Emmy Lou : her Book and Heart. By George Madden
Martin. (Hodder and Stoughton. 55.)—This is a most amusing book; but is it, ought it to be, meant for children ? We are introduced to Emmy Lou—at full length, Emily Louise Maclauren—when she belongs to the Primer Class. She makes the acquaintance there of Billy Traver. Billy Traver and his fellows are responsible for a very considerable part of the story that follows, much too con- aiderable, we are inclined to say. But then these Transatlantic infants are quite amazing. When Emmy Lou is in the Second Reader—Standard, we presume, it would be called here—" a smiling-and-bowing little man" comes into the classroom; addresses the little girls, very much to their consternation, as "mothers of a coming generation," and "moulders of the future welfare"; and announces that he will give a prize to the best speller. And what does Emmy Lou's neighbour say? "He is running for Trustee," she whispers, and a little later, "When he's Trustee he means the School Board shall take his perk house for the new school." But it is not only secular matters that awake these precocious interests. "All the Winds of Doctrine "is not less astonishing. Sally, whose church "is having a season of prayer," and who cannot, therefore, learn her lessons ; Mary Agatha, who is going to be a "Bride of Heaven "—she was about to be confirmed—and having to keep her mind from secular things, must have a seat to herself ; and Rebecca Steinau, whc scornfully describes the whole posse as "Gentiles,"—these, again, are astonishing creatures. No wonder that the harassed teacher remarked that "she only needed a few infant Turks and infidels, and her sectarian Babel would be complete." One is amused, but not without an arriere pensee. But there is not a little unmixed fun, as when Billy Traver reads his essay on "Conscience," and draws a distinction between the girl and the boy conscience, with an admirable illustration of the former. "Two girls met a cow. Look her right in the face and pretend like we aren't afraid,' said the biggest girl; but the littlest girl had a conscience. Won't it be deceiving the cow ? ' she wanted to know." Mr. C. L. Hinton's illustrations are very good. He makes us feel that Emmy Lou, when we last see her, was quite right in thinking that she was pretty.
Previous page
