f course the
immortal example of this sort of story.

(_b_) The _Story with a Moral_ attempts to sugar-coat its sermon with a
little narrative. It sticks rather closely to facts, and has a slight
plot, which shows, or is made to show, the consequences of drinking,
stealing, or some other sin. Usually it is either brutally realistic or
absurdly exaggerated; but that it can be given literary charm is proved
by Hawthorne's use of it. Maria Edgeworth is easily the "awful example"
of this class, and her stories, such as "Murad the Unlucky" and "The
Grateful Negro," are excellent illustrations of how _not_ to write. Many
of Hawthorne's tales come under this head, especially "Lady Eleanor's
Mantle," "The Ambitious Guest," and "Miss Bullfrog." The stories of Miss
Wilkins usually have a strong moral element, but they are better classed
in a later division. (See Class IV.) Contemporary examples of this style
of writing may be found in the pages of most Sunday School and
Temperance papers.

(_c_) _The Allegory_ is the only really literary form of the _Moral
Story_, and the only one which survives to-day. It has a strong moral
purpose, but disguises it under the pretense of a well-told story; so
that it is read for its story alone, and the reader is conscious of its
lesson only when he has finished the narrative. It usually personifies
or gives concrete form to the various virtues and vices of men.
Examples: Hawthorne's "The Birthmark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," and
"Feathertop." Allegories which deserve the name are sometimes found in
current periodicals.

III. THE WEIRD STORY owes its interest to the innate love of the
supernatural or unexplainable which is a part of our complex human
nature--the same feeling which prompts a group of children to beg for
"just one more" ghost story, while they are still shaken with the terror
of the last one. It may have a definite plot in which supernatural
beings are actors; but more often it is slight in plot, but contains a
careful psychological study of some of the less pleasant emotions.

(_a_) The _Ghost Story_ usually has a definite plot, in which the ghost
is an actor. The ghost may be a "really truly" apparition, manifesting
itself by the conventional methods, and remaining unexplained to the
end, as in Irving's "The Spectre Bridegroom," and Kipling's "The Phantom
'Rickshaw;" or it may prove to be the result of a superstitious mind
dwelling upon perfectly natural occurrences, as in