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Copyright, 1903

By L. C. PAGE & COMPANY

(INCORPORATED)

Copyright, 1904

By L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)

All rights reserved

Published August, 1904

Third Impression, July, 1908

COLONIAL PRESS

Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co.
Boston, Mass., U.S.A.

10 VIMU

CYTILOKMIY

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THERE is a delightful Oriental superstition, my dear "Moonshine," which declares that on the last day every artist will be called upon to endow each of his creations with a soul. I should be the last one to feel perfect confidence in denying the possibility of such a fancy, or in affirming that only living beings can have real personality. I prefer to believe with the Greeks that every stream and tree has its own indwelling divinity, a spiritual as well as a material identity, bestowed upon it by the Creator to be the informing principle of its growth and beauty. Why, then, may we not think that the creative work of men's hands is imbued with a similar essence, - that every abode, like every shrine, is pervaded by its distinct and individual tutelary presence?

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At the very writing of your name in the inditing of this dedication, you seem something more than a mere house of wood in the green forest. I seem to myself to be addressing a beloved friend, sure of a sympathetic hearing and an appreciative understanding of my fanciful enthusiasm such as are not always accorded us by our fellow mortals. How shall I account for this magical delusion?

What loving heart first dreamed you,— what mastery made the dream come true? No mere fortuitous industry, I am sure, could have created your sightly structure of wood and nails, mortar and bricks and coloured stain. For beauty is never an accident, nor charm and loveliness the results of reckless chance. Every sill and rafter, every board and beam in your roof and walls, had brave life through long years of sun and rain, of winds and frost upon the mountainside, before it was chosen by destiny for a place in your builded beauty. And now, as you stand in your serene silence, I doubt not, all the

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