Chapter 22 van chenette captivated me (1)

I found it difficult to give a systematic account of the beauty of this garden in which I lingered, with so many diversions to catch my eye, attract my attention, and recall me.I was wandering around in such a confused way, back and forth, left and right, up and down things, in such an irresponsible manner, what surprised me was that the readers did not despise me as the most irrational lunatic. But why not in a different way?All around me, all I can see, is that they drag me back from the path I walked on: I am like an absent-minded butterfly, from the sweet fragrance here, gently flying there to the sun bouquet Magnificent carnival.There is very little selfishness in such a love.In this respect we have yet another reason why a passion for books is good.You will love a certain woman more than others, and you will treat her as your own and take good care of her.I see this kind of love as a selfish love.

But a true book lover loves all books alike, not just this one; and it depresses him if he has no one to share his noble passion.There is no doubt that this is the most selfless love. Let's go back to the subject of booksellers.I would love to impress you with the excellence of this craft.I know their virtues quite well.My dealings with them covered such a long period of time and were so intimate that even in large numbers I could easily tell who was a bookseller and who was not. . For those who deal with books all the time, at a certain time, will become somewhat similar to the things they are tinkering with, not only in appearance, but also in speech.My bookseller has lived so long in his out-of-the-way corner with folios, quartos, and other antiquated volumes that he speaks with a black-letter accent.The unassuming, attractive exterior looks like a solid old-fashioned binding in tan.It was more interesting to identify by smell, his breath mixed with a musty and tobacco smell.In truth, this smell is more welcome to the true bibliophile than all Arabian perfumes.

I have studied the craft so assiduously that I can tell you with certainty by just one glance at a bookseller the style of the books he sells.But you should know that the ideal bookseller does not follow fashion, he must be equally proficient and passionate about all fields, professions, disciplines, and spheres of his artistic interests.On top of that, he has a kind nature that refuses to say "no".But on the other hand, his impartiality is greatly compromised. He always makes those poor scholars spend a few insignificant money, and buys those rich upstarts who have to spend a lot of money to buy them. good book.He was always in the right place, courteous where he should be courteous, and considerate where he should be considerate.

Samuel Johnson once scrambled into the shop of a bookseller in London and begged for a literary job.The bookseller examined his massive frame, his large hands, his rough face, and his shabby clothes. "You'd make a good porter," he said. This was too much for the tolerance of the young lexicographer.He grabbed a folio, couldn't help but smacking the bookseller over the head, stepped over the prostrate victim, and said, "Give me a good lie, you fool number one. " The bookseller was Osborne, who had a shop at the door of the Green Hotel.Johnson later explained to Boswell: "Sir, he was so rude to me that I had to beat him up."

Jacob Townsend [Townsend (1656-1736), British publisher. ] is Dryden [John Dryden (1631-1700), British writer and poet laureate, a representative figure in the literary world during the Restoration Dynasty. ] Bookseller.Earlier, book sellers were also publishers.Dryden was not always friendly with Townsend, presumably because Dryden was always in debt to Townsend.Once, Dryden asked for an advance payment of royalties, but Townsend refused on the grounds that the poet's overdraft had already exceeded reasonable limits.Dryden, therefore, wrote the following lines, and sent them to Townsend, with a message saying that the gentleman who wrote them could have written more:

The color eyes are confused and the face is like a bull, The mottled head of Judas, Dancing clumsily, The pores are dirty and the wind is also smelly. These limericks had the desired effect: Townsend sent Dryden the money he had asked for.After Dryden's death, Townsend took the initiative to talk to Pope [Alexander Pope (1688-1744), a British writer and poet ". ] came close, but it didn't take long for the latter to go to Bernard Lintot, Townsend's strongest rival.Once, Pope happened to be writing letters to both publishers at the same time, but he accidentally put the envelope in the wrong envelope.In the letter he was going to write to Townsend he called Lintot a scoundrel;It is not difficult to imagine that these two gentlemen will not be very satisfied when they receive the letter.Lintot and Townsend therefore read the two misdelivered letters by heart.

In fact, the publisher responsible for printing Johnson's dictionary was Andrew Miller.Before the dictionary was published, Johnson had agreed to draw royalties of $8,000 (£1,575 more precisely).Not surprising, since preparations for the production took him eight years, not the three he had originally expected.When he received the last samples, Johnson asked the courier, Mr. Miller, what he had said.The messenger replied: "He said: 'Thank God, I've finally put up with this guy.'" After hearing this, Johnson smiled and said calmly: "I'm glad he thanked God no matter what."

When Judge Methuen sent me a book, I was not done with my rhetoric.Still, this interruption is enjoyable. "I was too busy last night," wrote the judge, "to bring you this book which I found yesterday at a bookstall in the rue La Salle. One of the most dramatic poets in the history of Western literature. When he was young, he fled because he killed a priest, and later joined a criminal organization. Villon lived in dissolute, misbehaving, and spent many years in prison in his life. 1463 narrowly escaped the gallows in 2000, left Paris, and is nowhere to be found.], so I dare say you will enjoy the following line. No doubt it was scribbled on the title page by the previous owner of the book." I would like it?as expected.If you, the reader, adore the "bugger" as much as I do, I think you'll declare that our anonymous poet is not bad at all.