the same
ground, each in a very good fashion. That's a fascinating task, and
it opens up a wholly new vista of our History and of Anglo-Saxon,
democratic history. Much lies ahead of that. And all this puts it
in my mind to write you a little discourse on _style_. Gardiner has
no style. He put his facts down much as he would have noted on a
blue print the facts about an engineering project that he sketched.
The style of your article, which has much to be said for it as a
magazine article, is not the best style for a book.

Now, this whole question of style--well, it's the gist of good
writing. There's no really effective writing without it. Especially
is this true of historical writing. Look at X Y Z's writings. He
knows his American history and has written much on it. He's written
it as an Ohio blacksmith shoes a horse--not a touch of literary
value in it all; all dry as dust--as dry as old Bancroft.

Style is good breeding--and art--in writing. It consists of the
arrangement of your matter, first; then, more, of the gait; the
manner and the manners of your expressing it. Work every group of
facts, naturally and logically grouped to begin with, into a
climax. Work every group up as a sculptor works out his idea or a
painter, each group complete in itself. Throw out any superfluous
facts or any merely minor facts that prevent the orderly working up
of the group--that prevent or mar the effect you wish to present.

Then, when you've got a group thus presented, go over what you've
made of it, to make sure you've used your material and its
arrangement to the best effect, taking away merely extraneous or
superfluous or distracting facts, here and there adding concrete
illustrations--putting in a convincing detail here, and there a
touch of colour.

Then go over it for your vocabulary. See that you use no word in a
different meaning than it was used 100 years ago and will be used
100 years hence. You wish to use only the permanent words--words,
too, that will be understood to carry the same meaning to English
readers in every part of the world. Your vocabulary must be chosen
from the permanent, solid, stable parts of the language.

Then see that no sentence contains a hint of obscurity.

Then go over the words you use to see if they be the bes