superficial. He has not felt, for instance, that the mention of Abraham should be the signal for a meteoric shower of citations from Old Testament literature, or that a genealogical table with names and dates should accompany the mention of each Anglo-Saxon saint that graces the lips of Wamba or Friar Tuck. Such allusions are not essential parts of the book: passages for verification will certainly not be verified; the biographic notes will not be noted. An experience of ten years as English instructor in the secondary school has taught two important facts: the average school library is very limited - far more than many would believe so that the student is thrown back upon his Notes. Then again, to the average schoolboy - and this little work is intended for just that species of the genus voluminous references to the Scriptures, to encyclopædias, to dictionaries, to history, are of about as much value as are the tabulations of parallel readings that at one time were so numerous in editions of the classics; they are awe-inspiring indeed to the pupil and useless to the instructor, unless he chance to be of the Doctor Blimber variety. Rather than go to the school reading-room or to the public library, and investigate for himself the meaning of a strange term, the young student will take his chance on a lucky guess. If, on the other hand, the explanation is before him, he will examine it. Perhaps in the study of a brief poem or sketch he may yield temporarily to the scholarly instincts, but throughout a work of Ivanhoe proportions, never! The source of inspiration for original work must therefore be sought in the teacher, not in the text-book. With these practical facts in mind, the editor has endeavored to offer notes that seem necessary to an understanding of Ivanhoe, and he hopes that especially in those of historical and explanatory character the teacher who so desires may find suggestive material for outside assignments. None but the instructor can know the mental fitness of his students for such work and the means at hand for pursuing it. The Introduction, with its historical and biographical matter, has been prepared on much the same principle. There are many satisfactory and more or less complete. biographies of Scott, from that included in Morley's English Men of Letters to Lockhart's exhaustive memoir. Instead, however, of informing the student of this interesting fact, and leaving him to investigate for himself, the editor has thought best to place before the reader an abstract of some of the most essential matters connected with Scott's life, writings, style, and the setting of this particular work of fiction. The Introduction will, it is hoped, be found to present all that is necessary, and will not interfere with the assignment of additional outside reading, if the instructor finds that desirable; indeed, what is presented in the Introduction may prove suggestive for just such assignments. In the collection of material for the Introduction, Scott's own introduction and dedicatory epistle have been freely drawn upon. They are not of the most thrilling interest to the ordinary sub-freshman, and if he finds their essential points in a brief but modernized form, he may gain all that is to be expected. It may not be out of place to suggest one or two devices that have proved useful to classes studying works of this character. The student will find it advantageous to keep in a note-book paged for the purpose a memorandum of each chapter, covering (a) the time and duration of the scene; (b) the place, or setting; (c) the characters introduced, the dramatis personæ, so to speak; and (d) the progress that the chapter marks in the development of the plot. The student may also give to each chapter a title, which shall, as far as may be, cover the subject-matter included. Such titles should be as short as possible, after the general style of the headings given to the chapter-groups upon which the written exercises are based. Note-books thus kept will impress upon the mind the events narrated and will also emphasize the relation of the various elements entering into the plot evolution. Such books will, moreover, furnish abundant material for examination; the pupil being allowed to use his notes in the examination, the instructor can easily see with what degree of thoroughness the memoranda have been observed. The text follows the edition of Messrs. Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1886. WILLIAMS COLLEGE March, 1900 |