Long before the sound of the starting-gun can be heard up the river, the life and energy which has been checked is released.
II. Rewrite the following, changing the similes and metaphors to plain language. Notice how much the paragraph loses in force.
Isn't he grand, the captain, as he comes forward like lightning, stroke after stroke? As the space narrows, the fiery little cockswain's eyes flash with excitement.
Exercise 58.—Rewrite the following, using two or more similes or metaphors:—
The first snow came. It covered the brown fields and green meadows. It protected the roots of the plants hidden under it. It was very white and clean. It covered the bushes and trees and fences with a soft white covering.
Exercise 59.—Write sentences comparing the descent of an eagle upon its prey to the fall of a thunderbolt; the falling of rain to weeping; a cheerful face to a sunbeam; the loss of hope to the setting of the sun; a modest little girl to a violet; a sailing vessel to a bird; dandelions to pieces of gold; a good book to a friend; a burst of anger to a storm; old age to sunset.
Exercise 60.—Write a paragraph describing something you have seen in nature,—a brook, a meadow where cattle are grazing, a field of daisies, a waterfall, or anything else you may choose. Try to use at least one metaphor or simile.
22. Mistakes in the Use of Words.—Let us now consider the principal errors which we are likely to make with regard to words.
23. Spelling.—If our letters corresponded exactly to our English sounds, we could all spell fairly well, because we could use the symbols that answered to our pronunciation. But our letters do not agree well with our sounds; and there are many oddities and inconsistencies which cause the young student a great deal of trouble. Many plans have been proposed for simplifying our spelling, and it is to be hoped that eventually some wise scheme will be generally adopted, but that is not likely to come to pass for many years, and in the meantime we must follow the established custom. If we do not learn to spell in this way, we run the risk of being thought unintelligent and uneducated. As a matter of fact, however, students of your age are already over the worst of their troubles in this respect. All they have to do is to pay careful attention to the form of words as they read, and to keep a list of the words which they spell incorrectly in their own compositions, making sure that they do not make the same mistake a second time.
A set of rules which will be of service to you will be found in the Appendix.