The San Francisco call., 1895-07-28

now but a fable or legend. 1t were as
great rarity in these days to meet the
young lady in society who does not know
her Shakespeare and her Browning, her
Carlyle and Emerson, as once it would
have been to have met one who could pro-
nounce words of more than two syllables,
or had ever read novel or a book of
poems.
But there is one condition that remains
as it was. The business world is still in
the hands of men. The realm of politics
and finance women have not usurped.
And so while men are engrossed with these
things, which in this last part of the nine
teenth century require all application and
energy to keep abreast of the foodtide of
this raging torrent of power-seeking and
money-getting, women have had ample
leisure for the fostering of the arts and
time for the study of literature. In this
must be found the reason for the fact that
women are the better book-buyers and the
greater readers, aside from the daily news
paper and the reports of stocks and bonds.
This is especially true in San Francisco,
and her young women, heiresses of for
tunes, flowers of the drawing g-rooms bellies
of society, are among the best book-col-
lectors and ibrary-makers.
But while the mum Der OF Libraries belong
ing to young women is large, 1t is some
few typical ones we will consider. And
that OF Miss Ella Hobart should stand
first, mainly because of its great intrinsic
value, size and scope.
Miss Ella Hobart is the second daughter
of the late Walter S. Hobart of gold mine
fame.
She is a bright and vivacious young lady
scarce out of her teens. Force and per-
sistency and withal generosity, the inner
l. T,4t .aI IA hivNa
the successful man that he was, make the
daughter esteemed among her friends. In
their elegant kone on Van Ness avenue
Miss Hobart lives with her brother and
sister. With her she has as a com mpanion
Miss Vassault, formerly a teacher in Miss
Vests school for girls, very cultured
woman, who has done much to direct and
foster Miss Hobart's natural literary bent
of mind.
Possessor of a large fortune, ample
enough to supply even things of caprice
and whim, in selecting her library she has
denied herself no volume or set of books
she has fancied or desired. And the book
vender's shelves, well stocked as they are,
cannot always meet the demand, and the
firms European agents hold ever lists OF
valuable, rare old books, original editions
and those out of print, to be picked up as
the opportunity offers in Paris and London
bookstores and in sales of private libraries.
It is interesting to note the evolution of
the plan of Miss Hobarts library. 1t first
began with the moderate desire to possess
good sets of the standard works of itera-
ture, and Hawthorne George Eliot, Dumas,
Thackeray and the like went to her shelves.
The selecting of these brought her to see
beautifully illustrated books, done in fine
etching, steelengraving and water colors.
Large books are unwieldy and require
much space in the library, so she turned
her attention soon to the smaller illustrated
volumes, though equally as fine and beau
tiful in workmanship, the series illustrat-
ing the legend of the HWandering Jew"
which possesses a remarkable grotesque-
ness and power, and BalZac, Rabelais,
Dante's "Inferno," all illustrated by Dore,
the rare and inimitable Cruikshank books,
"Daphnis and Chloe" and Hamerton' S
books.
Reading led to a knowledge of other
works, footnotes referred to histories and
criticisms OF special subjects and so the
books referred TO took their places on the
shelves.
Pictures and continual reference and
quotation from ancient writers led her into
the realm of Greek and Latin classical
literature and on to the classics in all
languages One of the later orders of Miss
Robart's that went on to Europe was q
long and exhaustive list of old and valu-
able French works.
American and English publishers are
constantly adding to the fine editions OF
standard works, and each as it comes forth
is received in Miss Hobart's library. The
scarborough edition of Stevenson, when
finished, will be there. But the first few
volumes of this work have as yet been
issued, and the subscription list is full,and
no copies are obtainable now except at a
premium. This work is edited by Charles
Baxter, lifelong friend of Stevenson,
and every leaf bears in monogram water
mark of Stevenson's and Baxter's initials
commingled. They are library size, but
each volume of so light weight as to be
easily handled. The type is like that OF