PERRAULT: "Little Red Riding-Hood," "Blue Beard," "Puss in Boots." RUSSIAN LITERATURE: "The Water King and Vasilissa the Wise." HUMOR BARHAM: "The Knight and the Lady." BROWNE: "The Showman's Courtship." CARROLL: "A Mad Tea-Party," "The White Knight," "The Walrus and the Carpenter," "Jabberwocky." COWPER: "The Diverting History of John Gilpin." GILBERT: "The Yarn of the Nancy Bell." HARRIS: "Old Mr. Rabbit, He's a Good Fisherman." HARTE: "Plain Language from Truthful James." HOOD: "Faithless Sally Brown." HOPE: "The House Opposite." JERROLD: "Mrs. Caudle's Curtain Lectures." LAMB: "A Dissertation on Roast Pig." LOWELL: "The Courtin'." RASPE: "Baron Münchhausen." STERNE: "A Sentimental Journey." ADVENTURE AUDUBON: "Hospitality in the Woods." CARLYLE: "The Fall of the Bastille." COLERIDGE: "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." FROUDE: "A Cagliostro of the Second Century." HAY: "Jim Bludso of the Prairie Belle." HEARN: "In the Cave of the Children's Ghosts." HEINE: "Travel-Pictures." KINGLAKE: "Eothen." MANDEVILLE: "Travels." MELVILLE: "Typee." POLO: "Travels." STEVENSON: "A Night among the Pines." PART II THE STUDY OF LITERATURE We are told there is no royal road to learning; no short cut to the understanding and appreciation of literature. We are told that we must admire Homer, or Addison, or some other immortal author, but no one tells us _why_ or _how_. No explanation is given of the reason why their work is deservedly immortal. Our schools do not introduce us to the delights of good reading; instead, they handle a few stories and essays as if they were Latin or algebra, making drudgery out of what ought to be enjoyment. The result is that we are frightened away from the great writers; their work is supposed to be a mystery, only to be revealed to those who give years of labor to its study. But no one is so dull or so heedless of pleasure as not to accept the means of lasting delight when it is put right in front of them. Thousands of people are waiting for the chance to get in touch with the good sense, rousing style, and splendid ideas of the masters of literature. That is why this volume has been prepared. It furnishes a direct and attractive road straight to the heart of literature. It has been laid out systematically so as to be a simple and practical guide.