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uld not otherwise have。 Time and again I have fished musty books out of bins in front of bookstalls； bought them and borne them home with me simply because they had upon their covers the bookplates of their former owners。 I have a case filled with these aristocratic estrays； and I insist that they shall be as carefully dusted and kept as my other books； and I have provided in my will for their perpetual maintenance after my decease。
If I were a rich man I should found a hospital for homeless aristocratic books； an institution similar in all essential particulars to the institution which is now operated at our national capital under the bequest of the late Mr。 Cochrane。 I should name it the Home for Genteel Volumes in Decayed Circumstances。
I was a young man when I adopted the bookplate which I am still using； and which will be found in all my books。 I drew the design myself and had it executed by a son of Anderson； the first of American engravers。 It is by no means elaborate： a book rests upon a heart； and underneath appear the lines：
My Book and Heart Must never part。
Ah； little Puritan maid； with thy dear eyes of honest blue and thy fair hair in proper plaits adown thy back； little thought we that springtime long ago back among the New England hills that the tiny book we read together should follow me through all my life！ What a part has that Primer played！ And now all these other beloved companions bear witness to the love I bear that Primer and its teachings； for each wears the emblem I plucked from its homely pages。
That was in the springtime； Captivity Waite； anon came summer； with all its exuberant glory； and presently the cheery autumn stole upon me。 And now it is the winter…time； and under the snows lies buried many a sweet； fair thing I cherished once。 I am aweary and will rest a little while； lie thou there； my pen； for a dreama pleasant dreamcalleth me away。 I shall see those distant hills again； and the homestead under the elms； the old associations and the old influences shall be round about me； and a child shall lead me and we shall go together through green pastures and by still waters。 And； O my pen； it will be the springtime again！
XIII
ON THE ODORS WHICH MY BOOKS EXHALE
Have you ever come out of the thick； smoky atmosphere of the town into the fragrant； gracious atmosphere of a library？ If you have； you know how grateful the change is； and you will agree with me when I say that nothing else is so quieting to the nerves； so conducive to physical health； and so quick to restore a lively flow of the spirits。
Lafcadio Hearn once wrote a treatise upon perfumes； an ingenious and scholarly performance； he limited the edition to fifty copies and published it privatelyso the book is rarely met with。 Curiously enough； however； this author had nothing to say in the book about the smells of books； which I regard as a most unpardonable error； unless； properly estimating the subject to be worthy of a separate treatise； he has postponed its consideration and treatment to a time when he can devote the requisite study and care to it。
We have it upon the authority of William Blades that books breathe； however； the testimony of experts is not needed upon this point； for if anybody be sceptical； all he has to do to convince himself is to open a door of a bookcase at any time and his olfactories will be greeted by an outrush of odors that will prove to him beyond all doubt that books do actually consume air and exhale perfumes。
Visitors to the British Museum complain not unfrequently that they are overcome by the closeness of the atmosphere in that place； and what is known as the British Museum headache has come to be recognized by the medical profession in London as a specific ailment due to the absence of oxygen in the atmosphere； which condition is caused by the multitude of books； each one of which； by that breathing process peculiar to books； consumes several thousand cubic feet of air every twenty…four hours。
Professor Huxley wondered for a long time why the atmosphere of the British Museum should be poisonous while other libraries were free from the poison； a series of experiments convinced him that the presence of poison in the atmosphere was due to the number of profane books in the Museum。 He recommended that these poison…engendering volumes be treated once every six months with a bath of cedria； which； as I understand； is a solution of the juices of the cedar tree； this； he said； would purge the mischievous volumes temporarily of their evil propensities and abilities。
I do not know whether this remedy is effective； but I remember to have read in Pliny that cedria was used by the ancients to render their manuscripts imperishable。 When Cneius Terentius went digging in his estate in the Janiculum he came upon a coffer which contained not only the remains of Numa； the old Roman king； but also the manuscripts of the famous laws which Numa compiled。 The king was in some such condition as you might suppose him to be after having been buried several centuries； but the manuscripts were as fresh as new； and their being so is said to have been due to the fact that before their burial they were rubbed with citrus leaves。
These so…called books of Numa would perhaps have been preserved unto this day but for the fanaticism of the people who exhumed and read them； they were promptly burned by Quintus Petilius； the praetor； because （as Cassius Hemina explains） they treated of philosophical subjects； or because； as Livy testifies； their doctrines were inimical to the religion then existing。
As I have had little to do with profane literature； I know nothing of the habits of such books as Professor Huxley has prescribed an antidote against。 Of such books as I have gathered about me and made my constant companions I can say truthfully that a more delectable…flavored lot it were impossible to find。 As I walk amongst them； touching first this one and then that； and regarding all with glances of affectionate approval； I fancy that I am walking in a splendid garden； full of charming vistas； wherein parterre after parterre of beautiful flowers is unfolded to my enraptured vision； and surely there never were other odors so delightful as the odors which my books exhale！
My garden aboundeth in pleasant nooks And fragrance is over it all； For sweet is the smell of my old； old books In their places against the wall。
Here is a folio that's grim with age And yellow and green with mould； There's the breath of the sea on every page And the hint of a stanch ship's hold。
And here is a treasure from France la belle Exhaleth a faint perfume Of wedded lily and asphodel In a garden of song abloom。
And this wee little book of Puritan mien And rude； conspicuous print Hath the Yankee flavor of wintergreen； Or； may be； of peppermint。
In Walton the brooks a…babbling tell Where the cheery daisy grows； And where in meadow or woodland dwell The buttercup and the rose。
But best beloved of books； I ween； Are those which one perceives Are hallowed by ashes dropped between T