Concern yourself only with the attainment of truth, without respect to the ultimate conclusions which may be derived from it. Be not misled from this by the traditional respect or disrespect paid to writers, but form your own judgment. Adopt no principle, endorse no doctrine, without careful examination on your own part. Finally, respect all opinions which are supported by argument, however untenable they may seem. And above all, bear in mind Sir Thomas Browne's old saying "I could never divide myself from any man upon the difference of an opinion, nor be angry with his judgment for not agreeing with me in that from which, within a few days, I should dissent myself."

I believe that the main object of literary culture at the present time ought to be to counteract the dominant tendencies flowing from the money-getting pursuits of the age, and so, without lessening the energy and attention at present devoted to those pursuits, to check the evil consequences apt to result from them, by the cultivation of tastes and habits of thought of an opposite, or rather, perhaps I should say, of a wholly different kind. As the ardent longing after money inclines a man to be self-seeking to an excessive extent, he should, if he would preserve a proper mental balance, devote as much time as he can spare, after the performance of his money-getting labours, to the investigation of subjects which may teach him the worth of money, and the fact that there are gifts which mere wealth can never purchase, nor mere opulence ever enjoy; that his interests as a human

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being are not confined to the narrow circle of his own business, but are co-extensive with those of the race to which he belongs; and that such interests are only promoted by a careful adherence to generous principles and the purest rectitude.

The consolation of reading is not futile nor imaginary. It is no chimera of the recluse or the bookworm, but a potent reality. As a stimulus to flagging energies, as an inspirer of lofty aim, literature stands unrivalled. In the life of all, blank days come when we are inclined to envy those who say, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die;" when the spirit of our youthful enthusiasm, like the ghost of some betrayed love, rises up and stands reproachfully before us, recalling the resolutions and aspirations of the past; reminding us how base and unworthy we should in those times have deemed the indolence and want of faith of these; and mutely asking if age, instead of ripening our wisdom and strengthening our will, has drawn a thick film over the eyes of our faith, and paralysed the right hand of our purpose. In moments like these, the lofty themes of poetry, the grandeur of history, and the noble examples of biography, kindle in those who will have recourse to them, a new energy and a fresh heart. This powerful quality of literature is not sufficiently recognised nor employed. Men know not the great agent of restoration which lies so near their hand. Other resources are not available in every circumstance, at all times, and at all ages; but literature-the song of the poet, the meditations of the philosopher, the records of the historian, and the lives

of men who have left great names upon the earththis (to use the language of Cicero) is at once the instructor and guide of youth, and the comfort and grace of our riper years; it is an adornment to prosperity, a refuge and a solace in adversity; in private it is our delight, in public our help; and whether at home or abroad, whether in town or country, by day or by night, it remains an abiding joy and employment.-Remarks on Reading, delivered at the Blackburn Mechanics' Institute, 1864.

Ménage says: "The first thing one ought to do, after having borrowed a book, is to read it, so as to be able to return it as soon as possible."

Toinard pungently remarks that "The reason why borrowed books are seldom returned, is because it is easier to retain the books themselves than what is inside of them."

In a book-plate of the last century, the owner of the book has the following pertinent quotation from the Psalms :- "It is the wicked that borroweth, and payeth not again."

The following suggestion occurs in a newspaper article:-"If ever a new religion is able to impose new festivals and fast-days on the human race, it is to be hoped that A SOLEMN WEEK OF RETURNING BOOKS TO THEIR OWNERS will every year precede the Feast of Property."

A correspondent of The Times thus writes on the day after the commencement of the Parcel Post :--"A new idea often serves as a tonic to the relaxed conscience. If, while the joy of the new Parcel Post is fully on them, folks would only turn out their cupboards and examine their bookshelves for volumes long borrowed and never returned, they would probably set in motion for the time being the largest circulating library in the world, and administer consolation to tens of thousands of long despondent rightful owners.”