Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1908-01-13
THE MOST HELPFUL BOOKS.

even the n-ost resoiase and lndcpcn-
dent Of q hzs this ne a. IL i feel
Ing that for ~ the puzzles and psos-
lens that taa rs we must draw iron
some source SStslde ourselves eour-
age, f4i,h and >nowiedge 10 supple
m-us our aow.
To oar books &c may turn at any
time for iusE sach haIp aud inspErA
lion. There th.y stand, such hoe;
Of friends, some IN beautifl.' raiment !
scarcely show Ing any wear. These 1
are such as We knoS but slightly, TO
some perhaps are have only been In
trodnccd in oeremonious fashion. |
But near by stand our old friends, |
their clothing may be shabby from |
long wear, bu. what matters It? /
They have the help we need and We
viii go 70 them frst. last, and always
when the need OF help Is present.
Henry Van Dyke says, al want the
books that help me out Of the vAcan-
ey and despair OF frivolous mind,
out OF the tangle and confusion OF a
society that Is buried - bEic-a-brac,
oat OF the meAnness OF uufee Ing
mockery and the heaviness OF in
cessani mlr,h, into a hotter and
serener region, where through the
clear air OF serious thoughts, can
learn 10 look soberly and orAyely up
on the mingled misery and spleEdoT
Of human existence, then 60 down
with cheerful courage TO play
mans part Ia the life which Christ
has forever enobled By his divine pre-
sence.n
just such a book We have In our
Bible. Poets Ike Shakespeare, Milton
and Wordsworth, novellsts like
, Scott, and romances like Hawthorne,
essayists like Bacon and Addison,
, critics OF life, unsystematic phIloso
pliers ike Carlyle and Razkin, all
draw upon the Bible as treasury OF
illustrations and use 10 a. a book
equally familiar 10 themselves and
: 10 their readers. IL Is impossible to
pot too high a value upon such uni
versal volume even as a mere liter
;, airy possession, 1T forms a bond of syn
: patty between the most cultivated OF
the people, and the same book lies
upon the desk OF the scholar, and in
the most humble home.
Whatever our need, as We come q
the friend the help Is always ready
:, Happy Is the one who in CHILDHOOD
learned by heart portions of this
wonderful book The Psalms, tn,
. Beatitudes, the sermon on the mount
the chapter beginning, "Let not you
heart be troubled" giving us the ful
assurance OF the many mansions II
our Fathers house. When our need o
help Is deepest, here We rlways turi
aud from here we wander on TO III
many beautiful poems that hav
olossomed in the very valley OF tn
= Shadow OF Death, f" many OF them q
noble as TO be forever illustrious
Auopg them all none Is more rich 4
- significance, more perfect in beaut
!. of form and spirit, or more luminou
= with the triumph OF light and low
" over darkness and mortality tina
Tennyson's "In MemoriAm,n Whlttie
comes TO US at such times with sweet
mess OF sympathy aud assur rance tha
allho "ge know not wheFeIIis island
- ltt their fronded palms Ia air, Ne onl
know We cannot drift beyond His lov
= and care 'Saow- bound, - tn
= Eternal Goo6ness," My Psalm
:. and many others among Walter
- poems are ike balm = bruised an
. broken hearts.
While poetry must be sensitive
"a sorrow and acqlai nted with grief, !
- true mission Is TO bring JOY. it HI
= wings given to IL, in order that 1t ma
bear Us mp into the atmosphere
gladness. So when hardships are
be faced, Browning's rabbi Be
- Ezran bids US Welcome each rebu
that turns earths' smoothuess rough
and as we read IL through and the
reread IL, Il fairly sweeps Us along wii
IL, till we can rejoice even IN Il
midst OF suffering iast to feel on
selves a part OF the Masters gre
plan. A very just estimate Of q
poetry of Shakespeare IL found
that delightful litile tale o. Laura
:, Richards, Captain January.v Doub
less the story Ia familiar TO most of
a. the old lighthouse keeper and b
-. faithful loving care OF the little bal
washed up TO bis lonely island of q
Maine coast, the ooly survivor fro
a wreck How when she grew 10
- OF an age when her ednca.ion sholl
be seriously thought OF he rowed ov'
TO wn and laid the case before q
minister. He told the good man tn
"a this child was OF gentle folks and mo