Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-12-23
OF Books As Gifts,

OF Books as Gifts.
Books may he divided into. |. Books
to be looked at: ,. Books to be Smclt of;
;. Books to be consulted: I. Books 10 Dc
read
Under the first head are to be ranked
the Sumptuou>; the volumes which are
really pieces Of vcrtU-the marvrls of
typography, engraving. and binding =
works which by persistent industry AMI at
lavish expense have been protlI>rly illus
trated and "cXtcnded' volumes the own
or of which holds his breath a> you turn
the ltaveS-thing> which, despite the
sncers of the utilitarian, we assert to bt.
objects Just a> beautiful in themselves a>
fine pieces of plate, or exquisite specimens
of gold or SILVER work. TO the thorough
bred bOok-hunter. we need say nothing OF
that flavor of "mild decay" which reaches
the delig. ted no>lril some tail folio l.
opened. perhaps for the first time in 4 cen
turv Books for reference, aS our csuctul,
honest. useful friends know, demand nu
explanatory cXpatiltion. Books TO be read
suggest numbcrlt>s subdivisions. and pre-
sent Il field into which it i unnecessary
now to enter. Only mFy we. IN passing,
mention books which. by no effort of the
human will, 10y no peniicntial persistence,
by no conscientious devotion. 10y no >urrcn-
der of long days ard longer nights. hv no
aid of valiant resolution. can possibly b.
read through. Pity may carry Us on for
twenty pages; curiosity for twenty more;
:, wild desire to do something which no
bodv has ever done. may he = u to lsophIc
Il little further: and then in the Very mud
die of the somnifcrou, volume thr reading
faculty breaks down. and we replace the
poor thing upon the shelf. commenting II
| o the bright little worms. and chUltIbly y
| hoping that it Will agree with them.
Books intended for holiday purchasers
| are naturally put forward III holiday raj
mcnt, and this may be either cheap Vl
costly. in bad taste or good. Even u
BRIDGET going to church with six months
wages upon her broad back, bears Il fit
grant and ighlv-illuminated rcScublanc,
| to her taStrfullv-arravcd mistress. so !;
| Connecticut subscription book, ezra gil
within an inch of il life, and polished IF
ter the simIitude Of ptllcc, >ug@cs;,
the lovciie>t work of famous binders
Only glance however, j. enough to >ho"
YOU what a Tittlcblt Titmou-e of Il book
it is. It's vanished back crcak> and snap
rs Won open it. And. once open. the cA
posure of humhugging lNlc-Work. Of page:
di,proportion,tc TO the letter. of Worn-ou
-tecl-plltcs of bad wood enyravin-~ badly
printed, makes one blush to be caught il
such companv We have had in hrnd TO
many wears II Treatise upon the Influence
Of Center Tables upon Popular Literature
to which. when it shall BE- printed, Tho
reader i REFEREED
There are many things to be said Of th'
beauty and proprirtv of books a> gifts
For the Just beginning bits of hum init,
they have long been esteemed welcome do
nations. Goodv Two Shoes (Which som
;hink was written by Gold~mitI) IN
trudred through generation after g,'ne L.
ton Jack wa, killing his Giant, whcr
our great @randmothcrs were III the pima
forcs of the period r. Cru,oc. Mariner
and his goats are mortal only rs to tn
other end of immortality. Whoever hi
upon the idea of coloring children book
must have been Il gcnius in his WAY
These are the only works cf art which AZ
above criticism these lively smoocIe-
these broad dauhing>, these cnch:,ntin;
gambogeS and vermcilS, and indi@o-blues
Blessed are the babes who can still find de
IlOII Ill lIlt ID illtIl .ill'i NV ul')IlStI Ott
For taste has invaded even this privilege
pictorial domain; and the spruce, fopp~l
ly finished woodcut> make Us sigh for til
coarse, strong work of Blake. AMI for til
rural veracitv of Bewick.
A holiday book. whether for Old q
Young. without illustration. would now b
lconsidered an impcrtncncr. Inside til
glowing covers, must be Il hundred Viz
ncttes. tail-pece>, initial letters, with n
propriate designs. with the fiery red lin
, bounding the domain of facry. Oftc
Il the picture for the page ;tonc-. rs POP
ill-natllredlv said of 'luarlcS AMI his En-
blems; and certainly Il wcl!-picturcd foo
!, ish book is better than ungarni>hed an
unmitigatcd nanity. \ good i!lu>tratio
,, serves rs Il crutch for the halting fame,
and may even supply the writer's want
, dextcritv. When Il child reads: "A W;
an Archer and shot ut Il frog, and sees tn:
. reptile expiring with the grccn-coated ar
conQuering A above linn, he takes his fir
step iu the humanitcS with greater ca:
and precision for the sight. Is not Il
same primer peda@ogrv good for stuP
adults doomed toa lifetime ofthe cOncrct
l and too ndolent to fashion for thcmsclv
an ideal.
> OF the economy of book giving, it is n
necessary for us to say much. If the v'
E ume be cheap. why it will serve its pu
; pose, and it may be as atfcctlonateiy pr
II served rs if it were Drawer. Some OF
Il have still in our libraries poor. forlorn i
IL tie books, allowed lifc-lease rent free f
. the sake of the givcr, and inscribed up'
their fly leaves: '--- fro
Aunt Polly. Jan. l. ls22, or words of Ill
e commemorative import. Here Is anoth
II Iocs-eared and shabby lSmo, Open it
S the beginning and you may read, thou!
i the ink be almost faded out, - From /
I. Afftctionate Mvther.' How we rcmemb
Il the morning upon which it was give
l the kiss, the caresS. the tender smile whi
n were riven with it, We have grown ha
l. of heart and coarse OF soul, since the
:. the world NAV have ceased to give us an
n thing better than its bitter reproaches
q its frioid shoulders; but rs we look on
more uuon the lines traced by the de
l, hand lone ago moldercd into dust, we tC
l. oet for a moment all the fatalities viii
of harpy-like have haunted US. and the strol
J. sunrise of our lives comes back to brigl
II on the fond dream of the lost and the lUl
4 ago.
A. There is n verse which old ladies We
l. once accustomed to write in the Bib
IN which they gave to their god-daughtel
u 30, keep it for the glver sake, And re
it for vollr and the kindly coup
ol will answer for other books as we'll.
u u selecting Il gift book it is clearly ly happI'
IL to choose one which the receiver Will
H. likely to read Hence the manifest imp
i ie priety Of sending Il Hel rev Bible to lit
u! u. Jack uorner, who prefers plumS to TOO
nI There is no trouble in fixing upon the RI
/ work for the man OF woman whose mi
le w., L,n,,, pot,,oon friends worthy