94 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



[No. 144. 



making a little pause at the end of every word or sen- 

 tence, to avoid confusion. The friend in the mean- 

 while saw his own sympa hetic needle moving of itself 

 to every letter which that of his correspondent pointed 

 at. By this means they talked together across a whole 

 continent, and conveyed their thoughts to one anotlier 

 in an instant over cities, or mountains, seas, or deserts." 



Addison goes on to say, 

 . " That in the meanwhile, if ever this invention should 

 be revived or put in practice, I would propose that 

 upon the lover's dial plate there should he written not 

 only the four-and- twenty letters, but several entire 

 words, which have always a place in passionate epistles, 

 asjlames, darts, die, lan^i'oge, absence, Cupid, heart, eyes, 

 hang, drown, and the like. 'Ihis would very much 

 abridge the lover's pains in this way of writing a letter, 

 as it would enable him to express the most useful and 

 significant words with a single touch of the needle." 



Now it appears very probable that so close a 

 prediction, though taken under a playful and 

 falsetto view, might in tiie darker ages have given 

 the character of a prophet to good Mr. Strada, to 

 say nothing of our Iriend Addison, who has thus 

 brought the story before our eyes. W. R. 



Surbiton. 



NOTES ON BOOKS AND BINDINGS. 

 {A Card to suspend in the Library.^ 



1. Never cut up a book with your finger, or 

 ■divide a printed slieet if it be ill folded, or one page 

 will rob the other of margin. 



2. Never lend a book without some acknowledg- 

 ment from the borrower ; as " I O U. — L. S. D. 

 — ' Ten Thousand a Year ' — L. L. D." 



3. Never bind a book wet from the press, as it 

 cannot with certainty be made solid without risk- 

 ing the transfer of ink from one page to the other. 



4. Never compress a book of plates in binding, 

 as it injures the texture of the " impressions." 



5. Never brand books in unseemly places, or 

 deface them with inappropriate stamps ; for to mar 

 the beautiful is to rob after generations. 



6. Never destroy an antique binding, if it be in 

 moderate condition ; for no other dress will so well 

 suit its complexion. To rebind a rare book, for 

 any other purpose than its preservation, is a con- 

 ceit. When an old binding has been characteristic, 

 let the new one be a restoration. Never put 

 modern books in antique jackets, or vice verxd. 



7. Never destroy old writings or autographs upon 

 fly-leaves, or otherwise, unless trivial ; nor cast 

 away the book-plates of a former owner, for they 

 become matters of history, often in themselves ex- 

 tremely curious. It is a graceful act on the part 

 of a second possessor, in re-binding, to remove the 

 arms of the first to the end board of the volume, 

 that it may pass down to after ages with their own. 

 In destroying old covers take care to examine their 

 linings, for on some ancient boards are pasted rare 



leaves, woodcuts, and other matters, of little value 

 in their day, but worthy of preservation now. 



8. Never allow the binder (as he is wont) to 

 remove the " bastard," or half-title ; for it is a 

 part of the book. 



9. Never permit him to place oblong plates In 

 ordinary books otlier than that the inscriptions 

 beneath them read from the bottom of the page to 

 the top, face they odd or even numbers. 



10. Never bind a large map with a little volume, 

 for it will most likely tear away : it also Injures 

 the solidity of the book. Maps are better separate, 

 both for reference and preservation. When a map 

 is the size of two pages. It may be guarded at the 

 back, so as to ibrm two leaves of the book. Maps 

 and plans may be thrown quite out of the volume, 

 by affixing them to blank leaves' at the end ; the 

 student having the whole plan before him during 

 reading. 



11. Never allow sheets to be pierced sideways 

 at the back ; serials and pamphlets are much 

 damaged by this method : and if a plate be turned 

 in binding, the holes appear at the fore-edge. 



12. Never bind up twelve volumes in one ; It Is 

 bad taste: nor tether a giant quarto to a dwarf 

 duodecimo, as they are sure to fall out. 



13. Never permit a volume to be cut down at 

 the edges, as it Injures its proportion and dete- 

 riorates its value. 



14. Never have a book "finished" without the 

 date at the tail on the back ; as it will save the 

 student much trouble, and the book wear in and 

 out of the shelves. 



15. Never have registers or strings in your books 

 of reference, as they are apt to tear the leaves. 

 Single slips of paper are the best registers. If too 

 many be not Inserted. 



16. Never destroy all the covers of a serial 

 work : if It contain an engraving not to be found 

 in the book, bind one In at the end. It will show 

 the method of publication, and prove of interest. 



17. Never in binding patronise "shams" — as 

 imitation bands and false headbands, spurious 

 russia or mock morocco — If you desire durability 

 and truth. 



18. Never allow books to be near damp, ever so 

 little, for they mildew very soon. 



19. Never permit books to be very long in a 

 warm, dry place, as they decay in lime from that 

 cause. Gas affects bindings, and russia leather 

 (erroneously supposed to be the strongest) in par- 

 ticular. Morocco is the most durable leather. 



20. Never stand books with roughly cut tops 

 upon dusty shelves, as dirt falling upon their ends 

 insiiiuates there. Gilt edges are the most safe, as 

 dust may be 'removed from the metal without 

 Injury. , . 



21. Never put books with clasps or carved sides 

 Into the shelves ; or they are apt to damage their 

 neighbours. Books with raised sides may be kept 



