which is another kind of vermin, so in that of the moth, the most ready and successful way of procedure is, as I have already said, to leave a space between the books for the admission of air.* It was the custom in France and England, and even in this country in the early part of the century, to take down the books from the shelves in August, and place them edgewise on long tables for several days together. This was a wise measure; but in large collections it is almost impracticable. My own habit is to place twists of strong unmanufactured tobacco behind the books. I send to my overseer for four or five hundred twists of half a pound each, and strew them plentifully behind every shelf in the library. They will retain their strength for ten or fifteen years, and then make an excellent pabulum for the pipe. Perhaps the connoisseur in smoking might detect by their peculiar flavor the twists that rested for a decade of years near the works of Sir Walter Raleigh, of Dr. Parr, or of Robert Hall, and quaff fresh inspiration in adventure, in letters, and in eloquence, from their generous fumes; but I must confess in all candor, that, though I relish the tobacco very highly, I cannot tell one twist from another. Camphor in the gum is a very effective, but not a sovereign remedy. The chemists doubtless possess a number of oils that will answer the purpose. If we could obtain shelves of camphor-wood or of cedar, all would probably be well; but neither poplar, nor mahogany, nor oak, nor pine, nor black-walnut, nor cherry, will keep away the moth. Perhaps the wood of the black gum might

answer.

I say here, what I ought to have said in another place, that the adjustment of shelves to the sizes of books is an important matter. The saving of an inch in a large collection of books may result in the accommodation of a thousand volumes; but with every disposition to economy of room, a vacant space between the tops of the books and the shelf is indispensable for safe handling and for the circulation of air. And this space should not exceed an inch. I would also recommend that all the shelves except the top and bottom should come short of the wall about three inches, thus affording a back space for the fall of dust to the lowest shelf, where it may easily be swept away, and for proper ventilation. I am aware that, when books are arranged according to subjects, and not to size, there is much waste of room; but in this case much may be gained by placing the smaller volumes on an upper contiguous shelf. I speak of economy of space; because, if I remember rightly, the front of your present building does not much exceed thirty feet; and it will require great generalship to arrange to advantage your present stock, to say nothing of future acquisitions. I need not say that for obvious reasons books should always be on a line with the edge of the shelf.

I have made no allusion to the best mode of keeping books from the depredations of respectable thieves. Ever since the days of Faust,

When I have forty or fifty books bound at a time, I order one-fourth of the number to be bound in Russia leather, which the English booksellers affirm the moth will not

touch.

books have been liable to be stolen. To return a book when borrowed involves with some people a struggle between meum and tuum, and most often with those who have a good deal of suum. Glass cases are probably the best means of safety; for the books may be seen and their titles read without touching them. But, apart from security, the best covering is a series of curtains so arranged that they may expose those books only that are to be consulted. These protect the books from light, from damp, and especially from dust. The main difficulty with curtains is that from so seldom seeing a book you lose in some degree the recollection of its place on the shelf. If I seem to speak too harshly of book-thieves, I will quote in my defence the experience of William Wilberforce. You know the history of the great philanthropist; and he may be supposed to have kept decent company; yet his visitors stole his books from his table so often, that at last the family dared not put a valuable book upon it.

It will sometimes happen, from a difference in the temperature out of doors and within, that every book in the library will be covered with moisture. The rule in such a case is not to allow a single book to be touched. To wipe it is to injure it seriously; and the same remark will apply to furniture. A complete remedy may be found in kindling a fire in the room, or in the introduction of heat from below. A book that has been wiped when wet never recovers its original brightness.

There is a gradual decay or defacement of books printed on very white paper, that admits of no remedy. In spite of every precaution, the beautiful white paper now used for books will very early become yellow, or red. This result is produced by the chemical action of the ink on the materials of which the whitest paper is made. The fine old linen paper of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, though never so white as our recent paper, was able to resist the acid of the ink, and retain its beauty. For the defects of our present paper, there is no remedy in the case of existing books. While discoloration will be hastened by damp and exposure, no care can prevent it altogether.

You may smile when I tell you that I am so old-fashioned as not to prefer the present interior arrangements of large libraries, such as those, if I mistake not, of your City Library, and certainly those of the Historical Society of New York. I mean, the throwing of the whole interior into a single apartment. Such an arrangement is beautiful to behold, and at the first glance inspires the spectator with the liveliest emotions of admiration and delight. The books in the respective stories are seen at once, and are easily accessible. The building is readily heated. The ventilation is perfect. The galleries afford the best positions for maps, charts, portraits, and other paintings. The broad, unobstructed floor presents a fit place for the meetings of the Society, for social gatherings, and especially for statuary in its most formidable proportions. When I mark the splendor of one of those halls, I can hardly excuse myself for uttering a word of censure against so grand and so imposing a specimen of architectural

skill and taste. I may be willing to concede their fitness for libraries of mere circulation. But I can go no farther. A historical hall should rest on solid rock. It should be able to defy the elements of fire and water. It should partake of the indestructibility of the State, whose representative it is. My reasons for preferring another mode of interior arrangement than that which I condemn, are these:

I. The increased liability to fire from below and from the roof. If the single floor is burned, the whole interior is destroyed by the flames. If the roof is burned, the same total destruction of the contents by fire and water follows.

II. The cost of fuel is greatly enhanced by the necessity of keeping so vast a space heated when a little heat only is needed.

III. The deterioration of the books and paintings from perpetual light in every part of the interior will be excessive and unjustifiable, IV. The sacrifice of a large part of the building, say from onethird to one-half, without an equivalent.

V. The risk of accidents, such as falling from the upper stories in case of alarm, or pressure, or inattention.

VI. The great superiority for historical purposes of a building with three separate and independent stories; so that, should one be assailed, the others may be safe, and the diminished risk of loss; the greater extent of space for all purposes; the advantage of rooms for medals and curiosities and specialties of all sorts; and the sense of daily comfort to all who consult the library; in fine, the presence of most of the advantages afforded by a single apartment, and of others which a single apartment does not possess. But, as I shall find nobody of the present generation who will side with me, I may as well stop here.

In support of all that I have suggested about the keeping of books, I can offer my own experience. I have been a lover of books from my earliest childhood. I have unconsciously followed the example of your friend Mr. Dowse, and bought not only good books, but, when practicable, good books in good binding. I use my books freely. I read every day and night of my life. As I never read any books but those that I own, I use my pencil freely on the margin, and make notes to serve as an index on the fly-leaves at the end of the volume; and I am prone to read the same book more than once. Yet I can affirm that not one of my bound books, which I have owned for half a century, will show any mark of wear and tear, or any want of its early freshness. Careful handling, the exclusion of light from the library when not wanted for use, a dry room, the choice of a room as far as possible from the ground, and the separation of the books slightly from one another, explain the result.

I have been detained in the house two days by the rain. It is fortunate for you that sunshine is come at last.

Voted, That the letter of Mr. Grigsby be printed under the direction of the Recording Secretary, with such supplementary remarks as Mr. Sibley may be pleased to contribute.

NOVEMBER MEETING, 1871.

A stated meeting of the Society was held on Thursday, 9th instant, at eleven o'clock, A.M.; the President in the chair.

The Secretary read the records of the last meeting.

The Librarian read his list of donors for the month. The Corresponding Secretary read letters of acceptance from David Masson, A.M., of Edinborough, and the Hon. Charles H. Bell, of Exeter, N. H.

The President read a letter from Mr. H. S. Chase, a Boston merchant, dated at Chicago, October 19th, communicating a copy of the "Chicago Evening Post" of October 17th, which he said contained, in the opinion of the citizens there, the best account of the fire that has been published; the paper contained also a correct diagram of the burnt district.

The following letter from the Rev. William Barry, of Chicago, suggested by the recent terrible calamity in that city, was also read:

CHARLES DEANE, ESQ.

CHICAGO, Oct. 18, 1871.

My dear Sir, I cannot refrain from writing a few lines, touching our great woe. You know it all: alas! not all, which can never be unveiled. Four long miles of extended, levelled ruins; a hundred thousand homeless ones; all our palatial structures, all our art-treasures, our historic memorials, our monuments of taste, culture, learning the glory and pride of the present one waste and desolation! The precious fruit of over twoscore years of manly toil and aspiration has disappeared in half that number of hours.

Yet not all is lost; courage and hope spared. The heroism of man and woman has transfigured our deep woe. Already hundreds of fresh cabins dot our spreading ruins, to be soon thousands. The fiery ordeal has not scorched heart or hope. Chicago will be true, in its future, to its past. Give us but the trust and cheer we need.

Our Historical Building - of which all were proud — is a smoking ruin, though art had sought to make it proof against all ventures. What that loss to myself is, you, surely, can well weigh. The best labors of my best years and thought were given to it. The fiery flood has passed over it, and it is gone.

My far-spent life leaves me little left to retrieve the sad ruin. That little may yet be fruitful, with kindly help. May I bespeak this, as it may be soon needed.

I returned hither but the 6th, to share with my two dear daughters and their families that week of horrors from the 8th. The husband of one was three hundred miles away. Her home (which I watched)

was spared, where our all are now gathered. It sheltered the Greeles, Clarks, and other refugees. The beautiful home of the other was the last house consumed. The green wood beyond (peopled), guarded by two hundred pairs of stout hands, arrested the fiery torrent, sparing one of the most beautiful parts of our lovely lake-shore. Personally, I lost my chief visible property. If insurance fail not, I shall not

want.

What shall I say of the thousand angels of mercy that still throng our desolate homes and suffering multitudes! Unspeakable as is our full woe, the tongue falters to own the swift charity that has sprung to our relief. God bless our helpers all!

I write these few hurried lines amidst the dreamlike consciousness of what has passed. We are fast wakening to the great future. What is done and purposed, pledges us that future will be worthy the past. Stern winter is at the door of our tents. Bread- thanks to the nation's warm charity- lacks now to none. But clothing and shelter for the thousand forlorn ones we must long need. With the highest esteem, truly yours,

WILLIAM BARRY. P. S. You will understand that this is a personal letter, not official. The Society has not yet met.

A letter was read from our associate, Mr. George T. Davis, in which he said that he had become a permanent resident of Portland, in Maine, and had thus ceased to be a member of the Society; and expressing the regrets he felt in terminating his connection with this association.

The President, then, gave a detailed representation of the plans at present in contemplation for the reconstruction of our building, and renewed some suggestions in regard to the enlargement of our number of members and the increase of our annual assessment. He said that the growing interest in historical pursuits had been very marked of late in many parts of the Commonwealth, and he felt sure that we could gradually associate with ourselves fifty or even a hundred more who would render us excellent service; adding, that we owed it to others, as well as to ourselves, not to make or keep our Society too exclusive.

Considerable discussion ensued on the reading of this communication, and it was

Voted, That the Committee appointed in June, 1869, namely, Messrs. Clifford, Ellis, H. Gray, Jr., Deane, and Washburn (the last taking the place of Mr. George T. Davis, who had removed from the State), be requested to consider the subject of applying to the Legislature for an amendment of the charter of the Society for liberty to enlarge the number