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STRATFORD ON AVON
From photograph. Copyright, 1898, Published by A. W. Elson, Boston.
Engraved by Robert Varley.
THE
Cyr Readers
ARRANGED BY GRADES
BY
ELLEN M. CYR
BOOK EIGHT
BOSTON, U.S.A.
GINN & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS
The Athenæum Press
1901
{iv}
Copyright, 1899, 1901
By GINN & COMPANY
——
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TO
MY LITTLE SON
Ruel Stevenson Smith
PREFACE.
THE appreciative reading of a piece of good literature is an experiencefar reaching in its influence. There is a delight in following a greatauthor as he reveals the treasure of his thought or presents to theimagination the beauty which he beholds and interprets.
The study of literature assists one to enjoy these experiences andprofit by them.
Among the countless books which have been written are a few which havebeen chosen by all mankind. They stand the test of time and change; forthey are the outcome of those giant souls, who were not limited by timenor space and who seemed to gaze with far-seeing eyes into eternity.
A large proportion of the pupils in our grammar schools would never readthese classics, if their interest in them were not awakened in theschoolroom.
Many of these books are represented in this series, for this has beenthe end constantly in view. The names of the world’s greatest writersand their faces have become familiar to the child, so that he is nowable to take down from the shelves the writings of many great men, andgiving his imagination to the author’s leading, be transported into anyregion or age, and experience joys and sorrows outside of his own life.
I