EXERCISE 57.

PORTRAIT OF HANNIBAL.

Outline and hints:

His famous oath, taken when nine years old [what was it he swore to ?]-how well kept. First service in Spain, under Hasdrubal-joy of veterans, who had served under Hamilcar, his father-resemblance, real or fancied, to Hamilcar. His growing popularity-ready for any hazardous work-confidence of general and troops in him. His characteristics: daring-prudent-ready-full of resource-never worn out or dejected-careless of heat or cold-temperate-able to sleep at any convenient time [like Napoleon in this]:-picture of him lying asleep, on bare ground, amid the camp, with his cloak over him-proud of arms and horse-first into battle, last out. His vices (according to Romans), equally great: cruelty, treachery, unscrupulousness, impiety. Query: how far is this to be believed?

EXERCISE 58.

THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

Divest the statements contained in the following lines of all superfluous verbiage, and draw from them a simple and intelligible account of the solar system.

The Sun, revolving on its axis, turns,
And with creative fire intensely burns;
Impelled the forcive air,* our Earth supreme,†
Rolls with the planets round the solar gleam;
First Mercury completes his transient year,
Glowing refulgent with reflected glare;
Bright Venus occupies a wider sway,
The early harbinger of night and day.
More distant still our globe terraqueous turns,
Nor chills intense, nor fiercely heated burns;
Around her rolls the lunar orb of light,t
Trailing her silver glories through the night:
On the Earth's orbits see the various signs;
Mark where the Sun, our year completing,|| shines:
First the bright Ram his languid ray improves;
Next glaring watery, through the Bull he moves;
The amorous Twins admit his genial ray,

Now burning, through the Crab, he takes his way;
The Lion, flaming, bears the solar power;
The Virgin faints beneath the sultry shower.
Now the just Balance weighs his equal force,
The slimy Serpent swelters in his course:
The fabled Archer clouds his languid face;
The Goat, with tempests, urges on his race:
Now in the water his faint beams appear,
And the cold Fishes end the circling year.
Beyond our globe the sanguine Mars displays
A strong reflection of primeval** rays;

Next belted Jupiter far distant gleams,
Scarcely enlightened with the solar beams;
With four unfixed receptacles of light,tt
He tours majestic through the spacious height:
But further yet the tardy Saturn lags,
And fivett attendant luminaries drags:
Investing with a double ring his pace,
He circles through immensity of space.§§

(Chatterton.)

This is unintelligible: and there is no such word as forcive, which is formed on a false analogy. "Air" here perhaps means aether, through which the earth is conceived as forcing her way. "Supreme": this is unscientific: no good reason can be given for calling earth "supreme" among the planets. Empty verbiage: see p. 3. It is not correct to speak of the Signs of the Zodiac as "on the earth's orbit." They mark the apparent path of the Sun. Express accordingly. || i.e., the revolution of the Earth round the Sun completes our year. Condense this description of the Signs. The Sun enters Arles March 21. This gaudy adornment of scientific facts is in wholly false taste, and can scarcely please any, now that the fashion is past. ** This word has no particular fitness here: primeval rays = rays of the Sun. ++ i.e. four moons-mere verbiage again. Moreover, it is incorrect to speak of the (opaque) moons of Jupiter as "receptacles of light." ‡‡ Now known to be eight. 8 Complete the description with Uranus and Neptune, since discovered.

EXERCISE 59.

MURDER OF PARMENIO BY ORDER OF ALEXANDER. Outline and hints:

Parmenio, experienced officer high in command under Philip and Alexander-murder of Parmenio preceded by cruel death of his son Philôtas [charged with treason: evidence insufficient]. Parmenio at Ecbatăna, high in command-danger from Parmenio to Alexander as slayer of his son-destruction of Parmenio resolved on. Promptness of execution of plan-Parmenio ignorant of son's death-rapid journey of officer (Polydamas) with despatches, across desert of Khorassan (dromedaries used; ordinary time, thirty days; time taken by Alexander's officer, eleven days). Officer enters camp by night-formal despatch addressed to Parmenio-fatal despatch to Kleander, second in command-plan_arranged-Parmenio stabbed while reading despatch, in garden. Features of this crime: ingratitude-inhumanitytreachery-evil effect of unparalleled success on Alexander-do any other instances of the kind occur to you?

EXERCISE 60. [Work as No. 58.]

THE CAPTAIN OF THE BRITAIN.

The stately ship with all her daring band
To skilful Albert own'd the chief command:
Though trained in boisterous elements, his mind
Was yet by soft humanity refined :

Each joy of wedded love at home he knew;
Abroad, confest the father of the crew!
Brave, liberal, just, the calm domestic scene
Had o'er his temper breathed a gay serene:
Him* Science taught by mystic lore to trace
The planets wheeling in eternal race;

To mark the ship in floating balance held,t
By earth attracted, and by seas repelled;

Or point her devious track through climes unknown
That leads to every shore and every zone.t

He saw the moon through heaven's blue concave glide,
And into motion charm the expanding tide,
While earth impetuous round her axle rolls,§
Exalts her watery zone, and sinks the poles;
Light and attraction, from their genial source,
He saw still wandering with diminished force ;||
While on the margin of declining day
Night's shadowy cone reluctant melts away-
Inured to peril, with unconquered soul,
The chief beheld tempestuous oceans roll:
O'er the wild surge where dismal shades preside,
His equal skill the lonely bark could guide;

His genius, ever for the event prepared,

Rose with the storm, and all its dangers shared.**

(Falconer, The Shipwreck.)

*This account of the Captain's scientific attainments must be divested of all ornamental phraseology, such as "mystic lore"-"heaven's blue concave"-" charm the expanding tide "_"night's shadowy cone "-&c. † i.e., he had studied the laws which govern the equilibrium of floating bodies. This line is pure verbiage, adding nothing to the thought, "All ways lead to the end of the world." This adverbial sentence may be taken as subordinate to "exalts," &c. The "watery zone" is "exalted " as each part of it is successively exposed to the Moon's attraction. "With diminished force": viz., as the squares of the distances. It is hard to see what is the meaning of this couplet. The shadow of the earth of course forms a cone, and this cone is continually "melting away' "" on the side nearest to the sun. But this has little or no relation to the preceding sentence. In prose the couplet may be ignored. **" And all its dangers shared "-this is a somewhat weak way of saying that he was always foremost at the post of danger.

EXERCISE 61.

DANGER OF MARSHAL NEY.

Outline and hints :

Time: 1812-retreat of Napoleon I.-Marshal Ney in command of rearguard (fourth division of French army):-Russians, 80,000 (Kutu. soff general) bar his way-deep ravine between-Ney's force, 5,000summoned to surrender-treachery of Russians, whose guns open fire on French during interview.

Bold bearing of Ney-arrests envoy-" a marshal of France never surrenders"-attempts to force passage-French repulsed twicesecond time under Ney.

Inaction of Russians-probable effect of attack on their part-cannonade, forty guns to six-calmness of Ney-effect upon minds of men. At nightfall Ney gives order to retreat towards Smolensk [towards the heart of Russia]-order scarcely believed [horror and dread of French for Russia]-order repeated decisively. Plan of Ney :-Dnieper some distance on right-Ney reaches ravine-clears snow and finds rivulet:-Query, was this a tributary of Dnieper?-so it proves-Ney follows tributary to Dnieper-Dnieper (imperfectly) frozen over— floating ice stopped by bend of river, &c.-danger of passing-single file-(sad loss of some wagons with sick and wounded)-force reduced

to 1,500. Quarters in a Russian village:-comfort, food, clothes, warmth, rest-Ney regains Napoleon at Orcza-his safety despaired of -joy of Napoleon.

EXERCISE 62. [Work as No. 58.]

SCENE FROM THE "WRECK OF THE BRITAIN."

Five only left of all the shipwrecked throng,*
Let ride the mast which shoreward drives along;
With these Arion still his hold secures,

And all assaults of hostile waves endures;
O'er the dire prospect as for life he strives,
He looks if poor Palemon still survives-
"Ah!t wherefore, trusting to unequal‡ art,
Didst thou, incautious! from the wreck depart ?
Alas! these rocks all human skill defy;
Who strikes them once, beyond relief must die;
And now sore wounded, thou perhaps art tost
On these, or in some oozy cavern lost!"
Thus thought Arion; anxious gazing round
In vain, his eyes no more Palemon found:
The demons§ of destruction hover nigh,

And thick their mortal shafts commission'd fly;
When now a breaking surge, with forceful sway,
Two, next Arion, furious tears away:

Hurled on the crags, behold they gasp, they bleed!
And groaning, cling upon the elusive weed;

Another billow bursts in boundless roar!
Arion sinks and Memory|| views no more.

Two with Arion yet the mast upbore,
That now above the ridges reached the shore:
Still trembling to descend, they downward gaze
With horror pale, and torpid with amaze.
The floods recoil! the ground appears below!
And life's faint embers now rekindling glow;
Awhile they wait the exhausted wave's retreat,

Then climb slow up the beach with hands and feet.

* The "Britain" is supposed by the poet to have gone to pieces off Cape Colonna in Greece. The student may introduce the piece by a few sentences explaining this. The apostrophe, or address to an imaginary or absent person, must not be used in prose. Express the thoughts of Arion in the simplest and most direct way. "Unequal art," i.e. he had relied upon his skill in swimming, but apparently had perished. "Demons of destruction" and their " mortal shafts" have no place in prose. Express the facts without ornamental language. || i.e. the memory or imagination of the writer.

EXERCISE 63.

EUSTACE DE SAINT-PIERRE.

Outline and hints:

Siege of Calais by Edward III. Count Vienne governor of Calais. Gallant efforts of citizens. New walls raised in place of those battered down, &c. Famine in Calais-straits of citizens-even boiled leather eaten. Sortie, under the governor; unsuccessful-the governor defeated and

captured. Eustace de Saint-Pierre takes his place. Capitulation. Edward requires six citizens to be surrendered for death.

Dismay of citizens: unwillingness to surrender any to death. Eustace de Saint-Pierre volunteers-his speech-followed by four others: the sixth chosen by lot from many volunteers. Edward's sternness : the six saved by intercession of Queen Philippa.

EXERCISE 64.

THE GREATNESS OF ROME.

Draw from the following passage a description of the features of character which marked Rome in her age of truest greatness.

Hence, when their country raised her plaintive* voice,
The voice of pleading Nature was not heard;

And in their hearts the Fatherst throbbed no more;
Stern to themselves, but gentle to the whole.
Hence sweetened Pain, the luxury of Toil;
Patience, that baffled Fortune's utmost rage;
High-minded Hope, which at the lowest ebb,
When Brennus conquered, and when Cannæ bled,
The bravest impulse felt, and scorned despair.‡
Hence Moderation a new conquest gained;
And on the vanquished, § like descending Heaven,
Their dewy mercy dropped,§ their bounty beam'd,
And by the labouring band were crowns bestow'd.
Fruitful of men, hence hard laborious life,
Which no fatigue can quell, no season¶ pierce.
Hence Independence, with his little pleas'd,
Serene and self-sufficient like a god;

In whom corruption could not lodge one charm,
While he his honest roots** to gold preferred;
While, truly rich, and by his Sabine field
The man maintain'd, the Roman's splendour all
Was in the public wealth and glory plac'd :++
Ortt ready, a rough swain, to guide the plough ;
Or else, the purple§§ o'er his shoulder thrown
In long majestic flow, to rule the state,
With Wisdom's purest eye; or, clad in steel,
To drive the steady battle on the foe.

(Thomson, Liberty.)

i.e. telling of danger-but the epithet is scarcely appropriate. † Query, the Father? i.e. the spirit of the father. It was after the terrible defeat of Cannae, that the Senate thanked Varro for not having despaired of the Commonwealth. There is here a reminiscence of two famous passages-Virgil's "Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos" (Aen. vi. 853), and Shakspeare's well-known lines on Mercy (Merchant of V., Act iv. sc. 1). But the Romans were not always merciful to the vanquished. This refers to the various crowns given to citizens for particular feats and services. i.e. of the year. **Referring to the story of Curius sitting roasting his turnips, when the ambassadors of the Samnites came to offer him gold. + Taken from Hor. Od. ii. 15, 13:

"Privatus illis census erat brevis

Commune magnum .

.e. either. §§ The toga praetexta; which, however, was not wholly purple, but bordered with it.