THROUGH THE FILES

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 November 1943, Page 6

THROUGH THE FILES

FOUR LADIES IN SEARCH

The Public Library reading room was quiet with the dim, reverent quiet of cathedrals, bound history and 9 a.m. —an old, silent figure or two at . the tables poring over books and papers, a silent-moving library assistant or two, arranging, dusting, indexing (relates the Auckland Star). Then the four elderly maiden ladies entered. They wanted to see the bound files of the Auckland Star, they confided whisperingly to the librarian —1941, 1940, 1939, 1938. He took the heavy volumes from the shelves, laid them on tables, and the old ladies set to work. The silence was broken, dimly, by the fluttering of pages, whispered conferences. Not there , . . Would the librarian please get them the previous four volumes? He moved in quiet service, removed volumes, took others down —heavy volumes of contemporary history. The search went on. Time went on. The .elderly ladies went on. The librarian went on. The second row, the third row. Now he had to climb, but they asked and he complied. The yellowed pages of Great War newsprint the big 24in. pages, the pages of close-set, small headed type. Two o’clock came. No lunch yet. No respite from the search. The librarian was at the top shelf now. his hands yellowed by the slightly decay--ing binding of the last, . furtherest, sixty-sixth volume. He laid it down. It was a pity, he suggested, that they couldn’t find what they wanted. Perhaps if thej r were to tell him, he might be able to assist. “Its quite all right,” smiled, the eldest, the leader of the four. “We’re just looking for a nice , recipe for shortbread!”