Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1904-09-03
SKELETONS IN BOOKS
SECRETS THAT ARE UNFAIRLY LEFT
IN LIBRARY VOLUMES.

stories of Love as Well as OF Crime
buried Between the Leaves by Alb
sentminded Readers-The Way One
Murder Mystery Was Solved.
The letter began, my Sweet Anne"
Surely a stranger must be pardoneo
for reading it through, for 1t was found
hidden snugly away between the leaves
Of dusty and ancient volume OF poems |
drawn from a great library. The find
er took 1t carefully to the librarian.
Another one" said the librarian In
ouiringly. "Out Of the old edition or
Moore, Ell? Well. l guess we won't
send 1t back. l generally return per-
sonal letters II they are of enough In
terest and nobody calls for them' put
II l sent everything back that we hno
the directors would be about my ears
for wasting postage stamps" The art
ernoon was a quiet one, and the IL
brarian continued:
1--WE shake every book that is return
ed, and almost always something Iails
ont It may be a letter like the one
you have just found or visiting card
or q hairpin. Almost invariably the
treasures that we unfold bear the ear
marks Of feminine possession. l am
not charging women with carelessness.
am simply stating fact
Generally the things we find are
documentary in their nature Last
week | shook out Of book on nome
life n signed and indorssd check for
$40 made payable to the dressmaker
whose statement Of account was
pinned to it. On another occasion
fifty dollar bank note futtered out.
Both were called for within snort
time. Occasionally one gives us @
glimpse Of a love secret or Tragedy
Not so long ago q letter was taken
from a book which was OF such an uh-
usual nature that l remembered the
names concerned long enough to recog-
nize them In the newspaper reports OK
n court case which divided FAMILY
The letter was addressed to woman
md filled with the frank and open
ayowal Of mans forbidden love- Ior
tho woman was the wife Of another. l
carefully secreted the miSsiye ana
few hours later was confronted by
tall, heavily yelled lady, who asked II
a letter had been found In book
which happened to be morbid prop
lem novel Of great popularity ut the
time. the work Of well known Eng
l,shwoman. The question was asked
in a voice which tried hard not 10
shake. / handed the letter over, ana
the woman hastily took herself OH
Scarcely a month later l ran across ner
name In the newspapers as defendant
In divorce court
..Yet tho writings we find in books
are not always so intimate. sometimes
they SAVIOR of domesticity and the de-
lights Of the kitchen. Indeed nave
enough recipes for desserts and sweet
meats 10 publish the collection as a
cookbook. Now and then book Is a
yeritable mine have found In them
gold. silver and precious stones. EN-
broidery silk by the yard and OF rain
bow hues may be f1shed out from some
novels, and, alas, an occasional ciga-
rette paper.
THE evidences Of masculine forget
fitness are rarer. have forgotten al
most all such instances, but of those
which / do remember there is one OF
which the details are as clear 10 me
now as II they had happened yester'
dsy. Indeed it will never leave my
mind. for it led to the capture OF
gang Of criminals.
"a wealthy but solitary old pacpseol
was found lifeless on the floor OF bis
library one morning. On his body nc
wound was discovered, and as FAR al
the detectives could ascertain no one
had gained access to the house. Tn'
case excited great public interest. anc
followed the Developments with close
ness In the newspapers. There mac
been at first some talk Of suicide ane
more of heart failure, but the autops!
put a new phase upon the case io1
showed that the old man had come u
his death through an insidtous yet pc"
erfuI poison. The question then arose
Who administered it? AS was read
lag the detailed report of the doctors
suddenly dropped the paper. remem
bered that a month before strange
had come In one wet, dismal night ant
asked for a reconcile work by 1oi
e,en author. 1t was a standar'
treatise ON poisons and a volume SCI
dom read.
81 hurried to the library and sough
the book. Opening it and rapidly ruiz
ming over the pages you may imagln
nv establishment and almost horror
find lying between two pages devote
TO q detailed account Of the very polso
that caused the old mans death
smirched and thumb marked piece
PAPER On 1t was writing in sma
and angular hand referring TO ID
chapter and page on which the poso
was described. ! then looked up u
record Of the books withdrawn an
found the name which the man ma
1iyen. also found that the book ma
not been taken out since. Having
certained these facts, l went at ono
to the police Taking the informauo
as a clew, the detectives. after ior
and arduous search, followed 1t to !
logical end and arrested the only rel
tive tho old man had possessed, me-
zeal student, whose existence had u
even been known. He confessed b
share In the crime and. with his accor
plices, paid the penalty. That ea'
opened my eyes to the value of inspec
tng every book as 1t returned to Il
nbrary."-New York Tribune.
Time to Stop.
The residents of Tlalpam. Mexic
complain that the public clock of tn