CHAPTER V. 



BOOKS AND LITERATURE. 



Life out of doors is so abundant and beauti- 

 ful, so running over with excessive fullness, so 

 keen in its joy to every sense-faculty, no won- 

 der it impulses heart-throbs and adds vigor to 

 muscles and tingling to nerves. Foliage is in 

 full color, flowers fill the air, the lawn is tempt- 

 ing to the tread, birds are revelling in gleetide, 

 clouds and winds play endless variations serv- 

 ing the utilities. Delightful outdoor world. 



But here in the library is life, shelves and 

 cases are crowded and charged to the plenum 

 with heart and brain, giving out electric energy 

 responsive to look and touch. Every book has 

 its history, unwritten it may be but there never- 

 theless, a history of purpose and thought and 

 love. What if the authors are gone, and most 

 of them are, it matters not, they served their 

 generation, poured out the wealth of their lives 

 as thank-offering, and the sound of their reced- 

 ing footsteps echoes even yet on the ear. Their 

 service is our heritage. 



What a benediction those invisible hands, 

 67 



