John Tyndall, has shown in the case of Emerson, this moral stimulus is
capable of adding immeasurably to the achievement of the young.

The temptation to slight the colonial period should be resisted. It has
too often been the fashion to ask, Why should the student not begin the
study of American literature with Washington Irving, the first author
read for pure pleasure? The answer is that the student would not then
comprehend the stages of growth of the new world ideals, that he would
not view our later literature through the proper atmosphere, and that he
would lack certain elements necessary for a sympathetic comprehension of
the subject.

The seven years employed in the preparation of this work would have been
insufficient, had not the author been assisted by his wife, to whom he is
indebted not only for invaluable criticism but also for the direct
authorship of some of the best matter in this book.

R. P. H.




CONTENTS


CHAPTER I
COLONIAL LITERATURE

CHAPTER II
THE EMERGENCE OF A NATION