s the halftone of King Arthur in
armor. To write a minute description of the armor would be an excellent
exercise, requiring close observation and not a little reading, if the
children wish to name the pieces of armor the king wears.

II. Many of the stories contain beautiful descriptive passages, which
may be studied with profit, and some of the selections are almost wholly
descriptive. An excellent example of the latter type and an exceedingly
interesting article for children is _Some Children's Books of the Past_
(Volume V, Page 101).

_The King of the Golden River_ (Volume II, page 405) and _A Christmas
Carol_ (Volume VI, page 244) are especially rich in material of this
kind. On page 408 of the former selection the King is described at his
first appearance. An analysis of the paragraph is to be found on page
445 of the same volume, under the title _First Appearance_. By comparing
the analysis and the descriptive paragraph it will be seen that the
former gives the facts only, while in the latter there are comparisons
and descriptive words that make the whole vivid and artistic.

The outline is a good description of an imaginary person. After the
children have studied paragraph and outline, give them another outline
like this:

1. General statement, or introduction.
2. Nose.
3. Cheeks.
4. Eyes.
5. Beard.
6. Hair.
7. Height.
8. Clothing.
_a._ Hat.
_b._ Coat.
_c._ Vest.
_d._ Trousers.
_e._ Shoes.

Require each child to follow the outline and to write a smooth, readable
description of a man whom he knows. Vary the exercise by asking the
children to describe some man whose picture you show; some man whom all
have seen, or, if it can be done in the proper spirit, one of the other
children who is willing to pose. Then ask them to describe some fanciful
character about whom you make a general statement, as, for example, "He
was the most amusing man I ever saw in my life," or, "He was certainly
the most dignified man in appearance and the best-dressed man I ever
saw." A comparison of the descriptions given by the different members of
the class will be amusing and instructive. Try to secure descriptions
which in style are in harmony with the subject.

III. In many of the selections the authors have not tried to describe
things very fully. In such cases you have fine opportunities to train
the imagination by asking the children to supplement the descriptions.
For instance, _O