Evening star., 1924-11-05

leave the Bible out Of this list. How
ever one approaches II, 1t Is great be-
yond all questioning, and contains
immortal writing that every man
ought to know Intimately. Tor the
purpose Of this reader. "The Modern
Readers Bible" edited by Prof. Moul-
ton. is probably the best He will find
the treatment OF the texts therein
more interesting than In the orthodox
volume with its numbered verses
Robert Louis Stevenson's "Virgini-
bus Puerisque," and other papers
usually contained in the same volume,
gives one taste of charming essay
one with the intelligence manifested
by the inquirer.
Does this sound dry:
old and young, we are all on our
last cruise" writes r. L. S. in
Grabbed Age and Youth" one of the
essays in the volume. III there is a
I'LL OF tobacco among the crew, for
GODS sake pass it round, and let us
have pipe before we gor Or those
lines from "El Dorado:
20 touing hands of mortals! o un-
wearied feet, travelling ye know not
whittier! Soon, soon, 1t seems to you,
you must come forth on some con-
spicuous hilltop, and but a little way
further, against the setting sun, des-
cry the spires Of Ell Dorado. Little
do We know your own blessedncss: for
to travel hopefully Is a better thing
than to arrive, and tho true success is
to labor"
Walt "hitman's. Leaves of Grass"
goes in for its novelty and worth.
Walt is the wild man of literature. /
do not know whether you can call his
stuff poetry or not, but you have to
call it something. Listen to this:
exist as l am--that is enough:
If no other in tie world be aware. + sit
content;
And II each and all be aware, I et. content;
One world is aware, and by far the largest
to me. and that is myself;
And whether / come to my own today, or in
ten thousand or ten million yearB.
can cheerfuIy take II, now with equal
cheerfulness l can wait.
Herbert Spencers "Education'' ought
to be read a great deal more than it
is, particularly by parents. 1t brings
out the true basis Of life, and places
the components in their proper places.
Nor is it a bit dull to the inquiring
mind.
l put in Dumas Three Musketeers'
to liven up the list, also because it is
great book of its kind. THE
Queens Necklace" or "Chevalier de
Maison Rouge" would have been
about as good.
"Babbitt" was included because, in
the opinion of this particular COM
piler, il is perhaps the great Ameri-
can novel" Time will tell. Certainly
1t is a stirring picture of our life, one
great deal truer in outline than
many will admit.
Old Benjamin Franklin penned q
great work when he set down his
life and thoughts in his "Autobiog-
raphy." Every American ought to
read it, There is much Improvement
of mind. as well as entertainment, in
its pages.
The Christmas Caror' must so in
the list, because 1t is the greatest
story Of it's kind in all literature. No
matter how many times one has read
It, he can read il again with ever
renewing delight, especially just be-
fore Christmas.
II G.. Wells Outline Of History"
gained such celebrity that many for
get that in 1922 he issued "A Short
History of the World" which in some
respects is better than the outline.
My tenth selection may seem a
strange one to some, but 1 make no
apology for putting 1t in. 1t is a
splendid piece Of work, by a child of
IL years, as every one knows 1t
seems appropriate that list which
begins with the Bible should end with
the poems Of a little child.