to-morrow! Columbine and B

are

ex=

tremely happy to hear it; for then there will be some dinner to come and and go

Being to see

you

ent from your

an!

da daan, па more at pres=

Obedient little dog,

Nero!

HINTS ON LETTER-WRITING.

1. The greatest charm of a letter lies in simplicity and unaffected ease. This does not, however, imply a lack of painstaking in the composition. To relatives and friends, write frankly and affectionately; to superiors and strangers, respectfully.

2. Do not fill your letters with apologies and mere repetitions; but with chat, news, or information. Business letters should be brief and to the point.

3. Do not neglect to express your affection or respect for your correspondent by the use of the prescribed forms.

4. A letter has two margins. The first is at the top of the page and is an inch and a half in depth, or more if the letter is to be short. The second is at the left of the page, and should not generally be more than a half or three-fourths of an inch, unless the page is wide.

5. Copy and fold with neatness. It is an insult to a correspondent to send a letter carelessly written, or blotted, or awkwardly folded.

SUBJECTS FOR LETTER-WRITING.

Taking the letters given above as models, write letters on some of the following subjects:

From Dog Dick to his absent, master.

To Santa Claus.

From Dolly to her mistress.

To Cousin Fannie, describing Christmas.

To Mamma, giving an account of a visit.

To Papa, describing some remarkable event.

To an absent schoolmate, discussing school matters.
To a friend, telling the news.

To Papa, stating your opinion of books you are reading.
To a friend, giving your opinion of certain public events.

PART II.

CHAPTER VI.

THE PARAPHRASE.

The Paraphrase is a full and exact reproduction of an author's thought in one's own language; it is a sort of translation from the author's language to one's own. It differs from Reproduction in being more minute.

RULES FOR THE PARAPHRASE.

1. Do not make this a mere substitution of one word for another; but read the passage, get the full meaning of every word in it, and the collective sense of the whole. Fill your mind with the thought; then express it freely in your own language; avoid as much as possible even the same construction of sentence.

2. You must not use the words of the author, except in those few cases where there is no fitting substitute of word or phrase.

3. You will sometimes find it difficult to be as brief as your author. He may have learned to condense much thought into few words. Imitate him, however, as well

as you can, but not at the expense of fulness or clear

ness.

4. Try to reproduce any peculiar excellences of the author's style; its dignity, its elegance, its humor.

5. In paraphrasing poetry, do not try to follow all its poetic flights; changes of figurative expressions are allowable.

6. Having written the passage, compare it with the original, and change whatever expressions you may inadvertently have copied. See to it that your rendering is a clear, well expressed, and perfectly intelligible piece of English. Apply with care the Principles of Expression.

A passage may be paraphrased in a variety of ways. Take for example the following paraphrases of Milton's lines:

Now came still evening on, and twilight gray
Had in her sober livery all things clad.

PARAPHRASES.

1. The silence of evening now approached, and twilight had wrapped the earth in gloom.

2. Silent evening was now drawing on, and the earth was enveloped in the dusk of twilight.

3. Evening was silently approaching; twilight had already enveloped the earth.

4. The peaceful repose of evening was now at hand, and the dusky veil of twilight had covered the face of nature.

SELECTIONS FOR PARAPHRASING.

SELECTION I.

SELLA.

A FAIRY TALE.

.

Beside a pleasant dwelling, ran a brook
Scudding along a narrow channel paved
With green and yellow pebbles; yet full clear
Its waters were, and colorless and cool,
As fresh from granite rocks. A maiden oft
Stood at the open window, leaning out,
And listening to the sound the water made,
A sweet, eternal murmur, still the same,
And not the same; and oft, as spring came on,
She gathered violets from its fresh, moist bank,
To place within her bower, and when the herbs
Of summer drooped beneath the midday sun,
She sat within the shade of a great rock,
Dreamily listening to the streamlet's song.
Ripe were the maiden's years; her stature showed
Womanly beauty, and her clear, calm eye
Was bright with venturous spirit, yet her face
Was passionless, like those by sculptor graved
For niches in a temple. Lovers oft

Had wooed her, but she only laughed at love,
And wondered at the silly things they said.

EXAMPLE OF PARAPHRASE.

BY A PUPIL.

A pleasant home stood on the bank of a swiftly flowing streamlet, through whose transparent depths shone the brightly colored pebbles on the bottom, and whose waters were as cold as if they had just sprung from their hiding-place among rocks of granite. A fair