TO THE CHILDREN

A wise old Latin poet named Lucretius once wrote some lines that would make a good motto for this book.

"It is exceedingly pleasant," he said, "when the storm wind is blowing and stirring up the mighty depths of the sea into a wild commotion of billows, to stand on the shore and watch the struggles of some one else; not because we are glad to see another in danger, but because we are happy to feel our own safety."

Those old Latin and Greek poets had a way of being in the right on most questions, and Lucretius has given us one reason why a book of adventures is usually pretty well worn. We like to read about danger, about a prisoner's wonderful escape from some closely guarded dungeon, about the rescue of a man from the clutches of an angry mob or from the very brink of a cataract; and part of the pleasure comes from knowing that we ourselves are in safety. Nothing makes a warm, dry house seem so especially comfortable as to read how the sudden coming of a flood swept away the home and treasures of some one else.

Another reason for liking to read about adventures is that you may enjoy not only your safety, but the certainty that your friend, the hero, is coming out of the adventure in some way. You have the pleasure without the worry. When, for instance, a naturalist tells you of the time when he was attacked by alligators, "roaring terribly and belching floods of water" over him, you know of course that in some way he managed to get the better of them—or else he would not be telling the story. You have the entertainment of living in other people's lives without meeting their troubles. You wear the king's crown without having a headache from its weight.

One thing that is almost always true about the adventures of which we do not tire of reading, is that they came along in the course of every-day duty, and that they had a worthy object. Our firemen do not rush into burning buildings to show how daring they are, but to save life and property. Even in the days of knighthood, when the knight put on his armor and sallied forth in quest of adventures, he went with the promise to rescue the helpless who were in danger and to see justice done to those who were suffering wrong. When a person risks his life for good reason, we cry, "How brave!" but when it is for a poor reason, we are much more inclined to exclaim, "How foolish!"

With hardly an exception, the deeds of prowess that are described in this book are worthy adventures; that is, they came in the course of duty, and they show bravery, fearlessness, and unselfishness. When we read much about people, we feel as if we knew them. The heroes of such exploits are good people to know; and to know the best men and women is one of the strongest reasons for reading biography. It is a small matter to learn merely when a man was born and died, what he did and what rewards and honors he received. It is worth more to gain the encouragement of seeing that others as well as ourselves have difficulties to encounter; and it is worth most of all to feel that we have made friends, not only among the people whom we have chanced to meet, but also among the wisest and noblest and bravest of all countries and all ages.

From the book