Burn from the past...

1 October 2019: Sometimes my parents bring me old books they pick up at sales. This one is particularly delightful. Inscriptions on the title page include:

1) The young owner’s name (“Capt. Charlie H. White”—ha!).

2) This warning, written twice: “Please do not take this book / My onest [honest] friend for fear / The gallos [gallows] will be your end.”

3) A little trick that begins, “if you do not believe this book is mine just look on page 199.” And when you get to page 199? “You are a fool for looking.” That is quite an 1882 burn from a scamp of a Long Island kid. Well played, Capt. White.