Anecdotes’, he concluded, ‘havetheir historic value, if properly tested’ – reflecting both his interest in details and also theneed to ascertain whether they were true (Deutsch, 1905b).

This anyway would explain the apparent paradox of theBetsimisaraka: supposedly created by a failed philosopher king but,in fact, remaining as a stubbornly egalitarian people to this day,notorious, in fact, for their refusal to accept the authority of overlordsof any sort.

my movie ticket anecdote: I have a box of movie tickets from over the years and just holding each one I can tell you about that day, what theater I went to, a lot of details that would be totally lost with a bunch of markdown files. I really think the physical card aspect is crucial

I am not much like Turner ; but I believe that I am like him in that Iam aware that in history you cannot prove an inference. You cannotprove causation, much as you crave to do it. You may present sequencesof events, whose relationship suggests a link-up of cause and consequence ;

The Verdict of History," he scrawled on anote : "There is none — . . . Apart from verif of facts There is noverdict only onesided testimony." "

He felt that the Beards had gonetoo far in making their facts "generally incidental to some conclu-sion that has pre-determined their selection and arrangement." 1

The special considerations which enter into the determina-tlon of the credibility of historical statements are discussed,with considerable fullness, in Hereford B. George, Histori-aal evidence, Oxford, 1909; Allen Johnson, Hhtorian andhistorical evidence, New York, 1926; and Charles G. Crump,Hwtory and historical reeearch, London, 1928. The studentwill receive some aid in handltng the roblems of conflictingauthorities by using Frederic Doncalf and August C. Krey,Parallel source p r o b l e m in medieval history, New York andLondon, 1912 [Harper‘s parallel aource problems], or one ofthe other volumes in the same series.