1876 printing of the 1876 copyrighted text. The author is credited with a Doctor of Laws of English degree and as the author of other texts on composition and grammar. A collection of lessons that teaches the art of expression through oral and written inductive exercises rather than the old method of grammar teaching that relies on verbal parsing. Object-lessons are a substantial part of the text, and pictorial illustrations have been crafted to aid in the object-treatment of subjects. Ninety lessons appear in the text, covering subjects such as sentences, capital, periods; sentences expressing questions; letters and their sounds--syllables; use of possessive forms; comparatives and superlatives; the use of adverbs; analysis of sentences; punctuation; violations of unity; letter writing; exercise in criticising; oral discussion of subjects; and exercises in narration. The Schultz Archive's copy is roughly the complete text.
1851 printing of the 1851 copyrighted text. The author is credited with a Master of Arts and as Rector of the Henry-Street Grammar School in New York. The text was designed to fill a gap in composition textbooks for students ages 9 to 12. The first fifty pages use inductive lessons with exercises to familiarize students with the nature and use of the different parts of speech so they can recognize them and supply them when given incomplete sentences. Following this the text offers a more difficult treatise on grammar with different kinds of clauses and sentences, preparing the students for the rules of punctuation. Next are capitals and spelling. Then students are ready to express themselves in their own language, prompted with suggestive words to write sentences of every kind. Style is then taught with the properties of purity, propriety, precision, clearness, strength, harmony, and unity with examples for correction. Students are also taught different kinds of composition, such as letters, descriptions, narrations, biographical sketches, essays, and arguments, and three main figures of speech. The Schultz Archive's copy is roughly the complete text.
