The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-03-15
REPORT OF SECRETARY OF WO-
MANS CLUB AND LIBRARY ASSO-
CITATION FOR YEAR ENDING
MARCH End, 1881.
Mrs President and Ladies:

Since it is my DUTY as your Secretary
anu recorder OF events to make a truthful
ana honest report Of the status of the Wo-
mans Club and Library Association, it
gives me great pleasure to be able to say
that It's AFFAIRS, Intellectually, socially and
financially, have not since its formation and
Introduction to the public been in a more
sound and satisfactory condition than at
this present time. Entering upon its sew.
enth year OF existence, with all its inter- SITS
most harmonlousIy adjusted we have every
reason to congratulate ourselves upon our
work IN the past, and to look hopefully to-
ward that OF the future. The wear lust
closed has been one Of encouragement and
prosperity and there has been "A quiet
healthlul growth which, while it has been
unobtrusve has been none the less genuine.
During the year the meetings have been
held regularly, the greater number having
large attendance of members
and visitors, who have enjoyed the
excellent literary entertainments provided
by the committees in charge These en-
tertaInments have been Of a varied and ill.,
sructlve nature, embracing Interesting
| biographies OF the poets, Burns, Moore,
| Bryant and Shakespeare, with valuable
selections from their writings, Two orig.
mai poems have been given-one upon
Thomas Moore; the other, entitled Out of
the Depths Three papers, one upon The
Eighth Congress for Women IN Boston;
another upon Household Decoration in its
relation to Home Culture, and the third
upon Journeyings Through Sicily, Malta
and Tunis, appropriately illustrated by
| photographs, costumes, marbles, etc, have
helped to fill the time and thoughts of
| those in attendance with valuable sup-
gestons and noble ASPIRATIONS, that have
doubtless lightened the round of daily labor
and narrow details of every day life, and
excluded, perhaps, some pcttier aims and
temptations to indulge in selfish ambi-
| tons.
AcIub for mutual improvement, honestly
managed and conscientously attended with
narrow trivial influences carefully excluded,
and personal feelings set aside, each mem
Der working for the greatest benefit of a
common interest, must be power for Good
IN the lives OF its members, and exert
reflex influence upon society. The most
practical literary work of the club has been
done since last May in tie weekly meet
ings of the study class, where the facinat-
ing study of English literature has been
pursued by a few OF the members who in
spite of home cares and other duties, have
found time enough to give two or three
hours week to their own self improve
ment.
! regret that a larger number of our la
dies cannot arrange to avail themselves of
the opportunity TO cultivate their own lit
erary tastes and qualify themselves to bet
ter direct aud encourage proper course of
reading in their families. The membership
of the association has increased in a graft
! flying degree, ten members having been
! added since our last anniversary meeting.
| among them one of our recent high school
graduates, whose good example would
forcibly cite to the large number of other
young ladies whose ample leisure could he
pleasantly employed in widening their own
culture. and advancing the interests of an
institution which must be considered
public benefactor, the one around which
all creeds and classes should rally with
their generous supports one which is con
servator of public morals, and business
enterprise that will always pay compound
interest on the original Investment. Two
dollars year, four cents week cannot be
better invested than for good wholesome
reading. There should be to-day five hun
bred library tickets scattered through the
city, one or more in every intelligent fam
iIy If "a good book is trusty friend"
fortunate is he who has hundreds of true
friends to whom he can turn in hours of
loneliness, veXatlon or vicissitude. The
past year has decreased our number for the
first time by death, and it is with unfeipn-
ed sorrow that we have dropped from our
roll Of membership the name of Mrs. w.
W. Thornton We remember her warm
interest in our work from its beginning, her
many good qualities as mother, wife and
friend, and her cordial sympathy with all
things noble, phianthropic and helpful.
Our sincere and heartfelt sympathy has
been extended to her bereaved family. and
we gratefully recognize the Divine power
that has kept unbroken by death until
now, the little band that six
years ago began the work that
has been prospered beyond our expecta.
tons We hardly dreamed among the dis.
couragements of the first few months, that
in six years we should possess such val
liable and well selected library, and such
a beautiful library room, which is
not only delight and comfort to ourselves
but surprise to strangers who visit our
city and find their way within its CHEEKY
walls. II books. paintings, statuary and |
curosities from foreign lands are evidences
of a seeking after culture and higher
plane of living, then to the eyes of stran.
gers there must be promise of better
things in Cairo than the reputation of our
much abused city would warrant. 1t
might seem creditable thing that from a
library Of less than two thousand volumes,
1888 were drawn and read during the past
year, and that while of course the greaternum
Der Of these were fiction, always remember
ing that the fiction is Of the best sort as
far as may be-, yet many were histories,
biographies and travels, while TRANSACTIONS
from Homer, Plato and other classical wr;.