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RUDIMENTS

OF

ENGLISH COMPOSITION.

INTRODUCTION.

COMPOSITION is the art of expressing ideas in written language.

To compose correctly, it is necessary to have a practical knowledge of Spelling, Punctuation, the Use of Words, and the Structure and Arrangement of Sentences.

To compose with perspicuity and elegance, it is also necessary to have a practical knowledge of the various qualities of Style, and of the use of Figurative Language.

To be able to write with facility, it is further necessary to have considerable practice in Original Composition.

PART I.

I. SPELLING.

SPELLING is the art of expressing words by their proper letters.

Letters are of two forms, capitals and small letters.

A

SECTION I.

CAPITAL LETTERS.

CAPITAL LETTERS are used in the following situations:

I. The first word of every sentence.

II. The first word of every line of poetry.

III. The first word of a quotation in a direct form.
IV. The names of the Supreme Being.

V. Proper names, and adjectives derived from
proper names.

VI. The names of the days of the week, and of the months of the year.

VII. Any very important word; as, the Reforma

tion.

VIII. The pronoun I, and the interjection O.
IX. Generally the name of an object personified.

EXERCISES.

Correct the errors in the following passages :

I. The love of praise should be kept under proper subordination to the principle of duty. in itself, it is a useful motive to action; but when allowed to extend its influence too far, it corrupts the whole character. to be entirely destitute of it, is a deto be governed by it, is depravity.

fect.

How many clear marks of benevolent intention appear every where around us! what a profusion of beauty and ornament is poured forth in the face of nature! what a magnificent spectacle presented to the view of man! what a supply contrived for his wants!

On whom does time hang so heavily, as on the slothful and, lazy? to whom are the hours so lingering? who are so often devoured with spleen, and obliged to fly to every expedient, which can help them to get rid of themselves?

II. Restless mortals toil for nought;
bliss in vain from earth is sought;
bliss, a native of the sky,

never wanders. mortals, try;
there you cannot seek in vain,

for to seek her is to gain,

III. An ancient heathen king, being asked What things he thought most proper for boys to learn, answered: "those which they ought to practise, when they come to be men." a wiser than this heathen monarch has taught the same sentiment: "train up a child in the way he should go, and, when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

A celebrated philosopher expressed in his motto, That time was his estate: An estate, which will produce nothing without cultivation; but which will abundantly repay the labours of industry.

IV.

There lives and works

a soul in all things, and that soul is god.
the lord of all, himself through all diffused,
sustains, and is the life of all that lives.

these are thy glorious works, parent of good!
almighty thine this universal frame!

V. Our fields are covered with herbs from holland, and roots from germany; with flemish farming, and swedish turnips; our hills with forests of the firs of norway. the chestnut and the poplar of the south of europe adorn our lawns, and below them flourish shrubs and flowers, from every clime, in great profusion. arabia improves our horses, china our pigs, north america our poultry, and spain our sheep.

VI. We left home on monday morning, arrived at liverpool on tuesday, went to manchester, by the railway, on wednesday, and reached this place on thursday evening.

Blessed that eve!

the sabbath's harbinger, when, all complete,
in freshest beauty, from jehovah's hand,
creation bloom'd; when eden's twilight face
smiled like a sleeping babe.

VII. The first monarch of great britain and ireland, after the revolution of 1688, was william the third. the reign of his successor, queen anne, was rendered remarkable by the victories of the duke of Marlborough on the continent of europe, and the union between england and scotland.

VIII. I am monarch of all i survey,

my right there is none to dispute;
from the centre all round to the sea,
i am lord of the fowl and the brute.

IX. o solitude! where are the charms

that sages have seen in thy face? better dwell in the midst of alarms, than reign in this horrible place.

The hope of future happiness is a perpetual source of consolation to good men. under trouble, it soothes their minds; amidst temptation, it supports their virtue; and, in their dying moments, it enables them to say, "o death! where is thy sting? where is thy victory ?"

o grave!

SECTION II.

CAPITAL LETTERS (continued).

Prove and illustrate the following propositions by quotations, either in prose or poetry:

EXAMPLE.

Human life is short and uncertain.

"As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth; for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more."

"Where is to-morrow?

In another world.

For numbers this is certain; the reverse

Is sure to none."

"It is recorded of some eastern monarch, that he kept an officer in his house, whose employment it was to remind him of his mortality, by calling out every morning, at a stated hour, 'Remember, prince, that thou shalt die.' The contemplation of the frailness and uncertainty of our present state appeared of so much importance to Solon of Athens, that he left this precept to future ages: Keep thine eye fixed upon the end of life.""

6

"Ah! what is life? with ills encompass'd round,
Amidst our hopes, fate strikes the sudden wound :
To-day the statesman of new honour dreams,

To-morrow death destroys his airy schemes.'

"As he that lives longest lives but a little while, every man may be certain that he has no time to waste."

"Be wise to-day; 'tis madness to defer:
Next day the fatal precedent will plead ;
Thus on, till wisdom is push'd out of life.'

EXERCISES.

1. To be good is to be happy.

2. Vice brings misery.

3. We were not made for ourselves only.

4. The real wants of nature are soon satisfied.

5. Pride was not made for man.

6. Contentment is great gain.

7. The good alone are great.

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SECTION III.

RULES FOR SPELLING.

Correctness in Spelling is to be acquired chiefly by attending to the practice of the best modern writers and lexicographers.

The following are a few of the general principles to be observed in the spelling of words :

I. Monosyllables ending with f, l, or s, preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant; as, Staff, full, pass.

The only exceptions are, Of, if, as, gas, is, has, was, yes, his, this, thus, us.

II. Monosyllables ending with any consonant but f, 1, or s, preceded by a single vowel, do not double the final consonant; as, Bud, cup, man.

The exceptions are, Add, butt, buzz, ebb, egg, err, inn, odd. III. When words ending with silent e, take an affix

Exercises like this will be useful, not only for teaching practically the use of Capital Letters, but for making Pupils acquainted with the manner in which different authors have expressed themselves on the same subject.

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