3. With a very good will, will I be your companion. 4. It is now your turn to turn the grindstone.

5. They saw that it had sharp-edged teeth like a saw. 6. It was thought best to anchor, but when the anchor was let down it caught in some driftwood.

7. Handle that basket carefully, for it is filled with eggs and has no handle.

8. In this case the noun is in the nominative case.

9. She leaves the leaves of her book dirty.

10. The present you made her will satisfy her for the present.

II. I do not like to hear a boy talk like that.

12. A man of his sense should have a higher sense of duty.

II. Do not repeat the same word or words of similar sound in too close connection.

Do not say, "They took the liberty to shout for liberty on one occasion, and this was the occasion of a disturbance." Do not say, Do not say, "The large assembly con

sisted largely of ladies."

Improve the following sentences:

1. The master found fault with the faults in the exercise. 2. In a calm moonlight night the sea is a beautiful object to see.

3. I was unable to distinguish who was the distinguished guest.

4. I intend to explain to you the plan intended to be carried out.

5. The conditions which you name as the condition of your accepting the proposal are too severe.

6. We shall remain at home during the remainder of the day.

7. The same character has characterized their descendants in modern times.

8. He was anxious to have me relieved from all anxiety in the matter.

9. He favored the undertaking as a favor to his friend.

XXIII. ATTRACTIVENESS.

SUCCESSIVE SENTENCES.

Successive sentences should not all begin in the same way.

Vary the sentences by placing the most important word or phrase at the beginning or at the end, by using sometimes the active and sometimes the passive form, or by otherwise changing the construction.

I. Study the two following paragraphs, and decide which is the better:

He had a memory that amazed all about him. He was an accurate observer of men and things. He possessed a discerning and sound judgment, but he lacked imagination and invention.

His memory, which never failed him, astonished all who knew him. He was an accurate observer of men and things. Discernment and sound judgment were his strength; lack of imagination and invention, his weakness.

II. Improve the following paragraphs:

Many men at that time thought it right to live quite alone. They shut themselves out from the pleasures and luxuries of the world. They thought that a very selfdenying life.

He was excelled in frankness by none. His benevolence was equally remarkable. He had no affectation whatever. He was distinguished in all his actions by a noble carelessness of public opinion. He was a rare example of humility.

XXIV. EXAGGERATION.

There is one general rule for good writing:

Put the right word in the right place.

The right word does not express more than we mean. Such words as awful, tremendous, stupendous, extremely, perfect, magnificent, glorious should not be used unless they fitly express our thoughts. Do not say, "I am tired to death," when you are merely very tired. Do not say, "It is certainly so," when you merely suppose it is so.

Exercises.

I. Improve the following sentences by making any changes you think necessary:

1. I have been deluged with letters upon this subject. 2. It was a stupendous sight which met our eyes from the top of the building.

3. Miss Abbott is the most charming person that ever lived; she is simply adorable.

4. What has happened to make you look so supremely happy?

5. The crowd was so immense that it was absolutely impossible to get past the store, but I finally succeeded by superhuman efforts.

6. After playing a few moments in the yard, the child came in saying that she was almost frozen.

7. I have thought of you continually to-day; but I had an innumerable number of callers, and could not get away to see you until now.

II. Compare the two following selections, and explain 'why one is better than the other :

It was pleasant upon the river. A barge or two went past laden with hay. Reeds and willows bordered the stream; and cattle and gray, venerable horses came and hung their mild heads over the embankment. Here and there was a pleasant village among trees, with a noisy shipping-yard; here and there a villa in a lawn.

WASHINGTON IRVING.

It was perfectly delightful upon the river. We could see barge after barge passing, heaped up with tons upon tons of hay. The banks of the stream presented a dense mass of reeds overtopped by the long, waving branches of sad willows, beyond which ancient cattle and still more ancient horses could be seen. There were also lovely little villages, whose calm peace was disturbed only by the tumultuous shipping-yards, and perfectly charming villas surrounded by the loveliest of lawns.

XXV. FIGURES OF SPEECH.

THE SIMILE.

That sentence or paragraph is clear from which the thought is readily gained. The reader will often obtain the thought of a paragraph more readily by being shown in what respects that about which we write is like or unlike other things well known. The suitable use of comparison adds clearness, force, and beauty to composition.

1. She has very white teeth.

2. Her teeth are like pearl.

In one of these sentences a comparison is used to express the thought which in the other is expressed directly.

A direct assertion of a likeness between objects of different kinds is called a simile.

"Her teeth are like pearl" is a simile.

“He is as brave as a lion" is. a simile, while "He is as patient as Job" is not a simile, but simply a comparison, because the comparison is made between two persons, and not between a person and a thing or between things of different kinds.

In a simile the comparison is limited to one point, and is generally indicated by the word like or as.

Exercises.

I. Study the sentences below. Tell what things are compared, and find all the similes.

1. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and his voice as the sound of many waters.

BIBLE.

2. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. BIBLE.

3.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. BIBLE.

4. Honesty without principle is like a mirage in the desert, a lake without water.

5. Thy smile is as the dawn of the vernal day.

6. A man in anger is like a chariot without a driver, or

a ship in a storm without a pilot.

7. A lie is like the cut of a saber; for though the wound may heal, the scar will remain.

II. Write five similes containing as.

Examples:

SAADI.

As hard as a rock.

As sly as a fox.