New-York tribune., 1891-03-06

snburbs never dozes in the daytime, occupies the
front pew of the church. and acts as an oraI;c I;
and arbiter for dsputatious antiquaries. hto
hooks were bought for their contents and not tner
covers ard his reading extends beyond tLe ,i,lu m
mage Their collection, in fact, was prompted oy
Ills e"' y bbiophIIe his ardor is boundless. When
his bookcases overfiowcd his dwelling, he quietly
seat his thoroughbreds to ivery-stape ana h''en @
nm tbe carriacc-house with shelves. Not long ago
lie dcputed a friend to buy at public auction
ragged little pamphlet containing the first impretS-
sion of the Louisville city ordinances: Inc % Do
ding was lively and the friend ran TO the flc-
phonc for further Instructions. ,..i,
Look here Colonel he cried: they're putting
this thing up on me. What shall do =?
Bnt they've got the price up to fifteen dollars
told you to buy the book ,, heal,
The friend went Off Presently he rushed pack
i'm 2clting scared" he called over trico the Teie
phoro They're asking an outrageous price
well buy the book"
"But the bid is already $50.
d" told you 10 buy the bo0k -. hal,
Tie friend threw up his hands and went PACK PACK
In II few minutes the pamphlet was RIocAeu ro"t t
10 him at S31 30. It's intrinsic Woioh wac "
When the Colonels parental estate was divided
he selected his share Of the honscnolI Will
abcs only the books His ancestors, the , rrol.n
Durcts. were eminent PHYSICIANS ana saEnmL. sEI
inrisconsultcs" Their works in French, 'rPek
and Latin occupy honorcd places on ms sheistS'
The library Of course contains thousands Oh InIS
cclIancous works and comprises rcspcc'apc
number of antique folios and large paper editions
and enough black letter tones polhd III VeIiun
to start dozen ordinary colec'lohS. ISM dsncu
the Colonel whether he had made any provisions
for the preservation OF his acquisitions ai'oi Nl'
death. -, .,s..
The city may have them he replied, u" II II
will raise an endowment during my lifetime oi
equal value with the books. mat would pHr-
chase a suitable building end leave fund tor
their care and augmentation.
II would he thousand pitles 10 sec TINS oHfr
refused Half Of the great value of the library
consists in its integrity and accessibility,
The Filson Club said George Bancroft, INC !t,,a q
year or two ago is the only club III the world
conducted on fire principles THIS is So society ny
Of anti6uarirs and men of letters fonnde, N
this indcfati..ahe Colonel. and named IN honor
of the historian. There are no initiation fees ana
no dues The members meet periodically IN What
was the original library in Colonel Dnrrctt
house and is sight to sec hundred GlsrlpIs
apartment among the books on stormy nl@h';
with the lights blazing and stuffed Owls ana
bustS and historic portraits staring on ticm so
cmnly from the walls, while they smoke ana I'm.
bile cider tihc club tpplcl and argue warmly
in defence of IL reputation of BOorcS grand
mother or old judge IHncs's fothcr-in-law Henry
Waitcr-nu DR. Rroadus and Proctor Knott com"
~ the meetings md testify - TIE interest ol N"
discussions and the tact and popularity of their
conductor. The club pauers are printed without
cost ~ the members. local publisher assuming
the ri-C Some OF them are already scarce 'Ad
fetch high prices. notably Colonel DnrrcitS mono
graph ON FilSon. Next year The state celebrates
the centenary ol IFS separation ll''. 'IElii,' ~
the ARRANGEMENTS hove been placed IN the hands
Of the club. This Is guarantee Of their excel
lcncr
We don't mean to have n horse show, SAYS
the president. q" but literary and historical crle'
br,ton that viii amount 10 sometime.
wish | mi-ht tell you more of this great
Collector ana admirable gentleman: ot his won
dcrful memory that cn1bl"S him - disp"nSc wiih
a catalogue and to tell one of his 10000 Eolnm',
+, r~nl3cc; of h.> lists IF historic pedignes aud
scr,p .aokS of ancestral memoranda, compiled
with p own hand his poinstalIug accumulation
4 n! !rnrcut issue, of all kinds Of American money
c,conT rr conuskins ard mclrdng old French
West ,ru-and bonds Iard-nnlcc Treasury war
rants and Kentucky "Shin-plastcrS' his laS-
century: his sunny ideals and his unaffected
court'sr. Imt perhaps hc will one day write
some Of This himself, and then the rest ,will be
fnnnh ont. - i.