Various - Modern Prose And Poetry; For Secondary Schools

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But what followed surprised me more. As I said, he had been (in my idea)
distantly treated. One day he did not return from school for three hours
after the usual time. Then to my great surprise, the women began to
cry,--to cry passionately. I had never been able to imagine alarm for
the boy could have affected them so. And the servants ran over town in
real, not pretended, anxiety to find him. He had been taken to a
teacher's house for something relating to school matters. As soon as his
voice was heard at the door, everything was quiet, cold, and amiably
polite again. And I marvelled exceedingly.

Sensitiveness exists in the Japanese to an extent never supposed by the
foreigners who treat them harshly at the open ports.... The Japanese
master is never brutal or cruel. How Japanese can serve a certain class
of foreigners at all, I can't understand....

This Orient knows not our deeper pains, nor can it even rise to our
larger joys; but it has its pains. Its life is not so sunny as might be
fancied from its happy aspect. Under the smile of its toiling millions
there is suffering bravely hidden and unselfishly borne; and a lower
intellectual range is counterbalanced by a childish sensitiveness to
make the suffering balance evenly in the eternal order of things.

Therefore I love the people very much, more and more, the more I know
them....

And with this, I say good-night.

Ever most truly,
LAFCADIO HEARN.

CHARLES ELIOT NORTON TO WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS

SHADY HILL, 2 May, 1902.

"The Kentons" have been a great comfort to me. I have been in my
chamber, with a slight attack of illness, for two or three weeks, and I
received them one morning. I could not have had kinder or more
entertaining visitors, and I was sorry when, after two or three days, I
had to say Good-bye to them. They are very "natural" people, "just
Western." I am grateful to you for making me acquainted with them.

"Just Western" is the acme of praise. I think I once told you what
pleasure it gave me as a compliment. Several years ago at the end of one
of our Christmas Eve receptions, a young fellow from the West, taking my
hand and bidding me Good-night, said with great cordiality, "Mr. Norton,
I've had a delightful time; it's been _just Western_"!

"The Kentons" is really, my dear Howells, an admirable study of life,
and as it was read to me my chief pleasure in listening was in your
sympathetic, creative imagination, your insight, your humour, and all
your other gifts, which make your stories, I believe, the most faithful
representations of actual life that were ever written. Other stories
seem unreal after them, and so when we had finished "The Kentons,"
nothing would do for entertainment but another of your books: so now we
are almost at the end of "Silas Lapham," which I find as good as I found
it fifteen or sixteen years ago. As Gray's idea of pleasure was to lie
on a sofa and have an endless succession of stories by Crebillon,--mine
is to have no end of Howells!...

NOTES

Letter from William Vaughn Moody:--

=darkened counsel=:--See Job, 38:2. Moody seems to be referring here to
the uncertainty of his plans for the future.

Letter from Bret Harte:--

=Franky=:--Francis King Harte, Bret Harte's second son, who was eight
years old at this time.

=Concepcion de Arguello=:--One of Bret Harte's longer poems.

=Kentuck=:--A rough but kindly character in Harte's _The Luck of Roaring
Camp_.

=Dick Bullen=:--The chief character in _How Santa Claus Came to
Simpson's Bar_.

=Frank=:--Bret Harte's name was Francis Brett Hart(e), and his family
usually called him Frank.

Letter from Lafcadio Hearn:.--

=Chamberlain=:--Professor Chamberlain had lived for some years in Japan,
when Hearn, in 1890, wrote to him, asking assistance in securing a
position as teacher in the Japanese Government Schools. The friendship
between the two men continued until Hearn's death.

=Samurai=:--Pronounced _sae' m[)oo] r[=i]_; a member of the lesser
nobility of Japan.

=Jizo=:--A Japanese god, said to be the playmate of the ghosts of
children. Stone images of Jizo are common in Japan. (See page 19 of _The
Japanese Letters of Lafcadio Hearn_.)

EXERCISES IN LETTER WRITING

You are planning a camping trip with several of your friends; write to a
friend who lives in another town, asking him or her to join the camping
party.

Write to a friend asking him, or her, to come to your house for dinner
and to go with you afterward to see the moving pictures.

Write a letter to accompany a borrowed book, which you are returning.
Speak of the contents of the book, and the parts that you have
particularly enjoyed. Express your thanks for the use of the volume.

Write a letter to an intimate friend, telling of the occurrences of the
last week. Do not hesitate to recount trifling events; but make your
letter as varied and lively and interesting as possible.

Write to a friend about the new house or apartment that your family has
lately moved into.

Write to a friend or a relative who is visiting in a large city, asking
him or her to purchase some especial article that you cannot get in your
home town. Explain exactly what you want and tell how much you are
willing to pay. Speak of enclosing the money, and do not fail to express
the gratitude that you will feel if your friend will make the purchase
for you.

You have been invited to spend the week-end in a town not far from your
home. Write explaining why you cannot accept the invitation. Make your
letter personal and pleasant.

Write to some member of your family explaining how you have altered your
room to make it more to your taste than it has been. If you have not
really changed the room, imagine that you have done so, and that it is
now exactly as you want it to be.

You have heard of a family that is in great need. Write to one of your
friends, telling the circumstances and asking her to help you in
providing food and clothing for the children in the family.

You have just heard some startling news about an old friend whom you
have not seen for some time. Write to another friend who you know will
be interested, and relate the news that you have heard.

Write to one of your teachers explaining why you are late in handing in
a piece of work.

Your uncle has made you a present of a sum of money. Thank him for the
money and tell him what you think you will do with it.

A schoolmate is kept at home by illness. Write, offering your sympathy
and services, and telling the school news.

You have had an argument with a friend on a subject of interest to you
both. Since seeing this friend, you have run across an article in a
magazine, which supports your view of the question. Write to your friend
and tell him about the substance of the article.

Your mother has hurt her hand and cannot write; she has asked you to
write to a friend of hers about some business connected with the Woman's
Club.

You have arrived at home after a week's visit with a friend. Write your
friend's mother, expressing the pleasure that the visit has given you.
Speak particularly of the incidents of the visit, and show a lively
appreciation of the kindness of your friends.

A friend whom you have invited to visit you has written saying that she
(or he) is unable to accept your invitation. Write expressing your
regret. You might speak of the plans you had made in anticipation of the
visit; you might also make a more or less definite suggestion regarding
a later date for the arrival of your friend.

You are trying to secure a position. Write to some one for whom you have
worked, or some one who knows you well, asking for a recommendation that
you can use in applying for a position.

Write to your brother (or some other near relative), telling about a
trip that you have recently taken.

Write to one of your friends who is away at school, telling of the
athletic situation in the high school you are attending. Assume that
your friend is acquainted with many of the students in the high school.

You are sending some kodak films to be developed by a professional
photographer. Explain to him what you are sending and what you want
done. Speak of the price that he asks for his work, and the money that
you are enclosing.

Write a letter applying for a position. If possible, tell how you have
heard of the vacancy. State your qualifications, especially the
education and training that you have had; if you have had any
experience, tell definitely what it has been. Mention the
recommendations that you are enclosing, or give references to several
persons who will write concerning your character and ability. Do not
urge your qualifications, or make any promises, but tell about yourself
as simply and impersonally as possible. Close your letter without any
elaborate expressions of "hoping" or "trusting" or "thanking." "Very
truly yours," or "Very respectfully yours," will be sufficient.

You have secured the position for which you applied. Write expressing
your pleasure in obtaining the situation. Ask for information as to the
date on which you are to begin work.

Write to a friend or a relative, telling about your new position: how
you secured it; what your work will be; what you hope will come of it.

Write a brief respectful letter asking for money that is owed you.

Write to a friend considerably older than yourself, asking for advice as
to the appropriate college or training school for you to enter when you
have finished the high school course.

BOOKS FOR READING AND STUDY

Letters and Letter-writing Charity Dye
Success in Letter-writing Sherwin Cody
How to do Business by Letter " "
Charm and Courtesy in Letter-writing Frances B. Callaway
Studies for Letters " " "
The Gentlest Art E.V. Lucas
The Second Post " " "
The Friendly Craft F.D. Hanscom
Life and Letters of Miss Alcott E.D. Cheney (Ed.)
Vailima Letters R.L. Stevenson
Letters of William Vaughn Moody Daniel Mason (Ed.)
Letters from Colonial Children Eva March Tappan
Woman as Letter-writers A.M. Ingpen.
The Etiquette of Correspondence Helen E. Gavit

EXERCISES IN DRAMATIC COMPOSITION

I. Write a conversation suggested by one of the following situations.
Wherever it seems desirable to do so, give, in parentheses, directions
for the action, and indicate the gestures and the facial expressions of
the speakers.

1. Tom has had trouble at school; he is questioned at home
about the matter.

2. Two girls discuss a party that has taken place the night
before.

3. A child and his mother are talking about Christmas.

4. Clayton Wells is running for the presidency of the Senior
class in the high school; he talks with some of his
schoolmates, and is talked about.

5. There has been a fire at the factory; some of the men talk
about its origin.

6. A girl borrows her sister's pearl pin and loses it.

7. Unexpected guests have arrived; while they are removing
their wraps in the hall, a conversation takes place in the
kitchen.

8. Anna wishes to go on a boating expedition, but her father
and mother object.

9. The crops in a certain district have failed; two young
farmers talk over the situation.

10. Two girls are getting dinner; their mother is away, and
they are obliged to plan and do everything themselves.

11. A boy has won a prize, and two or three other boys are
talking with him.

12. The prize-winning student has gone, and the other boys are
talking about him.

13. The furnace fire has gone out; various members of the
family express their annoyance, and the person who is to blame
defends himself.

14. Grandfather has lost his spectacles.

15. Laura has seen a beautiful hat in a shop window, and talks
with her mother about it.

16. Two men talk of the coming election of city officers.

17. A boy has been removed from the football team on account of
his low standings; members of the team discuss the situation.

18. Sylvia asks her younger brother to go on an errand for her;
he does not wish to go; the conversation becomes spirited.

19. Grandmother entertains another old lady at afternoon tea.

20. A working man is accused of stealing a dollar bill from the
cook in the house where he is temporarily employed.

21. Mary Sturgis talks with her mother about going away to
college.

22. A young man talks with his sister about woman's suffrage;
they become somewhat excited.

23. A middle-aged couple talk about adopting a child.

24. There is a strike at the mills; some of the employees
discuss it; the employers discuss it among themselves.

25. An aunt in the city has written asking Louise to visit her;
Louise talks with several members of her family about going.

26. Two boys talk about the ways in which they earn money, and
what they do with it.

27. Albert Gleason has had a run-away; his neighbors talk about
it.

28. Two brothers quarrel over a horse.

29. Ruth's new dress does not satisfy her.

30. The storekeeper discusses neighborhood news with some of
his customers.

31. Will has had a present of a five-dollar gold-piece; his
sisters tell him what he ought to do with it; his ideas on the
subject are not the same as theirs.

32. An old house, in which a well-to-do family have lived for
many years, is to be torn down; a group of neighbors talk about
the house and the family.

33. A young man talks with a business man about a position.

34. Harold buys a canoe; he converses with the boy who sells it
to him, and also with some of the members of his own family.

35. Two old men talk about the pranks they played when they
were boys.

36. Several young men talk about a recent baseball game.

37. Several young men talk about a coming League game.

38. Breakfast is late.

39. A mysterious stranger has appeared in the village; a group
of people talk about him.

40. Herbert Elliott takes out his father's automobile without
permission, and damages it seriously; he tries to explain.

41. Jerome Connor has just "made" the high school football
team.

42. Two boys plan a camping trip.

43. Several boys are camping, and one of the number does not
seem willing to do his share of the work.

44. Several young people consider what they are going to do
when they have finished school.

45. Two women talk about the spring fashions.

II. Choose some familiar fairy-tale or well known children's story, and
put it into the form of a little play for children. Find a story that is
rather short, and that has a good deal of dialogue in it. In writing the
play, try to make the conversation simple and lively.

III. In a story book for children, find a short story and put it into
dialogue form. It will be wise to select a story that already contains a
large proportion of conversation.

IV. From a magazine or a book of short stories (not for children),
select a very brief piece of narration, and put it into dramatic form.
After you have finished, write out directions for the setting of the
stage, if you have not already done so, and give your idea of what the
costuming ought to be.

MODERN BOOKS FOR HOME READING

Not included in the lists of Collateral Readings

BOOKS OF FICTION

Two Gentlemen of Kentucky James Lane Allen
Standish of Standish Jane G. Austin
D'ri and I Irving Bacheller
Eben Holden " "
The Halfback R.H. Barbour
For King or Country James Barnes
A Loyal Traitor " "
A Bow of Orange Ribbon Amelia E. Barr
Jan Vedder's Wife " " "
Remember the Alamo " " "
The Little Minister J.M. Barrie
The Little White Bird " " "
Sentimental Tommy " " "
Wee MacGregor J.J. Bell.
Looking Backward Edward Bellamy
Master Skylark John Bennett
A Princess of Thule William Black
Lorne Doone R.D. Blackmore
Mary Cary K.L. Bosher
Miss Gibbie Gault " " "
Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte
Villette " "
Meadow Grass Alice Brown
Tiverton Tales " "
The Story of a Ploughboy James Bryce
My Robin F.H. Burnett
The Secret Garden " " "
T. Tembarom " " "
The Jackknife Man Ellis Parker Butler
The Begum's Daughter E.L. Bynner
Bonaventure G.W. Cable
Dr. Sevier " " "
The Golden Rule Dollivers Margaret Cameron
The Lady of Fort St. John Mary Hartwell Catherwood
Lazarre " " "
Old Kaskaskia " " "
The Romance of Dollard " " "
The Story of Tonty " " "
The White Islander " " "
Richard Carvel Winston Churchill
A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur's Court Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain)
Pudd'nhead Wilson " " "
The Prince and the Pauper " " "
Tom Sawyer " " "
John Halifax, Gentleman D.M. Craik (Miss Mulock)
The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane
Whilomville Stories " "
A Roman Singer F.M. Crawford
Saracinesca " " "
Zoroaster " " "
The Lilac Sunbonnet S.R. Crockett
The Stickit Minister " " "
Smith College Stories J.D. Daskam [Bacon]
Gallegher R.H. Davis
The Princess Aline " " "
Soldiers of Fortune " " "
Old Chester Tales Margaret Deland
The Story of a Child " "
Hugh Gwyeth B.M. Dix
Soldier Rigdale " " "
Rebecca Mary Annie Hamilton Donnell
The Very Small Person " " "
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes A. Conan Doyle
Micah Clarke " " "
The Refugees " " "
Uncle Bernac " " "
The Black Tulip Alexander Dumas
The Three Musketeers " "
Doctor Luke of the Labrador Norman Duncan
The Story of Sonny Sahib Sara J. Duncan
The Hoosier Schoolboy Edward Eggleston
The Hoosier Schoolmaster " "
The Honorable Peter Stirling P.L. Ford
Janice Meredith " "
In the Valley Harold Frederic
A New England Nun M.E. Wilkins Freeman
The Portion of Labor " " "
Six Trees " " "
Friendship Village Zona Gale
Boy Life on the Prairie Hamlin Garland
Prairie Folks " "
Toby: The Story of a Dog Elizabeth Goldsmith
College Girls Abby Carter Goodloe
Glengarry School Days Charles W. Gordon (Ralph Connor)
The Man from Glengarry " " "
The Prospector " " "
The Sky Pilot " " "
The Man Without a Country E.E. Hale
Nights with Uncle Remus J.C. Harris
The Log of a Sea Angler C.F. Holder
Phroso Anthony Hope [Hawkins]
The Prisoner of Zenda " " "
Rupert of Hentzau " " "
One Summer B.W. Howard
The Flight of Pony Baker W.D. Howells
Tom Brown at Oxford Thomas Hughes
Tom Brown's School Days " "
The Lady of the Barge W.W. Jacobs
Odd Craft " "
Ramona H.H. Jackson
Little Citizens Myra Kelly
Wards of Liberty " "
Horseshoe Robinson J.P. Kennedy
The Brushwood Boy Rudyard Kipling
Captains Courageous " "
The Jungle Book " "
Kim " "
Puck of Pook's Hill " "
Tales of the Fish Patrol Jack London
The Slowcoach E.V. Lucas
Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush Ian Maclaren (John Watson)
A Doctor of the Old School " " " "
Peg o' my Heart J.H. Manners
Emmy Lou G.M. Martin
Tilly: A Mennonite Maid H.R. Martin
Jim Davis John Masefield
Four Feathers A.E.W. Mason
The Adventures of Francois S.W. Mitchell
Hugh Wynne " "
Anne of Avonlea L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Green Gables " "
The Chronicles of Avonlea " "
Down the Ravine Mary N. Murfree
(Charles Egbert Craddock)
In the Tennessee Mountains Mary N. Murfree
The Mystery of Witch-Face Mountain " " "
The Prophet of the Great Smoky
Mountains " " "
The House of a Thousand Candles Meredith Nicholson
Mother Kathleen Norris
Peanut A.B. Paine
Judgments of the Sea Ralph D. Paine
The Man with the Iron Hand John C. Parish
Pierre and his People Gilbert Parker
Seats of the Mighty " "
When Valmond Came to Pontiac " "
A Madonna of the Tubs E.S. Phelps [Ward]
A Singular Life E.S. Phelps [Ward]
Freckles G.S. Porter
Ezekiel Lucy Pratt
Ezekiel Expands " "
November Joe Hesketh Prichard
Men of Iron Howard Pyle
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood " "
The Splendid Spur A.T. Quiller-Couch
Lovey Mary Alice Hegan Rice
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch " " "
Sandy " " "
The Feet of the Furtive C.G.D. Roberts
The Heart of an Ancient Wood C.G.D. Roberts
The Wreck of the Grosvenor W.C. Russell
Two Girls of Old New Jersey Agnes C. Sage
Little Jarvis Molly Elliot Seawell
A Virginia Cavalier " " "
The Quest of the Fish-Dog Skin J.W. Schultz
The Black Arrow Robert Louis Stevenson
David Balfour " " "
The Master of Ballantrae " " "
St. Ives " " "
The Fugitive Blacksmith C.D. Stewart
The Casting Away of Mrs. Lecks
and Mrs. Aleshine Frank R. Stockton
The Dusantes " " "
The Lady or the Tiger " " "
The Merry Chanter " " "
Rudder Grange " " "
Napoleon Jackson Ruth McE. Stuart
Sonny " " "
Monsieur Beaucaire Booth Tarkington
Expiation Octave Thanet (Alice French)
Stories of a Western Town " " " "
The Golden Book of Venice F.L. Turnbull
W.A.G.'s Tale Margaret Turnbull
Ben Hur Lew Wallace
A Fair God " "
My Rag Picker Mary E. Waller
The Wood Carver of 'Lympus " " "
The Story of Ab Stanley Waterloo
Daddy Long-Legs Jean Webster
A Gentleman of France Stanley J. Weyman
Under the Red Robe " " "
The Blazed Trail Stewart Edward White
The Conjuror's House " " "
The Silent Places " " "
The Westerners " " "
A Certain Rich Man William Allen White
The Court of Boyville " " "
Stratagems and Spoils " " "
The Gayworthys A.D.T. Whitney
Mother Carey's Chickens K.D. Wiggin [Riggs]
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm " "
The Chronicles of Rebecca " "
The Story of Waitstill Baxter " "
Princeton Stories J.L. Williams
Philosophy Four Owen Wister
The Virginian " "
Bootles' Baby John Strange Winter (H.E. Stannard)
The Widow O'Callaghan's Boys Gulielma Zollinger (W.Z. Gladwin)

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