,
Mr. H. A. L. Fisher, speaking recently on the subject of "History
Teaching," set forth admirably the general principles back of this
revival:

There is no difficulty about interesting
children. The real difficulty is to bore them.
Almost any tale will interest a child. It need
not be well constructed or thrilling; it may be
filled with the most unexciting and trivial
incidents, but so long as it carries the mind
along at all, it will interest a child. The
hunger which intelligent children have for
stories is almost inexhaustible. They like to
have their stories repeated, and insist that
the characters should reappear over and over
again, for they have an appetite for reality
and a desire to fix these passing figments into
the landscape of the real life with which they
are surrounded.

One of the great qualities in childhood which
makes it apt for receiving historical
impressions is just this capacity for giving
body to the phantoms of the mind. The limits
between the real and the legendary or
miraculous which are drawn by the critical
intelligence do not exist for the childish
mind. . . . It would then be a great educational
disaster if this valuable faculty in childhood
were allowed to run to waste. There are certain
years in the development of every normal
intelligent child when the mind is full of
image-making power and eager to make a friend
or enemy of any god, hero, nymph, fairy, or
servant maid who may come along. Then is the
time when it is right and fitting to affect
some introductions to the great characters of
mythology and history; that is the age at which
children will eagerly absorb what they can
learn of Achilles and Orpheus, of King Arthur
and his Knights, of Alexander and Christopher
Columbus and the Duke of Wellington. I do not
think it is necessary to obtrude any moralizing
commentary when these great and vague images
are first brought into the landscape of the
child's intellectual experience. A little
description, a few stories, a picture or two,
will be enough to fix them in the memory and to
give them body and shape together with the