The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-08-17
SKELETONS IN BOOKS
SECRETS THAT ARE UNFAIRLY LEFT
IN LIBRARY VOLUMES.


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Stories of Love as Well as OF Crime
Buried Between the Leaves by ABB
sentminded Readers-The Way One
Murder Mystery Was Solved.
The letter began, "My Sweet Anne"
Surely stranger must be pardoned
for reading it through, for it was found
hidden snugly away between the leaves
OF dusty and ancient volume of poems
drawn from a great library. The find
er took it carefully to the librarian.
another one?" said the librarian in
quiringly. "Out of the old edition of
Moore, eh? Well, l guess we won't
send it back. l generally return per-
sonal letters if they are of enough in
terest and nobody calls for them, but
if l sent everything back that we find
the directors would be about my ears
for wasting postage stamps" The aft
ernoon was a quiet one, and the H.
brarian continued:
1--WE shake every book that Is return
ed, and almost always something falls
out. 1t may be a letter like the one
you have just found or visiting card
or a hairpin. Almost invariably the
treasures that we unfold bear the ear
marks of feminine possession. am
not charging women with carelessness.
l am simply stating fact
Generally the things we find are
documentary in their nature. Last
week l shook out of book on home
life a signed and Endorsed 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 short
time Occasionally one gives us
glimpse of a love secret or tragedy.
Not so long ago letter was taken
from book which was of such an un-
usual nature that 1 remembered the
names concerned long enough to recog-
niZe them in the newspaper reports of
court case which divided a family.
The letter was addressed to woman
and filled with the frank and open
avowal Of mans forbidden love, for
the woman was the wife Of another.
carefully secreted the missive and
few hours later was confronted by
tall, heavily yelled lady, who asked if
letter had been found in book
which happened to be morbid prob
lem novel of great popularity at the
time, the work of a we'll known Eng
lishwoman. The question was asked
in a voice which tried hard not to
shake. l handed the letter over, and
the woman hastily took herself off.
Scarcely month later ran across her
name in the newspapers as defendant
In Il divorce court.
Yet the writings we find in books
are not always so intimate. Sometimes
they SAVIOR of domesticity and the de-
lights of the kitchen. Indeed l have
meats to publish the collection as q
cookbook. Now and then Il book is a
veritable mine. l have found in them
gold, silver and precious stones. En-
broidery silk by the yard and of rain
bow hues may be fished out from some
novels, and, alas, an occasional ciga-
rette paper.
"The evidences of masculine forget
fulness are rarer. l have forgotten al
most all such instances, but of those
which l do remember there is one of
which the details are as clear to me
now as if they had happened yester
day. Indeed it will never leave my
mind, for it led to the capture of a
gang of criminals.
"A wealthy but solitary old bachelor
was found lifeless on the floor of his
library one morning. On his body no
wound was discovered, and as far as
the detectives could ascertain no one
had gained access to the house The
case excited great public interest, and
followed the developments with close
ness in the newspapers. There had
been at first some talk of suicide and
more of heart failure, but the autopsy
put new phase upon the case, for it
showed that the old man had come to
his death through an insidious yet pow
erful poison. The question then arose
Who administered it? AS | was read
Ing lue detained report VI Tue uOclOfS
suddenly dropped the paper. l remem-
bered that month before stranger
had come in one wet, dismal night and
asked for reconcile work by a for
eign author. 1t was standard
treatise ON poisons and volume sell
dom read.
81 hurried to the library and sought
the book. Opening it and rapidly run
ming over the pages you may imagine
my astonishment and almost horror to
find lying between two pages devoted
to detailed account of the very poison
that caused the old mans death a
smirched and thumb marked piece Of
paper. On it was writing in small
and angular hand referring to the
chapter and page on which the poison
was described l then looked up the
record of the books withdrawal and
, found the name which the man had
given. | also found that the book had
, not been taken out since. Having as
4, certained these facts | went at once
to the police. Taking the information
as a clew the detectives, after Il long
a., ,l,r.,, r..ll ~