ABOUT DOGS "Sir," she said, in true Johnsonian style, "what height should a mastiff dog attain at the age of six months?" The policeman stared at her in utter astonishment. "They do be all sizes, mum,” he replied blankly, "like a piece of cheese." "My relative in the West," explained Miss Pellicoe, "has sent me a dog, and I am given to understand that his age is six months. As he is phenomenally large, I have thought it best to seek for information. Has my relative been imposed upon?" "It's har-r-rd to tell, mum," replied the policeman, dubiously. Then his countenance brightened. "Does his feet fit him?" he inquired. what do you mean?" asked Miss Pellicoe, shrinking "Is his feet like blackin' boxes on th' end of his legs?" "They are certainly very large." "Thin 'tis a pup. You see, mum, with a pup, 'tis this way. The feet starts first, an' the pup grows up to 'em like. Av they match him, he's grown. Av he has artics on, he's a pup." — H. C. Bunner, Short Sixes; Hector. THE "GENUS " BOY Boys lose their charm when they get fifteen or sixteen years of age. The clever ones, no doubt, become more interesting to the teacher, but they no longer belong to the genus boy that you love for his very defects as much as for his good qualities. I call "boys" that delightful, lovable race of young scamps from eleven to fourteen years old. At that age all have redeeming points, and all are lovable. I never objected to any, except perhaps to those who aimed at perfection, especially the ones who were successful in their efforts. For my part, I like a boy with a redeeming fault or two. By "boys "I mean little fellows who manage, after a game of football, to get their right arm out of order, that they may be excused writing their exercises for a week or so; who do not work because they have an examination to prepare, but because you offer them an inducement to do so, whether in the shape of rewards, or maybe something less pleasant you may keep in your cupboard. — MAX O'RELL, John Bull, Junior, chap. iv. THE TRUE GENTLEMAN Hence it is that it is almost a definition of a gentleman to say that he is one who never inflicts pain. This description is both refined and, as far as it goes, accurate. He is mainly occupied in merely removing the obstacles which hinder the free and unembarrassed action of those about him; and he concurs with their movements rather than takes the initiative himself. His benefits may be considered as parallel to what are called comforts or conveniences in arrangements of a personal nature: like an easy-chair or a good fire, which do their part in dispelling cold and fatigue, though nature provides both means of rest and animal heat without them. The true gentleman in like manner carefully avoids whatever may cause a jar or a jolt in the minds of those with whom he is cast; - all clashing of opinion, or collision of feeling, all restraint, or suspicion, or gloom, or resentment; his great concern being to make every one at their ease and at home. He has his eyes on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the distant, and merciful towards the absurd; he can recollect to whom he is speaking; he guards against unseasonable allusions, or topics which may irritate; he is seldom prominent in conversation and never wearisome. He makes light of favors while he does them, and seems to be receiving when he is conferring. He never speaks of himself except when compelled, never defends himself by a mere retort, he has no ears for slander or gossip, is scrupulous in imputing motives to those who interfere with him, and interprets everything for the best. He is never mean or little in his disputes, never takes unfair advantage, never mistakes personalities or sharp sayings for arguments, or insinuates evil which he dare not say out. From a long-sighted prudence, he observes the maxim of the ancient sage, that we should ever conduct ourselves towards our enemy as if he were one day to be our friend. He has too much good sense to be affronted at insults, he is too well employed to remember injuries, and too indolent to bear malice. He is patient, forbearing, and resigned, on philosophical principles; he submits to pain, because it is inevitable, to bereavement, because it is irreparable, and to death, because it is his destiny. If he engages in controversy of any kind, his disciplined intellect preserves him from the blundering discourtesy of better, perhaps, but less educated minds; who, like blunt weapons, tear and hack instead of cutting clean, who mistake the point in argument, waste their strength on trifles, misconceive their adversary, and leave the question more involved than they find it. He may be right or wrong in his opinion, but he is too clear-headed to be unjust; he is as simple as he is forcible, and as brief as he is decisive. Nowhere shall we find greater caudor, consideration, indulgence: he throws himself into the minds of his opponents, he accounts for their mistakes. He knows the weakness of human reason as well as its strength, its province and its limits. If he be an unbeliever, he will be too profound and largeminded to ridicule religion or to act against it; he is too wise to be a dogmatist or fanatic in his infidelity. He respects piety and devotion; he even supports institutions as venerable, beautiful, or useful, to which he does not assent; he honors the ministers of religion, and it contents him to decline its mysteries without assailing or denouncing them. He is the friend of religious toleration, and that, not only because his philosophy has taught him to look on all forms of faith with an impartial eye, but also from the gentleness and effeminacy of feeling, which is the attendant on civilization. — JOHN HENRY CARDINAL NEWMAN, Idea of a University. Exercise 29 1. Make brief and accurate definitions of at least five of the objects named below: 66 "A line is when you draw a mark from one place to another," "A straight line is not curved at all," " An axiom is something that you know already," and the like. Look up a few good definitions in your best text-books, and make them your models. 2. What is a foul? a base? a strike? a punt? (In baseball.) 3. Tell what a scythe is. 4. With the help of an unabridged dictionary,1 write out accurate definitions of the more difficult words in the following poem, and then, in a single paragraph, tell the story of the poem in your own words. The latter you can best do after you have studied the stanzas attentively; write without book, and be careful not to follow slavishly the language of the poet : THE WRECK BY JOHN RUSKIN Its masts of might, its sails so free, Through many a day of darken'd sea, And many a storm of steel; When all the winds were calm, it met With the lull Of the waves On a low lee shore. 1 In most of the things that go to the making of a good unabridged dictionary of moderate size, particularly in the difficult art of definition, the Standard Dictionary is a model of excellence. Webster's, Worcester's, and the International also are well-known works. The Century Dictionary is considerably fuller than any of these, and is to be commended for the many quotations that illustrate the precise meanings of the words defined. The New English Dictionary (Clarendon Press), however, is the largest and most authoritative dictionary of our language, the court of last resort in matters of English lexicography. The best abridged dictionary, which will do well enough for most of the work of the high school, is the Students' Standard Dictionary. The crest of the conqueror The dew of many an exile's eye Of the waves On a low lee shore. The voices of the night are mute The silence of the fitful flute Is on the dying lips. The silence of my lonely heart Is kept for evermore In the lull Of the waves On a low lee shore. HELPS TO STUDY: Define scatheless keel, prore, lee, crest. Is the vessel a merchantman or a ship of war? How do you know? What is the mood of the returning sailors? How do you understand the first four lines in stanza 2? The first four lines in stanza 3? What sound is imitated in the last three lines of each stanza? What phrase gives you the most vivid mental picture? What do you notice about the length of the words? Has this any effect on the melody of the poem? Make a list of the nouns; make another of the adjectives. Do these lists teach you any lesson? What kind of words do most of the describing? After you have written the story of the poem, learn the poem by heart. SECTION 17 Construction of Paragraphs 2. BY TELLING WHAT A THING IS NOT: REVERSION Often enough we can most is, by telling what it is not. effectively tell what a thing For want of a better name, |