When his men had thus indemnified themselves, in some degree, for their late reverses, Cortes called them again under their banners; and, after offering up a grateful acknowledgment to the Lord of Hosts for their miraculous preservation, they renewed their march across the now deserted valley.
The principal clauses in a compound sentence may also be separated by a comma, provided that a coördinate conjunction is present.
It was a moonlight night, and the fresh north wind rustled solemnly in the palm trees.
We examined their sculptures by the aid of torches, and our Arab attendants kindled large fires of dry corn-stalks, which cast a strong red light on the walls.
The forehead and nose approach the Greek standard, but the mouth is more roundly and delicately carved, and the chin and cheeks are fuller.
When a coördinate conjunction is not present, it is incorrect to separate such clauses by a comma. See § 6.
When a coördinate conjunction is present, and the choice lies between a comma and a semicolon, the semicolon is to be used:—
(a) When the writer wishes the break or separation between the principal clauses to be emphatic.
(b) When the principal clauses are long and already divided into their parts by commas.