 to say, and using it correctly. Your thoughts, your feehngs, 
 your observations, whatever you know, may be tremen- 
 dously interesting and yet valueless for others unless you can 
 express them well. And you can never express them fittingly 
 without the right words. 
 
 The highly trained human mind is more skilful, just as 
 it is more complex, than the most ingenious machine. When 
 it comes to the choice of words, indeed, it is a kind of super- 
 machine that performs (sometimes almost mechanically) the 
 most remarkable tasks. You are writing a letter. Your 
 mood is sorrowful. Automatically the mind reaches for 
 words that express grief, pathos, sympathy, comfort. You 
 are telhng the story of a fire in a tenement. Names of color, 
 sight, odor, words that convey terror, pain, despair, rescue, 
 thankfulness, come flocking. You are describing an animal, 
 a motor car, a flower, a building new to you. Adjectives, 
 technical and untechnical, adverbs that clinch your mean- 
 ing, verbs that name the exact action, nouns that fit like 
 the hat on the head, are at your command. Or rather, 
 they will be when you have mastered a good vocabulary. 
 
 Indeed, if you wish to test your classmates' knowledge 
 and brain power, one of the best ways is to try them with 
 words. If they have really learned about airplanes or 
 chemistry or cooking or government or football, they will 
 have the technical words required. If they can think 
 clearly, reason soundly, see truly, they will show their 
 power by the well-rounded vocabulary without which 
 thinking, reasoning, and seeing cannot be expressed. 
 
 If you are " short on words," you may be sure that the lack 
 is a serious one. And it is a lack that the general education 
 you are getting in school may really increase ; for school 
 is feeding ideas, facts, knowledge into your mind, just as 
 life is feeding . experience. All this new material craves 
 
110 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 to be expressed, and needs new words. Help your brain 
 to catch up by making an especial study of words. Get 
 new words to fit your new ideas; use the old words more 
 accurately. Do not say you had a ''good time" yesterday, 
 when you mean an "exciting time" or a ''merry time" or 
 an "interesting time." Do not say that the tree in front 
 of the school is "big" or "beautiful" when you can discover 
 what kind it is, note the color of its leaves, the curve of its 
 branches, and the grace of its swaying in the wind. Do not 
 be content with "sort of" and "kind of" — "he is sort of 
 rough to me," or "she is kind of nice" — when you can get 
 the right word for your thought. Be very particular in 
 your choice of words. This does not mean to be affected, 
 or to use a big word when a small word will do, or a rare 
 word instead of a common one. It means one thing only, 
 to use the right word. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. In the following passage fill the blanks with the most fitting 
 
 words : — 
 The English sparrow was brought to America years ago and now 
 has become our commonest bird. He is a noisy little fellow, and 
 
 all day long. His wings are ; his bill is ; the breast 
 
 of the male is ; that of the female is . They their 
 
 nests wherever a crevice can be found that is high and safe. The 
 
 nests are in appearance, and made of . At night they 
 
 upon ivied walls, or in dense shrubbery. Frequently they 
 
 birds of other and drive them away. 
 
 2. Collect all the words you can find to express motion on the 
 
 earth ; noises made by the mouth ; actions or sounds of the 
 wind; anger. 
 
 3. Describe your schoolroom, fitting every object and customary 
 
 sight or sound with its word or phrase. 
 
 4. Describe accurately the front of your schoolhouse, or its door- 
 
 way. 
 
HOW TO BE INTERESTING 111 
 
 5. A fly, a grain of corn, a piece of coarse paper, a fragment of 
 
 stone, a cat's eye, a flower petal, all are interesting if carefully 
 observed. Make them so by describing them in accurate 
 words. 
 
 6. Read for the criticism of your classmates any one of the letters 
 
 or short stories written in earlier lessons. Let the criticism 
 be directed solely upon words. 
 
 7. Compare these two descriptions of the same spot. Why is 
 
 the second better than the first ? 
 
 On one side of the canon, beginning at the edge of the pool, was 
 a small meadow, a stretch of green that extended to the bottom of 
 the rock wall. Beyond the pool a little slant of dirt ran up to meet 
 the other wall. Grass covered the slope — grass that was spotted 
 with flowers. Below, the canon was shut in. The walls were closer 
 and the canon ended in a number of rocks, moss-covered and 
 hidden by a screen of vines and limbs of trees. 
 
 On one side of the canon, beginning at the very lip of the pool, 
 was a tiny meadow, a cool, resiUent surface of green that extended 
 to the base of the frowning wall. Beyond the pool a gentle slope of 
 earth ran up and up to meet the opposing wall. Fine grass covered 
 the slope — grass that was spangled with flowers. Below, the canon 
 was shut in. The walls leaned together abruptly and the canon 
 ended in a chaos of rocks, moss-covered and hidden by a green 
 screen of vines and boughs of trees. 
 
 8. Make interesting the following by getting just the right 
 
 words : — 
 
 The cat is less reliable than the dog because 
 
 Happiness differs from pleasure in that 
 
 While every one wishes to study, few enjoy it because 
 
 A sound mind makes a sound body because 
 
 9. Write a frank letter to a friend pointing out the qualities you 
 
 like or dislike in his character. Get the right words. 
 
 10. Write six sentences telling exactly what you see in the picture 
 on the next page. Use as many words as you can that belong 
 strictly to hockey. After you have done this, explain to your 
 father or mother, or to some one else who is not familiar with 
 the game, what is taking place in the picture. 
 

 kS U\m' I'rt I III - i\ I M rki nil 1 1 fv tti 
 
 A PASS IN UOCKBT. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 HOW TO BE CLEAR 
 
 Introduction 
 
 You are living in a time that makes exacting demands 
 upon men and women. Never before in the history of the 
 world have such clear-cut action and such definite statement 
 been required of individuals as at present. It is some- 
 times called the age of efficiency. Clearness and accuracy in 
 writing and speaking have always been desirable and impor- 
 tant ; of you, they will be required, no matter what your 
 station in life may be. 
 
 It was right, in a book like this one, to take up interest 
 first. You very naturally wish to be interesting, to hold 
 attention, to be Hstened to, before any other desire connects 
 itself with the writing and speaking that you may have to 
 do. And you must wish to speak well and write well, before 
 you can begin to make progress. But very quickly another 
 motive enters. You desire not merely to get attention; 
 you desire to be understood, you desire to be effective with 
 your words. This means that you wish to be clear. As 
 your experience broadens, and the things you have to say 
 become more and more important, the value of clearness in- 
 creases, until no writing or speaking will satisfy you, no 
 matter how beautiful or authoritative it may be, if it is not 
 clear. The French have a saying about their language, *'If 
 I 113 
 
114 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 it is not clear, it is not French," by which they mean that no 
 French is good that is not clear. It is an excellent motto 
 to borrow for your own EngUsh. 
 
 Why you must be clear is evident ; the question remains, 
 how? 
 
 Think clearly. This is the great thing to be desired for 
 clearness. As was explained in the first chapter of this 
 book, you cannot write or speak effectively about anything 
 unless you have seen truly and accurately, unless you have 
 the facts. But it is quite possible to know the facts about 
 the appearance of an object or a feehng or a situation or 
 a man's character, and yet be entirely unable to think them 
 out and explain them clearly. 
 
 In order to be clear, you must assort and arrange your 
 knowledge. Indeed, your thoughts change knowledge and 
 feeling into clear, explanatory words very much as a machine 
 turns pulp into fine sheets of paper or rough wool into cloth. 
 This chapter, therefore, is first of all a chapter on thinking. 
 
 In the first chapter of this book you were told that language 
 in its growth had followed certain inevitable laws. Words 
 developed as names for ideas, sentences developed in order 
 to express complete thoughts, paragraph structure was 
 gradually worked out to develop these thoughts, and para- 
 graphs were grouped together into a whole that covered 
 the subject which man wished to lay before his fellow man. 
 The need for clearness was the force behind these laws. It 
 was because men had to make themselves understood that 
 sentence structure had to be worked out and paragraph 
 structure developed. You, when you try consciously to 
 be clear, as you must in the following lessons, will feel the 
 need of good sentences, good paragraphs, a good plan for 
 the whole, as never before. 
 
 You cannot (except with childishly easy things to say) 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 115 
 
 be clear without good sentences, good paragraphs, and a 
 good plan. Learning the names of sentence parts is dull 
 work by itself. Learning how to develop a paragraph is a 
 mechanical affair in itself. Learning how to plan coherently 
 and with unity and emphasis is a dry task when regarded 
 merely as a lesson. But if you wish to master the sentence 
 because the interesting things you have to say cannot be 
 said effectively without strong sentences, then you will 
 not be bored. If you wish to understand the structure of 
 a paragraph because those editorials for your school paper 
 or that explanation of the construction of your summer 
 camp, or of the making of your garden, cannot be made 
 clear without good paragraphs, then the work, no matter 
 how hard, will never seem tedious. 
 
 The order then for this chapter is Be Clear. Every 
 lesson in it is valuable because it will put the tools you 
 need into your hands and will help you to grasp, in this way 
 or in that, the means that have been developed, through 
 so many centuries, for making language clear. 
 
 LESSON SIXTEEN 
 Business Letters 
 
 Nowhere is clearness more necessary than in the busi- 
 ness letter. A business letter differs from a friendly or 
 famihar letter chiefly in this, — it is not written merely to 
 interest, or to convey news of the writer ; rather, it asks for 
 definite information or gives definite information. It may 
 have very little to do with business in the sense in which 
 we ordinarily use that word, but it is always business-like, 
 that is, simple, straightforward, and above all, clear. 
 
 Make a study of the following business letters. Write 
 
116 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 others similar to them. Perhaps you can be helpful to 
 your father and mother by writing real order letters : — 
 
 (1) 
 Order Letter 
 
 20 State Street, Chicago, 
 
 November 18, 1917. 
 
 Messrs. Brown and Gable, 
 
 18 Wabash Avenue, 
 
 Chicago, 111 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 Enclosed you will find a money order for four 
 
 dollars and sixty cents ($4.60) for which please deliver 
 
 to me at the above address the dictionary that you 
 
 are now selling at this special price. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Antonio Dalba 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 117 
 
 (2) 
 Order Letter 
 
 120 F Street 
 Washington, D.C. 
 April 2, 1918 
 
 A. G. Spalding & Brothers 
 
 523 Fifth Avenue 
 
 New York City 
 
 Dear Sirs : 
 
 Please send me the following articles, as listed 
 in your spring catalog : — 
 
 Vo. 
 
 Article 
 
 Catalog No. 
 
 Price 
 
 Total 
 
 1 
 
 Sweat Band 
 
 SB-No. 1 
 
 $ .75 
 
 $ .75 
 
 1 
 
 Pair Tennis 
 
 
 
 
 
 Shoes, size 8 
 
 No. CD 
 
 4.00 
 
 4.00 
 
 2 
 
 Racket Presses 
 
 No. 2R 
 
 1.00 
 
 2.00 
 
 3 
 
 Tennis Rackets 
 
 No. 6 ("Nas- 
 
 
 
 
 
 sau") 
 
 3.50 
 
 10.50 
 
 Total $17.25 
 
 Check is enclosed for total amount. 
 As the merchandise is required for immediate 
 use, your prompt attention to this order will be ap- 
 preciated. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 James Forester 
 
118 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (3) 
 Receipt Letter 
 
 623 FlfTM aVCNUB 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 
 April 4 
 19 18 
 James Forester, Esq., 
 120 F Street, Washington, D.C., 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 Thank you for your order of April 2, 
 and for the check accompanying it . The 
 goods were sent out this morning by 
 Adams Express, charges prepaid. We 
 trust they will be received in good con- 
 dition and in time for your purpose. 
 Receipted bill is enclosed. 
 Yours truly, 
 Thomas Carter 
 
 For A, G. Spalding & Bros. 
 TC/AAR 
 Enc. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 119 
 
 (4) 
 
 Letter of Complaint 
 
 120 Lenox Avenue, New York, 
 December 2, 1917. 
 
 Thomas Carston & Company, 
 Broadway & 20 Street, 
 New York. 
 
 My dear Sirs : 
 
 Please note the following error in the filling of my 
 order of November 30, and have proper adjustment 
 made : — 
 
 Ordered Received 
 
 60 yds. black taffeta (sample enc.) 40 yds. 
 20 spools black silk, grade A (spool 
 
 enc.) 12 spools 
 
 20 yds. silk braid (sample enc.) 30 yds. different 
 
 quality 
 
 I have been delayed in my work by the mistake 
 and I shall appreciate promptness in making the 
 
 adjustment. 
 
 EG/CV 
 
 Very truly, 
 (Miss) Emma Grant 
 For The Grant Gown Co. 
 
120 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (8) 
 
 Letter of Adjustment 
 
 December 3, 1917 
 
 Miss Emma Grant 
 120 Lenox Avenue 
 New York 
 
 Dear Madam : 
 
 ¥e regret that error was made in fill- 
 ing your order of November 30 and that 
 you were caused inconvenience thereby. 
 We make correction at once. The bearer 
 of, this letter brings to you the re- 
 mainder of your order for taffeta and 
 spool silk. If you will give him the 
 braid of different quality from the 
 sample, along with the sample, we shall 
 despatch him to you again immediately 
 on his return, with the grade desired. 
 Very truly yours , 
 
 Thomas Carston & Company 
 by C.L.V. 
 CLV/JA 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 121 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Point out differences in form and content between these letters 
 
 and those on pages 8 to 15. 
 
 2. Note order letter (2). Is it a good plan to itemize an order, 
 
 that is, to place each item ordered on a separate line ? Why ? 
 Why should the total amount be stated in an order for several 
 different items ? 
 
 3. Note letter (3). How does the heading in this letter differ 
 
 from the heading in (2) ? Why this difference ? 
 
 4. Compare the salutations in these letters with one another and 
 
 with those in the friendly letters on pages 8 to 15. Note the 
 
 punctuation used after the salutations in both groups. 
 
 Would "Dear Miss Grant:" be better in (5) than "Dear 
 
 Madam : " ? Explain. 
 ["Thomas Carston & Company" is the name of a firm and the 
 salutation Dear Sirs : or Gentlemen : is therefore perfectly allowable. 
 When the firm name consists of two or more names, it is not neces- 
 sary to prefix Messrs. in addressing the firm, — 
 
 Lord and Taylor 
 
 A. G. Spalding & Bros. 
 
 Brown and Gable Company. 
 
 The last one may be written The Brown and Gable Company.] 
 
 5. Note that such expressions as, — Yours reed., Replying to yours 
 
 of, In reply would say. Permit me to say, are not used in 
 
 business letters that are concise, clear, and to the point. 
 
 Why? 
 
 Note also that Hoping to hear from you soon. Trusting that I 
 
 may receive an early reply, and other such participial closings 
 
 are not used. Why ? 
 
 6. Why are Cordially yours, Gratefully yours, Lovingly yours, 
 
 Faithfully yours, not used as complimentary closings in the 
 above letters ? 
 
 7. Note the reference data given in the lower left-hand corner of 
 
 Nos. (3), (4), (5). The first initials are those of the one 
 who dictated the letter; the second are those of the one 
 
122 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 who typed it. Enc. means enclosure, that is, something is 
 enclosed in the letter. Observe the letter-head in (3). What 
 information does it give about the firm? Secure other busi- 
 ness letter-heads and compare them with this one. Make a 
 list of the items contained in those letter-heads that you 
 consider best. Gaudy and excessively elaborate letter-heads 
 should be avoided. 
 
 8. In referring to money enclosed in a business letter, the reference 
 
 should be made by means of both writing and figures, thus, 
 forty dollars ($40), or forty (40) dollars, or Forty (40) Dollars. 
 The words may or may not be capitahzed. Correct the 
 following: — Sixty {$60) Dollars; sixty dollars (60); Sixty 
 (60) dollars. 
 
 9. If you have studied the foregoing letters and solved the prob- 
 
 lems, you will have learned these things about writing busi- 
 ness letters, — 
 
 (1) They must be brief and to the point. 
 
 (2) They must be stripped of all superfluous phrasing, such as, — 
 
 *' Yours of 18 ult. received and in reply would say — " 
 "Hoping to receive a favorable reply, I am — " 
 
 (3) The forms Mr. and Messrs., Madam and Mesdames, need 
 
 be used only when you are addressing definite individuals. 
 They are not necessary when you are addressing firms. 
 
 (4) Letter-heads should be brief and dignified. The name of 
 
 the firm, the address, the name of the business, the tele- 
 phone number, and the branch offices (if any) are all 
 that may be included in the letter-heads of the best firms. 
 
 (5) Punctuation may or may not be omitted and margins of 
 
 headings and addresses may be vertical or diagonal. 
 You should be consistent in both of these matters in the 
 letter proper as well as on the envelope. (See page 23.) 
 
 (6) The letter must be placed on the paper so that there will be 
 
 about an equal amount of unused space on all four sides. 
 You may not be able to place your letter quite accurately, 
 but you can easily avoid placing a very brief letter in an 
 absurdly awkward position on the sheet. 
 
 (7) Reference data may be placed either in the letter-head or 
 
 in the lower left-hand corner of the letter. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 123 
 
 (8) Such abbreviations as th. (4th), si. (1st), rd. (3rd), inst. 
 
 (present), prox. (next), ulL (last), yrs. (yours) are going 
 out of use. 
 
 (9) You must be courteous always in your business letters. 
 
 Yrs. for Yours in Yours truly is a type of discourtesy as 
 is any other form of ciu't abbreviation. 
 
 10. With these points clearly in mind, comply with the following : — 
 
 (1) Write to The Macmillan Company, 64 Fifth Avenue, 
 
 New York, ordering two copies of this book. 
 
 (2) Write The Macmillan Company's letter to you in reply. 
 
 (3) Write to John Wanamaker, Broadway & Ninth Street, 
 
 New York, asking for the correction of an error made in 
 their bill on your monthly account. 
 
 (4) Write to the manager of a team in some other school re- 
 
 questing arrangements for a match. 
 
 (5) Reproduce the reply from the manager mentioned in (4). 
 
 (6) Write to A. G. Spalding & Bros., 623 Fifth Avenue, New 
 
 York, ordering baseballs, bats, catcher's glove, breast 
 protectors, and shoes. Write the order in itemized form 
 and state prices. 
 
 (7) Reproduce the reply to the above letter. 
 
 (8) Write to Lord & Taylor, 38 Street and Fifth Avenue, New 
 
 York, requesting samples of dress goods. 
 
 (9) Reproduce the reply of Lord & Taylor to the above. 
 
 LESSON SEVENTEEN 
 
 Letters of Application 
 
 Which of the five following letters of application do you 
 consider the best? Point out all the differences in form 
 and content among these letters. Remember that a letter 
 of application is really a letter of sale, — a letter in which 
 the writer is marketing his abilities. Which of these do you 
 think is most successful, from this point of view ? 
 
124 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (1) 
 
 18 Feliciana Street, 
 New Orleans, La., 
 May 2, 1918. 
 
 
 Help Wanted - 
 
 -Male 
 
 1 
 
 BOY 
 
 — Handy boy in office 
 
 $6 to start. Not 1 
 
 over 
 
 15. Chance for advancement. 
 
 Answer in 
 
 own 
 
 landwriting, stating age, 
 
 education 
 
 , and refer- 
 
 ence. 
 
 Times. 4. L. P. 
 
 
 
 My dear Sirs : 
 
 I write in answer to your advertisement in the 
 morning Times for an office boy. 
 
 I am fifteen years of age, a graduate of elementary 
 school, and have had one year in high school with an 
 average standing of 93%. Owing to the fact that my 
 father has recently died I am obliged to assist my 
 mother. My purpose is to work in the day time and 
 to attend school in the evening. 
 
 I can call to see you at any time and can present 
 recommendation from the principal of the high school 
 I attended. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 John Talmadge 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 125 
 
 (2) 
 
 13 Sheridan Street, 
 San Francisco, Calif., 
 February 11, 1918. 
 
 P.X. — Cal. 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 Please consider the following in answer to your 
 
 advertisement in the Call this morning for a handy 
 
 girl in a dressmaker's establishment : 
 
 1. I am 16 years of age. 
 
 2. I am a graduate of elementary school. 
 
 3. I have had a half year at high school. 
 
 4. I have worked for six months in the office of 
 
 the Tupper MiUinery Company. 
 
 5. My present salary is $5 a week. 
 
 6. I desire to make a change because I prefer 
 
 training in the dressmaking business to train- 
 ing in the miUinefy business. 
 
 7. I enclose letters of recommendation from my 
 
 elementary and high school principals. 
 Very truly yours, 
 Mary Swart 
 
126 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (3) 
 
 605 Pitcher Street, 
 Baltimore, Md., 
 May 10, 1918. 
 
 BOY WANTED. — 16 yrs. of age in real estate 
 olBce. Grammar school graduate. Good penman. 
 Answer in own handwriting, stating nationality, 
 age, education, experience. American, Box 24, 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 In reply to the above advertisement in today's 
 American, I submit the accompanying statement as 
 to my qualifications for the position. 
 
 I am at Hberty to call upon you at your conven- 
 ience, should you care to see me. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 Alfred Brush 
 
 The statement — Nationality — American 
 Age — Sixteen 
 
 Education — Graduate of granmiar 
 school 
 — One year in high school 
 Experience — Two summers as gen- 
 eral assistant in the 
 real estate office of the 
 A. H. Crosby Co. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 127 
 
 (4) 
 
 18 West Avenue, 
 Pittsburgh, Pa., 
 May 12, 1917. 
 My dear Mr. McCorkle : 
 
 On my graduation from grammar school you told 
 me that you would like to have me write you when 
 I felt like going to work. Well, I am ready for work 
 now and I shall appreciate any opportunity you msy 
 have to offer me. 
 
 I have been in high school almost a year. I likb xi., 
 and am getting on very well, as my enclosed report 
 cards will show you. But father's business has been 
 getting worse because of the war and mother's health is 
 faiUng quite rapidly. 1 cannot help feeUng, therefore, 
 that I ought to go to work and earn at least my own 
 shoes ! (I'm pretty hard on shoes, mother says.) 
 
 I do not know how much I could be worth to you. I 
 do not even know what I can do for you. Figures 
 come easy for me, and I beheve I could develop as 
 an advertiser if I were given a chance. During the 
 past year at high school I have had charge of all collec- 
 tions for the school paper, a very unusual job for a 
 first-year boy, they say. I have also written a great 
 many notices for various games, which must have had 
 some "punch" in them, for tickets were sold out al- 
 most every time. 
 
 Please do not say anything to father and mother 
 about my writing you. I don't want them to know. 
 They insist upon my staying in high school. And I 
 
128 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 don't want you to give me a position just because 
 you know my parents. No, sir! — I want to " make 
 good " on my own account. Thisis just an inquiry. If 
 you have anything that you think I can do, why, I'll 
 try it like a regular employee, forgetting that you 
 ever spoke to me about the matter at that grammar 
 school commencement. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 Frank Shaner 
 Ogden McCorkle, Esq., 
 c/o The McCorkle Iron and Coal Co., 
 189 Carson Street, 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 
 
 (5) 
 
 129 
 
 18 Spruce Street, 
 Philadelphia, Pa., 
 
 March 20, 1918. 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 Replying to this advertisement 
 
 Help Wanted — Female 
 
 GIRL. — City, 15 or 16, one who will appreciate 
 good country home and plenty of wholesome food, 
 to help farmer's wife with housework during siun- 
 mer. $1.50 a week with board. Press, Box 8. 
 
 I submit the following : — 
 
 I am fifteen and a half, just graduated from grammar 
 school, and shall appreciate an opportunity to spend 
 the summer on a farm at the terms mentioned. My 
 mother can recommend me as a careful assistant in 
 doing housework. I can wash dishes, make beds, 
 sweep, scrub, and sew. Mother will be glad to have 
 you call at the above address at any time. 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Janet Hayes 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 Note in four of the above letters that the advertisement answered 
 is referred to or enclosed. Note also the direct and exphcit answer 
 to the advertisement. Everything that an advertisement asks for 
 should be answered, preferably in the same order. 
 
 K 
 
130 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 1. Have each member of your class apply for some position. 
 
 Let the class determine which appUcations may be rejected, 
 and why. 
 
 2. Write letters of application for various positions, such as office 
 
 helper, store clerk, delivery man, and show just how they 
 would differ in form. 
 
 3. Conduct interclass correspondence, regarding one class as em- 
 
 ployers and one as appUcants. 
 
 4. Write replies to the letters on pages 124 to 129. If any of 
 
 these require a series of letters, invent the correspondence. 
 
 5. Write answers to one or more of the following advertise- 
 
 ments : — 
 
 BOY who has left school permanently wanted in 
 publishing house, to run errands at first ; excellent 
 chance for intelligent boy to learn good business; 
 hours 8 :30 to 5 P.M., noon Saturday all year around ; 
 $6 to start. Address in own handwriting, stating 
 age, education, and experience, if any, A 223 Times 
 Downtown. 
 
 Boys. — Bright boys 15-17 years; oflSce, stock, 
 apprentice salesmen; permanent positions; ex- 
 cellent opportunities for advancement; apply per- 
 sonally or letter. Revillon Frdres, 26 West 35. 
 
 BOYS, several, over 16, in a large office near Grand 
 Central ; excellent opportunity for advancement ; 
 must be of neat appearance ; give full particulars, 
 including salary desired. T 171 Call. 
 
 BOY, bright, industrious, one living in Greenpoint 
 
 g referred; we have an opening for such a lad; 
 right future; references. X 18, Bulletin. 
 
 BOY for general office work ; chance to advance ; 
 state age, experience, and salary expected. M 123 
 Times. 
 
 GIRL. — PERMANENT CLERICAL POSI- 
 TION WITH (;(K)D SALARY, FOR YOUNG 
 GIRL WHO IS WILLING TO WORK; NO 
 EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. LUDWIG 
 
 BAUMANN & CO., 144 WEST 125 ST. 
 
 Girls 
 Bright and neat girls to fold and inclose circu- 
 lars ; $7 per week ; hours 8 : 30 to 5 : 30, 1 o'clock 
 Saturdays. Apply to Miss Ahearn, 10 floor, 
 The Butterick Publishing Co., Spring and Mac- 
 dougal Sis.. N. Y. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 131 
 
 GIRL to do office boy's work; $6 to start, with 
 advancement ; good opportunity ; permanent posi- 
 tion ; state age and references. J 100 Times. 
 
 GIRL by wholesale dry goods house, to do filing 
 and attend to mail ; state age, references, and 
 salary wanted. O 302 Post-Dispatch. 
 
 OFFICE. — Young lady to assist generally in 
 office manufacturing concern; good p)enman and 
 figurer ; would break in bright girl to start ; state 
 salary, experience, if any ; steady. F 274 Record- 
 Herald. 
 
 OFFICE WORK. — Young lady for clerical work 
 in mercantile house; experience unnecessary; 
 salary $8-$9. F 282 Constitution. 
 
 6. Write to an influential friend asking him to write in your behalf 
 
 to an employer who has a position open. 
 
 7. Write to a farmer asking him to permit you to work on the farm 
 
 during the summer for board and clothing. 
 
 8. Write to a business friend of your family asking him if he is 
 
 hkely to have an opening for you on your graduation from 
 school, — a semi-business letter. 
 
 9. Your parents are displeased when they learn that you have 
 
 written the letter under No. 8- One of them writes to the 
 employer. Reproduce the letter. Reproduce the replies 
 written by the employer to you and to your father. 
 
 LESSON EIGHTEEN 
 
 Special Business Letter Forms 
 
 Consult page 28 for general directions about the en- 
 velope. The business envelope differs from the envelope 
 of the friendly letter in that the name and address of the 
 firm are usually printed in the upper left-hand corner. 
 Sometimes they are printed on the flap on the back of the 
 envelope rather than on the face of it. Observe the follow- 
 ing model : — 
 
132 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The Elm City Nursery Co., 
 Office and Sales-Nurseries, 
 
 Edoewood, New Haven, Conn. 
 
 Mr. James B. Dugan, 
 
 517 Woodward Ave., 
 Detroit, 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 Consult page 30 for different forms of address. It is 
 especially important that the address on the envelope of a 
 business letter shall be an exact copy of the address in the 
 letter. Observe the following in connection with addressing 
 high officials : — 
 
 (1) The President of the United States, 
 Executive Mansion, 
 Washington, D.C. 
 
 (2) The Hon. Peter Murphy, 
 Senate Chamber, 
 
 The Capitol, 
 Washington, D.C. 
 
 (3) The Hon. James Ferguson, 
 
 United States House of Representatives, 
 Washington, D.C. 
 
 (4) The Hon. John F. Hylan, 
 Mayor's Office, 
 
 City Hall, 
 New York. 
 
 (5) President Nicholas Murray Butler, 
 Columbia University, 
 Broadway and 116 Street, 
 
 New York. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR ' 133 
 
 (6) The Hon. James Corrigan, 
 Appellate Court Building, 
 Madison Square, 
 
 New York. 
 
 (7) Rabbi Stephen Wise, 
 23 West 90 Street, 
 New York City. 
 
 (8) The Rev. James Stimson, 
 
 Pastor of the Congregational Temple, , 
 60 Street and Kent Ave., 
 St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Salutations in letters to officials vary in form and depend, 
 in some measure, upon your acquaintance with the one 
 addressed. To the President and the Mayor you may 
 use, — 
 
 Sir: 
 
 Dear Sir : 
 
 Dear Mr. President : 
 Dear Mr. Mayor : 
 To another official, such as a senator or a judge, — 
 Dear Judge Anderson : 
 Dear Senator Murphy : 
 
 or 
 Dear Sir : 
 Sir: 
 The proper complimentary closings in business letters are 
 the simple ones indicated on page 18. Americans are not 
 given to elaborate complimentary closings. In European 
 countries the following elaborate closing to an official letter 
 is by no means uncommon : — 
 
 I beg to remain, Sir, 
 
 Your humble and obedient servant, 
 (Signature) 
 
134 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Address envelopes to the prominent officials and citizens in your 
 
 community. 
 
 2. Address envelopes to several business houses in youj* community. 
 
 3. Compose printed matter to be printed on the envelopes used by 
 
 various school organizations. 
 
 4. Write a letter to the mayor of your town, to your state senator, 
 
 or to the President of the United States, asking for approval 
 • or indorsement of some reform movement in connection with 
 your community. 
 
 5. Write a letter to your minister, priest, or rabbi, asking him to 
 
 address your class or your school on a certain date. 
 
 6. Write a letter to your member of the House of Representatives 
 
 at Washington, D.C., asking him to send you certain informa- 
 tion that you need for preparing a speech. 
 
 LESSON NINETEEN 
 Formal Notes 
 This is an informal invitation, — 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 30 West Ave., 
 
 
 
 
 
 Norwalk, Conn., 
 
 
 
 
 
 June 12, 1918. 
 
 
 Dear Bill, 
 
 
 
 
 
 Comp over 
 
 Friday at 2 
 
 1 o'clock. The fellows are 
 
 go- 
 
 ing to be here and we're 
 
 going 
 
 to have a game — 
 
 you 
 
 know ! Weai 
 
 ' your old clothes 
 
 or you'll be sorry ! I 
 
 
 
 
 
 As ever. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tom 
 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 135 
 
 But formal invitations and announcements are not written 
 in this free fashion. An engraver does the work and he has 
 certain estabhshed forms which he follows. He uses the 
 third person throughout, ignores the customary usage as to 
 letter parts, and places the whole form on a card. Observe 
 the following : — 
 
 C^/^ ^/^^^ <./McJ2^^/^ ^^ 
 
 €1 
 
 'ie-'O^ued^ ^A-e ■/i^'cuut^e. -aj: ^-a-ud. ^yted^eypi-c-e -tz-t -a. 
 
 cf.^ 
 
 -^ ^e. -^^-ue^Pt -a-C -lAe- ^^-A^iA-^-e^. <::^-(U€<Pe 
 
 
 oyyi. CyAi^yid-cUz/M, ■c^yte4/j^<3.<i/7^ Cy^'U-t'CKc^y, ^l^-e dt 
 
 ^/ 
 
 j^O/!^^ j:04^^ -(^l^^-lU^ de.^tt.£y»^ -a -C-i^-cA. 
 
 
 64^4^ ^i^/^-Zcf^'^^^^/ 
 
 
 
136 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 request tfje f^onov of 
 
 's 
 
 presence at tje marrtafle of tfjeir trausllter 
 
 Bba i»arie 
 
 to 
 
 ^v. STijomas JE, <9:larfte 
 
 on STueslras morninfl, Xobetnter tje ttoelft^ 
 
 at ten o'clock 
 
 ©ijurclj Saint fiflnatius 3Lo3?oIa 
 
 ' !Nfine J^unlrrelr anlr lEiQijtw 3Parfe ^benue 
 
 l^eto ¥orfe ettfi 
 
 You will rarely be called upon to construct such dignified 
 and formal compositions as these, but certainly you will 
 receive some like them before you are very much older. 
 You should know what they are like and how to write them. 
 Note the omission of salutation and complimentary closing 
 and signature, the placement of the heading, when used, in 
 the lower left-hand corner, the use of the third person, and 
 the brevity and directness. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 137 
 
 In answering formal invitations, bearing the letters 
 R. S. V. P. (an abbreviation from the French ^^Repondez 
 sHl vous plait, ^^ meaning ''Please answer"), the third per- 
 son should again be used, and the response arranged as 
 follows : — 
 
 Mr. George Bronson accepts with pleasure (or re- 
 grets that he cannot accept) the kind invitation of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Brown for Friday, December 
 the third. 
 
 27 Guilford Avenue, 
 New Haven, Connecticut. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Write an announcement of a school exhibition. 
 
 2. Write a formal dinner invitation from your parents to your 
 
 teacher. 
 
 3. Write your teacher's formal note of acceptance. 
 
 4. Write an announcement of the marriage of your sister or of a 
 
 friend. 
 
 5. Write an invitation to a party to be given by yom: sister. 
 
 6. Write two or three different acceptances of your sister's invita- 
 
 tion. 
 
 7. Write a formal request for excuse of absence from school. 
 
 8. Write a teacher's formal acceptance of excuse for absence. 
 
 9. Write a formal regret for being unable to accept an invitation. 
 10. Write a formal card of thanks for sympathy extended to you. 
 
138 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 LESSON TWENTY 
 
 The Sentence 
 
 Unless you have a "gift" for writing, you must have 
 bitten your pen or pencil more than once in following out 
 the suggestions of previous lessons. In business letters 
 especially, it was necessary to put your ideas into sentences 
 that said all that you wished and said it clearly. If you 
 failed, it was often because you did not know how to make 
 your sentences work. 
 
 A sentence, with its subject and predicate and its various 
 clauses, is hke a trout line with its group of flies. When 
 a skillful fisherman casts his line, the leader straightens, 
 each fly stretches above the water and settles upon the 
 surface in due relation to every other. But a bad cast 
 tangles them in hopeless confusion. The thought of the 
 writer in sentence writing is like the twist of the wrist that 
 makes the successful cast. If it is a good thought and a 
 clear one, the clauses will fly into place. If it is a con- 
 fused thought, then the parts of the sentence tangle and 
 do not show their relations. If it is a feeble thought, then 
 the sentence sprawls ineffectively, or "dies" before it is 
 really finished. 
 
 In actual writing, it is the thought that comes first. But 
 let us study the kinds of sentences, their parts and relations, 
 precisely as before fly fishing one would examine the line 
 and its flies. An intimate knowledge of the sentence will 
 make your composition work less perplexing for you and 
 will give a range and power of expression that will 
 surprise you. It is not true that if you take care of 
 the sentences, the paragraphs will take care of themselves. 
 But it is true that the boy or girl who masters sen- 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 139 
 
 tences is much more than half way on the road to clear 
 English. 
 
 A sentence, then, is a thought expressed in words. The 
 important words in a sentence are pictures of ideas. These 
 ideas or word pictures are Unked together by means of less 
 important words called connectives and relation words, 
 which show the connections and the relations among the 
 ideas of a sentence. The word that names what the sentence 
 is about is called the subject, although sometimes it takes a 
 group of words, as in a noun clause, to state a subject. That 
 part of the sentence that says something about the subject 
 is called the predicate. 
 
 Sentences are classified in three general divisions accord- 
 ing to Purpose, Grammatical Form, and Arrangement. 
 
 Under Purpose there are four kinds, — 
 
 (1) Declarative : a sentence that makes a complete state- 
 ment, as, — Philadelphia is ninety miles from New York. 
 
 (2) Interrogative : a sentence that asks a question, as, — 
 How far is New Orleans from Winnipeg ? 
 
 (3) Imperative : a sentence that commands, entreats, 
 directs, or forbids, as, — Sit down. Close the door. Leave 
 him alone. 
 
 (4) Exclamatory : a sentence that expresses strong feeling, 
 as, — Where, oh where has he gone! Alas, it is too late! 
 Hurrah, we won the game! 
 
 An exclamatory sentence may be declarative or interrogative 
 or imperative in form. It is the feeling used in expressing it 
 that makes it an exclamatory sentence or an exclamation. 
 
 There are four kinds of sentences considered from the 
 point of view of Grammatical Form, — 
 
 (1) Simple : a sentence that contains one subject and 
 one predicate, as, — Alice sews. Either of these parts, or 
 both, may be compound, as, — Alice and Mary sew and knit. 
 
140 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (2) Compound : a sentence that consists of two or more 
 independent subject and predicate groups, each of which 
 may stand alone as a simple sentence, as, — The river 
 flows hut the cataract leaps. If hut were omitted from this 
 sentence, each part could stand alone as a separate simple 
 sentence. Such subject and predicate groups coming within 
 a sentence are called clauses. If they are independent, that 
 is, if they make complete sense when standing alone, they 
 are called independent clauses. If they do not make com- 
 plete sense standing alone, they are called dependent clauses. 
 
 (3) Complex : a sentence that contains one independent 
 subject and predicate group or clause, called here the prin- 
 cipal clause, and one or more dependent subject and predi- 
 cate groups or clauses, as, — When war was declared, many 
 Americans were in Europe. The clause When war wa^ 
 declared does not make complete sense if separated from the 
 rest of the sentence. It is therefore the dependent clause, 
 for it depends upon the independent clause to give it meaning. 
 
 (4) Compound-complex : a sentence that contains two or 
 more independent clauses and one or more dependent 
 clauses, as, — When June arrived, work ended and play 
 hegan. The independent clauses are work ended, play hegan. 
 When June arrived is a dependent clause depending (in this 
 instance) upon both of the independent clauses for its meaning. 
 Some books classify a sentence of this kind as complex and thus 
 have but three kinds of sentences under the second division. 
 
 There are three kinds of sentences from the point of view 
 of Arrangement, — 
 
 (1) Loose : a sentence that is so loosely put together that 
 it may be concluded at one or many points before the end 
 is reached, as, — A mocking-hird is called Boh just as a goat 
 is called Billy or Nan, as a parrot is called Poll, a^ a squirrel 
 18 called Bunny, or as a cat is called Pussy or Tom. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 
 
 141 
 
 (2) Periodic : a sentence in which the thought is not com- 
 pleted until the end. It will not make complete sense if 
 closed before the end is reached, thus, — Just as a cat is 
 called Pussy or Tom, just as a squirrel is called Bunny, just 
 as a parrot is called Poll, just as a goat is called Billy or Nan, 
 so a mocking-bird is called Boh. You could not place a 
 period where these commas are, for the part so marked off 
 would not make complete sense. 
 
 (3) Balanced : a sentence whose parts match or balance 
 one another. Subjects and predicates may balance, or 
 phrases and clauses, thus, — Train up a child in the way he 
 should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Note 
 also the following: Had you rather Caesar were living 
 and die all slaves, than that Ccesar were dead, to live all free- 
 men? 
 
 It must be remembered that the terms loose, periodic, and 
 balanced are relative. There are varying degrees of loose- 
 ness, of periodicity, and of balance. Some sentences are 
 more loose, more periodic, or more balanced than others. 
 
 The following diagram summarizes the sentence classi- 
 fication as given above : — 
 
 Sentences 
 
 Purpose 
 
 Grammatical 
 Form 
 
 Arrangement 
 
 f declarative 
 
 interrogative 
 
 imperative 
 . exclamatory 
 
 simple 
 
 compound 
 
 complex 
 
 compound-complex 
 
 loose 
 
 periodic 
 , parallel or balanced 
 
142 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 There should be little difficulty in expressing yourself clearly 
 in a variety of ways in view of the fact that all these kinds 
 of sentences are at your command. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Select sentences of different kinds from the stories on pages 32 
 
 to 69. 
 
 2. Compose sentences of different kinds on some topic of current 
 
 interest in your community, or on the following : — 
 Work at school Entertainments Friends 
 
 Work at home Athletics Flowers 
 
 Examinations Books Success 
 
 Report cards Travel Choosing a life work 
 
 3. Compose the following kinds of sentences about the town or 
 
 city in which you live : — 
 
 A declarative complex periodic sentence 
 An imperative compound loose sentence 
 A simple interrogative sentence 
 A balanced compound-complex sentence ~ 
 An exclamatory complex sentence 
 
 4. Write a brief comparative description of your father and 
 
 mother or of some other real people. Use all the different 
 kinds of sentences in it. Begin the sentences with different 
 words. Make use of transitional words and phrases ; that is, 
 words or phrases that serve to connect the thought of one 
 sentence with that of another. 
 
 5. Classify each of the following sentences according to. the divi- 
 
 sions pointed out in this chapter : — 
 
 (1) The flag of the United States consists of thirteen stripes 
 
 alternating red and white, and a blue field in the upper 
 left-hand corner, set with forty-eight white stars. 
 
 (2) The stripes represent the original thirteen colonies and the 
 
 stars the forty-eight states now in the Union. 
 
 (3) The resolution, authorizing the making of the flag, was 
 
 passed by Congress on June 14, 1777. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 143 
 
 (4) George Washington requested Congress to appoint a com- 
 
 mittee to design a flag by means of which American 
 vessels could recognize each other. 
 
 (5) Mrs. Betsy Ross, an expert needlewoman, conducting an 
 
 upholstery business at her home, 239 Arch Street, Phila- 
 delphia, was visited by the committee and requested 
 to make a flag from a design shown her. 
 
 (6) She suggested to Washington, who was a member of the 
 
 committee, that he redraw it. 
 
 (7) "May I suggest also," she said, "that the stars be made 
 
 five-pointed?" 
 
 (8) Her suggestions were well received ; the flag was redrawn, 
 
 and Mrs. Ross made the first Star Spangled Banner. 
 
 (9) The flag was probably first carried in battle at Brandy- 
 
 wine, September 11, 1777. 
 
 (10) On the admission of Kentucky and Vermont into the 
 
 Union in 1794, it was ordered by Congress that after 
 May 1, 1795, there should be fifteen stars and fifteen 
 stripes in the flag. 
 
 (11) Not until April 14,- 1818, was the permanent form of the 
 
 flag decided upon. 
 
 (12) On this date Congress ordered that the flag should contain 
 
 thirteen stripes permanently, and that there should be 
 as many stars in the blue field as there are states in the 
 Union, the addition of each new star to be made on the 
 Fourth of July following the admission of the new state. 
 
 (13) There are now forty-eight stars in the flag, — six rows of 
 
 eight stars each. 
 
 (14) At the time of the Revolution there were 13 stars in 
 
 the flag ; at the War of 1812, 15 ; at the Mexican War, 
 29 ; at the Civil War, 35 ; at the Spanish War, 45 ; and 
 at the World War, 48. 
 
 (15) Speaking of the flag, Washington said, "We take the 
 
 star from Heaven, the red from our mother country, 
 separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we 
 have separated from her, and the white stripes shall 
 go down to posterity representing liberty." 
 
 6. Write a short conversation between two i)eople who are sup- 
 posedly watching the game illustrated on the next page. 
 
U1.KINO A QOXU 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 145 
 
 Use as many of the different kinds of sentences enumerated 
 on page 141 as you can. 
 7. Add independent clauses to the following dependent ones so 
 that each completed sentence will be periodic : — 
 
 After a hard day's work was done 
 
 When the tide goes out 
 
 If it rains 
 
 Where he went 
 
 Since the bell has rung 
 
 Although he failed 
 
 Who he was 
 
 Which of the two came 
 
 Why he laughed 
 
 How it is made 
 
 Add dependent clauses to the following independent ones so 
 that the completed sentences will be complex :, — 
 Take your hat off to the flag 
 
 The white in the flag means purity 
 The blue in the flag means truth — 
 The red in the flag means courage - 
 
 Every school should have a flag flying over it 
 
 One of our most inspiring hoHdays is flag day 
 
 The flag is a sacred symbol 
 
 The history of our flag is thrilling 
 
 Never forget the flag, boys, 
 
 9. Construct sentences in which clauses, phrases, or words are 
 balanced, using the following suggestions : — 
 Black and white Summer and winter Atlantic and Pacific 
 Strong and weak On and off North and south 
 
 In and out China and Japan East and west 
 
 LESSON TWENTY ONE 
 
 Making Sentences Clear — Unity 
 
 A sentence must have unity ; that is, all its parts must 
 unite to form a single thought. If a sentence contains more 
 ideas than should be squeezed into a single statement, or if 
 
146 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 it contains ideas unrelated to the remainder of the sentence, 
 then it lacks unity. A sentence must also have coherence, 
 that is, its parts must be so arranged as to make their 
 relations, and the meaning of the whole, clear. A sentence 
 that lacks unity will often, as a result, lack coherence also. 
 The ideas that offend against unity may interfere with the 
 coherence of the thought. 
 
 Cautions 1, 2, and 3 below belong almost exclusively to 
 the study of unity. Numbers 4, 5, 6, and 7 apply to co- 
 herence as well as to unity. 
 
 1. Do not put too much in a sentence. Cultivate the habit 
 of writing brief, concise sentences rather than long, involved 
 ones. 
 
 The game was held at the park and on the way to it we sang and 
 whistled popular airs, and when we at last arrived we were told 
 that we were an hour ahead of time. 
 
 Such a sentence as this is sometimes called a rambling 
 sentence. There are too many unrelated ideas contained in it. 
 It should be broken up into three sentences, as follows : — 
 
 The game was held at the park. On the way we sang and whistled 
 popular airs. When we arrived there we were told that we were 
 an hour ahead of time. (See exercise 1 under Practice, page 149.) 
 
 2. On the other hand, do not put too little in your sentences. 
 A series of extremely short sentences may be perfectly 
 correct in form, but if each represents a part only of the 
 sentence thought, the series should be combined into a 
 whole. 
 
 The flag has thirteen stripes. The flag has forty-eight stars. 
 The stripes stand for the original thirteen colonies. The stars 
 stand for the present forty-eight states. 
 
 These fragments should be combined into one unified 
 statement as follows : — 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 147 
 
 The flag has thirteen stripes, symboUzing the original thirteen 
 colonies, and forty-eight stars, symboUzing the forty-eight states 
 in the .Union. (See exercise 2 under Practice, page 150.) 
 
 3. Do not place in the same sentence ideas that have little or 
 no relation to each other. 
 
 Alice makes good cake and goes to school regularly. 
 
 The two ideas contained in this sentence are so totally 
 unrelated as to seem ridiculous when placed together. They 
 are two separate and independent thoughts and should 
 not be related in sentence construction. (See exercise 3, 
 under Practice, page 151.) 
 
 4. Do not make a sentence compound in form when one or 
 more of its parts are clearly dependent in meaning. 
 
 Washington is the capital of the United States and it was named 
 for our first President. 
 
 This sentence lacks unity because the two ideas contained 
 in it are not properly related. The subordinate idea is not 
 made subordinate. Instead of being a compound sentence, 
 it should be complex, and the less important idea should 
 be given a subordinate place, thus, — 
 
 Washington, which is the capital of the United States, was named 
 for our first President. (See exercise 4 under Practice, page 151.) 
 
 5. Keep verbs in different clauses in the same voice, mood, 
 and tense. 
 
 As the game started Bill said to Jim, "I suppose we shall be 
 beaten." 
 Not As the game started Bill says to Jim, "I suppose we shall be 
 beaten." 
 
 If, however, two different periods of time are to be repre- 
 sented by the verbs in a sentence, then one verb may be in 
 one tense, and one in another, — 
 
148 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 He told us that Albany is the capital of New York. (See exercise 
 5 under Practice, page 152.) 
 
 6. Keep person, number, and gender uniform. 
 
 On entering the room she saw a picture that impressed her 
 as being weird. 
 Not On entering the room she saw a picture that impressed one 
 as being weird. 
 
 Every one said he was going. 
 Not Every one said they were going. (See exercise 6 under Prac- 
 tice, pages 152-153.) 
 
 7. Keep the parallel parts of a sentence as nearly alike 
 in construction as possible. This is chiefly a question of 
 thinking out your grammar correctly. 
 
 The new teacher was kindly received by the pupils and was 
 welcomed with special exercises. 
 Not The new teacher was kindly received by the pupils and they 
 welcomed him with special exercises. 
 
 He is only five feet in height but he tips the scales at two 
 hundred pounds. 
 Not He is only five feet in height and tipping the scales at two 
 hundred pounds. 
 
 On account of absence and illness he cannot be promoted. 
 Not On account of his absence and because he has been ill he can- 
 not be promoted. 
 
 I hate solving problems in algebra and performing experi- 
 ments in biology. 
 Not I hate solving problems in algebra and to perform experiments 
 in biology. 
 
 His good qualities are honesty, frankness, generosity, and 
 kindness. 
 Not His good qualities are honesty, frankness, generous, and kind. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 149 
 
 Baseball is wholesome for three reasons : it is played in the 
 open ; it requires mental alertness ; it is good exercise. 
 
 Or Baseball is wholesome for three reasons : first, fresh air ; sec- 
 ond, mental alertness; third, good exercise. (See exer- 
 cises 7, 8, 9 under Practice, pages 153-154.) 
 
 Not Baseball is wholesome for three reasons : it is played in the 
 open ; for the mental alertness required ; and good exercise. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. The following sentences are overloaded. Rewrite them : — 
 
 (1) At last lunch was ready and we were all ready for it but while 
 we were eating a storm came up and our pretty little 
 lawn party was disturbed. 
 
 (2) I wrote to him and asked him to arrange a date but his 
 
 reply said they refused to play us because of our reckless 
 playing in the last game. 
 
 (3) AUce says that Mary told her they were not going and they 
 
 are going to Hampton instead but I think we shall go 
 anyhow for the weather is fine. 
 
 (4) During the day there were numerous showers and then in 
 
 the evening the stars came out and everything was 
 lovely but Mary lost her jeweled purse and every one was 
 obliged to help find it. 
 
 (5) The race was now on and it looked as if John would win for 
 
 he was well in advance of the others but going round a 
 corner Bill forged ahead and he kept first place to the end. 
 
 (6) Tennyson was born in 1809 and he hved in England all his 
 
 hfe and he was made Poet Laureate in 1850 but some of 
 his greatest work had been done before that date. 
 
 (7) They arrived at Cape Honduras which is the most northern 
 
 point of Honduras, on June 25, on their way to visit 
 this interesting republic of Central America which covers 
 46,250 square miles. 
 
 (8) Washington Augustus Roebling was an American engineer 
 
 who was born in 1806 and died in 1869, and who built 
 the great Brooklyn bridge, the first bridge to unite 
 Brooklyn with Manhattan. 
 
150 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (9) Casimir Pulaski was born in 1748 and died in 1789, served 
 as a Polish soldier and as a general in the American 
 Revolution, and he w^as killed at the siege of Savannah. 
 (10) Speaking of heroes, I said that Sir Roderick is the greatest 
 hero I ever read of but sister said, "No, you are wrong : 
 he was not a hero but an adventurer, and anyway Wallace 
 is the greatest hero that ever was." 
 
 2. Combine the short sentences in each of the following groups into 
 a single sentence or two : — 
 
 (1) Barley is a grain. It is somewhat hke buckwheat. It is 
 
 used as food. It is used to make malt. 
 
 (2) Buckwheat is a plant. Its blossoms are white. It grows 
 
 in poor soil. Its seeds are queer looking things. They 
 are black. They are triangular. Flour is made from 
 them. 
 
 (3) Oats is harvested in August. It is an edible grain. Oat- 
 
 meal is made from oats, tlorses love oats. The word 
 oats is plural in form but singular in construction. 
 
 (4) Wheat is the most valuable grain there is. The ear or 
 
 head is a flowered spikelet. The grain is hammered out 
 by machinery. Flour is made from the grains. Wheat 
 is used also for making cereals. 
 
 (5) Rye is a grain. It is very much like wheat. In the field 
 
 it is taller than wheat. The rye grain is larger and 
 sharper than the wheat grain. Whisky is made from rye. 
 
 (6) Wheat, rye, barley, oats are called corn in England. In 
 
 America Indian maize is called corn. It grows to a 
 height of seven to ten feet. The grain grows in clusters 
 called ears. They are yellow and hard. The central 
 part of the ear is the cob. Horses love corn. A variety 
 called sweet corn is eaten by men. 
 
 (7) Grass is a common green plant. It has hollow stems. Its 
 
 stems are sometimes jointed. Its leaves are long and 
 narrow. Its leaves are spire-shaped. It grows in all 
 countries. It requires much moisture. 
 
 (8) Clover blossoms in both red and white. There are several 
 
 species of clover. Clover belongs to the bean family. 
 It is a three-leaved plant. It is the best pasture for 
 cattle. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 151 
 
 (9) Timothy is a grass. It is used for hay. It is a winter 
 fodder for cattle. It has a long, serrated head. It takes 
 its name from Timothy Hanson. He introduced the 
 seed about 1720. 
 (10) Alfalfa is a clover-like plant. It grows in Europe. It 
 grows in the United States. It belongs to the bean fam- 
 ily. It is the best kind of fodder for cows. 
 
 3. The ideas in each of the following sentences have little or no 
 
 relation to each other. Point out the lack of harmony in each 
 one and rewrite correctly : — 
 
 (1) China has a population of 407,253,030 people and most of 
 
 our camphor comes from there. 
 
 (2) Silk is the leading export of Japan, although the country 
 
 covers 260,000 square miles. 
 
 (3) Java belongs to the Dutch but we get much coffee from 
 
 there. 
 
 (4) In Rangoon, the capital of Burma, there is a large EngHsh 
 
 high school for boys and the country belongs to Great 
 Britain. 
 
 (5) Tea is the chief export of Ceylon and the island has a de- 
 
 lightful climate. 
 
 (6) The antiquity of Egypt is fascinating in interest though the 
 
 country is now a British province. 
 
 (7) The waters of the Mediterranean are sky-blue and the 
 
 vessels that voyage through it to the west are laden with 
 precious cargoes from the east. 
 
 (8) Adelaide is one of the most beautiful cities in South 
 
 Australia and there is a large teachers' college located 
 there. 
 
 (9) The population of Sydney, AustraHa, is 725,000 and when 
 
 it is winter in New York it is summer there. 
 (10) Hobart is the capital of Tasmania and when I was there 
 ten years ago I was ill for two weeks. 
 
 4. In the following sentences the principal thoughts do not stand 
 
 out prominently because the subordinate thoughts are not 
 made dependent. Rewrite them correctly : — 
 (1) America is the richest country in the world and has been 
 called the Western El Dorado. ^ 
 
152 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (2) The first act is explanatory and shows the relations existing 
 
 between the two classes of people. 
 
 (3) Sohrab was a spirited fighter and he was determined to find 
 
 his heroic father. 
 
 (4) Philadelphia is called the Quaker City and it is the home 
 
 of many Quaker families even today. 
 
 (5) It was a beautiful picture of a farmhouse and I bought it 
 
 for my mother. 
 
 (6) The three sat up in the lighthouse towers and they watched 
 
 for their loved ones at sea. 
 
 (7) It was a wide stream and it flowed rapidly and there was a 
 
 picturesque old bridge over it. 
 
 (8) New Haven is the largest city in Connecticut and Yale 
 
 University is located there. 
 
 (9) Antonio was a rich merchant and he borrowed money from 
 
 Shylock. 
 (10) James was a good king and he mingled with his people 
 freely. 
 
 5. Rewrite the following sentences making the verbs agree in mood 
 
 or voice or tense, or in all three : — 
 
 (1) Every once in a while he would reenter and was greeted 
 
 by the same reception. 
 
 (2) If he is accepted, he would be very happy. 
 
 (3) As they were sailing along, suddenly the wind rises and the 
 
 boat was turned upside down. 
 
 (4) He was struck on reaching the top of the hill by the view 
 
 that lies before him. 
 
 (5) He fears he might be hurt if he ventured too far afield. 
 
 (6) The war concerned us all, especially those who have large 
 
 fortunes. 
 
 (7) No sooner had we arrived than John begins to feel ill. 
 
 (8) "Well, if it isn't you!" she cried, and then they run off 
 
 together to talk. 
 
 (9) If the suffix began with a vowel, the final consonant is 
 
 doubled. 
 (10) I would go if I had known in time. 
 
 6. Rewrite the following sentences, making corrections in person, 
 
 number, and gender as required : — 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 153 
 
 (1) Each fellow has a chance if they make an application. 
 
 (2) The crowd chases the thief until he was out of sight and 
 
 then he in wait for him to reappear. 
 
 (3) He saw the snake as it coiled around the post and then 
 
 leveled his gun and fired at him. 
 
 (4) If one does not care for jewelry, why should you 
 
 wear it ? 
 
 (5) Miss Doan accepts Mrs. Smith's kind invitation to dinner 
 
 on June 20, at seven o'clock. Yours truly. 
 
 (6) School gives every boy an opportunity to make a man 
 
 of yourself and to see what is best for him in the 
 world. 
 
 (7) When a girl is going to school she should accompany 
 
 her school work with a certain amount of work in 
 the home, so that when they are grown up they 
 may make good housekeepers as well as intelligent 
 citizens. 
 
 (8) The committee decide that it is not responsible for the con- 
 
 dition of the room after school hours. 
 
 (9) Every report is recorded in the ofi&ce and they blandly 
 
 stare a pupil in the face when they come up for gradua- 
 tion. 
 (10) Miss Everett regrets extremely that she cannot accept Miss 
 Brown's kind invitation owing to the fact that I have 
 another engagement. Cordially yours. 
 
 7. Rewrite each of the following sentences so that the subjects of 
 the clauses will be more nearly parallel in construction : — 
 
 (1) They accepted the invitation and a warm reception was given 
 
 them. 
 
 (2) I shall appreciate it if you will send me a check or the money 
 
 may be left with my clerk. 
 
 (3) I heard an alarm and rushed to the window and the ambu- 
 
 lance was just going past. 
 
 (4) I met the man at the entrance and he showed me over the 
 
 building. 
 
 (5) They accepted my gift most graciously and today I received 
 
 a note of appreciation from them. 
 
 (6) They arrived in Venice at sunset and the lagoons were 
 
 resplendent with color and gaiety. 
 
154 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (7) Running is good exercise but which must not be overdone 
 by any fellow. 
 
 8. In the following sentences participial and infinitive phrases are 
 
 not made properly parallel in construction. Correct them : — 
 
 (1) He likes swimming or to splash about in the pool. 
 
 (2) Studying soUdly for five hours or to listen closely for that 
 
 length of time, is an exhausting task. 
 
 (3) Leaving the bridge at the lower end they began entering the 
 
 estate and to marvel at its beauties. 
 
 (4) Hurrying is not the same as to make haste. 
 
 (5) I hate to be caught in the rain and running for shelter. 
 
 (6) He never thought of carrying her bundles of to carry her 
 
 umbrella. 
 
 (7) To listen to music inteUigently is more difficult than hearing 
 
 speech understandingly. 
 
 (8) Being, or not to be, — that is the question. 
 
 (9) To shout, to whistle, behaving boisterously in any way, is 
 
 not proper indoors. 
 
 9. There are certain terms in each of the following sentences that 
 
 should be similar or parallel in form. Rewrite the sentences, 
 making them so : — 
 
 (1) He has had the honor of holding the office of mayor, the 
 
 governorship, and president. 
 
 (2) We supply travel information, railway tickets, and also at- 
 
 tend to your luggage. 
 
 (3) Mary's best traits are kindness, sweetness, honest, and 
 
 good. 
 
 (4) You will never be sorry that you bought this suit, for it is 
 
 excellent quality, wears well, and stylish. 
 
 (5) He won the medal because he is clever, his record is a good 
 
 one, and in efficient competition. 
 
 (6) He has traveled in England, all over France, and he has been 
 
 in Africa. 
 
 (7) These things are positively essential for graduation, — you 
 
 must work hard, deny yourself certain pleasures, good 
 attendance. 
 
 (8) Tell who wrote the story, why, at what time it appeared, 
 
 your opinion. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 155 
 
 LESSON TWENTY TWO 
 Making Sentences Clear — Coherence 
 
 Read again the first part of Lesson Twenty One and be 
 sure that you understand the meaning of unity and co- 
 herence as apphed to sentences. Study the five cautions 
 below regarding coherence. Numbers 1 and 2 belong almost 
 exclusively to coherence. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 have to do 
 with both coherence and unity. 
 
 1. Be sure that word, phrase, and clause modifiers stand as 
 close as possible to the words, phrases, and clauses they modify. 
 This is a most important rule in English expression and it 
 is one that is often violated. 
 
 Here is a sentence showing the wrong placement of a word 
 
 modifier, — 
 
 I only have three apples. 
 
 Only does not modify have. It modifies three and should be 
 placed as near as possible to it, thus, — 
 
 I have only three apples. 
 
 Here is a sentence showing the wrong placement of a 
 phrase, — 
 
 The manager returned home after a hard fought game with his 
 team. 
 
 With his team modifies returned not game. The sentence 
 should read as follows : — 
 
 The manager returned home with his team after a hard fought game. 
 
 Here is a sentence showing the wrong placement of a 
 clause, — 
 
 The monument of Henry "v is one of the most interesting in West- 
 minster Abbey, who died in 11^22. 
 
156 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The clause in italics modifies Henry V and should, of course, 
 be placed as near as possible to the name, as, — 
 
 The monument of Henry V, who died in 1422, is one of the most 
 interesting in the Abbey. 
 
 (See exercise 1 under Practice, page 160.) 
 
 2. Be sure that the antecedent of every pronoun you use is 
 clearly and easily found. Both personal and relative pro- 
 nouns are often confused in reference, even by good writers. 
 It and he are particularly troublesome. 
 
 The antecedent of he, for instance, in this sentence is in 
 doubt, — 
 
 Before the sailor could reach his soa he drowned. 
 
 It should read, — 
 
 Before the sailor could reach his son the boy drowned, 
 or 
 
 Before the sailor could reach his son, the sailor drowned, 
 
 according to the meaning intended. 
 
 The pronouns it and they are, however, frequently used 
 without any definite antecedent, although their meaning is 
 perfectly clear. They are sometimes called idiomatic pro- 
 nouns because custom has made their use in this way an 
 idiom, and therefore allowable ; for example, — It rains. 
 It snows. They say it is going to rain. They play hall on that 
 field. 
 
 The relative pronouns which and that are frequently used 
 to refer to a group of words or to a clause. Careful writers, 
 however, will make them refer to one definite word in a sen- 
 tence. Thus in, — 
 
 They upset in the snow which was most unexpected, 
 
 which refers to the clause preceaii^g it. Indeed, it refers 
 principally to the action indicated in that clause, or to the 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 157 
 
 action word. Pronouns should refer to nouns or pronouns, 
 never to verbs. In nearly all cases where this construction 
 occurs, the which or that clause can be combined with the 
 principal clause to make a simpler statement of the whole 
 sentence, as, — 
 
 They upset unexpectedly in the snow. 
 
 (See exercise 2 under Practice, page 161.) 
 
 3. Be sure that the conjunctions and, but, therefore, as, 
 either — or, neither — nor are used in sentences for the re- 
 lationship that their meanings indicate. 
 
 And is an additive conjunction. It means addition. 
 Other connecting words that may be used with or in place 
 of it are also, likewise, moreover, similarly, furthermore, too, 
 more than this, again. When any of these words are used, 
 therefore, either separately or in groups, they should be 
 used in such a way as to imply addition. The following 
 sentence illustrates this : — 
 
 He received 90 in English and 100 in algebra ; his marks in other 
 subjects were likewise high. 
 
 But is an adversative conjunction. It means on the other 
 hand, on the contrary, yet, still, however, nevertheless, at the 
 some time, and should be used with or in place of these 
 words, thus, — 
 
 Bill is not a good student, but he made a good showing, 
 or 
 
 Bill is not a good student, still he made a good showing. 
 
 It would be absurd to use and or any one of its equivalents 
 to show the connection here, as, — 
 
 Bill is not a good student and he made a good showing. 
 
 Therefore means for that reason. Words that mean about 
 the same as therefore and that may oftentimes be used with 
 
158 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 it or for it, are so, thus, hence, consequently, as a result, ac- 
 cordingly. Note how many of these words may be used in 
 the following sentence : — 
 
 Thej^ decided to play the game rain or shine; therefore (accord- 
 ingly, hence, consequently, so) the tickets were placed on sale. 
 
 As, used as a connective, expresses degree or manner. The 
 following sentences illustrate these usages : — 
 
 He plays as well as I. 
 Do as you like. 
 
 Used with so, as may indicate result, as in, — Be so good 
 as to come. As should not be used in place of that. I don't 
 know as he can is wrong. 
 
 Either — or, neither — nor, not only — hut also, though — 
 yet, whether — or, as — as, or so — as, (so is used with as in 
 negative statements), both — and, are called correlative con- 
 junctions. This means that they correspond and are ordi- 
 narily used together. But great care must be exercised in 
 getting them in the proper positions in sentences, that is, as 
 near as possible to the words, phrases, or clauses that they 
 connect. The following sentences are incorrect : — 
 
 I neither like him nor his father. 
 
 He not only asked him to go but also to take his luggage with him. 
 
 Here they are corrected, — 
 
 I like neither him nor his father. 
 
 He asked him not only to go but also to take his luggage with him. 
 
 (See exercises 3 and 4 under Practice, pages 162 to 163.) 
 
 4. Be sure that there is a correct subject for participles and 
 infinitives to modify or refer to. In the sentence, — 
 
 Wheeling to the right a good view of the ruin could be had, 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 159 
 
 wheeling is called a dangling participle. There is no word 
 in the sentence for it to modify. The sentence should be 
 rewritten as follows : — 
 
 Wheeling to the right we had a good view of the ruin. 
 
 Similarly in the following sentence : — 
 
 To be thoroughly prepared for the lesson a good outhne of it 
 must be made, 
 
 the infinitive to be prepared seems to refer to outline. This 
 is absurd of course. The sentence should read, — 
 
 To be thoroughly prepared for the lesson you must make a 
 good outline of it. 
 
 (See exercise 5 under Practice, page 163.) 
 
 5. Be careful not to omit necessary words from your sen- 
 tences. Omissions are frequently made in both speech and 
 writing, and this is permissible when the meaning is clear. 
 The omission of that, for instance, in He said he would go 
 does not make the sentence at all vague or incoherent. But 
 the omission of words in such constructions as the following 
 is serious : — 
 
 (1) Today^s lesson is as easy, if not easier, than yesterday^ s. 
 The comparative easier is quite properly followed by than. 
 But as easy or so easy must always be followed by as, for 
 as — as and so — as are correlatives. Thus the corrected 
 sentence should read, — 
 
 Today's lesson is as easy as, if not easier than, yesterday's, 
 or 
 
 Today's lesson is as easy as yesterday's, if not easier. 
 
 The word than will be readily understood at the end. 
 
 (2) Her explanation was clearer than the other teacher we had. 
 The intention is not to make the comparison between her 
 
160 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 explanation and other teacher , but between her explanation 
 and the explanation made by the other teacher. The sentence 
 should read, — 
 
 Her explanation was clearer than that made by the other teacher 
 we had. 
 
 (3) / like Scott better than any author I have read. The word 
 other should always be used with any in statements of com- 
 parison such as this. Used without other, any includes 
 Scott, of course, and thus gives the sentence a contradictory 
 meaning. 
 
 I like Scott better than any other author I have read, 
 is correct. 
 
 These indicate some of the omissions that are made in 
 everyday speech and writing. It would, of course, be im- 
 possible to mention here all omissions that cause incoherence, 
 for individuals are hkely to have "pet omissions." But a 
 careful study of those given here and in exercise 6 (pages 
 163 to 164) of the Practice will be of great benefit to you. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Word, phrase, or clause modifiers are out of place in the following 
 sentences. Rewrite them, placing the modifiers as near as 
 possible to the words modified : — 
 
 (1) Compositions should be only written on one side of the 
 
 paper. 
 
 (2) He was detained after school for missing his lesson almost an 
 
 hour. 
 
 (3) They thought that he would make a home run several times 
 
 before the game was over. 
 
 (4) I am only afraid in the dark. 
 
 (5) The teacher was hit in the third inning. 
 
 (6) He had only recited one minute when the bell rang. 
 
 (7) It was dark and dangerous but Tom started out to meet 
 
 the outlaw with a club- 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 161 
 
 (8) All is not gold that glitters. 
 
 (9) The tent was raised by men on long sharp-pointed 
 
 poles. 
 
 (10) Take two of the pills on retiring in a wineglassful of cold 
 
 water. 
 
 (11) They erected a building large enough to accommodate one 
 
 thousand business men twelve stories high. 
 
 (12) John did his lesson while going to school this morning on a 
 
 piece of Mary's paper. 
 
 (13) I cannot see why address is not a noun but I was told that 
 
 it is a verb yesterday. 
 
 (14) For Rent : Neat ballroom by tidy modern lady with elec- 
 
 tric Ughts. 
 
 (15) Wanted : Board and room by bachelor with steam heat and 
 
 electricity. 
 
 The following sentences are incoherent because the antecedents 
 of the pronouns are not clear. Rewrite them coherently : — 
 
 (1) He looked everywhere for him and had no doubts as to 
 
 what he would do when he was found. 
 
 (2) While Billy Jones was playing with his dog one day last 
 
 week he got angry and bit him and at present writing he 
 is seriously ill. 
 
 (3) Fannie's mother died when she was twenty five and she 
 
 has never forgotten her. 
 
 (4) I hope to be present which will give me much pleasure. 
 
 (5) Mary and James work in the shops during Christmas week 
 
 because they are in need of help. 
 
 (6) He was an excellent swimmer and runner and he accom- 
 
 plished this by constant practice. 
 
 (7) Tom's colt died when he was but five years old. 
 
 (8) The baby fell down stairs which hurt him very much. 
 
 (9) The firemen slide down a pole when the signal is given to 
 
 the engine floor which connects with the second floor in 
 one corner. 
 
 (10) They gave my sister passes who thanked them for them. 
 
 (11) We sat before the fire telUng stories which was the most 
 
 cheerful place in the house. 
 
 (12) They took off their hats and threw them aside and for the 
 
 rest of the day they were happy. 
 
 M 
 
162 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (13) I received your kind invitation to attend your party which 
 
 it gives me much pleasure to accept with thanks. 
 
 (14) Typhoid is sometimes caused by drinking water at the time 
 
 of a flood unless it is boiled. 
 
 (15) It looked hke snow this morning which led John to get his 
 
 sled ready for some winter sport. 
 
 3. Insert and, but, thus, hence, moreover, therefore, or hke connectives 
 
 in the sentences below. Explain each insertion : — 
 
 (1) They guaranteed gate receipts the best position on the 
 
 field ; they agreed to play us annually hereafter. 
 
 (2) He failed of graduation he had made an excellent show- 
 
 ing in all subjects except one. 
 
 (3) He tried private school awhile ; he went to high school ; 
 
 he had private tutors. 
 
 (4) The oppression became unendurable; the President 
 
 declared war and prices soared. 
 
 (5) It was a difficult task he was not well ; he was 
 
 extremely busy with other things. 
 
 (6) You are not to be blamed you should be cheerful ; 
 
 you know best how you feel. 
 
 (7) On their arrival they found their father mother ill ; 
 
 they planned to remain for several days. 
 
 (8) ** Any " means one ; it is singular number ; "Any- 
 
 one is at liberty to go" is correct. 
 
 (9) Grant was a great leader he struggled against great 
 
 disadvantages, in spite of these he immortalized his 
 
 name in the cause of his country. 
 (10) Friendly relations were discontinued; war was de- 
 clared ; actual fighting was begun. 
 
 4. Insert as — as, so — as, neither — nor, either — or, whether — or, 
 
 though — yet, or not only — hut also in the sentences below. 
 Give reason for each insertion made : — 
 
 (1) He threw the ball far I. 
 
 (2) He does not look well he did. 
 
 (3) the war will end tliis year next is difficult to say. 
 
 (4) Mary Alice knows her lesson. 
 
 (5) he has returned sorely wounded the doctor says 
 
 he will recover. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 163 
 
 (6) I believe in the public school system of the United 
 
 States, in education, as the corrective for all 
 
 social ills. 
 
 (7) he did not stand high his brother, his 
 
 marks were the best he had ever received. 
 
 (8) one the other is certain to take the prize but 
 
 it will be Jim Joe is a question. 
 
 (9) did he go to war himself he made five 
 
 of his sons go. 
 (10) far I can see there is clear blue sky. 
 
 5. In the following sentences it is not clear on first reading what the 
 
 infinitives and participles modify. Rewrite the sentences, 
 making their construction clear in each case : — 
 
 (1) The button should be sewed on with fine silk, using care 
 
 to have the stitches even. 
 
 (2) StrolUng through the woods last night, locusts could be 
 
 heard here and there. 
 
 (3) Answering all the questions correctly, the marks given him 
 
 were good. 
 
 (4) Turning to the right, a beautiful vista greeted our eyes. 
 
 (5) Whether to run or to walk slowly by, the boy hesitated for 
 
 a time. 
 
 (6) To be fully understood, he must study the subject for many 
 
 hours. 
 
 (7) The utensils were brought back, having decided not to make 
 
 candy after all. 
 
 (8) To be thoroughly equipped for the trip, a package of goodies 
 
 must be included in your luggage. 
 
 6. Supply the omitted words or phrases in each of the following 
 
 sentences. May some of them stand as they are and be 
 perfectly clear without supplying omitted parts? Which 
 ones? 
 
 (1) Let me know where to send the books when ready. 
 
 (2) Remember, absolute quiet. 
 
 (3) I like English better than any study I have. 
 
 (4) He never has and he never will pass. 
 
 (5) Very well, sir, as you say. 
 
 (6) She sings as well, if not better, than Clara. 
 
164 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (7) His work was more satisfactory than any other boy's I ever 
 
 taught. 
 
 (8) They trusted their housekeeper who had been doing it for 
 
 thirty years. 
 
 (9) If you find the book before the summer is over, please re- 
 
 turn. 
 
 (10) If the wool in your new underwear pricks you, turn inside 
 
 out. 
 
 (11) Gone but not forgotten. 
 
 (12) School work is more important to the individual than so- 
 
 ciety. 
 
 (13) We had the greatest difficulty driving the car from the rear 
 
 seat. 
 
 (14) Newspapers are often read while waiting for a train. 
 
 (15) Stir it until it is thick and then turn over. 
 
 (16) Whatever he will or has done makes no difference to me. 
 
 (17) He described the various countries visited. 
 
 (18) I promised I wouldn't tell but I am. 
 
 7. Compose sentences to illustrate the proper use of the connectives 
 
 and, but, thus, therefore, as, either, though, and their related words. 
 
 8. Examine each of the following sentences, asking yourself these 
 
 questions : — 
 Is it declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory ? 
 Is it simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex ? 
 Is it loose, periodic, or balanced? 
 Does it meet the requirements of unity and coherence ? 
 
 (1) The flag should not be hoisted before sunrise and it should 
 
 be lowered at sunset. 
 
 (2) In wartime, however, the flag may be kept flying all night, 
 
 although army posts do not fly the flag at night except 
 when a battle is in progress. 
 
 (3) The flag is placed at half mast as a sign of mourning. 
 
 (4) The proper method of half-masting the flag is to raise it to 
 
 the top of the staff and then lower it. 
 
 (5) At the conclusion of funeral ceremonies the half-masted 
 
 flag is raised to full staff, unless a longer period of mourn- 
 ing has been ordered. 
 
 (6) If the flag is displayed with the stripes running horizontally 
 
 the stars should be in the upper left-hand corner; if. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 165 
 
 however, it is hung with the stripes running up and down, 
 the stars should be in the upper right-hand corner. 
 
 (7) When the flag is draped upon a coffin, the stars should be 
 
 at the head. 
 
 (8) When the flag is passed in parade, men should halt if walk- 
 
 ing, or rise if sitting, stand at attention, and uncover. 
 
 (9) The American flag is older than the present British Union 
 
 Jack, the French Tricolor, and the flags of Spain, Ger- 
 many, and Italy. 
 (10) The young American's pledge to the flag is, "I pledge alle- 
 giance to my flag and to the repubUc for which it stands, 
 — one nation indivisible, with Uberty and justice for all.'! 
 
 9. Write three sentences, each of thirty words or more. Read them 
 to the class for criticism of sentence structure. 
 
 LESSON TWENTY THREE 
 
 Explanation 
 
 The real test of the power to be clear comes when you try 
 to explain a process or a thing or a situation or anything 
 that must be explained in order to be understood. Exposi- 
 tion, as the rhetorics call it, lies behind most attempts at 
 clearness, whether in letters, stories, or essays. If you can 
 conduct a clear, logical explanation of a difficult subject or 
 action or thought, you have gained a power that no one can 
 take away from you, and that will be useful in a hundred 
 ways. There is nothing mechanical about learning to ex- 
 plain. You cannot "cram up" on it; you cannot learn a 
 few rules and let it go at that ; for the power to explain is 
 the power to think, and that comes slowly. Nevertheless, 
 it helps enormously to understand the processes of thought 
 involved. 
 
 Preparation for explaining consists of three parts. First, 
 you must learn all you can of your subject, and think out 
 
166 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 as clearly as possible what you know. Second, you must 
 consider the point of view and the knowledge of the reader ; 
 in other words, you must decide how much and what kind 
 of explanation he needs. Third, you must make a plan. 
 Bad thinking is corrected by a plan. The writing out or the 
 speaking that follows preparation is made easy by a plan. 
 
 Read some or all of the following explanations and be able 
 to tell exactly what they mean. Are they clear? Do they 
 give all the explanation that you need in order to under- 
 stand the subjects discussed ? 
 
 What is a Boy Scout? 
 (From The Boy Scouts of America.) 
 
 A scout! He enjoys a hike through the woods more than he 
 does a walk over the city's streets. He can tell north or south or 
 east or west by the "signs." He can tie a knot that will hold, 
 he can climb a tree which seems impossible to others, he can swim a 
 river, he can pitch a tent, he can mend a tear in his trousers, he can 
 tell you which fruits and seeds are poisonous and which are not, he 
 can sight nut-bearing trees from a distance ; if living near ocean or 
 lake he can reef a sail or take his trick at the wheel, and if near 
 any body of water at all he can pull an oar or use paddles and sculls ; 
 in the woods he knows the names of birds and animals ; in the water 
 he tells you the different varieties of fish. 
 
 A scout walks through the woods with silent tread. No dry 
 twigs snap under his feet and no loose stones turn over and throw 
 him off his balance. His eyes are keen and he sees many things 
 that others do not see. He sees tracks and signs which reveal to 
 him the nature and habits of the creatures that made them. He 
 knows how to stalk birds and animals and study them in their 
 natural haunts. He sees much, but is little seen. 
 
 A scout, like an old frontiersman, does not shout his wisdom 
 from the housetops. He possesses the quiet power that comes 
 from knowledge. He speaks softly and answers questions 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 
 
 167 
 
 modestly. He knows a 
 braggart but he does not 
 challenge him, allowing the 
 boaster to expose his ignor- 
 ance by his own loose- 
 wagging tongue. 
 
 A scout can kindle a fire 
 in the forest on the wettest 
 day and he seldom uses 
 more than one match. 
 When no matches can be 
 had he can still have a fire, 
 for he knows the secret of 
 the rubbing sticks used by 
 the Indians, and he knows 
 how to start a blaze with 
 only his knife blade and a 
 piece of flint. He knows, 
 also, the danger of forest 
 fires, and he kindles a blaze 
 that will not spread. The 
 fire once started, what a 
 meal he can prepare out 
 there in the open! Just 
 watch him and compare his 
 appetite with that of a boy 
 who lounges at a lunch 
 counter in a crowded city. 
 He knows the unwritten 
 rules of the campfire and 
 he contributes his share to 
 the pleasures of the council. 
 He also knows when to sit 
 silent before the ruddy 
 embers and give his mind 
 free play. 
 
 WHAT A MEAL HE CAN PREPARE 
 
168 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 A scout practises self-control, for he knows that men who master 
 problems in the world must first master themselves. He keeps a 
 close guard on his temper and never makes a silly spectacle of 
 himself by losing his head. He keeps a close guard on his tongue 
 for he knows that loud speech is often a cloak to ignorance, that 
 swearing is a sign of weakness, and that untruthfulness shatters 
 the confidence of others. He keeps a close guard on his appetite 
 and eats moderately of food that will make him strong ; he never 
 uses alcohoUc hquors because he does not wish to poison his body ; 
 he desires a clear, active brain, so he avoids tobacco. 
 
 A scout never flinches in the face of danger, for he knows that 
 at such a time every faculty must be alert to preserve his safety 
 and that of others. He knows what to do in case of fire, or panic, 
 or shipwreck ; he trains his mind to direct and his body to act. In 
 all emergencies he sets an example of resourcefulness, coolness, and 
 courage, and considers the safety of others before that of himself. 
 He is especially considerate of the helpless and the weak. 
 
 A scout does not run away or call for help when an accident 
 occurs. If a person is cut, he knows how to stop the flow of blood 
 and gently and carefully bind up the wound. If a person is burned, 
 his knowledge tells him how to alleviate the suffering. If any one 
 is dragged from the water unconscious, a scout at once sets to work 
 to restore respiration and circulation. He knows that not a minute 
 can be lost. 
 
 A scout knows that people expect more of him than they do of 
 other boys ahd he governs his conduct so that no word of reproach 
 can truthfully be brought against the great brotherhood to which 
 he has pledged his loyalty. He seeks always to make the word 
 "Scout" worthy of the respect of people whose opinions have value. 
 He wears his uniform worthily. 
 
 A scout knows his city as well as he knows the trails in the forest. 
 He can guide a stranger wherever he desires to go, and this knowl- 
 edge of short-cuts saves him many needless steps. He knows where 
 the poHce stations are located, where the fire-alarm boxes are placed, 
 where the nearest doctor lives, where the hospitals are, and which is 
 the quickest way to reach them. He knows the names of the city 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 169 
 
 officials and the nature of their duties. A scout is proud of his city 
 and freely ojBfers his services when he can help. 
 
 A scout is a patriot and is always ready to serve his country at 
 a minute's notice. He loves Old Glory and knows the proper 
 forms of offering it respect. He never permits its folds to touch 
 the ground. He knows how his country is governed and who are 
 the men in high authority. He desires a strong body, an alert 
 mind, and an unconquerable spirit, so that he may serve his country 
 in any need. He patterns his life after those of great Americans 
 who have had a high sense of duty and who have served the nation 
 well. 
 
 A scout chooses as his motto "Be Prepared," and he seeks to 
 prepare himself for anything — to rescue a companion, to ford a 
 stream, to gather firewood, to help strangers, to distinguish right 
 from wrong, to serve his fellowmen, his country, and his God — 
 always to "Be Prepared." 
 
 The Seeing Hand^ 
 (From Helen Keller's The World I Live In, Chapter T) 
 
 I have just touched my dog. He was roUing on the grass, with 
 pleasure in every muscle and Umb. I wanted to catch a picture of 
 him in my fingers, and I touched him as Ughtly as I would cobwebs ; 
 but lo, his fat body revolved, stiffened, and solidified into an upright 
 position, and his tongue gave my hand a lick ! He pressed close 
 to me, as if he were fain to crowd himself into my hand. He loved 
 it with his tail, with his paw, with his tongue. If he could speak, I 
 beheve he would say with me that paradise is attained by touch ; 
 for in touch is all love and intelligence. 
 
 This small incident started me on a chat about hands, and if my 
 chat is fortunate I have to thank my dog-star. In any case it is 
 pleasant to have something to talk about that no one else has 
 monopoUzed ; it is like making a new path in the trackless woods, 
 
 1 Used by permission of The Century Company. 
 The author has been blind since childhood. 
 
170 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 blazing the trail where no foot has pressed before. I am glad to take 
 you by the hand and lead you along an untrodden way into a world 
 where the hand is supreme. But at the very outset we encounter a 
 difficulty. You are so accustomed to light, I fear you will stumble 
 when I try to guide you through the land of darkness and silence. 
 The bhnd are not supposed to be the best of guides. Still, though I 
 cannot warrant not to lose you, I promise that you shall not be led 
 into fire or water, or fall into a deep pit. If you will follow me 
 patiently, you will find that ''there's a sound so fine, nothing lives 
 'twixt it and silence," and that there is more meant in things than 
 meets the eye. 
 
 My hand is to me what your hearing and sight together are to 
 you. In large measure we travel the same highways, read the same 
 books, speak the same language, yet our experiences are different. 
 All my comings and goings turn on the hand as on a pivot. It is 
 the hand that binds me to the world of men and women. The hand 
 is my feeler with which I reach through isolation and darkness and 
 seize every pleasure, every activity that my fingers encounter. 
 With the dropping of a little word from another's ^ hand into mine, 
 a slight flutter of the fingers, began the intelligence, the joy, the 
 fullness of my life. Like Job, I feel as if a hand had made me, 
 fashioned me together round about, and molded my very soul. 
 
 In all my experiences and thoughts I am conscious of a hand. 
 Whatever moves me, whatever thrills me, is as a hand that touches 
 me in the dark, and that touch is my reahty. You might as well 
 say that a sight which makes you glad, or a blow which brings the 
 stinging tears to your eyes, is unreal as to say that those impressions 
 arc unreal which I have accumulated by means of touch. The 
 delicate tremble of a butterfly's wings in my hand, the soft petals of 
 violets curling in the cool folds of their leaves or lifting sweetly out 
 of the meadow grass, the clear, firm outline of face and limb, the 
 smooth arch of a horse's neck and the velvety touch of his nose — 
 all these, and a thousand resultant combinations, which take shape 
 in my mind, constitute my world. 
 
 Ideas make the world we live in, and impressions furnish ideas. 
 
 * Miss Sullivan's (now Mrs. Macy), when she began teaching Helen Keller. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 171 
 
 My world is built of touch-sensations, devoid of physical color and 
 sound; but without color and sound it breathes and throbs with 
 life. Every object is associated in my mind with tactual ^ qualities 
 which, combined in countless ways, give me a sense of power, of 
 beauty, or of incongruity : for with my hands I can feel the comic 
 as well as the beautiful in the outward appearance of things. Re- 
 member that you, dependent on your sight, do not reahze how 
 many things are tangible. All palpable things are mobile or rigid, 
 solid or Uquid, big or small, warm or cold, and these quaUties are 
 variously modified. The coolness of a water Uly rounding into 
 bloom is different from the coolness of an evening wind in summer, 
 and different again from the coolness of the rain that soaks into the 
 hearts of growing things and gives them life and body. The velvet 
 of a rose is not that of a ripe peach or of a baby's dimpled cheek. 
 The hardness of the rock is to the hardness of the wood what a 
 man's deep bass is to a woman's voice when it is low. What I 
 call beauty I find in certain combinations of all these quaUties, 
 and is largely derived from the flow of curved and straight hues 
 which is over all things. . . . 
 
 Wlien I think of hills, I think of the upward strength I tread upon. 
 When water is the object of my thought, I feel the cool shock of the 
 plunge and the quick yielding of the waves that crisp and curl and 
 ripple about my body. The pleasing changes of rough and smooth, 
 pHant and rigid, curved and straight, in the bark and branches of a 
 tree give the truth to my hand. The immovable rock, with all its 
 juts and warped surface, bends beneath my fingers into all manner of 
 grooves and hollows. The bulge of a watermelon and the puffed-up 
 rotundities of squashes that sprout, bud, and ripen in that strange 
 garden planted somewhere behind my fingertips are the ludicrous 
 in my tactual memory and imagination. My fingers are tickled 
 to deUght by the soft ripple of a baby's laugh, and find amusement 
 in the lusty crow of the barnyard autocrat. Once I had a pet 
 rooster that used to perch on my knee and stretch his neck and crow. 
 A bird in my hand was then worth two in the — barnyard. 
 
 My fingers cannot, of course, get the impression of a large whole 
 ^ Relating to touch. 
 
172 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 at a glance ; but I feel the parts and my mind puts them together. 
 I move around my house, touching object after object in order, 
 before I can form an idea of the entire house. In other people's 
 houses I can touch only what is shown me — the chief objects of 
 interest, carvings on the wall, or a curious architectural feature, 
 exhibited Uke the family album. Therefore a house with which I 
 am not famiUar has for me, at first, no general effect or harmony of 
 detail. It is not a complete conception, but a collection of object- 
 impressions which, as they come to me, are disconnected and 
 isolated. But my mind is full of associations,, sensations, theories, 
 and with them it constructs the house. The process reminds me 
 of the building of Solomon's Temple, where was neither saw, nor 
 hammer, nor any tool heard while the stones were being laid one 
 upon another. The silent worker is imagination which decrees 
 reality out of chaos. 
 
 Back-sword 
 (From Thomas Hughes' Tom Brown's School Days, Chapter II) 
 
 I think I must tell you, as shortly as I can, how the noble old 
 game of back-sword is played ; for it is sadly gone out of late, even 
 in the Vale, and maybe you have never seen it. 
 
 The weapon is a good stout ash stick with a large basket handle, 
 heavier and somewhat shorter than a common single-stick. The 
 players are called "old gamesters" — why, I can't tell you — and 
 their object is simply to break one another's heads ; for the moment 
 that blood nms an inch anywhere above the eyebrow, the old 
 gamester to whom it belongs is beaten, and has to stop. A very 
 slight blow with the sticks will fetch blood, so that it is by no 
 means a punishing pastime, if the men don't play on purpose and 
 savagely at the body and arms of their adversaries. The old 
 gamester going into action only takes off his hat and coat, and arms 
 himself with a stick ; he then loops the fingers of his left hand in a 
 handkerchief or strap, which he fastens round his left leg, measuring 
 the length, so that when he draws it tight with his left elbow in 
 the air, that elbow shall just reach as high as his crown. Thus 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 173 
 
 you see, so long as he chooses to keep his left elbow up, regardless 
 of cuts, he has a perfect guard for the left side of his head. Then 
 he advances his right hand above and in front of his head, holding 
 his stick across, so that its point projects an inch or two over his 
 left elbow ; and thus his whole head is completely guarded, and he 
 faces his man armed in like manner; and they stand some three 
 feet apart, often nearer, and feint and strike and return at one 
 another's heads, until one cries "hold," or blood flows. In the first 
 case they are allowed a minute's time, and go on again ; in the latter 
 another pair of gamesters is called on. If good men are playing, 
 the quickness of the returns is marvelous ; you hear the rattle like 
 that a boy makes drawing his stick along palings, only heavier; 
 and the closeness of the men in action to one another gives it a 
 strange interest, and makes a spell at back-swording a very noble 
 sight. 
 
 La Fitte's Treasure Hunt 
 (From The Boy Scouts of America) 
 
 La Fitte was a famous American pirate of the Gulf of Mexico. 
 Like all pirates, he buried his treasure and made a map of it. 
 La Fitte's actual notes have been found and read as follows : 
 
 "Start at the rock in Dead Man's Gulch, near the skull of the 
 Spaniard, travel northwest 70 paces to a cache, where you will 
 find a cask o' rum, from thence, due west 30 paces, where you 
 will find the finger bones of Don Piedro Fiesto. Thence northeast 
 50 paces, where you will find a cache of coffin nails, thence north 
 20 paces, where you will find a cache of bullets, thence northeast 
 40 paces, where you will find a cache of copper coins, thence west 
 60 paces, where you will find a cache of brass coins, thence southeast 
 26 paces, where you will find a cache of silver coins, thence southwest 
 30 paces, where you will find a cache with the keys to the treasure 
 chest, then northwest 30 paces, where you will find a cache contain- 
 ing a brass-bound chest full of bars of gold, bags of doubloons, and 
 pieces of 'eight.'" 
 
 The scoutmaster must carefully lay out the course. At each 
 
174 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 cache he is supposed to bury the things enumerated, but in reality 
 only marks the spot with a small peg. The treasure may be a 
 pocket compass, scout whistle, knife, ax, cooking outfit, book, or 
 other suitable prize. 
 
 The first contestant takes his place at peg "A" with a pocket 
 compass in his hand. "A" is supposed to be the "rock in Dead 
 Man's Gulch." The scout, remembering that the black end of the 
 needle is the north end, adjusts his compass until the needle points 
 exactly north, then he sights along the northwest point, gets his 
 line of direction, steps off 70 paces, and hunts for the cask o' rum. 
 He is allowed only a certain time to find each cache, two, three, or 
 five minutes, according to the difficulty of the undertaking. The 
 scoutmaster starts him with a whistle. 
 
 When played as a game, each cache counts one, and the one 
 finding the treasure makes the biggest score, of course. The 
 scoutmaster can hand the pathfinder bits of paper or pebbles, 
 one for each peg found. The pebbles serve as counters for the 
 score. 
 
 The distances may be any number of paces you choose, but each 
 direction should be one of the four points of the compass ; that is, 
 the four quarters of the compass, north, south, east, and west, or 
 the four eighths of the compass, that is, northeast, northwest, 
 southeast, and southwest. To go any further into the subdivisions 
 of the compass makes the game too difficult. You will find it hard 
 enough to find the treasure if you stick to quarters and eighths, 
 and you had better practise first simply on quarters; that is, go 
 east so many paces, north so many, south so many, and west so 
 many. 
 
 It is allowable for the scout to place his compass on the peg and 
 lie prone on the ground to sight his directions. A number of boys 
 may play this game at once by laying out several courses from the 
 rock in Dead Man's Gulch, the prize being given to the one who 
 reaches the treasure chest first. 
 
 The beauty of La Fitte's Treasure Hunt is that it gives one prac- 
 tice and experience in the use of the compass which may serve one 
 to advantage on an occasion of dire necessity. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 175 
 
 Ordering a Uniform 
 
 Age-size : In ordering a Boy Scout uniform it is not the actual 
 age of the boy which should be mentioned, but the age-size of each 
 garment. Ascertain from a local clothing dealer, or from the tables 
 of measurements given on this blank, the age-size of the shirt, 
 breeches, coat, or other garment, which the size and development 
 of the boy requires. Often a twelve-year-old boy requires a fourteen- 
 year age-size, or a fourteen-year-old boy requires a twelve-year 
 age-size. In other words, it does not matter how long the boy has 
 lived, but we must know how large he has grown. 
 
 Should it be impossible to determine the proper age-size in this 
 way, give measurements for each garment. 
 
 LESSON TWENTY FOUR 
 
 Planning an Explanation 
 
 You must know your subject before you begin to explain 
 it. Next you must consider the reader or the hearer. Is 
 he an expert in your subject? Then you can use technical 
 words in writing to him. Is he older or younger than you? 
 His age will make a great difference in the way you explain. 
 A letter describing wireless telegraphy written to a boy of 
 ten, would be very different from the explanation you might 
 give a college graduate. And the account of your school 
 life written for your cousin in New York would have to be 
 different from the letter on the same subject you might write 
 to a Japanese schoolboy. After you have mastered your 
 subject then, consider the point of view of your readers or 
 hearers. Next comes the making of a plan. 
 
 The word plan is included in the longer word explanation, 
 and both are derived from the same Latin term. This is 
 significant. Clearness is so necessary to explanation that 
 an accurate plan must be kept constantly in view. 
 
176 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Here is the plan of the brief explanation on page 175, — 
 
 1. Give age-size, not actual age. 
 
 2. Consult dealer or tables. 
 
 3. Tell how large boy is, not how old. 
 
 Now suppose that instead of making an outline of an 
 extract you have just read, you have to plan an explanation 
 that you wish to write yourself. There are three steps to be 
 taken. The first is to decide upon the principal points to 
 be made in your explanation. There can never be more 
 than a few principal ones, unless it is a very long explanation. 
 This is much Uke choosing the important events in planning 
 stories, as discussed on page 70. The second step is to 
 arrange the principal points or headings, in the best order. 
 The third step is to tuck away the details of your explana- 
 tion, each under the principal heading to which it belongs. 
 Of course, if there are lesser, subordinate points, they will 
 come under the principal headings, and the details under 
 them. 
 
 What are the principal points in any explanation? This 
 question your own brain must answer, for until you can 
 answer it, you cannot explain the subject. Many subjects 
 have to be defined before you can begin to explain them. 
 If you are writing of coal or flour or liberty or baseball or 
 Chow dogs or Ford cars, this will be true, and your fii*st 
 main point will be a definition. That done, you can divide 
 your subject into parts, taking care to divide all of it, and 
 being sure that none of your divisions overlap. These 
 two simple processes will carry you far on your road toward 
 clear explanation. 
 
 Next comes the order of points. Any order that is clear 
 will be coherent. Definition would scarcely come at the 
 end. Nor if the explanation followed a time order, such 
 as first, second, third, (as in baking a cake, for instance) , 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 177 
 
 would you put the second step after the fourth. Nor if 
 the subject were difficult, hke the flight of an airplane, 
 would you begin with the thing hard to understand, such 
 as the effect of wind pressure, and end with something 
 easy, like the comparison of an airplane with a floating 
 sheet of paper. Follow, then, a natural order. And as 
 far as you are able, put a really important point last for 
 emphasis. 
 
 Third, arrange all of the details beneath each main head- 
 ing. If you will think of your main points as boxes, then 
 each detail fits into its own box. Of course, you may have 
 subheadings, as here, — 
 
 I. A principal use of milk is for butter 
 
 A. Butter may be either fresh or salted 
 a. Fresh butter is simply the fat of milk 
 h. Salt butter has salt added as a preservative, and 
 often coloring matter to make it more yellow 
 
 In such instances the heading A fits into heading I and 
 the details a and b fit into A . 
 
 Study the following general plan in which definition and 
 division are provided for : — 
 
 1. Definition 
 
 
 5. Uses 
 
 2. Source or origin 
 
 
 a. 
 
 a. 
 
 
 b. 
 
 b. 
 
 
 c. 
 
 3. Kinds 
 
 
 d. 
 
 a. 
 
 
 6. Values and influences 
 
 b. 
 
 
 a. 
 
 c. 
 
 
 b. 
 
 L Manufacture or 
 
 process 
 
 c. 
 
 a. 
 
 
 d. 
 
 b. 
 
 
 
 c. 
 
 
 
 N 
 
 
 
178 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Make a plan for one of the explanations on pages 166 to 174. 
 
 2. Plan and write brief explanations of some of the following : — 
 Kites Carpets Ribbons Clocks Quilts 
 Marbles Desks Books Sling shots Pies 
 Needles Horses Coffee Stoves Apples 
 Stars Caps Tea Bats Rings 
 
 How I prepare my lessons. Darning stockings. 
 
 Sweeping a room. Building a canoe. 
 
 Learning to swim. Making coffee. 
 
 Washing the dishes. .Managing a wild west show. 
 
 Helping get dinner. Taking out stains. 
 
 Laying out a diamond. Looking up a word. 
 
 Sewing on a button. Stopping a leak. 
 
 Polishing the silver. Taking out a book. 
 
 Looking after the furnace. Driving a horse. 
 
 3. Plan and write an explanation of the differences between your 
 
 English recitations and your recitations in some other sub- 
 ject. 
 
 4. Plan and write an explanation on the value of your hands in 
 
 daily life at school. 
 
 5. Plan and write a Uttle comparison of life with a game. Write 
 
 this (a) for an American child, (6) for a foreign child. 
 
 6. Tell the story of a certain game you saw, or in which you took 
 
 part, so that one who does not understand the game will be 
 informed as to how to play it. 
 
 7. Answer by means of a brief plan as many of the following 
 
 questions as you can : — 
 
 Why is school spirit a good thing? 
 
 What is the cause of thunder? 
 
 Of what value are trees ? 
 
 What causes winter and summer? 
 
 Why do so many people prefer to live in cities? 
 
 Of what uses to the farmer are sparrows? 
 
 What is baking powder for ? 
 
 Why does silk cost more than muslin? 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 
 
 179 
 
 Why are mosquitoes dangerous? 
 
 Why are slates no longer used in school ? 
 
 & Explain one or more of the following. First, define it ; then 
 tell what caused it ; then explain its effect : — 
 
 9. 
 
 10. 
 
 The Boston Tea Party. 
 The Continental Congress. 
 The French and Indian War. 
 The Civil War. 
 
 The Stamp Act. 
 The Klondike Rush. 
 The Abolition of Slavery. 
 The Spanish War. 
 
 Explain by as many illustrations as you can why it pays for 
 a boy or a girl to remain in school until graduation. Give 
 many instances of boys and girls that you know who regretted 
 leaving school before they had completed the course. 
 
 Imagine it to be your task to explain the game of tennis to 
 some one who does not understand it. Compose a series of 
 questions that he would probably ask, based upon the draw- 
 ing below. Then answer these questions fully, making sure 
 to cover any points that the questions may have overlooked. 
 Show, among other things, how the picture will be changed 
 immediately after the ball is served. 
 
180 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 LESSON TWENTY FIVE 
 Other Methods of Explanation 
 
 When you define a word, you explain. 
 
 When you solve a problem in mathematics, you explain. 
 
 When you tell somebody how to do something, how to 
 make something, how to go somewhere, you explain. 
 
 When you answer questions, particularly the questions 
 how and why, where and who, you explain. 
 
 When you perform an experiment, you explain. 
 
 When you make a drawing or a design on the board, you 
 explain. 
 
 When you tell a story that gives information, you explain. 
 
 It appears, then, that a very large part of your written 
 and oral expression consists of explanation. Most work 
 depends entirely for its efficient results upon the clearness 
 of the directions given regarding its processes. If the direc- 
 tions or explanations are confused or ''mixed up," then the 
 workmen will not understand and the product they turn out 
 will be accordingly inferior. 
 
 Whenever possible add to the clearness of your explanation 
 by means of drawings. 
 
 In the same way enrich your explanations with an abun- 
 dance of appropriate examples. 
 
 An excellent method of preparing for explanation, is by 
 the use of the six queries, — 
 
 1. Who 
 
 2. What 
 
 3. How 
 
 4. Why 
 
 5. When 
 
 6. Where 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 181 
 
 These do not all make equal demands for explanation. 
 When and where may often be answered briefly. Who may 
 require much more than either of these. Most biographies 
 and autobiographies are explanatory answers to this word 
 who. What usually requires a definition of one kind or 
 another. How and why are the really important words in 
 explanation. These two test your ability sharply and 
 therefore require the most careful attention. 
 
 These six queries applied to your subject will invariably 
 give you the material for your main headings. The only 
 difficulty is that unless you handle them intelligently they 
 may give you too much. If a query — who or when or 
 where — is unimportant for your subject, throw it aside 
 and press on. Notice particularly the place of these interrog- 
 ative words in the following drill. Which are most useful ? 
 Which do you most often pass over? Do you ever apply 
 all six with useful results ? 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Answer each of the following in complete sentence form : — 
 Where is San Francisco located? How is it reached from At- 
 lanta ? For whom is San Francisco named ? When was it estab- 
 lished? Why is it an important American city? What are its 
 principal commercial activities? What is the meaning of Sanf 
 When did the great earthquake in San Francisco take place? 
 How many hves were lost? Why was the city able to recover 
 from the disaster so rapidly ? 
 
 2. Define the following words. First, define them without looking 
 
 them up. Then look them up and compare your first defini- 
 tion with the one in the dictionary : — 
 
 quorum submarine fabric smuggler 
 
 hockey zeppelin fossil aviation 
 
 waste protection gossip tenderfoot 
 
 prefix ambassador pollen scout 
 
182 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 3. Explain by means of a diagram at the board how to go from 
 
 your school to your home; how to go from your school to 
 some place in the state. Point to your diagram while you are 
 making the explanation. 
 
 4. Explain before the class how to do some of the following things. 
 
 They appear to be very simple, but as a matter of fact it is 
 very difficult to explain accurately how to perform these 
 everyday operations : — 
 
 How to fold a letter. How to row a boat. 
 
 How to tie a bow. How to lay a carpet. 
 
 How to cover a book. How to put on a collar. 
 
 How to open a door. How to put on a coat. 
 
 How to drive a nail. How to hang a picture. 
 
 5. Explain the following problems to your class by means of a 
 
 board diagram : — 
 
 (1) i + 5 = i 
 
 (2) How many feet did John run per second, if he covered 200 
 
 yards in half a minute? 
 
 (3) James bought a house for $2000. He sold it for $2200. 
 
 He had paid $100 for taxes on it, $73.50 for repairs, 
 and lost 5% interest for three months on his original 
 investment. What was his profit or loss on the trans- 
 action? 
 
 6. A proverb is a brief saying that means much more than is at 
 
 first apparent. The following proverbs are well known to 
 you. Explain what each one means. Make your ex- 
 planation so clear that one who was just learning your 
 language might understand you. Perhaps you can give 
 an example or two that will make each one clearer : — 
 
 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 
 
 A stitch in time saves nine. 
 
 All that glitters is not gold. 
 
 Don't cry over spilled milk. 
 
 Pride goeth before a fall. 
 
 Do not look a gift horse in the mouth. 
 
 A penny saved is a penny earned. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 183 
 
 A bad book is the worst robber. 
 A poor workman blames his tools. 
 Too many cooks spoil the broth. 
 
 7. Plan and write a full explanation of one of the following. Select 
 
 one that you can write about with feeling : — 
 
 What it means to be an American, 
 What a good school does for a child. 
 What it means to be patriotic. 
 What honesty can do for a person. 
 What too much money can lead to. 
 What good books mean to me. 
 What music means in a home. 
 What a good game does for a boy. 
 
 8. Tell how one of the following occurred and then draw a little 
 
 lesson from the event : — 
 
 John's failure. Harry's discovery. 
 
 Bill's fall. Ethel's surprise. 
 
 9. Enumerate as many household operations as you can think of, 
 
 such as, washing, ironing, sewing, and explain orally, — 
 
 (1) The purpose of each. 
 
 (2) How each is done. 
 
 (3) The value of each to the home. 
 
 10. Look up in the encyclopedia or elsewhere something in which 
 you are interested, and write a long theme in explanation of 
 it. Make a plan first and follow it closely in your composi- 
 tion. When you are done, select those points that you would 
 use in making a five-minute talk on the subject before the 
 class. The following are suggestions merely. Each pupil 
 should if possible select something with which his future life 
 will probably be connected : — 
 
 plumbing driving medicine 
 
 bookkeeping mining law 
 
 selling banking preaching 
 
 designing teaching millinery 
 
 dressmaking buying home management 
 
 nursing writing acting 
 
184 
 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 
 secretarial work 
 
 cooking 
 
 missions 
 
 lecturing 
 
 moving pictures 
 
 commerce 
 
 manufacture 
 
 coral 
 
 pineapples 
 
 oranges 
 
 ranching 
 
 steel 
 
 lead 
 
 machine work 
 
 coaching 
 
 advertising 
 
 authorship 
 
 telephone operator 
 
 messenger 
 
 telegraphy- 
 
 filing 
 
 LESSON TWENTY SIX 
 The Paragraph 
 
 Stories move ahead by events, explanations by points 
 made clear. All writing or speaking, indeed, must neces- 
 sarily proceed by moments of progress, followed by brief 
 pauses. In questions and answers, and in much conversa- 
 tion, these moments of progress are expressed by sentences 
 merely. But in a story or a long letter, and especially in 
 an explanation, a group of sentences marks one complete 
 section of the narrative or the thought, and marks the period 
 of progress. This group of sentences is the paragraph, a 
 unit of composition that comes as naturally as breathing, 
 but is much harder to do well. 
 
 When the preparation for an explanation has resulted in 
 a good plan, the next step is writing out ; and this brings 
 one instantly to the question of the paragraph. Each main 
 head will, as a rule, require one or more paragraphs; and 
 unless these paragraphs are good, the clearness of the whole 
 will suffer, no matter how good the plan. 
 
 A paragraph, then, is a group of sentences all related to 
 one principal thought. Suppose you were to write or speak 
 about a party that you had attended. There would be 
 many things to tell. You would have to mention the people 
 present, the things you did, the refreshments, the pleasure 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 185 
 
 that you experienced. There would be a few sentences 
 about the first topic, a few about the second, and so on. 
 Now, if you separate these sentence groups, instead of 
 placing them together in a solid mass, you will make your- 
 self more easily understood. 
 
 You must do this in two ways. First, you must begin 
 each new group of related sentences on a separate margin, 
 indenting the first Une further to the right than those that 
 follow; or, if you are speaking, you must pause in such a 
 way as to denote by the voice that you are making a transi- 
 tion from one part of your story to another. Second, you 
 must have one sentence in each sentence group that will 
 serve as a title or key to the whole group. This should 
 usually come at the beginning, but it may be placed in the 
 middle or at the end of each group. 
 
 Paragraphs may be long or short. In dividing most 
 subjects you will find that many more sentences must be 
 used in teUing about one part than about another. 
 Do not aim to make all of your paragraphs the same 
 length, but avoid making them excessively long or too 
 short. Very long paragraphs tire the reader or listener. 
 Very short ones are likely to disturb and disconnect his 
 thinking. 
 
 Observe how this lesson, and the lessons on pages 165 
 and 175, are divided into paragraphs. Note the division of 
 the extracts on pages 166 and 169, into paragraphs. Is 
 each paragraph made up of a connected group of sentences? 
 What relation does each paragraph bear to the plan? 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Select one of the following topics and indicate just how many 
 paragraphs you would divide your subject into and just what 
 you would aim to accomplish in each one : — 
 
Our school. 
 
 Horses. 
 
 My home. 
 
 Boys. 
 
 The game. 
 
 Girls. 
 
 Cats. 
 
 Teachers. 
 
 Dogs. 
 
 Desks. 
 
 186 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Tom's birthday party. 
 Dinner at Bill's. 
 At the swimming hole. 
 Reading a composition. 
 Arranging a vacation. 
 
 2. Here is a composition that is not paragraphed at all. Indicate 
 
 the places where you think it should be paragraphed, giving 
 
 your reasons in each case : — 
 Climbing a mountain is not a difficult business, provided the 
 mountain is neither too wild nor too steep nor too high. First 
 get a good map of the district which will show you the best approach 
 to the base, and perhaps the general direction of the trail that leads 
 to the top. With your map in hand ask questions of any natives 
 who have climbed the mountain before. If your map is in contours, 
 that is, marked with lines that show decreasing and increasing ele- 
 vations, so much the better. The real work will begin when your 
 road (which will probably be a trail or an old lumber road) enters 
 the forest at the base of the mountain. Few trails and fewer wood 
 roads are without numerous forks, and you can be sure that some- 
 where or everywhere guide posts will be lacking. When you come 
 to such a branching of the road, decide from your general knowledge 
 of the appearance of the mountain, and a study of your map, whether 
 to turn right or left. When you have decided, turn boldly, and 
 proceed. If the road or trail ends in a squirrel track you are prob- 
 ably wrong and must turn back. But even if the road keeps open, 
 you may still be mistaken. This is the time when your contour 
 lines become useful. By studying them you can tell whether your 
 road should go up steeply or gently ; and if there are brooks indi- 
 cated on your map, you can also tell whether and where your path 
 should cross them. Use your map, use your memory of how the 
 mountain looked before you entered the forest, use any information 
 earlier climbers may have given you ; but above all use your eyes. 
 Climb rocks, or a tree if necessary, for a glimpse of the distant peak. 
 Watch the sun or a compass so as to keep tab on your direction. 
 And if you find yourself hopelessly confused, don't plunge ahead 
 blindly, but go back to some lower level and get a fresh start. 
 
 3. Here is a composition that is over-paragraphed. Indicate which 
 
 sentence groups should be combined into paragraphs, giving 
 your reasons for each paragraph combination : — 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 187 
 
 The origin of conscription, which has led in our day to whole 
 nations in arms, is very interesting. 
 
 In studying its history one learns much about the cause of modern 
 war. 
 
 At the time of the French Revolution, all Europe united to put 
 down the radicals of France and restore the Bourbon kings. 
 
 The French Republic, assailed on all sides, called every man 
 capable of bearing arms to the defense of his country. As a result, 
 the invaders were driven back, and, under Napoleon, France became 
 mistress of the continent of Europe. 
 
 Later on Napoleon crushed the kingdom of Prussia and com- 
 manded that her standing army should be limited to a small number 
 of men. 
 
 Prussia, in self-defense, arranged that all her able-bodied male 
 population should take turns in serving in this small army. 
 
 In this she was really copying France ; and sure enough, when the 
 next war came, she was able to put "a nation in arms" with extreme 
 rapidity. 
 
 One result was the fall of Napoleon. 
 
 Another was the adoption by all powerful European nations of 
 the conscription system. 
 
 The one exception was England, which was protected by the 
 English channel and her navy. 
 
 But the Great War has brought conscription to England also. 
 
 4. Here are two paragraphs that are suitable as beginnings or in- 
 troductions to compositions. Why are they good introductory 
 paragraphs? Can you tell what should follow each in the 
 completed composition ? 
 
 In discussing the growing of potatoes I must leave aside the 
 question of varying price from year to year and the proper acreage 
 to plant. Nor need I give the history of the potato, interesting as 
 that is. But in this brief paper I may at least follow the potato 
 from the time it enters the ground until it is harvested and sent to 
 market. 
 
 EquaUty is not the same thing as liberty, although many Ameri- 
 can boys are inclined to think so. Liberty means freedom to do 
 what one pleases. But equality means not only an equal oppor- 
 tunity for all to do what may be done rightly, but also an equal 
 
188 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 duty to the state not to do what may injure others. Equality means 
 equality in service and in responsibility, as well as equality in enjoy- 
 ing rights and liberties, and in the pursuit of happiness. 
 
 5. Here are two paragraphs that are suitable as endings or con- 
 
 cluding paragraphs to a composition. Why are they good 
 concluding paragraphs ? Can you tell what has preceded each 
 in the complete composition? 
 
 And thus the chief requisite for catching trout is caution in ap- 
 proaching his lurking place. Your line and rod may be right, your 
 bait or flies may be right, the day may be favorable, the stream 
 well adapted for trout, and yet you may fail if you fish for the wily 
 trout as if he were a stupid bullhead. 
 
 Perhaps I have said enough to make you understand the true 
 nature of education. It is what a man learns to do, not what he 
 knows. And he must get it himself. It cannot be given to him. 
 
 6. Here are two paragraphs that indicate in each case that the 
 
 writer is making a change from one part of his subject to 
 another. They are called transition paragraphs and are 
 usually short, frequently consisting of but a single sentence. 
 Can you tell from examining these paragraphs what has pre- 
 ceded and what is to follow? 
 
 And thus by the efforts of one man Russia was changed. Under 
 this Peter the Great she ceased being an Oriental nation, and en- 
 tered upon her education as a Western power. 
 
 After this crude beginning of the airplane industry, came a 
 period of slow development, which ended only with the beginning of 
 the Great War. 
 
 7. Suppose that you were going to write a composition on one of 
 
 the following. What would you say in the introductory para 
 graph? What would you say in the concluding paragraph? 
 What transitional paragraphs would you introduce? 
 
 Bill and Harry, a contrast. Athletics, indoors and out. 
 
 Mary and Ann, a contrast. Rex, the king of horses. 
 
 Summer and winter. Going into camp. 
 
 Day and night. The closing of school. 
 
 Baseball and football. The day's work. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 
 
 189 
 
 8. It must not be supposed that all compositions should have in- 
 
 troductory and concluding paragraphs. Frequently it is 
 better to begin and conclude your composition abruptly- 
 Never waste the time of a reader or listener by unimportant 
 details at the beginning of a composition. Never tack on at 
 the end any tiresome moral or explanation that your audience 
 can as well do without. Study the excerpts on pages 172 and 
 173, with regard to methods of ending and beginning. 
 
 9. The rivalry between the boys and the girls in war gardening 
 
 was a very wholesome thing for the beans, and onions, and 
 cabbages. The young gardeners cultivated and weeded and 
 watered tirelessly. In the picture, Mary is showing some of 
 the fruits — or, rather, the vegetables — of her labors. Jim, 
 looking up from his spade, is pledging himself to go right ahead 
 with peace gardens until he beats the girls. Tell the story of 
 this war garden. TeU why war gardens should be made a 
 permanent activity among young people. 
 
 SUCH TURNIPS 
 
190 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 LESSON TWENTY SEVEN 
 Making Paragraphs Clear 
 
 If you were writing a paragraph picture of the old swim- 
 ming hole you would not think of saying anything about a 
 steam engine. If you were to do so you would spoil the 
 unity of the paragraph sentence group. In order to make 
 the paragraph on the old swimming hole clear, it is necessary 
 to make every sentence in it say something about the pool 
 and about nothing else. 
 
 Again, it is necessary to have the sentences in a paragraph 
 follow each other in natural order. The second sentence 
 must grow naturally out of the first, may be suggested by it 
 perhaps ; the third out of the second, and so forth. If you 
 are describing the old swimming hole, the successive sentences 
 must give details as they are successively seen by the eye. 
 If you are explaining how an operation is performed, you 
 must tell the various steps in successive sentences exactly 
 in the order in which they should be taken. If you are 
 narrating an event, you must unfold the happenings, sen- 
 tence by sentence, as they actually occurred. This principle 
 of developing one sentence out of another and, in the whole 
 composition, one paragraph out of another, is called co- 
 herence. We have already studied coherence in the sen- 
 tence (see page 155). Look the word up in the dictionary. 
 Find out what verb corresponds to this noun and apply it 
 to general use. 
 
 You will be helped a great deal in welding the sentences 
 of a paragraph together and making clear its unity and 
 especially its coherence, if you will use such connective 
 expressions as on the other hand, therefore, finally, nevertheless^ 
 to the right, later, still later, again, and so forth. The parts 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 191 
 
 of a whole composition may be similarly welded together by 
 the use of such transitional paragraphs as are illustrated on 
 page 188, exercise 6. But these connectives will not help 
 unless the thought of the paragraph is coherent. 
 
 One of the best rules for securing unity and coherence in 
 the thought of the paragraph is this, — Proceed regularly 
 in one direction in your thought development. 
 
 If you begin with a general statement proceed to particular 
 ones, or vice versa. If you begin with a cause, continue 
 toward the effect. If you begin with the first thing that 
 happened, proceed to the second and third. If with a 
 simple, well-known fact, go on to the complex and the un- 
 known. If with a comparison between two people, carry 
 it out to the end. Most of these directions of thought can, 
 of course, be reversed. 
 
 But the best method of securing unity and coherence in 
 a paragraph is by the title or topic sentence. A paragraph, 
 after all, is only a developed topic sentence. Such a sentence, 
 usually stated at the beginning of a paragraph, gives in 
 general terms what the paragraph is about. It contains the 
 central idea of the whole sentence group. It may be 
 stated at the end of the paragraph, in which case it is called 
 a summary sentence. But its function is the same whether 
 it stands at the beginning, at the end, or somewhere between 
 these two points. Stated first, it is a promise to pay. Stated 
 last, it is receipt for payment in full. Note the topic sen- 
 tences in the paragraphs in the selection on page 169. 
 
 If you expand such a topic sentence in one direction of 
 thought development, the chances are excellent that your 
 paragraph will be good. It cannot be spoiled, indeed, except 
 by a lack of anything worth saying. Of nothing, nothing 
 can be developed. But with a meaty topic sentence there 
 are several means worth noting by which paragraphs may 
 
192 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 be developed. Which you choose depends entirely upon 
 what you wish to say in your paragraph. Sometimes two or 
 more methods can be easily combined. In the list that 
 follows, each means of development is illustrated by the 
 paragraph beneath : — 
 
 (1) Give examples and illustrations of your topic. Tell a 
 story perhaps. 
 
 A little discipline is sometimes the best kind of medicine. I 
 knew a boy who in '98 was the slackest, most unmannerly of youths. 
 He would loll in his seat in the classroom, with his feet up on the 
 back of the next seat. He was always late to class, usually forgot 
 his books, seldom knew where the lesson was to be found. He 
 enlisted and went into training for the Spanish war. His company 
 never got farther than the training camp, and next year he was 
 back with us again. But what a change ! Now he sat at attention 
 and came to class on the minute ; and what was more important, his 
 mind seemed to have been put to drill . It was at attention too . Th e 
 result was that he graduated well, instead of badly or not at all. 
 
 (2) Give details and particulars. Paint a word picture 
 perhaps. 
 
 The Connecticut type of farmhouse is unmistakable, once you 
 have seen it. Low-lying under a vast elm, a long straight roof 
 covers a neat white frame with green shutters. It is all perfectly 
 simple, perfectly plain, except the door, where columns or ornamen- 
 tal mouldings break monotony. Why is it so beautiful then? 
 Because the proportions are so invariably good. 
 
 (3) Give reasons or explanations. Tell why or how. 
 Running a Ford is quite different from running what some people 
 
 call a "real car." You have only two speeds, high and low, and 
 these are controlled by a pedal instead of the lever with which you 
 may be familiar. Push the pedal all the way down, and it is low 
 speed. Half-way down throws you into neutral, where the engine 
 runs free of the transmission. All the way up is high speed, and 
 it is on this that you bowl away most of the time up hill and down. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 193 
 
 We must learn that we have duties as well as rights. If we spend 
 all our time talking about our rights as citizens of this country, the 
 country may perish because we have forgotten the service we owe. 
 It is a fine thing to have the right to vote, but it is still finer to have 
 the duty to serve a country, your own country, in time of need. 
 
 (4) Give comparisons. Point out differences or similarities, 
 or both. Balance one part of a paragraph with another, or alter- 
 nate the sentences. 
 
 Jim studies in the living room where the members of the family 
 sit and talk. Mary takes a book and goes upstairs where she can 
 be alone to prepare her lessons. Jim permits a thousand interrup- 
 tions during his home study period. He reads awhile, then he 
 pats the head of Browser, his pet Newfoundland. He writes a line 
 or two, then fancies he hears the bell ring. He figures a bit, then 
 he wants a drink of water. Mary locks her door and allows nothing 
 to disturb her. She reads and writes and figures steadily and 
 methodically. When both are ready for school next morning, Jim 
 ''has an idea" what his lessons are about. Mary knows hers. 
 And, of course, in class Jim fails and Mary passes. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Write a paragraph on each of the following sentences, by the 
 
 method indicated in parentheses after each one : — 
 Mary always requires encouragement. (Tell a story.) 
 The old house is very homelike. (Give details.) 
 The word buxom is used in more than one sense. (Explain.) 
 There is no place like home. (Give reasons.) 
 
 2. Following are several topic sentences. Tell by which of the 
 
 above methods each could be most appropriately developed. 
 Select two or three topics and write the paragraphs sug- 
 gested : — 
 
 John is studious and hard-working, but his brother George is 
 free and easy and trusts to luck. 
 
 We had a great time on Saturday. 
 
 There is a difiference between character and reputation, 
 o 
 
194 . GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 A stitch in time saves nine. 
 
 It is a difficult task to write a perfect letter. 
 
 Poetry is more difficult to understand than prose. 
 
 I have many reasons for loving America. 
 
 Agriculture thrives in the valleys of large rivers. 
 
 I must tell you, with all the emphasis I can summon, that 
 
 hard work is a tonic for any boy or girl. 
 Suddenly our horses came to a stand and we were confronted 
 
 with a huge boa constrictor set for fight. 
 This view reminds me of a little story I once heard about the place. 
 Care must be exercised in removing the cake from the pan. 
 On entering the auditorium a thrilling scene greeted my eyes. 
 This little episode shows exactly what sort of fellow John is. 
 I repeat, over and over again, that the only true and tested 
 
 way to success is by hard work. 
 
 3. Write short paragraph descriptions suggested by the following. 
 
 Start each with a topic sentence. Appeal to as many senses 
 as possible in writing about each one, — smell, taste, sight, 
 touch, and hearing : — 
 
 The haymaker. School out ! In the elevator. 
 
 At the wharf. In the kitchen. At the well. 
 
 In the barn. In the woods. In the study room. 
 
 4. Each of the following exclamations suggests an incident of 
 
 importance. Imagine what it is in each case. Then write 
 
 a brief paragraph account of one or more : — 
 
 Help ! Look out ! Forget it ! 
 
 Ouch ! Wait a minute ! They're off I 
 
 Hark! No sir, I'm done! Of all things! 
 
 Late! I told you sol The very idea! 
 
 Hurry ! Never again ! Served him right ! 
 
 Broke ! What's the use ! Some fight ! 
 
 5. Prove two or three of the following by means of well con- 
 
 structed paragraphs : — 
 English is the most important subject in school. 
 Every elementary school graduate should be able to write a 
 
 correct letter. 
 Club work in school is as important as classroom work. 
 Every pupil should be obliged to spend some time in athletics. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 195 
 
 A little work outside of school is good for a boy or a girl. 
 
 Too much study makes Jack a dull boy. 
 
 A person who is disloyal to the flag of his adopted country should 
 
 be deported. 
 Every boy should have some knowledge of miHtary tactics. 
 
 6. The following are topic sentences, each indicating the contents 
 
 of a paragraph, the group giving a fair idea of what the whole 
 composition is about. Construct other groups of topic sen- 
 tences that suggest clearlj^ a whole composition : — 
 
 Par. 1. He was a loyal fellow to his school. 
 
 Par. 2. Pupils and teachers aUke were his friends. 
 
 Par. 3. He stood extremely well in classwork. 
 
 Par. 4. He was an accomplished athlete. 
 
 Par. 5. We were consequently not surprised when we heard 
 of his excellent record in McKinley High School. 
 
 7. The sentences in the following paragraph have been purposely 
 
 placed out of order. Place them in their proper order, mak- 
 ing any slight changes necessary in phrasing, and thus give 
 the paragraph coherence : — 
 Sir Walter Scott, for example, has used those fragments of truth 
 which historians have scornfuUj^ thrown behind them. At Lincoln 
 Cathedral there is a beautiful painted window, which was made by 
 an apprentice out of the pieces of glass which had been rejected by 
 his master. He has constructed out of these fragments novels 
 which, even considered as histories, are scarcely less valuable than 
 theirs. If a man were to write the history of England, he would not 
 omit the sieges, the rebellions, the political changes. But with 
 these he would mingle the interesting details which are the charm 
 of historical romances. 
 
 8. Write a paragraph from one or more of the following, giving 
 
 incidents or examples to prove the truth of the topic sen- 
 tences : — 
 
 He laughs best who laughs last. 
 
 Pride goeth before a fall. 
 
 Silence is golden. 
 
 Who wastes time wastes life. 
 
 Money makes the mare go. 
 
 In the bright lexicon of youth there is no such word as fail. 
 
196 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Success is bred of a tonic called failure. 
 To try is better than the thing you try for. 
 Genius is nothing but capacity for hard work. 
 
 9. Supply an appropriate word for the dash in one of the follow- 
 ing topic sentences. Then write the paragraph suggested : — 
 
 He told a story to illustrate the influence that had over men. 
 
 The boy who does not Uke loses a great deal in life. 
 
 Mary's new dress made her look like . 
 
 Jim's work on the team won for him in every quarter. 
 
 10. Surf board riding is a popular sport with the bathers on the 
 beautiful beach at Waikiki near Honolulu. It is also in- 
 dulged in at sea beach resorts nearer home. The picture below 
 shows what the board is like and how the *' riding " is done. 
 Explain what each one in the picture is doing. From your 
 study of the pictm-e tell some one else how to enjoy the sport. 
 Make each paragraph count for a definite point in each ex- 
 planation. 
 
 BUllF BOARD RIDING. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 197 
 
 I 
 
 LESSON TWENTY EIGHT 
 Description 
 
 Very few stories or explanations can be made clear with- 
 out picturing the scene or describing the subject in words. 
 Long descriptions are tedious. If you cannot describe 
 briefly, you will never describe successfully at all, for people 
 will not listen to you. But a brief description that vividly 
 reports the effect made upon you by something (how it 
 looked or felt or tasted or smelt or sounded), is invalu- 
 able. In a story it renders the whole action more vivid. 
 In an explanation it may make all the difference between 
 understanding and not understanding. You know how a 
 picture often makes a story or a chapter in history in- 
 finitely more interesting because so much more real. So 
 it is with word pictures or descriptions, which can be used 
 where illustrations are out of the question. For with words 
 you can describe a dream, a thought, a smell, a taste, or a 
 feeling. The word is indeed the important element in 
 describing. You cannot describe well without the best use 
 of words. 
 
 Examine the following word pictures and descriptive ex- 
 planations. Do you get a complete and accurate picture in 
 each case ? Could you make a figure or a plan of the things 
 described ? 
 
 The Van Tassel Farm 
 
 (From Washington Irving^ s Legend of Sleepy Hollow) 
 
 Old Baltus Van Tassel was a perfect picture of a thriving, con- 
 tented, liberal-hearted fanner. He seldom, it is true, sent either 
 his eyes or his thoughts beyond the boundaries of his own farm; 
 
198 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 but within those everything was snug, happy, and well-conditioned. 
 He was satisfied with his wealth, but not proud of it ; and piqued 
 himself upon the hearty abundance, rather than the style in which 
 he lived. His stronghold was situated on the banks of the Hud- 
 son, in one of those green, sheltered, fertile nooks, in which the 
 Dutch farmers are so fond of nestling. A great elm-tree spread 
 its broad branches over it, at the foot of which bubbled up a spring 
 of the softest and sweetest water, in a little well, formed of a barrel, 
 and then stole sparkling away through the grass, to a neighboring 
 brook, that babbled along among alders and dwarf willows. Hard 
 by the farmhouse was a vast barn, that might have served for a 
 church, every window and crevice of which seemed bursting forth 
 with the treasures of the farm : the flail was busily resounding 
 within it from morning to night ; swallows and martins skimmed 
 twittering about the eaves; and rows of pigeons, some with one 
 eye turned up, as if watching the weather, some with their heads 
 under their wings or buried in'^their bosoms, and others swelling 
 and cooing and bowing about their dames, were enjoying the sun- 
 shine on the roof. Sleek, unwieldy porkers were grunting in the 
 repose and abundance of their pens, from whence salUed forth 
 now and then troops of sucking-pigs, as if to snuff the air. A stately 
 squadron of snowy geese was riding in an adjoining pond, convoy- 
 ing whole fleets of ducks; regiments of turkeys were gobbhng 
 through the farm-yard; and guinea fowls fretting about it, like 
 ill-tempered housewives, with their peevish, discontented cry. 
 Before the barn door strutted the gallant cock, that pattern of a 
 husband, a warrior, and a fine gentleman, clapping his burnished 
 wings, and crowing in the pride and gladness of his heart — some- 
 times tearing up the earth with his feet, and then generously call- 
 ing his ever-hungry family of wives and children to enjoy the rich 
 morsel which he had discovered. 
 
 The pedagogue's mouth watered as he looked upon this sump- 
 tuous promise of luxurious winter fare. In his devouring mind's 
 eye he pictured to himself every roasting-pig running about with 
 a pudding in its belly and an apple in its mouth ; the pigeons were 
 snugly put to bed in a comfortable pie and tucked in with a coverlet 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 199 
 
 of crust; the geese were summing in their own gravy; and the 
 ducks pairing cosily in dishes, like snug married couples, with a 
 decent competency of onion sauce. In the porkers he saw carved 
 out the future sleek side of bacon and juicy, reUshing ham ; not a 
 turkey but he beheld daintily trussed up with its gizzard under 
 its wing, and, perad venture, a necklace of savory sausages ; and 
 even bright chanticleer himself lay sprawUng on his back in a side 
 dish, with uplifted claws, as if craving that quarter which his chival- 
 rous spirit disdained to ask while living. 
 
 Havana 
 
 (By Amos J. Cummings) 
 
 The view was enlivening. The Prado was bathed in the efful- 
 gence of electric hghts, and the statue of Isabella adorning the 
 oblong park fronting the hotel looked like an alabaster figure. 
 All was life and activity. A cool breeze came from the ocean. 
 A stream of well-dressed ladies and gentlemen poured along the 
 Prado — dark-eyed seiioras and seiioritas with coquettish veils, 
 volunteers, regulars, and civil guards, in tasty uniforms, and a 
 cosmopoUtan sprinkhng of Enghshmen, Germans, French, Itahans, 
 and other nationalities, Americans being conspicuous. Low- 
 wheeled carriages rattled over the pavements in scores, many filled 
 with ladies en masque, on their way to the ball. Occasionally 
 the notes of a bugle were heard, and anon the cries of negro news- 
 boys, shouting "La Lucha!" 
 
 The Hyena's Howl 
 
 (By T. DeWitt Talmage) 
 
 In our tent in Palestine tonight I hear something I have 
 never heard before and hope never to hear again. It is the voice 
 of a hyena amid the rocks nearby. When you may have seen this 
 monster putting his mouth between the iron bars of a menagerie, 
 he is a captive and he gives a humiliated and suppressed cry. But 
 yonder, in the midnight, on a throne of rocks, he utters himself in 
 
200 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 a loud, resounding, terrific, 
 almost supernatural sound, 
 splitting up the dark into a 
 deeper midnight. It be- 
 gins in a howl and ends 
 with a sound something like 
 a horse's whinnying. In 
 the hyena's voice are de- 
 fiance and strength and 
 bloodthirstiness and crunch- 
 ing of broken bones and 
 death. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Select from the news- 
 
 paper and from 
 poster advertise- 
 ments descriptive 
 words and passages. 
 Tell what they add 
 in each case. 
 
 2. Point out descriptive 
 
 passages in the stories 
 on pages 32 to 69, 
 and in the poems on 
 pages74to87. Tell 
 what they add in 
 each case. 
 
 3. Write descriptions of 
 
 one or more of the 
 following for the 
 "Lost Column" in 
 the newspaper. Be 
 sure to point out the 
 particular marks by 
 which each may be 
 recognized and be as 
 brief as you can : — 
 
 THE CADDY. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 201 
 
 A dog A piece of clothing A pocket book 
 
 A cat A piece of jewelry A horse 
 
 A hat An automobile A walking stick 
 
 4. Imagine that you have found something. Write a description 
 
 of it to be inserted in the "Found Column" of the news- 
 paper. 
 
 5. Jim Blank is suspected of a bank robbery. You know him well. 
 
 Write a brief description of him that will enable those who 
 do not know him to identify him on sight. 
 
 6. Write brief word pictures of certain members of your class 
 
 without giving their names. See if the ones you have in mind 
 are recognized from your description. 
 
 7. Make a Ust of the important things you see when you look out 
 
 of your window. 
 
 8. Make a list of words that describe accurately different sounds 
 
 you have heard; different odors; different tastes; differ- 
 ent feelings. 
 
 9. Word pictures are frequently made particularly clear by means 
 
 of comparisons, — "the table was shaped like a T," "the 
 field looked like an A," "the bay was shaped like a fish-hook," 
 "the base ball diamond." Let us imagine that you have 
 a friend who has never seen an automobile. Describe one 
 to him, using as many comparisons as you possibly can. 
 
 10. Write a description of the caddy portrayed in the picture 
 opposite. 
 
 LESSON TWENTY NINE 
 
 Planning a Description 
 
 Whether a description be long or short it must be presented 
 in an orderly way, if it is to be clear. What order you choose 
 for your plan depends a great deal upon what you are pro- 
 posing to describe, whether view or person or object. But 
 there are several general principles that are applicable. 
 
202 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 There is the point of view from which the writer looks as he 
 describes; there is the general appearance of the whole; 
 there are the particular details; and there is frequently the 
 impression made upon the writer. Most descriptions follow 
 this order, though not always closely. Read the two below 
 and note the plans made from them : — 
 
 From My Study Window 
 
 (From Nathaniel Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse) 
 
 There could not be a more somber aspect of external nature 
 than as then seen from the windows of my study. The great wil- 
 low tree had caught and retained among its leaves a whole cataract 
 of water, to be shaken down at intervals by the frequent gusts of 
 wind. All day long, and for a week together, the rain was drip- 
 drip-dripping and splash-splash-splashing from the eaves and bub- 
 bhng and foaming into the tubs beneath the spouts. The old, 
 unpainted shingles of the house and outbuildings were black with 
 moisture, and the mosses of ancient growth upon the walls looked 
 green and fresh, as if they were the newest things and afterthought 
 of Time. The usually mirrored surface of the river was blurred 
 by an infinity of raindrops. The whole landscape had a completely 
 water-soaked appearance, conveying the impression that the earth 
 was wet through hke a sponge ; while the summit of a wooded hill, 
 about a mile distant, was enveloped in a dense mist, where the de- 
 mon of the tempest seemed to have his abiding-place, and to be 
 plotting still direr inclemencies. 
 
 The Schoolroom 
 
 (From Charles Dickens' David Copperfleld) 
 
 I gazed upon the schoolroom into which he took me, as the most 
 forlorn and desolate place I had ever seen. I see it now. A long 
 room, with three long rows of desks, and six of forms, and bristling 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 203 
 
 all around with pegs for hats and slates. Scraps of old copy-books 
 and exercises litter the dirty floor. Two miserable little white 
 mice, left behind by their owner, are running up and down in a 
 fusty castle made of pasteboard and wire, looking in all the corners 
 with their red eyes for anything to eat. A bird, in a cage very 
 little bigger than himself, makes a mournful rattle now and then 
 in hopping on his perch, two inches high, or dropping from it ; but 
 neither sings nor chirps. There is a strange unwholesome smell 
 upon the room, like mildewed corduroys, sweet apples wanting air, 
 and rotten books. There could not be more ink splashed about it, 
 if it had been roofless from its first construction, and the skies 
 had rained, snowed, hailed, and blown ink through the varying 
 seasons of the year. 
 
 From My Study Window 
 
 I. General view 
 
 1. Somber aspect 
 II. Particular view 
 
 1. The willow tree cataract 
 
 2. The splash and the drip 
 
 3. The buildings made black 
 
 4. The mosses made green 
 
 5. The blurred river 
 III. Impression 
 
 1. Water-soaked landscape 
 
 2. As if there were a demon of the tempest 
 
 The Schoolroom 
 
 I. General appearance 
 
 1. Forlorn and desolate 
 
 2. Size and furnishing 
 II. Details 
 
 1. The scraps of copy-books 
 
 2. The dirty floor 
 
 3. The mice 
 
204 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 4. The bird 
 
 5. The smell 
 
 6. The splashes of ink 
 
 In the very first sentence, Hawthorne tells whence he is 
 viewing the scene. He gives, in other words, his point o/ 
 view and states in his word picture only what can be seen 
 from that place. This limits the picture. It serves as a 
 frame beyond which nothing can be seen. The camera 
 takes in a picture from a certain point of view. The eye is 
 a kind of camera, but it may glance from place to place and 
 take in bits here and there. The person viewing a scene 
 may walk about and take in the view from many angles. 
 If this is done, it should be indicated in the word picture 
 by such words or phrases of transition as, — to the right, 
 looking now, here, on that side, above, below, across. By the 
 use of such terms as these it is possible, for instance, to lead 
 a person through a rambling old house and give an accurate 
 interior picture of it. 
 
 This human camera, the eye, is able to put feeling and 
 imagination into a view. It has the power to select from a 
 scene those things that interest it. The camera, on the 
 other hand, must picture everything that comes before it. 
 Both the eye and the camera, however, are able to picture 
 motion, to present moving pictures. The action in a parade, 
 a race, a fight, may be pictured both by means of words and 
 by means of the screen. The ordinary photographer's 
 camera pictures only "still life," such as a landscape. 
 It can only suggest reports from the other senses, such as 
 sound, smell, taste, and touch. The moving-picture camera 
 pictures both still life and life in action. The word picture 
 does more than this, — it describes moods, manners, emo- 
 tions, interests, as well as the merely external things caught 
 by the camera. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 205 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Plan and write brief descriptions of some of the following : — 
 My room. A news-stand. 
 
 The view from my window. A barn. 
 
 A snowstorm. A house. 
 
 A heavy rain. A high building. 
 
 A store window. The playground. 
 
 A' cellar. An old country road. 
 
 2. Write brief descriptions of some of the following. Make your 
 
 pictures as appealing as possible by means of little touches 
 
 that a camera could not get : — 
 A huckster's cart. A dinner table. 
 
 A street organ. A swimming pool. 
 
 A plow. A busy man's desk. 
 
 A disorderly room. A dark alley. 
 
 3. Write a little description of the interior of your school building, 
 
 or of a trip through your town, or of something else in which a 
 moving picture or view is necessary. Indicate changes in 
 youi* point of view as you pass along. Make each change of 
 position have a definite purpose in the picture as a whole. 
 
 4. Write a description of an automobile or of a horse and wagon, 
 
 first, standing still, then, in motion. What words, used in 
 your first picture, are valueless as aids in your second ? Ex- 
 plain. 
 
 5. Suppose you were explaining to a carpenter how you want your 
 
 room or your house or your school remodeled. Could you 
 make your plans clearer to him by inserting description here 
 and there? Just where and how? Write your instructions 
 for him. 
 
 6. Explain all the ways in which a word picture differs from a 
 
 photograph. Explain how a moving picture of a Fourth of 
 July parade differs from your impression of the same parade 
 as you watched it from a window. 
 
 7. Select pictures in this book in which appeal is made to the five 
 
 senses, — smell, taste, hearing, touch, sight. In each case 
 express the appeal in the best words you can think of. 
 
206 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 8. A tableau is a picture-like scene represented by motionless 
 
 persons in a suitable setting. Perhaps you have seen a group 
 of ball players come to a standstill in a momentary dispute. 
 They formed a tableau, — the batter's hand was raised ; the 
 catcher was on guard ; the umpire was defending his decision. 
 Then, after the difference was settled, the game went on. 
 With this in mind imagine yourself a word photographer. 
 Picture one or more of the following in tableau, as "still life." 
 Then picture the scene that follows "the click of the camera." 
 The drawing opposite may be suggestive : — 
 
 In our classroom. At dismissal time. 
 
 In swimming. In trouble, and out. 
 
 The delayed procession. A balky horse. 
 
 "A painted ship upon a painted ocean." 
 Jim's dose of medicine, before and after taking. 
 When the car suddenly stops. 
 
 9. Describe one of the following so that a person who has never 
 
 seen it will have a good idea of it. Perhaps it may be well 
 to put your description in the form of a letter to be sent to 
 some one in a foreign place. Remember what was said 
 about the use of comparison on page 210, exercise 9 : — 
 
 Our new baby grand. An elevator. 
 
 The three-cent stamp. A milk can. 
 
 The pay-as-you-enter car. Our automobile. 
 
 A delivery wagon. Our house. 
 My bicycle. 
 
 10. Imagine yourself in -one of the following situations. Describe 
 what you see and what your feelings are. A little study of 
 geography or some other subject in connection with the topic 
 you select may be helpful : — 
 
 On a desert island. Under the sea. 
 
 Wrecked in mid-ocean. From Mont Blanc. 
 
 From an airplane. Thirty stories above the street. 
 
 On a cotton plantation. In Iceland. 
 
 Living in a wigwam. In Mammoth Cave. 
 
"out! 
 
208 GOOD ENGLISH] 
 
 LESSON THIRTY 
 
 Description of People 
 
 When you are describing a banjo or an automobile to 
 someone who is unacquainted with the appearance of it, 
 your effort is to describe a typical banjo or automobile. 
 You picture all banjos or all automobiles in that description. 
 In describing animals or people your task is more difl&cult, 
 for you must describe, not an imaginary horse, not an 
 imaginary man, but a real one. You are not describing a 
 typical horse or man, but a special and individual one. 
 
 Descriptions of people or animals usually contain or sug- 
 gest characteristics. It is often possible to tell what a 
 person is by telling what he looks Hke. Descriptions of per- 
 sons are presented in two ways : sometimes there is a single, 
 long description ; sometimes the person is described by httle 
 descriptive touches inserted here and there throughout the 
 story. Dickens and Scott make use of both methods, and 
 so do many modern novelists. In short stories, personal 
 pictures are more frequently presented by means of pointed 
 descriptive phrases that are rich in suggestion. Such quick 
 descriptions as the following are worth more both as descrip- 
 tion and characterization than whole pages could be : — 
 
 A queen with a fair face and a king with a large jaw. 
 
 There ranged themselves in front of the schoolmaster's desk half 
 a dozen scarecrows ovi at the knees and elbows. 
 
 Good examples of quick description, both of individual ap- 
 pearance and of scene, are to be found in Tennyson's Eagle : 
 
 He clasps the crag with crooked hands ; 
 Close to the sun in lonely lands, 
 Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 209 
 
 The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; 
 He watches from his mountain walls, 
 And like a thunderbolt he falls. 
 
 In a long personal description, plan your work much as 
 if you were describing a scene. In a quick description, 
 however, it is the fortunate particular detail chosen by the 
 writer, rather than the plan, that counts. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Tell in not more than five or six sentences the appearance of one 
 
 of the following. Suggest characteristics by your word pic- 
 tures : — 
 
 Your mother. Your sister. Your teacher. Your dog. 
 Your father. Yom* friend. Yourself. Your cat. 
 
 2. Write, in not more than five or six sentences, a descriptive 
 
 impression of one of the following : — 
 
 A tramp. A hen protecting her chickens. 
 
 A newsboy. A duck in water. 
 
 A wet dog. A duck out of water. 
 
 A lost child. A girl crying over a failure. 
 
 An organ grinder. A frightened horse. 
 
 3. Describe by means of a short phrase the face of each one of the 
 
 following : — 
 
 A clerk just making a sale. 
 
 A fisherman just hauling in a fish. ' 
 
 A boy just notified of 100 per cent. 
 
 A girl just notified of 100 per cent. 
 
 A thief just caught by a pohceman. 
 
 A man just before sneezing. 
 
 A fat man just after sneezing. 
 
 A boy about to play a trick. 
 
 A dog that has just heard an interesting noise. 
 
 4. Describe the interior of a room or a house so that the reader 
 
 can tell what sort of person the occupant is. 
 p 
 
210 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 5. From your reading about some character in history or literature 
 
 write a brief picture of him. Perhaps it is Shylock or Caesar 
 or Roderick Dhu, or Washington or Lincoln or Grant. 
 
 6. Write brief pictures of several of the following. Make each 
 
 picture reveal character : — 
 Sister, playing the piano. Mother, sewing. 
 
 Teacher, taking the roll. Father, reading. 
 
 Tom, driving. Conductor, collecting fares. 
 
 Brother, at dinner. Mary, doing her hair. 
 
 7. Write a brief description of an old person. Then write a 
 
 description of this person as you imagine he or she must have 
 been many years ago. 
 
 8. Write a brief description of a fox, a rabbit, or a squirrel, so that 
 
 the animal will appear to have human understanding and 
 emotions. 
 
 9. Select from the stories (pages 32 to 69) and poems (pages 74 
 
 to 87) phrases and sentences that both picture and charac- 
 terize persons. 
 10. Write a still-life picture of a person in a mood suggested by the 
 following. Then write a picture of the same person in mo- 
 tion : — 
 lonely disturbed disagreeable disgusted blue 
 gay nervous courageous hurt calm 
 
 LESSON THIRTY ONE 
 
 Poetry that Explains and Describes 
 
 Read the following poems and be able to talk about each 
 one before the class. Note the use of description and ex- 
 planation. 
 
 It Couldn't Be Done^ 
 (From Edgar A. Guest's Breakfast Table Chat) 
 
 Somebody said that it couldn't be done, 
 But he with a chuckle replied 
 ^ Used by permisaion of the author and of the Reilly-Britton CJompany. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 211 
 
 That maybe " it couldn't," but he would be one 
 
 Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried. 
 So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin 
 
 On his face. If he worried, he hid it. 
 He started to sing as he tackled the thing 
 
 That couldn't be done, and he did it. 
 
 Somebody scoffed : " Oh, you^ll never do that ; 
 
 At least no one ever has done it." 
 But he took off his coat and he took off his hat, 
 
 And the first thing we knew he'd begun it. 
 With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin. 
 
 Without any doubting or quiddit. 
 He started to sing as he tackled the thing 
 
 That couldn't be done, and he did it. 
 
 There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done ; 
 
 There are thousands to prophesy failure ; 
 There are thousands to point out to you one by one 
 
 The dangers that wait to assail you. 
 But just buckle in with a bit of a grin ; 
 
 Just take off your coat and go to it ; 
 Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing 
 
 That " cannot be done," and you'll do it. 
 
 The Blind Men and the Elephant. A Hindoo Fable 
 (By John Godfrey Saxe) 
 
 It was six men of Indostan 
 
 To learning much inclined, 
 Who went to see the Elephant 
 
 (Though all of them were blind), 
 That each by observation 
 
 Might satisfy his mind. 
 
212 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The First approached the Elephant, 
 
 And happening to fall 
 Against his broad and sturdy side, 
 
 At once began to bawl : 
 "God bless me ! but the Elephant 
 
 Is very like a wall ! " 
 
 The Second, feeling of the tusk, 
 Cried, "Ho ! what have we here 
 
 So very round and smooth and sharp? 
 To me 'tis mighty clear 
 
 This wonder of an Elephant 
 Is very Uke a spear !" 
 
 The Third approached the animal. 
 
 And happening to take 
 The squirming trunk within his hands. 
 
 Thus boldly up and spake : 
 "I see," quoth he, "the Elephant 
 
 Is very lilce a snake !" 
 
 The Fourth reached out an eager hand. 
 
 And felt about the knee. 
 "What most this wondrous beast is like 
 
 Is mighty plain," quoth he; 
 "'Tis clear enough the Elephant 
 
 Is very like a tree!" 
 
 The Fifth who chanced to touch the ear 
 Said : "E'en the blindest man 
 
 Can tell what this resembles most ; 
 Deny the fact who can, 
 
 This marvel of an Elephant 
 Is very like a fan!" 
 
 The Sixth no sooner had begun 
 About the beast to grope, 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 213 
 
 Than, seizing on the swinging tail 
 
 That fell within his scope, 
 "I see," quoth he, "the Elephant 
 
 Is very like a rope !" 
 
 And so these men of Indostan 
 
 Disputed loud and long, 
 Each in his own opinion 
 
 Exceeding stiff and strong. 
 Though each was partly in the right 
 
 And all were in the wrong ! 
 
 Going Downhill on a Bicycle 
 
 (By Henry Charles Beeching) 
 
 With lifted feet, hands still, 
 I am poised, and down the hill 
 Dart, with heedful mind ; 
 The air goes by in a wind. 
 
 Swifter and yet more swift. 
 Till the heart with a mighty lift 
 Makes the lungs laugh, the throat cry 
 "O bird, see; see, bird, I fly. 
 
 "Is this, is this your joy? 
 O bird, then I, though a boy, 
 For a golden moment share 
 Your feathery life in air ! " 
 
 Say, heart, is there aught like this 
 In a world that is full of bliss? 
 'Tis more than skating, bound 
 Steel-shod to the level ground. 
 
214 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Speed slackens now, I float 
 Awhile in my airy boat ; 
 Till, when the wheels scarce crawl, 
 My feet to the treadles fall. 
 
 Alas, that the longest hill 
 Must end in a vale ; but still, 
 Who climbs with toil, wheresoe'er, 
 Shall find wings waiting there. 
 
 Mr. Nobody 
 (Author Unknown) 
 
 I know a funny little man. 
 
 As quiet as a mouse, 
 Who does the mischief that is done 
 
 In everybody's house ! 
 There's no one ever sees his face. 
 
 And yet we all agree 
 That every plate we break was cracked 
 
 By Mr. Nobody. 
 
 'Tis he who always tears our books, 
 
 Who leaves the door ajar. 
 He pulls the buttons from our shirts. 
 
 And scatters pins afar ; 
 That squeaking door will always squeak 
 
 For, prithee, don't you see, 
 We leave the oihng to be done 
 
 By Mr. Nobody. 
 
 He puts damp wood upon the fire. 
 
 That kettles cannot boil ; 
 His are the feet that bring in mud, 
 
 And all the carpets soil. 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 215 
 
 The papers always are mislaid, 
 
 Who had them last but he ? 
 There's no one tosses them about 
 
 But Mr. Nobody. 
 
 The finger-marks upon the door 
 
 By none of us are made ; 
 We never leave the bUnds unclosed, 
 
 To let the curtains fade. 
 The ink we never spill, the boots 
 
 That lying round you see 
 Are not our boots ; they all belong 
 
 To Mr. Nobody. 
 
 LESSON THIRTY TWO 
 Words 
 
 In the chapter on Interest (see page 6) you have al- 
 ready learned how important the choice of words must 
 always be if you intend to be interesting. But now it must 
 be apparent that for clearness the choice of the right word is 
 even more important. Thanks to your studies, your read- 
 ing, and your conversation, you are furnished with a good 
 vocabulary. But, in endeavoring to explain or to describe, 
 you must have felt how difficult is the pen's path for the 
 writer who is not possessed of the right words. With the 
 importance of words brought home to you by experience, 
 consider, then, their nature and services a little more closely. 
 
 To be clear, you must, whenever possible, use simple words. 
 It is a good rule to avoid a long or a high-sounding word, 
 when a modest little one will do. ''The fire heroes extin- 
 guished the conflagration " is not nearly so clear or so effective 
 as "The firemen put out the fire." 
 
216 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Words should be exact and precise in the meanings they 
 convey. If they are not, they will leave a confused impres- 
 sion upon the one who hears or reads them. To some girls 
 and boys nearly everything that happens is nice or awful. 
 Both these words are proper only when used in proper rela- 
 tions. There is no such thing as an awful lesson or a nice 
 game. These expressions are not exact for the reason that 
 awful and nice do not mean what they are intended to con- 
 vey. By the ''awful lesson" is probably meant a long or a 
 difficult lesson, but awful does not mean either long or difficult. 
 Nice does not mean interesting or successful, yet such a mean- 
 ing is evidently implied by the above expression. Study 
 word meanings exactly. However small your vocabulary may 
 be, see to it that you can use the words you own with exact- 
 ness and precision. 
 
 Some words are general in meaning; others are special. 
 Athletics, for instance, is a general word. It includes a great 
 many different kinds or classifications; baseball, football, 
 handball, tennis, running, swimming, hockey, and so forth 
 are all names of special games belonging to the general 
 word athletics. Now, the general word athletics is valuable. 
 You could not get along without it in talking about school 
 sports. But whenever possible use special words, for they 
 convey a far clearer and far more definite meaning than 
 general terms. You may have heard the expressions, "Give 
 me the particulars," "Give me the details." These are 
 simple, everyday requests for special rather than general 
 words. 
 
 It is important to remember that special words can be 
 drawn out of general ones very much as the links of a tele- 
 scope are drawn out from one another. The word structure, 
 for instance, is a general word. Building is a little more 
 special. House is still more special; the word picture is 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 217 
 
 beginning to gain definite shape in our minds. Dwelling 
 is more special than house. Home and cottage are more 
 special still. These last are genuine picture words. In- 
 deed, most special words have a power to picture that general 
 words do not possess. 
 
 And this suggests another useful distinction in words. 
 All words name something definite — honor, machine, fire- 
 side, home, appendicitis, crawling, blue. Each of these names 
 a thing or a quahty or an action. But many words not only 
 name, they carry associations with them and so stir the 
 feelings. In the list above, fireside, honor, home, all are 
 charged with associations and stir our emotions. Appendi- 
 citis, blue, machine, crawling, do little more than name. 
 Compare home with residence, or fireside with vestibule, and 
 the difference will be apparent. The first are rich in as- 
 sociation, the second are names merely. Words that carry 
 associations with them are very much more pictorial than 
 words that merely name. 
 
 The distinction between general words and special words, 
 and between name words and association words is most 
 valuable in descriptions, in stories, and in poetry, where 
 writing must be vivid if it is to depict clearly the scene, the 
 '^.vents, or the emotions that are revealed. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Select six association words from some poem in this book. Ex- 
 
 plain why they are association words. Give other words foi 
 them meaning almost the same thing and conveying no as- 
 sociation at all. 
 
 2. Select six special words from some story in this book. Make 
 
 each one more special. Give the most general word you can 
 think of for each one. 
 
 3. Examine the following word groups. What is the difference 
 
 in meaning among the words in each group? After yor 
 
218 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 have thought about them and discussed them with your 
 classmates, consult the dictionary : — 
 
 (1) Love, affection, esteem, regard, devotion. 
 
 (2) Think, reason, calculate, guess, imagine, suppose, fancy. 
 
 (3) Good, kind, wholesome, generous. 
 
 (4) Honest, trustful, frank, candid, genuine. 
 
 (5) Awful, dreadful, terrible, fearful, frightful, horrible. 
 
 (6) Pretty, lovely, handsome, beautiful, attractive. 
 
 (7) Rattle, chatter, blurt, gabble, gossip, tattle, prattle. 
 
 (8) Fierce, ferocious, furious, impetuous, dangerous. 
 
 (9) Fraud, cheat, deceit, trick, imposture. 
 
 (10) Free, clear, exempt, independent, unchecked, at liberty. 
 
 4. Compose sentences illustrating the correct use of the words in 
 
 each of the following groups : — 
 
 (1) Ancient, antique, old-fashioned. 
 
 (2) Answer, reply, retort. 
 
 (3) Defeat, loss, ruin. 
 
 (4) Neglect, default, carelessness. 
 
 (5) Politeness, courtesy, manners. 
 
 (6) Postponement, adjournment, delay. 
 
 (7) Remain, stop, stay. 
 
 (8) Spectator, auditor, participant. 
 
 (9) Success, victory, achievement. 
 (10) Trade, employment, profession. 
 
 5. Supply special words for the following general ones : — 
 
 animal literature stone word 
 
 exercise sound water work 
 
 6. Select as many special words as possible, principally verbs, ad- 
 
 verbs, or adjectives, to describe each of the following : — 
 brook dancing morning store 
 
 crying darkness music storm 
 
 7. Perhaps you know some one who has a peculiarity in manner 
 
 or dress or action. Describe him in a few brief sentences, 
 using as many special words as you can. Make them as 
 pictorial as possible. 
 
 8. The following phrases suggest pictures. Express each one in 
 
 general terms carrying no special association with them : — 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 219 
 
 A romantic moonlight night. 
 
 A meadow bedded with buttercups. 
 
 A rambling, scrambling river. 
 
 A roaring, rushing, swirling, swishing cataract. 
 
 A hobbling, hampered cripple. 
 
 A shambUng, staggering drunkard. 
 
 A tiny, tiptoeing maiden. 
 
 9. Explain in general terms, to your father or mother perhaps, 
 just how your school program is arranged. Then explain 
 it in particular terms to a young person of your own age who 
 is attending another school. Point out the differences be- 
 tween the two explanations. 
 
 10. Explain why the following expressions are not exact and pre- 
 
 cise. Convert each one into an exact and precise form : — 
 I am awfully tired. 
 I am starved to death. 
 This cake is perfectly lovely. 
 Isn't she just too perfectly dear? 
 It's a terribly hot day. 
 What a horrible time I had ! 
 The concert was colossally excellent. 
 Scott's novels fascinate me. 
 
 11. Are the following words special or general? Explain each 
 
 one : — 
 
 artifice clenched lull seraggly 
 
 broncho guttural lilt tremolo 
 
 bristling gringo quivering whimpering 
 
 12. Point out the especially appropriate words in the following 
 
 selection. Tell why you think each one appropriate : — 
 
 The Smpi 
 
 (From John Masefield's The Dauber) 
 
 They stood there by the rail while the swift ship 
 Tore on out of the tropics, straining her sheets, 
 Whitening her trackway to a milky strip, 
 
 1 Used by permission of The Macmillan Company. 
 
220 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Dim with green bubbles and twisted water meets, 
 Her clacking tackle tugged at pins and cleats, 
 Her great sails bellied stiff, her great masts leaned : 
 They watched how the seas struck and burst and greened. 
 
 •• THE TRAIL BLAZERS. 
 
 13. The scouts are having a fine time blazing a trail. Tell your 
 classmates just what you see in the above picture. Have 
 them note the special words you are obliged to use. It may 
 be interesting to connect this picture with the one on page 
 167. Perhaps the selection on page 173 may also be related 
 
 LESSON THIRTY THREE 
 
 Clearness in Speaking 
 
 Most of what has been said in the previous lessons applies 
 to speech as well as to writing. But there are certain 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 221 
 
 hindrances to clearness that belong particularly to speech. 
 Mispronunciations, as pointed out in Lesson 14, page 103, 
 may often interfere with the attention of an audience, but 
 a single mispronounced word in a sentence is by no means 
 so serious an obstacle to clearness as are frequent miscon- 
 structions. Furthermore, the ear is not so sensitive, as a 
 rule, to mispronunciation as it is to bungling construction 
 and common errors. Cultivate an ear for correct English. 
 To listen well almost invariably means to speak well. See 
 to it that your spoken sentences are clear in form and con- 
 struction. Do not confuse your listeners by keeping them 
 in doubt as to the connection and the relation of your ideas. 
 
 1. Do not string all of your ideas together by means of 
 and or hut, or and-a and hut-a, and thus make extremely 
 long sentences. This is a common mistake in the speech 
 of young people and there is none that is more confusing to 
 an audience. Let those to whom you are speaking hear 
 your periods ; make them conscious of the beginning of new 
 sentences in your speech. Make your sentences short and 
 keep them distinct from one another. 
 
 2. Do not begin to talk with well or well-a, why, now, say, 
 listen. They are signs of hesitation but they* do not cure 
 hesitation. If your words do not flow rapidly, allow yourself 
 brief silences. There is no harm in occasional silences in 
 conversation. Indeed, they are to be cultivated, for they 
 give your hearers time to digest what you have said, and 
 they give you time to form clearly what you wish to say. 
 
 3. When you are asked why, do not answer because. In 
 ordinary conversation oftentimes a word or a phrase is all 
 that may be required for complete answering. But when 
 you wish to convey information, it is better to put youi 
 answers, however brief, in complete sentence form. 
 
 4. Do not insert a superfluous he or she or they or then 
 
222 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 in your spoken sentence. The word they in The girls they 
 went is unnecessary and therefore confusing. The person 
 who makes use of this misconstruction in speech rarely 
 makes the same mistake in writing. 
 
 Then used between the subject and predicate may quite 
 properly indicate time. But some speakers overuse it, as, 
 — He then went home and they then talked about him. It is 
 likewise frequently overused at the beginning of sentences, 
 as, — Then he went and then they began to talk about him. 
 Then father left. Use this word only when it is required. 
 
 5. Guard against the following common errors. They are 
 more likely to occur in speech because the ear very frequently 
 passes what the eye would hold up. ''It doesn't sound right " 
 should be as important a guide as "It doesn't look right" : — 
 
 (1) Do not use here or there after this or that, as, — This 
 here book, That there desk. Here and there are adverbs and 
 cannot modify nouns. 
 
 (2) Do not use ainH, or its worse form, hainH. They are 
 contractions for am not, are not, is not, have not, that have 
 never been accepted by good speakers. 
 
 (3) Do not use donH with a singular subject, as, — He 
 donH. She donH. It donH. DonH is a contraction of do not. 
 He do not sounds absurd, yet this is just what is said when 
 he don't is used. Doesn't is the proper form to use with a 
 singular subject, as, — He doesn't. She doesn't. It doesn't. 
 This is one of the most common errors in English speech. 
 It does not occur so frequently in writing. 
 
 (4) Do not use the double negative, that is, do not use 
 the word not or its equivalent twice in the same sentence. 
 In / haven't none, for instance, none expresses a negative as 
 also does n't in haven't. The sentence therefore does not 
 express the meaning intended. / haven't any or / have none 
 is the correct form for the meaning to be conveyed. This 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 223 
 
 error is likely to be made with the contractions havenH, 
 hasnH, hadnH, isnH, aren't, can't, don't, doesn't, won't. 
 
 (5) Do not use the present tense of come for the past 
 came, and do not use the past participle of verbs for the 
 past tense, as begun for began, sung for sang, done for did, 
 drunk for drank, swum for swam. She came home last night 
 not She come home last night. I did it this morning not / done 
 it this morning. Make a list of your troublesome verbs and 
 study the proper use of each in this respect. 
 
 (6) Do not use a singular subject with a plural verb or a 
 plural verb with a singular subject. Each, every, any, none, 
 either alone or in combination, are always singular and re- 
 quire a singular construction. In a sentence having a 
 singular subject there may be a plural noun just before the 
 predicate that will mislead a speaker into using a plural 
 verb. In, — One of the fellows was going, one is the singular 
 subject of the predicate was. But the plural noun fellows, 
 coming directly before was, may easily cause such a mistake 
 as, — One of the fellows were going. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. It is not pleasant to criticize unfavorably, yet such criticism 
 
 is oftentimes most helpful. Moreover, it may be offered in 
 a kindly spirit. Select from the speech of your classmates 
 such errors as you can note, and correct them. 
 
 2. Favorable criticism is quite as valuable as unfavorable and it 
 
 is certainly pleasanter to make. Select from the speech of 
 your classmates and teachers specimens of speech that stand 
 out as being excellent models to follow. 
 
 3. Tell what is wrong with each of the following sentences, ihen 
 
 express it correctly. Depend upon your ear as far as possible 
 both in noting the error and in correcting it : — 
 
 (1) This here book ain't no good. 
 
 (2) He don't study hard enough. 
 
224 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (3) When we arrived the music had began. 
 
 (4) Every one of the girls have passed. 
 
 (5) His mother rushed to meet him when he come in. 
 
 (6) I haven't seen nothing of him all day. 
 
 (7) John together with Sam and George are going to the picnic. 
 
 (8) They have came with your trunk. 
 
 (9) She don't think that he sung well. 
 
 (10) None were there to do nothing for him when the accident 
 occurred. 
 
 4. Use some of the following subjects for brief talks before the 
 class. Criticize one another helpfully as to the faults in speech 
 discussed in this chapter : — 
 
 Making a frock. Tending to the furnace. 
 
 Marks. Nervous ! 
 
 Being kept in. She forgot ! 
 
 My speech troubles. Teacher's English. 
 
 Your speech troubles. Home English. 
 
 Speaking and writing. Pupils' English. 
 
 Bluffing. Hearing mistakes. 
 
 Doing the dishes. Seeing mistakes. 
 
 Explanation of a problem in mathematics. 
 
 Explanation of an experiment. 
 
 Explanation of dorCt and doesn't. 
 
 , 5. The ideas in the following sentence groups are strung together 
 by ands and other connectives. Read them aloud to your 
 class, omitting needless conjunctions, and indicating by your 
 voice where sentences should begin and end : — 
 
 (1) Minnetonka means Happy Laughter and the Law of the 
 
 Fire says "Be Happy" and I have tried to earn my right 
 to this name by washing the dishes every morning for 
 two weeks and being happy while I was doing it, and so 
 as my symbol, I have chosen the Black-Eyed Susan be- 
 cause I have brown eyes and because the yellow of the 
 petals stands for sunshine and I want sunshine in my eyes 
 for every one. 
 
 (2) A group of school girls took up national service as the basis 
 
 for their weekly program and one meeting was given over 
 to the study of conservation, each girl bringing in brief 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 225 
 
 reports on the conservation of streams, birds, and trees, 
 and then another evening was spent in learning genuine 
 Indian songs which were sung at every meeting and a 
 third evening was planned for the telling of Indian legends 
 which the girls had read during the week. 
 (3) The scout's badge is not specifically intended to represent 
 either the fleiu'-de-Hs or an arrowhead, although it re- 
 sembles both, but it is a modified form of the sign of the 
 north on the mariner's compass which is as old as the 
 history of navigation for the Chinese claim its use among 
 them as early as 2634 b.c. and we have definite informa- 
 tion that it was used at sea by them as early as 300 a.d. 
 and-a Marco Polo brought the compass to Europe on 
 his return from Cathay and the sign of the north on the 
 compass gradually came to represent the north and 
 pioneers, trappers, woodsmen, and scouts, because of 
 this, adopted it as their emblem but through centuries 
 of use it has undergone modification and-a so now then 
 we have taken its shape as that of our badge which is 
 further distinguished by a shield and the American 
 eagle superimposed. 
 
 6. Imagine yourself a manager or a salesman. Talk to yoiu* class- 
 
 mates in clear-cut English upon some of the following sub- 
 jects, trying to prevail upon them : — 
 (a) 
 
 To attend a certain game. 
 
 To give money for a worthy cause. 
 
 To enter a contest. 
 
 To join a school club. 
 
 To contribute money for a gift. 
 (h) 
 
 To buy the school paper. 
 
 To buy a certain kind of sweater. 
 
 To buy a school pennant. 
 
 To buy a school cap. 
 
 To buy a certain emblem, such as pin or buckle. 
 
 7. Read the following story to your classmates in two ways : first, 
 
 in one even monotonous tone ; second, with expression. Ask 
 them to tell you what was gained by your second reading : -^ 
 Q 
 
226 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully : and 
 he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have 
 not where to bestow my fruits ? And he said, This will I do : I will 
 pull down my barns, and build greater ; and there will I bestow all 
 my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast 
 much goods laid up for many years ; take thine ease, — eat, drink, 
 be merry. 
 
 But God said unto him. Thou fooUsh one, this night is thy soul 
 required of thee ; and the things which thou hast prepared, whose 
 shalt they be ? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is 
 not rich toward God. 
 
 8. The following are answers to questions. State them more 
 
 clearly. Construct the question for which each is an answer : — 
 
 (1) Why, it flows southward practically the whole length of the 
 
 country, and then it forms a delta, and then flows into 
 the Gulf of Mexico. 
 
 (2) Well, if you haven't any rudder don't turn yoiu- head around 
 
 all the time to see where you are rowing, but fix your 
 eye upon some definite object ahead and-a keep your boat 
 moving in that relation to it that will take you where 
 you want to go. 
 
 (3) Say, when you scull a boat you propel it by a single oar 
 
 at the stern and you should have a rowlock or a semi- 
 circular scoop at the stern and you propel the boat by 
 working the oars at the stern obUquely from side to side. 
 
 (4) Listen, if your clothing should catch fire do not run for help 
 
 as this will fan the flames but he down and roll up as 
 tightly as possible in an overcoat, blanket, rug, or any 
 woolen article but if nothing can be obtained in which to 
 wrap up, he down and roll over slowly at the same time 
 beating the fire with the hands. 
 
 9. Answer each of the following questions in two or three clear 
 
 sentences. Start with a definite, complete statement, not 
 with because, why, well, or any other superfluous word : — 
 
 What would you do if fire broke out in school ? 
 Why is New Orleans an important city commercially? 
 What different routes could you take to go from New 
 York to Seattle? 
 
HOW TO BE CLEAR 227 
 
 10. Read the following conversational poem to your classmates in 
 such a way as to make the meaning of it quite clear : — 
 
 A small group of words got together one day, 
 
 And lamented their fate in the following way, — 
 
 "If ox," said box, "is in plural called oxen, 
 
 I'm sure I don't see why I shouldn't be boxen." 
 
 "And if tooth,'' said booth, "is in plural form teeth, 
 
 Then why in the world shouldn't I be called beelhf* 
 
 "If mouse,'" said house, "must be pluralized mice, 
 
 'T would be simple and easy to change me to Mce." 
 
 "And Ukewise," said grouse, "if louse be called lice, 
 
 'T would be nice, 'twould suffice, to call me plain grice." 
 
 "Yes, yes," laughed lie^ "and if die is made dice, 
 
 Why, of course, I'm the one to be turned into lice!'* 
 
 "If man," pined pan, "is converted to men, 
 
 I really should change, not to pans, but to pen" 
 
 "Quite so," approved /an, ban, and can, with a shout, 
 
 "And we should he fen, ben, and cen, without doubt." 
 
 ''It foot," said boot, "meaning two, becomes /ee^ 
 
 Then I should think two of me ought to be beet" 
 
 "U a he," sulked she, "is he, his, and him, 
 
 I should really prefer to be she, shis, and shim." 
 
 "If that," growled hat, "is sometimes writ those, 
 
 'Tis a very good reason for writing me hose." 
 
 "You're right!" said the cat, bat, and rat. "We propose 
 
 That we follow the rule and be cose, bose, and rose." 
 
 "Very good," echoed bliss, "and if this may be these. 
 
 It naturally happens that I should be blese." 
 
 And so they went on till their mother came in 
 
 To quell, if she could, the deafening din : 
 
 "Be proud to be different," she urged them, quite cool, 
 
 "You can't be distinctive if patterned to rule, — 
 
 My brothers, for instance, are often called brethren. 
 
 But I never could bear to be mentioned as methren." 
 
 11. The fleet-footed end on the high school team has the ball and 
 is making a straightaway dart for goal. In and among his opponents 
 he goes, now dodging, now stooping, now springing like a deer. 
 His zigzag course is guarded as well as may be by his eager 
 
228 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 colleagues . . . "Down!" Then, higgledy, piggledy, there !s a 
 sudden piling-up of entangled arms and legs and bodies. 
 
 (1) Explain just how this brilliant sprint was brought to an end, 
 
 what followed immediately after the tackle, and what it 
 meant to the game. 
 
 (2) The mother and the sister of the player who was making the 
 
 run, saw the game from the grandstand. Explain their 
 feelings and actions at this juncture of the game. 
 
 Ml% 
 
 k 
 
 
 t 
 
 W   i ■!:'^-/^v^k-:;:v^.^>:; 
 
 w^m 
 
 1 
 
 R^"^ 
 
 W 
 
 
 V/ ll"-"*^^ jX ^NJ^^^vjif ^^JJ"* itll V ' ^ /jT.^ 
 
 ^Sm 
 
 DOWN 1 " 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 HOW TO BE CONVINCING 
 
 Introduction 
 
 If you are clear, if you are interesting in your letters, 
 your stories, and your explanations, you will probably be 
 convincing. But "probably" is not a safe word in so im- 
 portant a matter as good writing and good speaking. You 
 must be reasonably interesting in order to convince your 
 friend, in order to make him believe as you do. You must 
 be absolutely clear in order to accomplish that aim. But 
 to be certain of convincing him, you must go beyond interest 
 and clearness to other simple principles that belong par- 
 ticularly to the art of persuasion. 
 
 The first of these principles is useful everywhere, but 
 especially in argument. It is emphasis. Unity means stick- 
 ing to the subject. Coherence means the clearest and most 
 logical order of arrangement. Emphasis means laying stress 
 upon the ideas that are most important in what you have 
 to say. 
 
 The other principle of the art of persuasion is the prin- 
 ciple that governs argument. If you intend to convince, 
 your facts and your reasons must be so planned as to lead 
 to conviction. You must put your writing or your speak- 
 ing in the form of an argument. This principle means that 
 planning an argument must be different from planning a 
 story or explanation. The lessons that follow will explain how. 
 
 229 
 
230 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 LESSON THIRTY FOUR 
 Letters That Convince 
 
 Read the following letters and discuss them with your 
 classmates. Make a little plan stating in order the reasons 
 advanced in each one of these letters for doing or for not 
 doing a certain thin"^. 
 
 Letter (1). Is Jane Austen serious in this letter? Is 
 she arguing for Scott or against him? Letter (2). What 
 three definite reasons does Lincoln give for not wanting a 
 bodyguard, the Adjutant General, to attend him wherever 
 he goes? Letter (3). If you were an employer would you 
 feel like employing Miss Evelyn Saunders? Why? Letter 
 (4). If you were an employer would you give Master James 
 Doan a chance? Why? Letters (5) and (6). If you were 
 moving to St. Joseph which of the two schools, '' Davis " or 
 "Garfield," would you attend? Reasons. Letter (7). How 
 do the reasons stated in this letter differ from those stated 
 in the previous letters? Which is the most affecting ques- 
 tion in this letter ? Reasons. 
 
 (1) 
 
 Chawton, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 1814. 
 My dear Anna, — 
 
 I hope you do not depend on having your book again immediately. 
 I kept it that your grandmamma may hear it. . . . 
 
 Walter Scott has no business to write novels, especially good ones. 
 It is not fair. He has fame and profit enough as a poet, and should 
 not be taking the bread out of the mouths of other people. I do 
 not like him, and do not mean to like "Waverley" if I can help it; 
 but I fear I must ... I have made up my mind to like no novels 
 really but Miss Edgeworth's, yours, and my own. . . . 
 
 Your affectionate aunt, 
 Jane Austen. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 231 
 
 Executive Mansion, January 22, 1862. 
 My dear Sir : On reflection I think it will not do, as a rule, for 
 the adjutant general to attend me where I go : not that I have any 
 objection to his presence, but that it would be an uncompensating 
 encumbrance both to him and me. When it shall occur to me to go 
 anywhere, I wish to be free to go at once, and not to have to notify 
 the adjutant general and wait till he can get ready. 
 
 It is better, too, for the pubhc service that he shall give his time 
 to the business of his office, and not to personal attendance on me. 
 While I thank you for the kindness of the suggestion, my view of 
 the matter is as I have stated. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 (3) 
 
 130 Grayson Avenue, 
 Cleveland, Ohio, 
 March 30, 1918. 
 To whom it may concern : 
 
 The bearer, Miss Evelyn Saunders, has been employed in my office 
 as general assistant for the past three years. The service rendered 
 by her has been superior in every way. The office has never been 
 so well looked after as since Miss Saunders has been in charge. I 
 regret extremely that she is obhged to make a change now, owing to 
 the fact that she is moving to another city, but I am happy to 
 recommend her as a young woman of unusual excellence and attain- 
 ment in her line. 
 
 Jay S. Kemer. 
 
 1 Lincoln preferred to go about unguarded by an adjutant. He could not 
 be made to realize that he thus exposed himself to assassination. He was 
 much criticized for his attitude. 
 
232 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (4) 
 
 140 Temple Avenue, 
 Louisville, Kentucky, 
 April 30, 1918. 
 To whom it may concern : 
 
 The bearer, Master James Doan, has just graduated from Public 
 School 18 with marks above 90 in all -subjects. His record in the 
 school has been superior in every respect. It gives me great pleasure 
 to recommend him as an excellent young man and to assist him in 
 getting a position that will offer him opportunity for further develop- 
 ment. He is sixteen years of age, but he possesses the steadiness 
 of character and the alertness of mind of one of maturer years. 
 
 Samuel Arbuthnot, 
 Principal, P. S. 18. 
 
 (5) 
 
 21 Howard Avenue, 
 St. Joseph, Mo., 
 June 30, 1918. 
 Dear Tom, 
 
 Mother tells me that your folks are going to move to St. Joseph 
 this summer. This means that you will go to school here in Sei>- 
 tember. Well, as soon as I heard the good news I thought to 
 myself, "Tom certainly must attend the Davis School." 
 
 I'm in my second year at "Davis" now, and I like it better all 
 the time. It's a brand new building with a large gymnasium and 
 a dandy swimming pool. It has the best athletic field in the city. 
 The other schools are all the time wanting to use it. And the 
 principal of "Davis" is a good fellow. He believes the boys should 
 have some fun along with their work. He backs up the teams with 
 his whole heart, goes to every game, and roots along with the rest 
 of us. You'll like the teachers, too. They're fair, and I tell you 
 that's a great thing. Don't you think so? They take a special 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 233 
 
 interest in a fellow and follow him up after he leaves. This means 
 a lot to a chap who wants to get on, you know. 
 
 Your friend Jaclc Thompson goes to a school at the other end 
 of the city, the Garfield School, but I hope you won't let him in- 
 fluence you to go there. It will be too far for you to go, for I 
 understand that you are going to Uve on our block. We beat 
 "Garfield" 40 — last year at football, but the school has no 
 athletic field and the team couldn't get the right kind of practice. 
 Of course, I'm not knocking "Garfield," but "Davis" really is a 
 better school. 
 
 Think this over, Tom, and let me hear from you. I hope to 
 see you soon. Give my regards to your father and mother, and to 
 Ahce. 
 
 Your friend, 
 James AUison. 
 
 P. S. I bet Jack Thompson will write you about " Garfield." 
 
 (6)- 
 
 18 De Kalb Avenue, 
 St. Joseph, Mo., 
 July 3, 1918. 
 Dear Tom, 
 
 Hurrah ! You're going to move to St. Joseph, I hear. This is 
 fine. I have already told the fellows at our school about you and 
 we're all ready to welcome you in September. 
 
 You're just the boy for the Garfield School, Tom, and "Garfield" 
 is just the school for you. You'll like the fellows and the teachers 
 both. Everybody at "Garfield" knows how to be a good pal. 
 We've got the best course of study, father says, of any school in 
 this part of the country. I've often heard you say that you want to 
 be a mechanic. Well, here at "Garfield" they find out, as soon as 
 he enters, what a fellow wants to be, and then they make every- 
 thing he studies tell in that direction. We've got immense manual- 
 
234 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 training classrooms. Every boy has to know how to make things. 
 I made a table for Mother last winter which is a crackerjack, if I 
 do say it myself. Our school auditorium is the biggest in the city. 
 When a visitor comes here from any other place, why, he always 
 visits "Garfield." 
 
 You've heard of Turner, the Minnesota fullback, haven't you? 
 Well, he's an old "Garfield " boy. So is Brooks of Yale, and Watkins 
 of Pennsylvania. You see we go in for athletics a bit too at "Gar- 
 field." 
 
 Of course our building isn't much to brag about. It's old, but 
 it's still strong, and all right. Besides, it isn't the building that 
 counts : it's what is in the building. "Garfield" is the oldest prep 
 school in this part of the country and it has the best reputation 
 with the big colleges, so what more could you want ? You've heard 
 of "Davis," of course. They have a brand new building and a big 
 athletic field, but all they think about at "Davis" is sport. When 
 it comes to real school work, "Garfield" is the place. 
 
 Let me know exactly when you are coming and I'll bring the 
 fellows of our club to the station to meet you. Give my best to 
 Sis and all the others. Ask any questions about school you want 
 to. I'll answer. 
 
 Yours for September, 
 Jack Thompson. 
 
 (7) 
 
 To the Editor of The Intelligencer : 
 
 The stairs in our school building are so old and shaky that it is 
 dangerous to use them. Five hundred pupils are required to pass 
 up and down them every day, some many times a day. We have 
 on many previous occasions requested our Board of Education to 
 build new stairs in the school. Our parents have protested to the 
 Mayor about the condition. We students are now appealing to the 
 people of the city through such newspapers as The Intelligencer. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 235 
 
 Is it fair to house us in a school building that is unsafe? Is it a 
 credit to the citizens of this city to have their children go to school 
 in a building that the small neighboring town of Furlong scoffs at? 
 Is it a worthy thing for this rich city to do ? Won't you help us, 
 please, to make the officials take action ? 
 
 Pupils of the Morgan Street School. 
 March 12, 1918. 
 
 LESSON THIRTY FIVE 
 
 Special Letters 
 
 Letters (3) and (4) on pages 231 and 232 are letters of gen- 
 eral recommendation. Letter (7) above is a letter to a 
 newspaper. These letters differ in form somewhat from 
 ordinary letters. To whom it may concern is used in a letter 
 of general recommendation instead of the regular form of 
 salutation. The words may all be capitalized, but it is 
 better form to capitalize only the first one. To the Editor 
 of The Herald is used in a letter to a newspaper instead of 
 the regular form of salutation, and the words should be capi- 
 talized as indicated. The complimentary closing is omitted 
 from such letters as these. The date in the newspaper 
 letter is always placed in the lower left-hand corner. The 
 signature to a newspaper letter may be genuine, it may 
 be a group signature, as in (7) above, or it may be a fanci- 
 ful or an assumed name, such as, Justice, Interested, Julius, 
 at. The writer of a newspaper letter must always state 
 his full name and address, preferably in parentheses, at the 
 end of the letter. These will not be published against 
 his wish, but they are required as an evidence of good 
 faith. 
 
 The regular letter form is followed in a letter of special 
 
236 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 recommendation. If in letter (3), for instance, a certain 
 employer were to desire more facts about Miss Saunders, 
 he would write to Mr. Jay S. Kerner for them. In reply, 
 Mr. Kerner would write a letter of special or personal recom- 
 mendation. He would state the facts of his general recom- 
 mendation more in detail and would answer fully any 
 questions that were asked of him by the employer. 
 
 The writer of a letter of recommendation or of any letter 
 that calls for a statement of reasons, should be sure to state 
 exact facts. Any over-statement or under-statement of the 
 truth in such letters as those in Lesson Thirty Four is unfair 
 to the one who reads them and to the subject about whom 
 they are written. It is necessary, too, that such letters 
 be definite and to the point. General statements are of no 
 use. It is not sufficient to say that Davis is a better school 
 than Garfield. The respects in which it is better must be 
 indicated. Similarly, every important point at issue be- 
 tween the schools must be mentioned. To omit one just 
 because it may not be favorable to your side is to dodge 
 the argument. Note that Jack Thompson in letter (6) 
 dodges the subject of the athletic field. He might have 
 mentioned it very effectively, thus, — ^'Although we have 
 no field at 'Garfield,' yet our athletes lead when they get 
 to college." He could thus have avoided weakening his 
 position. 
 
 In any letter that sets forth reasons for or against a certain 
 course of action, the writer should of course be careful to 
 state his reason in an emphatic fashion. The strongest 
 reason should be reserved for the last, which in argument 
 is nearly always the position of emphasis, and the reasons 
 preceding it should build up to this last one. Notice the 
 arrangement in the letters above, particularly in letters (2) 
 and (5). 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 237 
 
 PRACTICE • 
 
 Using the letters in Lesson Thirty Four as models and keeping 
 in mind the above explanation, write some of the letters caUed for 
 below: — 
 
 1. There is a very good speaker in your school who has taken many 
 
 honors. There is a friend of yours who is ambitious but who 
 has never taken any honors at all. In a speaking contest 
 the good speaker is chosen to represent your school. Your 
 friend could not qualify. You are both glad and sorry. 
 Write a letter to some one about it, giving all the details of 
 the situation. 
 
 2. Your father insists on taking you to school every morning. 
 
 He feels it is safer to do so. But you object. You prefer to 
 go alone. Write a letter to some one about this matter, 
 setting forth a number of reasons why your father should not 
 accompany you. 
 
 3. Write a letter of general recommendation for one of your class- 
 
 mates. 
 
 4. Write the above recommendation in special or personal form. 
 
 Address it to some individual and make it fuller than the 
 general recommendation. 
 
 5. Write letters to friends urging them to buy one or more of the 
 
 following from you : — 
 candy soap bats gloves 
 
 magazines dresses Liberty Bonds buttons 
 
 6. Write a letter to a friend in a distant place, to which you expect 
 
 to move, asking him questions about his school. Make 
 your questions cover all phases of school life. 
 
 7. Write a letter to a friend urging her to join your Red Cross 
 
 unit. 
 
 8. Write a letter to your principal setting forth a number of 
 
 reasons why he should permit your debating team to be ex- 
 cused from the last two recitations on a certain day. 
 
 9. Reproduce the principal's reply to your letter, in which he 
 
 gives reasons for not complying with your request. 
 
238 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 10. Write a letter for publication in your school paper in which 
 
 you set forth reasons why the student body as a whole should 
 attend the last game of the season. 
 
 11. Write a letter to a newspaper in your community complaining 
 
 about the noise outside the school building during school 
 hours. 
 
 12. Write a letter to a newspaper in your community thanking it for 
 
 giving such a full account of your commencement exercises, 
 but calling its attention to the fact that the name of the head 
 boy in the school is James T. McCorkle, not James T. 
 Marklee. 
 
 13. Imagine that you are in camp. Write a letter home telling 
 
 about your camp life. The picture on page 167 may help you 
 in writing this letter. 
 
 LESSON THIRTY SIX 
 
 Emphasis in the Sentence 
 
 The success of the letters in Lesson Thirty Four depends 
 very largely upon their emphasis. Much of their excellence 
 is due to emphatic sentences. Coherence in a sentence helps 
 to make it forceful. Unity in a sentence also helps to make 
 it forceful. There can be no forceful expression without 
 these qualities. But once you have secured them in your 
 sentences, you may emphasize your thought even more by 
 means of certain devices. 
 
 1. Repetition. You may, for instance, stress or accent 
 an idea by repeating it. Here are three illustrations show- 
 ing how emphasis may be secured in a sentence by means 
 of repetition. In the first, words are repeated; in the 
 second, phrases ; in the third, clauses. If you wish to get 
 the full force of the repetition, read the sentences aloud. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 239 
 
 If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign 
 troop were landed in my country, I would never lay down my arms, 
 — never ! never ! never ! 
 
 That the government of the people, by the people, for the people, 
 shall not perish from the earth. 
 
 So, too, the character, the counsels, the example of our Wash- 
 ington, of which you bid me speak : they guided our fathers through 
 the storms of the Revolution ; they will guide us through the doubts 
 and difficulties that beset us ; they will guide our children and our 
 children's children in the paths of prosperity and peace. 
 
 Be sure that your repetitions count for emphasis. Do 
 not permit a needless repetition in a sentence, for that delays 
 or confuses the thought. Such expressions as the following 
 lose in force rather than gain by the repetition : — 
 
 We lost and failed to win. Go immediately and at once. 
 
 Do not repeat such terms as / think, I believe, it is said 
 in your sentences. Avoid such aimless repetitions as, — 
 
 John, he wept. 
 
 She was universally liked by all. 
 
 It resulted in this result. 
 
 Never use more words than are necessary, for they in- 
 variably mean useless and ineffective repetition. 
 
 He looks as if he were ill. 
 
 The coat that he wears is torn. 
 
 She wore a pair of white gloves on her hands. 
 
 These sentences contain useless repetition and are therefore 
 extravagant of words. A series of such bungled sentences 
 placed in close succession would give anything but a force- 
 ful and emphatic impression. They should read, — 
 
 He looks ill. His coat is torn. She wore white gloves. 
 
 2. Variety. You may also make your writing more vivid 
 by varying sentences in form and length, by making use of 
 
240 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 all the different kinds pointed out on page 141. Some sen- 
 tences should begin with the subject ; some with modifying 
 phrases, and so forth. Again, the customary connectives, 
 and, hut, for, because, may very often be understood rather 
 than expressed. We become so accustomed to hearing cer- 
 tain connectives in certain word relations that their omis- 
 sion is welcome and adds emphasis. Note how this is done 
 in the following sentences. The connectives are omitted, 
 and this results in a surprise construction that adds force 
 to the whole expression : — 
 
 Alice is afraid he is going to come tonight. She needn't worry. 
 He isn't. 
 
 Much is lost by combining these sentences as follows : — 
 
 Alice is afraid he is going to come tonight, but she needn't worry 
 for he isn't. 
 
 Brief and pointed statements are frequently more em- 
 phatic than long and complete ones. But judgment must 
 be exercised in their use, just as it must be exercised in any 
 other attempt to secure variety. Do not try to use in 
 regular succession long and short sentences ; loose, periodic, 
 and balanced sentences;, simple, complex, and compound 
 sentences ; declarative, interrogative, imperative, and ex- 
 clamatory sentences. If you do, your writing will be arti- 
 ficial and there will be no emphasis in your expression. 
 Read your sentences aloud after you have written them. 
 Hear the variety. Hear the monotony. Hear and feel the 
 force in them. 
 
 3. Position. You may make your sentences forceful by 
 being careful to place important words in important posi- 
 tions. The first part and the last part of a sentence, a 
 paragraph, a speech, are the emphatic parts. The latter 
 part is the stronger position of the two, but both are im- 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 241 
 
 portant. Whenever possible, place the important words in 
 these places. Note in the following sentences how this rule 
 is carried out with especial effect : — 
 
 (1) Dead rides the warrior on his steed. (2) Hard and fierce and 
 long they struggled. (3) Sweet are the uses of adversity. 
 (4) To the average girl a new dress is an event. 
 
 The important words in each of these sentences are placed 
 at the beginning, or at the end, or in both positions. In 
 order to place them thus the order has to be transposed or 
 inverted. The natural order in (4), for instance, is, — A new 
 dress is an event to the average girl. Here the important word 
 event comes in the middle of the sentence, a weak position. 
 Turn sentences (1), (2), and (3) around, and see how much 
 is lost by using the natural rather than the inverted order. 
 
 It is equally important for emphasis to place the important 
 idea of a sentence in the principal clause, for it is there that 
 emphasis falls. Note this pair of sentences, — 
 
 (1) I was hurrying through a field when I saw a dead body 
 on the ground. 
 
 (2) As I was hurrying through a field I saw on the ground a 
 dead body. 
 
 Seeing the dead body is the important idea. If, as in (1), 
 it is put in the subordinate clause, there is a distinct failure 
 of emphasis. 
 
 4. Special kinds of sentences. Interrogative, imperative, 
 and exclamatory sentences are usually more emphatic than 
 declarative. Notice the sentences that follow, and com- 
 pare them with their declarative forms : — 
 
 Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? 
 How like a fawning pubhcan he looks! 
 Let there be Ught. 
 
242 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Balanced and periodic sentences may also be used for 
 emphasis. The first presents a contrast emphatically ; the 
 second automatically holds the attention of the reader until 
 the end, the best position for emphasis. (See pages 138 
 and 141.) The first sentence below is forceful because it is 
 balanced ; the second, because it is periodic. Rewrite 
 each in a different form and see what is lost in force, — 
 
 (1) We must accept defeat but we need not feel disgrace. 
 
 (2) Until I see my mother I will not leave this house. 
 
 5. Brevity. If a word can do the full work of a phrase 
 or a clause it should by all means be used instead of the 
 phrase or the clause. Strip your sentences of everything 
 that is not actually necessary to convey the central idea. 
 Observe in (1) and (2) below how the principal thought is 
 weakened by too many needless words. Note how much is 
 gained by the revision in (3) and (4) respectively, — 
 
 (1) Quietly and noiselessly they went onward, followed by their 
 able guides, into the jungle. 
 
 (2) His speech was delivered, on the whole, in a forceful manner 
 and at the same time was convincing. 
 
 (3) Followed by their guides, they went quietly into the jungle. 
 
 (4) His speech was delivered with convincing force. 
 
 Some writers seem to feel that every noun or verb they use 
 must have a modifier. Such ''padded" writing can never 
 be emphatic. 
 
 Finally, repeat words, phrases, and clauses, if necessary, 
 in order to secure emphasis, but do not repeat uselessly 
 or awkwardly. Vary sentence forms and sentence con- 
 structions. Do not modify every noun with an adjective, 
 every verb with an adverb. Occasionally omit obvious 
 connectives. Resort to unusual constructions sometimes, 
 and cultivate brevity wherever possible. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 243 
 
 Keep constantly in mind that the first part and the last 
 part of a sentence are the forceful positions. Make use of 
 periodic and balanced sentences and of interrogative, im- 
 perative, and exclamatory sentences. Be ready to alter the 
 natural order of sentences so that the important ideas may 
 be easily placed at the emphatic points. Be concise. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Point out the useless repetition in each of the following and 
 rewrite : — 
 
 (1) I wonder whence he came from. 
 
 (2) They have added another new addition to the school build- 
 
 ing. 
 
 (3) He wore a pair of brand new shoes on his feet. 
 
 (4) They arrived Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. 
 
 (5) I am going on about the third of June. 
 
 (6) The boys each had an apple apiece. 
 
 (7) He looks as if he were very tired. 
 
 (8) The policy that they follow is not a good pohcy. 
 
 (9) One of the best games that Jim ever played was the game 
 
 he played against Tompkins on Saturday. 
 
 (10) Thus, I should think, therefore, that what he says is fact 
 
 and truth. 
 
 (11) This is the station from which we are going from. 
 
 (12) He was quite rich and well-to-do, and so was his brother 
 
 also. 
 
 (13) He approached toward me silently and without a word. 
 
 (14) A girl whose name is Clara brings the mail when it comes 
 
 at ten o'clock. 
 
 (15) She wore a long train at least three feet long. 
 
 (16) He likes books, music, painting, and etc. 
 
 (17) Opposite to me sat a boy whose name was Edgar. 
 
 (18) The disease with which he is diseased is one of the incurable 
 
 diseases. 
 
 (19) Our class of twenty, including myself, started in the morn- 
 
 ing at eight a.m. 
 
 (20) Two elderly old maids entered but not one of them spoke 
 
 a word. 
 
244 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 2. Combine each of the following groups into one good sentence, 
 containing no repetition : — 
 
 (1) Russia occupies more land than any other country in the 
 
 world. Russia is more than twice the size of the United 
 States. Russia occupies one sixth of the total land area 
 of the earth. 
 
 (2) The population of Russia is about one hundred eighty 
 
 millions. Seventy-five per cent of the Russian people 
 are engaged in agriculture. Fifteen per cent of the 
 Russian people live in cities. 
 
 (3) There are 1231 cities in Russia. The streets of 1068 Rus- 
 
 sian cities are lighted at night. One hundred sixty- 
 two Russian cities have electric lights. One hundred 
 twenty-eight Russian cities have gas light. Over seven 
 hundred Russian cities are lighted by kerosene. 
 
 (4) The five largest cities in Russia are Petrograd, Moscow, 
 
 Warsaw, Odessa, Kiev. The population of Petrograd 
 is 2,100,000. The population of Moscow is 1,800,000. 
 The population of Warsaw is 700,000. The population 
 of Odessa and of Kiev is 600,000 each. 
 
 (5) Russia has the longest coast line of any country in the 
 
 world. Most of the Russian coast line is locked by ice 
 a good part of the year. Shipping is not a leading Rus- 
 sian industry. 
 
 (6) Russia, United States, and British India are the three great- 
 
 est tobacco-growing countries in the world. Russia 
 raises one hundred ninety-eight millions of pounds a 
 year. British India raises four hundred thirty-three 
 millions of pounds a year. United States raises seven 
 hundred twenty-two millions of pounds a year. 
 
 (7) Russia conducts much of her business at fairs. Russia 
 
 conducts both wholesale and retail business at fairs. 
 There are over three thousand fairs held annually in 
 Russia. The most famous Russian fair is the one held 
 annually at Nijni-Novgorod. 
 
 (8) Russian horses are famous the world over. The most 
 
 beautiful Russian horses come from the Caucasus 
 districts. Russia raises more horses than any other 
 country. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 245 
 
 (9) The fur industry is the most important industry in Russia. 
 Russia supplies about one third of the furs of the world. 
 Russia's long Arctic coast line makes fur raising an im- 
 portant industry. 
 (10) Russia is the second petroleum producing country in the 
 world. The United States is the first petroleum produc- 
 ing country in the world. The Russian petroleum centers 
 are on the Black and Caspian Seas. 
 
 3. Combine the above sentences on Russia into a good paragraph. 
 
 Vary sentence beginning, sentence length, and sentence form. 
 
 4. Tell in six short, similarly constructed sentences just what you 
 
 see in the picture on the next page. Then combine them 
 into one good periodic sentence. What is lost or gained by 
 the change? 
 
 5. Explain why each of the following is forceful : — 
 
 (1) Alone, alone, all, all alone. 
 
 Alone on a wide, wide sea ! 
 
 (2) Everywhere the unworthy boon was rejected with scorn. 
 
 (3) Who would not fight for his country? 
 
 (4) Still was his hand, and clear his eye. 
 
 As the leader said, "Thou too must die!" 
 
 (5) A horse ! a horse ! my kingdom for a horse 1 
 
 (6) Now is the accepted time. 
 
 (7) To try is better than the thing you try for. 
 
 (8) that I had the wings of a bird ! 
 
 (9) Fallen are the mighty ! 
 
 (10) Beaten, and only by an inch! 
 
 (11) Cannon to right of them. 
 Cannon to left of them. 
 Cannon in front of them 
 
 Volleyed and thundered. 
 
 (12) You cannot, my lords, you cannot conquer America. 
 
 (13) And the king was much moved, and went up to the cham- 
 
 ber over the gate and wept ; and as he went, thus he said : 
 O my son Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, 
 Absalom, my son, my son ! 
 
 (14) And his chief beside, 
 Smiling the boy fell dead. 
 
^^m^^^^^^^mwm^m^m. 
 
 
 
 k^^i^ 
 
 ON THE 8KI6. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 247 
 
 (15) "We're all that's left of the Band, and we'll be cut up as 
 sure as death," said Jakin. 
 "I'll die game, then," said Lew. 
 
 6. Rewrite each of the following sentences in interrogative, impera- 
 
 tive, or exclamatory form. Explain what is gained by the 
 revision : — 
 
 (1) We are all willing to have one hundred per cent. 
 
 (2) It is poiu-ing rain. 
 
 (3) Life is not so dear, peace is not so sweet, as to be purchased 
 
 at the price of slavery. 
 
 (4) He told him to stop and asked who went there. 
 
 (5) I do not fear death. 
 
 (6) There is no one here so base that would be a bondman; 
 
 there is no one here so rude that would not be a Roman ; 
 there is no one here so vile that would not love his 
 country. 
 
 (7) We wish our daily bread this day. 
 
 (8) He said that we are not to judge that we be not judged. 
 
 (9) He asked what they were going to do about it and whether 
 
 he should prepare for the worst. 
 (10) He shouted to them that they must run for their lives. 
 
 7. Make the following sentences more emphatic by changing the 
 
 order of phrases or clauses, or by placing the principal idea 
 in the principal clause : — 
 
 (1) Birds are of practical interest to man in several ways. 
 
 (2) There were noise and tumult everywhere. 
 
 (3) Commencement is a great occasion in the hfe of every boy 
 
 and girl. 
 
 (4) Giving myself up to the police, I hoped for pardon. 
 
 (5) He came in exhausted when the race was done. 
 
 (6) It is dangerous to allow your car to stand in the middle of 
 
 the street. 
 
 (7) Every boy and girl should cultivate at least one hobby. 
 
 (8) The world would have far more healthy boys and girls if 
 
 the rules for muscular activity were more often applied 
 both in work and in play. 
 
 (9) I do not know what in the world made him do it. 
 
 (10) We retraced our steps to the house when it began to rain. 
 
248 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 8. Convert each of the following sentences into the balanced or the 
 periodic form and explain what is gained thereby : — 
 
 (1) Our feet are held to this planet on which we live, by nature's 
 
 laws, but there is no law to prevent our eyes and our 
 thoughts from looking and soaring up and away. 
 
 (2) The astronomers tell us that some day the sun must burn 
 
 itself out, but that will not be until you and I have 
 passed beyond the need of its warmth and Ught, so we 
 will not borrow trouble about so dire an event. 
 
 (3) As to the real size of the sun, we are told that if one hun- 
 
 dred and nine earths were laid side by side, they would 
 just reach across the face of the sun ; or if you place a 
 football and a bird-shot side by side, you will have some 
 idea of the comparative sizes of the earth and the sun. 
 
 (4) The telescope has given us a very good idea of the surface of 
 
 one side of the moon, but of the other side we know ab- 
 solutely nothing. 
 
 (5) As there are only six planets which can be seen with the 
 
 naked eye, and those at certain times of the year only, 
 while there are thousands of stars in the sky, you will 
 see that it is not easy to find the planets unless you know 
 where to look for them. 
 
 (6) We speak of things going up when they move toward the 
 
 sky, but as this immense space surrounds the earth on all 
 sides there is in reality no up, it is properly speaking out 
 and away from the earth. 
 
 (7) Venus is the most provoking of planets, because when she is 
 
 nearest to us she turns her dark side to us, just as a rude 
 boy or girl would turn the back on some one disliked. 
 
 (8) Lord Kelvin shows that if the earth were a fluid sur- 
 
 rounded by a crust, the action of the moon would not 
 cause tides in the ocean, but would merely tend to stretch 
 out the entire earth in the direction of the moon, leaving the 
 relative positions of the crust and the water unchanged. 
 
 (9) Our earth is favored in many ways beyond any known 
 
 planet, but perhaps nothing is more remarkable than our 
 atmosphere, which surrounds the earth like a grea,t trans- 
 • parent rim, reaching out to a distance variously estimated 
 
 from forty-five miles to more than two hundred miles. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 249 
 
 (10) This atmosphere, which is a sort of gas, presses upon every 
 part of the earth's surface, and the pressure upon a hu- 
 man body of average size is fourteen tons, but as it 
 presses equally upon all parts of the body, it causes no 
 inconvenience. 
 
 9. Select from the speech or writing of teachers and classmates, 
 examples of emphatic sentences. Point out in each the quah- 
 ties that produce emphasis. Tell whether it is due to repeti- 
 tion, to variety, to position, or to all three. 
 
 LESSON THIRTY SEVEN 
 Argument 
 
 When you attempt to persuade others that a certain 
 statement or proposition is true or false, you use a form of 
 composition called argument. You may succeed by means 
 of reasoning or explanation or a story or a word picture, 
 or a combination of some or all of them. Anything that 
 will convince your opponents that you are right is good in 
 argument. 
 
 Argument is one of the most common as well as one of 
 the most important forms of composition. If you disagree 
 with your classmates about the merits of a team or about 
 the method of working an example, an argument probably 
 ensues. If you pick up a newspaper or look at a bulletin 
 board, you see an argument for bu3dng this or that. An 
 advertisement is an argument in favor of the merits of 
 something that is for sale. When the salesman in a store 
 tries to persuade you to buy a certain article he makes use 
 of argument. Lawyers in the courtroom argue cases before 
 judge and jury to see which of two litigants is in the right. 
 In Congress, legislators argue the merits and demerits of 
 proposed reforms before laws are made. So you see 
 
250 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 that argument may be a very simple form of composition 
 or a very complex one, — simple, when a boy tries to show 
 his mother that he should be allowed to go to the circus ; 
 complex, when ambassadors from many countries gather 
 around a table to settle disputes among nations. 
 
 Pupils have a way sometimes of answering questions 
 briefly, with yes or no merely. And then teachers have a 
 way of saying, '' Reasons, please." They desire that pupils 
 should prove what they know or beheve. Mere statement 
 of facts is not argument. Mere assertion never convinces. 
 Because is not a reason. In order to argue, you must back 
 up your opinions with facts, with reasoning, with anything 
 that will serve to convince. In order to argue well, you 
 must make your writing as emphatic as possible, and you 
 must plan your speech and your writing so as to proceed 
 clearly to the final point that carries conviction with it. 
 There will be more about this principle later, page 259. 
 
 Finally, do not lose your temper when you are arguing. 
 To be caustic or discourteous in an argument usually means 
 failure. Attack the argument, not the man who argues 
 against you. You cannot reason when you are angry, and 
 your case will seem to be weak even if it is not. To keep 
 your mind cool by self-control is half the battle in argument. 
 
 Read the following brief arguments, make plans of them, 
 and notice how the assertions contained in them are backed 
 up by reasons : — 
 
 The frequent use of cigars or cigarettes by the young seriously 
 affects the quality of the blood. The red blood corpuscles are not 
 fully developed and charged with their normal supply of life-gi\ing 
 oxygen. This causes paleness of the skin, often noticed in the face 
 of the young smoker. Palpitation of the heart is also a common 
 result, followed by permanent weakness, so that the whole system 
 is enfeebled, and mental vigor is impaired as well as physical 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 251 
 
 strength. Observant teachers can usually tell which of the boys 
 under their care are addicted to smoking, simply by the compara- 
 tive inferiority of their appearance, and by their intellectual and 
 bodily indolence and feebleness. After full maturity is attained 
 the evil effects of commencing the use of tobacco are less apparent ; 
 but competent physicians assert that it cannot be safely used by 
 persons under the age of forty .^ 
 
 Suppose it were perfectly certain that the life and fortune of 
 every one of us would, one day or other, depend upon his winning 
 or losing a game of chess. Don't you think that we should all 
 consider it to be a primary duty to learn at least the names and 
 the moves of the pieces ; to have a notion of a gambit, and a keen 
 eye for all the means of giving and getting out of check? Do you 
 not think that we should look with a disapprobation amoimting 
 to scorn, upon the father who allowed his son, or the state which 
 allowed its members, to grow up without knowing a pawn from a 
 knight? 
 
 Yet it is very plain and elementaiy truth, that the Hfe, the for- 
 tune, and the happiness of every one of us, and, more or less, of 
 those who are connected with us, do depend upon our knowing 
 something of the rules of a game infinitely more difficult and com- 
 pKcated than chess. It is a game which has been played for untold 
 ages, every man and woman of us being one of the two players in 
 a game of his or her own. The chessboard is the world, the pieces 
 are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game are what 
 we call the laws of nature. The player on the other side is hidden 
 from us. We know that his play is always fair, just, and patient. 
 But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, 
 or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance. To the man who 
 plays well, the highest stakes are paid, with that sort of overflowing 
 generosity with which the strong shows dehght in strength. And 
 one who plays ill is checkmated — without haste, but without 
 remorse. 
 
 My metaphor will remind some of you of the famous picture in 
 
 1 From Macy and Norris's Physiology for High Schools. Copyright by 
 M. L. Macy. American Book Company, Publishers. 
 
252 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 which Retzsch has depicted Satan playing at chess with man for 
 his soul. Substitute for that mocking fiend in that picture a calm, 
 strong angel who is playing for love, as we say, and would rather 
 lose than win — and I should accept it as an image of human hfe. 
 Well, what I mean by education is learning the rules of this 
 mighty game. In other words, education is the instruction of the 
 intellect in the laws of nature, under which name I include not 
 merely things and their forces, but men and their ways ; and the 
 fashioning of the affections and of the will into an earnest and 
 loving desire to move in harmony with those laws. For me, edu- 
 cation means neither more nor less than this. Anything which 
 professes to call itself education must be tried by this standard, 
 and if it fails to stand the test, I will not call it education, whatever 
 may be the force of authority, or of numbers, upon the other side. 
 — From Thomas Henry Huxley's A Liberal Education and Where to 
 Find It. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Answer some of the following questions briefly. State reasons 
 for each answer given and reply to questions and disagree- 
 ments as politely as you can : — 
 
 (1) Do you think it is right for you to stand up for another 
 
 when you know he is wrong ? 
 
 (2) Do you think it is right that a boy should tell on another 
 
 in order to save himself? 
 
 (3) Do you think your whole class should be kept in until that 
 
 member of it who broke a window at recess confesses? 
 
 (4) Do you think it is right for you to keep quiet when you 
 
 see two of your classmates cheating in examinations? 
 
 (5) Do you think it is right to ride on a car without paying 
 
 your fare, just because the conductor overlooks you? 
 
 (6) Tom and Bill watch for the policeman while Harry takes 
 
 some apples from a fruit stand. When they are caught, 
 is it right to punish Harry and let Tom and Bill go? 
 
 (7) Three boys are in disorder. Jim and Sam begin it. 
 
 Bobby simply looks on and enjoys it. But when the 
 teacher enters Bobby is the one she catches and pun- 
 ishes. What would you do if you were in Bobby's place ? 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 253 
 
 (8) Just before the school speaking contest begins, the principal 
 
 announces that one contestant has been ill and has con- 
 sequently not been able to prepare as thoroughly as he 
 should have. Is this fair, do you think? 
 
 (9) Is it fair, in a fight of any sort, for one to combat another 
 
 with dissimilar weapons ; that is, is it fair for one boy to 
 use fists and his opponent sticks or stones? Is it fair 
 for one man to use a sword and another to use a pistol ? 
 (10) Discuss with your classmates the fairness or the unfairness 
 of some situation in literature : — 
 
 Was Brutus justified in joining the conspiracy? 
 
 Was Rustum justified in nursing his pride ? 
 
 Was Portia justified in appearing against Shylock? 
 
 2. Write three or four paragraphs setting forth your ideas on one 
 
 of the following : — ^ 
 
 School should be open the year round. 
 There should be no rule against tardiness. 
 Commencement exercises are a waste of time and money. 
 Boys and girls should be privileged to take part in athletics 
 
 regardless of their marks. 
 Report cards should be issued every week. 
 School clubs are a waste of time and should be discontinued. 
 
 3. Write the argumentative conversation suggested by one of the 
 
 following : — 
 Mary and AHce are discussing Elizabeth's new dress. 
 Bill and Joe are discussing Howard's marks. 
 Your father and mother are discussing your monthly report 
 
 card. 
 Jean^nd Ann are discussing their English teacher. 
 Dave and Jack are discussing Ted's fumble of the ball and the 
 
 consequent loss of the game. 
 
 4. A good story is oftentimes the most convincing sort of argu- 
 
 ment. Tell a little argumentative story suggested by one of 
 
 the following : — 
 He stole food because he was hungry. 
 She lied to save her child. 
 Demanding higher wages, they mobbed the offices of the 
 
 company. 
 
254 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 5. A good word picture may be made a most convincing sort of 
 
 argument. Suppose each one of the following words to be a 
 description of a person. Enlarge one of the word pictures 
 and make it an argument for help : — 
 crippled cold alone bewildered hungry 
 
 nervous old lost shunned penniless 
 
 6. A complete and accurate statement of all the facts in a case is 
 
 frequently sufficient to win an argument. Imagine that an argu- 
 ment takes place regarding one of the following. State all the 
 facts connected with it and thereby prove your position : — 
 
 Bob's failure was not due to lack of study. 
 Mary's fall from the car was not her fault. 
 The accident was not the result of my carelessness. 
 Brown was not to blame for the runaway. 
 Thompson was not responsible for the fire. 
 
 7. Mrs. English, Mrs. Arithmetic, Miss Geography, Mr. Spelling, 
 
 Mr. History, Mr. Athletics, and other persons of prominence 
 representing still other school subjects, are discussing their 
 relative value to pupils. Each one states his particular 
 merits fully and forcefully. Reproduce the argument each 
 one gives to show his superiority over the others. Compare 
 the arguments with one another and vote for the strongest. 
 
 8. You cannot present one side of an argument fully unless you 
 
 are familiar with the arguments to be presented on the other 
 side. You must know all sides of a case before you can be 
 fair in deciding upon its merits. Make a Ust of all that you 
 can say on both sides of one of the following topics. Arrange 
 the points in your list so that the more important ones 
 come last. (The abbreviation vs. stands for versus, meaning 
 contrary to or against) : — 
 
 Examinations. Spending vs. saving. 
 
 Being kept in. Athletics. 
 
 Home study. Dogs in the house. 
 
 Raising hands. Reading. 
 
 Tardiness. Relations vs. friends. 
 
 Country vs. city. Home vs. schools. 
 
 Baseball vs. football. Marks vs. knowledge. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 255 
 
 9. Answer the following questions in regard to school clubs. Give 
 
 definite reasons for each answer. Arrange your reasons in 
 
 order of importance : — 
 Do school clubs waste pupils' time? 
 Are they more valuable than class work? 
 Has club work ever done much for boys and girls whom you 
 
 know? 
 Should time be taken out of school for club work? 
 Is club work more interesting than class work ? 
 Does every student get as great an opportunity for individual 
 
 development in club work as in class work? 
 
 10. Write a brief advertisement for your school in which you state 
 
 reasons why pupils have better opportunity for progress there 
 than in other schools. 
 
 11. Write an advertisement in which you state reasons why the 
 
 pupils of your school should attend one game rather than 
 another that is held on the same day. 
 
 12. The following letter was written by Lincoln to his stepbrother, 
 
 John D. Johnston. Make a list of the points in Lincoln's 
 argument against the loan. Write a letter such as Johnston 
 might have written to Lincoln, for the loan : — 
 
 January 2, 1851. 
 Dear Johnston: Your request for eighty dollars I do not 
 think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I 
 have helped you a httle you have said to me, "We can get along 
 very well now" ; but in a very short time I find you in the same 
 difficulty again. Now, this can only happen by some defect in your 
 conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not lazy, 
 and «till you are an idler. I doubt whether, since I saw you, you 
 have done a good whole day's work in any one day. You do not 
 very much dislike to work, and still you do not work much, merely 
 because it does not seem to you that you could get much for it. 
 This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole difficulty; it is 
 vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you 
 should break the habit. It is more important to them, because 
 they have longer to live, and can keep out of an idle habit before 
 they are in it, easier than they can get out after they are in. 
 
256 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 You are now in need of some money; and what I propose is, 
 that you shall go to work, "tooth and nail," for somebody who will 
 give you money for it. Let father and your boys take charge of 
 your things at home, prepare for a crop, and make a crop, and you 
 go to work for the best money wages, or in discharge of any debt 
 you owe, that you can get ; and, to secure you a fair reward for your 
 labor, I now promise you, that for every dollar you will, between 
 this and the first of May, get for your own labor, either in money or 
 as your own indebtedness, I will then give you one other dollar. 
 By this, if you hire yourself at ten dollars a month, from me you 
 will get ten more, making twenty dollars a month for your work. 
 In this I do not mean you shall go off to St. Louis, or the lead mines, 
 or the gold mines in CaUf ornia, but I mean for you to go at it for the 
 best wages you can get close to home in Coles County. Now, if 
 you will do this, you will be soon out of debt, and, what is better, 
 you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. 
 But, if I should now clear you out of debt, next year you would be 
 just as deep in as ever. You say you would almost give your place 
 in heaven for seventy or eighty dollars. Then you value your place 
 in heaven very cheap, for I am sure you can, with the offer I make, 
 get the seventy or eighty dollars for four or five months' work. 
 You say if I will furnish you the money you will deed me the land, 
 and, if you don't pay the money back, you will deliver possession. 
 Nonsense I If you can't now live with the land, how will you then 
 live without it? You have always been kind to me, and I do not 
 mean to be unkind to you. On the contrary, if you will but follow 
 my advice, you will find it worth more than eighty times eighty 
 dollars to you. 
 
 Affectionately your brother, 
 
 A. Lincoln. 
 
 LESSON THIRTY EIGHT 
 
 Planning an Argument 
 
 An argument that is formal, that is conducted in strict 
 order by chosen sides, is called a debate. Argumentative 
 discussion is free and easy and conversational. Formal 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 257 
 
 debate is regulated by certain rules and is more like military 
 action. There are two sides to a debate : those on the 
 affirmative side argue in favor of the question as stated. 
 Those on the negative side argue against the question as 
 stated. The head of each side is called the captain. He 
 directs and apportions the work of his team, which may 
 consist of two, or more. 
 
 The question in debate is written as a statement or proposi- 
 tion. It is usually stated with the word Resolved before it, 
 and begins with the word That, written with a capital, — 
 
 Resolved : That the school day should be lengthened. 
 If this were a question for debate, the affirmative side would 
 argue for the lengthening of the school day. The negative 
 side would insert not in the question, so that it would read 
 as follows : — 
 
 Resolved : That the school day should not be lengthened. 
 
 The negative debaters would therefore argue, against the 
 lengthening of the school day. 
 
 Propositions for debate must, of course, be clearly stated, 
 otherwise misunderstandings will be created that no end 
 of argument can remedy. Moreover, a proposition for 
 debate must be about equally arguable on both sides. A 
 one-sided question is unfair. There are certain questions 
 that cannot be argued at all and it is foolish, therefore, to 
 waste time considering them. 
 
 The following question is not clear : — 
 Resolved: That the study of manual training is good. 
 It is vague and indefinite, — *Hhe study of manual train- 
 ing" where? In elementary school? In high school? In 
 college ? " Good ' ' — for what ? 
 
 The following question is one-sided : — 
 
 Resolved : That every boy of fifteen should be in school, 
 s 
 
258 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 There are many reasons to be given for the affirmative of 
 this proposition. There are few, if any, to be given for the 
 negative. 
 
 The following questions are not arguable at all. They 
 are accepted as facts : — 
 
 Resolved : That respect should be paid to age. 
 Resolved : That food is a necessity of life. 
 
 The captain and all the members of the debating teams 
 must of course have a definite plan in presenting their 
 material. Their first task is to get thoroughly acquainted 
 with the question. They must know why it is important, 
 how it arises, what every word in it means, what considera- 
 tions come under it, what considerations do not belong to 
 it at all. This last is very important. It is sometimes 
 called *' boiling down the question" or "weeding out the 
 question." No good debater is willing to spend his time 
 on arguing points that do not belong to the question. He 
 insists upon narrowing it down to its proper scope. 
 
 After the members of a debating team have studied their 
 question so well that they know not only everything that 
 may be said on their side of it, but also everything that may 
 be said on the opposite side of it, they are ready to plan 
 their chief arguments. They will not write them out solidly 
 but will plan them in great detail. The speakers use their 
 plans as guides but they do not memorize their speeches. 
 
 The captain and his aides will decide what must be proved 
 in order to win the debate, which of their points are strongest, 
 which points will make the greatest appeal to their audience, 
 which arguments of their opponents need to be particularly 
 guarded against, which points are best to leave in the minds 
 of the auditors at the close of the debate, and how their 
 arguments shall be arranged. All along the line they will 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 259 
 
 insert word pictures or little stories or important facts that 
 bear directly upon the proposition. 
 The plan, then, will. stand somewhat as follows : — 
 
 I. Explanation of the proposition. 
 
 Why it is important, how it arises, what it means, what it 
 does not mean, into what divisions does it fall? 
 * II. Presentation of arguments. 
 
 Statement of all the facts that bear upon the proposition. 
 
 A good story or a telling word picture that will win the at- 
 tention of the audience at once. 
 
 A complete disarming of opponents by stating what they 
 may say in opposition, and then refuting it. 
 
 Statements from prominent people who are on your side. 
 
 Quotations from books that bear out your arguments. 
 
 Experiences of your own or others that prove your side of 
 the proposition. 
 III. Summary of the principal pomts you have offered, and a 
 brief statement of the things your opponents have failed 
 to prove. 
 
 Arguments are settled and facts estabUshed by drawing 
 conclusions from a certain course of reasoning. Therefore 
 every assertion made must be based on facts and proved by 
 your reasoning; and furthermore, this reasoning must be 
 sound. If arguments are sound, then conclusions are safe. 
 If they are not sound, conclusions will be unsafe or absurd, 
 or both.* 
 
 A false argument is called a fallacy. As a rule it cannot 
 be disguised. Sometimes, however, a fallacy can be made 
 to seem so like the truth that it is accepted as such. Sup- 
 pose we state an argument briefly in three parts, thus, — 
 
 (1) Everybody should take exercise. 
 
 (2) Football is an exercise. 
 
 (3) Therefore, everybody should play football. 
 
260 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 This may be used, perhaps, in an effort to persuade a large 
 number of pupils to become candidates for the team. But 
 it is a false argument. Premise (1) is sound. Premise (2) 
 is sound. The fallacy exists in the concluding proposition. 
 It does not follow that everybody should play football 
 simply because everybody should exercise and football is 
 an exercise. There are many other kinds of exercise omitted 
 entirely from the argument. Football is only one. 
 
 And again there may be weaknesses in other forms of 
 argument that you will often use. If you trust to the state- 
 ment of some prominent person to prove your point, you 
 must be sure that he is really an authority on the subject, 
 and that he is not prejudiced in your favor. Otherwise his 
 testimony will be unreliable. If you try to prove, say, that 
 bad ventilation leads to restlessness in the schoolroom, you 
 must be sure that there is no other possible cause for this 
 effect. If there is, your argument is fallacious. If you try 
 to prove that John will be able to succeed in business be- 
 cause he was a good captain of the football team, your 
 comparison, and therefore your argument, may be again 
 fallacious. The conditions of business life are very different 
 from those that John encountered on the football field. 
 After you have made a complete plan for your argument 
 it is well to test each part of its reasoning for unreliable 
 testimony, and for fallacies in the premises, in cause and 
 effect, or in comparison. If you do not, your opponents will, 
 later, do it for you. 
 
 Finally, you must not forget that each and every debate 
 has conditions peculiar to itself that must be respected. 
 The occasion of the debate and the kind of proposition 
 must decide finally just what line of development your argu- 
 ments shall take. A vivid word picture may be necessary 
 for a certain proposition. A good, appropriate story may 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 261 
 
 do more with a certain type of audience than any amount 
 of reasoning. And again, the emphatic and dehberate 
 presentation and explanation of facts may be the only 
 winning cards you can play. Whatever may be the char- 
 acter of the debate, the plan on page 259 holds good in two 
 important respects, — the question must be explained at 
 the outset and the arguments of opponents must be met. 
 
 Refutation or rebuttal is the name given to meeting the 
 arguments of an opponent and upsetting or offsetting them. 
 Rebuttal should be made, indirectly, all along the line of 
 presentation, as indicated in the above plan. If you know 
 both sides of the question, you will be able to anticipate 
 all opposing arguments. But it is customary to assign to 
 a speaker on each side of the debate a few minutes at the 
 close to refute directly the arguments of his opponents. 
 This needs to be done in brief and concise fashion for the 
 time is very hmited and the last impression made upon an 
 audience is a valuable one. The refutation should, — 
 
 (1) Answer your opponents' questions. 
 
 (2) State your opponents' weakness in the debate. 
 
 (3) Summarize the strongest arguments you have made. 
 Here again, however, much depends upon the demands 
 
 of the occasion and the type of proposition debated. 
 
 There are a few cautions or suggestions that it is well to 
 bear in mind in connection with planning a debate, — 
 
 (1) Do not deal with all the arguments presented by an oppo- 
 nent. Take one or two salient ones and hit them hard. All of his 
 arguments are not equally important and it is therefore a waste 
 of time to try to refute them all. 
 
 (2) Do not overburden an audience with figures and authorities. 
 These are valuable assets in a debate and should be used. But 
 sometimes a little story or a clear-cut word picture will do much more 
 for a debate than laborious quotations. 
 
262 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (3) Do not be afraid of making admissions. If your opponent 
 has a good point, admit it freely. Then follow it up with a better 
 one on your side. 
 
 (4) Do not dodge questions asked by your opponent and do not 
 dodge points on your side of the argument that may seem weak. 
 Always take a weak point and try to turn it into a strong one. 
 
 (5) Do not fail in debating to be earnest and dignified and 
 courteous and square. 
 
 Now all this may seem to be a good deal to keep in mind 
 in connection with planning for debate. But after all, it is 
 only the natural order of thinking and speaking that is 
 required of you. A little practice will develop a natural 
 tendency to argue clearly and soundly almost without 
 being aware of it. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Explain what is wrong with each of the following arguments : — 
 
 (1) Horses are animals with four feet. Men are animals; 
 
 hence, men have four feet. 
 
 (2) Tom Ferguson, a boy in om* school, was killed in a foot- 
 
 ball game ; therefore, boys should not be allowed to 
 play football. 
 
 (3) Andrew Carnegie was a poor boy but he made millions 
 
 of dollars. I am a poor boy and shall therefore make 
 millions of dollars. 
 
 (4) When I asked John where he was going he said, "To the 
 
 store." A httle later I met him going in the opposite 
 direction ; therefore, he intended to deceive me. 
 •(5) It always snows on Washington's Birthday. Tomorrow 
 is Washington's Birthday; therefore, it will snow 
 tomorrow. 
 
 (6) It is the lightning that makes the air cool after a thunder 
 
 storm. 
 
 (7) The elephant has a trunk. I have a trunk ; therefore, I 
 
 am an elephant. 
 
 (8) The price of milk is too low. The milkman told me so. 
 
 (9) The doctor is at home. I see his overcoat on the hook. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 263 
 
 (10) The Eskimos eat raw fat in cold weather ; and so should 
 we. 
 
 2. The following questions are not good ones as they stand. Exam- 
 
 ine each one briefly and tell why it is not a good proposi- 
 tion for debate. Then restate it so that it becomes a good 
 question : — 
 
 (1) Air is necessary for life. 
 
 (2)' Going to the movies too much is a waste of time. 
 
 (3) The wanton killing of birds is wrong. 
 
 (4) Everybody should go to church on Sunday. 
 
 (5) Biting the nails is a bad habit. 
 
 (6) Too much time should not be spent in swimming. 
 
 (7) Good books should be supplied by every library. 
 
 (8) Much money is wasted in the world. 
 
 3. Plan an argument for either the affirmative or the negative of 
 
 one of the following propositions : — 
 
 Resolved : That tennis is better exercise than baseball. 
 
 Resolved : That girls are more studious than boys. 
 
 Resolved : That girls and boys should attend separate schools. 
 
 Resolved: That school buildings should be but one story in 
 height. 
 
 Resolved : That men are more influential for good than women. 
 
 Resolved : That it is better to be born poor than to be born 
 rich. 
 
 Resolved : That seeing a good play does one more good than 
 reading a good story. 
 
 Resolved : That contests between school teams foster rowdy- 
 ism. 
 
 Resolved : That dogs and horses can reason. 
 
 Resolved : That every boy in this country should receive in- 
 struction in military tactics. 
 
 4. Use one of the following sentences as the topic of a paragraph. 
 
 Follow it up with sentences that emphasize the idea con- 
 tained in it : — 
 
 (1) Every school should publish a weekly or a monthly paper. 
 
 (2) Street cars should not be permitted to carry more passen- 
 
 gers than can be seated. 
 
 (3) Pupils should be notified of their class standing in each 
 
 subject at the end of every week. 
 
264 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (4) Libraries should be required to have copies of textbooks that 
 
 are used in the schools in their vicinity. 
 
 (5) Girls should not be asked to contribute to the support of 
 
 athletics in which they take no part. 
 
 5. Plan the argument for each side of one of the following cases. 
 
 Imagine yourself a lawyer. Remember that the jury is 
 going to decide the case on the basis of the arguments pre- 
 sented and that the judge is going to render verdict accord- 
 ingly : — 
 
 (1) Brown fell and broke his leg on the icy pavement in front 
 
 of Green's house. He sued Green for damages. Green 
 resisted because he was away at the time the accident 
 occurred and his house was closed. 
 
 (2) Brown's horse, frightened by Green's automobile, dashed 
 
 into Green's garden, broke down the fence, and did 
 much damage to the vegetables. Green demands 
 damages. But Brown enters counter-suit for damage 
 to his carriage and to himself. 
 
 (3) Brown advertised a horse, sound and all right, for sale. 
 
 Green bought the horse. Two weeks after purchase 
 the horse died suddenly, not having been sick a day. 
 Green sued. Brown resisted. 
 
 (4) Brown's boy was caught in Green's cellar, stealing apples. 
 
 He got away, however, and ran home. Green ran after 
 him and threw a stone at him. The stone hit Brown, 
 the boy's father, who sued Green for damages. Green 
 resisted. 
 
 (5) Brown left the street door of his cellar open and Green fell 
 
 into the cellar. Green sued Brown for criminal neglect. 
 Brown resisted, however, saying that the cellar door had 
 been left open by the owner of the building who was 
 having coal stored in the cellar. 
 
 6. Select two members of your class ta act as captains on affirma- 
 
 tive and negative sides respectively of a debate on, — 
 Resolved: That every pupil in the last year of elementary 
 school and first year of high school should be re- 
 quired to study a foreign language. 
 Suppose each captain is to have two assistants. Have the 
 arguments on each side stated, and assigned. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 265 
 
 7. Defend by means of argumentative plans some preference, 
 
 such as, — 
 My reasons for liking Scott better than Shakespeare. 
 My reasons for liking Jim better than John. 
 My reasons for preferring swimming to rowing. 
 My reasons for preferring travel by land to travel by sea. 
 My reasons for advocating a shorter rather than a longer school 
 
 day. 
 
 8. Study some event in history or some problem in arithmetic and 
 
 draw up a plan for the argument contained in it. 
 
 9. List all the arguments for and against the following. Then 
 
 make plans for the rebuttal on both sides : — 
 Mother should vote if Father does. 
 The navy is more important than the army. 
 The horse is a more valuable animal than the cow. 
 Automobile traffic should be confined to certain streets. 
 The only way to become a debater is by membership in a club. 
 
 10. Write two paragraphs on one of the following. In the first 
 
 state the advantages and in the second the disadvantages of 
 
 the proposition selected : — 
 Every school should have a library. 
 All lessons assigned for the morrow should be prepared in 
 
 school today. 
 School should be in session from eight until two, instead of from 
 
 nine until three. 
 Newspapers should not carry advertisements. 
 Monday would be a better school holiday than Saturday. 
 
 LESSON THIRTY NINE 
 Poetry That Argues 
 
 The poems in this lesson may be used as an interesting 
 review of the principles of argument. 
 
 Study the two poems below. State the formal proposition 
 for each poetic argument. Make a plan of the argument in 
 each. Make a plan for the other side of each question. 
 
266 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Owl Against Robin ^ 
 
 (By Sidney Lanier) 
 
 Frowning, the owl in the oak complained him 
 Sore, that the song of the robin restrained him 
 Wrongly of slumber, rudely of rest. 
 
 ''From the north, from the east, from the. south and the west, 
 Woodland, wheat-field, corn-field, clover, 
 Over and over and over and over, 
 Five o'clock, ten o'clock, twelve, or seven. 
 Nothing but robin-songs heard under heaven : 
 How can we sleep? 
 
 Peey ! you whistle, and cheep ! cheep ! cheep ! 
 Oh, peep, if you will, and buy, if 'tis cheap. 
 And have done ; for an owl must sleep. 
 Are ye singing for fame, and who shall be first? 
 Each day's the same, yet the last is worst. 
 And the summer is cursed with the silly outburst 
 Of idiot red-breasts peeping and cheeping 
 By day, when all honest birds ought to be sleeping. 
 Lord, what a din ! And so out of all reason. 
 Have ye not heard that each thing hath its season ? 
 Night is to work in, night is for play-time ; 
 Good heavens, not day-time ! 
 * Used by permission of Charles Scribner's Sons. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 267 
 
 A vulgar flaunt is the flaring day, 
 
 The impudent, hot, unsparing day. 
 
 That leaves not a stain nor a secret untold, — 
 
 Day the reporter, — the gossip of old, — 
 
 Deformity's tease, — man's common scold — 
 
 Poh ! Shut the eyes, let the sense go numb 
 
 When day down the eastern way has come. 
 
 'Tis clear as the moon (by the argument drawn 
 
 From Design) that the world should retire at dawn. 
 
 Day kills. The leaf and the laborer breathe 
 
 Death in the sun, the cities seethe, 
 
 The mortal black marshes bubble with heat 
 
 And puff up pestilence ; nothing is sweet 
 
 Has to do with the sun : even virtue will taint 
 
 (Philosophers say) and manhood grow faint 
 
 In the lands where the villainous sun has sway 
 
 Through the livelong drag of the dreadful day. 
 
 What Eden but noon-light stares it tame. 
 
 Shadowless, brazen, forsaken of shame ? 
 
 For the sun tells lies on the landscape, — now 
 
 Reports me the what, unrelieved with the how, — 
 
 As messengers lie, with the facts alone, 
 
 Delivering the word and withholding the tone. 
 
 But oh, the sweetness, and oh, the light 
 
 Of the high-fastidious night ! 
 
 Oh, to awake with the wise old stars — 
 
 The cultured, the careful, the Chesterfield stars, 
 
 That wink at the work-a-day fact of crime 
 
 And shine so rich through the ruins of time 
 
 That Baalbec is finer than London ; oh, 
 
 To sit on the bough that zigzags low 
 
 By the woodland pool. 
 And loudly laugh at man, the fool 
 That vows to the vulgar sun ; oh, rare, 
 To wheel from the wood to the window where 
 
268 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 A day-worn sleeper is dreaming of care, 
 And perch on the sill and straightly stare 
 Through his visions ; rare, to sail 
 Aslant with the hill and a-curve with the vale, 
 To flit down the shadow-shot-with-gleam. 
 Betwixt hanging leaves and starlit stream, 
 Hither, thither, to and fro. 
 Silent, aimless, dayless, slow 
 
 BUT OH, THE SWEETNESS, AND OH, THB LIGHT 
 OP THB HIGH-FASTIDIOUS NIGHT I " 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 269 
 
 (Aimless f Field-mice f True, they're slain, 
 But the night-philosophy hoots at pain, 
 Grips, eats quick, and drops the bones 
 In the water beneath the bough, nor moans 
 At the death life feeds on). Robin, pray 
 
 Come away, come away 
 To the cultus of night. Abandon the day. 
 Have more to think and have less to say. 
 And cannot you walk now? Bah ! don't hop ! 
 
 Stop! 
 Look at the owl, scarce seen, scarce heard, 
 O ii-ritant, iterant, maddening bird ! " 
 
 The Owl Critic 
 
 (By James T. Fields) 
 
 "Who stuffed that white owl?" No one spoke in the shop 
 The barber was busy, and he couldn't stop ; 
 The customers, waiting their turns, were all reading 
 The Daily, the Herald, the Post, little heeding 
 The young man who blurted out such a blunt question ; 
 Not one raised a head, or even made a suggestion ; 
 And the barber kept on shaving. 
 
 "Don't you see. Mister Brown," 
 
 Cried the youth with a frown, 
 
 "How wrong the whole thing is, 
 
 How preposterous each wing is. 
 
 How flattened the head is, how jammed down the neck is — 
 
 In short, the whole owl, what an ignorant wreck 'tis ! 
 
 "I make no apology; 
 
 I've learned owl-eology. 
 
 I've passed days and nights in a hundred collections, 
 
 And cannot be blinded to any deflections 
 
270 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Arising from unskilful fingers that fail 
 To stuff a bird right, from his beak to his tail. 
 Mister Brown ! Mister Brown ! 
 Do take that bird down, 
 
 Or you'll soon be the laughing-stock all over town ! " 
 And the barber kept on shaving. 
 
 *'I've studied owls 
 And other night fowls, 
 And I tell you 
 What I know to be true : 
 An owl cannot roost 
 With his limbs so unloosed ; 
 No owl in this world 
 Ever had his claws curled, 
 Ever had his legs slanted, 
 Ever had his bill canted. 
 Ever had his neck screwed 
 Into that attitude. 
 
 " He can't do it, because 
 'Tis against all bird-laws. 
 Anatomy teaches. 
 Ornithology preaches 
 An owl has a toe 
 That canH turn out so ! 
 I've made the white owl my study for years, 
 And to see such a job ahnost moves me to tears I 
 Mister Brown, I'm amazed 
 You should be so gone crazed 
 As to put up a bird 
 In that posture absurd ! 
 
 To look at that owl really brings on a dizziness ; 
 The man who stuffed him doesn't half know the business !" 
 And the barber kept on shaving. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 271 
 
 "Examine those eyes. 
 I'm filled with sm^prise 
 Taxidermists should pass 
 Off on you such poor glass ; 
 So unnatural they seem 
 They'd make Audubon scream, 
 And John Burroughs laugh 
 To encounter such chaff. 
 Do take that bird down ; 
 Have him stuffed again, Brown !" 
 And the barber kept on shaving. 
 
 "With some sawdust and bark 
 
 I could stuff in the dark 
 
 An owl better than that. 
 
 I could make an old hat 
 
 Look more like an owl 
 
 Than that horrid fowl. 
 
 Stuck up there so stiff like a side of coarse leather. 
 
 In fact, about him there's not one natural feather." 
 
 Just then, with a wink and a sly normal lurch. 
 The owl, very gravely, got down from his perch. 
 Walked round, and regarded his fault-finding critic 
 (Who thought he was stuffed) with a glance analytic, 
 And then fairly hooted, as if he would say : 
 "Your learning's at fault this time, anyway; 
 Don't waste it again on a five bird, I pray. 
 I'm an owl ; you're another. Sir Critic, good-day ! " 
 And the barber kept on shaving. 
 
 LESSON FORTY 
 
 Paragraphs That Convince 
 
 If your attempts to convince readers and hearers still 
 "hang fire" after the preceding lessons, the trouble is prob- 
 
272 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 ably to be found in your paragraphs. No matter how good 
 your outline, if your topics do not unroll neatly into good 
 paragraphs, you will neither write nor speak convincingly. 
 Paragraphs as well as sentences must be emphatic. 
 
 Now a paragraph that is clearly and logically developed 
 from a topic sentence, as explained on page 191, is usually 
 emphatic. Compare the two following paragraphs. The 
 first is emphatic, the second is not, because the first is clearly 
 and coherently developed from the topic sentence, while 
 the second is confused and disorderly in its arrangement of 
 sentences : — 
 
 A young man should not claim exemption from service to his 
 government unless the reasons are compelling. Children that will 
 starve without his support, a mother dependent upon him, a physical 
 weakness that will render him useless in the field, all these are reasons 
 for exemption. But without such excuses, he should offer to "do 
 his bit" and do it gladly. 
 
 Some men have children who must be fed. Others must work 
 for a dependent mother. With such reasons as these a man may 
 claim exemption from service to his government. Otherwise he 
 should "do his bit" and do it gladly. Physical weakness, which 
 would render him useless in the field, is also a cause for exemption. 
 
 Develop every topic in your speech or your letter, open it 
 outward like a fan, and you will be emphatic in your writ- 
 ing and therefore convincing. 
 
 There are, however, other lesser aids for making para- 
 graphs emphatic thdt may be studied briefly. 
 
 1. Position. The first and the last parts in a paragraph 
 are the emphatic places, just as they are in a sentence or in 
 a whole composition. But, as has been said above, if you 
 develop your topic sentence properly, the important ideas 
 will go almost automatically into the emphatic places. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 273 ^. 
 
 However, in paragraphs, as in sentences, an unusual para- 
 graph beginning or ending may be a forceful device. Any 
 departure from the ordinary that will get the reader's atten- 
 tion, any shock or challenge, may be employed with good 
 effect. Good literature abounds with paragraphs that open 
 or close with such arresting words and phrases as, — It 
 did not ! Bang ! Done for I The colonel winced. 
 
 2. Variety. The paragraphs in a long composition bear 
 very much the same relation to one another as sentences 
 do within a paragraph. It follows, therefore, that the rules 
 for variety among sentences in a paragraph may be applied 
 to paragraphs in a composition. Some should be long, some 
 short. They should not all be developed in one monotonous 
 fashion by putting the topic, for instance, in the first sen- 
 tence, and then expanding it. A series of such paragraphs, 
 all constructed exactly alike, would scarcely be emphatic. 
 See pages 190 to 193 for the different methods of paragraph 
 development that are at your command. 
 
 Read your paragraphs aloud after you have written them. 
 You may be able to develop an ear and a feeling for para- 
 graphs, just as you do for words and sentences. A very 
 good criticism was recently given in a classroom after the 
 members of a class had listened to one of their number 
 read a composition. When the teacher asked for comment 
 one pupil said, ''It doesn't sound 'paragraphy' enough.'^ 
 The new word he used was expressive, if not authorized. 
 With a little thoughtful study of paragraphing you will 
 soon find that the paragraphs in a composition sound very 
 much the same as the stanzas in a poem. They should 
 proceed with the same smoothness, and should indicate 
 definite and emphatic changes or partitions in the thought. 
 Do not be satisfied with your compositions until they sound 
 ''paragraphy." Others will not. 
 
274 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Examine the paragraphs in the extract on page 169 for empha- 
 
 sis by position, and for variety. 
 
 2. Write a convincing paragraph on one of the following topic 
 
 sentences. Use repetition : — 
 It would be a mistake to lengthen the school day. 
 Marks do not give a just estimate of a pupil's work. 
 Elementary schools and high schools should be housed in the 
 
 same buildings. 
 The movies do more harm than good. 
 
 3. Write three paragraphs, — the first in favor of your candidate 
 
 for the presidency of your club ; the third, against the rival 
 candidate ; the second, a brief transitional paragraph between 
 the two. 
 
 4. In a single paragraph contrast one of your friends with another. 
 
 Alternate the sentences, so that the first will tell about one 
 friend, the second about the other, and so forth. 
 
 5. In a single paragraph contrast one of your friends with another. 
 
 Let the first half of the paragraph deal with one friend, the 
 latter half with the other. 
 
 6. Write two paragraphs to prove that the decision in some con- 
 
 test was unfair. In the first one explain why it was unfair. 
 In the second express your indignation at the unfairness. 
 Perhaps these topics may be suggestive : — 
 
 Unfair Judges. Winning to Lose. 
 
 "Game" Losers. What's the Use! 
 
 7. Plan a composition of five or six paragraphs on one of the fol- 
 
 lowing topics. Indicate just what part of the subject each 
 paragraph is to deal with. Point out transitional paragraphs. 
 Write topic and summary sentences for each paragraph : — 
 
 Clubs — Good and Bad. Fighting for Marks. 
 
 Athletics — Good and Bad. Teachers — Fair and Unfair. 
 
 Records — in School and Out. Wasted Saturdays. 
 
 Betting is Wrong. Arithmetic vs. English. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 275 
 
 8. Study the means of securing emphasis employed in the follow- 
 
 ing paragraphs : — 
 
 If one person should say to another that he acted or carried on 
 like a goat, he might be guilty of a discourtesy ; to say he is "capri- 
 cious" sounds a little more genteel. It means the same, though 
 it is neither as forcible nor as figurative a term. It is not so much 
 a faded metaphor as a condensed one. The word comes from the 
 Italian capriccio, "the skipping movements of a goat" ; it in turn 
 comes from the Latin caper, a "he-goat." And so capricious means 
 goat-hke, to act Uke a goat, to be unsteady, fickle, changeable, apt 
 to change one's opinions suddenly. Whoever has seen a goat 
 feeding on some vacant lot can readily see the similarity between 
 the actions of a goat and a capricious person ; the goat will take a 
 nibble of grass at this place and suddenly jump to another place 
 for another nibble ; a capricious person will change his opinions 
 just as suddenly and as arbitrarily. There is no telling what either 
 will do the next moment. — E. Schultz Gerhard in American Educa- 
 tion. 
 
 Just as many of the terms designating the different kinds of ani- 
 mals whether wild or domesticated, are indicative of the place from 
 which they come, so many of the words designating the countless 
 varieties of dress goods and fabrics take their origin from the place 
 where they were first manufactured. There is wiapped up in them 
 a great deal of the history of the textile industry of the world. The 
 commonest names of dress goods have an ancient and interesting 
 history back of them. "CaUco" receives its name from Calicut 
 (Calcutta, according to French) ; "muslin" is named after Moussul, 
 a city in Turkey ; "madras" comes from Madras in India ; "cash- 
 mere" is from Kashmir, a state north of India ; and "lawn" is from 
 Laon, a town near Rheims. "Cambric," another cloth as important 
 as common, was first made in Cambray, France. "Lisle," whether 
 thread or hose made of Hsle silk, came first from the city of Lisle 
 in French Flanders ; and "worsted" is so called because it was first 
 manufactured in Worsted, England. — Ibid. 
 
 9. The class debate was interrupted by the luncheon beU. Alice 
 
 had by no means finished speaking. She would rather " have 
 her say " than her luncheon. So here she is, standing on a 
 soap box in the school yard, finishing her argument. Write 
 
276 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 two paragraphs about the picture. In the first tell what she 
 is saying. In the second tell what impression she is making 
 on those gathered around her. 
 
 "votes fob women! 
 
 LESSON FORTY ONE 
 
 Speaking to Convince 
 
 If you are a member of a little club you know how neces- 
 sary it is that order be maintained at meetings. Unless 
 order is maintained all the members will talk at once, con- 
 fusion will result, and no business will be completed. It is 
 necessary, therefore, that strict rules be observed, that things 
 run with precision and clocklike regularity. For the pur- 
 pose, therefore, of getting the most out of club meetings of 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 277 
 
 all kinds, a certain definite procedure has to be observed. 
 This is called parliamentary order, so named because it is 
 based upon the rules of order of the English Parliament and 
 of other governmental bodies. After all, these bodies are 
 nothing but extremely large and important clubs for the 
 conduct of national business. The business of your little 
 club is not so important, but it should be conducted with 
 dignity and seriousness. 
 
 The officers of your club are president, vice-president, 
 secretary, treasurer. Perhaps you also have a corresponding 
 secretary. If so, then he will look after the letter writing. 
 He will send out invitations, notices, challenges, and so 
 forth. The other secretary will simply record the happen- 
 ings at meetings and keep his reports, called minutes, in a 
 book for reference. His special name is recording secretary. 
 These are the customary club officers. The names them- 
 selves make little difference. No matter whether you call 
 your club a council or a camp fire, no matter whether you 
 call your president a chief or a guardian, the organization 
 is the same, and the necessity for orderly behavior is just as 
 important. 
 
 The general conduct of a meeting of your club should be 
 about as follows : — 
 
 1. Call to order. 
 
 2. Roll call. 
 
 3. Secretary's report. 
 
 4. Left-over business. 
 
 5. New business. 
 
 (Under 4 and 5 may come reports of officers and of 
 special committees appointed by the president.) 
 
 6. Announcement of program for next meeting. 
 
 (This may be a regular entertainment by the members 
 of the club, or it may be a challenge debate, a con- 
 
278 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 test of another sort, or a speech by a distinguished 
 visitor, and so forth.) 
 
 7. The program. 
 
 (Songs, stories, speeches, dances, demonstrations, 
 debating, and so forth.) 
 
 8. Adjom-nment. 
 
 In speaking either from the platform or from the floor in a 
 club meeting, a speaker should address the leader as *'Mr. 
 President" or "Mr. Chairman," and wait until he is recog- 
 nized by the presiding officer before he proceeds to speak. 
 Not to do this is to speak out of order, a very confusing and 
 discourteous action. After a speaker is recognized by the 
 chair, he "has the floor," and he may not be interrupted 
 if he is making a formal speech. If he is speaking in some 
 general discussion he may be interrupted only by the chair- 
 man or by some one who wishes information about certain 
 points that are being discussed. Some clubs fine members 
 who interrupt or who talk from the floor without recognition 
 by the speaker. 
 
 In debating it is necessary to address, not only the 
 president of the club or the presiding officer of the 
 debate, but the judges of the debate, and the audience; 
 thus, — " Mr. Chairman, Honorable Judges, Ladies and 
 Gentlemen." 
 
 It is better form for the presiding officer at a club meet- 
 ing to stand in recognizing speakers, except in the case of 
 rapid, heated discussion in which speakers address the 
 chair in quick succession. He should remain standing 
 until the speaker addresses him in return. 
 
 A chairman, in introducing a speaker, should be brief 
 and definite in his remarks. He may state whence the 
 speaker comes, what his interests are, what he is going to 
 speak about, why he comes to speak, and so forth. At the 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 279 
 
 conclusion of his introductory remarks, he should give the 
 full name of the speaker. This is the speaker's signal to 
 stand and recognize the chairman, either by nod of the 
 head or by the words, ''Mr. Chairman." The speaker 
 should not stand until he hears his name announced by the 
 presiding officer. 
 
 When opportunities to speak present themselves do not 
 shrink from them. Ability to meet a situation that calls 
 for speaking, especially informal or unprepared speaking, 
 should be zealously cultivated. Join a club. Be an active 
 member. If you are called upon to prepare a speech 
 in the club, do so gladly and eagerly. Be more eager, 
 however, to enter into the informal discussions that take 
 place. It is in unprepared speaking that your club will 
 be of greatest service to you, if you will permit it. Poise, 
 readiness, and alertness to meet opposition in speaking 
 are all three to be attained through activity in club 
 work. 
 
 The principal types of unprepared speaking are, — 
 
 Announcements Introductions 
 
 Presentations Acceptances 
 
 Criticisms Story telUng 
 
 After-dinner speeches 
 
 Some of these may be prepared, wholly or in part. As 
 a rule, however, the necessity for any one of them is likely 
 to arise without notification, and it must be met with readi- 
 ness. You cannot write or memorize in advance, though 
 you may ponder for a Httle while and make up your mind 
 as to the general line of your remarks. 
 
 Detailed rules cannot therefore be laid down for any of 
 these types of speeches because they depend upon the oc- 
 casion on which they are given for form and content. Brev- 
 
280 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 ity and point, force and clearness, are essential to all. Have 
 a brief but definite plan and hold to it. If you are making 
 an announcement, — 
 
 (1) Tell what you are announcing. 
 
 (2) Explain the circumstances. 
 
 (3) Urge support. 
 
 Do not give (3) before (1) and (2). Similarly, in the 
 other types, follow some regular order and strip your speech 
 of all unnecessary material. Explain tersely the circum- 
 stances. Conclude definitely with a person's name, if you are 
 introducing ; with the gift, if you are presenting something ; 
 with an expression of gratitude, if you are accepting some- 
 thing. Observe keenly the method of other speakers in 
 meeting demands made upon them for informal speeches. 
 In your school career you have many opportunities not only 
 to make informal speeches yourself, but to hear good ones 
 made by others. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Make an announcement to your classmates. Have some one 
 
 reproduce it in order to see whether you have made yourself 
 perfectly clear. Perhaps it is an announcement of some 
 game, some club meeting, a special exercise in school, or the 
 postponement of an entertainment. 
 
 2. Imagine that your class is giving a present to a teacher. Make 
 
 an appropriate little speech of presentation. 
 
 3. Reproduce the teacher's speech of acceptance of the gift. 
 
 4. Make a connected criticism of a speech. Remember that 
 
 criticism is of two kinds, destructive and constructive, discour- 
 aging and helpful. Make yours helpful and coiu*teous. 
 Start by commending the good points. Reserve unfavor- 
 able criticism for the middle of your criticism. Conclude, if 
 possible, with favorable criticism. 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 281 
 
 5. Tell to your class a story or a bit of news that you have read. 
 
 Invite criticism and repeat your talk in accordance with criti- 
 cism received. 
 
 6. A former teacher of yours from another school has come, upon 
 
 your invitation, to address your school club. Introduce him. 
 
 7. You have been asked to make excuses to your club for the 
 
 absence of one of the most prominent speakers on the 
 program. Make a speech in which you explain his absence 
 sympathetically. 
 
 8. One of your colleagues on a debating team is mysteriously ab- 
 
 sent when the debate is called. Make inquiry in open meet- 
 ing as to his absence. Ask the chairman to postpone the 
 debate until he can be found or until his absence can be ac- 
 counted for. 
 
 9. Suppose that you are chairman at a debate. Announce the 
 
 question to the audience; explain who the debaters are; 
 name the judges ; explain the conditions of the debate, that 
 is, the number of speakers on each side, the length of time 
 each may speak, the conditions of refutation. 
 10. Conduct a class discussion on some subject of vital school in- 
 terest. Appoint some one to act as chairman. Talk from 
 your seats rather than from the front of the room. Insist 
 upon parliamentary order in every respect. 
 
 LESSON FORTY TWO 
 
 Words That Convince 
 
 Words are to writing and speaking what the bullet is to 
 the gun. At the end of every new study of construction or 
 thought development you must reconsider your choice of 
 words, the little bullets that carry your thought. You 
 cannot be thoroughly interesting without vivid words, no 
 matter how interesting your thought is. You cannot be 
 clear without accurate words, no matter how clear your 
 thought is. You cannot convince without the right words. 
 
 Words come into our language from numerous sources. 
 
282 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Many of our common words were immigrants that have 
 become naturalized. Latin has contributed many words 
 to our language, so many that some people insist upon a 
 knowledge of that language for those who would know 
 English thoroughly. Many of our Latin words have come 
 to us through French, Spanish, or Italian, all of which lan- 
 guages are themselves chiefly Latin in origin. Anglo- 
 Saxon was the language spoken in England before the 
 Norman Conquest. The simplest words in the EngUsh 
 language today are usually of Anglo-Saxon origin, — most 
 words of one syllable and words that apply to the simpler 
 pursuits and activities of men. Greek has contributed 
 many words that have to do with science. The Greek 
 language offers unusual opportunities for the formation of 
 compound words. When a new word is needed to meet 
 some new invention, Greek is oftentimes the language that 
 supplies it. Gram, for instance, is Greek for writing ; added 
 to Marconi, marconigram, it means wireless writing, or writing 
 according to Marconi, the inventor of wireless telegraphy. 
 
 But words come into the language from many sources 
 other than these three principal ones. From Italian come 
 stiletto, macaroni, piano; from Russian, steppe, knouty 
 samovar; from Spanish, negro, tornado, renegade; from 
 Malay, bamboo; from Hindu, chintz; from Arabic, tariff; 
 from German, noodle; from American Indian, tobacco, 
 tomato, and many of our place names. English is a world 
 language. It draws words from all quarters of the earth 
 and uses them as it finds them or adapts them to use through 
 convenient modification. The customary method of in- 
 dicating origin in the dictionary is by means of brackets 
 and the sign <, thus, — old [<AS, eald, old]', home [<AS, 
 ham, home]. AS stands for Anglo-Saxon; L for Latin; 
 F for French ; G for Greek, etc. (See page 97.) 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 
 
 283 
 
 Words are built up from combinations. Most words of 
 more than one syllable have been constructed by making 
 additions at one end or the other. An addition made at 
 the beginning of a word, modifying its meaning, is called a 
 prefix. An addition made at the end of a word, modifying 
 its meaning, is called a suffix. The central part of a word, 
 or the original part to which prefixes and suffixes are added, 
 is called the root. In the word subjection, for instance, sub 
 is the prefix, ject the root, tion the suffix. The root ject is 
 from the Latin jacere, meaning to throw; sub is a Latin 
 word, meaning under; tion is a French suffix derived from 
 Latin, meaning state of. The word subjection therefore means 
 "state of being thrown under or placed under authority." 
 
 When the last letter of the prefix is the same as the first 
 letter of a root, one of the letters may be dropped, or the 
 prefix may be modified in order to make pronunciation 
 easier. The prefix sub may thus become sue in success 
 {sub and cedo, to go) for subcess would be an awkward com- 
 bination. For the same reason it becomes suf in suffer 
 {sub and /ero, to bear), sug in suggest {sub and gero, to bring), 
 sup in support {sub and porto, to carry). Likewise, the last 
 letter of the root of a word or the first of a suffix may be 
 dropped when they are the same, as in subjection above. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Look up the following words in the dictionary. Tell from what 
 language each one is taken : — 
 
 abacus 
 
 coffer 
 
 mezzotint 
 
 silk 
 
 albatross 
 
 cruise 
 
 moccasin 
 
 slaughter 
 
 alligator 
 
 divan 
 
 nankeen 
 
 sofa 
 
 bazaar 
 
 epaulette 
 
 orange 
 
 tam o'shanter 
 
 boor 
 
 gingham 
 
 pastel 
 
 tea 
 
 bouquet 
 
 gong 
 
 poodle 
 
 waltz 
 
 canto 
 
 jubilee 
 
 rattine 
 
 wigwam 
 
 carnival 
 
 lilac 
 
 sabbath 
 
 yacht 
 
284 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 2. Be able to spell the following words. Point out the prefix and 
 the root of each. Explain any modifications of prefixes that 
 you find. State the exact meaning of each word : — 
 
 absolute 
 
 elapse 
 
 persevere 
 
 semiannual 
 
 accept 
 
 evince 
 
 perspire 
 
 semicolon 
 
 anteroom 
 
 extreme 
 
 persuade 
 
 substance 
 
 antitheses 
 
 forehead 
 
 postgraduate 
 
 substitute 
 
 avert 
 
 forestall 
 
 preamble 
 
 suburbs 
 
 beseem 
 
 forewarn 
 
 prefix 
 
 superb 
 
 bestir 
 
 illuminate 
 
 prelude 
 
 superintendent 
 
 circumnavigation impute 
 
 preposition 
 
 superlative 
 
 circumspect 
 
 insight 
 
 prologue 
 
 superstition 
 
 collect 
 
 insult 
 
 promote 
 
 symmetry 
 
 commission 
 
 interfere 
 
 pronoun 
 
 transfer 
 
 confess 
 
 interval 
 
 reflect 
 
 transpose 
 
 consume 
 
 interrupt 
 
 resign 
 
 traverse 
 
 decrease 
 
 miscalculate 
 
 retract 
 
 tricolor 
 
 degrade 
 
 misprint 
 
 retroact 
 
 undo 
 
 demerit 
 
 mispronounce 
 
 retrocede 
 
 unfortunate 
 
 dialect 
 
 nonentity 
 
 retrospect 
 
 unkempt 
 
 dialogue 
 
 obUterate 
 
 revenge 
 
 unnerve 
 
 difiference 
 
 obUvion 
 
 seclude 
 
 uplift 
 
 disease 
 
 observe 
 
 secrete 
 
 upstart 
 
 dissemble 
 
 perpetual 
 
 secure 
 
 ultra-studious 
 
 3. Be able to i 
 
 spell the following words. Point out the suffix and 
 
 the root of each. Explain i 
 
 any modification of suffixes that 
 
 you find. 
 
 State the exact meaning of each word : — 
 
 capable 
 
 elegance 
 
 celebrate 
 
 independence 
 
 culpable 
 
 hesitancy 
 
 congregate 
 
 independent 
 
 enable 
 
 accountant 
 
 fluctuate 
 
 bribery 
 
 profitable 
 
 attendant 
 
 nominate 
 
 finery 
 
 confederacy 
 
 blatant 
 
 fluency 
 
 stationery 
 
 frontal 
 
 calendar 
 
 politician 
 
 janitress 
 
 gradual 
 
 similar 
 
 guessed 
 
 negress 
 
 African 
 
 contrary 
 
 traded 
 
 beautify 
 
 American 
 
 necessary 
 
 nominee 
 
 gratify 
 
 appearance 
 
 stationary 
 
 conference 
 
 magnify 
 
 countenance 
 
 associate 
 
 difiference 
 
 blissful 
 
HOW TO BE CONVINCING 
 
 285 
 
 cupful 
 
 immortalize 
 
 idleness 
 
 attitude 
 
 impossible 
 
 memorize 
 
 advisor 
 
 latitude 
 
 responsible 
 
 respectfully 
 
 creator 
 
 promptitude 
 
 politics 
 
 respectively 
 
 suitor 
 
 solitude 
 
 puerile 
 
 sincerely 
 
 cinematograph 
 
 casualty 
 
 supplying 
 
 truly 
 
 biography 
 
 guaranty 
 
 delicious 
 
 argument 
 
 occasion 
 
 ambiguous 
 
 glorious 
 
 augment 
 
 omission 
 
 vestibule 
 
 pugilist 
 
 blandishment 
 
 attention 
 
 southward 
 
 curiosity 
 
 greatness 
 
 consecutive 
 
 westward 
 
 4. It is clear from what is said at the beginning of this lesson, that 
 words are formed in various ways. Sometimes they are in- 
 vented outright. Sometimes nouns and adjectives and verbs 
 and adverbs are joined together to form new combinations, 
 as in runaway. Sometimes proper names are used so com- 
 monly that they become common nouns. Explain each of the 
 following words, — its meaning and its origin : — 
 
 chipper makeshift downfall 
 
 sizzle clodhopper railroad 
 
 tobogganing garage smart 
 
 hoodlum cackle bronco 
 
 dairymaid caw rumble 
 
 gospel whirr bedlam 
 
 holiday • 
 
 cheep 
 
 ragamuffin 
 
 booni 
 
 giggle 
 
 breakfast 
 
 Christmas 
 
 steamboat 
 
 camouflage 
 
 runaway 
 
 fiddlesticks 
 
 copperhead 
 
 5. Look up the ten following "home words, 
 guage does each come ? — 
 
 From what Ian- 
 
 home 
 mother 
 
 father 
 sister 
 
 brother 
 son 
 
 daughter 
 child 
 
 hearth 
 love 
 
 6. 
 
 Look up the ten following school words, 
 does each come ? — 
 
 school study pupil 
 
 book teacher desks 
 
 From what language 
 
 class 
 mate 
 
 boy 
 girl 
 
 7. Following are some common word roots. Add prefixes or 
 suffixes, or both, to them, and tell the meaning of each word 
 you build : — 
 
 form tract junct jeet feet 
 
 tend fleet rupt miss fer 
 
286 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 8. Give a simpler and shorter word for each of the following long 
 
 ones. Point out the origin of both the long word and its 
 shorter equivalent. Tell from what language each word is 
 taken : — 
 abominable redundant ' excruciating 
 
 stupendous emphatically leviathan 
 
 despicable colossally interminable 
 
 9. From your knowledge of prefixes, show that each of the follow- 
 
 ing expressions contains a repetition. Write each one prop- 
 erly : — 
 
 divide up. precede before. 
 
 descend down. retrograde backward. 
 
 connect with. subject under. 
 
 explain about. three-cornered triangle. 
 
 retreated back. circumnavigate around the world. 
 
 10. Look up the terms bronco and bronco busting in the dictionary. 
 In the light of the information found tell just what is happen- 
 ing in the picture opposite. Use as many words as you can 
 that are special to the situation, — rear, whoa, wild, break, 
 fiery, and so forth. Then tell what is happening, in the lan- 
 guage of one who is watching the sport supposedly for the first 
 time. This person's vocabulary will probably contain many 
 words having prefixes and suffixes such as, unbroken, defiant, 
 dangerous, unmanageable, and so forth. List as many as you 
 think applicable to the picture. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 HOW TO BE THOROUGH 
 
 Introduction 
 
 No one needs to be told that thoroughness is the first 
 rule for doing anything well. The question is not '^Why 
 be thorough?'' — that answers itself. It is "How to be 
 thorough in writing and speaking." Care in preparation, 
 care in expression, care in revision — these are the three 
 guideposts for thoroughly good writing and good speaking. 
 Care in preparation and care in expression have been em- 
 phasized in every lesson in this book. Careful revision will 
 be the chief subject of this Chapter. 
 
 LESSON FORTY THREE 
 
 Correcting Your Own Compositions 
 
 Learn to criticize yourself. You know your faults and 
 your weaknesses. Correct them before anybody else has a 
 chance to do so. Self-criticism is a valuable attainment. 
 Criticism that others make of your work may be helpful 
 and encouraging. Criticism made by yourself of your own 
 work is a good deal more likely to be corrective. It is a 
 sign of real ability to be able to educate yourself. Learn, 
 therefore, to correct your own speech and writing. Be un- 
 
 288 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 289 
 
 sparing in criticism of your own work before you pass it on 
 to another for criticism. In education, as in all other things, 
 you can be helped by others only provided you help yourself. 
 
 Everything that you write for others should be carefully 
 read over before it is passed on. Read your compositions 
 through first of all to see whether or not you have carried 
 out the plan you had in mind before you began. If the 
 composition or the letter does not read clearly, then one of 
 two things has happened. Either you did not carry out 
 your plan ; or it was not a good plan. In either case there 
 is only one thing to be done, — rewrite. The meaning of 
 the word revision is re-seeing. You see as a whole the piece 
 of work that you planned part by part. It is this second 
 sight that enables you to judge, before it is too late, whether 
 you have failed or succeeded. 
 
 If you are satisfied with your plan and the way it is carried 
 out, then read through again to detect misspelled words. 
 Read through a third time to detect faulty punctuation. 
 Read through a fourth time to detect your ''pet" error in 
 grammar, and so forth. You know from former work and 
 from former correction what errors you are likely to make. 
 Every one has his own special difficulties. In speaking, be 
 equally unsparing. Keep in mind the errors in speech for 
 which you have been criticized on former occasions. It may 
 be well to have them on a piece of paper before you, as sign- 
 posts telling you what directions not to take. You should 
 keep a little notebook for the listing of special errors and 
 their correction. 
 
 There are many ways of calUng attention to error in 
 written composition. Certain signs are sometimes placed 
 in the margin opposite the line in which an error occurs. A 
 misspelled word, for instance, may be indicated by a check, 
 y/, or by the abbreviation sp. If something has been 
 
290 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 omitted, the caret, A , may be used to call attention to the fact. 
 The sign H means that paragraph indention should be made ; 
 no If means that no such indention is required. Faulty punc- 
 tuation may be pointed out by the letter p or by the abbre- 
 viation punc, or the proper punctuation mark maybe placed 
 in a caret, thus, A . The abbreviation cap. may be used to 
 indicate required capitalization; the abbreviation I.e., to in- 
 dicate that small letters should be used instead of capitals. 
 It is better not to have a too elaborate scheme for marking 
 errors in composition work, for the machinery of correction 
 is of course far less important than the correction itself. 
 
 Below are two letters containing errors. Following these is 
 a composition that also has certain errors in it. Both the 
 letters and the composition are well planned, but the errors 
 in them are serious and should not be permitted to occur. 
 Suppose you read the letters and the composition through 
 three times or more. The first reading (in this instance) is for 
 misspelled words, which are indicated by a circle. The second 
 reading is for faulty punctuation, which is indicated by a 
 triangle. The third and subsequent readings are for faulty 
 grammar, including omissions, repetitions, incomplete sen- 
 tences, lack of unity and coherence or clearness, and so forth. 
 These errors are indicated by a square. Sometimes these 
 marks are connected by a line, to show some inconsistent 
 relation among errors. If, for instance, a word is spelled in 
 two ways, the circles marking the words are connected. Each 
 of these three signs is usually at the very place where error 
 occurs. Opposite, on the margin nearest to the error, is 
 reference to the lesson, the page, and sometimes the section 
 where a particular kind of error is treated in this book. 
 
 Study these corrected pieces of work carefully. Point out 
 merits in them. Look up every reference given. Rewrite 
 correctly. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 291 
 
 •Mytvf xXuJ/ aJLwvJ AJkAAX/ jCU AYdtAn/JU^/ y<rv xXu/ 
 /yyiaJcu/ aW X^ XAxaP M^ AA/vxcld/ .^fUAAuaJfu/ 
 
 
 <:;AuAJtXAA4i,, 
 
292 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 Pa*/-^ Y)M/ CWu^ Q/- liA^AMir^/m^A/yiA^Au/ Art xlu/ rijt/r\MjJXf 
 
 P^rvutAAAxXlffyy 'V/rvy^^UA^, ^SfS ryUAMlt' d/AJuX/, (^'fuJU/.. 
 
 MJyXJk/ /wu/ xoW/ ajA^ A/w/ jtJfjuJk/ ■{cA\/n4A/A>ajOu, mZt^ 
 /y^Mj/ At<HAnydA/nay A/yJ Jru^U^tO^M/ ^(^■i£tu/. (JU/ /tint/ At/€Al/ 
 /JM/ip AAiU^AjUaX9\/ M*AAAUh )Ul£/ jtAvtiAt/ y^lMAurd/^ .t^fu/Kt' 
 
 ''\ieJJL J J AifU/ AAm/ yaAA/(/ -yU^ Ay\AAy XlttJ/ .AJiK^AM/ 
 
 iWiX^AMXb, AifW aaaM/ JfjiAroJ^AJ/ ul^i^ "hA/^ ajajuzLl 
 IPaJ* U/y[/ AAy^^X^vCj/ Xf AH/ A^r^^AjLuA/n^ AjULOAaLI^ /mt/.Jl AMaM/ 
 
 s^i^A ""yio^xJU f^AJtU/ czSx>ja(f 
 
 =>>VH4/ 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 293 
 
 GRANNY GRAMMAR'S PARTY 
 
 Granny Grammar one day gave a party to all 
 her children. However, not a single one of 
 them behaved altogether to Granny's liking. 
 
 i»3^ Master NouiV^or instance, ^ho[ Granny has al- f*^'\% 
 ways been partial to, did nothing but call out 
 names all the time. Names of people/^ames of R544 
 places, names of things, he screamed at the 
 top of his voice. Little Master Pronoun helped 
 
 vzsz him along with the noisy bu^^ss, and sulked a 
 good deal because he wasn't given greater 
 opportunity to act as his substitute. Master 
 Adjective huddled close to Masters Noun and 
 Pronoun throughout the party. He was ever and 
 anon describing them to the others present and 
 accounting for their weird behavior. But 
 Master Verb was the life of the party, though 
 he was the most unruly of Granny Grammar's 
 
 Tioff child^r^. He simply would not be still a 
 
 moment, but danced and frolicked all over the 
 place. I never saw any one so active as he 
 was. He dominated everybody and everything. 
 
294 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 and was quite the most Important person 
 present. Master Adverb traipsed around after 
 him, or tried to, all the time, doing his 
 best to account for Master Ver^s] astonishing ?.3t5 
 maneuvers. Master Preposition made it his 
 particular business to go about and strike up 
 relations among the rest, much to their annoy- 
 ance sometimes; and Master Conjunction busied 
 himself connecting this one with that one, 
 trying to arrange them in some sort of con- 
 sistent grouping. Master Interjection was so 
 overcome with emotion at the sight of so great 
 disorder and confusion that he cried one minute 
 and laughed the next, blubbering and ejaculating 
 continuously. 
 
 By and by, the noise and hubbub made by her 
 
 "Rioj" unruly ohild^rn) began to tell on Granny Gram- 
 mar's nerves. /After a good many attempts at 
 discipline shk found herself actually obliged 
 to impose sentence upon them. With great 
 sternness am dignity of manner she arranged 
 them in a r*w and resolutely said, "Hush! my 
 
 Pwi- dear child(^en) should behave quietly and 
 politely in my presence." 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 295 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Select a subject for a composition from the lists on page 183 or 
 
 224. Make a careful plan for a composition of about four 
 himdred words. Let one of your classmates write the com- 
 position, using your plan. Then criticize the development of 
 the whole composition from the plan, and the construction of 
 each paragraph. Was the original plan at fault? If it has 
 been changed in the writing out, was the change a good one ? 
 Should the composition be reconstructed and rewritten, or 
 merely corrected? 
 
 2. Revise by replanning and then rewriting the following para- 
 
 graph : — 
 The negroes working upon the foundations of the great hotels 
 in St. Augustine, Florida, sang songs as they labored. A play song 
 is different. As the natives carry sacks of coal to the steamers in 
 the port of Curasao, they sing a chorus, to the rhythm of which each 
 step is taken. As the chorus ends a bag of coal is dumped into the 
 hold ; and then the song goes on. A play song may be a lullaby, 
 or a love song, or a humorous song. The chief difference between 
 a work song and a play song is that the former is sung by a group 
 of laborers to accompany some task that they work upon together ; 
 while the latter is sung by an individual and expresses some personal 
 emotion, or tells a story. In Charleston, South Carolina, you can 
 hear the negroes at night thrumming on banjos as they sit on the 
 curbstones of the streets, and singing songs or hymns just to amuse 
 themselves. The chorus is the important part of a work song ; in 
 the play song the chorus is less important than the narrative or 
 whatever it is makes up the body of the song. There are harvest 
 songs, spinning songs, hunting songs, planting songs, building songs, 
 and, among savages, war songs ; but, with savages, war is part of 
 the day's work. 
 
 3. Mark a letter or a composition of your own for correction. 
 
 Place on the margin exact references to the lessons in this book 
 that should be consulted for the principles involved. 
 
 4. Have one of your classmates rewrite a composition of your 
 
 own that you have marked for correction. Be sure that he 
 
296 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 makes every correction in accordance with the references you 
 have pointed out. 
 
 5. Correct and rewrite a composition written by one of your class- 
 
 mates. Compare his errors with those you make yourself. 
 Do you both have the same kind of difficulty, that is, do both 
 of you make the same kind of errors ? 
 
 6. Write a short composition on one of the following topics, and 
 
 submit it to your classmates for correction: — 
 
 Criticism of Myself by Myself. 
 
 Criticism of Myself by Others. 
 
 The Kind of Criticism I Like. 
 
 The Kind of Criticism that I Heed. 
 
 The Kind of Criticism that Discourages. 
 
 Listening to Criticism, and Profiting. 
 
 Listening to Criticism, and Forgetting. 
 
 Criticizing Others. 
 
 Criticism and Ridicule. 
 
 Criticism and Sympathy. 
 
 Errors Caused by Lack of Training. 
 
 Errors Caused by Carelessness. 
 
 Errors Caused by Inattention. 
 
 Errors I Was Born With. 
 
 Errors I Have Learned from my Companions. 
 
 7. What kinds of errors are likely to be made as the result of care- 
 
 lessness? Enumerate them. Point out errors of this kind 
 in the letters and the composition above, or in your own work. 
 
 8. On the other hand, what errors in the letters and the composition 
 
 above are due entirely to lack of knowledge or training? 
 Which sort of errors do you consider the more serious, those 
 that result from carelessness or those that result from igno- 
 rance and lack of skill ? Why? 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 297 
 
 LESSON FORTY FOUR 
 
 Testing Your Speech 
 
 It is more difficult to correct speech than it is to correct 
 writing. Words when spoken pass away. Words when 
 written remain. However, you can and must do much to 
 make your speech clear and correct. Cultivate an accurate 
 eye and an accurate ear. Mispronunciation is due often- 
 times to mis-hearing, just as misspelling is due to mis-seeing. 
 It takes more than a glance to see a word exactly. The eye 
 must dwell upon a word until the letters and their positions 
 are fixed. In the same way, words must be pronounced so 
 that every syllable can be heard. Words that are spelled 
 and pronounced nearly alike are frequently mistaken one for 
 another, and results may be serious if the words are widely 
 different in meaning. It is easy to see augment for argument, 
 infantry for infancy, peace for please, affect for effect, if your 
 habits of seeing are careless. It is still easier to hear one of 
 these words instead of the other, unless they are pronounced 
 accurately. 
 
 When one word ends with the same or nearly the same 
 sound as that which begins the next word, it is easy to pro- 
 nounce the two sounds as one. Make certain that both 
 y's are heard in the name Dolly Young, that both k's are 
 distinctly pronounced in bookkeeper, that such words as the 
 following are kept clearly apart by distinct pronunciation : — 
 canceled date, beautiful landscape, Mary's smile, silent 
 treachery, great deal. 
 
 Check up such errors as these, both in your own speech 
 and in the speech of your classmates. Be a sincere critic 
 of yourself, a kind but firm one of your friends, in the cor- 
 rection of such mispronunciations as, — 
 
298 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 an for and et for ate futher for further 
 
 git for get haf for have hunderd for hundred 
 
 kin for can nuther for another ond for once 
 
 perty for pref^?/ ?/owse for you yit for !/ei 
 
 It may not be necessary to interrupt a classmate when 
 he has mispronounced a word. But while he is speaking 
 you may jot down his mispronunciations and politely call 
 his attention to them afterward. This will be a help to 
 him and will also put you on guard in your own speechmaking. 
 
 Study particularly the mispronunciations listed on pages 
 104 to 106. Make a list of your *'pet" mispronunciations 
 and practise unceasingly to correct them. 
 
 It is not only mispronunciation of words that needs to be 
 checked up by rigid criticism. Misconstructions or un- 
 grammatical expressions need equal attention. Below, 
 some of the most common misconstructions in English are 
 listed under certain parts of speech. This list should be of 
 great service in the criticism of class speeches. One pupil 
 may act as pronoun critic ; another as verb critic ; and so 
 on. The one criticized may thus be enabled to connect 
 his special troubles with certain parts of speech and may 
 direct his study accordingly. Some overlapping is made 
 necessary in the list by the fact that some frequently mis- 
 used words may be employed as more than one part of 
 speech ; yet, for instance, being both an adverb and a con- 
 junction, is listed under both headings. 
 
 Fix 'in your mind the correct form of the examples in the 
 following list by sheer repetition. Train your ear to English 
 sensitiveness, just as the musician's ear is trained to music. 
 Learn to carry good English by ear, very much as you carry a 
 tune. To study deeply into the cause of error in each case 
 will not always be of great benefit, just as to study indi- 
 vidual notes in a piece of music will not always help you to 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 299 
 
 appreciate a tune. But it may be a helpful satisfaction to 
 establish a reason for the correct form by consulting page 104 
 and also the brief grammatical review in the appendix of this 
 book. 
 
 Pronouns 
 
 1. Himself. Not Hisself. 
 
 2. His. Not Ris'n. 
 
 3. Themselves. Not Theirselves. 
 
 4. Those books or these books. Not Them books. 
 
 5. It was I. Not It was me. 
 
 6. My sister and I went. Not I and my sister went. Not 
 Me and my sister went. 
 
 7. He stood between John and me. Not He stood between 
 John and I. 
 
 8. There are two books on my desk. Not They is two books 
 on my desk. 
 
 9. We girls are knitting. Not Us girls are knitting. 
 
 10. He is taller than I. Not He is taller than me. 
 
 11. Whom did you speak to? Not Who did you speak to? 
 
 12. Who do you think I am? Not Whom do you think I am? ' 
 
 13. Each of them should do his work. Not Each of them should 
 do their work. 
 
 14. The man who is ill. Not The man which is ill. • 
 
 15. A heart and a soul with love in them. Not A heart and a 
 soul with love in it. 
 
 16. I am afraid of his falling. Not I am afraid of him falling. 
 
 Adjectives and Adverbs 
 
 1. This kind or that kind. iVo^ These kind. A^o^ Those kind. 
 
 2. This sort or that sort. Not These sort. Not Those sort. 
 
 3. Better. Not More better. 
 
 4. Loveliest. Not Most loveliest. 
 
 5. An apple. Not A apple. 
 
 6. This book or that man or those balls. Not This here book. 
 Not That there man. Not Them there balls. 
 
300 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 7. Lose. Not Lose out. 
 
 8. End. Not End up. 
 
 9. Join. Not Join together. 
 
 10. Explain. Not Explain about. 
 
 IL Divide. Not Divide up. 
 
 12. Start. iVoi Start in. Not Start out Not Start oS. 
 
 13. Keep off. iVoi Keep ofif of . 
 
 14. First. Not First ofi. 
 
 15. This is the better of the two. Not This is the best of the 
 two. 
 
 16. I want a glass of cold water. Not I want a cold glass of 
 water. 
 
 17. The secretary and the treasixrer were present. Not The 
 secretary and treasurer were present. 
 
 18. I have seen him twice. Not I have seen him already twice 
 yet. 
 
 19. It is rather cool. Not It is kind of cool. 
 
 20. I like this sort of book. Not I like this sort of a book. 
 
 21. The music soimds sweet. Not The music sounds sweetly. 
 
 22. She plays well. Not She plays good. 
 
 23. He went quickly. Not He went quick. 
 
 24. I have none or I haven't any. Not I haven't none. 
 
 25. He did it again. Not He did it over again. 
 
 Prepositions and Conjunctions 
 
 1. At my Uncle's. Not By my uncle's. 
 
 2. Back of or behind. Not In back of. 
 
 3. To keep. Not For to keep. 
 
 4. How are you? iVo< How is it by you? 
 
 5. He lives near us. Not He lives by us. 
 
 6. I won't go unless you go. Not I won't go without you go. 
 
 7. He plays as I do or He plays like me. Not He plays like I 
 
 do. 
 
 8. He would have gone. Not He would of gone. 
 
 9. He had to go. Not He had a go. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 301 
 
 10. He is at school. Not He is to school. 
 
 11. Get some books of her. Not Get some books off her. 
 
 12. There is a noise in the room. Not There is a noise inside of 
 the room. 
 
 13. He put it on the shelf. Not He put it onto the shelf. 
 
 14. I am going on Monday. Not I am going upon Monday. 
 
 15. They find fault with her. Not They find fault of her. 
 
 16. He is different from me. Not He is different than me. 
 
 17. He jimiped into the water. Not He jumped in the water. 
 
 18. I shall try to go. Not I shall try and go. 
 
 19. There was a dispute among the three boys. Not There was 
 a dispute between the three boys. 
 
 20. Where is he ? Not Where is he at? 
 
 21. She has been here twice. Not She has been here twice yet. 
 
 22. He took it from me. Not He took it on me. 
 
 Verbs 
 
 1. Have not or has not or are not or is not or am not. Never 
 " ain't " for any of these. 
 
 2. He doesn't. Not He don't. 
 
 3. Proved. Not Proven. 
 
 4. Got. iVo^ Gotten. 
 
 5. Bought. Not Boughten. 
 
 6. Taken. A^o^ Tooken. 
 
 7. Sneaked. Not Snuck. 
 
 8. CUmbed. iVo^ Clumb. 
 
 9. Fought. A^o^Fit. Not Font. 
 
 10. Attacked. Not Attacted. 
 
 11. Burst. iVo« Busted. 
 
 12. Have seen. Not Have saw. 
 
 13. Have gone. Not Have went. 
 
 14. Have come. Not Have came. 
 
 15. Have done. Not Have did. 
 
 16. Have simg. Not Have sang. 
 
 17. To go quickly. Not To quickly go. 
 
302 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 18. I have broken. Not I have broke. 
 
 19. I have spoken. Not I have spoke. 
 
 20. He received an honor. Not He got an honor. 
 
 21. I have an apple. Not I got an apple. 
 
 22. She became angry. Not She got angry. 
 
 23. You ought to go. Not You had ought to go. 
 
 24. I saw the play. Not I seen the play. 
 
 25. I said I would go. Not I says I would go. 
 
 26. You shall obey me. Not You will obey me. 
 
 27. Either Mary or John is going. Not Either Mary or John 
 are going. 
 
 28. These things are true. Not These things is true. 
 
 29. If I were you. Not If I was you. 
 
 30. That doesn't make any difference. Not That don't hurt. 
 
 31. Mother is preparing dinner. Not Mother is making dinner. 
 
 32. There isn't any one present. Not There aren't any one 
 present. 
 
 33. There are a man with a large hat and a woman with a small 
 bonnet in the room. Not There is a man with a large hat and a 
 woman with a small bonnet in the room. 
 
 34. Shall I take this to the office for you? Not Shall I bring 
 this to the office for you? 
 
 35. Let me look into that drawer. Not Let me get into that 
 drawer. 
 
 36. Let me go. Not Leave me go. 
 
 37. It is raining; therefore I cannot go. Not It is raining; 
 therefore, I could not go. 
 
 38. May I go with you ? Not Can I go with you ? 
 
 An expression that is overused and that has become more 
 or less meaningless as the result of overuse, is called a hack- 
 neyed expression. The dictionary defines hackney as to 
 exhaust hy continued use; to make stale by repetition. It is 
 from a French word meaning an ambling horse. Speech 
 that would move along with ease and vigor should not 
 therefore contain words and phrases that "amble." Have 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 303 
 
 a classmate critic inform you at the close of a speech how 
 many times you have used hackneyed expressions, and you 
 will be surprised perhaps. Nearly every one has some 
 expression that he overuses. It becomes a characteristic 
 of his language. He uses it unconsciously. Following are 
 a few of the commoner hackneyed phrases that sometimes 
 make speech but an ambling and stumbling affair. Add 
 others to them. Every locality has certain ones of its 
 own : — cold as ice, he that as it may, proceeded on our way, 
 still at the same time, deem it advisable, as I was saying, look 
 here, listen to me, well then, as I was going to say. 
 
 Do not forget in the criticism of speeches that you owe it 
 to the speaker to commend, to criticize favorably as well as 
 unfavorably. If he makes noticeable effort to avoid certain 
 types of error that he himself is inclined to make or that are 
 characteristic of the school, praise him for it. If he catches 
 his own errors and corrects himself, again commend him. 
 If he omits slang, if he compares adjectives properly, if he 
 always avoids the double negative, if he keeps his subjects 
 and predicates always in agreement, you cannot be too 
 generous in your commendation of his speech. It is well 
 to state such merits at the outset of your criticism, and to 
 refer to them again at the close. If you thus place your 
 adverse criticism between favorable comments, you will be 
 constructive and encouraging rather than destructive and 
 discouraging. 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 1. Pronounce the following words correctly. Tell what error is 
 
 likely to be made in the pronunciation of each : — 
 children fought hurt nothing such 
 
 farther her just scared yesterday 
 
 2. Pronounce each of the following pairs of words distinctly. Tell 
 
 what error is likely to be made in their pronunciation : — 
 
304 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 John's suit. Dreadful lonesomeness. 
 
 For goodness' sake. Never repeat. 
 
 Shakespeare's sonnets. Failed daily. 
 
 Rainy yesterdays. Going galloping gaily. 
 
 Contentment tells. Different thought today. 
 
 3. Make groups of words in daily use, each group consisting of words 
 
 that are similar in sound and appearance. Point out clearly 
 differences in sound and pronunciation. Those given below 
 illustrate what is meant. Write each word on the board and 
 erase it quickly. Find out how many of your classmates saw 
 accurately : — 
 
 class — glass. repay — relay. 
 
 past — fast. convert — concert. 
 
 truly — duly. enemy — enmity. 
 
 accent — ascent. first rate — frustrate. 
 
 decent — descent. intermediate — immediate. 
 
 4. In the following sentences pronouns are wrongly used. Re- 
 
 write each sentence correctly. As far as possible refer to some 
 section of this book for the explanation of your correction : — 
 
 (1) They went theirselves. 
 
 (2) I and my friend went to church. 
 
 (3) He is going with brother and I. 
 
 (4) I like them caps very much. 
 
 (5) It was her who did it. 
 
 (6) They are three boys in that room. 
 
 (7) Us fellows had a good time yesterday. 
 
 (8) Tom is stronger than me. 
 
 (9) Who did you go to the party with? 
 
 (10) Who do you think I saw at the game? 
 
 (11) Every girl in the class must do their own work. 
 
 (12) The girl which was ill has returned to school. 
 
 (13) There aren't any of us going. 
 
 (14) I saw a hand and an arm with a sword in it. 
 
 (15) I object to him answering questions intended for me. 
 
 5. In the following sentences adjectives and adverbs are wrongly 
 
 used. Read each sentence correctly. As far as possible refer 
 to some section in this book for the explanation of your cor- 
 rection : — 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 305 
 
 (1) These kind of apple is the best. 
 
 (2) Of the two John is the strongest. 
 
 (3) The United States is the most richest country in the world. 
 
 (4) This is the sort of a place I mean. 
 
 (5) He only has twenty per cent in algebra. 
 
 (6) There is a answer to this question on page nine. 
 
 (7) He studied considerable. 
 
 (8) I kind of Uke Jane. 
 
 (9) Jim is generouser than John. 
 
 (10) I think he speaks good. 
 
 (11) The train moves very rapid. 
 
 (12) He hasn't got none. 
 
 (13) These here pencils are dull. 
 
 (14) 'Keep off of the grass. 
 
 (15) They started in to do their work. 
 
 (16) Let's divide the apple up. 
 
 (17) We joined hands together and danced. 
 
 (18) We're going to end up now. 
 
 (19) You are the only fellow who lost out. 
 
 (20) I have done it three times already. 
 
 (21) We told him over again. 
 
 6. In the following sentences prepositions and conjunctions are 
 wrongly used. Read each sentence correctly. As far as pos- 
 sible refer to some section in this book for the explanation of 
 your correction : — 
 
 (1) Tom lives by his aunt's. 
 
 (2) How is everything by you today ? 
 
 (3) Mary refuses to answer without we listen. 
 
 (4) Sam talks like Jim does. 
 
 (5) I placed my shoes in back of the chair. 
 
 (6) I would of gone if I had known. 
 
 (7) He has went because he had a. 
 
 (8) John is to home. 
 
 (9) I went to get a pencil off him. 
 
 (10) Please let me get into that bag a moment. 
 
 (11) There was a sound of merry-making inside of the tent. 
 
 (12) I failed in English upon Thursday. 
 
 (13) I do not find fault of your work. 
 
 (14) The United States is different than other countries. 
 
 X 
 
306 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (15) He went in the room to get his coat. 
 
 (16) He is going to try and win. 
 
 (17) Between this, that, and the other, I have no peace. 
 
 (18) Father gave me his knife for to keep. 
 
 (19) Where in the world is Mary at? 
 
 (20) They have been here three times yet. 
 
 (21) She took my paper on me, 
 
 (22) Neither Tom or AUce has the lesson. 
 
 7. In the following sentences verbs are wrongly used. Read each 
 sentence correctly. As far as possible refer to some section in 
 this book for the explanation of your correction : — 
 
 (1) He don't go until tomorrow. 
 
 (2) The problem has been proven. 
 
 (3) I have gotten my books. — 
 
 (4) I come over yesterday. 
 
 (5) You shouldn't have boughten that candy. 
 
 (6) I have broke my pencil. 
 
 (7) He has spoke to me three times. 
 
 (8) I dumb the ladder, snuck over the roof, and fit like a Trojan. 
 
 (9) The bag has busted. 
 
 (10) I got ninety for that recitation. 
 
 (11) I haven't got your hat. 
 
 (12) It has got to be done. 
 
 (13) I have never saw such a boy. 
 
 (14) He has got to be a big boy. 
 
 (15) They have went to Camden. 
 
 (16) The books have came at last. 
 
 (17) You hadn't ought to do that. 
 
 (18) He seen you throw the paper. 
 
 (19) So I says to him that he had better go quickly. 
 
 (20) He urged me to hastily return. 
 
 (21) Shall you help me carry this bundle? 
 
 (22) Neither Bill nor Harry are present. 
 
 (23) His words, spoken at our commencement, is true. 
 
 (24) If he was you, he would not pass. 
 
 (25) I shall have to do the lesson over, but that doesn't hurt, 
 
 I suppose. 
 
 (26) Mary is busy making supper for company. 
 
 (27) Everybody present were delighted. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 307 
 
 (28) There is an apple with a luscious red appearance and a dish 
 
 of peaches in the pantry. 
 
 (29) Will I bring this letter to the post-office for you? 
 
 (30) He answered when she calls upon him. 
 
 (31) Can we go to the party tonight, mother? 
 
 8. Examine the following paragraph. Read it aloud as it stands. 
 
 Then read it omitting all the hackneyed expressions contained 
 
 in it. Tell what is gained in the second reading : — 
 
 They did not deem it advisable to take their coats with them. 
 
 But before they arrived at their destination, it began to rain. 
 
 "Just our luck!" said Emma. However, be that as it may, they 
 
 were able to borrow an umbrella, and proceeded on their way. They 
 
 finally reached the house where the party was held, and an enjoyable 
 
 time was had by all, notwithstanding the fact that they were mussed 
 
 up by the shower. Still, at the same time, they could have had a 
 
 pleasanter afternoon had it not rained. As Emma often says, 
 
 "Though I'm wet as a duck I can nevertheless make the best of 
 
 things and have a good time." 
 
 LESSON FORTY FIVE 
 
 Testing Your Words 
 
 Your choice of words must be as careful as your pro- 
 nunciation. What has been said previously about word 
 study (see pages 108, 215, 281) should be used as a basis 
 for the criticism. Are your words exact and appropriate, 
 or have you said a nice lesson and a pretty house? Do you 
 say allow when you mean declare, observation when you 
 mean observance, differ with when you mean differ from? 
 Does your writing show that you have observed the rules 
 of word-building (see page 283), or have you written pre- 
 haps for perhaps, entermission for intermission? Are your 
 words specific, or have you used noise when you meant 
 rustle, red when you meant maroon ? Are all your changes 
 in thought indicated by and and but, or have you stated 
 
308 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 your thought transitions nicely by means of such words as 
 likewise, moreover, nevertheless, furthermore? Is there evi- 
 dence in your composition, both oral and written, that you 
 have a usable knowledge of synonyms, so that you are able 
 to convey deUcate shadings in meaning and to avoid monoto- 
 nous repetitions? 
 
 These are a few of the points upon which criticism of 
 words may be based. Here again the work of criticism 
 may be divided, so that one member of a class may specialize 
 in the criticism of new words, another in good words used 
 in the wrong places, another in homonyms, another in 
 hackneyed words, and so on. Whatever errors are pointed 
 out in the use of words you should note well in a book kept 
 for the purpose. Be on your guard not to misuse the same 
 word twice. Your own special vocabulary book will help 
 you to avoid this. If you study a foreign language, you 
 probably keep Usts of words that trouble you. Why not 
 also in the study of your own language ? 
 
 Below is a list of fifty word groups that are commonly confused 
 or misused in English speech and writing. You are certain to use 
 some of these words in your own speech or writing. Be sure to use 
 them correctly. Be unwilling that your classmates should use 
 them incorrectly. Of course no such list can be exhaustive, for 
 every locality has its own special misusages. Add to the list such 
 words as are commonly confused in your own community. (The 
 following definitions are in general taken from the Standard 
 Dictionary) : — 
 
 1 
 
 Admittance, Admission. — Admittance refers to place. AdmiS" 
 sion refers also to place but more frequently to privilege, favor, 
 position, rate, etc. " Admission, — fifty cents. No admittance 
 without tickets." " You may gain admittance to the entertainment 
 of our club without admission to membership." 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 309 
 
 Angry, Mad. — Angry means sharp and sudden displeasure or 
 indignation; temporarily disordered in feeling. Mad means dis- 
 ordered in mind. " You are angry because he copied from your 
 paper." " He became mad at the loss of his fortune." Not, — 
 " I am mad at you for going without me." 
 
 Around, About. — Around means to encircle on all sides. About, 
 as an adverb, means around. As a preposition about means 
 approximate or in the neighborhood of. " What are you about? " 
 " I have about twenty dollars." " He walked around the block." 
 Not, — "I have around twenty dollars." 
 
 Beside, Besides. — Beside means by the side of, close to. Besides 
 means in addition to. " He sat beside me." " He has my hat and 
 his own besides." Not, — '' Beside, I think him a very earnest 
 feUow." 
 
 5 
 
 Between, Among. — Between refers to two objects. Among 
 refers to more than two. " Divide the money between the two, 
 among the three." " Between us two, among us three." 
 
 6 
 
 By, Near, At. — By means alongside, next to. Near means not 
 distant, close at hand. At jneans at the place of. " He is sitting 
 by me." " He lives near me." " He is at his aunt's." Not, — 
 " He is by his aunt's." " How is it by you ? " (Look up also m, 
 into, upon, and on and explain their use in relation to by, near, 
 and at.) 
 
 7 
 
 Calculate, Reckon. — Calculate means to compute, to estimate, 
 by more or less complicated processes. Reckon means to look upon 
 or consider in a more general sense than calculation. " He calcu- 
 
310 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 lated his time to a fraction of a second." " I reckon him wise." 
 Not, — "I calculate it's going to rain.'* " I reckon I'll go." 
 (Look up also guess, think, believe, intend, suppose.) 
 
 8 
 
 Can, May. — Can denotes capability. May denotes possibility, 
 desire, permission. "May I go? " "I can do this problem." 
 Not, — " Can I go? " " You can." (See page 367.) 
 
 9 
 
 Character, Reputation. — Character is what one is. Repviation 
 is what one is thought to be. "In spite of his excellent character 
 his reputation is bad." 
 
 10 
 
 Compare, Contrast. — Compare means to place together in order 
 to point out likeness and unlikeness. Contrast means to set in 
 opposition in order to point out unlikeness. " She compared her 
 results with mine." " We contrasted Rebecca and Rowena." 
 
 11 
 
 Contemptible, Contemptuous. — Contemptible means to deserve 
 disdain or disregard. Contemptuous means to show disdain or 
 disregard. " His behavior was contemptible." " He was con- 
 temptuous in his attitude toward her." 
 
 12 
 
 Coimsel, Council, Consul. — Counsel is advice or opinion. It 
 refers also to a lawj'-er or other person who gives advice. Council 
 is a meeting. Consul is an officer appointed to reside in a foreign 
 port or city. " The consul gave wise counsel at the council of 
 merchants." 
 
 13 
 
 •Distance, Way. — Distance means separation in space, remoteness. 
 Way means path or road, a short distance. " They traveled some 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 31 K Z 
 
 distance." " He walked a little way with me." Not, — " They 
 went a little ways with her." 
 
 14 
 
 Effect, Affect. — Effect (as verb) means to bring about, to 
 accompHsh. Affect means to move, to influence, to make an effect. 
 As a noun, effect means result. Affect is a verb only. Affect, meaning 
 to pretend, is another word. " He effected the desired end." 
 " He had a strange effect on me." " The heart was not affected." 
 Not, — " How did it effect you? " 
 
 15 
 
 Esteem, Estimate. — Esteem means to value or to regard. 
 Estimate means to calculate in more definite terms. " We esteem 
 a precious jewel, but we estimate it to be worth so much money." 
 
 16 
 
 Except, Accept. — Except means to leave out, with the exception 
 of, but. Accept means to take or receive. " Every one accepted 
 the offer." " Everybody went except me." 
 
 17 
 
 Few, Less. — Few refers to number. Less refers to quantity or 
 quaUty. " There are few books in the closet." " There is less 
 water in this bucket than in that." " He is less worthy than you." 
 Not, — "I have less apples and fewer bread than you." 
 
 18 
 
 Funny, Curious. — Funny means comical, humorous, laughable. 
 Curious means strange, odd, queer. " His mannerisms were funny." 
 " What a curious person George is ! " (Look up also odd, queer, 
 singular, peculiar, eccentric, ridiculous, droll.) 
 
 19 
 
 Habit, Custom. — Habit means tendency to act in a certain way, 
 as the result of repetition, until such action becomes spontaneous 
 
312 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 and unconscious. Habit is the action of one. CiLstom means 
 deliberately doing the same thing repeatedly under the same condi- 
 tions. Custom is the action of many. " He has the habit of 
 eating with his knife." "It is the custom to open the shops at 
 nine o'clock a.m." 
 
 20 
 
 Hupian, Humane. — Human relates to mankind, with no sugges- 
 tion as to good or evil. Humane relates to what may properly be 
 expected of mankind by way of consideration for others. " Though 
 he is a human being, his treatment of that horse is not humane." 
 
 21 
 
 Illusion, Allusion. — Illusion means a false or unreal image, 
 something that deceives. Allusion means a reference to or sugges- 
 tion of. "I have no illusions about my standing in mathematics." 
 " He made appropriate allusions to Shakespeare." 
 
 22 
 
 Immigrant, Emigrant. — Immigrant is one who comes into a 
 country. Emigrant is one who goes out of a country. " Annual 
 reports show that America has many more immigrants than 
 emigrants." 
 
 23 
 
 Invent, Discover. — Invent means to originate something never 
 before existing. Discover means to find out something that has 
 previously existed but has never before been known. " Morse 
 invented the electric telegraph." "Peary discovered the North 
 Pole." 
 
 24 
 
 Lay, Lie, Lie. — Lay means to place or put. Lie means to re- 
 cline or to rest. Lie means also to tell a falsehood. " I laid the 
 hat on the table." " I lay on the couch three hours." " He lied to 
 me." (See principal parts of these three verbs on page 372.) 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 313 
 
 25 
 
 Learn, Teach. — Learn means to acquire knowledge or skill. 
 Teach means to impart knowledge or skill. " He learns very easily 
 because they teach him well." Not, — ''He learned me how to 
 swim." (Look up also study, train, educate, instruct, inform.) 
 
 26 
 Leave, Let. — Leave means to go away from. Let means to 
 permit. " Leave me immediately." " Let me go." Not, — 
 " Leave me have it." 
 
 27 
 
 Lend, Loan, Borrow. — Lend means to grant the temporary 
 use of. It is not a noun. Loan is also used in the sense of lend. 
 Its better use, however, is as a noun in reference to the amount or 
 the thing granted for temporary use. Borrow means to obtain on 
 promise of return. '' Please lend me your pencil? " ''He secured a 
 loan from the bank." " May I borrow your book? " Not, — 
 " He loaned me ten cents." " Give me the lend of your pencil." 
 
 28 
 
 Like, As. — Like means similar to. It usually is a preposition 
 but it may also be an adjective, a verb, or a noun. It is never a 
 conjunction. As is usually a conjunction or an adverb. (See 
 page 300.) " He dances like me." " He dances as I do." Not, — 
 " He dances like I do." " He dances as me." 
 
 29 
 
 Likely, Liable. — Likely means probable and usually refers to 
 an event as favorable. Liable means responsible and usually refers 
 to an event as unfavorable. "He is likely to pass." "He is 
 liable for damages." Not, — " He is liable to succeed." 
 
 30 
 Loose, Lose. — Loose means to free from anything that binds or 
 restrains ; not fastened. Lose means to fail to keep through acci- 
 
314 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 dent, to miss, or be deprived of. " The dog is loose." " They 
 will lose the game." Not, — "I may loose my hat." 
 
 31 
 
 Many, Much. — Many means a large number, numerous, various. 
 Much means a large quantity. " I have many tickets." " I have 
 much paper." 
 
 32 
 
 Most, Almost. — Most means the greatest number, size, rank, 
 or age. Almost means nearly, approximately. " We had the 
 most to do." " We are almost done." Not, — " We are most 
 done." 
 
 33 
 
 Neither, None. — Neither (not either) refers to two ; but is 
 always singular itself. None (no one) refers to more than two ; it 
 is usually singular, though many writers use it as plural. " Neither 
 he nor his brother was here." ''None of the men is going." Not, 
 — " Neither of the three was there." " None of the two was 
 
 there." 
 
 34 
 
 Number, Quantity, Amount. — Number refers to a collection 
 of units. Quantity refers to a certain estimated mass. Amount 
 refers to total or aggregate. " There is a large number of apples 
 in a bushel." " There is a large quantity of wheat in the granary." 
 " What amount of corn did you raise this year? " 
 
 35 
 
 Its, It's. — Its is a possessive pronoun, neuter gender. It's is 
 the contraction for it is. " The statue fell from its pedestal." 
 " It's not so hard as you think." Not, — " It's front was scarred by 
 lightning." 
 
 36 
 
 Part, Portion. — Part means a certain amount or number of 
 anything. Portion means an allotment or a share. " The father 
 divided the land into parts and gave the eldest son his portion." 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH ^ 315 
 
 37 
 
 Party, Person. — Party means a number of persons. It may be 
 used to refer to one person only in the terms of a contract, — 
 " Party of the first part." Person means one individual. '' How 
 many are there in our party? " ''I like that jolly old person in 
 the corner." Not, — "I like that jolly old party in the corner." 
 
 38 
 
 Raise, Rise. — Raise means to cause to move upward. Raise is 
 always transitive, and is never a noun. Rise means to move 
 upward, to gain, to lift. " He raised his hand." " He raised 
 his book." " He raised the child to a seat." " He rose to 
 a sitting position." " Fog rises." " Tide rises." Not, — " He 
 got a raise." " He was so weak that he could not raise." " The 
 sun raises." 
 
 39 
 
 Real, Very. — Real means genuine, pure, authentic. Very 
 means degree or measure of genuineness. '' This is a real diamond 
 and it is very expensive." Not, — " The diamond is real expen- 
 sive." 
 
 40 
 
 Regard, Respect. — Regard refers to special kindliness or esteem 
 toward equals, without consideration as to rank or position. Re- 
 spect refers to esteem felt toward one of lofty station. Regard is 
 more likely to be mutual. " I do not regard him highly as a man, 
 but I respect him as governor." " They had a high regard for 
 one another." 
 
 41 
 
 Relative, Relation. — Relative is one related to another by blood. 
 Relation is also one related to another by blood, but its nicer use 
 indicates a more remote connection. " Jim is a relative of mine." 
 " The teacher's relation with her pupils is very pleasant." Not, — 
 " Relations and friends are requested to return to the house." 
 
316 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 42 
 
 Remainder, Balance. — Remainder means that which remains 
 after a part has been taken away. Balance means an equaUty 
 between credit and debit in an account. " Since I have a balance 
 of fifty dollars to my credit in the bank I shall stay for the remainder 
 of the week." Not, — " He is going to play quarterback for the 
 balance of the season." 
 
 43 
 
 Remember, Recollect. — Remember means to retain in the 
 memory. Recollect means to recall from the memory. " He 
 remembered the event and recollected the names of all the people 
 present." 
 
 44 
 
 Remit, Send. — Remit means to send in return for something 
 sent. Send means to cause or direct to go or pass. " Please send 
 me the following articles. I shall remit amount due immediately 
 upon notification of total charges." Not, — " Remit me the 
 following articles." (See also transmit, discharge, dispatch, emit.) 
 
 45 
 
 Repair, Fix. — Repair means to restore to a former state, or to 
 mend. Fix means to make secure, to fasten or attach. " He will 
 repair the broken desk." " He will fix the desk in position." 
 Not, — " Mother will fix my torn sleeve." 
 
 46 
 
 Sit, Set. — Sit means to seat, to rest as in a chair, to take or 
 occupy a seat. Set means to place in position, to cause to sit. 
 " He sits erect." " They're sitting together." '^ I sat there for 
 two hours." " Set the jar on the table." " The dress sets well." 
 " The sun sets." " The sun is setting." Not, — "I have been 
 setting on the couch." " It sits well around the neck." (See 
 principal parts of these verbs on page 372.) 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 317 
 
 47 
 
 Stop, Stay. — Stop means to bring from motion to rest, to check, 
 to prevent exit or entrance. Stay means to stop, but more com- 
 monly to remain. " He stopped at the inn and stayed there 
 three days." Not, — " She has been stopping here a week." 
 
 48 
 
 Suspect, Suspicion. — Suspect means to imagine, usually un- 
 favorably; to mistrust. Suspect is a verb. Suspicion means 
 doubt, mistrust, conjecture. Suspicion is a noun. '' I suspect 
 him." " I have a suspicion." Not, — ''I suspicion him." (See 
 also expect.) 
 
 49 
 
 When, While. — When refers usually to time as definite and 
 completed. While refers to time as in progress, during. " When 
 I said that, he turned and left the room." " While we were talking, 
 John entered." Not, — " When we were talking, John entered." 
 
 50 
 
 Without, Unless. — Without as a preposition means lacking ; 
 as an adverb, on the outside of. Unless is a conjunction, meaning 
 supposing that, except, save. Do not make the mistake of using 
 the preposition without for the conjunction unless. " I shall not 
 go unless you accompany me." "I shall not go without you." 
 Not, — "I shall not go without you accompany me." 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 The italicized words in the following sentences are improperly 
 used. Discuss each word ; tell why it is not properly used ; replace 
 it with the correct word ; use it correctly in a sentence of your own 
 composing : — 
 
 1. They charged twenty-five cents admittance to the game. 
 
 2. She is mad because I received a higher mark than she. 
 
 3. My mark was around ninety. 
 
318 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 4. She sets besides me every day. 
 
 5. I have three books and two pads beside. 
 
 6. Between the members of this class I think there ought to be an 
 
 agreement. 
 
 7. "Hello, John, how is it by you?" called Fred. 
 
 8. He is stopping by his sister's. 
 
 9. I calculate we shall lose that game. 
 
 10. I guess I shaU go. 
 
 11. I suppose that kind of play will win. 
 
 12. Every boy can play or not, as he chooses. 
 
 13. How may a fellow pass if he never has a chance to recite ? 
 
 14. A good reputation should give a man a good character. 
 
 15. We found seven points of difference in comparing them. 
 
 16. Our contrast revealed several points of difference and several 
 
 likenesses between them. 
 
 17. A new counsel to Madras has just been appointed. 
 
 18. We held our consul at 8.15. 
 
 19. He gave me wise council. 
 
 20. He was proud and contemptible. 
 
 21. They walked a long ways together. 
 
 22. What affect did the medicine have upon you? 
 
 23. His character in the community is excellent. 
 
 24. We all excepted our marks in silence, John accepted, 
 
 25. There are less pupils absent today than yesterday. 
 
 26. You should form the custom of getting up promptly. 
 
 27. His treatment of his dog is not human. 
 
 28. His illusion was to Lowell's poem The Vision of Sir Launfal. 
 
 29. Marconi discovered wireless telegraphy. 
 
 30. He immigrated from Austria to America. 
 
 31. Lay down, Fido, and go to sleep. 
 
 32. I laid down for an hour. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 319 
 
 33. He learned me three times as much as any other teacher 1 ever 
 
 had. 
 
 34. Please leave me go to the circus. 
 
 35. Can I have a lend of ten dollars? 
 
 36. He will loan you fifty cents. 
 
 37. He did his work as me. 
 
 38. They walk like we do. 
 
 39. I think it is liable to rain today. 
 
 40. You will loose your purse if you are not careful. 
 
 41. We are most there now. 
 
 42. Either of the five boys can go. 
 
 43. None of the two sisters is coming. 
 
 44. What amount of marbles have you in your hand? • 
 
 45. Cut the cake into portions and take your part. 
 
 46. He is a congenial party to have around. 
 
 47. The sun raised at six o'clock this morning. 
 
 48. The child raised quickly and hurried home. 
 
 49. We had a real good time at the party. 
 
 50. He does not regard the truth. 
 
 51. The relations set and wept aloud. 
 
 52. The balance of the season is liable to be rainy. 
 
 53. I recollect the affair fully but I can't remember the name of the 
 
 person who presided. 
 
 54. They remitted the goods and I sent the money by return mail. 
 
 55. Please fix my shoes as soon as possible. 
 
 56. Set on the floor, if you are not comfortable there. 
 
 57. She stopped there three months last season. 
 
 58. I always suspicioned him of being dishonest. 
 
 59. When we were playing it began to rain real hard. 
 
 60. I'm not going without you do. 
 
320 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 LESSON FORTY SIX 
 
 Testing Your Sentences 
 
 Criticism of sentences in your own composition work and 
 in that of your classmates is likewise essential. Sentences 
 should be tested for unity, for coherence, for emphasis, 
 according to the rules laid down on pages 145, 155, and 238. 
 
 In addition, you should keep constant watch upon sen- 
 tences to see whether they are concise and accurate. There 
 is more than one way of expressing every thought. One 
 form may do quite as well as another for the expression 
 of certain ideas. It does not matter very much whether 
 you say, — That house is beautiful or There is a beautiful 
 house. The thought is so simple and direct that one form of 
 sentence is as good as another. But if you wish to be fluent 
 and skillful in expression, you must drill yourself in the 
 many different forms of clause and phrase combination. 
 Know how to say the same thing in a variety of ways. 
 
 Once there was a poet who expressed a great thought in 
 these words, — A beautiful thing is an eternal joy. He liked 
 the thought. It gave him a thrill when he pondered it. 
 But the expression appeared to him flat and colorless. It 
 did not thrill him. So he studied the sentence, to see how 
 he could make it match the thought in greatness. And 
 then he evolved, A thing of beauty is a joy forever. With 
 this he felt satisfied. It has a pleasant rhythm, which the 
 other form lacks. The central idea is expressed by the 
 noun beauty instead of the adjective beautiful. The Anglo- 
 Saxon word forever is more pictorial than the Latin word 
 eternal; it seems to signify a longer period, and it comes 
 last and thus falls in the emphatic place in the sentence. 
 Everybody could understand the thought as first expressed. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH ^ 321 
 
 Everybody can both understand snidfeel it as now expressed. 
 It is now great poetry. Formerly, it was merely a line of 
 prose. 
 
 Following are a few of the ways by which sentence expres- 
 sion may be changed. Study them carefully, deciding where 
 the sentence has been improved by alteration. In general, 
 the most concise form is the best, provided it is clear and 
 complete : — 
 
 1. You may reduce phrases to words, — 
 
 (1) She was a girl of great talent. 
 
 (2) She was a ver\^ talented girl. 
 
 2. You may reduce clauses to words or phrases, — 
 (1) There is a girl who is very talented. 
 
 (1) There is a girl of great talent. 
 
 (2) There is a very talented girl. 
 
 3. You may reduce clauses to participial, prepositional, 
 
 or infinitive phrases, — 
 
 (1) When he had finished his work, he decided that he 
 
 would read a story. 
 
 (2) Finishing his work, he decided to read a story. 
 
 (1) While the game was in progress, it began to rain. 
 
 (2) During the progress of the game, it began to rain. 
 
 (1) The best way by which one can make money is to 
 
 save it. 
 
 (2) The best way to make money is to save. 
 
 4. You may convert prepositional phrases into participial 
 
 or infinitive phrases, — 
 
 (1) On his arrival home, John was taken ill. 
 
 (2) Arriving home, John was taken ill. 
 
 (1) Tom borrowed a horse for riding. 
 
 (2) Tom borrowed a horse to ride. 
 
322 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 5. You may expand words into phrases or clauses, — 
 (1) The ambitious boy succeeds. 
 
 (1) A boy with ambition succeeds. 
 
 (2) The boy who is ambitious succeeds. 
 
 6. You may expand prepositional, infinitive, and parti- 
 
 cipial phrases into clauses, — 
 
 (1) He hoped to be able to go. 
 
 (2) He hoped that he would be able to go. 
 
 (1) On reaching the station, she was exhausted. 
 
 (2) When she reached the station, she was exhausted. 
 
 (1) He is serious at work. 
 
 (2) He is serious when he works. 
 
 7. You may reduce many sentences to one, — 
 
 (1) John went. Mary went. I went. 
 
 (2) John, Mary, and I went. 
 
 8. You may use direct for indirect discourse, or vice 
 
 versa, see page 349, — 
 
 (1) He asked me where I was going. 
 
 (2) He asked, ''Where are you going?" 
 
 9. You may omit words, phrases, or clauses in order to 
 
 avoid monotonous repetition, — 
 (1) It resulted in a disastrous result. 
 
 (1) It resulted disastrously. 
 
 (2) The result was disastrous. 
 
 10 You may convert independent clauses into words or 
 phrases or dependent clauses, in order to establish 
 proper relationships among ideas, — 
 (1) I entered the room, and I saw mother. 
 
 (1) Entering the room, I saw mother. 
 
 (2) On entering the room, I saw mother. 
 
 (3) When I entered the room, I saw mother. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 323 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 In the following exercises you are asked to change the form of 
 sentences in accordance with the ten foregoing illustrations. The 
 number of the exercise corresponds to the number of the illustration. 
 Tell what is lost or gained in the sentence as an expression of thought 
 by the change you make. 
 
 1. Reduce a phrase in each of the following sentences to a single 
 
 word : — - 
 
 (1) He behaved with politeness. 
 
 (2) She was a girl of faithfulness. 
 
 (3) He told me to go at once. 
 
 (4) He passed the lodge in safety. 
 
 (5) In the meantime John acted with discretion. 
 
 (6) The fight of Sohrab with Rustum was tragic. 
 
 (7) As a result she failed in English, 
 
 (8) The love of Ivanhoe for Rebecca was one of constancy. 
 
 (9) He had the courage of a lion and the lightness of spirit 
 
 of a bird. 
 (10) He left the room in a quiet manner and behaved with con- 
 sideration in every way. 
 
 2. Reduce a clause in each of the following sentences to a word 
 
 or a phrase : — 
 
 (1) The boy who works hard is certain to get on well. 
 
 (2) When the sun rose, the sky was covered with clouds. 
 
 (3) The girl who knows how to sew is independent when mis- 
 
 fortune comes. 
 
 (4) Dogs that are raised in the country are more intelligent 
 
 than those that are kept in the city. 
 
 (5) The games that we played were well supervised by those 
 
 who instruct us. 
 
 (6) I do not know where his home is. 
 
 (7) There is a young man who has a future. 
 
 (8) The man who commits crime may be as good a man at 
 
 heart as the man who is innocent of crime. 
 
 (9) He made up his mind after he had studied the question 
 
 for a long time, that it could not possibly be solved. 
 (10) Lowell was admired not only by those who belonged to 
 the literary circle in which he moved, but also by those 
 
324 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 who belonged to political circles at the time in which he 
 lived. 
 
 3. Reduce a clause in each of the following sentences to a par- 
 
 ticipial, a prepositional, or an infinitive phrase : — 
 
 (1) While we were playing our duet, the lamp fell from the 
 
 piano. 
 
 (2) If you go up to the top of the hill, you will get a beautiful 
 
 view of the surrounding country. 
 
 (3) Students who wish to buy tickets should apply at the office 
 
 . at noon recess. 
 
 (4) The pupils who doubt their success are without exception 
 
 the pupils who fail. 
 
 (5) She studied night and day, for she had made up her mind 
 
 that she would pass. 
 
 (6) When Rustum recognized his son in Sohrab, he no longer 
 
 had the heart to fight. 
 
 (7) Pupils who want to cheer the team on to victory should 
 
 be among those who sit in the first rows. 
 
 (8) While we were discussing the appropriateness of the ques- 
 
 tion, Tom suddenly decided that he did not care to be a 
 member of the debating team. 
 
 (9) Learn that you must labor and that you must wait. 
 
 (10) They hoped that they would beat the opposing team and 
 
 that they could take home a great big wonderful score. 
 
 (11) A bird that is in the hand is worth two that are in the 
 
 bush. 
 
 (12) A stitch that is taken in time is worth nine. 
 
 4. Convert a prepositional phrase in each of the following sen- 
 
 tences into a participial or an infinitive phrase : — 
 
 (1) On his departure from the house he called back to us, 
 
 "Good luck!" 
 
 (2) During practice on the field he was taken ill. 
 
 (3) They decided upon a trip to Niagara. 
 
 (4) They hoped and prayed for victory. 
 
 (5) On his arrival at the office he found the door locked. 
 
 (6) In going from one place to another they found many i>oint8 
 
 of great interest to them. 
 
 (7) He was caught in the act of cheating. 
 
 (8) At sight of her wounded son, she fell prostrate. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 325 
 
 (9) They ran madly into the hall at the sound of the bell. 
 (10) On his entrance into the room, he saw a beautiful picture. 
 
 5. Expand a word (or words) in each of the following sentences 
 
 into a phrase or a clause : — 
 
 (1) O that I had the dove's wings! 
 
 (2) She has a lily brow and a rosy cheek. 
 
 (3) A working man is an earning man. 
 
 (4) She told him to go to the store immediately. 
 
 ('(5) Slowly, gradually, deliberately they stole upon the enemy. 
 
 (6) The conceited boy was defeated by his own vanity. 
 
 (7) She has golden hair and hazel brown eyes. 
 
 (8) The boy refusing an opportunity to appear in public is 
 
 denying himself the best, educationally. 
 
 (9) He spoke clearly and emphatically. 
 
 (10) Those having tickets to sell should stand here. 
 
 6. Expand a prepositional, a participial, or an infinitive phrase in 
 
 each of the following sentences into a clause : — 
 
 (1) They hope to sail today. 
 
 (2) On standing up to recite, he forgot the question asked of 
 
 him. 
 
 (3) At school he is earnest and industrious; at home he is 
 
 idle and mischievous. 
 
 (4) They decided to fight with swords only. 
 
 (5) After seeing him off they went to the movies. 
 
 (6) Studying day and night you will injure your health. 
 
 (7) On the umpire's decision against them, our boys were 
 
 crestfallen. 
 
 (8) He told the boys to sit together and not to talk. 
 
 (9) Arriving home late at night, they were surprised to find 
 
 Fido lying on the doorstep waiting to greet them. 
 (10) Seeing me on his entrance he went upstairs directly in 
 order to avoid the stormy scene. 
 
 7. Reduce the short sentences in each of the following groups to 
 
 one good sentence : — 
 
 (1) John's heart is true. John's head is clear. John's spirit 
 
 is loyal. 
 
 (2) He is an excellent player. He also speaks well. He 
 
 owes his musical and oratorical ability to hard work. 
 
326 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (3) There was an Ancient Mariner. He stopped one of three 
 
 men. The men were going to a wedding. He told 
 him his story. 
 
 (4) He looked up. He looked down. He looked forward. 
 
 He looked backward. He could not tell where the noise 
 came from. 
 
 (5) He was old. She was young. They called him Decem- 
 
 ber. They called her May. He married her. 
 
 (6) The sun rose. The dew disappeared. The workmen 
 
 went out to the fields. She had died. The daily round 
 of labor lost all interest for him. 
 
 (7) They ran in. They ran out. They whistled. They 
 
 shouted. Auntie lived in constant terror of them. 
 
 (8) They pitched their tent. They set their lines. They 
 
 equipped their boats. They were ready for a royal 
 summer. 
 
 (9) The king reviews his troops. The soldiers appear at their 
 
 best. A surprise attack is made. King and soldiers 
 fall in defeat. 
 (10) Brian loved Rebecca. Rebecca did not love Brian. 
 Ivanhoe fought to rescue her from him. 
 
 8. Write each of the following sentences in a different form of dis- 
 course : — 
 
 (1) The poet said that it is better to have loved and lost than 
 
 never to have loved at all. 
 
 (2) "To do a great good," said Portia to Shylock, "do a little 
 
 wrong." 
 
 (3) Marc Antony said in his great oration that the evil men do 
 
 lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones. 
 
 (4) "By thy long beard and glittering eye, now wherefore 
 
 stopp'st thou me?" asked the wedding guest of the 
 Ancient Mariner. 
 
 (5) John said that his father used to say that sparing the rod 
 
 means spoiling the child. 
 
 (6) "Ah-a, my good man," shouted the knight, "now will I 
 
 run thee through before thou hast time to utter thy 
 prayers!" 
 
 (7) They were told, they said, to take the first turning on the 
 
 left and then to follow the wooded path. 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 327 
 
 (8) "Whatever I do, whatever I say, Grandmother tells me 
 
 that isn't the way," sobbed Alice. 
 
 (9) The orator said that if he could not have liberty he wanted 
 
 to die. 
 (10) "I, sir, I am Roderick Dhu," said the warrior with much 
 importance. 
 
 9. Rewrite each of the following sentences, correcting the repeti- 
 tion : — 
 
 (1) One does not have to go if one does not care to, but really, 
 
 every one should want to have one good time before 
 one dies. 
 
 (2) The effect of the music upon her was very affecting. 
 
 (3) There were thirteen there but there wasn't the slightest 
 
 superstition expressed by any one there. 
 
 (4) It is not the big things but the little things in life that 
 
 bring out the things worth while in your character. 
 
 (5) All the time he kept quiet and presently all of them began 
 
 to notice that he was altogether almost uncomfortable. 
 
 (6) John said he thought he would go to the game, but Mary 
 
 said she preferred to go to the theater. 
 
 (7) Quite a little distance from the house there is quite a his- 
 
 torical old tree that is quite interesting. 
 
 (8) None of them knew what the result of such a decision would 
 
 be, but they knew that whatever resulted the result 
 could not be worse than what had been resulting right 
 along. 
 
 (9) They were all ready and all went altogether, so the affair 
 
 promised to be all right after all. 
 (10) I love the city because the city is always so interesting. 
 
 10. Establish the proper relationship among the ideas in each of 
 the following sentences by converting independent clauses 
 into words, phrases, or dependent clauses : — 
 
 (1) I got up this morning and I had a severe headache. 
 
 (2) I looked out of the window and I saw it was raining very 
 
 hard. 
 
 (3) He jumped up from his chair and shouted "Who's there ? " 
 
 (4) He played football all season and he passed in all his sub- 
 
 jects. 
 
328 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (5) The journey was made by boat and I enjoyed every bit 
 
 of it. 
 
 (6) We studied our algebra and then we studied our English 
 
 and then we sang popular songs till eleven o'clock. 
 
 (7) I thought of John out there alone in the trenches and I 
 
 wrote him a good long letter. 
 
 (8) Lowell was a poet and he was the author of The Biglow 
 
 Papers. 
 
 (9) I hke poetry and I read all the good poetry I can find. 
 (10) The storm cleared away in a little while and then we could 
 
 see the path and we made our way home without trouble. 
 
 LESSON FORTY SEVEN 
 General Tests 
 
 It is a good thing to test yourself, not only in certain 
 special divisions of your work, but along general lines as 
 well. The notebook in which you keep troublesome cases 
 of spelling, troublesome cases of punctuation, troublesome 
 cases of sentence construction, and so forth, should some- 
 times be used for the purpose of testing your all-round 
 standing in English. You may thus establish standards 
 for yourself. Can you at the end of a certain week or 
 month pass a test on the work of that week or month? 
 Do you lead or lag behind your classmates in meeting the 
 requirements of the work in a certain period? Have you 
 at the end of this very week, let us say, mastered some 
 definite thing in your work in English? Are you able to 
 cross out a page in the notebook and let it go forever, be- 
 cause you have fixed its contents permanently in your mind ? 
 
 If you have studied all the lessons in this book, you should 
 be able to meet the sixteen tests enumerated below. If you 
 have studied only part of the lessons in this book, you 
 should be able to meet those that have been covered in the 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 329 
 
 lessons studied. Measure yourself by these requirements. 
 Cheek yourself up by them unsparingly. 
 
 1. You should be able to write a correct letter, that is, to plan 
 and punctuate the letter parts correctly. 
 
 2. You should be able to write the following kinds of letters ; — 
 
 (1) Letter ordering goods 
 
 (2) Letter of receipt 
 
 (3) Letter of complaint 
 
 (4) Letter of adjustment 
 
 (5) Letter of application 
 
 (6) Letter of excuse 
 
 (7) Letter of request 
 
 (8) Letter of recommendation 
 
 (9) Letter of invitation 
 
 (10) Letter of thanks 
 
 (11) Letter to a friend 
 
 (12) Brief letter to a newspaper 
 
 (13) Brief letter to sell or to advertise 
 
 3. You should be able to plan and write a composition of three 
 or four paragraphs, — a composition that interests, that makes 
 clear, that convinces. 
 
 4. You should be able to plan and write single paragraphs having 
 unity, coherence, and emphasis. 
 
 5. You should be able to write clear, coherent, and emphatic 
 sentences of many different kinds. 
 
 6. You should be able to use at least one thousand words ac- 
 curately and to study words from the dictionary inteUigently. 
 
 7. You should be able to use the different parts of speech 
 correctly, to know their classifications, inflections, and con- 
 structions. 
 
 8. You should be able to construct sentences to show the various 
 uses of the parts of speech, of phrases, and of clauses. 
 
 9. You should be able to analyze complex and compound sen- 
 tences of two or three clauses. 
 
330 
 
 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 ^ 10. You should be able to conjugate verbs, especially the com- 
 mon irregula? ones. 
 
 11. You should be able to capitalize and to punctuate accurately 
 any sentences that you can construct correctly. 
 
 12. You should be able to pronounce the following words and 
 other words of the class each represents, with accuracy and dis- 
 tinction : — 
 
 alms 
 
 diamond 
 
 letter 
 
 soon 
 
 wist 
 
 am 
 
 dog 
 
 lists 
 
 star 
 
 why 
 
 ask 
 
 facts 
 
 man 
 
 then 
 
 did you 
 
 assure 
 
 history 
 
 new 
 
 third 
 
 let me 
 
 bird 
 
 huge 
 
 raw 
 
 veil 
 
 one and all 
 
 catch 
 
 idea 
 
 recognize 
 
 was 
 
 two suits 
 
 city 
 
 join 
 
 revive 
 
 whereas 
 
 
 cold 
 
 just 
 
 ringing 
 
 widths 
 
 
 13. You should be able to speak in public, — debate, make 
 announcements, and so forth, with precision and effectiveness. 
 
 14. You should be able to read prose and poetry, such as you find 
 in the preceding pages, with that intelligence and enjoyment which 
 come from quick and clear understanding of their structure. 
 
 15. You should be able (and this is perhaps most important 
 of all) to prepare by planning what you have to say, and to express 
 it in such a manner that it will be forcible, interesting, and clear. 
 
 16. You should, finally, be able to criticize both yourself and 
 others kindly and helpfully; that is, you should be able to "help 
 yourself" to become a user of good English. 
 
 These sixteen points represent by no means all that you 
 should be able to do, if you have studied this book carefully. 
 They are average standards. Be able to do at least these 
 things. No two members of a class are exactly equal in 
 standing. They cannot be, for no two individuals are 
 exactly equal in capability and attainment. But the mem- 
 bers of a class approximate a uniform standard. Suppose 
 the following lines indicate the individuals in a class of ten : — 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 
 
 331 
 
 John Bill Tom Dick Harry Rob Tim Jim Fred George 
 
 Harry stands highest; Tom lowest; Rob is average. 
 Harry could easily meet all of the above sixteen require- 
 ments and more, after he had studied this book. Tom 
 could probably meet eight or ten of them. Rob could just 
 meet all of them. 
 
 You will find it both interesting and helpful to draw lines 
 of this kind for the members of your class. Find your own 
 line among the twenty or thirty or forty others. Is it 
 Harry's? Is it Tom's? Is it Rob's? If it is Harry's, are 
 you going to lie down and rest until the others catch up? 
 If it is Tom's, are you going to be discouraged? If it is 
 Rob's, are you going to be satisfied? 
 
 Following are a few general tests in English. Perhaps 
 they are familiar. Every pupil in the class should be able 
 to pass each test, though of course all will not receive the 
 same mark. Harry will probably make 100% on each; 
 Tom, probably 70%; Rob, probably 80% or 85%. Study 
 each question thoroughly before you attempt to answer it. 
 Be sure that you understand exactly for what it asks. Note 
 the value attached to each question and apportion your 
 time and space accordingly in answering. Refer to lessons 
 
332 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 in this book for as many of the answers as possible. Books 
 other than those mentioned may of course be substituted in 
 the questions deaUng with hterature. 
 
 Test I 
 
 1. Name in topical form and in order of occurrence five of 
 
 the most important events in Ivanhoe or Quentin Durward 
 or Treasure Island. Under each event named state at 
 least two subordinate topics. (15) 
 
 2. Imagine yourself one of the characters in Ivanhoe or 
 
 Quentin Durward or Treasure Island. As that char- 
 acter, plan and write a letter of four or five good 
 paragraphs to another character in the story in which 
 you tell about your most interesting experience. 
 (Plan, 10. Form, 5. Content, 10. Structure, 15. 
 
 Total — 40) 
 
 3. On March 15, 1915, you wrote to John Wanamaker, Broad- 
 
 way and Tenth Street, New York, ordering material for 
 a garment and inclosing money for the same. Up to date 
 you have received neither the material nor an answer. 
 Write a second letter. (Form, 5. Content, 15. 
 
 Total— 20) 
 
 4. (a) Arrange the words of the following sentence in columns 
 
 so as to show what parts of speech they are : — 
 When the pupils were asked to name the most important 
 day of the year, they said with much spirit, "June SO, the 
 day school closes." (20) 
 
 (6) What kind of sentence is the above? Reason. (5) 
 
 Test II 
 
 1. Make an outline for a composition of four or five para- 
 
 graphs on Greek life as set forth by Homer. Write the 
 topic sentence for each paragraph. (20) 
 
 2. Develop one of the paragraphs outlined in answer to 
 
 question 1. (10) 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 333 
 
 3. Select a character from the Iliad or the Odyssey and 
 
 tell a short story to illustrate his or her principal 
 characteristics. (15) 
 
 4. Write to Marshall Field and Company, Chicago, Illinois, 
 
 ordering a certain number of yards of dress goods at so 
 much a yard. Inclose check or money order and 
 sample of goods to be matched. (20) 
 
 5. (a) Write the following conversation correctly : — 
 
 By the way you are Scotch I think. Yes said Rob. 
 
 I asked explained the editor only because of the shall 
 
 and will difficulty. Have you got over that yet. No 
 
 said Rob sadly and I never will. (10) 
 
 (6) Explain in a few words the humor in the above extract . (5) 
 
 (c) Write the third sentence in indirect discourse. (5) 
 
 6. (a) What kind of sentence is the following? — (5) 
 (6) Classify the clauses in it. (5) 
 (c) Give the syntax of dispute and about. (5) 
 
 There has been some dispute about who wrote the 
 Iliad and the Odyssey. 
 
 Test III 
 
 1. (a) You have employed for some time in your real estate 
 
 office a girl whose work has been entirely satisfac- 
 tory. She now has an opportunity to secure a much 
 better position than you can offer her. Make a plan 
 for a letter of recommendation to be sent by you in 
 her behalf to the firm that offers the better place. (5) 
 (6) Write the letter. (10) 
 
 2. (a) Make a plan for a theme of three or four paragraphs 
 
 on the following : — (10) 
 
 Improving my Own Speech 
 (6) Write the theme. (20) 
 
 3. Write a good paragraph on one of the following : — 
 
 (a) What interest in foreign lands might one gain from 
 reading Scott's Quentln Durwardf 
 
334 GOOD ENGLISH 
 
 (b) What interest in foreign lands might one gain from 
 
 reading Stevenson's Kidnapped ? 
 
 (c) Discuss Scott's manner of telUng a story. 
 
 (d) Discuss Kidnapped in such a way as to make a person 
 
 wish to read it. (20) 
 
 4. Outline and write two good paragraphs on one of the fol- 
 
 lowing : — 
 (a) A play that you have seen or a book that you have 
 
 read that you care to recommend to others. 
 {b) Some work that is being done in your community 
 
 to make people better and happier. 
 
 (c) Getting ready for a school party. 
 
 (d) Trimming a new spring hat. 
 
 (e) Making a cake. 
 
 (/) How a certain dress was made. (20) 
 
 (g) Laying out a diamond. 
 
 (h) Preparing for a hike. 
 
 (i) Features of a Wild West show. 
 
 5. Write three complex sentences, giving in each a brief ex- 
 
 planation of some current topic you have studied during 
 the past ten weeks. (15) 
 
 Test IV 
 
 (The following seven questions are used by permission of 
 the New York State Board of Regents.) 
 
 1. Answer either a or b: — [20] 
 
 a. Write a letter to any person you may select, describing 
 
 the community, the town, or the city in which you live, 
 and mentioning points of advantage or interest that 
 might attract strangers to settle there. 
 
 b. One of your friends who is about to graduate from the 
 
 grammar school has decided not to go to the high school. 
 Write a letter urging this friend to continue through the 
 high school. \ 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 335 
 
 2. Write a composition about a person or, if you wish, a bird 
 
 or an animal mentioned in one of the following [Include such 
 points as (a) appearance, (6) habits, (c) characteristics] : 
 T'/ie Lad?/ of the Lake, The Man without a Country, A Watcher 
 in the Woods, In the Wilderness, Horatius, To a Skylark. [20] 
 
 3. Answer either a or 6 : — [10] 
 
 a. Give in complete sentences the following information 
 
 about a book, not named in question 2, that you have 
 read in the past year : (1) author, (2, 3) time and place 
 indicated in its contents, (4) your opinion of it, (5) what 
 induced you to read the book. 
 
 b. Select five words from the following list and write five 
 
 sentences each of which shall illustrate a different one 
 of the words selected : theme, vindictive, hamlet, spied, 
 eagerly, fiHal, fearfully, armor, lofty, twinkUng, fleecy, 
 season, realm, mystic, trembling. 
 
 4. Write an outhne on one of the following topics : — [10] 
 
 a. A possible experience of a fire engine horse or an army 
 
 officer's horse or sl farm horse. 
 h. A recent invention or a household convenience. 
 
 c. Any recent event of current interest. 
 
 5. Answer either a or h:— [20] 
 
 a. Imagine that you are a Boy Scout or a Camp Fire girl and 
 
 have just gone into camp for a fortnight or a month. 
 Write three or four paragraphs on one of the following : — 
 Our Daily Routine in Camp, Safety First in Camp, A Hike 
 in the Dark, Around the Campfire, Keeping Things in Order. 
 The picture on the next page may be suggestive. See 
 also the pictures on pages 167 and 220. 
 
 b. Write about 100 words on one of the following : — 
 
 (1) Your own biography. 
 
 (2) The biography of the character in history that you 
 
 like best. 
 
 (3) The biography of Sir Walter Scott. 
 
AROUND THE CAMPFIRB, 
 
HOW TO BE THOROUGH 337 
 
 6. Imagining that you are to give an oral composition on one 
 
 of the following topics before your classmates as audience, 
 think what you would wish to say to them on the topic 
 chosen, arrange your material in natural order, and 
 then write on your answer paper an outline for use as a 
 guide while speaking : — [10] 
 
 (1) The play of Shakespeare that I like best. 
 
 (2) What my favorite historic character did for his (or 
 
 her) country. 
 
 (3) The mining of coal or metal or the process of manu- 
 
 facture of some article or the raising of a crop. 
 
 (4) A hobby or pastime in which I am interested. 
 
 7. Quote at least 10 lines of prose or poetry that you have 
 
 memorized this year. [The lines quoted need not all be 
 selected from the same work.] [10] 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 CAPITALIZATION 
 PUNCTUATION 
 WORD LISTS 
 GRAMMAR 
 
APPENDIX 
 CAPITALIZATION 
 
 1. The first word of every sentence should be capitalized. 
 
 2. The first word of every line of poetry should be capitalized. 
 
 3. The pronoun I and the interjection should be capitahzed. 
 (The interjection oh should not be capitalized, however, except 
 
 when it stands first in a sentence or in a fine of poetry.) 
 
 4. Proper nouns should be capitalized, that is, the names of 
 persons, places, days, months, special documents, special bodies 
 of men, etc. 
 
 The names of the seasons should not be capitalized unless 
 they are used figuratively or stand first in a sentence or a line of 
 poetry. 
 
 5. Proper adjectives and other words formed from proper nouns 
 should be capitalized. 
 
 6. Abbreviations of proper nouns and adjectives should be 
 capitalized. 
 
 7. Titles u^ed with proper nouns should be capitalized. 
 
 (Used alone, titles are sometimes capitahzed, sometimes not.) 
 
 8. Nouns usually common but frequently used with proper nouns 
 should be capitalized when so used. 
 
 Park Street Lincoln Park Manchester College 
 Ohio River Aunt Mary Colonel Newcome 
 
 (In connection with rules 4 and 8 it may be well to remember 
 that, generally speaking, a word is capitalized according to the 
 
 341 
 
342 APPENDIX 
 
 company it keeps. The word falls is a common noun, but used 
 in company with Niagara it becomes a proper noun and is written 
 with a capital, as, — Niagara Falls. The following also come 
 under this rule, — Tariff Bill, Euclid Avenue, Leland Stanford 
 University. The words north, south, east, west, and their compounds, 
 are capitalized only when they refer to special locality, as, — The 
 East and the West stand together. The Northwest was developed by 
 James J. Hill. Fargo is north of St. Louis.) 
 
 9. The first word of every direct quotation should be capi- 
 talized. 
 
 10. The first word and every important word in the title of a 
 book or composition should be capitalized. 
 
 11. Personified words are sometimes capitalized. 
 
 Still is the toiling hand of Care. 
 
 12. Capitals are frequently used in order to make words emphatic. 
 
 (One should use caution in resorting to this device for 
 
 emphasis.) 
 
 The most important rule is thai for Unity. 
 
 13. Words referring to the Deity should be capitalized. 
 
 Supreme Power Infinite One 
 
PUNCTUATION 
 
 The punctuation marks are as follows : — 
 
 Period . Dash — 
 
 Comma , Quotation Marks " " * ' 
 
 Semicolon ; Apostrophe • ' 
 
 Colon : Parentheses ( ) 
 
 Question Mark ? Brackets [ ] 
 
 Exclamation Mark ! Hyphen 
 
 The Use of Punctuation Marks 
 The Period (.) 
 
 1. The period is used after imperative and declarative sentences. 
 Its purpose here is to distinguish sentences from clauses. 
 
 It is also used after abbreviations, after numbers and letters 
 that point out the divisions of a piece of writing, and after whole 
 numbers to set off decimals. 
 
 The Comma (,) 
 
 " The comma is a point used to indicate the smallest interruption 
 in continuity of thought or grammatical construction, the marking 
 of which contributes to clearness." — The Century Dictionary. 
 
 1. The comma is used to facilitate the reading of numbers of 
 more than four digits. 
 
 11,189,211. 
 
 2. The comma is used to separate two or more numbers in suc- 
 cession. 
 
 In 1917, 6283 'prisoners were set free. 
 The reasons are stated on pages 4, 6, 8, 10, and 16. 
 343 
 
344 APPENDIX 
 
 3. The comma is used to mark off a series of words, phrases, or 
 clauses having the same construction, except when they are con- 
 nected by conjunctions. If the last two in the series are connected 
 by a conjunction, the better usage requires the comma before it. 
 
 In Europe, in America, even in the Far East, men and women are 
 now concerned with the problems of war. 
 
 She was a little, thin, nervous, hard-working woman. 
 
 He has drowned our people, ravaged our property, and insulted our 
 diplomats. 
 
 He was tall and grave and silent. 
 
 4. The comma is used to mark off words or phrases that are 
 contrasted by pairs. 
 
 Back and forth, up and down, to and fro, the poor fellow kept pac- 
 ing through the night. 
 
 5. The comma is used to mark off a short direct quotation. 
 In case the quotation is broken, commas are placed at the points 
 where the breaks occur. 
 
 " TTeW," said he, "what are you going to dof 
 He replied, ''I do not know,'' and left the room. 
 
 6. The comma is used to mark off words and phrases that are 
 explanatory or in apposition. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln, the liberator of the slaves, was president from 
 1861 to 1865. 
 
 The largest book on the shelf is a compilation, or encyclopedia, of 
 historical facts. 
 
 Major Southy, of Indianapolis, has been sent abroad. 
 
 7. The conmia is used to separate words, phrases, and clauses 
 that would run together to make an absurd or ambiguous reading, 
 if they were not so separated. 
 
 To Mary, Conrad replied with politeness. 
 
 The man ate his dinner, and his daughter cleared the table. 
 
 8. The comma is used to mark off words and phrases of direct 
 address. 
 
 / trust, gentlemen, that I make myself clear. 
 
APPENDIX 345 
 
 9. The comma is used to separate the names of different divisions 
 of time and place, where they appear in succession. 
 
 Saturday, February 12, 1918. 
 Indianapolis, Indiana, U. S. A. 
 
 10. The comma is sometimes used to denote the omission of one 
 or more words in a sentence. 
 
 John went today; George, yesterday. 
 
 11. The comma is used to mark off relative clauses that are not 
 restrictive. A non-restrictive clause is not grammatically neces- 
 sary to the sentence. It represents a statement added, and does 
 not unite with what it modifies to form a single idea. In, — 
 ''The moon, which seemed brighter here than in the North, lit our 
 path," the non-restrictive clause, which seemed brighter here than in 
 the North, can be separated from the noun it modifies without 
 affecting the sense of the remainder of the sentence, — " The 
 moon Ut our path." Therefore it is marked off by commas. 
 
 A restrictive clause is grammatically necessary to the sentence. 
 It unites with what it modifies and the two parts are intended to 
 be taken together as one. In, — "I saw the man whom you 
 know'' — the restrictive clause, whom you know, cannot be sepa- 
 rated from the word it modifies without leaving the sense in- 
 complete. It was not the man but the man whom you know that 
 I saw. Therefore such a clause should not be marked off by a 
 comma. 
 
 12. The comma is used, on exactly the same principle, to mark 
 off parenthetical expressions, that is, words, phrases, or clauses, 
 which are not necessary to complete the syntax of the sentence. 
 These expressions may be "thrown-in" words, hke however, as in, 
 — "You must not believe, however, that I am deserting you." 
 Or they may be phrases or clauses, as, — "The cat, springing 
 from the table, caught the mouse." "I saw George, as he was ew- 
 tering the door, totter and fall." 
 
 13. The comma is used to separate a preceding clause, long 
 phrase, or absolute construction from the main clause. 
 
346 APPENDIX 
 
 If the weather is favorable, the pier will be completed by June. 
 In spite of every assistance from the authorities, he failed to catch 
 the thief. 
 
 The fox having been caught, we went home. 
 
 14. The comma is xised to mark off the members of coordinate 
 clauses in a compound sentence when the ideas expressed in them 
 are contrasted, or when there is a separation in thought that seems 
 to require some punctuation. If the separation in thought is 
 great, or if there is no conjunction connecting the clauses, or if 
 there are commas within the clauses, use the semicolon. (See Rule 
 1 under the Semicolon and the examples there given.) 
 
 / shall return, but I should prefer to stay away. 
 
 George likes to skate on thin ice, and some day he will get an unex- 
 pected cold bath. 
 
 I like New York; but this does not mean that I should be happy 
 nowhere else. 
 
 I went to New Jersey; George, to Oregon. 
 
 Some cats, so they say, have been known to find their way home from 
 another country; but my cat, I am sure, would be lost if I dropped 
 her in the next street. 
 
 The Semicolon (;) 
 
 1. The semicolon is used to mark off the coordinate clauses in 
 a compound sentence' if the separation of thought is great, or if 
 there is no conjunction connecting the clauses, or if there are 
 commas within the clauses. (See Rule 14 under the Comma.) 
 
 / like New York; but this does not mean that I should be happy 
 nowhere else. 
 
 I went to New Jersey; George went to Oregon. 
 
 Some cats, so they say, have been known to find their way home from 
 another country; but my cat, I am sure, would be lost if I dropped 
 her in the next street. 
 
 2. The semicolon is used to mark off a series of long or short 
 clauses that are not closely connected in thought. 
 
APPENDIX 347 
 
 The captain was inflexible; the troops were paraded in the square; 
 the drums beat; the bells tolled. 
 
 3. The semicolon is used to mark off a series of clauses or phrases 
 that are all dependent upon the same word, phrase, or clause. 
 
 The salmon migrates from sea to river ; the bird makes its nest or 
 migrates from one zone to another by an unvarying route, even leaving 
 its young behind to perish; the bee builds its six-sided cell; the spider 
 spins its web; the chick breaks its way through the shell, balances 
 itself, and picks up grains of corn, — all in virtue of like acts on the 
 part of their ancestors. 
 
 The Colon (;) 
 
 1. The colon is used before a long quotation, and before the 
 statement of a proposition for debate. 
 
 He very appropriately quoted that popular couplet: 
 **J?e to her faults a little blind; 
 Be to her virtues very kind." 
 Resolved : That all pupils should be obliged to study Latin. 
 
 2. The colon is ordinarily used after the salutation in business 
 letters. 
 
 My dear Sir : 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 3. The colon is used to precede explanatory or illustrative 
 matter. 
 
 He provided himself with the following tools: a hammer, a plane, 
 a wrench, and a saw. 
 
 4. The colon is used to separate two clauses when the latter 
 of the two explains or defines or repeats the content of the former. 
 
 I am no reader : it is years since I have read a book through. 
 
 The candle stood on the counter, its flame solemnly wagging in a 
 draught; and by that inconsiderable movement, the whole room was 
 filled with noiseless bustle and kept heaving like a sea : the tall shadows 
 nodding, the gross blots of darkness swelling and dwindling as with 
 respiration, the faces of the portraits and the china gods changing and 
 wavering like images in water. 
 
348 APPENDIX 
 
 The Question Mark (?) 
 
 1. The question mark is used after direct questions. 
 
 Where have you been today ? 
 
 He asked, ** Where have you been today?** 
 
 It is not used after indirect questions, however. 
 
 He asked where I had been today. 
 
 When a series of short questions occur in succession, it is better 
 to place a question mark after each member of the series than to 
 separate the parts by commas or semicolons and place the ques- 
 tion mark at the end of the series only. 
 
 In what state is Albuquerque ? Helena f Boise City ? 
 
 2. The question mark is sometimes used in parentheses to indi- 
 cate doubt or indecision. 
 
 Shakespeare was born on April 23 ( ?) 1664* 
 
 The Exclamation Mark (!) 
 
 1 . The exclamation mark is ordinarily used after interjections and 
 after other words and phrases that show strong feeling. But when 
 an interjection stands at the beginning of an exclamatory sentence, a 
 conrnia may be placed after it, and the exclamation point may be 
 placed at the end of the sentence. The interjection is used, as a 
 rule, in direct address only. 
 
 Ouch ! 
 
 Away with you! 
 
 Hear my plea, O God! 
 
 Oh, how you have spoiled things! 
 
 The Dash (— ) 
 
 1. The dash is used to denote a sudden change or interruption 
 in thought. 
 
 Well, yes, Vll go — but, no — Vm really needed here. 
 
APPENDIX 349 
 
 2. The dash is used in place of parentheses to set off extra or 
 explanatory matter, or to indicate the expansion of an idea. 
 
 Bvi I saw at once that he was just my height — five feet four and a 
 half. 
 
 But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we cannot consecrate — 
 we cannot hallow — this ground. 
 
 3. The dash is occasionally used with and sometimes without 
 the comma or the colon after the salutation in letters and before 
 illustrations and explanations. 
 
 Dear Sir : — 
 Dear Mary, — 
 Dear Uncle — 
 
 Quotation Marks (" ") 
 
 1. Quotation marks are of two kinds, double and single. 
 
 Double quotation marks are used to set off direct quotation or 
 direct discourse, that is, the exact expression of a writer or 
 speaker. Single quotation marks are used to set off a direct quota- 
 tion within a quotation. A quotation within this quotation should 
 be set off by double marks. When words spoken or written by one 
 person are expressed indirectly by another, quotation marks are not 
 necessary. In John said, " I will go," the discourse is direct and 
 quotation marks are necessary. In John said that he would go, the 
 discourse is indirect and no quotation marks are needed. 
 
 When a quotation is interrupted by words that do not belong to 
 the quotation, each part of it should be placed in quotation marks. 
 
 Quotations are usually preceded by the comma or by the colon. 
 The second part of a broken quotation should be preceded by that 
 mark of punctuation which would be used were there no interrup- 
 tion. 
 
 When a series of paragraphs is quoted, quotation marks are 
 placed at the beginning of each paragraph, but at the end of the 
 last one only. 
 
350 APPENDIX 
 
 ^^' Stand!* cried Alan, and pointed his sword at him. 
 
 ^' The captain stood, indeed; but he neither winced nor drew hack 
 a foot. 
 
 "'A naked sword?' says he. * This is a strange return for hos- 
 pitality.''' 
 
 2. Quotation marks, double or single, are sometimes used to call 
 special attention to a word or a phrase or a particular passage, and 
 to indicate names and titles. 
 
 In the bright lexicon of youth there is no such word as 'fail.' 
 What is the syntax of ''in the room" ? 
 
 Instead of quotation marks, a special kind of type is sometimes 
 used for the purpose of calling attention to a word or a phrase, or 
 for denoting titles; thus, italics. Itahcs are preferable to quota- 
 tion marks for indicating emphasis, for printing words from a for- 
 eign language, and for titles of books, magazines, newspapers. 
 
 A Une drawn underneath a word in a manuscript indicates to 
 the printer that the word is to be italicized. 
 
 The Apostrophe (') 
 
 1. The apostrophe is used to denote the omission of a letter or 
 
 letters. , ^,. ^, ^ ^,. 
 
 don t er ace t 
 
 2. The apostrophe is used to denote the possessive case. 
 
 John's men's horses' 
 
 3. The apostrophe is used to denote the plural of letters, figures, 
 signs, and so forth. 
 
 abc's 4's *'s <fc's 
 
 Parentheses ( ) 
 
 1. Parentheses are used to mark off signs, figures, letters, and 
 dates, inserted in a piece of writing. 
 
APPENDIX 351 
 
 John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) was an active antislavery 
 reformer. 
 
 2. Parentheses are used to mark off or inclose explanatory matter 
 that has little or no grammatical connection with the rest of a 
 sentence. 
 
 / saw George {he is an old friend of mine) on the street yesterday. 
 
 Brackets [ ] 
 
 1. Brackets are used to inclose matter less closely connected 
 with the rest of the sentence than that inclosed in parentheses. 
 They are especially used to inclose corrections or explanations and 
 additions made by some one in the work of another. 
 
 It was at that very moment [10 A.M.] that he entered the room. 
 
 ''He came that day [the writer means September 23] to my house 
 for dinner.** 
 
 The Hyphen (-) 
 
 1. The hyphen is used to separate the parts of a compound 
 
 word. 
 
 mother-in-law sergeant-at-arms 
 
 2. The hyphen is used to separate two vowels that come together 
 but are pronounced separately. 
 
 co-operation pre-eminent 
 
 The diaeresis (•) placed above the latter vowel in such words 
 may take the place of the hyphen. 
 
 cooperation preeminent 
 
 3. The hyphen is used to indicate the division of a word at the 
 end of a Une. It must be remembered that words of one syllable 
 cannot be divided. If there is doubt as to the division of a word 
 of more than one syllable, the dictionary should be consulted. 
 
 con-so-la-tion dis-re-gard 
 
352 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 WORD LISTS 
 
 The first word list below is made up of those words, difficult 
 to spell, that sift through the lower grades into the last year of 
 elementary school and the first year of high school. 
 
 The second word list is made up from personal and business 
 letters and is used here by permission of the Russell Sage Founda- 
 tion. 
 
 TWO HUNDRED 
 
 SPELLING "TERRORS" 
 
 accept 
 
 breathe 
 
 dining 
 
 friend 
 
 accommodate 
 
 built 
 
 dinner 
 
 garage 
 
 accompany 
 
 business 
 
 disappear 
 
 government 
 
 accumulate 
 
 busy 
 
 disappoint 
 
 grammar 
 
 ache 
 
 buy 
 
 dissatisfy 
 
 guess 
 
 affect 
 
 calendar 
 
 divide 
 
 half 
 
 again 
 
 can't 
 
 doctor 
 
 having 
 
 all right 
 
 careless 
 
 does 
 
 hoarse 
 
 already 
 
 carrying 
 
 done 
 
 hoping 
 
 always 
 
 choose 
 
 don't 
 
 hopping 
 
 among 
 
 coming 
 
 early 
 
 hour 
 
 angel 
 
 committee 
 
 easy 
 
 immediately 
 
 angle 
 
 complement 
 
 effect 
 
 interest 
 
 answer 
 
 comphment 
 
 eighth 
 
 judgment 
 
 any 
 
 convenience 
 
 enough 
 
 just 
 
 argument 
 
 cough 
 
 equal 
 
 knew 
 
 athletic 
 
 could 
 
 equation 
 
 know 
 
 barber 
 
 country 
 
 every 
 
 laboratory 
 
 bathe 
 
 dear 
 
 excel 
 
 laid 
 
 been 
 
 debater 
 
 excitable 
 
 lead 
 
 beginning 
 
 describe 
 
 famihar 
 
 led 
 
 believe 
 
 destroy 
 
 February 
 
 letter 
 
 benefit 
 
 different 
 
 field 
 
 loose 
 
 blue 
 
 din 
 
 finally 
 
 lose 
 
 break 
 
 dine 
 
 forty 
 
 losing 
 
 breath 
 
 diner 
 
 fourth 
 
 making 
 

 APPENDIX 
 
 
 many 
 
 precede 
 
 shoes 
 
 truly 
 
 meant 
 
 prejudice 
 
 siege 
 
 two 
 
 minute 
 
 preparation 
 
 similar 
 
 untie 
 
 misspell 
 
 prepare 
 
 similarly 
 
 until 
 
 much 
 
 pretty 
 
 since 
 
 village 
 
 necessary 
 
 principal 
 
 some 
 
 villain 
 
 niece 
 
 principle 
 
 stationary 
 
 weak 
 
 ninety 
 
 privilege 
 
 stationery 
 
 weather 
 
 occasion 
 
 proceed 
 
 stopped 
 
 Wednesday 
 
 occurred 
 
 professor 
 
 straight 
 
 weird 
 
 odor 
 
 quiet 
 
 studying 
 
 were 
 
 often 
 
 quite 
 
 sugar 
 
 where 
 
 once 
 
 raise 
 
 sure 
 
 whether 
 
 parallel 
 
 read 
 
 tear 
 
 which 
 
 parliament 
 
 receive 
 
 their 
 
 whole 
 
 parlor 
 
 recommend 
 
 there 
 
 whose 
 
 pawn 
 
 refer 
 
 thorough 
 
 women 
 
 peace 
 
 referred 
 
 though 
 
 won't 
 
 perform 
 
 said 
 
 through 
 
 would 
 
 piece 
 
 says 
 
 tired 
 
 write 
 
 plain 
 
 seems 
 
 together 
 
 writer 
 
 plane 
 
 seize 
 
 to 
 
 writing 
 
 planed 
 
 separate 
 
 too 
 
 written 
 
 planned 
 
 shepherd 
 
 toward 
 
 wrote 
 
 353 
 
 THE RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION LIST 
 
 Compiled by Dr. Leonard P.~ Ayres 
 
 The Russell Sage Foundation List consists of the words which 
 with their repetitions constitute seven eighths of the 23,629 words 
 tabulated from 2000 business and personal letters. The figure 
 after each word indicates the relative frequency with which it was 
 used. 
 
 and 
 
 697 
 311 
 
 as, 
 at, 
 
 241 
 138 
 
 are, 
 am. 
 
 130 
 
 65 
 
 2a 
 
354 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 an 48 
 
 also 46 
 
 about 45 
 
 all 41 
 
 ask 23 
 
 absence 22 
 
 appoint 22. 
 
 another 21 
 
 afternoon 19 
 
 allow 19 
 
 again 19 
 
 attend... 19 
 
 arrange 18 
 
 article 18 
 
 away 17 
 
 association 17 
 
 ago 14 
 
 appreciate 14 
 
 August 14 
 
 accept 14 
 
 anything 14 
 
 attention 14 
 
 April 14 
 
 account 10 
 
 alone 8 
 
 appear 8 
 
 await 8 
 
 application 7 
 
 arrive 7 
 
 assistance 7 
 
 assure 7 
 
 always 6 
 
 among 6 
 
 be 148 
 
 by 101 
 
 before 17 
 
 because 12 
 
 beg 12 
 
 boy 10 
 
 business 10 
 
 baby 9 
 
 back 9 
 
 become 8 
 
 bed 8 
 
 box 8 
 
 bad 7 
 
 believe 7 
 
 both 7 
 
 building 7 
 
 begin 6 
 
 busy 6 
 
 can 76 
 
 could 38 
 
 children 27 
 
 call 20 
 
 copy 20 
 
 cent 19 
 
 city 18 
 
 cordially 15 
 
 cover 14 
 
 child 14 
 
 check 14 
 
 case 12 
 
 class 12 
 
 catalogue 12 
 
 course 11 
 
 certain 10 
 
 convenient 10 
 
 cold 9 
 
 company 9 
 
 contain 9 
 
 center 8 
 
 claim 8 
 
 change 8 
 
 cost 8 
 
 country 8 
 
 card 7 
 
 cause 7 
 
 Christmas 7 
 
 consider 7 
 
 chain 6 
 
 committee 6 
 
 convenience .... 6 
 
 dear 380 
 
 do 53 
 
 day 39 
 
 during 26 
 
 doctor 24 
 
 date 23 
 
 did 22 
 
 don't 20 
 
 desire 18 
 
 distribute 11 
 
 December 10 
 
 department .... 10 
 
 does 9 
 
 different 8 
 
 done 8 
 
 decide 7 
 
 direction 7 
 
 down 7 
 
 develop 6 
 
 direct 6 
 
 enclose 82 
 
 experience 17 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 355 
 
 enough 15 
 
 expect 15 
 
 education 14 
 
 evening 14 
 
 each 12 
 
 early .12 
 
 either 12 
 
 earhest 11 
 
 entitle 8 
 
 else 8 
 
 especially 8 
 
 expense 8 
 
 ever 7 
 
 effort 6 
 
 enjoy 6 
 
 examination .... 6 
 
 from 107 
 
 find 58 
 
 feel 26 
 
 follow 25 
 
 first 23 
 
 friend 21 
 
 Friday 17 
 
 four 14 
 
 favor 13 
 
 forward 12 
 
 February 11 
 
 few 11 
 
 fine 11 
 
 felt 10 
 
 factory 10 
 
 fill 9 
 
 father 9 
 
 further 8 
 
 fuUy 7 
 
 form 6 
 
 finally 6 
 
 found 6 
 
 gentleman 55 
 
 good 47 
 
 get 37 
 
 go 34 
 
 give 31 
 
 great 29 
 
 glass 23 
 
 girl 20 
 
 glad 20 
 
 given 11 
 
 general 10 
 
 gold 9 
 
 gave 7 
 
 have 216 
 
 has 65 
 
 hope 56 
 
 he 51 
 
 had 41 
 
 his 33 
 
 her 31 
 
 home 31 
 
 him 21 
 
 house 18 
 
 how 18 
 
 hear 17 
 
 help 13 
 
 hour 10 
 
 hand 9 
 
 hat 7 
 
 hard 7 
 
 heard 7 
 
 hold 7 
 
 half 6 
 
 honor 6 
 
 hospital 6 
 
 1 1080 
 
 it 197 
 
 is 144 
 
 interest 24 
 
 information .... 22 
 
 intend 15 
 
 inform 13 
 
 investigate 13 
 
 iU 12 
 
 importance 9 
 
 inspect 8 
 
 issue 7 
 
 illustrate 6 
 
 impossible 6 
 
 instead 6 
 
 just 30 
 
 January 18 
 
 July 15 
 
 June 10 
 
 kindly 58 
 
 know 52 
 
 kind 20 
 
 keep 17 
 
 kindness 11 
 
 letter 61 
 
 like 37 
 
 let 36 
 
 last 25 
 
356 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 little 21 
 
 list 20 
 
 look 19 
 
 love 17 
 
 lady 12 
 
 line 12 
 
 leave 10 
 
 late 8 
 
 left 7 
 
 lesson 7 
 
 labor 6 
 
 land 6 
 
 least 6 
 
 my 258 
 
 me 203 
 
 Miss 66 
 
 may 52 
 
 mail 44 
 
 Mr 37 
 
 madam 36 
 
 make 29 
 
 much 28 
 
 money 24 
 
 morning 24 
 
 made 23 
 
 most 23 
 
 many 21 
 
 Monday 21 
 
 month 19 
 
 matter 17 
 
 medical 17 
 
 meeting 17 
 
 mother 15 
 
 March 12 
 
 May 10 
 
 member 10 
 
 mention 10 
 
 measure 9 
 
 must 9 
 
 material 8 
 
 move 8 
 
 man 7 
 
 mean 7 
 
 meet 7 
 
 mark 6 
 
 men 6 
 
 number 69 
 
 now 37 
 
 next 29 
 
 no 24 
 
 need 22 
 
 new 21 
 
 name 14 
 
 necessary 12 
 
 November 12 
 
 night 11 
 
 never 9 
 
 nice 8 
 
 nothing 7 
 
 note 7 
 
 news 6 
 
 none 6 
 
 of 511 
 
 on 150 
 
 once 105 
 
 one 99 
 
 or 59 
 
 our 56 
 
 oblige 52 
 
 other 43 
 
 order 40 
 
 out 27 
 
 over 19 
 
 only 18 
 
 office 17 
 
 o'clock 13 
 
 off 11 
 
 October 10 
 
 offer 9 
 
 old 8 
 
 out 7 
 
 open 6 
 
 please 182 
 
 possible 36 
 
 premium 25 
 
 present 24 
 
 picture 21 
 
 people 18 
 
 public 16 
 
 paper 15 
 
 plan 14 
 
 pamphlet 12 
 
 particular 11 
 
 personal 11 
 
 part 9 
 
 pleasure 9 
 
 place 9 
 
 position 9 
 
 post 9 
 
 promise 8 
 
 prompt 8 
 
 publish 8 
 
 panel 7 
 
 pair 7 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 357 
 
 pass 7 
 
 probably 7 
 
 pretty 7 
 
 paid 6 
 
 person 6 
 
 plain 6 
 
 pleasant 6 
 
 practical 6 
 
 prefer 6 
 
 president 6 
 
 print 6 
 
 private 6 
 
 question 14 
 
 quite 7 
 
 receive 67 
 
 respectfully .... 63 
 
 return 38 
 
 report 25 
 
 reply 23 
 
 room 16 
 
 remain 14 
 
 reason 13 
 
 request 12 
 
 receipt 10 
 
 reach 9 
 
 read 9 
 
 recent 9 
 
 representative . . 9 
 
 rain 7 
 
 ready 7 
 
 remember 7 
 
 right 7 
 
 recommend .... 6 
 
 red 6 
 
 reference 6 
 
 relative 6 
 
 send 176 
 
 sir 113 
 
 so 82 
 
 some 61 
 
 sent 53 
 
 school 51 
 
 she 46 
 
 soon 32 
 
 see 31 
 
 soap 27 
 
 same 24 
 
 size 24 
 
 since 22 
 
 stamp 22 
 
 show 20 
 
 state 19 
 
 separate 18 
 
 shaU 17 
 
 subject 17 
 
 say 16 
 
 such 16 
 
 Sunday 16 
 
 sure 16 
 
 September 13 
 
 start 13 
 
 study 13 
 
 secretary 12 
 
 shipment 12 
 
 speak 12 
 
 Saturday 11 
 
 secure 11 
 
 service 11 
 
 sorry 11 
 
 something 10 
 
 small 9 
 
 summer 9 
 
 salary 8 
 
 several 8 
 
 street 8 
 
 success 8 
 
 second 8 
 
 set 7 
 
 short 7 
 
 signature 7 
 
 shde 7 
 
 special 7 
 
 stand 7 
 
 still 7 
 
 stop 7 
 
 surprise 7 
 
 saw 6 
 
 select 6 
 
 silver 6 
 
 song 6 
 
 splendid 6 
 
 statement 6 
 
 supply 6 
 
 the .918 
 
 to 627 
 
 that 207 
 
 this.... ....172 
 
 truly 166 
 
 thank 113 
 
 they 53 
 
 two 36 
 
 teU 27 
 
 think 27 
 
 trust 27 
 
358 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 thought 20 
 
 Thursday 15 
 
 Tuesday 13 
 
 teacher 12 
 
 today 10 
 
 table 9 
 
 talk 9 
 
 though 9 
 
 took 9 
 
 ticket 7 
 
 trouble 7 
 
 towards 7 
 
 try 7 
 
 us 40 
 
 under 37 
 
 up 29 
 
 use 23 
 
 understand 18 
 
 until 17 
 
 used 10 
 
 unfortunate .... 7 
 
 upon 6 
 
 very 246 
 
 visit 7 
 
 volume 7 
 
 will 297 
 
 with 255 
 
 which 143 
 
 was 79 
 
 work 65 
 
 what 53 
 
 when 53 
 
 who 53 
 
 wish 43 
 
 week 36 
 
 were 34 
 
 want 29 
 
 where 24 
 
 write 18 
 
 well 16 
 
 why 16 
 
 way 14 
 
 while 14 
 
 willing 12 
 
 written 12 
 
 without 11 
 
 Wednesday. ... 10 
 
 wear 8 
 
 woman 8 
 
 wrote 8 
 
 weather 7 
 
 wonder 7 
 
 wait 6 
 
 watch 6 
 
 went 6 
 
 west 6 
 
 while 6 
 
 whom 6 
 
 world 6 
 
 worth 6 
 
 you 635 
 
 your 585 
 
 year 40 
 
 REVIEW OF GRAMMAR 
 
 THE PARTS OF SPEECH — DEFINITIONS 
 
 In the dictionary words are considered as single units. The 
 spelling, the meaning, and the pronunciation are given for each 
 word, but little can be learned from the dictionary regarding the 
 relation that words bear to one another. It is the province of 
 grammar to treat of words in relation. For the convenience of 
 this study and in order that errors in word relationships may be 
 easily detected, words are classed according to their use into eight 
 divisions, called parts of speech. 
 
APPENDIX 359 
 
 A word used as the name of a person, a place, a thing, or a quality 
 is called a noun. A word that is used in place of, or as a substitute 
 for, a noun is called a pronoun. A word that modifies a noun or a 
 pronoun, that is, explains its meaning, is called an adjective. A 
 word that makes an assertion, usually indicating action, is called 
 a verb. A word that modifies a verb is called an adverb. Adverbs 
 also modify adjectives and other adverbs. A word that connects 
 and shows the relation between one part of speech and another is 
 called a preposition. A word that joins or groups or connects 
 words or phrases or larger units of expression is called a con- 
 junction. A word used to express strong feeling is called an 
 interjection. 
 
 Nouns and pronouns, and any other part of speech or word groups 
 used like them, are called substantives. Adjectives and adverbs 
 are called modifiers. Prepositions and conjunctions are called 
 CONNECTIVES. Nouns and verbs are the most important parts of 
 speech. The other parts are dependent upon them. Children 
 first learning to talk depend almost entirely upon nouns and verbs 
 to express their ideas. Then, as the power of speech develops, 
 they are able to define the meaning of their language more closely 
 by the use of modifiers. A very learned person is able to indicate 
 extraordinary shades and niceties of meaning by the exact and 
 skillful use of modifiers with his nouns and verbs. 
 
 THE PARTS OF SPEECH — KINDS 
 
 There are two groups ^r classifications of nouns : proper and 
 COMMON ; COLLECTIVE and ABSTRACT. A proper noun is the name 
 of some particular person, place, or thing, as, Thomas, Denver, 
 Latin. A common noun is the name of a class, as, — man, city, 
 study. Thomas is the name of some particular person ; man applies 
 to many persons. A collective noun is the name of a group or a 
 collection, as, — army, crowd, flock, herd. An abstract noun is the 
 name of a quality, as, — curiosity, happiness, virtue. 
 
 There are four general classifications of pronouns: personal, 
 RELATIVE, INTERROGATIVE, ADJECTIVE. A personal pronoun is 
 
360 APPENDIX 
 
 one that stands for a person, as, — he, I, it, she, they, we, you. A 
 relative pronoun is one that establishes a relation between the name 
 of a person, a place, or a thing and the name of some other person, 
 place, or thing. It also sometimes connects and sometimes in- 
 troduces. The word or words to which a relative pronoun refers 
 is called its antecedent. The principal relative pronouns are 
 who, which, what, and that. The first three may be compounded 
 with ever or with soever. In the sentence "John is the boy who 
 took my book," who is a relative pronoun ; its antecedent is boy; it 
 introduces the thought who took my hook ; it connects this thought 
 with the first, John is the hoy. An interrogative pronoun is a pro- 
 noun used to ask a question. The principal interrogatives are 
 who, which, and what. An adjective pronoun is one that may some- 
 times serve as an adjective, sometimes as a pronoun. It possesses 
 the qualities of both a pronoun and an adjective, — it may stand 
 for a person, a place, or a thing, or it may modify the meaning of 
 a noun. There are two classes of adjective pronouns: Definite 
 and Indefinite. This and that, these and those are the definite 
 adjective pronouns. They point out definitely; they are some- 
 times called demonstrative pronouns. The indefinite adjective 
 pronouns do not point out particular persons, places, or things. 
 They are as frequently adjectives as pronouns. The principal 
 ones are all, another, any one, hoth, each, either, every, many, neither, 
 none, one, other, several, some, such. 
 
 There are two classes of adjectives: desckiptive and limiting. 
 A descriptive adjective denotes some particular quality of the 
 noun or pronoun modified, as, — heautiful, gracious, smooth, weak. 
 A limiting adjective indicates some limitation of the noun or pro- 
 noun modified. A limiting adjective may be numeral, as, — one, 
 two, three, etc. ; first, second, third, etc. It may be definite, like 
 the definite adjective pronouns, as, — former, latter, same, that, this. 
 It may be indefinite, like the indefinite adjective pronouns, as, — 
 any, every, few, some. It may be interrogative, as, — whose, which, 
 what, — Whose hat? What news? A, an, and the are sometimes 
 grouped together as a separate part of speech and called articles. 
 The is a definite article; a and an are indefinite articles. A is 
 
APPENDIX 361 
 
 used before consonant sounds, an before vowel sounds. Adjectives 
 are frequently derived from nouns, as, — A manly fellow. When 
 derived from proper nouns they are called proper adjectives, as, — 
 A Roman law. 
 
 There are three classes of verbs: transitive and intransitive, 
 and COPULATIVE. A transitive verb is one whose action passes 
 over to a receiver of the action. An intransitive verb is one whose 
 action does not pass over to a receiver of the action. In the sen- 
 tence " John struck Bill," struck is a transitive verb because the 
 action it denotes passes over to a receiver of the action, Bill. But 
 in " The cricket chirps," chirps is an intransitive verb, because 
 the action does not pass over to a receiver of the action. A copu- 
 lative verb is a verb that connects a word or a group of words with 
 another word or group of words that means the same or that is 
 explanatory. Its office is one of connection as well as assertion. 
 It requires the same case after it as before it. The principal copu- 
 latives are am, appear, are, be, become, can be, have been, is, may 
 be, must be, seem, was, were. In He is the man, man means the same 
 as He, and is is a connective or copulative verb. It is sometimes 
 called copula or verb of incomplete predication. 
 
 Adverbs are classified, first, according as they indicate place, 
 TIME, MANNER, DEGREE, REASON, that is, accordiug as they tell 
 where, when, how, to what extent, why. The following adverbs 
 illustrate these various kinds in order : — there, today, cleverly, 
 very, because. Adverbs are classified, again, according to their 
 form : a simple adverb is one that consists of but one word, as, — 
 suddenly, happily. A phrasal adverb is one that consists of two or 
 more words used as one adverb, as, — arm in arm, by and large, now- 
 adays, now and again. Adverbs are frequently used to connect 
 while indicating at the same time place, time, manner, degree, 
 or reason. So used, they are called conjunctive adverbs or adver- 
 bial conjunctions. The principal adverbs of connection are as, 
 because, for, how, if, since, though, when, whenever, where, wherever, 
 while. In "He came in while I was playing the piano," while 
 indicates time ; it also connects the first thought of the sentence, 
 He came in, with the second, / was playing the piano. It is there^ 
 
362 APPENDIX 
 
 fore used both as an adverb and a conjunction. A negative adverb 
 is one that denotes negation or opposition. The principal nega- 
 tive adverbs are not and never. There is sometimes called an 
 expletive or an introductory adverb. Yes and no are sometimes 
 called responsive adverbs. 
 
 There are two general classes of conjunctions: coordinate 
 and SUBORDINATE. A coordinate conjunction is one that con- 
 nects words or groups of words of equal rank. The principal co- 
 ordinates are and, hut, either — or, neither — nor, not only — hut also. 
 The last three named are called correlatives because they usually 
 occur in pairs. A subordinate conjimction is one that connects 
 word groups of unequal rank. The principal subordinates are 
 hecause, except, if, since, than, though, unless, while, when, where, 
 and the other conjunctive adverbs named above. Subordinate 
 conjunctions that consist of more than one word are called phrasal 
 subordinates, as, — in order that, as soon as, as though. 
 
 There are three general classes of prepositions: simple, com- 
 pound or DERIVED, and phrasal. A simple preposition consists of 
 but a single word, as, — after, against, at, by, for, from, in, of, on, over, 
 through, to, with. A compound or derived preposition is one that 
 consists of two or more words long used as one or made up from 
 other parts of speech, as, — across, concerning, into, notwithstanding, 
 underneath, without. A phrasal preposition is one that consists 
 of two or more separate words used to establish one relation, as, — 
 for the sake of, in spite of, instead of, on account of, out of. 
 
 There are two classes of interjections: simple and phrasal. 
 A simple interjection consists of but a single word, as, — Alas ! 
 Hush! Ugh! A phrasal interjection consists of more than one 
 word, as, — At last ! Dear 7ne ! Forgive me ! 
 
 THE PARTS OF SPEECH — FORMS 
 
 The parts of speech undergo changes or inflections in order that 
 ideas and the relations among them may be expressed more accu- 
 rately. The changes or inflections of nouns and pronouns are called 
 person, number, gender, case. The inflections of verbs are called 
 
APPENDIX 363 
 
 voice, mood, tense, number, person. The inflection of adjec- 
 tives or adverbs is called comparison, — the positive, comparative, 
 and superlative degrees of comparison. Prepositions, conjunctions, 
 and interjections are not inflected. English words used to be 
 much more highly inflected than now. As language grows and 
 develops it tends to simplify its forms. Nouns, for instance, were 
 formerly inflected to indicate person, but they have outgrown this 
 inflection. They used to have four different case forms; now 
 they have but two. 
 
 The Inflection of Nouns and Pronouns 
 
 Person indicates whether the person speaking, the person spoken 
 to, or the person spoken of, is indicated by a noun or a pronoun, — 
 the first person, the second person, and the third person, respec- 
 tively. 
 
 Number indicates one or more than one. The singular number 
 means one ; the plural number, more than one. Most nouns form 
 their plurals by adding s to the singular, as, — boy, boys; view, views. 
 Nouns ending in a soft sound, such as ch, j, s, sh, x, z, form their 
 plurals by adding es to the singular, as, — church, churches; fish, 
 fishes; annex, annexes. 
 
 Most nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant form their 
 plurals by adding es to the singular, as, — potato, potatoes; cargo, 
 cargoes; grotto, grottoes; echo, echoes. Most nouns ending in o 
 preceded by a vowel form their plurals by adding s to the singular, 
 as, — folio, folios; cameo, cameos. It must be remembered that 
 there are many exceptions to the final o rule, as, — solos, autos, 
 halos, pianos, Eskimos, sopranos. 
 
 Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant form their plurals 
 by changing the y toi and adding es, as, — country, countries; cry, 
 cries; enemy, enemies. Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel 
 form their plurals in the regular way, by the addition of s, as, — 
 days, plays, monkeys, turkeys. 
 
 Some nouns ending in / or fe form their plurals by changing / to 
 V and adding es, as, — calf, calves; leaf, leaves; loaf, loaves; half, 
 halves ; staff, staves (sticks) ; wife, wives. It must be remembered. that 
 
364 APPENDIX 
 
 there are certain exceptions to this rule, as, — hoofs, scarfs, staffs 
 (officers) . 
 
 The plural of certain nouns is indicated by an internal change, or 
 by other changes, not easily classified, as, — foot, feet; goose, geese; 
 man, men; mouse, mice; child, children; ox, oxen; woman, women. 
 
 Certain foreign nouns retain their foreign plurals, others adopt 
 the English plural formation, still others form their plurals in either 
 way, as, — focus, foci; ultimatum, ultimata; medium, mediums {media 
 is going out of use) ; memorandum, memorandums {memoranda is 
 going out of use) ; index, indexes or indices; vortex, vortexes or vor- 
 tices. 
 
 The plural of compound words is formed regularly, as, — cupful^ 
 cupfuls; handful, handfuls. The plural of hyphenated words is 
 usually formed by adding s to the most important member of the 
 combination, as, — sons-in-law, waste-baskets, courts-martial, ser- 
 geants-at-arms. 
 
 Gender indicates sex. Masculine gender means male ; feminine 
 gender, female ; neuter gender, no sex, as, — book, tool; common 
 gender, either male or female, as, — child, flock, herd. 
 
 Certain nouns indicate masculine and feminine gender by differ- 
 ent words, as, — man, woman; boy, girl; beau, belle; drake, duck; 
 son-in-law, daughter-in-law. Certain other nouns indicate the 
 feminine gender by means of making a terminal change in the mas- 
 culine form, as, — count, countess; patron, patroness; waiter, waitress; 
 hero, heroine; executor, executrix. 
 
 Case indicates the relation of a noun or a pronoun in regard to 
 verbs and prepositions. The nominative case denotes that a noun 
 or a pronoun may be used as subject of a sentence, as predicate 
 nominative, as nominative of exclamation, as nominative absolute, 
 as nominative by direct address, and as appositive or in apposition 
 with a noun or a pronoun in the nominative case. 
 
 The objective case denotes that a noun or a pronoun may be 
 used as object of a verb, as indirect object, as objective comple- 
 ment, as object of a preposition, as adverbial objective, as subject 
 of an infinitive, and as appositive or in apposition with a noun or 
 pronoun in the objective case. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 365 
 
 The possessive case denotes possession. The possessive oi 
 singular nouns is formed by adding 's, as, — The boy's hat. The 
 possessive of plural nouns ending in s is formed by adding the apos- 
 trophe only, as, — The girls' hats. The possessive of plural nouns 
 not ending in s is formed by adding the 's, as, — Men's suits. 
 Women's dresses. The people's vote. 
 
 If the singular form of a noun ends 'in s or a; it is permissible to use 
 the apostrophe without the s in indicating the possessive case, in 
 order to avoid an awkward hissing sound, as, — Dickens' works. 
 For goodness" sake. The Earl of Sussex' death. 
 
 The sign of possession is always placed nearest to the name of 
 the thing possessed. In a series of words and in hyphenated words 
 it is indicated on the last, as, — My father-in-law's business. My 
 brother and sister's marks. 
 
 A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person, number, 
 and gender. All of the inflections of personal pronouns are indi- 
 cated in the following table. Such an arrangement or table is 
 called a declension. When you give in order all the inflections of 
 a noun or a pronoun, you are said to decline it. 
 
 First Person 
 
 NOMINATIVE CASE *. I 
 
 my or 
 mine 
 me 
 
 POSSESSIVE CASE : 
 
 OBJECTIVE CASE 
 
 SINGULAR 
 
 Second Person 
 you thou 
 
 your or 
 yours 
 you 
 
 thy or 
 
 thine 
 thee 
 
 Third Person 
 he, she,' it 
 his, her, or hers, 
 
 its 
 him, her, it 
 
 PLURAL 
 
 NOMINATIVE CASE: 
 
 POSSESSIVE case: 
 
 OBJECTIVE case: 
 
 First Person 
 
 we 
 
 our or ours 
 
 us 
 
 Second Person 
 
 you 
 
 your or yours 
 
 you 
 
 Third Person 
 
 they 
 
 their or theirs 
 
 them 
 
 The relative pronoun who is declined as follows in both numbers 
 for all persons : — 
 
366 APPENDIX 
 
 NOMINATIVE CASE: who 
 
 POSSESSIVE case: whose 
 OBJECTIVE case: whom 
 
 That and which are not inflected. Whose is sometimes given as 
 the possessive of which, but it should be used rarely. The phrase 
 of which should be used to denote possession in relation to animals 
 and things, unless they are personified, in which case who may be 
 used. 
 
 The Inflection of Adjectives and Adverbs 
 
 The positive degree denotes the simple, uncompared form of 
 an adjective and an adverb. The comparative degree denotes 
 the comparison of two persons, places, or things. The superlative 
 degree denotes the comparison of three or more persons, places, 
 or things. The simpler adjectives and adverbs, those of one or 
 two syllables, form the comparative degree by adding r or er to 
 the positive, and the superlative by adding st or est to the positive. 
 Longer adjectives and adverbs, those of three syllables or more, 
 to which these suffixes cannot be added easily, form the compara- 
 tive by using the word more, the superlative by using the word most. 
 
 Positive 
 
 Comparative 
 
 Superlative 
 
 beautiful 
 
 more beautiful 
 
 most beautiful 
 
 happy 
 
 happier 
 
 happiest 
 
 sincerely 
 
 more sincerely 
 
 most sincerely 
 
 soon 
 
 sooner 
 
 soonest 
 
 Certain adjectives and adverbs do not admit of comparison, as, — 
 dead, octagonal, squarely, unique, universally. The following irreg- 
 ular comparisons should be studied : — 
 
 Superlaiive 
 
 worst 
 
 farthest 
 
 Positive 
 
 Comparative 
 
 bad 
 
 
 
 evil 
 
 
 worse 
 
 ill 
 
 
 
 far 
 
 
 farther 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 367 
 
 Positive 
 fore 
 forth 
 hind 
 
 in 
 
 late 
 
 little 
 many 
 much 
 near 
 
 nigh 
 old 
 out 
 up 
 
 Comparative 
 former 
 further 
 hinder 
 
 inner 
 
 J later 
 \ latter 
 • less 
 
 more 
 
 nearer 
 
 nigher 
 
 r older 
 I elder 
 j outer 
 \ utter 
 
 upper 
 
 Superlative 
 j foremost 
 I first 
 
 furthest 
 r hindmost 
 1 hindermost 
 ( inmost 
 I innermost 
 j latest 
 I last 
 
 least 
 
 most 
 
 nearest 
 j nighest 
 Inext 
 r oldest 
 I eldest 
 
 j outmost or outermost 
 I utmost or uttermost 
 j upmost 
 1 uppermost 
 
 The Inflection of Verbs 
 
 Voice denotes whether the subject of a verb is acting or acted 
 upon. Active voice represents the subject as acting, as, — He 
 struck the man. Passive voice represents the subject as acted 
 upon, as, — He was struck by the man. 
 
 Mood denotes the manner of assertion made by a verb. The 
 indicative mood is used for simple declarative or interrogative 
 expressions, as, — I go. Is he well f The subjunctive mood is used 
 for the expression of a wish, a doubt, a fear, a supposition, a condi- 
 tion. It is usually preceded by if, as, — If I were you I would go. 
 The potential mood is used for the expression of probability, 
 possibility, ability, obligation, necessity. May, can, must, might, 
 
368 APPENDIX 
 
 could, would, should are signs of the potential, as, — I may go. 
 He must come. I could do it. When these words are used to ex- 
 press desire, doubt, fear, supposition, condition, they are signs of sub- 
 junctive mood. The imperative mood is used for the expression 
 of command or entreaty. The subject of an imperative verb is 
 in the second person and it is usually understood. 
 
 Tense denotes the time of action expressed by a verb. The 
 present tense denotes present time, as, — / walk. He runs. The 
 past or imperfect tense denotes past time, as, — / walked. He ran. 
 (A verb that forms its past tense by the addition of dor edis called 
 regular or weak, as, — walked. A verb that forms its past tense by 
 means of some internal change is called irregular or strong, as, — 
 ran.) The future tense denotes future time, as, — / shall walk. He 
 will run. (To denote simple future time, shall is used in the first 
 person, and will in the second and third. To denote determination, 
 resolution, threatening, or consenting, willis used in the first person, 
 and shall in the second and third. In asking a question shall is 
 always used with the first person. With the second and third 
 persons, shall should be used in asking a question if shall is expected 
 in the answer ; mil, if will is expected in the answer, as, — Will you 
 go? I will. Shall they be admitted f They shall. Should and 
 would follow the rules for shall and will.) The perfect or present 
 perfect tense denotes action as completed at the present time, 
 as, — / have walked. He has walked. Tht pluperfect or past 
 perfect tense denotes action as completed in past time, as, — 
 / had walked. He had run. The future perfect tense denotes 
 action that is to be completed at some future time, as, — / shall 
 have walked. He will have run. Note that in forming the future, 
 perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tenses, more than one verb is 
 necessary to indicate the time of the action definitely. The last 
 verb in the combination is called the principal or notional verb; 
 the verb (or verbs) preceding it, the auxiliary or helping verb. 
 Shall and will are the auxiliaries of the future tense; have, of the 
 present perfect; had, of the past perfect; shall and will and have of 
 the future perfect. 
 
 The infinitive is a verbal form that names or denotes action but 
 
APPENDIX 369 
 
 does not assert it. It may be used as a noun, as an adjective, or 
 as an adverb. The infinitive form of the verb is always preceded 
 by to, as, — to walk, to run, to see. The infinitive should not be split 
 by placing a word between to and the verb. To sit quietly is correct; 
 to quietly sit, incorrect. To is sometimes understood before the 
 infinitive when used after the verbs make, please, let, bid, need, dare, 
 feel, have, keep, see, as, — help him {to) do it. See them (to) play. 
 Please (to) close the door. The infinitive thus formed is called 
 elliptical. The infinitive has two tenses only, the present and the 
 perfect, as, — 
 
 Active Passive 
 
 PRESENT : to love to be loved 
 
 PERFECT : to have loved to have been loved 
 
 The gerund is a verbal form ending in ing, that names or denotes 
 action but does not assert it. It is therefore similar to the infini- 
 tive, the suffix ing taking the place of to. The gerund is used as 
 a noun, as, — Running is good exercise. I like walking. It is some- 
 times, though rarely, used as an adjective or an adverb, as, — Prac- 
 ticing hours are precious. They went picnicking. It may be modi- 
 fied by an adverb, as, — Eating too rapidly is dangerous. It may 
 take an object, as, — They enjoy studying their lessons. The gerund 
 is sometimes used as an almost pure noun. As such it may not 
 take an object and it may be modified by an adjective or a pronoun. 
 In this use it is called a verbal noun, — His wonderful playing moved 
 them. I liked his reading. 
 
 The participle is a verbal form ending in ing that names or de- 
 notes action but does not assert it. It is similar to both the infini- 
 tive and the gerund. It is used, like an adjective, to modify a 
 noun or a pronoun, as, — Running through the passage, John fell. 
 The car, decorated with flowers, began to move. The voices and 
 tenses of gerunds and participles are as follows : — 
 
 
 Active 
 
 Passive 
 
 PRESENT : 
 PAST : 
 
 loving 
 loved 
 
 being loved 
 loved 
 
 PERFECT : 
 
 2b 
 
 having loved 
 
 having been loved 
 
370 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 The person and number of a verb are the same as the person and 
 number of its subject. It should be noted that verbs in the third 
 person singular of the present and perfect tenses have a special 
 inflection. This special inflection for verbs ending in y follows the 
 rule for the formation of the plural of nouns ending in y (page 363). 
 Infinitives, gerunds, and participles have no person and number. 
 
 The conjugation of the verb is the orderly statement of all its 
 forms to show voice, mood, tense, number, and person. 
 
 A synopsis of the verb is the statement of one person and number, 
 or of one person and both numbers, in every tense of the conjuga- 
 tion. There are three conjugations of the English verb: Simple, 
 Emphatic, Progressive. The simple conjugation asserts action 
 as complete. It can be formed in all moods and tenses, in both 
 voices. The following is a synopsis in the simple conjugation, third 
 person, singular, active of the verb love: — 
 
 
 Indicative Mood 
 
 Svhjunctive Mood 
 
 PRESENT : 
 
 He loves 
 
 If he love 
 
 past: 
 
 He loved 
 
 If he loved 
 
 FUTURE : 
 
 He will love 
 
 If he will love 
 
 PERFECT : 
 
 He has loved 
 
 If he have loved 
 
 PAST perfect: 
 
 He had loved 
 
 If he had loved 
 
 FUTURE PERFECT : He will have loved 
 
 If he will have loved 
 
 
 Potential Mood 
 
 Imperative Mood 
 
 PRESENT : 
 
 He may love 
 
 None in third person 
 
 past: 
 
 He might love 
 
 Second person ^ present 
 
 PERFECT : 
 
 He may have loved 
 
 would be — Love (you) 
 
 PAST perfect: 
 
 He might have loved 
 
 
 
 Infinitives 
 
 Participles 
 
 PRESENT : 
 
 to love 
 
 present: loving 
 
 PERFECT : 
 
 to have loved 
 
 PAST : loved 
 perfect : having loved 
 
 The passive voice of the simple conjugation is formed by adding 
 the past participle to every form of the verb 6e, — 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 371- 
 
 PRESENT : 
 
 past: 
 
 FUTURE : 
 PERFECT : 
 PLUPERFECT : 
 FUTURE perfect: 
 
 Indicative Mood 
 I am loved 
 I was loved 
 I shall be loved 
 I have been loved 
 I had been loved 
 I shall have been loved 
 
 The emphatic conjugation emphasizes the assertion of action 
 by means of the auxiUary verb do. The emphatic conjugation 
 occurs only in the present and past tenses, indicative mood, active 
 voice, — 
 
 Present 
 I do walk We do walk 
 
 You do walk You do walk 
 He does walk They do walk 
 
 Past 
 I did walk We did walk 
 
 You did walk You did walk 
 He did walk They did walk 
 
 The progressive conjugation asserts action as continuing or pro- 
 gressing. It is formed by adding the present participle to every 
 form of the verb be, — 
 
 Indicative Mood 
 
 present : I am walking 
 PAST : I was walking 
 
 perfect: I have been 
 
 walking 
 pluperfect : I had been walk- 
 
 ing 
 
 FUTURE : I shall be walking future perfect : I shall have been 
 
 walking 
 The parts of a verb are the present and past tenses indicative, 
 and the present and past participles, — 
 
 Present Indicative Past Indicative Present Participle Past Participle 
 
 awake 
 
 awoke 
 
 awaking 
 
 awaked 
 
 begin 
 
 began 
 
 beginning 
 
 begun 
 
 break 
 
 broke 
 
 breaking 
 
 broken 
 
 burst 
 
 burst 
 
 bursting 
 
 burst 
 
 choose 
 
 chose 
 
 choosing 
 
 chosen 
 
 come 
 
 came 
 
 coming 
 
 come 
 
372 APPENDIX 
 
 
 Present Indicative Past Indicative Present Participle PastPartici 
 
 destroy destroyed 
 
 destroying 
 
 destroyed 
 
 dive dived 
 
 diving 
 
 dived 
 
 do did 
 
 doing 
 
 done 
 
 drink drank 
 
 drinking 
 
 drunk 
 
 eat ate 
 
 eating 
 
 eaten 
 
 fly flew; 
 
 flying 
 
 flown 
 
 get got 
 
 getting 
 
 got 
 
 go went 
 
 going 
 
 gone 
 
 lay laid 
 
 laying 
 
 laid 
 
 lie lay 
 
 lying 
 
 lain 
 
 lie lied 
 
 lying 
 
 lied 
 
 prove proved 
 
 proving 
 
 proved 
 
 ride rode 
 
 riding 
 
 ridden 
 
 raise raised 
 
 raising 
 
 raised 
 
 rise rose 
 
 rising 
 
 risen 
 
 see saw 
 
 seeing 
 
 seen 
 
 shake shook 
 
 shaking 
 
 shaken 
 
 sing sang 
 
 suiging 
 
 sung 
 
 sit sat 
 
 sitting 
 
 sat 
 
 speak spoke 
 
 speaking 
 
 spoken 
 
 steal stole 
 
 stealing 
 
 stolen 
 
 swim swam 
 
 swimming 
 
 swum 
 
 take took 
 
 taking 
 
 taken 
 
 wake woke 
 
 waking 
 
 waked 
 
 write wrote 
 
 writing 
 
 written 
 
 A defective verb is one for which all these parts cannot be given, 
 
 Present Indicative Past Itidicative Present Participle Past Participle 
 beware 
 
 can 
 
 may 
 
 must 
 
 ought 
 
 shall 
 
 wiU 
 
 could 
 might 
 
APPENDIX 373 
 
 A redundant verb is one that has more than one form for any- 
 one of these parts, — 
 
 Pres. Ind. 
 
 Past Ind. 
 
 Pres. Part. Past Part 
 
 light 
 
 flighted 
 
 \lit 
 
 lighting 
 
 lighted 
 lit 
 
 sUp 
 
 1 sUpped 
 [slipt 
 
 sHpping 
 
 slipped 
 slipt 
 
 stay 
 
 1 stayed 
 { staid 
 
 staying 
 
 ' stayed 
 
 
 staid 
 
 speak 
 
 spoke 
 spake 
 
 speaking 
 
 spoken 
 
 SYNTAX, ANALYSIS, PARSING 
 
 When the parts of speech — all or some of them — are so grouped 
 and related as to express a complete thought, they make a sentence. 
 (The different kinds of sentences are defined and classified on pages 
 138-141.) The principal parts of a sentence are the subject and the 
 predicate. The subject of a sentence is that about which something 
 is asserted. The predicate of a sentence is that which asserts some- 
 thing about the subject. The subject is always a noun or a pro- 
 noun or a word group used as a noun or a pronoun, and it is always 
 in the nominative case. The predicate is always a verb. The 
 simple svbject is the word that is used as subject; the complete 
 subject is this word with all of its modifiers. The simple predicate 
 is the verb that asserts the action; the complete predicate is this 
 verb with all its modifiers and complements. 
 
 A phrase is a group of words having neither subject nor predi- 
 cate, denoting but a single idea, and not making complete sense. 
 
 A clause is a group of words having a subject and a predicate 
 and forming a part of a sentence. If it makes complete sense, it is 
 called an independent clause. If it does not make complete sense 
 but depends upon another clause for completeness, it is called a 
 dependent clause. Phrases and dependent clauses may be used as 
 nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. 
 
 Syntax means the grammatical relation of a word, a phrase, or 
 a clause to another word or other words in a sentence. The word 
 
374 APPENDIX 
 
 construction is sometimes used in the same sense. There are cer- 
 tain relations among words, phrases, and clauses as they are used in 
 sentences, that need to be understood before the syntax can be given. 
 
 A complement is a word, a phrase, or a clause that completes 
 the combined meanings of the subject and the predicate. The 
 object of a verb, sometimes called the object complement and also 
 the direct object, completes the predicate and receives the action 
 from it. It is always in the objective case. It may be a noun or 
 a pronoun, a phrase or a clause. The object of a verb in the passive 
 voice is called the retained object, as, — " He was given the position 
 of secretary." The indirect object, sometimes called dative object 
 or object of a preposition understood, points out to or for whom or 
 what an act is done. It may be a noun or a pronoun, it is always 
 in the objective case, and the preposition to or for is always under- 
 stood before it. It occurs most frequently after the verbs asked, 
 bring, build, give, go, lend, let, make, offer, pay, please, sell, teach, win. 
 The predicate nominative or predicate adjective, sometimes 
 called subjective or attribute complement, completes the predicate 
 and describes or explains the subject. It may be a noun, a pro- 
 noun, an adjective, or a phrase or a clause. It may be called predi- 
 cate noun, predicate pronoun, or predicate adjective. The predicate 
 noun or pronoun is always in the nominative case. The objective 
 complement, sometimes called factitive object, completes the predi- 
 cate and describes or explains the object. It is always in the ob- 
 jective case. It may be a noun, a pronoun, an adjective, a phrase 
 or a clause. A noun or a pronoun used as objective complement 
 is always in the objective case, as, — " They made John president.^' 
 
 A modifier in a sentence is a subordinate word, phrase, or clause 
 that describes, defines, or limits other parts, such as the simple 
 subject, the simple predicate, the simple object, and so forth. 
 Word modifiers consist of adjectives, adverbs, pronouns in the 
 possessive case, and participles. Phrasal modifiers consist of prep- 
 ositional, infinitive, and participial phrases. Clausal modifiers 
 consist of adjective and adverbial clauses. A noun, a pronoun, 
 a gerund, a phrase, or a clause may be used as object of a preposi- 
 tion, and, so used, may be a phrasal modifier. 
 
APPENDIX 375 
 
 A noun indicating measure, distance, direction, space, time, value 
 is called adverbial objective or a noun used adverbially. It is in 
 the objective case, with a preposition understood before it, and 
 modifies a verb, as, — " He walked a mile." *' I went home.'' 
 
 A noun modified by a participle and not connected with any other 
 part of a sentence is called a nominative absolute or absolute 
 nominative, as, — " The train having come, they departed." 
 
 A word used for direct address is called nominative by direct 
 address or independent by direct address or vocative, as, — " John^ 
 where are you going? " 
 
 A word used in an exclamatory way is called nominative of ex- 
 clamation or nominative independent, as, — ''A horse! A horse! 
 My kingdom for a horse! " 
 
 A noun meaning the same as another noun and used with it, is 
 called a noim in apposition or appositive noun, as, — " Larkins, the 
 lecturer, has just arrived." A noun or pronoun in apposition is 
 always in the same case as the noun or pronoun it explains. 
 
 In giving the syntax of a noun or a pronoun, the case and the 
 reason for the case should be given. In giving the syntax of an 
 adjective or an adverb, the word modified should be stated. In 
 giving the syntax of a verb, the subject (noun, pronoun, phrase, or 
 clause), the complement (if any), and the number and person should 
 be stated. In giving the syntax of a phrase or a clause, the state- 
 ment should follow the form for the noun, the adjective, or the 
 adverb whose office it fills. In giving the syntax of a preposition, 
 the words between which the relation is shown should be pointed 
 out. In giving the syntax of a conjunction, the kind of connection 
 the conjunction makes should be stated. 
 
 Sentence analysis means the examination of the various parts 
 of which a sentence is composed and the explanation of the 
 grammatical connection among those parts. In analyzing a 
 sentence, — 
 
 1. Tell what kind it is: simple, compound, complex; declara- 
 tive, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative. 
 
 2. Separate, define, and relate the various clauses in it (pro- 
 vided it is not a simple sentence). 
 
376 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 3. Point out subject, predicate, complements, simple and 
 complete. If the sentence contains clauses, point out subject, 
 predicate, and complements of each. 
 
 4. Explain and relate the various word modifiers in the sen- 
 tence. 
 
 5. Separate, define, and relate the various phrasal modifiers 
 in it. 
 
 Parsing means the statement in tabulated order of the classi- 
 fication and the forms of the part of speech parsed. In parsing 
 nouns and pronouns, state kind, person, number, gender. In 
 parsing adjectives and adverbs, state kind and degrees of compari- 
 son. In parsing verbs, state voice, mood, tense, number, person, 
 and tell whether regular or irregular, principal or auxiliary, transi- 
 tive or intransitive. 
 
 In the study of the common errors listed on pages 299 to 302, 
 Chapter V, it will be helpful for the pupil to identify each error with 
 the grammatical rule that covers it. 
 
 The following diagrams may be helpful in reviewing the rules 
 and explanations given above : — 
 
 Nouns 
 
 Kinds 
 
 Forms 
 
 Uses 
 
 Proper 
 
 Number 
 
 Subject 
 
 Common 
 
 Singular 
 
 Predicate nominative 
 
 Collective 
 
 Plural 
 
 Nominative absolute 
 
 Abstract 
 
 Gender 
 
 Nominative by direct address 
 
 
 Masculine 
 
 Nominative of exclamation 
 
 
 Feminine 
 
 Noun in apposition 
 
 
 Neuter 
 
 Object of verb 
 
 
 Common 
 
 Objective complement 
 
 
 Case 
 
 Indirect object 
 
 
 Nominative 
 
 Adverbial objective 
 
 
 Objective 
 
 Object of preposition 
 
 
 Possessive 
 
 Subject of infinitive 
 Modifier in possessive case 
 

 
 APPENDIX 
 
 377 
 
 
 Pronouns 
 
 
 Kinds 
 
 Forms Uses 
 
 
 Personal 
 
 Person Subject 
 
 Relative 
 
 First Predicate nominative 
 
 Interrogative 
 
 Second Nominative absolute 
 
 Adjective 
 
 Third Nominative by direct address 
 
 Definite 
 
 Number Nominative of exclamation 
 
 Indefinite 
 
 Singular Noun i 
 
 n apposition 
 
 
 Plural Object of verb 
 
 
 Gender Objective complement 
 
 
 Masculine Indirect object 
 
 
 Feminine Object of preposition 
 
 
 Neuter Subject of infinitive 
 
 
 Common Modifier in possessive case 
 
 
 Case 
 
 
 
 Nominative 
 
 
 
 Objective 
 
 
 
 Possessive 
 
 
 
 Adjectives 
 
 
 Kinds 
 
 Forms 
 
 Uses 
 
 Descriptive 
 
 Comparison 
 
 Modifier of noun 
 
 Limiting 
 
 Positive degree 
 
 Modifier of pronoun 
 
 Numeral 
 
 Comparative degree 
 
 Modifier of word group 
 
 Definite 
 
 Superlative degree 
 
 used as a noun or 
 
 Indefinite 
 
 
 pronoun 
 
 (Articles) 
 
 
 Certain definite 
 
 Predicate adjective 
 
 Proper 
 
 
 and indefinite 
 
 
 
 Person 
 
 Number 
 
 Gender 
 
 adjectives, 
 sometimes used 
 as pronouns, are 
 inflected for per- 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 son, number, 
 and gender. 
 
 
378 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 Verbs 
 
 Kinds 
 Transitive 
 Intransitive 
 Copulative 
 
 Forms 
 Voice 
 Active 
 Passive 
 Mood 
 Indicative 
 Subjunctive 
 Potential 
 Imperative 
 Tense 
 Present 
 Past 
 Regular 
 Irregular 
 Future 
 Perfect 
 Past perfect 
 Future perfect 
 Auxiliary 
 Principal 
 Person 
 First 
 Second 
 Third 
 Number 
 Singular 
 Plural 
 Infinitives 
 Gerunds 
 Participles 
 Conjugation 
 Simple 
 Emphatic 
 Progressive 
 Defective 
 Redundant 
 
 Uses 
 
 Formation of predicate 
 
 Infinitive, as noun, adjective, 
 
 adverb 
 Gerund, as noun, adjective, 
 
 adverb 
 Participle, as adjective 
 

 
 APPENDIX 379 
 
 
 
 Adverbs 
 
 Kinds 
 
 Forms 
 
 Uses 
 
 Place 
 
 Comparison Modifier of verb 
 
 Time 
 
 Positive degree Modifier of adverb 
 
 Maimer 
 
 Comparative degree Modifier of adjective 
 
 Degree 
 
 Superlative degree To connect and introduce 
 
 Reason 
 
 
 clauses 
 
 Simple 
 
 
 
 Phrasal 
 
 
 
 Conjunctive 
 
 
 
 Negative 
 
 
 
 Expletive 
 
 
 Conjunctions 
 
 Kinds 
 
 
 Uses 
 
 Coordinate 
 
 
 To connect words, phrases, 
 
 Correlative 
 
 
 and clauses 
 
 Subordinate 
 
 
 
 Adverbial 
 
 
 
 Phrasal 
 
 
 Prepositions 
 
 Kinds 
 
 
 Uses 
 
 Simple 
 
 
 To establish relations among 
 
 Compound 
 
 
 words, phrases, and clauses 
 
 or Derived 
 
 
 » 
 
 Phrasal 
 
 
 Interjections 
 
 Kinds 
 
 
 Uses 
 
 Simple 
 
 
 To express strong feeling 
 
 Phrasal 
 
380 APPENDIX 
 
 PRACTICE 
 
 (The following ten questions are used by permission of the New 
 York State Board of Regents.) 
 
 1. Write the following sentences correctly punctuated and capi- 
 
 talized : [5] 
 
 a. i dont expect to get the position he said but im going to 
 
 apply for it 
 
 b. we have read the following books little women grand- 
 
 fathers chair 
 
 2. Illustrate in sentences the correct use of the following. 
 
 (a) doesn't, (6) shall, (c) will, (d) done, (e) whom. [5] 
 
 3. Answer all parts of this question : 
 
 Martha Winthrop, a girl of fourteen, and her younger brother 
 kad been sent to look for the cows, which had gone far into the woods 
 extending behind the house. 
 
 The following are based on the foregoing selection : 
 
 a. Select [2] the clauses, classify [2] each clause as principal 
 
 (independent) or subordinate (dependent), and give 
 the syntax of the subordinate (dependent) clause. [2] 
 
 b. Classify the sentence as simple, complex, or compound. [1] 
 
 c. Give the syntax of girl, her, which. [3] 
 
 d. Select the adverbial phrases [4] and give the syntax of 
 
 each. [4] 
 
 e. Select an adverb [1], a present participle [1], a verb in the 
 
 passive voice [1], an adjective in the comparative de- 
 gree. [1] 
 /. Give the principal parts of sent, been, gone. [3] 
 
 4. Write five sentences, each of which shall illustrate a different 
 
 one of the following : (a) an infinitive phrase used as sub- 
 ject, (6) an adverbial clause, (c) a relative pronoun in the 
 objective case, (d) a substantive (noun) clause, (e) a prep- 
 ositional phrase used as an adjective. [10] 
 
APPENDIX 381 
 
 5. Give the syntax of each italicized word in the following : [10] 
 
 Mr. James J. HiU, the noted railroad man, became an empire builder. 
 The northwest owes its development along certain lines to him. His 
 railroad was well known. 
 
 6. Rewrite the following in the past tense : (a) The kitten lies 
 
 in the sun, (6) The Httle bird sits on the branch of the 
 tree, (c) The car goes swiftly down the street, (d) The 
 spring rains do much good, (e) He lays the package on the 
 table. [15] 
 
 7. Analyze by diagram or otherwise the following sentence : [10] 
 
 After running another mile at high speed to get away from the 
 hounds, the doe thought that it would be safe to seek her fawn. 
 
 8. Answer a, b, and c : 
 
 a. As we approached the house we heard strains of gay music. 
 Contract the dependent clause in the foregoing sentence 
 into a participial phrase. [2] 
 
 6. The settlers organized a new form of government. Re- 
 write the foregoing sentence, changing the verb to the 
 passive voice. [2] 
 
 c. Use in a sentence the possessive plural of woman. [1] 
 
 9. Answer both a and 6 : 
 
 a. Illustrate in sentences the nominative, possessive, and 
 
 objective cases of the relative pronoun who. [5] 
 
 b. Write the plural of each of the following nouns : radius, 
 
 trout, solo, hero. [4] 
 
 10. Answer the following questions, using complete statements : — 
 (a) When did you see John? (b) Why did you do it? 
 (c) Who is it ? [Answer in the first person.] [6] 
 
INDEX 
 
 A Pass in Hockey, illustration, 112. 
 
 About, 309. 
 
 Absolute nominative, 375. 
 
 Abstract noun, 359. 
 
 Accept, 311. 
 
 Active voice, 367. 
 
 Address, business letters, 132-133 ; 
 
 friendly letters, 18 ; on envelopes, 
 
 30-31. 
 Adjective, predicate, 374. 
 Adjective pronoun, 360. 
 Adjectives, classified, 360 ; defined, 
 
 359; errors in, 299 ; inflected, 366- 
 
 367 ; summarj' of, 377. 
 Adjustment letter, 120. 
 Admission, 308. 
 Admittance, 308. 
 Adverbial conjunction, 361. 
 Adverbial objective, 375. 
 Adverbs, classified, 361 ; defined, 
 
 359 ; errors in, 299 ; inflected, 366- 
 
 367 ; summary of, 379. 
 Affect, 311. 
 Allusion, 312. 
 Almost, 314. 
 
 American Education, quoted, 275. 
 Amount, 314. 
 
 Analysis, 373 ; of sentences, 375. 
 Angry, 309. 
 Antonym, 93. 
 Apostrophe, 350. 
 Application letters, 124-129. 
 Apposition, 375. 
 Archaic words, 93. 
 Argument (Lesson 37), 249. 
 Argument, planning of, 256-262. 
 Around, 309. 
 Around the Campfire, illustration, 
 
 336. 
 Articles, 360. 
 
 As, 313. 
 At, 309. 
 
 Austen, Jane, letter by, 230. 
 Auxiliary verb, 368. 
 Ayres, Leonard P., word list, 353- 
 358. 
 
 Back-sword, 172-173. 
 
 Balance, 316. 
 
 Balanced sentence, 141. 
 
 Ballad of the Oyster man, 78. 
 
 Beecking, Henry Charles, quoted, 
 213. 
 
 Beside, 309. 
 
 Besides, 309. 
 
 Bird Thoughts, 83. 
 
 Blind Men and the Elephant, 211. 
 
 Body, in letters, 17. 
 
 Borrow, 313. 
 
 Boy Scouts of America, quoted, 166, 
 173. 
 
 Brackets, 351. 
 
 Breaking the Bronco, illustration, 
 287. 
 
 Buddy and Waffles, 43. 
 
 Business letters (Lesson 16), 115. 
 
 Business letters, 115-134; address in, 
 132-133; closing, 18, 132; en- 
 velope, 132; forms in, 131-134; 
 salutation, 133. 
 
 "But Oh, the Sweetness, and Oh, 
 THE Light of the High-Fastidious 
 Night!" illustration, 268. 
 
 By, 309. 
 
 Calculate, 309. 
 
 Call of the Wild, story from, 54. 
 
 Can, 310. 
 
 Capitalization, 341-342. 
 
 Carroll, Lewis, letter by, 9. 
 
 383 
 
384 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Case, 364. 
 
 Chaparral Prince, 32. 
 
 Character, 310. 
 
 Class grading, 330-331. 
 
 Clausal modifiers, 374. 
 
 Clause, 373. 
 
 Clear, How to be, 113. 
 
 Clearness in paragraphs, 190-193 ; 
 in sentences, 145-160 ; in speak- 
 ing, 220. 
 
 Clearness in speaking (Lesson 33), 
 220. 
 
 Closing, in letters, 17-18. 
 
 Coherence in sentences, 155-160. 
 
 Coined words, 92. 
 
 Collective noun, 359. 
 
 Colloquial words, 92. 
 
 Colon, 347. 
 
 Comma, 343-346 ; in letter parts, 22. 
 
 Common errors (see Errors), 
 
 Common gender, 364. 
 
 Common mispronunciations, 297- 
 298. 
 
 Common noun, 359. 
 
 Compare, 310. 
 
 Comparison, of adjectives and ad- 
 verbs, 366-367 ; in paragraphs, 
 193. 
 
 Complaint letter, 119. 
 
 Complements, 374. 
 
 Complete predicate, 373. 
 
 Complete subject, 373. 
 
 Complex sentence, 140. 
 
 Composition, corrected, 293-294. 
 
 Composition correction, 288-294. 
 
 Compound-complex sentence, 140. 
 
 Compound preposition, 362. 
 
 Compound sentence, 140. 
 
 Conjugation, 370. 
 
 Conjunctions, classified, 362 ; de- 
 fined, 359 ; errors in, 300 ; sum- 
 mary of, 379. 
 
 Conjunctive adverb, 361. 
 
 Connectives, 359. 
 
 Construction, in sentence, 374. 
 
 Consul, 310. 
 
 Contemptible, 310. 
 
 Contemptuous, 310. 
 
 Contrast, 310. 
 
 Contrast, in paragraph, 193. 
 Coordinate conjunction, 362. 
 Copula, 361. 
 Copulative verb, 361. 
 Corrected composition, 293-294. 
 Corrected letters, 291-292. 
 Correcting your own compositions 
 
 (Lesson 43), 288. 
 Correlative conjunction, 362. 
 Council, 310. 
 Counsel, 310. 
 
 Cummings, Amos J., quoted, 199. 
 Curious, 311. 
 Custom, 311. 
 
 Dash, 348. 
 
 David Copper field, quotation from, 
 
 202. 
 Day of Judgment, 64. 
 Declarative sentence, 139. 
 Declension, of pronouns, 365. 
 Defective verb, 372. 
 Degrees of comparison, 366. 
 Demonstrative pronoun, 360. 
 Dependent clause, 373. 
 Derived preposition, 362. 
 Description (Lesson 28), 197. 
 Description of people (Lesson 30), 
 
 208. 
 Description, planning, 201. 
 Descriptive adjective, 360. 
 Details, in paragraph, 192. 
 Diacritical marks, 96-98. 
 Dialectic words, 94. 
 Dickens, Charles, quoted, 10, 202. 
 Dictionary (Lesson 13), 95. 
 Dictionary, abbreviations in, 97 ; 
 
 diacritical marks, 96. 
 Direct address, nominative, 375. 
 Discover, 312. 
 Distance, 310. 
 "Don't Kill. Him, Don't Kill 
 
 Him, Chief I " illustration, 52. 
 
 Effect, 311. 
 
 Elliptical infinitive, 369. 
 Emigrant, 312. 
 
 Emphasis in the sentence (Lesson 
 36), 238. 
 
INDEX 
 
 385 
 
 Emphasis; brevity, 242 ; position, 
 240; repetition, 238; special sen- 
 tences, 241 ; variety, 239. 
 
 Emphatic conjugation, 370, 371. 
 
 Envelope (Lesson 5), 28. 
 
 Envelope, 28-29, 132. 
 
 Errors, common, adjectives, 299 ; 
 adverbs, 299 ; conjunctions, 300 ; 
 prepositions, 300 ; pronouns, 299 ; 
 pronunciation, 104-106 ; sentences, 
 145-165; speech, 220-223, 297; 
 verbs, 301 ; use of words, 308-319. 
 
 Esteem, 311. 
 
 Estimate, 311. 
 
 Examinations, New York Regents, 
 334, 379. 
 
 Example, in paragraph, 192. 
 
 Except, 311. 
 
 Exclamation, nominative of, 375. 
 
 Exclamation mark, 348. 
 
 Exclamatory sentence, 139. 
 
 Explanation (Lesson 23), 165. 
 
 Explanation in paragraphs, 192 ; 
 methods of, 180 ; planning of, 
 175. 
 
 Expletive, 362. 
 
 Fallacy, in argument, 259. 
 
 Feminine gender, 364. 
 
 Few, 311. 
 
 Fields, James T., quoted, 77 ; poem 
 
 by, 269. 
 Fifty groups of words, commonly 
 
 misused, 308-317. 
 First appearance at the Odeon, 77. 
 First person stories, poetry, 83-84 ; 
 
 prose, 57-64. 
 Fix, 316. 
 
 Foreign words, 94. 
 Form in friendly letters (Lesson 2), 
 
 15. 
 Formal notes (Lesson 19), 134. 
 Forms, business letter, 131-134. 
 Friendly letters (Lesson 1), 8. 
 From My Study Window, 202 ; plan 
 
 of, 203. 
 Funny, 311. 
 
 Future perfect tense, 368. 
 Future tense, 368. 
 
 2c 
 
 Gender, 364. 
 
 General tests (Lesson 47), 328-337. 
 
 Gerund, 369. 
 
 Gilbert, W. S., poem by, 84. 
 
 Going Down Hill on a Bicycle, 213. 
 
 Grading, class, 330-331. 
 
 Grammar, review of, 358-381. 
 
 Granny Grammar's Party, 293-294. 
 
 Guest, Edgar A., poem by, 210. 
 
 Hahit, 311. 
 
 Hackneyed expressions, 302-303. 
 
 "Halt!" illustration, 228. 
 
 Havana, 199. 
 
 Hawthorne, Nathaniel, quoted, 202. 
 
 "He Held Me Close and I Went 
 
 TO Sleep That Way, "illustration, 
 
 42. 
 Heading, in letters, 16. 
 Helping verb, 368. 
 Henry, O., story by, 32. 
 Her First Day at School, illus- 
 tration, 179. 
 Highwayman, 79. 
 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, poem by, 
 
 78. 
 Homonym, 93. 
 Hood, Thomas, letter by, 14. 
 How to be clear (Chapter III), 113. 
 How to be convincing (Chapter IV), 
 
 229. 
 How to be interesting (Chapter II), 
 
 6. 
 How to be thorough (Chapter V), 
 
 288. . 
 Hxigh Wynne, story from, 57. 
 Hugh's School Days, 57. 
 Hughes, Thomas, quoted, 172. 
 Human, 312. 
 Humane, 312. 
 
 Huxley, Thomas Henry, quoted, 251. 
 Hyena's Howl, 199. 
 Hyphen, 351. 
 
 Illusion, 312. 
 
 Illustration, in paragraphs, 192. 
 
 Illustrations, A Pass in Hockey, 112 
 Around the Campfire, 336 
 Breaking the Bronco, 287 
 
386 
 
 INDEX 
 
 "But Oh, the Sweetness and Oh, 
 THE Light of the High-Fastidi- 
 ous Night!" 268; "Don't Kill 
 Him, Don't Kill Him, Chief!" 
 52; "Halt!" 228; "He Held 
 Me Close and I Went to Sleep 
 That Way," 42 ; Her First Day 
 AT School, 179 ; Making a Goal, 
 144; "'Now Run, Run,' She 
 Cried," 59 ; On the Skis, 246 ; 
 "Out!" 207; Owl Against Robin, 
 266; Surf Board Riding, 196; 
 Tea for Five, 189 ; The Caddy, 
 200; The Tr.ul Blazers, 220; 
 Tobogganing, 89; "What a 
 Meal He Can Prepare!" 167; 
 "Votes FOR Women!" 276. 
 
 Immigrant, 312. 
 
 Imperative mood, 368. 
 
 Imperative sentence, 139. 
 
 Imperfect tense, 368. 
 
 Independent clause, 373. 
 
 Indicative mood, 367. 
 
 Indirect object, 374. 
 
 Infinitive, 368-369. 
 
 Interest in letters (Lesson 4), 26. 
 
 Interest in story telling (Lesson 11), 
 87. 
 
 Interest in words (Lesson 12), 91. 
 
 Interesting, How to be, 6. 
 
 Interjections, classified, 362 ; defined, 
 359 ; summary of, 379. 
 
 Interrogative pronoun, 360, 366. 
 
 Interrogative sentence, 139. 
 
 Intransitive verb, 361. 
 
 Introductory adverb, 362. 
 
 Invent, 312. 
 
 Irregular verb, 368. 
 
 Irving, Washington, quoted, 197. 
 
 It Couldn't Be Done, 210. 
 
 Its (It's), 314. 
 
 Johnston, Lincoln's letter to, 255. 
 
 Keller, Helen, quoted, 8, 169-172. 
 
 La Fitters Treasure Hunt, 173-174. 
 Language, customs of, 3 ; evolution 
 of, 1 ; laws of, 3. 
 
 Lanier, Sidney, poem by, 266. 
 
 Lay, 312. 
 
 Learn, 313. 
 
 Leave, 313. 
 
 Legend of Sleepy Hollow, quotation 
 from, 197. 
 
 Lend, 313. 
 
 Less, 311. 
 
 Let, 313. 
 
 Letter, address, 30-31 ; adjustment, 
 120; application, 124-129; Aus- 
 ten, Jane, 230 ; body of, 17 ; busi- 
 ness, 115-134; Carroll, Lewis, 9; 
 closing, 17-18 ; comma in, 22 ; 
 complaint, 119; convincing, 230- 
 235 ; corrected, 291-292 ; diagram 
 of parts, 20 ; Dickens, Charles, 10 
 friendly, 8-28 ; form in, 15 ; head 
 ing, 15-16; Hood, Thomas, 14 
 interest in, 26; Keller, Helen, 8 
 kinds of, 329 ; Lincoln, Abraham 
 13, 231, 255; newspaper, 234 
 order, 116-117; parts of, 18; pic- 
 ture, 19-20, 24 ; placement, 22-25 
 punctuation, 22-25; receipt, 118 
 recommendation, 231-234; salu- 
 tation, 16-17 ; signature, 18 
 special, 235 ; Stevenson, R. L., 11 
 
 Letters of application (Lesson 17), 123 
 
 Letters that convince (Lesson 34) , 230 
 
 Liable, 313. 
 
 Liberal Education and Where to Find 
 It, quotation, 251. 
 
 Lie, 312. 
 
 Like, 313. 
 
 Likely, 313. 
 
 Limiting adjective, 360. 
 
 Lincoln, Abraham, letters by, 13, 
 231, 255. 
 
 Lists, word, 352-358. 
 
 Loan, 313. 
 
 London, Jack, story by, 64. 
 
 Loose, 313. 
 
 Loose sentence, 140. 
 
 Lose, 313. 
 
 Macy-Norris, quoted, 250. 
 
 Mad, 309. 
 
 Making a Goal, illustration. I- -f. 
 
INDEX 
 
 387 
 
 Making paragraphs clear (Lesson 27) , 
 190. 
 
 Making sentences clear — unity (Les- 
 son 21), 145. 
 
 Making sentences clear — coherence 
 (Lesson 22), 155. 
 
 Many, 314. 
 
 Marks, diacritical, 96-98. 
 
 Masculine gender, 364. 
 
 Masefield, John, quoted, 219. 
 
 May, 310. 
 
 Methods of explanation, 180. 
 
 Mispronunciations, common, 297- 
 298. 
 
 Mitchell, S. Weir, story by, 57. 
 
 Modifier, 374. 
 
 Modifiers, 359. 
 
 Mood, 367-368. 
 
 Moroso, John A., story by, 43. 
 
 Mosses from an Old Manse, quota- 
 tion from, 202. 
 
 Most, 314. 
 
 Mr. Nobody, 214. 
 
 Much, 314. 
 
 Near, 309. 
 
 Negative adverb, 361. 
 
 Neuter, 31. 
 
 Neuter gender, 364. 
 
 New Testament, story from, 56. 
 
 New York Regents examination, 334, 
 
 379. 
 Nominative absolute, 375. 
 Nominative case, 364. 
 Nominative by direct address, 375. 
 Nominative independent, 375. 
 Nominative of exclamation, 375. 
 Nominative, predicate, 374. 
 None, 314. 
 Notional verb, 368. 
 Noun in apposition, 375. 
 Nouns, classified, 359 ; defined, 359 ; 
 
 inflected, 363-364 ; summary of, 
 
 376. 
 '"Now Run, Run,' She Cried," 
 
 illustration, 59. 
 Noyes, Alfred, poem by, 79. 
 Number, 314. 
 Number, 363. 
 
 Object, of verb, 374. 
 
 Objective case, 364. 
 
 Objective complement, 374. 
 
 Obsolete words, 93. 
 
 Old Man and Jim, 74. 
 
 On the Skis, illustration, 246. 
 
 On writing and speaking (Chapter 1), 
 1. 
 
 Order, in club meetings, 277. 
 
 Order letters, 116-117. 
 
 Ordering a Uniform, 175. 
 
 Other methods of explanation (Les- 
 son 25), 180. 
 
 "Out!" illustration, 207. 
 
 Owl Against Robin, illustration, 
 266. 
 
 Owl Against Robin, 266. 
 
 Parable of Talents, 56 ; plan of, 71. 
 Paragraph (Lesson 26), 184. 
 Paragraph, clearness in, 190-193 ; 
 
 development of, 191-193. 
 Paragraphs that convince (Lesson 
 
 40), 271. 
 Parentheses, 350. 
 Parliamentary order, 277. 
 Parsing, 373 ; of different parts of 
 
 speech, 376. 
 Part, 314. 
 Participle, 369. 
 
 Particulars, in paragraph, 192. 
 Parts of letter, 18-20. 
 Parts of speech, definitions, 358; 
 
 forms, 362 ; kinds, 359 ; summary 
 
 of, 376-379. 
 Parts of verb, 371-372. 
 Party, 315. 
 
 Passive voice, 367, 370-371. 
 Past tense, 308. 
 People, description of, 208. 
 Perfect tense, 368. 
 Period, 343. 
 Periodic sentence, 141. 
 Person, 315. 
 Person, 363. 
 
 Personal pronoun, 359, 365. 
 Phrasal adverb, 361. 
 Phrasal conjunction, 362. 
 Phrasal interjection, 362. 
 
388 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Phrasal modifiers, 374. 
 
 Phrasal preposition, 362. 
 
 Phrase, 373. 
 
 Picture, in letters, 19-20, 24. 
 
 Placement of letter parts, 22-25. 
 
 Planning, argument, 256 ; descrip- 
 tion, 201; explanation, 175-177; 
 speaking, 280 ; story, 70. 
 
 Planning a description (Lesson 29), 
 201. 
 
 Planning a story (Lesson 8), 70. 
 
 Planning an argument (Lesson 38), 
 256. 
 
 Planning an explanation (Lesson 24) , 
 175. 
 
 Pluperfect tense, 368. 
 
 Plural number, 363 ; poem about, 
 227. 
 
 Poetry that argues (Lesson 39), 265. 
 
 Poetry, that argues, 265-271 ; Owl 
 Against Robin, 266 ; The Owl Critic, 
 269 ; that explains and describes, 
 210-215 ; Going Down Hill on a 
 Bicycle, 213 ; It Couldn't Be Done, 
 210 ; Mr. Nobody, 214 ; The Blind 
 Men and the Elephant, 211 ; that 
 tells stories (first person) , 83-84 ; 
 Bird Thoughts, 83 ; Yam of the 
 'Nancy Bell,' 84; (third person), 
 74-83 ; Ballad of the Oysterman, 
 78 ; First Appearance at the Odeon, 
 77 ; Highwayman, 79 ; Old Man 
 and Jim, 74. 
 
 Poetry that explains and describes 
 (Lesson 31), 210. 
 
 Portion, 314. 
 
 Position, in paragraphs, 272. 
 
 Possessive case, 365. 
 
 Potential mood, 367. 
 
 Predicate, 373. 
 
 Predicate adjective, 374. 
 
 Predicate nominative, 374. 
 
 Prefix, 283. 
 
 Prepositions, classified, 362 ; defined, 
 359 ; errors in, 300 ; summary of, 
 379. 
 
 Present perfect tense, 368. 
 
 Present tense, 368. 
 
 Principal verb, 368. 
 
 Progressive conjugation, 370, 371. 
 
 Pronouns, classified, 359-360; de- 
 fined, 359 ; errors in, 299 ; inflected, 
 36.3-366 ; summary of, 377. 
 
 Pronunciation of troublesome vowels 
 and consonants, 104-106. 
 
 Proper adjective, 361. 
 
 Proper noun, 359. 
 
 Prose stories, first person, 57-64 ; 
 third person, 32-56. 
 
 Provincial words, 94. 
 
 Punctuation, 343-351 ; in letter 
 parts, 22-25. 
 
 Punctuation and placement of letter 
 parts (Lesson 3), 22. 
 
 Quantity, 314. 
 Question mark, 348. 
 Quotation mark, 349. 
 
 Raise, 315. 
 
 Real, 315. 
 
 Reasons, in paragraph, 192. 
 
 Rebuttal, 261. 
 
 Receipt letter, 118. 
 
 Reckon, 309. 
 
 Recollect, 316. 
 
 Recommendation, letters of, 231-232. 
 
 Redundant verb, 373. 
 
 Regard, 315. 
 
 Regents examinations. New York, 
 
 334. 
 Regular verb, 368. 
 Relation, 315. 
 Relative, 315. 
 
 Relative pronoun, 360, 366. 
 Remainder, 316. 
 Remember, 316. 
 Remit, 316. 
 Repair, 316. 
 Reputation, 261. 
 Reputation, 310. 
 Respect, 315. 
 Responsive adverb, 362. 
 Retained object, 374. 
 Review of grammar, 358-381. 
 Right use of words (Lesson 15), 108. 
 Riley, James Whitcomb, poem by, 
 
 74. 
 
INDEX 
 
 389 
 
 Rise, 315. 
 
 Russell Sage Foundation word list, 
 353-358. 
 
 Sage Foundation word list, 353-358, 
 Salutation, in letters, 16-17. 
 Saxe, John Godfrey, poem by, 211. 
 Schoolroom, 202-203 ; plan of, 203. 
 Schultz-Gerhard, E., quoted, 275. 
 Semicolon, 346. 
 Send, 316. 
 
 Sentence (Lesson 20), 138. 
 Sentence, emphasis in, 238 ; kinds of, 
 
 139-141 ; topic, 191. 
 Sentences, testing of, 320-322. 
 Set, 316. 
 Shall, 368. 
 
 Signature, in letters, 18. 
 Simple adverb, 361. 
 Simple interjection, 362. 
 Simple predicate, 373. 
 Simple preposition, 362. 
 Simple sentence, 139. 
 Simple subject, 373. 
 Singular number, 363. 
 Sit, 316. 
 Slang, 93. 
 Speaking, 1, 103-104; clearness in, 
 
 220 ; to convince, 276 ; unpre- 
 pared, 279. 
 Speaking (Lesson 14), 103. 
 Speaking to convince (Lesson 41), 
 
 276. 
 Special business letter forms (Lesson 
 
 18), 131. 
 Special letters (Lesson 35), 235. 
 Speech, parts of, definitions, 358 ; 
 
 forms, 362 ; kinds, 359 ; summary 
 
 of, 376-379. 
 Speech, testing of, 297. 
 Spelling terrors, two hundred, 352- 
 
 353. 
 Standard words, 92. 
 Stay, 317. 
 
 Stevenson, R. L., letter by, 11. 
 Stop, 317. 
 Stories, first person (poetry) , 83 ; 
 
 Bird Thoughts, 83; Yarn of the 
 
 ''Nancy Bell,'' 84; (prose) Day of 
 
 Judgment, 64 ; Hugh's School Days, 
 57 ; third person (poetry) ; Ballad 
 ■of the Oysterman, 78 ; First Ap- 
 pearance at the Odeon, 78 ; High- 
 wayman, 79 ; Old Man and Jim, 
 74 ; (prose) Buddy and Waffles, 43 ; 
 Chaparral Prince, 32 ; Parable of 
 the Talents, 56 ; To the Death, 54. 
 
 Stories in poetry told in the first 
 person (Lesson 10), 83. 
 
 Stories in poetry told in the third 
 person (Lesson 9), 74. 
 
 Stories in prose told in the first person 
 (Lesson 7), 57. 
 
 Stories in prose told in the third per- 
 son (Lesson 6), 32. 
 
 Story plans, 71. 
 
 Story telling, interest in, 87. 
 
 Strong verb, 368. 
 
 Subject, of sentence, 373. 
 
 Subjunctive mood, 367. 
 
 Subordinate conjunction, 362. 
 
 Substantives, 359. 
 
 Sufiix, 283. 
 
 SuBF Board Riding, illustration, 196. 
 
 Suspect, 317. 
 
 Suspicion, 317. 
 
 Synonym, 93. 
 
 Synopsis, of verb, 370. 
 
 Syntax, 373 ; of members of sentence, 
 375. 
 
 Talmage, T. De Witt, quoted, 199. 
 
 Tea for Five, illustration, 189. 
 
 Teach, 313. 
 
 Technical words, 92. 
 
 Tennyson, quoted, 208. 
 
 Tense, 368. 
 
 Testing your sentences (Lesson 46), 
 
 320. 
 Testing your speech (Lesson 44) , 297. 
 Testing your words (Lesson 45), 307. 
 Tests, general, 328-337. 
 The Caddy, illustration, 200. 
 The Owl Critic, 269. 
 The Seeing Hand, 169-172. 
 The Ship, quotation from, 219. 
 The Trail Blazers, illustration, 
 
 220. 
 
390 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Third person stories, poetry, 74-79 ; 
 
 prose, 32-56. 
 Thorough, How to be, 288. 
 To the Death, 54; plan of, 71. 
 Tobogganing, illustration, 89. 
 Tom Brown's School Days, quotation 
 
 from, 172. 
 Topic sentence, 191. 
 Transitive verb, 361. 
 Trotty's Wedding Tour, story from, 64. 
 Two hundred spelling terrors, 352- 
 
 353. 
 
 Unity in sentences, 145-149. 
 
 Unless, 317. 
 
 Unprepared speaking, types of, 279. 
 
 Van Tassel Farm, 197. 
 
 Variety, in paragraphs, 273. 
 
 Verbal noun, 369. 
 
 Verbs, classified, 361 ; defined, 359 ; 
 
 errors in, 301 ; inflected, 367-373 ; 
 
 summary of, 378. 
 Very, 315. 
 Voice, 367. 
 Votes for Women, illustration, 276. 
 
 Ward, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, story 
 by, 64. 
 
 Way, 310. 
 
 Weak verb, 368. 
 
 " What a Meal He Can Prepare ! ' 
 illustration, 167. 
 
 What Is a Boy Scout? 166-169. 
 
 When, 317. 
 
 While, 317. 
 
 Will, 368. 
 
 Without, 317. 
 
 Word lists, 352-358. 
 
 Word modifiers, 374. 
 
 Words (Lesson 32), 215. 
 
 Words, antonym, 93 ; obsolete, 93 ; 
 archaic, 93 ; provincial, 94 ; coined, 
 92; right use of, 108-110; col- 
 loquial, 92 ; slang, 93 ; commonly 
 confused, 308 ; sources of, 282 ; 
 dialectic, 94 ; special, 217 ; foreign, 
 94; standard, 92; general, 217: 
 synonym, 93 ; homonym, 93 . 
 technical, 92; interest in, 91 
 testing, 307-317; that convince 
 281. 
 
 Words that convince (Lesson 42), 
 281. 
 
 World I Live In, quotation from, 169. 
 
 Writing, 1. 
 
 Yarn of the ''Nancy Bell,'* 84. 
 
 Printed in the United States of America. 
 
RETURN EDUCATION-PSYCHOLOGY LIBRARY 
 
 TO ► 2600 Tolman Hall 642-4209 
 
 LOAN PERIOD 1 
 
 ' MONOGI^APH 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 
 2-hour books must be renewed in person 
 
 Return to desk from which borrowed 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FORM NO. DD10 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. BERKELEY 
 BERKELEY, CA 94720 
 
VB 369(9 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CAUFORNIA LIBRARY