The San Francisco call., 1904-12-15
ECCENTRIC FITZGERALD.

Gay irrespOnsib ibility is not a quality
which lovers Of Omar Khayyam" have
associated with its best translator Ed
ward Fitzgerald, but he must have had
large streak Of it, judging from the
stories which his old friend. Sir Cuth-
bert Quilter. told at a dinner the other
evening. Sir Cuthbert declared that
he had begun his yachting career with
a twelve-tOn schooner purchased of
Fitzgerald The poet named this craft
The Emetic." and provisioned her
originally with apples, herrings and a
hottle Of gin. Sir Cuthbert added that
it was told Of Fitzgerald that one day
he wss on hoard the "Emetic" with his
usual tall hat and frock coat reading
the Times, when the boat gave a Iurch
and the translator of Omar went to
the bottom IL was most remarkable
fact-and not bit of Eastern imag-
ination-that when Fitzgerald came up
again he had his pipe in his mouth, his
tall hat upon his head and the Times
ip his hand. II was further stated that
when he got back on board his little
craft he calmly finished reading the
article that was previously engaging
his attention.
There are few more enthusiastic
bookmen in Great Britain than Lord
Rosebery. and the Earl was at his
happiest the other day when he OPEN.
ed the new Carnegie library at West
Calder. Among other things he made
a witty reference to the Index which
existed in the Roman Catholic church
a list Of books which, in the opinion
of the church, it was not well for peo-
pie TO read" and then said that he
wanted several indexes. He did not
want one for Objectionable books for
so great was the force of human curl
osity that he was afraid those were the
first books that q great many ill-con-
stituted minds would seek
He wanted, in the first place, an in
deX free from all private influence of
authors and publishers, to tell them
what were the books they ought to
read and the books they ought TO buy,
which were not by any means the same
thing. The amateur adviser as to what
and what not TO read he had found an
intolerable person. Such advice had
broken up many friendships. The man
who was recommended to read a novel
and after getting a hundred pages into
ii found it impossible to go on, and yet
after having read so much found it un-
profitable to lay ii down, swore an eter-
nal enmity against the man who recon-
mended to him that book.
BORROWERS OF BOOKS.
No limitation of means could in these
days excuse anybody from not buying
0OOlASB
books to be read and books to be
bought. They read in order to see
whether the book was worth buying.
He found two further classes of books
the books that they borrowed from
friends and returned, and the books
they borrowed and did not return The
non-returning of books had ended more
friendships and terminated more affec-
tions than any other cause of which
he was cognizant. The man who bor-
rowed one volume from a set and never
returned It was a man who should be
treated like vermin, trapped or shot at
sight, or any other of the punishments
which might be extended to this least
and vilest of mankind.
His ideal index would be that which
told them the best book to read on any
subject that they might ask for, but his
fear was that they would get nobody to
frame any such index, because his life
would not be safe. Authors and pub
fishers who do not find their names and
their books on the list would seek his
life, and he might have to sit, like the
newspaper editor in the Western States
of America, with couple of revolvers
in his drawer ready to shoot at sight
the first complaining person that should
appear.