The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-09
READ A BOOK


How often do you try reading a
book as happy means Of banlshIng
anxious thoughts about something,
Won know rot what? Well, If you
have not trled 1t, the sooner you do
40 the sooner you will find remedy
for many of the imaginary evils that
heset your way.
How often have you tried reading
book to cure that feeling Of lUnell-
ness? Sometimes the boy or the
young man feels, at time when
such qualification ia not convenient,
that he needs some association with
others.
Have book to read. This will
cure your loneliness. When you
are reading a good book you are IN
the very best OF company, and you
are listening to the very best OF
language and you are making the
wise thoughts of the author your
own thoughts, and to degree, you
arc moulding your intellect after the
fashion Of his.
II have no time to read book"
says the young man or the young
woman.
What dclusion You have more
time than anything else. Let's see
about it.
How much money have you?
None at all, you say. How much
landed property have you to look
after? Very little, you say. How
much bank stock have you to claim
your attention? | hardly know what
that is, you say. What great busl-
ness are you experimenting that
claims your attention night and day?
| only have 10 look after my own
daily lahors, yoa say. What dazzling
reputation or growing fame have
you TO nurse and watch over closely?
| am not known fer away from my
own doorsill, you say. Very well.
SO you sec with great number of
the young especially time is about
the SUN total Of all possessions.
Now VIC venture another Ques
tion, though quite delicate ore.
How much knowledge have you? l
know SO little. you say. that l am
sometimes ashamed to go MO In.
telligent society. The writer would
not put this question and answer it
thus did he not feel the very embar~
rsssment here described.
Two other questions. How much
travelling do you expect to do in
your life? Where do you expect to
go? l may never be able to 60 be-
You'd tie boundary of my own State,
you say.
You say you have no money, no
land, no bank stock. no great busi>
ness TO !COk after, no fame o. rcputa-
ton to nurse, no great store of
knowledge, no hope Of travel to gam
knowledge.
Now, for the last question. H01c
much time hore you2 l had not
thought Of that. YOU say, Suppose
We calculate little. Every day has
twenty-fous hours. The most sleepy
beaded needs only eight hours IN the
twenty-four to sleep, land this writer
is compelled TO have his } That
leaves sixteen hours for work and
other things. Twelve hours a day
is more than the average man works.
That leaves four hours for recreation.
Suppose YOU just waste two of these
hours as you DO now, perhaps. Then
after sleeping eight hours, working
twelve, doing nothing at all for two
hours you have two long hours of
sixty minutes each every day for
reading. Take Sunday for rest and
worship, and the other SIX days in
the week give YOU two hours each
Tor reading, making twelve hours a
week. ThcTe arc tifty-two weeks in
a year, and that gives you SIX hun
d7ed and twenty -four hours in the
year spare tine for reading.
But there has been 10 time given,
you say, in this calculation for Pleas,
ure. Well, VIC will take off one
hundred and twenty-four hours Of
the extra time, and allotipg half as
many days for pleasure, it will ex-
cuse you from your reading sixty
two days in The year and leave you
Just even five hundred hours for
reading,
Well, now, the dullest boy or
young man IAN surely read five
pages an hour. Then by following
this plsn, at the end of the year you
will have read two thousand and
five hundred pages Think OF it
{ la ypr,ci, firpC v-n,J hoVo