Grand Rapids morning telegram., 1885-03-09
NOVEL READING.
4 Few Suggestions 70 Boys By
Al Expert.
sons Of the Esn ENeets ~ toaiserikai-
.Aisly Ahs0rosas . III tiessslktsratxrs
-Isreal aaa kKsxgerstaa
Idea "a tils.


TIE sp1uee can u ekualtt au1 pOIthc1
again. bug oaly after much labor
TIE bus.aa mind, my isd, IS sponge,
and saAks up the good, had and indiffer-
eat With ths same relish.
The great trouble with novels j. the false
ideas ana vicious theories IL Is the same
" IN al serisl stories ia the so-eaiied boys'
papers and II is 80 certain extent In
many Of the boy books. Ia The nfst place
ths hoy. no matter what his age. Is always
made 10 perform feats of yalor which COM
mon sense teachss you Is impossible tie
never acts nor talks like toy. His ad-
veutures as hunter, detective or runaway
are too Improbable
Nevertheless, as you read you find your
self half believing at least, and the next
thing is 10 wonder why you can't be
hero. The ST ~ makes you dissatisfied
with school and home aud family govern
ment. and the first thought Is 10 run away
on plan some adventure. ks en II you say
10 yourself that you won't believe word
of the story, the mind viii still soak up
many OF the false theories and absurd
ideas, and later on in years il may cost
You something TO get rid of them.
IL stranger should tell you that, as he
was passing over certain bridge span
ming a creek, be saw gold watch lying
in the water, but was in too great IA hurry
TO stop, you would probably believe the
story. Ii you had positive proof that the
man was a brazen liar you would still find
yourself wondering how deep the water
was, who lost the watch and whether any
one had secured il. Your common sense
tells you there are no such beings as
ghosts, Tut you have read and heard of
them, and have probably expected 10 feel
them clutchlng at your throat.
A story which is put forth for boy to
read should, although it may be purely
fiction, contain nothing exaggerated or
improbable. The hero may be brave with
out OVERRIDING the thing. You may find
in the papers almost any day instances
where boys have displayed great heroism
at fires, or have risked their lives To save
others. These things are possible and
probable, hat this making a boy drive OF
a band OF Indians, or break up gang of
Lbers, or capture ship-load of pirates,
is against common sense.
Let me instancs some other evils. In a
book recently published by a very respect
able Eastern house, and having for its au-
thor a perso with "R-y." before his
name, he tells about sailor falling down
the middle compaaionway." He meant
hatchway, but some day some one of his
bov readers Will say something about the
"middle companionway" and find himself
the butt oil idcule. The same author
speaks of a sailor in his hammock. HAM
mocks are never used aboard of merchant
vessels, but the men have berths. He has
the crew gather around the man at the
wheel to sing and smoke and yarn it,
when every boy who ever heard of disci-
pIine aboard ship knows that no sailor is
ID trmitted aft unless called there by strict
duty.
/ In another book, put forth by an equally
respectable house, the length of the Mis-
sissippi River is wron .ly given. Arkan-
! sas is put on the wrong side of that river,
and the distance from Vicksburgh to
Baton Rouge is not correct by thirty miles.
! Such instances as have related befog a
boys mind and lead him into error, and he
had better have spent mis- time in playing
marbles.
Let me ask you how much better of you
would be to sit down in grocery for three
hours each evening and listen to some man
telling lies, knowing all the time they were
+ liesI Would that improve your mindg
Many of the novels are no more improving
than such grocery tales.
Now let me ask you what makes an in
/ telIigent, well-posted man? School educa =
ton, TO begin with. Ii we learned moth
ing after we LETT school the world would
slip backwards. His mind goes on, day
after day, week after week, picking up
scraps of history, politics, travel, botany,
astronomy, and So forth, and by and by he
is human encyclopaedia. He may read
love stories aad adventures all his days
and be no better off. Indeed, be will be
4 far worse of.
"Well, what shall boy rcadyr
There are one or two boy papers OF good
moral tone The heroes are not exagger-
ated, and the adven ures are not improba-
BILE. II the story is ot mining, the author
gives some valuable information in regard
to minerals and how to mine. Ii il is of
hunting you are tauzh how TO make
snares and traps, and are given the prin-
cipies OF tax dermy. II it is Of boating
you are taught the principles of sailing
and rowing. II il is Of the sea, you are
f given tue NoiTr1k uaiite- OA IDlft- STU Us
aud sails, and the habits and traits of the
people of other countries are correctly
stated.
There are a few boy books which are
true 70 every day life. Red these. and
II you have further time take his
tory. or something else which is certain
70 return some beneht-a daily paper
/ with its news from every foreign
country-its home happenings-its dis
cussions OF al mat ers of interests in
cideuts and accidents is &c grsphy, his
tory. grammar and OF biography com
biusd.
Think Of these things. my boy. II you
ware gong 20 be hoy forever the case
would Be different. Ne one would expect
anything great q yoa. Bat, az the years
roil on you have got 70 pick sp the COL
leses and factories and railroads aud gen
era tgs uess 81 the world and keep n em
n wing vii such trasl ss BaTai0
BisFs List Sao." or the "Deln - 81 The
Gai a" sd IN dtt.ns goa = carry oat the
trusts wkich wis - tsrnsi ever fy snd
fyf Nopr sxcase that y7a res q them r.
PASS swsy fine - poor one. Y0a have
~ right 20 thr0u s~av an hour's tine e