Page:The king's English (IA kingsenglish00fowlrich).pdf/360

346 nothing of his highly untoward situation, made it more than usually difficult for him to cast aside or rightly subordinate.–.

That there is no comma between facilities and the excesses is no defence, seeing how often commas go wrong; indeed the comma after age in the second piece, which is strictly wrong, is a proof how little reliance is to be placed on such signs.

Generous interpretation will generally get at a writer's meaning; but for him to rely on that is to appeal ad misericordiam. Appended to the sentences, when necessary, is the result of supposing them to mean what they say.