Elementary Composition · Part 13

Exercise 95.--Find out all you can about the life of any older member of your family. See if you can pick out the natural divisions into which these facts fall, and write a brief biography. Do not divide in a conventional way, as into childhood, youth, maturity, and old age, but try to select periods which are separated from each other by some feature peculiar to the individual life you are relating. Sometimes divisions are naturally made by change in residence, sometimes by change in occupation, and sometimes simply by the general character of a life between certain dates. Your own judgment must tell you how best to arrange the facts of the story you wish to tell.

Exercise 96.--I. Write in the same way, the biography (1) of the mayor of your own town, (2) of the President of the United States, (3) of a schoolmate (continuing this in an imaginary account of what you fancy his life may be), (4) of your cook, (5) of your minister, or of any person whom you know well enough to ask the facts of his life, or about whom you can learn through other people.

II. See how complete a biography you can write of either your grandfather or grandmother, or of any of your ancestors about whom you have heard stories, or of any of the early settlers of your town.

III. Then, using the same method of collecting your facts first, and arranging those that naturally fall together in three or four groups, write the story of the life of (1) Joan of Arc, (2) Julius Cæsar, (3) Hannibal, (4) Alfred the Great, (5) Washington, (6) Lee, (7) Lincoln, (8) Thorwaldsen, (9) Giotto, (10) Christopher Columbus, (11) Pocahontas, (12) Whittier, (13) Longfellow, (14) Miles Standish.

58. History.--Read the following account of how the Pilgrims came to Plymouth:--

For nearly twelve years "brave little Holland" had given shelter to the true men and women who, in 1607-1608, were driven out of England by persecution of the bishops because they would worship God in their own way.

After many trials and dangers they came together at Amsterdam in 1608, and formed a little "Independent" church, with Richard Clifton, their old pastor among the Nottingham hills, for their minister, and John Robinson, their teacher, as his assistant.

Governor Bradford tells us, in his Historie, that "when they had lived at Amsterdam about a year they removed to Leyden, a fair and beautiful city and of a sweet situation," on the "Old Rhine." Clifton was growing old and did not go with them, and Robinson became their pastor.

For eleven years--nearly the whole time of "the famous truce" which came between the bloody wars of Holland and Spain--they lived here, married, children were born to them, and here some of them died.

Most of them had been farmers in England, but here "they fell to such trades & imployments as they best could, valewing peace & their spirituall comforte above any other riches whatsoever, and at length they came to raise a competente and comfortable living, but with hard and continuall labor."

But about 1617 these good, brave people of Pastor Robinson's flock became very anxious as to their circumstances and future,--especially for their children,--and at length came sadly to realize that they must again seek a new home. Their numbers had been much increased; they could not hope to work so hard as they grew older, while war with the Spaniard was coming, and would surely make matters harder for them. But the chief reasons which made them anxious to find another and better home were the hardships which their children had to bear and the temptations to which they were exposed. Besides this, they were patriotic and full of love of their God, their simple worship, and their religious liberty. As Englishmen, though their king and his bishops had treated them cruelly, they still loved the laws, customs, speech, and flag of their native land. As they could not enjoy these in their own country, or longer endure their hard conditions in Holland, they determined to find a home--even though in a wild country beyond the wild ocean--where they might worship God as they chose, "plant religion," live as Englishmen, and reap a fair reward for their labors. It was very hard to decide where to go, but at last they made up their minds in favor of the "northern parts of Virginia" in the "New World," across the Atlantic. They found friends to help them both in England and in Holland, and they helped themselves; but even then, owing to enemies, false friends, and many difficulties, it was far from easy to get away, and they had sore trials and disappointments.

And now "the younger and stronger part" of Pastor Robinson's flock, with Captain Miles Standish and his wife Rose and a few others, were to go from Leyden, in charge of Elder Brewster and Deacon Carver, and some were to join them in England, leaving the pastor and the rest to come afterward.

It was a busy time in the Klock Steeg, or Bell Alley, where most of the Pilgrims lived, all the spring and early summer of 1620, when they were getting ready for America. Deacon Carver and Robert Cushman, two of their chief men, were in England, fitting out a hired ship--the Mayflower. But the Leyden leaders had bought in Holland a smaller ship, the Speedwell, and were refitting her for the voyage, an English "pilot," or ship's mate (Master Reynolds), having come over to take charge. (Bradford spells the word "pilott." He was in reality a mate, or "master's mate," as Bradford also calls him--the executive navigating officer next in rank to the master. The term "pilott" had not to the same extent the meaning it has now of an expert guide into harbors and along coasts. It meant, rather, a "deck" or "watch" officer, capable of steering and navigating a ship. He was on board the Mayflower practically what the mate of a sailing ship would be to-day.) Thirty-six men, fifteen women, sixteen boys, four girls, and a baby boy--seventy-two, in all, besides sailors--made up the Leyden part of the Pilgrim company. Of these six went no farther than Plymouth, Old England, though three of them afterward joined the others in New England. Of the fifteen women, fourteen were wives of colonists and one was a lady's-maid. The thirty-six men of Leyden included all who became Pilgrim leaders, except three.

At last they were off, and on Friday, July 21 (31),[1] they said good-by to the grand old city that had been so long their home. Going aboard the canal boats near the pastor's house, they floated down to Delfshaven, where their own little vessel, the Speedwell, lay waiting for them. At Delfshaven they made their last sad partings from their friends, and Saturday, July 22 (or August 1, as we should call it), hoisted the flag of their native land, sailed down the river Maas, and Sunday morning were out upon the German Ocean, under way, with a fair wind, for the English port of Southampton, where they were to join the other colonists.

[1] owing to a difference in the methods of reckoning time used by england and other nations between the years 1582 and 1752,--when all became practically alike,--it was common to make use of "double-dating." in so doing, the terms, "old style" and "new style" were used, and to make the dates of the former and the latter correspond, ten days are added to all dates of the period between 1582 and 1700. december 11, 1620, old style, would be, in our present reckoning, december 21, 1620 ("forefathers' day").

For three fine days they sailed down the North Sea, through Dover Straits, into the English Channel, and the fourth morning found them anchored in Southampton port. Here they found the Mayflower from London lying at anchor, with some of their own people--the Cushmans and Deacon Carver--and some forty other Pilgrim colonists, who were going with them. Among these our Leyden young people were no doubt very glad to find eight more boys and six girls of all ages, two of them being Henry Sampson and Humility Cooper, little cousins of their own Edward Tilley, who was to take them with him.

For ten days the two ships lay in this port. Trying days for the elders indeed they were. Mr. Weston, their former friend (who had arranged with the merchants to help them, but was now turned traitor), came to see them, was very harsh, and went away angry. The passengers and cargoes had to be divided anew between the ships, thirty persons going to the Speedwell and ninety to the Mayflower. Then the pinnace sprung a leak and had to be reladen. To pay their "port charges" they were forced to sell most of their butter. And there were many sad and anxious hearts. But great times those ten days were for the larger boys and girls, who were allowed to go ashore on the West Quay (at which the ships lay), and for whom every day was full of new sights both aboard the vessels and ashore. "Governors" were chosen for the ships; a young cooper--John Alden--was found, to go over, do their work, and come back, if he wished, on the Mayflower; and all was at last ready. They said what they thought were their last farewells to England, and down the Solent, out by the lovely Isle of Wight, into the broad Channel, both ships sailed slowly, "outward bound."

But twice more the leaky Speedwell and her cowardly master made both ships seek harbor--first at Dartmouth, where they lay ten days while the pinnace was overhauled and repaired, and again at Plymouth, after they had sailed "above 100 leagues beyond Land's End." At Plymouth it was decided that the Speedwell should give up the voyage and transfer most of her passengers and lading to the Mayflower, which would then make her belated way over the ocean alone.

Some twenty passengers--the Cushmans, the Blossoms, and others--went back to London in the pinnace, and after a weary stay of nine days, on Wednesday, September 6 (16), the lone Pilgrim ship at last "shook off the land" and, with a fair wind, laid her course for "the northern coasts of Virginia."--AZEL AMES: How the Pilgrims came to Plymouth.

This extract is an example of a narration that is more difficult to write than anything you have yet tried. In writing biographies you write about one person only. In history you write about a great number of persons, and you must hold together in one story a great number of different facts. An outline is, therefore, even more necessary here than in biography. In making your outline you will be helped by the same principle of keeping your occurrences in their natural order that governed you in your biography outlines. Put down a note of the main facts you wish to report, according to the date of their happening. Afterward arrange them in groups according to the connection they may have with each other, but always begin by making sure that they are set down in an orderly fashion. Have the outline before you as you write, and treat the different subjects as they come up.

An outline for the extract given above might be the following:--

I. Introduction:-- A. Explanation of the state of the Puritans in Holland. B. Driven from England. C. Settled in Amsterdam. D. Removed to Leyden. E. General conditions.

II. Reasons for leaving Holland. A. They could make no provision for the future. B. Their children could not be trained as they wished. C. They loved English ways.

III. Beginning of preparations. A. Who were to go. B. Fitting out the boat--conditions of navigation. C. Number of those embarking.

IV. Departure from Holland.

V. Arrival in England. A. They join the Mayflower. B. Delays, at London, at Dartmouth, at Plymouth.

VI. Final departure of the Mayflower alone from England.

Read again the selection with the outline before you and notice how each division is developed. When you have made a good outline, the hardest part of a piece of historical writing is completed.

Exercise 97.--I. Let every one find out all he can about the founding or settling of the town where he lives. Talk over the facts in class, every one contributing what he has been able to learn; then see who can make the best outline and best story or history. (Notice how the two words are really alike.)

II. Go on, investigating the subsequent history of the town, and write that briefly in the same way, bringing in all the stories and interesting incidents you can hear.

III. Write similarly the history of any other town, village, or farming community you know, treating particularly the way in which any conditions general throughout the country affected your subject. For instance, if it is an old town, how it was affected by the Mexican War, the Civil War, any great panic, etc. Mention not only great events in the history of the town,--fires, floods, building of factories, etc.,--but try to give some idea of the general character of the life, whether the interests are chiefly manufacturing, farming, marine, railroad, etc.

IV. Write a brief history of (1) Detroit, (2) St. Louis, (3) New Orleans, (4) New York, (5) San Francisco, (6) Boston, (7) Charlestown, (8) Lawrence, Kansas, (9) Deerfield, Mass., (10) Quebec, (11) St. Augustine, (12) Monterey, California (early Spanish mission), (13) Havana.

V. Using the extract given above as a model, write an account of (1) Penn's treaty with the Indians, (2) The first year of the settlers in Virginia, (3) The taking of Old Manhattan by the English, (4) How La Salle happened to come to this country, (5) How Grant came to be a soldier, (6) The invention and first expedition of the first steamboat, (7) The first railroad, (8) The founding and first journey of the Mormons.

59. Plain Reporting of Facts.--A history gives an account of things that happened some time ago. A newspaper gives an account of things that happened yesterday. The two are different in degree, but not in essential qualities. To give an account of an incident that lasted half an hour and make it clear, connected, and orderly, requires the same principles as to write a report of events that lasted through several years. You must arrange your narrative in the true order, in a story of how a barn was burned, just as in a story of how a town was settled. In the first case, however, this is not quite so easy to do, since many of the events occur almost at the same time. But this very circumstance gives you the clew to an easy grouping of your facts, since you can put those that happen together in the same division. An outline for an account of the burning of a barn is given below:--

I. Discovery of fire. A. Fire shows through one of the windows. B. The man of the house runs down the walk toward the barn. C. The neighbors come running and calling. D. One man is sent to call the fire department.

[All these facts occur almost simultaneously, and the sentences stating them must be connected or explained by some such phrase as "at the same time," "seeing this," "while this was being done," "at that moment," "meanwhile," etc.]

II. Fighting the fire. A. The neighbors bring buckets--a line is formed. B. The owner goes in and brings out the horse and cow. C. The fire department arrives, connects the hose. D. The firemen climb on the roof to direct the water; the fire is extinguished.

III. Final condition. A. Half the hay burned, and two wagons ruined. B. Horse and cow safe. C. The barn can be rebuilt without tearing it completely down. D. There was no insurance.

Exercise 98.--I. Make outlines, following this model, and write a newspaper account of any of the following events. Do not try to describe the occurrence particularly; simply put down as clearly as possible the facts, given in their proper order.

(1) A burglary in the daytime. (2) A rescue of a drowning boy by two playmates. (3) A flood which washes away part of a street-car track--how long cars were delayed, what passengers did, how track was repaired, etc. (4) How a dog, supposed to be mad, frightened an entire neighborhood. (5) The burning of a department store. (6) The dedication of a church, a hospital, an asylum of any kind. (7) A lost child and how he was returned to his parents. (8) An accident to a street car. (9) A runaway. (10) A steeple climber faints away halfway up a steeple, where he hangs suspended by the rope attached to his belt. Tell how he was saved. (11) A bear belonging to a circus escapes, and after roaming about for a day or so is captured by the circus men. (12) A high wind blows down telegraph poles, unroofs barns, and throws trees across the roads. Write an account of the amount of damage done.

II. Write a newspaper account of any event at your school: (1) A commencement day. (2) A reception day. (3) A play or entertainment. (4) A panic over a supposed fire. (5) A boy is locked in and has great difficulty in getting out. (6) A water pipe is broken and stopped by the presence of mind of one of the teachers.

60. Conversation.--In the narratives which you have been writing there has been little if any occasion for conversation. In writing stories or anecdotes in which certain people come into contact with other persons, there is often no better way to give a vivid and interesting account of what happens than to tell what was said. This is equally true of real and of invented stories. People not only show their characters when they speak, but they indicate the course of events. The fact that one favorite form of writing consists entirely of conversation (for that is all that any play is) shows how truthfully and vividly facts can be presented in this way.

Exercise 99.--Try telling in conversational form some of the fables mentioned on page 139, or write in this form the fable of (1) Death and the Woodchopper; (2) The Wolf and the Lamb; (3) The Grasshopper and the Ant; (4) The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse; (5) The Council of the Rats (Who'll bell the cat?); (6) The Fox and the Grapes (this as a monologue, or what the fox says to himself, from the moment he sees the grapes until he gives up trying to secure them).

Exercise 100.--Give a conversation which you think is characteristic and lifelike, such as might have occurred between any two of the following persons. Try to bring out something of the story which naturally comes to your mind in connection with these people.