Zigzag Journeys in Europe

School holidays become lessons among castles, churches and old cities when Master Lewis takes a group of American boys to Europe. Hezekiah Butterworth combines their vacation experiences with historical anecdotes and legends, using places in England and France as starting points for stories about the past. The opening classroom conversation gives the plan a comic edge: Tom Toby welcomes an easy holiday, then worries about seasickness and learning languages.

The travellers' conversations carry much of the teaching. A visit associated with the giant Guy of Warwick prompts Tommy's questions about an enormous porridge pot, while Oxford brings accounts of Alfred and Canute. Pictures and stories turn sightseeing into an introduction to history for young readers. The mixture of schoolboy misunderstandings, local traditions and explanations of historic sites also offers a view of how nineteenth-century writers tried to make learning pleasurable.