t express the very great pleasure which he felt in
being present on such an interesting occasion, when the
whole community were testifying their appreciation of the
noble Library which had been founded for their benefit.
Indeed he felt it a great honour to have been asked to
present these handsome portraits to Messrs. Guille and
Alles. It would not be necessary for him to dwell at any
length on the antecedents of these gentlemen, who were
well-known in the island. Many years ago Mr. Guille went to
the United States, and there he found the advantages which
accrued from having access to a good library. He then
conceived the idea of one day bestowing a similar boon upon
his own native island, and this project he had been happily
spared to carry out. During his exile the thought had
remained ever with him; he had not allowed business to
engross all his attention; and now that he had returned once
more to settle down in the little rock-bound island-home of
his youth, he was reducing to practice the beneficent plans
of earlier years. He was not content to lead a life of ease
with the produce of his industry, but he had founded an
institution of incalculable value for the moral and
intellectual welfare of the isle. Then there was another
large-hearted Guernseyman, Mr. Alles, who determined that
his old friend Mr. Guille should not be left to carry out
his noble scheme alone. They had long been associated in
business enterprises, and they were now linked in the higher
bond of a common desire for the well-being of their
fellow-citizens. All honour to them for it. The Library told
its own story and needed no encomium. All it wanted was
constant readers and plenty of them, and he could not too
strongly impress upon the people--and especially upon the
rising generation--the immense advantages they would derive
from availing themselves of its literary treasures. In
conclusion, it simply remained for him, on behalf of the
Committee and the Subscribers, to ask Messrs. Guille and
Alles to accept these paintings, which would show to future
generations of Guernseymen the form and features of two
public benefactors who had deserved so well of their country
and their kind.

Mr. Guille, in response, gave a very interesting address in English,
and Mr.