thronged with customers
as I had never seen those of a bookstore before.

"The people at those counters are not purchasers, but borrowers," Hamage
replied; and then he explained that whereas the old-fashioned printed
book, being handled by the reader, was damaged by use, and therefore had
either to be purchased outright or borrowed at high rates of hire,
the phonograph of a book being not handled, but merely revolved in a
machine, was but little injured by use, and therefore phonographed books
could be lent out for an infinitesimal price. Everybody had at home
a phonograph box of standard size and adjustments, to which all
phonographic cylinders were gauged. I suggested that the phonograph,
at any rate, could scarcely have replaced picture-books. But here, it
seemed, I was mistaken, for it appeared that illustrations were
adapted to phonographed books by the simple plan of arranging them in
a continuous panorama, which by a connecting gear was made to unroll
behind the glass front of the phonograph case as the course of the
narrative demanded.

"But, bless my soul!" I exclaimed, "everybody surely is not content to
borrow their books? They must want to have books of their own, to keep
in their libraries."

"Of course," said Hamage. "What I said about borrowing books applies
only to current literature of the ephemeral sort. Everybody wants books
of permanent value in his library. Over yonder is the department of the
establishment set apart for book-buyers."

The counter which he indicated being less crowded than those of the
borrowing department, I expressed a desire to examine some of the
phonographed books. As we were waiting for attendance, I observed that
some of the customers seemed very particular about their purchases, and
insisted upon testing several phonographs bearing the same title before
making a selection. As the phonographs seemed exact counterparts
in appearance, I did not understand this till Hamage explained that
differences as to style and quality of elocution left quite as great a
range of choice in phonographed books as varieties in type, paper, and
binding did in printed ones. This I presently found to be the case when
the clerk, under Ham-age's direction, began waiting on me. In succession
I tried half a dozen editions of Tennyson by as many different
elocutionists, and by the time I had heard

"Where Claribel low lieth"

rendered by a soprano, a contralto, a bass, and a baritone, each w