The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-12-07
Other little inelegancies are met with

Other little inelegancleS are met WITH (;
to wit: "As you say, what you said
which was that was 'oustcd' notwith-
standing my proposition was, Request,
sent to me by your clerk, requesting" if
by the word Superintendent is meant to
understand the SUPPLEMENTARY, 6c.-
The Professor, doubtless, errs in supposing
that superintendent and uperintendency
NAV be synonymous terms-in other words,
to adopt his own idiom, that the one may
be meant to understand by the other.
| The subject of is meant, too, Is left IN
some doubt. These errors, however, IT
they deserve to be called errors are the
merest TRIES and detract little from the
general merits of the composition.
The reader fond of originality will be
delighted with the proposition. Two or
more sentences in one paragraph are com
/ mon; but two paragraphs In Il single SEN
/ tenco are very rare. Indeed, we don I re-
! member OF meeting before with a similar
instance in any good writer The end in
view III publishing the proposition is set
/ forth with unusual clearness. 1t is to
show where the truth lies Now. what
ever inelegance OF diction or originality in
respect Of syntax may be found in the
proposition itself, none will deny to the
writer the most iattering success in
achieving the object Of its publication.
The above is the only proposition of
mine that was before that Board or that
ever came from my hand at the time the
change was made in the Columbus street
I school, which sum, &c. The harmony OF
/ this sentence would, undoubtedly, be pro
noted by suppressing a few Of the mis-
/ chieyous MutS which iniest it. The Office
/ of which, too, is not quite clear.
My proposition -" his bid" This dis
! tincton, invariably made between the Pro
! fessor's offer and that Of his successor is
/ thought by some TO be in bad taste. on
/ the contrary, we maintain that it is good
taste-indeed, in exquisite taste. The
most conclusive reasons can be given for
it. The bid is for nine hundred dollars,
the ,rrihen proposition for a thousand
I The bid is very brief, hardly a dozen
words The proposition is much longer
/ and has postscript attached of still more
/ generous length. Again, the bid is in the
ordinary style Of srammarians The pro-
position spurns the shackles Of grammar
Besides, best reason Of all, the proposition
emanates from Professor, while the bid
comes from one who lave 40 claim TO the
distinguishing prefix.
/ The paragraph j.. ;.,in;ch the Professor
explains his last proposition IS more objec
. tionable, perhaps, than any other. Clear
as mud, says blunt reader, after several
vain attempts to fathom its meaning; cs-
sence Of o5scurity, adds another; 'pzrram
u. 0.l'tl,' continues a third; 'syntax on
new principles, chimes in Il fourth. 1t
mast be admitted that the array Of words
and clauses IN this section Is quite formi-
bic; bug, fever would hardly have sutiiced
to convlnce,the questioning public that a
thousand dollars We're expected for ser
y.ces offered AZ seven hundred.
The two High Schools were united in
one It seems. Those fond of explic.tness
in statement viii be delighted with this
pAraseology. Not a shadow of doubt can
arise as TO the exact number in which the
two High Schools were united
There were in the High School under
my instruction, during the last term, some
thirty pupils more than there were seats
for, &c.
Then NINETY pupils were in attendance
that term. No one will question the 3c-
cuucy az this statement. though the
school REGISTER gives the names Of but
>:xty-three. The discrepancy Is easily &C
counted for on the -nppos.t.on that the
mothers Of the other twenty seven had
neglected - name their daT..u-s. 1t Is to
be regretted that the relative scholarship
in tie High school then and since was
not stated also. But the Professors gen
erosity doesn't permit HIM to make the
comparison too i-y.jious. He doesn't
even STAKE how many more pupils were
sent tocollege by him than by his -uc2cssor,
nor how soon some Of them returned with
the outline Of the college edtce firmly
impressed on their memories.
The closing sentence : both grammati-
cal and sublime Here il Is:
With the earnest hope that the above
may aid in establishing truth, l remain,
&c
There is more than crumb of comfort
in the assurance that the professor, des
pite the late election, yet remalns-yes,
remains TO establish truth. Truth had
been overthrown. His the pleasant duty
20 establish her again. sublime scene for
The artist. Where could aspirant 70 the
honors Of the chiscl or the brush find
gr8uder design than that suggested in the
two brief lines above. Truth PROSTATE
buried it may be, and the noble Professor,
though stranger, graciously bending TO
raise her c..