opened to the public in 1866, the latter in 1865. The Reference Library is truly a vast treasure-house of every department of human learning; and, to use an American simile of hospitality, "you will always find the latch-string outside the door," The lofty circular hall represents the sphere of knowledge it embraces. The Philosopher, the Historian, Theologian, Lawyer, Inventor, and Scientific Mechanic may each find here an almost boundless mine from which he may draw, as cheaply as water, the most valuable deposits of thought, observation, and fact. Here a poor but earnest learner may explore a volume which cost more than a small farm in Illinois, and transfer the whole harvest of its wisdom into his own stock of knowledge. Here an inventive mind may run through the whole forest of Patents, Improvements, and Mechanical Suggestions which a century of the world's best genius has produced. As an illustration of the richness of this special department, so valuable to this great mechanical community, the fact may suffice, that it contains 2,030 Specifications of Patents. The whole number of volumes in the Reference Library is 18,225. The Arts and Sciences number 1,968 volumes on the list; History and Biography, 3,637; Poetry and the Drama, 720. As an indication of how much this great storehouse of knowledge is used and appreciated, the daily average issue of books for
