Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1856-12-12
Our Evenings.

upon, it will profit him much. How can
We save an hour or two, from the twenty
four, fgr our mental Improvement
The season of long nights is here; the
election is over; political excitement is
subsiiei the country is safe; )" all
parties will peaceably betake themselves to
the usual paths Of life; and with the re-
turn of quict, and with clearer view of
our duties, we should be prepared to at
tend more closely to things which will ad-
vance our iHdioiducI improvement and
increase our happiness.
| 1t is not sufficient that the day only be
devoted to doing that which we have to do,
for there is SO much to be done in the
brief period Of lifetime, that an evening
put in here and there will be found of
-reat service in helping OF the work which
each one Of US is allotted to perform.
And Of all things we have to DO, there is
nothing SO Indispensable as nlentul culture,
for it is tha. alone which makes the man.
The improvements Of the mind, to him
who during the day mus. be employed in
the work necessary for his support, t,depeuis
entirely upon the use made of tho.e hours
during which labor is suspended, and
there are hundreds of such moments that
might be turned to good account every
winter.
The young mechanic of the town has to
himself at least one evening every week.
How should this be used How should
these hours be invested so as to produce
the largest dividend? How can they be
applied in performing the duty Of self i'm
provemen;?
Do not suppose that we desire to deprive
the young mechanic of the amusement and
recreation which traditIonally belong to
Saturday night. We do not wish to dis
turb, but to point out, what is the true
pleasure. Every young man has that
natural taste for amusement, which can
not be suppressed without a violence to
nature. But when such urgent claimants
as the demands Of nature and the prompt
i.5s Vi uuty aTo UTou5us W 90 ,sV~O, -
compromise is the onl y means to settle
the difficulty. And that compromise can
be easily effected by making the duty Of
self improvement a pleasure.
COmpanionship is the source Of amuse-
nent to our young mechanics. For this
reason it is that We See them, on those
evenings when their work is done for the
week, collected in shops, in saloons, and
at the corners Of the streets. They
are then doing nothing more nor less
than following strong principle Of
their nature. But could not this princi-
pie be satisfied by compauionship with an
interesting book, or newspaper, as well
as an association of less profitable kind ?
Will any young man pretend to say that
the words of wise aut thor, in the quiet
Of his room, would afford him . less sub
stantial pleasure than the slang talk of
his butty" on the corners of the streets,
or in the village grocery?
The young men Of whom We speak, mis-
take the true source of amusement. They
go to the wrong fountain for supply Of
that which their nature SO urgently de.
mands. As they must have companion
ship, let it be of an elevating character
good book, newspaper, a magazine,
even slate and pencil, will not be fosnd
so uninteresting source of recreation as
many who have not made the experiment
may suppose; and as to the profit of be-
ing in such society, the noble career Of
many men who started as young mechan-
les, and who selected the company Of books
and periodicals, testiies that such COM
panionship is Of inestimable value.
/ We do not suppose that our young me-
chanics will deny that their evenings are
generally very unproftably employed.
We would encourage them to better use
of those golden moments. If they have
but one evening in the week, let them
mako the most Of it. If they have more,
SO much the better. At five hours week
during the FIVE months in which night
reading can be comfortably pursued, one
hundred precious hours could be devoted
to profitable use, and at six pages an hour,
six hundred pages could in this time be
intelligibly perused, enough to see young
working man through two volumes Of Ban
croft's History of the United States.
Would not that be better than cracking
peanuts behind grocery stove, or lOung.
ing on the counter of village store
Then We say to our young mechanics,
choose that companionship which will not
only afford you rational pleasure, but
also substantial benefit.
Our remarks we now address to the
YOUNG FARMERS of the country. This
class have tho advantage of every evening
| of tho winter Their husiness does no,