Of the Scotch novels it is difficult to make a choice, but it seems to me _The Heart of Midlothian_ has the widest appeal, although many would cast their votes for _Old Mortality_, _The Antiquary_ or _Rob Roy_ because of the rich humor of those romances. Scott's dialect, although true to nature, is not difficult, as he did not consider it necessary to give all the colloquial terms, like the modern "kailyard" writers. If you read three or four of Scott's novels you are pretty apt to read more. It is an easy matter to skip the prolix passages and the unnecessary introductions. This done, you have a body of romance that is far richer than any present-day fiction. And their great merit is that, though written in a coarse age, the _Waverley_ novels are sweet and wholesome. One misses a great source of enjoyment and culture who fails to read the best of Scott's novels. Take them all in all, they are the finest fiction that has ever been written, and their continued popularity, despite their many faults, is the best proof of their sterling merit. CARLYLE AS AN INSPIRER OF YOUTH THE FINEST ENGLISH PROSE WRITER OF THE LAST CENTURY--HIS BEST BOOKS, "PAST AND PRESENT," "SARTOR RESARTUS" AND THE "FRENCH REVOLUTION." As an influence in stimulating school and college students, Macaulay must be given a foremost place, but greater than Macaulay, because of his spiritual fervor and his moral force, stands Thomas Carlyle, the great prophet and preacher of the nineteenth century, whose influence will outlast that of all other writers of his time. And this spiritual potency, which resides in his best work, is not weakened by his love of the Strong Man in History or his fear of the rising tide of popular democracy, in which he saw a dreadful repetition of the horrors of the French Revolution. It was the Puritan element in his granite character which gave most of the flaming spiritual ardor to Carlyle's work. It was this which made him the greatest preacher of his day, although he had left behind him all the old articles of faith for which his forefathers went cheerfully to death on many a bloody field. [Illustration: THOMAS CARLYLE FROM THE WORLD-FAMED MASTERPIECE OF PORTRAITURE BY JAMES MCNEILL WHISTLER] Carlyle believed a strong religious faith was vital to any real and lasting work in this world, and from the day he gave out _Sartor Resartus_ he preached this doctrine in all his books. He was born into a generation that was content to accept the forms of religion, so long as it could enjoy the good things of this world, and much of Carlyle's speech sounded to the people of his day like the warnings of the prophet Isaiah to the Israelites of old. But Carlyle was never daunted by lack of appreciation or by any ridicule or abuse. These only made him more confident in his belief that the spiritual life is the greatest thing in this world. And he actually lived the life that he preached.