“But the best trick was the one he put over on the publishers of Ambrose Bierce. After Bierce’s disappearance, collectors were hot after his first editions and autographs. Bierce’s publishers had a good many letters and presented one to each purchaser of the author’s collected works. Mr. Pimple paid them a visit, talked for more than an hour of his admiration for Bierce, mentioned once or twice that circumstances did not permit him to purchase one of the sets, and finally declared that the ambition of his life was to own a letter in the handwriting of ‘the greatest writer and artist in the world.’ The sincere enthusiasm of Pimple, his insistence, the pleading of poverty, finally induced the publisher to give him a short letter of Ambrose Bierce as a gift. ‘I will never part with this treasure. I will always carry it in my portfolio, near my heart,’ were his parting words. He came directly to my shop and told me the story. We were talking about Bierce as a customer entered and soon took a hand in the conversation. ‘I’d like to get a letter of Bierce,’ he explained. ‘I would be willing to pay seven dollars and a half for a short note in his hand.’ “I hardly believed my eyes! Mr. Pimple took out his portfolio from near his heart and offered his treasured letter of Bierce for the seven dollars and a half. “This man is known to every rare book dealer in the city. And he isn’t the only one of his clan. He is tolerated because he produces inscribed copies of authors that are hard to get. “Then there are the habitual book thieves, whom I love to watch. I once had an occasion to do a friendly turn to one of these gentlemen who are on our blacklist. He calls himself Van Southall, and in an outburst of gratitude he made the following confession: ‘I like you, Goldsmith. You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’d never take anything in your shop. It is quite different with other dealers. Why shouldn’t I take advantage of them. If I can slip something in my pocket it is my own business and their lookout. But you can feel quite safe. I know that you are an ambitious young man who loves books and I should never harm you.’ Mr. Goldsmith reads a great deal, books as well as human nature. He rarely makes a mistake in suggesting books to his clients. He likes people who write books, he likes their personality, and no author can find a better apostle than Mr. Goldsmith, provided he is congenial. If you wish to know what authors Mr. Goldsmith does not like, look at his ten-cent stand in front of the shop. Extraordinary values can be had there for one dime, because Mr. Goldsmith does not like the books. Washington Square Book Shop