written _Story of Joseph_. On a
subsequent turn of the spiral are found fiction from Scott and Swift;
poetry from Homer, Vergil, Hay, Gilbert and Tennyson; hero stories from
Malory; history from Washington Irving.

If, however, some inquiring young person should wish to read all there
is on history, biography or any other subject, the full index in the
tenth volume will show him where everything of the nature he wishes is
to be found.

Another valuable feature of arrangement is the frequent bringing
together of selections that bear some relation to one another. A simple
cycle of this sort may be seen where in the eighth volume the account of
Lord Nelson's great naval victory is followed by _Casabianca_; a better
one where in the fifth volume there is an account of King Arthur,
followed by tales of the Round Table Knights from Malory, and _Geraint
and Enid_ and _The Passing of Arthur_ from Tennyson. By this plan one
selection serves as the setting for another, and a child often can see
how the real things of life prove the inspiration for great writers.
Again, in the fourth volume is _The Pine Tree Shillings_, a New England
story or tradition for girls; this is followed immediately by _The
Sunken Treasure_, a vivid story for boys; next comes _The Hutchinson
Mob_, a semi-historical sketch, followed in turn by _The Boston
Massacre_, which is pure history. The cycle is completed by _The Landing
of the Pilgrims_ and _Sheridan's Ride_, two historical poems.

_Graphic Classification of Masterpieces_ on page 14 will show more
clearly what is meant by the overlapping of subjects. In the column at
the left are given the names of the subjects under which the selections
have been classified, running from _Fables_ to _Drama_, and _Studies_,
the last name including all the varied helps given by the author. Across
the top of the table the Roman numerals, I to X, indicate the numbers of
the ten volumes. The shading in the squares shows the relative quantity
of material. In using the _Classification_, "read across to learn in
which volume the subjects are treated; read down to find what each
volume contains." Thus: The first volume contains (reading down), a
great many fables, many fairy stories and much folk lore, a few myths
and old stories, a little biography, some biblical or religious
material, selections that may be classified under the heads of nature,
humor and poetry; but there is no account of legendary heroes, no travel
an