Ellipsis

[ER <ression@hotmail.com>]

It gets worse the more I think about it. Assuming an original of -

Hermione opened the door slowly and peered around its edge. The room 
was dark, but in the centre was a stone seat lit by a sickly green 
light. A pale figure was slumped across the seat. Wand draw, and with 
a pounding heart, Hermione moved cautiously forward.

How should we write an extract? Like this -

Hermione opened the door.... The room was dark .... Wand drawn ... 
Hermione moved cautiously forward.

Or how? I'm making my own rules up here. The first ellipsis (no space 
before) is to indicate that there are words missing from the first 
sentence and then it comes to an end. The next ellipsis (note the 
space) is to indicate that there are both missing words and one or 
more missing sentences. The final one (just three dots) seems OK, but 
what about those missing commas, especially the first?

And I have found an example of four dots in print. It's in 
Churchill's History of the English-speaking Peoples, which seems an 
appropriate place for it to be! It is written thus -

"There is a dignity, a majesty and sublimity in this last effort of 
the Patriots that I greatly admire. . . . This destruction of the tea 
is so bold, so daring, so firm, intrepid, and inflexible, and it must 
have so important consequences, and so lasting, that I cannot but 
consider it as an epoch in history."

(I cut it down a little). Note the spaces between the dots (if Yahoo 
hasn't mangled it) - that makes it look a lot better. Not sure if 
they're full spaces or half-spaces or whatever, but white space there 
is. However, I could read this as one full stop (ending the first 
sentence) and then a three-dot ellipsis telling me that other 
sentences have been omitted. Or I could read it as a single four-dot 
ellipsis telling me that the first sentence has been truncated. 
Tricky isn't it?

ER