?The library of the Mechanics' Institute gave me the opportunity to read some books which were then new to me, among them being, I remember, "Adam Bede", and other of George Eliot?s novels. My appetite for Ruskin had been whetted by his "Unto this Last", which I had read with care and keen appreciation. Ruskin?s works were at the time beyond the reach of my slender purse. Now I read with delight his "Crown of Wild Olive", his "Sesame and Lilies", and other of his smaller books. These, together with his "Modern Painters", I soon afterwards added to my own little library, as well as a complete set of George Eliot?s works. Next to Wordsworth I do not think any writer has influenced me more deeply and more healthily than Ruskin.?