To fit the expression to the thought on every
occasion is the perfection of style. If Franklin had been a weak, foolish
writer, his sentence might have taken this form:--
"Not having been previously provided with a satchel or other receptacle for
my personal effects, my pockets, which were employed as a substitute, were
protruding conspicuously with extra underclothing."
Compare this sentence with Franklin's and point out the faults you see in
the substitute. Can you find anything in the meaning of _provided_ that
makes previously unnecessary? Do you now understand what Lowell meant when,
in praise of Dryden, he said, "His phrase is always a short cut to his
sense"?
TO THE TEACHER.--What is here taught of the paragraph and of style will
probably not be mastered at one reading. It will be found necessary to
return to it occasionally, and to refer pupils to it for aid in their
composition work.
SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPOSITION WORK.
TO THE TEACHER.--We suggest that the pupils reproduce from memory the
extract above, and that other selections of narrative be found in the
Readers or elsewhere and studied as above.
The pupils may be able to note to what extent the narrative follows the
order of time and to what extent it is topical.
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