Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-07-24
Boston Public Library.

Boston is a university of itself. TO walk
its streets, continually thronged with peo-
pie of all classes and nationallties, is to
have an unequaIed opportunity for the
study of human nature. 70 gaze at the
stately civil and religious structures rs
they grandly tower above surrounding OBJ
jecLs, is to become imbued with ailments
Of majesty and true sublimity. To wan
der through the Common and public gar
den, where flowers and shrubUery, foun-
tain and lake, statue and column greet the
eye. is to possess II rare chance to pro-
mote the culture of the aesthetic and the
love of the beautiful. To tread the very
spot where Warren fell; to cross the iden-
teal place where those brave Boston boys
demonstrated 10 General Gage against the
wanton destruction of their forts and roads
to look with reyerent eye ON Fanueil Hall,
made sacred by thousand recolections;
to tread the floor of the capitol, where
have pres ed the feet of Webster, an Ev-
erett, IA Sumner and Il Wilson rs they
spoke noble and eloquent words for hu-
manily and the right, is to become imbued
with something of the heroic spirit and
lofty patriotism of these old-time states
men. To linger in the courts of justice
where right, justice and impartiality have
not lost their ancient prestige, where cor
ruption is as yet stranger and the ermine
is not ye: 81 aimed with the guilt of bribery,
where are yet gathered the creme de Ia
creme of the legal profession, is to grasp
the ideal Of true government and just ex-
ecution of the laws To sit in the lecture
room and listen to the silver-tongued Phil
lips. the Nestor of American orators, TO
hear the graphic descriptions and thrilling
appeals of II Cough; to sometime catch
the words of wisdom rs they fall from the
lips of the venerable and revered Emer-
son; to be held hour after hour by the
dogmatic utterances of Cook; to be en-
tranced by the eloquence of host of
others like Beecher, CoIlyer and Parsons,
is 10 have the privilege Of setting at the
feet and learning the ways of life and i'm
mortality from an array of talent, the like
of which has not bcen seen since Plato
and Socrates walked the groves of the
academy and pondered the mysteries of
existence. 70 revrl amid the beauties of
the museum. where Iletven-borI genius
has consecratcd the divine offspring;
where the walls are grlced with paintings
such rs a Raphael or an Angelo might
have envleh, where are inches adorned
with statues which might we'll have borne
the impress Of "a Pnilas; where we are
brought face TO face with the nations of
tn, cad rs we behold the shriveled num-
mics OF Egypt gli II and tenantless armor
hacked and batteled in score of battles,
gorgeous tapstry, once the adornment of
royal palaces, vases and pottcry wrought
| by hands long since crumbled into dust,
we are lost in admiration and wonder, so
rich are the treasures, SO varied the dis.
play.
But the crowning glory OF the city, and
one whose advantages the citizens are
never weary of recounting, is the public
library. In numbers this magnificent col
lection is excelled by none in America
save the Congressional at Washington; in
choice of books it is unequaleL. While
the Bodleian. the Paris and the British
museums have been cent ,ries in collecting,
and have been under the continual patron
age of long line of kings and MOBILES
who have We'd with each other in bestow-
ing rare and valuable works, our library
is scarcely more than quarter of CEN
tury OLD, has received but few gifs' and is
mainly the product of our own industry
and thrift. So great having been the
progress in the past, for what may we
hope in the future?
Previous to the year lS4S several at
tempts were made to found library, but
none were successful. That year, an act
was passed authorizing the city to estab-
ish and maintain public library. The