Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1853-04-19
VIRGINIA TUESDAY MORNING. APPRRE Is. s588
THE NEWsPA PIFl!i5l:,.I=

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~ 9 ass oclatlon OF my early youth and child
hood Is more VIVID in my recollection than The
eagerness with which I have sIeslo,,,al ~,
tents of the village newspaper. From h. col
umns learned to read 1t was ne aS;rectcr ~
my first buddingsof thought and reason. The
day it was Issued was with irletle NOS yt,,t
full Of the week, NY childish inpatieneels
SO great that none. dared to contend with ma
Tor the first perusal of ; and every line Of
and poetry was read and re-read. To me II
was the oracle of the world and the eiitor:ssgho
wleided.so important an engine was no ordinary
man. turned and looked after. him. when he
passed me IN the the street. as the crowd do upon
an Ascstse OF ttle natlon * 81 &ias ssiss
efs we had plenty of.boeks In the house. and j.
read them but l wanted something fresh and
new ne 70 least my curiosity upon, and tell me-
what was stirring in the world. 1t was e1oi,ol
Tor me that thing was in the paper to guar
antee ITS .truths In vain was Istold that thel
badly written fictions that 6evoured so oreefl;-
ly must not be believed I acol,ld believe tIien,
and that was the end of it Sometimes when
was In the middle of favorite piece, in would
come neighbor B. to borrow the paper; and i.
pelng but child, would have to resign nv
right and see it carried away and newspa-
per borrower never appeared more hideous in
the eyes of any editor than he then did in mine
But was soon after it, and had the pleasure of
cutting off in return Mr.. b.. or some of the
family, In the middle of the same piece per
maps, and bringing the paper back again to re-
sumo my reading. l oftener took it to the
barn, however, and read an hour or So to avoid
being scolded by or family for daring to po
after the lent paper SO soon. .z82sk GaLsl =
But not all the pages of literature that i can
now Peruse, will give me half the qualification
that was then afforded me by the Village news
paper. And l think no father would suffer his
children TO be without a paper of some kind. If
he would but consider the eagerness of children,
almost universally, to read newspapers and
their requirement of the habit of learning 10
read, SO useful in after life. / think the habit
OF borrowing, so rank in some families. benins
with borrowing the newspaper And, in fact.
if one will borrow newspaper-a thing to he
had on such equal terms by ALL he can borrow
anything else without blushine. He 1niobt he
expected to be a subscriber for a newspaper as
much as his neighbor; his own money Is wortI,
no more than his neighbours; but as regards
other things, as implements of husbandry, &c,
he, no more than his neighbor, can be expect
ed to have everything he might require for an
eXgency. In whatever part of the country /
have been, families and individuals have always
been divided, or rather have divided themselves
into two classes, distinguishable, unmistakea-
bic, at first OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES and nom
readers of the public news. The one are really
worthy inhabitants of enlightened America
10 the others might say, as Macbeth address
ed the witches You should be americans.
and yet your ignorance forbids me to interpret
that You are So Take the newspaper.