The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-28
OLD ASToR BooKWoRAS.
REGULAR sEhRCuERS VINO RiTE
HEADQUARTERS THERE

logical SHARP aud the ToxicoieEical stndeut'
In q comparatively little whilo tho fomous
Astor Library will move bag and baggage,
books and readers to it's new homo In tho very
heart Of Greater New York. But tho old-timo
resting place Of tho collection founded by John
Jacob Astor win always possess a keen interest
for book lovers, and some of the regular readers,
who have spent most OF their timo during tho
past forty years within Its walls. will feel some
what strange and q trihe lonely In their new
quarters. There is a positive army OF these old
readers, and varied are tho objects they pursue
among tho book shelves. Some of them.
indeed, would appear to have no particular OBJ
3oct in view, and tho assistant librarians have
never quito been able TO discover what particu.
lar branches of learning a few of the regulars
have been pursuing all these long years.
But, OF course. tho great majority of these
REGULAR have distinctly laid out paths OF
study. There Is, to begin With, tho very nu-
mcrous class whose members act rs agents for
other people-'devils' they are c%uriously nick
named In tho slang of the great Libraries.
These individuals take commissions to look up,
examine, classify, and copy materials and data
upon every known subject from moral philos-
ophy to the culture Of cranberries. Do you do
sire to have your pedigree and armorial bear
ings foundi There arc genealogical specialists
and heraldic authorities who will do the work
s%-browsinR over marriage and death records,
dolving in tho musty tomos Of half-forRotten
family lore, or deftly tracing the devices in tho
different British heraldio t~reatises, German
spuppenbuchs and French armorials. Do you
wish to gather matter for o learned article with.
out having tho time to spend in searchi Skill
cd laborers will choerfrlly undertake tho mo
chanical work. and deliver, in . given period,
o mass Of accurately collated raw material for
your examination and selection. Tho libra
tians generally have Q number of these persons
on their lists and arc obliging enough to place
the names of such agents at tho disposal Of all
and sundry.
After these professional searchers como the
privateors. Playwrishts haunt tho library for
dramatic ideas; novelists and writer's generally
for historical data; oostumers for
ON tho habiliments of tho past Ono young
dramatist, tho author Of o recently successful
historical play. admitted that every incident,
character, scenic arrangement, and costume in
his drama had been worked up from materials
on tho Astor Lbrary's shelves. Moreover, he
did IL all himself without help from the agents.
aided only by the library employees.
One of the greatest living authorities on medi-
cal Jurisprudence spends two days every week
In the library, collecting facts, evidence. and
suggestions In relation to his LIES study. An
other student of tho same type Is interested In
toxicology. Musicians use the library exten.
blNolyH oho Az A. - sAGe oao - oSeA AoS0
that they arc rather frequent mutilators of
books. University and high school boys do .
great deal Of their studying at the Aston and
Lcnox, and many learned professors look In
daily to refresh their memories by draughts
from tho founts.of classical knowledge. Tho
genealogical devoteo belongs TO o species which
increases In numbers overy year. Doubtless
the many new s~oeieties of the Sons Of the Reyo-
like are responsible for this growth Of interest
in pedigree hunting.
queer, odd, eccentric" Take this toxiOologi-
s sine ' sR s9s.li as e S%r e tSis'sss Gut S Sss.n had eo at sas
Cd with . murder Ease e which poisoning
RR laigSS : d R1U the sab, ses1 and % q. s'a 3 Tsss1. ' saa.
Of everything else. Now toIeoloey e q study
T TnsGe s srpa many ~ wo onSS sssGe cd az Sla ~ n istser 9oi:
umes on poi.onine, and to these the lawyer.
studa SS1 hts %aea h lore. e'G saes : kn sssi sss'f Il Tie
sIs.ps ss CESSATION t 70 heat 1t f tSis t eng = a ssslSss z
t srs.a last .s sEs%m Ss i sSs Bo aafssd ssa s 81 sRH isls,
..ws exactly how Catherine do Modiol
To- . %sss o sRpass e @Sl SS. I'D H ssel ho Gos al % %oIe So
s sa.s Mhioh sl ssast,s 9uNSl oT : Y GS!sI so@s l RSa'S 9ea4s
s SEsIh sh inp s@tta0t't Counsel sssp to 3 tEE si isxs S@sS soH tho Ss
defence Dc en- o.. He Z . T. .y VERY careful t t. P e. t. out that
q most ,osS readers a0s Of The ssSsser Class. he has asa a
vote his time 70 this branch Of study without
being hampered by financial considerations.
PATENT A@S'h lswy e1tsG !: t Sssd i5ssI Is f SoS. '3 Usil hi ND
He devotes bis whole attention to patent cases.
but no ono has over seen his his name IN connection ;dt}n
through tho dry-as-dust literature of tho patent
ofaoes from an honest love of the subject: Tho
new ..and" neighboring readors may observe
SS nSs IN amiisss. Especially iA amusing sf1S" or
ORIGINAL Inventions he gress 8 BY . loud cscLle Sp Of
finger Joints and vigorous ~slspping Of his knees.
70 the nervous reader Who does not know
see's. SSs sSSRan.tess; h sHS t HAVE was 0 apt P 70 se st taW.
ling in the extreme. SO that finally the library
bursts Of shrin Senile hllarity.
8 ss.ii Sss:sstsnd.Pss: 1a;t one person I: Il = nsss:
person is . comparatively, weli;tnown literary
5as1k. and Il. to s.a S5a%b IN t L hi Ast ioflr rsT5yI.r not huff h5s
every day. at the approach Of noon. he cannot
keep himself, from falling. into a doze. Years
sgo; when Vent this Lab, 6sbi It FIRST Ests became Sim , 7 NOTICEABLE Rea ns
sumsd his siesta. Day after day the same
tAeapto hiui "oo - coiie luo
student, and a brilliant writer, but he would
fall asleep for an hour or moro every day. In
deed, he admitted that he could not help doing
30, tho habit having been acquired In Spain and
the East Indies. where the slesta is q sine qua
pon. Finally q compromise was arrived at. The
library folk permitted the somnolently inclined
author to sleep In peace, provided that he sought
out some secluded corner Of the reading room
where, his occasional SHORES could not annoy
his neighbors.
A puzzle to the librarians twho never. by the
way. invite condolences on the part Of the read
erS), Is the small boy antiquarian. This pre-
cocious youth cannot possibly be more than IS
or Il years of age. He wears knickerbockers
and a rolling collar; his eyes are mildly blue;
bis hair is neatly divided and of a golden hue.
Altogether, no looks the conventional small boy
n careful INFRINGING. But when he comes to
the Aston library-as he does several days In
the week.-Mrs. steps turn toward the shelves
devoted to geneelogy, heraldry, and archa,olog-
tcal lore. Climbing the ladder In "a business
Ike way, no draws forth some heavy tome
Heayy In every sense of the word and, fro
quently with the assistance of an attendant,
drags 1t to a table. Then out come his pencil
and paper. For hours he examines and copies,
IrnRna nnaNa - a.-,a -"I 900. l--.LL a. Ill