228 THE LIFE OF THE FIELDS. 



of little indications which hint at the unconscious 

 wishes of his mind. 



First, the idea that he would require something 

 easy and simple like a horn-book or primer must 

 be dismissed. Villagers are not so simple by any 

 means. Nor do they need something written in the 

 plainest language, specially chosen, as words of one 

 syllable are for children. What is designed for the 

 village must not be written down to it. The village 

 will reject rice and corn-flour — it will only accept 

 strong meat. The subject must be strong, the manner 

 strong, and the language powerful. Like the highest 

 and most cultured minds — for extremes meet — the 

 intelligence of the villagers naturally approves the best 

 literature. Those authors whose works have a world- 

 wide reputation (though totally unknown by name in 

 hamlets sixty miles from London) would be the most 

 popular. Their antiquity matters nothing; they would 

 be new in the hamlet. When a gentleman furnishes 

 a library he chooses representative authors — what are 

 called library-books — first, forming a solid groundwork 

 to the collection. These are the very volumes the 

 country would like. 



Every one when first exploring the world of books, 

 and through them the larger world of reality, is 

 attracted by travels and voyages. These are pecu- 

 liarly interesting to country people, to whom the idea 

 of exploration is natural. Reading such a book is like 

 coming to a hill and seeing a fresh landscape spread 

 out before them. There are no museums in the villages 

 to familiarize them with the details of life in distant 

 parts of the earth, so that every page as it is turned 



