A member of the Circle suggests that local circles should occasionally hold an evening of song, making use of the “Chautauqua Songs†which have been sent to all members. By doing this in advance of the several Assembly meetings the coming season, they would be prepared to enjoy a general service of song on the C. L. S. C. days.
A lady holding a lucrative position in a Boston printing room writes: “All that the C. L. S. C. has done for me it is impossible to tell. It has helped me to become better acquainted with my Maker and his wonderful works; the history of nations and individuals; created a greater love for solid, instructive reading; better fitted me for teaching in the Sunday-school, and opened avenues for thought,study, and usefulness which, I trust, will make life more successful and useful.â€
“Will you please advise me through the columns ofThe Chautauquanwhat book to procure to learn at home how to speak and write the English language grammatically?†An excellent practical teacher gives the following answer to the above question: “There is no book warranted to turn out good writers and speakers of the English Language. If the person desiring the information is a foreigner—a Frenchman or a German—we could better answer the question. If he is English, with what knowledge does he begin? If with little knowledge, he should use some elementary book, such as Swinton’s ‘Language Lessons,’ or better, Whitney’s ‘How to Speak and Write Correctly.’ If somewhat advanced, some one standard text-book of the English language, some grammar like Brown’s, would be helpful. But better would be the advice to read some masters of English. Read carefully and critically, and try to reproduce such essays as Irving’s, Hawthorne’s, and Longfellow’s. Johnson said, ‘Give days and nights to the study of Addison if you would attain a style familiar but not coarse, elegant but not ostentatious.’ Bunyan is said to have become master of English from the study of the Bible.â€