The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1890-08-21
Good Books for Boys.

Boys want stories that begin at
once, says the N Y. Ece7ung san. On
this account the preliminary intro
duction which disfigures most of
Scott's novels is distaste.ul 10 them.
The Talisman,n for instance, is a
marvelously good story for Il boy TO
read were it not for the tedious ac-
count of the journey OF the hero of the
tale through the deserts of Palestine.
''lvanhoe" is perhaps Tie only work
of Scott which is entirely free from
this objection. From the time that
Ivanhoe meets Gurth, the swineherd,
and Wanda, the jester, to the close of
the book there is not Il dull page in it.
Robin Hood. Little John, Friar Tuck,
and Richard l. appear in the veritable
flesh. Isaac the jew is clothed in all
the virtues of his race. Even the
sluggish Athelstane is made known to
us as he was. 54--
The only other novel of Scott which
BOYS find Interesting is 'Quentin Dur
ward" The book begins with the mar.
row escape of the hero from hanging,
and the mingled shrewdness and su-
perstition of Louis XI. is interesting
tnrOupnout tnc Dook. -e-a
The best of Marryat's novels are
books which no boy can afford to neg
lect. The fun in them has the effer-
vescence of champagne. Who can for
get the absurdies of Mr.. Midslipman
Easy with his articles of war? Then
his marvellous triangular duel and his
petticoat flag appeal to every boy with
a grain of humor in his imposition.
''Japhet.in Search. of a Father is
another work of Malryat we'll worth
reading. The humorous picture of
the Quakers contained in that book is
always fresh. Jacob Faithful gives
good picture of the life of the Thames
waterman century ago, and New
ton Foster capital account of life in
the merchant service.
Il. M. Ballantyne has written some
excellent books for boys. The best of
them is The Coral Island" A boy
has no difficulty in seeing with his
own eyes Peterkin, Jack, and Ralph
passing the long summer days on one
of the South Pacific islands. Every
now and then there is mad rush to
bathe in the limpid waters of the
lagoon. The sequel to the Coral
Island" called the Gorilla Hunters"
is not nearly so good.
In "Erling the Bold by the same
author, there if a good picture of
America during its colonization by the
NOrseman Il thousand years ago. How
they came here and dwelt here, and
finally went home again, is there fully
set down.
Two old-fashioned books deserve
mention on account of their populari ty
in the past. The Scottish Chiefs"
gives the history of the heroic Wallace
without any serious departure from
the truth. est. Clair of the Isles is
charming story of the career of
Scottish outlaw duriug the early years
of the Stuart dynasty.
Speaking of novels which have a his
toric side to them brings up the name
of Bulwer Lytton. In Harold is
picture ol the last of the Saxon kings
and of the disastrous battle of Hast
ings. No boy will have his notions of
history warped by reading this book.
In The last of the Barons,'' too, a
boy will find much that is interesting
abont the first and last ''king-makern
that England ever had.
Every one knows THE Last Days of
Pompeii," in which the destruction of
Herculaneum and Pompeii is graph
ically described. But THE Gladi-
ators," by Maj. Whyte-Melville, is a
much more interesting book, well fit
ted for boys reading. In fact, the
works of W hyte-Melville are too much
neglected nowadays.