not to let this warm and subdued light depart out of the temple of your soul. Keep the windows open to all quarters, and there will be in your character no decay of reverence. CHAPTER XVI. HOW TO TAKE A HOLIDAY. THIS chapter is not upon the general subject of recreation. It does not seek to direct the reader as to how he shall amuse himself during his leisure evenings; and, finally, it is not addressed to men with families. A few words to the disencumbered may not be out of place. What I wish to say bears on the physical nature rather more than on the mental. It is good, especially for dwellers in cities, to learn the art of taking half-holidays. Fortunately the Saturday is to many a day of partial release from work. A few hours are snatched from work. It is a pitiable thing that working people do not more frequently consult the health and convenience of shopkeepers. In some small villages the shops are shut for half a day during the week, though open on Saturday. Those who go shopping are often very thoughtless, and if their convenience were consulted, shops would be open all night. One of the means of shortening the hours of unnecessary labour is for those who have the boon of rest themselves to show that they can enjoy it in a rational way, and also to be very careful not to impose late hours upon those to whom they give their custom. Young men and women would do well to make themselves acquainted with all the available spots of interest within easy reach of where they live. A few pence will take us some miles from the smoke of the town, and in summer we shall be landed in some green and beautiful country. A field naturalists' club affords an excellent opportunity for putting a scientific and interesting purpose into these rambles. Very few would care to go alone; though solitude with a pocket volume, a geological hammer, a lens, or an angler's line has its peculiar charms. If there is no available club, two or three can easily be induced to set out on these expeditions in company. It is astonishing what persistent effort after fresh scenery will yield, even in very unpromising neighbourhoods. The first step should be to take some conveyance in order to get at once into the country. Let no time or strength be consumed in walking through familiar and unlovely streets. Having alighted on the |