Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-10-20
CITY AND DISTRICT.
WHAT TO READ-WREN TO READ
HOW TO READ.


Teachers.
The teachers of the public schools assembled
at eleven O'Clock this morning in the hall of the
high school building to listen to an address on
reading, which Mr.. A. T. Spofford the librarian
of Congress, had been invited to deliver. The
hall was well filed with teachers. Com
missioner of education Eaton, and school trus-
tees Warner. Lovejoy and Clark were present
and occupied seats on the platform. Superinten-
dent Wilson made some remarks upon the sub
ject. which was to occupy the hour, and then
presented to the audience Mr.. Spofford, who
said:
What to read-when to read-how to- read
such is the alluring theme proposed to me by
your honored superintendent for brief discourse
to-day. To an assembly of instructors of
youth. leaders in the campaign that IS forever
going on against the farces of ignorance, such a
theme must possess a Commanding interest.
doubt not that it has long engaged your
thoughts. While have not the presumption to
suppose that my ideas upon the choice
OF reading will present anything new, or that
what may say upon methods of reading will
be instructive to those who teach It, must in
fer that the invitation to address you takes for
granted on my part such fitness as life spent
among books and the readers of books MAY i'm
ply As mariner who has witnessed many
shipw rechS may warn Others where the perilOus
reefs and dangerous shoals are to be found, so
perch anee may one who has seen the wreck of
many an intellectual life be able to point out
where some OF the dangers lie To you. who
have the direction of young minds, who are
fully alive to the responsibility which such
guidance implies. and who well know the meal
cuab!e influence which timely hint or word
IN season often has upon the young, l can offer
only the fruits Of a candid observation and an
90 hot I
slider the vast possibilities of your daily work
the unspeakable energies which it is yours to
watch and train in their unfolding. the fact that
you are the chosen interpreters between the
world of books and the world of mind that YOU
areIn sense the guard of civilization. ! am i'm
PEELED to declare my conviction that the vOca-
tlon of teacher is the noblest profession in
the world.
OPENNEss of MIND ESSENTIAL.
For the teacher, be it ever remembered. i'm
plies the scholar. One cannot teach what he
has never learned, ard it is the fortunate mis-
sion of the true Instructor to keep his intellect
nal faculties always alert and in training, repro
dueins what he knows. arranging his ideas,
organizing his mental stores, that he may be
ever prepared to use his acquired or remem-
bered knowledge in an exact and practical way.
1t Is his to throw open to Others the doors of his
own learning. to teach the true use of books to
1Oviees in the art of reading. and ne can never
sufficiently congratulate himself that he has to
deal with minds in the oDeH aud formative
stage. instead of those in the mature and over
ripe period Of life. with whom ahu n liant conceit
stands in the place of wisdom. Ven melancholy
is the endeavortO find entrance to IA mind closed
Up by long disuse. and walled in by prejudice; a
mind whose unhappy owner is unable to compre-
hend or To entertain a new thought "a mind
possessed with that most mOnstrouS Of all alb
surd notions that his education is finished. The
world is full of these intellectual pachyderms
Into whose being no ray of real progress can
ever penetrate. and for whom each new day
dawns in vain. The lines of their horizon are
hXed-nOt flowing: they have settled every
thing. and no matter though it be settled
wrongly. it is all settled-and that is the end of
It, IL is yours to plant the seeds of thought
not Iii these stony soils but i'm the fertile imag-
nations and open minds of youth to make daily
progress in the correction of error the dispeln9
OF ignorance. the diffusion of truth to enlighten
the understanding and enlarge the horizon Of
the mind.
TINE FOR READING.
In considering the various branches of our
subject. before entering upon the wide field of
suggestion as TO the choice of what we should
read. let us first consider the preliminary ques-
lions, when to read and how to read Nothing
II more common than to hear the lament: Oh.
am so fond of books: but l can never get time
to read, Now, this is nine times out of ten, a
sheer delusioE. The busiest persons have
known have always been the best informed and
the widest readers The art OF having time to
read lies in learning how to make the most of
your days. Days are short. and time is fieeting,
but no ones day holds less than twenty-four
hours. Engrossing as your occupation may be.
1t never need consume all the time remaining
from sleep refreshment and needful exercise
The trouble is most persons think that
the unappropriated intervals. when business
waits, are too brief and fragmentary to
be of any value to them. They fear that
they will be interrupted before they have done
anything to the purpose. and so they do nothing.
No one can ever make the most of life who has
not learned the supreme value of moments The
odd snatches OF time between your tasks the
half hour before breakfast. the fifteen minutes
waiting for dinner. diligently given to the book
you wish to read. will finish it in a week or two
at farthest. and make rOOm for another. 1t is
almost literally true. paradOXical As it NAV SEEM
that the more you have TO do, the more YOU can
do. System and strong purpose will work
miracleS-will go far towards achieving the inn
possible Let us suppose that you are deter
mined to secure two hours every day for self
culture; that is equivalent to more than 100
hours year. or TO sixty days-two entire months
OF working time OF twelve hours day What
Could you not do in two months if YOU had all
the time to yourself: You could learn a new
language or go far toward writing a book
day which would secure your two
months OF Tree time every year. is frittered away
you scarcely know how. in aimless matters that
lead To nothing. famous writer, some of
whose books you have all read. Sir Edward
Bulwer. afterwards Lord Lytton devoted only
four hours day to writing yet he produced
more than fifty volumes of criticism poetry his
tory. drama and fiction, OF singular literary
merit. Re not over particular as to hours or the
time of day, but seize the unOccuped Intervals
and you will soon find that all hours are good
for the muse. Have purpose and adhere to it
with gOod-humOred pertinacity: it is more
important that your intellect should grow than
that your worldly fortune should be made or
that you should become a universal favorite by
spending your time in good fellowship Be
Independent of the rules and the opinions of
others; the world OF books. like the world of
nature. was made for you; possess it in your own
way II you find no good in ancient history or
In metaphysics. let them alone anG read books
OF art. or biography. or poetry oI travel. The
world OF letters Is related that all roads cross
and converge Many reader has learned more
OF past ages from good biographies than from a
course OF history and it is fact that multitudes
owe TO the plays OF Shakespeare all the
Know ledge they possess of the history Of Eng
land L look with some distrust upon all So
called courses of reading. great amount of
tire has been wasted in trying to compel the