Kegular Institute Work 345 



from Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid ; the folk lore of the Indian should 

 not be forgotten, and the " Wigwam Stories " will surely appeal 

 to every child ; Uncle Remus, with his wonderful tales, should be a 

 family friend ; "Arabian Nights," " The Wonderful Adventures 

 of JSTils " — all of these are excellent. 



Stories of other children are always interesting if they are 

 genuine. Children are keen to detect any false note, and books 

 that are written because a grown-up thinks the child ought to be 

 interested in his tale are seldom chosen by the child himself. 



There is often the complaint that children do not like history, 

 and small wonder, if their introduction to it is in the school room ! 

 But if the way has been paved for it by stories of Kobin Hood, 

 Otto of the Silver Hand, Merrylip, Puck o'Pooks Hill, The Little 

 Duke, by stories of early England, and by the books about the 

 children that were carried away captive by the Indians at the 

 time of the Deerfield Massacre, history will become a living and 

 breathing subject instead of dry, rattling bones of dates and succes- 

 sion of kings. 



Stories of adventure are necessary to give expression to fighting 

 and rivalry instincts. The boy — and perhaps the girl — must 

 have opportunity to roam untrammeled and free, to mount the 

 blood-stained deck, and to strike terror into the souls of his cap- 

 tives ; but lot him do it through " Treasure Island " and " Black 

 Arrow," the stories of Cooper and Doyle, rather than through the 

 pages of lesser writers. 



Walter Prichard Eaton called attention not long ago to the 

 lamentable fact that books of the dime-novel type were being 

 printed and sold for fifty cents. A person unskilled in book-buying 

 is liable to think, in these days of cheap editions, that a book for 

 which he pays fifty cents must be all right. Far from it, often- 

 times. Be sure to know that the book you place in the hands of 

 the boy is genuine. Do not let him read the unwholesome book. 

 It is not enough that the book be negative — it should stand for 

 something worth while. 



The natural boy dreams of other lands than ours ; by all means let 

 him go with Du Chaillu to the Land of the Long Night and to the 

 Land of the Dwarfs. Let him go with Shackleton to the Pole and 

 let him wander in the Land of Mystery — that remarkable, true 



