Reading in the Farm Home 



1081 



fails to inspire one with a nobler ambition; it does not strengthen the 

 mind; it does not add- culture. It excites, it entertains, it wears very 

 smooth the avenues of the brain through which it travels, but it leaves 

 no thought-pegs on which to hang ideas. A novel which has led a 

 person to think, which creates an appetite for the best literature, and 

 which incites to higher and nobler living, is well worth while. Regret 

 is often expressed that the book of the day, referring particularly to the 

 novel, does not oftener come into the farm home. Perhaps there are 

 compensations for this deprivation. Dickens, Scott, and Thackeray have 



^^^Ji 



Fig. 33. — Now is the time for the farmer to read 



not wholly given place to the modern novel. Many modem novels that 

 have attracted wide attention are not reread, nor are they known for 

 many months; their authors must make a new sensation if they would 

 live. Other recent books will always hold their place because they are 

 sincere and they ring true. 



Too much reading may be a source of harm. — The mind needs very care- 

 ful management. It rebels against overcrowding, as the body rebels 

 against overeating. Sometimes we do not read because we do not feel 

 equal to the task before us; our energy has been spent in other directions. 

 Still, there are books that are a recreation and are well worth reading. 



