Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1885-12-05
THE FATAL ALDINE.
'"Sp~ncer" in Town Topical

. onS hhbkecu ureSSl1S gown. Oent auti
meagre, spectacles above his nose, snuff
under ii.
eur oldest inhabi,ant. gentlemen, NJ.
Coz .et. the celebrated bibliophile.
All. madame, you have come again.
lou are SO kind. Then shading his
eyes as he looked up through his $, ecla
cles he continued, in a thin. piping treble.
p" ardon' gentlemen, but | was expecting
growing dim. | think. You will excuse
me. My story All! YOU may not
believe 1t. perhaps. since /, who tell it. am
here Not that | need TO be. / assure
you. l have some odds ways. have
always been q little droll, | think.
but | am not insane. came
here ccausc it was expedient for me to
assume 10 lie q l%unatic, TO escape the un-
shmen which my crimcs-for misfor.
III es are crlmes-properiy merited. But
plcase do not mention this. whatever you
do Ii is a dead secret / have been
here hard up II twenty five years admin.
istrations have chat ged. but | AVE not
doctors have died and their sons sue.
cecded them the buildings been rebuilt.
repaired. restored. willie | have continued
always the same, no signs of decay even
In my to- story, wnicn. Of course. settles
the question of lunacy adversely To the
doctors you needn't mention tn s
They mean wei, aud, besides, they
have saved Inc much Inconvenience
Il have survived my own generation,
blu the people of Louis hillippe's time
remember me even the Citizen ing
himself has done me the honor to rest his
umbrella ssa!ns, my stall and take a pinch
from my tabaticre
u.l, v oJ1nrA pn, Dsl1.@,LsI. I.x
was we'll known in those times, and my
little book stall on the ruai oltaire was
q pace OF hi b resort. larole d h0nneur
/ have seen three members Of the acad.
envy touching elbow, at my shelves,
every enc with spectacles on nose, with
Rose At button boic. entertained. absorbed.
delighted. All. those cent emen have the
faculty OF appreciation. They know a
rare o wnen the see it, They have
appraised the value of literary treasured
! was always uneasy when they came 10
lOok at my rare books They might in.
sdvertently put them into their pockets or
forget TO lay them down-such habits Of
pro ound mental abstraction long in.
dulged. Don / mention this.
on see. | was u sort Of bibiiomaniac.
end | knew how To lind rare books. The
only trouble had WAS IN parting with
my %iierar. treasures after ] got them. /
ain fond OF money ! ma say | am
something Of a miser, but there are
e cuse the indefinite phrase there are
more disabilities III q rare book than
N none When you have got hold If
q perfect copy al some editio princeps.
when probably there are OF more than
Fix other copies .; the edition eXIa It. aad
OF these four pormu entlt iocne Ell UP IN
the ii rar es Of Jenna. The brush mu.
SUM HE a,iona. and the .,.a4arin 49,
the you may he said 10 IA a corner
Ia you rare book IN you are safe 10
az what you please Tor II. aud get II too.
wArn the right cur. omer comes On
Eut you mus, wait til the r.gut one
come n d re mus. have a hook. a
t!at s a,cor.iaut b. tie chord your rari v
sir Ses. Thus * II ia t sccrcl--don { ue-
tray L
The duke Of ain million was one IL
NY Lest lalrOns. &c wa, rich. he had
AL iHComc oi 900 D nvres he had his
cua;eau OF reignA hr had his v neyar,i
Mai produced % loas at white W es
e cry year, he had Ia friends, III. family.
his library. Twice u year ID. duke came
10 aris !or q week aId | La "A wa s u
wax tnt stalls MIA Ii IN, help him had
The novelties. II zine With h IN a. lou.
iurc 8 ID restaurant in he Latin Luarter,
where we knew Low 10 relieve the cedar
oi three bJit,ts If tae best wine in ar
GnIe a month the duke wrote me a formal
letter. sealed with hi, crest, announc.
iug the addition, made 10 tue library of
! ~lciguac. aud giving me commissionS
very week | sent to the dune nv Du.ie
tn Iib.iographique, printed Tor private
circulation on y.
in the summer Of 1910, NJ. SAINT.
Fmil!on sent me a formal invitation 10
come spend Il week with him ut ~rcignac.
help Lim &c his library, aAd view
his treasures, went, | left the railr ad
at ilIclranchc. where the dune met me
with his coach and four a liyeried driver
and two footmen ute in the style OF
the ancien regime. ! do assure you. very.
body WE met touched hats TO the duae.
and to me because | was The duke
freud l assure you 1t made NE feei a
sentiment Of a sort of-je ne sa.s ouoi.
hut most agreeab e. The duke was most
handsome. Above 20, erect, square,
militar figure, close cut white ha r. a
iiorid face. clean shaved except Tor u are
viii. C mustache. small blue eyes. a iu,iine
nose he sat erect in the carriage a if lie
were on horseback in the van of ten bat.
thIIjiIS. ui1oSCh III tSut OlhS, Iud WIiuN
stock about his throat 10 hold up his col.
lar. We arrived AT the cha. eau. and he
introduced me 10 the duchess and the tour
infants Hea> Il such youth. grace,
loneliness The duchess was not over
20. anu the l~oveliesl OF her sex. the Chi.
drcn angels.
low snail l describe The library, when
/ have already eXhaus. ed my store Of ad.
jectives7 Ten thousand voumes, iUO
portfolios of engravin s. and not a book
not o print, but had its history. Id
chronicles. in ,ellum editiones princ;pes.
their original bindings carefully restored.
artist proof engravings from BURNS whose
touch is a conservation IL was u treasury.
And such a lovely family Aud q cellar
full Of such wine as apL cared on the table
at dinner
Duke, you are a happy man" I cried.
"a the duchess handed me a cup of coilec.
when l could lake no more wine. Lahte
though it was. The duke sighed. al.
most, VI. Goujet. said the duchess.
laughing; but one thing more is needed
to complete the happiness of NJ. saint
/ million And that is "A copy
of the princeps edition of Francois
\%illon.' said the duchess, laughing. Il
ssu YOU. Bibliophile FAC ues. nv
friend said the duke. rousing out
OF his abstraction. Il do not need
anything more to put the napstone
10 my Happiness. bat if | only could re-
cover q princeps Nillon-you will see I
have all the rest, Marot, Ionsard. the
chroniclers. the missal SITS. the romancers
the absei ce Of ,illon does beyond
doubt make u void but. as you see. 1 am