need information, the
thoughts of the good and great and richly endowed, to make our own lives
richer.

It would be a wise arrangement if every man and woman, on establishing
their home, would set apart some time for intellectual improvement by
the reading of good books. I am acquainted with a young lady, who, on
entering her plain little house, found that her husband and herself were
so interrupted by visits and other claims on their time in the evening,
that they resolved to rise an hour earlier in the morning, and devote
the time to reading and study. They were thus free from interruption,
and had ample opportunity, before the regular duties of the day began,
to store their minds with useful knowledge. I think it probable that
they will carry this excellent custom with them through life.

Much of my time is spent in high-ways, and along the narrow by-ways of
life. My homes are many. But when my good fortune brings me at night to
occupy a room far from my own home, where a good book or two are to be
found, I can say with Milton, in his _Areopagitica_: "A good book is the
precious life-blood of a master-spirit embalmed and treasured up on
purpose to a life beyond;" and with Wordsworth, in his "Personal Talk":

"Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,
Are a substantial world, both pure and good;
Round these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,
Our pastime and our happiness will grow."

I like a home where you can see the books. A choice book-case with glass
doors, and the doors locked, ought to be expelled from the home. Let the
books be where they can be seen and easily reached. Let them not be
confined to one room, but so distributed that nearly every room shall
have at least a few in sight. A few books here and there about the
house, and even in the bed-rooms, are worth more than a costly piece of
furniture. When we see books in our homes, and they are where we can
handle them without effort, we are apt to take them up, and get snatches
of good reading.

FORBEARANCE.

The marriage bond is sacred. It lasts for life: "Until death do us
part." But it is probable that qualities of temperament and mind in each
one will develop which will surprise the other. Some of these may
produce an unfavorable impression. Others may prove most agreeable
surprises. Each person has come from a different class of associations,
and each has a different nature. Here comes in the great n