dress or fashion
And his rusty coat smells musty;

while in characterizing the natural impulses of true bibliophilism, he
says that

Bibliophiles take pride in showing
All the gems of their collections;
They are generous in bestowing,
They have genuine affections.

Peignot says a bibliomaniac is one who has "a passion for possessing
books; not so much to be instructed by them as to gratify the eye by
looking on them." This presumption is about as reasonable as it would
be to say that a man is a monomaniac because he gets married when he
is in no special need of a house-servant, or body-guard.

In his _Bibliomania_ Dibdin enumerates eight symptoms of this "darling
passion or insanity," in the following order: "A passion for
large-paper copies, uncut copies, extra-illustrated copies, unique
copies, copies printed on vellum, first editions, true editions, and
black-letter copies."

The first of these should be omitted from the symptomatic category:
it would be fallacy to assume that one is a maniac because one admires
the ample margins and paramount qualities of these large-paper copies,
which Dibdin himself says are "printed upon paper of a larger
dimension and superior quality than the ordinary copies. The presswork
and ink are always proportionately better in these copies, and the
price of them is enhanced according to their beauty and rarity. . . .
That a volume so published has a more pleasing aspect cannot be
denied." He adds that "this symptom of the bibliomania is at the
present day both general and violent." No wonder! And yet the charming
Dr. Ferriar dips his pen in gall and writes the following satirical
lines upon this highly commendable "weakness:"--

But devious oft, from every classic Muse,
The keen collector, meaner paths will choose.
And first the margin's breadth his soul employs,
Pure, snowy, broad, the type of nobler joys.
In vain might Homer roll the tide of song,
Or Horace smile, or Tully charm the throng,
If, crost by Pallas' ire, the trenchant blade
Or too oblique or near the edge invade,
The Bibliomane exclaims with haggard eye,
"No margin!"--turns in haste, and scorns to buy.

Dibdin ventures to further assert that "the day is not far distant
when _females_ will begin to have as high a relish for large-paper
copies of every work as their male rivals." If he could return to this
sphere and behold the enormously increased