A BATTLE OF THE ANTS, _by_ Henry D. Thoreau, _from_ Walden (adapted) AN AFRICAN PET, _by_ Paul B. du Chaillu, _from_ The African Forest and Jungle ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE, _by_ Lloyd Morgan, _from_ Animal Sketches (adapted) BUCK'S TRIAL OF STRENGTH, _by_ Jack London, _from_ The Call of the Wild ON THE SOLANDER WHALING GROUND, _by_ Frank Bullen, _from_ Idylls of the Sea AN EPISODE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, _by_ Charles Dickens, _from_ A Tale of Two Cities THE COMMANDER OF THE FAITHFUL, _by_ Pierre Loti, _from_ Into Morocco (adapted) WALT WHITMAN, _by_ John Burroughs, _from_ Whitman--A Study (adapted) HEROISM IN HOUSEKEEPING, _by_ Jane Welsh Carlyle, _from_ Letters A YOUTHFUL ACTOR, _by_ Thomas Bailey Aldrich, _from_ The Story of a Bad Boy WAR, _by_ Thomas Carlyle, _from_ Sartor Resartus COON-HUNTING, _by_ Ernest Ingersoll, _from_ Wild Neighbors (adapted) SIGHT IN SAVAGES, _by_ W. H. Hudson, _from_ Idle Days in Patagonia THE VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER, _by_ Washington Irving, _from_ The Sketch Book INTRODUCTION The testimony of librarians as to the kind of books people are reading nowadays is somewhat discouraging to the book-lover who has been brought up in the old traditions. We are told that Scott and Thackeray and George Eliot cannot compete with the year's "best sellers," and that the old classics are read only by the few who have a cultivated taste and a trained intelligence. The interest of novelty, the dislike of mental effort, the temptation to read merely for a mild sensation,--all these undoubtedly tend to keep down the level of literary taste. To many readers of good average ability, neither the esthetic nor the purely intellectual makes a strong appeal. Even minds of fine quality often find a welcome diversion in trivial reading. In fact, to expect every one and at all times to have his mind keyed up to the higher levels is neither sincere nor reasonable. And yet, making due allowance for intellectual limitations, for the busy and distracting conditions of modern life, and for the real need of light reading at times when recreation is of more value than instruction, it would seem that a fair proportion of our reading could and should be on a higher plane. To put it on this high plane is one of the fixed objects of the school. For this end the schools have given English an important place, have broadened the list of recommended books year by year, and have sought to improve the method of teaching literature. Especially have they hoped to create in the pupil the habit of reading good books and of discovering new material on his own initiative. Thus far their success has fallen much below their hopes, as the testimony of librarians, adduced above, plainly indicates.