BELLES-LETTRES; BY AUGUSTUS LAYRES, PROFESSOR OF VARIOUS LANGUAGES, RHETORIC AND SCIENCES. BRAR OF THA UNIVER CALIFOR SAN FRANCISCO: A. ROMAN & COMPANY, 1867. 68621 Second Book, "BELLES-LETTRES," entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States, for the District of California. JOSEPH WINTERBURN & Co., Printers, No. 417 Clay Street. UNIVER CALIYOTL INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF BELLES - LETTRES. 1. In presenting to the advanced pupil this Second Book, we desire to call his attention to our design in writing this treatise, which is, to facilitate the art, and abridge the study of composition. 2. For this reason, the topics and precepts expounded here, are general, and may easily be applied to the special themes of composition, both in verse and prose; without, therefore, it being necessary to detail rules for each particular subject, which would be an endless task. 3. Certain species of composition, either entirely obsolete, or less in use in modern times, like the Fable, and Parable, are here cursorily treated; others, on the contrary, that are very important, and yet, have either been omitted, or only slightly treated by other authors, such as History, Journalism, Biography, Novel, Romance, and Drama, are fully expounded. 4. The method pursued in this book, as in the first, is both the synthetical and analytical; the former for teaching the rules, the latter the practice of composition. 5. Concerning the practice of composition, it is well to re |