junctions the comma may be omitted; as, "Days and months and years have fled."

In some cases where a greater pause than usual is desired, both conjunctions and commas are used; as, 'They suffered, and fought, and died, in their country's cause."

In such expressions as "A beautiful little rose," no comma is used to separate the adjectives, for the reason that the first adjective seems to modify all that follows; but where the successive adjectives all modify the noun with equal force, they are separated by commas, as in the following: "A hard-working, faithful, honest old man."

8. Words in Pairs. -When words are used in pairs a comma should be placed after each pair. Thus,

"Houses and lands, offices and honors, gold and bonds, are nothing to the man at Death's door."

9. Words in Apposition. -Words in apposition, together with their adjuncts, are set off by commas. Thus, "Milton, the author of 'Paradise Lost,' was blind." Pres. James McCosh, D. D., LL.D.

When the noun in apposition stands alone or has only an article before it, no comma is required between it and the word with which it is in apposition. Thus,

"Paul the apostle;" "The poet Whittier."

When several words contain a description of some person or thing, if the name be mentioned it should be set off from the rest of the sentence by a comma; as, "The greatest of poets, Homer, was blind."

10. Words in the Vocative.-Nouns in the Nominative Case Independent by address, with their accompanying

words, are separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. Thus,

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Gentlemen, are you ready to hear me?"

"I am, my dear Sir, your friend."

This rule is applicable to the salutation in a letter. Thus,

Dear Father,

Your letter has been received.

Dear Mr. Smith,

Dear Sir,

Your letter, etc.

Your letter is at hand.

My dear Sir,

I wrote to

you yesterday.

Whatever the salutation, it seems proper to place a comma after the title on the ground that the title, with its modifying adjectives, is in the nominative case independent by address.

When the body of a letter begins on the same line as the salutation, the comma is followed by a dash. Thus,

My dear Sir, — Your letter reached

me, etc.

11. The Absolute Construction.-A word placed in the Nominative Case Absolute is, with its accompanying

words, separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. Thus,

"Peace having been declared, the army was disbanded."

12. Omission of the Verb.-When in a compound sentence the verb is omitted in any of the members following the first, a comma takes its place. Thus,

"Homer was the greater genius; Virgil, the better artist."

13. Logical Subject. When the logical or complex subject of a sentence ends with a verb of the same form as the predicate verb, or consists of parts subdivided by commas, it is separated from the predicate by a comma; as,

"He who breaks, pays."

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Bananas, oranges, and figs, are the chief exports."

14. Quotations.-A quotation or anything resembling a quotation, introduced into a sentence, should be preceded by a comma. Thus,

"Bacon says, 'Knowledge is power.'"

"The question now is, Where shall we find a desirable site?” If the quotation depends directly on the word which precedes it, no comma is required. Thus,

"The cry of 'Down with the traitors!' rang through the hall."

15. Numeral Figures. When any numbers except dates are expressed by more than three characters, they are separated by commas into groups of three, counting from the right. Thus,

"The amount on hand is $16,437,842."

16. Ambiguity.-A comma is sometimes used to prevent ambiguity.

Thus, "I awoke and called my brother to me," without the comma means that I awoke my brother and called him to me. With the comma, "I awoke, and

called my brother to me," means that I became awake and called my brother to me.

THE SEMICOLON.

The Semicolon is used to separate parts of sentences less closely connected than those separated by commas. It is used also to separate the divisions when the subdivisions are separated by commas.

The following are the principal rules for the use of the Semicolon:

1. Parts of Sentences.-A semicolon should be placed between the parts of a sentence when the subdivisions of these parts are separated by commas. Thus,

"Without dividing, he destroyed party; without corrupting, he made a venal age unanimous."

When the members of a sentence are long, they are sometimes separated by a semicolon though no comma is used. Thus,

"Errors like straws upon the surface flow;

He who would seek for pearls must dive below."

Some writers would in the foregoing set off the expression "like straws" with commas, but this is unnecessary. The golden rule in punctuation is to use a punctuation mark only where there is a necessity for it in order to make the meaning clear.

2. A General Term.-A general term having several particulars in apposition may be separated from the particulars by a semicolon. Thus,

Nouns in English have three cases; Nominative, Possessive, and Objective.

3. Short Sentences. Short sentences which have a

slight dependence on one another as to meaning, are usually separated by semicolons. Thus,

"There is good for the good; there is virtue for the virtuous; there is victory for the valiant; there is spirituality for the spiritual."

In the application of this rule usage differs somewhat. Some writers prefer the colon, and others the period, instead of the semicolon, but the best usage favors the semicolon.

4. Successive Clauses.-A semicolon is used to separate several successive clauses in a complex sentence when they have a common dependence on a principal clause. Thus,

"When my heart shall have ceased to throb; when my life shall have passed away; when my body shall have been consigned to the tomb,-then shall all these things be remembered in my favor."

Some writers prefer to separate the principal clause from the others by a colon, and the others from one another by a comma and a dash.

5. Additional Clauses. An additional clause which assigns a reason, draws an inference, or presents a contrast, may be set off by a semicolon. Thus,

"Straws float upon the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom of the stream."

When the additional clause follows without the use of a connecting word, some writers use a colon instead of a semicolon.

Namely, for, but, yet, are some of the words commonly used for connecting an additional clause to express a reason or a contrast.

6. Before As.-A semicolon should be placed before "as" when it introduces an example. Thus,