Evening star., 1924-10-17

| mounted on high reading desks. as
| II reading were an exercise in correct
| posture.
Men have read books at sea, when
their bodies assumed from time to
| time various degrees of the circle.
One sailor friend of mine, who thus
read Victor Hugo clear through on a
| voyage. said he reached the climax of
"Notre Dame" standing on his head
Sitting comfortably in a chair, of
course. is the best everyday method
Of reading. The. pleader for reading
in bed would not say a word against
this method. 1t has the sanction of
time and all men.
For your average reading, sitting
in chair--a comfortable chair, mind
you-can be beat only by one meth
cd Is 1t necessary to say what that
method is?
"He that runs may read"
He that lies may read, too. A good
book, slightly tired body, COM
Portable bed, good light, and the
Ct nditions are met satisfactorily.
but many do not know the base
mechanical details of this wholesome
art. Only recently A. c. B. wrote me:
You speak of reading in bed, but j
never can get comfortable-my head
in ii, my arms grow tired holding
the book. Tell us how to do it."
Now the secret of reading in bed is
simply this:
Have plenty of pillows, the right
sort of light and light book.
L will treat of the third factor first
by light book" / do not mean a frivo-
louS work. necessarily, although it may
be that. Anything you choose goes for
roo HtVNxr
the latest monumental catalogue Of a
mail order house
He who has not spent a pleasant
hour or two poring over one Of those
big catalogues, consuming the details
and pictures of everything from A to Il,
from bath towels to automobile tires,
has missed something. If you fall
within this category. by all means send
of for one Of those big books They
occupy a unique place in literature,
along with the seed catalogues
No, by light book 1 mean one light
in weight 1t is impossible to read
heavy book in bed. one that weighs
down upon ones chest as if it were a
ton of brick, or a guilty conscience The
English publishers do this thing better
than ours. Most of their issues. no
matter what size, are light as a
feather. Such books are ideal for read
ing in bed.
Proper light is the second factor, and
IN some respects is the most import ant
Of all. If the most sensual form of
reading in bed is indulged in, that by
daylight, it ia essential that the bed
be not facing a window. The light
must come to the book from the side.
At night it is necessary to have the
light either hitched to the head of the
bed or reposing on a low table by the
bedside. Perhaps it is best that the
lamp be at the left
Good light there must be, but il must
not be too bright. 1t may be necessary
TO experiment with lamps of different
wattage until just the right one is
found. The devotee Of reading in bed
will not begrudge this extra effort
AS for pillows, no one can read
comfortably in bed who does not know
how to cram pillows under his head
and shoulders with d deft hand Here
one is thrown upon his own, for the
anatomy of no two persons is the same.
Two pillows beneath the head for me
might give you exquisite torture. The
only way to solve this personal problem
is to experiment until the proper COM
bination is discovered.
So propped up. the happy reader will
be at peace with the world and can
say Of the man who knows not this
method:
He hath never fed Of the dainties
that are bred in a book; he hath not
eat paper. as it were; he hath not
drunk ink; his intellect is not replen-
lShed; he is only an animal, only
sensible in the duller Darts''