It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed—­the only battlefield I ever trod while the battle was raging....  On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely.—­Thoreau.

2.  Examine one of your own themes.  If some word occurs frequently, underscore it each time, and then substitute words or expressions for it in as many places as you can.  If necessary, reconstruct the sentences so as to avoid using the word in some cases.  Notice how these substitutions give a variety to your expression and improve the euphony of your composition.

Theme VII.—­Write a short story suggested by one of the following subjects:—­

1.  The trout’s revenge. 2.  A sparrow’s mistake. 3.  A fortunate shot. 4.  The freshman and the professor. 5.  What the bookcase thought about it.

(Correct with reference to meaning and clearness.  Cross out unnecessary ands.  Consider the beginnings of the sentences.  Can you improve the euphony by a different choice of words?)

18.  Sentence Length.—­Euphony is aided by securing a variety in the length of sentences.  In endeavoring to avoid the excessive use of and, some pupils obtain results illustrated by the following example:—­

Jean passed through the door of the church.  He saw a child sitting on one of the stone steps.  She was fast asleep in the midst of the snow.  The child was thinly clad.  Her feet, cold as it was, were bare.

A theme composed wholly of such a succession of short sentences is tedious.  Especially when read aloud does its monotony become apparent.  Though the thought in each sentence is complete, the effect is not satisfactory to the reader, because the thought of the whole does not come to him as fast as his mind can act.  Such an arrangement of sentences might be satisfactory to young children, because it would agree with their habits of thought; but as one grows in ability to think more rapidly, he finds that longer and more complicated sentences best express his thoughts and are best understood by those for whom he writes.  We introduce sentences of different length and different structure, because they more clearly express the thought of the whole and state it in a form more in accordance with the mental activity of the hearer.  When we have done this, we at the same time secure a variety that avoids monotony.

In attempting to avoid a series of short sentences, care should be taken not to go to the other extreme.  Sentences should not be overloaded.  Too many adjectives or participles or subordinate clauses will render the meaning obscure.  The number of phrases and clauses that may safely be introduced will be determined by the ability of the mind to grasp the meaning readily and accurately.  It is sometimes quite as important to separate a long sentence into shorter ones as it is to combine short ones into those of greater length.