The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1908-04-08
Good Reading In The Home.

Paper by Mrs. f. J. Henderson, read at
the Farmers Institute at Kellettville,
Pa, March 8, 190Sl
Books, says Henry Ward Beecher,
''are the windows through which the soul
looks out. A hume without books is like
a house without windows. Let us pity
those poor rich men who live barrenly in
great book less houses! Let us congratu-
late the poor that in our day books are so
cheap! A library is not luxury, but
one of the necessities of life."
One who loves good books is on the
path leading to all knowledge. He will
have company in the midst of solitude,
and company of his own choosing. HUI
man companionship may fail in respond
ing to our moods OF sadness or gsdness,
but our acquaintance with books will
bring us sympathetic friend for each
mood. We may be surrounded by the
poorest of earth but, in imagination, have
all The worlds wealth. Our older friends
will tell us as they look backward
through the years that their opportunities
for reading were often most limited.
They we're taught to read from the New
Testament owing to lack of text books.
Many country homes had nothing more
in the way of reading than an almanac
and the bible, and the weekly newspaper
found place in small proportion of the
homes. But the causes for the lack of
reading in those times is not to be con-
sidered in these later days. The free de-
livery of rural mail matter brings books,
papers and magazines into our homes
most expeditiously, and the cost of these
publications is surprisingly low IN COM
parison with that of some years ago. In
tions that the question of choice is the
only one left for our consideration. This
fact may be blessing, in that it furnishes
us wide opportunity for selection, but
ones literary taste should be well trained
to be able to choose wisely. As our sub
ject concerns good reading, in the home,
we conclude that the home-maker or par
ents are responsible to the younger
members of the family for the quality of
reading matter brought into 1t. 1t is an
inspiration to children to feel that their
parents are in advance of them; they en-
Joy intellectual companioDshib and are
benefited by looking to their parents for
such help. They like TO know that the
people at home are not "behind the
times" but are thoughtful and alert con-
cerning questions of the day. Under
these conditions children will take advice
and help far more readily than in cases
where the parents have allowed them
selves 10 grow mentally careless. There
may be homes where these helpful in
influences are lacking, and in such cases
the teacher in the public schools comes
next in responsibility and can do much to
cultivate love for good reading. Our
many good series of textbooks and sup
Elementary works contain the finest Sc
lections for this purposs. The teacher
should have in mind that reading trains
the senses of sight and hearing; it trains
the powers of observation; it strengthens
and develops the memory by the accum-
ulation OF a large number of facts. 1t also
develops the Imagination by descriptions
of scenes, places and persons, and as
result of all these causes it exercises the
judgment and reasoning powers. Hence,
no all-round mental development is pos
sible without much and varied reading.
How important it is that the child as early
as possible becomes master of thia art,
since all his later progress depends upon
how he reads and what he reads. 1t is
true that the mind grows by what it feeds
upon, so it is necessary to distinguish the
bad from the good. Some standard of
excellence is necessary in choosing our
reading. Books which are classics, which
have survived the criticisms of the years,
are praised, loved, and given a place in
our mental treasure-house, are safe books
with which we may compare those Of
latest date.
The companions of ones thoughts are
as important as ones companions of flesh
and blood and exert an influence as real
Solomon says, "As a man thinketh in his
/ heart, so is he" We desire our children
to associate with others of good thoughts
and habits, but are we always as careful
concerning the influences they receive
from their reading? We can in measure
counteract the influence of bad company,
but can we overcome the suggestions for
evil which are ever present in some ofthe
magazines, books and papersH Some OF
the reading is harmful because it lacks
literary merit, consequently ones time
would be wasted in reading IL, for though
the thoughts be ever so good they would
be hidden by the poor way in which they
we're expressed. Poor and incorrect
language is most easily initiated, and one
of the best ways of overcoming this fault
is by reading from the best authors. One
may learn to think in words of the author
but If the language is wrongly used on,
receives more harm than good. Again
some of the reading is harmful because o
its extreme unreality. We get an incor
rect and distorted view of real things un
til in time the mind is unable to distin
guished between the real and the unreal
Many of these cheap publications ar