NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
A Talk About Books 
‘Books cannot always please, however good: 
Minds are not ever craving for their 
HE problem of the selection of books 
for a public library—in a small 
town—is always a perplexing one, 
especially of books other than fiction. 
When books that have been put into a 
library, remain on the shelves, and are 
not taken out, those making the selec- 
tion naturally ask themselves the ques- 
tion was their judgment at fault in 
choosing those books? 
In going over the books in the ease, 
in the reading-room of the Manchester 
Publie Library, set apart for works of 
non-fiction, a number of books were 
found that had not been taken out 
even once. It may be that the library 
does not advertise its wares enough. 
If it could be managed, I think there 
should be printed in the local papers a 
short review of each and every book 
that is put into our library. 
if that were done, no one would have 
the exeuse of not knowing what books 
were being put into the library, If 
they are not taken out, a library be- 
comes ‘‘only a cemetery for books.’’ 
One very interesting book that fail- 
ed to attract readers was ‘‘ Recollec- 
tions of an Alienist’’ by Allen McLane 
Hamilton, The author was the grandson 
of Alexander Hamilton, the famous See- 
retary of Treasury in Washington’s cab- 
inet. He was a celebrated physician, 
a specialist in diseases of the mind. 
Dr. Hamilton was a great traveler, and 
became acquainted with many famous 
men all over the world. He was a 
great story teller and his ‘‘ Recollee- 
tions’? make very fascinating reading. 
The: headings of some _ entertaining 
chapters are: ‘‘Studying Medicine,’’ 
‘< Harly Struegles.’’ “Vacations 
Abroad,’’ ‘‘My Life in Jondon,’’ 
‘“Strange Cases,’’ ‘‘ Judges, Experts 
and Juries’’ and ‘‘A Visit to Mrs. 
Mary Baker Eddy.’’ 
We supposed that most everybody 
would be interested in children and 
that a book like ‘*The Child in Human 
Progress’’ would 'have many readers, 
but such was not the case, for this 
book has never been taken out. It 
traces the history of the child from 
primitive times to the present. It 
shows that in early times very little 
value ‘was placed on the life of 
the child and that the progress in 
civilization of any country could be 
measured by its treatment of its chil- 
dren, This book conveys to the reader 
a good deal of information in a very 
attractive form. 
Another book not called for was 
‘An Autobiography’? by Edward Liv- 
ineston Trudeau. This man was a 
pioneer in the fresh air treatment of 
tubereulosis and built the first sani- 
tarium in this country for the care of 
those suffering from the ‘‘white 
plaoue,’?’ 
His life was an example of what 
may be accomplished even under very 
great difficulties. He was a young 
physician practicing in New York 
when he became a victim of tubereu- 
losis. His ease was a bad one and no 
hope was held out for his recovery. He 
By ROT ie 
went up into the Adirondacks, not very 
far from Saranac Lake. After living 
there for several years he partially re- 
gained his health and started to prac- 
tice medicine again. He came in ¢con- 
tact with many patients suffering like 
himself from consumption. He decided 
to built a small place to take care of 
persons of limited means who were af- 
flicted with tuberculosis. 
This was the beginning of the world 
famous Saranac Lake Sanitarium, which 
at the time of his death had thirty-six 
buildings and an endowment of six 
hundred thousand dollars. His most 
noted patient was Robert Louis Steven- 
son, who was under his care at Lake 
Saranac from Oct., 1887, to April, 1888. 
The novelist became very found of 
Doctor Trudeau and after he left he 
sent him a set of his works. In each 
book he had written a verse dedicating 
the volume to some member of the 
family. In ‘‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’’ 
he wrote: 
“Trudeau 
side 
I never spied the nose of Mr. Hyde.’’ 
The reading of this book brings the 
reader in touch with a beautiful and 
inspiring character, 
We hear so much about the Red 
Cross—the only silver lining to the 
great war cloud that hangs over our 
sad world today—that you would think 
people would want to know something 
about the life of the woman who labored 
so long and hard to bring about the 
organization of the American National 
Red Cross. 
I was consequently very much sur- 
prised to find that ‘‘The life of Clara 
Barton,’’ which was put into the Man- 
chester Library Dec. 4, 1915, had not 
been taken out. 
Clara Barton was one of the great 
women of the world. Her life history 
is a thrilling one, and is a good illus- 
tration of what may be overcome by 
will power. She was by. nature very 
timid, yet she became ‘‘The Angel of 
the Battlefield’? during the four years 
of the Civil War. 
She was born on Christmas day, 1821, 
in a farm house at North Oxford, Mass. 
She had a very happy childhood among 
the New England hills. 
At the age of eleven she nursed her 
brother through a very serious illness. 
After teaching school for 18 years 
she got a government position which 
she held for several years. Miss Barton 
was in Washington at the outbreak of 
the Civil War and offered her services 
as a nurse. She took care of the sick 
and wounded soldiers on the battlefield 
and in the hospitals. She had unusual 
executive ability and a determination 
and persistance that overcame almost 
insurmountable obstacles. For four 
awful years this brave woman _ had 
given of her best to care for the suf- 
ering of the sick and wounded; but 
still another task was in store for her. 
‘“The Quartermaster of the Federal 
Army reported 359,528 deaths among 
the Northern troops during the war and 
yas all the winter at my 
food ”’ 
315,555 graves. Of these only 172,400 
were indentified. This means that 143,- 
155 lay in graves unidentified and un- 
known, 
** Added to this the thousands of mis- 
sing still alive and the many thousands 
.of unlocated prisoners rolled up a list 
unspeakably appalling. What had be- 
come of these men was a source of in- 
quiry of tens of thousands of grief- 
stricken relatives.’’ 
Thesé many enquiries overwhelmed 
the great heart of President Lincoln 
and he summoned Miss Barton to take 
up the work of trying to restore the 
living to their friends, and locate the 
last resting place of the unknown dead. 
She spent nearly four years in this 
work and had the blessing of many a 
fond mother, wife and _ sister from 
Maine to California. 
During 1869 she became seriously ill 
with nervous prostration and was ord- 
ered abroad for her health. She went 
to Switzerland and while there the 
Franco-Prussian war broke out. Miss 
Barton’s reputation had preceeded her 
and the Red Cross which had been or- 
ganized by the Geneva Convention of 
1864 appealed to her for advice and 
help. 
Although ill at the time she went and 
gave them the benefit of her great 
knowledge acquired through her four 
years’ labor of love. Her experience 
during the Franco-Prussian war made 
her an enthusiastic advocate of the Red 
Cross, and make her ashamed of her 
own country whic’ was almost alone 
among the civilized nations of the 
world in not having accepted the 
Treaty of Geneva establishing the Red 
Cross, 
The Treaty was not signed by this 
country till 1882. The President of 
the International Red Cross said in 
Geneva at the convention held Sept. 
1882, referring to the birth of the 
American Red Cross: ‘Its whole his- 
tory is associated with a name already 
known to vou—that of Miss Clara 
Barton; without the energy and per- 
severance of this remarkable woman, 
we should not for a long time have had 
the pleasure of seeing the Red Cross 
received in the United States.’’ 
Miss Barton lived long enough to see 
the Red Cross relieve a great deal of 
suffering in civil disasters and during 
the Snanish-American war, and that it 
was able to do so much good, was in a 
large measure due to the ability and 
devotion of its noble founder. 
A small volume of some 125 pages, 
entitled ‘‘The Story of the Battle 
Hymn of the Republic’? by Florence 
Howe Hall is another book not taken 
out. Every American should know 
something about the history of this 
famous hymn. 
This little book tells how this hymn 
eame to be written. If these noble 
words stirred the hearts of the soldiers 
of the time of the Civil War they 
should apneal to us now in these heart- 
reaching times, 
May 25,1917. 
