reader's interest and make him desire to find out what it is. For this reason it is best to avoid long descriptions and explanations in the opening paragraphs. Begin at once, if possible, with the story itself, and distribute the necessary descriptions and explanations through the narrative where needed. The majority of readers do not wish to be kept from the story while the writer is telling them all about the actors, the places where they live, and the conditions by which they are surrounded. These are all right in the proper time and place, but first of all the reader wants to know what the actors in the story do, or what happens to them. The main incident or culminating point of the story is reserved for the last, and furnishes the conclusion or end of the narrative. After this is given the writer should stop, and not add minor details and incidents which can be of little interest to the reader after the main incident has been given. The "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" furnishes an example of a well-told narrative in which the author has skillfully arranged his material, concluding with the main incident, the midnight ride and fright, of the superstitious schoolmaster. Movement. It is important that the narrative possess that degree of movement which the nature of the story requires. In some it will be rapid, in others slow; but in every case the movement should be rapid enough to hold the attention of the reader; for nothing in narration is more tiresome than a story that drags slowly from one incident to another. The oft-repeated question of children when listening to a story, "what happened next?" shows how closely the thought of a listener follows the narrative, and how anxious he is to get from one incident to another without needless delay. It is not enough that incidents should be told in the proper time order. They must not be strung together loosely; but rather they must form a closely. linked chain of incidents which will hold the narrative together from the beginning to the end. Exercises in Narration NOTE. The following exercises are suggestive for a study of narration. It is expected that the teacher will add many others to these, using the literary material available as a basis for the study. The selections suggested in the course in reading and study of literature will also furnish material. The teacher should not expect too much of pupils, nor try to cover too much ground. She should have a few distinct purposes in view, and strive for the realization of these, leaving the more critical study to some future time. The main purposes of the study should be (1) to stimulate an interest in reading; (2) to cultivate the ability to read for an understanding of the writer's meaning; (3) to give some knowledge of the writer's method. In the composition writing to be given in connection with this study, the main purpose should be to encourage pupils to write with freedom, and for this reason teachers should not be too critical of mistakes in what may be termed the mechanics of written language, nor even in the language itself. All this is important and should receive careful attention later, but for the present the principal effort of the pupils should be given to acquiring the ability to say something, and they should not be embarrassed or hampered in this by calling too much attention to their mistakes. 1. Read several of Æsop's fables, give an outline of each, and try to discover the truth which it conveys. 2. Name some fairy tale of which you are particularly fond, and give your reasons for liking it. 3. Relate some historical story, making the main incident prominent. 4. Read "How They brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix," and name the incidents in the order in which they took place. Name any minor incidents or details that convey an idea of great haste. Is the movement of the poem rapid or slow? Compare this poem with "Paul Revere's Ride" as to rapidity of movement. State any differences which you notice in the ways in which these stories begin. Upon what is the thought centered in the first-mentioned poem? in the second? How does the use of the first person affect the telling of the story? 5. Write the story as told in "How They brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix" in the third person, and consider what effect the change of person has upon the story. 6. Write the account of Paul Revere's ride as he might have told it himself the next day. Make clear the importance of the ride and the necessity for haste. 7. Find short stories in which the narrative begins in the opening sentences, and others in which descriptions or explanations are given first. Consider the appropriateness of the beginning in each case. 8. Read the " Pied Piper of Hamelin," and give the sentence in which the story actually begins. Why does the writer give the explanation which precedes this? Why is such a minute description of the Pied Piper given? Would it affect the story to omit it? Has this story a plot? If so, outline it. What is added to the story by the introduction of conversation? Is the arrangement of incidents one of time order only? If you think the writer wishes to teach a moral in this story, tell what it is. What other name might you give to the poem? 9. In Hawthorne's story "The Gray Champion," why do you think the writer begins with an account of the conditions in New England? Explain how the description of the crowd that assembled in the street adds to the interest of the story. Consider whether the scene is more vividly presented because of the occasional quoting of something that is said. Read the paragraph in which the Gray Champion is introduced, and tell how the writer prepares the reader for his appearance. Would rapidity of movement have been appropriate in this narrative? Compare this story with "The Gentle Boy," "Little Annie's Ramble," "The Ambitious Guest," and any other of Hawthorne's stories for a consideration of this author's methods in opening and closing, and of leading up to the main point or incident. 10. If you have read "Treasure Island," tell whether you think the narrative seems more real and the pictures more vivid because Jim Hawkins tells the story himself. How does the writer of the story overcome the difficulties in using the first person in a long narrative? Mention other stories written in the first person, and tell which you like better, the first or the third person in narration. SECTION X Description Description is generally found in narration, for to rightly understand a narrative one must usually know something of the appearance and characteristics of the persons and places with which it deals. The object of a writer in describing anything is to present it to his readers in such a way that they may form the same mental picture, or receive the same impression of it which he has; and hence clearness is an essential quality of description. In order to give a clear description of anything, a person must have observed it closely and have formed an accurate mental picture of it himself; therefore the first preparation for the writing of vivid description is to form the habit of careful and accurate observation. Descriptions and Pictures. No matter how clear or accurate a description may be, it cannot present the appearance of anything as plainly as a picture does, and to most persons one glance at a picture will give a more distinct idea of a place or a person than pages of description can. For this reason pictures are often used in connection with descriptions and explanations in magazines, in text-books, dictionaries, and other books in which a vivid or clear presentation is of special importance. Notwithstanding the value of pictures in giving clear and accurate impressions, there are some things which we may receive from a description which a picture cannot give. A picture gives us only those images which we can receive through the eye, while a description may give motion, sound, odor, temperature, and other impressions which we receive through the different senses. What painted picture could present the scene described below with its appeal to the senses? SUMMER MOODS I love at eventide to walk alone, Down narrow glens, o'erhung with dewy thorn, Cries, "Wet my feet;" and hid, as thoughts unborn, Utters "Craik, craik," like voices underground, JOHN CLARE. Point of View. Before beginning to describe anything a writer must decide upon his point of view, for the features |