New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-12-20

on him II fator yooD voaI6 uaaD o6BVefs
ssti0n . lab0rious task hut for his willing
ness to carry the principal share q il. He
took leave Of DIS with many Kind wishes,
and the customary Mexican courtesy to
always consider his honse our homo.
or Bssks ~ Gifts.
Books may De divided into /. Books to
be looked at. 2. looks to be smelt Of 3.
Books to be consulted. 4. Books to be read
Under the first head are to be ranked the
sumptuous; the volumes which are really
pieces of vertu-the marvels of Typography,
engraving and binding-works which by
persistent industry and at lavish expense
have been prOfusely illustrated and tex
tended"-voiumes the owner of which holds
his breath as you turn the lesves-things
which, despite the sneers of the utilitarian,
We assert to be objects just as beautiful in
themselves as fine pieces of plate, or ex-
quisite specimens of gold or silver work. To
the thoroughbred book hunter. we need say
nothing of that flavor Of 'mild decay"
which reaches the delighted nOstril % some
tail folio is opened, perhaps for the first
time in . century. Books for reference,
a. our careful, honest, useful friends
know, demand no explanatory expstiaton.
subdivisions, and present field into
which it ia unnecessary now to enter. Only
may we, in passing, mention bOOks which,
by no effort of the human will, by NO peni-
tential persistence, by no conscientious de-
votion, by no surrender of long days and
longer nights, by no aid Of valiant resolu.
ton, can possibly be read through. Pity
may carry US on for twenty p ages; curiosity
for twenty more; . wild desire to do some
thing which nobody has ever done, may
help US to hobble !. little further; and then
in the very middle muddle of the somnifer
Ous volume The reading faculty breaks
down. and we replace the poor thing upon
the shelf, commencing it to the bright little
worms, and chsritably hoping that il will
agree with them.
Books intended for holiday purchasers
are naturally put forward in holiday
raiment, and this may be either cheap or
costly, in bad taste o. good. Even a.
Bridget going to church with sin mOnths'
wages upon her broad back. bears a fragrant
and highly Illuminated resemblance to her
tastefully .arrayed mistress, so as Con
necticut subscription book, extra gilt within
an inch of its life, and polished after the
lest work OF famous binders. Only q
glance, however, 10 enough TO show you
what Tittlebst Titmouse of book it is.
Its varnish back ereaks and snaps "a you
open ii. And, once open. the exposure of
humbugging Hulework, On pages dispro-
portionate to tho letter, of worn out steel
plates, of bad wood engravings badly
printed, nakes one blush to be caught in
such company. We have had in hand for
many years . treatise upon the influence of
tables upon popular literature, to which,
when it shall be printed, che seadeS il re-
ferred.
There arc many things to be said of tho
beauty and propriety of pooks as gifts For
the just beginning bits Of humanity they
have long been esteemed welcome dOna-
tions Goody Two Shoes (which some think
through generation after generation. Jack
was killing his giants when our great
grandmOthers were in the pinafores of the
period. 4. Crus0e. mariner, and his goats
are mortal only as to the other end of i'm
mortality. Whoever hit upon the idea of
coloring children's books must have been .
genius in his way. These are the only
work of art which are above criticism
these lively smooches, these broad daubings,
and indigo blues! Blessed are the babes
who can still find delight in the brilliant
and mOnstr0ue. For taste has invaded
even this privileged pictorial domain; and
the spruce, fOppishly finished wo0dcuts
make US sigh for the COARSE, strong work Of
Blake, and for the rural veracity of Bewick.
A holiday book, whether for old or young,
WlUuOuV lIlUSlTdtIOus WUuNA uOW UC WI
sidered an impertinence. Inside the glowing
covers must be = hundred Wig nettes, tail
pieces, initial letters and appropriate
designs. with the fiery red line bounding
the domain Of faery. Often 1.-THE picture
for the page atones," as Pope ill-naturedly
said Of Quarles and his Emblems; and Ger
tainly a well pictured foolish book is better
than ungarnished and hnmitigated inanity.
A good illustration serves as crutch for
no ha1tIun fon oud cvrnplry tho
writer's want Of dexterity. When a child
reads, "A was an archer and shot at frog"
and sees that reptile expiring with the
green-coated and cOnquering A above him,
he takes his first step in the hlmanities with
greater ease and precision for the sight. Is
not the came primer pedagogy good for
stupid adults, doomed to a lifetime of the
concrete, and too indOlent to fashion tor
themselves an ideal!
OF the economy Of book giving. it is not
ume be cheap, why it will serve its purpose,
and it may be as affectionately preserved
as if it were drawer. Some Of us nave still
in our libraries poor. fOrlOrn little books,
allowed life-lease rent free for the sake of
the giver. and inscribed upon their fly
leaves, o. -, from Aunt Polly,
January l, 1922" or words of like com-
memorative import. Here is another dogs
beginning and you may read, though the
ink be almost faded out. ''From his affec-
tiopate mother" How we remember the
morning upon which it was given; the kiss,
the caress, the tender smile which were
given with it, We have grown hard of
heart and coarse of soul since chen; the
world may have ceased to give US anything
better than its bitters reprOaches or its
frigid shoulders; but as we look once m0re|
upon the lines traced by the dear hand long
ago mOldered into dust, we forget for a
moment all the fatalities which. harpy like,
have haunted ne, and the strong sunrise of
dream of the lost and the long ago!
There is verse which old ladies were
once accustomed to write in the Bibles
which they gave their god-danghters: 20,
keep it for the giver's sake, and read it for
your own"' and the kindly couplet will
answer for other books as we'll. In select;
ing gift book it is clearly happiest to
choose one which the receiver will be likely
to read. Hence, the manifest improperly
of sending Hebrew Bible to little Jack
Hornor, who prefers plums to roots. There
is no trouble in fixing upon the right work
for the man or woman whose mind you
name there can hardly be mistake. You
may 90 to your shelves in preference to
going to the bookseller, and, taking down
some volume which both of you have
often admired together, you write your
friends name upon your own book |
plate, and the matter is settled at once.
True friendship has long memory,
and divines the taste to be gratifed'l
with precision nearly unerring. If !
we give book to one who loves US. or who |
is loved by US. it will convey charm quite |