CHAPTER XVI JOURNEYS THROUGH BOOKLAND IN ITS RELATION TO THE SCHOOL-(Continued) Geography and History HE connection between geography and history on the one hand and literature on the other is most intimate. In the first place nearly all our knowledge of history must come through reading, and while we learn our geography most accurately through travel and observation, but a small part of our information comes through those channels. We read incessantly of our own country and others, we fill our minds with visions of plants, animals and the peoples of foreign lands from the facts we gather from the papers, magazines and books. If most of our facts come through reading it is no less true that most of our real interest in geography and history comes not from the facts of our text-books but from the literature we have read, the literature that clothed those facts and made them real and living. Ask yourselves what gave you your first real interest in the history of Scotland and see if your answer is not, "The novels of Scott." Again, where did you get your first adequate ideas of chivalry and the feudal system if it was not from Ivanhoe or some similar piece of literature? What makes the Crimean War a household word in the homes of two continents if it is not the deeds of Florence Nightingale and Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade? Who can tell most of the Battle of Waterloo, he who has read the facts of history or he who has read Byron's thrilling poem and the description by Victor Hugo? Who knows the English home as it was? He who reads Goldsmith's Deserted Village. It is in furnishing those literary masterpieces that give life to geography and inspiration to history that Journeys Through Bookland gives the best of assistance to boys and girls in their 'school work. Some of its selections will give facts and many of them, but the facts form the smaller part of the contribution. History is valuable only as it enables us to understand the present, thrills us with the accomplishments of the past and teaches us how to live and act in the future. No man is so wrapped up in business that he does not heed the charm of noble deeds and fails to be moved by glorious achievement. Some histories are literature in themselves and have the inspiring quality we crave, but most of them are too dry and scientific to afford much interest to the child. So the greater part of our selections are not from the books that are called real history but from those which appeal to the imagination and stir the soul. Geographical teaching is likewise indirect in Journeys but it is none the less helpful and inspiring. To prove the truth of these statements we have only to present what the books contain and show how the selections may be used. It does not seem wise to separate the two subjects too widely, for they are closely related and intimately interwoven in almost all reading. There are, it is true, some masterpieces that may be considered purely geographical and others that are as entirely historical, but these will be easily identified. Yet for ease and readiness in locating them we append a list of nearly one hundred selections and classify them in a simple manner: 1. Largely geographical: a. Juvenile poems with geographical allu sions, or based on geographical facts: (1) The Sun's Travels, Volume I, page 67. (2) Singing, I, 73. (3) Foreign Lands, I, 127. (6) (4) At the Seaside, I, 134. (10) Picture Books in Winter, II, 240. b. Stories and poems that describe places or people in Europe, and some of their customs and modes of life: (1) The Tree, Volume I, page 263. (4) The Skeleton in Armor, VI, 54. Rab and His Friends, VI, 346. (5) (6) The Governor and the Notary, VII, 311. (7) Don Quixote, VIII, 282. (8) The Alhambra, IX, 36. (9) Ascent of the Jungfrau, IX, 66. (10) The Cotter's Saturday Night, IX, 253. C. Fanciful legends with geographical inter ests: (1) Why the Sea Is Salt, Volume III, page 51. (2) Origin of the Opal, III, 57. d. Stories from Japan and India: (1) The Mirror of Matsuyana, Volume II, page 62. (2) Wee Willie Winkie, III, 189. e. A story of longitude: (1) Three Sundays in a Week, Volume VII, page 255. f. Plants or plant life: g. (1) The Potato, Volume III, page 57. (3) A Bed of Nettles, IX, 131. Animal life: (1) Salmon Fishing, VIII, 116. (2) Winter Animals, VIII, 126. (3) Trees and Ants That Help Each Other, VIII, 140. (4) Owls, X, 169. (5) Elephant Hunting, VII, 180. (6) Some Clever Monkeys, VII, 198. (8) A Gorilla Hunt, VIII, 74. (10) The Pond in Winter, VIII, 111. h. Natural phenomena: (1) The Cloud, Volume VIII, page 85. 2. Indians and their habits. The selections are either historical or geographical or both. a. The Arickara Indians. (A description of the habits and customs of one of the western tribes.) Volume V, page 463. b. Reminiscences of a Pioneer. (This contains a few interesting anecdotes of Indians and many incidents of pioneer life.) Volume VI, page 67. C. Black Hawk Tragedy. (A very interesting biographical and historical sketch.) Volume VII, page 354. d. An Exciting Canoe Race. (A story of the New York Indians at an early day.) Volume VII, page 395. e. David Crockett in the Creek War. (An interesting account of southern Indians and their wars.) Volume VIII, page 380. 3. Biography. The selections in this group consist of anecdotal sketches, brief biographies, extracts from longer works, and a few poems. a. Authors of the United States and of for eign countries: (1) Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume I, page 125. |