The Van Buren press., 1893-05-27
HOW TO READ.
It's Good Plan to Have Set Time In
Every Day for This Purpose.

AtB SOOu Plan to Have u Set Time In
Every Day for This Purpose.
Again and again have been asked
by girls who had very little time what
they should read, and sometimes have
answered.: 'The question of what you
should read is not of half as much con-
sequence as the question as to how you
should read Indeed, when the method
and habit of reading is once settled up
on it helps to settle the other question
of what to read. The mind will natur-
ally choose, first, something that would
be agreea BILE for it to consider; and be-
fore we should attempt to "form
taste" we should try to become ac-
quainted with what tastes we have at
present. Stop and think for mo-
ment what you would natural
ly choose. If should tell
you that would send you the very kind
of reading that would give you the most
pleasure, how many of you, do you
think, would ask me for book of
history? How many of you would want
to read an essay? How many of you
would care for book of travels? How
many of You would say:"Give me story;
! do not care much what it is if it only
comes out well in the end, and If a good
many things happen along the way?'
How many of you would, if you were
willing to confess it, prefer not to have
book at all, because you have no habit
Of fixing the mind long enough on any
one subject to make it desirable to take
up book over and over again? If you
answered me honestly, would you not,
a good many of you, say you would like
a story, but that you would like short
stories, such as can be found in period
icals?
Many Of the girls who ask me what
they shall read are young. and many
of them, also, very busy. Real life
has begun early for them. and they are
either much occupied with their school
studies, or busy all day long in some
occupation by which they are earning
money in order to board and clothe
themselves; or they are helping their
parents to pay the rent, or they have
taken upon themselves the expense of
sending younger brother or sister TO
school. Such girls have little time, and
out of fifty of them | should probably
find thirty-five who would answer the
questions above by telling me that they
would like story.
My first suggestion would be, let us
take, to begin with, the things we
would like the best. Let our own in
clination and taste decide. Having
chosen our story how shall we read it?
First of all, read with regularity. Let
us take the long day and divide it in
our minds and see how much of it
really ought to be given to work; how
much to the care of our person, how
much to our family and friends, how.
much to rest and sleep, and then see
how much time is left for our own I'M
provement 1t is hard for me to be-
lieve that any young person is so cruel
ly situated as not to be able to have at
least fifteen minutes in the Day which
she can call her own. Be-
gin then to take that fifteen
minutes regularly. Let us go to our
book or our periodical just as promptly
as we go to our dinner and make for
ourselves as early as possible the habit
of putting some reading regularly into
the programme of the day. Do not
think of it as one of the things that can
be omitted. Do not be easily diverted
from it. 1t is n habit that we wish to
fix for all our coming life. There are
many habits which it is unfortunate to
form because nature continues to make
a demand for that which has been sup
piled. But this habit of reading is one
of the things for which we wish nature
to make demand and demand strong
enough so that it shall be felt all
through the busy years to come. e.-Mary
\ o...., ln;nl;rS,n In tha Hons wife