Questionable Amusements and Worthy Substitutes

J. M. Judy turns the body into a besieged house: when Tobacco barges in, the nerves and blood vessels fight back as if a deadly intruder were rattling the windows. Why, he asks, mistake that struggle for pleasure?

Writing in 1904, the Rev. Judy addresses a church troubled by spiritual indifference and a familiar question: how should people spend their leisure? His essays take up tobacco, drunkenness, gambling, dancing, and theater-going—not only to warn against them, but to offer alternatives in reading, friendship, travel, and home life. His argument is earnest and practical: taking away a habit is not enough if nothing worthy takes its place. Can a better amusement do more than fill the hours—and help reshape a life?

With centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world.

Who are we? We're Cairn Press. Our background is in design, publishing, typography, and technology. These skills fuel our mission to create the highest quality Public Domain eBooks available online, at an affordable price. We give them the treatment they deserve; our proprietary process restores books for a better overall user experience in design, readability, and e-reader compatibility.