ook
he gave the woman was not unkindly, but it spoke volumes. He knew a
thing or two about books; he was thoroughly conscious of his
superiority over her, when it came to their value.

During the last thirty years a magnificent work has been done in
suppressing and destroying the filthy literature that was almost
openly sold in the streets of many of our largest cities. Too much
credit cannot be given the society that took the matter in hand. I
believe that nearly every dealer to-day aims to keep his stock free
from demoralizing books; but in the nature of things the line of
demarcation cannot be drawn with entire satisfaction to all. About
twenty years ago an itinerant dealer was arrested in a New Jersey town
for selling a certain book. I was present at the trial, which was
somewhat farcical. The defendant had gathered together a large number
of catalogues to show that the book had been sold by the most
reputable dealers in the country; and that it was included in the
catalogues of most of the public libraries. But the judge would not
allow this as evidence. He took the stand that the whole question
rested upon the book itself. It did not matter what the rest of the
world thought of the book; they were there to judge whether or not it
was immoral. (The penalty for selling an immoral book in New Jersey
was, I think, at least one year's imprisonment.) The jury was composed
of twelve yokels, eleven of them had never heard of the book, the
twelfth said he had read it about twenty years earlier. As the whole
thing hinged on the opinion of the jury as to its character, copies
were supplied by the defendant, and the jury was sent into another
room to read the book. After an hour or so they returned. All agreed
that the story was not immoral, and the case was dismissed.

It would be a pleasure for me to write of the many distinguished
persons with whom I have become acquainted during my career as a
bookseller and buyer. But were I once to begin on the subject I fear
my readers would believe me lacking in "terminal facilities." I should
regret, however, to have to close this article without mention of the
many delightful friendships I have formed with authors, customers, and
publishers. And I may add, with the men who sell to me--whom, almost
to a man, I have found thoroughly conscientious. These are pleasant
features that go a long way toward compensating one for being in a
business, the profits of which, at the best, are sm