Page:Thoreau - His Home, Friends and Books (1902).djvu/338

304 the racy thoughts which the public has already gleaned in part. It has been my privilege to see these treasured little blank-books, varying in size and somewhat in thickness, though seldom aggregating more than one hundred pages. They are arranged to contain the entries of about six months each; many of them are carefully indexed. Until the last year of his life, when the records are meagre, they were written in ink, in that peculiar, uneven handwriting here reproduced. In examining these little books, carefully treasured to-day in their bank-vault, one realizes how laborious must have been the editing by Mr. Blake, carried on with earnest, devoted enthusiasm, which transformed the difficulties into labors of love. The notes are most puzzling to decipher, both because of the irregularity of the letter-form and also on account of many abbreviations. Interspersed are a few pen-illustrations of the different objects described. The portions of pages, which he extracted for his published work before his last sickness, are carefully indicated; the selections used in preparation for further volumes, during the last months of his life, are also marked with marginal notes. In addition to the journals bearing certain dates, are two volumes of extracts from his thoughts and readings. Nearly all the journals