Ladies and Gentlemen:—The invitation to address you this evening was not accepted without considerable misgiving, and nothing but the urgent solicitation of your Secretary could have induced me to appear before an Association whose professional pursuits are in many respects so different from my own. The daily round of my duties is so far removed from the “ quiet and still air of delightful studies” which the scholar so much covets that it is not very easy to take up a subject which implies constant intercourse with the great masters of literature and an intimate familiarity with the college and university work of our time. At the same time I may venture to say that, while my labors have been almost wholly in the field of elementary education, I have not been unmindful of the important questions pertaining to higher education that have been so warmly discussed during the past quarter of a century. The question of educational reform touches schools of every grade, and no change can be made in any one department of school work without materially affecting all the others. While I beg of you to understand, therefore, that I shall speak of the points involved in this paper with great diffidence, what will be said may be taken as the result of careful observation and serious thought.

The theory of Heinzel. Style and Metre: connected. The Metre. Four accents versus Eight accents. The Alliteration.

It is my purpose to offer a few suggestions on the teaching of a foreign literature in connection with the so-called seminary system, to add a word regarding that system itself, and to inquire to what extent the methods and scope of the instruction at German universities are available for our own institutions.

Although much attention has been bestowed upon the Spanish proverb and idiomatic phrase from the ‘Centiloquio.’ of the Marquis of Santillana (first published 1496) down to Sbarbi's ’Refranero General Espaol’ (1878), this province of the Spanish language is still far from being thoroughly searched, and much interesting material may yet be brought to light.

In every large city we find peculiarities in the language and customs which serve in the aggregate to mark its distinctive and individual character. They strike the stranger upon his first contact with its people as archaisms or as innovations, at least as developments peculiar to the place itself. They are often, indeed, heirlooms which the founders of the city have left it, invaluable and sacred, whose historic worth is incomparable to the philologist and historian. Often a single expression, or even sound, or a peculiar custom, conveys an historic truth more forcibly to the attentive observer than long chapters of dry history. For words, sounds, customs, also have their history, and a word has often been called an epic poem. Moreover, these peculiarities set their seal, as it were, upon each of its citizens, identifying him with itself, and whatever distinction he may acquire, either at home or abroad, is reflected upon his native place. They carry us back, historically, to the fatherland of those pioneers who founded the city and peopled the adjacent country. They still preserve the kindred relations to the mother-country, even after those of a political nature have been severed. We may see this in those colonies of Greece which have left their impress upon the country colonized, observable after everything Greek had passed away. (cf. Lower Italy, Marseille in France, and Louisiana in this country).

Folk-lore may appear to many persons as being of little importance, but the great interest which philologists take in it, is the best proof of its usefulness. I shall, therefore, give what I know of folk-lore in Louisiana, presenting the text, in the patois, of some popular tales, songs and proverbs, and making a few critical remarks about that most interesting dialect spoken by the Negroes in Lower Louisiana.

One of the most interesting subjects of study to the concientious teacher is that of methods of instruction. It is indispensable to his success that he should be familiar with all existing methods, so that he may intelligently choose that one, or that combination, which is best suited to his peculiar conditions. Generally the age of the pupils, the time allotted for instruction in Modern Languages, and the place these occupy in the curriculum—by which I mean the object of studying them—are beyond our control. Modern Languages are studied, for example,

1. 1. As an accomplishment.

2. 2. Because other schools offer them, and with no special ulterior object, or with a vague idea of some intellectual benefit.

3. 3. To serve the purposes of a summer trip abroad.

4. 4. As a means of improvement in the use of one's native tongue.

5. 5. For general culture obtainable by reading foreign literature.

6. 6. For philological research or amusement.

7. 7. For acquiring the ability to consult foreign scientific and technical publications.

8. 8. For business correspondence.

9. 9. Because business, family, or friendly relations bring with them personal intercourse with foreigners.

10. 10. To teach them.

Wesen und character des lautwandels sind von unseren hervorragendsten sprachforschern schon so vielfach und eingehend behandelt worden, dass es kühn erscheinen mag, wenn hier die sache nochmals zur sprache gebracht wird. Indessen wird die wichtigkeit des gegenstandes auch diesen neuen kleinen beitrag noch rechtfertigen. In der that, wer auch nur über einen einzigen sprachgeschichdichen fall ein eigenes urtheil haben will, der muss durchaus über gewisse fundamentale vorfragen sich zu möglichster klarheit durchgearbeitet haben. Es hilft nichts, andere an seiner start denken zu lassen und dann am ende einfach ja oder nein mitzusagen; der ganze vorgang will von jedem selbständig erfahren und durchdacht sein. Dabei geschieht es dann wohl, dass der nachfolgende hie und da ein wenig von dem pfade des führers abweicht. Soviel zur entschuldigung der folgenden bemerkungen; sind dieselben völlig verfehlt, so möge die schwierigkeit, nach männern wie Ascoli, Brugmann, Paul, Schuchardt u. a. noch etwas von belang vorzubringen, uns wenigstens als mildernder umstand angerechnet werden.

The fect that the verbs m the Teutonic languages are divided into two classes according to the different formations of their preterits, gives the inquiry into the origin of the preterit of the so-called weak verb a peculiar interest to the student of Teutonic philology. The regular development of the strong preterit from the perfect active of the Aryan parent-speech has long been recognized, but the origin of the weak preterit is still an open question. Formerly the weak preterit was considered to be formed by the addition to the verbal stem of the Aryan root dhē (or as it was formerly put, dhā) “do.” Since the publication by Wilhelm Begemann of his two monographs ‘ Das schwache Präteritum der germaniscben Sprachen’ (Berlin 1873) and ‘ Zur Bedeutting des schwachen Preteritums der germanischen Sprachen’ (ib. 1874), this composition-theory has gradually been abandoned, for Begemann showed that such formations as mah-ta, kun-pa, wis-sa, etc. on the one hand, and nasi-da, habaida, fullnōda, on the other, did not, as the early theory assumed, originally contain a dh in their suffixes, but rather a t in accordance with the similar formation of their participles. (e. g. Goth. mah-t-s and mah-ta). However, his thesis, though supported with acumen and scholarship, was at first rejected by all who passed judgment upon it But it has come to honor since the partial adhesion of Windisch and the full adhesion of Möller, the former m Kuhn‘s Beiträge zur vergleichenden Sprachforschung, VIII (1876), p. 456f., and the latter in Kölbing‘s Englische Studien, III (1880), p. 160f. But the recognition of the fect that the characteristic of the weak preterit was originally a dental tenuis does not constitute a solution of the problem, but only the beginning of a solution. It still remains to inquire further into the source of this tense characteristic and to explain the striking similarity in the formation of the weak preterit and the weak participle.

These specimens are based on notes taken by me in August and September, 1877, in Waterville, Maine. I used selections from them at the first meeting of the Romance Philology Conference, at Harvard University, in the year 1886-87, to illustrate the use of phonetic spelling for philological purposes and to illustrate also the regular character of sound changes in popular dialects.—There is in Waterville, as in many other places in New England, a colony of French Canadians, who live by themselves in a part of the village known as the Plains. My specimens were taken down in phonetic spelling from the mouth of a single person of this colony, who was employed as a servant girl at my father's house. It is a disadvantage that only one person's speech was thus observed, but she being uneducated—I do not think she could write and am not even sure that she knew how to read at all—her dialect was little if at all influenced by written French. She understood English well enough for most purposes, and all my questions were put in English, and she gave English translations when desired. I think there was hardly any possibility of her using a word not natural to her in consequence of any suggestion from me. I am not sure that her dialect was that of the whole French colony in Waterville; indeed it seems to me that some double forms she used with the same meaning may have been due to her knowing words belonging to originally different dialects. I have some reason to believe that at least one other French dialect than hers is or was not long ago spoken in New England.—My observations are very incomplete, as I expected and intended to continue them later and did not use all the opportunities I had, but scanty as they are, they suffice to give some idea of the peculiarities of the dialect.

The scientfic confession of faith of the Neo-Grammarians, already upon various occasions fragmentarily announced, has found its first systematic presentation in Paul's ‘Principien der Sprachgeschichte,’ which has just appeared in a second revised and enlarged edition. Inasmuch as this book reflects the views of a number of distinguished scholars who claim to have revolutionized linguistic science, it demands our attention a priori and necessitates an exposé of its fundamental views and presumptions : for this much commended New Method of the school of neo-grammarians must finally take its stand upon linguistic principles entirely different from those of earlier enquirers. It is these principles which determine the method even should they be as yet but half realized. A non-partisan critic will be little disturbed if the members of the new school boast of feeling greater earnestness on behalf of science than others, or if in any other way they recommend their new tendenz. He will endeavor, before all things, to follow out the historical development of the new principles, he will test their worth and authority, from which the propriety of their application would readily appear.

Nearly thirty years have elapsed since the death of Lord Macaulay (December, 1859), a period sufficient to have witnessed the rise, the decline, and the decay of many reputations less brilliant than his own. (The year 1859 was fruitful in the death of eminent men of letters : Hallam, DeQuincey, Irving, Prescott, Macaulay.) It is the fate even of the finest genius to incur detraction, and in our era, Macaulay has been the special victim of critics. He has provoked the polished cynicism of Mr. Matthew Arnold, the cautious censure of Bishop Stubbs, and received only the qualified approbation of one of his most discriminating biographers, the late Rector of Lincoln College. Save his nephew, Mr. Trevelyan, and Mr. Edward A. Freeman, few writers of our time are just in their appreciation of his genius, or in their estimate of his impress upon the character of our language. Yet his influence upon the fortunes of English speech was never more potent than at present, and may be discovered by the critical student in many phases of our literature where its agency was not suspected.—Let us endeavor to trace in detail some of the sources of Lord Macaulay's diction, some of the secret springs that impelled into activity the most perspicuous and fascinating prose style which has appeared in modern English literature.

The increased attention to the study of American Literature in our higher institutions, and the want of any good text-book to assist the teacher, seem to warrant the discussion here of the subject which I have ventured to bring before you, and which, I am well assured, holds a considerable place in the thought of many teachers of English. If there seem to be but little that is original in the following brief outline, and indeed much that is not new, it has nevertheless seemed to me worth while to emphasize the educational capabilities of our own literature and perhaps to suggest method in the study of it. It is certainly discreditable to us that we have done so little toward a faithful and affectionate study of what is purely native and national in our American writings. The text-books intended for use in our schools are, for the most part, sadly incapable. They are without critical ability, and are constructed usually upon the same pattern : —a number of names of greater or less eminence in several departments of intellectual activity are set down in chronological order, with a few lines of biography concerning each. There is rarely any sense of proportion, the same space is given to a wretched poetaster like James Gates Percival as to Ralph Waldo Emerson. Tvlor's ‘History of American Literature is a permanent honor to American scholarship, a skilful and laborious examination of all the literary remains before 1765. Professor Richardson's unfinished ‘American Literature’ contains much that is interesting, but we still need for class use, a book from which teachers can teach, and from which students cannot ‘cram.’