The Newtown bee., 1908-08-21

markable deed is an abiding memory. MT Gum was, as president, usually the auctioneer, and the effective man. ner in which the charms of a readable book were presented added many pen niless to the bidding price.
 These auction sales were held on the evening of the first Thursday of the month. Thursday, as l have often been told out of the traditions of Washing ton, was butter tub day. Making but ter was as general an industry then as milk dairying is now in town. And on Thursdays the citizens tfrom all over our town gathered up their.full butter tubs and started for Erastus Hurlburt' s store. They got to the Green in time to attend the church prayer meeting. l wish sometimes there was butter tub day to bring them now. Then, aft CT the meeting, they took their full tubs to the store to be carried down to New Haven, got the empty ones of the last week, and also laid in full supply of town news; then, by the simple ex- pedient of bringing lunch or of get ting invited out to tea, they could stay over and be present at the book auction in the evening.
 have gone over the list of biddings and sales; it is remarkable how wide ly these books were circulated. It was not uncommon to bid off 200 books at a single evenings sale. When the num- Der of books sold was only hundred, the recording angel of proceedings would enter the remark that it was bad weather or a very poor auction. It was allowable for one individual to bid off as many as five books. Share holders who lived as far away as New Preston and Warren would frequently be at these auctions. At first the titles of all books as they lay in the closet were read off, and bids asked, but as the number of books got too many for this, those asked for were bid off, or those known to be popular. Between sales any books left unsold could be gotten by going to the librarian and paying him fifteen cents to go to the Academy, open up and hunt out the book wanted. Of this fifteen cents the librarian kept ten cents himself for his trouble, and paid over five cents to the library fund for the use of the book. Fines were collected for books kept over monthly sale, or for injury. Interesting testimony is here borne in our records to the fact that these read CTS did not use electric lights, nor did they pay tribute to the Standard Oil trust, but they read their books by the lowly candle, for special. bylaw pro- ivded a fine of three cents for every candle grease spot found on book re- turned to the library.
 You see this was the kind of li- brary, and in 1t were the kind of books of which one of our own citizens has written a poem. This poem described the purpose and the dignity of this early library association and its books so we'll that take the liberty of read ing it to you as part of this historic sketch of an old time library.
 IN THE LIBRARY.
 (By Rossiter w. Raymond.) While the Master went to walk, s All the books began to talk.
 Some, with gllded back and side, Pages fair and margins wide,
 Leaves uncut and copies few, Boasted they were "good as new p Some, less gorgeous, proudly told How they were extremely old, Rare and costly-not like books Merely scarce because "de luxe!" Others, heavy and immense,
 Claimed the crown for common sense. "Wise men, passing by the rest, Come to us and get the best ? !" Others said they stood apart,
 Being miracles of Art!
 "Never mind the text" said they, Pictures are the thing to-day" Then a shabby little book.
 With deprecating look,
 Whispered, ''I am all unfit
 In this company to sit!
 1 am weak, but not with age;
 Here and there I lack page; All my leaves have canine ears, And are stained by thumbs and tears. l am one who never knows
 Peace in elegant repose;
 Whor, droopn of ronfirnx fhn,n