Now, instead of buying or renting land, how would your landlord or your father have got it, say in the reign of William I, A?” “From the king or from some big noble.” “Right you are--but how, for nothing?” “No, in return for fighting for him.” “Yes, and on a few other conditions; they are given in your book. What were they, X? What! asleep? Forgotten? C, tell us.” So you proceed to draw out the details of homage, fealty, and service, the theory of royal ownership, the terms suzerain, vassal, fief, etc., drilling in the unfamiliar words by frequent use, comparing them as far as possible with present terms and usages, and bringing out, by contrast and comparison, the essentials of the whole system. Finally you show that the system was universal throughout Christendom, explain what the middle ages were (if A, C or X can’t), and point out the adaptability of feudalism to the time. When you have finished this, your period will have flown (lucky if the bell does not ring too soon!), and your mere definition will mean something to all but your dullest pupils. On pp. 131-136 of Cheyney’s “Readings,” are some excellent practical details of feudal procedure which will be found useful for examples. A Logical Approach to the Origins of the Jury. Did you ever stop to think how little your intelligent pupil understands about some present-day institutions the origins of which interest us because we appreciate their modern practice and significance? Take, for example, the jury. A little questioning will bring out whether or not your class knows the difference between a trial jury and a grand jury, either in make-up or in functions. Unless you are more fortunate than I have been, you will find they know very little. Now, does it not seem an illogical absurdity to wade right into the beginnings of the jury system in the days of Henry II when our class has little or no notion of what the system is now, or what it stands for? When we come to this point, therefore, in the epoch-making reign of King Henry II, it is pertinent and profitable to digress into a clear discussion of the jury of to-day, bringing out what knowledge we can find in the class, and adding to it by some such Socratic method of question and answer as we may have used in connection with feudalism, rather than by giving a “talk” on the subject. After paving the way in this fashion, we may start in with the Assize of Clarendon. (Cheyney’s “Readings” pp. 141-142) and the distinction between recognitors and presentment, so we shall emphasize the essential facts, and also bring out both the similarity and the difference between the germ and the present fruit of this ancient method of arriving at justice. Some Great Personalities.