CHAPTER VI

3. Meanwhile the choleric captain strode wrathful away to the council,Found it already assembled, impatiently waiting his coming;Men in the middle of life, austere and grave in deportment,Only one of them old, the hill that was nearest to heaven,Covered with snow, but erect, the excellent Elder of Plymouth.

—H. W. Longfellow:The Courtship of Miles Standish.

Meanwhile the quick-tempered captain strode wrathfully away to the council, which he found already assembled, and impatiently waiting his coming. They were middle-aged men, stern and grave in bearing. Only one of them was old, the excellent Elder of Plymouth, but he still stood erect, though his hair was white—like the snow cap on a tall mountain.Exercise 72.—Paraphrase the following; try to express the thought so simply that people who know less than you do can understand it.

Exercise 72.—Paraphrase the following; try to express the thought so simply that people who know less than you do can understand it.

1. It was not until the year 1776 that the fur trade regained its old channels; but it was then pursued with much avidity and emulation by individual merchants, and soon transcended its former bounds.—Washington Irving:Astoria.

2. It is characteristic of such a people [the Aztecs] to find a puerile pleasure in a dazzling and ostentatiouspageantry; to mistake show for substance; vain pomp for power; to hedge round the throne itself with barren and burdensome ceremonial, the counterfeit of real majesty.—W.H. Prescott:The Conquest of Mexico.

3. The messenger found access to the benignant princess and delivered the epistle of the friar. Isabella had always been favorably disposed to the proposition of Columbus. She wrote in reply to Juan Perez, thanking him for his timely service, and requesting that he would repair immediately to the court, leaving Columbus in confident hope until he should hear further from her.—Washington Irving:Life of Columbus.

4. It cannot be disputed that the light toil requisite to cultivate a moderately sized garden imparts such zest to kitchen vegetables as is never found in those of the market gardener. Childless men, if they would know something of the bliss of paternity, should plant a seed with their own hands and nurse it from infancy to maturity altogether by their own care.—Nathaniel Hawthorne:Mosses from an Old Manse.

5. Dorcas nourished her apprehensions in silence till one afternoon when Reuben awoke from an unquiet sleep and seemed to recognize her more perfectly than at any previous time. She saw that his intellect had become composed, and she could no longer restrain her filial anxiety.—From the same.

Exercise 73.—Paraphrase the following passages:—

1. Ah, no longer wizard FancyBuilds her castles in the air,Luring me by necromancyUp the never-ending stair.But instead she builds me bridgesOver many a dark ravine,Where beneath the gusty ridgesCataracts dash and roar unseen.

—H. W. Longfellow:The Bridge of Cloud.

2. For a cap and bells our lives we pay,Bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking;'Tis heaven alone that is given away,'Tis only God may be had for the asking;No price is set on the lavish summer;June may be had by the poorest comer.

—J. R. Lowell:The Vision of Sir Launfal.

3. Oh, for festal dainties spread,Like my bowl of milk and bread;Pewter spoon and bowl of wood,On the door stone, gray and rude!O'er me, like a regal tent,Cloudy-ribbed, the sunset bent,Purple-curtained, fringed with gold,Looped in many a wind-swung fold;While for music came the playOf the pied frogs' orchestra;And, to light the noisy choir,Lit the fly his lamp of fire.I was monarch: pomp and joyWaited on the barefoot boy.

—J. G. Whittier:The Barefoot Boy.

32. Paraphrase of Complete Compositions.—It is also sometimes a helpful exercise to paraphrase, not an extract, but a complete poem or short piece of prose, in order to make sure that you understand it thoroughly. This often requires a good deal of study, for details, which you had not at first noticed, but which areessential to the meaning, need to be carefully thought out.

Read, for example, Longfellow's delightful poem,Walter Von der Vogelweidand then the paraphrase that follows.

Vogelweid the Minnesinger,When he left this world of ours,Laid his body in the cloister,Under Würtzburg's minster towers.And he gave the monks his treasures,Gave them all with his behest:They should feed the birds at noontideDaily on his place of rest;Saying, "From these wandering minstrelsI have learned the art of song;Let me now repay the lessonsThey have taught so well and long."Thus the bard of love departed;And, fulfilling his desire,On his tomb the birds were feastedBy the children of the choir.Day by day, o'er tower and turret,In foul weather and in fair,Day by day, in vaster numbers,Flocked the poets of the air.On the tree, whose heavy branchesOvershadowed all the place,On the pavement, on the tombstone,On the poet's sculptured face,On the crossbars of each window,On the lintel of each door,They renewed the War of Wartburg,Which the bard had fought before.There they sang their merry carols,Sang their lauds on every side;And the name their voices utteredWas the name of Vogelweid.Till at length the portly abbotMurmured, "Why this waste of food?Be it changed to loaves henceforwardFor our fasting brotherhood."Then in vain o'er tower and turret,From the walls and woodland nests,When the minster bells rang noontide,Gathered the unwelcome guests.Then in vain, with cries discordant,Clamorous round the Gothic spire,Screamed the feathered MinnesingersFor the children of the choir.Time has long effaced the inscriptionsOn the cloister's funeral stones,And tradition only tells usWhere repose the poet's bones.But around the vast cathedral,By sweet echoes multiplied,Still the birds repeat the legend,And the name of Vogelweid.

Vogelweid the Minnesinger,When he left this world of ours,Laid his body in the cloister,Under Würtzburg's minster towers.

And he gave the monks his treasures,Gave them all with his behest:They should feed the birds at noontideDaily on his place of rest;

Saying, "From these wandering minstrelsI have learned the art of song;Let me now repay the lessonsThey have taught so well and long."

Thus the bard of love departed;And, fulfilling his desire,On his tomb the birds were feastedBy the children of the choir.

Day by day, o'er tower and turret,In foul weather and in fair,Day by day, in vaster numbers,Flocked the poets of the air.

On the tree, whose heavy branchesOvershadowed all the place,On the pavement, on the tombstone,On the poet's sculptured face,

On the crossbars of each window,On the lintel of each door,They renewed the War of Wartburg,Which the bard had fought before.

There they sang their merry carols,Sang their lauds on every side;And the name their voices utteredWas the name of Vogelweid.

Till at length the portly abbotMurmured, "Why this waste of food?Be it changed to loaves henceforwardFor our fasting brotherhood."

Then in vain o'er tower and turret,From the walls and woodland nests,When the minster bells rang noontide,Gathered the unwelcome guests.

Then in vain, with cries discordant,Clamorous round the Gothic spire,Screamed the feathered MinnesingersFor the children of the choir.

Time has long effaced the inscriptionsOn the cloister's funeral stones,And tradition only tells usWhere repose the poet's bones.

But around the vast cathedral,By sweet echoes multiplied,Still the birds repeat the legend,And the name of Vogelweid.

Walter Von der Vogelweid was an old German Minnesinger, that is, a poet who sang of love, and his name meansWalter of the Bird-meadow. When he passed from this world, his body was laid in the cloister under the towers of the cathedral of Würtzburg. He gave all his property to the monks, on condition that they should feed the birds that flew about his grave. "For," said he, "I want to repay the birds, who have taught me the art of song."

Every noon, as Walter had desired, the children of the choir fed the birds about his tomb. Day after day, in larger and larger numbers, these small wandering minstrels flocked to be fed, in fair or stormy weather. On the tree that overshadowed his grave, on the pavement, on the tombstone, even on the face of the marble statue of the poet, they would cluster, singing in rivalry as he had once sung in competition with other poets at the castle of Wartburg. And in their carols was always the name of Vogelweid.

At last the abbot determined that this waste of food should not continue, but that loaves of bread should be bought instead for the fasting priests. After this the birds clamored in vain for the children who had fed them.

Time has long since worn away the inscription on the tombstone of the cloister, and now there is nothing to tell us where the poet's bones rest; but around the cathedral the sweet voices of the birds still repeat the story and the name of Walter Von der Vogelweid.

Exercise 74.Paraphrase such complete poems or prose passages as your teacher may indicate.

Suggested poems:—1. Longfellow'sThe Legend of the Crossbill, orThe Wreck of the Hesperus. 2. Tennyson'sLady Clare. 3. Browning'sAn Incident of the French Camp. 4. Scott'sLochinvar. 5. Campbell'sLord Ullin's Daughter. 6. Bayard Taylor'sA Song of the Camp. 7. Whittier'sTelling the Bees. 8. Kingsley'sThe Sands o' Dee. 9. Leigh Hunt'sAbou Ben Adhem. 10. Lowell'sThe Courtin'.

33. Whole Compositions.—You have now studied the combination of words into sentences and the combination of sentences into paragraphs. You must meanwhile have guessed that there is a still larger process of composition,—the combining of paragraphs into the essay or chapter or book. This process we must now examine briefly.

Read the following passage, which, to be sure, is not exactly a whole composition in itself, for it forms a part of a long essay on a visit to Shakspere's birthplace. It is sufficiently long, however, to show how paragraphs are combined.

I had come to Stratford on a poetical pilgrimage. My first visit was to the house where Shakspere was born, and where, according to tradition, he was brought up to his father's craft of wool-combing. It is a small, mean-looking edifice of wood and plaster, a true nestling place of genius, which seems to delight in hatching its offspring in by-corners. The walls of its squalid chambers are covered with names and inscriptions in every language, by pilgrims of all nations, ranks, and conditions, from the prince to the peasant; and present a simple, but striking instance of the spontaneous and universal homage of mankind to the great poet of nature.The house is shown by a garrulous old lady, in a frostyred face, lighted up by a cold blue anxious eye, and garnished with artificial locks of flaxen hair, curling from under an exceedingly dirty cap. She was peculiarly assiduous in exhibiting the relics with which this, like all other celebrated shrines, abounds. There was the shattered stock of the very matchlock with which Shakspere shot the deer, on his poaching exploits. There, too, was his tobacco box; which proves that he was a rival smoker of Sir Walter Raleigh; the sword also with which he played Hamlet; and the identical lantern with which Friar Laurence discovered Romeo and Juliet at the tomb!The most favorite object of curiosity, however, is Shakspere's chair. It stands in the chimney nook of a small gloomy chamber, just behind what was his father's shop. Here he may many a time have sat when a boy, watching the slowing revolving spit with all the longing of an urchin; or of an evening, listening to the cronies and gossips of Stratford, dealing forth churchyard tales and legendary anecdotes of the troublesome times of England. In this chair it is the custom of every one that visits the house to sit: whether this be done with the hope of imbibing any of the inspiration of the bard I am at a loss to say—I merely mention the fact; and mine hostess privately assured me, that, though built of solid oak, such was the fervent zeal of devotees, that the chair had to be new bottomed at least once in three years. It is worthy of notice also, in the history of this extraordinary chair, that it partakes something of the volatile nature of the Santa Casa of Loretto, or the flying chair of the Arabian enchanter; for though sold some few years since to a northern princess, yet, strange to tell, it has found its way back again to the old chimney.I am always of easy faith in such matters, and am everwilling to be deceived, where the deceit is pleasant and costs nothing. I am therefore a ready believer in relics, legends, and local anecdotes of goblins and great men; and would advise all travelers who travel for their gratification to be the same. What is it to us, whether these stories be true or false, so long as we can persuade ourselves into the belief of them, and enjoy all the charms of the reality? There is nothing like resolute good-humored credulity in these matters; and on this occasion I went even so far as willingly to believe the claims of mine hostess to a lineal descent from the poet, when, unluckily for my faith, she put into my hands a play of her own composition, which set all belief in her consanguinity at defiance.—Washington Irving:Stratford-on-Avon.

The house is shown by a garrulous old lady, in a frostyred face, lighted up by a cold blue anxious eye, and garnished with artificial locks of flaxen hair, curling from under an exceedingly dirty cap. She was peculiarly assiduous in exhibiting the relics with which this, like all other celebrated shrines, abounds. There was the shattered stock of the very matchlock with which Shakspere shot the deer, on his poaching exploits. There, too, was his tobacco box; which proves that he was a rival smoker of Sir Walter Raleigh; the sword also with which he played Hamlet; and the identical lantern with which Friar Laurence discovered Romeo and Juliet at the tomb!

The most favorite object of curiosity, however, is Shakspere's chair. It stands in the chimney nook of a small gloomy chamber, just behind what was his father's shop. Here he may many a time have sat when a boy, watching the slowing revolving spit with all the longing of an urchin; or of an evening, listening to the cronies and gossips of Stratford, dealing forth churchyard tales and legendary anecdotes of the troublesome times of England. In this chair it is the custom of every one that visits the house to sit: whether this be done with the hope of imbibing any of the inspiration of the bard I am at a loss to say—I merely mention the fact; and mine hostess privately assured me, that, though built of solid oak, such was the fervent zeal of devotees, that the chair had to be new bottomed at least once in three years. It is worthy of notice also, in the history of this extraordinary chair, that it partakes something of the volatile nature of the Santa Casa of Loretto, or the flying chair of the Arabian enchanter; for though sold some few years since to a northern princess, yet, strange to tell, it has found its way back again to the old chimney.

I am always of easy faith in such matters, and am everwilling to be deceived, where the deceit is pleasant and costs nothing. I am therefore a ready believer in relics, legends, and local anecdotes of goblins and great men; and would advise all travelers who travel for their gratification to be the same. What is it to us, whether these stories be true or false, so long as we can persuade ourselves into the belief of them, and enjoy all the charms of the reality? There is nothing like resolute good-humored credulity in these matters; and on this occasion I went even so far as willingly to believe the claims of mine hostess to a lineal descent from the poet, when, unluckily for my faith, she put into my hands a play of her own composition, which set all belief in her consanguinity at defiance.—Washington Irving:Stratford-on-Avon.

You will notice that the opening sentences give you a hint of what is coming. You will also notice that the author has a separate thought for each paragraph:—

1. The house in general.2. The relics exhibited by the housekeeper.3. The most interesting relic; its history.4. The author's "good-humored credulity."

These thoughts, when taken together, build up in the reader's mind a larger thought, just as the thoughts expressed in each sentence in a paragraph, when taken together, build up in the reader's mind a smaller idea.

Furthermore, you will notice how careful the writer has been to build up that idea in the reader's mind clearly and easily. He began with a thought that was easy to grasp and that gave you a hint of what was coming.

Here is another good instance of an author's skill in planning his work:—

Let us consider briefly the structure of the earth, studying first its crust, second its interior, third its atmosphere.It has been found that what is called the earth's crust—that is, the outside of the earth, as the peel is the outside of an orange—is composed of various rocks of different kinds and ages, all of them, however, belonging to two great classes: stratified [that is, deposited in layers] rocks and igneous [made by fire] rocks. The stratified rocks have been deposited by water, principally by the sea. This is proved by two facts: first, in their formation they resemble the beds lying deposited by water at the present time; secondly, they nearly all contain remains of fishes and shell-fish. Such remains, being dug out of the earth, are called fossils, from the Latinfossilis, dug. The whole series of sedimentary rocks have been disturbed by eruptions of volcanic materials. Molten rock ejected from the interior of the earth and cooling form the igneous rocks we have spoken of. They are easily distinguished from the sedimentary rock, as they have no appearance of stratification and contain no fossils.We have numerous proofs that the interior of the earth is at a high temperature at present, although its surface has cooled. Our deepest mines are so hot that, without a perpetual current of cold air it would be impossible for the miners to live in them. The water brought up in artesian wells is found to increase in temperature one degree for from fifty to fifty-five feet of depth. In the hot lava emitted from volcanoes we have further evidence of this internal heat. It has been calculated that the temperature of the earth increases as we descend at the rate of one degree Fahrenheit in a little over fifty feet. We shalltherefore have a temperature of two thousand seven hundred degrees at a depth of twenty-eight miles. At this temperature everything which we are acquainted with would be in a state of fusion.We now pass to the atmosphere, which may be likened to a great ocean, covering the earth to a height not yet exactly determined. This height is generally supposed to be forty-five or fifty miles, but there is evidence to show that we have an atmosphere of some kind at a height of four hundred or five hundred miles. The chemical composition by weight of one hundred parts of the atmosphere at present is as follows: nitrogen, seventy-seven parts; oxygen, twenty-three parts. Besides these two main constituents, we have carbonic acid, whose quantity varies with the locality; aqueous vapor, variable with the temperature and humidity; and a trace of ammonia.—Adapted fromLockyer'sAstronomy.

Let us consider briefly the structure of the earth, studying first its crust, second its interior, third its atmosphere.

It has been found that what is called the earth's crust—that is, the outside of the earth, as the peel is the outside of an orange—is composed of various rocks of different kinds and ages, all of them, however, belonging to two great classes: stratified [that is, deposited in layers] rocks and igneous [made by fire] rocks. The stratified rocks have been deposited by water, principally by the sea. This is proved by two facts: first, in their formation they resemble the beds lying deposited by water at the present time; secondly, they nearly all contain remains of fishes and shell-fish. Such remains, being dug out of the earth, are called fossils, from the Latinfossilis, dug. The whole series of sedimentary rocks have been disturbed by eruptions of volcanic materials. Molten rock ejected from the interior of the earth and cooling form the igneous rocks we have spoken of. They are easily distinguished from the sedimentary rock, as they have no appearance of stratification and contain no fossils.

We have numerous proofs that the interior of the earth is at a high temperature at present, although its surface has cooled. Our deepest mines are so hot that, without a perpetual current of cold air it would be impossible for the miners to live in them. The water brought up in artesian wells is found to increase in temperature one degree for from fifty to fifty-five feet of depth. In the hot lava emitted from volcanoes we have further evidence of this internal heat. It has been calculated that the temperature of the earth increases as we descend at the rate of one degree Fahrenheit in a little over fifty feet. We shalltherefore have a temperature of two thousand seven hundred degrees at a depth of twenty-eight miles. At this temperature everything which we are acquainted with would be in a state of fusion.

We now pass to the atmosphere, which may be likened to a great ocean, covering the earth to a height not yet exactly determined. This height is generally supposed to be forty-five or fifty miles, but there is evidence to show that we have an atmosphere of some kind at a height of four hundred or five hundred miles. The chemical composition by weight of one hundred parts of the atmosphere at present is as follows: nitrogen, seventy-seven parts; oxygen, twenty-three parts. Besides these two main constituents, we have carbonic acid, whose quantity varies with the locality; aqueous vapor, variable with the temperature and humidity; and a trace of ammonia.—Adapted fromLockyer'sAstronomy.

Here, as before, you will notice that the author has a separate idea for each paragraph, as follows:—

1. The three parts of the earth.2. The crust.3. The interior.4. The atmosphere.

He has also begun in this case with a paragraph that states precisely what plan he is going to follow; namely, that he will treat the subject under three heads.

34. Outlines.—A full outline of the selection would be as follows:—

I. Introduction.A.Announces whole topic.B.Names subdivisions—crust, interior, atmosphere.II. Crust.A.Composed of two kinds of rocks:—1. Stratified.2. Igneous.III. Interior.A.Heat (proofs).B.Molten state.IV. Atmosphere.A.Height.B.Chemical composition.

Now read the following composition:—

THE CUP OF WATER

No touch in the history of the minstrel-king David gives us a more warm and personal feeling toward him than his longing for the water at the well of Bethlehem. Standing as the incident does in the summary of the characters of his mighty men, it is apt to appear to us as if it had taken place in his latter days; but such is not the case. It befell while he was still under thirty, in the time of his persecution by Saul.It was when the last attempt at reconciliation with the king had been made, when the affectionate parting with the generous and faithful Jonathan had taken place, when Saul was hunting him like a partridge on the mountains on the one side, and the Philistines had nearly taken his life on the other, that David, outlawed, yet loyal at the heart, sent his aged parents to the land of Moab for refuge, and himself took up his abode in the caves of the wild limestone hills that had become familiar to him when he was a shepherd. Brave captain and heaven-destined king as he was, his name attracted round him a motley group of those that were in distress, orin debt, or discontented, and among them were the "mighty men" whose brave deeds won them the foremost parts in that army with which David was to fulfill the ancient promises to his people. There were his three nephews, Joab, the ferocious and imperious, the chivalrous Abishai, and Asahel, the fleet of foot; there was the warlike Levite Benaiah, who slew lions and lionlike men, and others who, like David himself, had done battle with the gigantic sons of Anak. Yet even these valiant men, so wild and lawless, could be kept in check by the voice of their young captain; and outlaws as they were, they spoiled no peaceful villages, they lifted not their hands against the persecuting monarch, and the neighboring farms lost not one lamb through their violence. Some at least listened to the song of their warlike minstrel:—"Come, ye children, and hearken to me:I will teach you the fear of the Lord.What man is he that lustest to live,And would fain see good days?Let him refrain his tongue from evilAnd his lips that they speak no guile;Let him eschew evil and do good;Let him seek peace and ensue it."With such strains as these, sung to his harp, the warrior gained the hearts of his men to enthusiastic love, and gathered followers on all sides, among them eleven fierce men of Gad, with faces like lions and feet swift as roes, who swam the Jordan in time of flood, and fought their way to him, putting all enemies in the valleys to flight.But the Eastern sun burnt on the bare rocks. A huge fissure, opening in the mountain ridge, encumbered at the bottom with broken rocks, with precipitous banks scarcely affording a footing for the wild goats,—such is the spot where, upon a cleft on the steep precipice, still remains the foundationsof the "hold," or tower, believed to have been David's retreat; and near at hand is the low-browed entrance of the galleried cave, alternating between narrow passages and spacious halls, but all oppressively hot and close. Waste and wild, without a bush or a tree, in the feverish atmosphere of Palestine, it was a desolate region, and at length the wanderer's heart fainted in him, as he thought of his own home, with its rich and lovely terraced slopes, green with wheat, trellised with vines, and clouded with gray olive, and of the cool cisterns of living waters by the gate of which he loved to sing,—"He shall feed me in a green pasture,And lead me forth beside the waters of comfort."His parched longing lips gave utterance to the sigh, "O that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"Three of his brave men, apparently Abishai, Benaiah, and Eleazar, heard the wish. Between their mountain fastness and the dearly-loved spring lay the host of the Philistines; but their love for their leader feared no enemies. It was not only water that he longed for, but the water from the fountain which he had loved in his childhood. They descended from their chasm, broke through the midst of the enemy's army, and drew the water from the favorite spring, bearing it back, once again through the foe, to the tower upon the rock! Deeply moved was their chief at this act of self-devotion,—so much moved that the water seemed to him too sacred to be put to his own use. "May God forbid it me that I should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy, for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it?" And as a hallowed and precious gift, he poured out unto the Lord the water obtained at the priceof such peril to his followers.—Charlotte Yonge:A Book of Golden Deeds.

It was when the last attempt at reconciliation with the king had been made, when the affectionate parting with the generous and faithful Jonathan had taken place, when Saul was hunting him like a partridge on the mountains on the one side, and the Philistines had nearly taken his life on the other, that David, outlawed, yet loyal at the heart, sent his aged parents to the land of Moab for refuge, and himself took up his abode in the caves of the wild limestone hills that had become familiar to him when he was a shepherd. Brave captain and heaven-destined king as he was, his name attracted round him a motley group of those that were in distress, orin debt, or discontented, and among them were the "mighty men" whose brave deeds won them the foremost parts in that army with which David was to fulfill the ancient promises to his people. There were his three nephews, Joab, the ferocious and imperious, the chivalrous Abishai, and Asahel, the fleet of foot; there was the warlike Levite Benaiah, who slew lions and lionlike men, and others who, like David himself, had done battle with the gigantic sons of Anak. Yet even these valiant men, so wild and lawless, could be kept in check by the voice of their young captain; and outlaws as they were, they spoiled no peaceful villages, they lifted not their hands against the persecuting monarch, and the neighboring farms lost not one lamb through their violence. Some at least listened to the song of their warlike minstrel:—

"Come, ye children, and hearken to me:I will teach you the fear of the Lord.What man is he that lustest to live,And would fain see good days?Let him refrain his tongue from evilAnd his lips that they speak no guile;Let him eschew evil and do good;Let him seek peace and ensue it."

With such strains as these, sung to his harp, the warrior gained the hearts of his men to enthusiastic love, and gathered followers on all sides, among them eleven fierce men of Gad, with faces like lions and feet swift as roes, who swam the Jordan in time of flood, and fought their way to him, putting all enemies in the valleys to flight.

But the Eastern sun burnt on the bare rocks. A huge fissure, opening in the mountain ridge, encumbered at the bottom with broken rocks, with precipitous banks scarcely affording a footing for the wild goats,—such is the spot where, upon a cleft on the steep precipice, still remains the foundationsof the "hold," or tower, believed to have been David's retreat; and near at hand is the low-browed entrance of the galleried cave, alternating between narrow passages and spacious halls, but all oppressively hot and close. Waste and wild, without a bush or a tree, in the feverish atmosphere of Palestine, it was a desolate region, and at length the wanderer's heart fainted in him, as he thought of his own home, with its rich and lovely terraced slopes, green with wheat, trellised with vines, and clouded with gray olive, and of the cool cisterns of living waters by the gate of which he loved to sing,—

"He shall feed me in a green pasture,And lead me forth beside the waters of comfort."

His parched longing lips gave utterance to the sigh, "O that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"

Three of his brave men, apparently Abishai, Benaiah, and Eleazar, heard the wish. Between their mountain fastness and the dearly-loved spring lay the host of the Philistines; but their love for their leader feared no enemies. It was not only water that he longed for, but the water from the fountain which he had loved in his childhood. They descended from their chasm, broke through the midst of the enemy's army, and drew the water from the favorite spring, bearing it back, once again through the foe, to the tower upon the rock! Deeply moved was their chief at this act of self-devotion,—so much moved that the water seemed to him too sacred to be put to his own use. "May God forbid it me that I should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy, for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it?" And as a hallowed and precious gift, he poured out unto the Lord the water obtained at the priceof such peril to his followers.—Charlotte Yonge:A Book of Golden Deeds.

Notice the arrangement of the paragraphs inThe Cup of Water, and study the way in which they are connected. Thus, in ¶ 1, the persecution of David by Saul is spoken of. ¶ 2 carries on the thought by speaking of David's attempt at reconciliation with Saul and ends with a song of David. ¶ 3 opens with a reference to this song—"with such strains as these," etc. ¶ 4 is connected with ¶ 3 bybutand ends with the expression of David's longing. ¶ 5 opens with direct reference tothe wish.

The following is an outline of the composition:—

I. Introduction.A.The incident gives us a warm feeling for him.B.It occurred when he was still a young man.II. Situation.A.David in hiding.B.His valiant followers.C.David's influence over them.III. The devotion of his followers.IV. What led David to wish for the water.A.The heat.B.The barren region.C.His memories of the cool spring at Bethlehem.V. The wish fulfilled.A.Expedition of the three valiant men.B.Their return.C.David's noble deed.

Exercise 75.—Prepare outlines of passages indicated by the teacher.

35. Essentials in a Whole Composition.—Your study of the preceding models and your practice in making outlines must have shown you some of the things a long composition should have. Let us now gather up these points.

You have learned that both the sentence and the paragraph must have unity. The longer composition must also haveunity. As in the paragraph everything must relate to one topic, so in the long composition everything must relate to one larger topic. Suppose that your subject is "Benjamin Franklin the Statesman"; you would then omit facts about Franklin's boyhood, also those about his discoveries in science, since, important and interesting as these facts are, they do not bear directly on the topic.

In a good composition, one paragraph leads up to or suggests another. Look again at the passage on page 88. In ¶ 1 the house itself is described. In ¶ 2 we are taken inside by the housekeeper, who exhibits the relics. ¶ 3 gives a more detailed account of one relic in particular (Shakspere's chair). Doubts of its authenticity naturally lead to the author's little talk on relics in general, which you find in ¶ 4. Very often, although not always, you will find paragraphs joined by connecting words; but there shouldalwaysbe connection in thought.

In the chapter onCondensationyou are directed to decide carefully as to the relative importance of the different points treated, and to treatthe most important points at the greatest length.

Remember, then, that everything in your compositionshould treat of one theme; that the paragraphs should follow each other in an orderly way, each one carrying on the thought suggested by the preceding paragraph; and that the most important points should be treatedat the greatest length.

36. How to Plan an Essay.—Let us suppose that you take as your subject for a compositionThe Cotton Gin. Read all you can find on the subject, jotting down points of interest, such as the following:—

Boyhood of Whitney. His visit to the South. He becomes interested in problem of cleaning seeds from cotton wool. The method of removing seeds before the invention. Condition of cotton industry in the South. Description of cotton gin. Eli Whitney's attempts to make a machine. His success. Result of invention as to cotton raising. Whitney's character. Relation between slavery and the cotton gin. Effect of invention as to manufacturing at North. Amount of cotton exported after invention. Price of cotton before invention; after invention.

From this mass of material you must choose the important facts. Keep only the facts that bear upon your topic.Reject everything else.The result would be somewhat as follows:—

Accepted:—Condition of cotton industry before invention of cotton gin.Method of removing seeds before invention of cotton gin.Price of cotton.Whitney becomes interested in problem.His first attempt to make a machine.His success.Price of cotton after invention of cotton gin.Description of Whitney's cotton gin.Result of invention as to cotton raising.Relation between slavery and the cotton gin.Amount of cotton exported after the invention.Effect of invention on manufacturing at the North.Rejected:—Boyhood of Whitney.Visit to South.Whitney's character.

Accepted:—

Condition of cotton industry before invention of cotton gin.

Method of removing seeds before invention of cotton gin.

Price of cotton.

Whitney becomes interested in problem.

His first attempt to make a machine.

His success.

Price of cotton after invention of cotton gin.

Description of Whitney's cotton gin.

Result of invention as to cotton raising.

Relation between slavery and the cotton gin.

Amount of cotton exported after the invention.

Effect of invention on manufacturing at the North.

Rejected:—

Boyhood of Whitney.

Visit to South.

Whitney's character.

These points are rejected because they do not bear directly upon the main theme, although suggested by it.

Close attention to the selection of material in this way will give your compositionunity.

After selecting your facts, the next point is to arrange them in an orderly way, so that one paragraph will lead naturally to the next. You would then have some such arrangement as this:—

I. Condition of cotton industry before invention of cotton gin.A.Method of removing seeds before invention of cotton gin.B.Price of cotton.II. Whitney's solution of the problem.A.His first attempt to make a machine.B.His success.C.Description of Whitney's cotton gin.III. Result of invention.A.Price of cotton after invention of cotton gin.B.Amount of cotton exported after the invention.C.Effect of invention on manufacturing at the North.D.Relation between slavery and the cotton gin.

Here, for further illustration, is a similar outline for a composition oncotton.

I. Description of plant.A.Root.B.Stem.C.Leaves.D.Flowers.E.Cotton boll.F.Seeds.II. Where grown.A.Of what country a native.B.Where grown most extensively.III. Preparation.A.Picking.B.Ginning.C.Packing.IV. Manufacturing.A.Articles manufactured.V. History of Plant.A.Discovery.B.In America before invention of cotton gin.C.In America after invention of cotton gin.D.Value to-day.

Exercise 76.—I. Make outlines for composition on such topics as the teacher indicates.Suggested topics:—1. Our Fourth-of-July Celebration.2. The Lost Child.3. Tobacco.4. The Battle of Bull Run.

Exercise 76.—I. Make outlines for composition on such topics as the teacher indicates.

Suggested topics:—

1. Our Fourth-of-July Celebration.2. The Lost Child.3. Tobacco.4. The Battle of Bull Run.

II. Write compositions, using the outlines you have made. Be sure you reject everything, no matter how interesting, that does not relate to your subject. Arrange your paragraphs carefully, using connecting words when possible. Treat the most important facts at greatest length.

37. The Great Essential.—We have now discussed certain matters which will be of service to you if you write your thoughts for others to read. Will these principles still hold if you speak your thoughts for others to hear? Yes, in the main; but you must remember that in the one case the persons you address have simply toread; if they do not understand, they can simply look back and reread. In the other case, the persons you address are listening, and they must understand each sentence as it comes to them, for of course any one in an audience cannot stop a speaker because he fails to hear a word or a phrase. A speaker must therefore, first of all, take pains that each person in his audience hears clearly every word he says.

38. How to be Heard.—If you wish to speak so that every one in your audience can hear all that you say, you must take pains about several things:—

1.Proper Position.—Speech is sound produced by a stream of air forced from the lungs (as from a bellows) and striking against certain cords in the throat. By altering the tightness of these cords and by changing the position of the palate, tongue, and teeth, we change the character of the sound. If we are to speak to aconsiderable number of people, then, we must make sure that all this bodily machinery works with special ease and force, and first of all, that the lungs (the bellows) move freely. This means that they must have space to work, and this in turn means that we must stand erect, with the shoulders thrown back, the chest out, and the stomach in. The body should not be held stiffly or else the throat muscles are likely to become rigid also; but we should stand naturally, and firmly, not as if we were about to tumble over or to jump, but as if we were ready to speak quietly to our friends—which is just what we are to do.

2.Proper Breathing.—We should breathe slowly, regularly, and deeply, from the abdomen rather than from the top of the lungs. If we breathe too fast or too irregularly, we shall speak in a rapid, jerky way, and find it very difficult to make ourselves understood.

3.Proper Use of the Muscles of the Throat and Mouth.—We must be careful not to cramp the muscles of the throat, but to let them move easily. We can thus produce a loud clear tone without tiring ourselves unduly. If the head does not hang down, if the mouth is opened wide, and the throat muscles are allowed to work freely, without rigidity, the voice will be clear and distinct.

4.Proper Pitch.—We must be sure (particularly the girls) not to pitch the voice too high, as if it were a siren whistle or a fife. A clear, rather low-pitched voice is the most pleasant to hear. We must be careful, too, not to talk (as so many of us do) through our noses. A nasal voice is almost always a disagreeable voice.

5.Clear Articulation.—So much for the voice in general;now, last of all, we must be careful to pronounce clearly, toarticulatedistinctly, that is, to give each syllable its proper value. Of course we do not ordinarily like to listen to a very prim and precise speaker, who pronounces every syllable with equal distinctness, uttering sharply, for instance, thedin such an unimportant word asand. It is the custom of our language to distinguish between the accented syllables, which we pronounce distinctly, and the unaccented syllables, over which we pass lightly. But, on the other hand, we do not like to listen to the slovenly speaker, who drops entirely thedinandand thegining, and who sounds all his vowels very much alike. In this matter of articulation, you will do well to take some older person, a good speaker or reader, as a model, and to imitate him or her. Practice reading aloud to your friends, standing sometimes at the very end of the room, or at the end of a suite of rooms, as far as possible from your hearers, asking any one of them to interrupt you the moment that anything you say is not distinctly heard.

39. Pronunciation.—As to pronunciation, you must remember that often custom is not uniform. There are sometimes two or even more ways of pronouncing a word, both or all of which are given in the dictionaries; and occasionally there is a thoroughly proper way of pronouncing a word which the men who make the dictionaries have unfortunately omitted, but which is used by many educated and cultivated people. In general, you should use the pronunciation of the most intelligent and respected people you know, and in particularthat of your teacher and your school. It is quite proper and desirable that every school or teacher should establish its own custom for words which are usually pronounced in one of several ways, and the pupil should do his best to conform, for the convenience of all, to the custom of the class or the school in this respect.

40. A Plan Necessary.—There is no other important difference which you need now consider between oral composition and written composition. In both it is better, before you begin, to think carefully over what you have to say. In oral composition, as in written, it is wise to make a plan, and you can make it in precisely the same way.

Note for the Teacher.—It does not seem necessary to insert special exercises in oral composition. Almost any of the exercises from the following chapters may be used with advantage.

41. The Value of a Diary.—The diary is the simplest form of writing, for you are writing for yourself, making for yourself a record of your life. What do you think should go in a diary? If your parents had kept one when they were your age, what would you have found most interesting now? A great many things which they would have taken for granted would seem odd to you,i.e.no telephone, big stoves in the class room, different studies, etc. If a boy in China kept a diary, what would you find most interesting? Some account of his games, of his playmates, of the look of the streets he passed through, of how he felt towards his teacher, etc. Bear these points in mind, for when you grow older, though you will not live in another land or another generation, you will be very far from your school-days, and your diary should make a picture of them for you. If you had been able to keep a diary when you were six or seven, what would you now read in it with most interest? The ideal is to set down at the end of the day a reminder of it, so that when you look at it you will remember what made that day different from every other. This is not possible always, but as a matter of fact every day has some special features, if it is only the weather.

From a practical point of view, the diary is a great aid to letter-writing, since it really forms the notes for a narrative of your life. It often settles disputes about the date on which something was done; it furnishes data for calculations in planning;i.e.you wish to have an early spring picnic, and, consulting your diary, find that on the 20th of March of the year before you were in the woods without an overcoat and found arbutus; or you wish to get up an entertainment, and turn back in your diary for the description of one you saw during the summer. It gives you material for writing exercises for your English work; for instance, the entry, "To-day we went to Aunt Julia's to help pick cherries; I was almost bitten by their dog when we came down from the tree," is really the outline for a short story, if you make your note on it sufficient to bring the picture up before your mind.

42. Contents of a Diary.—No two diaries should be alike, but certain things should always be noted so as to make a continuous record, even if they do not seem of special interest;i.e.the weather (very briefly if it is nothing unusual), the movements of the family (if any one is away or just returned), the health of the family (this only if any one is ill), what the general news of school is (if any special event of school life has taken place), and what you yourself have been doing. You may sometimes think that you have done nothing worth putting down, but anything that has made the day different from the day before is worth writing. Do not try to make entries for different days of same length. Try to cultivate the ability to pick out the details ofan incident which will makeyouremember it most distinctly. Later on, in letter writing and description, you will have to select details which will bring a picture most clearly before the minds of other people, but in your diary you are freer. In your entry after an afternoon's sledding, for instance, it may be sufficient for you to say: "Went sledding on Holmes's hill. Weather very cold, with a high wind, that sent the snow flying. Broke my sled, trying to make the corner curve too fast. The whole crowd of us come home together, taking turns in pulling each other and playing Eskimos, and I almost frosted my nose." If those were the important events of the afternoon to you, they should bring up the whole picture before you, so that you could see it clearly enough to remember all the other details that would be necessary to give any one else an idea of what the expedition was like.

It is absolutely essential that the entry for each day should be made while it is fresh in your mind; donotwait for several days, and then "write up" your diary. A short entry on the day of the occurrence is worth more than a page written a week later.

After the school news, and what you yourself have done, enter anything unusual which any one you know has done, or any change of conditions at home;i.e.that it is preserving time and the house is full of odor of cooking fruit; that it is near Christmas, and you worked with the others on making wreaths for the decorations of the church. You will find that a brief record of your work at school, how you succeeded and how you failed, what you found hard and why, is of real use to you.

43. Imaginary Diaries.—After you have formed the habit of making every day a picture of your own actual life, try making a similar picture of the life of an imaginary person. Take any period you have studied in your history and try to make a diary of a boy or girl who lived in that time.

Exercise 77.—1. A Puritan boy in the first winter of the stay of the Puritan fathers in New England; choose a week when they first land, and a week when spring begins to come. Bring out the difference in his feelings.2. A girl in Dutch Manhattan. Tell the story of the taking of Manhattan by the English as it would have appeared to her. From your study of the customs and habits of the time, write a week's entries of her holiday week, Christmas customs, etc.3. An Indian boy: a week's diary in the West, on the plains, etc., and then later, a week's entries after he arrives at the Indian school and is being taught the customs of the white men.4. Diary of a week spent as you would like best to spend it. Diary of an imaginary week in the country; in the city; in South America; on an ocean voyage; during a week's illness.5. Diary of the inhabitant of any country you are studying in your geography lessons.

2. A girl in Dutch Manhattan. Tell the story of the taking of Manhattan by the English as it would have appeared to her. From your study of the customs and habits of the time, write a week's entries of her holiday week, Christmas customs, etc.

3. An Indian boy: a week's diary in the West, on the plains, etc., and then later, a week's entries after he arrives at the Indian school and is being taught the customs of the white men.

4. Diary of a week spent as you would like best to spend it. Diary of an imaginary week in the country; in the city; in South America; on an ocean voyage; during a week's illness.

5. Diary of the inhabitant of any country you are studying in your geography lessons.

44. The Class Diary.—If there is not already such a custom in your class room, it is a good thing for you to start a class diary, or record of the year's school work and activities. This aims to do the same thing for the class that your personal diary does for your own life, and in it should be written all that makes the life of each school day or week distinctive. This book is left in your class room, to form one of a series of such records, which will be of increasing interest as the yearsgo on. Any large blank book may be used for this purpose, and great care should be taken to keep the record very neatly written. Nothing should be entered until all corrections have been made, so that a fair copy may be written.

Sometimes, when only the larger events are to be chronicled, it is better that this record be set down by weeks, rather than by days. A good plan is to divide the class into committees of four or five each, who take charge of noting down the happenings of the week. They write the entry, read it to the class for suggestions and criticisms, and set it down in the class diary.

It is well to have fixed a certain number of items which are to be noted regularly, and these may be divided among the members of the committee for the week. For instance, one may make it his business to note the weather, the temperature, the wind, or any unusual conditions out of doors; another, the advance of the seasons, the day when the first robin arrives, or when the first definite signs of winter were seen, whether this be the falling of the last leaves, the first snowstorm, or the fact that the street cars are heated; another may take as his share the state of the studies of the class, unusual lessons, if any, and the progress made in the regular ones; another, any items of general interest in other classes in the school. A record of all manner of items may be kept here,—facts which the class is interested in keeping, such as the attendance for each day, or the average attendance for the week, the average percentage of the class in any study, etc.

For special events,—entertainments, debates, excursions, etc.,—there may be a member of the committee delegated to report, or the accounts may be written as an exercise, and the best one selected by the committee or teacher.

The entry for the week should be made up of these various reports, entered neatly in the class diary, and signed by the pupils composing the committee.

45. Various Kinds of Letters.—You have seen that the diary or journal is the most informal and simple form of written expression, since it is intended, as a rule, for the writer only. The letter is less personal than the diary, because it is addressed to one other person; but it is more personal than general writing (description, stories, etc.), which is addressed to a number of persons, most of whom the writer does not know. Letters differ widely according to their purposes, but the merit of any sort of a letter may be judged by putting yourself in the place of the person receiving it, and trying to feel whether you would be satisfied by it.

Letters may be classified as follows according to their purposes:—

1. To bridge over, as far as possible, a separation between people who know each other well, and to take the place of a conversation between them.Friendly letters.2. To arrange matters of social intercourse in the most correct and pleasing manner, to extend and accept or refuse invitations, etc.Social letters.3. To give information or ask questions as clearly as possible.Business letters.4. To give information or ask questions as briefly as is consistent with perfect clearness.Telegrams.5. To take the place of going about and telling many people the same thing.Notices.6. To present a request for a favor in the most persuasive manner.Petitions.

1. To bridge over, as far as possible, a separation between people who know each other well, and to take the place of a conversation between them.Friendly letters.

2. To arrange matters of social intercourse in the most correct and pleasing manner, to extend and accept or refuse invitations, etc.Social letters.

3. To give information or ask questions as clearly as possible.Business letters.

4. To give information or ask questions as briefly as is consistent with perfect clearness.Telegrams.

5. To take the place of going about and telling many people the same thing.Notices.

6. To present a request for a favor in the most persuasive manner.Petitions.

46. Friendly Letters.—There are five main parts to every letter: (1) the heading; (2) the salutation; (3) the body, or what is written; (4) the complimentary ending; (5) the conclusion. In a friendly letter the heading, which consists of the post-office address of the writer and the date of writing, is sometimes omitted, although it is always best to write the date, even in letters of the greatest intimacy. Some of the usual salutations in letters to near friends or relatives are: My dear Mother, Dear Father, Dear Mary, My dear Mrs. Smith, My dear Aunt Martha. According to the degree of intimacy the usual complimentary endings are: Sincerely yours, Very sincerely yours, Cordially yours, Heartily yours, Yours ever, Affectionately yours, Yours lovingly, Your loving daughter, Your affectionate son, etc. In letters to members of the family or close friends the first name only is sometimes signed.

The following are good typical forms for friendly letters:—

(1)Dorset, N.H.,May 10, 1906.My dear Gilbert,————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Faithfully yours,James Meyer.

(1)

Dorset, N.H.,May 10, 1906.

My dear Gilbert,—

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Faithfully yours,

James Meyer.

(2)Butte, April 16, Thursday.Dear Mother,————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Your affectionate son,Henry.

(2)

Butte, April 16, Thursday.

Dear Mother,—

Your affectionate son,

Henry.

The ideal in friendly letters is to write to your correspondent what you would say to him if you could see him, and to answer the questions he would put to you. If you are away on a visit, for instance, the questions he would probably ask are, "What sort of a place is it where you are? Are you having a good time? What are you doing to amuse yourself?" Try to think what sort of a letter you would like to have him write if he were away, and write accordingly.

Although you wish to write naturally and almost as though you were talking, it is best to make out a list of the really important things you wish to say, or you will find that you have come to the end of your letter without stating some vital facts you wished your friend to know. It has been said that a friendly letter should be like a conversation, but you must remember that it is a conversation limited in time. If you were about to see your friend for only a half hour, it would be well to think of a few main facts you wished to tell him, or questions you wish him to answer, and bear them in mind; otherwise your time might come to an end before you had said the important things. Even forthe most informal letter it is always best to make an outline, although it may be a very brief one.

Suppose you wish to describe the way in which you spent Christmas away from home. Probably nothing very unusual happened, and you may think an outline unnecessary; but you will find, even in relating the facts of one day, that if you do not have some plan and keep in your mind the main events in their proper order, you will be likely to write a confused and incomplete account of what you did. Some such outline as the following is needed:—

Introduction.The place where I was,—city, country, or village; the weather; general conditions. (This information can be given as briefly as you please, in a paragraph, but it is essential to understanding what you say about Christmas Day itself.)Main Body of the Letter.Morning.Why we hung up our stockings, and how we received our presents.Dinner.How we helped prepare it, and any special features of it.Afternoon.Coasting.Evening.Charades, and the one we thought particularly good.Ending.Inquiries about your friend's Christmas, friendly greetings, and the close.

Main Body of the Letter.Morning.Why we hung up our stockings, and how we received our presents.Dinner.How we helped prepare it, and any special features of it.Afternoon.Coasting.Evening.Charades, and the one we thought particularly good.

Ending.Inquiries about your friend's Christmas, friendly greetings, and the close.

A letter written on the above outline follows:—

Newtonville, Wis.January 2, 1906.My dear Harry,—I promised you before the holidays began that I would let you know how I had spent my Christmas, but the last day of the vacation has come and I have not writtenyou a line. The truth is that I have been having such a good time every minute that I have not realized how fast the week has been going. You remember my big cousin who goes to the State University, don't you? He came to visit our school once, last winter. His father, my uncle, invited our family to come out here and have a real "country Christmas" on his farm, and here we have been since the day after school closed. He lives in a fine, large farmhouse, with room enough in it for his big family and ours, too. We are three miles from town, but there are plenty of horses to drive, and the air is so bracing and the weather so clear and cold that we don't mind the walk. Besides that, there are such a lot of us that nobody ever has to go alone. I never knew what fun it is to be in a big family. There is always somebody ready for a tramp whenever you want to go out, and in the evenings it is like being at a party all the time.On Christmas eve we hung up our stockings, even the grown-ups. That was for the little children, who still think there is a Santa Claus. There was hardly room enough along the mantelpiece for them all, and the next morning, when they were all full and knobby, they actually overlapped. Christmas morning we were all up ever so early. Before it was really light, my big cousin was around knocking at the doors, calling us to breakfast and shouting, "Merry Christmas!" We scrambled into our clothes and raced downstairs to breakfast, and then to the stockings. We pretended we thought Santa Claus had just that minute gone, and you ought to have seen the little girls look up the chimney after him.By the time everybody had looked at all his own presents and the things other people had, it was time to begin thinking about dinner. We helped get it. I shouldn't be surprised if we were more in the way than a help, but it waslots of fun. The girls worked around in the kitchen and helped set the table, and we boys decorated the rooms with greens and turned the ice-cream crank. There were eighteen of us at table, and you couldn't hear yourself think for the talking and laughing. The last thing we did was to pass around a big sheet of paper, and everybody wrote his name on it and anything else he wanted to say. We are going to try, all of us, to get together that way every Christmas, and make such a list each time for a remembrance. My big cousin wrote, "United we cook, united we eat, united we die!" I said it was the best Christmas I had ever had.We had eaten so much that after dinner we just sat around and talked for a while, and then a crowd of boys went out to coast and try our new sleds. There is a fine hill right near the house, and the snow was exactly right. You can coast as much as ten city blocks without slowing up at all, and then you run along on a level for four or five more.In the evening some of the neighbors came in and we played charades. I never knew you could have so much fun at that. We thought of a number of good words, but our side had the best, "Russian." We played the first syllable like a football "rush," and that was exciting. My cousin is on the university team, and he told us just what to do to have it like real football. We acted the last syllable as "shun," and none of us would look at one of the girls,—"shunned" her, you know. For the whole word we put on all the furs we could find, and paraded around with banners, and pretended to throw bombs. The other side couldn't guess for a long time what we were acting.We were pretty tired when we went to bed, but I thought again it was about the nicest Christmas I had ever known.I hope you had a good time, too, and I wish you would write me about it. It must have been very different frommine, since you were in the city. Did you get the new skates you wanted? My father gave me a pair. I hope I shall hear soon from you that your Christmas was as great a success as mine.Sincerely yours,George Allen.Exercise 78.—Make a similar outline and write a letter on any one of the following topics:—(1) Your Christmas holidays in the city. (2) A trip in a boat. (3) The use of a new camera. (4) The beginning of a new study in school. (5) The beginning of new lessons out of school. (6) The last game of baseball, basket-ball, etc., you have seen. (7) A railway journey. (8) Your friend is away on a visit. Write him all that has gone on in the neighborhood and school since he left. (9) Your parents are away. Write them the news of your home. (10) You have found a certain book interesting. Write your friend about it and recommend it to him. (11) Describe an interesting address or play you have heard. (12) An accident which you saw or one in which you were. (13) An expedition in the woods. (14) An entertainment you have recently seen or one which you helped to give. (15) A new pet. (16) A carpenter shop you have arranged for yourself in an unused room. (17) A picnic. (18) A new society which has been started in your school. (19) You have your parents' permission to undertake a walking trip or bicycling tour of several days through the country. Write to a friend, stating your plans and asking him to join you. (20) A similar letter proposing a week's camping-out in the woods.Note.—A longer list of subjects for friendly letters is not given because almost any of the subjects for other forms of composition can be treated in a letter. Moreover, it is highly desirable that pupils should write letters to real people,—relatives, friends, or pupils in other schools with whom an exchange has been arranged. A real correspondence, where the pupil feels he is attempting to interest and please an actual person, arouses much more spirit than purely imaginary letters.

Newtonville, Wis.January 2, 1906.

My dear Harry,—

I promised you before the holidays began that I would let you know how I had spent my Christmas, but the last day of the vacation has come and I have not writtenyou a line. The truth is that I have been having such a good time every minute that I have not realized how fast the week has been going. You remember my big cousin who goes to the State University, don't you? He came to visit our school once, last winter. His father, my uncle, invited our family to come out here and have a real "country Christmas" on his farm, and here we have been since the day after school closed. He lives in a fine, large farmhouse, with room enough in it for his big family and ours, too. We are three miles from town, but there are plenty of horses to drive, and the air is so bracing and the weather so clear and cold that we don't mind the walk. Besides that, there are such a lot of us that nobody ever has to go alone. I never knew what fun it is to be in a big family. There is always somebody ready for a tramp whenever you want to go out, and in the evenings it is like being at a party all the time.

On Christmas eve we hung up our stockings, even the grown-ups. That was for the little children, who still think there is a Santa Claus. There was hardly room enough along the mantelpiece for them all, and the next morning, when they were all full and knobby, they actually overlapped. Christmas morning we were all up ever so early. Before it was really light, my big cousin was around knocking at the doors, calling us to breakfast and shouting, "Merry Christmas!" We scrambled into our clothes and raced downstairs to breakfast, and then to the stockings. We pretended we thought Santa Claus had just that minute gone, and you ought to have seen the little girls look up the chimney after him.

By the time everybody had looked at all his own presents and the things other people had, it was time to begin thinking about dinner. We helped get it. I shouldn't be surprised if we were more in the way than a help, but it waslots of fun. The girls worked around in the kitchen and helped set the table, and we boys decorated the rooms with greens and turned the ice-cream crank. There were eighteen of us at table, and you couldn't hear yourself think for the talking and laughing. The last thing we did was to pass around a big sheet of paper, and everybody wrote his name on it and anything else he wanted to say. We are going to try, all of us, to get together that way every Christmas, and make such a list each time for a remembrance. My big cousin wrote, "United we cook, united we eat, united we die!" I said it was the best Christmas I had ever had.

We had eaten so much that after dinner we just sat around and talked for a while, and then a crowd of boys went out to coast and try our new sleds. There is a fine hill right near the house, and the snow was exactly right. You can coast as much as ten city blocks without slowing up at all, and then you run along on a level for four or five more.

In the evening some of the neighbors came in and we played charades. I never knew you could have so much fun at that. We thought of a number of good words, but our side had the best, "Russian." We played the first syllable like a football "rush," and that was exciting. My cousin is on the university team, and he told us just what to do to have it like real football. We acted the last syllable as "shun," and none of us would look at one of the girls,—"shunned" her, you know. For the whole word we put on all the furs we could find, and paraded around with banners, and pretended to throw bombs. The other side couldn't guess for a long time what we were acting.

We were pretty tired when we went to bed, but I thought again it was about the nicest Christmas I had ever known.

I hope you had a good time, too, and I wish you would write me about it. It must have been very different frommine, since you were in the city. Did you get the new skates you wanted? My father gave me a pair. I hope I shall hear soon from you that your Christmas was as great a success as mine.

Sincerely yours,George Allen.

Exercise 78.—Make a similar outline and write a letter on any one of the following topics:—

(1) Your Christmas holidays in the city. (2) A trip in a boat. (3) The use of a new camera. (4) The beginning of a new study in school. (5) The beginning of new lessons out of school. (6) The last game of baseball, basket-ball, etc., you have seen. (7) A railway journey. (8) Your friend is away on a visit. Write him all that has gone on in the neighborhood and school since he left. (9) Your parents are away. Write them the news of your home. (10) You have found a certain book interesting. Write your friend about it and recommend it to him. (11) Describe an interesting address or play you have heard. (12) An accident which you saw or one in which you were. (13) An expedition in the woods. (14) An entertainment you have recently seen or one which you helped to give. (15) A new pet. (16) A carpenter shop you have arranged for yourself in an unused room. (17) A picnic. (18) A new society which has been started in your school. (19) You have your parents' permission to undertake a walking trip or bicycling tour of several days through the country. Write to a friend, stating your plans and asking him to join you. (20) A similar letter proposing a week's camping-out in the woods.

Note.—A longer list of subjects for friendly letters is not given because almost any of the subjects for other forms of composition can be treated in a letter. Moreover, it is highly desirable that pupils should write letters to real people,—relatives, friends, or pupils in other schools with whom an exchange has been arranged. A real correspondence, where the pupil feels he is attempting to interest and please an actual person, arouses much more spirit than purely imaginary letters.

47. Letters of Social Intercourse.—In form, letters of social intercourse stand between the purely friendly letter and the business letter. The address of the writer and the date of the letter often stand at the foot of the letter, beginning opposite the signature in the more informal notes, as in the following form:—

My dear Mrs. Blackmar,————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Very sincerely yours,Mary Holden.22High Street, Columbus, O.April 12, 1906.

My dear Mrs. Blackmar,—

Very sincerely yours,Mary Holden.

22High Street, Columbus, O.April 12, 1906.

In the most formal letter of social intercourse, the address of the writer and the date stand at the beginning, and the complete name and address of the person addressed stand at the foot, thus:—

428Bolton Place, Pittsburgh, Pa.,September 26, 1906.My dear Sir,————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Very sincerely yours,Richard White.Mr. Elbert Peters,Ross Center, N.Y.

428Bolton Place, Pittsburgh, Pa.,September 26, 1906.

My dear Sir,—

Very sincerely yours,Richard White.

Mr. Elbert Peters,Ross Center, N.Y.

Sometimes, instead of writingMr.before a name,Esq.is written after it, but the two are never used at the same time.

In style, the letter of social intercourse should be as graceful as it is possible to make it, although it should always be simple and not too long. Many invitations and answers to them have a form fixed by tradition (seeFormal Invitations, § 48), but the informal social letter is almost entirely a matter of taste. There are, however, a few courteous phrases which are so much used as to be almost fixed forms. Such are: "I hope that we may have the pleasure of your company," "I hope that you can be with us," "I regret most sincerely that it is impossible for me to accept your kind invitation," "I shall be very happy to be with you," "It is with great pleasure that I accept your kind invitation," "I regret that a previous engagement prevents me from accepting your invitation," etc.

The following is a typical informal invitation:—

My dear Mrs. Wilson,—My mother wishes me to write you that we are planning to take a drive to Chester on next Tuesday, and should be very glad to have you with us. We are to leave at nine o'clock, so that we may be at the Chester Hotel in time for dinner.I hope that is not too early an hour for you, and that we may have the pleasure of your company on that day.Very sincerely yours,Margaret Hunt.Hilltop Lodge,Wis.,January 14, 1906.Exercise 79.—The following letters should be written on note paper or on paper ruled to that size:—1. Write an acceptance to the above invitation.2. Write a note to a friend of your mother's, saying that your mother is slightly indisposed and cannot keep an engagement. Write a suitable answer.3. Write a note to a friend of your father's, asking him in your father's name to join a fishing party; a whist club; a hunting expedition; to be one of a theater party.4. Write a note to a friend, boy or girl, asking him or her to go to the theater with you, to come and spend the day with you, to come to a party you are giving, to attend some athletic contest with you, to go for a day's tramp with a party of friends, to play at a concert, to take part in a debate or entertainment, to lend you a book, to give you the address of a friend, to join with you in forming a club among your friends.5. Write a note to a friend, thanking him for having helped you in an entertainment, for having lent you a book, for having done a service to a friend, for any favor shown you.6. Write a note to your teacher, explaining your absence from school, asking her to send word to you about the lessons done in your absence; asking her to excuse you early from school, giving some specific reason; asking her for the date of the first day of school following a vacation; asking if you may be a few days late in returning to school; asking her to be present at a meeting of one of your societies; inviting her to your house for dinner.7. Write a note to the principal of your school, asking him to be present at an entertainment given by your grade, at a spelling match, at a debate, or any special event in your class room; asking him to excuse you from drawing, on account of weak eyes, or from any other study, giving reasons; asking him to give you a letter of introduction to the principal of the new school to which you are about to go; asking him to be a judge in some contest in your class room; thanking him for having acted as judge.

My dear Mrs. Wilson,—

My mother wishes me to write you that we are planning to take a drive to Chester on next Tuesday, and should be very glad to have you with us. We are to leave at nine o'clock, so that we may be at the Chester Hotel in time for dinner.

I hope that is not too early an hour for you, and that we may have the pleasure of your company on that day.

Very sincerely yours,Margaret Hunt.

Hilltop Lodge,Wis.,January 14, 1906.

Exercise 79.—The following letters should be written on note paper or on paper ruled to that size:—

1. Write an acceptance to the above invitation.

2. Write a note to a friend of your mother's, saying that your mother is slightly indisposed and cannot keep an engagement. Write a suitable answer.

3. Write a note to a friend of your father's, asking him in your father's name to join a fishing party; a whist club; a hunting expedition; to be one of a theater party.

4. Write a note to a friend, boy or girl, asking him or her to go to the theater with you, to come and spend the day with you, to come to a party you are giving, to attend some athletic contest with you, to go for a day's tramp with a party of friends, to play at a concert, to take part in a debate or entertainment, to lend you a book, to give you the address of a friend, to join with you in forming a club among your friends.

5. Write a note to a friend, thanking him for having helped you in an entertainment, for having lent you a book, for having done a service to a friend, for any favor shown you.

6. Write a note to your teacher, explaining your absence from school, asking her to send word to you about the lessons done in your absence; asking her to excuse you early from school, giving some specific reason; asking her for the date of the first day of school following a vacation; asking if you may be a few days late in returning to school; asking her to be present at a meeting of one of your societies; inviting her to your house for dinner.

7. Write a note to the principal of your school, asking him to be present at an entertainment given by your grade, at a spelling match, at a debate, or any special event in your class room; asking him to excuse you from drawing, on account of weak eyes, or from any other study, giving reasons; asking him to give you a letter of introduction to the principal of the new school to which you are about to go; asking him to be a judge in some contest in your class room; thanking him for having acted as judge.

48. Formal Invitations.—These are written and answered according to certain fixed forms and in the third person.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Miller request the pleasure of Mr. Albert Knight's company at dinner on Wednesday evening, the tenth of March, at half past seven o'clock.221 West Long Street,Friday morning.Mr. Albert Knight accepts with pleasure Mr. and Mrs. Miller's kind invitation to dinner on Wednesday evening at half past seven o'clock.44 Park Place,Saturday morning.Mrs. William MorrisMiss MorrisAt HomeOn Wednesday, March tenth,from four until six o'clock.23 Grant Avenue.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Miller request the pleasure of Mr. Albert Knight's company at dinner on Wednesday evening, the tenth of March, at half past seven o'clock.

221 West Long Street,Friday morning.

Mr. Albert Knight accepts with pleasure Mr. and Mrs. Miller's kind invitation to dinner on Wednesday evening at half past seven o'clock.

44 Park Place,Saturday morning.

Mrs. William MorrisMiss MorrisAt HomeOn Wednesday, March tenth,from four until six o'clock.

23 Grant Avenue.

Extremely formal invitations, especially to public and semi-public functions, are often impersonal in form, as in the following:—

The Annual Concertof theElementary Schools of St. Joseph, Michigan,will be held in theAssembly Room of the High School,Tuesday evening, May twentieth,at eight o'clock.You are cordially invited to be present.The President and Members of the School Board request the honor of your company at the formal dedication of the New High School, on Wednesday, November third, at half past three o'clock.Exercise 80.—I. Study these forms and copy them accurately on note paper. Write a formal invitation from Captain and Mrs. Arthur Elliott to Mrs. Alice Johnson for dinner; from Mrs. Henry White to Mr. and Miss Kellogg for an evening at home. Write acceptance and regret for each.II. 1. Prepare a card for a semi-public reception given by your school, by your church, by a club or society.2. Prepare a card for a school concert, exhibition of school work, exhibition of work in Physical Culture; for a play given by the school Dramatic Society; for a May Festival given by the Eighth Grade; for the laying of a corner stone of a new schoolhouse, of a church, of a public building of any kind.

The President and Members of the School Board request the honor of your company at the formal dedication of the New High School, on Wednesday, November third, at half past three o'clock.

Exercise 80.—I. Study these forms and copy them accurately on note paper. Write a formal invitation from Captain and Mrs. Arthur Elliott to Mrs. Alice Johnson for dinner; from Mrs. Henry White to Mr. and Miss Kellogg for an evening at home. Write acceptance and regret for each.

II. 1. Prepare a card for a semi-public reception given by your school, by your church, by a club or society.

2. Prepare a card for a school concert, exhibition of school work, exhibition of work in Physical Culture; for a play given by the school Dramatic Society; for a May Festival given by the Eighth Grade; for the laying of a corner stone of a new schoolhouse, of a church, of a public building of any kind.

49. Telegrams.—In a telegram clearness is the first quality to be sought. Because of the cost of sending, the telegram is usually limited to ten words, excluding the address and signature, and this brevity renders it difficult to state all that you wish clearly, and makes it an exercise in ingenuity to condense the information you wish to give without making it hard to understand.

For instance, you wish your brother, who is visiting in another town, to meet you at a certain train on Monday and spend the day hunting with you, if the weather is good. You would word your telegram in some such way as this:—

September 9, 1906.Mr. Peter Whiting,Danfield, Md.Meet me eight thirty, ready for hunting, if weather favorable.John Whiting.

September 9, 1906.

Mr. Peter Whiting,Danfield, Md.

Meet me eight thirty, ready for hunting, if weather favorable.

John Whiting.

Although you have used incomplete sentences, you have said enough so that your brother will understand what you mean.

Exercise 81.—Condense as much as possible and write as telegrams, thinking before you write what are the essential parts of the message, and leaving out all else:—1. Mother has gone to spend the day with Aunt Mary, and wishes you to call there for her in the evening and bring her home.2. Before you come home, be sure to call on the lady who is to be teacher of the seventh grade here next year. She lives on Horning Street.3. We are all to be away from home on a picnic the day you speak of coming to see us. We should like to have you join us.4. There is to be a very interesting entertainment here the day I was to go home. May I stay over another day to see it?5. The river is too swollen for the canoe trip we planned for Saturday. Bring your tools along when you come, and we will try to make a raft.6. Henry has just passed his examinations for Dartmouth College. He will stop in Farmington to see you, on his way home, Tuesday.7. Can your basket-ball team put off the match we were to play on Monday until Wednesday? The field we hoped to have is engaged for Monday.8. Will your debating society be willing to meet ours, on the 27th of this month, in our class room?9. We have just heard of the burning of your schoolhouse and wish to extend our sympathy. Will you telegraph us if there is anything we can do to help you?10. The hour of the train on which we were to leave has been changed, and we shall not reach home until six o'clock.11. On unpacking my trunk I cannot find my volume of Tennyson's poems. Did you put it in the trunk or was it left behind?12. I have spilled ink on my best dress. May Aunt Jane buy a new one for me to wear at my cousin's party?13. We cannot find the key to the back door. If you took it with you by mistake, please return it to father's business address.14. Will the seventh grade of your school join ours in a nature-study excursion to the river next Saturday?15. Your mother is away from home on her birthday. Send her an appropriate telegram of congratulation and greeting.16. You are to pass through the town where a friend lives and will have a half hour wait at the station. Telegraph him, asking him to come there to see you.

Exercise 81.—Condense as much as possible and write as telegrams, thinking before you write what are the essential parts of the message, and leaving out all else:—

1. Mother has gone to spend the day with Aunt Mary, and wishes you to call there for her in the evening and bring her home.

2. Before you come home, be sure to call on the lady who is to be teacher of the seventh grade here next year. She lives on Horning Street.

3. We are all to be away from home on a picnic the day you speak of coming to see us. We should like to have you join us.

4. There is to be a very interesting entertainment here the day I was to go home. May I stay over another day to see it?

5. The river is too swollen for the canoe trip we planned for Saturday. Bring your tools along when you come, and we will try to make a raft.

6. Henry has just passed his examinations for Dartmouth College. He will stop in Farmington to see you, on his way home, Tuesday.

7. Can your basket-ball team put off the match we were to play on Monday until Wednesday? The field we hoped to have is engaged for Monday.

8. Will your debating society be willing to meet ours, on the 27th of this month, in our class room?

9. We have just heard of the burning of your schoolhouse and wish to extend our sympathy. Will you telegraph us if there is anything we can do to help you?

10. The hour of the train on which we were to leave has been changed, and we shall not reach home until six o'clock.

11. On unpacking my trunk I cannot find my volume of Tennyson's poems. Did you put it in the trunk or was it left behind?

12. I have spilled ink on my best dress. May Aunt Jane buy a new one for me to wear at my cousin's party?

13. We cannot find the key to the back door. If you took it with you by mistake, please return it to father's business address.

14. Will the seventh grade of your school join ours in a nature-study excursion to the river next Saturday?

15. Your mother is away from home on her birthday. Send her an appropriate telegram of congratulation and greeting.

16. You are to pass through the town where a friend lives and will have a half hour wait at the station. Telegraph him, asking him to come there to see you.

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