The record-union., 1894-02-17

|
countless good and sweet things of ar
rangement, OF classification of book-lots,
| OF prices fitted TO the hard times, of re-
| tanning the most precious and most neces-
Sary volumes to the last. and, particu-
larly, of one strange little volume, no
| bigger than her dainty hand; volume of
scarcely more than thirty pages, done
with pen on parchment through years of
! patient research ana labor, by one Mar
Gel, Crown Advocate of France, as gift
! to Louis, LIE Grand "Tablettes Chronol-
| oglques" was its title, and 1t comprised
record of succession of all the PopeS, Em
! perors and Kings who reigned from the
! birth of Christ to I700 the year of its pre-
sentat1on TO Louis NV; a genuine curio
! bound after the fashion of that luxurious
time, its edges richly gilt by the stylus;
volume recording the birth and horo-
| logical influences, the death, manner of
death, the length of reign and the his
torians Of all these mighty potentates;
! and altogether containing VaSter, more
exact and wonderful Information than
any other equal number OF pages the
world ever knew; in fact, Il marvel vol
ume OF pro1ane history, for personal
study by the grand monarch; and such
perfect unique in lore and art and associ-
alton as the most cunning bOok-hunter
had never yet possessed.
For generations before Richard Hardy'S
time, ana TO this very moment, this little
! yellow enigma, which had passed from
among the treasures of emperors to the
| house-chestS OF the people at the sacking
Of the Tuileries, had been given no Drawer
place than library fag-end or child's
meager amusement from its strangely
| wrought characters aud designs.
But when Richard Hardy resolutely set
out the next day with his little table and
! huge package OF books, the 'Tablettes
,lr,., all
| skin cover, was safe in one OF his pockets;
and somehow the little book gave HIM an
| indetinable feeling of opulence, too, for
| Dot had solemnly declared it would prove
a mascot and bring back the parlor table,
the mantel clock, the carpet, or the book
case, before the weeks new and daring
venture was done.
1t did even more than this for him. 1t
gave him q strange consciousness of an
ancestery behind him he never before
had experienced; of the stern stuff that
was, or still should be, coursing from the
HuguenOt line through his veins and of
the mightier fact that no shame can come
to him who stands among the densest
throngs in honorable battle for home and
love.
He found himself actually nodding
familiarly to the old newswomen, hud-
ding, freezing and mumbling about the
great newspaper ediices; giving CHEEKY
salutatiOnS TO clerks, messengers, porters
and carriers who rushed and tumbled
about him; and even arranging his books
on his little table, which he set alongside
the Sun building, on Frankfort street,
while WhiStling away as blithely as
though all his life an agile and cunning
participant in the canny shifts and cruel
articles of the street. This strangely
buoyart mood carried him brayely
enough through a bitter winter day, al
most to its night, without single sale,
and, so kindly Disgusting was the Irish
frieze, more luckily without recognition
| by any friend.
Soon the comfortable looking men of
this locality began leaving the great office
building for their homes. Then a
chubby-cheeked, jolly-looking editor of
the Press passed his stand, turned,
glanced along the titles of the books,
! handed Dick three crisp bank notes for
an illuminated Homer" and went his
way. A half dozen lawyers or insur-
ance men or capitalists followed. An an
notated copy of byron" went to one of
these, and "Hallam's Constitutional His
tory of England" was taken by another.
The Lives OF the Lord Chancellors''
went to a famous corporation lawyer.
Mr.. Pulitzer, strOlling past from the
| World building, caught up and carried
away "Alonzo and Melissa One of the
Tribune editors fanced a rare old edition
of Rousseau's ''iGloisa." Somebody from
the Times wished the Lancashire
Witches" and when certain venerable
! editor from the almost historic room
above his head descended to the
street, buttoned his great coat close
up around his long, white beard,
caught sight of the little stall,
and, with the bland remark, "Bool1-
! &c Ii e,i,.
handed the young merchant a twenty
dollar bill for bright, clean copy Offthe
rare "Burckhardt's Arabian Proverbs"
and then with stately Good night. sir!'
slowly trundled away, Dick could con-
tain his understandable excitement alone
no longer.
He clutched his books. snapped to-
gether the little table, sped to the ele-
waited railway station, tidgeted impatiently
all the way to his own station, rushed
down its stairs, paid the grocer, the
| butcher, the mllkman, ordered coal by
! the ton with Outlandish house supplies on
his way, rang up Mrs. Rssper with furl-
Gus hilarity, clapped the overdue rent in
her hand with a bang and flourish, with
something besides for herself and her
children; and, scrambling up the stairs
| frantically, came to his own door and
Dots trembling, outstretched arms like
whirlwind of joy and triumph; owing no
man penny; with his days lot of books
still half unsold, and roll of bills in his
hand which it took the whirling heads
and misting eyes of these two tried souls
long and happy time to count!
After the first wild intoxication of sue
cess, there was a little reaction in Dicks
spirits and trade. Books were often re-
turned, or exchanged. Even fisticutfs
were occasionally necessary to protect
his pocket and stall. The winter wind
swept cruelty around that particular COR
ner from the open park spaces, down
past the dismal arches of the bridge, to
the great river beyond; and chillier and
more cutting far were the stealthy, con-
temptuous glances of old acquaintances
among the passing throng. But he bore
it all with positive bravery. If impu-
dent curiosity pressed him too closely,
he would deity parry it with, 'Sh-h-h
Making practical literary study. There's
a fine set of Bacon, sir ~ which was all
true enough, poor fellow! in this one re-
gion of the great city, where quarter
million souls pass and repass each day
and night, where the thunder of the
presses is never still, where more as
bounding extremes of competence and
poverty and tremendous intellect and be-
sotted ignorance, eddy and whirl, and
crash together, than in any other single
place beneath the sun.
Then there were the compensations in
character study among those who came
and nibbled at his books, tarrying and
chattering or brusqueiy purchasing and
going their several ways, and he found
himself unconsciously acquiring exact
ness in estimate of motive, intention and
secret purpose on the part of those who
prefaced their paltry hagglings with for
givable pretense, while ready diplo-
macy. on his part, grew without effort
| into fine and nice corresponding adjust
ment-the inexcrable difference between
art in theory and the art that grows pol
ished and powerful from use.
One visitor only puzzled him. This
was lady; lady plainly but richly
olnd nrnnt snlannidlu rnniSad aS If CON