worthy of the time demanded for it. More perhaps than any other study it will teach the student to think for himself, it will train him in habits of observation and reflection, it will cultivate the judgment and the taste. Without depreciating other subjects, the study of English literature seems to supply the element that has long been wanting in a liberal education. Mathematics and logic appeal to and develope the reasoning powers, the classics stimulate the memory and the intellect, but the taste, the æsthetic principle that perceives and rejoices in beauty of thought and language, is left uncultivated. Undoubtedly this principle might be sufficiently exercised in the classical languages, but in truth these are not in most cases familiarly enough known for such a purpose. A student who has some difficulty in translating Eschylus or Horace (and such is unhappily the average position of students) is not prepared to appreciate their beauties. It is in studying the literature of his own language, therefore, that the judgment and critical taste of the young are first awakened, and it is in the same field that they can best be tested. This consideration seems amply sufficient to justify the examiners in assigning to the various departments of the English examination a greater number of marks than to any other subject. For if the examination be well conducted—and it has hitherto been admirably conducted the real intellectual strength of the competitors can be more thoroughly tested in this department* than in any other, and it is this, and no mere amount of accumulated instruction, that the Commissioners wish to discover and reward.

* I include the department of Moral Science in this remark.

The hints now given are intended mainly for the student's private study. Where it is possible to attend a series of good lectures on the subject, such as those of Professor Masson, the student will do well to avail himself of the opportunity. In other cases he must trust to his own guidance, unless he can procure the services of some well-qualified tutor who can direct his studies, and test his progress by frequent oral and written examinations. There is no royal road to proficiency in this subject; it can only be 'got up' by time and study; but the student who chooses to devote the necessary care to it, may reasonably expect a quota of marks amply sufficient to recompense him for his trouble.

OUTLINE OF A COURSE OF STUDY.

The first point is to acquire a general idea of the ground to be gone over. For this purpose small introductory text-books should be selected; larger works only confuse the mind with unnecessary details. For the English language, Craik's 'Outlines of the English Language' is every way the most suitable text-book; for English literature the author recommends his own 'Introduction to the History of English Literature.' Neither of these books extends to two

hundred pages: yet they go over the whole of the ground that the student is required to know. At a moderate rate of progress they can be finished in a few weeks; but they should be constantly revised. Having thus acquired an accurate knowledge of the main outlines of the subject, details should be procured from larger works. Spalding's is an excellent thoughtful history of literature; Hallam is always

trustworthy; Craik and Chambers are admirably adapted for study.

The student should confine himself to these histories; they will supply full information where the briefer Introduction only furnishes a scanty outline. By way of supplement to Craik's 'Outlines' should be studied Latham's 'English Language,' Marsh's 'Lectures,' Trench's Works, and Angus's Handbook of the English Language' (his 'Handbook of Literature cannot be much recommended). For many reasons Bain's is the best English grammar; and Thorpe's Abridgement of Rask's Anglo-Saxon Grammar, with the appended extracts, is the most suitable manual for studying Saxon. Along with these must be carefully read Shakspere, Milton, Bacon, Chaucer, Spenser, Dryden, Pope, Byron, Wordsworth, Cowper; not all their works in every case, but enough to know thoroughly how they write. Other authors must be read in extracts; and the student should in his reading follow the bent of his own inclinations, only observing that whatever he reads with care will be available at an examination; what is read cursorily, and merely for the sake of saying that he has read it, has been simply a waste of time, and is of no service whatever. If his course of study extends over two years, as it ought to do, a wider range of reading may be attempted; the older writers may be more carefully perused; Saxon, Semi-Saxon, and Old English may be more minutely studied. The careful perusal of the best literary articles in the reviews and other critical journals should of course be included as an essential part of the routine of study.

13

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATION.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR ANSWERING.

In answering the papers, attention should be paid to the following General Directions, which were prefixed to the Questions of 1858.

1. In every answer the precise import of the ques tion should first of all be well considered, and then kept throughout clearly and steadily in view; and it must be understood and remembered that the in, troduction of any matter which does not come within the terms of the question will be merely time and labour thrown away, however good in itself the irrelevant matter may be.

2. Every answer should be in the form of a regularly-constructed sentence, or series of sentences, and not in that of a tabular statement, still less of a mere memorandum; and it should be complete in itself, and intelligible independently of the question.

3. The punctuation should be carefully attended to. A deduction will be made from the valuation of the answer wherever this is neglected.

The following hints will be found useful by the candidate:

1. Before commencing to answer a paper, read carefully all that is printed on it. Sometimes the examiners indicate certain questions which all must attempt to answer; sometimes they restrict the number of questions which it is allowable to answer; sometimes they give directions as to the penmanship,

manner of folding the paper, margins, &c. From inattention to any of these you may have a deduction made from the valuation of your answers. You must also note carefully the time allowed for answering.

2. Read over the whole of the questions before commencing to answer any; note carefully those that you think you can answer, and confine your attention to them until they are answered to your satisfaction.

3. In beginning to answer, weigh each question carefully, and make sure that you perfectly understand its meaning. If you have any doubt, ask the examiner to explain it.

4. Never begin a sentence till you know exactly what you mean to say in it. If necessary write it down on a piece of waste paper: you will thus avoid erasures on your manuscript; and erasures are seldom made without affecting the grammar and punctuation of a sentence, for which the valuation of the answer will be diminished.

5. Answer all that is asked in the question as fully as you can, but not with undue minuteness. A certain average time should be allowed to each answer. No extra valuation is given to an answer on account of its length; and if you waste time you may have to give in your paper before you have come to the end of the questions that you can answer, and you will thus lose marks that may be all-important.

6. It is understood that the maximum of valuation can be obtained without answering all the questions; therefore do not, in order to increase your marks, attempt to guess any answer. It is scarcely possible to do so without being detected; and the examiner will then suspect your other answers, and they may suffer in valuation in consequence.

7. Write carefully and legibly, and read over every