Evening star., 1926-06-11

These are the books he loves the
best
His other volumes stand row upon
row, books old and new, large and
small, in dark covers and light, and
some In leather, combining to present
beautiful picture to the booklover.
These books in the small case, how
ever. are those he loves the best of
all. For they represent the literary
enthusiasms of his life. To date,
books in general have brought him
much pleasure, but these the most of
all.
Looking at the case, one might not
suspect any system in the arrange.
ment OF the contents, but there is q
method behind this apparent madness,
one dear to the heart of the booklover.
Being privileged to look over the
Sentleman's book treasures, we are
able to bring the reader here a gen
eral picture, one which will no doubt
awake memories in the heart Of every
one who has ever had a book en-
thusiasm.
A book enthusiasm, 1t hardly need
be said, is distinct from the love of
books in general.
when one acquires q particular en-
thusiasm for certain type Of book,
he becomes a true lover of books, and
it is not until he does acquire this
enthusiasm that he can really be
called Booklover with a big b.
Each such small collection upon a
particular topic is a reflex from the
life of the collector. 50 that, going
through such a library, we can see,
In retrospect, the past ages, likes and
dislikes. of the person involved, and
be able to prophesy. to some extent
at least, ms future reading years.
x X X X
With what loving care has he kept
here the fairy tales of the Brothers
Grimm and those of Hans Christian
Andersen, These constituted his first
book enthusiasm, as they have of
many another person.
Blessed with Il good memory, he
can recall his unvarying delight at
the story of big Claus and Little
Claus" and how he turned the page
with haste to avoid seeing the pic
ture OF the old witch in the story of
"Hansel and Gretel."
Wonderful stories of childhood DAYS,
They pass, as reading. from ones
life, but the memory Of them remains
always with US. There was the Ugly
Duckling" and the Little Match Girl
and the Lead Soldier" and The
Snow Queen" and Il host of others
dear to memory.
These are better stories for children
than Wilde'S Fairy Tales" because
they lack the note of elaborate sad
ness which characterizes the latter.
If one approaches either Grimm or
Andersen later, perhaps he will be II
bit startled at the trend Of some of
the stories. Let him remember, how
ever, that such Indifference TO pain
experienced by others is a part of
the character OF children. 1t is based
upon lack of knowledge and an al
most total lack of experience.
Yearly we have expected some soul
to bob up with a protest against these
old fairy stories, on the ground that
they implant cruel ideas in a child s
mind. No doubt some one will do 1t
yet, The truth of the matter, how
ever is that all such ideas run off
a child's mind like water off a duck $
back. Viewed from the adult stand.
point, the story Of Great Claus and
Little Claus" Is quite Manifestation
the child's point of view, it is simply
funny.
And here, in q shelf 10 themselves,
are the Henty books.
They We're his next book enthusi-
asm, one that did not dwindle until
he had wheedled his parents into
buyinC him practically every story