St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-06-16
1iaisrrllamu.
in a FREE READING ROOM.
People Who Patronize the One Built by
the Late Peter Cooper.

the Late Peter Cooper.
Unique, always interesting, during
the months it is open, are the people
to be met in the huge reading room
at Cooper institute. Three distinc-
tive classes, as regular in their move
ments as the clock, find intellectual
recreation in scanning the 100 dailles,
countless weeklies, magazines and
the thousand volumes to be had for
the asking Early in the morning
comes a curious coterie, fresh from
lodging houses or men out of en-
ployment Inviting is the warmth
of the great room, and the heat otter.
overcomes the thirst for news and
the disheartened often fall asleep, to
be reused by the vigilant officer with
whom they are liable to have per
sonal acquaintance.
To weed out all Objectionable
people cares were issued some years
ago, requiring each visitor to state
his occupation and give references.
OF 5000 cards collected in one day
300 gave down town printing Offices
as references. This is the class that
continues to drop in about noon and
rarely departs before nightfan.
Forced to work at night, they sleep
until noon, when they seek CoOper's.
To newspaper and illustrated period
icals they are devoted Inveterate
readers, not infrequently they are
storehouses of general information.
After supper their places are filled by
mechanics, clerks and business men.
Every table, every file is crowded.
Day and night men and boys stand,
often two rows deep against the wall,
devouring this miscellaneous feast
provided by one mindful in his
wealthy days of the deplivatiOns of
his youth, when he, too, hungered
for this communication of ideas now
to be had by the poorest without the
expenditure of a cent.
Characters are not wanting in this
motley throng, always representa-
tive of the very people the institution
was founded to benefit Nearly all
the maes:zines are worn to tatters
before the month expires. Duplicates
of 100 dailies are a - > on file, and
the want advert ~ ; are care
fully scanned for French
periodicals is Const. y Ic-easir 9.
A French and SIjaillsh daily have
recently been added and there are
three italian journals There is q
marked characteristic difference in
the appearance of the French and
German papers, The readers of the
former handle their periodicals with
the greatest care There is scarcely
a finger mark on the French maya
zines. On the contrary, the German
are battered beyond recognition
But probably there are many more
German readers There are seven
teen German foreign periodicals pro
vided. Rarely is a paper willfully
destroyed or a book lost
Women consult the fashion papers
and magazines devoted to housekeep-
ing. Evidently they are cooks,
tailors, dressmakers or household
decorators. The awkward position
of the women's reading room-at the
further end of the room-makes it
anything but desirable retreat for
ladies. Thirty is the average atten-
dance in the room Curious femin-
unity are wont to gather there. Ere
quently two cronies are found slyly
lunching. One day an industrious
old soul stealthily took out of her
pocket piece of cloth and traced out
upon it the pattern of sleeve from
The Bazaar supplement, and the gown
of somebody's darling was completed
behest The majority of the habitues
have a weakness for the advertising
columns. York Advertiser.