PART I.

HOW TO WRITE A COMPOSITION

AND

Express Written Thought in a Correct and Elegant Manner.

The correct and pleasing expression of one’s thoughts in writing is an accomplishment of the highest order. To have little or no ability in the art of composition is a great misfortune.

Who is willing to incur the disgrace and mortification of being unable to write a graceful and interesting letter, or an essay worthy to be read by intelligent persons? What an air of importance belongs to the young scholar, or older student, who can pen a production excellent in thought and beautiful in language! Such a gifted individual becomes almost a hero or heroine.

When I was a pupil in one of our public schools the day most dreaded by all of the scholars was “composition day.” What to write about, and how to do it, were the most vexatious of all questions. Probably nine-tenths of the pupils would rather have mastered the hardest lessons, or taken a sound whipping, than to attempt to write one paragraph of a composition on any subject.

While some persons have a natural faculty for putting their thoughts into words, a much larger number of others are compelled to confess that it is a difficult undertaking, and they are never able to satisfy themselves with their written productions.

Let it be some encouragement to you to reflect that many who are considered excellent writers labored in the beginning under serious difficulties, yet, being resolved to master them, they finally achieved the most gratifying success. When Napoleon was told it would be impossible for his army to cross the bridge at Lodi, he replied, “There is no such word as impossible,” and over the bridge his army went. Resolve that you will succeed, and carry out this good resolution by close application and diligent practice. “Labor conquers all things.”

WHAT TO DO, AND HOW TO DO IT.

Study carefully the lessons contained in the following pages. They will be of great benefit, as they show you what to do and how to do it.

These lessons are quite simple at first, and are followed by others that are more advanced. All of them have been carefully prepared for the purpose of furnishing just such helps as you need. You can study them by yourself; if you can obtain the assistance of a competent teacher, so much the better. I predict that you will be surprised at the rapid progress you are making. Perhaps you will become fascinated with your study; at least, it is to be hoped you will, and become enthusiastic in your noble work.

Be content to take one step at a time. Do not get the mistaken impression that you will be able to write a good composition before you have learned how to do it. Many persons are too eager to achieve success immediately, without patient and earnest endeavor to overcome all difficulties.

Choose a subject for your composition that is adapted to your capacity. You cannot write on a subject that you know nothing about. Having selected your theme, think upon it, and, if possible, read what others have written about it, not for the purpose of stealing their thoughts, but to stimulate your own, and store your mind with information. Then you will be able to express in writing what you know.

The Treatment of the Subject.

The principal reason why many persons make such hard work of the art of composition is that they have so few thoughts, and consequently so little to say, upon the subjects they endeavor to treat. The same rule must be followed in writing a composition as in building a house—you must first get your materials.

I said something about stealing the thoughts of others, but must qualify this by saying that while you are learning to write, you are quite at liberty in your practice to make use of the thoughts of others, writing them from memory after you have read a page or a paragraph from some standard author. It is better that you should remember only a part of the language employed by the writer whose thoughts you are reproducing, using as far as possible words of your own, yet in each instance wherein you remember his language you need not hesitate to use it. Such an exercise is a valuable aid to all who wish to perfect themselves in the delightful art of composition.

Take any writer of good English—J. G. Holland, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Irving, Cooper, or the articles in our best magazines—and read half a page twice or thrice; close the book, and write, in your own words, what you have read; borrowing, nevertheless, from the author so much as you can remember. Compare what you have written with the original, sentence by sentence, and word by word, and observe how far you have fallen short of the skilful author.

A Frequent Change of Authors.

You will thus not only find out your own faults, but you will discover where they lie, and how they may be mended. Repeat the lesson with the same passages twice or thrice, if your memory is not filled with the words of the author, and observe, at each trial, the progress you have made, not merely by comparison with the original, but by comparison with the previous exercises.

Do this day after day, changing your author for the purpose of varying the style, and continue to do so long after you have passed on to the second and more advanced stages of your training. Preserve all your exercises, and occasionally compare the latest with the earliest, and so ascertain what progress you have made.

Give especial attention to the _words_, which, to my mind, are of greater importance than the sentences. Take your nouns first, and compare them with the nouns used by your author. You will probably find your words to be very much bigger than his, more sounding, more far-fetched, more classical, or more poetical. All young writers and speakers fancy that they cannot sufficiently revel in fine words. Comparison with the great masters of English will rebuke this pomposity of inexperience, and chasten and improve your style.

You will discover, to your surprise, that our best writers eschew big words and do not aim to dazzle their readers with fine words. Where there is a choice, they prefer the pure, plain, simple English noun—the name by which the thing is known to everybody, and which, therefore, is instantly understood by all readers. These great authors call a spade “a spade;” only small scribblers term it “an implement of husbandry.” If there is a choice of names, good writers prefer the one best known, while an inexperienced writer is apt to select the most uncommon.

The example of the masters of the English tongue should teach you that commonness (if I may be allowed to coin a word to express that for which I can find no precise equivalent) and vulgarity are not the same in substance. Vulgarity is shown in assumption and affectation of language quite as much as in dress and manners, and it is never vulgar to be natural. Your object is to be understood. To be successful, you must write and talk in a language that everybody can understand; and such is the natural vigor, picturesqueness and music of our tongue, that you could not possess yourself of a more powerful or effective instrument for expression.

Right Choice of Words.

It is well for you to be assured that while, by this choice of plain English for the embodying of your thoughts, you secure the ears of ordinary people, you will at the same time please the most highly educated and refined. The _words_ that have won the applause of a political meeting are equally successful in securing a hearing in Congress, provided that the thoughts expressed and the manner of their expression be adapted to the changed audience.

Then for the _sentences_. Look closely at their construction, comparing it with that of your author; I mean, note how you have put your words together. The placing of words is next in importance to the choice of them. The best writers preserve the natural order of thought. They sedulously shun obscurities and perplexities. They avoid long and involved sentences. Their rule is, that one sentence should express one thought, and they will not venture on the introduction of two or three thoughts, if they can help it.

Obscure Sentences.

Undoubtedly this is extremely difficult—sometimes impossible. If you want to qualify an assertion, you must do so on the instant; but the rule should never be forgotten, that a long and involved sentence is to be avoided, wherever it is practicable to do so.

Another lesson you will doubtless learn from the comparison of your composition with that of your model author. You will see a wonderful number of _adjectives_ in your own writing, and very few in his. It is the besetting sin of young writers to indulge in adjectives, and precisely as a man gains experience do his adjectives diminish in number. It seems to be supposed by all unpracticed scribblers that the multiplication of epithets gives force. The nouns are never left to speak for themselves.

It is curious to take up any newspaper and read the paragraphs of news, to open the books of nine-tenths of our authors of the third and downward ranks. You will rarely see a noun standing alone, without one or more adjectives prefixed. Be assured that this is a mistake. An adjective should never be used unless it is essential to correct description. As a general rule adjectives add little strength to the noun they are set to prop, and a multiplication of them is always enfeebling. The vast majority of nouns convey to the mind a much more accurate picture of the thing they signify than you can possibly paint by attaching epithets to them.

Yet do not push to the extreme what has just been said. Adjectives are a very important part of language, and we could not well do without them. You do not need to say a “flowing river;” every river flows, but you might wish to say a “swollen river,” and you could not convey the idea you desire to express without using the adjective “swollen.” What I wish to caution you against is the needless multiplication of adjectives, which only serve to overload and weaken the expression of your thought.

Express Your Own Ideas.

When you have repeated your lesson many times, and find that you can write with some approach to the purity of your author, you should attempt an original composition. In the beginning it would be prudent, perhaps, to borrow the _ideas_, but to put them into your own language. The difficulty of this consists in the tendency of the mind to mistake memory for invention, and thus, unconsciously to copy the language as well as the thoughts of the author.

The best way to avoid this is to translate poetry into prose; to take, for instance, a page of narrative in verse and relate the same story in plain prose; or to peruse a page of didactic poetry, and set down the argument in a plain, unpoetical fashion. This will make you familiar with the art of composition, only to be acquired by practice; and the advantage, at this early stage of your education in the arts of writing and speaking, of putting into proper language the thoughts of others rather than your own is, that you are better able to discover your faults. Your fatherly love for your own ideas is such that you are really incompetent to form a judgment of their worth, or of the correctness of the language in which they are embodied.

The critics witness this hallucination every day. Books continually come to them, written by men who are _not_ mad, who probably are sufficiently sensible in the ordinary business of life, who see clearly enough the faults of other books, who would have laughed aloud over the same pages, if placed in their hands by another writer, but who, nevertheless, are utterly unable to recognize the absurdities of their own handiwork. The reader is surprised that any man of common intelligence could indite such a maze of nonsense where the right word is never to be found in its right place, and this with such utter unconsciousness of incapacity on the part of the author.

Write Exactly What You Mean.

Still more is he amazed that, even if a sensible man could so write, a sane man could read that composition in print, and not with shame throw it into the fire. But the explanation is, that the writer knew what he _intended_ to say; his mind is full of _that_, and he reads from the manuscript or the type, not so much what is there set down, as what was already floating in his own mind. To criticise yourself you must, to some extent, forget yourself. This is impracticable to many persons, and, lest it may be so with you, I advise you to begin by putting the thoughts of others into your own language, before you attempt to give formal expression to your own thoughts.

You must habitually place your thoughts upon paper—first, that you may do so rapidly; and, secondly, that you may do so correctly. When you come to write your reflections, you will be surprised to find how loose and inaccurate the most vivid of them have been, what terrible flaws there are in your best arguments.

You are thus enabled to correct them, and to compare the matured sentence with the rude conception of it. You are thus trained to weigh your words and assure yourself that they precisely embody the idea you desire to convey. You can trace uncouthness in the sentences, and dislocations of thought, of which you had not been conscious before. It is far better to learn your lesson thus upon paper, which you can throw into the fire unknown to any human being, than to be taught it by readers who are not always very lenient critics and are quick to detect any faults that appear in your production.

READING AND THINKING.

Having accustomed yourself to express, in plain words, and in clear, precise and straightforward sentences, the ideas of others, you should proceed to express your own thoughts in the same fashion. You will now see more distinctly the advantage of having first studied composition by the process I have recommended, for you are in a condition to discover the deficiencies in the flow of your own ideas. You will be surprised to find, when you come to put them into words, how many of your thoughts were shapeless, hazy and dreamy, slipping from your grasp when you try to seize them, resolving themselves, like the witches in Macbeth,

Into the air: and what seemed corporal melted As breath into the wind.

What You Should Read.

Thus, after you have learned _how_ to write, you will need a good deal of education before you will learn _what_ to write. I cannot much assist you in this part of the business. Two words convey the whole lesson—_Read_ and _think_. What should you read? Everything. What think about? All subjects that present themselves. The writer and orator must be a man of very varied knowledge. Indeed, for all the purposes of practical life, you cannot know too much. No learning is quite useless. But a speaker, especially if an advocate, cannot anticipate the subjects on which he may be required to talk. Law is the least part of his discourse. For once that he is called upon to argue a point of law, he is compelled to treat matters of fact twenty times.

And the range of topics is very wide; it embraces science and art, history and philosophy; above all, the knowledge of human nature that teaches how the mind he addresses is to be convinced and persuaded, and how a willing ear is to be won to his discourse. No limited range of reading will suffice for so large a requirement. The elements of the sciences must be mastered; the foundations of philosophy must be learned; the principles of art must be acquired; the broad facts of history must be stamped upon the memory; poetry and fiction must not be slighted or neglected.

Our Great Writers.

You must cultivate frequent and intimate intercourse with the genius of all ages and of all countries, not merely as standards by which to measure your own progress, or as fountains from which you may draw unlimited ideas for your own use, but because they are peculiarly _suggestive_. This is the characteristic of genius, that, conveying one thought to the reader’s mind, it kindles in him many other thoughts. The value of this to speaker and writer will be obvious to you.

Never, therefore, permit a day to pass without reading more or less—if it be but a single page—from some one of our great writers. Besides the service I have described in the multiplication of your ideas, it will render you the scarcely lesser service of preserving purity of style and language, and preventing you from falling into the conventional affectations and slang of social dialogue.

For the same reason, without reference to any higher motive, but simply to fill our mind with the purest English, read daily some portion of the Bible; for which exercise there is another reason also, that its phraseology is more familiar to all kinds of audiences than any other, is more readily understood, and, therefore, is more sufficient in securing their attention.

Three Kinds of Reading.

Your reading will thus consist of three kinds: reading for _knowledge_, by which I mean the storing of your memory with facts; reading for _thoughts_, by which I mean the ideas and reflections that set your own mind thinking; and reading the _words_, by which I mean the best language in which the best authors have clothed their thoughts. And these three classes of reading should be pursued together daily, more or less as you can, for they are needful each to the others, and neither can be neglected without injury to the rest.

So also you must make it a business to _think_. You will probably say that you are always thinking when you are not _doing_ anything, and often when you are busiest. True, the mind is active, but wandering, vaguely from topic to topic. You are not in reality _thinking out_ anything; indeed, you cannot be sure that your thoughts have a shape until you try to express them in words. Nevertheless you must think before you can write or speak, and you should cultivate a _habit of thinking_ at all appropriate seasons.

But do not misunderstand this suggestion. I do not design advising you to set yourself a-thinking, as you would take up a book to read at the intervals of business, or as a part of a course of self-training; for such attempts would probably begin with wandering fancies and end in a comfortable nap. It is a fact worth noting, that few persons can think continuously while the body is at perfect rest. The time for thinking is when you are kept awake by some slight and almost mechanical muscular exercise, and the mind is not busily attracted by external subjects of attention.

Thus walking, angling, gardening, and other rural pursuits are pre-eminently the seasons for thought, and you should cultivate a habit of thinking during those exercises, so needful for health of body and for fruitfulness of mind. _Then_ it is that you should submit whatever subject you desire to treat to careful review, turning it on all sides, and inside out, marshalling the facts connected with it, trying what may be said for or against every view of it, recalling what you may have read about it, and finally thinking what you could say upon it that had not been said before, or how you could put old views of it into new shapes.

Learning to Think.

Perhaps the best way to accomplish this will be to imagine yourself writing upon it, or making a speech upon it, and to think what in such case you would say; I do not mean in what _words_ you would express yourself, but what you would discourse about; what ideas you would put forth; to what thoughts you would give utterance.

At the beginning of this exercise you will find your reflections extremely vague and disconnected; you will range from theme to theme, and mere flights of fancy will be substituted for steady, continuous thought. But persevere day by day, and that which was in the beginning an effort will soon grow into a habit, and you will pass few moments of your working life in which, when not occupied from without, your mind will not be _usefully_ employed within itself.

Having attained this habit of thinking, let it be a rule with you, before you write or speak on any subject, to employ your thoughts upon it in the manner I have described. Go a-fishing. Take a walk. Weed your garden. Sweep, dust, do any sewing that needs to be done. While so occupied, _think_. It will be hard if your own intelligence cannot suggest to you how the subject should be treated, in what order of argument, with what illustrations, and with what new aspects of it, the original product of your own genius.

At all events this is certain, that without preliminary reflection you cannot hope to deal with any subject to your own satisfaction, or to the profit or pleasure of others. If you neglect these precautions, you can never be more than a wind-bag, uttering words that, however grandly they may roll, convey no thoughts. There is hope for ignorance; there is none for emptiness.

To sum up these rules and suggestions: To become a writer or an orator, you must fill your mind with knowledge by reading and observation, and educate it to the creation of thoughts by cultivating a habit of reflection. There is no limit to the knowledge that will be desirable and useful; it should include something of natural science, much of history, and still more of human nature. The latter must be your study, for it is with this that the writer and speaker has to deal.

Remember, that no amount of antiquarian, or historical, or scientific, or literary lore will make a writer or orator, without intimate acquaintance with the ways of the world about him, with the tastes, sentiments, passions, emotions, and modes of thought of the men and women of the age in which he lives, and whose minds it is his business to instruct and sway.

HOW TO ACQUIRE A CAPTIVATING STYLE.

You must think, that you may have thoughts to convey; and read, that you may have words wherewith to express your thoughts correctly and gracefully. But something more than this is required to qualify you to write or speak. You must have a _style_. I will endeavor to explain what I mean by that.

As every man has a manner of his own, differing from the manner of every other man, so has every mind its own fashion of communicating with other minds. This manner of expressing thought is _style_, and therefore may style be described as the features of the mind displayed in its communications with other minds; as manner is the external feature exhibited in personal communication.

But though style is the gift of nature, it is nevertheless to be cultivated; only in a sense different from that commonly understood by the word cultivation.

Many elaborate treatises have been written on style, and the subject usually occupies a prominent place in all books on composition and oratory. It is usual with teachers to urge emphatically the importance of cultivating style, and to prescribe ingenious recipes for its production. All these proceed upon the assumption that style is something artificial, capable of being taught, and which may and should be learned by the student, like spelling or grammar.

But, if the definition of style which I have submitted to you is right, these elaborate trainings are a needless labor; probably a positive mischief. I do not design to say _a_ style may not be taught to you; but it will be the style of some other man, and not your own; and, not being your own, it will no more fit your mind than a second-hand suit of clothes, bought without measurement at a pawn-shop, would fit your body, and your appearance in it would be as ungainly.

But you must not gather from this that you are not to concern yourself about style, that it may be left to take care of itself, and that you will require only to write or speak as untrained nature prompts. I say that you must cultivate style; but I say also that the style to be cultivated must be your own, and not the style of another.

How to Cultivate Style.

The majority of those who have written upon the subject recommend you to study the styles of the great writers of the English language, with a view to acquiring their accomplishment. So I say—study them, by all means; but not for the purpose of imitation, not with a view to acquire _their_ manner, but to learn their language, to see how they have embodied their thoughts in words, to discover the manifold graces with which they have invested the expression of their thoughts, so as to surround the act of communicating information, or kindling emotion, with the various attractions and charms of art.

_Cultivate style_; but instead of laboring to acquire the style of your model, it should be your most constant endeavor to avoid it. The greatest danger to which you are exposed is that of falling into an imitation of the manner of some favorite author, whom you have studied for the sake of learning a style, which, if you did learn it, would be unbecoming to you, because it is not your own. That which in him was _manner_ becomes in you _mannerism_; you but dress yourself in his clothes, and imagine that you are like him, while you are no more like than is the valet to his master whose cast-off coat he is wearing.

There are some authors whose manner is so infectious that it is extremely difficult _not_ to catch it. Hawthorne is one of these; it requires an effort not to fall into his formula of speech. But your protection against this danger must be an ever-present conviction that your own style will be the best for you, be it ever so bad or good. You must strive to _be_ yourself, to think for yourself, to speak in your own manner; then, what you say and your _style_ of saying it will be in perfect accord, and the pleasure to those who read or listen will not be disturbed by a sense of impropriety and unfitness.

Nevertheless, I repeat, you should cultivate your own style, not by changing it into some other person’s style, but by striving to preserve its individuality, while decorating it with all the graces of art. Nature gives the style, for your style is yourself; but the decorations are slowly and laboriously acquired by diligent study, and, above all, by long and patient practice. There are but two methods of attaining to this accomplishment—contemplation of the best productions of art, and continuous toil in the exercise of it.

Make Your Composition Attractive.

I assume that, by the process I have already described, you have acquired a tolerably quick flow of ideas, a ready command of words, and ability to construct grammatical sentences; all that now remains to you is to learn to use this knowledge that the result may be presented in the most attractive shape to those whom you address. I am unable to give you many practical hints towards this, because it is not a thing to be acquired by formal rules, in a few lessons and by a set course of study; it is the product of very wide and long-continued gleanings from a countless variety of sources; but, above all, it is taught by experience.

If you compare your compositions at intervals of six months, you will see the progress you have made. You began with a multitude of words, with big nouns and bigger adjectives, a perfect firework of epithets, a tendency to call everything by something else than its proper name, and the more you admired your own ingenuity the more you thought it must be admired by others. If you had a good idea, you were pretty sure to dilute it by expansion, supposing the while that you were improving by amplifying it. You indulged in small flights of poetry (in prose), not always in appropriate places, and you were tolerably sure to go off into rhapsody, and to mistake fine words for eloquence. This is the juvenile style; and is not peculiar to yourself—it is the common fault of _all_ young writers.

But the cure for it may be hastened by judicious self-treatment. In addition to the study of good authors, to cultivate your taste, you may mend your style by a process of pruning, after the following fashion. Having finished your composition, or a section of it, lay it aside, and do not look at it again for a week, during which interval other labors will have engaged your thoughts. You will then be in a condition to revise it with an approach to critical impartiality, and so you will begin to learn the wholesome _art of blotting_. Go through it slowly, pen in hand, weighing every word, and asking yourself, “What did I _intend_ to say? How can I say it in the briefest and plainest English?”

Compare with the plain answer you return to this question the form in which you had tried to express the same meaning in the writing before you, and at each word further ask yourself, “Does this word precisely convey my thought? Is it the aptest word? Is it a necessary word? Would my meaning be fully expressed without it?” If it is not the best, change it for a better. If it is superfluous, ruthlessly strike it out.

The work will be painful at first—you will sacrifice with a sigh so many flourishes of fancy, so many figures of speech, of whose birth you were proud. Nay, at the beginning, and for a long time afterwards, your courage will fail you, and many a cherished phrase will be spared by your relenting pen. But be persistent, and you will triumph at last. Be not content with one act of erasure. Read the manuscript again, and, seeing how much it is improved, you will be inclined to blot a little more. Lay it aside for a month, and then read again, and blot again as before. Be severe toward yourself.

THE CHOICE OF LANGUAGE.

Simplicity is the crowning achievement of judgment and good taste. It is of very slow growth in the greatest minds; by the multitude it is never acquired. The gradual progress towards it can be curiously traced in the works of the great masters of English composition, wheresoever the injudicious zeal of admirers has given to the world the juvenile writings which their own better taste had suffered to pass into oblivion. Lord Macaulay was an instance of this. Compare his latest with his earliest compositions, as collected in the posthumous volume of his “Remains,” and the growth of improvement will be manifest.

Yet, at first thought, nothing appears to be easier to remember, and to act upon, than the rule, “Say what you want to say in the fewest words that will express your meaning clearly; and let those words be the plainest, the most common (not vulgar), and the most intelligible to the greatest number of persons.” It is certain that a beginner will adopt the very reverse of this. He will say what he has to say in the greatest number of words he can devise, and those words will be the most artificial and uncommon his memory can recall. As he advances, he will learn to drop these long phrases and big words; he will gradually contract his language to the limit of his thoughts, and he will discover, after long experience, that he was never so feeble as when he flattered himself that he was most forcible.

Faults in Writing.

I have dwelt upon this subject with repetitions that may be deemed almost wearisome, because affectations and conceits are the besetting sin of modern composition, and the vice is growing and spreading. The literature of our periodicals teems with it; the magazines are infected by it almost as much as the newspapers, which have been always famous for it.

Instead of an endeavor to write plainly, the express purpose of the writers in the periodicals is to write as obscurely as possible; they make it a rule never to call anything by its proper name, never to say anything directly in plain English, never to express their true meaning. They delight to say something quite different in appearance from that which they purpose to say, requiring the reader to translate it, if he can, and, if he cannot, leaving him in a state of bewilderment, or wholly uninformed.

Worse models you could not find than those presented to you by the newspapers and periodicals; yet are you so beset by them that it is extremely difficult not to catch the infection. Reading day by day compositions teeming with bad taste, and especially where the style floods you with its conceits and affectations, you unconsciously fall into the same vile habit, and incessant vigilance is required to restore you to sound, vigorous, manly, and wholesome English. I cannot recommend to you a better plan for counteracting the inevitable mischief than the daily reading of portions of some of our best writers of English, specimens of which you will find near the close of the First Part of this volume. We learn more by example than in any other way, and a careful perusal of these choice specimens of writing from the works of the most celebrated authors will greatly aid you.

You will soon learn to appreciate the power and beauty of those simple sentences compared with the forcible feebleness of some, and the spasmodic efforts and mountebank contortions of others, that meet your eye when you turn over the pages of magazine or newspaper. I do not say that you will at once become reconciled to plain English, after being accustomed to the tinsel and tin trumpets of too many modern writers; but you will gradually come to like it more and more; you will return to it with greater zest year by year; and, having thoroughly learned to love it, you will strive to follow the example of the authors who have written it.

Read Great Authors.

And this practice of daily reading the writings of one of the great masters of the English tongue should never be abandoned. So long as you have occasion to write or speak, let it be held by you almost as a duty. And here I would suggest that you should read them _aloud_; for there is no doubt that the words, entering at once by the eye and the ear, are more sharply impressed upon the mind than when perused silently.

Moreover, when reading aloud you read more slowly; the full meaning of each word must be understood, that you may give the right expression to it, and the ear catches the general structure of the sentences more perfectly. Nor will this occupy much time. There is no need to devote to it more than a few minutes every day. Two or three pages thus read daily will suffice to preserve the purity of your taste.

Your first care in composition will be, of course, to express yourself grammatically. This is partly habit, partly teaching. If those with whom a child is brought up talk grammatically, he will do likewise, from mere imitation; but he will learn quite as readily anything ungrammatical to which his ears may be accustomed; and, as the most fortunate of us mingle in childhood with servants and other persons not always observant of number, gender, mood, and tense, and as even they who have enjoyed the best education lapse, in familiar talk, into occasional defiance of grammar, which could not be avoided without pedantry, you will find the study of grammar necessary to you under any circumstances. Your ear will teach you a great deal, and you may usually trust to it as a guide; but sometimes occasions arise when you are puzzled to determine which is the correct form of expression, and in such cases there is safety only in reference to the rule.

Fortunately our public schools and academies give much attention to the study of grammar. The very first evidence that a person is well educated is the ability to speak correctly. If you were to say, “I paid big prices for them pictures,” or, “Her photographs always flatters her,” or, “His fund of jokes and stories make him a pleasant companion,” or, “He buys the paper for you and I”—if you were guilty of committing such gross errors against good grammar, or scores of others that might be mentioned, your chances for obtaining a standing in polite society would be very slim. Educated persons would at once rank you as an ignorant boor, and their treatment of you would be suggestive of weather below zero. Do not “murder the King’s English.”

PUTTING WORDS INTO SENTENCES.

Having pointed out the importance of correct grammar and the right choice of language, I wish now to furnish you with some practical suggestions for the construction of sentences. Remember that a good thought often suffers from a weak and faulty expression of it.

Your sentences will certainly shape themselves after the structure of your own mind. If your thoughts are vivid and definite, so will be your language; if dreamy and hazy, so will your composition be obscure. Your speech, whether oral or written, can be but the expression of yourself; and what you are, that speech will be.

Remember, then, that you cannot materially change the substantial character of your writing; but you may much improve the form of it by the observance of two or three general rules.

In the first place, _be sure you have something to say_. This may appear to you a very unnecessary precaution; for who, you will ask, having nothing to say, desires to write or to speak? I do not doubt that you have often felt as if your brain was teeming with thoughts too big for words; but when you came to seize them, for the purpose of putting them into words, you have found them evading your grasp and melting into the air. They were not _thoughts_ at all, but _fancies_—shadows which you had mistaken for substances, and whose vagueness you would never have detected, had you not sought to embody them in language. Hence you will need to be assured that you have thoughts to express, before you try to express them.

And how to do this? By asking yourself, when you take up the pen, what it is you intend to say, and answering yourself as you best can, without caring for the form of expression. If it is only a vague and mystical idea, conceived in cloudland, you will try in vain to put it into any form of words, however rude. If, however, it is a definite thought, proceed at once to set it down in words and fix it upon paper.

Vague and Hazy Ideas.

The expression of a precise and definite thought is not difficult. Words will follow the thought; indeed, they usually accompany it, because it is almost impossible to think unless the thought is clothed in words. So closely are ideas and language linked by habit, that very few minds are capable of contemplating them apart, insomuch that it may be safely asserted of all intellects, save the highest, that if they are unable to express their ideas, it is because the ideas are incapable of expression—because they are vague and hazy.

For the present purpose it will suffice that you put upon paper the substance of what you desire to say, in terms as rude as you please, the object being simply to measure your thoughts. If you cannot express them, do not attribute your failure to the weakness of language, but to the dreaminess of your ideas, and therefore banish them without mercy, and direct your mind to some more definite object for its contemplations. If you succeed in putting your ideas into words, be they ever so rude, you will have learned the first, the most difficult, and the most important lesson in the art of writing.

The second is far easier. Having thoughts, and having embodied those thoughts in unpolished phrase, your next task will be to present them in the most attractive form. To secure the attention of those to whom you desire to communicate your thoughts, it is not enough that you utter them in any words that come uppermost; you must express them in the best words, and in the most graceful sentences, so that they may be read with pleasure, or at least without offending the taste.

Your first care in the choice of words will be that they shall express precisely your meaning. Words are used so loosely in society that the same word will often be found to convey half a dozen different ideas to as many auditors. Even where there is not a conflict of meanings in the same word, there is usually a choice of words having meanings sufficiently alike to be used indiscriminately, without subjecting the user to a charge of positive error. But the cultivated taste is shown in the selection of such as express the most delicate shades of difference.

Suit the Word to the Thought.

Therefore, it is not enough to have abundance of words; you must learn the precise meaning of each word, and in what it differs from other words supposed to be synonymous; and then you must select that which most exactly conveys the thought you are seeking to embody. There is but one way to fill your mind with words, and that is, to read the best authors, and to acquire an accurate knowledge of the precise meaning of their words—by _parsing_ as you read.

By the practice of _parsing_, I intend very nearly the process so called at schools, only limiting the exercise to the definitions of the principal words. As thus: take, for instance the sentence that immediately precedes this,—ask yourself what is the meaning of “practice,” of “parsing,” of “process,” and such like. Write the answer to each, that you may be assured that your definition is distinct. Compare it with the definitions of the same word in the dictionaries, and observe the various senses in which it has been used.

You will thus learn also the words that have the same, or nearly the same, meaning—a large vocabulary of which is necessary to composition, for frequent repetition of the same word, especially in the same sentence, is an inelegance, if not a positive error. Compare your definition with that of the authorities, and your use of the word with the uses of it cited in the dictionary, and you will thus measure your own progress in the science of words.

An Amusing Exercise.

This useful exercise may be made extremely amusing as well as instructive, if friends, having a like desire for self-improvement, will join you in the practice of it; and I can assure you that an evening will be thus spent pleasantly as well as profitably. You may make a merry game of it—a game of speculation. Given a word; each one of the company in turn writes his definition of it; Webster’s Dictionary, or some other, is then referred to, and that which comes nearest the authentic definition wins the honor or the prize; it may be a sweepstakes carried off by him whose definition hits the mark the most nearly.

But, whether in company or alone, you should not omit the frequent practice of this exercise, for none will impart such a power of accurate expression and supply such an abundance of apt words wherein to embody the delicate hues and various shadings of thought.

So with _sentences_, or the combination of words. Much skill is required for their construction. They must convey your meaning accurately, and as far as possible in the natural order of thought, and yet they must not be complex, involved, verbose, stiff, ungainly, or full of repetitions. They must be brief, but not curt; explicit, but not verbose. Here, again, good taste must be your guide, rather than rules which teachers propound, but which the pupil never follows.

Not only does every style require its own construction of a sentence, but almost every combination of thought will demand a different shape in the sentence by which it is conveyed. A standard sentence, like a standard style, is a pedantic absurdity; and, if you would avoid it, you must _not_ try to write by rule, though you may refer to rules in order to find out your faults after you have written.

Lastly, inasmuch as your design is, not only to influence, but to please, it will be necessary for you to cultivate what may be termed the _graces_ of composition. It is not enough that you instruct the minds of your readers; you must gratify their taste, and win their attention, giving pleasure in the very process of imparting information. Hence you must make choice of words that convey no coarse meanings, and excite no disagreeable associations. You are not to sacrifice expression to elegance; but so, likewise, you are not to be content with a word or a sentence if it is offensive or unpleasing, merely because it best expresses your meaning.

Graces of Composition.

The precise boundary between refinement and rudeness cannot be defined; your own cultivated taste must tell you the point at which power or explicitness is to be preferred to delicacy. One more caution I would impress upon you, that you pause and give careful consideration to it before you permit a coarse expression, on account of its correctness, to pass your critical review when you revise your manuscript, and again when you read the proof, if ever you rush into print.

And much might be said also about the _music of speech_. Your words and sentences must be musical. They must not come harshly from the tongue, if uttered, or grate upon the ear, if heard. There is a rhythm in words which should be observed in all composition, written or oral. The perception of it is a natural gift, but it may be much cultivated and improved by reading the works of the great masters of English, especially of the best poets—the most excellent of all in this wonderful melody of words being Longfellow and Tennyson. Perusal of their works will show you what you should strive to attain in this respect, even though it may not enable you fully to accomplish the object of your endeavor. Aim at the sun and you will shoot high.

ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED.

The faculty for writing varies in various persons. Some write easily, some laboriously; words flow from some pens without effort, others produce them slowly; composition seems to come naturally to a few, and a few never can learn it, toil after it as they may. But whatever the natural power, of this be certain, that _good_ writing cannot be accomplished without study and painstaking practice. Facility is far from being a proof of excellence. Many of the finest works in our language were written slowly and painfully; the words changed again and again, and the structure of the sentences carefully cast and recast.

There is a fatal facility that runs “in one weak, washy, everlasting flood,” that is more hopeless than any slowness or slovenliness. If you find your pen galloping over the paper, take it as a warning of a fault to be shunned; stay your hand, pause, reflect, read what you have written; see what are the thoughts you have set down, and resolutely try to condense them. There is no more wearisome process than to write the same thing over again; nevertheless it is a most efficient teaching. Your endeavor should be to say the same things, but to say them in a different form; to condense your thoughts, and express them in fewer words.

Compare this second effort with the first, and you will at once measure your improvement. You cannot now do better than repeat this lesson twice; rewrite, still bearing steadily in mind your object, which is, to say what you desire to utter in words the most apt and in the briefest form consistent with intelligibility and grace. Having done this, take your last copy and strike out pitilessly every superfluous word, substitute a vigorous or expressive word for a weak one, sacrifice the adjectives without remorse, and, when this work is done, rewrite the whole, as amended.

And, if you would see what you have gained by this laborious but effective process, compare the completed essay with the first draft of it, and you will recognize the superiority of careful composition over facile scribbling. You will be fortunate if you thus acquire a mastery of condensation, and can succeed in putting the reins upon that fatal facility of words, before it has grown into an unconquerable habit.

Simplicity is the charm of writing, as of speech; therefore, cultivate it with care. It is not the natural manner of expression, or, at least, there grows with great rapidity in all of us a tendency to an ornamental style of talking and writing. As soon as the child emerges from the imperfect phraseology of his first letters to papa, he sets himself earnestly to the task of trying to disguise what he has to say in some other words than such as plainly express his meaning and nothing more. To him it seems an object of ambition—a feat to be proud of—to go by the most indirect paths, instead of the straight way, and it is a triumph to give the person he addresses the task of interpreting his language, to find the true meaning lying under the apparent meaning.

Come Right to the Point.

Circumlocution is not the invention of refinement and civilization, but the vice of the uncultivated; it prevails the most with the young in years and in minds that never attain maturity. It is a characteristic of the savage. You cannot too much school yourself to avoid this tendency, if it has not already seized you, as is most probable, or to banish it, if infected by it.

If you have any doubt of your condition in this respect, your better course will be to consult some judicious friend, conscious of the evil and competent to criticism. Submit to him some of your compositions, asking him to tell you candidly what are their faults, and especially what are the circumlocutions in them, and how the same thought might have been better, because more simply and plainly, expressed. Having studied his corrections, rewrite the article, striving to avoid those faults.

Submit this again to your friendly censor, and, if many faults are found still to linger, apply yourself to the labor of repetition once more. Repeat this process with new writings, until you produce them in a shape that requires few blottings, and, having thus learned what to shun, you may venture on self-reliance.

But, even when parted from your friendly critic, you should continue to be your own critic, revising every sentence, with resolute purpose to strike out all superfluous words and to substitute an expressive word for every fine word. You will hesitate to blot many a pet phrase, of whose invention you felt proud at the moment of its birth; but, if it is circumlocution, pass the pen through it ruthlessly, and by degrees you will train yourself to the crowning victory of art—simplicity.

When you are writing on any subject, address yourself to it directly. Come to the point as speedily as possible, and do not walk round about it, as if you were reluctant to grapple with it. There is so much to be read nowadays that it is the duty of all who write to condense their thoughts and words. This cannot always be done in speaking, where slow minds must follow your faster lips, but it is always practicable in writing, where the reader may move slowly, or repeat what he has not understood on the first passing of the eye over the words.

Arranging Your Words.

In constructing your sentences, marshal your words in the order of thought—that is the natural, and therefore the most intelligible shape for language to assume. In conversation we do this instinctively, but in writing the rule is almost always set at defiance. The man who would tell you a story in a plain, straightforward way would not write it without falling into utter confusion and placing almost every word precisely where it ought not to be. In learning to write, let this be your next care.

Probably it will demand much toil at first in rewriting for the sake of redistributing your words; acquired habit of long standing will unconsciously mould your sentences to the accustomed shape; but persevere and you will certainly succeed at last, and your words will express your thoughts precisely as you think them, and as you desire that they should be impressed upon the minds of those to whom they are addressed.

So with the sentences. Let each be complete in itself, embodying one proposition. Shun that tangled skein in which some writers involve themselves, to the perplexity of their readers and their own manifest bewilderment. When you find a sentence falling into such a maze, halt and retrace your steps. Cancel what you have done, and reflect what you design to say. Set clearly before your mind the ideas that you had begun to mingle; disentangle them, range them in orderly array, and express them in distinct sentences, where each will stand separate, but in its right relationship to all the rest.

This exercise will improve, not only your skill in the art of writing, but also in the art of thinking, for those involved sentences are almost always the result of confused thoughts; the resolve to write clearly will compel you to think clearly, and you will be surprised to discover how often thoughts, which had appeared to you definite in contemplation, are found, when you come to set them upon paper, to be most incomplete and shadowy. Knowing the fault, you can then put your wits to work and furnish the remedy.

EXERCISES IN COMPOSITION.

SIMPLE SENTENCES.

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE.

The sentence ‘John writes’ consists of two parts:—

(1) The name of the person of whom we are speaking,—_John_

and

(2) What we say about John,—_writes_.

Similarly the sentence ‘Fire burns’ consists of two parts:—

(1) The name of the thing of which we are speaking,—_fire_.

(2) What we say about fire,—_burns_.

Every sentence has two such parts.

The name of the person or thing spoken about is called the =Subject=.

What is said about the Subject is called the =Predicate=.

Exercise 1.

_Point out the Subjects and the Predicates._

William sings. Birds fly. Sheep bleat. Henry is reading. Rain is falling. Rain has fallen. Stars are shining. Stars were shining. Cattle are grazing. Soldiers are watching. Soldiers watched. Soldiers were watched. School is closed. Donkeys bray. Donkeys were braying. I am writing. We are reading.

EXAMPLES.—William sings: “William” is the subject; “sings” is the predicate. Henry is reading: “Henry” is the subject; “is reading” is the predicate. In like manner you should go through the list and point out the subjects and verbs.

Exercise 2.

_Place Predicates (Verbs) after the following Subjects_:—

Baby. Babies. Lightning. Flowers. Soldiers. Lions. Bees. Gas. The sun. The wind. The eagle. Eagles. The ship. Ships. The master. The scholars. The cat. Cats. Bakers. A butcher. The moon. The stars. Carpenters. The carpenter. The mower. Porters. Ploughmen.

EXAMPLES.—“Baby” smiles. “Babies” cry. “Lightning” strikes. Supply verbs for all the subjects.

Exercise 3.

_Place Subjects before the following Predicates_:—

Mew. Chatter. Grunt. Ran. Hum. Fly. Howl. Is walking. Plays. Played. Fell. Whistled. Shrieked. Sings. Sing. Sang. Sleeps. Slept. Bark. Barks. Cried. Bloom. Laughed. Soar. Swim. Swam. Was swimming. Dawns. Dawned. Gallops. Roar.

EXAMPLES.—Cats “mew.” Monkeys “chatter.” Pigs “grunt.” Go on and write subjects for all the verbs.

SUBJECT, PREDICATE, AND OBJECT.

The Predicate always is, or contains, a Verb. In many sentences the Predicate is a Verb alone. When it is a Verb in the Active Voice, it has an =Object=, thus:—

_Subject._ _Predicate._ _Object._ Parents love children. Children obey parents. Boys write essays. Haste makes waste.

Exercise 4.

_Pick out the Subjects, Predicates, and Objects._

Soldiers fight battles. Tom missed Fred. Mary is minding baby. Job showed patience. Abraham had faith. Romulus founded Rome. Titus captured Jerusalem. Arthur loves father. Walter threw a stone. Tom broke a window. The servant swept the room. Masons build houses. The girl is milking the cow. The dog bit the beggar. Artists paint pictures. I am expecting a letter. We have won prizes.

EXAMPLES.—The word “soldiers” is the subject; “fight” is the predicate; “battles” is the object. “Tom” is the subject; “missed” is the predicate; “Fred” is the object. You do not need to be confined to the sentences here given; write others of your own, and name the subjects, verbs and objects.

Exercise 5.

You will readily understand what is required to complete the sentences in Exercises 5, 6 and 7. A poet _writes_ poems. The smith _strikes_ the iron, etc.

_Supply Predicates._

A poet ... poems. The smith ... the iron. Horses ... carts. Cows ... grass. Cats ... milk. The sexton ... the bell. The horse ... the groom. Grocers ... sugar. The hounds ... the fox. Birds ... nests. The gardener ... the flowers. Miss Wilson ... a ballad. Horses ... hay. The dog ... the thief. The banker ... a purse. Tailors ... coats. Brewers ... beer. The girl ... a rose.

Exercise 6.

_Supply Objects._

The servant broke.... The cook made.... The hunter killed.... Farmers till.... Soldiers fight.... Tom missed.... Mary is minding.... Romulus founded.... Titus captured.... Cæsar invaded.... The gardener sowed.... Somebody stole.... Artists paint.... The sailor lost.... Children learn.... Authors write.... Farmers grow.... Birds build.... I admire.... We like.... I hurt....

Exercise 7.

_Supply Subjects._

... dusted the room. ... is drawing a load. ... loves me. ... met Tom. ... caught the thief. ... grow flowers. ... bit the beggar. ... won the prize. ... has lost the dog. ... has killed the cat. ... felled a tree. ... are singing songs. ... is making a pudding. ... is expecting a letter. ... gives light. ... makes shoes. ... sold a book. ... like him. ... likes him.

ENLARGED SUBJECT.

Subjects may be enlarged by =Adjuncts=. Thus the sentence “Boys work” may, by additions to the subject, become

_The_ boys work.

_These_ boys work.

_Good_ boys work.

_My_ boys work.

_The good_ boys _of the village_ work.

_The good_ boys _of the village, wishing to please their master_, work.

Exercise 8.

_Point out the Subject and its Adjuncts._

Tom’s brother has arrived. The careless boy will be punished. The laws of the land have been broken. The sweet flowers are blooming. The poor slave is crying. The boat, struck by a great wave, sank. The little child, tired of play, is sleeping. A short letter telling the good news has been sent.

Exercise 9.

_Add Adjuncts to each Subject._

Birds fly. Sheep bleat. Stars are shining. Cattle are grazing. Soldiers are watching. Donkeys bray. Lightning is flashing. The sun is shining. The scholars are studying. The ploughman is whistling. Monkeys chatter. Pigs grunt. The lark is soaring. Lions roar.

ENLARGED OBJECTS.

Objects, like Subjects, may be enlarged by Adjuncts. Thus the sentence “Boys learn lessons” may, by additions to the Object, become

Boys learn _the_ lessons.

Boys learn _their_ lessons.

Boys learn _home_ lessons.

Boys learn _difficult_ lessons.

Boys learn lessons _about Verbs_.

Boys learn _the_ lessons _set by Mr. Edwards_.

Boys learn _the difficult home_ lessons _about Verbs set by Mr. Edwards_.

Exercise 10.

_Point out the Object and its Adjuncts._

The servant dusted every room. Fred loves his sweet little sister. We have rented a house at Barmouth. We saw our neighbor’s new Shetland pony. I am reading a book written by my father. The policeman caught the man accused of theft. The gardener is hoeing the potatoes planted by him in the early spring.

Exercise 11.

_Add Adjuncts to each Object._

The soldiers fought battles. Mary is minding baby. Walter threw a stone. Tom broke a window. The servant swept the room. The girl is milking the cow. The dog bit the beggar. The artist painted pictures. I am expecting a letter. We have won prizes. The fire destroyed houses. The general gained a victory. The engineer made a railway. The children drowned the kittens. We have bought books. He teaches geography.

ENLARGED PREDICATE.

Predicates, like Subjects and Objects, may be enlarged by Adjuncts. Thus the sentence “Boys work” may, by additions to the Predicate, become

Boys work _diligently_.

Boys work _now_.

Boys work _in school_.

Boys work _to please their teacher_.

Boys work _diligently now in school to please their teacher_.

Exercise 12.

_Pick out Predicate and its Adjuncts._

Tom’s brother will come to-morrow. The careless girl was looking off her book. The laws of the land were often broken by the rude mountaineers. Pretty flowers grow in my garden all through the spring. The poor slave was crying bitterly over the loss of his child. The corn is waving in the sun. The great bell was tolling slowly for the death of the President. The trees are bowing before the strong wind. I am going to Montreal with my father next week.

Exercise 13.

_Add Adjuncts to each Predicate in Exercises 8, 9, 10 and 11._

VERBS OF INCOMPLETE PREDICATION.

Some Verbs do not convey a complete idea, and therefore cannot be Predicates by themselves. Such Verbs are called =Verbs of Incomplete Predication=, and the words added to complete the Predicate are called the =Complement=.

_Examples of Verbs of Incomplete Predication._

The words, “London is,” do not contain a complete idea. Add the words, “a great city,” and you have a complete sentence. “William was,” needs a complement, and you can finish the sentence by writing, “Duke of Normandy.”

Exercise 14.

_Point out the Verbs of Incomplete Predication and the Complements._

Thou art the man. I am he. It is good. He is here. The house is to be sold. The horse is in the stable. The gun was behind the door. Jackson is a very good gardener. Those buds will be pretty flowers. Old King Cole was a merry old soul. I’m the chief of Ulva’s isle. William became King of England. The girl seems to be very happy. The general was made Emperor of Rome.

_Supply Complements._

London is.... Paris is.... Jerusalem was.... The boy will be.... He has become.... We are.... I am.... He was.... Richard became.... The prisoners are.... The man was.... Those birds are.... Grass is.... Homer was.... The child was.... The sun is.... The stars are.... The sheep were.... Charleston is.... Havana was....

PRACTICE IN SIMPLE SENTENCES.

A sentence when written should always begin with a capital letter, and nearly always end with a full stop.

A sentence which is a question ends with a note of interrogation (?), and one which is an exclamation ends with a note of admiration or exclamation (!).

Exercise 15.

_Make sentences about_

Fire. The sun. The moon. The sea. Bread. Butter. Cheese. Wool. Cotton. Linen. Boots. Hats. A coat. The table. The window. The desk. Pens. Ink. Paper. Pencils. Lead. Iron. Tin. Copper. Gold. Silver. A knife. The clock. Books. Coal. The servant. A chair. Breakfast. Dinner. Supper. The apple. The pear. Oranges. Lemons. Water. Milk. Coffee. Tea. Cocoa. Maps. Pictures.

Exercise 16.

_Make sentences introducing the following pairs of words_:

Fire, grate. Sun, earth. Moon, night. Bread, flour. Pen, steel. Wool, sheep. Cotton, America. Boots, leather. Ink, black. Paper, rags. Walk, fields. Pair, gloves. Learning, to paint. Brother, arm. Wheel, cart. London, Thames. Bristol, Avon. Dublin, Ireland. Paris, France. Columbus, America. Shakespeare, poet. Threw, window. Useful, metal. Carpet, new. Wall, bricklayer. Road, rough. Lock, cupboard. Jug, full. Hawaii, island. Pencils, made. Drew, map.

Exercise 17.

_Write complete sentences in answer to the following questions_:—

EXAMPLE. _Question._ What is your name? _Answer._ My name is John Smith.

If you said simply “John Smith” your answer would not be a complete sentence.

What is your name? When were you born? How old are you? Where do you live? How long have you lived there? What school do you attend? Of what games are you fond? During what part of the year is football played? And lawn-tennis? Are you learning Latin? And French? And German? Can you swim? And row? And ride? And play the piano? Do you like the sea? Have you ever been on the sea? Have you read “Robinson Crusoe?” What is the first meal of the day? And the second? And the third? Where does the sun rise? And set? How many days are there in a week? And in a year? And in leap year? How often does leap year come?

Exercise 18.

_Make three sentences about each of the following_:—

The place where you live. France. India. Australia. America. A horse. A cow. A dog. A sheep. A lion. A tiger. Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. The sun. The moon. Stars. Holidays. Boys’ games. Girls’ games. A railway. A steam-engine. The sea. A ship. Flowers. Fruits. A garden. Wool. Cotton. Leather. Silk. Water. Milk. Rice. Wheat. Books. Tea. Coffee. Sugar. Cocoa. Paper. Houses. Bricks. Stone. A field. Guns. A watch. A farm. Knives. Bees. Shellfish. Fresh-water fish. Coal. Glass. Gas. The United States. New York. The Mississippi. Canada. Indians. Chicago. St. Louis. Oakland. Philadelphia. Bicycle. Golf.

Exercise 19.

_Combine each of the following facts into a sentence and write it out_:

EXAMPLE: Take the first name below, thus:—“Joseph Addison, the essayist, was born at Milston in Wiltshire, in the year 1672.” Pursue the same plan with all the other sets of facts here furnished.

_Name._ _What he was._ _Where born._ _When born._

Joseph Addison Essayist Milston, 1672 Wiltshire William Blake Poet and painter London 1757 John Bunyan Author of the “Pilgrim’s Elstow, 1628 Progress” Bedfordshire Lord Byron Great English poet London 1788 Geoffrey Chaucer Great English poet London About 1344 (probably) George Washington First President of the Virginia 1732 United States Justin S. Morrill United States Senator Vermont 1810 William McKinley President of the United Ohio 1844 States

_Name._ _What he was._ _Where he died._ _When he died._

Matthew Arnold Poet and essayist Liverpool 1888 Daniel Defoe Author of “Robinson London 1731 Crusoe” Henry Fielding Novelist Lisbon 1754 Henry Hallam Historian Penshurst 1859 William Greatest English Stratford-on-Avon 1616 Shakespeare poet William H. Great English Hawarden 1898 Gladstone statesman Henry W. American poet Cambridge 1882 Longfellow Abraham Lincoln President of the Washington 1865 United States

_Battle._ _Date._ _Between._ _Victor._

Senlac, near Hastings 1066 English and Normans Normans Bannockburn 1314 English and Scotch Scotch Cressy 1346 English and French English Waterloo 1815 English and French English Marston Moor 1644 Royalists and Parliamentarians Parliamentarians Bull Run 1861 Unionists and Confederates Confederates Manila 1898 Americans and Spaniards Americans

These facts should be combined into sentences in various ways, thus:

_The Normans defeated the English at Senlac, near Hastings, in the year 1066._

_The English were defeated by the Normans at Senlac, near Hastings, in the year 1066._

_In the year 1066, at Senlac, near Hastings, the Normans beat the English, etc. etc._

_Event._ _Place._ _Date._ _Person._

Printing introduced 1476 William Caxton into England Discovery of America 1492 Christopher Columbus Defeat of the Spanish English Channel 1588 Howard, Drake and Armada others Gunpowder Plot Westminster 1605 Guy Fawkes and others Conquest of England 1066 William, Duke of Normandy Surrender of British Yorktown 1781 Lord Cornwallis Destruction of Spanish Santiago 1898 Admiral Schley fleet

SENTENCES COMBINED.

A number of simple sentences may sometimes be combined so as to form one.

EXAMPLE:—The girl was little. She lost her doll. The doll was pretty. It was new. She lost it yesterday. She lost it in the afternoon.

These sentences may be combined in one, thus:—The little girl lost her pretty new doll yesterday afternoon.

The combined sentence tells us as much as the separate sentences, and tells it in a shorter, clearer, and more pleasing way.

Exercise 20.

_Combine the following sets of sentences_:—

1. The man is tall. He struck his head. He was entering a carriage. The carriage was low.

2. Tom had a slate. It was new. He broke it. He broke it this morning.

3. The cow is black. She is grazing in a meadow. The meadow is beside the river.

4. The apples are ripe. They grow in an orchard. The orchard is Mr. Brown’s.

5. The corn is green. It is waving. The breeze causes it to wave. The breeze is gentle.

6. The father is kind. He bought some clothes. The clothes were new. He bought them for the children. The children were good.

7. The boy was careless. He made blots. The blots were big. They were made on his book. The book was clean.

8. The bucket was old. It was made of oak. It fell. It fell into the well. The well was deep.

9. Polly Flinders was little. She sat. She sat among the cinders. She was warming her toes. Her toes were pretty. They were little.

10. Tom Tucker is little. He is singing. He is singing for his supper.

11. There were three wise men. They lived at Gotham. They went to sea. They went in a bowl. They had a rough trip.

12. The man came. He was the man in the moon. He came down soon. He came too soon.

13. I saw ships. There were three. They came sailing. They sailed by. I saw them on Christmas day. I saw them in the morning.

14. Cole was a king. He was old. He was a merry soul.

15. A great battle began. It was between the English and the Scotch. It began next morning. It began at break of day. It was at Bannockburn.

Sentences are often combined by means of Conjunctions or other connecting words.

Sentences are combined, by means of the Conjunction _and_.

EXAMPLES:—1. The boy is good. The boy is clever.

2. William is going to school. John is going to school.

3. I admire my teacher. I love my teacher.

These may be combined into single sentences, as follows:—

1. The boy is good and clever.

2. William and John are going to school.

3. I admire and love my teacher.

Note the use of the comma when more than two words or sets of words are joined by _and_:—

I met Fred, Will and George.

Faith, Hope and Charity are sometimes called the Christian Graces.

I bought a pound of tea, two pounds of coffee, ten pounds of sugar and a peck of flour.

The comma is used in the same way with _or_.

Exercise 21.

_Combine the following set of sentences by means of the Conjunction =and=_:—

1. Jack went up the hill. Jill went up the hill.

2. The lion beat the unicorn. The lion drove the unicorn out of town.

3. Edward is honest. Edward is truthful.

4. The child is tired. The child is sleepy.

5. Tom will pay us a visit. Ethel will pay us a visit. Their parents will pay us a visit.

6. The grocer sells tea. He sells coffee. He sells sugar.

7. Maud deserves the prize. She will get it.

8. Coal is a mineral. Iron is a mineral. Copper is a mineral. Lead is a mineral.

9. The boy worked hard. He advanced rapidly.

10. Little drops of water, little grains of sand make the mighty ocean. Little drops of water, little grains of sand make the pleasant land.

Sentences are combined by means of the Conjunction _or_, thus:—

1. The boy is lazy. The boy is stupid.

2. I want a pen. I want a pencil.

3. The horse is lost. The horse is stolen.

These sentences may be combined as follows:—

1. The boy is lazy or stupid.

2. I want a pen or a pencil.

3. The horse is lost or stolen.

Remember to put in the commas when more than two words or sets of words are joined by _or_, thus:—

We could have tea, coffee or cocoa.

The beggar asked for a piece of bread, a glass of milk or a few pennies.

Exercise 22.

_Combine the following sets of sentences by means of the Conjunction =or=_:—

1. The child was tired. The child was sleepy.

2. My father will meet me at the station. My mother will meet me at the station.

3. Will you have tea? Will you have coffee?

4. The colonel must be present. One of the other officers must be present.

5. The cup was broken by the servant. The cup was broken by the dog. The cup was broken by the cat.

6. I must find the book. I must buy another.

7. The horse is in the stable. The horse is in the barnyard. The horse is in the meadow.

8. The prize will be gained by Brown. The prize will be gained by Smith. The prize will be gained by Jones.

Sentences may be combined by _either_ ... _or_, and _neither_ ... _nor_, thus:—

James was at school this morning. His sister was at school this morning.

These sentences may be combined thus:—

Either James or his sister was at school this morning.

Neither James nor his sister was at school this morning.

Exercise 23.

_Combine the following sets of sentences:—(a) By =either= ... =or=. (b) By =neither= ... =nor=._

1. The man can read. The man can write.

2. He is deaf. He is stupid.

3. That shot will strike the horse. That shot will strike the rider.

4. The king was weak in mind. The king was weak in body.

5. The king was loved. The queen was loved.

6. The cow is for sale. The calf is for sale.

Sentences may be combined by _both_ ... _and_, thus:—

The man is tired. The horse is tired.

These sentences may be combined in the following:—

Both the man and the horse are tired.

Exercise 24.

_Combine, by means of =both= ... =and=, the sets of sentences given in Exercise 23._

Sentences may be combined by means of Conjunctions of Cause, Consequence or Condition, such as _if_, _though_, _although_, _because_, thus:—

1. You are tired. You may rest.

2. The boy was not bright. He was good.

3. He is liked. He is good tempered.

Combine these sentences as follows:—

1. If you are tired you may rest.

2. Though the boy was not bright he was good.

3. He is liked because he is good tempered.

Exercise 25.

_Combine the following sets of sentences_:—

(a) _By means of =if=._

1. You will get the prize. You deserve it.

2. He might have succeeded. He had tried.

3. You are truthful. You will be believed.

4. Send for me. You want me.

5. You do not sow. You cannot expect to reap.

6. You are waking. Call me early.

7. I will come with you. You wish it.

8. We had known you were in town. We should have called on you.

(b) _By means of =though= or =although=._

9. The man was contented. He was poor.

10. The little girl has travelled much. She is young.

11. The story is true. You do not believe it.

12. He spoke the truth. He was not believed.

13. It was rather cold. The day was pleasant.

14. He is often told of his faults. He does not mend them.

(c) _By means of =because=; also by means of =as= and =since=._

16. I came. You called me.

17. I will stay. You wish it.

18. The dog could not enter. The hole was too small.

19. You are tired. You may rest.

20. Freely we serve. We freely love.

21. The hireling fleeth. He is a hireling.

22. We love him. He first loved us.

Sentences may be combined by means of Conjunctive Adverbs (such as _where_ with its compounds, also _when_, _whence_, _why_), and of Conjunctions of Time (such as _after_, _before_ _while_, _ere_, _till_, _until_, _since_).

Exercise 26.

_Combine, by means of one of the words given in the last paragraph, the following sets of sentences_:

1. This is the place. My brother works.

2. Mary went. The lamb was sure to go.

3. The boy was reading. His master came up.

4. The moon rose. The sun had set.

5. It is now three months. We heard from our cousin.

6. Do not go out. The storm has abated.

7. The man arrived. We were speaking to him.

8. I remember the house. I was born.

9. I know a bank. The wild thyme blows.

10. There is the field. The money was found.

11. The workman did not hear. He was called.

12. He goes out riding. He can find time.

_Supply the omitted clauses_:

The tree is still lying where.... Wherever ... was my poor dog Tray. William came after.... My brother cannot stay till.... The merchant has been here since.... Go where.... Smooth runs the water where.... She stayed till.... The boy has worked hard since.... We shall be pleased to see you whenever.... The train had gone before.... The little girl was tired after.... Make hay while....

Sentences may be combined by means of Relative Pronouns, thus:

1. That is the boy. The boy broke the window.

2. That is the man. The man’s window was broken.

3. Mary is the girl. You want Mary.

4. This is the house. Jack built the house.

5. The knife was lost. The knife cost fifty cents.

Combine as follows:

1. That is the boy who broke the window.

2. That is the man whose window was broken.

3. Mary is the girl whom you want.

4. This is the house that Jack built.

5. The knife which was lost cost fifty cents.

Exercise 27.

_Combine, as in the examples just given, the following pairs of sentences_:

1. The boy is crying. The boy is called Tom.

2. The man was hurt. The man is better now.

3. The grocer has sent for the police. The grocer’s goods were stolen.

4. The child is very naughty. The father punished the child.

5. My uncle gave me the book. The book is on the table.

6. The horse goes well. I bought the horse.

7. The lady sings beautifully. You see the lady.

8. They did not hear the preacher. They went to hear the preacher.

9. The gentleman is very kind to the poor. You see the gentleman’s house.

10. I have just bought an overcoat. The overcoat is waterproof.

11. The tree was a chestnut. The wind blew the tree down.

12. Tom had just been given the dollar. He lost it.

13. The boy drove away the birds. The birds were eating the corn.

14. The girl is very clever. You met her brother.

15. The dog fetched the birds. Its master had shot them.

16. Where is the book? You borrowed it.

17. The cow has been found. It was lost.

PUNCTUATION.

If the proper stops are left out, the meaning of a sentence may be doubtful. Take, for example, the toast at a public dinner:

Woman without her man is a brute.

This might mean that woman without man is a brute. Punctuate the sentence correctly by the right use of the comma, and you will see that the meaning is quite different. Thus: Woman, without her, man is a brute.

The misplacing of the stops may make nonsense of a sentence. Take the sentence:

Cæsar entered, on his head his helmet, on his feet sandals, in his hand his trusty sword, in his eye an angry glare.

This may become: Cæsar entered on his head, his helmet on his feet, sandals in his hand, his trusty sword in his eye, an angry glare.

The barber’s sign also had two meanings according to its punctuation:

1. What do you think? I shave you for nothing and give you a drink.

2. What! Do you think I shave you for nothing and give you a drink?

THE FULL STOP.

A =Full Stop= is placed at the end of every sentence.

Exercise 28.

_Insert full stops where wanted. Place a capital letter after each._

The old man was sitting under a tree the house was burned the roses were scattered by the wind the carpet was beaten this morning the mower was bitten by a snake that book is liked England was conquered by William the corn was ground by the miller the father was called by a little girl the cheeses were eaten by mice that fish is caught with a hook the flowers were gathered by Ellen that carving is much admired the lady was nearly stunned snow had newly fallen the sun had just risen the moon was almost setting Amelia is always reading Nelly had often driven the horse the week has quickly gone the bells were merrily ringing.

EXAMPLES:—The old man was sitting under a tree. The house was burned. The roses were scattered by the wind, etc.

_Write the following, insert stops where wanted, and make good sense of it._

The celebrated Rabelais was once staying at a remote country inn he wished to go to Paris but had no money to pay his traveling expenses he therefore hit upon a plan of traveling at the expense of the government out of brickdust he made up three little parcels on the first he wrote “For the king” on the second “For the king’s son” on the third “For the king’s brother” the landlord seeing these on the table where they had been purposely left sent word to the king’s ministers they ordered a messenger to fetch the traitor when he reached Paris he was recognized he proved that he was no traitor and his trick was discovered.

EXAMPLE:—The celebrated Rabelais was once staying at a remote country inn. He wished to go to Paris, but had no money to pay his traveling expenses. He, therefore, hit upon a plan of traveling, etc.

Exercise 29.

_Correct the punctuation._

A farmer had several sons. Who used to quarrel with one another. He tried to cure them of this bad habit. By pointing out how foolish and wicked it was. But he found. That he did no good. By talking to them. So one day he laid a bundle of sticks before them. And he bade them break it. The eldest put out all his strength. But in vain. The other sons tried in vain. But they all failed. Then the father. Untying the bundle. Gave his sons the separate sticks to break. And they broke them easily. “Remember,” he said, “the lesson. Which this bundle teaches. While you help each other. None can harm you. When you quarrel. You are easily hurt.”

THE NOTE OF INTERROGATION.

Every direct question is followed by a =Note of Interrogation=; as, “How do you do?” “When did you see your father?” “I suppose, sir, you are a doctor?”

Sometimes a question forms part of a larger sentence, as,

They put this question to the committee, “Will you grant us a hearing?” in a manner that proved their earnestness.

Except in such cases, a note of interrogation is always followed by a capital letter.

_Carefully observe the full stops and notes of interrogation in the following_:

A Paris fortune-teller was arrested and brought before a magistrate. He said to her, “You know how to read the future?” “I do, sir.” “Then you know what sentence I mean to pass on you?” “Certainly.” “Well, what will happen to you?” “Nothing.” “You are sure of it?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Because if you had meant to punish me you would not be cruel enough to mock me.”

Exercise 30.

_Insert full stops and notes of interrogation._

Is the gardener pruning the trees has the baker been here is the teacher liked were those roses cut to-day had the gentleman lost his hat was the thief caught is the water boiling have the girls learned their poetry has the window been broken was the ship wrecked has the crew been saved was Susan knitting will Mr. Robinson sing has Frank started

A boy was going away without his mother’s leave she called after him “Where are you going, sir” “To the village” “What for” “To buy ten cents worth of nails” “And what do you want ten cents worth of nails for” “For a nickel”

THE COMMA.

The =Comma= is the most frequently used of all stops.

As a general rule, it may be stated that when, in reading, a slight pause is made, a comma should be inserted in writing; thus:—

The Spaniards were no match for the Roosevelt fighters, however, and, as had been the case at La Quasina, the Western cowboys and Eastern “dandies” hammered the enemy from their path. Straight ahead they advanced, until by noon they were well along toward San Juan, the capture of which was their immediate object. Fighting like demons, they held their ground tenaciously, now pressing forward a few feet, then falling back, under the enemy’s fire, to the position they held a few moments before.

Without books God is silent, justice dormant, natural science at a stand, philosophy lame, letters dumb and all things involved in Cimmerian darkness.

When a Noun or Pronoun in Apposition is very closely connected with the preceding word, no comma is needed, as,

William the Conqueror.

My cousin Fred.

Cromwell the Protector.

When the connection is not so close, or when the words in apposition are qualified, the phrase should have commas before and after, as,

William, the Norman conqueror of England, lived a stormy life.

My cousin, the bold and gallant Fred, fell in battle.

Cromwell, the great Protector, died in 1658.

Exercise 31.

_Insert the necessary commas._

Napoleon the fallen emperor was sent to St. Helena. I live in Washington the capital of the United States. The children love their uncle Mr. Holmes. That coat was made by Brown the village tailor. It was the lark the herald of the morn. Tom the piper’s son stole a pig. Frank the jockey’s leg is broken. Rome the city of the emperors became the city of the popes. He still feels ambition the last infirmity of noble minds. Julius Cæsar a great Roman general invaded Britain.

EXAMPLES:—Napoleon, the fallen emperor, was sent to St. Helena. I live in Washington, the capital, etc. The children love their uncle, Mr. Holmes, etc.

A Nominative of Address is marked off by commas, as,

Are you, sir, waiting for anyone?

Should the Nominative of Address have any qualifying words joined to it, the whole phrase is marked off by commas, as,

How now, my man of mettle, what is it you want?

Exercise 32.

_Insert the necessary commas._

O Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo? In truth fair Montague I am too fond. O grave where is thy victory? I pray you sire to let me have the honor. Exult ye proud patricians. Put on thy strength O Zion. My name dear saint is hateful to myself. I am sorry friend that my vessel is already chosen. O night and darkness ye are wondrous strong. Good morrow sweet Hal. Now my good sweet honey lord ride with us to-morrow. Come my masters let us share. For mine own part my lord I could be well content to be there.

EXAMPLES:—O Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo? In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond. I pray you, sire, to let me have the honor, etc.

An Adverbial phrase or clause let into a sentence should be marked off by commas, as,

His story was, in several ways, improbable.

The letter was written, strange to say, on club paper.

A time there was, ere England’s griefs began, When every rood of ground maintained its man.

They sat, as sets the morning star, which goes Not down behind the darkened west.

Exercise 33.

_Supply commas where necessary._

You will hear in the course of the meeting a full account of the business. The story is however true. The wounded man is according to the latest news doing well. He arrived in spite of difficulties at his journey’s end. He explains with perfect simplicity vast designs affecting all the governments of Europe. In France indeed such things are done. I will when I see you tell you a secret. I had till you told me heard nothing of the matter. There where a few torn shrubs the place disclose the village preacher’s modest mansion rose. You may if you call again see him. You cannot unless you try harder hope to succeed.

EXAMPLES:—You will hear, in the course of the meeting, a full account, etc. The story is, however, true. You cannot, unless you try harder, hope to succeed, etc.

Words, phrases, or clauses of the same kind, coming after one another, must be separated by commas, except when joined by Conjunctions, as,

Let Rufus weep, rejoice, stand still or walk.... Let him eat, drink, ask questions or dispute.

Her lower weeds were all o’er coarsely patched With diff’rent colored rags, black, red, white, yellow.

On I walked, my face flushed, my feet sore, my clothes dusty and my stomach as empty as my purse.

Exercise 34.

_Supply commas where necessary._

I met Fred Will and George. Faith hope and charity are the Christian graces. The grocer sold four pounds of cheese two pounds of bacon and seven pounds of sugar. Little drops of water little grains of sand make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land. We could have tea coffee cocoa lemonade or ginger beer. The beggar asked for a piece of bread a glass of milk or a few pence. The prize will be won by Smith Brown or Jones. The first second third and fourth boys in the class will be promoted.

EXAMPLES:—I met Fred, Will and George. Faith, hope and charity are, etc. The first, second, third and fourth boys, etc.

A participial phrase is generally marked off by commas; as,

The general, seeing his soldiers turn, galloped up to them.

The baby lying asleep, the children were very quiet.

Exercise 35.

_Insert commas where necessary._

James leaving the country William was made king. The storm having abated the ships ventured to sail. Henry returning victorious the people went forth to meet him. My friend Sir Roger being a good churchman has beautified the inside of his church. The woman being in great trouble was weeping. Fearing the storm we returned.

EXAMPLES:—James leaving the country, William was made king. Fearing the storm, we returned, etc.

Exercise 36.

_Insert commas where necessary in the following sentences_:—

On their bridal trip they took a palace car went down the Cumberland Valley stopped awhile at a watering place and wondered at the divorce cases recorded in the newspapers.

In those distant days as in all other times and places where the mental atmosphere is changing and men are inhaling the stimulus of new ideas folly often mistook itself for wisdom ignorance gave itself airs of knowledge and selfishness turning its eyes upward called itself religion—_George Eliot._

When I was running about this town a very poor fellow I was a great arguer for the advantages of poverty but I was at the same time very sorry to be poor.—_Johnson._

Sail on Three Bells forever In grateful memory sail! Ring on Three Bells of rescue Above the wave and gale!

As thine in night and tempest I hear the Master’s cry And tossing through the darkness The lights of God draw nigh.—_Whittier._

THE SEMI-COLON.

It may be generally stated that a =Semi-colon= is used in a complex sentence when a comma would not be a sufficient division.

Co-ordinate clauses or sentences, especially if not joined by Conjunctions, are generally separated by semi-colons.

_Examples of the use of semi-colons._

The first in loftiness of mind surpassed; The next in majesty; in both the last.—_Dryden._

Many a man lives a burden to the earth; but a good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life.—_Milton._

All nature is but art unknown to thee; All chance, direction, which thou canst not see; All discord, harmony, not understood; All partial evil universal good.—_Pope._

Exercise 37.

_Supply semi-colons where necessary._

Of the great men by whom Milton had been distinguished at his entrance into life some had been taken away from the evil to come some had carried into foreign climates their unconquerable hatred of oppression some were pining in dungeons and some had poured forth their blood on scaffolds.

Then palaces shall rise the joyful son Shall finish what his short-lived sire begun Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield And the same hand that sowed shall reap the field.—_Pope._

EXAMPLES:—Of the great men by whom Milton had been distinguished at his entrance into life, some had been taken away from the evil to come; some had carried into foreign climates their unconquerable hatred of oppression; some were pining in dungeons, and some had poured forth their blood on scaffolds.

Then palaces shall rise; the joyful son Shall finish what his short-lived sire begun; Their vines a shadow to their race shall yield; And the same hand that sowed shall reap the field.—_Pope._

THE NOTE OF ADMIRATION OR EXCLAMATION.

The =Note of Admiration= or =Exclamation= is used

1. After Interjections; as,

Alas! he is already dead.

2. After a phrase in the nature of an address or exclamation; as,

Vital spark of heavenly flame! Quit, oh quit this mortal frame; Trembling, hoping, ling’ring, flying, Oh the pain, the bliss of dying!—_Pope._

3. As a mark of surprise; as,

Two and two are five!

Prepare the way, a god, a god appears! “A god! a god!” the vocal hills reply.

Exercise 38.

_Insert notes of exclamation where necessary._

Alas he is already dead. Alas poor Yorick. Tush never tell me that. Well-a-day it is but too true. Tut, tut that is all nonsense. Hey come here. O for a falconer’s voice. Hurrah our side has won. Bravo that was well done. Hush the baby is asleep. Ah the cowards. Oh what beautiful flowers. Heigh-ho I am tired of waiting.

Hush hush mee-ow mee-ow We smell a rat close by.

Hurrah, hurrah a single field hath turned the chance of war Hurrah, hurrah for Ivry and Henry of Navarre

Ho maidens of Vienna ho matrons of Lucerne, Weep, weep for those who never will return.

EXAMPLES:—Alas! poor Yorick. Tut, tut! that is all nonsense. Bravo! that was well done, etc.

Ho! maidens of Vienna, ho! matrons of Lucerne, Weep, weep! for those who never will return.

QUOTATION MARKS.

A =Quotation= is said to be =direct= when the exact words are given; it is said to be =indirect= when the substance is given, but not the exact words; thus:—

_Direct quotations._

1. Mr. Brown said, “I am going for a walk.”

2. Mrs. Evans writes, “I hope to see you soon.”

3. He asked me, “What is your name?”

_Indirect quotations._

1. Mr. Brown said he was going for a walk.

2. Mrs. Evans writes that she hopes to see us soon.

3. He asked me what my name was.

Exercise 39.

_Turn the direct quotations into indirect._

Johnson said, “I am a very fair judge.” “I doubt the story,” observed Mrs. Beckett. “That was not quite what I had in my mind,” answered the widow. “I am very tired,” added Mr. Brown. “That is false,” we all shouted. “You must be a born fool,” shouted the old man to me. “Our host is an inferior person,” he remarked. “Are you better?” inquired she. Some one asked, “Do you mean to stay till to-morrow?” “Little kitten,” I say, “just an hour you may stay.” “I’ll have that mouse,” said the bigger cat. Bun replied, “You are doubtless very big.”

EXAMPLES:—Johnson said he was a very fair judge. Mrs. Beckett observed that she doubted the story. Some one asked if you mean to stay, etc. Bun replied that he was doubtless very big, etc.

A direct quotation always begins with a capital letter, and is placed within inverted commas, thus:—

But his little daughter whispered, As she shook his icy hand, “Isn’t God upon the ocean, Just the same as on the land?”

The man said, “Where are you going?”

The titles of books are generally placed within inverted commas, thus:—

Defoe wrote “Robinson Crusoe.”

Thackeray is the author of “Vanity Fair,” “Pendennis,” “Esmond,” “The Newcomes,” and other novels.

Exercise 40.

_Place all direct quotations within inverted commas._

Oh Charley, this is too absurd ejaculated Mrs. Beckett. Why, Mr. Paton must be going mad exclaimed Mrs. Beckett. Oh dear! dear! I can indeed gasped the widow. The butler announced Major and Mrs. Wellington de Boots. You will give my love to your mother when you write said Mary warmly. He smiled as though he were thinking I have it not to give. The elder replied I was, as usual, unfortunate. How naughty he is said his mother. Do you understand the language of flowers? inquired Uncle Ralph. Why, that is lightning exclaimed the knight. Juan replied Not while this arm is free. He thought The boy will be here soon. Tom broke in with You do not know whom I mean. He will soon be back continued Mr. Brooke. Remember the proverb Small strokes fell great oaks. Provoking scoundrel muttered the antiquary. Out with those boats and let us haste away cried one. Hearts of oak! our captains cried.

Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country’s flag she said.

Who touches a hair of yon gray head Dies like a dog. March on he said.

He woke to hear his sentries shriek To arms! They come! The Greek! The Greek!

Out spake the victor then, As he hailed them o’er the wave, Ye are brothers! ye are men! And we conquer but to save.

EXAMPLES:—“Oh! Charley, this is too absurd,” ejaculated Mrs. Beckett. “Why, Mr. Paton must be going mad,” exclaimed Mrs. Beckett. “Hearts of oak!” our captains cried.

“Shoot, if you must, this old gray head, But spare your country’s flag,” she said.

He woke to hear his sentries shriek, “To arms! They come! The Greek! The Greek!”

The student should write out all of the above sentences and place the quotation marks where they belong. You have enough examples to guide you.

Sometimes, in the course of a quotation, words are inserted which form no part of the quotation; thus,

“Out with those boats and let us haste away,” Cried one, “ere yet yon sea the bark devours.”

In such cases every separate part of the quotation is marked off by inverted commas. A capital letter is placed only at the beginning of the quotation, or after a full stop.

Exercise 41.

_Place all direct quotations within inverted commas._

I cannot tell you that replied the young man; it would not be fair to others. It was not answered the other; your house has always seemed like home. But, surely, argued the widow it must be a comfort to feel that. In the meantime said Edgar I will write to you. A common rose, said Uncle Ralph, like common sense and common honesty, is not so very common. Poor faithful old doggie! murmured Mrs. Currie, he thought Tacks was a burglar. Capital house dog! murmured the colonel; I shall never forget how he made poor Heavisides run. Cloudy, sir, said the colonel, cloudy; rain before morning, I think. I don’t see the dog I began; I suppose you found him all right, the other evening. Oh, uncle, pleaded Lilian; don’t talk like that.

Little kitten, I say, Just an hour you may stay.

Agreed, said Ching, but let us try it soon: Suppose we say to-morrow afternoon. They’re there, said Chang, if I see anything As clear as day-light.

May Heaven look down, the old man cries Upon my son and on his ship.

Nay, Solomon replied, The wise and strong should seek The welfare of the weak.

Oh king! she said; henceforth The secret of thy worth And wisdom well I know.

EXAMPLES:—“I cannot tell you that,” replied the young man; “it would not be fair to others.” “It was not,” answered the other; “your house has always seemed like home.”

“Little kitten,” I say, “Just an hour you may stay.”

“May Heaven look down,” the old man cries, “Upon my son and on his ship.”

When double inverted commas are used for an ordinary quotation, a quotation within a quotation is marked by single inverted commas; thus,

Miriam sang, “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil.’”

Exercise 42.

_Place all direct quotations within inverted commas._

Mr. Brocklehurst said When I asked him which he would rather have, a gingerbread nut to eat or a verse of a Psalm to learn he says Oh the verse of a Psalm: angels sing Psalms. He continued, On her return she exclaimed Oh, dear Papa, how quiet and plain all the girls at Lowood look. I shall remember I said how you thrust me back though I cried out Have mercy! Have mercy, Aunt Reed. The father said Remember the proverb Keep not evil men company lest you increase the number. But said the lecturer you must note the words of Shakespeare

Spirits are not finely touched But to fine issues.

The teacher asked in what play do the words All the world’s a stage occur? My sister writes in her last letter Will you please get me a copy of the song Tell me, my heart. In a poem on Dr. South preaching before Charles II. we read

The doctor stopped, began to call, Pray wake the Earl of Lauderdale.

EXAMPLES:—He continued, “On her return she exclaimed, ‘Oh! dear Papa, how quiet and plain all girls at Lowood look.’” “But,” said the lecturer, “you must note the words of Shakespeare,

‘Spirits are not finely touched But to fine issues.’”

A =colon= (:) is used to separate parts of a sentence that are complete in themselves and nearly independent, often taking the place of a conjunction, thus:—

Labor is the first great law: labor is good for man.

A =period= (.) brings the sentence to a full stop, thus:—

He rode down the valley, over the hill, and finally coming to a farmhouse, there he stopped.

Exercise 43.

You now come to a very important part of these exercises. You are to turn to practical account what you have learned concerning Punctuation. Write the lines that follow, and make good sense by dividing them into sentences and placing the punctuation marks where they belong. Take time for this and do it thoroughly.

The following Example will aid you in carrying out your instructions. The sentences are first printed without punctuation. I then construct the sentences and give them punctuation marks:

The smoke from the Spanish fleet rose above the headlands of Santiago Harbor are they coming out I shouted to Fowler aye sir there they come he cried instantly we took in the situation and being ready for battle stood to our guns did you ask if it was a hot chase well our captains gunners and marines can answer that what thunder of guns our victory was complete the President cabled congratulations.

Divided into sentences and punctuated, you have the following: The smoke from the Spanish fleet rose above the headlands of Santiago Harbor. “Are they coming out?” I shouted to Fowler. “Aye, sir, there they come,” he cried. Instantly we took in the situation, and, being ready for battle, stood to our guns. Did you ask if it was a hot chase? Well, our captains, gunners and marines can answer that. What thunder of guns! Our victory was complete; the President cabled congratulations.

_Insert the necessary stops and capital letters._

Mr. Rich had much money and little politeness he thought it beneath him to be civil to ordinary people one wet day he was driving in his carriage along a turnpike road when he came to the toll gate he called out what’s to pay five cents if you please sir said the keeper Mr. Rich instead of handing the money rudely flung a quarter on the muddy ground and cried there take your change out of that the keeper stooped for the quarter and picked it up then placing twenty cents exactly on the same spot he coolly walked back into his cottage.

The statement is beyond doubt true. They set out and in a few hours arrived at their father’s. We live in an old beautiful and interesting town. Sir I believe you. He is guilty of the vice of cowards falsehood. The horse tired with the long gallop could go no further. Yes I am coming. Nay you are wrong. Philosophers assert that nature is unlimited in her operations that she has inexhaustible treasures in reserve that knowledge will always be progressive and that all future generations will continue to make discoveries of which we have not the least idea. Is this the gray-haired wanderer mildly said the voice which we so lately overheard Hark ’tis the twanging horn. O what a fall was there my countrymen Oh why has worth so short a date Such inquiry according to him was out of their province. The conflict was terrible it was the combat of despair against grief and rage.

EXERCISES IN EASY NARRATIVES.

In the preceding pages you have been advised to practice the writing of compositions by reading the productions of authors, and then writing from memory what you have read. This may not be easy at first. You will, however, find it less difficult as you proceed. You could not become an expert typewriter or pianist without faithful practice, yet we have expert typewriters and pianists.

It is so with learning to express your thoughts in writing. What is hard at first becomes “second nature” afterward. I have prepared some helpful rules and examples to aid you.

=When writing a Story which you have read or heard, observe the following directions=:—

1. Before beginning to write, think over the whole story, to make sure that you remember all the points, and the order in which they come.

Neglect of this direction may cause you to omit something or to put something in the wrong place.

2. Before beginning to write each sentence, arrange the whole of it in your mind.

If you neglect this direction you may find that the second part of a sentence goes badly with the first, or that you cannot finish at all a sentence such as you have begun. Here is an example:—

I am desired to inform the Board of Aldermen that Mr. Alderman Gill died last night _by order of Mrs. Gill_.

The words printed in italics could not have been in the mind of the writer when he began, or he would have placed them after _desired_, or (better still) he would have said, “I am desired by Mrs. Gill, etc.”

3. Make short sentences.

Beware of using _and_ and _so_ too much. Avoid such a sentence as the following:

Once upon a time there was a fox and he went into a vineyard and there he saw many bunches of beautiful ripe grapes hanging on high and he tried to reach them and he could not jump high enough and so he turned to go and said “It does not matter; the grapes are sour.”

Such a sentence ought to be divided into several; thus:—

A fox once went into a vineyard. There he saw many bunches of beautiful ripe grapes hanging on high. He tried to reach them, but found that he could not jump high enough. As he turned to go he said, “It does not matter; the grapes are sour.”

The following sentence has several faults besides its length:—

He [Swinton] did with a sort of eloquence that moved the whole House lay out all his own errors and the ill spirit he was in when he committed the things that were charged on him with so tender a sense that he seemed as one indifferent what they should do with him, and without so much as moving for mercy or even for a delay he did so effectually prevail on them that they recommended him to the king as a fit object of his mercy.—BURNET: _History of his Own Time_.

It is amended somewhat by division into shorter sentences, thus:—

With a sort of eloquence that moved the whole House, he did lay out all his own errors and the ill spirit that he was in when he committed the things that were charged on him. He spoke with so tender a sense that he seemed as one indifferent what they should do with him. Without so much as moving for mercy or even for a delay, he did so effectually prevail on them that they recommended him to the king as a fit object for mercy.

4. Use no word of which you do not know the exact meaning.

Neglect of this rule led some one to write:

At the dedication of the Gettysburg Monument, President Lincoln gave the _ovation_.

5. Do not use long words if you can find short ones.

The barber who advertised himself as “a first-class tonsorial artist and facial operator,” meant only that he could cut hair and shave well.

6. Arrange the different parts of each sentence so that they convey the meaning which you intend.

The following sentence is badly arranged:—

He tells stories which Mountain would be shocked to hear after dinner.—_Thackeray_: _The Virginians_.

Mountain would be shocked to hear them at any time. To convey the author’s meaning the sentence should be:—

After dinner he tells stories which Mountain would be shocked to hear.

7. When you have written your story, always read it over, and correct all the mistakes which you can find.

SHORT STORIES TO BE READ CAREFULLY, AND THEN WRITTEN FROM MEMORY.

_The Fox and the Goat._

A fox that had fallen into a well tried in vain to get out again. By-and-by a goat came to the place to quench her thirst. Seeing the fox below she asked if the water was good. “Yes,” answered the cunning creature, “it is so good that I cannot leave off drinking.” Thereupon the goat, without a moment’s thought, jumped in. The fox at once scrambled on her back and got out. Then, looking down at the poor fool, he said coolly, “If you had half as much brains as beard, you would look before you leap.”

_The Vain Jackdaw._

A vain jackdaw found some peacocks’ feathers and stuck them amongst his own. Then he left his old companions and boldly went amongst the peacocks. They knew him at once, in spite of his disguise; so they stripped off his borrowed plumes, pecked him well, and sent him about his business. He went back to the daws as if nothing had happened, but they would not allow him to mix with them. If he was too good for them before, they were too good for him now. Thus the silly bird, by trying to appear better than he was, lost his old friends without making any new ones.

_The Ant and the Grasshopper._

One frosty day a grasshopper, half dead with cold and hunger, knocked at the door of an ant, and begged for something to eat. “What were you doing in the summer?” asked the ant. “Oh, I was singing all the time.” “Then,” said the ant, “if you could sing all the summer you may dance all the winter.”

_The Wolf and the Lamb._

A wolf, coming to a brook to drink, saw a lamb standing in the stream, some distance down. He made up his mind to kill her, and at once set about finding an excuse. “Villain,” he said, “how dare you dirty the water which I am drinking?” The lamb answered meekly, “Sir, it is impossible for me to dirty the water which you are drinking, because the stream runs from you to me, not from me to you.” “Be that as it may,” replied the wolf, “you called me bad names a year ago.” “Sir,” pleaded the lamb, “you are mistaken; a year ago I was not born.” “Then,” said the hungry beast, “if it was not you it was your father, and that is as bad. It is of no use trying to argue me out of my supper.” Thereupon he fell upon the poor creature and ate her up.

_What the Bear Said._

As two friends were traveling through a wood, a bear rushed out upon them. One of the men without a thought to his companion, climbed up into a tree, and hid among the branches. The other, knowing that alone he had no chance, threw himself on the ground, and pretended to be dead; for he had heard that bears will not touch a dead body. The creature came and sniffed him from head to foot, but, thinking him to be lifeless, went away without harming him. Then the man in the tree got down, and, hoping to pass his cowardice off with a joke, he said, “I noticed that the bear had his mouth very close to your ear; what did he whisper to you?” “Oh,” answered the other, “he only told me never to keep company with those who in time of danger leave their friends in the lurch.”

_Bad Company._

A farmer who had just sown his fields placed a net to catch the cranes that came to steal his corn. After some time he went to look at the net, and in it he found several cranes and one stork. “Oh, sir, please spare me,” said the stork; “I am not a crane, I am an innocent stork, kind to my parents, and——” The farmer would hear no more. “All that may be very true,” he said, “but it is no business of mine. I found you amongst thieves, and you must suffer with them.”

_Mercury and the Woodmen._

A woodman was working beside a deep river when his axe slipped, and fell into the water. As the axe was his living, he was very sorry to lose it, and sat on the bank to weep. Mercury, hearing his cries, appeared to him, and, finding what was the matter, dived, and brought up a golden axe. “Is this the one which you lost?” asked the god. “No,” said the woodman. Then the god dived a second time, and brought up a silver axe, and asked if that was the one. The woodman again answered “No.” So Mercury dived a third time, and then he brought up the axe which had been lost. “That is mine,” cried the woodman joyfully. The god gave it to him, and presented him with the other two as a reward for his truth and honesty.

One of the woodman’s neighbors, hearing what had happened, determined to see if he could not have the same good luck. He went to the bank of the river, began to fell a tree, purposely let his axe slip into the water, and then pretended to cry. Mercury appeared as before, dived, and brought up a golden axe. The man, in his eagerness to grasp the prize, forgot to act as his neighbor had done; so when the god asked, “Is that yours?” he answered “Yes.” To punish him for his lying and dishonesty, the god would neither give him the golden axe nor find his own.

_Dr. Johnson and Mrs. Siddons._

Dr. Johnson always spoke scornfully of actors and actresses, but he treated the famous actress, Mrs. Siddons, with great politeness. She called on him, and his servant could not readily find a chair for her. “You see, madam,” said the doctor, “wherever you go no seats can be got.”

_Clever Children._

An ignorant Englishman once visited Paris. After his return he was talking to some of his friends about the wonders he had seen. “I was most surprised,” he said, “with the cleverness of the children. Boys and girls of seven or eight spoke French quite as easily as the children in this country speak English.”

_One Good Turn Deserves Another._

A Cambridge student sent to another student to borrow a book. “I never lend my books out,” was the answer, “but if the gentleman chooses to come to my rooms he may use them there.” A few days after the book owner sent to the other student to borrow a carpet sweeper. “I never lend my carpet sweeper,” replied he, “but if the gentleman chooses to come to my rooms he may use it there.”

_Learning Rewarded._

A rich farmer sent his son to a famous university. The young man was rather foolish, and brought home more folly than learning. One night, when there were two fowls for supper, he said, “I can prove these two fowls to be three.” “Let us hear,” answered the old man. “This,” said the scholar, pointing to the first, “is one; this,” pointing to the second, “is two; and two and one make three.” “Since you have made it out so well,” replied the father, “your mother shall have the first fowl, I will have the second, and you may keep the third for your great learning.”

_Daring a Dutchman._

A Dutch vessel and an English vessel were lying near each other. One of the Dutch sailors wished to show his activity, so he ran up the mast, and stood upon his head on the top of it. One of the English sailors (who did not like to be beaten by a Dutchman) also tried to stand upon his head on the top of the mast. He, however, fell. The rigging broke his fall and he alighted on the deck unhurt. “There, you lubber,” he cried, “do that if you dare.”

_The Miserly Planter._

A very miserly planter formerly lived in the island of Jamaica. He often gave his poor slaves too little food. They complained, and he answered that he could not help himself, because the provision ships had been taken by pirates. This lying excuse satisfied them once, twice, thrice, and again, but in the end long fasting made them impatient. Then they went to their master and said to him, “Is it not strange that the pirates have so often taken the ships bringing food, but have never taken the ships bringing pickaxes and hoes?”

_A Precious Turnip._

Before Louis the Eleventh became king he used to visit a peasant whose garden produced excellent fruit. After his accession, the peasant brought him as a present a very large turnip which had grown in his garden. The king, remembering the pleasant hours that he had spent under the old man’s roof, gave him a thousand crowns. The lord of the village, hearing of this, thought that if one who gave a paltry turnip received so large a reward, one who gave a really valuable present would receive a still larger reward. He, therefore, offered a splendid horse. The king accepted it and, calling for the big turnip, said, “This cost me a thousand crowns; I give it to you in return for your horse.”

_The Dangers of a Bed._

A carpenter asked a sailor, “Where did your father die?” The sailor answered, “My father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather were all drowned at sea.” “Then,” said the carpenter, “are you not afraid of going to sea, lest you should be drowned too?” Instead of replying, the sailor asked, “Where did your father die?” “In his bed.” “And your grandfather?” “In his bed.” “And your great-grandfather?” “In his bed also.” “Then,” said the sailor, “why should I be more afraid of going to sea than you are of going to bed?”

_How to treat Enemies._

A Scotch minister had in his parish a man who sometimes used to get drunk. One day the minister, reproving him for his bad habit, said, “You love whisky too much, Donald; you know very well that it is your worst enemy.” “But,” answered the man slily, “have you not often told us that we ought to love our enemies?” “True, Donald, but I never told you that you ought to swallow them.”

_The Secret of Success._

During the long struggle between England and France, two ignorant old ladies were discussing the war as they went to church. One said, “Is it not wonderful that the English always beat the French?” “Not at all,” answered the other; “don’t you know that the English always say their prayers before going into battle?” “But,” replied the first, “can’t the French say their prayers as well?” “Tut, tut,” said the second; “poor jabbering bodies, who can understand them?”

_The Preacher for Prisoners._

When David Dewar was a member of the Prison Board the question of appointing a chaplain for the jail came up. The favorite candidate of the other members of the Board was an unsuccessful clergyman. David, when asked to vote for him, said, “I have no objection; I hear that he has already preached a church empty, and if he will only preach the jail empty too, he is just the man for our money.”

_The Squire and his Servant._

A Scotch squire was one day riding out with his man. Opposite a hole in a steep bank the master stopped and said, “John, I saw a badger go in there.” “Did you?” said John; “will you hold my horse, sir?” “Certainly,” answered the squire, and away rushed John for a spade. He got one and dug furiously for half an hour, the squire looking on with an amused look. At last John exclaimed, “I can’t find him, sir.” “I should be surprised if you could,” said the squire, “for it is ten years since I saw him go in.”

_Proper Payment._

A boy went into a baker’s shop and bought a five-cent loaf. It seemed to him rather small, so he said that he did not believe it to be of full weight. “Never mind,” answered the baker, “you will have the less to carry.” “True,” replied the lad, and throwing four cents on the counter he left the shop. The baker called after him, “Hi! this is not enough money.” “Never mind,” said the boy, “you will have the less to count.”

_The Corporal’s Watch._

A corporal in the life-guards of Frederick the Great was a brave but rather vain fellow. He could not afford a watch, but managed to buy a chain, and this he wore with a bullet at the end. The king, hearing of this, thought he would have a little fun at the soldier’s expense, so he said to him, “It is six o’clock by my watch; what time is it by yours?” The man drew the bullet from his pocket and answered, “My watch does not mark the hour, but it tells me every moment that it is my duty to face death for your Majesty.” “Here, my friend,” said Frederick, offering him his own costly watch, “take this, that you may be able to tell the hour also.”

_Three Toasts._

When the Earl of Stair was ambassador in Holland he was once at a banquet with the French and Austrian ambassadors. The Frenchman proposed the health of his master, calling him, “The Sun.” The Austrian then proposed the health of his mistress, calling her “The Moon.” The Earl of Stair was equal to the occasion, for when his turn came he proposed the health of his sovereign as “Joshua, who made the sun and moon to stand still.”

_Going to Sleep in Church._

A Scotch clergyman had a youth in his congregation who was underwitted, and was commonly spoken of as being half daft. One Sunday the clergyman observed that all his hearers were asleep except this youth. After the service the minister congratulated him upon being awake, when he naively replied, “Maybe if I hadn’t been half daft I would have been asleep too.”

_Striking Back._

A little girl complained to her brother that a boy had struck her. “Why did you not strike back?” he asked. “O,” said the innocent creature, “I did that before he hit me.”

OUTLINES TO BE TURNED INTO NARRATIVES.

The following is an outline of one of Æsop’s fables:—

1. Donkey carrying salt—passing through stream—falls—loses load.

2. Next day loaded with salt—lies down in stream.

3. Master resolves to teach lesson—third journey load of sponge.

4. Donkey lies down—load heavier.

This outline may be filled in thus:—

A donkey laden with salt happened to fall while passing through a stream. _The water melted the salt_, and the donkey _on getting up was delighted_ to find himself with nothing to carry. Next day he had to pass again, laden with salt, through the same stream. _Remembering how the water had yesterday rid him of his burden_, he lay down purposely, and was again rid of it. _But clever as he was his master was cleverer_, and resolved to teach him a lesson. On the third journey he therefore placed on the creature’s back several bags filled with sponges. The donkey lay down as before, but on getting up he found that his load, instead of being much lighter, was much heavier.

In the fable, as thus told, there are several points (printed in italics) which are not in the outline. Such little details help to make the story more real.

_The Snake’s Ingratitude._

1. Cold winter’s day—snake half dead.

2. Peasant pities it—places in bosom—takes home—lays before fire.

3. Snake revives—attacks children—peasant kills it.

This outline may be filled in as follows:—

On a cold winter’s day a peasant discovered a snake that was half dead. He pitied the half-frozen creature, placed it in his bosom, and upon taking it home, laid it before the fire. The snake soon revived, and, true to its nature, attacked the children of the household, when it was promptly killed by the peasant.

_The Lion and the Mouse._

1. Lion sleeping—mouse happens to wake him.

2. Lion going to kill mouse—mouse begs for mercy—mercy granted.

3. Lion caught in a net—roars—mouse hears him—nibbles net.

_The Frog and the Ox._

1. Ox feeding in marshy meadow—treads among young frogs—kills many.

2. One that escapes tells mother—“Such a big beast!”

3. Vain mother asks, “So big?”—“Much bigger.”

4. Mother puffs out—“So big?”—“Much bigger.”

5. This several times—at last mother bursts.

_The Hare and the Tortoise._

1. Hare jeers at tortoise for slowness.

2. Tortoise proposes race—hare accepts.

3. Tortoise starts—hare says, “Will take a nap first.”

4. When hare wakes tortoise has passed post.

5. “Slow and steady wins the race.”

_Dividing the Spoils._

1. Lion, donkey and fox hunting—much spoil.

2. Lion asks donkey to divide—divides into three equal parts.

3. Lion angry—kills donkey—asks fox to divide.

4. Fox makes very great heap for lion and very little one for himself.

5. “Who taught you to divide so well?”—“The dead donkey.”

_The Wind and the Sun._

1. Wind and sun dispute which is stronger.

2. Agree to try on passing traveler—which can soonest make him take off cloak.

3. Wind begins—blows furiously—traveler holds cloak the tighter.

4. Sun shines—traveler too warm—throws off cloak.

5. Kindness better than force.

_The Bundle of Sticks._

1. Quarrelsome brothers—father speaks in vain.

2. Asks sons to break bundle of sticks—each tries and fails.

3. Asks them to undo bundle and break separate sticks—easy.

4. Brothers united, like bundle—quarrelsome, like separate sticks.

5. “Union is strength.”

_The Goose with the Golden Eggs._

1. Man has goose—lays golden egg daily.

2. Man greedy—thinks inside must be full of gold—kills goose—finds her like all other geese.

_The Frogs asking for a King._

1. Frogs ask Jupiter for a king—he laughs at their folly—throws them a log.

2. The splash frightens them—finding log still they venture to look at it—at last jump on it and despise it.

3. Ask for another king—Jupiter annoyed—sends them a stork.

4. Stork eats many—the rest ask Jupiter to take stork away—he says “No.” “Let well alone.”

_The Battle of the Birds and Beasts._

1. Bat is a beast, but flies like a bird.

2. Battle between birds and beasts—bat keeps aloof.

3. Beasts appear to be winning—bat joins them.

4. Birds rally and win—bat found among victors.

5. Peace made—birds and beasts condemn bat—bat never since dared show face in daylight.

_The Hart and the Vine._

1. Hart fleeing from hunters—hides among leaves of vine—hunters pass without seeing him.

2. He begins to eat leaves—a hunter hears noise—shoots hart.

3. Hart lies wounded—reproaches itself for committing so great a folly.

4. “Vine protected me; I injured it; deserved my fate.”

_The Lion and the Bulls._

1. Three bulls feeding together in a meadow.

2. Lion wished to eat them—afraid of the three.

3. Lion tells each that the others have been slandering.

4. Bulls quarrel—lion kills each separately.

_Saved by the Life-boat._

1. Vessel goes to sea—overtaken by storm.

2. Storm increases—ship driven on the rocks.

3. Officers and crew in distress—clinging to the rigging—making signals.

4. Seen by the Life Guard on shore.

5. Boat hurries to the rescue—heroic seamen.

6. Men on board brought ashore—benumbed—famishing.

7. Revived—grateful to rescuers.

_Story of a Tramp._

1. Early home—restless youth—runs away.

2. Goes to seek his fortune—falls in with vicious companions.

3. Roams from place to place—becomes an idle beggar.

4. Young man in a police court charged with burglary—sentenced to state prison.

5. First mistake was leaving home—next, companionship—then, theft.

6. Value of home attachments—industry—honesty.

7. Beware of the first wrong step—not easy to remedy our mistakes.

STORIES IN VERSE TO BE TURNED INTO PROSE.

The following poem, by Charles Kingsley, tells a touching little story:—

Three fishers went sailing away to the west, Away to the west as the sun went down; Each thought on the woman who loved him the best, And the children stood watching them out of the town. For men must work, and women must weep, And there’s little to earn, and many to keep, Though the harbor bar be moaning.

Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower, And trimmed the lamps as the sun went down; They looked at the squall, and they looked at the shower, And the night-rack came rolling up, ragged and brown! But men must work, and women must weep, Though storms be sudden and waters deep, And the harbor bar be moaning.

Three corpses lay out on the shining sands, In the morning gleam, as the tide went down, And the women are weeping and wringing their hands For those who will never come home to the town. For men must work, and women must weep, And the sooner it’s over the sooner to sleep, And good-bye to the bar and its moaning.

Here is the same story, told in prose:—

One afternoon in a western port, three fishermen might be seen walking slowly down towards the beach. Heavy masses of clouds were moving rapidly overhead; the setting sun had tinged the sky an angry crimson, and the waves broke with a moaning noise over the bar at the mouth of the harbor. The fishermen knew that a storm was threatening, but still they were going to sea, for their families were large and their earnings had of late been small. Yet they were sad at heart, and as they sailed away they thought of the dear wives left behind, and of the dear children watching them out of the town.

The women were so anxious that they could not rest at home, so they went up to the lighthouse to trim the lamps and peer out into the darkness. The storm came on even sooner than was expected. A huge billow caught the fishermen’s boat and sank it, and the tide carried their dead bodies to the shore.

By morning the storm had passed, and the rising sun shone on the wet sand and on three poor women wringing their hands over the corpses of their husbands.

Note that in this prose rendering there is no attempt to preserve the poetry. Attention has been paid to the story only, and that has been told in the simplest manner. I here append a cluster of poems to be turned into prose.

THE SANDS OF DEE.

“O Mary, go and call the cattle home, And call the cattle home, And call the cattle home, Across the sands of Dee!” The western wind was wild and dark with foam, And all alone went she.

The creeping tide came up along the sand, And o’er and o’er the sand, And round and round the sand, As far as eye could see; The blinding mist came up and hid the land, And never home came she.

Oh, is it weed, or fish, or floating hair,— A tress of golden hair, Of drownèd maiden’s hair, Above the nets at sea? Was never salmon yet that shone so fair, Among the stakes of Dee!

They rowed her in across the rolling foam, The cruel, crawling foam, The cruel, hungry foam, To her grave beside the sea; But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home Across the sands of Dee.—_Charles Kingsley._

THE WAY TO WIN.

There’s always a river to cross, Always an effort to make, If there’s anything good to win, Any rich prize to take. Yonder’s the fruit we crave, Yonder the charming scene; But deep and wide, with a troubled tide, Is the river that lies between.

PRESS ON.

Press on! there’s no such word as fail; Press nobly on! the goal is near; Ascend the mountain! breast the gale! Look upward, onward—never fear!

_Press on!_ if once, and twice thy feet Slip back and stumble, harder try; From him who never dreads to meet Danger and death, they’re sure to fly.

To coward ranks the bullet speeds; While on _their_ breasts who never quail, Gleams, guardian of chivalric deeds, Bright courage, like a coat of mail.

_Press on!_ if fortune play thee false To-day, to-morrow she’ll be true; Whom now she sinks, she now exalts, Taking old gifts and granting new.

The wisdom of the present hour Makes up for follies past and gone; To weakness strength succeeds, and power From frailty springs:—_Press on! PRESS ON!_—_Park Benjamin._

THE DYING WARRIOR.

A wounded chieftain, lying By the Danube’s leafy side, Thus faintly said, in dying, “Oh! bear, thou foaming tide, This gift to my lady bride.”

’Twas then, in life’s last quiver, He flung the scarf he wore Into the foaming river, Which, ah, too quickly, bore That pledge of one no more!

With fond impatience burning, The chieftain’s lady stood, To watch her love returning In triumph down the flood, From that day’s field of blood.

But, field, alas! ill-fated, The lady saw, instead Of the bark whose speed she waited, Her hero’s scarf, all red With the drops his heart had shed.

One shriek—and all was over— Her life-pulse ceased to beat; The gloomy waves now cover That bridal flower so sweet, And the scarf is her winding-sheet.—_Thomas Moore._

THE BOY THAT LAUGHS.

I know a funny little boy, The happiest ever born; His face is like a beam of joy, Although his clothes are torn.

I saw him tumble on his nose, And waited for a groan; But how he laughed! Do you suppose He struck his funny bone?

There’s sunshine in each word he speaks; His laugh is something grand; Its ripples overrun his cheeks Like waves on snowy sand.

He laughs the moment he awakes, And till the day is done, The school-room for a joke he takes, His lessons are but fun.

No matter how the day may go, You cannot make him cry. He’s worth a dozen boys I know, Who pout and mope and sigh.

THE CAT’S BATH.

As pussy sat washing her face by the gate, A nice little dog came to have a good chat; And after some talk about matters of state, Said, with a low bow, “My dear Mrs. Cat, I really do hope you’ll not think I am rude; I am curious, I know, and that you may say— Perhaps you’ll be angry; but no, you’re too good— Pray why do you wash in that very odd way?

“Now I every day rush away to the lake, And in the clear water I dive and I swim; I dry my wet fur with a run and a shake, And am fresh as a rose and neat as a pin. But you any day in the sun may be seen, Just rubbing yourself with your red little tongue; I admire the grace with which it is done— But really, now, are you sure you get yourself clean?”

The cat, who sat swelling with rage and surprise At this, could no longer her fury contain, For she had always supposed herself rather precise, And of her sleek neatness had been somewhat vain; So she flew at poor doggy and boxed both his ears, Scratched his nose and his eyes, and spit in his face, And sent him off yelping; from which it appears Those who ask prying questions may meet with disgrace.

THE BEGGAR MAN.

Around the fire, one wintry night, The farmer’s rosy children sat; The fagot lent its blazing light, And jokes went round, and careless chat;

When, hark! a gentle hand they hear Low tapping at the bolted door; And thus, to gain their willing ear, A feeble voice was heard implore:—

“Cold blows the blast across the moor, The sleet drives hissing in the wind; Yon toilsome mountain lies before, A dreary, treeless waste behind.

“My eyes are weak and dim with age, No road, no path can I descry; And these poor rags ill stand the rage Of such a keen, inclement sky.

“So faint I am, these tottering feet No more my palsied frame can bear; My freezing heart forgets to beat, And drifting snows my tomb prepare.

“Open your hospitable door, And shield me from the biting blast: Cold, cold it blows across the moor, The weary moor that I have passed!”

With hasty steps the farmer ran, And close beside the fire they place The poor half-frozen beggar man, With shaking limbs and pale-blue face.

The little children flocking came, And chafed his frozen hands in theirs; And busily the good old dame A comfortable mess prepares.

Their kindness cheered his drooping soul; And slowly down his wrinkled cheek The big round tear was seen to roll, Which told the thanks he could not speak.

The children then began to sigh, And all their merry chat was o’er; And yet they felt, they knew not why, More glad than they had done before.—_Aiken._

THE SHOWER-BATH.

Quoth Dermot (a lodger at Mrs. O’Flynn’s), “How queerly my shower-bath feels! It shocks like a posse of needles and pins, Or a shoal of electrical eels.”

Quoth Murphy, “Then mend it, and I’ll tell you how It’s all your own fault, my good fellow: I used to be bothered as you are, but now I’m wiser—I take my umbrella.”—_James Smith._

QUEEN MARY’S RETURN TO SCOTLAND.

After a youth by woes o’ercast, After a thousand sorrows past, The lovely Mary once again Set foot upon her native plain; Knelt on the pier with modest grace, And turned to heaven her beauteous face. ’Twas then the caps in air were blended, A thousand thousand shouts ascended, Shivered the breeze around the throng, Gray barrier cliffs the peals prolong; And every tongue gave thanks to heaven, That Mary to their hopes was given.

Her comely form and graceful mien Bespoke the lady and the queen; The woes of one so fair and young Moved every heart and every tongue. Driven from her home, a helpless child, To brave the winds and billows wild; An exile bred in realms afar, Amid commotions, broils, and war. In one short year, her hopes all crossed A parent, husband, kingdom, lost! And all ere eighteen years had shed Their honors o’er her royal head. For such a queen, the Stuart’s heir,— A queen so courteous, young, and fair,— Who would not every foe defy? Who would not stand—who would not die?

Light on her airy steed she sprung, Around with golden tassels hung; No chieftain there rode half so free, Or half so light and gracefully. How sweet to see her ringlets pale Wide waving in the southland gale, Which through the broomwood blossoms flew, To fan her cheeks of rosy hue! Whene’er it heaved her bosom’s screen, What beauties in her form were seen! And when her courser’s mane it swung, A thousand silver bells were rung. A sight so fair, on Scottish plain, A Scot shall never see again!—_Hogg._

THE EAGLE AND SERPENT.

In the air do I behold indeed An eagle and a serpent wreathed in fight, And now, relaxing its impetuous flight, Before th’ aerial rock on which I stood, The eagle hovering wheeled to left and right, And hung with lingering wings over the flood, And startled with its yells the wide air’s solitude.

A shaft of light upon its wings descended, And every golden feather gleamed therein, Feather and scale inextricably blended: The serpent’s mailed and many-colored skin Shone through the plumes, its coils were twined within, With many a swoln and knotted fold; and high And far the neck receding lithe and thin, Sustained a crested head, which warily Shifted, and glanced before the eagle’s steadfast eye.

Around, around, in ceaseless circles wheeling, With clang of wings and scream the eagle sailed Incessantly; sometimes on high concealing Its lessening orbs, sometimes as if it failed, Drooped through the air, and still it shrieked and wailed, And, casting back its eager head, with beak And talon unremittingly assailed The wreathèd serpent, who did ever seek Upon his enemy’s heart a mortal wound to wreak.—_Shelley._

ASK AND HAVE.

“Oh, ’tis time I should talk to your mother, Sweet Mary,” says I; “Oh, don’t talk to my mother,” says Mary, Beginning to cry: “For my mother says men are deceivers, And never, I know, will consent; She says girls in a hurry who marry, At leisure repent.”

“Then, suppose I would talk to your father, Sweet Mary,” says I; “Oh, don’t talk to my father,” says Mary, Beginning to cry: “For my father, he loves me so dearly, He’ll never consent I should go— If you talk to my father,” says Mary, “He’ll surely say ‘No.’”

“Then how shall I get you, my jewel? Sweet Mary,” says I; “If your father and mother’s so cruel, Most surely I’ll die!” “Oh, never say die, dear,” says Mary; “A way now to save you I see; Since my parents are both so contrary— You’d better ask _me_.”—_Lover._

WHAT WAS HIS CREED?

He left a load of anthracite In front of a poor widow’s door When the deep snow, frozen and white, Wrapped street and square, mountain and moor— That was his deed: He did it well; “What was his creed?” I cannot tell.

Blessed “in his basket and his store,” In sitting down and rising up; When more he got he gave the more, Withholding not the crust and cup; He took the lead In each good task; “What was his creed?” I did not ask.

His charity was like the snow, Soft, white, and silken in its fall; Not like the noisy winds that blow From shivering trees the leaves; a pall For flower and weed, Dropping below; “What was his creed?” The poor may know.

He had great faith in loaves of bread For hungry people, young and old; And hope inspired, kind words he said, To those he sheltered from the cold, For he must feed As well as pray; “What was his creed?” I cannot say.

THE OLD REAPER.

Mid the brown-haired and the black-haired men, With ruddy faces aglow, The old man stood in the harvest field, With a head as white as snow. “Let me cut a sheaf, my boys,” he said, “Before it is time to go.”

They put the sickle within his hand: He bowed to the windy wheat; Pleasantly fell the golden ears, With the corn flowers at his feet. He lifted a handful, thoughtfully; It was ripe and full and sweet.

“Many and many a sheaf,” he said, “I have cut in the years gone past; And many and many a sheaf these arms On the harvest wains have cast. But, children dear, I am weary now, And I think this is—the last.

“Let me rest awhile beneath the tree; For I like to watch you go, With sickles bright, through the ripe, full wheat, And to feel the fresh wind blow.” And they spread their working coats for him ’Mong the grasses sweet and low.

When the sun grew high they came again, For a drink and their bread and meat; And in the shadow he sleeping lay, With sunshine on his feet. Like a child at night, outspent with play, He lay in slumber sweet.

THE GALLANT SAIL-BOAT.

The boat, impatient of delay, With spreading, white wings flew away, Pushed its bold venture more and more. Left far behind the fading shore, And glided on, swan-like and free, A thing of life, sylph of the sea. The speed grew swift, each eager sail Swelled as it caught the gentle gale, And so, with canvas all unfurled, Around the prow the waters curled, And wreaths of spray, formed one by one, Made rainbows in the shining sun.

The lively breeze then stiffer grew, The sail-boat leaped and darted through Each billow as it struck her breast, Or, mounting upward, skimmed the crest, Plunged down into the hollow graves, Made by the fast advancing waves, Then rose again with graceful bound, Wet with the white-caps splashing round, And in her frolicsome advance, Moved like a maiden in the dance. Careening low upon her side, No bird that cuts the air could glide More deftly than she gaily flew, Light-hearted, o’er the waters blue.

And just as gay were those on board, Their youthful spirits in accord. As well-tuned strings wake with a thrill, Touched by the harpist’s facile skill, So these young hearts were in attune, And carolled like the birds of June. The pleasure-seekers, side by side, Rode with the wind, rode with the tide, While sparkling jest and blithesome song, And bursts of laughter loud and long, Spontaneous mirth and shouts of glee, Went floating o’er the ruffled sea.—_Davenport._

WOOING.

A little bird once met another bird, And whistled to her, “Will you be my mate?” With fluttering wings she twittered, “How absurd! Oh, what a silly pate!”

And off into a distant tree she flew, To find concealment in the shady cover; And passed the hours in slily peeping through At her rejected lover.

The jilted bird, with drooping heart and wing, Poured forth his grief all day in plaintiff songs; Telling in sadness to the ear of spring The story of his wrongs.

But little thought he, while each nook and dell With the wild music of his plaint was thrilling, That scornful breast with sighs began to swell— Half-pitying and half-willing.

Next month I walked the same sequestered way, When close together on a twig I spied them; And in a nest half-hid with leaves there lay Four little birds beside them.

Coy maid, this moral in your ear I drop: When lover’s hopes within their hearts you prison, Fly out of sight and hearing; do not stop To look behind and listen.—_Soule._

MISS LAUGH AND MISS FRET.

Cries little Miss Fret, In a very great pet: “I hate this warm weather; it’s horrid to tan. It scorches my nose, And blisters my toes, And wherever I go, I must carry a fan.”

Chirps little Miss Laugh: “Why, I couldn’t tell half The fun I am having this bright summer day. I sing through the hours, I cull pretty flowers, And ride like a queen on the sweet smelling hay.”

MONTEREY.

We were not many, we who stood Before the iron sleet that day; Yet many a gallant spirit would Give half his years if but he could Have with us been at Monterey.

Now here, now there, the shot it hailed In deadly drifts of fiery spray, Yet not a single soldier quailed When wounded comrades round him wailed Their dying shout at Monterey.

And on, still on, our column kept Through walls of flame its wavering way; Where fell the dead, the living stepped, Still charging on the guns which swept The slippery streets of Monterey.

The foe himself recoiled aghast, When, striking where he strongest lay, We swooped his flanking batteries past, And braving full their murderous blast, Stormed home the towers of Monterey.

Our banners on those turrets wave, And there our evening bugles play, Where orange-boughs above their grave, Keep green the memory of the brave Who fought and fell at Monterey.

We are not many, we who pressed Beside the brave who fell that day; But who of us has not confessed He’d rather share their warrior rest Than not have been at Monterey?—_Hoffman._

A WOMAN’S WATCH.

Oh, I am a woman’s watch, am I, But I would that I were not; For if you knew, you would not deny That mine is a sorry lot. She will let me rest for a great long while, Then all of a sudden seek To twist me up so tight that I’ll Keep going for a week.

She leaves me open when she will, Till I’m sick of dirt and things; Of pins and hair I have got my fill, And of buttons, hooks and strings. There’s a four-leaf clover in me, too, And a piece of a photograph; I’m stuffed completely through and through With toothpicks, cloves and chaff.

My hands are twisted to and fro, I’m thumped and jarred, alack! And then, if I fail to straightway go, I’m pounded front and back. With her hat-pin all my wheels she’ll pry Till she breaks them every one, And then she’ll say: “I don’t see why This mean old thing won’t run!”

LOVE LIGHTENS LABOR.

A good wife rose from her bed one morn, And thought, with a nervous dread, Of the piles of clothes to be washed, and more Than a dozen mouths to be fed, “There’s the meals to be got for the men in the field, And the children to fix away To school, and the milk to be skimmed and churned; And all to be done this day.”

It had rained in the night, and all the wood Was wet as it could be; There were puddings and pies to bake, besides A loaf of cake for tea. And the day was hot, and her aching head Throbbed wearily as she said. “If maidens but knew what good wives know, They would not be in haste to wed!”

“Jennie, what do you think I told Ben Brown?” Called the farmer from the well; And a flush crept up to his bronzed brow, And his eyes half-blushingly fell: “It was this,” he said, and coming near He smiled, and stooping down, Kissed her cheek—“’twas this, that you were the best And the dearest wife in town!”

The farmer went back to the field, and the wife, In a smiling, absent way, Sang snatches of tender little songs She’d not sung for many a day. And the pain in her head was gone, and the clothes Were white as the foam of the sea; Her bread was light, and her butter was sweet, And as golden as it could be.

“Just think,” the children all called in a breath, “Tom Wood has run off to sea! He wouldn’t, I know, if he’d only had As happy a home as we.” The night came down, and the good wife smiled To herself, as she softly said: “’Tis so sweet to labor for those we love— It’s not strange that maids will wed!”

ABOU BEN ADHEM.

Abou Ben Adhem—may his tribe increase! Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

An angel, writing in a book of gold. Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the Presence in the room he said, “What writest thou?” The vision raised its head, And, with a look made all of sweet accord, Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”

“And is mine one?” said Abou. “Nay, not so,” Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerily still; and said, “I pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.”

The angel wrote and vanished. The next night It came again with a great wakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had blessed; And lo! Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.—_Leigh Hunt._

ESSAYS TO BE WRITTEN FROM OUTLINES.

It is considered best by most experienced writers to prepare a plan of the composition, of whatever character it may be. In this way you are able to properly arrange your thoughts, and are less likely to omit something which ought to be treated.

There are authors who map out in their minds a general plan without committing it formally to paper. The disadvantage of this method is that something is liable to be forgotten, or inserted in the wrong place. Many authors compose a whole book with nothing more in mind than the general outline: others draw out what lawyers would call a “brief,” from which they build up their production step by step.

To aid you in learning how to write compositions, I have inserted here the outlines of essays from which the complete productions are to be written. Many of these subjects will compel you to consult books in order that you may obtain the information you require, yet this will only be a benefit to you, and will amply repay all the time and labor you expend.

You do not need to confine yourself to the thoughts suggested in these outlines. Think for yourself; do not always go on crutches. Introduce new matter and express whatever is suggested to your mind, that will make your production complete and interesting.

The following is an outline of a brief and simple essay on “The Cat.”

1. Where found.

2. Why kept.

3. Fitted to be a beast of prey:—(_a_) Teeth; (_b_) Claws; (_c_) Pads.

4. Fitted for night prowling:—(_a_) Fur; (_b_) Eyes.

5. Fitted to be a pet.

6. Habits.

The outline may be filled in thus:—

A cat is found in nearly every house. Sometimes it is kept as a pet only, and sometimes it is kept only to catch mice, but most people keep one for both purposes. The cat is fitted by nature to be a beast of prey; hence its claws and teeth are sharp and long, and under its feet are pads, which enable it to walk without making a noise. The cat is also fitted for prowling at night. Its thick fur keeps it from feeling cold, and its wonderful eyes enable it to see almost in the dark. Cats make good pets because they are pretty, clean and gentle. They like to lie on something soft and warm. When stroked they purr. Kittens are very playful.

_Dog._

1. Found nearly all over world; friend to man.

2. Uses:—Hunting, guarding, minding sheep, etc.

3. Description: Teeth for tearing, legs for running, coat for warmth; differences between cat and dog.

4. Habits.

_Kinds of Dogs._

1. Name various kinds.

2. Showing how structure of each kind fits it for its work; as

(_a_) Greyhound—shape, legs, chest for swiftness.

(_b_) Bloodhound—broad head, large nose for smell.

(_c_) Bulldog—size of head, strength of jaw and of body.

(_d_) Newfoundland—thick, oily coat, webbed feet etc., etc.

_Hay._

1. Grass allowed to grow from early spring.

2. Ripe in June or July.

3. Cut with a scythe or machine.

4. Spread out to dry in sun—turned over—raked into “cocks”—carted.

_Grain._

1. Different kinds:—wheat, barley, oats.

2. Sown in spring (wheat sometimes late in autumn).

3. Ground prepared by ploughing, harrowing.

4. Sowing (describe).

5. Weeding.

6. Harvesting:—cut with sickle, scythe or machine—bound—carted.

_Flour._

1. Wheat threshed to get grain and chaff from ear.

2. Winnowed to separate chaff from grain.

3. Ground in mill (wind, steam).

4. Skin (bran) separated from flour.

_Bread._

1. Generally made from flour.

2. Flour mixed with water, a little salt and yeast, into sponge—yeast to make it “rise.”

3. Made into loaves.

4. Baked in oven.

_Butter._

1. Made from cream.

2. Milk placed in shallow pans—cream rises—skimmed.

3. Cream begins to turn sour—churned.

4. Describe churn.

5. Churning divides cream into butter and buttermilk.

6. Butter run off—butter washed.

7. Beaten, often salted, moulded.

_Lion._

1. Cat kind—teeth, claws, sheath pad.

2. About four feet high, tawny yellow, tufted tail, mane of male.

3. Lion like cat steals up to prey.

4. Brave.

5. Cubs playful.

_Tiger._

1. Compare tiger and lion:—

(_a_) Lion in Africa and Asia, tiger in Asia.

(_b_) Tiger as strong, more fierce and cunning.

(_c_) Tiger golden fur with black stripes, no mane, tail not tufted.

(_d_) Tiger, like lion, lies in wait.

2. Man-eating tigers.

3. Hunted, often on elephants.

_Elephant._

1. Largest land animal, eight to ten feet high.

2. Very heavy body, thick skin, little hair, legs thick.

3. Head large, tusks sixty to seventy pounds each.

4. Short neck; why?

5. Trunk; why needed?—describe.

6. Clever, obedient, faithful.

_Stories of Elephants._

Tell a story showing cleverness of elephant.

_Owl._

1. Night bird; therefore eyes large, hearing sharp, feathers thick.

2. Downy feathers make flight silent.

3. Beak and claws.

4. Food.

5. Haunts.

_Swallow._

1. Made for speed; feathers firm and close, wings large, tail long and pointed, legs short.

2. Lives on insects; large, wide mouth.

3. Bird of passage; comes in spring, leaves in autumn.

4. Kind:—

(_a_) Chimney martin or swallow—builds often under eaves.

(_b_) Sand martin: smallest, builds in sandy banks or cliffs.

_Cuckoo._

1. Named from cry.

2. Bird of passage—

In April Come he will; ... In July He prepares to fly; In August Go he must.

3. Description:—size of magpie or small pigeon; color:—blue gray above; white, with slaty bars below; wings black, with white at tips.

4. Lays eggs in nest of other birds—often a hedge-sparrow.

_Tea._

1. From China, Assam, Ceylon.

2. Evergreen shrub, glossy leaves, white flower.

3. Three crops a year, first and best in spring.

4. Leaves gathered, placed in shallow baskets, dried first in sun, then over charcoal; rolled between hands.

5. Two kinds, green and black.

_Coffee._

1. Arabia, Brazil, East and West Indies, Ceylon.

2. Evergreen tree, eight to twelve feet high.

3. Tree bears a dark red berry, size of cherry, and containing two hard seeds (the coffee “bean”) each in a skin.

4. Berries gathered, dried, passed under rollers to remove skin.

5. Roasted in a closed iron vessel over slow fire.

6. Ground.

_Coal._

1. How formed:—Places where forests, woods, etc., growing, sank—covered with water bringing soil—rose again—vegetable remains hardened into coal.

2. Hence found in layers.

3. Mining:—shaft, galleries.

4. Dangers:—fall of roof; flooding; explosions of “fire-damp;” afterwards “choke-damp.”

5. Safety lamp.

_Iron._

1. Iron ore found in many places, worked on coal fields; why?

2. To drive away sulphur roasted in kiln, or with layers of coal on ground.

3. Mixed with coal and lime and placed in blast furnace.

4. Earthy matters unite with lime to form “slag.”

5. Melted iron falls to bottom—run off “cast iron.”

6. Carbon added to iron to make steel.

_Spring._

1. What months?

2. Welcome season after short, cold days of winter.

3. Trees and flowers—blossom.

4. Sowing.

5. Pleasant walks in the country.

_Christmas._

1. When?

2. Most general holiday.

3. Why kept—“peace and goodwill.”

4. How kept:—business stopped; cards; presents; meetings of friends; Christmas fare; trees.

_Your School._

1. Name.

2. Situation.

3. History.

4. Subjects taught.

5. Games.

6. How you may do credit to it.

_Any Town._

1. Name.

2. Situation.

3. Population.

4. Chief industry.

5. Chief buildings.

6. History.

_Linen._

1. Made from flax-plant about four feet high, blue flower.

2. Ripe flax pulled up, dried.

3. Seed (linseed) removed by pulling stalks through a kind of comb.

4. Stalks consist of two parts, woody and fibrous.

5. Steeped in water to make separation of two easier.

6. Beaten to break woody part.

7. Combed to remove it.

8. Spun, bleached, woven.

9. Uses.

_Blind Man’s Buff._

1. One of the players has handkerchief tied over eyes.

2. Tries to catch any of the others.

3. If he catches any one he must say who it is.

4. If he succeeds, player caught takes his place.

5. The fun of the game.

_Base Ball._

1. Describe bases (number, positions, etc.).

2. Describe bat and ball.

3. How many players?

4. Pitcher, catcher, basemen, fielders.

5. How “runs” are made.

6. How a player is “out.”

7. How one side is out.

8. Which “team” wins?

_The Blacksmith’s Shop._

1. Describe the blacksmith.

2. His work.

3. Fire, bellows.

4. Anvil, hammers, tongs, water-trough.

5. “The children coming home from school....”

_The Carpenter’s Shop._

1. Work.

2. Bench, planes, chisels, hammers, mallets, axe, adze, gimlets, saws, rule.

3. Compare blacksmith and carpenter.

_Soldier._

1. Appearance.

2. Work.

3. Where he lives in peace and in war.

4. Recruits, drill, reviews, band.

5. Battle.

6. Qualities of a soldier.

_A Farm Laborer._

1. Work varies with season.

2. In spring work connected with sowing.

3. Summer—weeding, haymaking.

4. Autumn—harvesting; sometimes ploughing.

5. Winter—looking after stock.

_A Visit to Washington._

1. On what river situated?

2. Founded when? When captured by the British?

3. Streets and avenues.

4. Capitol building, dome, Senate chamber, Chamber of the House of Representatives.

5. White House.

6. Buildings of Government Departments.

7. Smithsonian Institute.

8. Washington’s monument.

_Cleanliness._

1. Of person.

(_a_) Describe pores. Waste of body passes through them like smoke up a chimney; therefore must be kept open.

(_b_) Diseases arise if waste cannot pass off.

(_c_) Dirty person disagreeable.

2. Of clothes.

Clean person impossible in dirty clothes.

3. Of houses.

(_a_) Dust passes into lungs.

(_b_) Dirty houses—bad smells.

(_c_) Plague (formerly common) due to dirt.

_Lying._

1. What it is—willful attempt to deceive.

2. Words may be true and yet a lie because meant to deceive.

3. There may be lies without words.

4. Why wrong.

5. Consequence to liar—not believed even when speaking truth.

6. Fable of boy that cried “Wolf.”

_Cruelty to Animals._

1. Animals can feel.

2. How would you like cruel treatment?

3. “Do unto others....”

4. Animals grateful for kindness.

5. Any story to show this.

_Thrift._

1. “Penny saved, penny earned.”

2. Name some things on which children spend money needlessly.

3. Advantages of saving:—“Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves;” savings can be turned to account; provision for a “rainy day.”

4. Aids to thrift:—Savings banks, building societies, etc.

_Make Hay while the Sun Shines._

1. Meaning of proverb. Hay is grass dried in the sun; if not “made” on first opportunity, it may be spoiled by rain.

2. Proverb teaches us to miss no opportunity.

3. Reasons:—Do not know what may happen by to-morrow; chance perhaps lost forever; “The mill cannot grind with the water that is past.”

4. Story to show danger of putting off.

_A Rolling Stone Gathers no Moss._

1. Meaning of the proverb—persevere.

2. Illustrations:—

(_a_) If you do not finish a study begun, _all_ the time spent on it is wasted.

(_b_) Three removes are as bad as a fire.

(_c_) By staying in the same place you make friends and a position.

“_Virtue is its Own Reward._”

1. Virtue often gains for a man honor, wealth, friends.

2. But though it brought no such rewards it should be sought.

3. For the approval of one’s own conscience is more important than the approval of any one else.

Easy Subjects for Compositions.

Rabbit. Fox. Pig. Mouse. Bear. Camel. Monkey. Sheep. Goat. Cow. Hen. Duck. Robin. Lark. Canary. Ostrich. Eagle. Pigeon. Gull. Sparrow. Whale. Seal. Bee. Spider. Fly. Butterfly. Shark. Herring. Mackerel. Crab. Cod. Frog. Crocodile. Turtle. Adder. Cocoa. Sugar. Sago. Cork. India rubber. Potato. Turnip. Salt. Lead. Tin. Copper. Gold. Knife. Glass. Paper. Soap. Pins. Needles. Candles. Cotton. Silk. Woollen cloth. Autumn. Winter. Any game with marbles. Making and flying kites. Boating. Swimming. Fishing. Football. Skating. Lawn tennis. Punctuality. Industry. Perseverance. Obedience. Bad language. Good manners. Good habits. Temperance. Honesty. The “Golden Rule.” How to make yourself useful at home.

Describe:—(_a_) A house. (_b_) A street. (_c_) A church. (_d_) Any village. (_e_) Any town. (_f_) A farm. (_g_) A mill. (_h_) The sea-side. (_i_) Common spring flowers. (_j_) The most beautiful place you have seen. (_k_) A snow-storm. (_l_) A thunder-storm.

Describe the life and work of:—(_a_) A mason. (_b_) A gardener. (_c_) A teacher. (_d_) A doctor. (_e_) A sailor. (_f_) A policeman. (_g_) A postman. (_h_) A tailor. (_i_) A baker. (_j_) A shepherd. (_k_) A fisherman. (_l_) An errand-boy. (_m_) A painter.

Describe a visit to:—(_a_) The seaside. (_b_) Chicago or some other large town. (_c_) The Zoological Gardens or a menagerie. (_d_) A circus. (_e_) A school exhibition. (_f_) A department store. (_g_) A country dairy. (_h_) A picture gallery.

Tell a story about:—(_a_) A dog. (_b_) A cat. (_c_) A horse. (_d_) A monkey. (_e_) A parrot. (_f_) An elephant. (_g_) A hen.

Tell any stories you know illustrating the following sayings:—

(_a_) “Look before you leap.”

(_b_) “Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.”

(_c_) “People are judged by the company they keep.”

(_d_) “Penny wise and pound foolish.”

(_e_) “Count not your chickens before they are hatched.”

(_f_) “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

(_g_) “Union is strength.”

Explain and illustrate the following proverbs:—

(_a_) “A stitch in time saves nine.”

(_b_) “A prudent man foreseeth the evil; fools pass on and are punished.”

(_c_) “The more haste the less speed.”

(_d_) “Strike the iron while it is hot.”

(_e_) “Touch pitch and be defiled.”

(_f_) “Rome was not built in a day.”

(_g_) “No gains without pains.”

(_h_) “Nothing venture nothing win.”

USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

An apt illustration is always a help to a writer or speaker. The mind of the reader or hearer is interested in tracing the comparison, and receives a stronger impression than it does when the thought is stated simply by itself.

Many of the most famous orators have been very gifted in employing similes to express their meaning. You should cultivate the habit of using illustrations. Although there is sometimes danger in employing them, yet where carefully and rightly used they not only ornament the composition, but render its thoughts and ideas more striking, more impressive and more easily remembered.

=A Simile= is a comparison explicitly stated; as,

Now does he feel his title Hang loose upon him like a giant’s robe Upon a dwarfish thief.

How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.

An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a goodly apple rotten at the heart.

The course of a great statesman resembles that of navigable rivers, avoiding immovable obstacles with noble bends of concession, seeking the broad levels of opinion on which men soonest settle and longest dwell, following and marking the most imperceptible slopes of national tendency, yet always aiming at direct advances, always recruited from sources nearer heaven, and sometimes bursting open paths of progress and fruitful human commerce through what seem the eternal barriers of both.

=A Metaphor= is a condensed Simile. The comparison is implied, but not expressed at length; thus:—

But look, the morn in russet mantle clad Walks o’er the dew of yon high eastern hill.

The simile implied here is, “The morning like to a person clad in russet mantle walks,” etc.

Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness ... above all taking the shield of faith wherewith ye may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Similes and Metaphors are employed

1. To aid the understanding.

We comprehend the unknown best by comparison with the known.

2. To intensify the feelings; as

Offence’s gilded hand may shove by justice.

What a piece of work is man; how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!

3. To give point and force to what we wish to express.

Our conduct towards the Indians has been that of a man who subscribes to hospitals, weeps at charity sermons, carries out broth and blankets to beggars, and then comes home and beats his wife and children.

Howe’er it be, it seems to me ’Tis only noble to be good. Kind hearts are more than coronets, And simple faith than Norman blood.—_Tennyson._

Every one must admit the beauty and force of the great poet’s comparison of kind hearts to coronets, and simple faith to Norman blood, implying that each object mentioned surpasses the one with which it is compared.

The following rules should be observed in the conduct of Metaphors:—

1. Do not use metaphors, except when needed to make a sentence clearer or stronger. Needless metaphors are a blemish instead of an ornament.

2. Do not pursue a simile or metaphor too far. The further it is pursued the less likely is the comparison to hold.

3. Metaphors should avoid mean or disagreeable details.

4. Metaphors should not be forced. Some metaphors are so far-fetched that (as Mr. Lowell says) one could wish their authors no worse fate than to be obliged to carry them back whence they came.

5. Do not mix literal and metaphorical language. In the sentence

I was walking on the barren hills of sin and sorrow near Welshpool,

“the barren hills of sin and sorrow” is metaphorical, and “near Welshpool” is literal.

_Examples of Apt Illustrations._

But I am constant as the northern star, Of whose true-fix’d and resting quality There is no fellow in the firmament.—_Shakespeare._

I had rather be a dog and bay the moon, Than such a Roman.—_Shakespeare._

There is a tide in the affairs of men Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries.—_Shakespeare._

Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve.—_Milton._

Now morn, her rosy steps in eastern clime Advancing, sow’d the earth with orient pearl.—_Milton._

So may’st thou live, till like ripe fruit thou drop Into thy mother’s lap.—_Milton._

Methinks I see in my mind a noble and puissant nation rousing herself like a strong man after sleep, and shaking her invincible locks.—_Milton._

There is a reaper whose name is death, And with his sickle keen He reaps the bearded grain at a breath, And the flowers that grow between.—_Longfellow._

And the night shall be filled with music, And the cares that infest the day Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, And as silently steal away.—_Longfellow._

But what am I? An infant crying in the night: An infant crying for the light, And with no language but a cry.—_Tennyson._

But Memory blushes at the sneer, And Honor turns with frown defiant, And Freedom, leaning on her spear, Laughs louder than the laughing giant.—_Holmes._

There comes Emerson first, whose rich words, every one, Are like gold nails in temples to hang trophies on.—_Lowell._

In winter, when the dismal rain Came down in slanting lines, And wind, that grand old harper, smote His thunder-harp of pines.—_Mulock._

Men not only want a competency, but they want a ten-story competency; then they want religion as a lightning rod to ward off the bolts of divine judgment.—_Beecher._

As the river is swollen by the melting snows of spring and runs with greater force and volume, so, when he is aroused, his thoughts and words pour forth impetuously, and he exhibits the strength and majesty of the most commanding eloquence.

_Examples of Faulty Illustrations._

Peace has poured oil on the troubled waters, and they blossom like the rose.

She has come down among us in her floating robes, bearing the olive-branch in her beak.

The American eagle broods over his nest in the rocky fastnesses, and his young shall lie down with the lamb.

We have gone through the floods, and have turned their hot ploughshares into pruning-hooks.

May we be as lucky in the future, preserving forever our Goddess of Liberty one and inseparable.

CORRECTIONS.—Peace may pour oil on troubled waters, but waters never blossom.

Anything that wears floating robes is not furnished with a beak.

The young of eagles are not in the habit of lying down with lambs.

Floods do not have hot ploughshares.

Why should anyone wish to preserve the Goddess of Liberty inseparable, as it would be an unheard-of experience for a Goddess to be divided?

HOW TO COMPOSE AND WRITE LETTERS.

To be a good letter writer is an accomplishment as desirable as it is rare. Few persons possess the faculty of writing an interesting letter, politely and gracefully expressed. Unless you are an exception to the general rule you become stiff and formal when you attempt to express your thoughts to a friend, or make known your wants to a man of business. The epistle is labored, unnatural and lacking in that ease which is the charm of conversation.

“I now take my pen in hand,” etc. Do get rid of all old, set forms of expression. Imagine the person to whom you are writing as placed right before you, and talk to him with your pen as you would with your tongue.

There can be but one opinion concerning the general value of correspondence. How often people complain that they do not get letters from their friends. Neglect can be shown in no way more effectively than by failing to answer a letter when it ought to be written.

In writing a letter, care should be taken that the different parts are properly arranged.

First comes the =Address of the Writer=.

This is written at the top of the paper, towards the right side. If the address consists of several parts, each part is given a separate line; thus—

LIVONIA, LIVINGSTON CO., NEW YORK.

After the address comes the =Date of Writing=.

Next comes the =Form of Address=.

This is always placed towards the left of the page, and varies according to the relations between the sender and the receiver of the letter. Writing to an intimate friend, one may say, “My dear Tom,” or (a little less familiarly) “My dear Brown.” Writing to a friend who is also a superior in age or position, one would say, “My dear Mr. Brown.” “Dear Sir” is formal, but claims some small degree of acquaintance or regard. “Sir” is purely formal. Similarly we may have, “My dear Annie,” “My dear Mrs. Brown,” “Dear Madam,” and “Madam.” In writing to Miss Jones, a stranger, you may not wish to say, “Dear Miss.” It would be better in this instance to address her as “Miss Jones.”

After the form of address comes the =Letter=.

A friendly letter should be easy and pleasant in style—it should be, in fact, a talk on paper. In a business letter, on the other hand, the style is brief and concise. The first aim of the writer is to make himself understood, the next to be brief.

After the letter comes the =Subscription=, as,

Sincerely yours, ALEXANDER ARGYLE.

Or,

Respectfully yours, NEW ENGLAND COAL CO.

Or in more formal style,

I am, dear sir, Your obedient servant, THOMAS LANCASTER.

The subscription is arranged like the address, but begins further to the left. The form of subscription varies with the form of address.

A business letter ends with the =Address of the Person to whom it is Sent=.

This is written in the left corner. A friendly letter generally ends with the subscription.

EXAMPLES OF LETTERS.

_Application for a Situation._

345 Lancaster Street, 15th February, 189-.

SIR:

Seeing by your advertisement in this morning’s “Standard” that you are in need of an office boy, I beg leave to apply for the position. I have been for six years a pupil in the Commercial School, Old Bridge Street. My teacher permits me to refer you to him for an account of my conduct and abilities. I have therefore only to add that if I am fortunate enough to enter your employ, it shall be my aim to serve you diligently and faithfully.

I am, sir, Your obedient servant, THOMAS WATSON.

J. W. CHAMBERS, ESQ., 97 Dearborn Street.

_Letters of Invitation._

NEWARK, September 11.

MY DEAR JOE:

Myself, and a half dozen other good fellows, are going to devote a few hours on Tuesday evening to the enjoyment of refreshments, chit-chat, and so on. I hope you will make one, as we have not enjoyed the “feast of reason and flow of soul” in each other’s company for some time past.

Believe me, dear Joe, Yours ever, HARRY.

MADISON SQUARE, November 12.

DEAR MR. ROBINSON:

My old friend Richard Roy is coming to take a chop with me on Saturday, the 15th, and I hope you will come and join us at six o’clock. I know you are not partial to large parties, so trust you will think us two sufficient company.

Yours ever truly,

WASHINGTON, July 3.

HON. J. B. GRANGER, MY DEAR SIR:

We are endeavoring to get up a small excursion to visit Mount Vernon on the 10th of this month. Will you do us the favor of making one of our number? Mrs. ⸺ and my family desire their compliments, and request me to mention that they have taken upon themselves the task of providing the “creature comforts” for that occasion, and trust that their exertions will meet with unanimous approval. Should you have no previous engagement for that day, and feel disposed to join our party, a carriage will be at your door by 10 o’clock on Thursday morning; and believe me to be,

My dear sir, yours most sincerely,

HON. J. B. GRANGER.

P. S.—The favor of an early answer will oblige.

WASHINGTON, July 3.

MR. E. B. ALLEN, MY DEAR SIR:

Replying to your kind invitation of this morning, I beg leave to say it would afford me great pleasure to join your excursion to Mount Vernon on the 10th inst. I will await your carriage at 10 o’clock on Thursday morning. Thanking you for your welcome invitation,

I am, my dear sir, very truly yours, J. B. GRANGER.

MR. E. B. ALLEN.

_Notes of Invitation._

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson request the pleasure of Mr. and Mrs. James’s company, on Wednesday evening next, at eight o’clock, to join a social party. An immediate answer will much oblige.

Fifth Avenue, January 9th.

Mr. and Mrs. James will be most happy to avail themselves of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson’s kind invitation to join their social party as requested.

West Street, January 10th.

Mr. and Mrs. James greatly regret their inability to accept Mr. and Mrs. Thompson’s kind invitation to join their social party. Nothing would have afforded them more pleasure than to be present, but family affliction prevents them.

West Street, January 10th.

MY DEAR BERTHA,—A few friends will be here on Wednesday evening next, to take a social cup of tea, and chat about mankind in particular. Give us the pleasure of your company.

S. BUCKMAN.

Prince Street, Saturday morning.

MY DEAR SOPHIE,—It affords me great pleasure to inform you that I shall join your party on Wednesday evening next.

BERTHA MERWIN.

Spring Street, Saturday afternoon.

_Letters of Congratulation._

LOUISVILLE, KY., February 10.

MY DEAR HOWARD:

The news of your good fortune gives me great satisfaction. No one can possess true friendship without rejoicing in the prosperity of a friend. To one who has always been manly, true and noble, and who has labored persistently toward a particular end, success must be extremely gratifying.

It will ever be my delight to hear that you are prospering in your undertakings, and if in any way I can serve you, you can rely upon my best endeavors. With every good wish for yourself and Mrs. Kerr,

Ever faithfully yours,

ST. LOUIS, MO., June 15, 189-.

DEAR OLD FRIEND:

The happy announcement that a son and heir has been born to you, gives me extreme satisfaction. I always thought you would distinguish yourself in some way, and would do something whereby your name might descend to posterity. And now, my worthy chum, it seems you have done it. Blessings on you!

Very sincerely yours,

_Love Letters._

MY DEAREST HARRIET:

I cannot express the happiness I feel in finding that my letter to your respected parents has been crowned with success, and I flatter myself, notwithstanding your temporizing with my feelings, in thus reserving your avowal of a reciprocal attachment, that you, my dear girl, will not be unsusceptible to its value, but condescend to acknowledge an equal happiness with myself at its contents. In token of the confidence with which your dear letter has inspired me, I beg leave to present you with a trifle, the acceptance of which will be highly flattering to him whose image it portrays; and permit me the fond pleasure of indulging a belief that you will esteem the trifle, in affectionate remembrance of the original.

In obedience to your father’s command, I shall wait upon him at the appointed time; till then, my beloved Harriet, adieu.

Ever your devoted admirer,

DEAR SIR:

I make no doubt of the truth of your assertions, relative to yourself, character, and connections; but as I think I am too young to enter into such a serious engagement, I request I may hear no more of your passion for the present; in every other respect,

I am, Sir, Yours very sincerely,

OUTLINES TO BE EXPANDED INTO LETTERS.

_Inviting a Friend to Tea._

1. Can you come to tea—day—hour.

2. My birthday—several friends coming.

3. Tea in orchard—then cricket in field.

4. Hope mother will let you come—be home by nine.

_Accepting Invitation._

1. Thanks for invitation—happy to accept.

2. Glad to meet ⸺.

3. Look forward to pleasant evening.

_Declining Invitation._

1. Thanks for invitation—should have been glad to come.

2. Sorry to lose chance of meeting ⸺.

3. Father some time ago arranged to take me and my brother to ⸺.

4. Hope you will have pleasant evening and many happy returns.

_From a Town Child to a Country Child._

1. Town crowded—noisy—dirty—glad to get into country.

2. Shall never forget visit to the country last summer.

3. No streets—few houses—beautiful views—quiet—sweet air.

4. Fine weather—many enjoyable walks.

5. Returned to town almost envying a country life.

_Answer from Country Child to Town Child._

1. You almost envying country life—I almost envying town life.

2. Country has the advantages you describe, but you saw it in summer.

3. Difficult to get about in bad weather—especially in winter when much bad weather.

4. Dull—no libraries, exhibitions, meetings, concerts, etc.

5. Town may have all the disadvantages named, but always plenty to see, opportunities for study, friendly intercourse, entertainments.

6. Traveling easy.

SPECIMENS OF ELEGANT COMPOSITION FROM WORLD-RENOWNED AUTHORS.

Do not consider yourself too ambitious when you make an earnest effort to express your thoughts so well that your productions will compare favorably with those of the best writers. You should have specimens of the best composition before you. The following pages contain such, and you will readily see how the most famous authors construct their sentences, what apt words they choose, and how easily, yet forcibly, they express their ideas.

Do not be disheartened if you fail to come up to the standard here placed before you. It is related of the great painter, Correggio, that he was once almost ready to fling away his brush, exclaiming, “I can never paint like Raphael.” But he persevered, and at length the great painter whom he admired so much said, “If I were not Raphael, I would wish to be Correggio.” You should take the best writers for your models and set your standard high. Be a severe critic of yourself, and do your very best.

GETTING THE RIGHT START.

BY J. G. HOLLAND.

In clear expression of thought and use of plain, forcible English, the works of Doctor Holland are superior to those of most authors. He does not employ large, overgrown words, but such as are easily understood. This is one secret of the popularity of his writings. Dr. Holland was born at Belchertown, Mass., in 1819, and died October 12, 1881. He was associate editor of the “Springfield Republican,” and in 1870 became editor of “Scribner’s Magazine.” Both as a writer of prose and poetry he is held in high esteem by all lovers of elevated thought and pure diction.

Society demands that a young man shall be somebody, not only, but that he shall prove his right to the title; and it has a right to demand this. Society will not take this matter upon trust—at least, not for a long time, for it has been cheated too frequently. Society is not very particular what a man does, so that it proves him to be a man: then it will bow to him, and make room for him.

I know a young man who made a place for himself by writing an article for the North American Review: nobody read the article, so far as I know, but the fact that he wrote such an article, that it was very long, and that it was published, did the business for him. Everybody, however, cannot write articles for the North American Review—at least I hope everybody will not, for it is a publication which makes me a quarterly visit; but everybody, who is somebody, can do something. There is a wide range of effort between holding a skein of silk for a lady and saving her from drowning—between collecting voters on election day and teaching a Sunday-school class.

A man must enter society of his own free will, as an active element or a valuable component, before he can receive the recognition that every true man longs for. I take it that this is right. A man who is willing to enter society as a beneficiary is mean, and does not deserve recognition.

There is no surer sign of an unmanly and cowardly spirit than a vague desire for help, a wish to depend, to lean upon somebody, and enjoy the fruits of the industry of others. There are multitudes of young men, I suppose, who indulge in dreams of help from some quarter, coming in at a convenient moment, to enable them to secure the success in life which they covet.

The vision haunts them of some benevolent old gentleman with a pocket full of money, a trunk full of mortgages and stocks, and a mind remarkably appreciative of merit and genius, who will, perhaps, give or lend them anywhere from ten to twenty thousand dollars, with which they will commence and go on swimmingly. Perhaps he will take a different turn, and educate them. Or, perhaps, with an eye to the sacred profession, they desire to become the beneficiaries of some benevolent society, or some gentle circle of female devotees.

To me, one of the most disgusting sights in the world is that of a young man with healthy blood, broad shoulders, presentable calves, and a hundred and fifty pounds, more or less, of good bone and muscle, standing with his hands in his pockets, longing for help. I admit that there are positions in which the most independent spirit may accept of assistance—may, in fact, as a choice of evils, desire it; but for a man who is able to help himself, to desire the help of others in the accomplishment of his plans of life, is positive proof that he has received a most unfortunate training, or that there is a leaven of meanness in his composition that should make him shudder.

Do not misunderstand me: I would not inculcate that pride of personal independence which repels in its sensitiveness the well-meant good offices and benefactions of friends, or that resorts to desperate shifts rather than incur an obligation. What I condemn in a young man is the love of dependence; the willingness to be under obligation for that which his own efforts may win.

Let this be understood, then, at starting; that the patient conquest of difficulties which rise in the regular and legitimate channels of business and enterprise, is not only essential in securing the success which you seek, but it is essential to that preparation of your mind which is requisite for the enjoyment of your successes, and for retaining them when gained. It is the general rule of Providence, the world over, and in all time, that unearned success is a curse. It is the rule of Providence, that the process of earning success shall be the preparation for its conservation and enjoyment.

So, day by day, and week by week; so, month after month, and year after year, work on, and in that process gain strength and symmetry, and nerve and knowledge, that when success, patiently and bravely worked for, shall come, it may find you prepared to receive it and keep it.

The development which you will get in this brave and patient labor, will prove itself, in the end, the most valuable of your successes. It will help to make a man of you. It will give you power and self-reliance. It will give you not only self-respect, but the respect of your fellows and the public.

Never allow yourself to be seduced from this course. You will hear of young men who have made fortunes in some wild speculations. Pity them; for they will almost certainly lose their easily won success. Do not be in a hurry for anything. Are you in love with some dear girl, whom you would make your wife? Give Angelina Matilda to understand that she must wait; and if Angelina Matilda is really the good girl you take her to be, she will be sensible enough to tell you to choose your time.

You cannot build well without first laying a good foundation; and for you to enter upon a business which you have not patiently and thoroughly learned, and to marry before you have won a character, or even the reasonable prospect of a competence, is ultimately to bring your house down about the ears of Angelina Matilda, and such pretty children as she may give you. If, at the age of thirty years, you find yourself established in a business which pays you with certainty a living income, you are to remember that God has blessed you beyond the majority of men.

DINAH THE METHODIST.

BY GEORGE ELIOT.

The works of Marian Evans Cross created unusual interest when first published in England. Her “Adam Bede,” “The Mill on the Floss” and “Silas Marner,” immediately placed her in the highest rank of the writers of fiction. For some time her identity was concealed, yet there were critics who suspected that “George Eliot” was the assumed name of a female author. Her writings are characterized by a keen insight into character, intellectual vigor and sympathy with the advanced thought of the day. She was born in 1819, and died in 1880. The selection from “Adam Bede,” here given, is an excellent specimen from one of her well-known works.

Several of the men followed Ben’s lead, and the traveler pushed his horse on to the Green, as Dinah walked rather quickly, and in advance of her companions, toward the cart under the maple tree. While she was near Seth’s tall figure she looked short, but when she had mounted the cart, and was away from all comparison, she seemed above the middle height of woman, though in reality she did not exceed it—an effect which was due to the slimness of her figure, and the simple line of her black stuff dress.

The stranger was struck with surprise as he saw her approach and mount the cart—surprise, not so much for the feminine delicacy of her appearance, as at the total absence of self-consciousness in her demeanor. He had made up his mind to see her advance with a measured step, and a demure solemnity of countenance; he had felt sure that her face would be mantled with a smile of conscious saintship, or else charged with denunciatory bitterness. He knew but two types of Methodist—the ecstatic and the bilious.

But Dinah walked as simply as if she were going to market, and seemed as unconscious of her outward appearance as a little boy; there was no blush, no tremulousness, which said, “I know you think me a pretty woman, too young to preach;” no casting up or down of the eyelids, no compression of the lips, no attitude of the arms, that said, “But you must think of me as a saint.”

She held no book in her ungloved hands, but let them hang down lightly crossed before her, as she stood and turned her grey eyes on the people. There was no keenness in her eyes; they seemed rather to be shedding love than making observations; they had the liquid look which tells that the mind is full of what it has to give out, rather than impressed by external objects.

The eyebrows, of the same color as the hair, were perfectly horizontal and firmly pencilled; the eyelashes, though no darker, were long and abundant; nothing was left blurred or unfinished.

It was one of those faces that make one think of white flowers with light touches of color on their pure petals. The eyes had no peculiar beauty, beyond that of expression; they looked so simple, so candid, so gravely loving, that no accusing scowl, no light sneer, could help melting away before their glance.

Joshua Rann gave a long cough, as if he were clearing his throat in order to come to a new understanding with himself; Chad Cranage lifted up his leather skull-cap and scratched his head; and Wiry Ben wondered how Seth had the pluck to think of courting her.

“A sweet woman,” the stranger said to himself, “but surely Nature never meant her for a preacher.”

GODFREY AND DUNSTAN.

BY GEORGE ELIOT.

An excellent example of dialogue in fiction.

Some one opened the door at the other end of the room, and Nancy felt that it was her husband. She turned from the window with gladness in her eyes, for the wife’s chief dread was stilled.

“Dear, I’m so thankful you’re come,” she said, going towards him. “I began to get”—

She paused abruptly, for Godfrey was laying down his hat with trembling hands, and turned towards her with a pale face and a strange, unanswering glance, as if he saw her indeed, but saw her as part of a scene invisible to herself. She laid her hand on his arm, not daring to speak again; but he left the touch unnoticed, and threw himself into his chair.

Jane was already at the door with the hissing urn. “Tell her to keep away, will you?” said Godfrey; and when the door was closed again he exerted himself to speak more distinctly.

“Sit down, Nancy—there,” he said, pointing to a chair opposite him. “I came back as soon as I could to hinder anybody’s telling you but me. I’ve had a great shock—but I care most about the shock it’ll be to you.”

“It isn’t father and Priscilla?” said Nancy, with quivering lips, clasping her hands together tightly on her lap.

“No, it’s nobody living,” said Godfrey, unequal to the considerate skill with which he would have wished to make his revelation. “It’s Dunstan—my brother Dunstan, that we lost sight of sixteen years ago. We’ve found him,—found his body—his skeleton.”

The deep dread Godfrey’s look had created in Nancy made her feel these words a relief. She sat in comparative calmness to hear what else he had to tell. He went on:

“The stone pit has gone dry suddenly,—from the draining, I suppose; and there he lies—has lain for sixteen years, wedged between two great stones. There’s his watch and seals, and there’s my gold-handled hunting whip, with my name on. He took it away, without my knowing, the day he went hunting on Wildfire, the last time he was seen.”

Godfrey paused! it was not so easy to say what came next. “Do you think he drowned himself?” said Nancy, almost wondering that her husband should be so deeply shaken by what had happened all those years ago to an unloved brother, of whom worse things had been augured.

“No, he fell in,” said Godfrey, in a low but distinct voice, as if he felt some deep meaning in the fact. Presently he added: “Dunstan was the man that robbed Silas Marner.”

The blood rushed to Nancy’s face and neck at this surprise and shame, for she had been bred up to regard even a distant kinship with crime as a dishonor.

“O Godfrey!” she said, with compassion in her tone, for she had immediately reflected that the dishonor must be felt more keenly by her husband.

“There was money in the pit,” he continued, “all the weaver’s money. Everything’s been gathered up, and they have taken the skeleton to the Rainbow. But I came back to tell you. There was no hindering it; you must know.”

He was silent, looking on the ground for two long minutes. Nancy would have said some words of comfort under this disgrace, but she refrained, from an instinctive sense that there was something behind,—that Godfrey had something else to tell her. Presently he lifted his eyes to her face, and kept them fixed on her, as he said:

“Everything comes to light, Nancy, sooner or later. When God Almighty wills it, our secrets are found out. I’ve lived with a secret on my mind, but I’ll keep it from you no longer. I wouldn’t have you know it by somebody else, and not by me—I wouldn’t have you find it out after I’m dead. I’ll tell you now. It’s been ‘I will’ and ‘I won’t’ with me all my life; I’ll make sure of myself now.”

Nancy’s utmost dread had returned. The eyes of the husband and wife met with an awe in them, as at a crisis which suspended affection.

“Nancy,” said Godfrey slowly, “when I married you, I hid something from you,—something I ought to have told you. That woman Marner found dead in the snow—Eppie’s mother—that wretched woman—was my wife; Eppie is my child.”

He paused, dreading the effects of his confession. But Nancy sat quite still, only that her eyes dropped and ceased to meet his. She was pale and quiet as a meditative statue, clasping her hands on her lap.

“You’ll never think the same of me again,” said Godfrey after a little while, with some tremor in his voice. She was silent.

“I oughtn’t to have left the child unowned; I oughtn’t to have kept it from you. But I couldn’t bear to give you up, Nancy. I was led away into marrying her; I suffered for it.”

Still Nancy was silent, looking down; and he almost expected that she would presently get up and say she would go to her father’s. How could she have any mercy for faults that seemed so black to her, with her simple, severe notions?

But at last she lifted up her eyes to his again and spoke. There was no indignation in her voice; only deep regret.

“Godfrey, if you had told me this six years ago, we could have done some of our duty by the child. Do you think I’d have refused to take her in, if I’d known she was yours?”

At that moment Godfrey felt all the bitterness of an error that was not simply futile, but had defeated its own end. He had not measured this wife with whom he had lived so long. But she spoke again, with more agitation.

“And—oh, Godfrey—if we’d had her from the first, if you’d taken to her as you ought, she’d have loved me for her mother—and you’d been happier with me; I could better have bore my little baby dying, and our life might have been more like what we used to think it ’ud be.”

The tears fell, and Nancy ceased to speak.

“But you wouldn’t have married me then, Nancy, if I’d told you,” said Godfrey, urged, in the bitterness of his self-reproach, to prove to himself that his conduct had not been utter folly. “You may think you would now, but you wouldn’t then. With your pride and your father’s, you’d have hated having anything to do with me after the talk there’d been.”

“I can’t say what I should have done about that, Godfrey. I should never have married anybody else. But I wasn’t worth doing wrong for; nothing is in this world. Nothing is so good as it seems beforehand; not even our marrying wasn’t, you see.” There was a faint, sad smile on Nancy’s face as she said the last words.

“I’m a worse man than you thought I was, Nancy,” said Godfrey rather tremulously. “Can you forgive me ever?”

“The wrong to me is but little, Godfrey. You’ve made it up to me; you’ve been good to me for fifteen years. It’s another you did the wrong to; and I doubt it can never be all made up for.”

“But we can take Eppie now,” said Godfrey. “I won’t mind the world knowing at last. I’ll be plain and open for the rest o’ my life.”

“It’ll be different coming to us, now she’s grown up,” said Nancy, shaking her head sadly. “But it’s your duty to acknowledge her and provide for her; and I’ll do my part by her, and pray to God Almighty to make her love me.”

“Then we’ll go together to Silas Marner’s this very night, as soon as everything’s quiet at the Stone Pits.”

RIP VAN WINKLE.

BY WASHINGTON IRVING.

This charming author, who is a master of pure style, beautiful sentiment and pleasing humor, has been called the father of American literature. If this be not strictly true, it is a matter of record that no American authors before his time achieved any remarkable success. Mr. Irving was born in 1783, and died in 1859. He was particularly happy in portraying the quaint character and customs of the old Dutch settlers in our country. He published a number of volumes, including “The Sketch Book,” “Tales of a Traveler,” “Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus,” etc. One of Irving’s best known and most delightful short productions is “Rip Van Winkle,” from which the following extract is taken. The easy-going, inoffensive character of Rip is delightfully pictured.

The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor. It could not be from the want of assiduity or perseverance; for he would sit on a wet rock, with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar’s lance, and fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged by a single nibble.

He would carry a fowling-piece on his shoulder for hours together, trudging through woods and swamps, and up hill and down dale, to shoot a few squirrels or wild pigeons. He would never refuse to assist a neighbor even in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man at all country frolics for husking Indian corn, or building stone fences.

The women of the village, too, used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands would not do for them;—in a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible.

In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was the most pestilent little piece of ground in the whole country; everything about it went wrong, and would go wrong in spite of him. His fences were continually falling to pieces; his cow would either go astray, or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in his fields than anywhere else; the rain always made a point of setting in just as he had some outdoor work to do; so that, though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away under his management, acre by acre, until there was little more left than a mere patch of Indian corn, and potatoes, yet it was the worst conditioned farm in the neighborhood.

His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nobody. His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, promised to inherit the habits, with the old clothes, of his father. He was generally seen trooping like a colt at his mother’s heels, equipped in a pair of his father’s cast-off trousers, which he had much ado to hold up with one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather.

Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well-oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound. If left to himself, he would have whistled life away in perfect contentment; but his wife kept continually dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness, and the ruin he was bringing on his family.

Morning, noon and night her tongue was incessantly going, and everything he said or did was sure to produce a torrent of household eloquence. Rip had but one way of replying to all lectures of the kind, and that by frequent use had grown into a habit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. This, however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife, so that he was fain to draw off his forces and take to the outside of the house—the only side which, in truth, belongs to a henpecked husband.

Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair, and his only alternative to escape from the labor of the farm, and the clamor of his wife, was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods. Here he would sometimes seat himself at the foot of a tree, and share the contents of his wallet with his dog Wolf, with whom he sympathized as a fellow-sufferer in persecution.

“Poor Wolf,” he would say, “thy mistress leads thee a dog’s life of it; but never mind, my lad, whilst I live thou shalt never want a friend to stand by thee.” Wolf would wag his tail, look wistfully in his master’s face, and if dogs can feel pity, I verily believe he reciprocated the sentiment with all his heart.

THE PURITANS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

BY LORD MACAULAY.

Distinguished as a descriptive poet by his fine “Lays of Ancient Rome,” and yet more distinguished as a master of English prose by his “Essays” and his noble “History of England,” Thomas Babington Macaulay stands prominent as the most learned and eloquent of the essayists and critics of the nineteenth century. He was the son of Zachary Macaulay, known as the warm friend and co-laborer of Wilberforce and Clarkson, and was born at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, October 25, 1800, and died in 1859. In 1818 he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his degree in 1822. Here he gave proof of his great intellectual powers, obtaining a scholarship, and twice gaining the Chancellor’s medal for a poem called “Pompeii.” To crown his triumphs, he secured a “Craven Scholarship,”—the highest distinction in classics which the university confers.

Lord Macaulay’s glowing description of the Puritans has been pronounced the finest writing of its kind to be found in our language. It is the product of pre-eminent literary ability, and the highest genius.

We would first speak of the Puritans of the sixteenth century, the most remarkable body of men, perhaps, which the world has ever produced.

Those who roused the people to resistance—who directed their measures through a long series of eventful years—who formed, out of the most unpromising materials, the finest army that Europe had ever seen—who trampled down king, church, and aristocracy—who, in the short intervals of domestic sedition and rebellion, made the name of England terrible to every nation on the face of the earth—were no vulgar fanatics.

Most of their absurdities were mere external badges, like the signs of freemasonry or the dresses of friars. We regret that these badges were not more attractive; we regret that a body, to whose courage and talents mankind has owed inestimable obligations, had not the lofty elegance which distinguished some of the adherents of Charles I., or the easy good breeding for which the court of Charles II. was celebrated. But, if we must make our choice, we shall, like Bassanio in the play, turn from the specious caskets which contain only the Death’s head and the Fool’s head, and fix our choice on the plain leaden chest which conceals the treasure.

The Puritans were men whose minds had derived a peculiar character from the daily contemplation of superior beings and eternal interests. Not content with acknowledging, in general terms, an overruling Providence, they habitually ascribed every event to the will of the Great Being, for whose power nothing was too minute. To know him, to serve him, to enjoy him, was with them the great end of existence.

They rejected with contempt the ceremonious homage which other sects substituted for the pure worship of the soul. Instead of catching occasional glimpses of the Deity through an obscuring veil, they aspired to gaze full on the intolerable brightness, and to commune with him face to face. Hence originated their contempt for terrestrial distinctions.

The difference between the greatest and meanest of mankind seemed to vanish when compared with the boundless interval which separated the whole race from Him on whom their own eyes were constantly fixed.

They recognized no title to superiority but his favor; and, confident of that favor, they despised all the accomplishments and all the dignities of the world. If they were unacquainted with the works of philosophers and poets, they were deeply read in the oracles of God; if their names were not found in the registers of heralds, they felt assured that they were recorded in the Book of Life; if their steps were not accompanied by a splendid train of menials, legions of ministering angels had charge over them. Their palaces were houses not made with hands; their diadems, crowns of glory which should never fade away.

On the rich and the eloquent, on nobles and priests, they looked down with contempt; for they esteemed themselves rich in a more precious treasure, and eloquent in a more sublime language—nobles by the right of an earlier creation, and priests by the imposition of a mightier hand. The very meanest of them was a being to whose fate a mysterious and terrible importance belonged—on whose slightest actions the spirits of light and darkness looked with anxious interest—who had been destined, before heaven and earth were created, to enjoy a felicity which should continue when heaven and earth should have passed away.

Events which short-sighted politicians ascribed to earthly causes had been ordained on his account. For his sake empires had risen and flourished and decayed; for his sake the Almighty had proclaimed his will by the pen of the evangelist and the harp of the prophet. He had been rescued by no common deliverer from the grasp of no common foe; he had been ransomed by the sweat of no vulgar agony, by the blood of no earthly sacrifice. It was for him that the sun had been darkened, that the rocks had been rent, that the dead had arisen, that all nature had shuddered at the sufferings of her expiring God!

ON BEING IN TIME.

BY C. H. SPURGEON.

When we examine Mr. Spurgeon’s writings we are able to discover one great secret of his power. As no preacher of modern times was more successful, in like manner no other had such a vigorous command of plain English in the pulpit. The great majority of his words are short and simple, reminding one of the terse writings of the old Puritan authors. Mr. Spurgeon was born in 1834 and died in 1893. No other writer has published so many sermons and volumes of miscellaneous writings, and no other author of similar works has been so widely read. He was the marvel of his generation.

He who begins a little late in the morning will have to drive fast, will be constantly in a fever, and will scarcely overtake his business at night; whereas he who rises in proper time can enjoy the luxury of pursuing his calling with regularity, ending his work in fit season, and gaining a little portion of leisure.

Late in the morning may mean puffing and blowing all the day long, whereas an early hour will make the pace an easy one. This is worth a man’s considering. Much evil comes of hurry, and hurry is the child of unpunctuality.

We once knew a brother whom we named “the late Mr. S⸺,” because he never came in time. A certain tart gentleman, who had been irritated by this brother’s unpunctuality, said that the sooner that name was literally true the better for the temper of those who had to wait for him. Many a man would much rather be fined than be kept waiting. If a man _must_ injure me, let him rather plunder me of my cash than of my time.

To keep a busy man waiting is an act of impudent robbery, and is also a constructive insult. It may not be so intended, but certainly if a man has proper respect for his friend, he will know the value of his time, and will not cause him to waste it. There is a cool contempt in unpunctuality, for it as good as says: “Let the fellow wait; who is he that I should keep my appointment with him?”

In this world, matters are so linked together that you cannot disarrange one without throwing others out of gear; if one business is put out of time, another is delayed by the same means. The other day we were traveling to the Riviera, and the train after leaving Paris was detained for an hour and a half. This was bad enough, but the result was worse, for when we reached Marseilles the connecting train had gone, and we were not only detained for a considerable time, but were forced to proceed by a slow train, and so reached our destination six hours later than we ought to have done. All the subsequent delay was caused through the first stoppage.

A merchant once said to us: “A. B. is a good fellow in many respects, but he is so frightfully slow that we cannot retain him in our office, because, as all the clerks work into each other’s hands, his delays are multiplied enormously, and cause intolerable inconvenience. He is a hindrance to the whole system, and he had better go where he can work alone.”

The worst of it is that we cannot send unpunctual people where they can work alone. To whom or whither should they go? We cannot rig out a hermitage for each one, or that would be a great deliverance. If they prepared their own dinners, it would not matter that they dropped in after every dish had become cold. If they preached sermons to themselves, and had no other audience, it would not signify that they began consistently seven minutes behind the published hour. If they were their own scholars, and taught themselves, it would be of no consequence if the pupil sat waiting for his teacher for twenty minutes.

As it is, we in this world cannot get away from the unpunctual, nor get them away from us, and therefore we are obliged to put up with them; but we should like them to know that they are a gross nuisance, and a frequent cause of sin, through irritating the tempers of those who cannot afford to squander time as they do.

If this should meet the eye of any gentleman who has almost forgotten the meaning of the word “punctuality,” we earnestly advise him to try and be henceforth five minutes _too soon_ for every appointment, and then perhaps he will gradually subside into the little great virtue which we here recommend.

Could not some good genius get up a Punctuality Association, every member to wear a chronometer set to correct time, and to keep appointments by the minute-hand? Pledges should be issued, to be signed by all sluggish persons who can summon up sufficient resolution totally to abstain from being behind time in church or chapel, or on committee, or at dinner, or in coming home from the office in the evening. Ladies eligible as members upon signing a special pledge to keep nobody waiting while they run upstairs to pop on their bonnets. How much of sinful temper would be spared, and how much of time saved, we cannot venture to guess. Try it.

JOHN PLOUGHMAN’S TALK ON HOME.

BY C. H. SPURGEON.

The famous London minister wrote a book entitled, “John Ploughman’s Talk.” His object was to express plain and homely truths in a quaint, humorous way, and thus gain the attention of common people whose reading is confined mostly to murder and divorce cases in newspapers. The enjoyment of the public in reading Mr. Spurgeon’s pithy sayings was evinced by the enormous sale of the book. The extract here given is a fair specimen of its unique style.

That word _home_ always sounds like poetry to me. It rings like a peal of bells at a wedding, only more soft and sweet, and it chimes deeper into the ears of my heart. It does not matter whether it means thatched cottage or manor-house, home is home, be it ever so homely, and there’s no place on earth like it. Green grow the houseleek on the roof forever, and let the moss flourish on the thatch.

Sweetly the sparrows chirrup and the swallows twitter around the chosen spot which is my joy and my rest. Every bird loves its own nest; the owl thinks the old ruins the fairest spot under the moon, and the fox is of opinion that his hole in the hill is remarkably cozy. When my master’s nag knows that his head is towards home he wants no whip, but thinks it best to put on all steam; and I am always of the same mind, for the way home, to me, is the best bit of road in the country. I like to see the smoke out of my own chimney better than the fire on another man’s hearth; there’s something so beautiful in the way in which it curls up among the trees.

Cold potatoes on my own table taste better than roast meat at my neighbor’s, and the honeysuckle at my own door is the sweetest I ever smell. When you are out, friends do their best, but still it is not home. “Make yourself at home,” they say, because everybody knows that to feel at home is to feel at ease.

“East and west, Home is best.”

Why, at home you are at home, and what more do you want? Nobody grudges you, whatever your appetite may be; and you don’t get put into a damp bed. Safe in his own castle, like a king in his palace, a man feels himself somebody, and is not afraid of being thought proud for thinking so. Every cock may crow on his own dunghill; and a dog is a lion when he is at home. No need to guard every word because some enemy is on the watch, no keeping the heart under lock and key; but as soon as the door is shut it is liberty hall, and none to peep and pry.

It is a singular fact, and perhaps some of you will doubt it—but that is your unbelieving nature—our little ones are real beauties, always a pound or two plumper than others of their age; and yet it don’t tire you half so much to nurse them as it does other people’s babies. Why, bless you, my wife would be tired out in half the time, if her neighbor had asked her to see to a strange youngster, but her own children don’t seem to tire her at all. Now my belief is that it all comes of their having been born at home.

Just so it is with everything else: our lane is the most beautiful for twenty miles round, because our home is in it; and my garden is a perfect paradise, for no other particular reason than this very good one, that it belongs to the old house at home.

Husbands should try to make home happy and holy. It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest, a bad man who makes his home wretched. Our house ought to be a little church, with holiness to the Lord over the door; but it ought never to be a prison, where there is plenty of rule and order, but little love and no pleasure.

Married life is not all sugar, but grace in the heart will keep away most of the sours. Godliness and love can make a man, like a bird in a hedge, sing among thorns and briars, and set others a-singing too. It should be the husband’s pleasure to please his wife, and the wife’s care to care for her husband. He is kind to himself who is kind to his wife. I am afraid some men live by the rule of self, and when that is the case home happiness is a mere sham. When husbands and wives are well yoked, how light their load becomes!

It is not every couple that is a pair, and the more’s the pity. In a true home all the strife is which can do the most to make the family happy. A home should be a Bethel, not a Babel. The husband should be the house-band, binding all together like a corner-stone, but not crushing everything like a millstone.

Nothing is improved by anger, unless it be the arch of a cat’s back. A man with his back up is spoiling his figure. People look none the handsomer for being red in the face. It takes a great deal out of a man to get into a towering rage; it is almost as unhealthy as having a fit, and time has been when men have actually choked themselves with passion, and died on the spot. Whatever wrong I suffer, it cannot do me half so much hurt as being angry about it; for passion shortens life and poisons peace.

When once we give way to temper, temper will get right of way, and come in easier every time. He that will be in a pet for any little thing, will soon be out at elbows about nothing at all. A thunder-storm curdles the milk, and so does a passion sour the heart and spoil the character.

LITTLE PEARL AND HER MOTHER.

BY NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.

Hawthorne is justly regarded as one of the masters of English prose, although the shadowed side of his life predominated and often gave a somewhat gloomy tinge to his writings. Yet through the morbid drapery by which he surrounds himself the light of his superb genius shines brilliantly. His style is a model of clearness, choice words and elevated sentiment. The extract given below is from “The Scarlet Letter,” one of his best works of fiction, and, in fact, one of the best that enriches our American literature. He possessed great originality, a rare power of analyzing character, a delicate and exquisite humor and marvelous felicity in the use of language. Mr. Hawthorne was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804, and died in 1864.

So the mother and little Pearl were admitted into the hall of entrance. With many variations, suggested by the nature of his building-materials, diversity of climate, and a different mode of social life, Governor Bellingham had planned his new habitation after the residences of gentlemen of fair estate in his native land.

Here, then, was a wide and reasonably lofty hall, extending through the whole depth of the house, and forming a medium of general communication, more or less directly, with all the other apartments. At one extremity, this spacious room was lighted by the windows of the two towers, which formed a small recess on either side of the portal. At the other end, though partly muffled by a curtain, it was more powerfully illuminated by one of those embowed hall-windows which we read of in old books, and which was provided with a deep and cushioned seat.

Here, on the cushion, lay a folio tome, probably of the Chronicles of England, or other such substantial literature; even as, in our own days, we scatter gilded volumes on the centre-table, to be turned over by the casual guest. The furniture of the hall consisted of some ponderous chairs, the backs of which were elaborately carved with wreaths of oaken flowers; and likewise a table in the same taste; the whole being of Elizabethan age, or perhaps earlier, and heirlooms, transferred hither from the governor’s paternal home.

On the table—in token that the sentiment of old English hospitality had not been left behind—stood a large pewter tankard, at the bottom of which, had Hester or Pearl peeped into it, they might have seen the frothy remnant of a recent draught of ale.

On the wall hung a row of portraits, representing the forefathers of the Bellingham lineage, some with armor on their breasts, and others with stately ruffs and robes of peace. All were characterized by the sternness and severity which old portraits so invariably put on; as if they were the ghosts, rather than the pictures, of departed worthies, and were gazing with harsh and intolerant criticism at the pursuits and enjoyments of living men.

At about the center of the oaken panels that lined the hall was suspended a suit of mail, not, like the pictures, an ancestral relic, but of the most modern date; for it had been manufactured by a skillful armorer in London the same year in which Governor Bellingham came over to New England. There was a steel headpiece, a cuirass, a gorget and greaves, with a pair of gauntlets and a sword hanging beneath; all, and especially the helmet and breastplate, so highly burnished as to glow with white radiance and scatter an illumination everywhere about upon the floor.

This bright panoply was not meant for mere idle show, but had been worn by the governor on many a solemn muster and training field, and had glittered, moreover, at the head of a regiment in the Pequod war. For, though bred a lawyer, and accustomed to speak of Bacon, Coke, Noye and Finch as his professional associates, the exigencies of this new country had transformed Governor Bellingham into a soldier, as well as a statesman and ruler.

Little Pearl—who was as greatly pleased with the gleaming armor as she had been with the glittering frontispiece of the house—spent some time looking into the polished mirror of the breastplate.

“Mother,” cried she, “I see you here. Look! Look!”

Hester looked, by way of humoring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it.

Pearl pointed upward, also, at a similar picture in the headpiece, smiling at her mother with the elfish intelligence that was so familiar an expression on her small physiognomy. That look of naughty merriment was likewise reflected in the mirror, with so much breadth and intensity of effect, that it made Hester Prynne feel as if it could not be the image of her own child, but of an imp who was seeking to mold itself into Pearl’s shape.

THE BABY IN THE BATH-TUB.

BY GRACE GREENWOOD.

The following selection is an excellent example of sprightly and vivacious writing, a kind of composition that is always entertaining to the reader. Under the assumed name of Grace Greenwood, Mrs. Sarah J. Lippincott was for many years a well-known and popular contributor to various periodicals. She also published several volumes, including works of fiction and stories of travel. She wrote poems that possessed much merit, thus exhibiting a wide range of talent. Her fine thoughts were expressed in a style of great ease, simplicity and beauty. Mrs. Lippincott was born in Onondaga County, New York, in 1825, and died in 1898.

“Annie! Sophie! come up quick, and see baby in her bath-tub!” cries a charming little maiden, running down the wide stairway of an old country house, and half-way up the long hall, all in a fluttering cloud of pink lawn, her soft dimpled cheeks tinged with the same lovely morning hue.

In an instant there is a stir and gush of light laughter in the drawing-room, and presently, with a movement a little more majestic and elder-sisterly, Annie and Sophie float noiselessly through the hall and up the soft-carpeted ascent, as though borne on their respective clouds of blue and white drapery, and take their way to the nursery, where a novel entertainment awaits them. It is the first morning of the eldest married sister’s first visit home, with her first baby; and the first baby, having slept late after its journey, is about to take its first bath in the old house.

“Well, I declare, if here isn’t mother, forgetting her dairy, and Cousin Nellie, too, who must have left poor Ned all to himself in the garden, lonely and disconsolate, and I am torn from my books, and Sophie from her flowers, and all for the sake of seeing a nine-months-old baby kicking about in a bath-tub! What simpletons we are!”

Thus Miss Annie, the _proude ladye_ of the family; handsome, haughty, with perilous proclivities toward grand socialistic theories, transcendentalism, and general strong-mindedness; pledged by many a saucy vow to a life of single dignity and freedom, given to studies artistic, æsthetic, philosophic, and ethical; a student of Plato, an absorber of Emerson, an exalter of her sex, a contemner of its natural enemies.

“Simpletons, are we?” cries pretty Elinor Lee, aunt of the baby on the other side, and “Cousin Nellie” by love’s courtesy, now kneeling close by the bath-tub, and receiving on her sunny braids a liberal baptism from the pure, plashing hands of babyhood,—“simpletons, indeed! Did I not once see thee, O Pallas-Athene, standing rapt before a copy of the ‘Crouching Venus?’

“And this is a sight a thousand times more beautiful; for here we have color, action, life, and such grace as the divinest sculptors of Greece were never able to entrance in marble. Just look at these white, dimpled shoulders, every dimple holding a tiny, sparkling drop,—these rosy, plashing feet and hands,—this laughing, roguish face,—these eyes, bright and blue and deep as lakes of fairy land,—these ears, like dainty sea shells,—these locks of gold, dripping diamonds,—and tell me what cherub of Titian, what Cupid of Greuze, was ever half so lovely? I say, too, that Raphael himself would have jumped at the chance of painting Louise, as she sits there, towel in hand, in all the serene pride and chastened dignity of young maternity—of painting her as _Madonna_.”

CANDACE’S OPINIONS.

BY HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.

Mrs. Stowe is particularly happy in portraying negro character. It requires for this a great appreciation of humor, and her writings abound in this, while her imagination and fine command of language make many of her writings brilliant and even poetical.

Mrs. Stowe is the most celebrated American authoress. Her “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” has been more widely read than any other work of fiction ever published. While in this work her conspicuous genius appears to fine advantage, she has nevertheless written other works, some of them describing New England life and character, which are masterpieces. She was born at Litchfield, Conn., on the 14th of June, 1812, and died at Hartford July 1st, 1896.

“I intend,” said Mr. Marvyn, “to make the same offer to your husband, when he returns from work to-night.”

“Laus, Mass’r—why, Cato, he’ll do jes’ as I do—dere a’n’t no kind o’ need o’ askin’ him. Course he will.”

A smile passed round the circle, because between Candace and her husband there existed one of those whimsical contrasts which one sometimes sees in married life. Cato was a small-built, thin, softly-spoken negro, addicted to a gentle chronic cough; and, though a faithful and skillful servant, seemed, in relation to his better half, much like a hill of potatoes under a spreading apple-tree. Candace held to him with a vehement and patronizing fondness, so devoid of conjugal reverence as to excite the comments of her friends.

“You must remember, Candace,” said a good deacon to her one day, when she was ordering him about at a catechizing, “you ought to give honor to your husband; the wife is the weaker vessel.”

“_I_ de weaker vessel?” said Candace, looking down from the tower of her ample corpulence on the small, quiet man whom she had been fledging with the ample folds of a worsted comforter, out of which his little head and shining bead-eyes looked, much like a blackbird in a nest—“_I_ de weaker vassel! Umph!”

A whole woman’s rights convention could not have expressed more in a day than was given in that single look and word. Candace considered a husband as a thing to be taken care of—a rather inconsequent and somewhat troublesome species of pet, to be humored, nursed, fed, clothed, and guided in the way that he was to go—an animal that was always losing off buttons, catching colds, wearing his best coat every day, and getting on his Sunday hat in a surreptitious manner for week-day occasions; but she often condescended to express it as her opinion that he was a blessing, and that she didn’t know what she’d do if it wasn’t for Cato.

She sometimes was heard expressing herself very energetically in disapprobation of the conduct of one of her sable friends, named Jinny Stiles, who, after being presented with her own freedom, worked several years to buy that of her husband, but became afterwards so disgusted with her acquisition, that she declared she would “neber buy anoder nigger.”

“Now, Jinny don’t know what she’s talkin’ about,” she would say. “S’pose he does cough and keep her awake nights, and take a little too much sometimes, a’n’t he better’n no husband at all? A body wouldn’t seem to hab nuffin to lib for, ef dey hadn’t an old man to look arter. Men is nate’lly foolish about some tings—but dey’s good deal better’n nuffin.”

And Candace, after this condescending remark, would lift with one hand a brass kettle in which poor Cato might have been drowned, and fly across the kitchen with it as if it were a feather.

MIDSUMMER IN THE VALLEY OF THE RHINE.

BY GEORGE MEREDITH.

An example of beautiful description.

An oppressive slumber hung about the forest-branches. In the dells and on the heights was the same dead heat. Here where the brook tinkled it was no cool-lipped sound, but metallic, and without the spirit of water. Yonder in a space of moonlight on lush grass, the beams were as white fire to sight and feeling. No haze spread around. The valleys were clear, defined to the shadows of their verges; the distances sharply distinct, and with the colors of day but slightly softened.

Richard beheld a roe moving across a slope of sward far out of rifle-mark. The breathless silence was significant, yet the moon shone in a broad blue heaven. Tongue out of mouth trotted the little dog after him; couched panting when he stopped an instant; rose weariedly when he started afresh. Now and then a large white night-moth flitted through the dusk of the forest.

On a barren corner of the wooded highland looking inland stood gray topless ruins set in nettles and rank grass-blades. Richard mechanically sat down on the crumbling flints to rest, and listened to the panting of the dog. Sprinkled at his feet were emerald lights: hundreds of glow-worms studded the dark dry ground.

He sat and eyed them, thinking not at all. His energies were expended in action. He sat as a part of the ruins, and the moon turned his shadow westward from the south. Overhead, as she declined, long ripples of silver cloud were imperceptibly stealing toward her. They were the van of a tempest. He did not observe them, or the leaves beginning to chatter. When he again pursued his course with his face to the Rhine, a huge mountain appeared to rise sheer over him, and he had it in his mind to scale it. He got no nearer to the base of it for all his vigorous outstepping. The ground began to dip; he lost sight of the sky. Then heavy thunder-drops struck his cheek, the leaves were singing, the earth breathed, it was black before him and behind. All at once the thunder spoke. The mountain he had marked was bursting over him.

Up started the whole forest in violent fire. He saw the country at the foot of the hills to the bounding Rhine gleam, quiver, extinguished. Then there were pauses; and the lightning seemed as the eye of heaven, and the thunder as the tongue of heaven, each alternately addressing him; filling him with awful rapture.

THE POWER OF NATURAL BEAUTY.

BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

“The Sage of Concord,” as Mr. Emerson was called, expresses the estimate the American public placed upon his writings. His profound thought and originality are unquestioned. To these grand qualities he added a poetic imagination which diffused a fine glow over all his productions.

Mr. Emerson was born in Boston in 1803, graduated from Harvard College in 1821, and entered the ministry of the Unitarian Church, from which, however, he shortly resigned, and soon devoted himself to literary pursuits. His works have a high reputation among scholars and speculative thinkers. His style is singularly terse and at times almost abrupt, but his thoughts are masterly and striking. He died in 1882.

Beauty is the mark God sets upon virtue. Every natural action is graceful. Every heroic act is also decent, and causes the place and the bystanders to shine. We are taught by great actions that the universe is the property of every individual in it.

Every rational creature has all nature for his dowry and estate. It is his if he will. He may divest himself of it; he may creep into a corner, and abdicate his kingdom, as most men do; but he is entitled to the world by his constitution. In proportion to the energy of his thought and will, he takes up the world into himself. “All those things for which men plough, build, or sail, obey virtue;” said an ancient historian. “The winds and waves,” said Gibbon, “are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” So are the sun and moon and all the stars of heaven.

When a noble act is done—perchance in a scene of great natural beauty; when Leonides and his three hundred martyrs consume one day in dying, and the sun and moon come each and look at them once in the steep defile of Thermopylæ; when Arnold Winkelreid, in the high Alps, under the shadow of the avalanche, gathers in his side a sheaf of Austrian spears to break the line for his comrades; are not these heroes entitled to add the beauty of the scene to the beauty of the deed? When the bark of Columbus nears the shore of America;—before it the beach lined with savages, fleeing out of all their huts of cane; the sea behind; and the purple mountains of the Indian Archipelago around, can we separate the man from the living picture? Does not the New World clothe his form with her palm groves and savannahs as fit drapery?

Ever does natural beauty steal in like air, and envelop great actions. When Sir Harry Vane was dragged up the Tower-hill sitting on a sled, to suffer death, as the champion of the English laws, one of the multitude cried out to him, “You never sate on so glorious a seat.” Charles II., to intimidate the citizens of London, caused the patriot Lord Russel to be drawn in an open coach through the principal streets of the city, on his way to the scaffold. “But,” to use the simple narrative of his biographer, “the multitude imagined they saw liberty and virtue sitting by his side.”

In private places, among sordid objects, an act of truth or heroism seems at once to draw to itself the sky as its temple, the sun as its candle. Nature stretcheth out her arms to embrace man, only let his thoughts be of equal greatness. Willingly does she follow his steps with the rose and the violet, and bend her lines of grandeur and grace to the decoration of her darling child. Only let his thoughts be of equal scope, and the frame will suit the picture. A virtuous man is in unison with her works, and makes the central figure of the visible sphere.

The noonday darkness of the American forest, the deep, echoing, aboriginal woods, where the living columns of the oak and fir tower up from the ruins of the trees of the last millennium; where, from year to year, the eagle and the crow see no intruder; the pines, bearded with savage moss, yet touched with grace by the violets at their feet; the broad, cold lowland, which forms its coat of vapor with the stillness of subterranean crystallization; and where the traveler, amid the repulsive plants that are native in the swamp, thinks with pleasing terror of the distant town; this beauty—haggard and desert beauty, which the sun and the moon, the snow and the rain repaint and vary, has never been recorded by art, yet is not indifferent to any passenger.

All men are poets at heart. They serve nature for bread, but her loveliness overcomes them sometimes. What mean these journeys to Niagara; these pilgrims to the White Hills? Men believe in the adaptations of utility always. In the mountains they may believe in the adaptations of the eye.

Undoubtedly the changes of geology have a relation to the prosperous sprouting of the corn and peas in my kitchen garden; but not less is there a relation of beauty between my soul and the dim crags of Agiocochook up there in the clouds. Every man, when this is told, hearkens with joy, and yet his own conversation with nature is still unsung.

SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS.

To aid you in writing compositions a lengthy list of subjects is here furnished. These, you will see, are adapted to persons of various ages and capacities. Many of them are comparatively simple and require no profound thought, while others are deep enough to tax all your powers of reason.

Do not choose a subject that is too abstruse and difficult. Plain narration and description should go before profound argument. Yet do not be satisfied with a simple theme if you are capable of writing upon one that demands more study and thought. When you have chosen your subject, you should be guided by the practical hints and directions contained in the first pages of this volume, which you should faithfully study.

Many of the subjects here presented will require a good deal of reading and research before you can write upon them intelligently. This is true especially of the historical and biographical subjects. If you find history to be a fascinating study, as it is to most persons, you will become so filled and enamored with your theme, that you can write upon it easily.

Never consider it too much trouble to prepare yourself thoroughly to write your compositions. If you would have nuggets of gold you must dig for them. Success is worth all it costs, however much that may be. Remember Bulwer Lytton’s saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”

HISTORICAL SUBJECTS.

The Landing of the Pilgrims. Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. The French and Indian War. The Siege of Quebec. King Philip’s War. Washington at Valley Forge. The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis. The Discovery of the Mississippi River. Sir Walter Raleigh in Virginia. The Pequod War. Witchcraft at Salem, Massachusetts. The Old Charter Oak at Hartford. Destruction of Tea in Boston Harbor. The Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Famous Ride of Paul Revere. The Siege of Boston. The Battle of Long Island. The Battle of the Brandywine. The Murder of Miss McCrea. The Battle of Monmouth. The Surrender of Burgoyne’s Army. The Siege of Savannah. Washington Crossing the Delaware. The Massacre of Wyoming. The Treason of Benedict Arnold. The Execution of Major André. The Duel Between Hamilton and Burr. The Battle of Monterey. The Battle of Chapultepec. The Siege of Vicksburg. General Sherman’s March to the Sea. Jackson’s Victories in Virginia. The Death of “Stonewall Jackson.” The Story of Cuban Insurrections. The Great Naval Battle at Manila. The Great Naval Battle at Santiago. The Exploits of the “Rough Riders” at San Juan. The Execution of John Brown. The Massacre at Fort Dearborn. The Discovery of Gold in California. The Opening of the Pacific Railroad. The Discovery of Gold in Alaska. The Massacre of General Custer. The Indian Wars in the Northwest. The World’s Fair at Chicago. The Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. The Story of the Old Liberty Bell at Philadelphia. The Great Flood at Johnstown, Pa. The Destruction of the Battleship Maine. The Invention of Printing. Magna Charta, the Charter of Rights. Constantinople Taken by the French. The Moors Driven Out of Spain. The Reformation in England. The Invasion of Peru by Pizarro. The Battle of Trafalgar. The Spanish Armada. The Battle of Balaklava. The Gunpowder Plot (1605). The Atrocities of the Paris Commune. The Execution of Charles I. The Bursting of the South Sea Bubble. The Battle of Waterloo. The Dismemberment of Poland. The Great Mutiny in India. The French Revolution. The Martyrdom of Joan of Arc. The Crusades. The Siege of Troy. The Great Plague in London. The Battle of the Boyne. The Imprisonment of James I. of Scotland. The Story of Mary, Queen of Scots.

BIOGRAPHICAL SUBJECTS.

Miles Standish. Cotton Mather. Benjamin Franklin. John Jay. Samuel Adams. Fisher Ames. George Washington. William Penn. Marquis de Lafayette. Count Pulaski. General Israel Putnam. General Anthony Wayne. General Ethan Allen. Thomas Jefferson. Andrew Jackson. Martha Washington. Commodore Perry. Commodore Decatur. Daniel Webster. Henry Clay. Patrick Henry. John Hancock. General Winfield Scott. Zachary Taylor. The Indian Chief Tecumseh. William Henry Harrison. John C. Fremont. Abraham Lincoln. Robert E. Lee. Ulysses S. Grant. James A. Garfield. General William T. Sherman. Mary Lyon. Frances E. Willard. Susan B. Anthony. Clara Barton. Henry W. Longfellow. William Cullen Bryant. The Cary Sisters. Washington Irving. James Fenimore Cooper. Francis Scott Key. John Howard Payne. Daniel Boone. David Crockett. General Sam Houston. Lord Nelson. The Duke of Wellington. Napoleon Bonaparte. The Duke of Marlborough. Robert Bruce. Robert Burns. John Bright. William E. Gladstone. Alfred Tennyson. Daniel O’Connell. Robert Emmet. Florence Nightingale. John Knox. Julius Cæsar. Demosthenes. Cicero. Hannibal. Alexander the Great. Socrates. Xantippe. Queen Elizabeth. Oliver Cromwell. William Pitt. Frederick the Great. Captain Kidd. Ferdinand de Soto. Hernando Cortez. Sir John Franklin. Elisha Kent Kane. Cyrus W. Field. Professor Samuel B. F. Morse. Alexander T. Stewart. Peter Cooper. John Jacob Astor. William H. Vanderbilt.

SUBJECTS FOR NARRATION AND DESCRIPTION.

A New England Thanksgiving. The Puritan Sabbath. The Deserted Farm. The Dangers of Frontier Life. Natural Resources of the United States. Social Customs of the Last Century. A Spanish Bull Fight. The Falls of Niagara. The Hudson River. Mount Washington. A Western Prairie. The Cotton Fields of the South. The Orange Groves of Florida. “The Father of Waters.” The Rapid Growth of Western Cities. A Ranch in the South-West. The Cowboys of the Plains. The Great Trees of California. The Geysers of the Yellowstone Park. The Instinct in Animals. Some Recent Invention. Some Public Institutions. The Physical Characteristics of your State. A Country Farm. Your Home Enjoyments. Fresh Air and its Uses. Town and Country Schools. Some Out Door School Games. The Beauties of Summer. The Remarkable Instinct of Birds. An Arctic Expedition. A Railway Station. A Picture Gallery. Electric Lights. Winds and Clouds. The Pastime of Fishing. The Pastime of Skating. Agricultural Implements. Habits of Domestic Animals. A Flower Garden. Singing Birds. Migration of Birds. The American Eagle. The Uses of Cats and Dogs. The Game of Foot Ball. The Game of Base Ball. Your Favorite Book. The County in which your School is Situated. School Life: its Joys and Difficulties. Castles in the Air. The Pleasures of Christmas. Leaning Tower of Pisa. The Vatican at Rome. St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. The Capitol at Washington. The White House at Washington. The Suspension Bridge between New York and Brooklyn. Bunker Hill Monument. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Independence Hall in Philadelphia. An Ocean Steamship. An American Battleship. Coal Mines of Pennsylvania. A Seaside Watering Place. A Country Picnic. A Clam Bake by the Sea-shore. A Sleigh Ride. A Century Run on Bicycles. Your Favorite Walk. The Value of Sunshine. A Thunder Storm. A Summer Vacation.

POPULAR PROVERBS.

More Haste, Less Speed. Necessity is the Mother of Invention. What Can’t be Cured must be Endured. Well Begun is Half Done. All that Glitters is not Gold. Evil Communications Corrupt Good Manners. Honesty is the Best Policy. A Stitch in Time Saves Nine. Prevention is Better than Cure. A Rolling Stone Gathers no Moss. Make Hay while the Sun Shines. Birds of a Feather Flock Together. Knowledge is Power. Take Care of the Pennies and the Dollars will take Care of Themselves. A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush. The Longest Way Around is the Shortest Way Home. The Proof of the Pudding is in the Eating. If you would Shoot High you must Aim High. Marry in Haste and Repent at Leisure. People who Live in Glass Houses should not Throw Stones. Be Sure you are Right, then Go Ahead. It is an Ill Wind that Blows Good to no One. Every Crow Thinks her own Little Crows the Blackest. You Cannot Make a Silk Purse out of a Sow’s Ear. The Least Said, the Soonest Mended. Speech is Silver, Silence is Golden. Manners Make the Man.

SUBJECTS TO BE EXPOUNDED.

Benefits of Industry. Evils of Idleness. Summer Sports in the Country. Winter Amusements in Cities. Shop Windows at Christmas Time. Habits of Economy. Advantages of Travel. Temptations of Riches. Dangers of Trades Unions. Benefits of Application. Advantages of Muscular Exercise. Physical and Moral Perils of Muscular Exercise. Effects of Machinery upon Manual Labor. Pleasures of Literature. Sources of National Wealth. Benefits of Self-Control. Modern Methods of Benevolence. Responsibilities of Scholars. Causes of Commercial Decline. Advantages of a National Bankrupt Law. Peculiarities of the New England Poets. The Character of Wilkins Micawber. Claims of the Indians to Government Protection. Evils of Immigration. Characteristics of the English Novel. Incentives to Literary Exertion. Reforms Suggested in “Oliver Twist.” American Tendencies to Extravagance. Uses of Gold. Uses of Public Libraries. Infirmities of Genius. Excellencies of the Puritan Character. Miseries of Authorship. Blessings of Liberty. Pleasures in Contemplating Nature. Dangers that Threaten our Republic. Advantages of Method. Distinctions in Society. Rewards of Literary Labor. Struggles for Civil Freedom. Advantages of Competition. Uses of Adversity. Advantages of Self-Reliance. Evils of Prejudice. The Colonial Period of Our History. Uses of Art. Self-Made Men. Dickens’ Caricatures of English Schools. Irving’s Portraitures of the Dutch Settlers. Injuries of Stimulants. Evils of Centralization. Advantages of Modern Inventions. Uses of Coal. Sources of Corruption in Civil Offices. Elements of Success in Life. Dangers of the French Republic. Changes of Fashion. Social Dangers from Anarchists. Longfellow’s “Hiawatha.” Longfellow’s “Evangeline.” Oliver Wendell Holmes’s Humor. Character of Eugene Field’s Poetry. Characteristics of American Humor. Hardships of the New England Settlers. Persecution of the Jews. Causes of Nihilism in Russia. English Ideas of America. Methods of Reform in the Civil Service. Benefits of Mechanical Exhibitions. Strikes and Arbitrations. Time: its Use and Abuse. Employers and Men: their Rights and Relations. The Study of Modern Languages. The Study of Ancient Languages. Industry and Energy. The Duty of Cleanliness. Punctuality. Courage. Fortitude. Cruelty to Animals. The Law of Supply and Demand. “Right before Might.” The Telescope and Microscope. Manhood Suffrage. “The New Woman.” Uses and Abuses of Money. The Cultivation of Music. Amusements for Young People. The Great Discoverers of Queen Elizabeth’s Reign. Pleasures of the Imagination. Natural History as a Study. Your Favorite Female Character. The Cultivation of Memory. Mental Discipline from the Study of Mathematics. Knowledge the Best Kind of Wealth. The Position and Prospects of the United States. The Influence of Scenery on Character. Sketch of the Plot of Any One of Shakespeare’s Plays. How to Best Help the Poor. Influence of Works of Fiction. Description of Any One of Sir Walter Scott’s Poems and Novels. Changes Caused by the Invention of the Typewriter. The Saloon in Modern Politics. The Evils of Great Trusts. Utility of Shorthand. Great Poets of England. Dante’s Inferno. The Alhambra. The Catacombs of Rome. The Style of John Bunyan. The Consolations of Age. The Dangers Arising from Great Trusts. The Coast Guard Service. The Wrongs of Ireland. Plot of any one of Bret Harte’s Novels. The Lives of the Poor in Large Cities. On Making Music a Profession. The Novel Entitled “Lorna Doone.” The Duty of Cheerfulness. Cervantes, the Soldier and the Writer. Our American Humorists. Martin Luther’s Moral Courage. Truth the Standard of Excellence. The Evils of Prejudice. The Power of Ridicule. The Power of Early Impressions. The Exiles of Siberia. Politics as a Profession.

SUBJECTS FOR ARGUMENT.

Should a Polygamist be Admitted to Congress? Should Eight Hours Constitute a Day’s Labor? Should Political Spoils Belong to the Victors? Is a National Debt a Benefit? Is Poverty an Incentive to Crime? Should the United States Maintain a Large Standing Army? Should Office Holders be Assessed for Party Expenses? Is Drunkenness any Excuse for Murder? Would Harmony in Human Beliefs be Desirable? Should There be a Uniform Divorce Law in All Our States? Can a Country be Free Without Free Trade? Should Church Property be Exempt from Taxation? Should Capital Punishment be Abolished? Do Luxuries Become Necessities? Should a Man Vote Who Cannot Read? Was Thackeray a Cynic? Should Public School Money be Given to Religious Sects? Should Writers Adopt Phonetic Spelling? Is a Man of Business Benefited by a Classical Education? Is Literature Indicative of National Progress? Is Electricity Destined to Become the Greatest Motive Power? Should the Inventor Monopolize His Invention? Should Cremation Supersede Burial? Was the Execution of André Unjust? Is Crime in Our Country on the Increase? Does the Press in Our Country have too much Freedom?

SUBJECTS FOR COMPARISON.

Falsehood and Truth. Practice and Habit. Wit and Humor. Extravagance and Thrift. Confusion and Order. The Democrats and Whigs. Natural and Acquired Ability. The Comparative Value of Iron and Gold. Foreign and Domestic Commerce. The Cavalier and the Puritan. Waterloo and Sedan. The Stage Coach and the Locomotive. The Uses and Abuses of Fashion. Capital and Labor. Genius and Talent. Romance and Reality. “The Pen is Mightier than the Sword.” Notoriety and Reputation. Resolution and Action. Working and Dreaming. Leo X and Martin Luther. The Statesmanship of Hamilton and Jefferson. War and Arbitration. Helen and Andromache. “When the Law Ends, Tyranny Begins.” “Deep Versed in Books, and Shallow in Himself.” The Victories of Peace and of War. Hypocrisy and Sincerity. Solitude and Society. Affection and Naturalness. Brusque People and Fawning People.

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS.

Looking on the Bright Side. The Character of Busybodies. Benevolence and Greed. Character of the Pilgrims. Painting and Sculpture. The Head and the Heart. Party Spirit and Good Government. The Responsibility of Our Country to Mankind. The Obligation of Treaties. Great Men the Glory of their Country. Ancient and Modern Eloquence. Conscience and the Will. The Heroism of the Indian. Religion and Pleasure. Spiritual Freedom. The Present Age. The Humorousness of Love Matches. The Influence of Woman. The Mission of Reformers. The True Aristocracy. The Expansion of the Republic. The Bible and the Iliad. The Huguenots in Carolina. Puritan Intolerance. The Compensations of Calamity. Stateliness and Courtesy. Truth and Tenderness. Loungers in Corner Groceries. A Defense of Enthusiasm. The Ancient Mound Builders. The Power of Words. The Advantages of Playing Golf. College Athletics. The Physique of Americans. The Influence of Climate on Physical Characteristics. “Home is Where the Heart is.” Coral Treasures of the Sea. Sublimity of the Ocean. The Beauty of Sea Waves. The Power of Maternal Love. The Beauty of Heroic Deeds. The Ravages of War. Children and Flowers. Earning Capital. The Sacredness of Work. “The Boy is the Father of the Man.” The Last Hours of Socrates. The Discoveries of Astronomy. Luck and Labor. The Achievements of Earnestness. The Ideal Citizen.

SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS.

We use words to express ideas and thoughts. The best words are those which best express the thought or idea. All writers are frequently at a loss for the exact word or phrase that will express their meaning the most forcibly, and are compelled to ransack and search their vocabulary in order to get out of the difficulty.

The number of words used by the majority of persons is very small, and they are therefore in constant danger of the fault of repetition. We do not like to hear a speaker use the same word too frequently. To do so detracts seriously from the force and beauty of his address. While there are instances in which a repetition of a word is called for, and to make use of another would weaken the sentence and fail to fully give the meaning of the writer or speaker, it is nevertheless true that constant repetitions are not only a blemish, but a fault that should be corrected.

For the purpose of avoiding too much repetition in writing and speaking it is necessary to have a Dictionary of words of similar meaning. A Synonym is one of two or more words of similar significance which may often be used interchangeably. An Antonym is a word of opposite meaning. In the following list the Synonyms are first given; then follow, in parenthesis, the Antonyms, or words of opposite meaning.

All persons who would acquire an elegant style in literary composition, correspondence or ordinary conversation, will find this comprehensive Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms of great value. Jewels of thought should be set in appropriate language.

In this table the letter _a_ means adjective; _v_ means verb; _n_ means noun or substantive.

ABANDON—forsake, desert, renounce, relinquish. (Keep, cherish.)

ABANDONED—deserted, forsaken, profligate, wicked, reprobate, dissolute, flagitious, corrupt, depraved, vicious. (Respected, esteemed, cherished, virtuous.)

ABASEMENT—degradation, fall, degeneracy, humiliation, abjectness, debasement, servility. (Elevation, promotion, honor.)

ABASH—disconcert, discompose, confound, confuse, shame, bewilder. (Embolden.)

ABBREVIATE—shorten, curtail, contract, abridge, condense, reduce, compress. (Lengthen, extend, enlarge, expand.)

ABDICATE—renounce, resign, relinquish. (Usurp.)

ABET—incite, stimulate, whet, encourage, back up, second, countenance, assist. (Dampen, discourage, dispirit, depress, repress, oppose.)

ABETTOR—instigator, prompter, assistant, coadjutor, accomplice, accessory, _particeps criminis_. (Extinguisher.)

ABHOR—loathe, abominate, (Love, admire.)

ABILITY—power, skill, gumption, efficiency, mastery, qualification, faculty, expertness. (Incompetence, inefficiency, inability.)

ABJECT—despised, despicable, vile, grovelling, mean, base, worthless, servile. (Supreme, august, commanding, noble.)

ABJURE—forswear, disclaim, unsay, recant, revoke, deny, disown. (Attest, affirm.)

ABLE—competent, qualified, skilled, efficient, capable, clever, adroit, adept, strong, telling, masterly. (Incompetent, weak, unskilful, unqualified.)

ABODE—dwelling, residence, domicile, home, quarters, habitation, lodging, settlement. (Transition, shifting, wandering, pilgrimage, peregrination.)

ABOLISH—efface, extinguish, annihilate, nullify, destroy, undo, quash, annul, cancel, abrogate, quench, suppress, vitiate, revoke. (Introduce, establish, enforce, restore.)

ABOMINABLE—detestable, hateful, odious, execrable. (Choice, excellent, attractive, select.)

ABORTIVE—ineffectual, futile, inoperative, defective, inadequate. (Efficient, productive, complete.)

ABOUT—around, near to, nearly, approximately, contiguous. (Remote from, distant.)

ABSCOND—take oneself off, “vamoose,” disappear, decamp, run away. (Thrust oneself into notice.)

ABSENT—not present, wanting, absentminded, abstracted, inattentive, listless, dreamy, visionary. (Present, collected, composed, vigilant, observant.)

ABSOLUTE—certain, unconditioned, unconditional, unlimited, unrestricted, transcendent, authoritative, paramount, imperative, arbitrary, despotic. (Conditional, limited, hampered, fettered.)

ABSORB—suck up, imbibe, engross, drain away, consume. (Reserve, save, spare, husband, economize, hoard up.)

ABSURD—unreasonable, nonsensical, foolish, vain, impracticable. (Reasonable, prudent, veracious.)

ABUSE, _v._—pervert, deprave, traduce, debase, disparage, slander, calumniate, rail at, reproach, depreciate. (Improve, develop, cultivate, promote, bless, magnify, appreciate.)

ABUSE, _n._—perversion, ill-usage, depravation, debasement, slander, reproach. (Cultivation, use, promotion, development, appreciation, praise.)

ACCEDE—join, assent, acquiesce in, comply, agree, concur, coincide, approve. (Dissent, object, decline, refuse.)

ACCELERATE—hasten, hurry, speed, expedite, quicken, precipitate, facilitate. (Retard, delay, procrastinate, arrest, stop, impede, suspend.)

ACCEPT—take, receive, assume, acknowledge, endorse. (Refuse, repudiate, protest, disown.)

ACCEPTABLE—pleasant, grateful, welcome. (Repugnant, displeasing.)

ACCIDENT—casualty, contingency, hap, mishap, chance, mischance, misadventure. (Law, order.)

ACCOMMODATE—adjust, adapt, fit, conform, reconcile, suit, oblige, furnish, convenience. (Cross, thwart, counteract, plot against, checkmate, defeat, inconvenience.)

ACCOMPLICE—confederate, ally, associate, accessory, _particeps criminis_. (Adversary, rival, spy, opponent, enemy.)

ACCOMPLISH—complete, perform, finish, fulfil, execute, perfect, consummate, achieve, effect, carry out. (Fail, miscarry, undo, wreck, frustrate.)

ACCOMPLISHMENT—success, fulfilment, completion, performance, execution, achievement, consummation, attainment. (Failure, miscarriage, wreck, ruin.)

ACCORD—harmonize, agree, allow, grant, concede. (Jar, clash with, deny, disallow.)

ACCOST—address, confront, speak to, greet, salute. (Evade, fight shy of.)

ACCOUNT, _v._—compute, estimate, reckon up, take stock of. (Leave unexplained, unsolved.)

ACCOUNT, _n._—reckoning, relation, charge, bill. (Riddle, mystery, puzzle, unknown quantity.)

ACCOUNTABLE—answerable, responsible, amenable. (Exempt, free, irresponsible.)

ACCUMULATE—heap up, save, collect. (Scatter, dissipate, diffuse, spend, squander.)

ACCUMULATION—heap, amount, glut. (Dissipation, dissemination, distribution, diminution.)

ACCURATE—definite, precise, correct, exact. (Inaccurate, wrong, erroneous, blundering, careless.)

ACHIEVE—complete, gain, win.

ACHIEVEMENT—feat, exploit, distinguished performance, acquirement. (Abortion, frustration, failure, shortcoming, defect.)

ACKNOWLEDGE—avow, confess, own, recognize, admit, grant, concede. (Repudiate, disclaim, disallow, disown, deny.)

ACQUAINT—make known, apprise, inform, communicate, intimate, notify. (Leave ignorant, keep secret, conceal.)

ACQUAINTANCE—knowledge, familiarity, fellowship, companionship. (Ignorance, stranger.)

ACQUIESCE—yield, concur, agree, assent. (Protest, object, dissent, secede, oppose.)

ACQUIT—set free, release, discharge, clear, absolve, exculpate, exonerate, liberate, deliver. (Accuse, impeach, charge, blame, convict.)

ACT, _v._—do, perform, commit, operate, work, practice, behave, personate, play, enact. (Neglect, cease, desist, rest, wait, lie idle, refrain.)

ACTION—working, agency, operation, business, gesture, engagement, fight, deed, battle, feat. (Inaction, repose, rest, idleness, ease, indolence, inertia, passiveness, quiescence, dormancy.)

ACTIVE—energetic, busy, stirring, alive, brisk, operative, lively, agile, nimble, diligent, sprightly, alert, quick, supple, prompt, industrious. (Passive, inert, dead, extinct, dull, torpid, sluggish, indolent, lazy, dormant, quiescent, asleep.)

ACTUAL—real, positive, existing, certain. (False, imaginary, theoretical, illusive, fictitious.)

ACUTE—sharp, pointed, penetrating, piercing, keen, poignant, pungent, intense, violent, shrill, sensitive, sharp-witted, shrewd, discriminating, clever, cunning. (Obtuse, blunt, bluff, dull, flat, callous, stupid, apathetic.)

ADAPT—fit, suit, adjust, conform, regulate. (Misfit, discommode, dislocate.)

ADDICTED—committed to, devoted, prone, given up to, inclined, habituated. (Uncommitted, free, uncompromised, neutral.)

ADDITION—annexation, accession, supplement, adjunct, affix, appendage, accessory, increment, increase, complement, _plus_, more. (Subtraction, deduction, retrenchment, curtailment, deprivation, _minus_, less, loss, impoverishment.)

ADDRESS—speech, salutation, accost, appeal; also skill, dexterity, adroitness; also direction, name; also residence. (Response, answer, reply, rejoinder; also awkwardness, maladroitness, clumsiness, slovenliness.)

ADHESION—sticking, adherence, adoption, attachment, espousal. (Repulsion, revulsion, antipathy, aversion, hostility, incompatibility, dislike.)

ADJACENT—next, near, nigh, at hand, alongside, close by, adjoining, contiguous, bordering, neighboring, proximate. (Remote, foreign, distant, aloof, far, apart, asunder.)

ADJOURN—put off, postpone, defer, delay, keep in abeyance, prorogue, suspend, procrastinate, retard, waive, remand, reserve. (Conclude, clinch, accelerate, precipitate.)

ADJUNCT—appendage, affix, annex, annexation, appendix, adhesion, appurtenance. (Curtailment, retrenchment, lop, mutilation, reduction, clipping, docking, filching.)

ADJUST—make exact, set right, fit, adapt, dovetail, arrange, harmonize, settle, regulate. (Confound, confuse, muddle, disorder, perplex, embarrass, entangle, clash, jar, jumble, disarrange, unsettle.)

ADMIRABLE—wonderful, excellent, choice, noble, grand, estimable, lovely, ideal, surpassing, extraordinary, eminent. (Detestable, vile, mean, contemptible, despicable, worthless, wretched, villainous, pitiful.)

ADMIT—allow, permit, suffer, receive, usher, grant, acknowledge, confess, concede, accept. (Deny, refuse, shut out, forbid, disown, disclaim.)

ADVANTAGEOUS—profitable, serviceable, useful, beneficial, helpful, of value. (Disadvantageous, detrimental, prejudicial, injurious, hurtful, harmful, deleterious, obnoxious, pernicious.)

AFFECTION—bent, inclination, partiality, attraction, impulse, love, desire, passion, fascination; also suffering, disease, morbidness. (Repulsion, revulsion, antipathy, dislike, recoil, aversion, estrangement, indifference, coldness, alienation; also wholeness, soundness, healthiness.)

AFFECTIONATE—loving, kind, fond, doting, tender, amiable, cordial, hearty, good-hearted. (Cold, unloving, unkind, heartless, selfish, crabbed, sour, malign, malicious, malevolent, misanthropic, cynical, ill-natured, cruel, hating.)

AGREEABLE—pleasant, acceptable, grateful, refreshing, genial, pleasing, palatable, sweet, charming, delectable. (Disagreeable, displeasing, unpleasant, ungrateful, harsh, repellent, painful, noxious, plaguy, irritating, annoying, mortifying.)

ALTERNATING—reciprocal, correlative, interchangeable, by turns, _vice versa_. (Monotonous, unchanging, continual.)

AMBASSADOR—messenger, envoy, emissary, legate, nuncio, diplomatist, diplomate, representative, vicegerent, plenipotentiary, minister, agent. (Principal, government, sovereign, power.)

AMEND—improve, correct, better, meliorate, rectify, prune, repair, revise, remedy, reform. (Injure, impair, damage, harm, hurt, mar, mangle, blemish, deteriorate, ruin, spoil.)

ANGER—resentment, animosity, wrath, indignation, pique, umbrage, huff, displeasure, dungeon, irritation, irascibility, choler, ire, hate. (Kindness, benignity, _bonhomie_, good nature.)

APPROPRIATE—assimilate, assume, possess oneself of, take, grab, clutch, collar, snap up, capture, steal. (Relinquish, give up, surrender, yield, resign, forego, renounce, abandon, discard, dismiss.)

ARGUE—reason, discuss, debate, dispute, contend. (Obscure, darken, mystify, mislead, misrepresent, evade, sophisticate.)

ARISE—rise, ascend, mount, climb, soar, spring, emanate, proceed, issue. (Descend, fall, gravitate, drop, slide, settle, decline, sink, dismount, alight.)

ARTFUL—cunning, crafty, skilful, wily, designing, politic, astute, knowing, tricky. (Artless, naïve, natural, simple, plain, ingenuous, frank, sincere, open, candid, guileless, straightforward, direct.)

ARTIFICE—contrivance, stratagem, trick, design, plot, machination, chicanery, knavery, jugglery, guile, jobbery. (Artlessness, candor, openness, simplicity, innocence, ingenuousness.)

ASSOCIATION—partnership, fellowship, solidarity, league, alliance, combination, coalition, federation, junto, cabal. (Opposition, antagonism, conflict, counteraction, resistance, hinderance, counterplot, detachment, individualism.)

ATTACK—assault, charge, onset, onslaught, incursion, inroad, bombardment, cannonade. (Defence, protection, guard, ward, resistance, stand, repulse, rebuff, retreat.)

AUDACITY—boldness, defiance, prowess, intrepidity, mettle, game, pluck, fortitude, rashness, temerity, presumption, foolhardiness, courage, hardihood. (Cowardice, pusillanimity, timidity, meekness, poltroonery, fear, caution, calculation, discretion, prudence.)

AUSTERE—severe, harsh, rigid, stern, rigorous, uncompromising, inflexible, obdurate, exacting, straight-laced, unrelenting. (Lax, loose, slack, remiss, weak, pliant, lenient, mild, indulgent, easy-going, forbearing, forgiving.)

AVARICIOUS—tight-fisted, griping, churlish, parsimonious, stingy, penurious, miserly, niggardly, close, illiberal, ungenerous, covetous, greedy, rapacious. (Prodigal, thriftless, improvident, extravagant, lavish, dissipated, freehanded.)

AVERSION—antipathy, revulsion, repulsion, dislike, recoil, estrangement, alienation, repugnance, disgust, nausea. (Predilection, fancy, fascination, allurement, attraction, magnet.)

AWE—dread, fear, reverence, prostration, admiration, bewilderment. (Familiarity, indifference, heedlessness, unconcern, contempt, mockery.)

AXIOM—maxim, aphorism, apophthegm, adage, motto, _dictum_, theorem, truism, proverb, saw. (Absurdity, paradox.)

BABBLE—splash, gurgle, bubble, purl, ripple, prattle, clack, gabble, clash, jabber, twaddle, prate, chatter, blab. (Silence, hush.)

BAD—depraved, defiled, distorted, corrupt, evil, wicked, wrong, sinful, morbid, foul, peccant, noxious, pernicious, diseased, imperfect, tainted, touched. (Good, whole, sound, healthy, beneficial, salutary, prime, perfect, entire, untouched, unblemished, intact, choice, worthy.)

BAFFLE—thwart, checkmate, defeat, disconcert, confound, block, outwit, traverse, contravene, frustrate, balk, foil. (Aid, assist, succor, further, forward, expedite, sustain, second, reinforce.)

BASE—crude, undeveloped, low, villainous, mean, deteriorated, misbegotten, ill-contrived, ill-constituted. (Noble, exalted, lofty, sublime, excellent, elect, choice, aristocratic, exquisite, capital.)

BEAR—carry, hold, sustain, support, suffer, endure, beget, generate, produce, breed, hatch. (Lean, depend, hang, yield, sterile, unproductive.)

BEASTLY—bestial, animal, brutal, sensual, gross, carnal, lewd. (Human, humane, virtuous, moral, ethical, intellectual, thoughtful, spiritual.)

BEAT—strike, smite, thrash, thwack, thump, pummel, drub, leather, baste, belabor, birch, scourge, defeat, surpass, rout, overthrow. (Protect, defend, soothe.)

BEAUTIFUL—fair, complete, symmetrical, handsome. (Ugly, repulsive, foul.)

BECOMING—suiting, accordant, fit, seemly. (Discrepant, improper, in bad form.)

BEG—beseech, crave, entreat. (Offer, proffer.)

BEHAVIOR—carriage, deportment, conduct.

BENEFICENT—bountiful, generous, liberal. (Sordid, mercenary.)

BENEFIT—good, advantage, service. (Loss, detriment, injury.)

BENEVOLENCE—well-wishing, charity. (Malevolence, malice, hate.)

BLAME—censure, reproach. (Approve, honor.)

BLEMISH—flaw, stain, spot, imperfection, defect. (Ornament, decoration, embellishment, adornment, finery, gilding.)

BLIND—dimsighted, ignorant, uninformed. (Sharp-sighted, enlightened.)

BLOT—efface, cancel, expunge, erase. (Record.)

BOLD—brave, daring, fearless, intrepid, courageous. (Cowardly, timid, shy, chicken-hearted.)

BORDER—margin, boundary, frontier, confine, fringe, hem, selvedge, valance. (Inclosure, interior, inside.)

BOUND—circumscribe, limit, restrict, confine, enclose; _also_ leap, jump, hop, spring, vault, skip. (Enlarge, clear, deliver; _also_ plunge, dip, sink.)

BRAVE—dare, defy. (Cave in, show the white feather.)

BREAK—bruise, crush, pound, squeeze, crack, snap, splinter. (Bind, hold together, knit, rivet.)

BREEZE—blow, zephyr. (Stillness, hush, calm.)

BRIGHT—shining, lustrous, radiant. (Dull, dim.)

BRITTLE—frangible, fragile, frail. (Tough.)

BURIAL—interment, sepulture, obsequies. (Exhumation, disinterment.)

BUSINESS—occupation, employment, pursuit, vocation, calling, profession, craft, trade. (Leisure, vacation, play.)

BUSTLE—stir, fuss, ado, flurry. (Quiet, stillness.)

CALAMITY—misfortune, disaster, catastrophe. (Good luck, prosperity.)

CALM—still, motionless, placid, serene, composed. (Stormy, unsettled, restless, agitated, distracted.)

CAPABLE—competent, able, efficient. (Unqualified.)

CAPTIOUS—censorious, cantankerous. (Conciliatory, bland.)

CARE—solicitude, concern. (Negligence, carelessness, _nonchalance_.)

CARESS—fondle, love, pet. (Spurn, disdain.)

CARNAGE—butchery, gore, massacre, slaughter.

CAUSE—origin, source, ground, reason, motive.

CENSURE—reprehend, chide. (Approve.)

CERTAIN—sure, infallible. (Doubtful, dubious.)

CESSATION—discontinuance, stoppage, rest, halt. (Perseverance, persistence, continuance.)

CHANCE—accident, luck. (Intention, purpose.)

’CHANGE—exchange, _bourse_, mart, emporium.

CHANGEABLE—mutable, variable, fickle. (Steadfast, firm.)

CHARACTER—constitution, nature, disposition.

CHARM—fascination, enchantment, witchery, attraction. (Nuisance, mortification, bore, plague.)

CHASTITY—purity, virtue. (Concupiscence.)

CHEAP—inexpensive, worthless. (Dear, costly.)

CHEERFUL—blithe, lightsome, brisk, sprightly. (Melancholy, sombre, morose, gloomy, sad.)

CHIEF—sachem, head, ruler. (Vassal, henchman.)

CIRCUMSTANCE—situation, predicament.

CLASS—division, category, department, order, kind, sort, genus, species, variety.

CLEVER—adroit, dexterous, expert, deft, ready, smart. (Awkward, dull, shiftless, clumsy.)

CLOTHED—dressed, arrayed, apparelled. (Disrobed, stripped.)

COARSE—crude, unrefined. (Refined, cultivated.)

COAX—cajole, wheedle, fawn, lure, induce, entice. (Dissuade, indispose, warn, admonish.)

COLD—frigid, chill, inclement. (Hot, glowing.)

COLOR—hue, tint, tinge, tincture, dye, shade, stain. (Pallor, paleness, wanness, blankness, achromatism, discoloration.)

COMBINATION—coalescence, fusion, faction, coalition, league. (Dissolution, rupture, schism.)

COMMAND—empire, rule. (Anarchy, license.)

COMMODITY—goods, effects, merchandise, stock.

COMMON—general, ordinary, mean, base. (Rare, exceptional, unique.)

COMPASSION—pity, commiseration, sympathy. (Cruelty, severity.)

COMPEL—force, coerce, oblige, necessitate, make, constrain. (Let alone, tolerate.)

COMPENSATION—amends, atonement, requital. (Withholding.)

COMPENDIUM—abstract, epitome, digest. (Amplification, expansion.)

COMPLAIN—lament, murmur, regret, repine, deplore. (Rejoice, exult, boast, brag, chuckle.)

COMPLY—consent, yield, acquiesce. (Refuse, deny, decline.)

COMPOUND, _a._—composite, complex, blended. (Simple, elementary.)

COMPREHEND—comprise, contain, embrace, include, enclose, grasp. (Exclude, reject, mistake, eliminate, loss.)

CONCEAL—hide, secrete, cover, screen, shroud, veil, disguise. (Publish, report, divulge.)

CONCEIVE—grasp, apprehend, devise, invent. (Ignorant of.)

CONCLUSION—result, finding. (Undetermined.)

CONDEMN—convict, find guilty, sentence, doom. (Acquit.)

CONDUCT, _v._—direct, manage, govern. (Follow, obey, submit.)

CONFIRM—corroborate, ratify, endorse, support, uphold. (Weaken, enfeeble, reduce.)

CONFLICT—contend, contest, wrestle, tussle, clash, wrangle. (Harmonize, agree, fraternize, concur.)

CONFUTE—refute, disprove. (Demonstrate.)

CONQUER—defeat, vanquish, overcome. (Fail, be beaten, lose.)

CONSEQUENCE—effect, derivation, result, event, issue. (Cause, origin, source, antecedent.)

CONSIDER—reflect, deliberate. (Forget, ignore.)

CONSISTENT—accordant, concordant, compatible, consonant, congruous, reconcilable, harmonious. (Discordant, discrepant.)

CONSOLE—relieve, soothe, comfort. (Embitter.)

CONSTANCY—continuance, tenacity, stability. (Irresolution, fickleness.)

CONTAMINATE—Pollute, stain, taint, tarnish, blur, smudge, defile. (Cleanse, purify, purge.)

CONTEMN—despise, disdain, scorn. (Esteem, appreciate, admire.)

CONTEMPLATE—survey, scan, observe, intend. (Disregard.)

CONTEMPTIBLE—despicable, paltry, shabby, beggarly, worthless, vile, cheap, trashy. (Estimable.)

CONTEND—fight, wrangle, vie. (Be at peace.)

CONTINUAL—perpetual, endless, ceaseless. (Momentary, transient.)

CONTINUE—remain, persist, endure. (Desist, stay.)

CONTRADICT—deny, gainsay, oppose. (Affirm, assert, declare.)

CORRECT—mend, rectify. (Impair, muddle.)

COST—expense, charge, price, value.

COVETOUSNESS—avarice, cupidity, extortion. (Generosity, liberality.)

COWARDICE—poltroonery, faint-heartedness. (Courage, boldness, intrepidity.)

CRIME—offence, trespass, misdemeanor, felony, transgression. (Innocence, guiltlessness.)

CRIMINAL—culprit, felon, convict. (Paragon.)

CROOKED—twisted, distorted, bent, awry, wry, askew, deformed. (Straight, upright.)

CRUEL—brutal, ferocious, barbarous, blood-thirsty, fiendish. (Kind, benignant, benevolent.)

CULTIVATION—tillage, culture. (Waste.)

CURSORY—fugitive, hurried, perfunctory. (Permanent, thorough.)

CUSTOM—habit, wont, usage, fashion, practice.

DANGER—peril, hazard, jeopardy. (Safety.)

DARK—obscure, sombrous, opaque, unintelligible. (Light, luminous, shining, clear, lucid.)

DEADLY—mortal, fatal, destructive, lethal.

DEAR—costly, precious, high-priced, beloved, darling, pet, favorite. (Cheap, disliked, despised.)

DEATH—decease, demise, dissolution. (Birth, life.)

DECAY, _n._—decline, consumption, atrophy. (Development, growth.)

DECEIVE—cheat, defraud, cozen, overreach, gull, dupe, swindle, victimize. (Truthfulness.)

DECEIT, _n._—imposition, fraud, deception. (Veracity, honesty.)

DECIDE—determine, resolve, conclude, settle, adjudicate, arbitrate, terminate. (Hesitate, dilly-dally, shuffle.)

DECIPHER—interpret, explain, construe, unravel. (Mistake, confound.)

DECISION—determination, conclusion, firmness. (Wavering, hesitancy.)

DECLAMATION—harangue, oration, recitation, tirade, speech.

DECLARATION—affirmation, assertion. (Denial.)

DECREASE—diminish, lessen, reduce, wane, decline. (Increase, grow, enlarge.)

DEDICATE—consecrate, devote, offer, apportion.

DEED—act, transaction, exploit, document.

DEEM—judge, estimate, consider, esteem, suppose.

DEEP—profound, abtruse, hidden, extraordinarily wise. (Shallow, superficial.)

DEFACE—mar, spoil, injure, disfigure. (Beautify.)

DEFAULT—shortcoming, deficiency, defect, imperfection. (Sufficiency, satisfaction.)

DEFENCE—fortification, bulwark, vindication, justification, apology.

DEFEND—shield, vindicate. (Assault, accuse.)

DEFICIENT—incomplete, lacking. (Entire, perfect, whole.)

DEFILE—soil, smutch, besmear, begrime.

DEFINE—limit, bound. (Enlarge, expand.)

DEFRAY—pay, settle, liquidate, satisfy, clear.

DEGREE—grade, extent, measure, ratio, standard.

DELIBERATE, _a._—circumspect, wary, cautious. (Heedless, thoughtless.)

DELICACY—nicety, dainty, tit-bit, taste, refinement, modesty. (Grossness, coarseness, vulgarity, indecorum.)

DELICATE—dainty, refined. (Coarse, beastly.)

DELICIOUS—savory, palatable, luscious, charming, delightful. (Offensive, nasty, odious, shocking, nauseous.)

DELIGHT—gratification, felicity. (Mortification, vexation.)

DELIVER—transfer, consign, utter, liberate, declare. (Keep, retain, restrain, check, bridle.)

DEMONSTRATE—prove, show, manifest. (Mystify, obscure.)

DEPART—quit, vacate, retire, withdraw, remove.

DEPRIVE—strip, bereave, despoil. (Invest, equip.)

DEPUTE—commission, delegate, accredit, entrust.

DERISION—ridicule, scoffing, mockery, raillery, chaff, _badinage_. (Awe, dread, reverence.)

DERIVATION—origin, source, spring, emanation, etymology.

DESCRIBE—delineate, portray, style, specify, characterize.

DESECRATE—profane, blaspheme, revile. (Consecrate, sanctify.)

DESERVE—merit, be entitled to, earn, justify.

DESIGN, _n._—delineation, illustration, sketch, plan, drawing, portraiture, draught, projection, scheme, proposal, outline.

DESIRABLE—eligible, suitable, acceptable. (Unfit, objectionable.)

DESIRE, _n._—wish, longing, hankering, appetite.

DESOLATE, _a._—lonely, solitary, bereaved, forlorn, forsaken, deserted, bleak, dreary. (Befriended, social, festive.)

DESPERATE—frenzied, frantic, furious. (Calm, composed, moderate.)

DESTINY—fatality, doom, predestination, decree, fate. (Casualty, accident, contingency, chance.)

DESTRUCTIVE—mischievous, disastrous, deleterious. (Creative, beneficial.)

DESUETUDE—disuse, discontinuance. (Use, habit, practice.)

DESULTORY—immethodical, disconnected, rambling, discontinuous, interrupted, fitful, intermittent. (Continuous, consecutive, constant.)

DETAIL, _n._—particular, item, count, specialty, individuality.

DETAIL, _v._—particularize, enumerate, specify. (Generalize.)

DETER—discourage, dissuade. (Encourage, incite.)

DETRIMENT—damage, loss. (Benefit, improvement, betterment.)

DEVELOP—unfold, expand, increase. (Extirpate.)

DEVOID—wanting, destitute, bereft, denuded, bare, emptied, void. (Provided, supplied, furnished.)

DEVOTED—destined, consecrated, sworn to.

DICTATE—enjoin, order, prescribe, mark out.

DICTATORIAL—authoritative, imperative, overbearing, imperious, arbitrary, domineering.

DIE—expire, perish, depart this life, cease.

DIET—food, victuals, nourishment, aliment, board, sustenance, fare, viands, meal, repast, _menu_.

DIFFER—vary, diverge, disagree, bicker, nag, split. (Accord, harmonize.)

DIFFERENT—various, diverse, unlike. (Identical.)

DIFFICULT—hard, tough, laborious, arduous, formidable. (Easy, facile, manageable, pliant.)

DIFFUSE—discursive, digressive, diluted. (Condensed, concise, terse.)

DIGNIFY—elevate, exalt, ennoble, honor, advance, promote. (Degrade, disgrace, demean, vulgarize.)

DILATE—widen, extend, enlarge, expand, descant, expatiate. (Contract, narrow, compress, reduce.)

DILATORY—slow, tardy, slow-paced, procrastinating, lagging, dawdling. (Prompt, peremptory, quick, instant.)

DILIGENCE—zeal, ardor, assiduity. (Indolence.)

DIMINISH—lessen, reduce, curtail, retrench, bate, abate, shorten, contract. (Increase, augment, aggrandize, enlarge.)

DISABILITY—incapacity, unfitness. (Power.)

DISCERN—descry, perceive, distinguish, espy, scan, recognize, understand, discriminate. (Ignore.)

DISCIPLINE—order, training, drill, schooling. (Laxity, disorder, confusion, anarchy.)

DISCOVER—detect, find, unveil, reveal, open, expose, publish, disclose. (Cover, conceal, hide.)

DISCREDITABLE—disreputable, reprehensible, blameworthy, shameful, scandalous, flagrant. (Exemplary, laudable, commendable.)

DISCREET—prudent, politic, cautious, wary, guarded, judicious. (Reckless, heedless, rash, unadvised, foolhardy, precipitate.)

DISCREPANCY—disagreement, discordance, incongruity, disparity, unfitness, clash, jar. (Concord, unison, harmony, congruity.)

DISCRIMINATION—distinction, differentiation, discernment, appreciation, acuteness, judgment, tact, nicety. (Confusion.)

DISEASE—illness, sickness, ailment, indisposition, complaint, malady, disorder. (Health, sanity, soundness, robustness.)

DISGRACE, _n._—stigma, reproach, brand, dishonor, shame, scandal, odium, infamy. (Honor.)

DISGUST—distaste, loathing, nausea, aversion, revulsion, abhorrence. (Predilection, partiality, inclination, bias.)

DISHONEST—fraudulent, unfair, tricky, unjust. (Straightforward, open, sincere, honest, fair, right, just, impartial.)

DISMAY, _v._—alarm, startle, scare, frighten, affright, terrify, astound, appal, daunt. (Assure, cheer.)

DISMAY, _n._—terror, dread, fear, fright. (Courage.)

DISMISS—send off, discharge, disband. (Instal, retain, keep.)

DISPEL—scatter, disperse, dissipate, drive off, chase. (Collect, rally, summon, gather.)

DISPLAY, _v._—exhibit, show, parade. (Conceal.)

DISPOSE—arrange, place, order, marshal, rank, group, assort, distribute, co-ordinate, collocate. (Derange, embroil, jumble, muddle, huddle.)

DISPUTE, _v._—discuss, debate, wrangle, controvert, contend. (Homologate, acquiesce in, assent to.)

DISPUTE, _n._—argument, controversy, contention, polemic. (Homologation, acquiescence.)

DISTINCT—separate, detached. (Joined, involved.)

DISTINGUISH—perceive, separate. (Confound.)

DISTINGUISHED—famous, noted, marked, eminent, celebrated, illustrious. (Obscure, mean.)

DISTRACT—divert, disconcert, perplex, bewilder, fluster, dazzle. (Observe, study, note, mark.)

DISTRIBUTE—disperse, disseminate, dispense, retail, apportion, consign, dole out. (Accumulate.)

DISTURB—derange, displace, unsettle, trouble, vex, worry, annoy. (Compose, pacify, quiet, soothe.)

DIVIDE—disjoin, part, separate, sunder, sever, cleave, split, rend, partition, distribute. (Constitute, unite.)

DIVINE, _a._—God-like, holy, heavenly. (Devilish.)

DIVINE, _n._—clergyman, churchman, priest, pastor, shepherd, parson, minister. (Layman.)

DO—effect, make, accomplish, transact, act.

DOCILE—teachable, willing. (Refractory, stubborn, obstinate.)

DOCTRINE—teaching, lore, tenet, dogma, articles of faith, creed. (Ignorance, superstition.)

DOLEFUL—woeful, dismal. (Joyous, merry.)

DOOM, _n._—sentence, fate, lot, destiny, decree.

DOUBT—uncertainty, skepticism, hesitation. (Certainty, faith.)

DRAW—pull, attract, inhale, sketch, delineate.

DREAD, _n._—fear, horror, alarm, terror, dismay, apprehension. (Confidence, fearlessness.)

DREADFUL—fearful, alarming, formidable, portentous, direful, terrible, horrid, awful. (Mild, winsome, gentle.)

DRESS, _n._—clothing, raiment, attire, apparel, clothes, _trousseau_. (Nudity, nakedness.)

DRIFT—tendency, direction, course, bearing, tenor.

DROLL—funny, laughable, grotesque, farcical, odd. (Dull, serious, solemn, grave.)

DRY, _a._—arid, parched, bald, flat, dull. (Aqueous, green, fresh, juicy, interesting.)

DUE—owing, indebted, just, fair, proper.

DULL—heavy, sad, commonplace, gloomy, stupid. (Bright, gay, brilliant.)

DUNCE—blockhead, ignoramus, simpleton, donkey, ninny, dolt, booby, goose, dullard, numskull, dunderpate, clodhopper. (Sage, genius, man of talent, wit.)

DURABLE—abiding, lasting. (Evanescent.)

DWELL—stay, abide, sojourn, remain, tarry, stop. (Shift, wander, remove, tramp.)

DWINDLE—pine, waste, shrink, shrivel, diminish.

EAGER—keen, desirous, craving, ardent, impatient, intent, impetuous. (Loth, reluctant.)

EARN—gain, win, acquire. (Lose, miss, forfeit.)

EARNEST, _a._—serious, resolved. (Trifling, giddy, irresolute, fickle.)

EARNEST, _n._—pledge, gage, deposit, caution.

EASE, _n._—content, rest, satisfaction, comfort, repose. (Worry, bother, friction, agitation, turmoil.)

EASE, _v._—calm, console, appease, assuage, allay, mitigate. (Worry, fret, alarm, gall, harass.)

EASY—light, comfortable, unconstrained. (Hard, difficult, embarrassed, constrained.)

ECCENTRIC—wandering, irregular, peculiar, odd, unwonted, extraordinary, queer, nondescript. (Orderly, customary.)

ECONOMICAL—frugal, thrifty, provident. (Squandering, wasteful.)

EDGE—verge, brink, brim, rim, skirt, hem.

EFFECT, _v._—produce, bring about, execute.

EFFECTIVE—efficient, operative, powerful, efficacious, competent. (Impotent, incapable, incompetent, inefficient.)

EFFICACY—efficiency, virtue, competence, agency, instrumentality.

ELIMINATE—expel, weed, thin, decimate, exclude, bar, reject, repudiate, winnow, eject, cast out. (Include, comprehend, incorporate, embrace.)

ELOQUENCE—oratory, rhetoric, declamation, facundity, grandiloquence, fluency. (Mumbling, stammering.)

ELUCIDATE—clear up, unfold, simplify, explain, decipher, unravel, disentangle. (Darken, obscure.)

ELUDE—escape, avoid, shun, slip, disappear, shirk.

EMBARRASS—perplex, entangle, involve, impede. (Relieve, unravel.)

EMBELLISH—adorn, decorate, beautify. (Tarnish, disfigure.)

EMBOLDEN—animate, encourage, cheer, instigate, impel, urge, stimulate. (Discourage, dispirit, dampen, depress.)

EMINENT—exalted, lofty, prominent, renowned, distinguished, famous, glorious, illustrious. (Base, obscure, low, unknown.)

EMIT—send out, despatch, spirt, publish, promulgate, edit. (Reserve, conceal, hide.)

EMOTION—feeling, sensation, pathos, nerve, ardor, agitation, excitement. (Apathy, frigidity, phlegm, _nonchalance_.)

EMPLOY—occupy, engage, utilize, exercise, turn to account, exploit, make use of.

ENCOMPASS—encircle, surround, gird, beset.

ENCOUNTER, _v._—meet, run against, clash.

ENCOUNTER, _n._—attack, conflict, assault, onset, engagement.

END, _n._—object, aim, result, purpose, conclusion, upshot, termination. (Beginning, motive.)

ENDEAVOR, _v._—attempt, try, essay, strive.

ENDURANCE—stay, stability, stamina, fortitude.

ENDURE—sustain, bear, brook, undergo.

ENEMY—foe, antagonist, adversary, opponent. (Friend, ally.)

ENERGETIC—active, vigorous, sinewy, nervous, forcible. (Lazy, languid, inert, flabby, flaccid, slack, effete.)

ENGAGE—occupy, busy, entice, captivate.

ENGROSS—monopolize, absorb, take up.

ENGULF—swallow up, drown, submerge, bury.

ENJOIN—order, command, decree, ordain, direct, appoint, prescribe, bind, impose, stipulate.

ENJOYMENT—pleasure, relish, zest. (Privation, grief, misery.)

ENLARGE—expand, widen, augment, broaden, increase, extend. (Diminish, narrow, straighten.)

ENLIGHTEN—illumine, instruct. (Darken, befog, mystify.)

ENLIVEN—cheer, animate, exhilarate, brighten, incite, inspire. (Sadden, deaden, mortify.)

ENMITY—hostility, hatred, antipathy, aversion, detestation. (Love, fondness, predilection.)

ENORMOUS—huge, immense, vast, stupendous, monstrous, gigantic, colossal, elephantine. (Tiny, little, minute, puny, petty, diminutive, infinitesimal, dwarfish.)

ENOUGH—sufficient, adequate. (Short, scrimp, insufficient.)

ENRAGED—infuriated, wrathful, wroth, rabid, mad, raging. (Pacified, calmed, lulled, assuaged.)

ENRAPTURE—captivate, fascinate, enchant, bewitch, ravish, transport, entrance. (Irritate, gall, shock, repel.)

ENROLL—enlist, register, enter, record.

ENTERPRISE—undertaking, endeavor, adventure, pursuit.

ENTHUSIASM—ardor, zeal, glow, unction, fervor. (Coolness, indifference, apathy, _nonchalance_.)

ENTHUSIAST—visionary, fanatic, devotee, zealot.

EQUAL—even, level, co-ordinate, balanced, alike, equable, equitable. (Unequal, disproportionate.)

ERADICATE—root out, extirpate. (Cherish.)

ERRONEOUS—fallacious, inaccurate, incorrect, untrue, false, inexact. (Accurate, just, right.)

ERROR—mistake, blunder, slip, delusion, fallacy, deception. (Truth, fact, verity, gospel, veracity.)

ESPECIALLY—chiefly, particularly, peculiarly.

ESSAY—endeavor, experiment, trial, attempt, venture, dissertation, treatise, disquisition, tract.

ESTABLISH—settle, fix, set, plant, pitch, lay down, confirm, authenticate, substantiate, verify.

ESTEEM, _n._—value, appreciation, honor, regard. (Contempt, depreciation, disparagement.)

ESTIMATE, _v._—value, assess, rate, appraise, gauge.

ETERNAL—everlasting, perpetual, endless, immortal, infinite. (Finite, transitory, temporary.)

EVADE—avoid, shun, elude, dodge, parry.

EVEN—plain, flat, level, smooth. (Uneven, rough, indented, protuberant.)

EVENT—occurrence, incident, affair, transaction, contingency.

EVIL—ill, harm, mischief, disaster, bane, calamity, catastrophe. (Good, benefit, advantage, boon.)

EXACT, _a._—precise, literal, particular, correct.

EXAMINATION—investigation, inquiry, search, research, scrutiny, exploration, test, sitting, trial.

EXCEED—excel, outdo, transcend, surpass.

EXCEPTIONAL—uncommon, unusual, rare, extraordinary. (General, ordinary, regular, normal.)

EXCITE—urge, rouse, stir, awaken. (Assuage, calm, still, tranquilize.)

EXCURSION—tour, trip, expedition, ramble.

EXEMPT—free, absolved, cleared, discharged. (Implicated, included, bound, obliged.)

EXERCISE, _n._—operation, practice, office, action, performance. (Stagnation, rest, stoppage.)

EXHAUSTIVE—complete, thorough, out-and-out.

EXIGENCY—predicament, emergency, crisis, push, pass, turning point, conjecture.

EXPRESS, _v._—utter, tell, declare, signify.

EXTRAVAGANT—excessive, prodigal, profuse, wasteful, lavish, thriftless. (Penurious, stingy.)

FABLE—parable, tale, myth, romance. (Truth, fact, history, event, deed.)

FACE—aspect, visage, countenance.

FACETIOUS—pleasant, jocular. (Serious.)

FACTOR—manager, agent, officer.

FAIL—fall short, be deficient. (Accomplish.)

FAINT—feeble, languid. (Forcible.)

FAIR—clear. (Stormy.)

FAIR—equitable, honest, reasonable. (Unfair.)

FAITH—creed. (Unbelief, infidelity.)

FAITHFUL—true, loyal, constant. (Faithless.)

FAITHLESS—perfidious, treacherous. (Faithful.)

FALL—drop, droop, sink, tumble. (Rise.)

FAME—renown, reputation.

FAMOUS—celebrated, renowned. (Obscure.)

FANCIFUL—capricious, fantastical, whimsical.

FANCY—imagination.

FAST—rapid, quick, fleet, expeditious. (Slow.)

FATIGUE—weariness, lassitude. (Vigor.)

FEAR—timidity, timorousness. (Bravery.)

FEELING—sensation, sense.

FEELING—sensibility. (Insensibility.)

FEROCIOUS—fierce, savage, wild. (Mild.)

FERTILE—fruitful, prolific, plenteous. (Sterile.)

FICTION—falsehood, fabrication. (Fact.)

FIGURE—allegory, emblem, metaphor, symbol, picture, type.

FIND—descry, discover, espy. (Lose, overlook.)

FINE, _a._—delicate, nice. (Coarse.)

FINE, _n._—forfeit, forfeiture, mulct, penalty.

FIRE—glow, heat, warmth.

FIRM—constant, solid, steadfast, fixed. (Weak.)

FIRST—foremost, chief, earliest. (Last.)

FIT—accommodate, adapt, adjust, suit.

FIX—determine, establish, settle, limit.

FLAME—blaze, flare, flash, glare.

FLAT—level, even.

FLEXIBLE—pliant, pliable, ductile. (Inflexible.)

FLOURISH—prosper, thrive. (Decay.)

FLUCTUATING—wavering, hesitating, oscillating, vacillating, change. (Firm, steadfast, decided.)

FLUENT—flowing, glib, voluble, unembarrassed, ready. (Hesitating.)

FOLKS—persons, people, individuals.

FOLLOW—succeed, ensue, imitate, copy, pursue.

FOLLOWER—partisan, disciple, adherent, retainer, pursuer, successor.

FOLLY—silliness, foolishness, imbecility, weakness. (Wisdom.)

FOND—enamored, attached, affectionate. (Distant.)

FONDNESS—affection, attachment, kindness, love. (Aversion.)

FOOLHARDY—venturesome, incautious, hasty, adventurous, rash. (Cautious.)

FOOLISH—simple, silly, irrational, brainless, imbecile, crazy, absurd, preposterous, ridiculous, nonsensical. (Wise, discreet.)

FOP—dandy, dude, beau, coxcomb, puppy, jackanapes. (Gentleman.)

FORBEAR—abstain, refrain, withhold.

FORCE, _n._—strength, vigor, dint, might, energy, power, violence, army, host.

FORCE, _v._—compel. (Persuade.)

FORECAST—forethought, foresight, premeditation, prognostication.

FOREGO—quit, relinquish, let go, waive.

FOREGOING—antecedent, anterior, preceding, previous, prior, former.

FORERUNNER—herald, harbinger, precursor.

FORESIGHT—forethought, forecast, premeditation.

FORGE—coin, invent, frame, feign, fabricate.

FORGIVE—pardon, remit, absolve, acquit, excuse.

FORLORN—forsaken, abandoned, deserted, desolate, lone, lonesome.

FORM, _n._—ceremony, solemnity, observance, rite, figure, shape, conformation, fashion, appearance, representation, semblance.

FORM, _v._—make, create, produce, constitute, arrange, fashion, mould, shape.

FORMAL—ceremonious, precise, exact, stiff, methodical, affected. (Informal, natural.)

FORMER—antecedent, anterior, previous, prior, preceding, foregoing.

FORSAKEN—abandoned, forlorn, deserted, desolate, lone, lonesome.

FORTHWITH—immediately, directly, instantly, instantaneously. (Anon.)

FORTITUDE—endurance, resolution, fearlessness, dauntlessness. (Weakness.)

FORTUNATE—lucky, happy, auspicious, successful, prosperous. (Unfortunate.)

FORTUNE—chance, fate, luck, doom, possession, destiny, property, riches.

FOSTER—cherish, nurse, tend, harbor. (Neglect.)

FOUL—impure, nasty, filthy, dirty, unclean, defiled. (Pure, clean.)

FRACTIOUS—cross, captious, petulant, splenetic, touchy, testy, peevish, fretful. (Tractable.)

FRAGILE—brittle, frail, delicate, feeble. (Strong.)

FRAGMENTS—pieces, scraps, leavings, remnants, chips, remains.

FRAILTY—weakness, failing, foible, imperfection, fault, blemish. (Strength.)

FRAME, _v._—construct, invent, coin, fabricate, feign, forge, mold, make, compose.

FRANCHISE—right, exemption, immunity, privilege, freedom, suffrage.

FRANK—artless, candid, sincere, free, easy, open, familiar, ingenious, plain. (Tricky, insincere.)

FRANTIC—distracted, furious, raving, frenzied, mad. (Quiet, subdued.)

FRAUD—deceit, deception, duplicity, guile, cheat, imposition. (Honesty.)

FREAK—fancy, humor, vagary, whim, caprice, crochet. (Purpose, resolution.)

FREE, _a._—liberal, generous, bountiful, bounteous, munificent, frank, artless, candid, familiar, open, independent, unconfined, unreserved, unrestricted, exempt, clear, loose, easy, careless. (Slavish, stingy, artful, costly.)

FREE, _v._—release, set free, deliver, rescue, liberate, enfranchise, affranchise, emancipate, exempt. (Enslave, bind.)

FREEDOM—liberty, independence, unrestraint, familiarity, franchise, exemption. (Slavery.)

FREQUENT—often, common, general. (Rare.)

FRET—gall, chafe, agitate, irritate, vex.

FRIENDLY—amicable, social, sociable. (Distant, reserved, cool.)

FRIGHTFUL—fearful, dreadful, dire, direful, awful, terrific, horrible, horrid.

FRIVOLOUS—trifling, trivial, petty. (Serious.)

FRUGAL—provident, economical, saving. (Wasteful, extravagant.)

FRUITFUL—fertile, prolific, productive, abundant, plentiful, plenteous. (Barren, sterile.)

FRUITLESS—vain, useless, idle, bootless, unavailing, without avail.

FRUSTRATE—defeat, foil, balk, disappoint.

FULFILL—accomplish, effect, complete.

FULLY—completely, abundantly, perfectly.

FULSOME—coarse, gross, sickening, offensive, rank. (Moderate.)

FURIOUS—violent, boisterous, vehement, dashing, sweeping, rolling, impetuous, frantic, distracted, stormy, angry, raging, fierce. (Calm.)

FUTILE—trifling, trivial, frivolous. (Effective.)

GAIN, _n._—profit, emolument, advantage, benefit, winnings, earnings. (Loss.)

GAIN, _v._—get, acquire, obtain, attain, procure, earn, win, achieve, reap, realize, reach. (Lose.)

GALLANT—brave, bold, courageous, gay, showy, fine, intrepid, fearless, heroic.

GALLING—chafing, irritating. (Soothing.)

GAME—play, pastime, diversion, amusement.

GANG—band, horde, company, troop, crew.

GAP—breach, chasm, hollow, cavity, cleft, crevice, rift, chink.

GARNISH—embellish, adorn, beautify, decorate.

GATHER—pick, cull, assemble, muster, infer, collect. (Scatter.)

GAUDY—showy, flashy, tawdry, gay, glittering, bespangled. (Sombre.)

GAUNT—emaciated, scraggy, skinny, meagre, lank, attenuated, spare, lean, thin. (Well-fed.)

GAY—cheerful, merry, lively, jolly, sprightly, blithe. (Solemn.)

GENERATE—form, make, beget, produce.

GENERATION—formation, race, breed, stock, kind, age, era.

GENEROUS—beneficent, noble, honorable, bountiful, liberal, free. (Niggardly.)

GENIAL—cordial, hearty, festive. (Distant, cold.)

GENIUS—intellect, invention, talent, taste, nature, character, adept.

GENTEEL—refined, polished, fashionable, polite, well-bred. (Boorish.)

GENTLE—placid, mild, bland, meek, tame, docile. (Rough, uncouth.)

GENUINE—real, true, unaffected. (False.)

GESTURE—attitude, action, posture.

GET—obtain, earn, gain, attain, procure, achieve.

GHASTLY—pallid, wan, hideous, grim, shocking.

GHOST—spectre, sprite, apparition, phantom.

GIBE—scoff, sneer, flout, jeer, mock, taunt, deride.

GIDDY—unsteady, thoughtless. (Steady.)

GIFT—donation, benefaction, grant, alms, gratuity, boon, present, faculty, talent. (Purchase.)

GIGANTIC—colossal, huge, enormous, prodigious, vast, immense. (Diminutive.)

GIVE—grant, bestow, confer, yield, impart.

GLAD—pleased, cheerful, joyful, gladsome, cheering, gratified. (Sad.)

GLEAM—glimmer, glance, glitter, shine, flash.

GLEE—gayety, merriment, mirth, joviality, joy, hilarity. (Sorrow.)

GLIDE—slip, slide, run, roll on.

GLIMMER, _v._—gleam, flicker, glitter.

GLIMPSE—glance, look, glint.

GLITTER—gleam, shine, glisten, glister, radiate.

GLOOM—cloud, darkness, dimness, blackness, dullness, sadness. (Light, brightness, joy.)

GLOOMY—lowering, lurid, dim, dusky, sad, glum. (Bright, clear.)

GLORIFY—magnify, celebrate, adore, exalt.

GLORIOUS—famous, renowned, distinguished, exalted, noble. (Infamous.)

GLORY—honor, fame, renown, splendor, grandeur. (Infamy.)

GLUT—gorge, stuff, cram, cloy, satiate, block up.

GO—depart, proceed, move, budge, stir.

GOD—Creator, Lord, Almighty, Jehovah, Omnipotence, Providence.

GODLY—righteous, devout, holy, pious, religious.

GOOD—benefit, weal, advantage, profit. (Evil.)

GOOD, _a._—virtuous, righteous, upright, just, true. (Wicked, bad.)

GORGE—glut, fill, cram, stuff, satiate.

GORGEOUS—superb, grand, magnificent, splendid. (Plain, simple.)

GOVERN—rule, direct, manage, command.

GOVERNMENT—rule, state, control, sway.

GRACEFUL—becoming, comely, elegant, beautiful. (Awkward.)

GRACIOUS—merciful, kindly, beneficent.

GRADUAL—slow, progressive. (Sudden.)

GRAND—majestic, stately, dignified, lofty, elevated, exalted, splendid, gorgeous, superb, magnificent, sublime, pompous. (Shabby.)

GRANT—bestow, impart, give, yield, cede, allow, confer, invest.

GRANT—gift, boon, donation.

GRAPHIC—forcible, telling, picturesque, pictorial.

GRASP—catch, seize, gripe, clasp, grapple.

GRATEFUL—agreeable, pleasing, welcome, thankful. (Harsh.)

GRATIFICATION—enjoyment, pleasure, delight, reward. (Disappointment.)

GRAVE, _a._—serious, sedate, solemn, sober, pressing, heavy. (Giddy.)

GRAVE, _n._—tomb, sepulchre, vault.

GREAT—big, huge, large, majestic, vast, grand, noble, august. (Small.)

GREEDINESS—avidity, eagerness. (Generosity.)

GRIEF—affliction, sorrow, trial, tribulation. (Joy.)

GRIEVE—mourn, lament, sorrow, pain, wound, hurt, bewail. (Rejoice.)

GRIEVOUS—painful, afflicting, heavy, unhappy.

GRIND—crush, oppress, grate, harass, afflict.

GRISLY—terrible, hideous, grim, ghastly, dreadful. (Pleasing.)

GROSS—coarse, outrageous, unseemly, shameful, indelicate. (Delicate.)

GROUP—assembly, cluster, collection, clump, order.

GROVEL—crawl, cringe, fawn, sneak.

GROW—increase, vegetate, expand, advance. (Decay, diminution.)

GROWL—grumble, snarl, murmur, complain.

GRUDGE—malice, rancor, spite, pique, hatred.

GRUFF—rough, rugged, blunt, rude, harsh, surly, bearish. (Pleasant.)

GUILE—deceit, fraud. (Candor.)

GUILTLESS—harmless, innocent.

GUILTY—culpable, sinful, criminal.

HABIT—custom, practice.

HAIL—accost, address, greet, salute, welcome.

HAPPINESS—beatitude, blessedness, bliss, felicity. (Unhappiness.)

HARBOR—haven, port.

HARD—firm, solid. (Soft.)

HARD—arduous, difficult. (Easy.)

HARM—injury, hurt, wrong, infliction. (Benefit.)

HARMLESS—safe, innocuous, innocent. (Hurtful.)

HARSH—rough, rigorous, severe, gruff. (Gentle.)

HASTEN—accelerate, dispatch, expedite. (Delay.)

HASTY—hurried, ill-advised. (Deliberate.)

HATEFUL—odious, detestable. (Lovable.)

HATRED—enmity, ill-will, rancor. (Friendship.)

HAUGHTINESS—arrogance, pride. (Modesty.)

HAUGHTY—arrogant, disdainful, supercilious.

HAZARD—risk, venture.

HEALTHY—salubrious, salutary. (Unhealthy.)

HEAP—accumulate, amass, pile.

HEARTY—cordial, sincere, warm. (Insincere.)

HEAVY—burdensome, ponderous. (Light.)

HEED—care, attention.

HEIGHTEN—enhance, exalt, elevate, raise.

HEINOUS—atrocious, flagrant. (Venial.)

HELP—aid, assist, relieve, succor. (Hinder.)

HERETIC—sectary, sectarian, schismatic, dissenter, non-conformist.

HESITATE—falter, stammer, stutter.

HIDEOUS—grim, ghastly, grisly. (Beautiful.)

HIGH—lofty, tall, elevated. (Deep.)

HINDER—impede, obstruct, prevent. (Help.)

HINT—allude, refer, suggest, intimate, insinuate.

HOLD—detain, keep, retain.

HOLINESS—sanctity, piety, sacredness.

HOLY—devout, pious, religious.

HOMELY—plain, ugly, coarse. (Beautiful.)

HONESTY—integrity, probity, uprightness. (Dishonesty.)

HONOR, _v._—respect, reverence. (Dishonor.)

HOPE—confidence, expectation, trust.

HOPELESS—desperate.

HOT—ardent, burning, fiery. (Cold.)

HOWEVER—nevertheless, notwithstanding, yet.

HUMBLE—modest, submissive, plain, unostentatious, simple. (Haughty.)

HUMBLE—degrade, humiliate, mortify. (Exalt.)

HUMOR—mood, temper.

HUNT—seek, chase.

HURTFUL—noxious, pernicious. (Beneficial.)

HUSBANDRY—cultivation, tillage.

HYPOCRITE—dissembler, imposter, canter.

HYPOTHESIS—theory, supposition.

IDEA—thought, imagination.

IDEAL—imaginary, fancied. (Actual.)

IDLE—indolent, lazy. (Industrious.)

IGNOMINIOUS—shameful, scandalous, infamous. (Honorable.)

IGNOMINY—shame, disgrace, obloquy, reproach.

IGNORANT—unlearned, illiterate, uninformed, uneducated. (Knowing.)

ILL, _n._—evil, wickedness, misfortune, mischief, harm. (Good.)

ILL, _a._—sick, indisposed, diseased. (Well.)

ILL-TEMPERED—crabbed, sour, acrimonious, surly. (Good-natured.)

ILL-WILL—enmity, antipathy. (Good-will.)

ILLEGAL—unlawful, illicit, contraband, illegitimate. (Legal.)

ILLIMITABLE—boundless, immeasurable, infinite.

ILLITERATE—unlettered, unlearned, untaught, uninstructed. (Learned, educated.)

ILLUSION—fallacy, deception, phantasm.

ILLUSORY—imaginary, chimerical. (Real.)

ILLUSTRATE—explain, elucidate, clear.

ILLUSTRIOUS—celebrated, noble, eminent, famous, renowned. (Obscure.)

IMAGE—likeness, picture, representation, effigy.

IMAGINARY—ideal, fanciful, illusory. (Real.)

IMAGINE—conceive, fancy, apprehend, think.

IMBECILITY—silliness, senility, dotage.

IMITATE—copy, ape, mimic, mock, counterfeit.

IMMACULATE—unspotted, spotless, unsullied, stainless. (Soiled.)

IMMEDIATE—pressing, instant, next, proximate.

IMMEDIATELY—instantly, forthwith, directly.

IMMENSE—vast, enormous, huge, prodigious.

IMMUNITY—privilege, prerogative, exemption.

IMPAIR—injure, diminish, decrease.

IMPART—reveal, divulge, disclose, discover, afford.

IMPARTIAL—just, equitable, unbiased. (Partial.)

IMPASSIONED—glowing, burning, fiery, intense.

IMPEACH—accuse, charge, arraign, censure.

IMPEDE—hinder, retard, obstruct. (Help.)

IMPEDIMENT—obstruction, hindrance, obstacle, barrier. (Aid.)

IMPEL—animate, induce, incite, instigate, embolden. (Retard.)

IMPENDING—imminent, threatening.

IMPERATIVE—commanding, authoritative.

IMPERFECTION—fault, blemish, defect, vice.

IMPERIL—endanger, hazard, jeopardize.

IMPERIOUS—commanding, dictatorial, imperative, authoritative, lordly, overbearing, domineering.

IMPERTINENT—intrusive, meddling, officious, rude, saucy, impudent, insolent.

IMPETUOUS—violent, boisterous, furious, vehement. (Calm.)

IMPIOUS—profane, irreligious. (Reverent.)

IMPLICATE—involve, entangle, embarrass.

IMPLY—involve, comprise, infold, import, denote.

IMPORTANCE—signification, significance, avail, consequence, weight, gravity, moment.

IMPOSING—impressive, striking, majestic, august, noble, grand. (Insignificant.)

IMPOTENCE—weakness, incapacity, infirmity, frailty, feebleness. (Power.)

IMPOTENT—weak, feeble, helpless, enfeebled, nerveless, infirm. (Strong.)

IMPRESSIVE—stirring, forcible, exciting, moving.

IMPRISON—incarcerated, shut up, immure, confine. (Liberate.)

IMPRISONMENT—captivity, durance.

IMPROVE—amend, better, mend, reform, rectify, ameliorate, apply, use, employ. (Deteriorate.)

IMPROVIDENT—careless, incautious, imprudent, prodigal, wasteful, reckless, rash. (Thrifty.)

IMPUDENCE—assurance, impertinence, confidence, insolence, rudeness.

IMPUDENT—saucy, brazen, bold, impertinent, forward, rude, insolent, immodest, shameless.

IMPULSE—incentive, incitement, instigation.

IMPULSIVE—rash, hasty, forcible. (Deliberate.)

IMPUTATION—blame, censure, reproach, charge.

INADVERTENCY—error, oversight, blunder, inattention, carelessness, negligence.

INCENTIVE—motive, inducement, impulse.

INCITE—instigate, excite, provoke, stimulate, urge, encourage, impel.

INCLINATION—leaning, slope, disposition, bent, tendency, bias, affection, attachment, wish, liking, desire. (Aversion.)

INCLINE, _v._—slope, lean, slant, tend, bend, turn, bias, dispose.

INCLOSE—surround, shut in, fence in, cover, wrap.

INCLUDE—comprehend, comprise, contain, take in, embrace.

INCOMMODE—annoy, plague, molest, disturb, inconvenience, trouble. (Accommodate.)

INCOMPETENT—incapable, unable, inadequate.

INCREASE, _v._—extend, enlarge, augment, dilate, expand, amplify, raise, enhance, aggravate, magnify, grow. (Diminish.)

INCREASE, _n._—augmentation, accession, addition, enlargement, extension. (Decrease.)

INCUMBENT—obligatory.

INDEFINITE—vague, uncertain, unsettled, loose, lax. (Definite.)

INDICATE—point out, show, mark.

INDIFFERENCE—apathy, carelessness, listlessness, insensibility. (Application, assiduity.)

INDIGENCE—want, neediness, penury, poverty, destitution, privation. (Affluence.)

INDIGNATION—anger, wrath, ire, resentment.

INDIGNITY—insult, affront, outrage, opprobrium, obloquy, reproach, ignominy. (Honor.)

INDISCRIMINATE—promiscuous, chance, indistinct, confused. (Select, chosen.)

INDISPENSABLE—essential, necessary, requisite, expedient. (Unnecessary, supernumerary.)

INDISPUTABLE—undeniable, undoubted, incontestable, indubitable, unquestionable, infallible.

INDORSE—ratify, confirm, superscribe.

INDULGE—foster, cherish, fondle. (Deny.)

INEFFECTUAL—vain, useless, unavailing, fruitless, abortive, inoperative. (Effective.)

INEQUALITY—disparity, disproportion, dissimilarity, unevenness. (Equality.)

INEVITABLE—unavoidable, not to be avoided.

INFAMOUS—scandalous, shameful, ignominious, opprobrious, disgraceful. (Honorable.)

INFERENCE—deduction, corollary, conclusion.

INFERNAL—diabolical, fiendish, devilish, hellish.

INFEST—annoy, plague, harass, disturb.

INFIRM—weak, feeble, enfeebled. (Robust.)

INFLAME—anger, irritate, enrage, chafe, incense, nettle, aggravate, embitter, exasperate. (Allay.)

INFLUENCE, _v._—bias, sway, prejudice, preposess.

INFLUENCE, _n._—credit, favor, reputation, weight, character, authority, sway, ascendancy.

INFRINGE—invade, intrude, contravene, break, transgress, violate.

INGENUOUS—artless, candid, generous, sincere, open, frank, plain. (Crafty.)

INHUMAN—cruel, brutal, savage, barbarous, ruthless, merciless, ferocious. (Humane.)

INIQUITY—injustice, wrong, grievance.

INJURE—damage, hurt, deteriorate, wrong, spoil, aggrieve, harm, mar, sully. (Benefit.)

INJURIOUS—hurtful, baneful, pernicious, deleterious, noxious, prejudicial, wrongful. (Beneficial.)

INJUSTICE—wrong, iniquity, grievance. (Right.)

INNOCENT—guiltless, sinless, harmless, inoffensive, innoxious. (Guilty.)

INNOCUOUS—harmless, safe, innocent. (Hurtful.)

INORDINATE—intemperate, irregular, disorderly, excessive, immoderate. (Moderate.)

INQUIRY—investigation, examination, research, scrutiny, disquisition, question, interrogation.

INQUISITIVE—prying, peeping, curious, peering.

INSANE—deranged, delirious, demented. (Sane.)

INSANITY—madness, mental aberration, lunacy, delirium. (Sanity.)

INSINUATE—hint, intimate, suggest, infuse, introduce, ingratiate.

INSIPID—dull, flat, mawkish, tasteless, inanimate, vapid, lifeless. (Bright, sparkling.)

INSOLENT—rude, saucy, impertinent, abusive, pert, scurrilous, opprobrious, insulting, offensive.

INSPIRE—animate, exhilarate, enliven, breathe, cheer, inhale.

INSTABILITY—mutability, fickleness, mutableness, wavering. (Stability, firmness.)

INSTIGATE—stir up, persuade, animate, stimulate, incite, urge, encourage.

INSTIL—implant, inculcate, infuse, insinuate.

INSTRUCT—inform, teach, educate, enlighten.

INSTRUMENTAL—conducive, assistant, helping.

INSUFFICIENCY—incompetency, incapability, inadequacy, deficiency, lack.

INSULT—affront, outrage, indignity. (Honor.)

INSULTING—insolent, impertinent, abusive, rude.

INTEGRITY—uprightness, honesty, completeness, probity, entirety, entireness, purity. (Dishonesty.)

INTELLECT—understanding, sense, brains, mind, intelligence, ability, talent, genius. (Body.)

INTELLECTUAL—mental, metaphysical. (Brutal.)

INTELLIGIBLE—clear, obvious, plain. (Abstruse.)

INTEMPERATE—immoderate, excessive, drunken, nimious, inordinate. (Temperate.)

INTENSE—ardent, earnest, glowing, fervid, burning, vehement.

INTENT—design, purpose, intention, drift, view, aim, purport, meaning.

INTERCOURSE—commerce, connection, intimacy.

INTERDICT—forbid, prohibit, inhibit, proscribe, debar, restrain from. (Allow.)

INTERFERE—meddle, intermeddle, interpose.

INTERMINABLE—endless, interminate, infinite, unlimited, illimitable, boundless. (Brief.)

INTERPOSE—intercede, arbitrate, mediate, interfere, meddle.

INTERPRET—explain, expound, elucidate, unfold.

INTIMATE—hint, suggest, insinuate, express, tell, signify, impart.

INTIMIDATE—dishearten, alarm, frighten, scare, appal, daunt, cow, browbeat. (Encourage.)

INTOLERABLE—insufferable, unbearable, insupportable, unendurable.

INTREPID—bold, brave, daring, fearless, dauntless, undaunted, courageous, valorous, valiant, heroic, gallant, chivalrous, doughty. (Cowardly, faint-hearted.)

INTRIGUE—plot, cabal, conspiracy, combination, artifice, ruse, _amour_.

INTRINSIC—real, true, genuine, sterling, native, natural. (Extrinsic.)

INVALIDATE—quash, cancel, overthrow, vacate, nullify, annul.

INVASION—incursion, irruption, inroad, aggression, raid, fray.

INVECTIVE—abuse, reproach, railing, censure, sarcasm, satire.

INVENT—devise, contrive, frame, find out, discover.

INVESTIGATION—examination, search, inquiry, research, scrutiny.

INVETERATE—confirmed, chronic, malignant. (Inchoate.)

INVIDIOUS—envious, hateful, odious, malignant.

INVIGORATE—brace, harden, nerve, strengthen, fortify. (Enervate.)

INVINCIBLE—unconquerable, impregnable, insurmountable.

INVISIBLE—unseen, imperceptible, impalpable.

INVITE—ask, call, bid, request, allure, attract.

INVOKE—invocate, call upon, appeal, refer, implore, beseech.

INVOLVE—implicate, entangle, compromise.

IRKSOME—wearisome, tiresome, tedious, annoying. (Pleasant.)

IRONY—sarcasm, satire, ridicule, raillery.

IRRATIONAL—foolish, silly, imbecile, brutish, absurd, ridiculous. (Rational.)

IRREGULAR—eccentric, anomalous, inordinate, intemperate. (Regular.)

IRRELIGIOUS—profane, godless, impious, sacrilegious, desecrating.

IRREPROACHABLE—blameless, spotless.

IRRESISTIBLE—resistless, irrepressible.

IRRESOLUTE—wavering, undetermined, undecided, vacillating. (Determined.)

IRRITABLE—excitable, irascible, susceptible, sensitive. (Calm.)

IRRITATE—aggravate, worry, embitter, madden.

ISSUE, _v._—emerge, rise, proceed, flow, spring.

ISSUE, _n._—end, upshot, effect, result, offspring.

JADE—harass, weary, tire, worry.

JANGLE—wrangle, conflict, disagree.

JARRING—conflicting, discordant, inconsonant.

JAUNT—ramble, excursion, trip.

JEALOUSY—suspicion, envy.

JEOPARD—hazard, peril, endanger.

JEST—joke, sport, divert, make game of.

JOURNEY—travel, tour, passage.

JOY—gladness, mirth, delight. (Grief.)

JUDGE—justice, referee, arbitrator.

JOYFUL—glad, rejoicing, exultant. (Mournful.)

JUDGMENT—discernment, discrimination.

JUSTICE—equity, right. Justice is right as established by law; equity according to the circumstances of each particular case. (Injustice.)

JUSTNESS—accuracy, correctness, precision.

KEEP—preserve, save. (Abandon.)

KILL—assassinate, murder, slay.

KINDRED—affinity, consanguinity, relationship.

KNOWLEDGE—erudition, learning. (Ignorance.)

LABOR—toil, work, effort, drudgery. (Idleness.)

LACK—need, deficiency, scarcity, insufficiency. (Plenty.)

LAMENT—mourn, grieve, weep. (Rejoice.)

LANGUAGE—dialect, idiom, speech, tongue.

LASCIVIOUS—loose, unchaste, lustful, lewd, lecherous. (Chaste.)

LAST—final, latest, ultimate. (First.)

LAUDABLE—commendable. (Blamable.)

LAUGHABLE—comical, droll, ludicrous. (Serious.)

LAWFUL—legal, legitimate, licit. (Illegal.)

LEAD—conduct, guide. (Follow.)

LEAN—meager. (Fat.)

LEARNED—erudite, scholarly. (Ignorant.)

LEAVE, _v._—quit, relinquish.

LEAVE, _n._—liberty, permission. (Prohibition.)

LIFE—existence, animation, spirit. (Death.)

LIFELESS—dead, inanimate.

LIFT—erect, elevate, exalt, raise. (Lower.)

LIGHT—clear, bright. (Dark.)

LIGHTNESS—flightiness, giddiness, levity, volatility. (Seriousness.)

LIKENESS—resemblance, similarity. (Unlikeness.)

LINGER—lag, loiter, tarry, saunter. (Hasten.)

LITTLE—diminutive, small. (Great.)

LIVELIHOOD—living, maintenance, subsistence.

LIVELY—jocund, merry, sportive, sprightly, vivacious. (Slow, languid, sluggish.)

LONG—extended, extensive. (Short.)

LOOK—appear, seem, aspect, glance, peep.

LOSE—miss, forfeit. (Gain.)

LOSS—detriment, damage, deprivation. (Gain.)

LOUD—clamorous, high-sounding, noisy. (Low, quiet.)

LOVE—affection. (Hatred.)

LOW—abject, mean. (Noble.)

LUNACY—derangement, insanity, mania, madness. (Sanity.)

LUSTER—brightness, brilliancy, splendor.

LUXURIANT—exuberant. (Sparse.)

MACHINATION—plot, intrigue, cabal, conspiracy. (Artlessness.)

MAD—crazy, delirious, insane, rabid, violent, frantic. (Sane, rational, quiet.)

MADNESS—insanity, fury, rage, frenzy.

MAGISTERIAL—august, dignified, majestic, pompous, stately.

MAKE—form, create, produce. (Destroy.)

MALEDICTION—anathema, curse, imprecation.

MALEVOLENT—malicious, virulent, malignant. (Benevolent.)

MALICE—spite, rancor, ill-feeling, grudge, animosity, ill-will. (Benignity.)

MALICIOUS—see malevolent.

MANACLE, _v._—shackle, fetter, chain. (Free.)

MANAGE—contrive, concert, direct.

MANAGEMENT—direction, superintendence, care.

MANGLE—tear, lacerate, mutilate, cripple, maim.

MANIA—madness, insanity, lunacy.

MANIFEST, _v._—reveal, prove, evince, exhibit, display, show.

MANIFEST, _a._—clear, plain, evident, open, apparent, visible. (Hidden, occult.)

MANIFOLD—several, sundry, various, divers.

MANLY—masculine, vigorous, courageous, brave, heroic. (Effeminate.)

MANNER—habit, custom, way, air, look.

MANNERS—morals, habits, behavior, carriage.

MAR—spoil, ruin, disfigure. (Improve.)

MARCH—tramp, tread, walk, step, space.

MARGIN—edge, rim, border, brink, verge.

MARK, _n._—sign, note, symptom, token, indication, trace, vestige, track, badge, brand.

MARK, _v._—impress, print, stamp, engrave, note.

MARRIAGE—wedding, nuptials, matrimony.

MARTIAL—military, warlike, soldierlike.

MARVEL—wonderful, miracle, prodigy.

MARVELOUS—wondrous, wonderful, miraculous.

MASSIVE—bulky, heavy, weighty, ponderous, solid, substantial. (Flimsy.)

MASTERY—dominion, rule, sway, ascendancy.

MATCHLESS—unrivaled, unequaled, unparalleled, peerless, incomparable, inimitable, surpassing. (Common, ordinary.)

MATERIAL, _a._—corporeal, bodily, physical, temporal, momentous. (Spiritual, immaterial.)

MAXIM—adage, apothegm, proverb, saying, byword, saw.

MEAGER—poor, lank, emaciated, barren, dry, uninteresting. (Rich.)

MEAN, _a._—stingy, niggardly, low, abject, vile, ignoble, degraded, contemptible, vulgar, despicable. (Generous.)

MEAN, _v._—design, purpose, intend, contemplate, signify, denote, indicate.

MEANING—signification, import, acceptation, sense, purport.

MEDIUM—organ, channel, instrument, means.

MEDLEY—mixture, variety, diversity, miscellany.

MEEK—unassuming, mild, gentle. (Proud.)

MELANCHOLY—low-spirited, dispirited, dreamy, sad. (Jolly, buoyant.)

MELLOW—ripe, mature, soft. (Immature.)

MELODIOUS—tuneful, musical, silver, dulcet, sweet. (Discordant.)

MEMORABLE—signal, distinguished, marked.

MEMORIAL—monument, memento.

MEMORY—remembrance, recollection.

MENACE, _n._—threat.

MEND—repair, amend, correct, better, ameliorate, improve, rectify.

MENTION—tell, name, communicate, impart, divulge, reveal, disclose, inform, acquaint.

MERCIFUL—compassionate, lenient, clement, tender, gracious, kind. (Cruel.)

MERCILESS—hard-hearted, cruel, unmerciful, pitiless, remorseless, unrelenting. (Kind.)

MERRIMENT—mirth, joviality, jollity. (Sorrow.)

MERRY—cheerful, mirthful, joyous, gay, lively, sprightly, hilarious, blithe, blithesome, jovial, sportive, jolly. (Sad.)

METAPHORICAL—figurative, allegorical.

METHOD—way, manner, mode, process, order, rule, regularity, system.

MIEN—air, look, manner, aspect, appearance.

MIGRATORY—roving, strolling, wandering, vagrant. (Settled, sedate, permanent.)

MIMIC—imitate, ape, mock.

MINDFUL—observant, attentive. (Heedless.)

MISCELLANEOUS—promiscuous, indiscriminate.

MISCHIEF—injury, harm, damage, hurt. (Benefit.)

MISCREANT—caitiff, villain, ruffian.

MISERABLE—unhappy, wretched, distressed, afflicted. (Happy.)

MISERLY—stingy, niggardly, avaricious, griping.

MISERY—wretchedness, woe, destitution, penury, privation, beggary. (Happiness.)

MISFORTUNE—calamity, disaster, mishap, catastrophe. (Good luck.)

MISS—omit, lose, fall, miscarry.

MITIGATE—alleviate, relieve, abate. (Aggravate.)

MODERATE—temperate, abstemious, sober, abstinent. (Immoderate.)

MODEST—chaste, virtuous, bashful. (Immodest.)

MOIST—wet, damp, dank, humid. (Dry.)

MONOTONOUS—unvaried, tiresome. (Varied.)

MONSTROUS—shocking, dreadful, horrible, huge.

MONUMENT—memorial, record, remembrancer.

MOOD—humor, disposition, vein, temper.

MORBID—sick, ailing, sickly, diseased, corrupted. (Normal, sound.)

MOROSE—gloomy, sullen, surly, fretful, crabbed, crusty. (Joyous.)

MORTAL—deadly, fatal, human.

MOTION—proposition, proposal, movement.

MOTIONLESS—still, stationary, torpid, stagnant. (Active, moving.)

MOUNT—arise, rise, ascend, soar, tower, climb.

MOURNFUL—sad, sorrowful, lugubrious, grievous, doleful, heavy. (Happy.)

MOVE—actuate, impel, induce, prompt, instigate, persuade, stir, agitate, propel, push.

MULTITUDE—crowd, throng, host, mob, swarm.

MURDER, _v._—kill, assassinate, slay, massacre.

MUSE, _v._—meditate, contemplate, think, reflect, cogitate, ponder.

MUSIC—harmony, melody, symphony.

MUSICAL—tuneful, melodious, harmonious, sweet.

MUSTY—stale, sour, fetid. (Fresh, sweet.)

MUTE—dumb, silent, speechless.

MUTILATE—maim, cripple, disable, disfigure.

MUTINOUS—insurgent, seditious, tumultuous, turbulent, riotous. (Obedient, orderly.)

MUTUAL—reciprocal, interchanged, correlative. (Sole, solitary.)

MYSTERIOUS—dark, obscure, hidden, secret, dim, mystic, enigmatical, unaccountable. (Open, clear.)

MYSTIFY—confuse, perplex. (Clear, explain.)

NAKED—nude, bare, uncovered, unclothed, rough, rude, simple. (Covered, clad.)

NAME, _v._—denominate, entitle, style, designate, term, call, christen.

NAME, _n._—appellation, designation, denomination, title, cognomen, reputation, character, fame, credit, repute.

NARRATE—tell, relate, detail, recount, describe, enumerate, rehearse, recite.

NASTY—filthy, foul, dirty, unclean, impure, gross, indecent, vile.

NATION—people, community, realm, state.

NATIVE—indigenous, inborn, vernacular.

NATURAL—original, regular, normal, bastard. (Unnatural, forced.)

NEAR—nigh, neighboring, close, adjacent, contiguous, intimate. (Distant.)

NECESSARY—needful, expedient, essential, indispensable, requisite. (Useless.)

NECESSITATE—compel, force, oblige.

NECESSITY—need, occasion, exigency, emergency, urgency, requisite.

NEED, _n._—necessity, distress, poverty, indigence, want, penury.

NEED, _v._—require, want, lack.

NEGLECT, _v._—disregard, slight, omit, overlook.

NEGLECT, _n._—omission, failure, default, slight, negligence, remissness, carelessness.

NEIGHBORHOOD—environs, vicinity, nearness, adjacency, proximity.

NERVOUS—timid, timorous, shaky.

NEW—fresh, recent, novel. (Old.)

NEWS—tidings, intelligence, information.

NICE—exact, accurate, good, particular, precise, fine, delicate. (Careless, coarse, unpleasant.)

NIMBLE—active, brisk, lively, alert, quick, agile, prompt. (Awkward.)

NOBILITY—aristocracy, greatness, grandeur.

NOBLE—exalted, elevated, illustrious, great, grand, lofty. (Low.)

NOISE—cry, outcry, clamor, row, din, uproar, tumult. (Silence.)

NONSENSICAL—irrational, absurd, silly, foolish. (Sensible.)

NOTABLE—plain, evident, remarkable, striking, signal, rare. (Obscure.)

NOTE, _n._—token, symbol, mark, sign, indication, remark, comment.

NOTED—distinguished, remarkable, eminent, renowned. (Obscure.)

NOTICE, _n._—advice, notification, intelligence.

NOTICE, _v._—mark, note, observe, attend to, heed.

NOTIFY, _v._—publish, acquaint, apprise, inform.

NOTION—conception, idea, belief, opinion.

NOTORIOUS—conspicuous, open, obvious, ill-famed. (Unknown.)

NOURISH—nurture, cherish, foster, supply. (Starve, famish.)

NOURISHMENT—food, diet, sustenance, nutrition.

NOVEL—modern, new, fresh, recent, unused, rare, strange. (Old.)

NOXIOUS—hurtful, deadly poisonous, deleterious, baneful. (Beneficial.)

NULLIFY—annul, vacate, invalidate, quash, cancel, repeal. (Affirm.)

NUTRITION—food, diet, nutriment, nourishment.

OBDURATE—hard, callous, hardened, unfeeling, insensible. (Yielding, tractable.)

OBEDIENT—compliant, submissive, dutiful, respectful. (Obstinate.)

OBESE—corpulent, fat, adipose. (Attenuated.)

OBEY, _v._—conform, comply, submit. (Rebel.)

OBJECT, _n._—aim, end, purpose, design, mark.

OBJECT, _v._—oppose, except to, contravene, impeach, deprecate. (Assent.)

OBNOXIOUS—offensive. (Agreeable.)

OBSCURE—undistinguished, unknown. (Distinguished.)

OBSTINATE—contumacious, headstrong, stubborn, obdurate. (Yielding.)

OCCASION—opportunity.

OFFENCE—affront, misdeed, misdemeanor, transgression, trespass.

OFFENSIVE—insolent, abusive. (Inoffensive.)

OFFICE—charge, function, place.

OFFSPRING—issue, progeny, children, posterity.

OLD—aged, superannuated, ancient, antique, antiquated, obsolete, old-fashioned. (Young, new.)

OMEN—presage, prognostic.

OPAQUE—dark. (Bright, transparent.)

OPEN—candid, unreserved, clear, fair. (Hidden.)

OPINION—notion, view, judgment, sentiment.

OPINIONATED—conceited, egotistical. (Modest.)

OPPOSE—resist, withstand, thwart. (Give way.)

OPTION—choice.

ORDER—method, system, regularity. (Disorder.)

ORIGIN—cause, occasion, beginning. (End.)

OUTLIVE—survive.

OUTWARD—external, outside, exterior. (Inner.)

OVER—above. (Under.)

OVERBALANCE—outweigh, preponderate.

OVERBEAR—bear down, overwhelm, overpower.

OVERBEARING—haughty, arrogant. (Gentle.)

OVERFLOW—inundation, deluge.

OVERRULE—supersede, suppress.

OVERSPREAD—overrun, ravage.

OVERTURN—invert, overthrow, reverse, subvert. (Establish, fortify.)

OVERWHELM—crush, defeat, vanquish.

PAIN—suffering, qualm, pang, agony, anguish. (Pleasure.)

PALLID—pale, wan. (Florid.)

PART—division, portion, share, fraction. (Whole.)

PARTICULAR—exact, distinct, singular, strange, odd. (General.)

PATIENT—passive, submissive. (Obdurate.)

PEACE—calm, quiet, tranquility. (War, trouble, riot, turbulence.)

PEACEABLE—pacific, peaceful, quiet. (Troublesome, riotous.)

PENETRATE—bore, pierce, perforate.

PENETRATION—acuteness, sagacity. (Dullness.)

PEOPLE—nation, persons, folks.

PERCEIVE—note, observe, discern, distinguish.

PERCEPTION—conception, notion, idea.

PERIL—danger, pitfall, snare. (Safety.)

PERMIT—allow, tolerate. (Forbid.)

PERSUADE—allure, entice, prevail upon.

PHYSICAL—corporeal, bodily, material. (Mental.)

PICTURE—engraving, print, representation, illustration, image.

PITEOUS—doleful, woeful, rueful. (Joyful.)

PITILESS—see merciless.

PITY—compassion, sympathy. (Cruelty.)

PLACE, _n._—spot, site, position, post, situation.

PLACE, _v._—order, dispose.

PLAIN—open, manifest, evident. (Secret.)

PLAY—game, sport, amusement. (Work.)

PLEASE—gratify, pacify. (Displease.)

PLEASURE—charm, delight, joy. (Pain.)

PLENTIFUL—abundant, ample, copious, plenteous. (Scarce.)

POISE—balance, equilibrium, evenness.

POSITIVE—absolute, peremptory, decided, certain. (Negative, undecided.)

POSSESSOR—owner, proprietor.

POSSIBLE—practical, practicable. (Impossible.)

POVERTY—penury, indigence, need. (Wealth.)

POWER—authority, force, strength, dominion.

POWERFUL—mighty, potent. (Weak.)

PRAISE—commend, extol, laud. (Blame.)

PRAYER—entreaty, petition, request, suit.

PRETENCE, _n._—pretext, subterfuge.

PREVAILING—predominant, prevalent, general. (Isolated, sporadic.)

PREVENT—obviate, preclude.

PREVIOUS—antecedent, introductory, preparatory, preliminary. (Subsequent.)

PRIDE—vanity, conceit. (Humility.)

PRINCIPALLY—chiefly, essentially, mainly.

PRINCIPLE—ground, reason, motive, impulse, maxim, rule, rectitude, integrity.

PRIVILEGE—immunity, advantage, favor, claim, prerogative, exemption, right.

PROBITY—rectitude, uprightness, honesty, integrity, sincerity, soundness. (Dishonesty.)

PROBLEMATICAL—uncertain, doubtful, dubious, questionable, disputable, suspicious. (Certain.)

PRODIGIOUS—huge, enormous, vast, amazing, astonishing, astounding, surprising, remarkable, wonderful. (Insignificant.)

PROFESSION—business, trade, occupation, office, vocation, employment, engagement, avowal.

PROFFER—volunteer, offer, propose, tender.

PROFLIGATE—abandoned, dissolute, depraved, vicious, degenerate, corrupt. (Virtuous.)

PROFOUND—deep, fathomless, penetrating, recondite, solemn, abstruse. (Shallow.)

PROFUSE—extravagant, prodigal, lavish, copious, improvident, excessive, plentiful. (Succinct.)

PROLIFIC—productive, generative, fertile, fruitful, teeming. (Barren.)

PROLIX—diffuse, long, prolonged, tedious, wordy, tiresome, verbose, prosaic. (Concise, brief.)

PROMINENT—eminent, conspicuous, marked, important, leading. (Obscure.)

PROMISCUOUS—mixed, unarranged, mingled, indiscriminate. (Select.)

PROMPT—See punctual.

PROP, _v._—maintain, sustain, support, stay.

PROPAGATE—spread, circulate, diffuse, disseminate, extend, breed, increase. (Suppress.)

PROPER—legitimate, right, just, fair, equitable, honest, suitable, fit, adapted, meet, becoming, befitting, decent, pertinent. (Wrong.)

PROSPER—flourish, succeed, grow rich, thrive, advance. (Fail.)

PROSPERITY—well-being, weal, welfare, happiness, good luck. (Poverty.)

PROXY—agent, representative, substitute, deputy.

PRUDENCE—carefulness, judgment, discretion, wisdom. (Indiscretion.)

PRURIENT—itching, craving, hankering, longing.

PUERILE—youthful, juvenile, boyish, childish, infantile, trifling, weak, silly. (Mature.)

PUNCTILIOUS—nice, particular, formal, precise. (Negligent.)

PUNCTUAL—exact, precise, nice, particular prompt, timely. (Dilatory.)

PUTREFY—rot, decompose, corrupt, decay.

PUZZLE, _v._—perplex, confound, embarrass, pose, bewilder, confuse, mystify. (Enlighten.)

QUACK—imposter, pretender, charlatan, empiric, mountebank. (Savant.)

QUAINT—artful, curious, far-fetched, fanciful, odd.

QUALIFIED—competent, fitted. (Incompetent.)

QUALITY—attribute, rank, distinction.

QUERULOUS—doubting, complaining, fretting, repining. (Patient.)

QUESTION—query, inquiry, interrogatory.

QUIBBLE—cavil, evade, equivocate, shuffle.

QUICK—lively, ready, prompt, alert, nimble, agile, active, brisk, expeditious, adroit, fleet, rapid, impetuous, swift, sweeping, dashing, clever. (Slow.)

QUOTE—note, repeat, cite, adduce.

RABID—mad, furious, raging, frantic. (Rational.)

RACE—course, match, pursuit, career, family, clan, house, ancestry, lineage, pedigree.

RACK—agonize, wring, torture, excruciate, harass, distress. (Soothe.)

RACY—spicy, pungent, smart, spirited, vivacious, lively. (Dull, insipid.)

RADIANCE—splendor, brightness, brilliance, brilliancy, lustre, glare. (Dullness.)

RADICAL—organic, innate, fundamental, original, constitutional, inherent, complete, entire. (Superficial. In a political sense, uncompromising; antonym, moderate.)

RANCID—fetid, rank, stinking, sour, tainted, foul. (Fresh, sweet.)

RANCOR—malignity, hatred, hostility, antipathy, animosity, enmity, ill-will, spite. (Forgiveness.)

RANK—order, degree, dignity, consideration.

RANSACK—rummage, pillage, overhaul, explore.

RANSOM—emancipate, free, unfetter.

RANT—bombast, fustian, cant.

RAPACIOUS—ravenous, voracious, greedy, grasping. (Generous.)

RAPT—ecstatic, transported, ravished, entranced, charmed. (Distracted.)

RAPTURE—ecstacy, transport, bliss. (Dejection.)

RARE—scarce, singular, uncommon, unique.

RASCAL—scoundrel, rogue, knave, vagabond.

RASH—hasty, precipitate, foolhardy, adventurous, heedless, reckless, careless. (Deliberate.)

RATE—value, compute, appraise, estimate, abuse.

RATIFY—confirm, establish, substantiate, sanction (Protest, oppose.)

RATIONAL—reasonable, sagacious, judicious, wise, sensible, sound. (Unreasonable.)

RAVAGE—overrun, overspread, desolate, despoil.

RAVISH—enrapture, enchant, charm, delight.

RAZE—demolish, destroy, overthrow, dismantle, ruin. (Build up.)

REACH—touch, stretch, attain, gain, arrive at.

READY—prepared, ripe, apt, prompt, adroit, handy. (Slow, dilatory.)

REAL—actual, literal, practical, positive, certain, genuine, true. (Unreal.)

REALIZE—accomplish, achieve, effect, gain, get, acquire, comprehend.

REAP—gain, get, acquire, obtain.

REASON, _n._—motive, design, end, proof, cause, ground, purpose.

REASON, _v._—deduce, draw from, trace, conclude.

REASONABLE—rational, wise, honest, fair, right, just. (Unreasonable.)

REBELLION—insurrection, revolt.

RECANT—recall, abjure, retract, revoke.

RECEDE—retire, retreat, withdraw, ebb.

RECEIVE—accept, take, admit, entertain.

RECEPTION—receiving, levee, receipt, admission.

RECESS—retreat, depth, niche, vacation.

RECREATION—sport, pastime, play, amusement, game, fun.

REDEEM—ransom, recover, rescue, deliver, save.

REDRESS—remedy, repair, remission, abatement.

REDUCE—abate, lessen, decrease, lower, shorten.

REFINED—polite, courtly, polished, cultured, purified, genteel. (Boorish.)

REFLECT—consider, cogitate, think, muse, censure.

REFORM—amend, correct, better, restore, improve. (Corrupt.)

REFORMATION—improvement, reform, amendment. (Corruption.)

REFUGE—asylum, protection, harbor, shelter.

REFUSE, _v._—deny, reject, repudiate, decline, withhold. (Accept.)

REFUSE, _n._—dregs, dross, scum, rubbish, leavings.

REFUTE—disprove, falsify, negative. (Affirm.)

REGARD, _v._—mind, heed, notice, behold, respect, view, consider.

REGRET, _n._—grief, sorrow, lamentation, remorse.

REGULAR—orderly, uniform, customary, ordinary, stated. (Irregular.)

REGULATE—methodize, arrange, adjust, organize, govern, rule. (Disorder.)

REIMBURSE—refund, repay, satisfy, indemnify.

RELEVANT—fit, proper, suitable, appropriate, apt, pertinent. (Irrelevant.)

RELIANCE—trust, hope, dependence, confidence. (Suspicion.)

RELIEF—succor, aid, help, redress, alleviation.

RELINQUISH—give up, forsake, resign, surrender, quit, leave, forego. (Retain.)

REMEDY—help, relief, redress, cure, specific.

REMORSELESS—pitiless, relentless, cruel, ruthless, merciless, barbarous. (Merciful, humane.)

REMOTE—distant, far, secluded, indirect. (Near.)

REPRODUCE—propagate, imitate, represent, copy.

REPUDIATE—disown, discard, disavow, renounce, disclaim. (Acknowledge.)

REPUGNANT—antagonistic, distasteful. (Agreeable.)

REPULSIVE—forbidding, odious, ugly, disagreeable, revolting. (Attractive.)

RESPITE—reprieve, interval, stop, pause.

REVENGE—vengeance, retaliation, requital, retribution. (Forgiveness.)

REVENUE—produce, income, fruits, proceeds.

REVERENCE, _n._—honor, respect, awe, veneration, deference, worship, homage. (Execration.)

REVISE—review, reconsider.

REVIVE—refresh, renew, renovate, animate, resuscitate, vivify, cheer, comfort.

RICH—wealthy, affluent, opulent, copious, ample, abundant, exuberant, plentiful, fertile, gorgeous, superb, fruitful. (Poor.)

RIVAL, _n._—antagonist, opponent, competitor.

ROAD—way, highway, route, course, path, pathway, anchorage.

ROAM—ramble, rove, wander, stray, stroll.

ROBUST—strong, lusty, vigorous, sinewy, stalwart, stout, sturdy, able-bodied. (Puny.)

ROUT, _v._—discomfit, beat, defeat, overthrow.

ROUTE—road, course, march, way, journey, path.

RUDE—rugged, rough, uncouth, unpolished, harsh, gruff, impertinent, saucy, flippant, impudent, insolent, saucy, churlish. (Polite, polished.)

RULE—sway, method, system, law, maxim, guide, precept, formula, regulation, government, test, standard.

RUMOR—hearsay, talk, fame, report, bruit.

RUTHLESS—cruel, savage, barbarous, inhuman, merciless, remorseless, relentless. (Considerate.)

SACRED—holy, hallowed, divine, consecrated, dedicated, devoted. (Profane.)

SAFE—secure, harmless, trustworthy. (Perilous.)

SANCTION—confirm, countenance, encourage, support, ratify, authorize. (Disapprove.)

SANE—sober, lucid, sound, rational. (Crazy.)

SAUCY—impertinent, rude, impudent, insolent, flippant, forward. (Modest.)

SCANDALIZE—shock, disgust, offend, calumniate, vilify, revile, malign, traduce, defame, slander.

SCANTY—bare, pinched, insufficient, slender, meager. (Ample.)

SCATTER—strew, spread, disseminate, disperse, dissipate, dispel. (Collect.)

SECRET—clandestine, concealed, hidden, sly, underhand, latent, private. (Open.)

SEDUCE—allure, attract, decoy, entice, abduct, inveigle, deprave.

SENSE—discernment, appreciation, view, opinion, feeling, perception, sensibility, susceptibility, significance, thought, judgment, signification, meaning, import, purport, wisdom.

SENSIBLE—wise, intelligent, reasonable, sober, sound, conscious, aware. (Foolish.)

SETTLE—arrange, adjust, regulate, conclude.

SEVERAL—sundry, divers, various, many.

SEVERE—harsh, stern, stringent, unmitigated, unyielding, rough. (Lenient.)

SHAKE—tremble, shudder, shiver, quake, quiver.

SHALLOW—superficial, flimsy, slight. (Deep, thorough.)

SHAME—disgrace, dishonor. (Honor.)

SHAMEFUL—degrading, scandalous, disgraceful, outrageous. (Honorable.)

SHAMELESS—immodest, impudent, indecent, indelicate, brazen.

SHAPE—form, fashion, mold, model.

SHARE—portion, lot, division, quantity, quota.

SHARP—acute, keen. (Dull.)

SHINE—glare, glitter, radiate, sparkle.

SHORT—brief, concise, succinct, summary. (Long.)

SHOW, _n._—exhibition, sight, spectacle.

SICK—diseased, sickly, unhealthy. (Healthy.)

SICKNESS—illness, indisposition, disease, disorder. (Health.)

SIGNIFICANT, _a._—expressive, material, important. (Insignificant.)

SIGNIFICATION—import, meaning, sense.

SILENCE—speechlessness, dumbness. (Noise.)

SILENT—dumb, mute, speechless. (Talkative.)

SIMILE—comparison, similitude.

SIMPLE—single, uncompounded, artless, plain. (Complex, compound.)

SIMULATE—dissimulate, dissemble, pretend.

SINCERE—candid, hearty, honest, pure, genuine, real. (Insincere.)

SITUATION—condition, plight, predicament, state.

SIZE—bulk, greatness, magnitude, dimension.

SLAVERY—servitude, enthrallment, thralldom. (Freedom.)

SLEEP—doze, drowse, nap, slumber.

SLEEPY—somnolent. (Wakeful.)

SLOW—dilatory, tardy. (Fast.)

SMELL—fragrance, odor, perfume, scent.

SMOOTH—even, level, mild. (Rough.)

SOAK—drench, imbrue, steep.

SOCIAL—sociable, friendly, communicative. (Unsocial.)

SOFT—gentle, meek, mild. (Hard.)

SOLICIT—importune, urge.

SOLITARY—sole, only, single.

SORRY—grieved, poor, paltry, insignificant. (Glad, respectable.)

SOUL—mind, spirit. (Soul is opposed to body, mind to matter.)

SOUND, _a._—healthy, sane. (Unsound.)

SOUND, _n._—tone, noise, silence.

SPACE—room.

SPARSE—scanty, thin. (Luxuriant.)

SPEAK—converse, talk, confer, say, tell.

SPECIAL—particular, specific. (General.)

SPEND—expend, exhaust, consume, waste, dissipate. (Save.)

SPORADIC—isolated, rare. (General, prevalent.)

SPREAD—disperse, diffuse, expand, disseminate.

SPRING—fountain, source.

STAFF—prop, support, stay.

STAGGER—reel, totter.

STAIN—soil, discolor, spot, sully, tarnish.

STATE—commonwealth, realm.

STERILE—barren, unfruitful. (Fertile.)

STIFLE—choke, suffocate, smother.

STORMY—rough, boisterous, tempestuous. (Calm.)

STRAIGHT—direct, right. (Crooked.)

STRAIT, _a._—narrow, confined.

STRANGER—alien, foreigner. (Friend.)

STRENGTHEN—fortify, invigorate. (Weaken.)

STRONG—robust, sturdy, powerful. (Weak.)

STUPID—dull, foolish, obtuse, witless. (Clever.)

SUBJECT—exposed to, liable, obnoxious. (Exempt.)

SUBJECT—inferior, subordinate. (Superior to, above.)

SUBSEQUENT—succeeding, following. (Previous.)

SUBSTANTIAL—solid, durable. (Unsubstantial.)

SUIT—accord, agree. (Disagree.)

SUPERFICIAL—flimsy, shallow, untrustworthy. (Thorough.)

SUPERFLUOUS—unnecessary. (Necessary.)

SURROUND—encircle, encompass, environ.

SUSTAIN—maintain, support.

SYMMETRY—proportion.

SYMPATHY—commiseration, compassion.

SYSTEM—method, plan, order.

SYSTEMATIC—orderly, regular, methodical. (Chaotic.)

TAKE—accept, receive. (Give.)

TALKATIVE—garrulous, loquacious, communicative. (Silent.)

TASTE—flavor, relish, savor. (Tastelessness.)

TAX—custom, duty, impost, excise, toll.

TAX—assessment, rate.

TEASE—taunt, tantalize, torment, vex.

TEMPORARY, _a._—fleeting, transient, transitory. (Permanent.)

TENACIOUS—pertinacious, retentive.

TENDENCY—aim, drift, scope.

TENET—position, view, conviction, belief.

TERM—boundary, limit, period, time.

TERRITORY—dominion.

THANKFUL—grateful, obliged. (Thankless.)

THANKLESS—ungracious, profitless, ungrateful, unthankful.

THAW—melt, dissolve, liquefy. (Freeze.)

THEATRICAL—dramatic, showy, ceremonious.

THEFT—robbery, depredation, spoliation.

THEME—subject, topic, text, essay.

THEORY—speculation, scheme, plea, hypothesis, conjecture.

THEREFORE—accordingly, consequently, hence.

THICK—dense, close, compact, solid, coagulated, muddy, turbid, misty, vaporous. (Thin.)

THIN—slim, slender, slight, flimsy, lean, scraggy, attenuated.

THINK—cogitate, consider, reflect, ponder, muse, contemplate, meditate, conceive, fancy, imagine, apprehend, hold, esteem, reckon, consider, deem, regard, believe, opine.

THOROUGH—accurate, correct, trustworthy, complete, reliable. (Superficial.)

THOUGHT—idea, conception, imagination, fancy, conceit, notion, supposition, care, provision, consideration, opinion, view, sentiment, reflection, deliberation.

THOUGHTFUL—considerate, careful, cautious, heedful, contemplative, reflective, provident, pensive, dreamy. (Thoughtless.)

THOUGHTLESS—inconsiderate, rash, precipitate, improvident, heedless.

TIE, _v._—bind, restrain, restrict, oblige, secure, join, unite. (Loose.)

TIME—duration, season, period, era, age, date, span, spell.

TOLERATE—allow, admit, receive, suffer, permit, let, endure, abide. (Oppose.)

TOP—summit, apex, head, crown, surface. (Base, bottom.)

TORRID—burning, hot, parching, scorching.

TORTUOUS—twisted, winding, crooked, indirect.

TORTURE—torment, anguish, agony.

TOUCHING—tender, affecting, moving, pathetic.

TRACTABLE—docile, manageable, amenable.

TRADE—traffic, commerce, dealing, occupation, employment, office.

TRADITIONAL—oral, uncertain, transmitted.

TRAFFIC—trade, exchange, commerce.

TRAMMEL, _n._—fetter, shatter, clog, bond, impediment, chain, hindrance.

TRANQUIL—still, unruffled, peaceful, hushed, quiet. (Noisy, boisterous.)

TRANSACTION—negotiation, occurrence, proceeding, affair.

TRAVEL—trip, peregrination, excursion, journey, tour, voyage.

TREACHEROUS—traitorous, disloyal, treasonable, faithless, false-hearted. (Trustworthy, faithful.)

TRITE—stale, old, ordinary, commonplace, hackneyed. (Novel.)

TRIUMPH—achievement, ovation, victory, jubilation, conquest. (Failure, defeat.)

TRIVIAL—trifling, petty, small, frivolous, unimportant, insignificant. (Important.)

TRUE—genuine, actual, sincere, unaffected, true-hearted, honest, upright, veritable, real, veracious, authentic, exact, accurate, correct.

TUMULTUOUS—turbulent, riotous, disorderly, disturbed, confused, unruly. (Orderly.)

TURBID—foul, thick, muddy, impure, unsettled.

TYPE—emblem, symbol, figure, sign, kind, letter.

TYRO—novice, beginner, learner.

UGLY—unsightly, plain, homely, ill-favored, hideous. (Beautiful.)

UMBRAGE—offense, dissatisfaction, resentment.

UMPIRE—referee, arbitrator, judge, arbiter.

UNANIMITY—accord, agreement, unity, concord. (Discord.)

UNBRIDLED—wanton, licentious, dissolute, loose.

UNCERTAIN—doubtful, dubious, questionable, fitful, equivocal, ambiguous, indistinct, fluctuating.

UNCIVIL—rude, discourteous, disrespectful, disobliging. (Civil.)

UNCLEAN—dirty, foul, filthy, sullied. (Clean.)

UNCOMMON—rare, strange, scarce, singular, choice. (Common, ordinary.)

UNCONCERNED—careless, indifferent, apathetic. (Anxious.)

UNCOUTH—strange, odd, clumsy. (Graceful.)

UNCOVER—reveal, strip, expose, lay bare. (Hide.)

UNDER—below, underneath, beneath, subordinate, lower, inferior. (Above.)

UNDERSTANDING—knowledge, intellect, intelligence, faculty, comprehension, mind, reason.

UNDO—annul, frustrate, untie, unfasten, destroy.

UNEASY—restless, disturbed, unquiet, awkward, stiff. (Quiet.)

UNEQUAL—uneven, not alike, irregular. (Even.)

UNEQUALED—matchless, unique, novel, new.

UNFIT, _a._—improper, unsuitable, inconsistent, untimely, incompetent. (Fit.)

UNFIT, _v._—disable, incapacitate, disqualify. (Fit.)

UNFORTUNATE—calamitous, ill-fated, unlucky, wretched, unhappy, miserable. (Fortunate.)

UNGAINLY—clumsy, awkward, lumbering, uncouth. (Pretty.)

UNHAPPY—miserable, wretched, distressed, painful, afflicted, disastrous, drear, dismal. (Happy.)

UNIFORM—regular, symmetrical, equal, even, alike, unvaried. (Irregular.)

UNINTERRUPTED—continuous, perpetual, unceasing, incessant, endless. (Intermittent.)

UNION—junction, combination, alliance, confederacy, league, coalition, agreement. (Disunion.)

UNIQUE—unequal, uncommon, rare, choice, matchless. (Common, ordinary.)

UNITE—join, conjoin, combine, concert, add, attach. (Separate, disrupt, sunder.)

UNIVERSAL—general, all, entire, total, catholic. (Sectional.)

UNLIMITED—absolute, undefined, boundless, infinite. (Limited.)

UNREASONABLE—foolish, silly, absurd, preposterous, ridiculous.

UNRIVALED—unequaled, unique, unexampled, incomparable, matchless. (Mediocre.)

UNRULY—ungovernable, unmanageable, refractory. (Tractable, docile.)

UNUSUAL—rare, unwonted, singular, uncommon, remarkable, strange. (Common.)

UPHOLD—maintain, defend, sustain, support, vindicate. (Desert, abandon.)

UPRIGHT—vertical, perpendicular, erect, just, equitable, fair, pure, honorable. (Prone.)

UPRIGHTNESS—honesty, integrity, fairness, goodness, probity, virtue, honor. (Dishonesty.)

URGE—incite, impel, push, drive, instigate, stimulate, press, induce, solicit.

URGENT—pressing, imperative, immediate, serious, wanted. (Unimportant.)

USAGE—custom, fashion, practice, prescription.

USE, _n._—usage, practice, habit, custom, avail, advantage, utility, benefit, application. (Disuse.)

USUAL—ordinary, common, accustomed, habitual, wonted, customary, general. (Unusual.)

UTMOST—farthest, remotest, uttermost, greatest.

UTTER, _a._—extreme, excessive, sheer, mere, pure.

UTTER, _v._—speak, articulate, pronounce, express.

UTTERLY—totally, completely, wholly, altogether.

VACANT—empty, unfilled, unoccupied, thoughtless, unthinking. (Occupied.)

VAGRANT, _n._—wanderer, beggar, tramp, rogue.

VAGUE—unsettled, undetermined, pointless, uncertain, indefinite. (Definite.)

VAIN—useless, fruitless, empty, worthless, inflated, proud, conceited, unreal. (Effectual, humble.)

VALIANT—brave, bold, valorous, courageous, gallant. (Cowardly.)

VALID—weighty, strong, powerful, sound, binding, efficient. (Invalid.)

VALOR—courage, gallantry, boldness, bravery, heroism. (Cowardice.)

VALUE, _v._—appraise, assess, reckon, appreciate, estimate, prize, esteem, treasure. (Despise.)

VARIABLE—changeable, unsteady, inconstant, shifting, wavering, fickle, restless. (Constant.)

VARIETY—difference, diversity, change, diversification, mixture, medley, miscellany. (Sameness, monotony.)

VAST—spacious, boundless, mighty, enormous, immense, colossal, gigantic, prodigious. (Confined.)

VAUNT—boast, brag, puff, hawk, advertise, parade.

VENERABLE—grave, sage, wise, old, reverend.

VENIAL—pardonable, excusable, justifiable. (Serious, grave.)

VENOM—poison, virus, spite, malice, malignity.

VENTURE, _n._—speculation, chance, peril, stake.

VERACITY—truth, truthfulness, credibility, accuracy. (Falsehood.)

VERBAL—oral, spoken, literal, parole, unwritten.

VERDICT—judgment, finding, decision, answer.

VEXATION—chagrin, mortification. (Pleasure.)

VIBRATE—oscillate, swing, sway, wave, thrill.

VICE—vileness, corruption, depravity, pollution, immorality, wickedness, guilt, iniquity. (Virtue.)

VICIOUS—corrupt, depraved, debased, bad, unruly, contrary, demoralized, profligate, faulty. (Gentle, virtuous.)

VICTIM—sacrifice, food, prey, sufferer, dupe, gull.

VICTUALS—viands, bread, meat, provisions, fare, food, repast.

VIOLENT—boisterous, furious, impetuous, vehement. (Gentle.)

VIRTUOUS—upright, honest, moral. (Profligate.)

VISION—apparition, ghost, phantom, specter.

VOLUPTUARY—epicure, sensualist.

VOUCH—affirm, asserverate, assure, aver.

WAIT—await, expect, look for, wait for.

WAKEFUL—vigilant, watchful. (Sleepy.)

WANDER—range, ramble, roam, rove, stroll.

WANT—lack, need. (Abundance.)

WARY—circumspect, cautious. (Foolhardy.)

WASH—clean, rinse, wet, moisten, stain, tint.

WASTE, _v._—squander, dissipate, lavish, destroy, decay, dwindle, wither.

WAY—method, plan, system, means, manner, mode, form, fashion, course, process, road, route, track, path, habit, practice.

WEAKEN—debilitate, enfeeble, enervate, invalidate. (Strengthen.)

WEARY—harass, jade, tire, fatigue. (Refresh.)

WEIGHT—gravity, heaviness, burden, load. (Lightness.)

WELL-BEING—happiness, prosperity, welfare.

WHOLE—entire, complete, total, integral. (Part.)

WICKED—iniquitous, nefarious. (Virtuous.)

WILL—wish, desire.

WILLINGLY—spontaneously, voluntarily. (Unwillingly.)

WIN—get, obtain, gain, procure, effect, realize, accomplish, achieve. (Lose.)

WINNING—attractive, charming, fascinating, bewitching, enchanting, dazzling. (Repulsive.)

WISDOM—prudence, foresight, far-sightedness, sagacity. (Foolishness.)

WONDER, _v._—admire, amaze, astonish, surprise.

WONDER, _n._—marvel, miracle, prodigy.

WRONG—injustice, injury. (Right.)

YAWN—gape, open wide.

YEARN—hanker after, long for, desire, crave.

YELL—bellow, cry out, scream.

YELLOW—golden, saffron-like.

YELP—bark, sharp cry, howl.

YET—besides, nevertheless, notwithstanding, however, still, ultimately, at last, so far, thus far.

YIELD—bear, give, afford, impart, communicate, confer, bestow, abdicate, resign, cede, surrender.

YIELDING—supple, pliant, bending, compliant, submissive, unresisting. (Obstinate.)

YOKE, _v._—couple, link, connect.

YORE—long ago, long since.

YOUTH—boy, lad, minority, adolescence.

YOUTHFUL—juvenile, puerile. (Old.)

ZEAL—energy, fervor, ardor, earnestness, enthusiasm, eagerness. (Indifference.)

ZEALOUS—warm, ardent, fervent, enthusiastic, anxious. (Indifferent, careless.)

ZEST—relish, gusto, flavor. (Disgust.)

NOMS DE PLUME OF AUTHORS

ASSUMED NAME REAL NAME A Country Parson Archbishop Whately Agate Whitelaw Reid A. K. H. B. Rev. A. K. H. Boyd A. L. O. E. Miss Charlotte Tucker Alfred Crowquill A. H. Forrester Americus Dr. Francis Lieber Amy Lothrop Miss Anna B. Warner American Girl Abroad Miss Trafton Artemus Ward Charles F. Browne Asa Trenchard Henry Watterson Aunt Kitty Maria J. Macintosh Aunt Mary Mary A. Lathbury Barnacle A. C. Barnes Barry Cornwall Bryan Waller Proctor Benauly Benjamin, Austin, and Lyman Abbott Besieged Resident Henry Labouchere Bibliophile Samuel Austin Allibone Bill Arp Charles H. Smith Blythe White, Jr. Solon Robinson Bookworm Thomas F. Donnelly Boston Bard Robert S. Coffin Boz Charles Dickens Brick Pomeroy Mark M. Pomeroy Burleigh Rev. Matthew Hale Smith Burlington Robert Saunders Carl Benson Charles A. Bristed Chartist Parson Rev. Charles Kingsley Chinese Philosopher Oliver Goldsmith Christopher Crowfield Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe Chrystal Croftangry Sir Walter Scott Claribel Mrs. Caroline Barnard Country Parson A. K. H. Boyd Cousin Alice Mrs. Alice B. Haven Cousin Kate Catherine D. Bell Currer Bell Charlotte Bronte (Mrs. Nichols) Danbury Newsman J. M. Bailey Diedrich Knickerbocker Washington Irving Dolores Miss Dickson Dow, Jr. Elbridge G. Page Dr. Syntax William Combe Dunn Browne Rev. Samuel Fiske E. D. E. N. Mrs. Emma D. E. N. Southworth Edmund Kirke James Roberts Gilmore Eleanor Kirke Mrs. Nolly Ames Elia Charles Lamb Eli Perkins Matthew D. Landon Elizabeth Wetherell Susan Warner Ella Rodman Mrs. Eliza Rodman Ellis Bell Emily J. Bronte English Opium-Eater Thomas DeQuincy Ettrick Shepherd James Hogg Eugene Pomeroy Thomas F. Donnelly Falconbridge Jonathan F. Kelly Fanny Fern Wife of James Parton and sister of N. P. Willis Fanny Fielding Mary J. S. Upsher Fanny Forester Emily C. Judson Fat Contributor A. M. Griswold Father Prout Francis Mahoney Florence Percy Mrs. Elizabeth Akers Allen Frank Forrester Henry W. Herbert Gail Hamilton Miss Mary Abigail Dodge of Hamilton Gath, also Laertes George Alfred Townsend Geoffrey Crayon Washington Irving George Eliot Mrs. Marian Lewes Cross George Fitz Boodle William M. Thackeray George Forest Rev. J. G. Wood George Sand Mme. Amantine Lucille Aurore Dudevant Grace Greenwood Mrs. Sara J. Lippincott Grace Wharton A. T. Thompson Hans Breitmann Charles Godfrey Leland Hans Yokel A. Oakey Hall Harriet Myrtle Mrs. Lydia F. F. Miller Harry Hazell Justin Jones Harry Lorrequer Charles Lever Hesba Stretton Miss Hannah Smith Hibernicus De Witt Clinton Historicus Wm. G. Vernon Harcourt Hosea Bigelow James Russell Lowell Howadji George William Curtis Howard Mordecai Manuel Noah Howard Glyndon Laura C. Redden Hyperion Josiah Quincy Ianthe Emma C. Embury Ik Marvel Donald G. Mitchell Irenæus Rev. S. Irenæus Prime, D.D. Isabel William Gilmore Simms Janus Dr. Dollinger Jaques J. Hain Friswell Jay Charlton J. C. Goldsmith Jedediah Cleishbotham Sir Walter Scott Jennie June Mrs. Jennie C. Croly John Chalkhill Izaak Walton John Darby J. C. Garretson John Paul C. H. Webb John Phœnix, Gentleman George H. Derby Josh Billings Henry W. Shaw Joshua Coffin H. W. Longfellow Kate Campbell Jane Elizabeth Lincoln Kirwan Rev. Nicholas Murray K. N. Pepper James M. Morris Laicus Rev. Lyman Abbott Launcelot Wagstaffe, Jr. Charles Mackay Lemuel Gulliver Jonathan Swift Louise Muhlbach Clara Mundt Major Jack Downing Seba Smith Marion Harland Mary V. Terhune Mark Twain Samuel L. Clemens Max Adler Charles H. Clark Minnie Myrtle Miss Anna C. Johnson Mintwood Miss Mary A. E. Wager M. Quad Charles B. Lewis Mrs. Partington B. P. Shillaber M. T. Jug Joseph Howard Ned Buntline Edward Z. C. Judson Nym Crinkle A. C. Wheeler Old Bachelor George William Curtis Old Cabinet R. Watson Gilder Old Humphrey George Mogridge Old’Un Francis Alexander Durivage Oliver Optic William Taylor Adams Olivia Emily Edson Grigg Ollapod Willis G. Clark Orpheus C. Kerr Robert H. Newell Ouida Louisa De La Ramé Owen Meredith Lord Lytton Parson Brownlow Wm. Gunnaway Brownlow Patty Lee Alice Cary Paul Creyton J. T. Trowbridge Pen Holder Rev. Edward Eggleston Pequot Charles W. March Perdita Mrs. Mary Robinson Perley Benj. Perley Poore Peter Parley S. G. Goodrich Peter Pindar Dr. John Wolcot Petroleum V. Nasby D. R. Locke Phœnix Sir Henry Martin Poor Richard Benjamin Franklin Porte Crayon David H. Strother Private Miles O’Reilly Charles G. Halpine Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe Runnymede Lord Beaconsfield Rustic Bard Robert Dinsmore Sam Slick Thomas C. Halliburton Saxe Holm Miss Rush Ellis Shirley Dare Mrs. Susan D. Waters Sophie May Mrs. Eckerson Sophie Sparkle Jennie E. Hicks Sparrowgrass F. S. Cozzens Straws, Jr. Kate Field Susan Coolidge Miss Woolsey Teufelsdrœckh Thomas Carlyle Teutha William Jerdan The Black Dwarf Thomas J. Wooler The Celt Thomas Davis The Druid Henry H. Dixon The Governor Henry Morford The Traveller Isaac Stary Theodore Taylor J. C. Hotten Thomas Ingoldsby Rev. R. H. Barham Thomas Little Thomas Moore Thomas Rowley Thomas Chatterton Timon Fieldmouse William B. Rands Timothy Tickler Robert Syme Timothy Titcomb Dr. J. G. Holland Tom Brown Thomas Hughes Tom Folio Joseph E. Babson Tom Hawkins Theodore W. A. Buckley Trinculo John A. Cockerill Tristram Merton Thomas B. Macaulay Two Brothers A. and C. Tennyson Ubique Parker Gilmore Una Mary A. Ford Uncle Hardy William Senior Uncle John Elisha Noyce Uncle Philip Rev. Dr. F. L. Hawks Uncle Toby Rev. Tobias H. Miller Veteran Observer E. D. Mansfield Vigilant John Corlett Vivian George H. Lewes Vivian Joyeux W. M. Praed Walter Maynard William Beale Warhawk William Palmer Warrington W. P. Robinson Warwick F. O. Otterson Waters William H. Russell What’s His Name E. C. Massey Wilibald, Alexis William Hæring Wizard John Corlett