Evening star., 1921-04-24
\ Search Among Tomb
stones for Data and
Names-The Value of
Crammar1ans to the
World at Large-The
Writing of Pure Eng
lish-A Visit at Ripon
Lodge.

TINE Rambler came out Of the
woods OF Leesylvania into
hard but not wholly smooth
road which connects the ancient
village Of Occoquan and the older town
Of Dumfries. AS l look on that phrase.
or clause, mot wholly smooth" the
doubt oppresses me whether or not /
should pass it along to reader. / can
not tell whether the adverb wholly
should be employed, because I do not
know whether 1 should modify or qualify
the adjective smooth
A road or any other thing is smooth
or it is not smooth. and wonder
whether l am warranted in suggesting
that there are degrees OF smoothness.
would not worry about this IL l felt
that the eyes Of intelligent persons were
the only eyes that would follow these
lines. But there are other kinds Of per.
sons called "erammarians" who read
not for information, but to pick out
words employed or related in some way
not prescribed by rule OF grammar
and about which rule of grammar the
srammarian may be useful in some
way. but in what way the Rambler is
unable to tell. The grammarian may
be able to put up some kind OF an argu-
ment or excuse for being, but there
never was a bad cause for which some
kind of an argument could not be put up.
There is one thing of which the
Rambler feels sure-one among the
many things which he is sure of-and
that is that a grammarian cannot write.
That is a grammarian cannot write IN
the way which constructs with words
pictures or images which the reader can
see. A grammarian never wrote a line
of literature. His work in the line OF
writing is about as happy. as gracelul'
as cheering as table of phases OF the
moon in an almanac. or list OF the
kings and queens of England with the
dates of their reigns. A grammarlan
never wrote line that had more poetry
or humor or human nature in 1t than
the MULTIPLICATION table. And this may
also be said with truth of the writing
Of a horde Of professors of English.
Their style is so cold that 1t never
warns a reader; so hard that 1t never
softens a reader into smile or a tear
The mechanics are so obvious and so
audible that a good reader can see the
wheels go round and hear the axle
creak. It is stiff 1t lacks all grace
Of line. It lacks spontaneity OF har-
mony, The reason is. or the reasons
are, that a writer Of that kind is self
conscious, that he feels he must write
by rule and keep the rule on the table
at his elbow, and that readers are in
terested in his Technique" and his
style, rather than in his thought or
his message.
A Man may know all the rules OF
n poetry and never write a poem.
know all the rules of art. and never
paint a picture; know all the laws
of harmony, thorough base and
counterpoint, and never write or
sing a song that touches mans
soul and starts him drifting on gay
dreams or reveries that are sad.
The reason is that these people
never progress farther than rules.
knowing rules is but the beginning.
cut having learned his rules. though
this is debatable. but man to write
well must have passed so far be-
yond the rules that he seems to have
forgotten them.
Pardon this DEPRESSION. You have
all heard men and women say. CIV
ing an upward tilt to the nose or
brow, "It is newspaper English" or,
mo. I do not write for the news
papers; / contribute to the maga-
zines" Dear hearts. the best Eng
lsh today is written for newspapers.
much OF the worst is wiie'eh Ia
books and the very worst is often
found in magazines. A big news
paper spends more money for good
English in day than magazine
spends in six months. There is
wider and a deeper knowledge IF
the English language in a news
paper ONCE than in any other kind
of an office.
But somehow we seem to have slip
ped of the road that connects the
ancient village of Occoquan and the
older town Of Dumfries. 1t is not a
smooth road because fair diction-
ary meaning of smooth is having a
surface SO even that no roughness
or points arc perceptable to the