The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-27
BY Mrs. A. C. Ellison.

end or the continent, TO Ine otnef, yet
lit remains a fact that large number
of boys and girls enter and 60 thru the
high school with scarcely q ghost OF
discrimination of what. constitutes
literature. They can read well enough,
they probably have read volumes and
series galore until they resemble some
what the man who Hwho had piled SO
not move.' Merely to read will no.
more usher one into that inner circle Of
good literature than will the "exist-
ence ofe1egs bring two minds nearer to
thinking evolves from the habit of read,
ing, then will books take their -rlghttul
place in the curriculum of life. There
is no special reason why this should not
Z be the case, save for lack of some bench
cent scheme of consigning to perdlt1on
the printed stuff that creates natural
contempt for one s intellect after read
ING it, and renders absence OF thought
virtue.
s Vitality in Good Literature.
Fortunately there is vitality IN
good literature that makes 1T outllVe all
the rest, and which has been sent into
the world 70 enhance it's joy, upllft Its
ideals, and relieve it from mental pov-
erty. 1t is free and noble birth
right for all who can make it their own,
and those who claim it take into their
/ lives possession which no later cir
eumstances can transcend. LIRE can
never be wholly dull after reading Ivan
hoe and Scott should come early into life,
for he stimulates the Imagination ana
brings into reality the historical
Characters he flashes upon the scenes.
siThe Lay of the Last Minstrel, - ''The
r Lady of the Lake, and "Marmlon "
are all song stories with an atmosphere
that appeals especially to youth; ,'Ihe
s Last Days Of Pompeii, :" " Harold and
last of the Barons, WhAe e not Hha air
terpieces of literature, yet from their
universal popularity and HISTORICAL set
ting are among the books that should be
known Thaekeray''s human ana
way to his masterpiece Henry, Is
mond,' altho the latter requires mature
discrimination thoroly to apprecl i1 !;
Goldsmith $ "Vicar Of Wakefeld,,,,,
SG PeIiS Ho dlo' and The The Mill on the
Floss Blackmore Is. lorna Doone,' -
Edward Everett Hale s ''Man Without
Country, Ha GE 19aI na rMlce e
sssHvpatia, Harriet Martlneau s
!tPeasant and Prince santine's .Pic.
S cioIa,' "Undine' by La Motto
5 ETouuue, and the inimitable Don
OnixoteD and "Adventures of Baron
IMnnchausen' will fill the life with
such genial, gracious, vital images that
there wilf@ be scant room for the vapld
Elsie or Diamond Dick creations.
saH., stevenson's Place.
Robert Louis Stevenson fits into every
age From the magic Of his pen ano
the largeness of his sympathy are spun
stories SO matchless in grace, IN
=. strength and interest that they reach
hiohWater mark in romantic literature
His essay on the gentleman, ms IS cary
with a Donkey are. full OF potent
forces to mold the. taste, and are alto
gether delightful to read.
John L. Stoddard s lectures are alse
delightful companions; few books OF
travel equal them in interest and prae
tical information. They. have an at
!. mosphere of charm and literary styie
quite their own. when unco1eeiousil
Stimulates taste for good readlng an(
inIaces them, among the books thai
'i s do. not think that Dickens is al
ocoIired TASTE People seem TO o.
Rom either with or without love To-
him. but boy or girl who can clam Ia
him for friend enters into fr r
whatever epithet may be aserlbed -
his Characters, they will still renal
among. the verities long after thel
critics have moldered away. lmag1na
five literature of the above, sor
nlavs - natural and wholesom
bari in Ahe - development O
Esyouth. We touch the eternal IN on
love of romance, the instinct TO rgacl
out after the deaI seems ever to abld
with us. Romance came with the tWl
i light of the race and is as vital toda;
as Yesterday. dwelling where maj
dwelis, and threading his Life Wit
meaning and mystery. While loVe T. TO
The essay will come later IN: LIE: tne Pc:
and girl should miss not their slhtto
duction to Sir Rog Ter de eoverly, wIls
IS sure to ripen into a loving 'acqualn1r
ance. Kipling, like Stevenson: can b.
read at any age, and his Jungle Book
are as ENJOYABLE at this age as an
other. while tNThe Man Who Would =
King ranks among the best OF al
short stories. ...,.* ..>-- -
Historical Reading ~0 ~%'
While romance forms an undercurren
afsIife. there should come into the plas
ticity of youth impressions Of the me
and events that make history. 1
study. history at school is chiefly t
memorize dates, generally at the rat a
of several centuries month, but It tn
boy and the girl can bring into thel
~ horizon certain" salient cudfdotelo q II
events that have helped to. shape tn
world, these dates, with their sufferln
acquisition will take on new sle
nifcance. The love Of ancient hlstor
can be stimulated by an introductlo
s thru Plutarch IS Lives. There is so niue
/. in Grecian and Roman history that al
peals to the enthusiasm Of youth Lit
was no more real then than today, but
threw itself into objectivity with MOI
# yiyidness, and created it's own calciul
lights. IF Alexander the Great shout
start out now to conquer the world 9
his own behalf, he would be prompt
intercepted by the powers, and 500
find his st. Helena, but he is altogethe
alluring to read about, and so is th
battle of Thermopylae and Maratho
81 and Xenophon and his famous retrea
# and the careers of Cesar and :Hanniba
as are other interesting people an
events - #
Discriminating Skipping. &
1t is not necessary to read the who
of Grote's or Gibbon s or Lidell IS
any other long histories entire; IL
ability to skip should imply the abilit
to discriminate. Motley's ttRise
the Dutch Republic y will seem volir
fnous, but William the Silent will. /
discovered there Macaulay's will see
II. too learned, but he has made immort
William the Third of England, ar
thrown into vivid relief that critic