For Book Borrowers. I of my Spenser quite bereft, Last winter sore was shaken; They pick'd my Locke, to me far more Without a Home on earth. They still have made me slight returns, But all I think I shall not say, For as they have not found me Gay, From Notes and Queries. The World of Dickens. In honor of its "Memorial Edition of Charles Dickens," the Daily News Weekly has lately offered to the world a complete examination in that author's work. The competition is interesting if only because by a hundred pinpricks of suggestion, and provocations of memory, it sends us back to our Dickens to learn how little we know of that fantastic world of which he was the creator. The questions were twenty-five in number, modelled, of course, upon Calverley's famous "Pickwick" examination paper. Here is one: "Show the connection between poultry and elephants which, strange as it may seem, is made plain in one of the novels. The reference is to "Dombey and Son." The Game Chicken remonstrates with Mr. Toots for his poor spirit in refraining from "blowing on this here match (of Florence and Walter) to the Stiff'un." "My sentiments is Game and Fancy, Master," returned the chicken. "That's wot my sentiments is. I can't abear a meanness. I'm afore the public. I'm to be heard of at the bar o' the Little Helephant, and no governor o' mine musn't go and do what's mean." This is almost too ingenious. Again, the demand for a parallel to "There's a young 'oman on the next form but two as has drunk nine breakfast cups and a half, and she is swelling wisibly before my eyes," is not too well fulfilled in the reference to Dora's housekeeping, given in David Copperfield's words: "But I apprehend that we were personally unfortunate in engaging a servant with a taste for cordials, who swelled our account for porter at the public-house by such inexplicable items as 'quarteru rum shrub (Mrs. C.),' 'half-quartern gin and cloves (Mrs. C.),' 'glass rum and pepper-mint (Mrs. C.),' the parenthesis always referring to Dora, who was supposed, it appeared on explanation, to have imbibed the whole of these refreshments." An admirable answer has been furnished in response to the question asking for an example of Dickens' portraiture of the power of love : "I pledge you my professional word I didn't even know she could dance till her last benefit, and then she played Juliet, and Helen Macgregor, and did the skipping-rope hornpipe between the pieces. The very first time I saw that admirable woman, Johnson," said Mr. Crummles, drawing a little nearer, and speaking in a tone of confidential friendship," she stood upon her head on the buttend of a spear, surrounded with blazing fire-works." "You astonish me !" said Nicholas. "She astonished me!" returned Mr. Crummles, with a very serious countenance. "Such grace coupled with such dignity-I adored her from that moment!" This is, of course, from Actor-Manager Crummles' eulogy of his distinguished spouse, in "Nicholas Nickleby." Other examples occur to everyone. Think of John Chivery, Junior, as his mother pointed him out to Clennam, while he sat amid the flapping linen in the back-yard : "It's the only change he takes," said Mrs. Chiv"He won't go out even in the backyard when there's no linen; but when there's linen to keep the neighbors' eyes off, he'll sit there hours. Hours he will. Says he feels as if it was groves!" ery. Or again of Mr. Venus, the anatomical artist, from whom, in consequence of the letter in which his adored one spurned his offer and declared that she did not desire "to regard herself nor yet to be regarded in that bony light" "all was fled save gall." "My very bones (he confided to the other friendly-mover) is rendered flabby by brooding over it. If they could be brought to me loose to sort, I should hardly have the face to claim 'em as mine. To such an extent have I fallen off under it. " The young lady, by the way, was Miss Pleasant Riderhood-and here is a proper place to point out an error into which, in a certain "Frame of Mind," has fallen so Dickens-saturated a reader as Mr. A. B. Walkley. It is in his essay on Mme. Sarah Bernhardt that he uses the verb "to poll-parrot " as a synonym of "to imitate." Now a reference to "Our Mutual Friend"-and, especially to the account of a colloquy between John Harmon (disguised), Rogue Riderhood, and his daughter-will establish the true use of the word as the equivalent of "to chatter," or to prattle. "Why the devil don't you answer the Captain? You can Poll Parrot enough when you ain't wanted to Poll Parrot, you perwerse jade!" "Bleak House" also furnishes an example of one of Dickens' rare slips from accuracy. Three are given in answer to Question XIII.; one is from "David Copperfield," and "Pickwick" furnishes two. To these we may add (unless it is to be counted to the credit of young Mr. Smallweed's financial talents) that his adroit totalling of the score upon the occasion of his dining with the young man of the name of Guppy and Mr. Jobling was inaccurate. It ran: "Four veals and hams is three, and four potatoes is three and four, and one summer cabbage is three and six, and three marrows is four and six, and four half-pints of half-and-half is six and three, and four small rums is eight and three, and three Pollys is eight and six. Eight and six in half a sovereign, Polly, and eighteenpence out. " A reference to a preceding page shows that three pint-pots had been superadded. Question X. is. "What lady was it who said that "if the police greased their whiskers less and minded the duties. they were so heavy paid for a little more no one needn't be drove mad by scrouding so," and what was the cause of this outburst against the force? The interpolated s will probably put most people on the track. It is, of course, the immortal Gamp. "What a very ill-natured person you must be !'' said Tom (as she hooked him with the handle of her umbrella). Mrs. Gamp cried out fiercely: "Where's the pelisse ?"-meaning the constabulary-and went on to say, shaking the handle of the umbrella at Tom, that "but for them fellers never being in the way when they were wanted, she'd have given him in charge, she would. "If they greased their whiskers less, and minded the duties which they're paid so heavy for a little more," she observed, "no one needn't be drove mad by scrouding so!" The removal of the lion from Northumberland House to the neighborhood of Kew Gardens is of happy omen in connection with a passage from the "Sketches by Boz": "Miss Teresa Malderton was a very little girl, rather fat, with vermillion cheeks, but good-humored and still disengaged. In vain had she flirted for ten years; in vain had Mr. and Mrs. Malderton assiduously kept up an extensive acquaintance among the young eligible bachelors of Camberwell, and even of those of Wandsworth and Brixton; to say nothing of those who "dropped in" from town. Miss Malderton was as well known as the lion on the top of Northumberland House, and had an equal chance of "going off." And, in relation to the changes which time has made in the aspect of London since Dickens' days, the projected thoroughfare from Holborn to the Strand would surely have formed a better bait to draw a reminiscence of Dick Swiveller than a cumbrous reference to the mimicry which, according to biologists, is one of the determinants of the evolutionary process; "I enter in this little book (said Dick) the names of the streets that I can't go down while the shops are open. This dinner to-day closes Long Acre. I bought a pair of boots in Great Queen street last week, and made that no thoroughfare, too. There's only one avenue to the Strand left open now, and I shall have to stop that up to-night with a pair of gloves. The roads are closing so fast in every direction that in about a month's time, unless my aunt sends me a remittance, I shall have to go threeor four miles out of town to get over the way." Obviously, Avenue Kruger-or whatever, is to be its name-would have fulfilled what an Irish journalist was accustomed to call "a much-needed want." One is glad to see brought to the light Mrs. Skewton's appreciation of the eighth Henry: "So bluff! (cried Mrs. Skewton), wasn't he? So burly. So truly English. Such a picture, too, he makes, with his dear little peepy eyes and his benevolent chin!" With which you may compare a thumb-nail resume of another sovereign. Was it not Lady Tippin's husband who had been knighted by George III in mistake for somebody else?—“ on which occasion His Majesty was graciously pleased to observe: 'What. what, what? Who, who, who? Why, why, why?'"-The Academy. * Old Book-sellers. THOSE WHO FLOURISHED IN NEW YORK ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO. One hundred years ago the man of letters in this city who was anxious to secure the latest volume from London or a printed sermon or oration delivered by one of his own countrymen would invariably visit the booksellers' shops, to be found on Maiden Lane and Pearl street. On those two thoroughfares in 1800 were fourteen bookstores, onehalf the number then doing business in New York. Ten were on Pearl street, making that street unmistakably the literary headquarters of the town. The newspapers of 1800 give us the names of twentyeight persons who were book publishers and dealers, to a greater or less extent. A few advertised their wares liberally, but the majority were content with an occasional few lines, or eagerly called attention to the publication of a pamphlet or a book of local interest. Such was the case with the sermons of Dr. Linn and Dr. Mason on the life and deeds of George Washington, delivered before large congregations on February 22, 1800. Among these early purveyors of literature are a few names that have attained more than the ordinary limits of remembrance. There was Evert Duyckinck, a miscellaneous tradesman in his early years, but who later made a specialty of books, a fact which undoubtedly had its influence upon his sons and led them to compile their very thorough, but not absolutely perfect, "Cyclopedia of American Literature." William Dunlap, artist, theatrical manager and author, was managing the Park Theatre that had been opened late in 1798. Kotzebue's German plays were the rage of the town a century ago, and in February Dunlap advertised his translations of those plays at 371⁄2 cents each. Two prominent editors whose papers had been suspended were making their living as book dealers-Hugh Gaine and William Cobbett. The former succeeded much better than the latter, for in June, Cobbett shook off the dust of his tumultuous experiences and sailed for England, leaving his business in the hands of John Ward Fenno, who a few years before had published a newspaper in Philadelphia. Before the Revolution, Gaine was the proprietor of a successful newspaper, known as the New York Mercury. He was anxious to enlist upon the winning side, and after several clever manœuvres decided that the British held ultimate victory in their hands, and his newspaper was continued as a Tory publication. Gaine found himself in unexpected difficulty at the close of the war, and was obliged to petition the Legislature for permission to remain in New York. He kept a bookstore and general printing office until his death in 1807, at 148 Pearl Street, better known in those days as the "Sign of the Bible." His old sign years before had been the "Bible and Crown," but for obvious reasons the crown was taken down after the British troops left New York. Cobbett was well known to the reading public one hundred years ago, for the vituperation of his Porcupine's Gazette had made this editor hated with an intensity deeper perhaps than had been shown for any other wielder of the pen. His two years as a Philadelphia editor were full of troublesome experiences, and when Dr. Rush won a libel suit against him, carrying with it $5,000, Cobbett abandoned the town in which he had neither enjoyed nor given any brotherly love. He came to New York and lost no time in opening a book-shop at 141 Water street, near Hanover Square, and was a prominent advertiser on January 1, 1800. He published The Court Calendar and soon began that series of pamphlets known as the "Rush Light," in which, among other things, he continued to hold Dr. Rush up to ridicule. When Cobbett got an idea that he was right, he held on to it with the pertinacity of a bulldog. He claimed that 1800 began the new century instead of 1801, and beneath his advertisement of January 9th he gives a sample of his style: "N. B.-Mr. Fenno calls it contumacy in the editor of 'The Court Kalendar' to insist on it that this year 1800 is the first year of the nineteenth century. What does Mr. Fenno look upon himself as a judge and view the editor as an offender brought to his bar? Contumacy with a vengeance! Why, the very air of Philadelphia seems to be impregnated with tyranny-literary, legal and medical. Contumacy or not, the editor does still persist in asserting that the year 1800 is the first of the nineteenth century, and that to believe the contrary is to betray a degree of ignorance excusable in no one but a Philadelphian." Where the Drexel Building now stands, on the corner of Wall and Broad streets, was a popular bookstore kept by John Furman, who enlarged his business by taking in Samuel C. Loudon as a partner, and purchasing the entire stock of Alexander Somerville. The name of Caritat was one of the most prominent in the book world of New York for many years. He kept a large store at 133 Broadway. His advertisement on January 14th reads: "This day is published and will be delivered gratis to subscribers and purchasers a supplement to the catalogue of H. Caritat's general and increasing circulating library and bookstore." The names of T. & J. Swords, too, of 99 Pearl Street, will be found in many books published at that time. They printed many books for their own sale and for other dealers who did not keep a press in their store. Several of the novels of Charles Brockden Brown, including "Willard Ormond' and "Arthur Mervyn," were issued first by T. & J. Swords, and they imported extensively from abroad. Another popular book-man was George F. Hopkins, who for several years printed The Commercial Advertiser. Hopkins' store was known as "Washington's Head." He published many of the orations delivered after the death of Washington, and later published a collection of his writings. The store of John Low, at 332 Water street, was known as "Shakespeare's Head," from a fine wooden figure of the poet that ornamented the building. Edward Belden, a nephew of Noah Webster, did a general publishing business at 40 Pine street, in connection with his editorial management of The Commercial Advertiser. Dr. James Church published medical works at 137 Front street, and Benjamin Gomez of 97 Maiden Lane combined with book-selling the speculative delights of retailing lottery tickets. Peter A. Mesier of 107 Pearl street and T. B. Jansen & Co. of 248 Pearl street were prominent in the trade and kept excellent stores. Others in the center of activity were Samuel Campbell, 124 Pearl street; John Rebout, 358 Pearl street; S. Stephens, 165 Pearl street; Brown & Stanolany, 164 Water street; T. S. Arden, 186 Pearl street, and David Longworth, near the Park Theatre, on Park Row. The latter published many fine engravings, and Shakespearean lovers frequented his shop to look at his collection of Boydell's Shakespeare gallery. Books on etiquette, improvement of the mind, with poetical and moral selections, designed especially for the fair sex, were among the works which every book-seller always kept in stock. An advertisement of a new one of this order, which was published early in 1800, gives a fair idea of the contents of these young ladies' books. 'The Mental Flower Garden." A book which merits the patronage of the fair sex, containing an elegant copper engraving representing Minerva presenting a copy of the work to a young lady, who is attended by Venus and a group of beautiful girls. With a great variety of elegant poetical pieces, pleasing and admonitory letters, cards of compliments, entertaining and moral dialogues, devotional poems. A sure guide to accurate pronunciation which may save some young ladies a blush in company. Books that are Parted With. "Writers should drop in on us, if they want to know what the public really thinks of them," said a well-known old-book man the other day. "Not a few popular authors would be surprised if they should see the number of their works that people have parted with after one reading, and which we are trying to sell at reduced prices. There are a few-a very few-works which seem to defy even hard times. We can never get hold of one of them. There, for instance, are the works of James Lane Allen. I believe in all my experience I have handled but one of his books. Another book of which only one second-hand copy is on record here is Joe Jefferson's Autobiography. But we have Kipling here in all collections and editions; Conan Doyle and Mark Twain "Trilbys" by the hundred, and a number of copies of "The Martian." ard Harding Davis figures largely. There has been a scattering of Stephen Crane, but the proportion is small. Gibson's drawings-even the latest volume-have been resold. You can get Stevenson, and Stevenson in his subscription edition at that. George Meredith contributes a few, Henry James a few, Howells a few, Captain Charles a large number. Amelia Barr, Mrs. Burton Harrison, Mrs. Burnett, Edna Lyall, Florence Marryat, Margaret Deland and Mrs. H. Ward are represented by a large number each.”—Philadelphia Record. Their First Guinea. Mr. The happy notion of collecting from various wellknown writers the history of the way in which they earned their first guinea has occurred to Miss Maud Churton, and the result of her inquiries may be found in Pearsons' Magazine for December. Conan Doyle earned his by a story in Chambers' Journal in 1878, called "The Mystery of Sarsassa Valley," for which he was paid three guineas. "Sarah Grand" also earned her first guineawhich was thirty shillings-from Chambers' Journal, with an essay on the binding of Chinese women's feet. Mr. Bernard Shaw's first guinea was fifteen shillings, but he does not say how he earned it. Mr. H. G. Wells' first money came from the Family Herald; Mr. Crockett's from a Glasgow newspaper; Mr. Rider Haggard's from the Gentleman's Magazine, for an account of a Zulu wardance; Mr. Clement Scott's from Tom Hood's weekly, Saturday Night; and Mr. Alfred Harmsworth's from an article in one of the Illustrated London News' publications. Miss Churton has not always met with complaisance. Mr. Jerome and Mr. Anthony Hope declined politely to enlighten her, while Ouida wrote: "If Miss Churton do not succeed in literature, her failure will certainly not be due to want of effrontery." NUMBER 4 The Book-Lover. THE GREAT BOOK-COLLECTORS. I. CLASSICAL. In undertaking to write these few chapters on the lives of the book-collectors, we feel that we must move between lines that seem somewhat narrow, having regard to the possible range of the subject. We shall therefore avoid as much as possible the description of particular books, and shall endeavour to deal with the book-collector or book-hunter, as distinguished from the owner of good books, from librarians and specialists, from the merchant or broker of books and the book-glutton who wants all that he sees. Guillaume Postel and his friends found time to discuss the merits of the authors before the Flood. Our own age neglects the libraries of Shem, and casts doubts on the antiquity of the Book of Enoch. But even in writing the briefest account of the great book-collectors, we are compelled to go back to somewhat remote times, and to say at least a few words about the ancient book stories from the far East, from Greece and Rome, from Egypt and Pontus and Asia. We have seen the brick-libraries of Nineveh and the copies for the King at Babylon, and we have heard of the rolls of Ecbatana. All the world knows how Nehemiah 'founded a library,' and how the brave Maccabaeus gathered again what had been lost by reason of the wars. Every desert in the East seems to have held a library, where the pillars of some temple lie in the sand, and where dead men 'hang their mute thoughts on the mute walls around.' The Egyptian traveller sees the site of the back-room of Rameses that was called the 'Hospital for the Soul.' There was a library at the breast of the Sphinx, and another where Cairo stands, and one at Alexandria that was burned in Julius Caesar's siege, besides the later assemblage in the House of Serapis which Omar was said to have sacrificed as a tribute of respect for the Koran. Asia Minor was celebrated for her libraries. There were 'many curious books' in Ephesus, and rich stores of books at Antioch on the Orontes, and where the gray-capped students 'chattered like water-fowl' by the river at Tarsus. In Pergamus they made the fine parchment like ivory, beloved, SUMMER 1900 as an enemy has said, by 'yellow bibliomaniacs whose skins take the colour of their food' ; and there the wealthy race of Attalus built up the royal collection which Antony captured in war and sent as a gift to Cleopatra. It pleased the Greeks to invent traditions about the books of Polycrates at Samos, or those of Pisistratus that were counted among the spoils of Xerxes and the Athenians thought that the very same volumes found their way home again after the victories of Alexander the Great. Aristotle owned the first private library of which anything is actually recorded; and it is still a matter of interest to follow the fortunes of his books. He left them as a legacy to a pupil, who bequeathed them to his librarian Neleus: and his family long preserved the collection in their home near the ruins of Troy. One portion was bought by the Ptolemies for their great Alexandrian library, and these books, we suppose, must have perished in the war with Rome. The rest remained at home till there was some fear of their being confiscated and carried to Pergamus. They were removed in haste and stowed away in a cave, where they nearly perished in the damp. When the parchments were disinterred they became the property of Apellicon, to whom the saying was first applied that he was 'rather a bibliophile than a lover of learning.' While the collection was at Athens he did much damage to the scrolls by his attempts to restore their worm-eaten paragraphs. Sulla took the city soon afterwards, and carried the books to Rome, and here more damage was done by the careless editing of Tyrannion, who made a trade of copying 'Aristotle's books' for the libraries that were rising on all sides at Rome. The Romans learned to be book-collectors in gathering the spoils of war. When Carthage fell, the books, as some say, were given to native chieftains, the predecessors of King Jugurtha in culture and of King Juba in natural science: others say that they were awarded as a kind of compensation to the family of the murdered Regulus. Their preservation is attested by the fact that the Carthagin |