E.—lA

10

6. Point out and correct anything faulty in the following sentences: — Whatever it might be with a man, at sixty-two a woman's work was, or ought in her opinion, to be over. In "'the sentence " the cat caught the mouse," the cat does something, and therefore is a transitive verb. Tfae Duke was haughty, proud and uncompromising, but neither destitute of honour or generosity. The echo of the thunder among the hills, and the roaring of the waters rushing down the streets, made a grand but sublime scene. They took pleasure in cant terms, and sprinkled them as plentifully in their sermons and prayers as ever did cook in time-honoured Christmas pudding. 7. Rewrite the following so as to tell the story in a more lively way, avoiding the constant repetition of " and " and " he," the ambiguous use of pronouns, and the inclusion of several subjects in the same sentence :— Blake happened to be at Malaga; and some of his seamen went ashore, and met the Host carried about, and not only paid no respect to it but laughed at those who did : so one of the priests put the people upon resenting this indignity, and they fell upon them and beat them severely. When they returned to their ship they complained of this usage ; and upon this Blake sent to the Viceroy to demand the priest who was the chief instrument in that ill-usage. . . . He said that if he had sent a complaint to him of it he would have punished them severely, since he would not suffer his men to affront the established religion of any place at which he touched ; but he took it ill that he set on the Spaniards to do it, for he would have all the world know that an Englishman is only to be punished by an Englishman ; and so he treated the priest civilly and sent him back, being satisfied that he had him at his mercy. 8. Write a short essay on the saying, " A little learning is a dangerous thing," showing in what respects it is true or false; or On any work of biography, travel, or history which has interested you.

Part of a Paper on English Grammar and Composition. — For Class E, and for Junior Civil Service. Note.— The Supervisor will be so good as to read through and then slowly dictate the following ivords and sentences, afterwards reading the whole of them again to afford opportunity for correction. Irretrievable, icicle, loquacious, dulness, cynical, canoeing, poultices, proselyte, autograph, pamphlet, mutineer, whimsical, financier, mortgagee, phenomenon. The battalion was defeated with grievous slaughter. Despondency is often merely a symptom of dyspepsia. The besieged resorted to a desperate stratagem. A sausage and a potato formed my meagre luncheon. The harassed pedagogue enjoyed his brief leisure. His demeanour to the yeomen was genteelly supercilious.

English.- — For Senior Civil Service. Time alloivcd: 3 hours. Paper No. I.—Composition and Precis. {All the Questions to be attempted.) 1. Write a short essay on one of the following: (a) The place of The Vicar of Wakefield in the life and work of Goldsmith; (b) The art of The Merchant of Venice ; (c) The character of Antonio. 2. Point out the faults of the following, and rewrite it so as to avoid them : — " The king, as was said before, was even upon the point of charging the enemy, in the head of his guards, when the Earl of Carnewarth, who rode next to him, a man never suspected for infidelity, nor one from whom the King would have received counsel in such a case, on a sudden laid his hand on the bridle of the King's horse, and, swearing two or three full-mouthed Scottish oaths, for of that nation he was, said, ' Will you go upon your death in an instant ? ' and, before His Majesty understood what he would have, turned his horse round, upon which a word run through the troops that they should march to the right hand, which was both from charging the enemy or assisting their own men." 3. Make an abstract of the accompanying correspondence, [giving the important points of each letter briefly, distinctly, and so as to catch the eye readily. The abstract should contain the date of each letter, the name of its writer and of its receiver, and the subject of it, in as few words as possible. 4. Tell briefly and clearly the facts of the correspondence in narrative form.

[Correspondence for Precis.] No. 1. The Agent-Geneeal to the Pkemiee. Sic, — 7, "Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 14th January, 1887. I transmit to you herewith copy of a despatch which is going by this mail from the Secretary of State to His Excellency the Governor, on the subject of appointing an officer at Earotonga of consular rank who will act at the same time as Agent for your Government. You will see that just before his death Lord Iddesleigh had decided that such an officer should be a full Consul, with a salary of £500 a year ; and that, if New Zealand would undertake to pay