On finding a little piece of living past-a fragment of paper dating from 1836, in an 1880s edition of George Elliot's Scenes of Clerical life (published by Blackwood and Sons).

The Paper holds many stories of the past, what secrets can it tell?

A carriage rolling over gravel, pulled by black horses;
an elegant gentleman and his sweetheart,
taking long walks in the park.
Her gloved hand in his, she wears her new  dress,
shimmering blue which is echoed in her eyes,
and admired by her gentleman companion.
Marriage follows, a family of six children,
the faded dress given to the maid in the kitchen,
who wears it  every Sunday into holes.
The Rag man collects it at the back door,
throws it into his cart, it begins a new life-
pulped by rough, red hands in a big vat,
the dress mixes with other rags, old unwanted
garments transforming into paper.
Its new life records the publisher's expenses;
pencils, ink, pens; all neatly inked into
its surface, kept in a book in a bureau.
Years pass and the records become old;
no longer needed; the pages are torn out,
cut neatly with scissors in a steady hand,
and fitted into the spine of a new book,
which tells the fictional tale of Milby Town.
History and fiction merge into one;
young lovers, hard working servants, Rag Men
and factory workers; pages turn- they record lives;
both real and imagined and speak to the future.