TALK ABOUT BOOKS.
Four neatly printed, well bound, illustrated books, edited for boys by Sidney Lanier, appear as Christmas books, and happy boys indeed will all those be who receive any or all of them as presents. The very mention of good King Arthur, although little more than his name may be known, seems to act as a charm upon boyish hearts and fascinate them with its spell. And now that they can read all about him,[E] and how he organized his famous Knights of the Round-Table, about the search for the holy cup, Sir Tristram, and all the rest, they will find the old charm working with increased power, and will be fairly surprised at the endless fascination of the story.
Froissart five hundred years ago wrote a history of the wars of his times, in which occurred the battle of Crecy, where the blind old king of Bohemia fell, the battle of Poitiers, and the Siege of Calais; an account of an expedition against the Saracens, and much about the old-time knights. And now this old book, which has lived, and grown in esteem for so long, has been condensed and rewritten[F] especially for the boys. If they read aright, the true spirit of knighthood must take possession of them as they read these knightly tales.
“The Boy’s Percy”[G] is a collection of old ballads of war, adventure, and love. We read in rhyme of Robin Hood and his amazing marksmanship. There is the “Ballad of Chevy Cace,” and the “Friars Gray,” “The legend of Sir Guy,” “St. George and the Dragon,” and many others. And as we read these all seem to emerge and stand out “like rich tapestry work, wrought large as life” upon the hangings of our living room.
And then comes a collection of twelve Welsh legends[H] of King Arthur and his knights, giving to the readers of our times the quaint old fancies of the people of Wales in years gone by. At the close of his introduction to this book Mr. Lanier says: “I can wish my young readers few pleasures of finer quality than that surprised sense of a whole new world of possession which came to me in my first reading of these old tales.”
There is a new edition of Hawthorne’s “Wonder Book.”[I] Ever since the author put into effect his idea that classical myths were capable of being rendered into very capital reading for the children, this book has been a marvel to childhood. This new edition has the additional charm of being illustrated by the able hand of Mr. F. S. Church.
“The Story of Vitean,”[J] from Frank Stockton’s lively pen, proved a great favorite in St. Nicholas, some time ago, and now that it has been gathered into a book will be a real addition to anybody’s library. It is a story of the thirteenth century, of knights of the cotereaux, of the Inquisition, and of marvelous adventures. The boy heroes and their opposites make a story of wonderful interest.
“The Wagoner of the Alleghanies”[K] is another favorite poem which appears in a new Christmas dress. The cover is not pretty, but the printing and paper are, and the illustrations are engravings of great merit.
A little time spent with Messrs. Geo. H. Boughton and Edwin A. Abbey’s delightful “Rambles”[L] quite dispels any prejudice which we may have against Holland as an uninteresting country. These gentlemen have proven in their book that she possesses picturesque people. These “sketchable” fisher-folk, these stout lasses and round Dutchmen have furnished subjects for a collection of charming pictures which, with the interesting text furnished by Mr. Boughton, make an unusually fine volume.