black and fearful to look upon, and her brother, the Wind, roared behind her with a fearful voice. The loftiest trees bent under the tempest, and men hastened to their homes for shelter. In a moment the Wind was hushed. Lightning gleamed from the Cloud, thunder was heard, and then a torrent of rain descended. The earth drank it in, the dry clods became soaked, and the thirsty fields revived. Soon the sun broke forth, lighting the earth with beauty and causing the rain-drops to glitter in his beams. Across the bosom of the Cloud rested a beautiful rainbow, emblem of that love which made her willing to become a sacrifice for the good of men. And a sacrifice she was; for as the sky grew more and more bright, she melted away and was seen no more. - From the German. NOTE.-In the reproduction, be careful to keep the quotations in the first person. LIST OF SUBJECTS FOR SIMILAR COMPOSITION. The Maple and the Rose. They run a race in growing-rose grows faster-maple surer, for it keeps its height from year to year. After years have passed, they compare-maple high, with birds singing in its branches rose very little higher than at first. "The race is not to the swift." The White Giant. Steam in its various applications. The Great Magician. Electricity in its various applications. Journey of a Drop of Water. Falls upon a house roof-reaches a stream-then river - then ocean. Drawn up by sun - becomes part of a cloud - driven by wind — falls as rain upon same house roof from which it started. Write in first person. X The Leaf's Complaint. Leaf told by the wind that some day it would fall from the tree and die-tree comforts it. When autumn came, leaf became colored softly sailed off - went to sleep. The Seasons as Children of One Family. Year as father-four children; winter, son- spring, summer, and autumn, daughters. Dress and action suitable to the time of year. Dispute of Mathematics, Latin, and Science for a Boy's Time. Set forth the value of each, using the first person. The Butterfly's Ball. The guests how dressed how entertained. y The Cat's Dinner Party. All the cat's relations invited: lion- tiger — leopard — panther. Each tells of his home. The Debate in the Orchard. sion Meeting of birds - chairman appointed. Question for discus"Man is mean, mischievous, and malevolent." Arguments for and against, from the birds' point of view. My Dream. Imagine a procession of the characters in children's stories, to pass by Bo-peep Red Riding-Hood - Cinderella - Jack the Giant-Killer -Aladdin —Ali Baba-Robinson Crusoe - Christian. CHAPTER VII. A STUDY OF SENTENCES AND THE LESSON XXIV. FORM AND STRUCTURE OF THE SENTENCE. FORM. Sentences are found in four different forms. Declarative. - Mary reads the book. Each of these sentences may be: Affirmative. Mary reads the book. STRUCTURE. Sentences likewise differ in their structure. The principal varieties are the Loose, the Periodic, and the Balanced. The one oftenest used is the Loose; it is the sentence of conversation, of easy narrative, and largely of description. The Periodic and the Balanced are oftener used in orations, arguments, and didactic dis course. A Loose Sentence is one that says something in the first clause, which is strengthened, weakened, modified, or changed in some way, as the sentence goes on; and may be built up word by word, as it is spoken or written. Ex. "It is contended by those who have been bred at Eton, Harrow, Rugby, and Westminster, that the public sentiment within these schools is high-toned and manly; that in their playgrounds courage is universally admired, meanness despised, manly feelings and generous conduct are encouraged; and that an unwritten code of honor deals to the spoiled child of rank and to the child of upstart wealth an even-handed justice, purges their nonsense out of both, and does all that can be done to make them gentlemen." - Ralph Waldo Emerson. A Periodic Sentence is one so formed that it keeps the mind in suspense about the meaning until the very end, it must be as a whole in the mind of the speaker or writer before it is spoken or written. Ex. "If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we are engaged and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon, until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight.” — Patrick Henry. "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing." ― Bible. A Balanced Sentence is one containing two clauses that are similar in form, and either parallel or contrasted in meaning. Ex. "In peace, children bury their parents; in war, parents bury their children." "Had you rather Cæsar were living, and die all slaves, than that Cæsar were dead, to live all free men?”. Shakespeare. "None knew thee but to love thee, Nor named thee but to praise." — Halleck. The Book of Job, the Psalms of David, and the Proverbs of Solomon abound in examples of balanced sentences. The paragraph is the division of discourse next higher than the sentence; it is in fact a collection of sentences with unity of purpose. The most important principles which govern the structure of the paragraph are : — The first sentence, unless plainly introductory, should give some idea of the subject of the paragraph. The bearing of each sentence upon what has gone before should be evident. The paragraph should have unity of thought, with variety of expression; that is, there should be sentences of different length, different form, and different structure. EXERCISE I. Analyze various kinds of composition with a view to the paragraphing. Analyze the paragraphs of different selections in school readers, magazine articles, and the sections in Cæsar's Commentaries or Cicero's Orations. EXERCISE II. Write several paragraphs upon a given subject, having clearly in mind the central thought in each; where each paragraph begins and where it ends. The first word of a paragraph in a written composition should always begin a little back of the left margin. |