Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-10-19
IN FREE READING ROOMS.
QUEER CHARACTERS WHO HAUNT
 NEW YORK'S LIBRARIES.
Three That Act Alike, Yet Do Not Know Each Other-An old Man Who Never Takes Anything but Anthon's Classical Dictionary-A Student of Longevity.

In many public libraries of this city there are daily to be seen some decidedly eccentric characters. Their faces are fa- miliar to all the attaches of the place they frequent, and every occasional visitor has speculated at one time or other about them.
 In the Mercantile library, for instance, there are three men who spend the entire day there reading anything and every thing, and this they have been doing for years. One is an elderly man and both tue others are middle aged. They are at the door of the room when it opens in the morning at g o'clock. They take their. seats in the most methodical fashion and begin. One of them occasionally goes down stairs, gets book from the library, and returning in few moments, settles himself in his corner with 8 grunt of sat isfaction and then appears oblivious to his surroundings for hours.
 At noon, or thereabouts, this trio goes out to luncheon. Not together, as each seems to be unaware of the similarity of the others habits. Sometimes one comes back in twenty minutes, sometimes In thirty, but none would presume to re- main away longer than an hour.
 In the afternoon their pastime Is again resumed, and it is continued until the doors close at night, when they go away reluctantly.
 When the library made rule to close at 8 o'clock Saturday afternoons, these people and several others protested against the early closing movement as an outrage.
 Over at the Astor library there was formerly peculiar looking German who wore waxed ringlets and tremendous necktie. He studied Goethe entirely, and made notes by the bushelful on dirty scraps of paper that he picked from the floor or fished from his pockets. He has been missed for some time.
 There is one nice looking, white haired old gentleman who comes to the Cooper union reading room in the neighborhood of 3 o'clock every day and calls for "An- thon's Classical Dictionary" which is a sort of biography of eminent ancient characters.
 He never asks for anything else, and when he is seen to enter, the librarian, if not busy. goes to the case and brings that work to the desk.
 The peculiar thing about this character is that he has been pursuing this custom ever since 1883. The reading room was closed during the extensive alterations to the building during 'S5 and 'se. When 1t reopened almost the first visitor was this same white haired old gentleman, and Mir. Curtiss, the librarian, could not repress broad smile as the old gentle man stepped before his desk and, laying down his check, said, ''How dye des Glad you're open again." and then ada ed, unconcernedly, "Anthon's Classical Dictionary, please"
 There is another queer fellow who comes into the same reading room and follows the attendants around as they file newspapers and periodicals. AS soon as the attendant places one of these in its proper place the queer individual takes it up and rapidly turns and scans the pages. When the next one is placed he props the first and skins over the second This he does with each and every one He seems to have no definite object 1T doing this, as he cares not what the pub ication may be.
 At first the library assistants did no know what to make of him, but they art used to him now and would miss his com panionship were he to leave off.
 There is third man who is also { daily visitor, and he must have informa tion enough stored away in his breast tx run the world.
 He is Eeobably between 55 and 6' years old. He has an air of confor about him, and might be taken for : one time workingman who had amasset competence upon which he proposes to live at his ease for the rest of hi days. He has been coming to the libra " for several years and began his read ing on volume of the American En cyclopedia. That book he called fo every day for goodness knows how long and when he had presumably exhaustet its contents he began on volume 2 and so he continued until he came t the last volume.
 Then he began on volume 1 agail and went over the entire ground. It thought that he has read the Encyclo pedia at least dozen times, and he still at it.
 Up at the Mechanics library on Wes Sixteenth street an old man had been
 frequent visitor. He was fully S5 year old and feeble at that. He had mani for reading books on longevity, an
 bored for hours over "Inman's PreseI
 vation of Life," "Collins' Secret of Lon,
 Life," and books of the kind.
 Look at that old man," said tn
 librarian one day to his assistant. @
 don't think his deep study on the pres ervation of life will keep him from tn
 grave much longer. He has been leol
 ing badly for week or two, and aI } pears to be at the edge of the precipic now" The prophecy proved oorrec, for the next thing heard of the old ma
 was that he had been called from thi
 weary world, and the knowledge gleane
 from Collins or 1nman did not suffice keep him.
 Another character at the Mechanic. library is an old lady who revels in tn most sentimental love stories. The there are several misses who draw ou , DOCKS or the deepest pnllQSOpny JuSt [ , show the high. taste they have" the ma at the desk says, and there are numbe , of old men who delight in reading tale
 of adventures for boys.
 The ubiquitous ltramp is a frequer caller at the Mechanics and other fire } reading rooms, especially during cold c } rainy weather.
 l The only peculiar thing about hin though, is his aversion to reading an his ability to sleep behind newspapt without quivef of the hand.-Ne York News.
 Amelie Rives-Chanler recently wrote to friend that she had decided to abandon Ii
 erature for art
 Julian Hawthorne's five daughters bear u . names of Hildegarde, Gwendolin, Glady Beatrice and Imogen.
 New editions of all of Amelia B. EdwarC