I make claim
for this collection that it is made up of poems that the majority of
children will learn of their own free will. There are people who believe
that in the matter of learning poetry there is no "_ought_," but this is
a false belief. There is a _duty_, even there; for every American
citizen _ought_ to know the great national songs that keep alive the
spirit of patriotism. Children should build for their future--and get,
while they are children, what only the fresh imagination of the child
can assimilate.
They should store up an untold wealth of heroic sentiment; they should
acquire the habit of carrying a literary quality in their conversation;
they should carry a heart full of the fresh and delightful associations
and memories, connected with poetry hours to brighten mature years. They
should develop their memories while they have memories to develop.
Will the boy who took every poetry hour for a whole school year to learn
"Henry of Navarre" ever regret it, or will the children who listened to
it? No. It was fresh every week and they brought fresh interest in
listening.
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