Margaret and Jacob Wynne! I name Margaret first, for hers is the nobler nature. Jacob’s brief imprisonment had a most salutary influence upon him. He no longer upbraids without reason, nor arouses her quick jealousy by his neglect. Mr. Ford (after all we prefer the old name) throws considerable business into his hands, and this, with what he obtains from other quarters, gives him a comfortable support. It would be difficult to recognize in Margaret, with her quiet look, and subdued demeanor, the wild, wayward, desperate woman, who made her way through the fierce storm to her mother’s dwelling.
Immediately after the division of the estate, Lewis Rand went to Europe, where he has remained ever since. His feelings are so imbittered against his cousin, that he has refused to answer a letter containing overtures of reconciliation. He makes his head-quarters at Paris, where he lives in elegant style, and receives the homage which wealth always commands. But does he find in his riches the full satisfaction which he anticipated? I answer, no. He finds, too late, that happiness must be earned; it can never be bought. To those who, like Helen, consecrate their lives to the noblest objects, and study to promote the happiness of all around them, the blessing comes unsought. For the love that stimulates to good deeds, is like mercy “twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
And so, reader, farewell! What remains in store for Helen Ford, whether of joy or of sorrow, it is not mine to read. Let us hope that her life may brighten continually till its close; that her years, whether few or many, may be made happy by the consciousness of duty well performed; that she may dispense liberally unto others of the good gifts with which God has crowned her, and make her life a benefaction to humanity!
HORATIO ALGER, JR.
The enormous sales of the books of Horatio Alger, Jr., show the greatness of his popularity among the boys, and prove that he is one of their most favored writers. I am told that more than half a million copies altogether have been sold, and that all the large circulating libraries in the country have several complete sets, of which only two or three volumes are ever on the shelves at one time. If this is true, what thousands and thousands of boys have read and are reading Mr. Alger’s books! His peculiar style of stories, often imitated but never equaled, have taken a hold upon the young people, and, despite their similarity, are eagerly read as soon as they appear.
Mr. Alger became famous with the publication of that undying book, “Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York.” It was his first book for young people, and its success was so great that he immediately devoted himself to that kind of writing. It was a new and fertile field for a writer then, and Mr. Alger’s treatment of it at once caught the fancy of the boys. “Ragged Dick” first appeared in 1868, and ever since then it has been selling steadily, until now it is estimated that about 200,000 copies of the series have been sold.
—“Pleasant Hours for Boys and Girls.”
A writer for boys should have an abundant sympathy with them. He should be able to enter into their plans, hopes, and aspirations. He should learn to look upon life as they do. Boys object to be written down to. A boy’s heart opens to the man or writer who understands him.