PREFACE This little work contains the chief ideas gathered together for a course of lectures on the theory and history of aesthetics given at Harvard College from 1892 to 1895. The only originality I can claim is that which may result from the attempt to put together the scattered commonplaces of criticism into a system, under the inspiration of a naturalistic psychology. I have studied sincerity... more...

THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL RECORDS. The two principal causes of the loss of these records are, the abstraction of them by Edward I. in 1292, and the destruction of a great many others by the reformers in their religious zeal. It so happens that up to the time of King Robert Bruce, the history is not much to be depended on. A great many valuable papers connected with the ancient ecclesiastical state of... more...

OUR NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY. BY BENSON J. LOSSING. ON the morning of a brilliant day in October, 1760, the heir apparent to the British throne and his groom of the stole, were riding on horseback near Kew Palace, on the banks of the Thames. The heir was George, son of the deceased Frederick, Prince of Wales; the groom was John Stuart, Earl of Bute, an impoverished descendant of an ancient Scottish... more...

APRIL DAYS. "Can trouble dwell with April days?" In Memoriam. In our methodical New England life, we still recognize some magic in summer. Most persons reluctantly resign themselves to being decently happy in June, at least. They accept June. They compliment its weather. They complained of the earlier months as cold, and so spent them in the city; and they will complain of the later months as... more...

An Unpleasant Discovery "When do you think Allen will be back, Paul?" "He ought to be back by two or three o'clock, Chet. His horse was fresh, and the roads are very good just now." "I hope he brings good news, don't you? I am tired of waiting here." "We will have to content ourselves on the ranch another year, I am afraid. Father left matters in a very unsettled... more...

I. To one who found us on a starless night,All helpless, groping in a dangerous way,Where countless treacherous hidden pitfalls lay,And, seeing all our peril, flashed a lightTo show to our bewildered, blinded sight,By one swift, clear, and piercing ray,The safe, sure path,--what words could reach the heightOf our great thankfulness? And yet, at most,The most he saved was this poor, paltry lifeOf flesh,... more...

Helen of Troy Wild flight on flight against the fading dawnThe flames' red wings soar upward duskily.This is the funeral pyre and Troy is deadThat sparkled so the day I saw it first,And darkened slowly after. I am sheWho loves all beauty—yet I wither it.Why have the high gods made me wreak their wrath—Forever since my maidenhood to sowSorrow and blood about me? Lo, they keepTheir bitter care... more...

THE BATTLE OF THE PONS TRIUM TROJANORUM: A lay sung in the Temple of Minerva Girtanensis. [NOTE.—On Thursday, February 24th, 1881, three Graces were submitted to the Senate of the University of Cambridge, confirming the Report of The Syndicate appointed June 3rd, 1880, to consider four memorials relating to the Higher Education of Women. The first two Graces were passed by majorities of 398 and 258... more...

For so many years Bellingham has had its abode in my fancy that I find it hard to associate the town with a definite geographical location. I connect it rather with the places of dreams and wonderland; the lost cities of the Oxus and Hydaspes, the Hesperian Gardens and those visionary realms visited and named by poets. My birthplace grows unfamiliar when I take down an atlas and run my finger over the... more...

CHAPTER I The Universal Need For Sales Knowledge Analysis of Secret of Certain SuccessThe Secret of Certain Success has four principal elements. It comprises: (1) Knowing how to sell (2) The true idea (3) Of one's best capabilities (4) In the right market or field of service. Your success will be in direct proportion to your thorough knowledge and continual use of all four parts of the whole... more...