Evening Star Newspaper, October 20, 1883, Page 2

THE EVENING STAR: WASHINGTON,' ‘SATURDAY, ’ CITY AND DISTRICT. WHAT TO READ_WHEN TO READ —How TO HEAD. & Librarian’s Views of Books and Reading—Address to the Public School ‘Teachers. The teachers of the public schools assembled ate o'clock this morning in the hall of the high school building to listen to an address on reading, which Mr. A. R. Spofford, the librarian 5 been invited to deliver. The | Well filled with teach Com- r of educati ool trus- tees Warner, Lovejoy anc present and occupied seats on the platform. Superinten- dent Wilson mac ject. which was some remarks upon the sub- | occupy the hour, and then Presented to the audience Mr. Spofford, who | said: What to read—when to read—how to’ read— Buch is the alluring theme proposed to me by Your honored superintendent for brief discourse to-day. To instructors of | youth, leade 1s forever going on a theme must possess a commandin, doubt not that if has lor thoughts. While I have not the pre | Suppose that my ideas upon the choice} of reading will present anything new, or that say upon methods of reading will ctive to those who teach It. I must in- hat the invitation to address you takes for granted on my part such 4itness asa life spent among hooks and the readers of books may im- ply. As a mariner who has witnessed many shipwrecks may warn others where the perilous reefs and dangerous shoals are to be found, so pereh ance may one whohas seen the wreck of many an Intellectual life be able to point out where some of the dangers lie. To you, who have the direction of young minds, who are fully alive to the responsibility which such guldance implies, and who well Know the incal- na timely hint or a word | often has upon the young, [can offer | fruits of a candid observation. and an ¢ somewhat prolonged. When I cou- sider the vast possibilities of your daily work, the unspeakable energies which it is yours to Wateli and train in their unfolding, the fact that You are the chosen interpreters between the World of books and the world of mind, that you a he guard of civilization, 1 am im- riled to declare my conviction that the voca- tion of a teacher is the noblest profession in the world. OPENNESS OF MIND ESSENTIAL. For the teacher, be it ever remembered, Im- Plies the scholar. One cannot teach what he has never Jearned ; and it is the fortunate mis- sion of the true instructor to keep his intellect- wal faculties always alert and in training, repro- ducing what he knows, arranging his ideas, | organizing his mental stores, that he may be | ever pre to use his acquired or remem- bered knowledge in an exact and practical way. It is his to throw open to others the doors of his own learning, to teach the true use of books to Boviees in the art of reading, and he can never sufficiently conzratulate himself that he has to deal with minds in the enen and formative world is full of these intellectual pach: into whose being no ray of real prozre: ever penetrat can d for whom each new day The tines of their horizon are they have settled every- fertile ima: : of youth ; to make d inthe correction of error, the di na | the understanding and enlarge the horizon of the mind. TIME FOR In considering the various branches of our Babject. before entering upon the wide field of Suzgestion asto the choieg of what we should DING. is more common than to hear the lament: Oh! Jam 0 fond of books: bat I can never get time nine times out of ten, a sheer dejusion. The busiest persons I have Known have always been the best intormed and the widest readers. The art ot having time to Fead lies in learning how to make the most of Days are short, and time is fleeting, day holds less than twenty-four hours. Engrossing as your occupation may be, it never need consume ail the time remaining from sleep. refreshment and needful exercise. The trouble is most persons think that the unappropriated intervals, when business walts, are too brief and fracmentary to be of any value to them. They fear that they will be interrupted before they have done anything to the purpose. and so they do nothing. No one can ever make the most of life who has not learned the supreme value of moments. The odd snatches of time between your tasks, the half hour before breakfast. the fifteen minutes waiting for dinner, diligently given to the book you wish to read. will finish it ina week or two at farthest. and make room for another. It is almost literally true. paradoxical as it may seem, that the more you have to do, the more you can do. System and w strong purpose will work mirael ‘will go far towards achieving the im- Let us suppose that you are deter- mined to secure two hours every day for self bh equivalent to more than 700 year, or to sixty days—two entire months of working time of twelve hours aday. What possible. couid you net do in two months if you had all the time to yourself? You could learn anew Jan fe or go far toward writing a book, if need were; and yet this two hours @ day which would secure your two Iree time every year, is frittered away know how, in aimless matters that books you have all read, afterwards Lord Lytton, devoted only four hours a day to writing, yet he produced more thai fifty volumes of crigcism, poetry. his- tory. drama and fiction, of singular literary tuerit. Be not over particular as to hours or the time of day, but seize the unoccupied Intervals, and you will soon find that all hours are good for the muse. Have a purpose and adhere to it with good-hamored pertinacity; it is more important that your intellect should grow than that your worldly fortune should be made, or that you should become’a universal favorite by Spending your time in good fellowship. Be indepeadeut of the rules and the opinions of others; the world of books, like the world of hature.was made for you; possess it in your own way. If you find no xood in ancient history or in ‘metaphysics, let them alone ané read books of art. or biography, or poetry or travel. The World of letters is so related that all roads cross and converge. Many a reader bas learned more of past aces from good biographies than from a course of history, and it isa fact that multitudes owe to the plays of Shakespeare all the kuowledze they possess ef the history of Eng- land. I look with some distrust upon all s0- called courses of reading. A great amount of ture has been wasted in trying to compel the attention to reading through long and prosy dilactie works written In a style the reverse of ve, but believed to be packed full of These courses. undertaken as a task, almost invariably break down before much pro- ress has been mode, thus ending in discourage- ment as well as disappointment; whereas, if a xood book had been selected, with a fresh and owing styie, and treating any topic whatever with adequate knowledge, it would have been eazerly read and assimilated. Time should be ceonomized by selecting attractive, intellectual pabulum—books which are known from the start to be fuli of good things, capable of nour- he inner man, and like a well-dressed oned dish, both appetizing to the palate forting to the soul. CONFLICTING ADVICE UPON HOW TO READ. See what opposite advice you get by going to the professors of literary culture for guidance. you searceiy ad to nothing. wh One learned pundit, whose book upon study you | t peruse, warns you with all his eloquence against desuitory reading. A regular course must be marked out, with a logical and scientific Requence of books, and the reader must on no account depart, however tempted, from this Procrustean course of reading. Any other Method, you are cssured, is mental dissipation, } general: J custom even in our best college and high schools, an optional course. While your pur- pose to learn and to grow ts fixed, be not too fixed either as to time or to methods. The morn- ing hour, if vou can get it, may be the best for solid scientific reading, the evening for poetry | or travel, or recreative literature. But reatl when you like, the book you like, and you can hardly go amiss. Sufferno man’s prescription for a morbid or a crooked intellect to sway your chotce, if you are conscious of your own mental strength and soundness, When you are weary and perplexed. who shall deny you the recrea- | tion of a chapter of Pickwick, or what doctor dry-as-dust shall compel you to read David Hume or Adain Smith, when you crave Tenny- son or Robert Burns? GREAT LIBRARIES ESSENTIAL—NOT FORMIDABLE. Do not be appatled at the multitude of books, nor fear that you will never be able with your small leisure, to master any appreciable share of them. No question is more frequently put to a librarian than the inconsiderate one—Do you ever expect to read through all these books? @ query well answered by asking—Did you ever read your dictionary through? A great library is like your Webster's Unabridged—ueeful, nay, indispensabie, that yon may be able to put your finger on the fact you want, at the moment it fs wanted. The library of a nation, like that gathered here at Washington, can never be too large, since it is the one appointed conservator of the nation’s literature. It Is to preserve, not only all the best works of every land, but all the American books which the smaller libraries have neither the space, nor the means, nor the dis- Position to accumulate. Collected in great part without cost to the government, its function Is to be the great American library of reference, where every citizen may be sure to find every book which his country has produced. Its librarian must be no censor, to in¢lude or exclude books at his pleasure, but a custodian, a keeper ot the books of the nation. There are those who dread lest the accumulation of trash should overlay the realiy good and useful books. ’Tis @ last fear. Very surely, in the world of mind, as inthat of matter, all things find their level. Let every book stand on its merits, and take its chances of survival. Fortunately, there Is no act ot Congress requiring them to be read; but fortunately, also, too, the acts of Congress require them to be preserved, in evidence of copywright, and to be handed down as the an- thentic and complete intellectual product of the country. from generation to generation. THE MOSTs EFFICIENT METHOD OF READIN. To come down more closely to the inquiry, How to read? the first principle tobe learned by any one who would make real progress is this: Read for ideas—not for words. While this may be difficult or even impossible for children or novices in the art of reading, it is the indispen- sable condition of mastering many books, or of advancing far in the paths of knowledge. Words, which are merely the garb of thought, have no other use than to convey to the mind ideas. To linger upon, the words when once the idea has been seized, is an utter waste of time. As. in listening to a slow speaker, you divine the whole meaning of what he is saying before he has got half through his sentence, so in reading you can gather all the idea which any sentence contains, without stopping to go through the words which envelop the meaning. In reading any book for the information which it contains | should as soon think of stopping to speli out the words as to read out the sentences. The short-hand method. of study 1s to read for ideas, and to !et the words take care of them- selves. True, there is a distinction to be drawn between works of the imagination, where the form or style is of supreme import. nice in the impressions nade upon the minds inthe cadences of poctry) and books of science, history, travel, biography and facts iv. Iu the latter it is only or mainly the information to be gained that concerns us; we read for the facts and ideas, not for the style in which they are convey In purely literary works, on the other hand, we read not only or ideas (which must still be the ruling inter- it_be settled | est), but for expression also, and to enjoy the it ee = rhythm and melody of the if it be poet s of thous or if prose the finished rhetoric or the pleasing lence of the style. Thus it is that the method of reading which aims to acquire knov and that which is fittest todrink in | the ins jon of & great poet, are widely dif- ferent. The student’ who would pursue any subject of investigation throu many volumes cannot be fettered by any regard for verbiage. The most rapid progress consistent with accurate study is indispensable. He assembles, we will say, all the authorities on a given topie, or sends for all the books which he has reason to think may contain something upon it. +. he may perhaps safely throw out older works (it it is a progressive science him) as_ repeated or superseded aiest authorities on the same subject. Next, he nay dispense with reading large por- tions of the remainder, by perusing the tabie of contents of the chapters, and reading only such as touch that branch of the subject upon which he is occupied. Then, he may still farther sim- plify his search, and reduce the amount to be read by a judicious exercise of the art of skip- ping. This requires practice, a quick appre- tension, a sound judgment. fixed attention, and much experience in the art of reading. If our student has conquered the difficulties in the way of rapid absorption of knowledge, he will seize and assimilate (with or without. notes. ac- cording to his habit of mind,) the contents of twenty volumes in less time than it would take the average reader to master one. The reason is: he has read no werds—only facts and ideas. He has concentrated his faculties upon the busi- ness in hand, and let all things else alone. He would no more think of spending his time in reading chapters or sentences irrelevant to his purpose than, in walking to a definite point, he would stop at every house on the road to gossip with theinmates. This concentration of mind is the secret ot intellectual success. It should be learned at whatever cost of time and pains. AUTHORS TOO FREQUENTLY SCATTERBRAINS. Most writers of books have been at the pains to make the envelope of their thoughts more bulky than the thoughts themselves. They in- dulge in long episodes, tedious introductions, and wearisome repetitions, beating out the | same idea until it is grown so thin that it fairly blows away. Many books are so poor and empty (even bo of great reputation, too,) that ‘the only proper way to read them is to skim them, or else not to read them at all. It is paying any author the greatest compliment to say that he has produced a book which ‘s fit Apply the test to men, and how many of your numerous acquaintances would it be profitable to you to know intimate- ly in every lineainent of their imperfect charac- ters? As any approach to perfection in human nature is very rare, so few and far between are the great books of the world. Even that con- summate artist, Shakspeare, has some scenes which it is most profitable to skip, and when great Homer sometimes nods, what can we ex- pect from the Homeridas? You will find more ideas in a single short essay of Lord Bacon than in many acres of average literature. THE SHORT-HAND HABIT OF READING. The habit of reading which I have outlined may be termed the intuitive method. It should be formed early in life, while the faculties are fresh, the mind is full of zeal for knowledge and the mental habits are ductile—not fixed. It may be learned later; indeed, at any period; but there will be greater difficulties to overcome. The habit of reading every word and ‘pausing at every period once fixed is very hard to depart trom, under whatever stimulus. Yet it is unde- niable that the method of grasping the facts and ideas of the printed page by intuition; as the eye falls upon the visible signs of thought, will more than double the capacity for reading. With it the working power of the reader. and conse- quently his accomplishment, whether as instruc- tor, writer or private student, will be corre. spondingly increased. Says one of the foremost scholars of the nineteenth century, Thomas Car- lyle, “All that a university or final highest school can do for us is to teach us how to read. Of all the things which men can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful und worthy, are pretation of the meaning, in elucidating obscure or doubtful passages, in defining obso- lete words and in explaining local allusions. Here, also, as well as in family reading, comes the constant opportunity to discuss the style, the alm and the merits of the author in hand ; to bring out the most diverse views, and by the attention of mind with mind to inform and en- tertain the whole company of readers. A book read in this manner, in a circle which embraces even one or two acute minds becomes doubly useful in promoting thought, and teaching the habit of critical analysis of what one reads. As we cannot all taye the same gifts, so all cannot enjoy the same books. There are those who can ‘see no greatness in Shakespeare, but who think Tupper’s Proverbial Philosophy sub- lime. Some there are who can eagerly devour every word of Miss Braddon or Mrs. Holmes, but who cannot appreciate the masterly fictions ot Thackeray. I nave known yery good people who could not for the life of them find any humor in Dickens, but who actually enjoyed the bastard wit of Josh Billings. Persons who could not get through a volume of Gibbon will read with admiration a so-called History of Napoleon by Abbott. But taste in literature, as in art, or in anything else, can be cultivated. Lay down the rule. and adhere to it, to read none but the best books, and you will before long lose all- relish for the. poor ones. You can educate readers into good judges if not into critics by: feeding them upon the masters of English prose and poetry. The difference between the great scholar and the great ignoramus is mainly one of culture. There is no aristocracy of letters, but the do- main of thought is wide open to all. and the high places in the temple of knowledge are more frequently attained by the poor and the self-educated than by the spoiled darlings of fortune or the tavored ecions of the university. BOOKS AS INSPIRERS OF THOUGHT. Books are of three classes. First, acquaint- ances; second, friends; and third, intimates. It 1s well enough to have some acquaintance with a multitude of books as with many people, but in either case care should be taken not to let time be engrossed by merely pleasant intercourse that produces no lasting fruit. Non multa, sed multum (not many, but much), should be your motto. With yourliterary friends you can spend more time, tor they awaken keen interest, and are to be studied with zest and consequently with profit. But foryour chosen intimates, your heart companions, you reserve your hizhest re- gard and your best hours. Choice and sacred is the book which makes an era in the lite of the Teader; the book which rouses his higher nature, and sets the soul in a flame. Sucha book will many ® one remember; the book which first awakened thought, made him conscious of untried —_ powers, and revealed to his charmed senses a new world. What the book is which works such miracles is never of so much importance as the epoch in the mind of the reader which it signalizes. Such book has Carlyle’s Sartos Resartus been to many, or Foster’s Decision ot Character, or Shakspeare’s Himlet, or John Ruskin, or an essay of Emerson, or even an exquisite work of fiction like John Halifax or Henry Esmond. It were vain to prescribe for all any single writer, and xay, here is the book that must indispens- ably be read, for the same book will have to- tally different effects upon ditlerent minds, or even upon the same mind at different stages of formation. The formative power of books can never be ovyerrated—their subtle mastery to stimulate all the germs of {ntellectual and moral greatness that lie enfolded in the youthful mind. As the poet sings, “Books are not seldom talismans and spells.” Why should they not be so? They afford us the means (and the only means) whereby we may commune with the master spirits. of all They bring us acquainted with the best hts which the human mind has produced, expressed in the noblest language. Books alone create for us the many-sided world, ¢: us abroad, out of our narrow provincial hoi zons, and reveal to us new scenery, new man- ners, new costumes, new languages and new modes of life. With Homer we breathe the fresh air of the pristine world, where the light of poetry gilded every hill-top and peopled the earth with heroes and demigods. With Plu- tarch we w atesmen, war- i and Imiration of roused into indignation at With Aschylus we sound the depths of human passion and learn the sublime lessons of endurance. We walk with Dante through the nether world, awed by the tremen- dous power with which he paints for us the secrets of the prison house. We are charmed “with an ode of Horace, perfect in rhythm, perfect in sentiment, perfect in dic- tion, and perfect in moral; the condensed es- sence of volumes ina single page. With Milton, we mount heavenward, and in the immortal verse of his minor poems finer even than the stately march of Paradise Lost, hear celestial music and breathe diviner air. With the many- sided Shakspeare, full equally of delight and of majesty, we sweep the horizon of this complex hui ife, and become universal scbolars and citizens ot the world. The masters of fiction enthrall us with their fascinating pazes—one moment shake us with inextinguishable laugh- ter, and the next dissolve us in tears. There are some books that charm us by their sweetness, others that surprise and captivate us by their streazth ; books that refresh us when weary, books that stimulate us by their robust health, books that solace us when afilicted, books that exalt and refine onr natures to a finer mould, books that rouse us like the sound of a trumpet, books that light up the darkest gloom, books that fill all our day with splendor, and glorify life. It is books that record the ad- vance and decline of nations—the experience of the world, the achievements and the possibilities of mankind. Tam well aware that there is another side to the picture. Listen to the verdict of the worn- out king of Israel! “Ot making many books there is no end; and much study isa weariness of the ftesh. For in mueh wisdom is much grief and hé that increaseth knowledge Increaseth sorrow.” This is the very paradox ot intellectual despondency; the mood of a soured and «lisappointed philosopher, skeptical of truth, skeptical of virtue, and given over to the base gospel of despa shall believe in it when the fountains of thought are frozen up inthe human brain, when the wheels of progress are ‘turned beasts, when ideas no longer rule the world. I am not here tocelebrate the praises of all books, nor to recommend to those of anyage a habit of indiscriminate reading. But of the books which are true helpers and teachers, the thoughts of the best poets, historians, publicists, philoso- phers, orators, if their value is not real, then there are no realities here below;then the human race is a failure, and this fair world is_ spinning downward to inevitable destruction. Perish the thought—and let it be your consolation to have borne your part, however humble, in the great struggle against the adversary—against the combined forces of ignorance and prejudice, those arch fues of human progress. Whatever may betide, never may you cease to believe in the immortality of thought, in the supre- macy of the mind. —__—-e-____ Blind and Deaf Street Car Employes, ‘To the Editor of Tur Eventxe Star: Without committing myself for or against the conductors and drivers concerned in the late street car strike, I desire to suggest to the rall- road officials, through Tue Star, that the con- venience of the people might well be considered by them as regards their present employes, and, if the old hands are not taken back, that compe- tent new onesshould be placed on the cars,even if an increase of the present acale of salaries should benecessary. Last Saturday I attemptedtohail a car of the “Belt line” passing 11th street and Maryland avenue. The driver, instead of being on the lookout for passengers, was engaged in conversation with a second party onthe front platform. I was within a half square of 11th street at the time, and, having a lady with me, was compelled to wait on the corner. min- utes for another car, during which’ time three cars passed us going in the opposite direction, and this occurring on a rainy day made it the things we call books.” Such being the value and the power of books, what science can be more important than how to read them rightly? For reading is an art to be learned—not a taneous instinct. Surely there are none here who would concur in the lesque paradox which Shakespeare puts in the mouth of Dog- berry—To be a well-favored man Is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by na- cre USEFULNESS OF SYSTEMATIC READING ALOUD. What I sald tust now in deprecation of courses of reading was meant for solitary stu- dents only, whose pursuit of a definite series of books as a self-imposed task is commonly fruit- less or disappointing. It was not intended to undervalue the advantages of taking up 9 habit and it you read what you please, you are but Kittle better than one of the wicked. The next Iiterary guide you take up tells youto avoid stereotyped methods. and to pursue only con- of systematic reading in the class, for the family, or the reading club. Reading aloud is one of the very best means of ifitellectual pro; gress. A vuthors—in short, as Shakepeare puts} Shakspeare club, for. byes may devote nial a Se Sinay what you most effect.” Now a well- | selected winter eve ‘Worn couplet assnr-s us that . a it onl ia tho" prope” renderng excel, not only ing of "8 ich belongs £2 locaton) : verse but also in the inter- doubiy aggravating. My family have patronized this company since its first organization, and It certainly seems to me to be a significant fact cease to be a convenience the people have no further use for them. ., PASSENGER. {‘Passenger” has been more fortunate than a majority of patrons of the Belt line if he ever found its drivers more attentive to their Guties and more anxtous to accommodate cus- tomers than they are now. Careleasness in this regard has long been a common complaint on that road. and it has more than once happened that it has been absolutely impossible to catch elther the eye or ear of its drivers by any device known to man or eee Seat he as has been lost to ‘the company thro the wil- fulness or stuy ot driv the com- plaint is limit to that point ‘kward, when science and civilization come | together to a stand, when men. are become as | “and FENALLY, BRETHREN.” ‘The English Sparrow Question Again. To the Editor of Tus Evznrc Stan: Mr. Hepning’s interesting and courteous arti- cle in your issug of September 15th, calling upon me to pfove gome of the statements made in, my article on the sparrow question (see Star of September 8th), 1s my excuse tor again asking space in your valuable paper. It was my desire not to further récord my.views upon this sub- ject, but under the circumstances i cannot well refuse to accept the invitation to do so; and I would further add, by way of apology for not attending to the matter sooner, that I have been absent from the city during the greater portion of the month succeeding the publication of Mr. Henning’s article. As to the first matter requiring consideration, Tam, much to my regret, unable to farnish the direct proof asked for, since I did not become a resident of Washington until 1870. or only ayear or two (possibly three years) before the spar- rows were introduced; consequently, I am unable to prove from my own experience, the contrary of Mr. Henning’s statement, i. e., “that the foliage on our trees for the last ten years * * * will more than favorably compare with any similar previous period.” This much I can say, however: I do not remember any time dur- ing the brief period that I resided here previous tothe establishment of the sparrow when the elm trees wereas badly defoliated as many of them have been the past summer; and, also, that I do remember with great distinctness the fact that during the time in question at least eleven species of native birds bred regularly, and fn their normal abundance, within the limits of the Smithsonian grounds, the species that I can readily call to mind being the following: Robin, catbird, house wren, summer yellowbird, warbling vireo, chipping sparrow, song spar- row, Baltimore oriole, orchard oriole, purple grakle (or blackbird). and wood pewee. Seve- ral others might be mentioned as formerly breeding in these grounds, but those named were common—quite as much so as in average rural localities, It certainly would have been impossible during the past summer to detect more than half ot the species named in the preceding list, a few lingering catbirds In the most retired clumps of bushes, a very limited number of song ws, and a colony of blackbirds being about all that have retained a foothold. The blackbird, by the way, oceasionaily eats the young of the imported spar- row, and probably, when {it can get hold of them, of other species also; but at_ the same time it destroys a vast number of inlurious worms, grubs, caterpillars, etc. With the nnquestionable and marked diminu- tion in the number of native birds in the parks and larger private grounds of this city, of which the only evident cause is their crowding out by the sparrows, I am unable to see any such compensation in the way of benefit to the shade trees as has been claimed; and in this connection I would like to ask whether the alleged improvement of this kind may not be due rather to the intelli- gent disbursement of funds which have been appropriated for the care of the public grounds, including the shade trees along the streets? Be this as it may,I had occasion.to notice, during a recent trip through southeastern New York and part of New Jersey, that in almost every town or village where elm trees were seen they were as completely denuded of their leaves as it is possible for them to be at this season of the year, many of them being nearly as bare as in midwinter. It was likewise noticed (and the association of facts struck meas being singu- larly suggestive) that not a few of these naked trees coutained several sparrows’ nests, some of them half,a dozen or more, reminding me, in their position and general appearance,’ of bunehes of mistletoe, which are often so con- spicuous {n winter among naked tree tops in some of Our southern woods. In the places where these observations were made the spar- rows were certafnly not less numerous than in Washington, yet they had utterly failed to pro- tect the very trees which had been chosen for their nests! Having nothing farther bearing directly upon this part of the subject to add from my own ex- perience, F would refer Mr. Henning to an ac- count (not by myself) inthe American Naturalist of February, 1890, of how chipping sparrows made reuuilar daily to a garden for the ex- press purpose of éating cabb: worms, which the more numerous imported sparrows were ob- served to almost wholly neglect. Passing by several minor points which it is not necessary to discuss here, 1 come to one which appears to me ambiguous; at least I am not sure that I understand it correctly. It is as follows: ‘His little episode of ‘claim-jumping’ by the European sparrow, I think, has already been pre-empted by some of our native species, as probably some of the books on his shelves will bear recor Tamnot abletorecallany instance affording quite a parallel case, and certainly none of our native birds molest others to any- thing like the same extent that the imported sparrow does. My “little episode” is but one of hundreds on record. all of them likewise illustrating a very marked trait of the sparrow's character. This, however, is a very different thing from true puznacity, of which the spar- rows possess theirrull share, beIng among them- selves of an exceedingly quarrelsome disposi- tion. The extraordinary Jeounalty of the imported sparrow was, of course, well known to me, although there was no epoca occasion to refer to it in my article. Indeed, it is this one fact perhaps more than any other which furnishes ground for most serious apprehension. The quotation from ‘An English authority” alleging great benefit by the sparrow in destroying insects, and asserting disaster as follow- ing their destruction in France, is by no means conclusive, since it would be perfectly easy to find contrary views ex- pressed by high authorities in Europe. In fact, there, as with us, the bulk of evidence is de- cidediy azainst them, although one important thing should not be’ lost sight of, viz: that in rope the sparrow forme one of the original elements in the “equilibrium of nature,” while here its presence disturbs that equilibriam. Mr. Henning evidently overlooked this fact when he referred to the crow in this connection. I fully agree with him regarding this much persecuted bird; indeed, I believe the crow to be very much more useful than the European house sparrow, and believe that, notwithstanding the consider + ableamount ofdamage he doesto the corn crop, he much more than makes it up by the destruction of incalculable quantities of ‘injurious worms, grubs and other vermin. The comparative use - fulness of the two may be summed up thus: ‘The crow is omnivorous, preferring animal diet, and, on account of their greater abundance, lives chiefly upon insects. The sparrow, on the other hand, i8 essentially granivorous, insects constitutinga relatively unimportant item in ms bill of fare. Al birds of the sparrow tribe (Fringillide) are likewise chiefly granivorous, but among the native species there is not one but which eats insects to at least as great an extent as the introduced bird. The only differ- ence in tavor of the latter is its greater abund- ance; and it seems to me that the matter may be simplified into the question of whether thisone fact alone isto be considered in the light of a pub- lic benefit or misfortune. The clipping from Forest and Stream, entitled “A voice for the Sparrows,” and to the effect that “the great depredations of the Hessian fly and the wheat worm among the grain in many sections of Chester and Delaware counties is as- cribed to the vast slaughter of the English spar- rows,” would hayean important bearing on the case were the statements therein contained even approximately correct. The trouble is that, ac- cording to the best Information 1 am able toget, the Important element of truth is lacking. f have been told by peony reliable residenta of that portion of, ie state of Pennsylvania to which the statement above quoted refera, that the law. permitting sparrows to be killed ee amounts to practically nothing, no general advantage having been taken of 11 by the people, on agcount of the usual prevalent. indifference to Such matters. Even were the statements correct, the connection between the two all amounts to purely negative evidence which th the light of other facts be- comes prattic worthless. The 0] facts to which Fatlude' are the similar de) ‘tons of the Héssian fly and other grain-destroying insects in Sections of the country where there have never been European sparrows and in other sections where the latter abound at the time of such insect depredations! In penning my original remarks upon the sparrow question I no desire to be drawn lates pasate 3 m™ event oe pane ie It ts experiet Upon ie differ aceording toattendant ciroumt so alsodo our int ions of identi aecording to SUNDAY IN CINCINNATI. How the Day is Enjoyed—Beer Gardens and Theaters in Fall Blast—A Euro- pean Sunday in an American City—A Mammoth Sunday School Thromged with Heodiums—A Shoulder Hitting Sunday School Superintendent and & Base Ball Pitcher as a Sunday Scheel ‘Teacher. Correspondence of Tam Fvenrxa STAR. CINCINNATI, Oct. 18, 1883. Whatever may be said of Cincinnati in a criti- cal way, itcan never be charged that its Sun- days are Puritanic. It may not be that any one has the intention of assailing the Queen City in this direction; but envy*is far reaching in ite scope. The art schools and musical festivals have been laughed to scorn as the baldest pre- tences to a cuiture which the city does not pos- sess. The malice of the detractors of Cincinnati May go still further, and claim that the city has Rot as yet emancipated itself from the thraldom of old ideas, and that its people are still living under the old blue laws regulating the observance of Sunday. If the first allegation has as little foundation in fact as the latter it can safely be branded as false. Even a traveller familiar with the’Sundays of Europe and the mining towns of the west might find some novel features in the observance of the day in Cincinnatl. A EUROPEAN SUNDAY. From an orthodox standpoint the observance Would be called a desecration, while the advo- cates of a wider latitude would regard the Cin- cinnati method as the ideal of the free-thonght millenium. In short, Sunday is a holiday in Cincinnati. A holiday of enjoyment. The law has practically placed no restrictions upon the observance of the day. and so her people do as they please. If they want to keep their places of business open; if they desire to parade in procession behind a brass band; if they prefer to put on their best clothes and loaf on the street corners, or sit In beer saloons and beer gardens drinking beer and playing cards, there is nothing to prevent the execution of any one or all of these desires. If, however, they determine to improve their minds by reading in the public libraries, or seek relaxation in the theaters, or witness a game of base ball. there is no obstacle in the way, such as closed doors or guarded en- trances. They can even go to church and to Sunday school; nearly all the churches are open in the morning, and many of them have services in the afternoon and evening. THE SWEET SABBATH BELLS. There are some persons who do not care to attend church on Sunday, and yet have a fondness for hearing the sound of the Sabbath bells floating in on the morning air, as they luxuriously discuss a late breakfast or turn over in bed for another nap. Even such per- sons can be gratified in Cincinnati, for th sound of the church bells has not yet been hushed. The bells, however, do not cail in vain, and the stranger can see the worshippers raing- ling with the holiday throng on the streets and then passing within the church doors. As his eye follows them on their way to church he sees the white aproned butcher standing in his open doorway, the smiling conclusion of the vista formed hy the rews of hams and “sides” that grace the exterior of his establishment. The grocer farther on is oceupied in supplying some customer trom the piles of fresh vegetables heaped about the entrance to his shop, while perhaps on the opposite side of the street peo- ple may be seen going in and out of a dry goods store. The beer saloons are seen to have their usual quota of customers, and the stranger is apt to wonder whether it is Sunday after all. THE STORES ALL OPEN. There seems to be no rule about keeping open ‘on Sunday among the business people. Besides the drug stores and cigar stores, which are gen- erally open in all cities, every branch of trade seems to have some Sunday business. On the streets where the large wholesale houses and the great retail stores rear their tall fronts closed doors and windows are the prevailing features. But still some of these are open for a portion of the day. The large factories and mills are, however, closed, and the employes en- joy a holiday. “OVER THE RHINE,” as the Cincinnati people teri the section of the city beyond the canal, the population is largely German, and here it is generally supposed that there are fewer signs of what is commonly regarded as Sabbath observances. But the dif- ference in this respect on one side of the canal from the other is hardly perceptible. If you take a street car you will be carried through the strictly German portion of Cincinnati and landed at the foot of a high hill which rises with a pre- cipitous rocky front overlooking the city. It is one of a ridge of hills that surrounds the city. Perched on the edge of this rocky eminence is an immense wooden structure, which seems to be the center of attraction for large throngs. Following the crowd the visitor takes his seat in a car which is drawn by a stationary engine up the steep incline and lands him at the en- trance of one of Cincinnatt’s largest beer gar- dens. Several acres of tables and chairs, a dan- cing parton, a board walk promenade, a band stand and a band strugyling with the details of @ concert and dance program, and a small army of waiters rushing about, constitute the scene. This is only one of several beer gardens of equal magnitude that are perched upon the hills-over- looking the city. Sunday is their great day, and the pleasure-seekers throng to these resorts in great numbers. THE THEATERS IN FULL BLAST. The pleasure resources of the city however are not contined to the beer gardens. All the theaters are open, andin the majority of them matinee performances are given. Instead of the week's engagement of the traveling com- panies beginning on Monday night@it begins Sunday afternoon or at the most Sunday night. There is not a theater in Cincinnati which is not open on Sunday, and there is not an actor with but few exceptions, that has not given performances on Sunday. Keene, week before last, and Janauschek, last week, with all the lesser-lights of the stage, played on Sunday. The afternoon and evening performances at the theaters present attractions which’ prove too strove for the churches, and, asa rule, there is not a very large attendance, except at the morning services. SUNDAY BASE BALL. Sunday is a great day for base ball, and im- mense crowds witness the games. When the celebrated Cincinnati nine play on Sunday they have a substitute pitcher. Their regular pitcher, White, refuses to play on that day. He isa teacher in a Sunday school and is the only man that has ever been known to discharge the du- ties of the two positions with satisfaction to all parties. THE NUMEROUS BEER SALOONS. But after ail, the curious features about the Sunday sights in Cincinnati are the beer saloons. It is claimed that there are more beer saloons in Cincinnati than in any other city in the coun- try. However that may be it is certain that a man does not have to go out of his way very much in any part of the city in order to get a glass of beer. As the saloons paid no license until the passage of the Scott law, there was nothing to prevent a saloon being opened in THE MANAGER OF THE HOODLUMS. ‘The controlling spirit of this assemblage Is a stern looking man.dressed in clerical black, with amass of hair thrown back exposing @ high fore- head, and a clean shaven face showing strongly marked lines and the square cut jaws. LIFE AT THE HUB. Affairs im Rosten—Weddings, Exhibitions, Theaters; Ere Correspondence of the Tem Evextxo Sram. _ Bostox, October 18, 1883. i. Seevsined & prize fighter,” remarks @ visitor | 71x shout April! The beautiful apring month The comparison is not an unjust one, and | has been sadly maligned, for in all her anoual when one examines the individuals that com- | visits she never showed half the ficleness that pose this large school, one is apt to conclude | the much praised month of October has shown that if the leader is not a prize fighter he ought | tnig year. October has in turn assumed the oe one. He itie cuttrectime to the manage. | Suite of nearly every month in the calendar, and iment of this institution, and has acquired a | there is no knowing what phase she wili show reputation along the river front, as not only a) usin the next two weeks. The last few days hard but an effective hitter. have been particularly trying, as Saturday was THE BARB FOOT BRIGADE. @ genuine dog-day, Sunday gave us summer There does not seem to bean abundance of | neat, high winds, and towards evening heavy clothes, and most of the boys are in their shirt | showers of rain and some thunder, while now sleeves and bare feet, - The girls are not 80] the air is crisp and cold, with an indication of numerous, and are better dressed. The singing | the frosty weather we had early in the monta, is accompanied with a piano and a cornet, “WEDDING BELLS.” ac, played by a young man, whose lungs act like a But few things are postponed tn these busy pair of leaky bellows, and whose despairing, | times on account of sun or shower, so Visitors almost agonized expression of countenance, !n- | continue to enter our cates attracted by the two dicate necurately to the sympathetic observer | tains, society is returning to town, and last the cantntnaee Sas ee } Naniot week the wedding season was inaugurated with voices through the great room. Presently the | several festivities of an elaborate kind. One of grim leader advances to the front of the high | our largest Jewelry and art houses here reports Platform with a military stride and clasps his | that it has been as busy as It ever was for @ hands. The noise subsides somewhat, but the | number of days sending wedding gifts to the congregated hoodlums are restless. The leader | vicinity of the Back Bay, and this notwithstand- flashes his eye from one part of the hall to an-| ing the rumor that the giving of wedding prea- other. Then he opens his mouth aud speaks. | ents is going out of fashion. In the case of one All the noise and bustle of the great crowd of | marriage the knot must have been thoroughly fidgetting children is completely lost in the roar | tied, for three brothers of the bridegroom sone of that mighty voice. It penetrates to the | was also a clergyman) assisted the rector of the farthest corner, commands the attention of the | church where the ceremony was performed in most restless child and conquers every other | the service,—a circumstance not likely to be Pe sound. When he ceases 3} peated at many weddings. The marriage of @ peaking there is al- most perfect quiet in the room. The leader had | son of Gov. Andrew to a daughter of the late evidently made no exertion to speak loud, bat | Nathaniel Thayer, caused quite a flatter in ao- used his ordinary tone. cial circles, and was largely attended by friends The same visitor remarked in a burst of admi-| of the parents of the bridal pair. One bride was attended at the altar by two little boys am black velvet suits, and another by six brides tion he would make!” maiden (Gainsborough hats. Industrions ladies; S25 SS in fact all ladies, as industry is now fashionable, nn Bat his present assemblage contains elements | lll be pleased to kno cats cae repens that, if once started, would outdo the most vio- | gor fingers of her mamma, which will probably lent political convention. The stern man in | be treasured with great care. . black, with a voice like a steam hammer, ts not ine foriata, too, have been reaping a harvest wded hall. | In consequence ot the ringing of the marriage el ret cha castes ee ail: | belle, but thelr orders of thie nature have Deew e visitor can see certain strong-bodied, keen- dwarfed by the one recently received bt ved by one of eved men stationed at, intervals about the hall, | the craft here for the decoration of the princess? and every once ina while these men are observed | hail at Montreal. The ball is to take place at. moving among the seats, ready to check | the Windsor hotel, and sepecial car will be sent incipient fights, and shifting about boys that | from here with the floral decorations. 1 believe have a tendency to make one neighborhood t00 | this is the largest order ever received by anj hot to hold them for any length of time. florist in the states. The lucky recipient will THE PAY SYSTEM. call in the aid of seven other florists to complete There is, however, no disturbance, Every-| the work. In the order will be included 20.000 thing goes on quietly. The children are di- | TATe Toses, 20.000 carnations, 10,000 clusters of ided into cl dt ided. The tube roses and 508 bunches of violets, with vi into classes and teachers provided. other costly and beautiful flowers. mothers and the infant class are shut off from THE FIGHT POR OFFICE. the rest of the echool by glass doors. At the| we are haying an exciting political campaign, end of the school each person attending is given as you already know. But you escape much of a card, which is equivalent to five cents, andcan be used tor the purchase of clothes, foodandffuel. | the unpleasantness called out by the speeches All these articles are supplied in the rooms con- | bY your absence from the meetings, and your nected with the mission. There is, besides, | failure to read the Boston papers in detail. Gen, eeernsd pari Reger neg “34 jodging Tage Batler is working for himseif in bis usual offen- And the mission, situated. as it is, on the river | sive and defensive manner, making statements bank, amid a hard population. ts, a8 may be suo-| that won't always bear the light, and receiving Posed, one of the sights of Cincinnati. many hits that strike home with ‘the usual re- HOW THE PEOPLE IMPROVE THEIR MINDS. sult, for there are times when, as Petrarcii It would be of interest to Washington readers | in one of his letters, “truth beets hatred. The to note that of all this great throng of Sunday | governor is friends are struggling to thelr Pleasure seekers that fill the beer zardens, the- | Hutter nage ies tra eid aters and other places of amusement, but a very hecestenn rave. r small proportion find their way to the public . library and museums which open wide their] The two exhibitions sti! occupy a good deal doors on Sunday of our time, as one visit is not enough to do jus- na Sa tice to all there is to be seen. Those who are = interested In machinery and really wish to be Autumn Time at the Great Summer | informed regarding the resources ot our own Resort. country will possibly find the Institute Fatr the more enjoyable one, but the Japanese section and the Art Gallery at the Foreizn Exposition, to say nothing of the Innumerable other sec- s tions, are beyond anything of the kind ever seen Aftermath! Yes, the full harvest has passed; | here ‘before, Many things have been brought the hives silent, for the bees have swarmed, and | from Japan that hitherto have not been allowed this lovely village is again settling down to its | to leave the country, and Mr. Jarnes’ collection normal condition. It is now the supplement | of opera es usa ied = tee season. We have with us those who have been | Master's works, and rarer art treasure: om re ght y enjuying lake, mountain and pastoral scenery, | Ob¢ Collection ever bronght. to our shores. For es 5 the sake of our art education in America it is but think their outings is not complete without | hoped one of our cities will become the possessor a taste of these waters and a sight of this | of this valuable portion of the Gallery. famous place in its autumnal glory. The land- THE PLAY HoUsEa. lords of the large hotels have closed their doors | The places of amusement here are all doing a with sardonic amiles, for this has not been aj good business and the managers are delighted flush yearwith them. The profits do not half] at the opening of the season. At the Boston equal those of last year. Even at the best it | theater “Jalma,“the spectacular play,is drawing takes a little more each season to satisfy greedy | crowded houses and people are turned away for haman nature, and hotel pownigageed oe ee] want of room nearly every night. Will it be ere Siostng pookaes ea Spa eqatimental | the same, I wonder, when Ifving comes here? same to them. hen you gaze upon these | Charles Wyndham and his London company silent, grim caravanseries you cannot help | begina six weeks’ enzacement at the Bijou on peopling them in imagination and hearing the | Monday night, the bill for this week | being sepulchral echo of the vanished footfall. In fact | “Fourteen Days” and “Ruth's Romance.” The you become haunted with scenes and sounds | Museum company are presenting a series of that, like Banquo’s ghost, “will not down.” | light comedies, and Mr. Field is preparing for But if tragedy has been here Inacted It has been | the production of Sims and Pettitt's new veiled so completely by comedy that no one has | drama, “‘In the Ranks,” to be brought out at seen the dagger thrusts, and there is yet “music | the Standard theater, New York, at the same in the air.” Congress Park has done pretty well | time. The scenery is full ot mechanical con- during the season. It cleared forty thousand | trivances, an® the stage setting will dollars, which goes to the liquidation of the} cost some ten thousand duilars, #0 debt upon the property, but allows no dividend | the advent of the drama is looked towards to stockholders this year. with interest. The first performance of “Young ‘A new feature ot summer life at Saratoga was | Mrs. Whintrop” in this city will be given at the the art gallery established this season, near the | Park this evening by the Madison Square com- park, in which was displayed some fine paint-| pany. The scenery with its Oriental effects, used inj The proprietor realized ten cent | at the New York theater, will be used ay id from admission fecs on his investment in build. | gether with the carpets and eas fixtures ing and paintings, and sold many of the latterat | the Madison Square. The Boston Ideal Opera high prices. Both art and trade has been liber- | Company 0} at the Globe theater Monday ally patrorized, and many more bazaars have | evening and will be heard through the week in been opened than heretofore. a variety of operas. During their engagement ‘The weather is delightful. There are many | “The Weather Cock” will be presented more en- here yet in the quiet restful nooks. Our tran- ges é and correctly than it has ever before been sient home fs a perfect oasis, around which tond | in this country. The musical season is now memories will always cling, as the many who | fairly opened, several good concerts have been have found rest for mind and cure for bodily ills | g'ven and the first symphony concert occurred can traly testify. There isa peculiar charm in| On Satuaday night, with Miss Hope Glenn as being where you can feel perfectiy at home,have | vocalist. Lectures, readings, and even a cat entertaining, cultured society, and an able phy- | show are now in order, and with the fall shop- sician to keep in order the frail mechanism of | ping and rising thoughts of the holiday season's the human body. Sanitariums, such as are | demands the time (likethis autumn’s millinery,) found here. are increasing in popularity. They | 8eems to have taken to itself wings. A.A. F. are generally perfect in thelr arrangement for ——— gt ration “What a chairman of a presidential conven- Correspondence of Tie Evexmma STAR. Saratoca Sprines, October 17, 1883. the comfort of guests, and afford means for bath- Official Water Waste. ing and exercise, tele ~~ prices ——— ‘To the Editor of Tux Eventve 81.1 The guests are always planning entertainments, i jen excursions and various waysfor filling in the odd | 4 fw wet - ee 2 Jasin hag: cass moments go that time passes by so swiftly you | 4th and Sth northwest, woul re are surprised when you find the shadows deep-| whether the water inspector finds it easier to ening and the deycloses but to bring us together | get ata leak or waste of water in a citizen's for the evening’s pleasures. back yard or house than to find one in the main Saratoga can aow be thoroughly appreciated | on a public street? In the neighborhood above for herself. The foliage is gorgeously beautitul, | mentioned the water-main has been leaking the drives free from dust, carriage hire reasona- lusely for three weeks, and is getting worse ble, and sensible costumesand sociability gener- | daily. authorities have been notified more ally prevalent. But everything in its season. | than once by the police, but still the waste is The gay leaves are already the earth, | allowed to continue, to the inconvenience of the winds will soon be murmuring their | householders, and the destruction of wint elude, and before Jack frost property, as the pavement, under whi ied we will be “at home” in dear oldWash- | main 4 Becky isbelag rapidly undermined. ington. E. A. H. October 16th, 1883. c ——————— Another Amendment Needed. Discrimination as to Licenses. ‘To the Editor of Tux Evaxure Stam: ‘To the Editor of Tax Evexrva Stan: In view ot the recent decision of the Supreme Court, it strikes me that we need another| missioners Lad decided that they would use amendment to the Constitution—one wh‘ch shall | “‘some discrimination in the granting of liquor provide that all laws passed by Congress shall | licenses.” I should think it was about time, every house, and the tax paid now is buta slight | be submitted to the Court, or some | especially in view of the disclosures made by check. On Sunday, however, it seems as if the | similar tribunal, who bros ypaand einem the citizens’ committee in their investigations of saloons were open wider if possible than on the | tionality before it recelves the approval of the the police ‘and the 7 given in week day The doors and windows are not | President. < — a gener! —_ by screens, and the passer-by a| This idea of having laws in force ten, fifteen | Dunn's case. It would seem large hi view of the proprietor and his| or and then having them declared | tion of the saloons that line our strests, are ers. wn one of the streets igelipe liar tadpoles Ames —_ rey fe paar poorly gree : leads to the river, beerves: an lsgrace. ws that yw | our midst stolen coods. the salen fe ia fall ering Looking {nto the makers don't understand their duts, and there- | never could see the nag haga vagemny ord doorways as he passes along he sees of fore ought to have amonitorto guide and direct number of saloons—often three eying men, and in some cases women and young girls, | them, or that re Sopreme Court sone under- side of a single comes. Tem = te seated at the tables drinking beer and playing | stand theirs. 1t would be infinitely better for | vision penionpeey ney bar echo base ° cards. Onescene like this succeeds another, when | all concerned if the constitutionality of all laws, | outakirts are #0 1 dont eal allat once the attention isarrested by thesound of | especially such as effect the rights of person, or phate naam apey ye Ba fed gry bce si , at first indistinct, then -, | of cltizens, could be at the time. | at short intervals. And har. one ee oad Tao at ies mething definite, end | rome, of these places~these doors to hell” one of could know what the law really ia. As it is| f , Of 3 res THE MOODEY AND SANKEY HYMNS. Now, no one knows. One lawyer will advise one | for that is what they are, literally. Yes, Curious to know the meaning of such sounds In | WY, another another way. Se & nelghborhood of thatsort, the visitor continues | the declslons of the Patent Offioe, of wi 4 Payne in one of his decisions said, when speak- down the street, which terminates at the leveeand ofa ‘that had been three times de- the broad surface of the Ohio river. The singing ttlon eat oon time different from what it was increases in volume, and when the end of the a Se ee Sate areeed ee ee meeeetoan et! ee te” nae Oh Diese law. te wend golng up the steps of « tall quare building thet ragged.” in this tora te tar the river. Follo’ children into a | em that the law apr p open of Sees a ciel fais thtonigh the meatal PD kent ‘Of course the’ wyers OT peste rep along eet win Beject because Ie would deprive, thers or inde one of their of contention, but pipet iain cates elaiener Fe ae wen act ory over that, sound, Ite z Ce OBSERVER. THE UNION BETHEL SUNDAY ‘Trust, an institution established and supported by an endowment of a wealthy citizen of Cincinnati, wn eneoue oda and Intended to give religious instruction tothe iN the space ‘work, poorer classes. It is sald to be the largest Goreme, ‘school of the kind in the country. Besides the ‘Look not thro’ the sheltering bars children there is what !s known as the Mothers’ Goa. to-morrow; LM! class, 00! some two or three hundred pple ‘what comes - women, in their arma. ae ey