California,
remarking: "How much geography one learns in travelling. Here is
Burlington. I always thought it in Illinois, but now I find it is in
Missouri." Library-reading may by this time have added insight to his
sight, and convicted him of the blunder which I suffered to pass
uncorrected, though we chatted 100 miles together. There are others of
us who, on hearing a traveller's tales, are curious to examine how far
we, like the old prophet, should count the way-faring man a fool, and
how far he uses his license to lie. Hence they will read that they may
make up their minds whether all MARK TWAIN'S caricatures have the ring
of truth.

A German table d'hote of twenty courses will surfeit a careless diner
before it is half over, and yet fail to afford him either what he likes
best or what he should like best. Hence it compels guests to a careful
choice what they will partake of and what refuse of the blessing there
is no room to receive in its fulness. A similar influence will be
exerted by the free library where we fall into the embarassment of
riches. We shall be driven to select from its bill of fare, that is the
catalogue, that fraction which we can enjoy most and which will profit
us most.

"Taste after taste upheld by kindliest change."

Some persons, when they survey a library and perceive that they can
never read the hundredth part of its volumes, will be attracted to those
works which teach "what to read," or open a panoramic outlook on the
diversified regions of the bookish world.

"Of all the best of man's best knowledges,
The contents, indexes and title-pages,
Through all past, present, and succeeding ages."

Unless we thus liberalize our views we are likely to vegetate, like the
rhubarb pie plant, under a barrel, and see the world only through its
bunghole. Ignorant of bibliographical guides and hence at a loss how to
estimate books, the steward of a British nobleman sold as rubbish all
volumes in the library which lacked _covers_. One of those thus disposed
of, and bought by a pedlar for nine pence, proved to be the very
earliest issue of the British press, snapped up by the British museum
for L80, and could not now be bought for ten times that sum. In regard
to the _intrinsic_ value of books blunders more egregious are daily
made. Libraries were never so needful as now, for libraries and life
never lay so close to one another as now. Our familiar sights lead to
interest in recondi