Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-22

ence to conventional order entails dis |
aster: and it did with him. But never to
a doubt of his unselfishness. Of his hon
esty of purpose. or Of his profound per-
sOnal integrity.
His own contributions to literature.
apart from reviews and the Book for
All Readers f19OD. were chiefly COM
pilations: The American Almanac" dur.
Of Parliamentary Rules 0ss4>: the
volumes uss1-ss): the Library of wit
and Humor." five volumes GssD; the
Famous Events ten volumes. eas94- 1900;
these latter. subscription books Of the
type with which our country has been
flooded during the past quarter century,
spite of the contempt in which they are
held by the connoisseur who disdains
literature in fragments. though approving
bits OF nature. and Of art, and of
ones reach. But as a member Of three
societies in Washington-the Literary, the
Historical and the Anthropological-Dr.
Spoford was contributor of historical,
of descriptive and of critical papers.
which were always notable for their full
ness of detail. their vigor, and their adj
mirably measured. If somewhat formal,
style. No one can remember him dull
| on such occasions. nor could any utter
ance OF his be trite which came from
personality so convincing. One Of his
latest such contributions was to the His
torical Society, in his last and crippled
year. And no member of the Literary
will forget the latest of all. at a meeting
only few months before his death, when,
with eloquent Indignation and a wealth
of resource. he delivered Shakespeare
from those who would dispossess him in
favor of Bacon or some other.
His literary taste, if conventional was
exact in its perspective. When, however.
the matter was not of a choice of litera-
ture. but OF books. he became the anti
quarian. Not the future, but the past of
book Interested him And the values
of the past were equal. He had indeed
a dominant ambition for the Library-to
see 1t rich In "Aner!cana.' He could not
bear the thought that precious original
imprints should be lacking in it. though
found in the Lenox or the Carter Brown.
1t was no consolation to him that we had
the text itself in some other form. even
in facsimile: and he was obviously an
guished when we decided against the ex-
penditure for some such imprint. because
we had to decide in favor of some text
in itself Indispensable to research. Yet
his enthusiasm would seem just as keen
ticular and in no sense photographic but
Gas his ardent blue pencil would proclaim
against it, 'long sought.
If. however. his sense OF values seemed
to lack proportion. it was applicable in
as it was cultivated by the method which
for nearly forty years he had followed
in the development of the collections.
There are two methods practicable: one
is by systematic selection in accordance
with scheme of organic development:
the other is by the immediate acquisition
of any proffered items within the general
field. The former inSures a collection at
each stage symmetrical. The latter does
not: which is not to say that 1t may
not result in such collection If pursued
far enough.
The press notices concerning him have
uniformly dwelt upon the marvels of his
memory. In reading them one might be
reading the record of a Magliab ecchl 1t
was indeed Of all librarians. Maglia
becchi whom. in this respect and some
others. he perhaps most nearly resembled,
except that he would not, I think have
been willing to claim the learning that
tradition ascribes to the famous Italian.
1t was the books that he knew; not, eX-
cept in certain fields. the subject matters.
He was not. for instance. a classical
scholar nor thorough linguist He had
not. on the other hand. special knowledge
of nor interest in any branch of science
or the arts. He was indeed reader rather
than scholar. But he was notable proof
Of what may be accomplished by the mere
reader. intent. absorbed. with a definite
purpose and an indefinite capacity. |
Genius may. as claimed. be the habit of
infinite pains: with him. in reading: it
memory of the thing read followed as of
course So he himself explained it,
The extent and precision of his own
We're uneXampled among American libra |
rians. They were impressive. brilliant |
Combining with the wonderfully respon-
sve agility of his mind. the service that |
thew enabled him to render during the |
half century when. but for them, the |
library was chaos. was an indispensabie
service which gave life to the collections
and insured their future. IT is doubtless
by it that the public will chiefly remem-
Der him.
1t was due TO it. also. combined with
his indomitable industry and his equally |
indomitable optimism that the collections
signified what they did when they were
moved over from the Capitol For only
those qualities could have enabled him,
without complete catalogues. without prop
er photographic apparatus. with an made
uuate staff and a but trivial purchasing
fund (Which never exceeded $4,000 a
year: only those qualities. ! say. could
have enabled him to gather into the col
lectionS the mass of invaluable material
which they then represented.
His Sense Of Duty.
But to us his associates. It was not his
memory but certain traits. which signi-
fed: the former was phenomenon of
curious interest, the latter were qualities
affecting / need only name
them: his ardor his devotion, his pa
tience his steady fortitude, his essential
sweetness. his SiNplIClty. |
The severe trial of these in his latter
years left them undiminished. They con-
tinued even through the closing months.
when activity must have meant effort.
and effort. pain. Never once within my
did he utter on expression
that rendered our recent tasks more diff
cult. although the purpose of these must
have been to him in many respects in
different. and although they necessarily
involved some temporary neglect of con-
as 10 the development of the
which he held sacred.
To give over to another the accus-
toned reins of authority is at no time
easy: to give them over at the moment
when the institution is emerging from a
pinched and narrow to a spacious and
glorious life: from the life which has
been struggle to the opportunities for
which one has struggled; to give them
over then and with them the prestige
and the privilege Of the office: such sur
render IS hard indeed The man who
like DR.. Spofford, can make 1t without a
murmur before or after is of incredible
rarity. The man of his years who, hav-
ing for two generations been chief exec
uI1ve, cannot merely subordinate, but en-
dear himself to his successor. and never
waver in fidelity to the institution nor in
for it's interests-such a man
has achieved a feat beside which mere
feats of memory are Of trivial moment.
With him. however. this was not feat,
bit nature; the ordinary expression of a
absolutely loyal, consistently UNI
I6c,, rive oil n JlyII |