the sight is a thrilling one
and that there is imminent danger to life and property in the storm.
Some time he will have the experience to interpret and then his mind
will recur to the description and he will understand it somewhat as you
do now. This brings us to think for a moment on the permanent value of
all that is read. _The mind holds things in abeyance, brings them out to
the light now and then, and each time finds them more and more
intelligible and influential._ Many a maxim learned in youth when an
understanding of it was impossible becomes a power for good for the
person in later years when its inner significance appears.

Some poetry will appeal to boys, even though they may look askance at
most of it. Some lyrics are virile and powerful, well worthy the study
of the keenest minds. There is an unfounded prejudice against poetry in
many men because of the fancied puerility of it and its silly sentiment.
Such a prejudice always disappears if the person reads enough and
selects the things that are worthy of study. Narrative poems are more
likely to appeal to men and boys than the lyrics. When the narrative is
a stirring one and the action dramatic, the poetic form adds decidedly
to its interest and effectiveness. Take, for instance, that little poem
by Robert Browning that is known as _Incident of the French Camp_
(Volume IV, page 174). No man can read it without being stirred by it,
and its appeal to boys is immediate and strong. But strong as it is, the
whole influence of it may be intensified if it is discussed in the
manner indicated on the pages immediately after the poem. What we would
have you do is to read the little epic with your boy and talk it over
with him along the lines of the comments given. It will not be necessary
for you to point the moral. He will see it for himself, but if you can
show a little enthusiasm and delight in the incident he will go away
feeling better toward you and will be a convert to poetry, at least to
some kinds of it. Later in life the lesson will come back to him and he
will seek for more of the same sort.

There are a great number of poems of similar import in the books. Any
one of the following will be capital for reading aloud with your boy.
Try them and be convinced.

_Beth Gelert_, Volume III, page 42.
_Sheridan's Ride_, Volume IV, page 223.
_Bernardo Del Carpio_, Volume IV, page 270.
_The Wooden Horse_, Volume IV, page 383.
_Little Giffin of Tennessee