1894 printing of 1887 copyrighted text. The author is credited with an M.A. and as Professor of the Theory, History, and Practice of Education in the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. The preface states the text has material for four years of study and one year of training college for pupil-teachers. It also suggests its use in colleges, ladies' seminaries, high schools, academies, preparatory and normal schools. The text aims for simplicity and clearness. Part one's chapters cover orthography, etymology, words and their functions, syntax, analysis, word-building and derivation, word-branching, words derived from names of persons and places, words disguised in form, and words that have changed in meaning. Part two covers composition, punctuation, figures of speech, paraphrasing, prosody exercises and exam questions. The Schultz Archive copy contains the preface, TOC, and the section on composition from part two.
1894 printing of 1890 copyrighted text. Revised and enlarged edition. Author is credited with a B.A. and as editor of Goldsmith's "Deserted Village," Cowper's "Task," etc. Preface (dated 1891) states text addresses lack of texts that ably deal with the theoretical part of composition and offer a sufficient amount of practice. It proceeds on the simple method of laying down a few principles at a time and then illustrating them with a variety of exercises. Chapters cover: the sentence, punctuation, style (diction, formation of sentences, construction of paragraphs), variety of expression, figures of speech, qualities of style (perspicuity, picturesqueness, force, pathos, the ludicrous, the aesthetic), letters, the plan, kinds of discourse, versification, correcting compositions, and proof-reading and marking. The Schultz Archive copy is roughly the complete 338 page text.