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sheet of flame darted out of its very centre, and the air seemed rent into fragments by the concussion.

W. H. H. MURRAY: Sabbath in the Woods.

On the other hand, the story of rapid fatal extinction is disproved. Many of the accounts are explained by the facts immediately above mentioned, but treated conversely. When a name of a tribe had been adopted, whether correctly or not, and a number of other names of the same tribe had been abandoned or disused, the number of people before reported as belonging to all these disused names was subtracted from the total. So they were considered to be extinct. Doubtless tribes became extinct through their destruction by the European invaders in all parts of the country, especially in Massachusetts and California; but as a general rule, the defeated tribes fled to other regions of the continent which were unoccupied, and as good for their habitation as those they left, and were not "annihilated," as was the common expression. Even when they infringed upon the regions claimed by a body of Indians occupying them, there was seldom difficulty about the adoption of the weaker by the more powerful and successful folk. The hereditary, traditional, and most hated enemies of tribes were adopted mutually, and this fact, in addition to those before mentioned, explains the disappearance of tribal names as published by imperfectly informed writers. The tribes, as such, did disappear from their old habitat, and were not recognized under their former names, but the people did not cease to exist.

J. W. POWELL: The North American Indian.

A railroad train was rushing along at almost lightning speed. A curve was just ahead, beyond which was a station at which the cars usually passed each other. The conductor was late, so late that the period during which the down train was to wait had nearly elapsed; but he hoped yet to pass the curve safely. Suddenly, a locomotive dashed into sight right ahead. In an instant there was a collision. A shriek, a shock, and fifty souls were in eternity; and all because an engineer had been behind time.

6. Develop each of the following topic-sentences, or the negative of each, into a paragraph of 150 words, mainly by repetition. Be careful to add something to the thought in each repetition, and to outline the paragraph before writing.

1. Science has given us practically all our modern comforts.

2. Women are less ready than men to break up domestic and local ties and move to new places.

3. Success in any great undertaking can be expected only by one thoroughly interested in it. The lives and deeds of heroes are an eternal legacy to the world. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."

4.

5.

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7. Develop each of the following topic-sentences into a brief paragraph, mainly by giving particulars and details, but in some of the paragraphs employing both that method and the method of repetition. Be sure that the particulars given are such as will in some way add definiteness to the thought of the topic-sentence.

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hibit when he goes fishing is remarkable.

6. A naval officer is given

superior opportunities for seeing the world. 7. It was not until the next day that we realized the destruction that the storm had wrought.

8. The woods are a wilderness of gloom and beauty.

9. There is something uncanny in the sight of a locomotive headlight flashing through the darkness of midnight.

8. Develop the following topic-sentences into paragraphs by giving specific instances or examples.

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C. The nineteenth century

has been remarkable
for its scientific discov-
eries.

2. America's great writers
have almost uniformly
been men of clean and
noble lives.

3. Many of the victims of
the Reign of Terror
had been prominent in
bringing it about.

4. The early attempts to
gain dominion in the
New World were not
properly directed.

5. The history of the Turk
in Europe is one long
succession of infamies.

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9. Develop the following topic-sentences into paragraphs mainly by the use of comparisons or contrasts. Be sure that the comparisons or contrasts are such as make the thought clearer or fuller, more definite or more emphatic.

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10. Develop the following topic-sentences into paragraphs by giving the effects of which they are the cause, or by giving proofs,

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11. Write narrative paragraphs on several of the following topics, and show that each paragraph is developed

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12. Write descriptive paragraphs on several of the following topics, developing each paragraph in the space order.

I. A summer camp.

2. An old barn.

3. My early home.

4. A department store. 5. Boston Common.

6. Trout-fishing.

7.

A modern yacht. 8. An automobile. 9. A large hotel.

10. An art museum.

CHAPTER V.

THE SENTENCE.

In the pre

30. The Sentence, the Unit of Discourse. ceding chapters we have made frequent references to the sentence, and in our written practice we have used sentences that roughly served our purpose. Presumably we all know in a general way what a sentence is; but we may not realize how essential it is in the expression of our thoughts, and to what extent effective discourse depends on sentence-structure. The sentence is the real unit of discourse, the medium of intelligent communication, and therefore the vital element of composition. It is of the utmost importance that we should understand the principles of sentence-structure. In this chapter, then, we will consider this subject, leaving the matter of sentence-style for consideration hereafter.

31. What a Sentence Is. Disconnected words, or words lacking definite grammatical relations to one another, may give us ideas, but they do not communicate thoughts. The word "house," spoken or written, will serve to call up a definite image in the mind, but it will not give the reader any knowledge of what the writer thought when he penned it. We may add modifying words and phrases, such as "the brick house," or "the

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