Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-08-04
EUGENE FIELDS SPARKiES,
They enHghten the Public on the Subject
of Booksellers,


of Booksellers.
fMr. Eugene Field, in the Chicago Record
The average bookseller knows that
the hardest customer he has TO deal
with Is the customer who assumes
the air and the tone of the man who
doesn't want to buy anything. The
attempt at deception Is as plain as
the nose on mans face, for If there
be one thug impossible 1t is the abil.
ity to disguise the passion which con.
sumcs the bibliomaniac when he Is
on the. trail of coveted game. There
Is q hungry look in his eyes, u pinched
look about his nose and mouth (such
as is usually to be met with in the
case of intestinal malady), his voice
Is hollow and unsteady. he assumes q
gayety that Is transparency fraudu.
lent, his conversation wanders from
one topic to another, assiduo,isly
avoiding that which concerns books
in general and the object of his
search in particular--in short. his
appearance and his department be.
tray to the practiced eye OF the book.
seller that very condition which he
would fain conceal. Yet the book.
seller is polite enough and shrewd
enough to humor his victim in this
absurd assimilation: he emulatcs
the example OF the crafty wife, who,
while leading her husband to believe
that he Is having his own way In
everything, actually leads hi m about
as though she had him by a ring in
the nose
Mr.. Benjamin II. Ticknor once took
me into the labyrinthian book store
under the Old South meeting house
In Boston and taught me show to buy
q book" l was after a first edition of
one OF Longfellow's books; not q rare
work by any means, but then, you
know, one likes a bargain whenever
one can get It. We found the book,
and Ticknor picked up four or five
other volumes, saying: "1'he smart
thing to do is to get these all priced
In u bunch, for when the seller
doesn't suspect you're after one par.
ticular book he'll be easy In his
prices. Then, after you've got his
price, you can pick out the volume
you want and leave the rest That's
the way to fool him."
The plan seemed very excellent,
but upon putting It into execution 1t
did not operate as smoothly as had
been expected. The books we did
not want were priced ut IL cents
apiece, while the book we did want
was 1926 I bought II glecfully,
only to learn few hours later that
the same thing was Obtaipablc else.
where for 70 cents. and / have since
been told by booksellers OF every
degree and quality that the practice
Into which my friend Ticknor
initiated me Is one with which the
vericst tyro In thc trade Is acquainted,
and Is mentioned even In u letter up.
on the subject OF petty popular dc.
ceptions written as long ago US the
second century by Avunculus
Scriblerius, u Roman bibliophilc, and
q descendant Of the Pliny family OF
blessed literary memory.
In one Of his dialogues we cannot
recall which One-PlatO refers to one
Critic, who had u shop In the Acropo.
lis. as that dog OF a BOOKSELLER"
The ancients enjoyed great latitude
In speech, hut Plato was SO conserva.
tive a person that when he falls to
matchmaking his bookseller we can
de 9end upon 1t that he has been
"donc" In shameless style. Just about
the time Plato was employing this
severe language his old friend Socrates
was lecturing his first class In philos.
ophy on the subject OF "lnstinct, and
In the course OF his lecture he used
the morable words, "YOu can't fool
a dog" which phrase has been EN-.
plOyed for the last 2, 900 years to point
many u moral and to adOrn many q
tale. The Bishop of Uzcs, himself a
profound philosopher, theolOgian and
scholar, us well as a most joyous
blbliophile, wrote pamphlet to
prove (and he proved 1t, too) that the
classic Socratic phrase, "YOu can't
fool dog" was actually, In the orig.
inal Greek, you can't fool a dog Of
bookseller" the former phrase being
simply and naturally an abbrcviatiOn
of the original.
The discoveries constantly being
made by philologlsts are exceed ngly
Interesting. No less a scholar than
Dr. william II. Harper, President of
Chicago University, Is authority that
the ancient Hebrew equivalent for
"transgressOr" and that for "bOOk.
buyer" ur dealer In hooks" are FROM
the same root, and are practically in.