Practical Grammar and Composition Part 51

... I was now enabled to see the _extent and aspect of my prison.

In its size_ I had been greatly mistaken....

(Beginning of paragraph following one on Unity in the paragraph)

_The second of the essentials of the paragraph_, coherence, demands that....

Frequently, in the longer compositions, a separate paragraph is devoted to accomplis.h.i.+ng the transition from part to part. Observe the following:

(Paragraph 7)

... The only other law bearing on this matter is the Act of a.s.sembly of last year authorizing the receipts from the automobile taxes to be used in the construction of roads. This then completes the enumeration of what has already been done toward building good roads.

(Paragraph 8. Transitional paragraph)

_There are, however, several promising plans for the securing of this important result, which are now being seriously discussed._

(Paragraph 9)

_The first of these plans is_ ...

The following are a few of the words and phrases often used to indicate transition and to show relation between the paragraphs: _So much for, It remains to mention, In the next place, Again, An additional reason, Therefore, Hence, Moreover, As a result of this, By way of exception._

Examine the selection under --187.

184. THE ENDING OF THE COMPOSITION. In a longer composition, the ending should neither be too abrupt, nor, on the other hand, should it be too long drawn out. It should be in proportion to the length of the composition. Usually, except in the case of a story, it should consist of a paragraph or two by way of summary or inference.

In a story, however, the ending may be abrupt or not. The kind of ending depends entirely upon the nature and the scheme of development of the story. Examine the following endings:

Ending of a theme on _The Uses of Iron_:

Only some of the more important uses of this wonderful metal, iron, have been mentioned. There are hundreds of other uses to which it is constantly put--uses which no other metal could fill. Gold may once have been called the king of metals, but it has long since lost its claim to that t.i.tle.

Ending of a story:

John heard her answer, and began to move slowly away from the gate.

"Good-bye," he said.

And then he was gone, forever.

Suggested subjects for the making of outlines and compositions.

1. How I Spent my Vacation.

2. Shall Final Examinations be Abolished?

3. The Subjects which Should be Taught in High Schools.

4. My Qualifications for a Position.

5. The Uses of Iron.

6. Paul Revere's Ride.

7. The City Park.

8. My Town as a Place of Residence.

9. The Value of Railroads.

10. Why I Believe in Local Option.

11. A Winter's Sleigh Ride.

12. Shall Foreign Immigration be Restricted?

13. My Youthful Business Ventures.

14. Why I Belong to the X Political Party.

15. Various Methods of Heating a House.

185. Below is given in full Lincoln's _Gettysburg Speech_. It is perfect in its English and its construction. Study it with especial reference to its coherence, unity, and emphasis. Some of the words of coherence have been italicized.

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers, brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. _Now_ we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether _that nation_, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

We are met on a great battle-field of _that war_. We have come to dedicate a portion of _that field_ as the final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do _this. But_ in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who _struggled here_ have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here; but it can never forget what _they did here_.

It is for us, the living, _rather_, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which _they who fought here_ have thus far so n.o.bly advanced. _It is rather for us_ to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that _these dead_ shall not have died in vain; that _this nation_, under G.o.d, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

186. _Small Economies_, from Mrs. Gaskell's _Cranford_.

I have often noticed that everyone has his own individual small economies--careful habits of saving fractions of pennies in some one peculiar direction--any disturbance of which annoys him more than spending s.h.i.+llings or pounds on some real extravagance.

An old gentleman of my acquaintance, who took the intelligence of the failure of a Joint-Stock Bank, in which some of his money was invested, with a stoical mildness, worried his family all through a long summer's day because one of them had torn (instead of cutting) out the written leaves of his now useless bank-book. Of course, the corresponding pages at the other end came out as well, and this little unnecessary waste of paper (his private economy) chafed him more than all the loss of his money. Envelopes fretted his soul terribly when they first came in. The only way in which he could reconcile himself to such waste of his cherished article was by patiently turning inside out all that were sent to him, and so making them serve again. Even now, though tamed by age, I see him casting wistful glances at his daughters when they send a whole inside of a half-sheet of note paper, with the three lines of acceptance to an invitation, written on only one of the sides.

I am not above owning that I have this human weakness myself. String is my foible. My pockets get full of little hanks of it, picked up and twisted together, ready for uses that never come. I am seriously annoyed if any one cuts the string of a parcel instead of patiently and faithfully undoing it fold by fold. How people can bring themselves to use india-rubber bands, which are a sort of deification of string, as lightly as they do, I cannot imagine. To me an india rubber band is a precious treasure. I have one which is not new--one that I picked up off the floor nearly six years ago. I have really tried to use it, but my heart failed me, and I could not commit the extravagance.

Small pieces of b.u.t.ter grieve others. They cannot attend to conversation because of the annoyance occasioned by the habit which some people have of invariably taking more b.u.t.ter than they want. Have you not seen the anxious look (almost mesmeric) which such persons fix on the article? They would feel it a relief if they might bury it out of their sight by popping it into their own mouths and swallowing it down; and they are really made happy if the person on whose plate it lies unused suddenly breaks off a piece of toast (which he does not want at all) and eats up his b.u.t.ter. They think that this is not waste.

Now Miss Matty Jenkins was chary of candles. We had many devices to use as few as possible. In the winter afternoons she would sit knitting for two or three hours--she could do this in the dark, or by firelight--and when I asked if I might not ring for candles to finish st.i.tching my wristbands, she told me to "keep blind man's holiday." They were usually brought in with tea; but we only burnt one at a time. As we lived in constant preparation for a friend who might come in any evening (but who never did), it required some contrivance to keep our two candles of the same length, ready to be lighted, and to look as if we burnt two always. The candles took it in turns; and, whatever we might be talking or doing, Miss Matty's eyes were habitually fixed upon the candle, ready to jump up and extinguish it and to light the other before they had become too uneven in length to be restored to equality in the course of the evening.

One night, I remember this candle economy particularly annoyed me.

I had been very much tired of my compulsory "blind man's holiday,"

especially as Miss Matty had fallen asleep, and I did not like to stir the fire and run the risk of awakening her; and so I could not even sit on the rug, and scorch myself with sewing by firelight, according to my usual custom....

187. A LIST OF BOOKS FOR READING. These books are of a varied character and are all interesting and of recognized excellence in their English.

Most of them are books that, as a matter of general education, should be read by everyone.

Fiction: Treasure Island--Stevenson.

Kidnapped--Stevenson.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--Stevenson.

The Scarlet Letter--Hawthorne.

Twice Told Tales--Hawthorne.

The Luck of Roaring Camp--Bret Harte.

Tales of Mystery and Imagination--Poe.

Silas Marner--Eliot.

Robinson Crusoe--Defoe.

Ivanhoe--Scott.

Henry Esmond--Thackeray.

Pilgrim's Progress--Bunyan.

The Spy--Cooper.

The Man without a Country--Hale.