only too frequently sacrificed strength and
virility to a fascinating brilliancy that seizes the imagination of
youthful readers and gives no material for subsequent growth. The
earlier writers, those who produced the great classics which still are
the most inspiring things in our language, were actuated by nobler
motives. To them literature was not a trade, but a high calling, to
which the writer came as a priest approaches his altar. Such a writer
held a high purpose and kept it in view, often giving hours of thought
and the best of his genius to work that the modern story writer neglects
entirely or passes over with hasty evasion.

The purpose of the author is always a subject of interesting inquiry,
and whenever it appears a serious one it is worthy our careful study.
The novel is often the medium of conveying the results of deep study
into human character, and a few of the greatest stories have been
epoch-making in their effect upon the human race.

As the fiction which children read has a profound influence in the
formation of character, it should always be examined with greatest care
to see that the author's purpose is a laudable one and that he carries
it out in such a way that the lesson is wholesome and salutary. Some
stories may be entertaining merely--they are for the play-spells of the
imagination; others should be instructive--they are for hours of study
and reflection; a third class should be invigorating and inspiring, full
of good lessons of high moral import--they are for times of stress, or
the still hours when character is made.

If, however, the purpose of the author is too evident, if his lesson is
too obvious, none are so quick to catch the fact as wide-awake childish
readers. The author who lugs instruction and information into his
stories will find the boys and girls skipping all that he values, or
laying down his books with laughter and derision. The writer who
moralizes may find his work to be immoral in its effect on his juvenile
readers, or may see his stories relegated to the overloaded bargain
counters.

In the same sense, it is often unwise to dwell long upon the moral of a
story or even to point it out if it be at all evident. There is no phase
of teaching reading that requires such careful thought or such fine
discrimination from the parent as that which relates to the lesson of
the story. It is often better to let the selection do its own work than
to try to elaborate its purpose.