AVOCATION, VOCATION.
31.  Surgeons in the army are allowed by the enemy to pursue their ——­
    unmolested.
32.  The young lawyer, surrounded by his law-books, took up his ——­ with
    enthusiasm.
33.  Let your base-ball be a pastime, not a trade; let it be your ——­, not
    your ——.
34.  Heaven is a pious man’s ——­, and therefore he counts earthly
    employments ——­s.
35.  It seems that after his return, his disciples left him and returned to
    their ordinary ——­s.

COMPLETION, COMPLETENESS.
36.  The ——­ of the railroad was celebrated by a general illumination in
    the village.
37.  The comfort of passengers is secured by the ——­ of the equipment of
    the steamers of this line.
38.  We hope for the ——­ of our new building by September.
39.  We were surprised at the ——­ of the collection of minerals.

OBSERVATION, OBSERVANCE. 40.  The ——­ of a few simple rules of health would have prolonged his life. 41.  The North American Indian has great powers of ——. 42.  He insisted on the prompt ——­ of the regulations. 43.  The Pharisees were strict in their ——­ of religious festivals. 44.  He is arranging for a careful ——­ of the eclipse.

PROPOSAL, PROPOSITION. 45.  I submit two ——­s for consideration by the assembly. 46.  The ——­ that each of us relinquish something was accepted. 47.  Sealed ——­s for building the cottage were handed in by three
    contractors.
48.  He made a ——­ of marriage to her. 49.  I dissent from that ——. 50.  A nation dedicated to the ——­ that all men are created equal.

SOLICITUDE, SOLICITATION. 51.  He made frequent ——­ for money and clothes. 52.  My mother watched over my infancy with tender ——. 53.  Coriolanus yielded at the ——­ of his mother.

STIMULUS, STIMULANT, STIMULATION. 54.  He worked hard under the ——­ of a desire to get rich. 55.  The providential ——­ of conscience is always present. 56.  The doctor came and administered a gentle ——­ to the patient.

III.  ADDITIONAL NOUNS SOMETIMES MISUSED.[31]

ABILITY, CAPACITY.—­Ability is the power of doing; capacity, the power of containing, of understanding, of acquiring.

ADHERENCE, ADHESION.—­Adherence is used of moral relations, adhesion, of physical connection.  We speak of the adhesion of glue to wood, of a man’s adherence to the principles of his party.

AMOUNT, QUANTITY, NUMBER.—­Amount means “sum total,” and is used of numbers or quantities; quantity is used of things which are measured; number, of things which are counted.

ARGUMENT, PLEA.—­“Plea (in the legal sense) is properly used of the pleadings or the arraignment before a trial, not of the argument at a trial.  A plea is always addressed to the court; an argument may be addressed either to the court or to the jury.  A similar remark applies to the verbs plead and argue."[32]