he night on one of the lake steamers running
from Cleveland to Detroit.

From Detroit I completed the journey to Ann Arbor on an early train
the next morning.

If unity is to be secured, not only must all the ideas brought
out in the paragraph deal with the same topic, but also, they must
be developed in some consistent, systematic order. A certain point
of view should be generally maintained as to tense, subject, and
manner of expression.

147. HOW TO GAIN UNITY. Careful thought before beginning the paragraph
is necessary if unity is to be gained. The topic of the paragraph
should be determined, and should be clearly indicated by a topic
sentence. Usually this topic sentence should be placed near the
beginning of the paragraph. The first sentence is the clearest
and best place for it. The topic sentence need not be a formal
statement of the subject to be discussed, but may be any sentence
that shows what is to be the central idea of the paragraph.

With the topic determined, there are various ways of developing it.
It may be developed by repetition; by adding details and specific
instances to the general statement; by presenting proof; by
illustration; or by showing cause or effect.

148. Examine the following paragraphs. Each possesses the quality
of unity. The topic sentence in each case is italicized.

_To rule was not enough for Bonaparte._ He wanted to amaze, to
dazzle, to overpower men's souls, by striking, bold, magnificent,
and unanticipated results. To govern ever so absolutely would not
have satisfied him, if he must have governed silently. He wanted
to reign through wonder and awe, by the grandeur and terror of his
name, by displays of power which would rivet on him every eye, and
make him the theme of every tongue. Power was his supreme object;
but power which should be gazed at as well as felt, which should
strike men as a prodigy, which should shake old thrones as an
earthquake, and, by the suddenness of its new creations, should
awaken something of the submissive wonder which miraculous agency
inspires.

From _The Character of Napoleon Bonaparte_, by Channing.

_There is something in the very season of the year that gives a
charm to the festivity of Christmas._ At other times we derive a
great portion of our pleasures from the mere beauties of Nature.
Our feelings sally forth and dissipate themselves over the sunny
landscape and we "live abroad and everywhere." The song of the bird,
the murmu