ORAL EXERCISE.

Why are dashes inserted in the following sentences? —

From an illusion of the imagination arises one of the most important principles in human nature, the dread of death.

We should be enterprising in the exercise of our own minds, and in exploring the great sources of truth, — nature, man, revelation. I am come to regard the world as an arena in which I have to do two things, improve others, and improve myself.

Kings and their subjects, masters and slaves, find a common level in two places, - at the foot of the cross, and in the grave.

The essence of all poetry may be said to consist in three things,— invention, expression, inspiration.

Angry thoughts canker the mind, and dispose it to the worst temper in the world, that of fixed malice and revenge.

There are two kinds of evils,

those which can.

those which cannot be cured, and

I see in this world two heaps, -one of happiness, and the other of misery.

tue,

Amongst us men, these three things are a large part of our vir to endure, to forgive, and ourselves to get pardon.

The orations of Cæsar were admired for two qualities which are seldom found together, strength and elegance.

Among uncivilized nations, only one profession is honorable, that of arms.

In 1813, Moore entered upon his noble poetical and patriotic task, writing lyrics for the ancient music of his native country. Milton's life was a true poem; or it might be compared to an anthem on his own favorite organ, high-toned, solemn, and majestic. Nearly all the evils that afflict the sons of men flow from one source, wealth, or the appropriation of things to individuals and to societies.

It is remarked by Rousseau, that every people in the ancient world that can be said to have had morals has respected the sex,Sparta, Germany, Rome.

The best shelter that the world affords us is the first,- the affections into which we are born, and which are too natural for us to know their worth till they are disturbed.

In my analysis of the nature of love, I have stated its two great elements, - a vivid pleasure in the contemplation of the object of regard, and a desire of the happiness of that object.

EXERCISE TO BE WRITTEN.

Insert a comma and a dash where the ellipsis of the adverb "namely," or a similar expression, occurs in the following sentences : —

The more sympathies we gain or awaken for what is beautiful, by so much deeper will be our sympathy for that which is most beautiful the human soul.

Many a brilliant reputation resembles a pageant showy and unsubstantial, attracting the acclamations of the crowd, and forgotten as soon as it has passed.

Faith builds, in the dungeon and the lazar-house, its sublimest shrines; and up, through roofs of stone, that shut up the eye of Heaven, ascends the ladder where the angels glide to and fro Prayer.

The violator of the sacred laws of justice feels, that the unhappy effects of his own conduct have rendered him the proper object of the resentment and indignation of mankind, and of what is the natural consequence vengeance and punishment.

If men would confine their talk to those subjects only which they understood, that which St. John informs us took place once in heaven would happen very frequently on earth "silence for the space of half an hour."

It is very difficult for those who, in early youth, have struggled with extreme penury, and who have been suddenly raised to affluence, not to have at their heart what may seem like original constitutional avarice to those who do not reflect on its cause a love of money, when the love of money seems so little necessary to

them.

The tools of labor are a sceptre of higher empire than monarch ever swayed that of dominion over the earth and elements; they are the weapons wherewith man achieves the purest and most benignant of all conquests the subjugation of the powers of material nature to the service of humanity; and they are instruments also of the best of all worship that which a fertilized earth sends up towards a gracious Heaven.

Friend of my bosom, thou more than a brother,
Why wert thou not born in my father's dwelling?

So might we talk of the old familiar faces

How some they have died, and some they have left me,

And some are taken from me. All are departed;

All, all, are gone, the old familiar faces.

RULE VI.

Subheads, &c., to Paragraphs.

The dash should be inserted between a title and the subject-matter, and also between the subject-matter and the authority from which it is taken, when they occur in the same paragraph.

EXAMPLE.

FIDELITY TO GOD. Whatever station or rank Thou shalt assign me, I will die ten thousand deaths sooner than abandon it. - Socrates.

REMARK S.

a. The dash is sometimes inserted between a question and an answer, when they come together in the same paragraph; as, " Who created you?

God."

b. So, also, the dash is useful to connect separate paragraphs, dialogues, &c., when it is deemed necessary to save room.

Thus:

"How are you, Trepid? How do you feel to-day, Mr. Trepid? ”—“A great deal worse than I was, thank you; almost dead, I am obliged to you." -"Why, Trepid, what is the matter with you?"—"Nothing, I tell you, in particular; but a great deal is the matter with me in general."

c. Some writers put a dash after the name of an interlocutor, when it precedes in the same line the language which he utters. But, as the name is usually distinguished from the sentiment by its being put in Italics or in small capitals, the dash is unnecessary; as,

Archbishop. What is your business with me, my friend?

Gil Blas. I am the young man who was recommended to you by your nephew, Don Fernando.

d. A dash is commonly inserted between the word chapter or section with its accompanying numeral, and the title of a subject, when they are placed in the same line. Thus:

SECT. LV. THE POWER OF IMAGINATION.

e. On the other hand, a dash is put after an expression connected in sense and construction with what follows, if the latter begins a new line; as, "Occasionally, perhaps, he was

'Lofty and sour to them that loved him not;

But to those men that sought him, sweet as summer.'"

RULE VII.

Omission of Letters, Figures, or Words.

The dash is often used to denote an omission of

a. With the exception of the dash in the ellipsis of figures, this mark may be made of various lengths, as directed by the taste of the writer or printer, or in proportion to the number of letters or words omitted.

b. When, at the beginning or end of a poetical quotation, a portion is omitted, it is recommended that a blank be left, instead of using the dash; the position of the lines sufficiently indicating the ellipsis; as,

Oh! it is excellent

To have a giant's strength.

ORAL EXERCISE.

Show how the two preceding Rules, and the Remarks under them, are applicable to the insertion of the dashes found in these sentences:

By the L! madam, you wrong me, and the world shall know it. Though you have put me into darkness, and given your drunken cousin rule over me, yet have I the benefit of my senses as well as your ladyship.

Canon the Sixth. — All words and phrases which are remarkably harsh and unharmonious, and not absolutely necessary, may justly be judged to merit degradation. —JAMIESON: Grammar of Rhetoric, p. 64.

OBSEQUIES. We celebrate noble obsequies to those we love, more by drying the tears of others than by shedding our own; and the fairest funeral wreath we can hang on their tomb is not so fair as a fruit-offering of good deeds. — Richter.

Q. What is the Scripture doctrine of progress? — A. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. iii. 13-15.)

Don. Good-morrow, Count Erizzo, you are early.
Are you bound to the palace?

Eriz.

Ay, Donato,

The common destination; but I go

With an old friend.

Don.

What, Celso, thou turned courtier.

In the silence of evening, conscience has a distinct and audible voice. And for us, erring, sinning men, it is greatly wise to listen, — "To talk with our past hours,

And ask them what report they bore to heaven,

And how they might have borne more welcome news."

1

A SOFT ANSWER TURNETH AWAY WRATH.- The Horse in the Pound, and the Cattle in the Field. The horse of a pious man in Massachusetts happening to stray into the road, a neighbor of the man who owned the horse put him in the pound. Meeting the owner soon after, he told him what he had done, and added, "If ever I catch him in the road hereafter, I'll do just so again." "Neighbor," replied the other, "not long since, I looked out of my window in the night, and saw your cattle in my mowing ground; and I drove them out, and shut them in your yard; and I'll do it again." Struck with the reply, the man liberated the horse from the pound, and paid the charges himself. — Anecdotes of Kindness and Philanthropy.

SECT. CLXXVIII. — A CONSISTENT SERVANT.

A very rich lady in Boston had in her employment a young man from the country. On certain occasions, he was instructed to inform any company who might ring at the door, that Mrs. not at home.

was

One day, John made his reply to an intimate friend of the lady, who shortly went away, leaving a card and a promise to call again. As the card was handed to Mrs. - she said, "John, what did you say to the lady?"—"I told her you were not at home.” — John, I hope you did not laugh?"— "Oh, no! ma'am," said John: "I never laugh when I tell a lie."

“Well,