ook-backs, the more of that society he will
enjoy. And so it is that three great advantages come hand in hand, and,
as will be seen, reach their maximum together: the sociability of books,
minimum cost in providing for them, and ease of access to them.

'In order to attain these advantages, two conditions are fundamental.
First, the shelves must, as a rule, be fixed; secondly, the cases, or a
large part of them, should have their side against a wall, and thus,
projecting into the room for a convenient distance, they should be of
twice the depth needed for a single line of books, and should hold two
lines, one facing each way. Twelve inches is a fair and liberal depth
for two rows of octavos. The books are thus thrown into stalls, but
stalls after the manner of a stable. . . . This method of dividing the
longitudinal space by projections at right angles to it, if not very
frequently used, has long been known. A great example of it is to be
found at Trinity College, Cambridge, and is the work of Sir Christopher
Wren. He has kept these cases down to a very moderate height; for he
doubtless took into account that great heights require long ladders, and
that the fetching and use of these greatly add to the time consumed in
getting or replacing a book.'

It must here be added that Mr. Gladstone's plan is much more fitted for
a large public library than for the library of a private person, for
whom he is prescribing. Though the library in the form of an annexe[49]
is in many ways an ideal form for housing a large library, yet these are
hardly likely to be in the majority, and most people find that they have
to house their books in a circumscribed space, with no room for such
bays and projections as he suggests except perhaps one by the fireplace.

FOOTNOTES:

[42] Tonks' fittings are specially adapted for the shelves of book-cases
or other shelves, the adjustment of which has, from time to time, to be
varied to suit the varying requirements of a library, &c. The method
hitherto generally adopted for such shelves is to support them at each
end by two studs, the heads of which are mortised into the shelf, and
the pins driven or otherwise fitted into holes two or more inches apart,
bored in two rows into the upright frames; these holes are very seldom
accurately fitted to the pins, and even where so done in the first
instance, from the shrinking or expansion of the wood, they soon become
too large or too small for the pins, an