From Town Drudgery 251 



upon whether we accustom ourselves to going 

 to bed -at that hour. It may require at first 

 some exertion and many yawns to get through 

 a certain book or an article, especially if it is a 

 stupid one, before going to bed. But it will 

 get easier and easier until the day will not seem 

 to be properly wound up without the two 

 hours' reading. The family circle in which 

 reading aloud is not one of the customary 

 evening employments misses one of the great 

 enjoyments of life as well as a potent means 

 of educating the children. The boy or girl 

 who learns to know and love the best books of 

 Thackeray, Scott, and Dickens is pretty sure 

 to have an interest in good reading through 

 life. But the habit of reading for an hour 

 every evening and perhaps devoting half an 

 hour to some standard work not a novel, is not 

 to be cultivated without some effort, and some 

 sacrifice in other directions. One of the most 

 valuable gifts of a liberal education is the ability 

 to find an interest in books. Unfortunately, 

 but very few people know how to read. The 

 great number have never learned when young; 

 when in middle life their time has been too 



