Graded Lessons in English Part 61

The adjective _forgetful_ is modified by the noun clause _that ...

dyspepsia_. If we say _forgetful of the fact_, we see that the noun clause means the same as _fact_ and has the same office. What two long noun clauses aroused to complete _should remember_? What conjunction introduces each of these clauses? What conjunction joins them together? What mark of punctuation between? If one of these noun clauses were not itself divided into clauses by the comma, would the semicolon be needed? The clause _beyond ... stomach_ goes with what word? _When ... stomach_ modifies what verb? Cla.s.sify the sentences of this paragraph as simple, complex, or compound.

+To the Teacher+.--We have here treated informally some difficult points.

Perhaps these may be better understood when the book is reviewed.

+The Various Objects Writers Have+.--From your study of the preceding selections you learn that a writer may have any one of several objects in writing. He may wish simply to instruct the reader, as does Darwin in what he says of earthworms. He may wish merely to amuse the reader, as does Mr.

Habberton in our extract from "Helen's Babies." He may wish only to put before them a picture which, like that of George Eliot's, shall afford delight. Or he may wish to get hold of what we call our wills and lead us to do something, perform some duty. This is what the story from the Brothers Grimm aims at. And you saw how it does this--by working on our feelings. There are at least these four objects that a writer may propose to himself. Which of these four objects has Mr. Beecher in the paragraphs we quote? Does he instruct? Does he try to get us to do something? Would it help you to have clearly before you from the beginning the object you are seeking to accomplish?

+Figurative Expressions+.--In these paragraphs Mr. Beecher calls a man's stomach the citadel of health, and sleep a sponge to rub out fatigue with, and says a man's roots are planted in night. He does not use these words _citadel_, _sponge_, and _roots_ in their first or common meaning. He uses them in what we call a +figurative+ sense. He means to say that a man's stomach is to him what a fortress is to soldiers, a source of strength; that in sleep fatigue disappears as do figures on a slate or blackboard when a wet sponge is drawn across them; and that a man gets out of night what a tree's roots draw out of the soil, nourishment and vigor. Such figurative uses of words give strength and beauty to style.

ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.

In the paragraphs quoted above you were told of the effects on health of overwork and of insufficient sleep. Perhaps you can write of exercise, of proper food, of clothes, or of some other things on which health may depend.

+Exercises on the Composition of the Sentence and the Paragraph+.

ADAPTED FROM DR. JOHN BROWN--"RAB AND HIS FRIENDS."

Rab belonged to a lost tribe--there are no such dogs now. He was old and gray and brindled; and his hair short, hard, and close, like a lion's. He was as big as a Highland bull, and his body was thickset. He must have weighed ninety pounds at least.

His large, blunt head was scarred with the record of old wounds, a series of battlefields all over it. His muzzle was as black as night, his mouth blacker than any night, and a tooth or two, all he had, gleamed out of his jaws of darkness. One eye was out, one ear cropped close. The remaining eye had the power of two; and above it, and in constant communication with it, was a tattered rag of an ear that was for ever unfurling itself, like an old flag.

And then that bud of a tail, about an inch long, if it could in any sense be said to be long, being as broad as it was long! The mobility of it, its expressive twinklings and winkings, and the intercommunications between the eye, the ear, and it, were of the oddest and swiftest.

Rab had the dignity and simplicity of great size. Having fought his way all along the road to absolute supremacy, he was as mighty in his own line as Julius Caesar or the Duke of Wellington in his, and he had the gravity of all great fighters.

+To the Teacher+.--We suggest exercises on the uses of words similar to those preceding. Before attempting this it may be well to let the pupils go over these condensed expressions and supply the words necessary to the a.n.a.lysis. For instance, in the first paragraph _hair_ may be followed by _was_ and _Highland bull_ by _is big_. In the next paragraph _wounds_ may be followed by _marking_, _as night_ by _is black_, etc. In the third paragraph _and then_ may be followed by _there was_, etc. The pupils will determine whether supplying these words makes the description stronger or weaker.

Pupils may note especially the offices of nouns, verbs, and adjectives.

This selection abounds in descriptive nouns and verbs that are particularly well chosen. Let the pupils point out such.

+The Description+.--How does the description above impress you? Are only characteristic parts and features selected? Are these few features enough to give you a distinct and vivid picture of Rab? What comparisons do you find? How do they help? Pick out some words or phrases that seem to you very expressive. Find some words that are used, not in their first or common sense, but in a figurative sense. How do they help?

+Paragraphs+.--Which paragraph puts before you the dog as a whole? Where must this paragraph naturally stand? Why? Which paragraph describes Rab's character? What does each of the other paragraphs describe? If you think the arrangement of paragraphs above is the best, tell why.

Make a framework for this description.

ORIGINAL COMPOSITION.

Write a description of some animal which you have closely observed and in which you are interested. Be careful to pick out leading or characteristic features that will bring others into the reader's imagination. First prepare a framework.