BEING
A Standard Work on Composition
and Oratory
CONTAINING
RULES FOR EXPRESSING WRITTEN THOUGHT IN A CORRECT AND ELEGANT
MANNER; MODEL SELECTIONS FROM THE MOST FAMOUS AUTHORS;
SUBJECTS FOR COMPOSITIONS AND HOW TO TREAT THEM; USE
OF ILLUSTRATIONS; DESCRIPTIVE, PATHETIC AND
HUMOROUS WRITINGS, ETC., ETC.
TOGETHER WITH A
Peerless Collection of Readings and Recitations,
Including Programmes for Special
Occasions
FROM AUTHORS OF WORLD-WIDE RENOWN, FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, ACADEMIES,
COLLEGES, LODGES, SUNDAY-SCHOOL AND
SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENTS
THE WHOLE FORMING AN
UNRIVALED SELF-EDUCATOR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
by Henry Davenport Northrop
Author of “Delsarte Manual of Oratory,” “Golden Gleanings of Poetry, Prose and Song,” etc., etc.
Embellished with a Galaxy of Charming Engravings
NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO.
239, 241, 243 South American St.
Philadelphia
ENTERED ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1901, BY
D. Z. HOWELL
IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON, D. C., U. S. A.
Millions of young people in America are being educated, and hencethere is a very great demand for a Standard Work showing how toexpress written thought in the most elegant manner and how toread and recite in a way that insures the greatest success. To meet thisenormous demand is the aim of this volume.
Part I.—How to Write a Composition.—The treatment of this subject ismasterly and thorough, and is so fascinating that the study becomes a delight.Rules and examples are furnished for the right choice of words, for constructingsentences, for punctuation, for acquiring an elegant style of composition, forwriting essays and letters, what authors should be read, etc. The directionsgiven are all right to the point and are easily put into practice.
The work contains a complete list of synonyms, or words of similar meaning,and more than 500 choice subjects for compositions, which are admirably suitedto persons of all ages. These are followed by a charming collection of Masterpiecesof Composition by such world-renowned authors as Emerson, Hawthorne,George Eliot, Lord Macaulay, Washington Irving, C. H. Spurgeon, Sarah J.Lippincott, Mrs. Stowe and many others.
These grand specimens of composition bear the stamp of the most brilliantgenius. They are very suggestive and helpful. They inspire the reader to thenoblest efforts, and teach the truth of Bulwer Lytton’s well-known saying that“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
Part II.—Readings and Recitations.—The second part of this incomparablework is no less valuable, and a candid perusal will convince you that it containsthe largest and best collection of recitations ever brought together in onevolume. These are of every variety and description. Be careful to notice thatevery one of these selections, which are from the writings of the world’s bestauthors, is especially adapted for reading and reciting. T