The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1878-04-10
WHY WOMEN SHOULD Read
Reading by Course or Topic
as. What Books to Read.

A
q little higher. For the children'.
sake zoe must make the most Of oar
setves. Many an unselfsh mothel
has said, "Oh. I cannot take al
this time, there are SO many things
to do for the children" She desi
net realize that she may do more
for them in the end by cultivating
herself than if she spends all her
time on clothes and cooking. A
generosity which makes the recipient
weak or selfish is not blessing but
curse. Have you not seen grown
up sons who snabbed their mother q
opinions in the same breath with
which they called to bring their
slippers? ? The meek little woman
has ''trstted around to wait on
them SO leng that they have come to
think that, that is all she is good
for. Their sisters keep 'sMa'' in the
background because she ''hasn't q
bit of STYLE" and is $50 uncnltivat-
ed forgetting that she has always
worn shabby clothes that they might
wear fine ones that her hands have
become horney with hard work that
theirs might be kept soft and white
for the piano, and that she had de-
MED herself books aAd leisure that
that they might have both. And
there are other children, too noble
for such base iRgratftude, who feel
a keen though secret sense of loss
SIS they kiss the dear withered cheek
and think how much more Of wo-
man "mother" might have been ii
she had not shut herself away from
the culture and sweet cOmpanisn-
ship OF books. vsa5zt
Women sometimes think they
will not be interested in the stand
ard English classics, just because
they are standard and classic. Not
long since, an intelligent lady was
telling how surprised she was to
find Bacon's "Essays' SO interest
ing. She said: "I was lying on
the lounge in my husbands library,
one evening. after an unusually
wearisome day, and took it up be.
cause it was the nearest book, and
| really felt as if / could not go
across the room for another, I was
perfectly absorbed before knew it,
and read for an hour with sense of
freshness and exhilaration which /
had not known for long time.
felt as if somehow I had got back
to the beginnings of things. I had
always supposed that Lord Bacon.
being very lesrned. was therefore
very dall and entirely beyond my
comprehensien.'' g
Ifyou like history
/
Ifyou are fond Of science, you can.
not fail TO be interested i'm the papers
and books in the field--mever SO nu-
msrous and never SO we'll adapted
for the popular reading as now. If
you imagine any of these depart
ments ''too literary" aad cannot be
happy without a novel, there are
works of fiction that are as impor-
tant part of ones education as
quadratic equations. TO say the
least "Ronola." .IvanhOe," "Hy-
patia," David Cepperfeid," pea
Dennis ''The Scarlet Letter." Just
think of all the books SO well worth
reading, and yet people will contin-
ne to draw out Of the libraries drea-
ry society novels" or poor transla-
items OF worse Frenoll and German
love stories Il is like eating ap-
ple-skins and potato parings when
bananas and oranges might be had
for the picking Bishop Potter says
'.It is nearly an axiom that people
will not be better than tile books
they read Consider. therefore,
what kind Of books you read.
In the ignorance and enthusiasm
Of girlheod. I asked "bookish'' Ell.
derly clergyman for q s'course OF
reading" He very willingly hand
ed me a list Of books covering a
sheet of commercial note paper.
made up largely of such works as
Rollins "Ancient History" GrOte's
Grece." Gibbons 'sDecline and
FALL" and Buckles "Hisaory or
Civilization. with Wately's .'Evi-
dences" and Bntler's Analogy for
adiversion With a commendabIe
desire TO be through and 20 begin
at the beginaing. I attacked ROllin.
On account Of some trouble with NY
eyes. half an hour day was all /
was allowed to read BY chance /
happened to mention what | was
doing te an enterprising sophomore
OF my acquaintance. who asked
merily: a e4
| "IIow long do you suppose it will
take you to read Rollin. in half heur
installments' r.
# am sure I can't tell. !" I answer
ed.
Well, somewhere between ten
and fifteen years." he replied; Sand
yon may expect to finish year list