Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-27


and some of the regular readers, who have
scent most of their time during the past
forty years within its walls will feel some-
what strange and trifie lonely in their
Lew quarters.
There is positive army of these old
readers and varied are the objects thew
pursue among the book-laden shelves. Some
OF them, indeed, would appear to have no
particuiar object in view, and the assistant
librarians have never quite been able to
discover what particular branches of learn
Ing few OF the regulars have been Dur
suing all these long Years
But, OF course, the great majority of
these regulars have distinctly laid Oh,
paths of study. There is to begin with. the
Ne,y numerous class whose members act a :
agents for other people-.'devils" they are
euriously nicknamed in the slang of the
great Libraries These individuals take
commissions to look I'D, examine classifv
and copy materials and data upon everv
krC wn subject from moral philosophy TO
the culture of cranberries Do Won desire
10 nave your pedigree and armorial bear
lngs found? There are genealogical special-
lists and heraldic authorities who win A.,
the work-browsing marriage and
death records, delving in the musty tonnes
OF haf-forgotten family lore, or DEITY
tracing the devices in the different British
heraidlc treatises, German wappenbuchs
and French armorials. Do you wish 10
gather matter for a learned article without
having the time go spend in search? Skilled
lar orerS Will cheerfully undertake the me-
chanical work, and deliver in a given per-
lod. mass of accurately collated raw ma
terial Tor your examination and Selection,
Inc librarians generally have a number of
these persons on their lists, and are obIig-
ing enough to place the names of such
agents at the disposal of all and sundry
All Sorts and Conditions.
After these professional searchers come
the privateers. Playwrights haunt the libra
ry for dramatic ideas: novelists and writers
generally, Tor historical data; costumers for
information on the habiliments of the past.
One young dramatist, the author of a re-
Gently successful historical play. admitted
10 the writer that every incident character
drama had been worked up" from ma
terlalS on the Aston library's grooming
stelves Moreover. he did it all himself.
without help from the agents, and aided
only by the regular library employees
One Of the greatest living authorities on
medical Jurisprudence spends two DAYS
every week in the library. collecting facts
evidence and suggestions in relation to his
hfes study Another student of the same
type is interested in toxicology, but he de-
serves separate and more extended notice
Musicians use the library extensively and
it is strange and disagreeable fact that
"
looks. University and hgh-school boys do
a great deal of their studying at the Astor
and Lennox, and many learned professors
look in daily to refresh their memories by
drafts from the foUnts of classical knoWi-
edge. The genealogical devotee belongs TO
a species which increases in numbers every
year. Doubtless the many new societies OF
the Sons of the Revolution. colonial family
associations and the like are responsible
for this growth of interest in pedigree
hunting.
An Expert on POisons.
But by far the most interesting visitors
are those classed by the librarians under
the head of queer. odd. eccentric" Take
the Pathological student above alluded to.
This is lawyer who had at one time an
excellent practice, but became connected
with murder case in which poisoning
played a prominent part He consulted
some volumes on the subject. and, as a re-
suit. toxicology began TO fascinate him to
the exclusion of everything else. Now tox-
Zoology is study which expands as one
deives into its literature. There are many
wonderful old black letter volumes on poi
soning. and to these the lawyer-student de-
voted his attention. By constant study his
mind has become a vast storehouse of
Genealogical lore. Such knowledge in the
possession of a criminal might be excep-
tionally dangerous: and il gives one a de-
cidedly creepy" sensation to hear this
reader describe to the last gramme every
Bcrgtas and Brinviiliers- He knows exactly
how Catherine de Medics poisoned apples,
and pears, and how she managed to make
poisons which did their deadly work by
Inhalation alone. During a celebrated poi
soning case. which startled New YORK some
few years ago. this authority gave a great
amount of highly important counsel to the
lawyers for the defense. He is very care
full 10 point out that he is not an agent
doing all his researches for love and not
for money. AS I'm the case of most readers
of the queer class, he has a modest corr
petence. which permits him to devote his
time to this particular branch of study
without being hampered by financial con-
siderations.
The Man Who Laughs.
Another notable student is the little old
patent lawyer" as the library boys call
him. This worthy devotes his whole al
tention 10 patent cases, but no one has
ever seen his name In connection with any
patent application or trial. He tolls through
the dry-as-dust literature Of the patent Of