Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Jeannie Howse and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net * * * * * +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has been | | preserved. | | | | A number of obvious typographical errors have been corrected | | in this text. For a complete list, please see the end of | | this document. | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ * * * * * [Illustration: CHARLES DICKENS READING "THE CHIMES" AT 58 LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS ON THE SECOND OF DECEMBER, 1844. FROM A SKETCH BY DANIEL MACLISE, R.A.] MODERN ENGLISH BOOKS OF POWER BY GEORGE HAMLIN FITCH "A GOOD BOOK IS THE PRECIOUS LIFE-BLOOD OF A MASTER SPIRIT, EMBALMED AND TREASURED UP ON PURPOSE TO A LIFE BEYOND LIFE." MILTON: AREOPAGITICA ILLUSTRATED BARSE & HOPKINS NEW YORK NEWARK N.Y. N.J. _Copyright_, 1912 by BARSE & HOPKINS The articles in this book appeared originally in the Sunday book-page of the San Francisco _Chronicle_. The privilege of reproducing them here is due to the courtesy of M.H. de Young, Esq. TO AMERIQUE WHOSE LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT HELPED ME TO WRITE THIS BOOK CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION ix THE VITAL QUALITY IN LITERATURE xi To Get the Spiritual Essence of a Great Book One Must Study the Man Who Wrote It--The Man Is the Best Epitome of His Message. MACAULAY'S ESSAYS IN EUROPEAN HISTORY 3 Foremost English Essayist--His Style and Learning Have Made Macaulay a Favorite for Over a Half Century. SCOTT AND HIS WAVERLEY NOVELS 11 Greatest Novelist the World Has Known--Made History Real and Created Characters That Will Never Die. CARLYLE AS AN INSPIRER OF YOUTH 20 Finest English Prose Writer--His Best Books, _Past and Present_, _Sartor Resartus_ and the _French Revolution_. DE QUINCEY AS A MASTER OF STYLE 30 He Wrote the _Confessions of an English Opium-Eater_--Dreamed Dreams and Saw Visions and Pictured Them in Poetic Prose. CHARLES LAMB AND THE ESSAYS OF ELIA 38 Best Beloved of All the English Writers--Quaintest and Tenderest Essayist Whose Work Appeals to All Hearts.