Evening star., 1924-12-08

Reading while you eat is another
indoor sport frowned upon by that
jealous tribe which seems bent upon
trying to take all the joy out of life
A man gets an enthusiasm against
something, feels the urge of the
pioneer, wants to convert the world
SO that others may share with him
the pleasant feeling of righteousness
which fills his bosom.
evidently the strain and stress OF
the emotion is too much for one frail
soul to bear alone in this world OF
care and strife. Like a true philan-
thropist, he must "divvy up" with
Others, even if he has to force them
to accept tha mama.
Reading W nile you eat has not es-
capped this good man. AS innocent
as TINS habit might seem upon first
lhousht. mature consideration has
SHOWN 1t to him in it's true light.
Does 1t not upset the digestion
spoil the disposition, ruin the eye
sight? These are the counts made
against it by those who have not
tasted deep enough of this enjoyab bic
spring, and, undoubtedly, there is
some truth in what they say.
VINO can Sainsay scientific expert
ments, or declare that the scales OF
knowledge are inexact, or that some
wight has sneaked lead onto the far
oaiance: who can, indeed, or who
would?
Maybe the counts are all true-bur
what of it? There are compensa tions
feitcities that only the culprit knows
and only he who fully knows is in q
position to really decide this matter
X x X I;
Coleridge, in his Lake Poets" ]
believe. tells the divertinE story OF
how Wordsworth cut the leaves OF
fine new set of books with a knife
which had just done duty in butter
ing the toast.
AS horrible as this may seem to him
VINO loves books as things in them
selves, s well as for what they con-
tain, compensation is found in the
indisputable fact that Wordsworth
read while he ate
One has TO be q connoiseur to read
while he eats. 1t is not the easiest
thing in the world to do, as any
amateur will discover who attempts
1T without proper instruction. Some
are born to 1t, naturally, others have
II thrust upon them.
To others some instruction is
necessary. 1t is the easiest thing in
the world TO have your book fall
forward into the butter. or leap into
the soup tureen, or even seem to
manifest mad affinity for coffee.
The fine art of reading while YOU
eat reaches it's zenith in preventing
just such escapades on the part of
your volume of the moment, whether
1t be fiction, poetry. philosophy or
what not.
No matter what sort of a book it
Is. IT must be rendered docile under
the hand and made to understand
that the material foods which you
are consuming are not for ii. The
feast OF reason and the flow OF soul
are proper to it, and it must be so
informed, once and for all. or reading
while YOU eat degenerates into a
messy operation unworthy either of
the name of reading or eating.
Wordsworth cut the Gordian knot
by first buttering his toast, then
separating the leaves of his new set
OF pigskin bound books, each opera
ton being performed with gusto.
But Wordsworth displayed totally
unnecessary piglike traits
Most of us will do better to keep
our knives away from our books
while we are pursuing the combined
pleasures of reading and eating. We
had best select books already cut.
!; 4 x
What more appropriate time, indeed
to feed the mind, than when one is