mothers or nurses, but all this comes to an end so soon as the child can make its way through the printed page unaided. What was once a great wealth of living tradition has become merely a study for scholars. Old weather-rhymes, odd little charms, bits of homely wisdom, striking proverbs, all of which used to come from the living tongue, are now disused. The form of these sayings, as framed by the tongue, was really better than their literary form as seen in print. Boys’ games, for instance, used to be taught by the older boys to their young companions, and they learned in no other way; now, there are books containing collections of games for all seasons, and even the youngest may go to these for rules and directions.
The main objection to the change is this: Tradition is a living thing; so soon as a matter is put into print, it remains unchanged, and therefore does not grow or improve. All this matter is mentioned here now, because it is the holiday season, and many of the most valuable of old traditions have grown up in regard to holidays and their customs. When we consider how much went to make up a Christmas, or Twelfth Night, or New Year’s celebration in the days of Queen Elizabeth, it seems a pity that holidays should become merely days of idleness and feasting. We therefore appeal to our young scholars to revive, from books if necessary, the good old customs that are in danger of being lost or forgotten.
Feeding the
Imagination.
Shakespere and
Dogs.
Hawthorn’s
Stories.
What makes the Worth of a Story?
All of us, doubtless, like to read Hawthorne’s stories, yet probably we would be puzzled if some one were to ask why we like them. There is certainly not much stirring adventure in them; no narrow escapes, shipwrecks, combats, and such things, as there are in the majority of stories, Even in his larger works, such as “The House of the Seven Gables,” there is very little action or movement; yet all his writings are very interesting, You will notice that a good deal of his space is taken up with describing people —their characters and opinions—how they thought, and what they thought, their motives and feelings. And this is the very reason why his stories are good. A story which truly pictures life and character is good, and will always be good, because man is really the same now as he was in the past and as he will be in the future. Modes of living have changed and will continue to change, but we will always be the same in feelings and interests.
And we like to read about life and character; they are the most interesting things we knew of—we can look around us every day and read them in the faces and acts of other people, just as well as we can read them in our books.
If a story has the quality we have been discussing, and if the language and style in which it is written are good, it is safe to say that it has “real worth.”