The Arkansaw traveler., 1883-05-26

invariably creates desire to posses, and at no time is this truez than in the mattei \ of books. 1, too, must plead guilty to this charge for ofken have 1, usually one of the most careful of buyers, been de luded by handsome frontispiece, a fine binding. or an attractive title, into buying books for which had no use whatever In view of these facts, what responsibil- fly rests upon the one who must provide the reading of an entire community. Il he keeps nothing but good books
 none else will be bought. Yet how often d0 we see our friend buying his wares Ijust as the merchant does his, simply for costly bindings and gilt edges. 1 have ever maintained that the bookseller is the all-important factor in the creation of public taste if he keep the works oi none of the poets but Shakespeare, he will soon create demand for the works of that mightiest of masters In another and a wider way he has much to do in raising literature to higher level. If he keep none but good books none other will be read, and the writers of inferiol books, the clog of literature. seeing tn |. there is no longer demand save for the finest porcelain. will give up in despair l wonder when meet another bookseller and add one more to my already long list of acquaintances, if the fellow is aware of the great responsibility resting upon him-duties of so vast magnitude tha; a king would shrink from them with fear and trembling. Generally there is an anxious, pre-occupied look on his face which seems to say: II have no time for the small things of life, .bu, must be about my work
 The bookseller comes of a very old and respectable family. Thousands oi years agone his ancestors piled their trade Tn Egypt, and not long after were in,i- mately acquainted with the Greek seers. Pericles of Athens, on his way to the agora, stopped to price their wares and to carry away some manuscript done with stylus in wax. They were known to Socrates and Aristotle, and in the days of the Roman republic aourished and grew rich. Their wares were in demand and their stalls ;hronged with the greatest and best of the Romans. Martial knew them, and Pliny was one of their best pa- irons. During the dark ages the book sellers are almost lost sight of: but with the revival of learning we once more hear of them and their doings. A branch of the family had emigrate to England. spread. tiourlshed. and become known to scholars long before William the Con- queror. crossing the channel. laid waste the English land. Though at one time eyed askance and looked upon as dan gerous fellow by those standing high in authority, and though many year had to pass before they could pursue their calling in peace. booksellers were the earliest friends of the printer: and had it not been for their kindly offices. Will liam Caxton would have languished in neglect
 Booksellers were among the frs, set tiers in the New World. One added grace and polish to quaint old St. Au- gustine. and by the l1igrims they were held in the highest respect Indeed. the bookseller has cause to be proud of his hne Of ancestors who have done such noble service to the guild of letters. have never heard whether or no the books seller possesses eoat-of-arms. or has at any time been admitted to the peerage. How ever. 1t is certain that. unlike many other famiAes of ancien, origin. his has gained in responsibility and woxth as it has gained in numbezs . and each generation has moved Il step in advance of the one eeng II. Many grea, man has been glad to number him among his friends
 The bookseller himself is ncs without pride in a certain direction, and well re- member the deep enjoyment good old S-- found in reading a book entitled. '' The Shadows of Old Booksellers '' wherein was gi,en the history of many a noble member of the family l. too. have read the book. and found it dainty and quaiatiy charming volume. So. gentle reader. when next yoa visi, the book seller. enter his premises with the defer ence due a man whose ancestors followed the same calling in the streets of Thebes, three thousand years ago.
 As have already said. my aeQuains- auee with the bookseller began when I was boy. and we have been boon com paRions ever since. Though he has nearly always proved himself sharp fel- low at a bargain. and as times has will fully deiuded me to induce me to buy. have never lost faith in him. Wherever ! am, always hasten to make his ac- quaintance and inspect h,s wares. have me, him in nearly every city of size in our country. have dealt with (and sometimes. though rarely. with his elder brother. the pubhsher) in his handsome, many-storied building. and then passed on to md wha, 1 was seeking in some low, nl-lghted stand few streets away
 He was among the first acquaintances made in London, and many a pleasan, hour have l passed and treasure found in his small, over-s,ocked stall on the Strand. met him when had been but a day in Paris. paradise of book-hunt- CTS" and found his little stands stocked with even richer and rarer treasures than those ot his brother across the channel
 have doffed my hat and haggled with him over the price of copy of Goethe's '' Faust in his neat stall in Leipsic. have met him in Spain. in Italy. in Switz. erland. in Holland. and we have always become sworn friends. His society has and always will give me grea, deligh,