ous, uncompromising and stern as the characters
of the Pilgrims themselves. Then the great forests, the felling of the
trees, the erection of the log houses and forts, the meeting of Puritans
with the neighboring Indians, with their curious costumes, homes,
customs and occupations, introduce other phases of life that put the
child in a receptive mood for the reading of colonial history, Indian
legends and stories of pioneer life.

Familiarity with the author's portrait, with pictures of his home or his
favorite scenes, brings a something of the writer's personality to the
child. He feels the story is told _more directly to him_. A sympathetic
bond is established that leads him to a more intimate and a more
intelligent acquaintance with the author's emotions, thoughts, style and
purposes as expressed in his works. He reads Thoreau's _Journal_, and
notes uncomprehendingly, the potent sway of nature over the heart and
life of the man. It requires the keen vision and the genius of the
artist to give him a realization of the mesmeric influence nature
frequently exerts.

If this author's portrait is the work of a great artist it will perform
a double service. For example, the reproduction of the _Aesop_ of
Velasquez not only gives the child an idea of the appearance of that
creator of the wonderful fables, but it also introduces the great
Spanish artist who has depicted marvelous interpretations of life on
canvas and has so wonderfully influenced the style and method of the
work of many of the artists who succeeded him.

The world of literature is filled with poems and stories which emphasize
abstract truths, teach needed lessons or give universal principles of
beauty. Many of these have been the subject and the inspiration of
pictures. And, in the re-telling of the poem or story with brush or pen,
the artists have added a something of their own individuality and
character which serves not only to emphasize and perpetuate themselves
through their pictured translation of these noble thoughts, but also
makes the principles inculcated by the author become a part of the
child's moral creed.

All have long realized the value of pictures in connection with stories
involving scientific knowledge, but the co-operation of the artist with
the author in presenting literature to children is of equal importance.
The picture arrests the interest of the child and wins his love for
books long before he can read; it arouses his desire to