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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-04-21 19:21:03 -0700 |
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diff --git a/75935-h/75935-h.htm b/75935-h/75935-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..07d4dbb --- /dev/null +++ b/75935-h/75935-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,14343 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> + +<head> + +<link rel="icon" href="images/img-cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + +<meta charset="utf-8"> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg eBook of Golden Treasury of Famous Books, +by Marjory Willison +</title> + +<style> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 1.5em } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 2em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.contents {text-indent: -5%; + margin-left: 5%; } + +p.hang {text-indent: -5%; + margin-left: 5%; } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } + +p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.index {text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-top: 0% ; + margin-bottom: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.intro {font-size: 90% ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +.pagenum { position: absolute; + left: 1%; + font-size: 95%; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; } + +p.capcenter { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + font-weight: normal; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-indent: 0%; + text-align: center } + +img.imgcenter { margin-left: auto; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: auto; } + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75935 ***</div> + +<p><a id="chap00"></a></p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="capcenter"> +<a id="img-title"></a> +<br> +<img class="imgcenter" src="images/img-title.jpg" alt="Title page"> +</p> + +<h1> +<br><br> + GOLDEN TREASURY<br> + <i>of</i><br> + FAMOUS BOOKS<br> +</h1> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + A GUIDE TO GOOD READING FOR BOYS<br> + AND GIRLS, AND FOR THE ENJOYMENT<br> + OF THOSE WHO LOVE BOOKS<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + By<br> + MARJORY WILLISON<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + TORONTO: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF<br> + CANADA LIMITED, AT ST. MARTIN'S HOUSE<br> + 1929<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t4"> + Copyright, Canada, 1929<br> + By<br> + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t4"> + PRINTED IN CANADA<br> +</p> + +<p class="t4"> + T. H. BEST PRINTING CO., LIMITED<br> + TORONTO, ONT.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pv"></a>v}</span> +</p> + +<p class="t3b"> +FOREWORD +</p> + +<p> +One day, a little more than a hundred years +ago, a boy was walking along a crowded +street in London. It is likely that Dick +Whittington had walked on the very same street +about the time when he heard Bow Bells ring. +But this boy was not thinking about the bells of +London. He had been reading a story in a book, +and he was thinking of the people in the story, +especially of a man called Leander who swam +across the straits named the Hellespont. +</p> + +<p> +The story of Hero and Leander is told in a +poem. These two people were in love with one +another. But Hero, who was very beautiful, was +a priestess of Aphrodite, and she was not supposed +to fall in love or marry. Leander lived at +Abydos, which is on one side of the straits of the +Hellespont. Hero lived in a high tower at Sestos, +which is on the other side of the straits. The +shores are rocky and dangerous, beautiful to look +at, but hazardous for sailors and ships. Tides and +winds make it difficult to sail through the straits, +and very difficult at times to swim across from +shore to shore. Leander used to swim from +Abydos to Sestos after nightfall to see Hero, who +had become his wife; and Hero, on her high tower, +held a lighted lamp that shone like a star to guide +Leander so that he would not be dashed on the +rocks. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pvi"></a>vi}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The name of the boy who had been reading the +story was Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was a +country boy, the son of a clergyman, and he was +at a boarding school in London. The school was +for boys whose parents had not much money or +who had no parents living. +</p> + +<p> +On a school holiday, after breakfast, at which +there was not a great deal to eat, the boys who +were boarders were sent out into London and +were not expected to come back until nightfall. +Sometimes, they had nothing to eat all day long +until supper-time. Coleridge was one of the boys +who had to spend his holidays in this fashion. +</p> + +<p> +On one holiday, Coleridge, as he walked along +the crowded street, began to imagine how it would +feel if he were swimming the Hellespont with +Leander. You know how often we think when we +are reading an interesting book that we are living +with the people in the story. Being greatly +absorbed in his thoughts, Coleridge began to move +his arms as if he were swimming. If he had been +in a field by himself, or on an empty street, no one +would have minded. But Coleridge was on a +crowded street, and by and by one of his arms +struck a man who was passing, and his hand +caught in the man's pocket. The man thought +that Coleridge, who was only a boy, was trying +to steal from him. However, he asked Coleridge a +good many questions, and discovered that the boy +had been reading in a book the story of Hero and +Leander, and had been imagining that he was +swimming across the Hellespont. +</p> + +<p> +When the man found that Coleridge loved reading, +but could not get the books he wanted easily, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pvii"></a>vii}</span> +he took the boy to a library, which was not a free +library but one where people had to pay a fee, and +the man arranged for Coleridge to be allowed to +read there. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Many stories are told of the different ways in +which boys and girls have found famous books +which they have read with enjoyment, and never +forgotten. Another boy called Samuel—Samuel +Johnson—had been looking for apples that he +knew were hidden somewhere. He climbed upon a +step-ladder to look behind the rows of books in his +father's book shop, and while he was looking for +the apples he found Plutarch's <i>Lives</i>. Very likely +the boy Samuel Johnson began reading the book, +and forgot about the apples. Another boy once +was told to watch a fire, which was burning rubbish +in a field, so that it would not spread and burn +the fences. He watched the fire for a while, but +he had a book in his pocket and presently he +forgot to watch, and so the fence was burned. Likely +he was punished at the time, but years after his +friends used to tell the story, for the boy had +become an eminent man. How many of us have +climbed into trees to read books in a leafy +solitude! Louisa May Alcott was one of the girls, +later known for her charming stories, who had a +special tree into which she used to climb, so that no +one should interrupt her while she was reading. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +This book which you are reading now is meant +to help you to find books that you will enjoy. You +may begin at the first chapter; perhaps this is the +best way. Or you may look at the list of chapters, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pviii"></a>viii}</span> +and try the one which seems to you most +interesting. But when you have read that chapter, +come back to the beginning and start over again. +</p> + +<p> +Fairy tales and stories of marvels you will find +described in Part III, also stories of heroes, and +such stories as <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, Kipling's +stories, and Malory's <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>, a great +book telling of knights and their adventures. +</p> + +<p> +The books in Part I are wonderfully interesting. +In this Part you will find examples of some +of the ways in which we may enjoy books of +famous authors, for instance, the work of novelists +like Dickens and Scott, and the plays of a great +dramatist like Shakespeare. First, we may read +some of their stories or plays; then we may learn +of the lives of these authors, especially about that +part of their lives when they were young which +is always interesting; and finally, we can read of +the world as it was when these writers lived in +it and of the effect their work has had on this +world of ours. +</p> + +<p> +Part II is about romance and adventure. In +Part IV you will find ballads and stories in rhyme +or verse. Part V tells of some of the greatest +writers and their work. Part VI is meant to +help boys and girls to be good citizens, and to +undertake all kinds of responsibilities when they are +men and women. In one of the chapters of Part +VI there is a list of books, many of which are +biographies of noted men and women, but there are +also books about such subjects as flying, inventions, +science, hobbies, birds, flowers, gardens and +mountain climbing. The last chapter in Part VI +tells of some books of travel and discovery. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pix"></a>ix}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The books in Part VII are specially enjoyable, +because they are intimate books; and you will find +great poetry spoken of in Part VIII. +</p> + +<p> +We do not all like the same books; and this is +likely the best way, for some books which may +seem dull to us, other people find interesting. +What is important is for each of us to discover +the books we enjoy most. +</p> + +<p> +So if we do not happen to like <i>Gulliver's +Travels</i> by Jonathan Swift, there is no great harm +done, although Dean Swift was a notable writer. +And if some of you do not care for Robert Louis +Stevenson's <i>Child's Garden of Verse</i> now, the +chances are that by the time you are over sixty, +you will think it a charming book, and you may +even repeat the verses aloud to your grand-children. +</p> + +<p> +We never know when we may discover, hidden +in the midst of dullness perhaps, some gem of a +story or poem; and this is one of the reasons +why most of us love reading, and will take a good +deal of trouble to find the books we enjoy. +</p> + +<p> +Before you read this book, perhaps you had +better ask yourselves the question, what kind of +books each one of you cares for most? And then, +after that, ask yourselves another question, what +kinds of books do you think you would like to +enjoy? The last question is worth considering with +not a little care; for when we think about it, we +really set out on a journey into the world of books. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxi"></a>xi}</span> +</p> + +<p class="t3b"> +ACKNOWLEDGMENTS +</p> + +<p> +Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following +authors, literary agents and publishers, +for permission to quote in this volume certain +excerpts as follows: +</p> + +<p> +To Mr. Walter de la Mare and Messrs. James +B. Pinker & Sons, for an extract from "The +Listeners"; to Mrs. James Elroy Flecker and +Messrs. A. P. Watt & Son, for an extract from +the late Mr. James Elroy Flecker's <i>Hassan</i>, +and to Messrs. Macmillan & Co., Ltd., for +a quotation from <i>The Iliad of Homer</i> (edited by +Lang, Leaf and Myers) and for a short passage +from the late Mr. Thomas Hardy's <i>The Dynasts</i>. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxiii"></a>xiii}</span> +</p> + +<p class="t3b"> +CONTENTS +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART I +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +DICKENS, SCOTT, SHAKESPEARE, THE BIBLE +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +CHAPTER +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +I <a href="#chap0101">SOME OF DICKENS' NOVELS AND CHARACTERS</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +II <a href="#chap0102">CHARLES DICKENS: BOY AND MAN</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +III <a href="#chap0103">WHAT DICKENS DID FOR HUMANITY</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +IV <a href="#chap0104">THE WAVERLEY NOVELS</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +V <a href="#chap0105">SCOTT'S OWN STORY</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +VI <a href="#chap0106">THE TEMPEST AND OTHER OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +VII <a href="#chap0107">SHAKESPEARE: THE GREAT WORLD ITSELF</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +VIII <a href="#chap0108">STORIES FROM THE BIBLE</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +IX <a href="#chap0109">LIVING WATERS</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART II +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +X <a href="#chap0210">DUMAS. HUGO. STEVENSON</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XI <a href="#chap0211">ROBINSON CRUSOE. LORNA DOONE. HEREWARD. WESTWARD HO! ROUND +THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS. TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER +THE SEA. MIDSHIPMAN EASY. PETER SIMPLE. TWO YEARS BEFORE THE +MAST. THE GOLDEN DOG</a> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxiv"></a>xiv}</span> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XII <a href="#chap0212">LAVENGRO. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. TOM SAWYER. HUCKLEBERRY +FINN. KIM. SARD HARKER. THE +LIVING FOREST</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART III +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +SONGS OF HEROES, MYTHS, FAIRY TALES AND MARVELS +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XIII <a href="#chap0313">THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY. GREEK +HEROES. TANGLEWOOD TALES. THE WONDER BOOK</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XIV <a href="#chap0314">ÆSOP'S FABLES. GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES. +HANS ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES. THE +ARABIAN NIGHTS. MALORY'S MORTE D'ARTHUR</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XV <a href="#chap0315">ALICE IN WONDERLAND. THROUGH THE +LOOKING-GLASS. THE GOLDEN AGE. +THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. FOUR +BOOKS BY A. A. MILNE. RIP VAN WINKLE</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XVI <a href="#chap0316">THE JUNGLE BOOKS. JUST SO STORIES. +PUCK OF POOK'S HILL. REWARDS AND +FAIRIES. THE BLUE BIRD. PETER PAN. KILMENY</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART IV +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +BALLADS, LAYS, AND STORIES IN VERSE +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XVII <a href="#chap0417">PERCY'S RELIQUES. CHEVY CHASE AND +THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. SIR +PATRICK SPENS. THE NORTHERN MUSE</a> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxv"></a>xv}</span> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XVIII <a href="#chap0418">THE LADY OF THE LAKE. MARMION. +JOHN GILPIN. EDINBURGH AFTER +FLODDEN. HORATIUS. THE ARMADA</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XIX <a href="#chap0419">HIAWATHA. FRENCH CHANSONS IN +QUEBEC. A CHRISTMAS SONG</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART V +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +SOME GREAT IMAGINATIVE WRITERS +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XX <a href="#chap0520">DANTE. CERVANTES. SPENSER</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXI <a href="#chap0521">JOHN BUNYAN AND THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXII <a href="#chap0522">THACKERAY. MEREDITH. HARDY</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXIII <a href="#chap0523">JANE AUSTEN. GEORGE ELIOT. THE BRONTES</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART VI +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +HISTORY, POLITICS, BIOGRAPHY, TRAVEL +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXIV <a href="#chap0624">WHAT IS HISTORY?</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXV <a href="#chap0625">THE MEANING OF POLITICS</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXVI <a href="#chap0625">HISTORIES</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXVII <a href="#chap0627">BOSWELL'S LIFE OF JOHNSON</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXVIII <a href="#chap0628">READING FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO BE</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXIX <a href="#chap0629">TRAVEL AND DISCOVERY</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART VII +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +ESSAYS, CRITICISM, LETTERS, DIARIES +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXX <a href="#chap0730">CHARLES LAMB AND HAZLITT: ESSAYISTS AND CRITICS</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXXI <a href="#chap0731">LETTERS AND LETTER WRITERS. PEPYS +AND OTHER DIARISTS</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="Pxvi"></a>xvi}</span> +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +PART VIII +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +POETRY +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXXII <a href="#chap0832">POETRY AND BEAUTY</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXXIII <a href="#chap0833">POETRY AND TIME</a> +</p> + +<p class="contents"> +XXXIV <a href="#chap0834">READING FOR YOUR OWN COUNTRY. +ENGLISH LITERATURE AND ITS BRANCHES</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a href="#chap09">AFTERWORD</a> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +<a href="#chap10">INDEX</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0101"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P1"></a>1}</span></p> + +<h3> +PART I +<br><br> +DICKENS, SCOTT, SHAKESPEARE, THE BIBLE +</h3> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P3"></a>3}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER I +<br><br> +SOME OF DICKENS' NOVELS AND CHARACTERS +</h3> + +<p> +It is an odd reflection how silent a book may +seem when it is waiting on a shelf to be read. +But once its covers are opened, and our eyes +follow the lines of print for page after page, +voices speak, people that we had not known +before become familiar to us or old friends give us +greeting; thoughts, knowledge, events, pass from +the silent pages into our minds. Some books +possess this property of rich and glowing life in a +high degree. No books surely have it more +abundantly than the novels of Charles Dickens. +</p> + +<p> +Here are scores of friends for us, playmates, +companions. If anyone has a fit of loneliness, or +should anyone be looking for change and variety, +let him open one of Dickens' novels. Which one +will he choose first? A boy or girl is well +advised who takes, shall we say, <i>David Copperfield</i> +or <i>Pickwick Papers</i>. One or the other will make +an excellent beginning. Having read one, or +both, it is unlikely that the reader will refrain +from adding five, six, seven, eight, or even twelve +more novels by Dickens to the list of books he is +happy to remember having read. +</p> + +<p> +What are the names of Dickens' other better +known novels? <i>Nicholas Nickleby</i>, <i>Oliver Twist</i>, +<i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i>, <i>Barnaby Rudge</i>, <i>Martin +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P4"></a>4}</span> +Chuzzlewit</i>, <i>Dombey and Son</i>, <i>Bleak House</i>, <i>Little +Dorrit</i>, <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i>, <i>Great Expectations</i>, +<i>Our Mutual Friend</i>. But still we must add +the Christmas books, for no one, old or young, +should lose the benefit of having read <i>A +Christmas Carol</i>. And there is also the unfinished +novel <i>Edwin Drood</i>, probably more talked of still +than any other story of a mystery, new or old. It +is nearly sixty years since Dickens left the story +incomplete, but how gladly many people still +would discover the secret ending that the great +novelist had planned in his mind. +</p> + +<p> +Once read, Dickens' novels cling to the memory. +The characters he made inhabit this world +of ours as substantially, it seems, as people do +who have been born not from imagination merely. +As lately as the spring of 1928 a London hotel, +the Adelphi, changed owners. In a brief history +of the place a list of persons was given who had +visited it, ending with the remark that Mr. Pickwick +had had his first dinner there after being +released from prison. The other people mentioned +were what we describe as historical characters. +Mr. Pickwick, although thousands of people know +him so well that if they met him on the street they +could not possibly fail to recognize him, is the +miraculous product of Dickens' imagination. If +you have not read <i>Pickwick Papers</i>, in a few hours +you too may know Mr. Pickwick, and he will be +for you also a lifetime friend. +</p> + +<p> +When we read these stories for the first time, +we must be prepared to become acquainted with +Dickens' characters much in the same way as we +meet strangers in everyday life. His people are +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P5"></a>5}</span> +odd, exuberant, amusing, extravagant; they are +too strange to be true, we may say to ourselves. +But as we read on, we come to know them so well +that the oddness and queerness seem to wear off. +We look into their hearts and forget to be +surprised by their extraordinary looks and +characteristics. Sam Weller is odd, but he is the most +delightful, amusing young man on his own, once +boots at the White Hart Inn. Like Mr. Pickwick, +Sam lives in <i>Pickwick Papers</i>. No one could +imagine a better Sam Weller than Dickens' +creation, for the simple reason that to make a better +Sam Weller is impossible. +</p> + +<p> +It is a great, a glorious adventure to sit out of +doors in summer, or in a warm, quiet room in +winter, and read one of Dickens' novels. What +happenings, what delightful, absorbing people, +what a stir of life, what laughter, gaiety, bravery, +what wonderful meetings with high and low +fortune! +</p> + +<p> +The world of Dickens' novels is a world of +coaching days, of old English roads and inns, of +feasts and conviviality; a sporting world, often +hard and cruel, in which existed bad old customs +against which Dickens fought with all his might; +a boisterous world of strange adventures, great +friendships, and measureless laughter. These +books are crowded with people, diverting and +friendly, grotesque and menacing, or grotesque +outside but with golden hearts hidden behind the +queer exteriors, loving people, heartless people, +beautiful people, brave, true friends, friends of +everybody. +</p> + +<p> +We have already spoken of Mr. Pickwick and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P6"></a>6}</span> +Sam Weller, his man or valet. Mr. Pickwick's +benevolence, his goodness of heart, innocence and +simplicity make us love him more and more as the +story unfolds. Sam's wit and audacity, his +extraordinary good humour and high spirits, his +devotion to Mr. Pickwick, his independence and +self-reliance, make Sam so real that he seems never +far away. He is always only round the corner of +our minds and will appear jauntily as soon as we +think of him. In the one book, <i>Pickwick Papers</i>, +there are a dozen other characters only less +wonderful than these two. Would anyone prove at +once how diverting and delightful such a book can +be, let him read of Christmas at Dingley Dell in +chapter 28, or the Adventure at the Great White +Horse Inn, chapter 22, or the trial of Bardell +against Pickwick, chapter 34, or for natural +feeling simply expressed the lines in which Tony +Weller, Sam's father, tells of Mrs. Weller's death +in chapter 52, or the downfall of Mr. Stiggins, in +the same chapter, or, in the last chapter of all, of +Sam's devotion to Mr. Pickwick. +</p> + +<p> +Striking characters of a like description are to +be found in all Dickens' novels. <i>David Copperfield</i> +is probably the richest of all, in this respect, +although one can easily imagine a dispute +amongst the warm admirers of Dickens as to +which novel is pre-eminent in the possession of +immortal characters. Those who love <i>David +Copperfield</i> best can scarcely discuss the book +with detachment; it belongs, as it were, to such a +reader's own special family life. The novel holds +a wonderful company of people: David himself, +Peggotty, her brother and nephew, Little Em'ly, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P7"></a>7}</span> +Mrs. Gummidge, Miss Betsey Trotwood, Steerforth, +Traddles, the magnificent Wilkins Micawber +and Mrs. Micawber, Uriah Heep, Miss +Mowcher, Mr. Spenlow, Dora, and many, many +others. <i>David Copperfield</i> was Dickens' own +favourite among his books. +</p> + +<p> +In <i>Nicholas Nickleby</i> is the infamous school, +Dotheboys Hall, and Wackford Squeers, the +schoolmaster. Dickens' crusades for reform will +be considered in another chapter. But Mrs. Nickleby +is one of the most memorable of Dickens' +foolish characters. Surely no other writer has +achieved so many delineations of the silly person, +masterpieces touched with an unerring hand. Yet, +and this point is perhaps the crown of Dickens' +genius, these foolish characters of his often +reveal, before the novels to which they belong are +ended, some nobility of character, some goodness +of heart, some greatness in conduct or of nature +which makes us bow before them as belonging to +the highest ranks of human nature. Toots in +<i>Dombey and Son</i> is a very foolish person, but +Toots saying goodbye to Florence Dombey shows +a chivalry comparable with that of Sir Philip +Sidney. +</p> + +<p> +Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness belong to +<i>The Old Curiosity Shop</i>. Barnaby Rudge and his +raven Grip are easily found. Mr. Pecksniff, +Sairey Gamp and Betsey Prig, terrible examples +of hypocrisy and heartlessness, are from <i>Martin +Chuzslewit</i>. But the same book has loveable Tom +Pinch and indomitable Mark Tapley, the champion +of courage and good cheer in adversity. Tiny +Tim and Bob Cratchit live forever in <i>A Christmas +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P8"></a>8}</span> +Carol</i>. Paul and Florence, Captain Cuttle, +Susan Nipper, Mr. Toots, Cousin Feenix, belong +to the crowded pages of <i>Dombey and Son</i>. <i>Bleak +House</i> is a wonderful story; if one chooses Caddy +Jellyby from its pages it is not because a dozen +other characters are not as interesting. In <i>Great +Expectations</i> the boyhood of Pip is marvellously +portrayed. Anyone who has read <i>Our Mutual +Friend</i> can never forget Mr. and Mrs. Boffin, or +Lizzie Hexam, or the R. Wilfer family, or Silas +Wegg, or Mr. Venus, or the dolls' dressmaker, +Jenny Wren, or Johnny the orphan, and +Mrs. Betty Higden and Sloppy. +</p> + +<p> +It is a point not to be overlooked that Dickens +takes his characters from any occupation, but +preferably, it would seem, from the humblest. +Goodness of heart, wit, humour, gaiety, stout-heartedness, +are proved by him to exist in the most +depressing circumstances. His heroes and heroines +do not wear crowns or jewels. They are not +specially learned, and they are rarely wealthy or +beautiful, but they are good company, light-hearted, +and kind-hearted. Love, faithfulness, +self-sacrifice, purity, sincerity, courage and +cheerfulness shine out from his pages so brightly and +so engagingly that we cannot but long to join the +company of those who travel the same road. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0102"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P9"></a>9}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER II +<br><br> +CHARLES DICKENS—BOY AND MAN +</h3> + +<p> +The best way to understand Charles Dickens +is to learn to know him first when he +was a boy. Odd though it may sound, we +can actually become acquainted with the boy +Charles Dickens. David Copperfield, at least in the +beginning of his story, is a close delineation of +the writer's own boyhood. David's feelings, and +many of the happenings of his youth, are the +feelings and the happenings which made Charles +Dickens the boy and the man that he was. +</p> + +<p> +While this is true, it is true at the same time +that we should use caution lest we read into a +story more than the author intends us to find +either about himself or of other people. Human +beings are so wonderfully and strangely made +that no mortal, no matter how hard he tries, can +ever draw a perfectly true or a perfectly just +picture of anyone. Some quality always escapes +analysis, and each person living now, or who ever +has lived, remains himself only. Dickens drew a +wonderful picture of himself in David Copperfield. +This is one reason why we love David and +understand him so well. Yet David Copperfield +is not exactly Charles Dickens. We can scarcely +believe for one thing that David ever could have +written as well about Charles as Charles has +written about David. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P10"></a>10}</span> +</p> + +<p> +When Dickens was a boy of ten he was sent to +work in a blacking warehouse by his father who +was at that time in a debtors' prison. People, +when Dickens was a boy, were sometimes left in +prison for a long time if they could not pay their +debts. Years afterwards, Dickens wrote of the +secret agony of his soul while he worked at +covering blacking bottles and of how he longed for +companions, boys of his own age. Indeed, so +unhappy were his recollections that when he was +grown-up he mentioned these years to one person +only, John Forster, the friend who wrote his +biography; to remember this part of his life always +gave him great pain. +</p> + +<p> +Charles Dickens was born at Portsmouth, +Hampshire, England, February 7th, 1812. Life +in the Dickens family was not settled or stable. +They moved frequently, and were always more or +less uncertain as to the future. The father, as +has been said, at one time was in a debtors' +prison, and the family, including Charles, became +familiar with the strange life of The Marshalsea +which is described with exactitude in more than +one of Dickens' novels, but especially in <i>Little +Dorrit</i>. At other times, and even in the Marshalsea, +life for the Dickens family was interesting, +even exciting. Charles was unhappy because of +the work to which he was put, and because he saw +clearly, although he was only a little fellow, that +he was losing the chance of obtaining an education. +He was, however, an extraordinarily observant +lad and read with passionate absorption +all the books that he could find. Pictures of the +strange people he met and of the queer things they +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P11"></a>11}</span> +did remained with him throughout his life, and +from this material gathered in his youth he +fashioned his great novels. +</p> + +<p> +He had dreams of what he would be and of what +he would do. The family lived for a number of +years in Chatham, his father being a clerk in the +navy pay-office at the dockyard, and he used to +see, when he was walking with his father in the +neighbouring country, a house called Gadshill +Place. He planned then that some day he would +own that house. It was in 1856 that he became +the owner of Gadshill when he was forty-four +years old, a considerable achievement for the boy +of ten who had washed and re-covered blacking +bottles. But many greater achievements than +this were brought about by the genius of Charles +Dickens. +</p> + +<p> +All his life these youthful days were lived over +again in his stories and in his own memory. To +a not inconsiderable extent they influence us, too, +because of the novels which Dickens wrote. The +roads of Kent, where he went walking when they +lived in Chatham, are the great roads of his +novels. The characters he wrote about were created +from traits and habits which he had observed in +people known by the boy Charles Dickens. The +unjust laws and cruel customs against which he +fought so powerful a battle were those whose +victims had excited his pity long before he had grown +up. +</p> + +<p> +When the family fortunes were brighter, Charles +Dickens went to school again for a couple of +years. But from the time he was fifteen, he +earned his own living. He began as a clerk or +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P12"></a>12}</span> +office boy. Later, he studied shorthand, and +entered the reporters' gallery of the House of +Commons when he was nineteen. He began to write +articles and sketches soon afterwards. His first +book, <i>Sketches by Boz</i>, was published when he was +twenty-four. In the same year, he married +Catherine Hogarth, the eldest daughter of George +Hogarth, a fellow writer on <i>The Morning Chronicle</i>, +who had been kind to him. +</p> + +<p> +From this year, 1836, until his death in 1870, +he wrote a series of novels and stories with +extraordinary speed and diligence. He travelled +much, but never ceased writing. He gave many +public readings from his own works. He visited +the United States and Canada in 1842, and in +1867-68 gave readings in the eastern cities of the +United States. Wherever he went he was +received with acclaim, and he was at all times an +object of public attention. His gifts were great, but +no one who follows the story of his life can help +being struck by his extraordinary capacity for +hard work. All his life he laboured more +assiduously than any ordinary person can work; and +when he stopped writing, with one of his novels +unfinished, he was, as far as we can tell, still in +the enjoyment of almost undiminished powers as +a writer. +</p> + +<p> +Dickens had been a sickly boy, often ill and +suffering. As soon as he could be put to stand on +a chair, so young was he, he had given childish +recitations and sung childish songs for the +entertainment of his father's and mother's friends. He +was, in effect, as a child somewhat spoiled by too +much attention. Throughout his mature life he +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P13"></a>13}</span> +lived at white heat; ordinary quiet days had no +attraction for him. He was inclined to think that +people treated him unjustly. In truth, one is +reluctantly compelled to admit that Dickens was +over-sensitive and somewhat quarrelsome. These +are, perhaps, the only faults, certainly the main +faults, in his character. It can be said with +justice, however, that he was continually under strain +and pressure from overwork; he was, as well, +excitable by temperament. +</p> + +<p> +One of the best brief descriptions of Dickens' +appearance is by Leigh Hunt. "What a face is +his to meet in a drawing room! It has the life +and soul in it of fifty human beings." He lived +with an intensity which it is scarcely possible for +less intense people to understand. He gave his +wonderful vitality without stint to the writing of +his books. When he finished <i>David Copperfield</i> +his life had been so absorbed in its characters that +he wrote "I seem to be sending some part of myself +into the Shadowy World." Thackeray said of +<i>A Christmas Carol</i>, "It seems to me a national +benefit..." Dickens was generous in his praise +of the work of other writers, and deeply grateful +for any kindness shown himself, no matter how +slight the benefit was. He quarrelled, one may +say, with America as well as with some of his +friends and contemporaries, but years afterwards +he wrote in a postscript to a later edition of +<i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i> a warm tribute to the magnanimity +of the country. His married life was not +altogether happy. But in Forster's <i>Life</i>, there is a +story that his daughters Mary and Kate having +taken pains to teach him the steps of the polka so +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P14"></a>14}</span> +that he might dance it at their brother's birthday +party, Dickens, waking in the middle of the night +before the party, was afraid that he had forgotten +the proper steps, and immediately got up out +of bed to practise them. +</p> + +<p> +Two of his characters, Wilkins Micawber and +Mr. Dorritt, are drawn, to some extent at least, +from the character of his father; Mrs. Nickleby is +said to be a portrait of his mother. It can at +least be conceded that Mr. Micawber and +Mrs. Nickleby are among the greatest characters ever +created by Dickens. Apparently he had no unkind +intention; still, one would rather that he had +denied himself the use of this material. He was +attached to his father and mother and took pleasure +in providing for their older years. He bought +them a house a mile from the town of Exeter and +looked after the furnishing of the house himself. +</p> + +<p> +His feeling for his children was deeply rooted +in his heart. It expressed itself in numberless +ways, never more plainly than in a letter to his +youngest son written on the eve of the boy's leaving +to join his brother in Australia. (Forster's +<i>Life of Charles Dickens</i>, Book xi, Part iii). +</p> + +<p> +Dickens' popularity can hardly be over-estimated. +There is a story that while <i>Dombey and Son</i> +was being published in monthly parts, a man who +kept a snuff shop in London and had as well a +number of lodgers, read aloud the month's instalment +on the first Monday of every month at a tea. +Only those who paid for the tea shared in it, but all +the lodgers could listen to the story. The incident +affords a striking picture of the power Dickens +had over all kinds of people. Recent reminiscences +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P15"></a>15}</span> +by one of Dickens' sons tell of how when +he was walking once with his father along the +broad walk at the Zoo in London, they met a little +girl running ahead of her father and mother; +when she saw who it was she ran back crying, +"Oh, mummy! mummy! it is Charles Dickens." Dickens +was greatly pleased. +</p> + +<p> +He made for everyone who lived with him a life +of constant gaiety and variety. Well-known and +celebrated people shared this entertainment. His +heart was passionately attached to the cause of +the poor and oppressed. He had unfailing belief +in human nature, and was hopeful of everyone +and everything. A well-known statesman who +lived in Queen Victoria's youth once said at a +private dinner at which Dickens was present, +"Nothing is ever so good as it is thought." Dickens at +once answered him, "And nothing so bad." We +remember that few opportunities came to him. +His great career was the result of his own +exertions. There was no one at all to help him when +he was young. We think with pride and admiration +of his great achievements, and we love him +for his affectionate nature and goodness of heart. +No one can read Dickens' novels without learning +what his character was, ardent, generous and +loving. He was a great novelist and a great benefactor. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0103"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P16"></a>16}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER III +<br><br> +WHAT DICKENS DID FOR HUMANITY +</h3> + +<p> +Dickens from his childhood seems to have +had a strong desire to leave the world a +better place for other people than he had found +it for himself. We can trace this feeling in his +youth and through his manhood. It runs in his +novels like a great tide of impulse and energy. +"These things should not happen" he seems to +cry to the world. "Come, let us unite against +injustice and heartlessness in public and private +dealing, against public and private wrong of every +description. Let us banish bad customs from the +earth, so that it may be a fairer, brighter, +happier place." +</p> + +<p> +One of his novels<i> A Tale of Two Cities</i> is a +story of the French Revolution. The story shows +that, in common with the rest of the world then +living, Dickens' outlook on life had been +powerfully affected by the French Revolution, as our +world to-day has been vastly changed by the Great +War. The watch words of the French Revolution +were Liberty, Fraternity, Equality. They rang +like bells to waken all men's hearts against +injustice; their echoes are ringing still. During +the Revolution which began in 1789, a little more +than twenty years before Dickens was born, and in +the years following the Revolution, there were +terrible excesses of cruelty, murder and bloodshed +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P17"></a>17}</span> +by the revolutionists. But the spirit of +revolt against wrong was in men's minds +everywhere. In every country change and revolution +were impending, either violent change and revolution +with bloodshed, or silent change and a peaceful +revolution. In Great Britain, it appears +reasonably certain that the works of Dickens had +much to do with preventing a violent revolution. +Well-to-do people read these books, and their +minds became more kindly to their fellowmen. +They were eager to help the poor and oppressed. +The poor and unfortunate read Dickens' stories +and were filled with the spirit of brotherhood to +everyone, to the rich as well as to those who were +poor as they themselves were poor. Dickens +showed, not that the poor were unhappy, but that +they were unjustly and harshly treated. The +living spirit of happiness and of Christmas is found +in the house of the Cratchits. The Cratchits are +poor, but they are wonderfully happy. People +in many other countries as well as England rushed +to the help of the poor because of the happiness +of the Cratchit family. Tiny Tim and his crutch +touched the heart of the world, and the heart of +the world was made the better for it. We still +are made better by the story of the Cratchits. +Above all, Dickens' novels overflow, not only with +tenderness and indignation against wrong and +cruelty, but with abounding good temper and +inexhaustible mirth. It has been said that danger +of a violent revolution in Great Britain was swept +away by the gales of good-tempered and hearty +laughter which seized upon thousands of people +who were reading these great stories. It was a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P18"></a>18}</span> +splendid achievement for any novelist, or for any +man or woman. To help to bring about a peaceful +revolution, instead of one in which blood is +shed, is a claim that can be made on behalf of few +people in the history of the world. +</p> + +<p> +Dickens is generally given credit for having +secured for the world a number of much needed +reforms. There is no doubt that Dickens had a +great deal to do with promoting these reforms. +But it is the glory of the age in which he lived +that many people were working to make wrong +conditions right. What Dickens succeeded in +doing, possibly in a greater degree than anyone else +at that time, was to produce in a great multitude +of people the spirit which is willing, more than +willing, very desirous, to make wrong right. +</p> + +<p> +An English poet who was born about a half +century before Dickens, (Dickens' dates are +1812-1870; William Blake's dates are 1757-1827) wrote +lines which embody wonderfully this passion for +helping other people who need help. It is a +passion which happily belongs to our own age. Who +can tell how many people now living carry about +in their hearts the resolution expressed in one of +Blake's verses? +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + I will not cease from mental fight,<br> + Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,<br> + Till we have built Jerusalem<br> + In England's green and pleasant land.<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +Jerusalem, of course, means heaven. The Lord's +Prayer says, Thy will be done on earth as it is in +heaven. +</p> + +<p> +You had better learn by heart this verse written +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P19"></a>19}</span> +by William Blake, for you will often want to +remember it, and to help to build Jerusalem in +your own country, wherever that country is. +</p> + +<p> +Charles Dickens has other claims to greatness, +but surely none so compelling as the fact that the +spirit of his novels is the aspiring, tender, loving +spirit of humanity. +</p> + +<p> +It is interesting to know the names of the +special reforms for which Dickens worked. These +were to change the customs of the law courts so +that there should be less delay and greater +simplicity in securing redress for hardship, and to +improve the character of the men appointed to +the bench; to change the Poor Laws, and especially +to improve their administration; to change +and improve greatly the schools which existed +at that time; and to bring about a reformation in +the administration of prisons. Finally, he wished +to have the nation provide common means of +decency and health in the dwellings of the poor, so +that fever and consumption should not forever be +let loose on God's creatures. These are almost +Dickens' own words. All these conditions have +been so vastly improved that we who are living +to-day can hardly realize how much we have for +which to be thankful. But there are still in the +world wrongs to right and conditions to improve. +</p> + +<p> +Dickens was a great novelist, but he was not a +perfect novelist. It is easy to find defects in the +books that he wrote, defects of style, faults in the +plans of his novels and in the delineation of his +characters. But in spite of these defects, his +novels are great novels. It is possible that Dickens' +characters are more true to life than we have +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P20"></a>20}</span> +thought they were. He may be one of the greatest +delineators of English character in the history +of literature. Can you not imagine Sam Weller, +and Mark Tapley, yes, and Tom Pinch, and Ham +Peggotty, Tupman, Winkle and Snodgrass, fighting +in the trenches in France and Flanders, with +bravery, jokes and indomitable perseverance, +while Boffin, Mr. Pickwick, Miss Betsey Trotwood +and Susan Nipper are busy with work at home? +One of the best ways, and certainly one of the most +delightful ways, to study the character and the +genius of the people of England is to read the +novels of Charles Dickens. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0104"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P21"></a>21}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER IV +<br><br> +THE WAVERLEY NOVELS +</h3> + +<p> +You have heard at times a strain of music +far away. A band, perhaps, is playing the +air of some martial song that you know +well. The music comes nearer, nearer. You can +almost imagine that you see the players marching +down the street. And here they are. As +stirring, as romantic, as beautiful as the distant +music, are the spirit, scenes, and happenings of +The Waverley Novels by Sir Walter Scott. +</p> + +<p> +Scott did not begin by writing novels; his first +writing was poetical; he wrote stories in verse. +If you do not already know these poetical stories, +you probably will some day soon, because they are +charming and delightful, and so easy to read that +one almost feels one must have read them before +in a dream. The novels are, perhaps, a little more +difficult to follow, but not after we once get fairly +started. They are wonderful books to read. +Some of them are world novels. This means that +in many countries, and in many different +languages, people may be found reading the +Waverley Novels. This statement is true of Dickens' +novels also. When we learn to know Dickens' +work and Scott's work intimately, we will +perceive that there is a difference. +</p> + +<p> +Let us begin with <i>Rob Roy</i>, one of the Waverley +Novels which is a great favourite with boys +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P22"></a>22}</span> +and girls. Francis Osbaldistone is sent by his +father to visit his uncle, Sir Hildebrand, at the +family seat, Osbaldistone Hall, in the north of +England. Frank does not want to go into business +and become his father's successor. The visit +to Osbaldistone Hall is by way of punishment. +His father means to choose one of Frank's six +cousins to inherit his place in the business. Frank +goes north, meets all the six cousins, his uncle, +Sir Hildebrand, Andrew Fairservice, a serving +man, who is as notable a character after his own +way of life as Sam Weller; and above all he meets +a cousin of his cousins, Die Vernon, beautiful, +spirited, altogether charming and lovable Die. +</p> + +<p> +Owing to a business matter, Frank has to go +further north from Osbaldistone Hall into +Scotland. In the city of Glasgow, he is directed to +Bailie Nicol Jarvie. He is given a mysterious +warning in Glasgow Cathedral, and goes up to the +Highlands with Bailie Nicol Jarvie, seeking to +recover a debt. Now we are fully set in the midst +of the scenes of Sir Walter Scott's enchantment. +The wild, romantic, beautiful scenery of Scotland, +painted by a master's hand; the Highlanders +themselves, proud, devoted, chivalrous, faithful; +the cause of the royal Stuarts whose adherents +loved them and sacrificed for them without stint; +the glamour of old Scots songs; romantic stories +of love and conflict, all these delights you will find +in <i>Rob Roy</i> and in other of the Waverley Novels. +The mysterious Mr. Campbell of the highroad and +the drove of cattle, turns out to be Rob Roy +MacGregor himself. His wife, Helen, who is as fierce +as she is heroic, is the central figure of one of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P23"></a>23}</span> +most dramatic actions of the story. Escape, danger, +flight, battle, the allurement of a lost cause, +striking characters for whom one forms a romantic +attachment, are all gathered within the pages +of this novel. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Kenilworth</i> and <i>Ivanhoe</i> will prove themselves +as fascinating as <i>Rob Roy</i>. <i>Kenilworth</i> is written +of the time of Queen Elizabeth and tells the +story of the beautiful, unfortunate Amy Robsart, +the wife of the Earl of Leicester, Queen +Elizabeth's favourite. Amy, who had made a secret, +runaway match, is sought by Tressilian on behalf +of her father. She lives in hiding at Cumnor +Hall, waited on by Janet Foster and her father, +Anthony Foster. Seeking redress for Amy, we +go with Tressilian to find Leicester at the great +castle of Kenilworth to which Elizabeth makes +one of her royal progresses. On the way we meet +Wayland Smith, and Flibbertigibbet, and we learn +what black magic means. +</p> + +<p> +At Kenilworth are stirring scenes. We encounter +Raleigh, Spenser, an astrologer, and scores of +brightly coloured, romantic figures. We are +present at a pageant, and see Elizabeth conferring +knighthood on some of Leicester's men. All the +while, Amy Robsart is to be vindicated, later Amy +is to be saved. But, partly through misunderstanding, +yet also by cowardice, cruelty and falsehood, +Amy is betrayed. <i>Kenilworth</i> is notable +for its scenes from English history, but the story +of Amy Robsart, after we read it for the first +time, leaves something in our memories that in +all likelihood had not been there before, something +gentle, full of pity, and precious. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P24"></a>24}</span> +</p> + +<p> +<i>Ivanhoe</i> is more robust and exciting. Read the +opening scene between Gurth, the swineherd, and +Wamba, the jester. This is Merrie England of +long ago, when Saxons and Normans were still +hostile and separate, although living together in +the heart of England. John had usurped the +throne from King Richard, his brother, who had +been fighting on Crusade in the Holy Land. Here +in the greenwood we meet Friar Tuck, and various +knights. We visit Rotherwood, and listen to +Cedric, the Saxon master of Gurth and Wamba. We +see the beautiful Rowena. We meet the Jew, +Isaac of York and his lovely daughter Rebecca. +There are great combats for knights to prove +their knighthood at Ashby-de-la-Zouche. There +is the thrilling siege of the castle, Torquilstone. +We discover who the Black Knight is, and, best of +all, we encounter, in many disguises and lastly as +himself, Robin Hood. Read the account of the +archery contest in chapter thirteen. Every word +is thrilling. If we could go back through the +centuries, we, too, would visit Merrie England, walk +in the greenwood and taste the venison pasty in +Friar Tuck's cell, watch while Locksley shot his +arrows, and with Rebecca on the ramparts, +follow the course of the great siege of Torquilstone. +But, thanks to the genius of Sir Walter, we can +see these happenings in imagination without +leaving the twentieth century, although the novel +Ivanhoe was published more than a hundred years +ago. +</p> + +<p> +Scott wrote more than twenty novels, and other +books as well. The chief of the Waverley Novels, +beside the three already named, are <i>Waverley</i>, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P25"></a>25}</span> +<i>Guy Mannering</i>, <i>The Antiquary</i>, <i>Old Mortality</i>, +<i>The Bride of Lammermoor</i>, <i>The Heart of +Mid-Lothian</i>, <i>The Fortunes of Nigel</i>, <i>Redgauntlet</i>, +<i>Anne of Geierstein</i>, <i>Woodstock</i>, and <i>The Fair +Maid of Perth</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Thrilling and romantically beautiful as <i>Rob +Roy</i>, <i>Kenilworth</i> and <i>Ivanhoe</i> are, and exciting as +it is to read them, Scott has achieved even greater +scenes in some of the novels appearing in the list +above. Rob Roy, Die Vernon, Locksley, Rebecca +of York, are splendid and memorable characters, +but they are not as wonderful as Edie Ochiltree +in <i>The Antiquary</i>, or as Jeanie Deans in <i>The +Heart of Mid-Lothian</i>. We delight in Rob Roy +and Locksley and we love Die Vernon dearly, and +yet somehow we know that Edie Ochiltree and +Jeanie Deans are greater. We respect them +profoundly, and think more of human nature because +of what they say and do. We wonder why this +should be so. Puzzling out the way we feel about +Edie Ochiltree and Jeanie Deans, we come to a +conclusion somewhat like the following. In the +case of the first dearly loved characters, Scott was +writing about people he had never met or known. +He was in reality describing the beautiful dreams +we have of romantic people who do not actually +belong to everyday life. But Edie Ochiltree is +such a man as Scott himself must have known. He +is alive and so vivid in his not too highly coloured +perfection, that one can imagine him strolling +along a country road in Scotland. Edie is a +wandering beggar and wears a blue gown. The +neighbours give him food and shelter, and in return +he does for them various little services. But Edie +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P26"></a>26}</span> +at the same time is a remarkable man. When +greatness comes in ordinary people, they are +greater than it is possible to make a romantic +character. We cannot tell why this is so; but so +it is. +</p> + +<p> +Turn to chapter seven in <i>The Antiquary</i> and +read what Edie says in answer to Sir Arthur +Wardour's offer of a reward if he will save his +daughter and himself from drowning. Such a +character as Edie shows himself to be is an example of +Sir Walter's genius at its highest. You will find +other remarkable scenes in which Edie speaks in +chapter twenty. But from his final appearance +in chapter forty-four we must quote a few lines. +There is a rumour that the country is to be +invaded, and someone says to Edie that he has not +much to fight for. Read carefully what follows +for it is written in one of the dialects of Scotland, +as is the case with a good part of what Sir Walter +has written. +</p> + +<p> +"<i>Me</i> no muckle to fight for, sir?—isna there the +country to fight for, and the burnsides that I gang +daundering beside, and the hearths of the gudewives +that gie me my bit bread, and the bits o' +weans that come toddling to play wi' me when +I come about a landward town?—" +</p> + +<p> +Here love of country and love of people,—little +children and men and women—are joined, and +Edie's words express the highest feelings for +home and country that we have. There is +something in every boy and every girl that thrills to +this reply of Edie Ochiltree, who had no money +and no land, but who was rich in his spirit +nevertheless. It is for such reasons as this that we +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P27"></a>27}</span> +judge Edie's character to be one of Scott's +greatest achievements. +</p> + +<p> +Some day you may read in <i>The Heart of Mid-Lothian</i> +of how Jeanie Deans walked many weary +miles to London to plead with Queen Caroline for +the life of her sister. You will learn to admire +and reverence Jeanie when at the last she says to +the Queen that "when the hour of trouble comes +to the mind or to the body ... then it isna what we +hae dune for oursells, but what we hae dune for +others, that we think on maist pleasantly." Jeanie's +is a sad story, and yet it turns out happily. +Scott's genius for story telling, as well as +for the delineation of character, was singularly +rich and ample. +</p> + +<p> +To the contents of these novels, Scott added +occasionally a short story, and often beautiful +songs. In <i>Redgauntlet</i>, chapter eleven, you will +find Wandering Willie's Tale, one of the greatest +short stories that ever has been written. The +Ballad of the Red Harlaw is in <i>The Antiquary</i>, +the same novel in which Edie Ochiltree appears. +One of the most beautiful songs in Scottish literature, +which is rich in exquisite songs, is "Proud +Maisie"; this song is to be found in <i>The Heart of +Mid-Lothian</i>, chapter thirty-nine. Those of you +who are fond of learning poetry by heart will find +time well spent in learning "Proud Maisie". Only +when genius is most richly endowed can it be so +generous in its giving as Scott is in his novels +with his songs. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0105"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P28"></a>28}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER V +<br><br> +SCOTT'S OWN STORY +</h3> + +<p> +Walter Scott was born August 15th, +1771, in a house belonging to his father +at the head of the College Wynd in Edinburgh, +Scotland. The family was well-to-do and +happily situated. But when he was eighteen +months old, the little lad had a serious illness +which left him a cripple. Every effort was made +to cure his lameness. He was sent to live with +his grand-parents on the farm at Sandy Knowe, +but while he gained strength, he was slow in +learning to walk and his left leg remained shrunken. +He grew up tall and strong, unusually good +looking and attractive. When he was a man he +thought nothing of walking thirty miles in a day. +Apparently, his lameness had no influence upon +his character, except that it helped to make him +considerate. His biographer says that he was +always tender to those who had any bodily misfortune. +</p> + +<p> +Edinburgh is a beautiful city. Those who belong +to it love their romantic town with devotion. +But it was fortunate for Walter Scott, and for us +also, that he spent some of his early years on a +farm. What he saw and learned at that time +influenced all his future life. A story is told that +when he was three years old, and unable to help +himself, because he was so lame, he was left alone +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P29"></a>29}</span> +in the open air at some distance from the farmhouse, +as his aunt often wisely left him. A thunder +storm came up and when they hastened to the +little fellow they found him lying on his back, +clapping his hands at each flash of lightning, and +crying out, "Bonny! bonny!" There was never +anything lacking in Walter Scott's happy courage, +or in his tranquil enjoyment of the beauties +he saw in nature or read about in books. +</p> + +<p> +His aunt used to read aloud to him. Like some +other boys one has known, he played out by +himself the battles described as he imagined they +might have been fought. He was fascinated by +old tales, old ballads and by history. From his +early manhood he had a passion for all kinds of +antiquarian research. When he was a lad he was +sent to Edinburgh High School, a famous school, +and here after school hours and during recess he +became known to the other boys as a wonderful +adept at relating stories. His audiences were +closely attentive and delighted. He says of +himself in a short fragment of autobiography that he +was not a dunce, "but an incorrigibly idle imp". +Perhaps his chief pursuit was reading. Some +of the books he read were Ossian, which is +compact of Highland myth and story, Spenser, an +exquisite English poet, many novelists and other +Poets, and the great collection of ballads known +as Percy's <i>Reliques of Ancient Poetry</i>. These +are all manly books, and stir the reader's blood +and imagination, as Sir Philip Sidney said, like +the sound of a trumpet. +</p> + +<p> +After Edinburgh High School and Edinburgh +University, where boys went at that time when +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P30"></a>30}</span> +they were very young, Scott became a lawyer. The +study of Scots law was to him an unending source +of interest. But when he was a young lawyer +without much to do, he was in the habit of telling +romances to other young lawyers like himself who +were waiting for clients. As the boys at school +used to be fascinated, so the young lawyers later +came under the same spell. +</p> + +<p> +We have by this time the origins of Scott's +great work, a natural and unconquerable genius +for writing and romance, love for romantic +Edinburgh and all Scotland, the farm at Sandy Knowe, +ballads, tales and history, Scots law, old customs, +the characters and the people whom he knew and +loved. +</p> + +<p> +He began by translating songs from other languages, +then by editing and publishing old ballads +and songs belonging to his own country, what is +called minstrelsy, the songs of wandering poets. +His first book, <i>Minstrelsy of the Border</i>, was +published very early in the nineteenth century. He +married, in 1797, Miss Charpentier, the daughter +of a refugee from the French Revolution. They +lived in a cottage at Lasswade, six miles from +Edinburgh. Later, their home was at Ashestiel, +also in the country, an old house on the south bank +of the Tweed. His own first writing, a poetical +story, <i>The Lay of the Last Minstrel</i>, was +published in 1805. He held during his life various +law offices under the Crown, beginning as Sheriff +Depute, then Sheriff, and later a Clerk of the +Court of Session. Although he wrote many books +he made a point of keeping other employment, so +writing might be, as he said, not a bad crutch, but +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P31"></a>31}</span> +a good staff. But by 1805, it was plain that +literature was to be his main occupation. +</p> + +<p> +Scott had a singularly affectionate nature, +which in itself is almost sufficient to make a happy +life. With his first fee as a lawyer, he bought a +silver taper stand for his mother's desk. Lockhart +writes of him, "No man cared less about popular +admiration and applause; but for the least +chill on the affection of any near and dear to him +he had the sensitiveness of a maiden." We find +as we learn to know people that powers of +affection and love for those who belong to them are +marks of the finest natures. +</p> + +<p> +Scott was considerate of the feelings of everyone, +and he was greatly loved. He made much +money by his writings, first by his romantic verse +which took the world by storm, and later by the +long series of great novels, which were published +at first anonymously, and only acknowledged by +Scott as his own with reluctance years after he +began publishing them. With his love for beautiful +scenery, for Scotland, and for everything belonging +to dignified and delightful ways of living, it +was natural that Scott, from the result of his +labours, should buy an estate and build on it a +castle called Abbotsford. Here he lived with his +family, dealing bountifully and kindly with many +dependents and followers. He had tender care +for all his neighbours, gentle and simple, as the +old phrase runs. Scott valued what he had +because it gave him the power to be good to other +people. "Sir Walter speaks to every man as if +they were blood relations" was the description +given of his manner by one of the men who worked +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P32"></a>32}</span> +on his estate to an inquirer. Tom Purdie, a +personal attendant, had been a salmon poacher, and +was one of Scott's great friends. +</p> + +<p> +It is difficult to give a sufficiently convincing +picture of his happy, beneficient, affectionate life, +spent in beautiful surroundings, in friendliness +and family joys, and yet at the same time do +justice to Scott's incessant toil. He worked +unstintedly, and he loved his work. He was so popular +and famous, it seemed all he had to do was to sit +down and write a novel and the world would ring +with its fame. But Scott was at work generally +before six o'clock in the morning. He was a man +of remarkable industry as well as of unusual gifts. +Yet, those who knew him, noticed first and valued +most his kindness and simplicity. +</p> + +<p> +There are two books in which we can find details +of the character and the life of Scott. These +are <i>The Life of Sir Walter Scott</i>, written by his +son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart, and Scott's <i>Journal</i>, +written by himself, and meant only for his own +reading. +</p> + +<p> +He was a man of great reasonableness and common +sense. Lord Cockburn, a distinguished lawyer, +who was a friend, said that in his opinion +Walter Scott's sense was a still more wonderful +thing than his genius. He did not care to talk +much about his writing, but rather of what he had +done or seen. There was so little made of Scott's +writing in his home, either by himself or anyone +else, that his children did not know much about it. +Someone asked Sophia, his eldest daughter, how +she liked one of his books. Her answer was that +she had not read it. Walter, the eldest boy, came +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P33"></a>33}</span> +home from school one day, plainly showing signs +of having been in a fight, and said that the other +boys had called him a "lassie". One of the boys +had said something about <i>The Lady of the Lake</i>, +and he was unaware that there was a book of that +name written by his father. These incidents are +related to show how simple and natural were +Scott's ideas of himself and his work. He was a +rapid, even at times a careless, writer, but he was +incontestably a great writer. He was, however, +greater as a man. +</p> + +<p> +No one can read his life without being charmed +by Scott's love for his dogs. Cats, too, were +favourites in the family circle. All the domestic +creatures were as fond of Scott as he was of them. +You will find in Lockhart's <i>Life</i>, chapter nine, a +description by Washington Irving, the American +author, of a visit to Abbotsford, and of Scott and +his dogs. It is, perhaps, as vivid a picture as has +ever been drawn of Scott. +</p> + +<p> +During the last years of his life, Scott undertook +the payment of a heavy debt. He had been +partner in a publishing enterprise which was +conducted with far too little reasonable caution in +entering upon undertakings and expenditure. +Although Scott was not an active partner, and +unfortunately had not informed himself about the +firm's transactions, he was liable for the full +amount of the debt. He refused to become a +bankrupt and set himself the enormous task of +paying every creditor in full. This last labour of +his life is a heroic story. Friends, some of them +unknown friends, offered him money. His sense +of honour was so high that he would allow no mitigation +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P34"></a>34}</span> +of his task. He laboured single-handed +and paid back large sums to his creditors. The +final payments were arranged only after his +death. He had cut down his way of living at +Abbotsford. He allowed himself little rest and no +luxury. Any boy who reads this story will learn +from it something of the nature of business and +of what is wise and right in business dealings. +He will learn to love too, as we all may, Sir +Walter's radiant sense of the beauty of honour. +</p> + +<p> +We discover at last the true reason why the +characters in Scott's novels are great. It is +because he is himself great and noble, with such a +nobility that in all likelihood the world will keep +him always as one of its heroes. His last words +to his son-in-law, Lockhart, "My dear, be a good +man", come into the minds of many people every +now and then as they live their daily lives and +bring them help and encouragement. We read +Scott's novels because they tell thrilling and +romantic stories; and we read them again for their +nobility, high-mindedness, dignity and beauty. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0106"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P35"></a>35}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER VI +<br><br> +THE TEMPEST AND OTHER OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS +</h3> + +<p> +Shakespeare, as you know, wrote plays. +Here is the story of one of these plays: +Prospero, an old man, and his daughter, +Miranda, a very beautiful girl, lived alone on an +island in the sea far from any known land. Their +only dwelling was a cell made in a rock; probably +the cell was really a cave in the rock. Now +Prospero was a duke in exile, the Duke of Milan +in Italy, and Miranda was a princess, his only +child. +</p> + +<p> +Prospero was a very clever man and a great +student. He had had in Milan a younger brother, +Antonio, to whom he trusted all his affairs so that +he might give his time wholly to study. +Prospero's special study was magic. Shakespeare +wrote this play very early in the seventeenth +century: <i>The Tempest</i>, therefore, is more than three +hundred years old. +</p> + +<p> +Antonio conspired against his brother Prospero, +and in this conspiracy he was aided by the +King of Naples. Prospero and Miranda, then a +baby, were kidnapped, carried on board a ship +and later cast adrift in a small boat. Finally, the +sea carried them to this island. A kind nobleman, +Gonzalo, had concealed on the little boat, water, +food, clothing and some books, which were +Prospero's books of magic. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P36"></a>36}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Prospero and Miranda lived for years on the +island. During this time her father took care of +Miranda and educated her. Now the island was +an enchanted island which had been placed under +a spell by a witch called Sycorax, who had died +shortly before Prospero and Miranda came to the +island, leaving a son who was a misshapen dwarf +called Caliban. Prospero found this dwarf, and +tried to teach him how to speak and how to do +useful work, but Caliban was not able to learn +much. Perhaps he was not very willing to learn. +</p> + +<p> +The witch Sycorax, before she died, had +imprisoned in trees on the island many good spirits, +because they would not obey her commands; since +they were gentle spirits and Sycorax had tried to +get them to do cruel and wicked deeds. Prospero +found these good spirits and released them from +their prisons. The chief of these spirits was +Ariel. You will love Ariel very much when you +read about him in the play. +</p> + +<p> +Now we have the island, Prospero and Miranda, +Ariel and a host of other gentle spirits, and +Caliban, whose only idea of God was that there was +something more powerful than he was himself. +But Caliban thought his god must be cruel, hard +and unkind as well as strong, since he did not +know any better. This idea he had of a god he +called Setebos. +</p> + +<p> +Prospero was able to work magic. Three +hundred years ago some people believed in magic. +Prospero, since he was a good man, never wanted +to work anything but good with his magic; and he +used Ariel and the other gentle spirits whom he +had released from prison to carry out his +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P37"></a>37}</span> +commands. <i>The Tempest</i>, you will understand by +this time, is a good deal like what we call a fairy +tale. But fairy tales are lovely things. +</p> + +<p> +The King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, Antonio, +who had usurped his brother's place as +Duke of Milan, and a number of noblemen, including +kind Gonzalo, when the play begins had been +on a voyage on a ship. Prospero by his magic +raised a great storm, and commanded Ariel to +bring the ship to the island where it was to be +shipwrecked, but everyone on board was to be +brought to shore safe and unharmed. +</p> + +<p> +Prospero's plan was that Ferdinand, who was +an admirable young prince, and his dear and +beautiful daughter Miranda, should fall in love with +one another. Further, he planned by this +shipwreck that Antonio should be punished and he +himself restored to the Dukedom of Milan. In +the play, we see and hear all these things happening. +Prospero's plans are carried out exactly as +he directed. Ferdinand and Miranda find each +other so beautiful and attractive that at first sight +they fall in love. Antonio is confronted with his +wrong doing. Gonzalo finds reward and praise. +Prospero is again Duke of Milan, buries his books +and magic garment and gives up magic forever. +The king of Naples repents his misdoing, and +is only too happy for his son Ferdinand to marry +Miranda. And most joyous of all these happenings, +the gentle Ariel and his companions, having +served Prospero well, regain full liberty, and fly +away to wander free in islands where beautiful +trees and flowers grow, there to live happy all the +long day. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P38"></a>38}</span> +</p> + +<p> +We cannot help wondering how Shakespeare +came to write this play about a far away, unknown, +enchanted island. It is almost certain that +people have been able to make a very good guess +at the origin of the story. <i>The Tempest</i> was written +in 1610 or 1611. In 1609, a British fleet, +commanded by Sir George Somers, which had sailed +for the new plantation of Jamestown in Virginia, +met a great storm in the West Indies. The +Admiral's ship, the <i>Sea-Venture</i>, was driven on the +coast of one of the unknown Bermuda Isles. The +sailors had to stay there for ten months. Finally, +they escaped in two boats which they made out of +cedar logs, and in these boats they managed to +reach Virginia. When these sailors returned to +London in 1610, there was great excitement; one +person would report to another their marvellous +stories. The island had been over-run with wild +pigs, and the sailors said they had heard odd +noises. Therefore, they concluded that the island +was enchanted. Shakespeare, who was writing +his wonderful plays at the time, is likely to have +heard these stories; and he made use of the sailors' +tales of enchantment in a strange, beautiful, +fairy-like play. +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare's plays are printed, so that we can +read them in books. They are also, of course, +acted in theatres. Some of you may have seen +one of Shakespeare's plays, or more than one, +acted on a stage. As you grow older, you will +have opportunities, let us hope, to see great actors +in Shakespeare's plays. For, since the plays are +so great themselves, they can only be acted +properly by great actors. You can always read these +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P39"></a>39}</span> +plays in books, however; and some of Shakespeare's +plays seem almost better when they are +read than when they are acted. The reason for +this is that we can imagine scenes more vividly +sometimes than we can see them when other +people try to show them to us. +</p> + +<p> +One of the best ways to read Shakespeare is to +take a scene from one of his plays, such as the +Casket scene in <i>The Merchant of Venice</i>, assign +the characters to different people, boys and girls, +or men and women, and then read the scene aloud, +each character speaking in his turn. You will +enjoy the reading better if someone first tells the +complete story of the play. +</p> + +<p> +The whole world highly regards, and very many +people dearly love, Shakespeare's plays. There +are many of them. Some of the plays to choose +first for reading are, <i>The Merchant of Venice</i>, +<i>Julius Caesar</i>, scenes from <i>A Midsummer Night's +Dream</i>, from <i>As You Like It</i>, <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> +and <i>Twelfth Night</i>. How delightful you will find +the fairy scenes in <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, +and the scenes in the forest from <i>As You Like It</i>. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Julius Caesar</i> is a political play. Politics, as +you know, is one of the great pursuits of men; and +more recently, political questions are becoming of +importance to women. Politics is not a way to +earn one's living, like farming, or being a doctor, +or an engineer; but it offers one of the chief +avenues by which one may serve one's country. +<i>Julius Caesar</i>, besides being a very interesting story, +is a splendidly wise and clear picture of how men +and women are influenced by political questions +and actions. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P40"></a>40}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare wrote and put into his plays numbers +of very beautiful songs. They are so beautiful +and natural that to read them is almost like +listening to the song of a bird. In <i>The Tempest</i> +you will find Ariel's songs, "Come unto these +yellow sands", "Full fathom five thy father lies", +and "Where the bee sucks, there suck I". There +are songs in <i>A Midsummer Night's Dream</i>. +Amiens in <i>As You Like It</i>, sings "Under the +greenwood tree", and "Blow, blow, thou winter +wind". "It was a lover and his lass" comes near +the end of the play. <i>Twelfth Night</i>, too, is rich in +songs, "O mistress mine, where are you roaming?", +"Come away, come away, death"; the play +ends with the inimitable, "When that I was and +a little tiny boy". +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare is as great in the poetry of his +plays as he is in their dramatic action. He had +the power so to suit his thoughts with words that +our minds are filled and enriched with life and +beauty. Read Prospero's great speech which you +will find in <i>The Tempest</i>, act iv, scene i. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + These our actors,<br> + As I foretold you, were all spirits, and<br> + Are melted into air, into thin air:<br> + And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,<br> + The cloud capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,<br> + The solemn temples, the great globe itself,<br> + Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve<br> + And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,<br> + Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff<br> + As dreams are made on, and our little life<br> + Is rounded with a sleep.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0107"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P41"></a>41}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER VII +<br><br> +SHAKESPEARE—THE GREAT WORLD ITSELF +</h3> + +<p> +Shakespeare lived at a time when people, +as a rule, did not write and print the +details of famous men's lives while they +were living or soon after their deaths. We know +much of the daily lives of such people as Scott +and Dickens, and many others like Queen Victoria, +Napoleon, Lincoln, Disraeli, Gladstone. But +we know comparatively little about Shakespeare, +partly because many people during his lifetime +thought of him only as a play actor and writer of +plays, and partly because there were at that time +few books and there was little reading. Incidents +of history and in the lives of men and women were +told by older people to their children. These +stories were remembered and repeated and served +instead of printed books. Such traditional +knowledge is sometimes inaccurate, but it is generally +interesting, and frequently true. +</p> + +<p> +We know that Shakespeare was born April 22nd +or 23rd, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, +England. He was baptised on April 26th +of that year; his baptism is on record. He died +on his birthday, April 23rd, 1616, fifty-two years +later. +</p> + +<p> +His father was John Shakespeare, who sold +farm produce in Stratford, and his mother was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P42"></a>42}</span> +Mary Arden, who came of what are called gentlefolk. +He was married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway. +They had three children, Susanna, Hamnet and +Judith. Susanna later married John Hall, a +doctor of medicine; and Judith married Thomas +Quiney, a vintner, in the same year that her father +died. But Hamnet died in 1596; his death was a +heavy grief to Shakespeare. +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare went to London probably in 1586. +The story told by tradition is that he had been +poaching on a neighbouring estate belonging to a +Sir Thomas Lucy. In any case, he left Stratford +and journeyed to London, a small London, very +different from the great city of to-day; nevertheless, +it must have been an interesting place. Shakespeare +acted, and wrote plays. By 1593, he had +achieved a noted success. Four years later, 1597, +he bought New Place, the finest house in Stratford. +At first, he paid a visit there only once a +year. Then he left London, and spent his later +years in Stratford at New Place. His custom was +to write two of his plays each year. +</p> + +<p> +We know something of Shakespeare's character +from what his contemporaries said of him. We +know what interested him most, and probably +what he cared about most, from his plays. He +was most frequently called by other people the +gentle Shakespeare. For a man of great genius +who was busy making wonderful plays, and who +could have met few people, if any, who were his +intellectual equals, to be called gentle by everyone +who knew him is a great tribute to the lovableness +of his disposition and the sweetness of his +temper. It shows that he must have been +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P43"></a>43}</span> +courteous, patient and considerate. We know from +his writings that he was a well-balanced man. He +was genial, and he had a great zest for life. +</p> + +<p> +He seems to have been fond of many different +kinds of characters. Men of action, that is, men +who do things, and men of thought, whose philosophy +and understanding take hold of the facts +of life and look deep into their meaning, were +equally understood and loved by Shakespeare. +How do we know this? We know because he created +such thinkers as Hamlet, and his King Richard +II, and Macbeth, and such men of action as +are in his great historical plays and especially +Othello. But we cannot help thinking that +Shakespeare loved men of action better and was more +devoted to them than he was to those who were +thinkers chiefly. A critic named Hazlitt wrote of +Shakespeare, "His talent consisted in sympathy +with human nature in all its shapes, degrees, +depressions and elevations." Sympathy of this +kind is not only a great gift, but it is also a very +rare one. His universal sympathy is one reason +why we admire Shakespeare so much. +</p> + +<p> +There are other facts about Shakespeare's life +that we learn from his plays. His youth was +brilliant, full of happy exuberance and exaltation, +confident and swift. At this time, he wrote such +plays as <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, 1592, the great historical +plays, 1592-1594, and again in 1597-1598, <i>A +Midsummer Night's Dream</i>, 1594-5, <i>As You Like +It</i>, 1599, <i>Twelfth Night</i>, 1600, <i>Julius Caesar</i>, 1600. +You do not need to remember these dates, but +notice how rapidly one great play follows another. +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare's full maturity, following youth, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P44"></a>44}</span> +begins about 1599. Later than 1600, he wrote +such plays as <i>Hamlet</i>, 1602, <i>Othello</i>, 1604, +<i>Macbeth</i>, 1606, <i>King Lear</i>, 1607, <i>Anthony and +Cleopatra</i>, 1608. These are generally regarded as his +greatest plays. +</p> + +<p> +In the last years of his life we can think of him +as living at New Place in Stratford, with peace, +happiness and tranquility. His young daughter +Judith must have been his special, much-loved +companion. We imagine that possibly Miranda +in <i>The Tempest</i> is like Judith; Shakespeare may +have been thinking of himself a little when he +wrote some of Prospero's speeches. To this +period belong three calm, wise and beautiful plays +which were the last that he wrote, <i>Cymbeline</i>, +1610, <i>The Winter's Tale</i>, 1611, and <i>The Tempest</i>, +1611. +</p> + +<p> +Where did Shakespeare obtain his marvelous +knowledge of life and people? The answer +evidently is, from life itself and from people +themselves. He studied people and understood them. +His own heart and nature taught him wonderful +knowledge. From older people, he heard stories +of the Wars of the Roses. These stories +undoubtedly gave him his knowledge of warfare, +soldiers, battles and politics. He read such books as +Holinshed's <i>Chronicles</i>, North's translation of +Plutarch's <i>Lives</i> and translations of the choicest +Italian novels of the time. He probably had read +Chaucer. He was familiar with all the writings, +plays, poems, and pamphlets of his contemporaries. +The time when Shakespeare lived was one +of the greatest ages in the history of the world. +He himself makes any age in which he lived a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P45"></a>45}</span> +great age; but there were living at that time many +other great writers, although not as great as +Shakespeare. He therefore must have read +much. He almost certainly was one of the people +who, as we say, can take the whole heart out of +a book at a single reading. +</p> + +<p> +It would be foolish to say that it is easy to read +all Shakespeare's plays. Comparatively few +people, old or young, can understand them +altogether. But to read those plays that one can +understand is a very great adventure. We find +in them, even if we do not comprehend everything, +so much that is worth while, great life, beauty, +sweetness, courtesy, benignity, generosity and +honour. +</p> + +<p> +There were customs in Shakespeare's day, +points of view, judgments and prejudices, which +the world has outgrown. We have much to learn +still, but the world to-day is a better place than it +was in the sixteenth century. We find some +things in Shakespeare's plays that grate on us +harshly, such as the feeling towards Shylock, the +Jew, in <i>The Merchant of Venice</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare's greatest gift to us is that he +makes us feel and know how wonderful life is. +He puts before us in his plays the whole world, +and we can look at it and see how beautiful it is. +He shows us men and women, and although he +wrote long ago people who read his plays to-day +find his men and women so interesting that we +think ourselves very fortunate if we can see a +great actor play Hamlet or a great actress show +us the way in which charming Rosalind may have +walked and spoken in the forest of Arden. No +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P46"></a>46}</span> +other writer has ever been able to create such +women characters as Shakespeare. +</p> + +<p> +The best and soundest knowledge of Shakespeare +comes slowly. It is good to read such +speeches in his plays as Brutus' speech in <i>Julius +Caesar</i>, Act iv, scene iii, beginning at the words, +"There is a tide in the affairs of men". When +we have learned that speech, we may turn to other +words, such as these in <i>King Henry V</i>: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + There is some soul of goodness in things evil,<br> + Would men observingly distil it out.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Remember King Henry's saying; it contains +truth which is serviceable to us all. +</p> + +<p> +Such words as these, and hundreds of other +lines, are what make Shakespeare, Shakespeare, +someone wonderful and lovable who belongs to +you and to everyone else. +</p> + +<p> +Here is another of his songs, a sad one this +time, but very beautiful, from <i>Cymbeline</i>. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Fear no more the heat o' the sun,<br> + Nor the furious winter's rages;<br> + Thou thy worldly task hast done,<br> + Home art gone and ta'en thy wages:<br> + Golden lads and girls all must,<br> + As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Fear no more the frown o' the great;<br> + Thou are past the tyrant's stroke;<br> + Care no more to clothe and eat;<br> + To thee the reed is as the oak;<br> + The sceptre, learning, physic, must<br> + All follow this and come to dust.<br> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P47"></a>47}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Fear no more the lightning-flash,<br> + Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;<br> + Fear not slander, censure rash;<br> + Thou hast finish'd joy and moan:<br> + All lovers young, all lovers must<br> + Consign to thee and come to dust.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0108"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P48"></a>48}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER VIII +<br><br> +STORIES FROM THE BIBLE +</h3> + +<p> +Suppose someone who had never heard of +the Bible wanted to know what it was, how +could we explain, or describe, its nature and +character, most clearly and truly? The meaning +of the word Bible is simply the book: the greatest +and most important book in the world. +</p> + +<p> +In the first place, the Bible is made up of a +number of other books; there are thirty-nine of these +books in the Old Testament, and twenty-seven in +the New Testament; that is, there are sixty-six +books in the Bible altogether. +</p> + +<p> +These parts, or books, are of many different +kinds. They contain traditions, histories, +genealogies, biographies, songs of victory or love, +hymns, psalms, wise sayings, censures and +encouragements by the prophets of God, dramas, stories, +and essays. In the New Testament, we find the +gospel story of Christ; annals, which are a simple +form of history; and letters from one person to +another or from one person to a church. +</p> + +<p> +Many years ago, some writers used to call the +Bible the Divine Library, <i>Bibliotheca Divina</i>; at +that time, writing generally was in the Latin language. +</p> + +<p> +The first book in the Bible, Genesis, as you know +begins by telling about the creation of the world. +The story of the development of mankind +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P49"></a>49}</span> +spiritually,—-this means in learning to know about +God—is pictured for us in all the books of the Bible. +Man's knowledge of God grows, from the creation, +slowly but steadily, higher and deeper and +wider; and we read about this growth in the Bible. +Slowly the people of the world lose some of their +ignorance of God, and as they learn of God they +begin to give up, or as the Bible says, they forsake, +their evil practices. For instance, the practice +of keeping slaves was once followed in all parts +of the known world. Then, presently, men began +to see that they could not keep other men as +slaves, because a better knowledge of God taught +them that all men are brothers. But, even yet, in +some parts of the world there are slaves waiting +to be freed. Mankind's progress towards God +and what is good, told about in the Bible, is still +going on. +</p> + +<p> +The revelation of God reaches its consummation +in Christ. Now, the Old Testament, from +the beginning to the end, is the story of the world +being prepared for the coming of Christ; the New +Testament tells the story of His coming. We +learn from Christ what God truly is. +</p> + +<p> +The Bible tells us of Christ. This is perhaps +the clearest and simplest answer to the question +as to what the Bible is. The Bible, because it tells +us of Christ, is intended for every one. It is +printed in many different languages, and read all +over the world. +</p> + +<p> +There are many stories in the Bible, both in the +Old and New Testaments, which we can find and +read for ourselves, interesting and beautiful +stories. Probably you have read most of them +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P50"></a>50}</span> +already, or have heard them read aloud. But, as +you know, we like to hear or read a true story +many times, and these are true stories. A list of +a number of these stories from the Bible is printed +at the end of this chapter, with the names of the +different books in which we find them, and +chapters and verses for each story. +</p> + +<p> +Many of the stories, perhaps most of them, are +about boys and girls. But the first on the list is +the story of how the world was made. Notice +how splendidly the man who wrote the story +makes clear that it was God who made the world. +Notice too, in the story of the Little Maid, II Kings +chap. v, 1-19, what fine people Naaman, the +Syrian, and his wife, must have been; the happy +relations between them and the people who worked +for them are very evident in the story, and indeed +are used to help in Naaman's cure. +</p> + +<p> +The list ends with the history of Paul's voyage +and shipwreck, a wonderful, true story of the sea. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT<br> +</p> + +<pre> + The Creation of the World Genesis, chap. i, 1-31; + chap. ii, 1-3 + + Noah and the Flood Genesis, chap. vi, 9-22; + chap vii, 1-24; chap viii, + 1-22 + + Jacob's Dream Genesis, chap. xxviii, 10-22 + + Joseph and his Brethren Genesis, chap. xxxvii, 5-28 + + Pharaoh's Dream Genesis, chap. xli, 1-57 + + Joseph's Brethren come to Genesis, chap. xiii, 1-38 + buy Corn + + Joseph Entertains His Genesis, chap. xliii, 1-34 + Brethren +</pre> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P51"></a>51}</span></p> + +<pre> + Joseph makes Himself Genesis, chap. xliv, 1-13, + Known to His Brethren 18-34; chap. xlv, 1-15 + + Jacob comes to His Son Genesis, chap. xlv, 25-28; + Joseph chap. xlvi, 1-7, 28-30; + chap. xlvii, 1-10 + + The Birth and Upbringing Exodus, chap. i, 7-14; + of Moses chap. ii, 1-10 + + God Speaks to the Child I Samuel, chap. ii, 18, 19; + Samuel chap. iii, 1-21 + + Samuel Anoints David to I Samuel, chap. xvi, 1-23 + be King + + David Slays Goliath I Samuel, chap. xvii, 1-49 + + David and Jonathan I Samuel, chap. xviii, 1-4; + chap. xx, 1-23, 35-42 + + The Widow's Cruise I Kings, chap. xvii, 1-24 + + The Translation of Elijah II Kings, chap. ii, 1-12 + + The Child of the Shunammite II Kings, chap. iv, 8-37 + + The Little Maid II Kings, chap. v, 1-19 + + The Angel Guards II Kings, chap. vi, 8-17 +</pre> + +<p class="t3"> +THE NEW TESTAMENT +</p> + +<pre> + The Birth of Christ Luke, chap. ii, 4-19 + + The Star of Bethlehem Matthew, chap. ii, 1-12 + + Christ when he was Luke, chap. ii, 40-52 + Twelve Years Old + + The Sower Matthew, chap. xiii, 3-9, + 18-23 + + The Mustard Seed Matthew, chap. xiii, 31, 32 + + The Hidden Treasure and Matthew, chap. xiii, 44-46 + the Pearl of Great Price + + The Unforgiving Servant Matthew, chap. xviii, 23-35 + + The Labourers in the Vineyard Matthew, chap. xx, 1-16 + + The Two Sons Matthew, chap. xxi, 28-32 +</pre> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P52"></a>52}</span></p> + +<pre> + The Wicked Husbandmen Matthew, chap. xxi, 33-46 + + The Marriage of the King's Son Matthew, chap. xxii, 1-14 + + The Good Samaritan Luke, chap. x, 25-37 + + The Foolish Rich Man Luke, chap. xii, 13-21 + + Humility Luke, chap. xiv, 7-11 + + The Great Supper Luke, chap. xiv, 12-24 + + The Lost Sheep and the Luke, chap. xv, 1-10 + Lost Piece of Silver + + The Prodigal Son Luke, chap. xv, 11-32 + + The Pharisee and the Publican Luke, chap. xviii, 9-14 + + The Entombment and the Luke, chap. xxiii, 50-56 + Resurrection John, chap. xx, 1-29 + + The Evening Walk to Emmaus Luke, chap. xxiv, 12-32 + + Paul's Voyage and Shipwreck Acts, chap. xxvii, 1-44 +</pre> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0109"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P53"></a>53}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER IX +<br><br> +LIVING WATERS +</h3> + +<p> +About ten million copies of the Bible are +circulated in a year; this means so many +copies either are bought, or given to people +without payment, yearly. The reason for +such a great and constant demand for the Bible +by all kinds of people is because they find in it +something they need. What they find is spiritual +life, life for the soul. +</p> + +<p> +It is interesting to know something about the +authorized English translation of the Bible. The +books of the Bible, as you know, were not first +written in English. Those who wrote the books +of the Bible, except possibly in one or two +instances, were Jews. Copies of the books of the +Bible, before the fifteenth century, had to be +written by hand. Following the invention of +printing in the first part of the fifteenth +century, the Bible was one of the first books to +be printed. But still, there were few books and +there was little reading. Books of any kind +were expensive and many people did not know +how to read. +</p> + +<p> +In the sixteenth century, there were in existence +several translations or versions of some of the +books of the Bible; and there was a great desire +on the part of English people to be able to read +the whole Bible in English so that everyone might +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P54"></a>54}</span> +understand it. Comparatively few people could +read Latin, and the translations in English were +of some of the books only. +</p> + +<p> +The authorized English translation of the Bible +was first published in 1611. It was the work of +some forty-seven scholars who had taken all the +different versions then in use and had translated +and compiled the various readings into one book. +You will recognize that 1611 is a date belonging +to the time when English literature was in one of +its most glorious periods. The authorized English +translation of the Bible is written in very +perfect English. It is what we call a masterpiece. +The beautiful diction of the authorized +version helps us to remember the stories of the +Bible, and the great passages in which we find +our highest spiritual life. +</p> + +<p> +A list of some of the wonderful passages in the +Bible, especially such passages as were written to +tell of the life of Christ and to record His sayings, +is given at the end of this chapter. You will find +the Ten Commandments, which many of you know +by heart, in Exodus, chap. xix, 1-24, chap. xx, 1-2. +Solomon's great prayer at the dedication of the +Temple is in I Kings, chap. viii, 22-58. The Book +of Psalms is read by countless numbers of people +all through their lives. Some of the Psalms you +will specially want to read are i, xv, xix, xxiii, xxiv, +xxvii, xlvi, lxvii, c, ciii, cvii, cxxi, cxxvi, cxxvii, +cxxxiv, cxlv, cxlviii, and cl. Many great passages +are to be found in the books of the Prophets, +and in Job. Read Isaiah, chapters xxxv, xl +and lv which belong to the greatest writings in +the world. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P55"></a>55}</span> +</p> + +<p> +But the most important parts of the Bible for +us to read, the easiest to read, the most simple and +beautiful, are these which tell of the life of Christ. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + PASSAGES TELLING OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST FROM THE<br> + NEW TESTAMENT<br> +</p> + +<pre> + The Sermon on the Mount Matthew, chaps. v, vi and vii + + Rest for the Weary Matthew, chap. xi 25-30 + + The Greatest in the Kingdom Matthew, chap. xviii, 1-14 + of Heaven + + The Young Man of Great Matthew, chap. xix, 16-22 + Possessions + + The Two Great Commandments Matthew, chap. xxii, 35-40 + + The Judgment Day Matthew, chap. xxv, 31-46 + + The Widow's Two Mites Mark, chap. xii, 41-44 + + Jesus Calls Zachaeus Luke, chap. xix, 1-10 + + The Water of Life John, chap. iv, 5-26 + + The Bread of Life John, chap. vi, 26-35 + + The Good Shepherd John, chap. x, 1-16 + + The Raising of Lazarus John, chap. xi, 1-46 + + Christ Blesses the Children Mark, chap. x, 13-16 + + Christ's Bequest of Peace John, chap. xiv, 1-27 + + Christ's Intercessory Prayer John, chap. xviii, 1-26 + + Christ's Commission to His Matthew, chap. xxviii, 16-20 + Followers + + Who Shall Separate Us Romans, chap. viii, 18-39 + + The Two Crowns I Corinthians, chap. ix, 24-27 + + Charity I Corinthians, chap. xiii, 1-13 + + Resurrection of the Dead I Corinthians, chap. xv, 1-58 +</pre> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P56"></a>56}</span> +</p> + +<pre> + The Fruit of the Spirit Galatians, chap. v, 16-24 + + Heavenly Armour Ephesians, chap. vi, 10-8 + + The Crown of Righteousness II Timothy, chap. iv, 6-8 + + The Children of Light I Thessalonians, chap. v, 1-10 + + The Cloud of Witnesses Hebrews, chap. xi, 1-40; + chap. xii, 1-2 + + Pure Religion James, chap. i, 1-27 + + Behold I stand at the Door Revelations, chap. iii, 14-22 + and Knock + + The Saints in Glory Revelations, chap. vii, 9-17 + + John's Vision of the New Revelations, chap. xxi, 1-27; + Jerusalem chap. xxii, 1-21 +</pre> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0210"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P57"></a>57}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART II +<br><br> +ROMANCE AND ADVENTURE +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P59"></a>59}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER X +<br><br> +DUMAS—HUGO—STEVENSON +</h3> + +<p> +A story can scarcely open better than by +showing us a young man setting out to +find his fortune. One of the most eminent +of romantic writers, Alexandre Dumas, begins +<i>The Three Musketeers</i> after this fashion. We +have a choice of reading the story either in +French or English. Dumas, a Frenchman, wrote +<i>Les Trois Mousquetaires</i> in French, and, therefore, +naturally, this thrilling story is more wonderful +in French even than it is in English. But an +English translation, one can promise every boy +and girl, is very well worth reading. +</p> + +<p> +On an April morning of the year 1626, in the +market town of Meung, in the country of France, +a young man, eighteen years of age, came to the +door of an inn. He was riding an orange-coloured +pony, none too good a specimen of a steed. His +name was d'Artagnan. He came from Gascony, +and in a story it is always taken for granted that +Gascons are very proud and hot-tempered. He +was poor and somewhat shabby in appearance. +A man at one of the windows of the inn appeared +to be laughing at him and at the queer colour of +his pony; indeed the man had called the pony a +buttercup. D'Artagnan, who was wearing a +sword, at once challenged the man, Rochefort, +to fight with him. There was a fight which was +rather a scuffle than a combat. Still d'Artagnan +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P60"></a>60}</span> +acquitted himself with credit, although later +he was beaten into insensibility by Rochefort's +servants. He lost, however, the precious letter +his father had given him to M. de Treville, +Captain of the King's Musketeers. Nevertheless, +that same day he rode to the St. Antoine Gate of +Paris, sold his horse, and on the day following +presented himself in the antechamber of M. de +Treville. +</p> + +<p> +There he meets the three famous musketeers, +Athos, Aramis and Porthos. Louis XIII is King +of France, Anne of Austria is Queen, and +Cardinal Richelieu is as powerful a leader as +either of them. So begins the thrilling series of +romances in which d'Artagnan appears, the whole +series being the masterpiece of Alexandre Dumas. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Three Musketeers</i> is the first story about +d'Artagnan. The second is called <i>Twenty Years +After</i>; the third, <i>Vicomte de Bragelonne</i>. In the +second story, Louis XIII has died and Anne of +Austria is regent. Her chief minister is Mazarin. +We see in his youth the young king who is to be +the famous Louis XIV. But the really important +characters are d'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and +Porthos; the Vicomte de Bragelonne, who is +dearly loved by these four heroes, is Athos' son. +</p> + +<p> +French history is shown by Dumas to have a +curious relation to English history. But the +connection is more or less imaginary. When we read +these stories, it is possible that we may obtain +some idea of French history, even of English +history. We see brilliant scenes of colour, +romance and intrigue. We read of triumphs, +catastrophes and great occasions. But what really +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P61"></a>61}</span> +matters are d'Artagnan's splendid wit and +audacity, the silent dignity of Athos, the subtlety +of Aramis, and the marvellous strength of +Porthos. +</p> + +<p> +These four form a heroic comradeship. They +help, support, rescue and defend each other. +Danger follows danger. Intrigue leads to +intrigue. D'Artagnan never fails in strategy, nor +Athos in nobility. When any one of the four is +sorely pressed, the others are certain to appear +before the danger becomes overwhelming. There +are many famous episodes in these stories, the +recovery by d'Artagnan and his man Planchet of the +Queen's diamond studs, the release from prison of +the Duc de Beaufort by means of a colossal pie +in which are concealed ropes and daggers, the +kidnapping of General Monk by d'Artagnan and his +followers disguised as fishermen, the epic of the +death of Porthos, who is one of the strongest +heroes to be found in any romance. +</p> + +<p> +When we read such stories as these written by +Dumas we are made to feel light-hearted. He is +gay and witty, while under wit and gayety he +hides a tender heart. The man who wrote the +stories is himself frank, kind and generous, and +we discover the same frankness, kindness and +generosity in the pages of his romances. His +writing is characterized by speed, directness and +clearness. It has been said, and no doubt truly, +that sometimes a person suffering from homesickness +has been so invigorated mentally by reading +one of Dumas' stories that the fit of homesickness +has been cured. +</p> + +<p> +Dumas was something of a giant physically, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P62"></a>62}</span> +like Porthos. Indeed, it is thought that he may +have made Porthos a partial portrait of himself +and of his father, who also was a large man and +very powerful. Dumas' grandfather, a Frenchman, +had left France for St. Domingo and there +had married a native of the island, a coloured +woman. Dumas inherited the physical characteristics +of his father who was like his St. Domingan +mother. The vivacity and gaiety we find in +the works of Dumas may have come in part at +least from his grandmother. His mother was left +a widow early and she and her children lived in +great poverty. Dumas' immense vitality and high +spirits conquered many obstacles. We enjoy +reading about d'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and +Porthos all the more for knowing that the writer +who invented them and wrote of them so gayly, +was a brave man. +</p> + +<p> +Romance carries us easily from one country to +another. Yet a second noted writer of romance, +in some ways more gifted than Dumas, is also a +Frenchman, Victor Hugo, generally considered +greater as a poet than as a writer of prose. Two +of his books, <i>Notre Dame de Paris</i>, and <i>Les +Misérables</i>, belong to the famous books of the +world and may be read in the French original, +preferably of course, or in an English translation. +</p> + +<p> +Hugo's romances, as well as the romantic stories +of Dumas, were inspired to a certain extent by the +novels of Sir Walter Scott. But in Scott we find +ourselves in the sunlight of a reasonable and +happy world. The atmosphere of Hugo's stories +one might compare to that of stormy days, +illuminated by flashes of lightning. The romance of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P63"></a>63}</span> +<i>Notre Dame de Paris</i> is dominated by a vision of +the cathedral in Paris which seems in the story far +greater and larger than it is actually. Some day +you may see the cathedral for yourselves, but +before doing so, read Hugo's story. It imparts +to the famous cathedral an air of wonder and +mystery which proves to us Hugo's remarkable +powers as a writer. Round Notre Dame he +gathers as strange a multitude of people as can be +found in any story, the beautiful gypsy dancer +Esmeralda, her goat Djali, the terrible dwarf +Quasimodo, the swarm of beggars, with their +beggar king, Claude Frollo, Captain Phoebus, +Pierre Gringoire, and the unhappy recluse Gudule. +</p> + +<p> +An even more remarkable romance by Victor +Hugo is named <i>Les Misérables</i>. The book is more +than a story. Hugo brings in so many affairs +outside the story itself that when we have finished +the book we feel as if we had read part of the +history of the world. You remember the strong +impulse to heal and relieve the distresses of +humanity which we found in the novels of Charles +Dickens. The same powerful motive is seen in +action in these romances by Victor Hugo. Perhaps +there are few books in which we can find +explained so clearly the problems, distresses and +poverty of the older and more crowded countries +of the continent of Europe as they existed at the +time of the story. Hugo means to awaken our +pity and he does so. Jean Valjean, the escaped +convict of <i>Les Misérables</i>, is condemned by harsh +and wicked laws, yet he becomes the soul of +tenderness and goodness. For his sake, and for +the sake of the good Bishop Myriel who first +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P64"></a>64}</span> +showed Jean Valjean what love and forgiveness +mean, we should read some part at least of <i>Les +Misérables</i>; or we may be able to find someone who +has read Hugo's immensely long novel and is +willing to tell us the story of Jean Valjean. +</p> + +<p> +It is difficult to imagine a sharper contrast to the +writings of Victor Hugo than the gay, youthful, +carefree stories which Robert Louis Stevenson +wrote for young people. Yet Stevenson admired +Hugo greatly, and was as well one of the most +loyal adherents of Dumas. Stevenson wrote +<i>Treasure Island</i> to help his step-son, Lloyd +Osbourne, then a boy of twelve years old, through +rather a dull and lonely holiday spent near +Braemar in the north of Scotland. Stevenson's +father, an old man with a boy's heart, used to listen +to the story when it was read aloud in the +afternoons as soon as each chapter was written, one +chapter a day. It was Thomas Stevenson, the +father, who wrote out the list of the contents of +Billy Bones' sea chest. +</p> + +<p> +Robert Louis Stevenson loved adventure, and +this is one of the reasons why <i>Treasure Island</i> +is such a delightful story. First, he and Lloyd +Osbourne drew the map that you will find at the +beginning of <i>Treasure Island</i>. Then the story +begins, told by Jim Hawkins, whose mother kept +an inn, the Admiral Benbow. To the inn comes +Billy Bones, bringing his sea chest. Later one +old sailor after another arrives, the most terrifying +of all being the blind man Pew, who felt his +way tapping with a stick. Soon it appears there +is hidden treasure to be found. Jim Hawkins, +Dr. Livesay and Squire Trelawney sail away on the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P65"></a>65}</span> +<i>Hispaniola</i>, but many of the crew on board, led +by John Silver, mean to take the treasure for +themselves. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Treasure Island</i> is one of the best stories of +adventure ever written for young people. What +happens on board the <i>Hispaniola</i> and at the island +is waiting hidden in the pages of the story for you +to read. +</p> + +<p> +Robert Louis Stevenson was born in the city of +Edinburgh, which was also Sir Walter Scott's +native city. He was a brave, very lovable person. +All his life, he was more or less of an invalid. +But he did not allow ill-health to make much +difference to his way of living. He kept on working, +and as you know, his work was writing. There is +nothing about his books which would make any +one think he was an invalid. Finally, he and his +wife went to live at Samoa in the South Seas, +where the climate suited him, and he was able to +lead a more active life than had been possible for +some time. He was engaged in writing what is +judged to be his best work, a novel called <i>Weir +of Hermiston</i>, when he died. Of the many books +that Stevenson wrote, two others besides <i>Treasure Island</i> +are especially interesting to boys and +girls, <i>Kidnapped</i>, and its continuation <i>Catriona</i>. +Together, the two stories make one volume, called +<i>David Balfour</i> after the hero. +</p> + +<p> +Swiftly moving, gay, gallant, easy to read, sweet +and sound at heart as the kernel of a nut, Robert +Louis Stevenson's romantic adventurous stories +belong more completely than most books of fiction +to the world of youth. He wrote <i>A Child's +Garden of Verse</i>, <i>Underwoods</i>, and <i>Ballads</i>, as +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P66"></a>66}</span> +well as other novels, <i>Prince Otto</i>, <i>Dr. Jekyll +and Mr. Hyde</i>, and <i>The Master of Ballantrae</i>. +Stevenson's essays are much thought of; and he +was an individual and delightful letter-writer. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0211"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P67"></a>67}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XI +<br><br> +ROBINSON CRUSOE—LORNA DOONE—HEREWARD—WESTWARD +HO!—ROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY +DAYS—TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER +THE SEA—MIDSHIPMAN EASY—PETER +SIMPLE—TWO YEARS BEFORE THE +MAST—THE GOLDEN DOG +</h3> + +<p> +Let us stop for a little while to consider why +we enjoy ourselves so much when we read +stories of romance and adventure. Indeed, +books of this character are fascinating to almost +everyone. +</p> + +<p> +You have read of the magic carpet which belongs +to the world of fairy tales. One had only to +stand on the carpet and wish one's self in any part +of the world, to travel where one wanted to be in +a flash. Many of us would like to travel to strange +countries, learn foreign customs, see uncommon +sights and listen to marvels of which we have +not known before. Stories of romance and +adventure enable us to visit, as it were, all parts of +the known world; we can even imagine ourselves +in unknown worlds by means of their assistance. +So, in a real sense it is true that the magic of a +good book of adventure is like that of the carpet in +the story; it can carry us anywhere. +</p> + +<p> +But perhaps the most enjoyable quality we find +in such books is the power they have to give us a +sense of holiday. We turn to the first page of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P68"></a>68}</span> +whatever book of adventure we may happen to +choose, and then in a moment we are away with +the hero, travelling swiftly by sea or land, +wandering on foot, fighting battles, in peril from +robbers, helping the distressed, finding treasure, +climbing mountains, or lost in the desert. We are +exactly the kind of people we want to be and we +have a share in all kinds of wonderful happenings. +</p> + +<p> +The adventures in these books may not always +seem probable, or, as people say, true to life. But +this makes very little difference fortunately in +romantic and adventurous stories which have a +splendid truth of their own. The truth belonging +to these stories is that the bravery, strength, +resourcefulness, generosity, honour and chivalry of +which we read are among the finest qualities in the +world; these qualities, with patience and +persistence added, can actually sometimes achieve the +seemingly impossible happenings related to us. +</p> + +<p> +A moment ago, we spoke of being lost in the +desert. You very probably know that a book +called <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> is the most famous story +ever written about being cast away on an +uninhabited island. Indeed, ever since Daniel Defoe +wrote the story everyone who likes speculating +what he would do if this or that happened, has +tried to imagine what it would be like to live alone +by oneself. We can make a game of writing down +what we think we really could not do without under +such circumstances. But Daniel Defoe, basing his +story partly on the actual experiences of a man +called Alexander Selkirk, has played this game +better than anyone else is ever likely to play it. +<i>Robinson Crusoe</i> is a wonderful story, so vivid, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P69"></a>69}</span> +convincing and reasonable, that it might be the +actual journal of a man, a very practical and +clever man cast wholly on his own resources, with +the never failing bounties of nature on which he +may draw. +</p> + +<p> +Robinson Crusoe had been many years on the +island before he found one day, marked on the +sand, the print of a naked foot. Imagine how he +must have looked at it! Of course he knew that +it had been made by a savage, and so it was. +Eventually, he is visited by these savages. He +rescues one of them; and because Friday was the +day of the week on which the man was rescued, +Robinson Crusoe called him Friday. He was a +gentle, kind, good fellow who served Robinson +Crusoe faithfully all the rest of his life. It was +thirty-five years before Robinson Crusoe was able +to return to England; eventually a ship came to +the island. There is a second part of the story +which relates further adventures. One of the best +parts of the narrative is its peaceful ending which +tells us that at last the hero found happiness and +contentment after all his wanderings. +</p> + +<p> +It is interesting to know some of the facts +concerning the people who have written the books we +are reading. Daniel Defoe wrote this great story +of adventure when he was fifty-eight or fifty-nine +years old. He had had a stirring and difficult life, +had taken part in Monmouth's rebellion, had been +in prison, and had been put in the pillory, which +was an old form of punishment now properly +abolished. He was a journalist and novelist, and +wrote a great deal, especially in the form of +pamphlets. His story, <i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, was first +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P70"></a>70}</span> +published as long ago as 1719. Its popularity has +never failed since then. +</p> + +<p> +Now let us suppose that we are looking at a shelf +which holds ten books, counting <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> +as the first; all the ten are exceptionally good +stories of adventure. What are the other nine +books about and who wrote them? +</p> + +<p> +Following <i>Robinson Crusoe</i> comes a tale of +robbers, called <i>Lorna Doone</i>, which is a story of +a boy named Jan, or John, Ridd, and of a famous +outlaw family, the Doones, who lived in a beautiful, +wild glen of Exmoor, part of the romantic +English county of Devon. Richard Doddridge +Blackmore, the author, knew Exmoor and Devon +well. He had been a schoolmaster and had studied +law before he became a novelist. The date of the +story belongs to the time of James II. Blackmore +draws a wonderful picture of the English country +at that time, remote, strong, romantic and +stout-hearted. <i>Lorna Doone</i> is one of the most lovable +romances ever written. +</p> + +<p> +Jan's father was killed by the Doones when +Jan was a lad. He had to leave school and come +home to take care of his mother and sister, and +learn how to be the master of a farm. Blackmore +was skilled in all country knowledge, and he writes +truly and attractively of farm life. When Jan +was a small boy he saw Lorna, an orphan and a +lovely child, who was of the same kindred as the +Doones but not like them in heart or disposition. +Jan Ridd grows up a giant. He is a great fighter, +and brave, clean and generous, a hero of the +people. We love to read of Dunkery Beacon, of the +great snow storm, of Jan's long contest with the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P71"></a>71}</span> +wicked Doones, of Tom Faggis, the highwayman, +and his mare Winnie, of Jan's mother and sister, +of the lovely Lorna who is brought by Jan at last +home to the farm, and finally of Jan's great fight +with Carver Doone. +</p> + +<p> +Next are two fine historical romances by Charles +Kingsley, who was rector of Eversley in +Hampshire, England, for many years. Kingsley, a +vigorous, wholehearted man whose writing is of +the same character, was the author of a number +of well-known books. He was specially interested +in history and was professor of modern history +at Cambridge in his later years. <i>Hereward the +Wake</i> is a story of the Old English. Wake means +watchful. What happy, thrilling hours boys and +girls and other people have spent with Hereward. +No one who reads this story can forget it. +<i>Westward Ho!</i> is a story of the sea. The name of its +hero is Amyas Leigh. He sails away with +adventuring ships to the Western world, but +returns to command a ship in the Armada. +</p> + +<p> +Jules Verne was a Frenchman who wrote stories +of scientific imagination. His <i>Twenty Thousand +Leagues Under the Sea</i> was written long before +the days of submarines, but in it you will find an +exciting account of what it is like to live in the +depths of the sea. Jules Verne's stories have +helped to inspire many inventors; this in itself is +a proud achievement. We may think that <i>Round +the World in Eighty Days</i> is slow travelling +compared with the speed of to-day. But when we +read the story, we will find ourselves living in an +atmosphere of haste, despatch and adventure in +travel which no writer has yet been able to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P72"></a>72}</span> +surpass. Many a lad afterwards famous has spent +long hours with Jules Verne. +</p> + +<p> +The famous Captain Marryat has taught us +more, probably, about the sea, the navy and +fighting ships than any other writer of stories of +adventure. Frederick Marryat was born in +England of Huguenot ancestry in the year 1792. He +belonged to a family of fifteen children and seems +always to have been of a stirring, restless +disposition. More than once, he ran away from home +or school to go to sea, giving as an excuse that he +had to wear his elder brother's old clothes. He +was not a particularly attentive student, although +a story is told that he was once discovered standing +on his head, in order, he explained, to see if +he could learn one of his lessons better in that +position. He had tried, so he said, for three +hours to learn the lesson in the more usual +attitude. This of course was one of young Frederick +Marryat's little jokes. He entered the King's +Navy in 1806 as a midshipman when he was +fourteen years old. It was his good fortune to be +under a very fine type of Captain, Lord Cochrane, +the Earl of Dundonald, an able, fearless and +upright person. In many of Marryat's stories, we +find that his captains are like the Earl of +Dundonald. Marryat's promotion in the Navy was +rapid. These were the years of the great +Napoleonic Wars. He had reached the rank of +Commander by the end of the war in 1815 when +he was only twenty-three, having seen much smart +service. Later, he was given the responsible task +of mounting guard over Napoleon. +</p> + +<p> +Two of Marryat's best known and most interesting +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P73"></a>73}</span> +stories are <i>Midshipman Easy</i> and <i>Peter +Simple</i>. These give interesting, authentic, and +exciting accounts of life at sea from the point of +view first of a midshipman, and then of a young +officer in command. Farce, fun, reality and +strange adventure are so blended that we can +almost imagine we hear the splash of waves, smell +the salt tang of the sea, and experience the +nerve-racking excitement of going into action. There is +occasionally a quality of coarseness in Marryat's +stories, but they are honest, straightforward and +brave. We learn from them with unmistakable +clearness that the world is not a place where +people are pampered and made much of, but a scene +of discipline and hard work, as well as of fun and +adventure. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Two Years Before the Mast</i>, by Richard Henry +Dana, is a narrative of the American merchant +service, as well known in its way as Captain +Marryat's stories of the Navy. Young Dana was +at Harvard University when, on account of his +eyesight, he became unable to study. He had had +a wish to be a sailor previously, but his father had +not approved. Young Dana felt now that a long +voyage would re-establish his health. He shipped +as a sailor before the mast, and sailed from the +port of Boston in the year 1834 on the brig +<i>Pilgrim</i>. He returned two years later in the <i>Alert</i>, +having kept a full and careful log of his voyages. +Re-entering Harvard University he found time +during his studies to prepare the manuscript of +his book which was published in New York, 1840. +The year following, an English edition appeared, +and was bought up by the naval authorities for +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P74"></a>74}</span> +distribution on the Queen's ships. <i>Before the +Mast</i> is a plain, simple narrative of the daily life +of a sailor on a merchant ship. It tells of many +hardships, some of which have been remedied +since the publication of the book. It has been +called "A voice from the forecastle". Dana's +accounts of rounding Cape Horn are wonderfully +vivid, and all the descriptions of California in its +early days are enthralling. <i>Before the Mast</i> is a +remarkably interesting and realistic narrative; it +is, however, a book of travel rather than a story +of adventure. The incidents are plainly in no case +imaginary. +</p> + +<p> +A book about Canada of a wholly different +character is a well-known historical romance, <i>The +Golden Dog</i>, written by William Kirby. This is a +tale of early days in the beautiful, romantic city of +Quebec when some of the colour and glory of the +French court was reproduced on western soil. +<i>The Golden Dog</i> has not a little romantic charm. +Many readers have been puzzled and attracted by +the rhyme which in all likelihood first gave Kirby +the idea for his story. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + I am a dog that gnaws his bone,<br> + I couch and gnaw it all alone—<br> + A time will come, which is not yet,<br> + When I'll bite him by whom I'm bit.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +The lines have been translated from the French. +Here are the words of the original. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Je suis un chien qui ronge l'os,<br> + En le rongeant je prends mon repos.<br> + Un temps viendra qui n'est pas venu<br> + Que je mordrai qui m' aura mordu.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P75"></a>75}</span> +</p> + +<p> +A rude carving of the dog and his bone, with the +lines cut above and underneath, is to be seen still +on a building in Quebec City. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0212"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P76"></a>76}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XII +<br><br> +LAVENGRO—THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS—TOM +SAWYER—HUCKLEBERRY FINN—KIM—SARD +HARKER—THE LIVING FOREST +</h3> + +<p> +We occasionally meet an odd person, +someone out of the common, who is not like +other people. Books can be odd too, not +like other books, but strikingly individual, and +interesting for the very reason that they are odd. +<i>Lavengro</i>, written by a man with out-of-the-way +knowledge of many things, whose name was +George Borrow, is a book of this description. +</p> + +<p> +Possibly not everyone who tries to read +<i>Lavengro</i> will care for it very much. As people +say, it is not a book that belongs to everybody. +Yet <i>Lavengro</i> is a great book, or at least a +remarkable one, and numbers of people find much +enjoyment in it. What those who read <i>Lavengro</i> +value in it most is a sense which it possesses of +life under the open sky. In <i>Lavengro</i> we have as +our companions the winds and the stars. Its +characters have no fixed place of abode, but are +always ready to travel on the high road which +winds away into the distance inviting us to follow +it. There is something in almost all of us which +answers to the call of the open sky and the +winding road. Even if we have no intention of +living that kind of life, a gypsy's life, we like to +read about it. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P77"></a>77}</span> +</p> + +<p> +<i>Lavengro</i> is a book about the gypsies. The +word Lavengro is romany, or gypsy, and it means +word-master. George Borrow had the gift of +learning languages easily and knew many +different languages. The gypsies therefore called +him <i>Lavengro</i>. +</p> + +<p> +There is a famous passage in the book, which +you will find at the very end of chapter twenty-five, +that gathers up the charm of the narrative, +or story, in a few words. Here it is: +</p> + +<p> +"Life is sweet, brother." +</p> + +<p> +"Do you think so?" +</p> + +<p> +"Think so!—There's night and day, brother, +both sweet things; sun, moon, and stars, brother, +all sweet things; there's likewise a wind on the +heath. Life is very sweet, brother; who would +wish to die?" +</p> + +<p> +"I would wish to die—" +</p> + +<p> +"You talk like a gorgio—which is the same as +talking like a fool—were you a Romany Chal +you would talk wiser. Wish to die, indeed!—A +Romany Chal would wish to live for ever!" +</p> + +<p> +"In sickness, Jasper?" +</p> + +<p> +"There's the sun and the stars, brother." +</p> + +<p> +"In blindness, Jasper?" +</p> + +<p> +"There's the wind on the heath, brother; if I +could only feel that, I would gladly live forever. +Dosta, we'll now go to the tents and put on the +gloves; and I'll try to make you feel what a sweet +thing it is to be alive, brother!" +</p> + +<p> +Jasper Petulengro, the chief of the Smith tribe +of gypsies, and Lavengro, who are the two men +speaking, were skilled boxers and liked to box +with each other. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P78"></a>78}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Notice how sharply we can distinguish the +difference between the points of view of the two men. +Lavengro, or Borrow, wants in the future something +better and more perfect than he has in his +present life, but Jasper loves everything as it is, +and wants to live the same kind of life always. +There is truth in both points of view. We all +long for perfection. But, certainly, Jasper is +right when he sees and feels the deep, intense +beauty and ecstasy which live in nature and which +we feel in the wind on the heath, the sky, the stars, +the sun and the moon. +</p> + +<p> +This brief quotation will give you an idea of +Borrow's story at its best. Even if you have read +no more than the ending of chapter twenty-five, +you will know something of <i>Lavengro</i>, which is a +book of adventure, and yet has a very distinct +character of its own. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Last of the Mohicans</i>, by James Fenimore +Cooper, is judged to be one of the most successful +and enjoyable stories ever written about North +American Indians. You know how we can form +in our minds a picture of the great skill of the +Indian as a hunter. We can imagine an Indian +hunter stealing through the woods, treading so +lightly and carefully that he makes no noise, +bending his head to listen, able to hear sounds that to +the rest of us are inaudible, his quick eyes noting +tiny signs of broken twigs or crushed grass which +are to us invisible. This picture, which, if we +could look into other people's minds, we would +find hidden away in the thoughts of almost +everyone, the world owes largely to the author of <i>The +Last of the Mohicans</i>. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P79"></a>79}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Cooper was born in the State of New Jersey +in 1789, but, while he was still an infant, he was +taken to the State of New York. His father had +bought a large tract of land there, and in the wild +forest and on the shores of Otsego Lake, young +James Cooper learned to watch and know the +Indians. He was sent to college, but was not very +successful as a student, and before long shipped +as a sailor before the mast. For a number of +years, he had many experiences on the Great +Lakes and at sea. Finally, he gave up being a +sailor, and lived near Cooperstown. <i>The Last of +the Mohicans</i> is one of a series of five stories +known as the Leatherstocking Tales. Cooper +wrote many stories, but this series is the most +interesting. Leatherstocking himself is the white +man who has gained Indian skill and cunning as a +hunter. He is known by many names, +Leatherstocking, Natty Bumppo, Hawk-eye, and La +Longue Carabine. Part of the enjoyment we have +in reading Cooper's stories arises from the +circumstance that these stirring and exciting days +of which he writes have already almost completely +vanished and his books contain a record which is +of value historically. Read the following +description of the scout Leatherstocking. +</p> + +<p> +"His person, though muscular, was rather +attenuated than full; but every nerve and muscle +appeared strong and indurated by unremitting +exposure and toil. He wore a hunting-shirt of +forest-green, fringed with faded yellow, and a +summer cap of skins, which had been shorn of +their fur. He also bore a knife in a girdle of +wampum, like that which confined the scanty +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P80"></a>80}</span> +garments of the Indian, but no tomahawk. His +moccasins were ornamented after the gay fashion +of the natives, while the only part of his under +dress which appeared below the hunting-frock, +was a pair of buckskin leggings, that laced at the +sides, and were gartered above the knees with the +sinews of a deer. A pouch and horn completed +his personal accoutrements, though a rifle of a +great length, which the theory of the more +ingenious whites had taught them was the most +dangerous of all fire-arms, leaned against a +neighbouring sapling." +</p> + +<p> +There is something honest, strong and dependable +about Hawk-eye, besides his bravery and +skill, which makes us like and respect him greatly. +But the most heroic and romantic figure in the +book is young Uncas, who is the last of the +Mohicans. This story of danger, attack, slaughter +and peril, centering round Hawk-eye, Uncas, his +father Chingachgook, and two beautiful English +girls attempting to escape through the woods with +a young English officer, Heyward, is almost the +perfection of a story of adventure in its own +class. As an example of how thrilling the story +can be, read the account of the shooting contest in +chapter twenty-nine. +</p> + +<p> +Several generations of boys and girls have +already enjoyed <i>Tom Sawyer</i> and <i>Huckleberry +Finn</i>. Perhaps no other writer has ever +succeeded as well as Mark Twain in putting a real +boy between the covers of a book in a story. Tom +Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are not fanciful +portraits. They are exactly such boys as anyone +to-day can watch playing in a vacant lot, or down +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P81"></a>81}</span> +by a river on a raft, or up in a hay-mow, or +playing at being robbers in an old deserted shed or +house, or reading books, or telling stories, or +teasing but loving mothers and aunties, and learning +about grown-up men and life in general. <i>Tom +Sawyer</i> is the first of Mark Twain's famous books +about boys, and <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> is a continuation +of the same story. +</p> + +<p> +Tom lived with his Aunt Polly in the village +of St. Petersburg on the Mississippi. He was +the leading spirit among the boys of the place, +largely because he had an active imagination and +could devise many exciting games which often led +to real adventures. Huckleberry Finn was a boy +without a home; he had a father who was a source +of danger rather than a loving protector. In +<i>Huckleberry Finn</i>, there is the splendid story of +Jim who was a slave and ran away with Huckleberry. +As we read of their adventures, while they +floated down the Mississippi on a raft, we learn to +know and love Jim for his devotion, loyalty and +child-like nature. Huck, too, plays as fine a part +as many a hero who may appear more romantic +than this runaway boy. But you must read +<i>Huckleberry Finn</i> yourself, and find out what happened. +The great Mississippi river, mysterious, picturesque, +flowing always past their village into the +unknown south, exercised a powerful fascination on +the minds of the boys. Many of their adventures +had to do with the river, and some of the happenings +were terrifying as well as exciting. But Tom +and Huck actually did find hidden treasure and +each boy's share was put in the bank, so that the +boys had a small yearly income at the end of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P82"></a>82}</span> +first story. These two books, when we read them, +give us a curious, lasting feeling of real life and +actual happenings, probably in part because +Mark Twain, whose everyday name was Samuel +Clemens, must have been writing about his own +boyhood. When he was a boy, nothing would +satisfy him but learning to be a pilot on a +Mississippi steamboat; he was on the river for four +years. +</p> + +<p> +There are many other romantic and adventurous +stories for us to read. Make sure that the author +knows and understands what he is writing about, +otherwise it is seldom worth while to spend much +time in reading his book. Stories of romance and +adventure ought always to be brave and fearless, +kind and generous, pure and light-hearted. They +ought to make us feel that it is worth while to go +on an adventure. When these things are true of +a book, we can spend many happy hours with its +hero, no matter where he rides, or sails, or flies. +</p> + +<p> +There are three books, the work of authors who +belong to our own time, that we should not miss +reading. First comes Rudyard Kipling's glorious +story of a boy in India called <i>Kim</i>; then the poet +Masefield's story of <i>Sard Harker</i> and of the sea +and South America; and, last of the three, a fine +story of the woods and rivers of the far north, +called <i>The Living Forest</i>, written by a Canadian +artist, Arthur Heming. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0313"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P83"></a>83}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART III +<br><br> +SONGS OF HEROES, MYTHS, FAIRY TALES AND MARVELS +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P85"></a>85}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XIII +<br><br> +THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY—GREEK +HEROES—TANGLEWOOD TALES—THE WONDER BOOK +</h3> + +<p> +Once upon a time, nearly three thousand +years ago, a poet in a song which he sang +of heroes described the making of a suit of +armour. +</p> + +<p> +The poet's name was Homer. His poem is +called <i>The Iliad</i>. Some day possibly you will read +for yourselves <i>The Iliad</i> in the original Greek, for +Homer was a Greek. There are many good +translations, both in poetry and prose. The beautiful +translation known as <i>The Iliad of Homer</i>, done +into English prose by Andrew Lang, Walter Leaf +and Ernest Myers, is one of the best translations +for our present purpose. +</p> + +<p> +In Homer's day people believed in the existence +of many gods, some more important and others of +less consequence. These gods, both men and +women, imagined by the Greeks, were like human +beings, only more powerful and more beautiful. +But they were not any better than ordinary men +and women. Indeed, the gods of the Greeks were +often bad-tempered, jealous, cruel, and faithless. +The Greeks imagined that their gods had +favourites among men and women. When a battle was +raging, the gods were supposed to help one side +or the other; and in <i>The Iliad</i> you may read how +Aphrodite helped her favourite, Paris, how +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P86"></a>86}</span> +Poseidon was on the side of the Achaians, and +Apollo aided Hector. The most powerful and +important gods, of whom the greatest was Zeus, lived +on Mount Olympus. But the Greeks believed that +the sea, rivers, streams, springs, hillsides, and +trees, were the dwelling-places of various deities +or gods. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Iliad</i> is an epic of the Trojan War which +was fought between the Greeks and the Trojans. +The famous hero Achilles, who had quarrelled +with King Agamemnon, would not go to fight +himself, but he lent his armour to his noble friend +Patroklos, who drove the Trojans from the ships, +but was himself slain by Hector, son of King +Priam of Troy. Achilles was then without +armour, and Thetis, a goddess, said by the Greeks +to be the mother of Achilles, went on his behalf to +a very clever god, named Hephaistos, who was +lame, but had wonderful skill in making armour. +Hephaistos, if he had lived now, would likely have +been a great engineer. +</p> + +<p> +In the eighteenth book of <i>The Iliad</i>, we can read +a description of Hephaistos, of some of the +marvels he had made and of his meeting with +Thetis. +</p> + +<p> +Hephaistos "from the anvil rose limping, a +huge bulk, but under him his slender legs moved +nimbly. The bellows he set away from the fire, +and gathered all his gear wherewith he worked +into a silver chest; and with a sponge he wiped +his face and hands and sturdy neck and shaggy +breast, and did on his doublet, and took a stout +staff and went forth limping; but there were +handmaidens of gold that moved to help their +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P87"></a>87}</span> +lord, the semblances of living maids. In them is +understanding at their hearts, in them are voice +and strength, and they have skill of the immortal +gods. These moved beneath their lord, and he +gat him haltingly near to where Thetis was, and +set him on a bright seat, and clasped her hand in +his and spake and called her by her name." +</p> + +<p> +It is delightful to understand while we read that +the Greeks three thousand years ago were already +imagining the marvels which could be +accomplished by mankind. Many of these marvels +actually have been achieved since then, only not +exactly in the shape that the Greeks imagined. +</p> + +<p> +Hephaistos made, for Thetis to give to Achilles, +a shield and a corslet and a helmet and greaves. +He made them strong and beautiful. On the shield +he fashioned wondrous pictures of life among the +Greeks, marriage feasts, dancing, law courts, a +city besieged, armies fighting, herds of cattle, +harvesting, feasting, a vineyard, and youths and +maidens gathering grapes. If you turn to this +eighteenth book of Homer's <i>Iliad</i>, you may spend +a very happy hour reading of Hephaistos and the +armour. +</p> + +<p> +These songs made by Homer are one of the +glories of mankind. In everything he sang, there +is the special genius of the ancient Greeks, a power +to create beauty, so perfect in all its proportions +that it gives people when they read his songs a +feeling of strength and steadiness as well as joy. +Yet, it is true at the same time, that parts of <i>The +Iliad</i> and <i>The Odyssey</i> show us a world which was +savage and barbarous. +</p> + +<p> +In <i>The Odyssey</i>, Homer tells of the wanderings +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P88"></a>88}</span> +of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, on his way back from +the Trojan war to his own island on the west +coast of Greece. His adventures are as wonderful +as any that have ever been related in song or +story. The description of his home-coming, to his +wife Penelope and his son Telemachus, is one of +the stories rightly called universal, for such +stories belong to everyone. A charming part of +<i>The Odyssey</i> contains the story of Odysseus in his +wanderings coming to Scheria where King +Alcinous reigns. Nausicaa, the King's daughter, +with her maidens, had gone out in the early +morning to wash the clothes of her father, mother and +brethren, and after their labour, the princess and +her companions were playing a game of ball when +their cries of excitement woke the weary +Odysseus from his slumbers. You will find this +adventure of Odysseus in the sixth book of <i>The +Odyssey</i>, of which there is a prose translation by +S. H. Butcher and Andrew Lang. +</p> + +<p> +There are many other stories of the early +Greeks. Some of them have been re-told in three +books, written for young people. In <i>The Heroes</i> +by Charles Kingsley you may read of Perseus, +the Argonauts and Theseus. <i>Tanglewood Tales</i> +and <i>The Wonder Book</i> were written by Nathaniel +Hawthorne for his children. One of the best of +the stories in <i>The Wonder Book</i> is called The +Miraculous Pitcher, a tale of two old people, +Philemon and his wife Baucis, and of what happened +to them. These stories are not exactly +fairy-tales, because people believed in that far away +time that the gods visited them and played pranks +like boys and girls. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P89"></a>89}</span> +</p> + +<p> +These three books, <i>The Heroes</i>, <i>Tanglewood +Tales</i> and <i>The Wonder Book</i> are easy to read and +interesting. Yet, after a while, although perhaps +not for some years, you likely will find that you +would rather turn to a translation of <i>The Iliad</i> or +<i>The Odyssey</i>, so that you may read for yourself +Homer's songs telling of the world long ago in +its youth, and of these great heroes. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0314"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P90"></a>90}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XIV +<br><br> +ÆSOP'S FABLES—GRIMM's FAIRY TALES—HANS +ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES—THE ARABIAN +NIGHTS—MALORY'S MORTE D'ARTHUR +</h3> + +<p> +We know a little of the glorious gift of song +that the early Greeks themselves enjoyed +and left to coming generations of mankind. +But other countries, these countries where +men and women earliest taught themselves by +hard work, as we say, to be civilized, have also +given the world treasures of wit, wisdom and +enjoyment. +</p> + +<p> +One of the earliest forms used by men, when +they wanted to tell of some experience they had +had, was the fable. A fable is a very brief, +simple story, generally a little story about animals. +Very early in the history of mankind, men +noticed animals, watched them, saw that the animals +often acted somewhat in the same way as men did +themselves, and were delighted and amused by +their cunning and cleverness. It was natural +that people should begin by telling stories about +animals. +</p> + +<p> +Here are two fables, one of an animal trying to +get the better of another animal, and the second +of two animals helping one another. These +fables are said to have been made by Æsop. +</p> + +<p> +A wolf seeing a goat feeding on the brow of a +high precipice where he could not come at her, +besought her to come down lower, for fear she +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P91"></a>91}</span> +should miss her footing at that dizzy height; +"And moreover," said he, "the grass is far +sweeter and more abundant here below." But +the goat replied, "Excuse me; it is not for my +dinner that you invite me, but for your own." +</p> + +<p> +The second fable tells of an ant falling into a +fountain of water where he was drinking +because he was thirsty and of the ant being nearly +drowned. A dove dropped a leaf into the water +on which the ant climbed and so escaped. A man +just then had almost caught the dove in a net, but +the ant bit him on the heel, the man started, +dropped his net and the dove flew away. The fable +ends by saying that one good turn deserves another. +</p> + +<p> +Fables as a rule were first told, it is believed, +not by famous people or great writers, but more +often by ordinary people who were not rich or +learned. Perhaps they wanted to say something +about the politics of the country where they lived, +or about some ruler who was a tyrant. They did +not wish to get into trouble, so they put what they +wanted to say into a little story. +</p> + +<p> +Tradition tells us that Æsop, the most famous +maker of fables, was a slave, very misshapen in +body, and that he stammered when he spoke. +There is a collection of Æsop's and other Fables +in Everyman's Library. Read some of these +little stories and remember how men, who were not +as free or as safe as we are to-day, made these +fables which are full of laughter, good temper, +and keen wit, and which are very wise. We can +learn a great deal from fables, and we can enjoy +them at the same time. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P92"></a>92}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Fairy tales are probably almost as old as +fables. We all know how delightful fairy tales can +be. Who would do without Jack the Giant +Killer, or Cinderella, or Silver Locks, or Blue +Beard, or Puss-in-Boots? You can add many +more to the list. Some fairy tales are very old, +but others are modern. People sometimes say +that fairy tales are not true. In a sense, perhaps, +they are right; that is, we do not expect to see +Jack cutting down and conquering a giant in a +day. Yet the men who have perfected telegraph, +telephone and radio have overcome in a real way +the giant distance, and other men and women are +conquering daily, little by little, the great giant +disease. +</p> + +<p> +The everyday world we live in is as wonderful +as a fairy tale, perhaps more wonderful. Whenever +we find in a fairy tale, or in any other way, +a sense of the wonder of the world, and of life, +this is a very great gain, because then we know +that we are really seeing clearly, and understanding +what we see. Most of all, perhaps, fairy tales +are meant to show us how beautiful the world is. +</p> + +<p> +There are many good collections of fairy tales. +The long series of which Andrew Lang was editor +contains an excellent selection. Grimm's +<i>Fairy Tales</i> are among the most famous in the +world. Jacob and William Grimm were two +brothers, both of whom were learned professors. +Early in the nineteenth century, they published a +book of fairy tales which they had gathered by +listening to stories told in the nurseries and by +the firesides of their own country, Germany. One +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P93"></a>93}</span> +of the prettiest of these stories is Snow-Drop and +the Seven Dwarfs. +</p> + +<p> +Hans Andersen is, perhaps, the best loved of +all the writers of fairy stories. He was born in +Odense in Denmark in 1805, and was a very poor +boy. But he made a toy theatre for his amusement, +and no doubt began to make his stories at +the same time. He wrote other books, but his +<i>Fairy Tales</i> are by far his best work. Hans +Andersen was a genius. His stories have such power +to touch our hearts that we want to be kind and +true and modest, following the example of his +heroes and heroines. The world, especially the +world of homes, would be a poorer place if Hans +Andersen had never written The Wild Swans, +The Red Shoes, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The +Little Match Girl, and especially The Ugly +Duckling. +</p> + +<p> +Many of the most wonderful tales of magic +come out of the East. The people of Arabia and +Egypt are gifted narrators of stories. We owe +them our vast enjoyment of the stories in <i>The +Arabian Nights</i>. These stories are very old +indeed; many of them must have come in the first +place from Persia and India. Egypt supplies +much of what we call local colour. The stories +were gathered together from different sources, +probably between 1450 and 1500; England then +was engaged in the long struggle know as the +Wars of the Roses. It was not until 1704 that +Europeans first could read <i>The Arabian Nights</i>. +At that time a French professor, Antoine Galland, +published a French translation of a book of +Arabic stories. It is odd to think that children +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P94"></a>94}</span> +of the English-speaking world did not know of +Ali Baba, or Sindbad, or Aladdin, until the time +of the reign of Queen Anne. Now we all can +listen to the beautiful Schehera-zade telling her +thousand and one tales to her husband, the great +sultan Schah-riar, so that she would not be +executed before the last of the stories was finished. +Schah-riar was a tyrant, and a very spoiled +person. But Schehera-zade was clever and resourceful, +and in the end saved herself. These strange +stories of giants, genii, caliphs, and lovely +princesses are among the most famous in the world. +</p> + +<p> +We come now to a different kind of book, <i>Morte +d'Arthur</i>, stories of King Arthur of Britain and +his Knights of the Bound Table. These stories +Scott used to read when he was a boy, and so did +many another lad of genius who, when he was +older, never forgot the chivalry and the glory of +Malory's great book. It may seem a curious book, +perhaps, to many of you when you first look at +it, for it is written in an older English than the +words we use; and the customs and the people +may appear strange and hard to understand. Sir +Thomas Malory, who collected the stories and +translated most of them from French into +English, is supposed to have been a Lancastrian +knight who was thrown into prison in the Wars of +the Roses and kept there long years. He spent +that weary time copying out by hand, for then +there were no printing presses, the book we know +as <i>Morte d'Arthur</i>. Malory finished his work +in 1470. Not long after his death, the manuscript +was brought to Caxton, who was the first great +printer in England, and Caxton printed the book +in 1485. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P95"></a>95}</span> +</p> + +<p> +These are stories of heroes, in some far away +sense like <i>The Iliad</i> and <i>The Odyssey</i>, but they +are written in a wonderful prose, not like +Homer's even more wonderful poetry. There is, +however, a great change in the lives of heroes between +the days of Homer and the days of Malory. Let +us take one of Malory's stories, and try to see +what the change is. +</p> + +<p> +The seventh book of <i>Morte d'Arthur</i> tells the +story of Beaumains, who was Gareth of Orkney +in disguise, and of how he won his knighthood. +Like many other young men of that time, Gareth +wanted to be one of King Arthur's Knights. +Gareth was well-born and wealthy, but he wished to +win honour and glory—what Malory calls +worship—by worthy deeds, so he came in disguise to +Arthur's Court. +</p> + +<p> +He asked three petitions, and the King granted +them. The first was that he might be given +food and drink and lodging for a year. At +the end of that time, he would ask for his other +two petitions. Sir Kay, who was the steward, +thought only a poor-spirited fellow would ask for +meat and drink, so he gave him lodging and food +with the boys in the kitchen, and called him +Beaumains, fair hands, or as people sometimes say +now lily fingers. Beaumains waited the year, +then a damsel came asking for a knight to rescue +her lady who was besieged in a castle, but she +would not tell her name. King Arthur said he +would not let any of his knights go unless she told +the name. Then Beaumains made his other petitions. +The first was that he might be commissioned +to go with the damsel and rescue the lady, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P96"></a>96}</span> +and the second that he might joust with the great +knight, Sir Launcelot of the Lake, and win +knighthood from him. King Arthur gave his consent. +Beaumains jousted with Sir Launcelot and won +his knighthood. But the damsel was very angry, +and said she had been given only a kitchen page. +Beaumains went with her in spite of her angry +abuse, fought with many knights and overcame +them, and finally rescued the Lady Lionesse who +was the damsel's sister. The damsel's name was +Linet. Thus Sir Gareth won great honour and +worship. +</p> + +<p> +What really is this honour—the worship of +which Malory writes? Knighthood was won by +being brave, and by doing mighty deeds. But +the true spirit of knighthood—the very essence of +it, as we say—is shown by one test; the deeds +must be unselfish. The knight was a rescuer; he +was a righter of other people's wrongs. When +King Arthur lived, people had begun to learn that +the most heroic life is the self-sacrificing life. +When Linet was abusing Beaumains, and telling +him that he would never accomplish the great +adventure on which his hopes were set, the only +answer he made to her was, "I shall assay." This +means, "I shall try." It was a noble answer. +There is still only one way of winning true honour +by unselfish deeds. First, one must have the +desire, then those who desire must also try. As +Beaumains said, "I shall assay." +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0315"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P97"></a>97}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XV +<br><br> +ALICE IN WONDERLAND—THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS—THE +GOLDEN AGE—WIND IN THE WILLOWS—FOUR +BOOKS BY A. A. MILNE—RIP VAN WINKLE +</h3> + +<p> +The story begins with a chapter called Down +the Rabbit-Hole. Alice was feeling sleepy, +you remember, when suddenly she saw a +white rabbit with pink eyes running by close +beside her. She thought nothing of that. She was +not surprised even when she heard the rabbit saying +to itself, "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too +late!" But when the rabbit took a watch out of +its waist-coat pocket, looked at it and then +hurried on, Alice started to her feet, ran across the +field, and was just in time to see the Rabbit pop +down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge. +</p> + +<p> +The name of the story, as most of you know, +is <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>. All over the +English-speaking world, children, and older people as +well, seem to know Alice. +</p> + +<p> +When you hear someone talking about the Mad +Hatter at the tea party, or a blue caterpillar +smoking a hookah, or the Duchess losing her temper, +or the cat vanishing but the smile remaining, +and you ask what it means, you will be told, if you +have not guessed already, that all these odd +phrases belong to <i>Alice in Wonderland</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Alice followed the White Rabbit down the hole, +falling down a very long way without hurting +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P98"></a>98}</span> +herself a bit. Then she found herself in a hall where +there was a three-legged table with a tiny gold +key on it, and she discovered a little door that she +opened with the tiny gold key, but she was too big +to go through the door, although she could see +that it led into the loveliest garden. Then, as you +may remember, she found a bottle with "Drink +me" printed on it, and when she saw that it was +not marked poison, she tasted it, and since it had +a very good taste, she drank it all, and after that +she was only ten inches high. Then she had +forgotten the key, and now she was too small to reach +to the top of the table, but under the table she saw +a glass box and in the box a cake with "Eat me" +marked on it beautifully in currants. And so, +finally, with the help of the cake, and then with +the help of a fan, of which you must read for +yourselves, Alice found her way into the garden; +and after that she had the most curious adventures. +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps no one can explain the exact reason +why we enjoy <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> so much. The +story is so precisely what we should like it to be, +that we take it as it is, and hurry on through its +pages in a sort of breathless happiness, wanting +to know only what comes next. There is nothing +puzzling or difficult in the story, no hidden +meanings, nothing to make one sad or discontented, +only laughter and curious, amusing incidents. +It is a perfect story about the strange +adventures of a little girl, and most people find +delight in it. There is a sequel to the story of +Alice, called <i>Through the Looking-Glass</i>. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P99"></a>99}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Lewis Carroll is the name you will find printed +on the title pages of these stories, but this is a pen +name. The author's real name was Dodgson. He +did not like people to know that he wrote +children's books. Lewis Carroll seems to have been +a quiet, shy man, a mathematician who wrote +difficult books for students, but he was wonderfully +fond of children and understood how to write +stories that they would like. +</p> + +<p> +Most of the books spoken of in this chapter +ought to be read aloud. They are generally called +children's stories, but without exception they are +also books that are loved and keenly enjoyed by +older people. You will not need to think of giving +them up when you grow older. They really belong +to all ages. If you take the trouble to learn +how to read aloud well, perhaps you may be the +first to read <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> to some small +person, younger than you are. It is great pleasure +to introduce anyone to a really delightful book. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Golden Age</i> and <i>The Wind in the Willows</i> +are two stories written for boys and girls by +Kenneth Grahame. The first story is about Harold, +Charlotte, Edward, Selina, and the boy who tells +the story. They lived with their uncles and aunts +in a small town or village. The children, +perhaps, were rather lonely, but they made games +and adventures for themselves, and it is pleasant +to read about them. They had pets like many +other children, and they made games from the +books they were reading, like <i>The Arabian +Nights</i>, and the <i>Story of Ulysses</i>, and <i>King +Arthur and his Round Table</i>. <i>The Golden +Age</i> is an English story. It is one of the books +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P100"></a>100}</span> +that will tell you accurately and delightfully of +the lives of boys and girls who live in the +country in England, in the same way that <i>Tom +Sawyer</i> and <i>Huckleberry Finn</i> tell us about boys in +the United States. But, of course, we know that +all boys in the States do not live as Tom and +Huckleberry did. Girls and boys in England live +in different ways also. It depends a good deal +on the part of the country the author is writing +about and on the circumstances of the families to +which the boys and girls belong. Miss +L. M. Montgomery's stories of Prince Edward Island +in the same way tell a good deal about the lives +of boys and girls in Canada. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> is a wise, delightful +and amusing story about animals,—a mole, a rabbit, +a water rat, a badger, an otter, a toad, hedgehogs, +field mice, stoats and weasels. We hear a +good deal about birds too, especially swallows. +Toad, Badger, Mole and Water Rat were great +friends, and we are as much interested in their +doings as if they were friends of ours as well. +</p> + +<p> +Books have many curious and strange characteristics. +Some books, as we have learned, live +for thousands of years. Homer's songs and the +books of the Bible were kept at first, not in print, +but in various other ways. But, now-a-days, +hundreds of books are printed every year which in a +little while are forgotten and no one reads them +again. It is deeply interesting to ponder over +what makes a book live. We think we can +recognize sometimes which of the new books will +continue to be read, and which, although they may +be pleasant enough to read once, are not likely to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P101"></a>101}</span> +be known for more than a few years. The truth +is that no one can foretell accurately how long a +book will last, or which books will last longest. +For instance, it is not likely that when Lewis +Carrol wrote <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> he had any idea +that the story would make him famous when his +other books were forgotten. Only one thing can +test this lasting quality in a book; that one thing +is time. So you can think of time, if you like, as +a great umpire deciding which books will keep on +living, and which will be forgotten. +</p> + +<p> +There are four little books that have been +written in the last few years which may last a long +while, although, of course, no one can be sure +about this until time decides. These four little +books are <i>When We were Very Young</i>, <i>Winnie +the Pooh</i>, <i>Now We Are Six</i>, and <i>The House at +Pooh Corner</i>, two books in poetry and two in +prose, by A. A. Milne. They tell about Christopher +Robin and his toys. These are very delightful +books to read aloud to little people. But they +belong also to people of all ages. +</p> + +<p> +An American writer, called Washington Irving, +who was born as long ago as 1783, in New York, +once wrote a story called <i>Rip Van Winkle</i>, which +is not exactly a fairy story, or a story of magic; +and yet it has a great deal of magic in it. The +tale is about a man who was what is called a +ne'er-do-well. He liked to hunt and shoot, but not to +work. One day, he went off into the mountains +with his dog Wolf. He heard sounds like thunder, +and he met an odd, square-built old fellow who +asked him by signs to help him carry a keg up +the mountain. Then they came on a group of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P102"></a>102}</span> +men, all dressed in a by-gone fashion, who were +playing bowls. None of these men spoke to Rip +Van Winkle, who helped himself several times +from the keg, and by and by fell asleep. When +he awoke, he found his way back to the mountain +village where his home was, and discovered that +he had been asleep twenty years. <i>Rip Van +Winkle</i> is one of the very few tales of magic which +has been written of any part of the North American +continent. Most of the stories of this +character of which we have been speaking belong to +older countries. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0316"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P103"></a>103}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XVI +<br><br> +THE JUNGLE BOOKS—JUST SO STORIES—PUCK OF +POOK'S HILL—REWARDS AND FAIRIES—THE +BLUE BIRD—PETER PAN—KILMENY +</h3> + +<p> +<i>The Jungle Book</i> by Rudyard Kipling was +first published as a book in 1894. Some of +the stories had appeared in the magazine +<i>St. Nicholas</i> before that date. <i>The Second +Jungle Book</i> was published in 1895. Kipling was +born in Bombay, India, in 1865. It gives one a +wonderful, very delightful thrill to take up a book +by a new writer, whose name one has never heard +before, and after reading a little while, to find +oneself convinced that this unknown author has +unmistakable genius. Some day you will likely +have the pleasure of discovering for yourselves +a writer of, perhaps, the first rank. The +grand-fathers and grand-mothers or perhaps the fathers +and mothers of boys and girls to-day experienced +this thrill when they read for the first time one +of Kipling's short stories of India. +</p> + +<p> +Rudyard Kipling had been writing nearly ten +years, and was a well-known author, before he +published <i>The Jungle Books</i>, which are his first +books for young people. Like some other books +for boys and girls, older people are fascinated by +them also. Kipling's father, John Lockwood +Kipling, was an Englishman in the Indian Civil +Service. His mother was the daughter of a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P104"></a>104}</span> +Wesleyan minister, whose sons and daughters all have +showed distinguished ability. Kipling lived in +India when he was a child. While he was still a +small boy, he was sent home to school in England. +But from his child's recollections of India have +come pictures of Indian life, and an understanding +and interpretation of the people of that +widely-spreading, mysterious country with its +swarming population, its plains, mountains, and deep +jungles where lions, tigers and many other +animals live, which are unparalleled elsewhere in +English literature. +</p> + +<p> +Carried safely and swiftly by the magic of Kipling's +stories, we may all visit the Indian jungle, +hear Shere Khan, the tiger, roar, stand with the +Lone Wolf on the Council Rock, learn to know +Bagheera, the Black Panther, Baloo, the bear, +Hathi, the elephant and many more of the jungle +people, as well as Father Wolf, Mother Wolf, and +the Pack. The Man cub, the boy Mowgli, is the +pattern and epitome of what every boy likes to be, +brave, resourceful, loyal, quick to see and hold +advantage, staunch in friendship, fond of play, +longing to do great deeds, and now and then +showing that he is capable. The stories of Mowgli +are collected in <i>The Jungle Book</i>. In <i>The Second +Jungle Book</i> are such stories as Rikki-tikki-tavi, +the Mongoose; the White Seal; Toomai of the +Elephants; and Her Majesty's Servants, which is a +tale of the animals of a military camp. None of +us to-day can imagine how any writer could +possibly create finer stories of animals than +Kipling has written in <i>The Jungle Books</i>. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P105"></a>105}</span> +</p> + +<p> +It is not easy to try to tell how charming and +wise are the <i>Just So Stories</i>, told in Kipling's +book for little people known by that name. Much +of the tenderness that fathers and mothers feel +for the very youngest, and that you feel for your +small brothers and sisters, if you have brothers +and sisters younger than you are, shines in these +stories. Here, too, you will find laughter, very +sweet and merry, and much wise understanding, +not only of animals and children, but of the great +world and its history. Some of the more noted +of the tales in <i>Just So Stories</i> are: How the Camel +Got His Hump; How the Rhinoceros Got His +Skin; The Elephant's Child; The Sing-Song of +Old Man Kangaroo; The Beginning of the +Armadillos; and The Cat that Walked by Himself. +There are six more stories that perhaps are as +wonderful as those which have been named. <i>Just +So Stories</i> was published in 1902. +</p> + +<p> +Kipling has written as well two books of stories +which reveal to young people in a remarkable +way the course and glory of English history. +These books could have been written only for one +reason, to help and delight Kipling's own +children. The books are called <i>Puck of Pook's Hill</i> +and <i>Rewards and Fairies</i>. Una and Dan are the +names of the children who have the adventures +told of in these books, and who see far, far back +into the past of England. With Pict, Roman, +Dane, Saxon, Norman, soldiers, peasants, Jews, +priests, Crusaders, squires, dames, knights, down +to the time of the great sea captains and Sir +Francis Drake, this famous writer unfolds the pageant +of English history in an incomparable way for +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P106"></a>106}</span> +boys and girls belonging to the twentieth century. +<i>Puck of Pook's Hill</i> appeared first in 1906; and +<i>Rewards and Fairies</i> in 1909. +</p> + +<p> +Not many years ago Maurice Maeterlinck, a +Belgian poet, wrote for every one, old and young, +a fairy play called <i>The Blue Bird</i>. You may +sometimes see the play acted in a theatre, or you +may read the scenes and acts of the play in a +book. First of all, in the book, come the names +of all the characters, and then a description of +the costumes in which they are dressed. Tyltyl +and Mytyl, a brother and sister, for the sake of +a neighbour's child, go away from home into +strange, marvellous places, looking for the blue +bird, Happiness. Tyltyl wears scarlet knickerbockers, +pale-blue jacket, white stockings, tan +shoes, which is the way Hop o' My Thumb is +dressed. Mytyl is dressed like Little Red +Riding-hood. <i>The Blue Bird</i> is a fairy story, a +wonderful story, and true, as we say, spiritually. +The brother and sister, when they are at home, +live in a wood-cutter's cottage. On their travels, +they visit the Land of Memory, the Palace of +Night, a great forest, the Palace of Happiness, a +graveyard, and the Kingdom of the Future. +Tylo, the dog, and Tylette, the cat, are two of the +most important characters; and in the play, you +will meet people called Bread, Sugar, Fire, +Water, Milk, and many more familiar to you in +everyday life, but not in the same shape. <i>The +Blue Bird</i> is a wonderful fairy play. When you +read it, you will discover whether or not Tyltyl +and Mytyl find the bluebird, Happiness. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P107"></a>107}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Everyone is likely to have heard of Peter Pan, +the boy who would not grow up. You may have +seen the play, <i>Peter Pan</i>, acted on a stage, or you +may have read the story in a book. Barrie, who +wrote the play, was born in a village in Scotland, +called Kirriemuir, in the year 1860. He is a +novelist as well as a playwright. His full name +is James Matthew Barrie, and because his novels +and plays are so pleasing, and whimsical, very +many people have a special feeling of love and +kindness for Barrie. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Peter Pan</i> is a delightful play; and the story +<i>Peter Pan</i> is almost as enjoyable. The three +Darling children, Wendy, John and Michael, are +taught by Peter Pan how to fly, and they fly away +with him to the Never-Never Land. Here are the +lost boys, Slightly, Tootles, Nibs and Curly, and +the crocodile, Captain Hook and his pirates, +mermaids, redskins, and Tinker Bell, the fairy who +is devoted to Peter Pan. In the end, the Darling +children return to their father and mother. Peter +Pan chooses to stay in the Never-Never Land; +but once a year, at the time of spring cleaning, +Wendy goes back to keep house for him for a +little while. +</p> + +<p> +So we learn that fairy stories, very wonderful +fairy stories, are still being written to-day as they +were long years ago when the world was younger. +Beauty, fantasy, and magic belong to us all. The +love of these things calls us, as it were, with a +very sweet voice, and when we hear that call—often +from a book—we recognize it as the spirit +of the fairy story. Sometimes the spirit of a +fairy tale is caught perfectly and beautifully in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P108"></a>108}</span> +a poem. You will find such a poem in the +collection known as <i>The Oxford Book of English Verse</i>. +The name of the poem is "Kilmeny", and the +name of the man who wrote it is James Hogg, or, +as he is often called, The Ettrick Shepherd. He +was a friend of Sir Walter Scott. "Kilmeny" has +the same magic that Barrie's plays show so +remarkably. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Late, late in gloamin' when all was still,<br> + When the fringe was red on the westlin hill,<br> + The wood was sere, the moon i' the wane,<br> + The reek o' the cot hung over the plain,<br> + Like a little wee cloud in the world its lane;<br> + When the ingle low'd wi' an eiry leme,<br> + Late, late in the gloamin' Kilmeny came hame!<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +You may not know what some of these words +mean. Gloaming is twilight; westlin is western; +reek is smoke; its lane means all by itself; ingle +is the open fire-place; low'd is flamed; eiry leme +is eery gleam. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0417"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P109"></a>109}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART IV +<br><br> +BALLADS, LAYS AND STORIES IN VERSE +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P111"></a>111}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XVII +<br><br> +PERCY'S RELIQUES—CHEVY CHASE AND THE BATTLE +OF OTTERBOURNE—SIR PATRICK SPENS—THE +NORTHERN MUSE +</h3> + +<p> +A ballad is a simple tale told in simple +verse. These tales in verse may be very +old, or they may have been composed only +a few years ago. But, generally speaking, the +old ballads are best. The world seems to have +lost the art of telling stories in verse as simply +and naturally as people could many hundreds of +years ago. +</p> + +<p> +The old ballads are like old fairy tales; no one +knows when they were first told or sung. It +seems likely that they were made, not by great +people or distinguished scholars, but by simple, +ordinary people, to be sung or told to other +simple, ordinary people. You will remember that +fables in the same way were likely told first by +one neighbour to another. Ballads and fairy +tales and fables, long before books or newspapers +were printed, were ways in which everyday +people handed down from fathers and mothers to +sons and daughters, chronicles and history, +learning and good advice, wise sayings, and notable +happenings. +</p> + +<p> +After a long time, very many years, people who +enjoyed these ballads, as soon as they knew how +to write, began to write them down. Apparently, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P112"></a>112}</span> +no one thought much about the songs for a while. +Then scholars who were fond of ancient songs +looked for and treasured the old ballads. One +of the first and most famous collectors of ballads +was Bishop Percy who published his <i>Reliques of +Ancient English Poetry</i> in 1765. Sir Walter +Scott's <i>Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border</i> was +published in 1802. Bishop Percy reproduced, as +part of his collection, an old manuscript of +ballads which he had rescued from being used by a +maid to light a fire. +</p> + +<p> +Ballads belong to many countries, and oddly +enough, the same stories are sometimes sung in +different words in many of these countries. In +English poetry, a number of the finest ballads +come from the borders between England and +Scotland before these two countries were joined. +"Chevy Chase" and "The Battle of Otterbourne" +were sung of raids and wars between the English +and the Scots. Other countries famous for their +ballads are Greece, France, Provence, Portugal, +Denmark and Italy. +</p> + +<p> +The ballads called "Chevy Chase" and "The +Battle of Otterbourne" perhaps have become +confused one with the other. Part of "Chevy Chase" +seems to have found its way into "The Battle of +Otterbourne". There are many different versions +of these ballads. The versions written by +English balladists tell how the English defeated +the Scots; on the other hand, the Scots versions +say that the Scots were victors. +</p> + +<p> +Here is part of "The Battle of Otterbourne", +taken from Scott's <i>Minstrelsy</i>. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P113"></a>113}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + It fell upon the Lammas tide,<br> + When the muir-men win their hay,<br> + The doughty Douglas bound him to ride<br> + Into England, to drive a prey.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + And he marched up to Newcastle,<br> + And rode it round about;<br> + "O wha's the lord of this castle,<br> + Or wha's the lady o't?"<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + But up spoke proud Lord Percy then,<br> + And O but he spake hie!<br> + "I am the Lord of this castle,<br> + My wife's the lady gay."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Lord Percy and the Douglas agreed to fight +with their men at Otterbourne in three days. +Percy wounded the Douglas to his death and the +Douglas sent for his nephew Sir Hugh Montgomery. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "My wound is deep; I fain would sleep;<br> + Take thou the vanguard of the three,<br> + And hide me by the braken bush,<br> + That grows on yonder lily lea.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "O bury me by the braken bush,<br> + Beneath the blooming brier,<br> + Let never living mortal ken<br> + That a kindly Scot lies here."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Later in the battle, Sir Hugh Montgomery and +Lord Percy fought, and Sir Hugh was the victor. +He said to Lord Percy to yield, who answered to +whom must he yield! +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Thou shalt not yield to lord or loun,<br> + Nor yet shalt thou yield to me;<br> + But yield thee to the braken bush,<br> + That grows upon yon lily lea!"<br> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P114"></a>114}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "I will not yield to a braken bush,<br> + Nor yet will I yield to a brier;<br> + But I would yield to Earl Douglas,<br> + Or Sir Hugh Montgomery, if he were here."<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + As soon as he knew it was Montgomery,<br> + He struck his sword's point in the ground;<br> + The Montgomery was a courteous knight,<br> + And quickly took him by the hand.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + This deed was done at Otterbourne<br> + About the breaking of the day;<br> + Earl Douglas was buried at the braken bush,<br> + And the Percy led captive away.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Little is known from history of the story told +in "Sir Patrick Spens". It was first published by +Bishop Percy in his <i>Reliques</i>. Princess +Margaret of Scotland was married to Prince Eric of +Norway in 1281. The ballad of "Sir Patrick +Spens" may possibly have some reference to this +historical event, but no one can say so with +certainty. We learn from the ballad that Sir +Patrick Spens was a splendid seaman, and that the +Scots king gave him a commission to sail to +Norway and bring home the king's daughter. But +it was late in the year. The waters would be +stormy; and Sir Patrick knew that he and his +men would be in peril of their lives. They sailed +to Norway, which is called Noroway in the ballad, +and had been there a week only when the lords +of Noroway began to complain that the Scots +were costly guests. Sir Patrick answered that +they had brought white money and good red gold, +more than enough to pay for all they cost, but +that he would sail immediately. His sailors told +him that they had seen signs of a storm. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P115"></a>115}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "I saw the new moon late yestreen,<br> + Wi' the auld moon in her arm;<br> + And if we gang to sea, master,<br> + I fear we'll come to harm."<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + They hadna mailed a league, a league,<br> + A league but barely three,<br> + When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud,<br> + And gurly grew the sea.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap,<br> + It was sic a deadly storm,<br> + And the waves came o'er the broken ship,<br> + Till a' her sides were torn.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Sir Patrick must have been steering the ship +himself, for he asked for a volunteer to take the +helm while he went up to the tall topmast, to see +if he could spy land. A sailor took the helm, but +Sir Patrick had only gone a step when a bolt flew +out of the good ship and the salt water came in. +They tried to stop the leak but failed, and Sir +Patrick and his men were lost. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + O lang, lang may the ladies sit,<br> + Wi' their fans into their hand,<br> + Before they see Sir Patrick Spens<br> + Come sailing to the strand.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + And lang, lang may the maidens sit,<br> + Wi' their goud kames in their hair,<br> + A' waiting for their ain dear loves,<br> + For them they'll see nae mair.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Half owre, half owre to Aberdour,<br> + 'Tis fifty fathoms deep<br> + And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens<br> + Wi' the Scots lords at his feet.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P116"></a>116}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"Sir Patrick Spens" is a wonderful old ballad. +Most of the words, old as they are, you will +understand. In the second verse quoted, lift means +sky; a gurly sea is a stormy sea. Goud kames in +the verse before the last means gold combs. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. John Buchan a few years ago made a +collection of Scottish poetry called <i>The Northern +Muse</i>. In it, you may read a number of famous +ballads. There are also many delightful old +songs which tell of the lives of ordinary folk, +or people, in their everyday work. Turn specially +to number sixty-six, which is the famous, +beautiful old song of a woman, a good wife, who +is getting ready for the homecoming of her +husband; it is called "There's nae Luck about the +House". Number sixty-eight is a song of fishing +people. These are not exactly ballads, but they +are written, as we say, almost in the same mood +as a ballad. An amusing song about a clever +small boy is number one hundred and eighty; it +is a ballad, and is called "The False Knight Upon +the Road". In days long ago people believed in +witches and wizards. +</p> + +<p> +The false knight is supposed to be a wizard. +If the small boy had not been quick enough to +give him an answer to every question, the wizard, +people thought then, might carry him away. Now +listen to the small boy. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "O whare are ye gaun?"<br> + Quo' the fause knicht upon the road:<br> + "I'm gaun to the scule,"<br> + Quo' the wee boy, and still he stude.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "What is that upon your back?"<br> + Quo' the fause knicht upon the road:<br> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P117"></a>117}</span> + "Atweel it is my bukes,"<br> + Quo' the wee boy, and still he stude.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +And so on to the end of the story. Scule, of +course, is school, and bukes are books. Stude is +stood. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0418"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P118"></a>118}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XVIII +<br><br> +THE LADY OF THE LAKE—MARMION—JOHN GILPIN—EDINBURGH +AFTER FLODDEN—HORATIUS—THE ARMADA +</h3> + +<p> +In times of war, as you know, people +sometimes have to go into hiding. Long ago, a +nobleman, Earl Douglas, who lived during +the reign of King James V of Scotland, had +offended the King, or rather some words he was +falsely reported to have uttered had been told +the King, and he was in danger of imprisonment. +Earl Douglas took refuge in the Highlands of +Scotland with his kinsman, Sir Roderick Dhu, the +head or chief of the clan Alpine, who was unwilling +to acknowledge that he owed allegiance to +anyone. Ellen Douglas, a very beautiful young +woman, shared her father's exile. As it +happened, King James went on a hunting expedition +as a knight, not a king, in the same part of his +kingdom. There he met Ellen, who had never +seen the King and did not know who he was. The +King called himself James Fitz-James. Roderick +Dhu, who is in love with Ellen, plans a rising +of his clan. Fitz-James is brave. He is in peril, +but he wishes to extricate himself without calling +on his soldiers. The story is told by Sir Walter +Scott in a poem called <i>The Lady of the Lake</i>. You +will find this romance in verse easy to read and +very interesting. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P119"></a>119}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The scene is laid in the West Highlands of +Perthshire. Much of what happens takes place +in the neighbourhood of a beautiful lake, Loch +Katrine. Scott, you will remember, is a master +in the description of romantic scenery. After +a short introduction, the story begins with an +account of stag-hunting. James Fitz-James and a +few of his men are the hunters. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + The stag at eve had drunk his fill,<br> + Where danced the moon on Monan's rill,<br> + And deep his midnight lair had made<br> + In lone Glenartney's hazel shade;<br> + But, when the sun his beacon red<br> + Had kindled on Benvoirlich's head,<br> + The deep-mouthed bloodhound's heavy bay<br> + Resounded up the rocky way,<br> + And faint, from farther distance borne,<br> + Were heard the clanging hoof and horn.<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +The tale is made to unroll itself like a picture +before our eyes. The scenes are wonderfully +picturesque, and the story is exciting. What +happens to Ellen, Roderick Dhu, young Malcolm +Graeme who also is in love with Ellen and whom +she loves, and to Fitz-James, you must discover +for yourself by reading <i>The Lady of the Lake</i>. +</p> + +<p> +But before leaving the poem, let us quote part +of the stanza which tells how in answer to +Fitz-James's wish, Roderick Dhu gives the signal +which calls his men from hiding in the glen where +he and Fitz-James are to take leave of each other. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Have then thy wish!"—he whistled shrill,<br> + And he was answered from the hill;<br> + Wild as the scream of the curlew,<br> + From crag to crag the signal flew.<br> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P120"></a>120}</span> + Instant, through copse and heath, arose<br> + Bonnets, and spears, and bended bows;<br> + On right, on left, above, below,<br> + Sprung up at once the lurking foe;<br> + From shingles gray their lances start,<br> + The bracken-bush sends forth the dart,<br> + The rushes and the willow-wand<br> + Are bristling into axe and brand,<br> + And every tuft of broom gives life<br> + To plaided warrior armed for strife.<br> + That whistle garrisoned the glen<br> + At once with full five hundred men.<br> + . . . . . . . . . . .<br> + Watching their leader's beck and will,<br> + All silent there they stood and still;<br> + . . . . . . . . . . .<br> + The mountaineer cast glance of pride<br> + Along Benledi's living side,<br> + Then fixed his eye and sable brow<br> + Full on Fitz-James—"How say'st thou now?<br> + These are Clan-Alpine's warriors true;<br> + And, Saxon,—I am Roderick Dhu!"<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<i>Marmion</i> is one of the most romantic and +moving of Scott's narratives. Lord Marmion is +a fictitious character. Scott wished to tell the +story of Flodden Field, a battle fought between +the English and the Scotch in 1513 in which the +English were victorious. It was a most disastrous +battle for the Scots, who lost their King +and the flower of their nobility. Lord Marmion, +who was an Englishman, and many among the +English, were also slain. The poem opens with a +vivid description of life in England and Scotland +in the Middle Ages. We visit a feudal castle in +England, Norham Castle, where Sir Hugh Heron +welcomes Lord Marmion. A Palmer returning +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P121"></a>121}</span> +from the Holy Land has also come to Norham Castle. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + His sable cowl o'erhung his face;<br> + In his black mantle was he clad,<br> + With Peter's keys, in cloth of red,<br> + On his broad shoulders wrought,<br> + The scallop shell, his cap did deck;<br> + The crucifix around his neck<br> + Was from Loretto brought;<br> + His sandals were with travel tore;<br> + Staff, budget, bottle, scrip, he wore;<br> + The faded palm branch in his hand<br> + Showed pilgrim from the Holy Land.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +We visit as well, by the magic of Scott's verses, +a convent, a monastery and an inn, and learn +many things of the way in which people lived in +the Middle Ages. It is in <i>Marmion</i> that we find +one of Sir Walter Scott's famous songs, "Lochinvar", +which is introduced in the fifth canto. But +the most memorable part of <i>Marmion</i> is the +description of the battle of Flodden with which +the poem concludes. The sixth canto tells the +story of the battle. Turn to the thirty-fourth +stanza of that canto, and you may read how the +Scots tried to save their king. These lines are +judged to be among the noblest that Sir Walter +Scott ever wrote. Other tales in verse by Scott +are <i>The Lay of the Last Minstrel</i>, <i>Rokeby</i>, and <i>The +Lord of the Isles</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Four stories by other writers of verse, which +you will like, and in which you will find humour +or heroic valour, are told somewhat in the fashion +of ballads or lays; we listen to them with special +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P122"></a>122}</span> +enjoyment when they are spoken by a skilled +reciter. +</p> + +<p> +The first of these is "The Diverting History of +John Gilpin", showing how he went farther than +he intended, and came safe home again. It was +written by the English poet Cowper who, although +he was often sad himself, in this story has left as +wholesome and carefree humour as anyone may +wish to discover in a story. John Gilpin was a +London citizen of long ago. His wife said that, +although they had been married twenty years, they +had never had a holiday. She proposed that they +should take her sister, and her sister's child, and +their own three children, and drive to an inn at +Edmonton not far away. But, since the carriage +would be crowded, John Gilpin was to come on +horseback. John was delayed, first by one thing, +then another, but finally got started. Then his +horse wanted to trot, and John was not a good +rider. Besides that, he had two stone bottles of +wine, one tied to each side of his leathern belt. +The horse ran away with John. He lost his wig. +The stone bottles were broken. The horse raced +past the inn at Edmonton where his wife and +children were waiting, and galloped on to its +owner's house at Ware which was ten miles +further. The friend who had lent Gilpin the horse +asked what it was all about. John, who was a +plucky, good-humoured fellow, and loved a joke, +answered him. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + I came because your horse would come,<br> + And, if I well forebode,<br> + My hat and wig will soon be here,<br> + They are upon the road.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P123"></a>123}</span> +</p> + +<p> +His friend started him back to Edmonton, but +even yet John had adventures. There was to be +no family dinner at Edmonton that day. Yet John +Gilpin at last got safe home as you may read in +Cowper's story. +</p> + +<p> +"Edinburgh After Flodden", by a writer called +Aytoun, is the story of how the people of +Edinburgh first heard the news of the great defeat. +Most people, certainly most boys and girls, must +thrill as they read the opening stanza. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + News of battle!—news of battle!<br> + Hark! 'tis ringing down the street:<br> + And the archways and the pavement<br> + Bear the clang of hurrying feet.<br> + News of battle! who hath brought it?<br> + News of triumph? Who should bring<br> + Tidings from our noble army,<br> + Greetings from our gallant King?<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +These lines are part only of the first stanza. +They are taken from the book known as Aytoun's +<i>Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Macaulay, who was a distinguished +historian, wrote a famous <i>History of England</i>. +He wrote also a number of lays, or stories in +verse. Some of the best-known are about the +deeds of the Romans, that remarkable people who +gave the world much that is great in law and +government. You likely will have heard of the +story of Horatius, who, with two others, held the +bridge over the Tiber, and saved Rome when +Lars Porsena came with an army to take the city. +It is a famous story. Read it, in Macaulay's <i>Lays +of Ancient Rome</i>. The last poem in this same +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P124"></a>124}</span> +book of lays is called "The Armada". It also tells +a thrilling tale. What a pity it would be if any +mischievous sprite were to take away and hide +the books in which are the stories written of in +this chapter! +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0419"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P125"></a>125}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XIX +<br><br> +HIAWATHA—FRENCH CHANSONS IN QUEBEC—A +CHRISTMAS SONG<br> +</h3> + +<p> +Henry Wadsworth Longfellow +was born in Portland, which is in the state +of Maine, in the year 1807. His father and +mother both belonged to families that had been +settled in the States for a number of generations. +He was of a scholarly disposition, and studied and +travelled to fit himself for writing and teaching. +He became Smith Professor of Modern Languages +at Harvard when he was twenty-seven +years old. From that time, he was closely +associated with the town of Cambridge, near Boston, +in Massachusetts. Harvard University is situated +in Cambridge. You may still visit the house +where Longfellow lived. In a pleasant small +park near the house, there is a statue of the poet. +He was fond of children, and loved to have them +near him. +</p> + +<p> +<i>The Song of Hiawatha</i> was written specially +for the delight of young people. It is a story in +verse, telling of a leader among North American +Indians, one of themselves, who was to rescue +and help his people, aiding them to clear their +fishing grounds, to find food, and to live more +comfortably and peaceably than in the past. +</p> + +<p> +Hiawatha and his people in Longfellow's story +are supposed to live on the south shore of Lake +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P126"></a>126}</span> +Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes. The +scene of the story is between the Pictured Rocks +and the Grand Sable. +</p> + +<p> +The poem begins by telling of a sweet singer +among the Indians. The singer first sings of the +Master of Life; this is a translation of the name +which to the Indians means God, Gitche Manito, +the Great Spirit. After that, he sings of the four +winds, North-wind, South-wind, East-wind, +West-wind. Then we come to Hiawatha's childhood. +He lived with his grandmother, old Nokomis. His +mother was Wenonah, but she died when +Hiawatha was born. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + By the shining Big-Sea-Water,<br> + Stood the wigwam of Nokomis,<br> + Daughter of the Moon, Nokomis.<br> + Dark behind it rose the forest,<br> + Rose the black and gloomy pine-trees,<br> + Rose the firs with cones upon them;<br> + Bright before it beat the water,<br> + Beat the clear and sunny water,<br> + Beat the shining Big-Sea-Water.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Here Hiawatha was brought up. He saw the +fire-flies, and heard the owls, and he learned to +know the name and language of all birds and +beasts. When he was old enough, Iagoo, who was +a friend of Nokomis, made him a bow and arrows, +and told him to bring home a roebuck so that +they all might have food. After this, Hiawatha +meets his father, Mudjekeewis, the West-wind, +who had gone away and left his mother. Indian +stories, like Greek stories, tell of the immortals +coming down to earth. Hiawatha had a great +struggle or contest with Mudjekeewis, who had +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P127"></a>127}</span> +deserted Wenonah, and Hiawatha, now a young +man, was such a mighty warrior that Mudjekeewis +could scarcely withstand him. At last he said to +Hiawatha, +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Hold, my son, my Hiawatha!<br> + 'Tis impossible to kill me,<br> + For you cannot kill the immortal.<br> + I have put you to this trial,<br> + But to know and prove your courage;<br> + Now receive the prize of valour!<br> + "Go back to your home and people,<br> + Live among them, toil among them,<br> + Cleanse the earth from all that harms it,<br> + Clear the fishing-grounds and rivers,<br> + Slay all monsters and magicians,<br> + All the giants, the Wendigoes,<br> + All the serpents, the Kenabeeks,<br> + As I slew the Mishe-Mokwa,<br> + Slew the Great Bear of the mountains."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +On his way home, Hiawatha was buying arrow-heads +from the arrow-maker, and there he met +and fell in love with Minnehaha. Later in the +story, you will read of Hiawatha's wooing and of +the wedding-feast. But before his wedding, +Hiawatha completes his first great service for his +people. He discovers the secret of a food, Indian +corn or maize, a new gift to the Indian nations +which was to be their food for ever. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most attractive of the Hiawatha +stories tells how he built his canoe. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Give me of your bark, O Birch-Tree!<br> + Of your yellow bark, O Birch-Tree!<br> + Growing by the rushing river,<br> + Tall and stately in the valley!<br> + I a light canoe will build me,<br> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P128"></a>128}</span> + Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing,<br> + That shall float upon the river,<br> + Like a yellow leaf in Autumn,<br> + Like a yellow water-lily!"<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +After this, we read in the story of how +Hiawatha slew Pearl-Feather, the greatest of +magicians, of many other deeds of Hiawatha, and +of his joys and sorrows. Finally, the white man +comes. Then Hiawatha is ready for his +departure; and his people greatly lament his going. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Thus departed Hiawatha,<br> + Hiawatha the Beloved,<br> + In the glory of the sunset,<br> + In the purple mists of evening,<br> + To the regions of the home-wind,<br> + Of the Northwest wind Keewaydin,<br> + To the Islands of the Blessed,<br> + To the kingdom of Ponemah<br> + To the land of the Hereafter!<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<i>Hiawatha</i>, and other stories in verse, travel +round the world in books, and boys and girls read +them in every country. But old ballads, the +simple songs sung among the peoples of different +countries, so old that no one knows how old they +are, which we read about in Chapter seventeen, +have their own ways of travelling. Some of these +ballads crossed the sea when the first settlers came, +and in parts of the North American continent +to-day, the old words and the old airs are sung by +descendants of the people who first brought them +across the ocean. Two of the places where these +ballads are still sung are in North Carolina, and +in Nova Scotia where sailors and lumberjacks sing +many shanties or songs. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P129"></a>129}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The most beautiful old songs, however, on this +continent are the French chansons of Quebec +which were brought over from France when the +French first came to Canada. Now French +settlement in Canada ceased early in the eighteenth +century, so these songs must at least be as old as +the seventeenth century. They are probably +considerably more than three hundred years old. +Various collections of the <i>chansons</i> have been +published. Many of them are happy and romantic +songs. One of the most beautiful is a Christmas +song. +</p> + +<p> +Here is the story of the song told very briefly. +Then you will find the song printed in its own +French words. If you do not know French well, +still you should try to make out the meaning of the +words. No translation can give the meaning, or +the perfume, as we sometimes say, of the beautiful +old song exactly. +</p> + +<p> +The singer meets a shepherd-maid and asks +where she has been. She answers that when she +was out walking she had come by the stable, and +had seen a miracle. What did you see? asks the +singer. She had seen a baby lying cradled on the +straw. Was he beautiful! As beautiful as the +sun. Had she seen nothing more? Mary, his +mother, who nursed her child, and Joseph, his +father, trembling with the cold. Nothing more? +The ox and the ass were near the stall, warming +with their breath the place where the baby lay. +Nothing more? Three little angels coming down +from heaven singing the praises of the Father +Eternal. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P130"></a>130}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + D'ou viens-tu, bergère,<br> + D'ou viens-tu?<br> + 'Je viens de l'étable<br> + De m'y promener;<br> + J' ai vu un miracle<br> + Ce soir arrivé.<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Qu' as-tu vu, bergère,<br> + Qu' as-tu vu?<br> + 'J'ai vu dans la crèche<br> + Un petit enfant<br> + Sur la paille frâiche<br> + Mis bien tendrement.'<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Est-il beau, bergère,<br> + Est-il beau?<br> + This beau que la lune,<br> + Aussi le soleil;<br> + Jamais dans le monde<br> + On vit son pareil.'<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Rien de plus, bergère,<br> + Rien de plus?<br> + 'Saint' Marie, sa mere,<br> + Qui lui fait boir' du lait,<br> + Saint Joseph, son père,<br> + Qui tremble de froid.'<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Rien de plus, bergère,<br> + Rien de plus?<br> + 'Ya le bœuf et l'âne<br> + Qui sont par devant,<br> + Avec leur haleine<br> + Réchauffant l'enfant.'<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Rien de plus, bergère,<br> + Rien de plus?<br> + 'Ya trois petits anges<br> + Descendus du ciel<br> + Chantant les louanges<br> + Du Père éternal.'<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0520"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P131"></a>131}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART V +<br><br> +SOME GREAT IMAGINATIVE WRITERS +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P133"></a>133}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XX +<br><br> +DANTE—CERVANTES—SPENSER +</h3> + +<p> +Dante, an Italian poet, was born in Florence, +in 1265, a long time ago, and lived in +what we call the Middle Ages. Italy then +was divided into factions who fought with each +other most of the time, and people had very +uneasy, uncomfortable lives. Once, when Dante +was a boy, he saw a girl whose name was Beatrice +Portinari. We do not know how often he saw +her; possibly even, they scarcely spoke to one +another. But he never forgot Beatrice. He +studied at more than one university, and had also +much to do with fighting. While she was still +very young, Beatrice died. She remained always +to Dante the loveliest and most lovable person he +had ever seen. Dante, however, married and +had sons and daughters. +</p> + +<p> +When he was little more than thirty years old, +Dante was exiled from Florence, and never returned +to his home, but led the life of a wanderer. +He had written other poems; in his exile he wrote +a very great poem called <i>The Divine Comedy</i>, or, +in Italian, <i>Divina Commedia</i>. The idea of the +poem is to give a picture in a vision of the life that +comes after this life; and in this way to tell us +what is truly important in our present life. +</p> + +<p> +Dante divided his poem into three parts. He +called the first part Inferno, the second part +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P134"></a>134}</span> +Purgatorio, and the third part Paradiso, following +the conceptions and beliefs of his own time. +The scenery he describes is in reality Italian +scenery. In the poem, or vision, he has two +guides, the Latin poet Virgil, whose <i>Æneid</i> is +one of the great poems of the world; and Beatrice, +who shows him the glories of Paradise. Dante +thinks of Beatrice now as an angel in heaven, who +has grown strong and more lovely, and who +teaches and helps him in many ways. +</p> + +<p> +Some day, perhaps, you will visit Italy, and if +you have not read the <i>Divine Comedy</i> before that +time, you likely will read the poem then for it +gives a true, wonderful picture of the mountainous +country of Italy. One of the best translations +of Dante's great poem is by the Rev. H. F. Cary. +It is called <i>The Vision of Dante</i>. Here is how +Beatrice, his guide, first appeared to Dante when +he met her in his vision in the Purgatorio: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + I have beheld, ere now, at break of day,<br> + The eastern clime all roseate, and the sky<br> + Oppos'd, one deep and beautiful serene,<br> + And the sun's face so shaded, and with mists<br> + Attempered at his rising, that the eye<br> + Long while endur'd the sight: thus in a cloud<br> + Of flowers, that from those hands angelic rose,<br> + And down, within and outside of the car<br> + Fell showering, in white veil with olive wreath'd,<br> + A virgin in my view appear'd, beneath<br> + Green mantle, rob'd in hue of living flame:<br> + And o'er my spirit, that in former days<br> + Within her presence had abode so long,<br> + No shudd'ring terror crept. Mine eyes no more<br> + Had knowledge of her; yet there mov'd from her<br> + A hidden virtue, at whose touch awak'd,<br> + The power of ancient love was strong within me.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P135"></a>135}</span> +</p> + +<p> +It is possible, perhaps even it is certain, that +the first time you read these lines you will not care +for them very much. After a while, when you +have read them several times, you likely will +begin to feel that the words express purity, +elevation, and an ethereal beauty which belong +only to our highest thoughts and feelings. These +are qualities which are characteristic of Dante's +writings. +</p> + +<p> +There is one other quotation from the <i>Divine +Comedy</i> that you may like to read before we leave +Dante's poem. Paradiso, the third part, naturally +is the most beautiful. Dante imagines in his +vision the blessed spirits in Paradise, singing +praises in a great choir. This choir he sees +arrayed in many circles, one circle surrounding +another circle, like the leaves of a rose. The lines +quoted are from the beginning of the thirty-first +canto: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + In fashion, as a snow-white rose, lay then<br> + Before my view the saintly multitude,<br> + Which in his own blood Christ espous'd. Meanwhile<br> + That other host, that soar aloft to gaze<br> + And celebrate his glory, whom they love,<br> + Hover'd around; and, like a troop of bees,<br> + Amid the vernal sweets alighting now,<br> + Now, clustering, where their fragrant labour glows,<br> + Flew downward to the mighty flow'r, or rose<br> + From the redundant petals, streaming back<br> + Unto the steadfast dwelling of their joy.<br> + Faces had they of flame, and wings of gold;<br> + The rest was whiter than the driven snow.<br> + And as they flitted down into the flower,<br> + From range to range, fanning their plumy loins,<br> + Whisper'd the peace and ardour, which they won<br> + From that soft winnowing. Shadow none, the vast<br> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P136"></a>136}</span> + Interposition of such numerous flight<br> + Cast, from above, upon the flower, or view<br> + Obstructed aught. For, through the universe,<br> + Wherever merited, celestial light<br> + Glides freely, and no obstacle prevents.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +No, these lines are not easy to read or to understand. +But there is a fascination in reading them, +nevertheless. We are able to lay hold of an idea, +a picture, a scene, very bright and beautiful, full +of light and glory. When you read the lines +again, perhaps in a few months, you will find that +the picture is clearer, and that the lines will not +seem so hard to understand. Most of us like to +remember, whether we have read the <i>Divine Comedy</i> +or not, that Dante was an Italian poet who +lived a long time ago, that he had seen and loved +Beatrice in his youth, and that later in his life +Dante made a great poem in which he tells of +Beatrice, and of life on the other side of death. +</p> + +<p> +Some of you, no doubt, have played, when you +felt like it, at being knights errant. You have +imagined that you were dressed in armour, and +that you were mounted on splendid steeds. Then, +of course, as knights errant, you had to carry out +successfully some hard task or accomplish some +brave deed. Once upon a time, almost exactly in +the same years during which Shakespeare was +living in England, a Spanish writer called +Cervantes wrote a book, <i>The Delightful History +of the Most Ingenious Knight Don Quixote of the +Mancha</i>, which tells how a man of fifty resolved +that he would be a knight errant. +</p> + +<p> +By this time, at the beginning of the seventeenth +century, it had gone out of fashion to wear armour +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P137"></a>137}</span> +every day; and Don Quixote had a good deal of +trouble to find what he wanted. But he owned +part of a helmet, and he made out of pasteboard +and strips of iron a contrivance to take the place +of the part that was missing. He had a target, or +shield, and a lance. Then he must have a steed. +He had a horse that was little more than skin and +bone. He thought this horse would do, and he +called it Rozinante. He wanted a lady to love and +serve. There was a young woman who lived in a +village not far away whom he did not know very +well, but he had to have someone to call the lady +of his thoughts, so he decided she would do, and +he called her Dulcinea, since he thought that would +sound as if she were a princess or great lady. +Then after a while, he chose as his squire a +labourer who had no horse, but he had an ass, and +his name was Sancho Panza. Don Quixote +promised Sancho that on their adventures, if he +captured an island, he would make Sancho the +governor of it; and so they set out on their +journeys. +</p> + +<p> +Don Quixote was a very odd man. He often +mistook ordinary things for wonderful marvels. +He and Sancho had not gone far when they saw +thirty or forty windmills in a field. Don Quixote +said, Behold, here are thirty or forty monstrous +giants. Sancho answered, no, that they were +windmills. But Don Quixote set his lance in rest +and charged one of the giants or windmills. He +struck the windmill. Its arms flew round, and +gave Don Quixote and Rozinante a very bad fall. +</p> + +<p> +Another day he said to Sancho that he saw a +knight coming to meet them, riding a dapple-grey +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P138"></a>138}</span> +horse, and wearing a helmet of gold on his head. +Sancho thought that he saw a man riding a grey +ass with something on his head that shone in the +sunlight. The man proved to be the village +barber, carrying his barber's basin on his head, +and riding a grey ass as Sancho had said. But +Don Quixote was certain that he was a knight, +and the basin really a magic helmet. So Don +Quixote and Rozinante charged at the barber, but +he jumped off his ass and ran away. +</p> + +<p> +Many other adventures of this kind befell Don +Quixote and Sancho. If they came to an inn, Don +Quixote thought it was a castle. Any men they +met on the road were knights, or robbers, or +under enchantment, and Don Quixote wanted +either to fight them or to rescue them. In the +beginning of the story, Sancho thought his master +was only a very silly person. But as time went +by, Sancho saw that he was kind, good, unselfish +and brave, although he made so many mistakes, +and Sancho came to love his master dearly. +</p> + +<p> +Finally, near the end of the story, Don Quixote +thought he saw a lady in distress and meant to +rescue her. But the lady was only an image that +some men were carrying from one place to +another. They laughed at Don Quixote and then +they beat him until he was almost dead. Sancho +was distracted with grief and made a great +lamentation over his master, praising him for all +his virtues. Here is part of what Sancho said of +Don Quixote: +</p> + +<p> +"O humbler of the proud, and stately to the +humbled, undertaker of perils, endurer of affronts, +enamoured without cause, imitator of good men, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P139"></a>139}</span> +whip of the evil, enemy of the wicked, and, in +conclusion, knight-errant than which no greater thing +may be said!" +</p> + +<p> +After this, Don Quixote was so bruised and sick +that he and Sancho had to go home. And so ended +Don Quixote's adventures. +</p> + +<p> +Cervantes' novel was a success as soon as it +was published. All the world laughed at Don +Quixote, but all the world loved him too. He has +never been forgotten, or Sancho either. A very +great many people carry about with them in their +minds a picture of a tall, lean man, in rusty +armour, riding a very thin horse, and carrying a +lance. A short, fat man on an ass rides behind +him. These are Don Quixote and Sancho. Now +we know something of what it means when people +say this man or that man has been "tilting at +windmills". +</p> + +<p> +An English poet, Edmund Spenser, who lived +in Queen Elizabeth's time, wrote a famous poem +called <i>The Faery Queen</i> which tells the story of +the Red Cross Knight. After a long period of +wars and religious troubles, Spenser was the first +noted English poet, since the time of Chaucer, +to write exquisite verse. He was the forerunner +of a greater poet who, as you know, was +Shakespeare. We will learn some facts concerning +Chaucer's history in another chapter. +</p> + +<p> +People love to read Spenser's <i>Faery Queen</i>. +The first line of the poem seems to tell how +melodious and sweet the whole poem is to be. +</p> + +<p> +"A gentle knight was pricking on the plaine." Spenser +was the first to show the music, grace, +and inexhaustible riches of the English tongue. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P140"></a>140}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The Red Cross Knight had been given a hard +task. He was to kill a fierce dragon. In the first +book of <i>The Faery Queen</i>, Canto XI, you will +find a description of this dragon. The Red Cross +Knight was sworn to defend Una, a beautiful +maiden, but he was deceived by enchantments, and +Una was left to wander alone in woods and on +wastes. Here is Spenser's beautiful description +of Una:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Her angels face,<br> + As the great eye of heaven, shyned bright,<br> + And made a sunshine in the shadie place;<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +When Una was wandering alone in a wood, a +lion sprang at her out of a thicket. But when the +lion saw her, he kissed her feet and licked her +hands, and after that he was her defender. +</p> + +<p> +The story ends happily. The dreadful dragon is +slain by the Red Cross Knight who finds Una +again. But what we love most in <i>The Faery +Queen</i> is not so much the story, as the sweet and +lovely music of Spenser's wonderful lines, such +lines as you will find in Canto IX of the first book, +and also in Canto VIII of the second book. The +second stanza of Canto VIII, second book, tells +of the angels visiting the earth to care for us. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + How oft do they their silver bowers leave<br> + To come to succour us, that succour want,<br> + How oft do they with golden pineons cleave<br> + The flitting skyes, like flying pursuivant,<br> + Against foule feendes to aide us militant:<br> + They for us fight, they watch and dewly ward,<br> + And their bright squadrons round about us plant;<br> + And all for love, and nothing for reward:<br> + O, why should heavenly God to men have such regard?<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P141"></a>141}</span> +</p> + +<p> +You will notice that the spelling of some of the +words in the poem is not the same as we use. +They are the same words only spelled differently. +For Spenser lived nearly four hundred years ago. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Would you like to have the names and dates +of some of those who are counted among the +greatest writers of the world? Then you may +trace for yourselves how the inspiration of genius +is found from age to age in different countries. +</p> + +<p> +Homer wrote about nine hundred years before +the birth of Christ. Virgil, the Latin poet,—you +remember that both Kipling and Macaulay have +told us something of the Romans, the great +law-givers and road-builders whose language was the +Latin language,—lived and wrote from 70 B.C. to +19 B.C. The following names and dates, you +will easily understand. +</p> + +<p> + Dante, 1265-1321.<br> +</p> + +<p> + Cervantes, 1547-1616.<br> +</p> + +<p> + Shakespeare, 1564-1616.<br> +</p> + +<p> + Goethe, 1749-1832.<br> +</p> + +<p> +Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a German writer +whose most famous works are <i>Faust</i> and <i>Wilhelm +Meister</i>. He lived at almost the same time as +Scott. Several of the writers in the Bible belong +to the same rank as those named in this brief list. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0521"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P142"></a>142}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXI +<br><br> +JOHN BUNYAN AND THE PILGRIM's PROGRESS +</h3> + +<p> +The story begins in this way. +</p> + +<p> +"As I walked through the wilderness of +this world, I lighted on a certain place where +was a den, and laid me down in that place to +sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I +dreamed, and, behold, I saw a man clothed in rags +standing in a certain place, with his face from his +own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden +upon his back." +</p> + +<p> +We wonder why the man had a burden on his +back, and we wish we could help him to get rid of +it. +</p> + +<p> +A man called Evangelist met the man with a +burden on his back. Evangelist pointed out to the +man a wicket-gate, and asked him if he could see +a shining light. When the man answered that he +did, Evangelist told him to go straight to the gate +and knock at it. Then he would be told what he +was to do. Now the man's name was Christian. +</p> + +<p> +On the way to the gate, he fell into a muddy +bog which was called the Slough of Despond. +Then a man called Help came and pulled him out. +After that, Mr. Worldly-Wiseman told him not to +go to the gate, but to a village where Mr. Legality +lived. Christian turned aside from his way, and +presently came to some rocks which hung over so +far he was afraid they would fall on him, and fire +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P143"></a>143}</span> +came out of the rocks and he was very much +afraid. But Evangelist found him again and set +him on the right way. Then Christian came to +the gate and knocked. +</p> + +<p> +A man answered his knock and showed him how +to go to the house of the Interpreter. There he +saw many wonderful things which you must read +about in <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>. Not long after +Christian left the house of the Interpreter, he +came to a place where there was a Cross and there +his burden fell off. +</p> + +<p> +After that he came to the Hill Difficulty, which +was so steep that sometimes he had to clamber +up on his hands and knees. He got up the hill; +then he remembered that he had been told he +would meet two lions. He went on his way feeling +very despondent, but presently he looked up and +saw a stately palace called Beautiful, so he +hastened to get to it. +</p> + +<p> +He came first to a lodge, and there was a porter +in the lodge who helped him past the lions. After +all, the lions were chained, but it was a narrow +place and they might have caught Christian if the +porter had not helped him. +</p> + +<p> +Christian had a very happy holiday in the +House Beautiful, and there he made many friends. +Before he left to continue his journey, they +showed him on a clear day the Delectable +Mountains from which one can see the gate of the +Celestial City. The Celestial City was to be the +end of Christian's pilgrimage. After that he met +another pilgrim called Faithful, and he was not +alone any more. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P144"></a>144}</span> +</p> + +<p> +After a little while, Christian and Faithful +came to the Valley of Humiliation, and met in it +a terrible monster called Apollyon. He had scales +like a fish, wings like a dragon, feet like a bear, +and a mouth like the mouth of a lion. Christian +fought Apollyon. Apollyon wounded Christian, +and knocked his sword out of his hand. But +Christian caught his sword again and gave +Apollyon a great wound. "And, with that, +Apollyon spread forth his dragon's wings, and +sped him away, so that Christian saw him no +more." +</p> + +<p> +Then Faithful and Christian came to a town +called Vanity, where the people had a fair called +Vanity Fair. In this town with the great fair, +Faithful and Christian were arrested, because of +their religion. They were tried by a judge and +jury, and Faithful was put to death. Christian +was put back into prison, but he escaped. And +after that he had another companion on his +pilgrimage who was called Hopeful. +</p> + +<p> +They came to a river and a beautiful meadow. +But they lost their way and when they were +asleep, Giant Despair of Doubting-castle found +them and put them into a dungeon. Hopeful +encouraged Christian, but they had a very sad time +in the dungeon, until Christian suddenly +remembered that he had a key which he had been +told would open any lock in Doubting-castle. +And so they escaped. +</p> + +<p> +Now they came to the Delectable Mountains, +and there they met shepherds who entertained +them. From there they went on, and began to +feel that they were drawing near the end of their +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P145"></a>145}</span> +journey. They passed through the Enchanted +Ground with some difficulty, and came to the +country of Beulah whose air is very sweet and +pleasant, and there they met some of the +inhabitants of the Celestial City. +</p> + +<p> +They could see the City, which was glorious. +But before they could get to it, they had to cross +a river. Hopeful helped Christian. "Christian +therefore presently found ground to stand upon, +and so it followed that the rest of the river was +but shallow, thus they got over." After that, +they had no more difficulty. But shining ones +came to meet them, and trumpeters who welcomed +them with shouting and sound of trumpet. +</p> + +<p> +"This done, they compassed them round on +every side, some went before, some behind, and +some on the right hand, some on the left, (as it +were to guard them through the upper regions), +continually sounding as they went, with melodious +noise, in notes on high; so that the very sight +was to them that could behold it as if heaven +itself were come down to meet them. Thus, +therefore, they walked on together; and, as they +walked, ever and anon these trumpeters, even +with joyful sound, would, by mixing their music +with looks and gestures, still signify to Christian +and his brother how welcome they were into their +company, and with what gladness they came to +meet them. And now were these two men, as it +were, in heaven, before they came at it, being +swallowed up with the sight of angels, and with +hearing their melodious notes. Here also they +had the City itself in view; and they thought they +heard all the bells therein to ring, to welcome +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P146"></a>146}</span> +them thereto. But, above all, the warm and +joyful thoughts that they had about their own +dwelling there, with such company, and that for ever +and ever; oh! by what tongue, or pen, can their +glorious joy be expressed! Thus they came up +to the gate." +</p> + +<p> +A second part of The Pilgrim's Progress tells +how Christiana, Christian's wife, and their +children, and Mercy, a friend, went on the same +pilgrimage, with Mr. Great-heart to take care of +them. Mr. Great-heart is one of the most +splendid heroes in any book. +</p> + +<p> +John Bunyan, who wrote <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>, +was the son of a tinker. He was himself +a tinker. He was a soldier in Cromwell's army, +and then he was a preacher. Only certain +people were allowed to preach at that time, and they +arrested Bunyan. He was in prison a number +of years. They were willing to let him out, but +he would not promise not to preach. Brave John +Bunyan! He had a brave wife too, who did all +she could to help him. +</p> + +<p> +He was sentenced to prison twice, the second +time only for a few months when he was kept in +the gaol in Bedford town in England. Bunyan +wrote <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i> in a room in Bedford +gaol which is built on the bridge that crosses +the river Ouse, and while he wrote he could hear +the noise of the river flowing by. Perhaps this +is one reason why he writes so beautifully of +rivers in the story. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0522"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P147"></a>147}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXII +<br><br> +THACKERAY—MEREDITH—HARDY +</h3> + +<p> +You remember David Copperfield, Peggoty, +Mr. Pickwick, Sam Weller, and scores of +others, all of whom we found living so +intensely and abundantly in Dickens' novels. +</p> + +<p> +Many other novelists, as well as Charles Dickens, +have made interesting, delightful characters +for us to know and love. In this chapter and the +chapter following, we will learn something of a +group of writers, men and women, in whose novels +we find wonderful knowledge of human nature, +not as wonderful as Shakespeare's knowledge +perhaps, but showing the same deep insight +as Scott and Dickens. +</p> + +<p> +The writers spoken of are not very widely +separated in time. Two of them lived and wrote as +recently as from the middle of the nineteenth +century down to the present. George Meredith died +in 1909, and Thomas Hardy in 1928. The whole +group represents a very brilliant period in +English literature. +</p> + +<p> +William Makepeace Thackeray was born in +Calcutta in India. Like the children of other +Anglo-Indian civil servants, he was sent home to +England when he was a very little boy, leaving +his mother behind him in India. Thackeray had +a deeply affectionate nature. All his life he was +devoted to his own people. No one can rightly +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P148"></a>148}</span> +understand his novels who does not remember +that Thackeray was tender-hearted. We can +read a letter that the little boy William +Makepeace wrote to his mother when he was seven +years old. His mother kept it carefully. Some +years ago when his daughter, Mrs. Ritchie, +herself a novelist, was writing memories of her +famous father, she printed the little letter in her +Introduction to <i>The Newcomes</i>. +</p> + +<p> +There is nothing in the letter to show that the +boy was to be a great writer, but as long as he +lived he wrote these loving letters to his mother. +When he was a man with children of his own, his +home was his mother's home whenever she liked +to come to stay with him. It was his stepfather's +home also, for his mother had married again. +He told his own children that when he was a boy +at school, he sometimes used to pray that he +would dream of his mother in the night, for he +was lonely and not very happy. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Vanity Fair</i> is the name of one of Thackeray's +great novels. You know where Thackeray found +the name,—in <i>The Pilgrim's Progress</i>. His +novel is intended as a picture of people who are +interesting and very real, but many of whom are +selfish, false and hard-hearted. Thackeray +painted the world as he had experienced it, and +he tried to show what a difference there is +between love and hate, selfishness and unselfishness. +<i>Vanity Fair</i> has a famous opening chapter. Becky +Sharp, and Amelia Sedley, two girls, are leaving +a boarding school. Becky is clever, amusing and +poor. Amelia is gentle, a little dull perhaps, and +her people are rich. The school-mistresses make +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P149"></a>149}</span> +a great fuss over Amelia, but are disagreeable to +Becky. So Becky throws the dictionary, which is +Miss Pinkerton's parting gift, out of the window +of the coach as they are driving away. <i>Vanity +Fair</i> is a famous novel. When you read it, +as you will some day, you will learn the story of +Becky and Amelia, of George Osborne whom +Amelia marries, of Jos. Sedley, Amelia's brother, +of Rawdon Crawley, the man Becky married, and +of splendid, faithful Major Dobbin. There are +chapters which tell of how George Osborne goes +to fight at the battle of Waterloo, and again of +when the battle is over, that we can never forget. +Thackeray's style is so golden and perfect that +to read anything he has written is like listening +to strains of pure music. +</p> + +<p> +Other novels by Thackeray which rank with +<i>Vanity Fair</i> are <i>Esmond</i> and <i>The Virginians</i>, +<i>Pendennis</i> and <i>The Newcomes</i>. One of the most +famous characters in <i>Esmond</i> is the exquisitely +beautiful Beatrix Esmond who turned away from +love for ambition. Colonel Newcome in <i>The +Newcomes</i> is one of the people who have been +chosen by the world to represent nobility of +character, a man high-minded, distinguished, brave, +honest, pure and humble of heart. +</p> + +<p> +There are scenes of great tenderness and +nobility in Thackeray's novels. Two, which may +be mentioned, are in Esmond—Lady Castlewood +welcoming Henry Esmond home, Book II, chapter +six, and again Lady Castlewood vindicating +Esmond, Book III, chapter four. Find <i>Esmond</i> +and read these chapters or ask someone to read +them to you. When Thackeray tells in <i>Vanity +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P150"></a>150}</span> +Fair</i> how George Osborne lies with his face to +the sky after Waterloo, every reader's heart is +stilled and touched. But many people think that +the most famous instance of Thackeray's genius +is in the end of <i>The Newcomes</i> when Colonel +Newcome, impoverished, living in Grey Friars +Hospital, thinks that he is a boy at school again, and +answers the calling of the roll after the fashion +in his old school at Charterhouse. +</p> + +<p> +Several biographies have been written of +Thackeray, but you will find the most interesting +details of the life of this great writer in the +biographical notes written by his daughter, +Mrs. Ritchie, for what is called the Biographical +Edition of Thackeray's works. +</p> + +<p> +Meredith, unlike Thackeray, writes in a style +which is difficult to read; but he is brilliant, +sparkling, and wonderfully clever. We need to bring +to his novels all the intelligence and powers of +application which we possess. But when +difficulties are overcome, there is great delight +in reading Meredith. He is never dull. There +is always meaning, like precious gold, to find in +his novels, and in his poems too, for Meredith +was a poet. Meredith shows us that our minds, +characters and wills have a conquering quality; +we are not at the mercy of impulses, instincts and +intuitions. Not since Shakespeare wrote, has +any genius drawn such portraits of women as +appear in Meredith's novels. Three of his most +brilliant and fascinating women characters are +Diana in <i>Diana of the Crossways</i>, Clara Middleton +and Laetitia Dale in <i>The Egoist</i>. There is +also in <i>The Egoist</i> a splendidly drawn portrait +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P151"></a>151}</span> +of a boy, Crossjay Patterne. This boy and the +beautiful, high-minded Clara Middleton are +friends and playmates; it is quite possible for +a boy or a girl to have a grown-up friend, who +is at the same time a playmate. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Diana of the Crossways</i> and <i>The Egoist</i> are +perhaps the most readable among the many +novels Meredith has written. Sir Willoughby +Patterne in <i>The Egoist</i> is a study of a man whose +interests are centered in himself. Diana is +charming, brilliant, impulsive, and of a noble +nature. She is a very attractive heroine. +</p> + +<p> +Thomas Hardy was born in 1840, in a tiny +village called Higher Bockhampton, in the parish of +Stinsford, Dorset, England. It is a country of +woods and heaths, lonely and silent. Old +customs and manners were maintained in this place +in the heart of England, long after they had +disappeared in more populous centres. Hardy's +novels tell us of the quaint customs, and of the +interesting and picturesque characters that he +knew in his youth. Three of his early novels, +<i>Under the Greenwood Tree</i>, <i>The Return of the +Native</i>, and <i>The Trumpet-Major</i> seem to hold +under a magic spell, for our enjoyment, old England +and the people of old England, not at a time as +long ago as when the fairies were supposed to +live, but near the beginning of the nineteenth +century, when people were looking for Napoleon +Bonaparte to invade England from France across +the Channel. +</p> + +<p> +Hardy himself, his father and his grandfather +were all fond of music, and we read much of +people singing and dancing in Hardy's early novels, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P152"></a>152}</span> +of the members of the church choir, of glee and +carol singers. Thomas Hardy, when he was a +lad, used to play the fiddle at dances in the farm +houses nearby where he lived. His mother did +not allow him to take any money for his playing, +but once he broke the rule and with the few +shillings he had been given bought a copy of the +<i>Boys' Own Book</i>. This book was kept in Hardy's +library all his life. He played at weddings too. +No doubt, the boy learned much of his neighbours +in this way of which afterwards his genius made +use in his novels. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the most charming scenes that Hardy +ever wrote you will find in the first five chapters +of <i>Under the Greenwood Tree</i>. Read these +chapters, and you will see the English landscape long +ago on a Christmas Eve. You will breathe the +pure, chill air, and sing Christmas carols with the +other carollers. The story begins: "To dwellers +in a wood almost every species of tree has its +voice as well as its feature." +</p> + +<p> +To the end of his life, Hardy was fascinated by +the story of Napoleon. In the country where he +lived, there lived also older men who had fought +against Napoleon, and many who remembered the +dread with which people looked for his invasion of +England. One of Hardy's early novels, <i>The +Trumpet-Major</i>, is a fine tale of country folk, of +soldiers and sailors who fought against Napoleon, +and of the press-gang that carried away men to +serve in the Navy. But, proudest recollection of +all for the novelist, the Hardy who held the great +Nelson in his arms when he lay dying victorious +in the cockpit of his ship, <i>The Victory</i>, after +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P153"></a>153}</span> +Trafalgar, belonged to the same family as his +own. You remember, Nelson whispered, "Kiss +me, Hardy." +</p> + +<p> +Little wonder that Thomas Hardy, who also +was a poet besides being a novelist, wrote what +is perhaps his greatest work in a poetical drama +called <i>The Dynasts</i>, a drama of the Napoleonic +wars. +</p> + +<p> +This poetical drama is a great vision of war, +of suffering, brave, stout-hearted, jesting men, +and of mighty spirits who from some vast height +view the battling world, and wonder what the +future of mankind may be. Such lines as the +following stay in our memories and convince us that +Thomas Hardy was not only a great novelist, but +a great poet. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + The systemed suns the skies enscroll<br> + Obey Thee in their rhythmic roll,<br> + Ride radiantly at Thy command,<br> + Are darkened by Thy Masterhand!<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + And these pale panting multitudes<br> + Seen surging here, their moils, their moods,<br> + All shall "fulfil their joy" in Thee,<br> + In Thee abide eternally!<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Exultant adoration give<br> + The Alone, through Whom all living live.<br> + The Alone, in Whom all dying die,<br> + Whose means the End shall justify!<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0523"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P154"></a>154}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXIII +<br><br> +JANE AUSTEN—GEORGE ELIOT—THE BRONTES +</h3> + +<p> +Jane Austen is very much like herself, and +like no one else. Most of us find people of +this description interesting. It is true, that +the more we know of Miss Austen, the more +interesting we find her. +</p> + +<p> +The characters in her novels are so real that no +one has ever been able to find any fault with the +way in which she created them. +</p> + +<p> +Is it possible for us to discover how it was that +she made her characters so real? Mr. Woodhouse +is one of the people in Miss Austen's novel +called <i>Emma</i>. Emma is Mr. Woodhouse's daughter. +He is rather an invalid; at least, he thinks +he is an invalid. Emma is a kind, good-hearted, +managing young lady, who takes good care of her +father, and who, since Mr. Woodhouse does not +want to be troubled about anything, has all the +responsibility of a large household. This +arrangement suits Emma perfectly. +</p> + +<p> +Emma often arranges a little tea party to +amuse her father. He likes company, and quiet, +sociable conversation. He wants his guests to +eat, but he is afraid that what they eat will not +be good for them. On one occasion, Emma had +provided minced chicken and scalloped oysters, +for their guests. Her father would take only a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P155"></a>155}</span> +little thin gruel. Poor Mr. Woodhouse urges the +ladies to partake of his hospitality in this +fashion. +</p> + +<p> +"Mrs. Bates, let me propose your venturing on +one of these eggs. An egg boiled very soft is +not unwholesome. Serle understands boiling an +egg better than anybody. I would not recommend +an egg boiled by anybody else,—but you +need not be afraid, they are very small, you +see—one of our small eggs will not hurt you. Miss +Bates, let Emma help you to a little bit of tart,—a +very little bit. Ours are all apple tarts. You +need not be afraid of unwholesome preserves +here. I do not advise the custard. Mrs. Goddard, +what say you to half a glass of wine,—a +small half-glass, put into a tumbler of water? +I do not think it could disagree with you." +</p> + +<p> +But Emma took care that their guests had +plenty to eat. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Woodhouse also was very particular about +his horses. He kept horses and a coachman, but +he seldom thought that the horses ought to be +taken out. +</p> + +<p> +With delicate, true touches such as these, and +in easy conversation, Miss Austen builds up her +characters. By the time we have finished the +story, we know Mr. Woodhouse intimately, and +Emma, and Mrs. and Miss Bates, Mr. Knightley, +and many others. Is it not true that you know a +good deal about Mr. Woodhouse only from hearing +him speak of what food his guests should eat? +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Bennet in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> is a father +of a different character. He has five daughters, +but he is fondest of Elizabeth, or Eliza as she is +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P156"></a>156}</span> +often called. Mrs. Bennet, his wife, is unfortunately +rather a silly person. Miss Austen is able +to explain Mrs. Bennet's character just by letting +her talk, and Mrs. Bennet talks a great deal. +</p> + +<p> +Mrs. Bennet says to her husband, for instance, +that he has no compassion on her poor nerves. +Mr. Bennet answers: "You mistake me, my dear. +I have a high respect for your nerves. They are +my old friends. I have heard you mention them +with consideration these twenty years at least." +</p> + +<p> +One would say that Mr. Bennet was, perhaps, +not very considerate himself, a little inclined to +be satirical with his foolish wife. But here is +part of a conversation of his with Eliza, when +she has told him at the end of the second book +that she was going to be married, which shows +Mr. Bennet in a better light. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, my dear," said he, when she ceased +speaking, "I have no more to say. If this be the +case, he deserves you. I could not have parted +with you, my Lizzy, to any one less worthy." +</p> + +<p> +How easy and simple it all seems, and yet to +write naturally and simply, with such entire truth +to nature, is one of the most difficult arts for any +novelist. +</p> + +<p> +Miss Austen wrote six novels altogether, <i>Pride +and Prejudice</i>, <i>Sense and Sensibility</i>, <i>Emma</i>, +<i>Persuasion</i>, <i>Mansfield Park</i>, and <i>Northanger Abbey</i>. +She lived and wrote a little more than a hundred +years ago, but her books are read and admired +to-day perhaps more than at any previous time. +There is something very charming and interesting +in Miss Austen's reticence, truthfulness, +strength of character, crystal purity and delightful +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P157"></a>157}</span> +humour. Her field is narrow, she is not +eloquent or sublime, but her work in its own way is +perfect. +</p> + +<p> +When Miss Austen wrote, it was not the fashion +for ladies to write, and she often used to hide +her manuscript beneath a bit of sewing, or place +it hastily in a drawer when a door near where +she wrote creaked on its hinges. We know from +some letters written by her family that there was +such a creaking door. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Kipling has written a poem in praise of +Jane Austen which you will find in his book called +<i>Debits and Credits</i>. He pictures Miss Austen +being met at heaven's gate by some of the great +novelists: Good Sir Walter, you know who that +is; Henry, this is a great English novelist whose +name was Henry Fielding; Tobias, another English +novelist, Tobias Smollett; Miguel of Spain, +this is Cervantes. From this short poem you +can judge how highly other writers rank Jane +Austen. +</p> + +<p> +Tom and Maggie Tulliver are brother and +sister. They appear in George Eliot's novel <i>The +Mill on the Floss</i>. Tom and Maggie serve, +perhaps, as the best known instance in fiction of a +study of the relations between brother and sister. +Certainly, we often think of Tom and Maggie, +and always we think of them as boy and girl, +brother and sister. +</p> + +<p> +Tom is very much of a boy. He is an important +person in the family, and he is to succeed +his father at Dorlcote Mill, which is on the river +Floss. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P158"></a>158}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Is not this a beautiful description of Dorlcote +Mill? George Eliot must have been writing of +a mill that she knew and loved: +</p> + +<p> +"And this is Dorlcote Mill. I must stand a +minute or two here on the bridge and look at it, +though the clouds are threatening, and it is far +on in the afternoon. Even in this leafless time +of departing February it is pleasant to look +at,—perhaps the chill damp season adds a charm to +the trimly kept comfortable dwelling-house, as +old as the elms and chestnuts that shelter it from +the northern blast. The stream is brimful now, +and lies high in this little withy plantation, and +half drowns the grassy fringe of the croft in front +of the house. As I look at the full stream, the +vivid grass, the delicate bright-green powder +softening the outline of the great trunks and +branches that gleam from under the bare purple +boughs, I am in love with moistness, and envy +the white ducks that are dipping their heads far +into the water here among the withes, unmindful +of the awkward appearance they make in the +drier world above." +</p> + +<p> +Maggie Tulliver is a wonderful study of a girl, +later of a young woman. No one surely can help +loving Maggie, who adored Tom with all her +heart, who was often in disgrace with her mother, +as for instance, when she cut off her hair, who +spent a great part of her time reading books, and +who was her father's favourite. Tom was rather +hard on Maggie. When they grew up there was +a sad time when Tom refused to have anything +to do with her. Yet Maggie always loved Tom +best. At the end of the story, there is a flood. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P159"></a>159}</span> +The river rises so high that everyone's life is in +danger. And Maggie comes alone by herself in +a boat to rescue Tom. +</p> + +<p> +It is probable, indeed it is certain, that George +Eliot was writing of her own girlhood, and of her +feelings for her brother, when she created with +the power of genius Maggie Tulliver. Such +depth of understanding, tenderness, and +poignancy of feeling, are only possible when one +knows people very, very well. George Eliot knew +Maggie Tulliver perfectly. +</p> + +<p> +George Eliot, of course, is only a pen name. +The author's real name was Mary Ann Evans. +She lived in the country, like the Tullivers, and +her many novels abound with striking characters +among country people. One of the most successful +of them is Mrs. Poyser in the novel <i>Adam +Bede</i>. Mrs. Poyser is famous for her clever sayings, +full of pithy truth and wit. It was she who +said of some one for whom she did not care, +that it was a pity he could not be hatched over +again and hatched different. Sayings of this +kind generally are spoken by clever people +who are not educated, as most of us understand +education, but who have learned a great +deal about life and human nature. This power +of inventing wise, amusing sayings is called +mother wit. +</p> + +<p> +George Eliot was a learned woman, and spent +her later life in London. But her country books +are probably her best. She wrote a little later +than Jane Austen, and some time before Hardy. +Another of her stories that you are likely to +enjoy is <i>Silas Marner</i>. Others, besides <i>The Mill on +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P160"></a>160}</span> +the Floss</i>, and <i>Adam Bede</i>, are <i>Romola</i>, <i>Felix +Holt</i>, <i>Middlemarch</i>, and <i>Daniel Deronda</i>. +</p> + +<p> +We come now to the story of two of the most +romantic figures in English literature. Early +in the nineteenth century, a clergyman who was +of Irish descent and whose name was Patrick +Brontë, had a family of children most of whom +were remarkably gifted. Those whom we know +best are Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and a brother +Branwell, who was born after Charlotte and +before Emily. Branwell might have been an artist, +but his life was not successful or happy. Anne +wrote pleasing stories, but Charlotte and Emily +Brontë are sisters whom we associate with an +atmosphere of strange romance and rich endowment. +</p> + +<p> +Most of their lives was spent in Yorkshire, +amidst wild and romantic scenery. They were +poor and had few possessions. Charlotte was a +governess. She studied in Brussels in Belgium, +and her younger sister Emily was with her. +Charlotte was influenced by French literature, Emily +by all that was strange and mysterious in German +literature. Charlotte's best known book is +<i>Jane Eyre</i>. Emily's masterpiece is <i>Wuthering +Heights</i>. Wuthering Heights means a high place +where great winds blow most of the time. +</p> + +<p> +<i>Jane Eyre</i> is a romantic, extravagant story of +a girl who was a governess, and of the strange +people she met. The story is not even always +well-written; yet it is exciting and thrilling. +Few novels had such depth of feeling, passion +and elevated thought. No one can read Charlotte +Brontë's novels without tingling with a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P161"></a>161}</span> +feeling that here one has met an extraordinary +personality. +</p> + +<p> +Emily Brontë was more highly gifted even than +her sister Charlotte. Everything that is true of +<i>Jane Eyre</i> is more true of <i>Wuthering Heights</i>. It +is a stranger, and more romantic story. At times, +one would even say that there is something hard +and cruel in <i>Wuthering Heights</i>. But there is also +natural genius. Emily wrote a few remarkable +poems which are more highly esteemed now than +they were when she died. One does not say that +these two sisters were possessed of the highest +creative power. But Charlotte and Emily Brontë +are among the most interesting and unforgettable +of English novelists. Barrie said not long ago of +Emily Brontë that she was our greatest woman, +meaning that he believed her to be the greatest +among English-speaking women writers. This +sense of greatness you will experience for +yourselves in the words which end <i>Wuthering Heights</i>. +The story is tragic; but the ending is happy and +tranquil, although at first it may seem sad. +</p> + +<p> +"I lingered round them, under that benign +sky: watched the moths fluttering among the +heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind +breathing through the grass, and wondered how +anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for +the sleepers in that quiet earth." +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0624"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P163"></a>163}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART VI +<br><br> +HISTORY, POLITICS, BIOGRAPHY, TRAVEL +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P165"></a>165}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXIV +<br><br> +WHAT IS HISTORY! +</h3> + +<p> +Most of us like true stories. Often, when +we listen to a story which seems interesting +and surprising, perhaps even delightful, +we say when the story is ended, "But, is it +true?" If the answer is no, or even that the +story is not all true, we are disappointed. +</p> + +<p> +This feeling of wishing to know the truth about +people and events, about what the world is really +like and what it used to be like, belongs to human +nature. It is born in our hearts when we are +born. From the beginning of the world, people +have cared for true stories. +</p> + +<p> +As you know, knowledge of remarkable events +and people at first was repeated by one generation +to another by word of mouth. But tradition, +although interesting, is often inaccurate. It does +not tell the whole, exact true story. So people +were willing to spend a great deal of time, and to +work very hard, to find out the truth about past +events and about people who lived in the past. +</p> + +<p> +In this way was born the art and science of +history. History is a science, because writing +true history requires careful, painstaking, +unwearied research. Writing history is also an +art, since to make events and human beings of +long ago, or even of yesterday and to-day, live +in a book in such a way that we can understand +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P166"></a>166}</span> +them, and read of them with interest and enjoyment, +requires imagination and all other gifts +which are needed to write true histories, or true +stories. +</p> + +<p> +Herodotus, a Greek, who lived four hundred +and eighty-four years before the birth of Christ, +is called the father of history. He is a model, or +pattern, still for historians. He was not only +the first great historian, he is one of the greatest +among writers of history. When he wrote history +first, he used to recite what he had composed to +his friends. At one of these recitals of history +by Herodotus, a boy was present with his father. +The boy's name was Thucydides. He was so +charmed and excited by what Herodotus said that +he burst into tears, as we do sometimes when +we are greatly moved by a beautiful thing. +Thucydides afterwards, when he grew up, became +a great historian. +</p> + +<p> +In another chapter, we shall try to learn of +some interesting modern histories, and some +famous modern historians,—modern, that is, as +compared with Herodotus and Thucydides. But +many of the books that we have read for other +reasons have told us a good deal about people +who lived long ago, and of their customs. +</p> + +<p> +You remember the ballads of "Chevy Chase" +and "The Battle of Otterbourne", which tell how +the English and Scots fought with one another. +These ballads are not accurate history, but they +are undoubtedly historical. They take us, with +a strange, thrilling feeling that we can almost +see what must have happened, as far back as +1388. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P167"></a>167}</span> +</p> + +<p> +At the time when Queen Philippa of Hainault +was the wife of King Edward III of England, a +young Hainaulter, a fellow countryman of hers, +came from France to visit her and brought with +him a copy of a book of chronicles, written by +himself about recent wars in France. His name +was Sir John Froissart. He was eager to write +true histories of his own time, medieval histories +as we call them. You will find Sir John Froissart's +<i>Chronicles</i> a delightful book to read. Many +of the stories which Froissart first wrote are in +the histories we read to-day. Queen Philippa was +greatly pleased with the visit of her young +fellow-countryman and with his book. Froissart stayed +in England for some time, and while he was +there found out everything he could about the +Battle of Otterbourne. The story is told in one +of his chronicles. +</p> + +<p> +Here are two short extracts from the chronicle +of the Battle of Otterbourne. Froissart wrote in +old French. His chronicles were translated into +English by Lord Berners in the time of King +Henry VIII. In these extracts the old English +spelling has been modernized. +</p> + +<p> +"At the beginning the Englishmen were so +strong that they reculed back their enemies: then +the Earl Douglas, who was of great heart and high +of enterprise, seeing his men recule back, then to +recover the place and to shew knightly valour, +he took his axe in both his hands, and entered +so into the press that he made himself way in +such wise that none durst approach near him, +and he was so well armed that he bare well off +such strokes as he received. Thus he went ever +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P168"></a>168}</span> +forward like a hardy Hector, willing alone to +conquer the field and to discomfit his enemies: +but at last he was encountered with three spears +all at once, so that he was borne perforce to the +earth and after that he could not be again +relieved. Some of his knights and squires followed +him, but not all, for it was night, and no light but +by the shining of the moon..." +</p> + +<p> +"This battle was fierce and cruel till it came +to the end of the discomfiture; but when the Scots +saw the Englishmen recule and yield themselves, +then the Scots were courteous and set them to +their ransom, and every man said to his prisoner: +Sirs, go and unarm you and take your ease: I +am your master': and so made their prisoners as +good cheer as though they had been brethren, +without doing to them any damage." +</p> + +<p> +You will notice that part of the battle must +have been fought at night, for the moon was shining. +It is likely that Froissart was told this story +by some man who had been at the battle and +remembered well that there was no light but the +light of the moon. The direct account of an +eyewitness is one of the most convincing forms of +true history. If you will turn to the Acts of the +Apostles, you can read in the twenty-fifth and +twenty-sixth chapters another account by an +eyewitness, telling how Paul, after he had been kept +in prison two years, was sent for by a new +governor Festus, and of the speech he made to +Festus, and to King Agrippa and Queen Bernice. +As you know, some books of the Bible are histories. +This splendid account of an old trial is +a fine example of historical writing. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P169"></a>169}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Old books, old manuscripts, inscriptions, +records of all kinds, old and new, even buried +cities, form part of the material which historians +study. A historian may find that the same event +is related in one manuscript after one fashion, +and in another manuscript in quite a different +way. So it is that historians always want to +find corroboration, if possible, for facts which +they wish to use in their histories. Thus we see +that the work of a historian is difficult. But +anyone who writes a history which is true, and +well authenticated, and interesting to read, has +served mankind well. He has increased our +knowledge and understanding, and in this way +has made those who read his history more useful +and capable men and women. +</p> + +<p> +Let us take one or two of the easiest and most +attractive books that a historian might wish to +consult, and see if we can find in them any facts, +or pictures, which might be useful in writing a +true history. +</p> + +<p> +Long ago, in the latter part of the fourteenth +century, there lived an English poet whose name +was Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote a poem called +<i>The Canterbury Tales</i> which tells of a number +of people who were going as pilgrims to a shrine +in the great Cathedral at Canterbury. They met +in the Tabard Inn in Southwark at London. +Chaucer describes these people one by one so +accurately that we can learn how people looked, +and what they wore, these many hundred years +ago. He tells, too, of the landlord or host who +kept the Inn. His name was Harry Bayly. It +seems from other records in the Public Record +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P170"></a>170}</span> +Office in London that the landlord of the Tabard +Inn at the time actually was a Harry Bayly. +Chaucer, as well as being a poet, had a post in +the Custom House. There is a record of Harry +Bayly paying money into the Customs. It seems +certain that Chaucer's descriptions of the Canterbury +pilgrims are true and accurate pictures of +people who lived in his time. +</p> + +<p> +Who were these people? +</p> + +<p> +"A knyght ther was, and that a worthy man,"—Later +Chaucer says of him that: +</p> + +<p> +"He was a verray parfit gentil knyght." His +son was there, a young squire, and among the +other pilgrims were a yeoman, a nun, a prioress, +a monk, a friar, a merchant, a clerk, a sergeant +at law, a franklin, a haberdasher, a carpenter, +a cook, a shipman or sailor, a doctor, a goodwife, +a ploughman, a reeve, a pardoner, and several +others. +</p> + +<p> +The squire "was as fressh as in the monthe of +May." The prioress was very good-looking. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Hire nose tretys, hir eyen greye as glas,<br> + Hir mouth ful smal and ther-to softe and reed,<br> + But sikely she hadde a fair forheed.<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +These words are easily changed into our modern +spelling. The last line, for instance is +</p> + +<p> + "But certainly she had a fair forehead."<br> +</p> + +<p> +Chaucer describes exactly the way in which each +one was dressed. Then each of the pilgrims tells +a story, and in these stories we find more information +of how people looked and how they lived +in the fourteenth century. Chaucer's poetry, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P171"></a>171}</span> +although somewhat difficult to read on account of +the old words, is fresh and beautiful still. +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare's plays, especially his historical +plays, throw a wonderful light on the battles, life +and customs of England at the time of Agincourt, +in the Wars of the Roses, and his own lifetime. +Besides the beauty and greatness of his plays, +Shakespeare added always to whatever he wrote +his wonderful true knowledge of human nature. +Turn to Act iii, Scene ii of <i>King Henry V</i>, and +you will read what a boy, serving some of the +soldiers, says in all the tumult and excitement of +the battle. +</p> + +<p> +"Would I were in an alehouse in London! I +would give all my fame for a pot of ale and +safety." +</p> + +<p> +One of the most important subjects of which +many historians write is politics. Charles Dickens, +as you know, was a humorist. In his stories, he +describes social conditions which existed in the +early part of the nineteenth century and which +later have been somewhat improved. Dickens, +possibly, exaggerated a little, and made his +accounts somewhat of a burlesque of what actually +existed. Yet when we want to read a true and +very amusing account of an election, which might +be of use to political historians when they write +of the earlier part of the nineteenth century, +we will find it in chapter thirteen of <i>Pickwick +Papers</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The town of Eatanswill is the scene of the +election. Mr. Pickwick, Mr. Tupman, Mr. Snodgrass, +Mr. Winkle, and Sam Weller are in Eatanswill, +and take a lively part in the proceedings. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P172"></a>172}</span> +Dickens, as you know, helped to laugh away many +abuses. Elections are not carried on in the same +way to-day. But the political candidates and +newspapers of Eatanswill, what they said, did, +and printed, make an amusing story which has +at the same time not a little historical truth. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Now we know a very little of how historians +try to find out the truth about what has happened +in the past, so that they may write true histories. +Very long ago, people used to believe that each +art had its own muse, a beautiful being like a +goddess, who helped and guided followers of her +art. They called the muse of history Clio. So +if it pleases us to do so, we can think of the +beautiful spirit, or muse, of history teaching, +entertaining and helping us all. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0625"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P173"></a>173}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXV +<br><br> +THE MEANING OF POLITICS +</h3> + +<p> +We may learn from games a good deal of +the nature of politics. +</p> + +<p> +We know that the better the game is +organized, the better it will be played. In many +games, there are two sides, two captains, and an +equal number of players on each side. Captains +have duties, players have duties. Captains +should be able to think quickly, understand quickly, +make quick decisions, and not make mistakes +any oftener than they can help. They should +understand other boys. Or if the game is played +by girls, the girl who is captain should +understand other girls. Players ought to be willing +to obey the captain's word. Some day, the player +may be the captain; perhaps he has been a +captain already. The whole team, players and +captain, should be loyal. A game cannot be +altogether successful unless it is played with good +feeling, generosity, keenness, sportsmanship and +honour on both sides. Each side should be on +good terms with the other side and behave with +courtesy. These things are true in games. They +are true also in politics, although, possibly, not +quite in the same way. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as people began to live together in +communities, some of the people wanted the +community properly organized and governed. They +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P174"></a>174}</span> +thought everything belonging to the place in +which they lived should be carried on in the best, +most comfortable way, with justice for everybody. +But, unfortunately, there have always been +some people who want the best only for themselves, +and are not willing to be just to other +people. In our own natures, many of us find a +conflict between desiring to be just to others, and +yet wishing a great deal for ourselves. +</p> + +<p> +We can imagine what a long, long story, or +history there is in politics. +</p> + +<p> +Politics have to do with the government of +communities, towns and cities and nations, and finally +all nations, since all nations are beginning to be +willing to agree among themselves. +</p> + +<p> +For a very long time, perhaps always, people +have dreamed of perfect organization and perfect +government. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most famous books ever written on +the subject of this hoped-for perfect government +is the work of the Greek philosopher Plato who +had been taught by Socrates. The book is called +<i>The Republic of Plato</i> and it contains the +teaching of Socrates. +</p> + +<p> +You may read in the last sentences of the ninth +book of <i>The Republic of Plato</i>, a description of +the perfect city. Socrates had been explaining to +his pupils that the man of understanding will take +part in everything which will make him a better +man, and will shun what may make him less good. +So he will take part in politics. <i>The Republic</i> is +written in the form of question and answer. +Finally Socrates says that the pattern of the +perfect city is perhaps laid up in heaven, but that, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P175"></a>175}</span> +as far as he can, the man of understanding will +follow its practices. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +It would scarcely be possible to make a complete +list of famous men who have been statesmen +or politicians, because the list would be so long. +But in this chapter we can choose a few names +of men who have been political leaders in Great +Britain, Canada, and the British Empire. +</p> + +<p> +A political leader generally is a speaker or +orator. Nothing, possibly, is more thrilling than +to listen to a great speech. Read carefully the +few political sentences which follow here, and see +if you do not experience a thrill, a sense that here +is something that belongs to you. +</p> + +<p> +The first sentences quoted were spoken by +William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, in the House of +Lords, 1770. Pitt, before he became a member of +the British House of Commons, had been a +soldier. +</p> + +<p> +"I am now suspected of coming forward, in the +decline of life, in the anxious pursuit of wealth +and power, which it is impossible for me to +enjoy. Be it so; there is one ambition at least +which I ever will acknowledge, which I will not +renounce but with my life—it is the ambition of +delivering to my posterity those rights of freedom +which I have received from my ancestors. I +am not now pleading the cause of an individual, +but of every freeholder in England." +</p> + +<p> +Edmund Burke, an Irishman, was a great +orator. He laid down and taught principles of +government which have a great deal to do with +the way in which government in the British +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P176"></a>176}</span> +Empire is organized to-day. Here is one sentence +which he spoke in the British House of Commons +in 1780. +</p> + +<p> +"The service of the public is a thing which +cannot be put to auction, and struck down to those +who will agree to execute it the cheapest." +</p> + +<p> +Richard Cobden was an economist. He was the +son of a farmer, and was himself a manufacturer. +His speeches are for the most part plain and +simple, and deal generally with the change in +Great Britain from protection to free trade. The +following sentences were spoken in the British +House of Commons in 1845. The second half of +the last sentence contains teaching which is +memorable. +</p> + +<p> +"This is a new era. It is the age of improvement, +it is the age of social advancement, not +the age for war or for feudal sports. You live in +a mercantile age, when the whole wealth of the +world is poured into your lap. You cannot have +the advantages of commercial rents and feudal +privileges; but you may be what you always have +been, if you will identify yourselves with the +spirit of the age." +</p> + +<p> +D'Arcy McGee, a Canadian statesman, was +born and educated in Ireland. He spoke and +laboured for the confederation of the Provinces +which was consummated in the Dominion of +Canada in 1867. The sentences that follow belong +to a speech given before the Legislative +Assembly of Upper and Lower Canada in 1865: +</p> + +<p> +"The principle of Federation is a generous +one. It is a principle that gives men local duties +to discharge, and invests them at the same time +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P177"></a>177}</span> +with general supervision, that excites a healthy +sense of responsibility and comprehension." +</p> + +<p> +When we read over these sentences, we may +obtain a sense of the meaning of government, and +of the greatness of politics. Notice that the men +who speak are in earnest. Their sentences are +practical and simple. Great politics and great +statesmen, almost invariably, are characterized by +earnestness and sincerity; and great political +sayings, as a rule, are practical. Countless +numbers of men have devoted themselves to political +government, not for their own gain, but for the +service of their country, and eventually of the +world. There are those who go into politics for +their own gain solely, but we do not call them +patriots. The study of such sentences as are +quoted in this chapter will help us to understand +something of the government and history of +Canada, Great Britain and the Empire. Boys and +girls and young people should be interested in +government, for every country needs the help of +the younger generations in its political affairs. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +The greatest political sentence ever spoken +is,—"Love your enemies." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Some day you should plan to visit a great library +and ask to be shown facsimiles of a few of +the famous Acts by which liberties have been won +and our government has been assured. One of the +greatest Acts in the history of the English-speaking +world is the Great Charter obtained in King +John's time, 1215, and signed by him and many +of the barons. Be sure to see a facsimile of this, if +you can, and read especially clause 40. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P178"></a>178}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"To no one will we sell, to no one will we +refuse, or delay right or justice." +</p> + +<p> +The Confederation Act of the Dominion of +Canada, or the British North America Act, as it is +properly called, is dated 1867. Its plainness, +simplicity and scrupulous fairness make it worthy of +admiration. +</p> + +<p> +In Charlottetown, the capital of the Province +of Prince Edward Island, set in the assembly hall +of the Parliament Buildings, is a tablet to mark +the place where the Fathers of Confederation met +and deliberated. These are the words which you +may read on the tablet, as well as the names of +the men who resolved that there should be a +Dominion of Canada: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + In the Hearts and Minds of the<br> + Delegates who Assembled<br> + In this Room, Sept. 1st, 1864<br> + Was born the Dominion of Canada.<br> + ———<br> + Providence being Their Guide<br> + They Builded Better than they Knew.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0626"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P179"></a>179}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXVI +<br><br> +HISTORIES +</h3> + +<p> +It will take us a little while even to imagine +how many important books there are in which +famous historians have written of history +and politics. +</p> + +<p> +Why should so many books need to be written +about history? +</p> + +<p> +Because in this way we are able to trace the +long, fascinating story of how mankind—men and +women, your fathers and mothers, their fathers +and mothers, and so on back for a thousand +generations—has been gradually gaining in +knowledge and growing, we trust, if even only a very +little, more kind and more just. +</p> + +<p> +But let us forget all this for a few minutes. It +is a good time to look about our treasure house, +and see, or reckon up, as it were, what we have +found in it. +</p> + +<p> +If we had to write a fairy tale about books, we +could easily imagine that all the famous books in +the world were kept in a great, very beautiful +palace, and that books of different kinds were +arranged in halls, galleries and great rooms which +had been assigned to them. +</p> + +<p> +There might very well be a special, beautiful, +walled garden, belonging to the palace, for fairy +tales, myths, fables and such books. +</p> + +<p> +What a wonderful, great room, or rather series +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P180"></a>180}</span> +of great rooms, must be kept for stories and +novels! +</p> + +<p> +And exquisite galleries, with vaulted roofs, and +open courts, where fountains play,—the water +falling with a pleasant sound into marble basins,—and +with beautiful statues in the courts, we will +choose for songs, ballads, and great poetry. +</p> + +<p> +Famous books of history, political speeches, +lives of great men, books of travel and discovery, +may be arranged in a stately hall, with alcoves, +stained glass windows, and marble busts of some +of the great men that we read about. +</p> + +<p> +Shall we imagine that we will pay a visit to a +few of the alcoves in the great hall of history, +and take down from the shelves, here one book, +and here another, reading their names, and +learning the names of those who wrote the books? +</p> + +<p> +We do not learn very much about a book simply +by taking it down from a shelf, and turning over +a few of the pages; but we do learn something. +Many of you will read a certain number of these +books some day. All of us may know something +about them. At least we all can remember that +famous histories, as well as other books, have +helped to make this delightful, thrilling, difficult, +very important world in which we live. +</p> + +<p> +Now what books shall we take down from the +shelves? +</p> + +<p> +Suppose we begin with a book written by +someone you know,—Sir Walter Raleigh. +</p> + +<p> +When Sir Walter Raleigh came back from one +of his sea expeditions, on which, after the fashion +of the times in which he lived, he had been more +or less of a buccaneer, he was put into prison in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P181"></a>181}</span> +the Tower of London on account of a political +quarrel in which he was involved. Time spent in +prison seems very long, especially for a man like +Raleigh. So he began to write a <i>History of the +World</i>. He never finished it, but he got as far on +as B.C. 130. You can handle to-day one of the +great books in which Raleigh's <i>History of the +World</i> is printed; but very few people ever read it. +</p> + +<p> +But at the end of what Raleigh wrote of +the <i>History of the World</i>, he penned a noble +sentence which people have never forgotten. Here +it is: +</p> + +<p> +"O eloquent, just, and mightie Death! whom +none could advise, thou hast perswaded; what +none hath dared, thou hast done; and whom all +the world hath flattered, thou only hast cast out of +the world and despised. Thou hast drawne +together all the farre stretched greatnesse, all the +pride, crueltie, and ambition of man, and covered +it all over with these two narrow words, <i>Hic +jacet</i>!" +</p> + +<p> +We know that there is, or perhaps we should +say that there used to be, a sharp division between +ancient and modern history. One of the first +writers to connect modern with ancient history +was an Englishman whose name was Edward +Gibbon. He wrote a book called <i>The History of +the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>. Do +any of you happen to remember that in Dickens' +novel, <i>Our Mutual Friend</i>, Mr. Boffin paid Silas +Wegg to read aloud to him so that he might +become a little better educated? Mr. Boffin had +chosen Gibbon's <i>Decline and Fall of the Roman +Empire</i> for Silas Wegg to read to him. It is a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P182"></a>182}</span> +remarkable book, and it made a great impression +on the scholarship of the world. Gibbon himself +was a clever, but somewhat odd man. He chose +to live and write a good part of his time, not in his +own country, but in Switzerland. Gibbon is an +international author. Not only the people of his +own country, but those of other countries as well, +read his great work. He lived in the eighteenth +century, and he belonged to Dr. Johnson's club. +We are going to hear something of Dr. Samuel +Johnson in another chapter. Certainly, we should +take down Gibbon's history from the shelves, and +look at it. Some of you probably will read it later +with interest and pleasure. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Macaulay, who wrote <i>The Lays of Ancient +Rome</i>, was an able historian. He lived from 1800 +to 1859. Gibbon had died six years before Macaulay +was born. Macaulay was a graduate of Cambridge, +a lawyer and a writer. He was a member +of Parliament, and lived for several years in +India, where he gave splendid governmental +service. His <i>History of England</i> is a famous book. +When it was first published it was read with as +much eagerness as if it had been a thrilling novel. +It still charms a multitude of readers. Take down +the first volume of his <i>History of England</i> from +the shelf, and read in the first chapter two +paragraphs that speak of Cromwell and of the gallant +bearing of Charles the First at his execution. +Perhaps you may remember reading a story by +Dumas which tells of the same event. Anyone who +cares for history will find delight in Macaulay's +famous book. +</p> + +<p> +Here is Napier's <i>History of the War in the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P183"></a>183}</span> +Peninsula</i>, in which you may read of the campaigns +of Wellington. If you will look at his preface +you will find noble praise of Wellington's +army. Here are John Richard Green's <i>Short +History of the English People</i>, and Miss Agnes +Strickland's <i>Queens of England</i>. Here are +histories by Carlyle, and by Lecky, who was an +Irishman, and many others, and here is John Lothrop +Motley's <i>Rise of the Dutch Republic</i>. Motley was +an American, who, like many other historians, +chose a favourite hero of whom to write. His +hero was William the Silent. The last sentence of +Motley's history reads: "As long as he lived he +was the guiding-star of a whole brave nation, and +when he died the little children cried in the +streets." +</p> + +<p> +One of the first writers who made plain to the +world the entrancing history of New France, +which, as you know, is an earlier name for +Canada, was the historian Francis Parkman. +Parkman was born in Boston near the end of the +eighteenth century. He devoted himself to historical +research, and wrote a long series of books, many +of the names of which are familiar to you. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the titles of these volumes written by +Parkman are <i>Pioneers of France in the New +World</i>, <i>The Jesuits in North America</i>, <i>The +Discovery of the Great West</i>, <i>The Old Régime in +Canada</i>, <i>Frontenac and New France Under Louis +XIV</i>, and <i>The Conspiracy of Pontiac</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Parkman begins <i>The Conspiracy of Pontiac</i>, +which he completed in 1851, with the paragraph +quoted below. It is interesting to note the great +changes which have come about on this continent +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P184"></a>184}</span> +since Parkman wrote this history, nearly eighty +years ago. +</p> + +<p> +"The Indian is a true child of the forest and the +desert. The wastes and solitudes of nature are +his congenial home. His haughty mind is imbued +with the spirit of the wilderness, and the light of +civilization falls on him with a blighting power. +His unruly pride and untamed freedom are in +harmony with the lonely mountains, cataracts and +rivers among which he dwells; and primitive +America, with her savage scenery and savage +men, opens to the imagination a boundless world, +unmatched in wild sublimity." +</p> + +<p> +Biography sometimes is closely related to +history. When the life of a famous public man is +written in such a way as to tell the story of how +his actions have changed the history of his +country, biography and history seem practically +identical. The story of Queen Elizabeth is, one may +say, the story, or history, of England during her +reign. The same statement is partly true of the +biography of Queen Victoria. It is true also of +the life of any great public man in any country. +Books of biography are widely read in this +twentieth century. Most of the people you know read +biographies. +</p> + +<p> +If we find the alcove in which are kept the newest +books in the hall of history, we will discover +on the shelves such volumes as Sir Sidney Lee's +<i>Life of King Edward VII</i>, Mr. Lytton Strachey's +<i>Queen Victoria</i>, his <i>Elisabeth and Essex</i>, and +Mr. Philip Guedalla's <i>Life of Palmerston</i>. These are +all clearly written, easy to read, condensed rather +than long drawn out, based on sound historical +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P185"></a>185}</span> +research and so fascinating that thousands of +people begin to read them as soon as they are +published. +</p> + +<p> +Here is a little book of history called <i>Gallipoli</i>, +which was published in 1916. It was written by a +poet, John Masefield, and it tells the story of the +Australians when they fought on the Gallipoli +Peninsula in the Great War. There are many +notable histories of different campaigns in the +War, but none surely will last longer than this +small, noble book. +</p> + +<p> +Now we know the names of a few histories by +historians of English-speaking countries. There +are many other histories written by Italians, +Frenchmen, Germans, and others. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Before we leave books of history, shall we look +at a history of English literature, so that we may +mark down for ourselves the names of the periods, +or times, when some of the great writers lived? +</p> + +<p> +There was an Anglo-Saxon period before William +the Conqueror came to England. Poets and +writers lived then, but only learned scholars read +now the works they composed. You are likely to +read at some time of Beowulf, who is supposed to +have written about 520, and of Cædmon, who is +said to have been a servant at the monastery of +Whitby under the Abbess Hilda. +</p> + +<p> +The first great English poet, who was the master +of a period of English poetry, was Chaucer. +His work brings us to the fourteenth century. +He had a number of less famous contemporaries. +</p> + +<p> +Many of the old ballads were made probably in +the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P186"></a>186}</span> +Sir Thomas Malory wrote his book <i>Morte +d'Arthur</i> in the fifteenth century. +</p> + +<p> +The first book was printed in England by Caxton +in 1477. +</p> + +<p> +The Elizabethan Age, as you know, is one of the +most famous periods in English literature. It is +generally divided into an earlier and a later +period. Spenser belonged to the earlier time; and +Shakespeare marked the later period, along with +other notable writers. The Elizabethan age is +reckoned to have lasted longer than Elizabeth's +reign, because writers still wrote in the same +fashion and spirit. The authorized translation +of the Bible into English was written at this time. +</p> + +<p> +In the time of the Commonwealth and later, +when England was largely puritan, the great poet +Milton lived, and John Bunyan, who wrote <i>The +Pilgrim's Progress</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Dryden, a poet, belongs to the second part of +the seventeenth century. Pope, another poet, lived +most of his life in the eighteenth century. A +number of novelists, Defoe, who wrote <i>Robinson +Crusoe</i>, of an earlier date than the others, and +Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Smollett, all great +novelists, come in the late seventeenth and earlier +eighteenth centuries. +</p> + +<p> +A group of distinguished men, some of whom +we will learn a little about in the next chapter, +lived in the eighteenth century. Their names +are Johnson; Goldsmith; Burke, the statesman; +Gibbon, the historian; Garrick, an actor; and +Reynolds, the painter. Swift, Addison, Steele, +and other essayists, wrote earlier in the same +century. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P187"></a>187}</span> +</p> + +<p> +You do not need to remember specially the +various ages in which writers lived. But we +understand now that people often speak of periods +in English literature; it is interesting to fit into +their proper places great writers whose names we +know. +</p> + +<p> +Scott and Jane Austen belong to the end of the +eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth +century. +</p> + +<p> +Dickens, Thackeray, and many others, lived and +wrote in the nineteenth century, and are great +Victorians. Hardy is partly Victorian and partly +Georgian. Kipling and Barrie belong to the late +nineteenth and early twentieth century. We live +now in the first half of the twentieth century. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0627"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P188"></a>188}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXVII +<br><br> +BOSWELL'S LIFE OF JOHNSON +</h3> + +<p> +A man called James Boswell, who lived in the +eighteenth century, chose as his hero a +celebrated personage whose name was +Samuel Johnson. Boswell was willing, indeed +eager and determined, to go about with Johnson +from place to place, to listen to what he said, and +then to make notes of Johnson's conversation. +Boswell was a devoted friend, and Johnson was +worthy of his friendship, for he was a truly great +man. Boswell spared no pains to learn everything +that he could of Johnson's youth, of his +family and friends, of his work and character. In +this way, James Boswell prepared himself to +write the life of Dr. Johnson. +</p> + +<p> +Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i> is certainly one of +the greatest biographies ever written. Many +people think that it is the greatest of all +biographies, because it tells us with truth, fidelity +and fullness what manner of man Dr. Johnson +was. +</p> + +<p> +There are many odd things about Boswell's +<i>Life of Johnson</i>. One of the oddest is that Johnson +did not like Scotland, or the people of Scotland, +but Boswell was a Scot. Johnson, who was +outspoken in an extraordinary degree, and somewhat +rough, rather what we call a bear of a man, was +often rude to Boswell, who, perhaps, was not a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P189"></a>189}</span> +little tiresome. But Boswell never minded what +happened, or what was said, as long as he could +be in Johnson's company. +</p> + +<p> +Samuel Johnson's parents were very poor. He +was not even a strong boy, and was often ill. One +of the reasons why we admire Johnson is that he +contended bravely with poverty and ill-health all +his life. He never put money first, or perhaps he +might have been rich, in which case, possibly, we +might never have heard of him. He does not seem +to have thought it any particular hardship to +suffer from ill-health. He does not talk, or write, +of being ill. What he did put first in his life was +scholarship, work, friendship, companionship, and +living in accordance with high principles. +</p> + +<p> +How do we know all this, and how can we be +certain that it is true? We know because we find +Johnson's character in Boswell's <i>Life</i>. No one +can read this <i>Life of Johnson</i> by Boswell without +being certain that Boswell took great pains to +write what was true, and that he succeeded. +</p> + +<p> +Johnson's father was a bookseller in a small +way in the English city of Lichfield, where there is +a beautiful cathedral, which some day you may +see. Both Johnson's father and mother did everything +they could for their son. It soon was evident +at home and at school that the boy had an unusually +fine intelligence. He went to Oxford as a +sizar. This means that he had not enough money +to live on, so he worked in the college to pay his +way. There were few opportunities then for +students to earn money. Samuel Johnson had a fine, +sturdy self-respect. He was poor, but he was not +ashamed of being poor. When someone, who knew +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P190"></a>190}</span> +that his clothes were shabby, put a pair of boots +outside his door, Johnson threw the boots out of +the window. He was not the kind of man to take +help. There is something comical about this story. +We cannot help laughing, yet we like, and respect, +the shabby student who was independent. Johnson +was not good-looking, and he had odd tricks of +manner, but his mind and character impressed +everyone. +</p> + +<p> +One day, when he was a famous man, he performed +what he considered an act of penance in +memory of his father. His father, whose business +was going very badly, had wanted him to stand +beside a bookstall in Uttoxeter, near Lichfield, and +sell any books that he could. Johnson was not +willing to do this. Afterwards, he must have +regretted his refusal keenly. Many years later, +when he visited Lichfield with friends, they missed +him one day from breakfast till night. Presently +he drove up in a post chaise; and when they +inquired urgently what he had been doing, he told +them the story of how he had been unwilling to +help his father. To show his sorrow, he had gone +to Uttoxeter and had stood, bareheaded, beside +the bookstall from which his father used to sell +books, for an hour at the busiest time of day. +Perhaps some people might think it was an odd thing +for him to do. But only a great and humble spirit +can inspire anyone to carry out such an action. +</p> + +<p> +After he left Oxford, he was a tutor. But since +his appearance and manner were both odd, he had +difficulty in finding and keeping situations. All +the while he wanted to be a writer, and we may be +sure that he practised writing. He married, when +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P191"></a>191}</span> +he was a comparatively young man, a widow much +older than he was. He was deeply attached to his +wife. After her death, years later, he never ceased +to mourn for her, and he treasured every memory +of their life together. +</p> + +<p> +Long before this happened, however, Johnson +had gone to London, and had become what is +called a hack writer. He earned very little by his +writing. These were early days in journalism, +when newspaper writers suffered hardship, +probably because the occupation was not yet fully +established, and work was ill-paid. Much has been +written of this period among men of letters in +London, and of the straits to which they were +driven to keep alive. It was out of such conditions +as these that Johnson made himself famous, until +every word he wrote, or spoke, carried weight, +and he himself had greater authority among +writers, and with his contemporaries, than, +possibly, any other man of letters has ever had. +</p> + +<p> +You will find in an interesting novel, called +<i>Midwinter</i>, written by John Buchan, a delightful +account of Johnson when he was a tutor and later, +before he had become famous. +</p> + +<p> +Johnson wrote a great deal, but his Dictionary +is often called his most famous work. It took him +years to complete the Dictionary, and the task +required all his scholarship, together with much +toil, carried on in poverty and privation. When +the Dictionary was finished, Johnson was a famous +man. It is likely that he enjoyed making his +Dictionary. The work suited his temperament. One +can imagine how he would choose the words, as if +he were a judge or umpire, as indeed he was, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P192"></a>192}</span> +deciding that certain words were to be included, +and refusing others. Some of his definitions are +amusing. Dictionaries now are much more +elaborate. The science of words has grown greatly +since Johnson's day. But he was a pioneer in the +making of a dictionary, and we greatly honour +pioneers. +</p> + +<p> +Then there was Dr. Johnson's club, which met +at an eating house on a famous street in London +named the Strand. Great numbers of people visit +the Cheshire Cheese every year because it is +generally believed that Dr. Johnson and his friends +used to dine there, and there carried on discussions, +some of which no doubt Boswell duly reported +in his biography. +</p> + +<p> +It is a wonderful achievement to have kept for +the world so perfectly the looks, words, and +characters of Dr. Johnson and his associates, many of +whom were famous men. But Dr. Johnson was the +leader. He it was who kept the club together; +for, although he was arbitrary, odd, and +sometimes brusque and rude, he was astonishingly +companionable, affectionate, sincere and very +able. His conversation was weighty, full of pith +and meaning. It was a highly esteemed privilege +to belong to Dr. Johnson's club. +</p> + +<p> +The names of some of his associates are Garrick, +the great actor, who came to London from +Lichfield with Johnson; Goldsmith, who was a +poet, and who wrote plays, as well as one wise and +beautiful novel called <i>The Vicar of Wakefield</i>; +Reynolds, the great painter, and others not as well +known, and Boswell. +</p> + +<p> +If you will find a copy of Boswell's <i>Life of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P193"></a>193}</span> +Johnson</i>—remember, it is a large book, in four +volumes—and turn to the index at the end, you +will discover under the heading Johnson, His +Character and Manners, numbers indicating the +pages where are printed some stories that you will +enjoy reading. On pages 162 and 163 of the fourth +volume, we read of his love for children, and his +affection for Hodge, his cat, for whom he used to +buy oysters. Almost every page contains good +reading, as, for instance, beginning at page 300, +in the same volume, we may read of his conversation +with a young man whom he thought presumptuous, +followed immediately by an account of the +plan of some of his friends to send him to Italy +since he was ill, and of how greatly touched +Johnson was by their kindness. Boswell's <i>Life of +Johnson</i> is one of the books which the world has +enjoyed reading ever since it was written. +</p> + +<p> +And now we come to something about this +biography that may seem curious. If Boswell had +tried to describe Dr. Johnson as being handsome, +and polite, instead of unprepossessing and +sometimes rude, he likely would have made him seem +not nearly as great a man as Johnson really is. +The biography would not have been a true picture +of Dr. Johnson. A true picture makes a far deeper +impression than a picture which is not true; and +this is one of the very most important things we +can learn about a book. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0628"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P194"></a>194}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXVIII +<br><br> +READING FOR WHAT YOU WANT TO BE +</h3> + +<p> +Biography is not only interesting reading, +it helps us to understand other people. In +this chapter we may discover that there are +few better ways of finding out what kind of work +we want to undertake than by reading biography. +</p> + +<p> +First of all, let us think of a very few famous +biographies, such books as Plutarch's <i>Lives</i>, +Boswell's <i>Johnson</i>, Lockhart's <i>Scott</i>, Forster's +<i>Dickens</i>, Morley's <i>Life of Gladstone</i>, Churchill's <i>Lord +Randolph Churchill</i>, Page's <i>Life and Letters</i>, Sir +Sidney Lee's <i>Shakespeare</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Numberless people have read and used +Plutarch's <i>Lives of Illustrious Men</i>. We know that +Shakespeare did. If you will turn to the last life +in Plutarch's book, the life of Brutus, you will +find that Shakespeare must have used this +biography of Brutus when he wrote the play <i>Julius +Cæsar</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Now we may think of biography as a magic key +that will help you to unlock the door behind which +you may find what work you are going to do. Let +us ask ourselves what occupations these famous +men followed whose lives appear in the list given +above. +</p> + +<p> +Johnson was a journalist, and an author, and +he made a dictionary. Scott was a lawyer, an +officer of the Crown, and a novelist; one might +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P195"></a>195}</span> +almost add that he was something of a farmer. +You remember how he loved the land he owned at +Abbotsford, and used to ride over it and talk +with his men about their work. Dickens was a +reporter, a novelist, and, towards the end of his +life, he gave public readings from his works. +Gladstone was a statesman; he had great skill in +finance; and on account of his associations at +home, he had somewhat of the training of a +business man. He also was interested in the land. +You may read in his biography how he used to +employ himself cutting down trees, that needed +to be felled, on his estate. Lord Randolph +Churchill was a statesman. Page was an editor, +and a diplomatist. Shakespeare was an actor, the +manager of a theatre, and a dramatist. Already +you know how to find in biography some +knowledge of a good many different occupations. +</p> + +<p> +A great many of you will be farmers. The +well-being and health of the world depend directly on +farming; and the life of a farmer and of a +farmer's family may be happy, independent and +wonderfully useful and interesting. To learn +about the life of a farmer, one must read other +books as well as biography. Three of the novels +that we have enjoyed reading contain vivid, true +pictures of the life of people who live on a farm. +The first of these novels is Scott's <i>Guy Mannering</i>. +You remember the farm called Charlies-hope, +and Dandie Dinmont and his wife and children. +Scott dearly loved and thoroughly understood +country life, and there is no more charming +picture in a book of the natural, happy life of the +farmer and his wife and children than in this +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P196"></a>196}</span> +novel by Scott. The second novel is George +Eliot's <i>Adam Bede</i>. Mr. and Mrs. Poyser had +much skill in their occupation. It is interesting to +discover how well Mrs. Poyser understands farming, +especially dairy farming. <i>Lorna Doone</i> is +another novel about farm people. A Scottish poet, +Robert Burns, was the son of a tenant farmer, and +was himself a ploughman and a farmer. He has +written much that is exquisite about country life. +Ask someone to read aloud to you "The Cotter's +Saturday Night", a wonderful picture of family +affection and good living. You may find some of +the words hard to understand. But whoever it is +that reads the poem aloud to you will likely find +the difficult words explained in a glossary. These +are all English and Scottish writers. Hamlin +Garland has written a good deal about the life of +an American farmer, moving to new settlements, +in his book called <i>A Son of the Middle Border</i>. In +Will Carleton's verse and James Whitcombe +Riley's verse we find songs and stories of farm +life. Peter McArthur's books, <i>In Pastures Green</i>, +<i>The Red Cow and Her Friends</i>, and <i>Around +Home</i>, contain true, intimate, delightful pictures +of farming in the older provinces of Canada. +</p> + +<p> +And so we see how interesting reading about +occupations may be. In the list that follows most +of the books are biographies, lives of sailors, +soldiers, architects, teachers, clergymen, business +men, bankers, lawyers, actors, doctors, painters, +craftsmen, journalists, nurses, musicians, +explorers, scientists, workmen. There are other books, +as well, about animals, and plants, nature and +country walks, flying, mountain climbing, inventions, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P197"></a>197}</span> +hobbies, and science, about some of the +many wonderful pursuits in which you are interested +already, or in which you will be interested +soon. +</p> + +<p> +If you look in the list for the name of some +particular book and do not find it, whether it is +the name of a biography belonging to some +occupation, or of a book telling about some recreation +of which you want to learn, you may go to a +library and ask for help in finding the book. Or +if you cannot go to the library, write to the +librarian and ask him to tell you. +</p> + +<p> +Some day you may make a list of your own +favourite books. No one person needs to read all +the books named here, but boys and girls may +choose from the list a few of the books they want +to read. In the case of birds, flowers, and the +study of nature, each neighbourhood or district +of country needs to be classified according to its +latitude and longitude. Birds, flowers and plants +vary according to climate; look for their descriptions +in books belonging to your own district of +country. +</p> + +<pre> + Life of Nelson Robert Southey + Sir John Franklin A. H. Markham + Life and Voyages of Washington Irving + Christopher Columbus + My Mystery Ships Gordon Campbell + There Go the Ships Archibald MacMechan + The Life of Marlborough Viscount Wolseley + James Wolfe, Man and Soldier W. T. Waugh + Life of Gordon Sir Wm. Francis Butler + (English Men of Action) +</pre> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P198"></a>198}</span> +</p> + +<pre> + Life of Lord Kitchener Sir George Arthur + Personal Memoirs U. S. Grant + Lee the American Gamaliel Bradford + Life of St. Francis St. Bonaventura (Everymans) + Life of Dean Stanley R. E. Prothero + Life of Alexander White, G. F. Barber + D.D., of Free St. + George's Edinburgh + Phillips Brooks, 1835-1893 A. V. G. Allen + Margaret Ogilvy, by her son J. M. Barrie + Bonnet and Shawl Philip Guedalla + The Life of Florence Nightingale Sir E. T. Cook + Sister Dora M. Lonsdale + Life of Sophia Jex-Blake Margaret Todd, M.D. + Mary Slessor of Calabar W. P. Livingstone + In the House of My Pilgrimage Lilian Faithfull, J.P. + The Heart of Ellen Terry Ellen Terry + Louisa May Alcott, her Ednah D. Cheney + life, letters and journals + The Life of Alice Freeman Palmer G. H. Palmer + Life and Correspondence A. P. Stanley + of Thomas Arnold + Life of Charles W. Eliot E. H. Cotton + Life and Correspondence Ernest Hartley Coleridge + of Lord Coleridge + Richard Burdon Haldane, + An Autobiography + Reminiscences of Sir Ed. by Richard Harris + Henry Hawkins + Life of Joseph H. Choate E. S. Martin +</pre> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P199"></a>199}</span> +</p> + +<pre> + A Memoir of Sir James Prof. J. Duns, D.D. + Young Simpson + Lord Lister Sir Rickman J. Godlee + Life of Sir William Osler H. W. Cushing + The Beloved Physician, Sir R. McNair Wilson + James MacKenzie + Pierre Curie Marie Curie + Life and Letters of Charles Francis Darwin + Robert Darwin + The Voyage of the Beagle Charles Darwin (Everymans) + Life and Letters of Thomas Leonard Huxley + Henry Huxley + The Life of Louis Pasteur René Vallery-Radot + Autobiography Benjamin Franklin (Everymans) + From Immigrant to Inventor Michael I. Pupin + Alexander Graham Bell Catherine MacKenzie + Delane of The Times E. T. Cook + Life and Letters of E. L. Godkin R. Ogden + Abraham Lincoln Lord Charnwood + Our Inheritance Stanley Baldwin + Memoirs of Sir John Alexander Sir Joseph Pope + Macdonald + Sir Wilfrid Laurier and J. S. Willison + the Liberal Party + Self-Help Samuel Smiles + The Rise of the House of Count Corti + Rothschild + From Workhouse to Westminster, George Haw + The Life of Will Crooks. + Sir Christopher Wren Sir Lawrence Weaver +</pre> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P200"></a>200}</span> +</p> + +<pre> + Life of Michelangelo J. A. Symonds + Buonarroti + Valasquez R. A. M. Stevenson + Life of Sir Edward Burne-Jones Lady Burne-Jones + Life of William Morris J. W. Mackail + William de Morgan and his Wife A. M. D. W. Stirling + Life of Purcell W. H. Cummings + Beethoven Romaine Holland + Life of Felix Mendelssohn W. A. Lampadius + Bartholdy + Life of Sir Henry Irving Austin Brereton + Empty Chairs Squire Bancroft + The Compleat Angler Isaak Walton (Everymans) + Natural History of Selborne Gilbert White (Everymans) + Walden H. D. Thoreau (Everymans) + Afoot in England W. H. Hudson + Rambles of a Canadian S. T. Wood + Naturalist + The Outline of Science J. Arthur Thomson + Scenery of Scotland Sir Archibald Geikie + Elementary Geology A. P. Coleman + Introduction to Geology W. B. Scott + Stories of Starland Mary Procter + Astronomy for Amateurs C. Flammarion + Conquest of the Air C. L. M. Brown + 14,000 Miles Through the Air Sir Ross MacPherson Smith + Winged Warfare Col. W. A. Bishop, V.C. + The Ascent of Mount Everest Sir Francis Younghusband +</pre> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P201"></a>201}</span> +</p> + +<pre> + The Canadian Rockies A. P. Coleman + Handbook of Birds of Frank M. Chapman + Eastern North America + Field Book of American F. Schuyler Mathews + Wild Flowers + Garden Cities of Tomorrow E. Howard + A Book About Roses Dean Hole + The Little Garden Mrs. Francis King + The Canadian Garden Mrs. Annie L. Jack + The Boys' Own Book of Morley Adams + Pets and Hobbies + Models to Make A. Duncan Stubbs + Model Airplanes Elmer Adam + Health, Strength and Happiness C. W. Saleeby +</pre> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0629"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P202"></a>202}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXIX +<br><br> +TRAVEL AND DISCOVERY +</h3> + +<p> +Marco Polo, a famous traveller, was +born in the City of Venice in 1254, eleven +years before the birth of Dante. Dante +belonged to Florence: so Marco Polo and Dante +both were Italians. Marco Polo's father and +uncle were trading merchants. They travelled by +ship and overland to sell their goods, and they +were probably among the first Europeans to visit +the kingdom of China, even yet a mysterious, +strange part of the world to us. When Marco was +seventeen years old, his father and uncle took him +with them on one of their expeditions. He was +away from Italy twenty-six years. In that time, +he saw many marvels, became a favourite of the +great emperor Kublai Khan, and had more +astonishing adventures, almost, than we can imagine. +He came back safely to Italy, but was thrown into +prison in Genoa; you remember that these cities +of what is now Italy were often at war with one +another. When Marco Polo was in prison, he told +some of his adventures to a fellow-prisoner, and +this man induced Marco Polo to write a book. +Polo dictated what he wished to say, and Rustician +wrote it down. +</p> + +<p> +Marco Polo's book, <i>The Travels of Marco Polo</i>, +has had a considerable effect on the history of the +world. Columbus used to read it, and often quoted +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P203"></a>203}</span> +what Marco Polo said. It is likely, almost +certain, that Polo's example and success helped to +inspire Columbus to make his great voyage to the +Western hemisphere. +</p> + +<p> +We can judge how interesting and delightful +Marco Polo's book is from a brief extract which +contains the description of a hill that the Emperor +Kublai Khan had had made and planted with +trees: +</p> + +<p> +"Moreover, on the north side of the Palace, +about a bow-shot off, there is a hill which has been +made by art from the earth dug out of the lake; it +is a good hundred paces in height and a mile in +compass. This hill is entirely covered with trees +that never lose their leaves, but remain ever +green. And I assure you that wherever a beautiful +tree may exist, and the Emperor gets news of it, +he sends for it and has it transported bodily with +all its roots and the earth attached to them, and +planted on that hill of his. No matter how big +the tree may be, he gets it carried by his +elephants; and in this way he has got together the +most beautiful collection of trees in all the world. +And he has also caused the whole hill to be covered +with the ore of azure, which is very green. And +thus not only are the trees all green, but the hill +itself is all green likewise; and there is nothing +to be seen on it that is not green." +</p> + +<p> +Cook's <i>Voyages</i> is another famous book of +exploration. James Cook was born in 1728 and +was the son of a farm labourer. As a boy, he was +apprenticed first to a shopkeeper, then to a +shipowner. He entered the King's service in 1755. +The accounts of his voyages, or explorations, to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P204"></a>204}</span> +the North and West, South and East, in the days +when comparatively little was known of the seas +in which he sailed, are as interesting and exciting +as a story. His first expedition South was to +observe the transit of Venus, when he was in +command of the <i>Endeavour</i>. On this expedition he +visited New Zealand and Australia. His next +voyage, when he also visited the Pacific, was with +the <i>Resolution</i> and the <i>Adventure</i>. On his second +expedition he discovered the Sandwich Islands. +He sailed for nearly four thousand miles along +the western coast of North America, searching +for a north-west passage, on his third expedition. +His ships were the <i>Resolution</i> and the <i>Discovery</i>. +The <i>Discovery</i> is perhaps the best known +ship in which Cook sailed. The purpose of all his +expeditions was largely scientific. On his last +voyage, Cook lost his life. It has been said that +his best memorial is the map of the Pacific. +</p> + +<p> +Captain Cook wrote in a very simple, natural +style. Here is a description of some of the people +he saw, on the way to the place which he named +Poverty Bay. We can almost imagine that we +might have been on the ship with Captain Cook, +or venturing ashore, not at all certain what the +unknown inhabitants of unknown islands might +not do to us. The paragraph is taken from the +account of his first expedition: +</p> + +<p> +"In the evening, the weather having become +fair and moderate, the boats were again ordered +out, and I landed, accompanied by Mr. Banks and +Dr. Solander. We were received with great +expressions of friendship by the natives, who +behaved with a scrupulous attention not to give +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P205"></a>205}</span> +offence. In particular, they took care not to +appear in great bodies: one family, or the inhabitants +of two or three houses only, were generally +placed together, to the number of fifteen or +twenty, consisting of men, women, and children. +These little companies sat upon the ground, not +advancing towards us, but inviting us to them, by +a kind of beckon, moving one hand towards the +breast. We made them several little presents; +and in our walk round the bay found two small +streams of fresh water. This convenience, and +the friendly behaviour of the people, determined +me to stay at least a day, that I might fill some of +my empty casks, and give Mr. Banks an opportunity +of examining the natural produce of the +country." +</p> + +<p> +Captain Cook and his people were often in +danger from the anger of the strange tribes they met, +but we can have only admiration for the gentle +behaviour of the people whose home Cook visited +on this occasion, as described in his account of +the expedition. There are many dramatic scenes +in Cook's <i>Voyages</i>. Captain Cook was not only +brave, he had extraordinary perseverance. +</p> + +<p> +Many of us find stories of travels, discoveries +and explorations among the most interesting +books in the world. We travel, too, with the great +explorers, by means of these books, and have a +share in their dangers, escapes, and discoveries. +Explorers are always courageous, and often men +of noble character. A few women have been noted +explorers, but only a few, partly because +travelling alone and in danger, is more difficult for a +woman than for a man. Miss Mary Kingsley is +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P206"></a>206}</span> +one of these notable exceptions. Here are the +names of a few books of travel and discovery, old +and new: <i>How I Found Livingstone in Central +Africa</i>, by Henry M. Stanley; Sir Richard +Burton's <i>Pilgrimage to Mecca</i>; <i>Travels in West +Africa</i>, by Mary H. Kingsley; the <i>Journals</i> of +Captain R. F. Scott, the explorer who reached the +South Pole to find that the Danes, led by +Amundsen, had been a few days before him, the account +is often called <i>Scott's Last Expedition</i>, a very +noble book; and a fascinating volume by +T. E. Lawrence, <i>Revolt in the Desert</i>. The discoverer +of the Mississippi was La Salle. We may read of +him in Parkman. Two books of early travels in +Canada are Sir Alexander Mackenzie's <i>Voyages +from Montreal Through the Continent of North +America</i>, and Alexander Henry's <i>Travels and +Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories</i>. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0730"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P207"></a>207}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART VII +<br><br> +ESSAYS, CRITICISMS, LETTERS, DIARIES +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P209"></a>209}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXX +<br><br> +CHARLES LAMB AND HAZLITT: ESSAYISTS AND CRITICS +</h3> + +<p> +Charles Lamb is a friend of yours whom +you may not know yet; but, when you meet +him, you will soon find yourself thinking of +Charles Lamb as a friend. He is one of the rare +persons who attract and deserve everybody's +love. Charles Lamb lived all his life in London, +where he was born; he went to a famous school, +often called the Bluecoat School, because the boys +were dressed after that fashion. His first home +was in the Temple. "I was born and passed the +first seven years of my life in the Temple. Its +church, its halls, its gardens, its fountain, its +river, I had almost said—for in those young years +what was this king of rivers to me but a stream +that watered our pleasant places?—these are my +oldest recollections." +</p> + +<p> +When he grew up he entered the service of the +East India Company and worked there as a clerk +all his working life. The offices belonging to the +East India Company were known as the South +Sea House. People think of this building with +interest and affection, because Charles Lamb +worked in it. Besides being a clerk, he wrote in +his leisure time a series of papers, or essays, +which deal with many different subjects in a +whimsical, gentle, beautiful style. The manner +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P210"></a>210}</span> +of writing which Lamb used expressed his nature +and abilities perfectly. His work is full of sweet +laughter, great penetration, unselfishness, and +nobility. No wonder we love Charles Lamb. The +essays are known as <i>The Essays of Elia</i>. Lamb +is supposed to have taken Elia as a pen name +from the name of a fellow-clerk in the South Sea +House. +</p> + +<p> +Only one sister and one brother out of a rather +large family grew up to maturity with Charles +Lamb. This sister, whose name was Mary, suffered +often from a serious illness, and her brother +Charles devoted himself to her care. Mary Lamb +also was gifted and lovable. Neither of them +married. Charles and Mary Lamb wrote together +a book for young people, called <i>Tales from +Shakespeare</i>. +</p> + +<p> +The history of the attachment between this +brother and sister is one of the most beautiful +stories we know of family affection. Charles was +a gay, happy person, chivalrous and tender-hearted. +He loved jokes, but there were sad happenings +in his life which he met with great courage. +He stammered a little, but he was excellent +company, and gathered about him many friends, +themselves men of genius, such men as Coleridge +and Wordsworth, both great poets; Hazlitt, who +was a writer and critic; Crabb Robinson, Procter +and Talfourd, whose tastes were the same as his +own. Charles Lamb lived from 1775 to 1834. A +great deal has been written about him; two +especially delightful biographies of Lamb are those +written by Canon Ainger and by Mr. E. V. Lucas. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P211"></a>211}</span> +One or other of these you should read when you +have time. +</p> + +<p> +But, first of all, there are his essays. You will +soon discover that you have favourites among +these essays. It is likely that you will find much +to your liking "Christ's Hospital Five-and-Thirty +Years Ago"—-this is written about his old +school—"Mrs. Battle's Opinions on Whist", "Mackery +End, in Hertfordshire", "The Old Benchers of +The Inner Temple", "Blakesmoor in H—shire", +but above all "A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig", +and "Dream Children". You will enjoy almost +any of Lamb's essays read aloud by someone who +reads well. But begin by reading "A Dissertation +Upon Roast Pig" yourself, if you cannot find +someone who will read it to you. In this essay +Charles Lamb is, of course, writing humorously, +such amusing, whimsical humour. It tells how a +small Chinese boy, Bo-bo, discovered by accident +that roasted meat tastes a great deal better than +meat which has not been cooked at all. +</p> + +<p> +Essays, or papers, are short articles which deal +with one subject only. They often, but not always, +by reason of their style, tell us a great deal about +the nature of the man or woman who has written +the essay. No one can read Lamb's essays without +learning that the writer was lovable, +tender-hearted and upright. +</p> + +<p> +Another famous essayist is Francis Bacon, a +very able man who lived as long ago as the reign +of Queen Elizabeth. His essays are famous; they +are not as much concerned with the study of +human nature as the essays of Charles Lamb, but +are compact with learning, observation and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P212"></a>212}</span> +thought. One of his best known and most likable +essays is "On Gardens". +</p> + +<p> +Other famous essayists are: Addison, whose +Sir Roger de Coverley you may know already; +Steele; Swift; a great Frenchman, Montaigne, +who lived in the sixteenth century and whose +essays people generally read with pleasure when +they are middle-aged or older; and Robert Louis +Stevenson, who wrote <i>Treasure Island</i>. Many of +his essays are especially beautiful; read "The +Lantern-Bearers" when you have an opportunity. +</p> + +<p> +Essays, and books, often contain what is called +criticism. Criticism is an explanation, an +appreciation, sometimes an analysis, of what has been +written in poetry, verse, fiction, history, +biography, and other published work; criticism deals +as well with art and music. +</p> + +<p> +But we can understand better what criticism is +if we read one or two extracts which have been +written by critics. Two of Lamb's friends, +Coleridge and Hazlitt, were famous critics. Lamb +himself was one of the most discerning among +English critics. He did not always care for work +which was really great, but when he did care for +a great piece of work, no one had more perfect +understanding than Charles Lamb. +</p> + +<p> +What follows is part of a paragraph written by +Coleridge, a poet, of Shakespeare and Milton. We +feel an enthusiasm in what Coleridge has +written which makes our own hearts glow. This +feeling of elevation and happiness, given to us +through reading, is one of the tests of great work. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +"What then shall we say? even this; that +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P213"></a>213}</span> +Shakespeare, no mere child of nature; no <i>automaton</i> +of genius; no passive vehicle of inspiration, +possessed by the spirit, not possessing it; +first studied patiently, meditated deeply, +understood minutely, till knowledge, become habitual +and intuitive, wedded itself to his habitual +feelings, and at length gave birth to that stupendous +power, by which he stands alone, with no equal +or second in his own class; to that power which +seated him on one of the two glory-smitten +summits of the poetic mountain, with Milton as his +compeer, not rival. While the former darts +himself forth, and passes into all the forms of +human character and passion...; the other attracts +all forms and things to himself, into the unity of +his own ideal. All things and modes of action +shape themselves anew in the being of Milton; +while Shakespeare becomes all things, yet for +ever remaining himself." Some of this we can +understand. Shakespeare and Milton both had +great genius. But Shakespeare understood all +kinds of human beings and showed them as they +really were. Milton changed what he wrote +about to be like himself. What Shakespeare did, +of course, is the greater work of the two. +</p> + +<p> +It is pleasant to read what the critic William +Hazlitt wrote in praise of the essays of his friend +Charles Lamb, not for friendship's sake merely, +but because he loved and valued the essays. +Notice, while Hazlitt seems to write easily and +simply, he succeeds in explaining to us at the same +time the charm and lasting quality of Charles +Lamb as a writer. It is a fine, brief example of +one kind of criticism and of the work of a critic. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P214"></a>214}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"With what a gusto Mr. Lamb describes the +inns and courts of law, the Temple and Gray's +Inn, as if he had been a student there for the last +two hundred years, and had been as well +acquainted with the person of Sir Francis Bacon as +he is with his portrait or writings! ... He (Lamb) +haunts Watling-street like a gentle spirit; ... and +Christ's-Hospital still breathes the balmy breath +of infancy in his description of it! Whittington +and his Cat are a fine hallucination for +Mr. Lamb's historic Muse, and we believe he never +heartily forgave a certain writer who took the +subject of Guy Faux out of his hands. The +streets of London are his fairy-land, teeming with +wonder, with life and interest to his retrospective +glance, as it did to the eager eye of childhood; +he has contrived to weave its tritest traditions +into a bright and endless romance!" The quotation +from Coleridge is taken from his <i>Biographia +Literaria</i>, and Hazlitt's writing from his book +called <i>The Spirit of the Age and Lectures on +English poets</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Other famous or eminent critics whose writings +you may read some day are: Matthew Arnold, a +poet as well as critic, whose father was the +Dr. Arnold of Engby School that you have read about +in <i>Tom Brown's School Days</i>; a Frenchman, +Sainte-Beuve, one of the clearest, and most +delightful of critical writers; another Frenchman, +H. A. Taine; and a Dane, Georg Brandes, a +learned writer, who was one of the first to show +how close the connection is between one literature +and another, especially in European literatures. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0731"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P215"></a>215}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXXI +<br><br> +LETTERS AND LETTER WRITERS: +PEPYS AND OTHER DIARISTS +</h3> + +<p> +Cowper, the poet, who wrote <i>John Gilpin</i>, +is a delightful letter writer. He had a +number of pets living with him, and these +little friends of his, goldfinches, pigeons, a cat +and a kitten, often make their appearance in +Cowper's letters to his correspondents. Part of one +of his letters contains a description of the kitten. +</p> + +<p> +"I have a kitten, the drollest of all creatures +that ever wore a cat's skin. Her gambols are +not to be described, and would be incredible, if +they could. In point of size she is likely to be a +kitten always, being extremely small of her age, +but time, I suppose, that spoils everything, will +make her also a cat. You will see her, I hope, +before that melancholy period shall arrive, for no +wisdom that she may gain by experience and +reflection hereafter will compensate the loss of her +present hilarity. She is dressed in a tortoise-shell +suit, and I know that you will delight in +her." +</p> + +<p> +Sometimes Cowper used to write his letters in +rhyme. The paragraph that follows will make +anyone who reads it feel like dancing: +</p> + +<p> +"I have heard before of a room with a floor +laid upon springs, and such like things, with so +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P216"></a>216}</span> +much art in every part, that when you went in +you were forced to begin a minuet pace, with an +air and a grace, swimming about, now in and now +out, with a deal of state, in a figure of eight, +without pipe, or string, or anything such thing; and +now I have writ, in a rhyming fit, what will make +you dance, and as you advance, will keep you still, +though against your will, dancing away, alert and +gay, till you come to an end of what I have penn'd, +which that you may do, ere Madam and you are +quite worn out with jigging about I take my leave, +and here you receive a bow profound, down to +the ground, from your humble me—W.C." +</p> + +<p> +It is surprising to learn how many books contain +interesting letters, letters which are gay, +amusing, witty, touching, affectionate, wise, and +very skilfully written. Some of the most famous +letter writers you will know already from their +books. Others are famous wholly on account of +their letters. One of the latter is Madam de +Sévigné, a charming, gifted Frenchwoman who lived +in France as long ago as the seventeenth century. +When her daughter married and left home, Madame +de Sévigné, who was a devoted mother, used +to write gay, fascinating letters to the child she +loved. She told of the happenings at court, or +intrigues and politics, and of everyday, domestic +affairs. In this way, it has come about that +although in her lifetime Madame de Sévigné's letters +were comparatively little known, all the years +since then her reputation for wit, wisdom and +charm has been growing, until to-day the +Marquise de Sévigné is regarded as one of the most +brilliant and perfect letter writers, possibly the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P217"></a>217}</span> +most skilful and delightful letter writer that the +world knows. +</p> + +<p> +The following is part of one of her letters, +translated from the French, which tells of the +despair of a cook who could not get sufficient of +what he considered proper food to serve to the +King and his following, who were the guests of +his master. +</p> + +<p> +"I meant to tell you that the King arrived at +Chantilly last evening. He hunted the stag by +moonlight, the lanterns were very brilliant; and +altogether the evening, the supper, the play,—all +went off marvellously well..... +</p> + +<p> +"The King arrived on Thursday evening, the +promenade, the collation,—served on a lawn +carpeted with jonquils—all was perfect. At +supper there were a few tables where the roast was +wanting, on account of some guests whose arrival +had not been expected. This mortified Vatel, +who said several times, 'My honour is gone: I +can never survive this shame.' He also said to +Gourville, 'My head swims. I have not slept for +twelve nights. Help me give the orders.' Gourville +encouraged him as well as he could.... +Gourville told M. le Prince, who went immediately to +Vatel's room, and said to him, 'Vatel, everything +is going on well. Nothing could be finer than the +King's supper.' He replied, 'My lord, your +goodness overwhelms me. I know that the roast +was missing at two tables.' 'Not at all,' said +M. le Prince. 'Don't disturb yourself: everything is +going on well.' Midnight came; the fireworks, +which cost sixteen thousand francs, did not +succeed, on account of the fog. At four o'clock in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P218"></a>218}</span> +the morning, Vatel, going through the chateau, +found every one asleep. He met a young steward, +who had brought only two hampers of fish: +he asked, 'Is that all?'—'Yes, Sir.' The lad did +not know that Vatel had sent to all the seaports. +Vatel waited some time; the other purveyors did +not arrive: his brain reeled; he believed no more +fish could be had: and finding Gourville, he said, +'My dear sir, I shall never survive this disgrace....'" +</p> + +<p> +The names of a number of English letter writers, +whose letters most people find delightful, +are: Jonathan Swift, Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu, +Thomas Gray, Horace Walpole, Sir Walter +Scott, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Lamb, +John Keats, Jane Welsh Carlyle, Edward +Fitzgerald, Frances Anne Kemble, William +Makepeace Thackeray, Charles Dickens, the +Brownings, and Robert Louis Stevenson. +</p> + +<p> +We feel about journals and diaries in much the +same way as we do about letters. Such writings +admit us to the intimate companionship of those +whose words we read. Journals and diaries, +indeed, are more intimate than letters. There are +a number of remarkable English diarists:—John +Evelyn, Fanny Burney, Charles Greville, +Benjamin Haydon, Lord Shaftesbury and Thomas +Moore, but the most famous of all is Samuel +Pepys. Pepys was an official at the Admiralty. +He was born in 1632 and died in 1703. During +his lifetime, he was a much respected man, a good +official, interested to a certain extent in art, music +and writing. But he scarcely would be remembered +to-day if he had not kept a diary in which +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P219"></a>219}</span> +he wrote every day for a number of years. He +wrote his diary in shorthand, a kind of cipher, +and what he wrote filled six volumes. These +books are now kept in Magdalene College, +Oxford, in the Pepysian Library. They lay +unnoticed at Magdalene for more than a hundred +years. Then part of the diary was deciphered, +written out in longhand, and published in 1825. +The complete edition of Pepys, by H. B Wheatley, +was not published until 1899. And so the +world has come to know Samuel Pepys from his +diaries as well as it is possible to know anyone. +</p> + +<p> +When Pepys sat down to write in his diary at +night he told all the little things he did, what he +thought and how he felt. It does not seem likely +that he expected what he had written ever to be +read by anyone, but wrote only for the pleasure +of going over the day's events. We come so +close to Samuel Pepys when we read his diary +that he seems almost to be living in the pages +that we touch with our fingers. +</p> + +<p> +Pepys was fond of fine foods and wine, and +enjoyed giving dinners and entertaining. But +sometimes the entry in the diary contains no more +than an account of an expedition like the following: +... "took coach, it being about seven at night, +and passed and saw the people walking with their +wives and children to take the ayre, and we set +out for home, the sun by and by going down, and +we in the cool of the evening all the way with +much pleasure home, talking and pleasing ourselves +with the pleasure of this day's work.... Anon +it grew dark, and as it grew dark we had the +pleasure to see several glow-worms which was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P220"></a>220}</span> +mighty pretty." This was on the way home from +Epsom Downs, Sunday, July 14, 1667. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most lovable diaries is Sir Walter +Scott's <i>Journal</i>. He wrote it, like Pepys, for his +own pleasure. In the Journal we may enjoy the +companionship of Sir Walter, who is so simple, +unaffected and good that old and young will find +themselves all equally welcome. +</p> + +<p> +There is one book that should be kept nearby +for reference, so that we may use it when we need +help with words. This book, as you have guessed, +is a dictionary. The use of a dictionary which +you will think of first, is for correct spelling. To +find out how to spell a word correctly is a good use +to which to put a dictionary. But it is by no +means the only help that a dictionary can give +us. Perhaps you are fond of words, which may +be beautiful, amusing, curious, interesting, +startling, exquisitely appropriate, and by means of +which we are able to express the finest shades of +meaning. If you do care for words, then in a +little spare time, let us turn to a dictionary; any +page of a dictionary will do. Read what is +printed on the page concerning four or five +English words. +</p> + +<p> +Notice carefully the different meanings for the +same word. Above all, read with attention the +quotations which illustrate how these words may +be used. Standard and classic writers are the +most helpful teachers when we wish to learn how +to use words. The English tongue is a noble +language; it is one of our greatest possessions. To +use it correctly, skilfully, and with grace, is +something that we can learn. Other books which will +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P221"></a>221}</span> +help us, besides a well-chosen dictionary of the +English language, are dictionaries of synonyms, +and such a book as Mr. H. W. Fowler's <i>Dictionary +of Modern English Usage</i>, a recent publication +by a scholar whose work is not only learned, +but delightfully interesting and helpful because +of its keen wit and enthusiasm. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0832"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P223"></a>223}</span></p> + +<h2> +PART VIII +<br><br> +POETRY +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P225"></a>225}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXXII +<br><br> +POETRY AND BEAUTY +</h3> + +<p> +Let us gather in this chapter a few of the +most beautiful lines in poetry. +</p> + +<p> +The youngest of the great English poets +is John Keats. When he was little more than a +boy, early in the nineteenth century, he wrote +poetry. One of his poems is called "Ode to a +Nightingale". Keats had been listening to the voice of +the bird, which sings at night a song considered +more beautiful than that of any other bird, and +he began to imagine how often the nightingale +had sung to people who lived long ago, and how +often in far away, beautiful lands. As he +thought, he could see these other lands, where +people lived in faery palaces, with open windows +looking on the sea. Keats' words, which we can +read to-day, keep the song of the bird, and the +picture of the countries where it sang, in perfect +beauty. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!<br> + No hungry generations tread thee down;<br> + The voice I hear this passing night was heard<br> + In ancient days by emperor and clown:<br> + Perhaps the self-same song that found a path<br> + Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,<br> + She stood in tears amid the alien corn;<br> + The same that oft-times hath<br> + Charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam<br> + Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P226"></a>226}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Wordsworth, whose poetry at times may seem +dull and uninspired, again and again has the +power to write lines which have a beauty that is +inexplicable. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + The rainbow comes and goes,<br> + And lovely is the rose;<br> + The moon doth with delight<br> + Look round her when the heavens are bare;<br> + . . . . .<br> + Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:<br> + The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,<br> + Hath had elsewhere its setting,<br> + And cometh from afar;<br> + . . . . .<br> + Hence, in a season of calm weather<br> + Though inland far we be,<br> + Our souls have sight of that immortal sea<br> + Which brought us hither,<br> + Can in a moment travel thither,<br> + And see the children sport upon the shore,<br> + And hear the mighty waters rolling evermore.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +These lines are taken from Wordsworth's "Ode +on Intimations of Immortality". In another poem +he describes a great mountain, Mont Blanc, which +is snow-capped, so high that the sun when it rises +shines on the mountain's summit long before the +sun's rays reach the country below. One line of +seven words tells us how at night the mountain +peak seems to be in the company of the moving +stars:— +</p> + +<p> +"Visited all night by troops of stars." +</p> + +<p> +Shakespeare has many of these magic lines, but +one which seems to have come from nowhere, and +for which Shakespeare offers no explanation is: +</p> + +<p> +"Child Rowland to the dark tower came." +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P227"></a>227}</span> +</p> + +<p> +We ask ourselves who Child Rowland was, and +where was the dark tower. Then, perhaps, we +begin to weave a story about Child Rowland and +the tower, for poetry often stirs in us something +which makes us think and feel more intensely, +and awakens in us the desire to create beauty +ourselves. +</p> + +<p> +It was Thomas Nash, a poet living at the same +time as Shakespeare, who wrote in his poem "In +Time of Pestilence", lines which many other +poets agree are among the most enthralling and +beautiful ever written,— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Brightness falls from the air;<br> + Queens have died young and fair;<br> + Dust hath closed Helen's eye;<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +George Meredith, the novelist, who also was a +poet, in his "Love in the Valley" has magical +lines. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Lovely are the curves of the white owl sweeping<br> + Wavy in the dusk lit by one large star.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Robert Louis Stevenson told the Irish poet, +Mr. Yeats, that when he first read "Love in the +Valley" he went about the country where he was +shouting the lines for joy in them. +</p> + +<p> +And so we finally understand that this power +of creating strange beauty which stirs and thrills +us all may come to any poet, sometimes to great +poets, sometimes to poets not so great. Shakespeare +and Nash had it, Keats and Wordsworth, +Meredith who belongs almost to our own times, +and a young poet of a later time even than +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P228"></a>228}</span> +Meredith, James Elroy Flecker, in whose play +<i>Hassan</i>, are many beautiful songs. The last +song is "The Golden Road to Samarkand". +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go<br> + Always a little further: it may be<br> + Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow<br> + Across that angry or that glimmering sea,<br> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + White on a throne or guarded in a cave<br> + There lives a prophet who can understand<br> + Why men are born: but surely we are brave,<br> + Who take the Golden Road to Samarkand.<br> + . . . . . . . .<br> + We take the Golden Road to Samarkand.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Coleridge, the Samuel Taylor Coleridge who +was Charles Lamb's friend, wrote a story, a ballad, +following the fashion of the old ballads, which +he called "The Ancient Mariner". You probably +know this poem already. But if you do not, find +time to read it; or, possibly, someone may read +parts of it to you. "The Ancient Mariner" is a +story of the sea, of wanderings, of shipwreck, of +strange sights, of learning that we must love +every thing, not only men and women, but birds +and beasts, and then of the glad returning to the +place which was the sailor's home: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + And now there came both mist and snow,<br> + And it grew wondrous cold:<br> + And ice, mast-high, came floating by,<br> + As green as emerald.<br> + . . . . . . . .<br> + The Sun's rim dips; the stars rush out:<br> + At one stride comes the dark;<br> + With far-heard whisper, o'er the sea,<br> + Off shot the spectre-bark.<br> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P229"></a>229}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + The moving Moon went up the sky,<br> + And nowhere did abide;<br> + Softly she was going up,<br> + And a star or two beside—<br> + . . . . . . . .<br> + O dream of joy! is this indeed<br> + The lighthouse top I see?<br> + Is this the hill? is this the kirk?<br> + Is this mine own countree?<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +No matter how familiar such lines may become, +we should never forget to realize their beauty. +</p> + +<p> +Ben Jonson, who lived in the seventeenth +century, wrote, with other poems, a lyric, wise as +well as beautiful, in which we may find life-long +companionship. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + It is not growing like a tree<br> + In bulk, doth make man better be;<br> + Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,<br> + To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:<br> + A lily of a day<br> + Is fairer far in May,<br> + Although it fall and die that night;<br> + It was the plant and flower of light.<br> + In small proportions we just beauties see;<br> + And in short measures, life may perfect be.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +No one can change these lines and express the +same idea as perfectly as Jonson has given it to +us. For great poetry has some magic power by +which it conveys to us truth and beauty which +we are not able to discover for ourselves. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0833"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P230"></a>230}</span></p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXXIII +<br><br> +POETRY AND TIME +</h3> + +<p> +It is good to know the names of the great +English poets and the order of time in which +they come; we may write out such a list for +ourselves if we hope to enjoy poetry. Many of +you will find no difficulty in learning by heart the +names of the poets, or in remembering the +centuries to which they belong. The question mark +after the first date in the case of Chaucer and +Spenser means that there is no exact record of +the year in which either of these poets was born. +</p> + +<pre> + Chaucer 1340 ? — 1400 + Spenser, 1552 ? — 1599 + Shakespeare, 1564 — 1616 + Milton, 1608 — 1674 + Dryden, 1631 — 1700 + Pope, 1688 — 1744 + Wordsworth, 1770 — 1850 + Coleridge, 1772 — 1834 + Byron, 1788 — 1824 + Shelley, 1792 — 1822 + Keats, 1795 — 1821 + Tennyson, 1809 — 1892 + Browning, 1812 — 1889 +</pre> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +We do not enjoy the work of all these poets +equally; in any case, boys and girls, men and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P231"></a>231}</span> +women, have individual preferences. Some +people find greater enjoyment in the work of Byron +than in the work, let us suppose, of Tennyson. +Others greatly prefer Tennyson to Browning; +and again these may not care for Byron. But +many people find delight in reading Browning's +poetry. Still, we should remember that all these +writers are great poets, and that each has had +power over his own generation and other +generations as well. +</p> + +<p> +Chaucer, as you know, is difficult to read +because he lived so many hundreds of years ago, +and the English language has changed considerably +since the time when he wrote poetry. The +same may be said of Spenser, although in a less +degree. Dryden and Pope helped to perfect the +style of English poetry, and this, possibly, is their +outstanding claim to greatness. +</p> + +<p> +It may help us to know and enjoy poetry if we +choose one or two of the poems written by these +great poets. +</p> + +<p> +You may have found the work of Chaucer +already, but it is the Prologue to the <i>Canterbury +Tales</i> which most people, who read Chaucer at +all, know best. A little study will help us to +read some of Chaucer's lines. We know also of +Spenser's <i>Faery Queen</i>, of Una and the Red +Cross Knight. Shakespeare lives as the master +of English literature. We have some knowledge +of his plays, but we have not yet spoken of his +sonnets. +</p> + +<p> +A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines, usually +divided into an octave—eight lines—and a +sestet—six lines. There are three varieties of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P232"></a>232}</span> +sonnet form in English poetry. That used by +Shakespeare has three four-line stanzas, the first +line in each stanza rhyming with the third, and the +second line with the fourth; these stanzas are +followed by a rhyming couplet. Those of you who +are specially interested in verse forms will find +under the heading "technical terms", an +interesting note on the sonnet in Mr. H. W. Fowler's +<i>Dictionary of Modern English Usage</i>. Some of +the most beautiful short poems in the world have +taken the form of the sonnet. Read Shakespeare's +sonnet beginning with the lines,— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + That time of year thou may'st in me behold<br> + When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang<br> + Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,<br> + Bare ruin'd choirs where late the sweet birds sang.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +See with what beauty Shakespeare clothes the +bare branches of winter trees. Many times in our +lives, we will think with joy of Shakespeare's +words when we look at the leafless boughs of +trees and remember how the birds in summer +sang in the leafy bowers like choristers in a choir. +Shakespeare used nine words only to give us this +joy. +</p> + +<p> +Milton, who was a great poet, also wrote +sonnets. The best known of his sonnets was +written on his own blindness. It begins with the line, +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + When I consider how my light is spent.<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +But the most loved poem by Milton is the "Hymn +on the Morning of Christ's Nativity". The +beginning of the first stanza is as follows: +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P233"></a>233}</span> +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + It was the Winter wilde,<br> + While the Heav'n-born-childe<br> + All meanly wrapt in the rude manger lies;<br> + Nature in aw to him,<br> + Had doff't her gawdy trim,<br> + With her great Master so to sympathize:<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Of Dryden, read part of "Alexander's Feast"; +and from Pope's work choose the gay, amusing +poem called "The Rape of the Lock". Wordsworth's +sonnets are specially beautiful; we should +read "Upon Westminster Bridge", and one other +called "The World". His longer poem, "Ode on +Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of +Early Childhood", will express for you how +beautiful the world is in your eyes, perhaps more +perfectly than the work of any other of the great +poets. +</p> + +<p> +Coleridge's poem, "Do You Ask What the Birds +Say?" we should read; Byron's "She Walks in +Beauty"; Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind", or +his poem "To a Skylark"; Keats' "Eve of +St. Agnes"; Tennyson's "Morte d'Arthur"; and +Browning's "Saul". +</p> + +<p> +Listen to the music of the first lines belonging +to the poems named in the last paragraph, if you +still are not quite certain that there is delight in +reading poetry. +</p> + +<p> +Coleridge's poem begins:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Do you ask what the birds say? The Sparrow, the Dove,<br> + The Linnet, and Thrush, say "I love and I love!"<br> + In the winter they're silent—the wind is so strong;<br> + What it says, I don't know, but it sings a loud song.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P234"></a>234}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The first four lines of Bryon's poem, "She +Walks in Beauty," are:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + She walks in beauty, like the night<br> + Of cloudless climes and starry skies;<br> + And all that's best of dark and bright<br> + Meet in her aspect and her eyes:—<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +The first stanza of Shelley's "To a Skylark" +is:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + Hail to thee, blithe spirit!<br> + Bird thou never wert—<br> + That from heaven or near it<br> + Pourest thy full heart<br> + In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Even this one verse by Shelley gives us the +feeling of rising high towards heaven with the bird +and hearing his song. +</p> + +<p> +The beginning of Keats' poem, "The Eve of +St. Agnes", is one of the most beautiful and alluring +openings in all poetry:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + St. Agnes' Eve—Ah, bitter chill it was!<br> + The owl, for all his feathers, was a-cold;—<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Tennyson's "Morte d'Arthur" is a story of +Arthur and the Round Table, and the great sword +Excalibur. Its opening lines read:— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + So all day long the noise of battle roll'd<br> + Among the mountains by the winter sea;—<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Browning's poems, "How They Brought the +Good News from Ghent to Aix", "The Pied Piper +of Hamelin", and "Hervé Riel", you are likely to +know already. "Saul" is a more difficult poem, but +in it Browning shows his great power as a poet. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P235"></a>235}</span> +His love poetry, in such poems as "The Last Ride +Together", and "One Word More", is considered +Browning's finest work. "Saul" is a story taken +from the Bible. David plays on his harp to Saul, +who is ill. He tries to find help for Saul in his +despondency. David finally tells Saul that God +must be a man as well as God, so that He may help +us all. +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + He who did most, shall bear most; the strongest shall<br> + stand the most weak.<br> + 'Tis the weakness in strength, that I cry for! my flesh<br> + that I seek<br> + In the Godhead! I seek and I find it. O Saul, it shall be<br> + A Face like my face that receives thee; a man like to me,<br> + Thou shalt love and be loved by, forever: a Hand like<br> + this hand<br> + Shall throw open the gates of new life to thee! See the<br> + Christ stand!<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Do you remember how we discovered earlier in +this book that time decides what is great in +writing? This is true of the work of poets. We can +see for ourselves how widely great poets differ +in their work. Some write sweet, simple, clear +and lovely songs; others write poetry which is +difficult to read and understand. The simple, clear +and lovely songs may last longer than the difficult +poems. But if the difficult poetry contains great +meaning, it may last too. A poet sometimes is +great for the people of his own generation, but +the ages that follow may not care for his work. +Yet it may be that after a hundred years or so, +people will love the poet's work again. +</p> + +<p> +Is great poetry being written now! It is difficult +for anyone to answer this question with +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P236"></a>236}</span> +certainty. Some very lovely poetry has been +written in this twentieth century, in the same way +that beautiful verse has been written in the +English language for hundreds of years. +</p> + +<p> +Examples of this beautiful verse from Chaucer's +time to the end of the nineteenth century, +we may find in such books as Palgrave's <i>Golden +Treasury of English Verse</i>; and <i>The Oxford Book +of English Verse</i>, 1250-1900, edited by +Mr. Quiller-Couch. Several anthologies, called <i>Books of +Georgian Poetry</i>, and others beside, contain +poetry written in the twentieth century. +</p> + +<p> +There are many poets of whose work we have +not spoken. Some of their names you know +already; some you will learn by and by. These +poets may have lived long ago, or no longer ago +than last century, or they may be living to-day. +Three outstanding names belonging to the +Victorian Age are those of Matthew Arnold, Dante +Gabriel Rossetti, and Charles Algernon +Swinburne. We should remember the names also of a +group of women who have written poetry: Mrs. Browning, +Christina Rossetti, Emily Brontë, and +Emily Dickinson, who is an American poet. +</p> + +<p> +Some modern poets are: Rudyard Kipling, +Robert Bridges, W. B. Yeats, Rupert Brooke, +James Elroy Flecker, Laurence Binyon, William +Watson, George Russell, W. H. Davies, Walter de +la Mare, Alice Meynell, Katherine Tynan, +W. W. Gibson, John Masefield, James Stephens, +Lascelles Abercrombie, Siegfried Sassoon, Ralph +Hodgson, Edmund Blunden, and a sister and two +brothers, three poets in one family, Edith, Osbert +and Sacheverell Sitwell. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P237"></a>237}</span> +</p> + +<p> +For an ending we may quote a verse from a +poem written by a modern poet, Mr. Walter de la +Mare. The name of the poem is "The Listeners": +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + 'Is there anybody there!' said the Traveller<br> + Knocking on the moonlit door;<br> + And his horse in the silence champed the grasses<br> + Of the forest's ferny floor;<br> + And a bird flew up out of the turret,<br> + Above the Traveller's head:<br> + And he smote upon the door a second time;<br> + 'Is there anybody there?' he said.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap0834"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P239"></a>239}</span></p> + +<h2> +YOUR COUNTRY AND BOOKS +</h2> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P241"></a>241}</span> +</p> + +<h3> +CHAPTER XXXIV +<br> +READING FOR YOUR OWN COUNTRY +</h3> + +<p> +——— +</p> + +<p class="t3"> +ENGLISH LITERATURE AND ITS BRANCHES +</p> + +<p> +Most of us, no matter where we may +happen to live, are not far away from a +newspaper office. We may walk down a +village street and stop at the door of a building +where a newspaper is published, or we may drive +in from the farm, and see a printing press +through the open door of the same office. Perhaps +it is an old-fashioned printing establishment +where type is still set by hand; good printing +often is taken from hand-set type. Or some of +you may pass, day by day, a newspaper building +in a town or city where the latest machinery is +constantly at work on edition after edition of a +daily newspaper. +</p> + +<p> +We know without being told that newspapers +form one of the great channels of communication +in the modern world. To learn how to read a +newspaper in the best way is something we can +do for our own good, for the place in which +we live, for the country round about, our own +country and nation, and so on in ever-widening +circles. +</p> + +<p> +Newspapers possess a special fascination for +almost everyone. We like to look in through the +windows of a newspaper building and see the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P242"></a>242}</span> +machinery moving rapidly. It is exciting to watch +the great sheets being folded and coming off the +presses. Perhaps you know a young man or +woman who is a reporter; possibly some day you +will be a reporter yourself. It is worth spending +time trying to understand all that a newspaper +means. +</p> + +<p> +If we know anything about the way in which +news is gathered, written, and printed, we know +that sometimes news will be inaccurate, because +newspaper work is done with speed. The work +of a daily newspaper is to provide its readers with +the day's news, and this must be accomplished +quickly, or it will be to-morrow before we know +where we are. It is the pride of a newspaper to +publish correct news, as far as that is possible. +But when we read a newspaper we must make +allowance for the fact that some of the news is an +estimate of what happened, rather than a statement +of the absolutely true details of what has +happened. Yet it is astonishing, considering all +the circumstances, how few mistakes there are in +newspapers. +</p> + +<p> +We read newspapers to be well informed; to +know how to relate ourselves to the life about us; +and to find out what has happened that particularly +concerns us in many different ways, as, for +instance, in sports and games, schools and +education, business and employment, about our +neighbours and companions, politics and public affairs, +even the hobbies in which we are interested, flower +shows, cattle shows, sales of stamps, puzzles, +jokes, wireless news, discoveries, inventions, +explorations. By reading a good newspaper in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P243"></a>243}</span> +the right way we keep in touch with current +history. +</p> + +<p> +There are other periodical publications, besides +daily newspapers, weeklies and many monthly +magazines, each of which has its own use and +purpose. Some of these publications we may need to +read, according to what our interests are. These +you can choose for yourselves, as you grow older. +</p> + +<p> +What is known as literature, writing of permanent +value and beauty, not technical or scientific, +but of general interest, as a rule finds its way +into books. The time has come now when we can +consider for a moment how many different +literatures there are in the world. +</p> + +<p> +Some writers belonging to literatures of +countries other than our own, by this time you can +name for yourselves. You know that there was a +great Greek literature, a Latin literature, and +Hebrew literature. The first name that comes into +your minds belonging to Greek literature is +Homer. Virgil was one of the great writers of +Latin literature. The Bible is Hebrew literature. +Dante's work is found in Italian literature; +Cervantes' in Spanish literature; Goethe's in +German literature; Dumas' work and Victor +Hugo's and the work of a number of other writers +belong to French literature. There are famous +Russian novelists. Hans Andersen was a Dane. +Maeterlinck is a Belgian. <i>The Arabian Nights</i>, in +origins at least, takes us to countries as far away +as China, India, Persia, and Egypt. All these +literatures come into our lives and into the lives +of other people, and so we understand how famous +books help to bind the world together. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P244"></a>244}</span> +</p> + +<p> +English literature is one of the great literatures +of the world. If it pleases us to do so, we can +count that it begins in the times of the +Anglo-Saxons. Even if we take Chaucer as the first +great name in English literature, this means that +for six hundred years, famous, glorious books in +poetry, story, drama, history, and other styles of +composition, have been produced at intervals, but +in an unbroken succession, in the literature which +we can call our own. +</p> + +<p> +English literature, as you know, includes the +work of English, Scottish and Irish writers. If +we think of English literature as a tree, one of its +branches, which comes from the same root, is +American literature. Other branches of this tree +are the literatures of Canada, Australia, South +Africa, and the work of writers in India who +publish their books in the English language, known +as Anglo-Indian literature. As you know, all these +literatures, with the exception of American literature, +belong to the nations of the British Empire. +Kipling was thinking of the nations of the Empire +when he called one of his books <i>The Five Nations</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Some day you may find out for yourselves how +many names you can remember of writers belonging +to English literature, then any you know +belonging to the branch literatures of Canada, +Australia, South Africa and Anglo-India, and to +American literature. +</p> + +<p> +There are few lists in the world as splendid as +the long roll of great writers in English literature. +It is worth while learning the most famous +names by heart. Numbers of these writers you +know already. Many people find the greatest +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P245"></a>245}</span> +enjoyment they have from books in English literature. +</p> + +<p> +The names of some of the most distinguished +American writers are Emerson, Thoreau, Mark +Twain, Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt +Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe, Fenimore Cooper, +Longfellow, Parkman, Motley, and Washington Irving; +many critics would add the name of Emily +Dickinson. There are a number of interesting books +in which you can read of American literature. A +librarian will help you to choose one of them. +</p> + +<p> +Names belonging to Australian and New Zealand +literature are Henry Kingsley, Adam Lindsay +Gordon, Kendall, Domett, Rolf Boldrewood, +Lawson, Stephens, Louis Becke, Browne, Collins, +Farjeon, Ada Cambridge, and Mrs. Campbell +Praed. Katherine Mansfield was born in New +Zealand and the lady sometimes known as +"Elizabeth", Countess Russell, in Australia. You +may find in a library articles on the writers of +Australia and New Zealand. Someone might read +aloud to you from an anthology of Australian +verse. +</p> + +<p> +South Africa has not had long to establish a +literature. One well-known South African name +is that of Olive Schreiner. Others are Pringle, +Bell, Mrs. Millin, and a young poet, Roy +Campbell. A collection of English South African +poetry is called <i>The Treasury of South African +Poetry and Verse</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Many Canadians have written poetry and verse +in which are true descriptions of nature and the +spirit of nature in Canada. Some Canadian poets' +names you will have learned already: Roberts, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P246"></a>246}</span> +Carman, Lampman, Campbell, Scott, Isabella +Valancy Crawford, Marjorie Pickthall, +W. H. Drummond, whose habitant poems abound in +humour and the delineation of character, two +poets who served in the War, John McCrae and +Bernard Trotter, Wilson MacDonald, and +E. J. Pratt, a native of Newfoundland, the oldest +dominion in the Empire. Other names you will +find mentioned in several good anthologies. +Haliburton was a humorist. The most widely read +Canadian humorist of the present day is +Mr. Stephen Leacock. Joseph Howe was a writer, an +orator and statesman. The Golden Dog, by +William Kirby, is a famous Canadian novel. Other +novel writers are Miss Lily Dougall, Mrs. Cotes, +Miss Mazo de la Roche, Sir Gilbert Parker, +"Ralph Connor", Norman Duncan, Miss +L. M. Montgomery. A number of writers of Canadian +fiction are doing work to-day which may become +eminent. There are writers in French Canada, +both of prose and poetry. Canadian historians, +English and French, have accomplished good +work. The two series, <i>Makers of Canada</i> and +<i>Chronicles of Canada</i>, contain histories which are +well worth reading. +</p> + +<p> +Here is a list of readings from Canadian +literature, chapters from a few novels, poems from +books of poetry, short stories, two fairy tales, +two speeches by Canadian statesmen, a short +history. These may guide you to books which you +may enjoy. In addition, we should read William +Kirby's novel, <i>The Golden Dog</i>. It is interesting +to remember that Miss Pauline Johnson, whose +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P247"></a>247}</span> +poetical gift was undoubted, was a Canadian +Mohawk Indian. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"How Rabbit Deceived Fox" and "Sparrow's Search for +the Rain", from <i>Canadian Fairy Tales</i>, by Cyrus +Macmillan. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +<i>Beautiful Joe</i>, by Marshall Saunders. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"In the Big Haycart" and "Calling the Cows", from +<i>Chez Nous</i>, by Adjutor Rivard, translated by W. H. Blake. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Freedom of the Black-Faced Ram" from <i>The +Watchers of the Trails</i>, by C. G. D. Roberts. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Privilege of the Limits" from <i>Old Man Savarin Stories</i>, +by E. W. Thomson. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Scarlet Hunter", from <i>Pierre and His People</i>; and +<i>When Valmond Came to Pontiac</i>, by Sir Gilbert +Parker. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +Chapter One, from <i>The Imperialist</i>, by Mrs. Cotes. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Aunt Thankful and Her Room", from <i>Wise Saws and +Modern Instances</i>, Vol. II, Chap. 4, by Thomas +Chandler Haliburton. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Marine Excursion of the Knights of Pythias", from +<i>Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town</i>, by Stephen +Leacock. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"O Love Builds on the Azure Sea", from <i>Malcolm's +Katie</i>, by Isabella Valancy Crawford. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Where the Cattle Come to Drink" and "The Potato +Harvest", from <i>Songs of the Common Day</i>, by +C. G. D. Roberts. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Frogs" and "Why Do You Call the Poet Lonely?" +from <i>The Poems of Archibald Lampman</i>. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"How One Winter Came in the Lake Region" and "How +Spring Came", from <i>Lake Lyrics</i>, by W. W. Campbell. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Ships of St. John" and "The Grave Tree", from +<i>Poems</i>, by Bliss Carman. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Heart of Gold" and "Madame Tarte", from <i>Later +Poems and New Villanelles</i>, by S. Frances Harrison. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P248"></a>248}</span> +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Elizabeth Speaks", and "A Legend of Christ's +Nativity", from <i>Lundy's Lane and Other Poems</i>, by +Duncan Campbell Scott. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Habitant", "Little Bateese", "De Bell of Saint +Michel", and "Little Lac Grenier", from <i>The +Poetical Works</i> of W. H. Drummond. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Song My Paddle Sings", from <i>Flint and Feather</i>, +by E. Pauline Johnson. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Bega", "The Immortal", "The Shepherd Boy", from +<i>The Complete Poems of Marjorie L. C. Pickthall</i>. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"A Song of Better Understanding", from <i>The Song of +The Prairie Land</i>, by Wilson MacDonald. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"The Shark", from <i>Newfoundland Verse</i>, by E. J. Pratt. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +Speech in Hants, 1844, from <i>The Speeches and Public +Letters of Joseph Howe</i>, Chap. X. ed. by J. A. Chisholm. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Political Liberalism", Quebec City, 1877, and "Death +of Sir John Macdonald", House of Commons, 1891, +<i>Speeches</i> by Sir Wilfrid Laurier. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +<i>A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs</i>, by George M. Wrong. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P249"></a>249}</span></p> + +<h3> +AFTERWORD +</h3> + +<p> +The name of this chapter, Afterword, seems +as if it were an ending. But some endings +in reality are beginnings. We all know the +look of a catalogue of seeds, with its brilliantly +coloured flowers. This book, which belongs to +you, in one sense is like a seedsman's catalogue. +The true delight of gardening is in choosing the +seeds, digging, fertilizing and smoothing the +garden till it is ready for sowing and planting. Then +we look forward to the first green leaves, flowers, +and fruits. There is an infinite deal to learn +about gardens, and the seedsman's catalogue is +only the beginning. This book is the beginning +of the voyage of discovery in the world of your +own books. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Because we have spoken in the preceding chapters +almost wholly of writers and books, we should +take care not to place too much emphasis on +writing as an occupation. The world owes much to +the writers of great books,—happiness, inspiration, +enjoyment, wisdom which we may take from +them if we will, learning, and at all times, +unending entertainment. +</p> + +<p> +But how many other people there are in the +world to whom we owe love and gratitude: +soldiers, sailors, explorers, inventors, statesmen, +law-givers, physicians, discoverers, scientists, +preachers, teachers, evangelists, missionaries, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P250"></a>250}</span> +fathers, mothers, all the men and women who +make our streets, build our houses, bake our +bread, bring us food, make our clothes, sell us +what we need, look after the finances of the world, +manage our railways and run the trains, fly in +airships, and of great importance in their +occupation, men and women who grow food as farmers. +Still, we dearly love good books and great +writers. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +No one should read all the time, for people are +more important than books. Yet it would be a +pity for any boy or girl not to read at all. Francis +Bacon, the essayist, of whom we learned a very +little in the chapter on essays and essayists, says +in one of his writings: "Reading maketh a full +man, conference a ready man, and writing an +exact man." +</p> + +<p> +Bacon means by the first part of this saying +that a man who does not read at all is sometimes +empty-minded, while a man who reads well has +many thoughts in his mind, good, sweet and +profitable. If Bacon were in the world to-day, and +noticed, as he would be certain to notice, for +Bacon was a most observant man, how much time +some people spend in reading, he might have +added a sentence saying that continual reading +may keep people from thinking. Rightly used, +books are an aid in teaching us how to think. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +There are many books which have not been +mentioned in these pages, some of them famous, +many of them delightful, important or amusing. +Some of these books you will find for yourselves +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P251"></a>251}</span> +as time goes on; some you may know already. +Perhaps you may have wondered why nothing has +been said of this or that book. But it is true that +there is always an individual choice in books, as in +other things. You will find—and love—your own +books, the books which belong to you. To discover +one's own books for one's self is a great +adventure. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Some of you may be specially interested in +French literature; and, presently, you will read +the works of the great French dramatist Molière, +one of whose characters is the famous Monsieur +Jourdain, who had spoken prose all his life +without knowing it. Balzac and Flaubert are two +other names among a multitude of French writers. +The literatures of other countries offer us +reading which many people enjoy greatly. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Numbers of fine books are continually being +produced by writers in English. English novels +especially make good reading. Among writers of +a comparatively recent date who have not been +mentioned are John Ruskin, Walter Pater, Henry +James, an American, Anthony Trollope, William +Morris, George Du Maurier, William de Morgan, +and many others. Certainly, if you can find time, +read the witty, entertaining Irish stories of two +ladies, E. OE. Somerville and Martin Ross, +especially their first book, <i>Some Experiences of an +Irish R. M.</i> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Then there are modern writers, writers of +your own day. Remember that a library is an +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P252"></a>252}</span> +excellent place in which to obtain advice and help +in reading, especially in choosing modern books. +There are many modern novelists, critics, and +dramatists, as well as poets, whose work is well +known. Some names are: Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, +Arnold Bennett, Quiller-Couch, Max Beerbohm, +John Galsworthy, Anthony Hope, W. W. Jacobs, +Booth Tarkington, Willa Cather, Norman +Douglas, H. M. Tomlinson, Clemence Dane, +Virginia Woolf, George Moore, Hugh Walpole, May +Sinclair, Mary Webb, E. M. Delafield,, James +Stephens, Henry Williamson and J. C. Squire, as +well as others whose names you will add to the +list when you read their books. Such writers as +Katherine Mansfield and W. H. Hudson have left +work which belongs to the present day, and may +last for generations. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Great books are sometimes difficult to read, but +when we conquer a great book we have discovered +a new country, and enjoy the reward of the +discoverer. It is a matter of choice whether we learn +how to read great books that are difficult; but to +read well is always a good choice. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +We should never forget, however, that one of +the principles of good reading is to read books in +which we find pleasure. We will grow most +successfully in this way along the lines of our own +natural tastes and inclinations. So if we prefer +history, let us read history; and biography, if this +reading gives us most pleasure. In the same way, +following each his or her own special preference, +we may choose mechanics, invention, exploration, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P253"></a>253}</span> +travel, science, architecture, art, music, poetry, +essays, criticism, or books which will help us in +the study of human nature. Books on the betterment +of the world and on social conditions, books +about homes and home life, are important. +</p> + +<p> +Some people obtain most benefit from reading +a very few books carefully, while others read +many books. There are people, often of great +value to the world, who are not as much interested +in books as they are in action. They prefer +travelling to reading of travels; and would choose to +build a bridge, or climb a mountain, rather than +read history or poetry. The French have a +proverb which says, <i>Chacun à son gôut</i>, which means +each to his own taste; and this is true in books as +it is in other things. +</p> + +<p> +Do you remember the list of books in Chapter +twenty-eight, on Reading for What You Want To +Be, many of them biographies? Some day, when +you have an opportunity, ask permission to look +over the books in the working library of some man +or woman who is following the occupation with +attracts you most. We can learn a great deal from +the attentive study of such a library. Presently, +you may begin to collect your own library. The +best way to do this is slowly, with taste, +discrimination and care. There is great enjoyment in +buying, one by one, the books you care for most; +and so, almost before you know what is happening, +you will have a library of your own. Which +book would you choose first to buy for your own +library? Sometimes, in looking through the +library of a friend, we may find the very first book +bought by the owner of the library when he was a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P254"></a>254}</span> +boy, or when the owner was a girl, as the case +may be. +</p> + +<p> +One of the pleasures of reading is to read +according to times and seasons: To read books of +out-of-doors on winter evenings, as well as books +of adventure; to read poetry in summer, when we +can spend much time under the sky. But those +who love poetry, read it all through the year. We +may read essays and biography when we are +lonely and long for companionship. Novels are +constantly enjoyable; a good novel tells us much +about human nature. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most beautiful seasons for reading +is at Christmas time. Year by year, we may read +the story of the shepherds in Saint Luke, ballads +of Christmas, <i>A Christmas Carol</i> by Charles +Dickens, and Milton's great "Hymn on the +Morning of Christ's Nativity". Reading of this +character deepens our happiness. +</p> + +<p> +By such means as these we come to recognize +good reading, and can test all books by the great +books we have read. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum">{<a id="P255"></a>255}</span></p> + +<h3> +INDEX +</h3> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Abbess Hilda, <a href="#P185">185</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Abercrombie, Lascelles, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Achilles, <a href="#P86">86-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Adam Bede</i>, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Addison, Joseph, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P212">212</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Aeneid</i>, The, <a href="#P134">134</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aesop, <a href="#P90">90-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Agamemnon, King, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Agrippa, King, <a href="#P168">168</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ainger, Canon, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aladdin, <a href="#P94">94</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alcinous, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Alexander's Feast", <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ali Baba, <a href="#P94">94</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Alice in Wonderland</i>, <a href="#P97">97-9</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Amiens, <a href="#P40">40</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Ancient Mariner, The", <a href="#P228">228-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Andersen, Hans, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anne of Austria, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Anne of Geierstein</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Antony and Cleopatra</i>, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Antiquary, The</i>, <a href="#P25">25-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Antonio, <a href="#P35">35</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aphrodite, <a href="#P85">85</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Apollo, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Apollyon, <a href="#P144">144</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Arabian Nights, The</i>, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aramis, <a href="#P60">60-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Arden, Mary, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Argonauts, The, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ariel, <a href="#P36">36-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Arnold, Matthew, <a href="#P214">214</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Around Home</i>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Arthur, King, <a href="#P94">94-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>As You Like It</i>, <a href="#P43">43</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Athos, <a href="#P60">60-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aunt Polly, <a href="#P81">81</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Austen, Jane, <a href="#P154">154-7</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aytoun, W. E., <a href="#P123">123</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Bacon, Francis, <a href="#P211">211</a>, <a href="#P250">250</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bagheera, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ballad of the Red Harlaw, <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ballads, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Baloo, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Balzac, Honoré, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Barnaby Rudge</i>, <a href="#P3">3</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Barrie, James Matthew, <a href="#P107">107</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bates, Mrs. and Miss, <a href="#P155">155</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Battle of Otterbourne, The", <a href="#P112">112-4</a>, <a href="#P166">166</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Baucis, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bayly, Harry, <a href="#P169">169</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Beatrice, <a href="#P133">133-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Beaufort, Duc de, <a href="#P61">61</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Beaumains, <a href="#P95">95</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Becke, Louis, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Beerbohm, Max, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bell, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bennet, Mr., <a href="#P155">155-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bennett, Arnold, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Beowulf, <a href="#P185">185</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Berners, Lord, <a href="#P167">167</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bernice, Queen, <a href="#P168">168</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bible, The, <a href="#P48">48-56</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bible, Authorized Version, <a href="#P54">54</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Binyon, Laurence, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Biographia Literaria</i>, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Black Knight, The, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Blackmore, Richard Doddridge, <a href="#P70">70</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Black Panther, The, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Blake, William, <a href="#P18">18</a>, <a href="#P19">19</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Bleak House</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Blue Beard, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Blue Bird, The</i>, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Blunden, Edmund, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Boffin, Mr., <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Boldrewood, Rolf, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bones, Billy, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Books of Georgian Poetry</i>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Borrow, George, <a href="#P76">76-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Boswell, James, <a href="#P188">188-93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bragelonne, Vicomte de, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brandes, Georg, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Bride of Lammermoor, The</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bridges, Robert, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +British North America Act, <a href="#P178">178</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brontë, Anne, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brontë, Branwell, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brontë, Charlotte, <a href="#P160">160-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brontë, Emily, <a href="#P160">160-1</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brontë, Patrick, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brooke, Rupert, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Browne, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Browning, Robert, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Browning, Mrs., <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Brutus, <a href="#P46">46</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Buchan, John, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P191">191</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bunyan, John, <a href="#P142">142-6</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Burke, Edmund, <a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Burney, Fanny, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Burns, Robert, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Burton, Sir Richard, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Butcher, S. H., <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Byron, Lord, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Caedmon, <a href="#P185">185</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Caliban, <a href="#P36">36</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cambridge, Ada, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Campbell, Roy, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Canterbury Tales, The</i>, <a href="#P169">169-71</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Carleton, Will, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Carlyle, Jane Welsh, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Carlyle, Thomas, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Carman, Bliss, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Caroline, Queen, <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Carroll, Lewis, <a href="#P99">99</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cary, Rev. H. F., <a href="#P134">134</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Castlewood, Lady, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cather, Willa, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Catriona</i>, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Caxton, <a href="#P94">94</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cedric, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cervantes, <a href="#P136">136-9</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P157">157</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Charles I, <a href="#P182">182</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Charpentier, Miss, <a href="#P30">30</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Chaucer, Geoffrey, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P169">169-71</a>, <a href="#P185">185</a>, <a href="#P230">230-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Chevy Chase", <a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P166">166</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Child Rowland, <a href="#P226">226-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Child's Garden of Verse, A</i>, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Chingachgook, <a href="#P80">80</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Christmas Carol, A</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P13">13</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Christian, <a href="#P142">142-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Christiana, <a href="#P146">146</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Christopher Robin, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Chronicles</i>, (Froissart), <a href="#P167">167-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Chronicles of Canada</i>, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Churchill, Lord Randolph, <a href="#P195">195</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cinderella, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Clemens, Samuel, <a href="#P82">82</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Clio, <a href="#P172">172</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cobden, Richard, <a href="#P176">176</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cochrane, Lord, <a href="#P72">72</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cockburn, Lord, <a href="#P32">32</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P212">212-3</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P228">228-9</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Collins, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Columbus, Christopher, <a href="#P202">202</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Confederation Act, <a href="#P178">178</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Connor, Ralph, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Conspiracy of Pontiac, The</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cook, James, <a href="#P203">203-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cooper, James Fenimore, <a href="#P78">78-80</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cotes, Mrs., <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Cotter's Saturday Night, The", <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Coverley, Sir Roger de, <a href="#P212">212</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cowper, William, <a href="#P122">122</a>, <a href="#P215">215-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cratchit, Bob, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cratchits, The, <a href="#P17">17</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Crawford, Isabella Valancy, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Crawley, Rawdon, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Curly, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Cuttle, Captain, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Cymbeline</i>, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P46">46</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Dale, Laetitia, <a href="#P150">150</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dan, <a href="#P105">105</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dana, Richard Henry, <a href="#P73">73</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dandie Dinmont, <a href="#P195">195</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dane, Clemence, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Daniel Deronda</i>, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dante, <a href="#P133">133-6</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P202">202</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Darling, John, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Darling, Michael, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Darling, Wendy, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +d'Artagnan, <a href="#P59">59-61</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>David Balfour</i>, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>David Copperfield</i>, <a href="#P3">3</a>, <a href="#P6">6</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P9">9</a>, <a href="#P13">13</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Davies, W. H., <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Deans, Jeanie, <a href="#P25">25</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Debits and Credits</i>, <a href="#P157">157</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Defoe, Daniel, <a href="#P68">68-70</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Delafield, E. M., <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +de la Mare, Walter, <a href="#P236">236-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +de la Roche, Mazo, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +de Morgan, William, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dhu, Sir Roderick, <a href="#P118">118-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Diana of the Crossways</i>, <a href="#P150">150-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dickens, Charles, <a href="#P3">3-20</a>, <a href="#P171">171-2</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P195">195</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dickinson, Emily, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Dictionary of Modern English Usage</i>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P232">232</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Discovery of the Great West</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Divine Comedy, The</i>, <a href="#P133">133-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Djali, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dobbin, Major, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge, <a href="#P99">99</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Dombey and Son</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P14">14</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dombey, Florence, <a href="#P7">7-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dombey, Paul, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Domett, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Don Quixote, <a href="#P136">136-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Doone, Carver, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dorritt, Mr., <a href="#P14">14</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dougall, Lily, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Douglas, Ellen, <a href="#P118">118-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Douglas, Earl of, <a href="#P113">113</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P167">167</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Douglas, Norman, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Do You Ask What the Birds Say?", <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dulcinea, <a href="#P137">137</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dumas, Alexandre, <a href="#P59">59-62</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Du Maurier, George, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Duncan, Norman, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dundonald, Earl of, <a href="#P72">72</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Drake, Sir Francis, <a href="#P105">105</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i>, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Drummond, W. H., <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dryden, John, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P230">230-1</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Dynasts, The</i>, <a href="#P153">153</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +"Edinburgh After Flodden", <a href="#P123">123</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Edward III, <a href="#P167">167</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Edwin Drood</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Egoist, The</i>, <a href="#P150">150-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Eliot, George, <a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P157">157-60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Elizabeth, Queen, <a href="#P23">23</a>, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Elizabeth", <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Elizabeth and Essex</i>, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Emerson, Ralph Waldo, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Emma</i>, <a href="#P154">154-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Esmeralda, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Esmond</i>, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Esmond, Beatrix, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Essays of Elia, The</i>, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Evangelist, <a href="#P142">142</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Evans, Mary Ann, <a href="#P159">159</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Evelyn, John, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Eve of St. Agnes, The", <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Faery Queen, The</i>, <a href="#P139">139-41</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Faggis, Tom, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Fair Maid of Perth, The</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Fairservice, Andrew, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Faithful, <a href="#P143">143-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Farjeon, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Faust</i>, <a href="#P141">141</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Feenix, Cousin, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Felix Holt</i>, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Festus, <a href="#P168">168</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Fielding, Henry, <a href="#P157">157</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Fitzgerald, Edward, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Fitz-James, James, <a href="#P118">118-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Five Nations, The</i>, <a href="#P244">244</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Flaubert, Gustave, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Flecker, James Elroy, <a href="#P228">228</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Flibbertigibbet, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Forster, John, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Fortunes of Nigel, The</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Foster, Anthony, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Foster, Janet, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Fowler, H. W., <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Friday, <a href="#P69">69</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Froissart, Sir John, <a href="#P167">167-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Frollo, Claude, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Frontenac and New France Under Louis XIV</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Galland, Antoine, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Gallipoli</i>, <a href="#P185">185</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Galsworthy, John, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gamp, Sairey, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gareth of Orkney, <a href="#P95">95</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Garland, Hamlin, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Garrick, David, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Genesis, <a href="#P48">48</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Giant Despair, <a href="#P144">144</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gibbon, Edward, <a href="#P181">181</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gibson, W. W., <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gilpin, John, <a href="#P122">122-3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gitche Manito, <a href="#P126">126</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gladstone, William Ewart, <a href="#P195">195</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Goethe, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Golden Age, The</i>, <a href="#P99">99-100</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Golden Dog, The</i>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Golden Road to Samarkand, The", <a href="#P228">228</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Golden Treasury of English Verse</i>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Goldsmith, Oliver, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gonzalo, <a href="#P35">35-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gordon, Adam Lindsay, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Graeme, Malcolm, <a href="#P119">119</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Grahame, Kenneth, <a href="#P99">99-100</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gray, Thomas, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Great Charter, The, <a href="#P177">177</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Great Expectations</i>, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P4">4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Great-heart, Mr., <a href="#P146">146</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Green, John Richard, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Greville, Charles, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Grimm, Jacob and William, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gringoire, Pierre, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gudule, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Guedalla, Philip, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gummidge, Mrs., <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gurth, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Guy Mannering</i>, <a href="#P195">195</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Hall, John, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Hamlet</i>, <a href="#P43">43-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hardy, Thomas, <a href="#P147">147</a>, <a href="#P151">151-3</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Hassan</i>, <a href="#P228">228</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hathaway, Anne, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hathi, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hawk-eye, <a href="#P80">80</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hawkins, Jim, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hawthorne, Nathaniel, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Haydon, Benjamin, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hazlitt, William, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P212">212-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Heart of Mid-Lothian, The</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hector, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Heep, Uriah, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Help, <a href="#P142">142</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Heming, Arthur, <a href="#P82">82</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Henry VIII, <a href="#P167">167</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Henry, Alexander, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hephaistos, <a href="#P86">86-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Hereward the Wake</i>, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Herodotus, <a href="#P166">166</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Heroes, The</i>, <a href="#P88">88-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Heron, Sir Hugh, <a href="#P120">120</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Hervé Riel", <a href="#P234">234</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hexam, Lizzie, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Hiawatha, The Song of</i>, <a href="#P125">125-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Higden, Mrs. Betty, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>History of England</i>, (Macaulay), <a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire</i>, (Gibbon), <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>History of the War in the Peninsula</i>, (Napier), <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>History of the World</i>, (Raleigh), <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hodgson, Ralph, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hogarth, Catherine, <a href="#P12">12</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hogarth, George, <a href="#P12">12</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hogg, James, <a href="#P108">108</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Holinshed's Chronicles, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Homer, <a href="#P85">85-8</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hook, Captain, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hope, Anthony, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hopeful, <a href="#P144">144</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>House at Pooh Corner, The</i>, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>How I found Livingstone in Central Africa</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"How They Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix," <a href="#P234">234</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Howe, Joseph, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Huckleberry Finn</i>, <a href="#P80">80-2</a>, <a href="#P100">100</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hudson, W. H., <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hugo, Victor, <a href="#P62">62-4</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity", (Milton), <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Iagoo, <a href="#P126">126</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Iliad, The</i>, <a href="#P85">85-7</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>In Pastures Green</i>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"In Time of Pestilence", <a href="#P227">227</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Irving, Washington, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P101">101</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Isaac of York, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Ivanhoe</i>, <a href="#P23">23-5</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Jack the Giant Killer, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jacobs, W. W., <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +James, Henry, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +James II, <a href="#P70">70</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +James V of Scotland, <a href="#P118">118</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Jane Eyre</i>, <a href="#P160">160-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jarvie, Bailie Nicol, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jellyby, Caddy, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Jesuits in North America, The</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jim, <a href="#P81">81</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +John, King of England, <a href="#P24">24</a>, <a href="#P177">177</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Johnson, Pauline, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Johnson, Samuel, <a href="#P182">182</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P188">188-93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jonson, Ben, <a href="#P229">229</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jourdain, Monsieur, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Julius Caesar</i>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Jungle Book, The</i>, <a href="#P103">103-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Just So Stories</i>, <a href="#P105">105</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Kay, Sir, <a href="#P95">95</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Keats, John, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P225">225</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kemble, Frances Anne, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kendall, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Kenilworth</i>, <a href="#P23">23-25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Kidnapped</i>, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Kilmeny", <a href="#P108">108</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Kim</i>, <a href="#P82">82</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>King Henry V</i>, <a href="#P171">171</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>King Lear</i>, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>King Richard II</i>, <a href="#P43">43</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kingsley, Charles, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kingsley, Henry, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kingsley, Mary, <a href="#P205">205-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kipling, John Lockwood, <a href="#P103">103</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kipling, Rudyard, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P103">103-6</a>, <a href="#P157">157</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P244">244</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kirby, William, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Knightley, Mr. <a href="#P155">155</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Knights of the Round Table, <a href="#P94">94-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kublai Khan, <a href="#P202">202-3</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Lady Lionesse, <a href="#P96">96</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lady of the Lake, The</i>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lamb, Charles, <a href="#P209">209-11</a>, <a href="#P213">213-4</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lamb, Mary, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lampman, Archibald, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lang, Andrew, <a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +La Salle, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Last of the Mohicans, The</i>, <a href="#P78">78</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Last Ride Together, The", <a href="#P235">235</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Launcelot, Sir, <a href="#P96">96</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lavengro</i>, <a href="#P76">76-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lawrence, T. E., <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lawson, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lay of the Last Minstrel, The</i>, <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P121">121</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lays of Ancient Rome</i>, <a href="#P123">123</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers</i>, <a href="#P123">123</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Leacock, Stephen, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Leaf, Walter, <a href="#P85">85</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Leatherstocking Tales, <a href="#P79">79</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lecky, W. E. H., <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lee, Sir Sidney, <a href="#P184">184</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Legality, <a href="#P142">142</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Leicester, Earl of, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Leigh, Amyas, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Les Misérables</i>, <a href="#P62">62-3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life and Letters</i>, (Page), <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life of Dickens</i>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life of Gladstone</i>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life of Johnson</i>, <a href="#P188">188-93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life of King Edward VII</i>, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life of Palmerston</i>, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Life of Sir Walter Scott</i>, <a href="#P32">32</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Linet, <a href="#P96">96</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Listeners, The", <a href="#P237">237</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Little Dorrit</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P10">10</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Little Em'ly, <a href="#P6">6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Little Match Girl, The, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Livesay, Dr., <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Living Forest, The</i>, <a href="#P82">82</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Lochinvar", <a href="#P121">121</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lockhart, J. G., <a href="#P32">32</a>, <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Locksley, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lone Wolf, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, <a href="#P125">125</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lord of the Isles, The</i>, <a href="#P121">121</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lord Randolph Churchill</i>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Lorna Doone</i>, <a href="#P70">70</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Louis XIII, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Louis XIV, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Love in the Valley", <a href="#P227">227</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lucas, E. V., <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lucy, Sir Thomas, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Luke, Saint, <a href="#P254">254</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Macaulay, Lord, <a href="#P123">123</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Macbeth</i>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +MacDonald, Wilson, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +MacGregor, Helen, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +MacGregor, Rob Roy, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mackenzie, Sir Alexander, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mad Hatter, <a href="#P97">97</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Maeterlinck, Maurice, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Makers of Canada, The</i>, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Malory, Sir Thomas, <a href="#P94">94-6</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mansfield, Katherine, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Mansfield Park</i>, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Marco Polo, <a href="#P202">202-3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Marmion</i>, <a href="#P120">120-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Marryat, Frederick, <a href="#P72">72-3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P13">13</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Masefield, John, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P185">185</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Master of Ballantrae, The</i>, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mazarin, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +McArthur, Peter, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +McCrae, John, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +McGee, D'Arcy, <a href="#P176">176</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Melville, Herman, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Merchant of Venice</i>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mercy, <a href="#P146">146</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Meredith, George, <a href="#P147">147</a>, <a href="#P150">150-1</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Meynell, Alice, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Micawber, Wilkins, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P14">14</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Middlemarch</i>, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Middleton, Clara, <a href="#P150">150</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Midshipman Easy</i>, <a href="#P73">73</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Midsummer Night's Dream, A</i>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Midwinter</i>, <a href="#P191">191</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Mill on the Floss, The</i>, <a href="#P157">157-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Millin, Sarah Gertrude, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Milne, A. A., <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Milton, John, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P212">212-3</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P232">232-3</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Minnehaha, <a href="#P127">127</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border</i>, <a href="#P30">30</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Miranda, <a href="#P35">35-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Molière, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Monk, General, <a href="#P61">61</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Montaigne, M. E., <a href="#P212">212</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Montgomery, Sir Hugh, <a href="#P113">113</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Montgomery, L. M., <a href="#P100">100</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Moore, George, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Moore, Thomas, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Morley, John, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Morris, William, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Morte d'Arthur</i>, <a href="#P94">94-6</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Motley, John Lothrop, <a href="#P183">183</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mowcher, Miss, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mowgli, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mudjekeewis, <a href="#P126">126-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Myers, Ernest, <a href="#P85">85</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Myriel, Bishop, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mytyl, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Naaman, <a href="#P50">50</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Napier, <a href="#P182">182</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nash, Thomas, <a href="#P227">227</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nausicaa, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Newcome, Colonel, <a href="#P149">149-50</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +New Testament, <a href="#P48">48-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Newcomes, The</i>, <a href="#P148">148-50</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nibs, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Nicholas Nickleby</i>, <a href="#P3">3</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nickleby, Mrs., <a href="#P14">14</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nipper, Susan, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nokomis, <a href="#P126">126</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +North, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Northanger Abbey</i>, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Northern Muse, The</i>, <a href="#P116">116</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Notre Dame de Paris</i>, <a href="#P62">62-3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Now We Are Six</i>, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Ochiltree, Edie, <a href="#P25">25-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Ode on Intimations of Immortality", <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Ode to a Nightingale", <a href="#P225">225</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Ode to the West Wind", <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Odysseus, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Odyssey, The</i>, <a href="#P87">87-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Old Curiosity Shop</i>, <a href="#P3">3</a>, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Old Mortality</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Old Régime in Canada, The</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Old Testament, <a href="#P48">48-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Oliver Twist</i>, <a href="#P3">3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"One Word More", <a href="#P235">235</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Osbaldistone, Francis, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Osbaldistone, Sir Hildebrand, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Osborne, George, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Osbourne, Lloyd, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ossian, <a href="#P29">29</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Othello</i>, <a href="#P43">43-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Our Mutual Friend, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Oxford Book of English Verse</i>, <a href="#P108">108</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Page, Walter H., <a href="#P194">194-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Palgrave, Francis, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Paris, <a href="#P85">85</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Parker, Sir Gilbert, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Parkman, Francis, <a href="#P183">183</a>, <a href="#P206">206</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Patroklos, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pioneers of France in the New World</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pater, Walter, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Patterne, Crossjay, <a href="#P151">151</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Patterne, Sir Willoughby, <a href="#P151">151</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Paul, Saint, <a href="#P50">50</a>, <a href="#P168">168</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pearl-Feather, <a href="#P128">128</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pecksniff, Mr., <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Peggotty, Ham, <a href="#P6">6</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pendennis</i>, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Penelope, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pepys, Samuel, <a href="#P218">218-20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Percy, Bishop, <a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P114">114</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry</i>, <a href="#P29">29</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Percy, Lord, <a href="#P113">113</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Persuasion</i>, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Perseus, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Peter Pan, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Peter Simple</i>, <a href="#P73">73</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Petulengro, Jasper</i>, <a href="#P77">77</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pew, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Philemon, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Philippa, Queen of Hainault, <a href="#P167">167</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Phoebus, Capt., <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pickthall, Marjorie L. C., <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pickwick, Mr., <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P6">6</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pickwick Papers</i>, <a href="#P3">3</a>, <a href="#P6">6</a>, <a href="#P171">171-2</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"<i>Pied Piper of Hamelin, The</i>", <a href="#P234">234</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pilgrimage to Mecca</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pilgrim's Progress, The</i>, <a href="#P143">143-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pinch, Tom, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pinkerton, Miss, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pip, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pitt, William, <a href="#P175">175</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Planchet, <a href="#P61">61</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Plato, <a href="#P174">174</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Plutarch's Lives</i>, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Poe, Edgar Allan, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pope, Alexander, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P230">230-1</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Porthos, <a href="#P60">60-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Poseidon, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Poyser, Mrs., <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Praed, Mrs. Campbell, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pratt, E. J., <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Priam, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, <a href="#P155">155-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Prig, Betsey, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Prince Otto, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pringle, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Procter, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Prospero, <a href="#P35">35-7</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Proud Maisie", <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Psalms, <a href="#P54">54</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Puck of Pook's Hill</i>, <a href="#P105">105-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Purdie, Tom, <a href="#P32">32</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Puss-in-Boots, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Quasimodo, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Queens of England</i>, (Strickland), <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Quiller-Couch, Sir A., <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Quiney, Thomas, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Raleigh, Sir Walter, <a href="#P23">23</a>, <a href="#P180">180-1</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Rape of the Lock, The", <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rebecca, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Red Cow and Her Friends, The</i>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Red Cross Knight, <a href="#P139">139-40</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Red Shoes, The, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Redgauntlet</i>, <a href="#P25">25</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Reliques of Ancient English Poetry</i>, <a href="#P112">112</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Republic of Plato, The</i>, <a href="#P174">174</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Return of the Native, The</i>, <a href="#P151">151</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Revolt in the Desert</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Rewards and Fairies</i>, <a href="#P105">105-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Reynolds, Sir Joshua, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P192">192</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Richard, King of England, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Richardson, Samuel, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Richelieu, Cardinal, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ridd, Jan, <a href="#P70">70</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rikki-tiki-tavi, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Riley, James Whitcombe, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Rip Van Winkle</i>, <a href="#P101">101-2</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Rise of the Dutch Republic</i>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ritchie, Mrs., <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P150">150</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Rob Roy</i>, <a href="#P21">21-3</a>, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Roberts, Charles G. D., <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Robin Hood, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Robinson Crusoe</i>, <a href="#P68">68</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Robsart, Amy, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Robinson, Crabb, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rochefort, <a href="#P59">59</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Rokeby</i>, <a href="#P121">121</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Romola</i>, <a href="#P159">159</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rosalind, <a href="#P45">45</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ross, Martin, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rossetti, Christina, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rossetti, D. G., <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Round the World in Eighty Days</i>, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rowena, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rozinante, <a href="#P137">137</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ruskin, John, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Russell, Countess, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Russell, George, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rustician, <a href="#P202">202</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Sainte-Beuve, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sancho Panza, <a href="#P137">137-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Sard Harker</i>, <a href="#P82">82</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sassoon, Siegfried, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Saul", <a href="#P233">233-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Schah-riar, <a href="#P94">94</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Schehera-zade, <a href="#P94">94</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Schreiner, Olive, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Scott, Duncan Campbell, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Scott, Captain R. F., <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Scott's Last Expedition</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Scott, Sophia, <a href="#P32">32</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Scott, Sir Walter, <a href="#P21">21-34</a>, <a href="#P62">62</a>, <a href="#P112">112</a>, <a href="#P118">118-21</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P220">220</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Scott's <i>Journal</i>, <a href="#P220">220</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Second Jungle Book, The</i>, <a href="#P103">103-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sedley, Amelia, <a href="#P148">148-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sedley, Jos., <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Selkirk, Alexander, <a href="#P68">68</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Sense and Sensibility</i>, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Setebos, <a href="#P36">36</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sévigné, Madam de, <a href="#P216">216-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shaftesbury, Lord, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shakespeare, Hamnet, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shakespeare, John, <a href="#P41">41</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shakespeare, Judith, <a href="#P42">42-44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shakespeare, Susanna, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shakespeare, William, <a href="#P35">35-47</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P194">194</a>, <a href="#P195">195</a>, <a href="#P212">212-3</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P231">231-2</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Shakespeare</i> (Lee), <a href="#P194">194</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sharp, Becky, <a href="#P148">148-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shaw, Bernard, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shere Khan, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"She Walks in Beauty", <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shelley, <a href="#P233">233-4</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Short History of the English People</i> (Green), <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shylock, <a href="#P45">45</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sidney, Sir Philip, <a href="#P29">29</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Silas Marner</i>, <a href="#P159">159</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Silver, John, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Silver Locks, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sinclair, May, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sindbad, <a href="#P94">94</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Sir Patrick Spens", <a href="#P114">114-6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sitwell, Edith, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sitwell, Osbert, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sitwell, Sacheverell, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Sketches by Boz</i>, <a href="#P12">12</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Slightly, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sloppy, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Smith, Wayland, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Smollett, Tobias, <a href="#P157">157</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Snodgrass, Mr., <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Snow-Drop and the Seven Dwarfs, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Socrates, <a href="#P174">174</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Some Experiences of an Irish R.M.</i>, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Somers, Sir George, <a href="#P38">38</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Somerville, E. OE, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Son of the Middle Border, A</i>, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Spenlow, Dora, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Spenlow, Mr., <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Spens, Sir Patrick, <a href="#P114">114</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Spenser, Edmund, <a href="#P23">23</a>, <a href="#P29">29</a>, <a href="#P139">139-41</a>, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Spirit of the Age, The</i>, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Squeers, Wackford, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Squire, J. C., <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stanley, Henry M., <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Steadfast Tin Soldier, The, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Steele, Sir Richard, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P212">212</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Steerforth, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stephens, James, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sterne, Laurence, <a href="#P186">186</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stevenson, R. L., <a href="#P64">64-6</a>, <a href="#P212">212</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stevenson, Thomas, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Strachey, Lytton, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Strickland, Agnes, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Swift, Dean, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P212">212</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Swinburne, Charles Algernon, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Swiveller, Dick, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sycorax, <a href="#P36">36</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Taine, H. A., <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tale of Two Cities, A</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P16">16</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tales from Shakespeare</i>, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Talfourd, <a href="#P210">210</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tanglewood Tales</i>, <a href="#P88">88-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tapley, Mark, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tarkington, Booth, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Telemachus, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tempest, The</i>, <a href="#P35">35-8</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tennyson, Alfred, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Thackeray, William Makepeace, <a href="#P147">147-50</a>, <a href="#P187">187</a>, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Theseus, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Thetis, <a href="#P86">86-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Thoreau, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Three Musketeers, The</i>, <a href="#P59">59-61</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Through the Looking-Glass</i>, <a href="#P98">98</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Thucydides, <a href="#P166">166</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tinker Bell, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tiny Tim, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P17">17</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tom Brown's School Days</i>, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tom Sawyer</i>, <a href="#P80">80-2</a>, <a href="#P100">100</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"To a Skylark", <a href="#P233">233-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tomlinson, H. M., <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Toomai of the Elephants, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tootles, <a href="#P107">107</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Toots, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Traddles, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Travels in West Africa</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Travels of Marco Polo, The</i>, <a href="#P202">202-3</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Treasure Island</i>, <a href="#P64">64-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Treasury of South African Poetry and Verse, The</i>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trelawney, Squire, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tressilian, <a href="#P23">23</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Treville, M. de, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trollope, Anthony, <a href="#P251">251</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trotter, Bernard, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trotwood, Miss Betsey, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Trumpet-Major, The</i>, <a href="#P151">151-2</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tuck, Friar, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tulliver, Tom and Maggie, <a href="#P157">157-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tupman, Mr., <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Twain, Mark, <a href="#P80">80-2</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Twelfth Night</i>, <a href="#P39">39-40</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea</i>, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Twenty Years After</i>, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Two Years Before the Mast</i>, <a href="#P73">73-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tylette, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tylo, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tyltyl, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tynan, Katherine, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Ugly Duckling, The, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Una, <a href="#P105">105</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, <a href="#P231">231</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Uncas, <a href="#P80">80</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Under the Greenwood Tree</i>, <a href="#P151">151-2</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Underwoods</i>, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"Upon Westminster Bridge", <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Valjean, Jean, <a href="#P63">63-4</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Vanity Fair</i>, <a href="#P148">148-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Venus, Mr., <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Verne, Jules, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Vernon, Die, <a href="#P22">22</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Vicar of Wakefield, The</i>, <a href="#P192">192</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Victoria, Queen, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Virgil, <a href="#P134">134</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Virginians, The</i>, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Voyages</i>, (Cook), <a href="#P203">203-5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Voyages from Montreal Through the Continent of North America</i>, <a href="#P206">206</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Walpole, Horace, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Walpole, Hugh, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wamba, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wandering Willie's Tale, <a href="#P27">27</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wardour, Sir Arthur, <a href="#P26">26</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Watson, William, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Waverley</i>, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Waverley Novels, <a href="#P21">21-7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Webb, Mary, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wegg, Silas, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Weir of Hermiston</i>, <a href="#P65">65</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Weller, Sam, <a href="#P5">5</a>, <a href="#P6">6</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Weller, Tony, <a href="#P6">6</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wellington, Duke of, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wells, H. G., <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wenonah, <a href="#P120">120</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Westward Ho!</i>, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>When We Were Very Young</i>, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +White Rabbit, The, <a href="#P97">97-8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Whitman, Walt, <a href="#P245">245</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wild Swans, The, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wilfer family, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Wilhelm Meister</i>, <a href="#P141">141</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Williamson, Henry, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +William the Silent, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wind in the Willows, The, <a href="#P99">99-100</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Winkle, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P171">171</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Winnie the Pooh</i>, <a href="#P101">101</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Winter's Tale, The</i>, <a href="#P44">44</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wolf, Father and Mother, <a href="#P104">104</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Wonder Book, The</i>, <a href="#P88">88-9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Woodhouse, Mr., <a href="#P154">154</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Woodstock, <a href="#P25">25</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Woolf, Virginia, <a href="#P252">252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Worldly-Wiseman, <a href="#P142">142</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wordsworth, William, <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +"World, The", <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wortley-Montagu, Lady Mary, <a href="#P218">218</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wren, Jenny, <a href="#P8">8</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Wuthering Heights</i>, <a href="#P160">160-1</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Yeats, W. B., <a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Zeus, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br><br></p> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75935 ***</div> +</body> + +</html> + + diff --git a/75935-h/images/img-cover.jpg b/75935-h/images/img-cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e7c6105 --- /dev/null +++ b/75935-h/images/img-cover.jpg diff --git a/75935-h/images/img-title.jpg b/75935-h/images/img-title.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bdaddac --- /dev/null +++ b/75935-h/images/img-title.jpg |
