Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-16
THE FRIENDSHIP OF BOOKS.
One Who Thinks 1t SacriIege to De-
face One.

From the New York Times.
Reading the other day book by we'll
known English author, and one. too. who
has written much about books and love OF
them, and whose reputation as a book lover
is high. fancy the surprise with which the
following paragraph was read:
THE literary man, even at his desk. with
text book from which he is quoting, though
it be a passage OF only a dozen lines, Will
find it far cheaper to sacrifice the printed
book cut out the bit and paste it in than
to spend a quarter of an hour in writing 1t
OUT
Think of a man who processes to be a
be ok lover, and who frequently writes, on
bookish subjects. having so little regard for
the sacredneSS OF books al to treat them in
such barbarous fashion; and, what is far
worse, advises others to do the same. Fur
Their on in the same book this author for
it will not be necessary to mention his
nance diScourSeS charmlngly about his own
library describes it in considerable detail
and tells us how he loves to watch at the
twilight hour the play of the freight on
the books in his open shelves and to dream
over the contents of the many books stand
ing there waiting to be taken down at his
own sweet WILL Let us hope he does not
practice what he breaches, and that few, If
any, OF his seemingly cherished volumes
have been mutilated.
Surely If so treated-the pages cut to save
a few minutes of time-that man can have
a small understanding of the true friend
ship of books; nor can this feeling be thor
oughly known to any save those who really
love their treasures. The man who is SIM
ply fond of reading will never share those
far higher pleasures enjoyed by the one who
really makes friends of books.
All literature is full of the sayings of the
book lover, which mean so much to those
who can enter into the feeling and the mood
the writer is expressing. sayings which
sound SO foolishly enthusiastic to others.
The man who is able to follow Ben JON
sons precept: I'm making thy friends books
and books tiny friends" can thoroughly I'M
derstand. and he only. the story Leigh
Hunt tells of lamb: How natural 1t was
I'm Charles Lamb to give a kiss to old
folio as 1 once saw him do to Chapman's
.Homer! Hunt has perhaps written more
than any other one man about the love of
books. No one made friends of books more
thoroughly than did Hunt and it would
be hard to find one who has written more
charmingly about them. What could be
more delightful than the whole introduction
to his Book for a Corner?" How well, too,
what he has written of others applies to
himself: How pleasant 1t is to reflect that
the greatest lovers of books have them
selves become books! What better meta
morphosis could Pythagoras have desired!'
One could quote many delightful bits
from Hunt because he dwells so constantly
upon the friendliness of his beloved vol
umes. None but a true book lover could
have written the following: Il like a small
study where I am almost in contact with
my books. I like to feel them about me.
When 1 think of being in contact
with my books-I mean it literally like
to be able to lean my head against them. -
Then. too. it is only ones own books
which eventually become ones friends One
could never have that feeling for the vol
umes to be found in great public librar ies,
nor in reading books lent. These books are
tools only. or. in the case of a rare edition,
CUriOSitv-tO
at most. they serve to pass a pleasant
hour or two. But ones own books, be they
few or many, come to have a special inter-
est. They become ones best friends and
one gets to love certain books in a particu-
lar edition one never could a much bet
ter copy did 1t belong to some one else. AS
Bronson Alcott SO we'll says: "My favorite
books have personality and complexion
as distinctly drawn as If the authors por-
trait were framed into the paragraphs.
pages. Nor could I spare these volumes
from my table or shelves, though I should
not open them for twelvemonth."
Henry Ward Beecher has written much
and lovingly of books. and yet in all his
writing has said nothing which appeals
more strongly to us than this: Books are
not made for furniture. but there Is nothing
else that SO beautifully furnishes q house. I"
for looking at the backs of books is well
known and probably the true book lover
never falls to follow his example, finding,
like Hazlitt, that ''the sight Of an old vol
ume Of these good old English authors on q
stall, or the name lettered on the back
among others on the shelves of q library,
answers the purpose, revives q whole train
Of ideas and sets the puppets dallying.'
A book can never become ones real friend
In the full sense Of the word until it has
been read and reread. loved and read again
and its contents 50 thoroughly mastered
that It becomes part Of ones very nature,