I cs of my life, but I  s only for pleasure and for to all  kno so mucion t of ot I so time wo read.

    I read my first connected story in May, 1887, o ted page t ips.

    As I  study regularly during tion; nor did I read according to rule.

    At first I --quot;readersquot; for beginners, a collection of stories for c t;Our orld.quot; I t  I read til t. Sometimes Miss Sullivan read to me, spelling into my tle stories and poems t sand; but I preferred reading myself to being read to, because I liked to read again and again t pleased me.

    It  visit to Boston t I really began to read in good earnest. I ted to spend a part of eacitution library, and to o bookcase, and take doen or two words on a page.

    ted me; but I took no conscious account of ,  t period, for it retained many o t test clue; and afteralk and e, tences e naturally, so t my friends  t s of many books (in t deal of poetry in til I discovered quot;Little Lord Fauntleroy,quot; andingly.

    One day my teac;t Letter.quot; I  eigtle Pearl, and explained some of t old me t siful story about a little boy ;t Letter.quot; tory ;Little Lord Fauntleroy,quot; and so read it to me t  begin tory until August; t feay at tement t I forgot tence of books. teac to visit some friends in Boston, leaving me for a s time.

    urned almost t to begin tory of quot;Little Lord Fauntleroy.quot; I recall distinctly time and place ing cory. It ernoon in August. e ting toget a s distance from ter lunc ory. As o us and fastened t my teaced upon picking t doe of time. t  been used  all tang of t. Before ory Miss Sullivan explained to me t s understand, and as  t knoantly interrupted; but as soon as I tuation, I became too eagerly absorbed in tory to notice mere ened impatiently to tions t Miss Sullivan felt to be necessary. oo tired to spell anot time a keen sense of my deprivations. I took tried to feel tters ensity of

    longing t I can never forget.

    After my eager request, Mr. Anagnos ory embossed, and I read it again and again, until I almost kne by ; and all t;Little Lord Fauntleroyquot;  and gentle companion. I ails at tedious, because trast able and confused memories of earlier reading.

    From quot;Little Lord Fauntleroyquot; I date true interest in books. During t t my s to Boston. I cannot remember  order I read t I kno among t;Greek ; La Fontaines quot;Fables,quot; ;onder Book,quot; quot;Bible Stories,quot; Lambs quot;tales from S; quot;A Cory of Englandquot; by Dickens, quot;ts,quot; quot;t; quot;t; quot;Robinson Crusoe,”

    quot;Little omen,quot; and quot;; a beautiful little story ervals betudy and play  study nor analyze t knoen or not; I never t about style or autreasures at my feet, and I accepted t t;Little omenquot; because it gave me a sense of kinso look bet lay outside my own.

    I did not care especially for quot;t; ; I read La Fontaines quot;Fablesquot; first in an Englisranslation, and enjoyed ter a ed faser I read t, in spite of tures, and tery of language, I liked it no better. I do not kno stories in alk and act like o me very strongly. tures of to the moral.

    taine seldom, if ever, appeals to our  moral sense. t crikes are t t mans morality springs  self-love is directed and restrained by reason,  follo of all evil; but, of course, I may be aine er opportunities of observing men to  object so muco tirical fables as to tous trutaught by monkeys and foxes.

    But I love quot;t; and quot;ild Animals I ; I feel a genuine interest in t caricatures of men. One sympatreds, laugragedies. And if t a moral, it is so subtle t  conscious of it.

    My mind opened naturally and joyously to a conception of antiquity. Greece, ancient Greece, exercised a mysterious fascination over me. In my fancy till alked face to face  I secretly built so t. I kneribe of nymp quite all, for ty and greed of Medea and Jason oo monstrous to be forgiven, and I used to ed to do ery is still unsolved. I often wonder ime.

    It  made Greece my paradise. I ory of troy before I read it in tly I tle difficulty in making treasures after I  poetry, er t. ould t t of t s odious

    by tions and laborious comments migrut is not necessary t one so define every  its principal parts and its grammatical position in tence in order to understand and appreciate a fine poem. I kno avaricious. I am content t ot  measure t of t splendid epic, nor can I.  passages of t lifts me above tances of my life. My pations are forgotten--my he heavens are mine!

    My admiration for t so great, but it is none t as muc tes or dictionary, and I alo translate t please me especially. ting of Virgil is imes; but rife and pity and love like t; iful, animated yout he wind in his hair.

    is to fly on paper ;Greek ; to t altoget. One could raveled round times ionaries, or fell into tfalls called examinations, set by scer kno of Pilgrims Progress ified by t it seemed interminable to me, in spite of t surprises t met me no a turn in the road.

    I began to read tand it. No seems strange to me t time o its o read me a story out of t tand, so spell into my ory of Josep failed to interest me. tition made tory seem unreal and far ao t of many colours unto tent of Jacob and told t understand erest, unless it  I ance of several Greeks in Boston and been inspired by tories of try;  a single ian, and t tories about titions and t never occurred to me to call Greek patronymics quot;queer.”

    But  ion; and I love it as I love no otill t  of my being rebels, so muc I regret ty  to end. I do not t ts ory and sources compensates me for t details it tention. For my part, I erature of t mig is ugly and barbarous in it, alt as muco  works weakened or falsified.

    ty and terrible directness of tic tands before o protect , conquering ed by t patriotism,  one t: quot;If I peris if I live, my people shall live.”

    tory of Rutoo--al it is! Yet  is try folks from t

    of tal! Rutle-ed,  ands iful, unselfis s like a brigar in t of a dark and cruel age. Love like Ruting creeds and deep-seated racial prejudices, is o find in all the world.

    ting sense t quot;temporal, and ternal.”

    I do not remember a time since I  I  loved S tell exactly ales from S;; but I kno I read t first anding and a c;Macbet; seems to . One reading  to stamp every detail of tory upon my memory forever. For a long time ts and co Dreamland. I could see, absolutely see, ttle o me as to tricken queen.

    I read quot;King Learquot; soon after quot;Macbet; and I s to ters eyes are put out. Anger seized me, my fingers refused to move, I sat rigid for one long moment, temples, and all tred t a crated in my .

    I must ance of San about time, for ted in my mind. I remember t I  vaguely t t be good even if to, because no one seemed o o give t find it in my  to condemn tterly. ts  wime be made whole.

    It seems strange t my first reading of S me so many unpleasant memories. t, gentle, fanciful plays--t no to  first, pered tual sunsy of a c quot;t it  will lose.”

    I imes and knos of t, but I cannot tell le songs and ts ,  is often o read all to ics and commentators o try to remember terpretations, but t compact  to try any more. t I  broken in my study of Stredge. I kno I do not understand; and I am glad to see veil after veil lift gradually, revealing ne and beauty.

    Next to poetry I love ory. I orical  I o lay my alogue of dry facts and dryer dates to Greens impartial, picturesque quot;ory of t;; from Freemans quot;ory of Europequot; to Emertons quot;Middle Ages.quot; t book t gave me any real sense of tory ons quot;orld ory,quot;  is no longer considered valid, yet I  it ever since as one of my treasures. From it I learned o land and built great cities,  rulers, eartitans, put everyt, and es of  nations pioneered in art and knoier gro as it  of a degenerate age, and rose again, like ty, tolerance and education t and tion of the whole world.

    In my college reading I  familiar erature. ts strengty, and trution, boterature. t, sledge- everyt  is not to impress ot because   if  find an outlet for ts t burn in his soul.

    too, terature a fine reserve s cion I find in it of tency of  pervades all German literature and is mystically expressed in Goet;Faustquot;: All transitory But as symbols are sent. Earto event. t is done. the oman Soul leads us upward and on!

    Of all ters t I . trike one like a keen blast of sea air. Alfred de Musset is impossible! I admire Victor e icism; t one of my literary passions. But  poets of all great nations are interpreters of eternal t reverently folloo ty and truth and Goodness are one.

    I am afraid I ten too muc my book-friends, and yet I ioned only t; and from t one mig my circle of friends ed and undemocratic, e pleasure in ties and surprises of ness and t of lily and rose in tier for itude. I kneoo, loved  into  all manner of  , tt for y. I love all ers ains of joy and good y.

    In a erature is my Utopia.  disfrancs me out from t, gracious discourse of my book-friends. talk to me  embarrassment or aaugtle importance compared ;large loves and ies.”