THE AMERICAN BOY

Theodore Roosevelt



Of course what we have a right to expect of the American boy is that he shall turn out to be a good American man. Now, the chances are strong that he won't be much of a man unless he is a good deal of a boy. He must not be a coward or a weakling, a bully, a shirk, or a prig. He must work hard and play hard. He must be clean-minded and clean-lived, and able to hold his own under all circumstances and against all comers. It is only on these conditions that he will grow into the kind of American man of whom America can be really proud.

There are always in life countless tendencies for good and for evil, and each succeeding generation sees some of these tendencies strengthened and some weakened; nor is it by any means always, alas! that the tendencies for evil are weakened and those for good strengthened. But during the last few decades there certainly have been some notable changes for good in boy life. The great growth in the love of athletic sports, for instance, while fraught with danger if it becomes one-sided and unhealthy, has beyond all question had an excellent effect in increased manliness. Forty or fifty years ago the writer on American morals was sure to deplore the effeminacy and luxury of young Americans who were born of rich parents. The boy who was well off then, especially in the big Eastern cities, lived too luxuriously, took to billiards as his chief innocent recreation, and felt small shame in his inability to take part in rough pastimes and field-sports. Nowadays, whatever other faults the son of rich parents may tend to develop, he is at least forced by the opinion of all his associates of his own age to bear himself well in manly exercises and to develop his body—and therefore, to a certain extent, his character— in the rough sports which call for pluck, endurance, and physical address.

Of course boys who live under such fortunate conditions that they have to do either a good deal of outdoor work or a good deal of what might be called natural outdoor play do not need the athletic development. In the Civil War the soldiers who came from the prairie and the backwoods and the rugged farms where stumps still dotted the clearings, and who had learned to ride in their infancy, to shoot as soon as they could handle a rifle, and to camp out whenever they got the chance, were better fitted for military work than any set of mere school or college athletes could possibly be. Moreover, to mis-estimate athletics is equally bad whether their importance is magnified or minimized. The Greeks were famous athletes, and as long as their athletic training had a normal place in their lives, it was a good thing. But it was a very bad thing when they kept up their athletic games while letting the stern qualities of soldiership and statesmanship sink into disuse. Some of the younger readers of this book will certainly sometime read the famous letters of the younger Pliny, a Roman who wrote, with what seems to us a curiously modern touch, in the first century of the present era. His correspondence with the Emperor Trajan is particularly interesting; and not the least noteworthy thing in it is the tone of contempt with which he speaks of the Greek athletic sports, treating them as the diversions of an unwarlike people which it was safe to encourage in order to keep the Greeks from turning into anything formidable. So at one time the Persian kings had to forbid polo, because soldiers neglected their proper duties for the fascinations of the game. We cannot expect the best work from soldiers who have carried to an unhealthy extreme the sports and pastimes which would be healthy if indulged in with moderation, and have neglected to learn as they should the business of their profession. A soldier needs to know how to shoot and take cover and shift for himself—not to box or to play football. There is, of course, always the risk of thus mistaking means for ends. Fox-hunting is a first-class sport; but one of the most absurd things in real life is to note the bated breath which certain excellent fox-hunters, otherwise quite healthy minds, speak of this admirable, but not over-important pastime. They tend to make it almost as much of a fetich as, in the last century, the French and German nobles made the chase of the stag, when they carried hunting and game- preserving to a point which was ruinous to the national life. Fox- hunting is very good as a pastime, but it is about as poor a business as can be followed by any man of intelligence. Certain writers about it are fond of quoting the anecdote of the fox-hunter who, in the days of the English civil war, was discovered pursuing his favorite sport just before a great battle between the Cavaliers and the Puritans, and right between their lines as they came together. These writers apparently consider it a merit in this man that when his country was in a death- grapple, instead of taking arms and hurrying to the defense of the cause he believed right, he should have placidly gone about his usual sports. Of course, in reality the chief serious use of fox-hunting is to encourage manliness and vigor, and to keep men hardy, so that at need they can show themselves fit to take part in work or strife for their native land. When a man so far confuses ends and means as to think that fox-hunting, or polo, or football, or whatever else the sport may be, is to be itself taken as the end, instead of the mere means of preparation to do work that counts when the time arises, when the occasion calls—why, that man had better abandon sport altogether.

No boy can afford to neglect his work, and with a boy work, as a rule, means study. Of course there are occasionally brilliant successes in life where a man has been worthless as a student when a boy. To take these exceptions as examples would be as unsafe as it would be to advocate blindness because some blind men have won undying honor by triumphing over their physical infirmity and accomplishing great results in the world. I am no advocate of senseless and excessive cramming in studies, but a boy should work, and should work hard, at his lessons—in the first place, for the sake of what he will learn and in the next place, for the sake of the effect upon his own character of resolutely settling down to learn it. Shiftlessness, slackness, indifference in studying, are almost certain to mean inability to get on in other walks of life. Of course, as a boy grows older it is a good thing if he can shape his studies in the direction toward which he has a natural bent; but whether he can do this or not, he must put his whole heart into them. I do not believe in mischief-doing in school hours, or in the kind of animal spirits that results in making bad scholars; and I believe that these boys who take part in rough, hard play outside of school will not find any need for horse-play in school. While they study they should study just as hard as they play football in a match game. It is wise to obey the homely old adage, "Work while you work; play while you play."

A boy needs both physical and moral courage. Neither can take the place of the other. When boys become men they will find out that there are some soldiers very brave in the field who have proved timid and worthless as politicians, and some politicians who show an entire readiness to take chances and assume responsibilities in civil affairs, but who lack the fighting edge when opposed to physical danger. In each case, with soldiers and politicians alike, there is but half a virtue. The possession of the courage of the soldier does not excuse the lack of courage in the statesman, and even less does the possession of the courage of the statesman excuse shrinking on the field of battle. Now, this is all just as true of boys. A coward who will take a blow without returning it is a contemptible creature; but after all, he is hardly as contemptible as the boy who does not stand up for what he deems right against the sneers of his companions who are themselves wrong. Ridicule is one of the favorite weapons of wickedness, and it is sometimes incomprehensible how good and brave boys will be influenced for evil by the jeers of associates who have no one quality that calls for respect, but who affect to laugh at the very traits which ought to be peculiarly the cause for pride.

There is no need to be a prig. There is no need for a boy to preach about his own conduct and virtue. If he does he will make himself offensive and ridiculous. But there is urgent need that he should practice decency; that he should be clean and straight, honest and truthful, gentle and tender, as well as brave. If he can once get to a proper understanding of things, he will have a far more hearty contempt for the boy who has begun a course of feeble dissipation, or who is untruthful, or mean, or dishonest, or cruel, than this boy and his fellows can possibly, in return, feel for him. The very fact that the boy should be manly and able to hold his own, that he should be ashamed to submit to bullying without instant retaliation, should, in return, make him abhor any form of bullying, cruelty, or brutality.

There are two delightful books, Thomas Hughes's "Tom Brown at Rugby" and Aldrich's "Story of a Bad Boy," which I hope every boy still reads; and I think American boys will always feel more in sympathy with Aldrich's story, because there is in it none of the fagging, and the bullying which goes with fagging, the account of which, and the acceptance of which, always puzzles an American admirer of Tom Brown.

There is the same contrast between two stories of Kipling's. One, called "Captains Courageous," describes in the liveliest way just what a boy should be and do. The hero is painted in the beginning as the spoiled, over-indulged child of wealthy parents, of a type which we do sometimes unfortunately see, and than which there exist few things more objectionable on the face of the broad earth. This boy is afterward thrown on his own resources, amid wholesome surroundings, and is forced to work hard among boys and men who are real boys and real men doing real work. The effect is invaluable. On the other hand, if one wishes to find types of boys to be avoided with utter dislike, one will find them in another story by Kipling, called "Stalky & Co.," a story which ought never to have been written, for there is hardly a single form of meanness which it does not seem to extol, or of school mismanagement which it does not seem to applaud. Bullies do not make brave men; and boys or men of foul life cannot become good citizens, good Americans, until they change; and even after the change scars will be left on their souls.

The boy can best become a good man by being a good boy—not a goody- goody boy, but just a plain good boy. I do not mean that he must love only the negative virtues; I mean he must love the positive virtues also. "Good," in the largest sense, should include whatever is fine, straightforward, clean, brave, and manly. The best boys I know—the best men I know—are good at their studies or their business, fearless and stalwart, hated and feared by all that is wicked and depraved, incapable of submitting to wrongdoing, and equally incapable of being aught but tender to the weak and helpless. A healthy-minded boy should feel hearty contempt for the coward, and even more hearty indignation for the boy who bullies girls or small boys, or tortures animals. One prime reason for abhorring cowards is because every good boy should have it in him to thrash the objectionable boy as the need arises.

Of course the effect that a thoroughly manly, thoroughly straight and upright boy can have upon the companions of his own age, and upon those who are younger, is incalculable. If he is not thoroughly manly, then they will not respect him, and his good qualities will count for but little; while, of course, if he is mean, cruel, or wicked, then his physical strength and force of mind merely make him so much the more objectionable a member of society. He cannot do good work if he is not strong and does not try with his whole heart and soul to count in any contest; and his strength will be a curse to himself and to every one else if he does not have thorough command over himself and over his own evil passions, and if he does not use his strength on the side of decency, justice, and fair dealing.

In short, in life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: Hit the line hard; don't foul and don't shirk, but hit the line hard!



ORATIONS



GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH

Patrick Henry



Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the house. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen, if, entertaining as I do, opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before this house is one of awful moment to the country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and to our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I would consider myself as guilty of treason toward my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.

Mr. President, It is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eye's against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst and to provide for it.

I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided; and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no way of judging of the future but by the past. And judging by the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct of the British ministry for the last ten years, to justify those hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace themselves and the house. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has been lately received? Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to your feet. Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. Ask yourselves how this gracious re—ception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the implements of war and subjugation; the last arguments to which kings resort. I ask gentlemen, sir, what means this martial array, if its purpose be not to force us to submission? Can gentlemen assign any other possible motive for it? Has Great Britain any enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumulation of navies and armies? No, sir, she has none. They are meant for us; they can be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet upon us those chains which the British Ministry have been so long forging. And what have we to oppose to them? Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that for the last ten years. Have we anything new to offer upon the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every light of which it is capable; but it has been all in vain. Shall we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms shall we find, which have not been already exhausted? Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the Ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned with contempt from the foot of the throne. In vain, after these things, may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free—if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending—if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained—we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us!

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable—and let it come! I repeat it, sir, LET IT COME!

It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry peace, peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but, as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!



SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS

Daniel Webster



Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand and my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that, in the beginning, we aimed not at independence. But

There's a divinity which shapes our ends.

The injustice of England has driven us to arms; and, blinded to her own interest for our good, she has obstinately persisted, till independence is now within our grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and it is ours. Why, then, should we defer the Declaration?

Is any man so weak as now to hope for a reconciliation with England, which shall leave either safety to the country and its liberties, or safety to his own life or his own honor? Are not you, Sir, who sit in that chair, is not he, our venerable colleague near you, are you not both already the proscribed and predestined objects of punishment and vengeance? Cut off from all hope of royal clemency, what are you, what can you be, while the power of England remains, but outlaws? If we postpone independence, do we mean to carry on, or give up, the war? Do we mean to submit to the measures of Parliament, Boston Port Bill and all? Do we mean to submit, and consent that we ourselves shall be ground to powder, and our country and its rights trodden down in the dust? I know we do not mean to submit. We never shall submit. Do we intend to violate that most solemn obligation ever entered into by men, that plighting, before God, of our sacred honor to Washington, when, putting him forth to incur the dangers of war, as well as the political hazards of the times, we promised to adhere to him, in every extremity, with our fortunes and our lives? I know there is not a man here, who would not rather see a general conflagration sweep over the land, or an earthquake sink it, than one jot or tittle of that plighted faith fall to the ground. For myself, having, twelve months ago, in this place, moved you that George Washington be appointed commander of the forces raised, or to be raised, for the defense of American liberty, may my right hand forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof my mouth, if I hesitate or waver in the support I give him.

The war, then, must go on. We must fight it through. And if the war must go on, why put off longer the Declaration of Independence? That measure will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad. The nations will then treat with us, which they never can do while we acknowledge ourselves subjects, in arms against our sovereign. Nay, I maintain that England herself will sooner treat for peace with us on the footing of independence, than consent, by repealing her acts, to acknowledge that her whole conduct toward us has been a course of injustice and oppression. Her pride will be less wounded by submitting to that course of things which now predestinates our independence, than by yielding the points in controversy to her rebellious subjects. The former she would regard as the result of fortune; the latter, she would feel as her own deep disgrace. Why then, why then, Sir, do we not as soon as possible change this from a civil to a national war? And since we must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to enjoy all the benefits of victory, if we gain the victory?

If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail. The cause will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The people, the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will carry themselves, gloriously, through this struggle. I care not how fickle other people have been found. I know the people of these Colonies, and I know that resistance to British aggression is deep and settled in their hearts, and cannot be eradicated. Every Colony, indeed, has expressed its willingness to follow, if we but take the lead. Sir, the Declaration will inspire the people with increased courage. Instead of a long and bloody war for the restoration of privileges, for redress of grievances, for chartered immunities, held under a British king, set before them the glorious object of entire independence, and it will breathe into them anew the spirit of life. Read this Declaration at the head of the army; every sword will be drawn, and the solemn vow uttered, to maintain it, or perish on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit; religion will approve it, and the love of religious liberty will cling around it, resolved to stand with it, or fall with it. Send it to the public halls; proclaim it there; let them hear it who heard the first roar of the enemy's cannon; let them see it who saw their brothers and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill and in the streets of Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in its support.

Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see, I see clearly through this day's business. You and I, indeed, may rue it. We may not live to see the time when this Declaration shall be made good. We may die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be, ignominiously and on the scaffold. Be it so. Be it so. If it be the pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering of my life, the victim shall be ready at the appointed hour of sacrifice, come when that hour may. But while I do live, let me have a country, or at least the hope of a country, and that a free country.

But whatever may be our fate, be assured, be assured that this Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate for both. Through the thick gloom of the present I see the brightness of the future, as the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an immortal day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor it. They will celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with bonfires, and illuminations. On its annual return they will shed tears, copious, gushing tears, not of subjection and slavery, not of agony and distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of joy. Sir, before God, I believe the hour is come. My judgment approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and all that I am, and all that I hope, in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall be my dying sentiment; independence now, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER.



ADDRESS DELIVERED AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG

Abraham Lincoln



Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us,—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.



APPENDIX



In this Appendix are given lists of masterpieces of children's literature which, for reasons stated in the Preface, could not be included in this collection. The editor has attempted to limit the lists of books to those which, in his judgment, are undoubted masterpieces, yet at the same time to include the books in the different types with which students in normal school and college classes in children's literature need to be familiar. These books should be in the reference library at the disposal of the students, and reports and conferences on them should form a part of the course in children's literature.

A brief bibliography of books dealing with literature for children is appended. The teacher of the class in children's literature should know some of these books, and perhaps use one as a text to guide his work.



COLLECTIONS OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

ELIOT, C. W. The Junior Classics. 8 vols. P. F. Collier & Sons, New York.

SCUDDER, H. E. The Children's Book. 1 vol. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

TAPPAN, E. M. The Children's Hour. 10 vols. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

Among school readers, the Heart of Oak series, edited by Charles Eliot Norton (D. C. Heath & Co., New York), is the most profuse in literary masterpieces.



COLLECTIONS OF MOTHER GOOSE VERSES

HALLIWELL, J. O. The Nursery Rhymes of England. Frederick Warne & Co., New York.

LANG, A. The Nursery Rhyme Book. Frederick Warne & Co., New York.

SAINTSBURY, G. E. B. National Rhymes of the Nursery. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York.

WELSH, C. Mother Goose: A Book of Nursery Rhymes. D. C. Heath & Co., New York.

WHEELER, W. A. Mother Goose's Melodies. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.



CHILDREN'S POETS

In addition to the children's poets represented on pages 13-36, the following books of children's poems should be in the school library:

BROWN, A. F. A Pocketful of Posies. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

GARY, A. and P. Poems for Children. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, (In Cary's Poetical Works.)

DODGE, M. Rhymes and Jingles. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

DOWD. The Owl and the Bobolink. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

EARLS, M. Ballads of Childhood. Benziger Brothers, New York.

FIELD, E. Songs of Childhood. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

LAMB, C. Poetry for Children. E. P. Button & Co., New York. (Volume 8 of Works of Charles Lamb.)

PEABODY, J. P. The Book of the Little Past. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

RICHARDS, L. E. In My Nursery. Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

RILEY, J. W. Rhymes of Childhood. Bobbs-Merjill Company, Indianapolis.

SHERMAN, F. D. Little-Folk Lyrics. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

TAGORE, R. The Crescent Moon. Macmillan Company, New York.

WELLS, C. The Jingle Book. Macmillan Company, New York.



ANTHOLOGIES OF CHILDREN'S POETRY

CHISHOLM, L. The Golden Staircase. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.

HAZARD, B. Three Years with the Poets. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

HENLEY, W. E. Lyra Heroica. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

LUCAS, E. V. A Book of Verses for Children. Henry Holt & Co., New York.

PALGRAVE, F. Children's Treasury of English Song. Macmillan Company, New York.

REPPLIER, A. A Book of Famous Verse. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

STEVENSON, B. The Home Book of Verse for Young Folks. Henry Holt & Co., New York.

THACHER, L. W. The Listening Child. Macmillan Company, New York.

WIGGIN, K. D., and SMITH, N. A. Golden Numbers. McClure Company, New York.

ANONYMOUS. Our Children's Songs. Harper and Brothers, New York.



FAIRY STORIES

In addition to the collections of fairy stories mentioned in the notes, the following collections contain first-rate material:

Folk Tales

JACOBS, J. More English Fairy Tales and Celtic Fairy Tales. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.

LANG, A. The Blue Fairy Book and The Green Fairy Book. Longmans, Green & Co., New York.

RHYS, E. The English Fairy Book. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York.

SCUDDER, H. E. Book of Fables and Folk Stories. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

WIGGIN, K. D., and SMITH, N. A. The Fairy Ring. McClure Company, New York,



NEGRO FOLK TALES

HARRIS, J. C. Nights with Uncle Remus and Uncle Remus and His Friends. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.



MODERN FAIRY TALES

BARRIE, J. M. Peter Pan. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston.

CARROLL, L. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Macmillan Company, New York.

COLLODI, C. Adventures of Pinocchio. Ginn & Co., Boston.

INGELOW, J. Mopsa the Fairy. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. Three Fairy Tales. D. C. Heath & Co., New York.

KINGSLEY, C. Water Babies. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York.

LANG, A. Prince Prigio. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York.

MAETERLINCK, M. The Blue Bird for Children. Silver, Burdett & Co., Boston.

MACDONALD, G. The Princess and the Goblin. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.

ROSTAND, E. The Story of Chanticleer. Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York.

STOCKTON, F. R. Fanciful Tales and The Floating Prince. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

THACKERAY, W. M. The Rose and the Ring. D. C. Heath & Co., New York.



HOMERIC STORIES

No selection from the classic stories of Homer have been included in the present collection, having been ruled out by the principle that nothing but complete units must be presented. But every child must be exposed to the charm of the wonderful story-teller of Greece. If the child prefers verse—and Homer's stories are at their best in good verse—Bryant's translation should be used (Students' Edition, 2 vols. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston). Perhaps the best prose translation is that of Palmer (Houghton Mifflin Company).



MYTHS

In addition to the Kingsley and Hawthorne stories of the Greek myths and legends, the child's library should contain Mrs. Peabody's Old Greek Folk Stories (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston).



HERO STORIES

Preeminent among the stories in which the chief element of interest is that which arises from the deeds of heroic characters, are the Robin Hood and the King Arthur stories. The Robin Hood tales contain material unusually interesting and valuable for children; but, though they have been told and retold times without number, there is but one version that may properly be called a "masterpiece." This is the Howard Pyle version, Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York). A less expensive edition is called Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

The King Arthur cycle is at its best in the Malory version (Le Morte d'Arthur, by Sir Thomas Malory. Everyman's series. E. P. Dutton & Co., New York). This, however, is somewhat too diffuse and too difficult for any child but a bookish one. Sidney Lanier's version of the stories (The Boy's King Arthur, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York) is a masterpiece of narration for youthful readers, and it is faithful to the atmosphere and spirit of the Malory stories.

The hero stories in Plutarch are among the choicest of stories in this type. Edwin Ginn's edition (Ginn & Co., Boston) is an admirable one. It is based on the Clough translation, which was based, in turn, on the so-called Dryden version.



ANIMAL AND NATURE STORIES AND SKETCHES

BURROUGHS, J. Wake Robin. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

KIPLING, R. Jungle Book and Just-So Stories. Century Company, New York.

LONG, W. J. A Little Brother to the Bear. Ginn & Co., Boston.

MILLER, J. True Bear Stories. Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago.

Mum, J. Stickeen. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. A most charming and thrilling story of a dog.

ROBERTS, C. G. D. Kindred of the Wild. Grosset & Dunlap, New York.

SEGUR, S. Story of a Donkey. D. C. Heath & Co., New York.

SETON THOMPSON, E. Wild Animals I Have Known. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.



MISCELLANEOUS STORIES

(Chiefly Fiction)

ALCOTT, L. M. Little Men and Little Women. Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

ALDRICH, T. B. Story of a Bad Boy. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

BLACKMORE, R. D. Lorna Doone. Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York.

BUNYAN, J. Pilgrim's Progress. Ginn & Co., Boston.

CLEMENS, S. L. Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, and The Prince and the Pauper. Harper and Brothers, New York.

COOPER, J. F. Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.

DEFOE, D. Robinson Crusoe. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

FRANKLIN, B. Autobiography. D. C. Heath & Co., New York.

HALE, E. E. The Man Without a Country. Ginn & Co., Boston.

HALE, L. Peterkin Papers. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

HUGHES, T. Tom Brown's School Days. Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago.

SCOTT, W. Quentin Durward and Ivanhoe. Dana Estes & Co., Boston.

STEVENSON, R. L. Treasure Island. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

SWIFT, J. Gulliver's Travels. D. C. Heath & Co., New York.



BOOKS ON CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

BARNES, W. English in the Country School. Row, Peterson & Co., Chicago.

CARPENTER, BAKER, and SCOTT. The Teaching of English. Longmans, Green & Co., New York.

CHUBB, P. Teaching of English (elementary school edition). Macmillan Company, New York.

COLBY, J. R. Literature and Life in the School. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

COX, J. H. Literature in the Common Schools. Little, Brown & Co., Boston.

FIELD, W. T. Fingerposts to Children's Reading. A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago.

HUNT. What Shall We Read to the Children? Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.

LEE, G. S. The Child and the Book. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York.

LOWE. Literature for Children. Macmillan Company, New York.

MACCLINTOCK, P. L. Literature in the Elementary School. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

OLCOTT, F. J. The Children's Reading. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.



NOTES



Page 1. Attention is directed to the classification of the Nursery Jingles as indicated in the Contents. Several classifications of the Jingles, from one standpoint or another, have been made, that by J. O. Halliwell being the most elaborate, and that by the late Charles Welsh being, perhaps, the most logical. The present classification is to indicate more clearly the content, the source, the point, the "intrinsic motive" of the Jingles. It is hoped that this new classification will at least make conspicuous the scope and variety, and the widely varying sources and themes, of the verses that children have been selecting and scholars have been collecting under the generic name of Nursery Jingles or Mother Goose Verses.

There are, of course, different versions of the Jingles, as there are of any truly "popular" form of literature. Of not many Jingles can it be said that any version is the oldest, the authoritative, the real version. The editor, therefore, despairing of finding the most accurate version, has endeavored to find the best. In many instances the best seemed the one he had heard in childhood rather than the one printed in any of the collections. The collection found most useful is Lang's The Nursery Rhyme Book (Frederick Warne & Co., London, 1897). The editor has tried to select those specimens that would give teacher and class as many characteristic Mother Goose elements, touches, rhythms, and styles as possible. Many of the Jingles in this collection have not been printed before—at least, not to the editor's knowledge. He believes, however, that they are all genuine Folk Jingles, and he hopes that their quaintness and novelty will justify their appearance here.

Page 13. The poems from Blake are from Poetical Works (George Bell & Sons, London, 1909). The three poems are from the series called Songs of Innocence.

Page 15. Christina Rossetti's poems are from Sing-Song (Macmillan & Co., London, 1907). The poems are not given titles in this, the authoritative edition.

Page 17. Stevenson's poems are from Complete Poems (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1912). The poems reprinted here are all from the series called A Child's Garden of Verses. There are many good editions of the Child's Garden, the Scribner edition being one of the most beautiful.

Page 20. The Lucy Larcom pieces are from Childhood Songs (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1874), and are here used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Page 22. The four poems of the Taylors' are from E. V. Lucas's edition of The Original Poems and Others (Wells, Gardner, Darton & Co., London, 1903). The readings given here follow the last revision by Ann Taylor, some years after the death of Jane. In the case of "The Star" the more familiar version seemed, to the present editor, the better, but he felt that he should conform to the reading that seems to have the strongest authority. No attempt is made to discriminate between the poems of the two sisters; all the poems are here ascribed to them jointly.

Page 26. The first two poems of Watts' are from Divine Songs for Children; the third poem, from Moral Songs, or, to give it its full title, A Slight Specimen of Moral Songs, such as I wish some happy and condescending genius would undertake for the use of children, and perform much better. The two collections of poems for children are to be found in Watts's Horae Lyricae (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1864). The advertisement to this edition states that "the volume is reprinted, with many corrections," from the quarto edition of Watts's entire works, published in 1753. Stanzas 5-10 and stanzas 12 and 14 have been omitted from the text of "A Cradle Hymn." They are given here, that the student may have before him an illustration of how necessary it is occasionally to expurgate material set before children.

5. Blessed babe! what glorious features, Spotless fair, divinely bright! Must he dwell with brutal creatures? How could angels bear the sight!

6. Was there nothing but a manger Cursed sinners could afford, To receive the heavenly Stranger? Did they thus affront their Lord?

7. Soft, my child; I did not chide thee, Though my song might sound too hard; 'Tis thy mother sits beside thee, And her arms shall be thy guard.

8. Yet to read the shameful story, How the Jews abus'd their King, How they serv'd the Lord of Glory, Makes me angry while I sing.

9. See the kinder shepherds round him, Telling wonders from the sky; There they sought him, there they found him, With his virgin mother by.

10. See the lovely babe a-dressing; Lovely infant, how he smil'd! When he wept, the mother's blessing Sooth'd and hush'd the holy child.

12. 'Twas to save thee, child, from dying, Save my dear from burning flame, Bitter groans and endless crying, That thy blest Redeemer came.

14. I could give thee thousand kisses, Hoping what I most desire; Not a mother's fondest wishes Can to greater joys aspire.

Page 28. Lewis Carroll's poems reprinted here are from The Hunting of the Snark, and Other Poems (Harper & Brothers, New York, 1903). "Father William" is from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; the others are from Through the Looking-Glass. All three poems are much better fun when read in their original setting.

Page 33. Edward Lear's poems are from Nonsense Books (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1888). This includes all four of the Nonsense books by Lear: Book of Nonsense, 1846; Nonsense Songs, Stories, etc., 1871; More Nonsense Pictures, etc., 1872; and Laughable Lyrics: A Fresh Book of Nonsense, etc., 1877.

Page 37. The ballad of "Bonny Barbara Allan" is from Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (Frederick Warne & Co., New York, 1880). The spelling is modernized. Stanzas 5-8 have been inserted. They were discovered in Buchanan County, Virginia, by Professor C. Alphonso Smith, of the University of Virginia, and printed in his monograph, Ballads Surviving in the United States (G. Schirmer, New York, 1916). This and dozens of other "popular" ballads are still sung in the mountains of the Southern states; undoubtedly they have been transmitted orally for generations.

Page 38. "Sir Patrick Spence" is from Percy's Reliques, the edition above mentioned. In the editor's opinion, this is the most effective of the several versions of this beautiful ballad.

Page 40. This version of "Robin Hood and Allin a Dale" is from Sargent and Kittredge's English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1904).

Page 43. "Kinmont Willie" is from The Poetical Works of Sir Walter Scott, together with The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border (J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1880). Sir Walter, in his introduction to the ballad, states that because the piece had been "much mangled by reciters," "some conjectural emendations have been absolutely necessary to render it intelligible." As no other version of the ballad has ever been discovered, no one knows just how many "conjectural emendations" Sir Walter made. It is safe to say, however, that the poet's taste and antiquarian interests would prevent his taking unwarrantable liberties with the original. In its present form it is one of the finest of the ballads, whatever change it may have suffered in passing through Scott's hands.

Page 49. This poem of Longfellow's and "A Psalm of Life," page 83, are from Complete Poetical Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1893). They are used by permission.

Page 52. "La Belle Dame sans Merci" and the Keats poem on page 75 are from Complete Poetical Works and Letters (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1899). Lord Houghton's version, as given in Life, Letters, and Literary Remains, has some important variant readings.

Page 53. The Campbell poem is taken from the Complete Poetical Works (Phillips, Samson & Co., Boston, 1857).

Page 55. "Lochinvar" comes from the Poetical Works (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, 1894).

Page 56. This spirited poem of Browning's is from the Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1895).

Page 58. The three poems by Tennyson in this collection are from Poetic and Dramatic Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 1898).

Page 63. This version of "America" is from the facsimile reproduction of the hymn in the author's handwriting found in A History of Newton, Massachusetts, by S. F. Smith, D.D. (published, 1880, by The American Logotype Company, Boston). The original copy of "America," according to all the evidence, is the one in Dr. Smith's handwriting contained on a slip of waste paper which is now kept in the treasure room of the Harvard Library. In this original version the two notable points of difference from that given here are the reading "breathes" for "breathe" in the third stanza, and "Our God" for "Great God" in the fourth stanza.

Page 64. This well-known passage is the first stanza of Canto VI of Scott's The Lay of the Last Minstrel (Poetical Works above described).

Page 64. Miller's "Columbus" is from the Bear Edition of Miller's poems (Harr Wagner Publishing Company, San Francisco, 1909).

Page 65. Mrs. Hemans' poem is from Complete Works (D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1847).

Page 67. The "Concord Hymn" and "The Rhodora," page 74, are from the Poems (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1899).

Page 67. This poem of Holmes' and "The Chambered Nautilus," page 77, are from the Poetical Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1895). The latter poem appeared originally in The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.

Page 68. "O Captain! My Captain!" is from Leaves of Grass (David McKay, Philadelphia, 1900).

Page 70. "To Lucasta" is from Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, Songs, etc., etc., to which is added Aramantha, a Pastoral, by Richard Lovelace, Esq. A New Edition (Chiswick: from the Press of C. Whittingham, 1817).

Page 70. Byron's poem is from Hebrew Melodies (London, printed for John Murray, 1815).

Page 71. "A Red, Red Rose" is from Complete Poetical Works (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1897).

Page 72. "The Greenwood Tree" is from As You Like It (New Variorum Edition, 1890).

Page 72. This well-known sea song by Cunningham is from The Songs of Scotland, Ancient and Modern, Vol. IV (printed for John Taylor, London, 1825).

Page 73. "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud", or "The Daffodils," as it is often called, is from Complete Poetical Works (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York, n. d.). The text is that of the edition of 1857.

Page 74. "To the Fringed Gentian" is from Poetical Works (D. Appleton & Co., New York, 1909). "To a Waterfowl," page 76, is from the same.

Page 79. "The Noble Nature" is from the volume of Ben Jonson's poems in The Canterbury Poets, edited by William Sharp (published by the Walter Scott Publishing Company, London and Newcastle, n. d.).

Page 79. This poem of Wotton's is from Reliquae Wottoniae, etc., London, (printed by Thomas Maxey for R. Marriot, G. Bedel, and T. Garthwait, 1651). The meaning of the third stanza is obscure. In this edition it runs as follows:

Who envies none that Chance doth raise, Nor Vice hath ever understood; How deepest wounds are given by praise, Nor rules of State, but rules of good.

Page 80. This inspiring poem by Clough is found in Poetical Works (George Routledge & Sons, London, n. d.).

Page 80. "For A' That an' A' That" is from The Edinburgh Book of Scottish Verse (Meiklejohn and Holden, London, 1910).

Page 82. The poem by Henley is from Echoes (published by David Nutt, London, 1908). This poem is the fourth of the forty-seven poems in Echoes. The title "Invictus" is not in the original.

Page 82. "Opportunity" is from Poems by Edward Rowland Sill (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1888).

Pages 85-86. These six fables are from The Fables of AEsop, translated into English by Samuel Croxall, with new applications, morals, etc., by the Rev. George Fyler Townsend (Frederick Warne & Co., London, 1869). This is the second edition. There are, of course, scores of versions of the AEsopian fables. The one selected is approved by Greek scholars for the fidelity of the translation, while its literary value is unusually high. The tagged-on morals and applications have been pruned away from the text.

Pages 87-88. The two fables of Bidpai are to be found in The Tortoise and the Geese, and Other Fables of Bidpai, retold by Maude Barrows Dutton (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1908). They are reprinted here by permission of the publishers.

Page 89. These two metrical fables are from Fables of La Fontaine, translated by Elizur Wright, Jr. (Worthington Company, New York, 1889). The French writer's fables, though usually not original in content, are clever and keen and shrewd, and this translation represents faithfully their thought and spirit.

Page 91. Both "The Old Woman and Her Pig" and "The Three Little Pigs" are from English Fairy Tales, third edition (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1910). The stories are from Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes and Tales, but are retold by Jacobs, who, as usual, improves the original without sinning against the mood and spirit of the "popular" story.

Page 95. "Hans in Luck" and "The Frog-Prince," are from the translation of Edgar Taylor, London, 1823. This, so far as the editor could determine, was the first translation into English, and it remains one of the best.

Page 98. "The Valiant Little Tailor" and "The Elves," are from Grimms Household Tales, translated by Margaret Hunt (George Bell & Sons, London, 1913). The two volumes of Miss Hunt's translation are, together with her notes and Andrew Lang's introduction, an important contribution to the folklore of the "popular" Fairy Story and Nursery Tale.

Page 105. "Cinderella" and "Blue Beard," are from The Tales of Mother Goose, translated from the French by Charles Welsh (D. C. Heath & Co., New York, 1901). They are reprinted in this collection by permission of the publishers. The Tales of Mother Goose were published in 1697. There have been dozens of translations, but Welsh's version is perhaps the most satisfactory.

Page 110. This version of "Whittington" is from Amusing Prose Chap- Books, chiefly of Last Century, edited by Robert Hays Cunningham (Hamilton, Adams & Co., London, 1889). The version is strikingly similar to the one given by Jacobs in English Fairy Tales, which, Jacobs says, was "cobbled up out of three chapbook versions."

Page 117. "The Ugly Duckling" is from Fairy Tales and Stories, translated by H. W. Dulcken (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, n. d.). The Dulcken translation published by A. L. Burt Company, New York, n. d., contains the same stories as the Rand-McNally translation, and eleven more.

Page 125. "The Flax" is from the translation of Caroline Peachey, Danish Fairy Legends and Tales (George Bell & Sons, London, 1881). This is the "third edition, enlarged." It contains fifty-seven stories.

Neither of the Andersen stories used for this collection is a folk story—though, for tradition's sake, they are here placed with genuine folk stories. Of the fifty-seven stories in the Peachey translation, all but ten are entirely original with Andersen, and all of these ten he worked over to suit his purpose. Andersen, then, unlike Grimm, Jacobs, Lang, and others, is not a collector and teller of fairy stories, but a maker of fairy stories—if, indeed, they should be called fairy stories at all. In spirit and purpose and method Andersen belongs with the modern writers of fairy stories—with Macdonald, Stockton, Ingelow, and Barrie, rather than with the "dealers in the genuine article."

Page 133. This version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" is from Jacobs' English Fairy Tales above cited. Jacobs states that this telling came from Australia. It is the best version known to the editor—in fact, the only possible change to be desired is in the flippant ending, "The ogre fell down and broke his crown." This is too serious a matter for such lightness!

Page 142. The only story of Asbjornsen reprinted in this collection is from Fairy Tales from the Far North (A. L. Burt Company, New York, n. d.). The translator is H. L. Braekstad. Asbjornsen's stories are sterling folk tales, but somewhat too gross and crude for the delicate stomach of the modern child.

Page 146. This Negro folk tale is from Told by Uncle Remus (Grosset & Dunlap, New York, 1905. Copyright 1903-1904-1905 by Joel Chandler Harris). Reproduced here by courtesy of Doubleday, Page & Co.

Page 155. Mrs. Craik's story is the first tale in The Adventures of a Brownie (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, 1911); it is printed here by permission of the publishers. The text, according to the editor, agrees with the standard text (Samson, Low, Marston, Low, and Searle, London, 1872).

Page 161. The text of "The King of the Golden River" is that found in Ruskin's Works (American Publishers Corporation, New York, n. d.). The versions commonly found in readers have been sadly mangled by editors—largely on the theory, it would seem, that children cannot understand the meaning of a word of more than two syllables.

Page 183. "Aladdin" is from The Arabian Nights Entertainments, translated by Jonathan Scott (printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, London, 1811). The translation is based on Galland's French translation, the first translation into any European language; but Dr. Scott states that the stories are "carefully revised and occasionally corrected from the Arabic." Of the many editions of The Arabian Nights—several of them excellent—this has always seemed, to the editor, the best.

The name in Scott's edition is spelled "Alla ad Deen," but the editor has thought it best to use the name most familiar to the English translations. The story has been altered slightly in that part which relates the circumstances following the marriage of the princess and the vizier's son. Quotation marks have been inserted throughout.

Page 267. "The Gorgon's Head" is from The Wonder Book (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1881).

Page 286. "Theseus" is from The Heroes (Kingsley's Works, Macmillan & Co., London, 1879). One obvious blunder in spelling has been corrected.

Page 311. "Thor Goes a-Fishing" is from Mabie's Norse Stories (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago, 1902. Copyright, 1900, 1901, by Dodd, Mead & Co.). It is printed here through special arrangement with the holders of the copyright.

Page 315. "Baldur" is Chapter VI of The Heroes of Asgard, revised and abridged by Charles H. Morss (Macmillan Company, New York, 1909). The preface states that "this volume is really an abridgment of Keary's The Heroes of Asgard, adapting it to classroom use for pupils of about the fourth and fifth grades." The selection is presented here as a splendid specimen of "made-over" literature, as well as, in its own right, a masterpiece of story-telling for children.

Page 327. The story of William Wallace is from The Tales of a Grandfather (Adam and Charles Black, Edinburgh, 1889). This edition is "reprinted from the latest edition published in the lifetime of Mr. Lockhart, and probably under his immediate supervision."

Page 339. "The Tempest" is from Tales from Shakespeare, with introductions and additions by F. J. Furnivall (Raphael Tuck & Sons, London, 1901). The "Tales" are very uneven in merit, the Comedies being superior, in the editor's opinion, to the Tragedies, and "The Tempest" being considerably the best of the Comedies. It is generally understood that it was Mary Lamb who told the Comedies and Charles who had charge of the Tragedies.

Page 349. "The Purple Jar" is from "Rosamond" in a volume entitled Frank, Rosamond, Harry, and Lucy (Frederick Warne & Co., London, n. d.). This is an inexpensive volume containing all of Miss Edgeworth's good stories except those in The Parent's Assistant. One may not care for tales of this sort; but they have their value, both as morality and literature, and "The Purple Jar" is one of the most effective specimens of its kind.

Pages 354, 356. The two didactic stories by Aiken and Barbauld are from Evenings at Home; or, the Juvenile Budget opened: consisting of a variety of miscellaneous pieces for the instruction and amusement of young persons (Henry Washbourne, London, 1847). This edition is described as "newly arranged." "Eyes and No Eyes" has been admired and praised by thousands of readers of past generations, among whom Oliver Wendell Holmes and Charles Kingsley are preeminent.

Page 363. "Rab and His Friends" is the first sketch in Horae Subsecivae, First Series (Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York, 1893). An accurate and inexpensive edition is that in the Canterbury Classics (Rand-McNally & Co., Chicago). It is one of the most pathetic stories in all literature, conforming precisely to Ruskin's theory that a child's story should be "sad and sweet."

Page 375. Mrs. Miller's story of the blue jay is one of the most charming of the stories in True Bird Stories (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1903). It is reprinted in this collection with the permission of the publishers.

Page 378. "A Cry in the Night" is the second story in Wood Folk at School (Ginn & Co., Boston, 1903). It is printed here by special arrangement with the publishers. Mr. Long's studies of wild animal life are among the few distinctive contributions to children's literature within this generation.

Page 389. The selections from the Bible are from the King James Version. The verse divisions in this version have been ignored in this reprint, as having little literary significance, and the paragraphs indicated by the paragraph marks in the original have been used as the natural units of thought—though the paragraphing does not always represent the thought divisions. Quotation marks have been inserted throughout.

From the story of Joseph, Genesis 37-50, it has been thought best to omit the following: all of Chapter 38, Chapter 39: 7-19; Chapter 46: 8- 27; Chapter 49; 1-28. From the story of Samson, Judges 13:24 to end of Chapter 17, one clause in the first verse of Chapter 16 has been omitted. From the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-7:29, verses 27-32 from Chapter 5 have been omitted. The discourse of Paul on Charity, First Corinthians, Chapter 13, has been separated into paragraphs.

Page 421. The letter of Lewis Carroll is from Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll, by S. Dodgson Collingwood (T. Fisher Unwin, London, 1898). Hood's letter is from Thomas Hood: His Life and Times (London, 1907). Dickens's letter is from Letters of Charles Dickens (London, 1880).

Page 425. Irving's essay on "Indian Character" is reprinted from The Sketch Book, Author's Revised Edition (G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1888).

Page 434. "Of Studies" is from The Essays of Francis Bacon (Longmans, Green & Co., London, 1907). The text is that of Aldis Wright, but the spelling and punctuation have been modernized.

Page 435. Theodore Roosevelt's spirited and characteristic essay on "The American Boy" is to be found among the essays and addresses in The Strenuous Life (Century Company, New York, 1911), and is here used by permission of author and publisher.

Page 441. Patrick Henry's celebrated oration is from Sketches of the Life of Patrick Henry, by William Wirt, third edition, corrected by the author, Philadelphia, 1818, which is the first printed version of the speech. No one really knows how much of it is Henry's, how much is Wirt's. Wirt gives much of the oration in the third person, with many "he said's." It is here given in the first person, following almost precisely the version given in Tyler's Patrick Henry (Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1898), which, of course, is based on Wirt's version. All the evidence bears out the contention that Wirt's account of the oration is authentic.

Page 443. The "Supposed Speech of John Adams" is taken from the Works of Daniel Webster (Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1853). The speech is really a portion of Webster's oration on Adams and Jefferson, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, August 2, 1826, less than a month after the death of Adams and Jefferson. The "Supposed Speech" is Webster's conception of how Adams might have answered a speaker who had argued against the passing of the Declaration of Independence.

Page 446. This reading of the "Gettysburg Address" is taken, punctuation and all, from the autographed copy of the address written for the Baltimore Fair and signed November 19, 1863. The facsimile lithographed copy of this is to be found in Autograph Leaves of Our Country's Authors (Cushings & Bailey, Baltimore, 1864). A full and accurate account of the three versions of the address is found in the Century magazine for February, 1894.

THE END