country entertains any doubt. Mr. Rhodes affirmed it as strongly as Benjamin Kidd. Not only are they better men, but they are much cleverer politicians. . . . The rough Dutch farmers from the back country have such a natural intuitive genius for politics that, after three weeks in Parliament, they can give points to any British member who has been in the House for months.

Not only are they better men all round on the land, not only are they abler politicians all round in the Houses of Parliament, but what is far more important, they are better breeders of men. The British colonist, following the example of the Frenchmen and the New Englander, shrinks from the primal task of multiplying and increasing and replenishing the earth. The Dutch cradle is never empty. If the hand that rocks the cradle sways the world, it is not less true that the race that fills the cradle will possess the world. Hence the destiny of South Africa seems tolerably certain to be that of a federation of self-governing states, preeminently Dutch, which will or will not be sheltered by the Union Jack, according to the readiness of the imperial government to recognize that it has no authority over Africanders.

EXERCISES

1. Limit each of the following general subjects in such a way as to make it suitable for a theme of about three hundred words:

2. From what different points of view might each of the following subjects be treated? Indicate the plan you would adopt in writing on any one of

The last football game.

The tariff.

College fraternities.

them:

The influence of the theatre.
The Russo-Japanese war.

Chinese immigration.

3. Criticise and revise, if necessary, the following plan for an essay on, Why the Metric System should be generally adopted in the United States :

a. The system is simple.

b. It has been adopted by nearly all European nations.
c. It is recommended by all statistical conferences and
scientific societies.

d. It is used in most scientific works even in England
and in America.

e. It would save time in mathematical calculations.

4. Outline the plan of the following:

a. Carlyle's Essay on Burns.

b. Chapter lxxviii in Bryce's American Commonwealth, "How Public Opinion Rules in America.”

SUGGESTED SUBJECTS FOR THEMES

1. Our first class meeting.

2. My ideal college man.

3. Hints on how to decorate a room.

4. How to increase one's vocabulary.

5. The duty of courtesy to visiting athletic teams.

6. A visit to a coal mine.

7. The value of athletics as a part of college training.

8. The oddest man I ever knew.

9. An amusing adventure.

10. How we won the game.

II. A case of presence of mind.

12. An exciting race.

13. My first experience in gardening. 14. An unpleasant experience.

15. Liquid air and its uses.

16. One view of Lincoln's character.

17. Lamb's humor (see the Essays of Elia) 18. Thoreau as a naturalist (see Walden).

CHAPTER III

THE PARAGRAPH

24. Definition.-A paragraph may be defined as a series of sentences devoted to the development of a single topic. Ordinarily, it is a subdivision of the whole composition, but sometimes it stands alone and of itself constitutes the discourse. In this case. it is often called the isolated paragraph, though it should, in strictness, be regarded not as a paragraph, but as a whole composition.

Practically, the paragraph is the unit of discourse; for, although the sentence is the ultimate unit of expressed thought, the term "discourse" is not usually applied to anything short of an organized group of sentences, such as the paragraph is. Moreover, a discourse is built up paragraph by paragraph, rather than sentence by sentence.

25. Reasons for paragraphing.-The advantages of dividing a composition into paragraphs are obvious. Every one knows how uninviting solid pages of printed matter are, and how easily one can be persuaded to dip into a story where the pages are conveniently broken up into paragraphs. The reason is that the breaks made by indenting the first lines of the paragraphs serve as resting-places for the eye and help it greatly in conveying the thought to the mind. Were

a

paragraphing, therefore, a mere mechanical device for aiding the eye in reading and nothing more, it would amply justify itself. A deeper reason for paragraphing, however, is to be found in the writer's desire to proceed in an orderly fashion with his subject. If he is dealing with a subject of any complexity, subject wide enough to include under it several subordinate subjects or topics, he naturally wishes to deal with these topics one at a time, and hence groups together all the statements or assertions he may make about any one topic. Should he not do so, there would be small chance of his making his composition effective.

Good paragraphing, therefore, is an essential part of good writing. It is an indication that the writer has thought clearly, and that he has endeavored to give his discourse a plan. There is no truer test of clear thinking on the part of the writer than good paragraphing in his composition. Paragraphs do

not take shape of their own accord. They are not the result of spontaneous effort, as sentences often are. They are, on the contrary, the result of conscious prevision or planning. In writing a paragraph, one must have clearly in mind, not only his topic but everything he wishes to say in developing that topic. If he would hope.to produce a given effect, he must foresee the end from the beginning, and he must not leave anything to chance.

This is, perhaps, where the novice oftenest comes to grief. He trusts to chance to determine where his paragraph shall begin and where it shall end.