e as follows:

1. _Situation._ A man is converted by drink into such a beast that
he first tortures and kills a pet and afterwards in his frenzy
murders his wife, concealing her body in a chimney.

2. _Climax._ His crime is revealed by the wail of the cat, which he
had supposed dead but had walled up with the corpse.

3. _Denouement._ He is to be executed.

Poe puts the _denouement_ first, the situation second, and the
climax last, which is a common and effective method in tales of
horror and mystery. The newspaper method is to put the climax
first, the _denouement_ second, and the situation last. This
arrangement, which is as old as Homer's _Odyssey_, is thus
alluded to by Byron:

"Most epic poets plunge in _medias res_,
(Horace makes this the heroic turnpike road),
And then your hero tells, whene'er you please,
What went before--by way of episode."

For newspaper purposes this method is desirable because it makes
a good lead. That is, the first paragraph, and if possible the
first sentence, tells the biggest fact about the case. Readers'
attention being thus caught and economized, they get the habit
of buying papers.

VII. Assignments

1. Write headlines for the models in this chapter.

2. Rewrite the Models in Section II on the plan of that in
Section V.

3. Rewrite on the same plan one of Poe's other detective stories,
one of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes tales, Stevenson's _Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ or _The Wrecker_, one of Cooper's novels,
or any other thrilling story.

VIII. Cautions

1. Be sure that you have your three situations in the right order.

2. Be exceedingly particular about the Four W's. Make them stand
out vividly in each situation.

3. Use the shortest words that will convey your meaning.

4. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. How many does the model
contain?

IX. Suggested Reading

Jules Verne's _Mysterious Island_; Robert Browning's _Herve Riel_;
Tennyson's _Revenge_; Whittier's _Barbara Frietchie_; Samuel Rogers's
_Ginevra_.

X. Memorize

THE WAR-SONG OF DINAS VAWR

The mountain sheep are sweeter,
But the valley sheep are fatter;
We therefore deemed it meeter
To carry off the latter.
We made an expedition;
We met an host and quelled it;
We forced a strong position,
And killed the men who held it.