colonization with enough of their characteristic incidents to give the
child some feeling for the name 'England,' 'Spain,' 'Holland,' and
'France.'"

No attempt is made in this book to give a connected history of Greece,
Rome, England, or any other country of Europe. Such an attempt would be
utterly destructive of the plan. Only those features of early
civilization and those incidents of history have been selected which
appear to have a vital relation to the subsequent fortunes of mankind in
America as well as in Europe. They are treated in all cases as
introductory. Opinions may differ upon the question of what topics best
illustrate the relation. The Committee leaves a wide margin of
opportunity for the exercise of judgment in selection. In the use of a
textbook based on the plan the teacher should use the same liberty of
selection. For example, we have chosen the story of Marathon to
illustrate the idea of the heroic memories of Greece. Others may prefer
Thermopylae, because this story seems to possess a simpler dramatic
development. In the same way teachers may desire to give more emphasis
to certain phases of ancient or mediaeval civilization or certain heroic
persons treated very briefly in this book. Exercises similar to those
inserted at the end of each chapter offer means of supplementing work
provided in the text.

The story of American discovery and exploration in the plan of the
Committee of Eight follows the introductory matter as a natural
culmination. In our textbook we have adhered to the same plan of
division. The work of the seventh grade will, therefore, open with the
study of the first permanent English settlements.

The discoveries and explorations are told in more detail than most of