LONDON: 1880. (3987. f. 10g) PREFACE. THIS volume completes the series of Comprehensive Readers. Being intended for the more advanced pupils of our elementary and middle schools, special care has been taken, while carrying out the unity of design throughout the whole series, to present in it a collection of extracts suited to the varied wants and tastes of those for whom it has been compiled. The pieces have been carefully chosen with a view to imparting useful information, inculcating some important lesson, or awakening an intelligent curiosity which may lead to further study and investigation. The aim has been to excite an interest in man, in his way of living and acting and thinking in the past, in his present surroundings, and in his literary productions. In furtherance of this aim a consecutive sketch of the manners and customs of our forefathers has been introduced, and articles have been specially prepared on existing family names, on well-known places, and on the most commonly used proverbs. Short biographies have also been introduced of a few of our greatest men; and specimens of writers of different eras, especially our poets, have been inserted, including examples of some of the less-known Elizabethan poets. By this means the more thoughtful pupils may be enabled to recognize for themselves the varieties in the literary style of different periods of our country's history, and thus may be led to enter upon a wider study of English literature in after life. |