Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1876-10-12
How to Read.
BRoD CAST.

! How to Read.
| Do not lay out detailed course
OF reading" Probably you would
not follow it, and the moral effect Of
making plan and giving it up il
injurious. But there is another
reason for my advice. When you be.
come interested in subject, then
is the time to follow it up, and read
everything you can get hold of about
/ it. What you read when thus keenly
interested you will remember anC
make your own, and that is the secret
OF acquiring knowledge; to study q
thing when your mind is awake and
eager to know more. No matter il
it leads you away from the books
with which you set out; and if il
sends you to another subject, so that
you never again open the original
book, so much the better; you are
eager. you are learning, and the OBJ
ject OF reading is to learn, not to get
through a certain number Of books
What we read with inclination,
said wise old DR.. Jonson, makes a
strong impression. What we read as
a task, is of little use."
When you read book that inter
ests you, you naturally wish to know
more of its author. That is the time
to make his acquaintance. Read his
life, or an account of him in an ency-
clopedia; look over his other writ
ings, and become familiar with him.
Then you have really added some
thing to your knowledge. If you fet-
tered yourself with COURSE" you
could not do this, and before you
finished book, you would have for
gotten the special points which inter
ested you as you went through.
You think that history is dull read
ing, perhaps I'm afraid that is be-
cause you have dull way Of reading
ii, not realizing that it is series OF
true and wonderful stories of mems
lives. beyond comparison more mar
velous and interesting than the
fictitious lives we read in novels.
The first pages are usually dry. /
admit, and L advise you not to look
at them till you feel desire to do so !;
but select some person, and follow
out the story OF his life, or some event,
and read about that, and assure you,
you will find a new life in the old
books. n
After getting, in this way, frag-
mentary acquaintance with a nation,
its prominent men and striking
events, you will doubtless feel
anxious to know its whole story, and
then, reading 1t with interest, you
will remember what you read.
But there are other subjects in
which you may be interested. You
wish first to know about the few great
books and authors generally regarded
and referred TO as the fountain heals
OF the worlds literature. 1t Is impos-
sible. in little "talk" like this, to
give definite directions for gaining a
knowledge OF these. Needs vary in
almost every case, and book that
might wisely be selected for one girl,
might be a very poor choice for
another. Almost every one can turn
to some judicious relative or friend
who, at least, can start her in a good
direction. Once started, the way is
delightful and easy. There are many
entrances into the great temple OF
need not go in by all
of them.
There are many well known and
often quoted authors, concerning
whom you will wish to be informed.
even il you never read their works.
You want to know when they lived
and what they wrote The world OF
books is too large for any one to know
thoroughly; you must select from the
wide range what suits your taste, and
be content to have an outside, or
title page, knowledge OF the rest.
Above all, in your reading you
want to avoid becoming narrow and
one sided. Read both sides of
question. liz you read a eulogistic
biography of person. read also, If
possible, one written from an oppo-
site standpoint. You will find that
no one is wholly bad, nor wholly good,
aud you will grow broad in your
views.-OliUe Thorn, la 81. Nicholas
for September.