The World's Best Books : A Key to the Treasures of Literature

Chapter III: Part 3

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[235] Rousseau's "Emile" has been called the greatest book ever written; but we presume that bias and limitation of knowledge on the part of critics (not rare accomplishments of theirs) might procure a similar judgment in respect to almost any strong and peculiar book. Rousseau's "Confessions" are worth some attention. (France, 18th cent.)

Saintine's "Picciola" is a beautiful story. (France, 19th cent.)

[236] Coffin's "Boys of '76," "Boys of '61," "Story of Liberty," etc., are splendid books for young people. The last describes the march of the human race from slavery to freedom. (U. S., 19th cent.)

Charles Reade's "Hard Cash," "Peg Woffington," "Cloister and Hearth" are fascinating stories. (Eng., 19th cent.)

Warren's "Ten Thousand a Year."

[237] Landor's "Imaginary Conversations of Great Men." (Eng., 18th cent.)

Turgenieff's "Liza," "Smoke," and "Fathers and Sons." (Russia, 19th cent.)

Eugene Sue's "Wandering Jew."

Manzoni's "I promessi Sposi."

[238] Cottin's "Elizabeth."

Besant's "All Sorts and Conditions of Men." (Eng., 19th cent.)

Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." A book that teaches the danger of giving way to the evil side of our nature.

[239] Mrs. Ward's "Robert Elsmere" is a famous picture of the struggle in the religious mind to-day. (Eng., 19th cent.)

Margaret Deland's "John Ward, Preacher," is a book of the same class as the last, but is not as interesting as her "Florida Days" or her Poems. (U. S., 19th cent.)

Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" is the autobiography of a noble horse, and is tender and intelligent. A book that every one who has anything to do with horses, or indeed with animals of any sort, cannot afford to neglect. (Eng., 19th cent.)

Bret Harte's "Luck of Roaring Camp" is an interesting picture of Western life, and opens a new vein of fiction. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[240] Green's "Hand and Ring," "Leavenworth Case," etc., are splendid examples of reasoning, without any of the objectionable features usually found in detective stories. (U. S., 19th cent.)

Miss Mulock's "John Halifax, Gentleman," is a great and famous book. (Eng., 19th cent.)

Disraeli's "Lothair," "Endymion," etc., are strong books; requiring the notice of one who reads widely in English fiction. (Eng., 19th cent.)

Howells' "A Modern Instance," "The Undiscovered Country," "A Hazard of New Fortunes," "A Chance Acquaintance," "Lady of the Aroostook," etc., are not objectionable. (U. S., 19th cent.)

Tolstoi's "Anna Karenina" deserves mention, though we cannot by any means agree with Howells that Tolstoi is the greatest of novelists. The motive and atmosphere of his books are not lofty, and some of his work is positively disgraceful. (Russia, 19th cent.)

[241] George Sand's "Consuelo" is a great book in more senses than one; and although it deserves a place in this lower list, yet there are so many better books, that if one follows the true order, life would be likely to depart before he had time to read a four-volume novel by an author of the tone of George Sand. (France, 19th cent.)

Black's "Strange Adventures of a Phaeton," "Princess of Thule." (Eng., 19th cent.)

Blackmore's "Lorna Doone." (Eng., 19th cent.)

Olive Schreiner's "Story of an African Farm" is powerful, but not altogether wholesome. (Eng., 19th cent.)

[242] Bremer's "The Neighbors." (Norway, 19th cent.)

Trollope's "Last Chronicles of Barsetshire." (Eng., 19th cent.)

Winthrop's "Cecil Dreeme," "John Brent." (U. S., 19th cent.)

[243] Richardson's "Pamela" and "Clarissa Harlowe" are interesting, because they were the beginning of the English novel; but they are not nice or natural, and have no attractions except their historic position. (Eng., 1689-1761.)

Smollett's "Humphrey Clinker" is his strongest work. "Peregrine Pickle" is very witty, and "Adventures of an Atom" altogether a miserable book. Smollett possessed power, but his work is on a very low plane. (Eng., 18th cent.)

Boccaccio's "Decameron" is a series of splendidly told tales, from which Chaucer drew much besides his inspiration. The book is strong, but of very inferior moral tone.

ORATORY.

Great and successful oratory requires deep knowledge of the human mind and character, personal force, vivid imagination, control of language and temper, and a faculty of putting the greatest truths in such clear and simple and forceful form, that they may not only be grasped by untrained minds, but will break down the barriers of prejudice and interest, and fight their way to the throne of the will. Oratory is religion, science, philosophy, biography, history, wit, pathos, and poetry _in action_. This department of literature is therefore of the greatest value in the development of mind and heart, and of the power to influence and control our fellows. Especially read and study Demosthenes on the Crown, Burke's "Warren Hastings' Oration," Webster's "Reply to Hayne," Phillips' "Lovejoy" and "Toussaint L'Ouverture," and Lincoln's "Gettysburg," his debates with Douglas, and his great speeches in New York and the East before the War, in which fun, pathos, and logic were all welded together in such masterly shape that professors of oratory followed him about from city to city, studying him as a model of eloquence. There is a book called "Great Orations of Great Orators" that is very valuable, and there is a series of three volumes containing the best British orations (fifteen orators), and another similar series of American speeches (thirty-two orators).

WIT AND HUMOR.

In what wit consists, and why it is we laugh, are questions hard to answer (read on that subject Spencer and Hobbes, and Mathews' "Wit and Humor; their Use and Abuse"); but certain it is that a little seasoning of fun makes intellectual food very palatable, and much better adapts it for universal and permanent assimilation. Most men can keep what is tied to their memories with a joke. Considering all things, Lowell, Holmes, Dickens, and Cervantes are the best humorists the world affords. See Table III. Group 4. They exhibit a union of power and purpose that is not found elsewhere. They always subordinate wit to wisdom, always aim at something far higher than making fun for its own sake, never appear to make any effort for their effects, and always polish their work to perfection. A great deal of the keenest wit will be found in books whose general character puts them in some other column,--Poetry, Fiction, Oratory, etc. The works of Shakspeare, Addison, Eliot, Sheridan, Goldsmith, Irving, Higginson, Carleton, Thackeray, Hood, Saxe, Fielding, Smollett, Aristophanes, Moliere, etc., abound in wit and humor.

The student of humor will be interested in Hazlitt's "English Comic Writers," Thackeray's "English Humorists," and Besant's "French Humorists."

[244] "Fable for Critics," "Biglow Papers." Considering the keenness and variety of wit, the depth of sarcasm, the breadth of view, and the importance of its subject, the "Biglow Papers" is the greatest humorous work of all history. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[245] "Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table," "Professor at the Breakfast-Table," etc. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[246] "Pickwick Papers." (Eng., 19th cent.)

[247] "Don Quixote." (Spain, 1547-1616.)

[248] Along with much violent scoffing, and calling of his betters by hard names, Ingersoll's speeches contain some of the keenest wit in the language. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[249] Marietta Holley's "Sweet Cicely," "Samantha at the Centennial," "Betsey Bobbet," "My Wayward Pardner," "Samantha at Saratoga," "Samantha among the Brethren," etc., are full of quaint fun, keen insight, and common-sense. They are somewhat more wordy than we wish they were, but they are wholesome, and the author's purpose is always a lofty one. Her fun is not mere fun, but is like the laughing eye and smiling lip of one whose words are full of thought and elevated feeling. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[250] G. W. Curtis's "Potiphar Papers" is a good example of quiet, refined humor. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[251] Chauncey M. Depew's Orations and After-Dinner Speeches are worthy of perusal by all lovers of wit and sense. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[252] Mark Twain is the greatest of those who make humor the primary object. He does not, like Artemus Ward, make it the sole object,--there is a large amount of keen common-sense in his "A Yankee in King Arthur's Court," and there is also in it an open-mindedness to the newest currents of thought that proves the author to be one of the most wide-awake men of the day. "Innocents Abroad," "The Prince and the Pauper," "Roughing It," etc., are very amusing books, the only drawback being that the reader is sometimes conscious of an effort to be funny. (U. S., 19th cent.)

253: Charles Dudley Warner's "In the Wilderness" gives some exceedingly amusing sketches of backwoods life. See also other books mentioned under the head of Fiction. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[254] S. K. Edwards' "Two Runaways, and Other Stories" is a book that no lover of humor can afford to be without. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[255] E. E. Hale's "My Double, and How He Undid Me," and other stories contain much innocent recreation. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[256] Nasby's "Ekoes from Kentucky" and "Swingin' round the Circle" are full of the keenest political sarcasm. Lincoln was so impressed with Nasby's power, that he said he had rather possess such gifts than be President of the United States. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[257] "Artemus Ward His Book," is funny, but lacks purpose beyond the raising of a laugh. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[258] "Caudle Lectures," "Catspaw," etc. Jerrold is one of the sharpest of wits. (Eng., 19th cent.)

[259] Voltaire was the Ingersoll of France, only more so. His "Dictionnaire" is full of stinging sarcasm and fierce wit. (France, 18th cent.)

"English Bards and Scotch Reviewers." The sharpest edge of Byron's keen mind. (Eng., 1788-1824.)

[260] "Hudibras." A tirade against the Puritans. (Eng., 17th cent.)

"Gulliver's Travels," "Tale of a Tub," etc. Coarse raillery. (Eng., 18th cent.)

[261] "Gargantua and Pantagruel." Immense coarse wit. (France, 16th cent.)

"Tristram Shandy." Not delicate, but full of humor. (Eng., 18th cent.)

[262] Juvenal is one of the world's greatest satirists. (Rome, 1st cent.)

Lucian is the Voltaire of the Old World. In his "Dialogues of the Gods" he covers with ridicule the religious notions of the people. (Greek Lit, 2d cent. A. D.)

FABLES AND FAIRY TALES.

Fables and fairy tales are condensed dramas, and some of them are crystal drops from the fountains of poetic thought. Often they express in picture language the deepest lessons that mankind have learned; and one who wishes to gather to himself the intellectual wealth of the nations must not neglect them. In the section of the book devoted to remarks upon the Guidance of Children, the literature of this subject receives more extended attention. Among the books that will most interest the student of this subject may be mentioned the works of Fiske and Bulfinch, named below, Baldwin's "Story of the Golden Age," Ragozin's "Chaldea," Kingsley's "Greek Heroes," Cox's "Tales of Ancient Greece," Hanson's "Stories of Charlemagne," Church's "Story of the Iliad" and "Story of the AEneid," and the books mentioned in connection with the "Morte D'Arthur," note 323 following:--

[263] "Fairy Tales," "Shoes of Fortune," etc. (Denmark, 19th cent.)

[264] The inimitable French poet of Fable. (France, 17th cent.)

[265] The world-famous Greek fabulist. His popularity in all ages has been unbounded. Socrates amused himself with his stories. (Greece, 6th cent. B. C.)

[266] "Household Tales." (Ger., early 19th cent.)

[267] "Reineke Fox." (Bohn Lib.) (Ger., early 19th cent.)

Kipling's "Indian Tales." (Eng., 19th cent.)

[268] "Age of Fable," "Age of Chivalry," etc. (Eng., 19th cent.)

[269] Fables in his poems. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[270] A French fabulist, next in fame to La Fontaine. (18th cent.)

[271] Greek Fables. (About com. Christ. era.)

[272] "Tales." (Ger., 19th cent.)

[273] "Metamorphoses." An account of the mythology of the ancients. Ovid was one of Rome's greatest poets. (Rome, 1st cent. B. C.)

Curtin's "Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland," "Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians," etc. (U. S., 19th cent.)

Fiske's "Myths and Myth Makers." (U. S., 19th cent.)

TRAVEL.

Nothing favors breadth more than travel and contact with those of differing modes of life and variant belief. The tolerance and sympathy that are folding in the world in these modern days owe much to the vast increase of travel that has resulted from growth of commerce, the development of wealth, and the cheapness and rapidity of steam transportation. Even a wider view of the world comes to us through the literature of travel than we could ever gain by personal experience, however much of wealth and time we had at our disposal; and though the vividness is less in each particular picture of the written page than if we saw the full original reality that is painted for us, yet this is more than compensated by the breadth and insight and perception of the meaning of the scenes portrayed, which we can take at once from the writer, to whom perhaps the gaining of what he gives so easily has been a very costly, tedious process, and would be so to us if we had to rely on personal observation. Voyages and travels therefore are of much importance in our studies, and delightful reading too. Stanley's opinions have been much relied on in selecting the following books:--

[274] Voyages. (Eng., 18th cent.)

[275] Cosmos; Travels. (Ger., 1762-1832.)

[276] Naturalist on the Beagle. (Eng., 19th cent.)

[277] Travels. (Venice, 14th cent.)

[278] Arctic Explorations. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[279] South Africa. (Eng., 19th cent.)

[280] Through the Dark Continent; In Darkest Africa. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[281] Travels in Africa. (France, 19th cent.)

[282] On Egypt. (Germany, 19th cent.)

[283] Abyssinia. (Eng., 19th cent.)

[284] India.

[285] Niger.

[286] South America.

[287] Upper Niger.

[288] Persia.

[289] Central Africa.

[290] West Coast of Africa.

[291] Travelled for thirty years, then wrote the marvels he had seen and heard; and his book became very popular in the 14th and 15th centuries. (Eng., 14th cent.)

[292] The Nile.

GUIDES.

In this column of "Guides" are placed books that will be useful in arriving at a fuller knowledge of literature and authors, in determining what to read, and in our own literary efforts.

[293] "What to Read on the Subject of Reading," by William E. Foster, Librarian of the Providence Public Library. Every one who is interested in books should keep an eye on this thorough and enthusiastic worker, and take advantage of the information he lavishes in his bulletins.

[294] The "Pall Mall Extra," containing Sir John Lubbock's "List of the Best Hundred Books," and letters from many distinguished men.

[295] English Literature.

[296] English Literature.

[297] "English Literature." The most philosophic work on the subject; but it is difficult, and requires a previous knowledge of the principal English authors.

[298] Handbook of Universal Literature.

[299] Dictionary of Authors.

[300] Bartlett's "Familiar Quotations" is one of the most famous and valuable of books.

[301] "Edge-Tools of Speech." Brief quotations arranged under heads such as Books, Government, Love, etc.

[302] "Library of Poetry and Song;" but for the general reader Palgrave's exquisite little "Golden Treasury" is better.

[303] "Primer of English Literature." The best very brief book on the subject.

[304] Bibliographical Aids.

[305] "Motive and Habit of Reading."

[306] "Choice of Books."

[307] "Sesame and Lilies."

[308] "The Love of Books."

[309] "History of Prose Fiction."

Baldwin's "Book Lover" is valuable for its lists of books bearing on special topics.

C. K. Adams' "Manual of Historical Literature" is invaluable to the student of history. There ought to be similar books relating to Philosophy, Fiction, Science, etc.

MISCELLANEOUS.

In the column "Miscellaneous" are placed a number of books which should be at least glanced through to open the doors of thought on all sides and to take such account of their riches as will place them at command when needed.

[310] One of the noblest little books in existence; to read it is to pour into the life and character the inspiration of hundreds of the best and most successful lives. Every page should be carefully read and digested. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[311] An exquisite book; one of Robert Collyer's early favorites. Put its beauty in your heart. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[312] A book that should be read for its breadth. (Eng., early 17th cent.)

[313] Edward Bellamy's "Looking Backward" is one of the same class of books to which Bacon's "New Atlantis," More's "Utopia," etc., belong, and may be read with much pleasure and profit along with them. It is really a looking forward to an ideal commonwealth, in which the labor troubles and despotisms of to-day shall be adjusted on the same principle as the political troubles and despotisms of the last century were settled; namely, the principle that each citizen shall be industrially the equal of every other, as all are now political equals. It is a very famous book, and has been called the greatest book of the century, which, happily for the immortality of Spencer and Darwin, Carlyle and Ruskin, Parkman and Bancroft, Guizot and Bryce, Goethe and Hugo, Byron and Burns, Scott and Tennyson, Whittier and Lowell, Bulwer and Thackeray, Dickens and Eliot, is only the judgment of personal friendship and blissful ignorance. But while the book cannot feel at home in the society of the great, it is nevertheless a very entertaining story, and one vastly stimulative of thought. The idea of a coming _industrial democracy_, bearing more or less analogy to the political democracy, the triumph of which we have seen, is one that has probably occurred to every thoughtful person; and in Bellamy's book may be found an ingenious expansion of the idea much preferable to the ordinary socialistic plans of the day, though not wholly free from the injustice that inheres in all social schemes that do not aim to secure to each man the wealth or other advantage that his lawful efforts naturally produce. (U. S., 19th cent.)

[314] Everywhere a favorite. It opens up wide regions of imagination. Ruskin says he read it many times when he might have been better employed, and crosses it from his list. But the very fact that he read the book so often shows that even his deep mind found irresistible attraction in it. (First introduced into Europe in 17th cent.)

[315] The most colossal lies known to science. (Ger., 18th cent.)

[316] The poem of "Beowulf" should be looked into by all who wish to know the character of the men from whom we sprang, and therefore realize the basic elements of our own character. (Eng., early Saxon times.)

[317] Should be glanced at for the light it throws on English history and development. (9th-12th cents.)

[318] Froissart's "Chronicles" constitute a graphic story of the States of Europe from 1322 to the end of the 14th century. Scott said that Froissart was his master. Breadth demands at least a glance at the old itinerant tale-gatherer. Note especially the great rally of the rebels of Ghent.

[319] This masterpiece of Old German Minstrelsy is too much neglected by us. Read it with the three preceding. (Early German.)

[320] _Saga_ means "tale" or "narrative," and is applied in Iceland to every kind of tradition, true or fabulous. Read the "Heimskringla," Njal's Saga, and Grettir's Saga, (9th-13th cents.)

[321] Along with the last should be read the poems of the elder Edda. (Compiled by Samund the Wise, 12th cent.)

[322] The epic of Spain, containing a wonderful account of the prowess of a great leader and chief. (Spain, before the 13th cent.)

[323] A collection of fragments about the famous King Arthur and his Round Table. They crop out in every age of English literature. Read the book with Tennyson's "Idylls of the King,"--a poem inspired by Malory's "Morte D'Arthur,"--Cervantes' "Don Quixote," and Twain's "Yankee in the Court of King Arthur," Lanier's "Boy's King Arthur," Ritson's "Ancient English Metrical Romances," Ellis' Introduction to the Study of the same, Preston's "Troubadours and Trouveres," Sismondi's "Literature of Southern Europe," Chapon's "Troubadours," and Van Laun's "History of French Literature" may be referred to with advantage by the student of Malory.

[324] A collection of Chinese odes.

[325] This and the last are recommended, not for intrinsic merit, but for breadth, and to open the way to an understanding of and sympathy with four hundred millions of mankind who hold these books in profound veneration. (China, as early as 5th cent. B. C.)

[326] This is the Bible of the Sufis of Persia, one of the manifestations of that great spirit of mysticism which flows like a great current through the world's history, side by side with the stream of Rationalism. It found certain outlets in Schelling, Swedenborg, Emerson, etc., and is bubbling up even now through the strata of worldliness in the United States in the shape of Theosophy. (7th cent.)

[327] Read Saint Hilaire's "Buddha" and Arnold's "Light of Asia." They will open great regions of thought.

[328] These are epitomized by Talboys Wheeler in his "History of India." Very interesting and broadening. (Very ancient.)

[330] Not valuable reading intrinsically, but as opening the doors of communication with the minds and hearts of whole races of men, most useful. The Vedas are the Bible of the Hindus, and contain the revelation of Brahma (15th cent.). The Koran is the Mohammedan Bible (6th cent.). The Talmud belongs to the Rabbinical literature of the Jews, and is a collection of Jewish traditions (3d cent.).

[333] The works of Hooker, Swedenborg, Newton, Kepler, Copernicus, Laplace, should be actually _handled_ and _glanced through_ to form a nucleus of experience, around which may gather a little knowledge of these famous men and what they did. This remark applies with more or less of force to all the names on the second shelf. Few can hope to _read all_ these books, but it is practicable by means of general works, such as those mentioned in Column 13, to gain an idea of each man, his character and work; and there is no better way to put a hook in the memory on which such knowledge of an author may be securely kept, than to take his book in your hands, note its size and peculiarities (visual and tactual impressions are more easily remembered than others as a rule), glance through its contents, and read a passage or two.

SHORT COURSES.

When the reader has a special purpose in view, it is of the greatest advantage to arrange in systematic order the books that will be most helpful in the accomplishment of his purpose, study them one after the other, mark them, compare them, make cross references from one to another, digest and assimilate the vital portions of each, and seek to obtain a mastery of all that the best minds of the past have given us in reference to the object of his effort. For example: a person who has devoted himself exclusively to one line of ideas will be greatly benefited by reading a short course of books that will give him a glimpse of each of the great fields of thought. One who is lacking in humor should get a good list of fine humorous works and devote himself to them, and to the society of fun-loving people, until he can see and enjoy a good joke as keenly as they do,--not only to quicken his perception of humor, but that the organ of fun (the gland that secretes wit and humor) may be roused into normal activity. Again, if a gentleman finds that he does not appreciate Shakspeare, Dante, Irving, etc., as he sees or is told that literary people do; if he prefers his newspaper to the English classics as a source of pleasure and profit; if he sees little difference between Tennyson and Tupper, enjoys Bill Nye as much or more than Holmes, and is able to compare the verses he writes to his sweetheart with Milton without any very distinct feeling except perhaps a disgust for Milton,--if any of these things are true, he has need of a course to develop a literary taste.

In the three tables following will be found a suggestion of several important short courses, and others will be found on page 123 _et seq._

TABLE II.

A short special course, to gather _ideas_ of practical importance to every life, and to make a beginning in the gaining of that _breadth of mind_ which is of such vital value by reason of its influence on morals and the aid it gives in the attainment of truth.

1. Physiology and Hygiene. Read and digest the best books. See Table I. Col. 3.

2. "Our Country," by Strong; the Constitution of the United States; the Declaration of Independence, and Washington's Farewell. (All m. R. D.)

3. Mill's Logic; at any rate, the Canons of Induction and the Chapter on Fallacies, (m. R. D. C. G.)

4. Smiles's "Self-Help." (m. R. D.)

5. Wood's books on Natural History; especially his anecdotes of animals, and evidences of mind, etc., in animals (e. R. D.). Proctor's books on Astronomy, "Other Worlds than Ours," etc. (e. R. G.). Lubbock's "Primitive Condition of Man" (m. R.). Dawson's "Chain of Life" (m. R.). In some good brief way, as by using the "Encyclopaedia Britannica," read _about_ Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Darwin, Herschel, Lyell, Harvey, and Torricelli.

6. Spencer's "First Principles." (d. R. D. G.)

7. Green's "Short History of the English People" (m. R. D. G.). Bancroft's "History of the United States" (m. R. D. G). Guizot's "History of Civilization" (m. R. D. G.).

8. Max Mueller's philological works, or some of them (m. R.). Taylor's "Words and Places" (m. R.).

9. In some public library, if the books are not accessible elsewhere, get into your hands the books named in Columns 12 and 13 of Table I., and not already spoken of in this table, and glance through each, reading a little here and there to make a rapid survey of the ground, acquire some idea of it, and note the places where it may seem to you worth while to dig for gold.

TABLE III.

A short course of the choicest selections from the whole field of general literature. It may easily be read through in a year, and will form a taste and provide a standard that will enable the reader ever after to judge for himself of the quality and value of whatever books may come before the senate of his soul to ask for an appropriation of his time in their behalf.

Very few books are requisite for this course, but it will awaken a desire that will demand a library of standard literature. No. 1, No. 2, etc., refer to the numbers of the "100 Choice Selections." Monroe's "Sixth Reader" and Palgrave's "Golden Treasury" are also referred to, because they contain a great number of these gems, and are books likely to be in the possession of the reader.

For the meaning of the other abbreviations, see the last section of the Introductory Remarks.

GROUP I.--_Poetry._

[*] in headings denotes "Degree of Difficulty."

+---------------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's note: Numbers 8 and 9 are missing in the |
| original. |
+---------------------------------------------------------+

GROUP II.--_Short Poetical Selections._

+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+
| | | Manner | |
| | [*] | of | Where found. |
| | | Reading. | |
+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+
| 10. PAYNE. | | | |
| Home, Sweet Home | e. | C. | |
| | | | |
| LONGFELLOW. | | | |
| Psalm of Life. | | R.D.C. | Longfellow's |
| Paul Revere's Ride | | | Poems. |
| The Building of the Ship | e. | R. | |
| (These may be found in most | | | |
| of the reading-books.) | e. | | |
| Suspiria, and the close of | | | |
| Morituri Salutamus | m. | R.D. | |
| | | | |
| HOLMES. | | | |
| Nautilus; the last stanza | | | Autocrat of |
| commit | m. | R.D. | the |
| The Stars and Flowers, a | | | Breakfast- |
| lovely little poem,--the | | | Table. |
| first verses in the | | | |
| Autocrat of the | | | |
| Breakfast-Table | e. | R.D. | |
| | | | |
| HUNT. | | | |
| Abou Ben Adhem | e. | R.D. | Monroe. |
| | | | |
| CAREW. | | | |
| The True Beauty | e. | R.D. | Palgrave, 87. |
| | | | |
| GRAY. | | | |
| Elegy in a Country Churchyard | m. | R.D.C. | " 147. |
| Hymn to Adversity | m. | R.D. | " 159. |
| Progress of Poesy | m. | R.D. | " 140. |
| The Bard | m. | R.D. | " 123. |
| | | | |
| SAXE. | | | |
| The Blind Men and the Elephant| e. | R.D. | No. 4. |
| | | | |
| JACKSON. | | | Poems of |
| The Release | m. | R.D. | H. H. Jackson.|
| | | | |
| 11. HOOD. | | | |
| Bridge of Sighs | m. | R.D. | Palgrave, 231.|
| Song of the Shirt | e. | R.D. | No. 2. |
| | | | |
| BURNS. | | | |
| Ye Banks and Braes o' Bonnie | | | |
| Doon | e. | R.D. | Palgrave, 139.|
| To a Field-mouse | e. | R.D. | " 144.|
| Mary Morrison | e. | R.D. | " 148.|
| Bonnie Lesley | e. | R.D. | " 149.|
| Jean | e. | R.D. | " 155.|
| John Anderson | e. | R.D. | " 156.|
| A Man's a Man for a' that | e. | R.D. | Burns's Poems.|
| Auld Lang Syne | e. | R.D. | |
| Robert Bruce's Address to his | | | |
| Army | e. | R.D. | |
| | | | |
| MOORE. | | | |
| The Light of other Days | e. | R.D. | Palgrave, 225.|
| Come rest in this Bosom | e. | R.D. | Irish Melodies|
| At the Mid Hour of Night | e. | R.D. | Irish Melodies|
| Those Evening Bells | e. | R.D. | Monroe. |
| | | | |
| COLERIDGE. | | | |
| Rime of the Ancient Mariner | d. | R.D.G. | Coleridge's |
| Kubla Khan; a Picture of the | | | Poems. |
| Stream of Life | d. | R.D.G. | |
| Vale of Chamouni | e. | R. | Monroe. |
| | | | |
| WHITTIER. | | | |
| The Farmer's Wooing, in Among | | | |
| the Hills | m. | R.D.C. | Whittier's |
| The Harp at Nature's Advent | | | Poems. |
| Strung, etc., in Tent on | | | |
| the Beach | m. | R.D.C. | |
| Snow Bound, Centennial Hymn | | | |
| (No. 13), and at least | | | |
| glance athis Voices of | | | |
| Freedom | m. | R.D.C. | |
| Barefoot Boy | e. | R.D.C. | |
| | | | |
| TENNYSON. | | | |
| "Break, break, break, on thy | | | Tennyson's |
| cold gray Stones, O Sea" | m. | R.D.C. | Poems. |
| "Ring out, wild Bells," in | | | |
| the In Memoriam | m. | R.D.C. | |
| Bugle Song, in The Princess | m. | R.D.C. | No. 2. |
| Charge of the Light Brigade | e. | R.D.C. | No. 2. |
| The Brook | e. | R.D.C. | Monroe. |
| | | | |
| CHAUCER. | | | |
| The Clerk's Tale, or the | | | |
| Story of Grisilde, in the | | | Chaucer's |
| Canterbury Tales | m. | R. | Poems. |
| | | | |
| 12. KEY. | | | |
| The Star-Spangled Banner | e. | C. | No. 4. |
| | | | |
| DRAKE. | | | |
| The American Flag | e. | R. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| SMITH. | | | |
| "My Country, 'tis of thee" | e. | C. | |
| | | | |
| BOKER. | | | |
| The Black Regiment | e. | R. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| CAMPBELL, | | | |
| full of fire | | | |
| and martial music. | | | |
| Ye Mariners of England | m. | R.D.C. | Palgrave, 206.|
| Battle of the Baltic | m. | R.C. | " 207.|
| Soldier's Dream | m. | R.C. | " 267.|
| Hohenlinden | m. | R.C. | " 215.|
| Lord Ullin's Daughter | m. | R.C. | " 181.|
| Love's Beginning | m. | R.C. | " 183.|
| Ode to Winter | m. | R.C. | " 256.|
| | | | |
| THOMSON. | | | |
| Rule Britannia | m. | R.C. | Palgrave, 122.|
| | | | |
| LOWELL. | | | |
| The Crisis | d. | R.D.C.G. | Lowell's |
| Harvard Commemoration Ode | d. | R.D.C.G. | Poems. |
| The Fountain | e. | R.D.C.G. | |
| | | | |
| HALLECK. | | | |
| Marco Bozzaris | e. | R. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| MACAULAY. | | | |
| Lays of Ancient Rome, | | | |
| especially Horatius, and | e. | R.D. | No. 2. |
| Virginia, also the Battle of | | | |
| Ivry | m. | R.D. | No. 5. |
| | | | |
| O'HARA. | | | |
| The Bivouac of the Dead | | | |
| | | | |
| MITFORD. | | | |
| Rienzi's Address | m. | R. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| CROLY. | | | |
| Belshazzar | m. | R. | No. 4. |
| | | | |
| 13. SHELLEY. | | | Shelley's |
| | | | Poems. |
| Ode to the West Wind | m. | R.D.C. | Palgrave, 275.|
| Ode to a Skylark | m. | R.D.C. | " 241.|
| To a Lady with a Guitar | m. | R.D.C. | " 252.|
| Italy | m. | R.D.C. | " 274.|
| Naples | m. | R.D.C. | " 227.|
| The Poet's Dream | d. | R.D.C. | " 277.|
| The Cloud, Sensitive Plant, | | | |
| etc. | m. | R.D.C. | |
| | | | |
| BYRON. | | | Byron's Poems.|
| All for Love | m. | R.D. | Palgrave, 169.|
| Beauty | m. | R.D. | " 171.|
| Apostrophe to the Ocean, and | | | |
| The Eve of Waterloo | m. | R.D.C. | Monroe. |
| The Field of Waterloo | m. | R.D.C. | No. 1. |
| (These are among the most | | | |
| magnificent poems in any | | | |
| language.) | | | |
| | | | |
| BRYANT. | | | |
| Thanatopsis | m. | R.C.G. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| PRENTICE. | | | |
| The Closing Year | m. | R.C.G. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| POE. | | | |
| The Bells; The Raven | m. | R.C.G. | No. 1. |
| Annabel Lee | m. | R. | No. 5. |
| | | | |
| KEATS. | | | Keats's Poems.|
| The Star | m. | R. | Palgrave, 198.|
| Ode to a Nightingale | m. | R. | " 244.|
| Ode to Autumn | m. | R. | " 255.|
| Ode on the Poets | m. | R. | " 167.|
| | | | |
| WORDSWORTH. | | | |
| A Beautiful Woman | e. | R.C. | Palgrave, 174.|
| The Reaper | m. | R. | " 250.|
| Simon Lee | m. | R. | " 219.|
| Intimations of Immortality | | | " 367.|
| | | | |
| HERBERT. | | | |
| Gifts of God | e. | R.D.C. | " 74.|
| | | | |
| READ. | | | |
| Drifting | m. | R.D.C. | No. 1. |
| Sheridan's Ride | e. | R. | " |
| | | | |
| FLETCHER. | | | |
| Melancholy | e. | R. | Palgrave, 104.|
| | | | |
| POPE. | | | |
| Rape of the Lock | m. | R. | Pope's Poems. |
| | | | |
| 14. INGELOW. | | | |
| The Brides of Enderby | m. | R. | No. 2. |
| High Tide, etc. | | | |
| | | | |
| COWPER. | | | |
| Loss of the Royal George | e. | R. | Palgrave, 129.|
| Solitude of Selkirk | m. | R. | " 160.|
| | | | |
| DRYDEN. | | | |
| Alexander's Feast | d. | R. | " 116.|
| | | | |
| COLLINS. | | | |
| The Passions | d. | R. | " 141.|
| | | | |
| JONSON. | | | |
| Hymn to Diana | m. | R. | " 78.|
| | | | |
| ADDISON. | | | |
| Cato's Soliloquy | m. | R. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| LODGE. | | | |
| Rosaline | m. | R. | Palgrave, 16.|
| | | | |
| HERRICK. | | | |
| Counsel to Girls | e. | R. | " 82.|
| The Poetry of Dress | e. | R. | " 92.|
| | | | |
| 15. GOETHE. | | | |
| Raphael Chorus,--a wonderful | | | |
| chorus of three stanzas in | | | |
| Faust. Read Shelley's | | | |
| translations, both literal | | | |
| and free, in his Fragments | m. | R.C.G. | Shelley's |
| | | | Poems. |
| OMAR KHAYYAM. | | | |
| Rubaiyat, especially the | | | |
| "moving shadow-shape" and the | | | |
| "phantom caravan" stanzas, | | | |
| for their magnificent imagery | m. | R.C.G. | Fitzgerald's |
| | | | Translation. |
| EURIPIDES. | | | |
| Chorus in Medea--Campbell's | | | |
| translation | m. | R.C.G. | Campbell's |
| | | | Poems. |
| | | | |
| CALDERON. | | | |
| Read Shelley's Fragments | m. | R.C.G. | Shelley's |
| | | | Poems. |
| SCHILLER. | | | Schiller's |
| The Battle | m. | R. | Poems. No. 4. |
| The Song of the Bell | m. | R. | Publ. |
| | | | separately. |
| MOLIERE. | | | |
| Tartuffe, or The Hypocrite | e. | R.D. | Moliere's |
| Le Misanthrope, or The | | | Plays. |
| Man-Hater | e. | R.D. | |
+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+

GROUP III.--_Short Prose Selections._

+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+
| | | Manner | |
| | [*] | of | Where found. |
| | | Reading. | |
+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+
| | | | |
| 16. LINCOLN. | | | |
| Gettysburg Oration. Famous | | | |
| for its calm, clear, simple | | | |
| beauty, breadth, and power | m. | R.C. | No. 2. |
| | | | |
| IRVING | | | |
| our greatest | | | |
| master of style; | | | |
| his prose is poetry. | | | |
| Rip Van Winkle | e. | R.D.C. | Sketch Book. |
| The Spectre Bridegroom | e. | R.D.C. | " " |
| The Art of Book-Making | e. | R.D.C. | " " |
| The Legend of Sleepy Hollow | e. | R.D.C. | " " |
| | | | |
| 17. BACON. | | | |
| Essay on Studies. Note the | | | |
| clearness and completeness | | | |
| of Bacon, and his tremendous| | | |
| condensation of thought | m. | R.D.C. | Bacon's |
| | | | Essays. |
| CARLYLE. | | | |
| Apostrophe to Columbus, p. | | | |
| 193 of Past and Present,-- | | | |
| Carlyle's finest passage | m. | R.D.C. | |
| Await the Issue | m. | R.D.C. | Monroe. |
| The account of the | | | |
| conversational powers of | | | |
| Coleridge, given in | | | |
| Carlyle's Life of Sterling | e. | R.D.C. | |
| | | | |
| 18. WEBSTER. | | | |
| Liberty and Union,--a | | | |
| selection from the answer to| | | |
| Hayne in the United States | | | |
| Senate, on the question of | | | |
| the power of a State to | | | |
| nullify the acts of | | | |
| Congress, and to withdraw | | | |
| from the Union,--the | | | |
| greatest of American | | | |
| orations, and worthy to | | | |
| rank side by side with the | | | |
| world's best | m. | R.D.C. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| PHILLIPS. | | | |
| Comparison of Toussaint | | | |
| L'Ouverture with Napoleon, | | | Phillips's |
| in his oration on Toussaint | m. | R.D.C. | Speeches. |
| | | | |
| 19. EVERETT. | | | |
| Discoveries of Galileo | m. | R. | No. 1. |
| | | | |
| BURRITT. | | | |
| One Niche the Highest | e. | R. | No. 7. |
| | | | |
| 20. HUGO. | | | |
| The Monster Cannon, one of | | | |
| the great Frenchman's master| | | |
| strokes,--a very thrilling | | | |
| scene, splendidly painted | e. | R. | No. 11. |
| Rome and Carthage | m. | R. | No. 6. |
| | | | |
| DE QUINCEY. | | | |
| Noble Revenge | m. | R. | No. 7. |
| | | | |
| 21. POE. | | | |
| Murders in the Rue Morgue | d. | R. | Little |
| | | | Classics. |
| INGERSOLL. | | | |
| Oration at the funeral of his | | | Ingersoll's |
| brother | m. | R. | Prose Poems. |
| | | | |
| 22. SCOTT. | | | |
| Thirty-sixth chapter of the | | | |
| Heart of Midlothian | m. | R. | |
| | | | |
| CURTIS. | | | |
| Nations and Humanity | m. | R. | No. 11. |
| | | | |
| 23. TAYLOR. | | | |
| The sections on Temperance | | | |
| and Chastity in the Holy | | | |
| Living and Dying | m. | R.D. | |
| | | | |
| BROOKS. | | | |
| Pamphlet on Tolerance,--the | | | |
| best book in the world on a | | | |
| most vital subject | m. | R.D. | |
+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+

GROUP IV.--_Wit and Humor_--_Short List._

+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+
| | | Manner | |
| | [*] | of | Where found. |
| | | Reading. | |
+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+
| | | | |
| 24. LOWELL. | | | |
| Biglow Papers | e. | R.D. | Lowell's |
| Fable for Critics | d. | R.D. | Poems. |
| The Courtin' | e. | R.D. | |
| | | | |
| HOLMES. | | | |
| Autocrat of the | | | |
| Breakfast-Table | m. | R.D. | |
| | | | |
| 25. CARLETON. | | | |
| Farm Ballads, especially the | | | |
| Visit of the School | | | |
| Committee, and The Rivals | e. | S. | |
| | | | |
| STOWE. | | | |
| Laughin' in Meetin' | e. | S. | No. 11. |
| | | | |
| TWAIN. | | | |
| On New England Weather | e. | S. | No. 13. |
| European Guides, and | | | Innocents |
| Turkish Baths | e. | S. | Abroad. |
| | | | |
| 26. DICKENS. | | | |
| Pickwick Papers | e. | S. | |
| | | | |
| JAMES DE MILLE. | | | Cumnock's |
| A Senator Entangled | e. | S. | Choice |
| | | | Readings. |
| LOVER. | | | |
| The Gridiron | e. | S. | " " |
| | | | |
| WHATELY. | | | |
| Historic Doubts regarding | | | Publ. |
| Napoleon | e. | S. | separately. |
+-------------------------------------+-----+----------+---------------+

TABLE IV.

SUPPLEMENTARY GENERAL READING.

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The World's Best Books : A Key to the Treasures of LiteratureChapter III: Part 3

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