AN END TO BEAUTIFUL THINGS

 

Battered , foxed , spine  cover  torn  away and  soiled,  the  above  book, found in a North Queensland dump shop, was published  in  London , November 1939 ,  soon   after  the  outbreak  of   WWll.

The wide ranging  contents , profusely illustrated,  chosen from the life and literature of the world by  Arthur Mee, editor of the Children's Newspaper,  was  first  published in  1925 ;  it  was reprinted  each  year  up  until 1932, again in   l934,  in 1936 , with  a gap  until  fateful  1939, not  followed by  beautiful  things . 

Strangely , a  considerable  number of  the  so-called  beautiful  things  came   out  of   wars  . Indeed , one  of  the  illustrations  is  of   the   Tomb of  Britain's  Unknown  Warrior  of  WWl  in  Westminster  Abbey . 

Another is  the dramatic statue  of  Peace , with  wings, flying  over  London. The "Great War " coverage includes  extracts from  speeches made  by Woodrow Wilson  about  America's entry into the  war  and  after  the   conflict. 

In the latter , he  recalled  how he had ridden through  the  streets of European capitals and  heard  cries for  the League of Nations  (to be formed ) from the lips of people who had no particular notion  of  how it  was  to be done , but  whose  hearts  said  something  must  come  of  this .

On the  monetary cost of  wars  it was stated  the amount spent on war could clothe every man, woman and child in an attire of  which  kings and queens would be proud . A  school house could be  built in  every valley  on Earth ,  a place of  worship  could be  built on  every  hillside . 

There is a short quote  from Australian poet and horseman  Adam Lindsay Gordon about life being mostly froth and bubble, however, kindness  in another's trouble  and  courage on your own , stand out . 

There are  stirring  items from Captain Robert  Falcon Scott, one written as he lay dying  in his  tent  in  Antarctica .

Under the  heading, The Price of Freedom , there is a short speech from  the  Italian   general   Garibaldi to  his soldiers. The  death of  Admiral Nelson , Captain Francis  Drake  ; the  Crimean war and other  conflicts are   mentioned. 

The  contents list includes a heading  Babies and battles which carried the message that  when  the  world was  consumed by  the  march of  Napoleon , in one year  , between the  battles of  Trafalgar and  Waterloo, God arranged for a  host of  heroes  to be born into the world .

Gladstone  was born  in Liverpool ; Tennyson at  the Somersby Rectory ; Oliver  Wendell Holmes  in  Massachusetts ; Charles Darwin also made his debut at Shrewsbury ; Abraham Lincoln  drew  his first breath in old Kentucky ; music  was  enriched  by  the  advent of  Felix  Mendelsson  at  Hamburg .

This, it continued, was proof that  God did not need  battalions to  manage his world  - he used "beautiful babies ."  When  a wrong wanted righting , or a truth wanted  preaching , or a continent wanted  opening , God sent a baby  into  the  world  to  do  it .