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MAUD ELMA KINGSLEY

1. Give an account of the life and works of Thackeray, mentioning the period to which the author belonged and the character of his writings.

2. Of what historical period does HENRY ESMOND treat? Give a picture of this period, deriving your material from the novel. What are the excellences of ESMOND considered as an historical novel?

3. Describe the manner in which the story of HENRY ESMOND is told. Describe and comment upon the diction of the novel.

4. Sketch briefly the historical situation at the opening of the story. Explain the terms Jacobite, Jesuit, Whig, Tory, Pretender. 5. Describe the position of the Castlewood family at the opening of the story. Describe the circumstances under which the hero first meets the family.

6. Name the chief actors in the story. How are the events of the times connected with the fortunes of these actors?

7. As a romance, ESMOND has no plot. Where does the chief interest of the story viewed as a romance lie? In the historical setting of the novel, what is the plot?

8. Describe the scenes enacted at the following points, and state the bearing of each on the story: Ealing; Wansey Down; Chelsey; Cambridge; Whitehall; Leicester Field; Walcote; Kensington; the "Garter" in Pall Mall.

9. What events of the narrative are connected with the Castlewood House? With the "barred window"?

10. Why does Esmond conceal the fact that he is the legal heir to Castlewood? To what complications does this concealment lead? 11. Give the chief events in the career of Beatrix. To what extent is she associated with the fortunes of the hero?

12. Give a pen picture of Beatrix as she appears at interesting points in her career.

13. Write a character sketch of Beatrix.

Show that the author

has worked out the logical development of the character.

14. Show by citations from the story that Thackeray portrays Beatrix as heartless, unfeminine, recklessly ambitious.

15. Sketch briefly Esmond's conspiracy. What connection has Beatrix with this conspiracy? What mars the project? Give the necessary explanations of the historical situation.

16. Describe Esmond's feelings toward the Pretender as the plot of which he is the center develops.

17. What is the most prominent trait in Lady Castlewood's character? Show that this continues to exist even after her marriage. (Read the Preface.)

18. Enumerate the scenes which best illustrate the character of

Lady Castlewood. Which do you consider the most interesting personage, Lady Castlewood, Beatrix or Esmond?

19. Describe in full the scene in which Esmond meets Lady Castlewood after the evening service in Winchester Cathedral?

20. Relate the conclusion of the story. Comment upon it from your own point of view.

21. Describe the position in which the novel leaves its chief actors at the close of the story.

22. Identify and state the part played by each of the following: Father Holt, Dr. Tucker, M. Pastoureau, Lord Mohun, Lord Blanford, Duke of Hamilton.

23. State the circumstances under which Steele and Addison are introduced. Comment upon the scenes in which they play a part. 24. What information is contained in the Author's Preface? whom is this preface purported to have been written?

By

25. Describe the duels of the novel and the circumstances leading

up to them.

How do they affect the fortunes of the chief actors in

the story?

Editorial

NQUESTIONABLY there has been a marked revival of in

terest during the past three or four years in the subject of religious education. While no decided change of policy has resulted so far as the giving of religious instruction in the public schools is concerned, yet the quickened interest and the wide discussion that has resulted cannot fail to have its effect. The growth of this interest can be noted in several facts and phenomena that are well known. For instance, the offering of a substantial prize by a leading university in the far West for the best essay on Moral Instruction, led to the preparation of a large number of papers most of which have succeeded in getting into print notwithstanding the fact that they did not win the prize. The educational magazines and in some instances the local papers have published many of them.

A national Religious Education Association has been formed, which holds a great meeting once a year, with influential attendance and a strong program, consisting of addresses and discussions by leading educators. This body publishes an official magazine, Religious Education, which has evidently come to stay and which is ably edited and most interesting. The subject recurs much more frequently than formerly in the programs of teachers' conventions. All of these things indicate an awakened sensitiveness to the importance of the subject, and a desire on the part of those who are responsible for the welfare of the schools and of the state to find the best possible solution of the difficult questions involved and the best course of action looking to the suitable and adequate presentation of moral and religious motives to the youths of the land.

While as yet it does not seem wise to abandon the prevalent custom of keeping the public schools upon a secular basis, nevertheless this widespread agitation will tend to awaken in many homes. and in many churches a new sense of duty in relation to the giving of religious instruction to the children and youth for whom they are responsible. These are the agencies that ought primarily to attend to this important task. The schools would undertake it if at all and if ever, only because of the fact of its not being undertaken by those to whom it naturally belongs. It is surely a great result of recent discussion to have aroused parents and churches to new efforts look

ing toward the religious and moral training of their youth for good citizenship in the kingdoms of earth and the kingdom of heaven. We note many such new movements to enlist the young in Christian service; as, for example, the grading and improvement of Sunday schools, the training of teachers and supervisors of religious instruction, and the multiplication of text-books and other agencies for inspiring those who would learn, or who can be made to learn, the value of religious motives and a life of high spiritual ideals. The world is steadily growing broader and more tolerant, and perhaps the time will come sooner than we think when it will be universally recognized that the fundamental truths of religion which lie beneath all the sects and denominations, are few and simple; and when these can be presented forcefully in the public schools without offense to any and with the approval of all. Meanwhile let us be thankful for any small gains in a clearer perception of the importance of the subject, and a quickened sense of duty on the part of even a few religious authorities, and Christian homes.

ETTY thieving among children is one of the serious problems

PET
Bat Controntar teachers. Its prevalence and significance

can be learned by talking with almost any group of teachers.
problem is threefold: cause, results, methods of eradicating.

The

To deal successfully with any evil its source must be located. If there be several sources each may have to be dealt with by a different method, but the evil cannot be removed until the root is killed. In most cases this petty thieving can be traced to one of two causesthe environment of the child or the stage in his psychological development.

The environment is almost outside the control of the teacher, but it has to be understood and reckoned with if the ultimate good of the child is to be attained. There are children in our schools whose home environment is such that the tendency to theft is developed strongly and even encouraged. The natural desire to possess is seldom normally fulfilled. The child must get for himself and does so in the most primitive way. The moral environment is in such cases entirely lacking.

The school life of the child may be divided into three phases-the transitional, the formative and the adolescent stages. The grade teacher has to deal with the first of these. During this period the

child is physically susceptible to disease. His mental life is beginning. His moral perceptions are slowly awakening. At first they are almost dormant. His attention is not easily held. Immediate rather than remote ends claim his interest. The present desire is fulfilled in the easiest possible way. The child is not immoral, he

is unmoral. It is during this period that the stealing tendency is strongest.

The sources known, the next step is to apply remedies. What methods can we best use to eradicate this tendency? An accurate knowledge of the psychological life of the child and a sympathetic attitude are fundamental if the teacher would seize this opportunity for doing lasting good. The moral code of the fully developed man must not be applied to the child whose powers are just unfolding. He must not be treated as a criminal. He is not a criminal. Great

care must be exercised. There is danger that his moral sense may be blighted while it is still in the earliest stages of development. A gentle oversight, a careful leading toward growth, of which the. child is not even conscious, are essential to the best results.

What of the "method" that will "not bother"? The immediate result is that the child goes on in its course of petty crime. The psychological moment for the awakening of its moral sense passes and the opportunity is lost. If the growth has already begun it is arrested, perhaps killed. In this case by logical development the child will at length become one of the great criminal class. Is it worth while for the teacher to "bother"? Emphatically yes! Teachers dealing with such cases have some of their greatest opportunities. Show the child that he is wronging his playmates. Point out to him their rights, which are his also. Lead him to see that these rights must be protected. Gradually he will come to know that he is a part of a great system. A sense of his duty to society will gradually develop. A growing desire to do his part well in his little world, will arise in his mind; and the teacher will have planted in his soul the seeds of good citizenship.

EARLY

ARLY in November eleven of the fourteen surviving members of the Board of Trustees of the Peabody Fund met in New York and appointed a committee to devise a plan for the entire distribution of the remainder of the fund. Our readers will remember that forty-three years ago, shortly after the close of the war, when

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