do you know, that brave act was forgotten; Herve Riel was forgotten
for many centuries. No monument was erected to his memory; there seemed
nothing to keep the patriotic man alive in the hearts of his countrymen.
But one day, not so many years ago, Robert Browning, the great English
poet, heard the story, and he was so moved by the heroic deed and the
quiet humor of the man, that he wrote a fine, manly poem and called it
_Herve Riel_, so that it should remain as a monument to the patriotism
and character of the simple French sailor.

If the children are older and studying history, we would give more of an
idea of the place, and of the occasion and show what the effect of
saving the ship really was. The poem is an excellent one, but most
children do not care for it till they have heard the story and have
studied the text. Then they are delighted with it and will read it again
and again. It has been many years since the writer of this first read
_Herve Riel_, but he has never wearied of it and cannot read it now
without a thrill of admiration for the hero and for Browning's monument.

When you tell the story, do not try to tell it as this has been told.
Use _your_ words, select for emphasis the parts that appeal to _you_ and
give the children just the ideas that _you_ have conceived.

Other classics that will make just as good subjects for story telling
are in every volume of _Journeys_. The following list contains only a
few of them. By adapting them to the age of the young listeners, almost
any of them may be made suitable for almost any age:

Volume I, page 79. _Little Red Riding Hood._
Volume I, page 101. _Silver Locks and the Three Bears._
Volume I, page 134. _The Dog in the Manger._
Volume I, page 431. _Baucis and Philemon._
Volume I, page 456. _The Story of Joseph._
Volume II, page 111. _The Punishment of Loki._
Volume II, page 448. _The Story of Esther._
Volume II, page 387. _What the Old Man Does Is Always Right._
Volume III, page 436. _Robin Hood._
Volume IV, page 192. _The Pine-Tree Shillings._
Volume IV, page 274. _David._
Volume IV, page 383. _The Wooden Horse._
Volume V, page 130. _Balin and Balan._
Volume V, page 237. _The Passing of Arthur._
Volume VI, page 143. _Ruth._

CHAPTER V

READING AND THE BUILDING OF CHARACTER

I

The influences which unite to make character are so numerous, subtle and
complex that it is next to impossible