in the wheat fields" pasted on their windows. I hastened on to the business center of the city, where I found many fine buildings, and one very beautiful hotel, but all shoveled in together higgledypiggledy.

I asked the way to the capitol, and was told to follow a long street which led straight up a hill. I found a splendid building, wellproportioned, and nobly placed on an eminence.

There was a great rotunda, very high and dignified, with frescoes upon the walls. The chief glories of the capitol were in the wings, where the guide showed me splendid mural paintings by La Farge and Blashfield. St. Paul itself was disappointing. I was glad to have seen that capitol.

THE RAPIDS

a hidden rock. impracticable.

I steered my canoe toward the smooth strip in the middle of the rapids. When I reached it I saw a swirl halfway down which meant The central passage and the foaming edges seemed I let the canoe drift. I deliberated. The current caught me and whirled me broadside. I was in no danger of drowning, for the pool at the foot was smooth, and I was a good swimmer. An upset meant the loss of all my stores.

The water pitched down the steep slope. I aroused myself. I bit the paddle into the water and headed straight for the swirl. We almost touched. I swung heavily to the right with a strong shove of the paddle. I swung to the left. The canoe darted past with just a scratch. We shot down and out into safety upon the pool. It was a close shave.

THE MECHANICAL DETAILS OF COMPOSITION

The Plan Habit. - There are certain details in connection with the mechanical process of planning and writing a composition which at first you must constantly bear in mind. It may seem that you have been obliged to study a good many rules in regard to anything so natural as speaking and writ

ing; and the questions may present themselves, "Does a novelist or a poet or a newspaper writer or a public speaker sit down and outline his work before he writes it? Does he harass himself constantly with the thoughts of Coherence and Unity and Emphasis and the rest?" In reply, we say, of course, "No"; but writers and speakers of any merit have so studied and perfected the molding of their thoughts and expression in youth that now the observance of these rules which are just the natural laws of good thinking and good writing comes as a matter of course, and they follow them almost unconsciously, as a result of their early training. A great pianist no longer takes any notice of the marks for fingering placed above the notes in the music that he is playing; he is now so expert that he can finger to please himself, but he will none the less finger in the best and most graceful way because in his youth he formed the "finger habit," and now is master of any situation that his score may present. In the same way you must form the "plan habit" with tongue and pen.

Naturalness in Writing and Speaking. Our writing is, of course, nothing more or less than the record of what we think or say, and, as a consequence, if we allow it to record itself naturally, it will be quite as informal, quite as unstilted as the expressions we are always using in conversation with our parents or our friends. Now formal speaking and composition writing should also be easy and unstilted. They must be more "formal" than casual speaking, because, when we speak in debate, or recitation, or put our thoughts upon paper, we are trying to attain an especially clear, especially concise form. It is like the difference between running around the block for exercise and running a race. There must be "form," because it is "form"- that is, plan, directness, clarity, order which enables us to draw together our

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thoughts. But to dread the formal, to be tongue-tied or pen-tied because speaking or writing a word seems to require so much more care than just saying it, is as foolish as to stiffen every muscle when ready to run a race. Don't be afraid of writing. Plan carefully, that is, think carefully; then pitch in, and write as freely as you please.

Mechanical Details in Writing. Clean white paper, a good pen, black ink, have been the means of the greatest writing the world affords. If you have been observant, you know that this writing has been set down paragraph by paragraph, separated by indention. You know, moreover, that on either side of every page of every book there are blank spaces called margins. You must have a blank space, at least on the left side, of everything you write. Again, if you notice any reading matter, you will see that gracefully placed somewhere at the beginning stands the title, each important word of which is capitalized. These mechanical details are important if you would make your work look as it should look ; if it is to be " easy reading." A good appearance means a great deal in all work, but nowhere does it stand for so much as in written compositions.

SUMMARY EXERCISES

I. (a) Classify orally the following topics into three groupsthose suggesting incident, those suggesting description, and those suggesting explanation.

(b) Select certain ones and make them generic; certain others and make them specific.

(c) Make outlines of headings and subheadings or paragraph outlines for such as appeal to you, and follow at least one with a good composition:

(1) May Day in the Park.

(2) A Half Day in a Canoe.

(3) How We Made Our Boat. (4) How to Row. (5) The Old Fence Corner.

(6) Fast in the Snow Drifts. (7) Jim's Recklessness. (8) How a Girl Succeeded. (9) The View from the Hill. (10) Worth While Work. (11) My Trip to the Zoo. (12) An Odd Fellow. (13) His One Peculiarity. (14) My Visit to the Factory. Tramp Said. (16) The Scarecrow and Rover. of our Raft. (18) How the Ship Went Down. Rings at the Circus. (20) Two Different Days. (22) Playing House. (23) The Corner Grocery.

(15) What the (17) The Sinking

(19) The Three (21) Ben's Escape. (24) My Ride on

(43) Neck

(48)

the Engine. (25) In the Surf. (26) Sunset Yesterday. (27) Lost! (28) My "Pal." (29) When I was Seasick. (30) A Rough Tumble. (31) The Crow's Nest. (32) The Bees at Work. (33) A Friendly Tree. (34) Chestnuts. (35) The Old Well. (36) Alexander. (37) Bill's Waterloo. (38) Biography of a Squirrel. (39) Gold, Glory, or Goodness? (40) The Ups and Downs of a Student's Life. (41) "Knuckles." (42) My one Extravagance. ties. (44) My First Speech. (45) Sunday - and the Day After. (46) Sewing on a Button. (47) Why John lost his Temper. Hobbies. (49) "Who Cares!" (50) The Fifth Year. (51) The Faculty at the Bat. (52) The Provoking Puncture. (53) Boss of the Job. (54) At Home. (55) A Jolly Journey. (56) "Freckles." (57) The Blacksmith. (58) Our Sleigh Ride. (59) A Serious Difference. (60) My Lucky "Find." (61) A Visit to my Uncle. (62) An Unknown Friend. (63) The Pantry Habit. (64) Ice Cream. (65) Pie and Pickles. (66) The Man on the Steeple. (67) The Humorous Auctioneer. (68) The Balloon Trip. (69) My Friend, the Grindstone. (70) My First Day's Work. (71) The Last Roll Call. (72) My New Boots. (73) The Parrot and the Puppy. (74) "Strawberries!" (75) Mischief. (76) Trifles. (77) My Sensations in a Submarine. (78) Honesty. (79) Why I Like Algebra. (80) The Hoax. (81) The Road to Nowhere. (82) Stick-to-it-ive-ness. (83) "Sold!" (84) Lost Opportunities. (85) My Air Castle. (86) Arrived at Last. (87) The Autobiography of a Chair. (88) My Experience as a Piece of Paper. (89) If I had been Ivanhoe (or Ichabod Crane, or any other character studied). (90) The Full Boat. (91) Ninety Miles an Hour. (92) Jack's Voyage. (93) Saving his Master. (94) Why We called Him

"Steady." (95) How We Launched the Boat. Band. (97) The Stupid Peasant.

(96) The German

(98) Pluck.

(99) The Hold

Outline

II. (a) Your mother has never seen your schoolroom.

and write a composition which will give her an accurate picture of it.

(b) In like manner, she does not understand how your daily program is arranged. Make an outline and write a composition explaining this to her.

III. Going home from school yesterday afternoon, you saw a boy throw a stone and break a shop window. The shopkeeper appeared on the scene, and recognized the boy before he was able to escape.

(a) Outline and tell the story as you saw it.

(b) Outline and tell the story as the shopkeeper told it.

(c) Outline and tell the story as the boy told it.

IV. Outline orally, paragraph by paragraph, a composition you would write on some character you have studied in history or literature:

V.

My Opinion of Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert.

My Opinion of Sidney Carton.

My Opinion of General Wolfe, etc.

The Value of Physical Exercise

(a) Write a paragraph on the above title.

(b) Expand this paragraph into a composition.

VI. (a) Enumerate several topics of general interest at the pres

possible. Outline one of them in its narrowed form, then outline the same one as originally stated. Justify and explain differences in your plans.

(b) Make a list of ten subjects suitable for compositions of

not over 500 words in length.

VII. It is often said that the country boy has the advantage over the city boy, or vice versa. State the question specifically; outline and write a composition on it.