The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-09

not wish to lend. he will keep it con cealed from the eyes of callers.
 
 There are people who not only dc not hesitate to borrow a book them selves, but who lend 1t precisely as if 1t were their own to their cousins friends and neighbors. so that 1t goes on @ rather long round before the owner is so much as consulted Some times these thoughtless people say, T took the liberty of letting So and 1t at the library. and she has been sc anxious to see it. knew you would not mind"
 Usually they make neither explana- ton nor apology. A book does not seem in their eyes so precious or so per- sonal that 1t has any rights that must be respected.
 The book lover has another trial. To him and his. books are not merely collections of printed matter bound between decorated covers; they are worth far more than the dollar or two they cost. One feels richer when the book he has longed for is safe on his library table, than he did when he saw 1t on the news stand or in the book sellers window. Perhaps he has saved it's price by small economies; a carfare here, deSSerL IneTes ne nus lunched more frugally than his cus- tom in order to buy a coveted book without committing an extravagance. One does not always or even If he is a book lover, buy books only that they may be read. A book once read IS not tossed aside like an old shoe, nor is it's power of giving inspiration ana instruction exhausted because 1t has been read. They who love books read nn Cf fhA1Y company as we are wont to sit with familiar friends who so love and under stand us that speech is not essential to intercourse. Books are companions and comrades; to the genuine book lover books are society. Not without a wrench can they be lent to the pub lie.
 There never was so little excuse for the borrowing of books as in these days when libraries abound, many of them free, and most of them well-stocked. Circulating libraries not free to the public seldom charge a very large an- nual fee, and a subscription to one of them may properly be included among the legitimate expenses of family.
 When books may be readily obtained from & library they should not be bor- rowed or loaned by individuals
 The remedy In the hands of the book lover IS a llLLle SSuIle HFHaHSSS- MuCu trouble would be eliminated from this world if people had the courage of their and could learn to say no in tones at once decided and agreeable. Establish a rule and abide by 1t, and you will not be thenceforward an noyed. Into all book-loving homes a good many volumes drift which belong to the transient and ephemeral variety of literature. These may be freely lent whether or not they are return ed in due season is a matter of small moment Technical books, essays by favorite authors. books that belong to sets and the like, should never be lent except with distinct understanding that they are to be kept for limited period and returned without injury.
 The person who borrows book should cover it, guard it from the hands of children and of Irresponsible adults. and should not allow 1t to remain longer than a week or a fortnight away from its owner.
 Without offense anyone may decline to lend volume belonging to set, or to allow a highly expensive edition de luxe to pass beyond the precincts of his own house. At the same time, an invitation may be rendered to exam inc either of these volumes where 1t is.