The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1910-04-22

ried step, and hour by hour the value,
OF that set of Shakespeare as leather
and paper sank low and lower still,
until one-third Of it's worth was all
that was left to it. In another week
might have had it for the asking,
perhaps. But you shoppers, you did
not hurt the thought in the book mol
were the Typography and the mar.
gins joggled awry by your contemp-
tuous hands. can sink back across
the arms of my easiest chair and find
as much of Shakespeare's divine es-
sence as Cleon shall find in his hun.
dred-dollar edition.
Therefore I thank you, careless
shoppers. When the glad season
comes that reckless shoppers turn
their thoughts to books, come out, ye
bargainers, and depreciste COM
plete set of "The Taller" for me.
Only spare the integrity of the
leaves. If you but let the LEAKAGE
rival that of Vallambrosa care not
how you smut the covers, for there
are detergents that shall kill all
germs.
When I had secured my Shake.
speare thought that there might
peradventure be set of Scott for a
song. saw an "Ivanhoe" here and
"Redgauntlet" there and Lady
of the Lake" hard by, and asked
the maiden, late of the lace depart
ment, whether they had SCOTS works
complete. She walked up and down
and cast a searching eye over the
mass of books.
NO." said she, finally, there's
nothing left but his poems and the
Waverly novels.
A crippled Shakespeare, with rea.
soning powers still intact, might seem
% be enough of bargain for one
lay, but at another table I found
cores of essayists on dress parade
md waiting to be transferred when
It should suit the will of some ran.
dom purchaser. They were massed
in solid phalanx, for they had been
SO unattractive to the rushing shop
pers that they had scarce given them
toss. There was nothing limp
about them: There they stood undis
mayed, ready for friend or foe, pipe
clayed anad soldierly, with Shining
morning faces" And 10 cents would
buy their discharge!
What do you think, you thoughtless
> persons who spend a hundred dollars
for week at the Rangeley lakes
what do you think of "A Week OF
the Concord" for 10 cents? Ant
while you can do no more than catcl
; some fish that will fade in few day,
I can catch and keep forever thought,
as quaint and as homely as Thorea,
{ was himself
o Cleon, you with your plethora
purse have never learned the delight.
of working for your moneys worth
: You spent 5000 without the fun Of
picking and choosing, while l, for lest
than SO, have picked up library Of
good fellows; and enjoyed the search
withal.
!, The book-hunting shoppers did no,
!. toss and gore Balzac, for the very
, name seemed to them something "sci
| 0ASAASS anu IASy Qo660O u4l4 W al
II they had been so many Levites
, Their unjust discrimination agains
. him, was my loss, for still lack {
Balzac. Next year 1t would pay you
to dipRinto the Frenchman little, y.
scrim-hunting ladies. Te is seasil,
. handled and although in the depart
ment-store edition his covers are no
limp. you can bring down his price
!. appreciably If you follow bargain-sals
> tactics. And when you have be
paved him and rejected him as worse
than rubbish, will you kindly drop me
i, a postal that may go to see whether
!, he has been let down to my stature'
= But for one afternoons browsing
credit me with Macaulay's Literary
, Essays" Carlyle's "Sartor Resartus,
, Lofts Iceland Fisherman" Elmer
= sons. English, Traits" Curtis's "Pru<
and l." Thoreau's walden" and hi
Week on the Concord" and Shake
! speare on crutches, and there is still
!, some virtue in the SO. Cleon.
wouldn't change places with you un
!, less. together with your generous bal
ance at the bankers, could keel
my ability to tire cut q dollar.
Copyright. by James Pott q Coz
; Marrying In Haste.
As an instance Of the marrying II
| haafoO r,rincin1o that 0htaino In uomx