38 



OUR COLUMNS. 



October, 1891. 



heroes of tliese cities did. Mrs. Oliphant, Bulwer Lytton's Eien::{, George Eliot's 

 Homola, I need not do more than mention. If 3^011 enjoy reading French, try Guizot's 

 History of Civilization in Europe^ chajDS. 6, 7, 8, 11, though the whole is well Avorth 

 the reading ; and Taine's Ancient Regime^ first book. But I cannot answer for all these 

 books being in our library. 



I have mentioned the celebrated essays of Macaulay bearing on meditcyal history ; now 

 one word about the author. No one is more fascinating, he compels attention, you can't 

 help remembering his arguments. When the ordinary school books have been read, 

 INIacaulay is the author to jnit in a student's hands, for he has popularized history. But 

 you must have a little previous knowledge before you take him up, for his essays abound 

 in allusions which he does not always explain, and he often runs into side disquisitions 

 which may confuse you if you have not got a clear grip of dates. His grand merit is tw^o- 

 fold : you read him once, and he gives you a .splendid general idea of your subject, you 

 are convinced and think that nothing more need be said : you read him a second time, you 

 find a flaw in this or that argument ; that sets you thinking ; you read other authorities 

 to see if Macaulay is really right. Your first reading interests you, your second reading 

 pledges you to study the subject deeper. These remarks I believe to be specially true of 

 the two essays mentioned, on ]Machiavelli and the Popes. 



Don't be afraid if people tell you that Macaulay is inaccurate, misleading, out of date. 

 He is sometimes, assuredly. But his power of awaking interest will never be out of date ; 

 and when your interest has been roused by him you can then proceed to the men who give 

 the antidote to his inaccuracies. 



Let me now advise you about the Sixteenth Century. The ancient history of England is 

 interesting, but the history from Elizabeth onwards is fascinating. The nearer Ave get to 

 the jDresent day the more fiercely our sympathies are aroused. Crecy and Agincourt can- 

 not move us so much as the defeat of the Armada, or Blenheim, or Culloden. We simjily 

 are forced to take sides, for Elizabeth or Mary Queen of Scots, Cavalier or Roundhead, 

 Hanoverian or Jacobite. Authors are plentiful, but I don't AA'ant you to read them all. 

 Choose from the list. From fear of giving offence, I say nothing about the Reformation. 

 Green on Mary Queen of Scots and on the " New England " of Elizabeth is splendid ; but 

 Macaulay's Essay on Burleigh is not quite so interesting as usual. Yon Ranke's intro- 

 ductory chapters to his History of England^ and Guizot's 13th chapter in his History of 

 Civilization in Europe tell us AAdiat the very best continental writers have to say about us. 

 For mere description, Froude cannot be beaten, much as he is run doAvn. The " Age of 

 Elizabeth" Epoch is one of the most interesting of that series. But my favourite Avriter 

 beyond all comparison is Motley. His Dutch Republic everyone knoAvs, and after a little 

 judicious skipping over the driest details, you Avill find that his United Netherlands carries 

 you on Avith equal interest. He shoAvs you not only how^ Spain came into the possession of 

 the Netherlands, and how the Prince of Orange and the Water Beggars began and 

 maintained their heroic struggle, and hoAV Alexander of Parma Avon back the Southern 

 Netherlands for Spain ; but he also brings in French and English history, the influence of 

 Catherine of Medicis and the Avide-reaching results of the Saint BartholomcAv and Ivry, 

 Elizabeth's coldness and the stingy aid she gave to the Dutch. In Motley's third Avork, 

 which is very dry, The Life of John Barneveld^ the characters of Henry of Navarre, and 

 James I. of England, are draAvn from the standpoint of their foreign policies in a most 

 instructive manner. We sadly lack a Motley to give us the Thirty Years' War Avith 

 Gustavus Adolphus as the central figure. 



Belgium is near at hand to us, and a holiday trip thither can be made short and iuexpeu- 



