A DAY WITH RAGS, TATTERS & CO.

Kensington stitch. Certainly such fabric and such
work were not worn by peasants.
Other bales there were from certain places where

  

BARTERING OLD RAGS FOR NEW TIN.

the contents, whether of waste paper or cloth, had
been cut into small pieces, that the character of the
writing or printing and the style of the garment
might not be betrayed; and all the rags were scrup-
ulously clean, having been washed 'be-
fore they were packed.

As for the rest, the rag-pickers in
the city streets were working in their
way in the long line of processes
towards what was one day to be reams
and piles of fine letter paper ; and the
tin-pedlers’ carts were going about

 

    

163

It was in “war times” that the books and manu-
scripts and tons of newspapers and pamphlets, began
to pour in.

Formerly paper stock, as this kind was

   
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

“MET, AND FORMED THE MERRIMACK.”

called, had been of but little value, only about
half a cent a pound, for the reason that the man-
ufacturers knew of no way by which the ink
could be taken out; the printing or writing
would show through, so that books and papers
had to be made into wrapping paper. But
as soon as some genius found out how to do,
the price went up so high that most of the old
garrets were despoiled of the hoarded accumulations
of years. The greater part of the school books went
that way. Volumes which the older generations had
treasured, a younger generation sold, and things
were lost
which can
never be re-
placed. Rare
pamphlets
came to this
mill, and
books in cost-
ly bindings,
two hundred
years old,
The church
records of a
certain im-
portant town
turned up in
‘one of the

bundles. Some things were rescued by antiqua-
rians, who moiled and toiled amidst these tons

SCRAP-BOOK TREASURES.

 

 

 

  

OLD LACES.

from town to town the same
as now, and the good wives
stood by the shining, clattering load and haggled and
examined the wares, and bartered old rags for new tin.

   

of printed matter, in search of some scarce vol-
ume. And those girls who used to ride on the loads
of bales when they were small, now that they were
older came daintily picking their way and rammaged
for poetry to put in their scrap-books.

Strange findings and experiences there used to be