New-York tribune., 1880-02-08
HENRY THOMAS BUCKLE IND HIS ODDITIES

4.
ancestor had been Lord Mayor m 1893. and by both
sides he was descended from NOrtb-country people
iis father. a. stout orthodox Churchnian.
died when Buckle was almost boy;
the death Of his mother his greatest
friend, seems to have caused or aided the pre-
mature breakup of bis health. As child
Buckle was extremely weak and nervous. and
properly speaking be received no training at school
or college. His wide know edge was the result OF
an average of eight hours daily study after he
reached the age OF eighteen. AT seventeen he was
anxious to marry One and, shortly after another OF
ms cousins. and he challenged to deadly combat tue
successful woOer of of these ladies. From the
other he WAS separated by relations VINO had prob
ably exaggerated objections to the marriage OF near
kinsfolk. his seems TO have been severe mis-
fortune. Mr.. Buckles habits became those OF
I" fdgety bachelor.
He himself paid cash for everything lie bought
and was careful to get discount. Once, indeed.
when he had bought new carpet from man who
had promised hIm discount Tor cash, ana then asked
Tor the whole sum- Buckle quietly returned the un-
paid bill TO his pocket and told him 10 call fOI
pa yInent that day two years. At one time he used
TO 20 to the butcher himself TO select his meat and
see his steaks cut. He said lie had cultivated an
attention TO cookery, aud, certainly, was nrsJrate
nudge OF good and bad, though mc derate eater.
lie only ate toast on Mondays because on that day
the bread was more than one day ola but DIs ser
want had to bring up the t0astIng-iork into tne
dining room and make the toast as REQUIRED. No
woman he said, could make tea until he mad taught
her the great thing as to nave IL very not, Tue
ems ana even the spoons should be warmed. The
tea WAS to stand httie longer when the tea caddy
was rather full to allow time for the leaves to un
roll but at the bottom OF the caddy there were
more broken leaves, and hence so much time need
not be allowed.
lie was too particular about his tea and other
tres IN his daily life His conversation was apt to
degenerate into controversy, and lie was over-eager
10 reach the bottom of every topic lie was not PEN
urious but people who did not know him seem 10
have thought him stIn2y. Out of ali income OF
G 800 q year he spent f3OO yearly on books lie
had $4,000 books yet no one coud eau MN DlDi-
ophiic What name can be given TO book collector
who hos his treasures bound IN brown paper by his
servant1 Mr. Buckles books were tools rather than
idols or friends.
student; II was his habit To sit up late at night
reading, with vet towel round ms head ano on
one of these occasions he was inghteheu lor tne
o'clock In the morning, and he had been reading Ior
several hours, wholly absorbed in his book. The
room was dark but fer tue two candles whIcn @
came aware of something on the opposite SIDE OF
the table ;and looking up IN that hesiIating doubt
ful way one does when absorbed in something else,
he sa a figure all robed in white gazing full In his
face Before he had time to think lie shrieked
aloud, and thus woke the landlady whose somnaIn-
bulIc figure II was that had just frightened him
This was his system Of readlngi For fourteen
wears he worked here unknown 10 the literary
world and, unfortunately, We nave no RECORD oI
his life until the year 1880, when his blstory was
already partly written, beyond the few chess games
which have been printed. That they were no ldle
Vears, We may infer from the History Itself but
~ mi more from the fact that he read nearly all the
-,ooks he had-thst is. about three volumes daily
besides writing In every important book an epliome
and practising style. He always read pen
ell I'm hand, and when he had finished
the book wrote out in ink from bis pencil notes
what he wished to remember. hese again when
they were notes on book That he wished 10 HAS
ter ~ he called il, he used TO read frequently
Sometimes he read and reread book twice or
thrice though his memory Was so excellent. ana ms
industry i'm nOtetaking so great that he had not 10
do this very often. HIS system In reading was not
to follow the book but the subject. ,, :,
With Buckles tastes and circumstances Win MS
love of books and his powers of concentration and
combination. 1t perhaps inevitable That lie
should AXE to literature. With his ambition. too,
and with his income. II wac aiurai that ne should
avoid fritteriug away his time on reviews. But t
seems to have been au accidental meeting with Mr.,
Hallam in 1S4I that turned his attention To the
history of the Middle Ages. On that vast
topic he at hrst intended To write
a vast work. which Ultimately became lhe
History of Civilization in England. Buckles be-
Rlnninas were snguarly modest. tie studied his
tory in LarlnePr Cabinet Cyelop@dla aud haw.
kinss little book on Germany" lhls was by way OF
labOrs OF fifteen busy years. Buckle worked from
eight to nine hours day, and never walked less
than seven miles eSen 1y ms Wsss WI hesgsT
statements he liked to test before giving money TO
them In easy charity
His iavorite amusement was chess, In which he
really seems TO have been master: captain hen-
nedy gives this description of Buckle as chess
PLAYER: lie excelled IN pawn play, when ne con-
ducted with ali ingenuity ANA deadly accuracy
worthy Of the renowned pawn general szen. lie
gave large odds, such as Rook and knlgnt, Win
wonder ful skill aud success, appearing 10 nave a
sort OF lntutIve knowledge Oi q strange opponents
chess idiosyncrasy which euabled him precisely to
oauge the kind OF risks he might venture 10 ron:
The rendering OF heavy odds, AS every experienced
chess-piayer knows, ueCessitates hazardous ana uh-
gOuud play On the part Of the glvei These cOutess
Of his nt odds were always iul OF interest anu
entrrtainment to loOkers-On, and u gallery
two or three deep often surrounded his Ooald
In the Strand DiYau, where 1t was his " custom
IN the afternoon" To rocreatc himself with his Ia
yorIte game. ! have occasionally seen roats OF
laughter elected from the spectators Dy the crest
taIru aspect OF some poor discounted ROOk-player,
who with much care ana sOhclttlue, having OBJ
ued AS lie fond ~ becVed AN mprc enable posi- non,
had suddenly found his defences scattered like chai
and himself accommodated with a mate. after the
sacrliice, by hls kcsn-Wltted opponent, OF two or
three pieces in succession. whether winning or
losing, Mr.. Buckle WIS a courteous and pleasant
adversary, and sal quietly before tho board, snok-
ing his cigar and pursuing his game With ihneADie
stendiness. Mr.. huth goes 50 lar as 70 say tuat
Certainly Buckle was in 1881 entitled 60 the
championship, not only oil all England, Dut Oh tHe
wloe wOrld1 The tides Of his writings on chess
occupy i've or six pages in hs bibilogIaphy.., =
10 life could be much less eventIul tnan lndt oi
Buckle He read annotated. wrote, waiked'
,Iucd ulavcd chess, and correspondent with MISS
Shirrel Many of his letters 10 TINS ldy are pun
lshed they deal with the outskirts oi philosophy,
and are not very interesting. he mast volume OF
hia orent hook was published IN 1901 IL became
ccIeIrated at once. MIR. NUDE took 10 less than
hundred copies an enormous number GOr phllo- ,
sOpaical book apparently, J, ana Mr. Buckle had 10
once the blessing of being translated into Russian
and reviewed in a hundred journals me only
MIR CapaL "is chat in The Saturday hCrieU; IN
known corresp ndeuts pcstered nm nom all parts
OF Tue world aud American younR lady VOL a.
n 9O WAS almost as explicit IA the md!ueh AID
" On, come" the maiden said. and rest
That weary head upon NY breast