Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-09-23
An ORIGINAL EDITION.


hopld not rather say it picked me up 4?
s,,ch uas the marvellous attractive power
.S;ch IL possessed didn't want the
~ Ia never even heard Of il, and
Tcnch. Of course, the name OF its
,n,bor Jean Jacques Rousseau, was
s,mihsr enough 10 my ears, /
Nv little enough really OF either him
~, or his writings to desire to possess
NV Of bis works Beyond vague idea
49, he Was q celebrated author and
,.,her a had lot, was quite ignorant
tno,her thing, too, which preiudiced
80 AGAINST the man was that having Ito
,.y mind the misfortune 10 be born
Irenchmsn, he habitually wrote in the
Trench language.
Now am not good liugiist the
Tr,nch language land indeed every
ether. except the one which is my
mother tongue) is 30 me comparatively
unknown.
still possess faint recollections, fast
ovinc away and receding into the dim
,,s,auco OF the past, of painful aud IN
eH,-mal struggles with certain odious
al irregular verbs, the result OF which
was failure and many weary hour spent
ir the company of slate and q
Trench grammar. while the shouts
~ nv schOolmates were borne by
thc breeze upon my longing ears
from the playground or the cricket field
n the lonely school-room, where sat
i1murcd, the victim OF a vindictive verb.
Conscqueutly l became possessed of
feeling Of unutterable contempt for tho
u l. 1.
u,iied ~ be horn Frenchmsn and form
one Of n nation which commonly spoke
Of toothbrush rs "she and indulged
,n the imbecility OF masculine mus
trl-pot
ave ] advanced sufficient arguments
o. show why |, above sll people, should
g. free from the weakness Of desiring to
fossess q work in a language the under
f.sndng OF which would involve the
81 ccssiiy a searching out the meaning
q every other word in dictionary? |
think 50 but there is yet another. The
l9.k was evidently an original
e. non. octave. bound in--what |
culdnt exactly say, 1T wasn't
cali. bot had rather the appear
fare OF vellum or parchment OF
come description ss far as ! could judge,
vio Wls DO cOHnOiSsetir of books or
bindings Just the sort OF thing, you
u.i sAv, 20 make an antiquarian's mouth
,atcr. only | was no antiquarian, and
NV bookcase, such Us Ii was, reloiced IN
o. goodly army Of books bound in all the
colors II the rainbow, blue and green
and red. together with q not iDconside-
r.hle number OF the two-shilling rail-
v.v novels such as my soul loved.
When [ bought book | liked il 10 be
lraud-new, with gilt edges, and got up
ln STYLE which reflected credit on its
rosscssor none Of your secondhand
rubbish for me.
Why on earth, then, did l buy that
hook which didn't want. in language
northumberland written by a man
lrcw nothing about? | asked myself
rs the time and ask myself now, why did
] DO til and give the only answer have
ever been able TO give, at that or any
Their ti1ae-I don't know and | never
t.ai know.
was walking calmly and peacefully
aIolg. taking the middle Of the road in
,r,iersnce to the path, which involved
sting and being j0Stled by others who
r.Ie IN a hurry themselves, and resented
Tire tact of my having so much spare
ella, OH my hands. | was walking. l
repeat. up the middle of the narrow
forouchiaro with my bat at the
lack Of my head and my hands
SD my pockets at peace with my
te'f and the world. Even toward those
WHO came into collision with me, who
trod on my foes viciOusly and pOked me
~ the ribs aggressively, / had no feeling
fave that Of a gentle pity, to think that
fhev so little understood the art Of taking
things easily, when suddenly my eye was
struck bv the title page on an open book,
winch. though on the top shelf of shop
window, and of no great size or OF a par
ticularly alluring aspect, seemed to stand
ont from among It's fellows Snd forclbly
compel my attention.
81 u Contract Social, on Principles du
Droit Politque, was what | read on the
tife page, and at the same time / was
fazed with a perfectly irresistible and
unaccountsble desire 20 possess the vol
une. came 10 a full stop in the md
ole Of the roadway, causing an i1npohte
vamprk 10 Issue from the lips OF stout
gentleman carrying basket OF straw
berries. who was walking Immediately
behind me | did not resent the re-
,oarf: lndeed. when ! saw the straw ber-
ries rolling in the gutter, | felt that un-
dr. the circumstances it Was even Jusu-
falle.
lid not help him TO pick them mp, as
perhaps ] should have done, for was too
,auch occupied in feeling ~ my pockets
and making an inventory OF ther con-
tents. Seventeeu-Rnd SIX. "A cigar holder
fcracked). a ee-hladed knife, two
toothpicks, and latch.key were the
sum total There was 10 price marked
on the book, strange 10 say, though All
its compsnions were duly ticketed. Dad
fiat mean that is value was "iar above
rutics." or that ono reasonable oner
would be refused ~
was now standing on the pathway
staring hard nj the bait, which somehow
or other. without my having the fainiest
idea WHY, exercised such powerful In
Gu-pce over me then all at once II
struck me what IN e.reciOus ass | was 10
think Of throwing away my money III
purchasing what ! didn't want-snd
didn't want the thing IN the least no,
not 1. so, jsmming my hat firmly over
my eyes IAN expression of determination
aud taking my hands out OF my pocket,
st OF at a good round pace for 1t might
have been nifty yards, more or less,
probably LEGS, when / suddenly came to
q full stop. il WAS no good / was
thinking about that wretched book all
the tine aud wondering what 1t was
about (Which never succeeded IN find.
ing OUT and to whom it had belonged
originally. Hang it all " thought
myself. - IN go aud ask what the price
j.. Perhaps" aud there was sense
of relief IN the idea-''it's more than
seventeen .aud-six. old and shabby as II
looks, though WAS not 80 Ignorant as
g. be- unaware that, generally speaking,
II is the oldest books which fetch the
highest prices
This time / entere boldly at the door
Il sl,.. g..~lr iftfla 9.t, xxbiob vvaa t,tlel