Louisiana capitolian. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1879-1881, 1881-01-01
THE EX.WIDOW HOVIUS.
BY JULES CLARETIE.
The Partisan.
49,.

The Partisan.
49,
There was once in Paris two biblioma
MACS. The one was named Hovius, l
think, the other Jean Macrin.
A COrsican, implacable and furious
hatred had long divided them. Verona
had its Capulets andMontagues, Florence
its Gasipus and Ghibelines; Paris-the
quays of Paris have had Jean Macrin and
Mr.. Hovius. Hovius had carried Oft
from Macrin an Elzevir edition of Horace:
Maern had deprived Hovius of an AL
dine volume containing some tale or an
other of Longus, the title of which would
interest You but little if | could remem-
Der il to tell it you. Let it suffice you
to know that Macrin hated HOviuS, and
that Hoviu, in his bilious humor, de-
termined to illuminate his library on the
day of the death of his implacable rival.
Mr.. Pierre Paul Hovius was walking,
or rather stationing, on the quay Vol
taire one day, book hunting, nosing, fer
retting, upsetting the boxes, engaging
in regular chase after books.
Who has not seen the millionaire cs in
their nccssant task The eye watchful,
the head bent forward, the hands greedy,
painting with hope and fear, pale with
emotion, the pupils dilated, the mouth
half open; they lean over the dusty cases
of the book dealers, reading hastily the
titles of the books for sale, and if their
most ardent wish is suddenly realized,
if they unearth, in this macs of old worm
eaten paper, where so many glories
moulder, some edition that they have
eagerly sought for, their eyes brighten,
the color comes into their pallid cheeks,
their bosom swells, and prouder than
Archimedes, they cry, like he cried,
proud and triumphant, II have fonnd
itw .. ...
Master Hovius, absorbed in his re-
searches. his nose rubbing against the
books, paid no attention to another per-
son who was likewise bending over the
boxes of the dealer and terretting with
equal ardor among the blacllencd paper.
But if Hovius had looked ut that per-
son he would certainly have recognized
him. for it was his deadly rival, Jean
Macrin the Macrin who had robbed
him OF the Aldine Longus.
You imagine to yourself, am sure,
my two bibliomaniacs as old, shaky and
dried up, like the beautiful Baldour at
the return of her Pecopin. You are only
half wrong, but still you are wrong,
Hovius was indeed at least sixty years
of age, but he was still a stalwart man,
with full although pale face, athletic
shoulders, and a Gargantuan belly. But
Macrin was young, not bad looking, and
elegant as far as his passion allowed
him to be. In short, he was thirty-two
years of age, he had thirty-two teeth,
and thirty-two thousand francs income.
OF all that he made little use, except of
his income, which he stored up in twen-
ty or thirty bookcases. As for his teeth
and his youth, he ate little, and gave
still less proof that he knew how to be
young.
".
After having turned over hundred
pamphlets and as many bound books,
our two collectors drew themselves up
almost at the same moment, and with a
gesture that meant: "There is nothing
for me there they walked towards each
other unconsciously. When they saw
each other both started and drew back
step, and then REFRESHING their I'M
friendly ardor they saluted each other
with voice as If of honey mixed with
vinegar:
How are you ? they said.
The characteristics of these terrible
hatreds is assimilation.
4 am very well, thank YOU
That is we'll
4 am very glad to hear it."
'Ah! by the way, Monsieur Hovius. -
the ballet of the French and the Dutch
in Brabant, copy Of 1885, in 12mo-you
know
WELL said Hovius, with haggard
eye.
We'll, have discovered it, my dear
friend
Indeed! and where, if the question is
not indiscreetH
In a grocer's shop, my excellent Ho-
wins, Just as the ignorant grocer was
about to tear it up to wrap up spices
Il, y.