STUDY. 
533 
At  the  same  time  it  is  well  to  know  that  an  occasional  dip  into 
one  book,  varied  by  a  short  reading  of  another,  a  snatch  of 
Brande,  a  glance  at  Daniell,  a  look  into  Fownes,  and  a  general 
survey  of  Gmelin,  Parkes,  or  Faraday,  will  consume  the  same 
amount  of  time,  and  lead  to  nothing. 
No  one  can  hide  from  himself  the  absolute  necessity  at  the 
present  day  of  being  acquainted  with  at  least  the  elements  of 
French  and  German,  The  two  languages  have  become  of  trade 
importance,  to  say  nothing  of  any  intellectual  enjoyment  they 
may  afford.  The  time  will  be  well  spent  that  is  devoted  for 
three  alternate  mornings  to  the  hard  study  of  the  first.  Now 
our  imaginary  Assistant  looks  unwell,  and  delivers  himself  as 
follows  : — "  Yes,  very  good,  if  I  had  learnt  at  school,  but  they 
taught  nothing  there  but  Latin,  of  which  I  only  recollect  the 
first  page  of  Csesar's  Commentaries.  It  would  cost  two  or  three 
guineas  a  quarter  for  a  master,  and  I  should  be  ruined  in 
grammars,  dictionaries,  and  books  of  reference ;  besides  which 
you  can  never  persuade  me  that  I  can  learn  French  in  one  hour 
a  day."  No,  very  likely  not,  but  you  will  soon  convince 
yourself  of  that  important  fact.  Perhaps  you  have  seen  the 
title  of  a  pamphlet,  "  Plenty  of  Work  and  how  to  do  it."  The 
modus  operandi  is  as  follows ; — Buy  a  Cobbett's  Grammar. 
Bead  it  through  and  through  until  its  chapters  are  burnt  into 
your  mind,  and  when  the  excitement  of  a  new  impulse  ceases, 
wade  through  its  dreariest  details  with  still  untiring  energy. 
London  is  a  wide  place,  containing  all  sorts  of  people,  nor  is 
there  any  difficulty  in  meeting  with  Frenchmen  as  acquaintances. 
More  could  be  learnt  from  them  in  casual  intercourse  than  by 
any  other  means.  From  hence  you  cannot  move  a  step  without 
a  teacher ;  no  very  alarming  undertaking,  as  the  slightest 
arrangement  with  two  or  three  others  similarly  disposed  would 
secure  his  services  at  a  trifling  cost,  while  to  those  living  in  the 
city,  opportunities  obtrude  themselves  unsought.  Having  gone 
thus  far,  Devotion  would  suffer  little  were  you  occasionally  to 
attend  the  services  of  a  foreign  church. 
The  first  year  closes,  during  which  a  good  insight  into 
Elementary  Chemistry  has  been  gained,  as  well  as  a  tolerable 
advance  into  the  rudiments  of  French.  Union  is  strength, 
and  on  this  principle  some  book  should  occupy  the  second  year 
