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Albert Danial

Python for MATLAB Development

Extend MATLAB with 300,000+ Modules from the
Python Package Index
Albert Danial
Redondo Beach, CA, USA

ISBN 978-1-4842-7222-0 e-ISBN 978-1-4842-7223-7

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7223-7

© Albert Danial 2022

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively
licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and
retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or
dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks,

service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the
absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the
relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general
use.

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the
advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate
at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the
editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have
been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional
claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Apress imprint is published by the registered company APress

Media, LLC part of Springer Nature.
The registered company address is: 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY
10004, U.S.A.
To Ashley, Theodore, Mimi
Preface
In 2018, I was chatting with a young engineer who had recently earned
an engineering master’s degree. MATLAB came up and she spoke of her
frustration with license shortages when projects came due at school. I
had the same frustrations—25 years earlier. Had nothing changed?
Of course, a lot had changed.
By then, we had already found our separate ways to Python to do
the kind of work we used to do in MATLAB. Why were so few MATLAB
users aware of the power and freedom Python could bring them?
I began assembling notes comparing Python solutions to their
MATLAB equivalents and shortly afterward learned of MATLAB’s py
module. A binary API to Python?! Too good to be true. It was too good to
be true, in a sense; early versions couldn’t use critical modules such as
NumPy.
The MathWorks improved py with each MATLAB release, though,
and today MATLAB can run code from NumPy, SciPy, Pandas,
matplotlib, statsmodels, dask, even modules compiled with Cython,
Numba, Pythran, and f2py. The MATLAB + Python combination offers
astounding possibilities to both languages, yet few MATLAB developers
know of this capability or how to take advantage of it. Fertile ground for
a new book, I thought.
Any source code or other supplementary material referenced by the
author in this book is available to readers on GitHub at
https://github.com/Apress/python-for-matlab-development. For more
detailed information, please visit http://www.apress.com/source-code.
Acknowledgments
Rachel Rybarczyk’s comments about MATLAB and Python inspired me
to start the journey that led to this book.
Alain Sei, although bowing out as my coauthor after realizing the
magnitude of the work ahead, nonetheless stayed on as my first reader.
At our weekly meetings in building R2, Alain put thought-provoking
spin on things to keep my perspective fresh.
Rocco Samuele helped elevate the literary quality of the text. While I
don’t have Rocco’s chops for the written word, his edit suggestions
clarified my writing.
Ravi Narasimhan’s critique of an early draft felt more like a mugging
than a review. After the bruises faded, it was clear he’d given me a
goldmine of improvement suggestions. Implementing them led to a
more balanced tone and more convincing assertions. Ravi also provided
the MATLAB examples for the point and line plots on maps shown in
Section 12.​4.
When Curtis Webb first told me about Numba four years ago, I
dismissed his claims that it could make Python functions run 10 ×, even
30 × faster—without using a C/C++/Fortran compiler. Impossible! Yet
somehow, like a magical alien technology, Numba does just that. Best
tip ever, thanks, Curtis!
Parker Hudnut gave valuable “big picture” suggestions on the book’s
overall structure. Thanks! The beer’s on me the next time we’re at
building H.
Thank you Steven Millett, Petra Poschmann, Drew Swalley, and
Mark Vaughn for tips on missing or incomplete topics.
Thanks to Professor John Hedengren for letting me copy his
predband() function in my section on prediction intervals (Section
11.​7.​3). His website1 has excellent videos on statistical computations in
Python.
Thanks to Professor James Doyle for advice on, and a technical
review of, the frequency response section, Section 14.​13.​7. His classic
“red book” on structural wave propagation [1] remains one of my
favorite technical reads.
 Dale Williamson’s insights on structural dynamics were inspiring
and educational, and for that I’m grateful; thanks Dale. Errors with the
formulation of equations and procedures are entirely mine.
My technical reviewers, Phillip Feldman and Darrell Yocom, are the
unsung heroes behind the operational aspects of the code and
examples. Both found numerous code errors and saved me from
embarrassingly wrong explanations. Phillip guided me through the
confidence and prediction intervals in the regression section, Section
Section 11.​7.​3. Darrell was the original “observant reader” mentioned
at the end of the TCP Recipe, Section 7.​18, and first altered me to
MATLAB’s type downcast behavior for mixed-type math, Section 15.​2.
To the Apress team, thank you: Steve Anglin for taking a chance on
me; Mark Powers for shepherding the book from early draft to
production; Sherly Nandha for the extensive copy editing and
typesetting work needed to turn my draft into a book.
Finally, and most importantly, thanks to Ashley, Theodore, and Mimi
for believing in me and giving me time and space to write.
A.N.D.
November 2021
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:​Introduction
1.​1 Learn Python Through MATLAB Equivalents
1.​2 Is Python Really Free?​
1.​3 What About Toolboxes?​
1.​4 Why Python Won’t Replace MATLAB
1.​5 Contents at a Glance
1.​6 I Already Know Python.​How Do I Call Python Functions in
MATLAB?​
1.​7 The Recipes Don’t Work! MATLAB Crashes! (and What to Do
About It)
Chapter 2:​Installation
2.​1 Downloads
2.​1.​1 Match Your Python and MATLAB Versions!
2.​1.​2 Verify That Python Runs
2.​2 Post-Install Configuration and Checkout
2.​3 Creating and Running a Python Program
2.​4 The Curse of Choice
2.​5 Virtual Environments
2.​5.​1 matpy, the Virtual Environment Used in This Book
2.​5.​2 Commands to Manage Virtual Environments
2.​5.​3 Keeping Your Virtual Environment Current
2.​6 ipython, IDEs
2.​6.​1 Autoload Modules When ipython Starts
2.​7 Python and MATLAB Versions Used in This Book
Chapter 3:​Language Basics
3.​1 Assignment
3.​1.​1 Assignment with =​
3.​1.​2 In-Place Updates with +=​, -=​, and Others
3.​1.​3 Walrus Operator, =​
3.​2 Printing
3.​3 Indentation
3.​3.​1 Tabs
3.​4 Indexing
3.​4.​1 Brackets vs.​Parentheses
3.​4.​2 Zero-Based Indexing and Index Ranges
3.​4.​3 Start, End, and Negative Indices
3.​4.​4 Index Strides
3.​4.​5 Index Chaining
3.5 for loops
3.​5.​1 Early Loop Exits
3.​5.​2 Exit from Nested Loops
3.6 while Loops
3.7 if Statements
3.​7.​1 Boolean Expressions and Operators
3.​7.​2 Range Tests
3.​8 Functions
3.​8.​1 Pass by Value and Pass by Reference
3.​8.​2 Variable Arguments
3.​8.​3 Keyword Arguments
3.​8.​4 Decorators
3.​8.​5 Type Annotation and Argument Validation
 3.​8.​6 Left-Hand Side Argument Count
3.​9 Generators
3.9.1 yield, next()
3.9.2 range()
3.​10 Scoping Rules and Global Variables
3.​11 Comments
3.​11.​1 Docstrings
3.​12 Line Continuation
3.​13 Exceptions
3.​14 Modules and Packages
3.​14.​1 Namespace
3.14.2 def main()
3.​14.​3 Module Search Path
3.​14.​4 Installing New Modules
3.​14.​5 Module Dependency Conflicts and Virtual
Environments
Chapter 4:​Data Containers
4.​1 NumPy Arrays
4.​2 Strings
4.​2.​1 Strings, Character Arrays, and Byte Arrays
4.​2.​2 String Operations
4.​2.​3 Formatting
4.​2.​4 Separate a String into Words
4.​2.​5 Tests on Strings
4.​2.​6 String Searching, Replacing with Regular Expressions
4.​2.​7 String Templates
4.​3 Python Lists and MATLAB Cell Arrays
4.​3.​1 Initialize an Empty List
4.​3.​2 Create a List with Given Values
4.​3.​3 Get the Length of a List
4.​3.​4 Index a List Item
4.​3.​5 Extract a Range of Items
4.​3.​6 Warning—Python Index Ranges Are Not Checked!
4.​3.​7 Append an Item
4.​3.​8 Append Another List
4.​3.​9 Preallocate an Empty List
4.​3.​10 Insert to the Beginning (or Any Other Position) of a
List
4.​3.​11 Indexing Nested Containers
4.​3.​12 Membership Test:​Does an Item Exist in a List?​
4.​3.​13 Find the Index of an Item
4.​3.​14 Apply an Operation to All Items (List
Comprehension)
4.​3.​15 Select a Subset of Items Based on a Condition
4.​3.​16 How Many Times Does an Item Occur?​
4.​3.​17 Remove the First or Last (or Any Intermediate) List
Item
4.​3.​18 Remove an Item by Value
4.​3.​19 Merging Multiple Lists
4.​3.​20 Unmerging Combined Lists
4.​3.​21 Sort a List
4.​3.​22 Reverse a List
4.​4 Python Tuples
 4.​5 Python Sets and MATLAB Set Operations
4.​6 Python Dictionaries and MATLAB Maps
4.​6.​1 Iterating over Keys
4.​6.​2 Testing for Key Existence
4.​6.​3 Iterating over Keys, Sorting by Key
4.​6.​4 Iterating over Keys, Sorting by Value
4.​6.​5 Tuples As Keys
4.​6.​6 List Values
4.​7 Structured Data
4.7.1 Method 1: namedtuple
4.7.2 Method 2: SimpleNamespace
4.​7.​3 Method 3:​Classes
4.​7.​4 Method 4:​Data Classes
4.​7.​5 Enumerations
4.8 Caveat: “=” Copies a Reference for Nonscalars!
Chapter 5:​Dates and Times
5.​1 Time
5.​1.​1 Current Time
5.​1.​2 Time String Formats
5.​1.​3 tic, toc; %timeit
5.​2 Dates
5.2.1 datetime Objects to and from Strings
5.​2.​2 Time Deltas
5.​3 Timezones
5.​3.​1 UTC vs.​Local Time
5.4 Time Conversions to and from datetime Objects
 5.​4.​1 Unix Epoch Seconds
5.​4.​2 ISO 8601 Time String
5.​4.​3 Julian Date; Modified Julian Date; GPS Time
5.5 zoneinfo in Python >= 3.9
5.​5.​1 List Available Timezones
5.​5.​2 Date Increments Across Daylight Savings Transition
5.​6 References
Chapter 6:​Call Python Functions from MATLAB
6.​1 Configure MATLAB to Recognize Python
6.​2 Does It Work?​
6.​3 Importing (and Reloading) Python Modules
6.4 Configure startup.m for Python Work
6.​5 Create Python Variables and Call Python Functions in
MATLAB
6.​5.​1 Scalars
6.​5.​2 Lists and Cell Arrays
6.​5.​3 Tuples
6.​5.​4 Numeric Arrays
6.​5.​5 Dictionaries and Structs
6.​5.​6 Keyword Arguments
6.​5.​7 Python-to-MATLAB and MATLAB-to-Python Variable
Converters
6.​5.​8 Traversing Generators
6.5.9 Traversing zip()
6.​6 Modifying the Python Search Path Within MATLAB
6.6.1 Extending sys.path with an Alias
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
The Project Gutenberg eBook of What books to
lend and what to give
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: What books to lend and what to give

Author: Charlotte M. Yonge

Release date: April 5, 2024 [eBook #73339]

Language: English

Original publication: London: National Society's Depository, 1887

Credits: Aaron Adrignola and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced
from images generously made available by The Internet
Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHAT BOOKS TO

LEND AND WHAT TO GIVE ***
 MESSRS. MACMILLAN & CO.’S
PUBLICATIONS.
WORKS BY CHARLOTTE M. YONGE.
NOVELS AND TALES. With Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 6s. each.

The Heir of Redclyffe.

Heartsease.
Hopes and Fears.
The Daisy Chain.
Dynevor Terrace.
Pillars of the House. 2 vols.
Clever Woman of the Family.
Lady Hester and the Danvers Papers.
Unknown to History.
Stray Pearls.
The Armourer’s Prentices.
The Young Stepmother.
The Trial.
My Young Alcides.
The Three Brides.
The Caged Lion.
Dove in the Eagle’s Nest.
 Love and Life.
The Chaplet of Pearls.
Magnum Bonum.
The Two Sides of the Shield.
Nuttie’s Father.
Scenes and Characters.
Chantry House.
A Modern Telemachus.

Byewords: a Collection of Tales, New and Old. Crown 8vo. 6s.

The Prince and the Page. Illustrated. New Edition. Globe 8vo. 4s.
6d.
Little Lucy’s Wonderful Globe. With Illustrations. Globe 8vo. 4s.
6d.
A Book of Golden Deeds. 18mo. 4s. 6d. Globe Readings Edition
for Schools. Globe 8vo. 2s. Cheap Edition, 1s. Illustrated. Crown
8vo. 6s.
The Story of the Christians and the Moors in Spain. 18mo. 4s.
6d.
P’s and Q’s; or, The Question of Putting Upon. With Illustrations.
Globe 8vo. 4s. 6d.
The Lances of Lynwood. With Illustrations. Globe 8vo. 4s. 6d.
The Little Duke. New Edition. Globe 8vo. 4s. 6d.
A Storehouse of Stories. Edited by C. M. Yonge. 2 vols. each 2s.
6d.
A Book of Worthies. Gathered from the Old Histories and written
Anew. 18mo. 4s. 6d.
Cameos from English History. Vol. I. From Rollo to Edward II.
Extra fcp. 8vo. 5s.—Vol. II. The Wars in France. 5s.—Vol. III.
The Wars of the Roses. 5s.—Vol. IV. Reformation Times. 5s.—
Vol. V. England and Spain. 5s.—Vol. VI. Forty Years of Stuart
Rule, 1603-1643. 5s.
A Parallel History of France and England, consisting of Outlines
and Dates. Oblong 4to. 3s. 6d.
Scripture Readings for Schools and Families. Five Series.
Crown 8vo. 1s. 6d. each; with Comments, 4s. 6d. each. I.
Genesis to Deuteronomy.—II. Joshua to Solomon.—III. Kings
and Prophets.—IV. The Gospel Times.—V. Apostolic Times.
History of Christian Names. New Edition. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d.
The Life of John Coleridge Patteson, Missionary Bishop. 2 vols.
crown 8vo. 12s.
The Pupils of St. John. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. 6s.
Pioneers and Founders; or, Recent Workers in the Mission Field.
Crown 8vo. 6s.
The Herb of the Field: Reprinted from “Chapters on Flowers” in
The Magazine for the Young. A New Edition, Revised. Crown
8vo. 5s.

THE GIFT-BOOK OF THE YEAR. With nearly 400 Pictures.

The Globe says:—“The illustrations in this magazine continue to be
the most artistic published in any English miscellany.”

The English Illustrated Magazine, 1887.

A Handsome Volume, consisting of over 800 closely-printed pages,
and containing nearly 400 Woodcut Illustrations of various sizes,
bound in extra cloth, coloured edges, price 8s.
 A MAGAZINE FOR EVERY HOUSEHOLD.
The Guardian says:—“The English Illustrated Magazine is full of good
matter in the way both of writing and drawing.... It is a capital
magazine for all tables and all times.”

The English Illustrated Magazine

(PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED).
Published Monthly. Single Numbers, price 6d.; by post, 8d. Yearly
Subscription, including Double Number, post-free, 8s.
The English Illustrated Magazine is designed for the entertainment
of the home, and for the instruction and amusement of young and
old, and it is conducted in the belief that every section of its readers,
in whatever direction their tastes and interests may tend, are
prepared to demand and to appreciate the best that can be offered
to them.

MACMILLAN & CO., London.

 WHAT BOOKS TO LEND
AND
WHAT TO GIVE

BY
CHARLOTTE M. YONGE
AUTHOR OF
‘THE HEIR OF REDCLYFFE’ ‘CAMEOS FROM ENGLISH HISTORY’ ETC.

LONDON
National Society’s Depository
SANCTUARY, WESTMINSTER
[All rights reserved]
PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON
 CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 5
LITTLE ONES 16
JUNIOR CLASSES 19
SENIOR CLASSES 22
BOYS 29
DRAWING-ROOM STORIES 35
ON THE CATECHISM 41
ON CONFIRMATION 43
ON THE PRAYER-BOOK 44
BOOKS BEARING ON HOLY SCRIPTURE 46
ALLEGORIES AND ALLEGORICAL TALES 51
HISTORICAL TALES 55
MYTHOLOGY 68
NOVELETTES AND NOVELS 70
FAIRY TALES 75
MOTHERS’ MEETINGS 77
FOR MISSIONARY WORKING-PARTIES 85
IMPROVING BOOKS 88
HISTORY 93
BIOGRAPHY 96
CHURCH HISTORY 99
NATURAL HISTORY 101
SCIENCE AND INVENTION 104
RELIGIOUS BOOKS 106
MAGAZINES 108
PENNY READINGS 111
INDEX 117
 WHAT BOOKS TO LEND
AND
WHAT TO GIVE.

INTRODUCTION.
Wholesome and amusing literature has become almost a necessity
among the appliances of parish work. The power of reading leads, in
most cases, to the craving for books. If good be not provided, evil
will be only too easily found, and it is absolutely necessary to raise
the taste so as to lead to a voluntary avoidance of the profane and
disgusting.
Books of a superior class are the only means of such cultivation. It
has been found that where really able and interesting literature is to
be had, there is much less disposition to prey upon garbage. And the
school lessons on English have this effect, that they make book-
language comprehensible far more widely than has hitherto been the
case.
A library is an almost indispensable adjunct to a school, if the
children are to be lured to stay at home instead of playing
questionable games in the dark, or by gaslight, out of doors; and an
amusing story is the best chance of their not exasperating the weary
father with noise. If the boy is not to betake himself to ‘Jack
Sheppard’ literature, he must be beguiled by wholesome adventure.
If the girl is not to study the ‘penny dreadful,’ her notions must be
refined by the tale of high romance or pure pathos.
The children at school are often eager readers, especially if they
have sensible parents who forbid roaming about in the evening.
There ought always to be a school library unless the children are
provided for in the general parish library; but even this requires
careful selection. Weak, dull, or unnatural books may be absolutely
harmful when falling into rude or scornful hands. For instance, a
country lad should not have a book where a farmer gives a prize for
climbing an elm-tree to take a blackbird’s nest, such a proceeding
being equally against the nature of farmers, blackbirds, and elms.
Seafaring lads should not have incorrectly worded accounts of
wrecks; and where more serious matters come in, there should be
still greater care to be strong, true, and real. Boys especially should
not have childish tales with weak morality or ‘washy’ piety; but
should have heroism and nobleness kept before their eyes; and learn
to despise all that is untruthful or cowardly and to respect
womanhood. True manhood needs, above all earthly qualities, to be
impressed on them, and books of example (not precept) with
heroes, whose sentiments they admire, may always raise their tone,
sometimes individually, sometimes collectively.
Men, however, must have manly books. Real solid literature alone
will arrest their attention. They grudge the trouble of reading what
they do not accept as truth, unless it is some book whose fame has
reached their ears, and to have read which they regard as an
achievement.
Where grown men are subscribers to a library, it should have
standard works of well-known reputation.
Travels, biographies, not too long, poetry, histories of
contemporaneous events, and fiction of the kind that may be called
classical, should be the staple for them. It is hardly advisable to
attempt to give a list for them. Their books belong to general
literature, with which I do not wish to meddle, and besides, reading
men mostly inhabit towns where there are generally Institutes from
which they can obtain books. In the country, when the clever
cobbler or gardener soars above the village library, he will generally
have a decided notion of what he wants, and will respect a special
loan from our own shelves. He may take to some line in natural
science, or have some personal cause for interest in a colony; but in
general, the labourer would rather smoke than read in his hours of
rest, and even when laid aside in a hospital, newspaper scraps
pasted into a book are often more welcome to him than more
continuous subjects. Above all, he resents being written down to or
laughed at; and calling him Hodge and Chawbacon is the sure way
to alienate him.
Books with strong imitations of dialect are to be avoided. They are
almost unintelligible to those who know the look of a word in its
right spelling, though they might miscall it, and do not recognise it
when phonetically travestied to imitate a local dialect, as for instance
by ah for I. Moreover, they feel it a caricature of their language, and
are very reasonably insulted. They do not appreciate simplicity, but
are in the stage of civilisation when long words are rather preferred,
partly as a compliment, partly as a new language. Complicated
phrases are often too much for them, but polysyllables need not be
avoided, if such are really needed to express an idea, and will do it
better than any shorter word.
Though men either read with strong appetites or not at all, their
wives, in these days of education, generally love fiction. They do not
want to be improved, but they like to lose their cares for a little
while in some tale that excites either tears or laughter. It is all very
well to say that they ought to have no time for reading. An
industrious thrifty woman has little or none, but the cottager’s wife
who does as little needlework, washing, or tidying as possible, has a
good many hours to spend in gossip or in reading. She may get
cheap sensational novels, and the effects on a weak and narrow
mind are often very serious. The only thing to be done is to take
care that she has access to a full supply of what can do her no
harm, and may by reiteration do her good, though the links between
book and action are in many cases never joined. Sometimes they are
not connected at all, sometimes a strong impression is unexpectedly
made. But this class of women must have incident, pathos, and
sentiment to attract them. The old-fashioned book where Betty
rebukes Polly in set language for wearing a red cloak instead of a
grey one, and eating new bread instead of old, will meet with no
attention. But if the moral of the tale be sound, and the tone of the
characters who bespeak sympathy, high, pure, and good, the
standard of the reader, however frivolous, must be insensibly raised.
At any rate, by withholding books because the cottage woman ought
to be too busy to want them, we do not render her more
industrious, but we leave her exposed to catering for herself in
undesirable regions.
There remain the thrifty, sensible, good women who, if they read
at all, do so in their Sunday leisure, and like a serious book. Neither
variety of woman likes a book manifestly for children lent to
themselves, though they do enjoy anything about a baby from the
maternal point of view.
There are such different degrees of intelligence and civilisation
among the women who frequent mothers’ meetings that it is difficult
to make suggestions applying to all. Some of these meetings are
attended so irregularly that it is not possible to read anything
continuous, whereas in others a sustained interest promotes
regularity. A little religious instruction or exhortation, a little domestic
or sanitary instruction, and a lively or pathetic narrative seem to
answer best, and I have endeavoured to collect the titles of books
useful in this respect. The two first, however, are best given
extempore if a clergyman will come for the first, and a lady who has
attended ambulance classes can be secured for the second.
The lad or young man species comes next. There are a few of
these with a thirst for information, and it is important to supply this
in a sound and wholesome form. Some like poetry, but the general
run can only be induced to read at all by adventurous or humorous
tales.
Those who act as Sunday school teachers may, however, be led to
study books bearing on the subjects they have to teach, or to get up
for certificates, and thus may be brought to take an interest in
religious literature, which may deepen as they grow older.
There is always, too, a certain proportion who have a strong turn
for fact, and like to have solid truth before them. Of course all these
can read the same books as the elder men, and even more difficult
ones, as their education has gone farther; but they need more that
is light, easy, and inviting, and a lending-library or reading-room
requires a supply fitted for both.
It is a pity there is not more good biography suited for this
purpose. The popularity of Miss Marsh’s ‘Hedley Vicars’ showed what
a book written without too much detail and with general interest
might be. Some of Smiles’s biographies come near the mark, also
some American ones, and those shilling books of Cassell’s called ‘The
World’s Workers,’ also some published by Nelson and by Blackie.
Good books of travels, too, are increasing favourites; also such
books as ‘Her Majesty’s Mail,’ and ‘Engine-Driving Life.’ In fact,
whatever wholesomely interests our own households may well be
sent into the club-room, provided it do not presuppose too much
culture. Many of these books may be bought second-hand at a
cheap rate from the Libraries. And there should be a good stock of
standard fiction: Scott, Dickens, Fenimore Cooper, are all to be had
at almost any price, and would pretty well supply in themselves the
requirements of reading-room fiction.
The corresponding class of girls and young women are for the
most part indiscriminate devourers of fiction, and, like the women
before mentioned, need to have their appetite rightly directed. But
there is more hope of them than of their elders, and their ideal is
capable of being raised by high-minded tales, which may refine their
notions. The semi-religious novel or novelette is to them moralising
put into action, and the most likely way of reaching them.
We must not be too hasty to condemn their frivolous tastes.
Whether in business or in service, they are tired, the book is
recreation, and they cannot be expected to want to improve
themselves when their brains and bodies are alike weary. Still we
can supply them with books that will not give them false views of
life, and that will foster enthusiasm for courage and truth, make
vulgarity disgusting, and show religion as the only true spring of life.
Through classes for Sunday teachers, and Communicants’ or Bible
classes, some spirit of religious study may be infused.
As to secular self-improvement, the students will always be few
and far between, and the experience of most libraries is that there is
little or no demand for improving books. So much is taught that
there is little inclination to learn. A reaction sometimes comes to
men, but seldom to women, whose home industries and occupations
necessarily absorb them so that their reading must be either
devotional or recreative.
Thus there is very little call for improving books in the lending
library, in proportion to those meant for recreation; but I would urge
that they should be used for prizes. At present, the usual habit is to
choose gay outsides and pretty pictures, with little heed to the
contents, but it should be remembered that the lent book is
ephemeral, read in a week and passed on, while the prize remains,
is exhibited to relatives and friends, is read over and over, becomes
a resource in illness, and forms part of the possessions to be handed
on to the next generation. Therefore, after the infant period, the
reward book should generally be of some worthiness, either
religious, improving, or at least standard fiction. Weakness and
poverty of thought should be avoided, especially as these books may
fall into the hands of clever, ungodly men, and serve to excite their
mockery. It should be remembered that the child to whom the book
is given will not always remain a child, and therefore that it is better
to let the new and cherished possession go beyond its present level
of taste or capacity.
The elder lad, whose schooldays are over, sometimes begins to
waken to intelligence, and to be ready to seek information, in some
cases being glad of really deep reading on scientific, political, or
theological subjects, and it is all-important to preoccupy his mind
with sound views before he meets with specious trash. Many indeed
both of lads and men are absorbed in actual practical life and never
read at all, or nothing but newspapers. Yet even these when laid low
by illness will accept a book to pass away the weary hours.
Nothing, of course, can equal the effect of personal influence,
from schoolmaster, clergyman, or lady, but each of these may find
books, lent, recommended, or read aloud, of great assistance.
Some books of advice deprecate reading aloud in Sunday schools.
My own experience, now of many years, is that it is of great
assistance in impressing the scholars, and gives great pleasure. I
have been told of my old pupils mentioning it as one of the
enjoyments of their younger days; and when a part of a story has
been missed by absence, the connection is eagerly supplied by the
listeners who have been present. Moreover, those books in the
lending library are always most sought after which have been read
aloud, and sometimes elucidated, either at the Sunday school or at
the mothers’ meeting.
But books for this purpose must be carefully selected, with a view
to the capacities and tastes of the listeners, and be read really well
and dramatically, watching the eyes of the hearers—a rapid or
monotonous utterance is almost useless, and inattention leads to
bad habits.
There is no reason against giving tales about persons in different
stations of life from that of those who receive them, and in fact they
are often preferred; but it is as well to avoid those that deal with
temptations or enjoyments out of reach of the school-child; or which
dwell on beauty, finery, dainties, or any variety of pomps or vanities
as delights of wealth or rank. The enjoyment that authors have in
describing a lovely, beautifully-dressed child in a charming attitude
should be sacrificed in writing for children of any rank, unless they
are to learn vanity and affectation, or else be set to covet such
pleasures.
It is curious to find how many stories have become obsolete. Not
only have the tales where vanity is displayed by wearing white
stockings and

A bonnet cocked up to display to the view

Long ringlets of curls and a great bow of blue,

become archaic; but the stories of the good children who are
household supports and little nurses, picking up chance crumbs of
instruction, have lost all present reality such as the younger and less
clever children require.
Elder ones, if they have any imagination, prefer what does not run
in the grooves of their daily life, and some are much more willing to
listen to, or to read, what is not too obviously written for them. A
book labelled ‘A tale for—’ is apt to carry a note of warning to the
perverse spirits of those to whom it is addressed.
Historical tales and those of other lands require a certain degree
of cultivation and imagination, to be appreciated. To some, even the
best are distasteful, to others they supply the element of romance.
Those that have a charm about them of character and adventure,
fitting them for almost all readers, have been put into the groups
intended for the age they suit, as well as into their places as
illustrations of history.
I endeavour to give here a classified list that may be an assistance
in the choice of books. It is not an advertisement. Most of the books
I have personally proved. No doubt many readers will be
disappointed at omissions, but it is quite impossible to answer for all
the books in existence, and my object here is to suggest the fittest
for the purposes of lending, reading aloud, or giving. It is no
condemnation of a work that its name does not appear in this list—
only it has either not become known to me, or has not appeared to
me so eminently desirable as the others.
The lists of books in the present work have been drawn up in
different gradations, a great number of them having been actually
proved by reading aloud. There are many very fairly suitable for
lending, not equally good for reading aloud, as lengthiness,
description, and over-moralising, hang on hand with a mixed class;
and, in other cases, the reader seems to be inculcating with
authority all that is uttered, and thus gives a sense of preaching
instead of amusing.
The tales that have any dissenting bias, or which appear to involve
false doctrine, are of course omitted, though all those here
mentioned do not belong to the same school of thought within the
Church.
The classified list then includes books for:—
Little Ones.—Fit to be read or given to children from four to eight.
Junior Classes.—Children from seven or eight to ten or eleven.
Senior Classes.—From ten upwards.
Boys.—The books may be read by girls also, but most boys will not
read girls’ books, therefore their literature is put separately.
Drawing Room Stories.—The best are mentioned here, but all,
though excellent, are, on experience, out of the ken of the school
child.
On the Catechism.
On Confirmation.
On the Prayer Book.
On the Bible.
Allegories.
Stories on Church History.
 ” English History.
” General History.
Mythological Tales.
Novelettes.
Fairy Tales.
Mothers’ Meetings.
Mission Working Parties.
Descriptions of Countries.
Adventures.
Biography.
History.
Church History.
Natural History and Popular Science.
Religious Books.
Magazines.
Penny Readings.
It should be clearly understood that nobody is urged to have
anything like all the books here mentioned, but that the object is to
answer the oft-recurring question—Where shall I find a book suited
for such and such a purpose?
I have added a few suggestions of extracts for penny readings,
but it is not easy to collect enough that do not verge on buffoonery,
or that have no element of vulgarity; and indeed there is so much
variation of tastes according to the tone and training of the
audience, that it is hardly possible to tell what will be suited for
hearers of each degree of culture. Some delight in pathos or
adventure, and others will do nothing but laugh, and become noisy
at anything that is not highly comic. Such books for the purpose as I
have seen, between difficulty about copyright and desire of novelty
and drollery, do not avoid vulgarity. N.B.—It is advisable to inspect
thoroughly everything offered by volunteers for reading, recitation,
or singing.
It has, however, been thought better not to enter upon the tracts
and sermons, such as a parish priest or district visitor would give for
private use or specific purpose, as they are devotional, and scarcely
to be spread broad-cast by the Library. Every librarian must cater for
his own clients according to their tastes and needs. No doubt much
is here left out that will be found useful in some places, but the
attempt has been made to offer suggestions, and to collect, from
various quarters, names that may serve to assist in the selection of
books for the various needs of a parish.
 LITTLE ONES.
The books in the following list are what have been read to children
from five or six to eight years old and proved to be interesting to
them. Their eyes and attention soon show whether the book is liked.
And, though it may hardly be believed, it is more difficult to write a
story suited to them than to any other class, since it must be
perfectly easy and simple, and yet have some interest in it, such as
they can understand. Stories that are in fact a study of children with
peculiar ways and odd sayings are of no use. The tale must take the
child’s point of view, yet without obviously writing down to its level,
and any moral must be pointed as tersely and briefly as possible.
Unluckily several of those I have found most successful have gone
out of print—namely, ‘The White Kitten,’ and ‘Out in the Dark,’ in
early packets of the books Mr. Burns used to publish, and ‘Little Lucy’
and ‘A Tale of a Tail’ (S.P.C.K.). I have looked over multitudes of tiny
books, but only a few have the special charm that will keep a whole
class devouring the reader with their eyes, and be welcomed even if
read over and over again. I have not here mentioned Mrs. Ewing’s
beautiful series of verse-books for children, with their charming
illustrations, because they are really studies of childhood, and more
fit for the drawing-room than the cottage or school. The same may
be said of the very pretty Everyday Fables, the letterpress of which is
quite beyond little children. The best thing for the youngest class of
four, five, or six years old, is the ‘Child’s own Picture Paper’ (Dean),
Aunt Louisa’s books (Warne), and the ‘Child’s Illustrated Scripture
History’ (S.P.C.K.), 4 parts, price 1s. each. Or, if the class be too
large for showing them pictures in a book, detached ones on an
easel are useful. One or two sacred ones, well explained, are
enough, and a few secular ones may follow. Let me hint that
undraped figures, shown to poor children, are undesirable, and that
if there is a mistake in the accessories, by some fatality, they are
sure to admire it. Cassell’s ‘Little Pet’s Posy,’ 1s. 6d., or ‘Little
Chimes,’ 1s. 6d., will give amusing bits to read to the tiny children,
but lending is of no use unless they are ill. A complete set of pictures
illustrating the Gospels, or the lessons for nearly every Sunday in the
Christian year, can be arranged from the stores of the S.P.C.K., the
R.T.S., and Cassell’s ‘Child’s Bible and Life of Christ,’ 7s. 6d.
1. Children’s Album. (Cassell) 1s. 6d.
2. Baby’s Album. (Cassell)
3. Miss Angelina. (S.P.C.K.) 1d.
A doll, lost by a young lady, and prized by a poor little cripple till
the owner is discovered, and there is a great struggle of honesty on
the one hand, generosity on the other.
4. Tales for Me to read to Myself. (Masters) 2s. 6d.
The little boy who has to take a donkey cart to market for the first
time, and is teased by rude companions, excites unfailing interest.
5. Langley Little Ones. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 2s.
This contains several short tales mentioned below: ‘Fanny’s Doll,’
‘Bully Brindle,’ ‘Snowdrop’s Eggs,’ &c.
6. Our Ethel. (S.P.C.K.) 6d.
Should be read to small children apt to be put in charge of smaller
ones.
7. Little Men and Little Women. (Walter Smith) 2d.
Rather disjointed, but fit for the tinies.
8. Quack, Quack. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
Inculcating the penny savings bank.
9. Patz and Putz, or the Story of Two Bears. (S.P.C.K.) 1s.
Interests a little class.
10. Tumble-down Dick. (S.P.C.K.) 1d.
Birds’-nesting. A wholesome lesson.
11. A Miller, a Mollar, a Ten o’Clock Scholar. By C. M. Yonge.
3d.
On playing truant.
12. Fanny’s Doll. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
For small children.
13. Idle Harry. (Walter Smith) 3d.
14. Leonard the Lion Heart. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 9d.
On boasting.
15. The Apple Tree. (Walter Smith) 1d.
A naughty and a good little boy under temptation. I have known
of an impression made by it.
16. Playing with Fire. (Walter Smith) 1d.
A wholesome warning.
17. Little Susy’s Six Birthdays. By Mrs. Prentice. (Nelson) 2s.
Popularity proved. Circumstantial enough to be delightful to little
children.
18. Fanny Sylvester. By Mrs. Cupples. (Nelson) 9d.
A lonely town child transplanted into the country.
19. Bully Brindle. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
Two small children sent out in the dark to fetch help after an
accident.
 JUNIOR CLASSES.
For Children from Eight to Ten Years old.
The books here given are of a somewhat homely and simple order,
such as are understood and liked by children without much
cultivation or knowledge of the world—average ones, in fact; for the
intelligent and eager ones, or those who have some home culture,
need something of a higher order.
20. Louie White’s Hop-picking. By Amabel Jenner. (Griffith, Farran
& Co.) 6d.
A good picture of Kentish hopping, introducing a brisk little London
maiden, as inferior to her homely cousins in practical usefulness as
she is superior in knowledge.
21. The Lion Battalion. By Mary Hullah. (Hatchards) 2s. 6d.
Several short stories. The first is of a tiny German boy who makes
imaginary soldiers of buttons and abstracts a whole brilliant
regiment from his little friend’s jacket. It is less good than the
second, ‘The Fireman’s Little Maid,’ a friendship between a fireman
and a little neglected girl. Read aloud, it has charmed a third
standard class and a mothers’ meeting.
22. Smuts and Diamonds. By Selina Gaye. (Remington) 5s.
The first tale is on Christian brotherhood; the second, ‘Who did
It?’ is of the mysterious painting of the effigy of a pig hung at the
pork butcher’s. It is my resource when I have to keep a mixed troop
of children quiet while waiting. The third, ‘Three Little Sisters,’ is a
warning to little nurses to be faithful.
23. Golden Gorse. By Florence Wilford. (S.P.C.K.) 1s. 6d.
A London child’s first visit to the country, with her help to her
more backward cousins.
24. The Heavy Sixpence. (S.P.C.K.) 3d.
An overcharge, weighing down the conscience.
25. Missy and Master. By Mary Bramston. (S.P.C.K.) 2s.
Missy had been a member of a circus troupe. Master was the pony
she used to ride. Her taming down in an orphan asylum is well told.
26. The Christmas Mummers. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
This story preserves the old Hampshire custom of ‘Mumming.’
27. Langley School. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3s.
28. Lads and Lasses of Langley. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith)
2s.
29. Langley Adventures. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 2s. 6d.
‘Langley School’ was written many years ago. The others are of
the present day, of examinations, &c.
30. Pickle and his Page Boy. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 2s.
A boy and a Skye terrier who try to be faithful.
31. Godmother’s Whim. (S.P.C.K.) 4d.
A treasure concealed in a ball of worsted.
32. Michael the Chorister. (Walter Smith) 6d.
One of the first tales of little choristers, and with a great simplicity
and beauty.
33. A Bright Farthing. By S. M. Sitwell. (S.P.C.K.) 1s.
A good child’s story of the temptation to conceit and self-
exaltation.
34. Grannie’s Wardrobe. (S.P.C.K.) 9d.
A case of curiosity and untruth, well told.
35. The Railroad Children. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 6d.
May be a help with unbaptised children.
36. The Secret of a Ball of Wool. (S.P.C.K.) 2d.
Is the same idea as the ‘Godmother’s Whim,’ but is told by a
Russian nurse and is more amusing.
37. Harriet and her Sister. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
A warning against concealing an accident; but the child left alone
all day in charge of a baby is a thing of the past.
38. Snowdrop’s Eggs. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
Against pilfering.
39. The Third Standard. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
The consequences of children copying each other’s marks in
school.
40. Wolf. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
Adventures of a set of Christmas carollers.
41. The Wood Cart and other Tales. By F. M. Peard. (Walter
Smith) 2s.
Excellent tales of peasant life in France which delight English
children.
42. The Old Garden Door. (Walter Smith) 2d.
 A little girl who gets into a scrape by aiding in surreptitious
transactions between a hawker and some boarding-school young
ladies. The children left at home to the care of a young elder are
things of the past, but the child nature is true in all times.
43. Uncle Henry’s Present. (Walter Smith) 2d.
A droll lesson on curiosity.
44. The White Satin Shoes. (Walter Smith) 2d.
Equally telling on vanity.
45. Cheap Jack. By C. M. Yonge. (Walter Smith) 3d.
Adventures of some beads ill obtained.
46. Mary and Florence. By A. Fraser Tytler. (Hatchards) 3s. 6d.
This is an unfailing favourite, a children’s classic of fifty years’
standing.
47. The Star in the Dustheap. By the Hon. Mrs. Greene. (Warne)
3s. 6d.
Very touching.
48. Froggy’s Little Brother. By Brenda. (Shaw) 6d. or 3s. 6d.
A touching tale of street Arabs. Interest in it seems to be
uncertain among children—one class has liked it, another virtually
hissed it by inattention.
49. Little Meg’s Children. By Hesba Stretton. (R.T.S.) 1s. 6d.
More powerful than ‘Froggie.’ Also of London children in a garret,
where the faithful little elder sister struggles to take care of the little
ones till her father’s return from a voyage. This is as fit for mothers
as for children. There are multitudes more of these street Arab tales,
most of them written from fancy. It is possible to have too many of
them, so only the names of these two best are given here.
50. The City Violet. By C. Winchester. (Seeley) 5s.