ething
dealing with Lapland. The bookseller must be circumvented, defeated,
and crushed at any cost. He is too clever at trapping us in his narrow
little cell. If a man wants to feel that the world is wide, and a good
place to live in, he must be for ever and for ever sampling infinity.
He must shun the books that he dearly wants to buy, and buy the books
he would do anything to shun.

VI

Yes, I bought thirty-six books that day in the auction-room; six that I
wanted and thirty that I didn't. And some of those thirty volumes have
been the charmers of my solitude and the classics of my soul ever
since. I do not advise any man to rush off to the nearest auction mart
and repeat my experiment. We must not gamble with life. Infinity must
be sampled intelligently. But, if a man is to keep himself alive in a
world like this, infinity must be sampled. Like a dog on a country
road I must poke into as many holes as I can. If I am naturally fond
of music, I had better study mining. If I love painting, I shall be
wise to go in for gardening. If I glory in the seaside, I must make a
point of climbing mountains and scouring the bush. If I am attached to
the things just under my nose, I must be careful to read books dealing
with distant lands. If I am deeply interested in contemporary affairs,
I must at once read the records of the days of long ago and explore the
annals of the splendid past. I must be faithful to old friends, but I
must get to know new people and to know them well. If I hold to one
opinion, I must studiously cultivate the acquaintance of men who hold
the opposite view, and investigate the hidden recesses of their minds
with scientific and painstaking diligence. Above all must I be
constantly sampling infinity in matters of faith. If I find that the
Epistles are gaining a commanding influence upon my mind, I must at
once set out to explore the prophets. If I find some special phase of
truth powerfully attracting me, I must, without shunning it, pay
increasing attention to all other aspects. 'The Lord has yet more
truth to break from out His Word!' said John Robinson; and I must try
to find it. Mr. Goodman is a splendid fellow; but he fell in love with
one lonely little truth one day, and now he never thinks or reads or
preaches of any other. It would be his salvation, and the salvation of
his people, if he would set out to climb the peaks that have no
attraction for him. He would find, when