RULE XV.—­INTERJECTIONS.

Interjections that require a pause, though more commonly emphatic and followed by the ecphoneme, are sometimes set off by the comma; as, “For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north.”—­Jeremiah, i, 15. “O, ’twas about something you would not understand.”—­Columbian Orator, p. 221. “Ha, ha! you were finely taken in, then!”—­Aikin. “Ha, ha, ha! A facetious gentleman, truly!”—­Id.

   “Oh, when shall Britain, conscious of her claim,
    Stand emulous of Greek and Roman fame?”—­Pope.

RULE XVI.—­WORDS REPEATED.

A word emphatically repeated, is generally set off by the comma; as, “Happy, happy, happy pair!”—­Dryden.  “Ay, ay, there is some comfort in that.”—­Shak.  “Ah! no, no, no.”—­Dryden.

   “The old oaken bucket, the iron-bound bucket,
    The moss-covered bucket, which hung in the well!”—­Woodworth.

RULE XVII.—­DEPENDENT QUOTATIONS.

A quotation, observation, or description, when it is introduced in close dependence on a verb, (as, say, reply, cry, or the like,) is generally separated from the rest of the sentence by the comma; as, “’The book of nature,’ said he, ‘is before thee.’”—­Hawkesworth.  “I say unto all, Watch.”—­Mark. “‘The boy has become a man,’ means, ’he has grown to be a man.’  ‘Such conduct becomes a man,’ means, ’such conduct befits him.’”—­Hart’s Gram., p. 116.

   “While man exclaims, ‘See all things for my use!’
    ‘See man for mine!’ replies a pamper’d goose.”—­Pope.

IMPROPRIETIES FOR CORRECTION.

FALSE PUNCTUATION.—­ERRORS CONCERNING THE COMMA.

UNDER RULE I.—­OF SIMPLE SENTENCES.

“Short, simple sentences should not be separated by a comma.”—­Felton’s Gram., 1st Ed., p. 135; 3d Ed., Stereotyped, p. 137.

[FORMULE.—­Not proper, because a needless comma is put after short, the sentence being simple.  But, according to Rule 1st for the Comma, “A simple sentence does not, in general, admit the comma.”  Therefore, this comma should be omitted; thus, “Short simple sentences should not be separated by a comma.”  Or, much better:  “A short simple sentence should rarely be divided by the comma.”  For such sentences, combined to form a period, should generally be separated; and even a single one may have some phrase that must be set off.]