n
cannon, and had vague recollections of the number of 'ordnance' carried
by the Great Harry or fired from the Tower of London during Sir Thomas
Wyatt's insurrection. But even when these dreams were dispelled, his
thoughts still harped on mediaeval equipment and harness while checking
cases of boots or mess-tins; and he wondered how such things were managed
before the days of railways. Released at length from this employ, his
interest increased with leisure to pursue his investigations.

His passion now is the method in which the ancient campaigns of this
country were conducted. He is quite an authority upon mediaeval transport,
by sea as well as by land, and he can tell you at once the quantities of
bowstrings and quarrels 'indented for' during the Crecy and Poictiers
campaigns. Not long ago, poring over an ancient roll of parchment in the
Record Office, he came across a list of the ships requisitioned for the
Agincourt expedition, with their names, ports, and tonnage, inscribed on
the back of one of the membranes. Great was his delight, and it will be
some time before his friends will be allowed to forget this important
discovery.

How valuable are these researches of our book-collecting friends! Do they
not add a zest to those delightful evenings when, with curtains drawn and
blazing fire, our favourite pipe aglow, a tall glass at our elbow, we
hunt our treasures o'er again in comfort, roaming the bookstalls of our
fancy? It is well, however, that our humours in book-lore are not all
alike, else how tedious would some of these conferences become. Elation
and jealousy would be hard to banish at times when we held some coveted
volume in our hands. But with divergence of tastes such feelings cannot
exist, and we eagerly share our friends' enthusiasm in their treasures
and their delight in some newly-found gem.

It is a very serious business, this book-collecting. Whether we are
contented now to let our library be slow of growth, or whether we are
still imbued with the ardour of our early youth, we are none the less
under the spell of books. Our paths may lie outside the pale of book-land
for years, but the chance handling of a valuable or scarce volume will
instantly awaken all our bibliophilic desires. Book-collecting is not
like other pursuits. In after years we may realise that many of our
hobbies are but vanities, but the love of good books is something far
beyond all these ephemeral pursuits.

Doubtless few of