The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-14
"THE SIX BEST SELLERS"

and every other passage (almost) marked with a deep black mark. scottish Chiefs" in bright blue and gold letters running zigzaggy like; a little brown copy of George Sands Ire verino," and next to 1t just knocking 1t silly in the "color scheme" was Bailey's "Festus." which. of course, never attacked except when mentally l rabid; and even then g little bit of 1t went long old way; and them a ma room colored copy of David Copper field. with all the funny 'illustrations' that proclaim Dickens uneauivocally, even if there were no words. every page of which was limpia with kisses and tear stains. l Think of writing a book that mere | slip of a girl would kiss and kiss and sned tears overl Oh. sweet. sweet re- wardl Oh. dear reward of famei
 Then there was 'Kenilworth" and "The Lady of the Lake" and Rob Roy" and "Gulliver's Travels" and "The Mill on the Floss" and .rMiddlemarch" and 1 Daniel Deronda' and Shakespeare's Prose Stories Adapted for Young | Readers by Mrs. Jameson. Later when reciting "The Casket Scene" from Shy. 1 lock, imagining myself veritable in- l carnation of the lovely Portia, I had d real, rightly. honest-to- goodness copy of "Shylock' done in soft flexible leather beautifully and tastefully | bound!
 I Of course trere were books galore Hike "rhe Arabian Nights" Haw- thorne's Wonder Book" Kingley's '"water Babies" and what do you think most seductive edition of that nursery Gaboriau. '"who Killed Cock Robin" which had been given to my father by a travelling revivalist who stayed at our house when he conducted a meeting"
 There was Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson" and 'The | Last of the Mohicans'' and Washington Irving's books and lovely books of poetry and my little old worn, rusty "Bible." which my rather knew by heart-any passage anywhere he could quote. or if you quoted it. he could tell you the book. the chapter and fre- quently the verse, so great Bible scholar was he. and so much did he love the Bible.
 Those were halcyon years of "books'' and reading and leisure childhood days in country village, beautiful thoughts , and literary ambitions, before the but terfly days that robbed ambition of its love and adoration of books to some extent. for a short time.
 Those were the books of the yesteryeal --the girls. book-and now let's peep 1 moment at the children books of generation ago-their aim and purpose.
 Take for instance those of Mrs. Bar , bauid, who may be included in that groul of men and women who completely al tered the style of teaching and writin : for children-Rousseau. q. Genlis. MT; lEdgeworth -Jacotot, Froebel and Diester ' veg all great teachers-didactic, deadly ldun Mrs Barbauld. who composed, as on lof her biographers tells us, "a consider able number of miscellaneous pieces fc lthe instruction and amusement of youn ipersons, especially females"
 Who can ever forget those Early Les
 sons." written for her adopted so
 Charles, who appeared in the page som'
 times in a state of hopeless ignoranf
 and imbecility. and sometimes clad tthe wisdom of the ancients? The use ( the offensive phrase "excessively pretty,
 as applied to a lace tidy by very tin
 female named Lucy, brings down upo
 her sinful head eleven pages of sue noralizing as would only be delivered
 a modern mamma on hearing confe
 sion of robbery or murder.
 Charles Lamb exclaims in whin
 sical burst of spleen: 'Goody Tv
 Shoes is out of print, while Mrs. Ba
 baulds and Mrs, Trimmer's nonsense IL in piles around. Hang them-the curse
 reasoning crew, those blights and bias
 of all that Is human in man and child Miss Edgeworth.has what seems to U
 in these days. the same overplus of su Lime purpose. and. though much great writer, Is quite as desirous of being il
 structive. first, last and all the time. al
 quite as unable ir unwilling to veil h
 purpose.
 People may say what they like of Mi
 Edgeworth's lack of proportion as a mo
 alist and economist. but we have few wri
 CTS for children at present who posse
 the practical knowledge, mental viz
 and moral force which made her .
 imposing figure in juvenile literature f lnearly century.
 I would not choose too absolutely for
 child save In his earliest years. but wou
 rather surround him with the best as
 worthiest books. and let him choose f himself. was telling bedtime stories the oth