Example." Although he fulfilled his duties honorably, promotion came slowly; and it was not until he was forty-three that the rank of captain was attained." Here are four subjects "he," "promotion," " it," "rank," with as many different verbs. The principal subject is "he," and the sentence should be written, "Although he fulfilled his duties honorably, he was slowly promoted; and, before he had attained the rank of captain, he was fully forty-three."

2. THINGS UNCONNECTED.

Things that have so little connection in sense that they may just as well be expressed in separate sentences, should not be crowded into one sentence. There should be but one leading thought in a sentence.

Example.-"What we understand by gentleman-like feelings he knew nothing about; I will give you a curious instance." Here it would be better to stop at "about" and begin a new sentence; "Of this I will give you a curious instance."

thus,

3. PARENTHESES.

A parenthesis may occasionally be introduced into a sentence with good effect; as, "We are all (and who would not be?) offended at the treatment we have received." This is more vigorous than "We are all offended at the treatment we have received. Who, indeed, would not be offended?" As, however, parentheses, by calling off attention from the main subject, tend to make sentences heavy and obscure, the use of them is fraught with danger, and should be avoided by young writers.

Example."The quicksilver mines of Idria in Austria (which were discovered in 1797, by a peasant, who, catching some water from a spring, found the tub so heavy that he could not move it, and the bottom covered with a shining substance, which turned out to be mercury), yield every year over three hundred thousand pounds of that valuable metal." In this, the parenthesis should be made a separate sentence.

4. SUPPLEMENTARY CLAUSES.

A clause should not be added after the sentence has been apparently brought to a close.

Example.

"As he moralized on these words they seemed to soothe the sadness of his heart; which was sometimes subject to palpitation."

This sentence should end at "heart," and the remainder ought either to be formed into a separate sentence, or to be neatly embodied in the main statement.

Exceptions.

The rules here laid down for Unity must be construed with considerable liberality.

1. It must not be regarded as a violation of them to add after a semi-colon a clause of consequence; explanation, iteration, exemplification, or qualification; as, "Surely this ought not to be asserted, unless it can be proved; we should speak with cautious reverence upon such a subject." Agriculture is the foundation of manufactures; the productions of nature are the materials of art."

66

2. In Description and Narration it is often desirable to bring together several distinct facts in the same sentence, as in the following: "By night, sweet odors, varying with every hour of the watch, were wafted from the shore to the vessel lying near; | and the forest trees, brought together by the serpent tracery of myriads of strange parasitical plants, might well seem to the fancy like some great design of building, | over which the lofty palms appeared to present a new order of architecture." Here, there are three distinct facts that might have been written in as many separate sentences, but as they are closely connected in sense, they have a better effect in one sentence than they would have in three curt and abrupt ones.

EXERCISE XL.

DIRECTION. Examine these sentences, determine which of the rules of Unity is violated, and then rewrite the sentences with the necessary corrections 1. By adopting this system the estimator will know that each item is complete, and it will be almost impossible to err in the final result.

2. Mr. Lewis and I dined with a friend of his, and unexpectedly there dined with us an Irish Knight, who follows the law here, but at a great distance: he was so pert, I was forced to take him down more than once.

3. Unlike the others, she is very fond of water, and if left to her own inclinations, would swim all day, having once saved the life of a child in Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River; she can never go near the water where people are bathing but that she insists upon fetching them out.

4. Fritz is a white and mouse-colored hound, very savage from the day he was born, and shows a disposition like his mother, to be very treacherous, he is inclined to be cross and unruly at times, and nothing but the most severe discipline, coupled with a certain amount of kindness, ever kept him within bounds.

5. The opposition induced the governor (who exercises the power of appointing judges during the recess of the legislature) not to make any appointment.

6. If the object of the people assembled at Bethlehem was of a public nature (which it certainly was if they assembled with intent to prevent the execution of both the above-mentioned acts of Congress, or either of them), it must be proved that the prisoner incited the insurrection.

7. His Excellency read his letter (wherein he says, that notwithstanding his objections to the Constitution, he would adopt it rather than lose the union), and then proceeded to prove the correctness of his opinion.

8. The first order of business shall be receiving the annual report of the trustees (showing the state of the school for the year,

the proceedings of the trustees, and giving a detailed account of the receipt and expenditure of all school moneys) and disposing of the same.

9. When you send up butter for sauce, be so thrifty as to let it be half water; which is also much wholesomer.

10. I am convinced that the name "scold" is as offensive to female ears, as the effects of that incurable distemper are to the ears of men; which, to be sure, is inexpressible.

11. I have frequently observed that at the bar and the pulpit, those who have the least learning or sense generally meet with the largest share of promotions and profits; of which many instances might be produced.

12. A Church-of-England man will never be swayed by passion or interest to advance an opinion merely because it is that of the party he approves; which, on single principle, he looks upon as the root of all our civil animosities.

13. And no wonder this is so, when in order to find out the character of a person, instead of inquiring whether he be a man of virtue, honor, piety, wit, good sense, or learning, the modern question is only whether he be a Whig or a Tory; under which terms all good and ill qualities are included.

14. After the sabbath evening service, this noble man stood upon a chair on a corner of the street and preached in the open air to a large audience who crowded the street, and no policeman interfered.

15. Six days out of the seven spent on the ocean were among the most pleasant days of my life, and now my difficulty is in parting with Mr. and Mrs. Frost, and the many kind friends whom I have met.

16. If some men, according to the fashionable metaphor, are square, while others are round, the Right Honorable Robert Lowe must be described as multangular, with whom it is not very easy to live comfortably and at peace.

17. Lord Bacon's maxims are full of philosophy; but he was a very mean man.

18. Mr. Scott, of this town, met with a painful accident last week; he is now quite an old man.

19. The king fell from his horse and died two hours after the fall, which was occasioned by the horse's stumbling on a mole-hill, while he was on his return from reviewing his troops.

20. We intend to have observations of rainfall and temperature taken at the stations, and in this way data will accumulate to show what varieties from normal seasons take place.

21. I was at the Court of Requests to get some lords to be at a committee to-morrow about a friend's bill: and then the Duke of Beaufort gave me a poem, finely bound in folio, printed in Stamford, and written by a country squire.

22. Mr. Harley continues out of order, yet his affairs force him abroad; he is subject to a sore throat, and was cupped last night; I sent and called two or three times.

23. Here also would properly arise the question, started by Charles Fox (but properly due originally to the conversation of some far subtler friend, such as Edmund Burke), how far the practice of foot-notes (a practice purely modern in its form) is reconcilable with the laws of just composition; and whether in virtue, though not in form, such foot-notes did not exist for the ancients, by an evasion we could point out.

24. Shortly after the accident happened he went for a tour on the continent; where he saw many wonderful sights, with which he was delighted; and throughout his whole travels he was treated with every mark of respect; and returned after an absence of two years.

25. Roderick Dhu is too boastful and confident in his own skill and powers; he shows this in throwing down his targe in the duel between Fitz-James and himself; which action cost him his life.