SCRIBBLING IN BOOKS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4732, 1 August 1924, Page 2

SCRIBBLING IN BOOKS.

A LIBRARIAN’S PLAINT. AN OBJECTIONABLE PRACTICE. No one of less eminence than a Tennyson or a Carlyle should dare to write his opinions in a book, writes "A Librarian” in a contemporary). If readers would only bear this in mind many a librarian would be a happier man and his temper more even. Nothing arouses the Evil one more in me than in reading a book to find a page, or pages, where some vandal has scribbled his or her, views. ScribMere in books may be roughly divided into two classes, the crude and the cultured.

The first-named are rather amusing, as they find themselves so carried away by the events and character* of the book that they cannot refrain from writing their appreciation, or otherwise, on the margins. For instance, when the villian does some dark deed, you find in the margin, “the pig,” "‘‘the scoundrel.” Or when the heroine is walking artless into some wicked snare you. find, “don’t do it, see page 153,” or *ph, the fcol.” If the end is no£ satisfactory (thjs applies almost solely to female readers) we find remarks on the last page as, "she should have mafried So-and-so,” “a bad ending, she will never be happy” Juvenile readcis confine themselves to ‘’jolly line book,” or “rotten book,” with frequent endorsements.

Cultured readers, who ought io know better and are very blameworthy in this respect, are >n various categories. The worst type is the r'ergyman and the theological student, who invariably write their sectarian views on a book. Newman’s “Apologia,” dean Inge’s Essayp, and Papini’s "Story of Christ” are three books that suffer much in this way. Samuel Butler’s works, particularly his “Erewhon,” used to be freely scribbled on, but this has now largely been transferred to the w'orks of H. G. Wells, more especially his ‘‘Outline of History” and his recent novels. Strangely enough, political works are not scribbled on nearly so much as one would expect.

Two books I well remember as having the most far-seeing and the mast ignorant criticisms written on, by apparently well-read people, were "Germany and the Next War,” by Bernhardt, and "A Nation in Arms,” by Lord Roberts. Scientific readers and technical students confine themselves to working out little problems in the margins, or demonstrating errors. Books on campaigns in the Great War often contain pungent criticisms and corrections by readers who were obviously on the spot. But books that rouse the scribblers to the greatest frenzy are undoubtedly those of Bernard Shaw. I have never met or heard of any other author’s works that have been written on so much ns those if Shaw. I had in my hand recently a copy of “Back to Methuselah,” and on the margins of the preface at least six people had scribbled criticism, counter-criticism, eulogy, and abuse. The book had to be withdrawn and a new copy obtained.