Juvenile Nonfiction Books

The word chivalry is taken from the French cheval, a horse. A knight was a young man, the son of a good family, who was allowed to wear arms. In the story "How the Child of the Sea was made Knight," we are told how a boy of twelve became a page to the queen, and in the opening pages of the story "The Adventures of Sir Gareth," we get a glimpse of a young man growing up at the court of... more...

THE NEW BABY.A new little baby came down from the sky—Came down from the sky in the night.A soft little baby, with violet eyes,Shining, and pure, and white.But how did the little new baby getDown here from the depths of the sky?She couldn't have come alone, you know,For she's much too young to fly.Oh! the angels carried her down in their armsFrom the far-away, beautiful blue;Brought her... more...

I. A CHRISTMAS DREAM, AND HOW IT CAME TRUE. "I'm so tired of Christmas I wish there never would be another one!" exclaimed a discontented-looking little girl, as she sat idly watching her mother arrange a pile of gifts two days before they were to be given. "Why, Effie, what a dreadful thing to say! You are as bad as old Scrooge; and I'm afraid something will happen to you, as it... more...

CHAPTER I One of the first questions that must naturally occur to every writer who deals with the subject of this book is, what influence mere discussion and reasoning can have in promoting the happiness of men. The circumstances of our lives and the dispositions of our characters mainly determine the measure of happiness we enjoy, and mere argument about the causes of happiness and unhappiness can do... more...

INTRODUCTION. When we make an object with our hands, we frequently notice that the most care is needed as we near its completion. A false stroke of the brush will change an angel into a demon, a misguided blow of the mallet will shiver the statue into fragments: so, in the work which attempts to form a noble womanhood, all the efforts of years of training will be marred or rendered ineffectual, if the... more...

'RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI'           At the hole where he went in          Red-Eye called to Wrinkle-Skin.          Hear what little Red-Eye saith:          'Nag, come up and dance with death!'           Eye to eye and head to head,             (Keep the measure, Nag.)          This shall end when one is... more...

This preface, though placed at the beginning, as a preface must be, should be read at the end of the book. I have received a large amount of correspondence concerning this small work, and many reviews of it—some of them nearly as long as the book itself—have been printed. But scarcely any of the comment has been adverse. Some people have objected to a frivolity of tone; but as the tone is not, in... more...

During the time when Pericles was at the head of the state at Athens he spared no pains and no money to make the city beautiful. He himself was a lover and patron of the arts, and he was determined that Athens should become the very centre of art and refinement, and that she should have splendid public buildings and splendid sculptures and paintings. So he gathered round him all the great sculptors and... more...

I. TROY BEFORE THE SIEGE. Design by Burne-Jones.That part of Asia Minor which borders the narrow channel now known as the Dar-da-nellesГЉВ№, was in ancient times called TroГЉВ№as. Its capital was the city of Troy, which stood about three miles from the shore of the Æ-geГЉВ№an Sea, at the foot of Mount Ida, near the junction of two rivers, the... more...

FORTUNE AND THE BEGGAR One day a ragged beggar was creeping along from house to house. He carried an old wallet in his hand, and was asking at every door for a few cents to buy something to eat. As he was grumbling at his lot, he kept wondering why it was that folks who had so much money were never satisfied but were always wanting more. "Here," said he, "is the master of this house—I... more...