EXERCISE 32. COTTON. NOTES.-Cotton: mentioned by Herodotus [5th century, B.C.]; the plant indigenous to India, China, North and South America; half the human race dressed in cotton. If you have seen the plant, or a picture of it, describe it; the size; shape of leaf; colour and kind of flower, pod, &c. Whence is the fibre got? [Is this the case with the plant from which linen fibre is obtained?] New Orleans, export of cotton; Liverpool, importation and distribution. Manchester, manufacture and trade in ditto. Oldham, greatest number of cotton mills. Rouen, Mülhausen, Elberfeld, Bombay. EXERCISE 33. GUTTA PERCHA. NOTES.-Gutta percha: produced from sap and gum of a forest tree or trees in Malay peninsula and Australasia. When first brought to England? [about 1843]. Tubes and pipes made of it; use in telegraphy? [non-conductor of electricity and moisture-proof]. Drawback to use? [melts at a low temperature]. Describe appearance of it as sold in shops; in what respects does it differ from india-rubber? EXERCISE 34. NOTES.-Tea: used from time immemorial in China; brought to Europe by Dutch, 1610. Price, about A.D. 1660, 60s. per lb.; in 1879, about 2s. 6d. Tea countries: China, Assam. Nearly 200,000,000 lb. imported into England. Is tea nutritious? What name is given to those articles of food which excite and arouse the system? [Stimulants]. What is tea? Give some account of the plant, the process of preparing, packing, &c. Brick tea. Russian importation of tea. By sea or by land? Fine kinds used in Russia. EXERCISE 35. THE OAK. NOTES.-The oak: indigenous to most temperate climates. What are its most striking features? [strength, grandeur, majesty, bulk, girth, extent of branches, depth of roots]. Of its timber? [hardness, especially in "heart of oak," toughness, durability, handsomeness, polish]. Remarkable oaks in Windsor Forest, Sherwood Forest, or elsewhere. [Mention any you have yourself seen, and where.] Species: Turkey oak, scarlet oak, &c. EXERCISE 36. THE MARINER'S COMPASS. NOTES.-Mariner's compass: known in China before B.C. 1000; in England about 1302. What is necessary in order to enable the needle to turn N. or S.? [It must be suspended, moving freely on its centre of gravity.] What grand discovery was chiefly due to the mariner's compass? [New World.] Show how so. Compass in iron ships— how affected? [By iron or steel near.] EXERCISE 37. GUNPOWDER. NOTES.-Gunpowder: also long known in China. Its composition [nitre, sulphur, charcoal] known to Roger Bacon [13th century]; Schwartz, a monk of Cologne, 1320. What adjective denotes the quality of firing suddenly with a detonation? [explosive]. Query: has the invention of gunpowder been a good or an evil? Milton's rebel angels use gunpowder, B.C. (?)— "Sulphurous and nitrous foam They found, they mingled, and with subtle art, EXERCISE 38. THE SEA ANEMONE. NOTES.-Sea anemone, or actinia: so called from its bright, florid hues (the foreign anemone flower has various bright colours). What term denotes a creature halfway between an animal and a plant? [zoophyte Gk. Cŵov, animal; qutóv, plant]. Leaving colour out of the question, how many different kinds have you yourself seen? On what coast? and in what part of it? Aquariums. EXERCISE 39. RAIN. NOTES.-Rain: what words denote the conversion of liquid to vapour? [evaporate, evaporation]. What words denote its return to liquid? [condense, condensation]. What power is the agent in the former process? [Heat]. What in the latter? [Cold, or the lowering of temperature]. In what part of the earth are the rains heaviest ? What region is almost entirely rainless? Utility of rain. EXERCISE 40. NOTES.-Wind: a current or river of air; cause of wind, the variations of temperature in the atmosphere. What words denote the spreading out of a fluid or other body, so that it occupies more space? [expand, expansion; rarefy, rarefaction]. Velocities of wind [the anemometer?] in hurricanes from 60 to 100 miles an hour. Uses of wind? [dangers of stagnation, infection, pestilential gases]. Lat. aduro, I scorch, singe. B. CHIEFLY NARRATIVE. § 18. In the following examples, the outline of each story is given in a broken form, and from this the student is to construct a coherent narrative. Only the leading points are given, and a good deal is left to the common sense or imagination of the writer. Be careful to introduce the character or characters as clearly and concisely as possible. Bring out each point of the story with perfect distinctness, and keep the thread unbroken. After hearing a story well told, the listener will find that in tracing it over again, each point of the narrative fits into its place as in a puzzle; so that to alter the arrangement is to mar the effect. This perfection of narrative may be attained in a great degree by practice; but it has more to do with imagination than with rule. The narrator should mentally picture each scene. This is the surest way to avoid improbabilities and incongruities all such arising from defect of imagination. Points of story :— SPECIMEN. THE CLEVER DOG. 1. Sagacity of a dog belonging to a gentleman in London. 2. His trick of buying himself a penny bun for breakfast. 3. Spitefulness of shop-boy, who gives the dog a hot bun. 4. Quickness of dog, in dropping hot bun and recovering his coin. 5. Dog's avoidance of the shop in future. (Shortest version.) A clever dog had learned the trick of buying himself a penny bun at the baker's for breakfast. One day the shop-boy mischievously gave him a bun hot from the oven. The dog instantly dropped it, snapped up the coin, and ran off; and he never entered that shop again. § 19. The above version says as little as could be said, if the story was to be told at all. Brevity is good when no important feature is omitted; but when it degenerates into meagreness, all life and interest are lost. Any one fond of animals who had been an eye-witness of the incident related, would have been certain to give some little descriptive touches, which would have the effect of greatly lighting up the story. Further, he would have been likely to enquire what the history of the dog was, and what explanation-if any-was to be given of his unusual sagacity. The two following versions aim at meeting these requirements. (Second version:-fuller.) A gentleman in London had a favourite dog. This animal showed unusual intelligence, and was wonderfully quick in divining his master's wishes, and in drawing conclusions suitable to his condition. One of his tricks was to fetch a roll from the baker's shop for his breakfast, carrying the penny in his mouth to pay for it. One day the baker's boy mischievously gave the dog a roll all hot and hot' from the oven. The dog let it fall almost before he had touched it, snapped up the penny and departed, leaving the baker's boy not a little crest-fallen. The dog never entered that shop again. (Third version.) A gentleman in London had a dog which was a great favourite with him on account of its sagacity and amusing tricks. At breakfast time his master would often give him a penny with which he would go to a neighbouring shop and buy himself a bun, carrying the coin between his teeth. One day in the absence of the master of the shop, the baker's boy played an ill-natured trick upon the dog. When the dog had deposited his penny as usual, the lad gave him a bun piping hot from the oven. In an instant, the sagacious creature dropped the bun, snapped up the penny, and ran off with it; and he was never known to enter that shop again. EXAMPLES FOR PRACTICE. I. SIMPLE STORIES. N.B. Although the Present tense is used in these outlines, the student must of course use the Past throughout. EXERCISE 41. MERCURY AND THE WOODMAN. Points of story: 1. Man felling tree. 2. Scene of incident: by river side. 3. Accident: axe dropped into the river. 4. Distress of woodman. 5. Appearance of Mercury. 6. Mercury dives and fetches up axe of gold. 7. Honesty of woodman: he refuses this and a second axe of silver. 8. Woodman's own axe at last recovered. 9. His gratitude. 10. How his honesty is rewarded. § 20. Beware of working the examples in a mere mechanical manner. It is not the words given that are to be introduced, but the "points of the story." Thus the words, "incident," "accident," "distress," " appearance," had better not be brought in at all; and the facts suggested should be expressed in the simplest language possible. Points of story: EXERCISE 42. MURDER DETECTED. 1. Murder committed by soldiers of Pyrrhus. 2. Fidelity of dog-watches corpse. 3. Behaviour of dog observed by Pyrrhus. 4. Enquiries of Pyrrhus; facts ascertained by him: dog had watched corpse for three days-fasting. 5. Body buried by king's orders-dog brought to king. 6. Review of king's troops. Dog present. 7. Fury of dog when the murderers march past. 8. Seizure of murderers. Confession. Execution. EXERCISE 43. 1. Watch-dog-his collar accidentally loose, unknown to his master. 2. Dog able to free himself. 3. Slyness of dog--never slips collar by day, but roams at large by night. 4. Depredations of dog: poultry, lambs, &c. 5. Washes off blood in stream-back again, neck in collar, before dawn. 6. Dog watched by night-discovery. EXERCISE 44. AN ELEPHANT'S REVENGE. Points of story: 1. Scene, street of a village in Ceylon. 2. Elephants passing to water. 3. Fondness of elephants for leaves of fig-tree. 4. Man offers elephant stone wrapped in fig-leaves. 5. Elephant drops stone and eats leaves. 6. Return of elephants- -man still there. 7. Elephant seizes man- -dashes him down-tramples him to death. EXERCISE 45. Points of story: 1. Scene: Inn parlour-night inclement-traveller arrives and finds all seats at fire occupied. 2. Traveller's stratagem: orders his horse a feed of oysters. 3. Astonishment of landlord-curiosity of people. 4. General rush to stables-traveller secures seat. 5. Return of landlord what he reports to traveller. 6. Traveller orders oysters refused by horse to be served to himself. 7. Different feelings of traveller and guests. |