2. An eagle is so strong that it can seize a lamb in its claws, and it cannot get away. 3. Instead of engines, horses are used in some cities to haul freight cars through the streets because they make too much noise. 4. The furnace is filled with iron ore, and it is melted by heating it, and then the iron can be taken from it. 5. A pig may have a little sense, but when it is being driven into a pen it seems very small. 6. He told his friend that if he did not feel better in half an hour, he thought he had better call a cab. 7. There are so many advantages in speaking one's own - language well, and in being a master of it, that, let a man's calling be what it will, it cannot but be worth one's taking some pains in it. 8. He told the coachman that he would be the death of him if he did not take care what he was about and mind what he said. 9. His sad fate is a warning to all against the folly of taking the first glass; many young men are in need of it. 10. A steamer is two or three days in going from one end of Lake Superior to the other, and when in the middle of it, it is out of sight of land, so large is it. II. The yellow fever is a disease that is much dreaded; wealth is no barrier to it, and those that have it at once leave a city as soon as it has made its appearance. There should be no doubt as to the antecedent of a relative pronoun. The proper position of a relative clause is next to the noun which it modifies. Exercise. In the following sentences some of the relative pronouns are used ambiguously. Write the sentences correctly. 1. They came across a fertile spot in the Desert of Sahara which is called an oasis. 2. The United States bought Alaska of Russia which is situated in the northwest corner of North America. 3. Vesuvius is not far from Naples from which black clouds of vapor are always rising. 4. The river Nile flows through Egypt which is one of the longest rivers in the world. 5. Great Britain is only a little larger than the State of Minnesota in which more than half as many people live as there are in all the United States. 6. The poor man had a devoted sister who had no brother upon whom to call for assistance who gave him all her earnings. 7. The proprietor at once dismissed his clerk who was not in the habit of being so hasty without making definite inquiries into the matter. 8. Fine hairs often cover the bodies of insects which are very thick in proportion to the size of the creature. 9. He needs a teacher who cannot read. XXI. ATTRACTIVENESS.-SIMILAR PARTS That style in writing is most attractive in which the language best fits the thought, and most clearly and readily conveys that thought to the reader. A sentence is poorly written which requires of the reader a needless effort to understand. The most important rule for the young writer who would add attractiveness to his style after it has clearness and force is : Similar parts of a sentence should be similar in form. The words, phrases, or clauses which are united by a coördinate conjunction should be similar in form. "The room is large and cheerful" is a much better sentence than "The room is of good size and cheerful." The expression, "The day preceding and the day following," or "The day before and the day after," is better than "The day before and the day following," or "The day preceding and the day after.” The rule, Similar parts of a sentence should be similar in form, will be more readily understood from the following illustrations : "If you are out of debt, you are out of danger,” is better than "If you are out of debt, you are in no danger." "The deeper the well, the cooler the water," is better than "The greater the depth of the well, the more cool the water." Exercises. I. Improve the following sentences: 1. Did he come to you angry or in sorrow? 2. Heat expands metals, but they are contracted by cold. 3. Did they go off in a sailboat or rowing? 4. He was a man well adapted naturally and by cultivation to occupy the highest position in life. 5. The happy family lived together in peace and harmoniously. 6. It is not when fortune smiles that the heart is tried, but at the time she frowns. 7. Kindness and being forbearing are the means of making and keeping friends. 8. When the wind fell, how quiet and without ripples the sea became. 9. He did not seem to be aware how sick he was, or of the dangerousness of such a disease. 10. Please write me at your early convenience, and hoping to receive a favorable reply, I am yours sincerely. II. The heavens declare the glory of God, and we may see his handiwork in the firmament. 12. Report is quick to travel, but an unsafe guide. II. Select from the following the forms of expression which you prefer: 1. Such studies are imposed as a labor, and not cultivated as a delight. 1. Such studies are frequently assigned by teachers to their pupils, but not cultivated by them with delight. 2. Their grandeur could lend so bright an inspiration to fancy, so solemn a dignity to research. 2. Their grandeur affords an inspiration to fancy, and gives to research a dignity. 3. As a drop falls into a river, so a human life soon disappears. 3. As a drop falls into a river, so a human life falls into eternity. 4. Where life is, there is hope. 4. Where there is life there is hope. III. Improve in style the following sentences : 1. They could hear the roar of the waves as they dashed against the rocks or creeping slowly up the beach. 2. The judge was without partiality, who was logical in thought, of a clear head, and quick in his perceptions. 3. He decided on renting the farm and, as soon as a good tenant was secured, to go to the city to live. 4. A wise forethought has led to preliminary steps to secure the selling of the present property, and securing a lot in a more desirable location. 5. He that ruleth his spirit is better than he that succeeds in taking a city. 6. Reputation is gained by many acts, but one act alone will destroy it. 7. Men's thoughts are according to their inclinations, their discourse depends upon their opinions, but their actions are modified by their habits. 8. Pride goeth before destruction, and a fall is preceded by a haughty spirit. 9. Our grand business is, not the seeing of what lies dimly far away, but to do what lies clearly at hand. XXII. ATTRACTIVENESS. — REPEATED WORDS. I. Do not use a word in more than one sense in the same sentence. Do not say, "He left the main road by a path leading to the left across the field." Improve the following sentences: 1. The supply of coffee was not sufficient to supply the army for more than ten days. 66 2. Well," said I, "you have stoned up that well very well." |