The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-07-05

and that the DOCKS Wnlcn nave Deen tC
them the greatest help and blessing were the
books they read In early youth, between the
ages offifteen and twenty-five years. More
especially is this the case with women. II
we're difficult task, one well nigh impossi'
BILE, for a woman TO form the habit Of reading
after marriage. How important, then, that
YOU should resolve to begin OF once to read
read, read. Thereby will you learn more
than schools or colleges can teach. Begin 10
read at opce-you will pay Sibylline price
every day until the habit shall be so strong
and the pleasure so great you Will sing fol
| very JOY OF heart In the words OF the old
song
"Oh for a booke an q sbadie nooke
| Eytber ip-n-doore or out,
| With the greene leaves whispering over
bede,
Or the streete cryes all about.
| Where l male reade; all at my ease
Both OF the newe aDd olde;
For q jollie Roode booke whereon to locke
Is better to me than gold."
Ifyou wish to know the Influence on ones
| life OF books read 1t In early youth, think o
Robert Burns, the young plougbmau. lad
daily devising the "Colection OF Songs" He
saya "That volume was my wade mecum.
pored over them during my work, or walking
to labor. song by song, verse by verse. and
I am convinced owe to that practice most ol
nov critic-craft such as 1t H." and, be might
have added, much Of his song.makipg craft
Remember, too, young Walter Scott, how bis
imagination was fired and his youthful mind
his constant reading OF Percy's Reliques
But need not multiply instances. The
biographies Of literary men and women
abound in illustrations Of this.
THE LOVE OF BOOKS.
How can you best cultivate this love OF
hooks. this habit OF reading, this literary
taste? By daily reading end committing to
/ f~z Annk ntf fhnr
Of prose or poetry. John Bright. the most
mellifluept Of modern orators. derived bis
wealth of imagery and purity OF diotion from
bis daily habit Of lea rniDg by heart twenty or
sens hs
Ruskiu TO what he owed hiR rich vocaou-
larry Of purest English and h1a power as a
writer OF prose-prose, which. as you know,
simplicity, hmpid clearpess and purity, He
said ha beat teacher had heen the habit
which his mother bad compelled him, against
his will, to form In early life, OF committing &
some portion Of the English Bible-a habit 30
strong that 1t never fell into disuse 80 long as
be lived.
READ THE OLD BOOKS.
But while forming this habit of reading, are
you 10 read indlscrimipately To read for
reading sake? To read any and all books
thai may fall into your hands? Nay, verify.
AS my lord OF Verulum saith, some BOOKS
"are TO be tasted, others to be swallowed and
'some few TO be chewed and digested." Let
us add, and great number to be eschewed al.
together. There is much force in the saying
of Alopzo Of Aragon. "Old wood TO burn
0d SDe TO drink rasd Td SIs fend' Snd to 5Tus
vice-read for the most part the old books,
the standard works. the classics OF our Eng.
1ish language-the books which have stood
the test Of the time and proved their title to
foli q III.
From Chaucer and Spencer. shakespeare and
Ben Johnson. to Tennyson and Wordsworth
and Poe; from Clarendon to Froude; from
Hume t. Bancroft and Motley; from Bacon
Scott and Tbackeray and Hawthorne: they
stand noble band OF immortals. poets, bis
torians, essayists. satirists and writer's OF
romance, the equal Of which no other people
or tongue can boast OLA literature greater IN
volume and variety and grander In extent
than Greece and Rome ever dreamed of.
THE BIBLE As AN ENGLISH CLASSIC.
Fail not to include that greatest OF all our
English classics. our English Bible. Read 1t
you will, of course for your spiritual good ;
read 1t, counsel you also for It's literary
beauty. Study the sweet melody, OF Its sim.
pie Anglo Saxon, and be proud to know that
as q literary work II is more beautiful In
English than In It's Hebrew and Greek origi-
nal
to become school teachers, then be sure to put
the Bible In the bands OF the school children
and teach 1t TO them daily, not alone for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction. for In.
struction n rig ehteouspess, but also as being
the text book for he study OF pure English
PerhapsIthe greatest literary blessing ever be-
slowed upon Scotland was the legal require,
meni, en- forced for centuries, that daily In all
her tho usand parish schools the teachers
should make the pupil. repeat from memory
some portion Of the Holy Scripture. and Of the
Shorter Catechism. and OF the Psalms o.
| David In metre. Would that the require
menis as 10 the Bible were the law in South
Carolina.
While 1 would not have you utterly for
swear the reading OF new books, still In my
hum BILE judgment the course OF reading which
| have suggested for the period In your lives
am referring to should 81 most excl usively be
confined to the reading OF the works OF stand
ard authors. In this way most surely VIII
you acquire pure taste for reading, and
taste for pure reading. In this way mos
| effectually will you be spared the evil effects
| of indiscrimipate, uesultory readipg-a vict
to be avoided IN these days OF cheap reprintt
periodicals with tempting titles fall thich
and fast all over the land like forest leaves 1r
autumn.
| BEWARE OF INDUCRIMINATE READING.
Ubiquitous and inn umerable as the swarmi
of ED glIsh sparrows. hardly worth the price
| OF two sparIo rows, that aie sold for fartbipg
and, alas, much more mischievous than tht
| SparrOWe, lDeS6 cheap new DOCKS lDTealep u
take possession of the whole country, Il
monopollZe the reading time OF our people
and 10 drive out and silence :the old authors
as The sparTows are driving at and silencinl
1 ones favoriLe native song birds. so that oul
youth and maidens are TOO often found read
u ing the cheap and wasty trash, when iol
I their examples in manners and refine men
and modesly young ladies, like Daisy Miller
are depicted with the fast and flashy man
ners OF a kitchen maid. Young Vlrginiar
| widows romp on baystacks with young gen.
tlemen like len year old tomboys-charmin ms
and accomplished girls discharge themselves
with resounding kiss into the arms OF theil
laggard lovers; and young ladies OF the mos
refined and aIistocratic circles In New YORK
receive u lovers burning kiss from clerica
brothers.in-law with the mildly repellnf
remark "Iou must drop that"
Yes. better far, safer far, for the present reac
the old books. Like old friends they are
more to be trusted.
PLEASURE DERIVED FROM READING.
: Perhaps the greatest benefits to be derived
by you from this reading habit, Is the acquisi
tion OF q means OF happiness 10 yourself anC
OF pleasure 10 others which will be with yot
through life even unto old age Olher attrac
tiOns and mere accomplishments are more o
less evanescent in their nature. A time will
J come when the fingers that now draw swee
, music from the ivory key board, will refuse
TO move 30 nimbly q time will come wher
the voice which now carols like q sky-larh
and thrills the listener with Its heavenly
! melody, will have lost its power; time viii
corna U han the fare now 40 YOunR fresh AZ