out, "They run; see how they run!" "Who run?" Wolfe demanded, like a man roused from sleep. "The enemy, sir. They give way everywhere!" "Go, one of you, to Colonel Burton," returned the dying man; “tell him to march Webb's regiment down to Charles River, to cut off their retreat from the bridge." Then turning on his side, he murmured, "Now, God be praised, I will die in peace!" and in a few moments his gallant soul had fled.

From "Wolfe and Montcalm.” — PARKMAN.

And, before ten, the two armies, equal in numbers, each being composed of less than five thousand men, were ranged in presence of one another for battle. The English, not easily accessible from intervening shallow ravines and rail fences, were all regulars, perfect in discipline, terrible in their fearless enthusiasm, thrilling with pride at their morning's success, commanded by a man whose will they obeyed with confidence and love. The doomed and devoted Montcalm had what Wolfe had called but "five weak French battalions," of less than two thousand men, "mingled with disorderly peasantry," formed on commanding ground. The two armies cannonaded each other for nearly an hour; when Montcalm, having summoned De Bougainville to his aid, and dispatched messenger after messenger for De Vaudreuil, who had fifteen hundred men at the camp, to come up before he should be driven from the ground, endeavored to flank the British and crowd them down the high bank of the river. Wolfe counteracted the movement by detaching Townsend with Amherst's regiment, and afterward a part of the Royal Americans, who formed on the left with a double front.

Waiting no longer for more troops, Montcalm led the French army impetuously to the attack. The ill-disciplined companies broke by their precipitation and the unevenness of the ground; and fired by platoons, without unity. Their adversaries, especially the Forty-third and the Forty-seventh, where Monckton stood, of which three men out of four were Americans, received the shock with calmness; and after having, at Wolfe's command, reserved their fire till the enemy was within forty yards, their line began a regular, rapid, and exact discharge of musketry. Montcalm was present everywhere, braving danger,

wounded, but cheering by his example. The second in command, De Sennezergues, an associate in glory at Ticonderoga, was killed. The brave but untried Canadians, flinching from a hot fire in the open field, began to waver; and, so soon as Wolfe, placing himself at the head of the Twenty-eighth and the Louisburg grenadiers, charged with bayonets, they everywhere gave way. Of the English officers, Carleton was wounded; Barré, who fought near Wolfe, received in the head a ball which made him blind of one eye, and ultimately of both. Wolfe, also, as he led the charge, was wounded in the wrist, but still pressing forward, he received a second ball; and having decided the day, was struck a third time, and mortally, in the breast. Support me," he cried to an officer near him; "let not my brave fellows see me drop." He was carried to the rear, and they brought him water to quench his thirst. "They run!" spoke the officer on whom he leaned. "Who run?" asked Wolfe, as his life was fast ebbing. "The French," replied the officer, "give way everywhere." "What," cried the expiring hero, "do they run already?" "Go, one of you, to Colonel Burton; bid him march Webb's regiment with all speed to Charles River to cut off the fugitives. Now, God, be praised, I die happy."

From "The History of the United States." - Bancroft.

Exercises

1. Write a description of some one known to your classmates, to be read aloud and compared with other descriptions of the same person written by members of your class. Clearness, accuracy, and smoothness of language are the main points to be considered.

NOTE. That there may be descriptions of different persons to be read the teacher should assign different subjects, four or five pupils writing upon each.

2. Write a character sketch of some well-known public man to be read in class and compared with others written by your classmates about the same person.

3. Write an account of some naval battle to be read in

class and compared with other accounts of the same engagement written by your classmates.

4. Select and bring to the class for discussion short selections in which the same thing is described, the same incident is narrated, or the same thought is expressed by means of different language. Consider which selection among several bearing upon the same subject is most clear and accurate, which is most forcible, and which is most pleasing.

SECTION XXXI

The Use of the Negative

From the selections given in the preceding pages, and also from your previous study of words and sentences, you have not only found that the same thing may be said in different ways, but that one form of expression is often more effective than another. You may unconsciously use different words having essentially the same meaning, selecting the ones best suited to your purpose in each case, and you may in other ways vary or change the form in which a thought may be expressed in order to make it more effective. The reading of literature will enlarge your vocabulary and show you different forms in which a thought may be expressed. A study of definite ways in which language may be varied, and the results that may be gained by the use of different forms, will aid you in gaining facility in the use of language.

When

Effective Use of the Negative Form of Expression. one wishes to state a fact or give information, it is natural to do so in a direct or positive statement, and thus this is the form of expression most commonly used. Sometimes it will be found, however, that a thought may be more

effectively expressed by the use of some other than the positive form, or it may be desirable for the sake of variety to use another form. A form of statement made by the use of not or some other negative may often be used to produce certain results.

In each of the pairs of sentences following, a thought is expressed, (1) by a positive statement, (2) by a statement in which a negative is used.

1. The sun was hidden by the clouds.

The sun could not be seen because of the clouds.

2. Washington was faithful to every duty. Washington never neglected a duty.

3. Bees will work only in the dark. Bees will not work in the light.

4. My advice to every boy is, always to do what he knows is right.

My advice to every boy is, never to do what he knows is not right.

Either of the sentences in each of the pairs above may be used under the same conditions, according to the wish of the speaker or writer to state the fact expressed. Similarly, many statements may be made in both a positive and a negative form, and you may give variety to your language by using either the one form or the other, as you choose. In some cases the one form may be better suited to your purpose than the other. The negative form often gives emphasis to a statement or command, and in case you wish to give this quality to a sentence you may sometimes find the negative form more effective than the positive.

Consider which of the sentences in each of the following pairs of sentences has the more force:

1. Fruit ripened later this year than usual.

Fruit did not ripen so early this year as usual.

2. We join only that party which carries the flag and steps to the music of the Union.

We join ourselves to no party that does not carry the flag and step to the music of the Union.

3. The poetry of earth is always alive. "The poetry of earth is never dead."

4. All was still as we bore our hero in haste from the ramparts and buried him.

"Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corpse to the ramparts we hurried,
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot

O'er the grave where our hero was buried."

5. It was because Cæsar saw that Rome was ready to stoop that he made himself master of that once brave people.

"Had not Cæsar seen that Rome was ready to stoop, he would not have dared to make himself master of that once brave people."

By trying to express the meaning of the following in positive statements, you will discover how much emphasis is given by the use of the negative form of expression.

We cannot honor our country with too deep a reverence; we cannot love her with an affection too pure and fervent; we cannot serve her with an energy of purpose or a faithfulness of zeal too steadfast and ardent. And what is our country? It is not the East, with her valleys, with her countless sails, and the rocky ramparts of her shores. It is not the North, with her thousand villages and her harvest-home, with her frontiers of the lake and ocean. It is not the West, with her forest sea and her inland isles; with her luxurious expanses, clothed in the verdant corn; with her beautiful Ohio and her verdant Missouri. Nor is it yet the South, opulent in the mimic snow of cotton, in the rich plantations of the rustling cane, and in the golden