"Manuscript, we believe, takes precedence of print. Most of us will read a letter before we will read a book." - N. P. Willis.

12. Neatness

What cleanliness is to the man, neatness is to the manuscript. Whether a paper has ten words or a thousand, whether it is a note to a friend or a petition to the President of the United States, it should be neat and attractive.

A margin about three fourths of an inch wide on the left-hand side of the page is convenient for criticisms. Margins as wide as the diameter of a lead pencil at the top, at the bottom, and on the right-hand side, will add to the attractiveness of the manuscript. Section 13 gives directions for setting off the title, and section 16 for indenting the paragraph.

Sufficient space should be left between the lines to avoid the crowded appearance caused by overlapping loops of letters, and to allow room for corrections. An example of theme correcting is given on page 25.

13. The Heading

Whatever the teacher wishes the heading to include, - for example, the date, the pupil's name and class, and the title, - should be separated from what follows by a blank space. An important part of the heading is the title. The title must not be confused with the subject. It is generally more specific; if, for example, each member of a class were to write a title for a theme on the subject "Baseball," there might be as many titles as students, but only one subject. Three suggestions should be kept in mind in selecting a title:

1. It Should Be Brief

As a substitute for the some-what cumbrous statement of the subject, " How we spent a Pleasant Evening," one writer chose the brief title, " A Pleasant Evening."

2. It Should Be To The Point

Instead of using' such a general title as "An Incident," it is always well to pick out something that applies to the particular incident to be described. You might label each one of a hundred papers " An Incident," but you should try to find for each of them a title so decidedly to the point that it would not fit any of the others.

3. It Should Be An Attractive Announcement Of The Subject

"On the River" is neater and more attractive than "A Three Hours' Afternoon Row on the River." The subject treated in scores of books is "English Grammar"; the title of one such book is " The Mother Tongue." "English Grammar" may suggest various difficulties and numerous dry chapters. "The Mother Tongue " sounds as if the book would appeal to all who speak the English language. Your title, like a nutshell, should give a correct impression of the kind of meat it offers.

Note. A composition should be complete without a title. If you are writing about Fred Brown, do not try to avoid repetition by beginning "He is a boy of my age," but use your title - or as much as you need of it - in your opening sentence. You could, for example, say, "Fred Brown is a boy of my age."

Exercises

24. The following incident appeared in a magazine under the title "What it was They Heard." Tell why or why not that is a better title for it than "The Indian and the Phonograph." Can you think of one that you like better than either?

On a recent visit to Baltimore, Bishop Rowe of Alaska told the following good story: "I had recently to make a visit to a tribe of Indians far from the places where the white men go. Only a very few of the tribe had ever seen white men.. One of the members of our party had a phonograph. He thought it would amuse the Indians, and so brought it out. They gathered round it in wonder, and spent 'some time looking at it from every direction. At last the old chief got down on his knees and peered into it. He raised himself, threw his arm out with a sweeping gesture, and said,' Ugh! canned white man.'"

25. Discuss in class the titles of six books, magazines, or newspapers. Are they effective? misleading? attractive? easy to remember?

26. Rewrite the following titles of themes and improve them in any way you can:

1. A Method of packing Packages of Sugar.

2. How Jewelry Boxes are made by the Demrim Company.

3. The Story of Miss Matty's Romance.

4. A Description of my own Town.

5. Why "Rip Van Winkle" is Popular.

6. The most Humorous Character in"The Sketch-Book."

7. The Simplicity of the Plot of "Silas Marner."

8. How Heat makes Ice.