Mexico weekly ledger., 1902-08-07
RARE OLD ZONES.


Paradise tor h1pihiRnltSa ~ ~pfn9t "
Congressional library.
What q wealth Of absorbing inter
est to Inc hibllomaniac Is TO DO found
in the glass cases IN the northwest
gallery Of the library o ~fcongress, says
the Washington Times. What pre-
cious volume which il q delight for
him only to view, without the priyi-
lege Of turning the leaves and listen.
Ing to then delightful rustic, and en-
joying their crisp touch.
Books relating to the early settle
ment and history Of this country,
books older than the discovery 0 this
continent, their beautiful black let.
ter and immaculate parchment defy
ing The rayages Of time, and testify
ing to The thOroughness Of workman
shipin those days.
What wonderful ~engrayings in
these rare tomesi Here's serious and
literal illustration Of men with their.
co~untenances placed on their chests,
and minus the eaput altogether. They
are supposed TO be natives Of this,
our country, and we're doubtless &C.
cepted as such by many thousands
across the ocean.
Such chubby alIegorical children,
their cheeks distended, and blowing
very solld-lookng wind from their
mouths to all quarters Of the COM
pass, such impossible delineations Of
water and land Of this globe, and its
then undiscovered or little known
partsl
But, it is all delightful, orinthose
days-who that reads these books or
as much thereof as he can, can doubt?
the world, though not 50 large, was
fresher and younger, with more mag
nation, if less fact. THERE'S nothing
dry in these old books; men wrote in
those old days to astound, and then,
too, those were the days Of tyranni-
cal kings and princes, Of "slashed
doublet and silken hose" and clank
ofswords, andgilded spurs
Here is a wood cut Of Eoah's ark,
all the compartments labeled so that
the habitations of birds, animals and
men are elearlyindicated. Itindicates
a quaint old book by ROlenvinck, en-
titled sFasiculu's Temporium, pub
lished by Petrus Drach, date 1477.
just beside it is the beautiful life
Of Christ" by the learned monk, Lu-
delphi di Vita. The illustrations are
exquisite, and the blue, crimson and
gold as fresh looking as though the
white fingers Of the ecclesiastic had
toiled over them but yesterday.
One case is devoted to Chinese
books Of strange form and characters,
and rich in covers Of golden and en-
broidered silk. There Is d magnifi-
cent manuscripts of the thirteenth cen
fury, a Bible written on yellum, with
$50 largo illustrations and nearly
1900 miniatures. What fresh and
beautiful colors and sparkling gold.
Like nothing that is done nowadays;
far brighter than any Of our mere
mechanical productions Of yesterday.
For the mar who drew these ex-
quisite little pictures and Inscribed
these letters was actuated by no hope
Of material gain; it was to him a labor
Of love, the payment for which he
hoped and believed was inscribed by
the recording angel in the Book Of
Life.
The series Of old books is arranged
in chronological order, beginning
with the year 1867, only about IA
years later than the date assigned to
the first book Of any magnitude, and,
with a book for every year, continues
to the sixteenth century, when, books
having been less rare, the specimens
are more numerous.
The first of the series is a large folio,
the constitution Of Pope Clement ".
It is fabricated, and the title page,
as is usual in these early books, is at
the end. The arrangement Of the
reading matter finds a counterpart
in the journalistic printing Of to-day,
iudentations being made on
each page, and small paragraphs in.
therein.
There are a number Of books bound
in richly-wrought leather with coro-
nets and armorial bearings stamped
thereon. Many Of these are from the
Libraries Of famous noblemen, and
some from those of princes. One
bears the imperial arms Of the first
Napoleon, and was presented by him
10 Josephine.
Here is a fine collection Of books.
Of humor, adorned with oriQi. /
impressions Of Cruikshanks in.
.mitable ~engravings. Altogether.
.hese little pictures give a wonder.
-ully vivid idea Of English life in the
'arly part Of the last century. We
zee the old stage coaches, With their
passengers attired in the costumes
a tho {fna tnat~&a..1 ~