ciples of paragraph structure. He is describing the situation and external appearance of the Salem Custom House; but the reader's mind is continually diverted to other things, or is so burdened with details that it loses sight of the main idea. tences. 118. Coherent Arrangement. Incoherence most frequently results from an illogical arrangement of senThe matter of a coherent arrangement is but an amplification of our definition of coherence. The salient fact to be remembered is, that matters connected in thought should be kept together. Unlike the sentence, which is a matter of revision, the paragraph is a matter of prevision. Before beginning to write a paragraph we should have in mind the sequence of ideas. In arranging the order of words in a sentence we are confined within the very narrow limits of good use, but in a paragraph we may arrange our sentences in any order we please. We must, then, plan our paragraph so that there shall be a progressive development of the thought. Generally speaking, the most natural order of arrangement will be as follows: I, subject proposed; 2, explanation of the subject by repetition or definition; 3, establishment of subject by proof, illustration, or detail; 4, application of the subject; 5, summary. In particular cases the kind of discourse will furnish a key to the proper order. In narrative paragraphs the order of events in time is best; in descriptions, the order of objects in space. In exposition or argument the most frequent arrangement will be from the least to the most important. Usually the thought as it develops will dictate the natural arrangement. A careful study of the sections on pages 61-78, and the examples there given, will illustrate how much paragraph-structure depends on a coherent arrangement. Study the passages in the following columns, and note how much is gained by making a more coherent arrangement of each, as in the second column. The beaver is an animai about the size of a dog, with short legs, and a body nearly three feet long. His life and his wonderful feats as a little engineer form the most interesting example of the wonders of animal instinct to be found in the whole range of natural history. The fur of the beaver was at one time highly prized; but the substitution of silk for beaver-skin in the manufacture of hats has rendered it of comparatively little value in the present day. Beavers were formerly very numerous in the pine-woods of North America; but owing to the incessant persecution they have undergone from the hunter and the trapper, they are now comparatively scarce. The beaver is an animal about the size of a dog, with short legs, and a body nearly three feet long. Beavers were formerly very numerous in the pine-woods of North America; but owing to the incessant persecution they have undergone from the hunter and the trapper, they are now comparatively scarce. The fur of the beaver was at one time highly prized; but the substitution of silk for beaverskin in the manufacture of hats has rendered it of comparatively little value in the present day. The beaver's life and his wonderful feats as a little e gineer form the most interesting example of the wonders of animal instinct to be found in the whole range of natural history. We have several times dwelt on the desirability of there being a formidable opposition party in the United States. No intelligent observer doubts that the Republican party has twice elected a President largely through the weakness of the party opposed to him. It has been unfortunate for the nation during the last few years that it has had no strong opposition party. It is healthful, politically speaking, that the party in the majority and in power should be put upon its good behavior healthful for itself and for the nation. A minority strong enough to threaten it with defeat if it fails in this respect is the natural agent to accomplish such an end. We have several times dwelt on the desirability of there being a formidable opposition opposition party in the United States. It is healthful, politically speaking, that the party in the majority and in power should be put upon its good behavior— healthful for itself and for the nation. A minority strong enough to threaten it with defeat if it fails in this requirement is the natural agent to accomplish such an end. It has been unfortunate for the nation during the last few years that it has had no such party. No intelligent observer doubts that the Republican party has twice elected a President largely through the weakness of the party opposed to him. When the arrange 119. The Use of Connectives. ment of the sentences is good, and the thought simple, the connection is easy to follow; but in complex thought an orderly arrangement may not suffice to make the paragraph coherent. Under such circumstances some connecting device which shall link thought to thought is necessary. Such a device is found in the use of various connecting words, as conjunctions, conjunctive adverbs, and demonstrative pronouns, which abound in every coherent paragraph, and give a firmness and compactness that would otherwise be lacking. The more common words of this class are this, that, these, those, such, and, but, for, indeed, accordingly, however, therefore, on the contrary, consequently, no doubt. Any word, however, in a clause or sentence is a connecting word, if it refers specifically to a preceding clause or sentence. An important word is often repeated, or a phrase is introduced, which serves to indicate the connection of the thoughts in the paragraph. Without connecting words and phrases the mind of the reader would be diverted from the thought to the work of supplying the transition, and the paragraph would become obscure. Note to what extent connecting words and expressions are used in the following paragraphs, as indicated by the italics. Re-write the paragraphs, omitting all connecting words, and compare the result with the original. A report is going the rounds of the newspapers and may, nevertheless, be true that some Cornell University students were ruled out from rowing in the Henley regatta because they had crossed the ocean in a cattlesteamer, and had therefore earned money by the work of their hands. The college oarsmen, it was stated, "must be gentlemen," and no gentleman could have worked with his hands. The rumor looks a little improbable, because in "Tom Brown at Rugby," written nearly half a century ago, a college crew is described as being saved by a plebeian student, who had, it is to be presumed, done some manual labor. If, however, the tale be true, it points to a difference, still insurmountable, between the English and American students. THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON: English and American Gentlemen. Paint us an angel, if you can, with a floating violet robe and a face paled by the celestial light; paint us yet oftener a Madonna, turning her mild face upward and opening her arms to welcome the divine glory; but do not impose upon us any aesthetic rules which shall banish from the region of Art those old women scraping carrots with their work-worn hands, those heavy clowns taking holiday in a dingy pot-house, those rounded backs and stupid, weather-beaten faces that have bent over the spade and done the rough work of the world, those homes with their tin pans, their brown pitchers, their rough curs, and their clusters of onions In this world there are so many of these common, coarse people who have no picturesque, sentimental wretchedness! It is so needful we should remember their existence, else we may happen to leave them quite out of our religion and philosophy, and frame lofty theories which fit only a world of extremes. Therefore let Art always remind us of them; therefore let us always have men ready to give the loving pains of a life. to the faithful representing of common-place things— men who see the beauty in these common-place things, and delight in showing how kindly the light of heaven falls on them. GEORGE ELIOT: Adam Bede. The 120. Omission of Connecting Words. To secure vigor of style and rapidity of movement connecting words are sometimes omitted. Such omission is, at times, especially effective in narration and description. practice, however, is dangerous, for it is likely to give the impression of incoherence. It is advisable only when the ideas are simple, and the sentences short and closely related in thought. Even then the writer too often sacrifices smoothness of style for startling effects. |