THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 '"- / 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 r 
 
 ^ 'o 

 
 WHAT SHALL I BEAD ? 
 
 CONFIDENTIAL CHAT ON BOOKS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 PHILLIPS & HUNT 
 
 CINCINNATI : 
 HITCHCOCK & -WALDEN.
 
 Copyright 1878, by 
 
 NELSON & PHILLIPS, 
 
 New York.
 
 
 TO 
 MY BROTHER EUGENE, 
 
 ^his Booh 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
 
 EDITOE'S Il^OTE 
 
 tHE " Sunday-School " of to-day is more 
 than a Sunday -School. It has week-day 
 relations and responsibilities. It has to 
 do with the associations, the occupations, the 
 social, business, and literary habits of its pupils 
 from Sunday to Sunday, 
 
 The present volume is an earnest attempt to 
 direct our young people in some matters not 
 wholly religious, and we have no scruples about 
 issuing it under the auspices of our " Sunday- 
 School Department." It is not, however, to be 
 expected that in every particular any one dis- 
 cussion of " books and reading " will satisfy 
 everybody. 
 
 This little book is written by a cultivated, 
 experienced, judicious Christian mother. Its 
 tone is pure, its aim high, its style attractive, 
 its counsels sensible. May it be a "minister 
 of good!" J. H. V. 
 
 New York, Nov. 30, 1878.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 "M^F a book is not worth reading it 
 should not be published. There- 
 fore I offer this one humbly, yet with- 
 out apology, saying, with Grumio : 
 " This cuff was but to knock at your 
 ear, and beseech listening."
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAmB Paqb 
 
 I. A Confidential Chat 9 
 
 II. Why Shall I Read ? 15 
 
 III. How Shall I Read ? 31 
 
 IV. What Shall I Read ? 51 
 
 V. Books of Amusement or Fiction 71 
 
 VI. Religious Reading log 
 
 VII. A Course of Reading Arranged for Young 
 
 People 146 
 
 VIII. Explanation of the Course 152 
 
 IX. Catalogue of Books Recommended 166
 
 WHAT SHALL I READ? 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A CONFIDENTIAL CHAT, 
 
 "^^^THEN I was young I felt the need of 
 ^^ wise direction in the matter of reading. 
 It was not enough for me that friends pointed 
 to well-filled shelves of books, and said kindly, 
 " Take what you want ; " for I did not know 
 what I wanted. A ticket for a year at a public 
 library and a catalogue of its books was easily 
 obtained, but the library was only a forest 
 through which I was destined to wander and 
 lose myself, and the catalogue only a will-o'- 
 the-wisp, holding out delusive hopes of cheerful 
 light by the way. 
 
 What was it to me to read over long lists of 
 histories, biographies, travels, novels, and mis-
 
 10 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 cellaneous works, if I did not know which 
 among them to choose ? If I took a bold 
 plunge, and made my selection, I was almost 
 sure to be disappointed. The book I drew 
 would, perhaps, be too old for me, or it would 
 relate to subjects of which I was comparatively 
 ignorant, far too much so to enjoy. 
 
 So there would follow a weary feeling of dis- 
 gust and self-distrust. I would argue that the 
 book was written for instruction, but since it 
 failed to instruct me the fault must lie in my 
 mind, which must necessarily therefore be a 
 poor one, incapable of receiving information. 
 
 Sometimes this feeling would induce mental 
 lethargy, and I would be for awhile indifferent 
 to books, and try to occupy myself wholly with 
 the occurrences of every-day life. But these 
 brought my ignorance still more vividly before 
 me ; I could not listen to any intelligent con- 
 versation, nor look at any newspaper or period- 
 ical, without becoming painfully aware of my 
 own deficiencies. Especially when in the so- 
 ciety of those I loved and respected, I felt that
 
 A Confidential Cliat. ii 
 
 I must be better informed to understand and 
 enjoy it, and, in listening to them, I saw that it 
 would be wise for me to hold my peace. 
 
 It might be possible to do this, but I rebelled 
 against the fact that I should be excluded from 
 the society I loved, and must willfully take my 
 place among the dullards of the earth. Doubt- 
 less I should find plenty to walk with me in 
 the shady paths of ignorance ; but I longed for 
 sunlight, and felt that if some kind hand would 
 only point the way I might summon resolution 
 enough to walk in it. 
 
 Then I would try again and select another 
 book, and read it in a plodding way, moving on 
 my marker fifty pages a day with a dreary 
 satisfaction. At least I was doing my duty. 
 Some good would come of it sooner or later I 
 hoped, and so I kept on, learning very little, 
 wandering in the forest, but never seeing my 
 way through it. 
 
 It seemed to me to be a prominent necessity 
 that all my books should be large, and written 
 for old people. The duller the better, I thought.
 
 12 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 A child's history would give me more actual in- 
 formation in twenty minutes than my big books 
 gave in as many hours ; but I was ashamed to 
 own this. My ideas were false on the subject 
 from beginning to end, and nobody knew my 
 need, 
 
 I used to say to myself, " If ever I conquer 
 my difficulties, and have the time and ability 
 to do it, I will help others who feel as I do 
 now." I often wished that somebody had felt 
 so before me, and I thought all readers had 
 been very selfish not to leave some record of 
 their struggles and triumphs. 
 
 Now I shall assume that many other young 
 people feel as I did, because I think human 
 beings are very much alike, and the need of 
 one is apt to be the need of another. 
 
 If we were all to speak very honestly I think 
 we should confess to a shame of our ignorance ; 
 but we are, perhaps, either a little too proud or 
 a little too lazy to acknowledge this feeling and 
 to combat it. We look with admiration at 
 those who have had the energy to achieve sue-
 
 A Confidential Chat. 13 
 
 cess ; those who seem to be always at their 
 ease, whatever subject is under discussion ; 
 who are able to say the word in season quietly, 
 and without parade of learning, because it is as 
 natural to them to be informed as for others to 
 be ignorant. 
 
 But we feel that such ease is impossible for 
 us, and we sigh and fold our hands, and say, 
 " I wish I knew as much ; " or else we try to get 
 along by a general flippancy, which will turn 
 all serious conversation into trivialities where 
 we feel ourselves at home. 
 
 But why should any one thus tamely submit 
 to mediocrity ? Knowledge is within the reach 
 of all who will stretch out their hands and 
 grasp it. 
 
 Some say, " Good and evil grow on the same 
 tree, and we do not know how to choose the 
 good and reject the evil. Ignorance is inno- 
 cence." Ah, but it is not. That is a mistake 
 too many make. 
 
 Now, having taken it for granted that I am 
 addressing a class of young people who are too
 
 14 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 intelligent to be willfully ignorant, too ignorant 
 to be very intelligent, too pure to want to grasp 
 the evil, and too weak to reach high enough for 
 the good fruit, I will try in a friendly way to 
 help them, offering myself only as a guide-post 
 in the forest, or a crooked stick which may be 
 useful in bringing down a very little fruit from 
 the tree of knowledge ; and if any, after using 
 me for this purpose, throw me aside, and climb 
 nimbly to the tip-top of the tall tree, I will not 
 complain, but lie peacefully where I am thrown, 
 remembering that once / had need of a crooked 
 stick, and for the want of it never could climb.
 
 W/iy Sitall I Read? 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WHY SHALL I READ ? 
 
 JL HAVE assumed that I am addressing a 
 s class of young people who are unwilling to 
 be ignorant, and yet even among this class 
 there are many who give the following an- 
 swers to the question, Why should you tiot 
 read ? 
 
 " Because it looks so owlish to be forever 
 poring over a book." " Because I have a great 
 deal to do, and reading takes so much time," 
 " Because I forget all I read >. my mind is like 
 a sieve." " Because what I learn by reading 
 one year I must unlearn the next, for every 
 thing changes, and so what is the use .-* " 
 
 As to looking owlish I should condemn 
 that remark, except that I see in it an honesty 
 that objects to affectation. If you must neces- 
 sarily feel that the eyes of the world are on 
 you, you are perhaps right to refuse what you
 
 i6 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 feel would be an affectation. But I am sorry 
 you have so little independence and so much 
 self-consciousness. I advise you, dear friend, to 
 think less of appearances. It is certainly far 
 better to be ignorant than to pretend to knowl- 
 edge which is superficial. But why need there 
 be any pretense in the matter ? Let me tell 
 you that we all think more of ourselves than 
 others think of us. Remember that you have 
 an inalienable right to obscurity. You may 
 read as much as ever you want to without ex- 
 citing any commotion in the world, or even in 
 that corner of it which is your home. To sit 
 in public, with a book in your hand, for the 
 purpose of being .seen and considered literary, 
 is, perhaps, the flattest piece of folly one can be 
 guilty of I am not afraid that you, who dread 
 to be thought owlish, will fall into it ; nor will 
 any one who has any sense at all. That is not 
 reading, it is pretending to read. If you really 
 read you will soon forget to think what others 
 may possibly say about you, and so I advise 
 you by all means to begin. Keep under that
 
 W/ij^ Shall I Read? 17 
 
 " mountainous me," and do as you choose, with- 
 out regard to criticism, as long as what you do 
 is right in itself. Moreover, reading is a very 
 common employment nowadays ; it excites no 
 remark whatever, so all the advice I give you, 
 my dear owl, is, not to strain your eyes by 
 forever poring over a book ; daylight will be 
 better than gaslight ; but a moderate amount 
 of reading by any light will not injure you, nor 
 your friends, nor your critics. 
 
 My next friend says, " Because I have a great 
 deal to do." 
 
 It will rest and refresh you to turn from your 
 numerous occupations, if only for a very few 
 minutes, and read, if only a very little. You 
 will attend to your many duties more cheer- 
 fully and usefully for such a rest : 
 
 " A millstone and the human heart are ever turning round ; 
 If they have nothing else to grind, they must themselves be 
 ground." 
 
 This is also true of the mind. If your duties 
 
 are mechanical your mind grows weary ; give 
 
 it something to grind, lest it react upon itself. 
 2
 
 1 8 What Shall I Read? 
 
 There are few, if any, employments in life that 
 cannot be better performed by a reader than 
 by one who never cares to look at a book. I 
 do not mean by one who is called a bookworm. 
 I do not advocate incessant study, nor do I 
 recommend any neglect of duty for the sake 
 of self-indulgence. But if you really want to 
 read, it is astonishing how much time you will 
 find for it. Many a mother at the head of a 
 large household finds time to rest her tired 
 head by forgetting her cares for one short half 
 hour over her book. Many a business man 
 rises a little earlier that he may lighten his 
 day's responsibilities by a cheerful start with 
 some clever author. And surely the hour 
 spent in rocking a fretful baby is brighter 
 and shorter for the pleasant thought that the 
 book suggested, which dwells in the mind 
 through the long day, and is something for the 
 millstone to grind. And business is not hin- 
 dered by knowledge, and the responsibilities of 
 life are not lessened by a hearty laugh. If your 
 life is toilsome, read to forget your toil just long
 
 W/t)f Shall I Read? 19 
 
 enough to enable you to work more cheerfully 
 for the rest. 
 
 Let any one who thinks his lot in life is par- 
 ticularly hard read the lives of others, and he 
 will see there is nothing uncommon in his case. 
 Others have struggled, worked, been disap- 
 pointed, and cast down, yet they have tri- 
 umphed in the end. 
 
 Let any one who feels depressed by sickness, 
 poverty, or care, read and find out how other 
 burdened souls bore depression, poverty, and 
 care ; how others have mourned and been com- 
 forted ; how others have sinned and suffered ; 
 how others have gone rejoicing in their lot, as 
 God gave it to them, or have sunk into apathy 
 and despair, according to the use or abuse they 
 made of God's good gift of reason. All such 
 reading helps us to liv^e, and if our lives are full 
 of anxiety we need such helps. Devote a 
 few minutes to feeding your mind, just as you 
 give your body food to keep it in good work- 
 ing order. Oil the machine and it will work 
 more easily, and will not complain with creak-
 
 20 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 ings and groanings. The time lost will be 
 more than made up in the increased speed 
 and ease with which the machinery will run. 
 Read, then, because you have a great deal 
 to do. 
 
 The next objection is, " Because I forget 
 every thing." 
 
 The great Talleyrand once said. " All I have 
 learned I have forgotten, what I know I guess." 
 This was very clever in its way, but you will 
 observe that without previous knowledge he 
 could scarcely have made accurate guesses. It 
 has been said that the difference between a 
 well-educated person, and one who is not, is 
 that the former always knows where to refer 
 for information ; and one of our cleverest law- 
 yers confessed that all his study had only 
 taught liim where to find knowledge when he 
 needed to seek it. There are wonderful in- 
 stances of memory on record, but chiefly re- 
 lated about those who were people of one idea. 
 A mind subject to constant interruption cannot 
 hope to remember all things ; one circumstance
 
 IV/iy Shall I Read? 21 
 
 crowds out another, and an active mind and re- 
 tentive memory do not often go together. You 
 need not consider your mind as a sieve, because 
 you do not remember all you read. You may 
 forget some fact entirely, as you suppose, till 
 you have occasion to use it, when it will start 
 up fresh in your memory. Or if you still feel 
 that you are inaccurate, you may remember 
 where you met with it, and reference to that 
 place will re-establish it in your mind. Charles 
 Lamb gives us a charming account of a visit 
 he and his " Cousin Bridget " paid to some 
 relatives who lived in a remote part of the 
 country ; he describes the kindness of their 
 reception, and speaks in this way of his cousin's 
 memory : 
 
 "With what kindness we were received by 
 them ; how Bridget's memory, exalted by the 
 occasion, warmed into a thousand half-obliter- 
 ated recollections of persons and things, to my 
 utter astonishment and her own old effaced 
 images of more than half-forgotten names and 
 circumstances still crowding back upon her, as
 
 22 What Shall I Read? 
 
 words zvrittcn vt lemon come out tip on exposure 
 to afrie)idly waunth." 
 
 This is the way we remember. We need 
 the friendly warmth of social intercourse, and 
 that brings out our hidden or half-remembered 
 thoughts, and ideas, and recollections. 
 
 But a patient, attentive habit of reading goes 
 far to fix 'our memory. " The art of memory is 
 the art of attention." We remember what inter- 
 ests us. Do you not find this to be true .-' 
 
 If you are fond of fishing, you probably are 
 well instructed on that subject ; you can remem- 
 ber all about fishing. Or, if you are fond of 
 dress, you can remember just how many ruffles 
 are fashionable on a skirt, and the name of the 
 last new color. 
 
 Why can you remember one thing and not 
 another } 
 
 Simply because one thing interests you, and 
 the other does not. But you can cultivate this 
 art of memory, and if you are in earnest you 
 will cultivate it. 
 
 Perhaps you are not fond of reading, and yet
 
 nVif Shall I Read? 23 
 
 you wish to cultivate your taste in this respect. 
 Then do not choose a hard book, a dull book, a 
 big book, and read away as though condemned 
 to hard labor. 
 
 Take something that interests you, even if 
 it is a child's book ; do not be ashamed to be 
 seen reading a child's book. If it is capable 
 of interesting you, and other books do not in- 
 terest you, begin with it, and read it attentively. 
 You will remember it if it has interested you. 
 That is the first step gained, the first point 
 reached. You will see that you can remember 
 something. Little by little your memory will 
 strengthen if you exercise it. Determination 
 will prevail. " For they can conquer who be- 
 lieve they can." 
 
 Do not crowd your memory, do not under- 
 take too much. One little song well remem- 
 bered is worth fifty facts forgotten. Children 
 often say, " I forgot to remember." So, many 
 readers forget to remember ; but this is a state 
 of mental inactivity, which can be overcome. 
 Do not allow yourself to be conquered by sloth ;
 
 24 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 make one well-sustained, good, strong effort, 
 and you will be cured. Who wants a bed-ridden 
 mind ? If you are forgetful, you will do well to 
 read. 
 
 What is the next objection ? 
 
 " Because what I learn one year I must un- 
 learn the next, so what is the use ? " 
 
 One might as well say, because I shall be 
 hungry again I will not eat. It is true that 
 with the progress of science the views of think- 
 ing men change, and there are many more things 
 in heaven and earth than ever were dreamed of 
 in our grandparents' philosophy. But shall any 
 one give this as a reason for not informing him- 
 self, as far as he may ? I hope not ! You may, 
 perhaps, never be able to lead, but surely you may 
 follow your age ; and even granting that the wis- 
 dom of the present day may be folly to the 
 next generation, still it all helped to prepare the 
 way for what was better. 
 
 Those who come after us cannot arrive at 
 their wisdom till we have done some good, solid 
 thinking. If we believe in progression, and
 
 WAj^ Shall I Read? 25 
 
 that the world will grow wiser, better, and holier 
 as it grows older, we shall be glad the time will 
 come when dark things shall be made light 
 even though zve never shall see that light. Let 
 us hold our penny tallow dip steadily, if that is 
 all we have, till a more glorious light is kindled 
 from its feeble flame. 
 
 Let us, at least, know as much as we may, 
 then, if in our old age we find we must change 
 some of our views, our minds will have been 
 prepared for the change, in fact, we have helped 
 to make it. Our enlightened intelligence has 
 rejected what was false and accepted what was 
 true. We leave the world possibly a trifle 
 brighter than we found it, and we depart thank- 
 fully bequeathing our wisdom merely as a step- 
 ping-stone to those who are to follow us ; glad 
 to have shed ever so feeble a light, glad to have 
 left ever so small a stone, as guide and help 
 to stronger eyes and feet than ours. 
 
 Now, having answered your objections why 
 you should 7iot read I will give you a reason 
 why you should.
 
 26 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 We ought not to live for ourselves alone, we 
 ought to live for others. Whatever instructs 
 and enlarges our minds, increases our power in 
 this respect. 
 
 Ignorance does more harm than any thing in 
 the world except sin and ignorance leads to sin. 
 A narrow-contracted mind does injury wherever 
 it goes. ' Look at any small, uneducated, unin- 
 tellectual, unrefined community. What are the 
 aims and thoughts and sentiments of its mem- 
 bers .'' Are they not narrow, small, and piti- 
 ful } Hear such people talk about each other ! 
 Malice, envy, and detraction become apparent 
 at once. Hear them comment on the age in 
 which they live ! To them science is a hum- 
 bug, thought is dangerous, heroism is self-seek- 
 ing, religion is hypocrisy. Why.'' Simply be- 
 cause their minds have nothing to grind, and 
 must themselves be ground. Simply because 
 they will not open their eyes and see the light, 
 and so they must remain in darkness. O " how 
 great is that darkness ! " 
 
 Place any member of such a community in a
 
 IV/iy Shall I Read? 27 
 
 position of power, and what confusion will be 
 wrought ! Bigotry and superstition, those true 
 children of ignorance, accomplish their work 
 with fatal swiftness. The more earnest an un- 
 enlightened man is, the more mischief he will do. 
 Has not weakness slain its thousands, and igno- 
 rance its tens of thousands, ever since the world 
 began ? Look at the massacres of religious 
 bodies by those calling themselves Christians ; 
 those who hieiv not what manner of Spirit 
 they were of! Look at the tortures inflicted 
 on men of science in old times ! at the burn- 
 ing of witches, not so very long ago, in our 
 own country ! 
 
 Do you suppose liberally-instructed minds 
 could have tortured Galileo, or burnt a so-called 
 witch ? It was ignorance that did the mischief. 
 Ah ! thank God for that prayer on the cross : 
 " Forgive them ; for they knozv not what they 
 do," And thank God this is an age of progress, 
 and it is the duty of every rational human being 
 to progress with the age, boldly, prayerfully, 
 and with strength. Intellectual development
 
 28 What Shall I Read? 
 
 gives this strength, and knowledge induces the 
 humility that brings us to God's feet, there meek- 
 ly to try and learn of him how best to live, that 
 his world may be the better for our lives. 
 
 " What ! " You say, " Do you suppose that 
 / ever should be tempted to be brutal or cruel 
 because I do not read ? That is really strain- 
 ing a point. You said just now that i was ob- 
 scure ; what difference does it make to the world 
 what / do, or whether I am informed or not ? " 
 
 It makes just this difference. However ob- 
 scure your lot in life may be, you are daily and 
 hourly exerting an influence on those around 
 you. If your mind is narrow, it is a narrow 
 influence ; if your mind is enlarged, it is a broad, 
 blessed influence. You would not be willfully 
 cruel, yet, for lack of knowledge, you might 
 wound some sensitive soul almost to death. 
 You may in your own obscure corner torture 
 your friend, by misunderstanding and misrepre- 
 senting him, till in shallow ignoran-ce you have 
 fastened on him the names of atheist, free- 
 thinker, infidel. You may weaken the influence
 
 IV/ij Shall I Read? 29 
 
 of good Christians, you may embitter your own 
 life and that of others by doubting kindness, sus- 
 pecting friendship, disbeheving truth and good- 
 ness, not because you want to be hard and 
 cruel, but because you are ignorant. 
 " And will reading prevent all this ? " 
 Yes, in great measure, it will. You can 
 hardly read intelligently without seeing what 
 motives have actuated others. You recognize 
 the springs of action, you see cause and effect, 
 you know why this great evil was done, why 
 that great good was thought of, and you learn 
 to read character, to discriminate nicely, to 
 think soberly, to judge slowly. You are study- 
 ing mankind, and you learn to direct yourself. 
 You learn charity also, for a knowledge of hu- 
 man nature teaches charity. You see its weak- 
 ness, its misery, its folly ; you see its great and 
 bitter need of a Saviour. The history of the 
 world teaches you to be very charitable, to 
 pity, not to strike ; and a knowledge of your 
 Lord and Master will teach you to forgive, 
 not to condemn.
 
 30 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 So, if you ask me why you should read, I 
 reply : To develop the mind that God has given 
 you for the benefit of your fellow-beings ; to 
 learn, that you may help others ; to under- 
 stand, that you may do all the good in your day 
 and generation that one mortal may do ; to 
 trade with your talents for your Lord, like a 
 good and faithful servant who has kept those 
 things which were committed to his care.
 
 How Shall I Read? 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW SHALL I READ? 
 
 C>ii 
 
 jF, in answer to this question, I reply, " Read 
 Q^ intelligently," you will say, 
 
 " That is the very point : I cannot read 
 intelligently ; that is my trouble. I open a book 
 determined to understand it, but before I have 
 read a page, I come to some word I have never 
 seen before, or some sentence which conveys 
 no meaning to me, because it refers to some- 
 thing of which I am ignorant. Perhaps I ought 
 to know about it, but I do not ; and yet to un- 
 derstand the book I must know to what the 
 author refers, and I must know the meaning 
 of the words he uses. It is very discouraging ! " 
 
 This is a difficulty I know, but not as great 
 as you think, and let me whisper confidentially 
 to you that I have often been puzzled in this 
 way myself, and know just how provoking it is. 
 But for encouragement I will add, that nine
 
 32 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 readers out of ten meet with the same diffi- 
 culty, and I doubt if they could give an intelli- 
 gent explanation of every word on a double 
 page of any thoughtful work. 
 
 To test this I once opened in a random way 
 the book that lay nearest to me, and challenged 
 a party of five intelligent people to explain one 
 page thoroughly to me. 
 
 The book was " Fronde's History of England," 
 a book written by an Englishman, in the English 
 language, and the intelligent five smiled as I 
 proposed the test. In the page to which I 
 opened was this sentence : " No sooner had the 
 pacification of Nice been completed, and Henry 
 had found that he was not, after all, to be ad- 
 mitted as a party contrahcnt, than, without 
 quarreling with Charles, he turned his position 
 by immediate advances to the Smalcaldic 
 Leaguer How many do you suppose of the 
 five could explain this.-' Not one ! Yet they 
 were all well-educated people. The next book, 
 opened in the same random way, was Macken- 
 zie's " Life of Walter Scott," and on the first
 
 How Shall I Read? 33 
 
 page to which I turned was an allusion to " the 
 Culdees." This was referred to a party of 
 twelve. One said it was a group of islands ; 
 but knew nothing of their location. Another 
 said it was a name for Irish fairies. Nine of 
 the party frankly confessed ignorance, and the 
 twelfth gave the correct answer. The twelfth 
 was a quiet man who seldom spoke ; the intelli- 
 gent eleven doubted his information, and he 
 referred them, not to an abstruse ecclesias- 
 tical work, but to one of Walter Scott's nov- 
 els, where, to be sure, the desired knowledge 
 lay. 
 
 I shall not tell you who the Culdees were. 
 Their history is interesting, but I shall let you 
 find out for yourselves ; and you may also 
 look up information respecting the Smalcaldic 
 League, which is also interesting, and " party 
 contrahent," which is not interesting. 
 
 But you say, " Universal ignorance is not 
 encouraging to the young reader." 
 
 In a certain way it is. There is a French 
 
 proverb which says, " In the realm of the bhnd 
 3
 
 34 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 the one-eyed are kings." And applied to read- 
 ing and general information this is encouraging, 
 because it removes false shame, which is the 
 very destruction of one's mind. A feeling of 
 pride, a fear lest you be ridiculed for your igno- 
 rance, is at once absurd and perfectly natural. 
 Children,, as a rule, are merciless, and ridicule 
 unsparingly the mistakes of their companions. 
 We have all smarted under this in childhood, 
 and it takes us a great while to outgrow the 
 impression it leaves. We shrink from ridicule, 
 and dread to expose ourselves to it willfully. 
 
 But conquer this feeling ! Live above it ! 
 Even make your mistake ! The literary world 
 will not quake if you should call the Culdees a 
 group of islands. The only possible conse- 
 quence of your mistake would be that you 
 might receive information from the one-eyed 
 who is king of that one fact. Do not be afraid 
 of others. As a rule, human nature is kind 
 and refined ; intelligent human nature is ve}y 
 kind. I have never yet seen a well-instructed 
 person who was either conceited or unkind ;
 
 How Shall I Read? 35 
 
 who was not willing cheerfully to give informa- 
 tion without a thought of ridicule. Knowledge 
 makes us humble ; it is only the ignorant who 
 ridicule others. Children fall into this error to 
 cover their own mistakes. They think, with 
 other uninstructed minds, that they will ele- 
 vate themselves by detracting from others ; but 
 years teach them better, and they give up such 
 false views. 
 
 No one person can be expected to know 
 every thing. We all bring our thoughts to 
 market, and barter and exchange them. It 
 would be a poor market if all brought the same 
 thing ; or, to use a very homely figure, we are 
 like boys in a school who delight in making 
 "a good swap." Only let us be sure we are 
 able to make a good, fair swap ! Almost every 
 body can trade in this way. The hod carrier 
 can tell you how to carry a hod ; that is his vo- 
 cation, that is what he understands, and, so far 
 as hod carrying is concerned, he can give you 
 information. He is king there, and his hod 
 is his scepter with which he rules his world.
 
 36 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 In all probability your world is a larger one 
 than his, and yet he is king in that one prov^- 
 ince where hod carrying is a necessary pur- 
 suit. You can tell him something of which 
 he is ignorant, doubtless. Need either of you 
 be ashamed ? 
 
 " But ,1 am ignorant where I ought to be in- 
 formed," you say. 
 
 Well, now, tell me if there is any one distinct 
 period of time into which all the information 
 of life is crowded ? If so, what is the age 
 at which a human being is supposed to 
 have received perfect instruction ? It certainly 
 cannot be in childhood ; then it must be in 
 youth. Do we know every thing at twenty ? 
 My experience may be limited, but I Ihiiik we 
 do not. 
 
 At twenty-five, then, perhaps ? or at twenty- 
 five, six months, two weeks, and three days ? 
 You laugh and say, " Absurd ! " So it is ab- 
 surd ! very absurd to suppose that we can 
 ever hope to be fully informed on every sub- 
 ject at any one given time. As long as we
 
 Hoiv Shall I Read? 37 
 
 live we may learn if we will. And how do we 
 learn ? 
 
 Do you not see that because you do not un- 
 derstand all you meet with in books, you imi.:^^t 
 read if you want to learn. It is the very best 
 reason for reading. If you knew every thing it 
 would not be necessary. These little diffi- 
 culties stimulate us ; we inform ourselves be- 
 cause of them; we amuse ourselves with them ; 
 we expand our ideas by them. So instead of 
 discouragements they should be incentives to 
 further effort. 
 
 '* But what a bore I should be to others if I 
 always went about with an open book asking 
 questions ! " 
 
 Very true. There is a time to ask questions, 
 and a time to keep silence. As a rule, ques- 
 tions are disagreeable ; I have no desire to let 
 loose reckless questioners on an unsuspecting 
 public by the advice I give in this book ! 
 Therefore, I will try to show you a more excel- 
 lent way. 
 
 There are three things really necessary to
 
 38 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 an intelligent reader : an atlas, a dictionary, 
 and an encyclopedia. If you own these you 
 are independently wealthy. You can answer 
 all your own questions ; you should own them. 
 They can all be obtained for a hundred dollars. 
 
 " A hundred dollars ! " you cry. " Impossi- 
 ble ! A hundred dollars for books ! " 
 
 " Why impossible .'' And why not spend a 
 hundred dollars for books ? Look at the sub- 
 ject for a minute. How much money have you 
 owned since you were ten years old ? How 
 much pocket money have you now ? What 
 does it go for ? And how long will it take 
 you to save or to earn a hundred dollars .'' " 
 
 Many of you say, " A great while ; I have 
 very little spending money. I doubt if I ever 
 could hope to set aside such a sum for books. 
 I have to pay my board and help my family ; I 
 have not a cent more than I absolutely need 
 for my actual expenses ; I am poor, and I 
 feel poverty to be a curse; do not sting me 
 with it ! " 
 
 No, never. To all who cannot truly afford it,
 
 How Shall I Read? 39 
 
 I do not make the suggestion. It is far more 
 noble to work with your hands for your daily 
 bread, pay your way, and help others, than to 
 indulge yourself selfishly in any way, intellect- 
 ually or otherwise. To all who honestly say 
 this I reply : Your difficulties are increased, 
 but do not be discouraged. Go on reading ; go 
 to public libraries, if you can, and consult their 
 books of reference ; do not be too proud to ask 
 your richer neighbor to let you look at his 
 books ; get up a club if possible, and by small 
 joint contributions raise enough money to buy 
 your own books ; but if all these plans fail, go 
 on reading, even if you do not understand all ; 
 one book will undoubtedly help you to under- 
 stand another, and ask questions wherever you 
 can do so with profit to yourself. Wherever 
 you may meet with information seize it at once. 
 Go through the world as Paddy goes through 
 Donnybrook Fair ; wherever you see a head, 
 hit it ! You will be astonished to find how 
 much information you will obtain in rational 
 conversation, in the daily papers, and in the
 
 40 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 occurrences of every-day life. Moreover, there 
 are cheap editions of books which may be ob- 
 tained at a very trifling expense. A good 
 school dictionary can be bought for one dollar, 
 and a very fair atlas for three dollars. These 
 will serve your purpose till you can get the 
 more expensive editions. They will furnish an 
 immense amount of information, and shake off 
 that feeling about poverty. If God has given 
 you poverty, accept it as a blessing ; it surely 
 is no curse, since it is sent by Divine love Use 
 it well and there will be no sting in it. Let no 
 American, with life before him, be discouraged. 
 Use the mind that God has given you, work 
 hard, wear a shabby coat if need be, save your 
 pennies, give one to those poorer than yourself, 
 and put the other by for books. Or, if two 
 cents are beyond you just now, work and think, 
 and read when you can, and thank God for 
 your reason, your country, and for your shabby 
 coat. It has been said of America that in no 
 other country are there so few men of great 
 learning, or so few men of great ignorance.
 
 How Shall I Read? 41 
 
 "The stock of American knowledge is small, 
 but it is spread throughout all classes." In- 
 crease this stock if you can, but if you cannot, 
 at least help to spread it. 
 
 But there are many who can easily afford to 
 buy the books I have mentioned, and there are 
 many others who can easily save the amount 
 from their indulgences ; and again, others who 
 can earn enough for the same purpose by a 
 little extra work. To all such I most earnestly 
 appeal. Buy a good encyclopedia, a good atlas, 
 a good dictionary, and hold power in your 
 hand. What hardship would it be to wear 
 pearl stud-buttons instead of gold, to wear 
 merino instead of silk, to use glass salt-cellars 
 instead of silver, to walk instead of to ride, to 
 make the old carpet last another year longer, or 
 the dress-coat see a little harder service than 
 you originally intended it should .-' Small self- 
 denials are trifles deny yourself and get knowl- 
 edge, for knowledge is power. 
 
 All workmen require suitable tools. What 
 would you think of a carpenter who came for a
 
 42 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 day's work bringing only a gimlet with him, or 
 a dress-maker who owned no thimble ? Yet, to 
 have a real desire for information and never to 
 refer to the proper sources would be very near- 
 ly as absurd. I want to impress on every in- 
 telligent young reader the necessity of owning 
 a good dictionary, a good atlas, and a good 
 encyclopedia. Not that I expect you to read 
 them persistently, for you might say with the 
 old Scotchman, who criticised the dictionary, 
 that it contained " braw stories, but unco 
 short." 
 
 Nor do I want you to " cram," as school boys 
 say, for the sake of showing off, like the dinner 
 guest that Dr. Holmes tells us of, who could talk 
 rationally and well on all subjects beginning 
 with A or B, but was totally ignorant beyond 
 that letter, having " crammed" from his encyclo- 
 pedia for the occasion. To read for the pur- 
 pose of showing off is simply detestable ; it is 
 beneath notice. 
 
 The encyclopedia may be abused, but that 
 is no reason why it should not be used. It
 
 Hoiv Shall I Read? 43 
 
 should be used, and constantly referred to. 
 Dr. Holmes also mentions his "four extensive 
 cyclopedias " " Out of these I can get infor- 
 mation enough to serve my immediate purpose 
 on almost any subject," he says. 
 
 When you read have a pencil in your hand, 
 and a note-book not far off, and write down all 
 questions that trouble you. Then when you 
 have finished your reading for the day turn 
 to your dictionary Webster's unabridged, or 
 Worcester's, I recommend for young Ameri- 
 cans and find the meaning of every word that 
 you have not fully understood ; and, as Captain 
 Cuttle says, " when found make a note of" 
 Perhaps you do not know who Captain Cuttle 
 is .'' We will come to him by and by. Write 
 down the meaning of the word opposite the 
 question in your note-book, thus : 
 
 Party conirahe7it? (Latin. Contrahe7is, p. pr. 
 of contrahere. See contract}) Entering into 
 covenant, contracting ; as contrahent parties. 
 Obsolete. That answers the question, you see, 
 at once, and if you want to know any more
 
 44 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 about it you must turn to the word contract in 
 the same dictionary, and there you will find all 
 that can be said about it. Having done which 
 you are just so much wiser than you were be- 
 fore. You know the meaning of the term party 
 contrahent ; you also know that Webster pro- 
 nounces it obsolete, that is, gone out of use, not 
 common, and this fact may reconcile you to 
 what you had supposed your own ignorance in 
 not understanding it at once. So you take 
 courage and proceed, and, having found out all 
 the hard words in the dictionary that you re- 
 quire, you turn to your encyclopedia, and oppo- 
 site the subjects that have puzzled you, and 
 which you have noted in your book, you write 
 thus : 
 
 Smalcaldic League. . . . The Union, con- 
 cluded March, 1531, by nine Protestant princes 
 and counts, and eleven free cities, for the mu- 
 tual defense of their faith and political inde- 
 pendence against Charles V. and the Catholic 
 States, at Smalkalden, in Henneberg, at first for 
 six years, etc. (See Reformation.)
 
 How Shall I Read? 45 
 
 Now having found out the meaning of party 
 contraJient and Smalcaldic League, you are 
 able fully to understand what Mr. James An- 
 thony Froude means in the sentence which 
 plagued you so. If you need further informa- 
 tion you see " Reformation," which means, look 
 at the article headed " Reformation," and there 
 you will see more written about the same sub- 
 ject. So we inform ourselves. It is but little 
 trouble, and what rich results ! You may want 
 to know about the simplest every-day matters. 
 You will find them in your encyclopedia. Per- 
 haps you may require information on some very 
 difficult subject. You will get it by applying 
 to the same friend. Do you not see the very 
 great benefit you will receive from owning a 
 friend well informed, and able and willing to 
 answer all your questions .-' 
 
 If you follow this plan you will be astonished 
 at the rapidity with which your stock of knowl- 
 edge will increase. You do not know when 
 you may need it ; store it up. 
 
 Daniel Webster used his note-book, as I ad-
 
 46 What Shall I Read? 
 
 vise you to use yours. On one occasion being 
 complimented on a very beautiful illustration 
 he had made use of in a speech, he replied fliat 
 it had occurred to him twenty years before that 
 time ; that he had made a note of it, but never 
 had occasion to use it till then. 
 
 Webster used to say, " Men give me some 
 credit for genius. All the genius I have lies 
 in this : when I have a subject in hand I study 
 it profoundly ; day and night it is before me. I 
 explore it in all its bearings. My mind be- 
 comes pervaded with it. Then the effort which 
 I make the people are pleased to call the fruit 
 of genius. It is the fruit of labor and thought." 
 
 " Genius is eternal patience." 
 
 Perhaps it is easier for you to see the need of 
 a dictionary and encyclopedia than of an atlas. 
 But you really need an atlas if you read history 
 or books of travel. It is essential that you 
 should have a clear picture in your mind of the 
 place about which you are reading. A vague 
 idea of any country will confuse you more than 
 you are aware of You must know its geograph-
 
 How Shall I Read? 47 
 
 ical position if you would fully appreciate the 
 book you enjoy. If, for instance, you are read- 
 ing about the Pilgrim Fathers, look at your 
 atlas, and see the exact spot where they landed. 
 It will help you to appreciate their lives, and to 
 understand their fortitude, when you once fully 
 understand that they did indeed land upon " a 
 stern and rock- bound coast." 
 
 Looking at the atlas fixes the fact in your 
 memory ; you no longer have a general impres- 
 sion that they landed " all along shore." 
 
 Who would be willing to read an account of 
 the American Revolution, or the " Life of 
 George Washington," and never look at a map 
 of the United States .-' No young American, I 
 hope and trust ! The names of places convey 
 little or no idea to the mind. Washington 
 crossed the Delaware. Ah ! indeed ! He 
 might as well have crossed the Hoboken ferry 
 for all the difference it makes to me, unless 
 I know where the Delaware is. Knowing that, 
 I know why he crossed it, and how. But the 
 name Delaware is no more interesting to me
 
 48 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 than the name Hoboken. Get the location of 
 the Delaware firmly fixed in your mind by look- 
 ing at your atlas and see if it does not increase 
 your interest. Make a habit of referring con- 
 stantly to your atlas, and do not be content 
 with a vague and general idea of places. 
 
 " O, it takes so much time ! " perhaps you say. 
 "If we were to look out all the places we read 
 about we never should get through a book ! 
 Dear me ! Why } Only think ! You have 
 told us first to look in a dictionary and find out 
 the meaning of all the hard words, then to look 
 in the encyclopedia, and find out all about the 
 subjects referred to in our day's reading, and 
 now you tell us to look in an atlas, and find 
 out the geographical position of all the places 
 we are reading about. It seems that we are 
 always to read four books at a time ! " 
 
 No. You are only to read one book at a 
 time, but you are to refer to three others. Sup- 
 pose it does take a long time to read one 
 book. That one book slowly read and well 
 understood is worth more than ten books caie-
 
 How Shall I Read? 49 
 
 lessly glanced at. The object of reading is to 
 gain information, not to hold a book in your 
 hand and run your eye over its pages. If you 
 are hungry it would scarcely satisfy you to sit 
 at a well-filled table and glance at the dishes. 
 You would not like to do this, and then hurry 
 away to another feast with the same result. 
 You would greatly prefer not to hurry, and if 
 you found good palatable food at the table, you 
 would remain until your hunger was satisfied. 
 So, in reading a book if it is a good book, 
 and one that suits you do not hurry ; satisfy 
 yourself with it. As one of the Collects in the 
 Episcopal Prayer Book says, " Read, mark, 
 learn, and inwardly digest " it. 
 
 You must read patiently if you would read 
 intelligently. Do not be eager to read many 
 books. Remember the old fable of the boy and 
 the filberts. When he grasped too many, he 
 could not withdraw his hand from the jar in 
 which they were ; but when he contented him- 
 self with a few, he was able to obtain them 
 
 easily. 
 4
 
 50 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Do not read rapidly ; you must think over 
 your book. Why should you let the author do 
 all the thinking for you ? It is impossible to 
 follow another's mind rapidly. Read, and re- 
 read, 'before you criticise your author, or allow 
 him to influence you. You may entirely fail 
 to grasp his meaning by reading rapidly. 
 Be very sure you understand what it is he 
 intends to say, and then form your judgment 
 slowly. 
 
 All difficulties in reading can be overcome 
 by patience, and so, in answer to the question, 
 How shall I read .-* I reply, Slowly, patiently and 
 intelligently.
 
 What Shall I Read? $1 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WHAT SHALL I READ ? 
 
 tHIS is one of your greatest difficulties ; you 
 do not know what to read. Those who 
 have written on this theme say, " Read on 
 any subject that interests you, and make a 
 beginning ; " but my experience goes to show 
 that you will not know just at first what does 
 interest you. You are ready to be interested in 
 any thing, you are open to a suggestion, but 
 have no definite aim or wish in the matter; 
 you want somebody to tell you what to read 
 and nobody will. You are like a friend of mine 
 who had a journey to take. She heard that she 
 could avoid a long and disagreeable part of it 
 by crossing a certain ferry, and making her way 
 to a depot, through an unfrequented part of the 
 town. 
 
 The ferry was crossed at an early hour in the 
 morning, and she hurried along the empty
 
 52 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 streets, looking in vain for the depot. Time 
 was passing, she was evidently on the wrong 
 road, yet she had no idea how to reach the 
 right one. She dared not turn back, for now 
 it was too late; she would inevitably lose her 
 train if she did. The depot must be near ; if she 
 only knew which way to turn she could prob- 
 ably reach it in a few minutes. O for a friend- 
 ly voice to guide her ! 
 
 A milkman approached with his shaky, rat- 
 tling cart, and startled the echoes of that quiet 
 suburb with the yell peculiar to the merchants 
 who deal in that mild article of diet, and which 
 always makes one wonder if the legitimate effect 
 of early rising and pastoral scenes is to develop 
 all the savage in human nature. 
 
 My friend was desperate ; she raised her fore- 
 finger, as though hailing an omnibus, and the 
 milkman, regarding her in the light of a new cus- 
 tomer, reined in his horse for one short moment. 
 She must speak quickly if at all. 
 
 " I say, man ! " she cried, " where am I go- 
 insr ? "
 
 What Shall I Read? 53 
 
 " Really, marm, I can't say," was his reply 
 as he jerked his reins impatiently and rattled 
 off again, leaving the bewildered lady to hei 
 fate. 
 
 Ah ! there are very few who are willing to 
 stop and help us by the way-side, and very few 
 who can, even if they would. If we keep our 
 wits about us and ask intelligently, we may 
 receive information ; but if we only ask vague 
 questions we need not expect any definite 
 answers. And your difficulty is, that you 
 want to ask a vague question and receive a 
 prompt, intelligent, and helpful reply. Some 
 will reply, to be sure, and yet their suggestions, 
 though clever enough in their way, are not 
 valuable to us. 
 
 Another friend of mine once went at Christ- 
 mas-time to select a present for her dearest 
 one. Her heart was very large and generous, 
 but her purse was very small and narrow. She 
 wandered about from store to store, trying to 
 find something elegant, useful, and charming, 
 which should still be within the limits of this
 
 54 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 purse. Generosity dared every thing, but 
 economy said, " Beware ! " The well-filled 
 stores were delightful, but distracting, the very 
 richness of her surroundings embarrassed her, 
 and the struggle between her wishes and her 
 ability to fulfill them, created confusion in her 
 usually serene mind. At last she went into a 
 gorgeous establishment, and addressed herself 
 dreamily to the brisk owner. 
 
 " Have you what I want ? " she said in her 
 sweet voice. 
 
 " What do you want, madam .-" " was the not 
 unnatural reply. 
 
 " Something for a gentleman," she answered, 
 and her eyes followed the direction of his hand, 
 which waved toward dressing cases richly orna- 
 mented with gold and silver, dressing gowns 
 elaborately trimmed, extravagant sleigh robes, 
 riding whips, astounding cravats, smoking caps, 
 and articles any one of which would have cost 
 her a quarter's income. More and more dreamy 
 grew her bright eyes, more and more undecided 
 her gentle voice.
 
 What Shall I Read? 55 
 
 " Something for a j/^?^^ gentleman," she ex- 
 plained. " Some little thing." 
 
 " Pocket-comb 1 " suggested the shop-keeper, 
 with a readiness that showed ability to cope 
 with life, reducing vagueness of purpose to 
 tangible results. 
 
 '* Ah ! Yes ! Very good ! Give me a pocket- 
 comb," answered the lady with a sigh of relief. 
 Not that a pocket-comb was desirable as a 
 Christmas present, nor in any way needed by 
 her dearest one ; but it was the first definite sug- 
 gestion that had been made to her perplexed 
 mind, and she departed gratefully with the 
 pocket-comb, which, I grieve to say, was less 
 gratefully received by the dearest one. 
 
 This is very much your condition, is it not "i 
 You look at the innumerable quantity of books 
 by which you are surrounded, and you feel con- 
 fused, there are so many, they are all so good, 
 too good for your capacity ! 
 
 "I want something for z. young person," you 
 say, " some little thing," and you would gladly 
 avail yourself of any suggestion offered for
 
 56 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 your benefit. So I think what you would hke 
 to say to me now is this : 
 
 " You have told us that we are to read in 
 order to develop our minds for the bdnefit of 
 our fellow-beings, and that we must do this 
 conscientiously, slowly, patiently, and intelli- 
 gently. We are willing to try ; but we do not 
 know what to read. So we rely upon you to 
 tell us .? " 
 
 This throws a great responsibility upon me, 
 for I do not want to send you all off with pock- 
 et-combs, as it were ; in fact, my care is more 
 for the inside of your heads than the outside ; 
 yet, as I do not and cannot know you individu- 
 ally, and as your minds are not all alike, it is 
 almost an impossibility to make suggestions 
 that would be useful to all. Still, I would not, 
 like the milkman, leave you alone in your diffi- 
 culties, and though I cannot tell the exact road 
 you each intend to travel, I can, perhaps, in- 
 terpret some part of your vague questions by 
 the need I felt when I was young, and I 
 can say, " If you turn such and such a corner
 
 W/mt Shall I Read'? 57 
 
 you will see the temple of knowledge in the 
 distance." 
 
 My great difficulty was that I read with no 
 definite aim nor established plan, and, therefore, 
 I became confused. I confounded kings of the 
 same name, and placed in the same age men 
 who lived at remote periods from each other. 
 I never could remember contemporaneous mon- 
 archs, and my mind was a good deal like an old 
 rag bag. I could pull out a red rag, or a blue 
 rag, or a white rag, as I needed to use it ; but 
 nothing was well arranged and nothing was very 
 useful it was a tangle. Now a rag bag is bet- 
 ter than nothing, but a well-arranged, orderly 
 drawer Is better than a rag bag. 
 
 The only way that I can meet this difficulty 
 for you is to give you the reign of some one 
 monarch as a starting-point. You must read 
 carefully all that one good history says about 
 that monarch. Then, after finding out who 
 were the great men of his time, read about 
 them. Then read about all the contemporane- 
 ous monarchs and their reigns, so that you will
 
 58 What Shall I Read? 
 
 know just who they all were. Then the liv^es 
 of the principal statesmen in all countries who 
 lived during those reigns. Then the best 
 authors, poets, artists, men of science, and 
 philanthropists, who gave the tone to that age. 
 Then you must find out the great discoveries 
 and read about them, and the chief manufac- 
 tures of the day, and by the time you have 
 read as much as that you will be tolerably well 
 informed about that age, and can pass on to 
 the next. 
 
 " Why," you say, " it will take us a whole 
 life-time to read about one century, especially 
 if we must consult our dictionaries, and ency- 
 clopedias, and atlases as we go along ! " 
 
 It will not take as long as you think, be- 
 cause I shall only give you a short account of 
 each king. That one account you must read 
 carefully, remember ! very slowly and carefully ! 
 Then I will try to select such biographies as 
 are interesting ; they need not any of them be 
 long. Some may perhaps occupy only a few 
 pages of a small book. If you read carefully it
 
 What Shall I Read? 59 
 
 will be enough for your present use. Try the 
 plan ; I think you will not find it a poor one. 
 There are some books that combine history 
 and biography, and you are reading both sub- 
 jects at the same time. When I give you such 
 a book take a great deal of time to read it The 
 " History of the Dutch Republic " is such a 
 book. It tells you more than any other five I 
 might give you. So do not hurry to finish it ; 
 read it very slowly, and when you have done 
 so you will be well-informed on more subjects 
 than one. 
 
 Then, again, a great many men have lived 
 and died, and made a stir in the world, and had 
 volumes written about them, whose lives are 
 not especially useful to you ; such biographies 
 we will omit. You will know when these men 
 lived by reading history ; but if their lives never 
 effected any good purpose, it is better not to 
 take time to read about them at length. Voltaire 
 was such a man. You will know all you need 
 to about him in reading the life of Frederick 
 the Great ; that is, you will know when he lived,
 
 6o What Shall I Read ? 
 
 and that he was what is called an infidel. His 
 thoughts were clearly expressed, and he was a 
 talented man ; but he never advanced his age, 
 his peculiar views never led to any good result, 
 his influence was injurious, and so we will not 
 waste a great deal of time over him. There 
 are other lives full of interest lives of men who 
 shook the world, like Luther. Luther acted, 
 where other men talked ; Luther stands out in 
 history prominently. By all means read all 
 you can about him, find out all you may about 
 him, study his character, see what circum- 
 stances went to form it. Read about his child- 
 hood, therefore, and try to trace his gradual 
 development. This is a life to be read very 
 carefully ; it is worth a thousand such lives 
 as that of Voltaire, or of any man who went 
 through the world, saying, in the language of 
 modern slang, '* Why is this thus .-* " and never 
 giving any reasonable reply to a senseless 
 question. 
 
 When you are older, and your views of life 
 are clearer, and your opinions more settled, you
 
 W/ial Shall I Read? 6i 
 
 may read many a book that would not be good 
 for you now, I do not say, never read about 
 Voltaire ; for instance, the time may come 
 when you may find such a life useful to you 
 But now, while you have so much to learn, it is 
 better to confine yourselves to what you need 
 for the present. So there will not be as many 
 books to read as you think, and you need not 
 be "discouraged because of the way." 
 
 What I want you to do is to become ac- 
 quainted with the real history of the age you 
 decide to study. This will not be found, as 
 many think, in the lives of kings, and accounts 
 of their battles. Perhaps that is the least im- 
 portant part of the history, for the kings were 
 swayed and governed by the progress of events ; 
 they did not control the destinies of their race ; 
 they moved with the race, with their times, and 
 were as puppets in the great drama of the world. 
 
 But I give you their reigns as a point from 
 which to start as a definite suggestion. For 
 instance, if you read about the French mon- 
 archs who lived just before the Revolution, you
 
 62 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 will not find any thing very elevating in their 
 personal lives, nor in the doings of their courts, 
 but you will see how the selfishness, folly, ex- 
 travagance, and vice of the nobles gradually 
 wrought their destruction by irritating the 
 populace, or rather by maddening the oppressed 
 people. Little by little, as the age progressed, 
 and the minds of men worked out great prob- 
 lems, the monarchs who despised the common 
 thoughtful men, were overthrown by those they 
 had scorned. You will see how the American 
 Revolution influenced these thinkers, and in 
 tracing the chain of influences that led to great 
 results, you will become deeply interested. 
 Such reading expands the mind. It is not 
 only the fact you learn about, but all the cir- 
 cumstances that made that fact what it was. 
 
 Perhaps you will be surprised to find that 
 I have given you some novels in the course 
 I have laid out for you. You need not hes- 
 itate to read them ; they are good and useful 
 books, and will not only interest you, but help 
 you to remember what it is best you should.
 
 W/iat Shall I Read? 63 
 
 And perhaps you will be indignant because I 
 occasionally refer you to a child's book, like 
 Dickens' " History of England." You need not 
 be indignant ; many a mature mind avails itself 
 of little helps. Do you not know some older 
 people who remember the days of the months 
 by the nursery rhyme, " Thirty days hath Sep- 
 tember," etc. ; or the kings of England by that 
 other rhyme beginning, " First William the Nor- 
 man, then William his son .-' " It is said of one 
 of our greatest statesmen that he used the little 
 child's prayer, " Now I lay me down to sleep," 
 till his dying day. I do not doubt he was a 
 better man for it. Do not be ashamed of any 
 thing that helps you ; it is a mistake to suppose 
 that wisdom is only to be found in big books. 
 
 Remember, that in giving you the course 
 which is in this volume I only indicate a plan. 
 There may be many who know what books are 
 best for them, who are interested in some one 
 particular subject, and if this is the case, then I 
 advise such to read on those subjects instead 
 of following the course. But be conscientious
 
 64 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 and systematic. Do not skim over a book and 
 call that reading it ; and do not read only the 
 novels and omit the history. Inform yourself 
 fully on whatever subject interests you. Look 
 upon your book as a friend, and make a wise 
 selection ; for books, even those read carelessly, 
 make a deep and lasting impression, and you 
 should be as careful of their influence as of that 
 of a living being. You would not, I hope, be 
 willing to associate familiarly with a coarse, 
 vulgar, profane, or flippant man ; you would 
 recognize at once that his influence would be 
 bad for you. Then why should you allow the 
 same influence to govern you through a book ? 
 If you recognize the fact that your lives are in- 
 fluenced by your reading, you will be very care- 
 ful. Many a boy has left his home, and gone 
 to sea, acting under a spell thrown over him 
 by some interesting tale of adventure on the 
 ocean. It is a very bitter reality that he en- 
 counters, and he learns too late the fatal power 
 of the exciting romance which held up such 
 alluring and deceitful pictures to his eye.
 
 What Shall I Read 1 65 
 
 And many a young mind makes shipwreck 
 of faith, and love, and holiness, by a presump- 
 tuous spirit, which dares to read books far 
 beyond its comprehension. It accepts argu- 
 ment for fact, and, fascinated by a well-written 
 book, and proud of what it considers intel- 
 lectual strength, it slights the simple old story, 
 and struggles blindly with half-comprehended 
 theories. 
 
 I would warn all my young friends very earn- 
 estly against the spirit of conceit in reading. 
 It is natural to some to be proud, because their 
 minds are somewhat better than the average, 
 and they select their books with a disposition 
 to astonish those about them with their learn- 
 ing. Now this is just as snobbish as to choose 
 a friend because his social position is better 
 than your own, to boast of such an intimacy, 
 and parade it before your humbler friends. 
 Such conduct is contemptible we all admit, 
 yet how often we see it ! What struggles are 
 made to live as our richer neighbor lives, to 
 dress as he dresses, to appear as well in the
 
 66 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 world as he does ! And to effect this, or to 
 make it worth while, one must cultivate an 
 intimacy with the neighbor, no matter what the 
 difference in circumstances or position may be. 
 
 This is a very humiliating posture to assume. 
 It is being untrue to yourself, and I think you 
 will all agree in despising such shallow ambition. 
 
 But to aspire to a literary reputation and to 
 achieve success with the undiscerning, because 
 you read a few books which are far beyond 
 your comprehension, is just about the same 
 thing. You can boast of having read ponder- 
 ous volumes, you can quote with more or less 
 readiness the dimly understood words of pro- 
 found thinkers, but that will not help to make 
 j^ou a profound thinker ! Ten minutes in the 
 society of an intellectual man will reveal your 
 shallow pretensions ! 
 
 Cultivate an independence of mind, not that 
 you may astonish your friends with a declara- 
 tion of the same, as boys celebrate our national 
 holiday with fire-crackers, but that you may 
 really de independent, and capable of ruling
 
 What Shall I Read? 67 
 
 your own mind wisely and well without fear of 
 criticism, love of praise, or pride of intellect. 
 Do not aim to be a brilliant thinker, but thi7ik ; 
 if there is any light in you it will shine, never 
 fear ! All you have to do is to keep your light 
 burning, and leave others to discover whether 
 it is a penny taper or a calcium light. Both 
 are useful in the world, but a sky rocket is not 
 especially so. Celebrate your independence if 
 you please, but do so with as little noise and as 
 steady and clear a light as may be. 
 
 I said that false shame was the destruction 
 of a mind, but conceit is equally dangerous. 
 Guard against it, and remember that humility 
 is the true fruit of knowledge. Never read " for 
 appearances." 
 
 "This is all very good advice," you say, "but 
 it is not telling us what to read." 
 
 Well, then I will speak very plainly. " Read 
 what speaks to your heart and mind." Do not 
 read what tickles your fancy only. Remember 
 always that you are accountable to your Creator 
 for the mind he has given you, and avoid a book
 
 68 What Shall I Read? 
 
 of bad influence as you would a dose of poison. 
 Whatever helps you to understand your fel- 
 low-man is good reading ; whatever chills your 
 enthusiasm for virtue is bad reading. What- 
 ever awakens your faith in nobleness and hero- 
 ism is good reading ; whatever sneers at faith 
 and fervor is bad reading. 
 
 Is this enough ? " No," you say. " There is 
 still another question we want to ask you. We 
 do not always feel able to read with close 
 attention ; sometimes we are sick, or tired, and 
 cannot make a mental effort ; can we never 
 read simply for amusement } " 
 
 Certainly you can, and may, and must. I am 
 particularly anxious that you should not misun- 
 derstand me in this matter. There are many 
 hours which are only well employed in reading 
 for amusement hours when the mind is weary 
 of long-continued effort, and yet refuses to be 
 quieted in sleep ours when the body is ex- 
 hausted, or listless through pain, and can be 
 charmed to rest only through the soothing in- 
 fluence of an amusing book. There are times,
 
 What Shall I Read? 69 
 
 also, when the mind is incapable of making an 
 effort. It would be stupid and pedantic to force 
 it at such times. Of course you may read for 
 amusement, and there are many books written 
 that will amuse you well. Nobody has ever yet 
 been hurt by a good hearty laugh ; and a clever 
 book that makes you laugh is a good, kind 
 friend, and one you should always try to keep 
 by your side. But you must bring your con- 
 science into the matter, even when you read for 
 the merest relaxation. 
 
 Be sure that the laughter bubbles from a pure 
 spring. The coarse jest book, the profane song 
 book, the undignified caricature, should never 
 make you laugh. 
 
 But there are books which are perfectly pure, 
 over which you may laugh till you forget your 
 headache, and all the minor woes of life. I 
 will give you a list of such books in this volume 
 under the head of " Books of Amusement." 
 
 Never feel as though it were a waste of time 
 to read for amusement. I should be very sorry to 
 have you think so. We all love sunlight and flow-
 
 yo What Shall I Read ? 
 
 ers, and sweet things, and laughter, and gayety. 
 It is a perverted or diseased nature that does not 
 love them. We should be dreary enough with- 
 out them, and so our minds would be dreary and 
 dull without books of amusement. 
 
 But just as we love the sunlight, yet do not 
 sit idly basking in it, so we must love our amuse- 
 ment, yet work pretty hard too ; and just as we 
 love flowers, and yet take pains to make them 
 grow, so we love our amusement, and yet try a 
 little training even there. 
 
 And this brings me to another chapter which 
 I want you to read, about the use and abuse of 
 books written for our amusement
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 71 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 BOOKS OF AMUSEMENT OR FICTION. 
 Si 
 
 ^ REMEMBER very well an injustice done 
 (s?^ to me when a child in the following 
 way : I had been studying all day long, and 
 at evening was tired, too tired to romp or to 
 talk, and so I curled myself up comfortably 
 in my easy-chair and rested, and while doing 
 so I ran my eye lightly over the pages of an 
 entertaining book, which just held my attention 
 without fatiguing my brain. It was a perfectly 
 pure, good book, and I was enjoying it in a 
 dreamy way, the very picture of idleness, I have 
 no doubt, to a gentleman who happened to call 
 upon my parents that evening. He was a good, 
 kind man, and interested in children, and so, 
 instead of leaving me alone where I was quietly 
 disposed of, he undertook to show this interest 
 by leaning over me to see what book I was 
 reading. " Nonsense ! " he exclaimed, " why
 
 jz What Shall I Read ? 
 
 do you waste your time over such a senseless 
 book ? " I looked up in surprise, and explained 
 that it was not senseless, but very interesting. 
 " Absurd ! " he continued ; " all wrong ! all 
 wrong ! You are frittering your mind away, 
 you are reading poisonous trash ! You should 
 choose better books. Too bad ! too bad ! " 
 
 I asked what would be better for me to read, 
 and I asked it humbly, for I had been taught to 
 respect the opinion of this gentleman. " Read 
 history," he said ; " read ' Allison's History of 
 Europe,' " And with that he left me, quite 
 crushed and bruised in spirit, a very sleepy, 
 confused, and unhappy child. If he had said, 
 " Go to bed and sleep," I could have under- 
 stood him, and should have considered it good 
 advice ; but to tell me to read Allison's History 
 with eyes that were half shut, was like telling 
 me to rouse myself and climb a mountain. 
 Child as I was, I saw that he was wrong ; but 
 still, being conscientious, I laid aside that book 
 and did not then finish it. Not long ago I met 
 with it again, and read it with interest to see
 
 Books of Amusemeftt or Fiction. 73 
 
 where the poison lurked in its pages. It was 
 absolutely harmless, a well-written, pure, pretty 
 little book ! 
 
 Now this story may illustrate what I mean 
 when I say that the outcry raised against all 
 stories, works of fiction and of imagination, is 
 an unjust outcry when it is made unreservedly. 
 
 There are some earnest souls who look upon 
 life as a hard battle, who buckle on their armor 
 and never take it off, who think it wrong to 
 laugh and joke, and call all laughter the " crack- 
 ling of thorns under a pot," forgetting that it is 
 only the laughter of fools which is denounced 
 in Holy Writ. To such natures all amusement 
 is a waste of time, and all story-books, there- 
 fore, would be unprofitable. I have no desire 
 to criticise such natures, for they are capable 
 of doing an immense deal of good in their own 
 way, and their faults certainly lean to virtue's 
 side ; still 1 will confess (since this is a friendly 
 chat that we are having together) that I wish 
 they would cheer up once in awhile ! They 
 are very good, but I should love them better if
 
 74 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 they were not so very solemn. They do not 
 like stories ; they denounce all novels, they shut 
 their lips very closely, and shake their heads 
 and say, " Dangerous reading, avoid it ! " 
 
 Then there are others who are very active, 
 and who see a great deal of practical every-day 
 life. They see that good common sense is 
 much needed in the world, and that a soft, 
 mawkish sentiment is not needed at all ; so they 
 bustle about, and are clever, and kind, and hope- 
 ful, and good, but they do not like novels, and 
 they say, " Trash ! sentimental nonsense ! Up 
 and be doing, and leave such sickening stuff to 
 fools who have no brains !" 
 
 But these good people are like my unjust 
 friend who condemned my little good book. 
 They do not discriminate ; they are too lofty or 
 too busy to stop and look down, and find out 
 what it is they are decrying so vehemently. 
 Because many novels are bad they think all 
 are. But that is not just. I remember that 
 my respected friend came to tea, not long after 
 he had so discouraged me, and on that occasion I
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 7$ 
 
 was wider awake, and promoted to the dignity 
 of tea-making, and I put so little sugar in his 
 cup that he had to send it to me twice for more. 
 I bad child that I was gave him just as little 
 as I could, saying to myself at the time, " He 
 doesn't believe in sweetening. My book was to 
 my hard day what his lump of sugar is to his 
 bitter tea. Now I shall see how he likes to go 
 without ! " And I concluded that he did not 
 like it, so I relented, and gave him enough in 
 his second cup. 
 
 Almost every body likes sugar, and children 
 and young people are extravagantly fond of it. 
 And stories and novels are like sugar to us 
 when we are young ; we want them, we crave 
 them, we do not feel disposed to go without 
 them. But just as sugar is good and healthy 
 when taken pure and in small quantities, and with 
 good nourishing food, so novels are only healthy 
 when they are pure, taken in small quantities, 
 and with plenty of good solid reading. 
 
 Since it is natural to the youthful mind to 
 enjoy a good story, I am not going to pretend
 
 76 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 that it is a want of wisdom to do so. Imagina- 
 tion is a good gift of God, and must not be 
 starved to death. Neither must it be abused. 
 
 The desire for fiction is neither unnatural 
 nor wrong ; it is the cry of the imagination, and 
 some imaginations cry loudly, and will not be 
 satisfied without food. Since it is a part of the 
 mind which God has given, it is our duty to 
 preserve it in health ; but we must not go to ex- 
 tremes, and stimulate where nourishment only 
 is needed. If I teach liberty in this respect, 
 it is not the abuse of liberty. Do not misun- 
 derstand me. I have told you that you must 
 be conscientious in all your reading, and even 
 in novel reading you must remember this. 
 Let us see, if we can, how to choose the good 
 and reject the evil. 
 
 We have assumed that we are to read always 
 with a view to our own mental development in 
 order to benefit our fellow-beings. Our minds 
 are not to be selfish. How will novels help us 
 to help others ? 
 
 Professor Porter has given to the world such
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. yj 
 
 an admirable work on books and reading, that it 
 seems useless to try to supplement his efforts 
 with any less worthy. But you know I am the 
 crooked stick I mentioned in the first chapter, 
 and one of the first fruits I should like to draw 
 down from the tree for you is his book. It is 
 called " Books and Reading," and just as soon 
 as you can understand and appreciate it I want 
 you to read it carefully. In it you will find 
 the whole subject of novel reading skillfully 
 treated. 
 
 Now, however, I will only quote his words 
 occasionally, in simple form, for your benefit. 
 He divides novels into two groups : Novels of 
 Incident, and Novels of Character. 
 
 The first are exciting and picturesque, and 
 very attractive to the young. But he shows us 
 that after awhile, as the taste becomes more 
 cultivated and refined, we do not enjoy them as 
 much as at first ; we cease to care too much for 
 the plot of the story, and begin to study the 
 characters a little more closely. When we 
 reach this point we have attained to the second
 
 78 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 step in progress, and we reach the third when 
 we learn to study and analyze these characters 
 with discrimination and judgment. When we 
 can study their motives, trace out their springs, 
 and discover their leading traits, and illustrate 
 them to our own judgment by examples from 
 real life, we may be said to have attained this 
 third step. 
 
 And it is in doing this that we are improving 
 ourselves and others, if we use our knowledge 
 truly and well. This is a way to understand 
 our fellow-beings which is attractive and delight- 
 ful. We need not wait to see the romance of 
 daily life slowly acted by our friends while we 
 look on, all uncomprehending. The well-writ- 
 ten, good novel lives this romance for us, and 
 in understanding it we understand our friends, 
 we sympathize more truly with them, we re- 
 joice more sincerely with them, we forbear 
 to criticise them. The novel may easily teach 
 us the fact that the heart knoweth its own bit- 
 terness, and by this knowledge we shall respect 
 the reticence of our friends, nor seek to m-
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 79 
 
 trude ourselves. It may well show us that a 
 stranger intermeddleth not with the heart's 
 joy, and we shall look at what we might per- 
 haps otherwise call extravagant gayety, with 
 a glad feeling that light hearts and merry 
 hearts did not leave this world when we grew 
 old or became sad. We see the good and bad 
 in human nature so curiously blended by the 
 skillful author that we learn to distinguish it in 
 real life, and human beings are less contradict- 
 ory to us, less puzzling to us, because of the 
 hero who has interested us in our novel. We 
 liked him, we saw wJiy we liked him, and why 
 he appeared odd or unattractive to the other 
 characters in the book. We were perhaps pro- 
 voked at them for misunc^crstanding him then 
 we apply the story to our own surroundings, 
 we recognize the character in some acquaint- 
 ance, who may possibly become a friend, because 
 of that story and the insight it gave us into his 
 character. Or we recognize what is mean and 
 contemptible, and we learn to shun it ; we will 
 not so easily call bitter, sweet, and sweet, bitter.
 
 8o What Shall I Read ? 
 
 But to achieve this, we must read a certain 
 kind of fiction. Do not think that any advance- 
 ment is to be made by reading every novel. 
 Here I want to establish a point. 
 
 The number of well-written, useful novels is 
 comparatively small, and the number of bad novels 
 annually printed and widely circulated is enor- 
 mous. T cannot sufficiently express my detesta- 
 tion of the poor novel ! Of it our solemn friend 
 may well say, " Avoid it " our active, practical 
 friend may well say, " Sickly sentiment, worse 
 than useless ! " So it is, much worse than 
 useless ; it is positively bad, and its influence is 
 poisonous. 
 
 Professor Porter tells us, " No class of writers 
 exercises so complete control over their readers 
 as novelists do. This control reaches to their 
 opinions and prejudices, if it does not insensibly 
 control and re-shape their entire philosophy of 
 duty and of life. The fascination which they 
 exercise becomes of itself a spell. No enchant- 
 ment is so entire and delightful as that with which 
 they invest the story which they recite. It is
 
 Books of Aimisement or Fiction. 8i 
 
 a very glamour which they pour not only over 
 the scenes which they depict, but over the 
 senses of the beholder. A favorite novelist 
 becomes, for the time being, often more to his 
 enamored and enchanted reader than preacher, 
 teacher, or friend, and mdeed, than the whole 
 world besides ; casting a spell over his judg- 
 ments, molding his principles, forming his asso- 
 ciations, and recasting his prejudices. 
 
 " The entranced and admiring reader runs to 
 his favorite when he can snatch an hour from la- 
 bor, society, or sleep. He broods over his scenes 
 and characters when alone ; he quotes from him 
 as often as he dare, he cites proverbs and favorite 
 phrases from his leading personages. He even 
 aspires to be familiar with his slang and his cant. 
 He warms with increased ardor if his reputation 
 is attacked. He defends him if he is criticised 
 or unfavorably judged. 
 
 " Indeed, we may go further, and say that the 
 devoted reader of a favorite novelist often be- 
 comes for the time an unconscious imitator or a 
 
 massive reflex of his author. Like the chameleon 
 6
 
 82 What Shall I Read? 
 
 he takes the color of the bough and leaf from 
 which he feeds. He is more likely to absorb 
 and reproduce his defects than his excellences." 
 
 This is all true, and the author goes on to 
 warn us against subjection to a single novelist 
 even for a short time, because its tendency is to 
 make us one-sided and unnatural." 
 
 If this is a danger in reading the works of 
 the very best novelists, what may it not become 
 if we subject ourselves to the influence of the 
 poorer ones .' 
 
 It is fearful to contemplate the mischief that 
 is done by bad novels. I believe there is no 
 more powerful influence for evil in the world. 
 
 While you are young you cannot discrimi- 
 nate accurately, and would be obliged to read 
 a book from beginning to end before you would 
 know if it was good or bad, and so the influence 
 might extend to you, and you might be injured, 
 even while you were innocent of any desire to 
 read a bad book. So, for the present, you had 
 better not read indiscriminately. There are 
 certain books you had better avoid entirely.
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 83 
 
 The old-fashioned novels are not good for you 
 now. They were written when the manners 
 and conversation of people were coarse, and, 
 although many of them are clever and have 
 their use, they would be improper for you. 
 They mark the age in which they were written ; 
 but, let us hope, we have progressed a little 
 since that time. 
 
 The passionate love-story is also to be 
 avoided. I know it is the most exciting and 
 interesting of all kinds of reading, but it is not 
 good for you. It is a false picture, a deformed 
 specimen. I earnestly beg of you to let it 
 alone. What good can it do you } It will not 
 help you to understand one human heart It 
 leads you, on the contrary, to underrate real 
 feeling, which is rarely, if ever, passionately ex- 
 pressed. Human beings are loving and suffer- 
 ing all around you, and unwritten romances 
 call for sympathy at your side, but their lan- 
 guage finds no expression in the " Tale of Love 
 and Adventure" that meets with so ready a 
 sale. There is one objection to novel reading,
 
 84 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 that it is apt to excite romantic expectations of 
 success in life. 
 
 This must be guarded against. The novels 
 of the present day are not as open to this 
 criticism as those that went before them, and 
 in the best novels of character this fault will 
 scarcely be found. 
 
 It is a great pleasure to young people to talk 
 together about a book, and compare their im- 
 pressions of the characters met in the last novel. 
 Do you not think so ? How warmly you love 
 and hate your heroes and heroines, and how 
 impatient you are of any criticism adverse to 
 your favorites. 
 
 This very warmth of feeling and eagerness 
 in conversation is stimulating and good. It 
 calls out powers of analysis and independence 
 of judgment, and is a much better use of time 
 than when it is spent in ordinary gossip. 
 
 I wish I could tell you how to select your 
 novels, for although I may give you a long list 
 from which to choose, you will often be called 
 upon to make your own selection. In railway
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 85 
 
 traveling, for instance, you may, from sheer 
 weariness, buy a book and read it, which will 
 forever after exercise a bad influence over you. 
 If you were able to detect a poor style, you 
 could easily avoid bad books by simply run- 
 ning your eye over the first few pages. But 
 this facility only comes with practice ; so while 
 you are young I must give you broad rules. 
 
 Never read the books of any novelist till you 
 have acquainted yourself with his reputation. 
 The names of some authors are as sure indica- 
 tions of evil as the skull and cross bones with 
 which old-fashioned druggists used to mark 
 their bottles of poison. Avoid all the Dime 
 Novels, all the " Great Sensation Stories " that 
 you see advertised. They are catchpennies, 
 made to attract and to sell easily. 
 
 Many novels of excellent writers are pub- 
 lished in a cheap form, so do not suppose it is 
 the low price of a book that marks it as a low 
 book. If you familiarize yourself with the 
 names of good authors you will not make any 
 great mistake. It would not be wise to tell
 
 86 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 you that you may read every work of even 
 good authors. Few, if any, writers of fiction 
 deserve unqualified praise. 
 
 But I think I am safe in saying that the 
 works of Sir Walter Scott may be read by 
 young and old. It is fair to judge an author in 
 same degree by his life and private feelings. A 
 Christian gentleman can scarcely write what is 
 not good. We cannot read Lockhart's Life of 
 Walter Scott, and not be impressed by the sin- 
 cerity and nobility of his career. He had his 
 own peculiar prejudices, as all men have, and 
 carried his political partisanship somewhat into 
 his writings. But how nobly we see him living 
 in the midst of his wonderful success and pros- 
 perity ; always genial, gentle, and kind, true 
 and charitable, extending a hand of kindness 
 and encouragement to others less fortunate 
 than himself. And when adversity came, and 
 he was burdened with debt and responsibility, 
 how bravely he struggled, maintaining his inde- 
 pendence of thought, battling with disease, 
 working hard that he might pay all he owed
 
 Books of Amtisenient or Fiction. 87 
 
 without a murmur, and none the less generous 
 or kind because of his great distress. It is a 
 noble life, and all through it he bore ample tes- 
 timony to his belief in God and his goodness. 
 Toward its close we find him broken, feeble, 
 suffering, yet loving, trusting on. Lockhart 
 asked him what book he should read aloud to 
 him, seeking to distract him from the weariness 
 of disease. " Need you ask .'' " answered Scott. 
 " There is but one." Scott loved the Bible. 
 When he was dying he called Lockhart to him. 
 " I may have but a minute to speak to you," 
 he said. " My dear, be a good man ; be virtu- 
 ous, be religious ; be a good man, nothing else 
 will give you any comfort when you come to 
 lie here." 
 
 A man who felt and spoke and acted sin- 
 cerely all his life, and died peacefully, trusting 
 in his Saviour, can scarcely have been any 
 thing but a pure writer. His novels are useful 
 historically, but I will tell you frankly that the 
 first fifty pages are usually dull. The interest 
 of those following becomes absorbinfr. Scott
 
 88 What Shall I Read? 
 
 gives us the manners of the age he describes, 
 therefore at times he may introduce a scene 
 which is not altogether according to our pres- 
 ent notions of strict propriety. But he never 
 makes vice any thing but odious ; he never 
 palliates crime, he invariably leads his reader 
 to the admiration of virtue and nobility, and 
 his novels are, therefore, pure. His readers 
 may safely feel they are under the influence of 
 a good man. 
 
 William M. Thackeray is another pure writer, 
 although I do not recommend his earliest works 
 to the very young. But " Pendennis," "Vanity 
 Fair," " Henry Esmond," " The Virginias," 
 " The Nevvcomes," and " Philip," are books 
 which are to be read with pleasure and profit 
 by all. 
 
 " What ! " some one may say, " Does not 
 Thackeray tell how a young man fell in love 
 with an actress ? How a young woman made 
 her way in the world by her sharp wits, which 
 were not always exercised in the right way } 
 Did he not hold up pictures of vvorldliness, and
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 89 
 
 show us what is ridiculous in the hfe of a 
 clergyman of the Church of England?" 
 
 " Yes ! He does all this." 
 
 " Then, how can you recommend him as a 
 pure or a good writer ? " 
 
 O, my dear reader, never take a shallow 
 view of a good man's good work ! 
 
 Thackeray was gifted by his Maker with a 
 wonderfully clear eye. (He used to say of him- 
 self that he had no head above his eyes.) He 
 saw human nature as it exists every day ; he 
 detected its weakness, its pretenses, and he 
 recognized nobility and goodness. He took 
 human beings as he found them, and photo- 
 graphed them. His novels are pre-eminently 
 novels of character. He draws character so 
 perfectly that a knowledge of his books gives a 
 knowledge of your fellow-beings, which you can 
 scarcely afford to be without. He makes a 
 young country boy (Pendennis) fall in love with 
 an actress. Is that a startling fact .'' Read the 
 book, and see how pure and true it is ! In Pen- 
 dennis we see the career of a young man simply
 
 90 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 told. We see his temptations, his struggles, 
 his weakness, and his strength. We see purity, 
 mother-love, and wise, kind influences, produc- 
 ing their legitimate result. By a knowledge 
 of this young man we shall understand other 
 young men, and other young men shall under- 
 stand themselves, and their mothers, the better 
 for Thackeray's " Pendennis." They will rec- 
 ognize themselves. They will see the practi- 
 cal working of the fact which they have heard 
 dinned into their ears, that " to be virtuous is 
 to be happy " a cant phrase which they may 
 hear forever without its producing any emotion 
 stronger than that of weariness, but which will 
 be indelibly impressed on their minds by Pen- 
 dennis. The book is true. There is nothing 
 false in it ; it is the real cvery-day life of an 
 average young man. 
 
 Thackeray is the Luther of letters. He comes 
 out from his seclusion, his silent meditations, 
 and he says : " I show you the follies of fools, 
 the hypocrisies of hypocrites, the false gods of 
 idolators. I show you the worldliness of the
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 91 
 
 world, I call bitter, bitter ; here is life, here is 
 what man has made it ; look at it well, and see 
 the perverted thing it is ! Then make it better. 
 Will you not be what you may be ? " 
 
 He does not preach sermons to us, but, if we 
 read him aright, we see that he has thought well 
 on the words of the Lord Jesus, " I pray not 
 that thou shouldest take them out of the world, 
 but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." 
 Thackeray shows us this evil, not fantastically 
 dressed, to scare us, not alluringly dressed, 
 to attract us, but just as it is, and we may keep 
 ourselves from it the better for his books. 
 
 He uses the sharp weapons of satire and ridi- 
 cule effectively. They overthrow where noth- 
 ing else avails. 
 
 What is it he ridicules in the clergyman's life .-* 
 Not his sacred office, but his incompetency to 
 fill that office. He satirizes the man, and by 
 that satire has many a soul seen its own folly, 
 and turned again in humility. If Thackeray 
 ever ridiculed holy things I certainly could not 
 recommend his books if they were the clever-
 
 92 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 est productions of the world. But he reverences 
 what is true and good, and only sneers at 
 hypocrisy. It would be bitterly unjust to say 
 that he ridicules clergymen because he draws 
 the character of " Sampson " in " The Virgin- 
 ians." Sampson is a representative fox-hunt- 
 ing English clergyman of the age of which he 
 writes in that book. What better picture can 
 one want to impress on the mind the corruptions 
 that tainted the Church at that time .'' It is an 
 historical fact he mentions. Out of that very 
 corruption sprang the fair fruit of a purer prac- 
 tice of religion. Let any one interested in the 
 history of the Methodist Church read " The 
 Virginians," to see wJiy Wesley was needed. 
 They will understand the matter better when 
 they know " Sampson," and realize that such 
 men were the men in power at that time in 
 the Church of England. 
 
 But if they take alarm, and say, " O, Thackeray 
 cannot be a good writer, because he ridicules 
 clergymen ! " they may go without that knowl- 
 edge, and without the benefit of many a fact
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 93 
 
 which the clear eye of Thackeray saw for the 
 benefit of his race. 
 
 Charles Reade gives us novels of another 
 order ; they are exceedingly interesting, and treat 
 of the subjects that principally excite us. But 
 they are not good. He may occasionally draw 
 a clever character, but it is not to serve any fur- 
 ther end than to amuse for the moment. His 
 earlier books were written with taste, but his 
 later novels have been decidedly bad in their 
 tone and influence. He has degenerated in his 
 style ; and while he panders to the taste for ex- 
 citement that prevails at the present day, he 
 loses his right to be called a pure author. I 
 do not recommend any of his novels, for I do 
 not see that any good can be obtained by their 
 perusal, and they foster a love of excitement, 
 which is a dangerous thing for a young reader. 
 
 To read for amusement you may take Charles 
 Dickens, and find plenty of fun and enjoyment. 
 Dickens is a caricaturist. He does not photo- 
 graph life as Thackeray does ; he looks at it 
 from a different stand-point, and gives us richly
 
 94 What Shall I Read? 
 
 colored pictures of it, somewhat gaudy, perhaps, 
 but very attractive. The crowd will stop before 
 the window of a picture dealer to look with 
 relish at the bright highly-colored canvas which 
 shows some cheerful scene, while they pass by 
 the sober engraving with a careless glance. So 
 the crowd loves to read Charles Dickens ; and 
 the eyes that look at his pictures glow with a 
 kindly light, and brighten as they linger by the 
 cheerful scene this genial artist has painted for 
 them. What if he does caricature every body ? 
 He does it kindly ; there is not a trace of bit- 
 terness in our laughter when we recognize our- 
 selves and our friends in his books. He is 
 brimming over with fun, but he teaches us to 
 laugh with, not at, our friends. The morality of 
 his books is good. It has been objected that 
 he distorts religious characters. I confess I 
 cannot see any distortion of any thing noble, 
 religious, or true, in any of his books. He 
 ridicules hypocrisy, just as Thackeray satirizes 
 it ; but neither of these authors bring their ban- 
 ter to bear upon any thing truly good. On the
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 95 
 
 contrary, the very genius that distinguishes 
 what is false perceives what is true, and faith 
 and virtue are ever upheld in the works of 
 Charles Dickens. To young readers, I doubt 
 if any novelist will compare with Dickens, who 
 has made them laugh and cry, and will make 
 them laugh and cry, so long as his books shall be 
 read. I can give but one experience, and that 
 my own ; but I have been happier, and, I trust, 
 kinder, for having read Dickens ever since I 
 could read at all. Sick or well, grave or gay, 
 young and old, Dickens has had power to charm 
 me, and I think his influence has been one of 
 the kindest of my life. 
 
 A very popular writer of the present day is 
 " Ouida," (Julia de la Rame,) and her novels are 
 frequently in the hands of many a young girl 
 who should blush to be seen reading them. / 
 tmkesitatingly condemn them. 
 
 Miss Braddon's books, and those of Mrs, 
 Henry Wood, are also popular just now. They 
 are fair samples of the st^le of novel I beg you 
 to let alone.
 
 96 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 All of Mrs. H. B. Stowe's novels may be read. 
 They are clever and interesting, and her sketches 
 of New England life are admirable. " The Min- 
 ister's Wooing " and " Old Town Folks " are 
 her best. I need not mention " Uncle Tom's 
 Cabin ;" it is too well known to need any re- 
 mark. Mrs. Stowe always writes with a moral 
 purpose, and though some of her books are 
 infinitely superior to others, all are good and safe. 
 
 Mrs. Oliphant has also given us many 
 novels, perfectly pure and good. Of these 
 " Zaidee," " Katie Stewart," " Chronicles of 
 Carlingford," " Perpetual Curate," " Last of the 
 Mortimers," and " Margaret Maitland," are the 
 best. They are simply told stories of interest- 
 ing yet every-day experiences, very excellent in 
 their moral tone. All young readers of fiction 
 are indebted to Mrs. Oliphant for her books, 
 and no less so to Miss Mulock, now Mrs. Craik, 
 for her delightful novels. "A Noble Life," 
 " John Halifax," " A Life for a Life," " Chris- 
 tian's Mistake," and " The Woman's Kingdom," 
 are perhaps her best.
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 97 
 
 The Baroness Tautphoeus has written two 
 excellent novels, "The Initials" and "Quits." 
 These books give accurate and charming pict- 
 ures of life in Germany and Switzerland. A 
 little love romance runs through each, which is 
 characteristic and illustrative of the country 
 where the scene is laid. There is no weak 
 sentiment in either ; the romance is well 
 told, very interesting, and very good. " At 
 Odds," is another novel by the same author, 
 which is good, but not deserving of the highest 
 praise. 
 
 Oliver Wendell Holmes has written two brill- 
 iant novels, "Elsie Venner" and "The Guardian 
 Angel." They are crisp, witty, and exceed- 
 ingly interesting. But although they contain 
 the germ of truth, they are so speculative and 
 suggestive that they can scarcely be called safe 
 reading for immature minds. A careless mind 
 would never see more than a clever story in 
 either ; but a more thoughtful one might be led 
 into error, although the intention of the author 
 
 is manifestly good. It gives me pain to say 
 
 7
 
 98 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 that I do not recommend Holmes's writings to 
 young people, for I acknowledge a debt to this 
 gifted author. Fifty years from now I ihink 
 his books will be safe for all, but all will say 
 " he saw through a glass darkly." I would 
 rather that you should see clearly ; there is no 
 necessity to look on cloudy scenes when the 
 sun shines brightly. 
 
 "George Eliot" is the norn de plume of Mrs. 
 Lewes, to whom we are indebted for novels of 
 character of the very highest order. " Adam 
 Bede," "The Mill on the Floss," " Romola," 
 "Silas Marner," " FeHx Holt," and "Middle- 
 march," are the names of her principal books. 
 The world is richer for them, and the mind 
 that follows them thoughtfully cannot fail to be 
 elevated by them. The character of " Maggie," 
 in " The Mill on the Floss," is a study by itself, 
 which every young girl would do well to think 
 over ; not for the sake of the story, but to watch 
 the gradual development of a deep, pure, yet 
 warm nature, struggling with its own imperfec- 
 tions, aspiring to holiness, hardly beset by its
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 99 
 
 surroundings, yet triumphing in the end by 
 mastery of self. 
 
 All George Eliot's books are somewhat 
 mournful in their tone ; they are true pictures 
 of real life, useful and beautiful, "as sad as 
 earth," yet they shall comfort many. The 
 character of " Tito," in Romola, is the opposite 
 of that of Maggie. Tito allows a beautiful 
 nature to fall into ruin through self-indulgence. 
 The possibilities of good and evil are in all of 
 George Eliot's characters, and they develop be- 
 fore our eyes, not as exotics, that flourish or 
 perish according to the temperature by which 
 they are surrounded, but as human beings, in 
 whom is the Divine Spark, which kindles into 
 flame or smolders into ashes, according as it is 
 guarded and cherished, neglected or quenched. 
 George Eliot is neither a caricaturist nor a 
 satirist; she is a faithful artist, and her colors 
 will bear the test of time. 
 
 For very finished, patient, and studied writ- 
 ing, Miss Thackeray is to be admired. "The 
 Story of Elizabeth," and " The Village on the
 
 loo What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Cliff," are good stories, sentimental in the truest 
 sense, not in the weakest, and very charming, 
 though slightly melancholy. Miss Thackeray 
 has also written many short stories, all of which 
 are good. 
 
 Nathaniel Hawthorne is perhaps America's 
 greatest novelist. Being a true American, it is 
 wonderful to observe how little of the national 
 humor is shown in his works. In later life you 
 must read the novels of this man of genius, for 
 such he undoubtedly is ; but for the present you 
 will find his books too mystical, too incompre- 
 hensible. They are entirely pure, but only an 
 educated mind can understand Hawthorne. 
 Therefore, wait till you are older, unless your 
 mental culture is above the average. 
 
 " The New Priest of Conception Bay," by 
 R. T. S. Lowell, is a work to which the forego- 
 ing remarks apply also. Our New England 
 writers call for mature minds in their readers. 
 
 Miss Alcott's books can scarcely be called 
 novels ; they are bright, attractive, fresh stories, 
 which may be read with great pleasure by all
 
 Books of Amusemejit or Fiction. loi 
 
 young people. They are " Little Women," 
 "Little Men," and "The Old-fashioned Girl." 
 Her last book, "Work," I do not recommend. 
 
 Hans Christian Andersen has written a ver}- 
 good novel called "The Improvisatore," which 
 is his best. It is an Italian story, and well 
 worth reading. All his stories for children are 
 worthy of the highest praise. They are imagi- 
 native, but not in the least exciting ; on the con- 
 trary, his is a most soothing, nursery influence. 
 
 Frederika Bremer is a Swedish authoress, 
 who gives us pictures of home life in her own 
 country, which are to be read and enjoyed in 
 all security. There is a selection to be made, 
 however, among her novels. "The Neighbors" 
 and "The Home" are decidedly her best. 
 
 If we judge an authoress by her life, then I 
 should recommend the novels of Charlotte 
 Bronte. But much as I respect the woman who 
 wrote " Jane Eyre," I shall not advise you to 
 read it. It is too exciting, too unnatural, and 
 open to criticism. But " Shirley " and " Villette " 
 are good, and I think I may tell you to read
 
 I02 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 them. They are exceedingly interesting. I 
 would like you to read the life of Charlotte 
 Bronte, written by Mrs. Gaskell. Do not read 
 the works of Anne or Emily Bronte, her sisters ; 
 they are not good. 
 
 Rhoda Broughton need scarcely be men- 
 tioned. The titles of her novels are strik- 
 ing, her style is original, but I hope you 
 will not read her books. They are, " Com- 
 eth up as a Flower," " Red as a Rose is 
 She," etc. 
 
 Mrs. Charles's books may always be read. 
 " The Schonberg Cotta Family," " Diary of 
 Kitty Trevelyan," and " Winifred Bertram," are 
 the best. 
 
 Wilkie Collins writes sensational books more 
 or less interesting, but purposeless ; not bad, 
 yet not good. 
 
 Madame de Stael's " Corinne " is a very re- 
 munerative book, and gives capital pictures of 
 Italy. RufiEini's " Doctor Antonio " is another 
 excellent Italian story, but it is the only one 
 of Ruffini's that I recommend. " Debit and
 
 Books of Amuseine?it or Fiction. 103 
 
 Credit," by Freytag, gives an excellent picture 
 of German business life, and is especially inter- 
 esting to young men. " Cranford," and '' My 
 Lady Ludlow," are two excellent books, by 
 Mrs. Gaskell ; I select them from her other 
 novels, for I do not recommend all the writings 
 of this author. 
 
 " The Vicar of Wakefield," by Oliver Gold- 
 smith, is a standard work which you must read. 
 Mrs. Stowe has lately edited a book in which 
 this is to be found, together with " Picciola," 
 " The Exiles of Siberia," three stories from 
 "The Arabian Nights Entertainment," "Gulli- 
 ver's Travels," " Pilgrim's Progress," and " Un- 
 dine." These stories are all most excellent 
 in the form in which she presents them to the 
 public. 
 
 Washington Irving's works of fiction may 
 all be read. These are " Bracebridge Hall," 
 " Knickerbocker's New York," " Tales of a 
 Traveler," " The Alhambra," and " Wolfert's 
 Roost." They will not especially attract all 
 very young reacLers ; but they are graceful and
 
 I04 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 elegant in their style, and if not appreciated 
 at first, cannot fail to win admiration in later 
 life. Many young readers will delight in 
 them. Miss Muhlbach's novels are not useful, 
 although they aim at historic interest. They 
 are unreliable, exaggerated, and of doubtful 
 morality. 
 
 Mrs. Prentiss has written two books that 
 may, perhaps, be mentioned as novels. They 
 are " Stepping Heavenward," and " Aunt 
 Jane's Hero." Both are excellent, with a de- 
 cidedly religious tendency. 
 
 Miss Catherine Sedgwick's books are good, 
 and Miss E. M. Sewell's are harmless. 
 
 Bayard Taylor is a pure writer, but not espe- 
 cially interesting. His novels are " Hannah 
 Thurston," " The Story of Kennett," and " Jo- 
 seph and his Friend." 
 
 Anthony Trollope is a very popular novelist, 
 and those who have the patience to read his 
 works seem to admire them. They are all 
 much alike, being pictures of English life, and 
 have at least the merit of making Americans
 
 Books of Amusement or Fiction. 105 
 
 glad they were born in America, if tlie pictures 
 are true. Tliey are moral books, and directed 
 against worldliness, which is represented by 
 marrying for money or position. The prin- 
 cipal works by this author are " Barchester 
 Towers," " Doctor Thorn," " Framley Par- 
 sonage," " The Claverings," and " Can You 
 Forgive Her ? " He has written twenty-three 
 novels. 
 
 Sarah Tytler is a very excellent writer. 
 " Citoyenne Jacqueline " is a story of the 
 French Revolution, good and true. " Papers 
 for Thoughtful Girls," and " Sweet Counsel for 
 Girls," are worthy of high praise. All her 
 books I believe to be good. 
 
 " Aurelian," " Zenobia," and ** Julian " are 
 well written and very interesting historical 
 novels by William Ware. 
 
 The Misses Warner have written many 
 books which are decidedly religious in their 
 tone. Of these, "The Wide, Wide World" 
 and " Queechy " are the best. 
 
 Mrs. A. D. T, Whitney's books for young
 
 io6 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 girls are very acceptable. " Faith Gartney's 
 Girlhood" and "Leslie Goldthvvaite" are the 
 best, but all are good. 
 
 Miss Yonge is an English writer of very 
 decided Church-of-England views, which she 
 forces a little too much upon her readers. 
 With the exception of this her books bear 
 criticism. " The Heir of Redclyffc " is very 
 interesting, and good in its tone ; and " The 
 Clever Woman of the Family" is really ad- 
 mirable. 
 
 George Macdonald is an entirely safe writer, 
 and one to be trusted. The names of his works 
 are "Alec Forbes," "Annals of a Quiet Neigh- 
 borhood," " David Elginbrod," "Guild Court," 
 " Phantastes," " The Portent," " Ranald Ban- 
 nerman's Boyhood," " Robert Falconer," and 
 " The Seaboard Parish." 
 
 Buiwer Lytton is one of the most famous of 
 modern English novelists. His works vary 
 greatly in their character. His earlier novels 
 are decidedly bad in moral tone, but his later 
 works show a true appreciation of nobility and
 
 Books of Aviusement or Fiction. 107 
 
 virtue. " The Caxtons " and " My Novel " are 
 his best, and I think I may safely recommend 
 them. But I do not think many young people 
 will care to read them, as they are not designed 
 for youthful minds. " The Last Days of 
 Pompeii " and " Leila ; or, The Siege of Gran- 
 ada," are his best historical novels, and are 
 both exceedingly interesting. 
 
 I have tried to help you in the selection of 
 your novels by these few remarks on the differ- 
 ent popular authors of the day. I want you to 
 observe three things : 
 
 First, that a book must have some purpose, 
 moral or historical, to be a truly good book. 
 Secondly, I would like you to notice that there 
 are very few writers who are wholly to be re- 
 lied upon. Thirdly, that I condemn all sensa- 
 tional stories. 
 
 And I call for justice and liberality of senti- 
 ment toward those writers who, out of pure 
 hearts, have given us their knowledge of a 
 world which is indeed full of evil, but in which 
 we are under the necessity of living.
 
 io8 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 If fiction can lead us to a nicer discrimina- 
 tion, to a kinder judgment of our fellow-beings, 
 to a clearer recognition of good and evil than 
 we can obtain by heavier reading, let us use 
 fiction, exercising our consciences as well as our 
 minds, and then we never shall abuse it.
 
 Religious Reading. 109 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RELIGIOUS READING. 
 
 JTl approach the subject of religious read- 
 s^ ing with very great reluctance, for I con- 
 sider it one of the hardest to treat well. The 
 old saying, "What is one man's meat is another 
 man's poison," applies so truly to this kind of 
 mental food, that I, desiring to be truly consci- 
 entious, may well hesitate before I advise you 
 on the matter. Two friends may read the same 
 book ; one finds it charming, the other pro- 
 nounces it dull. In general literature this dif- 
 ference of opinion does no harm, but where 
 principles are involved it becomes more serious. 
 There is a general impression abroad among 
 young people that religious reading must neces- 
 sarily be dull, heavy, uninteresting, and reserved 
 exclusively for Sunday use. I do not know 
 why this should prevail so generally at the 
 present day.
 
 I lo What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Some very excellent, conscientious people 
 think it wrong to be cheerful on Sunday, and 
 I suppose it is this same feeling that induces 
 the belief that the duller a book, the more 
 fitting it becomes for Sunday use. I think 
 this is wrong. It is not an exalted view to 
 take of our spiritual life that we must be dull 
 to develop properly. Gloom is not religion, and 
 is very different from gravity. A serious mind 
 may be a very cheerful one. God's holy day 
 should be a day of rest, not a penitential season, 
 when all our discontents and forebodings are 
 to be brooded over, dwelt upon, and called 
 worship. It is not necessary to pore over dull 
 books for the purpose of keeping down our 
 happy feelings. We denounce penance as a 
 superstition of the Romish Church, but we as 
 surely perform it by such an exercise, as though 
 we wore hair shirts and used scourges. I can- 
 not think our loving Lord is pleased with our 
 efforts to stupefy our senses. Surely we should 
 bring our happiest, brightest, clearest thoughts 
 to his service.
 
 Religious Reading. ill 
 
 Religious reading is a help to a religious life ; 
 and since our week days are crowded with all 
 manner of business, it is perhaps natural to 
 reserve a great part of such reading for the 
 day we set apart for God's service. But we 
 should not think it best to do this ; it would be 
 best to read a little every day ; if we cannot, then 
 it becomes a necessity to read on Sunday. To 
 all, however, who have time and opportunity, I 
 would like to say, that since religious reading is a 
 help to a religious life, it should be a daily duty. 
 Not that we should satisfy the requirements of 
 our consciences by reading a few pages of a 
 good book, but that we should be reminded of 
 our duties, and encouraged in our struggles. 
 Just as we fill the lamp with oil to keep it burn- 
 ing, just as we water a plant to keep it green, so 
 we should daily trim and water our minds, lest, 
 in the hurry and distraction of our busy lives, 
 we forget our greatest needs. 
 
 This daily reading need not be dull, should 
 not be dull. Neither should it be lengthy, 
 There are hundreds of lives of men and women
 
 112 What Shall I Read? 
 
 written, which are considered religious biogra- 
 phies. They are doubtless very interesting to 
 the immediate relatives of the subject of the 
 biography. They are, without doubt, horribly 
 wearisome to every body else. To be sure, 
 these lives were those of mortals trying to be 
 Christians, and as such worthy of respect ; but 
 still, they are very commonplace ; they were but 
 mortals ; they were very faulty, very fallible, as 
 one must be, however kindly their faults have 
 been dealt with by their biographers. 
 
 Unless a life has had something truly elevat- 
 ing in it, has been lived to some great end, has 
 had peculiar struggles, or wonderful triumphs, or 
 glorious results ; unless it has some purpose in 
 it, it is scarcely worth recording for the relig- 
 ious instruction of others. There arc lives so 
 full of a direct and simple purpose that they 
 are most useful ; such a life as that of " Hedley 
 Vicars," for instance, cannot fail to do good. I 
 do not mean that a man must have been a 
 great philanthropist, or a great judge, or a 
 great preacher, to be worthily the subject of a
 
 Religions Reading. 1 1 3 
 
 sketch. A perfectly obscure life may yet be 
 one full of religious purpose. But I allude to 
 all that class of books which go by sentimental 
 names, such as "The Early Called," "The 
 Folded Lamb," " The Shaded Valley," and so 
 forth lives of sweet and tenderly-loved be- 
 ings, but lives that served their end when they 
 burned feebly, flickered, and died in obscurity. 
 Such books foster a weak and sickly sentiment ; 
 they give the impression that poor health is 
 desirable, and a habit of quoting texts essential 
 To the robust, these books are discouraging, if 
 they are any thing at all. What is needed in 
 a biography that is called religious is, that it 
 shall in some wa}'' have power to comfort or to 
 strengthen others. We do not need to form 
 our lives after any mortal, however good that 
 mortal may have been ; but we may find a source 
 of comfort in the contemplation of a character 
 similar to our own, whose development encour- 
 ages us to hope that we may similarly conquer 
 ourselves, where we know ourselves to be weak. 
 Or the record of a persevering life may cheer
 
 114 What Shall I Read? 
 
 us in some moment of discouragement, remind- 
 ing us that what man has done man may do. 
 The life of Cowper, sad and distressing as it is, 
 has spoken to many burdened souls, and shown 
 them what they were slow to believe, that the 
 body alone clogged the flight of the true spirit ; 
 and much mental distress has been saved to 
 those who have recognized the fact through the 
 sufferings of that good man. 
 
 But although biography has its use, it is not 
 well to make it too prominent in religious read- 
 ing. We have in the four Gospels the perfect 
 life of a perfect man. This is the life to read and 
 ponder, and to imitate. The thirty-three years 
 that Jesus of Nazareth lived for us are so full, 
 that we may read of them from infancy to old 
 age and never tire. The story of our blessed 
 Lord and Master should be the study of our 
 life. If your occupations are numerous, and 
 you have but little time for reading, choose 
 rather to read about your Lord than any of his 
 creatures. Above all books, place your Bible. 
 Books are good, but the Bible is best.
 
 Religious Reading. 1 1 5 
 
 Many books have been written for the help 
 and guidance of Bible readers. These are use- 
 ful, as they give an account of the history of 
 the Bible, showing when certain books were 
 written, under what circumstances, in what 
 language, and how they have been preserved. 
 Nicholl's "Help to Reading the Bible" and 
 Dr. Pierce's " Word of God Opened " are very 
 useful books of this kind. Many commentators 
 have endeavored to explain the Scriptures, and 
 it is well to read what they have said, but my 
 advice is this : Go to the Holy Spirit of God 
 for instruction, and on your knees ask humbly 
 and earnestly for his guidance and direction in 
 the study of the holy book. If you do this sin- 
 cerely you will understand it. For the Bible 
 must be spiritually discerned. The best writ- 
 ings of men will not teach you as much as the 
 heart-promptings of the Holy Spirit. Be very 
 careful never to allow a presumptuous spirit to 
 possess you, never read your Bible in the spirit 
 of argument, acknowledge from the beginning 
 that there are many things in it hard to be
 
 ii6 What Shall I Read? 
 
 understood, and wait patiently till God gives 
 you light in answer to prayer. The answer 
 may be long in coming wait ! The answer 
 may be very different from the one you expect- 
 ed wait ! Christ shall give thee light. Pray 
 for it and wait. 
 
 Read your Bible daily, and you will learn to 
 love it. Perhaps you will not love it at first, 
 very likely you will not, but read it ! 
 
 You remember our Saviour's first miracle 
 was to turn water into wine. The servants 
 who drew the water did so simply in obedience 
 to his command, and filled the water-pots with 
 tasteless water. That was all they were told 
 to do, and they did it. It was the Lord's mir- 
 acle that changed it to wine. So, if you, in 
 obedience to Christ's command, fill your hearts 
 with his word by searching the Scriptures, you 
 do all you are told to wait till the Lord works 
 his miracle, and changes what has perhaps 
 been tasteless into a strengthening, refreshing 
 draught. 
 
 I will try now to give you some idea of what
 
 Religious Reading. 117 
 
 general religious reading should be, by telling 
 you first what it should not be. 
 
 In the first place, it never should be secta- 
 rian, by which I mean, devoted exclusively to 
 the interests of any one sect. Every Church- 
 member should, of course, be well acquainted 
 with his own Church history, but his knowledge 
 should not stop there. It is important, I think, 
 that liberality of sentiment should prevail among 
 Christians, and one reason that we fail in this 
 particular is because we are not sufficiently 
 well informed. Ignorance always leads to illib- 
 erality. I do not think it necessary for young 
 people to study the doctrines of different de- 
 nominations ; that would be a bewildering pur- 
 suit ! But the history of different denominations 
 is at once interesting and useful, and leads us 
 to a broad charity, because we recognize high 
 motive and earnest purpose even where, per- 
 haps, we deprecate views we think mistaken. 
 Study the history of the Church Universal, the 
 holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints. 
 You know the old story, do you not, of the
 
 ii8 What Shall I Read? 
 
 church-bells in the town ? The Episcopal bells, 
 it is said, ring with a peculiar monotony, and 
 solemnly repeat the words, " Bishop, priest, dea- 
 con!" The Presbyterian bells ring dolefull)', 
 " Total depravity, original sin ! " The Meth- 
 odist bells cry cheerfully, " Up and be doing ! 
 Pray without ceasing ! " And the Baptist bells 
 with a sharp tinkle exclaim, " Come and be 
 dipt!'' The story says the visitor can tell at 
 once what the church is by listening to the bells. 
 Now it makes but little difference how they ring, 
 as long as the cross surmounts the spire or the 
 belfrey, or is preached from velvet cushion or 
 pine board. If all the bells with their different 
 sounds, and all the priests with their different 
 robes, and all forms or systems of theology were 
 swept from the face of the earth, the cross 
 should endure ! Learn the story of the cross, 
 and be liberal to your fellow-sinner. Take broad 
 views, be courageous, strong, and liberal ! 
 
 " Then if we are to read all kinds of books 
 you uphold us in reading the works of infidels ! " 
 Very likely some of you will say this. But I
 
 Religions Reading. 1 1 9 
 
 answer, No. I have been speaking of the writ- 
 ings of Christians, of the history of the Church 
 of Christ, and this question of yours brings us 
 to the very important one, "What is Christian 
 Hterature ? " 
 
 Professor Porter answers it in this way : 
 "That hterature alone is Christian which recog- 
 nises Christ as the object of trust and reverence" 
 
 No one can be called a Christian writer 
 whose works will not bear this test. " Let a 
 writer have a marvelous power of passing into 
 the character which he depicts, and of feeling 
 for the time the very emotions which the char- 
 acter he impersonates should express. Still, 
 the capacity of truly and adequately rendering 
 the emotions of a Christian soul can scarcely 
 be reached by him if they do not awaken his 
 believing sympathy." 
 
 This is entirely true, and a book that does 
 not speak to your heart is not a good book, re- 
 ligiously considered, for you to read. Surely, 
 one which ignores your Saviour cannot find 
 any response in your heart, if you love him.
 
 I20 What Shall I Read? 
 
 I do 7iot uphold the reading of books written 
 by men who deny their Lord. 
 
 There is a very pretty, well-written little alle- 
 gory, called " The Shadow of the Cross," which 
 I remember reading when a child. In it the 
 characters are all children living in a large 
 garden. To each is given a small cross, with 
 the injunction only to walk in such paths as 
 the cross will indicate by throwing its shadow 
 upon when held aloft. So, too, they may 
 only taste certain fruits, and go with certain 
 companions, and every thing is to be tested 
 by the shadow of the cross. Where it does 
 not fall is danger, where it does fall is perfect 
 safety. 
 
 I would have you apply this to your religious 
 reading. Many books of the present day are 
 written by so-called " advanced thinkers." They 
 may be well written, they may suggest beautiful 
 thoughts and advance moral views, but test them 
 with the upheld cross ! Does its shadow fall on 
 them .-' If not, turn away from them. I must 
 say with sorrow, I cannot see it in the writings
 
 ReligiotLS Reading. 1 2 1 
 
 of Emerson.. I mention his name as a writer 
 popular among such young people as our better 
 educated New England young men. Thoreau 
 is another popular author. Test his works with 
 the cross. Ah, what shall it avail us if we 
 conquer the world by our intellect and lose our 
 souls .-* Of what use is our intellect if it will not 
 live through eternity } What is the value of 
 our souls .'' God's own precious blood ! It is 
 too fearfully solemn a subject to be lightly treat- 
 ed. The novelty of speculation, the brilliancy 
 of arguments, that fascinate us now, what can 
 they do for our souls .'' 
 
 Better be like poor Matt in Jean Ingelow's 
 beautiful story of a clouded intellect, for we 
 could look up to the sky and say, " Man that 
 paid ! " " Man that paid ! " Far better be like 
 poor Matt, the idiot, trusting to the " Man " 
 that died and paid it all, than to bring our minds 
 before God's judgment-seat, stripped of their 
 pride, to hear the awful words, " I never knew 
 you, depart from me ! " 
 
 Pride of intellect leads many a young mind
 
 122 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 astray. It is a danger peculiar to such young 
 people as have been well educated, and have 
 acquired a reputation for smartness in their 
 schools, or cleverness at college. A young man, 
 for instance, graduates well, and feels that he 
 has made a worthy efibrt, and ended his college 
 career successfully. His friends are proud of 
 him, he is proud of himself, and feels superior 
 to many others whose advantages have not 
 been as good as his own, or who have, perhaps, 
 indolently neglected them. He feels strong, 
 young, and active mentally, and longs to over- 
 throw giants ; so he proceeds to demolish estab- 
 lished belief, not seeing that skepticism is the 
 real giant he ought to be hacking away at. He 
 meets with plenty of books written in a fasci- 
 nating way, reads them, and falls an easy prey 
 to another's mind, thinking meanwhile that he 
 is showing the strength of his own by differing 
 from his parents and pastors. They are too old 
 fogy, they love the old, old story, but he will show 
 them their error. He has been to college, he 
 has a superior intellect, he has always been
 
 Religious Reading. 123 
 
 called clever, he is clever, Jie will teach the 
 world a thing or two ! 
 
 This sounds very flat, does it not ? 
 
 But, foolish as it is, it is bitterly sad, because 
 the mind that might progress, retrogrades 
 fearfully. Humility is one of the very highest 
 attributes of a fine mind. Cpnceit is its de- 
 struction. 
 
 But apart from the desire to do some great 
 thing, to show off, or to be eccentric, I believe 
 there are many who are honestly perplexed, 
 who cannot see many things as they have been 
 taught to see them, and who read the works of 
 the advanced thinkers of the present day, to 
 try and find some answer to their troublesome 
 thoughts. They will find by reading, that their 
 cases are not peculiar, since others have felt as 
 they do. If they are sincere in their inquiries 
 after truth they will find it, but not in such 
 writings. 
 
 No soul that goes to Jesus in trouble of 
 mind is ever sent away unsatisfied. It was not 
 brave of Nicodcrnus to go to Jesus secretly at
 
 124 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 night for instruction he dared not receive open- 
 ly, yet Nicodemus was taught by the Lord. 
 There is a legend which says that he became a 
 courageous and devoted disciple. If so, it uas 
 a good instance of a shrinking, doubtful soul 
 made strong. But if he had contented himself 
 with the doctrine of the scribes he would not 
 have learned about Christ, and would have con- 
 tinued weak, and doubtful, and ignorant. If 
 you are perplexed, do not seek for help from 
 other perplexed thinkers. What good can 
 any writer do you who merely repeats your 
 own misgivings, and does not suggest an 
 answer ? 
 
 It is a case of the blind leading the blind. It 
 is a very subtle temptation to some young 
 people to think highly of their intellect because 
 they are perplexed. They argue that their minds 
 are more thoughtful than those of others, who 
 are willing to accept every thing to save them- 
 selves the trouble of thinking. 
 
 Very possibly this may be true ; but if they 
 stop at the point of doubt, if they do not truly
 
 Religions Reading. 125 
 
 dcsiie enlightenment, then the very quaUty of 
 mind which might elevate them only serves to 
 depress and ruin them. There is no strength 
 in doubt, but there is strength in thought. 
 
 There are books which would probably be 
 very useful to you if you happen to be in this 
 stale of mind. Not books written by " ad- 
 vanced thinkers," as they are falsely called, but 
 by men whose minds were really in advance of 
 their age, who struggled manfully with their 
 weaknesses, who recognized all doubt as weak- 
 ness, who thought long and deeply, who were 
 discouraged, depressed, and harassed, yet who 
 conquered by a patient waiting on the Lord, 
 and through constant prayer. 
 
 I think of just such a book as I write. It is 
 the " Life of Frederick W. Robertson," a cler- 
 gyman of the Church of England, who was, 
 perhaps, at once the most useful and least 
 understood man of his day. His is a biography 
 which will prove, I think, a material help to all 
 disturbed thinkers. His was an uncommonly 
 fine mind, but through the circumstances of his
 
 126 What Shall I Read? 
 
 life it was forced into channels which a* first 
 seemed unnatural. It became troubled about 
 many things. But he learned to sit at his Lord 
 and Master's feet very humbly, and found his 
 strength in quietness and confidence. Then, 
 and not till then, he exercised a wonderful in- 
 fluence for good on all ; he was beloved by all 
 sects, because he loved them all in the Christ- 
 like spirit of charity. His church was crowded 
 by all classes, not because of any wonderful 
 oratory, but because he knew how to address 
 himself to troubled souls. Still he was greatly 
 misunderstood. Those who took a narrow view 
 of life and of religion censured his tolera- 
 tion, his broad charity, and called him a free- 
 thinker, alluded to him as " dangerous," and 
 even now many true-hearted people are preju- 
 diced against him. If some of his statements 
 do seem obscure and novel to the casual reader, 
 I believe him to have been a thoroughly evan- 
 gelical man at heart. 
 
 This biography is one of the few that I con- 
 sider useful it is a study. The development of
 
 Religions Reading, 127 
 
 his mind, the progress of his Christianity, the 
 struggles of his conscience, the triumph of his 
 faith, are well rendered, and it is a book that 
 bears the shadow of the cross. 
 
 Another most useful and excellent biography 
 is that of Dr. Thomas Arnold. This is a hap- 
 pier, less disturbed, calmer life, full of instruc- 
 tion ; one can hardly read it without elevation. 
 He was placed in a position of great influence, 
 as the master of a famous English school, and 
 he used this influence well and nobly. He, too, 
 had his spiritual disturbances, but he, too, con- 
 quered them. 
 
 The lives of the Wesley s are most important, 
 and should be read by every young person of 
 every denomination. They marked an era in 
 the Church's history, and were those of true, 
 earnest, courageous men. Such lives are like 
 stirring trumpet-notes, they animate and cheer, 
 rouse the sluggish, and fire the enthusiastic. 
 Brave and gentle, terribly earnest, yet loving 
 and sympathetic, inflexible vet tender, what 
 wonder that they produced their effect !
 
 128 What Shall I Read? 
 
 It is startling to observe the immense influ- 
 ence of individual effort in the lives of the Wes- 
 leys. When we think what they accomplished, 
 single-handed, as we may almost say, we stop 
 to ask if the talent God has given us lies hid- 
 den ! Such lives make us think : are wc trading 
 for our Lord ? Behold, they had ten pounds ! 
 Yes, but what are we doing with our one ? 
 
 I have mentioned, in the " Course of Read- 
 ing" I have given you, an article by Froude on 
 " Erasmus and Luther." It is an article to be 
 well thought over in this connection. In it we 
 see the difference between the man of thought 
 and the man of action. If you read the lives of 
 men, try to draw the proper inference, try to 
 receive into your minds the right suggestions 
 these lives make. If you can do this, biography 
 may be good religious reading for you. 
 
 I do not think highly of a certain style of 
 book which is popular with publishers, and, very 
 likely, with readers. I mean the jerky, discon- 
 nected compilation of texts and verses of hymns. 
 Such books are very wearing to the mind. In
 
 Religions Reading. 129 
 
 reading them one is reminded of certain rail- 
 roads. It seems impossible to make a fair start. 
 One experiences a series of jerks very distress- 
 ing to the nervous system. 
 
 When we read a text we need the connection. 
 The text may be beautiful in itself, but cannot be 
 as -beautiful as if the gem were in its proper set- 
 ting. For reference books of texts may possibly 
 be useful, though a Bible student never has any 
 difficulty in finding chapter and verse ; and one 
 always may use a Concordance. However, I 
 do not wholly condemn such books, for they are 
 often acceptable to sick people, whose minds 
 are not able to endure any mental strain. But 
 they should not be used by readers. They are 
 not reading. I have known young girls pore 
 over such books. The same amount of time 
 spent in sustained thought over one chapter of 
 the Bible, or of any religious book, would be more 
 usefully employed, I think. It is an indolent 
 mind that can be satisfied to allow another to pick 
 out all the beauties of the Bible for it. Moreover, 
 
 the real sense of the passage is often lost by iso^ 
 9
 
 130 What Shall I Read? 
 
 lating it. I will give you an instance of whal I 
 mean. We will suppose that we are reading a 
 collection of disconnected comforting assurances, 
 
 " If ye forgive men their trespasses, your 
 heavenly Father will also forgive you." 
 
 " If God so clothe the grass of the field, which 
 to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, 
 shall he not much more clothe you } " 
 
 " Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the 
 kingdom prepared for you from the foundation 
 of the world." 
 
 "Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 
 
 " She hath done what she could." 
 
 " The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh 
 is weak." 
 
 Now, if we go on reading a quantity of these 
 texts, what is the result .'' What is the effect on 
 our minds .-' Is it not to make us feel that we, in 
 great measure, deserve all comfort, all blessing 
 that we do forgive men their trespasses, that 
 God will clothe us luxuriously, that we are good 
 and faithful servants, that we have done what 
 we could, that our spirits are willing }
 
 Religious Reading. 131 
 
 We do not see the connection, therefore we are 
 apt to forget that if we forgive not men their 
 trespasses, neither shall we be forgiven. We fail 
 to see the meaning of the Lord's words when he 
 pleads against the worldly spirit ; we forget that 
 there is a sentence of despair for the impenitent, 
 that there are servants who are not good and 
 faithful, and possibly we may be among the num- 
 ber ; we forget the tears of the penitent woman 
 and her self-sacrifice, and rest assured that we 
 have done what we could ; and we forget the 
 warning, " Watch and pray, lest ye enter into 
 temptation." The same time spent in careful 
 consideration of any one passage and its con- 
 nection would have been enough to impress the 
 real meaning on our hearts to have furnished 
 mental food for many and many an hour. 
 
 To many minds, books of devotional poetry 
 are very useful and elevating. There are some 
 beautiful collections of hymns. One, called 
 " Hymns of the Church Militant," collected by 
 Miss Warner, is very good. Another, " Hymns 
 from the Land of Luther," is very acceptable
 
 132 What Shall I Read? 
 
 to all who like the German style of, poetry. 
 " Hymns of the Ages " is a fine collection. 
 Wesley's Hymns are most beautiful, and have 
 been gathered together in one volume of" Sacred 
 Poetry," published by W. H. Kelly & Brother, 
 New York. I doubt if any more satisfactory 
 book of devotional poetry is to be found than 
 this. In the Introduction there are some good 
 remarks on the subject of religious poetry, 
 which I will quote : " When the psalmist ex- 
 claims, 'As the hart panteth after the water 
 brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God,' 
 though every one must feel the force and 
 beauty of the natural imagery, yet only he 
 who knows by actual experience what the Di- 
 vine longing is, how ardent is the passion, and 
 with what intensity it seizes and clings upon 
 the soul, can appreciate the spirit of the verse, 
 and feel the living truth more beautiful than its 
 imagery, and more powerful than any form of 
 mere poetry. But lest that fervor, which is the 
 best characteristic of this species of poetry, 
 should run into vuliiar and irreverent extrava-
 
 Religious Reading. 133 
 
 gance, it should be guided by a truly poetic 
 imagination, and be chastised by a cultivated 
 taste. Among the writers of sacred poetry none 
 exhibit, in a more eminent degree, the qualities 
 described in the preceding remarks than Charles 
 Wesley. The variety of his compositions is fresh, 
 they have long enjoyed a well-established fame, 
 and they stand upon their own intrinsic merits. 
 As a valuable aid in the dissemination of Divine 
 truth they are not unworthy of the praise of 
 gaining 'listening ears to the harmonies of 
 heaven.' The author's genius is not only conse- 
 crated, but subordinate to the higher principles 
 of piety, and every theme is applied to the pur- 
 poses of vital personal godliness." 
 
 Bonar's hymns are very spiritual and lovely, 
 and have comforted many with their sweet ten- 
 derness. They have also been collected in one 
 volume. 
 
 Keble offers a rich selection of sacred poetry. 
 Some of his hymns are universal favorites, both 
 in private and public worship. One in particu- 
 lar, an evening hymn beginning, " Sun of my
 
 134 What Shall I Read? 
 
 soul, thou Saviour dear," is widely known and 
 appreciated. Some of Keble's poetry is ab- 
 struse, and unfitted for the very young ; but, 
 as a rule, his hymns are beautiful and accept- 
 able. Dr. Watts still holds his place, although 
 time has dealt gently with some of his more 
 rigid views, and softened some of his theories. 
 And Cowper sings sadly and sweetly to us. 
 His hymns are to be found chiefly in collections, 
 as he did not write enough to make a volume ; 
 but all his poetry, though not strictly devotional, 
 has an earnest, religious tone. 
 
 Very few young people admire George Her- 
 bert, and, I fear, in the present day very few, 
 young or old, care much for him. Yet if you 
 cotild like him you would love him. His poetry 
 is so quaint it repels many, especially as pub- 
 lishers persist in giving it to us with antiquated 
 spelling and lettering, which distract the atten- 
 tion. His images, too, are odd, and unusual, 
 and I have but little hope that he will prove 
 attractive to you ; yet I must mention him, for 
 his hymns are dear to my heart. Let me quote
 
 Religions Reading. 135 
 
 one for you. It is called, " Church Lock and 
 Key." 
 
 " I know it is my sin which locks thine ears 
 
 And binds thy hands ! 
 Outcrying my requests, drowning my tears ; 
 
 Or else the dullness of my faint demands. 
 
 " But as cold hands are angry with the fire, 
 
 And mend it still : 
 So do I lay the want of my desire 
 
 Not on my sins or coldness, but thy will. 
 
 "Yet hear, O God ! only for His blood's sake, 
 
 Which pleads for me : 
 For though sins plead too, yet, like stones, they make 
 
 His blood's sweet current much more loud to be." 
 
 Do you like it .-* Very likely you do not. 
 But since I first read it I have heard its music 
 in every stony brook I have listened to. 
 
 Here is one of Wesley's, called " Heavy-i 
 Laden : " 
 
 ' O that my load of sin were gone ! 
 
 O that I could at last submit 
 At Jesus' lect to lay me down, 
 
 To lay my soul at Jesus' feet.
 
 136 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 " When shall mine eyes behold the Lamb? 
 
 The God of my salvation see ? 
 Weary, O Lord, thou know'st I am : 
 
 Yet still I cannot come to thee. 
 
 " Rest for my soul I long to find : 
 Saviour of all, if mine thou art. 
 
 Give me thy meek and lowly mind, 
 And stamp thine image on my heart. 
 
 " Break off the yoke of inbred sin. 
 
 And fully set my spirit free : 
 I cannot rest till pure within, 
 
 Till I am wholly lost in thee. 
 
 " Fain would I leam of thee, my God, 
 Thy light and easy burden prove ; 
 
 The cross all stain'd with hallow'd blood, 
 The labor of thy dying love. 
 
 " I would, but thou must give the power ; 
 
 My heart from every sin release : 
 Bring near, bring near the joyful hour ! 
 
 And fill me with thy perfect peace." 
 
 Here is one of Bonar's, called " Yonder : 
 
 " No shadows yonder ! 
 
 All light and song. 
 Each day I wonder 
 
 And say, How long 
 Shall time me sunder 
 
 From that dear throng ?
 
 Religious Reading. 137 
 
 " No weeping yonder ' 
 
 All fled away ; 
 While here I wander 
 
 Each weary day, 
 And sigh as I ponder 
 
 My long, long stay. 
 
 " No partings yonder ! 
 
 Time and space never 
 Again shall sunder ; 
 
 Hearts cannot sever ; 
 Dearer and fonder 
 
 Hands clasp forever. 
 
 " None wanting yonder. 
 
 Bought by the Lamb ! 
 All gathered under 
 
 The evergreen palm ; 
 Loud as night's thunder 
 
 Ascends the glad psalm." 
 
 These hymns give an idea of the style of these 
 authors. There are three good collections of 
 religious poems, called " Lyra Americana," 
 " Lyra Anglicana," and " Lyra Germanica." 
 Bishop Heber's hymns are all beautiful. Phoebe 
 and Alice Carey have given two volumes of sacred 
 poetry, one called " Hymns of Faith, Hope, and
 
 138 What Shall I Read? 
 
 Love," the other, " Ballads, Hymns," etc. 
 Anson D. F, Randolph, of New York, publishes 
 a very lovely collection, called " Religious 
 Poems," by the author of " Coming." 
 
 There are some well-written sustained relig- 
 ious poems, but I doubt if they will interest 
 you. One of these is by Bickersteth, and is 
 called " Yesterday, To-day, and Forever." It 
 is very beautiful. 
 
 It is wonderful to observe the great and last- 
 ing influence that Milton's " Paradise Lost " 
 has had. Those who have once come under it 
 feel it all their lives. I have known many turn 
 to their Bibles to find certain images and pas- 
 sages which they felt sure were to be found in 
 the opening chapters of Genesis, and finally, to 
 their surprise, were obliged to acknowledge that 
 Milton had affected them so deeply as to leave 
 this impression on their minds. You should 
 read " Paradise Lost " by all means, but do not 
 confound it with the Bible. 
 
 The Rev. J. C. Ryle has written a number of 
 Tracts that have been very favorably received.
 
 Religio2is Reading. 139 
 
 Sargent's " Temperance Tales" have also proved 
 most useful in their peculiar place. 
 
 But the book of books that I rank next to 
 the Bible for good religious influence, is John 
 Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress." This is a won- 
 derful book, and peculiarly attractive to young 
 people. It has been a help and a comfort to 
 many, and always will be, I believe. If I could 
 aflbrd only two religious books in my library I 
 should buy a Bible and a " Pilgrim's Progress." 
 
 I am very frank with you in saying that 
 sermons, as a rule, are dull for young people. 
 Some are very useful, however, and had better 
 be read by you. 
 
 Those of Spurgeon, the popular English 
 preacher, are simple, striking, and original. / 
 did not find them dull when I was young, and I 
 do not believe you will. Try them, at all events. 
 And those of Dr. Thomas Arnold, on " The 
 Christian Life," are so excellent, that if you 
 really desire to receive spiritual advancement 
 through reading, you cannot do better than to 
 study them.
 
 140 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Dr. GoLilburn's " Thoughts on Personal Rclig- 
 ion " is an admirable work, and his sermons are 
 all excellent, with, however, a decided Church-uf- 
 England bias, as he is a clergyman in that Church. 
 " The Footsteps of St. Paul," published by Car- 
 ter Brothers, is an interesting life of the apostle ; 
 and Dr. Knox has written a book called " A 
 
 Year with St. Paul," also very good. For heav- 
 
 
 ier reading I would recommend "Josephus,' 
 
 Milman's " History of the Jews," and Stanley's 
 work on the same subject. Also, D'Aubignc's 
 " History of the Reformation," and Stevens' 
 " History of Methodism." 
 
 These are fine works, and greatly to be en- 
 joyed by thoughtful minds. If, however, you 
 find them too heavy for you, do not toil through 
 them. They will do you no good if they weary 
 you, and unless you are really fond of reading 
 and thinking they will weary you. Wait till 
 you are older. You see I am very honest, 
 because I want you really to read, and I do not 
 think plodding over a book from a sense of duty 
 is reading. These books may be too old for
 
 Religious Reading. 141 
 
 you. I will tell you of some which I know to 
 be good, and by no means heavy. 
 
 All of Mrs. Charles' writings are good, " The 
 Schonberg Cotta Family " particularly so. 
 " Stepping Heavenward," by Mrs. Prentiss, is 
 both interesting and useful. "The Distant 
 Hills," "The Combatants," "The Old Man's 
 Home," " The Dark River," and " The Shadow 
 of the Cross," are all very excellent and ifterest- 
 ing allegories. " Helen Fleetwood " and " Per- 
 sonal Recollections," by Charlotte Elizabeth, I 
 am sure you will like, as well as all her other 
 writings. " The Listener," by Miss Fry, is 
 very acceptable. " Benedicite," by G. C. Child ; 
 " Bible Teachings in Nature," " Sickness, its 
 Trials and its Blessings," " Sweet Counsel for 
 Girls," by Sarah Tytler, " The Mutineers of the 
 Bounty," are the names of very good books. 
 All of Sarah Tytler's are good, though some are 
 more decidedly religious than others. " Citoy- 
 enne Jacqueline," for instance, is a tale of the 
 French Revolution, very well written and inter- 
 esting, but I do not call it religious : but most
 
 142 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 of her other writings may come under this head 
 and all are good. Hannah Mores writings are 
 quaint, but excellent. " The Memoirs of Port 
 Royal " is most interesting. It is an account 
 of the struggles and persecutions of the Jansen- 
 ists. " The Life of the Authoress, Mrs. Schim- 
 melpenick," is a charming biography. " The Life 
 of Madame Guyon," and that of " Fenelon," form 
 an int^esting volume. 
 
 " Work ; or, Plenty to Do, and How to do It," 
 by Margaret Brewster, is a capital book. All 
 of these books are written in an easy style, 
 and are much lighter reading than those I men- 
 tioned first. 
 
 " Marguerite," by Miss T. Taylor, is a well- 
 written Huguenot Story. "The Boyhood of 
 Martin Luther," and " The Life of Palissy, the 
 Potter," are mentioned in the course, and are 
 both very interesting. These last are suitable 
 fjr Sunday-schools or parish libraries. " Min- 
 istering Children," " The Wide, Wide World," 
 "The Percys," " Poor Matt," "The Little Cap- 
 tain," " Poor Little Joe," are all good.
 
 Religious Reading. 143 
 
 I will not attempt, however, to give any ex- 
 tended list of such books. 
 
 You will find it necessary to decide for your- 
 selves what religious reading is most adapted to 
 your need. It is impossible to direct you ; I have 
 merely mentioned the names of such books as 
 I know to be good. 
 
 After all, the heart of a Christian is like a 
 magnet ; it will only attract true steel. There 
 are many, many books written one stands 
 appalled before the number. How can I tell 
 you what to read for your religious develop- 
 ment .'' I am a stranger to you, although in 
 one way a friend, in that I sincerely love and 
 sympathize with young people ; but I do not 
 know you personally, and cannot, therefore, lay 
 down direct rules for your guidance in this or 
 any other respect. 
 
 But this I can say, Keep your hearts pure, 
 pray to the Source of light for wisdom, and your 
 own hearts shall then be your best counselors ; 
 you will know how to choose the good and re- 
 ject the evil, and I am not afraid that you will
 
 144 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 make any great mistake. Remember to test all 
 books by the shadow of the cross ; remember 
 that the world was saved by a broad charity ; 
 avoid lUiberality, avoid conceit, avoid dullness, 
 preserve your independence of judgment, do 
 not be slavishly afraid, nor yet presumptuous ; 
 remember that the best of all men's books are 
 still uninspired ; read them as helps, but do not 
 wholly rely on them. Use all commentaries, 
 encyclopedias, and dictionaries of the Bible, if 
 you need them, but remember they are not 
 the Bible. M'CHntock & Strong's "Cyclope- 
 dia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical 
 Literature," now in course of preparation you 
 will find useful. Dr. Smith's is a good Diction- 
 ary. The clergy of your several Churches will 
 probably direct you in the use and selection of 
 all such books of reference. But I repeat my 
 advice to go humbly by prayer to the great 
 Teacher for light and wisdom, 
 
 " Keep thy heart calm all day, 
 
 And catch the words the Spirit there 
 From liour to hour shall say."
 
 Religious Reading. I4, 
 
 Do not let the writings of any man ruffle 
 this calmness. Do not let the explanations of 
 any man disturb your faith in the all-enduring 
 love and mercy of God, If ever your religious 
 reading leads you to troubled thoughts, carry 
 them all to Jesus, and come to him as a little 
 ignorant child with your trouble. If you are 
 
 " An infant crying in the night. 
 An infant crying for the light. 
 And with no language but a cry," 
 
 all the better, for Jesus hears such cries and 
 
 gives his light. 
 10
 
 146 What Shall I Read? 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A COURSE OF READING ARRANGED FOR YOUNG 
 PEOPLE. . 
 
 1 400. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of Hen- 
 ry VII.) C. Dickens. 
 
 History of England. (Reign of Henry VII.) Hume. 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather. (Reign of James IV.) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 History of France. (Reign of Louis XII.) 
 
 Edited by Jacob Abbott Mrs. Markham. 
 
 History of France. (Reign of Maximilian 
 
 I.) Edited by Jacob Abbott Mrs. Markham. 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella. (Reigns of Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella) Prescott, 
 
 Outlines of Universal History, from p. 183, 
 
 for reference Weber. 
 
 Life of Christopher Columbus W. Irving. 
 
 America, Discovery of. Second Book Wm. Robertson. 
 
 Conquest of Granada W. Irving. 
 
 Machiavelli. (Essay) Macaulay. 
 
 Romola. (Novel) George Eliot. 
 
 Vale of Cedars. (Novel) Grace Aguilar. 
 
 Marmion. (Poem) Sir W. Scott.
 
 A Course of Reading. 147 
 
 ISOO. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign Henry 
 
 VIH.) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 History of England. (Reign Henry VIII.) Hume. 
 
 Henry VIII. (Play) Shakspeare. 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather. (Reign James V.) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 History of the Emperor Charles V Prescott. 
 
 Cloister Life of Charles V Stirling. 
 
 Boyhood of Martin Lutl>er Heniy Mayhew. 
 
 The Schonberg Cotta Family Mrs. Charles. 
 
 Erasmus and Luther. (Essay.) " Short Stu- 
 dies on Great Subjects " J. A. Froude. 
 
 Life of Michael Angelo Grimm. 
 
 Life of Vittoria Colonna Mrs. H. Roscoe. 
 
 Artist's Married Life. (Albert Durer) Scheffer. 
 
 Household of Sir Thomas More Miss Manning. 
 
 The Huguenots S. Smiles. 
 
 Young Calvin in Paris W. Blackburn. 
 
 College Days of Calvin W. Blackburn. 
 
 Conquest of Mexico Prescott. 
 
 Palissy, the Huguenot Potter C. L. Brightwell. 
 
 Provocations of Madame Palissy Miss Manning. 
 
 Guttenburg, and the Art of Printing E. C. Pearson. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of Ed- 
 ward VI.) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of Mary) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth Jacob Abbott. 
 
 The Rise of the Dutch Republic J. L. Motley.
 
 148 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Don Carlos. (Play) F. Schiller. 
 
 Kenilworth. (Novel) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots Lamartine. 
 
 Mary Queen of Scots Jacob Abbott. 
 
 The Abbot. (Novel) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 Memoirs of Naval Worthies. (Queen Eliza- 
 beth's Reign) John Barrow. 
 
 Lord Bacon. (Essay) Macaulay. 
 
 Land of Desolation. (Discovery of Green- 
 land) Hayes. 
 
 Amyas Leigh. (Novel) C. Kingsley. 
 
 Tasso and Leonora Miss Manning. 
 
 Sketch of Shakspeare in " Home Pictures 
 of English Poets 
 
 Conquest of Peru Prescott. 
 
 1600. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of 
 
 James I.) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 Fortunes of Nigel. (Novel) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 Legend of Montrose. (Novel) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 America. (Book IX) W. Robertson. 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus Mrs. Lacroix. 
 
 The Piccolomini. (Drama) S. T. Coleridge. 
 
 The Death of Wallenstein. (Drama) .... S. T. Coleridge. 
 
 Sketch of Wallenstein in " Heroes of Eu- 
 rope " H. G. Hewlett. 
 
 Henry of Navarre. (Poem.) In his works. . Macaulay.
 
 A Course of Reading. 149 
 
 R"chelieu. (Account in History of Civiliza- 
 tion) Buckle. 
 
 Richelieu ; or, The Conspiracy. (Drama). . Bulwer Lytton. 
 
 Richelieu. (Account in "Heroes of Eu- 
 rope ") H. G. Hewlett. 
 
 Markham's History of France. (Reign of 
 
 Louis XIII.) Abbott. 
 
 Life of Cromwell Lamartine. 
 
 The Draytons and Davenants. (Story) Mrs. Charles. 
 
 Woodstock. (Novel) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 Milton. (Essay) Macaulay. 
 
 Sketch of Milton in " Home Pictures of 
 English Poets " 
 
 Maiden and Married Life of Mary Powell. 
 
 (Mrs. Milton) Miss Manning. 
 
 Cherry and Violet. (Story of Fire and 
 
 Plague in London) Miss Manning. 
 
 Memoirs of Port Royal Mrs. Schimmelpenick. 
 
 Irving's Sketch Book, page 188. (King 
 
 Philip's War) W. Irving. 
 
 John Bunyan. (Essay) Macaulay. 
 
 Peter the Great Jacob Abbott. 
 
 Louis XIV Jacob Abbott. 
 
 Preacher and King. (Historical Novel).. Bungener. 
 
 Priest and Huguenot. (Historical Novel). . Bungener. 
 
 Memoirs of Celebrated Characters. (Ma- 
 dame de Sevigne) Lamartine. 
 
 Madame de Sevigni''s Letters
 
 1 50 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Legends of New England. (Witchcraft). . H. B. Spofford. 
 
 Charles II Jacob Abbott. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of 
 
 Charles II.) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 Old Mortality. (Novel) Sir W. Scott. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of 
 
 Charles II.) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reigns of 
 
 William and Mary) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 1700. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of 
 
 Anne) Dickens. 
 
 Henry Esmond. (Novel) Thackeray. 
 
 English Humorists Thackeray. 
 
 Queens of Society. (Sketch of Duchess 
 
 of Marlborough) Wharton. 
 
 Wits and Beaux of Society. (Clubs under 
 
 Anne) Wharton. 
 
 Madame Guyon and Pension T. C. Upham. 
 
 Letters by Lady Mary Wortley Montague. 
 
 Child's History of England. (Reign of 
 
 George I.) Dickens. 
 
 The Four Georges Thackeray. 
 
 History of France. (Reign of Louis XV.). Markham. 
 
 Outlines of Universal History, for refer- 
 ence , Weber.
 
 A Course of Reading. 151 
 
 Sketch of Horace Walpole, (in Wits and 
 
 Beaux of Society) Wharton. 
 
 Life of George Washington W. Irving. 
 
 Last of the Mohicans. (Novel) J- F- Cooper. 
 
 Frederick the Great. (His Times) T. Campbell. 
 
 Young Benjamin Franklin Mayhew. 
 
 Life of Wesley. (History of Methodism). . . Stevens. 
 
 Diary of Kitty Trevelyan Mrs. Charles. 
 
 Northern Worthies. (Sketch of Captain 
 
 Cook. Third volume) H. Coleridge. 
 
 Marie Antoinette Jacob Abbott. 
 
 Tale of Two Cities. (Novel) Chas. Dickens. 
 
 Citoyenne Jacqueline. (Novel) Sarah Tytler.
 
 152 What Shall I Read? 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EXPLANATION OF THE COURSE. 
 
 JlT is hardly necessary for me to explain the 
 s arrangement of the Course of Reading I 
 offer you. If you have read the foregoing chap- 
 ters of this book you will understand it. I will, 
 however, remind you that I have taken great 
 pains to arrange it chronologically, that you may 
 avoid the confusion of mind which arises from 
 desultory reading. I have selected such books 
 and articles as I have thought best suited to 
 young minds, and such authors as I think are 
 most direct and simple in their style. I want 
 you to remember that this does not constitute 
 a perfect plan. It is far from being perfect. It 
 is simply offered as a help, a temporary guide. 
 When your tastes are more fully developed you 
 will need something different. Many object 
 to courses of reading, and say they are never 
 followed. I dare say this is true, yet I would
 
 Explanation of the Course. 153 
 
 have been glad of such a help when I was young, 
 and that leads me to think many of you will be. 
 I have mentioned ninety volumes, but many of 
 these are mentioned merely for the sake of one 
 chapter to be found in them. For instance, I 
 give you Froude's " Short Studies on Great 
 Subjects ; " but I only intend that you shall 
 read the one essay in that book, about Erasmus 
 and Luther. So, too, I have mentioned Macau- 
 lay's " Essays," but have merely selected six 
 of these essays, and do not intend you to 
 read all the rest. I have also given you Mark- 
 ham's " History of France," not because I want 
 you to read it all through, but because it gives 
 you information respecting the reigns of a few 
 kings whom I have mentioned particularly. I 
 do not want you to read more in it than just 
 what I have told you, for my great object is to 
 keep your minds fastened on one especial age. 
 And while you are occupied with the reign of one 
 king, or one set of kings if I may so speak, 
 begging their majesties' pardons I should great- 
 ly prefer that you should confine your attention
 
 154 What Shall I Read? 
 
 to that particular time. Do not " look before 
 and after ; " keep your mind concentrated on 
 the few who were the principal actors at the 
 time. I have also given you Weber's "Out- 
 lines of Universal History," a book extremely 
 heavy to read through. I merely intend it as a 
 book of reference or study. A page of it as all 
 you will need at a time to fix facts in your mind. 
 " The Tales of a Grandfather " is a very long 
 book, as children say. I have only given you a 
 few chapters from it. So you see you need not 
 be alarmed at the number of volumes. It is 
 very hard to find a well-written, truthful history 
 that will really interest young people, and I have 
 hunted up, with great care, the simplest I could 
 find. Of course, Hume, or Keightley, or Macau- 
 lay, are better historians than Charles Dickens. 
 But then Hume and Keightley and Macaulay 
 and Clarendon will not interest you now. They 
 are too good. So I give you Dickens, who is 
 reliable if not profound, and you will like his 
 history, and, therefore, remember it. By and 
 by you will read the heavier works with pleas-
 
 Explanation of the Course. 155 
 
 ure, and with all the more delight for having 
 prepared the way for them. The best histo- 
 rians assume information on the part of their 
 readers, which is precisely what the youthful 
 reader fails to bring when he sits down to read 
 history. 
 
 O I know that is true ! although you have 
 all been to school. But tell me, confidentially, 
 did )''0U never throw a paper ball during your 
 history lesson .-' Were you ever occupied with 
 the instinct of self-preservation, which warned 
 you that your toes were in danger from your 
 neighbors' boots, or that your back was about to 
 be decorated, or was undergoing the process of 
 decoration with white chalk lavishly bestowed 
 by a friendly hand during recitation } These 
 little facts are inglorious but important. For 
 who can remember any thing about that ever- 
 lasting Smalcaldic League, when an entire fres- 
 co was being perpetrated on a new coat or dress, 
 or a pin point had penetrated the cuticle in the 
 region of the knee, just as the good professor was 
 explaining that interesting subject. No. Let
 
 156 What Shall I Read? 
 
 us frankly admit to each other just you and I, 
 dear reader with closed doors, that a good deal 
 of school knowledge went in at one ear and out 
 at the other. This is a secret that shall die 
 with us. But still, as you see, we need a good 
 easy little book to refresh our memories before 
 we read Clarendon, don't we ? However, it will 
 not do to be lazy. Once in awhile you must 
 read a history through from beginning to end. 
 The first of these I have given you is Prescott's 
 " History of Ferdinand and Isabella." If you 
 like history at all, you will like this. Try and 
 get an edition on good, clear type ; it really makes 
 a difference to the young reader. Fine type is 
 very trying to the eyes, and has a discouraging, 
 touch-me-not look from the first. " Ferdinand 
 and Isabella," in a pleasant edition, is to be 
 read allthronght my young friends, without shirk- 
 ing, if you please ! I think you will like it, I 
 know you will like Irving's " Columbus ; " and 
 Robertson's "America" is another book that 
 calls for patient attention. It is the second 
 volume that contains the " Discovery of
 
 Explanation of the Course. 157 
 
 America," and that is the one for you to read 
 in connection with " Columbus " and " Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella." You see now, do you not, 
 how I have arranged the course ? 
 
 I begin with the close of the fifteenth century. 
 Consequently, having found out briefly who were 
 the contemporaneous monarchs of that time, 
 and having given you very short accounts of 
 them, I specify a good book, giving you the im- 
 portant fact of that age, and all matters relating 
 to it. The important fact of this period was 
 the discovery of America, so I give you a 
 long account of the Spanish monarchs, a long 
 account of Christopher Columbus, and a long 
 account of the discovery. Then we find 
 that there was an important conquest made 
 about this time, so we read Irving's "Conquest 
 of Granada." Then we find that a celebrated 
 Italian statesman lived at this time, so we read 
 Macaulay's " Essay on Machiavelli." Being a 
 little bit tired of solid reading, we take up a 
 well-written novel, in which we find further 
 mention of " Machiavelli," a very interesting
 
 158 What Shall I Read? 
 
 view of the character of " Savonarola," and a 
 general idea of Italy at that time. This we 
 find in " Romola." Another novel, called "The 
 Vale of Cedars," lets us into the secret tribunal 
 of the Inquisition, in which we were inter- 
 ested while reading about Spain, So, when we 
 have read as much as this, we shall be toler- 
 ably well informed about the close of the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 Of course you may select any age you like to 
 read about. I began with " The Discovery of 
 America," because I am writing for young 
 Americans. But the course is all arranged on 
 the same plan. 
 
 As it is not likely that many of you will own 
 libraries large enough to supply all the books I 
 mention, you will find it necessary to join some 
 public library. The subscription for one year 
 will not cost you more than five dollars. If you 
 live where there are no libraries, do your best to 
 establish a book club. This is done by repre- 
 senting to your friends, neighbors, and acquaint- 
 ances what a good thing it will be to have a
 
 Explanation of the Course. 159 
 
 quantity of books for the use of the community, 
 and by soliciting their subscriptions for a club. 
 Many will refuse ; but if you go into the busi- 
 ness with spirit, many will agree with you, that 
 it is a good idea. A little persuasion will con- 
 vince some, a little importunity will weary 
 others into acceding to your demands, and a 
 sufficient sum will be raised to enable you 
 to purchase your books. Here is a useful 
 suggestion from " an old bookseller " on this 
 subject : 
 
 " In starting a library, select from the accom- 
 panying list fifty, or a hundred, or more, vol- 
 umes, and take (or send) your list to some re- 
 sponsible bookseller, and he will fill it for you at 
 a fair discount from the retail prices he can, of 
 course, and will, furnish the whole list cheaper 
 than he could by a single volume at a time." 
 
 Every book club must be conducted on 
 a plan suited to its own necessities. It is 
 not possible to dictate rules, they will suggest 
 themselves to the members, and can be decided 
 upon as is deemed best in your several commu-
 
 i6o What Shall I Read? 
 
 nities. Of course neatness, promptness, and 
 order, are requisite. The number of volumes 
 purchased by the club must be settled by the 
 amount of money raised. At the end of ihe 
 year the books can be sold, either at auction 
 or otherwise, which will give you a little fund 
 with which to begin a new year's library. 
 
 I will give you the retail price of the books I 
 have mentioned in the first section of the course, 
 that marked as 1400, and you will, perhaps, be 
 surprised to find how many books you can 
 buy for a little money. Remember that in buy- 
 ing this list you are getting more than I have 
 mentioned, because you are purchasing all 
 of Macaulay's " Essays," all of Robertson's 
 "America," all of Hume's "History," (in a 
 school edition,) all of Dickens' " History of 
 England," all of Markham's " France," of Scott's 
 " Tales of a Grandfather," and the account of 
 the " Companions of Columbus," by Irving, as 
 well as " The Life of Columbus." These are 
 all very valuable books to own. Let us see how 
 much they will cost.
 
 Explanation of the Course. i6r 
 
 Dickens' Histor}- of England $i 5 
 
 Green's History of English People i 75 
 
 Markham's History of France i 75 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather 5 00 
 
 Robertson's America 2 25 
 
 Macaulay's Essays 6 25 
 
 Irving's Columbus 675 
 
 Irving's Conquest of Granada I 25 
 
 Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella 7 50 
 
 Romola o 75 
 
 Vale of Cedars i 00 
 
 Total $35 75 
 
 There are very few communities that cannot 
 afford this sum, and for this sum you can, as you 
 see, procure a library that will give you plenty of 
 reading for a year. 
 
 Even if many of your friends objected, you 
 could still probably find six willing to give five 
 dollars, which would give you enough to pur- 
 chase this list if you leave out " The Tales of 
 a Grandfather " and " The Vale of Cedars." 
 
 But your difficulty in getting up your club 
 
 will be that many, perhaps most, of your friends 
 
 will not care to follow this, or any other, course 
 
 of reading. In that case yield the point, and 
 11
 
 i62 What Shall I Read? 
 
 continue to get up your club, selecting your 
 books as well as you may. You can make use 
 of the suggestions I have given you, but it is 
 not wise, nor is it kind, to insist upon your 
 friends thinking as you think, and acting as you 
 act ; therefore consult their tastes, listen to 
 their suggestions, and remember that all have a 
 right to speak who subscribe. I should not 
 think it worth while to form a club for the pur- 
 chase of ordinary novels ; but if many members 
 of your community are averse to solid literature, 
 there is still a large selection to be made among 
 works of fiction, magazines, and periodicals 
 and the best of these are useful and agreeable 
 reading. 
 
 There are some magazines that all young peo- 
 ple like. Here is a list of some of the principal 
 magazines suitable for those who do not want 
 very solid reading : 
 
 St. Nicholas. Monthly. New York . 
 Harper's Monthly. 
 
 Appleton's Journal. Illustrated. New York. 
 Scribner's Montlily.
 
 Explanation of the Course. 163 
 
 Harper's Weekly. Illustrated. New York. 
 Harper's Bazar. 
 
 Atlantic Monthly. Literary. Boston. 
 Blackwood's Magazine. (Reprint.) New York. 
 Littell's Living Age. Literary. Weekly. Boston. 
 The Art Journal. 
 
 These are all good and moral in their tone, 
 and it is pleasant and profitable to have them 
 circulating in a small society. Perhaps you 
 might effect a compromise, and include some of 
 these periodicals in your list to please those of 
 your friends who object to Macaulay and Hume. 
 In fact, it is a very good plan to introduce two 
 or three good magazines into any book club. 
 
 If you are in earnest in your wish to read, 
 I do not think you will be hindered by the 
 expense of procuring books. 
 
 ^11 those who live in or near large cities will 
 find all they want in a public library for five 
 dollars per annum ; and those who live far away 
 in the country can, with a little energy, raise 
 enough money by subscription to purchase a 
 good library in the way I have mentioned
 
 164 What Shall I Read? 
 
 I should like you all to read a book written 
 by Henry Ward Beecher, called " Eyes and 
 Ears," and see what he says about the duty of 
 owning books. It is not possible for all to own 
 books, but it is to many ; and those who can 
 afford it should, 
 
 Beecher says : " Let us congratulate the poor 
 that, in our day, books are so cheap that a man 
 may every year add a hundred volumes to his 
 library for the price of what his tobacco and his 
 beer would cost him. Among the earliest am- 
 bitions to be exerted in clerks, workmen, and, 
 indeed, among all that are struggling up in life 
 from nothing to something, is that of owning 
 and constantly adding to a library of good books. 
 A little library, growing larger every year, is 
 an hojwrable part of a young mans history. It 
 is a man's duty to have books, A library is not 
 a luxury, but is one of the necessaries of life." 
 
 In another part of this same book Mr, Beecher 
 says : " The love of knowledge in a young mind 
 is almost a warrant against the inferior excite- 
 ment of passions and vices."
 
 Explanation of the Coicrse. 165 
 
 I think I hear some of my friends say, " This 
 book is coming to an end apparently, and not 
 one word has been said about Shakspeare ! " 
 Very true ! And when I think of all that has 
 been said, and all that shall be said, about the 
 works of William Shakspeare, I feel that further 
 remarks from me are unnecessary. I refer you 
 to some excellent critics on the subject, in the 
 list of books which I subjoin, and I sum up all 
 the remarks I have to offer in this one short 
 sentence, which you will please to remember : 
 
 Read Shakspeare. 
 And having said this, it occurs to me to say no 
 more. When one has said all one has to say, it 
 is a good time to stop. 
 
 So good-bye, dear readers, good-bye, in the 
 true sense of the word. May you be none the 
 worse for my efiforts to make you better, and 
 may God be with you !
 
 i66 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CATALOGUE OF BOOKS RECOMMENDED. 
 
 Histories. 
 
 A Short History of the English People. ... J. R. Green. 
 
 History of England Macaulay. 
 
 History of England Froude. 
 
 America \V. Robertson. 
 
 Conquest of Mexico Prescott. 
 
 Conquest of Peru Prescott. 
 
 The Rise of the Dutch Republic Motley. 
 
 The United Netherlands Motley. 
 
 History, General Sketch E. A. Freeman. 
 
 History of the United States Bancroft. 
 
 History of the United States T.W. Higginson. 
 
 Popular History of the United States Brjant & Gay. 
 
 France and its Revolutions R. Chambers. 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella Prescott. 
 
 Italian Republics Sismondi. 
 
 Scotland and India Robertson. 
 
 History of the Reformation D'Aubigne. 
 
 History of the Girondists Lamartine. 
 
 Tales of a Grandfather W. Scott. 
 
 Charles V Prescott. 
 
 Philip II Prescott.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. 167 
 
 Chronicles Froissart. 
 
 History of Greece W. Smith,LL.D. 
 
 History of Rome Liddell. 
 
 Fryxell's History of Sweden M. Howitt. 
 
 Child's History of England Chas. Dickens. 
 
 The Huguenots S. Smiles. 
 
 Life of John of Barnaveld Motley. 
 
 Books of Reference. 
 
 Dictionary, Unabridged Webster. 
 
 Dictionary, Unabridged Worcester. 
 
 Atlas Colton. 
 
 Atlas Mitchell. 
 
 Atlas Black. 
 
 Dictionary of Dates Hayden. 
 
 World's Progress Putnam. 
 
 Encyclopaedia Chambers. 
 
 American Annual Cyclopoedia Appleton. 
 
 History of Roman Classical Literature .... R. W. Browne. 
 
 Outlines of Universal History Weber. 
 
 Cyclopaedia of Biography. Universal Goodwin. 
 
 Brief Biographies Hole, Wheeler. 
 
 Dictionary of Quotations Bartlett. 
 
 Concordance. Biblical ... Cruden. 
 
 Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical 
 
 Literature , M'Clintock & Strong 
 
 Dictionary of Latin Quotations Bohn. 
 
 C lassical Dictionary Anthon.
 
 1 68 What Shall I Read? 
 
 Biographies. 
 
 Life and Times of John Wesley L. Tyerman. 
 
 Life of Oliver Goldsmith W. Irving. 
 
 Life of Mohammed W. Irving. 
 
 Life of Samuel Johnson Boswell. v/' 
 
 Life of R. B. Sheridan Thomas Moore. 
 
 Life of Byron Thomas Moore. 
 
 Life of Patrick Henry Wirt. 
 
 Lord Clive. (Essay.) Macaulay. 
 
 Pitt, (Essay) iMacaulay. 
 
 Warren Hastings. (Essay.) Macaulay. 
 
 Life of Lord Nelson Southey. 
 
 Life and Letters of Charles Lamb Talfourd. 
 
 Life of Sir Walter Scott Lockhart. 
 
 Life of Robert Bums Lockhart. 
 
 Life of Cowper, with his Works Southey. 
 
 Recollections of Shelley and Byron Trelawney. 
 
 Life of Charles Dickens Forster. 
 
 Life of Charlotte Bront^ Mrs. Gaskell. 
 
 Brief Biographies S. Smiles. 
 
 Life of Bishop Heber Mrs. Heber. 
 
 Shakspeare Charles Knight. 
 
 Thomas Hood's Memorials By his son. 
 
 My Schools and Schoolmasters Hugh Miller. 
 
 Life and Letters of Washington Irving Pierre Irving. 
 
 Life of Faraday Gladstone. 
 
 Life of Douglas Jcrrold W. B. Jerrold.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recojnmeiided. 169 
 
 Life and Letters of Lord Macaulay Otto Trevelyan. 
 
 William Penn. (Essay on) Macaulay. 
 
 Life of Aaron Burr M. L. Davis. 
 
 Life of Napoleon Hazlitt. 
 
 Autobiography of Mrs. Schimmelpenick . . Hankins. 
 
 Gustavus Adolphus Mrs. Lacroix. 
 
 Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Bigelow. 
 
 Life of Thomas Moore Russell. 
 
 Life of George Stephenson Smiles. 
 
 Life of Washington Irving. 
 
 Life of a Scotch Naturalist, Thos. Edwards. S. Smiles. 
 
 Charles Kingsley, (Letters and Memoirs of) Ed'dby his Wife. 
 
 Household Library, published by Sheldon (Sr" Co. 
 
 1. Life and Martyrdom of Joan of Arc . . . Michelet. 
 
 2. Life of Robert Burns Robert Carlyle. 
 
 3. Life and Teachings of Socrates Grote. 
 
 4. Life of Columbus Lamartine. 
 
 5. Life of Frederick the Great Macaulay. 
 
 6. Life of William Pitt Macaulay. 
 
 7. Life of Mohammed Gibbon. 
 
 8. Life of Luther Charles Bunsen. 
 
 9. Life of Oliver Cromwell Lamartine. 
 
 ro. Life of Torquato Tasso G. H. Wiffen. 
 
 ri. 12. Life of Peter the Great O. W. Wight. 
 
 13. Life of IMilton Masson, Macaulay. 
 
 14. Life of Thomas a Becket Dean Milman. 
 
 15. Life of Hannibal T. Arnold, LL.D
 
 170 What Shall I Read? 
 
 16. Life of Vittoria Colonna Roscoe. 
 
 17. Life of Julius Cesar H. G. Liddell. 
 
 18. Life of Mary Stuart .... Lamartine. 
 
 Books of Travels. 
 
 Notes on England Taine. 
 
 Rome and Naples Taine. 
 
 Walks in Rome. Hare. 
 
 Russia Wallace. / 
 
 The Irish Sketch Book Tliackeray. 
 
 Ride to Khiva Burnaby. 
 
 The Innocents Abroad. (Europe and Palestine.) Clemens. 
 
 Letters from High Latitudes Lord Dufferin. 
 
 New York to Delhi R. Minturn. 
 
 A Boy's Journey Round the World Smiles. 
 
 Arctic Expedition Kane. 
 
 Open Polar Sea J. J. Hayes. 
 
 Arctic Boat Journey Hayes. 
 
 Land of Desolation PI ayes. 
 
 India, China, and Japan Bayard Taylor. '*^ 
 
 Wild Life Under the Equator Du Chaillu. 
 
 Equatorial Africa Du Chaillu. 
 
 Travels in Austria Kohl. 
 
 Palestine Kitto. 
 
 Journey in Brazil Agassiz. 
 
 Eldorado, Mexico, and California Bayard Taylor. 
 
 Travels in Canada J. G. Kohl. 
 
 Homes of the New World F. Bremer.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. 171 
 
 Roughing it in the Bush Mrs. Moodie. 
 
 Western Clearings Mrs, Moodie. 
 
 A New Home Who'll Follow? Mrs. Kirkland. 
 
 Journey Through the Chinese Empire Hue. 
 
 Colorado. A Summer Trip. Bayard Taylor. 
 
 A Crusade in the East J. R. Browne. 
 
 Our Artist in Cuba G. W. Carleton. 
 
 Letters from the East W. C. Bryant. 
 
 Eothen. Traces of Travel in the East .... Kinglake. 
 
 Nile Notes of a Howadji G. W. Curtis. 
 
 Monuments of Egypt F. L. Hawks. 
 
 Boat Life in Egypt W. C. Prime. 
 
 Discovery of the Source of the Nile Speke. 
 
 Impressions of England A. C. Coxe. 
 
 Our Old Home Hawthorne. 
 
 English Note-Books Hawthorne. 
 
 First Impressions of England Hugh Miller. 
 
 Rural Life in England Howitt. 
 
 Travels in Germany Kohl. 
 
 Germany Mad. de Stael. 
 
 Home Life in Germany C. L. Brace. 
 
 Tent Life in Syria and the Holy Land W. C. Prime. 
 
 Italian Journeys W. D. Howells. 
 
 Venetian Life W. D. HowelU 
 
 Station I^ife in New Zealand Lady Barker. 
 
 Nineveh and Its Remains A. H. Layard. 
 
 Northern Travel Bayard Taylor 
 
 A Tour to the Hebrides J. Boswell.
 
 1/2 What Shall I Read? 
 
 A Summer in Scotland Jacob Abbott. 
 
 In Spain H. C. Andersen. 
 
 Life in Spain Thombury. 
 
 Pictures of Travel in Sweden H. C. Andersen. 
 
 The Howadji in Syria G. W. Curtis. 
 
 Journal in America Mrs. F. Kemble. 
 
 The Plains of the Great West R. I. Dodge. 
 
 Travels in the United States J- G. Kohl. 
 
 California Charles Nordhoff. 
 
 Life in South Africa Lady Barker. 
 
 Exploration of Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia S. W. Baker. 
 
 Essays and Literary Criticisms. 
 
 Autumn Holidays. (Country Parson) A. K. H. Boyd, 
 
 Counsel and Comfort do. 
 
 Every Day Philosopher do. 
 
 Leisure Hours in Town do. 
 
 Recreations of a Country Parson do. 
 
 Spare Hours J. Brown, M.D. 
 
 Prue and I Geo. W. Curtis. 
 
 Country Living G. Hamilton. 
 
 Stumbling Blocks G. Hamilton. 
 
 Short Studies on Great Subjects J. A. Froude. 
 
 Lectures and Essays Henry Giles. 
 
 The Bee, and Miscellaneous Works O. Goldsmith. 
 
 A Day by the Fire Leigh Hunt. 
 
 Sketch Book and Essays W. Irving. 
 
 Essays on Literature and Art Mrs. Jameson.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. 173 
 
 Essays of Elia Charles Lamb. 
 
 Among my Books J. R. Lowell. 
 
 My Study Windows J. R- Lowell. 
 
 Essays Lord Macaulay. 
 
 Salmagundi Irving and Paulding. 
 
 Essays Sidney Smith. 
 
 The Spectator Addison. 
 
 The Chimney Corner ... Mrs. Stowe. 
 
 Miscellanies and Essays Thackeray. 
 
 The Roundabout Papers Thackeray. 
 
 Essays and Reviews E. P. Whipple. 
 
 Essays. (Christopher North) Prof. J. P. Wilson. 
 
 Recreations of Christopher North Prof. J. P. Wilson. 
 
 Wit and Wisdom of Sydney Smith Duyckinck. 
 
 Lectures on Shakspeare and Milton Coleridge. 
 
 Human Life in Shakspeare C. Giles. 
 
 Female Characters of Shakspeare Mrs. Jameson. 
 
 Shakspeare and His Times Guizot. 
 
 Literature and Romance of Northern Europe. Mrs. M. Howitt. 
 
 Literature of the South of Europe Sismondi. 
 
 Curiosities of Literature D'Israeli. 
 
 Half Hours with the Best Authors Knight. 
 
 Essays Bacon. 
 
 Religious Works. 
 
 Pilgrim's Progress Bunyan. 
 
 Lecture Room Talks H. W. Bcecher. 
 
 'riii)U;;hls on Personal Religion E. M. Goulbuin.
 
 174 What Shall I Read? 
 
 Sermons E. M.'Goulbum. 
 
 Life and Letters of Fred'k W. Robertson. . 
 
 Sermons F. W. Robertson. 
 
 Life and Letters of Thomas Arnold 
 
 Sermons Thos. Arnold. 
 
 Endeavors After the Christian Life Jas. Martineau. 
 
 Ten Great Religious Beliefs J- F- Clarke. 
 
 Pursuit of Holiness E. M. Goulburn- 
 
 Graver Thoughts (of Country Parson) Boyd. 
 
 Benedicite. (The Power and Wisdom of God.) G. C. Child. 
 
 Silence and Voices of God Farrar. 
 
 Sermons Spurgeon. 
 
 Martin Luther C. W. Hubner. 
 
 Imitation of Christ T. a Kempis. 
 
 Stepping Heavenward E. Prentiss. 
 
 Words that Shook the World Rev. C. Adams. 
 
 Sermons H. W. Beecher. 
 
 Wesley's Letters 
 
 Poems Charles Wesley. 
 
 Wonderful Life . . Daniel Wise. 
 
 The Life of Christ Farrar. 
 
 The Listener Caroline Fry. 
 
 Memoirs of Port Royal Mrs. Schimmelpenick. 
 
 Life of Mary Anne Schimmelpenick 
 
 Avesha Emma Leslie. 
 
 Leofwine, the Saxon Emma Leslie. 
 
 Elfreda Emma Leslie. 
 
 Flavia Emma Leslie.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. 175 
 
 Glaucia Emma Leslie. 
 
 Laneton Parsonage Sewell. 
 
 Repository Tracts Hannah More. 
 
 History of the Jews Milman. 
 
 History of the Jewish Church Stanley. 
 
 The Land and the Book Tliomson. 
 
 Sinai and Palestine Dean Stanley. 
 
 Sermons on Pauperism B. Lambert. 
 
 The Priest and Huguenot Bungener. 
 
 History of the Eastern Church Dean Stanley. 
 
 History of Methodism Stevens. 
 
 How to Study the New Testament Henry Alford. 
 
 Student's New Testament History W. Smith, LL.D. 
 
 The Footsteps of St. Paul 
 
 Books of Amusement. 
 This list is designed for the use of those who 
 wish to read the better class of novels and hu- 
 morous works, simply for amusement. It is 
 carefully selected. 
 
 Pride and Prejudice. . . Miss Austen. 
 
 Sense and Sensibility Miss Austen. 
 
 Vathek. A Tale of Oriental IJfe W. Beckford. 
 
 The Strange Adventures of a Phreton W. Black. 
 
 The Semi-Detached House Emily Eden. 
 
 The Semi-Attached Couple Emily Eden. 
 
 One Summer Blanche Howard.
 
 1/6 What Shall I Read? 
 
 Marjorie Fleming J. Brown, M.D. 
 
 Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby Thos. Hughes. 
 
 Tom Brown at Oxford Thos. Hughes. 
 
 Little Pedlington J. Poole. 
 
 The Old Ma'amselle's Secret E. Marlitt. 
 
 Gold Elsie E. Marlitt. 
 
 Traits and Stories of Irish Peasantry Wm. Carleton. 
 
 Thompson Hall A. Trollope. 
 
 Our Village M. R. Mitford. 
 
 The Spy J- F. Cooper. 
 
 The Leather-Stocking Tales J- F. Cooper. 
 
 Ingham Papers E. E. Hale. 
 
 How To Do It E. E. Hale. 
 
 A Week in a French Country House Sartoris. 
 
 The Lamplighter M. S. Cummings. 
 
 Wake Robin John Burroughs. 
 
 Winter Sunshine John Burroughs. 
 
 Birds and Poets John Burroughs. 
 
 Helen M. Edgeworth. 
 
 The Romance of a Poor Young Man A. Feuillet. 
 
 Helen's Babies Habberton. 
 
 Mrs. Limber's Raffle 
 
 Misunderstood F. Montgomery^ 
 
 Their Wedding Journey W. D. Howells. 
 
 Fred and Maria and Me Mrs. Prentiss. 
 
 William Henry's Letters Mrs. A. M. DiaA 
 
 Alice in Wonder Land Lewis CaiToll. 
 
 Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll.
 
 Catalogue of Books Rccovimcnded. I'j'j 
 
 The Story of My Life H.C.Andersen, 
 
 Tent Life in Siberia Rennan. 
 
 The Sparrow-grass Papers Cozzens. 
 
 The Ingoldsby Legends Barham. 
 
 Out of the Question W. D. Howells. 
 
 Rejected Addresses IL & J. Smith. 
 
 Up the Rhine Thomas Hood. 
 
 Whims and Oddities Thomas Hood. 
 
 Phoenixiana G. H. Derby. 
 
 That Lass O'Lowrie's Francis Burnett. 
 
 Norwood H. W. Beeclier. 
 
 A Chance Acquaintance W. D. Howells. 
 
 Off the Skelligs Jean Ingelow. 
 
 Hope Leslie E. Sedgwick. 
 
 Amy Herbert Miss Scwell. 
 
 Pink and White Tyranny Mrs. Stowe. 
 
 Tales, etc Miss Thackeray. 
 
 We Girls Mrs. Whitney. 
 
 My Prisons Silvio Pellico. 
 
 The Greatest Plague of Life Mayhew. 
 
 Suburban Sketches W. D. Howells. 
 
 A Foregone Conclusion W. D. Howells. 
 
 Arabian Nights' Entertainment 
 
 Miss Angel Miss Thackaray, 
 
 Norway and the Norwegians H. Martineau. 
 
 Fly Leaves. (Humorous Poems) C. S. C. 
 
 20,000 Leagues under the Sea Jules Verne. 
 
 A Tour of the World in Eighty Days .... Jules Verne. 
 12
 
 178 WiLAT Shall I Read ? 
 
 Fiction. 
 
 A list of works of fiction mentioned in the 
 chapter headed Fiction, with the author's name 
 alphabetically arranged. 
 
 Aguilar, Grace : 
 
 Home Influence ; Home Scenes and Heart Studies ; 
 
 Mother's Recompense ; The Vale of Cedars. 
 Alcott, l.ouisa M. : 
 
 Hospital Sketches ; Little Women ; Little Men ; Old- 
 
 Fashioned Girl ; My Boys ; Eight Cousins ; Roses in 
 
 Bloom. 
 Andersen, H. C. : 
 
 The Tmprovisatore ; Only a Fiddler ; Fairy Tales and 
 
 Stories. 
 Bremer, Frederika : 
 
 The Neighbors ; The Home. 
 Bronte, Charlotte : 
 
 Villette; Shirley. 
 Charles, Mrs. : 
 
 Chronicles of the Schonberg-Cotta Family ; Diary of Kitty 
 
 Trevelyan ; Davenants and Draytons ; Early Dawn ; 
 
 Both Sides of the Sea ; Winifred Bartram ; Victory of 
 
 the Vanquished ; Cripple of Antioch ; Martyr of Spain ; 
 
 Sketches of Christianity ; Two Vacations. 
 Craik, Mrs., (Dinah Mulock) : * 
 
 John Halifax, Gentleman ; A Life for A Life ; Christian's 
 
 Mistake ; A Noble Life ; The Woman's Kingdom.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. 179 
 
 Dickens, Charles : 
 
 Dombey and Son : Nicholas Nickleby ; Barnaby Rudge ; 
 
 Sketches ; Martin Chuzzlewit ; Oliver Twist ; Great 
 
 Expectations : David Copperfield ; Tale of Two Cities ; 
 
 Hard Times ; Bleak House ; Little Dorrit ; American 
 
 Notes, and Italy ; Mutual Friend ; Uncommercial 
 
 Traveler. 
 De Foe : 
 
 Robinson Crusoe. 
 Edgeworth, Maria : 
 
 Tales and Novels, ten volumes. 
 Erckmann-Chatrian : 
 
 Histoire du Plebiscite ; Waterloo ; The Conscript. 
 Freytag : 
 
 Debit and Credit ; Ingo ; Ingraben. 
 Gaskell, Mrs. : 
 
 Cranford ; My Lady Ludlow, 
 Goldsmith, Oliver : 
 
 The Vicar of Wakefield. 
 Hawthorne, Nathaniel : 
 
 House of Seven Gables ; Marble Fawn ; Mosses from an 
 
 Old Manse ; Twice-told Tales. 
 Hale, E. E. : 
 
 If, Yes, and Perhaps ; Ingham Papers. 
 Irving, Washington : 
 
 The Alhambra ; Bracebridge Hall ; Knickerbocker's 
 
 History of New York ; Tales of a Traveler ; Wolfert's 
 
 Roost ; Sketch-Book.
 
 i8o What Shall I Read? 
 
 Kingsley, Charles: 
 
 Amyas Leigh ; Hypatia; Two Years Ago. 
 Lewes, Mrs. G. IL, ^George Eliot) ; 
 
 Adam Bede ; The Mill on the Floss; Silas Mamer ; 
 
 Romola ; Middlemarch ; Daniel Deronda. 
 Lytton, Lord, (Bulwer) : 
 
 The Caxtons ; My Novel : The Last Days of Pompeii ; 
 
 The Siege of Granada ; Kenelm Chillingly. 
 Lowell, R. T. S. : 
 
 The New Priest of Conception Bay. 
 Macdonald, George: 
 
 Alec Forbes; Annals of a Quiet Ncighborliood ; David 
 
 Elginbrod ; Phantastes ; Ranald Bannennan's Boyhood ; 
 
 The Sea-Board Parish; The Portent; Robert Falconer; 
 
 St. George and St. Michael ; Malcolm. 
 Manning, Anne : 
 
 Maiden and Married Life of Mary Powell ; Cherry and 
 
 Violet ; Household of Sir Thomas More ; The Fair Gos- 
 peller, (Anne Askew) ; The Old Chelsea Bun House. 
 Marlitt: 
 
 Gold Elsie ; Old Ma'amselle's Secret ; Princess of the 
 
 Moor. 
 Mitchell, Donald G. : 
 
 Reveries of a Bachelor ; Dream Life. 
 Mitford, Mary Russell : 
 
 Our Village. 
 Oliphant, Mrs. : 
 
 Chronicles of Carlingford ; The Athelings ; Katie Stewart ;
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. i8i 
 
 Oliphant, Mrs. : 
 
 Last of the Mortimers ; Mrs. Margaret Maitland ; Lil- 
 
 liesleaf ; Zaidee ; Perpetual Curate ; Miss Marjoribanks. 
 Prentiss, Mrs. : 
 
 Stepping Heavenward ; Aunt Jane's Hero. 
 Ruffini : 
 
 Doctor Antonio. 
 Sartoris, Mrs. A. Kemble : 
 
 A Week in a French Country House. 
 Scott, Sir Walter : 
 
 Waverley ; Ivanhoe ; Kenilworth ; Guy Mannering ; 
 
 Woodstock ; The Abbot ; The Monastery ; Rob Roy ; 
 
 Legend of Montrose ; Fortunes of Nigel ; The Pirate ; 
 
 Old Mortality ; The Antiquary ; Quentin Durvvard ; 
 
 Peveril of the Peak ; The Talisman ; Legends of the 
 
 Scottish Border ; Poetical Works. 
 Sewell, Miss E. M. : 
 
 Amy Herbert ; Earl's Daughter ; Laneton Parsonage ; 
 
 Experience of Life. 
 Sedgwick, C. M. : Hope Leslie. 
 Stowe, Mrs. H. B. : 
 
 Uncle Tom's Cabin ; Minister's Wooing ; Old Town 
 
 Folks ; Pink and White Tyranny ; Agnes of Sorrento ; 
 
 Pearl of Orr's Island ; Little Pussy Willow. 
 Tautphceus, Baroness : The Initials ; Quits. 
 Taylor, Bayard : 
 
 Hannah Thurston ; Story of Kennett ; Joseph and his 
 
 Friend.
 
 1 82 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Thackeray, William M. ; 
 
 Vanity Fair; Pendennis ; The Newcomes ; Henry Es- 
 mond ; The Virginians ; The Adventures of Philip. 
 Thackeray, Miss: 
 
 The Village on the Cliff; Story of Elizabeth ; Tales. 
 Trollope, Anthony : 
 
 Barchester Towers ; Doctor Thome ; Framley Parsonage ; 
 
 The Claverings. 
 Tytler, Sarah: 
 
 Citoyenne Jacqueline ; Huguenot Family ; Papers for 
 
 Thoughtful Girls ; Sweet Counsel for Girls. 
 Ware, William : 
 
 Aurelian ; Zenobia ; Julian. 
 Warner, Misses A. and S. : 
 
 The Wide, Wide World; Queechy ; Hills of the Shate- 
 
 muc. 
 Whitney, Mrs. A. D. T. : 
 
 Faith Gartney's Girlhood ; Leslie Goldthwaite ; We 
 
 Girls. 
 Yonge, Miss C. M. : 
 
 Heir of Redclyffe ; Clever Woman of the Family ; The 
 
 Castle Builders ; Heartsease. 
 
 Poetry. 
 This list is composed of Poems published by 
 themselves in illustrated volumes. They will 
 also be found in the poetical works of the best
 
 Catalogue of Books Recommended. 183 
 
 authors already mentioned, but in this form 
 are more attractive to the general reader, and 
 suitable for gift books. 
 
 Tales of a Wayside Inn Longfellow. 
 
 Idyls of the King Alfred Tennyson. 
 
 In Memoriam Alfred Tennyson. 
 
 The Vagabond Trowbridge. 
 
 Nothing to Wear W. A. Butler. 
 
 The Culprit Fay J. R. Drake. 
 
 The Deserted Village Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
 Lucille Owen Meredith. 
 
 Bothwell Aytoun. 
 
 Elegy in a Country Church-yard Gray. 
 
 Snow Bound Whittier. 
 
 Among the Hills Whittier. 
 
 Lyra Americana 
 
 Lyra Anglicana 
 
 Lyra Germanica 
 
 Hymns of the Ages, (three volumes) 
 
 Reliques of Old English Poetry Percy. 
 
 Reynard the Fox Goethe. 
 
 Katrina J. G. Holland. 
 
 Ancient Spanish Ballads Lockhart. 
 
 Lost Tales of Miletus Lord B. I-ytton. 
 
 Paradise Lost Milton. 
 
 Poetical Works Walter Scott.
 
 1 84 What Shall I Read? 
 
 Poetical Works Wm. C. Br) ant. 
 
 Poetical Works H. W. Longfellow. 
 
 Poetical Works J. G. Whittier. 
 
 Poetical Works Mrs. Browning. 
 
 Poems Thos. Campbell, 
 
 Poetical Works Cowper. 
 
 Dante, (translated by) Gary. 
 
 Poems Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 Poetical Works Merrick. 
 
 Poems O. W. Holmes. 
 
 Poetical Works Thomas Hood. 
 
 Poetical Works Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
 Poems Jean Ingelow. 
 
 Lays of Ancient Rome Macaulay. 
 
 Poems, by Schiller, (translated by) Lord B. Lytton. 
 
 Poetical Works Lowell. 
 
 Poems Gray. 
 
 Poetical Works Gerald Massey. 
 
 Poems Milton. 
 
 Poems Dinah Mulock. 
 
 Poems Adelaide North. 
 
 Poetical Works Southey. 
 
 Poems Chris. Rosetti. 
 
 Poems V Samuel Rogers. 
 
 Religious Poems Mrs. Stowe. 
 
 Poems Alfred Tennyson. 
 
 Poems Wordsworth.
 
 Catalogue of Books Recoinniatded. 185 
 
 Collections of Poetry. 
 
 British Poets from Chaucer to Wordsworth. Child. 
 
 Household Book of Songs Bowman & Dana, 
 
 Library of Poetry and Song Bryant. 
 
 Companion Poets. Illustrated 
 
 Household Book of Poetry C. A. Dana. 
 
 Poets and Poetry of Europe Longfellow. 
 
 Poets and Poetry of America R. W. Griswold. 
 
 Folk Songs J. W. Palmer. 
 
 Sacred Music of the Nineteenth Century. Willmott. 
 
 Book of Laws, (edited by) S. C. Hall. 
 
 Home Affections Portrayed by Poets (Illus.) C. Mackay. 
 
 Homer's Iliad, (translated) 
 
 Virgil's ^neid Cranch. 
 
 Dante's Inferno Cary. 
 
 Books of Natural History. 
 
 Quadrupeds of America Audubon. 
 
 Birds of America Audubon. 
 
 American Ornithology Wilson. 
 
 Our Own Birds Bailey. 
 
 Actcca. First Lessons in Natural History. Mrs. Agassiz. 
 
 Adventures of a Young Naturalist L. Biart. 
 
 Wake Robin- John Burroughs. 
 
 Child's Book of Nature W. Hooker. 
 
 Houses Without Hands J. G. Wood. 
 
 Our Feathered Friends J. G. Wood.
 
 1 86 What Shall I Read ? 
 
 Natui il History J. G. Wood. 
 
 Curiosities of Natural History F. Buckland. 
 
 Seaside Studies in Natural History E. C. & A. Agassi^ 
 
 Chapters on Animals P. G. Hamerton. 
 
 Glaucus Wonders of Sea and Land. . . . Chas. Kingsley. 
 
 The Bird. (Illustrated) Michelet. 
 
 Nat'vral H'story of Cage Birds Beckstein. 
 
 History Primers. 
 
 History of Europe Freeman. Ed. by J. R. Green. 
 
 Old Greek Life 
 
 History of Greece C. A. Fyffe. " " 
 
 Geography George Grove. " " 
 
 Classical Geography H. F. Toyer. " " 
 
 Literature Primers. 
 
 English Literature S. A. Brooke. Ed. by J. R. Green. 
 
 Philology John Peek. '* " 
 
 THE END.
 
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 Every Methodist, it matters not to what branch of the Methodist family 
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