AND LITERARY CRITICISM. A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO SYSTEMATIC READING AND STUDY. COMPRISING TYPICAL SELECTIONS, ILLUSTRATIVE CRITICISMS, AND EXHAUSTIVE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. TOGETHER WITH COPIOUS REFERENCES, SUGGESTIONS, AND AIDS FOR THE STUDENT BY JAMES BALDWIN, SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS, HUNTINGTON, INDIANA. AUTHOR OF "THE ETC., ETC. ENGLISH PROSE. PHILADELPHIA: JOHN E. POTTER AND COMPANY, NEW YORK: 743 & 745 BROADWAY. تاتو PREFACE. THIS work has been prepared as an introduction to the study of English Literature-a subject which, for very many reasons, is one of the most important that can claim the attention of students in this country. English literature includes all those productions of labor and genius in our language which, from the peculiar excellence of their character, have been deemed worthy of preservation, embracing that which is best among the writings of English-speaking people-Americans as well as natives of Britain. In it we find the permanent expression of the best thoughts of the ablest thinkers of modern times. The advantages to be derived from a thorough and systematic study of English literature are of a twofold nature, and cannot well be overestimated. We may regard it, first, as a means of enlarging the bounds of our knowledge, and, secondly, as an instrument of culture strengthening and refining the higher and diviner side of our nature. The literature of any country is the reflection of the character and the inner life of the people of that country. Hence, to acquire any serviceable knowledge of that |