A NEW ZEALANDER'S LETTER

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14349, 8 May 1912, Page 7

A NEW ZEALANDER'S LETTER

— — Street. Wellington. j April lTth, 1912. J Dear , j v In answer to my ntte tolling you of my recent purchase you write asking, "What on earth are you going to do with that huge encyclopaedia?" Suppose it never occurred to your brilliant iv- j tellect that I might want the book to read? But j that is what I got it for, and what I'm using it for, every day since it arrived. As you know, I'm rather keen on. the Know How and Know Why of things generally, and I've always wanted an encyclopaedia that I could rely on for a good bag of any information I went gunning for. When I read the advertisements of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the prospectus which I sent the coupon for, I admit that my expectations , were raised so high I needed a telescope to keep j 'em in sight. But, as the scientific chap said when ] he was trying experiments to get a new explosive ' and was blown through the roof, the realisation exceeds my highest anticipations. Honest, this new Encyclopaedia Britannica is a wonder. It doesn't matter what subject I want to look up, I find all I'm looking for and a heap of interesting facts that I didn't know I wanted because I didn't know they existed. It's surprising the amount of ignorance a man packs in his make-up without knowing it, and the gaps only come to be the worst kind of "aching voids" when we kuow we have 'em. A hole in your knowledge is like a hole in the back of your coat. You may be quite happy so long as you don't know it's there, but as soon as you do you've an uncomfortable feeling that everyone in sight has his eyes glued on it. It's like a man mis-using or. mis-pronouncing some word he picked up wrong as a youngster, and then finding out at last it is wrong. It didn't hurt him all the time he was using it wrong, but when he finds it out he gets hot all over and blushes to his boot-heels when he thinks what an ass people must have thought him all the time. That's where the Encyclopaedia Britannica is useful. It corrects a whole lot of wrong ideas and impressions one formed —probably from incorrect or insufficient data—long ago, and never had an opportunity or inclination to read up again. The Encyclopaedia Britannica is strong on supplying the inclination too. It is so well written that.you can enjoy reading articles oh the most'out-of-the-way subjects. Some of the history and biography stiiff has as much grip in it as the hottest best-seller fiction, and you have the extra satisfaction in reading it of knowing it's all true and something you ought to know. There are piles of illustrations—some of them in most beautiful colours— and these often start one in to read the accompanying articles with real enjoyment. There are,;good and plenty maps, and they're stuck in amongst the letterpress just where you want 'em —a much better plan than having them in a lump in on© volume so j-ou have to put down the volume you're reading to get the map volume to look at. You ask mc why I'm buying this Encyclopaedia Britannica, but I might ask with a lot more reason, Why are you not buying , it? Even if you don't want it for' the sheer pleasure of having an A-to-Z up-to-date library of reference at your elbow, and of reading the writings of the pick of the world's basket of authorities in every possible line, there is a more practical reason that may hit you dead-centre. I know you're- in a decent billet and have a comfy home and all that sort of thing, but I don't suppose j-ou're going to be content to sit back and say that's good enough for you and you're not hankering for a bigger job or better pay. Well now, what are you doing to make yourself worth these ? You'll admit that the more education a man has. the more money he's worth. You may say no enoyclopaeclias can teach'yon much in your own business. It's doubtful if the Encyclopaedia Britannica can't though. Remember that the men who write the articles on subjects touching your biz., and every other, are the acknowledged- masters and leaders on them. They are practical. experts who have mostly a solid lifetime of experience and research back of" them. And if they tell you some things you know already, it's sort of consoling and comforting to know that your own views are screwed down and rivetted home by these authorities. But it isn't only education 011 a man's own special business that helps him along in the world nowadays. It may be the last thing in the world you'd think of as connected with your work to know where Yap is, or what crude petroleum is worth, but if for some out-of-the-way reason the boss wanted information on these points, it's going to' impress him a lot if you're ready to hand it out to him. And besides that, there are so many side-lines connected with the average business, but not really a vital part of it, that you can't be expected to have the same knowledge on them as

j an expert. Banking. Insurance, Shipping, Adj vertising, Law, Finance, and a host of other subjects are all special lines, each requiring a life study to get up thoroughly. You or I don't wani to swat up everything about them, but we never know the day a-sound general knowledge of any of them would be useful. The Encyclopaedia Britannica gives you just that knowledge, cutting all the superfluities aud boiling the matter down into prime essence of facts. Perhaps the office doesn't expect you to know what a Floating Policy is or how to draw a Sight Draft, but if you do know 'em, and your chief knows you know 'em, it's pretty certain to tell when a vacancy for promotion crops up. Your business may have nothing to do with . farming, or flying machines, or mangles, or missionaries; but if someone interested in any of these happens along and drifts into general chatter—and you know how one works round to all sorts of subjects even in business talks—and you can hold up your corner of the conversation with credit to yourself, it's wonderful how o general impression gets floating round thai you're an over-the-average intelligent chap, and it's just that kind of impression lifts a man one up the ladder when the chance comes. Then again, you have a couple of bright youngsters, and don't you think it's a fair thing you should give them a chance to soak up all the education that's lying round? Bobby is old enough to appreciate the E. 8., even if he only starts to use it to read up the ripping articles on Football and Cricket and every sort of sport and game. U he gets the habit of referring to it for that sort of thing, you can bet he'll keep it up when he wants to get at more serious facts. And though you' might doubt whether a girl is likely to turn down Annie Swan and Charles Garvice for a course ojthe E. 8., I find that my own girls are beginning to drop on to it to dredge out articles on Lace, Cookery, Costume, Embroidery, and so on. And 1 reckon it won't be long before they get to looking what the same E.B. has to say on the Prohibition question and Taxation. Anyhow, my youngsters are starting out in life with a collection pi knowledge that they can depend on as being absolutely certain and correct, and they won't be handicapped with the incorrect, impressions I've spoken of back a piece. I " Altogether I feel I've made one of the best investments of my life in getting this new E.B. I was a bit scared at first that the price was going to be a drag on mc, and that a guinea a month was more than I could afford. But after going over the thing carefully I decided that thething I could least afford to be,without was this E. 8., so I signed on for the payments. I worked it out that; there r were other.books and magazines I could cut down on and a theatre'less no.w and then, and other little economies I could Vbetter afford to make, but somehow I've found that at the end of the month I manage to find the necessary guinea without any serious inconvenience, and Fm keeping on smoking the same brand of tobacco and haven't had to abandon my Sunday cigar, or.a night at - the Pictures, or any such uproarious dissipation, to keep up my payments. I took the India paper set, and would strongly advise you to do ditto*. The flexible leather binding makes the volume a treat to handle, as you can double it right back like a 6d.- paperback novel and hold it in one hand, or, if you're reading at a table, it opens flat out without any of the usual ju-jitsu, struggle and violent protests a big book usually makes. By the way, you speak of a "huge" encyclopaedia;" The Encyclopaedia Britannica is huge all right if j you mean the amount of matter in it or the value I for the price charged; but you're 'way off flic track and bushed bad if you fancy it's any of these fifty-fat-volume things that you need to build a wing on to the house to accommodate and takes a separate furniture van to itself if you'irej moving. My India paper set makes a single row 80 inches long,, and I can lift the lot in one: hand —and I don't claim to bo in any Sandow.prizepupil class either. ~ : . * - All the bindings are beautifully rich and handsome in appearance, and even the missus (who, as you know, is a bit particular about the looks of our sitting-room) has to admit that the books and bookcase are an ornament to it. I'm proud of them myself, and pat myself on the back every time anyone comes in and notices them, and shake hands warmly with myself every time I take a volume down. Take my tip and get a set while they're still to be had at the same price as I'm paying—l hear the price is to be bumped up shortly. And after you've had it a month I'll bet that instead of asking mc what on earth I'm doing with my Encyclopaedia Britannica you'll be asking yourself how on earth you've got along up to now without one. Your Old Pal.