Why has he picked it up and turned his back toward the woman and boy? Who is the elderly lady sitting near the table? At whom is she looking? What does her expression seem to tell about her thoughts? Who is the little girl back of her? At whom is she looking? Why? From the way she holds her head, what can you tell about her thoughts? Who is the man looking in at the door?

What time of year is it? What time of day? Why is the table set? Has the boy a long or a short trip before him? Who will go with him to the station? Does this family live in the city or in the country? What feeling do you have as you look at this picture?

Ex. II. With book closed describe this picture orally. Then write a description of it.

Write an account of a trip you have taken. Tell of leaving home, of your feelings when leaving, and of your feelings when away.

Write an account of this boy's trip, of an incident in his life in the city, or of his feelings the first night he is in a boarding house.

65. WORDS TO WATCH.

Beside means by the side of.
Besides means in addition to.

Exercise.

Insert the proper word:

I was in the house and there were three others

is sitting

me. He

the house. He asked you to walk

him.

What will you take

your trunk? In the yard was a tall

maple

various fruit trees.

66. THE COLON.

The exercise in Composition 65 begins thus:

Insert the proper word:

In like manner many of the lessons containing selections

begin with a sentence that closes with a colon (:), just as the present lesson itself begins. These various sentences show the real nature of the colon. It is a sign of expectation.

It says to the reader, "Something else is coming; expect it." Look at the sentence beginning 39, 41, 42, 57, etc., and you will see that such is the nature of this mark of punctuation.

We have learned before that the colon is used after the salutation in letters. Here, as in the instances already cited, it says to the reader, "Something else is coming; expect it." An orator begins his address by saying "Ladies and Gentlemen:" and we know from his tones that we are to expect something, and the reporter indicates that expectation by putting a colon after the word Gentlemen. We may then formulate this rule of

punctuation :

Use the colon to indicate expectation, especially before a long quotation, before a formal enumeration, and after the salutation at the beginning of letters.

67. WORDS TO WATCH.

In indicates place where.

Into indicates place to which, and usually follows verbs of motion.

A Mr. Ralston living within a few miles of the village owned a colt which I very much wanted. My father had offered twenty dollars for it, but Ralston wanted twenty-five. I was so anxious to have the colt that after the owner left I begged to be allowed to take him the price demanded. My father yielded, but said twenty dollars was all the horse was worth, and told me to offer that price; if it was not accepted I was to offer twenty-two and a half, and if that would not get him, to give the twenty-five. I at once mounted a horse and went after the colt. When I got to Mr. Ralston's house I said to him: 66 Papa says I may offer you twenty dollars for the colt, but if you will not take that I am to offer twenty-two and a half, and if you won't take that to give you twenty-five." . . . I could not have been over eight years old at the time. — Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.

Exercise.

Determine the reason for this foolish act of the boy Grant. Tell and then write of some foolish act of your own when you were about eight or ten years old, or of some such act performed by another child. Remember to use short sentences, and to use about the same words in the written form that you used in the oral form.

69. THE NOTE OF INVITATION.

Read the following formal invitation and reply:

Mrs. Alan T. Gardiner requests the pleasure of Miss Ross's company at dinner on Thursday, May twenty-first, at six o'clock.

II Josephine Street,

May Sixteenth.

Miss Ross regrets that illness prevents her acceptance of Mrs. Gardiner's kind invitation for Thursday evening.

26 Pointvue Avenue,

May Seventeenth.

An affirmative reply would state that "Miss Ross accepts with pleasure Mrs. Gardiner's invitation," etc.

Exercise.

Notice that the invitation is written in the third person. Write a note to yourself in which Mrs. James Huntley Harper asks you to be present at a birthday party that she is to give for her daughter, Miss Harper, on Thursday evening, March 18th, at 180 High Street, Cleveland, Ohio. In a third person note write dates in words, not in figures.

Write an answer to this note, declining. Use the third person form.

Write an answer, accepting.

70. THE EXCLAMATION POINT.

Examine the following expressions:

"Jane! Jane! where are you?

"Such fun! Only see! A note of invitation from Mrs. Gardiner for to-morrow night!"

In these expressions the exclamation point (!) is used five times. The name Jane used in the first expression is a word of address. You have already learned that such words and expressions are usually set off from the rest of the sentence by commas. But here the exclamation point is used. This shows that the exclamation point is occasionally used as the equivalent in some respects of the comma.

TWO. 20.