Reading-The Best Pastime

Of all the amusements which can possibly be imagined for a hardworking man after his daily toll, there is nothing like reading an interesting book. It calls for no bodily exertion of which he has had enough. It relieves his home of its dullness. It transports him to a lovelier and more interesting scene; and while he enjoys himself there, he may forget the evils of the present moment. Nay, it accompanies him to his day’s next work and if the book he has been reading is anything above the very idlest and lightest, gives him something to think of, besides drudgery of his everyday occupation. If I were to pray for a taste that should stand me in good stead under every variety of circumstances, and be a source of happiness and cheerfulness through life, it would be a taste for reading. Give a man this taste, and the means of gratifying it, and you can hardly fail to make a man happy, unless, indeed, you put into his hands a most perverse selection of books.