The Morning herald., 1877-12-15
FOR LONG WINTER EVENINGS.


FOR LONG WINTER EVENINGS.
Thu instructive and amusing experience
Of Miss Irene Macgillicuddy lead us t.
suspect that even the young, gay AM
wealthy may not be altogether satisfied
with winter spent in balls, drives, AM
public entertainments. Those o. them wht
are not mere ciphers must be now ane
then haunted with a sense of time spent tt
no purpose. Older people and youthful
people of graver disposition or differen
tastes, or people who possess less opportu
nifty for costly enjoyment seek quiete1
amusement not altogether divorced from
the pursuit of some good end. They like
to spend happy winter, and to greet the
spring with the conviction that they have
not only kept alive and enjoyed themselves
bnt made some progress in tastes and in
knowledge.
A favorite method Of combining inex-
pansive and satisfactory social pleasure
with intellectual training in the forma.io,
of small literary circles among friends and
neighbors who are kindred in tastes and
alike in circumstances. The standard OF
intelligence in this country lis such that
there are materials for such circles in every
{" immunity, with fair share of wit, wis
dom and culture for each. tits common
thing for such little literary and social
gatherings to constitute themselves into
reading clubs, and generally Shakespeare is
the author chosen for study With even
one decent Shakespearian scholar in the
company, careful distribution of the
parts Of each drama and diligent applica-
ton beforehand, a great deal of literary
knowledge may be acquired in winters
,urse of this kind but in a casual circle
devoted to the study even Of Shakespeare
it is not easy to keep alive the enthusiasm
of December until February.
A favorite modification n the reading
club is an association for dramatic recita-
'ion and promiscuous perusal Of poetry.
Santimentalism and bad elocution are the
drawbacks in such a circle, and sensible
people find these things as hard to hear as
to cure. Those who are cloyed with such
over-sweetDess one year are apt, under the
Influence of a reaction, to take during the
next winter to the study Of language, or
particular science, or brio a-brac, or de-
orative art, or whatever subject happens to-
be most in vogue. This is at best dull
business; for grown-up people taken at
random cannot 20 back to the class systcm
in which the dull child was yoked to the
bright one and both kept the same pace
The methods of the schoo'room suit them
n, longer. Another safe refuge is the
playing of whist; but only people with
plenty :of chance for work and study ct
other times like to set apart evening to Re
spent in cards.
For the young and middle aged ths
heed merely rest, and all old people, how.
ever, a whist club may be pronounced d
never-failing source Of pleasure and con-
tentment, though it certainly tends as IT.
lie towards literature or selfimprovement
as fashionable ball does Perhaps an
association bent on preserving freshness
and variety cannot do better than organize
conversation. Such q circle should have
no formal outline, and no permanent off,
GERS or fixed rules. To insure certain
STARE Of pure literary work there might
be reading from some standard author at
each meeting and an original paper pre-
sented afterwards ; but the chief bust ness
of the night should be bright, open, unre-
strained talk. II should not be conversa-
tion at random, but conversation with a
purpose, conversation flowing from store
of thought and information gathered be-
forehand and enriched b.. the suggestions
of the moment. Te ins ire a good theme
and fair mastery of it the subject should
be selected week beforehand, and it
might be tE - "~'' in all its bearings
without the bitter the unfairness
Of the debating socies- ,eh a con.