"Those who doubly pleasant to those who [that] labor." [that] persevere, succeed." "To be overlooked, slighted, and neglected; to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and slandered; to be trampled under foot by the envious, the ignorant, and the vile; to be crushed by foes, and to be distrusted and betrayed even by friends-such is too often the fate of genius." "She is tall, though not so handsome as her sister." "Verily, verily, I say unto you." “Whatever is, is right." "What is foreordained to be, will be." "The Emperor Augustus was a patron of the fine arts." "Augustus, the Emperor, was a patron of the fine arts." "United, we stand; divided, we fall." "God said, Let there be light." "July 21, "6 1881." President Garfield was shot, Saturday morning, July 2, 1881; he died, Monday night, Sept. 19, 1881." "I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, John Jones." "New York, August, 1881." "Room 20, Equitable Building, Broadway, New York." "When you are in doubt as to the propriety of inserting commas, omit them; IT IS BETTER TO HAVE TOO FEW THAN TOO MANY."-Quackenbos. THE SEMICOLON.-Reasons are preceded by semicolons: “Economy is no disgrace; for it is better to live on a little than to outlive a great deal." Clauses in opposition are separated by a semicolon when the second is introduced by an adversative: "Straws swim at the surface; but pearls lie at the bottom." "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight." Without the adversative, the colon is to be preferred: "Prosperity showeth vice: adversity, virtue." The great divisions of a sentence must be pointed with a semicolon when the minor divisions are pointed with commas: "Mirth should be the embroidery of conversation, not the web; and wit the ornament of the mind, not the furniture." The things enumerated must be separated by semicolons when the enunciation of particulars is preceded by a colon: "The value of a maxim depends on four things: the correctness of the principle it embodies; the subject to which it relates; the extent of its application; and the ease with which it may be practically carried out." When as introduces an example, it is preceded by a semicolon. When several successive clauses have a common connection with a preceding or following clause, they are separated by semicolons; as, "Children, as they gamboled on the beach; reapers, as they gathered the harvest; mowers, as they rested from using the scythe; mothers, as they busied themselves about the household-were victims to an enemy who [that] disappeared the moment a blow was struck." "Reason as we may, it is impossible not to read in such a fate much that we know not how to interpret; much of provocation to cruel deeds and deep resentment; much of apology for wrong and perfidy; much of doubt and misgiving as to the past; much of painful recollection; much of dark foreboding." Philosophers assert that Nature is unlimited; that her treasures are endless; that the increase of knowledge will never cease.' " THE COLON.-This point is less used now than formerly: its place is supplied by the period, the semicolon, or the dash; and sometimes even by the comma. The colon is used very differently by different writers. "He was heard to say, 'I have done with this world.'' Some writers would put a colon, some a comma, after say. "When the quoted passage is brought in without any introductory word, if short,” says Quackenbos, “it is generally preceded by a comma; if long, by a colon; as, ‘A simpleton, meeting a philosopher, asked him, “What affords wise men the greatest pleasure?" Turning on his heel, the sage replied, "To get rid of fools."'" Formal enumerations of particulars, and direct quotations, when introduced by such phrases as in these words, as follows, the following, namely, this, these, thus, etc., are properly preceded by a colon. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." "Lord Bacon has summed up the whole matter in the following words: 'A little philosophy inclineth men's minds to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds to religion."""The human family is composed of five races: first, the Caucasian; second, the Mongolian; third, the," etc. "All were attentive to the godlike man, When from his lofty couch he thus began: 'Great queen,'" etc.-Dryden. When the quotation, or other matter, begins a new paragraph, the colon is, by many writers, followed with a dash; as "The cloth being removed, the President rose and said : "Ladies and gentlemen, we are,' etc. The colon is used to mark the greater breaks in sentences when the lesser breaks are marked by semicolons. "You have called yourself an atom in the universe; you have said that you are but an insect in the solar blaze: is your present pride consistent with these professions?” “A clause is either independent or dependent: independent, if it forms an assertion by itself; dependent, if it enters into some other clause with the value of a part of speech." A colon is sometimes used instead of a period to separate two short sentences that are closely connected. "Never flatter people: leave that to such as mean to betray thein." "Some things we can, and others we can not do: we can walk, but we can not fly." THE PERIOD.-Complete sentences are always followed either by a period, or by an exclamation or an interrogation point.* The period is also used after abbreviations; as, R. D. Van Nostrand, St. Louis, Mo.; Jno. B. Morris, M. D., F. R. S., London, Eng.; Jas. W. Wallack, Jr., New York City, N. Y.; Jas. B. Roberts, Elocutionist, Phila., Pa. 646 INTERROGATION POINT.-This point is used after questions put by the writer, and after questions reported directly. "What can I do for you?" "Where are you going?" 'What do you say?' cried the General." "The child still lives?" It should not be used when the question is reported indirectly. "He asked me where I was going." "The Judge asked the witness if he believed the man to be guilty." EXCLAMATION POINT.-This mark is placed after interjections, after sentences and clauses of sentences of passionate import, and after solemn invocations and addresses. "Zounds! the man's in earnest." "Pshaw! what can we do?" "Bah! what's that to me?" "Indeed! then I must look to it." 66 Look, my lord, it comes!" Rest, rest, perturbed spirit!" "O heat, dry up my brains!" 'Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia !" “While in this part of the country, I once more revisited—and, alas, with what melancholy presentiments!—the home of my youth.” “O rose of May!" “Oh, from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!” "O heavens! die two months ago, and not forgotten yet?" * The only exception to this rule is the occasional use of the colon to separate two short sentences that are closely connected. 66 Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, Her leaden scepter o'er a slumbering world. Hail, holy light! offspring of heaven just born!" "But thou, O Hope! with eyes so fair, Milton. What was thy delighted measure?"-Collins. It will be observed that the interjection O is an exception to the rule: it is often followed by a comma, but never by an exclamation point. An exclamation point sometimes gives the same words quite another meaning. The difference between "What's that?" and "What's that!" is obvious. THE DASH.-Cobbett did not favor the use of this mark, as we see from the following: "Let me caution you against the use of what, by some, is called the dash. The dash is a stroke along the line; thus, 'I am rich-I was poor-I shall be poor again.' This is wild work indeed! Who is to know what is intended by these dashes? Those who [that] have thought proper, like Mr. Lindley Murray, to place the dash among the grammatical points, ought to give us some rule relative to its different longitudinal dimensions in different cases. The inch, the three-quarter inch, the half inch, the quarter inch: these would be something determinate; but 'the dash,' without measure, must be a perilous thing for the young grammarian to handle. In short, the dash' is a cover for ignorance as to the use of points, and it can answer no other purpose." This is one of the few instances in which Cobbett was wrong. The dash is the proper point with which to mark an unexpected or emphatic pause, or a sudden break or |