THE STUDENTS JOURNAL.
we have olitude our only hard at it may
RING
7
and dry opp their much of way on theanic conld have taken a divests bottom of beforet more ones out obliged d goes
er, and
and look-
for flow-
and will
arrowed.
arch for
seen told,
the thorns
But we
the path,
of our
are not
grew in Now
e poet's upon a 's over-
war is a thing of the past and of the future; there are no mighty deeds to commemorate, no flowers to grow. The literary minds of the West, already overworked by the production of plays, poems, and articles for the press, are unable to proceed further.
This is of course but keeping pace with the world in its period of depression. Business is dead, crops are dying, Spring is gone; and with them pass away the poet's fancy and the editor's inspiration. If perchance there's any inspiration left in the heated brain of a literary editor, along comes the fruit peddler and drives it to regions far away.
The fruit peddler is a flower peculiar to this season of the year. It is a comparatively new species, belonging to the family Compositae, and has been appropriately named "poet'sbane." If this unsightly flowering weed continues its rapid increase in the land, it may reasonably be expected that the race of poets will become extinct.
To gain free play in its wild search for a flower, fancy led the young man to where the "woodbine twineth," and where alas the jigger biteth. Not even fancy can withstand the jigger. All hope is dead and fancy fled.
AT THE UNIVERSITY.
Students of last year, on their return in a few weeks, will find that notwithstanding their absence the University has been a busy place this summer. A number of scientific expeditions consisting of professors and students, have been sent out, and some have already returned with much valuable material; work on buildings and equipment has been busily carried on, and a number of the undertakings are now completed or are rapidly nearing completion.
THE SPOONER LIBRARY.
The library building, the external portion of which was completed some time ago, is now being finished as rapidly as possible in the interior in order that the books may be put in place before the opening of the Fall term. The book stack, it is hoped, will be finished about the fifteenth of this month, and the rooms of the main structure a few days later.
Already enough is done to show what will be the general appearance of the interior. And it is safe to say that when, not long after the opening of the Fall term, the building is thrown open to the public on the day of dedication, and its beauty and elegance of finish, as well as convenience and completeness of appointments are seen, all will declare that in this structure "Erected in 1894, by the generosity of William B. Spooner, of Boston, Massachusetts, Merchant and Philanthropist, Born 1806, Died 1880," as the inscription tells us, the Spooner Bequest has found a most noble use, and the University has a library building which is all that could be desired.
The finish of the library building is much the finest of any building on the hill. The woodwork is of brown ash, the walls are tinted and the floors of hard pine. The rooms will be lighted by electricity There will be in all five hundred incandescent lights, the reading room which occupies the larger part of the first story alone containing one hundred and ninety-seven lights. This large number of lights is used to give a diffused light making equal the illumination in all parts of the room.
We shall endeavor to give an idea of the general arrangement of the building. In the picture of Spooner Library, which is to be found in the group of buildings in the cut accompanying this sketch, the west and south sides of the main structure are shown; and a small portion of the roof and south wall of the book stack are visible at the eastern end. The book stack is five stories high, each story being eight feet high, and having a capacity of 20,000 volumes. The book stack has, therefore, a total capacity of 100,000 volumes, and is fire proof. The only wood used in its construction is in the window frames. The walls are the brick walls of the building, and they, as well as the iron work, are to be painted white. The room is occupied by the iron frame-work. Iron uprights extend from the cement floor of