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LESSON 159.
PARAGRAPHS AND THE THEME.
+Direction.+—Weave these facts into as many paragraphs as you think there should be, using the variety of expression insisted on in Lesson 150, and write on the margin of each paragraph the special topic, and over the whole the general subject of the theme:—
Fort Ticonderoga on a peninsula. Formed by the outlet of Lake George and by Lake Champlain. Fronts south; water on three sides. Separated by Lake Champlain from Mount Independence, and by the outlet, from Mount Defiance. Fort one hundred feet above the water. May 7, 1775, two hundred and seventy men meet at Castleton, Vermont. All but forty-six, Green Mountain boys. Meet to plan and execute an attack upon Fort T. Allen and Arnold there. Each claims the command. Question left to the officers. Allen chosen. On evening of the 9th, they reach the lake. Difficulty in crossing. Send for a scow. Seize a boat at anchor. Search, and find small row boats. Only eighty-three able to cross. Day is dawning when these reach the shore. Not prudent to wait. Allen orders all who will follow him to poise their firelocks. Every man responds. Nathan Beman, a lad, guides them to the fort. Sentinel snaps his gun at A. Misses fire. Sentinel retreats. They follow. Rush upon the parade ground. Form. Loud cheer. A. climbs the stairs. Orders La Place, it is said, in the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental Congress, to surrender. Capture forty-eight men. One hundred and twenty cannon. Used next winter at the siege of Boston. Several swords and howitzers, small arms, and ammunition.
+Direction+.—These facts are thrown together promiscuously. Classify them as they seem to you to be related. Determine the number of paragraphs and their order, and then do as directed above:—
Joseph was Jacob's favorite. Wore fine garments. One day was sent to inquire after the other sons. They were at a distance, tending the flocks. Joseph used to dream. They saw him coming. Plotted to kill him. In one dream his brothers' sheaves bowed to his. In another the sun, moon, and stars bowed to him. Plotted to throw his body into a pit. Agreed to report to their father that some beast had devoured Joseph. Joseph foolishly told these to his brothers. Hated him because of the dreams and their father's partiality. While the brothers were eating, Ishmaelites approached. They sat down to eat. Were going down into Egypt. Camels loaded with spices. At the intercession of Reuben they did not kill Joseph. Threw him alive into a pit. Ishmaelites took him down into Egypt. Sold him to Potiphar. Judah advised that he be raised from the pit. Jacob recognized the coat. Refused comfort. Rent his clothes and put on sackcloth. They took his coat. Killed a kid and dipped the coat in its blood. Brought it to Jacob. "This have we found; know now whether it be thy son's coat or no."
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