Evening star., 1927-04-08

| rainy night is close contender for
| honors in this respect.
Then the radio becomes a guest OF
| honor, instead OF something to be re-
| garded as commonplace. The joys of
| conversation take on new 1uster. Sleep,
beloved from pole to pole" comes at
a seemly hour, after quiet evening.
| The children, too, may profit from
| wet day, although their restless spirits
often rebel at the discipline Of the rain.
The various Handy Books" which
| had such a vogue some years ago land
still may have, for all we know we're
made for just such occasions.
There are scores of diversions for
rainy days that children ought to know
| the trouble is that the average par
ent has made no study OF the need
and is unable to suggest more than
two or three.
Children are but old people of a
smaller growth. as one might say.
| They crave choice. too, and the right
to reject. Many mothers who are in
clined to feel peevish because the lit
tie ones will not readily take to some
suggestion for play on a rainy day
ought to make a study of play and be
in a position to throw hundred or
more games, and so on, at the heads
of their young hopefuls, thus being
sure of satisfying them and keeping
their hands out of match boxes and
medicine bottles.
X "
Perhaps the greatest indoor sport for
rainy day Is reading. With some
persons reading is becoming a lost art,
but, If ever the love of 1t ever held
sway, it may be won back again.
No time is more opportune than the
cloudy, inclement day, when water
pours from the heavens, ruShes down
rainspouts. swirls across garage roofs,
floods the cutters and streets.
Lucky is the family that has, at
such times, a store of reading on
hand securely tucked away in the
library shelves. a. poor spirit of
niggardliness in recent times has de-
cried the purchase Of books that are
unread.
"Why do you buy them If you are
not going to read them?" Such is the
penny.wise, dollar-foolish question.
The answer Is, "In order that when
the time comes for reading, | may
have something to read"
Perhaps the happiest reading period
in the life of the writer of these few
reflections on rainy days was, as
child, in the company of score or
more bound volumes of st. Nicholas.
These volumes contained serial
story, If we recall rightly, entitled
Master Skylark," about Shakespeare
as a boy. Perhaps some reader will
remember 1t. The memory of the
Illustrations we still treasure, although
the story has passed from us. They
were particularly well done, in an
English sort of way. exactly the same
type of drawings which may be found
In the magazine Punch today.
Then there were any number or IN
teresting articles of interest to chill
dren, short stories, and departments
in which the readers took part by
contributing drawings, photographs,
essays, very short stories and poems.
Our recollection pictures the maga-
zines bound in rich red cloth, although
we may be in error as to this detail.
1t is enough to know that in our
readers heart there is a fond corner
for st. Nicholas, although we have
not seen a copy Of it for long, long
time.
This was one good thing that rainy
days did, and every reader will have
similar memories and can recall SINH
lar benefits from such days.