Chapter X: Preface (10)

Birds of all kinds especially like cocoanut (though they will come to the window-sill simply for bread crumbs). The cocoanut should be sawn in two, and a hole bored through each half, about an inch from the edge. A strong string is then threaded in and they are hung from the bough of a tree. They should be hung rather high up, on a bough reaching as far out from the trunk as possible, so as to avoid all risk from the cat. The birds frequent elm-trees more than any others, because the rough bark contains many insects, but you may choose any kind of tree, as close to your windows as you like. The birds will keep pecking at the cocoanut all day long and will soon want a new one. If you have no tree near the house you might fasten a cord across the outer frame of your window and tie the pieces of nut to that. The birds would soon find out the cocoa-nut and come to it, and bread crumbs could also be put on the window-sill to attract them. Or, if you have a veranda, they could be hung up there, if you could make them safe from the cat. Mrs. Earle, in her book _More Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden_, gives elaborate directions for an arrangement in a veranda or balcony of cocoanuts, etc., for the birds. Lumps of fat will do as well as cocoanut. Some birds also greatly love a bone to pick at--an uncooked one with plenty of fat on it, which the butcher will probably be glad to give you if you ask him and explain its purpose. It can be hung up in a tree or merely laid on the window-sill.

The Robin

In the ordinary way one would not keep robins at all. They are so tame and fond of the company of human beings that they will come regularly to the door for crumbs every morning and never be far off at any time. But if a wounded robin is found or a nest is abandoned (probably owing to the death of the mother at the cat's hands) just before the young birds are ready to fly, you might pop them in a cage. They do not often thrive long in captivity, even if the confinement does not seem irksome, but to keep one until it was strong enough to be let loose would be a kindness. Still there have been many cases of happy tame robins. The best food for them is bread crumbs, grated carrot, yoke of egg and sponge-cake mixed together, the carrot making the mixture moist enough. A few insects daily are advisable. Robins are such quarrelsome birds that it is impossible to keep two of them in an aviary, or even to keep one robin with birds weaker than himself. Perhaps the best way to treat a pet robin is to let him fly all over the house in the winter. He may one day fly away altogether in the spring, but if he is alive he is almost certain to come back again when the cold weather begins.

Garden Robins

Robins in the garden are so pretty, so cheeky, so sweetly musical, and are so friendly to man (in spite of their arrogance and selfishness among birds) that they ought to be encouraged. As the only way of encouraging wild birds is to feed them, we have to try and give them what they like best. Robins are quite content with bread crumbs only. They will eat sop if they can get nothing else; but they prefer crumbs, and not too dry. For an especial treat they like fat bacon beyond everything: cooked bacon, that has been boiled, not fried. It should be mixed up very small, and the bread also crumbled into tiny morsels, for robins like to eat very nicely and daintily. Robins are pleased to have crumbs given them all the seasons through, though in the autumn they can very well take care of themselves.

Each robin has his own special domain, which any other robin invades at his peril. The robins that come to the window for food are those that belong to that particular side of the house and no other. This means that there are other robins is different parts of the garden which will have to be fed in their own special localities. You will soon find out where these are, even if you have not already been guided to them by their songs. Robins like their food scattered always in the same place, or under the same tree, and, as nearly as you can, at the same time. Then you will find them on the lookout for you, and if you take always the same basket (a rather shallow flat one which stands firmly) and, putting it on the ground, go a few steps away, you will see them hop into it. After a few days they will probably get tame enough to come into the basket while it is in your hand; only you must have a little patience at first, and hold it very still, and of course you must not have previously scattered any food on the ground.

Birds in the Garden

This brings us to the other garden birds which we have no wish to put in cages, but which it is well to be as kind to as possible. In winter, when there is a frost, to feed them is absolutely necessary; but at all times it is well that they should know that you are not enemies (of which they have so many), but their friends. The following notes, together with the foregoing passage on feeding robins, on birds in the garden have been prepared far this book:--

"Birds are grateful all the year through for a shallow pan of water, which they can drink from and use also as a bath. And the bees, too, will be glad to come and get a sip of water, for they also are thirsty things. A small round yellow earthenware pan is excellent for the thrushes and blackbirds, but it is as well to provide a smaller one, say an ordinary shallow pie-dish, for the robins and little birds. These should be refilled twice a day, at least, in summer time. You can place the pans on the grass or path, where you can see them comfortably from the house, but not nearer than you can help, because the blackbirds are rather shy, and it would be a pity to make drinking too great an adventure for them.

"Birds are thankful for a little feeding right through the spring, both when the mother bird is sitting on the nest and the father has to forage for two, and when the young ones are hatched and there are at once many more mouths to fill. In the summer too, if it should be unduly wet and cold, or unduly hot and dry, and grubs and insects scarce, the young birds are pleased to find a meal ready for them. But in the winter it is a positive duty to feed the birds; for remember that when the ground is covered with snow, or frozen hard, they can get no insects, and thus, after all the berries have gone, they will starve unless they are helped with other food.

"Almost every household has enough waste scraps, if they are collected carefully, to give the birds a good meal once a day. Bread, of course, will form the chief part, but nothing comes amiss to them, however tiny. Morsels of suet, dripping, shreds of fat, meat, and fish, and cheese rind also, all mixed up together, are an especial treat. The mince should be well mixed with the bread crumbs, or all may not get a fair share. Crusts, or any hard, dry bits of bread, can be scalded into sop (though, unlike chickens, wild birds do not seem to like it hot), and a little piece of dripping or fat, soaked with the sop, makes it more tasty for them. If the supply of bread be short, the birds will be very pleased with chickens' rice. It should be the 'second quality' kind, in the brown husk, which can be procured from most corn-dealers. But this is hardly necessary excepting in a long hard frost. Starlings are especially fond of bones, and they will esteem it a favor if any which have been used in making soup, and are not required for the dog, are thrown out to them on the ground. Their joyous chattering over them is quite cheering, even on the dreariest winter's day. They are also grateful for the rind of a ham or piece of bacon, after it has been boiled. This should be thrown out to them whole, not cut up in little pieces. They are equally fond of the bones and skin remains of a 'dried' haddock.

"For the bolder birds, such as robins, you will like to put some food on the window-sills, and also on the path or grass close to the house. But remember the more timid ones, and scatter it in other parts of the garden as well.

"Sparrows, of course, deserve their food as well as any of the others; but it is rather hard to see them taking every morning much more than their share, while the less courageous or impudent birds (who also sing to you) get none. It seems impossible to prevent this, though Mr. Phil. Robinson, in his book _Garden, Orchard, and Spinney_ (in the chapter entitled 'The Famine is my Garden'), recommends scattering some oatmeal mixed with a few bread crumbs on one side of the house, to keep the sparrows occupied, whilst you feed the other birds elsewhere. Sparrows, however, have a way of being on every side of the house at once. Still, if you feed your birds daily, and as nearly at the same time as possible (they like it as soon as may be after your own breakfast), you will find them on the lookout for you, and they will manage to get a good share, if they all start fair, in spite of the sparrows. In a hard frost they are thankful for a second meal, but it should not be later than two o'clock, because birds go to bed very early in cold weather, and the food would be frozen too hard for them to be able to eat it next morning.

"One word more. There is great danger of birds being caught by a cat while they are busy with their food, especially if near the bushes. The only possible protection against this which you can take is to see that your own cat is indoors and is therefore not the offender."

READING

All persons who care very much for reading will find their way naturally to the books most likely to please them; left alone in a library they are never disappointed. For them no advice is necessary. Nor is advice important to those who have opportunities to compare notes on reading with friends who have similar tastes. For instance, two boys may fall to talking of books. "Have you read _David Balfour_?" one will say. "No; who's it by?" "Stevenson." "What else did he write?" "Well, he wrote _Treasure Island_." "I've read that. If _David Balfour_ is anything like that, I must get it." He gets it; and thus, either by asking others whose taste he can trust, or by going steadily on through each author who satisfies him, he will always have as much good reading as he needs.

But there are still other readers--who have no real instinct for books, or no memory for authors' names, or few opportunities of comparing notes--for whom a list of books that are worth trying, books which have been tested and found all right by thousands of readers, ought to be very useful. In the following pages a list of this kind has been drawn up. It is very far indeed from anything like completeness--many good authors are not mentioned at all, and others have written many more books than are here placed under their names--but those chosen are in most cases their best, and it will be very easy for readers who want more to find out other titles. The books named are for the most part not new. But before children read new books they read old; the new ones come later. What is suggested here is a ground-work. Moreover, there are so many ways for new books to suggest themselves that to attempt the impossible task of keeping pace with them here was unnecessary.

Girls are such steady readers of what are called boys' books, and boys are occasionally so much interested in what are called girls' books, that the two groups have not been separated. All that has been done is to describe the nature of each division of stories.

Fairy Tales

Nearly all the best old fairy tales are to be found in Mr. Andrew Lang's collections, of which six are mentioned:--

The Blue Fairy Book.
The Red Fairy Book.
The Pink Fairy Book.
The Green Fairy Book.
The Yellow Fairy Book.
The Orange Fairy Book.

Many families do very well with merely

Grimm's Fairy Tales.
The Arabian Nights.
Andersen's Fairy Tales.
AEsop's Fables.

These are traditional. First favorites among English whimsical tales are, of course,

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll.
Through the Looking-glass " " "

of which there is no need to speak, nor of

The Water-Babies By Charles Kingsley.
The King of the Golden River " John Ruskin.
The Rose and the Ring " W. M. Thackeray.

And among other good stories are--

Fairy Tales By Alexandre Dumas.
Mopsa the Fairy " Jean Ingelow.
Prince Prigio " Andrew Lang.
The Gold of Fairnilee " " "
Twenty Best Fairy Tales " Lucy Perkins.
The Bee-Man of Orn " Frank R. Stockton.
The Clocks of Rondaine " " "
Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales " Mrs. Ewing.

Lewis Carroll's "Bruno's Revenge," the story which was the beginning of _Sylvie and Bruno_, is perfect in its way.

Legendary Tales

CLASSICAL
The Heroes By Charles Kingsley.
A Wonder Book " Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Tanglewood Tales " " "
The Story of the Odyssey " Rev. A. J. Church.
The Story of the Iliad " " "
Stories from Homer " " "

ROMANTIC
The Morte D'Arthur By Sir T. Malory.
Tales from Shakespeare " Charles and Mary Lamb.
Puck of Pook's Hill " Rudyard Kipling.
Stories from the Faerie Queen " Mary Macleod.
Heroes of Chivalry and Romance " Rev. A. J. Church.
Stories of the Magicians " " "
Olaf the Glorious " Robert Leighton.
Robin Hood " Howard Pyle.
Men of Iron " " "
Canterbury Tales " Chaucer.
Robin Hood: His Deeds and Adventures " Lucy Perkins.
Ballads in Prose " Mary Macleod.
Forgotten Tales of Long Ago " E. V. Lucas.
Old Fashioned Tales " " "
Tales from Maria Edgeworth. Introduction " Austin Dobson.
Tales from the Canterbury Pilgrims. Retold " J. H. Darton.
The Book of King Arthur " Mary Macleod.
Midsummer Night's Dream for Young People " Lucy Perkins.
The Wonder Book of Old Romance.

Here also we might place _Gulliver's Travels_.

Verse and Poetry

Our first acquaintance with poetry is made through nursery rhymes. Many collections of nursery rhymes may be had. And there are also a number of very charming picture books of simple verse, suitable for small readers, such as Miss Kate Greenaway's

Mother Goose.
Marigold Garden.
Under the Window.
A. Apple Pie.

Mr. Walter Crane's

Baby's Opera,
Baby's Bouquet,

and various toy books.

Four favorite books of comic verse are Edward Lear's

Book of Nonsense.
More Nonsense.
Nonsense, Songs and Stories.

Four books, more recent, which come nearer to poetry than anything already mentioned, are--

Verses for Children By Mrs. Ewing.
Sing Song " Christina G. Rossetti.
Lilliput Lyrics " W. B. Rands.
A Child's Garden of Verses " R. L. Stevenson.

A large collection of verse of the kind already described, with the addition of ballads, open-air rhymes, animal verses and other matter--intended to pave the way to real poetry--exists in

A Book of Verses for Children,
Another Book of Verses for Children,

compiled by E. V. Lucas. After these, we come to collections containing real poetry, two excellent ones being

The Blue Poetry Book By Andrew Lang.
A First [Second and Third] Poetry Book " M. A. Woods.

There is also

Lyra Heroica By W. E. Henley,

a collection for boys. Selections from Tennyson, Browning, and other poets, intended for children, have been made, but most young explorers of poetry like to have the complete works and hunt for themselves. Other popular books of poetry are--

The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics.
Poems Every Child Should know.
Mr. C. R. D. Patmore's Children's Garland from the Best Poets.
Miss Agnes Repplier's Book of Famous Verse.
H. E. Scudder's American Poems.
The "Original Poems," and Others By Jane and Ann Taylor.
National Rhymes for the Nursery " George Saintsbury.
The Ballad Book " W. Allingham.
Lays of Ancient Rome " Lord Macaulay.
Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers " W. E. Aytoun.
The Percy Reliques.
A Thousand and One Gems of Poetry.
Scott.
Longfellow.
Hood.

Many boys also like the humorous stories in _Barham's Ingoldsby Legends_.

Books About Children

To this section, which is suited more particularly for girls, belong a large number of stories of a very popular kind: stories describing the ordinary life of children of to-day, with such adventures as any of us can have near home. Years ago the favorites were--

The Fairchild Family By Mrs. Sherwood.
Sandford and Merton " Thomas Day.

But these are not read as they used to be, partly because taste has changed, and partly because so many other books can now be procured. But fifty and more years ago they were in every nursery library.

The Swiss Family Robinson,

the most famous family book of all, will be found in the adventure section, to which perhaps really belong

Feats on the Fiord,
The Settlers at Home,

by Harriet Martineau, although these two, and

The Crofton Boys

may be included here. Here also belong Maria Edgeworth's

Moral Tales for Young People.
The Parent's Assistant,

which, although their flavor is old-fashioned, are yet as interesting as ever they were.

Another writer whose popularity is no longer what it was is Jacob Abbott, the author of a number of fascinating stories of home life (on farms and in the country) in America in the middle of last century. The Franconia stories are these:--

Beechnut.
Wallace.
Madeline.
Caroline.
Mary Erskine.
Mary Bell.
Stuyvesant.
Agnes.

And this is the Rollo series, intended by Mr. Abbott for rather younger readers:--

The Little Scholar Learning to Talk.
Rollo Learning to Read.
Rollo at Play.
Rollo at Work.
Rollo at School.
Rollo's Vacation.

A list of other books, which come more or less rightly under the head of "Stories about Children" follows, the earlier ones being better suited to younger readers, and the later ones to older, the age aimed at in this chapter (and indeed in the whole book), ranging from five to fifteen.

By Kate Douglas Wiggin:--

Polly Oliver's Problem.
Timothy's Quest.

By Louisa M. Alcott:--

Little Women.
Good Wives.
Eight Cousins.
Rose in Bloom.
Spinning-Wheel Stories.
Little Men.
Jo's Boys.
An Old-Fashioned Girl.
Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag.
Comic Tragedies.

The Little Pepper Series, and the Elsie Books.

By Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett:--

Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Editha's Burglar.
The Captain's Youngest.
Sara Crew.

By Mrs. Whitney:--

We Girls.
Faith Gartney's Girlhood.
The Gayworthys.
Leslie Goldthwaite.

By Gelett Burgess:--

Goops, and How to be Them.
More Goops, and How Not to be Them.
Goop Tales.
The Lively City o'Ligg.
The Burgess Nonsense Book.

This section is necessarily more incomplete than any of the others, since it is impossible to keep pace with the great number of stories of this kind which are published every Christmas. But a few more may be added:--

Stories Told to a Child By Jean Ingelow.
The Lost Child " Henry Kingsley.
Helen's Babies " John Habberton.
The Treasure-Seekers " E. Nesbit.
Holiday House " Catherine Sinclair.
Deeds of Daring done by Girls " N. Hudson Moore.
Children of Other Days " " "
Paleface and Redskin " F. Anstey.
The Silver Skates " M. M. Dodge.
Molly and Olly " Mrs. Humphry Ward.
Sweetheart Travelers " S. R. Crockett.
Sir Toady Crusoe " " "
Sir Toady Lion " " "
No Relations " Hector Malot.
Jogging 'Round the World " Edith Dunham.
A Little Daughter of the Revolution " Agnes Sage.
A Little Colonial Dame " " "
The House of the Red Fox " Miriam Byrne.
The Would-be Witch " " "
Little Barefoot From the German of Auerbach.
Indian Boys and Girls By Alice Haines.
Japanese Child Life " " "
Little Japs at Home " " "
Jap Boys and Girls " " "
According to Grandma " " "
When Grandma was Little " " "
What Grandma Says " " "

Here also belong many of the stories of Miss Yonge, and we might perhaps place _Uncle Tom's Cabin_ here too.

Boy and Schoolboy Stories

In this section are placed stories of modern boys, either at home or at school, and their ordinary home or school adventures. Among the best are--

Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain.

and

Bevis By Richard Jefferies.

Others are--

The Story of a Bad Boy By T. B. Aldrich.
My Boyhood " H. C. Barkley.
The Swan and her Crew " G. C. Davies.
Captain Chap " Frank R. Stockton.
The Tinkham Brothers' Tidemill " J. T. Trowbridge.

The best school story will probable always be

Tom Brown's School Days By T. Hughes.

Among the books of this kind meant rather for grownup readers, but read also by boys, are--

Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain.
Frank Fairlegh " F. E. Smedley.
The Interpreter " Whyte Melville.
The Human Boy " Eden Phillpots.
Vice Versa " F. Anstey.

Adventure Stories

This is the largest group of books usually described as "for boys," although girls often read them too with hardly less interest. The first place in this class will probably always be held by Defoe's

Robinson Crusoe,

and it is likely that most votes for second place would go to

The Swiss Family Robinson.

After these we come to modern authors whose books have been written especially for boys, first among whom is the late Mr. R. M. Ballantyne, the author of, among numerous other books,

The Coral Island.
The Gorilla Hunters.
The Dog Crusoe.
The Pirate City.
Ungava.
The Wild Man of the West.
The Iron Horse.
Fighting the Flames.
Erling the Bold.
Martin Rattler.
The Fur Traders.
The Red Man's Revenge.

Many of Ballantyne's readers make a point of going through the whole series of his books. The other titles can be collected from the advertisement pages at the end of these volumes. With R. M. Ballantyne is usually associated the name of the late W. H. G. Kingston ("Kingston and Ballantyne the brave," Stevenson called them in the verses at the beginning of _Treasure Island_, another book which comes high in this section). Kingston's stories were also very numerous, but it will serve our purpose here to mention only the following six:--

Peter the Whaler.
The Three Midshipmen.
The Three Lieutenants.
The Three Commanders.
The Three Admirals.
From Powder-Monkey to Admiral.

Several authors have carried on Ballantyne and Kingston's work. Chief among these are Mr. G. A. Henty and Mr. G. Manville Fenn. Here are six of Mr. G. A. Henty's stories:--

Out on the Pampas.
The Young Colonists.
The Young Franc-Tireurs.
In the Heart of the Rockies.
Maori and Settler.
Redskin and Cowboy.

And here are eight of Mr. G. Manville Fenn's:--

Brownsmith's Boy.
Bunyip Land.
Bevon Boys.
Dick o' the Fens.
The Golden Magnet.
Fix Bay'nets.
Jungle and Stream.
Menhardoc.

Mr. Max Pemberton, author of

The Iron Pirate.
The Impregnable City.

"Q." (Mr. Quiller Couch), author of

Dead Man's Rock.
The Silver Spur.

and Mr. David Kerr, author of

The Boy Slave in Bokhara.
Lost Among the White Africans.
The Wild Horseman of the Pampas.
Cossack and Czar.
Old Tartar Deserts.
Prisoner among Pirates.

Jules Verne is a French writer, but his stories have always quickly been translated into English, many of them by Mr. Henry Frith. Their titles are a good guide to their subject, for Jules Verne goes to science for some wonderful invention, such as a submarine boat or a flying machine, and then surrounds it with extraordinary adventures. Among his best books are--

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea.
Round the World in Eighty Days.
Five Weeks in a Balloon.
The English at the North Pole.
The Clipper of the Clouds.
From the Earth to the Moon.
The Mysterious Island.
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

First of English inventors of fantastic stories of adventure is Mr. Rider Haggard. His three most popular books are--

King Solomon's Mines.
She.
Allan Quatermain.

The books already named, with the exception of _Robinson Crusoe_, were written especially for boys. Other books which were not so intended, but have come to be read more by boys than any one else, include Fenimore Cooper's Indian stories, of which these are four:--

The Last of the Mohicans.
The Pathfinder.
The Deerslayer.
The Bee Hunters.

Other Indian stories are those of Gustave Aimard, translated from the French, among which are these:--

The Last of the Incas.
The Trail Hunter.
The Indian Scout.
The Gold-Seekers.
The Red River Half-Speed.
The Border Rifles.
The Trappers of Arkansas.

These are, of course, North American tales. Other North American tales are those of Captain Mayne Reid, which include--

The Boy Hunters.
The Boy Slaves.
Bruin, or The Grand Bear Hunter.
The Bush Boys.
The Castaways.
The White Chief.
The Desert Home.
The Forest Exiles.
The Giraffe Hunters.
The Headless Horseman.
The Rifle Rangers.
The Scalp Hunters.

In this section belong the books of Mr. George Bird Grinnell, author of

Jack in the Rockies.
Jack, the Young Ranchman.
Jack Among the Indians.
Jack, the Young Canoeman.
Jack, the Young Trapper.

Also Harold Bindloss'

The Young Traders.

And to this section belong also stories of the sea, several of which have already been mentioned. High among these are Captain Marryat's

Poor Jack,
Masterman Ready,

together with many of his tales intended originally for older readers, such as

Jacob Faithful.
Mr. Midshipman Easy.
Peter Simple.
Snarleyyow.

Mr. Clark Russell's stories:--

The Wreck of the "Grosvenor."
The Golden Hope.
An Ocean Free-Lance.
The Frozen Pirate.

Here also belong Mr. Kipling's

Captains Courageous,

and an old sea favorite--

Two Years Before the Mast By R. H. Dana.

Other good sea books, not fiction:--

My First Voyage By W. Stones.
The Voyage of the "Sunbeam" " Lady Brassey.
The Cruise of the "Cachalot" " F. T. Bullen.
The Cruise of the "Falcon" " E. F. Knight.

Historical Stories for Boys

New historical stories are published in great numbers every year. The most popular author of this kind of book for boys is Mr. G. A. Henty, among whose very numerous historical tales, all good, are--

At Aboukir and Acre.
At Agincourt.
Bonnie Prince Charlie.
By Right of Conquest.
The Dash for Khartoum.
In the Reign of Terror.
With Moore at Corunna.
The Lion of St. Mark.
Maori and Settler.
St. Bartholomew's Eve.
Under Drake's Flag.
With Clive in India.
With Frederick the Great.
With Lee in Virginia.

By Rev. A. J. Church--

The Chantry Priest of Barnet.
The Count of the Saxon Shore.
Stories from English History.
With the King at Oxford.

Other historical tales:--

Stories from Froissart By Henry Newbolt.
The Scottish Chiefs " Jane Porter.
The Children of the New Forest " Captain Marryat.
A Monk of Fife " Andrew Lang.
Grettir the Outlaw " Baring Gould.
The Story of Burnt Njal " Sir George Dasent.
Lorna Doone " R. D. Blackmore.
In Old Egypt " H. P. Mendes.
An Island Story " H. E. Marshall.
Scotland's Story " " "

By R. L. Stevenson--

The Black Arrow.
Kidnapped.
David Balfour.

By Charles Kingsley--

Hereward the Wake.
Westward Ho!

By Conan Doyle--

Micah Clarke
The White Company.
The Refugees.

By Stanley J. Weyman--

The House of the Wolf.
Under the Red Robe.
The Man in Black.
A Gentleman of France.

By Mr. Andrew Balfour--

By Stroke of Sword.
To Arms!

By Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper.
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

There are also historical stories more particularly intended by their authors for grown-up readers, but which boys and girls can, however, find quite interesting enough, even if much has to be skipped. First among these are Sir Walter Scott's novels:--

Ivanhoe.
Kenilworth.
Woodstock.
Quentin Durward.
Rob Roy.
The Abbott.
The Monastery.
The Talisman.

Other writers and books follow. By Alexandre Dumas--

The Three Musketeers.
Twenty Years After.
The Vicomte de Brageleonne.
Marguerite de Valois.
Chicot the Jester.
The Forty-five Guardsmen.

By Charles Dickens--

Barnaby Rudge.
A Tale of Two Cities.

By Lord Lytton--

Rienzi.
Harold.
The Last of the Barons.
The Last Days of Pompeii.

Animal Books

First among the animal books are Mr. Kipling's two _Jungle Books_. Two other beast stories by Mr. Kipling are "Moti Guj, Mutineer," the tale of a truant elephant, which is in _Life's Handicap_ and "The Maltese Cat," a splendid tale of a polo pony, which is in _The Day's Work_. Next to these comes Mr. E. Thompson-Seton's _Wild Animals I Have Known._ The lives of animals by themselves, or by some one who knows everything about them, are always favorite books with small readers. Among the best are these:--

Black Beauty (the story of a horse) By Mrs. Sewell.
Conrad the Squirrel " the author of
_Wandering Willie_.
The Story of the Red Deer " J. W. Fortescue.
Every Inch a King (the story of a dog) " Anon.
The Lives of the Hunted " E. Thompson-Seton.
The Trail of the Sandhill Stag " " "
The Adventures of a Siberian Cub " Leon Golschmann.
The Autobiography of a Grizzly. " E. Thompson-Seton.

The best tale of a bear is perhaps Bret Harte's "Baby Sylvester," which will be found in one of his volumes of short stories. Good animal stories are scattered about other collections of short stories. In Mr. Anstey's _Paleface and Redskin_ are stories of dogs.

Mr. Lang's

Red Book of Animal Stories

has both dogs and cats in it, and many other creatures too. Here also should be placed Mr. Warde Fowler's

Tales of the Birds.

Other very popular animal books are Mr. Joel Chandler Harris's

Nights with Uncle Remus,
Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit (largely illustrations),
Mr. Rabbit at Home,

and the same author has written also

The Story of Aaron,
Aaron in the Wild Woods,

which are stories not only of animals, but of people too; and here, perhaps, may be placed _AEsop's Fables_.

Wood Magic By Richard Jefferies

is an attempt to do for English wild life somewhat the same service that Mr. Kipling performed for India.

Other open air and animal books are:--

By the Rev. J. G. Wood--

By Back-yard Zoo.
Pet Land revisited.
Pet Land
A Tour Round My Garden.

Also

Curiosities of Natural History By Frank Buckland.
White's Selborne Edited by Frank Buckland.
Wanderings in South America By Charles Waterton.
Wild Traits in Domestic Animals " Louis Robinson.
The Voyage of the "Beagle" " Charles Darwin.
Ants, Bees, and Wasps " Sir John Lubbock.
(Lord Avebury).
On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence
of Animals " " "
Bob, Son of Battle " " "

A series of very interesting scientific books, under the general title "The Romance of Science," is published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Among these volumes are--

The Making of Flowers By Professor Henslow.
The Birth and Growth of Worlds " Professor Green.
Spinning Tops " Professor Perry.
Time and Tide " Sir Robert Ball.

The same publishers also issue a series of "Natural History Rambles," including--

In Search of Minerals By D. T. Ansted.
Lane and Field " the Rev J. G. Wood.
Ponds and Ditches " M. C. Cooke.
Underground " J. E. Taylor.
The Woodlands " M. C. Cooke.
The Sea-shore " Professor Duncan.

There is also a new series, called "The Wonder Books of Science," of which

The Wonder Book of Volcanoes and Earthquakes, and
The Wonder Book of the Atmosphere

are the first.

Other good scientific yet very entertaining books:--

The Fairyland of Science By A. B. Buckley.
Through Magic Glasses " " "
Life and Her Children " " "
The Romance of the Insect World " Miss L. Badenoch.
The Ocean " " "
Glaucus " Charles Kingsley.
Madam How and Lady Why " " "
The Old Red Sandstone " Hugh Miller.
The Testimony of the Rocks " " "
Homes without Hands " Rev. J. G. Wood.
Sun, Moon, and Stars " A. Giberne.
The Story of the Heavens " Sir Robert Ball.
Other Worlds than Ours " R. A. Proctor.
The Orbs around us " " "
The Boys Book of Inventions " R. S. Baker.
Extinct Animals " E. Ray Lankester.
Electricity for Young People " Tudor Jenks.

History

A good deal of more or less truthful history will be found in the section given to historical tales (see page 380). Here follows a small list of more serious historical books which also are good reading:--

Tales of a Grandfather By Sir Walter Scott.
Stories from English History " Rev. A. J. Church.
Lives of the Queens of England " Agnes Strickland.
Cameos from English History (several series)" C. M. Younge.
Stories from Roman History " Mrs. Beesley.
Deeds that Won the Empire " W. H. Fitchett.
Fights for the Flag " " "

Books of Travel

It is not important that travel books should be written especially for young readers. Almost all records of travel contain some pages of interest, whatever the remainder may be like. The fact that a book describes wanderings in a far country is enough.

But the books by Commander Robert E. Peary and his wife deserve mention.

Snowland Folk.
The Snow Baby.
Children of the Arctic.

The Treatment of Library Books

On this page is given a copy of the book mark which a clergyman, Mr. Henry Maxson, prepared for the use of the readers in the children's section of a library in Wisconsin.

BOOK MARK

Once upon a time a Library Book was overheard talking to a
little boy who had just borrowed it. The words seemed worth
recording, and here they are:--

"Please don't handle me with dirty hands. I should feel
ashamed to be seen when the next little boy borrowed me.

"Or leave me out in the rain. Books can catch cold as well as
children.

"Or make marks on me with your pen or pencil. It would spoil
my looks.

"Or lean on me with your elbows when you are reading me. It
hurts.

"Or open me and lay me face down on the table. You wouldn't
like to be treated so.

"Or put in between my leaves a pencil or anything thicker
than a single sheet of thin paper. It would strain my back.

"Whenever you have finished reading me, if you are afraid of
losing your place, don't turn down the corner of one of my
leaves, but have a neat little Book Mark to put in where you
stopped, and then close me and lay me down on my side, so
that I can have a good, comfortable rest.

"Remember that I want to visit a great many other little boys
after you have done with me. Besides, I may meet you again
some day, and you would be sorry to see me looking old and
torn and soiled. Help me to keep fresh and clean, and I will
help you to be happy."