10. Should you ask me where I found it,
Found this song, perhaps so stupid,
Found this most abusive epic,
I should answer, I should tell you
That I found it at my Uncle's,
Number one, around the corner,
In a paper, in a pocket,

In a coat, within a bundle,

Tied up, ticketed and labelled,

Labelled by my careful Uncle.

12.

II. O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son! Dear, gentle, patient, noble Nell was dead. Her little bird-a poor, slight thing the pressure of a finger would have crushed— was stirring nimbly in its cage; and the strong heart of its childmistress was mute and motionless forever.

13. "Three sons had I, three, wretched three; and now not one is left to me.

Out of his hole the watching cat dragged one,—a curst

mishap;

And monster man, with cunning fraught, my second in an engine caught,

A new-invented, mouse-destroying engine, called a trap. We had this third, our darling, sad to me and to his mother sad.

But let us arm and arm with speed, for this the villain frog

shall bleed;

Arm, arm, be clad in mail complete, and let us vengeance

take,"

He said. At once to arms they flew, and Mars himself

their weapons drew.

Split bean-shells green served them for greaves, which they were nibbling at

Deftly all night; a cat's stout hide their breastplates hap

pily supplied,

Strengthened with interlacing reeds; right glad they skinned the cat;

The oval of a lamp their shield; the needle for a lance
they wield,

Long piercing keen, nor Mars a sharper weapon sported;
Nor helmet fitted e'er so well, as on their heads the walnut-

shell.

But out of the black

14. The waters have gone over me. depths, could I be heard, I would cry out to all those who have but set a foot in the perilous flood. Could the youth, to whom the flavor of his first wine is delicious as the opening scenes of life or the entering upon some newly discovered paradise, look into my desolation, and be made to understand what a dreary thing it is when a man shall feel himself going down a precipice with open eyes and a passive will,-to see his destruction and have no power to stop it, and yet to feel it all the way emanating from himself; to perceive all goodness emptied out of him, and yet not to be able to forget a time when it was otherwise; to bear about the piteous spectacle of his own self-ruins ;-could he see my fevered eye, feverish with last night's drinking, and feverishly looking for this night's repetition of the folly; could he feel the body of the death out of which I cry hourly with feebler and feebler outcry to be delivered;—it were enough to make him dash the sparkling beverage to the earth in all the pride of its mantling temptation; to make him clasp his teeth,

and not undo 'em

To suffer wet damnation to run thro' 'em.

15. Day hath put on his jacket, and around
His burning bosom buttoned it with stars.
Here will I lay me on the velvet grass
That is like padding to earth's meagre ribs.

Direction. Bring in illustrations of all the species of wit and illustrations of pathos also.

In ordinary prose, style is wholly in the service of the thought. Its worth is measured by the degree in which it makes the thought distinct or forcible, and forgets itself in this service. Here that is regarded as the best style which does not attract attention to itself, but leaves that for the thought. But style, while serving the thought, may do it with a consciousness that it has a value independent of the service rendered by it. The beautiful color of the horse, its grace of form, its style and carriage do not pull at the traces, are no part of the beast as a working animal; but they are qualities so valuable as to be secured at almost any cost.

ELEGANCE is that quality of style which shows itself in grace and beauty of expression. In its rarest form it is found in poetry, the most artistic species of literature, and is not sought after with such anxious quest in prose -prose which does common day-labor, the work of the artisan rather than that of the artist. Elegance is the highest and most delicate quality of style, the one most difficult of attainment, and the one last attained. The era of elegant prose in national life comes when the rough, pioneer work has been done, when disturbing questions no longer excite and absorb the thinkers, and when the friction of parties has been reduced to a minimum. The amenities and refinements of style can be reached only when energy has in a measure subsided, as ease and leisure follow, but do not precede, struggle and competence. In a writer, elegance is the outcome of high culture, perfect self-possession, a tranquil theme and complete mastery of it.

ITS REQUISITES.-I. There must be beauty in one's thought if he would have beauty in its expression-the soul within does much to fashion the body it inhabits.

II. Words must be chosen with regard to beauty and euphony. The verbal resources of the English for varied expression are great. In its composite vocabulary, words of Romance and words of Teutonic origin-the smooth, mellifluous words of the indolent Southern races and the harsh, vigorous words of the energetic Northern nations -stand side by side. Our vocabulary has recruited itself from the speech of every people and literature with which the English race has had communication. All needful, we had almost said, all conceivable, sounds represented by vowels and consonants, single and in combination, are in our words-words, some of which glide from the tongue, and some of which must be ejaculated.

In English, better, perhaps, than in any other tongue, living or dead, words can be found which are an echo to the sense," let the sense be what it will. (1) Rapid motion and (2) slow motion, (3) ease and (4) difficulty of effort, (5) smoothness and (6) harshness, (7) the agreeable and (8) the disagreeable in things, and (9) size can, to a degree, be imitated by words combined into sentences. Every passion and every thought can be uttered in language especially appropriate to it. From this rich diversity in our vocabulary, it happens that the felicity of diction, aptly used, is at once seen, since every kind of it is set off by some other differing from it. When the words of a language are mainly euphonious or harsh, short or long, weak or forcible, there can be little beauty arising from the fitness in sound of the word to the idea, because there can be little or no contrast. Elegance requires the choice of words which are agreeable to the

ear.

III. There must be beauty in the imagery. While we insist that no figure of speech should be used, like eardrops, merely to adorn, it is true that no image need enlist wholly in the service of the thought. It may minister to our taste, gratify our craving for the beautiful, and this without neglecting its duty to the thought—a velvet dress does not forget to keep one warm while it is doing its best to please the eye.

IV. ELEGANCE ALLOWS ALLITERATION.-While in a prose sentence words which sound alike are offensive, it is allowable, because agreeable to the ear, to begin several successive words with the same letter. Alliteration, the repetition of the same letter at the beginning of successive words, or words near each other, if not frequent, and obviously striven for, contributes to elegance.

V. The sentence may be long, but it must be smooth and