Does the style seem finished as though the work had been revised with care, or rough as though written at white heat and not revised? Illustrate. THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.--What do we know of Carlyle's parents? his education? the simplicity and severity of his early life? his perplexity in choosing his life work? his friendship with Edward Irving? his early manhood struggles with doubt, poverty, and sickness? his courage? his faith in himself? the slow recognition of his work? his literary successes? his life in London? his friends? his last years? What characteristics made Carlyle disagreeable to live with? What characteristics made him enthusiastically admired by a multitude of men? What did Carlyle see in the life of Burns to attract him so strongly? Why does it seem somewhat remarkable that he should have written sympathetically of Burns? Point out passages in this essay that indicate that Carlyle was a man of deep emotion, of sympathy, of sincerity, of strong moral force. OUTLINE FOR THE STUDY OF MACAULAY'S LIFE OF JOHNSON I. Preparation The more a student knows of life in London during Johnson's time, and especially of the life of literary men, the more he will get from this essay; nevertheless, it is interesting in itself without that knowledge. It is probable that any boy or girl who takes up the book will have read _The Vicar of Wakefield_, or at least have studied the life of Goldsmith and have learned of the "Literary Club." To review some of the facts about the members of this club and about the life in London at that time will be comparatively easy, but to attempt more before reading the essay does not seem necessary. II. Reading and Study The first reading should enable the student to make a simple outline to be filled in later. The teacher might take part of the recitation periods to introduce the class to Boswell's _Life of Johnson_. The second reading should make the class thoroughly familiar with the matters treated in the essay and with the important features of Macaulay's style. III. Study of the Book as a Whole The students should be required to write in their notebooks outlines and short paragraphs on topics based on the essay. Most of the following topics have been used for this purpose: CONTENT.--The story of Johnson's life; boyhood and education, his thirty years of struggle, his mature years, his decline and death. His appearance. Hindrances to his success--in the time in which he lived, in his surroundings, in himself. Preparation for his life work: inherited tastes and tendencies, his education, circumstances by which he was surrounded. His friends and associates: patrons, friends in his poverty, friends in his success, his dependents. His writings: political, critical, poetical, biographical miscellaneous. (Mention the separate writings in each division, characterize his work, and compare his success in one line with that in another.) Johnson's travels.