many methods employed in the teaching of penmanship, that it has seemed advisable to give a few general directions for the use of teachers who want their pupils to write better, but who do not have the time or the inclination to follow, consistently and consecutively, any special method. It was for such schools and classes especially, that the first chapter of this book was prepared.

A number of points that are absolutely clear to the great majority of students have not been touched upon; "it expletive" has not been mentioned. Likewise some other points which would tend to confuse and befuddle a student's mind, the subjunctive mood for instance, have not been discussed. The writer in this matter has followed the warning of the sane little jingle,

The centipede was happy quite,

Until the toad for fun

Said, "Pray which leg comes after which?"
This worked her mind to such a pitch,

She lay distracted in a ditch,
Considering how to run.

In the Appendix numerous subjects for themes have been given; and the writer would suggest that these be used quite freely, not only for work to be done at home, but also in school, on paper and on the blackboards where, before the entire class, the instructor may make corrections and comments. The author would suggest that, in making corrections and comments, it is a good plan to follow wise old Ben Jonson's advice: "No more would I tell a green writer all his faults, lest I should make him grieve and faint, and at last despair."

Quite frequently, in their reading or in their study, students come across grammatical and rhetorical terms

which are not discussed in the body of this book. For their convenience, a Glossary of these terms is given in the Appendix. As the definitions are quite full, this part of the Appendix might even be studied, as a preparation for the more difficult and more complicated work in composition and rhetoric that will have to be taken up in the later years of a high school course. The same thing might be said about the Appendix section on Versification.

There is in the Appendix a section giving some rules and exercises in spelling. Our spelling to-day is being subjected to so many changes and simplifications that it is almost impossible to lay down absolute rules. The ones that are given here will be found to be somewhat conservative, and consequently safe. In the Appendix, too, will be found a section giving additional exercises for Chapters III to XX inclusive.

The writer wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the many friends who have aided him in the preparation of this book, by means of criticism and suggestion; especially to Mr. H. Winthrop Peirce, vice-president of the Copley Society of Boston, Mr. Nathan C. Hamblin, Principal of the Punchard High School, Andover, Mr. William Spencer of the Huntington School, Boston, Mr. Addison B. Le Boutillier, and Mr. Robert W. Morse, of Andover and Boston, Professor W. F. Bryan of Northwestern University, and Mr. Ernest Palmer of Evanston, Illinois. He would thank too the authors of numerous books on Composition and Rhetoric to which he has frequently referred for enlightenment, and the editors of Webster's New International Dictionary, from which a great many of his definitions have been taken. He would also express his appreciation and his thanks to the Honorable Theodore

Roosevelt for permission to reprint a selection from his works; to Mr. Raymond Fairchild Beardsley for his poem "Service"; and to the following publishers who permitted him to use copyrighted material: to Charles Scribner's Sons for a paragraph from Stevenson's Travels with a Donkey; to Houghton Mifflin Company for selections from Holmes, Longfellow, Harte, Emerson, and Lowell; to John Lane Company for the poem "Vitæ Lampada" by Henry Newbolt; to Doubleday, Page and Company for an extract from Charles H. Caffin's The Appreciation of the Drama; to G. P. Putnam's Sons for the greater part of a chapter from John Bascom's Philosophy of Rhetoric; to The Century Company for the selection from Mr. Roosevelt's The Round Up; to M. A. Donohue and Company for the selection from "Josh Billings"; to the Atlantic Monthly for a paragraph from the "Contributors' Club"; to Life Publishing Company for the poem "Finnigin to Flannigan" by S. W. Gillilan; to the Baltimore Sun for the article "Mr. Taft on College Yells"; to the Chicago Tribune for the poem "Elia" by E. J. McPhelim; to the London Times for the article on page 263; and to Ginn and Company for paragraphs from two of their text-books. He would express his thanks, also, to the Taber Prang Art Company of Springfield, Mass., for the pictures, Lorna Doone, Monreale, Thomas Carlyle, The Light of the World, Napoleon on the "Bellerophon," The Angelus, Rheims Cathedral, and Pompeii; and to Gramstorff Bros., Inc., of Malden, Mass., for the pictures, Erasmus, A Huguenot, St. Jerome, and The Night-Watch.

Most especially would he acknowledge his gratitude to Mr. Arthur W. Leonard, Head of the English Department in Phillips Andover Academy. Mr. Leonard has read with

patience and thoughtfulness the greater part of the manuscript, and has contributed helpful advice. During seven years association, the writer has felt his counsel ever wise and stimulating, his sympathy never failing; and he trusts that something of his inspiration has found its way into this work.