READING BOOKS ADAPTED TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE REVISED CODE EDITED BY THE REV. A. R. GRANT RECTOR OF HITCHAM. AND HONORARY CANON OF ELY: FORMERLY STRAHAN & CO., PUBLISHERS 56 LUDGATE HILL, LONDON NOTE. THE history in this Reader is intended merely to give children a very slight sketch of some of the incidents in each reign which are most likely to attract their interest. The Notes and Appendix are for the use of pupil teachers and monitors. FOURTH STANDARD. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER I. THE ROMANS. B.C. 55, to A.D. 409. THIS new reading book is to be about the History of England; but before we begin it, I want to ask if any clever boy knows the meaning of the word history? If no one does, perhaps the boy at the bottom of the class will tell us what the word history would be if we left out the first two letters. Now a story is not a bad thing, is it? And perhaps, as history only means a true story, we shall not find our new Reader so very dull after all, although the title is long, and requires the dreadful effort of pronouncing an h. Well then, now for the true story of England (or Britain, as England, Scotland, and Wales are called). Long, long ago, hundreds of years before the oldest man you ever saw was born-And what of this country of ours long, long ago? Did the children get up early, and help to put things in order, and dress themselves neatly, and tramp off to school? Did the grown-up people work hard all day in the fields, or shops, or countinghouses? And on Sundays, did the bells ring merrily, and everybody go to church? Oh dear, no! There was little trouble in keeping the houses tidy, for they were |