works out his idea or a painter, each group complete in itself.  Throw out any superfluous facts or any merely minor facts that prevent the orderly working up of the group—­that prevent or mar the effect you wish to present.

Then, when you’ve got a group thus presented, go over what you’ve made of it, to make sure you’ve used your material and its arrangement to the best effect, taking away merely extraneous or superfluous or distracting facts, here and there adding concrete illustrations—­putting in a convincing detail here, and there a touch of colour.

Then go over it for your vocabulary.  See that you use no word in a different meaning than it was used 100 years ago and will be used 100 years hence.  You wish to use only the permanent words—­words, too, that will be understood to carry the same meaning to English readers in every part of the world.  Your vocabulary must be chosen from the permanent, solid, stable parts of the language.

     Then see that no sentence contains a hint of obscurity.

Then go over the words you use to see if they be the best.  Don’t fall into merely current phrases.  If you have a long word, see if a native short one can be put in its place which will be more natural and stronger.  Avoid a Latin vocabulary and use a plain English one—­short words instead of long ones.

Most of all, use idioms—­English idioms of force.  Say an agreement was “come to.”  Don’t say it was “consummated.”  For the difference between idioms and a Latin style, compare Lincoln with George Washington.  One’s always interesting and convincing.  The other is dull in spite of all his good sense.  How most folk do misuse and waste words!

Freeman went too far in his use of one-syllable words.  It became an affectation.  But he is the only man I can think of that ever did go too far in that direction.  X—­would have written a great history if he had had the natural use of idioms.  As it is, he has good sense and no style; and his book isn’t half so interesting as it would have been if he had some style—­some proper value of short, clear-cut words that mean only one thing and that leave no vagueness.

     You’ll get a good style if you practice it.  It is in your blood and
     temperament and way of saying things.  But it’s a high art and must
     be laboriously cultivated.

     Yours affectionately,

     W.H.P.

This glimpse of a changing and chastened England appears in a letter of this period: 

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