Elementary Composition · Part 9

"Come, ye children, and hearken to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that lustest to live, And would fain see good days? Let him refrain his tongue from evil And his lips that they speak no guile; Let him eschew evil and do good; Let him seek peace and ensue it."

With such strains as these, sung to his harp, the warrior gained the hearts of his men to enthusiastic love, and gathered followers on all sides, among them eleven fierce men of Gad, with faces like lions and feet swift as roes, who swam the Jordan in time of flood, and fought their way to him, putting all enemies in the valleys to flight.

But the Eastern sun burnt on the bare rocks. A huge fissure, opening in the mountain ridge, encumbered at the bottom with broken rocks, with precipitous banks scarcely affording a footing for the wild goats,--such is the spot where, upon a cleft on the steep precipice, still remains the foundations of the "hold," or tower, believed to have been David's retreat; and near at hand is the low-browed entrance of the galleried cave, alternating between narrow passages and spacious halls, but all oppressively hot and close. Waste and wild, without a bush or a tree, in the feverish atmosphere of Palestine, it was a desolate region, and at length the wanderer's heart fainted in him, as he thought of his own home, with its rich and lovely terraced slopes, green with wheat, trellised with vines, and clouded with gray olive, and of the cool cisterns of living waters by the gate of which he loved to sing,--

"He shall feed me in a green pasture, And lead me forth beside the waters of comfort."

His parched longing lips gave utterance to the sigh, "O that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!"

Three of his brave men, apparently Abishai, Benaiah, and Eleazar, heard the wish. Between their mountain fastness and the dearly-loved spring lay the host of the Philistines; but their love for their leader feared no enemies. It was not only water that he longed for, but the water from the fountain which he had loved in his childhood. They descended from their chasm, broke through the midst of the enemy's army, and drew the water from the favorite spring, bearing it back, once again through the foe, to the tower upon the rock! Deeply moved was their chief at this act of self-devotion,--so much moved that the water seemed to him too sacred to be put to his own use. "May God forbid it me that I should do this thing. Shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy, for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it?" And as a hallowed and precious gift, he poured out unto the Lord the water obtained at the price of such peril to his followers.--CHARLOTTE YONGE: A Book of Golden Deeds.

Notice the arrangement of the paragraphs in The Cup of Water, and study the way in which they are connected. Thus, in ¶ 1, the persecution of David by Saul is spoken of. ¶ 2 carries on the thought by speaking of David's attempt at reconciliation with Saul and ends with a song of David. ¶ 3 opens with a reference to this song--"with such strains as these," etc. ¶ 4 is connected with ¶ 3 by but and ends with the expression of David's longing. ¶ 5 opens with direct reference to the wish.

The following is an outline of the composition:--

I. Introduction. A. The incident gives us a warm feeling for him. B. It occurred when he was still a young man. II. Situation. A. David in hiding. B. His valiant followers. C. David's influence over them. III. The devotion of his followers. IV. What led David to wish for the water. A. The heat. B. The barren region. C. His memories of the cool spring at Bethlehem. V. The wish fulfilled. A. Expedition of the three valiant men. B. Their return. C. David's noble deed.

Exercise 75.--Prepare outlines of passages indicated by the teacher.

35. Essentials in a Whole Composition.--Your study of the preceding models and your practice in making outlines must have shown you some of the things a long composition should have. Let us now gather up these points.

You have learned that both the sentence and the paragraph must have unity. The longer composition must also have unity. As in the paragraph everything must relate to one topic, so in the long composition everything must relate to one larger topic. Suppose that your subject is "Benjamin Franklin the Statesman"; you would then omit facts about Franklin's boyhood, also those about his discoveries in science, since, important and interesting as these facts are, they do not bear directly on the topic.

In a good composition, one paragraph leads up to or suggests another. Look again at the passage on page 88. In ¶ 1 the house itself is described. In ¶ 2 we are taken inside by the housekeeper, who exhibits the relics. ¶ 3 gives a more detailed account of one relic in particular (Shakspere's chair). Doubts of its authenticity naturally lead to the author's little talk on relics in general, which you find in ¶ 4. Very often, although not always, you will find paragraphs joined by connecting words; but there should always be connection in thought.

In the chapter on Condensation you are directed to decide carefully as to the relative importance of the different points treated, and to treat the most important points at the greatest length.

Remember, then, that everything in your composition should treat of one theme; that the paragraphs should follow each other in an orderly way, each one carrying on the thought suggested by the preceding paragraph; and that the most important points should be treated at the greatest length.

36. How to Plan an Essay.--Let us suppose that you take as your subject for a composition The Cotton Gin. Read all you can find on the subject, jotting down points of interest, such as the following:--

Boyhood of Whitney. His visit to the South. He becomes interested in problem of cleaning seeds from cotton wool. The method of removing seeds before the invention. Condition of cotton industry in the South. Description of cotton gin. Eli Whitney's attempts to make a machine. His success. Result of invention as to cotton raising. Whitney's character. Relation between slavery and the cotton gin. Effect of invention as to manufacturing at North. Amount of cotton exported after invention. Price of cotton before invention; after invention.

From this mass of material you must choose the important facts. Keep only the facts that bear upon your topic. Reject everything else. The result would be somewhat as follows:--

Accepted:--

Condition of cotton industry before invention of cotton gin.

Method of removing seeds before invention of cotton gin.

Price of cotton.

Whitney becomes interested in problem.

His first attempt to make a machine.

His success.

Price of cotton after invention of cotton gin.

Description of Whitney's cotton gin.

Result of invention as to cotton raising.

Relation between slavery and the cotton gin.

Amount of cotton exported after the invention.

Effect of invention on manufacturing at the North.

Rejected:--

Boyhood of Whitney.

Visit to South.

Whitney's character.

These points are rejected because they do not bear directly upon the main theme, although suggested by it.

Close attention to the selection of material in this way will give your composition unity.

After selecting your facts, the next point is to arrange them in an orderly way, so that one paragraph will lead naturally to the next. You would then have some such arrangement as this:--

I. Condition of cotton industry before invention of cotton gin. A. Method of removing seeds before invention of cotton gin. B. Price of cotton.

II. Whitney's solution of the problem. A. His first attempt to make a machine. B. His success. C. Description of Whitney's cotton gin.

III. Result of invention. A. Price of cotton after invention of cotton gin. B. Amount of cotton exported after the invention. C. Effect of invention on manufacturing at the North. D. Relation between slavery and the cotton gin.

Here, for further illustration, is a similar outline for a composition on cotton.

I. Description of plant. A. Root. B. Stem. C. Leaves. D. Flowers. E. Cotton boll. F. Seeds.

II. Where grown. A. Of what country a native. B. Where grown most extensively.

III. Preparation. A. Picking. B. Ginning. C. Packing.

IV. Manufacturing. A. Articles manufactured.

V. History of Plant. A. Discovery. B. In America before invention of cotton gin. C. In America after invention of cotton gin. D. Value to-day.

Exercise 76.--I. Make outlines for composition on such topics as the teacher indicates.

Suggested topics:--

1. Our Fourth-of-July Celebration. 2. The Lost Child. 3. Tobacco. 4. The Battle of Bull Run.

II. Write compositions, using the outlines you have made. Be sure you reject everything, no matter how interesting, that does not relate to your subject. Arrange your paragraphs carefully, using connecting words when possible. Treat the most important facts at greatest length.

CHAPTER VII

ORAL COMPOSITION

37. The Great Essential.--We have now discussed certain matters which will be of service to you if you write your thoughts for others to read. Will these principles still hold if you speak your thoughts for others to hear? Yes, in the main; but you must remember that in the one case the persons you address have simply to read; if they do not understand, they can simply look back and reread. In the other case, the persons you address are listening, and they must understand each sentence as it comes to them, for of course any one in an audience cannot stop a speaker because he fails to hear a word or a phrase. A speaker must therefore, first of all, take pains that each person in his audience hears clearly every word he says.

38. How to be Heard.--If you wish to speak so that every one in your audience can hear all that you say, you must take pains about several things:--

1. Proper Position.--Speech is sound produced by a stream of air forced from the lungs (as from a bellows) and striking against certain cords in the throat. By altering the tightness of these cords and by changing the position of the palate, tongue, and teeth, we change the character of the sound. If we are to speak to a considerable number of people, then, we must make sure that all this bodily machinery works with special ease and force, and first of all, that the lungs (the bellows) move freely. This means that they must have space to work, and this in turn means that we must stand erect, with the shoulders thrown back, the chest out, and the stomach in. The body should not be held stiffly or else the throat muscles are likely to become rigid also; but we should stand naturally, and firmly, not as if we were about to tumble over or to jump, but as if we were ready to speak quietly to our friends--which is just what we are to do.

2. Proper Breathing.--We should breathe slowly, regularly, and deeply, from the abdomen rather than from the top of the lungs. If we breathe too fast or too irregularly, we shall speak in a rapid, jerky way, and find it very difficult to make ourselves understood.

3. Proper Use of the Muscles of the Throat and Mouth.--We must be careful not to cramp the muscles of the throat, but to let them move easily. We can thus produce a loud clear tone without tiring ourselves unduly. If the head does not hang down, if the mouth is opened wide, and the throat muscles are allowed to work freely, without rigidity, the voice will be clear and distinct.

4. Proper Pitch.--We must be sure (particularly the girls) not to pitch the voice too high, as if it were a siren whistle or a fife. A clear, rather low-pitched voice is the most pleasant to hear. We must be careful, too, not to talk (as so many of us do) through our noses. A nasal voice is almost always a disagreeable voice.

5. Clear Articulation.--So much for the voice in general; now, last of all, we must be careful to pronounce clearly, to articulate distinctly, that is, to give each syllable its proper value. Of course we do not ordinarily like to listen to a very prim and precise speaker, who pronounces every syllable with equal distinctness, uttering sharply, for instance, the d in such an unimportant word as and. It is the custom of our language to distinguish between the accented syllables, which we pronounce distinctly, and the unaccented syllables, over which we pass lightly. But, on the other hand, we do not like to listen to the slovenly speaker, who drops entirely the d in and and the g in ing, and who sounds all his vowels very much alike. In this matter of articulation, you will do well to take some older person, a good speaker or reader, as a model, and to imitate him or her. Practice reading aloud to your friends, standing sometimes at the very end of the room, or at the end of a suite of rooms, as far as possible from your hearers, asking any one of them to interrupt you the moment that anything you say is not distinctly heard.

39. Pronunciation.--As to pronunciation, you must remember that often custom is not uniform. There are sometimes two or even more ways of pronouncing a word, both or all of which are given in the dictionaries; and occasionally there is a thoroughly proper way of pronouncing a word which the men who make the dictionaries have unfortunately omitted, but which is used by many educated and cultivated people. In general, you should use the pronunciation of the most intelligent and respected people you know, and in particular that of your teacher and your school. It is quite proper and desirable that every school or teacher should establish its own custom for words which are usually pronounced in one of several ways, and the pupil should do his best to conform, for the convenience of all, to the custom of the class or the school in this respect.

40. A Plan Necessary.--There is no other important difference which you need now consider between oral composition and written composition. In both it is better, before you begin, to think carefully over what you have to say. In oral composition, as in written, it is wise to make a plan, and you can make it in precisely the same way.

NOTE FOR THE TEACHER.--It does not seem necessary to insert special exercises in oral composition. Almost any of the exercises from the following chapters may be used with advantage.

CHAPTER VIII

THE DIARY

41. The Value of a Diary.--The diary is the simplest form of writing, for you are writing for yourself, making for yourself a record of your life. What do you think should go in a diary? If your parents had kept one when they were your age, what would you have found most interesting now? A great many things which they would have taken for granted would seem odd to you, i.e. no telephone, big stoves in the class room, different studies, etc. If a boy in China kept a diary, what would you find most interesting? Some account of his games, of his playmates, of the look of the streets he passed through, of how he felt towards his teacher, etc. Bear these points in mind, for when you grow older, though you will not live in another land or another generation, you will be very far from your school-days, and your diary should make a picture of them for you. If you had been able to keep a diary when you were six or seven, what would you now read in it with most interest? The ideal is to set down at the end of the day a reminder of it, so that when you look at it you will remember what made that day different from every other. This is not possible always, but as a matter of fact every day has some special features, if it is only the weather.

From a practical point of view, the diary is a great aid to letter-writing, since it really forms the notes for a narrative of your life. It often settles disputes about the date on which something was done; it furnishes data for calculations in planning; i.e. you wish to have an early spring picnic, and, consulting your diary, find that on the 20th of March of the year before you were in the woods without an overcoat and found arbutus; or you wish to get up an entertainment, and turn back in your diary for the description of one you saw during the summer. It gives you material for writing exercises for your English work; for instance, the entry, "To-day we went to Aunt Julia's to help pick cherries; I was almost bitten by their dog when we came down from the tree," is really the outline for a short story, if you make your note on it sufficient to bring the picture up before your mind.

42. Contents of a Diary.--No two diaries should be alike, but certain things should always be noted so as to make a continuous record, even if they do not seem of special interest; i.e. the weather (very briefly if it is nothing unusual), the movements of the family (if any one is away or just returned), the health of the family (this only if any one is ill), what the general news of school is (if any special event of school life has taken place), and what you yourself have been doing. You may sometimes think that you have done nothing worth putting down, but anything that has made the day different from the day before is worth writing. Do not try to make entries for different days of same length. Try to cultivate the ability to pick out the details of an incident which will make you remember it most distinctly. Later on, in letter writing and description, you will have to select details which will bring a picture most clearly before the minds of other people, but in your diary you are freer. In your entry after an afternoon's sledding, for instance, it may be sufficient for you to say: "Went sledding on Holmes's hill. Weather very cold, with a high wind, that sent the snow flying. Broke my sled, trying to make the corner curve too fast. The whole crowd of us come home together, taking turns in pulling each other and playing Eskimos, and I almost frosted my nose." If those were the important events of the afternoon to you, they should bring up the whole picture before you, so that you could see it clearly enough to remember all the other details that would be necessary to give any one else an idea of what the expedition was like.