Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1893-04-26
Rapid Readers.

The death of Justice Lamar recalls
trait of faculty which he possessed in
renal kable degree. 1t has been said of
him that he was able to read newspaper
article or a page Of book at what SEEM
ell To the observer to be but glance
Manifeslly this faculty or capacity gave
him great advantage over ordinary men.
He was able TO devour books us if he
were literary gIutton, with the differ
ence that his powerful memory enabled
him TO digest at leisure what he had abb
sorbed in haste
MacauIay possessed the same faculty
perhaps in yet higher degree. He
would take up volume for an evenings
intellectual enjoyment. and before he re-
tired had the contents fully impressed
ippn his marvellous mind. Dickens
W. an ,ihrr OF tn 'se remarkably rapid
Il lrrs Gnrg. Z Iiatl's Adam Bed. "
ame 10 hi one day. Before his orli.
nary bedtime he ha | read il. aud had
pronounced this remarkable dictum
That book was written by woman
Oilers required days of leisure to read IT.
lld the question of authorship was the
ridl e of the time in literary circles
y larles Sumner was another man sho
, ssessed this happy faculty.
A book, whether il was volume Of
aw or OF diplomatic corresppndence or
work of fici lon. passed under his eyes as
% by quick succession of glances. IL
was the same with Daniel Webster. who
himself stated to friend that when in
;olIege he read Don Quixote" in sin.
sle night Ia the case of both these dis
ingui-hed men what they read IN this
way reappcar in new dress in their
speeches aud ia their writings. OF course
l retenIive memory was necessary to rem
Ter the results of this rapid reading
available. but il is plain that in their ca
acity to read rapidly they possessed an
nurmous advantage over their fellow
men, aud the question arises, is il posi-
Dle to develop this faculty and make 1t
more generally useful in the vast multi.
plicaIon OF books II is impossible for
the average reader to keep pace with the
production merely Of the best, TO say
nothing of turning backward TO the
wealth Of the past. Indeed, in the hurry
IF modern life it is scarcely possible for
the business man, for the society woman,
or the more modest housewife TO keep
pace with the newspapers aud snatch an
occasional hour for the magazines. To
all of these it would be an inestimab!e
boon If they had the faculty Of grasPing
sentences, paragraphs, and perhaps pages,
at little more than a glance. No one
but the most illiterate now pays attention
to the letters Of which word is compos.
ed.
Is it not possible that by cultivation
the average reader might calsh words
and sentences as letters are now caught
| by the most Indifferent readers A vast
deal Of energy is now devoted TO teaching
pupils to read more or less effectively in
public. There is careful attention paid
to articulation, to modulation, infection,
emphasis-all tending toward slowness
rather than rapidity in reading. What
would be the result Of changing the aim,
and consequently deliberately modify the
process in our public schools 7 Is II not
possible that with proper training in the
more advanced grades-perhaps in the
very lowest-chiIdren might be sent forth
from the schools with something Of the
capacity which gave Macauley. Dickens.
Sumner, Webster and Lamar their tre-
mendous advantage over others to grasp
the meaning and the thought Of an au.
thor without dwelling upon the separate
words which expressed that thought? II
is certainly something worth thinking Of
and discussing seriously. The burden Of
the best literature alone is already some.
thing almost beyond the capacity Of the
mind. Life is short aud cares are press-
ing. Is not there something that can be
done for the men and women who are 10
come after us. even though we have misc.
ed what few rare minds possessed BY
accidentl The subject is sl least worth
the consideration Of educat.rs. and II
has heretofore been almost wholly ignor.
ed.-Augusta Chronicle.
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