Stories of Invention
TOLD BY INVENTORS AND
THEIR FRIENDS.
By EDWARD E. HALE.
BOSTON:
ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1889.
Copyright, 1885,
By Roberts Brothers.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.
PREFACE.
This little book closes a series of five volumes which Iundertook some years since, in the wish to teach boysand girls how to use for themselves the treasures whichthey have close at hand in the Public Libraries now sogenerally opened in the Northern States of America. Thelibrarians of these institutions are, without an exception,so far as I know, eager to introduce to the young thebooks at their command. From these gentlemen andladies I have received many suggestions as the series wentforward, and I could name many of them who could haveedited or prepared such a series far more completelythan I have done. But it is not fair to expect them, inthe rush of daily duty, to stop and tell boys or girls whatwill be "nice books" for them to read. If they issuefrequent bulletins of information in this direction, as isdone so admirably by the librarians at Providence and atHartford, they do more than any one has a right to askthem for. Such bulletins must be confined principally tohelping young people read about the current events of theday. In that case it will only be indirectly that they sendthe young readers back into older literature, and make[Pg iv]them acquainted with the best work of earlier times.
I remember well a legend of the old Public Library atDorchester, which describes the messages sent to the hard-pressedlibrarian from the outlying parts of the town onthe afternoon of Saturday, which was the only time whenthe Library was open.
"Mother wants a sermon book and another book."This was the call almost regularly made by the messengers.
I think that many of the most accomplished librariansof to-day have demands not very dissimilar, and that theywill be glad of any assistance that will give to eithermother or messenger any hint as to what this "otherbook" shall be.
It is indeed, of course, almost the first thing to beasked that boys and girls shall learn to find out for themselveswhat they want, and to rummage in catalogues,indexes, and encyclopædias for the books which will bestanswer their necessities. Mr. Emerson's rule is, "Read inthe line of your genius." And the young man or maidenwho can find out, in early life, what the line of his or hergenius is, has every reason to be grateful to the teacher, orthe event, or the book that has discovered it. I havecertainly hoped, in reading and writing for this series, thatthere might be others of my young friends as sensible andas bright as Fergus and Fanchon, who will be found towork out their own s