mend any one, least of all young beginners, to be mere dippers into volumes; at the same time, some of the best readers are those who, by a kind of instinct, are able to get the juice out of the orange without eating the whole of it. Dean Stanley, all of whose writings show wide reading, once confessed in public that he had seldom read a book right to the end. This is well enough for a practised reader and thinker, but it will not pay in your case. At the same time, do not be too slow a reader. Seize ideas as quickly as you can. The writer's end is attained if he impresses his thought and facts upon you. If he has neither thought nor facts, why read him? For the style? No writer has a worthy style, unless he has thought beneath it. If there be neither thought nor fact, be sure that the author is imposing upon you by mere clap-trap.

It is this listening for thought which will save you from becoming too slow or too fast a reader. Begin the habit of looking out for truth in all statements and literature, and you will then learn to regard illustration and dramatic form as the garments of thought, and not as thought itself. From this point of view the preface is often most important. It reveals in a few concise sentences the purposes of the author, and lays down the main

lines on which he proposes to travel. If the book is overloaded with notes, you will often find that a mere glance at these will suffice. But each book must be judged in this respect on its own merits. Bayle's Dictionary, for example, presses most of its best and quaintest wisdom into the notes. Miss these and you miss almost everything. On the other hand, Froude's "History of England" conveys all needful delight and information in the text, apart from the notes, which refer us to authorities. Ellicott's "Life of our Lord" is valuable on account of its suggestive notes; while Farrar's "Life of Christ" would lose all its charm were the general reader to be continually pulling up to consult the footnotes.

There is only one way in which we can become good readers. It is by thinking as we read. Attention is, of course, necessary; but ex-cogitation, i.e. the evolution of our own thought on the subject in hand, is still more necessary. In order to this, the practice of taking notes should be begun early. This is a mechanical way of forcing ourselves to think, besides being a great help to memory. With very young beginners I should recommend the habit of taking down all words which are not fully understood, so that they may be looked up at leisure in a first-class dictionary. Every new

word will stand for some new thought or shade of thought. It is by enlarging our stock of ideas that the mind in the first instance expands. Afterwards we learn the art of letting the mind play freely round these ideas, and this is higher and more life-giving exercise. Food must be taken in, but it must be assimilated by intellectual effort.

We shall not proceed far without feeling the need of note-books. Some advocate a very orderly system in reference to note-books. An Index Rerum should be kept, they say, and every thought and fact put under its appropriate heading. In this way, by means of an alphabetical commonplace book, we can preserve the results of our reading, and on every occasion make a ready reference to our stores. This is, no doubt, an admirable plan, and when it has been adopted for years it must be the source of much gratification and illumination. I fear, however, that most of us find life too short to adopt such a plan, or at least most will think so. I wish it were otherwise; for I am persuaded that if men and women read fewer books, provided they adopted this plan, they would be positive gainers. What they would lose in quantity, they would gain in quality. I have only one real doubt about this method. It is this. There is the danger of allowing the

dead note-book to do what the mind itself ought to do. The brain is a most marvellous register of thought and fact. The more we trust it without overtaxing it (for brains dislike taxes as much as the Jews did), the more faithfully it will serve us and our higher purposes. Get and make an Index Rerum, if you can; place your notes under their proper alphabetical headings; but be very careful that you do not let it lie outside your mind, like a bill once paid.

For many obvious reasons some of the best books should be your own. It is better to go with one meal less per diem for a little while, than to be without half a dozen of the immortal authors. When books are our own we can pencil them with notes and marginal reflections and references, we can underline important and striking passages, and we can treat the volumes as familiar friends. A flyleaf at the end will enable you to put down the page where a rememberable fact is to be found. But distinct note-books are best. And when these are employed continuously, they become an interesting little library in themselves.

There is a class of books, of which we shall have to say something further on, whose sole end is to gratify the feelings and give pleasure. find the novel reader taking notes.

You do not

Other books,

word will stand for some new thought or shade of thought. It is by enlarging our stock of ideas that the mind in the first instance expands. Afterwards we learn the art of letting the mind play freely round these ideas, and this is higher and more life-giving exercise. Food must be taken in, but it must be assimilated by intellectual effort.

We shall not proceed far without feeling the need of note-books. Some advocate a very orderly system in reference to note-books. An Index Rerum should be kept, they say, and every thought and fact put under its appropriate heading. In this way, by means of an alphabetical commonplace book, we can preserve the results of our reading, and on every occasion make a ready reference to our stores. This is, no doubt, an adwitable plan, and when it has been adopted for years it must be the source of much gratification and "omination. I fear, however, that most of us ado too short to adopt such a plan, or at least and me” think so. I wish it were otherwise; for en psuaded that if men and women read Cop Avs grovided they adopted this plan, Je positive gainers. What they cut bay le guthely, they would gain in quality. hop on real doubt about this method. Poc a the danger of allowing the

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