n which he was soundly sleeping,
dreaming of mountains of corn and oats, and whole valleys of
timothy and clover."

The next also is from Irving, and shows the skillful use of
conjunctions to point out unerringly the relation of the clauses in a
sentence.

"What seemed particularly odd to Rip was that, though these
folks were evidently amusing themselves, yet they maintained
the gravest faces, the most mysterious silence, and were,
withal, the most melancholy party of pleasure he had ever
witnessed."

Coherence, the principle of structure that surely holds the parts of a
sentence together, is of greater importance than Mass. Upon Coherence
depends the meaning of a sentence; upon Mass the force with which the
meaning is expressed. That the meaning may be clear, it is necessary
that the relation of the parts shall be perfectly evident. This
lucidity is gained by placing related parts near together, and
conversely, by separating unrelated ideas; by using parallel
constructions for parallel thoughts; and by indicating relations by
the correct use of prepositions and conjunctions.

To summarize, sentences are the elements of discourse. The ability of
a sentence to effect with certainty its purpose depends upon Unity,
Mass, and Coherence. A sentence must contain all that is needed to
express the whole thought, but it must contain no more. A sentence
must be arranged so that its important parts shall be prominent.
Position and proportion are the means of emphasis in a sentence. By
placing the important words near the major marks of punctuation, by
arranging the parts in a climax or a period, by forcing words out of
the natural order, and by subduing unimportant details, a sentence is
massed to give the important elements their relative emphasis. Last,
the parts of a sentence should be arranged so that their relations
shall be clear and unmistakable. Proximity of related parts, parallel
construction for parallel ideas, and connectives are the surest means
of securing Coherence in a sentence.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS

SILAS MARNER.
(Riverside Literature Series, No. 83.)

On page 18 put together the sentence beginning "Every man's work,"
etc., with the next. What connective and what punctuation will you
use? What is the difference in effect? What one of the relations of a
compound sentence does the second part bear t