Sanders' Union Fourth Reader / Embracing a Full Exposition of the Principles of Rhetorical Reading; with Numerous Exercises for Practice, Both in Prose and Poetry, Various in Style, and Carefully Adapted to the Purposes of Teaching in Schools of Every Grade

by Charles W. Sanders

1. Horace and Herman, two young men who were friends, set out to travel in distant countries. Before they departed, each had formed a plan of proceeding. Horace determined to give himself up entirely to pleasure,—to go wherever his humor might dictate,—and to keep no records of his adventures. In short, he resolved to enjoy himself as much as possible, and, by no means, to encumber his mind with cares, duties, or troubles of any kind.

2. Herman was as fond of amusement as Horace; but the mode he adopted for the gratification of his wishes, was quite different. In the first place, he made out a scheme of his travels: he procured maps, read books, and, after mature deliberation, adopted a certain route, as most likely to afford him pleasure as well as instruction.

3. In the formation of this plan, he spent several weeks; and, in this occupation, he found quite as much satisfaction as he afterwards did in traveling. Thus he obtained one great advantage over his idle and luxurious friend, who foolishly thought that the essence of enjoyment lay in freedom from thought, restraint, and toil. Even before they set out on their journey, Herman had actually found nearly as much pleasure as Horace received in the whole course of his expedition.

4. The two young men started together; and, as there were then no canals or railroads, they both set out on foot. They had not proceeded far before they separated,—Horace taking one road and Herman another.

5. After the lapse of three years, they both returned; but what a difference between them! Horace was morose and dissatisfied; he had seen a good deal of the world, but, as he had traveled with no other design than to gratify himself from hour to hour, he had soon exhausted the cup of pleasure, and found nothing at the bottom but the bitter dregs of discontent.

6. He pursued pleasure, till, at last, he found the pursuit to be distasteful and revolting. He grew tired even of amusement. He indulged his tastes, humors, and passions, until indulgence itself was disgusting. When he returned to his friends, he had laid up nothing in his memory, by the relation of which he could amuse them; he had kept no record of things he had seen; he brought back no store of pleasing and useful recollections for himself, or others. Such was the result of three years' travel for pleasure.

7. It was quite otherwise with Herman. Adhering to his plans, he visited a great many places, and, each day, he recorded in his journal what he had seen. Whenever he met with an interesting object, he stopped to contemplate it. If it was some aged relic, famous in history, he took pains to investigate its story, and to write it down. If it was an object of interest to the eye, he made a sketch of it in a book which he kept for that purpose.

8. In this way, Herman accomplished three good objects. In the first place, by taking pleasure in a moderate way, and mixing with it a little toil and industry, he prevented that cloying surfeit which, at last, sickened and disgusted Horace.

9. In the second place, he greatly increased his enjoyments by the plan he adopted. Merely executing a plan is agreeable, and a source of great pleasure. It is natural to derive happiness from following out a design,—from seeing, hour by hour, day by day, how results come about, in conformity to our intentions.

10. But this was not the only advantage which Herman received from his system. The very toil he bestowed; the investigations he made; the pleasant thoughts and curious knowledge that were unfolded to his mind; the excitement he found in his exertions; the pleasure he took in drawing picturesque scenes; all constituted a rich harvest of pleasure, which was wholly denied to Horace.