New-York tribune., 1907-11-08
GOLDEN MARGINALI4.
Sc1bbbngs in Books Which We're
Not Resented.
m The Manchester Guardian.

From The Manchester Guardian.
We have all been taught in our childhood
that it is wrong to deface books by scribbhng
in them, but as grow up we learn that there
are notable exceptions to this rule. Coleridge
for instance. a chartered lbertne, quite
different from the people who. Macaulay said
when he made Croker furious by comparing
his annotations TO theirs, distigure the margins
Of novels from the circulating libraries WIN
How true!" or Cursed prOsy!' Lamb tells
ms that IL was worth while lending books TO
CoIeridge, who returned them with usury, en-
riched with annotations TRIPPING their value;
MANY are these precious manuscripts Of ms.
added Lamb "dn matter ottentlnes, ana a.
most in quantity not unfrequently, Nylng with
the originally, in no very clerkIy hand, leglple
in nv Daniel, in old Burton, IN Sir Thomas
Browne and those abstruser cogitations OF the
C;raviIle now alas! wandering in pagan lands
I counsel thee, shut not thy heart. nor thY
library against s. r. c" Coleridge was aware
of the value which his friends-and, for that
matter posterity-would set upon these scrlh-
bled annotations Of his. In Lambs Beaumont
and FIetcher-the folio which gave Ella and
Bridget so much careful calculation OF ways
and means before 1t could be carried nome III III
triumph-he wrote: IN. B-I shall not be long
here. Charles gone you VIII not mnd on my J;
having spoiled book in order TO leave reno. ,
In another book. which is now the treasure OF
an American collector he wrote: ! ShaI dle
soon NV dear Charles Lamb and then you viii
NOT he vexed that 1 have scFibbed your book
There is according to Mr. Lucas. a Museum
legend of one reader who, In the interests OF Il
fair page, went carefully over certain o1 CoIe-
ridges marginalia with india ruhper, aIld re-
moved every mark. We are wiser nowadays
corresDOndent Of the 'IlneS' gives an
oncount Of a collection which has lately been
presented to the London Library. whose chlef
interest for the majority Of readers Will consist
IN the fact that II formerly belonged to Leslie
ctenben who has scribbled freely over the mar
pins The books-six hundred In number-are
CbieNv concerned with the English Deists, ana
o,+erv volume is either annotated with mar
yinaI notes IN Stephens handwriting or adorned
Nth tinv penciI drawings Of heads OF animals
euch as cats monkeys, dogs. fishes. rabbits, ana
60 forth The most interesting of these volumes
&c annarentIv a COPY of HObbesS 'HlStoria &c
cIesia silica !" 1858 on the f1yleaf OF which three
successive owners have noted their opinion or
the hook in philosophical Latin. The first, VINO
&c identified I'm good guess with Robert
Nars the philologer, did not think Mighty or
IIobbess book which he summarized as "A
1,orlr so harbarous in style, so confused ana op-
.c,,re IN argument that it neither can be under
stood nor Is worth while understanding nave
,,ot -oad II through" he nalvely ADDS, nor
sbau do SO" The next owner OF the booK was
pnbart coutbey who disagreed with ms prede-
aossor '"Rut have read It through, he sald'
..,o+ ,vitbout profit and indeed certain pleas
- 7 do not regret reading IT through Inc
-. 4, o,ninentIv characteristic OF Homes allke
a., a. acuteness of its reasoning and the harsh-
Iit - 90 Jte versidca ton To this stephen adueu;
sT Zoo have read II through. and entirely agree
.,,.t. couthey's opinion. Hobbesii mini a me
,,,,,, nuto" Though we may deprecate the
arai rractice of annotating books, IL cannot
5nted that in this considerable IN
.aat ,e is added to a volume that few modern
oadars would tackle without some such induce-
nent.