which you and I and everybody must know if we expect to be
considered educated or to be able to read with intelligence and
appreciation the current writings of the day. To this class belong all
those nursery rhymes, lyrics, classic myths, legends and so on to which
allusion is constantly made and which are themselves the legal tender of
polite and cultured conversation. Next, there are those selections whose
power lies in the profound influence they exert upon the unfolding
character of boy or girl. As a child readeth so is he. Masterpieces of
this type abound in the books and it is by means of them that the author
hopes and expects to exert his greatest influence upon his unknown
friends among the children. The third group consists of the masterpieces
which lend interest to school work and make it pleasanter, easier and
more profitable. It is what some may call the practical side of
literature. It is what, at first, appeals most strongly to those who
have read little, but which ultimately appears of less value than the
influence of cultural and character-building literature.

Any treatment of _Journeys_ that is worthy of the name must consider the
masterpieces themselves in their three great functions, as well as the
devices by which the selections are made effective.

_1. The Masterpieces_

The table of contents at the beginning of each volume shows a wide
selection of the best things that have ever been written for
children--not always the new things, but always the best things for the
purpose. The masterpieces are the tried and true ones that have long
been popular with children and have formed a large part of the literary
education of the race.

There are a host of complete masterpieces and many selections from other
works which are too long to print here or which are otherwise
unavailable. It has often happened that something written for older
heads and for serious purposes has in it some of the most charming and
helpful things for the young. For instance, _Gulliver's Travels_ is a
political satire, and as such it is long since dead. Yet parts of it
make the most fascinating reading for children. Moreover, Swift and many
other great writers defiled their pages with matter which ought to be
unprintable. To bring together the good things from such writers, to
reprint them with all the graces of style they originally possessed, and
yet so carefully to edit them that there can be no suggestion of
offense, has b