The connection between geography and history on the one hand and literature on the other is most intimate. In the first place nearly all our knowledge of history must come through reading, and while we learn our geography most accurately through travel and observation, but a small part of our information comes through those channels. We read incessantly of our own country and others, we fill our minds with visions of plants, animals and the peoples of foreign lands from the facts we gather from the papers, magazines and books. If most of our facts come through reading it is no less true that most of our real interest in geography and history comes not from the facts of our text-books but from the literature we have read, the literature that clothed those facts and made them real and living. Ask yourselves what gave you your first real interest in the history of Scotland and see if your answer is not, “The novels of Scott.” Again, where did you get your first adequate ideas of chivalry and the feudal system if it was not from Ivanhoe or some similar piece of literature? What makes the Crimean War a household word in the homes of two continents if it is not the deeds of Florence Nightingale and Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade? Who can tell most of the Battle of Waterloo, he who has read the facts of history or he who has read Byron’s thrilling poem and the description by Victor Hugo? Who knows the English home as it was? He who reads Goldsmith’s Deserted Village.

It is in furnishing those literary masterpieces that give life to geography and inspiration to history that Journeys Through Bookland gives the best of assistance to boys and girls in their school work. Some of its selections will give facts and many of them, but the facts form the smaller part of the contribution. History is valuable only as it enables us to understand the present, thrills us with the accomplishments of the past and teaches us how to live and act in the future. No man is so wrapped up in business that he does not heed the charm of noble deeds and fails to be moved by glorious achievement. Some histories are literature in themselves and have the inspiring quality we crave, but most of them are too dry and scientific to afford much interest to the child. So the greater part of our selections are not from the books that are called real history but from those which appeal to the imagination and stir the soul. Geographical teaching is likewise indirect in Journeys but it is none the less helpful and inspiring. To prove the truth of these statements we have only to present what the books contain and show how the selections may be used.

It does not seem wise to separate the two subjects too widely, for they are closely related and intimately interwoven in almost all reading. There are, it is true, some masterpieces that may be considered purely geographical and others that are as entirely historical, but these will be easily identified. Yet for ease and readiness in locating them we append a list of nearly one hundred selections and classify them in a simple manner:

  1. 1. Largely geographical.
  2. a. Juvenile poems with geographical allusions, or based on geographical facts:
  3. (1) The Suns Travels, Volume I, page 68.
  4. (2) Singing, I, 83.
  5. (3) Foreign Lands, I, 130.
  6. (4) At the Seaside, I, 129.
  7. (5) Old Gaelic Lullaby, I, 203.
  8. (6) Where Go the Boats? I, 256.
  9. (7) Foreign Children, I, 351.
  10. (8) Keepsake Mill, I, 349.
  11. (9) Windy Nights, II, 123.
  12. (10) Picture Books in Winter, II, 87.
  13. (11) The Child’s World, II, 66.
  14. b. Stories and poems that describe places or people in Europe and some of their customs and modes of life:
  15. (1) The Tree, Volume I, page 301.
  16. (2) The Snow Maiden, I, 257.
  17. (3) The Snow Queen, II, 124.
  18. (4) The Skeleton in Armor, V, 327.
  19. (5) Rab and His Friends, VI, 99.
  20. (6) The Governor and the Notary, VII, 20.
  21. (7) Don Quixote, VII, 431.
  22. (8) The Alhambra, VIII, 153.
  23. (9) Ascent of the Jungfrau, IX, 1.
  24. (10) The Cotters Saturday Night, VIII, 319.
  25. c. Fanciful legends with geographical interests:
  26. (1) Why the Sea Is Salt, Volume II, page 484.
  27. (2) Origin of the Opal, II, 480.
  28. d. A Story from Japan.
  29. (1) The Mirror of Matsuyana, Volume II, page 36.
  30. e. A story of longitude:
  31. (1) Three Sundays in a Week, Volume VI, page 453.
  32. f. Plants or plant life:
  33. (1) The Potato, Volume II, page 467.
  34. (2) Trees and Ants That Help Each Other, VII, 306.
  35. (3) A Bed of Nettles, VIII, 209.
  36. g. Animal life:
  37. (1) Salmon Fishing, VII, 285.
  38. (2) Winter Animals, VII, 293.
  39. (3) Trees and Ants That Help Each Other, VII, 306.
  40. (4) Owls, IX, 229.
  41. (5) Elephant Hunting, VI, 385.
  42. (6) Some Clever Monkeys, VI, 402,
  43. (7) The Buffalo, VII, 96.
  44. (8) A Gorilla Hunt, VII, 247.
  45. (9) Brute Neighbors, VII, 260.
  46. (10) The Pond in Winter, VII, 280.
  47. h. Natural phenomena:
  48. (1) The Cloud, Volume VII, page 257.
  49. 2. Indians and their habits. The selections are either historical or geographical or both.
  50. a. The Arickara Indians. (A description of the habits and customs of one of the western tribes.) Volume IV, page 472.
  51. b. Reminiscences of a Pioneer. (This contains a few interesting anecdotes of Indians and many incidents of pioneer life.) Volume V, page 340.
  52. c. Black Hawk Tragedy. (A very interesting biographical and historical sketch.) Volume VII, page 58.
  53. d. An Exciting Canoe Race. (A story of the New York Indians at an early day.) Volume VII, page 79.
  54. e. David Crockett in the Creek War. (An interesting account of southern Indians and their wars.) Volume VIII, page 37.
  55. 3. Biography. The selections in this group consist of anecdotal sketches, brief biographies, extracts from longer works, and a few poems.
  56. a. Authors of the United States and of foreign countries:
  57. (1) Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume I, page 128.
  58. (2) Eugene Field, I, 242.
  59. (3) Hans Christian Andersen, II, 81.
  60. (4) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, IV, 62.
  61. (5) Alice and Phoebe Cary, IV, 116.
  62. (6) Nathaniel Hawthorne, IV, 180.
  63. (7) Sir Walter Scott, VI, 26.
  64. (8) John Greenleaf Whittier, VII, 381.
  65. (9) William Cullen Bryant, VII, 391.
  66. (10) Oliver Wendell Holmes, VII, 398.
  67. (11) James Russell Lowell, VII, 411.
  68. (12) Washington Irving, VIII, 216.
  69. (13) Charles and Mary Lamb, VIII, 328.
  70. b. Biblical Characters:
  71. (1) The Story of Joseph, Volume I, page 456.
  72. (2) The Story of Esther, II, 448.
  73. (3) David, IV, 274.
  74. (4) Ruth, VI, 143.
  75. c. The author of many fables:
  76. (1) Aesop, Volume II, page 1.
  77. d. English history:
  78. (1) Alfred the Great, Volume IV, 260.
  79. (2) Queen Victoria, VII, 152.
  80. (3) Florence Nightingale, IX, 13.
  81. e. American history:
  82. (1) George Rogers Clark, Volume VI, page 422.
  83. (2) David Crockett in the Creek War, VIII, 37.
  84. (3) Père Marquette, VIII, 121.
  85. (4) Abraham Lincoln, IX, 324.
  86. f. Roman history:
  87. (1) Julius Cæsar, Volume IX, page 126.
  88. 4. Myths from several sources:
  89. a. Grecian and Roman:
  90. (1) Atalanta’s Race, Volume I, page 386.
  91. (2) Baucis and Philemon, I, 431.
  92. (3) The Golden Touch, II, 43.
  93. (4) The Chimera, II, 173.
  94. (5) The Story of Phaethon, II, 206.
  95. (6) The Queen of the Underworld, II, 468.
  96. (7) Cupid and Psyche, III, 365.
  97. b. Northern Europe:
  98. (1) How the Wolf was Bound, II, 91.
  99. (2) The Death of Balder, II, 99.
  100. (3) The Punishment of Loki, II, 111.
  101. (4) Beowulf and Grendel, III, 350.
  102. c. Miscellaneous:
  103. (1) Stories of the Creation, Volume IV, page 159.
  104. 5. Legendary heroes. The following selections give vivid ideas of the great national heroes whose reputed deeds have been an inspiration to hosts of children in many lands:
  105. a. Scandinavian:
  106. (1) Frithiof the Bold, Volume III, page 394.
  107. b. German:
  108. (1) The Story of Siegfried, Volume III, page 410.
  109. c. English:
  110. (1) Robin Hood, Volume III, page 436.
  111. (2) King Arthur, V, 113.
  112. (3) Balin and Balan, V, 130.
  113. (4) Geraint and Enid, V, 148.
  114. (5) The Holy Grail, V, 207.
  115. (6) Dissensions at King Arthur’s Court, V, 232.
  116. (7) The Passing of Arthur, V, 237.
  117. d. French:
  118. (1) Roland at Roncesvalles, Volume III, page 460.
  119. e. Spanish:
  120. (1) The Cid, Volume IV, page 9.
  121. f. Greek:
  122. (1) The Death of Hector, Volume IV, page 364.
  123. (2) Ulysses, IV, 398.
  124. g. Roman:
  125. (1) Horatius, Volume VI, page 1.
  126. 6. Historical tales, poems, and selections of different kinds and varying degrees of difficulty:
  127. a. Northern Europe:
  128. (1) Holger Danske, Volume II, page 377.
  129. (2) Make Way for Liberty, VII, 172.
  130. (3) Marco Bozzaris, VIII, 90.
  131. b. France and Napoleon:
  132. (1) Incident of the French Camp, Volume IV, page 174.
  133. (2) Battle of Ivry, VIII, 76.
  134. (3) Hervé Riel, VIII, 168.
  135. (4) The Battle of Waterloo, VIII, 176.
  136. (5) The Battle of Cressy, IX, 161.
  137. c. Classic lands:
  138. (1) The Wooden Horse, Volume IV, page 383.
  139. (2) The Battle of Thermopylae, VIII, 81.
  140. (3) The Death of Caesar, IX, 126.
  141. (4) The Death of Caesar, IX, 143.
  142. (5) Julius Caesar, IX, 155.
  143. d. British Isles:
  144. (1) Chevy Chase, Volume IV, page 312.
  145. (2) The Ballad of Agincourt, V, 95.
  146. (3) Some Children’s Books of the Past, V, 101.
  147. (4) The Rise of Robert Bruce, V, 278.
  148. (5) Bruce and the Spider, V, 314.
  149. (6) The Heart of Bruce, V, 316.
  150. (7) The Tournament, VI, 38.
  151. (8) Bannockburn, VII, 15.
  152. (9) The Charge of the Light Brigade, VII, 147.
  153. (10) The Recessional, VII, 164.
  154. (11) The Battle of Trafalgar, VIII, 284.
  155. (12) Casabianca, VIII, 313.
  156. (13) The Impeachment of Warren Hastings, IX, 32.
  157. (14) The Battle of Cressy, IX, 161.
  158. (15) The Battle of Hastings, IX, 330.
  159. e. United States:
  160. (1) The Pine Tree Shillings, Volume IV, page 192.
  161. (2) The Sunken Treasure, IV, 199.
  162. (3) The Hutchinson Mob, IV, 208.
  163. (4) The Boston Massacre, IV, 217.
  164. (5) The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England, IV, 197.
  165. (6) Sheridan’s Ride, IV, 223.
  166. (7) Henry Hudson’s Fourth Voyage, V, 254.
  167. (8) Reminiscences of a Pioneer, V, 340.
  168. (9) Braddock’s Defeat, V, 379.
  169. (10) The American Flag, V, 396.
  170. (11) Stonewall Jackson’s Way, V, 400.
  171. (12) The Capture of Vincennes, VI, 428.
  172. (13) The Old Continentals, VII, 175.
  173. (14) America, VIII, 60.
  174. (15) The Fall of the Alamo, VIII, 141.
  175. (16) The Knickerbocker History of New York, VIII, 224.
  176. (17) The Battle of Saratoga, IX, 176.
  177. (18) The Gettysburg Address, IX, 321.
  178. f. America, outside of the United States:
  179. (1) The Buccaneers, Volume V, page 359.
  180. (2) Captain Morgan at Maracaibo, V, 365.
  181. (3) Ringrose and His Buccaneers, VIII, 1.
  182. (4) The Retreat of Cortez, VIII, 63.

The object of teaching geography and history is not solely that children may acquire a collection of facts. Too often the lessons in these branches consist merely in memorizing text books, in learning long descriptions, in the study of meaningless maps and in the listing of political and military events in chronological order. The value of such work is comparatively small, and the studies cannot be considered profitable. If, however, children are taught to know and understand people, their habits and modes of life; if they learn geographical facts in their relation to humanity, to study events in the relation of cause to effect, to seek for truth and the meaning of things, then nothing is more productive of good than the teaching of geography and history.

If we accept as true the foregoing statements, then methods of teaching the subjects become clear as we think of them. It is evident that early lessons should be designed to create interest:

(1) In the world of things immediately around us; in the land and what grows and lives upon it; in the water, its relation to the land, its motions, and the life that it contains; in the air, its phenomena and its denizens; in human beings, their feelings and all their activities.

(2) In the great earth as a whole and its parts; in foreign animals and plants; in humanity in other lands.