The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-10-23
The READING HABIT.
A Great Advantage to the Mother of
Household.

household.
OF all the habits that can be cult.
waited, none is more productive of pleas.
ure and improvement than that of read.
ing, provided the books be well chosen.
Reading is a recreation-the rest and
refreshment that make one feel like
new being-but it is much more. 1t is
not only the wine of mental life, it is
its daily bread. The stndy of text books
will by no means take the place of gen
eral and varied reading. One may be
master of several languages and yet not
be well read. One may have many ac-
complishments, and even be proficient
in one or more branches of science, and
yet be unintelligent on general subjects
for lack of d habit of judicious reading.
The quantity of reading that may be
done in year by the employment OF
even small portions of time is surpris-
ing to those who have not observed the
matter. 1t is delight to think of the
amount of information and keen intel
leetual pleasure obtained by those who
follow the required readings of the
Chautauquan courses after spending
less than an hour day upon them, and
equal advantages may follow more
desultory reading if it be we'll chosen.
A lady whom we know is the head of
large family, entertaining much com
pany, and doing a great deal of benevo-
lent work. All these things leave her
but little time, yet at the end of the
year she will be found to have read
more, and have better assimilated what
she has read. than the majority of men
OR women of leisure. In her the read
ing habit is very strong, and leads her
to improve every chance moment. Her
memory is good and her mental facul-
ties clear, SO that she can keep many
separate threads of thought in mind
without dropping or tangling any
Hence she finds it profitable to have
several books on hand at once. For her
own den, where she is most likely to
be found when she has more than a few
moments at her disposal, she has al
ways solid" work of some sort-his-
tory, biography, travel, or popularizcd
science. In the sewing-room, where
she may have to wait short intervals
between fittings" are kept volumes OF
selections. On her dressing-table is al
ways another book. In her parlor a
small-volumed Shakespeare is ever at
hand. In the dining-room are news
papers and magazines. In a drawer in
the hall table, ready to be taken when
she is going out, are novels or books OF
short Stories to be read in carriage OF
horse cars. Thus she is never obliged
to wait idly through even those moments
of waiting which are inevitable in every
large family.
A very great advantage of this lady's
habit is that her whole family receive
the benefit OF her ever overlooking mind
Her children bring their studies her
husband his interests, and she her read
ing to the common fund of intellectual
enjoyment. Their table hours are
charming. The husbands business is
one involving unusual cares and re-
sponsibilities, and he is often too tired tc
read, bur, by his wife's flow of lively
chat upon ever-fresh topics, his mind is
as he expresses it, so ''irrigated' that
it becomes rich and fruitful, instead OF
the arid waste which a mind exhausted
by business and unrefreshed from with
out must be. Her children derive from
their mothers varied stores countless
bits of information which enable them
to better understand their lessons, and
are constantly stimulated to greater eff
forts
This useful and interesting woman
makes no pretensions to learning, and
with the exception of writing and
speaking the English language with
unusual purity and fiuency, has no ac-
complishments, but she is singularly
well informed, -Harpers' Bazaar.