The Columbian fountain., 1846-01-17
THE YOUNG MANS WAY
TO INTELLIGENCE, REsPECTABILITY, HO-
NOR AND USEFULNESS.
WANT OF TIME.

mere Recommended. he pursuit OF Know
ledge requires time, and it is deemed inn
possible for the mechanic, who tolls ten
hours or more in the day, to devote much
space to the purposes of mental cultivation.
With such as have been blessed with lei
sure, and have been students by profession
all their days, this difficulty might be deem
ed insurmountable. But it is far otherwise
with me- Manual labor and constant en-
ployment, | believe, is favorable to intel
lectual cultivation, instead of being an in
jury. II teaches to value time and not
aohile it away as thing OF nought. The
student ofrare leisure spends much time in
learning that which is wholly useful, not to
say injurious. The business man is in no
danger Of thus misapplying his powers or
wasting precious time. But what IS more,.
the man who has been instructed in an art,
or had the powers Of his mind called out
and developed by exercise in business, is
thus fitted with quickness Of apprehension,
and sagacious shrewdness which nightly
aid in the acquisition Of all other knowledge.
If you wish to find quickness of wit and
readiness of repartee, you must go among
the industrious and working classes. This
activity of mind, doubtless arises more or
less from habits Of physical activity, and
the healthy flow Of blood and spirits, which
such activity never fails to promote
Another circumstance favorable to the
acquisition of useful knowledge among the
working classes is-they have learned se-
cret which the more affluent have never
been taught-the economy Of time. The
man accustomed to labor or active business,
rises at an early hour-takes no nap at noon
and tolls on until his days work is finished.
Every day is worth certain sum to him,
and he as much thinks Of throwing away his
money as his time. With these habits let
him direct bis attention to his book and he is
sure of success. If he therefore wisely d.
vide his time and live by rule, there is no
ground for fear in his case And who has
not some leisure hours on hand every day
Whose time is so accurately divided between
toll and sleep, as to allow no intermediate
space for mental improvement Twill ven
ture to say not one such can be found All
that is generally needed is disposition to
find time for such purposes, and it is at
hand. There are spare hours in every mans
life-lione or more during each day, which if
multiplied by the days Of the year, would
amount to many weeks and months. All
that is necessary is to improve these with
care, and no man need be novice in the
knowledge of science, history, or theology.
He who cannot command days, must be
content with hours, and in default of these,
he must prize minutes. A few only in the
morning, at noon and in the evening, duly
in reading, will in a year, take you
voluIninous history. And few
years thus having passed, will have placed
the industrious student planetary distance
above the careless and idle.
once knew case where number Of
mechanics working in the same shop, thirst
ing for knowledge as well as money, found
time to pass through several large volumes
each month. Their plan was this. AT "a
certain hour Of the day, one of their number
read certain chapter, or number OF pages,
whilst the others all silently progressed with
their work. He then gave the book to
another, resuming his own work, and all
again listened to the reader. So the book
passed around to each one in the company,
(some eight or ten in nnmber,) until all had
read their portion. The book was then laid
aside until the following day, when the same
thing occurred again as before. By the rea-
ding ten pages each, one hundred was read per
day. How long would it take such COM
pany TO pass through the history of every
nation that has ever had an existence This
course, persevered in for length of time,
would exhaust large library Yet no one
ever complained of the loss Of time. All
felt it to be pleasure which they could lily
dispense with. And who does not sec the
effect of such course upon their intellect
ual powers. While others were toiling on,
in the duties Of their profession, ignorant Of
every thing but what appertained to their
own handicraft, these were conversing with
men Of former times, and obtaining general
knowledge Of the world eco and do like
wise," all you who complain of want of
time for mental Improvement
Do any still urge the fact that they have
not time TO read They may verify believe
it, but if they were to argue until theyAwere
grey-headed, they would not convert me TO
their notions. 1t would not be difficulty to
portray such so clearly that they would be
every where known. They generally have
time to attend all public gatherings in times
of political excitement, public sales, camp
,,,aot,pnc anJ oipu;nr ecb,oI., but thou havo