THE AUTHOR.--What do we know of Macaulay's
childhood? his precociousness? his education? his tastes and
acquirements while at college? his entry into politics? his
parliamentary life? his life in India? his literary work? his habits?
his principles?

As we compare him with other literary men what were his special talents?
his limitations?

Compare him with Carlyle with reference to character, if you have
studied the _Essay on Burns_.

What characteristics of Macaulay can you trace in this essay?

OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF BURKE'S SPEECH ON CONCILIATION

I. Preparation

This work is usually found to be the most difficult book of the course
in English; yet in the opinion of many the results of its study are most
valuable. The fact that it is difficult leads the teacher to exercise
great care in planning his work, especially in the matters that he
presents to his class in preparation for the actual reading. The first
difficulty lies in the fact that pupils are only vaguely acquainted with
the conditions to which Burke constantly refers. The long story of the
quarrel between the Colonies and the Mother Country is known to them in
a superficial way. Any exhaustive study of the history of the time is
out of the question; so, unless the class have been studying history
recently enough to make a rapid review profitable, the best plan seems
to be to assign definite topics for individual study and class report.

The following is a suitable list for this purpose:

The Navigation Acts--what they were, their purpose, and the ways in
which they were violated.

Renewed attempt, after the Treaty of Paris, to regulate colonial
commerce.

Grenville's New Act of Trade, Stamp Act, and Quartering Act.

The Stamp Act Congress in New York in 1765.

The Townshend Acts.

Opposition of the colonies led by Massachusetts, to Parliament's right
to tax them.

The Boston Massacre.

The Hutchinson Letters.

The Boston Tea Party.

The Boston Port Act, The Massachusetts Government Act, and The
Administration of Justice Act.

Lord North's Plan for conciliating the colonies.

The New England Restraining Bill ("The Grand Penal Bill").

An interesting introduction to the man Burke is found in Green's _Short
History of the English People_, Chapter X.

II. First Reading

While the class is at work studying the historical topics, a part of
the recitation period may profitably be spent in reading aloud the
speech itself. Som