Since 1876 I have been familiar with the works of Mr. John L. Stephens on the antiquities of Yucatan, and from time to time I have read works on kindred subjects with ever increasing interest and curiosity in regard to the meaning of the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the stones and tablets of Copan, Palenque, and other ruins of Central America. In August, 1880, I determined to see how far the principles which are successful when applied to... more...

I. THE TEACHING OF THE NOVEL All will agree that the novel is one of the most important forms of literature for high school study. The fact that almost every boy and girl who is at all interested in reading likes the novel, gives the teacher an excellent opportunity to stimulate the pupil's love for literature and to help him to discriminate between what is true and what is false; between what is cheap and what is worth while. Moreover, the... more...

I came out at Haslingden town-end with my old acquaintance, "Rondle o'th Nab," better known by the name of "Sceawter," a moor-end farmer and cattle dealer. He was telling me a story about a cat that squinted, and grew very fat because—to use his own words—it "catched two mice at one go." When he had finished the tale, he stopped suddenly in the middle of the road, and looking round at the hills, he said, "Nea then. I'se be like to lev... more...

CHAPTER I ACQUIRING CONFIDENCE BEFORE AN AUDIENCE There is a strange sensation often experienced in the presence of an audience. It may proceed from the gaze of the many eyes that turn upon the speaker, especially if he permits himself to steadily return that gaze. Most speakers have been conscious of this in a nameless thrill, a real something, pervading the atmosphere, tangible, evanescent, indescribable. All writers have borne testimony to... more...

¶ To the reuerende father in god& his singuler good lorde / the lorde HughFaryngton Abbot of Redynge / his poreclient and perpetuall seruaunt LeonardeCockes desyreth longe & prosperouse lyfewith encreace of honour. Onsiderynge my spe[-]ciall good lorde how great[-]ly and how many ways Iam bounden to your lord-shyp / and among all otherthat in so great a nombreof counynge men whiche are now withinthis region it hath pleased your... more...

Some time ago, a Mr. Wm. Rodger came down from Glasgow for the purpose of showing how foreign languages should be taught.  He brought on a gentleman, a clergyman from Leeds, who had gone through Otto’s German Grammar without being able either to speak or understand German; this gentleman was able to bear testimony to the merit of Mr. Rodger’s system because by it he had learnt to do both.  Of course his testimony rested on... more...

Fragments Wrongly Used as Sentences 1. Do not write a subordinate part of a sentence as if it were a complete sentence. Wrong: He stopped short. Hearing some one approach. Right: He stopped short, hearing some one approach. [Or] Hearing some one approach, he stopped short. Wrong: The winters are cold. Although the summers are pleasant. Right: Although the summers are pleasant, the winters are cold. Wrong: The hunter tried to move the... more...

To the ethnologist and to the philologist the Dakotas and those speaking kindred languages are a very interesting people. There are four principal Dakota dialects, the Santee, Yankton, Assinniboin and Titon. The allied languages may be divided into three groups: I. a, Winnebago; b, Osage, Kaw, and 2 Quapaw; c, Iowa, Otoe and Missouri; d, Omaha and Ponka. II. Mandan. III. a, Minnetaree (Minitari) or Hidatsa; b, Absauraka, or Crow. Pawnee and... more...

CHAPTER I.  INTRODUCTORY. The Rommany of the Roads.—The Secret of Vagabond Life in England.—Its peculiar and thoroughly hidden Nature.—Gipsy Character and the Causes which formed it.—Moral Results of hungry Marauding.—Gipsy ideas of Religion.  The Scripture story of the Seven Whistlers.—The Baker’s Daughter.—Difficulties of acquiring Rommany.—The Fable of the Cat.—The Chinese,... more...

CHAPTER I. THE COLONIES. HISTORY AND LOCATION. THE FIRST SETTLERS. The first reference to German settlers in Brazil we have from the pen of Hans Stade of Homberg in Hessen. Stade made two trips to Brazil; one in 1547 and one in 1549. In the latter instance he was shipwrecked but succeeded in landing safely near the present port of Santos in the state of São Paulo. As he was a skilled artillerist the Portuguese made him commander of... more...