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 INTRODUC
I VE TI
AT ON
RE TO
C
N D

F
IB
A

ER
N
FU

AR
A

ALEX KUSKOWSKI
 ALEX
KUSKOWSKI

E INTRODUC
V TI
TI ON
EA T
R O
C
D

F
N

IB
A

ER
N
FU

AR
T
A
 VISIT U S AT W W W. A B DO PU B LIS H I N G.CO M
To Adult
Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166,
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2015 by Abdo Consulting Helpers
Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part
of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission This is your chance to assist
from the publisher. Checkerboard Library™ is a trademark and logo of someone new to crafting!
Abdo Publishing. As children learn to craft
Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota they develop new skills, gain
062014 confidence, and make cool
092014
things. These activities are
designed to help children
learn how to make their own
Design and Production: Anders Hanson, Mighty Media, Inc.
Series Editor: Liz Salzmann
craft projects. Some activities
Photo Credits: Anders Hanson, Shutterstock may need more assistance
than others. Be there to offer
The following manufacturers/names appearing in this book are
trademarks: Boye®, Kool-Aid®
guidance when they need
it. Encourage them to do as
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
much as they can on their
Kuskowski, Alex., author.
Cool knitting for kids : a fun and creative introduction to fiber art /
own. Be a cheerleader for
Alex Kuskowski. their creativity.
pages cm. -- (Cool fiber art)
Audience: Ages 8-10. Before getting started
Includes bibliographical references and index. remember to lay down ground
ISBN 978-1-62403-308-7 (alk. paper)
rules for using the crafting
1. Knitting--Juvenile literature. I. Title.
TT820.K874 2015
tools and cleaning up. There
·GF should always be adult
2013043077 supervision when a child uses
a sharp tool.

2
 4 GET INTO KNIT
20
6 TO OLS OF TH E TRADE
10 GETTING STARTED
12 BASICS
22 14 STARTING UP
20 DYE IT, YOU’LL LOVE IT
22 PEEK-A-BO O MITTS
24 24 COLORFU L COM BO SCARF
26 NEVER FELT BETTER
30 KEEP KNITTING!
26 31 GLOSSARY
31 WEB SITES
32 INDEX
 D iscover the world of knitting!
Knitting is the art of looping yarn to
make fabric. You can knit something funky
You’ll find a lot of ideas here to help you
start knitting. Step-by-step instructions
make learning a breeze. You’ll love to show
and cool. You can make almost anything. off the things you make. Just turn the page
and get into knit!
Knitting is a great way to pass the time. All
you need to start is needles and yarn.You
can knit almost anywhere. Toss yarn and
needles in a bag, and you’re good to go!

4
5
 Knitting Needles
Knitting needles come in different sizes and shapes. The easiest needles to use are
straight. A straight needle has a knob on one end and a point on the other.

6
 Needle Sizes
It’s important to use the right size needles. Many patterns
offer suggestions on what size needles to use. Skinny needles
have low numbers such as 1, 2, and 3. Thick needles have
high numbers such as 16, 17, and 18.

Yarn
You can’t knit without
yarn! Yarn comes in
many sizes, weights,
and shapes.

Yarn Fiber
Yarn can be made with natural fibers
or synthetic fibers. Natural fibers
come from animals and plants, such as
sheep and cotton. Synthetic fibers are
N ATU R A L FI B E R SY NTH ETI C FI B E R
man-made, such as acrylic and nylon.

7
 Yarn Shape
Yarn can have a traditional shape or
a novelty shape. Traditional yarns are
smooth and often have strands twisted
together. Novelty yarns can be any shape
from fur to ribbons.

Yarn Weight
Yarn weight ranges from super
fine to super bulky. Thinner yarn
uses smaller needles. See the chart
for suggestions. M E DI U M W E I G HT B U LKY W E I G HT

W E I G HT SY M B O L N E E D LE S I Z E ( M M )
S U P E R FI N E 1 1–3
FI N E 2 3–5
LIG HT 3 5 –7
M E DI U M 4 7 –9
B U LKY 5 9 –11
S U PE R B U LKY 6 11 A N D OV E R

8
 It’s In the Bag
Keep a bag to hold your yarn, knitting needles, and general craft supplies like
the ones below!

BAG
B E A DS A N D
B UTTO N S

M E AS U RI N G PE N A N D PA PE R
TA PE

SA FET Y PI N S YA R N

SCI SS O RS

TH R E A D

N E E D LES G LU E K N ITTI N G N E E D LES

9
 K nitting projects often use a pattern. The pattern says what you need for the
project. It lists the yarn type, needle size, and more.

TH E PATTE R N .Read it twice! Pay special TH E YA R N . Many yarns come with a

attention to any special stitches. Practice label. It can have a lot of important
stitches you do not know before you start. information.

10
Reading a
Yarn Label PATTE RN A B B REVIATIO NS
QUA NTIT Y - The amount of Patterns use abbreviations. They are
yarn in the package. easy to read once you know the basics!
FI B E R CO NTE NT - What the Check the chart below for words you
yarn is made of. might not know.

DY E LOT - When yarn is dyed, it A B B R E VIATI O N TE R M

has a dye lot number. The exact A PPROX A PPROXI M ATE LY
color can vary from dye lot to B EG B EGI N N I N G

dye lot. For a big project, use B LO BAC K LO O P O N LY

CH (S) CH AI N (S)
yarn from the same dye lot.
CO C A ST O N

CA RE I N STRU CTI O N S - Shows CO NT CO NTI N U E

D EC D ECR E AS E
how to wash the yarn.
INC I N CR E AS E
K K N IT
R ECO M M E N D E D N E E D LE SI Z E -
PAT PATTE R N
A suggestion of what size PM PL ACE M A R K E R
needles to use. ST(S) STITCH ( ES)
YO YA R N OV E R

11
 Holding the Needles
Hold the needles loosely between your thumbs and first fingers. Let your other
fingers rest around the needles. The points should always face toward each other.

12
Counting Stitches
While knitting, check that you’re making the correct number of stitches.
It’s important to count stitches. It can be easy to get off track.

To count stitches vertically,

count the number of rows
from top to bottom.

To count stitches horizontally,

look at the top edge of the fabric.
Count the number of knots from
left to right.

Make a gauge swatch first. A gauge swatch is a 4-inch (10 cm) practice
square. It is made using the same stitches as the pattern. The pattern
says how many stitches fit inside the square. This helps you see if your
stitches are the right size for the rest of the pattern.
13
 G E T GO I N G WIT H
T H E S E DI R EC T I O N S !

K N ITTI N G N E E D LES ( # 6),

M E DI U M W E IG HT YA R N

14
START WITH A SLIPKN OT

Let the yarn tail hang in front of your left 2

palm. Wrap the yarn loosely around your

first two fingers.
Pull the yarn forward between your second
and third fingers. Push it up through the
yarn over your fingers so it makes a loop.
Hold both ends of the yarn in your left
hand. Hold the loop in your right hand.
Pull it snug.
2
CASTI NG O N

Make a slipknot. Stick a knitting needle

through the loop. Pull on the ends to
tighten the loop.
Hold the needle in your right hand. Grab
the yarn with your left hand. Twist it to the
left to make a loop.
Stick the needle through the loop. Pull the
yarn tight. That is casting on one stitch. 3
The instructions will say how many stitches
to cast on for a project.
15
 TH E KNIT STITCH

2 Make a slipknot. Put it

on a needle. Cast on 15
stitches.
Hold the needle with the
stitches in your left hand.
Stick the right-hand needle
from left to right through
the end stitch. The point
of the right-hand needle
should go toward the point
3 of the left-hand needle.
When the right-hand
needle is through the
stitch, bring it behind the
left-hand needle. Make an
“x” with the needles. Keep
the loose yarn behind both
needles.
Wrap the loose yarn from
left to right between the
4
needles. This is called a
yarn over.
16
Pull the right needle
down and around the
5
left needle. Keep the
wrapped yarn around
the right needle.
Slide the first loop off
the left-hand needle.
Stick the right-hand
needle from left to right
through the next stitch.
Repeat steps 3 through
6 for all of the stitches. 6

When you finish a row,

the stitches will be on
the right-hand needle.
Switch the needle with
the stitches to your left
hand. Begin a new row
of stitches.

17
 BI N DI NG O FF

2 Knit stitch the first two stitches of a

new row.
Put the left needle through the
rightmost stitch on the right needle.
Lift that stitch back over the other
stitch and off the needle. Then drop
the stitch from the left needle. Leave
the other stitch on the right needle.
Knit the next stitch. Pull the
3 rightmost stitch back over the other
stitch and off the right needle. Let
it go. Continue knitting and pulling
stitches off one at a time. Stop when
you get to the last loop.
Cut the yarn leaving a 7-inch
(18 cm) tail. Remove the needle.
Stick the tail through the last loop.
Pull to tighten.
Thread the tail onto a yarn needle.
6
Weave it through the knitting to
hide the tail.
18
TH E WHIPSTITCH

Cut a piece of yarn 12 inches 3

(30.5 cm) long. Tie a knot at one

end. Thread the other end onto a
yarn needle.
Lay two pieces of knitting on top
of each other. Line up the edges.
Match the stitches up.
Push the needle up through both
layers near the edge.
Bring the needle back underneath. 4
Push it up ¼ inch (.5 cm) away from
where you came up before. Pull it
tight. This is called a whipstitch.
Move over another ¼ inch (.5 cm)
and repeat the stitch. Keep going
until the edges are sewn together.
Tie a knot at the end. Weave the
loose ends through the knitting.

19
 CO LO R YA R N
WIT H KO O L- A I D !

1 O U N C E 1 0 0 % WO O L YA R N

( W H ITE), 4 6 - I N C H (1 5 C M )

PI EC ES O F CO LO R E D

YA R N , M E A S U RI N G TA P E ,

SCISSO RS, M ICROWAV E-

SA FE B OW L , BA KI N G

S H E ET, PL ASTIC WR A P,

3 D RI N KI N G G L A SS ES,

M E A S U RI N G CU P,

3 PAC K ETS U N SW E ETE N E D

KO O L-AI D ( DI FFE R E NT

CO LO RS), S P O O N , PL A STI C

G LOV ES, S PR AY B OTTLE

20
Wind the yarn into a loop 8 inches (20 cm)
long. Tie the pieces of colored yarn around
3
the loop. Space them evenly around the
loop.
Fill the bowl with hot water. Soak the yarn
for 30 minutes. Cover the baking sheet with
plastic wrap. Wring the water out of the
yarn. Lay the yarn on the baking sheet.
Put 1 cup water in each drinking glass. Add
a packet of Kool-Aid to each glass. Stir each
glass.
4
Put on the gloves. Pour one of the glasses
into the spray bottle. Spray it onto the yarn.
Rinse the bottle. Pour another glass of Kool-
Aid into the bottle. Spray it onto the yarn.
Do the same with the third glass of Kool-Aid.
Wrap the plastic wrap around the yarn. Put
it in the bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Let
it cool for 2 minutes. Continue microwaving
2 minutes at a time until any leftover liquid is
clear. Let it cool.
6
Unwrap the yarn and rinse it with water. Let
the yarn dry for 6 hours.
21
 KE E P YO U R
W R I ST S WA R M !

M E A S U RI N G TA P E , P E N CI L ,

PA PE R, YA R N (# 5),

#1 0 K N ITTI N G N E E D LES,

SCI SS O RS, YA R N N E E D LE

22
Wrap the measuring tape around
your hand at the knuckles. Write
2
down the measurement. Make a
slipknot. Put the loop on a knitting
needle. Cast on 23 stitches.
Knit stitch rows until the length
matches your hand measurement.
Bind off.
Thread the yarn needle with yarn.
Fold the knitting in half. Line up
the edge you bound off with the
opposite edge. Starting at one 3
corner, whipstitch them together
for 1½ inches (4 cm).
Knot the yarn and cut it. Start
sewing again 1½ inches (4 cm)
away from where you stopped.
Whipstitch to the corner. Knot the
yarn and cut it. Weave any tails
into the knitting. Turn the knitting
inside out.
4
Repeat steps 1 through 4 to make
a matching mitt.

23
 COLORFUL COMBO

SCARF K N IT T H I S
E A SY S CA R F !

2 CO LO RS O F WO RSTE D

YA R N (# 4), #7 K N ITTI N G

N E E D LES, M E A S U RI N G TA P E ,

SCI SS O RS, YA R N N E E D LE

24
Choose a color to start with.
Make a slipknot. Put the loop
3
on a knitting needle. Cast on 24
stitches.
Knit stitch rows until the knitting
is 5 inches (13 cm) long. At the
end of a row, cut the yarn. Leave
a tail.
Tie the second color of yarn to
the tail of the first color. Make
the knot close to the knitting.
Yarn over with the new color. 5
Leave the tails alone.
Knit rows with the new color for
5 inches (13 cm). Switch back to
the first color. Follow the same
steps for changing yarn.
Keep knitting. Switch colors
every 5 inches (13 cm). When
the knitting is 60 inches
(152 cm) long, bind off.
6
Use the yarn needle to weave in
all the tails.
25
 K N IT A B AG A N D
F E LT IT !

4 O U N C ES M U LTICO LO R E D

WO O L YA R N (# 4),

# 6 K N ITTI N G N E E D LES,

M E A S U RI N G TA P E ,

SCI SS O RS, YA R N N E E D LE ,

2 B OWLS, PL ASTI C

G LOV ES, LI QU I D SOA P,

S P O O N , TOW E L

26
Make a slipknot. Put the loop
on a knitting needle. Cast on
1
30 stitches. Knit stitch rows
until the knitting is 8 inches
(20 cm) long. Bind off. Weave
in the tails.
Repeat step 1 to knit a second
rectangle the same size.
Thread the yarn needle. Lay
the two rectangles on top of
each other. Line up the edges.
Whipstitch the long sides 3
together. Tie a knot and cut
the yarn.
Whipstitch one of the short
sides together to make a bag.
Tie a knot and cut the yarn.
Weave in the tails.

Use the yarn you dyed in

the “Dye It, You’ll Love It!”
4
project (pages 20 and 21).

27
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Confessions of
a book-lover
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Confessions of a book-lover

Author: E. Walter Walters

Author of introduction, etc.: Coulson Kernahan

Release date: September 17, 2023 [eBook #71667]

Language: English

Original publication: London: Charles H. Kelly, 1913

Credits: Laura Natal and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced
from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK

CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK-LOVER ***
CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK-LOVER
CONFESSIONS OF A BOOK-
LOVER
BY
E. WALTER WALTERS

With an Introduction by
COULSON KERNAHAN
AUTHOR OF ‘THE FACE BEYOND THE DOOR,’
‘GOD AND THE ANT,’ ETC.

LONDON
CHARLES H. KELLY
25-35 CITY ROAD, AND 26 PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
First Edition, 1913
 To
THE MEMORY OF
MY FATHER
 CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
INTRODUCTION BY COULSON KERNAHAN 9
I. ‘HUMBLY TO CONFESS’ 17
II. BOOKS AND GARDENS 27
III. BOOKS THAT TEMPT 37
IV. ‘OUTSIDE THEIR BOOKS’ 47
V. BOOKS THAT CAPTIVATE 55
VI. PERSONALITIES IN ‘BOOKLAND’ 63
VII. SECOND-HAND BOOKS 73
VIII. ‘THE CULT OF THE BOOKPLATE’ 81
IX. BEDSIDE BOOKS 91
X. OLD FRIENDS 99
XI. THROUGH ROSE-COLOURED SPECTACLES 107
XII. WITH NATURE 117
XIII. A PILGRIMAGE 127
XIV. FAREWELL 137
 INTRODUCTION
BY COULSON KERNAHAN

I
PART of the present volume appeared in Great Thoughts. Yet here
am I, whose name is associated—if at all—in the memory of readers
with ‘little thoughts,’ and with booklets impudent in the slenderness
of their matter, presumptuously standing forth to bow the public into
the writer’s presence, and essaying to introduce the one to the other.
The necessary explanation shall be brief. I must have been a young
man, and Mr. E. Walter Walters a boy, when he and I last met;
indeed I am not sure that I altogether remember him. But his father,
who bore an honoured name, I well remember.
The Rev. W. D. Walters and my own dear and honoured father were
personal friends; and when the former’s son sent me a manuscript of
a book, with the request that I should write an introduction, how
could I do otherwise than accede, and express myself honoured by
the invitation?
That I share all Mr. Walters’s whole-hearted bookish enthusiasm, I
may not pretend, for, as R. L. Stevenson says, in An Apology for
Idlers, ‘Books are good enough in their own way, but they are a
mighty bloodless substitute for life.’ So long, however, as the reading
of it be not allowed to deprive either man or woman of drinking deep
at the wells of life, there are few greater joys, for young or old, than
are to be found within the covers of a noble book; and to the
enthusiastic book-lover, Mr. Walters’s volume should prove treasure
trove indeed.
He drags (to use a phrase of Stevenson’s) with a wide net, but his
castings are made, for the most part, in the same waters. Of the
literature of the time of Elizabeth, or even of Anne, he tells us little,
and it is not until we come to Goldsmith, Lamb, De Quincey, Leigh
Hunt, and, later, to Jefferies, Thoreau, and Stevenson, that Mr.
Walters may be said to let himself go. What my friend Mr. Le
Gallienne calls The Lilliput of Literary London, he wisely leaves
severely alone.
That Mr. Walters has a pretty sense of humour is clear from the
following passage:
‘Here is a copy of Milton’s Paradise Lost, “hooked” in the deep
waters of a “penny tub.” It is calf-bound, mark you, and in fairish
condition, though much stained with the passing of years. My heart
leaps; it is very old—a first edition possibly! But no, it is anything but
that.... Many of the pages are entirely missing, and others partially
so. Judged by the books that surround me it is dear at a penny ...
Paradise Lost!’
The word-play is not unworthy of Mr. Zangwill; but when Mr. Walters
writes, ‘I have frequently trodden snow-covered ground with my nose
a few inches from an open book,’ I wish him, for the time being,
‘Good afternoon’ and seek other company, preferably that of some
lover of the Emerson who wrote:

See thou bring not to field or stone

The fancies found in books,
Leave authors’ eyes, and fetch your own
To brave the landscape’s looks.

Or, better still:

Canst thou copy in verse one chime

Of the woodbell’s peal and cry?
Write in a book the morning’s prime?
Or match with words that tender sky?
 II
‘I KNOW a pretty little edition of the Religio Medici,’ writes Mr. Le
Gallienne in his Retrospective Reviews, ‘which has been quite
spoiled for me by the astounding remark of its editor upon Browne’s
beautiful description of his life as “a miracle of thirty years”—yet its
actual incidents justify no such description!’
Mr. Walters will not thus spoil for his readers the work of the writers
he loves. He strikes no jarring note. On the contrary, he is capable,
when writing of books, book-making, and book-buying, of an
enthusiasm which I envy as much as I admire.
‘I have confessed,’ he says in his chapter on ‘Second-hand Books,’
‘that I am of the company of book-lovers who delight in dipping into
the “lucky tubs” to be found outside booksellers’ windows. I know of
no pleasanter way of spending a spare half-hour. Give me a few
“loose” coppers, place my feet upon a likely road, and I am content. I
am now, let me say, of the happy company of book-fishermen. And
this, mark you, is fishing in real earnest, this effort to “hook” good
food for the mind, to place in one’s basket a “book that delighteth
and giveth perennial satisfaction.”’
The comparison of a book-seeker to an angler is as happy as it is
original, and the phrase—though phrase-making must not be
confused, as Leslie Stephen points out, with thought-finding—‘a
book-fisherman’ has something of Charles Lamb’s own ‘self-pleasing
quaintness.’
Lamb would, indeed, appear to be Mr. Walters’s favourite author.
That he knows his Elia intimately and can interpret him aright to
others is clear from the chapter on ‘Books and Gardens.’
‘We are told,’ says Mr. Walters, ‘that Lamb was a lover of towns and
crowded streets. Would it not be truer to say that he was a lover of
the conditions in which he chanced to be placed? London claimed
him—for the sanest reasons, no doubt—and, lo! under his pen,
London became a garden.’
This is truly and finely said. Of such acute and illuminative comment,
there is no lack in Mr. Walters’s delightful book, which should
assuredly find a place in the library of book-loving women and men.
 I
‘HUMBLY TO CONFESS’

HOW ruthlessly Webster strips the word ‘confession’ of the tender

associations woven around it by the hand of the gentle essayist! A
confession, he informs us, is the acknowledgement of a crime or
fault, open declaration of guilt, &c. True, a brighter note is struck in
further definitions; but I cannot find in any book at my command a
definition of the word as used, for example, by Thomas De Quincey.
The fact that De Quincey took opium was, I believe, known long
before he wrote his Confessions. He personally avers that his object
was to emblazon the power of opium, not over bodily disease and
pain, but over the grander and more shadowy world of dreams. He
desired

Humbly to confess
A penitential loneliness.

And I take that to mean that he desired to admit us into the

innermost recesses of his heart, to speak to us as one speaks to a
bosom friend.
I plead, therefore, for a wider definition of the word ‘confession’—a
definition that embraces those ‘gentle whisperings’ which pass
between bosom friends, the confidence that springs from the very
roots of the human heart.
An eminent essayist of our own day has been pleading for more
autobiographies of unknown persons. If I read him aright, he wishes
that more persons, however humble, however obscure, would set
forth their thoughts and experiences. He believes that such writings
would make better reading than much that finds its way into print.
There is an idea in some quarters that unless a person enjoys
peculiar gifts of expression, or has achieved distinction in some walk
of life, his thoughts and experiences are of no public interest. But
there are, I am certain, many who would rather have the unadorned
expression of a man’s innermost feelings than the thoughts that flit
so lightly from the mind of the accomplished litterateur. How many
are they—men whose names are emblazoned upon the roll of
honour—who have confessed to a love for conversing with the
ordinary man, ‘the man in the street’! As for your ‘men of letters,’ you
are well aware of their love for conversing with unknown and
frequently humble persons, ‘casual acquaintances.’ And who shall
say to what extent we are indebted to those persons for the thoughts
which, having been selected and refined, sparkle like jewels fresh
from the cutter’s hands?
How numerous are the men who have read widely and thought
deeply, and yet hesitate before expressing an opinion upon the most
trivial matters! Fortunate is the person who can induce such men to
talk freely, to express their views, their secret thoughts, on this, that,
and the other subject—their beloved books, their likes, their dislikes,
their aspirations, their fears, their hopes. Such confessions should
make good reading. By dint of a little gentle persuasion I have
managed to glean ‘copy’ of this description, which I shall hope to set
down in these pages, carefully avoiding meanwhile any mention of
names. The mere thought of publicity would bring a blush to the
cheeks of the good gentlemen I have in mind. I must adopt the plan
of those ‘Knights of the Pen’ of whom mention has been made. But
here the process will be reversed. Here the rich thought of others will
come forth in homely attire.
I would, however, first inquire in what respect the lover of books
differs from the rank-and-file? What are his distinctive
characteristics? Langford has declared that no matter what his rank
or position may be, the lover of books is the richest and happiest of
men. But is that entirely true? I confess that I do not find it so. The
lover of books is, I fancy, grievously prone to hanker after the moon,
or, to put it another way, to build wondrous fairy palaces, which he
would fain inhabit and cannot. I fancy he is apt to suffer from a
‘glorious discontent.’ He is too imaginative, too sensitive, to enjoy the
distinction of being the happiest of men.
Indeed, is it not a fact that we book-lovers stand in danger of falling
out of sympathy with this rough-and-tumble old world? Certainly
many of us resent anything that threatens to come between us and
our idols. (I have friends, book-lovers, who as strongly resent an
intrusion into the sacred nook that holds themselves and a book as
they would resent the invasion of a foreign power.) Thus grows upon
the book-lover an ever-deepening desire for solitude, for the quiet
life. Others may, if they choose, jostle for the gilded things of life. He
is for other prizes, treasures of the mind and spirit. He, for his part,
prefers to saunter through quiet by-ways, knowing full well that
prizes will rest in his path, and that these, which he need but stoop to
gather, will prove abiding treasures.
Yes, certainly the lover of books is rich. Every true lover must in the
nature of the case be that. Listen to Gibbon: ‘My early and invincible
love of reading I would not change for the treasures of India.’ How
many have spoken in like manner! ‘You, O Books,’ cried Aungervyle,
‘are the golden vessels of the temple, the arms of the clerical militia
with which missiles of the most wicked are destroyed; fruitful olives,
vines of Engedi, fig-trees knowing no sterility; burning lamps to be
ever held in hand.’
I have a friend, a book-lover, who confesses that he acquired this
love of his after having passed through the most painful experiences.
Often he stumbled, often he fell, seemingly never to rise again. But,
happily, he has reached safe ground at last. He is now the contented
owner of a rich storehouse of books. But he confesses that he is not
boisterously happy. He doubts not that others laugh more heartily
than he; that many have lighter hearts. But he, be it remembered,
has passed through deep sorrow, has lost friends, home, wealth—all
that men hold most dear. Without his books and all they have taught
him his lot would be that of a wanderer in a wilderness. ‘My books,’
he says, ‘are my inseparable comforters—my friends, companions,
teachers, consolers, creators, amusers.’ But he makes no claim to
being a student, or an authority on books. He does not burn the
proverbial midnight oil. There is nothing of the book-worm about him.
He is simply a book-lover, and being such, enjoys the very best that
books can give.
I confess that I envy the pleasure derived by this friend of mine from
the little ‘crackling’ sound caused by the opening of a new book. It is
the sweetest music in his ears—an overture composed of the most
pleasing notes. And with what relish he enters into the entertainment
that follows! With what zest he reads aloud the choice passages!
The four walls of his library must, I fancy, have peculiar knowledge of
‘the dainties that are bred in books.’ They are his only audience.
When friends are with him, it is they who must do the reading, whilst
he plays the better part.
How many a tale such as this might be told! How full of eccentricities
is the lover of books, aye, and how full, too, of whims and fads and
fancies! Each one is for a particular type of binding. In no two cases
can you find tastes exactly alike. One is for plain cloth, plainly
lettered, another is for calf or russia, another for parchment. And
each one has his own views as regards size. Some cry out for books
that can be handled with ease; others maintain that the size of a
book should suit the nature of its contents. And thus the battle
wages, quite a long and wordy affair, before any question arises as
regards the actual contents of a book. But are not these views
concerning the make-up of a book healthy and desirable? I seem to
remember having read of men held in high repute who had marked
preferences as regards the get-up of a book. Did not Charles Lamb
maintain that to be strong-backed and neat-bound is the
desideratum of a volume? ‘Magnificence comes after. This, when it
can be afforded, is not lavished upon all kinds of books
indiscriminately. I would not dress a set of magazines, for instance,
in full suit. The deshabille or half-binding (with russia backs) is our
costume. A Shakespeare or a Milton (unless the first editions) it were
mere foppery to trick out in gay apparel.’
And what of the ‘inside’ of books? What of their contents? For my
own part, I confess that, when pressed for a list of my favourite
authors, I am at a loss for an answer, or, at least, for a satisfactory
answer. The question is so pointed, the answer resting quietly in my
mind so wide, so shadowy, so needful of explanation. So much
depends upon one’s mood and environment. I require the
opportunity to say why certain books appeal to me in certain moods
and leave me untouched at other times. I desire to show that certain
books, in order to be enjoyed to the full, must be read in certain
seasons and under certain conditions. I wish to hold forth upon, say,
‘Books and Gardens,’ ‘Unknown Books,’ and so forth, and on the
peculiarities of certain authors, giving reasons why I like or dislike
their works. I wish to confess, to bare my heart. And that is too
lengthy a process to cram in a direct answer to a direct question.
Only this much can I confess ‘off-hand’: The books that please me
most are the books that speak to the heart. Such volumes are my
most highly treasured possessions.
 II
BOOKS AND GARDENS

The mind relaxing into needful sport,

Should turn to writers of an abler sort,
Whose wit well-managed, and whose classic style
Give truth a lustre and make wisdom smile.
Cowper.

I have confessed that the books which please me most are the
books that speak to the heart—books that greet one with the ease
and familiarity of a friend. I desire to feel the humanity, the heart of
an author. I desire to know that he is genial, kindly, well-disposed. I
have no inclination for angry, fretful men of letters. I no more desire
to meet such through the medium of a book, than I desire to make
the acquaintance of quarrelsome individuals in the flesh. I, too, ‘find
myself facing as stoutly as I can a hard, combative existence, full of
doubts, difficulties, and disappointments, quite a hard enough life
without dark countenances at my elbow.’ Give me pleasant
company. Give me gentlemen of letters. Still, I have no taste for the
company of the maudlin or weak-kneed. Robert Louis Stevenson
says that ‘we are all for tootling on the sentimental flute in literature;
and not a man amongst us will go to the head of the march to sound
the heady drums!’ Note with what grace he makes the observation! It
is more in the nature of a good-tempered laugh than a growl. How
gracefully he wears the title—a Gentleman of Letters! How
pleasantly he addresses us! Little wonder if, in his presence, our
failings are as open wounds. He has no need to probe. His gentlest
touch is sufficient, more effective by far than the rough treatment of
the irascible author.