Mid-Day

An uptown branch of the New York Public Library finally got Fire of Francis Xavier back — more than five decades after the biography of the 16th-century priest was checked out.

 The dusty, dog-eared tome arrived on Monday wrapped in a plain brown envelope, said Jennifer Zarr, manager at the Fort Washington branch in Washington Heights.

Inside the book was a check for $100 (Rs 5,300) and nothing else. The old-fashioned check-out card tucked in the flap was stamped April 10, 1958.

 “Not sure what the late charge should be?” said Zarr on Facebook. “Library records don’t go back to 1958, she said. So there’s no way to trace who borrowed it back then.” The library won’t release the name on the check.