The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1864-12-31

Correspondents Of the HAwK-EyE.)

| % ~ About B0okS.~ s &
| (Correspondence OF the HAwE-EYE.)
ssfp47 sst-s- NEW ORLEANS, La, Dec. Is.
There is usually much more contained in
q library than the history, biography and
noetrv which it may contain. Any coliec.
ton Of books, IS, in some sense, repre-
sentative Of certain ideas and sentiments,
either of the taste and education Of the col
|lactor or of the characteristics OF the pOllt
teal institutions and society in which II is
gathered together. The bibliophite also
sees something in the physical character OF
the books, which conveys 70 MN IN = very
emphatic manner, the fact that they were
bought for what was in them, aud not tor
the manner in which the printing and
binding were executed, or vice verso. Jer.
emy Taylor, in some OF his pious disquisi-
lions, says that che that throws aside a
book because it is not curiously giided, is
more anxious to please his eye than inform
ais understanding Aud yet who will
not admit that the eye, or in other words,
the taste, may be consulted with much
profit. in these days, in the selection OF the
books which shall be q mans ompanions,
and furnish him, perhaps, the most stain.
less satisfaction which he can obtain for
the remainder of LIS days. never 20 in
to library without seeing something, also
which tells of tue religion Of the people ia
whose midst it was gathered. and OF the
prevailing sentiments, peculiar or other.
wise, to which they have been educated
Here, for instance. in the public library of
New Orleans, aud in all the book stores,
one canno. go amiss for the works OF Ros-
seau and Voitaire. Intdeiity seems to
cling to the French people, no matter into
what land they are transpla1ted, and Ca
tholic!sm occupies whatever room is left by
V0ltaire.
One sees better books here. in private
Libraries, especially, than in the Northern
States, because tue wealth of those whose
tastes were so inclined, enabled, them to
procure works from the European letter
presses, which far surpass our American
editions in style and durability. I have
seen editions of the British classics here,
from the Loudon press. which are calcu!a.
ted to haunt lover OF books whole life
time, II be have not the money to procure
them. The characteristic OF the great mass
OF American books is Cheapness of execG-
ton. The other day, in one Of my ram bles
among the book stores, found copy Of
BOccaccio's DecamerOu, printed at some
shop in New York. in . style sufficiently
wretched TO vex the ghost OF Plato himself.
Only to think Of seeing a copy of work
which stands at the bead of the produc.
tons of the revival OF Italian literature,
and for copies of which. thousands OF dol
lars have been paid, printed in fine type,
on poor poper, with the headings battered
and muddy, and many pages SO black us to
be almost illeg.Dle at all. Who would be
without the DecaMerou il his book case
but who would haze Saci. AN edition O. it
about the housea It woulu no DOUBT be
very amusing 10 the shade OF Boccaccio,
and many another great author, if he could
see himself thus dressed up, and stalking
about the earth, after the lapse of three o..
four hundred years. when the art OF print
ing has been SO greatly advanced. The
enterprise OF American publishers, in pub
Itch. H.
as TO make them generally Obtainabie,s is
very laudabie. But they ought 70 at leas,
print AS accurate editions, in as legib.e
type, and as good binding, TO be sold here
at nome for the same money, rs the English
works are imported and sold for. The pub
LEGATIONS of Messrs. Little aud Brown, Boss
ton, among which are the British classics,
come nearer to the standard of the English
editions than those otany other publishing
b suse ia this country.
The city library here contains about
twenty thousand volumes, among which
are many tine editions from the pens of the
Didot brothers, Paris: Diddier, Pauline,
and The Scciete Typographique. Such, for
instance, AS the works Of liners. Lamar
sine, Sismurdis' Hist DIES France Repub-.
liqees Italiens, Thierry s Conqueste lie An
gieterre par les Normens, IT, say nothing
OF Rosseau, Neltaire, and many others. OF
the English press there are such represent
atlve~ as a first edition Of Newicn's Princ.-
pia, Monstrelet's Chronicles, being the con-
tinua,ion OF Froissart's splendid pictures
OF the fourteenth century, knight ) London.
a complete set OF The Earelan Miscellany,
Sir Humphrey Davy's works, Cvclopeda
Britannica, Burke and Bol.inSbroke. T.
does not compare, of course, with the Mer-
caniiie Library OF 81. LoG.>. excep, in one
particular, IL such Il comparison could be
admitted, ilatit is by far the more reada
ble library OF the two; by which I mean
that .here are more books called .or In pro-
porson to the numbers in each.
II would be no very difficult task in these
times. - procure a library in a very Snort
TIME, as large as most readers would he
able To Ike care of. But II the selection
be good ODE, aud the workmanship wor-
thy o!ihe book in every instance, it will
accumulate slowly. ripening year ty year
with the richness ofits stores, like the work
p. 4 Lifeline.
T. Fl STANTON