which Johnson says, as an example of representative versification, "perhaps no other English line can equal."

"He who defers this work from day to day,

Does on a river's bank expecting stay,

Till the whole stream that stopped him shall be gone,

Which runs, and, as it runs, forever shall run on.”

Pope furnishes an example of easy metrical flow, which admirably represents the gentle motion of which he speaks.

"Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows,

And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows."

A sudden calm at sea is well painted in the following lines:"Then the shrouds drop;

The downy feather, on the cordage hung,

Moves not: the flat sea shines like yellow gold

Fused in the fire, or like the marble floor

Of some old temple wide."

Sounds are also capable of representing the emotions and passions of the mind: not that there is, logically speaking, any resemblance between the two; but inasmuch as different syllabic combinations awaken certain ideas, and may thus predispose the reader's mind to sympathy with that emotion on which the poet intends to dwell. Of this, Dryden's Ode on St. Cecilia's Day is a striking exemplification; as, also, is Collins' Ode on "The Passions." An extract or two from the latter poem will sufficiently illustrate the subject; it will be observed that the words, the metre, and the cadence, admirably correspond with the emotion in each case depicted.

"Next Anger rushed, his eyes on fire,

In lightnings owned his secret stings;

In one rude clash he struck the lyre,

And swept with hurried hand the strings."

"With woful measures wan Despair

Low sullen sounds his grief beguiled;

A solemn, strange, and mingled air,
"Twas sad by fits, by starts 'twas wild!"

tration, a line from Cowley, highly commended by Johnson. Quote a couplet of Pope's, which represents gentle motion. Repeat the example in which a sudden calm at sea is described. What else are sounds capable of representing? Explain how this is possible. What poems afford examples? Repeat the passages quoted from Collins' Ode, and show how the sound corresponds with the emotion denoted.

"But thou, O Hope, with eyes so fair,
What was thy delighted measure?
Still it whispered promised pleasure,
And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail!
Still would her touch the strain prolong,

And from the rocks, the woods, the vale,
She called on Echo still through all her song;

And where her sweetest theme she chose,
A soft responsive voice was heard at every close;
And Hope, enchanted, smiled, and waved her golden hair!"

LESSON LXIII.

EXERCISE ON HARMONY.

CORRECT the following sentences according to the rules for the promotion of Harmony:

1. No mortal author, in the ordinary fate and vicissitude of things, knows to what use his works, whatever they are, may, some time or other, be applied (§ 381). 2. It is likewise urged, that there are, by computation, in this kingdom, above ten thousand parsons, whose revenues, added to those of my Lords the Bishops, would suffice to maintain, at their present rate of living, half a million, if not more, poor men. 3. Study to unite with firmness gentle pleasing manners (§ 378). 4. He was mortifyingly rebuked for the mischievousness of his behavior. 5. There are no persons, or, if there are any, assuredly they are few in number, who have not, at some time of life, either directly or indirectly, with or without consciousness on their part, been of service to their fellow-creatures, or at least a portion of them. 6. Thou rushedst into the midst of the conflict and swervedst not. 7. I have just made arrangements for forwarding four bales of goods. 8. A mild child is liked better than a wild child. 9. St. Augustine lived holily and godlily. 10. Notwithstanding the barefacedness of his conduct, we could not help pitying the miserableness of his condition. 11. The slow horse that keeps on his course may beat the fast horse that stops to eat or sleep by the way (§ 378). 12. It is he that has committed the deed, at least accessorily. 13. Sobermindedness and shamefacedness are by some considered evidences of virtue. 14. Generally speaking, a prudent general will avoid a general engagement unless his forces are equal in bravery and discipline to those of his opponent. 15. This is distinctly stated in an encyclical letter of that age. 16. Energy, industry, temperance, and handiness, recommend mechanics. 17. Hydrophobia (which is derived from two Greek words, meaning fear of water, and is so called from the aversion to that element which it produces in human patients suffering from its attack, though it seldom causes a similar aversion in the animal from whose bite it originates) sometimes does not

display itself for months after the poison has been received into the system. 18. To two tunes I have made up my mind never to listen. 19. Days, weeks, and months, pass by; the rocks shall waste and man shall turn to dust. 20. In an analogous case, this might be different. 21. Should liberty continue to be abused, as it has been for some time past, (and, though demagogues may not admit it, yet sensible and observing men will not deny, that it has been,) the people will seek relief in despotism or in emigration. 22. We should carefully examine into, and candidly pass judgment on, our faults. 23. In a few years, the hand of industry may change the face of a country, so that one who was familiar with it may be unable to recognize it as that which he once knew; but many generations must pass before any change can be wrought in the sentiments or manners of a people, cut off from intercourse with the rest of the world, and thereby confined to the sphere of their own narrow experience (§ 380). 24. Confident as you are now in your assertions, and positive as you are in your opinions, the time, be assured, approaches, when things and men will appear in a different light to you. 25. Some chroniclers, by an injudicious use of familiar phrases, express themselves sillily. 26. The scene is laid on an inland lake.

LESSON LXIV

UNITY.

§ 385. THE last essential property of a good style is UNITY; which consists in the restriction of a sentence to one leading proposition, modified only by such accessories as are materially and closely connected with it. The very nature of a sentence implies that it must contain but one proposition. It may, indeed, consist of parts; but these must be so bound together as to convey to the mind the impression of one fact, and one alone.

§386. The first requirement of Unity is, that during the course of the sentence the scene and the subject be changed as little as possible. The reader must not be hurried by sud

§ 385. What is the last essential property of a good style? In what does unity consist? What does the nature of a sentence imply? If it consists of parts, what must be their character?

§ 386. What is the first requirement of unity? What is the effect of sudden transi

den transitions from place to place, or from person to person One leading subject at a time is enough for the mind to con template; when more are introduced, the attention is dis tracted, the Unity destroyed, and the impression weakened. This, it will be seen, is the effect in the following sentence, which contains no less than four subjects,-friends, we, I, who [that is, passengers]. Observe how a slight change in the construction gets rid of two of the subjects and thus insures the Unity of the sentence.

"My friends turned back after we reached the vessel, on board of which I was received with kindness by the passengers, who vied with each other in showing me attention."

Corrected." My friends having turned back after we reached the vessel, the passengers received me on board with kindness, and vied with each other in showing me attention."

§ 387. A second rule is, do not crowd into one sentence things that have no connection.

This rule is violated in the following passage:-" Archbishop Tillotson died in this year. He was exceedingly beloved both by King William and Queen Mary, who nominated Dr. Tennison, Bishop of Lincoln, to succeed him." Who, from the beginning of this sentence, would expect such a conclusion? When we are told that he was loved by the king and queen, we naturally look for some proof of this affection, or at least something connected with the main proposition; whereas we are suddenly informed of Dr. Tennison's nomination in his place. To correct such an error, we must remove the discordant idea, and embody it, if it is essential that it be presented, in a distinct sentence :—“ He was exceedingly beloved by King William and Queen Mary. Dr. Tennison Bishop of Lincoln, was nominated to succeed him."

The following sentence, from a translation of Plutarch, is still worse Speaking of the Greeks, under Alexander, the author says:—

"Their march was through an uncultivated country, whose savage inhabitants fared hardly, having no other riches than a breed of lean sheep, whose flesh was rank and unsavory, by reason of their continual feeding upon sea-fish."

Here the scene is changed again and again. The march of the

tions in a sentence from place to place or from person to person? Illustrate this with a sentence containing four subjects, and show how the fault may be corrected. 887. What is the second rule for the preservation of unity? which it is violated. Show wherein the error lies, and correct it.

Repeat a passage in
Give the substance

of the passage quoted from a translation of Plutarch. What is objectionable in it? In

Greeks, the description of the inhabitants through whose country they travelled, the account of their sheep, and the reason why these animals made unsavory food, form a medley which can not fail to be distasteful in the highest degree to an intelligent reader.

A violation of this rule is fatal to Unity even in periods of no great length, as is apparent from the examples just given; in sentences unduly protracted, however, there is a still greater liability to err in this particular. The involved style of Clarendon furnishes numerous examples. Nor does he stand alone; many of the old writers are, in this respect, equally faulty. From Shaftesbury we shall quote a sentence in point. He is describing the effect of the sun in the frozen regions; beginning with this orb as his prominent subject, he soon proceeds to certain monsters and their exploits; whence, by an unexpected and unaccountable transition, he suddenly brings man into view, and admonishes him at some length as to his religious duties. The only way to correct such an involved period as this, is to break it up into several smaller

sentences.

"It breaks the icy fetters of the main, where vast sea-monsters pierce through.floating islands, with arms which can withstand the crystal rock; whilst others, who of themselves seem great as islands, are by their bulk alone armed against all but man; whose superiority over creatures of such stupendous size and force, should make him mindful of his privilege of reason, and force him humbly to adore the great composer of these wondrous frames, and the author of his own superior wisdom."

It may be contended that, in passages like the above, punctuation will bring out the meaning by showing the relation between the various parts; and that, therefore, if commas, semicolons, and colons, are properly used, a violation of Unity may be tolerated. It is true that punctuation does much to remedy even faults as gross as those in the last paragraph; but it must be remembered that the points it employs do not make divisions of thought, but merely serve to mark those already existing, and are therefore proper only when they correspond with the latter. Let those who think that a proper distribution of points will

what sentences is a want of unity most likely to occur? Whose long and intricate periods furnish examples? From whom is a sentence in point quoted? Give its substance. What mistaken view do some take with respect to the correction of sentences deficient in unity, by means of punctuation? Show why this view is mistaken.