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Title: Hand-book of punctuation : with instructions for capitalization, letter-writing, and proof-reading
Author: Cocker, W. J.
Language: English
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HAND-BOOK
OF
PUNCTUATION,
WITH INSTRUCTIONS FOR
CAPITALIZATION, LETTER-WRITING,
AND
PROOF-READING,
BY
W. J. COCKER, A. M.
[Illustration]
A. S. BARNES & CO.,
NEW YORK, CHICAGO, AND NEW ORLEANS.
1878.
Copyright, 1878, by W. J. Cocker.
PREFACE.
As the pronunciation of words is determined by the usage of the best
speakers, so, in a great measure, the punctuation of sentences is based
on the usage of the best writers. Recognizing this fact, the author has
aimed,—
1. To state such general rules as are recognized by most writers of good
English.
2. To illustrate these rules by examples taken from many of our best
English classics.
3. To give some of the differences in usage that exist even among the
best of writers.
It is frequently asserted that even good writers differ so much in
their use of punctuation marks that it is impossible to lay down any
general rules, and that it is better for each one to consult his own
taste and judgment. With equal reason it might be said that inasmuch as
good speakers, and even lexicographers, differ in the pronunciation of
words, therefore each speaker should make his own taste and judgment the
standard for correct pronunciation. A writer’s mode of expressing his
thoughts will determine the character and number of the punctuation marks
that he uses, and it is chiefly owing to this that even good writers
differ somewhat in punctuating what they have written. There are some
rules that are invariable under all circumstances; the use of others
depends on the mental characteristics of the writer; and there are still
other rules, the application of which is determined by the writer’s taste
alone.
By gestures, tones of voice, oratorical pauses, emphasis, and in various
ways, a speaker can make his meaning clear to his listeners; and so a
writer should certainly use all the aids which punctuation, capitals,
and italics afford, in presenting clearly what he has written for the
perusal of others. Business men, however, seem to think that they are not
amenable to the rules that govern good writers. They affirm that they
have no time to punctuate their letters, and yet they subject others to
the necessity of expending time and patience in trying to make out their
meaning. Serious misunderstandings have arisen between business men, in
consequence of the omission or incorrect use of punctuation marks, and
expensive lawsuits have originated in the careless punctuation of legal
instruments.
Very little attention is paid in our public schools to punctuation, and
the rules usually given in English Composition are either disregarded
or not properly understood. This may, perhaps, be accounted for by the
fact that the rules are wanting in clearness, and are not sufficiently
illustrated by examples. The aim of this volume is to remedy, in some
measure, these evils, and to secure more attention to what ought to be a
prominent part of school instruction. The evils of bad punctuation are
really more serious than the evils of bad spelling, and no student can be
said to have learned to read well, much less to write well, who has not
studied punctuation intelligently.
We would suggest that this hand-book be used at Rhetorical Exercises,
and that when essays, orations, criticisms, &c., are handed to the
teacher for correction, he should use a red or a blue pencil, so that
corrections may be the more readily recognized. Besides the corrections
in grammar, spelling, &c., he should be careful to supply punctuation
marks when needed, cross out needless ones, and, of course, make such
other corrections as may be necessary. When the productions are returned
to the pupils, the teacher should first point out the necessity of using
certain marks, in order to define and bring out the meaning, and to show
the relation between the different members of a sentence. Having thus
shown the need of punctuation marks, then reference should be made to
some of the simpler rules, to impress this need on the mind. Great care
should be taken not to perplex the mind with too many rules before the
necessity is created for their use. The great difficulty in the study
of punctuation has been that many rules are committed to memory before
the need of their use has arisen, so that the mind is perplexed and
bewildered instead of enlightened. The rule, it must be remembered, does
not create the necessity; the necessity creates the rule. Then, again,
we think a great mistake is made by having the beginner punctuate what
some one else has written. The better plan is for the pupil, at the very
outset, to punctuate what he himself has composed, and in his effort to
bring out his own meaning clearly, he will, with the aid of a few rules,
almost intuitively fall into the habit of punctuating correctly.
The following suggestions may be of service:—
1. Do not give a pupil a rule to learn, unless it is clearly founded upon
examples taken from what he himself has written.
2. Take, at first, the simplest, most frequently used, and most readily
understood rules.
3. Advance slowly, remembering that a few simple principles clearly
understood, are of much more practical benefit than a number of misty
rules hastily committed to memory.
In the preparation of this hand-book, the author is under obligations
to various authorities, but he is more especially indebted to Wilson’s
“Treatise on Punctuation.”
W. J. COCKER.
ADRIAN, Mich., Dec. 26, 1877.
[Illustration]
Table of Contents.
I. PUNCTUATION pp. 1-53
II. CAPITALS ” 54-70
III. LETTER-FORMS ” 71-100
IV. PROOF-READING ” 101-114
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Punctuation.]
Introduction.
The principal punctuation marks are,—
1. The Comma ,
2. The Semicolon ;
3. The Colon :
4. The Period .
The comma indicates a somewhat close relationship between the parts of a
sentence; the semicolon, a more distant relationship; the colon indicates
that the parts are almost independent of each other; the period marks the
close of a sentence, and indicates that a thought is complete.
In simple sentences, when the words are closely united together, and
the relationship of the words to each other is readily perceived, there
is usually no need of any punctuation marks, except a period at the
close. It should always be borne in mind that punctuation marks are
used primarily to assist in bringing out the meaning of the writer, and
not to embellish a written or a printed page. In sentences made up of
parts that are closely related to each other, but, at the same time,
distinct in character, commas should be used. They are way-marks for the
accommodation of the reader. A production unpunctuated presents as dreary
a prospect to the reader, as the level plain of Chaldæa presents to the
perplexed traveler who has lost himself among the sandy mounds on the
banks of the Euphrates, and has nothing by which to direct his course.
When the different parts of a sentence are somewhat disconnected, and
not closely related to each other, a semicolon or colon should be used.
Sentences are sometimes very long and complicated. It is then necessary
to separate the main divisions by semicolons, and the smaller by commas.
Sometimes the smaller parts of a sentence are separated by commas and
semicolons, and the main divisions by colons.
The other marks in use are,—
1. The Interrogation Point ?
2. The Exclamation Point !
3. The Dash —
4. Marks of Parenthesis ( )
5. Brackets [ ]
6. Quotation Marks “ ‘ ’ ”
7. The Apostrophe ’
8. The Hyphen -
9. Miscellaneous marks.
THE COMMA.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.
In order to properly understand some of the rules that are given in the
following pages, it is absolutely necessary to have a clear understanding
of the difference between a sentence and a clause. A sentence is a
combination of words expressing a complete thought, and usually followed
by a period; a clause is a distinct part of a sentence. Some sentences
are simple in form, and have but one subject and one finite verb; as,
“Language is part of a man’s character.”—_Coleridge._ Other sentences
are made up of clauses, each clause having a subject and a verb; in
other words, several clauses are sometimes joined together to form one
sentence; as, “New forms of beauty start at once into existence, and all
the burial places of the memory give up their dead.”—_Macaulay._ It will
be easily seen that clauses will be more readily recognized with the eye,
and more easily comprehended, if they are separated from each other by
punctuation marks. This will be especially so, if the clauses are long.
In preparing this hand-book, the aim has been to avoid, as much as
possible, the use of technical terms. Whenever such terms are used,
explanations will usually be found under the head of _Remarks_.
RULE I. _Independent Clauses._—Independent clauses should be separated
from each other by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Savage was discomposed by the intrusion or omission of a comma, and
he would lament an error of a single letter as a great calamity.”—_Dr.
Johnson._
“Man wants but little here below,
Nor wants that little long.”—_Goldsmith._
“Take short views, hope for the best, and trust in God.”—_Sydney Smith._
REMARKS.
1. An independent clause is one that is not dependent on any other clause
for the completion of its meaning; as, Take short views | hope for the
best | and trust in God. Independent clauses are frequently connected by
_and_, _or_, _nor_, _but_.
2. When the clauses are short and closely united, the comma may be
omitted; as, “Death had lost its terrors and pleasure its charms.”
3. When the clauses are long and divided into smaller portions by commas,
they should be separated from each other by semicolons. See Rule I. p. 23.
RULE II. _Dependent Clauses._—Dependent clauses should be separated from
each other by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he
will soon find himself left alone. A man, Sir, should keep his friendship
in constant repair.”—_Dr. Johnson._
“When Dr. Franklin wished to gain his enemy, he asked him to do him a
favor.”
“Clap an extinguisher upon your irony, if you are unhappily blest with a
vein of it.”—_Lamb._
“Although we seldom followed advice, we were all ready enough to ask
it.”—_Goldsmith._
REMARKS.
1. A clause is said to be dependent, when it depends on some other clause
to complete its meaning; as, When Dr. Johnson wished to gain his enemy |
he asked him to do him a favor. The first clause of this sentence would
not be complete in meaning without the second. Dependent clauses usually
commence with _if_, _when_, _since_, _because_, _until_, &c.
2. When clauses are closely connected, the comma may be omitted; as,
Mozart published some music when seven years of age.
RULE III. _Relative Clauses._—1. A relative clause should be separated
from the rest of the sentence by a comma.
2. But the comma should be omitted, when the relative clause is so
closely connected with what precedes that it cannot be dropped without
destroying the sense.
EXAMPLES.
1. “Men in a corner, who have the unhappiness of conversing too little
with present things.”—_Swift._
“The waters are nature’s storehouse, in which she locks up her
wonders.”—_Izaak Walton._
“He had on a coat made of that cloth called thunder-and-lightning, which,
though grown too short, was much too good to be thrown away.”—_Goldsmith._
2. “Althworthy here betook himself to those pleasing slumbers which
a heart that hungers after goodness is apt to enjoy when thoroughly
satisfied.”—_Fielding._
“A man who is good for making excuses is good for nothing else.”—_Dr.
Franklin._
“Like Cæsar, Cortes wrote his own commentaries in the heart of the
stirring scenes which form the subject of them.”—_Prescott._
REMARKS.
1. Relative clauses are generally introduced by the relative pronouns
_who_, _which_, _that_, or _what_.
2. A comma should be placed before the relative clause, even when it is
necessary to complete the meaning of the antecedent,—
_a._ When the relative is immediately followed by a word or an
expression inclosed in commas; as, “As a man, he may not have
deserved the admiration which he received from those, who,
bewitched by his fascinating society, worshiped him nightly in
his favorite temple at Button’s.”—_Macaulay._
_b._ When the relative has several antecedents that are
separated from each other by commas; as, “All those arts,
rarities, and inventions, which vulgar minds gaze at, the
ingenious pursue, and all admire, are but the relics of an
intellect defaced with sin and time.”—_South._
3. The words _of which_ are sometimes preceded by a comma, even when they
are necessary to complete the meaning of the antecedent: as, “His mind
was formed of those firm materials, of which nature formerly hammered
out the Stoic, and upon which the sorrows of no man living could make an
impression.”—_Fielding._
RULE IV. _Parenthetical Words and Phrases._ When single words and phrases
break the connection between closely related parts of a sentence, they
should usually be separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
1. Words used parenthetically,—
therefore,
indeed,
perhaps,
namely,
finally,
consequently,
however,
moreover,
nevertheless, &c.
2. Phrases used parenthetically,—
in short,
in truth,
of course,
in fact,
in a word,
you know,
in reality,
no doubt,
as it were, &c.
EXAMPLES.
1. “As an orator, indeed, he was not magnetic or inspiring.”—_G. W.
Curtis._
“There is, perhaps, no surer mark of folly, than to attempt to correct
the natural infirmities of those we love.”—_Fielding._
“There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a
virtue.”—_Burke._
2. “I had grown to my desk, as it were, and the wood had entered my
soul.”—_Lamb._
“In short, he is a memorable instance of what has been often observed,
that the boy is the man in miniature.”—_Boswell._
REMARKS.
1. Words and phrases are said to be used parenthetically, when they
obstruct, as it were, the flow of the sentence, and might be dropped
without destroying the sense.
2. Whenever parenthetical words and phrases readily coalesce with the
rest of the sentence, it is better to omit punctuation marks; as, “I am
therefore exceedingly unwilling that anything, however slight, which my
illustrious friend thought it worth while to express, with any degree of
point, should perish.”—_Boswell._
3. A distinction should be made between words used parenthetically, and
adverbs qualifying particular words; as, “And with learning was united a
mild and liberal spirit, too often wanting in the princely colleges of
Oxford.”—_Macaulay._
“That, too, has its eminent service.”—_Burke._
RULE V. _Parenthetical Expressions._—Expressions of a parenthetical
character should be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“She was tumbled early, by accident or design, into a spacious closet
of good old English reading, without much selection or prohibition, and
browsed at will upon that fair and wholesome pasturage.”—_Lamb._
“He [Sheridan] who, in less than thirty years afterward, held senates
enchained by his eloquence and audiences fascinated by his wit, was,
by common consent both of parent and preceptor, pronounced a most
impenetrable dunce.”—_Moore._
“It is clear that Addison’s serious attention, during his residence
at the university, was almost entirely concentrated on Latin
poetry.”—_Macaulay._
REMARKS.
1. A distinction should be made between parenthetical words and
parenthetical expressions.
_a._ Parenthetical words can be omitted without destroying the
sense. See examples under Rule IV.
_b._ Parenthetical expressions obstruct the flow of the
sentence, but can not be omitted without either destroying the
sense, or changing the meaning intended to be conveyed. See
examples given above.
2. When parenthetical expressions are short, or closely connected with
the rest of the sentence, it is better to omit punctuation marks.
3. Writers differ very much in omitting or using commas in parenthetical
expressions. It is sometimes immaterial whether punctuation marks are
used or not, but, in many cases, there are few rules so well adapted to
bring out the meaning of the writer.
RULE VI. _Inverted Expressions._—Expressions which are not in their
natural order, are frequently separated from the rest of the sentence by
a comma.
EXAMPLES.
“In everything that relates to science, I am a whole Encyclopædia behind
the rest of the world.”—_Lamb._
“In all unhappy marriages I have seen, the great cause of evil has
proceeded from slight occasions.”—_Steele._
REMARKS.
1. The natural order of the first sentence is, I am a whole Encyclopædia
behind the rest of the world in everything that relates to science.
2. When the inverted expression is closely connected with what follows,
the commas should be omitted; as,—
“Of Addison’s childhood we know little.”—_Macaulay._
“That inward man I love that’s lined with virtue.”—_Beaumont and
Fletcher._
RULE VII. _Short Quotations._—Short quotations should be separated from
what precedes by a comma.
EXAMPLES.
The Italians say, “Good company in a journey makes the way to seem
shorter.”
A writer in _Lippincott’s Magazine_ says, “It is the little courtesies
that make up the sum of a happy home.”
Schiller has said, “Men’s words are ever bolder than their deeds.”
REMARKS.
1. An expression resembling a quotation should be preceded by a comma;
as, “Therefore the question still returns, What is the First Principle of
all things?”
2. Quotations and general statements introduced by _that_ are frequently
preceded by a comma; as, “Tacitus says of Agricola, that he governed
his family, which many find to be a harder task than to govern a
province.”—_Arthur Helps._
3. When single words or a part of a sentence are quoted, a comma should
not be used; as, “His wife was a domesticated, kind-hearted old soul, who
had come with him ‘from the queen city of the world,’ which, it seemed,
was Philadelphia.”—_Dickens._
4. Quotation divided. “A man could not set his foot down,” says Cortes,
“unless on the corpse of an Indian.”—_Prescott._
5. When the quotation is a long one, it should be preceded by a colon.
RULE VIII. _Person or Thing Addressed._—The name of the person or thing
addressed, together with its modifying words, should be separated from
the rest of the sentence by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Now, Macaulay, when I am gone, you’ll be sorry that you never heard me
speak.”—_Sydney Smith._
“Why, Romeo, art thou mad?”—_Shakespeare._
“My lords, we are called upon, as members of this house, as men, as
Christians, to protest against such horrible barbarity!”—_Pitt._
REMARK.
When strong emotion is expressed, an exclamation point should be used;
as, “O Hamlet! thou hast cleft my heart in twain.”—_Shakespeare._
RULE IX. _Participial Clauses._—Participial clauses, having no
grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence, should be separated
from what follows, and, if they do not commence a sentence, from what
precedes, by commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Success being now hopeless, preparations were made for a
retreat.”—_Alison._
“Such being their general idea of the gods, we can now easily understand
the habitual tone of their feelings towards what was beautiful in
nature.”—_Ruskin._
REMARK.
_Being_ or _having been_ is usually the sign of a participial clause.
RULE X. _Verb Omitted._—When a verb, previously used, is omitted, a comma
usually takes its place.
EXAMPLES.
“Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle;
natural philosophy, deep; moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to
contend.”—_Bacon._
“Chaucer painted persons; Spenser, qualities.”
REMARKS.
1. When the comma takes the place of an omitted verb, the main clauses or
numbers should be separated by semicolons.
2. Sometimes a comma does not take the place of an omitted verb; as,
“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be
chewed and digested.”—_Bacon._
“Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact
man.”—_Bacon._
RULE XI. _Appositives._—A noun in apposition and its modifiers should be
separated by commas from the rest of the sentence.
EXAMPLES.
“When death, the great Reconciler, has come, it is never our tenderness
we repent of but our severity.”—_George Eliot._
“The exploits of Mercury himself, the god of cunning, may be easily
imagined to surpass everything achieved by profaner hands.”—_Leigh Hunt._
REMARKS.
1. An appositive is a word, placed by the side of some other word to
explain or characterize it.
2. The comma should be omitted,—
_a._ When two nouns without modifiers are in apposition; as,
Cicero the orator was born near Arpinum. If the sentence was,
Cicero, the greatest of Roman orators, was born near Arpinum,
commas would be necessary.
_b._ When a noun and a pronoun are in apposition; as, Mercury
himself surpassed everything achieved by profaner hands.
_c._ When two pronouns are in apposition; as, He himself did
this.
_d._ Between the parts of a person’s name; as, George William
Curtis.
3. In annexing titles to a person’s name, whether the titles are
abbreviated or written in full, commas must be used; as, Richard Whately,
D. D., Archbishop of Dublin.
RULE XII. _Words in Pairs._—Words in pairs should have a comma between
each pair.
EXAMPLES.
“In all the characters, patriots and tyrants, haters and lovers, the
frown and sneer of Harold were discernible in an instant.”—_Macaulay._
“Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable.”—_Webster._
RULE XIII. _Unconnected Words._—When two words, of the same part of
speech, are not connected by a conjunction, a comma should be placed
between them.
EXAMPLES.
“He had in himself a radiant, living spring of generous and manly
action.”—_Burke._
“A still, small voice.”—_Kings._
“Where sits our sulky, sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.”—_Burns._
REMARKS.
1. When two nouns, the subjects of a verb, are not connected by a
conjunction, a comma should be placed between the two words and also
after the second; as, “Indignation, expostulation, were powerless upon
him as a mist upon a rock.”—_Macdonald._
2. When two adjectives come together, the first qualifying the second
adjective and also the noun, a comma should not be used; as, A beautiful
white horse.
3. A word repeated for emphasis usually has a punctuation mark before and
after it; as,—
“Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.”—_Coleridge._
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that
I do shall he do also.”—_John xiv. 12._
RULE XIV. _A Series of Words._—1. When a series of words, of the same
part of speech, are connected by _and_, _or_, _nor_, they should not be
separated from each other by punctuation marks.
“The fruits and flowers and shrubs sent forth grateful
perfumes.”—_Irving._
Some writers place a comma before each _and_. This, however, is not
necessary.
2. When a conjunction is used only with the last word in the series, a
comma should be placed before the conjunction and between the other words.
The fruits, flowers, and shrubs sent forth grateful perfumes.
3. When the conjunctions are omitted, a comma should be placed between
each word and also at the end of the series.
The fruits, flowers, shrubs, sent forth grateful perfumes.
REMARKS.
1. When the last word in the series precedes only a single word, the
comma should be omitted; as, “A refined, thoughtful, warm-hearted,
pure-souled Englishman.”
2. When two words or expressions are connected by _or_, the latter
explaining the former, the explanatory word or expression should be
separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma or commas; as, “The
love of variety, or curiosity of seeing new things, which is the same, or
at least a sister passion to it, seems woven into the frame of every son
and daughter of Adam.”—_Sterne._
RULE XV. _Phrases and Clauses._—Phrases and clauses, either with or
without conjunctions, having a mutual relation to some other word in the
sentence, should be separated from each other and from what follows by
commas.
EXAMPLES.
“Purity of style, and an easy flow of numbers, are common to all
Addison’s Latin poems.”—_Macaulay._
“The unbought grace of life, the chief defense of nations, the nurse of
manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is gone.”—_Burke._
“The little that is known, and the circumstance that little is known,
must be considered as honorable to him.”—_Macaulay._
“Books that you can carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are
the most useful after all.”—_Dr. Johnson._
REMARKS.
1. A phrase is one of the smaller divisions of a sentence, and consists
of two or more words. Apart from the rest of the sentence, it is
incomplete in meaning. It does not, like a clause, include a subject and
a verb.
2. When two brief expressions are connected by a conjunction, it is
better to omit punctuation marks; as, “Good company and good discourse
are the very sinews of virtue.”—_Izaak Walton._
3. When words and phrases form a series, a conjunction being used
only with the last phrase, they should be separated from each other
and from what follows by commas; as, “Virtue, merit, and everything
that is praiseworthy, will be made the subject of ridicule and
buffoonery.”—_Addison._
RULE XVI. _Logical Subject._—When the logical subject ends with a verb,
or is separated into parts by commas, or is unusually long, a comma
should be placed between the logical subject and the main verb.
EXAMPLES.
“This imaginary promise of divine aid thus mysteriously given, appeared
to him at present in still greater progress of fulfillment.”—_Irving._
“The voice of praise, too, coming from those to whom we had thought
ourselves unknown, has a magic about it that must be felt to be
understood.”—_Charles Lever._
“Those who can put the best countenance upon the outrages of this nature
which are offered them, are not without their secret anguish.”—_Addison._
REMARKS.
1. The logical subject consists of the name of the person or thing, of
which something is affirmed, together with its modifying words. It is
“the subject according to the real meaning or logic of the sentence.”
2. Some writers always place a comma before the verb, when its subject
consists of many words.
RULE XVII. _Contrasted Expressions._—Contrasted expressions or
comparisons should be separated by a comma.
EXAMPLES.
“Of the other two men, one was a species of giant, the other a sort of
dwarf.”—_Hugo._
“The more I reflected upon it, the more important it
appeared.”—_Goldsmith._
“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after
thee, O God.”—_Psalms._
“Master books, but do not let them master you. Read to live, not live to
read.”—_Bulwer._
REMARKS.
1. When the comparison is short and the words closely connected, the
comma may be omitted.
2. When _so—that_, _so—as_, _rather—than_, _more—than_, connect
expressions, the comma is usually omitted; as, “Ingratitude never so
thoroughly pierces the human heart as when it proceeds from those in
whose behalf we have been guilty of transgression.”—_Fielding._
When, however, the expressions themselves are divided into smaller parts
by commas, or are unusually long, they should be separated by a comma;
as,—
“So over-violent, or over-civil,
That every man with him was God or Devil.”—_Dryden._
3. When two short expressions are united by _as_ or _than_, a comma
should not be used; as,—
“He knew what’s what, and that’s as high
As metaphysic wit can fly.”—_Butler._
When, however, the expressions are long, it is better to use a comma; as,
“I have no more pleasure in hearing a man attempting wit and failing,
than in seeing a man trying to leap over a ditch and tumbling into
it.”—_Dr. Johnson._
4. When the first expression is negative and the other affirmative, a
comma should be placed between the expressions and before the negative
word, if it does not commence a sentence; as, “The world generally gives
its admiration, not to the man who does what nobody else even attempts to
do, but to the man who does best what multitudes do well.”—_Macaulay._
If, however, a finite verb immediately precedes the negative word, the
comma should be omitted; as, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling,
but in rising every time we fall.”—_Confucius._
RULE XVIII. _Numeral Figures._—Arabic numbers should be separated into
periods of three figures each, commencing at the right.
EXAMPLE.
2,509,909,456.
REMARK.
Dates should not be separated into periods; as, 1877.
RULE XIX. _Expressions at the End of Sentences._—It is frequently
necessary, at the end of a sentence, to separate an expression beginning
with a preposition from the rest of the sentence, in order to avoid
ambiguity.
EXAMPLES.
“He trudged along, unknowing what he sought,
And whistled as he went, for want of thought.”—_Dryden._
“Angling is always to be considered as a stick and a string, with a fly
at one end and a fool at the other.”—_Swift._
GENERAL REMARK.
A comma should always be used, when it aids in bringing out the meaning
of the writer, or in avoiding ambiguity.
THE SEMICOLON.
RULE I. _Long Sentences._—When the smaller divisions of sentences are
separated by commas, the main divisions should be separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“Sheridan, Pitt, and Fox all drank hard and worked hard; they were all
great in the councils of the nation, but not one could rule his own
household.”—_London Athenæum._
“Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong;
Was every thing by starts, and nothing long.”—_Dryden._
“Nor is it always in the most distinguished achievements that men’s
virtues or vices may be best discerned; but very often an action of
small note, a short saying, or a jest, shall distinguish a person’s
real character more than the greatest sieges, or the most important
battles.”—_Plutarch._
RULE II. _Expressions Complete in Themselves._—Short expressions,
complete in themselves but slightly connected in meaning, may be
separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“We do not want precepts so much as patterns; an example is the softest
and least invidious way of commanding.”—_Pliny._
“It is a beautiful thing to model a statue and give it life; to mould an
intelligence and instil truth therein is still more beautiful.”—_Hugo._
“There are on every subject a few leading and fixed ideas; their tracks
may be traced by your own genius as well as by reading.”—_Sheridan._
REMARK.
When _as_ introduces an example, a semicolon should be placed before and
a comma after it.
RULE III. _Series of Expressions._—When several clauses follow each other
in succession, having a common dependence on some part of the sentence,
they should be separated from each other by semicolons, and from the
clause on which they depend, by a comma.
EXAMPLE.
“If such men will make a firm and solemn pause, and meditate
dispassionately on its importance; if they will contemplate it in all its
attributes, and trace it to all its consequences, they will not hesitate
to part with trivial objections to a constitution, the rejection of which
would, in all probability, put a final period to the Union.”—_Hamilton._
REMARK.
Commas may be used instead of semicolons, when the clauses are short;
as, “When public bodies are to be addressed on momentous occasions, when
great interests are at stake, and strong passions excited, nothing is
valuable in speech farther than it is connected with high intellectual
and moral endowments.”—_Webster._
GENERAL REMARK.
When the members of a sentence seem to be loosely connected, they are
frequently separated by semicolons.
EXAMPLES.
“Honest name is goodly; but he that hunteth only for that, is like him
that hath rather seem warm than be warm.”—_Sir Thomas Wyatt._
“Some blemishes may undoubtedly be detected in his character; but the
more carefully it is examined, the more will it appear sound in the noble
parts.”—_Macaulay._
Some writers use commas in the examples given above in preference to
semicolons, and usage varies so much among our best writers that it is
impossible to lay down a general rule that will be applicable in all
cases. If it is desirable to indicate a somewhat close connection between
the members of a sentence, a comma should be used; if the connection is
slight, it is better to use a semicolon.
THE COLON.
RULE I. _Long Sentences._—When the smaller divisions of sentences are
separated by semicolons, the main divisions should be separated by a
colon.
EXAMPLES.
“Emulation is a dangerous passion to encourage, in some points, in
young men; it is so linked with envy: if you reproach your son for
not surpassing his school-fellows, he will hate those who are before
him.”—_Sheridan._
“A man over ninety is a great comfort to all his elderly neighbors: he is
a picket-guard at the extreme outpost; and the young folks of sixty and
seventy feel that the enemy must get by him before he can come near the
camp.”—_O. W. Holmes._
RULE II. _A Quotation._—A colon should precede a long quotation. If,
however, the quotation is short, it is better to use a comma.
EXAMPLES.
Socrates recommended to one of his disciples the following prayer: “O
Jupiter, give us those things which are good for us, whether they are
such things as we pray for, or such things as we do not pray for; and
remove from us those things which are hurtful, though they are such
things as we pray for.”
When the Earl of Dudley took leave of Sydney Smith, on going from London
to Yorkshire, he said: “You have been laughing at me constantly, Sydney,
for the last seven years, and yet, in all that time, you never said a
single thing to me that I wished unsaid.”
REMARK.
1. When the quotation is long, or it begins a new paragraph, a dash is
frequently placed after the colon.
2. When a direct quotation is introduced into the middle of a sentence, a
comma should be used; as, “He was surprised, but replied, ‘I am not the
king, he is there,’ pointing at the same time to a different part of the
hall.”—_Lingard._
RULE III. _Enumeration of Particulars._—A colon should precede an
enumeration of particulars, when they are formally introduced by _thus_,
_following_, _as follows_, _this_, _these_, _&c._
EXAMPLES.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal;
that they are endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights: that
among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”—_Jefferson._
“The penalty is graduated thus: the mildest, confiscation; the moderate,
closing the shop; the severest, exposure.”—_Lippincott’s Magazine._
REMARKS.
1. When the particulars are preceded by a colon, they are usually
separated from each other by semicolons, as in the examples given above.
2. If the particulars are not introduced by _thus_, _following_, &c.,
they should be preceded by a semicolon; as, “Grammar is divided into four
parts; Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.”
3. When the particulars are preceded by a semicolon, they are usually
separated from each other by commas.
4. Sometimes a comma and dash are used instead of a semicolon; as,
“Grammar is divided into four parts,—Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and
Prosody.”
GENERAL REMARK.
The colon is used by some writers to separate short expressions that are
complete in themselves, but slightly connected in meaning.
EXAMPLES.
“But men are men: the best sometimes forget.”—_Shakespeare._
“It [the Seine] is the wash-tub and summer bath-tub of its citizens;
it was the birthplace of Paris, and it is too often the grave of her
children.”—_Lippincott’s Magazine._
If a conjunction is used, it is better to use a semicolon; as,—
“She cannot separate her name from his without lessening it; for it is
equally incrusted with his greatness as with his faults.”—_Lamartine._
She cannot separate her name from his without lessening it: it is equally
incrusted with his greatness as with his faults.
The colon is not as commonly used as formerly. A semicolon would be
preferred by very many writers in all sentences similar to the examples
given above. See Rule II. p. 23.
THE PERIOD.
RULE I. _Complete Sentences._—A period should be placed at the end of
a sentence, when it is complete in meaning and construction, and is
declarative or imperative in its nature.
EXAMPLES.
“Swift boasted that he was never known to steal a hint.”—_Macaulay._
“But evil is wrought by want of thought,
As well as want of heart.”—_Hood._
“It is a great evil not to be able to bear an evil.”—_Bion._
REMARK.
A period should always be placed after the title of an essay, oration,
after a signature, an address of a person, &c.
RULE II. _Abbreviations._—A period should be used after every
abbreviation.
EXAMPLES.
Dr. Samuel A. Jones. Mr. C. R. Miller. Mrs. T. S. Applegate. Miss Hattie
E. Knapp.
Esq., Esquire.
Jan., January.
Mich., Michigan.
Hon., Honorable.
Pro tem., for the time being.
Ans., Answer.
D. D., Doctor of Divinity.
B. C., before Christ.
Rev., Reverend.
P., page; pp., pages.
Pres., President.
Rec. Sec., Recording Secretary.
N. Y., New York.
A. D., in the year of our Lord.
A. M., Master of Arts.
M. C., Member of Congress.
No., in number, number.
Co., County.
&c. or etc., and so forth.
REMARKS.
1. It should be remembered that the period thus used, simply indicates
an abbreviation, and that punctuation marks are to be used, in addition
to the period, when required. When a word, written in full, requires a
punctuation mark after it, the same punctuation mark should be used after
the word, when it is abbreviated; as, Adrian, Michigan, January 5, 1877;
Adrian, Mich., Jan. 5, 1877.
2. Some proper names are not abbreviations, and consequently a period
should not be used; as, Ben Jonson, Fred Knapp. When Ben. stands for
Benjamin, and Fred. for Frederick, a period should be used.
3. When numerals are represented by the letters of the alphabet, periods
are placed after them; as, Gen. vii. 1, 7, 8.
4. In numbering pages, no mark should be placed after 1, 2, 3, 4, &c.
5. When a letter, used as an abbreviation, is doubled to indicate the
plural, the period should be placed after the last letter; as, pp. for
pages, LL. D. for Doctor of Laws.
6. In abbreviating words, sometimes the first letters are used, sometimes
the first and last, and sometimes the first and some letter near the
middle of the word; as, Ala. for Alabama, Chas. for Charles, Wm. for
William, MS. for manuscript.
7. A list of abbreviations will be found at the close of any good
dictionary.
INTERROGATION POINT.
RULE I. _Direct Question._—A direct question must be followed by an
interrogation point.
EXAMPLES.
“Who ever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open
encounter?”—_Milton._
“Are you good men and true?”—_Shakespeare._
EXCLAMATION POINT.
RULE I. _Strong Emotion._—The exclamation point is used after expressions
denoting strong emotion.
EXAMPLES.
“Discipline of mind! say rather starvation, confinement, torture,
annihilation.”—_Macaulay._
“My valor is certainly going! it is sneaking off! I feel it oozing out,
as it were, at the palms of my hands.”—_Sheridan._
“How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is
To have a thankless child!”—_Shakespeare._
REMARK.
To express an unusual degree of emotion, more than one exclamation point
may be used.
RULE II. _Interjections._—All interjections except _O_ may be followed by
an exclamation point.
EXAMPLES.
“But, alas! to make me
The fixed figure of the time, for scorn
To point his slow unmoving finger at.”—_Shakespeare._
“Oh! blessed temper, whose unclouded ray
Can make to-morrow cheerful as to-day.”—_Pope._
“O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by,
let us call thee devil!”—_Shakespeare._
REMARKS.
1. When the connection between the interjection and what follows is very
close, it is sometimes better to put the exclamation point at the end of
the sentence; as,—
“Oh for that ancient spirit
Which curbed the Senate’s will!”—_Macaulay._
2. When it is desirable to express strong feeling through-out an entire
sentence, the exclamation point should be placed at the end; as,—
“Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note!
Ho, lictors, clear the way!”—_Macaulay._
RULE III. _Address._—Expressions of address, when emphatic, may be
followed by an exclamation point.
EXAMPLES.
“Lord! what music hast thou provided for the saints in heaven, when thou
affordest bad men such music [music of the nightingale] on earth.”—_Izaak
Walton._
“Hail, candle-light! without disparagement to sun or moon, the kindest
luminary of the three.”—_Lamb._
“Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain.”—_Goldsmith._
“Ah! happy years! once more who would not be a boy.”—_Byron._
THE DASH.
RULE I. _Broken Sentences._—When a sentence is broken off abruptly, or
there is an unexpected change in the sentiment, or hesitation is to be
indicated, a dash should be used.
EXAMPLES.
_Prince._—“I tell you what, my cousin Buckingham,—”
_Buck._—“What, my gracious lord?”—_Shakespeare._
“I only feel—Farewell—Farewell!”—_Byron._
“You will think me foolish;—but—but—may it not be that some invisible
angel has been attracted by the simplicity and good faith with which our
children set about their undertaking? May he not have spent an hour of
his immortality in playing with those dear little souls?”—_Hawthorne._
“Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it;
anything but—_live for it_.”—_Colton._
RULE II. _Concluding Clause._—When several expressions follow each other
in succession, having a common dependence on the concluding part of the
sentence, a dash is frequently placed before the clause on which they
depend.
EXAMPLES.
“If you think it a crime in this writer that his language has not been
braided and festooned as elegantly as it might be; that he has not
pinched the miserable plaits of his phraseology, nor placed his patches
and feathers with that correctness of millinery which became him,—then
find a civil and obliging verdict against the printer!”—_Curran._
“To foster industry, to promote union, to cherish religious
peace,—these were the honest purposes of Lord Baltimore during his long
supremacy.”—_Bancroft._
REMARKS.
1. A dash is sometimes used to give prominence or emphasis to an
emphatic conclusion; as, “Fortune, friends, kindred, home,—all were
gone.”—_Prescott._
2. When such words as _namely_, _that is_, &c., are omitted, a dash is
sometimes used; as, “Many actions, like the Rhone, have two sources,—one
pure, and the other impure.”—_Hare._
3. When a word or an expression is repeated for emphasis, a dash should
be placed before it; as, “It is this, I conjure Your Lordships, for your
honor, for the honor of the nation, for the honor of human nature, now
intrusted to your care,—it is this duty that the Commons of England,
speaking through us, claims at your hands.”—_Sheridan._
RULE III. _Subjects._—When the subject of a general statement, or the
subject of a quotation, is in the same paragraph with the subject-matter,
a dash should separate the subject from what follows.
EXAMPLES.
The Bible.—“A person who professes to be a critic in the niceties
of the English language ought to have the Bible at his fingers’
ends.”—_Macaulay._
Letter-Writing.—“Common interests are necessary to give permanent
stability to epistolary connections. We may love a man dearly, and yet
find no time to write ten lines to him.”—_From the German of Rudolph
Lindau._
REMARKS.
1. A subject is a word or expression about which some statement is made.
2. A dash should be placed between a quotation and the author from whom
the quotation is taken.
3. When a question and an answer are in the same paragraph, a dash is
frequently inserted between the two; as, “Saw you my lord?”—“No, lady.”
4. When _as_, _thus_, _as follows_, &c., introduce an example or a
quotation, a dash should be placed after the comma or colon, if what
follows commences a new paragraph; as,—
“All we possess, and use not on the road,
Adds to the burden we must bear.”—_Goethe._
RULE IV. _Letters or Figures Omitted._—When letters or figures are
omitted, a dash should be used to indicate the omission.
EXAMPLES.
“Why, to comfort me, must Alice W⸺n be a goblin?”—_Lamb._
Mark xi. 1-10. Gen. v. 3-9.
REMARK.
3-9 is equivalent to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
GENERAL REMARK.
The dash is frequently used to give prominence or emphasis to an
expression.
EXAMPLES.
“In the quiet air, there was a sound of distant singing,—shepherd
voices.”—_Dickens._
“Wealth has its temptations,—so has power.”—_Robertson._
“The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the
crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through
it; the storms may enter, the rains may enter,—but the king of England
cannot enter! all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined
tenement.”—_Pitt._
RULE V. _Parenthesis._—Two dashes are sometimes used instead of the usual
marks of parenthesis.
EXAMPLES.
“A yellow claw—the very same that had clawed together so much
wealth—poked itself out of the coach window, and dropt some copper coins
upon the ground.”—_Hawthorne._
“Jackson—the omniscient Jackson he was called—was of this period. He had
the reputation of possessing more multifarious knowledge than any man of
his time.”—_Lamb._
REMARKS.
1. When the sentence, without the parenthesis, would require a comma
where the dashes are used, each dash should be preceded by a comma; as,
“See that aged couple,—a sad sight, truly,—John Proctor, and his wife
Elizabeth.”—_Hawthorne._
2. If the parenthetical expression is a question or expresses emotion, an
interrogation or an exclamation point should be placed before the second
dash; as, “The laurel of the hero—alas for humanity that it should be
so!—grows best on the battle field.”
MARKS OF PARENTHESIS.
RULE I. _Parenthesis._—When an expression breaks the connection between
the different parts of a sentence, and might be omitted without affecting
the sense or the construction, it should be inclosed in parenthetical
marks.
EXAMPLES.
“Of all sound of all bells (bells, the music nighest bordering
heaven) most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old
Year.”—_Lamb._
“The tuneful Nine (so sacred legends tell)
First waked their heavenly lyre these scenes to tell!”—_Campbell._
“Their intellectual wardrobe (to confess fairly) has few whole pieces in
it.”—_Lamb._
REMARKS.
1. When parenthetical marks are used, it is sometimes necessary to use
additional marks.
_a._ When the sentence, without the parenthesis, requires a
punctuation mark where the parenthetical marks are used, the
punctuation mark should be placed after the last mark of the
parenthesis; as,—
“Know then this truth (enough for man to know),
‘Virtue alone is happiness below.’”—_Pope._
_b._ Sometimes the parenthesis requires a punctuation mark
before the last mark of the parenthesis; as, “Spill not the
morning (the quintessence of the day!) in recreations.”—_Thomas
Fuller._
_c._ When a punctuation mark immediately precedes the last
mark of the parenthesis, and a punctuation mark is also needed
where the parenthetical marks are used, it should be placed
before the first mark of the parenthesis; as, “F. was the
most gentlemanly of oilmen. He had two Latin words almost
constantly in his mouth, (how odd sounds Latin from an oilman’s
lips!) which my better knowledge since has enabled me to
correct.”—_Lamb._
2. An interrogation point inclosed in parenthetical marks (?) implies
that an assertion is doubtful.
3. An exclamation point inclosed within parenthetical marks (!) expresses
irony or contempt.
4. Parenthetical marks are not as frequently used as formerly, the comma
and dash being often preferred.
BRACKETS.
RULE I. _Quoted Passage._—When words are inserted by another into a
quoted passage, either to correct a mistake or explain the meaning, they
should be inclosed in brackets.
EXAMPLES.
“A variety of pleasing objects meet [meets] the eye.”
“‘My dear lady,’ returned the schoolmaster [Mr. Graham], ‘when I have
on good grounds made up my mind to a thing, I always feel as if I had
promised God to do it; and indeed it amounts to the same thing very
nearly. Such a resolve, then, is not to be unmade, except on equally good
grounds with those upon which it was made.’”—_George Macdonald._
REMARKS.
1. Punctuation marks are sometimes required, when the brackets are used.
The same remarks apply to the brackets that apply to parenthetical marks.
2. In reporting speeches, brackets are used, when words are introduced by
the reporter which do not form a part of the speech; as,—
“We would have our Union to be a union of hearts, and we would have our
Constitution obeyed, not merely because of force that compels obedience,
but obeyed because the people love the principles of the Constitution
[long continued applause], and to-day, if I am called to the work to
which Abraham Lincoln was called sixteen years ago, it is under brighter
skies and more favorable auspices. [Applause.] I do hope, I do fervently
believe, that, by the aid of divine Providence, we may do something
in this day of peace, by works of peace, towards re-establishing,
in the hearts of our countrymen, a real, a hearty attachment to the
Constitution as it is, and to the Union as it is. [Long continued
applause].”—PRESIDENT HAYES.—_Chicago Tribune._
3. Parenthetical marks are frequently used instead of brackets.
QUOTATION MARKS.
RULE I. _Direct Quotation._—When the exact words of another are given,
they should be inclosed in quotation marks.
EXAMPLES.
“He had the longest tongue and the shortest temper of any man, high or
low, I ever met with.”—_Wilkie Collins._
Prescott, in his “Conquest of Mexico,” tells us that intemperance among
the Aztecs “was punished in the young with death, and in older persons
with loss of rank and confiscation of property.”
REMARKS.
1. When the exact words of another are not given, quotation marks should
not be used; as,—
Longfellow says,—
“Deeds are better things than words are.”
Longfellow somewhere says that deeds are better than words.
2. When words are quoted from a foreign language, they should be
printed in italics, and the quotation marks omitted; as, “They have
their good glebe lands _in manu_, and care not much to rake into title
deeds.”—_Lamb._
3. When words are to be italicized, a straight mark should be drawn
underneath the words.
4. When a quotation is followed by a comma, semicolon, colon, or period,
the punctuation mark should be placed within the quotation marks; as,
“Mr. M’Adam writes sometimes with genuine humor, and an occasional
entirely original simile shows evidence of the possession of what
phrenologists call the faculty of ‘comparison;’ but the charm of the book
is its rare perspicacity.”—_Harper’s Magazine._
5. When a quotation is followed by an exclamation or an interrogation
point, the punctuation mark should be placed within the quotation
marks, if it forms a part of the quotation; as, “I feel almost like
groaning, when a young mother shows me some marvel of embroidery or
machine-stitching, saying triumphantly, ‘There, I did every stitch of
that myself!’”—_Scribner’s Monthly._
6. When a quotation is followed by an exclamation or an interrogation
point, the punctuation mark should be placed outside of the quotation
marks, if it belongs to the whole sentence and not to the quotation; as,
“We wonder what Handel would have said to Mozart’s scoring of ‘I know
that my Redeemer liveth’!”—_Atlantic Monthly._ “Why cannot we hear, for
instance, the wonderful curioso, ‘He gave his back to the smiters,’ that
forms the second part of the air, ‘He was despised,’ and the duet for
contralto and tenor, ‘O death where is thy sting’?”—_Atlantic Monthly._
RULE II. _Titles of Books._—Titles of books are generally inclosed in
quotation marks.
EXAMPLES.
Morris’s “Story of Sigurd.”—_Scribner’s Monthly._
“The Mikado’s Empire.”—_N. A. Review._
“Daniel Deronda.”—_Contemporary Review._
The Rev. W. W. Capes’s history of “The Early Roman Empire.”—_Appleton’s
Journal._
REMARKS.
1. The names of magazines and papers are generally printed in italics;
as, _The Atlantic_, _N. Y. Nation_, _Fraser’s Magazine_, _Appleton’s
Journal_, _Nature_, _Popular Science Monthly_.
2. In examining _The Atlantic_, _Nation_, _Scribner’s Monthly_,
_Harper’s_, _Appleton’s Magazine_, _Lippincott’s_, _Popular Science
Monthly_, _Galaxy_, _Eclectic_, _N. A. Review_, _New Englander_, _London
Quarterly_, _British Quarterly_, _Westminster Review_, _Edinburgh
Review_, _Contemporary Review_, _The Fortnightly Review_, we find that
thirteen of these use quotation marks, and four use italics, in referring
to the titles of books; eleven use italics, and six use quotation marks,
in referring to magazines and papers.
RULE III. _A Quotation within a Quotation._—When there is a quotation
within a quotation, single marks should be used in addition to double
marks.
EXAMPLES.
“Who was the blundering idiot who said that ‘fine words butter no
parsnips.’ Half the parsnips of society are served and rendered palatable
with no other sauce.”—_Thackeray._
“There is a small but ancient fraternity, known as the Order of
Gentlemen. It is a grand old order. A poet has said that Christ founded
it; that he was ‘the first true gentleman that ever lived.’”—_Winthrop._
REMARKS.
1. Sometimes the quotation within a quotation has a word or phrase that
is quoted. The word or phrase must be inclosed in double marks.
2. In quoting Scripture, it is customary to place only double marks
at the beginning and end of the quotation; as, “And Jesus, moved with
compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I
will; be thou clean.”—_Mark i. 41._
RULE IV. _Paragraphs._—When several paragraphs are quoted in succession,
double marks should be placed at the beginning of each paragraph, and at
the end of the entire quotation.
EXAMPLE.
“The children woke. The little girl was the first to open her eyes.
“The waking of children is like the unclosing of flowers, a perfume seems
to exhale from those fresh young souls. Georgette, twenty months old, the
youngest of the three, who was still a nursing baby in the month of May,
raised her little head, sat up in her cradle, looked at her feet, and
began to chatter.
“A ray of morning fell across her crib; it would have been difficult to
decide which was the rosiest, Georgette’s foot or Aurora.”—_Hugo._
REMARKS.
1. A paragraph usually consists of several sentences. It begins on a
new line, and is distinguished by a blank space on the left, at the
commencement of the paragraph.
2. When parts of a quotation are omitted, use several stars to indicate
the omission (* * * *), or place double marks at the beginning and end of
each detached part of the quotation.
THE APOSTROPHE.
RULE I. _Letters Omitted._—The apostrophe is used to indicate the
omission of a letter or letters.
EXAMPLES.
“O Marcia, O my sister, still there’s hope!”—_Addison._
“Thou knowest ’tis common; all, that live, must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.”—_Shakespeare._
REMARK.
The apostrophe is made like a comma, but is placed above the line.
RULE II. _Possession._—The apostrophe is used to denote possession.
EXAMPLES.
Taine’s “English Literature.” Rawlinson’s “Ancient Monarchies.”
REMARKS.
1. The apostrophe and _s_ should be used with nouns in the singular, even
when the word ends in _s_ or _x_; as,—
“Dickens’s Works.”—_Appleton’s Journal._
“Cox’s General History of Greece.”—_Harper’s Magazine._
“Evans’s observations.”—_Edinburgh Review._
“Mr. Hayes’s responsibility.”—_N. Y. Nation._
In addition to the periodicals given above, _The Atlantic_, _Scribner’s
Monthly_, _Lippincott’s Magazine_, _Popular Science Monthly_, _Galaxy_,
_N. A. Review_, _London Quarterly_, _British Quarterly_, _Fortnightly
Review_, use the additional _s_. The _Westminster_ omits the additional
_s_. In the _Contemporary_ and _Edinburgh Review_, the _s_ is used by
some writers and omitted by others.
2. In the plural of nouns, the apostrophe and _s_ are used to denote
possession, when the word does not end in _s_; as, men’s deeds. If the
word ends in _s_, the apostrophe only is used; as, my neighbors’ house.
3. The apostrophe should not be used before _s_ in ours, yours, hers,
theirs, its.
THE HYPHEN.
RULE I. _Compound Words._—The hyphen is used to connect the parts of a
compound word.
EXAMPLES.
“My household-gods plant a terrible fixed foot, and are not to be rooted
up without blood.”—_Lamb._
“The breezy call of incense-breathing morn.”—_Gray._
REMARKS.
1. A compound word is formed by placing together two simple words.
2. Sometimes several words are connected together by hyphens; as, “He
had a lively touch-and-go-away with him, very pleasant and engaging I
admit.”—_Wilkie Collins._
3. When a compound word comes into very general use, the hyphen is
sometimes omitted; as, railroad, steamboat, bookstore.
4. To-day, to-night, to-morrow, should always be written with a hyphen.
5. When there is any doubt whether two words should be united by a hyphen
or written as one word, some standard dictionary should be consulted. It
will, however, be found that even dictionaries differ somewhat in the use
and omission of the hyphen in compound words. In order to preserve some
uniformity in spelling and in the formation of compound words, every
writer should make either Webster or Worcester the final authority.
RULE II. _Prefixes._—When a prefix ends in a vowel, and the word to which
it is joined commences with a vowel, they should be separated by a hyphen.
EXAMPLES.
Re-admit, co-ordinate, pre-existence, pre-eminent.
REMARKS.
1. A prefix is a letter, syllable, or word, placed before some word, thus
forming a new word.
2. If, instead of two vowels, a vowel and a consonant come together, the
prefix and the word to which it is joined should usually be written as
one word; as, rewrite, predetermine.
3. Vice-president, and most words with _vice_ as a prefix, should be
written with a hyphen.
4. Some writers use the diæresis instead of the hyphen. With prefixes it
is better to use the hyphen, but in other words containing two vowels
that do not form a diphthong, the diæresis should be used; as, Zoölogy.
RULE III. _Division of Words._—When it is necessary to write part of a
word at the end of a line and part at the beginning of the next line, the
division should be made at the end of a syllable, and the parts should be
connected by a hyphen, at the end of the line.
EXAMPLE.
“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a sub-
ject ourselves, or we know where we can find in-
formation upon it.”—_Dr. Johnson._
REMARKS.
1. It is better to divide a word as near the middle as possible.
2. When two words one at the end of a line and the other at the
commencement of the following line, are separated by a punctuation mark,
it should be placed at the end of the line, and never at the beginning.
MISCELLANEOUS MARKS.
I. _Two Commas_ (”) indicate that the word under which they are placed is
to be repeated.
Charles Harrison, Adrian, Mich.
Clinton Hardy, ” ”
II. _The Caret_ (^) indicates that something is written above the line
that forms a part of the sentence. It is only used in writing.
[Illustration]
III. _Marks of Ellipsis_ (—, ....., * * * * *) indicate the omission of
letters, words, or sentences.
1. “I was the true descendant of those old W—s.”—_Lamb._
2. “I have a belief of my own, ... that by desiring what is perfectly
good, even when we don’t quite know what it is, ... we are a part of a
divine power against evil, widening the skirts of light, and making the
struggle with darkness narrower.”—_George Eliot._
Four words are omitted where the first dots are, and five where the
second are.
3. “My lov’d, my honour’d, much respected friend!
* * * * * * * * *
To you I sing, in simple Scottish lays,
The lowly train in life’s sequester’d scene,
The native feeling strong, the guileless ways;
What Aiken in his cottage would have been.”—_Burns._
In the above, three lines are omitted.
IV. _Leaders_ (......) are used to indicate a connection between words at
the beginning of the line and what is at the end of the line.
Winnowed Wheat..................._Nellie R. Luck._
Dreams, a Poem..................._Octa E. Wise._
V. In writing, one line drawn under a word indicates that it is to
be printed in italics; two lines, in small capitals; three lines, in
capitals.
VI. _Marks of Reference_ are used to refer to notes at the bottom of the
page, or to remarks in the margin. They are the following:—
The Star (*), the Dagger (†), the Double Dagger (‡), the Section (§),
Parallel Lines (‖), the Paragraph (¶).
The above marks are given in the order in which they are used.
The Paragraph (¶) is also used, in written compositions, to denote that
what follows should commence a new line.
[Illustration: Capitals.]
INTRODUCTION.
It has been the custom among some writers to commence every important
word with a capital, so that some printed productions have fairly
bristled with capitalized words; as,—
“Modern authors have with unwearied Pains made many useful Searches into
the weak Sides of the Ancients, and given us a comprehensive Lift of
them.”—_Swift._
“There were a Race of Men who delighted to nibble at the Superfluities
and Excrescences of Books.”—_Swift._
The custom of commencing all nouns with a capital is still prevalent
among the Germans of the present day.
It is a somewhat interesting fact that the use and value of capitals
has been subject to a rise and fall in the literary market, written
productions during some centuries abounding in them, while in other
centuries they have, in a great measure, been discarded, and have become
comparative strangers in English composition.
In the early part of this century, there was a tendency to use them to an
inconsiderate extent, owing principally to German imitators like Carlyle
and others, who adopted, in a somewhat modified form, the German method
of capitalizing words. Just at present there seems to be a reaction
setting in, and there is a tendency among some of our leading publishing
houses to dispense with their use as much as possible. In democratic
America, there has always been a somewhat unreasonable fear of official
titles, and when they are used, they are frequently belittled with small
letters. This has had a tendency to encourage the use of small letters in
many words that should properly commence with capitals.
There is no doubt that a judicious use of capitals assists the eye very
much in reading what another has written, and in understanding a writer’s
meaning. While, on the other hand, an injudicious use lessens their
value, and disfigures a printed page.
Although the taste and judgment of each writer may be consulted in the
capitalization of some words to which he may assign a special meaning,
there are a number of well established principles, sanctioned by long
usage, that should govern all writers in the use of capital letters.
CAPITALS.
RULE I. _Sentences._—The first word of every sentence should commence
with a capital.
EXAMPLES.
“The price we challenge for ourselves is given us.”—_Schiller._
“The elder brother of Franklin ventured to start a newspaper, though
warned that America could never support two newspapers.”—_William Russel._
“Trust in yourself, and you have learnt to live.”—_Goethe._
REMARKS.
1. A sentence is an assemblage of words making complete sense, and
followed by a period. Sometimes a sentence has an interrogation or an
exclamation point at its close; as,—
“For of the wholly common is man made,
And custom is his nurse!”—_Schiller._
2. Any expression that is equivalent to a sentence should commence with a
capital; as, Very affectionately. Price $5.00.
3. As a period indicates the close of a sentence, the word following the
period should commence with a capital; as, “The little soul is like a
vapor that hovers around a marshy lake. It never rises on the green hill,
lest the winds meet it there.”—_Ossian._
If, however, a period is used to indicate an abbreviation, it should not
be followed by a capital, unless it is at the close of a sentence, or
the word that follows it requires a capital; as, In Germany, the degrees
of M. D., LL. D., and Ph. D. are only gained after passing a severe
examination.
4. Although a capital is generally used after an interrogation or an
exclamation point, as they usually indicate the close of a sentence, this
is not always the case; as,—
“How poor! how rich! how abject! how august!
How complicate! how wonderful is man!
How passing wonder He who made him such!
Who centered in our make such strange extremes!”—_Young._
RULE II. _Poetry._—The first word of every line of poetry should commence
with a capital.
EXAMPLES.
“There is a day of sunny rest
For every dark and troubled night;
And grief may bide an evening guest,
But joy shall come with early light.”—_Bryant._
“But far more numerous was the herd of such,
Who think too little and who talk too much.”—_Dryden._
RULE III. _Persons and Places._—Names of persons, countries, cities,
islands, rivers, mountains, &c., should commence with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“The finest thief of old history is the pirate who made that famous
answer to Alexander, in which he said that the conqueror was only the
mightier thief of the two.”—_Leigh Hunt._
America, France, London, New York, West Indies, Hudson, Rhine, Rocky
Mountains, Mount Vernon, Pacific.
REMARKS.
1. When North, South, East, &c., refer to political or geographical
divisions, they should commence with capitals; as, “But sectional
bitterness has in a great measure passed away; the fatal cause of discord
between North and South has been removed.”
When these words refer merely to the points of the compass, they should
be written with small letters.
2. Words derived from the names of persons should commence with capitals;
as, Socratic, Platonic, Elizabethan.
When words derived from the names of persons or places lose their
individual character, and are used as common words, they should commence
with small letters; as, god-like, hector, turkey, china-ware, laconic.
3. Heaven and hell are written with small letters in the Bible. Satan is
always printed with a capital, but devil commences with a small letter,
unless it stands for Satan; as, “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”—Mat. iv. 1.
RULE IV. _Nations._—The names of nations, or words derived from the names
of nations, should commence with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“‘Simply to be poor,’ says my favorite Greek historian, ‘was not held
scandalous by the wise Athenians; but highly so, to owe that poverty to
our own indiscretion.’”—_Fielding._
American, German, French, Latins, Americanize, Latinize, Hellenize.
REMARK.
Italics and Italicize are frequently written with small letters.
RULE V. _Sects and Parties._—The names of religious sects and political
parties should commence with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
Christian, Mohammedan, Lutheran, Catholic, Protestant, Episcopal,
Presbyterian, Baptist, Unitarian.
Republican, Federalist, Democrat, Whig, Tory, Radical.
REMARKS.
1. When republican, radical, &c., are used as common words, and not as
the names of political parties, they should commence with small letters;
as, republican institutions, radical measures.
2. Some writers use small letters, when referring to political parties.
If, however, it is incorrect to write Congregational, Methodist, with
small letters, why is it not incorrect to commence Republican, Whig, with
small letters?
3. Church should be written with a capital, when it refers to a religious
sect; as, the Episcopal Church, meaning the whole body of Christians
belonging to that denomination. When the word refers to a place of
worship, it should commence with a small letter.
RULE VI. _Months and Days._—The names of months and days should commence
with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“No one ever regarded the first of January with indifference. It is that
from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the
nativity of our common Adam.”—_Lamb._
February, March, April, May; Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, Good
Friday, Easter.
REMARK.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter, should be written with small letters.
RULE VII. _Titles of Books._—All the words, with the exception of
articles, conjunctions, and prepositions, in the titles of books, should
commence with a capital.
EXAMPLES.
Forsyth’s “Life of Cicero.” “The Fall of the Roman Republic,” Rev. C.
Merivale.
REMARKS.
1. It is just as necessary to capitalize the title of a book, as it is
the name of a person.
2. The title of an oration, essay, article for a newspaper, or of any
written production, follows the same rule as the title of a book.
3. Names of sacred writings should always be capitalized; as, Bible, Old
and New Testament, the Scriptures, Acts, Revelation, Gospel of John,
Koran, Vedas.
RULE VIII. _Title-Pages._—The title-pages of books are generally printed
entirely with capitals. The title-page of any book will illustrate this
rule.
REMARKS.
1. This rule concerns more especially the printer.
2. The first word of a chapter is generally printed in small capitals,
the first letter of the word being a large capital.
3. In handbills and advertisements, all important words are capitalized,
so as to attract special attention.
RULE IX. _Titles of Persons._—All titles of respect or honor should be
capitalized.
There are three classes of titles:—
1. Common Titles.
Mr., Mrs., Miss, Master.
2. Professional Titles.
Prof, Dr., D. D., LL. D., &c.
3. Official Titles.
Hon., His Excellency, His Honor, President, Secretary, Senator,
Mr. Chairman, &c.
EXAMPLES.
President Hayes, Senator Morton, Hon. Thomas W. Ferry, Dr. Chas. Rynd,
Mr. Fred. J. Todd.
REMARKS.
1. A distinction should always be made between words used as titles, and
words used in a general sense. For example, senator should commence with
a small letter, if it is not placed before the name of a person as a
title, or does not refer to a particular individual. This is the same
with president, secretary, doctor, &c.; as, “A patient owes some thanks
to a doctor who restores him with nectar smooth and fragrant, instead of
rasping his throat and flaying his interior with the bitters sucked by
sour-tempered roots from vixenish soils.”—_Winthrop._
2. Father, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin, &c., should commence
with a capital, when they are used like titles with the names of persons;
as, Father Pierce, Cousin Blackmar.
3. Sir, father, brother, friend, &c., when used as introductory words to
a letter, should commence with capitals, as a mark of respect; as, My
dear Sir, My dear Friend.
4. In writing such titles as the President of the United States,
Secretary of State, Alexander the Great, all the words in the title
should commence with a capital, except _of_ and _the_.
RULE X. _The Deity._—All names of the Supreme Being or his Son should
commence with a capital.
EXAMPLES.
“But it is now time to depart,—I to die, but you to live. But which of us
is going to the better state is unknown to every one but God.”—_Socrates._
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting
life.”—_John iii. 16._
REMARKS.
1. Writers differ somewhat in the use of capitals in words referring
to the Deity. Some capitalize all words in any way referring to the
Supreme Being, while others simply capitalize the words that to them seem
important. There should be some uniformity in the use of capitals in
words of this character. As a general rule, it is better to follow the
usage of an authorized version of the Scriptures.
2. Such words as First Cause, First Principle, Almighty God, Supreme
Being, Lord God Almighty, Infinite One, should always be written with
capitals.
3. King of kings, Lord of lords, Son of man, Father of lights, Father
of spirits, God of hosts, Father of mercies, Prince of life, Prince of
kings, and expressions of a similar character, should only commence with
a capital. This is the almost invariable usage of the Scriptures. These
expressions are not commonly used in the Bible as titles, in the strict
sense of the word. For example, King of kings really means that the Deity
is the supreme King of all human kings. For illustration see 1 Tim. vi.
15; Dan. vii. 13; Jas. i. 17; Heb. xii. 9; Psa. lxxx. 7; 2 Cor. i. 3;
Acts iii. 15; Mat. xii. 32. When these forms are used as titles, they may
be capitalized like titles.
4. The adjectives eternal, divine, heavenly, are not printed with
capitals in the Scriptures, when referring to the Deity; as, the eternal
God, heavenly Father. See Deut. xxxiii. 27; Heb. ix. 14; Mat. vi. 32; 2
Pet. i. 3. When, however, these adjectives are used in an emphatic or
special sense, they may commence with capitals.
5. The pronouns referring to the Deity should not be capitalized, when
they are used with some name of the Supreme Being; as, “At that time
Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them to babes.”—_Mat. xi. 25._ Any chapter of the New
Testament will give similar illustrations.
When, however, a pronoun referring to the Deity stands alone, it should
commence with a capital; as,—
“O Thou! with whom the night is day,
And one the near and far away.”—_Whittier._
6. The capitalization of pronouns is sometimes carried to a ridiculous
excess by some writers, especially in poetry; as,
“We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love.”
7. God, goddess, deity, applied to heathen divinities, should not
commence with a capital.
RULE XI. _Quotations._—When the exact words of another are given, the
first word of the quotation should commence with a capital, if it forms a
complete sentence.
EXAMPLES.
“When the celebrated Chesterfield was asked by a Parisian lady, ‘Why,
my Lord, does England still retain Christianity?’ ‘Madame,’ he replied,
with that mixture of repartee and philosophy which met the case he was
dealing with, ‘Madame, because, as yet, we have been able to find nothing
better.’”
Fielding somewhere says, “A good face is a letter of recommendation.”
REMARKS.
1. When a quotation is introduced by _that_, it should not commence with
a capital; as, Napoleon banished Madame de Stael because he said that
“she carried a quiver of arrows that could hit a man if he were seated on
a rainbow.”
2. When only a part of a sentence is quoted, a small letter should be
used; as, “For what satisfaction hath a man, that he shall ‘lie down
with kings and emperors in death,’ who in his lifetime never greatly
coveted the society of such bedfellows?”—_Lamb._
3. Sometimes a single word comprises the entire saying of another.
When this is so, it should commence with a capital; as, “He shouted,
‘Victory.’”
4. When examples are given as illustrations of some general principle,
they naturally follow the same rule as quotations. If an entire sentence
is given as an example, it should commence with a capital. When
disconnected words are given, small letters may be used, unless the words
themselves require capitals.
RULE XII. _Resolutions._—In writing resolutions, the word immediately
following _Resolved_, should commence with a capital.
EXAMPLE.
“_Resolved_, That the Declaration, passed on the fourth, be fairly
engrossed on parchment, with the title and style of ‘The Unanimous
Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America;’ and that the same,
when engrossed, be signed by every member of Congress.”
REMARK.
_Resolved_ commences with a capital in resolutions, and a comma
immediately precedes _That_.
RULE XIII. _Special Words._—Words used in a special sense, or of special
importance, commence with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“As nowadays we build monuments to great men, so in the Middle Ages
they built shrines or chapels on the spots which saints had made
holy.”—_Froude._
“The Reformation broke the theological shackles in which men’s minds were
fettered.”—_Froude._
“That Popularity is alone valuable and enduring which follows you, not
that which you run after.”—_Lord Mansfield._
REMARK.
Although it is the universal custom to capitalize a word when used in
a special sense to mark an important period or event in history, there
is another class of words to which writers assign a special importance,
the capitalization of which must necessarily be left to the judgment
and taste of each writer. It should, however, be remembered that an
injudicious or too frequent use of capitals lessens their value and
force, and disfigures a written or printed page.
RULE XIV. _Words Personified._—When things without life are represented
as persons, they may commence with capitals.
EXAMPLE.
“Father Time is not always a hard parent, and though he tarries for none
of his children, he often lays his hand lightly upon those who have used
him well; making them old men and women inexorably enough, but leaving
their hearts and spirits young and in full vigor. With such people the
gray head is but the impression of the old fellow’s hand in giving them
a blessing, and every wrinkle but a notch in the quiet calendar of a
well-spent life.”—_Dickens._
REMARK.
Care should be taken not to carry this rule to an excess. Unless the
personification is vivid and emphatic, use small letters; as,—
“Many a daylight dawned and darkened,
Many a night shook off the daylight
As the pine shakes off the snow-flakes
From the midnight of its branches.”—_Longfellow._
RULE XV. _I and O._—The pronoun _I_ and the interjection _O_ should
always be written with capitals.
EXAMPLES.
“True faith, I tell thee,
Must ever be the dearest friend to man:
His nature prompts him to assert its rights.”—_Schiller._
“As wise as when I went to school.”—_Goethe._
“O day! O day! O day! O hateful day!
Never was seen so black a day as this.”—SHAKESPEARE.
RULE XVI. _References._—In referring to passages in books, numbers are
sometimes represented by capital letters.
EXAMPLES.
Irving’s “Life of Washington,” vol. III. p. 77.
Mommsen’s “History of Rome,” vol. IV. p. 18.
REMARKS.
1. Some commence volume and chapter with a capital, but this is not the
usual custom.
2. The volume, chapter, and page may be given, but the volume and page
are sufficient.
3. In referring to passages in the Bible, the chapter and verse are
given; as Luke, chap. ix. 15. It is the usual custom to omit the word
_chapter_, the letters representing the chapter; and the number, the
verse; as, “It may be fit to remember that Moses, Lev. xi. 9, Deut. xiv.
9, appointed fish to be the chief diet of the best commonwealth that ever
yet was.”—_Izaak Walton._
RULE XVII. _Divisions of a Statement._—When a general statement is
divided into separate and distinct parts, it is better to commence each
division with a capital, even when they do not form complete sentences,
and are not separated from each other by a period. This is especially the
case when the divisions are numbered.
EXAMPLE.
“The history of the normal development of the individual has its
counterpart in the history of humanity. There is, 1. The age of popular
and unconscious morality; 2. The transitional, skeptical, or sophistical
age; and 3. The philosophic or conscious age of morality.”
REMARKS.
1. When each division commences with a capital and is also numbered, they
will be more readily recognized and understood.
2. Some writers number the divisions, but do not commence them with
capitals; as, “The teaching of composition requires, (1) a cultivation
of thought; and (2) a cultivation of the faculty of expression.” It is
better to commence each division with a capital.
3. When a sentence is broken off to commence a new line, in order to give
special prominence to a statement, or to attract attention, a capital
should be used; as,—
I am, dear Mother,
Your dutiful son,
Sam. Johnson.
[Illustration: Letter-Forms.]
INTRODUCTION.
In writing letters, or in preparing anything for the press, care should
be taken to write a plain, readable hand. Many a valuable position has
been lost because of poor penmanship, and many worthy productions have
been thrown into the waste-basket, because they have been poorly written.
Men of distinction can afford to write a poor hand, to the inconvenience
of friends, and the trouble of printers, but, as a general rule, a poor
writer labors under a great disadvantage.
The following facts should be remembered in writing letters:—
1. A letter should not be written on half a sheet of paper, unless it is
a business letter.
2. Business letters should be as brief as clearness will permit.
3. It is never allowable to write across a written page.
4. All unnecessary flourishes should be avoided.
5. Black ink is preferable, and it is more durable than any other.
THE ADDRESS.
INTRODUCTORY REMARK.
The most important part of letter-writing is to properly direct a letter.
During the past year, nearly 4,000,000 letters found their way to the
Dead Letter Office, 67,000 of which were misdirected. When we consider
the loss to business firms in not promptly receiving important letters,
the anxiety to friends and relatives in the delay of expected letters,
the expense to the government in sending them to the Dead Letter Office,
and in handling and returning them to the writers, the proper direction
of a letter becomes a matter of very serious importance.
_Definition._—The address consists of the title and name of the person to
whom the letter is written, the city and the state in which he lives; as,—
Mr. William K. Bixby,
Houston,
Texas.
REMARKS.
1. Care should be taken to write the address in a clear, bold hand.
2. The usual titles are Mr., Mrs., Miss, and Master. The last title is
used in addressing a boy.
3. Esq. is sometimes placed after the name, instead of placing Mr.
before. It is used more especially with the names of lawyers, artists,
and men of social position. When Esq. is used, never use Mr.
_Position._—The title and name should be written about the middle of the
envelope, beginning on the left. Below the title and name, and farther to
the right, should be written the city; below the city, the state.
REMARKS.
1. It is customary to abbreviate the name of the state. Great care,
however, should be taken to properly abbreviate the word. Some
abbreviations are so similar to each other that mistakes frequently arise:
2. The address should never be written diagonally.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the name of the person, and
after the name of the city. A period should be placed at the end.
REMARKS.
1. Mr., Mrs., Esq., Rev., Dr., Prof., Pres., Capt., &c., are all
abbreviations, and consequently the abbreviations should be indicated by
a period. Miss is not an abbreviation, and thus requires no mark after
it. Messrs. is also an abbreviation. It is used in addressing a firm, but
it is frequently omitted.
2. If any part of a person’s name is abbreviated, a period should always
be used to indicate the abbreviation; as, John S. C. Abbott. The S. and
C. without a period really mean nothing.
3. Some place a comma between the parts of a person’s name. This, of
course, is incorrect. See p. 16 d.
4. All the words in the address should be capitalized, except
prepositions and articles.
_Honorary Titles._—It is customary to give the professional title or
titles of the person to whom a letter is directed, and if he occupies
some responsible position, this also should be indicated in the address;
as,—
Rev. E. O. Haven, D.D., LL.D.,
Chancellor of Syracuse University,
Syracuse,
N. Y.
REMARKS.
1. Honorary titles should be given for two reasons:—
(_a_) As a mark of respect.
(_b_) The address will be more readily recognized by
postmasters, and the letter will be more likely to reach its
destination without delay.
2. When titles are written after a person’s name, a comma should be
placed after each title, for the reason that a comma would be necessary,
if the title was written out in full; as, A. M., D.D., LL.D.
3. Some writers make the mistake of placing a period after the first L
in LL.D. This title stands for Doctor of Laws, the LL. indicating the
plural of Law. As the two letters stand for one word, the period must
necessarily be placed after the second L.
4. Hon. applies to judges, senators, representatives, heads of government
departments, mayors, and others of similar rank; as, Hon. Thomas M.
Cooley.
5. His Excellency applies to the President of the United States, an
Ambassador of the United States, or the Governor of a State. This title
should be written on a line by itself; as,—
His Excellency,
Gov. C. M. Croswell,
Adrian,
Mich.
6. In addressing a married lady, the professional title of her husband is
sometimes used; as, Mrs. Dr. Haven.
7. Two professional titles meaning the same thing should never be used;
as, Dr. A. D. Smith, M. D.
_Large Cities._—When the person to whom the letter is addressed, lives in
a large city where letters are delivered at places of business or private
residences, the title and name, number of house and street, the city, and
state should be given; as,—
A. S. Barnes & Co.,
34 and 36 Madison St.,
Chicago.
Ill.
REMARKS.
1. The title and name should be written first, the number and street to
the right and a little below, the city below the name of the street, and
the state under the city.
2. The name of the state might be omitted in the address above given. It
is not really necessary to give the state, when the city is so widely
known that no mistake can arise, if the name of the state is omitted; as,
New York, Philadelphia, Boston.
_Small Towns and Villages._—The name of the county in which a small town
or village is located, should always be given in the address. If the
person to whom the letter is written, lives in the country, the nearest
post-office must be given, together with the county and state. The name
of the place in which a person lives, and his post-office address, may be
two very different things.
Mr. George Harvey,
Palmyra,
Lenawee Co.,
Mich.
REMARKS.
1. The title and name should be written first; the town, village, or
post-office, second; the county, third; the state last.
2. Sometimes letters are detained at post-offices, by reason of the
directions not being sufficiently complete.
_Addressed Envelopes._—It is the custom with business firms, when an
answer to a letter is asked as a favor, to send, within the letter, a
stamped envelope properly addressed. The address is usually printed,
so that no mistake can be made. In all cases, even when an addressed
envelope is not required, when a favor is asked from an acquaintance
or a friend, and an answer is desired, a postage stamp should always
be inclosed. It is certainly an unpardonable presumption to ask even a
friend to write a letter for a particular purpose, and expect him to pay
for its proper delivery.
_Letters with Special Request._—Sometimes directions are written or
printed on envelopes as to the disposal of letters, if not called for
within a certain time. This should always be done when addressing
business letters. These directions are written or printed on the left of
the envelope, near the top. See form on p. 81.
_The Stamp._—The stamp should be placed in the right-hand corner of the
envelope, near the top. It seems hardly necessary to say that every
letter should be properly stamped, and yet between three and four hundred
thousand letters are annually sent to the Dead Letter Office, because the
writers had forgotten to properly stamp them.
FORMS OF ADDRESS.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A letter of Introduction should be left unsealed.
[Illustration]
When a letter is intrusted to an acquaintance or to a friend for
delivery, it should not be sealed.
LETTER-FORMS.
I. Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.
II. { Mr. William K. Bixby,
{ Houston, Texas.
III. Dear Sir,—
IV. Your favor * *
* * * * * * * *
V. { Very truly,
{ Joseph M. Blain.
In the letter-form above given, there are five parts to be considered:—
I. THE HEADING.
II. THE ADDRESS.
III. INTRODUCTORY WORDS.
IV. THE BODY OF THE LETTER.
V. THE CONCLUSION.
I. THE HEADING.
_Definition._—The heading consists of the name of the city in which the
writer lives, the state, the month, the day of the month, and the year;
as,—
Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. Great care should always be taken to give in the heading, not only the
city, but also the state. If the letter should be sent to the Dead Letter
Office, the heading will properly indicate the place to which the letter
is to be returned.
2. The heading indicates to the person who receives the letter where an
answer is to be sent.
3. Sometimes the day of the week is given; as, Adrian, Monday, Nov. 5,
1877.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the city, state, and date.
A period should be placed at the end. If a word is abbreviated, a period
should be used to indicate the abbreviation, and a comma should also be
used, if the word written out in full would require a comma; as,—
Adrian, Michigan, November 6, 1877.
Adrian, Mich., Nov. 6, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. Some writers thoughtlessly place a comma between the name of the month
and the day of the month; as, November, 6, or Nov., 6. The 6 forms an
essential part of the month, and should not be separated from it by a
punctuation mark.
2. It is better to omit _st_, _th_, or _d_ after the number indicating
the day of the month. It certainly looks neater to write the date without
the marks and dots that sometimes disfigure the heading of letters.
3. Some prefer to place the number before the name of the month; as,
Adrian, Mich., 6 Nov., 1877. This, however, is not the usual practice.
_Large Cities._—In large cities where letters are delivered by
letter-carriers, it is necessary to give, in the heading of a letter,
the number of the house and the name of the street. The order should be
number, street, city, state, month, day of the month, year; as,—
215 Prospect St., Cleveland, Ohio,
March 5, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. Sometimes the size of the paper necessitates the use of three lines
for the heading. If this should be necessary, the number of the house and
the name of the street should be on the first line; the city and state,
on the second; the month, the day of the month, and year, on the third.
Each line should commence farther to the right than the preceding; as,—
215 Prospect St.,
Cleveland, Ohio,
March 5, 1877.
2. As few lines as possible should be used in the heading. In sending
letters from well known cities like New York, Philadelphia, &c., it is
not necessary to give the state. When the name of the state is omitted,
the heading can usually be written on two lines.
3. A period should be placed after St., because it is an abbreviation.
A comma should also follow the period, because the word written in full
would require a comma. 215 Prospect St., is one item; Cleveland, a
second; Ohio, a third; March 5, a fourth; 1877, a fifth.
_A Small Town or Village._—If the place in which the writer lives, is a
small town or village, the name of the place, county, and state should be
given; as,—
Palmyra, Lenawee Co., Mich.,
Sept. 13, 1877.
REMARKS.
1. The county should be given so that an answer to the letter may be
properly directed.
2. If the writer lives in the country, the post-office where his letters
are received, should be given, and not the place where he lives.
_Hotels._—When a letter is written at some prominent hotel, it is
customary to give the name of the hotel in the heading; as,—
Grand Central Hotel, New York,
Jan. 10, 1877.
_Seminaries and Colleges._—In writing from a seminary, college, or
university, the name of the institution is sometimes given; as,—
Female Seminary, Cleveland, Ohio,
April 11, 1877.
_Position._—The heading should be written on the first line, on the right
hand, commencing about the middle of the line. If more than one line is
required, the second line should commence farther to the right than the
first, and the third than the second.
REMARKS.
1. When a letter does not fill a full page, the heading should not be
written on the first line. The space at the head of the letter should
be about the same as at the bottom. In business letters, this is not
necessary.
2. Some write the city, state, month, &c., at the close of a letter. This
is not however, the usual form.
II. THE ADDRESS.
_Definition._—The address in the inside of a letter should be the same
as the address on the envelope. It consists of the title and name of the
person to whom the letter is written, and the place of his residence; as,—
Mr. William K. Bixby,
Houston, Texas.
REMARKS.
There are several reasons why the address should be written within the
letter:—
1. Business men usually take an impression or make a copy of all letters
written by themselves or their agents. It is a great convenience to
have the address within the letter, so that it can be referred to, if
necessary, at any time.
2. If the envelope is accidentally torn off, or is lost by not being
properly sealed, the letter can still be forwarded to its destination, if
the address is written within.
3. It is frequently the habit, on receiving a letter, to destroy the
envelope. Sometimes, after the envelope is destroyed, the letter is lost.
If there is an inside address, the letter, if found, can be returned.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the name of the person and
of the city. A period should be placed at the end.
REMARKS.
1. By placing _to_ before the address, it will be seen that a period is
required at its close, just as a period is required at the end of the
address on the envelope; as, To William K. Bixby, Houston, Texas.
2. Some writers place a colon after the name of the state, but the
practice is not a correct one. A semicolon should never be used.
_Large Cities._ When the person to whom the letter is written, lives in a
large city, the number and name of the street should be given, as on the
outside address; as,—
A. S. Barnes & Co.,
34 and 36 Madison St., Chicago.
REMARK.
If three lines are necessary, the title and name should be on the first
line, the number and street on the second, the city and state on the
third.
_Small Towns and Villages._—When the letter is addressed to a small town
or village, the county in which the town or village is situated, should
be given; as,—
Mr. George Harvey,
Palmyra, Lenawee Co., Mich.
REMARK.
The title and name should be on one line; the town or village, county,
and state should be on the second.
_Letters to Intimate Friends or Relatives._—In writing letters to
intimate friends or relatives, the address should be written at the close
of the letter, at the left, commencing on the line immediately following
the signature. It would be too formal to write the address at the head of
the letter, and it would not be in keeping with the introductory words
which immediately follow; as,—
Milburn Wagon Works, Toledo, Ohio,
Nov. 2, 1877.
Dear Mother,—
Your letter * * *
* * * * * * * * *
Very affectionately,
Edgar W. Curtis.
Mrs. James E. Curtis,
Adrian, Mich.
REMARK.
When the heading occupies only one line, it is better to leave a blank
line between the heading and the address.
_Position._—The address should commence on the left, and should be
written on, at least, two lines. The title and name should be on one
line; the city and state, on the second, and farther to the right. The
address, if possible, should be written on two lines. If the heading
consists of two or three lines, the address should commence on the line
immediately following the heading. If the heading consists of one line
only, a blank line should be left between the heading and the address.
III. INTRODUCTORY WORDS.
_Definition._—The introductory words consist of the greeting or
salutation; as,—
Dear Sir,—
REMARKS.
1. Sometimes only one word is used in the greeting; as, Sir, Gentlemen.
2. When Sir, Gentlemen, Friend, Father, &c., are used as introductory
words, they should always commence with a capital, as a mark of respect.
In greeting friends or relatives, do not belittle them with small letters.
3. When dear, respected, honored, and words of a like character, are
not the first words of the salutation, they should commence with a
small letter; as, My dear Sir, My respected Friend. If they commence the
salutation, capitals should be used; as, Dear Father, Respected Friend.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the salutation, and a dash
may also be used. The use of the dash, however, is simply a matter of
taste.
REMARKS.
1. A colon should not be placed after the greeting, except in official or
very formal salutations. See p. 100.
2. A semicolon should never be used.
_Position._—The introductory words may be written in three different
positions:—
1. When the address occupies two lines, the salutation should be written
on the line immediately following, commencing a little to the right of
the second line of the address; as,
Mr. Harry B. Hutchins,
Mt. Clemens, Mich.
Dear Sir,—
2. If the address consists of three lines, the first word of the
salutation commences on a line with the number of the street; as,—
A. S. Barnes & Co.,
34 and 36 Madison St.,
Chicago.
Gentlemen,—
3. If the address is written at the close of the letter, the introductory
words should commence on a line with the body of the letter, that is,
with the marginal line; as,—
Dear Manning,—
Rest you merry in your own opinion.
Opinion is a species of property; and though
I am always desirous to share with my friend to
a certain extent, I shall ever like to keep some
tenets, and some property, properly my own. *
* * * *
Your well-wisher and friend,
C. Lamb.
_Forms of Salutation._—Custom authorizes the use of several forms of
salutation. These may be arranged under four heads:—
1. _To Strangers._
Sir, Madame, Miss ⸺.
2. _To Acquaintances._
Dear Sir, Dear Madame, Dear Miss ⸺.
My dear Sir, My dear Madame, My dear Miss ⸺, imply a better acquaintance
than Dear Sir, &c.
3. _To Friends or Relatives._
Dear Friend, My dear Father, Dear Henry, &c.
4. _To Business Firms or Corporate Bodies._
Sirs, Gentlemen, Ladies.
_Salutations to Young Ladies._—Owing to the fact that we have no word
corresponding to Sir that can be used in addressing young ladies, there
is sometimes an uncertainty as to the proper salutation to be used.
Although Madame may refer to a married or an unmarried lady, it is not
an appropriate word with which to address a young lady. There are three
forms that may be used:—
1. _To a Stranger._
Decatur, Ill., May 6, 1877.
Miss Delia L. Corbus,—
* * * * *
Respectfully,
William C. Johns.
Miss Delia L. Corbus,
Adrian, Mich.
The name is given as the salutation, and the full address is given at the
close of the letter.
2. _To an Acquaintance._
Adrian, Mich., Sept. 3, 1877.
Dear Miss Dewey,—
* * * * * *
Very truly,
Thomas M. Hunter.
Miss Ella Dewey,
Hotel Madison, Toledo, Ohio.
3. _To an Intimate Friend._—In writing to intimate friends, the character
of the letter, and the intimacy of the writers, will suggest the proper
forms.
_Salutations to Married Ladies._
1. _To a Stranger._
Mrs. J. C. Hill,
Adrian, Mich.
Madame,—
2. _To an Acquaintance._
Mrs. W. S. Sears,
Adrian, Mich.
Dear Madame,—
3. _To a Friend._
66 Summit St., Toledo, Ohio,
Dec. 1, 1877.
Dear Mrs. Millard,—
* * * * * *
Very truly,
Franklin Hubbard.
Mrs. A. L. Millard,
Adrian, Mich.
IV. BODY OF THE LETTER.
_The First Word._—The first word should commence on the line immediately
following the introductory words, and directly under the comma or the
dash of the salutation; as,—
Dear Sir,—
Your letter * * * *
REMARK.
Some writers commence the body of the letter on the same line with the
greeting.
_Margin._—It is the usual custom to leave a margin on the left of a
written page. This varies according to the taste of the writer and the
size of the page.
_Paragraphs._—A new paragraph should commence whenever a new subject is
introduced, and, with the exception of the first paragraph, which begins
directly under the comma or the dash of the salutation, each paragraph
should commence a little to the right of the marginal line.
V. THE CONCLUSION.
_Definition._—The conclusion is made up of two parts,—words of respect or
affection, and the signature of the writer; as,—
Very truly,
Joseph M. Blain.
REMARKS.
1. Various forms of respect or affection are used in concluding letters;
as, Respectfully, Most respectfully, Very affectionately, &c.
2. In using words of respect or affection, the first word only should be
capitalized. In the salutation, Sir, Friend, &c., should commence with
a capital, as a mark of respect; but in the conclusion of a letter, it
would, to say the least, be in bad taste to give the same prominence to
one’s own worth.
3. The conclusion should always be in keeping with the introductory
words. If Sir were used in the salutation, it would not be proper to use
Very affectionately at the close.
4. Although custom sanctions the use of Your obedient servant, Your most
obedient servant, and similar forms, the practice is not to be commended.
These expressions are associated with a past age, when men depended on
the uncertain patronage of the great.
_Punctuation._—A comma should be placed after the words of respect and
affection, and a period should be placed at the end of the signature.
REMARK.
There is great carelessness exhibited by all writers in punctuating their
names. A period should always be placed at the end of the signature,
to indicate that the signature is complete. If the different parts of
the name are written out in full, no punctuation marks should be placed
between them; if, however, any part of the name is abbreviated, a period
should always be used to indicate the abbreviation; as, Ettie Shier,
Laura B. Palmer, Geo. L. Bennett.
_Position._—The conclusion should be written on, at least, two lines. The
words of respect and affection should be written on the line immediately
following the close of the letter, on the right, commencing near the
middle of the line; the signature should be on the line immediately
following the words of respect and affection, a little farther to the
right.
_The Signature._—In signing one’s name, there are several important facts
to be remembered:—
1. The writer’s full name should always be given, especially in business
letters and in letters containing money, so that the letter can be
returned, if, for any reason, it is sent to the Dead Letter Office. This,
of course, can not be done unless the writer’s name is given in full.
Thousands of dollars are lost every year by writers thoughtlessly signing
themselves Nellie, Fred., &c. 25,000 letters, containing $1,301,780, were
sent to the Dead Letter Office in the year 1877.
2. A lady, in writing to a stranger, should always sign her name so that
the person receiving the letter will know, in answering, whether to
address a single or a married lady; as, Miss Maria S. Colvin, Mrs. David
Finley.
3. It is frequently the custom for married ladies to use their husband’s
name; as, Mrs. E. B. Pond. Widow ladies use their Christian name.
4. If the person writing a letter to a stranger, occupies a responsible
or official position, he should give this in connection with his
signature, so that the person to whom the letter is written, may have
some means of knowing how much attention to give to the letter.
SUMMARY.
I. _To a Relative._
Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 15, 1877.
Dear Father,—
Your letter * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
Affectionately,
James A. Stacy.
C. A. Stacy, Esq.,
Adrian, Mich.
II. _To an Intimate Friend._
The form of a letter to an intimate friend should be the same as the
preceding one.
Salutation to a married lady, p. 94.
III. _To an Acquaintance._
Bay City, Mich., Dec. 4, 1877.
Mr. Wm. B. Mumford,
Adrian, Mich.
Dear Sir,—
Your letter * *
* * * * * * * * *
Very truly,
William T. Smalley.
1. Salutation to a married lady, p. 94.
2. Letter-form to a young lady, p. 93.
IV. _To a Stranger._
The same form should be used as to an acquaintance, with the exception of
the salutation, which should be Sir, Madame, or Miss ⸺.
Letter-form to a young lady, p. 93.
V. _Letter with Number and Street._
34 and 36 Madison St., Chicago,
Sept. 12, 1877.
Mr. Charles Scribner,
124 Grand St., N. Y.
Dear Sir,—
Your favor * *
* * * * * * * * * *
Respectfully,
A. S. Barnes & Co.
1. For another form, see p. 91.
2. County and state, pp. 86, 89.
3. Hotels, pp. 86, 93.
4. Seminaries and colleges, p. 86.
VI. _Official Letters._
150 Summit St., Toledo, Ohio,
Dec. 10, 1877.
Hon. Samuel J. Randall,
Speaker of the House,
Washington, D. C.
Sir:—
* * * * * * * *
Very respectfully,
Fred. L. Geddes.
To the Common Council of the City of Adrian.
Gentlemen:—
* * * * * *
Respectfully,
W. S. Wilcox.
For the use of the colon, see p. 91, Rem. 1.
[Illustration: Proof-Reading.]
INTRODUCTION.
Most business men, and all professional men, have occasion, more or less,
to have something printed for their own use, or to write something for
the public press, so that a correct knowledge of some of the simpler
marks used by proof-readers, in making corrections and additions, seems
imperative. The advice sometimes given to allow the printer to make
all corrections, since he is more likely to know what corrections are
necessary, is destructive to a clear presentation of what another has
written. The printer may understand better than the writer the mechanical
part of his work, but “mind reading” has not yet reached such perfection
that the compositor can tell, in all instances, what meaning the writer
really wishes to convey, and a misconception on the part of the printer
may be the means of changing the sense of a whole paragraph.
In preparing anything for the press, a few facts should be remembered:—
1. It is never allowable to write on both sides of a sheet of paper. Only
one side should be used, and each page should be properly numbered.
2. The manuscript should be prepared with great care. It should be
properly punctuated, capitalized, and broken into paragraphs. In fact,
the copy placed in the hands of the printer should be in a condition to
be exactly reproduced. Some expect the printer to dress up in proper form
their half expressed, poorly written, and badly punctuated sentences, and
if their hieroglyphics and abbreviations are not deciphered to suit their
unreasonable expectations, they rail against incompetent printers and
blundering proof-readers.
3. Some writers thoughtlessly leave many points unsettled in the
manuscript, so as to see “how they look in print,” then fill the proof
with numberless corrections and additions, and expect the printer to
make such changes as the impulse of the moment has suggested. This is
certainly a great injustice to the compositor, who usually receives no
remuneration for this additional tax on his time and patience. No half
finished manuscript ought to be allowed to go into the printer’s hand.
4. Whenever it is really necessary to strike out several words, enough
words should be substituted in their places to fill the vacant spaces.
DEFINITIONS.
_Copy._—This word really means something to be imitated, and it is used
by printers when referring to the manuscript of a writer.
_Proof-Sheet._—When the copy is set up in type, an impression in ink is
taken for corrections. This is called a proof-sheet. In correcting proof,
the first thing to be done is to place the copy in the hands of some
one to read aloud, while the proof-reader pays attention principally to
omissions, the spelling and capitalization of words, and punctuation.
After this, the proof should be carefully examined to detect what are
called typographical errors, that is, mistakes in type.
_Revise._—After the corrections indicated in the proof are made, another
impression is taken. This is called the revise. The revise should be
carefully compared with the proof, to see that all corrections are made.
INTRODUCTORY REMARK.
Mistakes in the proof should be called attention to by certain marks
which will hereafter be described, and the corrections should be
indicated in the margin, on the right or left of the line in which
they occur. If mistakes are found near the beginning of the line, the
corrections should be placed in the margin on the left, otherwise they
should be placed on the right. The numbers in the following statements
refer to lines of the specimen proof-sheet on pages 111, 112.
I. _Wrong Letters and Punctuation Marks._—The most common mistakes in
a proof-sheet are wrong letters and punctuation marks. When these are
noticed, a line should be drawn slopingly, from right to left, through
each, and the correct letter or punctuation mark written in the margin.
It is better to repeat the line with the correction in the margin, so as
to attract attention to the desired change; as, 2, 4, 8. A sloping line
should always be placed between corrections opposite the same line, and
the corrections should be placed in the order in which they occur.
REMARKS.
1. The correction in the margin should always be placed to the left of
the sloping line; as, 2, 3, 4, 8.
2. The period, dash, hyphen, quotation marks, apostrophe, and reference
marks should be distinguished in the margin, thus:—
[Illustration]
For illustrations, see 6, 10.
3. If it is necessary to change a capital letter to a small letter, draw
a line through the capital, and either write a small letter in the
margin, or the abbreviation _l.c._, lower case, which indicates that a
common letter is to be used; as, 3.
4. The abbreviation _w.f._, wrong font, indicates that a letter is of
improper size.
II. _Wrong Words._—When an entire word is incorrect, a straight line
should be drawn through it, and the proper word written in the margin;
as, 5.
REMARK.
When it is necessary to change a word, printed in capitals, to small
letters, draw a line through the word, and write _l.c._ in the margin;
as, 16. See I., Rem. 3.
III. _Omissions._—If a letter, punctuation mark, or word is omitted,
the omission should be indicated by a caret, and the omitted letter,
punctuation mark, or word placed in the margin; as, 3, 6.
REMARKS.
1. When the period, dash, hyphen, quotation marks, or reference marks are
omitted, they should be distinguished in the margin as in I., Rem. 2.
2. A sloping line should always be made in the margin, to the right of an
omitted letter or punctuation mark; as, 3.
3. If several words or lines are omitted, it is sometimes necessary to
write the words at the top or bottom of the proof. When this is the case,
a line should be drawn from the caret to the words to be inserted; as, 25.
4. Sometimes so much has been omitted that it is necessary to refer to
the copy. When this is so, indicate the omission by a caret, write _See
Copy_ in the margin, and inclose within parenthetical marks or brackets
the portion of the copy to be inserted in the proof.
IV. _Inverted Letter._—When a letter is inverted, a sloping line should
be drawn through it, and the change indicated in the margin by 9, a
character resembling an inverted 6; as, 13.
REMARK.
Some proof-readers draw a line under the inverted letter, but this is not
so easily recognized as a sloping line drawn through the letter.
V. _Strike Out._—It is sometimes necessary to strike out a letter,
punctuation mark, or word. A line should be drawn through each, as in I.
and II., and the sign ₰, which means strike out, placed in the margin;
as, 9, 19.
VI. _Capitals and Italics._—Three lines drawn under a word indicate that
the word should be printed in large capitals; two lines, small capitals;
one line, italics. The abbreviations, _Caps._, _S. Caps._, _Ital._,
should also be written in the margin; as, 1, 2.
REMARKS.
1. If a word is italicized, and it is desirable to change it to the
ordinary type, draw a line under it, and write _Rom._, the abbreviation
for Roman, in the margin; as, 15.
2. To change a word printed in capitals to small letters, see II., Rem.
VII. _Spacing._—When there is too great a space between two letters, the
letters should be connected by the marks ⁐, and the same sign should be
repeated in the margin; as, 21. The single mark ‿ connecting two words
and repeated in the margin, indicates too great a space between words;
as, 23.
When there is not sufficient space between two words, a caret is used to
indicate the want of space, and the sign # written in the margin; as, 25.
REMARKS.
1. When there is not space enough between two lines, or there is too
much, the fact can be indicated as in 7 and 8, 13 and 14.
2. When a space is not left at the commencement of a paragraph, a caret
indicates the want of space, and the sign ▭ is placed in the margin; as,
17.
VIII. _Paragraphs._—When a new paragraph is desired, the sign [ should be
inserted in the proof, before the first word of the new paragraph, and
the sign ¶ should be placed in the margin; as, 10.
When two paragraphs are to be run together, they should be connected by a
line, and _No_ ¶ written in the margin; as, 24.
REMARKS.
1. The line connecting the two paragraphs is usually so readily
recognized that an additional sign in the margin is not always required.
2. For space at the commencement of a paragraph, see VII., Rem. 2.
IX. _Correction to be Disregarded._—Dots placed under a word, and
_Stet._, which means let it stand, written in the margin, indicate that a
correction is to be disregarded; as, 25.
X. _Broken Letters._—When it is necessary to call the attention of the
printer to a broken letter, a line should be drawn under it, and the sign
× placed in the margin; as, 21.
REMARK.
It is the custom with some proof-readers to draw a sloping line through
the broken letter, and repeat the letter in the margin. This is sometimes
a great convenience to the printer, especially when the letter is so
badly injured that it can not be recognized; for, unless the printer
is familiar with the spelling of the word, it may be necessary, with
considerable inconvenience, to refer to the copy.
XI. _Transpose._—When two words should change places, the custom is to
draw a line over the first, continue it under the second, and write
_tr._, the abbreviation for transpose, in the margin; as, 26.
REMARKS.
1. When several letters in a word are not in their proper order, either
draw a line through the word and rewrite it in the margin, or draw a line
under or through the letters, and write them in their proper order.
2. When the order of several words is to be changed, indicate the proper
order by placing 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., over the words, draw a straight line
under each, and write _tr._ in the margin.
XII. _Crooked Words._—When the letters of a word are displaced, draw a
line above and below the word, and repeat the lines in the margin; as,
28. The same marks are used to call attention to a crooked line.
XIII. _Projecting Leads._—When a lead projects so as to leave an
impression on the proof, a sloping line should be drawn through it, and
the sign [symbol] or [symbol] placed in the margin; as, 22.
XIV. _Diphthongs._—When _æ_ and _œ_ should be printed as diphthongs, a
line should be drawn through them, and the letters forming the diphthong
written in the margin thus, æ̑, œ̑.
XV. _Mark of Attention._—The sign + is sometimes used to call the
attention of the printer to some defect in a word or line.
GENERAL REMARK.
It is the custom with many proof-readers to draw a line from the mistake
in the proof to the correction in the margin. This should always be done
when the mistakes are numerous, or the lines crowded together.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
DESCRIPTION OF A PALACE IN A VALLEY.
[Illustration]
Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with
eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the
promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be
supplied by the morrow, attend to the history of Rasselas, prince of
Abyssinia.
Rasselas was the fourth son of the mighty emperor, in whose dominions the
father of waters begins his course; whose bounty pours down the streams
of plenty, and scatters over half the world the harvests of Egypt.
The place which the wisdom or policy of antiquity had destined for the
residence of the Abyssinian princes, was a spacious valley in the
kingdom of Amhara, surrounded on every side by mountains, of which the
summits overhung the middle part. The only passage by which it could be
entered, was a cavern that passed under a rock, of which it has long been
disputed whether it was the work of nature or of human industry.
DR. JOHNSON.
INDEX.
The first number of each reference refers to the page.
A
Abbreviations, how indicated, 29, II.;
list of, 29, 30;
additional marks, 30, 1;
proper names, 30, 2;
numerals, 30, 3;
numbering pages, 30, 4;
letter doubled to indicate the plural, 30, 5;
how to abbreviate words, 30, 6;
Mr., Mrs., etc., 74, 1, 2.
Addressed, person or thing, 13, VIII.;
strong emotion, 14 Rem.; 33, III.
Address of envelopes, most important part of letter-writing, 73;
position, 74;
punctuation, 74;
honorary titles, 75;
large cities, 76;
small towns and villages, 77;
addressed envelopes, 77;
letters with special request, 78;
stamp, 78;
forms of address, 78-82.
Address, inside, definition of, 87;
punctuation of, 88;
large cities, 88;
small towns and villages, 89;
intimate friends and relatives, 89;
position, 90.
Adjectives, two, 17, 2;
in a series, 18, 1.
Adverbs, 10, 3.
Advertisements, capitalization of, 62, 3.
Almighty God, 64, 2.
And, or, nor, connecting words in a series, 17, XIV.;
words and phrases, 19, 3;
phrases and clauses, 18, XV.; 19, 2;
_or_ between two words or expressions, the latter explaining the
former, 18, 2.
Answer and question in the same paragraph, 36, 3.
Apostrophe, the, 47, 48;
form of, 47, Rem.;
denotes what, 47, II
See Possession.
Appositives, 15, XI.;
definition of, 16, 1;
two nouns in apposition, 16, 2, a;
noun and pronoun, 16, 2, b;
two pronouns, 16, 2, c;
parts of a person’s name, 16, 2, d.
Arabic numbers, 22, XVIII.
As, 21, 3;
introducing an example, 24, Rem.;
_as_ with a dash, 36, 4.
As it were, 9, IV.;
as follows, 27, III.
Aunt, when to commence with a capital, 63, 2, 3; 90, 2; 96, 2.
Author from whom a quotation is taken, 36, 2;
manuscript of, 72, 102, 103;
correction of proof, 102.
B
Because, 7, 1.
Being or having been, 14, Rem.
Bible, references to. See References.
Body of the letter, the first word, 94;
margin, 95;
paragraphs, 95.
Books, titles of, 44, II.;
chapter, 62, 2;
title-pages, 62, VIII.
Brackets, 41, 42;
additional marks, 41, 1;
reporting speeches, 41, 2;
parenthetical marks, 42, 3.
Broken letters in proof, 109, X.
Broken sentences, 34, I.
Brother, when to commence with a capital, 63, 2, 3; 90, 2; 96, 2.
But, 6, 1.
C
Capitals, 54-70;
usage formerly, 55;
tendency at the present day, 56;
value of capitals, 56;
how indicated in writing, 53, V.;
in proof, 107, VI.;
title-pages, 62, VIII.
Caret, 52, II.;
in proof, 106, III.
Chapter, first word of, 62, 2.
Church, when written with a capital, 60, 3.
Clauses, definition of, 5;
independent, 6, I.;
dependent, 6, II.;
relative, 7, 8, 9;
participial, 14, IX.;
series of, 24, III.;
concluding, 34, II.;
short, 24, Rem. See Expressions.
Colon, the, 25-28;
indicates what, 3, 4;
not used as much as formerly, 28.
Comma, the, 5-22;
indicates a close relationship, 3, 4;
omitted, 3; 16, 2; 21, 1, 2, 3;
preferred sometimes to semicolons, 25.
Commas, two, placed under a word, 52, I.
Complete sentences, 29, I.;
title of essay, oration, etc., 29, Rem.
Compound words, 49, I.;
definition of, 49, 1.
Concluding clause, 34, II.;
emphatic conclusion, 35, 1;
_namely_, _that is_, etc., omitted, 35, 2;
word or expression repeated, 35, 3.
Conclusion of a letter, definition, 95;
punctuation, 96;
position, 97;
signature, 97.
Conclusion, emphatic, 35, I.
Contrasted expressions or comparisons, 20, XVII.;
comparison, short, 21, 1;
_so-that_, _rather-than_, etc., 21, 2;
_as_, _than_, 21, 3;
first expression negative, the other affirmative, 21, 4.
Consequently, 9, IV.
Copy, definition of, 104.
Correction in proof to be disregarded, 109, IX.
Cousin, when to commence with a capital, 63, 2, 3; 90, 2; 96, 2.
Crooked words in proof, 110, XII.
D
Dagger, double dagger, uses of, 53, VI.
Dash, 34-38;
additional punctuation marks, 38, 1, 2.
Days of the month, 60, VI.;
spring, summer, etc., 61, Rem.
Dates, 22, Rem.
Deity, the, 63, X.;
difference among writers, 63, 1;
First Cause, etc., 64, 2;
King of kings, etc., 64, 3;
eternal, divine, etc., 64, 4;
pronouns, 64, 5; 65, 6;
god, goddess, deity, 65, 7.
Democrat, 60, V.
Dependent clauses, 6, II.;
definition of, 7, 1;
omission of comma, 7, 2.
Devil, 59, 3.
Diæresis, 50, 4.
Diphthongs, how indicated in proof, 110, XIV.
Direct question, 31, I.
Direct quotation. See Quotation.
Divine, 64, 4.
Division of words, 50, III.;
where to divide a word, 51, 1.
Divisions of sentences, 23, I.; 25, Gen. Rem.
Divisions of a statement, 69, XVII.;
how readily recognized, 70, 1;
usage of some writers, 70, 2;
sentences broken off to attract attention, 70, 3.
E
East, when to commence with a capital, 59, 1.
Ellipsis, marks of, 52, III.
Emotion, strong, 32, I.;
unusual degree, 32, Rem.
Emphasis, words repeated for, 17, 3;
use of the dash to give prominence, 37, Gen. Rem.; 35, 1.
Enumeration of particulars, 27, III.;
particulars preceded by a colon, 27, 1;
not introduced by _thus_, _following_, etc., 27, 2;
particulars preceded by a semicolon, 27, 3;
comma and dash sometimes used, 28, 4.
Envelopes, addressed, 77;
with special request, 78;
with stamp, 78.
Esq., 74, 3.
Eternal, referring to the Deity, 64, 4.
Example, punctuation of words preceding, 24, Rem.;
first word of, 66, 4.
Exclamation point, 32, 33;
inclosed within parenthetical marks, 40, 3.
Expressions, inverted, 12, VI.;
two brief, 19, 2;
contrasted, 20, XVII.;
complete in themselves, 23, II.; 28, Gen. Rem.;
series of, 24, III.;
negative and affirmative, 21, 4;
at the end of sentences, 22, XIX.;
equivalent to sentences, 57, 2.
F
Father, when to commence with a capital, 63, 2, 3.
Federalist, 60, V.
Figures omitted, 36, IV.;
Arabic, 22, XVIII.
Finally, 9, IV.
First Cause, First Principle, 64, 2;
Father of mercies, Father of spirits, 64, 3.
First word in a sentence, 57, I.;
in expressions numbered, 69, XVII.;
after a period, 57, 3.
Following, 27, III., 2.
Foreign words, 43, 2.
Forms of address, 78-82.
Friend, when to commence with a capital, 63, 3; 90, 2; 96, 2.
G
General remarks, 28, 37, 110.
God, 63, 64;
goddess, 65, 7;
God of hosts, 64, 3.
Gospel, 61, 3.
Greeting. See Introductory words.
H
Handbills, use of capitals in, 62, 3.
Heading of letters, 83;
definition, 83;
punctuation, 84;
large cities, 85;
a small town or village, 86;
hotels, 86;
seminaries or colleges, 86;
position, 86.
Heaven and hell, 59, 3.
Heavenly, applied to the Deity, 64, 4.
Hers, 48, 3.
Hesitation, how indicated, 34, I.
His, Him, referring to the Deity, 64, 5.
His Excellency, 76, 5; 62, IX.;
address of envelope, 80.
Hon., 75, 4; 62, IX.
However, 9, IV.
Hyphen, the, 49-51;
connecting several words, 49, 2;
omitted, 49, 3;
doubt as to the use, 49, 5.
I
I, 68, XV.
If, 7, 1.
Indeed, 9, IV.
Independent clauses, 6, I.;
definition of, 6, 1;
comma omitted, 6, 2;
separation by a semicolon, 6, 3.
Infinite One, 64, 2.
In short, in fact, in reality, 9, IV.
Interjections, 32, II.;
exclamation point at the end of a sentence, 33, 1, 2.
Interrogation point, 31, I.;
inclosed in parenthetical marks, 40, 2.
Introductory words of letters, definition, 90;
punctuation, 91;
position, 91;
forms of salutation, 92;
salutations to young ladies, 93;
to married ladies, 94.
Introductory remarks, 5, 73.
Inverted expressions, 12, VI.;
explanation, 12, 1;
omission of comma, 12, 2.
Inverted letter in proof, 107, IV.
Italics, how indicated, 53, V.; 107, VI.;
words from a foreign language, 43, 2;
written with or without a capital, 60, Rem.
Its, 48, 3.
K
King of kings, 64, 3.
L
Leaders, 53, IV.
Letters or figures omitted, 36, IV.;
3-9 equivalent to, 37, Rem.
Letters omitted, 47, I.;
the apostrophe, 47, Rem.
Letters, care in writing, some facts, 73.
Letter-forms, 71-100.
List of abbreviations, 29, 30; 30, 7.
LL. D., 30, 5; 75, 3.
Logical subject, 19, XVI.;
definition of, 20, 1;
custom of some writers, 20, 2.
Long sentences, 25, I.
Lord of lords, 64, 3.
M
Madame, 93, 94.
Marks of parenthesis, 39, 40;
additional marks, 39, 1;
dashes, 37, V.;
comma, 40, 4.
Mark of attention in proof, 110, XV.
Members of sentences, 25, Gen. Rem.
Miscellaneous marks, 52, 53.
Miss, 74, 1; 93.
Months and days, names of, 60, VI.;
autumn, spring, etc., 61, Rem.
More—than, 21, 2.
Moreover, 9, IV.
N
Name, person’s, 16, 2, d.;
abbreviated, 30, 2; 74, 2; 96, Rem.
period used after name, 29, Rem.
See Signature.
Namely, 9, IV.; 35, 2.
Nations, names of, 59, IV.;
Italics and Italicized, 60, Rem.
Negative expressions, 21, 4.
Nevertheless, 9, IV.
Nor, 6, 1.
Not, contrasted expressions, 21, 4.
North, when to commence with a capital, 59, 1.
Nouns in apposition, 15, 16. See Words.
Numeral figures, 22, XVIII.;
dates, 22, Rem.
O
O, 68, XV.;
not followed by an exclamation point, 32, II.
Of which, 9, 3;
of course, 9, IV.
Omitted, letters or figures, 36, IV.; 47, I.
Omissions, how indicated, 52, II.;
in proof, 106, III.
Or, 6, 1; 18, 2.
Ours, 48, 3.
P
Pages, numbering of, 30, 4.
Paragraphs, quoted, 46, IV.;
sign of, 53, VI.;
in proof, 108, VIII.
Parallel lines, 53, VI.
Parenthesis, 39, I.;
additional marks, 39, 1, a, b, c;
comma and dash often preferred, 37, V.; 40, 4;
doubtful assertion, 40, 2;
irony or contempt, 40, 3.
Parenthetical words and phrases, 9, IV.;
definition of, 10, 1;
when commas are omitted, 10, 2;
parenthetical words and adverbs, 10, 3.
Parenthetical expressions, 11, V.;
distinction between parenthetical expressions and parenthetical
words, 11, 1, a, b;
when commas are omitted, 11, 2.
Parties, names of, 60, V.
See Sects.
Participial clauses, 14, IX.;
sign of, 14, Rem.
Perhaps, 9, IV.
Period, indicates what, 3;
uses of, 29, 30.
Persons and places, names of, 58, III.;
North, South, etc., 59, 1;
words derived from names of persons, 59, 2;
Satan, devil, 59, 3.
Person or thing addressed, 13, VIII.;
strong emotion, 14, Rem.
Personification, 67, XIV.
Phrases and clauses, 18, XV.;
definition of a phrase, 19, 1;
of a clause, 5;
when commas are omitted, 19, 2;
words and phrases in a series, 19, 3;
parenthetical phrases, 9, 10.
Poetry, first word of each line, 58, II.
Political parties, 60, V.
Possession, 47, II.;
singular of nouns, 47, 1;
plural of nouns, 48, 2;
ours, yours, etc., 48, 3.
Prefixes, 50, II.;
definition of, 50, 1;
vowel and consonant 50, 2;
vice-president, etc., 50, 3;
when to use the diæresis, 50, 4.
Prince of life, Prince of kings, 64, 3.
Projecting leads in proof, 110, XIII.
Pronouns referring to the Deity, 64, 5; 65, 6.
Proof-reading, 101-114;
its importance, 102;
preparation of manuscript, 102, 103;
copy, proof-sheet, revise, 104;
wrong letters and punctuation marks, 105, I.;
wrong words, 106, II.;
omissions, 106, III.;
inverted letter, 107, IV.;
strike out, 107, V.;
capitals and italics, 107, VI.;
spacing, 108, VII.;
paragraphs, 108, VIII.;
correction to be disregarded, 109, IX.;
broken letters, 109, X.;
transpose, 109, XI.;
crooked words, 110, XII.;
projecting leads, 110, XIII.;
diphthongs, 110, XIV.;
mark of attention, 100, XV.;
Gen. Rem., 110.
Proof-sheet, definition of, 104;
specimen proof, 111, 112;
corrected proof, 113, 114.
Punctuation, its importance, iii., iv.;
how to teach it, iv., v.;
principal punctuation marks, 3;
other marks, 4;
punctuation marks, why used, 3, 4.
Q
Question, direct, 31, I.;
question and answer in the same paragraph, 36, 3.
Quotation, short, 12, VII.;
long, 13, 5; 26, II.; 27, 1;
expressions resembling a quotation, 13, 1;
introduced by _that_, 13, 2; 65, 1;
single words quoted, 13, 3; 65, 2; 66, 3;
quotation divided, 13, 4;
quotation in the middle of a sentence, 27, 2;
quotation within a quotation, 45, 1; 46, 2;
parts of a quotation omitted, 46, IV., 2;
first word of a quotation, 65, XI.;
examples as illustrations, 24, Rem.; 66, 4.
Quotation marks, 43-46;
direct quotation, 43, I.;
exact words not given, 43, 1;
words from a foreign language, 43, 2;
quotation followed by a comma, semicolon, colon, period, 44, 4;
by an exclamation or interrogation point, 44, 5, 6;
titles of books, 44, II.;
quotation within a quotation, 45, III.;
paragraphs, 46, IV.
Quoted passage, 41, I.
R
Republican, Radical, 60, V.
Rather—than, 21, 2.
Reference marks, 53, VI.
References, 68, XVI.;
volume and chapter, 69, 1;
to the Bible, 69, 3;
volume and page sufficient, 69, 2.
Relative clauses, 7, III.;
commas when used, 7, III., 1;
when omitted, 7, III., 2;
introduced by _who_, etc., 8, 1;
exceptions, 8, 2, 3.
Reporter, remarks by, 41, 2.
Resolutions, 66, XII.;
_Resolved_ and _That_, 66, Rem.
Revise, definition of, 104.
S
Salutations. See Introductory words.
Scriptures, sacred writings, 61, 3.
Sects, names of, 60, V.;
Republican, etc., 60, 1, 2;
Church, 60, 3.
Section mark, 53, VI.
Semicolon, 23-25;
indicates distant relationship, 3, 4;
often preferred to a colon, 28;
semicolon and comma, 25.
Sentence, definition of, 5; 57, 1;
long sentences, 23, I.;
members of, 23, II.; 25, Gen. Rem.; 28, Gen. Rem.;
complete sentences, 29, I.;
broken sentences, 34, I.;
first word of, 57, I.;
expressions equivalent to a sentence, 57, 2;
word following a period, 57, 3;
word following an interrogation or an exclamation, 58, 4.
Series of words, 17, XIV.;
commas, when not used, 17, XIV., 1;
when used, 18, XIV., 2, 3;
last word preceding a single word, 18, 1;
two words connected by _or_, 18, 2;
series of phrases and clauses, 18, XV.;
of expressions, 24, III.
Short quotations. See Quotations.
Signatures, 29, Rem.; 97, 98.
Since, 7, 1.
Sister, when to commence with a capital, 63, 2; 90, 2; 96, 2.
Sir, 63, 3.
Son of man, 64, 3.
So—that, so—as, 21, 2.
South, 59, 1.
Spacing in proof, 108, VII.
Specimen proof, 111, 112.
Special words, capitalization of, 66, 67.
Spring, summer, 61, Rem.
Stamp, 78.
Star, reference mark, 53, VI.
Strike out in proof, 107, V.
Strong emotion, 32, I.;
unusual emotion, 32, Rem.
Subject, logical, 19, XVI.;
definition of, 20, 1;
subject of statement or quotation, 35, III.;
definition of, 36, 1;
author, 36, 2;
question and answer, 36, 3;
_as_, _thus_, etc., 36, 4.
Summary of letter-forms, 98-100.
Supreme Being, 64, 2;
Son of man, 64, 3.
T
Titles, annexed, 16, 3;
of essays, orations, etc., 29, Rem.; 61, 2;
of books, 44, II.; 61, VII.;
of magazines, 45, 1, 2;
of persons, 62, IX.;
sacred writings, 61, 3.
Title-pages, 62, VIII.;
first word of a chapter, 62, 2;
handbills and advertisements, 62, 3.
Than, 21, 3.
That, 8, 1; 13, 2;
quotation introduced by _that_, 65, 1;
in resolutions, 66, Rem.
That is, 35, 2.
Theirs, 48, 3.
Therefore, 9, IV.
Thus, this, these, 27, III.; 27, 2; 36, 4.
To-day, to-night, to-morrow, 49, 4.
Too, 10, 3.
Transpose in proof, 109, XI.
U
Until, 7, 1.
Unconnected words, 16, XIII.,
comma, when used, 17, 1, 3;
when not used, 17, 2.
Uncle, when to commence with a capital, 63, 2, 3; 90, 2; 96, 2.
V
Verb omitted, 15, X.;
main clauses separated by a semicolon, 15, 1;
comma omitted, 15, 2.
Vice-president, 50, 3.
W
What, 8, 1.
When, 7, 1.
Words, parenthetical, 9, IV.;
in apposition, 15, XI.;
unconnected, 16, XIII.;
series of, 17, XIV.;
repeated for emphasis, 17, 3; 35, 3;
two connected by _or_, 18, 2;
words and phrases in a series, 19, 3;
from a foreign language, 43, 2;
compound, 49, I.;
division of, 50, III.;
repeated, 52, I.;
special, 66, XIII.
Words personified, 67, XIV.;
caution, 68, Rem.
Wrong letters and punctuation marks in proof, 105, I.;
wrong words, 106, II.
Y
Yours, 48, 3.
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