Preface
THE second volume of Source-Readers is, like the first, wholly
made up of pieces written at the time of the events and incidents here
described. The language is modernized wherever necessary, and many
unfamiliar words have been replaced by such as are more familiar to
children; the spelling also has been brought to the reader's standard,
except in a few cases where the old form seemed quaint and not likely
to affect a child's-habits of writing. Nothing has anywhere been added
for spice or for the sake of making a good story. From a careful reading
of these extracts, and of many more for which room could not be
found, I feel sure that the actual deeds, experiences, and life of our
ancestors were in themselves so interesting, often so romantic, that the
records of them need no recasting. The pieces are, of course, not all of
equal literary merit; but I have tried to exclude all writers who did not
express themselves in good, reasonably straightforward English, such
as cannot harm the growing style of children.
ALBERT BUSHNELL HART.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS,
July, 1901.
