During the period of the industry, coasters and an occasional merchantman, were built for shippers of Milford, New York and Boston. Most of these were built at the town yards though a few were constructed at Wheeler's Farms on the Housatonic.

Milford commerce did not last quite two centuries. It crashed with the big failure of Miles, Strong and Miles, in 1821. Among her early traders and merchants was John Maltbee, 1670; Mungo Nesbitt, enrolled a citizen and given the freedom of the town in 1696; Edward Allen, shipbuilder and importer, 1700. There were also the two great merchants of French extraction, Peter Pierett, who built the town wharf in 1730; and Louis Lyron, 1640. (The stones in the old cemetery record their virtues and attest their wealth.) In the middle of the last century, trade with

Holland was carried on by John Gibbs. In its closing years, a wharf was built at the Gulf by the firm of Charles Pond & Co., large shippers.

But a short way up the street from the Memorial Bridge, one comes yet again face to face with reminders of the earlier

time, pleasantly woven with memories of the letters Cadmus gave, of other lands and other days, commingling with the mighty interest of the pressing time. As the "Taylor Library" greets the eye one recalls the old English song:

"Oh, for a book and a shadie nooke
Eyther in door or out,

With the green leaves whispering overhead
Or the street cryes all about,
Where I maie reade all at my ease

Both of the newe and old,

For a jolly goode booke wherein to looke Is better to me than golde."

From 1588 to 1888 is a far cry. Generation after generation came, wrought and passed away. At the beginning of this long interval, men and women stirred by reading the Word of God in their mother tongue, and persecuted therefor, fled to Holland, and thence across the Atlantic to make in New England a home wherein to read the word in peace, and worship according to the dictates of conscience; all unaware that they were planting and husbanding the seed of a mighty nation yet to be.

The busy years went on, and this old bible, old even then, had been carried from England to Delft-haven and across the Atlantic more than once, and (if gifted with speech) could have told stirring tales of toilsome days and watchful nights and desperate battles fought and

won.

In 1888 it came into the possession of Mr. Charles M. Taintor of Manchester, Conn., a young man with a penchant for collecting, in a desultory way, odd books, and especially old bibles.

The subtle sympathy existing between men of similar tastes brought this young man the acquaintance of Mr. S. W. Cowles, of Hartford, a middle-aged gentleman, who also in the spare moments of a busy life, pleased himself in building up an amateur collection of Indian relics, manuscripts, autographs and rare old books that came in his way. Mr. Taintor frequently dropped into Mr. Cowles' office and the two men compared notes, talked

thereabouts, called a "Breeches Bible" from the fact that therein the first tailormade suit is described after this fashion, (speaking of Adam and Eve), "They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches."

The Times article reminded Mr. Cowles of the old bible bought of Mr. Taintor, printed in 1588, and going to his book

case he found that this bible was also a Breeches Bible and although not quite so old as the Breeches Bible owned by Mr. Horace Johnson it had some marginal notes which he had never taken the trouble to decipher, but thought rather curious, so he took it to the Times office.

Then came the great discovery. Mr. Burr, an experienced antiquarian, conversant with the early history of New England, saw at once from the various entries (scribblings) on fly leaves and margins, that this bible was what neither Mr. Cowles nor Mr. Taintor had sus pected, a Mayflower bible, and of great value, in fact the greatest "find" in the state.

Mr. Charles M. Taintor, the father of the young man, Charles M. Taintor, knew nothing of the history of his son's books, and was sure that his son could not have been aware of the value of this bibleotherwise he would not have offered it in exchange for the Peter Parley, nor indeed have parted with it for any consideration.

Mr. Cowles remembered that at the time of the exchange Mr. Taintor had spoken of "some scribblings" on the fly leaves and margins, which he seemed to regard as blemishes. Evidently he had not taken the time or trouble to trace and put together the faded ink entries.

The old bible here takes on a new lease of life, for up to the present time, neither