2. A KIND ACT. As I was coming through the Allegheny parks one day I noticed a large Newfoundland dog standing near a pump, looking longingly at it. A little girl with some books under her arm stopped near the dog and pumped him a drink of cool water. When the dog had had enough he licked her hand, and looking up into her face he seemed to try his best to thank her. After patting his head for a moment, she went on her way. - School Work. Exercises. Ex. I. What is your feeling toward this little girl? What has caused that feeling? What in the second sentence helps to make clear for us a picture of the little girl? Why did she pat the dog's head before she started on? How many pictures are given of the dog? Which one seems most distinct? Ex. II. You have seen or taken part in some act showing kindness or cruelty to a dog or to some other domestic animal. Tell of it, and afterward write an account of it. Or tell and write of any act of kindness you have seen. 3. THE WHISTLE. When I was a child of seven years old, my friends, on a holiday, filled my pocket with coppers. I went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children, and being charmed with the sound of a whistle that I met by the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily offered and gave all my money for one. I then came home and went whistling all over the house, much pleased with my whistle but disturbing all the family. My sisters and brothers, understanding the bargain I had made, told me I had given four times as much for it as it was worth, put me in mind what good things I might have bought with the rest of the money, and laughed at me so much for my folly that I cried with vexation; and the reflection gave me much more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure. -Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Exercise.1 Tell first, and later write in two or three paragraphs, of an experience of your own, -you paid too much for an article, bought the wrong article, forgot what you were to buy, lost, broke, or spilled what you had bought. Tell of the experience as a whole, — its beginning, the experience itself, and its results. Use short sentences and words as simple as Franklin's. Write a paragraph about a pet or a toy that you very much enjoyed during your childhood. Tell how you got it, how you played with it by yourself or with your companions, and how you lost it, broke it, or got rid of it. Write a paragraph about a childhood experience with a sled or with skates. Write two or three paragraphs about any experience of your own before you were seven or eight years old. What unnecessary word is there in the first clause of the selection? 4. THE FRIENDLY LETTER. The most interesting letters are those full of the little details that make to-day different from yesterday and that suggest the whole life of the writer. To tell of many of these suggestive little acts and incidents is to write a letter that will be read with delight. Read the following letter, adapted from one 2 written by a lad of eight or nine, a lad who became one of the most famous authors of our country. James Russell Lowell wrote "The Vision of Sir Launfal" and many other beautiful poems, as well as several volumes of delightful essays. 1 When several subjects are mentioned under an exercise, as a rule it will be wise to let each boy and girl choose one and write of it only. Different subjects are suggested in order that every pupil may find one within his own experience. 2 From Volume I. of "Letters of James Russell Lowell," by Charles Eliot Norton. Copyright, 1893, by Harper and Brothers. Nov. 2, 1828. My dear Brother: I am going to tell you melancholy news. I have the ague together with a gumbile. I presume you know that September has a lame leg, but he grows better every day and now is very well but still limps a little. We have a new scholar from Round Hill. His name is Hooper. . . . I am going to have a new suit of blue broadcloth clothes to wear every day and to play in. Mother tells me that I may have any sort of buttons I choose. I have not done anything to the hut, but if you wish I will. I am now very happy; but I should be more so if you were here. I hope you will answer my letter. If you do not I shall write you no more letters. . . . Mother has given me three volumes of "Tales of a Grandfather." Farewell. JAMES R. LOWELL. Be Having read this letter you wish to know the place at which it was written, but there is nothing to tell you. In omitting this item the young writer made a mistake. fore the date of his letter he should have put the name of the place at which it was written. The "heading" then would have read thus: Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 2, 1828. We always wish to know in what place a letter was written, when it was written, and by whom it was written. In all the letters that you write be sure to make known each of these facts. Exercise. Are the sentences in this letter easily understood? Do you think they are long or short? When talking, do boys and girls as a rule use long or short sentences? How many words are in the longest sentence in the letter? Does the writer mention to his brother the same things he would mention if he were talking to him? Are they said in nearly the same language he would use if talking, or are they said in different language? What does he mean by gumbile? What word should he have used? Forms thus corrupted by carelessness or ignorance should be avoided. What is the What is the What is the punctuation after My dear Brother? punctuation after each of the words in the heading? punctuation after Yours truly? In your own letters use exactly the same punctuation. 5. RULES FOR COMPOSITION. When talking, both young people and old, as a rule, use short sentences. In writing, the same principle should be observed. So, too, in written composition practically the same language should be used as is used in spoken composition. This of course makes it necessary for boys and girls to form the habit of speaking accurately and clearly. From the facts suggested above we may draw the following rules: Write as you speak. This means, of course, to use short sentences and simple words; not to use slang, incorrect expressions, etc. Seldom write a sentence containing more than thirty words or more than two statements joined by and. Avoid corrupt forms of words, as well as inelegant and incorrect expressions. Exercises. Ex. I. Discuss in class a number of words and expressions that your teacher will tell you are often incorrectly used by you. Ex. II. Write a letter to a relative or friend, telling of events that have happened at home and in your vicinity during the past week. Tell of real events, the ones that have been of especial interest to you. Use the language you would use in talking to the person to whom you are writing. Avoid long sentences. Punctuate properly. Keep all letters and compositions that you write, and occasionally examine them for undetected errors. 6. WORDS TO WATCH. Besides using incorrect forms of words, careless speakers and writers often use words in meanings not approved by the majority of educated people. From time to time such words will be introduced under the above title. Like means to enjoy, to be pleased with. Love means to regard with affection, as one's mother, one's country, or one's God. One does not love what one eats. Exercise. Insert the proper word in the blanks in the following sentences: Oh, I do olives so much! Don't you see a game of football? I Golf is a game that many people. to his mother. I Every lad should thy neighbor as thyself. |