| The Life of Dr. J.R. Miller |
Chapter 9 |
Page 6 |
But the best critics are those who buy and read books. These were not slow to express themselves about Dr. Miller’s work. Nearly every morning’s mail brought one or more notes of appreciation from some one who had been helped by a volume of comfort, or inspired to nobler living by a message prepared by one who was learning the lesson of life in the school of his Friend Jesus Christ. Sometimes praise was laughingly given, as when a father wrote that his daughters had a good natured dispute every evening as to who should have the great privilege of reading a chapter in the latest volume, or when one told that a boy, asked if he was fond of a certain popular book of adventure, said, “Yes, it means as much to me as the last of Dr. Miller’s books means to mother.”
Perhaps one of the best criticisms of Dr. Miller’s books ever made came from a humble reader in England:
“It does seem to me the most wonderful thing in the world, when I consider your high standing and the many calls upon your time, that you should be so kind to me and give me so much of your help and thought. Do you know I think God must have meant you to be my teacher, because I can understand you so quickly and because it is such an intense joy to learn from you. I have been reading Emerson’s Essays lately and like them very much, but not all in the same way I like your books; for when I read Emerson I am at school; when I read your books I am resting at home.”
In the same mail would come letters from readers at home and from readers beyond the sea. One day a message from the homeland said:
“I have for twenty years been an invalid, and have had so many solitary hours, so many silent times, when the companionship of your books was comforting, inspiring and uplifting, that I love them.”
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