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He ought at least to apologize for his conduct. He was now compelled to defer to men for whose opinions he had never entertained much respect.

In the best sentences the parts are so placed that a person reading aloud is compelled by the arrangement of the words and phrases to reproduce by his voice the distribution of emphasis which the writer had in mind. It is a good plan to test by the ear what one has written, and to rearrange the parts of sentences so that the sentence will emphasize itself.

The following sentences illustrate how the emphasis of a phrase or a clause shifts with every change of position:

1. Provided

you have 1. It is not very hard to write, provided you have plenty of good ideas.

plenty of good ideas, it is not very hard to write.

2. The hand of death was upon him; he knew it; and the only wish which he uttered was that sword in hand he might die.

2. The hand of death was upon him; he knew it: and the only wish which he uttered was that he might die sword in hand.

3. It is always difficult to 3. It is always difficult to separate the literary charac- separate the literary character of a man who lives in our ter of a man who lives in our own time from his personal own time from his personal character. It is peculiarly character. It is peculiarly difficult in the case of Lord difficult to make this sepaByron to make this separa-ration in the case of Lord tion.

4. Believe me, nothing except a lost battle is so terrible as a won battle.

Byron.

4. Believe me, nothing except a battle lost is so terrible as a battle won.

5. The framers of the constitution had to give to the government a permanent and conservative form.

6. Knowledge is the indis

5. The framers of the constitution had to give to the government a form permanent and conservative.

6. The indispensable con

pensable condition of expan-dition of expansion of mind,

sion of mind, and the instru

ment of attaining to it.

and the instrument of attaining to it, is knowledge.

Summary.

1. See that every sentence you write says one thing, and says what you want it to say,

- no more, no less.

2. Use short sentences for abruptness and rapidity.

3. Use long sentences for dignity and grace.

4. Use the loose sentence for its easy conversational effect. 5. Use the periodic sentence for its firmness and dignity.

A. In the paragraph from Burroughs (p. 15), what kinds of sentence are used, and what is their effect respectively? Change any five of the sentences to a different form, and note the resulting change in emphasis.

B. In the selection from Bryce (p. 26), underline the words that you are compelled to emphasize most strongly, as you read the selection.

C. In the paragraph from Froude (p. 48), what phrase or clause in each sentence is made emphatic by position?

D. In the paragraph from Hosmer (p. 46), second sentence, what is the most emphatic word? Change the position of the if-clause and note the change in emphasis.

E. In the paragraph from Carlyle (p. 49), explain the use of the colon in the first sentence and in the fourth. Which of the sentences are completely periodic?

Jopie

F. In the paragraph from Emerson (p. 55), what use of the short sentence is illustrated? What use of long sentences?

G. In the paragraph from Macaulay (p. 68), what use of the short sentence is seen? What use of the long sentence?

H. In the paragraph by Longfellow (p. 45), what use is subserved by the long sentences?

I. In the paragraph by Irving (p. 47), mark the words of con

nection.

J. In the paragraph by Lamb (p. 54), how is the second sentence kept from overlooseness? What does the sentence structure tell you of the person speaking?

K. Examine the sentences of your last essay. Question each sentence in order to see whether you have made it say what you wanted it to say. If any sentence has failed to do your bidding, remodel it, try it in different forms with the words and phrases in a different order. Place the words and phrases so that a person reading aloud would be compelled to emphasize the important words as you intended they should be emphasized.

L. The following from William Hubbard's A General History of New England from the Discovery to 1680, is one of the longest sentences in English literature. It contains 556 words. Break it up into paragraphs, and retell it in more connected style, as John Gallop might have related it to his Connecticut friends upon his return. Modernize any old-fashioned spelling that you may notice.

(One John Gallop, with one man more, and two boys, coming from Connecticut, and intending to put in at Long Island, as he came from thence, being at the mouth of the harbor, was forced by a sudden change of the wind to bear up for Block Island, or Fisher's Island,) where, as they were sailing along, they met with a pinnace, which they found to be John Oldham's, who had been sent to trade with the Pequods (to make trial of the reality of their pretended friendship after the murder of Capt. Stone): they hailed the vessel, but had

no answer, although they saw the deck full of Indians (fourteen in all), and a little before that had seen a canoe go from the vessel full of Indians likewise, and goods, whereupon they suspected they had killed John Oldham, who had only two boys and two Narrhaganset Indians in his vessel besides himself, and the rather because they let slip and set up sail (being two miles from the shore, the wind and tide coming off the shore of the island, whereby they drave toward the mainland of Narrhaganset); therefore they went ahead of them, and having nothing but two pieces, and two pistols, they bore up near the Indians, who stood on the deck of the vessel ready armed with guns, swords, and pikes; but John Gallop, a man of stout courage, let fly among them and so galled them that they got all down under hatches, and then they stood off again, and returning with a good gale, they stemmed her upon the quarter, and almost overset her, which so affrightened the Indians, as six of them leaped overboard, and were drowned, yet they durst not board her, but stood off again, and fitted their anchor, so as stemming her the second time, they bored her bow through with their anchor, and sticking fast to her, they made divers shot through the sides of her, and so raked her fore and aft (being but inch board) as they must needs kill or hurt some of the Indians; but seeing none of them come forth, they got loose from her, and then stood off again: then four or five more of the Indians leaped into the sea, and were likewise drowned; whereupon there being but four left in her, they boarded her; when an Indian came up and yielded; him they bound and put into the hold: then another yielded; him they also bound, but Gallop, being well acquainted with their skill to unloose one another, if they lay near together, and having no place to keep them asunder, flung him bound into the sea; then looking about they found John Oldham under an old sail stark naked, having his head cleft to the

brains; his hands and legs cut as if they had been cutting them off, yet warm; so they put him into the sea; but could not well tell how to come at the other two Indians (who were in a little room underneath with their swords), so they took the goods which were left, and the sails, and towed the boat away, but night coming on, and the wind rising, they were forced to turn her off, and the wind carried her to the Narrhaganset shore, where they left her.

M. The following examples are both utterances of public men.1 Which do you think is the stronger?

1. Entertaining unlimited confidence in your intelligent and patriotic devotion to the public interest, and being conscious of no motives on my part which are not inseparable from the honor and advancement of my country, I hope it may be my privilege to deserve and secure, not only your cordial coöperation in great public measures, but also those relations of mutual confidence and regard which it is always so desirable to cultivate between members of coördinate branches of the government.

2. I do not think I am fit for this place. But my friends say I am, and I trust them. I shall take the place, and, when I am in it, I shall do as well as I can.

Try restating the first selection in the terse and simple style of the second.

Means of Connection.

41. Between the sentences of a paragraph, as between the paragraphs of a composition, the most useful means of connection is a logical and natural order of ideas.

1 From Edward Everett Hale's How to Do It, a book which every high school student should read through once a year, and consult frequently between whiles.