clutch of one unused to handling such wares, as a bachelor to dandling 

 babies ! How he groans when his pet's joints are cracked, and when 

 the visitor wets finger in mouth to turn the leaves, how the sweat runs 

 off his brow ! For those barbarians who lay a book down upon its 

 face, or mark a place by turning down a leaf, or write notes upon the 

 margins, or pull it down from its shelf by the foretop, rather than by 

 indenting the books on each side, or cut open its leaves with the 

 finger, or rub the palm of the hand over the smooth morocco— for 

 all such there must be peculiar and terrific punishments in store in 

 the future state. Let not a satirical smile light up the countenance of 

 the unbeliever when the book-possessed draws forth a choice missal 

 from its velvet envelope ; is not a rare book to be as well cared for as 

 a meerschaum pipe ? 



From what has been said, it will be inferred that it would be insane 

 to expect a Bibliomaniac to lend a choice volume, unless, like Heber 

 and Grollier, he possessed a duplicate copy especially for that purpose. 

 It was doubtless to guard against thieves that the ancient books were 

 chained up in the monasteries, but the practice was effectual also 

 against borrowers. De Bury, in his Philobiblon, has a chapter enti- 

 tled " A Provident Arrangement by which his Books may be lent to 

 Strangers," in which the utmost leniency is to lend duplicate books 

 upon ample security. Not to adopt the harsh judgment of an ancient 

 author, who says "to lend a book is to lose it, and borrowing but a 

 hypocritical pretense for stealing," we may conclude in a word, that to 

 lend a book is like the Presidency of the United States, to be neither 

 desired nor refused. 



Of a class but little more unconscientious than borrowers of books 

 are book-thieves. Book-stealing is a trade, and its successful pursuit 

 requires high literary qualification. We are not now speaking of 

 infractions of honor and courtesy made possible by the absence of an 

 international copyright law, but of manual pilfering. Possibly the 

 offense should not be regarded as any thing more than venial. Courts 

 of law would perhaps pronounce it damnum absque injuria, upon the 

 same reasoning that the rape of the Sabine women has ever been leni- 

 ently looked upon in history ; the Eomans needed wives, and so stole 

 them. How much more judicious had they simply stolen books ! But 

 inasmuch as human nature is fallible, a stranger, visiting the Biblio- 

 maniac's library, must not feel offended by finding his entertainer at 

 his elbow, when he is rummaging among the small volumes, however 

 much he may be left to himself when busy with the folios and quartos. 



To constitute a Bibliomaniac in the true sense, the love of books 

 must combine with a certain limitation of means for the gratification 



