One of the chief causes of the great popularity of _The Tatler_ and _The Spectator_ at the time when they were published was the truthful representation of life that they contained. The touches of humor and satire in the delineation of character and the criticism of the follies of the day were most fully appreciated by those who were best acquainted with English life. It would seem, then, that the best way to interest boys and girls in these papers would be to introduce them briefly but vividly to the life of England in the days of Queen Anne, by the treatment of such topics as London, its size, population, and external appearance; public morals; frivolities of women; lawlessness of young men; the coffee-houses; newspapers, etc. Ashton's _Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne_ and Chapter III of Macaulay's _History of England_ will give the teacher a mass of material upon which he can draw to supplement the introduction in the text-book. There is danger, however, that the wealth of material will tempt him to devote too much time to this preparatory work. Other topics of value to the pupil are: the founding of _The Tatler_, its purpose, and its success; how Addison became associated with Steele; the founding of _The Spectator_; a few facts about Steele and Addison. II. Reading and Study If these papers are taken up too much in detail the work becomes tiresome, but they contain so many references to the customs and manners of the time, the discussion of so many practical matters, and so many incidents full of human interest that a careful study is necessary for an intelligent appreciation of them. Each paper should be considered by itself; its main idea discovered; the truth of its statements tested; the sidelights on the character, beliefs, and experiences of the authors noted (for example, Steele's experiences as a soldier suggested by _The Journey to London_); and the skill of the writer pointed out in variety of incident, unity of thought, naturalness and picturesqueness of narrative. Most of the study will naturally be on the content, but a certain amount of attention should be given to practice writing in imitation of Addison's easy but dignified style. For composition work there are suggestions for description and narration as well as for exposition and argument. Imitations of certain papers may be extremely profitable and usually arouse a healthy interest in the content of the essays as well as in the style. III. Study of the Book as a Whole CONTENT.--What follies of the time, or of human nature of all time, are satirized here? Show how they are satirized. What views on politics do you find expressed directly or indirectly? What evidence do you find of the Spectator's Whig prejudices? (See Papers XII, paragraph 3; XX, paragraph 2; XXI; XXII.) What views are given on practical questions of life, for example, management of a house, attending church, economy, etc.?