where you will see a niche before you, and in that niche a lighted lamp. Take the lamp down and put it out. When you have thrown away the wick and poured out the liquor, put it in your waistband and bring it to me. Do not be afraid that the liquor will spoil your clothes, for it is not oil, and the lamp will be dry as soon as it is thrown out.'

"After these words the Magician drew a ring off his finger and put it on one of Aladdin's, saying, ‘It is a talisman against all evil, so long as you obey me. Go, therefore, boldly, and we shall both be rich all our lives.'' The Arabian Nights: "Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp"

219. The following passage should be studied in the same way as the passage from "Aladdin":

When Gluck found that Schwartz did not come back, he was very sorry, and did not know what to do. He had no money, and was obliged to go and hire himself again to the goldsmith, who worked him very hard, and gave him very little money. So, after a month or two, Gluck grew tired, and made up his mind to go and try his fortune with the Golden River. "The little king looked very kind," thought he. "I don't think he will turn me into a black stone." So he went to the priest, and the priest gave him some holy water as soon as he asked for it. Then Gluck took some bread in his basket, and the bottle of water, and set off very early for the mountains.

If the glacier had occasioned a great deal of fatigue to his brothers, it was twenty times worse for him, who was neither so strong nor so practiced on the mountains. He had several very bad falls, lost his basket and bread, and was very much frightened at the strange noises under the ice. He lay a long time to rest on the grass, after he had got over, and began to climb the hill just in the

hottest part of the day. When he had climbed for an hour, he got dreadfully thirsty, and was going to drink like his brothers, when he saw an old man coming down the path above him, looking very feeble, and leaning on a staff. "My son," said the old man, “I am faint with thirst; give me some of that water." Then Gluck looked at him, and when he saw that he was pale and weary, he gave him the water; "Only pray don't drink it all," said Gluck. But the old man drank a great deal, and gave him back the bottle two thirds empty. Then he bade him good speed, and Gluck went on again merrily. And the path became easier to his feet, and two or three blades of grass appeared upon it, and some grasshoppers began singing on the bank beside it; and Gluck thought he had never heard such merry singing.

RUSKIN, The King of the Golden River

ANALYZING AND WRITING SENTENCES 220. When you analyze sentences you are tearing them down, or taking them apart. On the other hand, when you are writing a theme you are building up sentences. One process is the reverse of the other, and knowledge of one is likely to increase your knowledge of the other. When you write hereafter, singly or in groups, you should keep in mind the various points about grammar that you have studied, in order to make your composition more correct and more agreeable to read. All this should become a habit with you. Especially should you take care to vary the structure of your sentences, for your tendency may be to begin too many with the subject. It is true that most of them should so begin; but if all or nearly all do so, the

effect is monotonous. A very simple rule, and one that will be of great aid, is to begin an occasional sentence with some connective word, like as, when, if, although, after, under, upon, at, and others, if such connective word would naturally be used at some place in the sentence. This will cause your beginning construction to be a clause or a phrase. You should take great care, however, not to write sentences that do not sound well; your ear should be trusted; it is likely to be a good guide, especially if you read good books and if the people with whom you associate use good English.

A STUDY OF OLD COMPOSITIONS

221. You have been studying some of the different ways of organizing sentences, and you have learned that it is often desirable to remodel some that you have written. Especially is this true if all the sentences in a composition, or very many of them, begin with the subject; and if, in addition, they are all about the same length, the effect is very monotonous. In order to test how much you have learned from your recent study, follow the following instructions:

a. Take a composition that you wrote some time ago and read it over carefully.

b. Note whether or not all the sentences begin with

the subject. If they do, or if very many of them do, consider how some of them may be changed to bring some other construction to the beginning. For example, if you find such a sentence as I always look over the headings and the subheadings

before I begin to study a history lesson, and you find it desirable to change it, you can do so by writing the subordinate clause first, thus: Before I begin to study a history lesson, I always look over the headings and the subheadings. In this particular case the change is a good one even if the preceding sentences did not all begin with the subject, for now the emphatic idea is at the end, which is the more emphatic position.

c. Note whether the sentences are all about the same length. If they are, consider how you can combine some of them. For example, if you find two such sentences as I like history very well. I do not like arithmetic, you can combine the two simple sentences into one compound sentence, thus: I like history very well, but I do not like arithmetic. However, you must be careful not to make any sentence so long that it would be difficult to read. d. Sometimes you can lengthen a sentence somewhat and make it sound better by changing a word to a phrase or a clause. For example, I reached the school building late that day, but did not go at once to my room may be changed to Although it was late when I reached the school building that morning, I did not go at once to my room.

e. Sometimes you will find it desirable to shorten a sentence. This can often be done by changing a clause to a word or a phrase. For example, A horse, when he is balky, should be treated with patience may be changed to A balky horse should be treated with patience. This kind of change may or may not be desirable; if special emphasis is necessary, the first form of the sentence is better than the second.

When you have studied an old composition through carefully in this way, rewrite it, making all the changes you have determined upon, and consider whether you have improved it. In order to get the opinion of others upon the matter, exchange compositions, both old and new, and have conferences, giving and taking criticism.

Having rewritten one composition in this manner, take up another in the same way, and continue to do so until you have gained some power to improve your compositions as wholes by improving the sentences of which they are composed.

WRITTEN COMPOSITION

222. Select a subject from one of the lists in the book, or choose one of your own, and write a composition, taking more pains than ever before to make your work sound well. A smoothly flowing piece of writing may be made by varying the length and structure of the sentences in the ways you have been studying. The best hint that can be given you is this: Begin some of your sentences with the subordinate clause.

DISCUSSION OF A PICTURE

223. Has the picture opposite page 234 attracted your attention? It represents one scene in a storynot the very end of the story, but a part very near the end. For a story, you know, is a train of events that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In the beginning you should tell all about the persons