In other cases, where the personal history of a
well-known book seems worth detaching from
our critical estimate of it, that shall be the
subject of my lucubration. Perhaps it may
not be an unwelcome novelty to apply to old
books the test we so familiarly apply to new
ones. They will bear it well, for in their
case there is no temptation to introduce any



i o Gossip in a Library

element of prejudice. Mr. Bludyer himself does
not fly into a passion over a squat volume
published two centuries ago, even when, as in
the case of the first edition of Harrington's
Oceana, there is such a monstrous list of errata
that the writer has to tell us, by way of excuse,
that a spaniel has been " questing " among his
papers. These scarce and neglected books are
full of interesting things. Voltaire never made a
more unfortunate observation than when he said
that rare books were worth nothing, since, if they
were worth anything, they would not be rare.
We know better nowadays ; we know how much
there is in them which may appeal to only one
man here and there, and yet to him with a voice
like a clarion. There are books that have lain
silent for a century, and then have spoken with
the trumpet of a prophecy. We shall disdain
nothing ; we shall have a little criticism, a little
anecdote, a little bibliography ; and our old book
shall go back to the shelves before it has had
time to be tedious in its babbling.
