eternity of the human soul, which they were too apt to consider as a portion of the infinite and self-existing spirit which pervades and sustains the universe.

2. "These things regulate themselves,” in common phrase; which means, of course, that God regulates them by his general laws, which always, in the long run, work to good.

3. Language cannot spring from intuition, for hearts are surely the possessors of instinct, which, however, does not lead them to this method of expressing themselves.

4. Here and there some remnant of a large monument stands as a sentinel, and the whole structure is indeed a sublime relic of past grandeur.

5. Thus with her few notes does nature ring the changes of the seasons; which we admire, and endeavoring to imitate, find but shadowy success.

6. He spoils not a good school to make thereof a bad college, therein to teach his scholars logic.

7. In this way the several churches (in which, as one may observe, opinions are preferred to life, and orthodoxy is that which they are concerned for, and not morals) put the terms of salvation on that which the Author of our salvation does not put them in.

8. There you are, out in an open sea outside, and all at sea inside; and you feel the need of a chart for the one, and an anchor for the other, if you can find one.

9. Dr. Kane described the Arctic silence as sometimes almost dreadful; and one day at dinner, while Thackeray was quietly smoking, and Kane was fresh from his travels, he told them a story of a sailor reading Pendennis.

10. They told me, if I would do as you wished, my father, who loves me devotedly, would answer all the questions she asked.

11. The good old man soon grew weary of the gay life in the house of his son, who had taken first-honors at college, and spent much time and money in the entertainment of his sporting friends.

12. He fell into trouble by his first remarks, which might be corrected by his subsequent behavior after a long acquaintance with Dr. Johnson, whose readiness to forgive was well known.

13. As we walked through the beautiful streets, whose sides were lined with maple-trees, whose leaves were just changing their color, we wondered whose taste had planted the town.

14. She said, if she could find some one (even if she should not be

old enough, and competent to do the work required) for a few weeks, she should be thankful.

15. One bright evening in June, as I ran down to the post-office to get the letters for father, (for I thought it possible James had written, and I stopped to see if I should inquire for our next-door neighbor,) I met the most remarkable-looking woman.

16. I am entirely determined, under any circumstances, to make the journey, unless it rains.

17. There is to be a grand wedding next week, to which we are all to be invited, or at least so I hear.

18. The equinoctial storm occurred last Tuesday, during which the lightning struck a tree near the church that was built last spring.

19. Having finished his house, and furnished it handsomely, he moved into it on the 22d of February, which is Washington's birthday.

20. When the news of the victory was received at Washington, the people exhibited the greatest enthusiasm, as it was natural that they should.

21. "Mind your own business" is an ancient proverb, (indeed all proverbs seem to be ancient,) which deserves a due degree of attention from all mankind.

22. He built a large stone house on the brow of the hill, (it cost ten thousand dollars,) which commanded a fine view of the surrounding country.

23. The vessel made for the shore, and the passengers soon crowded into the boats, and reached the beach in safety, where the inhabitants received them with the utmost kindness, and a shelter was provided for them.

24. The colonel ordered the regiment forward, and the men, advancing cautiously, discovered a mine which the enemy had made, in order, if possible, to blow them to pieces.

25. As we rode to town, we met a man with a flock of geese, who was talking to a little girl, in a pink sun-bonnet, who was carrying a basket on her arm, containing a few radishes.

26. The boy left the house with a rake in his hand, which his father bought at Smithville, where Mr. Jones lives, who lost four children by the scarlet-fever last winter, when we had that dreadful snow-storm.

RULE IV.- STRENGTH.

A Sentence should be so constructed as to give to the Thought or Meaning which it contains its full force.

What is Meant by Strength. The quality here referred to is variously designated, as strength, energy, animation, vividness, and so forth. The rules already given are all preliminary and preparatory to this. By Rule I, we secure simply the clear expression of the meaning. But the meaning may be expressed in such a way that we cannot mistake it, and yet with such feebleness of style as to make no impression. . Rule II advances a little from this mere negative quality, and by giving a proper position to the main subject and predicate of the sentence, makes them emphatic, and thus gives some positive addition to the forcibleness of the expression. Rule III, by securing an harmonious and rounded whole, removes obstacles, and clears the way for a free current of the thought. Something more, however, is needed than this. A sentence may express the author's meaning, it may give emphasis to the leading parts, it may observe the strictest rules of unity, and yet we feel that it wants something. The author's meaning is not expressed with that force of which it is capable. Of course, it does not belong to Style to give rules for obtaining forcible or strong thoughts. That belongs to Invention. But supposing an author to have a certain thought in his mind, it is the business of the part of Rhetoric which we are now studying, to show how that idea or thought may be so expressed as to produce the strongest impression.

In constructing a sentence so as to secure for it the full strength of which the thought is capable, several subordinate rules are to be observed.

1. Redundant Words.

A sentence is made stronger by leaving out redundant words. It may be taken for granted, that whatever in a sentence does not add to the meaning enfeebles it. redundant word is so much dead weight.

Every

"The least that is said on the subject, the soonest it will be mended," expresses the idea clearly enough, but not with half the force of the usual expression, "Least said, soonest mended."

"Content with deserving a triumph, he refused the honor of it," is a livelier expression than " Being content with deserving a triumph, he declined the honor of it."

"There is nothing which so soon perverts the judgment as the habit of drinking intoxicating liquors" becomes much more sprightly by leaving out the unnecessary words, thus: "Nothing perverts the judgment so soon as the habit of drinking intoxicating liquors."

Necessity of Pruning. In the first draught of any piece of composition, we are apt to use inversions and circumlocutions of this kind. A severe eye therefore should be used in revising and pruning our expressions. In this revision we should lop off every word which does not add something to the sense. The only exception to this is where the inversion is needed for securing the emphasis.

Whole Clauses are sometimes redundant. As every word ought to present some new idea, so every new clause or member of the sentence ought to present some new thought.

"The very first discovery of beauty strikes the mind with inward joy, and spreads delight through all its faculties." Here the second clause adds little, if anything, to the thought contained in the first. The repetition of the same idea in words slightly different only enfeebles the expression. It has a similar effect to that produced by putting an additional pint of water into a beverage already compounded exactly to one's taste. Sentences, as well as tea and coffee, lose flavor by being too much watered.

Source of Redundancy.—A common source of redundancy is the use of a separate word to express an idea which is implied in one of the words already used. "To return" is "to go back." The expression "returning back," is therefore redundant. The sentence, "They returned back again to the same city from whence they came forth," contains five redundant words. The idea is expressed with sufficient clearness, but it has not so much force as when we say simply, "They returned to the city whence they came."

"The boy had his pocket full of a great many apples," is an example of the same kind.

Error in the Opposite Direction. Before dismissing the subject of redundancy, it may be observed that sometimes words are left out which ought really to be kept in. This is true especially of the Relative pronoun. The ellipsis of the relative may be sometimes allowable in conversation, where the meaning is helped out a good deal by the tone, emphasis, and gesture, and also in familiar letters; but in serious composition such ellipsis should rarely take place. The insertion of the relative in its proper place almost always makes the meaning more precise and determinate. "The man I loved " should be "The man whom I loved." "The dominions we possessed, and the conquests we made" should be "The dominions which we possessed, and the conquests which we made."

2. The Use of Very, and other Intensive Expressions.

A sentence is made stronger by avoiding the too frequent use of very, and of other intensive or superlative expressions. Inexperienced writers would do well, after completing any piece of composition, to go through it, pen in hand, and strike out three-fourths of the epithets, every superlative, and every "very," which the sense does not imperatively demand.

Blair says, in speaking of sublimity, "It is not easy to describe in words the precise impression which great and sublime objects make upon us. . . . The emotion is certainly delightful, but it is altogether of the serious kind." A feeble writer, wishing to express the same idea, would be apt to dilute it, as follows: "It is not very easy to describe in words merely the precise and exact impressions which very great and sublime objects make upon us. The emotion most certainly is extremely delightful, but still it is altogether of a very serious and solemn kind."

3. Words of Connection and Transition.

The strength of a sentence may often be increased by care in the use of the words employed to mark connection or transition. These are chiefly the relative pronouns, the conjunctions, and the prepositions.

"These little words, but, and, which, whose, where, etc., are frequently the most important of any; they are the joints or hinges upon which all sentences turn, and of course, much, both of the gracefulness and strength of sentences, must depend upon such particles."-Blair.

No system of rules can be framed to suit all the cases that arise under this head. All that can be done is to give a few examples, with the observations which naturally grow out of them.

Splitting Particles.-"Though virtue borrows no assistance from, yet it may often be accompanied by, the advantages of fortune." This kind of construction is called splitting particles. It consists in separating a preposition from the noun which i governs. This violent separation of things which ought to be closely united gives an unsatisfied and displeased feeling to the mind. It brings the current of thought to a disagreeable stand-still, and obliges us to rest for a time on a little word which carries no meaning with it until it is connected with its proper object. A better arrangement of the sentence would have been, "Though virtue borrows no assistance from the advantages of fortune, yet it may often be accompanied by them.”