not, dear
bibliophile, of never being able to join in the mad scramble for these
"uniques;" nor need you feel that they are essential to the formation
of a library. They possess no virtues perceptible to the ordinary
bibliophile, and it requires all the eloquence of a Cicero to
elucidate their charms when displaying them to friends. For after all,
the chief point of interest in such books is their cost price, and
this you may be obliged to refrain from mentioning for fear you will
be accused of being mentally unbalanced.

It is not necessary to squander a fortune in collecting a library,
nor to be hasty in buying every book you come across. Better go slowly
and select wisely; you will derive more enjoyment from it, and in
later years have less to charge to "experience account."

There are a few "busy" book-collectors who intrust the selection of
their books to secretaries or librarians, and thus sacrifice the
keenest enjoyment of this captivating pursuit. Of all absurdities,
this seems the most insupportable. It would be far more sensible to
have your secretary select your friends, because if you should happen
not to like these, you could abandon them without ceremony or expense.
Why not also attend the opera and your various social functions by
proxy, through your secretary? If he were as good a courtier as he is
"literary adviser," he might succeed in getting as much enjoyment out
of the receptions and dinners as you would, if you were to attend in
person. Then, think of the _time_ you would save! We frequently hear
the remark: "I have no time to devote to my library. I am very fond of
books, but haven't time to collect or read them." And yet seeing what
may be done in this regard by care and system, and that the greatest
readers have been the busiest men, it seems strange that persons of
intelligence should thus express themselves; should admit such obvious
fatuity of view and procedure.

In referring to this class of book-buyers, Roswell Field says, "The
book-lover, so-called, who lacks any of the thrills that go with the
_establishment_ as well as the enjoyment of a library in all of its
appointments has deprived himself of many of the most pleasurable
literary and semi-literary emotions. That bibliophile never pats his
horse or his dog. To him his books are merely tools of trade,
accessories to knowledge, to be pawed over, thrown away and replaced
by new copies when worn out. He glories in the fact that his boo