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COLLECTION MANAGEMENT
REVISED EDITION

Topics in Australasian Library and Information Studies
Series editors: Dr Stuart Ferguson
This series provides detailed, formally refereed works on a wide range of topics and issues
relevant to professionals and para-professionals in the library and information industry and
to students of library and information studies. All titles are written from an Australasian
perspective, drawing on professional experience and research in Australia, New Zealand
and the wider Pacific region. Proposals for publications should be addressed to the series
editors (sferguson@csu.edu.au).
Recent publications include:
Number 27
Libraries in the twenty-first century: Charting new directions in information services
Stuart Ferguson
Number 26
Collection management: A concise introduction. Revised edition
John Kennedy
Number 25
The other 51 weeks: A marketing handbookfor librarians. Revised edition
Lee Welch
Number 24
Archives: Recordkeeping in society
Edited by Sue McKemmish, Michael Piggott, Barbara Reed and Frank Upward
Number 23
Organising knowledge in a global society: Principles andpractice in libraries and
information centres
Ross Harvey and Philip Hider
Number 22
Computersfor librarians: An introduction to the electronic library. 3rd edition
Stuart Ferguson with Rodney Hebels
Number 21
Australian library supervision and management. 2nd edition
Roy Sanders
Number 20
Research methodsfor students, academics and professionals. 2nd edition
Kirsty Williamson et al.

COLLECTION MANAGEMENT
A concise introduction
Revised edition
John Kennedy
Topics in Australasian Library and Information Studies, Number 26
CIS
Centre for Information Studies
Charles Sturt University
Wagga Wagga New South Wales

Copyright © John Kennedy 2006
This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research,
criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied,
recorded or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be made to
the Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.
ISBN 1 876938 13 7
ISSN: 1030-5009
National Library of Australia cataloguing-in-publication data
Kennedy, John, 1947-.
Collection management : a concise introduction.
Rev ed.
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN 978 1 87693 813 0.
ISBN 1 876938 13 7.
1. Collection management (Libraries). 2. Collection
development (Libraries). I. Charles Sturt University.
Centre for Information Studies. II. Title. (Series :
Topics in Australasian library and information studies ; no. 26).
025.2
This revised edition published in 2006
Series editor: S. Ferguson
Copy editor: R. Crease
Indexer: S. Quinn
Cover designer: T. O'Neill
Printer: On-Demand, Southbank VIC
Centre for Information Studies
Locked Bag 660
Wagga Wagga NSW 2678
Australia
Phone:+ 61 (0)2 6933 2325
Fax:+61 (0)2 6933 2733
Email: cis@csu.edu.au
http://www.csu.edu.au/cis

Acknowledgements
A major part of the work of researching and writing this book was undertaken
during a period of leave from Charles Sturt University in the first half of 2001
under its Special Studies Program, and I am grateful to the University for its
generosity in granting me this leave, which made it possible to work on the book
for five months, free from the normal responsibilities of teaching and
administration. In recent years my teaching responsibilities have frequently
included collection management subjects, and numerous students in these subjects
have enriched my understanding of collection management by sharing with me
insights provided by their own very diverse experiences and reflections.
Professor Ross Harvey, one of the co-editors of the TALIS series, gave
important and valuable advice, particularly at a crucial early stage of my thinking
about this book. To the other co-editor of TALIS, the current director of the Centre
for Information Studies, Dr Stuart Ferguson, who undertook major editorial
responsibility for this title, I am grateful for much advice and assistance that have
made the book far better than it would otherwise have been. Dr Gayner Eyre,
director of the Centre until the end of 2001, provided strong support and
encouragement in moments of uncertainty.
Special thanks are due to Mr Chris Jones, Chief Librarian of the Great Lakes
Library Service, who read the book in manuscript and made numerous valuable
suggestions for improvement, besides providing an electronic copy of his library's
collection development policy. Mr Howard Boyle and Mr Stephen Cohen of
Rockdale City Library, and Mr Laurie Urane, Manager of Hurstville City Library
and Information Service, generously gave of their time to discuss collection
management with me, and provided copies of the collection development policies
of their respective libraries. My sister Marie Kennedy gave valuable help by
allowing me to stay at her apartment in Sydney during an extended period of
research in that city.
In accordance with an old but still entirely valid tradition I acknowledge that
responsibility for the shortcomings of the book is mine.
John Kennedy

About the author
John Kennedy was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1947, and migrated with his
parents to Sydney in 1957. He received his formal library science education at the
University of New South Wales and at the College of Librarianship Wales in
Aberystwyth. After part-time work during student days at two libraries in Sydney,
he spent eight years on the staff of the James Cook University Library in
Townsville, before becoming a lecturer in Library and Information Studies at
Charles Sturt University in 1989. His library-related teaching and research interests
have mainly been in the areas of collection management, publishing, librarianship
education and reference work. He has produced several previous publications on
the subject of collection management, including co-authoring Collection
developmentfor Australian libraries, published by the CIS in its Topics in
Australasian Library and Information Studies series in 1992. A continuing
enthusiasm for the saga literature of medieval Iceland has led, amongst other
things, to a PhD in that area in 1986.

Note on the revised edition
The invitation to prepare a revised edition of Collection management: A concise
introduction provided an opportunity to review the entire text, and to make some
corrections. It also made it possible to revise some wording in the interests of
greater clarity, though not all changes to the first edition are likely to contribute to
a simpler picture for the reader! Particularly in the area of acquisitions, the
situation confronting libraries is not tending to become more clear-cut, and even a
concise overview such as this needs to reflect new challenges and increasing
complexity.
Four years after the publication of the first edition, updating was obviously
necessary. New developments, and tendencies becoming more prominent, needed
to be mentioned; new editions of documents quoted or cited in place of older ones;
and more current terminology used in place of older words and phrases.
The author is grateful to the director of the Centre for Information Studies, Dr
Stuart Ferguson, for the opportunity to prepare a revised edition for publication in
the Centre's 'Topics in Australasian Library and Information Studies' series. He
would also like to express thanks to Michelle and Bruce Burdekin for allowing him
the exclusive use of their idyllically situated holiday home on the New South
Wales Mid North Coast for a period of undisturbed research and writing during
long service leave at the beginning of 2006. Much of the work on this revision was
done during that period. Mr Chris Jones, Manager, Library Services at the Great
Lakes Library Service, welcomed the author in that library and made available to
him his updated version of its Collection development strategy.
June 2006

Introduction
Looking up the word 'library' in a general dictionary, even one published quite
recently, is very likely to provide a range of definitions similar to what is found in
the fourth edition of The Macquarie dictionary:
1. a place set apart to contain books and other literary material for
reading, study, or reference, as a room, set of rooms, or building
where books may be read or borrowed
2. a lending library or a public library
3. a collection of manuscripts, publications, and other materials for
reading, study, or reference
4. a series of books of similar character, or alike in size, binding, etc.,
issued by a single publishing house
5. a collection of films, records, music, etc.
6. Computers an organised collection of programs or routines suitable
for a particular model of computer (2005, p.823, formatting added).
Dictionaries, of course, are the work of people whose profession is
lexicography, not library science, and it would be unreasonable to expect their
concise definitions to be precisely what the professionally aware librarian would
most like to see. For many years it has been fundamental to the thinking of
librarians that a library is not primarily a matter of bricks and mortar, or even of
print and other materials capable of storing data. Their emphasis has been on the
library as a group of people - professional, para-professional and support staff-
and on the repertoire of services provided to clients of the library by those people,
making use of buildings, books, films, records and other resources. In the last
twenty years, the picture has been increasingly modified to place less emphasis on
the role in service provision of buildings and more tangible media like print and
film, and to stress instead the providing of resources and services electronically, to
clients who might rarely or never visit the bricks and mortar library building. But
services, the people served and the people providing the services have remained
central to how librarians regard the 'library'.
Yet we should not dismiss entirely the definitions of the lexicographers, with
their focus on places and collections. A central tenet of modern lexicography is that

xiv Collection management
compilers of dictionaries have an obligation to define words in a way which
reflects how they are actually used, rather than how guardians of the language or
other interested parties think they should be used, and undoubtedly many people do
still think of libraries as rooms or buildings, or as collections of materials such as
books, films, and so on. Perhaps more important, it remains the case, even in an
increasingly digital era, that a vital element in any library is its collection. This is
true even if the library possesses few or no materials printed on paper or on film.
As will emerge more clearly in the chapters which follow, resources held or made
available in digital form are as much a part of a library's collection as materials
printed on paper, even if their presence in the library is intangible.
While for many of us the words 'library' and 'collection' evoke images of
public libraries, academic libraries or other institutions maintained by people with
formal library science qualifications, the words are also used to refer to more
informal assemblages of books,films,and so on. There would be nothing
especially unusual about my referring to the books and periodicals surrounding me
in my home as my 'home library', or about references to my private 'collection' of
books or my 'collection' of compact discs or vidéocassettes. But such assemblages
of materials brought together and maintained by individuals and households are
usually rather random affairs created over the years from gifts, purchases needed at
one stage in life or other for work or study and a certain amount of impulse buying.
That they are of such a nature is not a criticism. Indeed, one of the great pleasures
of such collections is precisely the imprint on them of the changing and developing
tastes of an individual or small group, and the element of serendipity they allow.
It is not such libraries and such collections that will concern us here. Public
libraries, libraries in educational institutions, and special libraries managed by
trained librarians to serve the needs of organisations and corporations in the
governmental and private sectors do indeed sometimes contain surprising things,
but their purpose is to supply the needs and wants of clients, not of those who
create and maintain the library. It has been generally recognised since ancient times
that those who collect for such libraries, and in doing so spend money provided by
others, have an obligation to the clients and cannot simply consult their own whims
in deciding what should be in the collection. The collection that is the product of
their work should not have a pronounced random or serendipitous quality, but
should be focused on client wants and needs. The focus in the following pages will
be on the responsibilities and opportunities that confront those whose duty it is to
look after collections in formally constituted libraries and manage them in an
efficient and effective manner.

Introduction xv
The layperson's immediate answer to the question 'What kind of material is
contained in library collections?' would still today probably be 'Books'. But a little
reflection will suggest that this is not an entirely adequate response. Many other
kinds of material are held in libraries and so make up its collection. Special
libraries serving the needs of private companies or government departments are
very likely to have far more issues of trade, professional and academic journals
than they have printed books, and in other libraries (including public libraries)
recorded music and other sound on discs or tapes form an important part of the
collection. Libraries also collect films in various formats, kits and games, and even
items more usually associated with museums and art galleries which may have
been given to them as gifts or deliberately sought because of their association with
authors strongly represented in the collection of print materials.
Increasingly in recent years, however, libraries have turned their attention to
digital resources. Some digital resources resemble music discs or vidéocassettes in
that it is possible to bring into the library a physical object such as a computer disc
or CD-ROM which contains the data that makes the resource, although special
equipment - a computer in the case of digital resources - is required if anyone is to
have access to the data. Other digital resources have a less tangible presence in the
library: they are available when and if required using the links to data located on
distant computers made possible by the internet. In practice, the distinction
between the two types of digital resources may blur, at least from the point of view
of the clients of the library, since the library may network the digital resources it
has acquired in a physical format, and the same computer terminal may be used to
access the contents of a CD-ROM a few metres away, or a database made
accessible through the internet which is in fact on a computer half a world away.
It is a basic tenet of this book that a library's collection consists both of
traditional materials (mainly in print form in most libraries) and of its digital
resources (including those which are present only in a 'virtual' sense, through
being available when and if required via the internet). In the following pages it will
be suggested that digital resources are as much in need of collection management
as print ones, though they present different challenges - including some that the
library profession is still learning how best to confront.
The field of library collection management is not one that has been neglected.
On the contrary, an enormous amount has been published about it, particularly in
the last thirty or forty years, and it continues to produce an almost overwhelming
volume of literature, both in print form and on the internet. The work that follows
is intended to provide a concise and readable overview of the whole field. All the

xvi Collection management
major areas of collection management are covered - collection policy, selection,
acquisitions and licensing, evaluation, preservation, deselection and cooperation
between libraries in collecting activities. The aim of the book is to help the reader
who has had little or no direct experience in this important area of library and
information work to gain a sound basic understanding of what collection
management involves, so that he or she has some insight into what people who
work in collection management do and the interesting challenges they face. The
book is not a detailed 'how to do it' manual for such collection management
activities as devising a collection development policy or weeding the collection,
though the reader new to such activities will find some guidance here on what is
involved.
Though very much has been written on collection management topics, much of
what is available is rather specialised, and a very large proportion relates primarily
to academic libraries in North America. While such libraries have very largely
shaped modern collection management and continue to drive many of the
developments in the field, the present work views the subject from a perspective
that is not North American or British and focuses more on smaller institutions,
particularly smaller public or special libraries, in which many information
professionals and para-professionals work. Much of the discussion will draw on an
awareness of the Australian experience, the one most familiar to the writer. The
Australian experience of collection management has much in common with that of
North America - unsurprisingly, as it has often been the American lead that has
quite consciously been followed in Australia. But there are also distinctively
Australian aspects to collection management in Australian libraries, and a
consideration of these should be of interest not only to Australian readers but also
to those in other areas remote from the major libraries of North America and
Western Europe.
Authors may sometimes try to convince themselves otherwise, but there can be
little real doubt that students undertaking courses in library and information
science, and their teachers, form a large proportion of the readers of books on
librarianship topics. It is my intention and hope that students preparing themselves
for careers in information work will indeed find this book helpful to them in their
studies. As part of their course they may be required or encouraged to study a
subject with a title like 'Collection Management' or 'Collection Development', for
which the syllabus corresponds fairly closely to the list of topics covered in this
book. Or they may be asked to undertake subjects with a somewhat different focus

Introduction xvii
that nevertheless deal significantly with the concerns of collection management,
which is indeed relevant to much that happens in library and information work.
It is hoped, however, that the odour of the textbook will not cling too heavily to
the pages that follow. The primary intention is to provide for any who might be
interested a concise overview of a dynamic and stimulating area of information
work. The extent to which the work manages to convey to the reader a sense of the
continuing and indeed renewed vitality of collection management as we move
further into a predominantly electronic information environment will be an
important measure of its success.
References
The Macquarie dictionary, 2005,4th edn, Macquarie Library, Macquarie University, NSW.

CHAPTER 1
The changing collection management
environment
What is collection management?
For someone not familiar with librarians and their terminology, the phrase
'collection management' is likely to be puzzling, or at best unrevealing. It is not an
especially transparent phrase - indeed, the non-librarian might be forgiven for
thinking that it must be virtually a synonym for librarianship itself. One might
reasonably think that the core of the traditional work of librarians is the
management of its collection of materials.
Among librarians, however, the phrase 'collection management' has come to
be used in a somewhat narrower and more specialised sense. According to this
usage, 'collection management' is concerned with a set of interrelated library
activities focusing on the selection, acquisition, evaluation, preservation and
deselection (or weeding) of library materials. It does not include everything that
might logically be regarded as part of managing a collection. For example,
cataloguing and classification, and the corresponding procedures for the
bibliographic control of internet resources, could logically be regarded as part of
managing a collection, but these are not generally considered under the heading
'collection management'. This is largely no doubt because they are such rich and
complex specialisations in their own right. Similarly, the area of librarianship
which focuses on providing advice to readers to help them satisfy their information
needs is not usually regarded as part of collection management, though of course
selection and other collection management activities must be conducted with a
constant awareness that the primary reason for collecting is to serve the needs of
present and future library users.
Collection development and collection management
The literature relating to collection management is enormous. Anyone reading this
literature will, however, quickly encounter another term, 'collection development',

2 Collection management
which like collection management is often employed to serve as an umbrella term
covering activities like selection, acquisition and deselection.
What then is the difference between collection management and collection
development? Unfortunately, as so often is the case in the social sciences, the
answer is not straightforward because terminology has not been fully standardised.
Some writers use collection management almost exclusively, others clearly prefer
'collection development', while still others employ both but establish a distinction
in meaning between them. The ways in which this distinction is drawn vary
considerably. Indeed, there arc writers for whom collection management is a
subdivision of collection development, and others for whom collection
development is a subdivision of collection management!
Collection development is the older term. Probably thinking primarily of the
United States, Richards and Eakin (1997, p.xxi) state that it was in use in academic
libraries from at least the 1950s, 'and in public libraries a few years prior to that',
but references to it in the published literature before the 1960s are not easy to find.
The term became popular in North American academic libraries during the 1960s
and early 1970s, at a time of explosive expansion in the higher education sector.
Student and staff numbers were increasing at a far greater rate than ever before,
and resources were available to purchase library materials on an unprecedented
scale. There was no shortage of materials to buy - in fact, the term 'information
explosion' became a cliché to describe the dramatic increase in publications made
possible by increased prosperity and a greatly enlarged number of scholars and
researchers able and willing to publish their findings.
The activities that came to be grouped together and termed collection
development were not themselves new, of course. Librarians selected and acquired
materials, attempted to keep them safe and in good condition, and deselected, at
least in some sense of these phrases, at the library of Alexandria two thousand
years ago. What was new was a growing sense of this or a similar grouping of
activities as having a certain coherence and of being worthy of detailed
examination and discussion. A preconference held in 1977 before the American
Library Association's annual conference in Denver, Colorado, is sometimes seen as
the real 'coming of age' of collection development as a recognised and important
specialisation within librarianship, and certainly the number of publications
devoted to the subject and using the term 'collection development' increased
rapidly after this date (Johnson 2004, p. 14).
A contributing influence was the increasing inability of teaching and research
staff in major universities in the United States to perform the work of library

The changing collection management environment 3
selection that they had performed when keeping track of publications in one's
discipline was a far less overwhelming task (and one for which academics had
more time). This meant that responsibility for selection largely passed into the
hands of the staff of university libraries who, lacking detailed subject knowledge in
most areas in which they needed to select, felt impelled to work out principles for
performing selection, and the tasks that seemed associated with it, logically and
effectively. But while this factor was significant, partly because of the major role
played by American academic librarians in published discussions of collection
development, it is important not to overemphasise it. Collection development also
became popular in public libraries, where selection had been largely in the hands of
libraries for several decades, in special libraries, and in smaller academic
institutions where the transfer of selection responsibility from teachers and
researchers to librarians was less pronounced than in the larger United States
universities (see Osburn 1990, p.5). Selection by librarians also became popular in
Australian universities, though academic staff continued to play a major role in
selection at most of them.
In Australia and New Zealand, as elsewhere in the Western world, it is
tempting, faced with the realities of the early twenty-first century, to idealise the
1960s and early 1970s as a golden age of prosperity for the community at large and
for libraries in particular. In fact, of course, there were many problems, and some
powerful obstacles in the path of collection managers, thirty or forty years ago. In
Australasia at that time communication with suppliers of library materials based in
the United Kingdom or the United States was normally by airmail postage, which
meant that a response to a query could not be expected in less than a fortnight from
the time it was sent. But despite the problems, the period was one of optimistic
growth in which libraries, funded more generously than ever before, saw
opportunities to expand their collections greatly and to develop them to meet the
needs and wants of patrons much more effectively than had previously been the
case. Collection development seemed a suitable phrase to describe what they were
attempting to do: the word 'development' seemed quite appropriately to imply
growth and realisation of potential.
When the American Library Association (ALA) published the ALA glossary of
library and information science in 1983, 'collection development' was clearly its
preferred term, and the definition from this source was reprinted without alteration
in a 1996 ALA publication, Guidefor training collection development librarians:
collection development. A term which encompasses a number of
activities related to the development of the library collection, including
the determination and coordination of selection policy, assessment of

needs of users and potential users, collection use studies, collection
evaluation, identification of collection needs, selection of materials,
planning of resource sharing, collection maintenance, and weeding (ALA
1996, p.45).
As is now known, the long period of growing general prosperity in Western
countries which extended from the 1950s into the early 1970s was not destined to
continue indefinitely, and following an 'oil crisis' in 1973 there were increasing
signs of economic problems throughout the Western world, increasing difficulties
in funding education and libraries, and an increasing reluctance to spend money on
them unless there was a very tangible benefit from doing so - something that
public and academic libraries in particular had difficulty in demonstrating.
Compounding these problems, which have prevailed into the twenty-first century,
prices of library materials, particularly periodicals and to a lesser extent books,
have escalated at a rate usually far greater than that of general inflation. This has
meant that even relatively fortunate libraries have found it impossible to avoid
cutting back on the extent of their purchasing.
As a result, from the mid-1970s there were suggestions, which rapidly won
support among writers on the subject, that 'collection development' was no longer
an appropriate term to describe what libraries were doing, or needed to do, because
the term implied growth rather than management of increasingly limited resources
(Mosher 1982; Branin 1994, p.xii). A new term, 'collection management', was
proposed as a substitute more appropriate to the new circumstances. Referring
particularly to academic libraries, Clare Jenkins and Mary Morley discussed the
change in the introduction to their 1991 collection of essays, Collection
management in academic libraries:
There has been a tendency for practitioners to use 'collection
development' and 'collection management' synonymously, although
increasingly a distinction is being made between them, and a change can
be seen in the (mostly American) professional literature awayfroma
former concentration on collection development activities towards
collection management. Collection development is perceived as a concept
more appropriate to earlier times of expansion in higher education and
academic libraries: it implies building and growing, dealing with the
selection and acquisition of library materials. Collection management is a
more demanding concept, which goes beyond a policy of acquiring
materials, to policies on the housing, preservation, and storage, weeding
and discard of stock. Rather than selection and acquisition, collection
management emphasizes the systematic management of a library's
existing collection (Jenkins & Morley 1991, p.xvi).

The changing collection management environment 5
Introducing their second edition, published in 1999, Jenkins and Morley
comment that 'Since the first edition of the book was written [...] the term
"collection management" has become well established in the profession, with much
less use of "collection development"' (1999, p.l). But while collection
management is indeed well established, collection development shows few signs of
disappearing. Even one of the contributors to the Jenkins and Morley second
edition observes that "There is no agreed usage for the terms "collection
development" and "collection management" - in fact, the two are used as rather
loose synonyms' (Law 1999, p. 15). The authors of the fifth edition of the respected
American textbook Developing library and information center collections (Evans
& Zarnosky Saponaro 2005) remain faithful to collection development, which they
define as 'the process of meeting the information needs of the people (a service
population) in a timely and economical manner using information resources locally
held, as well as from other organizations' (p.7).
An eminent writer on collection development/collection management subjects,
Ross Atkinson, observes that 'it has often been assumed that collection
management should be understood as an expansion of the concept of collection
development' and that 'Collection management then becomes an umbrella term
under which collection development is subsumed' (1998, p. 10). However, while
acknowledging this is a widespread practice he feels it would be more useful if
collection development was used to refer to 'policies and actions that drive
selection' (p. 10), while 'collection management' referred to 'policies and actions
that affect the access status of an object subsequent to its selection' (p. 10).
Clearly, while collection management is sometimes used as little more than a
synonym for the older collection development, its use often implies somewhat less
of a focus on the selection of materials and somewhat more on what happens to
them after they enter the collection, where they may be evaluated, may need to be
preserved, and should sooner or later become candidates for deselection. In this
book, collection management will be the preferred term and will be used to refer to
a complex of activities relating to the selection, acquisition, evaluation,
preservation and deselection of library materials. The vital importance of good
selection practices will be emphasised, but so will the collecting activities that take
place, or should take place, after items have been selected and acquired.
It has been and remains traditional in North America, both in library school
programs and among practitioners, to distinguish between collection development
or management, on the one hand, and acquisitions, on the other. A major reason is
that in American university libraries, collection management has tended to focus on

selection and has been regarded as work requiring professional skills, to be
entrusted to subject specialists - often termed 'bibliographers' or 'reference
librarians'. Acquisitions work in contrast has been performed by 'technical
services' staff working behind the scenes and has often been regarded as largely
routine and clerical. Staff of American university libraries write much of the
professional literature of librarianship, and their practices influence the thinking of
other sectors of the library world. However, whatever justification the distinction
may have had in libraries in the past has been diminished by a widespread
breakdown of the traditional reader services/technical services division in libraries
and by the blurring of the distinction between selection and acquisition in the
digital environment. Furthermore, an attitude that acquisitions work is purely
routine and clerical, always unjust and potentially harmful, as we shall see, is much
harder to maintain in an environment where negotiating licences and consortium
agreements for digital resources frequently falls within the list of duties of the
acquisitions librarian. Here the lead of Developing library and information center
collections (Evans & Zarnosky Saponaro 2005, pp.9-10) will be followed, and
acquisition will be regarded as an integral part of the collection management
process.
Is collection management still needed?
A clear implication of what has been said is that collection management is an
important clement of library work, and that an interest in libraries as they are today
would reasonably lead to an interest in what collection management is all about.
However, not all observers of the information industry, or even all practising
librarians, would agree. And among those who do acknowledge the importance of
collection management there would be some who would see it as destined to
decline in importance. Even Atkinson at one point, in a paper entitled 'Access,
ownership and the future of collection development' (1994), argued that collection
development was probably destined to disappear, though he suggested that it had
some significant tasks to perform before it vanished as a branch of librarianship.
Two major reasons arc proposed for the demise of collection management. One
stems from the fear that if the trends of the last few decades continue, with costs of
print materials escalating far more rapidly than the budgets available to pay for
them, there will be little scope in most libraries for collection management, or at
least for the high profile activities of selection and acquisition, since it will be
possible to purchase increasingly fewer materials, and the funds that are available
will need to be spent on renewing vital periodical subscriptions and on a few key

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"Nothing; only that I shall see you at Lyons, whither you are
returning:—but when?"
"I shall be there on Monday week."
"And so shall I; and I will come and dine with you: we will arrange
this matter over our glasses. But, at all events, you will take the lad
if I am answerable for him; do not make me break my word."
"No, no; the thing is settled; good bye till Monday week;" and they
parted.
"But Gervais must be told," said Michael, trembling with joy.
"Go, then, and make haste back; tell him to be at Lyons by Monday
week, if possible; but, above all, he must take care that the old toad
knows nothing about it." This was his usual epithet for La
Mauricaude. Michael departed, and Va-bon-train went to a
neighbouring tavern, into which he had seen Matthew and his
company enter. The price of a pair of stockings worth fifty sous,
which had been stolen from a shop at the fair, and sold a quarter-of-
an-hour afterwards for twenty, served to defray the expenses of the
party; and Matthew, owing to the cheapness of the wine that
season, was just on the verge of intoxication, when Va-bon-train,
coming up, said to him, "Matthew, there is but one word between
you and me: when I go one way, you must take care and go the
other; if you don't, your old toad and her young one will every
morning get for their breakfast a sound dressing from this whip."
"As for me, Vincent, I am an honest man," stammered Matthew. La
Mauricaude was about to vociferate; and the host took part with his
customer.
"Friend," said Va-bon-train, "when you settle your account with that
hussey, I will not interfere; but look well to the money she gives
you:" and he walked out. As soon as he was gone, La Mauricaude
poured forth a torrent of abuse. Those of her neighbours whose
hearts began to be warmed and their wits clouded by the wine they

had taken, agreed unanimously, that to come and insult in that
manner respectable people, who were quietly taking their glass,
without interfering with any one, was a thing not to be borne: and
Matthew again repeated, "As for me, I am an honest man." The rest,
as they looked at La Mauricaude and her son, made some reflections
on Va-bon-train's speech, and the host thought it high time to
demand payment. This completed the ill-humour of La Mauricaude.
As for Michael, he had hastened to Gervais, and delivered his
message. A sudden flush of surprise and joy suffused the
countenance of the latter, on learning that his uncle would be
answerable for him; and when the voice of Va-bon-train was heard
calling his son, the two friends pressed each other's hands, and
parted, each cherishing the thought of the happiness which was
about to dawn for both of them.
All was quiet at the inn where Va-bon-train had taken up his abode
for the night, when, awaking from his first sleep, he thought he
heard Medor in the yard, groaning, and very uneasy. He went down
stairs, and was surprised to find him tied by a cord to a tree that
was near the cart, and so short that he could scarcely move. As he
was accustomed to allow Medor his liberty at night, feeling quite
sure that he would make use of it only to defend more effectually his
master's property, he concluded that some one had thought to
render him a service, by tying up the dog for fear of his escaping;
for in the darkness he had not perceived that the other end of the
cord which attached Medor to the tree, had been passed round his
nose, so as to form a kind of muzzle. Eager to liberate the poor
animal, he cut the cord, which was fastened round his neck by a slip
knot, and which, but for the intervention of his collar, must have
strangled him. The cord once cut, the knot gave way, and, by the aid
of his fore paws, Medor was soon freed from his ignoble fetters. No
sooner had he regained his liberty, than he began to scent with
avidity all round the yard, moaning the whole time; then he dashed
against the stable door as if he would break it in. His master,
astonished, opened it for him, supposing, from what he knew of his

instinct, that some suspicious person might be concealed there; but
Medor was contented with running across the stable, still scenting,
to the opposite door, which led into the street, and which, by the
means of this stable, formed one of the entrances to the inn. His
master called him, he came back with reluctance, and, still moaning,
laid down at his feet, as if to solicit a favour; then he ran to the
vehicle, again returned, and rushed with greater violence against the
first door, which his master had in the mean time closed. Astonished
at these manœuvres, Va-bon-train went to his cart; but everything
was in order, the trunk locked, and nothing apparently to justify the
dog's agitation. Then, presuming that Medor, notwithstanding his
good sense, was, like all dogs and all children, impatient to set out
on his journey, and had been seized with this fancy rather earlier
than usual, he gave him a cut with his whip, sent him back to the
cart, and returned to bed.
The next morning, when he went down, he called Medor, but no
Medor answered. He sought for him everywhere, but without
success; he then recollected what had taken place during the night,
and feared that some one had stolen him.
"Was he there," demanded one of the travellers, "when you went
down in the night to take something from your cart?" Va-bon-train
declared that he had taken nothing from his cart.
"The heat was insufferable," continued the man, "and we had the
window open. One of the workmen from the forge, who slept in my
room, said: 'See, there is some one meddling with the box belonging
to the exhibitor of the Marionettes.' 'His dog does not growl,' said I,
'so it must be the man himself. Never mind, friend; let us sleep.'"
Va-bon-train hastened to his box, which was still locked; he opened
it, and found everything in disorder: Scaramouche had disappeared,
as well as a dozen of Madras handkerchiefs, the remains of a lot
purchased at the fair of Beaucaire, and the greater part of which had
been sold on his journey. Who could have done this? Va-bon-train
remembered having found a key upon the road, a few days after he

had associated himself with Matthew, and which fitted his trunk. He
lost it again the next day, but had not troubled himself about it. Now
he guessed into whose hands it had fallen, and felt assured that
Medor would not have allowed himself to be approached and led
away by any one but an acquaintance.
"That boy who was at work close by, at the blacksmith's," said the
landlord of the inn, "did he not come in here, and give the dog some
drink?"
"He who came with the woman and the ass?" said the hostess. "He
seemed to be a respectable lad."
"You may think so," replied a neighbour; "but when I saw him enter
the stable yonder, after dark, I said to Cateau, What is that little
vagabond going to do there?"
"Gervais!" exclaimed Michael.
"Yes," said the landlord, "he was called Gervais at the blacksmith's."
The flush of anger mounted to the face of Va-bon-train. The idea of
having been duped was added to the annoyance of his loss, and he
swore that he would never again be caught overcoming a prejudice.
A less hasty disposition would have examined whether the innkeeper
and the neighbour were not speaking of different persons, and
whether suspicion ought not more naturally to fall upon Thomas and
La Mauricaude. But the woman whose explanations would have
thrown light upon the subject had gone home, and among those
who remained there was no one who had seen them, or, at all
events, who would acknowledge to have done so; for where there is
not some falsehood to complicate matters, it is rare that truth does
not break out, so great is its tendency to manifest itself.
La Mauricaude, who was never so persuasive as when she had been
drinking, had formed acquaintance with one of the ostlers of the inn,
who, on his side, was easily led by persuasion, when in the same
condition. She had obtained from him a gratuitous place in the
stable for Martin, and, though against his master's express orders, a

corner also for Thomas. Hence, furnished with some of the remains
of the travellers' supper, which he had obtained from his protector, it
was an easy matter for Thomas to enter the yard, and entrap the
too confiding Medor, who had no suspicion of treachery from the
hand of an acquaintance. At the moment when Medor, without
abandoning his post, raised his head to smell what was presented to
him, Thomas passed the muzzle on his nose, and the slip knot round
his neck, and the poor animal found himself tied up to a tree,
without having been able to make the least resistance; for, could he
have made any, he would easily have triumphed over his adversary.
Thus master of the field, Thomas had no difficulty in prosecuting his
designs, by means of the key which, at all risks, he had possessed
himself of at the first opportunity that offered. Martin, taken from
the stable before daybreak, carried off the stolen goods, and
scarcely had the morning begun to dawn, when Matthew, roused
from the heavy sleep of intoxication, and, almost unconscious of
what he was doing, left the arch of the bridge, beneath which he
had slept, in the bed of a dried-up stream.
Gervais had obtained, from the blacksmith by whom he had been
employed, the permission to pass the night in his woodhouse, upon
a heap of vine twigs. Awakening from a sleep which, for the first
time for two months, had revived hope in his bosom, he arose with a
light heart, full of eagerness to commence his journey towards his
new destination. The evening before, he had told his father that he
was going to leave him, for the purpose of seeking employment; and
Matthew, whose paternal affections were greatly strengthened after
the second bottle, gave him his benediction, with tears in his eyes,
saying, "Go, my son, and gain an honest living; and wherever you
go, you may declare that I am an honest man." As for La
Mauricaude, she troubled herself very little about him, neither did he
wish her to do so. His serious and reserved disposition had
prevented anything like friendly feeling between them.
He walked with a light heart towards Lyons, calculating that in order
to get there, he would require on his journey some little work and a

great deal of frugality; for even by sleeping in sheds, beneath
bridges, or under trees, it was impossible that his twenty-one sous,
the proceeds of his work the day before, and of his previous
economy, should be sufficient for the maintenance of a lad of fifteen,
during the ten days that must yet elapse, before the arrival of that
happy Monday, which was to bring him the protection of his uncle
and of Master Blanchet. But how should he be uneasy about the
means of reaching his destination? He was already there in
imagination. He was about to live with those who, every day and
every hour, would recognize his probity. He was going to have an
opportunity of proving his right to be esteemed, a necessity keenly
felt by those who, like him, have known humiliation without
deserving it, and without allowing themselves to be depressed by its
influence. And then, how many delights were in store for him! That
pair of shoes which he carried so carefully fastened to the end of his
stick, whenever he had far to walk, he might soon be able to wear
continually, for he foresaw the time when he should be in a condition
to buy others. Nevertheless, he must endeavour to make them last
until he had purchased a second shirt, so as to avoid the necessity of
going without one occasionally, as was the case, when of an
evening, taking advantage of some secluded nook, he took off the
only one he had, washed it in the stream and dried it on the grass of
the bank. The idea of possessing a pair of stockings to dance in on
holidays presented itself to his imagination in the distant future,
around which crowded in perspective the inexhaustible joys of life.
Then came the thoughts of a more solid happiness, and all the
ambitions of an honourable man. He was able to set up for himself;
to work on his own account; to withdraw his father from the
wretched life his wicked companion forced him to lead, and secure
to him a tranquil old age, due to his son who loved him
notwithstanding his irregularities. Then, his thoughts rushing over
intervening years, Gervais would quicken his steps as if to reach the
future, and his imagination warmed, as the sun rose, and shed its
brilliant beams over the horizon.

Whilst abandoning himself to these reveries, he felt something cool
and moist pressing against his hand. It was the nose of Medor; who,
after licking his hand, looked at him and wagged his tail, but with an
expression which seemed to ask a question; and having smelt him
from head to foot, he went on, his nose in the air, and smelling
constantly with the same anxiety. Gervais called him back; Medor
stopped, looked at him with an uneasy expression, and continued his
journey in the same manner. It was quite evident that he was in
search of something; but being ignorant of what had taken place
during the night, Gervais was at a loss to conjecture what it could
be. It struck him, that, separated perhaps by some accident, Medor
and his master might now be in search of each other, and with this
idea, he could not suppose that Va-bon-train was still at the inn,
whither Medor would undoubtedly have returned; it seemed to him,
therefore, the best plan, to allow the animal to obey his instinct,
contenting himself with following him so as to prevent his going
astray, and preserve him from the danger of being taken or killed as
a dog without an owner. He rejoiced in the opportunity thus afforded
him of rendering his uncle a service; and, imagining that Medor had
had nothing to eat, he gave him a part of the bread he had bought
for his day's provision, and which the poor thing devoured with as
much appetite as his agitation would permit. They then continued
their journey together, Medor being always in advance, except when,
from time to time, some new fancy seemed to seize him. Then he
would turn as if to retrace his steps, again stop and moan:
alternately swayed by the instinct and affection which drew him
towards his master, and that which hurried him on to the recovery of
what had been confided to his care. Gervais would then call him,
and, decided by the voice of his friend, Medor would return and
continue his pursuit.
They journeyed thus for about two hours, when all at once, at a part
where the road, somewhat hollow, wound in such a manner as to
prevent a distant view, Medor, rushing forward, dashed round the
corner with such rapidity that Gervais could not doubt that he had
found his master. Then redoubling his speed, he also advanced

trembling between hope and fear, and was most disagreeably
surprised, when, at the turn of the road, he perceived his father, La
Mauricaude, the ass, and Thomas, in the greatest embarrassment,
contending with Medor, who, without any provocation, and with all
the consideration due to old acquaintanceship, had seized upon
Thomas in such a manner, that the boy found it impossible to
disengage himself from the animal's enormous claws, which, fixed
upon the lad's shoulders, served as a support to Medor, who, by
smelling about in all directions, at last discovered an old cloth bag
lined with leather, which was placed upon the back of the ass, and
the cords of which, unhappily for Thomas, had been wound round
his arm. Medor's teeth laboured both at the cords and at the bag,
which he endeavoured to open, almost upsetting Thomas at every
effort; the latter, in despair, and screaming with terror, clung with all
his strength to Martin's pack-saddle. "What is the matter with the
dog?" quietly asked Matthew, who had been a calm spectator of a
scene, which to him had the advantage of rousing him from his
apathy. But La Mauricaude, at once furious and frightened, gave the
animal some violent blows with a stick. Medor, however, did not
seem conscious of them. At length, seizing a large stone, she threw
it at him; it struck him on the hind leg, and he fell howling, dragging
down Thomas in his fall; the ass also was shaken, and even Matthew
was astonished. Gervais only arrived in time to address a word of
reproach to La Mauricaude, who was busied in raising her son: he
then ran after Medor, who had fled, howling, and limping on three
legs. He succeeded in catching him, and found that one of his hind
legs was broken. Submissive like a suffering animal to the friend who
seeks to relieve him, Medor lay down close to him, and allowed him
to examine his leg. Fortunately, Gervais was able to repair the
mischief. Naturally kind hearted, it was to that branch of his business
which treats of the cure of animals, that he had directed his
attention with the greatest interest, and he had already been
successful in a case somewhat similar. Matthew, who, when left to
his own free will, was always inclined to sympathise with his son,
and who, moreover, was delighted at having an opportunity of
returning for a moment to his former occupations, willingly assisted

his pupil, now become more skilful than himself. The instruments of
his art, treasures which Gervais carefully preserved, together with
some medicines which he had renewed, or added to, as opportunity
permitted, were found sufficient for the emergency. By the united
efforts of the two operators, whom La Mauricaude also consented to
aid, for reasons which may perhaps be guessed, the leg was well
set; and a piece of the last handkerchief that Gervais possessed, and
the enormous rents of which he had often contemplated with a sigh,
served as a bandage to confine the dressing; and Medor, led by
Gervais, was enabled to continue his journey without much pain.
Somewhat cast down by his accident, however, poor Medor was no
longer able to pursue his search with the same vigour; and besides,
during the operation, Thomas, instructed by his mother, had
transferred Scaramouche, together with the Madras handkerchiefs,
into one of Martin's panniers, where, covered over with straw, they
were less exposed to the keen scent of the animal. Nevertheless,
some secret charm always attracted him to the side on which they
were, and Gervais was astonished at the difficulty which he found in
restraining him. Wishing to divert him from this fancy, and
determined to go direct to Lyons, as the surest place of meeting with
his uncle, Gervais seized the first opportunity offered by their
stopping at a tavern, to separate himself from the troop, with which
he had so unluckily come up. But he was not a little annoyed at
perceiving, after a few moments, that he was followed in the
distance by Thomas, who seemed commissioned to act as a spy
upon his movements, while the rest of the caravan appeared soon
afterwards. The fertile genius of La Mauricaude had immediately
suggested to her the advantage to be derived from the possession of
Medor, a magnificent dog in excellent condition, who might be sold
at a very high price. The difficulty was to divert the vigilance of
Gervais, whom at the same time it was necessary to keep in view,
until she had accomplished her design. The following days,
therefore, were passed in a perpetual struggle, Gervais
endeavouring to recover his liberty, and La Mauricaude seeking to
prevent his escape from their odious company. She was singularly

seconded by Medor, whose instinct she aroused by taking advantage
of every opportunity that offered to approach him unobserved, and
permit him to get a distant scent of Scaramouche, the companion of
all his travels, the one of all his master's mimic company with whom
he had lived on the most familiar terms, when Va-bon-train and his
son, in their leisure moments, had endeavoured to invent for him
new attitudes, and to rehearse new performances. Then all Medor's
affection would revive, he would rush with a plaintive cry upon the
cords which restrained him; but before this movement could warn
Gervais of what was passing, La Mauricaude had said to Thomas,
"Hide Scaramouche," and Thomas, obedient to his instructions, had
concealed the precious talisman. Matthew, who was sometimes a
witness of these proceedings, demanded the meaning of them; but
they deceived him with a feigned tale, told him to be silent, and he
was so. But in his evening enjoyments at the tavern, purchased
during these days, by the successive sale of the Madras
handkerchiefs, he nightly repeated, with a degree of feeling
amounting even to tears, "As for me, I have nothing to do with all
this; for, at all events, it is certain that I am an honest man."
To the many annoyances which, at this time, fell to the lot of poor
Gervais, was added the far greater one of being unsuccessful in his
attempts to obtain work. In vain had he gone to the right and to the
left, wherever he had been led to hope that it might be procured.
Everywhere his hopes were frustrated, and, at the same time, the
expense of keeping Medor had rapidly accelerated the consumption
of his little store, although the condition of the poor dog sufficiently
attested the frugality of his repasts. It grieved Gervais to the heart
to see his downcast look, and a certain expression of sadness, which
seemed to ask for what it was out of the power of his protector to
bestow; for he had given him all he could give, scarcely reserving
anything for his own support.
In consequence of his many deviations from the high road in these
fruitless endeavours to obtain work, and to escape the inevitable
Mauricaude; they at last reached Saturday, the 21st of August, and

were still eleven leagues from Lyons. It was six o'clock in the
evening, and neither Gervais nor Medor had eaten anything since
the previous night. Exhausted by this fast, as well as by the low diet
of the few preceding days, they walked with difficulty: and yet they
had still a league to go before they could arrive at the village of
Auberive, where Gervais had determined to stop, and where, as a
last resource, he intended to sell his shoes, in order to have the
means of reaching Lyons on the following Monday, the term alike of
his hopes and resources. For some moments he had watched Medor
with great anxiety, for he saw that he was panting more than usual.
The day had been excessively oppressive; and the idea that the
want of food, added to the heat and fatigue, exposed the dog to the
danger of madness, presented itself to his imagination, and filled
him with terror. While seated for a moment's rest, a peasant boy, of
about his own age, happened to pass by, eating, with a good
appetite, a piece of bread. This sight roused the desires of the half-
famished Gervais, and Medor raised his now animated eye, and
wanted to run to the boy, to ask him for a portion of his meal.
Unable to resist the temptation he felt, and, above all, the appeal of
the companion of his journey, Gervais asked the lad if he would buy
his shoes, promising that he would sell them cheap.
"How much?" demanded the boy.
"If you have some bread, I will take that, and ten sous besides."
"I have only six sous," replied the rustic, roughly; "and, besides, I
don't want your shoes."
"If you have any bread, comrade," continued Gervais, who could not
resist the hope with which he had just flattered himself, "give it to
me with the six sous, and the shoes shall be yours."
"As for the bread, there is no difficulty about that," replied the boy;
and he took from his bag a piece, weighing about a pound, too
eager to conclude so good a bargain to perceive that he might have
made it still better. Three two-sous pieces terminated the affair, and

two-thirds of the pound of bread were at once set apart as the
portion of Medor, whom Gervais saw, with a melancholy pleasure,
devour in a moment, a piece to which he had nothing to add.
Medor's repast, in fact, was ended, before Gervais had got half
through his; and, with a longing eye, the poor dog watched the
piece which the latter held in his hand, gently whined, and scratched
his knee with his great paw, in order to obtain the little that
remained. "You are very hungry, then, my poor Medor," said Gervais:
"well then, this also shall be yours." He gave him the whole; and the
sacrifice was sufficiently great, at that moment, to make him think
he had acquired a right to the affection of his uncle. He then rose to
continue his journey, hoping to be able to reach Auberive; but,
whether from want of food, or because the heat of the day had
exhausted him, after proceeding a few steps, he was obliged to lean
for support against a tree, and, at last, sank to the ground, almost
senseless. Induced either by curiosity or remorse, the young peasant
who had bought the shoes occasionally looked back towards him. He
saw him fall, and returned, but could give no assistance. He spoke to
him, but Gervais was scarcely able to answer. Medor watched his
friend with an uneasy look; and the peasant, who perhaps might
have been little sensible to other evils, was moved by the sight of a
misery which he could understand, and felt some comfort at the
thought that, at all events, Gervais had not been rendered worse by
having sold his shoes for a quarter of their value.
Providence at that moment directed to the spot another traveller,
who came on at a vigorous pace, his coat neatly folded in a
handkerchief, and suspended from a stick which he carried on his
shoulder. It was Master Blanchet. He approached Gervais, but did
not at first recognise him. "Has that boy fainted from hunger?" said
he to the young peasant. "I think he has," replied the lad, "for he
had but one bit of bread, and he gave almost all of it to his dog."
Meanwhile, Master Blanchet drew from his bundle a small flask of
brandy, with which he always took care to be provided when on a
journey, and made Gervais swallow a few drops of it, while the
addition of a piece of bread and a slice of sausage completed his

recovery. "A little patience," said Gervais to Medor, who wanted to
share this repast also. "Poor Medor," he continued, caressing him,
"all our troubles are over now," for he had recognised Master
Blanchet, but did not as yet dare to express his joy except in this
indirect manner. Struck by the name of Medor, and by the voice of
Gervais, which was beginning to assume its natural tone, Blanchet
recognized him, was greatly astonished, and put to him many
questions; while the peasant lad, who thought he saw Gervais
glance towards the shoes, which perhaps at that moment he
regretted having parted with so easily, blushed, and walked away,
persuaded that his further stay was no longer necessary to any one,
and might be disadvantageous to himself.
Gervais' tale was simple enough; he had nothing but the truth to
tell; the only difficulty was to explain the nature of his connexion
with Va-bon-train. Seeing that the latter had not acknowledged him
as his nephew, he felt that in their respective positions it was not for
him to be the first to break the silence. Thus, when Blanchet asked
him how he had become known to his friend, Gervais replied, "He
will tell you that himself; it is not my business to speak of his
affairs." Blanchet questioned him on all sides, but without being able
to elicit any further information; nevertheless, his replies displayed
so much integrity, together with so much good sense and caution,
that he began to feel a great respect for him; a feeling which was
much increased after he had examined Medor's paw, which was then
in progress of cure, and which he found perfectly well set. He could
not doubt, therefore, of the talents of Gervais in the different
branches of his art. He took him with him to Auberive, where he
intended to pass the night, so as to reach Lyons without fatigue on
the next day but one. Plenty of onion soup, and a good omelette,
procured for Gervais the best meal which had touched his lips for
many a day. Medor was also able to make up for his previous fast;
and, to complete the happiness of Gervais, he found, at the inn
where they stopped, the lad to whom he had sold his shoes. Master
Blanchet commented so loudly on the disgrace of such a bargain in
such circumstances, and his remarks were so fully approved of by all

who heard them, that, whether from fear, or shame, or conscience,
the lad consented to return the shoes at the price which he had
given for them, and even made it a point of honour to refuse the
value of the pound of bread, a sacrifice which procured for him from
Blanchet a good draught of wine and a slice of sausage. Thus
everything fell into order, and Gervais a second time thought himself
at the summit of his hopes; but another day, and another trial, were
still to be encountered.
The little room in which Master Blanchet and Gervais slept could not,
manage as they would, accommodate a third guest, of the size of
Medor. He was, therefore, lodged in the stable; and Gervais,
confiding in his new-born happiness, the first earnest of which he
had just received, resigned himself to sleep without any anxiety for
the safety of his protegé; the more so as, since the morning, he had
seen nothing of the odious Mauricaude, and therefore believed
himself freed from her at last. Nevertheless, on the following
morning Medor had again disappeared; whether in consequence of
some new stratagem on the part of La Mauricaude, or from the
instinct which urged him to the pursuit of Scaramouche, or the
desire to return to his master, could never be ascertained. But
certain it is, however, that by this new imprudence he fell into the
snare which had long been laid for him; and the first information
which the inquiries of Gervais elicited made it certain, that it was
only by following the traces of La Mauricaude that he could hope to
recover those of Medor. A double affection made success a necessity
for him. He therefore requested the permission of Master Blanchet,
under whose authority he already considered himself, to go in search
of the fugitive; and Blanchet appointed, as their place of meeting in
the evening, the village of Saint Syphorien, or, as it is sometimes
called, Symphorien, situated about four leagues from Lyons, where
he intended to pass the night.
Gervais spent a part of the day in a fruitless search in the
neighbourhood. At length some indications led him to the town of
Vienne; there he lost them; but, on describing the retinue of La

Mauricaude, he was informed, that in all probability she was gone to
Saint Syphorien, as it happened to be its fête day. He made all
possible haste to reach the place, and arrived there about seven
o'clock in the evening. The first object which struck him as he
entered the village was La Mauricaude, in conversation with a man
to whom she seemed on the point of delivering over Medor, who,
sorrowfully resigned to his new condition, appeared cast down by
the vicissitudes of his fate. At the sight of Gervais, however, his
animation returned, and he started as if to rush towards him.
"That is my dog," exclaimed Gervais, who at the moment thought
only of his claims to Medor; and the dog, by the expression of his
joy, seemed anxious to confirm his words.
"'Tis false, you thief," replied La Mauricaude, with her customary
amenity. "Medor!" she added; and, thus addressed, the dog turned
his head, as if to prove that he recognized his name, as well as the
voice by which it was pronounced. "You see very well that he knows
me," she continued, with a volley of abuse and oaths, which we
need not repeat.
"Nevertheless, the dog does not belong to you," said Gervais.
"Nor to you either, liar," &c. &c.
The dispute had been carried on in so vehement a tone, that it was
impossible for Gervais to expose the truth of the matter. A third
interest, that of the purchaser of the dog, already compromised by a
considerable sum paid in advance, was here introduced, as a further
complication of the affair, when an exclamation from a terrible voice
announced the approach of Va-bon-train, who, having reached Saint
Syphorien, and learning the cause of the quarrel, came forward to
cut short all disputes. He made his way through the crowd, and had
already his left hand on Medor, while his whip, raised in the other,
menaced Gervais, who, drawing back with indignation, though still
with respect, endeavoured to avoid the necessity of defending
himself otherwise than by words. Nevertheless, had it not been for

Medor's transports of joy, which somewhat embarrassed his master's
movements, Va-bon-train would have been already upon him, and
Gervais must have submitted to the cruel alternative of either failing
in respect to his uncle, or of enduring an ignominious treatment, the
bare idea of which was insupportable to him.
"He is a thief," exclaimed the perfidious Mauricaude, taking
advantage of this opportunity to turn upon another the accusation
which she herself merited. "He said the dog was his!" and several
voices simultaneously repeated, "Yes, he did say so."
"You have been seen all along the road," continued Va-bon-train,
"dragging him after you in spite of his resistance;" and a voice
repeated, "I saw him." It was in vain that Gervais endeavoured to
make himself heard,—the public opinion was against him. Assailed
by a crowd of painful emotions, and distressed above all by the
treatment he received from him whose gratitude he so much
merited, he felt his courage forsake him, and could no longer
restrain his tears, tears which only seemed to be an additional
evidence against him. Several persons interposed between him and
his uncle, but he himself no longer thought of safety; and whilst the
efforts of Va-bon-train were redoubled, in order to get near him,
notwithstanding the endeavours of the crowd to prevent it, Gervais
was exhausting his, in demanding as a suppliant the justice due to
his innocence. Michael, whom his father had pushed away from him,
not knowing what to think of his friend, but deeply distressed at the
sight of the misfortunes which overwhelmed him, and the danger
which still threatened him, seemed to appeal to all around to
intercede for a reconciliation which every moment appeared to
render impossible. However, Heaven again came to the assistance of
Gervais, by directing Master Blanchet to the spot. Attracted by the
noise, he came out from the house of a friend with whom he had
supped; and Michael, perceiving him, ran to meet him. The name of
Medor, mingled in the almost unintelligible explanations given by the
agitated Michael, led Blanchet to suppose that his young friend
Gervais might have something to do in the matter; he therefore

hastened his steps, and arrived at the very moment when, by an
increased exertion of strength and anger, Va-bon-train, forcing his
way through the crowd, was about to rush upon Gervais. Blanchet
seized him by the shoulders, and pushed him backwards, saying,
"Stop! stop! there's time enough for anger, but not always for
explanation."
Less disposed than ever to profit by this good advice, Va-bon-train
was, in all probability, upon the point of turning his rage against him
who offered it, when a new incident arose to change once more the
face of the affair. Matthew approached the scene of action, and
Martin and Jacquot, under his guidance, were added to the
spectators. Jacquot had not been deaf to certain words, which for
several days past had struck his attentive ears. Encouraged probably
by the noise, he began to repeat, though in a timid and uncertain
tone, and as if he were saying a lesson, which he was not quite sure
of knowing,—"Thomas, hide Scaramouche!"
—"Scaramouche!" repeated Michael, who had heard him; and now
Jacquot, more sure of what he was about, went on, and constantly
raising his voice in proportion as the noise around him increased,
and excited him, his words at length reached the ears of Va-bon-
train, who turned round; while Medor, taking advantage of his first
moment of liberty, rushed upon Martin, and this time rummaging,
without obstacle, in the bottom of the pannier, dragged out the
unfortunate Scaramouche, who, all crippled and disordered as he
was, still retained sufficient life to express by his attitudes the
distress of his condition. Medor advanced and placed him
triumphantly in the hands of his master; who, in his surprise and joy,
knew not to which of his two friends to offer his first caresses. But
Medor had not finished his task; and returning to the pannier,
notwithstanding the efforts of La Mauricaude, who hastened to the
defence of her booty, he drew from it the last of the Madras
handkerchiefs, which she had preserved for her own use.
"Infamous old toad!" exclaimed Va-bon-train, "'tis you, then, who
have robbed me." And immediately turning towards Gervais, whom

the presence of Blanchet had encouraged to approach, "Why were
you with her?" he demanded, in a tone which already indicated his
desire of finding him less in fault.
—"I was not with her," said Gervais. "They were not together,"
repeated several of the voices which had at first borne testimony
against him.
"And why did you take away my dog?" again demanded Va-bon-
train.
—"In order to bring him back to you, and to prevent him from
following her." Then the accusations began to turn upon La
Mauricaude. One recognized her as having given him on the
previous evening a bad ten-sous piece; another had seen Thomas
skulking about his house, and an hour after, found that a fowl had
been stolen. La Mauricaude began to vociferate, and then to cry as
she saw the storm increase, and direct itself against her; meanwhile
Gervais drew near his father, who, already more than half
intoxicated, and hardly able to understand what he heard, contented
himself, without taking any part in the matter, by affirming, that, "as
for him, he was an honest man."
"Get out of my way, you fool!" said his brother, pushing him behind
him; then advancing towards La Mauricaude, who, still vociferating
and crying, was endeavouring to make her escape, amid the
hootings which pursued her, he contented himself with cracking his
whip in her ears to hasten her steps. The crowd by which she was
accompanied, diminished as she retreated, and by degrees the
clamours of the little boys, who alone persisted in following her, died
away. These assailants she dispersed by throwing stones at them,
and they afterwards reported that they had seen both her and her
son Thomas join a band of gipsies, who were on the point of
departure. From that time she has never been heard of.
Quiet was once more restored at Saint Syphorien, and Va-bon-train
received from Blanchet the explanations necessary to establish the

good conduct of his nephew. "But where, in the name of Fortune,
did you meet with him?" continued Blanchet. "He would never tell
me."
"What, Gervais!" said Va-bon-train, "will you not acknowledge me for
your uncle?" Michael, transported with joy, once more threw his
arms round the neck of his friend, and Va-bon-train afterwards
received the acknowledgments of his nephew's grateful affection.
"Now then, what is to be done with Matthew," said Va-bon-train
—"now that he has got rid of his old toad?" "He cannot live alone,"
said Gervais, casting down his eyes.
"Well, then, let him come with me," continued Va-bon-train; "Martin
will, at all events, be learned enough to carry a part of my baggage,
which is becoming too heavy for Medor. I will teach Jacquot many
capital things, and we shall get on very well together."
These words rendered Gervais completely happy, and the gratitude
inspired by his uncle's kindness towards himself, was far exceeded
by what he now experienced, on account of his father. They went for
Matthew to the tavern, where they found him still drinking, the
longer to defer the moment of payment. This difficulty was removed
by his brother, who thenceforth considered himself as charged with
his care. The arrangement was proposed to him, and he accepted it,
just as he would have done, had he been sober, only that he
repeated a little oftener, and with rather more emotion than usual,
"You, Vincent, know very well, that I at least am an honest man."
They had a joyful supper that night, Medor remaining at the side of
the table, with his head upon his master's knee, which he left only to
give a slight caress to Michael, or a look and a wag of his tail to
Gervais. The following day, before their departure for Lyons, Gervais
received from the generosity of his uncle, the pair of stockings, the
shirt, and the two handkerchiefs, necessary to complete his outfit,
and had the satisfaction of arriving with him at the workshop of
Master Blanchet, not as a poor boy, received almost as an act of

charity, but as a good workman, countenanced and recommended
by respectable relatives.
He has justified their hopes and his own, having become Master
Blanchet's head workman; he is about to marry his only daughter,
and his father-in-law, rich enough to retire, has given up to him a
business, which Gervais will not allow to decline under his care.
Matthew, who only needs guidance, contents himself with being a
little merry after his first meal, and a little sleepy after the last. He
hopes to spend a peaceful old age with his son, while Va-bon-train,
who, without being old, is also anxious for repose, has purchased a
small property, married again, and given up his marionettes and the
faithful Medor to his son Michael. Matthew has generously added the
ass, and Jacquot, and has announced for Gervais' wedding-day, "a
performance for the benefit of friendship, in which is to be seen the
wonderful dispute between peerless Jacquot and the incomparable
Scaramouche."

Cecilia and Nanette;
OR,
THE ACCIDENT.
It was in the month of December; the church clock had just struck
five, and the morning was very dark, when one of the servants of
the inn came to inform Madame de Vesac, and her daughter Cecilia,
that the carriage was ready, and that they could continue their
journey. They had left Paris early on the previous day, for the
purpose of visiting the estate of Madame de Vesac, to which she had
been called by urgent business. The distance was a hundred and
fifty leagues, and they had travelled by post; they had been on the
road till ten o'clock on the previous evening, and were now about to
resume their journey after having taken a few hours' repose.
Madame de Vesac called her daughter; Cecilia, terribly sleepy, half
opened her eyes, then let her head fall back again upon her pillow.
Her mother was obliged to call a second, and even a third time, and
she awoke up at last, exclaiming "Oh dear! dear! how disagreeable it
is to get up at five o'clock in the morning at this time of year!" She
would have said, had she dared, "Oh dear! what a misfortune!" for
every contradiction or suffering, however slight, always assumed,
with Cecilia, the character of a misfortune. At every little accident
that befel her, she fancied that no one had ever suffered so much as
she did, and really believed that cold, hunger, thirst, and sleepiness,
were with her quite different matters from what they were with
other people. When laughed at for the disproportionate annoyance
which the petty inconveniences of life occasioned her, she would say
"Oh! you do not feel as I feel!" and, indeed, believed so.
Nevertheless, as Cecilia possessed a generous disposition, an
elevated mind, a lively imagination, and a due share of pride, she

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