Macaulay in the introduction to his essay on Hallam deplores the fact that the writers of history of his day, exact and accurate though they may be, “present no scene to the imagination.” “To make the past present, to bring the distant near, to place us in the society of a great man or on the eminence which overlooks the scene of a mighty battle, to invest with the reality of human flesh and blood beings whom we are too much inclined to consider as personified qualities in an allegory, to call up our ancestors before us with all their peculiarities of language, manners and garb, to show us over their houses, to seat us at their tables, to rummage their old-fashioned wardrobes, to explain the uses of their ponderous furniture”--these, he writes, are “parts of the duty which properly belongs to the historian.” And such an historian Macaulay assuredly was; indeed, he was so entirely true to his idea and ideal of history that his portrayal of English life and events for only fifteen years fills five volumes of closely printed pages. Yet it is to Macaulay that the writer of historical narrative must turn both for precept and for example. _To present a scene to the imagination_ must be his motive and aim, and he will do well to look to Macaulay as to a master in this interesting field of narrative writing. His subjects may come, as did those of Macaulay, from anywhere and everywhere. He may choose to depict an incident of warfare, such as the story of the Black Hole of Calcutta from the essay on Lord Clive, or the account of a journey, such as Francis Parkman’s narration of the winter journey of La Salle. For either of these subjects American history is filled with suggestions. One has but to think of familiar names from General Braddock to Custer, from Ponce de Leon and De Soto to Lewis and Clark to become convinced of the richness of material within our own borders. More interesting than wars and explorations, however, may be narratives of pioneer life in the Middle West, or accounts of the trials and executions of such persons as Joan of Arc, Mary, Queen of Scots, Edith Cavell, Charles I, or incidents in the life of some historical personage written with a view to character portrayal. Truly the sources for historical narrative are limitless. A study of the succeeding selections will show you that the following characteristics are evident in the best historical narratives: 1. A wealth of vivid detail by which Macaulay’s ideal of _presenting the scene to the imagination_ is realized. This is especially well shown in Froude’s story of the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. 2. A careful adaptation of the style to the subject at hand.