Chapter 25

24. To sweeten the beverage, a lump of sugar was laid beside each cup, and the company alternately nibbled and sipped with great decorum, until an improvement was introduced by a shrewd and economical old lady, which was to suspend a large lump directly over the tea-table, by a string from the ceiling, so that it could be swung from mouth to mouth--an ingenious expedient, which is still kept up by some families in Albany, but which prevails without exception in Communipaw, Bergen, Platbush, and all our uncontaminated Dutch villages.--_Irving_.

* * * * *

COMPOSITION.

LESSON 146.

SUMMARY OF RULES FOR CAPITAL LETTERS AND PUNCTUATION.

CAPITAL LETTERS, TERMINAL MARKS, AND THE COMMA.

+Capital Letters+.--The first word of (1) a sentence, (2) a line of poetry, (3) a direct quotation making complete sense or a direct question introduced into a sentence, and (4) phrases or clauses separately numbered or paragraphed should begin with a capital letter. Begin with a capital letter (5) proper names (including all names of the Deity), and words derived from them, (6) names of things vividly personified, and (7) most abbreviations. Write in capital letters (8) the words I and 0, and (9) numbers in the Roman notation. [Footnote: Small letters are often used in referring to sections, chapters, etc.]

+Period+.--Place a period after (1) a declarative or an imperative sentence, (2) an abbreviation, (3) a number written in the Roman notation, and (4) Arabic figures used to enumerate.

+Interrogation Point+.--Every direct interrogative sentence or clause should be followed by an interrogation point.

+Exclamation Point+.--All exclamatory expressions must be followed by the exclamation point.

+Comma+.--Set off by the comma (1) an explanatory modifier which does not restrict the modified term or combine closely with it; (2) a participle used as an adjective modifier, with the words belonging to it, unless restrictive; (3) the adjective clause when not restrictive; (4) the adverb clause, unless it closely follows and restricts the word it modifies; (5) a phrase out of its usual order or not closely connected with the word it modifies; (6) a word or phrase independent or nearly so; (7) a direct quotation introduced into a sentence, unless formally introduced; (8) a noun clause used as an attribute complement; and (9) a term connected to another by _or_ and having the same meaning. Separate by the comma (10) connected words and phrases, unless all the conjunctions are expressed; (11) co-ordinate clauses when short and closely connected; and (12) the parts of a compound predicate, and other phrases, when long or differently modified. Use the comma (13) to denote an omission of words; (14) after _as_, _namely_, etc., introducing illustrations; and (15) when it is needed to prevent ambiguity.

+Direction+.--_Give the Rule for each capital letter and each mark of punctuation in these sentences, except the colon, the semicolon, and the quotation marks_:--

1. Francis II., Charles IX., and Henry III., three sons of Catherine de Medici and Henry II., sat upon the French throne. 2. The pupil asked, "When shall I use _O_, and when shall I use _oh?_" 3. Purity of style forbids us to use: 1. Foreign words; 2. Obsolete words; 3. Low words, or slang. 4. It is easy, Mistress Dial, for you, who have always, as everybody knows, set yourself up above me, to accuse me of laziness. 5. He rushed into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell. 6. The Holy Land was, indeed, among the early conquests of the Saracens, Caliph Omar having, in 637 A. D., taken Jerusalem. 7. He who teaches, often learns himself. 8. San Salvador, Oct. 12, 1492. 9. Some letters are superfluous; as, _c_ and _q_. 10. No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet To chase the glowing hours with flying feet!

Direction.--_Use capital letters and the proper marks of punctuation in these sentences, and give your reasons:_--

1. and lo from the assembled crowd there rose a shout prolonged and loud that to the ocean seemed to say take her o bridegroom old and gray 2. a large rough mantle of sheepskin fastened around the loins by a girdle or belt of hide was the only covering of that strange solitary man elijah the tishbite 3. The result however of the three years' reign or tyranny of jas ii was that wm of orange came over from holland and without shedding a drop of blood became a d 1688 wm in of england 4. _o_ has three sounds: 1. that in _not_; 2. that in _note_; 3. that in _move_ 5. lowell asks and what is so rare as a day in June 6. spring is a fickle mistress but summer is more staid 7. if i may judge by his gorgeous colors and the exquisite sweetness and variety of his music autumn is i should say the poet of the family 8. new york apr 30 1789 9. some letters stand each for many sounds; as _a_ and _o_

* * * * *

LESSON 147.

SUMMARY OF RULES--CONTINUED.

SEMICOLON AND COLON.

+Semicolon+.--Co-ordinate clauses, (1) when slightly connected, or (2) when themselves divided by the comma, must be separated by the semicolon. Use the semicolon (3) between serial phrases or clauses having a common dependence on something which precedes or follows; and (4) before _as_, _to wit_, _namely_, _i_. _e_., and _that is_, when they introduce examples or illustrations.

+Direction+.--_Justify each capital letter and each mark of punctuation (except the colon) in these sentences_:--

1. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. 2. Some words are delightful to the ear; as, _Ontario_, _golden_, _oriole_. 3. The shouts of revelry had died away; the roar of the lion had ceased; the last loiterer had retired from the banquet; and the lights in the palace of the victor were extinguished. 4. Send it to the public halls; proclaim it there; let them hear it who heard the first roar of the enemy's cannon; let them see it who saw their brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill: and the very walls will cry out in its support.

+Direction+.---_Use capital letters and the proper marks of punctuation in these sentences, and give your reasons_:--

1. all parts of a plant reduce to three namely root stem and leaf 2. when the world is dark with tempests when thunder rolls and lightning flies thou lookest in thy beauty from the clouds and laughest at the storm 3. the oaks of the mountains fall the mountains themselves decay with years the ocean shrinks and grows again the moon herself is lost in heaven 4. kennedy taking from her a handkerchief edged with gold pinned it over her eyes the executioners holding her by the arms led her to the block and the queen kneeling down said repeatedly with a firm voice into thy hands o lord i commend my spirit

+Colon+.--Use the colon (1) between the parts of a sentence when these parts are themselves divided by the semicolon, and (2) before a quotation or an enumeration of particulars when formally introduced.

+Direction+.--_Justify each capital letter and each mark of punctuation in these sentences_:--

1. You may swell every expense, and strain every effort, still more extravagantly; accumulate every assistance you can beg and borrow; traffic and barter with every little, pitiful German prince that sells and sends his subjects to the shambles of a foreign country: your efforts are forever vain and impotent.

2. This is a precept of Socrates: "Know thyself."

+Direction+.--_Use capital letters and the proper marks of punctuation in these sentences, and give your reasons_:--

1. the advice given ran thus take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves 2. we may abound in meetings and movements enthusiastic gatherings in the field and forest may kindle all minds with a common sentiment but it is all in vain if men do not retire from the tumult to the silent culture of every right disposition

+Direction+.---_Write sentences illustrating the several uses of the semicolon, the colon, and the comma_.

* * * * *

LESSON 148.

SUMMARY OF RULES--CONTINUED.

THE DASH, MARKS OF PARENTHESIS, APOSTROPHE, HYPHEN, QUOTATION MARKS, AND BRACKETS.

+Dash+.--Use the dash where there is an omission (1) of letters or figures, and (2) of such words as _as_, _namely_, or _that is_, introducing illustrations or equivalent expressions. Use the dash (3) where the sentence breaks off abruptly, and the same thought is resumed after a slight suspension, or another takes its place; and (4) before a word or phrase repeated at intervals for emphasis. The dash may be used (5) instead of marks of parenthesis, and may (6) follow other marks, adding to their force.

+Direction+.--_Justify each capital letter and each mark of punctuation in these sentences:--_

1. The most noted kings of Israel were the first three--Saul; David, and Solomon. 2. When Mrs. B---- heard of her son's disgrace, she fainted away. 3. And--"This to me?" he said. 4. Assyria, Greece, Rome, Carthage--what are they? 5. I do not rise to supplicate you to be merciful toward the nation to which I belong,--toward a nation which, though subject to England, yet is distinct from it. 6. We know the uses--and sweet they are--of adversity. 7. His place business is 225--229 High street.

+Direction+.---_Use capital letters and the proper marks of punctuation in these sentences, and give your reasons_:--

1. the human species is composed of two distinct races those who borrow and those who lend 2. this bill this infamous bill the way it has been received by the house the manner in which its opponents have been treated the personalities to which they have been subjected all these things dissipate my doubts 3. the account of a _____'s shame fills pp 1 19 4. lord marmion turned well was his need and dashed the rowels in his steed

+Marks of Parenthesis+.--Marks of parenthesis may be used to inclose what has no essential connection with the rest of the sentence.

+Apostrophe+.--Use the apostrophe (1) to mark the omission of letters, (2) in the pluralizing of letters, figures, and characters, and (3) to distinguish the possessive from other cases.

+Hyphen+.--Use the hyphen (-) (1) to join the parts of compound words, and (2) between syllables when a word is divided.

+Quotation Marks+.--Use quotation marks to inclose a copied word or passage. If the quotation contains a quotation, the latter is inclosed within single marks. (See Lesson 74.)

+Brackets+.--Use brackets [ ] to inclose what, in quoting another's words, you insert by way of explanation or correction.

+Direction+.--_Justify the marks of punctuation used in these sentences_:--

1. Luke says, Acts xxi. 15, "We took up our carriages [luggage], and went up to Jerusalem." 2. The last sentence of the composition was, "I close in the words of Patrick Henry, 'Give me liberty, or give me death.'" 3. _Red-hot_ is a compound adjective. 4. _Telegraph_ is divided thus: _tel_-_e_-_graph_. 5. The profound learning of Sir William Jones (he was master of twenty-eight languages) was the wonder of his contemporaries. 6. By means of the apostrophe you know that _love_ in _mother's love_ is a noun, and that i's isn't a verb.

+Direction+.---_Use capital letters and the proper marks of punctuation in these sentences, and give your reasons_:--

1. next to a conscience void of offense without which by the bye life isnt worth the living is the enjoyment of the social feelings 2. man the life boat 3. don't neglect in writing to dot your _is_ cross your _ts_ and make your 7_s_ unlike your 9_s_ and don't in speaking omit the _hs_ from such words as _which_ _when_ and _why_ or insert _rs_ in _law_ _saw_ and _raw_ 4. the scriptures tell us take no thought anxiety for the morrow 5. The speaker said american oratory rose to its high water mark in that great speech ending liberty and union now and forever one and inseparable

* * * * *

LESSON 149.

CAPITAL LETTERS AND PUNCTUATION--REVIEW.

+Direction+.--_Give the reason for each capital letter and each mark of punctuation in these sentences_:--

1. A bigot's mind is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it contracts. 2. This is the motto of the University of Oxford: "The Lord is my light." 3. The only fault ever found with him is, that he sometimes fights ahead of his orders. 4. The land flowing with "milk and honey" (see Numbers xiv. 8) was a long, narrow strip, lying along the eastern edge, or coast, of the Mediterranean, and consisted of three divisions; namely, 1. On the north, Galilee; 2. On the south, Judea; 3, In the middle, Samaria. 5. "What a lesson," Trench well says, "the word 'diligence' contains!" 6. An honest man, my neighbor,--there he stands-- Was struck--struck like a dog, by one who wore The badge of Ursini. 7. Thou, too, sail on, 0 Ship of State; Sail on, 0 Union, strong and great. 8. O'Connell asks, "The clause which does away with trial by jury--what, in the name of H----n, is it, if it is not the establishment of a revolutionary tribunal?" 9. There are only three departments of the mind--the intellect, the feelings, and the will. 10. This--trial! 11. American nationality has made the desert to bud and blossom as the rose; it has quickened to life the giant brood of useful arts; it has whitened lake and ocean with the sails of a daring, new, and lawful trade; it has extended to exiles, flying as clouds, the asylum of our better liberty. 12. As I saw him [Weoster, the day before his great reply to Col. Hayne of South Carolina] in the evening, (if I may borrow an illustration from his favorite amusement) he was as unconcerned and as free of spirit as some here present have seen him while floating in his fishing-boat along a hazy shore, gently rocking on the tranquil tide, dropping his line here and there, with the varying fortune of the sport. The next morning he was like some mighty admiral, dark and terrible, casting the long shadow of his frowning tiers far over the sea, that seemed to sink beneath him; his broad pendant [pennant] streaming at the main, the stars and the stripes at the fore, the mizzen, and the peak; and bearing down like a tempest upon his antagonist, with all his canvas strained to the wind, and all his thunders roaring from his broadsides. 13. The "beatitudes" are found in Matt. v. 3--11.

TO THE TEACHER.--If further work in punctuation is needed, require the pupils to justify the punctuation of the sentences beginning page 314.

* * * * *

LESSON 150.

QUALITIES OF STYLE.

+Style+ is the manner in which one expresses himself. Styles differ as men differ. But there are some cardinal qualities that all good style must possess.

I. +Perspicuity.+--Perspicuity is opposed to obscurity of all kinds; it means clearness of expression. It demands that the thought in the sentence shall be plainly seen through the words of the sentence. Perspicuity is an indispensable quality of style; if the thought is not understood, or it is misunderstood, its expression might better have been left unattempted. Perspicuity depends mainly upon these few things:--

1. +One's Clear Understanding of What One Attempts to Say.+--You cannot express to others more than you thoroughly know, or make your thought clearer to them than it is to yourself.

2. +The Unity of the Sentence.+--Many thoughts, or thoughts having no natural and close connection with each other, should not be crowded into one sentence.

3. +The Use of the Right Words.+--Use such words as convey your thought--each word expressing exactly your idea, no more, no less, no other. Use words in the senses recognized by the best authority. Do not omit words when they are needed, and do not use a superfluity of them. Be cautious in the use of _he_, _she_, _it_, and _they_. Use simple words--words which those who are addressed can readily understand. Avoid what are called bookish, inkhorn, terms; shun words that have passed out of use, and those that have no footing in the language--foreign words, words newly coined, and slang.

4. +A Happy Arrangement.+--The relations of single words to each other, of phrases to the words they modify, and of clauses to one another should be obvious at a glance. The sentence should not need rearrangement in order to disclose the meaning. Sentences should stand in the paragraph so that the beginning of each shall tally exactly in thought with the sentence that precedes; and the ending of each, with the sentence that follows. Every paragraph should be a unit in thought, distinct from other paragraphs, holding to them the relation that its own sentences hold to one another, the relation that the several parts of each sentence hold to one another.

II. +Energy+.--By energy we mean force, vigor, of expression. In ordinary discourse, it is not often sought, and in no discourse is it constantly sought. We use energy when we wish to convince the intellect, arouse the feelings, and capture the will--lead one to do something. When energetic, we select words and images for strength and not for beauty; choose specific, and not general, terms; prefer the concrete to the abstract; use few words and crowd these with meaning; place subordinate clauses before the independent; and put the strongest word in the clause, the strongest clause in the sentence, the strongest sentence in the paragraph, and the strongest paragraph in the discourse, last. Energetic thought seeks variety of expression, is usually charged with intense feeling, and requires impassioned delivery.

III. +Imagery--Figures of Speech+.--Things stand in many relations to each other. Some +things are (1) like each other+ in some particular; other +things are (2) unlike each other+ in some particular; and still other +things stand to each other (3)+ in some +other+ noteworthy +relation than+ that of +likeness+ or +unlikeness+. Things long seen and associated by us in any of these relations come at last readily to suggest each other. +Figures of Speech+ are those expressions in which, departing from our ordinary manner in speaking of things, we assert or assume any of these notable relations. The first and great service of imagery is to the thought--it makes the thought clearer and stronger. Imagery adds beauty to style--a diamond brooch may adorn as well as do duty to the dress.

A +Simile+, or +Comparison+, is a figure of speech in which we point out or assert a likeness between things otherwise unlike; as, The gloom of despondency _hung like a cloud_ over the land.

A +Metaphor+ is a figure of speech in which, assuming the likeness between two things, we bring over and apply to one of them the term that denotes the other; as, A stately _squadron of snowy_ geese were _riding_ in an adjoining pond.

A +Personification+ is a figure of speech in which things are raised to a plane of being above their own--to or toward that of persons. It +raises+ (1) +mere things to+ the plane of +animals+; as, The _sea licks_ your feet, its huge _flanks purr_ pleasantly for you. It raises (2) +mere animals to+ the plane of +persons+; as, So _talked_ the spirited, sly _Snake_. It +raises+ (3) +mere things to+ the plane of +persons+; as, _Earth_ fills her _lap_ with pleasures of _her_ own.

An +Antithesis+ is a figure of speech in which things mutually opposed in some particular are set over against each other; as, The _mountains give_ their lost children _berries_ and _water_; the _sea mocks_ their _thirst_ and _lets_ them _die_.

A +Metonymy+ is a figure of speech in which the name of one thing connected to another by a relation other than likeness or unlikeness is brought over and applied to that other. The most important of these relations are (1) that of the +sign+ to the +thing signified+; (2) that of +cause+ to +effect+; (3) that of +instrument+ to the +user+ of it; (4) that of +container+ to the +thing contained+; (5) that of +material+ to the +thing made out of it+; (6) that of +contiguity+; (7) that of the +abstract+ to the +concrete+; and (8) that of +part+ to the +whole+ or of +whole+ to the +part+.

This last relation has been thought so important that the metonymy based upon it has received a distinct name--+Synecdoche+.

+IV. Variety+.--Variety is a quality of style opposed to monotonous uniformity. Nothing in discourse pleases us more than light and shade. In discourse properly varied, the same word does not appear with offensive frequency; long words alternate with short; the usual order now and then yields to the transposed; the verb in the assertive form frequently gives way to the participle and the infinitive, which assume; figures of speech sparkle here and there in a setting of plain language; the full method of statement is followed by the contracted; impassioned language is succeeded by the unemotional; long sentences stand side by side with short, and loose sentences with periods; declarative sentences are relieved by interrogative and exclamatory, and simple sentences by compound and complex; clauses have no rigidly fixed position; and sentences heavy with meaning and moving slowly are elbow to elbow with the light and tripping. In a word, no one form or method or matter is continued so long as to weary, and the reader is kept fresh and interested throughout. Variety is restful to the reader or hearer and therefore adds greatly to the clearness and to the force of what is addressed to him.

TO THE TEACHER.--Question the pupils upon every point taken up in this Lesson and require them to give illustrations where it is possible for them to do so.

* * * * *

LESSON 151.

PERSPICUITY--CRITICISM.

+General Direction+.--_In all your work in Composition attend carefully to the punctuation_.

+Direction+.--_Point out the faults, and recast these sentences, making them clear_:--

[Footnote: These four sentences and others in these Lessons, given just as we found them, have been culled from school compositions.]

1. He was locked in and so he sat still till the guard came and let him out, as soon as he stepped out on the ground, he saw the dead and dying laying about everywhere. 2. They used to ring a large bell at six o'clock in the morning for us to get up, then we had half an hour to dress in, after which we would go to Chapel exercises, then breakfast, school would commence at nine o'clock and closed at four in the afternoon allowing an hour for dinner from one until two then we would resume our studies until four in the afternoon. 3. Jewelry was worn in the time of King Pharaoh which is many thousand years before Christ in the time when the Israelites left they borrowed all the jewels of the Egyptians which were made of gold and silver. 4. When it is made of gold they can not of pure gold but has to be mixed with some other metal which is generally copper which turns it a reddish hue in some countries they use silver which gives it a whitish hue but in the United States and England they use both silver and copper but the English coins are the finest.

+Direction+.--_Point out the faults, and recast these sentences, making them clear_:--

(If any one of the sentences has several meanings, give these.)