THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 33 



the combatants, the result, — could be fairly settled. Not alone 

 do inaccuracies and discrepancies confuse, but we all know how 

 history colored by the personality of the writer, interferes with 

 our confidence in the recoi'd. It is possible for an author to so 

 vs^rite his prejudices into his work as to seriously lessen its 

 historic value. The history of Canada written by a robust 

 Conservative or an ardent Liberal might be misleading- ; but 

 neither Grit nor Tory dare be false to facts, and the intelligent 

 reader soon learns to be on his guard against prejudicial in- 

 fluences. 



The easy way in which some express a willingness to 

 ignore history, or to give it scant attention under the impression 

 that it can very readily be made up in later years, is after all 

 rather serious. It was a college graduate who remarked to me 

 " ' A^eni, vidi, vici,' as Napoleon said !" and he was not pleased 

 when I remarked that he was giving Julius Cassar a very 

 modern position. A boy in Germantown, Pa., had undoubtedly 

 been excused from close application to history, as the following 

 "composition" on Henry VIII indicated: 



" King Henry 8 was the grandest w^idower that ever lived. 

 He was born at-Annie Domino, in the year tg66. He had 510 

 wives besides children. The first was beheaded and afterwards 

 executed, and the second was revoked. Henry 8 was succeeded 

 to the throne by his great grandmother, the beautiful Mary 

 Queen of Scots, sometimes called the Lady of the Lake, or the 

 Lay of the Last Minstrel !" 



That was bad enough, even for a boy, but what are we to 

 think of a teacher who informed his pupils that "a King of 

 England, one of the Henrys I believe, was so fond of horses 

 that he died exclaiming, ' A horse ! a horse ! my kingdom for 

 a horse !'" 



A comprehensive outline of the great field of history is to 

 be gained, not by plunging into a chronological wilderness, nor 

 by the attempt to master voluminous works relating to certain 

 epochs, but by the judicious selection of, and through acquaint- 

 ance with, a few standard authors. Half a dozen works will 

 sweep the field. Seeking the most from the least space let the 



