w Rustum standing, safe upon his feet,
And Sohrab wounded, on the bloody sand.

--Matthew Arnold: _Sohrab and Rustum_.

+Theme LXXVI.+--_Write a story and give special attention to the climax._

Suggested subjects:--
1. The immigrant's error.
2. A critical moment.
3. An intelligent dog.
4. The lost key.
5. Catching a burglar.
6. A hard test.
7. Won by the last hit.
8. A story suggested by a picture you have seen.

(Name the incidents leading up to the climax. Is the mind held in suspense
until the climax is reached? Are any unnecessary details introduced?)

+146. Conversation in Narration.+--When introduced into narration, a
conversation is briefer than when actually spoken. It is necessary to have
the conversation move quickly, for we read with less patience than we
listen. The sentences must be for the most part short, and the changes
from one speaker to another frequent, or the dialogue will have a "made to
order" effect. Notice the conversation in as many different stories as
possible. Observe how variation is secured in indicating the speaker. How
many substitutes for "He said" can you name? In relating conversation
orally, we are less likely to secure such variety. Notice in your own
speech and that of others how often "I said" and "He said" occur.

EXERCISES

_A_. Notice the indentation and sentence length in the following
selection:--

Louden looked up calmly at the big figure towering above him.

"It won't do, Judge," he said; that was all, but there was a significance
in his manner and a certainty in his voice which caused the uplifted hand
to drop limply.

"Have you any business to set foot upon my property?" he demanded.

"Yes," answered Joe. "That's why I came.

"What business have you got with me?"

"Enough to satisfy you, I think. But there's one thing I don't want to
do"--Joe glanced at the open door--"and that is to talk about it here--for
your own sake and because I think Miss Tabor should be present. I called
to ask you to come to her house at eight o'clock to-night."

"You did!" Martin Pike spoke angrily, but not in the bull bass of yore.
"My accounts with her estate are closed," he said harshly. "If she wants
anything let her come here."

Joe shook his head. "No. You must be there at eight o'clock."

--Booth Tarkington: _The Conquest of Canaan_ ("Harper's").

_B_. Notice the conversation in the following narrative. Consider also the
incentive mo