+The Uses of Words and Groups of Words+.—Break up sentence 1, paragraph 1, into three distinct sentences, and tell what changes this will make in capitals and punctuation. Do the same for 2. Which read more closely together, and are more closely connected, the parts of 2, or of 1? How is this shown to the eye? Analyze the first two sentences you made from 1. Find two object complements of knew, one a noun and the other a group of five words. Find in 2 a phrase whose principal part is made up of three nouns. What have you learned about the commas used with these nouns? In making separate sentences of 3 what words do you change or drop? Are these the words that bind the parts of 3 together? What noun is used adverbially after gave? Supply a preposition and then tell what phrases modify gave. Find the object complement of gave. What modifies refused by telling when? What, by telling why?
In 1, paragraph 2, who is described as gazing about? What does gazing about modify? Read the group of words that tells how far or how long Franklin walked up the street. Notice that this whole group is used like an adverb. Find in it a subject, a predicate, and an object complement. Drop till and see whether the parts of 1 make separate sentences. What word, then, binds these two sentences into one? Read 2 and make of it three distinct sentences by omitting the first and and the word but. The second of these three sentences just made contains several sentences which are not so easily separated, as some are used like single words to make up the main, or principal, sentence. In this second part of 2 find the leading subject and its two predicates. Find a phrase belonging to I and representing Franklin as doing something. Put what after inquiring and find the object complement. What phrase belongs to went, telling where? He directed me to (whom) belongs to what? Who is represented as intending? Intending such as we had in Boston belongs to what? As we had in Boston goes with what? Notice that it seems is a sentence thrown in loosely between the parts of another sentence. Such expressions are said to be parenthetical. Notice the punctuation.
Notice that gazing, inquiring, intending, considering, knowing, and having are all modifiers of I found in the different sentences of paragraph 2. Put I before any one of these words, and you will see that no assertion is made. These words illustrate one form of the verb (the participle), and look in 1, paragraph 1, illustrates the other form (the infinitive), spoken of in Lesson 11 as not asserting. Change each of these participles to a predicate, or asserting form, and then read the sentences in which these predicates are found. You will notice that giving these words the asserting form makes them more prominent and forcible—brings them up to a level with the other predicate verbs. Participles are very useful in slurring over the less important actions that the more important may have prominence. Show that they are so used in Franklin's narrative.
Examine the phrase with a roll under each arm, and eating the other, and see if you do not find an illustration of the fact that even great men sometimes make slips. Does other properly mean one of three things? Try to improve this expression.
+The Grouping of Sentences into Paragraphs+.—The sentences above, as you see, stand in two groups. Those of each group are more closely related to one another than they are to the sentences of the other group. Do you see how? In studying this short selection you may find the general topic, or heading, to be something like this: My First Experiences in Philadelphia. Now examine the first group of sentences and see whether its topic might not be put thus: My Condition on Reaching Philadelphia. Then examine the sentences of the second group and see whether all will not come under this heading: How I Found Something to Eat. You see that even a short composition like this has a general topic with topics under it. As sub means under, we will call these under topics sub-topics. There are two groups of sentences in this selection because there are two distinct sub-topics developed. The sentences of each group stand together because they jointly develop one sub-topic.
A group of sentences related and held together by a common thought we call a +Paragraph+. How is the paragraph indicated to the eye? What help is it to the reader to have a composition paragraphed? What, to the writer to know that he must write in paragraphs?
+The Style of the Author+.—This selection is mainly +Narrative+. The matter is somewhat tame, and the expression is commonplace. The words are ordinary, and they stand in their usual place. Figures of speech are not used. Yet the piece has a charm. The thoughts are homely; the expression is in perfect keeping; the style is clear, simple, direct, and natural. The closing sentence is slightly humorous. Benjamin Franklin trudging along the street, hugging a great roll of bread under each arm, and eating a third roll, must have been a laughable sight.
Have you ever known boys and girls in writing school compositions, or reporters in writing for the newspapers, to use large words for small ideas, and long, high-sounding phrases and sentences for plain, simple thoughts? Have you ever seen what could be neatly said in three or four lines "padded out" to fill a page of composition paper or a column in a newspaper?
When Franklin said. "My pockets were stuffed out with shirts and stockings," he said a homely thing in a homely way; that is, he fitted the language to the thought. 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."