The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-03-11
South's Libraries
Their Vastness and
What Became of Them.


| One of the most remarkable changes
| produced in the South by the I'll for
| tunes OF the civil war and invasion Of
commerciaIism is 10 be seen in the dis
! persal or gradual disappearance Of the
! old family library as it was in plenty,
| even so late as a quarter of century
| ago. says the Alexandria, La, CORES
! pondent OF the New York Sun The home
| of the Southern planter, who looked over
| his baroniai acres and counted his hun
| dred slaves, might be furnished with a
simplicity that in instances approached
! rudeness. he house might be large and
| poorly built For that matter, a tightly
| fitting window frame or door is not known
! in Dixieland today. The structure might
and probably did-lack all modern i'm
| provements," as sewerage, bathing. and
| lighting facilities have come 20 be known
| The table might be richly or poorly fur
! nished and served. The grounds about
| the big house" might be clean or dirty
| accordingly as the mistress OF the estab-
| lishment was much or little Of a house
| wife The baron himself might be as
| independent as mud turtle, or he might
! owe money TO so many men in New Or
leans that he kept away from them alto
/ gether. But, whatever his i'll or well
! estate. his library was likely to be a
! thing Of beauty and worth infinite com
| fort.
/ It is a little emarkable-considerin
| the amount Of reading done by old South
erners, the character Of that reading.
and the preparation they were subjected
to before beginning it-that the old
South had such paucity OF literary out
put II is TO be explained only by the
| fact that the people of the upper grade
/ were undoubtedly slothful Love OF the
| sweet do-nothing was born into them,
! and, for fear that il might noc be strong
enough. it was exampled before them
through all of the years Of their lives.
The room in which the books stood re-
condite upon their long shelves was calm
Il was in a quarter Of the house where
no noise was. 1t was a sacred room.
Long windows, known as French win
dows"-plenty Of them-came down TO
| the floor. Outside in proximity a pecan
or oak tree cast its grateful shade and
the rustic Of the summer wind in the
verdurouS branches was soothing. There
was all necessary light Of a clear, soft,
subdued, the ideal light for reading. At
night. upon the large mahogany table
that stood in the center Of the room,
two lamps Of latest pattern stood. They
were lamps that a modern would throw
away, but they were great things in the
days when no man thought Of putting
on spectacles until past sixty. The walls
Of the room on all four sides were lined
with shelves to the ceiling. These shelves
were Allied with volumes, many Of them
in sheep
There were no glass doors to the
shelves. The backs Of the books were
open TO the air. It was theory N the
South that closed shelves made book
worms. However that may have been,
it is true that the volumes in a South
ern library were never bored through by
the little paper teredo. This may have
been due largely to the fact that, how
ever large the collection. there was not
a book IN it that would not have been
taken down and gone through al some
time in the year. On the floor OF the
library" as the room was always called
was a dark red carpet in the winter and
in the summer a light cool mating, pale
yellow and showing a faint red or blue
stripe. The carpet was taken up and
put carefully away in the spring and
the carpet put down in early October.
With the exception OF these two dates.
the library was exempt from the bi-
ennial terrors Of house-cleaning.
There was never a mistress stern
enough, never Negro maiden bold
enough to invade that apartment with
scrub broom and bucket Of soapsuds.
Upon oath to be excessively careful, they
were permitted to come in twice a week
and go over everything, the backs of the
books included, with a feather duster
or soft towel. That far they might ven
ture, and no farther. As well might one
Of the polite sex have attempted TO
invade the holy gun room and trihe with
the new muzzle loader which cost fifty
guiTeas in London. In either case retri-
button, swift unspeakable, would have
followed. Easy chairs-the easiest of
easy chairs-stood about this library"
Some Of them were Of strange forms
and materials. products OF the leisure
but they invited 70 rest and gave it
when the invitation was accepted On
one side Of the apartment was a long.
low. springy, leather covered lounge.
upon which, when mental absorption or
dinner sat too heavily upon him. the
master OF the house and the land and
the human chattels slept profoundly.
a red silk bandanna covering his face,
and only q whisp of his gray hair show
ing under its folds
The library may have contained five
thousand volumes or ten thousand vol
Umes. but It was never. catalogued The
catalogue" was fiction in every such
place. When the planter entered into
headship Of The sacrc-sauct room. he
was probably = young man. or. at least.
on the sunny side OF middle age JJe
made uD his mind that the books must
be cataIogued, and he began 20 Do i.
He wrote five pages OF manuscript arf
the desisted. Thereafter. through al the
years. cataIosuing The library was his
one task never finished. He returned
70 it-or rs5her returned u talk about
doing tt-rime and again. bGt he nsrar
did il When he died MS eldest son aIsa
began a catalosue. whisa had a similar
ending.
The composition q the library vas.
as Mr- Venus would say. various L
vas certain % contain anory other
things. ell q the more advanced text
hooks % the uaies q The family who
had graduated from P-i1ceson. OF WI
liam and Mary, Ct The University q vIr-
s.nia- This kept II reasonably supplied
with the Latin ard Geek classics.
though. II case a Horace Of sappa0 had
bseu expursatad 81 the doctors ~ ths