Page:The Diothas, or, A far look ahead (IA diothasorfarlook01macn).pdf/103

 is superseded by a later and better work, it is relegated to the shelves of the great depository."

"What is this depository?" inquired I, seeing him about to pass on without explanation.

"At a comparatively early period," said he, "men outgrew the childish folly of lumbering their abodes with antique rubbish. The depository is an immense fireproof building, where are preserved such culls from private libraries as are not already on its list. There they are catalogued and compactly arranged in departments by a librarian and his corps of assistants."

"Such a collection must be extensive," I remarked.

"Yes: in spite of reselections, repeated every cen- tury, the number of works will grow. It now amounts to something over a hundred millions. Besides this central library, each State possesses a more manageable collection of a million volumes, or so. The central depository is consulted chiefly for very special researches. Your father spent many an hour there, examining a unique collection of documents bearing on the nineteenth century. Here are two volumes of his works, which it is difficult for me to imagine as not familiar to your eyes."

As may be supposed, the work referred to was viewed by me with feelings of lively interest. Numberless ques- tions occurred to me. But I had already encroached so much on my host's time, that I felt ashamed to ask more. I begged, accordingly, for a loan of the above-mentioned volumes, and carried them off to my room.

Scarcely had I seated myself to a perusal of the work, when the recognized signal called me to the telephone.