2. In battle some men _are brave_, others _are cowardly_.
3. His head is as full of plans _as it can hold_.
4. I heard a _loud_ noise.
5. Boston is the _place where_ American liberty _began_.
6. Our dispositions should grow _mild_ as we _grow old_.
7. _The stars can no longer be seen_.
8. In battle some men are _brave_, others are _cowardly_.
9. The cock tears up the ground for his family of _hens_ and _chickens_.
10. The waves _were still_.
11. The oak stretches out _its_ strong _branches_.
12. The flowers are the sweet and pretty _growths_ of the earth and sun.
13. English _vessels_ plow the seas of the two _hemispheres_.
14. Have you read _Lamb's Essays_?
15. The _water_ is boiling.
16. We have prostrated ourselves before the _king_.
17. _Wretched people_ shiver in _their_ lair of straw.
18. The _soldier_ is giving way to the _husbandman_.
19. _Swords_ flashed, and _bullets_ fell.
20. His banner led the _spearmen_ no more.
+Remark+.--If what is begun as a metaphor is not completed as begun, but is
completed by a part of another metaphor or by plain language, we have what,
is called a _mixed metaphor_. It requires great care to avoid this very
common error.
+Direction+.--_Correct these errors_:--
1. The _devouring_ fire _uprooted_ the stubble.
2. The _brittle_ thread of life may be _cut_ asunder.
3. All the _ripe fruit_ of three-score years was _blighted_ in a day.
4. _Unravel_ the _obscurities_ of this _knotty_ question.
5. We must apply the _axe_ to the _fountain_ of this evil.
6. The man _stalks_ into court like a _motionless_ statue, with the _cloak_
of hypocrisy in his _mouth_.
7. The thin _mantle_ of snow _dissolved_.
8. I smell a _rat_, I see him _brewing_ in the air, but I shall yet _nip
him in the bud_.
* * * * *
LESSON 155.
VARIETY IN EXPRESSION.
+Remark+.--You learned in Lessons 52, 53, 54 that the usual order may give
way to the transposed; in 55, 56, that one kind of simple sentence may be
changed to another; in 57, that simple sentences may be contracted; in 61,
that adjectives may be expanded into clauses; in 67, that an adverb clause
may stand before, between the parts of, and after, the independent clause;
in 68, that an adverb clause may be contracted to a participle, a
participle phrase, an absolute phrase, a prepositional phrase, that it may
be contracted by the omission of words, and may be changed to an adjective
clause or phrase; in 73, that a noun clause as subject may stand last, and
as object complement may stand first, that it may be made prominent, and
may be contracted; in 74, that direct quotations and questions may be
changed to indirect, and indirect to direct; in 77, that compound sentences
may be formed out of simple sentences, may be contracted to simple
sentences, and may be changed to complex sentences; in 79, that
participles, absolute phrases, and infinitives may be expanded into
different kinds of clauses; and, in 130, that a verb may change its voice.
+Direction+.--_Illustrate all these changes_.
+Direction+.--_Recast these sentences, avoiding offensive repetitions of
the same word or the same sounds_:--
1. We have to have money to have a horse.
2. We sailed across a bay and sailed up a creek and sailed back and sailed
in all about fourteen miles.
3. It is then put into stacks, or it is put into barns either to use it to
feed it to the stock or to sell it.
4. This day we undertake to render an account to the widows and orphans
whom our decision will make; to the wretches that will be roasted at the
stake.
5. The news of the battle of Bunker Hill, fought on the 17th of June in the
year of our Lord 1775, roused the patriotism of the people to a high
pitch of enthusiasm.
+Direction+.---_Using other words wholly or in part, see in how many ways
you can express the thoughts contained in these sentences_:--
1. In the profusion and recklessness of her lies, Elizabeth had no peer in
England.
2. Henry IV. said that James I. was the wisest fool in Christendom.
3. Cowper's letters are charming because they are simple and natural.
4. George IV., though he was pronounced the first gentleman in Europe, was,
nevertheless, a snob.
* * * * *
LESSON 156.
THE PARAGRAPH.
+The Paragraph+.--The clauses of complex sentences are so closely united in
meaning that frequently they are not to be separated from each other even
by the comma. The clauses of compound sentences are less closely united--a
comma, a semicolon, or a colon is needed to divide them.
Between sentences there exists a wider separation in meaning, marked by a
period or other terminal point. But even sentences may be connected, the
bond which unites them being their common relation to the thought which
jointly they develop. Sentences thus related are grouped together and form,
as you have already learned, what we call a Paragraph, marked by beginning
the first word a little to the right of the marginal line.
+Direction+.--_Notice the facts which this paragraph contains, and the
relation to each other of the clauses and the sentences expressing these
facts_:--
After a breeze of some sixty hours from the north and northwest, the wind
died away about four o'clock yesterday afternoon. The calm continued till
about nine in the evening. The mercury in the barometer fell, in the
meantime, at an extraordinary rate; and the captain predicted that we
should encounter a gale from the southeast. The gale came on about eleven
o'clock; not violent at first, but increasing every moment.
1. A breeze from the north and northwest.
2. The wind died away.
3. A calm.
4. Barometer fell.
5. The captain predicted a gale.
6. It came on.
7. It increased in violence.
+Direction+.--Give and number the facts contained in the paragraph below:--
I awoke with a confused recollection of a good deal of rolling and thumping
in the night, occasioned by the dashing of the waves against the ship.
Hurrying on my clothes, I found such of the passengers as could stand, at
the doors of the hurricane-house, holding on, and looking out in the utmost
consternation. It was still quite dark. Four of the sails were already in
ribbons: the winds whistling through the cordage; the rain dashing
furiously and in torrents; the noise and spray scarcely less than I found
them under the great sheet at Niagara.
+Direction+.---_Weave the facts below into a paragraph, supplying all you
need to make the narrative smooth_:--
Rip's beard was grizzled. Fowling-piece rusty. Dress uncouth. Women and
children at his heels. Attracted attention. Was eyed from head to foot. Was
asked on which side he voted. Whether he was Federal or Democrat. Rip was
dazed by the question. Stared in stupidity.
+Direction+.---_Weave the facts below into two paragraphs, supplying what
you need, and tell what each paragraph is about_:--
In place of the old tree there was a pole. This was tall and naked. A flag
was fluttering from it. The flag had on it the stars and stripes. This was
strange to Rip. But Rip saw something he remembered. The tavern sign. He
recognized on it the face of King George. Still the picture was changed.
The red coat gone. One of blue and buff in its place. A sword, and not a
scepter, in the hand. Wore a cocked hat. Underneath was painted--"General
Washington."
* * * * *
LESSON 157.
THE PARAGRAPH.
+Direction+.---_Weave the facts below into three paragraphs, and write on
the margin what each is about_:--
The Nile rises in great lakes. Runs north. Sources two thousand miles from
Alexandria. Receives two branches only. Runs through an alluvial valley.
Course through the valley is 1,500 miles. Plows into the Mediterranean. Two
principal channels. Minor outlets. Nile overflows its banks. Overflow
caused by rains at the sources. The melting of the mountain snows. Begins
at the end of June. Rises four inches daily. Rises till the close of
September. Subsides. Whole valley an inland sea. Only villages above the
surface. The valley very fertile. The deposit. The fertile strip is from
five to one hundred and fifty miles wide. Renowned for fruitfulness. Egypt
long the granary of the world. Three crops from December to June.
Productions--grain, cotton, and indigo.
Direction.---_Weave these facts into four paragraphs, writing the margin of
each the main thought_:--
The robin is thought by some to be migratory. But he stays with us all
winter. Cheerful. Noisy. Poor soloist. A spice of vulgarity in him. Dash of
prose in his song. Appetite extraordinary. Eats his own weight in a short
time. Taste for fruit. Eats with a relishing gulp, like Dr. Johnson's. Fond
of cherries. Earliest mess of peas. Mulberries. Lion's share of the
raspberries. Angleworms his delight. A few years ago I had a grapevine. A
foreigner. Shy of bearing. This summer bore a score of bunches. They
secreted sugar from the sunbeams. One morning, went to pick them. The
robins beforehand with me. Bustled out from the leaves. Made shrill,
unhandsome remarks about me. Had sacked the vine. Remnant of a single
bunch. How it looked at the bottom of my basket! A humming-bird's egg in an
eagle's nest. Laughed. Robins joined in the merriment.
* * * * *
LESSON 158.
PARAGRAPHS AND THE THEME.
+Direction+.--_Weave these facts into four paragraphs_:--
Note that the several paragraphs form a composition, or +Theme+, the
general subject of which is WOUTER VAN TWILLER (according to Diedrich
Knickerbocker).
I. +Who he was+.--Van Twiller was a Dutchman. Born at Rotterdam. Descended
from burgomasters. In 1629 appointed governor of Nieuw Nederlandts. Arrived
in June at New Amsterdam--New York city.
II. +Person+.--Was five feet six inches high, six feet five in
circumference. Head spherical, and too large for any neck. Nature set it on
the back-bone. Body capacious. Legs short and sturdy. A beer-barrel on
skids. Face a vast, unfurrowed expanse. No lines of thought. Two small,
gray eyes. Cheeks had taken toll of all that had entered his mouth. Mottled
and streaked with dusky red.
III. +Habits+.--Regular. Four meals daily, each an hour long. Smoked and
doubted eight hours. Slept twelve. As self-contained as an oyster. Rarely
spoke save in monosyllables. But never said a foolish thing. Never laughed.
Perplexed by a joke. Conceived everything on a grand scale. When a question
was asked, would put on a mysterious look. Shake his head. Smoke in
silence. Observe, at length, he had doubts. Presided at the council, in
state. Swayed a Turkish pipe instead of a scepter. Known to sit with eyes
closed two hours. Internal commotion shown by guttural sounds. Noises of
contending doubts, admirers said.
IV. +Exploits.+--Settled a dispute about accounts thus: sent for the
parties; each produced his account-book; Van T. weighed the books; counted
the leaves; equally heavy; equally thick; made each give the other a
receipt; and the constable pay the costs. Demanded why Van Rensselaer
seized Bear's Island. Battled with doubts regarding the Yankees. Smoked and
breathed his last together.
+Direction.+---_Weave these facts into four paragraphs, write on the margin
the special topic of each, and over the whole what you think it the general
subject of the theme:--_
The prophets of Baal accept Elijah's challenge. They dress a bullock. Call
on Baal. Are mocked by Elijah. Leap upon the altar. Cut themselves. Blood.
Cry till the time of the evening sacrifice. No answer by fire. Elijah
commands the people to come near. Repairs an old altar with twelve stones,
one for each tribe. Digs a trench. Sacrifices. Pours water three times upon
it. Prays. Fire falls, consumes flesh, wood, stones, dust, licks up water.
People see it. Fall on their faces. Cry out twice, "The Lord, he is the
God." Take the prophets to the brook Kishon, where they are slain. Elijah
ascends Mount Carrael. Bows in prayer. "Go up now, look toward the sea."
Servant reports, "There is nothing." "Go again seven times." "Behold there
ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand." Orders Ahab to
prepare his chariot. Girding up his loins, he runs before Ahab to Jezreel.
* * * * *
LESSON 159.
PARAGRAPHS AND THE THEME.
+Direction.+--_Weave these facts into as many paragraphs as you think there
should be, using the variety of expression insisted on in Lesson 150, and
write on the margin of each paragraph the special topic, and over the whole
the general subject of the theme:--_
Fort Ticonderoga on a peninsula. Formed by the outlet of Lake George and by
Lake Champlain. Fronts south; water on three sides. Separated by Lake
Champlain from Mount Independence, and by the outlet, from Mount Defiance.
Fort one hundred feet above the water. May 7, 1775, two hundred and seventy
men meet at Castleton, Vermont. All but forty-six, Green Mountain boys.
Meet to plan and execute an attack upon Fort T. Allen and Arnold there.
Each claims the command. Question left to the officers. Allen chosen. On
evening of the 9th, they reach the lake. Difficulty in crossing. Send for a
scow. Seize a boat at anchor. Search, and find small row boats. Only
eighty-three able to cross. Day is dawning when these reach the shore. Not
prudent to wait. Allen orders all who will follow him to poise their
firelocks. Every man responds. Nathan Beman, a lad, guides them to the
fort. Sentinel snaps his gun at A. Misses fire. Sentinel retreats. They
follow. Rush upon the parade ground. Form. Loud cheer. A. climbs the
stairs. Orders La Place, it is said, in the name of the great Jehovah and
the Continental Congress, to surrender. Capture forty-eight men. One
hundred and twenty cannon. Used next winter at the siege of Boston. Several
swords and howitzers, small arms, and ammunition.
+Direction+.--_These facts are thrown together promiscuously. Classify them
as they seem to you to be related. Determine the number of paragraphs and
their order, and then do as directed above_:--
Joseph was Jacob's favorite. Wore fine garments. One day was sent to
inquire after the other sons. They were at a distance, tending the flocks.
Joseph used to dream. They saw him coming. Plotted to kill him. In one
dream his brothers' sheaves bowed to his. In another the sun, moon, and
stars bowed to him. Plotted to throw his body into a pit. Agreed to report
to their father that some beast had devoured Joseph. Joseph foolishly told
these to his brothers. Hated him because of the dreams and their father's
partiality. While the brothers were eating, Ishmaelites approached. They
sat down to eat. Were going down into Egypt. Camels loaded with spices. At
the intercession of Reuben they did not kill Joseph. Threw him alive into a
pit. Ishmaelites took him down into Egypt. Sold him to Potiphar. Judah
advised that he be raised from the pit. Jacob recognized the coat. Refused
comfort. Rent his clothes and put on sackcloth. They took his coat. Killed
a kid and dipped the coat in its blood. Brought it to Jacob. "This have we
found; know now whether it be thy son's coat or no."
* * * * *
LESSON 160.
PARAGRAPHS AND THE THEME.
+Direction+.--_Classify these promiscuous facts, determine carefully the
number and the order of the paragraphs, and then do as directed above_:--
Trafalgar a Spanish promontory. Near the Straits of Gibraltar. Off
Trafalgar, fleets of Spain and France, October 21, 1805. Nelson in command
of the English fleet. The combined fleets in close line of battle.
Collingwood second in command. Had more and larger cannon than the English.
English fleet twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates. Thirty-three
sail of the line and seven frigates. He signaled those memorable words:
"England expects every man to do his duty." Enemy had four thousand troops.
Signal received with a shout. They bore down. The best riflemen in the
enemy's boats. C. steered for the center. C. in the _Royal Sovereign_ led
the lee line of thirteen ships. A raking fire opened upon the _Victory_. N.
in the _Victory_ led the weather line. C. engaged the _Santa Anna_.
Delighted at being the first in the fire. At 1.15 N. shot through the
shoulder and back. At 12 the _Victory_ opened fire. N.'s secretary the
first to fall. Fifty fell before a shot was returned. "They have done for
me at last, Hardy," said N. They bore him below. At 2.25 ten of the enemy
had struck. The wound was mortal. At 4 fifteen had struck. The victory that
cost the British 1,587 men won. These were his last words. At 4.30 he
expired. "How goes the day with us?" he asked Hardy. "I hope none of our
ships have struck." N.'s death was more than a public calamity. "I am a
dead man, Hardy," he said. Englishmen turned pale at the news. Most
triumphant death that of a martyr. He shook hands with Hardy. "Kiss me,
Hardy." They mourned as for a dear friend. Kissed him on the cheek. Most
awful death that of the martyr patriot. The loss seemed a personal one.
Knelt down again and kissed his forehead. His articulation difficult. Heard
to say, "Thank God, I have done my duty." Seemed as if they had not known
how deeply they loved him. Most splendid death that of the hero in the hour
of victory. Has left a name which is our pride. An example which is our
shield and strength. Buried him in St. Paul's. Thus the spirits of the
great and the wise live after them.
TO THE TEACHER--Continue this work as long as it is needed. Take any book,
and read to the class items of facts. Require them to use the imagination
and whatever graces of style are at their command, in weaving these facts
together.
* * * * *
LESSON 161.
ANALYSIS OF THE SUBJECT OF THE THEME.
+Analysis of the Subject+.--A Theme is made up of groups of sentences
called Paragraphs. The sentences of each paragraph are related to each
other, because they jointly develop a single point, or thought. And the
paragraphs are related to each other, because these points which they
develop are divisions of the one general subject of the Theme.
After the subject has been chosen, and before writing upon it, it must be
resolved into the main thoughts which compose it. Upon the thoroughness of
this analysis and the natural arrangement of the thoughts thus derived,
depends largely the worth of the theme. These points form, when arranged,
the +Framework+ of the theme.
Suppose you had taken _The Armada_ as your subject. Perhaps you could say
under these heads all you wish:
1. _What the Armada was_.
2. _When and by whom equipped_.
3. _Its purpose_.
4. _Its sail over the Bay of Biscay and entrance into the English Channel_.
5. _The attack upon it by Admiral Howard and his great Captains--Drake and
Hawkins_.
6. _Its dispersion and partial destruction by the storm_.
7. _The return to Spain of the surviving ships and men_.
8. _The consequences to England and to Spain_.
Perhaps the 1st point could include the 2d and the 3d. Be careful not to
split your general subject up into very many parts. See, too, that no point
is repeated, that no point foreign to the subject is introduced, and that
all the points together exhaust the subject as nearly as may be. Look to
the arrangement of the points. There is a natural order; (6) could not
precede (5); nor (5), (4); nor (4), (1).
TO THE TEACHER.--Question the pupils carefully upon every point taken up in
this Lesson.
+Direction+.--_Prepare the framework of a theme on each of these
subjects_:--
1. The Arrest of Major Andre.
2. A Winter in the Arctic Region.
* * * * *
LESSON 162.
ANALYSIS OF SUBJECTS.
+Direction+.--_Prepare the framework of a theme on each of these
subjects_:--
1. Battle of Plattsburg.
2. A Day's Nutting.
3. What Does a Proper Care for One's Health Demand?
* * * * *
LESSON 163.
ANALYSIS OF SUBJECTS.
+Direction+.--_Prepare the framework of a theme on each of these
subjects_:--
1. A Visit to the Moon.
2. Reasons why one Should Not Smoke,
3. What Does a Proper Observance of Sunday Require of One?
* * * * *
LESSON 164.
ANALYSIS OF SUBJECTS.
+Direction+.--_Prepare the framework of a theme on each of these
subjects_:--
1. The Gulf Stream.
2. A Descent into a Whirlpool.
3. What are Books Good for?
* * * * *
LESSON 165.
HOW TO WRITE A THEME.
+I. Choose a Subject+.--Choose your subject long before you are to write.
Avoid a full, round term like _Patriotism_ or _Duty_; take a fragment of
it; as, _How can a Boy be Patriotic?_ or _Duties which we Schoolmates owe
Each Other_. The subject should be on your level, should be interesting and
suggestive to you, and should instantly start in your mind many trains of
thought.
+II. Accumulate the Material+.--Begin to think about your subject. Turn it
over in your mind in leisure moments, and, as thoughts flash upon you, jot
them down in your blank-book. If any of these seem broad enough for the
main points, or heads, indicate this. Talk with no one on the subject, and
read nothing on it, till you have thought yourself empty; and even then you
should note down what the conversation or reading suggests, rather than
what you have heard or read.
+III. Construct a Framework+.--Before writing hunt through your material
for the main points, or heads. See to what general truths or thoughts these
jottings and those jottings point. Perhaps this or that thought, as it
stands, includes enough to serve as a head. Be sure, at any rate, that by
brooding over your material, and by further thinking upon the subject, you
get at all the general thoughts into which, as it seems to you, the subject
should be analyzed. Study these points carefully. See that no two overlap
each other, that no one appears twice, that no one has been raised to the
dignity of a head which should stand under some head, and that no one is
irrelevant. Study now to find the natural order in which these points
should stand. Let no point, to the clear understanding of which some other
point is necessary, precede that other. If developing all the points would
make your theme too long, study to see what points you can omit without
abrupt break or essential loss.
+IV. Write+.--Give your whole attention to your work as you write, and
other thoughts will occur to you, and better ways of putting the thoughts
already noted down. In expanding the main points into paragraphs, be sure
that everything falls under its appropriate head. Cast out irrelevant
matter. Do not strain after effect or strive to seem wiser than you are.
Use familiar words, and place these, your phrases, and your clauses, where
they will make your thought the clearest. As occasion calls, change from
the usual order to the transposed, and let sentences, simple, complex, and
compound, long and short, stand shoulder to shoulder in the paragraph.
Express yourself easily--only now and then putting your thought forcibly
and with feeling. Let a fresh image here and there relieve the uniformity
of plain language. One sentence should follow another without abrupt break;
and, if continuative of it, adversative to it, or an inference from it, and
the hearer needs to be advised of this, let it swing into position on the
hinge of a fitting connective. Of course, your sentences must pass rigid
muster in syntax; and you must look sharply to the spelling, to the use of
capital letters, and to punctuation.
+V. Attend to the Mechanical Execution+.--Keep your pages clean, and let
your handwriting be clear. On the left of the page leave a margin of an
inch for corrections. Do not write on the fourth page; if you exceed three
pages, use another sheet. When the writing is done, double the lower half
of the sheet over the upper, and fold through the middle; then bring the
top down to the middle and fold again. Bring the right-hand end toward you,
and across the top write your name and the date. This superscription will
be at the top of the fourth page, at the right-hand corner, and at right
angles to the ruled lines.
TO THE TEACHER.--Question the pupils closely upon every point in this
Lesson.
Additional Subjects for Themes.