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Among the important gifts of the month was a collection of 1,224 prompt books bequeathed to the library by the late George Becks. Mr. Becks, who died in St. Louis in May, 1904, was born in Manchester, England, came to this country at the age of 19, and played for many years in stock and travelling companies, such as Niblo's, Laura Keene's, Booth's, Mrs. Lander's, and others; his collection comprises mainly the English and American theatre of the 19th century, but includes as well a number of classical plays of earlier date.

From the Century Association were received 480 volumes of the Mercure de France, which had been presented to the Century some years ago by Hon. John Bigelow; as these numbers added to the library file would make a fairly complete set from 1717 to 1820, the transfer was made by the Century with Mr. Bigelow's

consent.

Other gifts came from Benjamin Adams, a copy of Henry R. Stiles' "Iistory of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut," 1904, 2 vols. ; from the National Board of Education of Argentine Republic, through Miss Ernestina Lopez, 13 volumes and 39 pamphlets, being text-books used in the schools of the Argentine Republic; from the Hofjægermester of Denmark, Carl Bech, 47 volumes and 18 pamphlets, publications of the Samvirkende Danske Landboforeningers; from the Bibliotheca e Museu da Marinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2 volumes of its catalogue, 1904; from the Imperial Maritime Customs Department of China, 53 volumes and 130 pamphlets, being reports on the trade at the treaty ports in China, and reports on the trade, navigation, industries, etc., of ports open to foreign commerce in China and Corea, the whole covering the period of about the last 40 years, etc.; from the Colonial Order of the Acorn, "Views of Early New York," being six views of the city engraved by E. D. French from the Vanderdonck, Meurs-Montanus, Seutter, Burgis, Russell, Rollinson originals, with text by six members of the order, privately printed, 1904; from the Timothy Bigelow Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, its "List of Soldiers in the War of the Revolution from Worcester, Mass.," 1902, and "A Book of Beverages" published by the Chapter in 1904; from the Mayors of Italian cities, 70 volumes, being publications of local Municipal Councils; from Miss Josephine E. Hodgdon, 26 volumes and 35 pamphlets, publications of the National Educational Association; from the India Office, 127 volumes and 27 pamphlets, being administration reports, census reports, etc.; from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, a volume descriptive of the New York Subway, its construction and equipment; from John S. Kennedy, a copy of the "Bibliorum SS. Græcorum Codex Vaticanus 1209 (Cod. B.), denuo phototypice expressus iussu cura Præsidum Bybliothecæ Vaticanæ, pars altera Testamentum Novum" (Milan: U. Hoepli, 1904), being v. 4 of the "Codices e Vaticanis Selecti," No. 81 of 100 copies printed; from Hon. W. P. Letchworth, 1 volume, "Poets and Poetry of Buffalo," edited by James N. Johnston, 1904; from the Town Clerk of London, 1 volume, "Calendar of Letter Books... Letter Book F, circa 1337-1352," London, 1904; from Miss Margaret C. Marsh, two collections of musical scores and vocal music, comprising 405 pieces, published in the United States, most of them between 1830 and 1860; from the Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores of Mexico, 36 volumes, "Le Mexique au début du XXe siècle," par MM. Prince Roland Bonaparte, Léon Bourgeois, Jules Claretie and others, and

other publications; from the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund of New York City, 16 volumes of their "Proceedings," 1844 to 1902; from James W. T. Scott, 120 numbers of the "Public Ledger" of Philadelphia, 1876; from Charles Scribner's Sons, 32 volumes and 7 pamphlets; and from the Unione Italiana Tramways Elettrici, Genova, Italy, 1 volume and 2 pamphlets of their publications.

At the recent sale of duplicates from the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania the library secured five folio volumes of Votes of the Pennsylvania House, printed by Franklin between 1731 and 1757, two separate acts of Pennsylvania forbidding swearing, and regulating Sabbath observance, printed by T. Bradford in 1794, and seventeen Federal financial and naval documents, folio and octavo, printed between 1798 and 1803.

At the LENOX Branch the exhibition of etchings by Félix Bracquemond and Robert F. Blum was continued, as was also the exhibition of Japanese prints. In addition, etchings by the late R. Swain Gifford were placed on view on the lower floor, where the Century Company's gift of prepared wood blocks, half-tone plates and electrotypes was also exhibited. At the ASTOR the plates illustrating anniversaries and holidays were continued.

At the TOMPKINS SQUARE Branch the print room exhibition of plates from Maudsley's "Ornamental Arts of Japan" was continued, as were the exhibitions of the Racinet costume plates at the 125TH STREET Branch and the plates from Wilkie's Gallery at the CHATHAM SQUARE Branch. At the 67TH STREET Branch the Hollyer etchings were exhibited and at the YORKVILLE Branch the Racinet costume plates for the period after the 16th century.

At the Circulation branches the picture bulletins and temporary collections of books on special shelves (many being selected with reference to the Free Lectures of the Board of Education) were as follows:

CHATHAM SQUARE, Socrates, Imperial Berlin, Lessing, Victor Hugo, Schiller, Carlyle, Goethe, Tolstoi, Heine; EAST BROADWAY, Famous men and women born in January, Paul Revere, Robert Burns, Famous musicians, Victor Hugo, Socrates, St. Francis of Assisi, Lessing, Schiller, Beethoven, Goethe, Heine, Emerson, Carlyle, Tolstoi, Germany, Ethics; ELDRIDGE STREET, Famous men and women born. in January, Paul Revere, Asiatic geography, North American geography, Shakespeare, Nathan Hale, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln; BOND STREET, Japanese-Russian War, Lincoln, New books, Texas, St. Louis Exposition, Ballads, Wireless telephony, Radium; OTTENDORFER, First aid to the injured, Cairo, Constantinople, St. Petersburg, Vienna; TOMPKINS SQUARE, Famous men and women born in January, Egypt, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln; JACKSON SQUARE, United States navy, Musical novels, Beaconsfield, Abraham Lincoln, New books; MUHLENBERG, Castles and palaces of England, Westminster Abbey, Scotland, Wales, St. Louis Exposition, Songs of Moore, Agricultural wonders of the Louisiana Purchase, Ballads, Texas, Patriotic Songs, Beyond the Mississippi, Music; THIRTY-FOURTH STREET, Literature, Art, Natural Science, South America; BRUCE, Music; CATHEDRAL, Washington, Louisa M. Alcott, Hawthorne; FIFTY-NINTH STREET, New Amsterdam and New York, 1609-1903, Famous men and women born in January, Russia; SIXTY-SEVENTH STREET, Hawthorne, Longfellow, Whittier, Louisa M. Alcott, Little people of other lands, Hiawatha, Stories about animals,

Cover designs for children's books; RIVERSIDE, English critics; WEBSTER, Music; ST. AGNES, India, Magnetism, Spain of to-day and the Alhambra, Electricity, Ceylon, Dynamical Electricity, Japan Korea and Manchuria, France, Sea Stories; AMSTERDAM AVENUE, Robert Burns, New Books; BLOOMINGDALE, Commerce, South America; AGUILAR, Famous men and women born in January, A day with animals in Bronx and Central parks, Japan, China, Syria, India, Russia, Siberia, Mexico, American history, Washington, Lincoln, Jackson, Jefferson, Nathan Hale, Physiology, Art; HARLEM LIBRARY, New books, Great novels as given by Stoddard in his "Evolution of the English Novel"; ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIFTH STREET, Costume, Domestic Economy, Stories of Russia; WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Studies of European Life, Spain, Spanish America, Gulf and river of St. Lawrence, Literary and historic shrines of Boston and vicinity, Emerson, City of Washington, Era of Discovery; TOTTENVILLE, Negro problem, South America, Coal, Photography.

THOMAS M. NEWELL TO DAVID PORTER ON PIRACY IN THE WEST

INDIES IN 1823.

From the original manuscript in the New York Public Library.

SIR

UNITED STATES SCHOONER
FERRET, THOMPSON ISLAND
JUNE 25. 1823.

Persuant to your instructions, I left this place on the 14th inst on a cruise to Trinnadad on the south side of Cuba in company with the Beagle Cap Newton. On the second day we parted company and on the third day I made the Havanna (on my way to Matanzas) from thence I commenced a diligent search in all the by ports and bays, on Tuesday sending a boat into Canise and obtained information that some Pirates were still lerking about the coast. During the night I kept close in with the land & on Wednesday at 10 A. M. discovered an armed barge with 16 oars and well manned, in a small bay called Bacuna Yeanga. I immediately sent Leut Dorning with five men the most any boat could carry, to examine all the boats, there being seven in number; he approached within fifty yards of the barge when the crew shew their character, by opening a fire on him with musketry & blunderbusses, which fortunately did no other damage than nearly to sink the boat, she having received a ball at the water edge, five others were found in the boat, which being nearly spent had struck the water & inocently jumped into her, my boat at no time was suitable for the transportation of men & now rendered useless, induced me to take possession of a small coaster that was near & man her with fifteen men & at that time intended to stand in if possible with the Ferret in order to cover the men while they took possession of the barge which then had the American colours union down, but on approaching found that the channel wou'd not admit of my entering, it then blowing very hard and a heavy sea on, I deemed it proper to recall the coaster which had liked to have gotten ashore, for had that catastrophy occured, I question much whether the pirates would have had the gratification of butchering them, as they certainly would have been drown'dthe sea was then breaking with great violence over the reef that covered the bay. I was then compelled to resort to making tacks close in with the reef, and giving them long tom with round & grape, in hopes to destroy the boats. As to killing any of them it was impossible, for on the approach of the Ferret they would completely secure themselves behind the rocks & trees which hung all around the harbour, but this I was frustrated in by the enormous roughness of the sea, and the wind being on shore, prevent me from taking any position from which I could anoy them much, finding it impossible to do anything with the means then in my power, I stood out to sea in hopes to fall in with some vessel from which I could

get available boat (but I am sorry to say that it was not untill the next morning that my wishes were obtained) & if that could not be done to push to Matanzas, to concoct a plan with the governor by which the pirates as well as their boats may be taken. I however obtained a boat from an English vessel, & immediately bore up for the same place which was then but a short distance off. I had not run but a short time when I discovered a Spanish brig of war laying too off the bay, which proved to be the Matas, on the report being sent to the Governor of Matansas that one of the U. S. Schooners were engaged with the Pirates, he dispatched this brig and at the same time took with him a land force and had arrived there a few minutes before me, and had taken possession of a small schooner boat the Pirates had abandoned and which lay on the beach, I sent in my boat after he had left, and ordered a search, when two of the boats I had seen the day I attacked them, where found sunk well up a lagoon, which upon further examination extended several miles into the island, and have no doubt but that the large barge is now at the head of it, but not being prepaired with boats I did not think it proper to send my boats out of [reach?] of the Ferret. The two boats I have brought over and shall await your orders relative thereto,

On my arrival at Matansas I found my main mast very dangerously sprunk, which made it necessary for me to return home, but not untill I had given convoy to eight of our merchantmen, from Matansas & Havanna,

I have the honor to be
Sir,

Very Respectfully

Your Obt Svt

THOS. M. NEWELL

Comer DAVID PORTER

Commander of the U. S. Naval

forces West India Station

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