[Illustration: The Great Book-Collectors Charles & Mary Elton]

[Illustration: FABRI DE PEIRESC. ]

The Great Book-Collectors

By Charles Isaac Elton

Author of 'Origins of English History''The Career of Columbus, ' etc. 

& Mary Augusta Elton

[Illustration]

London

Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. , Ltd. 

MDCCCXCIII

Contents

 PAGE

CHAPTER I. CLASSICAL 1

CHAPTER II. IRELAND--NORTHUMBRIA 13

CHAPTER III. ENGLAND 27

CHAPTER IV. ITALY--THE AGE OF PETRARCH 41

CHAPTER V. OXFORD--DUKE HUMPHREY'S BOOKS--THE LIBRARY OF THE VALOIS 53

CHAPTER VI. ITALY--THE RENAISSANCE 63

CHAPTER VII. ITALIAN CITIES--OLYMPIA MORATA--URBINO--THE BOOKS OF CORVINUS 76

CHAPTER VIII. GERMANY--FLANDERS--BURGUNDY--ENGLAND 87

CHAPTER IX. FRANCE: EARLY BOOKMEN--ROYAL COLLECTORS 99

CHAPTER X. THE OLD ROYAL LIBRARY--FAIRFAX--COTTON--HARLEY--THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE 111

CHAPTER XI. BODLEY--DIGBY--LAUD--SELDEN--ASHMOLE 124

CHAPTER XII. GROLIER AND HIS SUCCESSORS 139

CHAPTER XIII. LATER COLLECTORS: FRANCE--ITALY--SPAIN 158

CHAPTER XIV. DE THOU--PINELLI--PEIRESC 169

CHAPTER XV. FRENCH COLLECTORS--NAUDÉ TO RENOUARD 183

CHAPTER XVI. LATER ENGLISH COLLECTORS 202

INDEX 221

List of Illustrations

PORTRAIT OF PEIRESC _Frontispiece_ (From an engraving by Claude Mellan. )

INITIAL LETTER FROM THE 'GOSPELS OF ST. CUTHBERT' 18

SEAL OF RICHARD DE BURY 38

PORTRAIT OF THE DUKE OF BEDFORD PRAYING BEFORE ST. GEORGE 59 (From the Book of Hours commonly known as the 'Bedford Missal. ')

PORTRAIT OF MAGLIABECCHI 74 (From an engraving in the British Museum. )

BINDING EXECUTED FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH 112 (English jeweller's-work on a cover of red velvet. From a copy of 'Meditationum Christianarum Libellus, ' Lyons, 1570, in the British Museum. )

PORTRAIT OF SIR ROBERT COTTON 117 (From an engraving by R. White after C. Jonson. )

PORTRAIT OF SIR THOMAS BODLEY 126 (From an engraving in the British Museum. )

BINDING EXECUTED FOR GROLIER 141 (From a copy of Silius Italicus, Venice, 1523, in the British Museum. )

PORTRAIT OF DE THOU 168 (From an engraving by Morin, after L. Ferdinand. )

CHAPTER I. 

CLASSICAL. 

In undertaking to write these few chapters on the lives of thebook-collectors, we feel that we must move between lines that seemsomewhat narrow, having regard to the possible range of the subject. Weshall therefore avoid as much as possible the description of particularbooks, and shall endeavour to deal with the book-collector orbook-hunter, as distinguished from the owner of good books, fromlibrarians and specialists, from the merchant or broker of books and thebook-glutton who wants all that he sees. 

Guillaume Postel and his friends found time to discuss the merits of theauthors before the Flood. Our own age neglects the libraries of Shem, andcasts doubts on the antiquity of the Book of Enoch. But even in writingthe briefest account of the great book-collectors, we are compelled to goback to somewhat remote times, and to say at least a few words about theancient book-stories from the far East, from Greece and Rome, from Egyptand Pontus and Asia. We have seen the brick-libraries of Nineveh and thecopies for the King at Babylon, and we have heard of the rolls ofEcbatana. All the world knows how Nehemiah 'founded a library, ' and howthe brave Maccabæus gathered again what had been lost by reason of thewars. Every desert in the East seems to have held a library, where thepillars of some temple lie in the sand, and where dead men 'hang theirmute thoughts on the mute walls around. ' The Egyptian traveller sees thesite of the book-room of Rameses that was called the 'Hospital for theSoul. ' There was a library at the breast of the Sphinx, and another whereCairo stands, and one at Alexandria that was burned in Julius Cæsar'ssiege, besides the later assemblage in the House of Serapis which Omarwas said to have sacrificed as a tribute of respect for the Koran. 

Asia Minor was celebrated for her libraries. There were 'many curiousbooks' in Ephesus, and rich stores of books at Antioch on the Orontes, and where the gray-capped students 'chattered like water-fowl' by theriver at Tarsus. In Pergamus they made the fine parchment like ivory, beloved, as an enemy has said, by 'yellow bibliomaniacs whose skins takethe colour of their food'; and there the wealthy race of Attalus built upthe royal collection which Antony captured in war and sent as a gift toCleopatra. 

It pleased the Greeks to invent traditions about the books of Polycratesat Samos, or those of Pisistratus that were counted among the spoils ofXerxes: and the Athenians thought that the very same volumes found theirway home again after the victories of Alexander the Great. Aristotleowned the first private library of which anything is actually recorded;and it is still a matter of interest to follow the fortunes of his books. He left them as a legacy to a pupil, who bequeathed them to his librarianNeleus: and his family long preserved the collection in their home nearthe ruins of Troy. One portion was bought by the Ptolemies for theirgreat Alexandrian library, and these books, we suppose, must haveperished in the war with Rome. The rest remained at home till there wassome fear of their being confiscated and carried to Pergamus. They wereremoved in haste and stowed away in a cave, where they nearly perished inthe damp. When the parchments were disinterred they became the propertyof Apellicon, to whom the saying was first applied that he was 'rather abibliophile than a lover of learning. ' While the collection was at Athenshe did much damage to the scrolls by his attempt to restore theirworm-eaten paragraphs. Sulla took the city soon afterwards, and carriedthe books to Rome, and here more damage was done by the careless editingof Tyrannion, who made a trade of copying 'Aristotle's books' for thelibraries that were rising on all sides at Rome. 

The Romans learned to be book-collectors in gathering the spoils of war. When Carthage fell, the books, as some say, were given to nativechieftains, the predecessors of King Jugurtha in culture and of King Jubain natural science: others say that they were awarded as a kind ofcompensation to the family of the murdered Regulus. Their preservation isattested by the fact that the Carthaginian texts were cited centuriesafterwards by the writers who described the most ancient voyages in theAtlantic. When the unhappy Perseus was deprived of the kingdom ofMacedonia, the royal library was chosen by Æmilius Paullus as thegeneral's share of the plunder. Asinius Pollio furnished a greatreading-room with the literary treasures of Dalmatia. A public librarywas established by Julius Cæsar on the Aventine, and two were set up byAugustus within the precinct of the palace of the Cæsars; and Octaviabuilt another near the Tiber in memory of the young Marcellus. The gloomyDomitian restored the library at the Capitol, which had been struck andfired by lightning. Trajan ransacked the wealth of the world for hiscollection in the 'Ulpiana, ' which, in accordance with a later fashion, became one of the principal attractions of the Thermæ of Diocletian. 

The splendours of the private library began in the days of Lucullus. Enriched with the treasure of King Mithridates and all the books ofPontus, he housed his collection in such stately galleries, thronged witha multitude of philosophers and poets, that it seemed as if there were anew home for the Muses, and a fresh sanctuary for Hellas. Seneca, aphilosopher and a millionaire himself, inveighed against such uselesspomp. He used to rejoice at the blow that fell on the arrogantmagnificence of Alexandria. 'Our idle book-hunters, ' he said, 'know aboutnothing but titles and bindings: their chests of cedar and ivory, and thebook-cases that fill the bath-room, are nothing but fashionablefurniture, and have nothing to do with learning. ' Lucian was quite assevere on the book-hunters of the age of the Antonines. The bibliophilegoes book in hand, like the statue of Bellerophon with the letter, but heonly cares for the choice vellum and bosses of gold. 'I cannot conceive, 'said Lucian, 'what you expect to get out of your books; yet you arealways poring over them, and binding and tying them, and rubbing themwith saffron and oil of cedar, as if they could make you eloquent, whenby nature you are as dumb as a fish. ' He compares the industrious dunceto an ass at a music-book, or to a monkey that remains a monkey still forall the gold on its jacket. 'If books, ' he adds, 'have made you what youare, I am sure that you ought of all things to avoid them. '

After the building of Constantinople a home for literature was found inthe eastern cities; and, as the boundaries of the empire were broken downby the Saracen advance, learning gradually retired to the colleges andbasilicas of the capital, and to the Greek monasteries of stony Athos, and Patmos, and the 'green Erebinthus. ' Among the Romans of the East wecannot discern many learned men, but we know that there was a multitudeready to assist in the preservation of learning. The figures of three orfour true book-lovers stand out amid the crowd of _dilettanti_. St. Pamphilus was a student at the legal University of Beyrout before he wasreceived into the Church: he devoted himself afterwards to the school ofsacred learning which he established at Cæsarea in Palestine. Here hegathered together about 30, 000 volumes, almost all consisting of theworks of the Fathers. His personal labour was given to the works ofOrigen, in whose mystical doctrine he had become a proficient atAlexandria. The martyrdom of Pamphilus prevented the completion of hisown elaborate commentaries. He left the library to the Church of Cæsarea, under the superintendence of his friend Eusebius. St. Jerome paid a visitto the collection while he was still enrolled on the list ofbibliophiles. He had bought the best books to be found at Trêves andAquileia; he had seen the wealth of Rome, and was on his way to theoriental splendour of Constantinople: it is from him that we first hearof the gold and silver inks and the Tyrian purple of the vellum. Hedeclared that he had never seen anything to compare with the library ofPamphilus; and when he was given twenty-five volumes of Origen in themartyr's delicate writing, he vowed that he felt richer than if he hadfound the wealth of Croesus. 

The Emperor Julian was a pupil of Eusebius, and became reader for a timein the Church at Cæsarea. He was passionately fond of books, andpossessed libraries at Antioch and Constantinople, as well as in hisbeloved 'Lutetia' on the island in the Seine. A sentence from one of hisletters was carved over the door of his library at Antioch: 'Some lovehorses, or hawks and hounds, but I from my boyhood have pined with adesire for books. '

It is said that another of his libraries was burned by his successorJovian in a parody of Alexander's Feast. It is true, at any rate, thatthe book-butcher set fire to the books at Antioch as part of his revengeagainst the Apostate. One is tempted to dwell on the story of thesemassacres. In many a war, as an ancient bibliophile complained, havebooks been dispersed abroad, 'dismembered, stabbed, and mutilated': 'theywere buried in the earth or drowned in the sea, and slain by all kinds ofslaughter. ' 'How much of their blood the warlike Scipio shed: how many onthe banishment of Boethius were scattered like sheep without a shepherd!'Perhaps the subject should be isolated in a separate volume, where therude Omar, and Jovian, and the despoilers of the monasteries, might bepilloried. Seneca would be indicted for his insult to Cleopatra's books:Sir Thomas Browne might be in danger for his saying, that 'he could withpatience behold the urn and ashes of the Vatican, could he with a fewothers recover the perished leaves of Solomon. ' He might escape by virtueof his saving clause, and some excuse would naturally be found forSeneca; but the rest might be treated like those Genoese criminals whowere commemorated on marble tablets as 'the worst of mankind. '

For several generations after the establishment of the Eastern Empire, Constantinople was the literary capital of the world and the mainrepository of the arts and sciences. Mr. Middleton has lately shown us inhis work upon Illuminated Manuscripts that Persia and Egypt, as well asthe Western Countries, 'contributed elements both of design and technicalskill which combined to create the new school of Byzantine art. 'Constantinople, he tells us, became for several centuries the main centrefor the production of manuscripts. Outside the domain of art we findlittle among the Romans of the East that can in any sense be calledoriginal. They were excellent at an epitome or a lexicon, and were verysuccessful as librarians. The treasures of antiquity, as Gibbon has said, were imparted in such extracts and abridgments 'as might amuse thecuriosity without oppressing the indolence of the public. ' The PatriarchPhotius stands out as a literary hero among the commentators and criticsof the ninth century. That famous book-collector, in analysing thecontents of his library for an absent brother, became the preserver ofmany of the most valuable classics. As Commander of the Guard he led thelife of a peaceful student: as Patriarch of Byzantium his turbulence rentthe fabric of Christendom, and he was 'alternately excommunicated andabsolved by the synods of the East and West. ' We owe the publication ofthe work called _The Myriad of Books_ to the circumstance that he wasappointed to an embassy at Bagdad. His brother wrote to remind him oftheir pleasant evenings in the library when they explored the writings ofthe ancients and made an analysis of their contents. Photius was about toembark on a dangerous journey, and he was implored to leave a record ofwhat had been done since his brother had last taken part in the readings. The answer of Photius was the book already mentioned: he reviews nearlythree hundred volumes of the historians and orators, the philosophers andtheologians, the travellers and the writers of romance, and with an evenfacility 'abridges their narrative or doctrine and appreciates theirstyle and character. '

The great Imperial library which stood by St. Sophia had been destroyedin the reign of Leo the Iconoclast in the preceding age, and in anearlier conflagration more than half a million books are said to havebeen lost from the basilica. The losses by fire were continual, but wereconstantly repaired. Leo the Philosopher, who was educated under the careof Photius, and his son and successor Constantine, were renowned as therestorers of learning, and the great writers of antiquity were collectedagain by their zeal in the square hall near the Public Treasury. 

The boundaries of the realm of learning extended far beyond the limits ofthe Empire, and the Arabian science was equally famous among the Moorsof Spain and in the further parts of Asia. We are told of a doctorrefusing the invitation of the Sultan of Bokhara, 'because the carriageof his books would have required four hundred camels. ' We know that theOmmiad dynasty formed the gigantic library at Cordova, and that therewere at least seventy others in the colleges that were scattered throughthe kingdom of Granada. The prospect was very dark in other parts ofWestern Europe throughout the whole period of barbarian settlement. Weshall not endeavour to trace the slight influences that preserved someknowledge of religious books at the Court of the Merovingian kings, oramong the Visigoths and Ostrogoths and Burgundians. We prefer to pause ata moment preceding the final onslaught. The letters of Sidonius afford usa few glimpses of the literary condition of Southern Gaul soon after theinvasion of Attila. The Bishop of Clermont gives us a delightful pictureof his house: a verandah leads from the _atrium_ to the garden by thelake: we pass through a winter-parlour, a morning-room, and anorth-parlour protected from the heat. Every detail seems to be complete;and yet we hear nothing of a library. The explanation seems to be thatthe Bishop was a close imitator of Pliny. The villa in Auvergne is a copyof the winter-refuge at Laurentum, where Pliny only kept 'a few casescontrived in the wall for the books that cannot be read too often. ' Butwhen the Bishop writes about his friends' houses we find many allusionsto their libraries. Consentius sits in a large book-room when he iscomposing his verses or 'culling the flowers of his music. ' When hevisited the Prefect of Gaul, Sidonius declared that he was whirled alongin a stream of delights. There were all kinds of out-door amusements anda library filled with books. 'You would fancy yourself among aProfessor's book-cases, or in a book-shop, or amid the benches of alecture-room. ' The Bishop considered that this library of the VillaPrusiana was as good as anything that could be found in Rome orAlexandria. The books were arranged according to subjects. The room had a'ladies' side'; and here were arranged the devotional works. Theilluminated volumes, as far as can now be judged, were rather gaudy thanbrilliant, as was natural in an age of decadence; but St. Germanus was afriend of the Bishop, and as we suppose of the Prefect, and his copy ofthe Gospels was in gold and silver letters on purple vellum, as may stillbe seen. By the gentlemen's seats were ranged the usual classicalvolumes, all the works of Varro, which now exist only in fragments, andthe poets sacred and profane; behind certain cross-benches was theliterary food of a lighter kind, more suited to the weaker vesselswithout regard to sex. Here every one found what would suit his ownliking and capacity, and here on the day after their arrival the companyworked hard after breakfast 'for four hours by the water clock. ' Suddenlythe door was thrown open, and in his uniform the head cook appeared andsolemnly warned them all that their meal was served, and that it was asnecessary to nourish the body as to stuff the mind with learning. 

When the barbarians were established through Gaul and Italy the librariesin the old country-houses must have been completely destroyed. Some faintlight of learning remained while Boethius 'trimmed the lamp with hisskilful hand'; some knowledge of the classics survived during the livesof Cassiodorus and Isidore of Seville. Some of the original splendour mayhave lingered at Rome, and perhaps in Ravenna. When Boethius was awaitinghis doom in the tower at Pavia, his mind reverted to the lettered ease ofhis life before he had offended the fierce Theodoric. His philosophyfound comfort in thinking that all the valuable part of his books wasfirmly imprinted on his soul; but he never ceased regretting the wallsinlaid with ivory and the shining painted windows in his old library atRome. 

CHAPTER II. 

IRELAND--NORTHUMBRIA. 

The knowledge of books might almost have disappeared in the seventhcentury, when the cloud of ignorance was darkest, but for a new andremarkable development of learning in the Irish monasteries. 

This development is of special interest to ourselves from the fact thatthe church of Northumbria was long dependent on the Irish settlement atIona. The Anglians taught by Paulinus very soon relapsed into paganism, and the second conversion of the North was due to the missionaries of theschool of St. Columba. The power of Rome was established at the Councilof Whitby; but in the days when Aidan preached at Lindisfarne theNorthumbrians were still in obedience to an Irish rule, and wereinstructed and edified by the acts and lives of St. Patrick, of St. Brigit, and the mighty Columba. 

We shall quote some of the incidents recorded about the Irish books, afew legends of Patrick and dim traditions from the days of Columba, before noticing the rise of the English school. 

The first mention of the Irish books seems to be contained in a passageof Æthicus. The cosmography ascribed to that name has been traced tovery early times. It was long believed to have been written by St. Jerome; but in its present form, at least, the work contains entries of amuch later date. The passage in which Ireland is mentioned may be even aslate as the age of Columbanus, when Irish monks set up their churches atWürzburg and on the shores of the Lake of Constance, or illuminated theirmanuscripts at Bobbio under the protection of Theodolind and hersuccessors in Lombardy. A wandering philosopher is represented asvisiting the northern regions: he remained for a while in the Isle ofSaints and turned over the painted volumes; but he despised the nativechurchmen and called them 'Doctors of Ignorance. ' 'Here am I in Ireland, at the world's end, with much toil and little ease; with such unskilledlabourers in the field the place is too doleful, and is absolutely of nogood to me. '

Palladius came with twelve men to preach to the Gael, and we are toldthat he 'left his books' at Cellfine. The legendary St. Patrick is madeto pass into Ulster, and he finds a King who burns himself and his home'that he may not believe in Patrick. ' The Saint proceeds to Tara witheight men and a little page carrying the book-wallet; 'it was like eightdeer with one fawn following, and a white bird on its shoulder. '

The King and his chief Druid proposed a trial by ordeal. The King said, 'Put your books into the water. ' 'I am ready for that, ' said Patrick. Butthe Druid said, 'A god of water this man adores, and I will not takepart in the ordeal. ' The King said, 'Put your books into the fire. ' 'I amready for that, ' said Patrick. 'A god of fire once in two years this manadores, and I will not do that, ' said the Druid. 

In the church by the oak-tree at Kildare St. Brigit had a marvellousbook, or so her nuns supposed. The Kildare Gospels may have beenilluminated as early as Columba's time. Gerard de Barri saw the book inthe year 1185, and said that it was so brilliant in colouring, sodelicate and finely drawn, and with such enlacements of intertwininglines that it seemed to be a work beyond the powers of mortal man, and tobe worthy of an angel's skill; and, indeed, there was a strong beliefthat miraculous help had been given to the artist in his dreams. 

The 'Book of Durrow' called _The Gospels of St. Columba_, almost rivalsthe famous 'Book of Kells' with which Mr. Madan will doubtless deal inhis forthcoming volume on Manuscripts. A native poet declared that whenthe Saint died in 597 he had illuminated 'three hundred bright noblebooks'; and he added that 'however long under water any book of theSaint's writing should be, not one single letter would be drowned. ' Ourauthorities tell us that the Book of Durrow might possibly be one of thethree hundred, 'as it bears some signs of being earlier in date than theBook of Kells. '

St. Columba, men said, was passionately devoted to books. Yet he gave hisGospels to the Church at Swords, and presented the congregation at Derrywith the volume that he had fetched from Tours, 'where it had lain on St. Martin's breast a hundred years in the ground. ' In one of the biographiesthere is a story about 'Langarad of the White Legs, ' who dwelt in theregion of Ossory. To him Columba came as a guest, and found that the sagewas hiding all his books away. Then Columba left his curse upon them;'May that, ' quoth he, 'about which thou art so niggardly be never of anyprofit after thee'; and this was fulfilled, 'for the books remain to thisday, and no man reads them. ' When Langarad died 'all the book-satchels inIreland that night fell down'; some say, 'all the satchels and wallets inthe saint's house fell then: and Columba and all who were in his housemarvelled at the noisy shaking of the books. ' So then speaks Columba:'Langarad in Ossory, ' quoth he, 'is just now dead. ' 'Long may it be erethat happens, ' said Baithen. 'May the burden of that disbelief fall onhim and not on thee, ' said Columba. 

Another tradition relates to St. Finnen's book that caused a famousbattle; and that was because of a false judgment which King Diarmid gaveagainst Columba, when he copied St. Finnen's Psalter without leave. St. Finnen claimed the copy as being the produce of his original, and on theappeal to the court at Tara his claim was confirmed. King Diarmid decidedthat to every mother-book belongs the child-book, as to the cow belongsher calf; 'and so, ' said the King, 'the book that you wrote, Columba, belongs to Finnen by right. ' 'That is an unjust judgment, ' said Columba, 'and I will avenge it upon you. '

Not long afterwards the Saint was insulted by the seizure and executionof an offender who had taken sanctuary and was clasped in his arms. Columba went over the wild mountains and raised the tribes of Tyrconnelland Tyrone, and defeated King Diarmid in battle. When the Saint went toIona he left the copy of Finnen's Psalter to the head of the chief tribein Tyrconnell. It was called the _Book of the Battle_, and if theycarried it three times round the enemy, in the sun's course, they weresure to return victorious. The book was the property of the O'Donnellstill the dispersion of their clan. The gilt and jewelled case in which itrests was made in the eleventh century: a frame round the inner shrinewas added by Daniel O'Donnell, who fought in the Battle of the Boyne. Alarge fragment of the book remained in a Belgian monastery in trust forthe true representative of the clan; and soon after Waterloo it was givenup to Sir Neal O'Donnell, to whose family it still belongs. It is nowshown at the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy. 'The fragment of theoriginal _Book of the Battle_', says O'Curry, 'is of small quarto form, consisting of fifty-eight leaves of fine vellum, written in a small, uniform, but rather hurried hand, with some slight attempts atillumination. '

We have now to describe the great increase of books in Northumbria. Inthe year 635 Aidan set up his quarters with a few Irish monks on theIsle of Lindisfarne, and his Abbey soon became one of the mainrepositories of learning. 

The book called _The Gospels of St. Cuthbert_ was written in 688, and wasregarded for nearly two centuries as the chief ornament of Lindisfarne. The monastery was burned by the Danes, and the servants of St. Cuthbert, who had concealed the 'Gospels' in his grave, wandered forth, with theSaint's body in an ark and the book in its chest, in search of a newplace of refuge. They attempted a voyage to Ireland, but their ship wasdriven back by a storm. The book-chest had been washed overboard, but inpassing up the Solway Firth they saw the book shining in its golden coverupon the sand. For more than a century afterwards the book shared thefortunes of a wandering company of monks: in the year 995 it was laid onSt. Cuthbert's coffin in the new church at Durham; early in the twelfthcentury it returned to Lindisfarne. Here it remained until thedissolution of the monasteries, when its golden covers were torn off, andthe book came bare and unadorned into the hands of Sir Robert Cotton, andpassed with the rest of his treasures into the library of the BritishMuseum. 

[Illustration: INITIAL LETTER FROM THE GOSPELS OF ST. CUTHBERT. ]

Theodore of Tarsus had been consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury in theyear 669. He brought with him a large quantity of books for use in hisnew Greek school. These books were left by his will to the cathedrallibrary, where they remained for ages without disturbance. WilliamLambarde, the Kentish antiquary, has left an account of their appearance. He was speaking of Archbishop Parker, 'whose care for the conservation ofancient monuments can never be sufficiently commended. ' 'The reverendFather, ' he added, 'showed me the _Psalter of David_, and sundry homiliesin Greek, and Hebrew also, and some other Greek authors, beautifullywritten on thick paper with the name of this Theodore prefixed, ' to whoselibrary the Archbishop thought that they had belonged, 'being thereto ledby a show of great antiquity. '

The monks of Canterbury claimed to possess the books on pink vellum, withrubricated capitals, which Pope Gregory had sent to Augustine. One ofthese afterwards belonged to Parker, who gave it to Corpus Christi atCambridge: the experts now believe that it was written in the eighthcentury 'in spite of the ancient appearance of the figure-painting. 'Another is the _Psalter of St. Augustine_, now preserved among theCottonian MSS. This is also considered to be a writing of the eighthcentury. 

In the Bodleian library there is a third example, written in quarto withlarge uncial letters in double columns, in much the same style as thebook given by Parker to Corpus Christi. The Bodleian specimen isespecially interesting as containing on the fly-leaf a list inAnglo-Saxon of the contents of the library of Solomon the Priest, withnotes as to other small collections. 

We have reached the period in which Northumbria became for a time thecentre of Western culture. The supremacy of Rome, set up at the Councilof Whitby, was fostered and sustained by the introduction of the Italianarts. Vast quantities of books were imported. Stately Abbeys were risingalong the coast, and students were flocking to seek the fruits of the newlearning in well-filled libraries and bustling schools. We may judge howbright the prospect seemed by the tone of Alcuin's letters to Charles theGreat. He tells the Emperor of certain 'exquisite books' which he hadstudied under Egbert at York. The schools of the North are compared to 'agarden enclosed' and to the beds of spices: he asks that some of theyoung men may be sent over to procure books, so that in Tours as well asat York they may gather the flowers of the garden and share in the'outgoings of Paradise. ' A few years afterwards came the news of theharrying of Northumbria by the Vikings. The libraries were burned, andNorthumbria was overwhelmed in darkness and slavery; and Alcuin wroteagain, 'He who can hear of this calamity and not cry to God on behalf ofhis country, must have a heart not of flesh but of stone. '

Benedict Biscop was our first English book-collector. The son of a richThane might have looked to a political career; he preferred to devotehimself to learning, and would have spent his life in a Roman monasteryif the Pope had not ordered him to return to England in company withTheodore of Tarsus. His first expedition was made with his friend St. Wilfrid. They crossed in a ship provided by the King of Kent. Travellingtogether as far as Lyons, Wilfrid remained there for a time, and Benedictpushed on to Mont Cenis, and so to Rome, after a long and perilousjourney. On a second visit he received the tonsure, and went back to workat Lindisfarne; but about two years afterwards he obtained a passage toItaly in a trading-vessel, and it was on this occasion that he receivedthe Pope's commands. Four years elapsed before he was in Rome again:throughout the year 671 he was amassing books by purchase and by thegifts of his friends; and returning by Vienne he found another largestore awaiting him which he had ordered on his outward journey. Benedictwas able to set up a good library in his new Abbey at Wearmouth; but hiszeal appears to have been insatiable. We find him for the fifth time atthe mart of learning, and bringing home, as Bede has told us, 'amultitude of books of all kinds. ' He divided his new wealth between theChurch at Wearmouth and the Abbey at Jarrow, across the river. Ceolfridof Jarrow himself made a journey to Rome with the object of augmentingBenedict's 'most noble and copious store'; but he gave to the King ofNorthumbria, in exchange for a large landed estate, the magnificent'Cosmography' which his predecessor had brought to Wearmouth. 

St. Wilfrid presented to his church at Ripon a _Book of the Gospels_ onpurple vellum, and a Bible with covers of pure gold inlaid with preciousstones. John the Precentor, who introduced the Roman liturgy into thiscountry, bequeathed a number of valuable books to Wearmouth. Bede had nogreat library of his own; it was his task 'to disseminate the treasuresof Benedict. ' But he must have possessed a large number of manuscriptswhile he was writing the Ecclesiastical History, since he has informed usthat Bishop Daniel of Winchester and other learned churchmen in the Southwere accustomed to supply him constantly with records and chronicles. 

St. Boniface may be counted among the collectors, though he could carrybut a modest supply of books through the German forests and the marshesof Friesland. As a missionary he found it useful to display afinely-painted volume. Writing to the Abbess Eadburga for a Missal, heasked that the parchment might be gay with colours, --'even as aglittering lamp and an illumination for the hearts of the Gentiles. ' 'Ientreat you, ' he writes again, 'to send me _St. Peters Epistle_ inletters of gold. ' He begged all his friends to send him books as arefreshment in the wilderness. Bishop Daniel is asked for the_Prophecies_ 'written very large. ' Bishop Lulla is to send a cosmographyand a volume of poems. He applies to one Archbishop for the works ofBede, 'who is the lamp of the Church, ' and to the other for the Pope's_Answers to Augustine_, which cannot be found in the Roman bookshops. Boniface was Primate of Germany; but he resigned his high office to workamong the rude tribes of Friesland. We learn that he carried some of hischoicest books with him on his last ill-fated expedition, when the meadowand the river-banks were strewn with the glittering service-books afterthe murder of the Saint and his companions. 

Egbert of York set up a large library in the Minster. Alcuin took chargeof it after his friend's death, and composed a versified catalogue, ofsuch merit as the nature of the task allowed. 'Here you may trace thefootsteps of the Fathers; here you meet the clear-souled Aristotle andTully of the mighty tongue; here Basil and Fulgentius shine, andCassiodorus and John of the Golden Mouth. ' As Alcuin was returning frombook-buying at Rome he met Charles the Great at Parma. The Emperorpersuaded the traveller to enter his service, and they succeeded by theirjoint efforts in producing a wonderful revival of literature. The Emperorhad a fine private collection of MSS. Adorned in the Anglo-Frankishstyle; and he established a public library, containing the works of theFathers, 'so that the poorest student might find a place at the banquetof learning. ' Alcuin presented to the Emperor's own collection a revisedcopy of the Vulgate illuminated under his personal supervision. 

Towards the end of Alcuin's career he retired to the Abbey of St. Martinat Tours, and there founded his 'Museum, ' which was in fact a largeestablishment for the editing and transcription of books. Here he wrotethose delightful letters from which we have already made an extract. Tohis friend Arno at Salzburg he writes about a little treatise onorthography, which he would have liked to have recited in person. 'Ohthat I could turn the sentences into speech, and embrace my brother witha warmth that cannot be sent in a book; but since I cannot come myself Isend my rough letters, that they may speak for me instead of the words ofmy mouth. ' To the Emperor he sent a description of his life at Tours: 'Inthe house of St. Martin I deal out the honey of the Scriptures, and someI excite with the ancient wine of wisdom, and others I fill full with thefruits of grammatical learning. '

Very few book-lovers could be found in England while the country wasbeing ravaged by the Danes. The Northern Abbeys were burned, and theirlibraries destroyed. The books at York perished, though the Minster wassaved; the same fate befell the valuable collections at Croyland andPeterborough. The royal library at Stockholm contains the interesting'Golden Gospels, ' decorated in the same style as the _Book ofLindisfarne_, and perhaps written at the same place. An inscription ofthe ninth century shows that it was bought from a crew of pirates by DukeAlfred, a nobleman of Wessex, and was presented by him and his wifeWerburga to the Church at Canterbury. 

It seems possible that literature was kept alive in our country by KingAlfred's affection for the old English songs. We know that he used torecite them himself and would make his children get them by heart. He wasnot much of a scholar himself, but he had all the learning of Mercia tohelp him. Archbishop Plegmund and his chaplains were the King'ssecretaries, 'and night and day, whenever he had time, he commanded thesemen to read to him. ' From France came Provost Grimbald, a scholar and asweet singer, and Brother John of Corbei, a paragon in all kinds ofscience. Asser came to the Court from his home in Wales: 'I remainedthere, ' he says, 'for about eight months, and all that time I used toread to him whatever books were at hand; for it was his regular habit byday and night, amidst all his other occupations, either to read tohimself or to listen while others read to him. ' St. Dunstan was an ardentadmirer of the old battle-chaunts and funeral-lays. He was, it needhardly be said, the friend of all kinds of learning. The Saint was anexpert scribe and a painter of miniatures; and specimens of his exquisitehandiwork may still be seen at Canterbury and in the Bodleian at Oxford. He was the real founder of the Glastonbury library, where before his timeonly a few books had been presented by missionaries from Ireland. Hisgreat work was the establishment of the Benedictines in the place of theregular clergy: and the reform at any rate insured the rise of a numberof new monasteries, each with its busy 'scriptorium, ' out of which thelibrary would grow. We must say a word in remembrance of ArchbishopÆlfric, the author of a great part of our English Chronicle. He wastrained at Winchester, where the illuminators, it is said, were 'for awhile the foremost in the world. ' He enacted that every priest shouldhave at least a psalter and hymn-book and half a dozen of the mostimportant service-books, before he could hope for ordination. His ownlibrary, containing many works of great value, was bequeathed to theAbbey of St. Alban's. We end the story of the Anglo-Saxon books with amention of Leofric, the first Bishop of Exeter, who gave a magnificentdonation out of his own library to the Cathedral Church. The catalogue isstill extant, and some of the volumes are preserved at Oxford. There weremany devotional works of the ordinary kind; there were 'reading-books forwinter and summer, ' and song-books, and especially 'night-songs'; but thegreatest treasure of all was the 'great book of English poetry, ' known asthe Exeter Book, in which Cynewulf sang of the ruin of the 'purple arch, 'and set forth the Exile's Lament and the Traveller's Song. 

CHAPTER III. 

ENGLAND. 

A more austere kind of learning came in with the Norman Conquest. Lanfranc and Anselm introduced at Canterbury a devotion to science, tothe doctrines of theology and jurisprudence, and to the new discoverieswhich Norman travellers were bringing back from the schools at Salerno. Lanfranc imported a large quantity of books from the Continent. He wouldlabour day and night at correcting the work of his scribes; and Anselm, when he succeeded to the See, used often to deprive himself of rest tofinish the transcription of a manuscript. Lanfranc, we are told, wasespecially generous in lending his books: among a set which he sent toSt. Alban's we find the names of twenty-eight famous treatises, besides alarge number of missals and other service-books, and two 'Books of theGospels, ' bound in silver and gold, and ornamented with valuable jewels. 

A historian of our own time has said that England in the twelfth centurywas the paradise of scholars. Dr. Stubbs imagined a foreign studentmaking a tour through the country and endeavouring to ascertain itsproper place in the literary world. He would have seen a huge multitudeof books, and 'such a supply of readers and writers' as could not havebeen found elsewhere, except perhaps in the University of Paris. Canterbury was a great literary centre. At Winchester there was a wholeschool of historians; at Lincoln he might listen to Walter Map or learnat the feet of St. Hugh. 'Nothing is more curious than the literaryactivity going on in the monasteries; manuscripts are copied; luxuriouseditions are recopied and illuminated; there is no lack of generosity inlending or of boldness in borrowing; there is brisk competition and openrivalry. '

The Benedictines were ever the pioneers of learning: the regular clergywere still the friends of their books, and 'delighted in their communionwith them, ' as the Philobiblon phrased it. We gather from the same sourcethe lamentation of the books in the evil times that followed. The bookscomplain that they are cast from their shelves into dark corners, raggedand shivering, and bereft of the cushions which propped up their sides. 'Our vesture is torn off by violent hands, so that our souls cleave tothe ground, and our glory is laid in the dust. ' The old-fashioned clergyhad been accustomed to treat religious books with reverence, and wouldcopy them out most carefully in the intervals of the canonical hours. Themonks used to give even their time of rest to the decoration of thevolumes which added a splendour to their monasteries. But now, it iscomplained, the Regulars even reject their own rule that books are to beasked for every day. They carry bows and arrows, or sword and buckler, and play at dice and draughts, and give no alms except to their dogs. 'Our places are taken by hawks and hounds, or by that strange creature, woman, from whom we taught our pupils to flee as from an asp or basilisk. This creature, ever jealous and implacable, spies us out in a cornerhiding behind some ancient cabinet, and she wrinkles her forehead andlaughs us to scorn, and points to us as the only rubbish in the house;and she complains that we are totally useless, and recommends our beingbartered away at once for fine caps and cambrics or silks, fordouble-dyed purple stuffs, for woollen and linen and fur. ' 'Nay, ' theyadd, 'we are sold like slaves or left as unredeemed pledges in taverns:we are given to cruel butchers to be slaughtered like sheep or cattle. Every tailor, or base mechanic may keep us shut up in his prison. ' Worstof all was the abominable ingratitude that sold the illuminated vellumsto ignorant painters, or to goldsmiths who only wanted these 'sacredvessels' as receptacles for their sheets of gold-leaf. 'Flocks andfleeces, crops and herds, gardens and orchards, the wine and thewine-cup, are the only books and studies of the monks. ' They arereprehended for their banquets and fine clothes and monasteries toweringon high like a castle in its bulwarks: 'For such things as these, ' thesupplication continues, 'we, their books, are cast out of their heartsand regarded as useless lumber, except some few worthless tracts, fromwhich they still pick out a mixture of rant and nonsense, more to ticklethe ears of their audience than to assuage any hunger of the soul. '

A great religious revival began with the coming of the Mendicant Friars, who, according to the celebrated Grostête, 'illumined our whole countrywith the light of their preaching and learning. ' The Franciscans andDominicans reached England in 1224, and were established at Oxford withintwo years afterwards, where the Grey Friars of St. Francis soon obtainedas great a predominance as the Dominicans or Black Friars had gained inthe University of Paris. St. Francis himself had set his face againstliterature. Professor Brewer pointed out in the _Monumenta Franciscana_that his followers were expected to be poor in heart and understanding:'total absolute poverty secured this, but it was incompatible with thepossession of books or the necessary materials for study. ' Even RogerBacon, when he joined the Friars, was forbidden to retain his books andinstruments, and was not allowed to touch ink or parchment without aspecial licence from the Pope. We may quote one or two of the anecdotesabout the Saint. A brother was arguing with him on the text 'Take nothingwith you on the way, ' and asked if it meant 'absolutely nothing';'Nothing, ' said the Saint, 'except the frock allowed by our rule, and, ifindispensable, a pair of shoes. ' 'What am I to do?' said the brother: 'Ihave books of my own, ' naming a value of many pounds of silver. 'I willnot, I ought not, I cannot allow it, ' was the reply. A novice applied toSt. Francis for leave to possess a psalter: but the Saint said, 'Whenyou have got a psalter, then you'll want a breviary, and when you havegot a breviary you will sit in a chair as great as a lord, and will sayto some brother, Friar! go and fetch me my breviary!' And he laid asheson his head, and repeated, 'I am your breviary! I am your breviary!' tillthe novice was dumbfounded and amazed; and then again the Saint said thathe also had once been tempted to possess books, and he almost yielded tothe request, but decided in the end that such yielding would be sinful. He hoped that the day would come when men would throw their books out ofthe window as rubbish. 

A curious change took place when the Mendicants got control of theschools. It was absolutely necessary that they should be the devourers ofbooks if they were to become the monopolists of learning. In the centuryfollowing their arrival, Fitz-Ralph, the Archbishop of Armagh, complainedthat his chaplains could not buy any books at Oxford, because they wereall snapped up by the men of the cord and cowl: 'Every brother who keepsa school has a huge collection, and in each Convent of Freres is a greatand noble library. ' The Grey Friars certainly had two houses full ofbooks in School Street, and their brothers in London had a good library, which was in later times increased and richly endowed by Sir RichardWhittington, the book-loving Lord Mayor of London. 

There were some complaints that the Friars cared too much for thecontents and too little for the condition of their volumes. TheCarmelites, who arrived in England after the two greater Orders, had thereputation of being careful librarians, 'anxiously protecting their booksagainst dust and worms, ' and ranging the manuscripts in their large roomat Oxford at first in chests and afterwards in book-cases. TheFranciscans were too ready to give and sell, to lend and spend, thevolumes that they were so keen to acquire. A Dominican was always drawnwith a book in his hand; but he would care nothing for it, if itcontained no secrets of science. Richard de Bury had much to say aboutthe Friars in that treatise on the love of books, 'which he fondly namedPhilobiblon, ' being a commendation of Wisdom and of the books wherein shedwells. The Friars, he said, had preserved the ancient stores oflearning, and were always ready to procure the last sermon from Rome orthe newest pamphlet from Oxford. When he visited their houses in thecountry-towns, and turned out their chests and book-shelves, he foundsuch wealth as might have lain in kings' treasuries; 'in those cupboardsand baskets are not merely the crumbs that fall from the table, but theshew-bread which is angel's food, and corn from Egypt and the choicestgilts of Sheba. ' He gives the highest praise to the Preachers or Friarsof the Dominican Order, as being most open and ungrudging, 'andoverflowing with a with a kind of divine liberality. ' But both Preachersand Minorites, or Grey Friars, had been his pupils, his friends andguests in his family, and they had always applied themselves withunwearied zeal to the task of editing, indexing, and cataloguing thevolumes in the library. 'These men, ' he cries, 'are the successors ofBezaleel and the embroiderers of the ephod and breast-plate: these arethe husbandmen that sow, and the oxen that tread out the corn: they arethe blowers of the trumpets: they are the shining Pleiades and the starsin their courses. '

Brother Agnellus of Pisa was the first Franciscan missionary at Oxford, and the first Minister of the Order in this county. He set up a schoolfor poor students, at which Bishop Grostête was the first reader ormaster; but we are told that he afterwards felt great regret when hefound his Friars bestowing their time upon frivolous learning. 'One day, when he wished to see what proficiency they were making, he entered theschool while a disputation was going on, and they were wrangling anddebating about the existence of the Deity. "Woe is me! Woe is me!" heburst forth: "the simple brethren are entering heaven, and the learnedones are debating if there be one"; and he sent at once a sum of £10sterling to the Court to buy a copy of the Decretals, that the Friarsmight study them and give over their frivolities. ' The great difficultywas to prevent the brethren from studying the doctrine of Aristotle, asit was to be found in vile Latin translations, instead of attending toGrostête, who was said to know 'a hundred thousand times more thanAristotle' on all his subjects. Grostête himself spent very large sumsin importing Greek books. In this he was helped by John Basingstoke, whohad himself studied at Athens, and who taught the Greek language toseveral of the monks at St. Alban's. Grostête upheld the easterndoctrines against the teaching of the Papal Court, and indeed wasnicknamed 'the hammerer of the Romans. ' He based many of his statementsupon books which he valued as his choicest possessions; but some of them, such as the _Testament of the Patriarchs_ and the _Decretals ofDionysius_ are now admitted to be forgeries. On Grostête's death in 1253he bequeathed his library, rich in marginal commentaries and annotations, to the Friars for whom he had worked before he became Bishop andChancellor. Some generations afterwards their successors sold many of thebooks to Dr. Gascoigne, who used to work on them at the Minorites'Library: and some of those which he bought found their way to thelibraries of Balliol, Oriel, and Lincoln; the main body of Grostête'sbooks was gradually dispersed by gifts and sales, and dwindled down tolittle or nothing; so that, when Leland paid his official visit after thesuppression of the monasteries, he found very few books of any kind, butplenty of dust and cobwebs, 'and moths and beetles swarming over theempty shelves. '

It has been said that Richard de Bury had not much depth of learning; andit has been a favourite theory for many years that his book might havebeen written for him by his secretary, the Dominican Robert Holkot. Thematter is not very important, since it is certain, in spite of ancientand modern detractors, that Richard de Bury or 'Aungerville' was a mostardent bibliophile and a very devoted attendant in the 'Library ofWisdom. ' He was the son of Sir Richard Aungerville, a knight of Suffolk;but in accordance with a fashion of the day he was usually called afterhis birthplace. He was born at Bury St. Edmunds in the year 1287: he waseducated at Oxford, and afterwards took a prominent part in the civiltroubles, taking the side of Queen Isabel and Edward of Windsor againstthe unfortunate Edward II. He was appointed tutor to the Prince, and soonafterwards became the receiver of his revenues in Wales. When the Queenfled to her own country, Richard followed with a large sum of money, collected by virtue of his office; and he had a narrow escape for hislife, being chased by a troop of English lancers as far as Paris itself, where he lay concealed for a week in the belfry of the Minorites' Church. When his pupil came to the throne many lucrative offices were showered onhis faithful friend. Richard became Cofferer and Treasurer of theWardrobe, and for five years was Clerk of the Privy Seal; and during thatperiod he was twice sent as ambassador to the Pope at Avignon, where hehad the honour of becoming the friend of Petrarch. 

The poet has himself described his meeting with the Englishman travellingin such splendid fashion to lay before his Holiness his master's claimsupon France. 'It was at the time, ' says Petrarch, 'when the seeds of warwere growing that produced such a blood-stained harvest, in which thesickles are not laid aside nor as yet are the garners closed. ' He foundin his visitor 'a man of ardent mind and by no means unacquainted withliterature. ' He discovered indeed that Richard was on some points full ofcurious learning, and it occurred to him that one born and bred inBritain might know the situation of the long-lost island of Thule. 'Butwhether he was ashamed of his ignorance, ' says Petrarch, 'or whether, asI will not suspect, he grudged information upon the subject, and whetherhe spoke his real mind or not, he only answered that he would tell me, but not till he had returned home to his books, of which no man had amore abundant supply. ' The poet complains that the answer never came, inspite of many letters of reminder; 'and so my friendship with a Britonnever taught me anything more about the Isle of Thule. '

Richard was consecrated Bishop of Durham in 1333, after an amicablestruggle between the Pope and the King as to the hand that should bestowthe preferment. A few months afterwards he became High Treasurer, and inthe same year was appointed Lord Chancellor. Within the next three yearshe was sent on several embassies to France to urge the English claims, and he afterwards went on the same business to Flanders and Brabant. Hewrites with a kind of rapture of his first expeditions to Paris; inlater years he complained that the study of antiquities was supersedingscience, in which the doctors of the Sorbonne had excelled. 'I was sentfirst to the Papal Chair, and afterwards to the Court of France, andthence to other countries, on tedious embassies and in perilous times, bearing with me all the time that love of books which many waters couldnot extinguish. ' 'Oh Lord of Lords in Zion!' he ejaculates, 'what a floodof pleasure rejoiced my heart when I reached Paris, the earthly Paradise. How I longed to remain there, and to my ardent soul how few and shortseemed the days! There are the libraries in their chambers of spice, thelawns wherein every growth of learning blooms. There the meads of Academeshake to the footfall of the philosophers as they pace along: there arethe peaks of Parnassus, and there is the Stoic Porch. Here you will findAristotle, the overseer of learning, to whom belongs in his own right allthe excellent knowledge that remains in this transitory world. HerePtolemy weaves his cycles and epicycles, and here Gensachar tracks theplanets' courses with his figures and charts. Here it was in very truththat with open treasure-chest and purse untied I scattered my money witha light heart, and ransomed the priceless volumes with my dust anddross. '

He shows, as he himself confessed, an ecstatical love for his books. 'These are the masters that teach without rods and stripes, without angrywords, without demanding a fee in money or in kind: if you draw near, they sleep not: if you ask, they answer in full: if you are mistaken, they neither rail nor laugh at your ignorance. ' 'You only, my books!' hecries, 'are free and unfettered: you only can give to all who ask andenfranchise all that serve you. ' In his glowing periods they becometransfigured into the wells of living water, the fatness of the olive, the sweetness of the vines of Engaddi; they seem to him like golden urnsin which the manna was stored, like the fruitful tree of life and thefour-fold river of Eden. 

[Illustration: SEAL OF RICHARD DE BURY. ]

Richard de Bury had more books than all the other bishops in England. Heset up several permanent libraries in his manor-houses and at his palacein Auckland; the floor of his hall was always so strewed with manuscriptsthat it was hard to approach his presence, and his bedroom so full ofbooks that one could not go in or out, or even stand still withouttreading on them. He has told us many particulars about his methods ofcollection. He had lived with scholars from his youth upwards; but it wasnot until he became the King's friend, and almost a member of his family, that he was able 'to hunt in the delightful coverts' of the clerical andmonastic libraries. As Chancellor he had great facilities for 'draggingthe books from their hiding-places'; 'a flying rumour had spread on allsides that we longed for books, and especially for old ones, and that itwas easier to gain our favour by a manuscript than by gifts of coin. ' Ashe had the power of promoting and deposing whom he pleased, the 'crazyquartos and tottering folios' came creeping in as gifts instead of theordinary fees and New Year's presents. The book-cases of the monasterieswere opened, and their caskets unclasped, and the volumes that had lainfor ages in the sepulchres were roused by the light of day. 'I might havehad, ' he said, 'abundance of wealth in those days; but it was books, andnot bags of gold, that I wanted; I preferred folios to florins, and loveda little thin pamphlet more than an overfed palfrey. ' We know that hebought many books on his embassies to France and Flanders, besides hisconstant purchases at home. He tells us that the Friars were his bestagents; they would compass sea and land to meet his desire. 'With sucheager huntsmen, what leveret could lie hid? With such fishermen, whatsingle little fish could escape the net, the hook, and the trawl?' Hefound another source of supply in the country schools, where the masterswere always ready to sell their books; and in these little gardens andpaddocks, as chances occurred, he culled a few flowers or gathered a fewneglected herbs. His money secured the services of the librarians andbookstall-men on the Continent, who were afraid of no journey by land, and were deterred by no fury of the sea. 'Moreover, ' he added, 'we alwayshad about us a multitude of experts and copyists, with binders, andcorrectors, and illuminators, and all who were in any way qualified forthe service of books. ' He ends his chapter on book-collecting with areference to an eastern tale, comparing himself to the mountain ofloadstone that attracted the ships of knowledge by a secret force, whilethe books in their cargoes, like the iron bars in the story, werestreaming towards the magnetic cliff 'in a multifarious flight. '

CHAPTER IV. 

ITALY--THE AGE OF PETRARCH. 

The enlightenment of an age of ignorance cannot be attributed to anysingle person; yet it has been said with some justice, that as themediæval darkness lifted, one figure was seen standing in advance, andthat Petrarch was rightly hailed as 'the harbinger of day. ' His famerests not so much on his poems as upon his incessant labours in the taskof educating his countrymen. Petrarch was devoted to books from hisboyhood. His youth was passed near Avignon, 'on the banks of the windyRhone. ' After receiving the ordinary instruction in grammar and rhetoric, he passed four years at Montpellier, and proceeded to study law atBologna. 'I kept my terms in Civil Law, ' he said, 'and made someprogress; but I gave up the subject on becoming my own master, notbecause I disliked the Law, which no doubt is full of the Roman learning, but because it is so often perverted by evil-minded men. ' He seems tohave worked for a time under his friend Cino of Pistoia, and to haveattended the lectures of the jurist Andrea, whose daughter Novella issaid to have sometimes taken the class 'with a little curtain in front ofher beautiful face. ' While studying at Bologna, Petrarch made his firstcollection of books instead of devoting himself to the Law. His oldfather once paid him a visit and began burning the parchments on afuneral pile: the boy's supplications and promises saved the poorremainder. He tried hard to follow his father's practical advice, butalways in vain; 'Nature called him in another direction, and it is idleto struggle against her. '

On Petrarch's return to Avignon he obtained the friendship of CardinalColonna: and here the whole course of his life was fixed when he firstsaw Laura 'in a green dress embroidered with violets. ' Her face wasstamped upon his mind, and haunted him through all efforts at repose: andperhaps it is to her influence that he owed his rank among the lyricalpoets and the crown bestowed at Rome. His whole life was thenceforthdevoted to the service of the book. He declared that he had thewriting-disease, and was the victim of a general epidemic. 'All the worldis taking up the writer's part, which ought to be confined to a few: thenumber of the sick increases and the disease becomes daily morevirulent. ' A victim of the mania himself, he laughs at his ownmisfortune: yet it might have been better, he thought, to have been alabourer or a weaver at the loom. 'There are several kinds ofmelancholia: and some madmen will write books, just as others tosspebbles in their hands. ' As for literary fame, it is but a harvest ofthin air, 'and it is only fit for sailors to watch a breeze and towhistle for a wind. '

Petrarch collected books in many parts of Europe. In 1329, when he wastwenty-five years of age, he made a tour through Switzerland to thecities of Flanders. The Flemish schools had lost something of theirancient fame since the development of the University of Paris. Severalfine collections of books were still preserved in the monasteries. TheAbbey of Laubes was especially rich in biblical commentaries and otherworks of criticism, which were all destroyed afterwards in a fire, excepta Vulgate of the eighth century that happened to be required for use atthe Council of Trent. Petrarch described his visit to Liège in a letterto a friend; 'When we arrived I heard that there was a good supply ofbooks, so I kept all my party there until I had one oration of Cicerotranscribed by a colleague, and another in my own writing, which Iafterwards published in Italy; but in that fair city of the barbarians itwas very difficult to get any ink, and what I did procure was as yellowas saffron. '

A few years afterwards he went from Avignon to Paris, and was astonishedat the net-work of filthy lanes in the students' quarter. It was aparadise of books, all kept at fair prices by the University's decree;but the traveller declared that, except in 'the world's sink' at Avignon, he had never seen so dirty a place. At Rome he was dismayed to find thatall the books were the prey of the foreigner. The English and Frenchmerchants were carrying away what had been spared by the Goths andVandals. 'Are you not ashamed, ' he cried to his Roman friends, 'are younot ashamed that your avarice should allow these strangers every day toacquire some remnant of your ancient majesty?'

He used to pore over his manuscripts on the most incongruous occasions, like Pliny reading his critical notes at the boar-hunt. 'Whether I ambeing shaved or having my hair cut, ' he wrote, 'and whether I am ridingor dining, I either read or get some one to read to me. ' Some of hisfavourite volumes are described in terms of delightful affection. Hetells us how Homer and Plato sat side by side on the shelf, --the princeof poets by the prince of philosophers. He only knew the rudiments ofGreek, and was forced to read the Iliad in the Latin version. 'But Iglory, ' he said, 'in the sight of my illustrious guests, and have atleast the pleasure of seeing the Greeks in their national costume. ''Homer, ' he adds, 'is dumb, or I am deaf; I am delighted with his looks;and as often as I embrace the silent volume I cry, "Oh illustrious bard, how gladly would I listen to thy song, if only I had not lost my hearing, through the death of one friend and the lamented absence of another!"'

In his treatise on Fortune, Petrarch has left us a study onbook-collecting in the form of a dialogue between his natural genius andhis critical reason. He argues, as it were, in his own person against theimaginary opponent. A paraphrase will show the nature and the result ofthe contest. 

'_Petrarch. _ I have indeed a great quantity of books. 

_Critic. _ That gives me an excellent instance. Some men amass books forself-instruction and others from vanity. Some decorate their rooms withthe furniture that was intended to be an ornament of the soul, as if itwere like the bronzes and statues of which we were speaking. Some areworking for their own vile ends behind their rows of books, and these arethe worst of all, because they esteem literature merely as merchandise, and not at its real value; and this new fashionable infliction becomesanother engine for the arts of avarice. 

_Pet. _ I have a very considerable quantity of books. 

_Crit. _ Well! it is a charming, embarrassing kind of luggage, affordingan agreeable diversion for the mind. 

_Pet. _ I have a great abundance of books. 

_Crit. _ Yes, and a great abundance of hard work and a great lack ofrepose. You have to keep your mind marching in all directions, and tooverload your memory. Books have led some to learning, and others tomadness, when they swallow more than they can digest. In the mind, as inthe body, indigestion does more harm than hunger; food and books alikemust be used according to the constitution, and what is little enough forone is too much for another. 

_Pet. _ But I have an immense quantity of books. 

_Crit. _ Immense is that which has no measure, and without measure thereis nothing convenient or decent in the affairs of men. 

_Pet. _ I have an incalculable number of books. 

_Crit. _ Have you more than Ptolemy, King of Egypt, accumulated in thelibrary at Alexandria, which were all burned at one time? Perhaps therewas an excuse for him in his royal wealth and his desire to benefitposterity. But what are we to say of the private citizens who havesurpassed the luxury of kings? Have we not read of Serenus Sammonicus, the master of many languages, who bequeathed 62, 000 volumes to theyounger Gordian? Truly that was a fine inheritance, enough to sustainmany souls or to oppress one to death, as all will agree. If Serenus haddone nothing else in his life, and had not read a word in all thosevolumes, would he not have had enough to do in learning their titles andsizes and numbers and their authors' names? Here you have a science thatturns a philosopher into a librarian. This is not feeding the soul withwisdom: it is the crushing it under a weight of riches or torturing it inthe waters of Tantalus. 

_Pet. _ I have innumerable books. 

_Crit. _ Yes, and innumerable errors of ignorant authors and of thecopyists who corrupt all that they touch. 

_Pet. _ I have a good provision of books. 

_Crit. _ What does that matter, if your intellect cannot take them in? Doyou remember the Roman Sabinus who plumed himself on the learning of hisslaves? Some people think that they must know what is in their own books, and say, when a new subject is started: 'I have a book about that in mylibrary!' They think that this is quite sufficient, just as if the bookwere in their heads, and then they raise their eyebrows, and there is anend of the subject. 

_Pet. _ I am overflowing with books. 

_Crit. _ Why don't you overflow with talent and eloquence? Ah! but thesethings are not for sale, like books, and if they were I don't supposethere would be many buyers, for books do make a covering for the walls, but those other wares are only clothing for the soul, and are invisibleand therefore neglected. 

_Pet. _ I have books which help me in my studies. 

_Crit. _ Take care that they do not prove a hindrance. Many a general hasbeen beaten by having too many troops. If books came in like recruits onewould not turn them away, but would stow them in proper quarters, and usethe best of them, taking care not to bring up a force too soon whichwould be more useful on another occasion. 

_Pet. _ I have a great variety of books. 

_Crit. _ A variety of paths will often deceive the traveller. 

_Pet. _ I have collected a number of fine books. 

_Crit. _ To gain glory by means of books you must not only possess thembut know them; their lodging must be in your brain and not on thebook-shelf. 

_Pet. _ I keep a few beautiful books. 

_Crit. _ Yes, you keep in irons a few prisoners, who, if they could escapeand talk, would have you indicted for wrongful imprisonment. But nowthey lie groaning in their cells, and of this they ever complain, that anidle and a greedy man is overflowing with the wealth that might havesustained a multitude of starving scholars. '

Petrarch was in truth a careless custodian of his prisoners. He was tooready to lend a book to a friend, and his generosity on one occasioncaused a serious loss to literature. The only known copy of a treatise byCicero was awaiting transcription in his library; but he allowed it to becarried off by an old scholar in need of assistance: it was pledged insome unknown quarter, and nothing was ever heard again of the preciousdeposit. 

He returned to Avignon in 1337, and made himself a quiet home atVaucluse. His letters are full of allusions to his little farm, to thepoplars in the horse-shoe valley, and the river brimming out from the'monarch of springs. ' In these new lawns of Helicon he made a new homefor his books, and tried to forget in their company the tumults that haddriven him from Italy. In 1340 he received offers of a laureate's crownfrom Rome, the capital of the world, and from Paris, 'the birth-place oflearning. ' 'I start to-day, ' he wrote to Colonna, 'to receive my rewardover the graves of those who were the pride of ancient Rome, and in thevery theatre of their exploits. ' The Capitol resounded to such cheersthat its walls and 'antique dome' seemed to share in the public joy: thesenator placed a chaplet on his brow, and old Stephen Colonna added afew words of praise amid the applause of the Roman people. 

At Parma, soon afterwards, Petrarch formed another library which hecalled his 'second Parnassus. ' At Padua he busied himself in theeducation of an adopted son, the young John of Ravenna, who lived to be acelebrated professor, and was nicknamed 'the Trojan Horse, ' because heturned out so many excellent Grecians. In a cottage near Milan the poetreceived a visit from Boccaccio, who was at that time inclined torenounce the world. He offered to give his whole library to Petrarch: hedid afterwards send to his host a _Dante_ of his own copying, which isnow preserved in the Vatican. The approach of a pestilence led Petrarchto remove his home to Venice: and here he was again visited by Boccaccio, this time in company with Leontio Pilato, a Calabrian Greek trading inbooks between Italy and Constantinople. 

Leontio was the translator of Homer, and expounded his poems from theChair of Rhetoric at Florence. He was a man of forbidding appearance, and'more obdurate, ' said Petrarch, 'than the rocks that he will encounter inhis voyage': 'fearing that I might catch his bad temper, I let him go, and gave him a Terence to amuse him on the way, though I do not know whatthis melancholy Greek could have in common with that lively African. 'Leontio was killed by lightning on his return voyage; and there was muchanxiety until it could be ascertained that his literary stock-in-tradehad been rescued from the hands of the sailors. It was not till the endof the century that Chrysoloras renewed the knowledge of the classics:but we may regard the austere Leontio as the chief precursor of the crowdof later immigrants, each with a gem, or bronze, or 'a brown Greekmanuscript' for sale, and all eager to play their parts in therestoration of learning. 

Towards the end of his life Petrarch became tired of carrying his booksabout. When he broke up the libraries at Parma and Vaucluse he had formedthe habit of travelling with bales of manuscripts in a long cavalcade;but he determined afterwards to offer the collection to Venice, oncondition that it should be properly housed, and should never be sold ordivided. The offer was accepted by the Republic, and the Palazzo Molinawas assigned as a home for the poet and his books. Petrarch, however, hadother plans for himself. He wished to be near Padua, where he held acanonry; and he accordingly built himself a cottage at Arquà, among theEuganean Hills, about ten miles from the city. A few olive-trees and alittle vine-yard sufficed for the wants of his modest household; andthere, as he wrote to his brother, broken in body but easy in his mind, he passed his time in reading, and prepared for his end. His only regretwas that there was no monastery near in which he might see his belovedGerard fulfilling his religious duties. He seems to have given up hislove for fine books with other worldly vanities. He offers excuses forthe plain appearance of a volume of 'St. Augustine' which he was sendingas a present. 'One must not, ' said he, 'expect perfect manuscripts fromscholars who are engaged on better things. A general does not sharpen thesoldiers' swords. Apelles did not cut out his own boards, or Polycletushis sheets of ivory; some humble person always prepares the material onwhich a higher mind is to be engaged. So is it with books: some polishthe parchment, and others copy or correct the text; others again do theillumination, to use the common phrase; but a loftier spirit will disdainthese menial occupations. ' The scholar's books are often of a rough andneglected appearance, for abundance of anything makes the owner 'carelessand secure'; it is the invalid who is particular about every breath ofair, but the strong man loves the rough breeze. 'As to this book of the_Confessions_, its first aspect will teach you all about it. Quite new, quite unadorned, untouched by the corrector's fangs, it comes out of myyoung servant's hands. You will notice some defects in spelling, but nogross mistakes. In a word, you will perhaps find things in it which willexercise but not disturb your understanding. Read it then, and ponderupon it. This book, which would enflame a heart of ice, must set yourardent soul on fire. '

On a summer night of the year 1374, Petrarch died peacefully at Arquà, alone in his library. His few remaining books were sold, and some of themmay still be seen in Rome and Paris. Those which he had given to Venicesuffered a strange reverse of fortune. How long the gift remained in thePalazzo Molina we cannot tell. We conjecture that it was discarded in thenext century, before Bessarion presented his Greek books to the senate, and became the actual founder of the library of St. Mark. The antiquaryTomasini found Petrarch's books cast aside in a dark room behind theHorses of Lysippus. Some had crumbled into powder, and others had beenglued into shapeless masses by the damp. The survivors were placed in theLibraria Vecchia, and are now in the Ducal Palace; but it was long beforethey were permitted to enter the building that sheltered the gift ofBessarion. 

CHAPTER V. 

OXFORD--DUKE HUMPHREY'S BOOKS--THE LIBRARY OF THE VALOIS. 

The University Library at Oxford was a development of Richard de Bury'sfoundation. The monks of Durham had founded a hall, now represented byTrinity College, in which Richard had always taken a fatherly interest. He provided the ordinary texts and commentaries for the students, and wasextremely anxious that they should be instructed in Greek and in thelanguages of the East. A knowledge of Arabic, he thought, was asnecessary for the study of astronomy as a familiarity with Hebrew wasrequisite for the understanding of the Scriptures. The Friars had boughta good supply of Hebrew books when the Jews were expelled from England;Richard not only increased the available store, but supplied the means ofusing it. 'We have provided, ' he said, 'a grammar in Greek and Hebrew forthe scholars, with all the proper aids to instruct them in reading andwriting those languages. ' He formed the ambitious design of providingassistance to the whole University out of the books presented to thehall. The rules which he drew up were not unlike those already in use atthe Sorbonne. Five students were chosen as wardens, of whom any threemight be a quorum for lending the manuscripts. Any book, of which theypossessed a duplicate, might be lent out on proper security: but copyingwas not allowed, and no volume was on any account to be carried beyondthe suburbs. A yearly account was to be taken of the books in store, andof the current securities; and if any profit should come to the wardens'hands it was to be applied to the maintenance of the library. 

When the Bishop died some of his books went back to Durham; but the monkswere generous towards the hall, and on several occasions sent freshsupplies to Oxford. It may also be observed that some of his best MSS. Were returned to the Abbey of St. Alban's. He had bought about thirtyvolumes from a former abbot for fifty pounds weight of silver; but themonks had continually protested against a transaction which they believedto be illegal, and on Richard's death some of the books were given back, and others were purchased by Abbot Wentmore from his executors. 

De Bury's generous care for learning was imitated in several quarters. Afew years after his death the Lady Elizabeth de Burgh made a bequest of asmall but very costly library to her College of Clare Hall at Cambridge. Guy Earl of Warwick about the same time gave a collection of illuminatedromances to the monks of Bordesley. John de Newton in the next generationdivided his collection of classics, histories, and service-books, betweenSt. Peter's College at Cambridge and the Minster at York, where he hadacted for some years as treasurer. The lending-library at Durham Hallwas the only provision for the public, with the exception of a fewvolumes kept in the 'chest with four keys' at St. Mary's. Thomas Cobham, Bishop of Worcester, had long been anxious to show his filial love forthe University: as early as the year 1320 he had begun to prepare a roomfor a library 'over the old congregation-house in the north churchyard ofSt. Mary's'; and, though the work was left incomplete, he gave all hisbooks by will to be placed at the disposal of the whole body of scholars. Owing to disputes that arose between the University and the College towhich Cobham had belonged, the gift did not take effect until 1367. TheUniversity Library was established in the upper room, which was used as aConvocation House in later times; it is said not to have been completelyfurnished until the year 1409, more than eighty years after the date ofthe Bishop's benefaction. According to the first statute for theregulation of Cobham's Library, the best of the books were to be sold soas to raise a sum of £40, which according to the current rate of interestwould produce a yearly income of £3 for the librarian; the other books, together with those from the University Chest, were to be chained to thedesks for the general use of the students. It was soon found necessary toexclude the 'noisy rabble': and permission to work in the library wasrestricted to graduates of eight years' standing. Richard de Bury hadwarned the world in his chapter upon the handling of books, how hardlycould a raw youth be made to take care of a manuscript; the student, according to the great bibliophile, would treat a book as roughly as ifit were a pair of shoes, would stick in straws to keep his place, orstuff it with violets and rose-leaves, and would very likely eat fruit orcheese over one page and set a cup of ale on the other. An impudent boywould scribble across the text, the copyist would try his pen on a blankspace, a scullion would turn the pages with unwashed hands, or a thiefmight cut out the fly-leaves and margins to use in writing his letters;'and all these various negligences, ' he adds, 'are wonderfully injuriousto books. '

A generous benefactor gave a copy of De Lyra's 'Commentaries, ' which wasset upon a desk in St. Mary's Chancel for reference. A large gift ofbooks came from Richard Courteney, the Chancellor of the University; andas a mark of gratitude he was allowed free access to the library duringthe rest of his life. Among the other benefactors whose good deeds arestill commemorated we find King Henry IV. , who helped to complete thelibrary, his successor Henry V. , who contributed to its endowment asPrince of Wales, and his brothers John Duke of Bedford and Humphrey Dukeof Gloucester; and the roll of a later date includes the names of EdmundEarl of March, Philip Repington Bishop of Lincoln, and the munificentArchbishop Arundel. 

The good Duke Humphrey has been called 'the first founder of theUniversity Library. ' We know from the records of that time that hisgifts were acknowledged to be 'an almost unspeakable blessing. ' He sentin all about three hundred volumes during his life, which were placed inthe chests of Cobham's Library as they arrived, to be transferred to thenew Divinity Schools as soon as room could be made for the wholecollection. He had intended to bequeath as many more by way of anadditional endowment, but died intestate: and there was a considerabledelay before the University could procure the fulfilment of hischaritable design. When the books at last arrived 'the general joy knewno bounds'; and the title of 'Duke Humphrey's Library' was gratefullygiven to the whole assemblage of books which from several differentquarters had come into the University's possession. 

The catalogue shows that the Duke's store had consisted mainly of thewritings of the Fathers and Arabian works on science: there were a fewclassics, including a Quintilian, and Aristotle and Plato in Latin: theworks of Capgrave and Higden were the only English chronicles; but theDuke was a devotee of the Italian learning, and his gifts to Oxfordincluded more than one copy of the _Divina Commedia_, three separatecopies of _Boccaccio_, and no less than seven of _Petrarch_. 

The fate of the libraries founded by De Bury and Duke Humphrey ofGloucester was to perish at the hands of the mob. Bishop Bale has toldthe sad story of the destruction of the monastic libraries. The bookswere used for tailors' measures, for scouring candlesticks and cleaningboots; 'some they sold to the grocers and soap-sellers'; some they sentacross the seas to the book-binders, 'whole ships-full, to the wonderingof foreign nations': he knew a merchant who bought 'two noble libraries'for 40_s. _, and got thereby a store of grey paper for his parcels whichlasted him for twenty years. The same thing happened at Oxford. Thequadrangle of one College was entirely covered 'with a thick bed of tornbooks and manuscripts. ' The rioters in the Protector Somerset's timebroke into the 'Aungerville Library, ' as De Bury's collection was called, and burnt all the books. Some of De Bury's books had been removed intoDuke Humphrey's Library, and met the same fate at the Schools, withalmost every other volume that the University possessed. So complete wasthe destruction that in 1555 an order was made to sell the desks andbook-shelves, as if it were finally admitted that Oxford would never havea library again. 

Some few of the Duke's books escaped the general destruction. Of thehalf-dozen specimens in the British Museum three are known by the ancientcatalogues to have been comprised in his gifts to the University. Twomore remain at Oxford in the libraries of Oriel and Corpus Christi. Welearn from Mr. Macray that only three out of the whole number of his MSS. Are now to be found in the Bodleian. One of them contains the Duke'ssignature: another is of high interest as being a translation out of_Aristotle_ by Leonardo Aretino, with an original dedication to theDuke. The third is a magnificent volume of _Valerius Maximus_ prepared, as we know from the monastic annals, under the personal supervision ofAbbot Whethamstede, the 'passionate bibliomaniac' of St. Alban's. Itcontains inscriptions, says Mr. Macray, recording its gift for the use ofthe scholars, with anathemas upon all who should injure it. 'If any onesteals this book, ' says the Abbot, 'may he come to the gallows or therope of Judas. '

[Illustration: THE DUKE OF BEDFORD PRAYING BEFORE ST. GEORGE. (_From the"Bedford Missal. "_)]

Many of the Duke of Gloucester's books had come to him from the libraryof the French Kings at the Louvre, which had been purchased and dispersedby John, Duke of Bedford. The Duke himself was in the habit of orderingmagnificently illuminated books of devotion, which he gave as presents tohis friends. The famous 'Bedford Missal' (really a Book of Hours) wasoffered by the Duchess in his name to Henry VI. ; and Mr. Quaritchpossesses another Book of Hours, which the Duke presented to Talbot, Earlof Shrewsbury, as a wedding gift. The House of Valois was always friendlyto literature. King John, who fought at Creçy, began a small collection:he had the story of the Crusades, a tract on the game of chess, and abook containing a French version of _Livy_, which seems to have belongedafterwards to Duke Humphrey, and to have found its way later into theAbbey of St. Geneviève. His son Charles le Sage was the owner of about900 volumes, which he kept in his castle at the Louvre. The firstlibrarian was Gilles Malet, who prepared a catalogue in 1373, which isstill in existence. Another was compiled a few years afterwards byAntoine des Essars, and a third was made for Bedford when he purchasedabout 850 volumes out of the collection in the year 1423. These listswere so carefully executed that we can form a very clear idea of thelibrary itself and the books in their gay bindings on the shelves. We aretold that the King was so devoted to his '_Belle Assemblée_, ' asChristina of Pisa calls it, that not only authors and booksellers, butthe princes and nobles at the court, all vied in making offerings offinely illuminated manuscripts. 

They were arranged in the three rooms of the Library Tower. The wainscotswere of Irish yew, and the ceilings of cypress. The windows were filledwith painted glass, and the rooms were lit at night with thirtychandeliers and a great silver lamp. On entering the lowest room thevisitor saw a row of book-cases low enough to be used as desks or tables. A few musical instruments lay about; one of the old lists tells us of alute, and guitars inlaid with ivory and enamel, and 'an old rebec' muchout of repair. There were 269 volumes in the book-cases. We will onlymention a few of the most remarkable. There was Queen Blanche's Bible inred morocco, and another in white boards, Thomas Waley's rhymes from Ovidwith splendid miniatures, and Richard de Furnival's _Bestiaire d'Amour_. One life of St. Louis stood in a '_chemise blanche_, ' and another incloth of gold. St. Gregory and Sir John Mandeville were clothed in indigovelvet. John of Salisbury had a silk coat and long girdle, and most ofthe Arabians were in tawny silk ornamented with white roses and wreathsof foliage. Some bindings are noticed as being in fine condition, andothers as being shabby or faded. The clasps are minutely described. Theywould catch a visitor's eye as the books lay flat on the shelves: and wesuppose that the librarian intended to show the best way of knowing thebooks apart rather than to dwell on their external attractions. TheOxford fashion was to catalogue according to the last word on the firstleaf, or the first word over the page; but it was also a common custom todistinguish important volumes by such names as _The Red Book of theExchequer_, or _The Black Book of Carnarvon_. 

We need not proceed to describe the other rooms. On the first floor therewere 260 books, consisting for the most part of romances with miniatureilluminations. One of these was the _Destruction de Thèbes_, which at onetime belonged to the Duc de la Vallière, and is now in the NationalLibrary at Paris. The upper floor contained nearly six hundred volumesmostly concerned with astronomy and natural science. 

It appears from the memoranda in the lists that there had been a habit oflending books to public institutions and to members of the royal familyfrom the time when the library was first established; and it isestimated that about two hundred of the books must have been saved inthis way to form the beginning of a new library in the Louvre, which, after the expulsion of the English, began to attain some importance inthe reign of Louis XI. 

CHAPTER VI. 

ITALY--THE RENAISSANCE. 

The study of the classics had languished for a time after the deaths ofPetrarch and Boccaccio. It revived again upon the coming of Chrysoloras, who is said to have lighted in Italy 'a new and perpetual flame. ' PoggioBracciolini was one of his first pupils; and he became so distinguishedin literature that the earlier part of the fifteenth century is known asthe age of Poggio. Leonardo Aretino describes the enthusiasm with whichthe Italians made acquaintance with the ancient learning. 'I gave myselfup to Chrysoloras, ' he writes, 'and my passion for knowledge was sostrong that the daily tasks became the material of my nightly dreams. ' Hetold Cosmo de' Médici, when translating Plato's Dialogues, that theyalone seemed to be infused with real life, while all other books passedby like fleeting and shadowy things. 

We are chiefly concerned with Poggio as the discoverer of long-losttreasures. He saved Quintilian and many other classics from completeextinction. 'Some of them, ' said his friend Barbaro, 'were already deadto the world, and some after a long exile you have restored to theirrights as citizens. ' As a famous stock of pears had been named after anAppius or Claudius, so it was said that these new fruits of literatureought certainly to be named after Poggio. 

The sole remaining copy of an ancient work upon aqueducts was discoveredby him in the old library at Monte Cassino, which had survived theassaults of Lombards and Saracens, but in that later age seemed likely toperish by neglect. We have the record of an earlier visit by Boccaccio, in which the carelessness of its guardians was revealed. The visitor, weare told, asked very deferentially if he might see the library. 'It isopen, and you can go up, ' said a monk, pointing to the ladder that led toan open loft. The traveller describes the filthy and doorless chamber, the grass growing on the window-sills, and the books and benches whitewith dust. He took down book after book, and they all seemed to beancient and valuable; but from some of them whole sheets had been takenout, and in others the margins of the vellum had been cut off. All intears at this miserable sight, Boccaccio went down the ladder, and askeda monk in the cloister how those precious volumes had come to such apass; and the monk told him that the brothers who wanted a few pencewould take out a quire of leaves to make a little psalter for sale, andused to cut off the margins to make 'briefs, ' which they sold to thewomen. 

Poggio himself has described his discovery at the Abbey of St. Gall. 'Bygood fortune, ' he says, 'we were at Constance without anything to do, andit occurred to us to go to the monastery about twenty miles off to seethe place where the Quintilian was shut up. ' The Abbey had been foundedby the Irish missionaries who destroyed the idols of Suabia, whenaccording to the ancient legend the mountain-demon vainly called on thespirit of the lake to join in resisting the foe. Its library had beencelebrated in the ninth century, when the Hungarian terror fell uponEurope, and the barbarian armies in one and the same day 'laid in ashesthe monastery of St. Gall and the city of Bremen on the shores of theNorthern ocean'; but the books had been fortunately removed to the Abbeyof Reichenau on an island in the Rhine. 'We went to the place, ' saidPoggio, 'to amuse ourselves and to look at the books. Among them we foundthe Quintilian safe and sound, but all coated with dust. The books wereby no means housed as they deserved, but were all in a dark and noisomeplace at the foot of a tower, into which one would not cast a criminalcondemned to death. ' He describes the finding of several other rare MSS. , and says: 'I have copied them all out in great haste, and have sent themto Florence. '

In 1418 he visited England in the train of Cardinal Beaufort. He saidthat he was unable to procure any transcripts, though he visited some ofthe principal libraries, and must have seen that the collection at theGrey Friars at least was 'well stocked with books. ' He was moresuccessful on the Continent, where he brought the _History_ of Ammianusout of a German prison into the free air of the republic of letters. Hegave the original to Cardinal Colonna, and wrote to Aretino abouttranscripts: 'Niccolo has copied it on paper for Cosmo de' Médici: youmust write to Carlo Aretino for another copy, or he might lend you theoriginal, because if the scribe should be an ignoramus you might get afable instead of a history. '

Among the pupils of Chrysoloras, Guarini of Verona was esteemed thekeenest philologist, and John Aurispa as having the most extendedknowledge of the classics. Aurispa, says Hallam, came rather late fromSicily, but his labours were not less profitable than those of hispredecessors; in the year 1423 he brought back from Greece considerablymore than two hundred MSS. Of authors hardly known in Italy; and the listincludes books of Plato, of Pindar, and of Strabo, of which all knowledgehad been lost in the West. Aurispa lectured for many years at Bologna andFlorence, and ended his days at the literary Court of Ferrara. Philelphowas one of the most famous of the scholars who returned 'laden withmanuscripts' from Greece. To recover a lost poem or oration was to go faron the road to fortune, and a very moderate acquaintance with the textwas expected from the hero of the fortunate adventure. When he lecturedon his new discoveries at Florence, where he had established himself inspite of the Médici, Philelpho according to his own account was treatedwith such deference on all sides that he was overwhelmed withbashfulness; 'All the citizens are turning towards me, and all the ladiesand the nobles exalt my name to the skies. ' He was the bitter enemy ofPoggio, and of all who supported the reigning family of Florence. Poggiohad the art of making enemies, though he was a courtier by profession andhad been secretary to eight Popes. He raged against Philelpho in a floodof scurrilous pamphlets; Valla, the great Latin scholar, was violentlyattacked for a mere word of criticism, and Niccolo Perotti, thegrammarian, paid severely for supporting his friend. Poggio was always inextremes. His eulogies in praise of Lorenzo de' Médici, and NiccoloNiccoli of Florence are perfect in grace and dignity; his invectives wereas scurrilous as anything recorded in the annals of literature. 

Two generous benefactors preceded 'the father of his country' inproviding libraries for Florence. Niccolo Niccoli by common consent wasthe great Mæcenas of his age; his passion for books was boundless, and hehad gathered the best collection that had been seen in Italy for manygenerations. The public was free to inspect his treasures, and anycitizen might either read or transcribe as he pleased; 'In one word, 'wrote Poggio, 'I say that he was the wisest and the most benevolent ofmankind. ' By his will he appointed sixteen trustees, among whom was Cosmode' Médici, to take charge of his books for the State. Some legaldifficulty arose after his death, but Cosmo undertook to pay allliabilities if the management of the library were left to his solediscretion; and the gift of the 'Florentine Socrates' was eventuallyadded to the books which Cosmo had purchased in Italy or had acquired inhis Levantine commerce. 

Another citizen of Florence had rivalled the generosity of Niccoli. TheChancellor Coluccio Salutati was revered by his countrymen for themajestic flow of his prose and verse. It is true that Tiraboschiconsidered him to be 'as much like Virgil or Cicero as a monkey resemblesa man. ' Salutati showed his gratitude to Florence by endowing the citywith his splendid library. But in this case also there were difficulties, and again the way was made smooth by the prompt munificence of theMédici. Cosmo himself bought up Greek books in the Levant, and wasfortunate in securing some of the best specimens of Byzantine art. Hisbrother Lorenzo, his son Pietro, and Lorenzo the Magnificent in the nextgeneration, all laboured in their turn to adorn the Medicean collection. Politian the poet, and Mirandula, the Phoenix of his age, were themessengers whom the great Lorenzo sent out to gather the spoil; and heonly prayed, he said, that they might find such a store of good booksthat he would be obliged to pawn his furniture to pay for them. 

On the flight of the reigning family the 'Médici books' were bought bythe Dominicans at St. Mark's; and they rested for some years inSavonarola's home, stored in the gallery which holds the greatchoir-books illuminated by Frà Angelico and his companions. In the year1508 the monks were in pecuniary distress, and were forced to sell thebooks to Leo X. , then Cardinal de' Médici. He took them to Rome to ensuretheir safety, but was always careful to keep them apart from the officialassemblage in the Vatican; it is certain that he would have restored themto Florence, if he had lived a short time longer. The patriotic designwas carried out by Clement VII. , another member of that book-lovingfamily, and their hereditary treasures at last found a permanent home inthe gallery designed by Michelangelo. 

The 'Médici books' were catalogued by a humble bell-ringer, who lived tobe a chief figure in the literary world. Thomas of Sarzana performed thetask so well that his system became a model for librarians. Whiletravelling in attendance on a Legate, the future Pope could never refrainfrom expensive purchases; to own books, we are told, was his ambition, 'his pride, his pleasure, passion, and avarice'; and he was only savedfrom ruin by the constant help of his friends. When he succeeded to thetiara as Pope Nicholas V. , his influence was felt through Christendom asa new literary force. He encouraged research at home, and gathered therecords of antiquity from the ruined cities of the East, and 'the darkestmonasteries of Germany and Britain. ' His labours resulted in therestoration of the Vatican Library with an endowment of five thousandvolumes; and he found time to complete the galleries for their reception, though he could never hope to finish the rest of the palace. A great partof his work was destroyed in 1527 by the rabble that 'followed theBourbon' to the sack of Rome; but his institution survived the temporarydisaster, and its losses were repaired by the energy of Sixtus V. 

Pope Nicholas had no sympathy with the niggardly spirit that would havekept the 'barbarians' in darkness. He opened his Greek treasure-house tothe inspection of the whole western world. Looking back to the crowdround his chair at the Lateran or in his house near S^ta. MariaMaggiore, we recognise a number of familiar figures. Perotti istranslating Polybius, and Aurispa explaining the Golden Verses; Guarinienlarges the world's boundaries by publishing the geography of Strabo. Anold tract upon the Pope's munificence shows how the Eastern Fathers wererestored to a place of honour. Basil and Cyril were translated, and thePope obtained the _Commentary upon St. Matthew_, of which Erasmus madeexcellent use in his Paraphrase: it was the book of which Aquinas wrotethat he would rather have a copy than be master of the city of Paris. ThePope desired very strongly to read Homer in Latin verse, and had procureda translation of the first book of the Iliad. Hearing that Philelpho hadarrived in Rome, he hoped that the work might be finished by amaster-hand, and to get a version of the whole Iliad and Odyssey he gavea large retaining fee, a palazzo, and a farm in the Campagna, and made adeposit of ten thousand pieces of gold to be paid on the completion ofthe contract. 

Joseph Scaliger, the supreme judge in his day of all that related tobooks, said that of all these men of the Italian renaissance he onlyenvied three. One of course was Pico of Mirandula, a man of marvellouspowers, who rose as a mere youth to the highest place as a philosopherand linguist. The next was Politian, equally renowned for hardscholarship and for the sweetness and charm of his voluminous poems. Thethird was the Greek refugee, Theodore of Gaza, so warmly praised byErasmus for his versatile talent; no man, it was said, was so skilled inthe double task of turning Greek books into Latin, and rendering Latininto Greek. 

We should feel inclined to bracket another name with those of the famoustrio. George of Trebisond was a faithful expounder of the classics, thediscoverer of many a lost treasure, and the author of a whole library ofcriticism. His life and labours were denounced in the once celebrated_Book of the Georges_. He was more than a lover of Aristotle, said hisenemies: he was the enemy of the divine Plato, an apostate among theGreeks, who had even dared to oppose their patron Bessarion. The CardinalBessarion was complimented as 'the most Latin of the Greeks'; he mighthave ruled as Pope in Rome, some said, if it had not been for Perottirefusing to disturb him in the library. But George of Trebisond wasvilified after Poggio's fashion, and called 'brute' and 'heretic, ' and'more Turkish than the filthiest Turk, ' with a hailstorm of still harderepithets. Yet he was certainly a very accurate scholar; and he showed aproper manly spirit when he boxed Poggio's ears in the Theatre of Pompeyfor reminding him of the cleverness expected from 'a starving Greek. ' Hislife, one is glad to think, had a very peaceful end. The old man had ahouse at Rome in the Piazza Minerva: his tombstone, much defaced, isbefore the curtain as one enters the Church of S^ta. Maria. His sonAndrea used to help him in his work, and launched a pamphlet now andagain at Theodore of Gaza. The brilliant scholar fell into a secondchildhood, and might be seen muttering to himself as he rambled withcloak and long staff through the streets of Rome. The grand-daughter whotook charge of him married Madalena, a fashionable poet; and Pope Leo X. Delighted in hearing their anecdotes about old times, when George andTheodore fought their paper-wars, and wielded their pens in the battle ofthe books. 

Before leaving the subject of the libraries in the two great capitals, weought to bestow a word or two upon those splendidly endowed institutionsby which a few Florentine book-collectors have kept up the literary fameof their city, without pretending to emulate the splendour of the Médici, or the wealth of the Vatican, or the curious antiquities of St. Mark. Wedesire especially to say something in remembrance of the 'Riccardiana'which, from its foundation in the sixteenth century, has been famous forthe value of its historical manuscripts. Among these are the journals ofFrà Oderigo, an early traveller in the East, a treatise in Galileo's ownwriting, and a defence of Savonarola's policy in the handwriting of Picoof Mirandula. We may see a copy of Marshal Strozzi's will, discussing hisplans of suicide, a history of the city composed and written out byMachiavelli, and a large and interesting series of Poggio's literarycorrespondence. The most celebrated of the librarians was Giovanni Lami, who in the last century kept up with such spirit a somewhat dangerouscontroversy with the Jesuits; but his monument at Santa Croce may havebeen owed less to his triumphs in argument than to his passionatedevotion to books. His life was spent among them, and he died with amanuscript in his arms; and his memory is still preserved in Florence bythe Greek collection with which he endowed the University. 

The Abbé Marucelli left his name to another Florentine library. He was aphilanthropist as well as a bibliophile; and he gave the huge assemblageof books which he had gathered at Rome to the use of the students in thehome of his boyhood. He wrote much, but was almost too modest to publishor preserve his works. Perhaps the most interesting portion of his giftconsisted of a series of about a hundred large folios in which, like thePatriarch Photius, he had written in the form of notes the results of thereading of a life-time. 

[Illustration: ANTONIO MAGLIABECCHI. ]

The Magliabecchian Library maintains the remembrance of a portent inliterature. Antonio Magliabecchi, the jeweller's shop-boy, becamerenowned throughout the world for his abnormal knowledge of books. Henever at any time left Florence; but he read every catalogue that wasissued, and was in correspondence with all the collectors and librariansof Europe. He was blessed with a prodigious memory, and knew all thecontents of a book by 'hunting it with his finger, ' or once turning overthe pages. He was believed, moreover, to know the habitat of all the rarebooks in the world; and according to the well-known anecdote he repliedto the Grand Duke, who asked for a particular volume: 'The only copy ofthis work is at Constantinople, in the Sultan's library, the seventhvolume in the second book-case, on the right as you go in. ' He has beendespised as 'a man who lived on titles and indexes, and whose very pillowwas a folio. ' Dibdin declared that Magliabecchi's existence was confinedto 'the parade and pacing of a library'; but, as a matter of fact, theold bibliomaniac lived in a kind of cave made of piles and masses ofbooks, with hardly any room for his cooking or for the wooden cradlelined with pamphlets which he slung between his shelves for a bed. Hedied in 1714, in his eighty-second year, dirty, ragged, and as happy as aking; and certainly not less than eight thick volumes of sonnets andepigrams appeared at once in his praise. He left about 30, 000 volumes ofhis own collecting, which he gave to the city upon condition that theyshould be always free to the public. The library that bears his namecontains more than ten times that number. It includes about 60, 000printed books and 2000 MSS. That once belonged to the Grand Dukes, andwere kept in their Palatine Galleries. There have been many lateradditions; but the whole mass is now dedicated to the worthiest of itsformer possessors, and remains as a perpetual monument of the mostlearned and most eccentric of bookmen. 

CHAPTER VII. 

ITALIAN CITIES--OLYMPIA MORATA--URBINO--THE BOOKS OF CORVINUS. 

The memory of many great book-collectors has been preserved in thelibraries established from ancient times in several of the Italiancities. There are two at Padua, of which the University Library may claimto have had the longer existence: but the 'Capitolina' can claim Petrarchas one of its founders, and may boast of the books on antiquitiesgathered by Pignoria, the learned commentator upon the remains of Romeand the historian of his native city of Padua. It may be worth noticingthat there were several smaller collections in the churches, due to theindustry of bookmen whose names have been forgotten. We hear of the booksof St. Anthony and of Santa Giustina: and as to the library in the Churchof St. John the tradition long prevailed that Sixtus of Sienna, a notedhunter after rare books, saw on its shelves a copy of the _Epistle to theLaodiceans_, and read it, and made copious extracts. 

Mantua received many of the spoils of Rome from Ludovico Gonzaga, whichwere lost in the later wars: the most famous acquisition was Bembo'stablet of hieroglyphics, which was interpreted by the patient skill ofLorenzo Pignoria. At Turin the King's Library contains some of the papersand drawings of Ligorio, who helped in the building of St. Peter's: butmost of his books were taken to Ferrara, where he held an officialappointment as antiquary. The University Library contains the collectionsof the Dukes of Savoy, including a quantity of Oriental MSS. , and some ofthe precious volumes illuminated by the monks of Bobbio. The Père Jacobin his treatise upon famous libraries had some personal anecdote torecord about the bookmen of each place that he visited. At Naples he sawthe collection of the works of Pontanus, presented to the Dominicans byhis daughter Eugenia; at Bologna he found a long roll of the Pentateuch, 'written by Esdras'; and at Ferrara he described the tomb of Coelius, whowas buried among his books, at his own desire, like a miser in the midstof his riches. 

Ferrara derived a special fame from the munificence of the House of Esteand the memory of Olympia Morata. A long line of illustrious princes hadbuilt up 'an Athens in the midst of Boeotia. ' Ariosto sang the praises ofthe literary Court, and Tasso's misfortunes were due to his eagerness inaccepting its pleasures. The library of Lilio Giraldi was a meeting-placefor the scholars of Italy, and it continued to be the pride of Ferrarawhen it passed to Cinthio Giraldi the poet. Renée of France, after thedeath of her husband, Duke Hercules, made Ferrara a city of refuge forCalvin and Marot and the fugitive Reformers from Germany. OlympiaMorata, the daughter of a Protestant citizen, was chosen as the companionand instructress of the Princess Anna. They passed a quiet life amongtheir books until a time of persecution arrived, when Olympia found ahope of safety in marrying Andrew Grundler of Schweinfurt. Her love forbooks appears in the letters written towards the close of her life. In1554 she tells Curio of the storming of Schweinfurt, where she lost herlibrary: 'when I entered Heidelberg barefoot, with my hair down, and in aragged borrowed gown, I looked like the Queen of the Beggars. ' 'I hope, 'she said, 'that with the other books you will send me the Commentary onJeremiah. ' Her friend answers that Homer and Sophocles are on their way:'and you shall have Jeremiah too, that you may lament with him themisfortunes of your husband's country. ' Olympia replied from herdeath-bed, returning her warmest thanks for the books. 'Farewell, excellent Curio, and do not distress yourself when your hear of my death. I send you such of my poems as I have been able to write out since thestorming of Schweinfurt; all my other writings have perished; I hope thatyou will be my Aristarchus and will polish the poems; and now again, Farewell. '

The Ducal Library of Ferrara was transferred to Modena when the Duchy wasadded to the States of the Church. The collection at Modena is stillfamous for its illuminated MSS. , and for the care bestowed by Muratoriand Tiraboschi in their selection of printed books. The Court of Naplesalso might boast of some illustrious bibliophiles. Queen Joanna possessedone of those small _Livres d'Heures_ of 'microscopic refinement' whichMr. Middleton has classed among the 'greatest marvels of human skill. 'René of Anjou, her unfortunate successor, found a solace for exile in hisbooks, and showed in a Burgundian prison that he could paint a vellum ascleverly as a monkish scribe. Alfonso, the next King of Naples, was acollector in the strictest sense of the term. He would go off to Florencefor bargains, and would even undertake a commission for a book-lovingsubject. Antonio Becatelli corresponded on these matters with his royalmaster. 'I have the message from Florence that you know of a fine Livy atthe price of 125 crowns: I pray your Majesty to buy it for me and to sendit here, and I will get the money together in the meantime. But I shouldlike your Majesty's opinion on the point, whether Poggio or myself haschosen the better part. He has sold Livy, the king of books, written outby his own hand, to buy an estate near Florence; but I, to get my Livy, have put up all my property for sale by auction. ' The books collected byAlfonso were at the end of the century carried off by Charles VIII. , andwere divided between the Royal Library at Fontainebleau and the separatecollection of Anne of Brittany. 

A romantic interest has always attached to the library at Urbino. Thebest scholars in Europe used to assemble at the palace, where DukeFederigo made such a gathering of books 'as had not been seen for athousand years, ' in the hall where Emilia and the pale Duke Guidubaldoled the pleasant debates described in the 'Cortegiano. ' Federigo, themost successful general in the Italian wars, had built a palace ofdelight in his rude Urbino, in which he hoped to set a copy of every bookin the world. His book-room was adorned with ideal portraits by Pierodella Francesca and Melozzo: it was very large and lofty, 'with windowsset high against the Northern sky. ' The catalogue of the books is stillpreserved in the Vatican. It shows the names of all the classics, theFathers, and the mediæval schoolmen, many works upon Art, and almost allthe Greek and Hebrew works that were known to exist. Among the moremodern writers we find those whose works we have discussed, Petrarch andhis friends, Guarini and Perotti, and Valla with his enemy Poggio; amongthe others we notice Alexander ab Alexandro, a most learned antiquarianfrom Naples, of whom Erasmus once said: 'He seems to have knowneverybody, but nobody knows who he is. ' The chief treasure of the placewas a Bible, illuminated in 1478 by a Florentine artist, which the Dukecaused to be bound 'in gold brocade most richly adorned with silver. ''Shortly before he went to the siege of Ferrara, ' says his librarian, 'Icompared his catalogue with those that he had procured from otherplaces, such as the lists from the Vatican, Florence, Venice, and Pavia, down to the University of Oxford in England, and I found that all excepthis own were deficient or contained duplicate volumes. ' His son, DukeGuidubaldo, was a celebrated Greek scholar; and the eulogies of Bembo andCastiglione on his Duchess, Elizabeth Gonzaga, attest the literarydistinction of her Court. Francesco, the third Duke, lost his dominionsto Leo X. ; but he showed his good taste in stipulating that the bookswere to be reserved as his personal effects. Some of the early-printedbooks are still in the palace at Urbino; others are at Castel Durante, orin the College of the Sapienza at Rome; and the splendid MSS. Form one ofthe principal attractions of the Vatican. 

Among private collectors the name of Cardinal Domenico Capranica shouldbe commemorated. Though continually engaged in war and diplomacy, hefound time to surround himself with books. On his death in 1458 he gavehis palace and library towards the endowment of a new College at Rome, and his plans were carried out with some alterations by his brotherAngelo Capranica. Two Greeks of the imperial House of Lascaris tookimportant places in the history of the Italian renaissance. Constantinehad found a refuge at Milan after the conquest of his country, and herehe became tutor to the Lady Hippolyta Sforza, and published a grammarwhich was the first book printed in Greek. He afterwards lectured atMessina, where he formed a large collection of MSS. , which he bequeathedto the citizens. In a later age it was taken to Spain by Philip II. Andplaced on the shelves of the Escorial. John Lascaris belonged to ayounger generation. He was protected by Leo X. , and may be regarded asthe true founder of the Greek College at Rome. In matters of literaturehe was the ambassador of Lorenzo de' Médici, and was twice sent to theTurkish Court in search of books. After the expulsion of the Médici, JohnLascaris went to reside in Paris, where he gave lectures on poetry, andemployed himself in securing Greek lecturers for a new College; and hewas also engaged to help Budæus, who had been his pupil, in arranging thebooks at Fontainebleau. 

Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, had the largest library in Europe. Itwas credited with containing the impossible number of 50, 000 volumes; itsdestruction during the Turkish wars is allowed to have been one of thechief misfortunes of literature. Matthias began his long reign offorty-two years in 1458, and during all that time he was adding to hiscollections at Buda. Some have derided Corvinus as a mere gormandiserwith an appetite for all kinds of books. Some have blamed him for riskingsuch inestimable treasures upon a dangerous frontier. It is admitted thathe worked hard to dispel the thick darkness that surrounded the Hungarianpeople. He kept thirty scribes continually employed at Buda, besides fourpermitted to work at Florence by the courtesy of Lorenzo de' Médici. Thewhole library may be regarded as in some sense a Florentine colony. Fontius, the king's chief agent in the Levant, had been a well-knownauthor in Florence: his Commentary upon Persius, once presented toCorvinus himself, is now in the library at Wolfenbüttel. Attavante, thepupil of Frà Angelico, was employed to illuminate the MSS. A goodspecimen of his work is the Breviary of St. Jerome at Paris, which cameout of the palace at Buda and was acquired by the nation from the Duc dela Vallière. A traveller named Brassicanus visited Hungary in the reignof King Louis. He was enraptured with the grand palace by the river, thetall library buildings and their stately porticoes. He passes thegalleries under review, and tells us of the huge gold and silver globes, the instruments of science on the walls, and an innumerable crowd ofwell-favoured and well-clad books. He felt, he assures us, as if he werein 'Jupiter's bosom, ' looking down upon that 'heavenly scene. ' He wishedthat he had brought away some picture or minute record; but we have hisaccount of the books which he handled, the Greek orations that are nowlost for ever, the history of Salvian saved by the King's good nature inpresenting the book to his admiring visitor. The palace and library weredestroyed when Buda was taken by the Turks. The Pasha in command refusedan enormous sum subscribed for the rescue of the books. The janissariestore off the metal coverings from the rarer MSS. , and tossed the othersaside; the only known copy of Heliodorus, from which all our editions ofthe tale of Chariclea are derived, was found in an open gutter. Somebooks were burned and others hacked and maimed, or trodden under foot;many were carried away into the neighbouring villages. About four hundredwere piled up in a deserted tower, and were protected against allintrusion by the seal of the Grand Vizier. There were adventures still instore for the captives. Through the scattered villages Dr. Sambucus wentup and down, recovering the strayed Corvinian books for the EmperorRodolph, a strange Quixotic figure always riding alone, with swingingsaddle-bags, and a great mastiff running on either side. Many adisappointed wayfarer was turned away from the lonely tower. At lastBusbec the great traveller, because he was an ambassador from theEmperor, was allowed to enter a kind of charnel-house, and to see whathad been the lovely gaily-painted vellums lying squalidly piled in heaps. To see them was a high favour; the visitor was not permitted to touch theremains; and it was not until 1686 that about forty of the maltreatedvolumes were rescued by force of arms and set in a a place of safetyamong the Emperor's books at Vienna. 

It has always been a favourite exercise to track the Corvinian MSS. Intotheir scattered hiding-places. Some are in the Vatican, others atFerrara, and some in their birth-place at Florence. It is said that someof them have never left their home in Hungary. Venice possesses a'History of the House of Corvinus, ' and Jena has a work by Guarini withthe King's insignia 'most delicately painted on the title. ' The portraitsof the King and Queen are on one of the examples secured by Augustus ofBrunswick for his library at Wolfenbüttel. Mary of Austria, the widow ofKing Louis, presented two of the Corvinian books to the _Librairie deBourgogne_ at Brussels; one was the Missal, full of Attavante's work, onwhich the Sovereigns of Brabant were sworn; the other was the 'GoldenGospels, ' long the pride of the Escorial, but now restored to Belgium. 

Other scattered volumes from the library of Corvinus have been traced tovarious cities in France and Germany. There has been much controversy onthe question whether any of them are to be found in England. Some thinkthat examples might be traced among the Arundel MSS. In the BritishMuseum. Thomas, Earl of Arundel, it is known, went on a book-huntingexpedition to Heidelberg, where he bought some of the remnants of thePalatine collection. Passing on to Nuremberg he obtained about a hundredMSS. That had belonged to Pirckheimer, the first great Germanbibliophile; and these, according to some authorities, came out of thetreasure-house at Buda. The Duke of Norfolk was persuaded by John Evelynto place them in the Gresham Library, under the care of the RoyalSociety, and they afterwards became the property of the nation. Oldysthe antiquary distinctly stated that these 'were the remnants of the Kingof Hungary'; 'they afterwards fell into the hands of BilibaldPirckheimer. ' The Senator of Nuremberg made the books his own in a veryemphatic way: 'there is to be seen his head graved by Albert Dürer, oneof the first examples of sticking or pasting of heads, arms, or cyphersinto volumes. ' Pirckheimer died in 1530, three years after the sack ofBuda, and had the opportunity of getting some of the books. We cannottell to what extent he succeeded, or whether William Oldys was right onthe facts before him; but we know from Pirckheimer's own letters that hewas the actual owner of at least some MSS. That 'came to him out of thespoils of Hungary. '

CHAPTER VIII. 

GERMANY--FLANDERS--BURGUNDY--ENGLAND. 

Almost immediately after the invention of printing in Germany there arosea vast public demand for all useful kinds of knowledge. The study ofGreek was essential to those who would compete with the Italians in anyof the higher departments of science, and great schools were establishedfor the purpose by Dringeberg in a town of Alsace, and by Rudolf Lange atMünster. The Alsatian Academy had the credit of educating Rhenanus andBilibald Pirckheimer. Lange filled his shelves with a quantity ofexcellent classics that he had purchased during a tour in Italy. HermannBusch, the great critic, was taught in this school, and he used to say inafter life that he often dreamed of Lange's house, and saw an altar ofthe Muses surrounded by the shadowy figures of ancient poets and orators. Busch was sent afterwards to Deventer, where he was the class-mate ofErasmus. Here one day, while the boys were at their themes, came RudolfAgricola, the sturdy doctor from Friesland, who wanted to see a Germany'more Latin than Latium, ' and had vowed to abate the 'Italian insolence. 'The visitor told Erasmus that he was sure to be a great man, and pattedthe young Hermann on the head, saying that he had the look of a poet;and he is, indeed, still faintly remembered for the lines in which hecelebrated the triumph of Reuchlin. 

Reuchlin had learned Greek at Paris and Poitiers; at Florence he studiedthe secrets of the Cabala with Mirandula; and he perfected his Hebrew atRome, where he acted as an envoy from the Elector Palatine. Reuchlin formany years led a peaceful life at Tübingen, an oasis of freedom, in whichhe could print or read what he pleased. But in 1509 he was forced into aquarrel, which involved the whole question of the liberty of the press, and incidentally associated the cause of the Reformation with themaintenance of classical learning. 

In the year 1509 one Pfefferkorn, a monk who had been a convert fromJudaism, obtained an imperial decree that all Hebrew books, except theScriptures, should be destroyed. Reuchlin sprang forth to defend hisbeloved Cabala, and maintained that only those volumes ought to be burnedwhich were proved to have a taint of magic or blasphemy. He was cited toanswer for his heresy before the Grand Inquisitor at Cologne; and theworld, at first indifferent, soon saw that the cause of the New Learningwas at stake. In the summer of 1514 there was a notable gathering ofReformers at Frankfort Fair. We have nothing in our own days that quiteresembles these mediæval marts; the annual concourse of merchants mightperhaps be compared to one of our industrial exhibitions, or to someconjunction of all the trade of Leipsic and Nijni Novgorod. The Italiansaffected to believe that the Fair by the Main was chiefly taken up withthe sale of mechanical contrivances; the Germans knew that their 'Atticmart' held streets of book-shops and publishers' offices. Henri Estiennesaw Professors here from Oxford and Cambridge, from Louvain, and fromPadua: there was a crowd of poets, historians, and men of science; and hedeclared that another Alexandrian Library might be bought in thoseseething stalls, if one laid out money like a king, or like a maniac, asothers might say. In this German Athens a meeting was arranged betweenReuchlin and Erasmus; they were joined at Frankfort by Hermann Busch, whobrought with him the manuscript of his 'Triumph'; and perhaps it was notdifficult to predict that the cause of the old books would be safe in thehands of Pope Leo X. They found themselves in company with that ferocioussatirist, Ulric von Hutten, memorable for his threat to the citizens ofMainz, when they proposed to destroy his library, and he answered, 'Ifyou burn my books, I will burn your town. ' The Grand Inquisitor wasutterly overwhelmed by his volume of Pasquinades, a work so witty that itwas constantly attributed to Erasmus, and so carefully destroyed thatHeinsius gave a hundred gold pieces for the copy which Count Hohendorfafterwards placed among the imperial rarities at Vienna. The satirist'svolume of _Letters from Obscure Men_ completed the rout of theInquisition; and we are told by the way that it saved the life ofErasmus by throwing him into a violent fit of laughter. 

We do not suppose that many Germans of that day loved books for theirdelicate appearance, or the damask and satin of their 'pleasantcoverture. ' Reuchlin may be counted among the bibliophiles, since herefused a large sum from the Emperor in lieu of a Hebrew Bible. Melanchthon's books were rough volumes in stamped pigskin, made valuableby his marginal notes. The library of Erasmus may be shown to have beensomewhat insignificant by these words in his will: 'Some time ago I soldmy library to John à Lasco of Poland, and according to the contractbetween us it is to be delivered to him on his paying two hundred florinsto my heir; if he refuses to accede to this condition, or die before me, my heir is to dispose of the books as he shall think proper. ' Theprincipal bibliophiles in Germany were the wealthy Fuggers of Augsburg, of whom Charles V. Used to say when he saw any display of magnificence, 'I have a burgess at Augsburg who can do better than that. ' Thesemerchants were commonly believed to have discovered the philosopher'sstone: they were in fact enriched by their trade with the East, and hadfound another fortune in the quicksilver of Almaden, by which the goldwas extracted from the ores of Peru. Raimond Fugger amassed a noblelibrary before the end of the fifteenth century. Ulric his successor wasthe friend of Henri Estienne, who proudly announced himself as printer tothe Fuggers on many a title-page. Ulric spent so much money on booksthat his family at one time obtained a decree to restrain hisextravagance. His library was said to contain as many books as there werestars in heaven. The original stock received a vast accession under hisbrother's will, and he purchased another huge collection formed by Dr. Achilles Gasparus. On his death he left the whole accumulated mass to theElector Palatine, and the books thenceforth shared the fortunes of theHeidelberg Library. When Tilly took the city in 1622 the best part of thecollection was offered to the Vatican, and Leo Allatius the librarian wassent to make the selection, and to superintend their transport to Rome. The Emperor Napoleon thought fit to remove some of the MSS. To Paris;but, on their being seized by the Allies in 1815, it was thought thatprescription should not be pleaded by Rome: 'especially, ' says Hallam, 'when she was recovering what she had lost by the same right ofspoliation'; and the whole collection of which the Elector had beendeprived was restored to the library at Heidelberg. 

Flanders had been the home of book-learning in very early times. TheCounts of Hainault and the Dukes of Brabant were patrons of literaturewhen most of the princes of Europe were absorbed in the occupations ofthe chase. The Flemish monasteries preserved the literary tradition. AtAlne, near Liège, the monks had a Bible which Archdeacon Philip, thefriend of St. Bernard, had transcribed before the year 1140. We hear ofanother at Louvain, about a century later in date, with initials in blueand gold throughout, which had taken three years in copying. Deventer wasknown as 'the home of Minerva' before the days of St. Thomas à Kempis. The Forest of Soigny provided a retreat for learning in its houses ofVal-Rouge and Val-Vert and the Sept-Fontaines. The Brothers of the CommonLife had long been engaged in the production of books before they gavethemselves to the labours of the printing-press at Brussels. Thomas àKempis himself has described their way of living at Deventer. 'Much was Idelighted, ' he said, 'with the devout conversation, the irreproachabledemeanour and humility of the brethren: I had never seen such piety andcharity: they took no concern about what passed outside, but remained athome, employed in prayer and study, or in copying useful books. ' Thiswork at good books, he repeated, is the opening of the fountains of life:'Blessed are the hands of the copyists: for which of the world's writingswould be remembered, if there had been no pious hand to transcribe them?'He himself during his stay at Deventer copied out a Bible, a Missal, andfour of St. Bernard's works, and when he went to Zwolle he composed andwrote out a chronicle of the brotherhood. 

The Abbey of St. Bavon at Ghent was endowed with a great number of booksby Rafael de Mercatellis, the reputed son of Philippe le Bon, Duke ofBurgundy. As Abbot he devoted his life to increasing the splendour ofhis monastery. The illuminated MSS. Survived the perils of war and theexcesses of the Revolution, and are still to be seen in the Universitywith the Abbot's signature on their glittering title-pages. 

A more important collection belonged to Louis de Bruges, Seigneur de LaGruthuyse. As titular Earl of Winchester he was in some degree connectedwith this country. When Edward IV. Fled from England, and was chased byGerman pirates, this nobleman was Governor of Holland. He rescued thefugitives, and paid their expenses; and when Edward recovered his thronehe rewarded his friend with a title and a charge on the Customs. Thedignity carried no active privileges, and in 1499 it was surrendered tothe King at Calais. The books of La Gruthuyse have been described as 'thebibliographical marvel of the age. ' They were celebrated for their choicevellum, their delicate penmanship, and their exquisite illustrations. Louis de Bruges was the friend and patron of Colard Mansion, who printedin partnership with Caxton. Three copies are known of his work called the'Penitence of Adam. ' One belonged to the Royal Library of France: anotherwas borrowed from a monastery by the Duc d'Isenghien, an enthusiastic butsomewhat unscrupulous collector, and this copy was sold at the Gaignatsale in 1769; the third was the property of M. Lambinet of Brussels, andis remarkable for the miniature in which Mansion is represented asoffering the book to his patron in the garden of La Gruthuyse. After thedeath of Louis his books passed to his son Jean de Bruges; but most ofthem were soon afterwards acquired by Louis XII. , who added them to thelibrary at Blois, the insignia of La Gruthuyse being replaced by the armsof France. Others were bequeathed to Louis XIV. By the bibliophileHippolyte de Béthune, who refused a magnificent offer from QueenChristina of Sweden in order that his books might remain in France. Afine copy of the _Forteresse du Foy_ belonged to Claude d'Urfé, whoselibrary of 4000 books, 'all in green velvet, ' was kept in his castle atLa Bastie; when all the others were dispersed the Gruthuyse volumeremained as an heirloom, and descended to Honoré d'Urfé, the dreariest ofall writers of romance. In 1776 it belonged to the Duc de la Vallière, and was purchased for the French Government at one of his numerous sales. Some of the Flemish books remained in their original home. A volume ofWallon songs was discovered at Ghent in the last generation; and twoother Gruthuyse books in the same language, from the great collection ofM. Van Hulthem, are now deposited in the Burgundian Library at Brussels. 

The Dukes of Burgundy were of the book-loving race of the Valois. Thebrothers, Charles le Sage, Jean Duc de Berry, and Philippe le Hardi ofBurgundy, were all founders of celebrated libraries. Philippe increasedhis store of books by his marriage with the heiress of Flanders; he kepta large staff of scribes at work, and made incessant purchases from theLombard booksellers in Paris. Duke John, his successor, is remembered forhis acquisition of a wonderful _Valerius Maximus_ from the librarian ofthe Sorbonne. But the collections of which the remnants are now preservedin Belgium were almost entirely the work of Duke Philippe le Bon. He kepthis books in many different places. He had a library at Dijon, andanother in Paris, a few volumes in the treasury at Ghent, a thousandvolumes at Bruges, and nearly as many at Antwerp. It has been calculatedthat he possessed more than 3200 MSS. In all; and, if that figure iscorrect, the House of Bourgogne-Valois was in this respect almost therichest of the reigning families of Europe. 

Under Charles the Bold the libraries appear to have been left alone, except as regards a few characteristic additions. The Duchess Margaretwas the patroness of her countryman Caxton, whose _Recuyell_, probablypublished at Bruges in 1474 during his partnership with Colard Mansion, was the first printed English book. The taste of the Duchess may answerfor the appearance in the library of the _Moral Discourses_, and theelegant _Debates upon Happiness_. The _Cyropædia_ and the romance of_Quintus Curtius_ must be attributed to the warlike Duke. At Berne theyhave a relic of the fight where his men were shot down 'like ducks in thereeds. ' It is a manuscript, with a note added to the following effect:'These military ordinances of the excellent and invincible Duke Charlesof Burgundy were taken at Morat on the 14th of June 1476, being found inthe pavilion of that excellent and potent prince. ' When Charles waskilled at Nancy in the following year his favourite _Cyropædia_ was foundby the Swiss in his baggage. This volume was bought in 1833 by the Queenof the Belgians at a book-sale in Paris, and has now been restored to itsoriginal home at Brussels. 

After the death of Charles the Bold his library at Dijon was given by theFrench King to George de la Tremouille, the governor of the province. Itpassed to the family of Guy de Rocheford, and in the course of time manyof the best works have found their way into the national collection. Maryof Burgundy retained the other libraries at Brussels. After her marriagewith Maximilian her family treasures were for the most part dispersed inFrance, Germany, and Sweden, the needy prince being unable to resist thetemptation of pilfering and pawning the books; but the generosity ofMargaret of Austria, a great collector herself of fine copies and firsteditions, in some measure repaired the loss; and Mary of Austria, whobecame Regent in 1530, continued the work of restoration. 

The magnificence of the Burgundian Court and the commercial prosperity ofthe Low Countries led to a continuous demand for fine books among theother productions of luxury. We learn also by the Venetian Archives thatthroughout the fifteenth century books were being imported into Englandby the galleys that brought the produce of the East to our merchants inLondon and Southampton. There were as yet but slight signs of literaryactivity; but it has been well said that 'the seed was germinating in theground'; and many foreign works were brought home from time to time bythose who had studied or travelled in Italy. It was the fashion of theday to learn under Guarini at Ferrara; the list of his scholars includesthe names of Robert Fleming, and Bishop William Gray, and the book-lovingJohn Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester, whose virtue and learning became theobject of William Caxton's celebrated eulogy. We may commemorate here theearlier labours of Lord Cobham, who caused Wicliffe's works to be copiedat a great expense and to be conveyed for safety to Bohemia, and of SirWalter Sherington, who early in the same century built a library atGlastonbury, and furnished it with 'fair books upon vellum. ' Towards theend of the century learning began to flourish under the patronage of LordSaye, and the accomplished Anthony Lord Rivers: and its future in thiscountry was secure, when the English scholars began to flock towardsFlorence to hear the lectures of Chalcondylas and his successor Politian. Grocyn, our first Greek Professor, had drawn his learning from thatsource, and Linacre had sat there in a class with the children of Lorenzode' Médici. Cardinal Pole and the Ciceronian De Longueil shared asstudents in those tasks and sports at Padua which were so vividlydescribed by the English churchman in his record of their life-longfriendship. Thomas Lilly, the master at St. Paul's, not only worked atFlorence but went to perfect his Greek in the Isle of Rhodes. Sir ThomasMore was the pupil of Grocyn, whom he seems to have excelled inscholarship. His affection for books is known by his son-in-law's carefulbiography. An anecdote cited by Dibdin preserves a record of the fate ofhis library. When the Chancellor was arrested, the officers were expectedto listen to his talk with certain spies, on the chance that the prisonermight be led into a treasonable conversation; but, as Mr. Palmer said inhis deposition, 'he was so busy trussing up Sir Thomas More's books in asack that he took no heed to their talk'; and Sir Richard Southwell onthe same occasion deposed, that 'being appointed only to look to theconveyance of the books, he gave no ear unto them. ' Erasmus praised Moreas 'the most gentle soul ever framed by Nature. ' He was astonished at hislearning, and indeed at the high standard that had already been attainedin England. 'It is incredible, ' he said, 'what a thick crop of old booksspreads out on every side: there is so much erudition, not of anyordinary kind, but recondite and accurate and antique, both in Greek andLatin, that you need not go to Italy except for the pleasure oftravelling. ' Hallam remarked that Erasmus was always ready with acompliment; but he admitted that before the year 1520 there were probablymore scholars in England than in France, 'though all together they mightnot weigh as heavy as Budæus. '

CHAPTER IX. 

FRANCE: EARLY BOOKMEN--ROYAL COLLECTORS. 

We shall take Budæus as our first example of the French bookmen in theperiod that followed the invention of printing. Of Guillaume Budé, togive him his original name, it was said that he knew Greek as minutely asthe orators of the age of Demosthenes. If there was any real foundationfor the compliment it must have consisted in the fact that the Frenchmanhad more acquaintance with the language than his instructor George ofSparta. Budæus is said to have paid a very large sum for a course oflectures on Homer, and to have been not a pennyworth the wiser at theend. Erasmus, who also learned of the Spartan, confessed that his tutoronly 'stammered in Greek, ' and that he seemed to have neither the desirenor the capacity for teaching. It is interesting to see how thesestudents made the best of their bad materials. 'I have given my wholesoul to Greek, ' wrote Erasmus, 'and as soon as I get any money I shallbuy books first, and then some clothes. ' Budæus was known as 'the prodigyof France, ' and even Scaliger allowed that his country would never seesuch a scholar again; and it is rather surprising that Erasmus shouldhave compared his style unfavourably with that of Badius, the printerfrom Brabant. 

Budæus was the first to apply the historical method to the explanation ofthe Civil Law: with the assistance of Jean Grolier he brought out a verylearned treatise on ancient weights and measures; and in publishing hiscommentaries on the Greek language he was said to have raised himself to'a pinnacle of philological glory. ' One of the stories about his devotionto books may have been told of others, but is certainly characteristic ofthe man. A servant rushes in to say that the house is on fire; but thescholar answers, 'Tell my wife: you know that I never interfere with thehousehold. ' He was married twice over, he used to say, to the Muse ofphilology as well as to a mortal wife; but he confessed that he wouldnever have got far with the first, if the second had not commanded in thelibrary, always ready to look out passages and to hand down the necessarybooks. 

When Charles VIII. Seized the royal library at Naples, a few of the bestMSS. Escaped his scrutiny, and these were sold by the dispossessed Kingto the Cardinal D'Amboise. A new school of illuminators at Rouen providedthe Cardinal with a number of other splendid volumes. He lived till theyear 1510, and was able to collect a second library of printed books. Hedivided the whole into two portions at his death, the French bookspassing to a relation and afterwards to the family of La Rochefoucauld, and the rest forming the foundation of a fine library long possessed bythe Archbishops of Rouen. 

The Archbishop Juvenal des Ursins died in the middle of the fifteenthcentury. He is celebrated as a lover of good books, though only a singleexample of his choice survived into the present generation. It was amagnificent missal on vellum, filled with the choicest miniatures, andknown as the best specimen of its class in the possession of PrinceSoltikoff. It is only a few years ago that it entered the collection ofM. Firmin-Didot, who paid 36, 000 francs for it at the Prince's sale: inthe year 1861 he gave it up to the City of Paris; but like so many of thegreat books of France it perished in the fires of the Commune. 

Jacques de Pars, the physician to Charles VII. , bequeathed his scientificMSS. To the College of Medicine at Paris: and the value of his gift wasmanifested when the powerful Louis XI. Was forbidden to take out amedical treatise for transcription unless he would pledge his silverplate and find collateral security for its safe return. Étienne Chevalierwas one of the few servants of King Charles who were tolerated by KingLouis. He became Chief Treasurer to Louis XI. , and built a great mansionin the Rue de la Verrerie in Paris. The walls and ceilings were decoratedwith allegorical designs in honour of his friend Agnès Sorel, whosecourage had led to the expulsion of the English invaders. The library wasfilled with choice MSS. , illuminated for the most part by Jehan Foucquet, the famous miniaturist from Tours. Nicholas Chevalier, his descendant inthe sixteenth century, was also illustrious as a bibliophile, and amidsthis own printed folios and pedigrees rolled in blue velvet could stillshow the marvellous _Livre d'Heures_, of which all that now remains is aset of paintings hacked out from the text. M. Le Roux de Lincy hascompiled a long and interesting list of the French bibliophiles whopreceded the age of Grolier. We can only mention a few out of the number. Of the poets we have Charles, Duke of Orléans, the owner of eightymagnificent volumes preserved in the Castle of Blois, and Pierre Ronsard;and we may add the Abbé Philippe Desportes, renowned not less for arivalry with Ronsard than for his sumptuous mode of living and thefortune expended on his library. To the statesmen may be added FlorimondRobertet, the first of a long line of bibliophiles. Among the learnedladies of the sixteenth century we may choose Louise Labé, surnamed 'LaBelle Cordière, ' who made a collection of a new kind, composed entirelyof works in French, Spanish, and Italian, and Charlotte Guillard, aprinter as well as a book-collector, who published at her own expense avolume of the Commentaries of St. Jerome. 

The most important of the private collectors in this period was ArthurGouffier, Seigneur de Boissy, another of the faithful followers ofCharles VII. Who were so fortunate as to gain the confidence of hisjealous successor. 

He was a lover of fine bindings in the style rendered famous by Grolier. One of his books belonged to the late Baron Jérôme Pichon, the head ofthe French _Société des Bibliophiles_, and it is admitted that nothingeven in Grolier's library could excel it in delicacy of execution. Hisson, Claude Gouffier, created Duc de Rouannais, was a collector of anessentially modern type. He bought autographs and historical portraits, as well as rare MSS. And good specimens of printing, and was careful tohave his books well clothed in the fashionable painted binding. ClaudeGouffier was tutor to the young Duc d'Angoulême, who came to the throneas Francis I. ; and to him may be due his royal pupil's affection for thebooks bedecked with the salamander in flames and the silver_fleurs-de-lys_. 

Francis I. Cared little for printed books in comparison with manuscriptrarities; he added very few to the collection at Fontainebleau beyondwhat he received as presents from his mother, Queen Louise, and hissister Marguerite d'Angoulême. The royal library owed many of its finestmanuscripts to the delicate taste of the princess who was compared to the'blossom of poetry' and praised as the 'Marguerite des Marguerites. ' Itswealth was much increased by the confiscation of the property of theConstable de Bourbon; and it should be remembered that among theadditions from this source were most of the magnificently illuminatedmanuscripts that had belonged to Jean Duc de Berri. 

The King was much attracted by the hope of making literary discoveriesin the East; he obtained much information on the subject from JohnLascaris, and despatched Pierre Gilles to make purchases in the Levantinemonasteries. A similar commission was entrusted to Guillaume Postel, oneof the greatest linguists that ever lived, but so crazy that he believedhimself to be Adam born to live again, and so unfortunate that he couldseldom keep out of a prison. 

The reign of Henri Deux is of great importance in the annals ofbibliography. An ordinance was made in 1558, through the influence, as itis supposed, of Diane de Poitiers, by which every publisher was compelledto present copies of his books, printed on vellum and suitably bound, tothe libraries at Blois and Fontainebleau, and such others as the Kingshould appoint. About eight hundred volumes in the national collectionrepresent the immediate results of this copy-tax; they are all markedwith the ambiguous cypher, which might either represent the initials ofthe King and Queen or might indicate the names of Henri and Diane. QueenCatherine de Médici was an enthusiastic collector. When she arrived inFrance as a girl she brought with her from Urbino a number of MSS. Thathad belonged to the Eastern Emperors, and had been purchased by Cosmo de'Médici. She afterwards seized the whole library of Marshal Strozzi on theground that they must be regarded as 'Médici books, ' having beeninherited at one time by a nephew of Leo X. On her death in 1589 she wasfound to have been possessed of about eight hundred Greek manuscripts, all of the highest rarity and value. There was some danger that theywould be seized by her creditors; but the King was advised that such anassemblage could not be got together again in any country or at any cost. The library was made an heir-loom of the Crown: and at De Thou'ssuggestion the books were stripped of their rich coverings and disguisedin an official costume. 

Diane de Poitiers, a true _chasseresse des bouquins_, was herself thedaughter of a bibliophile. The Comte de St. Vallier loved books inItalian bindings, and there is a _Roman de Perceforest_ in the collectionof the Duc d'Aumale, that bears the Saint Vallier arms and marks ofownership, though it was confidently believed to have been bound forGrolier when it belonged to King Louis-Philippe. Henri Deux and theDuchesse Diane kept a treasure of books between them in the magnificentcastle of Anet: and after they were dead the books remained unknown andunnoticed in their hall until the death of the Princesse de Condé in theyear 1723. The sale which then took place was a revelation of beauty. Thebooks were in good condition, and were all clad in sumptuous bindings. There was a remarkable diversity in their contents, the Fathers and thepoets standing side by side with treatises upon medicine and themanagement of a household, as if they had been acquired in great part byvirtue of the tax upon the publishers. Most of them, we are told, werebought by the 'intrepid book-hunter' M. Guyon de Sardières, whose wholelibrary in its turn was engulphed in the miscellaneous collections of theDuc de la Vallière. An article in the _Bibliophile Français_ contains acurious argument in favour of Diane de Poitiers, as being one of a bandof devoted Frenchwomen who saved their country from foreign ideas. We arereminded of the patriotism of Agnès Sorel, and of the excellent influenceof Gabrielle d'Estrées. The Duchesse d'Estampes, we are told, preservedFrancis I. From the influence of the Italian renaissance, and preventedthe subjugation of France 'by a Benvenuto or Da Vinci'; and in the sameway, when Catherine de Médici was preparing to introduce other strangefashions, Diane came forward in her 'magical beauty' and saved theoriginality of her nation. 

The three sons of Catherine were all fond of books in their way. Francis_ii. _ died before he had time to make any collection; if he had lived, Mary of Scotland, who shared his throne for a few weeks, might have ledhim into the higher paths of literature. Some of their favourite volumeshave been preserved; the young King's books bear the dolphin or the armsof France; the Queen bound everything in black morocco emblasoned withthe lion of Scotland. Charles IX. Had a turn for literature, as beseemedthe pupil of Bishop Amyot; he studied archæology in some detail, andpurchased Grolier's cabinet of coins. He brought the library ofFontainebleau to Paris, where his father had made the beginning of a newcollection out of the confiscated property of the Président Ranconnet, and gave the management of the whole to the venerable Amyot. His brother, the effeminate Henri Trois, cared much for bindings and little for books:it is said that he was somewhat of a book-binder himself, as his brotherCharles had worked at the armourer's smithy, and as some of hissuccessors were to take up the technicalities of the barber, the cook, and the locksmith. Being an extravagant idler himself, he passed lawsagainst extravagance in his subjects; but though furs and heavy chainsmight be forbidden, he allowed gilt edges and arabesques on books, andonly drew the line at massive gold stamps. His own taste combined thegloomy and the grotesque, his clothes and his bindings alike beingcovered with skulls and cross-bones, and spangles to represent tears, with other conventional emblems of sorrow. 

Louise of Lorraine, after the King's death, retired to the castle ofChenonceau: and the widowed queen employed her time, in that 'palace offairy-land, ' at forming a small cabinet of books. The catalogue describesabout eighty volumes, mostly bound by Nicolas Eve; and the gay moroccocovers in red, blue, and green, were decorated with brilliant arabesques, or sprinkled with golden lilies. Hardly any perfect specimens remain, even in the National Library. They were all bequeathed by the Queen toher niece the Duchesse de Vendôme; but in the hands of a later possessorthey were put up for sale and dispersed, and have now for the most partdisappeared. 

Henri Quatre is said to have fled to his books for consolation whenabandoned by Gabrielle d'Estrées. Though no bibliophile himself, he wasanxious that everything should be done that could promote the interestsof literature. He intended to establish a magnificent library in theCollège de Cambray, but died before the plans were completed. The booksat Blois, however, were brought to Paris and thrown open to deservingstudents; the library already transported from Fontainebleau and the MSS. Of Catherine de Médici were removed to the Collège de Clermont, andplaced under the guardianship of De Thou. 

Marguerite de Valois agreed with the King, if in nothing else, at leastin a desire for the extension of knowledge. She was a most learned ladyas well as a collector of exquisite books. No branch of science, sacredor profane, came amiss to the 'Reine Margot. ' She may be regarded as theQueen of the 'Femmes Bibliophiles' who occupied so important a positionin the history of the Court of France. In the domain of good taste sheexcels all competitors; as regards intellect we can hardly estimate thedistance between Marguerite and the elegant collectors whom wedistinguish according to the names of their book-binders. Anne of Austriais remembered for the lace-like patterns of Le Gascon; and Queen MarieLeczinska is famous for the splendour of her volumes bound by Padeloup. Even the libraries of the daughters of Louis Quinze, three diligent andwell-instructed princesses, are only known apart by the colours of themoroccos employed by Derôme. The dull contents of the Pompadour's shelveswould hardly be noticeable without her 'three castles, ' or the 'ducalmantle, ' by Biziaux; and no one but Louis Quinze himself would havepraised the intelligent choice of Du Barry, or cast a look upon hercollection of odd volumes and 'remainders, ' if they had not beendecorated like the rest of her furniture. In all the lists of these'ladies of old-time' by M. Guigard, by M. Quentin-Bauchart, or by M. Uzanne, it is difficult to find one who preferred the inside to theoutside of the book. M. Uzanne, indeed, has contended that no femalebibliophile ever felt the passion that inspired a Grolier or a De Thou:that Marie Antoinette herself may have caged thousands of books at theTrianon like birds in an aviary, without any real regard to their natureor the right way of using them; that these devotees of the book-chasewere like an invalid master of hounds, keeping the pack in a gildedkennel without any exercise or any chance of practical work. We thinkthat something perhaps might be said on the other side. The Duchesse deBerry in our own time possessed a serious collection, made under her owndirection, in which might be found the _Livre d'Heures_ of Henri Deux, the prayer-book of Joanna of Naples, the best books of Marguerite deValois and Marie Leczinska. The Princess Pauline Buonaparte was theowner of a well-selected library. But our best example is MadameElisabeth, the ill-fated daughter of France, who was dragged from herbooks at Montreuil in the tumults of 1789. Only a short time before shehad been absorbed in her simple collection. In the spring of 1786 shegave up her mornings to its arrangement. 'My library, ' she wrote, 'isnearly finished: the desks are being put up, and you cannot imagine thefine effect of the books. ' On September the 15th she writes to her friendagain: 'Montreuil and its mistress get on as well as two sweethearts. Iam writing in the small room at the end; the books are settled in theirshelves, and my library is really a little gem. ' On the 5th of Octobershe was standing on the terrace by the library-window, when she saw acrowd coming along the Sèvres road, and heard the noise of pipes anddrums; and on the same day she was forced to leave Montreuil, and neversaw her books again. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE OLD ROYAL LIBRARY--FAIRFAX--COTTON--HARLEY--THE UNIVERSITY OFCAMBRIDGE. 

Henry VII. Was the founder of a royal collection which in time became aconstituent portion of the library at the British Museum. Careful as hewas of his money, the King endeavoured to buy every book published inFrench, and he acquired the whole of Vérard's series of classics, printedon vellum with initials in gold and gorgeous illuminations, in some ofwhich the printer is shown presenting his books to the royal collector. Henry VIII. Established the separate library which was long maintained atSt. James's; he intended it mainly for the education of princes of theblood royal, and supplied it with a quantity of early-printed books and amiscellaneous gathering of wreckage from the monasteries. During severalsucceeding reigns there were 'studies' and galleries of books atWhitehall and Windsor Castle, at Greenwich and Oatlands, or wherever theCourt might be held. It is said that in the time of Henry VIII. The bestEnglish collection belonged to Bishop Fisher. 'He had the notablestlibrary, ' said Fuller, 'two long galleries full, the books sorted installs, and a register of the name of each book at the end of itsstall. ' This great storehouse of knowledge the Bishop had intended totransfer to St. John's College at Cambridge; but on his disgrace it wasseized by Thomas Cromwell and dispersed among his greedy retainers. 

Under the Protector Somerset the Protestant feeling ran high. MartinBucer's manuscripts were bought for the young King; and the Reformer'sprinted books were divided between Archbishop Cranmer and the Duchess ofSomerset. About the same time an order was issued in the name of EdwardVI. For purging the King's library at Westminster of missals, legends, and other 'superstitious volumes'; and their 'garniture, ' according tothe fashion of the time, was bestowed as a perquisite upon a graspingcourtier. 

[Illustration: BINDING EXECUTED FOR QUEEN ELIZABETH. ]

Queen Elizabeth was naturally fond of fine books. She had a smallcollection before she reached the throne, and became in due course therecipient of a number of splendid presentation volumes. There is a copyof a French poem in her praise in the public library at Oxford: its pagesare full of exquisite portraits and designs, and on the sides there are'brilliant bosses composed of humming-birds' feathers. ' As a child shehad bound her books in needle-work, or in 'blue corded silk, with goldand silver thread, ' in the style afterwards adopted by the sisters atLittle Gidding in the time of Charles I. Her Testament, most carefullycovered by her own handiwork, contains a note quoted by Mr. Macray in his'Annals of the Bodleian Library'; it refers to her walks in the fieldof Scripture, where she plucked up the 'goodlie greene herbes, ' which sheafterwards ate by her reading, 'and chawed by musing. ' Her gallery atWhitehall made a gallant show of MSS. And classics in red velvet, withgilt clasps and jewelled sides, and all the French and Italian booksstanding by in morocco and gold. Archbishop Parker tried to induce her toestablish a national library; but the Queen seems to have cared littleabout the plan. She allowed the Archbishop on his own behalf to seek outthe books remaining from the suppressed monasteries: at another time heobtained leave to recover as many as he could find of Cranmer's books. Hetracked some of them to the house of one Dr. Nevinson, who was forced todisgorge his treasures. Parker kept a staff of scribes and painters inminiature, and had his own press and fount of type. He published manyscarce tracts to save them from oblivion. Others he ordered to be copiedin manuscript, and these and all his ancient books he caused to be'trimly covered'; so that we may say with Dibdin, 'a more determinedbook-fancier existed not in Great Britain. ' He gave some of his books to'his nurse Corpus Christi' at Cambridge, and some to the public library;and his gift to the College was compared to 'the sun of our Englishantiquity, ' eclipsed only by the shadow of Cotton's palace of learning. 

One would like to fancy a symposium of the great men talking over theirbooks, in the room where Ben Jonson was king, and where

 'Mellifluous Shakespeare, whose enchanting quill Commanded mirth and passion, was but Will. '

Jonson's books, as was said of himself, were like the great Spanishgalleons, bulky folios with '_Sum Ben Jonson_' boldly inscribed. We knowlittle about Shakespeare's books, except that they probably went to theNew Place and passed among the chattels to Susanna Hall and her husband. His Florio's version of Montaigne is in the British Museum, if theauthenticity of his signature can be trusted. His neat Aldine Ovid is atthe Bodleian, inscribed with his initials, and a note: 'this little bookeof Ovid was given to me by W. Hall, who sayd it was once WillShakspere's. '

We would call to our meeting Gabriel Harvey with his new Italian booksand pamphlets; and Spenser, if possible, should be there; Dr. Dee wouldtell the piteous story of his four thousand volumes, printed andunprinted, Greek, in French, and High-Dutch MSS. , etc. , and of fortyyears spent in gathering the books that were all on their way to thepawnshop. He might have told the fortunes of all the books with the helpof his magical mirrors and crystals. Francis Bacon's store was toincrease and multiply, to adorn the library at Cambridge and fill theshelves at Gray's Inn; Lord Leicester's books, with their livery of the'bear and ragged staff, ' were to freeze for ages in the galleries atLambeth. We should have Ascham inveighing against the ancients and theiridle and blind way of living: 'in our father's time, ' he says, 'nothingwas read but books of feigned chivalry'; but Captain Cox would come forthto meet him, attired as in the tournament at Kenilworth, or in thepicture which Dibdin has extracted from Laneham. 'Captain Cox camemarching on, clean trussed and gartered above the knee, all fresh in avelvet cap: an odd man, I promise you: by profession a mason, and thatright skilful and very cunning in fence. . . . As for King Arthur and Huonof Bourdeaux, . . . The Fryar and the Boy, Elynor Rumming, and theNut-brown Maid, with many more than I can rehearse, I believe he has themall at his fingers' ends. '

James I. , as became a 'Solomon, ' was the master of many books; but notbeing a 'fancier' he gave them shabby coverings and scribbled idle noteson their margins. He is forgiven for being a pedant, since Buchanan saidit was the best that could be made of him; it is difficult to be patientabout his hint to the Dutch that it would be well to burn the old scholarVorstius instead of making him a professor at Leyden. He seems to havedone more harm than good to the libraries in his own possession. We knowhow he broke into a 'noble speech' when he visited Bodley at Oxford, withthe librarian trembling lest the King should see a book by Buchanan, whohad often whipped his royal pupil in days gone by: 'If I were not a KingI would be an University-man, and if it was so that I must be a prisonerI would desire no other durance than to be chained in that library withso many noble authors. '

The King gave Sir Thomas Bodley a warrant under the Privy Seal to takewhat books he pleased from any of the royal palaces and libraries;'howbeit, ' said Bodley, 'for that the place at Whitehall is over theQueen's chamber, I must needs attend her departure from thence, whereofat present there is no certainty known: how I shall proceed for otherplaces I have not yet resolved. '

Prince Henry had a more refined taste. The dilettanti of the Prince's settook no part in the drunken antics of the Court, where Goring was masterof the games, but Sir John Millicent 'made the best _extempore_ fool. 'The Prince bought almost the whole of the monastic library originallyformed by Henry Lord Arundel: about forty volumes had already been givenby Lord Lumley to Oxford. 

There was some danger that the books at Whitehall would be destroyed inthe fury of the Civil War; but almost all of them were saved by thepersonal exertions of Hugh Peters, when Selden had told him that therewas not the like of these rare monuments in Christendom, outside theVatican. Whitelocke was appointed their keeper, and to his deputy, JohnDury, we owe the first English treatise on library management. Thomas, Lord Fairfax, did a similar good service at Oxford. When the city wassurrended in 1646 the first thing that the General did was to place aguard of soldiers at the Bodleian. There was more hurt done by theCavaliers, said Aubrey, in the way of embezzlement and cutting the chainsoff the books, than was ever done afterwards. Fairfax, he adds, washimself a lover of learning, and had he not taken this special care thelibrary would have been destroyed; 'for there were ignorant senatorsenough who would have been content to have it so. ' As a rule, we mustadmit that the Puritans were friendly to literature, with a very naturalexception as to merely ecclesiastical records. Oliver Cromwell gave someof the Barocci MSS. To the University of Oxford; and the preservation ofUsher's library at Trinity College, Dublin, was due to the public spiritof the Cromwellian soldiers, officers and men having subscribed alike forits purchase 'out of emulation to a former noble action of QueenElizabeth's army in Ireland. '

[Illustration: SIR ROBERT COTTON. ]

Sir Robert Cotton began about 1588 to gather materials for a history ofEngland. With the help of Camden and Sir Henry Spelman he obtained nearlya thousand volumes of records and documents; and these he arranged undera system, by which they are still cited, in fourteen wainscot pressesmarked with the names of the twelve Cæsars, Cleopatra, and Faustina. Hewas so rich in State Papers that, as Fuller said, 'the fountains werefain to fetch water from the stream, ' and the secretaries and clerks ofthe Council were glad in many cases to borrow back valuable originals. Sir Robert was at one time accused of selling secrets to the Spanishambassador, and various excuses were found for closing the library, until at last it was declared to be unfit for public use on account ofits political contents. He often told his friends that this tyranny hadbroken his heart, and shortly before his death in 1631 he informed theLords of the Council that their conduct was the cause of his mortalmalady. The library was restored to his son Sir Thomas: and in Sir JohnCotton's time the public made a considerable use of its contents; but itseems to have been still a matter of favour, for Burnet complains that hewas refused admittance unless he could procure a recommendation from theArchbishop and the Secretary of State. Anthony Wood gives a pleasantaccount of his visit: 'Posting off forthwith he found Sir John Cotton inhis house, joining almost to Westminster Hall: he was then practising onhis lute, and when he had done he came out and received Wood kindly, andinvited him to dinner, and directed him to Mr. Pearson who kept the key. Here was another trouble; for the said Mr. Pearson being a lodger in theshop of a bookseller living in Little Britain, Wood was forced to walkthither, and much ado there was to find him. ' The library was afterwardsmoved to Essex Street, and then to Ashburnham House in Little Dean'sYard, where the great fire took place in 1731, which some attributed to'Dr. Bentley's villainy. ' Dean Stanley has told us how the Headmaster ofWestminster, coming to the rescue, saw a figure issue from the burninghouse, 'in his dressing-gown, with a flowing wig on his head, and a hugevolume under his arm. ' This was Dr. Bentley the librarian, doing his bestto save the Alexandrian MS. Of the New Testament. Mr. Speaker Onslow andsome of the other trustees worked hard in the crowd at pumping, breakingopen the presses, and throwing the volumes out at a window. Thedestruction was lamentable; but wonders have been done in extending theshrivelled documents and rendering their ashes legible. The public use ofthe collection had been already regulated by Parliament when acomprehensive Act was passed in 1753, and the nation acquired under onetitle the Cottonian Library, Sir Hans Sloane's Museum, the Earl ofOxford's pamphlets and manuscripts, and all that remained of the ancientroyal collections. 

Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, made a great purchase in 1705, and spentthe next twenty years in building on that foundation. His son, EarlEdward, threw himself with zeal into the undertaking, and left at hisdeath about 50, 000 books, besides a huge body of manuscripts and anincredible number of pamphlets. We shall quote from the sketch by Oldys, who shared with Dr. Johnson the task of compiling the catalogue. 'TheEarl had the rarest books of all countries, languages, and sciences':thousands of fragments, some a thousand years old: vellum books, of whichsome had been scraped and used again as 'palimpsests': 'a greatcollection of Bibles, and editions of all the first printed books, classics, and others of our own country, ecclesiastical as well as civil, by Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, Berthelet, Rastall, Grafton, and thegreatest number of pamphlets and English heads of any other person:abundance of ledgers, chartularies, etc. , and original letters of eminentpersons as many as would fill two hundred volumes; all the collections ofhis librarian Humphrey Wanley, of Stow, Sir Symonds D'Ewes, Prynne, Bishop Stillingfleet, John Bagford, Le Neve, and the flower of a hundredother libraries. '

A few of these collections ought to be separately mentioned. Stow haddied in great poverty, and indeed had been for many years a licensedbeggar or bedesman; but in his youth he had been enabled by Parker'sprotection to make a good collection out of the spoils of the Abbeys;during the Elizabethan persecution he was nearly convicted of treason forbeing in possession of remnants of Popery, and found it very hard toconvince the stern inquisitor that he was only a harmless antiquary. SirSymonds D'Ewes had endeavoured by his will, which he modelled upon thatof De Thou, to preserve undispersed through the ages to come the'precious library' bequeathed in a touching phrase 'to Adrian D'Ewes, myyoung son, yet lying in the cradle. ' Notwithstanding all his bonds andpenalties the event which he dreaded came to pass. Harley had advisedQueen Anne to buy a collection that included so many precious documentsand records: the Queen, wishing perhaps to rebuff her minister, said thatit was indeed no merit in her to prefer arts to arms, 'but while theblood and honour of the nation was at stake in her wars she could not, till she had secured her living subjects an honourable peace, bestowtheir money upon dead letters'; and so, we are told, 'the Earl stretchedhis own purse, and gave £6000 for the library. ' Peter Le Neve spent hislife in gathering important papers about coat-armour and pedigrees. Hehad intended them for the use of his fellow Kings-at-Arms; but it wassaid that he had some pique against the Heralds' College, and so 'cutthem off with a volume. ' The rest went to the auction-room: 'The Earl ofOxford, ' said Oldys, 'will have a sweep at it'; and we know that the castwas successful. As for John Bagford, the scourge of the book-world, wehave little to say in his defence. In his audacious design of compiling ahistory of printing he mangled and mutilated about 25, 000 volumes, tearing out the title pages and colophons and shaving the margins even ofsuch priceless jewels of bibliography as the Bible of Gutenberg and thoseof 'Polyglott' Cardinal Ximènes. He cannot avoid conviction as a literarymonster; yet his contemporaries regarded him as a miracle of erudition, and Mr. Pollard has lately put in a kindly plea in mitigation. We arereminded that Bagford made no money by his crimes, that he tookwalking-tours through Holland and Germany in search of bargains, and thathe made 'a priceless collection of ballads. ' It might be said also for afurther plea that what one age regards as sport another condemns asbutchery. The Ferrar family at Little Gidding were the inventors of'pasting-printing, ' as they called their barbarous mode of embellishment;and Charles I. Himself, in Laud's presence, called their largestscrap-book 'the Emperor of all books, ' and 'the incomparablest book thiswill be, as ever eye beheld. ' The huge volume made up for Prince Charlesout of pictures and scraps of text was joyfully pronounced to be 'thegallantest greatest book in the world. ' The practice of 'grangerising, 'or stuffing out an author with prints and pages from other works, waseven praised by Dibdin as 'useful and entertaining, ' though in our owntime it is rightly condemned as a malpractice. 

Next to Harley's library in importance was that of John Moore, Bishop ofEly, of which Burnet said that it was a treasure beyond what one wouldthink the life and labour of a man could compass. Oldys has described itin his notes upon London libraries, which it is fair to remember werebased on Bagford's labours, as regards the earlier entries. 'The Bishop, 'he says, 'had a prodigious collection of books, written as well asprinted on vellum, some very ancient, others finely illuminated. He had aCapgrave's Chronicle, books of the first printing at Maintz and otherplaces abroad, as also at Oxford, St. Alban's, Westminster, etc. ' Therewas some talk of uniting it with Harley's collection; but in 1715 it wasbought by George I. For 6000 guineas, and was presented to the PublicLibrary at Cambridge. 

The University had possessed a library from very early times. It owedmuch to the liberality of several successive Bishops of Durham. TheodoreBeza and Lord Bacon were afterwards among its most distinguishedbenefactors. Bishop Hacket made a donation of nearly fifteen hundredvolumes: and in 1647 a large collection of Eastern MSS. , brought homefrom Italy by George Thomason, was added by an ordinance of theCommonwealth. But, until the royal gift of the Bishop of Ely's books, theUniversity received no such extraordinary favour of fortune as came tothe sister institution through the splendid beneficence of Bodley. 

CHAPTER XI. 

BODLEY--DIGBY--LAUD--SELDEN--ASHMOLE. 

The University of Oxford still offers public thanks for Bodley'sgenerosity upon his calendar-day. The ancient library of Duke Humphreyand his pious predecessors had, as we have seen, been plundered anddevastated. But Sir Thomas Bodley, when retiring from office in 1597, conceived the idea of restoring it to prosperity again; 'and in a fewyears so richly endowed it with books, revenues, and buildings, that itbecame one of the most famous in the world. ' Bodley has left us his ownaccount of the matter:--'I concluded at the last to set up my staff atthe library-door in Oxon. I found myself furnished with such four kindsof aids as, unless I had them all, I had no hope of success. For withoutsome kind of knowledge, without some purse-ability to go through with thecharge, without good store of friends to further the design, and withoutspecial good leisure to follow such a work, it could not but have proveda vain attempt. ' When Méric Casaubon visited Oxford a few yearsafterwards he found the hall filled with books. 'Do not imagine, ' hewrote, 'that there are as many MSS. Here as in the royal library atParis. There are a good many in England, though nothing to what our Kingpossesses; but the number of printed books is wonderful, and increasingevery year. During my visit to Oxford I passed whole days in this place. The books cannot be taken away, but it is open to scholars for seven oreight hours a day, and one may always see a number of them revelling attheir banquet, which gave me no small pleasure. ' Bodley was not one ofthose who like libraries to be open to all comers. 'A grant of suchscope, ' said his statute, 'would but minister an occasion of pesteringall the room with their gazing; and the babbling and trampling up anddown may disturb out of measure the endeavours of those that arestudious. Admission, from the first, was granted only to graduates, andevery one on his entrance had to take the oath against 'razing, defacing, cutting, noting, slurring, and mangling the books. '

Sir Thomas was ably seconded by 'good Mr. James, ' his first librarian, and by the bookseller John Bill, who collected for him at Frankfort andLyons and other likely places on the Continent. The most minute ruleswere laid down for the protection of the books against embezzlement. Thevolumes were chained to the desks, and readers were entreated to fastenthe clasps and strings, to untangle the chains, and to leave the books asthey found them. Bodley was always enquiring about the store of chainsand wires. 'I pray you write to John Smith, ' he said to James, 'that Imay be furnished against Easter with a thousand chains'; he hopes tobring enough for that number, 'if God send my books safe out of Italy. 'About the time of the King's visit he writes that he has sent a case ofwires and clips by the carrier, 'which I make no doubt but you may ingood time get fastened to your books. ' His carefulness is shown by hisdirections for cleaning the room: 'I do desire that, after the library iswell swept and the books cleansed from dust, you would cause the floor tobe well washed and dried, and after rubbed with a little rosemary, for astronger scent I should not like. ' He often writes about his Continentalpurchases. John Bill, he says, had been at Venice, Florence, and Rome, and half a score other Italian cities, 'and hath bought us many books ashe knew I had not, amounting to the sum of at least £400. ' With regard tocertain duplicates he says: 'the fault is mine and John Bill's, whodealing with multitudes must perforce make many scapes. ' 'Jo. Bill hathgotten everywhere what the place would afford, for his commission waslarge, his leisure very good, and his payment sure at home. ' The agentbought largely at Seville; 'but the people's usage towards all of ournation is so cruel and malicious that he was utterly discouraged. '

[Illustration: SIR THOMAS BODLEY. ]

Sir Thomas Bodley would accept a very small contribution or the gift of asingle volume of any respectable sort. But he would have no 'riff-raff, 'as he told Dr. James, and would certainly have scorned the almanacs andplay-books acquired after his death under a bequest from the melancholyBurton, and the ships' logs and 'pickings of chandlers' and grocers'papers' which were received long afterwards as part of Dr. Rawlinson'sgreat donation. He was always grateful for a well-meant present. Hewrites to his librarian: 'Mr. Schoolmaster of Winton's gift ofMelanchthon and Huss I do greatly esteem, and will thank him, if youwill, by letter. ' Some of the earliest gifts were of a splendid kind. Lord Essex sent three hundred folios, including a fine Budæus from thelibrary of Jerome Osorio, captured at Faro in Portugal when the fleet wasreturning from Cadiz. Bodley himself gave a magnificent _Romance ofAlexander_ that had belonged in 1466 to Richard Woodville, Lord Rivers. The librarian contributed about a hundred volumes, including early MSS. Procured from Balliol and Merton by his persuasion. Merton College, forits own part, sent nearly two-score volumes of 'singular good books infolio. ' Sir Henry Savile gave the 'Gospels' in Russian and the Greek'Commentaries on St. Augustine, ' and William Camden out of his povertybrought a few manuscripts and ancient books. Lawrence Bodley, thefounder's brother, came with thirty-seven 'very fair and new-bought worksin folio, and Lord Lumley with forty volumes reserved out of the librarysold to the Prince. Lord Montacute contributed the works of the Fathers, 'in sixty-six costly great volumes, all bought of set purpose and fairlybound with his arms, ' Mr. Gent a number of medical treatises, Sir JohnFortescue five good Greek MSS. And forty other books. We only mention afew of the choicer specimens or note the reappearance of old friendsdescribed in earlier chapters. In 1602 there arrived from Exeter BishopLeofric's vellum service-book, with several others that had lodged in itscompany since the days of Edward the Confessor. Next year came one of theexquisite 'Gospels' which Pope Gregory, as men said, had given to themissionary Augustine; the other had been included in Parker's gift toCorpus Christi. Sir Henry Wotton contributed a valuable Koran, to whichin later years he added Tycho Brahés 'Astronomy' with the author's MS. Notes. Thomas Allen gave a relic of St. Dunstan, containing the Saint'sportrait drawn by himself, and one of Grostête's books that had beengiven by the Friars to Dr. Gascoigne. Mr. Allen gave in all twelve rareMSS. Besides printed books, 'with a purpose to do more'; and Bodleycommends him as a most careful provoker and solicitor of benefactions. Hewas the mathematician, or rather the cabalistical astrologer, who taughtSir Kenelm Digby, introducing that romantic giant to the art of rulingthe stars, and how to melt and puff 'until the green dragon becomes thegolden goose, ' and all the other _arcana_ of alchemy. 

Digby was a good friend to the Bodleian. When quite a youth he cut downfifty great oaks to purchase a building-site near Exeter College. Thelaying of the foundation-stone in 1634 was amusingly described by Wood. The Heads of Houses were all assembled, and the University musicians 'hadsounded a lesson on their wind-music, ' standing on the leads at the westend of the library; but while the Vice-Chancellor was placing a piece ofgold on the first stone, the earth fell in, and the scaffold broke, 'sothat all those who were thereon, the Proctors, Principals of Halls, etc. , fell down all together one upon another, among whom the under-butler ofExeter College had his shoulder broken or put out of joint, and ascholar's arm bruised. ' It was at this time that Digby made a generousgift of books, all tall copies in good bindings with his initials on thepanels at the back. Among them were early works on science by Grostêteand Roger Bacon, besides histories and chronicles. Many of these bookshad belonged to Thomas Allen, who gave them to Digby as a token ofregard. Sir Kenelm wrote about them to Sir Robert Cotton, who was tothank Allen for his kindness: 'in my hands they will not be with lesshonourable memory of him than in any man's else. ' He felt sure that Allenwould have wished them to be freely used: 'all good things are the betterthe more they are communicated'; but the University was to be theabsolute mistress, 'to dispose of them as she pleaseth. ' Mr. Macrayquotes another passage about two trunks of Arabic MSS. Digby had giventhem to Laud for St. John's College or the Bodleian, as he might prefer, but nothing had been heard about their arrival. He promised more booksfrom his own library, which had been taken over to France after the CivilWar broke out. The books, however, remained abroad, and were confiscatedon Digby's death as being the chattels of an alien resident; but eitherby favour or purchase they soon became the property of the Earl ofBristol, and were afterwards sold by auction in London. Two volumes werepurchased for the Bodleian in 1825 which must be regarded with thedeepest interest. The 'Bacon' and 'Proclus' had belonged to the OxfordFriars, to Gascoigne, to the astrologer secluded in Gloucester Hall. Digby had written a note in each that it was the book of the UniversityLibrary, as witnessed by his initials; but it had taken them manygenerations to make the last stage of their journey from his book-shelfto their acknowledged home at Oxford. 

It was chiefly through the generosity of Laud that the Bodleian obtainedits wealth of Oriental learning. But it was not only in the East that theArchbishop devoted himself to book-collecting. Like Dr. Dee, he saw thevalue of Ireland as a hunting-ground, and employed his emissaries toprocure painted service-books, the records of native princes, and thearchives of the Anglo-Norman nobility. Among his most preciousacquisitions was an Irish MS. Containing the _Psalter of Cashel_, Cormac's still unpublished _Glossary_, and some of the poems ascribed toSt. Patrick and St. Columba. On the Continent the armies of GustavusAdolphus were ravaging the cities of Germany; and Laud's agents werealways at hand to rescue the fair books and vellums from the Swedishpikemen. In this way he obtained the printed Missal of 1481 and a numberof Latin MSS. From the College of Würzburg, and other valuable books frommonasteries near Mainz and Eberbach in the Duchy of Baden. It appears byMr. Macray's Annals that his gifts to the University between 1635 and1640 amounted to about thirteen hundred volumes, in more than twentylanguages. To our minds the most attractive will always be the very copyof the 'Acts' perused by the Venerable Bede, and the 'Anglo-SaxonChronicle' compiled in the Abbey of Peterborough. The men of Laud's agewould perhaps have attached greater importance to the Eastern MSS. Acquired by the Archbishop through Robert Huntingdon, the consul atAleppo, or the Greek library of Francesco Barocci, which he persuadedWilliam Earl of Pembroke to present to the University. In describing thePersian MSS. Of his last gift, Laud specially mentioned one as containinga history of the world from the Creation to the end of the SaracenEmpire, and as being of a very great value. He shows the greatest anxietyfor the safety of the volumes: 'I would to God the place for them wereready, that they might be set up safe, and chained as the other booksare. ' He gave many books to St. John's College; and he retained a largecollection in his Palace at Lambeth, which was bestowed on Hugh Petersafter his death; it is satisfactory, however, to remember that 'the studyof books' was recovered at the Restoration, and that Mr. Ashmole wasappointed to examine the accounts of the fanatic. 

Laud was not the first to seek for the treasures of the East. Before hisgifts began Sir Thomas Roe, who sat for Oxford with Selden, had presentedto the Bodleian a number of MSS. Acquired during his embassy toConstantinople. Joseph Scaliger, the restorer of Arabic learning in theWest, had been especially interested in Samaritan literature, and hadcorresponded about a copy of the Pentateuch with one Rabbi Eleazar, 'whodwelt in Sichem'; and, though the papers fell into the hands of robbers, they were afterwards delivered to Peiresc. The traveller Minutius hadreturned with Coptic service-books, and Peiresc, captivated with a newbranch of learning, established an agency for Eastern books at Smyrna. The Capucin Gilles de Loche averred that he had seen 8000 volumes in amonastery of the Nitrian Desert, 'many of which seemed to be of the age ofSt. Anthony': he had pushed into Abyssinia and had heard the 'uncouthchaunts and clashing cymbals, ' as Mr. Curzon heard them in a later age;and he had even cast his eyes on the _Book of Enoch_ with pallid figuresand a shining black text; and Peiresc was so inflamed with a desire tobuy it at any price that in the end he acquired it. The books seen by theCapucin in the Convent of the Syrians, stored 'in the vault beyond theoil-cellar, 'have become our national property; and if there are not manyof the age of St. Anthony we have at least the volume, completed by thehelp of a monk's note of the eleventh century, and originally written inthe year 411 'at Ur of the Chaldees by the hand of a man named Jacob. '

Much less attention seems to have been paid to the collection of Hebrewbooks than to those in Coptic and Arabic. Selden, it is true, gave tothe University Library 'such of his Talmudical and Rabbinical books aswere not already to be found there, ' and purchases were made at theCrevenna sale in Amsterdam and at a sale during the present century ofthe MSS. Of Matheo Canonici at Venice. The chief source from which theBodleian was supplied was the collection formed before 1735 by DavidOppenheimer, the Chief Rabbi at Prague. In the British Museum are theHebrew books presented by Solomon da Costa in 1759. The donor's lettercontained a few interesting details. There were three Biblical MSS. And ahundred and eighty printed books, all in very old editions: 'They werebound by order of King Charles II. , and marked with his cypher, and werepurchased by me in the days of my youth, and the particulars are they notwritten in the book that is found therewith?' They had been collectedunder the Commonwealth, and had afterwards been sent to the binder byKing Charles; but as the bill was never paid they lay in the shop untilthe reign of George I. , when they were sold to pay expenses, and so cameinto the possession of the excellent Solomon da Costa. 

The best antiquarian collections were those given to Oxford by Dr. Rawlinson in the last century, by Richard Gough in 1809, and by Mr. Doucein 1834. Mr. Macray has enumerated nearly thirty libraries which RichardRawlinson had laid under contribution, and his list includes suchheadings as the Miscellaneous Papers of Samuel Pepys, the Thurloe StatePapers, the remains of Thomas Hearne, and documents belonging to Gale andMichael Maittaire, Sir Joseph Jekyll, and Walter Clavell of the Temple. He cites a letter written by Rawlinson in 1741, as showing the curiousaccidents by which some of these documents were preserved: 'My agent lastweek met with some papers of Archbishop Wake at a chandler's shop: thisis unpardonable in his executors, as all his MSS. Were left to ChristChurch; but _quære_ whether these did not fall into some servant's hands, who was ordered to burn them, and Mr. Martin Folkes ought to have seenthat done. '

Mr. Gough's collection related chiefly to English topography, Anglo-Saxonand Northern literature, and printed service-books; it is stated tocontain more than 3700 volumes, all given by a generous bequest to form'an Antiquary's Closet. ' Mr. Douce's large library contained a number ofMissals and _Livres d'Heures_. Some of these are described as 'pricelessgems rivalled only by the Bedford Missal, ' especially one prayer-bookilluminated for Leonora, Duchess of Urbino, another that belonged toMarie de Médici, and 'a Psalter on purple vellum, probably of the ninthcentury, which came from the old Royal Library of France. ' Among the mostimportant of the earlier benefactions was the gift of the DodsworthPapers by Thomas Lord Fairfax. The archives of the Northern monasterieshad been kept for a time in eight chests in St. Mary's Tower at York. Roger Dodsworth, Sir William Dugdale's colleague in the preparation ofthe Monasticon, made copies of many of these documents; and when thetower was blown up in the siege of 1644 he was one of the zealousantiquarians who saved the mouldering fragments on the breach. His wholestore of archæological records became the property of Fairfax at hisdeath. They are of great historical importance, but at one time they werestrangely neglected. Wood says that all the papers were nearly spoiled ina damp season, when he obtained leave to dry them on the leads near theschools; but though it cost him a month's labour he undertook it withpleasure 'out of respect to the memory of Mr. Dodsworth. '

The Ashmolean books were some years ago transferred to the Bodleian, butfor several generations there was a strange assortment of antiquarianlibraries gathered together in the Museum which Ashmole developed out ofMadam Tradescant's 'closet of curiosities. ' Here were the books of theshiftless John Aubrey, described by Wood as 'sometimes little better thancrazed': and here, according to Wood's dying wish, lay his own books, 'and papers and notes about two bushels full, ' side by side withDugdale's manuscripts. Dibdin quotes several extracts from EliasAshmole's diary, to show the old book-hunter's prowess in the chase. Hebuys on one day Mr. Milbourn's books, and on the next all that Mr. Hawkins left; he sees Mrs. Backhouse of London about the purchase of herlate husband's library. In 1667 he writes: 'I bought Mr. John Booker'sstudy of books, and gave £140. ' Being somewhat of an alchemist, he wasglad to become the owner of Lilly's volumes on magic, and most of Dr. Dee's collection came into his hands through the kindness of his friendMr. Wale. When Ashmole brought out his book upon the Order of the Garterhe became the associate of the nobility; and we will leave him feastingat his house in South Lambeth, clad in a velvet gown, and wearing hisgreat chain 'of philagreen links in great knobs, ' with ninety loops ofgold. 

In noticing the lawyers who have been eminent for their devotion to bookswe might go back to very early times. We ought at least to mentionSergeant William Fletewode, Recorder of London in the reign of Elizabeth, who bought a library out of Missenden Abbey, consisting mainly of theromances of chivalry; it was sold with its later additions in 1774 underthe title of _Bibliotheca Monastico-Fletewodiana_. The Lord ChancellorEllesmere in the same reign formed a collection of old English poetry, which became the foundation of a celebrated library belonging to theDukes of Bridgewater and afterwards to the Marquis of Stafford. SirJulius Cæsar, who was Master of the Rolls under James I. , was 'oftenreflected upon' for his want of legal knowledge; but he collected aquantity of good MSS. Which passed into the library of Mr. Carteret-Webb, after a narrow escape of being sold for £10 to a cheesemonger. They arenow in the British Museum together with a box of exquisite miniatureclassics, with which he used to solace himself on a journey. Arthur, Earlof Anglesea, was another distinguished lawyer, who was famous for havingacquired the finest specimens of books in 'all faculties, arts, andlanguages. '

The great bulk of Selden's books were given by his executors to theBodleian; but several chests of monastic manuscripts were sent to theInner Temple, and perished in a fire. He passed his whole life as ascholar; and yet, it is said, he deplored the loss of his time, andwished that he had neglected what the world calls learning, and hadrather 'executed the office of a justice of the peace. ' Sir Matthew Haleshould be remembered for his gift of MSS. To Lincoln's Inn. He made it acondition that they should never be printed; and the language of his willshows a certain dread of dealing lightly with the secrets of tenure andprerogative. 'My desire is that they be kept safe and all together inremembrance of me. They were fit to be bound in leather, and chained andkept in archives: they are a treasure not fit for every man's view, noris every man capable of making use of them. '

We shall close our account of the century with a few words about Dr. Bernard, a stiff, hard, and straightforward reader, whose library ofmedicine and general literature was sold by auction in 1698. 'Being aperson who collected his books not for ostentation or ornament he seemedno more solicitous about their dress than his own'; and therefore, saysthe compiler of his catalogue, 'you'll find that a gilt back or a largemargin was very seldom any inducement to him to buy. It was sufficient tohim that he had the book. ' 'The garniture of a book, ' he wouldobserve, 'was apt to recommend it to a great part of our moderncollectors'; he himself was not a mere nomenclator, and versed only intitle-pages, 'but had made that just and laudable use of his books whichwould become all those that set up for collectors. ' He was the possessorof thirteen fine Caxtons, which fetched altogether less than two guineasat his sale; the biddings seem to have been by the penny; and Mr. Clarkein his _Repertorium Bibliographicum_ observed that the penny at that timeseems to have been more than the equivalent of our pound sterling in thepurchase of black-letter rarities. 

CHAPTER XII. 

GROLIER AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 

Jean Grolier, the prince of book-collectors, was born at Lyons in 1479. His family had come originally from Verona, but had long been naturalisedin France. Several of his relations held civic offices; Étienne Grolier, his father, was in charge of the taxes in the district of Lyons, and wasappointed treasurer of the Milanese territories at that time in theoccupation of the French. Jean Grolier succeeded his father in both theseemployments. He was treasurer of Milan in 1510, when Pope Julius formedthe league against the French, which was crushed at the Battle ofRavenna; and for nearly twenty years afterwards Grolier took a principalpart in administering the affairs of the province. Young, rich, andpowerful, a lover of the arts and a bountiful patron of learning, hebecame an object of almost superstitious respect to the authors andbooksellers of Italy. He was eager to do all in his power towardsimproving the machinery and diffusing the products of science. He lovedhis books not only for what they taught but also as specimens oftypography and artistic decoration. To own one or two examples from hislibrary is to take high rank in the army of bookmen. The amateur ofbindings need learn little more when he comprehends the stages ofGrolier's literary passion, its fervent and florid beginnings, themajesty of its progress, and its austere simplicities in old age. 

Grolier was the personal friend of Gryphius, the printer of Lyons, and ofall the members of the House of Aldus at Venice. Erasmus, who was reveredby Grolier as his god-father in matters of learning, once paid acompliment to the treasurer, which was not far from the truth. 'You owenothing to books, ' he wrote, 'but they owe a good deal to you, because itis by your help that they will go down to posterity. ' The nature ofGrolier's relations with the Venetian publishers appears in his lettersto Francis of Asola about the printing of a work by Budæus. He writesfrom Milan in the year 1519: 'I am thinking every day about sending youthe "Budæus" for publication in your most elegant style. You must add toyour former favours by being very diligent in bringing out my friend'sbook, of which I now send you the manuscript revised and corrected by theauthor. You must take the greatest care, dear Francis, to present it tothe public in an accurate shape, and this indeed I must beg and implore. I want beauty and refinement besides; but this we shall get from yourchoice paper, unworn type, and breadth of margin. In a word, I want tohave it in the same style as your "Politian. " If all this extra luxuryshould put you to loss, I will make it good. I am most anxious thatthe manuscript should be followed exactly, without any change oraddition; and so, my dear Francis, fare you well. ' The book appeared witha dedication to Grolier himself, in which Francis of Asola recounts themany favours received by the elder Aldus in his lifetime, by himself, andby his father Andreas. The presentation copy was magnificently printed onvellum, with initials in gold and colours. Grolier inscribed it with hisname and device, so that it became easy to verify its subsequent history. It appeared among the books of the Prince de Soubise, and belongedafterwards to the Count Macarthy, and in 1815 was bought by Mr. Payne andtransferred to the Althorp Library. 

[Illustration: BINDING EXECUTED FOR GROLIER. ]

Grolier's books were generally stamped with the words '_et Amicorum_'immediately after his name, to indicate as we suppose that they were thecommon property of himself and his friends, although it has beensuggested that he was referring to his possession of duplicates. Anotherof his marks was the use of some pious phrase, such as a wish that hisportion might be in 'the land of the living, ' which was either printed onthe cover or written on a fly-leaf, if the volume were the gift of afriend. In the use of these distinctions he seems to have been precededby Thomas Maioli, a book-collector of a family residing at Asti, of whomvery little is known apart from his ownership of books in magnificentbindings. Grolier may have borrowed the phrase about his friends from acelebrated Flemish collector called Marcus Laurinus, or Mark Lauwrin ofWatervliet, who was in constant correspondence with the Treasurer abouttheir cabinets of medals and coins. Rabelais had a few valuable books, which he stamped with a similar design in Greek, and the Latin formoccurs in many other libraries. We are inclined to refer the origin ofthe practice to a letter written by Philelpho in 1427, in which he tellshis correspondent of the Greek proverb that all things are common amongfriends. 

Grolier's love of learning is shown by his own letters, and by thestatements contained in the books that were so constantly dedicated tohis name. To Beatus Rhenanus he wrote, with reference to an approachingvisit: 'Oh, what a festal day, to be marked (as they say) with a purewhite stone, when I am able to pay my humble duty to my own Rhenanus; andyou see how great are my demands when you are entered as mine in myaccounts. ' As controller of the Milanese district he became the object ofmuch adulation, for which his flatterers had to atone when the Frenchoccupation came to an end. The dedication of a certain dialogue affordsan instance in point. Stefano Negri sent his book to Grolier in asplendid shape. The presentation copy on vellum may be seen at theBritish Museum among the treasures of the Grenville Library. The writerrepresents himself in the preface as going about in search of a patron. He sees Mercury descending from the clouds with a message from Minerva. 'There is one man whom the Goddess holds dear, struggling like Ulyssesthrough the flood of this stormy life: he is known as Grolier to theworld. ' Nay, what need have you, says the author, to sing the praises ofthat famous man? 'You must confess, even if you like it not, that he ismost noble in his country and family, most wealthy in fortune, and mostfair and beautiful in his bodily gifts. '

As patron of all the arts the treasurer became the friend of FrancinoGafori, the leader of the new school of music that was flourishing atMilan. Gafori seems to have been often in Grolier's company. He dedicatedto the treasurer his work on the harmony of musical instruments, as wellas the _Apologia_ in which he afterwards convicted the Bologna school ofits errors. 'My work, ' he says in his later book, 'is sound enough ifsoundly understood'; and he tells his rival that, though he may writhewith rage, the harmony of Gafori and the fame of Jean Grolier will livefor ever. The introduction to his work upon harmony contains a fewinteresting details about Grolier's way of living at Milan. Gaforiaddresses his book in a dialogue, and vows that it shall never come homeagain if Grolier refuses to be the patron. A poetical friend adds a piecein which the Muses appear without their proper emblems, and even Apollois bereft of his lyre. Gafori, they say, has taken away their harmoniesand will not give them back. They are advised to make their way to theconcert at Grolier's house, where the friend of the Muses sits among thelearned doctors. An illustration shows Gafori sitting at his organ andthe musicians with their wind-instruments at the end of the lofty hall. Gafori himself, in another preface, declares that his musical offspringcan hardly be kept at home; they used to be too shy to go out, though allthe musicians were awaiting them; now that they have Grolier's patronagethey are all as bold as brass, and ready to rush through any danger tosalute their generous friend. The history of the copy presented toGrolier is not without interest. After the great musician's death thetreasurer gave it to Albisse, one of the King's secretaries: Albisse in1546 gave it to Rasse de Neux, a surgeon at Paris, who was devoted tocurious books; in 1674 it entered the library of St. Germain-des-Prés, and was nearly destroyed more than a century afterwards in a great fire. During the Revolution it was added to the collection at the Convent desCélestins, and was afterwards deposited in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, where we suppose that it still remains. 

Grolier was fond of giving books to his friends. A commentary on thePsalms with his name and device, now in the National Library at Paris, bears an inscription showing that he had given it to a monk named JacquesGuyard. He presented a fine copy of Marcus Aurelius to his friend EurialoSilvestri; and there are volumes bearing his name in conjunction withthose of Maioli and Laurinus which indicate similar gifts. He is known tohave presented several volumes to the President de Thou as a mark ofgratitude for assistance during his later troubles. It is somewhatsingular that Jacques-Auguste de Thou never succeeded in gettingpossession of these books, though they had always been kept in hisfather's library; and they were not, indeed, replaced in the 'BibliothecaThuana' until it had become the property of the Cardinal de Rohan. It isinteresting to learn that a volume of Cicero was given by Grolier to theartistic printer, Geoffroy Tory of Bourges, who designed the lettering ofhis mottoes: they were of an antique or 'Roman' shape, and were in twosizes, and proportioned, as we are told, 'in the same ratio to each otheras the body and face of a man. ' Geoffroy Tory mentioned them in a letterof the year 1523. 'It was on the morrow of the Epiphany, ' says thelight-hearted artist, 'that after my slumbers were over, and inconsciousness of a joyous repast, I lay day-dreaming in bed, and twistingthe wheels of my memory round: I thought of a thousand little fanciesboth grave and gay, and then there came before my mind those antiqueletters that I used to make for my lord, Master Jean Grolier, the King'scouncillor, and a friend of the _Belles Lettres_ and of all men oflearning, by whom he is loved and esteemed on both sides of the Alps. '

Another testimony comes from Dr. Sambucus, who knew Grolier well when hewas living in Paris, and used to be fond of inspecting his cabinet ofcoins. In the last year of Grolier's life he received a book on thesubject with a dedication to himself by the worthy Doctor. Grolier wasreminded in the preface of their long talks on antiquarian subjects, andof the kindness which Sambucus had received from the treasurer and thetreasurer's father at Milan. 'During the last three years, ' saysSambucus, 'I have been enriching my library, and I have added some veryscarce coins to the cabinet that you used to admire. ' He adds a fewcomplaints about dealers and the tricks of the trade, which we need notrepeat. 'And now farewell!' he ends, 'noble ornament of a noble race, bywhose mouth nothing has ever been uttered that came not from the heart!'

Some account of Grolier's career is to be found in De Thou's greathistory. He praised the 'incredible love of learning' that had earned fora mere youth the intimate friendship of Budæus. He showed with whatadministrative ability the Milanese territories were governed, and withwhat dignity Grolier filled the high office of Treasurer at home. 

Grolier, he says, built a magnificent mansion in the Rue de Bussy, whichwas known as the Hôtel de Lyon; in one of its halls he arranged themultitude of books 'so carefully, and with such a fine effect, that thelibrary might have been compared to that which Pollio established inRome'; and so great was the supply that, notwithstanding his many giftsto friends and various misfortunes which befell his collection, everyimportant library in France was able after his death to show some of hisgrand bindings as its principal ornament. Grolier's old age wasdisturbed by imputations against his official conduct, and it seemed atone time as if his fortune were in considerable danger. 'He was soconfident in his innocence, ' said the historian, 'that he would not seekhelp from his friends; but he might have fallen at last, if he had notbeen protected by my father the President, who always used his influenceto help the weak against the strong and the scholar against the ignoranceof the vulgar. ' The old Treasurer kept his serene course of life until hereached his eighty-sixth year: he died at his Hôtel de Lyon, surroundedby his books, and was buried near the high altar in the Church of St. Germain-des-Prés. 

Upon Grolier's death his property was divided among his daughters'families. Some of the books were certainly sold; but the greater part ofthe library became the property of Méric de Vic, the old Treasurer'sson-in-law. Méric was keeper of the seals to Louis XIII. His sonDominique became Archbishop of Auch. They were both fond of books, andtook great care of Grolier's three thousand exquisite volumes, of whichthey were successively the owners. They lived in a large house in the RueSt. Martin, which had been built by Budæus, and here the books were keptuntil the great dispersion in the year 1676. 'They looked, ' saidBonaventure d'Argonne, 'as if the Muses had taken the outsides into theircharge, as well as the contents, they were adorned with such art and_esprit_, and looked so gay, with a delicate gilding quite unknown tothe book-binders of our time. ' The same visitor described the sale of1676. All Paris was to be seen at the Hôtel de Vic. 'Such a gloriouscollection ought all to have been kept together; but, as it was, everybody got some share of the spoil. ' He bought some of the bestspecimens himself; and as he was only a poor monk of the Chartreuse theprices can hardly have run high. M. Le Roux de Lincy has traced the fateof the volumes dispersed at the sale. We hear, he says, of examplesbelonging to De Mesmes and Bigot, to Colbert and Lamoignon, Captain duFay, the Count d'Hoym, and the Prince de Soubise. Some of the finest werepurchased by Baron Hohendorf and were transferred about the year 1720 tothe Imperial Library at Vienna. Yet they never rose to any high priceuntil the Soubise sale towards the end of the last century, when theweight of the English competition for books began to be felt upon theContinent. 

M. De Lincy has traced the adventures of more than three hundred volumes, once in Grolier's ownership, but now for the most part in publiclibraries. The earlier possessors are classified according to the datesof their purchases. Of those who obtained specimens soon after the oldTreasurer's death we may notice especially Paul Pétau the antiquarian, DeThou the historian, and Pithou the statesman and jurist. Perhaps weshould add Jean Ballesdens, a collector of fine books and MSS. , whoselibrary at his death in 1677 contained nine of Grolier's books, andPierre Séguier, to whom Ballesdens acted as secretary; and as Séguier wasthe personal friend of Grolier, he may have been the original recipientof some of the volumes in question. 

Pierre Séguier founded a library which became one of the sights of Paris. His grandson, Charles Séguier, the faithful follower of Richelieu, wascelebrated for his devotion to books. He used to laugh at his ownbibliomania. 'If you want to corrupt me' he would say, 'you can always doit by giving me a book. ' His house in the Rue Bouloi served asheadquarters for the French Academy before it gained a footing in theLouvre; and on Queen Christina's visit in 1646 one of her first literaryexcitements was to visit Chancellor Séguier's _salon_. The decorationswere considered worthy of being engraved and published by Dorigny. Thegallery stood between two large gardens. The ceilings were encrusted withmosaics on a gold ground with allegorical designs by Vouet. The upperstory contained about 12, 000 books, and as many more were ranged in theadjoining rooms, one large hall being devoted to diplomatic papers, Greekbooks from Mount Athos, and Oriental MSS. According to a descriptionpublished in 1684 a large collection of porcelain was arranged on thewalls above the book-cases and in cases set cross-wise on the floor: 'thechina covered the whole cornice, with the prettiest effect in the world. 'We are reminded of the lady's book-room which Addison described assomething between a grotto and a library. Her books were arranged in abeautiful order; the quartos were fenced off by a pile of bottles thatrose in a delightful pyramid; the octavos were bounded by tea-dishes ofall shapes and sizes; 'and at the end of the folios were great jars ofchina placed one above the other in a very noble piece of architecture. '

Among the purchasers at the later sale we may notice the witty EspritFléchier, who bought several of the lighter Latin poets, being afashionable versifier himself and a dilettante in matters of binding andtypography. In his account of the High Commission in Auvergne, appointedto examine into charges of feudal tyranny, the Abbé tells us how hisreputation as a bibliophile was spread by a certain Père Raphael at allthe watering-places, and how two learned ladies came to inspect his booksand carried off his favourite Ovid. His library was removed to London andsold in the year 1725; and the occasion was of some importance as markingthe beginning of the English demand for specimens from Grolier's library. 

Archbishop Le Tellier bought fifteen good examples, which he bequeathedin 1709, with all his other books, to the Abbey of St. Geneviève. Hiswhole collection included about 50, 000 volumes, mostly dealing withhistory and the writings of the Fathers. 'I have loved books from myboyhood, ' he said, 'and the taste has grown with age. ' He bought most ofhis collection during his travels in Italy, in England, and in Holland;but perhaps the best part of his store came from his tutor AntoineFaure, who left a thousand volumes to the Archbishop, to be selected atthe legatee's discretion. 

The most valuable portion of Grolier's library was bought by his friendHenri de Mesmes. This included the long series of presentation copies, printed on vellum, and magnificently bound. De Mesmes was a collectorwith a love of curiosities of all kinds. He seems to have been equallyfond of his early specimens of printing, his Flemish and Italianilluminations, and the Arabic and Armenian treatises procured by hisagents in the East. His library became a valuable museum which waspraised by all the writers of that age, except indeed by François Pithou, who called De Mesmes a literary grave-digger, and mourned over the burialof so many good books in those cold and gloomy sepulchres. 

There seems to have been little occasion for this outburst, since thelibrary was open to all who could make a good use of it during the lifeof Henri de Mesmes and under his son and grandson. Henri de Mesmes theyounger, its owner in the third generation, was renowned for his zeal incollecting; he is said to have even procured MSS. From the Court of theGreat Mogul, dispatched by a French goldsmith at Delhi, who packed themin red cotton and stuffed them into the hollow of a bamboo for safercarriage. One of the finest things in his whole library was the Psalterwhich Louis IX. Had given to Guillaume de Mesmes: it had come by somemeans into the library at Whitehall; but on the execution of Charles I. The French Ambassador had been able to secure it, and had restored it tothe family of the original donee. 

The Norman family of Bigot rivalled the race of De Mesmes in their ardourfor book-collecting. Jean Bigot in 1649 had a magnificent library of 6000volumes, partly inherited from his ancestors, and partly collected out ofthe monastic libraries at Fécamp and Mont St. Michel and other places inthat neighbourhood. His son Louis-Emeric took the library as his share ofthe inheritance: its improvement became the occupation of his life; hemade many expeditions after books in foreign countries, but when he wasat home his library was the general _rendez-vous_ of all who wereinterested in literature. The books were left to Robert Bigot upon truststhat were intended to prevent their dispersion. A sale, however, tookplace in 1706, at which the monastic archives and most of the MSS. Werepurchased by the government. 

By some arrangement, of which the history is unknown, the head of thefamily of De Mesmes was persuaded to allow his books to be included inthe Bigot sale. There seems to have been an attempt to disguise thetransaction by tearing off the bindings and defacing the coats of arms. The strangest thing about the sale was the fact that no notice was takenof its containing the finest portion of Grolier's library. The splendid_Aldines_, on vellum, fell into the hands of an ignorant notary with anew room to furnish: and he thought fit to strip off all the bindings, that had been a marvel of Italian art, and to replace them with the gaudycoverings that were more suited to his _bourgeois_ desires. 

M. De Lincy remarks that Grolier's books were strangely neglected througha great part of the eighteenth century. At the very end of the period, Count Macarthy had the good taste to include a few of them in hiscollection of books upon vellum. Mr. Cracherode began, in 1793, to buyall the specimens that came into the market: and the library which hebequeathed to the British Museum contains no less than eighteen fineexamples. Eight more were comprised in the magnificent bequest of Mr. Thomas Grenville's library in 1846. There has been a demand for thesebooks in England for more than a century and a half. But when we look atthe catalogues of Gaignat or La Vallière they seem to have beenaltogether disregarded. When Gaignat died in 1768 his collection wasregarded as perfect; it was said that 'no one in the commonwealth ofletters had ever brought together such a rich and admirable assembly. 'Yet he only had one 'Grolier book, ' a magnificent copy of Paolo Giovio'sbook on Roman Fishes, which passed to the Duc de la Vallière, and wentfor a few _livres_ at his sale. There were only two other specimens inthe Duke's library; and they seem to have been treated with equalindifference. M. De Lincy was of opinion that the memory of Grolier wasalmost entirely forgotten, except in his native city of Lyons. Theappearance of his books might be admired by an antiquary here and there;but the classics had gone out of fashion for a time, and the world gaveits attention to old poetry, to mediæval romance, and even to 'books of_facetiæ_. '

Grolier's reputation had mainly depended on his generous patronage ofliterature. Even the House of Aldus had rejoiced to be the clients of anew Mæcenas. The authors of that time were still too weak to go alone. Inthe absence of a demand for books it was essential to gain the favour ofa great man who might open a way to fame and would at least provide apension. We have all smiled at the adulations of an ancient preface andthe arrogance which too often baulked the poor writer's hopes. D'Israelireminds us that one of the Popes repaid the translation of a Greektreatise with a few pence that might just have paid for the binding, andof Cardinal Este receiving Ariosto's work with the question--'Where onearth all that rubbish had been collected?' This was but a temporaryphase, and literature became free from the burden as soon as the publichad learned to read. The Houses of Plantin and the Elzevirs required nohelp in selling out their cheap editions. A good dedication was still afeather in the patron's cap. Queen Christina considered that she wasjustly entitled to the patronage of her subjects' works: and MarshalRantzau, when writers were scarce in Denmark, brought out an anonymouswork for the purpose of introducing a preface in which his fame as abook-collector was glorified. But the patron's function was graduallyrestricted; and at last it was nearly confined to cases where adedication repaid assistance given in producing an unsaleable book. 

The later renown of Grolier must rest on the fact that he invented a newtaste. It would have been nothing to buy a few thousand Aldine books, even if the collection included all the first editions, the papers of allsizes, the copies with uncut edges, and specimens of the true misprints. The family of Aldus had a large library of this kind, which was dispersedat Rome by its inheritor in the third generation; but it never attractedmuch attention, and was generally believed to have been merged in acollection at Pisa. Grolier introduced a fashion depending for itssuccess on a multiplicity of details. He bought books out of largeeditions just issuing from the press; but he chose out the specimen withthe best printing, and the finest paper, if vellum were not forthcoming. The condition was perfect. Like the Count Macarthy he would have no dustor worm-holes: he was as microscopic in his views as the most accurateParisian bibliophile. The binding was in the best Italian style: ageneral sobriety was relieved by the brilliancy of certain effects, bythe purity of the design, perhaps above all by the perfection of thematerials. The book was an object of interest, for its contents, or forhistorical or personal reasons; but it had also become an _objet d'art_, like a gem or a figure in porcelain. Grolier preserved his dignity as abibliophile, and his true followers have not degenerated into collectorsof _bric-à-brac_. It is sufficient to name such men as M. Renouard, theowner of many of Grolier's treasures, or M. Firmin-Didot 'the friend ofall good books, ' or the collections of Mr. Beckford and Baron Seillièrewhich have been in our own time dispersed. No doubt there is a tendency, especially among French amateurs, to regard books as mere curiosities;and M. Uzanne has drawn an amusing picture of the book-hunter as achrysalis in his library, destined to find his wings in a flight aftermosaic bindings, autographs, original water-colours, or plates in earlystates. 

It is possible, however, to prevent the 'book-buying disease' fromdeveloping into a general collector's mania. With the world full ofbooks, we must adopt some special variety for our admiration. One personwill choose his library companions for their stateliness and splendidraiment, another for their flavour of antiquity, or the fine company thatthey kept in old times. Montaigne loved his friends on the shelf, becausethey always received him kindly and 'blunted the point of his grief. ' Heturned the volumes over in his round tower within any method or design;'at one while, ' he says, 'I meditate, at another time I make notes, ordictate, as I walk up and down, such whimsies as meet you here. ' He caredlittle about the look of their outsides, but thought a great deal abouttheir readiness to divert him; 'it is the best _viaticum_ I have yetfound out for this human pilgrimage, and I pity any man of understandingwho is not provided with it. ' We have omitted the best reason of all. Onewho has lived among his books will love them because they are his own. Marie Bashkirtseff expressed the matter well enough in a page of herjournal:--'I have a real passion for my books, I arrange them, I countthem, I gaze upon them: my heart rejoices in nothing but this heap of oldbooks, and I like to stand off a little and look at them as if they werea picture. '

CHAPTER XIII. 

LATER COLLECTORS: FRANCE--ITALY--SPAIN. 

We have still to notice one or two of Grolier's contemporaries, who maybe classed as great book-collectors of an old-fashioned type. They knewthe whole history of 'the Book, ' and were themselves the owners ofexquisite treasures, which are now hoarded up as the choicest remains ofantiquity. But their function was not so much to collect books as rareand curious objects as to undertake the duty of saving the records ofpast history from destruction. They did the work in their day which hasnow devolved upon the guardians of public and national libraries. Noprivate person could now take their place; but the interests ofliterature could hardly have been protected in a former age without thepersonal labour and enthusiasm of Orsini and Pétau. 

Fulvio Orsini was born in 1529. He began life as a beggar, though formany years before his death he was the leader of Italian learning. A poorgirl had been abandoned with her child and was forced to beg her bread inthe streets of Rome. The boy obtained a place in the Lateran when he wasonly seven years old: the Canon Delfini recognised his precocious talentsand undertook to find him a classical education. The student obtainedsome small preferment, and succeeded to his patron's appointment. Hismarvellous acquaintance with ancient books secured him a place aslibrarian to the Cardinal Farnese, and he received many offers of morelucrative employment: but he found that if he accepted he would have tolive away from Rome; and he refused everything that could causeinconvenience to his mother, whose comfort was his constant care. On hisdeath, in the year 1600, he bequeathed his vast collections to theVatican, and the gift can only be compared to such important events asthe arrival of the spoils of Urbino, or the great purchase of MSS. Fromthe Queen of Sweden. 

Orsini has been ridiculed for having more books than he could read, andfor an excessive devotion to the antique. 'Here is a library like anarsenal, ' said the satirist, 'stored with all the requisites for anycampaign. The owner buys all the books that come in his way: it is truethat he will not read them; but he will have them magnificently bound, and ranged on the shelves with a mighty show, and there he will salutethem several times a day, and will bring his friends and servants to maketheir acquaintance. ' Orsini is rebuked for his admiration of a dustymanuscript. 'When one of these old parchments falls into his hands, hemakes you examine the decayed leaves on which the eye can hardly traceany marks of an ancient pen. 'What is this treasure that we have here?'he cries, 'and oh! what joy, here we have the delight of mankind, andthe world's desire, and pleasures not to be matched in Paradise!''There, ' says our satirist, 'you have the very portrait of Fulvio Orsini. Why, he once took a manuscript _Terence_, full of holes and mistakes, inwriting to Cardinal Toletus, and told him that it was worth all the goldin the world'; and, to convince his Spanish Eminence, he said that thebook was a thousand years' old. '_Est-il possible?_' replies theCardinal, 'you don't say so. I can only say, my friend, I would ratherhave a book hot from the press than all the old parchments that the Sibylhad for sale. '

Jacques Bongars, the faithful councillor and ambassador of Henri Quatre, was the owner of a remarkable library, consisting to a great extent ofState papers and historical documents, which Bongars had specialfacilities for collecting during his official visits to Germany. He hadstudied law at Bourges under the learned Cujacius, of whom it is recordedthat when his name was mentioned in the German lecture-rooms, every onepresent took off his hat. Bongars has described his excitement atpurchasing the great lawyer's library. 'My chief care has been to seekout the books belonging to Cujas. I expect that you will have a finelaugh when you think of all that crowd that goes to Court as if it were afair, to do their business together, and to try to get money out of theKing, while a regular courtier like myself rushes off to this lonely spotto spend his fortune on books and papers, all in disorder and half eatenby the book-worms. You will be able to judge if I am an avaricious man. No trouble or expense is anything to me where books are concerned. Wouldto God that I were free, and had time to read them. I should not feel anyenvy then of M. De Rosny's wealth or the Persian's mountain of gold. 'While residing at Strasburg he bought the manuscripts belonging to theCathedral from some of the soldiers by whom the city was more than oncepillaged during the wars of religion. 

About the year 1603 Bongars arranged with Paul Pétau for the jointpurchase of a large collection of manuscripts, which had belonged to theAbbey of St. Bénoit-sur-Loire, and had been saved by the bailiff PierreDaniel when the Abbey was plundered. The share of Bongars in thiscollection was transferred to Strasburg, and passed eventually with therest of his books to the public library of the city of Berne. 

Paul Pétau was a man of universal accomplishments. He was the rival ofScaliger in the science of chronology; his doctrinal works are praised as'a monument of useful labour'; 'he solaced his leisure hours with Greekand Hebrew, as well as Latin verse, ' and, according to Hallam's judgment, obtained in the last subject the general approbation of the critics. Heformed a valuable museum of Greek, Roman, and Gaulish antiquities, with acabinet of Frankish coins, to which Peiresc was a generous contributor. His library contained several books that had belonged to Grolier; but itwas chiefly remarkable for its MSS. , of which several were published bySirmond and Du Chesne among other materials for the history of France. Many of them had been acquired from the collection of Greek and Hebrewbooks formed by Jean de Saint André, or out of the mass of chronicles, romances, and old French poems belonging to Claude Fauchet, and a largeportion came, as we have seen, out of an ancient Benedictine Abbey. PaulPétau's books of all kinds were left to his son Alexander. The printedbooks, comprising a number of finely illustrated works on archæology, were sold at the Hague in 1722; the sale included the old libraryinherited by Francis Mansard, and the MSS. Relating to Roman antiquitiesthat had been the property of Lipsius. A thousand splendid volumes onparchment, the pride of the elder Pétau, described by all who saw them interms of glowing admiration, were sold in his son's lifetime to QueenChristina of Sweden. She had always intended to buy some greatcollection, and had thought among others of buying up those of Henri deMesmes, of De Béthune, and the Cardinal Mazarin. She was delighted withher new acquisition, and carried it off to Rome, where she made atriumphal entry with her books amidst the popular rejoicings. 

Something may be learned about the Italian collectors in the age thatfollowed Grolier's death, from the story of the strange wanderings of themanuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci. Very little was known upon this subjectuntil M. Arsène Houssaye found an account of what had happened among thepapers of the Barnabite Mazenta, who died in the year 1635. 'It wasabout fifty years ago, ' says the memorandum, written shortly before theold monk's death, 'that thirteen volumes of Leonardo's papers, allwritten backwards in his own way, fell into my hands. I was then studyinglaw at Pisa, and one of my companions in the class-room was AldusManutius, renowned as a book-collector. We received a visit from one ofhis relations called Lelio Gavardi; he had been tutor in the household ofFrancesco Melzi, who was the pupil and also the heir of Leonardo. ' Melzitreasured up every line and scrap of the great man's works at hiscountry-house in Vaprio; but his sons did not care for art, and left thepapers lying about in a lumber-room, so that Gavardi was able to helphimself as he pleased. He brought thirteen volumes, well-known in thehistory of literature, as far as Florence at first, and then to Aldus atPisa. 'I cried shame on him, ' said Mazenta, 'and as I was going to MilanI undertook to return them to the Melzi family. There I saw DoctorHoratio Melzi, who was quite astonished at my taking so much trouble, andgave me the books for myself, saying that he had plenty more of the samesort in his garrets at home. ' When Mazenta became a monk the thirteenvolumes passed to his brothers, who talked so much about the matter thatthere was a rush of amateurs to Vaprio, and the Doctor was overwhelmedwith offers for the great man's books and drawings. 'One of theserascals, ' said Mazenta, 'was the sculptor Pompeo Leoni, who used to makethe bronzes for the Escorial, and he pretended that he would obtain anappointment for Melzi at Milan, if he would get back the thirteen volumesfor King Philip's new library in Spain. Leoni got possession of most ofthe books and kept them in his own cabinet. One of the volumes waspresented by Mazenta's brother to the Ambrosian Library and may still beseen there, in company with the huge _Codice Atlantico_, which Leoni madeup out of hundreds of separate fragments. At Leoni's death his collectionwas bought by Galeazzo Arcanati, the illustrious owner of an artistic andliterary museum. He resisted the proposals of purchase that poured infrom foreign Courts; our James I. Is said to have offered three thousandgold doubloons for the great volume of designs; and on Arcanati's deaththe whole collection was transferred by his widow to the Ambrosiana. Somechanges had been made in the distribution of the papers since Mazenta soeasily acquired his thirteen books. The French took the same number awayin 1796; but none of them ever returned, except the famous _CodiceAtlantico_. 

In Spain there were but few persons interested in books before thefoundation of the Escorial towards the end of the sixteenth century. Welearn from Mariana that soon after the year 1580 a vast gallery in thepalace was filled with books, mostly Greek MSS. , which had been assembledfrom all parts of Europe; 'its stores, ' he said, 'are more precious thangold: but it would be well if learned men had greater facilities forreading them; for what profit is there from learning if she is treatedlike a captive and traitor?' Arias Montanus, the first Orientalist of hisage, was appointed librarian by the founder; he was the owner of animmense quantity of MSS. In Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic, many of which wereused in his edition of the Antwerp Polyglott Bible, and these hebequeathed to the Escorial, while his printed books were left to theUniversity of Seville. 

The first book was printed in Valencia as early as the year 1474; but theprospects of literature remained dark until the termination of theMoorish wars. On the capture of Granada it was thought necessary toobliterate the memory of the Koran, and scores of thousands of volumes, or a million as some say, were destroyed by Cardinal Ximènes in acelebrated _auto-da-fé_. About three hundred Arabic works on medicinewere preserved for the new library which the Cardinal was founding in hisUniversity of Alcalà. The Cardinal spent vast sums in gathering materialsfor his Mozarabic Missal and the great Complutensian Polyglott. It issaid that to avoid future criticism he gave his Hebrew originals to beused in the making of fireworks, just as Polydore Vergil was accused inour country of burning the monastic chronicles out of which he composedhis history, and as many Italian writers were believed to have destroyedtheir classical authorities. When Petrarch lost his Cicero, it wasthought that Alcionio might have stolen it for his treatise upon exile;but we should probably be right in rejecting all these stories togetheras mere calumnies and 'forgeries of jealousy. '

Antonio Lebrixa, who worked under the Cardinal till his death in 1522, had done much to revive a knowledge of books, and may be regarded as theprincipal agent in the introduction of the new Italian learning. Hispupil Ferdinand Nuñez, or Nonnius as he is often called, carried on thegood work at Salamanca, and left his great library to the University. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza was one of the most distinguished students whoever followed the lectures there. As a poet he has been called theSpanish Sallust: as the author of the adventures of Lazarillo de Tormeshe takes a high place among the lighter authors of romance; and as apatron of learning he will always be remembered for having enriched theEscorial with his transcripts from Mount Athos, and six chests ofvaluable MSS. Which he received in return for ransoming from hiscaptivity at Venice the son of Soliman the Magnificent. Great credit mustalso be given to Don Ferdinand Columbus for his good work at Seville. Theson of the great Admiral and Donna Beatrix Enriquez was one of the mostcelebrated bibliophiles in Europe. He began making his collections verysoon after his father's death. Between 1510 and 1537 he had visited Italyseveral times, and had travelled besides in England and France, in theLow Countries and in Germany, buying books wherever he went. His greatobject was to procure illuminated MSS. And early editions of romances andmiracle-plays; but he was also fond of the classics, and his library atSeville is still possessed of many copies of Latin poets and oratorswhich are full of his marginal notes. At Louvain he became acquaintedwith Nicholas Clénard, who was lecturing there on Greek and Hebrew, andwas just commencing the Arabic studies by which his name became famous. Don Ferdinand had a commission to bring back professors for theUniversity of Salamanca, where learning was beginning to revive; andClénard was easily induced to visit a country which might contain therelics of Moorish culture. Ferrari, as we know, was very successful inthe next generation in finding rare books in Spain for Borromeo'sAmbrosian library. At Bruges, Don Ferdinand met Jean Vasée, a man justsuited for an appointment as librarian, and he too was persuaded toaccompany the traveller on his return. Don Ferdinand established a largelibrary in his house at Seville. Clénard helped to arrange the books, andVasée became librarian. The volumes amounted at least to fifteen thousandin number, though the exact amount remains unknown owing to discrepanciesin the earliest catalogues. 

Don Ferdinand hoped that the library would be kept up by the family ofColumbus. With that object he left it to his great-nephew Don Luis, withan annuity to provide for the expenses; if the legacy were refused, itwas to pass to the Chapter of the Cathedral at Seville, with alternativeprovisions in favour of the Monastery of San Pablo. As events turned out, the succession was not taken up on behalf of his young kinsman, and aftersome litigation the Fernandina, or 'La Colombina' as it was afterwardscalled, was adjudged to the Chapter of Seville and placed in a room bythe Moorish Aisle at the Giralda. Owing chiefly to the generosity ofQueen Isabella and the Duc de Montpensier the library of 'La Colombina'has been restored to prosperity, although according to Mr. Ford it waslong abandoned to 'the canons and book-worms. ' It appears that in themiddle of the last century three-quarters of the MSS. Had been destroyedby rough usage or by the water dripping in from the gutters; the bookswere in charge of the men who swept the Church, and they allowed theschool-children to play with the illustrated volumes and to tear out theminiatures and woodcuts. Mr. Harrisse has described with much detail thegrandeur and the decline of this celebrated institution, and he givesreasons for supposing that it may have suffered even in recent years fromthe negligence of its guardians. It is satisfactory, however, to findthat its most precious contents have passed safely through every periodof danger; the library still contains some of the books of ChristopherColumbus, and especially the _Imago Mundi_ with his marginal notes aboutthe Portuguese discoveries, 'in all which things, ' he writes 'I had myshare. '

[Illustration: J. A. DE THOU. ]

CHAPTER XIV. 

DE THOU--PINELLI--PEIRESC. 

It was long a saying among the French that a man had never seen Paris whohad not looked upon the books of Thuanus. The historian Jacques-Augustede Thou held a leading place in literature, without pretending in any wayto rival the greatness of Joseph Scaliger or the erudition of IsaacCasaubon. He was the master of a great store of personal and secrethistory collected in state papers and records; but he was also famous forthe extent of his general scholarship, and for the patronage which hemanifested towards all who laboured about books. He was himself a mostfastidious collector. He never heard of the appearance of a valuable workwithout ordering three or four copies on the fine paper manufactured forhis private use; and of any such book already issued he would orderseveral sets of sheets to be taken to pieces in order to procure oneperfect example. His library was not large. It consisted of about 8000printed books and 1000 manuscripts, chiefly upon historical subjects; butthey were all well selected, well bound, and in perfect condition. Thereis a letter upon this subject by Henri Estienne the printer, in which thehigh reputation of De Thou's library is contrasted with Lucian's justinvective against the illiterate book-hunter: 'The satirist would havehonoured a man like you, so learned and so generous in your library: youchoose your books with taste, and proportion the cost of binding to theprice of the volume; and Lucian, I am sure, would have praised yourcarefulness in these respects. '

In all matters connected with literature De Thou was helped by his friend'Pithoeus, ' of whom it was said that no one knew any particular author aswell as Pierre Pithou knew all the classics. By talent and hard workcombined Pithou had 'distilled the quintessence of wisdom' out of thegarnered stores of antiquity. Upon his death De Thou was inclined to giveup his books and the work that had made life pleasant. He wrote in thatstrain to his associate Isaac Casaubon. 'On the loss of my incomparablefriend, the partner of my cares and my counsellor in letters andpolitics, the web that I was weaving fell from my hand, and I should nothave resumed my history were it not a tribute to the memory of one whohas done so much for me. '

De Thou's end was hastened by the death of his wife. Those who know thelook of his books, stamped with a series of his family quarterings, willremember that he was first married to Marie Barbançon, and afterwards toGasparde de la Chastre. 'I had always hoped and prayed, ' he wrote at thecommencement of his will, 'that my dearest Gaspara Chastræa would haveoutlived me. '

Admonished by her loss to set his affairs in order he began to takespecial pains in providing for the future of his books. He anticipatedthe public spirit of Cardinal Richelieu, to whom the merit is oftenassigned of having been the first to bequeath the use of his library toscholars. The Cardinal was not particular about the methods by which heamassed his literary wealth: he is said to have increased his store byall the arts of cajolery, and even by bare intimidation; and he may havewished to make some amends by directing that 'persons of erudition'should have access to his books after his death. De Thou had an equallove of books, and showed perhaps a kinder feeling about the use of thetreasures which his own care had accumulated. 'It is important, ' hewrote, 'for my own family and for the cause of learning that the libraryshould be kept together which I have been for more than forty yearscollecting, and I hereby forbid any division, sale, or dispersionthereof; I bequeath it to such of my sons as shall apply themselves toliterature, and they shall hold it in common, but so that it shall befree to all scholars at home or abroad. I leave its custody to Pierre duPuy until my sons are grown up, and he shall have authority to lend outthe MSS. Under proper security for their safe return. '

Pierre and Jacques du Puy, the 'two Puteani' as they were often called, were the sons of a distinguished bibliophile, Charles du Puy, who died in1594, and were themselves the leaders in a curious department ofbook-learning. Their father was the founder of a library enriched by hiscare with the best specimens of early printing and a few rare MSS. In thelatter class he possessed an ancient bilingual copy of St. Paul'sEpistles, a Livy in uncial characters, and the precious fragments of theVatican Virgil, which he gave to Fulvio Orsini in his lifetime. 'On hisdeath, ' says M. Guigard, 'the bibliographical succession passed to Pierreand Jacques, his younger sons, the first a Councillor of State, the otherPrior of St. Sauveur-les-Bray, and both employed as guardians of thebooks in the Royal Library. No two men were ever more ardently devoted tothe interests of learning. They worked in concert at increasing andimproving their father's library; but their chief object was toaccumulate and preserve the obscurer materials of history. The_Collection Du Puy_, which has now became national property, comprisedmore than 800 volumes of fugitive pieces, memoirs, instructions, pedigrees, letters, and all the other miscellaneous documents that wereclassed by D'Israeli 'under the vague title of State Papers. ' It has beensaid that the object of their 'Titanic labour' was to ease the way forthe historian De Thou; but it is more likely that the brothers obeyed aninstinct for the acquisition of secret history; 'life would have been tooshort to have decided on the intrinsic value of the manuscripts flowingdown in a stream to the collectors. ' The surviving brother bequeathedthese State Papers to the Abbé de Thou (the fourth possessor of the'Bibliotheca Thuana') who sold them to Charron de Ménars; they wereeventually purchased by Louis XVI. , and were deposited in the RoyalLibrary, where the printed books and certain other MSS. Had been alreadyreceived under a legacy from Jacques du Puy. 

When the historian died the brothers jointly undertook the trust that hadfallen to Pierre. 'Among all the French scholars, ' said Gassendi, 'thesetwo Puteani do most excel; and now, abiding with the sons of Thuanus, they sustain by all the means in their power the library and the studentsthat have been committed to their care. François-Auguste de Thou, thehistorian's eldest son, became Grand-Master of the King's books; he addedconsiderably to the 'Bibliotheca Thuana, ' and his house became themeeting-place of the Parisian _savants_. A brilliant career was cruellycut short by the malignity of Richelieu. 

The young Cinq-Mars was in a plot with the Queen and Gaston of Orléans tooverthrow the Cardinal's power. His friend De Thou was aware of thedesign, but had taken no part in the conspiracy. The Cardinal arrestedthem both, and dragged them along the Rhone in a boat attached to his ownbarge; and De Thou was executed as a scapegoat, while most of the leaderssaved their lives. The Cardinal died soon afterwards, without havingconfiscated the library; and it passed to Jacques-Auguste, thehistorian's younger son, who by a tardy act of grace had been restoredto the civil rights enjoyed by his brother before his unjust conviction. He was by all accounts as great a book-collector as his father; and hehad the good fortune to marry an heiress, Marie Picardet, who broughtwith her a large quantity of books from her father's house in Britanny. In the year 1677 the 'Bibliotheca Thuana' with all its additions passedto the Abbé Jacques-Auguste de Thou, who was soon afterwards compelled topart with it to the Président Charron de Ménars. St. Simon praised itsnew owner as a most worthy and honourable nonentity; but he had the senseto step into the breach and to save the 'Thuana' from destruction. Whenhe sold the library to the Cardinal de Rohan, in 1706, he reserved the_Collection Du Puy_ for his daughters. It is believed that the Cardinal, through the cleverness of his secretary Oliva, obtained the historian'schoice examples for less than the price of the binding. We must followthe career of the collection to its melancholy end. The Cardinal left itto his nephew the Prince de Soubise. The world knows him as the inventorof a sauce and as the general in one lost battle; but he had a higherfame among the booksellers for his prowess in the auction-room. He seemsto have been the victim of a frenzy for books. He impressed them bycrowds, and marshalled them in regiments and myriads. They all fell in1789 before the hammer of the auctioneer. Dibdin has described thecatalogue. It was unostentatious and printed on indifferent material. Hehoped, with his curious insistance on the point, that there were 'somefew copies on large paper. ' It is a mark of the changes inbook-collecting that Dibdin praised the index as excellent, 'enabling usto discover any work of which we may be in want'; but it is now regardedas remarkable for its poverty, and especially for the extraordinarycarelessness that left eight noble specimens from Grolier's librarywithout the slightest mark of distinction. 

Gian-Vincenzio Pinelli was a celebrated man of letters whose library atPadua formed 'a perpetual Academy' for all the scholars of his day. Bornat Naples in 1538, he spent the greater part of his long life at Padua, where he was sent to study the law; but the only sign of his professionallabours appears to have been that he rigidly excluded all works onjurisprudence from his magnificent library. His books, says Hallam, werecollected by the labours of many years: 'the catalogues of the Frankfortfairs and those of the principal booksellers in Italy were diligentlyperused, nor did any work of value appear from the press on either sideof the Alps which he did not instantly add to his shelves. ' Rememberingthe traditions of the age of Poggio, when the rarest classics might befound perishing in a garret or a cellar, Pinelli was always in the habitof visiting the dealers in old parchment and the brokers who carried offdeeds and papers from sales, just as Dr. Rawlinson collected and gave tothe Bodleian a mass of unsorted documents, including, as we have seen, even the logs of recent voyages, and the pickings of "grocers'waste-paper. " In each case the industry of the collector was constantlyrewarded by the discovery of valuable literary materials, which wouldhave been lost under ordinary circumstances. The library of Pinelli wasaugmented by that of his friend Paul Aicardo, the two _literati_ havingentered into an undertaking that the survivor should possess the wholefruit of their labours. On Pinelli's death, in 1601, his familydetermined to transfer his books to Naples. The Venetian governmentinterfered on the ground that, though Pinelli had been allowed to copythe archives and registers of the State, it had never been intended thatthe information should be communicated to a foreign power. Theirmagistrate seized a hundred bales of books, of which fourteen were packedwith MSS. On examination it appeared that there were about three hundredvolumes of political commentaries, dealing with the affairs of all theItalian States; and it was arranged, by way of compromise, that theseshould remain at Padua in a repository under the charge of an officialguardian. The rest of the library was despatched in three shiploads fromGenoa. One vessel was captured by pirates, and the cargo was thrownoverboard, only a few volumes being afterwards cast ashore. The otherships arrived safely at Naples; but it appears that the new proprietorshad little taste for literature. The whole remaining stock was found someyears afterwards in a mouldy garret, packed in ninety bales; and it waspurchased at last for 3000 crowns by Cardinal Frederic Borromeo, whoused it as the basis for the Ambrosian Library which he was at that timeestablishing in Milan. Another library was afterwards founded at Veniceby members of the Pinelli family engaged in the Levantine trade. On thedeath of its last possessor, Maffeo Pinelli, in 1787, the collection wassold to a firm of English booksellers. It seems by Dibdin's account tohave been in a poor condition, though Dr. Harwood declared that, 'therebeing no dust in Venice, ' it had reposed for some centuries in excellentpreservation. This immense body of books was re-sold in London two yearsafterwards at prices which barely covered the expenses incurred, though alarge amount was obtained for a copy of the Polyglott Bible of Ximènes insix folio volumes printed upon vellum. 

The praises of the great Pinelli were spread abroad by Scaliger, De Thou, and Casaubon; but his memory, perhaps, has been best preserved by theardent friendship of Peiresc. He was visited at Padua by the youngphilosopher in whose mind he found a reflection of his own; and it wasgenerally agreed that the lamp of learning had passed into safe handswhen it was yielded by Pinelli to the student from Provence. NicolasFabry de Peiresc belonged to an ancient family established near Aix. Hisfather had been selected by Louis XII. To share the education of thePrincess Renée. A man of learning himself, he spared no expense in theboy's instruction, who became celebrated even in his childhood for thestrength of his precocious intellect. The most eminent professors inItaly combined to exalt 'the ripe excellence of his unripe years'; andwhen Pinelli died it was said that Peiresc had taken the helm ofknowledge and was guiding the ship as he pleased. He explored at leisurethe riches of Florence and Rome, and afterwards watched the rise of the'Ambrosiana' at Milan. A letter from Joseph Scaliger, who ruled literaryEurope like a King, from his chair at Leyden, sent Peiresc off to Verona, where he hunted up evidence in support of the wild story that theScaligers were the representatives of the Ducal line of La Scala. 

Julius Cæsar Scaliger, the father of the great philologist, had amusedthe world by claiming to be the son of Benedetto and Berenice dellaScala, to have been a page of the Emperor Maximilian, and to have foughtin the Battle of Ravenna; and he pretended that he had become aCordelier, so as to rise to the Papal throne and expel the Venetians fromhis dominions. Peiresc was by no means a believer in this extraordinaryromance; but he did his best to collect the coins, epitaphs, andpedigrees, which might please his learned correspondent. Crossing theAlps, we are told, 'he viewed the Lake of Geneva and made a tour througha multitude of books'; and returned to Aix with a library and cabinet ofgems, 'thinking to himself that he would never see such plenty again. 'When he visited Paris in 1605, his first object, he said, was to see theillustrious De Thou, to thank him for his kind letters, and to enquirefor messages from Scaliger. 'I cannot express, ' he repeats, 'how joyfullyhe entertained me. ' De Thou took down his books for the visitor, andshowed him the records under lock and key that contained the secrets ofhis history, 'opening his very heart, and brimful of a wonderfulsincerity. ' Next day Casaubon came in from the _Bibliothèque du Roi_, andshowed much pleasure at being introduced to the traveller. His letters ofa later date show his high esteem for Peiresc. 'I am eagerly waiting tohear what Scaliger will say about the antiques, but I foresee that youwill have room to glean after his harvest. ' On another occasion he wrote:'I do not know if you heard that the Duke of Urbino has sent me thePolybius, but I am indeed most beholden to you for the kindness. '

Ten years afterwards Peiresc came to Paris again, wishing to explore theOriental treasures in the library of De Mesmes, and to visit the hugecollections in the houses of St. Victor and St. Germain. Here he gainedthe friendship of Pierre Séguier and the elegant Nicolas Rigault, and ofJérome Bignon, the first of a long dynasty of librarians. In England hesaw the Bodleian, and talked with Savile, and admired Sir Robert Cottonas 'an honestly curious sort of man. ' In Holland his chief business wasto visit Scaliger, and we are told that he was careful not to ask aboutthe treatise on squaring the circle, or to hint any doubt as to the truthof the Verona romance. Here at Leyden he read in the great library, soonto be endowed with Scaliger's books, and saw the room of which Heinsiusso nobly said: 'In the very bosom of Eternity among all these illustrioussouls I take my seat'; and at Louvain he could only lament the death ofJustus Lipsius, whom he regarded as 'the light and the loadstar ofwisdom. '

Gassendi has left us an account of the library collected by Peiresc. Besides his acquisitions in the East, of which we have spoken elsewhere, the books came in crowds from his agents in France and Germany, and hisscribes in the Vatican and Escorial. 'When any library was to be sold bypublic outcry, he took care to buy the best books, especially if theywere of some neat edition that he did not already possess. ' He bound themin red morocco with his cypher or initials in gold. One binder alwayslived in the house, and sometimes several were employed at once, 'whenthe books came rolling in on every side. ' He would even bind up bits ofold volumes and worm-eaten leaves; good books, he said, were so badlyused by the vulgar, that he would try to have them prized at least fortheir beauty, and so perhaps they might escape the hands of thetobacconist and the grocer. A treatise published by Jerome Alexandercontained a wonderful description of the establishment. 'Your house andlibrary, ' says the dedication, 'are a firmament wherein the stars oflearning shine: the desks are lit with star-light and the books are inconstellations: and you sit like the sun in the midst, embracing andgiving light to them all. ' Peiresc was anxious to circulate the book, which contained a rare treatise by Hesychius; but he took care to composeanother dedication, which was printed and inserted without comment. 

Notwithstanding his profuse purchases he did not leave a large collectionat his death. His friends complained that he lent 'a world of books' thatwere never returned, and that he was especially lavish of any works thatcould be replaced by purchase. 'About ten years after his death, ' sayshis friend Lemontey, 'his relations brought his books to Paris, where Isaw them in 1647; they formed a great company of volumes, most curiouslybound. They ought to have been sold _en bloc_, but as the Genius of thelibrary had fled, the Fates ordained that they should be torn asunder. 'Most of the books were purchased for the Collège de Navarre. A greatnumber of the MSS. Were destroyed, though there are still a few volumesin the public library at Carpentras. These were purchased from LouisThomassin, a member of Peiresc's family, by Don Malachi d'Inguimbert, librarian to Pope Clement XII. , who founded the collection of Carpentraswhen he became Bishop of the diocese. There is a tradition that Peiresc'scorrespondence, containing many thousands of documents, was destroyed byhis grand-niece, 'a kind of female Omar, ' who insisted in using thepapers for lighting fires and making trays for her silk-worms. 

Peiresc employed some of the most learned men of his time to collect forhim in Italy. Jacques Gaffarel, who had been engaged in similar work forRichelieu, was his principal agent in Rome. At Padua he was so fortunateas to secure the services of the archæologist Tomasini. But hiscorrespondence shows that the prince of librarians, Gabriel Naudé, was atonce his agent, his adviser, and his friend; and it is from Naudé that wetake the words of grief which remain as the scholar's memorial. 'Oh cruelFate and bitter Death, thrust into the midst of our jollity! Was thereever a man, I pray you, more skilled in history and philology, more readyto assist the student, more endowed with wit and wealth and worth, theequipment of any man who, like Peiresc, is to hold the world of lettersat his beck and call. '

CHAPTER XV. 

FRENCH COLLECTORS--NAUDÉ TO RENOUARD. 

Gabriel Naudé was a Doctor of Medicine, and held an appointment at onetime as physician in ordinary to Louis XIII. But even as a student hemanifested that passion for books which furnished the real occupation ofhis life. Before taking his degree at Padua he was librarian to Henri deMesmes, and afterwards to Cardinal Bagni at Rome. On his patron's deathhe was placed in charge of the great library which Cardinal Barberini wasestablishing in his palace in the Piazza of the Quattro Fontane. Somepart of his time was spent in collecting books for Cardinal Richelieu, who offered Naudé the charge of his library in 1642; but, the Cardinalhaving died in that year, Naudé transferred his services to Mazarin. Heinspired his employer with the desire of emulating the magnificence ofBarberini and the patriotic generosity of Borromeo; and the librarian'skeen scent for books and minute knowledge of their values werethenceforth utilised in the work of creating the _Bibliothèque Mazarine_. 

Richelieu had done things on a grand scale. He had confiscated to his ownuse the whole town-library at La Rochelle; and Naudé was anxious thatMazarin's great undertaking should begin with an acquisition _en bloc_. Aprovincial governor named Simeon Dubois had made a collection in theLimousin. His books had passed into the hands of Jean Descordes, a Canonof Limoges, who died in 1642 possessed of about 6000 volumes. Naudéprepared the catalogue, and persuaded the Cardinal to purchase the wholeproperty by private contract. A few months afterwards the King gave himthe State Papers collected by Antoine de Loménie. A great number ofprinted books were added under Naudé's superintendence, and in a shorttime the new library was opened to the public. Its regulations wereframed in a very liberal spirit, as may be learned from the first ofNaudé's rules: 'The library is to be open to all the world without theexception of any living soul; readers will be supplied with chairs andwriting-materials, and the attendants will fetch all books required inany language or department of learning, and will change them as often asis necessary. '

In reviewing the condition of the other great libraries, Naudé pointedout that there was nothing like an unrestrained admission except at theBodleian, the Ambrosian, and the Angelica Library at Rome. The public hadno rights at the Vatican, or the Laurentian, or the Library of St. Markat Venice. It was just the same at Bologna, or Naples, or in the Duchy ofUrbino. The same thing, he said, might be seen in other countries. Ximènes built a fine library at Alcalà, and there was a collection ofthe books of Nuñez at Salamanca; there were the Rantzaus at Copenhagenand the Fuggers at Augsburg; they had done everything for the use ofscholars except making the libraries free. The French themselves had theKing's Library, a vast accumulation at St. Victor's, and a rich bequestfrom De Thou; but the use of all this wealth of books was hampered by themost complicated restrictions. We can see that he was rejoicing in hisown good work while he praised the stately Ambrosiana. 'Is it notastonishing, ' he asks, 'that any one can go in when he likes, and stay aslong as he cares to look about or to read or make extracts? All that hehas to do is to sit at a desk and ask for any book that he wishes tostudy. '

For some years after the new library was established Naudé travelled inquest of books over the greater part of Europe. He said that he wouldhave ransacked Spain if Mazarin had not preferred an invasion by theregular army. He was the 'familiar spirit' of the auction-room, and itbecame a by-word that a visit from the great book-hunter was as bad as astorm in the book-shops. He boasted in his epigrams of exploits inFlanders, in Switzerland, and among the Venetian book-stalls. At Rome hebought books by the fathom; he skimmed the German shelves, and passedover into England to relieve the islanders of their riches. At Lyons hemet Marshal Villeroi, who gave him a great portion of the books whichCardinal de Tournon had bequeathed to the Jesuits. We trace the resultof his travels in his description of the libraries of Europe. Certainsubjects, as he said, are in vogue at particular places, and we oughtalways to notice the book-fashions to show our respect for the feelingsof mankind. 'For positive science we go to Rome or Florence or Naples, and for jurisprudence to Paris or Milan; France supplies us with history;and if we wanted scholastic lore we might go to Spain, or the colleges ofOxford and Cambridge. '

In 1647 the Mazarine Library contained about 45, 000 volumes, and Naudé inhis joy proclaimed it as the eighth wonder of the world. The Parisiansappeared to be delighted with the superb Loménie MSS. And the crowd ofbright volumes in the Cardinal's ordinary livery. But in 1651 theParliament got the upper hand of the 'Red Tyrant' in one of the unmeaningstruggles of the Wars of the Fronde; the property of Mazarin wasconfiscated for a time, and the library was put up for sale. The list ofCommissioners included the respectable names of Alexandre Pétau andPierre Pithou; yet we are assured that the auction resembled a massacre, and that hardly any obstacle was placed in the way of the most impudentthefts. Naudé in vain petitioned against a decree which had fallen like athunder-bolt on the 'wonderful work of his life. ' 'Why will you not savethis daughter of mine, this library that is the fairest and best-endowedin the world? Can you permit the public to be deprived of such a preciousand useful treasure? Can you endure that this fair flower, which spreadsits perfume through the world, should wither as you hold it in yourhands?'

Naudé spent his own small fortune in ransoming the books on medicine. Hehad worked hard to persuade Queen Christina to purchase the wholecollection; but when it came to the point she only bought a few MSS. Which were afterwards returned. The 'Pallas of the North, ' was interestedin Naudé's misfortunes. She invited him to take charge of the RoyalLibrary at Stockholm, and here he rested for a while. He madeacquaintance in Sweden with several celebrated men of letters; Descarteswas a guest at the Court, and used to be ready to begin his metaphysicaldiscourses at day-break. Naudé on one occasion delighted the young Queenby stepping a Greek dance with Professor Meibomius, who was just at thattime bringing out his work upon the music of the ancients. The climate, or the excitement of that vivacious Court, began to disagree with Naudé'shealth; he resigned his appointment and returned to France, but died atAbbeville on his way to Paris, a few months before his patron's return topower. When the public library was established again the Cardinalpurchased Naudé's private collection of 8000 books; and care was taken topreserve them apart, as a mark of distinction, in a gallery named afterthe famous librarian. 

The hereditary collections of Colbert and La Moignon were as muchindebted to their librarians as the Mazarine to the labours of Naudé. The Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert was as celebrated for his books as forhis finance: but the magnificence of the library was mainly due to itsguardian Calcavi and his successor the venerable Baluze. Colbert'smanuscripts are believed to have been the most valuable ever amassed by aperson of private fortune. Among their eight thousand volumes were thechoicest treasures from St. Martin's Abbey at Metz, including the _Bookof Hours_ used by Charles the Great, and a Bible said to have beenilluminated for Charles the Bald. There were about 50, 000 printed books, almost all well-bound; and it was thought that the choicest Levantinemoroccos had been secured for the Minister by an article in a treaty withthe Sultan. Colbert died in 1683, and the library remained in his familyfor half a century afterwards. In 1728 the Marquis de Seignelaye sold thebooks, and began to sell a portion of the manuscripts; the world wasalarmed at the idea of a general dispersion; the remaining manuscripts, however, were offered to Louis XV. ; and there was great rejoicing when hewrote '_Bon, 300, 000 livres_' on the letter received from the Marquis. 

The other famous library was amassed by 'an extraordinary family ofbook-collectors. ' It was begun by Guillaume de la Moignon, who wasPresident of the Parliament of Paris in 1658. His son Chrétien de laMoignon was as zealous a book-buyer as his father, and he secured therenown of their library by engaging the services of Adrien Baillet. Dibdin quoted passages from Baillet's biography that show the tendernesswith which the family treated his 'crazy body and nervous mind': 'MadameLa Moignon and her son always took a pleasure in anticipating his wishes, soothing his irritabilities, promoting his views, and speaking loudly andconstantly of the virtues of his head and heart. ' Baillet in his turngave to his employers the credit of his best literary work. 'It was donefor you, ' he wrote, 'and in your house, and by one who is ever yours tocommand. ' The library was much enlarged by its owner in the thirdgeneration; and by its union with the collection of M. Berryer, who diedin 1762, it became 'one of the most splendid in Europe. ' It was dispersedduring the troubles of the Revolution, and a great portion was brought toLondon in 1791; but the works on jurisprudence were reserved, and weresold in Paris a few years afterwards. 

David Ancillon is perhaps best known as the defender of Luther andCalvin. But according to Bayle he was an indefatigable book-collector, and notable for having set the fashion of buying books in the firstedition. Most people thought, said D'Israeli, that the first edition wasonly an imperfect essay, 'which the author proposes to finish aftertrying the sentiments of the literary world. ' Bayle was on the side ofAncillon. There are cases, as he remarked, in which the second editionhas never appeared; and at any rate the man who waits for the reprintshows 'that he loves a pistole better than knowledge. ' Ancillon, however, always indulged himself with 'the most elegant edition, 'whatever the first might have been; he considered that 'the less the eyesare fatigued in reading or work the more liberty the mind feels injudging of it. ' It is easier to detect the merits in print than inmanuscript: 'and so we see them more plainly in good paper and clear typethan when the impression and paper are bad?' Some have thought it betterto have many editions of a good book: 'among other things, ' says ourcritic, 'we feel great satisfaction in tracing the variations. ' Ancillonwas naturally accused of an indiscriminate mania for collecting; and heconfessed that he was to some extent infected with the 'book-disease. ' Itwas said that he never left his books day or night, except when he wentto preach to his humble congregation. He was convinced that some goldenthought might be found in the dullest work. Ancillon remained in Franceas long as his religion was tolerated. He found a home across the Rhineafter the revocation of the Edict of Nantes; but from that time he had tobe content with German editions, all his fine tall volumes having beendestroyed by the 'Catholic' rioters at Metz. 

If Evelyn can be believed, the art of book-collecting had come to a verypoor pass in France about the seventeenth century. It had been discoveredthat certain classes of books were the necessary furniture of everygentleman's library. If a man of quality built a mansion he would expectto find a book-room and a quantity of shelves; it was a simple matterfurther on to order so many yards of folios or octavos, all in redmorocco, with the coat of arms stamped in gold. Such collections, said LaBruyère, are like a picture-gallery with a strong smell of leather: theowner is most polite in showing off 'the gold leaves, Etruscan bindings, and fine editions'; 'we thank him for his kindness, but care as little ashimself to visit the tan-yard which he calls his library. ' We must notforget the financier Bretonvilliers, who about the year 1657 determinedto become a bibliophile, and so far succeeded that some of his localbooks on Lorraine were purchased for the National Library. He first builta Hôtel, not far from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, with a large galleryin which with infinite pains he built up a magnificent book-case; thecontents were of less importance; but he succeeded after a time infilling it with books stamped with his new device of an eagle holding theolive-branch. 

One or two of the more serious collectors may be noticed before we passto the great age of Rothelin and La Vallière. Henri du Bouchet hadgathered about eight thousand books, all very well chosen, according tothe testimony of the Père Jacob; on his death in 1654 he bequeathed themto the Abbey of St. Victor on public trusts so that those who came afterhim might find a solace in what had been 'his dearest delight. ' Herequested that they might be free to students for three days in the weekand for seven hours in the day; and his wishes were duly regarded untilthe great library of St. Victor was dispersed in 1791. The monks set up atablet and bust in memory of the generous donor; and perceiving that thevolumes were not emblazoned in the usual way they adopted the singularplan of inserting pieces of leather bearing his arms into holes cut inthe ancient bindings. 

The Abbé Boisot was another of the scholars who lived entirely for books. While quite a young man he acquired a considerable library in his travelsthrough Spain and Italy; and in 1664, during an official visit toBesançon, he was so fortunate as to acquire the MSS. Of the Cardinal deGranvelle, who had been the confidential minister of the Emperor CharlesV. Boisot wrote a delightful account of the adventures through which thiscollection had passed. 'At first, ' he says, 'the servants used what theypleased, and then the neighbours' children helped themselves; when somepacking-cases were wanted, the butler, to show his economy, sold therecords contained in them to a grocer. ' At last they were all tired ofthese 'useless old papers, ' and determined to throw them away. JulesChifflet, according to Guigard, was the means of saving the remainder. Heexamined a number of the documents and recognised their importance, though they were mostly in cipher; but he died before they could besorted out. Boisot bought what he could from the heirs, and found a goodmany more MSS. In the neighbourhood. They passed with the rest ofBoisot's books to the Abbey of St. Vincent at Besançon; and during theRevolution the whole collection became the property of the citizens andwas transferred to the public library. 

The hereditary treasures of the Bouhier family were dispersed in the sameway through several provincial libraries. The collection had begun in thereign of Louis XII. , and something had been done in each generationafterwards by way of adding fine books and manuscripts. Étienne Bouhierhad collected in all parts of Italy. Jean Bouhier in 1642 bought theaccumulations of Pontus de Thyard, the learned Bishop of Châlons. Hisfather's own library had been dispersed among his children; but JeanBouhier succeeded in getting it together again, and added a large numberof MSS. Which he had gathered for the illustration of the history ofBurgundy. The library became still more famous in the time of hisgrandson the President Jean Bouhier, who has been admired as the type ofthe true bibliophile. The bibliomaniac heaps up books from avarice orsome animal instinct; he is a collector, it is said, 'without intelligentcuriosity. ' Bouhier used to read his books and make notes upon them; andit is said that he carried the practice to such excess as to deface withmarginal scribblings the finest work of Henri Estienne and AntoineVérard. A visitor to his library described the sober magnificence of therosewood shelves with silken hangings in which the rare editions andlong rows of manuscripts were ranged. In the next generation there was astartling change. The library had been left to Bouhier's son-in-law, Chartraire de Bourbonne: the grave offspring of Aldus and Gryphius foundthemselves in company with poets of the _talon rouge_ and muses of the_Opéra bouffe_. When the gay De Bourbonne died, the ill-assorted crowdpassed to his son-in-law in his turn, and was transferred in 1784 to theAbbey of Clairvaux. 

We cannot name or classify the bibliophiles of the eighteenth century. Itwould be endless to describe them with the briefest of personal notes;how M. Barré loved out-of-the-way books and fugitive pieces, or Lambertde Thorigny a good history, or how Gabriel de Sartines, the policeman ofthe Parc aux Cerfs, had a marvellous collection about Paris. When CountMacarthy sold his books at Toulouse his catalogue contained a list ofabout ninety others, issued in the same century, from which his richeswere derived. We can point to a few of the mightiest Nimrods. We see theserene Gaignat pass, and the bustling La Vallière; the Duc d'Estrées isrecognised as a busy book-hunter, and there are the physicians HyacintheBaron and Falconnet whose keenness no prey could escape. We candistinguish the forms of the elegant '_bibliomanes_' to whom their bookswere as pictures or as jewels to be enclosed in a shrine; there is Countd'Hoym with a house full of treasures, and Boisset and Girardot dePréfond with their cabinets of marvels. If the crowds in theold-fashioned libraries are like the multitude at Babel, these tallvolumes in crushed morocco and 'triple gold bands' remind us of what ourantiquaries have said of books glimmering in their wire cases 'likeeastern beauties peering through their jalousies. ' We ought to saysomething of M. De Chamillard, best known in his public capacity as agood match for the King at billiards and as the minister who proposed therevocation of the Edict of Nantes. In private life Michael de Chamillardwas a virtuoso with well-filled galleries and portfolios; and he hadassembled a large company of books of fashionable appearance. But ourreal interest is not so much with the Minister of Billiards, as M. Uzannedescribed him, but rather with his wife and three daughters, who were alltrue female bibliophiles. The eldest daughter, the Marquise de Dreux, waswife of the Grand Master of the Ceremonies; but though his collection wasgay and polite the Marquise insisted on a separate establishment for thebooks that she had discovered and bought and bound. The Duchesse de laFeuillade and the Duchesse de Lorges insisted, like their elder sister, on having libraries for their separate use. The minister's wife wascelebrated for the splendour of her books, and marvellous prices havebeen paid for specimens of her earlier style. But 'little Madame deChamillard' attached herself in all things to the Maintenon, and followedthe uncrowned queen in abandoning the paths of vanity; she gave up theworld, so far as gilt arabesques and crushed morocco were concerned, anddressed all her later acquisitions _à la Janséniste_, in plain leatherwith perhaps the thinnest line of blind-tooling for an ornament. 

Charles du Fay was a captain in the Guards, compelled by his misfortunesto confine himself to the battles of the book-sale. He lost a leg at thebombardment of Brussels in 1695; and though he was promoted to a companyin the Guards, it became at last apparent that he could not serve onhorseback. Du Fay, we are told, was fortunately fond of literature; andhe devoted himself with eagerness to the task of collecting a magnificentlibrary. History and Latin poetry had always been his favourite subjects, and it appears that he was already collecting fine examples in thisdepartment during his campaigns in Germany and Flanders. 

M. De Lincy commemorates the good taste that impelled Du Fay to buyseveral of Grolier's books, and records the industry with which he soughtto remedy his defects of education. Professor Brochard, he says, was alearned man, with a good library of his own, who went to inspect thebooks gathered by Du Fay from all parts of Europe. The visitor expressedsurprise that out of nearly four thousand volumes there should hardly beany in Greek. 'I have hardly retained a word of the language, ' said DuFay. 'Cato in his old age, ' replied the Professor, 'did not hesitate fora moment to learn it; and a person quite ignorant of Greek can never knowLatin well. ' Du Fay was an easy good-natured man, and at once followedhis friend's advice, beginning from that day to buy Greek books and towork at the language so as to be able to read them. His object, however, in forming a library was not so much to gather useful information as toset up a museum of literary rarities. The idea is in accordance with ourmodern taste, and perhaps with the common sense of mankind; but some ofthe old-fashioned collectors were angry with the poor epicure oflearning. The Président Bouhier writes to Marais in 1725 on seeing acatalogue of the library: 'This savours more of bibliomania thanscholarship. ' Marais at once replied: 'Your judgment on Du Fay'scatalogue is most excellent: it is not a library, but a shop full ofcurious book-specimens, made to sell and not to keep for one's self. '

Many of Du Fay's books were bought by Count d'Hoym, who lived for manyyears at Paris as ambassador from Augustus of Poland and Saxony. TheCount has been accused of showing bad manners at Court, and of bad faithin giving the trade secrets of Dresden to the factory at Sèvres; inbibliography at any rate, he was supreme among the amateurs, and hisWhite Eagle of Poland appears upon no volume that is not among the bestof its kind. He sat at one time at the feet of the Abbé de Rothelin; buthe soon became his master's equal in matters of taste, and was accepteduntil his exile at Nancy as the arbiter of elegance among the Parisians. M. Guigard quotes from the dedication of a 'treasury' of French poetry apassage that indicates his high position: 'To the poets in thisassemblage, whoever they be, it is a glory, Monseigneur, to enter yourExcellency's library, so full, so magnificent, so well chosen, that it isjustly accounted the prodigy of learning. '

Charles d'Orléans, Abbé de Rothelin, had died in 1744, when most of hisbooks became the property of the nation. In some respects he was the mostdistinguished of the book-collectors. His learning and wealth enabled himto make a collection of theology that has never been surpassed; and hehad the good fortune to acquire the vast series of State Papers and thepriceless mediæval MSS. Collected by Nicolas Foucault. His special tastewas for immaculate editions in splendid bindings; but nothing escaped hisnotice that was in any way remarkable or interesting. 

Paul Girardot de Préfond was a timber-merchant who fell into an apatheticstate on retiring from active business. His physician, Hyacinthe Baron, was an eminent book-collector, and he advised the patient to take up thetask of forming a library. So successful was the prescription that themerchant became renowned during the next half century for his superbbindings, his specimens from Grolier's stores, and the Delphin andVariorum classics which he procured from the library of Gascq de laLande. On two occasions the sale of his surplus treasures made anexcitement for the literary world. Some of his rarest books were sold in1757, and twelve years afterwards his Delphin series and the greater partof his general collection were purchased by Count Macarthy. 

Mérard de St. Just was another collector, whose exquisite taste is stillgratefully remembered, though his small library has long been dispersed, and was indeed almost destroyed by a series of accidents before theoutbreak of the great Revolution. 'My library, ' he said, 'is very small, but it is too large for me to fill it with good books. ' He would not havethe first editions of the classics, because they were generally printedon bad paper which it was disagreeable to touch, with the exception ofworks produced by the Aldine Press. Nor would he buy mere curiosities, says Guigard, but left them to persons who cared for empty display, 'likeone who proudly exhibits his patents of nobility without being able topoint to any distinguished action of his ancestors. ' He was the owner ofmany choice books that had belonged to Gaignat and Charron de Ménars, orhad been bound for Madame de Pompadour, or to the undiscriminating DuBarry. In 1782, we are told, he despatched the best part of his libraryto America, but had the grief of learning soon afterwards that they hadbeen captured at sea by the English. His philosophical temper was shownin his reply to the bad news: 'I have but one wish upon the subject; Ihope that the person who gets this part of the booty will be able tocomprehend the value of the treasure that has come to his hands. '

The elder Mirabeau was a collector of another type. The 'friend ofmankind' intended to gather together the best and largest library in theworld. He cared nothing for the scarcity or the external adornments of avolume; but he had a huge appetite for knowledge, and he longed to havethe means of referring to all that could illustrate the progress of therace. He did not live to attain any marked success in his giganticdesign; but his library had at least the distinction of containing allthe books of the Comte de Buffon, enriched with marginal notes in thenaturalist's handwriting. 

A modest collection was formed a few years afterwards by Pierre-LouisGuinguené, who wrote a valuable work on the literary history of Italy. Heis remembered as having published amid the terrors of 1791 an amusingessay on the authority of Rabelais 'in the matter of this presentRevolution. ' He led a peaceful life through all that troubled time, andsucceeded in forming a very useful library containing about 3000 volumes;it was purchased for the British Museum on his death, and became thefoundation of the great series of works on the French Revolution whichhas been brought together there. 

The long life of M. Antoine Renouard bridges over the space between thedays of Mirabeau and the time when the _élégants_ of the Third Empire hadinvented a new bibliomania. Renouard had ordered bindings from the elderDerôme; in 1785 he bought a book at La Vallière's sale. In his_Epictetus_ there is the following note: 'Bought in May 1785, the firstbook printed on vellum that entered my library; rather luxurious for ayoung fellow of seventeen, but then all my little savings were devoted toacquiring books; parties of pleasure, and elegancies of toilette, everything was sacrificed to my beloved books; and at that time a briskand brilliant business permitted expenses which were followed by hardyears of privation; it was in my first youth that I found it easiest tospend money on my books. ' Renouard began life as a manufacturer. Hisfather made gauze stuffs, and kept a shop in the Rue Apolline. In 1787the Abbé le Blond, the librarian of the Collège Mazarin, heard thatMolini had sold a fine Aldine Horace to a shopkeeper. 'The next day, 'says Renouard, 'Le Blond came into my library. "Oh! I shall not have thebook, " he exclaimed, and when I looked round, he said, "I beg yourpardon, I hoped to tempt you with a few _louis_ for your bargain, but Ihave given up the idea at once, and I only ask the double favour ofseeing the book and of being allowed to make your acquaintance. "'Renouard was the historian of the House of Aldus, and naturally becamethe possessor of some of Grolier's finest books. During his career as abookseller he parted with most of them; and at the sale of his library in1854 the 'Lucretius, ' the 'Virgil, ' and the 'Erasmus, ' were all thatremained in his collection. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

LATER ENGLISH COLLECTORS. 

In describing the English collections of the eighteenth century we havethe advantage of using the memoranda of William Oldys for the earlierpart of the period. D'Israeli deplored the carelessness which led the'literary antiquary' to entrust his discoveries and reminiscences to thefly-leaves of notebooks, to 'parchment budgets, ' and paper-bags ofextracts. He expressed especial disappointment at the loss of themanuscript on London Libraries, with its anecdotes of book-collectors andremarks on booksellers and the first publishers of catalogues. The bookhas come to light since his time, having been discovered among theimportant collections bequeathed by Dr. William Hunter to the Universityof Glasgow; it was published by Mr. W. J. Thoms about the year 1862 in_Notes and Queries_, and was afterwards printed by him in a volumecontaining a diary and other 'choice notes' by Oldys and an interestingmemoir of his life. 'In his own departments of learning, ' says Mr. Thoms, 'Oldys exhausted all the ordinary sources of information, ' and adds that'his copious and characteristic accounts of men and books have endearedhis memory to every lover of English literature. '

Oldys had some special advantages as a collector of old English poetry. He knew, as no one else at that time knew, the value of the plays andpamphlets that encumbered the stalls; he had no competitor to fear 'cladin the invulnerable mail of the purse. ' Oldys was born in 1696; he becameinvolved, while quite a young man, in the disaster of the South SeaBubble; and in 1724 he was obliged to leave London for a residence ofsome years in Yorkshire. Among the books that he abandoned was the firstof his annotated copies of _Langbaine_, which he found afterwards in thehands of a miserly fellow, begrudging him even a sight of the notes. 'When I returned, ' he writes, 'I understood that my books had beendispersed; and afterwards, becoming acquainted with Mr. Thomas Coxeter, Ifound that he had bought my _Langbaine_ of a bookseller who was a greatcollector of plays and poetical books. ' His autobiography shows that hesoon restored his literary losses. His patron, Lord Oxford, for whom heafterwards worked as librarian, was anxious to buy everything that wasrare. 'The Earl, ' says Oldys, 'invited me to show him my collections ofmanuscripts, historical and political, which had been the Earl ofClarendon's, my collections of Royal Letters and other papers of State, together with a very large collection of English heads in sculpture. ' Mr. Thoms quotes a note from the _Langbaine_ to show that Oldys had boughttwo hundred volumes 'at the auction of the Earl of Stamford's library atSt. Paul's Coffee-house, where formerly most of the celebrated librarieswere sold. ' It was while Oldys was living in Yorkshire, under thepatronage of Lord Malton, that he saw the end of the library of StatePapers collected by Richard Gascoyne the antiquary. The noble owner ofthe MSS. Had been advised to destroy the papers by a lawyer, Mr. SamuelBuck of Rotherham, 'who could not read one of those records any more thanhis lordship'; but he feared that they might contain legal secrets ordisclose flaws in a title or, as Oldys said, 'that something or othermight be found out one time or other by somebody or other. ' RichardGascoyne, he adds, possessed a vast and most valuable collection ofdeeds, evidences, and ancient records, which after his death, about thetime of the Restoration, came to the family of the first Earl ofStrafford. They were kept in the stone tower at Wentworth Woodhouse until1728, when Lord Malton 'burnt them all wilfully in one morning. ' 'I sawthe lamentable fire, ' says Oldys, 'feed upon six or seven great chestsfull of the said deeds, some of them as old as the Conquest, and even theignorant servants repining. . . . I did prevail to the preservation of somefew old rolls and public grants and charters, a few extracts of escheats, and original letters of some eminent persons and pedigrees of others, butnot the hundredth part of much better things that were destroyed. '

One or two extracts from the 'diary and choice notes' will show theminute attention given by Oldys to everything concerned with books. Under the date of June 29th, 1737, we read: 'Saw Mr. Ames' old MSS. Onvellum, entitled _Le Romant de la Rose_, which cost forty crowns at Pariswhen first written, as appears by the inscription at the end: it had beenBishop Burnet's book, his arms being pasted in it, and Mr. Rawlinson's, being mentioned in one of his catalogues; in the same catalogue also ismentioned Sir William Monson's collection, which Mr. West bought and lentme before the fatal fire happened at his chambers in the Temple. ' Mr. Thorns adds that Sir William Monson, an Admiral of note in the reign ofJames I. , formed considerable collections, principally about navalaffairs. Under the date of August 8th, we read of a visit to Strype thehistorian. 'Invited by Dr. Harris to his brother's at Homerton, where oldMr. Strype is still alive, and has the remainder of his once richcollection of MSS. , tracts, etc. ' Dr. Knight's letter of a few months'earlier date was printed by Nichols in his _Literary Anecdotes_. 'I madea visit to old Father Strype when in town last: he is turned ninety, yetvery brisk, and with only a decay of sight and memory. . . . He told me thathe had great materials towards the life of the old Lord Burleigh and Mr. Foxe the martyrologist, which he wished he could have finished, but mostof his papers are in "characters"; his grandson is learning to decipherthem. ' Under the dates of September 1st and 7th Oldys records that 'theYelverton library is in the possession of the Earl of Sussex, whereinare many volumes of Sir Francis Walsingham's papers'; and a few dayslater, 'Dr. Pepusch offered me any intelligence or assistance from hisancient collections of music, for a history of that art and itsprofessors in England; and as to dramatic affairs, he notes that theQueen's set of Plays had at first been thought too dear; but after Mrs. Oldfield the actress died, and they were reported to be his collection, then the Queen would have them at any rate. ' When Oldys died his curiouslibrary was purchased by Thomas Davies, and was put up to auction in1762. The list of printed books comprises many literary treasures whichin our days can hardly be procured, but at that time went for a song. 'The manuscripts were not so many as might be expected from soindefatigable a writer'; it seems that Oldys had always been too generouswith his gifts and loans. 

Among his notices of the London libraries we find an interesting accountof the collection at Lambeth, then housed in the galleries above thecloisters. 'The oldest of the books were Dudley's, the Earl of Leicester, which from time to time have been augmented by several Archbishops ofthat See. It had a great loss in being deprived of Archbishop Sheldon'sadmirable collection of missals, breviaries, primers, etc. , relating tothe service of the Church, as also Archbishop Sancroft's. ' The books andMSS. Belonging to Sancroft had in part been deposited at Lambeth; but onhis deprivation they were removed to Emmanuel College at Cambridge. Oldys added that there was another apartment for MSS. , 'not only thosebelonging to the See, but those of the Lord Carew, who had been Deputy ofIreland, many of them relating to the state and history of that kingdom. '

Archbishop Tenison had furnished another noble library near St. Martin'sLane 'with the best modern books in most faculties'; 'there any studentmight repair and make what researches he pleased'; and there too weredeposited Sir James Ware's important Irish MSS. And many other portionsof the Clarendon Collection, until offence was taken at their having beencatalogued among the papers of the Archbishop. 

In Dulwich College there was another library to which Mr. Cartwright theactor gave a collection of plays and many excellent pictures; and 'herecomes in, ' says Oldys, 'the Queen's purchase of plays, and those by Mr. Weever the dancing-master, Sir Charles Cotterell, Mr. Coxeter, LadyPomfret, and Lady Mary Wortley Montague'; and here we might mention thesad case of Mr. Warburton the herald, whose forte was to find outvaluable English plays. Shortly before his death in 1759 he discoveredthat the cook had used up about fifty of the MSS. For covering pies, andthat among them were 'twelve unpublished pieces by Massinger. ' Somethingmay be said too as to the older collections formed in London for the useof schools. At Westminster, it has been well said, Dean Williams'enlarged the boundaries of learning. ' According to Hackett, he converteda waste room into a noble library, modelling it 'into a decent shape, 'and furnishing it with a vast number of learned volumes. The best of themcame from the library of Mr. Baker of Highgate, who throughout a verylong life had been gathering 'the best authors of all sciences in theirbest editions. ' Dean Colet had endowed St. Paul's School withphilological works in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; but these were destroyedin the great fire, together with the whole library of the High Master. This was Mr. Samuel Cromleholme, who had the best set of neatly-boundclassics in London; 'he was a great lover of his books, and their losshastened the end of his life. ' The shelves at Merchant Taylors and in theMercers' Chapel were almost as well filled as those at St. Paul's; andChrist's Hospital at that time had a good plain library in themathematical school, with globes and instruments, 'and ships with alltheir rigging for the instruction of lads designed for the sea. '

In the College of Physicians was a fine collection 'in their own and theother faculties. ' Selden bequeathed to it his 'physical books, ' and itwas enriched by a gift of the whole library of Lord Dorchester, 'thepride and glory of the College. ' We can only mention a few of thelibraries described by Oldys. The Jews, he says, had a collection atBevis Marks relating to the Talmud and Mischna and their ceremonialworship: the French Protestants had another at the Savoy, and the Swedesanother at their Church in Trinity Lane. The Baptists owned a greatlibrary in the Barbican. The Quakers had been for some years furnishing alibrary with all the works written by the Friends. John Whiting publishedthe catalogue in 1708; 'and in my opinion, ' says our critic, ''tis moreaccurately and perfectly drawn up than the Bodleian Library at Oxford isby Dr. Hyde, for the Quaker does not confound one man with another as thescholar does. ' Francis Bugg, he adds, 'the scribbler against them, ' had abetter collection of their writings than any of the brethren; 'but Ithink I have read in some of his rhapsodies that he either gave or soldit to the library at Oxford. '

Charles Earl of Sunderland was the greatest collector of his time. Hebought the whole library of Hadrian Beverland, 'which was very choice ofits kind, ' and a great number of Pétau's books as mentioned before; 'nobookseller, ' it was said, 'hath so many editions of the same book as he, for he hath all, especially of the classics. ' Shortly before his death in1772 he commissioned Mr. Vaillant to buy largely at the sale of Mr. Freebairn's library. In Clarke's _Repertorium_ we are told how a fineVirgil was secured: 'and it was noted that when Mr. Vaillant had boughtthe printed Virgil at £46 he huzza'd out aloud, and threw up his hat forjoy that he had bought it so cheap. ' The great collection was afterwardstaken to Blenheim, and has been dispersed in our time; 'the King ofDenmark proffered the heirs £30, 000 for it, and "Queen Zara" would haveinclined them to part with it. ' When the Earl of Sunderland died, Humphrey Wanley saw a good chance for the Harleian. 'I believe somebenefit may accrue to this library, even if his relations will part withnone of the works; I mean by his raising the price of books no highernow; so that in probability this commodity may fall in the market, andany gentleman be permitted to buy an uncommon old book for less thanforty or fifty pounds. ' If we listen to the Rev. Thomas Baker, theejected Fellow who gave 4000 books to St. John's at Cambridge, we shallhear a complaint against Wanley. Lord Oxford's librarian when he saw afine book, even in a public institution, used to say, 'It will be betterin my lord's library. ' Baker might have said, 'a plague on both yourhouses!' What he wrote was as follows:--'I begin to complain of the menof quality who lay out so much for books, and give such prices that thereis nothing to be had for poor scholars, whereof I have felt the effects;when I bid a fair price for an old book, I am answered, "The quality willgive twice as much, " and so I have done. '

The Earls of Pembroke were for several generations the patrons oflearning. 'Thomas, the eighth Earl, was contemporary with thoseillustrious characters, Sunderland, Harley, and Mead, during the Augustanage of Britain'; he added a large number of classics and early printedbooks to the library at Wilton, and his successor Earl Henry stillfurther improved it by adding the best works on architecture, onbiographies, and books of numismatics; 'the Earl of Pembroke is storedwith antiquities relating to medals and lives. '

Lord Somers had the rare pieces in law and English history which havebeen published in a well-known series of tracts. Lord Carbury lovedmystical divinity; the Earl of Kent was all for pedigrees andvisitations; the Earl of Kinnoul made large collections in mathematicsand civil law; and Lord Coleraine followed Bishop Kennett in forming 'alibrary of lives. '

Richard Smith was remembered as having started in the pursuit of Caxtonsin the days of Charles II. ; the taste was despised when Oldys wrote, butit eventually grew into a mania. 'For a person of an inferior rank wenever had a collector more successful. No day passed over his head inwhich he did not visit Moorfields and Little Britain or St. Paul'sChurchyard, and for many years together he suffered nothing to escape himthat was rare and remarkable. '

Mr. John Bridges of Lincoln's Inn was another 'notorious book-collector. 'When his books were sold in 1726 the prices ran so high that the worldsuspected a conspiracy on the part of the executors. Humphrey Wanley wasdisappointed in his commissions, and called it a roguish sale; of thevendors he remarked 'their very looks, according to what I am told, dartout harping-irons. ' Tom Hearne went to Mr. Bridges' chambers to see thesale, and descanted upon the fine condition of the lots: 'I was told of agentleman of All Souls that gave a commission of eight shillings for anHomer, but it went for six guineas; people are in love with good bindingrather than good reading. ' Some of the entries in the catalogue are ofgreat interest. The first edition of Homer, printed at Florence in 1488on large paper, went for about a quarter of the price of an Aldine Livy. Lord Oxford secured a 'Lucian' in uncial characters, and a splendidMissal illuminated for Henry VII. There was a large-paper 'Politian' intwo volumes, very carelessly described as 'finely bound by Grolier andhis friends'; but the best of all was the MS. Horace, with an exquisiteportrait of the poet, 'from the library of Matthias Corvinus, King ofHungary. '

Dr. Mead was a collector of the same kind. All that was beautiful camenaturally to this great man, of whom it was said that he lived 'in thefull sunshine of human existence. ' He was the owner of a very finelibrary, which he had 'picked up at Rome. ' He had a great number ofearly-printed classics, which fetched high prices at his sale in 1754;his French books, according to Dibdin, and all his works upon the finearts 'were of the first rarity and value, ' and were sumptuously bound. His chief literary distinction rests on his edition of De Thou's'History' in seven folio volumes. He had received a large legacy from abrother, and spent it in the publication of a work 'from which nothingof exterior pomp and beauty should be wanting'; the ink and paper wereprocured from Holland; and Carte the historian was sent to France 'torummage for MSS. Of Thuanus. '

Oldys has a few notes upon curious collections which he thought might bediverting to a 'satirical genius. ' A certain Templar, he says, had a goodlibrary of astrology, witchcraft, and magic. Mr Britton, the small-coalman, had an excellent set of chemical books, 'and a great parcel of musicbooks, many of them pricked with his own hand. ' The famous Dryden, andMr. Congreve after him, had collected old ballads and penny story-books. The melancholy Burton, and Dr. Richard Rawlinson, and the learned ThomasHearne, had all been as bad in their way. Mr. Secretary Pepys gave agreat library to Magdalen College at Cambridge: but among the foliospeeped out little black-letter ballads and 'penny merriments, pennywitticisms, penny compliments, and penny godlinesses. ' 'Mr. RobertSamber, ' says Oldys, 'must need turn virtuoso too, and have hiscollection: which was of all the printed tobacco-papers he could anywherelight on. '

For 'curiosity or dotage' none could beat Mr. Thomas Rawlinson, whosevast collections were dispersed in seventeen or eighteen auctions beforethe final sale in 1733. Mr. Heber in the present century is a modernexample of the same kind. 'A book is a book, ' he said: and he bought allthat came in his way, by cart-loads and ship-loads, and in wholelibraries, on which in some cases he never cast his eyes. The mostzealous lovers of books have smiled at his duplicates, quadruplicates, and multiplied specimens of a single edition. 

Thomas Rawlinson, for all his continual sales, blocked himself out ofhouse and home by his purchases: his set of chambers at Gray's Inn was socompletely filled with books that his bed had to be moved into thepassage. Some thought that he was the 'Tom Folio' of Addison'scaricature, in which it was assumed that the study of bibliography wasonly fit for a 'learned idiot. ' Hearne defended his friend from thecharge of pedantry, and declared that the mistake could only be made by a'shallow buffoon. '

Rawlinson had a miserly craving after good books. If he had twenty copiesof a work he would always open his purse for 'a different edition, afairer copy, a larger paper. ' His covetousness increased as the mass ofhis library was multiplied: and as he lived, said Oldys, so he died, among dust and cobwebs, 'in his bundles, piles, and bulwarks of paper. '

Upon Dr. Mead's death his place in the book-world was taken by Dr. Anthony Askew, who travelled far and wide in search of rare editions andlarge-paper copies. In describing the sale of his books in 1775 Dibdinalmost lost himself in ecstasies over the magnificent folios, and theshining duodecimos 'printed on vellum and embossed with knobs of gold. 'It has been said that with this sale commenced the new era inbibliography, during which such fabulous prices were given for fineeditions of the classics; but the date should perhaps be carried back toDr. Mead's time. Some credit for the new development should also beascribed to Joseph Smith, who collected early-printed books and classicsat Venice, while acting as English consul. His first library waspurchased by George III. In 1762, and now forms the best part of the'King's Library' at the British Museum. His later acquisitions were soldin 1773 by public auction in London. Among other classical libraries ofan old-fashioned kind we should notice the Osterley Park collection, onlyrecently dispersed, which was formed by Bryan Fairfax; it was purchased_en bloc_ in 1756 by Mr. Francis Child, and passed from him to the familyof the Earl of Jersey. 

Topham Beauclerc housed his thirty thousand volumes, as Walpole declared, in a building that reached halfway from London to Highgate; hiscollection was in two parts, of which the first was mainly classical, andthe other was very rich in English antiquities and history. In 1783 wassold almost the last of the encyclopædic collections which used to fillthe position now occupied by great public libraries. Mr. Crofts possesseda treasury of Greek and Roman learning; he was especially rich inphilology, in Italian literature, in travels, in Scandinavian affairs;'under the shortest heads, some one or more rare articles occur, but inthe copious classes literary curiosity is gratified, is highly feasted. '

Dr. Johnson's books were dispersed in a four-days' sale in 1785. A copyof the interesting catalogue has lately been reprinted by The Club. Themost valuable specimen, as a mere curiosity, would be the folio withwhich he beat the bookseller, but we suppose that very little on thewhole was obtained for the 662 lots of learned volumes that had sprawledover his dusty floor. The Doctor had but little sympathy with thefashions that were beginning to prevail. He laughs in the _Rambler_ at'Cantilenus' with his first edition of _The Children in the Wood_, andthe antiquary who despaired of obtaining one missing Gazette till it wassent to him 'wrapped round a parcel of tobacco. ' 'Hirsutus, ' we aretold, 'very carefully amassed all the English books that were printed inthe black character'; the fortunate virtuoso had 'long since completedhis Caxton, and wanted but two volumes of a perfect Pynson. ' In our ownday we can hardly realise the idea of such riches; but the 'Rambler'scouted the notion of slighting or valuing a book because it was printedin the Roman or Gothic type. John Ratcliffe of Bermondsey was one ofthese 'black-letter dogs. ' He had some advantages of birth and position;for, being a chandler and grocer, he could buy these old volumes byweight in the course of his trade. He died in 1776, the master of a whole'galaxy of Caxtons'; his library is said to have held the essence ofpoetry, romance and history; it was more precious in flavour to the new_dilettanti_ than the copious English stores of James West, the judiciousPresident of the Royal Society; it was far more refined than the 'omniumgatherum' scattered in 1788 on Major Pearson's death, or Dr. Farmer'sragged regiments of old plays and frowsy ballads, and square-facedbroadsides 'bought for thrice their weight in gold. '

M. Paris de Meyzieux was the owner of a splendid library. Dibdin hasdescribed his third sale, held in London during 1791, when thebibliomaniacs, it was said, used to cool themselves down with ice beforethey could face such excitement. Of himself he confessed that when he hadseen the illuminations of Nicolas Jany, the snow-white 'Petrarch, ' the'Virgil' on vellum, life had no more to offer: 'after having seen onlythese three books I hope to descend to my obscure grave in perfect peaceand happiness. ' The _Livre d'Heures_ printed for Francis I. , which hadbelonged to the Duc de la Vallière, was bought by Sir Mark Sykes, andbecame one of his principal treasures at Sledmere. 

Mr. Robert Heathcote had a most elegant library, in which might be seenthe tallest Elzevirs and several Aldine classics 'in the chaste costumeof Grolier. ' It is said that the books passed lightly into his hands 'ina convivial moment, ' much to their former owner's regret. About the year1807 they passed into the miscellaneous crowd of Mr. Dent's books; andtwenty years afterwards the whole collection was dispersed at a lowprice, when the book-mania was giving way for a time to an affection forcheap and useful literature. 

The fever was still high in 1810 when Mr. Heath's plain classics weresnatched up at very extravagant terms. Colonel Stanley's library wastypical of the taste of the day. His selection comprised rare Spanish andItalian poetry, novels and romances, 'De Bry's voyages complete, fineclassics, and a singular set of _facetiæ_. ' It was sold in 1813, a fewweeks after the dispersal of Mr. John Hunter's very similar collection. This was immediately followed by an auction of Mr. Gosset's books, whichlasted for twenty-three days: they seem to have chiefly consisted ofdivinity and curious works on philology. Mr. John Towneley's library wassold a few months afterwards. Mr. Towneley was the owner of a fine'Pontifical' of Innocent IV. , and a missal by Giulio Clovio from theFarnese palace; his celebrated MS. , known as the 'Towneley Iliad, ' wasbought by Dr. Charles Burney, and passed with the rest of his books tothe British Museum. In 1816 Mr. Michael Wodhull died, afterhalf-a-century spent in the steady collection of good books in theauctions of London and Paris: the recent sale of his library has made allthe world familiar with his well-selected volumes, bound in russia by hisfaithful Roger Payne, and annotated on their fly-leaves with valuablememoranda of book-lore. We shall not repeat the story of Mr. Beckford'striumphant career, of the glories of Fonthill or the later splendours ofthe Hamilton Palace collection. We should note his purchase of Gibbon'sbooks 'in order to have something to read on passing through Lausanne. ''I shut myself up, ' said Mr. Beckford, 'for six weeks from early in themorning till night, only now and then taking a ride; the people thoughtme mad; I read myself nearly blind. ' Beckford never saw the books again'after once turning hermit there. ' He gave them to his physician, Dr. Scholl, and they were sold by auction in 1833; most of them werescattered about the world, but some are said to be still preserved atLausanne in the public library. 

This period was marked by the rivalry between bibliophiles of high rankand great wealth, whose Homeric contests have been worthily described byDibdin in his history of the Bibliomania. A note in one of the AlthorpCaxtons records a more amicable arrangement. The book belonged to Mr. George Mason, at whose sale it was bought by the Duke of Roxburghe: 'TheDuke and I had agreed not to oppose one another at the sale, but afterthe book was bought, to toss up who should win it, when I lost it; Ibought it at the Roxburghe sale on the 17th of June, 1812, for £215 5s. 'The Duke was chiefly interested in old English literature, Italianpoetry, and romances of the Round Table; but we are told that shortlybefore his death he was 'in full pursuit of a collection of our dramaticauthors. ' It was at his sale that the Valdarfer Boccaccio was purchasedby Lord Blandford, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, for £2260, a sum whichat that time had never been reached as the price of a single volume. Itpassed into the great collection at White Knights, which then contained, in addition to some of the rarest English books, the 'Bedford Missal, 'another missal given by Queen Louise to Marguerite d'Angoulême, and avolume of prayers from the hand of the caligrapher Nicolas Jany. On the17th of June, 1819, the White Knights library was sold on behalf of theowner's creditors; and the 'Boccaccio' found a safe home at Althorp, where George, Earl Spencer, had by fortunate purchases, by zeal in thepursuit of books, and by the aid of an accomplished librarian, formedthat matchless collection which Renouard justly described as 'the finestprivate library in Europe. '

INDEX. 

 Ælfric, Archbishop, 26. Agricola, Rudolf, 87. Aicardo, Paul, 176. Aidan, 13, 17. Albisse, 144. Alexander ab Alexandro, 80. Alfred, King, 25. Allatius, Leo, 91. Alphonso, Naples, 79. Amboise, Cardinal de, 100. Ancillon, David, 189. Anne, Queen, 120, 121. Anne of Austria, 108. Anne of Brittany, 79. Anselm, 27. Apellicon, 3. Arcanati, Galeazzo, 164. Aretino, Carlo, 66. Aretino, Leonardo, 59, 63, 65. Argonne, Bonaventure d', 147, 148. Aristotle, 3, 23, 33, 37, 57. Arius, Montanus, 165. Arundel, Archbishop, 56. Arundel, Henry, Lord, 116. Arundel, Thomas, Earl of, 85. Ascham, Roger, 114. Ashmole, Elias, 135, 136. Askew, Anthony, Dr. , 214. Asser, 25. Attavante, 83, 85. Attalus, 2. Aubrey, John, 135. Augustus, 4. Augustus of Brunswick, 85. Aumale, Duc d', 105. Aungerville (_see_ Bury, Richard de). Aurispa, John, 66, 70. Aquinas, Thomas, 70. 

 Bacon, Francis, 114. Bacon, Roger, 30, 129. Bagford, John, 120-122. Bagni, 183. Baillet, Adrian, 188, 189. Baker (of Highgate), 207. Baker, Rev. Thomas, 210. Bale, Bishop, 57. Ballesdens, Jean, 148, 149. Baluze, Étienne, 188. Barberini, Cardinal, 183. Barocci, Francesco, 117, 131. Baron, Hyacinthe, 194, 198. Barré, M. , 194. Bashkirtseff, Marie, 157. Basingstoke, John, 34. Beauclerc, Topham, 215. Becatelli, Antonio, 79. Beckford, Wm. , 156, 218, 219. Bede, 21, 22, 131. Bedford, John, Duke of, 56, 59, 60, 220. Bentley, Dr. , 118, 119. Bernard, Dr. , 137, 138. Berri, Jean Duc de, 94, 103. Berry, Duchesse de, 109. Berryer, M. , 189. Bessarion, Cardinal, 52, 71. Béthune, Hippolyte de, 94, 162. Beza, Theodore, 123. Bignon, Jérome, 179. Bigot, Jean, 148, 152. Bigot, Robert, 152. Bigot, Louis, 152. Bill, John, 125, 126. Biscop, Benedict, 20, 21. Blanche, Queen, 60. Blandford, Lord, 219. Boccaccio, 49, 63, 64. Bodley, Lawrence, 127. Bodley, Sir Thomas, 115, 116, 123-128. Boethius, 7, 12. Boisot, Abbé, 192, 194. Bongars, Jacques, 160, 161. Boniface, St. , 22, 23. Booker, John, 136. Borromeo, Frederic, 177, 183. Bouchet, Henri, 191, 192. Bouhier, Étienne de, 192. Bouhier, Jean de, 193. Bouhier, President, 193, 197. Bourbon, Charles de, 103. Brassicanus, 84. Bretonvilliers, 191. Bridges, John, 211, 212. Bridget, St. , 13, 15. Bristol, Earl of, 130. Britton, Thomas, 213. Brochard, Professor, 196. Browne, Sir Thomas, 7. Bruges, Jean de, 94. Bruges, Louis de, 93-94. Bruges, _See_ La Gruthuyse. Bucer, Martin, 112. Buchanan, George, 115. Budæus, 82, 98-100, 140, 146, 147. Buffon, 200. Buonaparte, Pauline, 109. Burgh, Elizabeth de, 54. Burnet, Bishop, 205. Burney, Dr. Charles, 218. Burton, Robert, 126, 213. Bury, Richard de, 28-29, 32-40, 53-58. Busbec, Angere, 84. Busch, Hermann, 87-89. 

 Cæsar, Julius, 2, 4. Cæsar, Sir Julius, 136, 137. Calcavi, 188. Camden, William, 117, 127. Canonici, Matheo, 133. Capranica, Angelo, 81. Capranica, Domenico, 81. Carbury, Lord, 211. Carew, Lord, 207. Cartwright (the actor), 207. Casaubon, Méric, 124. Casaubon, Isaac, 169, 170, 177, 179. Charron de Ménars, 173, 174, 199. Chartraire de Bourbonne, 194. Chevalier, Étienne, 101. Chevalier, Nicolas, 102. Chifflet, Jules, 192. Child, Francis, 215. Christina of Pisa, 60. Christina (Queen of Sweden), 94, 149, 154, 159, 162, 187. Chrysoloras, 50, 63, 66. Cino da Pistoia, 41. Cassiodorus, 12, 23. Caxton, William, 93, 95, 97. Ceolfrid of Jarrow, 21. Chamillard, Madame de, 195. Charles I. , 112, 122, 152. Charles II. , 122, 133. Charles V. (of France), 59, 60, 94. Charles V. (Emperor), 192. Charles VII. (of France), 101, 102. Charles VIII. (of France), 79, 100. Charles IX. (of France), 106, 107. Charles the Bold, 95, 96. Charles the Great, 20, 23. Charles of Orléans, 102. Clarendon, Earl of, 203, 207. Clavell, Walter, 134. Clement, VII. , Pope, 69. Clement, XII. , Pope, 181. Clénard, Nicolas, 167. Cleopatra, 2. Cobham, Bishop, 55. Cobham, Lord, 97. Coelius, 77. Colbert, 148, 187, 188. Coleraine, Lord, 211. Colet, Dean, 208. Columba, St. , 13, 15-17, 130. Columbus, Christopher, 168. Columbus, Ferdinand, 166-168. Condé, Princesse de, 105. Congreve, 213. Consentius, 10, 11. Costa, Solomon da, 133. Cotton, Sir John, 118. Cotton, Sir Robert, 18, 113, 117, 118, 129, 178. Cotton, Sir Thomas, 118. Courteney, Richard, 56. Cox, Captain, 115. Coxeter, Thomas, 203, 207. Cracherode, Clayton, 153. Cranmer, Archbishop, 112, 113. Crofts, Thomas, 215. Cromleholme, Samuel, 208. Cujacius, 160. Cuthbert, St. , 18. 

 Daniel, Bishop, 22. Dee, Dr. , 114, 130, 136. Dent, John, 217. Descordes, Jean, 184. Des Essars, Antoine, 60. Desportes, Philippe, 102. D'Ewes, Sir Symonds, 120. Diane de Poitiers, 104, 106. Digby, Sir Kenelm, 128-30. Dodsworth, Roger, 134-35. Domitian, 4. Dorchester, Lord, 208. Douce, Francis, 133-34. Dryden, 213. Du Barry, 109, 199. Dubois, Simeon, 184. Dudley, Robert (Leicester), 114, 206. Du Fay, Charles, 148, 196, 197. Dugdale, Sir William, 135. Dunstan, St. , 25, 128. Du Puy, Charles, 171, 172. Du Puy, Jacques, 171, 173. Du Puy, Pierre, 171, 173. Dury, John, 116. 

 Eadburga, Abbess, 22. Edward VI. , 112. Egbert of York, 23. Elisabeth, Madame, 109. Elizabeth, Queen, 112, 113. Ellesmere, Lord, 136. Erasmus, 71, 80, 87, 89, 90, 98, 99, 140. Essex, Lord, 127. Estienne, Henri, 89, 90, 169, 193. Estrées, Duc d', 194. Estrées, Gabrielle d', 106. Eusebius, 6. Evelyn, John, 85, 190. 

 Fairfax, Bryan, 215. Fairfax, Lord, 116, 117, 134, 135. Falconnet, Dr. , 194. Farmer, Dr. , 217. Farnese, Cardinal, 159. Fauchet, Claude, 162. Faure, Antoine, 151. Ferrar, Nicholas, 121, 122. Finnen, St. , 16. Firmin-Didot, 101, 156. Fisher, Bishop, 111, 112. Fitz-Ralph, Archbishop of Armagh, 31. Fléchier, Esprit, 150. Fleming, Robert, 97. Fletewode, W. , 136. Folkes, Martin, 134. Fontius, 83. Foucault, Nicolas, 198. Francis, St. , 30, 31. Francis, I. , 163, 217. Francis, II. , 106, 107. Freebairn, 209. Fugger, Raimond, 90. Fugger, Ulric, 90, 91, 185. 

 Gaffarel, Jacques, 182. Gafori, Franc, 143, 144. Gaignat, 93, 153, 194. Gale, Thomas, 134. Gascoigne, Dr. , 34, 128, 130. Gascoyne, Richard, 204. Gascq de la Lande, 198. Gasparus, Achilles, 91. George of Trebisond, 71, 72. Germanus, St. , 11. Gibbon, 218, 219. Gilles, Pierre, 104. Giraldi, Cinthio, 77. Giraldi, Lilio, 77. Girardot de Préfond, Paul, 194, 198. Gloucester, Humphrey Duke of, 56-59, 124. Gosset, 218. Gouffier, Arthur, 102, 103. Gouffier, Charles, 103. Gough, Richard, 133, 134. Granvelle, Cardinal de, 192. Gray, William, 97. Grenville, Thomas, 153. Grolier, Étienne, 136, 146. Grolier, Jean, 56, 100, 103, 106, 139, 162, 175, 196, 198, 201, 217. Grostête, 30, 33, 34, 128, 129. Guillard, Charlotte, 102. Guinguené, Pierre-Louis, 200. Guy Earl of Warwick, 54. Guy de Rocheford, 96. Guyon de Sardières, 106. 

 Hackett, Bishop, 123, 208. Hale, Sir Matthew, 137. Harley, Edward, 119, 203, 210, 212. Harley, Robert, 119-122. Harley, Gabriel, 114. Hearne, Thomas, 134, 211-214. Heath, Benjamin, 218. Heathcote, Robert, 217. Heber, Richard, 213. Heinsius, Daniel, 89, 180. Henri II. , 104, 105, 109. Henri III. , 107. Henri IV. , 107. Henry IV. (England), 56. Henry V. (England), 56. Henry VII. (England), 111, 112. Henry VIII. (England), 111. Henry, Prince, 116. Hohendorf, Baron, 148. Holkot, Robert, 35. Hoym, Count d', 148, 194, 197. Hunter, John, 218. Hunter, William, 202. Huntingdon, Robert, 131. Hurtado de Mendoza, Diego, 166. Hutten, Ulric von, 89. 

 Inguimbert, Don Malachi d', 181. 

 James I. , 115-116, 126, 136. James, Dr. Thomas, 125-127. Jekyll, Sir Joseph, 134. Jerome, St. , 6, 14, 102. Jersey, Earl of, 215. Joanna II. (Naples), 79, 109. John, Duke of Burgundy, 95. John, King (France), 59. John, Precentor, 22. John of Ravenna, 49 Johnson, Samuel, 119, 215, 216. Jonson, Ben, 114. Jovian, 7. Julian, Emperor, 6, 7. Julius II. , Pope, 139. Juvenal des Ursins, 101. 

 Kennett, Bishop, 211. Kinnoul, Earl of, 211. 

 Labé, Louise, 102. Lambert de Thorigny, 194. La Gruthuyse, Louis de, 93, 94. Lami, Giovanni, 73. Lamoignon, Chrétien de, 188, 189. Lamoignon, G. De, 148, 187, 188. Lanfranc, 27. Langarad, 16. Lange, Rudolf, 87. Lascaris, Constantine, 81. Lascaris, John, 81, 82, 104. Laud, Archbishop, 129, 131. Lauwrin, Mark, 142, 144. La Vallière, Duc de, 61, 83, 94, 106, 153, 191, 194, 217. Le Blond, Abbé, 201. Lebrixa, Antonio, 166. Leland, John, 34. Le Neve, Peter, 120, 121. Leo X. , Pope, 69, 72, 81, 82, 89, 104. Leo, the Philosopher, 9. Leofric, Bishop, 26, 128. Leoni, Pompeo, 164. Leontio Pilato, 49, 50. Le Tellier, Archbishop, 150, 151. Ligorio, Piero, 77. Lilly, William, 136. Lipsius, Justus, 162, 180. Loche, Gilles de, 132. Loménie, Antoine de, 184. Louis (of Hungary), 83, 85. Louis IX. , 151. Louis XI. , 62, 101. Louis XII. , 94, 177, 193. Louis XIII. , 183, 184. Louis XIV. , 94. Louis XV. , 109, 188. Louis XVI. , 173. Louis-Philippe, 105. Louise de Loraine, 107. Louise de Savoie, 103, 220. Lucian, 5, 170. Lucullus, 4. Lulla, Bishop, 22. Lumley, Lord, 116, 127. 

 Macarthy, Count, 141, 153, 155, 194, 199. Magliabecchi, Antonio, 74, 75. Maintenon, Madame de, 195. Maioli, Thomas, 141, 144. Malton, Lord, 204. Mansion, Colard, 93, 95. Mansard, Francis, 162. Margaret of Austria, 96. Margaret of Burgundy, 95. Marguerite d'Angoulême, 103, 220. Marguerite de Valois, 108, 109. Marie Antoinette, 109. Marie Leczinska, Queen, 108, 109. Mary of Austria, 85, 96. Mary of Burgundy, 96. Mary, Queen of Scots, 106, 107. Marucelli, 73. Mason, George, 219. Matthias Corvinus, 82-86, 212. Mazarin, Cardinal, 162, 183-187. Mazenta, 163, 164. Mead, Dr. , 210, 212, 214. Médici, Catherine de, 104-106, 108. Médici, Cosmo de', 63, 66, 68, 104. Médici, Lorenzo de', 67, 68, 82, 83, 97. Médici, Marie de, 134. Médici, Pietro de', 68. Melanchthon, Philip, 90. Melzi, Francesco, 163. Mérard de St. Just, 199. Mercatellis, Rafael de, 92, 93. Mesmes, Guillaume, 151. Mesmes, Henri, 184, 151. Mesmes, Henri, junior, 151, 162, 179, 183. Mesmes, Jean Antoine, 152. Mesmes, Louis-Emeric, 152. Mirabeau, Honoré de, 200. Mirandula, Pico della, 68, 71, 73, 88. Monson, Sir William, 205. Montacute, Lord, 127. Montaigne, 156. Moore, John (Bishop), 122, 123. Morata, Olympia, 77, 78. More, Sir Thomas, 98. 

 Naudé, Gabriel, 182, 187. Negri, Stefano, 142, 143. Neleus, 3. Nevinson, Dr. , 113. Newton, John de, 54. Niccoli, Niccolo, 66, 68. Nicholas V. (Pope), 69, 70. Norfolk, Duke of, 85. Nuñez, Ferdinand, 166, 185. 

 O'Donnell, David, 17. O'Donnell, Sir Neal, 17. Oldys, William, 86, 119, 121, 122, 202, 214. Oppenheimer, David, 133. Orsini, Fulvio, 158, 160, 172. Osorio, Jerome, 127. 

 Palladius, 14. Pamphilus, 6. Paris de Meyzieux, 217. Parker, Archbishop, 19, 113, 120, 128. Pars, Jacques de, 101. Patrick, St. , 13-15, 130. Paullus, Æmilius, 4. Pearson, Major, 217. Peiresc, Nicolas, 132, 161, 177-182. Pembroke, Henry, Earl of, 211. Pembroke, Thomas, Earl of, 210. Pembroke, William, Earl of, 131. Pepusch, John, 206. Pepys, Samuel, 133, 213. Pétau, Alexander, 162, 186. Pétau, Paul, 148, 158, 161, 162, 209. Peters, Hugh, 116, 131. Petrarch, 35, 36, 41-63, 76, 80, 166. Philelpho, 66, 67, 70, 142. Philip II. (of Spain), 82, 164. Philippe le Bon (Burgundy), 92, 95. Philippe le Hardi (Burgundy), 94, 95. Photius, 8, 9, 74. Pichon, Jérôme, 103. Pignoria Antonio, 76. Pinelli, Gian-Vincenzio, 175-178. Pinelli, Maffeo, 177. Pirckheimer, 85-87. Pithou, François, 151. Pithou, Pierre, 148, 170, 186. Poggio, 63-67, 72, 73, 79, 80, 175. Politian, 68, 71, 97. Pollio Asinius, 4, 146. Polydore Vergil, 165. Pompadour, Madame de, 109, 199. Postel, Guillaume, 1, 104. Prynne, 120. Ptolemy (Philadelphia), 3, 46. 

 Rabelais, 142, 200. Rameses, 2. Ranconnet, 106, 107. Rantzau, Marshal, 154, 155, 185. Rasse de Neux, 144. Ratcliffe, John, 216. Rawlinson, Richard, 127, 133, 134, 175, 213. Rawlinson, Thomas, 205, 213, 214. René of Anjou, 79. Renée, Princesse, 77, 177. Renouard, Antoine, 156, 200, 201, 220. Repington, Philip, 56. Reuchlin, Johann, 88-90. Rhenanus, Beatus, 87, 142. Richelieu, Cardinal, 149, 171, 182. Rigault, Nicolas, 179. Rivers, Anthony, Lord, 97. Rivers, Richard, Lord, 127. Robertet, Florimond, 102. Rodolph II. , Emperor, 84. Roe, Sir Thomas, 131. Rohan, Cardinal de, 145, 174. Ronsard, Pierre, 102. Rothelin (Charles d'Orléans), 191, 197, 198. Roxburghe, Duke of, 219. 

 Saint André, Jean de, 162. Saint Vallier, Comte de, 105. Salutati, 68. Sambucus, Dr. , 84, 145, 146. Sammonicus Serenus, 46. Sancroft, Archbishop, 206. Sartines, Gabriel de, 194. Savile, Sir Henry, 127, 179. Savonarola, 68, 73. Saye, Lord, 97. Scaliger, Joseph, 71, 99, 132, 161, 169, 177, 178. Séguier, Charles, 149. Séguier, Pierre, 149, 179. Seillière, Baron, 156. Seignelaye, Marquis de, 188. Selden, 116, 131-133, 137, 208. Seneca, 5, 7. Shakespeare, 114. Sheldon, Archbishop, 206. Sherington, Walter, 97. Shrewsbury, 59. Sidonius Apollinaris, 11. Silvestri, Eurialo, 144. Sixtus V. , 70. Sixtus of Sienna, 76. Smith, Joseph, 215. Smith, Richard, 211. Soltikoff, Prince, 101. Soubise, Prince de, 141, 148, 174. Spelman, Sir Henry, 117. Spencer, George, Earl, 220. Spenser, 114. Stafford, Marquis of, 136. Stanley, Colonel, 218. Stillingfleet, Bishop, 120. Stowe, 120. Strozzi, Marshal, 73, 104. Strype, 205. Sulla, 3. Sunderland, Earl of, 209, 210. Sussex, Earl of, 205. Sykes, Sir Mark, 217. 

 Tenison, Archbishop, 207. Theodore of Gaza, 71, 72. Theodore of Tarsus, 18, 21. Thomason, George, 123. Thou, Abbé de, 173. Thou, François de, 173. Thou, Jacques-Auguste de, 105, 108, 109, 120, 145, 146, 148, 169-174, 177-179, 185, 212-213. Thou, Jacques-Auguste de (junior), 173, 174. Thyard, Pontus de, 193. Tiptoft, John, 97. Toletus, Cardinal, 160. Tomasini, Giacomo, 52, 183. Tory, Geoffroy, 145. Tournon, Cardinal de, 186. Towneley, John, 218. Trajan, 4. Tyrannion, 3. 

 Urbino, Elizabeth d', 81. Urbino, Federigo d', 80. Urbino, Francesco d', 81. Urbino, Guidubaldo d', 80, 81. Urbino, Leonora d', 134. Urfé, Claude d', 94. Urfé, Honors d', 94. Usher, 117. 

 Van Hulthem, 94. Vasée, Jean, 167. Vendôme, Duchesse de, 107. Vérard, Antoine, 111, 193. Vic, Dominique, 147. Vic, Méric de, 147. Vinci, Leonardo da, 106, 162-164. Vorstius, 115. 

 Wake, Archbishop, 134. Walsingham, Sir Francis, 206. Wanley, Humphrey, 120, 210, 211. Ware, Sir James, 207. Webb, Philip Carteret, 136. West, James, 216. Wentmore, Abbot, 54. Whethamstede, Abbot, 59. Whittington, Sir Richard, 31. Wilfrid, St. , 21, 22. Williams, Dean, 208. Wodhull, Michael, 218. Wood, Anthony, 118, 128, 135. 

 Ximènes, Cardinal, 121, 165, 184. 

Printed by T. And A. CONSTABLE, Printers to Her Majesty, at the EdinburghUniversity Press. 

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation and printing errors have been repaired. See the HTML edition of this text for the complete list of corrections. 

Accented characters have been made consistent to assist searching viathe index:Medici -> MédiciFrancois -> FrançoisXimenes -> XimènesEtienne -> ÉtienneOrleans -> OrléansDerome -> DerômeMerard -> MérardMeric -> Méric

Hyphenation has been left as printed - inconsistencies are:shiploads, ship-loadsbirthplace, birth-placeheirloom, heir-loomlifetime, life-timebookshops, book-shops