Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-03-23

OIL the reading public, all the same 1t 10
yet doing a much neededsa and helpful
work in this age of rapid look produc-
ton when not only the youthful, but
the adult mind as well is powerless to
choose among the endless crop of books
annually dumped upon the public. And
i trust the Boston public library will go
on wedding out trash until it stands a
monument to classic literature, to whose
catalog we may restfuly turn in our
sore bewilderment and perplexity to.
know what to read.
Here is good set of rules for the
reader by Dr. Henry Van Dyke, cor
densed from his preface to Counsel
Upon Reading of Books.
Read no book with which the author
has not taken pains enough to write in
q clean, sound, lucid style. Life is
short.
Read the preface first. Go in thru the
front door.
Read plenty of books about people
and things, but not too many books
about books.
Read one book at a time, but never
one book alone. Well-known books all
ways have relatives Follow them up.
Read the old books--those that have
stood the test of time. Read them
slowly, carefully, thoroughly. They
will help you to discriminate among the
new ones.
| Read over again the fen best books
| you have read. The result will test. your
taste, measure your advance and fit you
for progress in the art of reading.
| Poor Edgar Allan Poe has not yet
been placed on the list Of immortals
But he is on his way there, if one may
ljudge by the recent price paid for one Of
/ his works at a New York auction
house. The book was 'Tamerlane and
Other Poems, printed by Calvin Thorn
las in 1927, and it sold for the snug sum
of s2025. A small fortune this would
have been to the melancholy poet in the
old days when the poem brought him
lEothing-not even fame!
But a small edition of this book was
printed, and supposed to have been de-
stroyed, as thus far but three copies
have been found. One copy-tilat in the
British nluseum-was found some years
ago by Henry Stevens among a pack
slage of old books which he purchased in
London for pence, and sold to the ,nu-
j scum. Another copy. originally held by
len old bookseller in Boston. became at
i his death the property of various own
s|ers. thence circulating to New York
where it fell into the hands Of Collector
y. j. Mckee. at the recent sale of whose
collection the book was knocked down
to George H. Richmond at the price
mentioned above The next day Rich
linond resold it at a good advance over
i this price to one j. b. Halsey. who also
holds possession of the third and sole
REMAINING copy. So it seems Mr.. Hal
Il sye has now a corner on "Tamerlane.s
las he owns two-thrds of the edition
with no more copies in sght
Perhaps It's just as we'll the unfortu-
4 mate poet was not here to learn of these
sky prices which would have made him
hluer than ever. and would probably
have inspired him with another
Raven blacker and more doleful ever
than the former.
The following are calls for books at a
\ western library Account of Monte
i Cristo Count of Corpus c,risty Dan,ts
internal Comedy. Darwin's Descent or
N1anM Acrost the continent by Boles
4 squeal to "a book Something in the way
4 of friction. Less Miserable. Some d
Nfacbetfl's writings. Feminine Cooper,
works. Life of National Hawthorne
From Jessie TO Ernest. Autograph OF
i the Breakfast Table. The stuck-UI
scta