CLOSE READING OR STUDY
It is largely because story reading may so easily become careless
reading, that prejudice against fiction is found in many minds. In the
preceding pages there have been suggested many ways by which story
reading may be made profitable, and yet all these methods may be used
without calling for that close, intensive reading which we usually call
study. You may lead a child to read _Rab and His Friends_ for all the
purposes we have suggested, and yet he may have passed over without
understanding them many a word, phrase or even sentence. It is possible
that there are whole paragraphs that convey little meaning to him. This
is certainly not an unmixed evil, for it is well that a child should not
exhaust the possibilities of such a masterpiece when he first reads it.
In fact, it is a good thing for children frequently to read great
literature even when much of it is quite beyond their comprehension. It
will pique their curiosity, and some time they will return with wiser
minds and broader experience to interpret for themselves the things that
once were obscure. It is no sin for a child sometimes to pass over a
word he cannot pronounce or does not understand. There could be few more
certain ways of destroying his taste for reading than to require him to
stop and find the meaning of every new word he meets. Sometimes the
meaning will become evident a little later from the context, and in
other instances he will understand well enough without the troublesome
word.
What has been said does not signify that the habit of skipping new words
or of avoiding difficult paragraphs is a good one. It does mean,
however, that sometimes the practice should be tolerated, and that close
reading should be required at the proper time and in the proper way. In
the arithmetic or geography lesson the young must always read very
closely, and in their perusal of the classics there are many fine
opportunities for exercises of the same character, that should not be
neglected. Descriptive passages, arguments, and essays of all kinds
require to be read with exceeding care, and often there are passages
even in light fiction that repay this kind of study.
Words and phrases are the subjects of consideration in close reading,
and the mastery of thought is the object to be attained. The study of
words may be made very interesting, and gathering the meaning of phrases
may become a fascinating pastime.
An illustration may prove the case. Take the paragraph from _Rab and His
Friends_ (Volume VI, page 99) in which death approaches Ailie: "The end
was drawing on: the golden bowl was breaking; the silver cord was fast
being loosed--that _animula blandula, vagula, hospes comesque_ was about
to flee. The body and the soul--companions for sixty years--were being
sundered and taking leave. She was walking, alone, through the valley of
the shadow, into which one day we must all enter--and yet she was not
alone, for we knew whose rod and staff were comforting her."
A cursory reading will suggest to any young person that the paragraph
says Ailie is going to die, and that she does not fear death; but how
much more it means to him who can understand it all. _The end was
drawing on_--Ailie was going to her death. _The golden bowl was
breaking; the silver cord was fast being loosed._ Turn to your Bible
(_Ecclesiastes_ xii, 3-7), and read what is said. _That "animula
blandula, vagula, hospes comesque" was about to flee._ That sweet but
fleeting life, friend, companion and sojourner with her, was about to
leave. _She was walking alone through the valley of the shadow._ "Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil." _Into which one day we must all enter._ May we be equally
fearless of evil! _She was not alone._ Her God was with her every
moment, and in her hours of consciousness she knew Him to be present.
_We knew whose rod and staff were comforting her._ "Thy rod and Thy
staff they comfort me."
Like the Psalmist of old she leaned upon the arm of her God and as she
thus approached the dark valley, the light of her faith shone into our
souls.
The Latin quotation and the allusions to the Bible are skilfully used to
give solemnity to the idea of death, to show how inevitable it is, and
how for long ages it has been met with the same serene faith and deep
religious feeling that made Ailie beautiful in the face of death. Yes,
there is more in the paragraph than the statement that Ailie was going
to die and that she was not afraid.
To illustrate a different style of close reading and a method of
securing it by questioning, we will quote part of a paragraph from
_Braddock's Defeat_ (Volume V, page 379) by Benjamin Franklin: "Our
Assembly apprehending, from some information, that he [Braddock] had
conceived violent prejudices against them, as averse to the service,
wished me to wait upon him, not as from them, but as postmaster-general,
under the guise of proposing to settle with him the mode of conducting
with most celerity and certainty the despatches between him and the
governors of the several provinces with whom he must necessarily have
continual correspondence, and of which they proposed to bear the
expense."
The questions designed to bring out the meaning of the above paragraph,
to which the answers are usually quite obvious, might be as follows:
Is "our Assembly" the Albany convention mentioned in the note at the
head of the selection, or is it the Assembly of Franklin's own colony?
What is the meaning of _apprehending_? Do you like it better than
_thinking_? What do you suppose was the nature of the "information" the
Assembly had received? Do you think that someone had told them that
Braddock was prejudiced, or did they infer it from actions of Braddock
which had been described to them? Who was averse to it? What is the
meaning of "wait upon him"? Do we use that phrase frequently now? What
might we say now? What do you understand by "not as from them"? Can you
put into that phrase one word that will make its meaning clear? Was
Franklin then postmaster-general of his colony? Was he ever
postmaster-general of the United States? What is the meaning of _guise_?
What is meant by "under the guise"? Does _celerity_ mean more than
_quickness_? Is there any shade of difference in the meanings of the two
words? Do you think Franklin used the best word he could find when he
wrote _celerity_? What are "despatches"? What kind of despatches would
pass between Braddock and the governors of the different provinces? How
many different provinces were there for Braddock to help defend? What
were they? Who proposed to pay the expense? Does _propose_ in this case
have a different or larger meaning than that in which you are in the
habit of seeing it used? Of what did they propose to pay the expense?
If a young person can answer all the questions in the preceding
paragraph, he undoubtedly understands the passage upon which they are
based. The questioner must watch the answers and be ready to detect
mistakes. Often the answer shows why the person fails to understand, and
a different question will then bring out the correct reply. The
questions always should be so worded that they do not anticipate the
answer, yet so the person questioned will thoroughly understand what is
expected. A little help now and then is appreciated by anyone, certainly
by those who are being led to think.
Carried to excess, close reading is wearisome; and parents, remembering
this, should be discriminating in their selections for study and not too
exacting in their requirements. Everything may be lost by dwelling too
long upon even the most delightful selections. Left to himself, almost
every child will be fond of _The Village Blacksmith_, but it may be
read and "studied" till the very thought of it is obnoxious to the young
reader.
_Industry and Sloth_
(Volume I, page 300)
To bring out the thought in this selection, study it as follows:
What is the meaning of _jocosely_? (Flippantly.) What is a court? (A
place where disputes between persons are settled by a judge, or by a
judge and jury.) What is a jury? (A company of men, usually six or
twelve, who hear the evidence and decide on the facts.) What are cases?
(The dispute or disagreement is called a _case_, when it is brought to
court to be decided or settled.) What are damsels? (Young girls.) What
were the names of the young damsels the young man said he saw? Why do
the words "Industry" and "Sloth" begin with capital letters? (Because
they are the names of girls.) Were they real girls? What does _industry_
mean? (Work.) What does _sloth_ mean? (Laziness.) Were these real girls?
Then what does this mean? (The young man thinks of fondness for work and
fondness for idleness as though they were girls.) When we write of
qualities, or feelings, as though they were human beings, the words
become proper nouns and we begin them with capital letters. Do you know
what we call this process of lifting something that is lower to the
level of human beings? No? We call it _personification_. Here industry
and sloth are personified and made the equals of human beings. What does
_entreats_ mean? What does _persuades_ mean? (That means _teases_ or
_begs_.) Which is the stronger word, entreats or persuades? (_Entreats_
means _begs strongly_; _persuades_ means _begs and makes me believe what
is said_. I think the latter is really the stronger word.) What does
_alternately_ mean? (First one and then the other.) What does
_impartial_ mean? (Fair; without any favoritism.) What does _detained_
mean? (Kept.) What does _pleadings_ mean? (Where a case is tried in
court the lawyers on each side try to persuade the court or jury to
decide in favor of the man [client] who has hired them. The written
papers and the speeches the lawyers make are called _pleadings_.)
Do you think the young man was really serious? Do you think he really
tried to decide anything as he lay in bed, or was he just trying to make
up an excuse for his laziness? Was there any reason why the young man
should lie in bed? Did he think there was? Could you find any better
reason than he gave? Do you think he was a bright young man? If you had
listened to him would you have taken his excuse? Why? Was it really
truthful? Did you ever lie in bed and think, "Well, I must get up; no,
I'll lie a little longer. But I must get up. What's the use? But I ought
to get up. Yes, I really ought to get up," etc., etc., and finally
discover that you had wasted a great deal of time without really
intending it? Were Industry and Sloth pleading with you then? Do you
think that some people waste much time trying to decide useless
questions? Does it sometimes happen that men and women waste so much
time in this way that they never accomplish a great deal of anything?
_Why the Sea Is Salt_
(Volume II, page 484)
In this pleasing fairy story Mary Howitt has told the tale of the
curious explanation offered by the peasants of Denmark and Norway for
the saltness of the sea. It naturally raises in a child's mind the
question, why is the sea salt? The question can be answered in this
manner:
The rain falls down in little drops, some of which soak into the ground,
while others make rivulets that run into brooks that in time join the
rivers that flow into the sea. Much of the water that soaks into the
ground finds its way again to the surface in springs that feed the
brooks and keep them alive when no rain is falling. Of course the sun
when it shines turns some of the water into vapor that rises again to
the sky. Sometimes on a cool morning you can see the mist or vapor too
heavy to rise out of sight and too light to fall as rain. Wherever there
is water, some of it is rising into the air, especially when the sun
shines and it is warm and the wind blows. The sea is so big that great
quantities of vapor are rising from it all the time and being blown over
the land to be cooled, to gather into rain and to fall again where it
will refresh the earth and make the plants grow.
So you see water is traveling through the air all the time, up from the
earth, the streams and the seas, through the air, back to the earth and
through it into the sea again in a great series of everlasting circuits.
We are hardly ever conscious of the moisture except when it falls as
rain or snow and spoils our plans.
When the water is passing through the land it dissolves and gathers up
various substances, especially salt, which "melts" in water very easily.
This salt and the other bitter and brackish substances are carried
little by little, sometimes pausing, but always on and on till they
reach the sea, beyond which they cannot go, for the sea is in the lowest
parts of the earth. Now come the sun, the heat and the winds and
evaporate the water; that is, draw up the vapor to start on its new
circuit. But, notice this, the vapor that rises is pure water. The salt
and other substances are left in the sea. At first it was only a little
that was left, then more, always a little more till the water couldn't
hold it all and it sank to the bottom and made deposits of salt and
other things. But the streams always bring more sediment and the heat
and the winds carry off pure water and leave the rest salty and bitter.
And that is the real reason why the sea is salt.
_Faithless Sally Brown_
(Volume III, page 92)
It is a thankless task to try to explain a joke, but some of the fun in
these jolly old rhymes depends upon facts that are not generally known
or that may have been forgotten. A few words here may help to answer
questions.
Stanza II. "Fetched a walk." This is an application of a nautical term,
as in "to fetch headway."
"Press Gang." To secure recruits for her navy, England at one time
permitted her men to be seized and forcibly carried on board ship, where
they were compelled to perform sailors' duties on long cruises. The
bands of cruel men who captured the recruits were known as "press
gangs."
Stanza III. A boatswain is one of the minor officers of a ship. He
usually has charge of one of the small boats, such as would carry off a
recruit to the big ship.
Stanza VIII. John Benbow was a famous English Admiral who died in 1702
from wounds received in a four days' fight with the French fleet in the
West Indies. His captains refused to obey orders and Benbow was unable
to win the battle. When his right leg was shot off he refused to go
below but continued to direct the conflict from the deck. "I had rather
have lost both legs," he said, "than have seen this dishonor brought on
the English nation. But, hark ye--if another shot should take me off,
behave like men and fight it out." Two of his captains were tried,
convicted and shot. The Admiral himself died after three or four months
of suffering.
Stanza IX. A tender is a ship that carries supplies or conveys messages
from one to another of the ships in a squadron.
Stanza XI. "The Virgin and the Scales." The Virgin (Virgo) and the
Scales (Libra) are two constellations known to the ancients. A person
born while these constellations were to be seen in the sky (from near
the end of August to near the end of October) was said to be born under
them and was believed to have certain characteristics. In the case of
Sally Brown the stars were cruel. She could not follow her beau, Ben,
but must walk about raising her voice in wailing.
Stanza XV. "To pipe his eye" is a slang phrase meaning to look sharply.
Stanza XVI. "_All's Well_," the usual cry of a watchman, not the name of
a song.
"Pigtail" was a kind of chewing tobacco much used by sailors. It was
twisted in hard rolls.
_The Definition of a Gentleman_
(Volume IV, page 170)
There is nothing in _Journeys Through Bookland_ that will better repay
thought, especially for the boys, than this extract from the writings of
the great Cardinal Newman. It affords, however, a host of little tests
of character that everyone can apply to himself; for "gentleman," here,
is used in its generic sense and applies with equal force to both sexes.
It is not to be read hastily and then laid aside, for no one can get its
full meaning from a single perusal. Every word is a chapter, every
sentence a volume. Read properly, each sentence must carry with it a
personal application, which can be seen as the reader asks, "Is this
what I am?"
Am I then, one who never gives pain?
Am I mainly occupied in removing the obstacles that hinder the action of
my friends and acquaintances? Am I the easy chair that gives them bodily
comfort, the good fire that dispels the cold and makes them comfortable
and free to act?
Do I try always to make everyone at ease and at home?
Am I
--tender toward the bashful?
--gentle toward those who are cold and reserved?
--merciful to those whose actions draw ridicule upon themselves?
In conversation, do I recollect those to whom I am speaking, avoid
irritating them, keep myself in the background, talk little myself and
listen attentively to them?
If I can put to myself each of the tests Cardinal Newman offers in these
few pages and can feel myself ring true under each, then may I hope to
call myself a gentleman.
_Adventures in Lilliput_
(Volume V, page 8)
In _Gulliver's Travels_ Swift has given us a wonderful work in
constructive imagination. As has been said elsewhere, the imagination
works with the ideas which are present in the mind. It creates nothing,
but it may enlarge, diminish or recombine ideas with an infinity of
form. In _Adventures in Lilliput_ Swift has used largely the reducing
power of his imagination. If he has been accurate, he has reduced
everything in the same proportion. An interesting study of this phase of
the story may be made by means of questions, which may be answered by
reading the text, or by reasoning from the facts given.
In the following exercise, questions and comments are combined in such a
way as to assist a boy or girl to verify or disprove the accuracy of
Swift's work. A similar exercise, to illustrate the opposite extreme,
may be based upon _Adventures in Brobdingnag_ (page 54). It is hoped,
too, that the questions may suggest a method for interpreting other
selections.
When Gulliver awoke and found himself bound (page 10), he felt something
alive moving on his body. Bending his eyes downward as much as he could
he saw it was a human creature not six inches high. We are at liberty to
suppose that Gulliver was a man of ordinary height, that is to say, not
six feet high. If the Lilliputian was "not six inches high," what was
the ratio of height between Gulliver and his miniature captors? If,
then, Gulliver is twelve times the size of one of his captors, we have a
standard of comparison.
How long a bow would a man use? How long would be the arrow that fitted
that bow? How long would the bows and arrows of the Lilliputians be?
Would an arrow that size, fired with the force a Lilliputian could give,
"prick like a needle," and if there were many of them would they set a
man "a-groaning with grief and pain"?
If a man were lying flat on his back could he turn his eyes down so as
to see a pencil, not six inches high, placed upright on his breast? When
a man's face was turned two inches to the left, how much of the ground
would be concealed from his sight by his shoulder?
How far can a man shoot an arrow? How far could a Lilliputian shoot an
arrow? Would an arrow the size of a Lilliputian's falling from the
height to which he could shoot it pierce the skin of a man?
How long were the spears of the Lilliputians? Is it reasonable to
suppose that a leather jerkin would be proof against their spears? How
tall was the page that held up the train of the "principal person."
(page 12)?
How many times the height of a Lilliputian was the body of Gulliver as
he lay on the ground? How many rounds would there be in one of the
ladders on which they climbed? "Above one hundred inhabitants" mounted
the ladders and walked toward Gulliver's mouth. They carried baskets
filled with meat. Would the quantity of meat be too large for Gulliver
to eat? Would the shoulders, legs and loins of a sheep one-twelfth the
height of an ordinary one be "smaller than the wings of a lark"? Would
loaves of bread the "bigness of musket balls" be one-twelfth the size of
ordinary loaves?
In the case of two vessels of the same proportions, but of different
heights, do the capacities vary according to the heights, or according
to the cubes of the heights? If one of our hogsheads contain from one
hundred to one hundred and forty gallons, how much should a Lilliputian
hogshead contain to be in proportion?
Is it a fact that being one-twelfth the height of a man a Lilliputian
should have one-twelfth of a man's strength? If a man is reduced to
one-twelfth of his height what should his weight be?
When they wished to move Gulliver, five hundred carpenters and engineers
were set to work to prepare a frame of wood, which was raised three
inches from the ground, was about seven feet long, four feet wide, and
moved upon twenty-two wheels. What was the diameter of the wheels that
would raise the body three inches from the ground? Would it be an easy
matter to move wheels of that size when they bear a weight such as
Gulliver's must have been?
Knowing what we know of the Lilliputians could nine hundred of them
using pulleys with cords "the bigness of pack-thread" lift Gulliver upon
the engine in less than three hours?
Does Swift keep the correct proportions when he says that Gulliver's
bullets are about the size of the heads of the Lilliputians? Would "an
hundred and fifty of their beds sewn together make up the breadth and
length" of a bed large enough for Gulliver?
How large would a Lilliputian horse be? Does it seem wonderful that
Gulliver's hat could be brought from the seashore with "only five
horses"?
It is unnecessary to carry the questioning any further. Anyone who reads
the stories will find an infinity of questions suggesting themselves to
him, and he will doubtless get no little pleasure and profit from
attempting to answer them. As will be seen, some of the questions are
not simple. If Swift has been wise he has not reduced everything
arbitrarily on a horizontal scale to one-twelfth of its apparent size,
capacity, weight, or strength, but has properly apportioned all. The
reader may find that he will be called upon for some nice
discrimination, before he can judge correctly as to the accuracy with
which Swift has used his scale of reduction.
_The Heart of Bruce_
(Volume V, page 316)
1. What is meant by "frost lay hoar"? "Hoar" means "white" or "gray."
(It was early in the morning before the sun had melted the frost.)
2. What kind of armour did they wear? What kind of "ships" rode in the
bay? (Remember this happened about six hundred years ago.)
3. What caused the foam that was swept away? Why did they gaze back in
silence?
4. Why does the poet call them _purple_ hues, and why does he say they
decayed? (Recall the lines: "'Tis distance lends enchantment to the
view, and clothes the mountain in its azure hue." Did you ever notice
the purple on distant hills? What causes it?)
5. What is the "battle-van"? (The front rank.)
6. What is a "freit"? (A superstitious notion or an omen as to right or
wrong. Lord Douglas felt a superstitious dread, a chill of foreboding.)
7. What did Robert say on his dying day?
8. What did Robert want his followers to do with his heart?
9. Who dreamed this dream? What was a Pilgrim? (A pilgrim is a wanderer.
We think first of the Puritan fathers when we speak of Pilgrims, but the
Pilgrim who appeared to Lord Douglas was a palmer who showed by his garb
and his olive branch that he had been to the Holy Land.) See picture,
page 319.
10. What kind of a Cross did Saint Andrew bear? Who was Saint Andrew?
(Saint Andrew was one of the twelve apostles, and is believed to have
suffered martyrdom on a cross shaped something like the letter X, that
is, one made of two beams of equal length crossing in the middle at an
angle.)
11. What is a "belted brand"? (A sword fastened to a belt.)
12. What was "Galilee"? What was the "Holy Mount" and why was it so
called?
13. What is "Scotland's heart"? (The heart of Robert Bruce, so called
because of the reverence in which he is held by the Scotch.) Where can
you read about the great angel that calls the dead to rise?
14. What is meant by "mark my rede"? (Listen to my advice or counsel.)
15. What was the prediction the Pilgrim seemed to make to Lord Douglas?
What did Lord Douglas ask of Sir Simon of the Lee?
16. Why should Scotland's earth be called "kindly"?
17. What does "betide" mean? Tell in your own words what Sir Simon
replied. ("Whatever happens to me, I'll do as you command.")
18. What does Sir Simon promise?
19. What does "aye" mean? (In this place it means "for a long time.")
What is meant by on our "lee"? (The wind blew toward Spain, and across
the course of the ship; hence the coast appeared on the lee side of the
vessel.) Why should the poet say the coast rose "grimly"?
20. What are "atabals"? (Tabors or kettledrums used by the Moors.)
21. Who asks the question about the Eastern music and the crowd of armed
men?
22. What was Castile? (A province of Spain.) Who answers the question
asked in the twenty-first stanza?
23. What is meant by the "Cross in jeopardie"? (The Spaniards were a
Christian nation fighting under the symbol of the Cross. The Moors were
the infidels or Moslems whose success would destroy the Christian
religion in Spain. Their symbol was the crescent.)
24. What does "Have down" mean? (It means "Let us land.")
25. Who speaks in the twenty-fifth stanza?
26. Explain what is said in the twenty-sixth stanza. (Do you come
because you have promised to fight the pagans or do you come to fight
for money? Are you French or Burgundians?)
27. What is a "belted peer"?
28. What is the meaning of "died upon the tree"?
29. What is a "weltering wave"? (To "welter" is to tumble over. The
"weltering wave" is the sea.)
30. Does the word "pilgrim" mean the same here as in the ninth stanza?
31. What King is this who speaks in the thirty-first stanza?
32. What do the words "full well" express?
33. Is the word "amain" in use nowadays? What does it mean?
34. What is a high glance?
35. What does this speech by Douglas show us of his character?
36. What were "cross-bolts"? (Short, blunt arrows fired from the
cross-bows.)
37. What is a Saracen? (Here the word means merely a Mohammedan hostile
to the Christians.) What does "rode like corn" mean? (We rode through
their ranks as we would ride through corn.)
38. What is the meaning of "fain"? (Willing.)
39. What does "fell" mean? (Deadly.)
40. What is meant by "Make in"? (Here it means, "Gather together.")
41. What was the "rain"? What was the "swarm"?
42. What had happened to Saint Claire?
43. What was James's purpose in holding aloft the heart of Bruce?
44. Why did he throw the sacred relic before him? What does "wert wont
of yore" mean? ("As you used to do.")
45. What is the meaning of "stour"? (Battle or combat.) Why are the
spears said to come in "shivering"?
46. Who speaks in the forty-sixth stanza?
47. Who replies in the forty-seventh stanza? What does "dree" mean?
(Suffer, endure.)
48. What does "stark" mean?
49. What is the meaning of "lyart"? (Gray. The word was usually applied
to a horse.)
50. What is this "heaviest cloud" that is bound for the banks of
Bothwell?
51. What is this "sorest stroke" that has fallen upon Scotland?
52. What was to be carried back to the ship and laid in hallowed ground
in Scotland?
53. Who is the "Lord King" referred to in the fifty-third stanza?
54. Does the line "so stately as he lay" seem a natural way of
expressing the fact?
55. What does the speech of the Spanish King show of his character?
56. Why does the poet say that we steered the ship "heavily"?
57. Does "no welcome greeted our return" mean that none of the Scotch
met the returning soldiers?
58. What were "Douglas Kirk" and "fair Melrose"? (The church of the
Douglas clan and the stately abbey of Melrose. The latter may still be
seen in beautiful ruins in southern Scotland.)
_Annie Laurie_
(Volume VI, page 119)
The Scotch dialect in this old favorite is one of its charms, but some
readers may require explanation of a few of the terms.
"Braes" are hillsides or slopes. "Bonnie" is the Scotch way of spelling
"bonny," which, here, means "beautiful."
"Fa's" is the Scotch spelling of "falls."
"Gie'd" is Scotch for "gave."
The last line of the first stanza rendered into English would read, "I'd
lay me down and die."
"Snaw" is "snow."
"Ee" is "eye."
The "gowan" is the mountain daisy of Scotland.
"Fa'" is "fall."
Like many another simple lyric of love and devotion this owes much of
its popularity to the sweet melody of the music to which it is usually
sung.
_The Lost Child_
(Volume VII, page 409)
1. Where did the poet wander? Is the picture on page 409 a beautiful
one? Is it your idea of a sunny glade? On what or on whom was the poet
musing? Where his thoughts pleasant? To what does he liken his
thoughts? What are guideless thoughts? Do you think his "love" is a
person, or is it his work, his calling?
2. What chanced to go astray? Did Lowell sometimes fear for the future?
How does he express the fear? Who brought back the wandering thoughts?
Where did the thoughts rest? Who had the "snowy arms"? If Lowell feared
the future at any time, what was it that brought calm to him again?
3. What is the "soft nest"? Who is the "happy one"? Whose hair "shone
golden in the sun"? How could a thought of fear seem like a "heavenly
child"? Was it Hope that thus transformed all his thoughts?
4. Upon what did Hope's eyes smile mildly down? What was blessed with so
deep a love? What clasped the neck of Hope? What was it that fell
asleep? What was the lost child?
_David Crockett in the Creek War_
(Volume VIII, Page 37)
Almost any child who is able to read for himself will know as soon as he
has read a few sentences from David Crockett's Autobiography that the
man was uneducated, and wrote in what could not be called "good
English." However, when the reader has gone a little farther he will
realize that Crockett shows his own character in his writings, and that
his language is picturesque and entertaining. Moreover, it is language
that was characteristic of the early settlers in the region where the
frontiersman lived, and hence is of some historical interest to us.
No apology is needed for including the selection in these volumes,
although it has no fine literary merit; for it is the plain, direct
story of a strong man with a clear brain, who accomplished whatever he
undertook, whether it was building a home, fighting the Indians, or
writing a book.
The story will speak for itself, and as it is a truthful account of
things that actually happened, it will appeal strongly to the
imagination of all young readers. However, it is worth while to call
specific attention to some of the faults in style and actual errors in
grammar, in order that the reader may not be affected unfortunately by
the language, or be led to approve it as a style to be followed in these
modern days. This can be done by means of questions, and as an
illustration of the method we will consider the first four paragraphs of
the selection, beginning on page 37.
"There had been no war among us for so long that but few who were not
too old to bear arms knew anything about the business." Does the phrase
_among us_ mean that the settlers had not fought among themselves, or
that they had not been in conflict with the Indians? What was Crockett's
exact meaning? Does he convey it clearly? Does the word _business_ seem
dignified enough to be applied to war?
"I couldn't fight at all." Does the abbreviation of the words _could
not_ make Crockett's style dignified or familiar? Do you often see
similar abbreviations in what is known as "good literature," except as
they are found in conversation, where the tendency is always to use
abbreviated forms and familiar terms? Does not the use of such
abbreviations in this selection make it seem as though Crockett were
talking to his readers in a free and easy manner, rather than as though
he were writing a formal book?
"When I heard of the mischief." In the first sentence of this paragraph,
Crockett speaks of a "most bloody butchery" at Fort Mimms. Now he refers
to it as _the mischief_. Is the word _mischief_ strong enough?
"In a few days a general meeting of the militia was called." Who were
the militia? Why could not the militia be sent out as a body instead of
calling for volunteers? Does he mean the organized militia, or simply
the able-bodied men in that vicinity?
"Began to beg me not to turn out." Is _turn out_ a slang phrase here, or
is it a term commonly used in speaking of the assemblage of the militia?
"It was mighty hard to go against her arguments." Does the word _mighty_
show refinement? What word would be better? Does the phrase _go against_
look well in a book?
"Told her that if every man would wait till his wife got willing to let
him go to war, there would be no fighting done until we would all be
killed in our houses." Is the word _would_ as it appears the first time
used properly? Is _should_ the right word to use? Is _got willing_
correct English? Does the word _until_ express the meaning Crockett
intends to convey? If "there would be no fighting done _until_ they were
all killed in their houses," could there be any fighting done
_afterward_? What words should be used in place of _until_? Is the word
_would_ used properly the second time it appears in the sentence?
[Illustration: PHOEBE CARY
ALICE CARY
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING
LUCY LARCOM
FELICIA HEMANS
GEORGE ELIOT
JEAN INGELOW]
"Seeing I was bent on it." Can you find authority for using the phrase
_bent on it_ to mean _determined to do it_?
"The truth is my dander was up and nothing but war should bring it right
again." What does the dictionary say about the use of the word _dander_?
Do you suppose it was a common word among Crockett's friends? Is the
word _should_ properly used in this sentence? Is the proper word
_would_? Is it a common mistake even now to use _would_ for _should_ and
_should_ for _would_? How may we know which word to use?
"When the men were paraded, a lawyer by the name of Jones addressed us,
informing us he wished to raise a company, and that then the men should
meet and elect their officers." Who were the men that were paraded? Was
Crockett among them? Whom did Jones address? When Crockett uses the word
_men_ and the word _us_, twice in the same sentence is his meaning
perfectly clear?
"I believe I was about the second or third man that stepped out, but on
marching up and down the regiment a few times we found we had a large
company." Who were marching up and down? Does this mean that they
marched up and down in front of the regiment? What was this regiment
before which they marched up and down? Does _regiment_ here mean the
same as _militia_ in the paragraph before?
"We received orders to start on the next Monday week." What is the
meaning of _next Monday week_? If they assembled on Wednesday, how many
days would elapse before they were to start, and on what day would they
start?
"Mounted my horse and set sail to join my company." How can a man _set
sail_ when he is mounted on a _horse_? Is such a mixing of figures
evidence of good writing?
"All mounted volunteers and all determined to fight, judging from
myself, for I felt wolfish all over. I verily believe that the whole
army was of the real grit." Is _felt wolfish all over_ a fine phrase? Is
it an expressive phrase? What was to be judged from himself--that all
were determined to fight, or that the whole army was of the real grit?
Does the fact that Crockett felt wolfish all over show that he was
determined to fight, or that he had real grit? What is the literal
meaning of _grit_? What does it mean as Crockett uses it here? Is it
proper to use the word as Crockett uses it?
Probably it is not worth while to push this critical study any farther.
It will be seen by this time that Crockett wrote as he talked, and
accordingly, his story lacks the polish and literary beauties that men
trained to write could have given it.
_The Impeachment of Warren Hastings_
(Volume IX, page 32)
Words are interesting things, and people who have never tried the
experiment will be surprised to learn how much pleasure there is to be
found in the use of the dictionary. We consult the dictionary only when
we wish to know the meaning of a word, or its pronunciation, but there
are numberless other facts in the volume that are more interesting, if
not more valuable, than the definitions and marks of pronunciation. In
the history and derivation of words may be found many interesting and
surprising facts which, if they are known, give increased force and
meaning to the words.
There is a great difference among writers in the kinds of words they
use. Some naturally use simple words of Anglo-Saxon origin, while others
use longer and more sonorous words which come from the Latin and the
Greek. It is interesting to take paragraphs from different writers, say,
for instance, from Hawthorne, Lamb, Longfellow, Tennyson, Macaulay and
Irving, make a list of the leading words in the paragraphs, and then
look up their derivations and see how many Anglo-Saxon, how many Latin
and how many Greek words are found in each paragraph.
It will be seen that it is a characteristic of Macaulay to use numerous
many-syllabled words, most of which come directly from the Latin. His
essay on the _Impeachment of Warren Hastings_ shows this trait.
Probably that furnishes as good an illustration as anything in the books
of the kind of literature from which studies in words may best be made.
Taking two paragraphs at random, let us look them over and see what
interesting facts may be gleaned from the dictionary concerning the
words we find:
"The Opposition was loud and vehement against him. But the Opposition,
though formidable from the wealth and influence of some of its members,
and from the admirable talents and eloquence of others, was outnumbered
in Parliament, and odious throughout the country. Nor, as far as we can
judge, was the Opposition generally desirous to engage in so serious an
undertaking as the impeachment of an Indian Governor. Such an
impeachment must last for years. It must impose on the chiefs of the
party an immense load of labor. Yet it could scarcely, in any manner,
affect the event of the great political game. The followers of the
coalition were therefore more inclined to revile Hastings than to
prosecute him. But there were two men whose indignation was not to be so
appeased, Philip Francis and Edmund Burke.
"Francis had recently entered the House of Commons, and had already
established a character there for industry and ability. He labored
indeed under one most unfortunate defect, want of fluency. But he
occasionally expressed himself with a dignity and energy worthy of the
greatest orators. Before he had been many days in Parliament, he
incurred the bitter dislike of Pitt, who constantly treated him with as
much asperity as the laws of debate would allow. Neither lapse of years
nor change of scene had mitigated the enmities which Francis had brought
back from the East. After his usual fashion, he mistook his malevolence
for virtue, nursed it, as preachers tell us we ought to nurse our good
dispositions, and paraded it, on all occasions, with Pharisaical
ostentation."
In the two brief paragraphs given, there are, among others, the
following words of more than passing interest:
1. _Vehement._ This word is derived from two Latin words, meaning _to
carry_ and _the mind_; hence a vehement speech is one that is supposed
to carry the mind away by force. We use the word _furious_ when we wish
to speak of anger or other passions, but the word _vehement_ when we
speak of zeal, love, expression. In this paragraph the Opposition was
loud and tried _to carry the minds of others by force_.
2. _Formidable._ Synonyms of _formidable_ are _dreadful_, _terrible_ and
_shocking_, yet it is rarely the case that two words are exact synonyms.
In this case, _formidable_ means something that excites fear, but it is
neither sudden nor violent in its action. A _dreadful_ thing would
excite fear or dread, and might act violently, but not suddenly. _A
shocking_ thing would startle us because it was both violent and sudden.
Does _formidable_ appear to be the right word by which to characterize
the Opposition?
3. _Influence._ This word is derived from two Latin words which mean
_flowing over_, and consequently an _influence_ brings about change by
gradual process. There is no idea of right in the word _influence_ as
there is in the word _authority_. Does it seem that _influence_ is the
right word here?
4. _Talents._ The history of this word is an interesting one. In origin
it is Greek, and there it was the name of a weight, which in silver had
a certain money value. The same word appearing in Hebrew had a similar
meaning. A Hebrew talent in silver would be worth something over
seventeen or nineteen hundred dollars of our money. In the New Testament
(see _Matthew_ XXV, 14 to 30), Christ utters the parable of the talents.
We now use the word to mean intellectual ability or capacity, or skill
in accomplishing things, or some special gift in some art or science. It
is probable that this figurative meaning of the word has originated from
the parable, and although many writers have criticised the use of
_talent_ in our sense, it has become well established in the language.
5. _Odious._ The Latin word from which _odious_ is derived means
_hatred_. An _odious_ thing is a thing to be _hated_. Our word _odium_
differs slightly in use from our word _hatred_. We exercise _hatred_,
but we endure _odium_.
6. _Desire._ The origin of this word is not certain, but it was probably
derived from the French words which mean literally _from the stars_ or
_constellations_.
7. _Immense._ This word is derived from two Latin words which mean
_cannot be measured_.
8. _Coalition._ The two Latin words from which _coalition_ is derived
mean _to grow with_; consequently, a _coalition_ is a thing composed of
several elements which have grown together. We should not expect a
_coalition_ to be suddenly formed; it must come about by process of
growth.
9. _Appease._ Literally, _appease_ means _to make peace_. It also means
_to satisfy_, and is derived directly from the Latin. We try to
_appease_ those who are in passion and try to _calm_ those who are in
trouble or apprehension. Does Macaulay use the word properly when he
speaks of _appeasing_ indignation?
10. _Fluency._ The Latin word from which _fluency_ is derived means _to
flow_. Accordingly, a _fluent_ person is one from whom speech flows
smoothly and readily. To lack _fluency_ Macaulay considers an
unfortunate defect in Francis.
11. _Asperity._ The Latin word _asper_ means _rough_ or _harsh_, and was
applied to things which had a rough surface. Macaulay uses the word as
we now know it, in the same figurative sense in which we now sometimes
use the word _roughness_.
12. _Lapse._ This word from the Latin means _sliding_ or _following_. In
speaking of the _lapse_ of years Macaulay intimates that they gradually
slid away.
13. _Pharisaical._ The _Pharisees_ were a sect of the Jews who were
noted for the strict way in which they followed the rites and ceremonies
that had been handed down to them by tradition, and who believed
themselves superior in sanctity to the other Jews. They held themselves
apart and were charged with being hypocrites. The word _Pharisaical_ has
now come into common English use, and means _hypocritical_.
14. _Ostentation._ This is a Latin word meaning _show_ or _parade_.
_Ostentation_ and _parade_ both imply effort, but the former refers to
the intent rather than to the manner. _Ostentation_ may be shown by
_parade_.
From _The Death of Caesar_
(Volume IX, page 143)
As preliminary to the intensive study of the speech alluded to below,
read to the class or have them read all of the three selections, namely:
_The Death of Caesar_, from Plutarch (page 126); The _Death of Caesar_,
from Shakespeare (page 143), and _Julius Caesar_, from Froude (page
155). As an example of selections worthy of close reading, take the
speech of Cæsar as given on page 153, beginning, "I could be well mov'd,
if I were as you."
Bring out by questions these facts:
A. _Words._ "Moved"; induced to change my mind.
"Constant"; fixed, unchangeable, immovable.
"Northern star"; the pole star; the north star. To us this star always
appears fixed in the northern heavens. The other stars and the
constellations revolve around it; Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, is most
conspicuous, and by a line through its two front stars we may always
locate the North Star and, hence, the direction, _north_. Mariners have
steered by this star for centuries. Many a lost and wandering man has
found his way to safety by its fixed light.
"Resting"; always stationary.
"Fellow"; equal.
"Firmament"; sky, heavens.
"Painted"; decorated.
"Sparks"; stars.
"Doth"; does.
"Furnished"; filled.
"Apprehensive"; doubtful, filled with forebodings and easily moved.
"Unassailable"; not subject to attack; here the meaning is rather that
of _unconquerable_.
"Constant"; _insistent_, the first time the word appears; but
_unchangeable_, the second time.
B. _Phrases._ "Well moved"; easily moved.
"If I were as you"; if I were as you are, or if I were like you.
"Could pray to move"; could try to change the opinion or the
determination of someone else.
"True-fixed and resting quality"; quality of always remaining true or
fixed to the one spot in the heavens.
"So in the world"; as all the unnumbered stars shine in the heavens and
all move but one, thus in the world.
"Holds on his rank unshak'd of motion"; is fixed in his ideas and
unmoved by prayers and petitions.
"And that I am he"; and I am that one immovable man.
"Let me a little show it"; let me give a little proof.
C. _Sentences._ The first sentence means: If I could beg others to
change their purposes, I could be induced to change mine; but I am as
fixed in my conclusions as the north star is fixed in the heavens. The
second sentence says: As there are unnumbered movable stars in the
heavens and only one that is fixed, so in the world there are unnumbered
changeable men and only one who is fixed in his determination; that I am
the one determined man let me prove a little by saying that, as I was
persistent in banishing Cimber so will I continue to keep him in
banishment.
D. _The paragraph._ The whole speech is a refusal on Cæsar's part to
grant the petition of the conspirators who plead that Cimber may be
brought back from banishment. The words are well calculated to stir up
resentment and to fix the plotters in their plan to murder Cæsar. Even
Brutus would be convinced by such sentiments that Cæsar was a dangerous
man; if the great Roman thought himself the only man with such
determination, might he not think himself the one man of the world in
all respects? The conspirators were looking for an excuse for killing
Cæsar, and they might find it in this speech; Brutus was being led to
believe that Cæsar was too ambitious and here was the final argument to
convince him.