Delaware gazette and state journal., 1899-11-16

uInner we sat oy hlie ilioiSn% ih1oiS,
ing those dreams that are engendered
by a good cup OF coffee and we'll
mixed salad. We sat in silence for
while, then turned and said: What |
makes you so thoughtful, little oneY'
for her face looked serious.
81 was thinking, dear Portia," she
said. "of q lot of young girls saw at
the library this afternoon. They fiocked
in after school and | watched them
with interest. Watched to see the
magazines, the books, they selected,
and the style of literature that generally
attracted them. The thought came to
me what responsible things books are,
and what part they may play in the
making of our character / was think
ing how many of those young girls
realize how much cooks may become in
their lives" :.
"You know Jeremiah Taylor says"
l interrupted, ''books are guide in
youth and an entertainment Tor OLD
age -,
that way about it?'
There are SO many girls who have the
desire to read and who, now that the
frivolous summer season is over, form
all sorts of clubs and many more resolu-
tions for course of reading through
out the winter. But first, there are
two essentials to make these plans sue
cessful. First, the knowledge of what
to read, and then how to read. The
first implies taste and description, and
the selection of the good fIom the bad,
the kernel from the shell. am afraid,
however, that when girls are left to
their own sweet will they will plunge
gloriously into stories. New stories
are all very we'll, but, as terrapin will
oloy the appetite If we live on it, so will
stories cloy the mind. First in regard
to novels, the craving for novels is not
the sign Of superficial mind, but the
sign of an interest in life and story
makes SO many obscure things clear.
Yet many novels are i'll adapted for this
purpose. A girl should know a great
deal of the good In the world before
she lear ms much of its evil, and then a
young girl cannot appreciate novel
which deals with the passions and
temptations Of older people until she
has had some experience OF her own.
Any great novel requires study. Girl
hood is not the time for any novelist
who does not believe that something
beside the actual is possible and neces-
cary. Now, whatever Dickens thoughts
may be, he can be trusted here, for
never knew a girl who loved Dickens
i, who was not large hearted, and a girl
= who cares for 1.-THE Newcomes" aPpre-
ciates the good and high minded in
humanity. Scott is cne of the masters
always to be trusted to present natural
world, and there are half dozen fresh
story writer's girls ace all the better for
reading. Mics Young, Miss Alcott,
Mrs. MuloclS- Craik, Miss Thackery and
Mrs. Whitney. Many girl in rough
home learns to he a gentle woman from
association with these heroines. A
girl ought to make the acquaintance OF
George Eliot's fine heorines while she
is still girl, hut she must not think
that she knows them then, once and
for all. George Eliot's novels must be
studied for new meaning at every
stage of life
School girls have not very much time
for solid reading beyond that prescribed
by their teachers, and many wome;
who earn their living have even les
time, but hope that all who can spar,
an hour every day or even half hour
will spend part ef it on solid reading
We rnay read to some purpose man,
books on one subject making littl
epochs in our lives. Thus. heard tw,
young bachelor maids who spent mos
Of their day in telegl aph office say
martha and have spent the Who'll
winter in Scotland" They meant tha
they had in their leisure hours rea,
Scottish history, Scottish poets am
Scottish novels, though they had no
been away from their own chimne
corner. Now there are thousands G
BOOKS worth reading and nobody ca
read them all and the thing to learn
to make choice. 1t is very difficult
hna
are books and books, and books thu
are not books at ALL" 1t is these la.
we must learn to escape. 1t is difficu
to make catalogue OF the books tht
young woman should read, hut mos
of us who are honest with ourselvt
know what are our lest gifts and oil
worst faults, and we should chose Il
subjects and books that will develc
the best and dwarf the worst.
Whatever our tastes or talents b
there are two kinds of reading essenti
to all. One you must know is poetr
Sooner or later We must all kno
Shakespeare, Milton. Dante and Home
And We cannot spare the lesser poe
and we will find wholesome nutrime
and deep-rooted pleasure reading Burn
Whittier, LongfelloW, Lowell, Mr.
Browning, Keats, Tennyson and Ad
laide Proctor. What woman who pc
sesses a copy of this last has not ft
pages marked with date, fou
leaf clover. a pressed rose or even
memory Most of us must wait un
our girhood is gone before we undt
stand Wordsworth or Browning. Poet
gives high altitude of mind, hal
Of thinking noble thoughts, of keepi
our spirit in harmony with beauty, al
goodness and strength and love-
Now the other kind of reading th
is essential, is the news. Ii we shou
read nothing but great poetry and gre
novels we should lose touch with t
common everyday life about us. Y
want to know how the world is livi
and acting. If the young woman wal
to help 10 make the world better s
must know its faults and its Grim
do not mean that she need spe
much time every day over newspap
but she should select some good who
some paper and with discretion Ie
that which is good and in with |
times, TO keep fIom being rusty, a
she should learn how to discrimip;
between what she wants to read a
what she wants to skip. Though nc
OF us can afford to he careless with a
OF our reading, it is right that th
should be great difference betws
reauIpg for recreation and reading
study. Some teachers say that il
girl wishes to read novel when she
studying the reign of Elizabeth, it '
be recreation for her TO read "Kenr