C. IMAGINATIVE.

(I.) WITH ASSISTANCE.

N.B. The hints and suggestions are added for the benefit of those who may find this kind of exercise difficult. But the student is advised not to consult them, unless, after fair trial, he finds assistance necessary.

EXERCISE 65.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN OLD OAK IN WINDSOR FOREST.

Notes, hints, and suggestions:

Remember that an auto-biography [Gk. autós, self] is a biography written by the person himself. Hence it must be in the First Person throughout. Here the Tree tells its own tale.-Oaks in Windsor Forest older than the Norman Conquest-acorn planted by some royal child-perils which beset young growing trees, often trampled or nibbled by deer, cattle, &c.-kings and queens take shelter under itlightning rends its gigantic arms-slow decay, beautiful with ivy, fern, moss-abode of owls-quaint form striking terror by moonlightlegend of Herne the Hunter (Shaks. Merry Wives of Windsor, iv. 4), long supposed to haunt such an oak.

[The student may also read with advantage Tennyson's Talking Oak, stanzas 10-17.]

EXERCISE 66.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS IN A BALLOON.

Hints, &c. :

Motive prompting the expedition-curiosity, or science, or escape from city besieged, &c.-Strange feeling of earth sinking beneath you --country spread out "like a map "-rapid extension of range of view -sight of great city beneath.-Sensations of aeronaut :-in the clouds -above them-rapidity of motion combined with perfect stillness— great elevation-rarity of atmosphere-intense cold.-Descent-danger of descent-joy at safe restoration to earth—object of expedition, how far attained?

EXERCISE 67.

NARRATIVE OF A SAILOR SAVED FROM A SHIPWRECK.

Hints, &c. :

Name and kind of vessel-cargo-port she sailed from and destination-general description of voyage up to the time of disaster. Signs of approaching danger-gale, waves, spray-leak sprungpumps-lowering of boats.

P

Life in the boat-privation-how this brings out the true characters

men-rescue.

EXERCISE 68.

CHRONICLE OF A COTTAGE ABOUT TO BE DEMOLISHED.

Hints, &c. :

Suppose a passer-by, country clergyman or doctor, to observe commencement of demolition of cottage-describe situation of cottage, &c. -reason for its demolition-railway, or other building works-a death. Interest which gathers round every place where human beings have lived, giving pathos to such a scene of destruction-old chairs-homely picture, cups and saucers, &c., worth next to nothing in themselves, but perhaps once dearly prized by some one-desolation of garden beds, &c.-Wordsworth's affecting lines:— }

Ah! what a warning for a thoughtless man,
Could field or grove, could any spot on earth,
Show to his eye an image of the pangs
Which it hath witnessed; render back an echo
Of the sad steps by which it has been trod !
(Excursion, vi.)

EXERCISE 69.

A YOUTH WHO HAS EMIGRATED TO VICTORIA WRITES TO A FORMER COMPANION IN ENGLAND.

Hints, &c. :

Reflect that Victoria being at the Antipodes, summer there corresponds to winter here-thoughts of friends at home and their doings.

Difficulty of correspondence with those who are three months' voyage removed-news will have become stale before it reaches [see Lamb's Essay, Distant Correspondents].

Picture different aspect of place where nothing is old as compared with old English churches, quaint gabled houses, &c.

Effect of rush to gold-diggings-advantages of one who instead of sharing the rage, drives a brisk trade with successful gold-finders.Feelings of one who yearns for the friends whom perhaps he hardly valued when at home. Hopes of return.

EXERCISE 70.

A WEEK'S DIARY OF A JAPANESE IN ENGLAND.

Hints, &c. :

Choose a week of the year comprising one or two days of special interest-say, a general holiday, or the like-draw out each day's journal separately.

Remarks upon amusements of English people—visits to Crystal Palace, House of Commons, Zoological Gardens, &c. &c. Be careful to put yourself as much as possible into the position of a foreigner like a Japanese, noticing what would strike him rather than what would strike us-Japanese may be supposed to take note of things which it would be well to introduce at home.

Hints, &c. :

EXERCISE 71.

THE RING OF GYGES.

The ring of Gyges was supposed to have the power of rendering its wearer invisible so long as the stone was turned towards the palm of the hand.-Ring discovered by poor man in a cave-surprise of wearer on discovering strange property of ring-inability at first to believe

himself invisible.

Temptation to make ill use of power-various things he might do— facility of access to places-dishonesty and crime-uneasy conscience. Suspicion excited by disappearance of wearer-ring unconsciously reversed during sleep or otherwise-discovery and sudden arrest—confession. EXERCISE 72.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN OLD HALL-CLOCK.

Hints, &c. :

Suppose some person revisiting the home of his childhood-passing through hall late at night and alone, and startled by familiar sound of old clock striking.-Description of clock-reverie-clock tells its story -its purchase and arrival years ago-praise of its master, especially his punctuality-points out dint in its case and tells story how burglar raising trigger of gun to fire at the master, was startled by clock suddenly striking and missed aim, hitting clock instead-speaks of master's marriage and family-("all are scattered now and fled; some are married, some are dead") its master now old and infirm, and out of sympathy the old clock doesn't go as fast as it used to do-master insists on its staying where it is as long as he lives.

EXERCISE 73.

RUMOURED SUBMERSION OF THE ISLAND OF TORTOLA.

Hints, &c. :

Some years ago, news [unfounded] was brought that Tortola, one of the Virgin Islands, had been completely submerged; suppose an inhabitant to have escaped and to relate the catastrophe.

Premonitory symptoms of earthquake-lurid sky-tremors-suffocating atmosphere, &c. People gather outside of buildings-great upheaval -its fearful effects. New terror-the sea coming in upon the land— terra firma seeming to sink towards the abyss, &c. Heroism of someheartless selfishness of others-how the narrator escaped-perhaps floating on some chance raft.

Hints, &c. :

EXERCISE 74.

ADVENTURE WITH A BOA.

Description of jungle-imagine sensations of travellers, admiration of natural sights, tropical vegetation.

Party rest during heat of day-beasts grazing-boa slides out from

jungle and attacks sleeping man-efforts to save him-furious hissing of boa-assailed with bludgeons-tail chopped off with axe-serpent uncoils from half crushed man.

EXERCISE 75.

CRUISE OF THE ARIEL IN SEARCH OF SLAVERS. Hints, &c. ::

Persevering efforts of English Government to suppress slave-tradeAriel commissioned to look out for slavers in Gulf of Guinea-slaver described-suppose one of the officers of Ariel to tell the story-chase -gun fired to bring slaver to-in vain.-Slaver at last overtaken, surrenders-terrible sight presented by hold of vessel-slaves in chains —some dying or dead-liberated slaves put ashore at Sierra Leone.

EXERCISE 76.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN OLD HORSE.

Hints, &c. :

Try to enter into the probable feelings of an intelligent creature like the horse his pride in his glossy and well-groomed coat-handsome turn-out, &c.

Stages of existence, first master (say) keeps a good stable-lives beyond his means-has to sell his stud-parting with favourite horse :next (say) riding school-annoyance of carrying awkward fellows:next purchased by good-natured paterfamilias to draw or carry his children-anticipation of good quarters and a peaceful end.

(II.) WITHOUT ASSISTANCE.

Ex. 77. The convict's dream.

Ex. 78.

Ex. 79.

Ex. 80.

Ex. 81.

Ex. 82.

Ex. 83.

Ex. 84.
Ex. 85.

Ex. 86.

Ex. 87.

Ex. 88.

Ex. 89.

Ex. 90.

A night with the Fire Brigade.

A week's diary of a relieving officer.

A race for life-pursuer and pursued on horseback:-scene,
Texas or California.

An old Crimean soldier tells his story.

Autobiography of raven supposed to have lived two hundred years.

Suspicious hospitality:-a night's lodging in a wild district in Texas or some other lawless country.

Our Communistic settlement.

An old monk deplores the dissolution and ruin of his monastery-Temp. Henry VIII.

A story of metempsychosis-from man through various
animals back to man again.

An honest peasant youth receives a legacy of £100,000.
My first experiment at authorship—what became of my
volume of " 'poems."

The microphone and phonograph bring a murderer to justice.
A veteran soldier's account of his first battle.

PART III.-VARIOUS PRACTICAL RULES

AND SUGGESTIONS,

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM VARIOUS AUTHORS.

1. USE AND ABUSE OF PRONOUNS.

§ 22. No words require more care in their use than Pronouns.

The greatest fault of all in writing is to be unintelligible. Each word and each sentence should tell its tale unmistakably. Pronouns that is, substitutes for Nouns -should never be employed, unless it is perfectly clear for what Nouns they stand.

Repetition is a far less serious fault than obscurity. Young writers are often unduly afraid of repeating the same word, and require to be reminded that it is always better to use the right word over again, than to replace it by a wrong one:-and a word which is liable to be misunderstood is a wrong one. A frank repetition of a word has even sometimes a kind of charm-as bearing the stamp of truth, the foundation of all excellence of style.

§ 23. The Personal Pronouns I and Thou are the clearest of words. The ambiguity referred to cannot be found in them; and occurs chiefly in the words he, she, it, they, this, that, with the Relative Pronouns who, which, that.

It may be laid down as a general rule that a Pronoun should never be used when there is more than one antecedent to which it may possibly be referred: e.g.

"A. met B. in town, and he recognized him at once."

Here are two antecedents A. and B. :-to which of these two does the "he" refer and to which the "him"? Certainly a moment's reflexion enables us to see that had the subject of the second sentence been the same as the first, the first Pronoun would probably have been dispensed with; thus

"A. met B. in town and recognized him at once."