To leave her to die; (2) To
attempt to feed her forcibly, which the medical officer advised would
probably entail death in her existing condition: (3) To release her. The
Home Secretary adopted the last course."'

'Would probably entail death in her existing condition'! Will anyone tell
me how Mr McKenna or anyone else could kill, or (as he prefers to put it)
entail death upon, Miss Lenton in a non-existing condition?

(2) Next take the Chancellor of the Exchequer. As we know, the Chancellor
of the Exchequer can use incisive speech when he chooses. On May 8th as
reported in next day's "Morning Post," Mr Lloyd George, answering a
question, delivered himself of this to an attentive Senate:--

With regard to Mr Noel Buxton's questions, I cannot answer for an
enquiry which is _of a private and confidential character_, for
although I am associated with it I am not associated with it as a
Minister of the Crown.... Those enquiries are of a very careful
systematic and scientific character, and are being conducted by the
ablest investigators in this country, some of whom have reputations
of international character. I am glad to think that the
investigation is of a most impartial character.

It must be a comforting thought, that an inquiry of a private and
confidential character is also of a very systematic and scientific
character, and besides being of a most impartial character, is conducted
by men of international character--whatever that may happen to mean. What
_is_ an international character, and what would you give for one?

We found that this way of talking, while pretending to be something
pontifical, is really not prose at all, nor reputable speech at all, but
Jargon; nor is the offence to be excused by pleading, as I have heard it
pleaded, that Mr Lloyd George was not using his own phraseology but
quoting from a paper supplied him by some permanent official of the
Treasury: since we select our civil servants among men of decent
education and their salaries warrant our stipulating that they shall be
able, at least, to speak and write their mother tongue.

We laid down certain rules to help us in the way of straight
Prose:--

(1) _Always always prefer the concrete word to the abstract._

(2) _Almost always prefer the direct word to the circumlocution._

(3) _Generally, use transitive verbs, that strike their object; and use
them in the active voice, eschewing the stationary passive, with its
li