The Semicolon.

The mean appearance of the houses, in old Boston, was, to some extent, relieved by the rich display, of painted, and sculptured signs, which adorned the front of taverns, and stores.... They served sometimes, as advertisements of the business, sometimes merely as designations, of the shops which were indicated popularly, and, in the newspapers, by their signs.

If this passage be read aloud, a pause being made wherever a comma is placed, it will sound unnatural, disconnected. Revised, it will read somewhat as follows:—

The mean appearance of the houses in old Boston was, to some extent, relieved by the rich display of painted andsculptured signs which adorned the front of taverns and stores.... They served sometimes as advertisements of the business, sometimes merely as designations of the shops, which were indicated popularly and in the newspapers by their signs.

2. Commas are used to set off matter that is parenthetical, but not sufficiently so as to need parentheses or dashes. Such words asthereforeare not usually to be considered as parenthetical. A parenthetical group of words is not to be broken into unnecessarily by a comma. Incorrect form: “The squire remarked, as all we who live here, in Smithboro, know, that, so far as the people who lived over there, in Edinburgh, are concerned, we are as happy as they.” Correct form: “The squire remarked, as all we who live here in Smithboro’ know, that so far as the people who live over there in Edinburgh are concerned, we are as happy as they.”

3. Vocative words, that is, words used in direct address, are set off by commas. “Come, men, let’s go!” “Well, sir, how now?” It is curious that in the expressions “Yes, sir,” “No, sir,” in pronouncing which we do not pause before “sir,” we still place a comma here. Probably no rule of punctuation is more neglected than this of vocative words. Something like this usage is the placing of a comma after the expletiveNow. Thus: “Now, I think that the case is a little different.”

4. (a) Words or phrases forming a series are separated by commas when conjunctions are omitted; and the comma is used between the last two members of the series, conjunction or no conjunction. Thus: “Burns, Barnes of Dorsetshire, and Riley are poets of the people.” If the last comma were omitted, we should seem not to be considering each man separately. Exceptions: “little old man,” “fine fat hen,” etc.

(b) A rapid series of independent propositions, very closely related in sense, may be punctuated by commas. Thus: “I came, I saw, I conquered.” This is the only structure in which an independent statement, not introduced by a conjunction, is ever pointed with the comma. If there is any doubt whether or not the series is rapid enough to admit commas, semicolons should be used instead.

5. Relative clauses not restrictive[10]are set off by commas. This is a rather important rule. If I say, “The moon, which, as everybody is aware, goes round the earth, is cold,” thewhichclause does not so restrict or define the word “moon” that it is necessary to our understanding what is meant by “the moon”; the relative clause can be picked out bodily, and the sentence will still be intelligible. “The moon is cold,” is clear enough to people wholive on the earth. They understand that the earth’s moon is meant. But suppose I say, “The moon which goes round the earth is smaller than one of Jupiter’s moons”; now the relative clause identifies, restricts the word “moon”—tells what moon is meant. The clause forms an integral part of the subject. It is no longer the moon merely, a thing that everybody knows about; it is one particular moon: the-moon-which-goes-round-the-earth. Occasionally such a clause can be identified bythat, for many writers save this relative for restrictive clauses.

Written Exercise.—Copy and punctuate the following sentences, all of which, except the first, are from Robert Louis Stevenson. Defend orally your pointing:—

1. There goes President Harper who is so much interested in everything that interests students.

2. Marquis I said if you take another step I fire upon you.

3. In the midst of these imagine that natural clumsy unintelligent and mirthful animal John.

4. The terms and spirit in which he spoke of his political beliefs were in our eyes suited to religious beliefs andvice versâ.

5. Oh yes I dare say said John.

6. Moy pronounced Moÿ was a pleasant little village.

7. We were in a large bare apartment adorned with two allegorical prints of music and painting and a copy of the law against public drunkenness

8. Now what I like so much in France is the clear unflinching recognition by everybody of his own luck

9. If it ever be a good thing to take such despondency to heart the Miserere is the right music and a cathedral a fit scene

10. But the sun was already down the air was chill and we had scarcely a dry stitch between the pair of us

11. The inn to which we had been recommended at Quartes was full.

12. Mme. Gilliard set herself to waken the boy who had come far that day and was peevish and dazzled by the light.

13. Do you remember the Frenchman who was put down at Waterloo Station

14. The children who played together to-day by the Sambre and Oise canal each at his own father’s threshold when and where might they next meet

15. I began with a remark upon their dog which had somewhat the look of a pointer

16. The only buildings that had any interest for us were the hotel and the café

17. Not long after the drums had passed the café [we] began to grow sleepy and set out for the hotel which was only a door or two away

1. The semicolon is a kind of weak full-stop,i.e.period. Nearly always it separates clauses that are grammatically able to get along without each other, but that are closely related in sense. So rare indeed are the cases in which the semicolon may be used with a dependent clause, that a high school student may properly ignore them.For the present, avoid using the semicolon to point a dependent clause.

2. Sometimes the semicolon punctuates a series of mere phrases. This occurs if some particular emphasis is desired for them, or if they are too long to be set off by commas. Example:—

An enormous smoke-stack blocks my view; built of brick, and massive; blue in the cold winter mist; glowing like a pillar of fire as soon as the sunlight reaches it; the most changing, the most stable, thing is this landscape.

Oral Exercise.—Which statements in the following sentences are independent? which dependent? (It need hardly be suggested that the necessity of understanding a subject or a predicate does not make a statement dependent.)

1. If the sky falls, we shall catch larks.

2. Faults are thick, where love is thin.

3. Happy is he that is happy in his children.

4. Histories make men wise; poets, witty; themathematics, subtile; natural philosophy, deep; morals, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend.

5. O, there be players that I have seen play,—and heard others praise, and that highly—not to speak it profanely, that neither having the accent of Christians, nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed, that I have thought some of nature’s journeymen had made men, and not made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.—Hamlet, Act III. Sc. 2.

The following sentences were written by a pupil in the first year of the high school. If there are mistakes in punctuation, explain what principle is violated:—

1. When the time came to retire; my uncle was shown to the tower-room.

2. A short time afterward when he was travelling through Normandy; he came to an old castle standing in the midst of a park.

3. The postilion was ordered to drive to the castle; where my uncle received a welcome from the little Marquis.

4. This seemed the very night for ghosts; with the wind howling outside and whistling through the ill-fitting casement.

1. The colon is usually a mark of specification. Thus, “The old idea of education was simple:reading, writing, arithmetic.” A fine distinction of logic can be shown by using it: a general statement may be followed by a colon, after which the details that explain the statement may be given. In the following sentence the colonspecifieswhat is meant by fine character. “He was a fellow of fine character: brave, honorable, free from false pretense.” Usually the colon separates clauses that are logically, if not grammatically, inappositionwith each other.

2. The colon introduces a formal or long, the comma an informal or short, quotation. “He answered, ‘I will work while the day lasts.’” “The Declaration of Independence begins as follows: ‘When, in the course of human events.’”

1. The dash shows a sudden break in the thought. Thus: “We were hurrying onward—but first let me tell what happened before that.”

2. The dash sometimes precedes asumming up. Here it usually follows a comma, since the members of the series are set off by commas: “Chaucer, Shakespeare, Wordsworth,—very many of our great poets indeed, were at home in the country.” Sometimes the dash is used when there is no real summing up, but an appositive phrase is added, as a further explanation. For an example, see the last sentence of the next paragraph,—and this sentence also.

3. The dash, like the comma, is often used to set off a parenthetical expression. (See 2, under the comma.) Examples: “His father—that iron gentleman—had long ago dethroned himself.” “He was a man—the reader must already have perceived—of easy, not to say familiar, manners.” Note that in these examples no commas are used with the dashes, because if the parenthetical words were lifted out, the sentence would close up without punctuation. But suppose the sentence were such that it could not close up without punctuation; then the comma would be needed. The comma in “His father being angry, he felt afraid,” remains when the parenthesis is inserted: “His father being angry,—that iron gentleman,—he felt afraid.” Note that in such a case a second comma is used,—with the second dash.

Written Exercise.—Copy and punctuate the following sentences from Stevenson. In the first is there not a choice of punctuation after “difficulties”?

1. All the way down we had our fill of difficulties sometimes it was a wear which could be shot sometimes one so shallow and full of stakes that we must withdraw the boats from the water and carry them round

2. But this is a fashion I love to kiss the hand or wave a handkerchief to people I shall never seeagain to play with possibility and knock in a peg for fancy to hang upon

3. You see what it is to be a gentleman I beg your pardon what it is to be a pedler.

4. Centralization said he but the landlord was at his throat in a minute

5. There should be some myth but if there is I know it not founded on the shivering of the reeds there are not many things in nature more striking to man’s eye

6. “The fire should have been here at this side” explained the husband “then one might have a writing table in the middle books and” comprehensively[11]“all it would be quite coquettishça serait tout-à-fait coquet.”

1. Marks of quotation, or, as the English call them, inverted commas, are placed around direct quotations. Many students neglect a part of this little duty: they fail to markthe endof the quotation.

2. A quotation within a quotation stands between single commas. Thus: “We were gathered on shore, watching the schooner. Gray spoke up: ‘She’s certainly going down, and we must let the saving station know it. Maybe the patrol hasalready seen her; I saw a sailor walking on the beach not long since, and singing, “Yeave ho, my lads, the wind blows free.”’” Note that when there is a quotationwithin the second quotation, it receives the double marks.

3. Sometimes a quotation is given in substance, with no attempt at accuracy; to show this fact it is quoted in single commas. Thus: ‘A foolish consistency frightens little minds.’ This is the substance of Emerson’s remark, “A foolish consistency is the bugbear of little minds.”

Theme.—Write a dialogue a page or two long. Show the change from speaker to speaker by the use of quotation marks and paragraphing. Each reply of each interlocutor, with its word or two of introduction, if such there be, should go by itself as a paragraph. Choose your own topic; or take one of these, changing the wording: (1) Smith tries to make Brown see the difference between relative clauses restrictive and those merely coördinate. (2) Two girls lament the difficulties of punctuation. (3) Two lads [or, men] talk politics. Do not begin each speech as in Shakespeare each is begun—with the speaker’s name. Refer occasionally to the speakers, if you please,e.g., “‘Not by any means,’ responded Bangs, rather tartly”; but do not hesitate to let most of the speeches stand without comment. Punctuate the dialogue carefully,as you write. Then revise it carefully for punctuation.

Brackets indicate that the included matter is inserted by another person than the original author; that is, by a person who is quoting or editing the passage. Thus: “He [Goethe] tells us that character is developed in the busy world, though intellect is developed in solitude.”

1. There is a tendency to punctuate with the period sentences that are really exclamatory; it is better to use the exclamation point. Thus: “I am so delighted to see you!”

It is better still to avoid an excess of exclamatory sentences, however correctly punctuated.

2. The wordoh!should be followed by an exclamation point or by a comma. This is not the wordO, which is used in direct address—

“O thou that rollest above,Round as the shield of my fathers,”

“O thou that rollest above,

Round as the shield of my fathers,”

and to express a wish:

“O that I had wings like a dove.”

3. The exclamation point may stand in the midst of a sentence, at the end of a clause. The mark is then not followed by a capital letter. Thus: “Is it possible! is it credible!” exclaimed the Bishop.

1. Placed in parentheses the interrogation point questions the accuracy of a statement. Ex.: “It is in New York (?) that the largest number of exiled Russians is found.”

2. Like the exclamation mark, the question mark may stand at the end of a clause, before a small letter. Thus: “Do you believe it? was the way he greeted me as I finished reading the letter.” Or, “Shall we lie here inactive? Shall we plan nothing? attempt nothing? do nothing?”

Written Exercise.—Copy and punctuate the following sentences from Stevenson:—

1. Such a dinner as we were going to eat such beds as we were to sleep in

2. Where were the boating men of Belgium where the judge and his good wines and where the graces of Origny

3. Come back again she cried and all the hills echoed her

4. All the gold had withered out of the sky and the balloon had disappeared whither I ask myself; caught up into the seventh heaven or come safely to land somewhere in that blue uneven distance into which the roadway dipped and melted before our eyes

1. A good rule for italics is to shun them—that is, not to use them freely to denote emphasis.Emphasis can be secured by some other means; for instance, by putting the emphatic word near the beginning of the sentence. Thus: “It was such a veryfinething to spin along over the ice” becomes, “A fine thing it was, to spin along over the ice.”

2. Use italics to show that a word is foreign. Thus: “Sophronia likes to interlard her English with such fine phrases asen passant,fin de siècle, andal fresco.”

3. It is usual to italicize single words if they are specified,—spoken of as words. Thus: “A good many words that pass muster with most people are not really in good use; for example,burglarize.”

1. One use of the apostrophe is to mark the plural of single letters, or figures. Ex.: Distinguish between your 8’s and 3’s; dot youri’sand cross yourt’s.

2. The commoner use of the apostrophe is to mark the possessive case. There is however no apostrophe in the wordits, which is considered an adjective, not a personal, pronoun.

A row of asterisks is used to show an omission. Thus, if a writer were quoting, and wished to skip a page or two, he would insert this sign * * * * But if he omitted only a few words, he would rather use “leaders”; thus....

Oral Exercise, in Review.—Read this passage over carefully, and listen to the reading of it aloud by some member of the class or by the instructor. Then explain how it should be punctuated.

Mr. Higginbotham Mr. Higginbotham tell us the particulars about old Mr. Higginbotham bawled the mob what is the coroner’s verdict are the murderers apprehended is Mr. Higginbotham’s niece come out of her fainting fits Mr. Higginbotham Mr. Higginbotham

The coachman said not a word except to swear awfully at the ostler for not bringing him a fresh team of horses the lawyer inside had generally his wits about him even when asleep the first thing he did after learning the cause of the excitement was to produce a large red pocket-book meantime Dominicus Pike being an extremely polite young man and also suspecting that a female tongue would tell the story as glibly as a lawyer’s had handed the lady out of the coach she was a fine smart girl now wide awake and bright as a button and had such a sweet pretty mouth that Dominicus would almost as lieves have heard a love tale from it as a tale of murder

Gentleman and ladies said the lawyer to the shopkeepers the mill men and the factory girls I can assure you that some unaccountable mistake or more probably a wilful falsehood maliciously contrived to injure Mr Higginbotham’s credit has excitedthis singular uproar we passed through Kimballton at three o’clock this morning and most certainly should have been informed of the murder had any been perpetrated but I have proof nearly as strong as Mr. Higginbotham’s own oral testimony in the negative here is a note relating to a suit of his in the Connecticut courts which was delivered me from that gentleman himself I find it dated at ten o’clock last evening

So saying the lawyer exhibited the date and signature of the note which irrefragably proved either that this perverse Mr. Higginbotham was alive when he wrote it or as some deemed the more probable case of two doubtful ones that he was so absorbed in worldly business as to continue to transact it even after his death but unexpected evidence was forthcoming the young lady after listening to the pedlers explanation merely seized a moment to smooth her gown and put her curls in order, and then appeared at the tavern-door making a modest signal to be heard

Good people said she I am Mr. Higginbotham’s niece

Written Exercise, in Review.—Copy, punctuate, and capitalize the following, from Charles Lamb:

And first let us remember as first in importance in our childish eyes the young men as they almost were who under the denomination ofGrecianswerewaiting the expiration of the period when they should be sent at the charges of the Hospital to one or other of our Universities but more frequently to Cambridge these youths from their superior acquirements their superior age and stature and the fewness of their numbers for seldom above two or three at a time were inaugurated into that high order drew the eyes of all and especially of the younger boys into a reverent observance and admiration how tall they used to seem to us how stately would they pace along the cloisters while the play of the lesser boys was absolutely suspended or its boisterousness at least allayed at their presence not that they ever beat or struck the boys that would have been to have demeaned[12]themselves the dignity of their persons alone insured them all respect the task of blows, or corporal chastisement they left to the common monitors or heads of wards who it must be confessed in our time had rather too much license allowed them to oppress and misuse their inferiors and the interference of the Grecian who may be considered as the spiritual power was not unfrequently called for to mitigate by its mediation the heavy unrelenting arm of this temporal power or monitor in fine the Grecians were the solemn Muftis of the school œras[13]were computed from their time it used to be said suchor such a thing was done when S—— or T—— was Grecian.

The following list of abbreviations should be learned, Latin words and all.

A. B.,Artium Baccalaureus. Bachelor of Arts. In England, B. A.A. D.,Anno Domini. In the Year of our Lord.Ad. lib., orad. lib.,Ad libitum. At pleasure.Æt.,Ætatis. Of age; aged.A. M.,Ante Meridiem. Before noon.A. M.,Artium Magister. Master of Arts. In England, M. A.A. U. C.,Anno Urbis Conditæ. In the year from the Building of the City (Rome).D. C. L. Doctor of Civil Law.D. D.,Divinitatis Doctor. Doctor of Divinity.D. D. S. Doctor of Dental Surgery.Do.,Ditto. The same.E. E. Errors excepted. (Used in book-keeping.)E. O. E. Errors and omissions excepted.E. G., ore. g.,Exempli gratia. For example.Etc., or&c.,Et cætera. And so forth; literally, And others.F. R. S. Fellow of the Royal Society.H. M. HisorHer Majesty.H. M. S. HisorHer Majesty’s ShiporService.H. R. H. HisorHer Royal Highness.Ibid.,Ibidem. In the same place. Used in quoting several selections from one book, or making several references to one source.I. e., ori. e.,Id est. That is. In reading aloud, one gives the English words only.I. H. S., sometimes explained asIesus Hominum Salvator. Jesus the Saviour of Men. More properly, this abbreviationmerely means “Jesus.” It is made up of the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus—ΙΗΣΟΥΣ. The H, in I. H. S., is really the Greek letter êta, from which we get our capital E.I. N. R. I.,Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.L. H. D.,Litterarum Humanarum Doctor. Doctor of Humane Letters.LL. D.,Legum Doctor. Doctor of Laws.M.,Meridies. Mid-day.M. A. Master of Arts.M. D.,Medicinæ Doctor. Doctor of Medicine.Messrs.Gentlemen. (French,Messieurs.)Mme.Madame.Mlle.Mademoiselle.MS., orMs.Manuscript. MSS. Manuscripts.N. B.,Nota bene. Mark well, or take notice.N. S. New Style (after 1752).Ob.,Obiit. Heorshe died.O. S. Old Style (previous to 1752).Ph. D.,Philosophiæ Doctor. Doctor of Philosophy.Pp.Pages.P. P. C.,Pour prendre congé. To take leave. This is not an abbreviation for the English words: Paid parting call.Pro tem.,Pro tempore. For the time being.Prox.,Proximo. Next,orthe next month.Q. E. D.,Quod erat demonstrandum. Which was to be demonstrated.R. S. V. P., orR. s. v. p.,Répondez, s’il vous plaît. Answer, if you please.Viz., or viz.,Videlicet. Namely, to wit.Videlicethas etymologically about the force of “You see,” or “It can be seen.”Vs.,Versus. Against.

A. B.,Artium Baccalaureus. Bachelor of Arts. In England, B. A.

A. D.,Anno Domini. In the Year of our Lord.

Ad. lib., orad. lib.,Ad libitum. At pleasure.

Æt.,Ætatis. Of age; aged.

A. M.,Ante Meridiem. Before noon.

A. M.,Artium Magister. Master of Arts. In England, M. A.

A. U. C.,Anno Urbis Conditæ. In the year from the Building of the City (Rome).

D. C. L. Doctor of Civil Law.

D. D.,Divinitatis Doctor. Doctor of Divinity.

D. D. S. Doctor of Dental Surgery.

Do.,Ditto. The same.

E. E. Errors excepted. (Used in book-keeping.)

E. O. E. Errors and omissions excepted.

E. G., ore. g.,Exempli gratia. For example.

Etc., or&c.,Et cætera. And so forth; literally, And others.

F. R. S. Fellow of the Royal Society.

H. M. HisorHer Majesty.

H. M. S. HisorHer Majesty’s ShiporService.

H. R. H. HisorHer Royal Highness.

Ibid.,Ibidem. In the same place. Used in quoting several selections from one book, or making several references to one source.

I. e., ori. e.,Id est. That is. In reading aloud, one gives the English words only.

I. H. S., sometimes explained asIesus Hominum Salvator. Jesus the Saviour of Men. More properly, this abbreviationmerely means “Jesus.” It is made up of the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus—ΙΗΣΟΥΣ. The H, in I. H. S., is really the Greek letter êta, from which we get our capital E.

I. N. R. I.,Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudæorum. Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

L. H. D.,Litterarum Humanarum Doctor. Doctor of Humane Letters.

LL. D.,Legum Doctor. Doctor of Laws.

M.,Meridies. Mid-day.

M. A. Master of Arts.

M. D.,Medicinæ Doctor. Doctor of Medicine.

Messrs.Gentlemen. (French,Messieurs.)

Mme.Madame.

Mlle.Mademoiselle.

MS., orMs.Manuscript. MSS. Manuscripts.

N. B.,Nota bene. Mark well, or take notice.

N. S. New Style (after 1752).

Ob.,Obiit. Heorshe died.

O. S. Old Style (previous to 1752).

Ph. D.,Philosophiæ Doctor. Doctor of Philosophy.

Pp.Pages.

P. P. C.,Pour prendre congé. To take leave. This is not an abbreviation for the English words: Paid parting call.

Pro tem.,Pro tempore. For the time being.

Prox.,Proximo. Next,orthe next month.

Q. E. D.,Quod erat demonstrandum. Which was to be demonstrated.

R. S. V. P., orR. s. v. p.,Répondez, s’il vous plaît. Answer, if you please.

Viz., or viz.,Videlicet. Namely, to wit.Videlicethas etymologically about the force of “You see,” or “It can be seen.”

Vs.,Versus. Against.

The present chapter reviews only those grammatical principles that are sometimes violated by students who have had a year of formal grammar.

Clearness.—If composition is the art of communicating one’s ideas in words, it is certain that clearness is the first requisite of good writing. Clearness, perfect intelligibility, is secured by means innumerable. One secret however of being clear is to regard grammatical usages. If a man is to be understood exactly, he must be grammatical. No one is excepted. “Grammar,” said Molière, “knows how to lord it even over kings.”

Ambiguity.—When an expression is open to two interpretations, it is said to be ambiguous. In the sentence, “He is a fair man,”fairis an ambiguous word. In the sentence, “He was arrested by two officers, who were about to board a West Madison street car, in possession of a large amount of stolen property,” the phrasein possession, etc., holds an ambiguous position. Grammatical errors often produce this fault.

Solecisms.—Infringements of grammatical rules are calledsolecisms.[14]Never losing sight of the fact that writing English is largely the art of telling some one else just what one means, let us note a few solecisms that hinder a writer from giving his exact meaning.

Coherence by placing Modifiers rightly.—I. The rhetorics are fond of quoting droll sentences in which, from being wrongly placed, ideas fail tocohere, stick together. A favorite sentence is that from an epitaph in an Ulster churchyard: “Erected to the memory of John Phillips, accidently shot, as a mark of affection by his brother.” Mr. Bardeen (“Sentence-Making”) quotes the following, which sounds like a manufactured joke, but is nevertheless to the point. “Is there a gentleman with one eye named Walker in the club?” “I don’t know; what was the name of his other eye?” Another much quoted and startling sentence reads thus: “In one evening I counted twenty-seven meteors sitting on my back piazza.” Remedy the incoherence of these sentences.Put close together on the paper ideas that belong close together in the mind.Do not let adverbs and modifying clauses stray from the thought to which they belong.

Oral Exercise.—The order of words in the following sentences should so be changed as to increase the logical coherence of the thoughts.

1. The tops of the French ships were filled with riflemen, like those of the enemy’s ships.

2. The killing by Orlando, of the wrestler, was indirectly due to a plot against his brother, which Oliver invented.

3. I hardly ever remember to have heard such music.

4. I never remember to have seen him. [Here it is better to recast the sentence than to change the position ofnever.]

5. The lad managed a bronco pony, very vicious and dangerous, when only thirteen.

6. Wanted, a hostler to take care of a horse, of a religious turn of mind.

7. After a brief rest Blondin set out again with “Tom Sayers,” and accomplished the feat he had undertaken without a hitch.

This week will see the last times of “The Rogue’s Comedy,” as next season Mr. Willard will play the new play of Henry Arthur Jones entitled “The Physician” exclusively.

II.Only, andnot only, usually belong directly before the word modified.

Oral Exercise.—Insertonlyin the proper blank.

1. Browning —— wrote —— a few poems for boys.

2. She —— breathed —— the name; but we heard it.

3. We —— received his letter, —— this morning.

4. He —— gave —— five cents —— to the church.

III. Avoid the Janus-clause; the Janus-phrase; the Janus-adverb or adjective. The Latin god Janus had two faces, one looking back, the other ahead. Avoid putting a modifier where it becomes double-faced,—where it may be taken either with the preceding idea or with the following idea.

Oral Exercise.—So change the position of the double-faced modifiers that their allegiance will be known.

1. There is no doubt that Milton gave Dryden permission to paraphrase Paradise Lost; Dryden did imitate Milton as a matter of fact not very cleverly.

2. There can be no doubt that he quarrelled,—that he fought indeed vigorously. He reappeared at least with a black eye.

3. She will sing in any case charmingly; her training has been admirable.

4. As Hazlitt says, in his book of English proverbs, where no fault is, there needs no pardon.

IV. Avoid putting an adverb between the parts of an infinitive,—between thetoand the verb. Some reputable writers approve this construction; still,the better order is to place the modifier before or after the whole infinitive. “Clearly to see,” or “To see clearly,” is better than “To clearly see.” This error is called thecleft infinitive.

1. A collective noun takes a singular verb if the group of objects is thought of as a whole: “The United States is coining gold and silver.” The collective noun takes a plural verb if each separate member of the group is thought of: “The United States are firmly bound together in one union.”

2. When two subject nouns are so closely related in thought that they seem to mean one thing, the verb is in the singular: “His courage and bravery is well approved.”

3. In writing a long sentence, glance back at the number of the subject before you write the verb. A plural near the verb often leads one to forget that the subject is singular. Thus: “The great number of the crows that settle nightly in the grove and fill the air with their cries, makes [notmake] the place a bedlam.”

4. When a singular subject precedes a parenthetical phrase, the former reaches over the head of the latter, and makes the verb singular. This rule holds even when the parenthesis is introduced bywith. Thus: “Napoleon, with all his army, was on the march.”

5.Either,neither, when used as distributive conjunctions, take a singular verb. Mr. Carpenter[15]gives this instance of the error: “Neither Senators Dawes nor Hoar were in their seats to-day.” How shall the sentence be changed to distribute the senators properly?

6. If two subjects connected byeither—or, etc., differ in person, it is possible to make the verb agree with the subject nearest; as “Neither she nor you are to blame in this; either I or he is to blame.” But this construction is awkward. Avoid the difference in person, or else say, “Neither she is to blame, nor are you; either he is to blame, or I am.”

7.Each,every,either,neither, when used as pronouns, always take a singular verb. “Each of us knows; neither of us is ignorant.”

8.Nonetakes either a singular or a plural verb. It is originallyno one, and many careful writers prefer to keep the singular with it.

1. There is an old phrase,these kind, which, though permitted a century ago, was essentially ungrammatical, and is not allowed to-day. Say,this kind,that kind, etc.

2. (a) Every participle, like every adjective, must agree with its noun in person and number.But furthermore, every participle has an indisputable right to have something to agree with. Too often the poor word is left dangling in mid air.Shun the unrelated participle and the misrelated participle.The best of us are only too prone to such slips as this: “Coming up stairs, it was seen that the great window fell,” instead of, “Coming up stairs, we saw the great window fall.” Or this: “Coming up stairs, the window fell on him,” where thecomingmay belong to thewindowor to thehim. In the first of the two incorrect sentences the participle is unrelated; in the second it is misrelated, or at least ambiguously related.

(b) Care should be taken not to use a participle when a verbal noun iningis needed. “The fact ofPoe beingintemperate should not blind us to the fact of his genius,” is wrong for “The fact ofPoe’s beingintemperate,” etc.

3. Particularly avoid a singular adjective with a plural noun, in such expressions as, “A long way” [notways]. Note here thatsidewise, notsideways, is correct.

1. It should be remembered that every singular antecedent takes a singular pronoun. “Everybody came forward and laidhiscontribution on the table”—not “theircontribution.”

2. Before writing the verb of a relative clause,think whether the antecedent is singular or plural. “Her voice is one of the sweetest that have [nothas] been heard in this town.”

3. When a number of persons, men and women, are spoken of distributively, the pronounsheandhisare proper forms of reference—nottheir, nothis or her. “The audience rose and each person wavedhisapplause” would be correct, even if there were ten ladies to each man. Theheorhismay here be called theneutralpronoun. What pronouns should fill the blanks in the following sentence? “Let every man and woman who would like to join our picnic betake —— to the pier at three o’clock, and give —— no anxiety about —— lunch; —— will find plenty of sandwiches and cake and coffee on the picnic-boat.”

Such expressions as “every man and woman” are however undesirable whenever the neutral pronoun is to be used. A neutral antecedent, likeevery person,everybody,every one, is preferable.

4. When the indefinite pronounoneis used, there is often ambiguity in referring to it later byhe,his, etc. Repeat theone. Thus, “One does not always know one’s own mind.” Better still, use an expression like the indefiniteyou, or,a person, which has its own representative among the pronouns. Thus, “A person doesn’t always know his own mind.”

5. Use sparingly, if at all, the Latin construction—whichfact,which idea, etc. Say rather,a fact which, etc. E.g. “He was slightly deaf,a misfortune whichhe bore without whimpering.”

6. Avoid the Latin construction that makeswhichrefer to the idea of a whole clause; it is a clumsy fashion. Example, “He said that he always doted on Shakespeare—whichI, for one, didn’t believe, because I know the fellow.” There is nothing here forwhichto tie to; it is a relative without anything to which to relate. Rather a better way is to discard the relative clause, substitutingandwith a demonstrative. Thus, “He bowed politely,whichset us all at ease,” becomes, “He bowed politely,and thisset us all at ease.” Thethisis allowed by our idiom to refer to the clause, though the construction is still vague. It is best to hunt up a good synonym for the idea of the preceding clause: “He bowed politely, and thiscourtesyset us all at ease.” But it is not necessary to discard the relative clause. A little ingenuity will enable one to find and insert just before the relative an appositive to the clause. Into each of the following sentences slip an appropriate appositive chosen from the following list:a fact,an idea,a task,a statement,an assertion,a notion,an excuse,a fancy,a belief,a hyperbole,a prevarication,a remedy.

(a) Mr. Ignatius Donnelly thinks that Bacon wrote Shakespeare, —— which ought not to bother the student who likes Romeo and Juliet.

(b) Mame told father that there were a thousand cats in the back yard, —— which, according to father, meant our cat and another.

(d) He proposes to cut the hand off, —— which seems rather cruel.

Subject and complement of an intransitive verb agree in case.

1. The complement of an intransitive verb in a finite mode is in the nominative case. “It’s I” [notme]. “I am he.” “I thought it was he.”

2. If the subject of an infinitive is in the objective case, the complement is in the same case. “I thought it to be him” [nothe]. But, “It was thought to be he.”

1. In writing the verb of a subordinate clause, be sure that its tense shall show just what you wish it to show—whether thesametime as that of the principal verb, orearliertime, orlatertime. For example:—

The same time.—“He did not think himself to be much of a poet.”

Earlier time.—“He did not think that he had been much of a poet.” “He was sorry not to havebeen much of a poet.” “Yesterday, when John spoke of the matter, I should have liked to have had some experience that I might have used in advising him.”

Later time.—“I wanted to go” [notto have gone]. “I had intended to go.” “I should have liked to go.”

Oral Exercise.—Correct the errors in concord of tenses, explaining each emendation.

1. Where did you say St. Peter’s was?

2. Is it warm out of doors? I should say it was.

3. I fully intended to have met you at the concert.

1. “He invited him andI,” is not an unheard-of blunder. People often needlessly shrink from saying a correct sentence like this—“He invited him and me”—and will even insert the full names ofhimandmerather than out with the right case of the pronoun.

2. In asking a question, think whetherwhoorwhomis required. “Whomdid you see?” but, “Whowas it that you saw?”

3.Letgoverns the objective case, quite as any other active verb. “Let John and me go.”

4. An error often occurs in the case of the relative after a verb of saying, thinking, telling, and the like. “Franklin’s Autobiography is thework of a manwhomI should think would be known to every American.” Thewhomis wrong forwho. Had the writer set off “I should think” by commas, he would have seen the mistake.

5. How should the following newspaper sentence be corrected? “He stated that the offering was $101,500, an amount upon which he would stake his honor would all be paid up.”

1. In the use of pronouns one cannot be too careful that each refers to the right person. “Farmer Jones called on his neighbor and told him that his cows were in his pasture,” leaves us in doubt whether Farmer Jones came to make a complaint or an apology. How should the sentence be constructed to remove the ambiguity? The following delicious error has been much quoted: “If fresh milk does not seem to agree with the child, boil it.” How change the sentence to save the child’s life?

2. Sometimes a demonstrative can be used to better advantage than a personal pronoun. “They lent us their horses for the afternoon and these [notthey] took us a long way out into the country.”

3. Sometimes it is better to repeat the antecedent, varying it by simple synonyms, than to use any pronoun. Not, “He gave him his word ofhonor, that whenever he should see his brother in London, he would do all for him that he ought to do for an old comrade’s brother.” Rather thus: “He gave his friend his word of honor, that whenever he should see the latter’s brother in London, he would do for the boy all that a man ought to do for the brother of an old comrade.”

4. Acquire a habit of writing, “It is he,” or “It’s he,” instead of “He is the one.” This latter phrase is permissible in colloquial speech, where its clumsiness is not much felt. The correct expression may sometimes seem over-precise. But a person of tact ought to be able to speak correctly without seeming affected.

1. Shall we say “as large as,” “not as large as,” etc.? The first expression is right. But after a negative, usesofor a correlative toas: “notsolarge as.”

2. In general be careful not to omit necessary conjunctions. What should be supplied in the following sentence? and how should the order be changed? “Henty is better known but not so interesting to older boys as Stevenson.”

3.And which,and who, etc., are wrong forwhich,who, etc., when no relative has previously been used. Correct the following: “Irving, the historian, and whom we honor as our first writer of prose tales, is a prime favorite of us all.”

4.Likeis not a conjunction. It is incorrect to say, “Do like I do.” This wrong use oflikeis habitual in many parts of our country, and a native of any one of these districts has to watch himself narrowly to acquire the habit of usingasforlike. It is, however, correct enough to say, “She talkslike him.” Herelikeis an adjective governing what was the dative case, and the phraselike himhas the value of an adverb.

5.Different tois wrong fordifferent from. This error, though rarely to be found in America, is habitual in England. The commoner American error isdifferent than. This mistake frequently occurs when the comparative degree has previously been used.E.g.“This last kind of apple is different and sweeter than the first.” The better form is: “This last kind of apple is different from the first, and sweeter.”Do not split the particles, by saying, “This kind of apple is different from and sweeter than the first.”

1. There is a group of words—verbs of sensation and the like,look,sound,feel,smell,taste,appear,seem—which take an adjective to complete their meaning. “She lookssweet,” “It tastessweet,” “Sheseemshappy,” are common and correct ways of speaking.Notice that here something of the same idea can be given by saying, “Sheissweet,” “Itissweet,” “Sheishappy.” Thesweetidea or thehappyidea describes the subject, the person, not the verb. Of course, one might write a sentence in which thesweetidea would tell the way a given act was done. “She looked sweetly” would imply that she was gazing sweetly at something or somebody.

But here must be noted an exception or two. (a) The wordbadhas two senses: moral badness, and badness that is not moral—badness of health, for instance. If I say “I feel bad,” the bad seems to mean moral badness:i.e.“Iambad.” It is therefore permissible to break the rule and applybadlyto physical feeling. “I feel badly” is a common expression for “I feel sick”; and by the exception to the rule is correct. Which is better in the following sentence—badorbadly? “It sounds —— to hear a young man swear.” (b) There are a few cases where the adverb is retained when the verb is not felt as acting. “The report sounds well,” certainly does not mean that the report is in good health; but it is certainly good English. Similarly we have: “She appears well in company.”

It is to be kept in mind thatillandwellare not always adverbs. They are often adjectives; and if one says “I feel ill,” or “I feel well,” one is using the adjectiveillor the adjectivewell.

Oral Exercise.—Which of the italicized words is preferable in the following sentences? (a) “This old stern-wheel boat rides over the waves quite aseasy(easily) as any propeller, if noteasier(more easily).” (b) “This old chaise rides aseasy(easily) as any modern one.” (c) “An old shoe feelseasy(easily).” (d) “As Billings read that passage it soundeddifferent(differently) from the way in which the Colonel read it.” (e) “Do you feelgood(well) after your night’s rest?” (f) “I’ve been to church and, for me, really feelgood(well).” (g) “He votedindependently(independent).” (h) “Home, sweet home” soundswell(good) to the ears of the American abroad.

Shall or Will.—Most Americans, like most Scotchmen, use the wordwilltoo frequently, to the neglect ofshall.

Shallis from Old Englishsceal(skayʹ-al) and once meantowe,be obliged. It still may mean the same thing, when not used as a mere auxiliary. That is,shouldoften meansought, which was once the past tense ofowe. It still can mean “to be obliged.” “You shall,” “he shall,” are expressions that imply obligation, imposed by the speaker. “I shall at last die” still has in it the idea of being compelled. But this phrase illustrates happily one way by whichshallwith the first person has come to be felt as a mere future.Nearly always to-dayI shallnames a voluntary act; but the volition is usually not emphasized; the speaker has usually made up his mind before he saysI shall, and the words simply foretell the future act. “I shall be there” incidentally announces the speaker’s intention, but the chief thing it announces is that the speaker willbe there. It is probably the future fact that is of interest to his friends.Ordinarily, therefore, shallin the first person means futurity more than it means volition.

Willis fromwilian(wilʹ-yan), meaningto wish,to will. It frequently means that to-day, though in the second and third persons it is also used for the simple future. “I will” always implies volition. I willimplies either deliberate intention, distinct wish, or distinct willingness. “I will go” means “I am determined to go,” or, “I wish to go,” or, “I am willing to go.” Frequently such a phrase implies that there is opposition or an obstacle. “You will,” “they will,” usually lack the volitive idea; they simply foretell that whichyou,they, are about to do. Yetyou will,he will,they willmay still meanyou are determined, etc., if applied to a being that has the power of choice. Here one has but to emphasize thewill, and the old meaning is brought back. Thus: “Hewillpersist in doing so, though all his friends deplore it.”

Our first rule will accordingly be as follows:To indicate mere futurity, useshallin the first person,willin the second and third.Examples: “I shall be glad to come. You and the others will find me on hand at the pier.” So far, so good. But note that this rule also applies when the speaker is made to report his own words in indirect narrative. “Abnersaysthat heshallbe glad to come, and that you and the otherswillfind him on hand at the pier.” Just so if the indirect discourse is in thepast, and it is still the speaker who reports his own words. “Abnersaidthat heshouldbe glad to come, and that you and the otherswouldfind him at the pier.” All this seems sensible enough, for the speaker is merely made to foretell his own future act. The rule is too often broken. “Abner said he was afraid he’d miss the boat.” Here the contractionhe’dstands (as always) forhe would, a form that is wrong in this place forhe should.

The same rule applies when the indirect narrative is merely implied; that is, when instead of such a word assaywe havethink, orfear, orbelieve. “Luke thinks heshallmiss his boat,” is correct; so is, “Luke feared heshouldmiss the boat.”

Suppose, now, it is no longer what Luke said about his own future act, but what somebody else said about it. “Evarts remarked that Luke was ready andwouldhurry to the pier; but Evarts feared that Lukewouldmiss the boat.” Theshallgives place naturally enough towill.After verbs of saying,thinking, telling, and the like,shall(orshould) is the proper auxiliary if the future act is foretold by the actor.

Now we are ready to ask how these words should be used in questions. A very simple rule is enough for most purposes:In the second and third persons, use in the question the form you expect in the answer.

“Shall you be at the pier by three, Abner?” Abner replies, “I certainly shall.” “Will you kindly bring my lunch with you? the cook has it ready.” “I will, with great pleasure.”

The rule holds when applied to indirect discourse. Thus: “Abner’s aunt asked him whether heshouldbe at the pier by three. Abner replied that heshould. Then she wanted to know if hewouldkindly bring her lunch along; Abner promised that hewould.”

If a question is put in the first person,shalloften asks for instructions. “ShallI go?” But if mere information is asked,shallis still the form: “ShallI be required to do all this?” “Yes, I fear you will.” Briefly, then,for a question in the first person always useshall.

Oral Exercise.—Where blanks appear in the following sentences insert the right auxiliary. Correct any misuse of auxiliaries.

1. Sometimes an Irishman, sometimes a Frenchman, is credited with this remark: “I will be drowned; nobody shall help me.”

2. I —— be delighted to see you with us.

3. I —— be obliged if you —— lend me your pencil.

4. The director thinks he —— be able to speak well of that student, if the boy —— need a good word.

5. —— you be content if you get to college?

6. —— I be permitted to say that you —— see him before anything is done?

7. Jim Hawkins was mortally afraid that he —— be killed by Long John Silver; and in turn Long John began to fear that Jim —— be the death of him.

8. —— you like some bread? [Hereshouldis the right word;to likeis a word of volition, and it does not need the volitive auxiliarywould.]

9. —— you mind my asking where you bought that jersey?

10. His father insisted that he —— stick to the task; and the son afterwards seemed glad of the fact, and asked whether he —— do some more work of the same sort.

11. If we were better, we —— be happier.

12. In which sentence can a contraction ofhe wouldbe used? (a) He said —— be glad to accept. (b) Luther declared —— go to a certain city, though there were as many devils there as tiles on the housetops.

13. —— I be asked to go? Yes, you will.

14. Of whom —— I be afraid?

1. Good usage recommends that we say “the schools of Chicago” rather than “Chicago’s schools”; “the cause of the accident” rather than “the accident’s cause.” In other words, it recommends that we save the possessive in’s(or Saxon genitive) for living beings. For things, for abstract ideas, for cities—everything except beings—the possessive inof(or Norman genitive) is preferred. Thus we say, “Napoleon’s hat,” and “the rim of Napoleon’s hat,” instead of “Napoleon’s hat’s rim.” The newspapers, perhaps to save space, have fallen into the habit of talking about “Chicago’s interests,” “Evanston’s water-works,” “America’s navy,” etc.; but it is better not to imitate these expressions.[16]Such matters are matters, not of right and wrong, but of better and worse.

2. Whilegotis usually better thangottenas a past participle, the two words have, in one case, different meanings. “I have got my lesson” is perhaps preferable to “I have gotten my lesson.” But “I have got to be a scholar” means, “I must be a scholar”; while, “I have gotten to be a scholar” is, well,—perhaps a boast.

3. Good use prescribeshe drank, buthe has drunk[not,he has drank].

4.Anybody else’s, oranybody’s else—which isin better use? For most places, the former. Thus: “Anybody else’s dog would have been shot for his sheep-stealing.” Butanybody’s elseis often preferable at the end of the clause or sentence. Thus: “If the dog had been anybody else’s it would have been shot; unfortunately it was nobody’s else.” The distinction has ceased to be a matter of logic, and become a matter of euphony. Of course,elseis strictly an adjective, and might seem to be exempt from the possessive case. But adjectives have always had a way of growing fast to nouns and becoming part of them:e.g.sweetbriar, Redfern, Goodman. Thoughelseis not written as a part of the nounanybody(which is already long enough), it is often felt as a part of the noun. What youthinkis not alwaysanybody + else; it is often,anybodyelse. As a matter of fact, the wordanybodyitself is really two words grown together till we do not think of them as adjective + noun.

Oral Exercise in Review.—Below are given a number of sentences from Hughes’sTom Brown’s School Days, a book which every one likes for its racy Saxon style, but which is not always beyond reproach in sentence-structure. Most, however, of the sentences given below were correctly written.Examine the passages, and decide as to which of the bracketed words should be omitted.When several words are italicized, correct the order of them.

1. Tom’s nurse was one who took in her instruction very slowly—she seemed to have two left hands and no head; and so Mrs. Brown kept her on longer than usual, that [she, the girl] might expend her awkwardness and forgetfulness upon those who would not judge and punish [her, the girl] too strictly for them.

2. It had been the immemorial habit of the village [either] to [either] christen children [either] by Bible names or [by] those of the cardinal and other virtues.

3. He was a hearty, strong boy from the first, given to fighting [with and escaping from his nurse, with his nurse and escaping from her] and fraternizing with all [of] the village boys, with whom he made expeditions all around the neighborhood.

4. You shall hear at once what sort of [a] folk the Browns are, [at least] my branch of them [at least]; and then if you don’t like the sort, why cut the concern at once, and let you and [I, me] cry quits before either of us can grumble at the other.

5. For a short time after a boy has taken up [such] a life [as, like] Arnold would have urged upon him, he has a hard time of it. He finds his judgment often at fault, his body and intellect runningaway with him into all sorts of pitfalls, and [he, himself] coming down with a crash.

6. “No, Pompey, I must preach whenever I see a chance of being listened to, [which, and this] I never did before.”

7. And now, my boys, you [who, whom] I want to get for readers, have you had enough? [Will, shall] you give in at once, and say you’re convinced, and let me begin my story, or will you have more of it? Remember, I’ve [only] been over [only] a little bit of a hillside yet—what you could ride round easily on your ponies in an hour.

8. To-day, however, [being, being the day of] the school-house match, none of the school-house præpostors [stay, stays] by the door to watch for truants of their side; there iscarte blancheto the school-house fags to go where they like: “They trust to our honor,” as East proudly informs Tom; “they know [very well] that no school-house boy would cut the match [very well]. If he did [we’d, we should] very soon cut him, I can tell you.”

9. Passing along the Ridgeway to the west for about a mile, [we come to, appears] a little clump of young beech and firs, with a growth of thorn and privet underwood.

10. I [only] know [only] two English neighborhoods thoroughly, and [in each] within a circle of five miles, [within each] there is enough of interestand beauty to last any reasonable man his life. I believe this to be the case [almost] throughout the country [almost]; but each has a special attraction, and [neither, none] can be richer than the one I am speaking of and going to [very particularly] introduce to you [very particularly].

11. It’s very odd [how, that] almost all English boys love danger.

12. He wore an old full-bottomed wig, the gift of some dandy old Brown whom he had [in the middle of the last century] valeted [in the middle of the last century], [which habiliment, a habiliment which] Master Tom looked upon with considerable respect, not to say fear.

13. [It was he, He was the one] who bent the first pin with which Tom extracted his first stickleback out of [“Pebbly Brook,”] the little stream which ran through the village, [“Pebbly Brook”]. The first stickleback was a splendid fellow, with fabulous red and blue gills. Tom kept him in a small basin till the day of [his, the fish’s] death, and became a fisherman from that day.

14. His nurse told him that those good-natured looking women were in the constant habit of enticing children into the barges and taking [them, these] up to London and selling them, [which, a story which] Tom wouldn’t believe.

15. “I say,” said East, as soon as he [got, had gotten] his wind, looking with much increased respectat Tom, “you [ain’t, you’re not, aren’t, are not] a bad scud, not by [no, any] means.”

16. But who [shall, will] tell the joy of the next morning, when the church bells were ringing a merry peal, and [in the servants’ hall] old Benjy appeared [in the servants’ hall] resplendent in a long blue coat and brass buttons [in the servants’ hall], and a pair of old yellow buckskins and top-boots, which he had cleanedfor and inherited from Tom’s grandfather.

17. So, as we are going [to at any rate, at any rate to] see Tom Brown through his boyhood, [supposing, if] we never get any further, [which, though] (if you show a proper sense of the value of this history, there is no knowing but [that, what] we may), let us have a look at the life and environments of the child.

18. He felt [like, as if] he had been severely beaten all down his back, the natural result of his performance at his first match.

19. “And now come in and see my study; we [shall, will] have just time before dinner; and afterwards, before calling over, [we’ll, we shall] do the close.”

20. It [certainly] wasn’t very large [certainly], being about six feet long by four broad. It couldn’t be called light, as there [was, were] bars and a grating to the window; [which] little precautions [which] were necessary in the studies on theground floor looking out into the close, to prevent the exit of small boys [after locking up], and the entrance of contraband articles [after locking up.]

21. And now, [having broken my resolution never to write a Preface,] there are just two or three things which I [would, should] like to say a word about [having broken my resolution never to write a Preface].

22. My dear boys, old and young, you who have belonged, [or do belong,] to other schools and other houses, don’t begin throwing my poor little book about the room, and abusing [me and it] [it and I], and vowing[17]you’ll read no more when you get to this point. I allow you’ve provocation for it. But, come now, [would, should] you, any of you, give a fig for a fellow whodidn’t believe in, and stand up for his own house and his own school? You know you [wouldn’t, shouldn’t]. Then don’t object to my cracking up the old school-house, Rugby. Haven’t I a right to do it, when I’m taking all the trouble of writing this true history for all your benefits? If [you’re not, you ain’t] satisfied, go and write the history [of your own houses] in your own times [of your own houses] and say all you know for your own schools and houses, [provided it’s true,] and [I’ll, I shall] read it without abusing you [provided it’s true].

23. All the way up to London he had pondered what he [would, should] say to Tom [by way of parting advice], something that the boy could keep in his head ready for use, [by way of parting advice].

24. “I say, Green,” Snooks began one night, “[ain’t, isn’t] that new boy, Harrison, your fag?”

“Yes; why?”

“Oh, I know something of him at home, and [would, should] like to excuse him—will you swap?”

“[Who, Whom] will you give me?”

“Well, let’s see; there’s Willis, Johnson—no, that won’t do. Yes, I have it—there’s young East, I’ll give you him.”

“Don’t you wish you may get it?” replied Green. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do—I’ll give you [if you like] two for Willis [if you like].”

“[Whom, Who] then?” asked Snooks.

“Hall and Brown.”

“[Shouldn’t, Wouldn’t] have ’em at a gift.”

25. By keeping out of bounds [all day], or at all events out of the house and quadrangle, [all day,] and [carefully] barring themselves [carefully] in at night, East and Tom managed to hold on without feeling very [miserably, miserable]; but it was as much as they could do.

26. His friends at home, [hadn’t put him into tails] having regard, I suppose, to his age, and notto his size and place in the school, [hadn’t put him into tails]; and [even] his jackets were always too small [even]; and he had a talent for destroying clothes, and making himself look [shabbily, shabby].

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