20. Transitions.-Good coherence in the composition, as has been said, depends fundamentally upon the plan. The beginner must not suppose, however, that the mere making of a plan or outline,— however good that plan may be, - will of itself give to his composition that smoothness and evident connection which every well-written discourse should possess. Something besides mere planning is necessary. Each part or division of the composition must be properly linked with the adjoining parts or divisions, so that the reader will be able to pass from one topic to another by seemingly natural and easy means. In other words, the transitions must be made smooth and natural.

is to

One way of doing this- and the best way shape every paragraph or division of the discourse so that the end of it will seem to suggest that which is to follow. When this is impossible or undesirable, transition from one part to another may be made by means of some word or phrase of backward reference placed at or near the beginning of the second part.

Good illustrations of smooth and natural transitions may be seen, for example, in the following:

Sometimes, in addressing men who sincerely desire the betterment of our public affairs, but who have not taken active part in directing them, I feel tempted to tell them that there are two gospels which should be preached to every reformer. The first is the gospel of morality; the second is the gospel of efficiency.

To decent, upright citizens it is hardly necessary to preach

the doctrine of morality as applied to the affairs of public life. . . . The first requisite in the citizen who wishes to share the work of our public life . . . is that he shall act disinterestedly and with a sincere purpose to serve the whole commonwealth.

But disinterestedness and honesty and unselfish desire to do what is right are not enough in themselves. A man must not only be disinterested, but he must be efficient. . . . He must stand firmly for what he believes, and yet he must realize that political action, to be effective, must be the joint action of many men, and that he must sacrifice somewhat of his own opinions to those of his associates if he ever hopes to see his desires take practical shape.

The prime thing that every man who takes an interest in politics should remember is that he must act, and not merely criticise the actions of others. . . . We need fearless criticism of our public men and public parties; . . . but it behooves every man to remember . . . that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does the things, and not by the man who talks about how they ought or ought not to be done.

Therefore the man who wishes to do good in his community must go into active political life. . . . He may find that he can do best by acting within a party organization; he may find that he can do best by acting. . . in an independent body of some kind; but with some association he must act if he wishes to exert any real influence.1

21. Proportion in the discourse.-Not all the assertions that a writer makes for the purpose of bringing out the central idea of his discourse are of equal importance. Some have more value or weight than others. To make clear this difference in the im

1 Condensed from the beginning of Theodore Roosevelt's The Manly Virtues and Practical Politics. See The Forum, July, 1894.

portance of his various assertions is, of course, one of the duties of the writer. He must indicate what are to be regarded as the relatively important, and what the relatively unimportant ideas, or he runs the chance of having his meaning misapprehended. He must give every part of his composition that degree of prominence which its relation to the central idea demands. What bears upon the central idea most strongly should be made most prominent, that is to say, given the most conspicuous position or the greatest amount of space, and what bears upon it only remotely or indirectly should, if admitted at all, be kept strictly in the background. The whole composition should give the reader the impression that it is a finished, organic, and symmetrical structure, — a structure in which each part performs some definite function, and in which all the parts work together harmoniously towards producing a combined effect.

The necessity of having the composition well proportioned is, unfortunately, a thing too often lost sight of, even by good writers. As for beginners, they seldom give it so much as a thought. For them, chance ordinarily determines what shall or shall not be made prominent.

22. The beginning.-Except in books and treatises of considerable length, formal and extended introductions are quite out of place. Ordinarily, the writer should begin at once with the subject in hand. In

very short compositions, he should always do so. The space at his disposal is usually all needed for the

development of his theme, and should therefore be used for that purpose and for no other. Notice the directness with which Lowell, for example, begins his essay on Emerson the Lecturer: "It is a singular fact that Mr. Emerson is the most steadily attractive lecturer in America." It is not always necessary, of course, to begin in this direct fashion; but, in general, it is a good way to begin. Begin at the real beginning, and waste as little time on introductory matter as possible, that is the safest of all rules for the young writer to follow.

23. The ending. With regard to the ending, a somewhat similar rule may be given. End when everything that it is really necessary to say has been said. Never prolong a composition beyond its natural and proper close; above all, never attach anything like a tag to the end of it. A good ending should leave the reader satisfied, neither surprised at its suddenness nor impatient that it is long drawn out.

As a rule, the ending should have something of the nature of a climax; that is, the interest in the composition should heighten steadily towards the end and be greatest at or near the conclusion. The precise form it should take will depend upon the nature of the subject and the circumstances under which it is treated. An effective ending in the form of a brief summary or recapitulation is seen, for example, in the following:1

1 Slightly abridged from an article by W. T. Stead in the Booklovers' Magazine for May, 1903.

THE DESTINY OF SOUTH AFRICA

Never prophesy unless you know is a good rule. Yet all statesmanship is based upon foresight, which is equivalent to prophecy. We speculate, calculate, and draw inferences to the best of our ability, and then something unforeseen turns up and everything turns out otherwise.

South African destiny has been changed unexpectedly more than once. The discovery of diamonds made one revolution. The discovery of gold made another. If Cecil Rhodes had died of consumption, or if Paul Kruger had been eaten by a lion both contingencies at one time very probable the whole course of South African history would have been different. The chapter of accidents in that region is not exhausted. . .

From an economic point of view South Africa seems destined to be the region from which mankind will draw its chief supplies of diamonds, gold, and copper. From a political standpoint it is destined to be as free as Canada, and as independent as Australia. Subject to the indispensable coaling station at Simon's Bay, without which the keystone would drop out of the arch of the imperial naval position of Great Britain, South Africa will be free from the control of the mother country. If the mother country recognizes this as inevitable, the mother country's flag may still for an indefinite period float over South Africa from Table Mountain to the Zambesi. If, on the contrary, the mother country fails to recognize the inevitable, and endeavors to maintain any authority over Africanderland, then the flag will come down. Africanderland will be governed by Africanders. And as the majority of permanent resident white Africanders are of Dutch descent, South Africa will, of necessity, be governed by the Dutch, as Quebec is by the French.

The Dutch are better men on the land than the English. Of that no fair-minded Englishman who has been in the