Were it proper, here, to enter on a critical discussion of the merits of our living writers, some might be named who are destined to hold the highest place, as classic models of cultivated and expressive language, in pure and noble forms. But, to the young American student of the English language, it may suffice to say, that, happily for his proficiency in the art of expression, he is surrounded by the most instructive and inspiring examples, urging him to acquit himself worthily in the pursuit of that excellence which is the crown of earnest, assiduous endeavor.

EXERCISE X.

ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITION.

Introductory Explanations. The systematic study of words, as part of a course of practical exercises in language, extends properly beyond the sphere of grammar to the first stages of rhetoric. The value of even a single word, depends not merely on its grammatical adaptation to the expression of meaning but its fitness, also, to the character of the idea which it represents, as tinged by feeling or colored by imagination. These relations of language are relinquished by the grammarian to the charge of the rhetorician; and, to complete the study of words, it becomes necessary to investigate their rhetorical character, as elements of expression in the utterance of the various moods of the human mind, resulting from the influences exerted upon it by the laws of association. These subject it to a sympathetic action, responsive to the agency of surrounding objects, of whose predominating characters it always, when true to its office, reflects the local coloring. Like the fabled cameleon of old, or the veritable familiar lizard of our Southern States, it takes the hue of the objects over which it passes; and, when it clothes itself in language, the integument, if appropriate, is so transparent, that the original tint of the coloring surface shines through to the eye.

The suggestive power of words depends, to a great extent, on the emotions which they excite in conjunction with the thoughts which they awaken;

and the vividness of these emotions is always proportioned to the graphic power of imagination, which gives form and color to the mental picture. Language thus often uses a threefold power in enkindling sentiment, — thought, imagination, and feeling, -by the presentation of a single word happily cho

sen.

To appreciate, therefore, the value of words, the student must be aware of their power in all the various relations which they fulfil. He must form a true idea of the place which they occupy in the whole field of expression; and to attain this knowledge, he must become competent to analyse language in the different forms which it assumes in the various styles of composition, arising from diversity of character in the subjects of thought. A course of close critical reading and systematic analysis, accordingly, is an indispensable aid to the exercise of that discernment which practice alone has the power of rendering intuitive, as regards the aptness of words to do their great work of prompting the mind, and suggesting trains of consecutive thought.

The following extract from Duncan, may serve as an example for the analysis of composition, as an exercise on words, when it is practised with a view to forming a critical decision on the merits of a piece, in regard to the author's choice of expression.

Spring.

This is truly the glad season of the year. Wherever we turn our eyes, Nature wears a smile of joy, as if, freed from the storms and the cold of winter, she revelled in the luxury of spring. The lengthening day, the increasing warmth of the air, and the gradually deepening green of the awakened earth, excite, in every breast, a lively sense of gratitude,

6

A walk

and pleasingly affect the imagination. among the woods or the fields, in a calm spring day, when the trees are bursting forth into beauty, and all the land is echoing with song, may well soothe the stormiest passions, and inspire that 'vernal delight', which is able to drive away all sadness but despair.' The mind sympathises with the joy of inanimate nature, and rejoices to behold the reviving beauty of the earth, as if itself had escaped from a period of gloom, to bask in the sunshine of hope and enjoyment.

"The joys of spring, as felt or sung by poets and other ardent lovers of nature, are familiar to us. They form the burden of many a poetic strain, and excite to many a meditative reverie. They have inspired enthusiasm and deep delight, ever since there was an eye to witness, or a mind to feel, the harmony and loveliness of this gorgeously arrayed and 'breathing world.' They are the source of exquisite emotion to every mind in which dwells a sense of beauty and creative design. They also light the brow of care, and bring back the flush of health and hope to the pale and wasted cheek. And not only by the rich and the enlightened, - by the children of luxury and refinement, are the inde

scribable delights of this season deeply felt and valued; spring is also a time of increased enjoyment to the poor. It fills the inmates of many an humble dwelling with gladness, and makes even desponding poverty smile, and hope for better days.

"There is something in the flowery sweetness and genial warmth of spring, that kindles, in the rudest bosom, feelings of gratitude and pleasure. The contrast to the cold and desolation of winter, is so striking and agreeable, that every heart, unless it be hardened by the direst ignorance and crime, is melted to love and pious emotion; and breathings of deepfelt adoration escape from the most untutored lips.

The carols of the ploughman, as he traverses the field, the live-long day, and turns up the fresh soil, seem to bespeak a lightsome heart, and evince the joyousness of labor. The shepherd, as he sits upon the hill-side, and surveys his quiet flock, with its sportive companies of lambs, those sweetest emblems of innocent mirth,—feels a joy and calm satisfaction, that is heightened by the recollection of the vanished snow-storms of recent winter, and of all the anxieties and toils of his peculiar charge. Even the hard-working mechanic of the village or town, shares the general gladness of the season. As he strolls in sweet relaxation into the glittering fields, or along the blossoming hedgerows and lanes, haply supporting with his hand the tottering footsteps of his child, or carrying the tender infant in his arms, he breathes the freshening air, treads the reviving turf beneath his feet, and inhales the first faint perfumes, and listens to the first melodies of the year, with an enjoyment that his untaught powers of expression cannot describe."

EXERCISE. A complete or exhaustive critical analysis of composition, implies a threefold process, referring to the elements of logic, rhetoric, and grammar. A practical exercise of this description, exemplified in application to the preceding extract, would be arranged as follows:

(1.) Logical Analysis.

"THE THEME", or Subject.-(I.) This branch of the exercise commences with a statement of the theme, or groundwork of the whole composition, and contemplates, separately, the nature and character of the subject, as a matter of thought, -independently, for the moment, of the senti