What books to lend and what to give

by Charlotte M. Yonge

ALLEGORIES AND ALLEGORICAL TALES.

Too many allegories are not desirable, nor should they even be pressed upon those who do not accept them readily. To the imaginative, who are perhaps two-thirds of the people we deal with, they are an excellent and persuasive mode of teaching and influencing. The remaining third at first take them for fact, as people did in mediæval times by the stories of St. Christopher or St. Margaret, and when the delusion is dispelled feel resentment, as if deceived; or else they look on the allegory either as a tale meant to cheat them into being instructed or as an irreverent riddle. Any way, when forced on them, it gives a sense of unreality which is, above all, what they dislike, and which may damage even their feeling for the truths thus represented.

Too many allegories, even for the most receptive readers, are undesirable, and among those here mentioned, it may be wiser to make a choice.

335. The Pilgrim’s Progress. By John Bunyan. (Macmillan) 4s. (Nelson) 1s., 2s., and 5s. (R.T.S.) 1s., 1s. 6d., 2s. 6d. (Nisbet) 1s., 1s. 6d., 2s., 2s. 6d., 3s. 6d.

In spite of all its peculiarities, the king of allegories must be admitted. It is not likely that Bunyan’s doctrines will do any harm, though for these purposes we do regret that Dr. Neale’s edition, arranged for Church people, is out of print.

336. Agathos. By Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. (Seeley) 6d., 1s., and 2s. 6d.

337. The Rocky Island. By Bishop Samuel Wilberforce. (Seeley) 6d., 1s., and 2s. 6d.

‘Agathos’ itself ought to be read to every child at the right age either on Advent Sunday or the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, the other parables in like manner.

338. The Shadow of the Cross. By the Rev. W. Adams. (Rivingtons) 1s.

339. The Distant Hills, and The King’s Messengers. By the Rev. W. Adams. (Rivingtons) 1s. each.

340. The Old Man’s Home. By the Rev. W. Adams. (Rivingtons)

Separately 1s. each, altogether 5s.

The third is rather an exquisite dreamy story than an allegory, but the two first are of the very best and most practical description.

341. The Dark River. By the Rev. E. Monro. (Masters)

342. The Vast Army. By the Rev. E. Monro. (Masters)

343. The Combatants. By the Rev. E. Monro. (Masters)

344. The Revellers. By the Rev. E. Monro. (Masters)

345. The Journey Home. By the Rev. E. Monro. (Masters) Separately 1s. each, collected 7s. 6d.

‘The Dark River’ has been known to terrify nervous children. ‘The Combatants’ and ‘The Vast Army’ are very inspiriting and practical.

346. The Story of the Red Cross Knight. (Nelson) 1s. 6d.

Spenser’s allegory told in conversations between an aunt and some children.

347. The Giants, and how to fight them. (Nelson) 1s.

Forms of evil, and lively practical lessons on how to meet them.

348. Truth in Tale. By Bishop Boyd Carpenter. (Macmillan) 4s. 6d.

Half allegories, half stories, some of them, such as the ‘White Flower,’ very beautiful. Excellently suited for short grave readings.

349. The Gate of Paradise. By Edith S. Jacob. (Rivingtons) 6d. and 1s.

350. The Vision of the Holy Child. By Edith S. Jacob. (Rivingtons) 1s. 6d.

Very beautiful and touching dreams. The first is either appropriate for Easter Eve or to a house of recent bereavement; the second is a Christmas vision.

351. Parables from Nature. By Mrs. Gatty. (S.P.C.K.) Four series, to be had at 7s. 6d. in 2 vols. Selections, 2 vols. 1s. each.

The Selections might be most useful, as some of the others are too difficult for the present purpose. No praise is needed for these. Several, if read with children, are very successful.

352. Earth’s Many Voices. (S.P.C.K.) 1st and 2nd Series. 2s. each.

In the style of Mrs. Gatty.

353. The Man on the Top of the Ark. (Nisbet) 1s.

The flood, the brazen serpent, and the city of refuge are here drawn out in their typical meaning. They are very effective. In the first, there is the serious defect that there is no explanation how to enter the ark, but to add the text, ‘The like figure whereunto even Baptism, etc.,’ gives the key.

354. The Golden Thread. By Dr. Norman McLeod. (Strahan) 2s. 6d.

A parable of life, so full of spirit and playfulness that children delight in it for the story alone.

355. The Lord of the Forest. By Mrs. Alexander. (Masters) 2s. 6d.

A tale with much allegory hidden within.

356. The Beautiful Face. By Mrs. Mitchell. (Masters) 4s. 6d.

A child’s romance with a hidden meaning so interesting that ‘Oh, that is pretty!’ the schoolchild’s highest praise, is admiringly whispered when it is read.

357. Coming. By Selina Gaye. (Seeley) 5s.

A very beautiful semi-allegory, with Swiss surroundings. Somewhat long, but of a very poetical and lofty tone, suited to readers of a more cultivated taste.

358. Sintram and his Companions. By La Motte Fouqué.

This most striking of allegorical tales cannot be omitted, when it is on record that it made such an impression on Charles Lowder’s boys that they actually named places in Ratcliffe Highway and London Docks from ‘The Castle of the Moon,’ ‘Rocks,’ &c. There was a small cheap edition published by Burns, the poems exquisitely translated. Hare’s translation, less good, has been published, illustrated by Mr. H. Sumner, by Seeley. 5s.

359. The Child’s Pilgrimage. By Frances Clare. (Skeffington) 2s. 6d.

Pretty little allegories and semi-allegories for children, tenderly and gracefully touched, though it is a pity the child’s departed spirit is called an angel.

360. A Beleaguered City. By Mrs. Oliphant. (Macmillan) 6s. There is something so deep and solemn in this book, founded on ‘Though one went unto them from the dead they will not repent,’ that it is added to the list, though it can only be understood by persons of thought and cultivation.