The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-02-26
Priceless Volumes Which
>. the Coterie Coveted.

ahe Philosopher of the Chicago
Evening Post writes interestingly of
the arSaints and Sinners Corner in
Mecnrg's bookstore at Chicago, made
famous by Eugene Field. Death has
removed the central figure of the not
able coteries and fire recently DESTROYED
the store. The Saints and Sinners
CeTnetS is no more, and the PhiIos-
opher says: 81 -
Field named it" said DR.. N. d. Hill
lis. W. .yNRs rather too young to know
much about the Saints and Sinners
CQrneH but I remember it well as one
Of The most delightful of places. There
ere%lllanYr books of rare value, and
many that were interesting and Gu
rious, though not so costly The most
notable volume that / remember in the
cofnertWas very fine edition of Rusk-
in$ works, 1t was the original edition
ots lS4Sss and was rendered even more
attractive blythe fact that Ruskin him
self had presented it to Frank Hollyer,
the artist. How it got into the Saints
and Sinners' Corner after that, | do
not know, but it was there"
Who were the saints, doctor?"
We'll, DR.. Stryker, DR.. Gunsaulus
and DR., Bristol We're styled the saints"
And Field was the sinner"
Wei, he claimed to be. AS I saw 1
was rather young for the original
group. but often met them there, and
the, meetings were delightful. There
was much OF brilliant conversation at
times, and very often it had nothing
whatever to do with books. AS a rule
they all talked OF rare editions, of Gu
riGus. editions Of fine libraries they had
seen or dreamed of, and occasionally
they told stories.
DO you remember any of the stories,
6octor?"
YES, but I think / will not tell them.
l may say another thing about that
corner. You will understand that for
many weeks / have been too busy to
visit the corner. think | have not been
there since the beginning of the year
But the thought that l wish to express
is that In the old days the men who met
there frequently sat for hours at g, time
Without saying a word to each other.
They looked at different books, some
times they read whole chapters, some
times they only SKINNED through titles
and chapter headings, and sometimes
they simply sat at ease and stared at
the backs of the volumes they knew so
we'll and priced so highly. 1t was some
times more than book store to them"
1t was the most interesting group of
liars ever assembled, said DR.. Gun
saulus. For ten years that Saints and
Sinners Corner was q. pla &c where con-
genial fellows met 1t was an associa-
ton without rules of order or times of
meeting. We simply Toasted our eyes
on beautiful books, on old MANUSCRIPTS.
and chatted With each other after the
usual fashion or book fiends | remem-
Der taking DR.. Watson down there-Ian
Maclaren, you know He was amazed
at the richness of the collection He said
that he knew nothing like it in London
or in Edinburgh. INTRODUCED him =
the fellows, and they were as well
pleased with him as he was with them"
What did you do. doctor?"
OH just discussed things. It was, as
say, q most interesting collection of
liars Everybody carried some treasures
about with him. The stories told some
times were more amusing than profit
able. There was - old cot in the place
which Field lugged in one day, and it
used to be the custom to hide things in
that cot. L don't know. how 1t happened
that no one ever stole the treasures
which he found there
Willard, you know, had charge of the
corners and one day a funny thing hap
pened. But before that let me say none
of&us was rich. They all wanted to
haTeathes things they saw, and l sup
pose often we broke the command
ment which forbids us to covet For
instance, there was no hope ef our ever
getting a treasure Il Francis Wilson