\ A A = = (T u ^ — = Tn 1 == 33 2 m == O Q """ 3 S — ^^ 1 — = m = ^ - >> ■^^^ -^ 1 b = ^ >^^^ -cude Zugabe gegeben, um rranzrtsischen iiuiiirliitlicii che mltudlich tersprache — u beaulagten erscliieu: Ol. Appendix: Letters, Hilfsbiicli zur Ericrnung der enylisclicri Sprache Anna Bruckner, Lehreriu der hoberen Miidcheuschule iu Freiburg i. B. VIII und 178 Seiten gr. 8". Preis gebundcn 2 Mark. TALKS ABOUT ENGLISH LITERATURE FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. APPENDIX: THREE LITTLE PLAYS. A Sequel to Life in an English Boarding-school by Anna Bruckner, Lehrerin an der hoheren !Madchenschule in Freiburg i. B. :& ■^ BIELEFELD und LEIPZIG. VERLAG VON VELHAGEN & KLASING. 1898. i *:? /I ,1 Q. i * c * i 4 C f. C 4 C- • * Vorwort. Die Verfasserin des „Life in an English Boarding School" (Velhagen & Klasing 1895) bietet in dem vorliegenden Werk- chen eine Fortsetzmig, die fiir die ersten Klassen und nament- lich fiir Seminarabteilimgen hoherer Madchenschulen bestimmt ist. Sie will damit die Freude an der englischen Litteratur wecken und starken und das Verstandnis der Entwicklung des englischen Schrifttums in seinen Hauptvertretern und ihren namhaftesten Werken in Poesie und Prosa erleichtern, ohne jedoch den Lehrer entbehrlich machen zu wollen. Im Gegen- teil. Auch dieses Buch setzt eine Lehrkraft voraus, die mit CQ Sprache und Dichtung, mit Verfassung und Lebensformen ^ Englands innig vertraut ist. Die Verfasserin verkennt so wenig wie der Unterzeichnete, >5 dais hierin eine gewisse Gefahr fiir das Buch liegen kann. ]q Eine fltichtige Durchsicht, die diesen Leitgedanken nicht ge- niigend in Betracht zoge, konnte zu dem Urteil verleiten, als _ halte sich die Darstellung vielfach an Aufserlichkeiten und Ein- &0 zelheiten. Diese Auffassung ware unschwer zu widerlegen. Auf ^ Schritt und Tritt begegnet der Leser in den Unterhaltungen der ^ Mils Stevens mit ihren Zoglingen dem Hinweis auf Werke, die allgemein bekannt oder in der Schule schon gelesen und durch- gearbeitet, auch wohl aufgefiihrt worden sind oder mit denen die wiirdige Dame eine solche Behandlung beabsichtigt. Die Haupt- arbeit also soil schon gethan oder doch soweit gefordert sein, dafs die Unterredungen, weit entfernt zu leeren Phrasen oder zu Gedachtniskram zu fiihren, sich auf der sichern Grundlage des Bekannten aufbaut oder zu weiteren Studien anregt. Das Litteraturbuch wih nur die Bundschau, den Biick- und Ausblick leiten, wobei die einzelnen Werke vorher oder nebenher durch Erzahlen, Lesen, Besprechen, Vergleichen, Zusammenfassen, zum Teil auch Auswendiglernen zum Eigentum der Schii- lerinnen werden miissen. Das ist aber die einzige fruchtbare — IV — und claher die einzige piidagogisch zuliissige Art, Litteratur- geschichte in der Schule zu treiben. Schon die Gespriichsform deiitet an, dafs die Verfasserin kein trockenes Handbuch, keine Sammhing fertiger Urteile liefern woUte. Wobi bat sie die besten Quellen*) gewissen- baft beriicksicbtigt, aber sie bat sie durcbaus selbstiindig bearbeitet und dabei in Auswabl, Anordnung und DarsteUung des Stoffes ihr eigenes Urteil friscb und frei zur Geltung ge- bracht. Ein solches Buch darf nur ein lebensvolles Bucb sein Oder es darf nicbt sein. Beigegeben sind drei kleine Dramen: die beiden ersten scbbefsen sich an die englische Litteratur an, sofern das eine den Spricbworterschatz des englischen Volkes, das andere die Bebandlung engliscber Litteratur in England selbst geistreicb veranschaulicht. Das dritte entbalt einen von der Verfasserin selbst in England erlebten Scberz, der ebenso wie die beiden andern Stiiekcben auch zu Scbulauffiibrungen geeignet und willkommen sein diirfte. Zugleich mag die dreifacbe Beigabe die Befugnis der Ver- fasserin erweisen, iiber englische Litteratur in engliscber Sprache zu scbreiben, abgesehen von 15jabriger Lehrarbeit auf diesem Gebiet, aus der die Schrift wie von selbst herausgewacbsen ist. Dafs das Manuscript zudem durch englische Fachleute sorgfaltig durcbgepriift worden ist, mag flir iingstliche Gemiiter noch ausdriicklich betont sein. Ich selbst bege nicbt den mindesten Zweifel, dafs auch die "Talks about English Litera- ture" dieselbe freundliche Aufnahme fmden und diese ebenso reicblich lohnen werden, wie das "Life in an English Board- ing-Schoor'. Freiburg im l^reisgau, im Oktober 1898. E. Keller. *) 1. British Authors. (Nelson aud Co.) 2. Collier's English Literaturo (Nelson aud Co.) 3. JJuckland's History of the English Literature (Cassell and Co.) 4. Stopford Brooke's Literature Primer (Macmillan and Co.) 5. Professor Dowden 'Shakespeare" (Macmillan and Co.) 6. Seymour 'Tales from Chaucer" (Nelson and Sons) 7. Lamb -Tales from Shakespeare" (Warue aud Co.) 8. Professor Hales "Notes aud Essays on Shakespeare" (George Bell aud Sons) 9. XIX Century Prose (A. and C. Black) 10. XIX Century Poetry (A. and C. Black). CONTENTS. Talks about English Literature. Division of Lessons. Introduction Page 1 Lesson I: Anglo-Saxon Poetry 2 1. Irish Poetry. 2. Scotch Poetry. 3. Beowulf. Lesson II: Christian Poetry 4 1. Caedmon. 2. Bede. 3. King Alfred. L e s s n 111 : A n g 1 o - 1^ o r m a n Poetry 6 1. Le Brut. 2. Ormulum. ;-5. The Vision of Piers the Ploughman. 4. Wicliff. Lesson IV: Geoffrey Chau- cer 9 1. His youth. 2. His captivity. 3. His life at court. 4. His visit to Italy. 5. His return. 6. His disgrace. Lesson V: The Canterbury Tales 13 1, Prologue. Page 2. The Knight's Tale. 3. The Cleric's Tale. Lesson VI: Continuation . 16 4. The Man of Law's. 5. The Priest's Tale. Lesson Vll: Elizabethan . 19 Literature. 1. James Wyatt — Earl of Surrey. 2. Edmund Spenser. 3. Sir Philip Sidney. Lesson VIIl: The Faerie Queen 22 1. The opening Stanzas. 2. Tlie adventures. 3. The Spenserian Stanzas. Lesson IX: The English Drama 24 1. Miracle Play. 2. Mysteries. 3. The First English Co- medy. 4. The First English Tra- gedy. 5. Troups of actors. Lesson X: Predecessors of Shakespeare .... 26 1. Lyly. 2. Peele. YI — Page 3. Green. 4. Marlowe. Lesson XI: Shakespeare . 27 1. His youth. 2. His life in London. 3. His retirement. Lesson XII: Plays of the I Period 31 1. Titus Andronicus. 2. Comedy of Errors. 3. Midsummer - Night's Di'eam. 4. Romeo and Juliet. 5. "All is well that ends well". 6. King John. Lesson XIII: Plays of the II P e r i d 35 1. Merchant of Venice. 2. The three comedies of Falstaff. 3. As you like it. Lesson XIV: Plays of the III Period 37 1. Julius Caesar. 2. Hamlet. 3. Othello. 4. Macbeth. 5. King Lear. Lesson XV: Plays of the IV Period 41 1. Winter's Tale. 2. Cymbeline. 3. Tempest. Lesson XVI: The Stage in Shakespeare's time . . 44 1. Place of acting. 2. Performance. 3. Decorations. 4. Actors. 5. The Stage after Shakes- peare's time. Lesson XVII: John Milton 47 1. His youth. Page 2. His visit to Italy. 3. His marriage. 4. His political pamphlets. 5. His blindness. Lesson XVIll: "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Re- gained" 50 Lesson XIX : Restoration. 52 1. Runyan. 2. Butler. 3. Dryden. 4. Newton. 5. John Locke. Lesson XX: The Augustan Age 56 1. Alexander Pope. 2. Tlie Rape of the Lock. Lesson XXI: Jonathan Swift 59 1. His life. 2. Gulliver's Travels. 3. Daniel Defoe. Lesson XXII: The first Es- sayists 62 1. Richard Steele. 2. Joseph Addison. Lesson XXHI: The first Novel writers .... 65 1. Ricliardson. 2. Fielding. 3. Smollet. 4. Dr. Samuel Johnson. Lesson XXIV: Oliver Gold- smith 67 1. His life. 2. His works. Lesson XXV: The Historic Triad and other Prose Writers of the reign of George HI 69 1. Hume. 2. Robertson. 3. Gibbon. — VII 4. Burke. 5. Sheridan. LessonXXVI: Poets of Na- ture 71 1. Thomson. 2. Cowper. 3. Crabbe. Lesson XXVII: Burns 1. His Hfe. 2. His works. 7.3 Lesson XXVHI: The "Lake Poets" 75 1. Wordsworth. 2. Coleridge. 3. Southey. Lesson XXIX: Lord Byron. 77 1. His Hfe. 2. His works. 3. His friends. Lesson XXX: Sir Walter Scott 81 1. His life. 2. His works. Lesson XXXI : Thackeray. 84 1. His life. 2. His works. Lesson XXXII: Dickens. . 86 1. His hfe. 2. His works. Page Lesson XXXIH: Macaulay. 88 1. His life. 2. His works. Lesson XXXIV: Carlyle . 91 1. His hfe. 2. His works. LessonXXXV: ModernNo- velists 93 1. Bulwer. 2. Marryat. 3. Cooper. 4. Kingsley. 5. Irving. Lesson XXXVI: Longfel- low 95 1. His life. 2. His works. LessonXXXVII: Tennyson. 97 Lesson XXXVIII: Brown- ing 99 Lesson XXXIX: Buskin. . 101 Lesson XL: Concluding Chapter 104 1. Gabriel Bossetti. 2. Christina Bossetti. 3. Felicia Hemans. 4. Adelaide Procter. 5. James Bussel Lowell. 6. Matthew Arnold. 7. Alfred Austin. 8. Budyard Kipling. Appendix: Three little Plays. I. A modern Play or English Proverbs 107 II. Anything for a Tennis-Match .... 125 III. A Teleiiram 131 ^ Berichtigungen und Verbesserungen. S. 34-, Z. If) V. o.: Bei dern Worte parents mufs statt des Komma eiu Apostropli stehen. S. 56. Z. 15 Y. 11.: Lies neighbourhood statt ueigbourhood. S. 61, Z. 10 V. u.: Lies grown-up statt grown up. S. 83, Z. 5 V. o.: Lies ''Marmion" statt "Marminon.". S. 114, Z. 3 V. u.: Lies Tlien you will be a great "virtuoso" on the piano. INTRODUCTION. MISS STEVENS. I am glad to say your Senior Examination is over, but I think it is a great mistake that you had only the historical plays of Shakespeare to read to pass your local examination. I think well educated girls ought to be familiar with the whole history of English Literature. JANET. I should so much like to know it; will you be so kind as to teach it us? MISS STEVENS. I will givc 3. manual of English Literature to each of you. You shall read up a chapter or a period every day, and the next day we shall talk about what you have read. FRANCES. How" Very nice! In this way we shall peruse the chapter attentively. EDITH. We began reading Collier's Literature at home — is it a good one? MISS STEVENS, A Very good Literature book indeed; you may keep it. MARY. I should like to have a smaller book; there is so much to be remembered in Colher's. MISS STEVENS. I will give you Slopford Brooke's Literature Primer. MARY. Thank you very much; a Primer is just what I hke. MISS STEVENS. Janet, you shall have the "British Au- thors" — do you know it? JANET. No, I don't. MISS STEVENS. You will like it very much, there is a picture of each author. JANET. Thank you so much, Miss Stevens. Briickner, Talks about English Literature. 1 :snsti STEVENS. And to you, Frances, I will give Miss Buck- land's History of English Literature, as you are so fond of books written by ladies. FRANCES. You are very kind, Miss Stevens; that will be a very nice way of learning our Literature. I quite look for- ward to these repetitions. MISS STEVENS, I am glad you do — if you do your part by reading attentively, you will have much to tell me. I should like you to read leisurely as far as you can for to-morrow. I will give you the books at once, if you will come down- stairs to the library wuth me. ALL FOUR. Thank you, w^e will — with much pleasure. I. ANGLO SAXON POETRY. Miss STEVENS. Amoug cvcry people the earUest form of literature is the Ballad. Men emerging from savagery used to chant the story of their deeds in rough metre in order that the ring of the lines might help the memory to retain the tale. The oldest existing specimens of British Literature are some scraps of Irish verse. You will have heard the name you little maiden of the "Emerald Isle". FRANCES. "The Psalter of Cashel"; it was sung by the bards. Miss STEVENS. It is ascribcd to the lifth century, but very likely it was only compiled towards the end of the ninth century. There are only very scanty remains of Gaelic poetry, and they are of much later date than the earliest Irish bal- lads. Our "Scotch bonnie lassie" will know about them. JANET. The Poems of Ossian. "Fingal" and "Temora", dating from the fourth century. MISS STEVENS. They were published by James Macpherson in 1762 and 1763, and were very much admired by all con- temporaries. Now they are generally looked on as hterary — 3 — forgeries. In Wales, which was the stronghold of Druidism, the profession of the bard was held in great honour. You can guess who was the hero of the bards, Mary? MARY. The great Prince Arthur who was noted for his prowess against the Saxons. Is it true that he held his court at a Round Table, attended by his Twelve Knights? MISS STEVENS. Legend has magnified his exploits. We learn a good deal about the Round Table in the Chronicle of Geoffrey of Monmouth. King Arthur was a favourite theme in the Middle Ages. A Norman Trouvere, Wace, sang his praises — as did Spenser in the "Faerie Queen", and Tennyson in the "Idylls of the King", as we shall hear later on. The old legend used to say that Arthur did not die, but is still aUve, and ready to come forth whenever England needed him. MARY. He seems to have been indeed the great favourite .of the Middle Ages. MISS STEVENS. So he was. There were besides these Celtic Writers also a few Latin authors, of wiiose w^orks we will name those of the Irish missionary to the Gauls. FRANCES. The Latin Poems of St. Columbanus. MISS STEVENS. Thomas Moore, the Irish poet speaks of them as "shining out in this twilight period of Latin Litera- ture with no ordinary distinction". The Anglo-Saxons brought their own poets with them from the Continent. Who sang "when the evening shadows fell and the mead bench was filled" to rouse the fiery spirit of the warriors or soothe their ruffled moods, Mary? MARY. The Gleeman or Minstrel. Miss STEVENS. The chief characteristic of the poetry of the Anglo-Saxons was a very regular alliteration, so arranged that, in every couplet, there should be two principal words in the first hne beginning with the same letter, which letter must also be the initial of the first word on which the stress of the voice falls in the second line. MARY. Is it like "Peter Piper picked a peck of pepper off a pewter plate" — and "Round the rugged rock the ragged rascals ran"? MISS STEVENS. Just fikc that. — Which is their greatest epic poem, Edith? EDITH. "Beowulf", the hero of which is Beowulf, a Danish warrior, who slays the monster Grendel. MISS STEVENS. The poetry of Beowulf is a striking picture of dim old Gothic days. As we read it, the gleaming of mail flashes in our eyes and we hear the clanging march of the warriors in Hrothgar's Hall, from whence Grendel had formerly carried off one "hearth-sharer" every night. — There is a second part of the "Saga"; who knows it? JANET. Beowulf killed a fiery dragon who had wasted the land — he found in the dragon's cave a vast hoard of treasures. He was wounded by the dragon, and, as there was no cure for its poison, he left the treasure to his people, and bade them bury him on the high cliff by the sea- shore. MISS STEVENS. Over his grave the warriors raised a mighty mound, and rode around it, singing a song of mourn- ing for their chief. There is a manuscript of Beowulf, very much worn of course, in the British Museum in London. II. CHRISTIAN POETRY. MISS STEVENS. Yet the Teutons did not remain heathens. St. Augustine, sent by Pope Gregory, as you will remember, came over, and other missionaries also. They built religious houses (convents) in different parts of the country in order to be able to carry on their work. One of these houses had been built upon the Cliff of Whitby in Yorkshire. Do you know what poet lived there, Mary? MARY. Caedmon, the first Christian poet in England. Is it true that Hilda, the pious Abbess of Whitby, taught him Christianity? MISS STEVENS. He was one of Hilda's first converts. He had been quite an unlettered cow-herd or farmer. It was the custom of the time that, at each feast after supper, the harp was brought into the hall, and passed from guest to guest, every one being expected to sing some song in praise of the old Teutonic gods. Caedmon had listened to the wild songs extolling the deeds of Thor and Wodin, and he thought there was a far greater God than these heathen gods, whose praise he would like to sing. He used to slip out of the hall before it was his turn to sing. One night, he lay down to sleep in the stable and, in liis sleep, a stranger came to him and said "Caedmon, sing me something", "I know^ nothing to sing" said the poor herd. "Sing the Creation" said the stranger, upon which, words of sweet music began to flow from the lips that had been sealed so long. Caedmon awoke, remembered the words of his "dream-song", and felt a new power in his breast. JANET. What a wonderful inspiration this was! How very much surprised Hilda and the monks must have been. MISS STEVENS. They wanted to test his new-found skill, and gave him a passage of the Bible to put into verse. So Caedmon spent the remainder of his Ule in composing his "Paraphrase" on the Creation and the Fall — on the History of Daniel and the Life of Christ. MARY. I heard once that Milton copied from Caedmon; is that true? MISS STEVENS. Miltou canuot be accused of plagiarism ; — he may have been inspired by that first true English poem. We may be proud that it is a Christian poem; that is much more important for us to consider. The first English prose -writer was another monk of Northumbria; he was very learned, and spent his whole life in the same convent — at Wearmouth; he was born at Jarrow, on the banks of the Tyne. TeU me his name, Frances. FRANCES. The Venerable Bede — he wrote the "History of the Anglo-Saxon Church", but he wrote in Latin, didn't he? MISS STEVENS. His last work, a Translation of the Gospel of St. John, was written in English — it is the first effort to make EngUsh prose a hterary language. You will know who is the next great scholar, the leading writer of Anglo-Saxon prose, Janet? JANET. King Alfred the Great. He translated Bede's History of the Anglo-Saxon Church into Anglo-Saxon. Miss STEVENS. He foundcd schools in the different parts of his kingdom. So that "every free-born youth, who has the — 6 — means, shall attend to his book till he can read Englisii writing perfectly". He even presided over a school in his own court. MARY. Fancy King Alfred being a schoolmaster! ^ MISS STEVENS. He sct a very good example to his people. He gave eight hours a day to the work of public affairs, viz. managing the business of his kingdom, eight hours to books and study, and he reserved only eight hours for sleep, meals, exercise and amusement. MARy. No wonder great scholars from different parts of the world visited his court. MISS STEVENS. King Alfred was anxious that his people should get interested in history. He not only translated the History of Orosius into English, but he made the Saxon Chronicle, which had chiefly been written by monks, and which had been only a dry record of events, a real History; — war-songs and battle-odes were quoted from it by his orders. EDITH. How long was it continued after Alfred's death? MISS STEVENS. It was Continued down to the death of Stephen in 1154. This period wich we have been talking about to-day is commonly called ''the Anglo-Saxon or Old English Period"'. If you were to learn the language of this first period, it would almost be as hard to learn as any foreign language; but there is no need for you to learn it just yet — you may be learning other things for the present which are more useful to you. III. ANGLO NORMAN PERIOD, FROM WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR TO EDWARD III. MISS STEVENS. The Norman Conquest wrought great changes on both the learning and the literature of England. William the Conqueror displaced many of the Saxon prelates who held sees at the time of the Conquest to make room for polished scholars from the Continent. Moreover he founded many fine abbeys and convents within whose quiet cells learned men could think and write in safe and honoured leisure. Schools sprang up on every side. The great seminaries at Oxford and Cambridge, — already distinguished as schools in King Alfred's time, — were elevated to the rank of universities. MARY. Which language was then used? MISS STEVENS. The professional language of churchmen, by whom all learning was then monopolized , was Latin. There are several Latin writers — one of them who wrote the story of Arthur and his Knights we have already mentioned. Who remembers him? JANET. Geoffrey of Monmouth. MISS STEVENS. The Normans brought the Norman Romance with them; Chivalry was inseparable from it. The Romance relating to King Arthur and the Legend of the Saint Graal were mixed up in those days. EDITH. Who else were celebrated in the Norman Romance? MISS STEVENS. Alexander the Great, Charlemagne, and later on Coeur-de-Lion. FRANCES. Isn't he said to have composed some songs himself? MISS STEVENS. Ycs , some military poems called "Ser- ventois"; he had learned song -making from the Trouba- dours in Provence. MARY. Were not these Norman Minstrels called by a Norman name? Miss STEVENS. Joglcr or Juggler from the Norman Jon- gleur. Those Yeomen Minstrels who were attached to noble houses wore the arms of their patron, hung round their necks by a sliver chain. Many minstrels carried an instrument about; it is supposed to have been like a guitar and was called vlele. The minstrel's dress bore some resemblance to that of the monks. MARY. Did they use rhyme in their poetry? MISS STEVENS. Ycs, the Normans Imported rhythmical verse from the Continent — a great improvement, although the number of syllables was often Irregular still. MARY. Was Enghsh quite out of fashion? MISS STEVENS. It was left to the serfs and boors of the land, as they could not understand the new language; yet the — 8 — poets clung to English, as we see in the first book written after the Norman Conquest. Who knows the title of it? JANET. It is a translation by a Somersetshire priest Layamon or Loweman from a French poem: "The Brut." MISS STEVENS. Brutus, the fabled son of Aeneas, was said to be the founder of the British nation and, although "The Brut" is a translation from a French poem, there are not fifty French words in the whole of it. An Augustine monk called Orm or Ormin wrote a poem ; he called it after his own name. You will know the title now, Edith? EDITH. The "Ormulum". MISS STEVENS. It is a poem of nearly twenty thousand short lines, without rhyme of any kind, but with a regular number of accents — however there are not five French words in the whole poem. Orm was extremely particular about his spelling; when an accent struck a consonant after a short vowel, he insisted on doubling the consonant. MARY. But what is the subject of the "Ormulum"? MISS STEVENS. It is a metrical paraphrase of the service of each day with the addition of a sermon in verse. "Tran- sition English", in which these poems are composed reached its goal in the realm of poetry, in an allegorical work written by a west-countryman, a monk, a man of the people, of in- tensely radical sympathies. What was its title, Edith? EDITH. "The Vision of Piers the Ploughman" written by William Langland about the year 1362, MISS STEVENS. The principal object of the author seems to have been to chastise the priests of the time for the wicked way in which they Hved. It became the book of those who desired social and church reform. It was eagerly read by the free labourers and serfs who collected round Wat Tyler, the rebel, for it was written in the old English manner, so that the very ploughboy could understand it. Its fame was so great that it produced imitators. MARY. Please tell me wiiat this vision is about? MISS STEVENS. It is difficult to say in a few^ words. The author fancies himself wandering over the Malvern Hills; he lies down on the grass and falls asleep. He dreams that he sees spread out before him "a fair field full of folk". — — 9 — This field represents the world; in the far east rises the Tower of Truth and in the dim west '^Death dwelt in a deep dale". Then a struggle ensues between Truth and Falsehood, the former represented as a "comely maiden", the latter as a blear-eyed '"babber-lipped" old wretch. The dreamer finds that, "Than Truth and True Love is no Treasure better"; but on awaking he remembers that the world he is Hving in is far from loving Truth, so that the victory he had dreamed of is not real and he begins to weep bitterly. — As I said, this poem wrought so strongly on men"s minds that its influence was almost as wide spread as Wiclifs great work. What do you know about him, Frances? FRANCES. John WicUf was born in 1324, in Yorkshire. In 1361, he became Master of Balliol College, Oxford. He began to preach against the wicked practices of the beg- ging friars and against the corrupt doctrines of the clergy. In 1377, he was appointed Rector of Lutterworth in Leicester- shire — he was often charged with heresy, but John of Gaunt supported him, and he published the first Translation of the Bible into English. Wiclif died in 1384. Miss STEVENS. The Translation of the Gospels alone can be identified as the work of Wiclif This translation had much influence on fixing our language; he made the Eng- lish tongue the popular language of religious thought and feeling. Wiclif has been called "the Father of English Prose". IV. GEOFFREY CHAUCEK. MISS STEVENS. As William Langland represents the part of the nation that spoke pure English, so Geoffrey Chaucer represents that part which spoke English with a large mixture of Norman-French. JANET. Did the people understand that? MISS STEVENS. It had become quite familiar to the middle class through the work of Friars who "interlarded" all their — 10 — speech with French words in their intercourse with tlie craft of merchantmen. Medicine and all the science of the time were in their hands. By the time Edward III began to reign, the Normans and Saxons had become completely intermixed; the old hatreds were gone; the conquered and the conquerors had united to conquer foreign foes. Chaucer's poems, though saturated with Norman-French, are so much like the English which we speak to-day, that we can understand a great deal without any explanation. This is why he is called "the Father of English Poetry". But you are anxious to tell me about his life, Mary. MARY. Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London; many dates are ascribed to his birth, ranging from 1328 to 1340. His father was most likely a wealthy wine-merchant in Cheap- side. He sent his son to a grand school. He seems to have been fond of reading the old poetical romances, but just as fond of strolUng (roving) in the fields round London in the month of May. MISS STEVENS. I sec you are thinking of the pretty lines on the Daisy that are quoted in most readings books. MARY. Yes, I am; they run thus: "Of all the flow'res in the mead Then love I. most these flow'res white and red, Such as men callen daisies in our town. To them I have so great affection, As I said erst, when comen is the May, That in my bed there daweth me no day, But I am up and walking in the mead, To see this flow^'r against the sunne spread." MISS STEVENS. We are not sure whether Chaucer was educated at Oxford or at Cambridge, nor do we know in what way the young poet won the favour of John of Gaunt, who introduced him at Court. Will you please go on with Chau- cer's biography, Edith? EDITH. When Prince Lionel went to France with the English army in 1359, Chaucer went with him; he had the misfortune to be taken prisoner, but he turned the months of his captivity to good account by reading the romances of the Troubadours and Trouveres, He was ransomed by the — 11 — King at the Peace of Bretigny in 1360. It was at Court that Chaucer became acquainted with Philippa de Rouet, a young lady-in-waiting on Queen Philippa. He loved this young lady and he wrote a poem for her, called "the Dream". After his marriage with Philippa, he and his wife were engaged in the household of John of Gaunt. MISS STEVENS. In 1369 the Duchess Blanche, the wife of John of Gaunt, died, and Chaucer wrote a poem of mourn- ing for his royal friend whose sorrow was great. Chaucer was a great favourite with the old King too, because he was not only a poet and a scholar, but also because he was a clever and useful man of business. You know where the King sent him to, Frances? FRANCES. In 1372 Edward III sent him to Italy to try and arrange with the Duke of Genoa for the choice of some port in England, to which goods might be sent from Italy for sale to EngUsh merchants. MISS STEVENS. This visit to Italy was no doubt for Chau- cer the reaUsation of one of the brightest dreams of his life, and it certainly left on his mind a vivid impression, which could not fade away, for Italy was at that time the very home of literature, and especially of poetry. Do you know the names of the three great Itahan poets who lived about that time? JANET. Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. MISS STEVENS. Dante had died about 50 years before; his great Allegorical poem ''La Divina Commedia" was generally admired and read. Petrarch and Boccaccio were still living; Chaucer may have seen both poets. Petrarch may have read some of his Sonnets to him, and Boccaccio may have told him stories from the "Decamerone". MARY. This is a collection of a hundred tales, which seven ladies and three gentlemen — who had fled to a quiet country-house at the time of the plague in Florence — tell each other in order to pass the time. MISS STEVENS. Chauccr learned a great deal abroad which he could never have learned at home, for foreign books were rare in England at that time, when each copy had to be written with pen and ink. This Italian influence is seen in - 12 — the choice of subjects for his later poems, of which we shall speak presently . . . Tell us about his return to his native land, Janet. JANET. In acknowledgment of the success of his mission to Italy, the King granted Chaucer "a pitcher of wine daily", and afterwards, instead of it, a payment of twenty marks a year. Chaucer obtained a lease for life of a dwelling-house at Aldgate too, and he was appointed Comptroller of Customs. MARY. What a very prosaic occupation for a King's Poet or Laureate! — MISS STEVENS. The poet w^as only obliged to keep the books and fill in the bills of lading with his own hand; he was allowed to engage some one to attend to the other duties, so that he had leisure to write poetry. Which two poems did he write next? FRANCES. "The House of Fame" — a dream in which the poet sees a crowd of persons pressing into the "House of Fame" seeking fame, and "the Legend of good Women", of which I remember: "Goode women, maidens and wives, that are true in love all their lives!" MISS STEVENS. During the latter part of Edward the Third's reign, and in the early part of tliat of Richard II, John of Gaunt was in great power and able to do much for his poet brother-in-law, for the Duke of Lancaster had married Ca- therine Swynford, the sister of Phihppa Chaucer; but at length a change came. The misrule of King Richard caused a Commission of Regency to be appointed, and in 1387 one of the first acts of the commission was to take from Chaucer his pension and his appointment. At the same time his wife died. The next ten years of his life were a constant struggle with poverty. MARY. He was now old too, poor man! MISS STEVENS. It was during these very years that he set to work upon his best and greatest poem "The Canter- bury Tales", of which we will speak presently. The poet did not live to complete his work. He died in 1400. After Henry the Fourth's accession, he received a large pension again, so that he was well off. We are told that Chaucer never uttered one word of grumbling or bitter feeling at his reverse of — 13 fortune; he bore it manfully and with a Christian spirit. His body was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey. V. THE CANTERBURY TALES. MISS STEVENS. Now we come at last to the "Canterbury Tales" of which you learned part of the Prologue, telling us where the pilgrims met "in Aprille with his showres swoote". Who remembers these lines? JANET. I do. "Byfel that, in that seasone on a day. In Southwark at the Tabard as I lay, Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage To Canterbury with ful devout courage, At night was come into that hostelrie Wei nyne and twenty in compainye, Of sondry folk, by aventure i-falle! Ir felaweschipe, and pilgrims were they alle. That toward Canterbury wolden ryde, The chambers and the stables weren wyde, And wel we weren esed atte beste." MISS STEVENS. The "nyne and twenty" pilgrims were of all sorts and conditions of men, as you know — namely, Mary? MARY. A Clerk of Oxford, a jolly Monk, the Frankhn, the Knight, the Squire, a wife of Bath, a Priores^, the Pardoner, the Pedlar, a Yeoman, a Merchant, a Doctor of Physic, and so on. MI3S STEVENS. In imitation of Boccaccio's "Decamerone"', Chaucer made them each tell a tale "to beguile the time" as the road was bad and long. — Which story do you know best, Frances, as you read Ihem all in Mary Seymour's "Tales of Chaucer"? FRANCES. The nicest, I think, "the Knight's Tale". Two close friends have been taken prisoners by Duke Theseus of Athens. Looking forth from their prison window one day. they behold the lovely Emily, sister of the Duke's wife, walk- — 14 — ing in the garden. Both princes are immediately smitten with her beauty, and the friends, now rivals for the hand of the same lady, become hateful to each other. In course of time, the one. Prince Arcite, is released, the other, Palamo, contrives to escape. They meet by accident in a grove, and are lighting like wild beasts when Duke Theseus comes suddenly upon them. At first the Duke feels inclined to put the princes to death, but finding out the cause of the quarrel, he com- mands that they shall meet and fight together at a tournament, and the one who shall gain it is to win Emily as his prize. Arcite is proclaimed the victor. — Unfortunately, however, while he is riding along the lists, he is thrown from his horse, and soon lies dying at the feet of his beloved Emily. He has to tell her to take Palamo as her husband, and he speaks in his old friend's praise with the kindness of a true knight. Death creeps up his hmbs, and his breath fails him, "But on his lady yet he cast his eye. His laste word was 'Mercy Emelye'". MARY. What a very touching story! May I tell the "Clerk's Tale"? MISS STEVENS. If you Hkc, but tell it briefly. MARY. In Italy, or rather in Lombardy, there lived a Marquis called Walter. He was exceedingly dear to his people because of his wise and gentle government; but he had his faults too — he had a great love of pleasure. The devoted people thought if their lord were married, he would be less frivolous — so they sent "a certain number of chosen" to go up to the castle to ask his leave to choose a good wife for him. The noble Marquis thanked the spokesman and his companions for their kind olfer, but said that if he was to give up the hberty he enjoyed so much, it w^as only fair that he should choose his wife himself, and so he did. At a very short distance from the Castle, in a small and humble village, there lived in a miserable hut a poor maiden, Griselda. Young as she was, she had a brave heart and was always peaceful and happy under the pressure of work or of want. Lord Walter's thoughts turned to Griselda, as he had often heard of her virtue, industry, and love to her old father Janicula. He ordered everything to be prepared — 15 — for his wedding, and then he went to Janicula to ask permission to marry his daughter. The old man trembling from head to foot, answered: "That which my Lord wishes, let it be." Then Griselda was consulted. She was obhged to promise "to be obedient in everything, whether she was treated well or ill". She humbly answered: "If such is your wish, my lord, I consent to be your wife, and I will swear never to disobey or resist your wishes." So Griselda was "arrayed in beautiful garments", and became a marchioness. The first year of her married life passed smoothly. Griselda was very much beloved by the people, as she remained modest. A little daughter was born to her, and now her troubles began. The Marquis wishing to try his wife's stock of patience, ordered her to give up her httle baby daughter to be exposed to starvation as she could not be the heiress. The unhappy mother only said "My will is yours, my lord", as she had once promised when the Marquis sought her in her poor abode. Several years passed by, and then the much desired son was born — but again the cruel father had this child taken away from the low-born mother, and again she did not utter one word of complaint. The Marquis tried his wife still harder; he sent her back to her low cottage and told her that he wished to marry a "highborn lady". Griselda went back apparently quite content. Now the Marquis was convinced of his wife's virtue, and great was the joy when Griselda and the people were told, that "the highborn lady was no other than herself, that the little daughter, who had grown into a fine young lady, was hers, and the young baron who came with her to court was her son, who had been brought up by the Duchess of Bo- logna, the Marquis' sister. Isn't it a nice tale in honour of woman's virtue? MISS STEVENS. Indeed it is. Chaucer thought very highly of woman's virtue. — 16 — VI. CONTINUATION. MISS STEVENS. There is another Tale somewhat hke the one we heard. Who can tell it me? JANET. "The Man of Law's Tale." — Once upon a time there dwelt in Syria a company of rich traders, who dealt in fine cloth, silks and spices. One year they made a journey to Rome to sell these goods. Just then men were speaking much about Constance, the daughter of the Roman Emperor, for she was not only most beautiful, but also most virtuous. The merchants were very anxious to see this fair lady, and they succeeded in doing so. When they returned, they were so full of the praise of Dame Constance that the Sultan be- came anxious to gain her for his bride. He sent messengers to Rome to woo the Emperor's daughter. Constance did not like to marry a pagan prince, but it was arranged by the mediation of the Pope that the Sultan and his lords should receive baptism before Constance went there to be married. The treacherous mother of the Sultan was displeased with her son's faithlessness to Mahomet's law; she devised a scheme to prevent the introduction of Christianity into her country. She received Constance very kindly, and told her son she would take care of her whilst he prepared for the wedding. While the Sultan was away, his mother's servants took Constance to a ship which had no rudder or compass, placed some food and clothing in it, and bade her get back to Italy as best she could. The poor affrighted maiden appealed to Heaven to preserve her from being drowned, and her prayers were answered ; the little boat was driven to the Northumbrian coast. The keeper of an old castle on the shore took the poor shipwrecked maiden to his wife who soon loved her dearly, for Constance did not disclose her rank, but made herself very useful by working like a servant. There were three other Christians in Northumbria, and soon the keeper and his wife Hermengilde became converts too. A bad knight fell in love with Constance, but as she would not love him in return, he killed Hermengilde and put the blood-stained knife by the side of the unconscious Constance and stole away. The good King Ella came to the keeper's — 17 — house to find out the perpetrator of the crime; he was soon convinced of Constance's innocence, and ordered the knight to be slain. Soon afterwards he made Constance his dear wife, but her mother-in-law, Donegilde, hated her because the King had become a Christian for her sake. When Ella was away in Scotland, a little son was born to him. A messenger was despatched to Scotland, but Done- gilde managed to change the King's message, and ordered that Constance and her httle son should be put back on the vessel which had once brought her to Northumbria. She was again pushed off to sea with her baby; clothing and food sufficient for a long voyage were put into the boat. The un- fortunate mother looked up to Heaven again, and she was not forsaken. The Roman Emperor had sent an army to Syria to avenge his poor daughter's fate; and as the army was returning home victoriously, one of the senators encoun- tered the vessel which contained the poor mother and her child. Neither threats nor entreaties could draw from her any acknowledgment of her station , so she was taken by this kind lord to his home, and treated very kindly; although the senator's wife was Constance's aunt, she did not recognise her, as she was so much changed by her many sorrows. When Ella came back to Northumbria, and learned what had happened, he became so furious that he slew Donegilde in his rage. After a while, he began to grieve for destroying his wicked mother, and as a penance for his sins he undertook a pilgrimage to Rome. You may easily guess what happened. He found his long lost wife in a marvellous way. The Emperor, who had grown old now, was more than delighted to see that his dear daughter was still living, and that he had a little grandson. He settled that the little son, Maurice, should succeed him and remain with him to be educated at Rome. Ella and Constance went back to North- umbria, and lived happily and peacefully ever after, doing much good in their home, and setting the people a good example, so that they all became Christians. Miss STEVENS. You have not told us this Tale very briefly, but very well indeed, thank you. Briickner, Talks about English Literature. 2 — 18 - Now, Edith must tell us a Tale, a short one, lest we feel tired out. (worn out, exhausted.) EDITH. 1 don't think you will, for I meant to tell you the very amusing Tale of the "Nuns' Priest": There was once a poor widow who dwelt with her daughters in a small cottage, and was content with humble fare. In her little yard, the widow had a few lowls, one of which, a cock named Chanticleer, had not his equal in crowing — he was a fine fellow too. The fairest of all his seven hens was Dame Partlet, she was Chanticleer's favourite and always sat next to him on the perch when they went to roost. One night Chanticleer made such dismal noises in his sleep, that Dame Partlet grew quite alarmed. "What ails you?" she said to him. "0 dear dame," answered Chanti- cleer, "I have had a terrible dream; it seemed to me that a horrible beast was walking about in our own yard. His body was black and his eyes were bright and fierce. I felt very much afraid of him — " "Don't be a coward!". Dame Partlet replied, "else I shall be ashamed of you. A wise man, Cato, once said: "Never pay heed to dreams". Chanticleer was not quite convinced of the truth of Cato's saying — he told the good Dame that he had heard that many dreams had been fulfilled. By that time morning had dawned, and Chan- ticleer fiew from the perch, and called his seven hens to follow him. He led them outside the yard to look for some grains of corn, Utile dreaming that a cunning fox lay concealed there, waiting his opportunity to fall on Chanticleer, It so befell that the cock espied a butterfly on the leaves of the plants amid which the fox was lurking, and approaching nearer, he saw tlie intruder. He was going to fly away, when the fox addressed him in sweet words: "Gentle friend," he said, "1 have come to hear you sing, not to do you any harm. I heard you had a voice like an angel." Chanticleer was so charmed with this fine speech that he began to stretch his neck and to crow with delight. Now the fox sprang from his iiiding-place, caught liini up, and carried him off to his hole in the wood. Tiie seven liens made an awful noise, when they saw their defender borne away; the widow and her daughter heard — 19 — them, and, starting up, reached their cottage-door just in time to see the fox darting off in the direction of the wood. They took (seized) some sticks and staves and began to chase the fox; all the men and women who heard them cry, joined them, and even all the animals ran with them; there was never more confusion in the world than these shrieking people and animals made running after the fox. Yet they would never have been able to save the poor cock's life, if a sudden thought had not prompted him to say to the fox: "Sir, were I you, I should speak to these noisy churls and say: "A pestilence fall on you. I will devour this cock in spite of all your efforts.'' " And the fox was so stupid as to open his mouth to speak, and Chanticleer was so intelligent as to free himself with one quick movement, and to fly on to a tree overhead. "Good friend," said the fox, "come down again. I have done you great wrong to drag you here; come down and I will explain all." "No, no," said Chanticleer "you have beguiled me once with your fine speech — I'll never be deceived again by smooth words." MARY. Let us hope he never was disturbed by bad dreams either, poor Chanticleer! MISS STEVENS. This Talc has been useful to several fabulists; it teaches such a good lesson, which many people will never learn, but which I trust you will ever remember, viz. Not to be deceived by fine dress or by fine speech, and never to judge by outward appearance, but rather to look ■"for the hidden treasures." — This has been a very long lesson, but a very interesting one. VII. ELIZABETHAN LITERATURE. MISS STEVENS, lu the fifteenth century, the interest in classical literature grew owing to the Revival of Letters. A great many nobles became lovers of books. It was only after the religious and pohtical disturbances at the end of Henry the Eighth's reign, when England was at peace and prosperous again, that poetry revived as an art. In this reign Sir Thomas More wrote "Utopia", and two noblemen travelled in 9* — 20 — Italy and brought back to England tlie inspiration they had gained there. Who were they, Janet? JANET. Sir James Wyatt and the Earl of Surrey. MISS STEVENS. The language of their poetry though Italian in sentiment, is more English than Chaucer's, that is, they use fewer Romance words. They handed down this purity ot English to the Elizabethan poets who were, however, far from imitating foreign poetry; for with the general awakening of national life under Queen Elizabeth new veins of thought were opened, the love of stories grew, and the old English ballads and tales were eagerly read and collected. With whom did the glory of the new literature arise, Janet? JANET. With Eduumd Spenser, who was born in London in 1553. While at Cambridge, he got intimate with Sir Philip Sidney. MISS STEVENS. Do you remember who Sir Phihp Sidney was, Mary? MARY. Indeed I do. Elizabeth at first called him "the jewel of her dominions", and long refused to listen to his ardent wish to go lo war; but then Sidney fell into disgrace; he retired from court, and wrote his famous book '-Arcadia". In 1586 he went to the Low Countries and fought in the battle of Zutphen, where he received a deadly wound. When he was carried past a wounded soldier, he turned the cooling draught from his own parched lips to slake the dying thirst of this poor fellow-suflerer. He was only 32 years old when he died. JANET. Sir Philip Sidney introduced Spenser to the Earl of Leicester, the Queen's favourite, who introduced him at court. The result of royal favour was a grant of land in Ireland, the estates of Kilcolman in the county of Cork, of which his other friend Raleigh had already received a large share. mai;y. What illustrious friends Raleigh had! Did beget these acres of Irish land to reward him for throwing his cloak on the muddy ground when Her Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth passed? MISS STEVENS. He was knighted as he served with al- most incredible bravery in Ireland during the rebellion of — 21 — the Earl of Desmond, from whom these lands were taken; he was not only a brave soldier, but also a brave sailor. In the reign of James the First, he was charged with high treason, and put into the Tower, where he Avrote his "History of the World". MARY. Was he beheaded'? MISS STEVENS. Yes, he was executed although he did not plead guilty ; but let me tell you of his visits to his friend in Ireland. Spenser's Castle of Kilcolman stood near a beautiful lake in the middle of an extensive plain, girdled with moun- tain ranges. Soft woodlands and savage hills, shadowy river- glades and roUing ploughland were all there to gladden the friends' hearts. Near the wooded banks of the gentle MuUa which ran by the Castle, Spenser composed "the Faerie Queene" and read it to his brilliant friend. And Raleigh w^as so dehghted with the beautiful poetry that he urged the poet to cross the sea with his precious "cantos", as he called them, to lay them at the feet of the Queen. Now go on, Edith. EDITH. Elizabeth honoured them with her approval, and rewarded the genius and the flattery of Spenser by granting him a pension of £ 50. After having published "the simple song"', as Spenser modestly called his first three books, he went back to Ireland, where he held a responsible position as Sheriff of Cork. Soon after his marriage with a lady named Elizabeth, he published his second three books. In 1596 he crossed to England again, and published the fourth, fifth and sixth books of his great work. Scarcely had he settled in his bright home again when a rebellion broke out, the insurgents attacked Kilcolman Castle so suddenly and so furiously that Spenser and his wife had to flee for their lives from the blazing ruin, leaving behind them their youngest child who was burnt to death. FRANCES. You scc Spcuscr did not try to be friendly with the wild natives; he followed the opposite policy of keeping them down with an iron hand. EDITH. Broken-hearted and almost in poverty, the poet died in London three months later, in 1598. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, near Chaucer. — 22 — VIII. THE FAERIE QUEEN. MISS STEVENS. Spenser wrote some minor poems — the "Shepheardes Calendar', a pastoral poem or eclogue; "Mother Hubbard's Tale", a satire on the intrigues of court life, and others; but we will only speak of his chief poem of which you learned part of the Opening Stanzas. Who will repeat them? MARY. I will, please. A gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine, Ycladd in mightie arms and silver shielde. Wherein old dints of deep wounds did remaine, The cruel maikes of many a bloody lielde; Yet arms till that time did he never wield; His angry steede did chide his foming bilt, As much disdayning to the curbe to yield: Full jolly knight he seemed and faire did sitt As one for knightly giust and fierce encounters fitt. And on his breast a bloodie crosse he bore, The dear remembrance of his dying Lord, For whose sweete sake that glorious badge he wore, And dead, as living ever, him ador'd: Upon his shield the like was also scor'd, For soveraine hope, which in his helpe he had. Right, faithful, true he was in deede and world; But of his cheere did seeme too solemn sad; Yet nothing did he dread, but ever was ydrad. MISS STEVENS. Will you please tell us in prose now what adventure the Red-Ci'oss Knight who represents the militant Christian was bound upon, Frances? FRANCES. He wanted to achieve a glorious deed which Gloriana, "the Queen of Faerie land" gave him to do, viz 'Ho prove his puissance upon a Dragon, horrible and stearne". In spite of the plots of the wizard Arehimago, or Hypocrisy and the wiles of the witch Duessa, or Falsehood he slays the dragon that ravaged the kingdom of Una's, or Truth's father, and thus wins the hand of that fair princess. MISS STEVENS. Janet, you might mention the heroes of tlie other adventures. — 23 — JANET. Sir Giiyon, or Temperance, is the hero of the second adventure, — Britomartis, or Chastity — a Lady- Knight — of the third; Cambel and Friamond, typifying Friendship, of the fourth; Artegall, or Justice, of the fifth, Sir CaUdore, or Courtesy, of the sixth. MISS STEVENS. The poet only finished six books of this allegorical poem. He intended to write twelve. Prince Arthur, who is chosen as the hero of the poem, falls in love w^ith the Faerie Queen, and, armed by Merlin, sets out to seek her in Faerie Land. She is supposed to hold her annual feast for twelve days, during which twelve adventures are achieved by twelve knights. The poet attempted to interweave with his bright allegories the history of his own day. Gloriana, the "Faerie Queen", represents Queen PJess whose red wig be- comes in his melodious verse "yellow locks , crisped liked golden wire". MARY. What outrageous flattery! MISS STEVENS. You must not be so shocked. It was the fashion of the day; poets are only human. Artegall, or Justice, is Lord Grey of Wilton; Duessa, Envy, or Falsehood is poor Mary Stuart. JANET. What a shame! I never knew that, else I should not have perused the poem with such delight. MISS STEVENS. The stanza in which the great poem is written bears the poet's name. How many lines are there, Frances? FRANCES. There are nine. MISS STEVENS. It is the ItaUan ottava rima with a ninth line, an Alexandrine, which the poet added to close the cadence. Modern poets have proved the power of this grand Spenserian stanza. Spenser wrote capital prose as well as exquisite verse. He wrote a "View of the State of Ireland", a dialogue in which that land and the habits of its natives are finely described. — 24 — IX. THE ENGLISH DRAMA. MISS STEVEXs, Before we begin with our illustrious dramatist, we must speak of the Drama, as we have not yet spoken about it. At the time of Queen Elizabeth, the habit of play-writing became common. At every ceremonial, whenever the Queen visited one of the great lords or a university, a masque or a play or a pageant was acted MARY. In "Kenilworth", the Earl of Leicester engages a troup of actors to play before her; — it must have been a great expense to the lords, must it not? MISS STEVENS. An cnormous expense, as they rivalled each other. Let us hear first of the Origin of the Drama, Frances. FRANCES. The Drama began with the Miracle-Play which represented some portion of Scripture history or some incident of the life of some saint. MISS STEVENS. Who werc the first actors, Edith? EDITH. The clergy, because the Miracle Plays were first represented in the churches. In 1268 the town-guilds began to take them into their own hands. MISS STEVENS. Two new kinds of plays were written. Which were they, Frances? FRANCES. The Mysteries, representing a mysterious sub- ject, such as the Resurrection — and the Moralities in which some moral principle was established, such as virtue triumphing over vice. MISS STEVENS. We have still three sets of such plays — the Towneley, Chester and Coventry plays. MARY. Who collected them? Miss STEVENS. The town-guilds most likely — from the towns they went to the houses of the nobles and to the court. To enUven these plays, historical characters were in- troduced — Brutus represented patriotism — Aristides, Justice, and so on. But soon a demand arose for plays which should picture human life. Who knows the name of the first Eng- lish comedy, by Nicholas Udall, master of Eton? MARY. I know. It is "Ralph Roysler Doyster"; it was first acted by the Eton boys. — 25 — MISS STEVENS. It is a picture of London life and manners at that time. Tlie plot is the story of a self-conceited, vain- glorious young man, and the consequent ridicule and loss of respect which he draws upon himself. There is plenty of fan, such as boys would enter into. Who knows when the first English tragedy was written? MARY. I do again. It was in 1561 that the first English tragedy was written by two members of the Inner Temple. Latin plays had been acted by the law-students of the Inns of Court as well as by the students of the universities. It is called "Ferrex and Porrex" or ''Gorboduc". MISS STEVENS. The plot of the play is the strife going on in the family of King Gorboduc who divided his realm in his life-time between his sons, Ferrex and Porrex. The sons fell into dissension. The younger killed the elder. The mother who had loved the elder more dearly, out of revenge killed the younger. The people, moved by the cruelty of the act, rose, and killed both father and mother. The nobility, enraged at the rebellion of the people, destroyed the rebels, then fell afterwards to civil war among themselves as to the accession to the crown. In this war, they and Iheir children were slain, and the land remained for a long time almost desolate and miserably wasted. MARY. Dear me, this is a tragedy worse than "Hamlet"; no one survives to tell the sad tale of their death ! MISS STEVENS. The authors, Sackville and Norton, intended to put the evils of disunion very strongly forward, in order that all might understand and take the lesson to heart. They founded the plot on a bloody story of ancient British history. It is written in regular blank verse, and consists of 5 acts between which there is always a chorus as in the Greek plays. JANET, Where was this tragedy first acted? MISS STEVENS. At the Inner Temple at the Christmas festivities, and a fortnight after it was acted in Whitehall before Queen Elizabeth and her court. EDITH. It seems funny that the law-students of the Inns of Court should act before the Oueen. — 26 — MISS STEVENS. As I told you, before "Ferrex and Porrex'' there were only translations of Greek and Latin plays, but as soon as other Enghsh plays besides this one were written, great nobles had their servants and retainers taught to act. In 1574, the Earl of Leicester obtained a patent for his ser- vants, giving them permission to act within the city of London and in any town in England. FRANCES. Where did they act, please? MISS STEVENS. The place usually chosen for the perfor- mance was an inn-yard. In 1576 the Earl of Leicester's company built the Blackfriars Theatre in which Shakespeare acted. This was the greatest dramatist of that and all other times, and he gives the crowning glory to the Elizabethan Literature. X. PREDECESSORS OF SHAKESPEARE. MISS STEVENS. Shakespearc had several clever predecessors, Who knows their names? FRANCES. Lyly, Peale, Green and Marlowe. MISS STEVENS. Lyly is the author of "Euphues", a book of travels full of endless metaphors from the classics and natural history. In six years the two parts of "Euphues" ran through five editions, so great was its popularity. It became the fashion to talk "Euphuism". Peele and Greene make their characters act on, and draw out one another in the several scenes; but thoy have no power of making a plot. Peele wrote historical dramas; Greene, plays of home-life. Marlowe rose by degrees into mastery of his art. What are the names of his plays, Edith? EDITH. The "Jew of Malta" — "Edward 11" and "Doctor Faustus". Mi.m-8,'28 Lehrbuch - 000 293 705 o iler franzosischen Sprache anf Grundlage der Anschauung. Von und -hiile XII und 361 Seiten Pre Dr. F. Schmidt, Direktor der Oberrealschule zu Hanau. J Auflage. den Text gedruckten Abbildungen '.artenseiten. len 2 M. 80 Pf. 3 E. tbruug des fra' Ver jng des Kiini^ es L rrichts vom » esebuclis voa Kofsmanu und Schmidt ist steriunis dt-r geistlicLeu Aujjelegenheiten t geiiehinigt worden. sine so freundliche Aufnahme und eiu so m TOrliegenden ,,Lehrbuch der franzosischen la etwa< mehr als Jahresfrist sind viei' ie vieleu anerkennenden Urteile schliefsen, node die Zukuuft gehort und das Buch sich . tlber das Buch erlauben wir uns an dieser er hoheren Madchenschule zu Freiburg i. B., ^u „Causeri6S pour les enfants" von J. Weick ich, nachdem er hervorgehoben, dafs man in • fremdeu Sprache an die Welt des Kindes, an ande anzukuilpfeu, woitlich folgendermafsen: "•ckschritte tind Fehlgriffe niit iittterge- ':ilt die Schiller in der ersten Sfniide iiber . sie ntoiiatelang mit Aiissprechiibungen. ■t lebettsvollen Lehrbiiche koh Rofsmann 'it heller Fretide mid mit dent schonsten et, benutzeii ; ja der Lehrer, der seine 'Ikiirlich zu selbstdndigen Erweiteritngett 'erkehr mit der Klasse in Frage und Ibst zu einer Unterhalttingsstinide, lost u •■ so wird die fremde Sprache dem Kinde ste mit dhnlicher Unmittelbarkeit wie die !.•■' einem neui . esse zu teil gevo. udlage der A iS' owordeu, ui; liChrbuch dai 1 .d Freuude erwerb \ oil den zahlreicben gill le eins anzufuhren, das r Professor E. Keller, in <. ^. 1 p -icht. Herr Prof. Keller jrt Zeit sich bestrebe, die A- verjtaudliche und wichtige Dii „ Wohl sind dahei anch e> fen: ein sonst treffliches B\ nrich den Ldwen, ein atid 'its von alledem jindct s -■'■ui Schmidt, das Lehrer und "■ folg, auch auf grammatisi .ill f^a be viSllig beherrsch t,fiih It a (ezogen; der unausgesetzte .wort gestaltet die Lehrstundt • in eine Reihe z>on Gcspriichen -.»r Lebensluft, und es versteht iMutter sprache." Das Frauzfisische Lehrbuch von Kofsmann und Schmidt gelaugte bereits in folgendeu Stadten zur Einfuiuug; Baden: Acliern, Baden-Baden, Bretten, Bruchsal, Eherbach, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Konstanz, Ladenburg, Lahr, Mannlieim, Mosbach, Offenburg, Pforzheim, Rastatt, Schopf- heiiii, Sinshcim, Stockach, Villingen, Waldshuf, IValdkirch, t-VicsIoch, IVolfach. Bayern: Miuichen. Braunschweig (Stadt). Hninburg, Bremen, Liibeck, G'ojsherzogtum Hesst n : Alzey, Darmstadt, Giefsen, Or. Umstadt, Mainz, Michelstadt, Offenbach, Worms. Mecklenburg: Rostock, Teterow, Wismar. Prov. Brandenburg: Berlin, Brandenburg, Charlottenburg, Friedeberg, Landsberg, Neuruppin, Prenzlati. Prov. Hannover: Hamebi, Hannover, Hildesheim. Prov. Hessen-Nassau : Ems, Eschwege, Frankfurt a. M., Hanau, Homburg, Kassel, IVeilburg. Prov. Pommern: Bergen a. Riigen, Neustettin, Stargard, Stettin, Stralsund, Treptoiv. Prov. Posen: Brotnberg, Gnesen, Posen. Ostpreufsen: Braunsberg, Konigsberg. IVestpreufsen: Danzig, Dirschau, Elbing, Schivetz, Zoppot. Rheinpruvinz: Aachen, Essen, St. Johann, Kirn, Koblenz, Koln, Neufs, Saarbriicken. Trier, IVetzlar. Prov. Sachsen: Erfurt, Heiligenstadt, Nordhausen, Gr. Salze. Prov. Schlesien: Breslau, Gorlitz, Kosel, Oels, Rosenberg, Waldenburg,Wohlau. Schleswig- Holstein: Rendsburg. Prov. IVesifalen : Bochum, Dortmund, Giitersloh, Minden, Pader- born, Wattenscheid. Kgr. Sachsen: Leipzig, Werdau, Zittau. Thiiring. Staaten: Frankenhausen, Gotha, Kamburg, Ohrdruf, Weimar. U'iirttemberg: Kannstatt, Stutt- gart. Osterteich: Bregenz, Briinn, Budapest, Klagenfurt. Schweiz: Basel, Bern, Ein- siedeln, Rorschach. Ntederlande: Maestricht, Rotterdam. Rufsland : St. Petersburg. Soviet Einige weitere Urteile: „— — — Das genannte Buch, wehfies schon hfi si-inan ersten Erschtincn so leh- luijte Erortervnijeii fiir und tvider hervorrief, lUyt nun in zweiter Avflage vor. UNIVERSITY 01 Ciiiiixv/iwivr... AT LOS ANGELE> mir bekannt, soil in der nachslen Auflage den Bestimmungen der neuen Lthrpldne mehr Rfchnung getrayen toerden (ist geschehen! Vie Verlagthandlung), im ilbrigen aber der Jharakter d