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life of a decadent age.

The American Revolution.--The second forty years of the eighteenth
century witnessed another movement of great importance to the
world,--the revolt of the American colonies (1775). When George III.
(1760-1820) came to the throne, he determined to be the real ruler of
his kingdom,--to combine in himself the offices of king, prime
minister, and cabinet. He undertook to coerce public opinion at home
and abroad. He repeatedly offended the American colonies by attempts
to tax them and to regulate their trade. They rebelled in 1775 and
signed their Declaration of Independence in 1776. Under the leadership
of George Washington, and with the help of France, they achieved their
independence. The battle of Yorktown (1781), won by Washington and the
French navy, was the last important battle of the American Revolution.
In spite of her great loss, England still retained Canada and her West
India possessions and remained the first colonial power.

CHANGE IN LITERARY STANDARDS: ROMANTICISM

What is Romanticism?--In order to comprehend the dominating spirit
of the next age, it is important to understand the meaning of the
romantic movement. Between 1740 and 1780 certain romantic influences
were at work in opposition to the teaching of the great classical
writer, Dr. Samuel Johnson, who was almost the literary dictator of
the age.

The best short definition of romanticism is that of Victor Hugo, who
calls it "liberalism in literature." This has the merit of covering
all kinds of romantic movements. "Liberalism" here means toleration of
departures from fixed standards, such as the classical couplet and
didactic and satiric subjects. Romanticism is characterized by less
regard for form than for matter, by a return to nature, and by
encouragement of deep emotion. Romanticism says: "Be liberal enough
not to sneer at authors when they discard narrow rules. Welcome a
change and see if variety and feeling will not add more interest to
literature."

In this period and the far more glorious one that followed,
romanticism made its influence felt for the better in four different
ways. An understanding of each of these will make us more intelligent
critics.

In the first place, the romantic spirit is opposed to the prosaic. The
romantic yearns for the light that never was on sea or land and longs
to attain the unfulfilled ambitions of the soul, even when these in
full measure are not possible. Sometimes these am