absent, and look forward with pleasure to return to."


WHAT TO READ.

First of all read something. "Southey tells us that, in his walk one
stormy day, he met an old woman, to whom, by way of greeting, he
made the rather obvious remark that it was dreadful weather. She
answered, philosophically, that in her opinion, 'any weather was better
than none.'" And so we would say, excluding corrupt literature, any
reading is better than none! In this day of multiplicity of books who
who never reads may not be an ignoramus nor a fool, but certainly he
robs the world of much that is useful in character, and deprives himself
of much that enriches his own soul. Then one should select his books,
as he does his associates, and not attempt to read everything that comes
in his way. No longer may one know even a little about every thing.
It might be a mark of credit rather than an embarrassment for one to
answer, "No," to the question, "Have you read the latest book?" when
the fact is recalled that 30,000 novels have been published within the
past eighty years, and that five new ones are added to the list daily.


READ HISTORY.

One has characterized history as both the background and the key to
all knowledge. No other class of reading so much as this helps one
to appreciate his own country, his own age, his own surroundings.
Extensive reading of history is a sure remedy for pessimism, prejudice,
and fanaticism. In so far as history is an accurate account of the past,
it is a true prophecy of the future for the nation and for the individual.