Monday, May 18, 2015

 

A Great Many Books

Anthony Trollope (1815-1882), The Macdermots of Ballycloran, chapter V (describing Father John McGrath):
His other expensive taste was that of books; he could not resist the temptation to buy books, books of every sort, from voluminous editions of St. Chrysostom to Nicholas Nicklebys and Charles O'Malleys; and consequently he had a great many. But alas! he had no book-shelves, not one; some few volumes, those of every day use, were piled on the top of one another in his little sitting-room; the others were closely packed in great boxes in different parts of the cottage—his bed-room, his little offertory, his parlour, and many in a little drawing-room, as he called it, but in which was neither chair nor table, nor ever appeared the sign of fire! No wonder the poor man complained the damp got to his books.



<< Home
Newer›  ‹Older

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?