The highway smokes; sharp echoes ring; The farmer's horse, with steaming flank. The swallow dips beneath the eaves And flirts his plumes and folds his wings; The caterpillar curls and clings. The bumblebee is pelted down Within, the baby claps his hands And crows with rapture strange and vague; A dripping rooster on one leg. Ex. I. What three pictures do you see, with closed eyes, as the first stanza is read? What idea is in scud that is not in scurry? What sounds are mentioned in the second stanza? What does the second statement in stanza two mean? Why do doors bang? Why are rusty gates slammed? What pictures are in the third stanza? What is meant by The earth lies gasping? Whose eyes are looking from the window? What pictures and what sounds in stanza four? Explain smokes and steaming. What pictures in five? Have you ever seen the swallow and the caterpillar thus? What does Catawba mean? What pictures in the sixth? What does the first half of six mean? What pictures in seven ? Because of the pictures and sounds given in the poem, what experience have we undergone in imagination? Are unusual or usual pictures and sounds given? Which of the pictures and sounds have you never seen or heard in reality? 1 From "Rhymes of Childhood," by James Whitcomb Riley. mission of the Bobbs-Merrill Company. Used by per Ex. II. Using such simple pictures and sounds as will be suggestive of the whole experience, write four or five short paragraphs about the first day of school; about a snowstorm; about a thaw; about the coming of spring or autumn; about a bright summer day; about a very cold winter day; about a thunderstorm; about a hailstorm; about any recent and vivid experience. 8. THE FRIENDLY LETTER. In preparing for college your older brother or sister may be reading some of the essays of Thomas Babington Macaulay, who was a noted English historian and essayist. You have perhaps read "Horatius at the Bridge" or other of the "Lays of Ancient Rome." 1 The following letter was written by the boy Macaulay when thirteen years old, just after he had been sent from his home to Mr. Preston's school at Shelford, England: Shelford, Feb. 22d, 1813. My dear Papa:- As this is a whole holiday I can not find a better time for answering your letter. In my learning I do Xenophon every day, and twice a week the "Odyssey," in which I am classed with Wilberforce, whom all the boys allow to be very clever, very droll, and very impudent. We do Latin verses twice a week, and I have not yet been laughed at, as Wilberforce is the only one who hears them. . . . We are exercised also once a week in English composition, and once in Latin composition. . . . We get by heart Greek grammar or Virgil every evening. ... My room is a delightful, snug little chamber, which nobody can enter, as there is a trick about opening the door. I sit like a king, with my writing desk before me, . my books on one side, my box of papers on the other, with my arm chair and my candle; for every boy has a candlestick, snuffers, and extinguisher of his own. . . . Your affectionate son, THOMAS B. MACAULAY. 1 From Volume I. of Trevelyan's "Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay." Exercise. Does this letter sound as much like ordinary conversation as the former one? In length of sentences how does it compare? May this explain the answer to the first question? Notice that Odyssey is inclosed in quotation marks (“ "). What in the letter on page 228 is thus inclosed? Are the two in any way alike? Notice that in different places four periods are found. The first of these is for punctuation, while the other three are to indicate that something of the original letter has been omitted. 9. RULES FOR COMPOSITION. Inclose in quotation marks (" ") the names of books, of papers and magazines, and of vessels.1 Inclose in quotation marks the exact words of another when you include them within your own writing. Exercises. Ex. I. Considering the following paragraph as your own composition, insert the necessary quotation marks : I see by The Pittsburg Times that the author of The Lean Years has gone abroad on the Philadelphia, accompanied by the editor of The New World. It is said that they contemplate the purchase of The London Collegian as well as The Old Century Magazine. When asked about this just before sailing, Mr. Blank stated that he could make public only the fact that they expect to return on the Majestic early in January; that while in London they hope to meet the author of The Jungle Book, and the editor of the London Times, and to see Henry Irving in King Lear. Ex. II. Write a letter to a friend telling him of your companions, of your work at school, of your room at home, and of the bright saying or reply of a companion. Use his exact words. Do Write not forget quotation marks and other punctuation marks. short sentences. Make known when and where the letter is written. 1 Italics, indicated in writing by underscoring once, are sometimes used instead of quotation marks. 10. THE FRIENDLY LETTER. This time read a letter 1 written by Robert Louis Stevenson when he was a boy about fifteen. Later he became an English author, who is particularly noted for the beauty and perfection of his writing. He wrote essays that you will wish to read when you are older, as well as stories, poems, and many interesting books for both young and old. Here is the letter, written from a famous watering place in southwestern England: 2 Sulyarde Terrace, Torquay, Thursday, April, 1866. Respected paternal Relative : I write to make a request of the most moderate nature. Every year I have cost you an enormous, nay, elephantine, sum of money for drugs and physician's fees, and the most expensive time of the twelve months was March. But this year the biting Oriental blasts, the howling tempests, and the general ailments of the human race have been successfully braved by yours truly. Docs not this deserve remuneration? I appeal to your charity, I appeal to your generosity, I appeal to your justice, I appeal to your accounts, I appeal, in fine, to your purse. My sense of generosity forbids the receipt of more, my sense of justice forbids the receipt of less, than half a crown. Greeting, from, Sir, your most affectionate and needy son, R. STEVENSON. Exercise. To whom is this letter written? Is the language such as the boy would use if he were asking his father orally for half a crown (63 cents)? Why does he use the long words and the highsounding phrases? Would you call this a serious or a mock-serious 1 From Volume I. of "Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson," by Sidney Colvin. style? Why does he insert the plea that he has caused no expense in the way of physician's fees? Meaning of Oriental, of remuneration, and of accounts? 11. RULE FOR PUNCTUATION. Notice the apostrophe and s ('s) added to the word physician in the above exercise. Why is it there? From this we draw the following rule: Add an apostrophe and s ('s) when writing the possessive form of the noun, except when the noun is plural and ends in s. Then the apostrophe alone is added (Gr. 73, p. 122); as, physician's; but three boys' hats. Exercises. Ex. I. Insert the necessary apostrophes: Johns father said that he might go to the mens shop and try to find the childrens books, after which he might go to the two boys home for an hour. He must then go to the grocers to ask about his mothers purchases, and to the confectioners to order the bon-bons for his sisters party. On his way home he must stop at Mr. Browns and then at Mr. Rosss, asking at each place for the owners permission to remove the leaves from his lawn. Ex. II. Write a note to your mother asking for half a dollar, using the language you would use in talking to her. State the pur pose. Write a note to your father asking for a dollar to go to the county fair, adopting a mock-serious style and making use of some nonsensical plea. Examine these notes and also the letters and compositions previously written, and see whether you have observed all the rules for composition and punctuation that have so far been given. Ex. III. When you get up some morning you find that your father has already gone to work and that your mother is so ill you will have to stay at home to help care for the younger children. Write a note to your teacher, stating these facts. In the note use the |