Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1890-01-08
Gl,dstone,. Love for Reading.

Whom Mr.. Gladstone tires Of politics,
he turns TO literature, and no man in
the three Kingdoms has o wider range
OF books to select from, for, just ut
present, or rather since the day that he
reviewed Mrs. Humphrey Wards
Robert Elsmere," aud gave that much
discussed book an impetus that it would
not have obtained otherwise. authors,
young and old, and publishers, good
and bad, have flooded the Grand Old
Man with literature of all kinds. 1t is
hardly necessary to point out the value
Of the review that Mr.. Gladstone gave
Mrs. Wards book, from a commercial
point. A great many people in En-
gland still insist that it is q vastly oyer-
rated book, and that if it had not been
for the attention which Mr.. Gladstone
paid it, that it would have run its slow
length Of 0 few thousand copies, and
died. as many better or worse books do
every t~welvemonth. lie that as it may,
it is sufficient for Nh. Gladstone to lend
his name to any literary publication to
give it q prominence that it could not
otherwise obtain, and his library table
~ CEONOcu VIII UoohS On IcilSi'hs VII
state craft. philosophy and romance,
sent by authors and publishers.
Nj. Gladstone is. in every respect, o
great reader. He spends more time
now in reading books than he did TWEEN
ty.1ve years ago. Anything and every
thing that comes to him is grist to his
mill. He doesn't mind wading through
chapter after chapter il he only finds a
kernel Of truth or q nugget Of pure gold
At the end. He is particularly fond Of
books Of travel and politics; and there
is no country that interests him SO
much as America, its people and its
politicians. A great deal Of his read
ing is done as o matter of duty, or work,
If you please, and after he has finished
that and is SO thoroughly tired out that
most men would take to the woods OF to
Q sick room, the great statesman turns
to his Latin or Greek for rest and re-
pose. II there is n subject dear to
his heart, after politics and s~tate-craft,
it is religion. He has no ~fayorite au-
thors; he finds good in all schools. end
says indeed it must lie a very poor
writer who can't And something to say
tklht Will lllclcSt ONou Gu0 OuSicSG VI
men, and the most learned. He has
the faculty of skimming through a book
and getting :hc salient points in q few
hours.
To Americans it will be of interest to
know that Mr.. Gladstone receives a
| large number Of American newspapers
| and magazines, and that he is very we'll
informed on all current American topics.
He keeps several secretaries busy, and
when lie finds a striking point in q book
| or newspaper, he turns down the page
or marks it to be clipped by his daugh-
| ter, Miss Helen Gladstone, or his wife,
or one of his secretaries. and, strange
to say, he can turn to it years afterwards
at a moments notice. He has q won
| derful memory, too, and knows q great
| deal more of American men of letters
than most people would suppose. He
is an intense admirer of James Russell
Lowell and Bret Harte.
He has a magnificent library of ex.
ceeding value, and is constantly adding
to it. He is one Of the few great men
of this world who is not ashamed to be
seer alone in the street, and he often
spends an hour or SO in some old book
sellers shop on the Strand or in Corn
hill. He is the owner of many rare and
valuable works, aud whenever there is
an important book sale, either his son
Herbert, or one of his secretaries, i
present to bid in any valuable or rare
volume that may be offered. He has
spent a fortune on his library, End wher
annoyed by the cares of political life,
always finds rest and contentment
there.-Eduard ". Box, IN Ladies
.TO,trnnL.