AMONG MY Books. 319 
“‘ up-to-date” in our reading, as in everything else,'and in 
our endeavour to read all the ‘‘ new” books, our reading 
is apt to become superficial, and being superficial is 
useless. In our flight through a book we have no time 
to observe its good points,—and it was the opinion of the 
elder PLINY that from the worst book you could get some 
good—just as we have no time to observe the beautiful 
bits of scenery which we may pass in a modern express 
train. Its skilful delineations of character, its descrip- 
tions of scenery, its polished phrases and neat expres- 
sions of thought and fancy—if it has any—are lost on 
us, We have no time to linger over its pages. Those 
books which deserve “ chewing,” “ swallowing” or “ di- 
gesting,” (in the words of BACON), we have no time to 
chew, swallow, or digest. We only taste, and much 
tasting, besides cloying the palate, is apt to confuse the 
mind. As illustrating the little good derivable from the 
careless reading of many books, | may quote BULWER’S 
simile :—“ A cottage flower gives honey to the bee; a 
king’s garden none to the butterfly.” And SENECA, on 
“ The Choice of Books,” says, “. . He is no where that 
is everywhere. They that pass their life in travel take 
up many inns, but entertain few friendships.” 
Ihave often envied those book-lovers who can enjoy the 
company of a book out-of-doors ; for | am not of their 
company, Like ELIA, “I cannot settle my spirits to it.” 
COWPER in one of his charming letters, writing to Mr. 
UNWIN in his “ favourite recess, the greenhouse,” says :— 
‘In such a situation, so silent, so shady, where no human 
foot is heard, and where only my myrties presume 
to peep in at my window, you may suppose I have 
no interruption to complain of, and that my thoughts are 
