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amiable," which I am sure she deserved, though the competition extended to the whole world.

But these were the great prizes. In an old desk, of which the cover had been torn off, in the closet at the left of the fireplace, were a number of bows made of yellow, pink, and blue ribbon. When Saturday came, every child "who had been good" during the week was permitted to select one of these bows, choosing his own color, and to have it pinned on his clothes under his chin to wear home. If, on the other hand, he had been very bad, he had a black bow affixed, willy nilly. I hardly dare to soil this page with the tale, but there was an awful story that a boy, whom I will call Charles Waters, unpinned his black bow and trod it in the dirt of the street. But I hasten to add, that in that innocent community no one believed this dreadful story. Indeed, it was whispered from one to another, rather as an index of what terrible stories were afloat in the world than with any feeling that it could possibly be true.

It is certainly a little queer that in after years one remembers such trifles as this, and forgets absolutely the weightier matters of the law; how he learned to read and write; how he fought with the angel of vulgar fractions and compelled him to grant a blessing; how, in a word, one learned anything of importance. But so it is; and thus, as I have said, I have no memory of any time when I could not read as well as I can now. HALE: A New England Boyhood.

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3. One old question is ever new to each member of a graduating class in the last hours of his college course: What pursuit shall I follow in life?" The aim of this paper is to give a few suggestions which may help one in finding the answer.

Some persons are by their very make and temperament so preeminently fitted for one pursuit that it never

occurs to them, or to any one else, that there is any room for hesitation in deciding what shall be their calling. It is a great fortune to a man to be so constituted that he falls to his work in life as naturally and as easily as the young bird takes to her wings. For all his energies, his studies, his experiences work toward the real end of his life.

What we call the providential circumstances of some men determine their calling so plainly that there can be no doubt about the matter. A son, for instance, is left with the care of a large patrimony, which he can best administer. His duty to mother, brothers, and sisters may be paramount to all other duties. Illustrations need not be multiplied.

These cases are simple. The really difficult case remains for consideration. It is that of the man who has apparently equal aptitude for different pursuits, say for law, for teaching, and for journalism, and is shut up to no one of them to the exclusion of the others. Some men are so versatile that they could do any one of two or three things equally well.

In determining the question of aptitude we may frequently find help in taking the opinions of judicious friends, men of experience who will be frank enough to tell us the plain truth. There is a strange propensity in men to suppose that what is their foible is really their forte. It is said that General Scott believed to the day of his death that his fame would depend on his literary productions, which nobody reads, rather than on his Mexican campaigns. Goethe apparently felt more pride in his Essays on Color than in his Egmont or Tasso. Even in the range of college experience not a few men convince themselves that they are poets, while the rest of the college community remain unconvinced. The explanation of this self-deception is probably found in the fact

that we are inclined to consider as our best productions those which have cost us most toil, because we have not been working in the direction of our talent. Let us then be prepared to hear the counsels of our associates who will tell us true things, rather than pleasant things, vera pro gratis. The faithful wounds of a friend are better than the flatteries of a foe.

One who is seeking to learn what his future duty is to be will find help in the faithful discharge of present duty. The path opens as we march on. It is the young man who is busy that is most in demand. It is the brave fellow fighting in the ranks for whom shoulder straps are waiting. Go bravely at the work which Providence puts within your reach. Remember that fine saying of Carlyle that the best teacher for the duties that are dim to us is the performance of the duties which are clear to us. Keep your soul open in a spirit of candor and honesty, ready to receive whatever may prove to be the divine command for you.. President JAMES B. ANGELL, in the Saturday Evening Post.

EXERCISE 26. (Oral.) In the following theme three methods of using fire for camp cooking are described. The best method receives more space than the other two put together. Still the proportions of the theme are not so good as they should be. Why?

WARNING ADVICE TO CAMPERS

In camp there are three ways of bringing your coffeepot in contact with the fire. You may hang it on one end of a stick, the other end of which is fastened in the

ground, the middle of it being supported on a crotched upright. That is not a very safe way.

Or, you may build a stone oven, and place the coffeepot on it. That is not a very safe way, either.

Or, you may go into the woods and cut down two small trees, preferably of hard wood; and make two heavy poles about six feet long and six inches thick. Then you build a tiny fire between them; coals from the camp fire are sufficient. Over the coals you place your coffee-pot, supported by the logs. The green wood will not burn up, but will merely char, on the inner side. A great advantage of this method is that two or three other little fires may be built at the same time in the same fireplace; so your bacon can be fried and your bread toasted while the coffee is making. The logs should, of course, be so placed that the smoke will blow away from the cooks.

EXERCISE 27. (Written.)

Take your five

theme outlines and study them with reference to proposed proportions of the main divisions, writing opposite each main topic the number of words which, in your best judgment, it deserves. Be able to defend the estimate in discussion before it has been amended on the advice of too many people.

H

CHAPTER II

THE PARAGRAPH AS A PART AND AS A WHOLE

In a

§ 1. Unity of Thought in the Paragraph. book a long division of a chapter is called a section, and if marked at all receives the sign §, with perhaps a numeral also. The sections are divided into sub-sections called paragraphs, and these are indicated by indention.1 Point out the indentions on this and the following page. In a theme-outline section marks and numerals are very useful, and may be per- . mitted to stand in the completed theme when this is expository or argumentative in nature.

Before we can satisfactorily settle any other question, we must ask what are the logical principles which govern the content of paragraphs. Then we may inquire how these fundamental principles are modified by considerations of length and emphasis. We are not surprised to learn that, on a smaller scale, the paragraph obeys the laws of unity and development obeyed by the theme and each main

1 In Ms., indention should be an inch deep.

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