The Private Library

In the matter of note-books, I am sure that it is best for every one to make notes in the way best suited to his convenience. Many, I think, find that taking notes while reading a book is an undesirable interruption. To such, it may be suggested to have slips of paper about half an inch wide, and four or five inches long, and insert these at the pages which contain anything notable. Then, when the book is finished, go through and transcribe or memorise such passages as are thus marked. I think it a great mistake to attempt too rigid a system in note-books, or too much red tape of any kind, because whenever this is done, the time and thought, which should be given to the matter of the extract helping to fix it upon the memory, is given instead to the secondary matter of keeping your note-books very neat.

Reference Books.

I have been very often asked for a book which will 'tell one everything.' There is no such book, and there never could be such a book. Omniscience may be a foible of men, but it is not so of books. Knowledge, as Johnson said, is of two kinds, you may know a thing yourself, and you may know where to find it.[24] Now the amount which you may actually know yourself must, at its best, be limited, but what you may know of the sources of information may, with proper training, become almost boundless. And here come the value and use of reference books-the working of one book in connexion with another-and applying your own intelligence to both. By this means we get as near to that omniscient volume which tells everything as ever we shall get, and although the single volume or work which tells everything does not exist, there is a vast number of reference books in existence, a knowledge and proper use of which is essential to every intelligent person. Necessary as I believe reference books to be, they can easily be made to be contributory to idleness, and too mechanical a use should not be made of them. Very admirable reference books come to us from America, where great industry is shown, and funds for publishing them never seem to be short. The French, too, are excellent at reference books, but the inferior way in which they are printed makes them tiresome to refer to. Larousse's Grand Dictionnaire is a miracle.

A good atlas is essential as a reference book, and maps of the locality where we live. A good map of old London is very useful in studying Pepys' Diary for instance. A good verbal dictionary is essential. Sometimes several should be in use: thus, Halliwell's Archaic Dictionary and Nares' Glossary are useful in studying Shakespeare. Richardson's Dictionary embodies all the good points of Johnson's Dictionary, and is very excellent for quotations. Poetical Concordances and Dictionaries of Quotations, both prose and poetry, are useful, though very rarely does one find the quotation required in any professed book of quotations. A good Biographical Dictionary is a joy; such is Lippincott's, an American work. A good Classical Dictionary is also necessary, and may be supplemented by Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography. It would be interesting to see how far it would be possible to collect an ideal reference library, and this, I think, has never been carefully done. It must be borne in mind that reference books are not all books arranged alphabetically (though the man who first wrote an alphabeted book should be Canonised). Reference books consist of such works as Rawlinson's Historical Works, Wilkinson's History of the Ancient Egyptians, and Fergusson's History of Architecture. All such books are reference books, and many thousands more. I think it will be found a good plan in the library to keep reference books (viz., those which are likely to be in frequent use) in a separate case-perhaps a revolving case-and in no library should this section be neglected. Mr. Walter Wren, the well-known coach, once lectured on 'What is Education?' and in his lecture he made the following remarks:-

'I think the first thing that made me a teacher was my noticing, when a boy, how men and women read books and papers, and knew no more about them when they had read them than they did before.?.?. Lots of people seem to know nothing, and to want to know nothing; at any rate, they never show any wish to learn anything. I was once in a room where not one person could say where Droitwich was; once, at a dinner of fourteen, where only one besides myself knew in what county Salisbury was. I have asked, I believe, over a hundred times where Stilton is, and have been told twice-this when Stilton cheese was handed. I mention this to show the peculiar conservative mental apathy of Englishmen.'

'A reader should be familiar with the best method by which the original investigation of any topic may be carried on. When he has found it, he appreciates, perhaps for the first time, for what purpose books are for, and how to use them.?.?. No person has any claim to be a scholar until he can conduct such an original investigation with ease and pleasure.' The foregoing was the advice of a well-known American librarian.

Boudoir Libraries.

Women have their own way of loving books. They are very rarely students, and more rarely still do they amass really great libraries, though many of the famous women of history have done so. Yet a woman likes to have her own books, and she likes, too, to have them separate from her husband's or her brothers', or the general family collection. Most women like tiny editions fitted into tiny cases.[25] Colour is much more to a woman than to a man, and in the binding of her books she will very often be very happily inspired. I think that it is in De Maistre's Journey Round my Room that he says, 'It is certain that colours exercise an influence over us to the extent of rendering us gay or sad, according to their shades.' Charming tiny bookcases are now sold in various woods and in all sizes, and these have the advantage of being easily moved from place to place. A very pretty effect can be produced by a book-screen, but this, to be of service for taking books, must be placed in a room larger than most boudoirs. In choosing bindings for small books do not be surprised if, when bound, your books are not as flexible as they should be. The easy opening of a book, and this particularly applies to small books, depends very much upon the thickness of the paper used, and small books printed on thick paper will never open well. Much blame is often heaped upon binders in this direction which is by no means their fault. Roan, parchment, vellum, morocco, and buckram are all suitable for boudoir bindings. Very pretty effects are produced by binding a series of small books in vellum with green lettering-pieces, and green edges instead of gilded edges. White backs, with pink or blue lettering-pieces, are also very dainty; and a pretty effect of another kind is produced by dark brown polished calf, with round backs, raised bands, and yellow edges.

Reference books, such as verbal dictionaries, dictionaries of quotations, a classical dictionary, an atlas, or a biographical dictionary, should always be to hand; and even when these are in the large library, duplicates should be kept in the boudoir.

In a very charming book, already referred to, called The Story of my House, there is certain practical advice which seems to be the result of much experience and excellent taste on the part of the writer.

'With regard to the bookcases themselves, their height should depend upon that of the ceilings, and the number of one's volumes. For classification and reference it is more convenient to have numerous small cases of similar or nearly similar size, and the same general style of construction, than a few large cases in which everything is engulphed. With small or medium-sized receptacles, each one may contain volumes relating to certain departments or different languages, as the case may be; by this means a volume and its kindred may be readily found.'

'The style and colour of the bindings, also, may subserve a similar purpose; as, for instance, the poets in yellow or orange, books on nature in olive, the philosophers in blue, the French classics in red, &c. Unless methodically arranged, even with a very small library, a volume is often difficult to turn to when desired for immediate consultation, requiring tedious search, especially if the volumes are arranged upon the shelves with respect to size and outward symmetry. This may be avoided by the use of small bookcases and a definite style of binding.'

I think here that the boudoir library should have its own catalogue, and every bookshelf marked or numbered. Every boudoir library should have a catalogue.

'In a room ten and a half to eleven feet high, five feet is a desirable height for the bookcases. Besides the drawers at the base, this will afford space for four rows of books, to include octavos, duodecimos, and smaller volumes. The shelves should, of course, be shifting.?.?. By leaving the top of the bookcase twelve to thirteen inches wide, ample space will be allowed for additional small books, porcelain, and bric-à-brac. It must be borne in mind that tall bookcases, in addition to the inaccessibility of the volumes in the upper shelves, have little, if any, space for pictures on the walls above them.'

It may be appropriate here to remind...