July 6, 1909

Today, I was working in the Olin Library, and was very distracted from my work. So, I decided to look through the novels in the the French section of the library. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, and nothing was really striking me as interesting. All of a sudden, I noticed a small, old, army-green colored book. It was so old, that the title had rubbed off of the spine and cover, so that you could not read it. I opened the book, and there, written on the first page was a signature (the name is slightly illegible, and the date, "7/6/09." I could not believe my eyes--this was exactly 100 years earlier! It seemed too much like fate, and I had to take the book out.

The book is called L'Abbé Daniel, written by Andre Theuriet; I had never heard of neither the book nor the author. After some research, I found that Monsieur Theuriet had been a lawyer in the late 1800s, who also write novels and poetry, and even won a few awards. This particular book was first published in France in 1893. The copy I found was printed in New York in 1906, as a sort of text book for beginning French students. It inclides an introduction and notes by Robert L. Taylor, PhD., a former French professor at Dartmouth College. The back of the book includes a whole vocabulary section of words in the novel for students to use. I was unable to find any plot synopses of the book, so I have no idea what it is about, but I am very excited to see what is inside this book. I would imagine, just from the title, that it is about a priest named Daniel. I will keep you updated.

This is, quite possibly, the coolest coincidence I have ever experienced.


The front cover of the book--Notice the wear and tear.


The date and the signature on the inside cover.

The title page of the book.



Update, 24 July 2009: The book put me to sleep within the first 3 pages. I hate to say it, but in this case, I had to give up on fate, and return the book without having read it. Oops.