The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-07-05
TERMS $500 PER ANNUM, IN ADVANCE.

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delicate cuticle, through which, in bold relief,
the veins with their blush tint were plainly
visible. And just here comes in the question
of beauty which is more than we can discuss
this hot season. EBoRAcUs.
The librarians of the country have been
in session in Boston this week, discussing
cataloguing and shelving and like matters
with which they have an intimate concern.
The second day of the meeting was devoted
to the consideration of fiction and is influ-
ence upon young folks. There was a great
diversity of opinion. Some wanted library
rule that the cards given out to school chill
dren should have ''No Fiction marked up
on them. o hers thought that the teachers
books suitable for their pupils. Yet others
urged that the choice of books could be wise
ly left to the discretion of parents, who
might write Instructions upon the cards their
sons and daughters hold. Mr.. Charles Fran
els Adams, Jr.. who was among the speak
ers, looked upon the appetite for works of
fiction as healthy one, but was inclined to
doubt whether the purchase for general
reading of trashy and ephemeral literature,
especially fiction, is not an unjustifiable ex-
penditure of public money. He thought
that the furnishing of amusement was not
a proper function of government, and that
public institutions had as much right to sup
ply every one with theatre or concert or lee
tllra ticl-ots nc with fba naw novalc of tho
day. People who want to read those novels
should pay for them as they do for any 9th
er forms of amusement. The public library
should not invade the sphere of the circulat-
ing library, but should content itself with
putting upon its shelves and within the
reach of every one all the standard works
within its means. In conclusion he said,
much to Yorick's delight, that if he could
have but one book for a public library he
should select full set of Harpers Monthly.
Whatever we may think of the correctness
of his views in regard to the reading of con-
temporary fiction as an amusement which
the free library should not furnish we must
acknowledge that his suggestion is practical
The ''No Fiction" cards would be failures;
for if the forbidden books figured on the cat
alogues the young people would be wild to
see them. Nor would the pupils in the
schools consent to be governed by the choice
of their teachers in regard to their reading.
But if the new novels were not in the library
nor made tempting by prohibition they
would readily, in most cases, turn to the
books that were there. lii the standard nov
els which have received the approval of the
world they would find ample qualification of
their taste for fiction and thereafter reject
the trashy book because it would not please
them. One does not care for the elderberry
wine f the shops after forming the acquain-
tance of the Burgundy vintages.
The discussion in the meeting has an in
terest for us here in Portland. We have a
public library of moderate size and in the
main carefully selected The greater num-
ber of the books taken from it are works of
modern fiction. And here as elsewhere
the complaint is made that our children
devote too much of their time to this
branch of literature. We cannot now act
upon the suggestion made by Mr.. Adams
for the library is not free. 1t depends in
part for its support upon the yearly subscrip-
tions of citizens, and the subscribers demand
current fiction. Could the whole expense
be betrayed by the city government the Ii
brary might then adopt the plan outlined
above, and keep upon its shelves only STAN
dard works, thus becoming what it ought to
be, storehouse of information for the ben
eft Of all the people of the city, and free to
all. Perhaps under the present conditions
the city appropriation might be expended in
the purchase of standard works, while the
subscriptions are devoted TO the purchase of
ephemeral literature. But Yorick does not
know that this arrangement would be prac-
ticable.
One foolish suggestion was made by a
speaker the second day of the session, and
that was that pupils in the schools should be
questioned concerning the books they read
and required to summarize and analyze the
contents. No surer way to disgust child
with reading can be found. He comes
to look upon it as a task, shirks it, and ac-
quires distaste for books that will never
leave him. Another suggestion, that teach
ers familiarize pupils with reference books,
is wise and may proftably be acted upon by
parents. When the young people ask ques-
tions, take the reference books from the
shelves and let them aid you in the search
for information. Teach them what volumes
to consult, how to use indexes and tables of
contents. Familiarize them with gazet-
teers and aliases and special dictionaries
and lexicons. Accustom them to look for
themselves. Put them in the way of thor
oughly looking up any subject in which they
feel passing interest. If you haven't the
books, go with the children, or send them
to the public library, where the books are,
or ought to be. They thus learn to avail
themselves of the chief advantage of a pub
lie library, and grow to be thorough stu
dents.
An anonymous correspondent sends to
the Drawer tattered copy of the Universal
Advertiser, published semi-weekly at Boston
in 1901. At that time Napoleon Bonaparte
was First Consul of France, Europe was en-
enjoying few months of tranquility, and
the Peace of Amiens was in process of ne
gotiation. The Advertiser gives the follow
ing account of the celebration of the Fourth
of July at Cayenne, where the Americans
and French fraternized after the fashion of
those times:
The fourth of July was celebrated in Cay
enne by the Government
AT sunrise every gun on the Fort and diff
ferent batteries was fired. The French COM
modore fired sixteen guns and hoisted the
American ensign, which was also immedi-
ately displayed by all the French vessels in
the harbour: as many of the Americans as
could procure a national flag, hoisted it at
their fore-top gallant masthead, their own
colors flying at the main.
AT noon another salute. was fired by the
Commodore, and at four every American in
Cayenne, having been invited the preceding
day, repaired to the Government House, to
partake of a grand dl. ner given on the oc-
casion by Citizen VICTOR HUGUEs.
At the door of the Saloon, the American
colors of the right were entwined with the
tri colored standard so as to form an elegant
pavilion. At the entrance of the ON the