Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1902-03-21
NOTED BOOK THIEVES
HISTORICAL FIGURES WHO sToLr
UNIQUE VOLUMES.


King OF the BIhIiokIept Fribe-A
Cardinal, "a Biahop nnd a Priest In
fected with the ManIn.
Book stealing is m art npon which
much Ingenuity has heen expended
One never knows In what form II will
next break nus. 1t is an incident by no
means uncommon IN booksellers row
for blhliopole to be offered book
which had been stolen from his ncxt
door nplghbor There Is sometime
more than tradition 10 the effect that
a bookseller has on occasion purchnsed
a book taken Minute or two Drpvlous-
ly from the shelves outside his sbopI
favOrlt' mudP OF stealing books
from public libraries Is to procure a
book sit down to read It and then
wrap It up In an overcOat aud after
this to take M paper or magazine
The rcst is easily guessed. The public
libraries suffer in all sorts Of WAYS. for
here the accumulated wisdom of the
thief finds plenty Of scope. Some of
the tribe have iunnin for old directo-
ries. Librarians complain frequently
| of the clerical thief of sermons and
theological literature
Novels and books of the blbllophlle"
(as the French call them one can uu.
derstnnd being stolen. but sermons
and theology! Women. more or less
generally more respectfully dressed
are often objects of suspicion with H.
brarinns. for the 'recpptivlty" Of cloaks
is infinite. and the feelings of the
culprit must also bp considered. Asa
general rule, the thief Is well dressed
and educated aud frequently we'll to
do.
Whatever may, be the causes which
prompt a person to steal books. there
il always this consolation - he is in
good company. This hahn may not he
very healing one to the soul Of the
person whose books are stolen. but
must be consolntory to the thief when
repNntlng In prison to know that some
great and good men have been touched
with tho same species Of insanity.
Hearne, in his Johannes tilastoni-
ensis." more than hints that Sir Thorn
as BodIey had weakness In this d.
rection. 'If you hold" he warns Sir
Henry Savlle. amy book so denre as
that you would bee loath to have him
out of yonr sight. set him aside" etc.
Moore. bishop of Ely. has likewise
come under such n stigma. the anec-
dote runs. to this effect: A gentleman
calling on friend who had a very
choice library found him unusually
busy In putting his best books out OF
sight. Upon asking his view In this he
was answered. Don't you know the
bishop OF - dimes with me today?"
The very king of book stealcrs was
Librl. who as inspector general of
French libraries under Louis Philippe,
had special facilities for helping him
self and whose known thefts have been
valued at 100000. The most Interesting
illustration Of this mans depredations
was exposed in 1865. when Lord Ash |
buruham issued translation of the |
Pentateuch from Latin manuscript |
which had been purchased by the late |
Lord Ashburnham from Libri. who had |
sold 1t under the condition thnt It was
not to BE- published for twenty years.
1t had been stolen in 1917 from the
Lyons library, and the last clause of |
the agreement, therefore could be cas-.
lily understood. Libri evidently was not
one of those whom Jules Janin de-
scribes as people who don't think it
theving TO steal book unless you sell
IL Afterward."
Innocent n, when still Mgr. Pam
phiiiO, stole n book from Du Moustler
who was himself book thief and
ought to have been en- courant with the
devices and designs of his own weak
nesses. 1t is refreshing to come across
an example when the tables are so
turned, and If anything
would induce an honest man to turn
book thief it should he the exhilarat.
Ing fun Of stealing from another thief.
1t is reported. however. that Du Nous
tier recovered the book and thrust the
out of the house
Catherine de- Medici went In for steal.
ing books by wholesale and barefaced.
She seized the fine library of Marsha.
Strozzi and promised to pay his son for
It In installments. but never a farthing ;,
did he get.
OF another and equally extreme type
was the Spanish priest Don Vlnccnto.
who sold books and then murdered the
purchasers to regain possession Of his
coveted treasures. Like most Of the
biblioklept tribe. he came to grief at
last. The original edition N4S2l of the
"Furs ordinations fetes per los glor-
Osos Reys de AragO ais regnlceis del
Regne de Valencia" was offered for
sale by auction aud after long and
obstinate competition was knocked
Gown to bookseller named Paxtot
A week after Paxtot's shop was
burned down. and he was suffocated
at the same time. Suspicion was d.
Fected toward Don Vlncento whose
residence was searched. and there at
length was discovered the incunabule
above named. The priest was arrest
I'd, and at the hearing he confessed.
not from contrltion or the fear of tor
uepts In the next Tcrld. Ikgt bec0use
Hnafiachp offan rpEulfs froN, n die