When I was sixteen years old I belonged to a composition class. It was our custom to go on the recitation seat every day with clean slates, and we were allowed ten minutes to write seventy words on any subject the teacher thought suited to our capacity. One day he gave out "What a Man Would See if He Went to Greenland." My heart was in the matter, and before the ten minutes were up I had one side of my slate filled. The teacher listened to the reading of our compositions, and when they were all over he simply said: "Some of you will make your living by writing one of these days." That gave me something to ponder upon. I did not say so out loud, but I knew that my composition was as good as the best of them. By the way, there was another thing that came in my way just then. I was reading at that time one of Mayne Reid's works which I had drawn from the library, and I pondered upon it as much as I did upon what the teacher said to me. In introducing Swartboy to his readers he made use of this expression: "No visible change was observable in Swartboy's countenance." Now, it occurred to me that if a man of his education could make such a blunder as that and still write a book, I ought to be able to do it, too. I went home that very day and began a story, "The Old Guide's Narrative," which was sent to the New York Weekly, and came back, respectfully declined. It was written on both sides of the sheets but I didn't know that this was against the rules. Nothing abashed, I began another, and receiving some instruction, from a friend of mine who was a clerk in a book store, I wrote it on only one side of the paper. But mind you, he didn't know what I was doing. Nobody knew it; but one day, after a hard Saturday's work—the other boys had been out skating on the brick-pond—I shyly broached the subject to my mother. I felt the need of some sympathy. She listened in amazement, and then said: "Why, do you think you could write a book like that?" That settled the matter, and from that day no one knew what I was up to until I sent the first four volumes of Gunboat Series to my father. Was it work? Well, yes; it was hard work, but each week I had the satisfaction of seeing the manuscript grow until the "Young Naturalist" was all complete.
—Harry Castlemon in the Writer.
GUNBOAT SERIES.
6 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $6.00
Frank the Young Naturalist.
Frank on a Gunboat.
Frank in the Woods.
Frank before Vicksburg.
Frank on the Lower Mississippi.
Frank on the Prairie.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.00
Frank Among the Rancheros.
Frank at Don Carlos' Rancho.
Frank in the Mountains.
SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.75
The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle.
The Sportsman's Club Afloat.
The Sportsman's Club Among the Trappers.
FRANK NELSON SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.75
Snowed up.
Frank in the Forecastle.
The Boy Traders.
COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
MAILED ON APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA
ROUGHING IT SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.00
George in Camp.
George at the Fort.
George at the Wheel.
ROD AND GUN SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.00
Don Gordon's Shooting Box.
The Young Wild Fowlers.
Rod and Gun Club.
GO-AHEAD SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.00
Tom Newcombe.
Go-Ahead.
No Moss.
WAR SERIES.
6 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $6.00
True to His Colors.
Rodney the Partisan.
Rodney the Overseer.
Marcy the Blockade-Runner.
Marcy the Refugee.
Sailor Jack the Trader.
HOUSEBOAT SERIES
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.00
The Houseboat Boys.
The Mystery of Lost River CaÑon.
The Young Game Warden.
AFLOAT AND ASHORE SERIES.
3 vols. By Harry Castlemon. $3.00
Rebellion in Dixie.
A Sailor in Spite of Himself.
The Ten-Ton Cutter.
COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
MAILED ON APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA
HORATIO ALGER, JR.
The enormous sales of the books of Horatio Alger, Jr., show the greatness of his popularity among the boys, and prove that he is one of their most favored writers. I am told that more than half a million copies altogether have been sold, and that all the large circulating libraries in the country have several complete sets, of which only two or three volumes are ever on the shelves at one time. If this is true, what thousands and thousands of boys have read and are reading Mr. Alger's books! His peculiar style of stories, often imitated but never equaled, have taken a hold upon the young people, and, despite their similarity, are eagerly read as soon as they appear.
Mr. Alger became famous with the publication of that undying book, "Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York." It was his first book for young people, and its success was so great that he immediately devoted himself to that kind of writing. It was a new and fertile field for a writer then, and Mr. Alger's treatment of it at once caught the fancy of the boys. "Ragged Dick" first appeared in 1868, and ever since then it has been selling steadily, until now it is estimated that about 200,000 copies of the series have been sold.
—"Pleasant Hours for Boys and Girls."
A writer for boys should have an abundant sympathy with them. He should be able to enter into their plans, hopes, and aspirations. He should learn to look upon life as they do. Boys object to be written down to. A boy's heart opens to the man or writer who understands him.
—From "Writing Stories for Boys," by Horatio Alger, Jr.
RAGGED DICK SERIES.
6 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $6.00
Ragged Dick.
Fame and Fortune.
Mark the Match Boy.
Rough and Ready.
Ben the Luggage Boy.
Rufus and Rose.
TATTERED TOM SERIES—First Series.
4 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $4.00
Tattered Tom.
Paul the Peddler.
Phil the Fiddler.
Slow and Sure.
TATTERED TOM SERIES—Second Series.
4 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $4.00
Julius.
The Young Outlaw.
Sam's Chance.
The Telegraph Boy.
CAMPAIGN SERIES.
3 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $3.00
Frank's Campaign.
Charlie Codman's Cruise.
Paul Prescott's Charge.
LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES—First Series.
4 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $4.00
Luck and Pluck.
Sink or Swim.
Strong and Steady.
Strive and Succeed.
LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES—Second Series.
4 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $4.00
Try and Trust.
Bound to Rise.
Risen from the Ranks.
Herbert Carter's Legacy.
BRAVE AND BOLD SERIES.
4 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $4.00
Brave and Bold.
Jack's Ward.
Shifting for Himself.
Wait and Hope.
COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
MAILED ON APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA
VICTORY SERIES.
3 Vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $3.00
Only an Irish Boy.
Victor Vane, or the Young Secretary.
Adrift in the City.
FRANK AND FEARLESS SERIES.
3 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $3.00
Frank Hunter's Peril.
The Young Salesman.
Frank and Fearless.
GOOD FORTUNE LIBRARY.
3 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $3.00
Walter Sherwood's Probation.
The Young Bank Messenger.
A Boy's Fortune.
HOW TO RISE LIBRARY.
3 vols. By Horatio Alger, Jr. $3.00
Jed, the Poorhouse Boy.
Lester's Luck.
Rupert's Ambition.
COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS
MAILED ON APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS
THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA
J. T. TROWBRIDGE.
Neither as a writer does he stand apart from the great currents of life and select some exceptional phase or odd combination of circumstances. He stands on the common level and appeals to the universal heart, and all that he suggests or achieves is on the plane and in the line of march of the great body of humanity.
The Jack Hazard series of stories, published in the late Our Young Folks, and continued in the first volume of St. Nicholas, under the title of "Fast Friends," is no doubt destined to hold a high place in this class of literature. The delight of the boys in them (and of their seniors, too) is well founded. They go to the right spot every time. Trowbridge knows the heart of a boy like a book, and the heart of a man, too, and he has laid them both open in these books in a most successful manner. Apart from the qualities that render the series so attractive to all young readers, they have great value on account of their portraitures of American country life and character. The drawing is wonderfully accurate, and as spirited as it is true. The constable, Sellick, is an original character, and as minor figures where will we find anything better than Miss Wansey, and Mr. P. Pipkin, Esq. The picture of Mr. Dink's school, too, is capital, and where else in fiction is there a better nick-name than that the boys gave to poor little Stephen Treadwell, "Step Hen," as he himself pronounced his name in an unfortunate moment when he saw it in print for the first time in his lesson in school.
On the whole, these books are very satisfactory, and afford the critical reader the rare pleasure of the works that are just adequate, that easily fulfill themselves and accomplish all they set out to do.—Scribner's Monthly.
JACK HAZARD SERIES.
6 vols. By J. T. TROWBRIDGE $7.25
Jack Hazard and His Fortunes.
Doing His Best.
The Young Surveyor.
A Chance for Himself.
Fast Friends.
Lawrence's Adventures.
CHARLES ASBURY STEPHENS.
"This author wrote his "Camping Out Series" at the very height of his mental and physical powers.
"We do not wonder at the popularity of these books; there is a freshness and variety about them, and an enthusiasm in the description of sport and adventure, which even the older folk can hardly fail to share."—Worcester Spy.
"The author of the Camping Out Series is entitled to rank as decidedly at the head of what may be called boys' literature."—Buffalo Courier.
CAMPING OUT SERIES.
By C. A. STEPHENS.
All books in this series are 12mo. with eight full page illustrations. Cloth, extra, 75 cents.
Camping Out. As Recorded by "Kit."
"This book is bright, breezy, wholesome, instructive, and stands above the ordinary boys' books of the day by a whole head and shoulders."—The Christian Register, Boston.
Left on Labrador; or, the Cruise of the Schooner Yacht "Curlew." As Recorded by "Wash."
"The perils of the voyagers, the narrow escapes, their strange expedients, and the fun and jollity when danger had passed, will make boys even unconscious of hunger."—New Bedford Mercury.
Off to the Geysers; or the Young Yachters in Iceland. As Recorded by "Wade."
"It is difficult to believe that Wade and Read and Kit and Wash were not live boys, sailing up Hudson Straits, and reigning temporarily over an Esquimaux tribe."—The Independent, New York.
Lynx Hunting: From Notes by the Author of "Camping Out."
"Of first quality as a boys' book, and fit to take its place beside the best."—Richmond Enquirer.
Fox Hunting. As Recorded by "Raed."
"The most spirited and entertaining book that has as yet appeared. It overflows with incident, and is characterized by dash and brilliancy throughout."—Boston Gazette.
On the Amazon; or, the Cruise of the "Rambler." As Recorded by "Wash."
"Gives vivid pictures of Brazilian adventure and scenery."—Buffalo Courier.
