The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-10-13
WHAT SHOULD CHILDREN READ

H. NJ Alden. In Hapcrs Magazine
The indiscriminate reading by these
very young people Of even the best ad-
vanced fiction should be deprecated
George Meredith. Thomas Hardy. Henry
James. and the novelists who have fol-
lowed in similar lines. have had no such.
audience in view, and would not natural
ly appeal to it. or all the Victorian
novelists, Dickens especially commends
himself 10 the child. while Thackerev
and Ainsworth are especially to be rec
commended, along with Sir Walter Scott.
OF an earlier period. for their vivid and
mastery portraiture Of bygone page
antry
The child. without judicious guidance
would select OF current literature the
worst. while the most distinctivelv mod
ern examples are unsuited 10 it, reouir-
Ing maturity for their appreciation. The
really new literature is. for the most
part remote from the ready appreciation
Of the child. II is Just that Spectacular
that romanucally picturesque. and pic
turesQuely romantic world which the new
literature has abandoned that IS. and
should be. the cherished possession Of the
youthful Imagination.
II is In books that his youthful iu1apins.
ton must find its main satisfaction. es-
pecially in the great old books. The
present revival Of pageantry. which NAV
| be called revival only in a general
sense since our pageants are. in their
whole scheme and motive different from
those witnessed in former times. being
contrived rather than spontaneous has.
and Is Intended 20 have. a distinct edu-
cauonal value for the young. quicken
ing their interest in the historic past
not only recalling critical events. but
in vivid appeal 70 the eve. giving them
their old picturesque habit and color.
| The spectacle tempts TO the reading Of
history for a deeper sense Of the hidden
meaning. But history need not be ptIr-
sued by the child for fun and precise
/ Information, and still less Cor philo-
sophcal Interpretation. II may well be
merely an impressive drama until a later
| period. Plutarch and ROIlin served in
ancient history most Of the BOYS from
the middle Of the eighteenth TO the mid
die Of the nineteenth century. The an
/ peal 20 the chllds Imagination through
the masterpieces Of past literature. in
I GLIDING the Bible and Shakespeare s
plays. whatever else is left out, is the
most essential thing Ceramics Don
! Quixote' should supplement the Waiver
| ley novels. II is 20 be regretted that the
study Of Latin and Greek has lost its
| old place in the early training Of chill
dren. But. if not in the original. Homer
and Virgil should be read In the best
TRANSACTIONS. Greek mythology seems in
dispensable, and that Of the Northern
races is hardly less important for its
| imaginative values. and though not so
| intimately associated with all classic
poetry from Homer to Tennyson. is
closely blended with the heroic and 70
mantle legends Of our pagan forebears.
and has now a fresh significance from
the development of Nibelungen themes IN
the modern opera. Folklore tales-ln-
Guiding the ever-cherished fairy store
from the ancient Metamorphoses to
Uncle Remus. are the native heritage OF
children. and 10 a great extent freely
shared by them before they learn their
letters