Read Ebook: Précis writing for beginners by Pocock Guy Noel

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Ebook has 271 lines and 22674 words, and 6 pages

I ope you are quite well as this leaves me at present which my wife as the swolen glans something bitter but I do not complain it being the Will of God, which my wife do so most monotinous. Dear Sir I ave been out of work Severn weeks come Toosdy and the price of coals is rose something crool which I cannot afford them nohow, and my wife havin the swolen glans and wot not. Dear Sir if you could give me a job of work in the garden or the fowlouse I should take it most grateful bein bread and born in the fowlouse in a manner of speakin sixty years man and boy I ave ad truck with fowls. Dear Sir you ave the oner to know me so long there is no need of Referances, which perraps you might not ave heard my experance in the foulouse which believe me sir I understands all manner of Fowls, poultry and wot not, and my wife as ad truck with ducks but she bein laid aside with the swolen glans she cannot come out which bein the Will of God I do not complain. Dear Sir perraps you would like to give me a trial seein as how I do not live far a way bein strong in the Legs. Dear Sir if you will give me a Trial I will take it most kind.

Dear Sir God bless you and trousers you give me are fine and warm as everso which they are a bit narrer but not to mention.

Yours umble Dear Sir

GEORGE OAKES.

Notes

The following is also very simple, and may be done in one paragraph of ten or twelve lines.

Make up your mind what the real subject of this paragraph should be; and notice that the colonel is not really of the slightest importance to the story--except that he tells it.

Don't forget the title, beginning "Pr?cis of ...".

No. 3.--The Cobra

"Talking of snakes," said the colonel, pushing back his chair and lighting another cheroot, "reminds me of a curious incident that happened when I was stationed at Ghurrapore, in the early 'eighties. Ghurrapore was an infernal bad place for snakes, and the worst of the lot was the cobra or hooded snake. These cobras, or hooded snakes, turned up everywhere--in your bath, under the verandah, anywhere. Now, one day one of my officers, Lieutenant Simpson, went into the officers' changing-room to get a pair of tennis shoes. There were a dozen pairs in a wooden box; and not seeing his own on the top he put his hand in to fish out the bottom ones. Now you must know that there had been a regular plague of cobras, or hooded snakes, in the lines, and we were all a bit panicky; so when Simpson suddenly felt something pricking him, and drew out his hand to find two drops of blood on his little finger, he at once concluded it was a cobra, or hooded snake.

"I was sitting in the club at the time drinking some of that excellent 7 star whisky--you remember it, Major? And when I saw young Simpson running across the compound holding his little finger, I at once said to myself, 'That's a hooded snake or cobra!'

"I then followed him to the carpenter's shop; but by the time I got there the thing was done. He had taken a heavy chisel, and cut his little finger right off! I helped him back to the club, sent for the doctor, and gave Simpson a dose of that 7 star whisky--you remember it, Major? I then sent four men to the changing-room armed with sticks. We upset the box and beat those shoes unmercifully--but no cobra or hooded snake! When I felt that the situation was quite safe, I myself examined the box. And there sticking up through the bottom boards were two little nails, sharp and close together! And so young Simpson had cut his finger off for nothing! Infernal bad luck I call it. Infernal bad luck. For anyone--even I myself--would easily have mistaken the 'bite' for that of a cobra, or hooded snake."

Notes

The following is a study in contrasts. The rest is really quite subsidiary. Bring out this point by means of contrasting paragraphs.

Condense the descriptions of the characters as much as you can, without leaving out more points than you can help.

No. 4.--The Two Lieutenants

Extract from the Autobiography of Admiral Sir Hercules Prout, K.C.B.

"... The sphere of influence of the British Navy comprising as it does the waters of the entire globe, it follows that the average naval officer comes into contact with all sorts and conditions of men; and if he uses his opportunities he will inevitably become a rare judge of human character. He will tend to range men in groups whether they be his own officers or men, or persons of every race and grade of society with whom he comes into contact.

"Captains of H.M. Ships are often called upon to use powers of selection and discrimination. I recall one particular instance in which I was called upon to select from among my junior officers one who could carry through a difficult and dangerous business, the success or failure of which would be attended with far-reaching consequences. No matter now what the business was. Suffice to say that it was connected with gun-running on the part of certain unfriendly chiefs, and indirectly with the influence of a so-called friendly European power. A delicate business requiring rare qualities of daring and tact, and an aptitude for diplomacy and espionage.

"I retired to my cabin and went through the list of all officers above the rank of midshipman, crossing out the unsuitable till I had reduced my choice to two. These I will call Lieutenant X and Lieutenant Z.

"Lieutenant Z was the very antithesis of Lieutenant X both in appearance and manner. He was small and dark and wiry; his features were very clean-cut, and his thin lips pressed tightly together in a perfectly straight line gave an impression of immense determination. He was then quite one of the cleverest lieutenants in the Navy, and as shrewd as he was clever. He was very reticent, and he possessed a 'biting' tongue, if one may be allowed a queer metaphor; no one ever knew what he was thinking about unless he told them, and then he often told them what he did not really think. And so he was feared but not liked. I had never known him to be taken by surprise; and he was an absolutely dead shot with a revolver.

"After taking into consideration all the possible circumstances with which my emissary was likely to be faced, I made my decision, and sent for Lieutenant Z. I need hardly say that I had every ground for satisfaction with my choice; but Z's adventures must be told in another chapter."

Notes

You will have seen from the last exercise that the way to make your pr?cis clear is to arrange all the topics in separate paragraphs.

We may put it in the form of a Rule:

This rule applies to every pr?cis you write. The best plan is to jot down in pencil Headings for all your paragraphs before you start writing your pr?cis . The length of each paragraph depends on the importance of the topic.

No. 5.--The Black Republic

Extract from the reminiscences of Commander Brown, R.N.

A strange wild place the island looked as we approached it in the picket-boat: a huge tumbled mass of bare mountain peaks, for all the world like a crumpled newspaper thrown down on a blue carpet. It was beautiful too in this glare of the tropical sun, with its gleaming grey rocks and dark forest belt, and the straggling lines of white houses that backed the harbour.

As we drew nearer we could see the yellow lateen sails of little fruit-boats that crowded round the quay, the green sun-blinds of houses, and the white dresses and brilliant red and blue parasols of the ladies who thronged the promenade--a regular kaleidoscope of dazzling colour points. And we promised ourselves a jolly afternoon of exploration and ramble.

But no sooner had we rounded the mole and entered the harbour than the whole aspect changed. It is difficult to convey a true impression of the extreme shabbiness and tawdriness of the scene. It fell like a blight upon us, and our spirits sank down into our boots. The whole surface of the harbour was covered with a scum of dirt and oil in which floated banana skins, bits of orange-peel, matches, and dead flies, while the quay was pervaded by an indescribable stench, heavy and sweet, like an old dust-bin.

We came alongside and walked up the steps, slipping on fishes' heads and fruit skins; and everywhere we were met by the same dirty finery and pretentious tawdriness. Crowds of ladies walked up and down the parade--black ladies, dressed in dirty white frocks and darned canvas shoes. Their brilliant parasols were torn, and their hat-feathers dishevelled like those of a scare-crow.

Innumerable soldiers--black men, of course--thronged the streets, strutting with indescribable self-satisfaction. But they were as shabby as the "ladies", in their dirty cocked-hats, their concertina-like trousers, and tunics stuck all over with medals and orders like Christmas-trees. We discovered from the Commander afterwards that the whole army consists of officers, very few of them below the rank of Major-general. They are inordinately proud of their medals, and quite amazingly inefficient.

It was really beastly--there is no other word to describe it--so beastly that we snotties walked along in silence, unable at first to realize how funny it all was. Presently a huge black major-general, decked with gold tinsel epaulets and as many orders as the Lord High Executioner, came across to us and saluted with magnificent gusto.

"What the deuce does the old buffer want?" whispered Jones to me.

"Me speak Englees," said the major-general, and paused.

"Well, out with it, old son; what do you want?" asked Jones disrespectfully.

And then at last we saw the humour of the whole ramshackle system; for what in the world should this affected old turkey-cock of a major-general want, but to carry the bag which contained our towels and tea for the modest sum of half a crown! We roared with laughter; and at that moment our 1st Lieutenant came along.

"Get out! no want!" he said; and the disconcerted major-general slunk away with the most humorous expression of offended pride and grovelling servility.

"I shouldn't stay in the town," said the lieutenant; "it stinks. If you carry on down the road, you will come to a first-rate bathing-place."

And so we did.

Notes

A short paragraph of explanation is needed. The different lines of investigation fit very easily into different paragraphs.

No. 6.--The Professor and the Monkeys

Translation of a letter written by Herr Professor Otto von Pumpenstein to the M?nchen Philological Society.

GENTLEMEN,

I regret that distance prohibits me from attending the summer meeting of the Philological Society in person; more especially as I have been making certain investigations which, I venture to think, will have far-reaching consequences. Allow me to enclose the report of my experiments.

ihr ergebenst

OTTO VON PUMPENSTEIN.

Report of certain experiments carried out in the Monkey-house of the Hamburg Zoological Gardens.

The following experiments were made by me by kind permission of the Herr Vorsteher of the Zoological Gardens, with the object of ascertaining whether monkeys actually converse in language. I was drawn to make these experiments by a consideration of the extraordinary similarity between the structure of the mouth and vocal chords in Man and the Anthropoid Apes, and by the amazing correspondence between their brain-charts. I accordingly had a small travelling cage fitted up with table, ink-stand, and so forth, and placed inside the large cage of the chimpanzees, which happened to be next that of the spider monkeys, in such a position that I could enter it without fear of attack.

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