, it is
accomplished; and intense relief sits enthroned on every dewy brow.

In the crowded church, the minister announces the "Battle Hymn of
the Republic," and the organist, armed with plenary powers, crashes
into the giddy old tune, dragging the congregation resistingly along
at a hurdy gurdy pace till all semblance of text or meaning is
irretrievably lost.

Happy are they when the refrain, "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah,"
provides a temporary respite from the shredded syllables and
scrambled periods, and one may light, as it were, and catch up with
himself and the organist.

At the close of an outdoor public meeting the chairman, with fatuous
ineptitude, shouts that everybody will sing three verses of
"America." Granting that the tune is pitched comfortably, the first
verse marches with vigor and certitude, but not for long; dismay
soon smites the crowd in sections as the individual consciousness
backs and fills amid half learned lines.

The trick of catching hopefully at a neighbor's phrase usually
serves to defeat itself, as it unmasks the ignorance of said
neighbor, and the tune ends in a sort of polyglot mouthing which is
not at all flattering to the denizens of an enlightened community.

These glimpses are not a whit over-drawn, and it is safe to say that
they mirror practically every corner of our land to-day. Why is it,
then, that the people make such a sorry exhibition of themselves
when they attempt to sing the patriotic songs of our country? Is it
the tunes or the words or we ourselves?

BEGINNING WITH A STRIKING STATEMENT. When the thought expressed in the
first sentence of an article is sufficiently unusual, or is presented in
a sufficiently striking form, it at once commands attention. By
stimulating interest and curiosity, it leads the average person to read
on until he is satisfied.

A striking statement of this sort may serve as the first sentence of one
of the other types of beginning, such as the narrative or the
descriptive introduction, the quotation, the question, or the direct
address. But it may also be used entirely alone.

Since great size is impressive, a statement of the magnitude of
something is usually striking. Numerical figures are often used in the
opening sentences to produce the impression of enormous size. If these
figures are so large that the mind cannot grasp them, it is well,