Thomas Welton Stanford Library: contents of cornerstone box, 1898

Palo Alto Menlo Park November 1st 1898 Cal

Among the contents placed in [crossed out] of the copper box, which will be placed in the corner stone of the Thomas Welton Stanford Library building tomorrow the second day of November I have put a Crucifix which stands for my faith in Jesus the Crucified One and I wish it perpetuated and interwoven with the erection of

every structure on the Campus. Thus far the Crucifix has been placed with the Bible in each corner stone, one in the quadrangle one in the Museum and this in the Library Building

Since the placing of the corner stone in the Museum building, very many experiences have come into my life. On 1893 June 21st, my dear husband was suddenly and unexpectedly called from Earth life to the

(life beyond this sir)[crossed out] to the "Fair Beyond" there followed this dreadful sorrow developments and experiences such as the world could not understand or believe. They are far beyond my wish or my ability to portray. For a while I felt like one on a sinking ship on a temptuous sea. I stood motionless and alone. knowing the only anchor which earth life had given me to lean on had been taken from me and while the

others around me were each securing life preservers to save themselves from destruction for during that year there was such a financial crisis as we have not experienced before. I was dumb with agony and sorrow over my desolate condition dumb with the evidences of selfishness, greed avarice, the demands made upon me for the pound of flesh. God forbid that any one whom I love should go through such trials

3 To this proposition I could not consent and made a new one to him that I would accept half if he would take the other half and allow me to ake the half I retained and build a Library with it calling it The Thomas W. Stanford Library his gift to the latter he did not consent but expressed his regret that I did not apply it to my self - as I have had no needs for help that have