New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-04-07
ON BOOKS.
AND ON MR. GLADSTONE'S ARTICLE OF
BOOKS AND LIBRARIES.
/.
London, March .


Them. but in what lie says of Books themselves
As 70 the Housing, he has been contradicted, and
controdictod on a matter which must 90 TO his
heart He computed that a room forty feet by
twenty feet arranged his system will hold
% 600 volumes Not So says Mr.. C0wper Ran.
ward. but only 5000 Mr.. Gladstone is tnan.
cier. and therefore familiar with figures, and il
he has made such a mistake as this, 1t Is remark
able. Perhaps be will favor Mr.. lanyard with
n reply 1t was, however, understood that Mr.
Gladstones account not so much theatrical
as descriptive; not merely an estimate OF what
such room might hold, but statement OF what
the library at Ilawarden actually does hold. On
any other theory his paper lacks practical inter.
est for the ma jority Of bOok-owners. The major
ity of boOk-Owners have not at their disposal
room forty feet by twenty feet, and in a room Of
less size Mr.. Gladstones plan of setting cases at
right angles to the walls would not answer. II
would cucumber the room and reduce IL 10 thai
warehouse condition which Mr. Gladstone admiu
TO be inconsistent with the notion OF library.
His treatment OF this part of his subject Is, al
best, utitarian.
But the owner of books who is not also owner
of a room forty feet by twenty feet-what is he
to do? What does Mr.. Gladstone himself do in
one of those town houses which he takes by the
strict limitations of space, and under the neees-
sity of distributing your books through many
rooms and cases. how are you to classify? 1t is
to be said that this question of classification
and arrangement, what Mr. Gladstone urges Is
much too vague to be useful lie tactly admits
that he is in presence of insoluble problem.
His one best dicum is put hypothcticalyr
whether the arrangement OF library ought not
in some degree to correspond with and represent
the mind OF the man who forms il? The library
itself does be the arrangement what 1t may.
But a man who uses his books will arrange them
for his own convenience; with or without system
or classification as the case may be. If 1t he
his fate 10 use a pen, and 10 Use it upon many
topics, he will surround himself first with books
of reference, and secondly with those books TO
which he turns most often for inspiration Of what
ever kind. There is a passage in Nicolls Life OF
Macdoncll which may serve as a hint 10 many
Younger journalist than he. Macdonell wrote
usually without a break but sometimes he
would get ND. walk TO the bookshelves, take
down volume and read favorite passage, some
times aloud. sometimes to himself He said
fine piece of prose from De Quincy or lelne or
Ruskin or Loudon or Newman refreshed him.
Curious how modern the list is. but the habit was
n good one and he who practises II must have
his authors within reach. He Will probably have
two or three of them on his writing-table. lie
will have others in other rooms of his house. ana
many others.
For it is radical fanlt in Mr. Gladstones
scheme that he assumes or appears TO assume.
that all the books of household are 10 be as
senlbed in a single room, which is not only 10 he
called the library, but is To have a monopoly.
There are to he books here and nowhere else. lt
is a scheme which may be defensible for n country
house though there are country houses where the
library consists not Of one room, but of a whole
series Of rooms. The finest private library In
England, the Althorp library occupies almost the
whole of the ground floor. The Sunderland
library was in a single room-a room nearly
200 feet long by only thirty feet broad-hut
where now is the Sunderland library? 1t has
endured that hard fate Of dispersion which the
Althorp. spite Of some rumors 10 the contrary, Is
happily TO he spared: happily for its owner and
happily for the public, and happily for everybody
but the covctous colecior-al collectors are
covetous-who has so long had his eye on one or
another Of its quite incompatible treasures. But
these are not instances to tie purpose We are
considering the humble book-lover with small
house and few thousand volumes. aud no one
room in which they can all be stored. TIM.
him so much the better of He looks for society
n
their society everywhere beneath his roof, not in
one room only.
At times Mr.. Gladstone speaks of books with
something of the enthusiasm of the true collector.
or if it be not enthusiasm. it sounds like SYM
pathv. But it is. nevertheless, always open 10
doubt whether he cares very much for books
otherwise than for the purposes of reading. There
is not much in this article. or in any writing OF
his which | can recall 10 mind. 10 show that he
Possesses any special knowledge of books from the
collectors point of view. Curloslues Ike the
diamond editions Of the late Mr.. Pickering or the
miniature prayer books of Mr.. Froudc amuse
him Nay he makes n remark on one OF them
which almost Savors of humor. PIckerlngs
Dante. saws Mr. Gladstone. weighs less than
number of The Times With these exceptions
his thirteen pages might have been written hy
one TO whom books are precious only for what
they contain and not for their rarity or for their
beauty. or for having belonged to famous owners.
or for being original editions or for any other
of the many reasons which make many volumes
dear 10 the true lover of books. in addition TO, and
sometimes Independently of. their literary worth.
lou cannot read page of Mr. Andrew Langs
Library without seeing and feeling that
Mr.. Andrew Iang's appreciation of his
printed possessions is more various and
commemorative than Mr. Gadsones-that Mr..
Lang is a collector. and that Mr. Gladstone is not.
The truth of your perception will in no way no
affected by the fact that Mr.. Gladstone owns
probably five times or ten times as many volumes
as Mr.. Lang Each of them is an omnivorous
reader. Mr.. Lang can read Mr. Rider laggard.
and Mr. Gladstone can read the " Iuventus Mundi'
at any rate, he wrote it, But Mr. Lang has
sources of delight in his books on which Mr.. Glad
stone has never cared TO draw.
We ought to rccoect, says the veteran that
hook consists, like man, from whom it draws IFS
lineage of body and soul II would have
been good remark had he not spoilt it by insist
ing that it is true of every book. There are so
many books-nay. the immense majority-which
have neither body nor soul; which are not well
written we'll printed, nor well bound. and
which have no right to exist. still less any right
L. - Mill % 10 ircluLlnl