III. "COLLINS'S SCHOOL CLASSICS "-" COLLEGE CLASSICS," (William Collins's Sons & Co.,Bridewell Place, New Bridge Street, London). School Classics, 2d each: Paradise Lost, Book I.; Lady of the Lake, Cantos I., II., and V.; Goldsmith's poems; Pope and Gray. "College Classics": Nine plays of Shakespeare, 1s each; Milton's poems; Marlow's Edward II.; Fleay's Introduction to Shakespeare, and Guide to Chaucer and Spenser, price 50 cents each.

IV. "RIVINGTON'S SCHOOL CLASSICS," edited by Francis Storr. Spectator; Winter by Thomson, Twenty of Bacon's Essays, 1s each; Task, 2s; Book I. and II. of Paradise Lost, 9d each, etc.

V. "RUGBY "Edition of Shakespeare's Plays; Goldsmith's poems, Vicar of Wakefield, etc., price 18 each.

and

VI. STEWART & Co., Holborn Viaduct Steps, London, E. C., publish cheap editions (price 2s each) of Extracts from Burns, Moore, Longfellow, Mrs. Hemans, Goldsmith, Gray, Scott's Lady of the Lake, Marmion, Byron, etc.

VII. “LONDON SERIES OF ENGLISH CLASSICS,” edited by J. W. Hales. Only two volumes now ready,—Paradise Regained, and Macaulay's Essay on Clive.

VIII. "ANNOTATED POEMS OF ENGLISH AUTHORS," edited by E. T. Stevens and David Morris. Burns's Cotter's Saturday Night, Cowper's Task, Scott's Lady of the Lake, Lay of the Last Minstrel, Longfellow's Evangeline, Julius Cæsar, and some dozen other volumes. Longmans & Co., London, publish the preceding series, also Deserted Village, Elegy, Lycidas, L'Allegro, Task, Evangeline, and selections from the Excursion. Price 4d-10d each.

IX. "BROWN'S SERIES OF ANNOTATED CLASSICS" (A. Brown & Son, Hull, England). Prisoner of Chillon, Deserted Village, etc., 2d each.

All these editions are edited with notes, introductions, carefully printed, and in every way admirably prepared for students' use, by the most eminent scholars and teachers of England.

CHAPTER III.

THE "NORMAN BARON" AS A MODEL.

"After the pupil has become familiar with the process, and can readily analyze the passages he reads with regard to the merit of the thought, the aptness of the expression, and the congruity of the parts, he may proceed to the eminent poets of our language, to whose writings a higher veneration is due. Here he would find it no longer necessary to follow step by step the process to which he had been trained, but the merit of the thought and the force of the expression would be perceived by him at a glance, just as an eye accustomed to the machinery of watches perceives the ingenious construction and the exquisite workmanship of a chronometer, without separating the parts."-William Cullen Bryant.

21. We have selected the following simple poem to illustrate the method of teaching English which has been advocated in the preceding pages. Our plan is intended to be merely suggestive, and so far as possible to be practical in such suggestions.

THE NORMAN BARON.

BY H. W. LONGFELLOW.

In his chamber, weak and dying,
Was the Norman baron lying;

Loud, without, the tempest thundered,
And the castle-turret shook.

In this fight was Death the gainer,

Spite of vassal and retainer,

And the lands his sires had plundered,

Written in the Doomsday Book.

By his bed a monk was seated,

Who in humble voice repeated

Many a prayer and pater-noster,
From the missal on his knee;

And, amid the tempest pealing,
Sounds of bells came faintly stealing,
Bells, that from the neighboring kloster
Rang for the Nativity.

In the hall, the serf and vassal

Held, that night, their Christmas wassail; Many a carol, old and saintly,

Sang the minstrels and the waits;

And so loud these Saxon gleemen
Sang to slaves the songs of freemen,
That the storm was heard but faintly,
Knocking at the castle-gates.

Till at length the lays they chanted
Reached the chamber terror-haunted,
Where the monk, with accents holy,
Whispered at the baron's ear.
Tears upon his eyelids glistened,
As he paused awhile and listened,
And the dying baron slowly

Turned his weary head to hear.
"Wassail for the kingly stranger,
Born and cradled in a manger!
King, like David; priest, like Aaron;
Christ is born to set us free!"

And the lightning showed the sainted
Figures on the casement painted,
And exclaimed the shuddering baron,
"Miserere, Domine!"

In that hour of deep contrition
He beheld, with clearer vision,
Through all outward show and fashion,
Justice, the Avenger, rise.

All the pomp of earth had vanished,
Falsehood and deceit were banished,
Reason spake more loud than passion,
And the truth wore no disguise.

Every vassal of his banner,

Every serf born to his manor,

All those wronged and wretched creatures, By his hand were freed again.

And, as on the sacred missal

He recorded their dismissal,

Death relaxed his iron features,

And the monk replied, "Amen!"

Many centuries have been numbered
Since in death the baron slumbered
By the convent's sculptured portal,

Mingling with the common dust;
But the good deed, through the ages,
Living in historic pages,

Brighter grows and gleams immortal,
Unconsumed by moth or rust.

22. Guide Analysis for the "Norman Baron."

I. Read carefully the whole poem: recite the "story" orally.

II. General Examination.

III. Study of the Text.

1. Let the scenes be fully realized.
2. Relation of the minor scenes to
whole poem,-i. e., the unity of
the parts.

3. Study the minor details, mediæ-
val costumes, manners, etc.,
which illustrate the poem.
Analysis of the sentence; grammat-
ical construction; explain and
expand the figures of rhetoric;
origin and derivation of words;
various references; word - pic-
tures; picture-words.

IV. Paraphrase, oral and written.

V. Some attempt at criticism.

VI. Selections to commit to memory.

23. EXPLANATION.

1. First of all, let the poem be read carefully and thoughtfully. It would be an excellent idea to have the whole piece committed to memory, as is the custom in the English and German schools. This applies only to the shorter poems in the elementary work. Practically, it will prove more convenient, and perhaps the wiser plan, to have the piece unconsciously committed to

memory during the drill on the text. While we cannot advise the teacher to adopt the suggestions of Mr. Hales, it may be interesting to quote his views on this point:

"Let the piece be learned well by heart. This should be made a necessary part of the out-school work-of 'preparation.' While something more than the memory is to be thought of, and a mere loading of that faculty is before all things to be deprecated, the memory is not to be neglected. The memory is to be the servant of the mind; it is to fetch and carry for it; and it must be kept busy. It is no trivial blessing to have the memory furnished in one's youth with what is worth remembering to the end of one's life, and grows more and more precious as we grow older and discern better its virtues."

The pupil having followed the direction to read the piece carefully, should come to the recitation prepared to tell the "story" in his own words, with as choice a command of language as he can make use of. This is done without reference to the text. With the poem before him, the pupil should now be able to translate orally the text into plain simple prose, transposing or changing the original vocabulary as may be preferred.

2. Bring out the general meaning of the poem by dividing it into parts or scenes. Let these scenes be fully realized, and described separately. To what extent this part of the study shall be carried must obviously depend upon the age and capability of the class. Three or four simple narrative pieces should be studied, solely with reference to this point, in order that the pupil may understand how to prepare himself for subsequent recitations.

In the Norman Baron we have presented the following scenes: