16.—A CURE FOR POISON.
Sweet oil is a cure for the poisonous bite of serpents, spiders, &c.; also for being poisoned by ivy and dogwood. Bathe the part bitten or affected, and take a teaspoonful internally. If a horse is affected, it will require eight times as much to affect him. All persons sensitive to poison whenever they visit the woods, on their return should wash hands and face in vinegar and salt, and take camphor inwardly.
Home Reading.
The subject of reading cannot be omitted in a work devoted to the interests of the home. Books have such a large share in developing and sustaining the home life, that their influence can hardly be exaggerated. At the same time it is not possible, in a comprehensive work like this, to treat of the subject as its importance demands. We can only throw out a few general hints, which may be suggestive to some.
In the first place, we would say to all young persons into whose hands this book may come, read something daily. And by this we mean, not the careless looking through a novel for the amusement of a leisure hour, but the faithful, thorough mastery of another’s thought. It is of less consequence that that thought should be new, or specially valuable, than that the habit should be formed of intelligent reading. A poor book well read will usually teach a young person more than a good one read carelessly. We are not saying, let it be understood, that a book should always be read from beginning to end; there is a habit of quick perception of the general tone and value of a book, which, to a student in search of facts for special use, is of the greatest assistance; but this comes later. The power of attention and concentration should first be gained. And for this purpose, secondly, it is important that you should form an opinion of what you have read. Never lay aside a book until you can state intelligibly the author’s purpose and meaning in it, and how far, as it appears to you, that purpose has been attained. It is an excellent plan to write a short abstract of the plot of a story, or the facts of a biography; but whether this is done or not, do not be contented to let what you have read pass through the mind like water through a sieve. Compel everything to yield you some tribute of suggestion, if not of direct instruction. Do not be satisfied with anything less than a definite opinion; if you are in the wrong, the correction of a maturer mind will help you to judge more truly the next time.
Do not confine yourself to one kind of reading. If you are fond of novels, that is no reason why you should read them exclusively. Perhaps acquaintance with a different class of books may develop a taste for them; at anyrate you cannot afford to read entirely for amusement. It is neither our province nor our wish to condemn novel-reading; the excessive practice of it will, we believe, be best checked by acquaintance with books of greater value. There are histories as varied in incident as any novel. There are books of travel which combine the romance of adventure with the instruction of facts. There is poetry in all its forms, without some knowledge of whose best examples your education cannot be considered even passable. The fact is rather that there is so much of each class, which a cultivated person is expected to be familiar with, that the great difficulty is in selection. In order that you may divide your time profitably among these different studies, it is well to take the advice of some competent person as to what is the best book for your purpose on a given subject. In this manner you will save much time and patience, while if you take up the first book on the topic in question which comes to hand, you may, by an injudicious choice, lose your interest in the whole matter. On any historical question, for instance, it is better to read at first an author who gives a concise and general view of the events of the period, and afterwards those entering more minutely into details. It is well, too, before intrusting yourself to the guidance of any historian, to ascertain the estimation in which he is held by competent critics, that you may thus understand how to separate the truth from exaggeration and special pleading.
Have several kinds of reading for every day. Do not give yourself up entirely to one class of books at a time, or you will either tire of them, or your judgment will become confused in regard to them. It is well to have some book of history, or travels, or metaphysics, another on religious subjects, and a third for entertainment simply—a good novel, if possible.
In this way much more knowledge is gained without fatigue, than when the mind is kept exclusively to one theme.
Committing to memory a few lines every day, is a habit which cannot be too strongly urged. It need not be made a tedious matter, by giving up one’s whole time and attention to it as a study; it can best be done when walking, or sewing, or engaged in household work, and will become, after a little, a pleasure instead of a task. Besides the daily acquisition of something worth remembering, there will be gained also a power quite as valuable, of observing the characteristics and style of various authors, the delicate differences of words, and the construction of sentences. It may safely be said that those writers who have been most celebrated for beauty and perspicuity of style, have owed this, in no small degree, to the early habit of committing to memory the works of the best authors.
In conclusion, we would beg our young readers to make friends of books. They will cheer many an hour that would otherwise be lonely; they are kind, ever ready, yet unobtrusive comforters in perplexity or sorrow; they represent that which is best and truest in all ages, and are the highest expression of itself, of which humanity is capable.
The Sick Room.
We cannot leave this book without giving a few simple rules for nursing the sick. Most of our young people, and many old, are ignorant of the commonest principles.
Never wear a rustling dress or creaking shoes in waiting on the sick. Be careful not to shake the bed, or fidget near it, so as to touch, disturb, and needlessly fatigue the invalid. Few noises are more irritating in sickness than noise from the grate. The startling effect of putting on coals may destroy the effect of an opiate. It is better to put them on one by one. In voice and manner be gentle, and in spirit cheerful and hopeful. Do not depress by tears, but control looks, words, and actions. Say nothing in the room, or even outside the door, which you would not wish the sick to hear. Ask questions but rarely, and never occasion a needless effort to gratify your own curiosity. In giving nourishment with a spoon, be careful to raise the bowl of the spoon so as not to drop anything, or annoy the sick person by untidy feeding. Be sure to have cups, spoons, and glasses clean. Make everything as attractive as you can from the nicety and freshness of the dish. Do not allow jellies or rejected dainties to remain in the room. The time may come to any boy or girl when they may desire to watch by a sick bed of a parent or friend, and the above rules may assist them.
If the sick person should take a dislike to you, be not disheartened at it; but if possible resign your place by the bedside. It may be that you were clumsy, and awkward, or over-anxious. It may be only one of those unaccountable fancies which sometimes takes possession of the sufferer, and which it is our duty to treat with care and consideration.