886 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
November 24, 
Home Study. 
Bess wants me to urge The R. N.-Y. 
boys and girls who are to be at home this 
Winter to take up the study of French. 
“But wouldn’t a course in history, 
American, English or Ancient, be a better 
choice?” I objected. “Or better still, the 
Chautauqua reading course, which in¬ 
cludes history, science and the whole stu¬ 
dent’s outlook? That is so well organ¬ 
ized for home study, and gives an all- 
around mental culture.” 
“Chautauqua courses are all right, but 
lots of the bookish farmer people are 
graduates already. They want something 
for their minds to browse upon each year, 
history is good reading, but the books 
are expensive, and you really must own 
a good many to get any real acquaintance 
with the past. But a language is such a 
comfortable, all-one’s-life companion. I 
mean to read a little French every Win¬ 
ter as long as I live.” 
Her school course has obliged her to 
take either French or German. Of the 
two her father and I thought German the 
more likely to be of practical use. But 
Bess insisted that practical use did not 
enter into the case. She was never likely 
to get a speaking use of a foreign lan¬ 
guage. Its study was merely for mental 
enlargement and for the lifelong satisfac¬ 
tion any such possession brings. 
“If I were going to be a specialist in 
anything, and heed to read up in the work 
of European scholars, I would choose 
German, but a little French is worth 
more than a little German. If you know 
but five French words you will come 
across them every year in your reading, 
and every time you see them you will 
feel a glow of satisfaction in knowing 
what they mean. Cousin Ellen says so, 
and just see what pleasure she takes in 
her knowledge of French and in being 
able to correct exercises and help children 
who are studying it.” 
Yes, Bess was undoubtedly influenced 
to her decision by the example of her 
cousin. Ellen has never had physical 
strength for all the useful toil with which 
quiet country women fill up the Winter 
evenings. But her mind was of the sort 
that must be busy if her hands could not 
be. So she has studied, all by herself, 
and in a leisurely but persistent way. And 
what has it all amounted to? Well, I 
did not set out to tell Ellen’s history, only 
to repeat some of the things she and Bess 
have been saying about the study of 
French. 
Ellen came to visit us last week. Bess 
had written of her school work, and 
Ellen brought a set of French books 
which she thought might interest her. I 
had not known just what subjects Ellen 
had interested herself in, and wa,s sur¬ 
prised to see how promptly she fell in 
with whatever school topics Bess brought 
up. The girls questioned her especially 
about studving French without a master 
and this is what she told of her own 
experience. 
“I think I was always attracted by the 
language. Had I. had school opportuni¬ 
ties I should surely have selected French 
as one thing I wanted to learn. So when 
a small French method fell in my way I 
began studying it, learning lists of words 
and whiling away the long hours when 
illness kept me awake half the night by 
going over my store of words and check¬ 
ing them off with my fingers to see how 
many I could recall.” 
“Goodness, I should never learn French 
that way. I am too good a sleeper!” 
This was from Pauline, who prefers 
housekeeping to books at all times. Ellen 
laughed, “But I thought maybe the idea 
would fit the needs of some other invalid 
or person troubled with sleeplessness. 1 
wanted to tell how things were sure to 
come to those who had need of them. 
For before I had finished my small book 
a larger one came to me, a grammar with 
exercises and a key to accompany it. 
whereby I could correct my own work. 
That old book has been the greatest com¬ 
fort. I would work with it for half an 
hour every evening. The exercises were 
as good as puzzles, for I kept a slip of 
paper in the key and checked off each sen¬ 
tence when I had written it correctly. Of 
course I could not pronounce the words, 
but I picked up correct pronunciations 
wherever I could, and you have no idea 
what joy it gave me, when I actually went 
to France to be able to recognize even 
scraps of sentences and single words. 
Oh, you never know what will come to 
you. I had no more expectation of Euro¬ 
pean travel when I began my home stu¬ 
dies than I had of flying. Take every 
opportunity for self-improvement that 
comes your way. I have seen people in 
lonely farm homes accomplish more than 
half the young people with greater oppor¬ 
tunities. Not that I . am an example, but 
I long to have the young people in coun¬ 
try homes take upon themselves habits of 
study and self-improvement.” 
“What of the new French method you 
brought to show Bess?” we asked. She 
fetched it from her room, 10 parts bound 
in paper and all inclosed in a neat case. 
She had forgotten the price. It is from 
the press of Funk & Wagnalls of New 
York, and is called Rosenthal’s Common 
Sense Method. 
“You see it is as simple as A B C,” she 
explained. “You begin to read and pro¬ 
nounce—yes, and to talk if you will, ct 
once. You cannot help understanding, 
and if you learn it all as you proceed you 
cannot fail of getting considerable knowl¬ 
edge of the words and their uses. His 
pronunciations are as clear as letters and 
marks can make them, and he has also a 
device of phonograph records of some 
sort which may be used, but of which I 
have no experience. To me it seems as 
if one’s attempts to speak a foreign lan¬ 
guage must be ridiculous unless there has 
been opportunity to train the ear where 
others are speaking it well. But the au¬ 
thor’s introductory remarks in these lit¬ 
tle books are so sensible that they must 
convert all who read them. As a sup¬ 
plement to home work with a French 
grammar the system is certainly worth 
studying.” 
“If I were going to study any language 
I should want to read it and speak it like 
a native,” remarked Pet with all the heed¬ 
less assurance of youth. Ellen nodded. 
“Quite right. But wouldn’t you take a 
half loaf rather than no loaf at all?” 
It was Bess who replied with: “Oh, Pet 
Ithamar, people who talk that way never 
do anything. If you don’t begin you 
never get anywhere. I would rather a 
crust than no bread, and who knows but 
I may get my whole loaf some day!” 
_R. ITHAMAR. 
Mexican Caramels.—Put one cupful of 
granulated sugar in a clean iron skillet. 
Stir over a slow fire till melted, taking 
care not to brown. When syrupy add one 
cupful of rich cream or milk and stir until 
all is dissolved. Add one cupful of granu¬ 
lated and one cupful of light-brown sugar, 
and boil until it forms a soft ball in cold 
water. Take from the fire and add one 
cupful of chopped nut meats. Stir until 
creamy. Pour into a shallow pan and 
mark into squares. 
Velvet Molasses.—One cupful of mo¬ 
lasses, three cupfuls of sugar, one cupful 
of boiling water, three tablespoonfuls of 
vinegar, one-half teaspoonful of cream 
of tartar, one-half cupful of melted but¬ 
ter, one-quarter teaspoonful of soda. Put 
first four ingredients in kettle over front 
of range. As soon as boiling point is 
reached add cream of tartar. Boil until, 
when tried in cold water, mixture will 
become brittle. Stir constantly during last 
part of cooking. When nearly done add 
butter and soda. Pour into a buttered 
nan and pull the same as molasses cand,\ 
While pulling add one teaspoonful vanilla, 
one-half teaspoonful of lemon extract, a 
few drops of oil of peppermint or a few 
drops of oil of wintergreen. 
♦ 
Hay fever or 
malaria leaves the 
system in a weak¬ 
ened condition. 
^ Consequently 
«gt winter colds come 
■0 1 easily and are 
hard to get rid of. 
Prevent them 
•fr or cure them 
T with Scott *jr 
{i Emtitsion. 
* 
i 
* 
4 » 
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