The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1890-12-24
Our Winter Evenings.
BY LAURA Il. BoYCE.


Old winter is with us once again,
with short and often stormy days and
long evenings, that make the CHEEKY
fireside the center of attraction. Every
house-mother should see to it that the
home Preside is made so attractive that
outside allurements may not entice the
children away from the home love.
Among the children, all sorts of anus
ing and instructive games should have
their place, and children of larger
growth are the better for amusement
and relaxation; but literature should
hold the first place everywhere and al
ways. In these days of cheap books
and newspapers, the poorest can supply
their families with something enter
tanning and instructive. There are so
many books and magazines printed, es-
pecially for the young people, that all
tastes may be gratified.
IfIwere limited to one paper or mag
azine for the boys and girls, that one
should be The Youths Companion. 1t
is bright and entertaining, instructive
and elevating. 1t comes weekly, and
in our family the "grown up" ones like
to read it almost as well as the younger
ones. Among all the books for young
people that l have ever read, l prefer
Louisa M. Alcott's. Alas, that her pen
is forever laid asidel Who shall fill
her place? Our boy has read Little
Women " and Little Men" three or
four times each, and never tires of
them. "But they are n0velS," objects
one who believes that novel is "a syn
onym for all that is bad in literature. /
can not deny that the books are called
novels, but her imaginary people are so
very like some real people that | have
known that one could well believe her
stories to be true stories.
The old-time prejudice against the
novel, per Sc, is largely outgrown. The
novel is good or bad, according as it is
written. / remember good minister's
wife, whovery strongly objected to some
of the girls of her Sabbath-school class
reading a book they had taken from the
public library, because it was a novel,
albeit it was a religious novel. 1t is
true that many novels are simply sickly
sentimentalism or worse, ought to have
no counterpart in real life, and are only
fit to light the fire with; but the novels
of George Eliot, George Mcdonald,
Mrs. Whitney and score of others |
might name, can not fail to have an en-
nobling influence on life and character.
We want everything sugar-coated in
these days, from our pills to our preach
ing, and very cleverly have some of our
theologians coated their creeds and
theories with a story, which is often
more effective than a sermon, because
we take in the truths embodied in a
story so much more fully than the alb
stract truths of sermon. If | had
call to promulgate a great truth, or
theory which was truth to me, l should
make the hero or heroine of novel
preach it for me.
But novels, even the very best, should
not serve as an exclusive mental diet.
Bread is an Indispensable article of diet,
but imam lives not by bread alone"
History, biography, geology, philoso-
ply, science, each has its part in
moulding and perfecting the symmetri-
cal mind. There are times when mind
and body are too much depressed and
worn out to be able to read anything
that requires much study. At those
times we may indulge in light reading,
only it should be the best of its kind.
All novels are not light reading. The
works of the higher class of novelists
require as close concentration of mind
and thought as dissertation on mental
philosophy. 1t is very good rule to
follow to read only that which leaves
good impression on the mind.