INTRODUCTION
By way of introduction, it might be well to tell the pupils something of Bret Harte—his residence in California, his experience as a prospector in the goldfields, his stories of the mining camps, and his admiration of Dickens. (See Manual on The Ontario Readers, p. 315.) These facts throw considerable light upon the poem, and will be useful in aiding the pupils to interpret it properly. This poem was written shortly after the death of Dickens. It might well follow the study of David Copperfield's First Journey Alone and The Indignation of Nicholas Nickleby.