Evening star., 1924-10-27
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

OF the making of books there is nc
end. and of the returning of bor-
rowed books there is no beginning
This is one of the most curious
habits of mankind. this unanimous
failure to return borrowed books. II
almost seems as If civilized beings
have entered into a secret conspira-
cy in the matter
No man can pat himself on the
back, and say: "ln this I am not as
other men. Behold in me one man
who faithfully and promptly returns
the books l borrow from my friends
Like all boasters, he would be a
liar, and the father of a lie. There is
no man living who returns the book
he borrows. None of us do.
Diogenes, searching with his Ian
tern for an honest man. could not
hold a candle to the booklover hunt
ing with a flash light for another
booklover who returns the books he
borrows.
If there is manor woman--in
Washington who honestly believes
he-or she (what difficulties the Eng
lish language gets one intoD is this
rara avis, let him or her step for
ward. l will be glad to blazon the
name so that all may see.
What is the secret of this failure,
seemingly arrived at by the common
consent OF mankind, to return the
books which one is loaned by a
friend?
Let us probe deep into the matter,
for this is IL thing much more worthy
to be given to the public than lists of
income tax returns, which are no.
body's business, anyway
But why my good friends will not
return the good boonS which they
= l.
something worth knowing,
Certainly 1t is not because they
have any felonious designs upon my
books. The booklover and owner can
have no such thought. To do so
would be to insult the goodly com
pany OF all those who hold com
munion in the name of literature.
What a solemn thought it is that
those who love the best books form
perhaps the greatest society, with
the most ancient lineage, III the
world today.
Many secret societies, founded
shortly before or after the Civil
War, are at great pains to trace
their ancestry" back to Saracens, or
Arabs. or such peoples. This they do
deftly, and it is a harmless and
pleasant thing to do, no doubt.
But the Truly Royal Society OF
Book lovers has no need to establish
any history, or coats of arms. or seek
for proofs of prior existence.
Every library since Alexandria has
been the chapter house of this So
ciety Every book, from the papyrus
to the latest volume from the press,
has been the charter, and every
reader, from that day to this. has
been a signed and sealed member.
Down through the ages the book
lovers have come. AT first they were
small band, often cut off from the
rough life of their times, and held
in contempt, perhaps, by those who
thought that life was spanned by a
sword.
Slowly. through the years, it be-
gan to be perceived by the mass that
the booklover had something which
nobody else had. So education grew
Today those who enjoy good book
are legion. They own books, they
lend books, they borrow books-and
they do not return them.
Now. why is it?
This universal failing of mankind
must qrise through the subconscious
feeling of every man that a book
is a precious thing.
There is nothing else to account
for this miserly, grasping clutch with
friends have been so kind as to loan
us.
We ought to be grateful We are
grateful. We thank him cordially
when he hands US the red volume