Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-25
A $4,000 BOOK.
The Man Who Paid the Big Price
Didn't Get 1t.

What Is the highest price ever got for
book?" said the genial old second hand
bookstore man in response to question
from one of the regulars sitting behind
the little old salamander stove under the
stairway.
Well, don't know as 1 can tell exactly,
but l sold book the other day-a week ago
last Friday, L think it was-that cost a
well-known real estate Spectator in this
town $4,000, and he didn't get the book
either.
1T was a copy of Mandurio's Maison
HypnotiQue, book of .astrology, dreams
and witchcraft. written by a monk in the
fourteenth century, and very rare. / don't
Know as L ever saw another copy besides
TINS one and this was brought to Wash
ington by diplomat who ran a pretty
corky career here for a few years and
finally pulled out for a sweeter climate.
me book IS regarded as a talisman, l am
told by swell gamblers. | got $50 for it,
but 1T is worth good deal more than that.
The way this book cost the real estate
man $4,000 is a good story. 1t became
known around town that the diplomat had
unloaded his books here, but he had, it
seems. kept 1t secret that he had this
dream book in his possession or that he
had parted with it. | suppose his notion
was TO buy it back some day. l had given
him $40 for it, and he would no doubt have
been glad. when his luck improved, to have
paid twice that to recover it. One day one
of his friends came in here and found the
old dream book here. At his club that
night he told a New York acquaintance
who Is spending the winter in Washington
about it. The next day the New Yorker
was in here bright and early and looked at
the book. Not knowing much more in re-
gard to it than L did. he asked me to save
it for him for one week until he could learn
something more about the Maison Hyp
notique.
Il put the book up here on one of these
back shelves and thought no more about it
until one morning the New York man came
in and held out a $50 check and said he
would take that dream book. l went to the
shelf to get it and wrap it up. and 10 and
behold, it was gone! Then there was d
fuss sure enough. The cold sweat came out
on me if 1 had been robbed of half of
the store. | couldn't imagine what had
happened to me. I could think of no one
else that had been interested in the book
very much, and to guess who had taken
it was a hard matter.
Il stared at my customer and was speech
less He didn't seem to take it as hard as
l did. and / felt a slight relief at the
thought that he was of philosophical turn
of mind and would not blame me or sus-
pect that l had broken my word and sold
the book to some one else for a higher
price than he and I had agreed upon. If
there is anything I despise in a second
hand bOokdealer, 1T is to betray customer
who asks you to hold a book for him by
selling it 10 another person who outbids
him.
Il was trying TO think what 10 say to
my man. when he smiled and shrugged his
shoulders, and 1 knew he could tell me
what was up.
81 know where the book is said he
| and it is all very funny. I have a friend
up town who has bargained to sell me a
piece of real estate for $4,000. and we
We're this morning talking over the details
of the purchase in his office. During the
interview L got up and was walking up
and down the floor. when I happened to
pass closet, the door of which was partly
open. There on a shelf was my Maison
Hypnotique as real as life. And / am sure
1t is the same copy l saw here. 1t was the
same binding-the blue stained vellun-
! and it had thu same scratches on the back
| Oh, can't be mistaken about it. / walked
| up and down that room forty times until
l had Photographed the book on my mind
! forever
When he mentioned the mans name 1
| remembered that he was one day looking
/ at ina dream book, but he put it back on
/ the shelf and went away without asking
word about it. 1 called my clerk and
| asked him If he had dared to sell a book
| out OF my reserve shelf. and he said that
! he had not done such thing. Then 1
! qulzzed him about this dream book and
| finally asked him if the real estate man
mad got anything here lately.
" oh. yes, he said at once He went ont
| with book here the other day. Said it
/ was one he had reserved and that he wound
send in a check for it as soon as he had
put through real estate deal he had on
L
ieve. that he would get 10000 out of il
| and was going to spend a thousand or two
| IN books TO make up for going without
| books he had wanted during the, last four
| or five years.
That settled it. We knew where the
| dream book was. L asked the New Yorker
what he wanted me to do.
| DO? Ill do all that is to be DONE he
| replied. If you want to see some fun
watch me go for that fellow. 1 want that
| DOCK more than do his BANKED old real
estate, and III punish him if I'm a loser
| by doing it, ''-
/ Well. sir, that fellow went inst as
| straight as he could go to the other fe1
lows office and demanded his dream book.
and got 1t, too. And then he told him he
wouldn't buy his land. There was an au,-
! rul sque2l and 1t was a week before the
real estate man could really believe thai
| the New Yorker meant what he said R,t
when ne learned that he had bought an
other piece of property he succumbed. He
! had paid big price for something he
didn't get That was the biggest price
| Of" ei Heelru