nature cut up, as you will say, unmercifully. Suppose that you have to state an accident of a man being ridden over, you will find yourself so embarrassed by the horse, the rider, and the sufferer, that after you have finished, your narration would appear ludicrous enough to make us smile, though on such a serious subject. Here, short sentences will not, except with due consideration, assist-they will force you to an endless repetition of principal words, which, though admissible in philosophical disquisitions, is too heavy for common matter. I therefore strongly recommend you to practise things of this kind. Imagine any remarkable accident, and try to explain it clearly in a passable manner, without circumlocution, or without leaving it doubtful, at any time, whether you mean one thing or another. A few such trials will much improve your general style of composition.

The following may serve as a lesson. Some of those Loudon writers of whom I have spoken, could certainly do it better, but, for my present purpose, it will answer well enough:

To the Editor of the Politician.

SIR,-In High Street, on Tuesday evening last, at half-past eight, a gentleman violently jostled a poor inoffensive man, by which his foot was sprained, and, on remonstrance, he struck him, seized him by the collar, and handed him to a constable. Arrived at Sungate station-house, the inspector would hear nothing but from the gentleman, who, after lodging his charge for "insolence and drunkenness," went away. Although it was freezing hard, the inspector would not, at any time, let his prisoner approach the fire, and, after remaining thirteen hours in this miserable situation, he told him, about half-past nine the next morning, "to go about his business!" The man refused, alleging that a respectable shopkeeper could prove that he was sober at the time, having been in conversation with him only ten minutes before he was charged on the watch-that he was assaulted and struck for nothing that his foot was sprained in consequence, and he wanted to know who the gentleman was. The inspector replied by ordering his men to turn him out by force, which was immediately done. This poor fellow, who is a messenger, can get the best character from his employer, and particularly for sobriety. By the harsh treatment in the watchhouse, he has got a heavy cold, that has fallen upon his lungs he could do nothing the next day for want of sleep, and his sprained foot will, for a long time, diminish his humble earnings, as he is only paid by the parcel.

Now, Mr. Editor, it is clear that this victim of aggravated petty tyranny has an action against the constable. But you know, that the same reason that excludes a poor man from an expensive tavern, shuts him out from the King's Bench. I therefore request your insertion of this, for the information of the police magistrates of Sungate, who will, no doubt, compel the inspector to compensate this poor creature for his unmerited sufferings.

I think that everything here is of consequence. Even if the editor drew his pen over half-past eight, he would be obliged to restore it, as that plainly supports the thirteen hours' unjust and cruel imprisonment, which is very important. Taking it altogether, if satisfied of its authenticity, he could erase nothing, unless he were actuated by motives widely different from independence. I shall now explain how it may serve as an exercise.

Read over attentively the first paragraph which contains the facts. They will soon be impressed on your memory, so as that you could relate them correctly, without omitting any. I do not mean that you should get the article by heart —on the contrary, that would defeat our object. But, when you can correctly detail all the circumstances, write down a full statement of the whole, and do this several times, until you think that it is tolerably free from the usual faults of composition. You need not give yourself any trouble about the order that I have observed, for that might admit of improvement-it will be sufficient if you give all the facts, without putting any of them absurdly out of place.

You may also take a useful hint from the concluding paragraph. However great my indignation, I have kept the editor's pen behind his ear, by not launching out into highflown exclamations against the gentleman, the inspector, despotism, oppression, and scandalous violation of the laws. But I have done more towards the accomplishment of my object. I have, though tritely, shown the folly of sending the poor man to the higher courts for legal redress, and I have, pointedly enough, apprised those magistrates, who ought to be accountable for the conduct of a police-officer, that they are bound to see, that the sufferer by his aggressions should be compensated.

If you did not, on commencing this chapter, completely understand what a sentence means, I should think that you ought to know it by this time. The different examples furnished show its signification, and my intention was, that you should find it out through them. I shall now, for your greater satisfaction, give a particular explanation.

Without going into tiresome definitions, a sentence in

cludes all the words that you find, until you come to a period or full point. In the preceding paragraph, there are three sentences, from If down to explanation. The parts or divisions that compose them, are called Members, and where there is more than one of these, the whole is termed a compound sentence. If there be only one, it is a simple sentence, and observe that all, whether compound or simple, must begin with a capital letter.

A plainer definition of a member is, every part where we find a point, but this cannot be taken in a literal sense. Thus, in the following there are six points, that is, five commas and one period, yet there are truly but five members, because although is only a transposition, and really belongs to what follows after colleagues :

He would not accept any remuneration for his services, although, in the opinion of his colleagues, he was well entitled to five hundred, or even a thousand pounds, with the house and land also.

The following will illustrate what is meant by simple sentences. Each, it will be seen, has only one member :

None could exceed him in candour. His benevolence was equally remarkable. He had no affectation whatever. All his actions were distinguished by a noble carelessness of public opinion. This did not arise from pride. He was a rare example of masculine humility.

Some writers are very fond of simple sentences, but their too constant use will, imperceptibly, conduct to a feeble style. Their occasional introduction is enlivening, and, if well arranged, they are peculiarly agreeable at the commencement of an essay. But their management requires great dexterity, and I caution you against making too free with them. They are, too frequently, only compound sentences unnaturally broken, and, even when perfectly constructed, a continuance soon palls upon the ear. You will now see that the preceding example is, in fact, but two compound

sentences:

None could exceed him in candour-his benevolence was equally remarkable nor had he any affectation whatever. All his actions were distinguished by a noble carelessness of opinion, but this did not arise from pride, for he was a rare example of masculine humility.

The most extravagant use of simple sentences that I have seen, is in Lord Byron's "Death of Calma and Orla." There, we may meet four or five successively, with only from three

to four words in each of them! Remember, however, that Byron was a poet of the first order, and that those were poetical thoughts expressed in elevated prose. Never attempt the flights of mighty geniuses. If you do, you will only fall like Icarus, and hurt the credit that sensible men were beginning to award your exertions. Even Lord Byron himself is, by some good judges, thought to have, in this instance, unnaturally out-Ossianed his great master of brief expression.

It is commonly recommended in giving a general rule, to make our sentences of a moderate length, with an occasional sprinkling of short ones. This is good advice. I cannot too strongly impress upon you, that it requires superior abilitythe powers of a Robertson, to compose a long sentence well. For, after all, the test lies with the reader, and, as it is for him that you are working, so you must look only to him. If your composition do not run somewhat smoothly-if the sentences be drawled out, and if the different members do not readily connect, he will have some trouble in comprehending the sense, and no man likes labour of this kind.

However, it will sometimes occur that very extended sentences are allowable, and even proper or necessary. But they are generally in the nature of detail. We may say, "He had many strange customs and propensities. He always wore a cocked-hat-he went to bed at nine and rose at four-he never went out on a Monday-winter and summer he wore white trowsers-he had a great horror of black cats-he wore a wig over his hair, which was always abundant—he would never have any but negro servants." Such a sentence as this, might be continued for a page or two, without inconvenience to the reader, because he is not called upon to collect any scattered links.

In like manner, you may continue any number of recapitulary abstracts, which are, plainly, of a conditional nature, as thus:

If I am to believe all his assertions about bare possibility-if I am to argue on assumptions, and not on facts-if my positive assertions are to be answered by conjectures-if Pascal is produced when I require Kant-if exceptions are constantly tendered, when I, explicitly, reject them- -I may well be excused for declining any further controversy.

We may go on here as long as we like, because, if the reader become impatient he can, in an instant, throw his eye on the conclusion, and see at what the author aims.

In writing of any kind, pay particular attention to what I have already said, to begin every sentence with a capital letter. For want of this some compositions, otherwise terse enough, are extremely difficult to read, and, since this is true, how must it be with those of the long-winded description? But I have more to say in another place, on the use of capitals, and shall now give some directions which you may find useful.

First. Avoid finishing sentences with such words as for, such, with, of, by, on, to, and some others of a similar nature, that I cannot now recollect. They can generally be otherwise turned. Instead of, "and other things that he was unacquainted with," say, with which he was unacquainted. "Less than he could purchase the horse for," say, for less than he could purchase the horse. "He wished to pay him in goods, but he was offended at his offering him such." This is nonsense. Why not say, such payment? Expressions as, "I knew it was a thing that he could not avail himself of," "stand by," "count on," " arrive to," should be changed to, a thing of which he could not avail himself, by which he could not stand, on which he could not count, to which he could not arrive. There are other trifling words also, such as it, this, not, you, has, which are not recommended as eligible for the termination of a sentence, but it is not always easy to observe such strictness, and therefore our best guide is, to finish, as often as possible, with a word of some weight.

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Secondly. Avoid, as often as you can, to begin two successive sentences with the same word. It is always a sign of being a common writer-it is displeasing to the ear, and it even offends the eye of the reader. The words that are most usually repeated in this way are but, if, though, however, it, they, he, she, I, you, notwithstanding, for, then, as, having, and, the, this-besides proper names. You can always steer clear of this defect, by looking at the preceding sentence when going to begin another. I may here remark that some persons insist that And should never commence a sentence in