CCXLIX. THE PERIOD

(See page 52.)

The period denotes the greatest degree of separation. A period is sometimes placed at the end of the first of two or more complete sentences joined by conjunctions.

Ex. "Seeing, then, that these things can not be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. For ye have brought hither these men, who are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess."

The period should be placed at the end of every abbreviated word.

Ex. — “H. M. Swainson, Esq., b. Feb. 10, 1757, d. Aug. 3, 1812.” The period, thus used, is a part of the abbreviation. Except at the end of a sentence, the point required by the construction should be used after it.

Ex.

-"Sir Humphry Davy, F.R.S., etc."; "Ohio is bounded N. by Mich. and L. E.; E. by Pa. and Va.; S. by Va. and Ky.; W. by Ind."

Some proper names, though shortened, should not be regarded as abbreviations.

Ex.

"Tom Moore " ; "Will Shakespeare"; "O rare Ben Jonson!" Such expressions as 4to, 8vo, 12mo, 1st, 2d, 3d, 5's, 11's, 4°, 7′, etc., are not abbreviations. The figures supply the places of the first letters of the words, and the signs or indices supply the place of the remainder.

The period should be placed before decimals, and between the denominations of sterling money; as, $35.75; 75. 12s. 6d.

The period is often placed after letters used as numerals; as, Ps. lxxv. 6, 7; George III., King of England.

THE EXCLAMATION POINT

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The period is often placed at the end of titles, headings, etc.; as, "Hopkins & Co." "The Preposition."

Insert periods wherever required in these sentences :—

1. D. K. Merwin Esq was chosen chairman. A D 1825, d Feb 2, 1854 3. See Rev xii 11. Part II 5. It cost in London £6, 75, 8d.

2. H C Cartwright b

4. Chapter XX § IV

CCL. THE INTERROGATION POINT

(See page 52.)

When a question is composed of several parts, and when several questions are contained in one sentence, one answer only being required, the interrogation point is placed only at the end.

Ex.-"By whom is this profession praised, but by wretches who consider him as subservient to their purposes; sirens that entice him to shipwreck; and cyclops that are gaping to devour him?"

The interrogation point should be used after each successive particular of a series of questions, related in sense, but distinct in construction.

Ex. "Why was the French revolution so bloody and destructive? Why was our revolution of 1641 comparatively mild? Why was our revolution of 1688 milder still? Why was the American revolution, considered as an internal movement, the mildest of all?"

CCLI. THE EXCLAMATION POINT

(See page 52.)

The exclamation point should not be used after interjections closely connected with other words, but at the end of each expression of which the interjections form a part. Ex. — “Fie upon you!” "All hail, ye patriots brave!"

Insert the points required in these sentences:

1. What did my father's godson seek your life He whom my father named 2. See there behold look lo if I stand here I saw him.

CCLII. THE DASH

The dash is a straight, horizontal line, placed between the parts of a sentence.

The dash should be used where there is a sudden break or stop in a sentence, or a change in its meaning or construction.

Ex.-"Dimdim — I faint-darkness comes over my eyes." "It glitters awhile-and then melts into tears." "He stamped and he - then his language! — Oh, dear!" "She frowned, and

stormed
blushed, and then was

married."

The dash is frequently used before words repeated in an emphatic manner.

Ex.

"Why should I speak of his neglect — neglect did I say? call it rather contempt."

The dash is frequently placed both before and after a parenthesis the parentheses being omitted.

Ex. "They see three of the cardinal virtues of dog or man age, endurance, and skill-in intense action."

A comma should precede each dash used to set off a parenthetical expression.

Ex. "The archetypes, the ideal forms of things without, — if not, as some philosophers have said, in a metaphysical sense, yet in a literal

An interrogation or an exclamation point should precede the second dash, when the parenthetical expression is a question or denotes emotion.

The dash is often used where there is an omission

of letters or figures, or of words commonly used to introduce an enumeration of particulars.

Ex. "L-d B-n; i.e., Lord Byron." "Ps. xxxv. 6-10; ¿.e., Ps. xxxv. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10." "Amongst us men, these three things are a large part of our virtues, - to endure, to forgive, and ourselves to get pardon."

Parentheses are used to include an expression, called a parenthesis, which has no necessary connection, in sense or construction, with the sentence in which it is inserted.

The parentheses should include those words which may be omitted without injury to the sense, or without affecting the grammatical construction of the sentence.

Ex.

"Shall we continue (alas, that I should be constrained to ask the question!) in a course so dangerous to health, so enfeebling to mind, so destructive to character ?"

When any point is required after the word preceding a parenthesis, it should be placed after the second curve.

Ex.-"My gun was on my arm (as it always is in that district), but I let the stoat kill the rabbit."

But, should the parenthesis be a question or an exclamatory expression, the point should be placed before the first curve, and that which belongs to the parenthesis before the second.

Ex. — “She had managed this matter so well, (oh, she was the most artful of women!) that my father's heart was gone before I suspected it was in danger."

The words included in the parentheses should be punctuated as an independent expression; as,

"The Frenchman, first in literary fame,

(Mention him, if you please. Voltaire? The same.)
With spirit, genius, eloquence supplied,

Lived long, wrote much, laughed heartily, and died."

The parentheses sometimes include letters or figures used to enumer

ate subjects or divisions of a subject, treated of in didactic or scientific works; as, "(a) What it does; (b) What it is." "The beds of the Jackson epoch, or Upper Eocene, are (1) Lignitic clay; (2) White and blue marls, the former often indurated." They are also used to include references; as, "(See page 598)."

Insert the dash and the parentheses wherever required:

1. He had a large blunt head; his muzzle black as night, his mouth blacker than any night; a tooth or two, being all he had, gleaming out of his jaws of darkness. 2. The faithful man acts not from impulse but from conviction, conviction of duty, the most stringent, solemn, and inspiring conviction that can sway the mind. 3. The Egyptian style of architecture see Dr. Pocock, not his discourses, but his prints was apparently the mother of the Greek.

CCLIV.

OTHER MARKS USED IN WRITING

The apostrophe ['] is used to denote the omission of one or more letters, or to mark the possessive case.

Ex. "You're overwatched, my lord." "Variety's the very spice of life." "The King's English." "Webster's Dictionary."

The apostrophe is also used in forming the plurals of letters, figures, marks, etc.; as, "Dot your i's and cross your t's." "Cast out the 9's."

For use of hyphen, see page 61.

For use of quotation marks, see page 53.

A quotation included within another should be preceded by a single inverted comma, and closed by a single apostrophe; as, 'War, war,' is still the cry, 'war even to the

666

A long dash [—

-] or several asterisks [****] de note the omission of letters in a word, of words in a sen

tence, or of sentences in a paragraph.