The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1879-10-30
The Long Evenings. How Shall
5 They be SpentP

For six months to come there will be
from two to four hours between lamp
light and bedtime. Shall we give to
that time its proper value, and consider
it in its relations to future usefulness and
happinessf A great many persons will
think only how they will manage to pass
it without the hours hanging heavily.
Some are never 30 miserable as whenseft
to their own resources; have no ability
to entertain themselves, no thought Of
needing to know any more than what
they can pick up by hearing the gossip
and banter, coarse anecdotes and boast
ful recitals of other idlers. Reading to
themselves is altogether too much like
work or too dull and uninteresting, and
puts them to sleep like an opiate.
1t is . great pity when the habits Of
early life have been unfavorable to the
formation of habits Of reading or Of i'm
proving time to some useful purpose.
There is little hope Of those past their
youth changing very greatly in this res
must be for children and young people.
The necessities Of life have compelled
many mothers 70 do housework all day,
and before ready-made garments or nit
tens and stockings were as easily pro-
cured as now, the evenings had to be
mostly devoted to sewing and knitting.
and by the time Of life that their cir
cumssances were 30 improved that they
could be at leisure for mental cultiva-
ton, the eyesight was often 90 impaired
that reading by lamplight could be en-
loved only to Q limited extent. The
hard-worked fathers and mothers who
made the most Of their slender opportu-
mites, and toiled industriously to give
their children better means Of education.
are not to blame for their deficiencies;
but young people Of to-day who have
books and papers, access to libraries,
opportunities at school and pleasant
homes and leisure in which to study, are
very much to blame II they do not go q
long ways ahead Of their parents in OBJ
tanning the Information to be found in
books. Any one Who chances to be on
our streets or in the stores OF an even
ing-and it Is no worse here than in 9TH
er towns-must be impressed with the
amount of time, worse than wasted, by
men and boys in lounging, and in foolish
Jest and laughter, il they do nothing
worse.
Enough time is frittered away in this
manner to become good accountants,
versed in the sciences, accomplished in
penmsnship. and intelligent in multi
tude Of directions. The claims OF busi-
ness, domestic cares, tha hard struggle
TO meet common necessities in few
years may absorb all the time Of these
young people. Very few will ever again
find the leisure for reading and literary
cultivation that they have as boys and
girls. What business man in Yelling
ton can conveniently enter upon course
of historical reading, or scientific re-
search, or spend half hours with Shakes
peare or Milton or Walter Scottf Not
one In ten can any more than hurriedly
read his newspaper, or get more than an
abstract of current national topics to say
nothing of closer application to literary
reading. The golden opportunities for
these pursuits il in youth when mind
and body are less likely to be over-taxed
and the memory is most reteniive.
A great deal can be accomplished by
forming reading circles where certain
subjects shall be Investigated and dis
cussed. It is q real help 70 compare
what we have learned and hear what