| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Enemies of Books by William Blades: and you handle them without fear of their parting from the back.
To look at the "tooling," too, is a pleasure, for careful thought,
combined with artistic skill, is everywhere apparent. You open
the cover and find the same loving attention inside that has been
given to the outside, all the workmanship being true and thorough.
Indeed, so conservative is a good binding, that many a worthless
book has had an honoured old age, simply out of respect to its
outward aspect; and many a real treasure has come to a degraded end
and premature death through the unsightliness of its outward case
and the irreparable damage done to it in binding.
The weapon with which the binder deals the most deadly blows to books
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Outlaw of Torn by Edgar Rice Burroughs: Simon de Montfort and the King are to be today. The
Queen also is there with her retinue, so it be expected
that, to show the good feeling and renewed friendship
existing between De Montfort and his King, there will
be gay scenes in the old fortress. But," he added, after
a pause, "dare the Outlaw of Torn ride within reach of
the King who has placed a price upon his head?"
"The price has been there since I was eighteen,"
answered Norman of Torn, "and yet my head be
where it has always been. Can you blame me if I look
with levity upon the King's price? It be not heavy
The Outlaw of Torn |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Father Damien by Robert Louis Stevenson: physicians, and so forth, but never with the Catholic idea of
meriting eternal life. - Yours, etc.,
"C. M. HYDE" (1)
(1) From the Sydney PRESBYTERIAN, October 26, 1889.
To deal fitly with a letter so extraordinary, I must draw at the
outset on my private knowledge of the signatory and his sect. It
may offend others; scarcely you, who have been so busy to collect,
so bold to publish, gossip on your rivals. And this is perhaps the
moment when I may best explain to you the character of what you are
to read: I conceive you as a man quite beyond and below the
reticences of civility: with what measure you mete, with that shall
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