"Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber." In this passage it is right to precede now with a period, because this word does not imply connection, but means simply to continue the narrative, to go on.

"Domitian was a low, cruel, and sensual wretch, whose highest pleasure consisted in maiming helpless flies, whose mind was paralyzed by sloth, whose soul was surfeited with disgusting gluttony, whose heart was dead to every generous impulse, and whose conscience was seared by crime. And this was the emperor of Rome, the controller of the world's destinies." Here a period may be placed before and. Sentences in which, as in this, and does not closely connect, but is simply equivalent to now, as used in the preceding example, constitute an exception to the general rule, and admit a period before and.

§ 83. From Remark II. it follows that a period must not separate a relative clause from its antecedent. It would, therefore, be wrong to substitute periods for semicolons in the following sentence: "There are men whose powers operate in leisure and in retirement, and whose intellectual vigor deserts them in conversation; whom merriment confuses, and objection disconcerts; whose bashfulness restrains their exertion, and suffers them not to speak till the time of speaking is past."

§ 84. RULE II.-A period must be placed after every abbreviated word; as, Dr. Geo. F. Johnson, F. R. S.

§ 85. The period in this case merely indicates the abbreviation, and does not take the place of other stops. The punctuation must be the same as if no such period were employed; as, "My clerk put the letter in the P. O.; there can be no mistake about it." "Horace Jones, jr., M. D., LL. D."

§ 86. When, however, an abbreviated word ends a sentence, only one period must be used; for an example, see the close of the preceding paragraph.

§ 87. Under this head fall Roman capitals and small letters, when used for figures; as, "Charles I. was the son of James I."

§ 88. An important exception to this rule must be noted. When an abbreviated word is of such constant occurrence that, without reference to the word from which it comes, it is itself considered as a component part of our language, no period is placed after it. Thus, it would be wrong to put a period after eve abbreviated from evening, or hack from hackney.

§ 83. What must a period in no case separate?

§ 84. Repeat Rule II.

§ 85. In this case what does the period indicate? Must it take the place of other stops?

§ 86. In what case, however, is there an exception ?

§ 87. When must the Roman capitals and small letters be followed by periods, ander this rule?

§ 88. What large class of abbreviated words constitute an exception to this rule?

§ 89. So, when the first syllable of a Christian or given name is used, not as an abbreviation of the latter, but as a familiar substitute for it, no period must be employed; as, "Ben Jonson ".

For a comprehensive list of abbreviations, see Table at the close of the volume.

EXERCISE I.

Insert periods in the following sentences, wherever required by the above rules:

A graphic description of this scene may be found in Gibbon's Hist of the Dec and Fall of the Rom Em, vol ii, chap 5

Mrs Felicia Hemans was born in Liverpool, Eng, and died at Dublin, 1835, A D

Messrs G Longman and Co have received a note from the Cor Sec of the Nat Shipwreck Soc, informing them of the loss of one of their vessels off the N E coast of S A, at 8 P м, on the 20th of Jan

James VI of Scotland became Jas I of England

EXERCISE II.

In the following extract all the stops are inserted except periods. The pupil is required to introduce these points. wherever they are needed, and to begin each new sentence with a capital.

THE GROTTO OF ADELSBURG.

"This great natural curiosity lies about thirty miles from the Adriatic, back in the Friuli Mountains, near the province of Cariola we arrived at the nearest tavern at three in the afternoon; and, subscribing our names upon the magistrate's books, took four guides and the requisite number of torches, and started on foot a half hour's walk brought us to a large rushing stream, which, after turning a mill, disappeared with violence into the mouth of a broad cavern sunk in the base of a mountain an iron gate opened on the nearest side; and, lighting our torches, we received an addition of half a dozen men to our party of guides, and entered we descended for ten or fifteen minutes through a capacious gallery of rock, up to the ankles in mud, and feeling continually the drippings exuding from the roof, till by the echoing murmurs of dashing water we found ourselves approaching the bed of a subterraneous river we soon emerged in a vast cavern, whose height, though we had twenty torches, was lost in the darkness the river rushed dimly below us, at the depth of perhaps fifty feet, partially illuminated by a row of lamps, hung on a slight wooden bridge by which we were to cross to the opposite side

"We came after a while to a deeper descent, which opened into a magnificent and spacious hall it is called “the ball-room ", and is used as

§ 89. What exception refers to certain Christian or given names?

such once a year, on the occasion of a certain Illyrian feast the floor has been cleared of stalagmites, the roof and sides are ornamented beyond all art with glittering spars, a natural gallery with a balustrade of stalactites contains the orchestra, and side-rooms are all around where supper might be laid and dressing-rooms offered in the style of a palace I can imagine nothing more magnificent than such a scene a literal description of it even would read like a fairy tale

"A little farther on, we came to a perfect representation of a waterfall the impregnated water had fallen on a declivity, and, with a slightly ferruginous tinge of yellow, poured over in the most natural resemblance to a cascade after a rain we proceeded for ten or fifteen minutes, and found a small room like a chapel, with a pulpit in which stood one of the guides, who gave us, as we stood beneath, an Illyrian exhortation there was a sounding-board above, and I have seen pulpits in old Gothic churches that seemed, at a first glance, to have less method in their architecture the last thing we reached was the most beautiful from the cornice of a long gallery hung a thin, translucent sheet of spar, in the graceful and waving folds of a curtain; with a lamp behind, the hand could be seen through any part of it it was perhaps twenty feet in length, and hung five or six feet down from the roof of the cavern the most singular part of it was the fringe a ferruginous stain ran through it from one end to the other, with the exactness of a drawn line; and thence to the curving edge a most delicate rose-teint faded gradually down, like the last flush of sunset through a silken curtain had it been a work of art, done in alabaster and stained with the pencil, it would have been thought admirable

"The guide wished us to proceed, but our feet were wet, and the air of the cavern was too chill we were at least four miles, they told us, from the entrance, having walked briskly for upwards of two hours the grotto is said to extend ten miles under the mountains, and has never been thoroughly explored parties have started with provisions, and passed forty-eight hours in it without finding the extremity it seems to me that any city I ever saw might be concealed in its caverns I have often tried to conceive of the grottos of Antiparos, and the celebrated caverns of our own country; but I received here an entirely new idea of the possibility of space under ground there is no conceiving it unseen the river emerges on the other side of the mountain, seven or eight miles from its first entrance"

LESSON XVII.

INTERROGATION-POINT.-EXCLAMATION-POINT.

§ 90. RULE I.-An interrogation-point must be placed after every interrogative sentence, member, and clause.

§ 90. Repeat Rule I., relating to the use of the interrogation-point.

EXAMPLES.

I.-After an interrogative sentence.- "Are we not mortal? 99 II.-After an interrogative member." Our earthly pilgrimage is nearly finished; shall we not, then, think of eternity?"

III.-After an interrogative clause." As we must soon die (who knows but this very night?), we should fix our thoughts on eternity."

§ 91. Some sentences which are declarative in form are really interrogative (see § 78, Remark IV.), and must of course be closed with interrogation-points. Thus the sentence, "You will remain all night," is declarative in form, and, followed by a period, indicates a positive announcement of the fact. If intended as an indirect question, however, (“ You will remain all night, will you not?") it must be followed by an interrcgation-point.

§ 92. After sentences which merely assert that a question has been asked, a period must be placed, unless the exact words of the question are given; in this case, an interrogation-point takes the place of a period, and must stand before the quotation-points enclosing the question. As, "They asked me whether I would return."-" They asked me, 'Will you

return?'"

So, if a question is introduced into the middle of a sentence, in the exact words in which it was asked, an interrogation-point must be placed before the last quotation-points, the following word must commence with a small letter, and the remainder of the sentence must be punctuated as it would be if no quoted clause were introduced; as, "These frequent and lamentable catastrophes ask the question, ‘Are you prepared to die?' with startling emphasis." The clauses of such sentences, however, are capable of a decidedly better arrangement; as will be seen by the following alteration: "These frequent and lamentable catastrophes ask, with startling emphasis, the question, 'Are you prepared to die ?'"

§ 93. RULE II.-An exclamation-point must be placed after every exclamatory sentence, member, clause, and expression.

§ 91. What form have some interrogative sentences? How must they be closed? Illustrate this.

§ 92. State the principle relating to sentences which merely declare that a question has been asked. How must we punctuate questions introduced into the middle of a sentence? How is the rest of the sentence to be pointed? What is said respecting the arrangement of such sentences?

§ 93. Repeat Rule II., relating to the use of the exclamation-point.

EXAMPLES.

I. After an exclamatory sentence.—"How slow yon tiny vessel ploughs the main!"

II. After an exclamatory member.-"The clock is striking midnight; how suggestive and solemn is the sound!"

III. After an exclamatory clause." We buried him (with what intense and heart-rending sorrow!) on the field which his life-blood had consecrated."

IV. After exclamatory expressions.—“ Consummate horror! guilt without a name!"

§ 94. From the above examples it will be seen that the interrogation-point and exclamation-point do not always denote the same degree of separation, but are used when the connection is close as well as when it is remote. Thus, in Examples I. and II. they are placed after propositions making complete sense, and indicate as entire separation from what follows as would be denoted by a period. In the last example, on the contrary, the exclamation-points are by no means equivalent, in this respect, to periods. The two points under consideration, therefore, not only separate complete and independent sentences with the force of periods; but are also placed between members, like colons and semicolons, and even between clauses, like commas. In the first case, the words following these points must commence with capitals; in the last three cases, with small letters, as may be seen above. The sole criterion is the degree of connection subsisting between the parts thus separated.

§ 95. Sometimes the connection is so close that the different parts are dependent on each other in construction, or do not make sense when taken separately. In this case, if each division is of itself distinctly interrogative, varying the question each time by applying it to some new object; or, in other words, if it contains a repetition of the auxiliary that asks the question, or an interrogative adverb, or adverbial clause,-use an interrogation-point after each, and let the following word commence with a small letter; as, "How shall a man obtain the kingdom of God? by impiety? by murder? by falsehood? by theft?"

If, however, such divisions do not apply the question to any new object, but merely state additional circumstances respecting that which

§ 91. What is said respecting the degree of separation denoted by the interrogation-point and exclamation-point? When they separate complete and independent sentences, how must the next word commence? When they stand between members and clauses, how must the following word commence ?

§ 95. State the mode of punctuating, when the parts are dependent on each other in construction, and each varies the question by applying it to some new object. How are these parts separated, if they do not thus vary the question?