selves and has as its resultant the Ironsides of Cromwell. The Civil War stands out pre-eminently as the war for personal liberty. Its results may be disguised by the military despotism of Crom_well, and the attempt at the same by the later Stuarts, but for England the battle was won there and then, and only the finishing touches were added by the Glorious Revolution. Of course, there were questions left unsettled and there still are, but the general principle was established that all men have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and only general details as to the best ways of guaranteeing such rights to all men needed to be worked out. The industrial phase is subordinate for, granted political liberty, industrial freedom must follow. In its independence it dates back at least to the Black Death of 1348 and continues, marked often by disorder, to the present conflict between capital and labor. The third great period is the growth of Greater England, going back to the destruction of the Spanish Armada in 1588, and even yet a period upon which we seem to be only entering. The essential factor in Greater England is the control of the sea and so we can understand why its growth has been attended with war. There are four phases to this rivalry, the first against Spain from 1588 to 1656, because she was or seemed to be mistress of the seas; the second against Holland from 1652-1674, because Spain's supremacy had slipped into Dutch hands; the third against France from 1689-1815, a death-struggle for the possession of America and India and settled by England's control of the sea; and the fourth from 1853 against Russia, an enemy whom England has feared because if there is to be a war it must be settled upon land. So for three hundred years England has been fighting to gain and hold her world-wide possessions. The internal growth has also four phases, the first, her disastrous experiment with the American colonies; the second a period of laissez-faire during which expecting as she did that they would revolt, she had little interest in their government; the third, a period of awakening interest resulting in good government and closer relations between the colonies and the mother country; and the fourth which is only being dreamed of by Eng lish statesmen, when Greater England shall become a federal union cemented as closely as the states of our own United States. I have only touched upon points here and there but I believe that with some such scheme English History would become vivid, a growing organism, not dead. To An Artist Smooth out the furrows of discontent, That tints the cheeks should ever bear These signs endurance-contact with the open air. It is but fair-to raise the eyelids There - Half closed? One wishes he had never posed! So much is told by eye and lid. Disclosed Are fragments of a thousand souls in that orb's glare A thousand souls- Now artist, spare My ancient thought, and paint Eyes of a sinner- like a saint. Of men and women of all races, Yield, just at the close of the year's mad rush, -MINNIE E. HAYS. How English Grammar Has Been Taught in I America C. HOMER BEAN, TERRE HAUTE, Ind. N English Grammar, as in most other branches of study, after devices in teaching have been thoroughly tested and found inefficient. they have been needlessly tried again and again; and the best methods discovered have been used more or less locally, forgotten, and repeatedly revived before they finally became permanent contributions to educational < procedure. Investigations of the historical development of the common branches on their pedagogical side will doubtless tend to the diminution of this waste of time and energy, and may contribute to the illumination of the path of further progress. There are few evidences of the ways in which teaching was done in the various periods of American history except such as are found in the structures of the text-books used and in the statements made in their prefaces or in advertisements in contemporary periodicals. It is safe to suppose that the methods of the average teacher of the common branches in former times were, as they are now, largely the methods of his text-books. Instead of making the book a tool in his hands, the teacher has usually allowed himself to become the tool. The purpose of this research is, therefore, to discover how English grammar was taught at various stages in American colonial and national history through the study of several large collections of grammars, some of which were sister editions, and of many advertisements, and also of lists of books purchased for schools. The first grammars used in America were imported from England. Later, reprints of English editions were made in this country. Then grammars were written in America confessedly in conformity with one or another of the standard grammars of the mother country. Finally even this adherence to English authorities was no longer customary. Webster's was the first English grammar written by an American (1783). Since that time there are a few clear cases of books that have been written in accordance with methods of grammar instruction that were prevalent at the time of their publication. But there were many more that argued the need of departing from the current manner of teaching this subject. Whenever it is evident that the use of such books became general and that later authors adopted their plans, they and their imitators may safely be trusted as mirroring the methods of the period of their popularity. In the early colonial days English grammar was not taught, owing to the fact that in the fatherland a thorough knowledge of Latin grammar was supposed to be a sufficient basis for the use of correct English. Dr. Lowthe, bishop of London, in 1800, lamented "During the past two hundred years the English language has been polished and refined and its boundaries much enlarged; but there has been no advance in its grammar." He said that at that time it was not a part of the instruction of childhood, and the Rev. John Shaw, in 1778, opposed "The custom prevalent for a long series of years, of neglecting the study of the grammar of our native tongue." It was said by Swift in 1750 that not only the people in general but also the best authors of his day offended against every grammatical rule. English grammars had been written early in the sixteenth century. Hooker's was the best known at the end of the eighteenth century. The various forms in which grammars have been written have evidently been determined in part by the purposes for which the authors wrote them. Asa Humphries, (1847) wrote "The English Prosody with Rules" not merely to teach the English language as it is, but to aid in making it what it should be. He said that there are many authors whose aim is the same as his. Goold Brown (1825) held on the other hand that it is not the business of the grammarian to give law to language, but to teach it according to the best usage. Before the educational opportunities were as general as they are now, many were compelled to get what education they could through private study. When our public schools had not yet freed themselves from the stigma of having been founded for the poor, there were many people, especially in the southern states, who preferred to have their children taught at home. In the rapidly developing American civilization there were not a few who found the educational demands of their adult life much greater than their parents had needed or had thought to be necessary for them. Consequently, they too, indulged in private study. This accounts for the fact that a large number of books were intended for private study as well as for school use and a great many were only for private learners. Keys for Murray's and other grammars were composed to aid the self-taught in verifying their rendition of incorrect sentences. The earliest grammars were written for youths of the grammar school period; but later, there were preparatory chapters for younger beginners, or there was an appendix for the older pupils. Finally the grammars and the language lessons were graded to suit children of different stages. When finally English grammar was taught, its mastery was thought to be possible only after a foundation for it had been made through the study of Latin, and besides it was believed to be important only to the well educated. The second problem in the effort to promote the study of English grammer was that of convincing educators that it was worth while for it to be taught to those who had no knowledge of Latin. Bishop Lowthe, in his "Short Introduction to English Grammar" (1800) argued that it was the easier plan to study the English language as a preparation for Latin. John Story (1793), Noah Webster (1783), and John Shaw and others agreed with Lowthe. In 1782 Robert Ross, A. M., published "The American Grammar", one grammar for both Latin and English. It placed nouns, pronouns, and adjectives of both languages in six cases and five declensions, and treated other parts of speech in a similar manner. The Latin overshadowed the English, however, to such a degree that one might examine the book with considerable care without discovering that it was not merely a Latin grammar. His aim seemed to have been to teach the two languages simultaneously. The only evidence of wide adoption of this plan is that the copy that fell into my hands was of the seventh edition. Latin had been the language of education and culture so long that English as spoken and written by educated people, had been considerably modified by its classic model. When English grammars were first studied they were Latin grammars except in name. Some authors wrote so-called General grammars in which they endeavored to force the requirements of Latin grammar upon all |