ages, while the comic would be represented in the writings of Bret Harte.

Elegiac poetry is of a sad or mournful strain, and is found in the poems which recount the virtues of some one dead. Gray's Elegy in a Country Churchyard, or Tennyson's In Memoriam, are good examples.

The Epitaph belongs to this class, and is a short elegy inscribed on a monument.

Pastoral poetry is found in a class of poems which illustrate shepherd or rustic life. The writings of Virgil abound with these, as do the writings of the more modern Spenser. Of the American poets, James Whitcomb Riley and Will Carleton take rank among pastoral writers.

Eclogues and Idyls also belong to this class.

An eclogue is a pastoral poem in which shepherds converse with one another, or is a dialogue between shepherds. An idyl is a short pastoral poem written in a highly finished style, describing shepherd or pastoral life, or pastoral scenes.

Didactic poetry is of the kind designed to impart instruction, and comprises two classes, the instructive and meditative. It is abundant, and such poems as Pope's Essay on Man would illustrate the first class; while Bryant's Thanatopsis and Young's Night Thoughts would illustrate the latter class.

PROSE.

Prose is a term applied to all literature which is not in In prose, thought is presented in a natural manner, in distinction from the inverted forms so common in poetry.

verse.

All prose literature may be classified into the following divisions: News, original thought, records, reviews, and fiction.

News may be classified into private and public, or the ordinary letter and the item intended for the newspaper. Accuracy, condensation and perspicuity are characteristics necessary to either. Accuracy, because exact truth is wanted; condensation, because of the great amount of matter; and perspicuity, because news is often gathered rapidly from headings or headlines.

Original thought comprises a class of literature which may be grouped under three heads, viz.: editorials, essays, and discourses. All these contain alike the element of originality, but differ as to the medium used in communicating the thought to others. They consist of the opinions of their authors, printed, read, or delivered through the medium of speech.

Records comprise all literature intended to record the various occurrences of individuals or nations, and all books of history, biography or travel come under this head.

Literature of this class is very abundant; and as its chief office is to impart instruction, it is generally presented in a concise form and in a chronological order.

History is a record of events which are of national importance, and its statements should be accurate, impartial, and free from prejudice. Memoirs also come under this head, and are a species of incomplete history.

Biography and travel include books which record the doings and adventures of individuals, and very often compose a part of history, especially when the individual, their subject, is a noted person. An autobiography is a biography written by the subject himself.

Reviews are in reality lengthy editorials written by one who has formed his opinions from reading other articles or

books, upon which they are merely comments. This class of literature is found in the best magazines of the present day. Reviews as a species of literature had their origin in the establishing of the Edinburgh Review, in 1802.

Fiction covers quite a field of literature, in which may be found novels of all classes, also the ordinary story-paper.

Books of fiction have been common in all ages. Historical, religious, and social works of fiction are abundant. Walter Scott's novels are historical, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress religious, while Dickens's works refer to social or domestic life. In all novels a moral lesson should be taught. The reading of fiction should only occupy the time when truth has been read.

Supplementary books should be carefully chosen, and should contain selections adapted to the work of developing the voice. Much of the literature now introduced into fifth readers is only fit for training for silent reading, or to study as literature. Such can never take the place of selections suited for the cultivation of the voice.

The taste for good literature, however, should be cultivated, for a powerful influence is exerted upon the pupil by what is read.

SUGGESTIONS.

TO THE PUPIL.

1. Stand or sit erect and with grace.

2. Inhale through the nostrils, and economize breath when using the voice.

3. Cultivate pure tone.

4. Cultivate clear articulation.

5. Own and use a dictionary; study the words in each new lesson.

6. Know the thought in a passage before you attempt to read it aloud.

TO THE TEACHER.

1. Assign short lessons—a few paragraphs instead of pages. 2. Select lessons for assignment from different parts of the book. Atempting to "read through" a fourth or fifth reader is not an inspiring task.

3. Pupils should use a dictionary in the preparation of each lesson.

4. Unless the purpose of the exercise is sight reading, it is helpful to have a pupil tell the thought in a passage before reading it aloud.

5. Teach pupils

To study the words in a selection.

To study the thoughts expressed.

To control the breath.

To use pure tone and clear articulation.

To express thought in a graceful and natural manner.

THE CRANE FIFTH READER.

I. THE CHARACTER OF WASHINGTON.

THOMAS JEFFERSON (1743-1826), third President of the United States, was born in the colony of Virginia. He was a successful lawyer and skillful politician. He framed the Declaration of Independence, and labored for its adoption. He served as Governor of Virginia in the darkest period of its history. He succeeded Franklin as minister to France in 1785. He was Vice-President of the United States under John Adams, whom he succeeded in the office of President. After his second term of office in the White House expired, he retired to his home, Monticello, in Virginia. He founded and fostered the University of Virginia.

Jefferson married Martha Skelton, who brought him a fortune in land and slaves. He was a writer of marked ability, although he had no power as a speech-maker. He was of simple, upright character, pronounced in his views, ardent in his reform measures, and always intensely interested in the masses. He recognized no rank, and objected to the title of "Mr." as a term of distinction. He was bitterly opposed to slavery, and is quoted as saying of it, "I tremble for my country when I remember that God is just."

He died on July 4, 1826, a few hours before the death of John Adams.

1. I THINK I knew General Washington intimately and thoroughly, and were I called on to delineate his character, it should be in terms like these:

2. His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. Hence the common remark of his officers, of the advantage he