HISTORY AND LITERATURE. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Literature is but a department of history. It interprets the spirit and 

 character of a liistoric period, and constitutes an important element in 

 the history of that period. The folk lore, fairy tales, and legends bring to 

 us a knowledge of the age and the people with whom they had their origin. 

 In an important sense they were a part of the literature of the time, and 

 they have come down to us through many generations, to charm both 

 young and old by their quaintness, their simplicity, and their appeal to 

 liuman sympathy and human interests. It is the spiritual element in 

 them that entitles them to a worthy place in literature, and it is this 

 element that makes them valuable as an educational force in the work of 

 the school. 



We have but to remember the fancies of our childhood, or to observe 

 the children about us, to satisfy ourselves of the adaptation of this kind of 

 literature to the young. At this time of life the imagination is the most 

 active. Among the pastimes of our childhood were the conversion of the 

 ever- shifting, flying clouds into armies in battle array, into all manner of 

 animate creatures, beasts of prey, gods and heroes, or vast landscapes, 

 skirted by grand mountains and fathomless abysses. In the glowing em- 

 bers we saw spirits and fairies dancing in merry glee. We made all inani- 

 mate nature contribute to our fancy, clothing it with the habiliments of 

 life and action. When there was not anything better to serve our purpose, 

 out of nothing we created something and gave it the breath of life. These 

 fanciful creations became our boon companions, with whom we chatted 

 and coquetted and who were made to do our bidding, coming and going, 

 living and dying, just as best suited our fancy. This was the atmosphere 

 in which we lived, moved, and had our being. 



As our childhood was, so is the childhood of to-day. If the task of 

 educating such children is given to us, we must take them as we find them, 

 and adapt out methods to their conditions and demands. This imagination 

 is given them for a purpose, and it becomes our duty to give it proper bent 



