Rich

whom we associate; for whether we write or talk, we shall have an inexhaustible fund to draw from in making our meaning clear both in statement and in illustrations. indeed is the writer who has at his command illustrative material that he has gathered from a vigorous use of keen senses, in doors and out.

EXERCISES

551. How many of the five senses did the writer use in connection with the following paragraphs? Note all indications of activity. Read the selections aloud until you can enter into the spirit of each of them.

It was one January morning, very early a pinching, frosty morning the cove all gray with hoarfrost, the ripple lapping softly on the stones, the sun still low and only touching the hilltops and shining far to seaward. The captain had risen earlier than usual, and set out down the beach, his cutlass swinging under the broad skirts of the old blue coat, his brass telescope under his arm, his hat tilted back upon his head. I remember his breath hanging like smoke in his wake as he strode off, and the last sound I heard of him, as he turned the big rock, was a loud snort of indignation, as though his mind was still running upon Dr. Livesey.

STEVENSON, "Treasure Island," chap. ii.

There is one day when all things are tired, and the very smells, as they drift on the heavy air, are old and used. One cannot explain this, Then there is another day

but it feels so.

to the eye nothing whatever has changed - when all the smells are new and delightful, and the whiskers of the Jungle People quiver to their roots and the winter hair comes away from their sides in long, draggled locks. Then, perhaps, a little rain falls, and all the trees and the bushes and the bamboos and the mosses and the juicy-leaved plants wake with a noise of growing that you can almost hear, and under this noise runs, day and night, a deep hum. That is the noise of the spring a vibrating boom which is neither bees, nor falling water, nor the wind in the tree tops,

but the purring of the warm, happy world. - KIPLING, "The Spring Running," in "The Second Jungle Book."

552. Read to the class the last paragraph from Burroughs on page 43, and describe the feeling it gives.

553. Write a description of one of the following: (1) the silence of a heavy snowfall on a windless night; (2) the silence of a hot summer night; (3) the loudness of the ticking of a clock at midnight; (4) the drowsiness of a church on a hot forenoon; (5) the restlessness of a windy March morning.

554. Make a list of a few instances in which an appeal to the sense of smell might add to your description. Consider the following expressions and put any of them on your list: fresh lumber, fresh-cut hay, burning leaves, lilacs, mignonette, summer dust in the country, the earth in spring, a rank low-tide odor, pine trees, moist meadow, musty meadow, porgy factory, barn.

555. (1) Name ten sounds that you have heard within the last twenty-four hours. (2) Write fully about one of these.

556. Describe in a single word the atmosphere of (1) a room, (2) a home, (3) a school building, (4) a town or village, (5) a city.

167. Directions for writing Descriptions. We shall find it helpful in writing descriptions to keep in mind the following directions, based on what we have seen to be desirable in a good description.

1. We must indicate clearly our point of view. If it changes, we must notify the reader.

2. We should choose significant details and have a definite plan in presenting these details.

3. We should try to make the reader see what we see or feel as we feel.

4. We should be fully alive as we write ready to use any of the senses, and even more alert to secure the closest attention than we should be in telling a story.

EXERCISES

557. Write on one of the following:

1. Indicate what a man who has no sense of smell cannot appreciate as he walks through the woods in spring.

2. (a) Write out fully what a man with only one sense hearing might easily get from a five minutes' walk in the woods. Choose whichever season you prefer. (b) Point out what, in addition, a watchful eye may discover under these circumstances.

3. Imagining that you have only two senses, hearing and touch, describe (a) a walk in the woods or in a village or city, or (b) a meeting with a pet animal, say a dog.

4. In writing a brief account of the catching of a fish, take advantage of all the opportunities you may have to make use of sound, smell, and touch. See that your description is lively.

5. In describing the broiling and serving of a fish, give especial attention to smell and taste.

558. Write on a subject in connection with which you can advantageously use the five senses. Consider from this point

559. Give an oral description of the appearance of some character in a story. Make your picture as lifelike as possible, and do not hesitate to reproduce the language of the book.

560. Write a description of one of the following: (1) a typical farmyard scene; (2) a rare coin; (3) an artistic postage stamp; (4) a typical evening in your home, or an ideal evening; (5) an entertainment you have attended recently.

561. (1) Describe some small boys at play. (2) Criticize in writing under the heads of (a) point of view, (b) life, the description written by one of your classmates.

562. Write the description suggested by any one of the following:

1. He was a comely, handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with straight strong limbs, not too large; tall and well-shaped, and, as I reckon, about twenty-six years of age. . . countenance smile

hair . . . forehead . . . eyes.

2. By this time the sun had gone down, and was tinting the clouds towards the zenith with those bright hues which are not seen there until some time after sunset, when the horizon has quite lost its richer brilliancy. The moon. . . the old house . . . the garden. .

3. About a quarter of an hour before the second ringing of the bell, members of the congregation begin to appear.

4. I built a cottage for Susan and myself, and made a gateway in the form of a Gothic arch, by setting up a whale's jawbones heifer... garden . . . parlor.

5. The fog had now lifted, so that I could form a better idea of the lay of the land.

6. After nightfall we went out and walked up and down the grassgrown streets.

7. The Baltimore oriole loves to attach its nest to the swaying branches of the tallest elms.

8. At length the shadows began to lengthen, the wind . . . calm

the sun . . . Sabbath stillness . . . valley . . . the farmer . . .

the ox.
9. He was meanly dressed.

10. The town appeared to be waking up. A baker's cart had already rattled through the street, chasing away the latest vestige of night's sanctity with the jingle-jangle of its dissonant bells. A milk

man.

563. Choose one of the following for a short theme:

1. Describe the view from a window. If you like, you may read Irving's account of a view from a window in "Christmas Day" (in "The Sketch-Book"). See the third paragraph, beginning, "Everything conspired," etc. Is the plan clear? Note the force of the active verbs.

2. Describe the house in which you live so that a stranger will get a clear picture. Be careful about your point of view.

3. Describe a cottage sheltered by a large elm.

564. In writing a criticism of a description written by one of your classmates, answer these questions:

1. Does the writer indicate clearly his point of view?

2. Has he chosen significant details?

3. Has he a definite plan in presenting the details?

4. What words are particularly well chosen? Why?

565. Make a list of twenty things that you have seen on your way to school and be prepared to speak on one of them or on something suggested by the following subjects: