The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1892-01-28
saltwater, Mimi, Thursday 1892.

plicity in your language-twO of the great
est merits which style can have; and the
notes give you an opportunity for great
deal of original composition. besides con-
slant place to which to refer anything which
you may read in other books; for. having
such an abstract on hand. you will be often
thinking. when reading other books. of
what will be i'm them which will bear upon
your abstract"
Gen. Garfield, whose whole life was
tinctured by his reading habits. followed
this plan of abstracts and composition from
his college days. In the winter of 1875.
which was among the busiest seasons in
Washington. he took up the reading of
Goethe and his epoch. and, in accordance
with his habit of doing some creative work
in every special line to which he directed
his mind. he wrote sixty page paper on
THE state of Literature and Art in Europe
in the Goethe Period" Speaking of this at
the time. he said. Il think some work of
this kind. outside of ones every day vOca
tiOns. is necessary to keep up real growth" ;"
Great assistance can be obtained from
simple note books. a kind of literary day
book in which are entered thoughts read,
which we wish to preserve. and the thoughts
awakened in our own minds by contact with
tuOS0 Ol Iu0 w UO uOG lClt
when deeply interested in some book. an
under current of feeling. friendly or hos
tile, running through his mind? We come
upon thought and ponder over it. idea fol
lowing idea, until we almost forget the book
in contemplation of the thought. These are
moments when note book is necessary,
in which we can enter our reflections for
future reference. They may prove of
value some day.
w. p. Atkinson. in his admirable lecture
on THE Right Use of Books" says: "A
commonplace book contains many notions
in garrison. whence an owner may draw
out an army into the field on competent
warning. have myself sort of lit
erary bookkeeping. l keep a day book. and
at my leisure post my literary accounts,
bringing together in proper groups the
fruits of much casual reading"
James Freeman Clarke. in his ''Self
culture, "remarks: IA person might at least
have note book, and write down the
heads of what he reads and his thoughts
about it. To these notes he could after
ward refer with pleasure and advantage"
The men who have used note books. and
the length of time in which they have been
used. sufficiently attest their usefulness.
From Pliny the Elder to Emerson. men
have used them. Pliny never read without
having at hand materials for making ab-
stracts and notes. Bacon left much manu-
script entitled, ''Sudden Thoughts set down
for Use." DR.. Pye Smith was accustomed
to make cOpiOus memoranda of all books
read. with extracts and criticism. These
note books afterward proved to be the great
storehouse from which he drew his illustra-
tiOns Robert SOuthey. while reading. kept
slip of paper in his book, and noted any
passage which would be useful, with the
page and subject. These were afterward
arranged in note books and the passages
copied. if the books were not his own. In
this way. he gained command of large
amounts OF material on any subject he de
sired. Gen. Garfield left vOluminOus note
books, and Emerson's have become world
renowned. Many of his essays are said to
be mere transcriptiofis of his thought as
written in his commonplace books. No one
can read Hawthorne's published note books
without finding the germs of his novels.
Joseph Cooks method of keeping notes is
worth noticing. Instead of book he uses
slips OF paper OF convenient size, with a
margin to the left. and writes only one sub
iect on a slip. AS these collect, he arranges
them by subjects, and fastens them together
by the margins. He then has note book
he can rearrange. if necessary; or, if he de-
sireS to use any single passage, he can
unfasten the slip and save the time of copy
ing. Charming used similar slips. filling
them instead of binding.
Charles Reade kept vOluminous note
books in which he entered all incidents
which seemed likely to be available for fut-
ure novels. Dickens for many years kept
memoranda. hints. suggestions, fancies.
whether reused by reading or from per
SODal observation. Hugo carried DOrtfOliOs
and note books everywhere with him,
which he filled with his reflections and OBJ
servations. Frank Buckland, the naturalist,
kept many notes. both thoughts and facts.
John Wilson left several volumes of notes
at his death. showing pretty accurately
much of his early work, train Of thought,