SECTION IV. AVOID REPETITION OF WORDS

There is one fault which is especially liable to appear in description, namely, the unnecessary repetition of words. Here is an example:

On one side of the room was a table, and at the right of that was a settle. At the left of the settle stood a great arm chair; in the chair were red cushions. In the center of the room stood an oak table on which stood a heavy gilt goblet; beside it was an open book. On the other side of the room was the great fireplace. In front of it was a row of apples roasting before the fire.

Such indications of place as "at the right," "at the left" are necessary to clearness; but a little care in arrangement of words and in structure of the sentence will avoid the monotonous repetition of them. Such words as "was" and "stood" can be varied, or avoided by subordination. sentence study, page 39.)

(See

Note how the author of the following selection avoids repetition:

Here, then, was a wide and reasonably lofty hall, extending through the whole depth of the house, and forming a medium of general communication, more or less directly, with all the other apartments. At one extremity, this spacious room was lighted by the windows of the two towers, which formed a small recess on either side of the portal. At the other end, though partly muffled by the curtain, it was more powerfully illuminated by one of those embowed hall-windows which we read of in old books, and which was provided with a deep and cushioned seat. Here, on the cushion, lay a folio tome, probably of the chronicles of England or other such substantial literature; even as, in our own days, we scatter gilded volumes on the center-table, to be turned over by the casual guest. The furniture of the hall consisted of some ponderous chairs, the backs of which were elaborately carved with wreaths of oaken flowers; and likewise a table in the same taste; the whole being of Eliza

bethan age, or perhaps earlier, and heirlooms, transferred hither from the governor's paternal home. On the tablein token that the sentiment of old English hospitality had not been left behind-stcod a large pewter tankard.

"The Scarlet Letter," Hawthorne.

Exercises

I. Take these properties-an interior with fireplace, settle, armchair, table, goblet, open book, row of roasting apples and write a description, avoiding unnecessary repetition of words.

2. Describe the picture opposite page 15.

SECTION V. DESCRIBING FROM IMAGINATION

Another way of finding something to write about is by telling what you see with the mind's eye, that is, with your imagination. Some of the most useful discoveries that were ever made were not found first with the eyes, but were first seen by the imagination. It was only an apple falling which Newton saw, but his imagination saw a universe held together by law. Moreover, some of the most beautiful things in the world were made by the imagination—pictures like "The Angelus," and poems like "The Lady of Shalott."

Of course, with your mind's eye you have to use what you have really seen. But you can build up and combine so as to produce a new thing. Hawthorne had seen pictures of the Puritans; he had seen their clothes, furniture, and banners. Out of all these, he made such stories as "The Gray Champion," or "Endicott and the Red Cross."

You can not only improve your writing by exercising your imagination, but you can also give yourself much pleasure. You are walking to school and you see a horse and wagon placidly ambling down the road with no driver. As you walk on, you can imagine what sort of man the driver is,

what he wears, where he is going, where he is at present, what he will do when he finds the horse gone. Or, as you near a clump of woods, you see a line of blue smoke. Suppose that should indicate a gypsy camp. You shut your eyes and see men with swarthy faces and full black beards, and women with large, dark eyes, gleaming teeth, heavy gold ear-rings, and gay handkerchiefs around their necks. You see a black pot over the fire, and half a dozen children and dogs playing nearby. Perhaps you see how the men look as they walk about.

At every opportunity, then, you should see with the mind's eye, you should exercise your imagination. There is an added pleasure in the fact that you see what nobody else sees. If you write down your impressions and compare them with your neighbor's, you will find many differences. Suppose you are told to picture to yourself an untidy boy who always comes late to school; picture him as he enters the door of the schoolroom. You might write the following:

Jimmy was the laziest boy I ever knew. He would sleep so late in the morning that his breakfast was cold when he came yawning down stairs, his curly mop of yellow hair all tangled, his brown eyes half shut with sleep. As he liked to eat, he would linger so long over breakfast that the last bell for school would ring before he set off. But he never hurried. He would open the schoolroom door at five minutes past nine, looking at the teacher while we looked at him. His jacket would be unbuttoned; probably he would have left off his waistcoat, and maybe his shirt would be pinned instead of buttoned. His trousers would be shabby and especially worn at the knees. His stockings would be full of holes and his shoes unlaced. All the time he would be swinging back and forth in his dirty right hand a tattered book.

The student in the seat next you might write: