Goldsboro semi-weekly argus., 1909-12-08

smutty lamp becomes a blazing sur
his page the magic field of fairy-land
His lowly cottage rises to a .lordl,
palace, It's "majestical@ roof, frettet
with golden fire. it's walls resoundin,
to the tread of lordly knights and beau
teous queens. The winged god /.
loose within him, and he ''sees tn,
"he dreams dreams that no morta
ever dared to dream before"
He lives the life of all men. HI
follows with the Indian the fieet-foot
ed deer and feels the abounding joy O.
! the chase. He finds shelter in hi!
| wigwan1, sits at his pow-wows, dances
in his victorious revels, smokes the
pipe Of peace. sees through the mystic
veil Of the future the happy hunting
ground and the great white chief
shares the thrill Of savage joy as the
red man cleaves the scalp Of the pale
face. He climbs with him the heights
Of hill and mountain: threads the
trackless forest and hears the cry OF
vanquished prey or the groan of tor
tured captive
"He lives by the mysterious Nile
amid the vast and monstrous. He
| hears great Memnon's morning song
when marble lips are smitten by the
SUM-
HE sees the castle, the moat, the
| drawbridge, the lady In the tower, and
the knightly lover spurring across the
plain.
HE listens to the eager eloquencc
Of the great Athenian orators. He sits
upon the cliffs and with the tragic
poets hears the 'multitudinous laugh.
ter Of the sea- He is a citizen of
Rome and sees great Caesar with his
legions in the field. He stands with
vast and motley throngs and watches
the triumphs given to victorious men.
followed by uncrowned kings, the
captured hosts, and all the spoils of
ruthless war. He hears the shout tha.
shook the Colisseum's roof1ess walls
when from the reeling gladiators
hand the short sword fell, while from
his bosom gushed the stream of vast
ed 1ife.''
Dream on, lad, dream on, and when
thou shalt awake, let the glory of thy
dream be as the fragrance of sweet
flowers, and let it be as a halo above
all thy works, that thy works may lead
thee in the paths Of peace,
Finally, with Richard deBury, let
me sing the. well-known hymn of
praise to books:
They are masters who instruct us
without rod or ferrule, without angry
words, without clothes or money. If
you come to them they are not asleep;
il you ask and enquire of them, they
do not withdraw themselves; they do
not chide il you make MISTAKES; they
do not laugh at you il you are ignor-
ant; o books who alone are liberal
and free, who give to all who ask OF
you and enfranchise all who serve you
faithfully. By how many thousand
types are ye commended to learned
men. Ye are indeed the most delight
full ears Of corn full of grain, to be
rubbed onl.-by apostolic hands, that
the sweetest food may be produced
for hungry souls. Ye are the golden
pots in which mama is stored, and
rocks flowing with honey, nay combs
Of honey. Ye are the tree of life, and
the fourfold river Of Paradise. Ye are
the golden vessels of the temple, the
arms Of the soldiers of the church;
ye are faithful olives, vines of Engad,
fg-trees that are never barren, burn
ing lamps always to be held in readl-
ness.''
If the unresponsive gods, so often
invoked, so seldom complaisant, would
grant me one sweet boon, I should ask
them that / might have the key to
books-to the rich legacy of all the
dead-"to the treasures of the ~raresu
souls that ever lived and loved, and
wrought of words the statues, pic
lures, robes and gems of thought"
Every schoolboy in North Carolina
every school board in every county
throughout North Carolina should see
to it that every schoolboy in their
county has a copy of this matchIess
address. 1t is an inspiration as well
as guide for every one who reads
it, and his appreciative audience last
night received it with rapturous ap-
plause.
The next on the program was pa
per by Miss Minnie w. Leatherman, of
the State Library Commission, set
ting forth in mastery manner, anu
with inspiring detail, the work and the
possibilities of a library commission.
Miss Leatherman is of winsome per-
aanality and fine reader, and every
5-ord was distinctly heard. Her paper
was as follows:
The Work of Library Commission.
Madame President, Ladies and Gentle
men:
Our system Of popular education is
now complete, beginning as it does
with the kindergarten and gong Oh
through the graded and high school tc
the college and university. We are
1