But first, a biscuit, large and sweet,
Was placed within his fingers small,
And, oh! it was a perfect treat!

Poor little Dick, he ate it all,
And wished, no doubt, that every day
A treat so good would come his way.

And did he ever reach his home?

And was he welcomed there with joy?
Alas, that I should have to tell

That none had missed the little boy.
Poor little Dick! he had no one
To care for him beneath the sun!

A STRANGER came one night to Yussouf's tent
Saying, "Behold one outcast and in dread,
Against whose life the bow of power is bent,
Who flies, and hath not where to lay his head;
I come to thee for shelter and for food,

To Yussouf, called through all our tribes 'The Good.'"

"This tent is mine," said Yussouf, "but no more
Than it is God's; come in, and be at peace;
Freely shalt thou partake of all my store,
As I of His who buildeth over these
Our tents His glorious roof of night and day,
And at whose door none ever yet heard Nay."

:

So Yussouf entertained his guest that night,
And, waking him ere day, said: "Here is gold;
My swiftest horse is saddled for thy flight;
Depart before the prying day grow bold."
As one lamp lights another, nor grows less,
So nobleness enkindleth nobleness.

That inward light the stranger's face made grand,
Which shines from all self-conquest; kneeling low,
He bowed his forehead upon Yussouf's hand,
Sobbing: "O Sheik, I can not leave thee so;
I will repay thee; all this thou hast done
Unto that Ibrahim who slew thy son!"

"Take thrice the gold," said Yussouf, "for with thee

Into the desert, never to return,
My one black thought shall ride away from me.
First-born, for whom by day and night I yearn,
Balanced and just are all of God's decrees;
Thou art avenged, my first-born, sleep in peace!"

J. R. LOWELL.

DEVELOPMENT XII.

DIRECTION.-Write a story from the following heads, supplying whatever is needed to preserve the connection, and to sustain the interest:

THE STORY OF GRUMBLE TONE.

He was sick of land.

He ran away to sea.

Into foreign lands he wandered.

There were wondrous sights.

He dined in courts with kings and fair ladies.

Naught pleased him.

Over the wide world he wandered.

His hair grew white as snow.

He still found only discontent.

He took his disposition everywhere he went.

SUBJECTS FOR STORY.

DIRECTION.-Write short stories from the following heads:

1. The Snow Man.

2. Dollie's Education.

3. Our Cooking Club.
4. The Cricket's Song.

5. The Story of a Wolf.
6. Miss Butterfly's Party.
7. The Way to Fairyland.
8. Mrs. Simpson's Poodle.
9. A Day in the Hayfield.
10. The Three Little Fishes.
11. The Story of a Lost Dog.
12. The Dance of the Leaves.
13. The Crow and the Scarecrow.
14. The Voyage of a Paper Canoe.
15. The Flight of John's New Kite.
16. How Madge Learned to Skate.
17. The Three Boys of Marshtown.
18. Ellen's Hunt for her Lost Kitten.
19. The Complaint of the Foot-ball.
20. The History of my Work-basket.
21. The Experience of a Silver Dollar.
22. My Visit to the Children's Hospital.

CHAPTER VIII.

STYLE.

Style is that part of Rhetoric which treats of the modes of expressing thought in language, whether oral or written. It depends partly on the nature and importance of the subject, but chiefly on the character and disposition of the writer. It reveals how one thinks as well as what one thinks.

The word "style" comes from the Latin stylus, a small pointed instrument used by the Romans for writing on waxen tablets.

The stylus was to the Roman writer what the pen is to us, and became, by an easy metaphor, the means of expressing any one's method of composition, just as we now, by like metaphor, speak of a gifted pen, a ready pen, meaning thereby a gifted or ready author.

A close attention to style is of the utmost importance. All know that the reception of a truth is owing, not wholly to the truth itself, but partly to the manner in which it is presented. The same facts which, when stated by one, gain the understanding and affections, will, as shown by another, produce weariness and disgust.

To give our thoughts their full and just expression is not an easy task; it demands care and perseverance. The greatest masters of style have composed slowly and laboriously. No work, however, takes a permanent place in literature that is not distinguished for the perfection of its style as well as for the solidity of its thought.

The excellence of the style of any piece of writing de

pends primarily upon two things:

(I) Upon the choice of words.

(2) Upon the construction of the sentences.

The first requisite, namely, the choice of words, is treated under the head of Diction.

DICTION.

Diction is that property of style which has reference to the words and phrases used by a writer or speaker. Words at best are only imperfect representations of our thoughts, in general expressing too little or too much.

Therefore, "A man that seeketh precise truth had need to remember what every name he useth stands for, and to place it accordingly; or else he will find himself entangled in words as a bird in lime-twigs; the more he struggles, the more belimed.”—Hobbes.

The secret of literary power is chiefly the art of putting the right word in the right place; hence, it is important that a writer or speaker should have a great number of words at his command, and that he should have such a knowledge of the precise meaning of each as to be able in all cases to select just that word which expresses most perfectly the idea intended. As a means towards acquiring such knowledge, it is well to carry out the following suggestions:

1. Always note a new word, with a view to ascertaining its precise meaning and use.

2. Make constant use of a dictionary. It is the practice of many great scholars never to allow a word to pass with