Evening star., 1918-05-19
THE OLD BOOK STORE.
By DIR. FRANK CRANE,
Copyright, 1881

Some day, said the wholesale mer-
chant. as he tilted back his chair and
let his soul go a bit, some day I'm
gong to have a secondhand book
store. 1t is the ambition of my life
out in front I'll have pans and
scythes and old clothes. And in the
shop windows I'll put everything to
repel customers. such as battered
CLOCKS, rusty armor. fragments of
washboards. assorted pokers, incom-
plete decks of cards, and a stuffed
rattlesnake, with a few hinges and
cob pipes.
When Philistine enters the store
he will find things still more unat-
tractive. He will see false teeth. war
ranted not to fit; wooden legs, ex-
dolls, nickel plates. cups and saucers
that don't match, left shoes, stained
shirts, and pipes without stems.
But the elect will persevere; they
will go on back, and knock three
times at the rear door. and if they
have the password they will be ad-
mitted into the rear room.
There, ah! there, Will be the place.
There will be the books, all sorts and
conditions, rare old sets which the
retired crockery dealer bought for
$500 and sold to me for S1I.5O. iIlu-
minated manuscripts from monaste-
ries, Coptic scripts on vellum, deco
rative caligraphs from Persia, rnex-
pGagated tales from Arabia, sup
pressed pamphlets. books on magic,
confessions that confess, little bibe-
lots and h.g quartos. books, books.
books everywhere, over every foot of
wall space. from floor to ceiling, in
revolving cases packed full. on ta-
pleS in buttresSed rows and in drift
ed heaps in corners.
You can see books. feel of books,
smell books
Souls of books will infest the place.
As you sit in an armchair ghosts of
books will caress you.
Ana there will be armchairs. Ter
who can read standing? Also a
lounge, and stools, and step-iadders-
one of the choicest seats for a book
lunch is the step of a ladder
And there will be a fireplace with
wood burning. and little tables hold
ing drinkables and smokables. There
will be church-warden pipes and free
plug-cut.
There will be small black boy to
fetch and carry. He viii be dumb
There will be no rules, except ISL
lence."
You can buy any book you want.
at your own price; only you cannot
take it away; you can just own it.
and let it alone. Thus several per
sons can own the same book The
money you pay goes to support the
store. Every once in a while a mil
lionaire will be introduced: he will
pay fabulous prices for books. and he
will leave them there; by and by we
will sell them to another millionaire.
Thus they will get the pride of own
ership and help keep up the store
have their uses.
Every kind of book will be on those
except new books.
Especially, here will be found those
books you heard about, but can hardly
get, small and lovingly bound bro
such as Matthew Arnold's
" Scholar Gipsy." and Baudelaire.
by Symons. and things by
Blake and Fiona Mcleod and
Sir Thomas Browne and DIR. Donne
and Francis Thompson and Walter
Pater and Nerlaine and Jefferies. and
that most precious of writers. Anon.
In this atmosphere. sweeter than
spring flowers. lovelier that forests
and shining seas. pregnant with COM
wisdom and lively fancy. I
shall squeeze out. drop by drop, the
happy elixir OF my LIFE