A cropped photograph of the first page of the preface in the "Meteors, Aerolites, Storms, and Atmospheric Phenomena" volume of the Illustrated Library of Wonders, published in 1876. The page is slightly yellowed from age, and the beveled edges of an ovular "Providence Public Library" stamp can be seen at the top of the paragraph. The text in the photograph reads: "The nations of antiquity contemplated the grand spectacles that Nature offers with emotions different from ours. Their admiration partook more largely of amazement and fear. We read in the Vedas, or sacred books of India, the following sentences: 'Will the sun rise again? 'Will our beloved aurora return? 'Will the powers of the night be conquered by the god of day?' To us these questions seem strange. Were they put in earnest? Were the men of the earliest ages serious when they asked themselves anxiously at night whether the light of day would overcome the darkness, and reappear at dawn to restore sunshine, heat, and life, to the world?"