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extra messenger, and the head of the Board of Sealing Wax wishes to have an account of all the applicants for the post, and their testimonials, in order to decide upon whom he shall confer the appointment.

It now becomes necessary to make a longer précis than either of the two already given, which shall give the contents of the testimonials; this précis, in the case of John Thompson, will, we will say, be as follows:

Sir Walter Ellicot. Stating that he has known John ThompFeb. 4, 1872.

son from a boy, and that he has always conducted himself with the greatest propriety. J. T. has been in his service as footman, and then as butler, for nine years, and has discharged his duties zealously and honestly. J. T. is clever, intelligent, and exceedingly methodical. Encloses three testimonials from former employers of J. T.

1. From Lady Barwell.-Served as page from January 1852 to December 1854. Honest, sober, industrious, and quick. 2. From Hon. Arthur James.-Valet from Feb. 1855 to March 1857. Excellent in every respect; very sorry to part with him.

3. From Mrs. Bonwell Cross.—Steward on

board her yacht from March 1857 to January 1863. Quite invaluable.

We have now got three précis of the same letter from Sir Walter Ellicot, viz. (1) the précis for the register; (2) the précis necessary for answering the first question; (3) the précis necessary for answering the second question; and the three will show us that the first thing to be considered in writing a précis is the purpose for which it is

required, and that its brevity must be dependent upon the fulfilment of this

purpose.

It may also be gathered from the foregoing illustration that the three principal requirements of précis-writing are the following:

1. Accuracy.

2. Clearness.

3. Brevity.

1. Accuracy, because everything depends upon its statements. Whether it be meant for reference or to stand by itself as a substitute for the original papers, it is useless if it cannot be trusted.

2. Clearness, because if there be the slightest ambiguity which makes a reference to the original papers necessary in order to solve it, it fails in its purpose.

ing.

3. Brevity, because its object is to save time in read

The title of 'précis' is, however, not generally applied to such short abstracts as are only meant to indicate the nature of the contents of papers, such as entries in registers and indices. The following remarks apply only to précis of a fuller kind, the object of which is to make unnecessary any reference to the papers themselves.

The simplest and most common form of what is usually termed a précis consists of little more than an abstract of facts, in which accuracy is the beginning and end, needing neither choice of expression nor abridgment of phrases. The meaning of ordinary letters of business is so clear, and the language so practical, that it is generally impossible to miss the former or alter the latter with advantage.

There is, indeed, nothing in which a précis-writer should be more careful than altering language. It is always safer to use the identical words of the writer of the document abstracted. For the object of a précis is not to improve the style of the writer, but to show what he means; nor so

much to shorten his expressions, as to express as shortly as possible his intention. If, therefore, there be the slightest ambiguity in his language, it is preferable to quote his words than to choose one or other of the senses which they may convey, even though the writer's phrase be long and clumsy, for it is better to leave a point doubtful than to run the risk of absolute error. For instance, the word ' expectation' may occur in an important phrase in a letter, and it is nearly three times as long as 'hope,' and is often convertible with it, but if it be not absolutely certain that the writer's meaning would be expressed by 'hope,' the longer word should be used in the précis.

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Similar care should also be taken even about omission of words that seem to be superfluous. Though brevity is of very great importance, a word too many is a less defect than a word too few. One word of importance omitted is like a dropped stitch, and spoils the whole piece of work. For instance, a man applying for an appointment may state that he is a fair French scholar, and can speak and write the language fluently,' and it may occur to the précis-writer that 'a fair French scholar' will be a short and sufficient description of his capacity; but one man may properly be described as a fair French scholar who can neither speak nor write French fluently, and another may be able to speak and write French fluently without being a scholar, and the capacity of the applicant to hold the appointment may be dependent entirely on his power of writing and speaking, and not at all on his scholarship, or vice versa, or on both.

In other kinds of composition elegance of style, ornament of diction, strength of expression, beauty of form, aptness of illustration, wit, humour, fancy, and imagina tion may be qualities not only useful, but objects of ambition; but in précis-writing these powers are only useful as aids to understand and interpret the compositions of

others. Its object is utility; its most important requirement, common sense.

We are writing now, be it understood, of préciswriting pure and simple—that is to say, the art of abstracting as clearly and shortly as possible the meaning of ordinary correspondence. This is its practical or 'business' side, and though a précis of this kind should be neat in diction and be written in as good English as possible, yet, as long as the sense is preserved and clearly stated, it is possible for it to be little injured by an occasional fault in grammar, or even in spelling, and it will certainly be less injured by defects of this kind than by an inaccuracy in a date, an ambiguity in expression, or the omission of an important word.

Hereafter we shall endeavour to teach the application of the art to abstracts of a literature of a more thoughtful kind than ordinary correspondence, to make the exercises less and less mechanical until the student learns to ‘read, mark, and inwardly digest' compositions in which all the qualities of the human inind are exercised, and in the interpretation of which power and even grace of style will not be thrown away.

We must, however, begin at the beginning, and the beginning of the art of précis-writing is the establishment of habits of neatness, thoroughness, patience, and accuracy.

To recapitulate, or, as we may say, to make a précis of this chapter

1. Précis-writing is the art of abstracting as clearly and shortly as possible the meaning of a composition.

2. A précis will vary in expression and length according to the purpose for which it is required.

3. A précis should be (a) accurate, (b) clear, and (c) brief.

4. A précis should not sacrifice accuracy or clearness to brevity.

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CHAPTER II.

ACCURACY.

ACCURACY in précis-writing is primarily requisite in three respects-accuracy in facts, accuracy in arrangement, and accuracy in sense. In this chapter we shall deal only with the first.

Particular care should be taken with numbers, dates, and proper names. A mistake in either of these may lead to great confusion. Official letters have generally a reference number, by which the series of correspondence to which they belong is at once identified. If by carelessness '10,010' is written instead of, let us say, '10,100,' a great deal of trouble may be caused. A mistake in a day may obviously be the cause of similar confusion; and with regard to proper names, especially foreign names, the copying should be especially careful. If St. John' is written instead of 'St. John's,' one place being in New Brunswick, the other in Newfoundland; if 'Richmond, U.K.,' is written instead of 'Richmond, U.S.;' or if the ship 'Mary' of London is written Marie'-and these are only a few out of thousands of similar blunders that may be made the value of a précis in other respects accurate may be greatly injured, because the error may cause loss of time in rectifying, and the object of a précis is to save time.

This is the reason why the following exercises accurately writing and transcribing facts are given.

Exercises (A).

1. Write a list of the pupils in your class, with their Christian names and surnames in full, their position in the

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