The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1963, Qupperneq 25

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
23
FROM
J^eaveA and J^ettexA
by BALDUR JONSSON
Publidhex’i Joxewoxd and d^eaf the Sixst
Fortunately we all, even in the very uncertainties of the world of
today, find time to pause and for the moment live in that world of
quiet and peace which the late Baldur Jonsson immortalized in “Leaves
and Letters”. Even though literally on his deathbed, the time allotted
to him here on Earth was something he could feast upon in serenity and
calm of mind. That feast he did not hoard but passed on that it might
be shared.
The Publisher’s Foreword and Leaf the First follow. Neither is
dated; both are dateless. The First Leaf is as fresh as when it first
opened. The invitation in the Foreword is as appealing as when at first
it was extended almost half a century ago.
Baldur Jdnsson died at Ninette Sanitorium September 23, 1917.
—Editor.
PUBLISHER’S FOREWORD
Few Things are more attractive in literature, and nothing is rarer, than
the ring of originality. So much copywork is foisted upon the reading
public—and not always first-hand copies—that a note of originality
comes as a bolt from the blue.
What will strike the reader first in the random essays of this
volume is the absence of imitation. They are fresh, spontaneous, and
essentially wholesome. The style is somewhat heavy at times, but never
labored, and in parts beautiful.
The whole was written under the greatest strain, borne with the
heroic fortitude so modestly manifest throughout. The “Idler” was no
idler from choice, but a man detached by force of circumstance, looking-
out upon the strife and busy-ness of the world, while taking no part;
yet we feel that the smoke of battle, at times wafted his way, was as
breath to his nostrils. Fighting a losing game against an incurable
disease, looking death bravely in the eye, he confessed to paper the
beautifid life-philosophy so beautifully expressed in these pages. His