EXERCISES IN RHETORIC

'!

I

ENGLISH COMPOSITION
BY

·T~.

~

0

•

G. R

~ARPENTER

J>J!.QE'Ef;SOR O F H ll.F.T OltT O AN'I) E Nl i l.. lf:i ll C O~IP 08 T T 1 0N I N COLUM.!U.
CO LLEGE; F O lt ME l! LY A Ssoc'1 ATl~ 1' 1?.0 !l'F: RSO !t 0 1'.~ ENG LlBll IN
01'~

Tlrn b1 AS8ACllUSET'1'8 lN STlTUTE

'J'IW ll NOLOG Y

SLXTH E DI'.tlON, REVISED At:l.I.' E NJA.RQBJ)

:!\lero

~ nd1

T HE JVlACMILLAN COMPANY
L ON DON : l\1 AC M JLLAN

& Co.,.

All r i'gli ts r eserved

(l

J

'l .'

\

L _ro

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGP.

Sc1rn~m

5
7

OF SunJICCT-MATTim

l'HIWACE
C H AP .

I.
()OPYftlGJIT 1

1891,

llr G. R. CA RPEi-l"TEI? .

II.
First pnbli shed elsewhere. Tran sferred to Macmillan & Co. : 1895
Re printed Fcbn1ary, October, rB96 ; Au g ust, October, 1897.

15

lG

IV.

"\Vo 1ms: VocAnULARY
EXERCI S I~ IV

22

Wonns : Too MA..'IY; Too Fmw.
ExEHC1su: V .

27
30

vV ORDS : J,oNG vV 01ms versus SHORT vV ORDS;
ANGLO-SAXON vV01ms vm·sn-< LATIN vV01:ns ;
SD.1PL1~ Wonns versus "F1NE vVHJTJNG"
Exmw1su: VI

3G
41

SP;NTENcm; : PUNCTUATION
Exr;iic1s1t VII

4G
47

V I CL

')'}Qi""j?('
I ·· ~· 1. ( 1 f '_) )

BAHllA1us~1s

D

12

18

VII.

1Prrnu:

M1nuon P1wros1m; "\Vo 1ms:
Ex1mCl."IC II .

OF

Wo1ms: I~n·normu:Tms.
Ex1mc1su: III

v.r.

Nur\nou~

PmNCIPLI~

UL

V.

.Ucrwick & Smith 1.Norwood, i\lti.ss., U.S.A.

RrmTOIUC; STANDAHDS; Tim
GOOD USE .
Exmw1sm I

IX.

rn
25

S1rnnrn c Es : Sor.Ec1sMs

51

Ex1mc1 s 1~

5G

VIII .

SEi"1'1rncF.s: LONG
A Nu J,oosE
Ex1wc1s 1~ IX .

A~o

S1101tT;

rmuomc

50
71

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4
C HAI'.

X.

SCHEME OF SUBJECT-MA'ITER.
S 1rn T1rn cEs : UN ITY
Ex 1mc 1sg

x r.

X .

S 1r:NTJ·:N c 1·:s : l~MP JI A~ J S A N ll Co 111r. n1r:NC ll!

J•; x1rn CJS J•;

X I r.

77
7!)
82
85

X f.

r .11t AC:H ,\l'll S:

J·; ~ll' ll AS I S,

UN IT Y,

AND

Co8!)

1rn1m KC I'.
E:~rnu c1 sic

X I Ir.

'·V 11 0 LI ~

X ![

!JS

COMP OS I T IO NS :

UN ITY,

} ; Ml' ll ASI S,

Hl2
107

A N P C o111 ·: 1rnNC I•:.
Ex 1rnc 1sE

XLV .

Q1 1.1Lnn:s
Ex1m c 1s 1·:

XV.

<>1" STYLI•::
X IV .

C LEARN l~!;s

ll 4

127
12!l

XVI .

] ) 110<:<.r r JONS l ' Oll ' V IUTING
A11111rnv1ATIONS U s 1m

1'11 r:~ms

132

IN Co 111mcTI NG T1rn~rns

J3•l

J\ l'l'END IX.

I·

' Vo 1ms F m cQ UENTL Y
TYP ICAL

LETn:H

135

M1sus1m

14 :>

Forms

So ucc 1 s~ 1 s
ON

Tim 'J'l( AClllNG 0 1•' ENGLISH
H1 G n Scnooi,s

W ortls.

Se11Leuccs.

Pa.ra.grapl1 s.

\Vli olo Com pos it ions.

147
COMPOSJ T!ON

QUALITIES OF ST YLK
Force.
E legance.

120
122

XV

QUA L l"rms 01' STYL I•: : EL IGG A NCI~
Exmte 1s 1c

=

I l7

QUA LIT ms 01" STYLE: F0Hc 1•:
Ex1rn c 1 ~E

xv [.

X Cf [ .

AnnnEV JAT JONS. - 1'.L = M cEI roy'A S i1'11,rt11re nf English I'1'tMe , A. C.
Arm strong & So n, 18!)0 : referred to by BCCL io n !'i . I r.= A. s. ]Jill 's P rin cip lt!8 1Jf Rhr.toric , Har pe r & Hrolhe rA, l SH!) : refe rred t. o by pages . S.==
Lo11r;muns' Sc !wnl Composition, by Da,·ill S alm o n, LongmanR, G re e n &
Co. , 1800 : referred to by scclio!1 s. \V.
'\\Tcndcl l 'r:i P:ng li.'lh Com7Josi·
tinn , C harles Sc r ibucr' s Sorn-1, 1801. Th e corrc r- ponding p aPR a~cs in
Gc 1111 11g's P1·o ctir.n l J(fn11.1•n ts of Uheloric , G inu & Co ., 1890, can be
readil y found Uy the ind ex .

JN

l u5

'f Y PI C,\L Ex ,\ l\ TI ~ATI ON PAP l~ J~S

li.i9

Su 11 J 1cCT S l 'O lt T1rn~rns .

191

Clearn ess.

I. GOOD USl•': -M. !1(;-!J, 102; H. 1-11; " ' · 11-28.
II. vVoRos: 1. ll:ulmri sms : l\f. 13G, 142, 143, 144; II. J\J-30; S. 131;
w. 43-47 .
2. Jmprn prir.Lios: ]\'[. 1:)4 ; JI. u0-G2; S. U:l-!l:"J; \ V. '18-GO.
3. Voo:ih11 lrtry : .III. 172, frl, 17c;; H . G:l, G!; \V. GO-W.
4. N 11 mlier of wortls: M. l !l.J., HJ:j ; H . 104-128 ; S.
3!i8-377 ; W. G:l-G7 .
5. L ongwords aml s hort words: S. 114, llu ; W. 57, 58.
O. Anglo-Saxon word s and Lat.in words: M. 18±, 187;
H . 74-7!1; S. 111- 113, llii- 1 18; W. 52-57.
7. " Fi ne Writing" a11cl Euphemisms : H. 80--83 ; S.
119-120.

Ill.

SENTENCP.S: -

1. Pu 11 ctuati on: II. 24!1 -288; W . 82 , 83.
2. Sol eci~ 111 s: l\1. 145, l:"i'.l, JG3; I-L :31-4!l; S. 208-220,
2:m-200, 20!1- :J:Jr.; w. rn-81.
3. L ong se ntences a nd s l1 ort sentences : l\L 223-2'.!5;
IL l :):i; S . :130- :;41 ; \V. 8!l ff.
4. Periodic senten ces :t1Hl loose sen tences: M. 213,
216, 217; H . lii2-lii-l; S . :J.±4-050; W . 84- 8!l.

SCTrF:MP. OF

G

8UB.JJWT-~TATTER .

Principles nf C01n110sition : -

u.

Uni Ly: l\L 2:M;, 237, 243; IT. lll!J, lfiO; S. 34-1lWl ; W . !J!i-D:J.
G. E 111 phnsis : l\L 20J- 207; II. 142-lUl ; \V. flfl-10:!.
7. Cn l1 crcncc : l[. l !'.5- 142 ; S. 13!l-14:;, 158, l.i:i(),
161- lGiJ, 17\J, 181, lSG-HIG: W. lO:l-111.

PREFACE.

JV. PARAGRAPHS : -

1. L ong para.g raphs and sh ort p:u:igraphs :· \V.114-122.

p,.inciples of Composition : 2. Unity: l\L 274, 27:1; R. 12,; , Hil; W. J 22-12G.
3. E 111pl1as is : l\l. 2 1!1, 277 , 278 ; H. JG I ; \Y . 12fi-1 33.
4. Cohere nce : l\L 250-~ii! ; H. 1G1; \V. 133-140
V.

WH O.LE COMPOS ITIONS: -

Principles of Composition: 1. Unit.y: l\L 287, 28D (1); W. 11!5-162.
2. E m ph:tsis: l\L 288; \Y. lli2-173.
3. Coheren ce: l\f.28() (2); \V. 173 ff.

VI.

vn.
VIII.

CLF.A1rn1~ss :-l\f .

w. lfJ3-233.

318, 310, 321; II. G5-74; S. 221-235 ;

FoRCF.:-1\f. 325, 2\JS;

w. 234-~7 1.

ELEGANCE:

H. St-!J!J;

s.

378- 8 1, i!Gl-3G7 ;

-l\L 33!J ; H . 100-103 ; W. 272 JI.

Professor A. S. Hill's more elementary treatise (" The
Foundations of Rh etoric," Harper and Brothers, 18!l2) is
so carefnlly arranged and indexed that it will not be necessary to add u table of references to it here.

THIS book of exercises spra ug from the exigencies
of teaching. In my daily work I have not.iced lhat
a pupil assimilaLes iustrucLion r catlily and progresses rapidly in the art of composition in proportion as the instructo r's comments on the textbook are made in the familiar language of conversation, as his theory is sim ple, hi s illustrations from
the current literature of to-day, aucl his advice direct
and tangible as that of the teacher of pninting or any
other a rt. I have noticed, too, that the student's
progress has been most evillcnt when the exercises by
which h e gained his 8kill were systematic an d g rad ed.
Following these hints of expe rience , I have tried to
make a text-book which shall include the minimum of
theory with a sutncicnt uumb cr of appropriate exercises . The text represents, lo my mind, the body of
instruction in rhetoric which a youn g stud ent might
in justice be expected to hold thoroughly in rnind,the equivalent, in short, of good n otes on a series of
lectures. ·what I h ave omitted seems to me unessential for such a student. 'l'here is , on the other
hand, little or nothing in the text which is not included in all reputable treatises on t h e subj ect ; and I
sincerely hope that what I have written will r ecomm end itself to any experienced writer who may chance
to look in it, for I hold thal; whatever in our schemes

8

PREFACE

of rhetoric th e cxpcrfoncctl awl successful writers of
our lime do .not fe el th e ucccss il y of is uot likely to be
of grr.at use to him who woultl learn tile art of which
th ey arc ma s te rs. Th e exercises explain tbcmsclvcs.
J ~ac h sho11ld be co nqu erc<l Lefo re th e next is n,llackcd.
lloi.lt I ext a11<l exerc i s r~s , howe ver, will be nearl y valueless if the sLnd cnt docs not write frequently n,utl
r egularly. ·what he writes ~ ho uld be corrected not
.
'
m111utcly willt r efe rence lo every conceiva ble principl e
of rh cto rie, hut onl y with re ference to Urn part of the
subj ect imm ediately in hand, or lo whatever else is
seH-cv i<l cnt.

RHETORIC AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION.

.

Th e mclho(l which I have follow ed throu o-lt out in
'" nt, is
the !ext, in 11 olll cnclnturc, order, n.nd treatme
that which "rofessor Ilarrelt ·wcndell of arvanl College hn.s cl cvc opc1 in [ ic course of 1is tcaeh~ng
th ere, and by wlti ch, as his pupil, his assistan t, n.nd
hi s fri end, I h ave fo r seve n yen.rs profited. Jn his
"English Composition" (Chn.rl cs Scribner's So us,
l8!Jl), Loth teacher a.ml pupil will find the princ iples
of rhetoric sblcd nn<l expounded wi1h a clearness an d
Lrillin.ncy whic h I h ave 11 ot found clscwh c1:e.
Th e exercises, and lo so me exte nt th e text , have
been carefully revised iu the Fifth Edition.
G. U. C.

C ITAPTEI~

I.

WHAT RHETORIC IS; STANDARDS AND AUTHORITIES; THE PRINCIPLE OF GOOD USE.

1. The Art of Rhetoric. H.!Jetoric_is t l1c art
of telling some one else by wo rd s precisely wh:it
you m ean to say. A t1c finitio u in s uch coll o(111i:tl
la ng un.ge m ay see m so obvious as to be al1n ost u11 ncccssary , but let u s b e sure t!Jat we um1erstand it
in its fnll fo rce .
:First. \Vh y do we say " tellin g some one else by
worcls"? B een.use, if yo n sto p to t hink of i t, yo u
will see that there arc a nu mi.Jc r of other ways b es ides Jang nngc hy wlticb p eo pl e co1111111111icn.tc " ·i!.11
one another. T!Jey may communicate lJy mu s ic, for
in stance, or by p a in t in g, or by sculptme, o r, to a
cer tain extr 11 t, by a rc!Jitecturc. TIJC painlc r uses
:is his medium, colors ; t he sculp tor, stone; t he
mu s icia n, so um1; tbc architect, Yari ous soli L1 111atcrin.1s. The Jaws o r principles that the painter 11111 s t
follow, then, arc thoRe which d epend. o n colors, on
their chemical p roper ti es , on o ptics, on n,ll p oss ible
r elatio ns between the eye of t he mau who sees a ml

10

EXEIWJSF:S I N EJIF;TOlUC

I.h e 1t:111J of t.he rna11 wh o paints. So, too, the fundamcnt:Ll prin cipl es of the sculptor 's n, rt d epe nd upon
the nature rl11J strncturc of sto ll c n,nd s uch solid
ll1n,f.crin I,; ns he uses . Th e art of U1 c painter or the
::;culptor lliffcrs from o urs in that he · uses colors or
solill materials as fl medium of express ion, whereas
we use wonls. Onr ftrt, thou, Rhetori c, has litile
or nothing to llo witl1 other sorts oE express ion. H
is plainly a 11 Ll s i111ply tbc a rt of express ing thought
or feeling UJ " 'O l'd S .
]fot tl1erc is another part of llic Ll cfini tion we
shonkl thorong lily uurlcrstancl. mwtoric is t he a rt
of .-ay i11 g by wonls just wbat you mean. \ Vhy the
. . _cp_:t? \ V by not the 13cJ&nce? Dccause between an
art and n, science there lies ft gre:i,t g ulf. A science
is somethin g yon know or uml erstand with out 11 cccssarily pr:1.clisi11g it. An art is something whicl.1 yo u
do, " ·liich yo u practise. History, for installcc, is n,n
important sc ience, the aim of which is t he und erst:rnd ing an cl :i,ppreci:ition of past cYe ll t. ; but,
strictly s peak ing, history, except for ils rc llcx action
0 11 cl1:1.racter, is mere dead lmow leLlge.
Auy br:lllch
of eng in eering, Oil tlie otber hand , is an :i,rt, 1Yhich
you firs t learn, then practise. Now R hetoric is
essen tially an art. In orde r to wrilc we ll yo u mnst,
of co u rsc, govern yourself, co11scio11 sly or un con sciou sly, by certain principles, but the knowledge of
thc.-c prill eipl es is not the maill t hiu g . The csscnti:i,l
p:1rt of Rhetoric is that yo u sbonld act, that you
should practise the :Lrt yon :ire learning .
Our first point, tlicn, is tliat we arc dealing with

A ND ENGLl Sir COllfI' OS ITION.

11

cxpress io u by ' ronls , not by nny oth er means , -n
cauti on which, tl1 011 g lt l'or yo u 11ot per!i:ips :dlogcU1cr
necessary, w ill scrYc to the attentive st11dcnt as a
(li sc ri111in ntio n o f so1 11t\ i111po rtan nc. 011r scconcl
point is tlrnt H.hclori c is :lll arl, uot a science.
2. Sta ndards and Authorities. \ '\Tlmt, we
mu st now :isk, arc the co ll stant prin ciples by whicb
'rn s li :i.11 lie g11ill etl in t he pr:1cticc of 011r art?
The common idea of a text-book 0 11 R l1 ctoric is
that it co ntains t11·0 sols of rnles : rnl cs fo r wli:i,t
yo n must d o a nd rules for '"h:i.t yon rnnst not do.
Th e fact of the matter, lto1YcYer, is ycry di fferent.
The r11 les of Rhetori c :ire not rnornlly binding. So
far as Rhetoric goes yo u :ire ft\ 'C men, - yo u can
say what yo u pl ease ; b11.t t h.ere is this Llr:i.w lJack: if
yo n use wonls or express io ns which nrc not id entical
with those that other p eople 11 sc 'ri th the m eanin g
yo n have in mind, you tli ercliy foil in expressin g
yo urself, -in say in g o r writing wk1t yo nmc.'t11; and
that is you r ou ly pnrpo.-e in talking or 'ni tiug. \\Tc
rnust k eep in miml , il10n, what ' "c may ca ll the
principle of goocl use ; t hat is , tltc principle that
commends t !J c nsc of wonl s whicli r cp ntalJlc spen,kcrs nncl writers of our own n:i,tion nml 011.r ow n time
as :i, body und erstan d and approve of. Tltrougltout
:i, part of 0 111: stucl y we shall find "good u se" :i,n
important st::mcbnl of di scrimin:iti on.
\V c shall
have to ask ourselves co nstantly whether a word or
:i, phrase is really sanction ecl by r-ood use, whether
reputable people of our nntion and ti me g iYc to it
the same meaniug and tlte S[l.Jlle associat ions that we

EXERCISES LV R l lETOR I (;

AND ENGLI S H CON POS ITION.

g iYc it. ·w ithin its limi ts , morcoYcr, good use is
a lmos t absolu te. I f we employ uuknown, uncouth,
or Y11 lg ar wo rd s or ex press io ns our readers will not
u ml ers t.a ncl 11 s, or will mis un tfo rst:rnd us , o r will
:i ssoci: 1.te 11s , in so f ar :is we 11 sc v ulg a r wonl s , with
Y11l g:1r or ig 11 or:rnt people. Jf, howcYer, we use
" ·o nl s :111 \l cxprPssions whi ch a rc 1111(lcrstood and
sn ncLioned by rcput:i.blc people o f 011r own nation
:111 (1 011r o"· n t in1c, we arc tl111 s f:t r f11 rl1 1cri11 g our
olijed , 1l1 at of tt> lli11g so 111 e OJJ C els0 hy wonls wl 1:1.t
we 111 cn11. Cood use , as cocl ifiecl in reputabl e
d ictionn.r ics or ::i s exemplified by r eputable writers
or s peakers , is , t hen, our fi rs t stauclarcl in t he st udy
of H ltctoric, 011r fi rst clew to t he problem which
e1·e ry 1ni tcr fi mls lJcforc hi111, - liow he can best
rn :1ke t l1c one to wh om he is s peakin g or wri t ing
umlers tauJ what he men.us.

1. Thn.t it should be leg ible.
2. That it s honhl s ta te cl criui tely a ud conspicuously (a ) where it was written , ( b) wheu it was
wri tte n, ( c) by whorn it was written, a JHl (cl) to
whom it was written.
3 . Tha t it s houkl lJcgin co urteously a nd appropria tely .
4. Th:1.t it should cud courteously and nppro ·
priatcly .
5 . That th e style t hro nghon t shonkl dcpcJHl
upon the rebtions betw een t he 11Ti tcr a ucl the
person t o whom he writes , t he circumstances under
1Yhiclt he wri tes, a nd the mat te r a bout which he
writes .

12

EXERCISE I.
GOOD U SE .

I. The princi ple of good use - t hat we usually
communi cate wi tlt others most cfiectively when we
make use of tltc rn ca11 s well known and in good
r r pu tc among them - is most clc:i rl y illu strated by
tltc c111Tc11t :u1 cl somct i111 es co11ve11 Lio11 a l fo rm s used
in lcttcr-m·iting . As lc ttcr-wri tiu g is th e kind of
co111position which we a rc mos t often l1rong ltt into
cont.act with, the s tndc11t is advised to pay especial
attention to it. The necessary quali ties of a good
letter are : -

13

I. "Write : (1) a short note, asking a fr iend to
take Juncbcon wi th yo11; ( 2) a more form al note,
askin g a favor of nn acquain tance ; (3) a fo rmnJ
invitation in the thinl pcrso u; ( 4) a b usiness letter ;
and ( 5) a petition to a Facul ty or some person or
persons in au thority . F ollow, in g eneral, the for ms
of the s ubjoin ed ex amples .* Notice t ha t in (A)
the writer uses t he conversational 1:-tug unge of everyd ay life ; in (B) less fa mi lia r hng nngc ; that in (C)
he fo llows t il e forn 1s wlti ch society Ji:-1s atl op tctl fo r
conYcnicucc' sake ; t hat iu ( U) tbc l:tug nag c is
defini te a ll(l co ncise witl1011 t being curt; aml t ha t iu
(E) t he writer is d efiu iLe a ucl at the same time
respectful.
• See pages 145- 7.

EXERCI SES IN RHETORIC

IL ·what rtrc the fonlts in tile form or tone of
the letters before yon? '*' Do n ot merely a uswer
th a t they "Yiol:ttc good u se ," but g ive iu each case
a reaso n wlticli will show tliat the difference b etween
t ltc good fonn and the bacl form is a difference in
fuln ess or d efi11itcucss of mean in g or a diffcrcucc
iu tri stc tlmt is capable of being rationaJly explained.
* Letters illus trating typical errors should Uc written ou the black
board .

AND ENGLISlI C 0111POS1'1'10N.

15

CIIAI'TER II.
METHOD

PROPOSED; WORDS: BARBARISMS.

1. Method. Now t hat onr standard is settled ,
we can go on to plan our work. Tl1crc are two ways
in whi ch we can trc:tt clcrn cntrt1".)' R heto ric : we can
r egard all our work of cornmuni catio11 as done by
words, a nd so con fin e ourselves to apply ing to won] s
ancl 1.o words alone t he principle of good use , or we
ca n r egard words merely as uni ts, - so to spcri k, whi clt style uses citbcr se pnrntcly or in s nch combination as to forrn a uni ty o f a hig bcr order. The
scconcl method is the one we s hall follow . \Ve s hall
firs t treat worcls as they strtnd alo ne. But a se nt ence is no less a n element o f style than a word ,
au cl so we co me later to tr ~at of t he sen te ncc ris
an other element of s tyle, a uni ty of a liig her order
than t lie 1rnrd. Anti jus t as word s in cornbin:1.tio11
form a sc 11tc11 cc , so scnt;ences in combinat ion form a
paragrap h, r111d pnrag rnphs in co mbinati on for m a
whole compos ition. \ ,\Tc li aYe, then, fo ur elements
of style to treat : the \VorLl, the Se ntence, the P aragrnph, and t he Wl1olc Co mpos it ion. By fo llowing
tL1is simple and log ical sclieme we shall he helped in
gcltiug a clear iuca of t he principles upon whicli our
art is based.

76

E X ERCI S ES TY R !IETORIG

6. "'\Ve W<' rc in th e ha rLor of Lo11g I sla]J(l, on a
s 111 :ill ::; loo p y:ic lt t Lhat h:t\l IJec n rn :ule fast to t he
wJ1:1rf by :\ fo re, :d' t, an\1 top-m:1st lin e, " ·L1i ch was
n ecessa ry because ire 'rcrc aLovc low- water lll a rk .
7. So tlmt we were obligetl to cat, with our fee t
hraccd ngaiu s t th e ccntre-hoanl, a11c1 our botli es
<' n !ct, whi c h w:1s Yt)ry tlifli c11l t, h11t " ·c rna11 agc\l t o
ca t ll'ilh 11111 c: h 111c 1Tii11cut o ur llln eh , fo r it 110 lougc r
co uld lie c:11lt·1 l 1J rcakf':1st .
8. I :1 sk \•(l t he captain " ·ha t it was , aml he callc\l
it " N ix 's l\fo tc," say ing t here 'rns a . story co u11 cc ic\l " ·iU1 it , wLii ch he won hi !,ell me ; as fo llo ws .
!I. TJ1 c uni o n o f th e t win c iti es has hi ther to been
.,.
\l ec 111 e\l i111pr:tc Licab lc o n a ccount o f t he io tc r vc nin
.
0
s pare , ln1t t ha t o bj ec tio n can hardl y be r a isctl n o ll',
as the b o1111da ry lin e is ha rdly pcrccpt iiJle.
10. Ther e is a n i111press io n t hrn11g hout the East
tha t th e two c it ies arc Yery hostile n.1111 never lose
a c l1:u1 cc to i11j11re e:1ch o ther; but tha t tim e ltas
p as t, :tllll " ·it h t he except ion of a few 11 cwspnpcr
edi to rs the p eople arc Yery fri endl y . Au example
o f t he h:1n11011 y in 1rhic h t he t 1rn c ities work is t he
w:1y i:i t. l':u1l rnen helped 1'Liuueapolis get th e
Hqrnbli c:rn co 11\·e nti o11, all(1 the way Minn eapolis
111 c 11 :ire i11 ret urn \l oi11 g :ill t hey ca,u to help St. P aul
gl'L t he D emocraLic co 11 Ye11 tio11.
J l. Tl1 ere l1 aye bee n numerous na mes s uggested
fo r t he co 111Li11 cd c ities, s uch as : St. A. polis , Paulapoli s , :tll(l M i1mep a1tl; lint it is Ycry likely that when
tlte uni on d ocs occur th e 11 amc choseu will be one
enti re ly di!Iere ut fr om t he present ones .

AND Ji,'NGLl8 H

COJJLPOSl'J.'JON.

77

CHAPTER X .
SENT E NC E S: UNITY.

Cons id er fo r :1. rn o111 e11t; tl 1.c w:1y in 11·hi ch a good
noYel, n r a gooll speech, o r :u1 y goOLl p iece ot
li ter:i ry wo;·ir ;s c:rn strnc tcd. Jn each t he wri te r has
a p artic11br so methin g t o s:iy , :1. w~ ;c is hi s \]u ty to
shu t out ub sol11tely ew rv lhin <~ els e except t ha t , to
mak e his po in t in e\·cry 11·ay "J eYc ry p oss ible rn eans
li e can, lJ11t to lea,·c 011 t .":erythi11 g ' ':i · cit " ·ill no t
J1 elp ltim to rn:-ike hi s po in t . " ratc h a g <·od s peake r,
s tudy a gootl p h y o r a goo\l 11 01·cl, a 1ul yo u will
find thi s prin c ipl e o [ u11i Ly ri ![oro11 sly illu s t ra ted.
A ny t reatment of a Ji xed s ulJject s ho uld ltaYe in it
no extrnn eous rn a Ller.
Y on s ho11l<l notice a lso t hat in o nlcr to get thi s
nnity of tl1 e " ·hole yo u rn11 s t a, rr:111 gc yo ur m:tl c ri a ls
in an orderl y 11·a,y. If yon stud y a good play , a
good n oYcl, o i· a good speech, yo u will s ee tha t in
eac l1 in stance t he compactness a ntl t he compl eteness
is due to ord erly arrnngcme11t . U1.11l er each head
on e thing is t rea ted , :incl ouly o ne ilti11g . Thi s princ iple we s hall s tll(l y a, little later as the uni ty of t:.ie
par:i grnpb.
This ortlerly divis ion of t houg ht , 11 0\YeYer , wllicl1
goes so :far to mak e up good wri t ing , tlepends upon

78

E XER CISE S IN RIIET ORI G

an other prin e iplc,- lltc nni ty o f lit e sentence ; i . e.,
h:tY i11 g, as :t rul e, o ne U1i11 g lo s:1y in each sentence.
No ti ce, fo r in .·t:i ncc , ho w, in t he fo llo wing extrac t
fr o 111 So llt.hcy 's " Li l'c o f. Nclso 11 ," e::iclt se nte nce
li :lll<il es 0 11 e sep:irn lc t hing , n111l. is :i s (li stin et a s c:i c lt
p:1r:1g r:1p l1 in a good chapt er wo11ltl be, or ns each
~
eh:1pler ia a 11·l'll-mad c book: 11

T l10 cl en.tli nf N(' l ~n n ''as f el t in E 11 .~ l ruul ns so rn c lldn ~

n1 nr o t11a11 a p11hli c cal a m i ty ; n1 <' n sl :ir tud at t11 0 i11 tol ligc rwe
:111<l I 11n1< 'll pa le, ns if U1<•y h:id l 1canl n( t 11 0 lnss o f :t tle:i r fr iend.

A n ol>j «ct o( on r rt<lmirn.tinn n111l a ffect ion , o ( o nr p 1·it1 0 and of
o n r hnpr.s, 1rn s s rl(l tl<' nl y ta ken fr om us ; :tll(l it seem ed as if w e
h n<l ll C\'cr t ill t h e n k11 01Yn h o11· deeply we loved nnd r m·erenccd
h im . " ' l1:1 t t l10 conn try hn tl lQs t in it s g rc:it n a val h ero - t h e
g reatest of o m O\\' n n11tl of all form er t imes - was sc:i rcc ly
t nkP n inl o t h o accon11 t o[ gr ief. Sn p cd cct. ly h1cl ce<l li:t cl l ie
pe tf11 rn1 r"l lii s p nrt, 1.11 nt t l1 0 rn nrit im o war n ftcr t l1 0 battle o[
Trnfa lg nr was consi1l ercd at an encl : t h o fl eets o f th e ene my
" ·cro 11 ot rn cmly <l c [catc<l , hu t d cstroyeil; 11 c w n a vies 1m1 st 110
1Jnilt , ~11<1 n ll CW rnco of sc: rn1 c11 r ca.rctl for t l1 c 111, Lc fo ro t lt c
poss ibili ty o( th eir in 1·ntliu g our s hores coul cl ngain 1.Je co n te mp lated. It 11·as n ot , tlt crnforc , fro m nny sclfis lt refl ect ion n pon
th o rnagn itlul o o f o ur loss t h at wo mou rn c!I for him ; tlt c gencrn l so r row was o f n hi g h er ch :trncter. "

U nl ess :t yo11ng 'ni ter is c:irc flll, however, he wi ll
s l111111Jl c in lo th e co111111 on fa11l ls ( 1) o f putli~1g into
a s in g le sen te nce lt ctc:-ogc ncous o r i ncong l'11 011 s s ta lcmc nls , and (2) o f crnwdin g a se nte nce o i· unl1ul v
prol o ng ing it wi th d eta ils w hi ch belo ng e l sc w h c r~.
Jlo tlt these fo11l ts Yio latc the principle o f 11nity by
co111bini11g and conf11 s ing rnalters " ·lii cli lrn1l bcllc i·
be k ept :ip[trt in lh o11 g ht :tDll in posit ion . The fol lo1Ying sen te nces a rc t ypical of sucli cli sonle rly
arra ugcmen t.

A ND E NGLIS II G0 11II'OSITIO N.

7!1

Examples : I. (a .) "Lu th er was call ccl to t h e Diet of ' Vorrn s. H e h eld
fa st to hi s s tntemcn ts, cmiscd hi s 11 ame t o b e pnbli sh e<l n broad,
a nd <li ctl nt hi s b irLl1pl acc Fchrn:u y JR, 10-lfi."
(b. ) "It is :just a ycflr a 111l a h fl lf s in co Ll1 0 fo und flt ion s ton e
was lltitl a.nd t l1 0 cost of t.11 0 lJ11ildi11 g is $ 10,000 ."
(c.) " D r . A . D. C . dic<l t hi s mornin g. H e was born Feb·
rnary 13, 1817, etc.* .. Ile wa.s 73 yen.rs 01<1 fl n<l lc [t $170,000."
(cl.) " \'i'oods ' Tioll is a n ar row s tra it hct\\'cCn an is la ml a n<!
t h e m a i11J n.ml, t h ro ng h \\' lii ch t h o t ides fl ow very ra pi<ll y from
cns t to " ·est ; and i t is itu possible to get t h ro ug h t h o Holl w ibi
a h ca<l t.id c ."
(e. ) "Till otson di ccl in t hi s yen.r . He was exceedin gly beloved both by K in g \Villi a m an d Queen Mar y , w h o n ominated
Dr. T enison, B is hop of Lin co ln , to sn ccecd him. "
II. (a.) "The r est of t h e play is tnkcn u p w it h t h e battle
be tween t he second triu1n vimte nnd t he cor.-p irntni:s, w lii ch res ults in t h o death of B ru t us w h om we honor as th o braves t of
th em a ll."
(b. ) "In t h e a ftern oon we sail ed agnin fo r V in eyard H nven,
·w lt cro ·w os p01 1t tli c 11i,!.!,'11 t , r ct nr11 i 11 g tl1 c Hex t da.y, whi ch t nn1 ed

o u t t o he finen[tc r nil, tot.h o h a rl.Jorfro m w h ieh wo li:u l started
a t firs t."
(c.) " It is n ot strnngc t.h nt th is t h eory of m a n 's o ri g in
w h ich we a,5sociato with J\Ir. Dan d n s ho u ld be v ery u nwe lcome to m an y people w h o do n ot sec t.h at it is 1.J rin g ing abou t a
r cYolu t ion in m ode l'n thoug ht greate r tl 1nn t h nt w hi ch was
h crnhl c1l by Copc l.'lii c11 s t h o11 g h it 11 atlll'a l ly t:tk cs SO lll C t i m o fo r
th o vari ous portions of on e's t l1 eory of t hin gs tu lJccom o adjus ted
t o so vast a ud swccpinv, a ch ange ."

EXg HCISE X.
UN ITY.

The f ollowing sentences laclc unity.

Co rrect theni .

1. Cedric was no longe r callc11 Cedri c but li t tle
Lonl Fauntleroy bu t o ne da y u worn a n came t o tltc
,.. H ero fo llowa tl 1.c

m ~1i11

part o f lilc obituary.

E XER CI S ES I N RHETORIC

AND ENGLIS II GOAl P OS ITION.

cas tle :111d wishct1 to sec tl1 c Lo n1 o f: D orin court, lmt
he did not wa 11 t to sec her bu t he c1 id .
2. This di scoYcry of H ar rny is pc rlrnps t be most
i111por t:rnt t hflt has ever been made iu t he science of
m edi cin e , t he next at which we sha ll look being t hat
of respirat ion.
3 . Uni ted States Di strict Attorn ey G alvin has
d ecid ed to p rosec ute A ntonio Gross i, th e Itali:m who
induced a number o f his co u11try rn c11 to co me to t his
country a1H1111:1 kc fol sc 0~1 U1 in rrg:i.n1 to t he ow ners hip o [ h:df n. doze n h: trps a.11d pi:tuo-org a11 s , they
s1rna ri11 g t hat the in strum ents were their p rope rty ,
wh en in f:i ct t.l1 cy belo nged to Gross i, and be was
a rrested yeste rday .
4 . D e!lr L ooker-011, - P lcnsc call tlJ e atte ntion of
t he Park Co111111iss io11 crs to t he fac t tlmt th ere a rc 110
benches in 'V as biu gto u h1rk , R ox bury , a11d that it
would be a g reat fayo r to tJ1 c r es idents iu tbat neig blJo rl1oorl if they wonh1 put t hem th ere , as so in c of
the olcl cr peopl e vis it the pn rk ant1 haYe 110 means
of res tin g thc111sclvcs , and g re:i tlyoblige , A. 11. c .
5. Wi th t his edi tion of t i.Jc A riel t he present
editor (/ f t hi s c1 cpart 111 c11 t, h:tving a very gc ncrons
feeling for my fol1 01Y-stml e11 ts , a1H1 not wishiug to
sec a11 y o f t hem mi ss the ach :.tn tngc to rccc iYc t bc
benefit t hat is :ilwn ys d es ired from a good lio11 or aLle
pos it iou, ft nll hav in g hck1 t he posit iou for ove r one
yc:tr, co nld not conscien tiously hold it a ny longe r, .
thercl1y s t:rncli11g in the w~ty of some fellow-s tuc1cnt,
therefo re I r es ig n, :i.11 t1 )J :i,ye th e plcftsnrc o f: in troduciug to the r eaders of the Ariel Mr. Thomas, a

bright and energetic yo nng mau of the Class of 'D 4,
who no doubt will fill the pos it ion better Ui ::m it bas
been fo r the past year. 'V c all wisll Lim s uccess in
his new work.
6. Presurn ably yo n look at this question of
foreig n element in the same lig ht we do, only kwc fl
different wrry o f express iD g yo urself, but do noL
ta lk to us in ri c1dlcs , li fe is too s hort to solve in t ricate
p robl c1m;, a nd if yo n do look a t it ns we <lo, pr:i.y
t ell me wh y we sl1 oukl ]Jc hcr:1.tcc1 :1.11 cl :tln1scd 80 ;
you s hould scan yo ur editori als more closely befo re
sending tbern fo rth a ncl llavc th en1 nll in the sam e
line, not try to s traddl e two horses , a nd have yo ur
own house divided again s t itself.
7. A nyo ne hav ing a baby carri age to g ive, or
to sell at a s 111 all p rice , wo 11 ld co n fe r a great kiudo css
on a young mother in the far ' Ves t, un abl e to procure one, whose miss ionary wo rk a mong t hose she
can reach is valuable, a nd wouhl be g reatly helped
by thi s ch ari ty , which will be gratefully ackn owledged
and tbe carriage fo rwarded by a circle of " Kiug's
D aughte rs" by communicatin g wi tb
·1' * *
8. Clrnrlcs Ri•,·cr, when dred ged ftcco nli11g to
plans proposc(1 , ftllLl for which a n appropri ati on was
made b st year by Cong ress of $20 ,000, wi th a s imilar a moun t p ro mised, ::rnc1 to be fo rthcomin g to more
fully complete the work , ftCCo rd ing to tlie fac ts
already in the possess ion o f those who ou g ht to
know, then a n era of navigation will open for vessels
engaged in t he coal , lumber and otbcr tramc, such
ftS we have not yet seen and wliich must add greatly
to our wealth.

80

81

82

EXE JU.Jl /:JHS LV 1W]f;'1'0RJU

AND RNC!LJSII C0.1LJ>OSJ1'JON.

CHAPTER XI.
SENTENCES: EMPHAS IS AND COHERENCE.

H we g rnnt 1h:tt :t se ntence sh on1d h:wc unily,
'\\· ha t co mefl 11 exl ? J f " ·c s uppose ih:1t t he re is not hin g in th e SL' n tPncc tl1: ~ t docs n ot belo ng the re, ho w
s h:ill \\' C :1rr:rn gc th e thi ngs t ha t ure tlierc? T o this
t:rnk th ere n re t1ro parts : t he arrnngc rn cq_t o f t he
bcgin11i11 g anl1 th e c 11~l of the sente nce, and !'Lie
a rr:i11 gc111'1li1t of th e inte rior. The firs t we shall call
Eu1phas is ; t he scco ntl, Cobcren <'. _e .
1. Emp1w..~is . lf yo n listen to p eople talkin g ,
you 1Yill n o t ice that a slrcss of Yoicc falls on ce rta in
1yonls in CYc ry se n te nce and th at s 11 clJ e mph as is
pl:i ys a large p:1rt in co1ff crsn.tio1J. Now how :tre
w e to secure c111:>has is in writing? W e m ny u se
italics , but we s l101 ild fi11d it inco nYcui c nt to use s uch
au cx p cllicnt co 11 sl:Lnlly. Is lli crc any olhc r way?
Xot icc dis l1ne tl y wL1at tlie proul cm is . To certain
id 0:1s 0 1" pnrts o f id eas W C wis h lo g iY C j)l'Ollli1J e ncc,
:1111.1 w e ha Ye no m enu s :ct hand but printed sy mbols .
Ll is 111 cx p cc1i cnl to solrn our proble m b y us ing n.
special ki 11d of .·ymbol. The proulcm red 11 ccs i Lsclf
th e n to lhe order of our symbols - to the onle r of o ur
words. A sc ulc ncc, as we have ::ilrea<ly <liscoverc<l,

83

is a Yery fl ex ible affair; ::im1 tlt oug lt U1e ord er of
word s in En g lis h is n ot c:tpalil c of. s uc h a g rea t
1111111bcr of variatio ns ns i11 other J11 o t·c inllccLctl
l:1.1 1g 11n gcs, we cn.n s till co11Lri,·c, hy l'. h:111 g i11 g llH:
order of wonls, to throw the e 111pha s is on al111ost
any part of tl1c se utc nce we wi s h.
'Ve a r e, th e n , to mark ou 1· c111pl1as is b y the orclcr
of our won1s ; ~bat is , w e arc lo put irn porlant words
in t he places whi c h catc h t he eye m ost r c::iLlil y .
T hose places :ere , fo r Yari o us r l':i sons , the begi nnin g
of t lt c sc ute nce an(1 tlic c11(1. The principl e of Emp h:i s is is, th e refor e, t hi s : G i \ 'C importa nt w o rL1s
i111 portan t places ; th e i111po rtn.11t places iu a sentence
nrc the b eg innin g n.m1 th e end.
In the following sentences , for example , tlt c
emphasis is faulty; t b:1t is , t.h c orLlet· of \rnnls ,
phrases , or clau ses is s 11 ch that th e i1nportr1.11t wo rd s
clo not stand in tLi c importan t pb cC's : at the b egi nni11 g a nd at the e nd.
( a . ) Oppos ite the doo r hnn g t he tr:cditioual
wreath of dri ed fl o ll'c rs , gaut1ily fram ed a nd carefull y preseiTccl fr o m t h e co ffin of so 111 e r l'btiYc. *'
(b.) A few strny pi ctures nrc on 1.hc m a ntel and
a large clock. ·j·
(c.) Hunting arnl fi s bi11 g to th e m is not work o r
indu s try but a p:ts li111c n.ut1 a pl c:cs urc.t
..,, "The trntlitional wreath of dried nowcra, carc f11 ll y prcsc r\'c cl fr om
tf1 c cofli n of som e re lati ve nud g audil y fram ed, ln111g opp osite the doo r."
1 14 On th e rna11tcl arc a few slrn y pi d urcs n11d :i large c lock ."

t 11 To them hunting nod Jishiug is not work or indu stry but a pastim e
nnd a pleasure."

AND E NO L JS JI CON Z'OSJTJON.

EXER CI S ES JN lW BTOBI C

84

(cl .) The 111111 ter , w!Jo in oklen times in tlJe fores t rnacl e a gootl li Ying , has now r etired sin ce ciYilization b:1s rcuclc rcd extin ct a ll species of game.*
2 . Cohere11 ce. U ui ty g uides n s in ma rking o nt
[tll l l d cfiuin g onr scutcnccs ; crn p!Jasis g ni llcs us in
a rrang in g word. , p hr:tscs , and cl:rn scs in s uch a way
tha t 1y bat is in1 po rta u t in though t b ecomes p rom i11 cn t in ex press ion. A thi rd p rinciple, Coherence ,
helps us to arrange iu t heir mos t log ical or<1 er t he
wo rds , phrases , :ind clauses wli iclt m:1kc up onr
sc ntcuccs . ]11 ord er that t he parts o f a sentence
s hould b e a rrangel1 cobcrcntly, we mu s t look onL for
Lwo t hings : firs t , t he co ns truc tion o f t he sentence
s hou kl b e as fa r as poss ible uni fo r m ; second, wo rds
or clauses wlJic b r~rc .closely associated in tboug li t
slrn u ld b e closely associated in ex press ion. ·j· The
fo llow in g se nte nces , fo r in s tance , violate one o r Lil e
o ther o f t hese principles : I. (a .) .As to ltow fa r ltc was in te res ted in t his
unfo r t.un ate speculation, u o one k nows .
( /J. ) I stucliecl Lhc liYcs of t hese au thors a nd the
works of eac h, bu t spending most o f rn y t ime o n
J\ I illoa ::u ul S h:1k r spcarc.
, II

*

Si nce c i\·iliz:i. tio n h as r enllc rcd ext inct nil Rpccica o f gam e , th e
h un te r, w ho in ohlc n t im e d mad e a good li\'ing in t he forest , } 1a a no w
r c li rt•(l f. 1r th c r weF: l. ,,
t ° C lc:irne flR r cqu ircR th a t th e wo rd A n nd cb nRCR wh ic h :i.re ~i A lin c t
in th o11 g ht 1-1h a ll be d i s t i 1 11~t In e xp ressio n, a nd t hat. t ho ~ e ticar ly rc lat l' cl
in th o ug ht s ha ll he b ro ugh t a s nea r LO each Pt h er i n ex press ion :,is posa1
Ulc. Dy co n form it y t o tlii R prin cipl e , th e 11111 t ual r e la.lions o f t ho co n e
etitu c 11 l pa rt s o f n se ntence> , 0 11 th e one hand , w i!l b e c lc:ir ly ind ie!.l l cd;
nm.I t he w o rd s w h ich go to m ~t k c up each part, on t he othe r band , w ill be
close ly bo und togct bcr." - A . S. llill , R hetoric , page 135 .
ic

4

1
I

85

(c.) I r em emb er seei11g him in l SGO when he
was a mere child and th at cYc n t hen hi s p ecul iar
characteris tics were already "\Yell dcYclopc11.
If. (a.) Th e 01's t fo·o 11 mncd 0 11 ly we nt to Urn
top: t he olli crs r cin n.i11 cll belo w::''
(b.) H e not only lout me hi s c:1r ri: 1.gc , bllt also
hi s l1 orses. i·
(c.) T l.J c prirsts t rn ns nii ttccl Lo l hc ig no1':111 t popul :icc t he in s Lrn cLion 'rhicb they themselves were
unable to acq11irc. t
l~ X El lC[SE

XL

I. No ti ce bow , iu t he fo llo1r ing p :1ss :1 gcs , you
can ch:rngc t lJ c emphas is o f eaclJ sc 11 tcncc by p utt in g
otlier won1s at the beg in n in g or a t tbc cud : OBJ'IiCT L l!lf!llOKSI I ,

""We arc p;la cl to 111 c tli:i t 1i o i11lt lit: if.J'O rt , rtst 11oro 11 g il y
rtrousc<l to t ho i rnporlaJl CO :till! Y:tluo o ( t h o p;eogra phi ca l exh ibit rtt t ho W in s low S lrnti11g U ink . It is :i g roat co llec tion to
s l1 ow to th o pn\Jli c-sch ool cliihlrc11 . It is n. ro,·o!:it.ion o f w h:it
t h ey li :tvo J1 evcr d rca.m cll o f a s i ,c ing poss i hlo in i ll u s tLfn.tio n o(
0 11 r o w n pl a ne t , a nd o ( tl 10 w ays i n w lii c li wocan obln.i n a kn ow le tl go o f i t . F or t oac!i ors a ll t.h ron g h N e w E ng l:in cl i t is wortlt
a visit to Dos tou s im pl y to s tud y it . It is n.lso equall y i n t e rest-

* 11 A cl ve rb s and nd vc rbi nl exp rc~~i o n s P. h o uld a lwnyfl. h e so p laced as
to s how u nm istakab ly w lm t wo r<l a they a re i11 tc ntl cc.l to qua li fy.' ' - fbi d. ,
pngc l !Jii .
t" Care sh ould be take n to p lace co n nccti \'CR o f th e class k no wn lo
grn m mrt ri ans as correspondeut8- s uch :i s not only , !Jlft af.rw ,' f'.it/1Pr ,
o r,- 11r.i.l h l'1', 11.0·1· ; /J ot h , an d ; ·rn 1 thr ou r h f111d, 011 t h e uth er li w ul - next
lo th e w o rds th ey co11 11 cct.' 1- / Ui<7 ., pa ;;c J :::.G.
t 11 A pro noun sho uld be so p ht<· erl as p ro mpt ly nn U unm istakab ly to
p rese n t its ant cccd cnt to th e rni 11d o f t h e r cafl c r. lf', i11 a g iv l' ll case , t hi s
cann ot b e don e, ei th e r th e sc 11 tcu cc f:. h o 11 ld h e g ive n n11ot hc r t11rn , o r tho
noun Uw.t ser ved fo r aulccedcul sho uld be r cp coted ." - Ibid ., page 137.

86

87

EXER CI SES IN BllETOBIG

.AND ENGLISH COJII'OSITION:

in:; to t h om "· h o arc 011ts icl c of school and Jrnve no conception
n( grogrnph y, CX<'C['t I h:it it 1ras t h o rn os t nnin tcrcstin g work
o( th e ir sc hno l-1la ys. Jn the st udy of th is co llection th ey w ill
lintl t11~.t gcog rnpl 1y, ns at p resent urnl c rstootl, is one of t h e
111 nst capti Y:t li11g o( 111otl e rn s hidi es, a 1Hl that no r evolation in
n1lncal ion is 111 nro 111arkc<l tl 1an t liat whic h h as taken place iu
t110 treat men t o f our pl:in ct, :from t h o p nint 0£ vi ew of comlll orco a 11<1 c il·i lizati nn a11d scien t ifi c knowl o<l go. Th is co.ll ccti on w ill rc 111:ii11 in ];ostn n onl y c.lnrin g t!to in·c~ont week, n. rHl
wo h opo th rit t11 c peopl e :ire JLow so fully n,w,u·o of its rn,ro in terest t h at cvcrybotly wi ll make a vi sit to it."

2. I must t ell yon the funni es t thing t hat lm,ppened to me yesterday in the Pnlilic G :mlcn. [This
implies that scvcrn.l "funn y " thin gs happen cll to
the writer yes terd ay in the Public Garden.]
3 . I suppose yon li:i.Ye heard the latest engagement, ::is he [who?] is a co nn ecti on of yours.
4 . The min compelling us to holll 11p our umbrellas , we went on in silence. [P:i.rse rain .]
5. Th e lat te r rn etltotl is seldom 11 sr(l, t he r eason
for whi cl1 will nppear ]:it.ct· 011. [To what 11 oun
1loes which r efer ?]
6. Everything should be do11 e liy not onl y t he
college men but also by the faculty . [Fal se correlation of not only aml but also. J
7. Turning in to the Square, t he pos t ltit lii111,
caus ing him to shy. ['Yho or what was tnrniug
into the Square?]
8. In the mornin g th is room seems almost
d eserted [,] as we hurry off c:Hly to our tliffo rcnt
schools. [" As" in t he sense of "when" or "as"
in the sense of " because"?]
9. On enter ing the roo111, the eye is caught by
t hree choice l\I:tdou nas . [Who o r what is enteri ng
the room?]
10. On the cbiffon nicr is a ma ntlolin, 'rlti lc a
v iolin and bow have a phcc of ho11 or ou the fable.
[In wlmt sense is " while" nscll li crc ?]
11. Ditl yon rece ive any Y:tlentincs ? I only got
on e. [False position of only. J
.
1. 2. It is o,·cr the dining-room a1Hl is very
cheerful, the sun shiuing tllcrc all tlay. [ Com-

J\l lJN JC I PAI", r_,JGllTl NC .

"Th ero riro at prc.~c 11t on th o table of: tl1 0 H ouse of: Represe ntat ives pe ti t ion s to c nriblo tl 10 followin g t owns to cons truct
an<l ma i11t rii 11 sys tems of nwn icipal lighting: J\Iclrosc, J\f:u:bl cl1 ea1l , P eabody, ITi11 g-l1 a rn, 'iVnk cfi c ltl, a ntl IIncl son. Pet it ions
o( a so me what s irnil :u charact er l1 avo com e in from oth er
tow1>", hnt, with th e p assage of tho gP11 crnl h tw , it may n ot b e
n ecoss:iry tli:tt th ose s hn11 ld bo in <li v i1luall y act.eel ll[> On. If
s pec irtl a cti on is 11 ccossary, t h ere ough t to I.Jo Ji W e di lli c nlty
ex pe ri en ced in g ivi11 g in t hi s way eff ect to th e se ntim cu t ox1n·css ·cl in t h e g-e 11 e rnl l:iw a nd in tli e s pecial law r elating to
D a u ,·e rn. It '"i ll Le n, matter o( interest to sec what r es ult w ill
ho li ro ng h t a hont by t h is 11 ew form of pub li c se r vice. l [ a
cl ozcn or m ore nf t h o tnw ns of this State ca n , with in ll1 c n ext
yc:u or two, rn a k c cx pcri111 c11ts in the way of n11mi c ipal li g h ting, t h ere w ill be in t hi s way a fond of iuforn1ati nn nhtai11cd
wlii1•h will servo th o ol.h cr t own s :incl c iti es o ( tl1 0 Stato e ith er
ns :i.11 c:n r,011rngm 11 P11t to :ul opt a si ntilar course or as a warning
tn nsoi(l 1nn.ki11g an expensi ve 1nistakc ."
•1

ll. Tbc strn c!.11rc of the fo llowing sentences is
incoherent; t lrnt is, is not logical or not grammatical : 1. Althong-h not m11 ch of a machini st, it seemed
to rn c tba.t tlicr e was Ycry little improvement in tl1nt
d epartment. [Wbat department?]

88

EXER CTSF:S IN RHETORIC

p :irc the v :1g uc1J esr; o f the loose ly co nnected parti c ipl e with th e concise ness of a te mporal o r n. causal
cl:1 11 se . J
.1 3. Th e Intlian s nrc ns fully aware of the existe n ce of 0 11r fami ly ns we r ecog nize the ir tiiual 1mit.
[ C l:1 11 ses r;imilar in thought s hould b e s imila r iu

fo nn .J
14. I do 11 o t m ean to say t h at I h ave learn ed
nothin g by onr th e me writiug, b ecause I h a ve.
[llavc IL'!l L"ll CLl 11 0 Uii11 g ?]
15. J\Iy Frc11c h te:1.c ber h as not only told me so
but 1 can sec it for rn yse lf.
l G. To ctlucn,lc the Indin,n is good eco uomic service, for if edu c:1.tecl they conlil support themsch ·cs .
17. I'lace s uc h a n n.rt.ific ial tre:1.t11u.:: 11t b cs iLlc tl1 c
natur:il s i111plc wo rs hip of the Indian a nd we clo u o t
womlcr that lie d itl not acce1i t the i1rnovatio11 .
J 8. IIc is ofte n O\·crloaclecl au<l tllcn unmercifully
whippctl for uot drnwiug it .

.AND ENGLIS lI C'OJIPOSI1'ION.

89

CHAPTE11 XII.
PARAGRAPHS: UNITY, EMPHASIS, AND
COHERENCE.

1. 1•.recessil!f of attention to ziarugrnphs . \ Ve n ow
fl.[1pro:tclt :i n ew p:irt o f' om s 111Jj ec l. U 11lil r ece ntly
parng ra phs lta \·c n o t Lee n rn:nl c rn11 eh o f iu E11 g lis h.
·within th e Ju s t ge11 crat io11, 110\\·eye r, :wt1 es µcc bl\y
at th e prese nt m o ment, t be prope r u se o f t he p arng rap h is one of tb e mos t csscn t i:1l p ar ts of En g lis h
co 111pos it.i o 11.
J'<•o pl c rc:ll1 r:1pitll y, :111 (1 nrc m o re
ti.Jan eve r cornp ell c(l to r efer to uo oks aml articles
for partic ular f:l cts oi: fo r n ge 11 e r:1.l hl ca of their
conte nts .
Th ey arc, th e re fo r e, imp :1t ic nt wltc11
writers, wbateYe r t heir s kill in t he nrrangc me nt of
wortls :1.ml sen tences , nre llisortl erl y or illogical in
th e m a 11 ngcme nt o f p a rn g ra phs .
2. l V!wt ct pttragruph is. Om firs t s tep is to
agree on what a parngraph is . Bai11 tl efi11es it as 1
:1. collection or seri es of sente nces , w il11 unity of p11r- \
pose; Genung , us a co1111cctet1 se ri es o f sente nces I
constituting t he cl evclopmc11 t o f a topi c ; M c Elroy, as /
a w l1olc compos it io n in rn in i:tlu rn. Tliesc tl cfinition s
of well-known writers on rh eto ri c all ng rce in rn a kiug a p arn g rn.ph a seri es o r co1111Jinati o n of scnteucC's ,
co ns tituting au integral p:ut o f a whole compositio n. '
·vv e h::we passed, the n, from the sentence , the secoud

90

EXER CISES I N fllIETOlllC

clement or unit o( style, to a t hi n l ele ment, t he
paragrap h, co111posed of sc11lc nccs , a1Hl in ils t 11rn'
ap pc:tr i11g ns a n clement in t he strn c ture of t he whole
co mpos itio n. *'
3 . Long JJco·a;1 raphs ancl 8hort p aragmphs. T he ·
lc11 g t l1 of a p:1.r:1gr aplt is cl ele nni11 cd Jiy t he p:1rt
whi cl1 it p!:i ys in t he slrn ct11rc o f t he who le co1 11pos itio11. A s n, ru le, a p :1.r:1g r:1ph is bn <l wltcn it is so
.·ho rt o r so Jo11 g ns lo ass1u 11 e t he fun cti on o f [t sc 11 te 11 ce o r of a " ·hole co mpos itio n. VPry Jo11 g parag r:1p hs a re obvio 11 s ly a 1J11rdc11 to t he eye a 11cl to lite
rnincl. V e ry s lt ort p:1rag raphs co nfuse t he r ca<l e t'
ns to t he real strncture of the thou g ht. A parag r:ip lt
s houlcl, ns :t rnle, i11clicate a n int egrnl p art o r a rn :tin
cliYis ion of tbc s u hj ec t wbi cb t he a ntbor is t rcati11 0· .t
4. . Unity . Tlt e r eal t es t of a paragr'.1ph, Lo~v- 1
m·cr, is n o~ leng th but uni ty. The pri11cip lc of ·
11ni tyt prcscriucs t ha t paragrnplts s lioulcl ns a rnl e
be p crfcc l.l y d c li11il c s11lxlids io ns of tltc s 11liject
~ ren,te<l , :t 1Hl t h:tt each o f t hese s 11 lx li1·is io11 s s li o1ild
co nce rn itse lf witl t a pa r ticular matte r aucl wiU.t t hat
nlo ne. J f, fo r i11 s la11 ce , yo n we· re writin g a s hort
sk etch of Ali r:1.li :1m L incol11 's .li fe, yo n wo ulcl as
n:1.l11r:tll y cfo1·o tc :t parag ra.ph to 11is d cba.lcs w ith
S tq >hr n A. Dou~l as in 1858 , n,nd to 11ot hi11 p; else ,
~ y o11 wo11 lcl cl c•\·otc a parti cular cb:l pler to th e
~A parn.grapJ~ Rhrn ild al \\' ayFJ be ind ent ed:
lJ.P~lll nil :IJIJ 'H.!C l'. thl c tli .<ita nn ! ( in ltl :t nll RC ript

t hat j)j 1 it f.! hnul<l a l wnyA
nn in ch or m o re) tu th e
n ght of Ili c margrnal fin <? on Ilic ll'ft o ft.l1 c page .

f Co11 1pa 1· e th e r1)111:1r k R 0 11

t 11 e co mp arat i ve advau lagcs nnd diaadvnu.
tngeA o f long an d Rho rt f'1.:n t c n cc~ , pages 64· 7.
! S ec al.Jov c 1 j)agce 17-9 .

AND ENGLISH 0011IPOSITION.

Ul

same purpose if you >Yc re writing Li s life on a
large r scale. U ni ty can be b es t secured in t he parng r:tph by :i. device famil iar to a lm ost eYcry one who
writes, - that of making a schern c of the main divi sions of t he s ul1ject ns he p nrposcs to treat it. Jn
t hi s way one is almos t ccrt: tin n ot o nl y to s ave his
own t ime by thn s fo rmulati ng for him sel f an orderl y
a nd log ical fram ework fo r what li e "T itcs but nlso
by tltc same means to a icl lhe rcatl er mate ri ally in
hi s task. Each mai n l1 cacl i11 g in s 11 cb a scheme ns
t his 1vould tb en becom e t he t itle, :i s it were , of a
separate parn g raplt. Th e follow in g framework, for
ins tance, or its eqni1·:il cnt, J\fr . Bryce mig ht well
haYc had in mind b efore writiu g t he first p ::i.rt of
t he one hundred a ml twelfth chapter of Lis "Tue
American Commonwealth."
TITE UNIFOUJ\U'l' Y OlP AM:JmICAN L IFE.

1. Th e g rcn.t drnwlmck to t l1 c pl cas:i11t11 css o r Amc ri c:t11 l iro
is its u11 i [onn ity. This wi II s urpri se th e E 11ropc::m lmt is n cYcrt l1 cless trnc.
2. T h is uni formi ty :tppcnrs in seve rnl wnys.
:; , In n atn re (a) . S tatem en t of the fn c ts.
4. Obj ecti ons cons idered an d t he t h0s is ag:tin stated.
!i. I n tho cities (Ii) . Statcm eJJ t u [ tho facts .
G. E xcepti ons eoJJ s ide red.
7. T h e sam e t hesis i·cn tli.l' m cd by rt pertin en t il1 11strrttion .
8. I n political in st itutions (c). S tn tem cn t of th e facts, w it h
Hcccss:iry qn ali ficat ions.
H. In rna n (</).''
·* T he st 1Hl cnt. Rl1 o uld b e ar in mind that tlli f-1 is th e frnm cwo rk ot
some t.ii x goocl pn gcs o (' print. F u r a th <·111c u f thr ee o r four pag ca o f
manu script th e s ubject s ho uld be trcatc<l with few e r 1wl.JdivisiunR.
J>a rag raph s one :rn d t wo, th ree and fo ur , JivJ a11d s ix, and seven might

then ap pear as fo ur consecutive paragra phs.

92

RXl·:n c rsr:s IN RJ[E'l'OlllG

5. EmpTw.sis. Jn 1ltc s f!'ll cfm c of :i. par:igr:-i.ph
lit e prin c ipl e o f' c111ph:1 s is g1 1ides ll S in SO :ura ng in g
s1·11tcncrs tlt:1t \\' h:1t is i111po rt::uil; in thought heco nH's promin ent to the eye :-i11tl the rnr. ·>' Ti.J c
irnporf.:1nt thong li t c:-in be rn :-icle promin ent in scYcrn l
"·:1ys : ( l ) liy st.:1ti1 1g c:1rl y in the p:1r:1gr:1ph, :1 1Hl
!1111 s g i\·i11 g p ro111iu encc to yo u r statement , " ·h:i t
p:1rt of yo 11r f' liiJj ccL yo 1t :i re to t rea t; (2) hy cl cYuf.i11g lit e 1:1 ,.;f; sl· 11t e1H '<) of' the p:1r:1grn.ph ci!.111' t' to
a s11m111:i.ry o r c111pl1al ie res L:1.lc111 cnt of t. hc g ist o r
t l1 e 11·hule p:1r:1 g r:1plt, o r t·o a sf.:1lc111 cnt of the bt•nt·i11g "·hi ch t.l1 e prc·cedi11 g f:1c ls k1Ye on what is to
f'ull1m; :111d c:) lJy hl' i11 g c:i rcf1 1l to g i1·e t.o Yn.ri o11 s
•l et:1il s tl11•ir n ·l:1ti \'C i111portan ec , 1:. e., by dwelling
011 "'hat is in tl ispen sal 1lc n ntl merely hin Ling at
wh:1t is of s 1n:-ill eo 11 seq11 cncc. The follo\\· in g ex a mi'ks " ·ill ill11 s lrate c:1clt of these md hods . A
c:ircf'1ii wri ler 11 scs I l1e fi nit very f'rcq11ently, the sec01111 often , :111d the lltird :iln-:1ys.
( L ) J\fr. Jlryce beg in s th e p:i.r:igrnphs in a elwpt cr of whi e h iYe g:1Yc a p:uti:il 011tli11c a bove , in t he
fo l1 01ri11 g 1Y:1ys. Jn c\'\' ry r :1 sc, it is to be no li c\'d,
li e i11cli e:1tt>s w l1 :1t p:1rt Lhe p:1r:1gr:iph is to pl:1 y in
the c.lc Yelop 111 e11t o[ Lite fli oug ltt of tlte ch:ipter: l . "To t.110 pk:1s:111l 11 rss CJf J\ mcricnn Ii fo there is one, nnd
(l r:t.w h:-tck, - jt ,q unifonuity."
2. ' 1 J t is f l· lt in 111 :-..ny "·:lys. "
:l. "It is felt; i11 t li e os pecls n( n::itnro."
1
4. ' Th ero a.re (i n 1\111 cri ca) s11 11 1c cxlraonlin:iry n n.tura,J
l1l 1c11 0 111e na. •
w liich Europa ca.n11ot c.-p1:i.l; but t:-tk.i11g i11e
0 1d y 0 11 P, sc riP tts

*Sec aiJo Ye, page 82.

AND ENGLJSJ[
co1uit.r y ns

a. w l1 olc, a.nd

co,1rros n10N.

rc rn c 111l1 0 ri11 .~ ll iat i t i ~ a c111Jli11r11f,

i s 11 ot 111oro riel 1 i n ·11 ;!1 11ral l;e:1ut y

iii

I

tl 1: 11t t.1 10 111 11clt f\r J1:dl e r

I

w es tern l1 :i. lf o[ E urope ."
5. "\Vlie11 we t 11r11 fro m the ospects o f n:i.t ure t.o t.11 0 c i ties
o ( n1 c n , t\10 1111iforlllily i s

C\"C 1L

1nu rc n ·in a rJ.;a.IJlo. "

I l'('.t11r11 :joy f111l y to t il e CXG•·1itiP11 .q . "
7 . " Jt i ~ tl11 ~ :1.h <.; <'11c·n i11 11 t::t,l'l y nil ll1n J\111 1~ ri 1 :111 c·ili('."> of
o..11 y tlii11g tli at spe:i.ks of tile past Lliat 111a.k es tl1<'ir t'X to r11a.l
nspect so 11 n suggrst i vc.' '
s. "o r l\1 n 111iifol'lll i f.y o( polit ical i11 stil.1tli o n s o ve r i l1 c
G.

11

w l1 ole l f11i tnd Hl:df•s I l1a vn
!).

~ po k(·n

;lln ':tdy."

"La.:-: i o[ a ll w e e o111 0 Lo 111:1.n lii11 1sc: lf."

(2.) N otice t he cnre willt wlti e lt J\Tac:111hy , in
t he fo ll ow in~ exl.r:1.ct.s from Lite Jirst c lt:i.pt.e r of !tis
"llislo ry o( E11 gl:lnd," sla tes t he gist of c:i c h parri g r~1ph in the J:i s t sentence of it: (a .)

"I s l1 011l1l Ycry imperfec tl y <'x cr 11t o 1l1 n tn s k w l1i c h I

l 1a.Yc 1111d f·rlakf' 11 ir1 \\'<•re m erel y t o ln ·:1t of lultl <'S a11d siq;Ps,

o[ t ho ri so a.1H l Ltl I n( ad nii 11 ist ra.l ions, p [ i11 I ri ~ 1 1( ' S in t l1 c

pala ce, ::t11tl o ( d eba tes i11 tl1c p nrli:u11c 11 t.. Jt "·il l l>c 111 y
clllle::i,·or to r c l:itc th e history o( til e [>cop lo ns well a s ll 1c l1 ist ory cf th e go,·crrrn1c n t, to tr:icc Ll1.c progress o( 11 suf1 d am!
om amunta l arts, to tl cscriue th e r ise o f r e l igions s cc l:l n.11 d th o
chang·es of lit erary taste , to portray t he 1na 1111 er s u( s1 1 i..: c1~ssivo
~e n c r a.t.. i u 11 ~, a.ntl n ot to p ass by, w if,ll ll l~~ l nct·., ('YP ll t.li o n_w ol11 tio11s w lii ch l1 a.vc ta.ken place in ilrcss, f11r11it.ur o, n~p:1 s l s , :1.1111
pnu lie a,rn11 sc 1nonts. I shall chee>:!olly bear the reproa ch<(/ hrwiny descended below the cliynily of l1istory, {f I con sucrced in
placing befo re the Rnylish of the nine teenth ce11 t11ry ct tr ue 1nc ture of the life of their ancestors."
(/J.) "In to t hi s fc d e rntion 0111· Saxo n 011 ccslors wo re JI OW
:ul 111ittc d. 1\.. r c.~ ular co mmunicaLitln was oti011 c ll l1c•t w e e n nur
s h ores a nd t 11 a.t p:irt of Europ e in w l1i c h ll1 e trnccs of a11<:i« nt«
p ower nrnl po li cy were yet <lisl'!· rni hlc. J\ [a 11 y Ji ohl o 111 01111m eJit s whi ch lia \' e s in ce lJcen !lcstroyc1l or tl e fa ce tl s t.ill r c t:ti n e <l
t h e ir pri sti 11 0 m ng nifi co n ce; a111l tra\'ollPrs , to who m Lh'.Y un <l
S::illust w oro uuiutclli g iule, rn ight ga in from th o I:.utn a 11 :ique-

II

"

i:

!){

JCXEBCISRS IN RIIETORJG

AND ENGLISll C01JfI' OSITION.

tlu cts r,nd t c mpl csson1 c fai n t11ot ion of lto nmn history .• .. T ho
is l:uul c rs r c tnr 11 <•<l , \\' il.h a \rn <l ccpl y i1np rcsse<l ou t h eir Ji:t Hnpc11 ccl 111 iJHl s, a nd to ld ll1 0 wn11<l cri11 g inhabitants of t l1 0 hovels
o[ L ondon a 11 d Y ork t hat, Hear t h o g r:.,·o o[ Saint Peter, a
rni g hty rnce , How ex tin ct, h ad pil ed np buildin gs whi ch wou ld
n e 1·o r b e d isso lve<l t ill th o Ju<lgm cnt-11 :ty . L earn ing foll owed
in th o trnin o[ Chri stia nity. T h e p oe try atul e l o ~n e n co o C the
c\. n .~· 11 sta n age 'ms nss iduously studi c<l in Mcrcian a 1111 Nort hn 111 ltria.11 111 011n s lcri rs. T he n a mes of Dc<le a 1ul A lcui11 w ere
:justly cclchrnt o<l th roughout Enrnpe. Such was the state of ow·

world and its inhabitants, well en oug h at l east to wish to be
011 easy term s with th e m, and ser ve th e m in those little things
wh ose trouble to t he doer is s mall iu propor t ion to the pl easure
they g ive t o th e r ece iver . T o h elp others is uettcr r ecogni zed
as a dnty than in Eurnpe. Nowh ere, I su spect, are there so
m any acts of pri vate kirnh tess done , s uch , for inst a nce, as paying t he coll ege ex penses of a prorui sin g boy, or a iding a widow
to carry on li er lrns ban<l's farm ; a nd th ose are not d on o w ith
ost en tatio n. P eopl e see m t o take t h e ir own trnuhles m o1·c
l igl1tly th a n th ey do i11 Europe, n,ll(l to be m ore indul gent to t h e
fa nit s by w hi ch trnu\Jlcs arc caused . It is a land of h ope , a nd
a land of l1 ope is a J:u11l o[ gnod-hnrnor. A nll t h ey h ave a lso,
tl1 011 glt t h is is a qu :c li ty m ore pc rco pti\Jl o in women t h a n ilt
m en, a rn 111 arka.blo facnll;y for e n.i oynt cnt, a p ower of drn wingrn nre lt app in css from ol>v ions pleasures, s intpl e a 11 .-1 innocent
pl easures , t 11 an on e often fin ds in ovcr-hnn1c nc d Europ e." J\fr. Bryce's" The American Common wealtli ," Vol. II., page
6SO.

crmnt1'?J whe n, in the ninth ce ntury , began the last [Jreat m'.i gralion of northan ba,.barians."

(:3.) The fo llo1r i11g parag rnplt shows t he skill
'ritl1 whi ch n. pr:1.cti seLl 1nit.ei· nscs d etail s to reinfo rce l iis m:1i11 id en.. It slJ ouJ,l be eomparetl wi tl.t n
p:1 rt of one o f t hose hasty :i rtielcs , nufortuu:itely so
co111111 011 in cn• 11 our weekly p :1pc rs , in whi ch t he
<le-tail s (fol:r:1et front ratlJer than :t<ld to tlte autl.10r's
rnn in thoug ht : "I com o Jn .s t t o t ho ch aracte r a 11<1 ways o f th e Ameri ca 11s
t l1 c rn sei1·cs, in \\' lii ch t here is a cert a in c li:trtn , h ard to con vey
by <lcscript io11 , \J11t fe lt a lmost as soon a s o ne sots foot on t heir
s l1 nrc, a 11tl fr lt cons ta nt ly t hereafter. They arc a ki ndl y p CC'pl c . Gno<l-n:'•turc , 11 carti uess, a r eadi n ess to r ender s m a ll servi ces t o 0 11 0 n11 ot'lt c r, a n assumpti on t hat n e ig lt\Jurs in t he
cn1111tTy, or J1 Prsm 1s throw n togeth er in trave l, or eve n in n,
Cl'mn l, "·ere m ean t to lie fricmll y rath er titan h ostile to one
a 11 oth cr, seem t o \Jc e1·c,.yw lt e rc in th e ai r an d in those w h o
lirrall1 c it. Snriahilit·y is t he ru le and m orosen ess the rare
excc pt in11. It is 11ot 111 crely that peopl e arc more v ivac ious or
t a lkatiYc tl1 a 11 a n E 11g li shm a 11 expects to find t h e m, for t h e
'IVcs tcra rnnn is o ften taciturn, :it t<l se ldom wrea.th es hi s lon g
face i11t o a s 111il c . J t is ratl1 cr th a t yon fee l th rtt t h o m a n n ext
yo n , wh c t,IH•r s ile n t nr ta lkat ive, docs tt ot m ean to repe l inte rcourse, c11· con vey l1y hi s mn1111c1· his low o pini on of hi s fe llowcrcatnrcs . E vcry bu1ly scc111 s disposed to thi nk well of the

95

6. Coherence. Unity of the paragraph im plies
that the writer has det ermin etl s pecifically the s ubjectmatler of each paragraph ; Emphas is , that he has
made prominent what is most impor tant in it; Coltcrcnce prescribes a n orderly and logical conn ection
a11d structure of t houg ht wi thin t lte parngrnp lt. If
a paragraph be cohere nt the reatl er will not only nntl crstand in general the writer 's point, but will avprcciate in d etail the process of t hought by which it hns
been developed.* To gain coherence in the strncturc
of pnragrnphs two hints may be fo und valuable : ( I )
* ''E ve ry man, hS be walks tbrough the strectB, may contri \'o to jo t
down au independent tho ught; a s hort.band mcmornudum o f n great
truth . . . . S tanding o u o ne leg, you ma y accomp lis h thi s . The lab o r o f
compos iti on beg ins when you ]mvc to put your Rc paratc tlircnds of
th ought in lo a loom; to wcaYC them into n. continu ous whole; to co11 11 cc l ,
to in troduce them; to blow them out o r expand tlicm ; to carry them to
a close.'' -De Quincey. 11 Essay on Style."

VG

EXlrnCJS ES JN IUIETORlG

A ND ENGLTSII GOilfI'OSITJON.

Notice j11stwh:i t yo11 have saiLl in _yonr last sentence,
n11 d ll 1·cid c w hat state111 e11 t rnn s t 11 eccssarily fol low
in order t h:1t yo 11r foll t ho ught may be brougltt
ont . (2) Use fre ely con j11n ctions and conjnncLiYe
ph rases : thro11qh, while, hence, occorrlingly, yet, notwilhstandinu, therefure, on the one hancl, on the other
hand, on the contrm·y , for, inrleecl, bilt, ancl, nioreOVl'r, however, etc . S 11ch wonls b ind together sente nces a1ul p:1rts o f sentences, aucl help to make style
co herent ~rncl log ical.
( 1.) T l1c fo ll ow ing p aragraph from a theme is
intc11 \l ccl to g i1·c th e writer's impress ions of the fin e
arts at 1H1111i ch. Notice, however, how disjointed
tbcse imprcssio11s are : -

tho centres o f civiliz(tt ion. Dnt t h e r".i11rn.y '1nd th e t clcgrnph
follow t h o vYcstcru Amcricfl.1t. Tho Grnc ks of t l1 0 s ixth :mil
seventh ce 11 tnrics b e fore Cl1 rist, who plant.ctl 1.l1 c rnsclvcs [tJl
around t l1 c coosts of the M cll i.Lcrrnn c:i.n, l1:tt1 o.l ways en em ies ,
a nd often pow crCnl c11c111 i.,s, to overcome before th ey con ld

(a.) "\Yog ncr owed a good de(tl of hi s prominence to thi~
King's kindnl'ss, and a cconlii1 g ly l\[nn ich is devo ted to t li e
\\' ag ner oprrn s. Other works fl. re gh·en at t he Opcm, Honse,
lntt 11ofi as ofte n a ~ "\Vag-11er's. There arc seve ral large pi c ture
ga Jl ,,r ics, b es ides a brgc 111userun fill ed wit lt old fl.rmor all(l
furniture h e long in g to kin gs t.110.t 11avc been d efl.d hundreds of
yearn. This is one of th e fin es t muse11111s of its kind in all

l~nrnp o. Th o llHHl f' rn pai11ti11 g"s a.re cx liibitccl in 1\[nnieh every
year, a.11tl we s:iw so1no very fine ones."

(2.) lrt strong co ntrast w ith t he preceding, notice
t he c:Lrc ful prog ressio n of t ho11 g Ltt iu two co11 scculi1·c
p:1 r:1gr:1 ph s frorn i\Ir. Bryce's chapter ou t he "Tern per
of t he \\res t"*: (11.)

"T hn Rponianls a nd Port.ugncse set;tlcd in tropical
'T hey carried with
t.11.,m I.li e poi son o( sl:t1-l'"Y; 1.l1 oir colonists were scparnted,
so111 0 hy ln11 g jnnr1tt ',)··s, :i.11tl a. II by st-ill l onger ·voyages, fro1n
cn1111tr it·s, wliicl1 Ron n 011rr va tctl thf'nt.

* i, The American Commonwealt h,"

Vol. IL, pages 696, G97.

!l7

found eve n t hc i r tr:ul i 11g r..;tal;io11 s on tl1c cn:i.st, 111 ncl1 less occu P.Y

t ho land s of tho i11t eri or. In \\Tcs lcrn A 1ncr ica t he prcsc1 1cc
of t h o IHdians h as clone n o more tllfm to gh·c (t touch of ro1n a.n ce or :i spi ce of da 11 ger to the ex ploration o [ so me r c,[{ion s,
such as \\Tostern D'1kot:fl. '111t1 Arizona, wh;Jo over tho r est o[
the country tho m1hal'JlY aborigi nes li:wo s lunk si lc11tly fl.w:ty,
scarcely even compl ai ning of tl1e robbery of ln.11ds a11c1 t h e
viol(ttion of pli g lrtcd faith. Natu re a11d Tim e seem t o h".YC
conspired to make the developlll c 11 t of the :l\[ississippi h asi11
fl.lid the l''1cific s lope the sw iftest, Cfl.s iest, completest m:hi C\·crn eHt in the whol e r ecord of th e civ iliziJ1 g progress of mankind
since the found er of th e Egyptim1 monarchy g'1thered the tribes
of the Nile und er one governme11t."
"The d etails of t his dcYcloprn ent and th e stfl.tisLics tl10.t
illustrate it 11ave been too ofl'cn set fort h to 11 ccd restatement
h ere. It is of t he cliarfl.cter a 11c1 t emper of th e m en wl10 hfl.Ye
conducted it that I wish to spcfl.k, :t 111'tttor which h fl.s r cccivccl
less (tttenti o11, but is esscnthl to a j ust co11cc pti on o[ th e Americ'1ns of to-day. For the \Yest is tho m ost American part of
America; t h (tt is to say, the J>fl.rt where those feat ures whi ch
dj s tingu ish 1\1n crica, fro1n En rope co rn o ont in t.li o stron gest

re li ef. \Ylifl.t Europo is to As ifl., wlirrt Engl:i.ml is to the r es t
of Europe, wlt'1t America is to E11gl'11ul, that the \Ycste rn
Stfl.tcs ancl T erritories are t o t ho At.l:u1tic Stfl.t cs, th e h c(tt mid
prcssnre a nd lrnrryof life always gro11· in g fl.S 11·e fo ll nwthe pfl.tl1
of the s nn. In E(tstern Arn e ri c:t th e re aro still q11ict spots; in
tli c Vfl.ll eys of t l1e Allrg hani cs, for i11 stfl.n cc, in nooks of ohl
New Engla11d, in university toll'ns like Ithaca or A nn Arbo1-.
!11 the Wes t th ere fl.re n one. All is bustl e, m oti on , '111Ll s trngglo, most so, of course, among the 1i:1.tivc Ameri cans . Y et evrn
t h e irnmigrfl.nt from th e seclud ed valleys of Tlinringi:i, or t.h c
shores of so m e Norweghn fj ord , learns t h e ways a lmost os
readily as t l1 0 tongue of t h e country, mH1 is soon swept into tho
whirlpool."

!J8

EX!lRCISE8 LY RHETORIC
.AND ENGLISH COMI'OSITJON.

The fo ll o wing extract* w ill i1Hlicatc to whn,t
cxfr~ n t ro nju11 ctio11 s and co un ecti\'C worcls a nd
plu:nscs c:in he 11sccl to inllucncc t he coherence of
t l1c par::igraph : -

!J!J

(3.)

"In fact, the private sch ools for boys o.rc, gcn ernll y speakin .!!, 11ot l'('g:in..lc1l with 11111 clt respect in Gcnnrtny. Nor is th ere,

for tli:1t matter, any g r0at r eason "· h y tl 1ey sh ou ld be, elii etl y
]JC<":lll"1 th ere is 110 place for t l1 em in t li e genernl sch e n10 nr
c<l 11 c: 1t io 11 . Th ero n.ro, to b o sure, a. co 11si tlcra.ble JH11nl1cr u[
p:trPllf ~ w lin ilu 11ot w ish t o SCJ Hl their sons to t110 gy11n 1a.'-\i 11111
or Otllf'. I' l a r.~p. p11lili c scl 1oo ls be fore t h ey are twe l ve or t h irtee n

yc·arn old; l11tt exce p t for t l1 ese very yo ung boys , the pupi ls in
(l ie ]'l'i 1·;cte sc h ou l.s arn a l111ost exclusively tl1ose w h o can not
Jin<l :i p lace in t:1e publ ic schools; ti.tat is, t hey are J1 opcless
1l11n cc·s , or foreigners, or boys w h o, h avin g l eft t h e gy mnas ium
for t h e ncalscl rnle, or vice versa, are attending a private sch oo l
as th e hcs t :wailahle m ean s of effecting th e tran siti on. Thi s
]as t c lass js, l1owovc l', ve ry s mall, l eav in g for t lt o private sc li oo ls
fell' p11pil s except small chiltl rcn, <luu cos, m:1d fore ig ners. Tlii s
sto ic of t hin gs is easily a ccounted for by th o fact that t lt e
t ca cl1 crs in the publi c sc hools are n ot, like t h ose of t h e private
scho11 L~ , clirectly cl epen cl cn t upon t h eir pupi ls for t heir support,
~11t :tre appoin tetl by govern ment authority . T he ir disciplin e,
1,, t.hcrc forc , likely to be better, bei ng atl miJ1i stercd witl1 out
fea.1· or favor on ncco1u1t of th e co111pa.rntive sec uri ty of the ir
te1111rc o C oflico. It mnst also be borne i11 mind t h at the gy m11 as i;1,, J:, ea l ~e linl o 11 , :tllll ] ~. e:t l gy 11111 asia, t l1 ougli 11 ot a.ctnn.ll y frco
S<: hoo l ~, arc V l~ry n ear ly so, Llt o cl1:trge f or tuition Ueil1g 1ncr ol y

11ominal, 11·lii lo t ho p•'h'ato schools must s up11ort themsel ves
from tho price of tuition. "

EXERCISE X II.
l'A IUC:HAP ll S .

1. Rewrite tl1e fo ll owing newspaper extracts,
the first in one parn g r:iph, the second in two parag rap hs: *"The llan•ar<l Montli ly,'' Jun e, 1891, page 129.

(a.) State St. Beel lam.
' On 'change there was a scene of perfect pandemonium just before the clos ing hour at 1100 11.
Every oue wns sclliug, nml every stock oa t he
hoard slumped, some dropp ing three to live poi nts .
The excitement wus fi ve times as g reat as ns u:tl.
T he jam in t he centre of the room was fearfu l,
every one shontin g at t he top of: hi s vo ice.
'J'h c space allottcll to spcctntors was crowdccl wit h
anxio us men.
One mnu said: " I don't believe it is ::mythiDg
but rt temporary difficulty. The Bank of E ngland,
n broker told me, is going to back them for a
while. "
A broker snill between shonts, "Everything iB
very weak indeed . The stocks slum ped fr ig htfully.
It is a pretty bad th in g fo r t he mnrkct."
(u.) Man's will power has t riumphed over b rute
force .
At \Vinslow's ri nk l ast even ing , P rof. G leason
conqncretl the big black stallion, lrnown as the
" A lbany T error" or "1\fo.n-Eater ."
Last spriug t he animal killed a groom, aml only
six weeks ago he h it off the fiug er of his owuer,
l\fr. M iller.
He was led in by two stout halters and wore :.t
heavy mn zzlc, withont whic h no man clnrctl to go ucn.r
him. The Prof'essol' p ut o n n s urc in gle, and his
li t tle rope thro ug h a rin g strnp o n t he n cn.l' fo refoot,
liy wli:c ·lt t he foot ~1· :1 f' llrawn up to t he l>ocl y. T h(;
L1orsc \\·as soon ihrowu. Aflc r a few ;; lruggks the

EXERCJSb'S IN lUJE'J'OHlC

A 1YD ENGLIS JI CQ jJfPOSITIO N .

horse w:i s qui et. Then the (lrums :md pans came
in and the !Jl':1st took it a ll quietly . Th e Professor
I hc11 took off Urn m11zzlc, a1nl a fter hand lin g t he
horse's he:id fin a lly lai tl bis bare arm in hi s mouth
:is f':1r as he could put it.
The horse w:i s tl1cn :tllowetl to rise, and the Pro,
ft·ssor (lischn rgcd a pi stol umlcr his nose cYcry ti me
t.11c animal made a move tow:tnl him. Ile was tl1 en
hitcltctl to a w:1 gon a 11d tlri Ycu a l1out the ring, over
b ursting fi re-cmckcrs a11d other i11 ti111i<l ating articles.
It ,-r ns evid ent that the animal was completely
intimidated.
2. The fo llowing paragraphs Jack unity. Corr ect t he fault in each: The Dieke11 s Taulcaux we nt off very s neccssfnll y
last nig ht in l\[usic Hall. The expl:111 ations precedin g the various scenes were g iven by l\Ir. 1\1. T.
Ht Oll' 11, of tlte Bos ton College of Orato ry . Tbc
rnn sic, " ·hi cb was excellent, was rcuderccl by the
Salem Cadet lh11cl, J can 1\fissnd, leader.
l\'fr.
IV . A. Dugan was stage manager. The scenes
fr om "Oltl C urios ity S hop '' were So phy IY:icklcs'
Ball, in wl1i cl1 t he characters tl:w ccd a quatll'illc iu
cha r:i,ctcris tic cos tu mes ; Li ttlc Nell and b cr grantl,
fath er, nm! Di ck Swin~ ll cr :i ml tbc l\Jn rchion ess. In
O li Yf•r 'l\Yist , th e nbdu ction of Oliver and Naucy's
comi11 g to hi s r escue were r cpreseutc<l.
'C:
"Jbx itl Copp(!rfi elcl " fll rnished the l\farrin.gc of
D :tv i<l :111 tl D oi :i, L ittle E 111il y, H am, n ml Chrn aud
D:i ni cl P eggo t.ty, an d 1\licawbcr vs. Heep.
Fro.m "Lilt.le Donit" was takcu the d cparturo

o f tl1e Dorrit family from l\I:1n; lt :dsea priso n; from
" Cltristrnas Carol" Fczz iwig's H:dl. Th e Cratchitt.'s Christnrns Dinner, :rncl t he scene :.i t t he pa1Ynl.J ro kcr's. Dickens s urro mHled hy hi s ln:ain-childrcn was effectively g roupe<l. TIH~ rl'prese 11 t:ltiv e
of Dickens was well rnalle up a nd bore a strik in g
I ikeoess to the portr:-t.!ts of the g 1·t'fl t w ri tcr . A ltogether much taste was di s pl:i ycd i11 gro upin g anrl
dressin g t he various c k1 rnctcrs. Tbe t aulcnux will
be repeated this afternoon .
3 . Tes t iu poin t of uni ty, emphasis, aLHI coherence t he pnr:igrnp h stru cture in (1) nn essay in
n cu rrcn t period ical, !tncl (2) several lead ing articles
iu any d aily paper.

100

i

lOl

102

E.XEJWISES JN RHETORIO

CTIAP'rr•:R XIII.
THE WHOLE COMPOSITION: UNITY, EMPHASIS, AND COHERENCE.

\Vith onr three principles of composition -Un ity,
Emphasis, :ulll Col1ere11ce - the stutlcnt is already
f:tmilinr, for lie J1:i,s applied th em to the str11ct11rc of
the sentence and of the paragraph. , .\re mu st now
go one step f:1 rlh cr n.m1 apply them to t he whole
compos ition, ''"hi ch m:iy, of course, be nu essay, rL
piny, a sermon, or any piece of writing whatsoever
that can be considered as a whole.
l. Unity. The principle of nnity prescribes that
the unit or element wh ich is umlcr consideration in this case the whole compos ition - shall concern
ouc, and only one, subject, and that there shall be in
it 110 extr:mcous matter. There are Revera! methocls
which will help the student in applyi ng this principle.
(a.) Choose a subj ect auont wb icl.t you know
something , or can find out somethi ng. Avoid such
Y:i g ue and u1111atnral subjects as "The P leasures of
Spri.1g,'' "Tl,;c i·:vil s of \\':i,r," "Unity is Strength,"
~ 1 : " Vi 1; ; , u ~. is i t.~ own Reward," in regard to which
it.. il'l fl.cnrccly pnss iblc for a young man to have
knuwh:clg·~ or to feel interest. W~rit e within the

AND ENGLISII CONPOSITION.

103

limits of your own experience, write ea rnestly, and
it will not be hard to stick to the suuject which you
have proposed for yourself.
(b .) Limit yom snbject rigidly. Choose a small,
tlcfinite s ubj ect, and try to treat it thoroughly. ·with
a lnrgc or ill-detenn i11 ccl suuject t he t em ptations lo
stray aside are much greater. As the topic for a
short essay, for instance, "Abraham Lincoln" is
better than " American Statesmen." Better than
the former would be "Lincoln as President"; and
eYen further restriction might be at1Yant::igcous.
( c.) Be sn re t hat your ti tie s uggests yonr sn bject. If, for instance, your essay is an account of
the way in which a humming-1.Jird fed her young and
taught them to fl y, your ti tle should not be "A
·w idow and Twins,"* but something which w ill
indicate to the reader what the suuject-matter really
concerns. Plain, specific titles, for instance, are
"On the Study of Gcograplty ,'' " Ro;ving at Oxford," "\Vhat the Southern Neg ro is Doing fo r
Himself," "Classical Literature in Transl::ttion."
(ti.) Be sure, too, that your title is not a mere
catchpenny, sensational heatling , such as are common in popular newspnpers.
( e.) The subject once definitely determ in ed, and
a plain, appropriate title chosen, the "\\Titer sltouh1
co ustantly ask himself wilh regard to eYery sentence
and every paragraph whether it has a necessary place
in that subject and um1er t h:i,t title.
*A

tille whi ch nppcu.rR in the tnb lc uf contents of a recent periodical.

EXEl lCI SES LY J:JIETORIC

2. Emphasis. In the w hole compos it ion e mphas is prescribes that i111porta11t illcr1.s s ho11kl occ11p,v
pro111 in e nt pl:H•cs.
" Tith th is rr,c; 11Jt in Yi c w tlte
writer s l1 011 ld br.:1r in min (] th e fo ll o w:ng hints: (rr.. ) T re:1 t at lf'n gth 1Y l1:1 t is ii11por t: 111t. or s ig n ifi c:rn t. Pnss rapidly on r or ornit r 11f.ircly wl1:1t 1s
n ~ lnth·c l y 11ni111po rt:1.11 t o r in s ig 11ili c:lllt. J\J:l!l y a
l.lw 111 c , f o r i11 sf.:i.11cc, which p 11rports to g iYc :i n :icco 1111(; of: a d:1 y 's fi s lli11 g is s po iled lll:1·: 111 sc t he 1Hi LP r
Pxpc 111l s fo 11r-flft'hs of hi s t i111 c a 111l sp:i cc i11 n ·l:1.ti 11 g
bow li e got up :u1d off in t he mornin g, aml l ca,·cs
o nl y a rem na nt of them for the more irnpo r tan t part
of bis narrntiYe.
J\fony a tlic rn c on t he li fe oE
N apolcon, or so me other his tori cal c haracter, has
pron:d 11·orthl css b eca use tlrn 1rri te r has w:istetl hi s
stre ng th on t he insi g nifi cant debils of his s ubj ec t 's
c hildl1 ornl in stend of eeo nomil:i11g rigo rou s ly o n time
and s p:1 ce in o rd er to state a!l 1·'}11:i.te ly th e important
fa c ts of l1i s rn a nli ornl ::ind great c:1reer.
(b .) L e t yo m b eg inning indic:ite clen rl y w lmt
yo11r i< 11hj rct is n11d how yon rn cn n to treat i t. The
l1rn fo ll<mi 11 g exn mpl cs will s how phinly l10w expli< ~ i t s uc h i1Hlications s ho ul tl b e : " I prnpnsn In " ·rit n th e li is fnry of En.gland fron1 th o accnssin11 n f 1Ci 11 g .T :11 1H'S t!t c Soco11<l (hnn1 to ft t i111 0 w hi c h is w if:11i11
111 0 111 n111nry nf 1111'11 sf-ill Jh·i 11 g . I 8l1 a ll recoun t t l1 0 e rrors
w lii1·!1 , i n n, f1·w 1n1111tl1.c:, a lir11nJP1l a. l oy:~l gen try aJJd. pri c::=;t-

l1nn<l frnnt 1.l1n Jfnn so of St11 ar t.

I s hn.11 tr•1.co t l1 0 conrse of
tl1 at 1·c:,·n J11t.io1L w l1i dt 1cn11i11 :1 h ·(l th o lon g stn1 ,g.tdo l1ctwecn
0 11r F;n\· ~ 1·nig n s a nd th eir p:u li a1 11 011f s, n.rul bonn(l 11p t.ogctl1 er
111 0 ri .~ lif ~ n f 111 0 JH'opl n a1 11l t.11 0 titl e of tl1 0 rr. i g 11i11 .~ <l y 11a.~ty . I
Rl1 :dl ri ·l:it o l iow t li n 11 rnv set t,lcn1rn1t wn s, d11ri11 g 1n n.11 y trn nh1 od
years, s uccoss [ul ly d efended aga iust fore ign a11 Ll du111cstic ene-

.il N D ENG LISH UOAfl' OSITION.

105

mies · h ow, u nder that settlem en t , t h e auth or ity of law ri111l
the s'e curity o f proper ty were found t o lie com patible 1ri l:h "
liberty of discussion a nd of illtli vidu a l action 11 eYe r l1c fore
kn own ; lio,\r, fron1 t he aus pi c ious uni on o_f on] c r a 11d f1·cctl ( 1111,
sprang- :i, prosperity of w lii ch t l1 0 a11 11al s of 11111 11an a ffai rs_ l1:1a
f11nJi sl 1od JIO ~X:t. lllJlln ; 1111 \V Olll' co 1111 tr y, fr0111 rt. Rl.ato nr 1g 11n1niJJiOllS vasf.m, l n..~e, rapitll y r ose to t he pl :i.ce of l1111piro a m o 11 g

Europea n pow ers; h ow li er op 11l ei!f'O a 111l l ll'r m :1.r1 i:·1.l g lnry
g re w togeth e r ; l1 ow, by w ise n1Hl resolute g-nocl fait1 1, ~r ;Lf.;
g ra.<lnn.ll y ~sl:i.lili s l w<l :t p11lilic cre1lit frn it f11 J of 111:1n o: ls w lilf'h
to th o statcs rn c n o [ rt 1J y Jnnnnr :1 g- r. \\"0 11hl 11 n.,·o Ret' lll ''" i11Cl'f'llil'1 c; l1 ow n. g iganti c Ct1111 11 ie r co g-a.n ~ h ir1.h tc.l .n. 11 1ari Li 111 0
power, c ompare d w i t, it w lti c h C\' e ry ot l1 cr 1na n t 1n10 power ,
au ci011t o r mod er n , s in ks in to in s ig ni ficn.nce; h ow Scotla nd,
aft.er ages of e nmi ty, was at l eng th united to England, uot
merely uy l egal bonds, hut lJy in tli ssolnlJl e t ies of in tci.·cs t a nd
affection; li ow, in Arn cri cn., t h e Briti sh colo1 li cs rnp1<1 1y u ccn mc far mighti er a n<l wea lthi er than t h e rcaln1 s whic h Corte7.
and Pizarro h:Hl ad<l cd to tl10 do111i11i o ns of C h atlcs t he Fifth;
Jiow, iu Asia., J)ritisli rt1l \' Cn t 11rcrs fo11 11d cd an rn npirc u ot l ess
s piP11<lid nrnl rnorc <lnrablo 1.Jia 11 t l1 :1.t of Alex:tn<l or." - l\f:tcau]n,y's "History of Eng l a1Hl 1 " openin g sc 11 tcnccs.
" For t wen ty-six y0•us t.11 0 Negro l1 :ts 11n.il h is fr c·cdn111, :in d
now th e qu estio n is , \ Vh:tt 11.se 11 ns h e rn a<le o[ it? I li:1 vc ju st
rcturn e<l from a 11 extended trip t hrou g h the Sout h, nrrnngcd
arnl rnnd c solely for th o purpose of get ti ng n.n nns11·e r t o 1h e
qn esti011, "'iVhat is t h o colored 111:tn d oi ng for lii11 1.sol[ ? I ha\'O
t rascll ed through Virgi ni a, t l1 0 Caro li11:i..3, Georg ia., A l:tlirt mri ,
}\[i~si ss ip pi, L oui s iana., r e t11r1ii11 g through T e1111 css0.c , th o J) is1.rict of Coln111ui a, arnl l\faryland. In t h e cnurse o( t hi s j omn ey, coveri ng t h irty-ftv e ht11l!lrc<l rnil cs, I l1:we visited schnnls ,
col loges, :t11 cl ind11 st ria.l in s t i t nt ious in most of the larp;o ce nt res
of th e Suntli, frnrn 13alii m nro to Now Orl r a11 s. I l1 a\·c go 11 e
t hron g h tho Rin ck Bu lt'., inspcr,t.e<l t h o :ig ri cnltlll'al distrif'f s ,
v isitcll :fanns ana cn.l,i11 s, a nd h a,vo seen C\'cty pl1:1,SO of Nep;ro
li fe, from the d estitnti nn of tho 011 e-room cabin to tl10 11n111cs
of t h o con1forta1Jl o a nll pros pornu s , a nd ovnry dr·gToe of social
s la11(lin g, frc 1n the cm 1victs iu t ho cl1 ai n-gr111 g i11 tl 1n New
1

Orleans Pari sl1 Priso n a nd tl1n J1ir11 1ing lian1 11ii11 es , tn l ni11i stc rs,

bwyers, d octors, aml b:rnkers on the t<•p ruuml oI th e social

AND ENGLISH C 01lf1'081T10N.

l:t1l1l cr. A s a r es ul t of th is obscr n:ition an<l ex perience, I h avo
som e clearl y-cl d in rcl impressions arnl some interestin g ov i<l r n co ns to w h a t t h o Nrgro is d oin g- for Jii 111 solf." - Samuel J.
J ~nn'.111· s , "\Vi1 (1.t tl1 0 So uth ern Negro is Doing for IIimsclf"

together logically into sentences , bind your sentences
toge ther log ically into p a rn grnpbs , bind your p an1~
graphs together log ically in lo the whole composition.
Tl1e only quality indispensable iu serious writing is
ore/er. As the chi c[ a im of all composition is usually t o tell th e reade r something whi ch be presum ably
did not know befo re, it is obvious th:.it to impa rt to
him this new inform:.ition you will do well to begin
where you and the reader 11 avc some kn ow ledge in
CO lllmon, :.iml tbcn lead him by co nsecutive log ical
stages to that whi ch he is to uudcrstand. F or that
p11rpose it is absolutely necessary tbat your work be
carefull y pl anned . You can no more write successfully wilbont a cl cfinitc conception of what the structure of your co mposition is to be tban au architect
can build without having iu mind a well-defined aud
well-organized structure.*

f1J 1111 1111 g ~c n to n ccs . *

( c. ) L ook no less carefully to the encl t-!1an to
t he bPg.innin g . He sure th:tt t he rc:t1lcr leaves yo ur
work with a clear idea of what your rn:tin points :trc.
"To s nm np, t h en, th e facts whi ch sh ow wh at th o Nco- ro is
1l oi11 g for him self, it is clcnr th (l.t t h e n ew gcn emtion of A fri cArn cl'i c:in s is anim:itcd by (1, progressive s pil'i t . Tl1 cy aro ra isin::; :tll(l rn.110,:·i11g t h:.ir oll' n len tl crs. Th ey :ire rnpitll y co py in g
tho orga111 c, mdnstr1 (1.), nn d admini strntive features o f white
sncict.y. Th ey l1 ave di scovered tlrnt in<lustri :tl r edemption is
11ot to be f?u ncl in legislative a nd poli tic(l,l m easures. In spi te
of oppressive u s11'.·y a nd ex tortion, tho colored nrnn is buy ing
farm ~ , (l.Cctrn111lat111g pro per ty, f'stabli shing him self in trncl e,
l carr11n g 1h o n1 cchri11i c arts, dev isi.11 g i11v o11ti on ~, and cntcrin fT

I·

107

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIC

IOG

tl1 oyrofcss ions. Etln catinn )1 0 scrs to be tho path w(l.y to pm.~~
p cr1ty, a nd is m n.ki ng in11n e11se sacrifices to secure it. H e is
pass in g into tl1e hi gh er st:itcs of social evolu tion. In reli.,ion
tl1 0 ' old-ti m er ' is g h·ing W(l,Y to th cclln c:ttccl preacher. Jte ii o-~
ion is becoming rn oro eth ical. Tho colored p eopl e (l,l'O doiJ:g
much to take C(l,l'O of t he ir ow n nn fo 1·t 1111(1,tc c lnsscs . Tho
co-.op0rnti vo s!'iri t is slow ly SJ' l'Cadin g t h rnngh tl':ttl es-uni ons,
b111l1l111g nssoc1at;'. ons, a nd bc ncvolc nt gnil1l s. Jn n o , l'ay is th o
!'ol 11 n.·1l man d o'.n .i:: morn fo r him sc i [ than by s il cnt.J y (l,JHl
.s t<>:ulil y 1lcvPlop111g :~ S<,.1 so of sc lf-rPspoct, n e w ca pacit y for
sr l f-snpport, nnd :~ pn <lo in hi s rn cc, whi c li, rnol'o t h (l,n anything
<' ISP, SCCllJ'0 fo r l111n tho l'<'S JWCt (l,JHl fmtcrn:i.I fco li11 « o ( hi s
"' liil c 11 c ighhnrs."- "IVhnt th o Southern N egro isD~in g for
Him self," c los in g sen tences.

0 · Coherence. - Coherence of the whole compos iti on is slri clly analogous to coherence of t he
sc 11 te nce :tnd of the parng raph. Bind your words ·
•,. Atla11tic M outh1y,o Juue, 1891.

EXERCISE X III.
nH'QSITIONS.

1. '\Vhat fault tlo yon fill(] with the follow iug suhjed.s for short the111 es : H eat. I,i g li t. Sound. M in eral Depos its . J>hoTh e
t.ogrnphy . Tlte l"ulurc of 011r ]~qmiJli c .
l\Iassachusetts Institute of T cclmology . Youth's
*It i s obviously imposs ible to giv<' , in fl. ho rt Ppare, f'xampl cs u mlc r
thi s ll ca d. F or illu stra tion , t11c stude nt s ho 11l 1l examine ca refu ll y , u nder
tli c dirccliou o f th e instructo r, (l) som e Wl' ll -ordc rcd, F.ll'ri ous arti c'.c
from a current revi e w, (2) tbc table o f co nte nts awl ge ne ra l st r11 ctllfl' o{
a care full y planned Jargcr work,-Mr. l3rycc's 11 'l'hc Amcr icau Com.
moawcalLU,'' for in s tau cc .

•

108

EXER CI SES IN RHETO RIC

A N D ENGL/8 11 C OJfPO S I TION.

Bes t L esson . The Circle. ProYcrbs of the ·world.
Th e Indi ans . History . Compa ri sons . Lite rature .
l::lu ggcs t in each case modifi cation s that would
Illa kc tir e su Ljcct :i s uit:iblc ouc.
2. E x a111in c lli c titles anu licad-lincs m several
cur re nt news papers a nd r eviews irt ord er to see
\rlr etlr cr Lhcy s ugges t nncl r epresent th.e s ubj ects of
lhc arti cles all cqua tely and without vulgari ty.
3 . 'Vh a t fault do you find in the followiug theme?
H ow could it be corrected?

4. l\Iakc a skeleto n fo r a thcrn c o n a spec ifi c
subj ec t, ta.king care that no part o r the th c111 c ex ceeds Ure limits which th e tillc se ts fo r tiJ c s11bjcet
ma tter.
5. Cri ticise in point of Emphasis and Coherence
the foll owiu g t heme : -

"FORTF.S F ORT UNA ADJ UVAT . "

" O C a ll t h e uncerta in a nd capri c iou s powers w hi ch rul e o nr
earthl y destiny, Fortune is th e chief. \Vh o h as n ot h eard of
th o poo r bein g rai sed np, and t ho ri ch being laid low ? Al exand er th o G r~ :t t s: dd h o cn viccl Di ogenes in hi s t n!t, becau se
.l >in,l!;m1 es co11l1l ha ,·o 1111tlii11 g l ess . \Vo n cctl n ot go far for '"'
in stan ce o ( fortun e. \Vit o was so g reat as Ni c holas, th e Czar
o( all th e R 11ss ia ns, a year ago, and n ow h e is fall en , fall en
from hi s J1i g lt estate, w ith out a fri en d to grace his obseq ui es .
Th o Turks a ro th e fin es t specimens of tho hum an r ace, y et
t h ey too h :wc cx pcr icnccll th e vicissitudes of fo rt une . Horace
sn.ys t.h a t " ·o sh ould wrap oursel ves in our virtu e wh en fortun e
ch a nges . Na poleon , too , s hows n s h ow littl e wo can r ely 0 11
fmt 111lll ; li11 t his fo 11 Its , g rea.t :is th ey w cro, arc b ein g rcdcc 111 ccl
hy hi s ll Cph cw , J,011is N:tpnlco11, wh o has sh ow n him sc)[ v e ry
difk rr n t frnm \\"h:i t wo ex pected , th 011gh h e J1n s n ever explain ed h ow h e came t o s1Yc:tr t o th e Constitut ion, :md th en
111 01111 totl tl1 0 imperial thron e.
" F rom a ll th is it appears t h a t we sh ould r ely on for tun e
onl y w hil o it r c m a ins,- r ecoll ec ting tl1 0 word s of th e t h es is,
F ortes fo r t una :t1ljwrnt ; a nd t hat, above :ti!, we s honltl ever
cnlt.ivatu th ose virt.ncs whi ch will n eYcr fail n s, and whi ch are
a s11re h as is of r esp ectability, and will profit u s h ere a nd h ere:i(ter.' '''
"' :\ lmrlcsque by Cardinal Nc,Y nian in llis "Id ea o f a University .."

A C1w1s g rn

A

109

Y Ac 11 T.

Livin g on a large ri,·cr wi th the ocean Yery nc :tr,
makes y: tchtiu g v ery li:1ml y fo r rn e. Two weeks at
lc:i st of rny s ummer holid ays are spent 011 boanl a
yacht. Thi s last summ er I crui sell clow n the D elaware :md outs id e the Capes ::i s far as Ba rnegat.
Two boy fri ends , the capta in, the cook, and myself co mposed th e crew.
" re s tarted one cli s rn al Snnlb y with a howling
cas t wind that t ook 11 s down the ri ve r a t a s teamboat s peed. That night it was very foggy so we
had to keep blowin g a horn eve ry half minute.
Blowin g a fog-liorn is 110 joke ancl, af te r kcepiug it
np half an ltour your bcal1 fe els :ill rnouLlr.
To eook in rou g h wca tlier is clillil:ult anll funny.
The cook gcucrnlly spills th e coffee d own somebody's
neck ::irnl hurls the stc:t k n.t yo ur head.
R a ther th an cook a ny thin g 11-e lived ou dri ed beef
aml crackers for two cl ays.
Tbe nex t day it clearell off and while we wer e
anchorctl for llinn cr n. poli l:c boat cam e up aucl
order ed us away . 'Ve had u uinten tioun.lly a nchored
over somo oys ter beds and were t:iken for pirates .
Tlte sixtli or scventli day ont it rained and

110

EXElWISES IN RIIETORlG

t1reuchcd 11s all so tlw.t we Lad to take our clothes
off to tlry th c111.
011 r fiyc pairs of tro11scrs were t1augli11g in th e
air ·11·hc11, a s tro11g puff of wind came and seemed to
pi ck th em off tli c li11 c one at a time, and walk aw:iy
wilh tl1 c111. ·we 11·o rc blankets the r es t of t he
c rni sc , a11tl when we go t back to the wharf we se nt
a s 111 :1ll boy to a store to bu y 11s some OYeralls.
Tl1 e nex t cruise I take will be wi th t1Yo p ~tirs o[
tro11 se rs :it l1·:1 st.
G. Cri t.i e isc Lit e fo llowh1g themes i11 poi11t o f' Co henmce , a 11 tl r c1ni tc 011 c of thclll correctl y iu s uch :t
way that the t houg ht couta in cd iu it is Lrougl1t 011t
in a 1mtural anti orderly manner: BosToN, J\L~ss., Oct. 6, 189 0.

. (a.)

Deai· Sir, -Durin g my preparation in En g-

l1s li for tlii s School, I attcntled the acallemy in--.
l'roL A-- had charge of my stmli es in t!Jis liu c
d11ri11g las t yc:il', and :i\[r. - - tluring the year before. I sludil·d t he usual text-books used in schooli:;
of t hat gr:l(1 C and r c:td iu class in councctiou with
my in s trnclo r so1ne of Shakspere's plays and a few
of Scott's novels .
I haYc d one so me general r eadin g out of school,
some by the athi cc of my teacher, aud so 111 e to
please my 01ru fan cy. Among these were sclcctious
from De Quin cy and Poe. During the summer
mo11tl1s I r e:id some of Dickens' novels and Lon<T0
fcllow's poetry.
I was greatly pleased witli Dr. llolrncs' novels ,

AND ENGLISH GOJ.1!I'OS ITJON.

111

"Elsie V enner" and "The G narc1 ian Angel." I
have al so read some of hi s poems.
During my stud ies in E 11 g lisll I r ead most of
Cllaucer's "Canterbury T ales ," and a p:-ut of Spencer's " l<'airie Queen ." I liked t he tal cs Yery rnnc!J
bnt did not appreciate the "Fairic Queen." I haYc
read m any of the poems of Burns, Byron, anl1 T e11nyso n. George E lliot's '' Fe li x Holt" I thou g ht
Ycry good hnt I t1i t1 not like Adam Heade. I read
:1.ll o [ Cooper's talcs wit.Ii g reat in te rest.
Of th e more mod ern authors , I nc1mirc Bellamy and
Stockton, but I dislike the r ealis m of Ilowels and t1o
not fancy Tolstoi. Longfell ow and By ron arc my
fa Yorite poets , Scott and Di ckens my fo.Yorite novelists . 1 think some of Brownilw's pocms Yery beautiful, but I do not uml crstand th e large r pa rt of them .
vVe were accustomed to write css rrys upon g iven
subj ects at the academy ; generally upon historical
pieces or selection from some standard history.
Yours truly ,

----.

A CRUI SE .

(b.) In the summer of eighteen eighty-nine I went
on a cruise in a c:-rnvas canoe, often called "The
J'oo r :i\I:1n's Y ncht."
FiYc of us started from Dorchester and p1tddled
up the N epon set River, as it wound in toward the
marshes , to Milton Lower .l\lill s. Here we took out
011r canoes ;:tnd carry in g tliem over the darn, continuel1 tlirou gh Mattapan.

112

EXERCISES I N RJTETORIC

AND E lVGLISII CO,J LJ>OSI1'10.:.Y.

The ri vr r ' r :i s l C': 111tifnl :1Jtcr we passed t he first
dam ; the ' rn tcr abo,·c being fresh aucl that below
snit.
·
Fin:illy r eaching Hycl e Park, and going part w:iy
throng h t he tow n, '" c en.me to :Motlier Brook ; up
thi R'YC padcllcd un til the water was only a fe w inches
tlcC'p.
After thiR " ·c h:"tcl so me rap i(ls to paddl e :tg:iin s t,
a nd t1r o fc l! oll'S s toYc hol es in their bo:d:s; t.h0Rc
11·crc pn.tc hcd 1r ill t a piece of canvas s t11 ck o n with
shellac .
·w e follow ed J\Iothcr Brook until we came to the
Cbn.rlcs R iver :t t Dedham. Ifrre t he t rees 0 11 the
sitlcs ovcr::i rchcLl, so that when it sbowercd we went
along t he s id es :rn<l k ept (lry.
'Ve 1x1<l<ll ed almos t all \the t ime, stopp ing only to
eat our meals al)(\ to camp when nig ht OYertook 11 R.
Carry ing onr canoes oYer the Hm11y clam s was all
that d etracted ft om the enjoyment of onr t rip.
7
" bc11 ' re got ::is for ::is "IYC cou ld 11p tbe r ive r , we
camped for a few cl:i ys in a pasture beside t he ri1·cr.
Hct11rni11g t.!1 c s:1 1nc w:ty we came, we 1rnrc g lad
to get Lack after b~n·i u g been mrny two weeks.

Also if you wish to send the d escription of some
building, or view to a fr iend. You can sc ud a p icture of it and it will be the bes t desc ripti on poss ible.
T aking the picture is very i11 Lc rcs t ing . Yon set out
witb your camera , un t il you :find somethin g interes ting, then focus your camera and make the exposure.
After the plate is exposed, it must be clcvelopc(l.
Thi s is tltc most in Lcresti11g part of pliotogrnpby.
T:tking yol1r plate i11 to yo 11r tl:Lrk·roo 111 , yo11 pour
you r developer upon it. As yo n rock it gc utl y, yott
notice shadows gmdnnll y creepin g ::i cross it and soo n
the outlines appear aml in a few m inutes the pi cture
is before-you.
Tllus it affords pleasant means of using your
time.

WJIY

.,

l'llOTOGRAI'llY

I S INTlclmSTING •

( c. ) A111::i tc11 r photography is now becoming very
popul:ir :tn!l :ilm o;; t eY0ry town has a unrn bcr of
a111atcnrs . Tl1 c rc:iso 11, for its popnlari ty, is the
;unn scmcnt, a nd knowledge, whi ch can be obtai11 cd
from it.

113

114

EX.ERCJS ES IN RJIETORIG

CIIAPTER XIV.
QUALITIES OF STYLE: CLEARNESS.

" re kivc seen wh:1t the clem ents of style :ire, a ml
!tow by m:i.kin g Y:tri ons nses of them we en.n affect
:1 r eader in v:1 rions ·ways .
' Ve m11 st now go rt s kp
fnrthcr, anrl ask ourselves what, in general, are the
wnys in ''"hich we most desire to affect a read er, or,
in oth er worcl s , whftt the qualities are which a good
style should h::ixe.
First of all, evidently , it is indis pensable t hflt the
rend er should trntlerstri ml "·li:it the writer mean s ;
second, t he wri ter mu st hold the r eader's attent ion,
a1Hl in oue wfty or anoth er interes t and moYe him;
third, the r eader mnst find himself pleased or sati sne(l , so far ns his taste is concern ed, with what li e
reacl s. A style, then, shon\(l barn, first, Clenrness
- the intell rc tual qrw li ty of being comprehensibl e ;
sccoml, Force - the c111otional qtrnlity of interesting
or movin g ; third , Elegance - the ~sthetic qnnlity of pl eas in g or snti sfyin g tlie taste. On these
f' :1.mc q n:i,lities , perh:1ps with nnother nomenclature,
mos t good writ ers ::ind good readers would probo.b ly
ng rce. Our duty is to discover how we can best
secure th em.
Obviously, the Hrst thing necessary to make othersi

A N D ENGLIS H C0 ,1ll'OSITJON.

ll5

understand what you mean is to understand yourself what you mean. Until yon have firs t mastered
your own tho ughts there is Ji ttl e chn ncc tha t you
can express t hem clearly . D istrust, therefore, your
knowl edge of any matter, s imple or complex i11
nature, unless you are able t o g i\' e to yourself or to
others a pb in a ml s traig htrorw:ml rtcco1111t of it.
Cultivate at all hazards the halJit of looking for th e
gist, or whnt we ro ug hly cnll "the long and short,"
of a matter, and practise yo urself in nil yo ur work
in expressing s imply and 1rnturn.lly the s ttbstau ee of
t he information yon haYe acqnircd.
We must be carefu l, 110wevcr, to distin guish clearness from precision or t echnical :i.ecuracy . A dressmaker's description of a new gown would p erhaps
puzzle :t man flS nm clt as hi s accoun t of a base-ball
game or a yachting ra ce ~Y onl d bewihler rt womnu.
Au e1wiuccr's t echni cal descrip t ion of a machine
mi g ht be perfectly clc:i.r to one mnn and absolntely
obsc ure to another , thoug h both wer e equally i1~tclli­
gcnt and equally well edncn tcd. Ouvio11 sly , clearn ess
is rt r el:t tiYe matter, llepend in g u pon t.lte amlieuce 0 1·
the r caLlcr \\'hi ch the s penk cr or t he "Titer :i.chlresscs .
To write clearly, then, yo11 rnu s t ucYcr lose s ight of
t hose for whom yo n :tre writin g. Hy m c~1 11 s of t he
t cchni c:i.l t erms of a certn in sc ience or art a professional man has n perfec t ri ght t o s tate whnt lie
pleases in snch precise t erms t hat bi s fc ll o·;>,·-craft:sJllen and peers will be iu no doubt conce rnin g the
f\u est detai l in his subj ect-m atter.
Ile mu st, on
the otl.t!:!r hall(l, be al wn.ys rca(ly to communicate

117

EXERCI S ES LV JWETORIC

A1'{D ENUJ, J8 1I CO,llI'OSITiON.

wilh m e n cxpc rl in otbcr a rts o r scie nces but uns kill ed in hi s . Jn c il11c r c:ise t he rn a 1mc r of p roccdm c is tlifft: rc u t : in the o uc , p rec ise :iud tcc lrni cal;
i11 t ltc o lh e r , m o re gc ncr::il , brgcly 1111 tec:L1 11i c:d.
l: o U1 m ctltod s yo u s!Ju ultl c1tltiv:1tc ; lrnt :t g rc:i.t
cle:1l of y o 11r s uccess in wr it.i11 g dep e nds 0 11 yo ur
11 cYc r confo un tli11 g o r co nfu si ng t hem.
lf bci ug clC' :u: me rely m ea ns t hat wc s ucceed in
111 :i.k i11g t he iw rso n or p erso ns fo r w ho m , re w ri te
111 Hlcrstancl "· h:1t we men u, a11cl if, as is cY icl c11 t, ire
:Hl d rcss in al 111ost a ll 011r wri Li 11 g :i, cc r t:1 i1 t fi c tio n
call ed t he :w c r:1gc man, we b:ivc yet to sec 1rhat tl e, u se in a b sk ,rLti c h ' t ho1w~ l1
v iccs we c:111 , in !!eucral
.....,
often dirn c 1il t, may m~ ll arouse on e's greatest in te rest
:111d a m hit io n. A111o ng m ~1n y cl cYiccs H11·c0 s ugges t
ll1 c rnscl\·cs . ( 1.) Decide ju s t wh:1L y o u c:1 11 cx pt'c t
yo ur r c ntl c r to ku ow alrcatl y of t lic m atte r nrnl er
t.rc:ttm c 11 t, :111Cl m ake it a rul e to µ;o as stead ily as
p oss iLlc fro 111 w Lt at is kn o1r 11 toward t hat w hich is
1111 k11 0 1n1. (2.) As yo u prnccc<l in yo ur tas k o f inf1:r111i11g t hc r e:11lcr, t:ikc c~1 r c l11 :tt hy st1111 m::i ri cs , l1y
Ll1 :1g ra ms , rn :1ps , or plans , or by illu s trnt1on s , aucctl o tcs, o r fi ~ im ·s of' speech, yo1 1 t a.kc th e r ead er a lo rw
' r itlt yo u , so to s pe:1k, in e:.1c h s ucccssiYc step. (3.)
AYoid, 0 11 t he o ne hand, un ex plain ed tccltn ical te r ms
of 'rh:1le,·c r so rt, a ncl 0 11 t he other exp ressio ns s o
Ya g ue :i s to l ie :il1nost rn eani11 g lcss .
T he rn ost fr equ e n t t c111p ta li o u not to be clea r that
fJC'sc 1s y o1111 g write rs is a h zy h abit of t hinki n!l,
whi c h d oPS 11 ot lc·:1 rl Lo :1bsolu tc olisc urity , O L' eYc 11 t~
any puzz ling :u11L1i g uity, but w hi ch res ults in a hope-

lcssly v ag ue 111 :1 n11 c r o f wr it in g . De expli c it , b e
s pecific , Le d c li11il e , is a rn:t iit p rin ci ple ali ke o [
good tbinkiu g a ud of good w ri t ing .

llG

1. 'Whn.t w;"s o f t he E lc nw11Ls of' SLylc eo ns icl crctl in t he pn 'l't!cli11 g p :1gcs w ill ass ist iu sce11ri11 g
cl ea rness? 'Wh y?
2. v\Thi ch of t ltc th ree P ri nciples o r C o mpos itio11 is
111 ost co 11cl11 c i,·c Lo c k:irn1!f's? '\Vhy?
3 . E ~cu11i11 c , 11u cler t he dir eclio 11 of t he in s t ru e Lo r ,
a good p o p11l:1 r ess:1y on so 111 c seie11tili e s ulij cd, i11
o rde r t o sec to w h:i.t cxtC' n t, au11 by wh a t 111 ca11s,
th e auth o r lt:1 s u \'c n s 11 cccss f11l in his n.ttc mpt. *
Noli <·.e, in p :1.r t ie11l:1r, ( 1) ]1i s use of rnelap l1 ors,
s i111ilcs , a11tl illui; lra tio 11 ::; ; (:2) lio w o i" tcn, a nd al
wh:1.t p o ints in t he co11rsc of hi s essay, he s 11111 s
up t he po in1 s li e h as a lrc:i,<.ly rn atl c ; (3) on 11·Jii c lt
one of t he l'rin c iplcs of Co1npos ition ltis s uccess i:;
111ost llcpc 11 lk nt.
'L Co rrect LIJC fault "· hi C' h i8 f:tla l to ch-:t rn ess m ·
e~1c h of t he fo ll owi ng sc 11 l<!11 ccs, :uni fram e a pri nc iple Lhat will a id yu 11 i11 aYo idi 11 g il: (n) "He to ld t he co:1.clrn1 :iu that ltc 'rn uhl be
t he d eall1 of him i [ he llicl not t:1ke care wli:it lie wai;
a b o ut anll rni11tl wh:it he s:1 i11. " t
·"Sec, for cxarnp lc , Pro f. Da vi s 1 8 cxccl lc 11Larli clc

0 11

Tornad ucH, iu tl iu

.A tla.111.ic fo r July, lS!J l.

t "I

lea rn ed fr o m J\ l nca nl:i y . . .

JH' Vt·r

lo li e afrn id of

ut' i ll!..{ t.111 ~ Hrl lll l!

word or nam e over and over nu;ain , i f liy l li:i t 11w:1 11~ a11 y lhin g- co uld Uc
::u.l <lc<l to clearness o r f or ce . .l\ l aca u ln y uc\"C r gucH uu like i;oni e wr iters,

'

I

I

I

I Ii
1.

11

~I

11

'

Ir I,

118

EXERCISES IN RllETORIC

.AND ENGLISH COJll'OSlTION.

(b.) " For the custom of the manor has in both
cases so far s uperseded the will of the Iorcl that,
provitl cl1 t ile scnices be performell or stipulated for
Ly fealty, he canno t in the first instauce refuse to
:tl1rn it the heir of his tenant upon bis death, nor in
the seco nd can he remove bis present tenant as Ionoas be lh·cs."
"'
( c.) '' No semblance of n slip occurred in tltc case
of any 0 11 c of us , antl bad it occurred I tlo not tbittk
the wors t co 11scq11 c11 crs conlll lt:tvc b een avo id ed."
Ii. g c writc tl1c followi ng extracts from Lhemcs
. all trace of vagueness : '
re111ov1ug
" Sil:i.s J\Iarncr isjb·st seen$ in L antern Yard."
"I tlii11k that t he wtt11r:il cl1 oice of one r ead ing Quent m Dnrwanl wouhl be t h e h ero h im self. "
(c.) "Th ero kid been a sovc rc e:istcrly stor1n for sevc rnl
d ays, and we dete rmined to t ake th e yac h t :wcl go dow 11 to
G:trd i11 cr's l s l:111d to s hoot snipe." [Tlii s is t he e11tire in trod uction to :t narmt.ivc concerni ng s cvcrnl d:tys' sh ooti 11 g. Th o
reader has n ccess:tr il y m:tny quest;ion s to ask ,- W hen was
thi s? W h at seaso11oftheyc:tr? " ' h ere? Wh o:tre "we "?
Vl' h at ya c ht ? ' Vlicro is Gardiner's I sl:i1Hl ?]
(cl .) [An in trodu cti on to a g host story.] "I was ritlin othrough a s trip of woods on m y l1 orsc. It was au id eal 1ii o lt~
for a dri ve, a nd t ho ro;i,d w;i,s a favorite one."
,.,
(a.)

. (b.)

6.
Crit icise the fo llow ing tlJCmc
cl earness [l.ncl tlcfi nitcncss : -

111

t:1lldng aUout •the funn er' nnd 'the lnttc r,'' he, s he ,

it,

point of
th ey ,' through

<:1:111 f:lc afte r clatl f:l£' , \\'hi le hi B reader ha8 to Jook Unck to FWC w l dl'h of

F.c n _·r:d perR011a it is th at i:i BO da rkl y rl'fc ncd to . No d oubt a pro no un,
lik e nny ot her w~rU, may often be rr.pc:1tcd witb ad v:rnl:1 gc, if iL iR per.
fottly t:.le:.lr w ho is 111pa 11 t hy the pro11oun . A nd with !fa can l ay'~ pro.
n omH", 1t is :ilwaya c h•ar ~"110 i s lll ea11t 1Jy th t• m ." - ]\.fi ll," L ogic.' '
•The. st. ud r.nt a ho n Id no tit:c that wht•u th e '' af?c nt ·• is n o t e xµrce ec<t

the passive vo ice is ucccasar ily more v:iguc thau the active.

MY

FmsT

hIPRESSIONS OF

llD

BosToN.

" 'Vhen a p erson is about to vis:t a strange
place lie us ually bas fo rmed an idea of what be s up·
poses the pbcc to l>c like. So metimes he is llisappointcd an d sometimes noL, for t he place 11 s11:i.lly
turns out to be different from tbe idea he bacl form ed
of it. "\Vhcn I stnrted for Roston I bad form ed an
id ea of the city as I s upposed it to be, l> uL l was
agreeably s urprised 'rhen it turucd out to be contrary to my expectations.
Arriving here somcwlmt early iu the morning, 11 ot
111a11y people were stirrin g, a ud I therefore had
ample time to look around Lbc city . The impression
whi ch Boston mad e upon me W [l S a very good one ,
and I took a likin g to the city at once.
One thing which pleased me very much was the
varied style of architecture. T he style is not so
monotono us as it is in N cw Y ork, where one may
walk many blocks and see one hou se bu ilt li ke another. But one t!Jiug seemed rather strange, and
tliat was the irrcg ulnrity ·wit.11 'rhi cli the streets are
lrnilt. A stranger Jl cctl 011 \y walk a few minnlcs
and he hardly cnn find hi s wny back again . B ut
one gets used to this n [tcr a s hort time . Anotbei·
thing which rn~_i t1 e a fayo rablc impress ion upon me
were the s uburbs of Bos ton . These arc really
beautiful, and a person will h:1vc to lrnnL nrouml a
loug time b efo re li e can fin d tl.1eir equals .
The longer I remain in Boston the more I like
tile city."

120

EXER C:JSES JN lWETOBlG

CHAPTI<:R XV.
QUALITIES OF STYLE: FORCE.

AND ENGLJSJI COllIPOSlTIO N .

with your reader it will not often b e difficult to
bring him into sympathy with yo u. To attain a
forc ible style, ho weYcr, you must not forget that
there is still anothe r r eqnisitc, - co ns tant practi ce .
.!Here streIJgth of thought or of fcel iug docs not
make a good writer a ny more tl1:in rn crc brute
strength wiU10ut the r ca(ly s uppleness llt:tt comes
tltoronn·h
tr:1ini1w
m a kes u good athl ete. If
f rom
.
0
b
yo n arc wi se yo u will ncYcr let u chy of yo ur life
puss witho ut writing sornctlti11 g, Jo ng or s hort, m1Ll
writing it us well as you cau. Prac ti ce t ells ; am1 a
letter, a leaf in a note-Look or a diary, cYcu a telegram, may be so well composed that it sens ibly or insensibly leads you a step further in one of the most
important of your duties , - t hat of so mas tering the
art of thinking out into l:i.ng11ngc th:i,t good me thods
of expression become habitual.
vVe must now glance :i,t two mechanical d evices
for securing Force. The first, that of Emphas is or
Climax, is already fami liar to us , and we need not.
s pend further time on it than to renrnrk the obvious ness of the fact that arrnngiug t he parts of :i, composition in the order of succcssiYe strength and i111portance adds g reatly to the force of what one writes .
The sccoml devi ce is the use of fi gnrcs of speec h, or,
more p:i,rticnlarly, the s imile aucl the metaphor. A
metnphor, as you no donbt know, is calling 011 e
thiug uy the uame of a nother for the sake of leaving
on the r eader's mind a n1ore vidcl or pi ct uresque i111. l a " b uc1, "
pression; us when yo u call a yo un g g 1r
or a social hero u " lion,'' or s peak of the "head"
~

If cl cn.rn cs~, the in tellcetu:i.l qnnlity of style, pre ·
s upposes a l.Jove all, on t he part; of the writ.er, clc:ir
a11d sou11d Lliiuking, Force, the cmotio11:tl q11 :t!i ty,
d ema nd s sy mpath y and earnestness. To move the
r eader to laug lt tc r or tears , to affect his acts or hi s
coml11 c t, to in spire or repress :i,ny of his emotions,
or constantly to hold his attention is an art too
dclic:1.tc for us to analyze or describe here. •t \\Th:i t
we can be certain of, however, is t ha t iu the writing
each one of us is inevitably c:i,llecl npon to tlo day by
d:iy our work will be stronges t when ( l.) we are
rnost in sympathy with those whom we nre addressing , a nd (2) when we haYe the most he:i,rty interest
in wltnt we write. If we wonld uot haYe 011r words
fall withont effe ct we must take pa ins to c:i,rry the
rea(lcr with us emotiotrnlly as well as in tcllec t11:i lly. t
To :icco111plis l1 thi s , interest a11cl sy mpatl1y arc the
rn:1in quali t ies necessary.
\Yha t in terests yo u
(le<' ply wi 1l surely not be without a s imilar effec t on
others; when yo1t can put yo urself into sympathy
•Sec th e adr niraUlc c ha pter
Com 7)08U/'. r1n.
t Seo above , page 110.

0 11

Force in Professo r \\'cudcll's .F)ngli&h

12l

122

EXERCISES I N flII E TORIO

of a party, or the "nrm" of the hw, or tbc "bull s
anti bears" of the stock-market . A simile, on Uie
other baml, d escribes a thing by saying that it is
like something else ; e. g ., "she was as pretty ns a
. 1- ,, "lie was as b row n as a beny." To both
pm,,
lite metaphor and the simile, you will see, sl:111 g a nt!
poetry owe a g reat part of their strength. Jn
prose, t oo, tb.ey cau be 11 sed wi t l1 much. effec t. Take
care, l1 owcYcr, that th e Jigures yo n use arc r c:i.lly
:ipproprin.tc to t bc 111:1.tter in k1ml, and t h:tt th•·y
arc not a bs urd or iucongruous , or for -fetched a ull
unfamiliar.
EXERCISE XV.

1. Disting uish Force from Clearness . How far
is Force d epcU<lcnt upon Clearucss ? Can you think
of a poet or a writer of prose whose style has either
one of these qua lities wi thout the ot:lter?
2. ·w hat devices of which we have spoken under
the Elements of Style are most conducive to Force?
·w hat P rinciple of Composition would help you most
iu securing the same quality?
3. ·w hat iuflu cnce upon the force of what you
wri te has the number of words you use?*
4. Examine, under the direction of the in strnctor,
several familiar standard works, to sec wberc aud
how the interest of the r eader is held and what a re
tbc emotions affected.
5. Note LIJ e metaphors and the similes in the follmYing passages : *

Sec a bove , Chap te r V.

AND ENGLIS H C01lfl'OSITION.

123

(a..) " The German p rin ces, n.n x ious to narrow
the p rerogath·e of their bead , were the natural alli.es
of ltis enemy, whose spiritu al thunders, more terrible
than t heir own lances, could enable t hem to depose
un aspirin g monarch ."
( b.) " But the precedent r emain ed, the weapon
wn.s only hid behind the pontifical robe to be Hasbell
ont with effect when t he rn olll ent should come."
(c.) "Asceti cism of t1 1is sort is like the in surance whi ch a man p:i.ys on his l1ouse nn<l goods.
Tlie tax llocs him no good at the t ime, and poss ibly
may ncYcr g ive him a ret11rn . But if the fire cloes
come , his haYing paid it will be hi s salYation from
ruin. So with the man who !ms dai ly inured himself
to habits of concentrntcd attc11t.io11, cucrgr ti c volition,
aml self-den ial in unnecessary t hings . He will stand
li ke a tower when cYcrythiu~ rocks around him, and
when his softer fe llow-mortals arc winuowed like
chaff in the blast." ·*
( ll.) "Habit is t hus the enormous fly-wheel of
society, its most precious conservittive agent. It
alone is what keeps llS all w ithi n the bounds of ordinance, a nd saves the children of fortune from the
e11Yious u pris in gs of t he poor. It alone prevents the
hard est Itml most repulsive walks of life from bein g
deserted by those brought up to tread there in. It
keeps the fi sher111::1.11 a nd the deck-h and at se:t throug h
the winter ; it hokls tlte miner in his darkn ess, and
*This extract and th e fo llow in g arc from Pro fcSKor \ Villiam J amee.' ··,
The l't'inciples of P .s ycho logy, Vo l. I., Chapter 4.

EXERCISES J N RIIETORIC

AND ENGLISJI CONPOSITJ O ..\~

nn.ils the collntry rn n.n to hi s log-c1.bin a nd his lonely
fa rm throllglt a ll the monlh s of s no w; it protects us
from inv:i sion by the n:1.tiYcs of the d esert ::im:J the
frozen zo ne. It doon1s us all to ngltt out the bn ttle
of life upon the lin es of onr nurture or onr cn.rly
choice, nml to make t he best of a pu rsllit th:i.t clisn.grecs, l.Jce:wsc tberc is 11 0 other for which we arc
.fittetl, :ulll it is too 1:1.tc to begin agn.in. It kee ps
tlifferc11t soc in.l strata from mixing. A lready at the
:1gc or t\YC nty-riYc yo n sec t he professio nnl ma nn eris m settlin g dom1 on t li e .)'011n g co mm ercial tr:w ellcr,
on th e yollng docto r , on t he yo 1111 g miuister, on the
yolln g couuscllor-at-J:uv. You see the little lin es of
cle:ixngc running thro ng h the c haracter, the tricks
of tho ught, t he prejutlices, the w:i.ys of the ' shop,'
in n. word , fron1 wlii eh the m :111 can liy :111d l>y 11 0
more escape t ban bi s coat-slce\·e can s mlLlcnly fall
into a new se t o f fo ld s . On the whole, it is b est li e
Rhoultl u ot csc:ipe. It is well for tlie wo rld tlrnt in
most of ns, by the ngc of thir ty, the char:i cte r has
set like plaster, and will neYcr softe n ngain."
6. Correct wlrntcvcr is incong ruous or inappropriate in tL1c fo llmYi ng figures of speech: (a.) "Tt:ily is a narrow tong ue of lnu d the backl.Jon c of whieh is fon 11 c<l by tl1c Apennin es ."
(b .) "Ile nnravelled all these obscuriti es and
1i-itb hi s p enetrating illustrations threw light on
nil these nnparallelctl compli cations."
( c.) " Ile 11nng aside tbe mask aud showed the
cloYcu foo t. "
(d.) "The heroic Spanis h gu nuers had no defeuco

but b:igs of cotton join ed to their own 11nco1tq11cralJle
courage."
(e.) "L<ml H.osch cry sa itl tl1:d; tl1 c kl•y-11 otc o f
the poli cy o f tltc goYc rnrn cnt woulll lJc wr:1ppeLl in
t.bat obscuri ty wlticlt the goYenunent has cm1eaYored to keep up."
(f.) "If tl1e H-omau toga hns been bc<lrngglcd
in the fil th ::iutl th e 111i rc o f t he cc 11 t11ries, s urely the
cloak of se n:1to ri:tl co nrtcHy has brcn u sc< l to bitl c
the i1tfn111y a ud t he co rruption w h.iclt h:n.; lli sli ono red
:u1<l di sg raced a l>ody wl1il'lt was o nce the p rn udest
in the land. The cloak of senatorial cour tesy bas
become u stench in t he n ostrils a nll a lJywo rd in the
mouths of nll ho:1es t citizens of the lanll. It makes
:i. cloak behin d "·hidt ig 11 or:1nt :u1<l arrngn nt wca.l t.11
can purch:1sc its way to 1J01rer aud then J1id e its
coward ly heatl bchi ml the s hameless protect ion of
se nato ri al silence. lt men.us a cloak w hicl1 s hall
cover up from the p u blic gaze of nu 01t trngctl people
t he infamies which tlcurnml inYestigatiou, and which
merit the punis hment of broken laws aud v iolated
statutes. It means a cloak behiml which petty party
bick criugs may bnrtcr away a party's priuciplcs aml
play t ltc d emagogue in t he face o f the people. It
means a cloak bcltiml wbiclt prctc nll ell fa irness lticles
its dishonest head while in secr et it is trrH1ing a n<l
tr rtftlekin g in t he rights a nd liberties of t he people.
It means a cloak um1cr which u ot only the timid,
but tltc cowardly politician can COYer up bi s tracks
and he either foul or fa ir as the necessity demands.
Tltc ltour for senatorial cour tesy .h as passed. The

124

125

12G

E X ER Cl8E S JN RHETORIC

tea m of se na to rial p rog ress urn st g h·e way to tho
motor of a more eul ig hte ned a11d prog ress ive and
<lctcnniu cd ngc . ]~c t th e oltl and thrcaclktre cloak
o f ::;ena to ri al comtesy be hung up witl1 the s ickle nnd
the flail of a bygone d ay. "
7. A11nlyzc a d ozen ·current slau g express ion s ,
noting wh ether they are sirnil es or metaphors.
lJ nll cr what circumstances are tl1c fig ures of s peech
.im·olYed nppropri:1te ?
8 . Note t he fi g 11res o f speech in on e o f your
fayoritc poc 111s , and determine what effect each has
on the rc:l.llcr.
9. An alyze on e of W cnd ell Phillips'R hcR t
speeches in s uch a " ·ay ns to i1Hlicatc what effec t
he wi shed to 111 :1kc 11po11 his muli ence aml the way
iu w lii ch he prod need it.

AND ENGLISJI C01'al'OS11'10N.

121

CHAPTER XVI.
QUALITIES OF STYLE: ELEGANCE .

With a little care we shall di sting nisb th e tcsthctic
qn ality of style, Elegance , from Clcm·ncRs , the int ellectual, and Force , the emo tional qu ality of style.
A book may be clear a llll y et dull; it may , und er
some circums tances , be stro ng or interes tin g a nd
yet not altogether clear; a nd it may be clear a11<l
i11 tcrcRting, aml sti II 1111plcasa11 t or uns:ttisfac tory to
the tas te. w·ork th:i.t is tboron g hly pleas in g , t110roughly satisfactory to t he t as te, we shall call elegant ;
not of course in the vulg ar a nd local sense of the
word, but in its trn er meaning , inclicatiug so mething
which is so select or so finely ad ap ted to its uses that
it completely s atisfies Uie taste. S uch a quali ty must
obviously be determined ratber by the particular
circumstances of a g iYen piece of composition th:m
by any generalization. Th e followiug hints , ho wever, may help us in many cases : 1. ~Manus crip t. N otlting is so sure to displease
even the most benevolent r ead er as bad manascript.
·what is \\·orth doing at all is wor th cloing wi tli care,
and cnre includes a t least a plain hand , good spelling, adequate 1Jtlllctuation, and ucatucss of g eneral

128

EXERCISES I N RJIETORIC'

.AND ENGLISH C0111I'OSITION.

appearance. H e who habitually forces another to
read slovenly manuscript is auswernble for a gnwe
d iscourtcsy.
2. Elegance, however, prescribes somethin g more
thnn neat aml carefu l rna1111script; it prcscri ucs a scrupulous car e in reg:inl to tile llctn ils o f style. This
docs not imply fnss iness or a ny of the p recise irritalJility whi ch we proverbially associate, perhaps
falsely, with a pnrist. It does imply a cons tant
cITort to s:iy wl1 :i.t one h:1s to s:iy aclrrp1:1.tcl y, not so
mu ch with regnrd to form as wi th regard to "·liat the
form is but the shadow of - the substance. Awk1rn.nlness, crabbedness, or mawkislrness of style, no
less than sheer vulgarity, all alter the Yery stuff of
t he 'liTi ter's t hought, .and hinder him iu hi s task of
communicating it. Herc, as else1Yl1cre, practice tell s.
Care begets case; earnest att ention to the sound of
the words one 1nitcs aud to the ir rhyU1m a ncl b:ilance produces at last a smoothly ilo win g style;
accuracy of thought and feeliug t end to the development of taste, aucl good 'taste is at the root of what
we call elegance.
A wortl must be said here about the mOLlels a
stmlent should ham before him. There is s uch a
t hi11 g as n.imin g too high. De Quincey a nd L andor
:llld H:1con :wd AlhliROn an d all tile so-called
cl:i ssics :ire no doubt s uch great models of E ugl ish
Rty lc tlmt :i pcndfltcnt and intelligent stmly o f them
will h P.of Ilic gn':itrst :1thank1 gc alike to the :yo1111g
and t he oltl 1ni lc r. Hut it is a fact; of experience
to which teachers of E uglish composition " ·ill testify

that it is by no means every young stncl ent who has
im agination and literary skill eno ug h to discoYcr
what is really admirable in the style of men who
wrote and thought generations or centuries ago.
For the bnlk of a Freshman class it is , perhaps, to
be qnestionctl whether f:un ili arity w ith tltc work s
:mcl style of a good conte mporary ess:1.y ist - M r.
Leslie Stephen, J\Ir. John Fiske, or any of the scor e
of good wri ters who contribute to t he bes t Amer ican
:iml English periOlli c:tl s -ifl llot 111 ore adv:111Lagco11 ;;
t han the usual disliearteuing stully of the great
masters . Such men may not be great stylists,
but they are snfe models for any boy or young man .
The virtues that make their writing praiseworthy he
can scnrcely help underst:u1cling and appreciating ,
aml these virtues , like those of the good citizen, arc
not in imitable or inaccessible, but within t he reach
of whoeYer thinks and feels clearly, broadly, autl
Ji ucly.

12V

EXERCISE XVI.

1. Criticise the following theme in point of elegance: THE NEW

Yomc

HERALD.

"The New York Herald is uot only one of the
lending daily papers in onr largest city, but it is
printed in good type nnll on paper, the tint of
which is not bard on the eye. Though this 111 ay
appear to be a very poor r easou for preferring the

130

EXERCI SES I N RlIETORIC

H crnld to other papers , it is , JJ CYcrthclcss, a very
gootl r111:rlity for a paper to h ave. H.c:ttlin g , :i.s we
tl o , so rnu c lt in tir e cars anti by g:1s lig ht, a fin e
no1nh!tl ty pe 0 11 :t tlirty wl1itc b:1.ckgronml is very
hu rtJ'ul to a perso ns ey es .
"Tl1 e ]1 er :1.hl b[rs co rrespoml ent.s in , ., r:isltington,
nntl a ll the large citi es of t he U nitetl States , and in
rn :u1y o f t he large cities in E nropc. Tir e fore ig n
nc11·s of t ir e IIr raltl is- one of it's spec i:rl feat ures ;
it"s ctlit o r: i:i ls :ire co neisc n11rl to t ir e po int, it co11t:1.in s :ill t ir e 11 r ws o f t ir e d:1 y, and Riro ll's a g n·:i.t
tl ca l of c11 tc rprisc in mJLlcrt.aking n ew enterp ri ses .
The s hip p in g n ews aml e n~ ry thin g in th a t liu c is
espec i:rll y good null cornpl ctc, and in fact cYc1·y
til in g nbo ut t ir e p aper is good except it's politics ,
lHrt t ir e f:i ct t hat t he Ilcrnlll is the lcadiug d emocrntic p:i pcr iu t!Je uni on oug ht not to d eter any
li!Jcrnl minded man from reading it and profiting
t hereby"
2. Exam ine, und er the direction of t!Je instructor,
sc \·cral c11rre11 t newspapers , in orcler to determine
!row for t ir e <111 :di ty of elegance enters into s uch
writing, :11Hl " ·lr crc a nti how each paper as a rnlc
;; 11 ceccds or foil s in att;:1iui11g it. Compare the methods o f t ir e rn:1jori ty of these pnpcrs , if poss ible ,
" ·it lt t lr osc of the TeniJ!s, t lie Figaro, th e N eue Freie
Presse, :rntl other stmulard fore ig n journ:iJs .
3 . Co111pare, both in regard to s ubj ect-matter
nml fo rm , a n ortl in a ry 11 0,·el of tlte killll offeretl for
sale i ·1 r :1il\y:1y t rains with a typical noYcl of sorn e
l'cputablc contemporary English or American autho r,

A N D ENGL IS II COMPOS TTION.

13l

_Mr. James, l\fr. Howells , or l\fr. Meredi th. How
:rnd where is on e preferable lo t.lrc otlr cr in point of
fo rce or elegance ? Jf poss ibl e, crn11p:tre h ot.Ii wilh
a go0tl contempora ry l <'rn 11 clr 11 0 ,-t:I .. Tir e. 8[1.111 c
process can b e profitn,bly c-x lc1Hletl at tl1 e o pL1 (: 1~ of
the instructor to cover other forms of con1vosit1on.

DIRECTIONS FOR WRITING THEMES.

Please obserYc t he followmg rnlcs. Failure to
obsen-e them inay in :my case be co nsillerell suflicieut cause for r efusiug to accept a theme.

I'

I

1. Use paper eight by tcu inches in size.
2. Alm1ys u se bln.ck ink.
3. On tlrn left sillc of each page leave a margin
of n.t lenst one inch.
4. ]<'ol<l the p:i.p<:r OllCC lengthwise. vVritc nt
the top of' the onL:-;idc p:1.gc yo1 1r un111c, cl:Lss, the
scetion or co11rse to whi ch yon lic\011g, nml the dale
011 which the thcrnc is ll11c.
E x:i.lllplc:

J. Q. AN1m1rnoN, '94 (or Special),
Section 4,
October 6, 1890.
5. Students will lc::wc their themes on the instructor's llcsk at the fi rs t lcctnre of e:.tch week, at
the bPginniug of the ho1lr . Themes 'rill be r eturned
to sti Hl cnts nt the sccoml lcctnre of each week. At
the first Jcct11rc of t ltc fol lowing week, at the l1cg i1111ing of the hour, thl' n1 es sliou\d be returned to th e
in stru ctor, correct.ell or r ewritten, ns the in s.trnctor
mn y require. Jrrcgnlnrity in kimlin g in or in rcturniug themes will seriou8\y affcc 4; a stulleut's mark.

TYPICAL LETTER FORMS.
(A)
8'r1m1n,
J\1Ass., May 23, 18!l3.
]\'[y DEAR FRim, - c~1.11 yo n drop in for [\. few
minutes l>etwee u fiv e a11(l s ix, if yoll h ~1.ppcn to be
go iug Ly thi.s afternoo n ? lt is too bad to tro1Lblc
you at t ltis busy t ime of t!Jc year, hut it is alm ost
imposs ible to make clear in writing a certa in proposition I want to mak e to yo u.
Always yo nrs,
33

J\'1A1t1,1:01wucn

Bo s TON,

T. IL

AL'l'LETON.

(11)
1,b BRISTOL ST1m 1n,
H J. , l\l:i.y 20 , 18!)3 .

P1WV WE NC 1·: ,

]\fr DEA1' S m , -1\Iy fri e nd, JHr. II . IL Smith, of
N ew Orl eans, writes me t hat yo n arc in t he ciLy .
thou g h he is not quite s ure of yo ur aLldrcss . I scull
you t Lti s note at a Yc nturc, t ltcrcl'orc , hoping that it
rnay reach you a nd t hat if it tlocs you wi ll g iYc mc
a n opportunity of continuing :1u acqu:dn Lance 1Jcg un
so 111a uy years ago under s u.el1 di s advantageous circumstan ces. Severnl fri ends will dine with m e at
the Pawtuck et Club Thursday evening at seYen, and
it will g ive me g reat plcas n re if you will join us .
Very s incerely yo urs,

T . H.
D . J.

B1rnNETT,

Esq .,

6{)0 Broad Street.

APPLETON.

HG

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIG

AND ENGLISH GOAfI'OSITION.

147

(c)
Mrs. ·wcston Smith requests the plcnsure of :M:r .
•Jnmcs Hro\\'n's co mpany :it dinner 011 Satnrdny
cvcniug, October tl.ie sixteenth, at seven o'clock.
7

Illt J\TTLI ~ STJU~ET,

October tenth.

l\ir .•James Brown accepts witl1 plcasnrc 1\frs.
IV csto 11 S 11tiL11 \; ki11c1 invitation to l1i1111er for Saturll:iy, OctoLcr tile s ixteenth, at scYcu o'clock.
10 MA11r.nono uc:n STmmT,
Oc tober clc1icnth .

(n)
T1rnAsu wrn 's Ovvrc E, lIARVAI~n CoLJ,EGE,
No. 50 STATI·: ST1t1<:KI",

BosrnN , Feb. 18, 1893.
DEAit Srn, - On behalf of the Pres ident and
Fellows of Harv:ul1 College I tlcsire to i11 fo rm yon
that a Library Rending-Room wi ll be provid ed for
the Co ll ege by a s in gle g iver, and to nsk whether
yon wi ll consent to tbc applicatiou of yo ur subscription for a R c:tdiug-Room to tbc mnclt 11ccclcd incre:i sc or tl1e s tnck aecommmlntions iu Gore Hall.
H you co 11 sc11t, will you kiiHl ly sign the enclosed
:nllJ1orization a11d send it to 1\loscs Williams , Esq.,
18 Post Ollicc Square, Boston?
Yours truly,
ALLEN DANFORTH,
Deputy Treasurer.

Rev. J . JL s~llTII,
Malden, Mass.

11 ST. JAMES AVENUE,
BOSTON' 1\1.\ SS ., }\[n.y 23, 1803.
To the Fawlty of the .il'lussciclmsetts Institute of
Technology:
G 1rnTLEMEN, -Thc n,ccill cnt to whi ch I referred
in my petition of 1\farcli J :} s till rcn<l crs any use of
my rig ht arm so pai nful U1:1t rn y physic ian, Dr.
.T. \ ;V . P11t1rnm, lws forbid tlcn me to take :iny of the
Jin:i,l cx:i,min ations. I t!Jcrcforc respectfu lly petition
th:i.t in History, Economics , n,11d Engl ish Litcr:i,tnre
I be :i,llowcd nn oral examination early in .June n11<1
that in the otltct· rcg nhr tltird-yuir subjects I be
allowell special examinations in September. I enclose :i, copy of my physician's statement iu regard
to my case.
Respectfully yours,

T.

w-.

APPLETON.

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON SOLECISMS.
Tlte soleci sms most frequ ently met with in America
in the speeclt or writing of careless or ignorant
persons arc containctl in the fo ll ow ing list.
1. The om ission of the arti cle where the scuse
r equires its repetition. Sec p~1gc 52, A, l.
2. False singulars or plu rals . Sec page 52, A,

2, b, c.
3.

Tile false possess ive.

:::Ice page !)2, A, 2, a.

148

149

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIO

AND ENGLISH 00 ,1JPOSITION.

4. The use of tlte ml verb insteatl of the adjective.
Sec page ;):2, A, 3.
5. Tl1c use of the adjecliYe instead of the adverb, e.g., I fe lt bad, for I felt badly.
6. The confomlll in g of shall and will, can nncl
may, lie nnd lay, sit aml set.
7. Errors iu tl!C case of -nouns or pronoun s . See
page 52, n, 1.
8 . Errors in :i g rce111 c11t :1s to 1111111!1cr lid.ween
noun and verb or 11 01m :111ll pro1101111 . Sec page
52, D, 2.
9. Errors i11 sequence of tense .
See page

manner, wliic!t shows bis ill brcclliug ." In some
cases , ho1Y ever, this is allowaulc.
18. But whut fo r (/Jut) that, as iu "I do not
donbt bnt wbat I can go."
19. JJ01i't for does 11.'t.
20 . False parti cipi al construction, as in "Fiuding him at l10n1C , it wns d ecided not to go farther ."

53, 3.

10. The use o f and which or corrcspomliug rclatiYc forrns wl1 erc the awl is 111111cccss:uy.
Sec
page Ml, 4, b,
11. Falsr, pos ition of only, ns in "J 011ly rece ivcll
it ye:; tcr(lay ."
.12 , lVitlwut for unless, as in "I will not ~o·o
" ·1thont yo n tlo."
l 0. Either for any , as in "Either of the three
will <lo ."
1-J. DU}erent tlwn for dU}erent from.
Vi . F:tlsc correhti on of 11either a ml 1101·, or
eW1 r>r antl or, :i s in "Uc ueitbcr oJfoncled him nor
hi s lJrntli cr."
1 <>. TJ1c l'o-c:tllcd cleft infinitiYe, as in " to thor011gltl y co nvince." l\lany writers, however, sanction
this 11 sagc .
17. fVhich for a .fact (or any similar word)
which, as i11 "llc ]Jowcd lo her in a very <listaut

ADDITIONAL

EXElWISI~

ON SOLECISMS.

Correct all the crrnrs in the follo1r in g se ntences,
whic l1 arc selected fr om exam ination p:i pc rs set for
m1rni ss ion to II:1,rYanl Co\l rge or to th e 1\Inssacl rnsct.ts In s titute of T cc hu ology. In t he caio;e of solccisn1 s give y our rea so n for the corrcctiou yon make.
1. The Yote of t he trus tees on tlIC r esolution sustaining l'rcsid cnt lbrtl rtt was six in t he n.ffinnative,
four in the 11 egativc, w ith o ne mcn1iicr o[ the bo:t rd
absent, whom it is claimed by the opposition would
have voted in the negative .
2. "1 only said I wouh1 n't go , withont one of
the servants come i1p to Sir L eicester Dc(llock,"
return s 1\lr. Srnallwccd.
3 . Neither Senators Dawes uor H oar were in
their scats to-cl ay .
4. S he 1ras smaller in s tatnre tha n either of her
three sisters, to all of' whom had b een acceded the
pr:tisc of b ein g fine wome n.
5. ]f I rcYiew Virgil for inst:i,ncc in April, I
will for get mu ch of it Lefor e July , h:1x i11g so much
other work 011 my li :1.11ds .

/

150

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC

G. Lying off the Battery, we would be as easily
accessible as arc vessels at the city piers.
1
7 · ' 'Yb en will you be r eady for business?"
asked tbe reporter.

8 . .Ile fo lded it and pnt it in bis breast pocket,
:11al bill down once more, and it was not referred to
again.
9. Tbi s is a phenomena common to au immense
nnmbcr o f tli seascs.
10 . If I were old enoug h to be married, I am
old cno11 g h to mana ge my hu sband's house.
. -~ 1 · T/J c seventee nth ce ntury evidently liad a
tl1fl·crcnt notion o f books and women t han that which
fl o11ris hcs in t he uinetccntb.
1 ~ · I tl on 't sec a nyth ing so very particular in
liavmg a few almauacks; other people have them I
beli eve, as well as me .
'
13 · Ile is none of your great blustering fellows
;vho goes around knocking people on the bead, but
m appearance a gentleman, Othello's lieutenant.
14. If the present generation have err ed, its
errors b:wc been tlu c to humanity, antl Christian
hopefuln ess of gootl.
15. Iago was Otliello's ancient, and in whom be
.J~!::cctl the g reatest confi de nce.
1 G. Iu iu tcllectnal aud moral strmwth JYiacrcrie
T Ir
·
"' • ·ob
ll 1vcr IS _what c;orgc Eliot was ; in . phys ical
Lcanty, s bc is what George Eliot would have cliosen
to liavc been.
17 · But when be learn ed that Orlando was the
son of t he d eposed Duke's friend, his brow clouded,

AND ENGLISH C01l!POSITION.

liJl

and he b:i.t1e Orlando to immediately leave the city,
or his life wo uld be in cbuger.
18. At las t the appo inted cby aniYcl1, and from
far :wd near people Hocked to sec the s port, among
whom bein g Celia, Fred eri ck 's d::rn g htcr, am1 Uosalincl, bcr cous in, d iiug hte r of the uanislict1 llllkc.
1!J . Hospitality was one of Addi so n's characteristics , :::w d be rarely met lt fri cncl , out what he ri sked
him to his lodgings to have a talk over n uo ttle of
wine.
20. The wealth of th e many make :t Ycry little
show in statistics ; the wealth of t ile few make a
great sho w in statistics.
21. By" Good Use" is meant the co rrect use of
correct wonls in tli cir correct pla ces, 110 rnorc t han
necessary, antl to always use t he s i111pl cst words.
22. If yo n were able to go to clrnrch to-morrow,
yo n will hear an excellcu t sermon.
23. There are points where, in my mind, \Vorclsworth reaches as high, if not higher, than any poet
of his time.
24 . P r esident :M.cCosh arn1 Eliot, each of whom
was a member of the University crew of tlieir
r espective colleges, excellct1 in athletics .
25. Charlemagne patron ized not ouly learn ed
men, but also established et1ucatioual iustitutions.
26 . Because there arc a fe w saY:ige tri I.Jes who
have no beliefs whatsoever, is no mo re, 0 11 the contrary not as great, ii cause t han to say , t licre is or
iire divine beings .
27. Evcrytliing Seo Lt describe(\ he lrns made

1!;2

EXERCISES IN RIIETORJC

AND ENGLIS H COJ.11P OSITJON .

15&

fau1ons, aml none can go to tl.ie Highlands but what
they mu st v is it the places he d escribes .
:ZS . In tbesc days it docs 11 ot seem lwrclly poss ibl e that auy ma 11 with such ::i.11 cdi{cation and poetic
gc 11i11s as Co leridge him self posscsscll woukl have
cxp resscll snch an op inion.
:·n. Mrs. J ones, wbo is now eig hty-fo ur, g:we
her firs t hall more than fifty years ngo , at lier hou se
in Jlo11·Ji11g Green, which shows tbc rapic1 growth of
the city.

many excellent ones ; but the effi~~cy of the.se lat:e,1:
are destroyed by the stiff, nnfam1l1 ar sty le 111 wh1.c ....
tlrny a re written and which us1:ally docs . away with
whatever interest we n1n.y take lll the snb] ee:·
:18 . D isc11 ssin g thi s s1il1j cct wit.lt a frwrn}, Ji ~
t ohl me th:d; to clen rl y 11mlerstand th e r cbt1011
mu st read the books in question.
39. I do not know bnt what I'd ougllt to haYe

HO . A convent, a hmatic asylum, or a hu sbandcith cr 1ri ll do .

R egained," but which ho never 1i11is.\10.l1. . . , . '
41. "W'" bilo sitting in my room JU St aftei Lmch,

:I I. 0 11 e al111no n.! .recently pl cdgeLl $5 ,000 for in1pro,·ements in t he opportnnitics fur phys ical cul ture
:1(; ·v:i.ss:ll', 011 condiLiou that $5,000 s boulll be raised
JJy o nLs id e p:nti cs .
82. Ile con s id ercd it his dnf;y to remon strate
\\"it.Ji a l\"Olll:tll whom he plainly saiv was very much
on t of place therc.
B3. I ueYe r beard him say he huc1, and I wouk1
be likely to know .

the fire ri,lunn soumled.
42. The character of tho :lgents or p ersons nre

~H . Tlie ~e fi gures arc certai9ly co nclus ive us to
Lite ability of Yetcrans to more than hokl their own
und er ex istin g circ11111stances.
3;). Jt is ll ot too rn11 cl1 to s::i y that lie is known
most a 1Hl hcst by a s i11 g lc story ; ouc which we r ead
in c hildhood :uul seem neve r to qui.Le fo rget.
HG. A woman ''"ho Yoted tlilforcntly than her
hn s b:1.ntl <Jill would be n.11 exec p ~i.011.
3 7. On e find s in Lhe r eYi ews of tci-c1:1y, articles
rang ing from a sermon to a story, ::tntl of course

1·

'··

been clearer.
.
10. A fe w years lalcr lie begr111 his "Paradiso

.
nex t to be considered.
43 . So honorD.ble ri, co nn ection n11 ght kwe been
expcctell io have n.d van cetl o11r anLhor's prospects .
4,1. Sometimes lie wo nld l:i.y awake ~he "bole
nio-ht, trying but unable to make a sin gle lme:
.
~J 5. Milton was too busy to much miss his
wife .
.
46. Everybody had in their r ecollcct10n tile ong1nals of the passages parodied.
47. Dryllen neithe r became Master of Arts or a
fellow of the Un iYersity.
, 48 . Neither he nor hi s father wcrc cd11 cat;P<l to
.
be lawyers.
49. H e sent me a verbal message , and wlnch assured me of the trnth of my s us picions .
50. Molicre's plot rrnd id eri, is ofLen taken from
other writers , which he docs not attempt to deny.

11
ilH

EXERGI8E'8 I N RIIETORlG

.AND ENGLISII GOJJPOSITION.

51. She saic1 thnt she hnd la1'n J
t .1e book on the
tabl e.
52 H
.
. .
. c 11 oukl allow no one to o1)en th ..
wl11 lc at .
cu eyes
• p1ayers, and would ofttimes raise llI) . d
l ook aro n11(] l1im to sec i'f n ][ . .
.
au
_
•.• ·
"
11 etc praymg.
fi3 . If t he tanl[ were tnkcn off wo I
I
be olil'o- I t
o , we woulc
. i':" ~l
o c 1ose our mills on account of
co1npetition .
fore ig n
.;-L

1 j P ,,~nn !d n ciUi ci·

11-·~.: .· , ;:. ·~6 j!~~

L1t1

v a eon.t.

:i::;: 'r i·..-.;;,. ,_ -r

r.,· ~ 1

64. A more startling pl.tenome1rn tl.t~m thi s 11pt11rnet1 strnta lt:ts never bec11 oLservetl in geology's
whole hi story.
65 . :Mnch as I llil (1 hoped to have seen him he
don't seem to in t he leas t reg ret missi ng m e.
GG. Ncitl.ter his faLbcr n or be we re ,,·i!lin g to have
anything to do w ith a rn n n \\·]10 trcatct1 t.iil!lll ;;u
'' h · ~"'r1rt f!; ! !~·.

r.7

h--·:

nnl . . ~

;:-;q;,1 ' ,,-.-•• 1·1.-l

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f
l
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:10: w 0 ![ as Jiir• .

1
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(; ·)

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I 1·
11· IP V<',

At li•:r,I T '1111 r e" I·1 · I 'I t I
_. ·
·
~ u Ct "1:1. · t 1e conn try
who J( 11:1 .~ 111 ll1·u 1k f · -1
.
·

f'lt~

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ll

Ul \\Jal,"\ IT l!l;ty k1pp<'ll

'

'- · L:111,,·11 :r"1 'ni' Iii · l . 1
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n1" 1 11·Ji1 0 Ji r · 1 111 . . 1
. .h 1:r111 c1.1 Lu rcp<c:• L, ev1dd l1:i.v0 '"'"It
" "'"] 011 l_v h· ·1 111 1 I
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(' " "'l' ul "· v"ry lull-' strat a nf
f'n0idy .
f.'1
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(]·.le uow

111u uan.:hies n.r0 i;:frnn,,-],_, i' 11
f·(J11lrast
rln 11 - _ . f • ~· •'

g·o1·0r11m011f·o:
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/ l lH)I,~.-

)!IC\\(_' :1n· l\"O J'l; i11:._:· i11 '" 1ln\' l"l' '-'1'('1'1"
:dlt1!!l'll1n fr11ill'llll_1· , :111il tl1:1I . 111• JH'l'il 1,, 1·1111sidt·r tl1t: f1·:1c-;ibility <>f c1·rt:ii11 rdurni.; i11 1111' 1111·tl111il
n11d or!!:111i;c~Lir)IJ 0 1· rn1r L11gli.;l1 i11.;l1·111·ti(i11.
"!11 tli1· lir.;l pl:11· 1·, :is .l l1:1n• :111'< ·:11!_1· l1i11(,.i} , I
do11l 1t Yer.v lllllc·li ii' iL is tksir:1l1lc 111 !1:11·1· :1 .;111Ti:1I
tt::l(']Jc•r nf E11!.':li.;li ('<llllJlU"itirrn . Tl11 · 1'_\i.;l1 •11f't' of
"" "11 :1 Lc:1clil'r i111 pli1·illy frl' c,.; :111 utl1t·1· l1·:1('lll'1·.;

"Jt Si'l'lllS to

JJ()I

* R c·p riiikd h\ perinissinn fnnn Mr. ~~'. ll!lllf'l Th 11rl.( ·r '..., "Tlw 'l '!1r··~ ·
l':lr!tJ. nf J::ni: !if:l h ti tudy: tbt:ir Currcla l iou .' ' l>J"t vn . <h ·q r ~·· .\. J'.:L1 ·u11,
lS~!:.!, pp. 5-7.

l iiG

AND ENGL lS H C'ON L'OSI1'JO_V.

EXERCISES I N RIIETORlG

from t h.c ~·espo n sib ili ty of exercising a uy s uperv ision
~vc r t his 1111 po r t[111 t p:1rtof etluc:i,tw n . Composit ion
'.s rather ::w a logo us to t he c:mlinal v irtues, t o trn tlif.1.t111 :-s~, p 11n ct 11 a li ty , anll JJ eatness , tha n to t he special
tl1se 1pl1 ues , like elocution nnd draw in g . Should one
teilcher in a school n eglect t he card inal v irtu es , we
s honl d a ll ng ree in reco mmendiu g tha t such teacher
be at o nce disch:i rgc<l. Yet a ll tcacliers but t he one
''"ho lt :is ch:ngc of English neglect cornpositiou a nd
:ir~ Hot tl ecrn ct1 to le:n·e t he ir d u t.y nn(1o nc. P upils
''.Ti to :i.11 (1 s ~icak .E ng li s l1 fo r eve ry teacher. Every
t 11ne a y up il 1r n lcs o r s peaks , lie composes . As I
have s :1 1tl, express ion is t he great staple iu the comin crcc o f t be school-roo m. Express io n iu E rw lis h is
: he 1111 h·ers a l tool in c\·e ry d epartment. E \·c i~ythi ng
1 ~ [:1.11 g h ~ t hro 11 g l1 t he medium of t he E ng lish.
hve ry w rr tten cxa111i11 ation is a compos ition, a t least
of ~ s ort. Every t caclJer reads pupils ' wri tte n work.
l s 1t r enso nau le t hat o nly o ue t eaclJer s hould be
exp ~c tcd to co rrect nnd improve 1.his w ri tten work?
J f 1.1111e tcaehers O\'e rlook llcfccts of fo rm , Ienv in O' it
to t he tc11 t.11 to note a nd correct s11c li er rors ]~o w
d ~epl y i ~ it likely t o Le impressed Oll t he r; np il s'
r11.11 1ll ~ t bat fo rm , exp ress ion, is nn im por tnn t clc1ne11t
o [ wn ttc n l:rn g w1gc? JJ ow u pri g h t n man is he w ho
'. le po 1ts hi mself correctly o n Sunday a fter a week of
nn in o rnl n ntl v icious practices ?
" T .l te C 1.ll Cf ous tacle to good issues in t he hi o-h school

t_:[1 el~1ug of E ng lis h is the t eachers wh o do r~o t t each

h n gl1 s l~ , Lnt 1r ho tnkc in wri tten work and h and it
back witho ut effectually notiug fa ults of exp ression.

157

The presence of s nch te!l.clters in :i. school is :i. p erpctu:i.l slur i1 po11 t he E ngli sh tc!l.cher , rn!l.k iu g Ji :rn
:i.ppea r li y pcrcri lical , p etty, J'orm ~il , !l.llll cxtcru'11 in
his fo netiou. ·wl1:i,t is gootl e noug h fo r t he other s
is no t good enoug h for him . Ile iB h!l.n1 to pl ease,
a nd sp ies f:i.nlts th a t <l o not Fhow t hemselves to t he
more generous ey es of t l1c r est.
" It w ill be noted t hat I a m not s pc:1ki ng of t he
scien ti fi c t eachi ng of R beto ric i11 coll ege , b u t o nly of
s 11 elt p r:i,ct ica l train in g in E ng lis l1 ex p ress io n afl is
p ro pe r to sccornhry ed11 c:1Lio n. In Lhe seco1td:1.ry
school , I s nrn1ise it wou ld b e a g reat g:i.in i f t he
t eacher of compos it io n coul<l be alJol ishc<l , arnl his
fuu clion be ass ig ned equ all y to ult tl tc t eachers of
t he school. No p upil io; !J o111L1 get :ilo ng in :i.11 y study
wlio <lil1 iw t \\'r ite goot1 E 11gli s l1 in h is cxcreiscs in
t ha t stutly . l'ol'r co mpos iLio11 should 11 cvcr b e tolerated u nder t he pretext tiirit the t eache r 11nd cr w hose
eye it com es is not cal lel1 :i. teacher of E ng li.s h . . I
h:i.ve p roved iu my ow n ex peri ence t hat p up il B w ill
w ri te well :i.s soo n as t hey fiu t1 t h:it t hey m11 st , a ntl
tha t m :111 y p up il s arc r catl y to ' '" ri te ill ns soo n :.is
t hey fin t1 tli :it t heyrn ny wi th i111p1111i ty. There slioult1
be n o im pnn ity , n11 y wh c rc in t he i:;chool a.rr a ng ern c11ls, fo r careless wri tin g . T he bas ic f :w lts of
writin"
can be cxtir1)~ttctl :it 01 1cc by t he
] <'.uo-lish
·o
o
combiuec1 efforts of all t eachers . A p upil takin g :t
high school diploma 'lr iiil e still in t he li:tbit of crircl ess \Yrit ing s hould b e :i n im poss ibili ty . T he o nly
safegunrc1 agnin s t t he g roll" t lt o f bc1bils of slovenl y
speeclt nnd sloveuly w riliu g is a h ig h p ublic spirit
~

158

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC

AND ENGLI81I COJII'O SITIO.V.

pervading the entire corps of teachers in favor of
go?d English. If the teachers nre agreed on this
point, tbcir sentiment will become the ambition of
t he sch~ol. Villari tells us thnt at Eton the young
men write elegant English, although the school has
no English teacher. The example of cultivated
gentlemen and ladies is the only effici ent tcncher in
n s ubject of tbis kind. Imngin c a school in which
~h e Yicc of nntruthfnlness should be getting a footing. To 11·l1om wou ld it occnr thnt such a cnbmity
11:011;c1 best be met hy appointing a tcacbcl' of veracity· ~npposc we. Rl1011lcl hear it argued that very
few pe1 so11s pcrccll'e the value of trntltfulncss so
clearl y as to be co mpetent t eachers of it, and that
"'.e 1n 11 s ~ l?ok about for some one who bas lrnd spcci:~~ tram111g_ in tl'.is ncco1 nplishrncnt. J~verything
else ta11g lit 111 a l11gh sclwol is special,_ a person
ll~ny or m:1y not b:wc stndicd it: bnt tl1e cardinal
Y1rtucs aml the mother to ng ue al'e general, - everybody mu s t p:i,y them homage .
_. "So long a~ there is a spechl teacl1er of composit1on. wh o. re.qu ires 'compositious ' und er that 11arnc,
the •llk:t
is meu lcatctl that other writi1w
is not com•
0
pos1tio 11 , bnt so 111 cthi11g else, exempt from the rules
of goo(l 1niti11g that arc in force iu that peculiar exercise. This n ot ion is mos t pernicious. I believe it is
li ckl by many teachers . A composition is often a
terror to n pupil wl10 is wont to toss off other writina
" ·ith ntm ost ease and freedom. A composition
often rcgnnl ecl as a dress affair, a solemn ity to be
opened with proper introduction in set pltras~, con-

j:

11.i\J

ductccl with all formnlity through cl ecorons parn·
grnphs, and finally clismissell with a literary bow and
flourish. The conventional school composition, for
which occasion is artificblly created, and which seeks
to express that which no one desires to communicate,
had better be abolished . Natnral and needful composition, however, in its multifarious forms, is to be
P-herished . Composition, remember, is everything
the pupil, in the various processes of instrnction,
ltas occasion to write. In a11y large high school,
writin g is constantly going on. I rn igltt ::iJmost say
that composition, in a sci.tool wltere modern methods
arc practised, engages ltalf of the school activity . I
would have it better looked after by all the teachers.
It is now a waste article, a ' by-proclnct' incidental
to other man ufactures . It shonkl ]Jc utilized."

TYPICAL EXAMINATION PAPERS.
I.
NOTE: Write plainly.

Use the best English at your com-

nrnud.

1. Define a Barbarism, an Improprict;y, an lcliom.
Give two examples of eacb.
2. Define H.hctoric. Is it an art or a science?
Why? Corn1rnrc it with Painting or Architecture.
3. What is the relation of a dictionary to "goocl
use? " Give illustrations that bring out your idea
clearly.
4. Why do we not begin Rhetoric by studying
seutence-strncture?
5. vVrite yonr instructor a fol'm:.tl note, in the

!GO

AND ENGLT81I GOJ11POSITION.

tliinl pcrsou stntino- ccr t·am
· circumstances,
·
r eal or
1111 ~g 1u :1 ry, conncctctl with your work .in English .
G. 'What
Invc
vot1 to say a 1Jout· t 1ic proper use
.
.
:
, J
of t he followm g words : avocation, clemean liable
m·.11tual
.
,,
· . ' nice '. qui'l e, stozJ,
storrn, transpire, ' verbal'!
G ive 1llustrnt10ns that bring out yo ur ideas clearly.

4. Correct :ill the errors iu the followiug passage :
I hope t he tby may neve r come when t hese :ire
not prctl om inant in the t cachiu g g iven here, let the
ltu11wni tics be nuiintainctl undiminished in tl1cir
:rncic11t ri gl1 t: leave in th eir tr:-Hlitional p rcc ininc11<:c
t hose arts that were rightly called libcrnl, those
studi es t l.J :tt kincllc the imagimition, and th rough it
irradfate the reason.

•

•

•

'

c •

:::.

II.

"
I

lGl

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC

1." ~efine " Goocl U sc." Discuss t he following
WOHls Ill rcfcrcn:c to good use: lmstle, firstly,
d_onated, managerial, type-wri:tten, exhibit, mutital,
lrnble, aml residential.
2. Exphin what is meant by "ti
·t f
HI t . "
rn m o
tc Ol'l c, a nd by the following statements: "The
rules of Rhetoric arc not morally bincli nct" ; "Tlierc
:ire tw? ways iu which we can trea~ elementary
Rltctonc."

I

3.

Rewrite in co rrect form the following letters :

.
NewYork7/Jl/92
S i. rs,~ IfaYc s ix carloalls, Ycry fine, ·
wi ll slup B. & A . lL H. to arrive O. K.
J\'io1Hlay week.
Scml check for same
aud oblige
Yours
II. S . Carter.
Smith and J ones

J\I D
s·
Boston Monday
' y . car '- ir : ·wm you give me the pleasure of
11
}f,;~'.. ~-°' P'.t11Y nt l11n cbco n tomorrow at seven.
. . m"' S mi t.It and Jo nes with me at preseut. I wish
you to become acquainted.
'
Truly yours,
EQ,

III.
lmproYc the followiu g letters iu whatever way
seems best to yon : Boylston Street, Boston, JU[tss .,
September, 110, 1 8~2 .
1\'Ir. G. R Carpenter,
Dear Si r ; - As I li ve at some distance from Boston I will
attempt to g iYe you as near an exact accon nt, of the
j ourney I take in getting to school each morning, as
possible.
I arrise at half past six, t1ress, e:i.t my bre:i.kfast,
and ge t to the station in time for the twenty-six
minutes of eight train.
It take fi fty-five minutes for my trniu to rnn into
Dos tou from l<'rnmiugliam Centre where l take it.
I travel oYer t he Old Colony Railroad for t he first
two miles of my journey, whicli takes me to Sou t.h
Fr:i.minglmm Junction, where I take t he .Boston &
Alb an y train for tlte rest of my jon rncy.
Th e first town I cuter afte r Jen.Ying Frnmingh:i.m
is Natick , and I sec to my left Lake Cochitnatc,
one of tl.J e water snppli cs of tlte City of Boston.
·:;11e cars nm rnpidly a 11(1 smoothl y bccanse the
Boston & A lbany has a very !iue roatl ; So before I
1.

1G2

1G3

EXER CJ8E8 JN 111IE1'0JUC

AND E N GLISII COMPOSITION.

:1111 :1w arc o [ ii, I :L111 in \\Tc!ls lcy, :i.ntl sec tlt c lrnikl111 gs of \Vcllsluy Cullcgn 011 rny ri g ht. <rc :t: ,,.
ObcdicJJtly yours ,

(b) I s it right to s pc!lk of divilling apples
uetwee n SCYcral Lo ys ? \Vli y ? Uu <kr wliat cir-

.1'1:i s1<:1d111 sc t ts 1JJs titutc
of T celmology.

cums tances would it lJc ri g ut to s:1.y that one o f th e
boys was 111acl ? That lie 11roposcrl to figl1t the
other fellow?
( c) \Vliat llo we me:u 1 11 y tue climu.a; of :u1

2.

argument?

~1 r. C:. I:.. Cnrpe11tcr,

ColumlJns An~ ., Bos ton,
Oct. 3, 1s n.

:111 y tl cn 1· Frct1 : 1 1,1an, at las t, got time to wri te to yo u.
I kft J,:111 go r tl1 c tl:1 y after I s:tw yo 11. lt wn s a
lon~ ly l.l'lp do1rn tl1 e bay :iud tlta.t cveai1w0 was liu c
a• .J .., 1J· 11100•11. ' Jvo· 11c an rnin
· g t11
· c J1011' it
· wa s, very much'
11" c tl1 c nig ht '1 c en.inc np tog<'tltcr.
Jt 11 :rn :.1uo11t s0Ycn o'cl ock in Urn rn oruiuo· when I
~\; 1 1 t •)11 ts 1d c " ·c were tlt c n alJo ut off l3ost~n ]i<TJ 1t.
. ~ ''" e re soo n off q11arcnti11e wh ere were t~rcc
1ong n 6tcn 111crs at n nc li or. \\Tc n.rri Ycd at the l ]·
al1o. ut c1g
oc.,
. ltt o 'clock • TJ1 cu I. !1 ••tcl to 1·llJ ( 1 a r<oom
w 111 c l1 wn s a Ycry easy task, as th ere were a g reat
JJ1:111y to let . .1: *'· '''
'
Yonr ohl schoolmate
Fred.

3. Give a n outline , 'ri tlt clcflnitions of the theory
o f Hh cto ric '., ris far as ''"c !1:1.v c studi ed' it. Of wlrnt
1' 1~acL i cal Y:1 l11c l1as t l1is been t o you in your writin g ?
\\ li n t Il se Jin,·c you made of a dictionary in tile
co11 rsc of yo nr " ·ork?
tJ • (a ) Vis cuss the common aud tlie. more accurate
nsc of tile word nice ; of th e word individual. l.Yhat
con clu s iou k wc yon reached fo r yourself in regard
to the use of these two words?

IV.
I. Improve the followin g le tt e rs in wha tever way
seems bes t to you: -

1.

Boston , J\Iass .
Octol.1cr 2, 18a2 .
Dear Charles , .
Tl.tis is the firs t tim e s in ce las t 1\Iomlay
mornino· tlt:i.t 1 have kul a ch :w cc to \ni tc yo11 ,
when 11~ t stm1y ing I have l1cc n occupied "· iLI~ bu y ing
t he books , drawing materials alll1 other tlu11gs required, at the lns tit11tc.
l conlcl no t b egin t o te ll yo n all tlt~1t I have cl o 11 c
in these p as t seve n clays ; e\·cryt bin g lw s 11cc u so
no vel, tlte firs t t erm in coll ege is foll ol' n ew
ex peri ences , it is s o l1iffc rent fro111 wl1:1t one li:t s l1c<'11
acc ns tomcd to in a preparatory s choo l, he re tli c!
wo rk !Jcn·ins in earnest , a nd o ne is rn acl c to lkpcml
more up~ n bis own r esources than ever bdorc.
Then t he re are the clilicrcut boys to b.ero111?.
acqu ainted with , fri cll(l s to make, th e ~ c l cct 1011 0 1
those whom yo u wis lt for fri ends rcc1n1 rns a g n •at
d eal of care , more so i11 colleg e t han a ny oth er pbcc
I believe . * * ''
V cry trul y yours ,

.J olm.

IG!

AND ENGLISII C01111'0SITION.

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIC

2.
5556 J\lonroe A venue,
Chicago.

l\Jy (lcur l\Ir. Carpenter,
Yon ong ht to haYe been with
11 s on our trip to tltc \Vest. It wns s irnpl y ck1.rming.
Tran:lling tlte wny we did, yo u know, it was
r r: tll y j11 s t as if: 11·c were n.t home, s urrounded by
eve ry comfort that we wished.
Tl1is coup]c(l with tLtc number of plen.sn.nt :i.rnl
c 11 tertn.i11iug peopl e, wl 10 went with 11 s, made everythin g awful ly j olly.
01' co urse Lite first thing to sec, althongl1 it can
h:mll y be called out \ Vest, was N iag rn, and as we
sto pped at n s tati on two or t hree miles from t he
pin.cc, one eould l1cn r a low soft l1nmmi11 g anll I at
on ce thongLtt of Ulyssc3 and t he S irc1m, ancl wo11llcrc(l if the sou11cl, that he heanl so muny years ago,
was :i11ytlti11g like this.
1\s we came 11 carer, it sonDlkd like u hive of hccs ,
or r :·1.thcr a uum ber of: hives, which as we approacltOll
g rew lou(lcr and lowl cr. * " *
V cry sincerely yours,

September the eighteenth.

-- --- ---

J L. Deline Hhctoric ; Good Use . What arc the
cle111cnts of sty le? D efine arnl illustrate Jhrbari s n1s
a nd llllpropricti cs . ( G ivc at least tbrec illustrations
of each, preferably from your own observation or
real1ing.)
111. (a ) Constrn ct sentences , other than those
g iYe11 in the tcxt-\Jook, illustrating the correct use of
apt, lilce.'v, aml lial,le . \Yhy 1rnuld it be iucorrectto

1G5

s n bstitnte apt for likely iu the second seu tcuce?
·why incorrect to subs t i Lute liable?
.
.. .
(b) U nder whut circnmstunccs s honltl one use t~e
' .9 U11llcr wli·tt
wore1 l aciy
• circumstunccs tlic wonl
gents? Wby?
( c) What shoultl yoa tliink of the speaker who
D ernean
c
usml aggravate in the sense o f provo 7·e?
in tlie sense of clebase? ·why?

v.
:Explain the dis tinction . b ctwcc1: a n Impropnc y a nL1 "" l'"i·bnris
-'" " · m · G. iYe 1ll11s. trnt1011s.
.
.
. .,
2 Co ns truct sentences ill11 strnt u1 g the ptope1 use
·
· j'ne
follcs '
of the
following words : demean, nice,
i
'
claim, nncl transpfre .
..
_
? ,,
3. ·wh:it nrc the " clements of style.
·what
is tbc relation of the di ctionary t o " gooLl use ? "
1.

. t

D efin e un llliom. G iYe :m example.
.
Give n concise b11 t clear n,cconnt o_f the
vocubuln,ry. Jn roug!t fi g ures , what is
present size of the tot~il vocabulary ? \Vhat propo1tion of these words is in daily u se ?
[). Rewrite in s uit:>blc form tLtc following peti-

E:~lish

th~

tion:Boston
Dc:ir
Sirs,
.
I rcspeetfully petition yollr honorable bmly
for the u se of Huntin g ton Hall.
A. X . Smitli.
Fucully of l\'L I. T.

166

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIC

VI.
I.

(ci) What is a solecism? Give three illustmtions. (Five minutes.)
(b) What is a periodic sentence ? Illus trntc by
tl1rce sentences, and change each to a loose sentence.

(Ten minutes.)
(c) What is ernpb:isis, and how is it secured?
Illus.tratc by one sen tcDce, underlining the wonls
yon mt.cn ll to cmpLtas izc. Change the sentence in
such a wny as to change the emph:i.sis. Clrnnae
to still a third form. (Ten minutes.)
'='
JI.

Punctuate th.e following passngc. (Ten minutes.)
~n tLtcse U l1l tcd States for I come round to the
United States at last you are fifty millions and more
I snppose .that. as in Eugland as in France as everywhere so likew ise here tbe majority of people doubt
very much whether the majority is unsound or rather
~h~y have. n~ doubt at nil nbout the matter they are
sutc that it is not unsound but let us consent tonio·ltt
to remain to · the end in the
'='. l
· ideas
• of tlie sages :i.nc
propbcts whom we h:we been following all aloua :i.nd
let us suppose tliat in tiJc present actual stacre ~f Lhe
worlll as iu all the stages through which
world
has passed hitherto the majority is and must be in
genernl unsound eYcrywhere even in the United
~t.atcs m·en here in New York itself wliere is the
failure I have already iu the past speculated in the

tlie

AND ENGL.l8H G01lfP08ITION.

167

abstract abont you perhaps too rnnclt lmt l s uppose
tbat in a tlcmocrnLic commun ity like thi s wiU1 its
newness iLs rnag nitmlc its strent: Lh its life of b1tsiness its sheer freellom and eqnali ty tlte danger is in
the absence of the discipline of respect i11 lt:uc\ness
and m:i.tcriali sm exaggeration a nd boastf:nlness in a
false snrnrtn ess a false audacity a want of soul and
d ecency (Matthew Arnold, '' Numbers".)
JII.

Improve the following in wlmtcvc;:_ way seems
best to yo11. (Ten minutes.)
(ci) ..Where we have a suust:i,ncc in cornpoumls
which we wish to find whether t here is I. or ll in it
:ul<l to the s nbstancc carbon lJi sulpltitlc an<l cl. water.
(b) Collectc<l tlrn g as wlticli is give n olT from tlte
flask in :i, test tube place yonr tltnmb over the tube
place under w:i.tcr, " ·nter ru s ltccl in tube ~~bout /-u
full, shows the so lubility of ammonia.
(c) It commenced to act on the zinc aucl a gas
w:i.s givc.n off which I test with a match alll1 found
to he hydrogen.
( d) Of this influential body lfalifax bec:i.me one
of its most weighty members.
(e) It was t he canlinal's policy who was at that
time the King's chief nllviser.
IV.

Improve as .in III. (Ten rninutes.)
(a) Pot:issium pyrogallatc solution and shook
vigorously for 4 rnirrntes in n Lest tube of 30 c.c.

1G8

AND ENGLIS II COMPOSITION.

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIG

c apacity cont:i.ini n(J' 5 cc of
a 11 (l Ji eW it und c , ~ t
· ·
pyrog:i.llate solut ion
so 111
t '\ a ct· am1 noticed that it s uckccl
,
c of t lte w:ite r up into tit t b
whi ch was fonnd to Le 5 c .c. c u c the amount of

(b) ObscLYcd first tl1 ·1 t ·iCtcr 1111
. . .1
st:iu ccs J. l
·.
· ·
x ng t he s nbi.t( :t t1111[or1n "'r ~.)' c I .. I
ll'itl t a m:w11ify i1w o·J· : .. I u ot w Jere examin ed
'°' ·
"' "' .1.ss s t011·cd in ct'tll'
· 1
a nd n, uwo·nct a tt t·nct 1 t l
. IC par tic cs
"'
'
'" Ct
IClll 'tll (1 • ft
l
·
ig Hi tiou tu uc .
.t er icat rn g in tbc
.
.
•
s 1t011 Cll the same cu· . t .· . .
.
s ltow ctl no chc111'1 c· l . I
.nae e11s ti cs a nd
.t
c
1:u1"·c
an 1 ·J
•
I ICl ·
"' ' ' l " ic11 lllll tctl witl
Ill '.t trs t tuLc sbo1rctl CY idcncc of ,
. I
cLang c Ill O' i l°i l JO' or"1
. .
' .
.t cl.tcm1ca l
"'
"'
f l ' cty oftc ns1Ye O''ts
( c) W c rn ns t r emembe r it is t " o'· ·
u C C ll'ClllllSt::trlCeS

i.

JI o t

t ucy ' wlio arc to blame.

•

'

VII.
1. ' \That arc the E lements of S
?
s lwultl 1rc s tm1y ·words before 1S t ty lc . Wl.ty
.
en euces ?
2 r
·
n t he follow 11 w sc t
~01t no tice iu t he use of w~:.~~1~csG .wh a t errors do
in each case.
·
ive your rcasous
(a ) In t h o co ur~o o ( t e1
lrtnd k wo beo u bequ est I i l yen.rs t h o colleges of N ew Eng'·)
,
Cl no ess t h an ten . · 11 ·
So grcal , ho1re1·cr, was t l1 cir
U ll ton llolla rs.
(u
th o c l,lc r b ur" lrtr rus l1c"
. . . 1u uLu:i l n.5touis brn cnt t h nt
ti
n •
'
u prcc1p1tately f '
.
.
tom th o fro nt doo1· at
io s'm1e instan t t lmt ti .
w i11 11ow .
'
' 0 younger lcapecl from t he side

·
(c) T l10 b us1110ss
quarter of ti
.
.
p lcasrtnt as th o rcs itl o1tt1"1 l
. io tow u 1s to m y m111cl qnite rtS
·
" nort1011·rn1 I I
S!l ch w h ok~a le c hanges in it
,' '
s ioulll d eprecate :tny
(ri) "IT .
as a1 e i1ow propose<!
o11 aro yo 11 ," I a5k od Q , .
.
my colt.I s l1 ows
sig n of
. ·
Lute we ll , 11 0 i·cpl iod but
11 0
pa ss mg away. I shoult.! n ' t thi;1k iii

lG!l

would, said I, if your folks l et you go ollt in SllCh a storm as
this . G e t in to t h e t eam and r ido in t ow n w ith m e ."
(e) U nluckil y I am not in the l eas t liabl e to ltavo any such
good luck h appen to m e .

3.
w~iys

Improve t he following passages in whatever
yo u tL ink best : -

(a} "The city of N ew York is built on an isbtHl call e<l
Man hattan I sla11d, on t h o west s ide Hows t h e m ajestic iludso n, anll 0 11 the cMt fl o ws th o East Riv e r, au arm of t he Long
I sland Sound. South o( the city ar e two bn.ys call c11 t h o Uppe r
a nd 1.. ower l3ays. Th e New York harbor is ono o f tho fi nest
h a rbors on eartb, it is formoll b y t h e b eauti(u ll New Yo rk Upp er b ay wh ich is conn ecte<l w ith t h e ocean by a u arrow par•
tion of water called 'Th e N arrows ' and tltns the b ay is pro-

tected from all ocean s torm s.
The m ost u eauti full p :•rk in t h o city is the Ccn trnl P:irk,
situatcll in t h e centr a l part of l\1an h atta n I s b 1H1. Now York
has a lso some vcryfi 11 0 b uil llin gs, as tho Post; 011\co, City T:fall ,
H cralu , Custom H o use , Treasury, Colu111 bia Co ll ege , Tombs ,
Times, Equitab le , Grnllll Cc11tral D e pot a n ll t h o new \ Vorld
Bui ldin g a re som e o ( th e fi nest b ui hlin gs th :tt exist."
(b} (A letter .) "I a m very sorr y i ml ccu, t h :tt m y t h cmo
sb ou lll be so l:tte , bu t, every m ornin g I n eglected t;o bring i t ,
I h ope you w ill excuse t his n egligen ce , as it s hall 11 ever
A . IC l'ItATr.
h a ppen aga in."
(c} "M y cou~so in English for t h e l rtst fou r years h <is
b een carri ed Oil in tlle x - - school b u ildin g at Y --. This
cou rse wrts ad m irably arran ged by l\1at1ame 7, - - , a womrtu
of gr eat li ternry ab ility a nd a k een pcrcoption o ( wh at is lctcking and of w h at is n ecessar y fo r the s uperfi cia l sch olrtr o [ this
day. In t h is course t h e w riti 11 g of compos ition is t h e m ost
promin ent featu re . . At th e e nd of cnch term durin g t h o year
a' Jon g ' compositi on is g iven (subj ect st:i,tcd ) to th o st.llllent
to w rite , w h\l e ev e ry seco11ll w eek t h rou gh out t h o year an
ab stract is written in t h e cl ass fr om m e m ory . T h o s ubj ect of
this ab stract is tak e n from so m e gre:i,t l i l'ornry i1rodnct io11, the
snb stance o f w hi ch i s co mm itted to m em ory , a nd r ew ritt en in
au abridged form a fter the sty le o f the a uthor . T hrough t lle

170

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC

rn c1linm of tho Jong corn
'f
of d eep tl
I ]JO~ t iou tho stude nt becomes capable
"
. - iong it :ind anal ysis of large subjects .. ..
\V1th r es pect to my r
t _
.
ti on I have r eso it ' l • i' irec p1ep~1·:it1011 for this cxam ina.
u 'o 101110 stn1ly1u rr ai l . d '
I
k ept np a con s tant conrse of read in b . ic i ea u1 g .
have
pall y with the sta ndard nol'eli~ts g;,o~ the las t ye:ir; princifli c t with m y ~chool course wl ~ .. -I •ll in man y cases I conmy pri vate rc:idirw I•- . i ie a111 co mpelled to sacmfice
'
o'
' 18 ttnner.esS't ry t
ti
resort ed t on, book on . I i'tet·"t . f , , , ·- - o s:ty i_:it I l1:ivo
l t
-,
" ttre o1· a more c
t inn of tho standard bool-s
1
I
. omp c o prep:iralikely to obtain in a sma~-I ~ ~: :~:b~~:y~'lnch we would not be

1 11

VIII.

I

,I

1. ~Vhat is tl10 rcl:tt ion of " Good U sc" to
H.hctonc?
]·ll11
. t es . )
,
. stratc
· · (Te
-- nminu
2. \Vli:tt is a B:irlmrism? Wt t .
pri ct , ? G ' ,..
rn is an Impro. } •
IV v several examples of each.
(Five
mimites .)
H. \Vhat is " Fine \ •Vritincr?" WI , t ·
~
is1 ? G'
· "' ·
i.L is a J•,nplicm. 11 •
_IYC examples.
(Ten m inutes.)
4 · Improve t lie followiuo·
"' passages iu wliateve1·
ways you think best:_
(a) " Then came a.uother com osit'10 b
Friua.y Spell, from Pars ifal. This P . n Y Wagner, Good
autl I lik ed it !Jetter th ·m all ti w.t.S simply for the Orcliestra
S elrnnmn 's Symphony
E flat o~e t~est nnt!I I h en.rd _tho last,
ph ony, th:it w·1s the s111111 - 't f ie so-called Rhernsh Sym• ·Ill
o my mu · I bl'
c v~ry thing, every thing bnt t11e beautiful s1ca. ; ss , I forgot
.inst as Schuman saw it the iust,1 . music, could sec it
Co logne Catlietlrnl it '
a lation of the Carclinal of
I
· '
""''" g r:w d we a n-reed ti t
I:tve been more tl1an williu to ' . • ~
ia ,,.e would
?>1.innies .)
g
go Just to hear tliat." (Five

ii;

(b) "l pointed a certain object out t 0 I.
.
located in my c itv , Tl
d
um :ind sa1u 'that is
' •·
1e groun of ti t 't · .
Thron .~h its str1'cts the Brit ' I
ia CI Y is lnstoric ground.
Concord and Lc l<ington
is ' m.:irched on their retreat from
.
' ' upou its hills the r:
·
t I u .
· .
. .•evo 1nt10nary
P atriots encamped and
wa c ie aud waitecl ready to repel

AND ENGLISH COMPO{JITION.

171

attack, and on the alert t o notice the movements of th e foe .
'V ashiugtou was there arnl there 011 tho summit of a nother of
its l1ills the first" Stars and Stripes" were flm1g to the breeze.
"Upon still another breastworks wero thrown up arnl behincl
these the patriots waited to repel all attempt of tlie foo to go
iularnl.
"The city has an interes ting history, every inch of its so il
seem s to kwe a story conucctc<l with it. It wa.s ::!.livo the n to
th e interests of all, it is a li ve now as well. Public schoo ls of
high standing abound. T emperance h olds the sce ptre :md all
arc exempt from the disagreeable sights which freriucl!t ma.Hy
cities, for its citizc!1S r ealize th:it education is esse nti al and
t"mperan ce necessary to tho true citizen. A city 111 ay have
th ese virtues, and yet bo lacking. Is it a pl easant city? I s it
wcll locatecl? Has it all the advantages of railroads a!l(l cars
tha t other cities enjoy? Is it well lighted? Is it well gltarde<l
by the municipal officers of th e law? Is it well governed?
Has it good aml hon est men to choose from to fill publi c ofli.ces?
If soi tis indeed of some importance. To all these r1uestions
we can give th e sl1 ort :inswor, yes ." (li'i,(icc n minuies .)
(c ) "The speech of Boston is dif'fcrent from that of other
parts of tho country. Th e drives that aro being Jai1l out in the
new park that ls being built will hold their ow11 with any drives
in the country.
"Boston is not the most b eautiful city in America, but it is
ono of the must religious cities. Its business bei11g very gootl, it
will ha·ve to be considered as a very desirable place to Jive in.
It also has some of the best institutions of learnin g within a
short distance of its City H all.
"If Boston included within her butmdaries all the suburban
towus anu cities like Chicago does sho would be :i\.Jout third in
regards to population in America." (Ten minutes .)

IX.
I.

vVhat do we mean by tlie unity of tlie sentence?
Explain, with examples, the difference between
loose and periodic structure in sentences.

172

EXERCISES IN RI-IETORIO
II.

Di scnss th e follmving pnssages . Yon are expect-<ac
to co ns icl cr in yo ur cri ticism all tlic principles of
Rbetoric 'rlii clt ha Ye ]Jeen tre:tted iu the class .
( a ) Do you want a piano?
'Ve k eep a speei:illy hi gli g rad e of pianos fo r
r cn t::iJ purposes to t11 c stndcn ts of IImTard Un iYcrs ity, lo wli o111 " ·c s hall make spec ial t crn1s foy
t li e Co ll ege Year. Soli citi11g yu m p: Ltrou:1gc , we
l::iiuccrcly }'Ollrs,
r c111 aiu,
T1rn lvm:s & l'uNv PIANO Co .

:·I

(b) No fnr thcr change 1Y::is :ippnrent. I took
the bottle 011 t, 11 ncornrctl q11 ickly rual toucbctl a
ma.tell to tbc mouth of bottle when a slig ht explosion
took place.
( c) S hcchrm, LowcYer, "lrns not a good cand id ate,
owi 11 g to au un comfortable episode iu lti.s earl y years
ou account of wliicll it L::is been fo r hi s interes t to
avoit1 a too intimate acquaintance w ith A ll.Jany's
poli ce.
(cl) Silall tl1 e materi a l universe be destroyed?
( e) I had SO ll JC uluc-fi sliiucr in Se1Jt. somctbi1w
'"'
'
0
'rh. has u't been caught in Vi yrs . on Seituatcs'
s hore .
(f) Ile explainecl to the lleliglltetl monarcL, tbat
when tlic horseman on the tow er knew of t he
approacli o f cnelllies he woukl point in their direc tio n
a11d the li ttle soldi ery 0 11 tli c bo:lrd, t li at were iu the
direction indicated, wo uld b egin to,_ move, and t hen

.A N D ENGLIS Jl COlllI'OSITION.

173

n,1l the kin g brtd to llo w:1R, if he d esirCll blood to
s tir 11p t he soldi ers ' ritli t he point o f the lance, if

not, w itli Lhe bntt.

x.
J.

A. "\Vh y 'ao we disc us" Solecisms m~dcr S1'e11.11-.1
tcnccs? H ow is Good Use fr eq 11 cn 1ly Y1obtel
L11 e use of the " ·o rll S slwll a nd will? Expbin a t
,,. t Ji ,,.j\'inrr il111s lraLions of Ll1 e co1T1;ct use .
1..'-' 11 h
' ' :::::i
:::?
B. C..:0 1n111ent on these sentcuecs: 1. Qu ite rL no. of us iu:uiufa cturers were effectcu
u nfaYornbly by the l\[cKinley B ill.
2. The mfl yo ral qu:1lif1cn tions of n oston:s l\I ug wurnp fallili s t are qnite d ifferent in csscnt1:1.l tlian
what r ertsonfl.ble Americans could have expected . .
3. The celch ration is rt hrc:1kl'ast, lJCCfl.use a l1111ner on the cl cs irell scale of s umptn os ily cannot be
acliicvecl " ·ithin less limi ts than t hose of t he nonexistent p alati al r es il1enccs of wliich so rn:.w y p eople
are madly envious.
11.

A . w ·hat is the mos t conspi cnons fanlt in each
of the following seutenees ? Af te r r ewriti ng tl'.c
sen tence s tate co ncisely tlle priu ciplc of Hhctonc
upon which yo u b ased your criticis m.
1. I didn't know any body ther e, so I lool~ecl
around and tbcn came to the conclu sion that eat111g
would be the most profitable way to pass my time.
2. In a minute we were rounding the point.

174

AND ENGLISil CWlfI'OSLTION.

J;'XEEC ! SCS JN RITETORZC

n:

Ell 1r:ml 1r:is:1ti hc li el111
Hw 1 .
Lrotlicr eY\'r 1.:ih·s
• ·1
•
llS c:it a nll neither
11
1
"
'
' , . ie i c m o[ lu s brotb cr's bent
., . S:i.1 111 0 11 aml t ro11 l abo 1111 d :tllll ti i, .- ·. .
ll11l y :l.['Jli'('('i:1tcll liy ", ., .. 1 .
ls J.:cc t was
,
r
•
..c \ cr. t of our party.
L . . "l1 :1t 11111ir0 Yc 111'( II t.s' C:l. 11 yon S ll O'ff('~t ill ti
.
·'
. JC
f 0 .11 OW lllO'
,.... titl e·s i·o r t1ro-p:.we
t lic , .,,::oo~\r
your reasons?
"'
mes· • !1at arc

i

I

l

A Yncbti ng Excnrs ion.
~~T Ji pr ] ~ in t l1 e ·w orld's Hi story.

1, hr: Hi s tory of Cl1ernistry.
harl y Hising .
E k·c tri cit.y.
Necessity of Reading GooLl Dooks .

i

XT.
I.

Ex1
· 111
· f II I l tI1c
,_ 1l,.tin
nscs
·
· " of· 8 Iw ll :encl will · ( ) ·
state111rnt.s ' (I•)
· ri m
1•II. <J. 11 CS t'
,
·1011 S ( ) 111
•
·
' c
cl :1-11 se in t li c t i · .
n cl cpl'llllent
' lll (1 pnl'SOll ' t he SUiJ'
t f
.
.
t li e S:!JllC fl S l h'tt ()f t·I
. . ' ,J CC 0 wlu ch JS
. .
' ' . . IC ]ll'lllCI[)a! cl·
,v· .
J.ll'luc1ple stated g·ivc
. ·11
. .1usc.
it b each
~
ouc 1 11 strat10n.
JI.

D e nn e (a) a J.Wr ·ioc 11.c sentence· (u)
sentence. ' Vhich is ri g ht?
'

I

1.

1
::t

oosc

2. Jn t he followi1w extr·ict ' 1· li
"' ,_ · ' v JIC sc11tcnccs are
loo"c niul ·I·
,, , , , " i1c 1L are periodic? l\fake t h I.
tell CPS 1wri0 r
'
I
.
c oosc sen. , ( ic, n.110 tic pcl'loclic senten ces 1
" Ouc of om r t 1
00sc.
to lll'Ik
· . •. , irs l 11 Lics nbont ironls is obYiouslv
. c C<' Jt.1.1 11 t li nt tli
' c ronls
'
· 11_,_.
UICl.l WC l! SC a l' C t i •
snmc as t. IJo::;c 11·hielt o tl1cr people lffc . Ifa. vc. .wc
, in
ic

175

our vocabularies, we must ask o urs elves, a ny strange
words not in good use to-llay a1 11o ng r eputable p eople? Cert:cinl y no one nrnn, no group 01· set of
men, can ma nufactn re worlls at pleasure."
l!L

'Wliat is t he m ost serious fault in the following
p assage? Irnprove the passage as mucli as possilJlc.
"The future is b efore me. vVh[l,t it hides from
my eyes is an en ig rna; but still I should lik e to see
if it contain s my ideal of a city or town, in the building of which I l.rnd taken so me part. I do not exp ect to work wonders, but m erely to r each the pinnacle of my expectations . Dark as t he future s eems
to me at times, yet whenever I call up bri g ht air
castles, n.s I have just llone, it. m :1k cs m e. f eel as if
sometime in the fnture I s hould like to put n, fo umhtion under t bem that will b e :t crellit to myself arnl
Architecture iu geuernl."
I V.

Improve the following sentences in whatev~r way
seems b es t to you: 1. Neither of the books t h:1t you seen l ayiug on
the floor ·were mine.
2. It was his duty to have iimnelliately corrected
the error.
3. Things have changecl, t he schools arc very
different n ow to what tbey were then.
4 . W"e started in the c:u·ly morning, with cYcry
p rospect o f a fa ir <lay; h:ivi ug scarcely r eached our
lkstiuation however, tltc sky becomes overcast.

176

AND ENGLISII COJIT'O S /'J'JO N.

EXERCISES IN RIIETORIG

171

.

it is Yery
inlcrcs
tiug for
"'e11. . Yet I- tl1i11k
.
,,
·1't
·1
lo
it
well.
a person that 1i ,cs 1 am can t .

t] r~"' tng

XII.
I.

IV.

1. Exphin in fnll the nscf! of shall aml will:
(n) in statc111ents , (IJ) in q11estio11 s , (c) in v

· g se n tcnccs
Improve the fo ll mv111
.
,, i 11 wh:ttcver wn,y
seem s lJest to yo 11 : 1. It is ns coW, if no t colder, thltn any tl uy lust

(l cprttLl cut clallsc in t he third p erson, t he s 111Jj cct of
1Y!J1ch is the same :1s tlmt of the pri11 cip:1l cbu sc .
2. ,Ju s tify or critici se the following: (a ) I shall go :111tl noh0Lly ~hall prcYent me.
(b) Will we lt ::i Yc tirn c to call for it?
( c) Ifo tell s me that li e will lJe tw cuLy next rn o11 th.
(d) 1Vi1l you Le sorry to leaYe Toronto?
II.

1. D efin e (u) :t pcriotli c sentence ; ('1) :t loose
sentence . \\TJ1at use shoukl be made of each in om
theme writing?
2. Illn s txatc (a) a stri ctly pcri otli c se11lc11 cc ;
(b) a loose sente nce partly p eriotlic iu strncture;
(c) a thoroug hl y locse scuteuec.
III.

·wbat is th e mos t serious fonlt in the foll owin g
pass:1ge ? Improve the passage :ts mucli as poss ible.
"\\Then in the lower scltools I con id ucYer dra11·
Ycry well alt houg h I have always liked it ::tllll tr ivLl
to <lo it. B efore this I used to <lraw blltcoukl ncYcr
m:ike a s uccess of it uncl used to 'rish ti1:i,t I might.
But I t hi11k it is like other tl1ings that a perso n cloC's .
I think that one inherits many of !tis Lts tcs for
doin g tbiugs, autl I have not inlicritel] u taste for

winter.
. l tl ·
2. Election is oYcr, the p eople haYc inn,t c . ic1r
. . the future only can tell whether the change
cI101ce ,
·
.
l 't
. f . t he o·ootl of the 11 ation tbat h aYC tlc111:1m1et I ..
IS 01
b
I ..
t J •
3. I tho11 ght I wo11kl h:t\"C di cll ]aug 1111g a JI~'l.
.
1
t
lll'S
liclo1w
to
the
lust
ricliculons appearance ; 1ns co .
"'
century am1 his manners to centuries yet unborn.

XIII.
I.

Spend thrcc-qnartcrs of an honr in writing , an
· 1b"1. cc t wh1 cl1 yon Juve
externpor:rncous css:iy on a s1
.
c
'y
:\O'recc1
nr1011 with the in strn ctor.
Devote
.
,
a1I C. L t • "'
't
especial attention to the plan oE what yo u wn e.

n.
the
follow ing wortls: entlmse,
(a ) Comment on
wholesale (as a v erl1), electrocHte. \Yhy would yo u,
.,
or why would yo u not, 11 sc t l 1em ·
(b) Criticise tl1c followin g parag rap hs from::;,
theme: " Clirtucer Shakespertre, Milton, S h ell ey , -th esed lrtre, tl
'
.
f . ..,. thn.t EulTlan
1as o
believe the four sublim est snns n s 0 " "
•
"
I
boast of among the mighty ,[cad - say r:iU1er among tie

1;
I

179

EXER CI SES IN RHP,TOiiIC

AND ENGLlSII COMPOSITION.

urnl y in g , t h o n cver-io-di o. L et ns r e me mber al so two excepti onal pl1 cno111 c11a., an 'ins pired pl onglu11 :tn,' B urn s , aud an
unp:irnl lclcLl pon tcss, llrrs . Drow nin g, antl he th a nkful for snch
n. 11 :ili0 n:d d est in y . Th ere a ro pl enty of oth ers ; but t h ese four
ar c , i [I mi s t:tk c not , th o four.
"rcrcy Dyssh e S h ell ey w as of a wealth y family, aml was
b0rn in A ug ust 17fl3, at Fi eld P lace, 1iea r H on h am in Sussex.
H e grew out of in fancy at 11 om c , receivin g a li ttl e schoo ling at
t ho ll cighborin g v il b ge of \Vn.rnh am , a nd afte rwar<ls at Sion
H o nse School, Dren t foril . T h o master J1ero was a hn rd nn d
s e ve re S cotc hm a n a nd S l1 ell cy, shriukin glysons:tti ve a u tl open
to a ll de li cate impress ions endured much at hi s h :wds , soon
fi11 1ling out i h M t ho wnr lLl in to w hi clL ]1 0 wets born W:lS n ot
nxa cl.l y lii s sort o( wor ltl. \Ve lea rn froin 11is D edi c::ttion to
t h e ' Ii1wolt of I s hm' h ow· acutely h o fe lt his isolation a nd
how early h e r esol ved to l>e wise and j ust, free ::tnd mild."

antique or Grec ia n a nd P..oman ('.l) th e E ng li sh or Gothi c
Som e Germa n w ri ters h :we Jll a in ta in ed w it h cqn :.tl nssnr:w ce
th a t to Gern1 nu genius is d uo t h e o ri g in n nd dev cl opm ~n t o(
G othic wh il o th e Fr ench t h on gh gc ncrn.ll y J.11 a rnfcsl1ng :1
preference for th eir ow n sty le h ave perh a ps m ade .n o f!' l'C'.ttc r
cl aim t h an either the English or the G erma11 s t o its orig 111 nl

178

(c)

Plln ctuatc (on th is pn11er) t he followin g : -

" T h o i<lca J1a s wi 1lcly prevail ed mi d d oes still prevail t h at
G ot h ic was au a rt co rn111 on to th e nati ons of t h o Nor th a nd
eac h co un t ry h aR in tnr n la id clai m to s up eri ority o f s ty lo
~hi s ill ea ns I e n deavor to show is inco n cc t a nd l1as ari sen
fargcly from a l :tck of clc:tr a.nal ys is of t h e true Gothic sty le
a nd fr om t h o h abit of classin g together as if th ey w ero a ll o r
th o snmo natu ro var ious forms of p ointed arch itecturo w h ich
r oscmul e cnch oth er o nl y superfici:tll y Th e pec ul iari t i e~
exhi bit0<1 b y th o differ ent countries lrnve hi th e rto been t ake n
m e re ly as l oca.l var iations o r this snpposcd co mlll on sty lo a nd
lll' nco it h as b ccom o usual to spe:tk of F r e nch Gothi c of
E n .~ li s h Got hi c :t ml o f Germ a 11 G othic as if t h ese v a ri ous
sty les w ere a ll eguall y G otl1 io Somo writers h av o in r ccc11t
t i 1110s gn no fur t h er a ncl h :tvo cl :iimod for t h e conn trics t o
wliich t l1ey h :we res pectively belonged th o or igi n al in ve n tio n
of Gothi c Thu s Ri c kman b eg i11s h is well -known a nd valuable
essay by say in g tho scien ce o f a rchi tecture may b e cons iclcrccl .in it s most extended application to com preh end buildin gs of eve ry kind unt at prese nt wo must cons id er i t in 0 11 0
m oro rcs t l'i ct,eLl according to whi ch ar chi tecture m :ty b e sa iLl
t o treat o [ t h e pl annin~ aml erection of edifices wh ich are comp osed and embellish"cl a fter two principal modes (1) the ·

authorship."

(cl)

What is n loose senten ce ? ·what is n periodic
sentence ? G iYe a n illu strntion of c:-i ch.
(e) \·Vhat l1o yo n mean lJy E111pbrrsis in scnlencestructurc ? G ivc an example.
llI.

( ci) vVhn,t aclvm1 tngc is tbcrc in d ividin g what you
wriLc iuto p~irngrnpl.i s ? Illust rate from yolll' cssriy

in I.
(b) ' Vhat three principl es of cornpo.siti on apply
to parag raph-strnctnre, tmd by wh:it ll cv iccs are th ey
bes t secured? Illustrate from yo ur css:1y .
(c) A unlyzc several slnng ex pressions, n.oting
whclher t hey are metap hors or s i111il cs. \ VL1rct is Lile
ad vnutagc (if ftny) a ud wha t Lhe d isaL1rn nLagc of
such exp1·essions ?
( rZ) Criticise the use of fi g urative bngnage in the
following passage :
"If th e iiomau toga h as been lJe<l rnggle <l in t h e filth and
t h e mire of the centuri es, surely th e cl oak of se na tori al courte~y
h as b een u sed to liiclo the in fa my a nd t h e cor rn pt ion w hi ch h as
d ishouore<l a nd disgral'ed rt bo<ly w hich W:t$ o nce th o prou1lest
in tho l a n d . Th e cloak of sen ::ttori:il cour to.<y h as becom e a
ste nch in th o n ostril s and a by-worrl in th e m o uth s ? f al_l h onest
citizen s of th e Jn.ml. It m ak es a cloak behind w hi ch 1g nor :rnt
and a rrogant w ealth cm1 purch:tse ils w:ty to power a11L'. th en
hi de i ts cowardly b ead b ehind t ho sh:tm eless protect ion of
senatorial silence .••• It m eans a cloak behind whi ch prcteudeu

A N D ENGLISII COMPOSITION.
EXEIW ISES JN l U lETORI G'

180

fai rn cs~ l:icl c~ its <li sho11 oo< t hcnd, w h ilo in secret it is trn<li n g
aml t rn!l 1ck m g i 11 t he ri gh ts a nd liberties of the p eo p l t~ . It
rn o'.u~s .a cloak 11ntlc r which uoto nly t h e tim i<l , but th e cowanl ly,
polJL1cm 11 ~ a.n cover 1J p h is tracks a ml be eit her fo ul or fa ir as
t h e ll ccess1ly d rma nds. T l1 e l1our for se nator ial cou rtesy l i:is
pn ss<;<l . T h e tcnm o~ seuatori a l prog r cs~ must give way to tl ic
mot.or o [ a m o!'() c 11l 1gh te11 ccl :t11<l prog ressi ve and detcnnin ctl
ago. J,c t th o,ol1l :i11d th rea1l-bnre clonk of sc1rntorial courtesy
bo hnn g u p with t he sickl e arnl t ho fla il of a bygone tln y. "

.(e) Ddi nc the q nalitics wh ich you t hin k a style
s ui ted for your p ur poses s houl <l possess , :i.ud 0x pl ;1i11
:i s fo lly as p oss ible how t hose q u;di lics cau ]Jc best

will w ithi n a few weelcs bri ng th at bus iness to a s tan tlstill , ancl
result in t h e i dlen ess of over 12,000 "·ork me 11 .
It is t h e qnn.rrymen w ho fire tb e first gnu in t hi s battle
b etw ee n capitlll and h\\Jor, a nll "·h e n th e e cl10 rcach l'S th e
stonecutters, bl acksm ith s m1tl polish ers1 t h e bi g l abor gun wi ll
be got r eally for t h o battl e.
Ru m ors of tli ssatis fact io n a mong t h e men a n<l probabi li ties
of n. s lcike h :ivo been rrcvalent i n th e l nrge g m n ite ce11 tres tlt e
past few w eek s, b nt t lt ero was h ope even 11 p 1.o S:itnrdn.y t h n.t
th e grea.tcr part of tb e tronble conh1 bo nver tcd.
J1u t it 11 n.s com e, :ind w ith all lik elih ooll, to rei n n.in .

J\fcution , 111 t bc orcler in which tliey occur to yo nr
mind , yo ur most serious crit icisms u pon t his passage .
IV.

secured.

XIV.
I.

( n)
wo rk?

181

\.Vh:tt sltouhl a 11T iLcr a in1 aL in plann ing hi s

( b)

'Wktt is t he use of: 1.lic parngr::i.pli ? What
s ho nlll yo 11 :i i111 at in pl:i.nning :1 p:i.r:tg rap!1 ?
( 1: )
\ Vli :1t is U1c di ffcr e:ncc b etwee n a goocl sc n1.l' ncc and a p oo r o ne? \ \T h ich is r ight, t he per iodic
or the loose sentence?
l [.

'\\' hat r111 :il i Li l's s l1ou Id C'Yc ry pi <~cc o f o·ootl wri Li 1w
I1:1\ 'C "'•
~,\ , hy .? l I uw w ou hl yo 1L go "'lo " ·o rk to,..,
Sl' f'll l' <' c:1<:lt of: t hese qu ~tl iti cs?
H ow C!lll yo11 t ell
" ·hct hcr >l'l1;1t yo u have written possesses t hem?

in.
0 1.1 e ~ [ t h e h rgcs t strikes t lt:t1; lms prob:ibly ever affected the
gr~1 :1 te 111 tln stry of New E ngln.tttl has been in a ugu ratetl .
l ~1 e bt1"1 11 r ss gc11or;11l y rnay 11 ot fee l t h o e ITect at o nce, bnt
t l1 e first m ove h ns ly 0 11 n1a1lc , a m ove t k tt i[ t he gam e is pl::ty<'<f
on t h o p la n as llOW Jaiil tlown by t h e mau u[acturers a n d m en

CmcAGO, l\fay 2. - Ca pt. Anson's men t ook :i fall ont of t h e
cl1 amp iou B ostons thi s n.fternoon t h at m ade their t eeth r att le .
A nson's workmen Ji:w o p layetl Rin ce t he o penin g of t h e se:tson iu a wn.y to make n. C hicago mn.n tlisgnstcd with tl1 c p;:i111c.
It rnin ed h ard a ll last u igh t a u d t h o b all grou mls wero
flootl c<l .
Few peopl e expected th ere woulll be :t gn.rne aml t h e crow tl
wns l ess t h an 400, and most of t h ose Sllt in th e 25-cen t p en at
centre fi el d .
T h e p layers of b oth team s kicked on go ing out in t h e wet
grass , but ol cl Anson thought h is b oys cou lcl w in a ball from
S elee' s m en n.nd h e insisted on goi11 g on w ith th o gnmo, a fter
several tons of sawd ust w n.s tl istri bnte(l around the Jot.
C:tpt. Nrrnh wns sufferi ng w ith a colil a nd remained at t h e
h o t.el , Bobby J,owo goin g to thi n1.
Tlte old C hi c:igo batter y w~s up np;:ii1"t t he ir o l1l ge uernl ,
w h ile All Gumbert, t h o boy who tlitl so 11111clt l'o r t he l'ln.yers'
L eague cli:tmpions, faced t h e d ow n casters.
l\[r. Gnml!ert Ji n.cl a ll t h e best of tho :irp;ument with t h e
hi p;h -priced B oston t imber.
T h e B oston m eu see m ctl Jost fr om t he :inmp :tn<l t h o 11 omo
t eam bacl the gam o pulletl off before th ey got wrmnc<l u p.

:Ment iou iu t he orclcr of t heir irn1Jor lanre your
three most ser ious crit icisms npon this p assage.

182

LIND P:NGU SIT COillI'OSJTION.

EXERCISES IN IUfETORIG

HI.

v.
, , W'"r~tc. n s hort essay on tl p
- ic roblem of Rnpill
I raus1t m Bostou.

183

R ewrite the fo llowing cxtrac t,s in s nch :t w :1.y ns to
correct t he csscntinl as well as tl1c 111i11 or fau lts iu
in each.

xv.

(a) Tho murderer of Mr . Drown stooil s il en t for a m inute
a[tcr 1,h o jnugo h ad finish ed, t hen h o turn ed nnd steppeL1 to

I.

his ch a ir.
T h e walk of 10 feet was taken firml y , hnt lii s s trc11gtl1
seemed to fo,il him, and h o coll apsed tota\\ y whe n h e rcach cu

DcYotc nn lrolll' to writ ina a short the
suhi" cct J •
"'·- ·
m e on riny
, . .
" . ll C1t yo u hrtvc alrca<ly 'Hi tt '1
. rc•riilarwork of ti
e on Ill t he
t""t1 - .
. IC COlll'SC or O il a ny top ic of i ntCl'f'Rt
10.. p1
a
. .
, csc 11 t ti111c · Cl ioosc rt s nbJcct
about whi ch
.)'Oll lC.1,l
y
hrtVC
flOmctlJin
cr
to
s:i.v
n11c'
n" t
·1
"'
· · J ' ' ' 1 .. 1m o express
your l l ens clearly am1 in logical order.
"
.

t h o ch air.
It was a scene all who wi tn essed will 11 over forget.
Jud ge J,y nch wanted (iO <by s to .lil o a bi ll o[ exccpti011s.
Tho court to ld h im h e would have to prepare t \1 0 exceptions
before the se ntence is cxecntod.
!lfr. Sm.ith was then taken betwee n twn d e puti es to tho
county jail to prepare to start fo r 1.h o so li tary ce ll in the

II.

(a ) W'"hat is R hctori:, nnd why do we study it ?
( b) vVhn t nrc t he l<Jeme11ts 0 f Sty 1c ?. ·what
nrc tlJC Q ualities of Stvle?
\V'-uat r elations subs·i·st
J
b E;t wcen them?
(c) Explain c:u cfllll y t he difference bet '
' ll
and will
G· r •
.
' ' een s1w
.
" c illustrat1o us wherever it is necc
.
n1H1 be su re ti i .L, t .),our statements cover all t-b ss:i.1
.· y,
.
pal cases .
•
c p t 111c1. h
by ( rl)- vVhat is a pcriotl ic 'sentence?· n·is t.111 0- u.s
cxnmp 1es between a period ic sentence nn I "'1 .
sen ten cc.
· l n oosc

trc~~~ 1 ."\VlJ/1.t nrc the t hree principles of compos ition
. . t 111 t IC text-book, aucl wli:tt ar c their 'Ll)Jll·1An
· whole
' ·"t 1011 .s to- tl. io scntc11cc, t he paragraph, and t bc
compos1t1ou?

p enitentiary.
When asked by connsel, ,Judge ThoJHas s l,aled t h nt in h is
opiuion t lte Governor h ad n o power in th o case to grant a
r e prieve.
!lfr. Smi t] • was taken to t h e penite11 ti:try thi s afte rn oon.
B esides t h o officers, ho was nccompaui ed by :i large number
of oth er i1risoners, m ostly petty offen ders .
Steel cuffs were on hi s h arnls a nd chains b o111Hl h is feet.
T h is is the first timo h e has b een exposed lo s uch indignity.
He t ook the affair coolly a1H1 was co urteous a !lll pleasant to
the officers in charge.
The doomed man talk0<1 freely on all topics 1rnt tho one of
his sup posed guil t.
J EALOUSY AND A K N llrn.
(b )
Rossal o Capello, an Itali a n, agetl 41 year", was arrested by
officers o( station 3 at 11 o'clock last ui ;;ht on t lr o ch:irgo of
a.%ault upon G iovamii Cns:i,nnio with a Jrni(o. T h o scene o[
th o assaul t wns n.t t lr e corner of Levere tt a1Hl Lymnn sts., a nd

the time was 10.30 p. m.
It seem s t h at t h o t rouble grew from nn intim acy w hi ch
Capell o cbims existed between Casa1111 ;0 a 11d a fair daughter
of Italy on whom Capello . haL1 bestowed his a.[cetious. It iB

184
I

I

When unitecl the t wo towns will form a city ltavi11g n, population of over 400,000 thus making Paul:lpolis , or }\Unnep:ml, or
whatever name is adopted, the seventh city in the -.J, S., and
the largest city west of the Mississippi river.

when ho met C·1r)cllo
I
'. . t ia, he was ou h is way h omo
'
• w io, without 11ro
t'
.
t
voca ·1011, commenced
ti ic1 agsn.nlt. He cla'ms
,.
wo or thrre hlo
0 1.1 y on e '\VO nnd appears on liis . . .
ws 'vero struck , hut
h,s h ead . Tho wou cl th
· pci ~nll, and that on tl1 c hack of
n ' ough senons , will not provo fatal.

XVI.

'

'

JV.

I

:I

'Vhn.t is th e chi ef f:111lt i11 f he followin g Ll1en1f'?
Ilow
'1 0111 !l .)O
· il co rn:c.t it? · " rltat striking error~
.
do you also 110Licc?
1

TllJJ;
U N ION 0 1r ST. PAUL ANn MINNEAPOLIS.
.

. The n 111 011 0 c the twin c ities lt~
·.
imprncticablo on a cco1111t of ti , . 's l11 t~1 erto been tleem ctl
ob.i ce Lion c:111 li:u-dly be ... ". 11 0 llt l.ervc11111g sp:ico, but that
hal<ll y 1•01:<;op tablc .
r.11set now as tl10 b 0Lu1dary lin o is
There is an impression tl1ron l
cities am Yery h osti le
g iont thn East th a t t l1 e two
· · ant1 ne ver loose .1 I
. .
0ih cr, l111t tl1:i.t time has I>'tst
l '. , c iance to lll.Jttro e:tc h
t'
· · · • , a 11t w ith th e e
11 c wsp:tpet· editors th o 11 00 I
,
xcep ·ion oi a few
P o :trovery fric11dl, A
o ( ti 1c l1an110J1 y whiclt ti 10 t WO CJ..
_·
· ] 'J • · s a n cxa.111111t•'
ties
llHl ll helped Jllinneapolis get the R~ wor.c IS the way St. P:i.111
tho way Jl[iJ111 eapolis J e , . .
pt1hl1can convcllti on, antl
' I S
n _, n ;u c 1Jl r eturn do·
11
,1c p , ' t. Pan] get tho Dl'
, .. _.
rng a thoy can t.o
Th ' .
.. ,
. 111oci.tt1c co11v e11tion.
e10 ''.t s a i·cry lt1·rly t'
l .
3o mo St. ]':t 11! Ill(' \\ cl1'snll
luo (_ Ul'lll g tl10 CCllSll S o( l S! JO
.
'\ •OVnl't ' I tl1:it l\r· .
.
tl1 c ret11rns a nd a rccon1 t 1· . -1 I , . , rn_11 cnpoh s lt atl padd ctl
. .. l
.
' ' or iot t m ti cs w·
.1
II s n t~ of th e scco11d co
t
as Oll c reel, wh en tho
11 ·ts
u11 wcro n.nn onncnd 't
.
1·
i. 1 ' t. Paul h :itl pacltlcd rt"
11
. , I w.1s t iscovcrcd
q11r11tly t ho m·1tl <· 1· ''' "S 1 , s we as l\[lllncapolis a ncl co11s--'

' .. .

" t l'OJIJIP.tl.

. ·-

l ' l1cro
h·w o 1»·0
11 Jllllllnro11 s ll:t!ll CR S111nrl t J
[
•. '
,
i111et c1t1cs S«.elt ns· St • . l'
'"'cs Ct for tho co111l t . .
·
1'. )'o is P:iuh 1-,0 1·.. ,
.
n1 it is ve 1·y lik ely ti, t ·J
•
. ,
is, ,11 11 1 111:1 1111t'1i:11il,
I . - .
. Lt 11\: ion ilie u111 on Uoc
.
'
c iosc n wi ll ho on e c11tircl l'ff
s occ ur tl1 e 11a1uo
'l' l lO n111on
.
,viii nccn . · .Y
_ .' 1 crent. from t i ie p1.cscnt ones.
t 'my soon s111ce bot!1 t
. ,
.. :
'
' .owns are anxious
t o JOIU antl a ll that r.en1.1111s
to ho doue is to get a charter.
.
] .

185

said
that
the trouul o 1iau·' 'ueen
·
.
i
C
h rcw uw
for
I
.
only
't'
I
~ . bla o11 g t11uo, and
t tat apcllo w·1s
'
w:11 lll<Y . or 't fa.v
carry ont threats w hi cl 't.
ora e opportunity to
Tl IO s tory that Casannio
t, l tells
"' allerred 110 J
i'b l •• . ias repeated ly 111adc.
M

.!

AND ENGLISH COjjf POSZTION.

EXERCISES IN RIIETOUIC

J.

"\<Vrite a short theme on some snb.icct which yon
h.lrcn.dy know about, ~1.ml of: which the in st.rn ctor in
charge of tllc examination approves . (Si xty min-

utes.)

u.

1. What gener!Ll advice about composition woulcl
you give to au inexperienced friend who was :tbout
to write a tl1csis? Group your remarks nntl cr tlte
following heatl s: "\<Vonls, ScntC!lCCS, raragrn.pbs,
Whole ComposiLion. (Fifteen rninutes .)
2. "\<Vlmt [tre the most noticc:i.ble t':tults in the
following paragraph? Rewrite it. (Fifteen min-

utes .)
RECENT DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN AMERICA.

One o[ tho most noticeahlo roints of improvement in
American architecture during t ho l ast JHtoen years has been in
that branch pertaining to private dwellings . Our public ltui ltlings h ave always been subj ect~ o f :ircldtectural design , IJnt
onl y of lat e Ii ave our dom estic edifices been -worth y of tho
<.Lppollation o( :trchitectnre. The Oltl Colonia l pc rirnl may
p erhaps ho ~.n oxcc ption to this st:1tc111 e 11I;, hnt even h em there
is only an occMioBal example o( r c:illy goocl <irchitcetnrc,
-while commonplace exmuples abound everyw h ere.

3. (a) Criticise t,hc follmYing theme in regard
to (1) :;1.ccnracy of l1etltils, (2) ::trnwgemeut of mat-

18G

.AND ENGLISH C0;1fP08ITJON.

EXER CISES IN RILETORIG

ter, (3) cohereucc of st::ttement , ( 4) general adcqu~tey.
(Fifteen minutes .)
(b) R c1H'.te the same thcrne, improving it as
much as possible. ( Fifieen mi1mtes.)
FACTS AND FICTION ABOUT AJ,U.J\UNUJ\f.

J\Inch has
· t i10 <1ri1ly
· pape rs, a11<.l especial! in
.' been
.
.writ.0 n rn
t 1lO\Vpopnlrtt sc1ei.1t1fic : ~ onrnals npon t.hc fu ture of al nmin111;,
·. 011 ngc, a ntl tl1 e popnl a r w rit. e r
Crtl11O JWWhl VlU "" .IllL!J C 11
stirs np
•
.
, HJ reat er w1th vi sions of th o age which is abon t to
op: r.t upo n u s , the rt1n1uintun age .
.I ho fa c t tli:it iron is h eavy th cit it is s nb" cc
th:it s tructure .
f .
· '
·
· · .l t to rus1;, a.11<1
hrn11 crl . , ~ in rt( 1c o it arc .not pl ea.s ing tfJ the eye, a.ro
"' '~ out "ith groa t a.dh cra.n co to the truth. Some o f 11
proper1 ics of t he n ow ' t 1
I
.
ie
i11 sktncc its
l t nc ~ are t ieu given for comp arison, fnr
its fr 1' , fwe ig ' ' te11 s1l strength, elasticit.y, a.nd above a.I I
corrosion, by reason of which it retains its
l.

b~a11~i~'.1~,~~lo~·~m

so11N~11~::.of 1,.vhoc111l·elalbfacts as known were presented for compari' ·
·
often
gu il ty of < . · o nor reason
. '· for c omp Ia.rnt,
but tho writer is
n11 s1ea.1.1n g tl10 gen era.I 1.mulic. Its wei"ht is
I
.
~','ii~! ~';,~t:J~~r~:.ot~t.at of uon, its tonsi l strnn gth also is on!~' one
A ba.r
·
to be
t;n·Aof t:a.l nmrnnm
t o 1•ave the same strength would h:wo
•• e un es as large and conseqnentl y wei"h t h e sam e "S
.
•
0 no 0 f:·- 1ron
·w
· ' n1oreo ' re r l. t IS
n o t a rig id 1netal t"Ilike iron

~111,'~

n

n. n ll

not .be a safo material for huge strn r:tnrcs sn ~ h as
b1 id .t,cs , _winch aro snhj cet to mwcrn st r:tit rn. Tl o "I . . f
' cont
rn""! at
bln1 sh tint ' and g.,.t ves t.Ito m etal the appearance
of bri·
putor.
•
h '

XVII.

ac~::~:~t;i~ ~~~~W'~s ~~~~.i~:;~~~'~:~~~-.cxa.miners will ta.kc into
J.

(a) To wlmt extent docs the principl e of Good
Use npply to Rheto ri c? T o 11·h'lt exte nt ,foc1,,.111cut"'
T ..,ts t c ·? G'1ve such 1l111str:tLio11
·
·
s as you can. "'

187

(b) What uses of the E lements of Style will
assist in securing clcnru ess ? ·w lticlt of the Principles of Composition is mos t conducive to Clearness?
To Force? To Elegance"? G ive yo ur reasons in
each case.
(c) Distinguish precision from clearness. vVh:iL
influence hn.s the " number of won1s " upon Forcer
JI,

First stn.tc concisely what is the predominatin g
defect of style in each of t he following passages ;
and then, if you have time, revise the passage with
that defect in mind.
(a) "Charles river, whe n dredge d according to plans proposed, aml for which an a.ppropr i:ition was made last year by
Congress of $20 ,000 , with'" s imibr amount promised, and to
be forthcoming to more inlly complete the work, according to
the facts already in the possession of those who ought to kuow,
then an era of navigation will ope n for vessels engaged in the
coal, lumber and other traflic , s uch 'is we have not yet seen and
which must adcl greatly t o our wealth."
(b) "Capt. Corcoran was below the other s ingers in merit ;
unequal and unsatisfactory, a.nd fail ed to d o tlie part justice. "
(c) "I struck the man in self-dc (ence. I explained this to
tllll magistrate.
Ile wo1ild not beli eve m o. \ Vit1wsses w1•rc
crilled to support my state men ~~ . H o com1J1itted m e to prison.
Jlo had th o right to 110 this. It is a right that is rnrely exercised in such circumstan ces. I r emon strated."
(d ) "Tho principle of unity provides thot in treatin g any
fi xed subject th ere s!1onl<l be no extnw eous matter, it pre·
scribes that in tho sontenco you should usually li:tve but one
thing to say."
(e) "First, it is better to n so as few words as possible,
enough, however, t o make the sense clear, bot h for the sake of
brevity and of form."
(f) "Those who have h eard tho velv et fingers of J oseffy or

189

EXEJWISES IN RllETORIG

AND ENGLISH GO.l!POS ITION.

Pachman whi sper tliis ad111irable bit of musical !::tee-work can
fully appreciate its delica te t exture."

topic where one is apt to touch people's patriotic fccliu gs . No
one will accuse 1110 of having fl n,tteretl th e patriotism of that
great country of Euglish peop le 011 tho oth er sitle of tlie
Atlantic, amo11gst whom I was born. Here , so many miles
from h ome , I beg in to refl ect with t ender contriti on, th,it
p er haps I hn,ve n ot, - I will not s::iy fln.ttcrcd th o patriotism of
myow·n countrym en enough, butreg:trtl cd it 011011gh. P erhaps
that i s one r eason wl1y I "''vo produced. m very littl e e ffec t
up on t hem. It w~s a fault of youtlt a 11<1 i11 c:q H"ric11 ec. Ilnt it
wo uld bo nnp anl onabl o to come in advauce1l li(c a11Ll r e peat the
same error here. Yon will not expect illl[l ()SS ibiliti cs of JJI C.
Yon w ill n ot expect m e to sn.y that tl1ings a rc Jl(1t w\1at, in m y
ju1lgm c11t, they a rc, a.11 d that t he co11sc1111c 11ccs of tl11:i n will
JJOt be w l1at tl1 uy will b e. I s l1onld m:ike 11othi11g of it; I
should be :t too pa.lpable failure. But I confc's th :1t I should
be glad if in wh at I sa.y l1c rc I could e ngage America n
patriotism on my si de, insteacl of rousiug it ngainst me." (l\L
Arnold, "Numbers.")
(b) "TJ1 c details of this development a nd tl 1e stati stics that
illustrate it ha ve been too ofte n set forth to n eed r estatem e nt
h ere. It is of t he character a11cl tem per of the men who l1 av e
coucln ctcd it that I wi sh to S['eak, a mn.t.tc r wlii ch h as receiv ed
Jess n,ttentiou , but is ernential to a ;just conception of th o
Ameri cans o f t o-da.y. For the \ ·Vest is tl1 c m ost American part
of Am e rica; tl1at is to say , the part where those feMures which
distinguish America from Europe come ont . in th e strongest
relief. W hat Enrope is to Asia., wl1at En gland is to the rest
of Europe, w h at . America ls to En g land , tl1at the W estern
States n,nd Territories are to tho Atlantic StatPs, t l1 0 11 cat and
pressure ::incl hurry of life n,l wn,ys g rowin g as we follow th e
path of th o sun. In Etistern Am erica there aro sti 11 fJUict
spots; in t!t e vall eys of tho All cgltaui es , for in stau ce, in nook s
of old New England, in univ ers ity towns like Ithn.ca or Ana
Arbor . In the West th er e are n on e. A ll is bust le, motion,
and strnggl e, most so, of cours e , among th o nat ive Amorica11~.
Yet oven the immigrant from th e seclnclccl 1' a ll eys ofTlturingia,
or the shores of some Norwegian fj ord, learns tl1e wa y8 a lmos t
as readily n,s tho tongue of tho con n try, and is soon swe pt into
the whirlpool." (Ilryce, "Th e Ameri can Commonwealth.")
(c) " Tho slender branches of the river wonncl lazily in their

188

III.

Rewrite the followiug extract from a letter to a
11c11·s p:1per. Criticise it according to tl.te method of
ti.Jc Rl.ie toric.
"To th e Editor of the - - - : As it seems to be en rcgle to
difTeriug opinions on tho snuject of last Satunlay'_s
game, I will offer one to your readers, which, as far as I kuow,
h as not been given before; it is from tile staudpoiut of the
grnnt 111ass of Tcehnolngy.
"Althoug h it ha.s u cver worrie<l either college to any great
extent, why is it Ho? Yet the question ha s bee u asked, why
Tech and HMvard clo 11 ot bear friendly relations toward ono
'tnoth er, with interes ts so ueal'ly allied.
"To this quest ion tbe most probable answer is that T ech,
with most every oth er small coll ege, which colleges invar in.bly
ch eer for Ya lo, are treated in games with Harvard exactly as
Yale is all ege d to 1"we treated Harvard last Saturday.
"I will wa ger that probably no college pltty iug Harvard in
c,un!Jritlgc has bee n satisfied with tbe treatment they have rcce il' t'd 011 .Tar vis field. This does not apply to the latter part
of this year, when Harvard 1·oalizetl that it was as detriment.al
to herself as it was cxaspernting to her oppone nts. * ~' *
"To close, l rnns t st" to that SLlCh hick of good tas te of the
appreciation of one 's position was n ever more noticeable than
whon Capt. Cnmnock h ad the execrable ;judgment to mako
s nch statem e nts as h e did. This, I think, is a trne exposition
of the se ntim e nt o( Tech11ology, and as it rcprcsents·another
s ide of tho argument, I trust yo1t ca n find space for it.
A. B. C., ex-Technology,"
Dostou, Nov . 23, 18!l2.
oJI~r

IV.

Comment on the following pass::iges. What ch:i.rnctcristic quality of style does each cxempli ry? Why?
(ct) "Speakin g in America, I c'-im1ot well avoid saying something about tho prospects of society in tile Uniteu Sttttes. It is a

mo

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC.

co11rso thron gh every qu'1r1'er of th e town , washin g ol<l (rnttc<l
house-fo un chtion·s or cr::mui e<l garden-wall s o f: urick, and
spann c<l by s in g lc-a rcl1 ed bri<lgcs of maso nry rtbou t w hose feet
tir e weeds a nrl wild fl owers g rew. T ire massive little J1 011'es ,
lr oary or black from th e wcn.l,h er of centuri es , dozed h chind
tlr e ir i ron -ba.rrcil or h ea vy woo<l c n-slJtLttered wind ows ; t ho
clrnrclr cs were ornpt:y ; a n<l beneath tli o low a.nd sorn ure arcad es
tlro dull-eyed wom e n all see lll e d poor, while t he m e n went.
s lo'i':ly a.n<l look ccl lank all!] eon c,wc under t h e ir fad ed bro wn
M oli vo c lortk R. H o w <lilTcrcnt, we 101·e to say , fromonr bright
and cosey woo<l cn hom ,,,s, wit.It t h eir n ew pa in t antl th eir
1nomlly e nlig hte ned int e i:i ors, a rc t.h cse m orihun rl abodes, wit h
th e ir fe et res ting on sto ne are l1cs, t heir firnlc"s c h rtmbers , a n d
th e ir s nnl Pss c0 111·t.s . Tiro weath er has 1:: n:i.wr"l tl1 c pl aster. of
th eir upp e r s tori es, :i n<l 0 11 th eir basc n1 c nts t ir e str<'e t inl!i c ts
with i111J1u11it y every cxcorirttion :trnl obscene affront. Tl1 c ir
very wa ll s see m so:tk ed with w ick e dn ess. In tir e corn ers of
their d wclli11g-rooms d rtrkness and :tucient g uil t must m a ntl e ;
a11d th o so ul s of the peopl e who aro born there mus t grow up
with som ething g loomy and, so t o speak, c:tvern ons about
t i re m - so n1 ct lii11 g li k e a gh ostly bli g h t from t l1eir consrtngninity w ith rll l th a t sinfnl past ." (\Y. J'.,iu "th o Nation,"
J a n. IJ, 18!1:!.)

v.*
Criti cise t he fo llowin g titles for themes. ' Yben
yon h ~l\· c i111proved them draw up adequa te outlines
for t bc111 es.

(a)
(b)
( c)

The :M. I. T.
M ili ta ry Drill.
Sul pltmi c A cid.

*Jn pla ce o f th is q t 1 c~1i o n, m cm1J<• ra of Sect.io ns l, 2, and 5 will
w rite a f{ h o rt th em e o n th e s 11 hjcc t w h ich th ey Lav e :11'.!'l'<'c d upon w i th
th eir J11 !-l lr11 c to r ; m c m hc rR o l 8cct.i o11fl 1 :~ . 14 , 15, 1'.3, 17, and 18 will Bclcct
an y one ti lie, cr iti cise it, im p rove it, draw up au outline adequate for a
short theme , aud write tllc tlicm c.

SUBJECTS FOR THEMES.
The following subj ects, selected a lm ost at random
from the titles of t hemes actually writtcu, n.rc Lem
i::iscrtecl in th e Lope t hat tLcy m ay now a nd tl1cu
sn«rrcst
the kind of s ubject whi ch a stud ent s bo11ld
bb
choose. It should be borne in rnill(l, !Jowcver, that
the list c01~tain s, as a rnle, general topics for tberr.cs
rather than titles or specific subj ects .
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13 .
14.
15.
16.
17.

An eventful day in my life.
Boston from the uew bridge.
The architecture of apartment Louses.
A character iu fiction.
An influential man in rn y nntive town.
Character istics of a popubr mn.n.
My future.
Daring exploits.
Bicycling.
Couv ict labor .
Pictures as a means of ed ucation.
A vis it to a large manufactory.
Boston churches.
My favorite magazine.
My favorite sport.
Concord and Lexington.
Various great cities.

1!)2

18.
l!J.
20.
tai 11 s .
i l.

A day's h11n t i11 g .
Tli e co 11 s trnctio n of HIOllcl yachts.
Trout fi shing in tlie Sierra Nev:tcl:t J\fou11-

J\[ilitary dri ll.
Tltc Y:du e o f chmuistry.
23 . Scott's n ovels .
24 . Social li fe ; its be ne fi ts to :i. student.
25 . Am erican li tcrnturc of to-lby co mp:.i,rell witu
that of E11 g b .11 (\.
2G. Co 11 ll il.i o 11 o [ Lite colonies at tlte clos e of tltcFrcnch a 11d 111ll ian \Var.
27 . Lawn te 1111is .
28 . Life at the sea-s hore.
29 . The J\rt l\ l11 se11111.
30. J\leclt:111 ieal llr:iwing.
31. Oxygen .
32. 011r navy .
33. Ship ]Juil d i11 g of to-day.
34 . Prog ress of lllili t:try science.
35 . Coa"t d efe 11 ce .'
3li . A sun:;11er resort.
3 7. C:u1 oc c rn is ing.
38 . Coedu cat ion.
3!l. The J\IeKinley Bill.
40. Au lti s lo ri ca l rn11 seum.
4 1. An ocean Yoy:ige .
42. Eclue:ttion o f the lower classec .
43 . The steam locomotion.
44. Anrnte11r plt otog r:1plty.
45. Rudyard Kipling . .
2~ .

.AND ENGLISH COilIPOSITlON.

EXERCISES I .V RUI>TORIG

4G.

193

Allv:tnt:J.ges of pby s ie:d cul t u re to stullcnts.
Electricity as :t m o ti ve power.
Journ:tlism.
49 . My summer vacation.
50. The new n:wy.
51. The dis tinction b etween scanLlal and gossip .
52. Why llo I study?
53. Dress .
54 . City versus country .
5!). Tra nslation.
!:ili. Th e life of n. hos pil:1l 1111rse.
!:i7. Tlt e way to t ell a story.
58. An old lto111es le:1 ll.
5!l. An intercepted lette r.
GO. D iffcrc11t ways of lJ1·eaki11 g horses .
61. The 'Nestcrn ltorse compared wiLlt the
Eas tern.
62. Life Oil a r rt nc!J.
G3. The eow-IJoy.
64. l.liogrnphy of a friend.
65 . Lawn tennis for g irls .
6G . Shall w e u se sbng?
67. A parnphrnse of a poem.
68 . A favorite driYc.
6!). A j ourn ey I s!Joukl like to take.
70. Can a trnns l::ttiou be satisfactory?
71 . A d escription of a b a ttle iu the late war,
72. Class animosity iu colleges .
73 . The Indian question.
74. A symphony concert.
75 . J osepli J efferson.

4 7.
48.

194

EXERCISES IN RHETORIC

76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.

83.
84.
works.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.

Why are Germans the best musicians?
Wagner's operas.
Amatem photography.
Manual training in the public schools.
A fishing trip.
A visit to State Prison.
My favorite historical character.
My opinion of tlie future of electricity.
The character of some poet as sliown in his
Individuality.
Tlie art of ridiug on horseback.
A building interesting from its associations.
A country store.
A sliop.
An immense business establishment.
A tramp worth taking.
In a railroad car.
An incident of the street.
An examination of a newspaper.
" magazine.
"
" text-book.
"
A book review.
How a macliine works.
A process of manufacture.
An invention of note.
A view of Boston Harbor.
The most remarkable day in my summer

92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
vacation.
103. The view from my window.
104:. A reminiscence of an eminent man.

AND ENGLISH COMPOSITION.

195

105. Description of a person of stl'iking or
peculiar character.
106. Slang, racy idiom, and good taste in conversation o
107. What an educated man demands in a
newspaper.
108. How to make exercise an aid to study.
109. The Nicaragua canal.
110. The history of the locomotive.
111. Aerial navigation.

