The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-11
F. MARION CRAWFORD.

Later III the evening i'll his own room he
discovered that the book was n translation
in Greek of Dantes Inferno and being
something of n bibliophile he recognized it
TO be work of unusual value. Turning
over the leaves, he found that two of the
fly leaves were stuck together, and separat-
ing them discovered upon the inner one a
dedication in Latin to +. Marion Crawford.
1t was plain that valuable book belong
ing to the distinguished novelist had been
left by chance in this Boston cab, and Mr..
Plnkham determined to return it to the
owner if he could learn where he was. The
following day he called upon Mrs. Julia
Ward Howe, who he knew was an aunt of
Mr.. Crawford, and she told him that Mr..
Crawford was somewhere in Italy and had
not been in America for nearly 10 years
Ihis heightened the mystery, since Mr..
pinkham wondered how IL book whose
value he recognized and which was plainly
cherished gift Of Mr. Crawford could
have been left in II Boston cab while Mr..
Crawford had not been in America for 10
years.
Mr.. Pinkham wrote to Crawford's pub
fishers for his address and received rather
curt note from them in which they said
that they were not authorized To furnish
Mr.. Crawforl's address TO any enc, but
would forward to him any communication
which was sent under cover to them
Therefore Mr. Pinkham kept the book,
and last winter when Mr. Crawford gave
his first reading in Chickering hall in Bos-
ton Mr.. Pnkham went to the retiring room
after the reading was over, introduced him
self to Mr.. Crawford and said that he be-
heved he had book which belonged to the
distinguished author
Mr.. Crawford looked rather incretulous-
ly for IL moment at Mr. Pinkham and then
at the volume, but when he opened it and
recognized 1t he became greatly excited
and lie said This is indeed my book. OF
all the works i'll my library / valued it
most highly both on account of its rarity
and because of some special associations
which have been connected with it. did
not think any money would have tempted
me to part with it, and its intrinsic value
to book collector represents a consider
able sum of money. Where did you get it,"
Mr.. Pinhham told him the story of its
discovery by him in Boston cab two years
before, and this anccdotc seemed only to in
tensify the mystery.
II missed that book, b" said Mr. Crawford,
NEARLY l2years ago. l never had any trace
OF 1T from the time it disappeared from my
library i'll Italy. Iwould have given good
deal of money to have recovered it, How
II could have been taken from my library
i'll Italy, brought to America, kept there
nearly 10 years and then been discovered
in this curious way passes my comprehen-
sion. can only say that am delighted to
receive it back and prize it more than |
do the majority of books in my collection"
Mr.. Crawford then introduced Mr. Pink
ham to Mrs. Julia Ward Howe and to
Maudc Howe, the novelist, his cousin, and
invited him to dine the next day with him
hat
full of the mystery of the loss of this book
and its queer recovery. and he then pre-
sented Mr.. Pinkham with three of his nov
els i'll series. writing upon the fly leaf the
story OF the recovery of his priced Dante,
and also his belief that the novel of the flu
ture was not to be n single work, but Sc
ries each distinct, and yet the series closely
identified with each other.
Z. J. EDWARDS.