"I know what you want to say," said Hieronymus.
"No, you don't," answered the exciseman. "No one knows except myself."
Hieronymus retreated, crushed, but rather relieved too.
Then David, gaining courage, continued:
"Books are in your line, aren't they?"
"It just does happen to be my work to know a little about them," the historian answered. "Are you interested in them too?"
"Well," said David, hesitating, "I can't say I read them, but I buy them."
"Most people do that," said Hieronymus; "it takes less time to buy than to read, and we are pressed for time in this century."
"You see," said the exciseman, "I don't buy the books for myself, and it's rather awkward knowing what to get. Now what would you get for a person who was really fond of reading: something of a scholar, you understand? That would help me for my next lot."
"It all depends on the taste of the person," Hieronymus said kindly. "Some like poetry, some like novels; others like books about the moon, and others like books about the north pole, or the tropics."