I suppose it served their purpose thus to use the wisdom of greater men and that they thus economised their own time by tearing out portions to suit their purpose.

The hardship to the trade is this: their books are purchased in good faith as perfect, and when resold the buyer is quick to claim damage if found defective, while the seller has no redress." Among the careless destroyers of books still at work should be classed Government officials.

Cart-loads of interesting documents, bound and unbound, have been sold at various times as waste-paper,[1] when modern red-tape thought them but rubbish.

Some of them have been rescued and resold at high prices, but some have been lost for ever.
[1] Nell Gwyn's private Housekeeping Book was among them, containing most curious particulars of what was necessary in the time of Charles I for a princely household.

Fortunately it was among the rescued, and is now in a private library.
In 1854 a very interesting series of blue books was commenced by the authorities of the Patent Office, of course paid for out of the national purse.