Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-10
OCCULT LITERATURE.
Paper by Henry R. Evans Before Ii
brary Association.

AT the regular monthly meeting of the
District of Columbia Library Association,
held yesterday evening at the Public Library
the principal paper was presented by Mr..
Henry r. Evans of the bureau of education.
His subject was Magic and It's Professors,
with Some Account of the Literature of the
Subject" and was based on his monograph
entitled "Cagliostro, Study in Charlatan-
ISM"
The speaker devoted the first part Of
his time to the life and adventure of the
famous Count Cagliostro," pointing out in
the beginning the in eresting fact that the
notable charlatan was praeticing his impo-
s1tions most successfully at a time when
ratlonalism and materialisn- were all DOM
1nant in Europe and belief in magic and
the supernatural was rap..y declining.
Born of humble parents at Palermo in
TAB and receiving but a seanty education
said MI vans, young Balsamo (this was
MS real name) early recognized the influence
of tn supernatural on the human mind
so great reputation did he soon obtain
as alchemist and conjurer of spirits that
dukes and countesse i, .bis''oI- and other
high dignitaries deemed it an honor to be
invited to his seances. and received him on
terms of intimacy to their society. Among
his closest friends was the famous Cardinal
de Rohan, whose name was intimately
linked with his own in the M jsterious neck
lace affair.
"A most interesting landmark of Paris.
preserved to this day in fair condition Is
Cagiostros house. Hitler repaired, in the
necromancer's palmy days, the elite of the
French nobility. Up the narrow and now
dingy staircase dainty court ladies care
fully picked their way to witness the sum-
moning of the shades of Rousseau, Robes
pierre, Marat and other famous leaders in
thought or action who had lately passed OH
the stage. When the house was carefully
explored, thirty years or more after the
magicians death, v~st number OF Inter
esting instruments, connected with the
practice of the black art, was discovered
There was likewise revealed a secret stair
case, up which many of the wizards
ghosts may have been made to pass.
The house is far from pl possessing exter-
nally and excites little interest in the aver
age tourist.
ION literature the count has made a
distinct impression, as the Empress Cath
arine, Goethe, Dumas and Funck-Brentano
have successfully introduced him to their
readers
In closing, Mr.. Evans referred to two
famous collections of occult literature. The
first Is owned by DR.. S. NJ Ellison of New
York and comprises some 1 AGO volumes on
natural magic. The relative size of this
library may be inferred from the fact that
the late Prof. Hermann, who owned thirty
five books on his art, deemed himself In
possession of a good collection. Mr. r. M.
Taylor of this city is the owner of 5000
volumes on occultism, destined later for the
Scottish Rite library.
In opening the discussion on the technical
question, Shall a numbered series of sep
arate monographs. on different subjects,
be classified individually or shelved as
set? Prof. r. p. Falkner maintained that
economy in binding anu the necessity for
careful preservation of material of this
character make it usually advisable to
keep sets together. 1t is impossible to put
everything on the geology of Idaho in one
place on the shelves, and the subject cata-
logue must do the ar lying.
ba rrecidept followed nv reading a letter
from Prof Edward Farquhar, who stated
that at the patent office library they be-
come more and more inclined, as time goes
on, to break up their sets and scatter them
among specific subjects
Mr. Charles Martel admitted that the ex
pediency of a library might require sets to
be held together temporarily, but that most
of this class of publications are designed
as separate works and should be treated
as such Moreover, If you bind ten mono
graphs in one volume you may debar nine
readers from access to work in order to
satisfy one.
Mr. A. B. Slauson, on the other hand.
argued that many pamphlets of this kind
are so thin that they would be difficult to
bind alo,e.
Mr. j. C. NJ Hanson suggested that the
question was closely related to that of the
general classification in any given library.
Remarks were added by Mr.. Parsons on
the side of unity of sets and by DR.. Thomp-
son. Mr. Burchard and Mr. Sonnerk In
favor of the analytical method
The discussion was prolonged till quarter
after 10, when it was voted to postpone
certain specific phases of the question I'LL
a later meeting.
President Solberg in summarizing the
arguments. felt that from the standpoint of
both writers and users of monographs there
Is a growing tendency to regard and to
preserve them as separate works.
Fifty-seven members and friends were in