The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-05-10
Miscellaneous.
Reading for the Young.

tastes, opinions and characters, can hardly be
over estimated 1t has come to be so generally
appreciated that few thoughtful parents aud
guardians now leave wholly to chance the
quality of this influence. There is, however
another companioDship, more silent and un
obstrusive, but none the less influential in
moulding our young men and women, that
of books. Indeed, in some respects, this is
the more potent influence of the two. In
the play of conversation there is somewhat
more air stirring to blow away noxious va
pors-the continual interchange of senti-
ment, thought and feeling always varying,
and often conflicting, tends to dissipate
much that is frivolous. expose much that is
absurd, and throw doubt upon much that is
contradictory In reading there is no such
friction, the attitude is mainly receptive,
the suasion is all on one side the reader j.
passive rather than active, he is impressed
by the author, and makes no reply.
1t IS not strange then that reading, and
especially solitary reading, should be so
powerful an agent in tashioning the mind
and heart and building up the character and
it becomes matter of the deepest moment
to inquire how and for what ends is this
power at work. Especially is this import
ant as the facilities for reading have 50 mar
vellously increased of late years that its in
auence is spread all over the land. Every
man woman and child in our cities may now
have book after book put successfully into
their hands through our libraries. literally
without money and without price while
actual cost is so small that they can and do
penetrate into the humblest cottages in the
most remote sections of the country. What
then is the seed thus sown, and what is the
harvest that is being reaped? Largely we
believe, agood and wholesome one. Science
is becoming popularized art and philoso.
ply are brought within the reach of the
| average intellect poetry is refining the mass
es the records of the great and good are in
spring the young with noble ambition, his
tory and travel are broadening the mind and
expanding the sympathies. 1t seems strange
that with such rich store house of knowl-
edge, so attractively presented in such tempt
ing variety that every taste may find ap-
proprate sustenance, there should still be a
demand for volumes that can oniy corrupt,
vitiate and degrade. 1t is, however, a lam.
| entable fact that there is tainted stream of
such literature flowing through the land,
poisoning those who drink of it, destroying
purity, stirring up passion, loosening the
bonds of honor and integrity, sullying in
nocence, and paving the way to destruction
for young and unsuspecting feet. Surely it
concerns every one to do something toward
| the banishment of such a deadly and nox-
| ious element from our midst No pains
| would be thought too great, no measures
too strong, to destroy venomous serpent
that was dealing out its poisonous sting
among our children. Yet this impure liter
| ature carries with it a venom more deadly
and more irradicable than that of the ser
pent it poisons heart, character and life.
There is another class of reading, less
positively evil in its nature, yet that sheds s
Il uhnCiul ONtI II stlll WlutT
territory we alude to that large class O.
vapid or sensational stories which some peo.
Pile dignity with the name of light literature
and endeavor to justify on the ground that,
if they do no good, at least they do no spec
ial harm. No intelligent person will con.
denim fictitious writing, as class; it is ar
important branch of literature, having every
grade of power, influence, genius and talen
represented in it. Where there is solit
substructure of education, where the bes
novels are selected, and where they are read
not for the sensations they create, but fo
the thoughts they suggest, the ideals they
hold up, the varieties of character they de
lneate, and the principles they uphold thei
effects will be most valuable. Yet this is
we fear, the exceptional method of using
them Too often they are valued only fo
the excitement they produce, and choser
according to their sensational power. Some
do not even possess this questionable quail
ty but tame, lustreless and vapid, merely
serve the purpose of amusing an idle mind
and saving it all trouble of thought: The pas
sion for this kind of reading is somewha
allied to that for strong drink. 1t is tyran
ical, overpowering, absorbing 1t consume
the time, wastes the powers, fritters ava,
the energies, and leaves the victim feeble
exhausted, untitled for any mental effort
and unable to cope with the realities 0
life.
This evil will never be remedied unit
more Intelligent care is exerted over the lit
erary tastes and habits of children. 1t i
usually in very early life that bias is form
ed which virtually decides the matter fol
the future. From the time when the lit
tie child first acquires tho power of amusin,
himself by reading, it should be the aim o
the parent and teacher to cultivate and ele
vate his taste by a wise selection of book
for his perusal The amount of juvenl
literature is large and varied, and there il
enough Of what is pure in thought, simpl,
in style, high in principle, aud sweet il
spirit, to satisfy the needs of the most eag
er little student. If all that is impure an,
exciting, and even simply trashy, be care
fully excluded from our children's libraries
if we form in them the habit of reading an
enjoying the best and most ennobing book
suited to their age and if love for the pur
the true and the beautiful be developed il
their hearts; the surest blow will have bee
struck against tue unwholesome influence @
impure and frivolous literature.-Ih Ihikaie
phia Ledger.