are often one-sided and
inaccurate, but always interesting, and from them a large number of busy
people have derived their first knowledge of history and literature.

The best of Macaulay's poetical work is found in the _Lays of Ancient Rome_
(1842), a collection of ballads in the style of Scott, which sing of the
old heroic days of the Rome Roman republic. The ballad does not require
much thought or emotion. It demands clearness, vigor, enthusiasm, action;
and it suited Macaulay's genius perfectly. He was, however, much more
careful than other ballad writers in making his narrative true to
tradition. The stirring martial spirit of these ballads, their fine
workmanship, and their appeal to courage and patriotism made them instantly
popular. Even to-day, after more than fifty years, such ballads as those on
Virginius and Horatius at the Bridge are favorite pieces in many school
readers.

The _History of England_, Macaulay's masterpiece, is still one of the most
popular historical works in the English language. Originally it was
intended to cover the period from the accession of James II, in 1685, to
the death of George IV, in 1830. Only five volumes of the work were
finished, and so thoroughly did Macaulay go into details that these five
volumes cover only sixteen years. It has been estimated that to complete
the work on the same scale would require some fifty volumes and the labor
of one man for over a century.

In his historical method Macaulay suggests Gibbon. His own knowledge of
history was very great, but before writing he read numberless pages,
consulted original documents, and visited the scenes which he intended to
describe. Thackeray's remark, that "Macaulay reads twenty books to write a
sentence and travels one hundred miles to make a line of description," is,
in view of his industry, a well-warranted exaggeration.

As in his literary essays, he is fond of making heroes, and he throws
himself so heartily into the spirit of the scene he is describing that his
word pictures almost startle us by their vivid reality. The story of
Monmouth's rebellion, for instance, or the trial of the seven bishops, is
as fascinating as the best chapters of Scott's historical novels.

While Macaulay's search for original sources of information suggests the
scientific historian, his use of his material is much more like that of a
novelist or playwright. In his essay on Machiavelli he writes: "The best
portraits are perhaps tho