The two Tempers.

“tell them the Cart is in the ditch”

Fictitious narratives, designed for the perusal of children, should(in the opinion of the Writer) be familiar in their subjects aswell as in their style; and slight in their construction: They shouldhardly aim to excite more than a very transient or superficial emotion.If they are highly wrought, or laboured with dramatic interest, theywill rarely be read without injury by children whose imaginations arelively, or whose feelings are strong. In other cases, they will beharmless only in proportion as they are useless.

It is desirable that children should be tempted to seek a portion—butnever a large portion, of their amusement in books, as well as inactive sports. That this species of amusement should be harmlessis, perhaps,[Pg vi] its best praise. While it avoids the hazards whichmust always attend any fictitious excitement of the imagination orthe stronger feelings, it may safely aim to illustrate the minorvirtues,—to exhibit the less important faults to which children areliable, or, to give a playful exercise to the understanding.

In what way religious principles may be advantageously presented tothe minds of children through the medium of fiction, is a questionupon which the Writer has no wish to give an opinion: he has only tosay that he has not deemed himself qualified for a task of so muchdifficulty.