Lessons in English

Front matter

rr I,

\ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS,'!

Chap. J&LELUdU,

Preface

The interest recently awakened in the study of English is, doubtless, due, in a great measure, to the fact that the works of the best English and American authors are now published in convenient and attractive form, and at prices which bring them within the reach of all.

It is almost universally conceded that the best teaching of English is that in which precept and example are most happily combined. The testimony of teachers who have long been striving to attain this end is that far better results are reached by the use of supplementary reading than were possible before the days of cheap editions. The pupil has constantly before him specimens of classic English, and is trained to test their excellence by applying the principles which he has learned. This method not only strengthens his mental grasp upon the abstract principles, but unconsciously develops a critical literary taste. Power of thought and facility of expression are acquired with comparative^ little effort. More than this, the opening of so many lines of thought and investigation does much towards forming the basis of a broad, general culture.

These are not simply theories. The} 7 have been tested by actual experience. The question is not, therefore, Shall we use these books in our high-school classes? but rather, How shall we use them to the best advantage?

In attempting to solve this problem, the necessity for a simple but comprehensive text-book has become apparent to many teachers. There are good text-books on Rhetoric and excellent w r orks on Composition ; but most of them contain more than is needed for the lower classes in our

VI PREFACE.

high schools, and much of the matter is too philosophical for immature minds. So, too, there are voluminous biographies of our noted writers, but no one book that brings within the reach of every pupil the main facts in regard to the lives and works of several authors. As a matter of school economy, therefore, a new book on the study of English seems desirable.

The author's apology for presuming to meet the necessities of the case is that, for several years, she has been trying to teach English without a text-book, doing a laborious amount of dictation work and copying with the hektograph. Eealizing that a simple and practical hand-book of the essentials of English would be a help to many teachers, she has been induced to publish the details of her method.

Many books have been consulted during the preparation of this volume, but special mention should be made of the help afforded by Guest's " Lectures on the History of England" ; u The Handbook of the English Tongue," by Angus ; Swinton's " New Word-Analysis"; the Rhetorics of D. J. Hill, A. S. Hill, Hart, and De Mille ; " Errors in the Use of English," by Hodgson; "Mistakes in Writing English," by Bigelow ; Wilson's " Treatise on Punctuation"; and Whitney's "Language and the Study of Language."

The author extends her thanks to the teachers associated with her in the English department of the Hillhouse Higli School, for their cordial co-operation; and to her friend, Miss S. S. Sheridan, for many helpful suggestions.

She also gratefully acknowledges her obligations to Mr. S. T. Button, Superintendent of the Public Schools of New Haven, for kind encouragement during the progress of the work ; and to Prof. T. R. Lonnsbury of Yale University, for invaluable assistance in the critical revision of the manuscript. g # j£ jj l

New Haven, Conn., November, 1887.

History of the English Language.

The Study of Language. Classification of Languages. The Britons. The Roman Invasion. The Saxons. The Norman Conquest. Growth of the English Language. Summary of the Elements of the Language 1

Questions for Review 34