(126) This letter was as follows: 30 Washington Street, Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 3, 1901. (12 c) MY DEAR FRANCIS, With this letter I send you a copy of the paper which I read the other night before the Patrick Henry Club, and also a copy of the resolutions passed by the club. In these, you will notice, I am required, as a compliment () to myself, to print at my own expense ten copies of the paper. Your sincere friend, PERCY JONES. In (12 a) the omission from the superscription of all punctuation except the periods after abbreviated words is in accordance with the best incdern usage. The same reasons that justify the omission of marks of punctuation from the title of the essay hold good here. In (126) the commas indicate, in each case, an ellipsis. Similar cases of ellipsis occur in superscriptions; but in such instances, as we have seen, custom dispenses with commas. When the local address and the date are written on one line, as they often are, commas are especially needed as a means of separating the several details from one another. The period after "1901 " in (12b) is used to separate the date from the body of the letter. In (12 c) the comma after "Francis" serves to separate the phrase "My dear Francis" from the body of the letter, that after "friend" to separate the writer's expression of regard from his name. The exclamation-point in parenthesis [(!)] calls attention to the word "compliment," and indicates that this word is to be taken in a humorous, or Pickwickian, sense. It may be regarded as the written equivalent of a wirk or a shrug. (13 a) The other let ter was addressed to John J. Percival, Esq. Colonial School Bolton Massachusetts (13) This letter ran 8 Jefferson Court, MY DEAR SIR: The Patrick Henry Club directs me to send to you, as one of its former presidents, a copy of a paper which was read at the last meeting of the club. I take great pleasure in enclosing it, and beg you to believe me, sir, Faithfully yours, T. TUCKER, John J. Percival, Esq. In (13 a) the comma in the first line of the address is used to separate Mr. Percival's name from his title. In (13 b) the colon after "Sir " separates the phrase "My dear Sir" from the body of the letter in a more formal manner than a comma would do. The "sir" at the end of the letter is set off by commas because it is a vocative expression. Summary. The period is used to mark the end of a declarative sentence or of an abbreviated word. The comma is used to separate two words or phrases that are of the same kind or that are in apposition with each other, to separate two clauses, to set off a parenthetical expression from the rest of the sentence, to separate an explanatory relative clause from its antecedent, and to show that a phrase or a clause is not in its natural position. The semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses, especially when either of them is broken by commas. The colon is used between a general phrase and the particulars which the phrase sums up, and between two members of a sentence if either member is composed of clauses separated by semicolons. Dashes (one or two) are used to set off a parenthetical expression, especially if such an expression is broken by one or more commas, and to emphasize repetitions and interruptions. Marks of parenthesis are used to set off a parenthetical expression more decidedly than commas or dashes would set it off. Brackets are used to enclose words that are not in the original text but that are added or substituted by the transcriber or the editor. The exclamation-point is used to indicate an ejaculatory expression, and to call attention to a word. The interrogation-point is used to indicate a question. Quotation-marks are used to indicate a direct quotation, and to mark the name of a book or a newspaper that is not distinguished in any other way. The apostrophe is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters, to denote the possessive case, and to form the plural of a letter, of a figure, or of a word that is treated merely as a word. The hyphen is used to join the constituent parts of a compound word, and to divide a word at the end of a line. EXERCISE VI Explain the several marks of punctuation in the comments on "Our Picnic at Walden." EXERCISE VII Give the meaning of each sentence in the two forms suggested: Now 3. Now, a convicted thief.1 berries are free of duty.1 how are the Indians provided for? (Chinese, who is in every respect fit for citizenship, 4. The {Chinese who is in every respect fit for citizenship Italian, who is absolutely unfit, is admitted. is excluded; but the Italian who is absolutely unfit 1 This example is taken from Theodore Low De Vinne's "Practice of 5. Second, That no sale of spirituous or intoxicating liquor shall be made between the hours of twelve at night and six in the morning; nor during the Lord's day, except that, if the licensee is morning, nor also licensed as an innholder, he may supply such liquor to guests who have resorted to his house for food or lodging.1 EXERCISE VIII Make the meaning of each sentence clear by such changes or additions in punctuation as are necessary: 1. He has suffered less, but he has suffered before trial; and not after it. 2. Since paternal authority was without appeal, in those days, I sadly withdrew. 3. They had been destined, before heaven and earth were created to enjoy a felicity which should continue when heaven and earth should have passed away. 4. The happiness of the dead however is affected by none of these considerations.2 5. What do you think I'll shave you for nothing.2 6. To the Father of lights in whom there is no darkness are we indebted for all the blessings we enjoy.2 7. The policy of the Dutch, who cut down most of the precious trees in the Spice Islands, in order to raise the value of what remained, was a policy which poets would do well to imitate. 8. He had formed parties to visit the grounds, at least, twice every summer for the last ten years. 9. A man came slowly forth from the stately house to sun himself in the comfortable shelter of the high garden walls. Looking the while, with the pensive resignation of old age, at the goodly, widespreading prospect. 1 This example comes from the "semicolon law," as printed in the Massachusetts Revised Statutes, Vol. 177, p. 222. By the accidental substitution of a semicolon for a comma, the meaning was changed in a way that led to litigation. 2 This example is taken from John Wilson's "Treatise on English Punctuation." CHAPTER III LETTER-WRITING EVERY one who can handle a pen should learn as early as possible the best usage in letter-writing, and should by constant practice acquire facility in the use of his knowledge. Letters connect themselves so closely with everyday life that they may well serve as first steps in composition. Familiar Letters. The letters that most nearly resemble conversation are those which pass between relatives or friends. They should be, and at their best always are, talks with the pen. It The style of a familiar letter is, to a great extent, determined by the individuality of the writer and the degree of sympathy between him and the person written to. may range from the "little language" of Swift's journal to Stella, or the whimsical turns of expression in Stevenson's playful notes, to the careful diction of Cowper's or of Matthew Arnold's serious letters; but it should never be slovenly or illiterate on the one hand, or pompous and bookish on the other. In general, a familiar letter "should be possible but from its sender to its recipient." "I find your letters always you," writes Mrs. Oliphant to her nephew, "which is the very best thing letters can be." To exemplify the numerous varieties of familiar letters is impossible here. All that can be done is to print a few short notes written in accordance with the best usage in point of form. One was sent by Lowell, with some verses, to Miss Evelyn Smalley on her birthday : |