Gulliver at the Court of Lilliput

From the painting by Arthur Rackham

THEY WERE VERY TIRED WHEN AT LAST THEY CAME TO THE FOREST OF ARDEN

As You Like It

From the painting by Charles Folkard

CHRISTIAN NIMBLY STRETCHED OUT HIS HAND FOR HIS SWORD

Christian's Fight with the Monster Apollyon

From the etching by William Strang

PREFACE

Consciously or unconsciously we are influenced by the characters we admire. A book that exerts a deep as well as a wide influence must produce changes in the reader's way of thinking, and excite him to activity; the world for him can never be quite the same that it was before. Such books have an important part in moulding the character of a people.