' There was a pause in the sale, while all had a
good look at the little stranger. Some said jocularly, 'There has
evidently been a mistake; put up the lot again.' Mr. Stevens, with the
book again safely in his pocket, said, 'Nay, if Mr. Pickering, whose
cost mark of [3s] did not recognize the prize he had won, certainly the
cataloguer might be excused for throwing it away into the hands of the
right person to rescue, appreciate, and preserve it. I am now fully
rewarded for my long and silent hunt of seven years.'
"On reaching Morley's I eagerly collated the volume, and at first found
it right witli all the _usual_ signatures correct. The leaves were
not paged or folioed. But on further collation I missed sundry of the
Psalms, enough to fill four leaves. The puzzle was finally solved when
it was discovered that the inexperienced printer had marked the sheet
with the signature w after v, which is very unusual.
"This was a very disheartening disappointment, but I held my tongue,
and knowing that my old friend and correspondent, George Liverm
of Cambridge, N. E., possessed an imperfect copy, which he and Mr.
Crowninshield, after the noble example of the 'Lincoln Nosegay,' had
won from the Committee of the 'Old South' together with another and
perfect copy, I proposed an advantageous exchange and obtained
four missing leaves.
Pages:
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169