Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1909-01-14
The Romance of a
Second Hand Book


secondhand book store has al
ways possessed so great a charm for
me that l seldom visit a city without
seeking out one or more of these
haunts and spending a portion OF my
time there.
1 had frequently noticed one OF
these stores in an obscure part of the
city, among other old buildings all
more or less advanced In the process
OF decay. There was a large sign In
the MISREPRESENTATION Books for
Sale"
Yes, there they were-all my old
friends in their faded, worn coverings.
only more dusty than usual and more
shame-faced in the midst OF their un-
congenial surroundings.
At length found a box containing
set Of ten neatly-bound volumes
-translations OF some of the best
stories Of Europe. from the scandi-
navian, Russian, French, Italian, and
German, together with volume Of
selected American stories. Although
enjoy q good story occasionally, 1
have little time to devote to anything
aside from the newspaper and medical
Journal. Yet they seemed permeated
with such a spirit OF refinement and
were so out OF keeping with their en-
yironment, that determined to pur-
chase them. and give them a place in
my small, but wsllselected library.
What II the price Of this sstf" I
questioned.
"Dis7 She only tree dollar. II she
was now. you must pay eight dollar
for her; but she Is yust so goot ais
new. You takef"
The beSrimsd proprietor spoke
the truth. They were indeed cheap
and scanned to have been touched by
4 tender hand. for they were scarcely
soiled-
Where did you get them?'' asked.
"Me7 o, 1 buy dem. One young
man come In here NIT the box In his
hand. He vas in college but he had
very small money, not enough to buy
his books NIT vat he must use. He
wanted one Greek grammar und do
tionary. look all arounds und after
long time. I find dem give him die
Greek books, und he give me desc;
but before l take die box, he uncover
1t und touch all die books NIT his
hand so soft like you never see"
What kind OF 4 looking man was
her
20. he was so tall ais you He have
blue eyes, und his face was white like
my baby girls. l ttnk he do better If
he go oet und chop wood ono while,
den he get In his face some red"
While speaking. he had wrapped
the books into an avkward-looking
package. and without questioning him
further, l withdrew.
That evening went into the small
suite of rooms adjoining my Office
that 1 called home, and seated myself
in an easy chair to examine my pur-
chase. 1 took them all from the box,
busted them carefully, and placed
them in the bookcase near some vol
umes OF American stories. Then, one
by one, l took each volume from the
shelf and examined 1t carefully, All
of them were marked read ono or
two OF the stories. The pencil marks
always inolosed the choicest, finest
passages. On the margin In one OF the
books was written in pencil. these
words: Miss x"
Miss K! What q train of mem
cries this name awakened In my
mind! How distinctly ! again saw the
face Of beautiful Katherine Keath,
whose pure soul shone through her
gentle eyes. irradiating her entire ma
ture. Again her hand was In mine. i
was breathing my love for her, my
lips touched hers experienced the
same indescribable Joy that had felt
In those happy months that followed.
Then again 1 felt the anguish of pain
and despair that came like q deadly
storm upon those sunny days Of hope.
Again those dear eyes were looking
at me In dazed reproach az / madly,
jealousy accused her of something, /
know not what Then she was gone
and nothing was left but the lonely
blank Of the months that followed,
until tireless work at length brought
partial oblivion, alleviating the pain
that was gnawing at my heart. At
length the darkness and chill of the
room aroused me. arose YEARLY
and sought my bed only to lie there
In feverish unrest. Some three or
four months after my visit to the
book store. I received q telephone mes
sage requesting me to call upon a
student who was Ill. 1 did not find
his name In the directory of the
floors, but finally was directed to the
basement. / entered a small inside
room whose only light and ventilation
was from the court. Upon a bed lay
a young man. His eyes were unnatur-
ally bright from the inward feveT that
was consuming his life. His hair had
not been cut for some weeks and his
brown curls fell over his brow. He
turned those eager eyes toward me
as / entered,
Good evening, DOCTOR" he said,
cheerfuliy, in his weak voice. II guess
you'll have to ind 6 chair yourself
Some of the fellows were with me
awhile but they've gone to recitation"
drew a chair to bis bedside and
found that he was far advanced in
typhoid fever. should have been
summoned three weeks earlier. The