The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-08-01
Green Covers and Brown.

When / was very small boy, was
rummaging one day in closet in my
mothers house, and came upon little
book with bright green covers.
thought that must be treasure indeed;
for there we're not many books in the
house, of any kind, and there were none
at all that would be specially attractive
to child. This seemed to be just about
the right size for little boy, and its
cover was certainly very pretty.
Speaking of covers, l learned better
than to Judge of book from its out
side by a severe lesson which came
few years later. A lady visiting at our
house asked me what school attended,
who was the teacher, and what were
my studies. In answer to that last
question / mentioned among other
things, philosophy. "What philosophy
do you study?" said she. Now 1t hap
pened that the particular book which
used had been covered with brown
paper to keep it neat, and this, OF
course, concealed the title, for which 1
had never troubled myself to look. So 1
gave the lady the only description in
my power, by answering, Brown
covered" The family were greatly
amused at my simplicity, and L have
not yet heard the last of my new science
of brown-covered philosophy.
Well, to go back to the little green
book. If had been attracted by the
outside, what was my delight on open
ing to the title-page. It seemed to me
that no subject could be so romantic for
book as "The Deserted Village" and
no name so beautiful for an author as
Oliver Goldsmith.
l sat down on the floor and turned
over the leaves, but was disappointed.
1t was poetry! had an idea that po-
etry was always very difficult to under
stand, and l took it for granted that it
would be great folly for little boy to
attempt it. So l did not even try to
read a single line. but promised myself
that when grew up, and was learned
enough to understand poetry, l would
read that little green book.
1 did not know then what / have
learned since, that some of the finest
poetry we have is among the simplest
things in the language, most easily COM
pretended and longest remembered.
This very poem is a case in point.
1 had grown up, and had read it
great many times in other editions,
when, one day, as was sitting in my
office, the little green-covered copy
came to my mind. wrote home to
have the old house searched for it, but
it could not be found. Then wrote to
sister who had moved to a far West.
ern State. and, to my great Joy, she
found it among the things she had car
ried to her new home, and sent it to
me.
When it arrived, my first glance in
side of it was at the bottom Of the title
page, and lol the little book had been
printed and published in that very
office, five years before / was born,
and by the gentleman who had occu-
pied before me the chair in which was
sitting.
The little green covers are sadly
faded, and the leaves are yellow with
time; but it is the most highly priced
of any volume on my shelf of poetry.
Time cannot dim the beauty of the
poem, and the memory of its author
will be forever green. He was born
about three years before Washing
ton, and has been dead about century ;
but the number of his readers has never
diminished. He was very much laughed
at and ridiculed for his personal oddi-
ties, and his life was unhappy and un-
satisfactory; but he did great deal to
make other people happy. He would
give away his money, his dinner, or his
clothes, whenever he saw anybody in
distress, and he wrote some of the most
enjoyable books that ever were printed.
One reason why like him is because
he did not write long, tedious things,
that you have to sit up ever so many
nights to read through. and forget the
beginning before you reach the end.
If you open your geography at the
map of Ireland, and put the point OF
your pencil exactly in the center of that
island, it will not be far from the scene
of The Deserted Village" which ]
hope you will all read without waiting
to grow up first. The poem calls the
village Auburn" but It's true name
was Lissoy;" and it was the place
where the poet lived in childhood
Rossiter Johnson, IN st. Nicholas.
DOry- Fishing.