re. Each child should be allowed the greatest freedom of
expression consistent with the facts that there must be an introduction
that states the question fairly and clearly, and a conclusion that shows
how much the contentions have been proved.

CONCLUSION. While narration, description, exposition and argument are
the four forms of prose composition, we do not find frequently that
selections are exclusively one or another. Nearly every story contains
description, and exposition is not infrequent; expositions often contain
description and narration, and arguments are often based upon narration
and exposition. Excellent language lessons may be given by examining
masterpieces to see what forms of composition they represent or which
form predominates.

Thus, in _An Exciting Canoe Race_ (Volume VII, page 79), an extract from
Cooper's _The Last of the Mohicans_, may be found several forms of
composition:

1. The story as a whole is narration.

2. On page 81 is this passage in exposition: "That's a trail that
nothing but a nose can follow; grass is a treacherous carpet for a
flying party to tread on, but wood and stone take no print from a
moccasin. Had you worn your armed boots, there might indeed have been
something to fear; but with the deerskin suitably prepared, a man may
trust himself, generally, on rocks with safety. Shove in the canoe
higher to the land, Uncas; this sand will take a stamp as easily as the
butter of the Jarmans on the Mohawk. Softly, lad, softly; it must not
touch the beach, or the knaves will know by what road we have left the
place."

3. On page 86 is this descriptive passage: "The well-known crack of a
rifle, whose ball came skipping along the placid surface of the strait,
and a shrill yell from the island interrupted his speech and announced
that their passage was discovered. In another instant several savages
were seen rushing into the canoes, which were soon dancing over the
water in pursuit. These fearful precursors of a coming struggle produced
no change in the countenances and movements of his three guides, so far
as Duncan could discover, except that the strokes of their paddles were
longer and more in unison, and caused the little bark to spring forward
like a creature possessing life and volition."

It will be observed that the paragraph just quoted is not purely
descriptive, but that it contains something of narration as well. A
single sentence of pure description is the following, t