Warn 5 1 |/' Mvvti MEMORIES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. MEMORIES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. BY ROBERT COWTAN, AN ASSISTANT IN THE LIBRARY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. LONDON : RICHARD BENTLEY AND SON, in flDrtunarg to $er JSajestp, NEW BURLINGTON STREET. 1872. CIIISWICK PRESS : PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WILKINS, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. LIBRARY -UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAISTA BARBARA THESE "MEMORIES" OF THE NATIONAL LIBRARY ARE, BY PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, BY THEIR HUMBLE AND OBLIGED SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. HE British Museum as I found it in 1835 . CHAPTER II. My first Employment in the Library, with some Account of the Librarians at that period 12 CHAPTER III. The National Library at Montague House . . .22 CHAPTER IV. The King's Library collected by George III. . . 41 CHAPTER V. The Parliamentary Enquiry into the Condition and Manage- ment of the British Museum, 1835-36; and the Royal Commission of 1848-49 . . . . .64 CHAPTER VI. Resignation of the Rev. H. H. Baber ; appointment of Mr. Panizzi ; retirement of the Rev. H. F. Gary ; appoint- ment of the Rev. Richard Garnett, his early Death; some account of the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Home, and his Writings ; and the first appointment of Mr. Winter Jones, the present Principal Librarian .... 99 vi Contents. CHAPTER VII. Removal of the Library from Montague House, with brief Notices of additions to the Library Staff . . -113 CHAPTER VIII. The Grenville Library, with some Account of its Treasures. 1 2 1 CHAPTER IX. The Founder of the Grenville Library, his Public and Private Life 132 CHAPTER X. The Chartist Demonstration on the loth of April, 1848, and how it affected the British Museum . . . -145 CHAPTER XI. The Copyright Act, and its special relation to the Library of the British Museum ...... 158 CHAPTER XII. The New Reading-Room, with some brief Notices of those that preceded it . . . . . . .192 CHAPTER XIII. Retirement of Sir Henry Ellis ; Appointment of Mr. Panizzi to the office of Principal Librarian ; and of Mr. Winter Jones to the Keepership of the Printed Books . . 230 CHAPTER XIV. Retirement of Mr. Panizzi from the office of Principal Librarian ; the appointment of his successor ; appoint- ment of Mr. Thomas Watts as Keeper 'of the Printed Books ; his brief career as Keeper, and his sudden death 248 Contents. vii CHAPTER XV. Catalogues and Cataloguing in the Library of the British Museum . . . . . - . . . .275 CHAPTER XVI. A few stray Notes and Fragments ..... 303 CHAPTER XVII. In Memoriam ......... 339 CHAPTER XVIII. The Departments of Maps, etc., Manuscripts, and Drawings 377 CHAPTER XIX. A Concluding Glance at the National Library . . .402 ERRATA. Page 129, line 14, 18, 21, 27, for "Julio" read "Giulio." ,, 129, line 21, for " at" read " in." 208, line i6,for " 1858" read " 1838." ,, 231, line 6, for " at" read " in." 256, line 16, for " Che" read " Chi." ,, 263, line T,for " 8th" read " gth." ,, 267, line io,for " Lymington" read " Limmington." ,, 275, line 9, for " Hayn" read " Hain." ,, 307, line i<),for " Lipsius" read " Lepsius." ,, 308, line 22, for " Mr. Opie" read " Mrs. Opie." ,, 310, line 25, for " Mr. Jan" read " M'lan's." ,, 321, line 7, for " to" read " in." ,, 322, line 22, for " Morris" read " Norris." ,, 326, line 18, 21, for " Boon" read " Boone." ,, 326, line 23, for " Burthes" read " Barthes." ,, 329, line 12, for " Cohen" read " Cohn." ,, 329, line 14, for " Zedver" read " Zedner." ,, 336, line 14, for " Carta" read " Charta." ,, 344, line 22, for " Mercey" read " Mercery." ,, 349, line 3, for " To" read " So." ,, 350, line 28, for " Graham" read " Grabham." ,, 351, line 24, for " in" read " on." ,, 352, line 9, for " Childers" read " Children." 355> nne l S>/ or " Tamuelle" read " Samouelle." ,, 371, line 13, for " Luchman" read " Lachmann." ,, 380, line 2, for " Medicco" read " Mediceo," ,, 382, line i, for " Levein" read " Levien." ,, 382, line IT,, for " Geologists" read " Genealogists." ,, 384, line 25, for " Michael Angelo" read " Michael Angelo Buonarroti." ,, 392, line 18, for " revived" read " revised." ,, 416, line IT, for " leading" read " heading." ,, 417, line 8, for " Answahl" read " Auswahl." ,, 425, line i, for " Palestine" read " Palestrina." CHAPTER I. THE BRITISH MUSEUM AS I FOUND IT IN 1835. HAT is now known all the world over as The British Museum stands on the site of Montague House, which is as clean gone as if it had never existed. The first Montague House was burnt to the ground January 19, 1686, " than which," says Evelyn in his Diary, " for painting and furniture there was nothing more glorious in England." Lady Rachel Russell, who lived at Bedford House close by, witnessed its destruction, and mentions it in her letters. The second Montague House, which was to become the British Museum, stood in what was then a suburb of London, and with its beautiful gar- dens covered a space of nearly eight acres. It was a noble mansion, erected on the foundations of its predecessor, by Ralph Montague, afterwards Baron and Duke of Montague, ambassador from James II. to Louis XIV. ; who married Lady Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of South- The British Museum ampton, widow of Joceline Percy, the eleventh and last Earl of Northumberland, of that family ; and called by Evelyn "the most beautiful Countess of N orthumberland. " The architect of the second Montague House was one Peter Puget, a native of Marseilles, an artist of the first eminence in his time, who was sent over from Paris by the duke to erect and embellish this once fine old house. The designs for this princely mansion were prepared by Robert Hooke, the cele- brated mathematician, who, after the great fire of London, produced a plan for rebuilding the city, which, though pronounced to have great merit, was not, however, adopted. When finished, Montague House was considered the most magnificent build- ing, for a private residence, of any in London. At the time referred to the building stood, we are told, on the very outskirts of town ; so much so indeed that the " fields behind Montague house " were the favourite resort of duellists, and a pasture ground for cattle. The out-look from the back windows of the mansion commanded an uninterrupted view to the pleasant hills of Hampstead and Highgate ; it was near the main thoroughfare of Holborn, and also to the Oxford Road, now known as Oxford Street. Aubrey says of these fields, in 1694 : " The last summer, on the day of St. John the Baptist, I acci- dentally was walking in the pasture behind Mon- tague House. It was twelve o'clock. I saw there about two or three-and-twenty young women, most as I found it in 1835. of them well habited, on their knees very busy, as if they had been weeding. I could not presently learn what the matter was ; at last a young man told me that they were looking for a coal under the root of a plantain, to put under their heads that night, and they should dream who should be their husbands." How changed is the scene now, that it is filled with almost innumerable streets and squares, and forming no small part of the west-central area of our great London. Some of my readers will recollect the high red- brick wall that faced Great Russell Street, with its quaint frenchified old-fashioned Lodge, guarded by two tall grenadiers. The entrance was through high folding wooden gates, with a smaller door in the centre for visitors on foot. This smaller door was at the time I am writing of, 1835, opened by a porter, whose good-humoured round face beams upon me even now, and whom I always thought a good embodiment of an Englishman, and a fitting introduction to the British Museum ; a lithograph engraving still exists of the old entrance-gate, with this jolly looking porter as its prominent feature, which will, I am sure, fully bear me out in what I have said of him. On passing through the gates, a spacious quad- rangle presented itself with an Ionic colonnade on the street side, and Montague House faced the visitor. The exterior of the main building was not such as to command admiration, and was built of red The British Museum brick with stone dressings : the house was two hundred and sixteen feet in length, and fifty-seven feet high, with a flight of stone steps leading to the principal entrance. Perhaps the best view of the front, on a large scale, is that to be found in Strype's "Survey of London" for 1754. Views of the front, the street-screen and ground plan of the building may also be seen in Colin Campbell's " Vi- truvius Britannicus," fol. 1717, vol. i. pi. 34, 35 and 36. There are several views of the garden front ex- tant, one of which is contained in the fine collection of drawings forming a part of the Royal library. This coloured drawing is deserving of notice, as it exhibits not only the house and gardens and the fine grove of trees that once stood to the left of the grounds, but at the time it was taken an encampment was formed in the gardens in consequence of the Gordon Riots. It will be remembered that it was in these gardens that Lord Chancellor Eldon and family took refuge in the Corn- Law Riots of 1815, when a mob assembled in front of his residence at No. 6, Bedford Square, broke all his windows, and tearing up some of the iron railings before the area, they employed these as crowbars to wrench an entrance into his house. An entrance was obtained, and the mob rushed in and filled the lower part of the house.. The noble and learned lord, with his family made a precipitate retreat into the British Museum gardens at the back of the house, and gave the alarm to the soldiers at the guard-room, four of as I found it in 1835. whom immediately snatched up their muskets and hastened at once, with Lord Eldon at their head, to the back of the house, entered it, and drove out the intruders at the point of the bayonet ; not, however, before they had succeeded in destroying much of the furniture, and also some "judgments" of the Lord Chancellor. For three weeks was Lord Eldon obliged to make his way to Westminster through the Museum gardens, escorted by an officer of the peace, through all the obscure streets and alleys in which he could find a passage, so as to avoid the mob that lingered about his house. The two low-built wings on either side of Mon- tague House were appropriated as residences for the officers and domestic servants of the establishment. It was in one of these on the right hand side that the Rev. H. F. Gary, one of the librarians, resided. There it was that he entertained the select conclave of literary friends who, every third Wednesday of the month, met at his hospitable table. Conspicuous among these may be mentioned the names of Cole- ridge, Samuel Rogers, and Charles Lamb, the latter of whom spoke of Mr. Cary as " the pleasantest of clergymen, whose sweetness of disposition and man- ner would have prevented a stranger from guessing that he was the poet who had rendered the adaman- tine poetry of Dante into English with kindred power." There it was that poor Lamb on one un- happy occasion, either from accident of stomach or of sentiment, was so overcome by the hospitalities of 6 The British Museum his bountiful host, or by the exhilarating influence of the choice spirits he met there, as to be removed in a hackney coach before the festivities of the evening were ended. Lamb records this weakness in an inimitable letter addressed to Mr. Gary a few days after the event. Those of my readers who have never read this memorable epistle from the great and genial essayist should look it out for themselves in Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd's " Final Memorials of Charles Lamb." The other residences were occupied by Sir Henry Ellis, then principal librarian ; the Rev. H. H. Baber, keeper of the printed books ; and the Rev. Josiah Forshall, for many years keeper of the manuscripts, and afterwards secretary to the trustees. Sir Fre- deric Madden also occupied apartments in this quaint old building. On crossing the neatly gravelled courtyard, and ascending the rather steep flight of steps, you entered the hall which contained then, as now, the Roubilliac Shakspere, bequeathed to the Museum by David Garrick. This fine work of art presents a French phase of our great poet, and is not, in my humble opinion, by any means the personification of "the sweet bard of Avon " as he lives in the mind of Eng- lishmen, who are justly proud of " the greatest name in English literature." Here also was to be seen Chantry's statue of Sir Joseph Banks, which, by the way, is not unfrequently supposed to be Sir Walter Scott. These, with an elegant statue of the Hon. as I found it in 1835. Anne Seymour Darner, holding in her hands a small figure of the Genius of the Thames ; a gilded repre- sentation of Gaudma, a Burmese idol from Rangoon, and a badly - stuffed specimen of a hippopotamus, adorned the place, and prepared the wondering visitor for the treasures that were to follow. When we think of the facilities now afforded to visitors of the Museum, it should be remembered that, in early days, persons wishing to view the col- lections were requested to leave their names, and attend at a fixed hour on some other day appointed, when they were hurried through the several rooms without any respect to their taste for any particular department. It was on the i5th of January, 1759, that the British Museum was opened to a select number of ticket-holders, it being considered unsafe to allow the British public to be admitted indiscri- minately. Now it is open to all the world, without either fee or delay ; and, if the visitor be so inclined, he may inscribe his name and address in a book kept in the entrance-hall, so that his autograph may be preserved for all generations. Few that saw them will forget the giraffes that stood on the upper landing of the staircase, which looked so stiff and rigid as to have given one an idea that they died under the influence of strychnia, or were the original pair that were preserved in Noah's Ark. Close at hand was the room containing " Magna Charta," enclosed in a glass-case, for the inspection of visitors, which was subsequently shown 8 The British Museum in the manuscript -room, and now withdrawn al- together from public gaze, to preserve it from the light, which was gradually obliterating the writing of this famous document. It may not be generally known that a fac-simile of this national illustration of England's love of liberty, surrounded by the arms of the twenty-five barons who witnessed the king's attestation, was engraved by Mr. J. Pine some years since, and can still be obtained through any book- seller. The library of printed books at that time, con- sisting of about 200,000 volumes, was chiefly con- tained in a suite of rooms upon the ground-floor. The Banksian library, and a large and valuable collection of tracts relating to the French revolution, occupied some rooms in the upper floor. Of the library it was said, in the " Synopsis," or guide-book of that day, in curt official language, that " Strangers are not admitted into these apartments, as the mere outside of books cannot convey either instruc- tion or amusement." An alphabetical catalogue of the library was printed in 1787, in two volumes folio ; and another, published in seven volumes oc- tavo in 1813-19, containing, as far as possible, the accessions to the latter year. The grand staircase to Montague House was very handsome : the paintings over the ceiling, represent- ing Phaeton petitioning Apollo for leave to drive his chariot, were by Charles de la Fosse, who, in his time, was deemed one of the best colourists of the as I found it in 1835. French school, and was the decorator of the cupola of the dome of the Invalids. The landscapes and architectural decorations were by the hand of James Rousseau, whose skill in perspective has ever been held in high estimation. The ceiling in the saloon, representing the birth of Minerva, was also painted by De la Fosse, and the beautiful garlands of flowers by Jean Baptiste Monoyer. All these artists were foremost men of their day: the beautiful garlands and wreaths of flowers by Monoyer were scattered about in every available space, and wanted only fra- grance to make them real. The other collections, consisting of Natural History, Minerals, &c., with not a few curious things to please and instruct the multitude, were arranged as well as the small space allowed, and made the British Museum, even at that time, one of the most attrac- tive exhibitions in London. The King's Library, however, and the Sculpture Galleries, were to me the most attractive. Being the son of a bookseller I had always loved books ; and the Elgin marbles were such as to command the admiration of any one with the love of the beau- tiful in him. In later days I have many a time spent my dinner half-hour in lingering among them, and have not wondered that they should have been worshipped by those whom Revelation had not directed to the great source from which all inspiration springs. Since the period referred to, the new Sculpture Galleries have been built, and i o The British Museum filled with priceless treasures from Egypt, Nineveh, Rome, Athens, Ephesus, Naples, Halicarnassus, and other sources ; to say nothing of those marvellous works of ancient art which Mr. Charles Newton has disentombed, and which at present are located in the ugly temporary sheds under the portico of the new building. These precious mutilated fragments com- prise a godlike colossal statue of Mausolus, and other remains of the tomb, erected to his memory by his wife Artemisia. It is to be hoped that the public will have an opportunity soon of seeing these won- drous fragments as they have been restored under the direction of Mr. Newton. The Reading- Room, at this period, was in the east wing of the new building, and was worthily presided over by Mr. James Gates, "whose venerable looks adorned the place," and whose courteous behaviour made him a favourite with everybody. The King's Library, containing probably " the greatest collection ever made by one man," was the only portion of the existing building then erected. I shall never forget the impressions produced upon me on first beholding the magnificent gallery in which this library is con- tained. I had never before beheld so many books in one apartment. Montague House, having served its purpose, has given place to one of the finest buildings in London, with a frontage of three hundred and seventy feet, surrounded by a colonnade of forty-four columns of grand dimensions, and surmounted by a lofty pedi- as I found it in 1835. 1 1 ment, containing an allegorical group by the late Sir Richard Westmacott of the Progress of Civilization. " Since the days of Trajan or Hadrian," says Pro- fessor Cockerell, " no such stones have been used as those recently employed at the British Museum, where eight hundred stones from five to nine tons weight form the front. Even St. Paul's Cathedral contains no approach to these magnitudes." In the place of the old ugly red-brick wall of Montague House facing Great Russell Street, there is now a magnificent iron railing, ornamental and secure, and allowing the passer-by to see the noble front of the new edifice behind it. Should the project ever be carried out of opening a wide street, with first-class shops, from the British Museum through Drury Lane to Somerset House, both of these fine buildings would be seen to greater advantage, and a noble street would be formed in the place of one of the worst neighbourhoods of London. CHAPTER II. MY FIRST EMPLOYMENT IN THE LIBRARY, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE LIBRARIANS AT THAT PERIOD. i AVING endeavoured in the preceding chapter to record some recollections of the British Museum as I found it in 1835, I come now to speak of my first employment under the Trustees of that institution. At the time referred to, my father held the ap- pointments of collector of books under the Copy- right Act, and also the office of accountant. The former duty was previously discharged by the late Mr. John Glover, originally attached to the library of George III., afterwards an officer of the Museum, and subsequently "librarian in ordinary" to William IV., and afterwards to Her Majesty Queen Victoria. The two offices, those of collector and accountant, were formerly held conjointly ; but since the esta- blishment has become so much enlarged, and the duties of the copyright-office so greatly increased, as well as those relating to finance, they have for some years been disconnected, and are two distinct and Employment in the Library. 1 3 separate appointments. Mr. John Cleave, from the Treasury, is now the accountant, and holds the rank of an assistant-keeper, though in my father's time the salary was but ^50 a year. My father discharged the duties of the copyright collectorship under the direction of the keeper of the department of printed books, the Rev. Henry Hervey Baber, who entered the service of the British Museum as early as 1807, and was promoted to the keepership in 1812. Mr. Baber is well known to the literary world, not only as. a curator in the national library, but also as the learned editor of the Old Testament portion of the "Codex Alexandrinus," the New Testament portion of that celebrated manu- script having been previously edited by a former assistant-librarian, Dr. Charles Godfrey Woide. This extremely beautiful facsimile reprint of what was once believed to be the most ancient manuscript of the Scriptures, is probably one of the finest specimens of modern typography in the National Library. The printing of this great work commenced in 1816, and was completed in 1828. In addition to the copies on paper, no less than ten were printed on the finest vellum, and were disposed of for the large sum of one hundred and eighty-four guineas the set. Two of these magnificent copies, sumptuously bound in red morocco, are now in the library of the Museum ; one formed part of the collection of George III., the other came with the Grenville Library. It should always be remembered to the honour of England, who owes so much of her greatness to the Bible, that 14 the cost of printing and editing this manuscript of the sacred writings was met by grants from Parliament, amounting in all to nearly ,10,000. The working catalogues in use at the library of the British Museum in 1835, were two interleaved copies of the edition in seven volumes, printed in 1813-19, and compiled under the editorship of Sir Henry Ellis and Mr. Baber. These copies of the catalogue had become so crowded by the entries of new manuscript additions, that it was found necessary to provide further accommodation for the new titles. It was decided by the Trustees, at the re- commendation of Mr. Baber, that two interleaved copies should be prepared, including the manuscript additions, and what was considered ample space should be left for the insertion of additional titles, as further acquisitions were made from time to time. I had recently come from Canterbury, my native city, and wrote a tolerably good hand ; and my father succeeded, through the interest of Mr. Baber, in obtaining for me, from Dr. Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, the appointment of a temporary tran- scribership. Having been connected with books in my father's house all my previous life, I was delighted at the thought of holding an appointment in such a library as that of the British Museum. On the morning of the ist of May, 1835, I entered upon my new duties. My first colleagues in the work of tran- scribing were two gentlemen still in the service of the Museum, one holding the responsible office of in the Library. 15 assistant-secretary to the Trustees, the other a posi- tion of trust in the library. On being introduced to Mr. Baber by my father, we were handed over by that gentleman to the assistant-keeper of the department, the late Mr. Gary, who was to superintend the transcription. I have the most vivid recollection of this gentleman's kindly directions on the morning referred to ; and I confess to feeling not a little elated, as a romantic youth at eighteen, that a man so eminent as Mr. Gary should be placed over us in our work. We commenced upon the copy of the catalogue that was in use for the library. The manuscript titles in this catalogue, which still exists, had been accumulating for fifteen years. They were written by the attendants, who had transcribed them from the original slips made by the librarians from the books themselves, as they were acquired from time to time and were catalogued. It would have ensured greater correctness in the transcript had we copied from the original title-slips, rather than from the old transcription, inasmuch as we should then have avoided the danger of repeating many clerical errors made by those who had preceded us in the work. The transcript we were engaged upon proceeded under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Baber and Mr. Gary, and was portioned out to us by Mr. John Grabham, a gentleman who had been "reader" in the printing establishment of Messrs. Woodfall, the celebrated printers, and who then held an appointment as assistant in the library. 1 6 My first Employment Mr. Grabham subsequently became superintendent of the reading-room, and died in the service of the Trustees, on the 9th of August, 1858. I recollect the feeling of anxiety I experienced shortly after the work was commenced, when we were informed by Mr. Baber that specimen sheets of our transcription would be laid before the Trustees at their next meeting. This formidable board, composed of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord High Chan- cellor of England, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Robert Peel, Sir Robert Harry Inglis, and other great names, made us a little nervous in proceeding with the work. Mr. Baber and Mr. Cary, however, kindly encouraged us ; and we heard from them that the specimen sheets passed the Board with commendation. As the transcription proceeded, our work was examined and collated by three gentlemen at that time on the library staff. The German titles were taken by Dr. Schier; those in Hebrew and other oriental languages by Dr. Bialloblotsky ; and the Latin, Greek, Italian, French, English, and other European languages, by Mr. Antonio Panizzi, then holding the office of extra assistant-librarian. Drs. Schier and Bialloblotsky have long since passed away. Mr. (now Sir Anthony) Panizzi subse- quently held a prominent position in the National Library, as well as being preferred to the highest post in the Museum, that of " Principal Libra- rian," so that I may be allowed to advert to a few inci- dents in his remarkable career before his connection in the Library. 17 with the British Museum. I should not venture to speak of one whose official position was so far above my own, but that my everyday life, for more than thirty years, was so interwoven with that of my chief, that I can hardly speak of my own humble work in the library apart from the eminent services of the distinguished man who has done so much to make the National Library what it now is. The fact, also, of the retirement of Sir Anthony Panizzi from the Museum, after a lengthened and devoted life spent in the public service, will, I trust, be deemed a sufficient apology for this public notice of a few in- cidents of his remarkable career. If that Emperor is deserving of praise who found Rome brick and left it marble, surely Antonio Panizzi will live in the recollection of England's grateful sons, for what he has done towards making our National Library not only worthy of his adopted country, but probably the finest collection of books that the world has ever seen. In the judgment of those whose opinion would hardly be disputed, the library of the British Museum, as representing the whole of human literature, is not only one of the largest, but also the most complete collection of books anywhere to be found in the world. It is the glory of England that honest and able men, who, from the political state of their own countries have been compelled to take refuge here, have not merely enjoyed the bare right of an asylum, but have also had the freest opportunities of exer- c 1 8 My first Employment cising their talents and abilities. A remarkable and honourable illustration of this is to be found in the case of the late principal librarian of the British Museum. We learn from a brief biographical notice of Sir Anthony Panizzi, by the hand of one who has had the fullest opportunities of correct information, that he was born at Brescello, in the Duchy of Modena, on the 1 6th of September, 1 797 ; Modena at that time formed a part of the Cisalpine Republic. After pro- secuting his studies in the Lyceum at Reggio, where he remained until about seventeen years of age, he proceeded to the University of Padua. In 1818 he took his degree of Doctor of Laws, quitted the uni- versity and prepared himself for practice in the superior branches of the legal profession. Taking a deep interest in the political state of his native country, he, while yet a student, entered into the revolutionary movement which ultimately broke out in Naples in 1820, and in Piedmont in the following year. In 1821 his participation in these movements was made known to the Modenese authorities, through the weakness of one of the con- spirators, and the young revolutionist judged it prudent to provide for his safety. He immediately quitted Brescello, and when at Cremona narrowly escaped seizure. A polite message was conveyed to him from the commissary of police, requesting his attendance, and it was from the office of this functionary that he saved himself by a hasty flight. in the Library. 19 The charge against him was tried in his absence, he was found guilty /ter contumaciam, sentenced to death, and the confiscation of his property. He first sought a refuge in Lugano, the capital of the Swiss canton of Ticino, but was obliged to quit it on the demand of Austria, and betook himself to Geneva. Here, however, he was not allowed to remain in peace. The representatives of Austria, France, and Sardinia, demanded the expulsion of himself and other Italian political refugees from the soil of Switzerland, and they, therefore, determined to proceed to England, where, after many hair-breadth escapes, they arrived in the month of May, 1823. The little band of patriots was received in London by Ugo Foscolo, their great countryman, who for his love of liberty had some years previously left his native land for one where freedom ever dwells ; and having laid aside the sword, pursued his classic studies peacefully among us, and died in 1827. Those who have read his " Essays on Petrarch," will remember how beautifully he could clothe his vivid and fervid feelings in our own language. Garibaldi, when last in England, spent some time with Sir Anthony Panizzi, and went in company with him to visit the grave of this poet and patriot, who was buried at Chiswick. After remaining some months in London, on the recommendation of Ugo Foscolo, our expatriated hero turned his steps towards Liverpool, where he was received with more than friendly interest by 20 Dr. William Shepherd, author of the " Life of Poggio Bracciolini," and by William Roscoe, author of the " Life of Leo X.," to both of whom Foscolo intro- duced him, and by whom he was treated almost as a son. He remained at Liverpool several years, main- taining himself by teaching his native language, and enjoying the best society of the place. In 1828, when the London University was founded under the auspices of Lord Brougham, Mr. Panizzi was invited by the noble and learned Lord to fill the chair of Italian language and literature ; after hesitating some time whether he should give up the agreeable society he was then enjoying, he accepted the proffered chair. In March 1831, the post of extra-assistant keeper in the Department of Printed Books in the British Museum became vacant, and by the support and influence of Lord Brougham, who was at this time Lord Chancellor, and other influential friends, Mr. Panizzi obtained the appointment. He was now in a position in which he might indulge his taste for books, and soon distinguished himself not less by his indomitable energy, than by his high bibliographical acquirements. Such were a few of the antecedents of the man who subsequently did so much for the Library of the British Museum. Although the religious creed is no test of ability, yet at the time referred to, it was a matter of congra- tulation that a Roman Catholic should succeed to an appointment made by the three principal Trustees of the British Museum, one of whom was the Arch- in the Library. 2 1 bishop of Canterbury. Toleration and liberty of speech have made rapid progress during the last half century. Now, happily, a man's religious belief is no obstacle to his obtaining some of the highest offices in the state. I am glad to have lived to see the day when Sir Robert Lush, a Baptist, can sit on the judicial bench by the side of his learned Roman Catholic brother, Sir William Shee. The late Sir William Atherton, who filled with dignity and ability the office of Attorney-General, was a Wesleyan, and the son of a Wesleyan preacher. The late Mr. Bernard Woodward, " Librarian in Ordinary " to Her Majesty the Queen, was formerly an " Independent Minister," yet this fact was not deemed any obstacle to his appointment to the high and responsible position he so worthily filled at Windsor Castle. I was once informed, by one high in authority at the British Museum, that the Archbishop of Canter- bury (Dr. Howley) would never have given me my own humble appointment had His Grace known that I was a Nonconformist. It has always been a rule with me through life, that, while I would not obtrude either my religious convictions or my political opinions upon others, yet I would not shrink from their frank and open avowal on all proper occasions. In this matter of toleration we may, as remarked by Robert Southey, " be thankful that our lot has fallen in times when, though there may be many evil tongues and exasperated spirits, there are none who have fire and faggot at command." observe CHAPTER III. THE NATIONAL LIBRARY AT MONTAGUE HOUSE. ARTE, the historian, complains of the want of a public library in London, in his preface to the " History of Eng- land," 1747. He says : " I am sorry on this occasion that there is scarce a great city in those parts of Europe where learn- ing is at all regarded, which is so destitute of a good public library, as London ; and we now see a most expensive structure erecting for the Mansion House of its chief magistrate, without any provision to remedy a defect, which is scarce to be found in the private houses of any simple magistrate abroad, to whom there is any resort on account of public busi- ness. There is not a day in the week but that there is some well-furnished library open at Paris, for the inquisitive world to repair thither and peruse the authors they have occasion to consult : and for the most opulent city upon earth, the metropolis of a great and learned nation, to labour under a defect The National Library. 23 of this kind, looks as if learning, the friend and the support of liberty, met here with little encouragement from the public, however it may be cultivated by private persons, in despite of all difficulties." It is a matter for congratulation that this ground of complaint has long since been removed ; and that we have now in a central position, accessible from all parts of London, a National Library. Washington Irving, when speaking of the library of the British Museum, in the chapter entitled, " The Art of Bookmaking," in the " Sketch Book of Geoffry Crayon, Gentleman," called it " an immense collection of volumes of all languages, many of which are now forgotten, and most of which are seldom read." The National Library at that time (about 1821), however, was far from being extensive, and did not number more than 115,925 volumes. In 1832 the contents of the library were again counted, and the aggregate number of volumes amounted to 218,957. During the period referred to, it was not possible to do very much towards extending the library, as the annual grants from Parliament were so small and so grudgingly bestowed, that frequently Mr. Baber, the keeper of printed books at the time, had allotted to him only about ,200 a year for the purchase of books and other matters relating to the library. On looking over Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, to ascertain the amount granted by the House of Commons to the British Museum, I was not a little amused at finding, so late as 1833, the following 24 The National Library remarks of Mr. Cobbett, who strenuously opposed in that year the proposition that ,16,000 should be voted for the maintenance of this national institution. " He would ask," said the honourable gentleman, " of what use in the wide world was this British Museum, and to whom, to what class of persons, it was useful ? It did a great deal of good to the ma- jority of those who went to it, but to nobody else. Let those who lounged in it, and made it a place of amusement, contribute to its support. Why should tradesmen and farmers be called upon to pay for the support of a place which was intended only for the amusement of the curious and the rich, and not for the benefit or for the instruction of the poor. If the aristocracy wanted the Museum as a lounging place, let them pay for it. For his own part, he did not know where this British Museum was, nor did he know much of the contents of it ; but from the little he had heard of it, even if he knew where it was, he would not take the trouble of going to see it. He should like to have a list of the salaried persons ; he should like to know who they were ; he should like above all things to see whether they were not some dependants of Government some of the aristocratic fry. He wanted their names the names of the maids who swept out the rooms, to see whose daughters they were ; whether they were the daughters of the heads of the establishment, or what other relation they bore to them." He concluded by declaring that, " this British Museum job was one of at Montague House. 25 the most scandalous that disgraced the Government, and when he said that he could not make it more disgraceful." It is well that all our legislators were not of the mind of the honourable gentleman just quoted, or Montague House would have been quite large enough to contain all that was needed for it ; and the national library would have continued to be very far inferior in contents and in value to most of the great public libraries of Europe. When my acquaintance with the library of the British Museum began, the number of volumes was little more than about 200,000 ; and it may be interest- ing to some of my readers to be informed how the col- lection, up to that period, had been brought together. The library of printed books in the British Museum, founded in 1757, consisted at first of the volumes forming the Sloane collection, which are said to have amounted to 50,000 (a number apparently much exaggerated), and of the royal collections, extending from the time of Henry VII. to that of George II. The bulk of the royal collection seems to have con- sisted of English divinity and history, of some Latin classics, and of many Spanish as well as Italian poets and historians. The works in other classes were not numerous ; but among them were several volumes remarkable either for being printed on vellum, or for being dedication copies, issued from the press of celebrated early printers. The most valuable among them are the productions of Anthony VeYard, who printed at Paris during nearly fifty years (1480-1 530), 26 The National Library and who appears to have struck off for Henry VII. a copy on vellum of every book which he printed during the reign of that monarch. One of the beau- tiful volumes of this unique collection, the whole of which are bound in the richest Genoa velvet, is a French translation of Boethius, having a dedication to the king of England. In another copy of the same work, also in the national library, the same dedication is addressed to the king of France, the word " Engleterre" having been inserted with the pen. Unfortunately, part of this collection was dispersed. Two handsome folio volumes belonging to it are now at Ham House, but the portion still kept together is unrivalled. In 1759 Mr. Salomon Da Costa presented a hundred and eighty Hebrew books, which, as he states, "had been gathered and bound for King Charles II." They are chiefly ancient editions of valuable works on Jewish history, theology, and jurisprudence. In 1762 George III. presented an unique collection of tracts relating to, and published during, the reign of Charles I. and the Common- wealth, to the Restoration (1640-1660). It consists of about 30,000 articles. In 1766 Dr. Birch, one of the first elected Trustees of the Museum, bequeathed a collection rich in biography. Mr. Speaker Onslow bequeathed a collection of Bibles, in the year 1 768. In 1773 Sir Joseph Banks gave a hundred and seventeen books printed in Iceland, to which he added more in 1783, chiefly consisting of theological at Montague House. 27 works. In 1778 Sir John Hawkins presented a number of books on music, to which he made an addition ten years later. The English plays collected by Mr. David Garrick, were added to the library in 1780 : we are informed that to collect these rare and precious volumes had been the favourite amusement of the great actor. About nine hundred volumes, chiefly classics, but including many Italian and Spanish authors, were bequeathed by Mr. Tyrwhitt, the editor of Chaucer, in 1786. In 1790 Sir William Musgrave presented about four hundred volumes, to which he added, by his bequest in 1799, about 1,500 more, the whole being chiefly biographical works. Many Italian and Portuguese books were presented in 1792 by Mr. Methuen. In the course of 1799 the library was enriched by the splendid collection of the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode, who bequeathed about 4,500 volumes, including many rare and valu- able editions of classics, as well as of Italian authors. In 1818 Lady Banks gave to the Museum several works relating to tournaments, chivalry, knighthood, &c., which had been collected by Miss Banks. In 1820 Sir Joseph Banks bequeathed his own library, consisting of about 16,000 volumes, particularly rich in scientific journals, transactions of societies, and books on natural history ; but it was not actually transferred to the Museum till 1827. The Banksian library comprises the finest collection of books on natural history ever gathered by one man. A most careful and useful catalogue of this celebrated col- 28 Hie National Library lection was made by Dr. Jonas Dryander, a Swede, and printed in five volumes 1798-1800. In 1823 the splendid library of George III., of which I shall speak in a subsequent chapter, was presented to the British Museum. Although pre- sented in 1823, the royal library was not removed to the British Museum till 1828, nor could it be arranged and made accessible to the public till the following year. Sir Richard Colt Hoare having, with great perseverance and care, formed a remarkable collection of works relating to the topography, and to the local, as well as general history of Italy, presented it to the British Museum in 1825. The former of this collection printed twelve copies of the catalogue of these books, and wrote upon the fly-leaf of the copy which accompanied his munificent present to the national library : " Anxious to follow the liberal example of our gracious monarch, George the Fourth .... (though in a very humble degree), I do give unto the British Museum this my collection of topography, made during a residence of five years abroad, and hoping that the modern publications may be added to it hereafter. A. D. 1825." The cata- logue is dated 1812, and at the end of the copy from which the above is transcribed, Sir Richard wrote : " This catalogue contains 1,733 articles." A manu- script list of a few more articles, probably added to the collection after 1812, is annexed to the same copy of the catalogue. Lastly, in 1835, General Hardwicke bequeathed at Montague House. 29 to the Trustees such works on natural history forming part of his library, as were wanting in that of the British Museum, by which the national library received an accession of about three hundred volumes. So much for the donations that had, up to this time, enriched the department of printed books. Two important collections were purchased under the authority of Parliament. The first was formed by Mr. Francis Hargrave, an eminent barrister, and comprised a valuable collection of law books, both printed and manuscript, occasionally rendered more interesting by the collector's autograph notes. This collection was purchased in 1813 for the British Museum by a special vote of ,8,000 by the House of Commons for that purpose : the printed books were valued by a bookseller at ,2,247 % s - The library of Dr. Burney was likewise purchased under a special parliamentary grant in 1818 : the printed books alone were estimated at about nine thousand guineas. The most remarkable were Greek classics, a series of newspapers in about seven hundred volumes, and materials for the history of the stage. Most of the classics were bound in large volumes, each interleaved with blank paper, intended for manuscript notes, and for presenting occasionally in the same book, various texts from different editions of the same author, with manuscript notes by Dr. Burney himself; the latter, very few indeed in proportion to the blank paper prepared for them, which would have sufficed had he lived to be as old as Methuselah. The National Library We come now to speak of purchases from various sources. In 1769, a sum of ^7,000 was paid to the Trustees of the British Museum by the executors of Major Edwards, according to his will. This sum was invested in public securities ; and the interest of it (and sometimes part of the capital, which was after- wards replaced), were employed in the purchase of printed books, manuscripts, coins, and other curio- sities, pursuant to the directions of the testator. The evidence respecting this fund laid before the Com- mittee of the House of Commons, in 1835, shows how it was employed. It would be difficult, and a matter not likely to be interesting to my readers, to enter into details respecting the application of this fund. In 1804, the sum of ^"150 from this source was applied to the purchase of a collection of Bibles belonging to Mr. Combe. In 1807, when Richard Cumberland, the author of the "West-Indian," had sold to a bookseller about eighty volumes of the classics which had belonged to his relation, the great Dr. Bent- ley, and were enriched by the doctor's manuscript notes, the circumstance fortunately became known to the librarians of the British Museum in time to enable them to acquire these volumes for the sum of ^400. In 1812, the deficiency of English works on English history and topography being brought under the notice of the Trustees, they applied to Parliament for the sum of ,1,000 to be employed in the purchase of books of that description. The purchase of the books on music, forming the collection of Dr. Burney, at Montague House. 31 the father of the writer of the same name before referred to, was made in 1815, and the sum of 253 was paid for the same. In 1815 a deputation of two of the officers of the British Museum, the Rev. H. H. Baber and Mr. Charles Konig, was sent to Munich to examine the library of 20,000 volumes, chiefly of natural history and medicine, belonging to Baron Moll, which was purchased at their recom- mendation. In the accounts laid before Parliament of the receipts and payments for the year ending 25th March, 1816, the expenses connected with the purchase of Baron Moll's library are set down at ,4,777 175. 5d. ; so that the library received from the nation grants in money to the amount of something more than ,2,000, during a period of more than ten years. From 1833 to the end of 1837, the grants became more liberal, and unfettered by special appropriations, and during that period the Printed Book Department expended ,10,189 14.?. gd. It was then that the sale of Messrs. Heber and Hanrott's collections afforded opportunities for purchasing British books, which Parliament had hitherto forbidden to be bought. But important foreign works were not less deficient, and the officers of the Museum had much difficulty in making an equitable distribution of the means at their disposal. The result of the foregoing state- ment appears to be, that during the first thirty-two years of this century, the net sum of public money applied to increase the only national library in the British dominions fell short of "20,000 ! or rather less than 600 a year, exclusive of the sums laid out in the Hargrave and Burney collections. I have ventured to allude to this financial state- ment for the purpose of showing how little encourage- ment was given by Parliament, at this period, towards making the national library equal in number and importance with the other great libraries of Europe, or at all commensurate with the require- ments of the age. Although my purpose and intention will be, in these pages, to speak specially and particularly of the at Montague Hottse. 35 department of Printed Books, yet that of the manu- scripts in the British Museum formed so important and valuable a division of the national library, even at this early period of its history, that it must be in- cluded in this brief account of what the library was at Montague House. I must refer those of my readers who may be desirous of being more fully informed as to the treasures contained in the depart- ment of manuscripts to the popular " Handbook of the Library of the British Museum," compiled by my friend and colleague, Mr. Richard Sims, and published by Mr. Russell Smith. In it may be found a history of the formation of the department, and of the various collections of which it is composed ; descrip- tions of the catalogues in present use ; classed lists of the manuscripts ; and a variety of information indis- pensable for those who may be induced to labour in the mine of antiquarian and literary treasures to be found in the library of manuscripts in the British Museum. At the time of which I am writing the number of volumes of manuscripts was about 23,000. Mr. Sims, in the " Handbook " referred to, remarks that " the collection claims our attention no less from the venerable antiquity and inestimable value of its general contents, than from its extreme importance as the depository of the most important materials for historical literature in Europe. The manuscript collections have been pronounced by competent judges to be the most numerous, and, probably, the finest in the world." 36 The National Library I have just mentioned that the number of volumes of manuscripts in the British Museum, at this time, was about 23,000, but as Mr. Sims remarks, " con- siderable difficulty arises in the attempt to form a correct estimate of their extent. If we consider each single letter and paper to be a manuscript, as it undoubtedly is, the gross amount will be enormous. But, in many cases, some hundreds of such letters are bound together in one volume ; it is evident, therefore, that when the volumes only are counted, the actual number of the manuscripts will be very far from being ascertained." When I entered the service of the Trustees in 1835, the Keeper of the Manuscripts was the Rev. Josiah Forshall, of whom I shall speak in a future chapter. Sir Frederic Madden, was at that time the Assistant- Keeper, and afterwards Keeper of the department : he is one of the best known antiquarian authors of England, and edited, in conjunction with Mr. Forshall, the edition of Wycliffe's Bible, printed and published by the University of Oxford. Among the assistants at that time in the department was Mr. John Holmes, the father of Mr. Richard Holmes, who was for many years an assistant in the same de- partment, and who recently succeeded Mr. Bernard Woodward as " Librarian in Ordinary to the Queen at Windsor Castle," which high office he now holds. Mr. John Holmes was a man of great ability and research, and a most valuable worker in the de- partment. He gave evidence, on the subject of at Montague House. 37 catalogues, before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1836, and was a frequent contributor to the " Quarterly Review," one of his articles there being on " Catalogues of Libraries.'' Another gentleman, now well known, the Rev. Henry Octa- vius Coxe, was then an assistant in the department. Mr. Coxe is now keeper of the Bodleian Library, and has since his removal to Oxford published several valuable catalogues of manuscripts in that library : this gentleman was very highly esteemed at the British Museum for his genial and kindly manners as well as for his learning and erudition. The Rev. Upton 'Richards was associated with Mr. Coxe as an assistant in the department, and was as much re- spected as his colleague. Mr. Richards has left the service of the Trustees for many years, and is well- known as the Incumbent of All Saints, Marylebone. I have been able in this chapter to give but a very general idea of what the national library was at the time of my first connection with it. In subsequent chapters I shall endeavour to give some particular account of the more important additions that have been made to bring it to the state of comparative perfection which it now occupies among the great libraries of the world. In 1836 the British Museum library comprised about 220,000 volumes; which, with 23,000 volumes of manuscripts, made the aggre- gate of 243,000 volumes. At this period it was inferior to the Bibliotheque du Roi, Paris, at that time the finest library in the world. After Paris 38 The National Library followed those of Dresden and Munich in point of numbers. The library of the King of Denmark may be ranked after them, and is said to contain about 400,000 volumes. The library at Vienna was large, but it is believed to have been not so extensive as has been represented, the probable numbers being about 300,000 volumes, including manuscripts and portfolios of prints. The Dresden library numbered about 250,000 volumes. Besides these none were, I believe, superior in point of numbers to that of the British Museum. The most extravagant mistakes have been made, and circulated widely, as to the number of works in large libraries. That of the Vatican at Rome was supposed to contain a copy of almost every book that had ever been published. It was said of it in 1813, by the Rev. Mr. Eustace, an English Catholic priest, in his " Classical Tour in Italy," speaking of the printed books in that library, " Their number has never been accurately stated ; some con- fine it to 200,000, others raise it to 400,000, and many swell it to a million the mean is probably the most accurate." Zanelli, a recent historian of the collection, speaks of it in 1857 as "holding the first place among the libraries of the world, both by its antiquity and the number and value of its manu- scripts." The Bodleian Library, Oxford, was for many years believed to be second only to the Vatican, and that it contained every printed book. Schnabel, at Montague House. 39 a German statistical writer, on the faith of the asser- tion in the " Oxford Guide " of its near approach to the Vatican, stated the number to be 700,000. It is hardly necessary to say that the accounts of both these libraries have been much exag- gerated, and they are equally inaccurate. Two German writers of reputation, Denis, in 1775, in his "Introduction to Bibliography," and Blume, in 1824, in his " Iter Italicum," reduce the number of printed volumes in the Vatican to 30,000. Valery, a French- man, in 1826, speaks of it as 80,000. The Marquis Melchiori, in his " Guida Metodica," printed at Rome in 1836, gives the number at 100,000. As far as the Bodleian is concerned, an official return to the House of Commons made by the librarians in 1849, stated the number of the volumes then at 220,000 only. The most recent historian of this valuable library, the Rev. William Dunn Macray, in his "Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, 1598 1867," states that the total number of the printed books is about 345,000 volumes. The number of volumes in other great libraries have been stated with the same incorrectness, so that little dependence can be placed in any vague accounts that may be given of their magnitude. Some interesting reliable information upon this sub- ject may be obtained from the four volumes of evidence before the Select Committee of 1835-6, and also from that of the Royal Commission of 1850. Our own national library, under the efficient 40 The National Library. management of Mr. Panizzi, was becoming every day more and more the common reservoir of learning, and one of the great receptacles of the state for the preservation of the records and evidences of our history, our constitution, our laws, and of the private rights of families ; a vast collection deposited for preservation and national use, and it is the daily resort of those employed in the investigation of the literature of the world, and of public and private rights. In Mr. Panizzi's evidence before the Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons on the British Museum, in June, 1836, he said, among other things, that, "considering the British Museum to be a national library for research, its utility increases in proportion with the very rare and costly books, in preference to modern books. I think that scholars have a right to look for these expensive works to the Government of the country." . . . " I want a poor student to have the same means of indulging his learned curiosity of following his rational pursuits of consulting the same authorities of fathoming the most intricate enquiry as the richest man in the kingdom, as far as books go. And I contend that Government is bound to give him the most liberal and unlimited assistance in this respect." He con- cludes his remarks by saying " When you have given a hundred thousand pounds, in ten or twelve years, you will begin to have a library worthy of the British nation." CHAPTER IV. THE KING'S LIBRARY COLLECTED BY GEORGE III. 'T has been said that no monarch of England, or indeed of any other coun- try, ever brought together so extensive and costly a library as that formed by His Majesty, George III. Charles I. maybe named as the only other royal personage in England who made anything like so large a collection of books. The smaller royal collections, commenced in the reign of Henry VII. and continued to that of the second of the Georges, comprising some exceedingly rare and costly volumes, were transferred in 1759 by letters patent to the newly formed establishment of the British Museum. The library of George III. is not confined to any particular class of literature, but embraces almost every species of human knowledge. It is a judicious selection of the best authors in all departments of literature and science, particularly in history, and comprises a rich collection of the earliest and 42 The Kings Library, rarest productions of the press. It is interesting to know, as stated in the preface to the catalogue of the King's Library, that the collection was made in accordance with a plan suggested by Dr. Samuel Johnson. The volumes, moreover, are, in general, in the best possible condition, and in very frequent instances, of the most superb description, being printed on vellum, or large paper copies. Sir Frederick Augusta Barnard was the librarian under whose direction and control the library was brought together. This gentleman, who survived his royal master, continued to hold the appointment of librarian until the collection became national pro- perty. Sir Frederick was the writer of the preface to the catalogue of the library in five volumes, folio, the printing of which was commenced in 1820, and completed in 1829. This accomplished librarian died at St. James's Palace, January 27, 1830, at the advanced age of eighty-seven. A portrait of him, engraved in mezzotinto by S. W.. Reynolds from a picture by John Knight, is attached to those copies of the catalogue which were dispersed by himself. The books, when brought to the British Museum in 1828, were systematically arranged by Mr. Baber, at that time keeper of the printed books, in three hundred and four presses, in classes, as correctly as could be accomplished, by placing them according to their sizes upon the appropriate shelves. Shortly after the collection came to the Museum the books were counted, when their number was found to be about 65,250, exclusive of about 8,000 pamphlets. Collected by George III. 43 There is also attached to the royal library a mag- nificent collection of maps and plans, with some rare and curious drawings, chiefly illustrative of the topo- graphy of the British dominions. Some of these were considered of such value and importance^ that they were carefully put into sealed envelopes, on which was written, " not to be opened." The cata- logue of these maps and drawings forms a sixth volume of the general catalogue, and was printed in 1829. The index to this catalogue affords one of the best models for the arrangement of a general topo- graphical collection that is anywhere to be found. The noble apartment in which this truly regal collection has found, it is hoped, its last resting place, is three hundred feet in length, forty-one feet wide, and in the centre fifty-five feet wide ; the height is thirty-one feet. The presses in which the books are placed are made of oak, with brass doors, which have within a few years been glazed, at the sugges- tion of Mr. Panizzi, to preserve the books as much as possible from dust. The locks of the cases are of a new and singular construction ; the key that locks each case shoots, at the same time, bolts above and below the door. The rails in front of the galleries are of handsome brasswork ; the floor is oak, beauti- fully inlaid with mahogany, and the ceiling is hand- somely relieved with sunk panels. The four pillars in the centre of the room are of Aberdeen granite, each shaft being a single piece, surmounted by Corinthian capitals of Derbyshire alabaster : these 44 The Kings Library, pillars are twenty-five feet in height, and are very handsome. It may interest my readers to know that these granite pillars cost ^15 each as they were worked from the quarry, and that the labour expended upon polishing increased their value to about ,2,400. I believe that it was originally intended to have eight more of these massive columns, but the in- tention was abandoned in consequence of the great expense of polishing so hard a surface. The centre of this magnificent room has for some years been appropriated to a series of show-cases in which are exhibited some choice and interesting specimens of engravings and etchings from the Print Room. It is very much to be regretted that this collection shown to the public is, on account of the limited space, so small, as the Print Room contains much relating to the history of our own country, that would be generally interesting. The cases in which these art treasures are shown, though perhaps the best that could be devised for the purpose, are very ugly, and are a great disfigurement to this beautiful room. When the curtains are drawn around them on days that the public are not admitted, they present very much the appearance of huge coffins lying in state, and entirely destroy the perspective of this otherwise splendid gallery. It is to be hoped that the keeper of the prints will have allotted to him more ample space at no distant period, that he may exhibit to greater advantage the rich and valuable contents of his deeply interesting department. Until Collected by George III. 45 lately the general public knew very little of the Print Room. Everybody likes to look at pictures, and the present keeper, Mr. George William Reid, is very desirous of making his department as popu- larly instructive as possible. Space alone is re- quired to make the Print Room one of the most instructive and popular schools for the people in our National Museum. On either side of the King's Library are placed at intervals tables in which the maps and drawings are placed ; they are preserved in a hundred and thirty- two large portfolios. The room also contains, in suit- able show-cases, some of the rarest and more beautiful productions of typography, and elegant specimens of binding from the King's collection and also from the general library. Here may be seen the first book printed with moveable type, known as the " Mazarine Bible," so called because the copy which first attracted notice was discovered in the library of Cardinal Mazarin, and supposed to have issued from the press of Gutenberg and Fust, at Metz, about 1455. The paper, type, and ink of this beautiful specimen of the printing-press, are such as to com- mand the admiration not only of bibliographers, but also of our best printers of the present day. In these cases are exhibited some of the very choicest speci- mens of the earliest productions of the printing- press in Germany, Italy, France, and England. One exquisitely beautiful little volume of Petrarch's sonnets, printed at Venice by Aldus in 1501, on vel- 46 The Kings Library, lum, is remarkable not only as the first Italian book printed in Italic type, but also as having been the property of Isabella d'Este, who married Gian- Fran- cesco Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua, whose arms are emblazoned on the lower margin of the first page of this precious little volume. I have heard Mr. Panizzi say, that he would rather possess that one volume than any other in the national collection. One case, containing some of the precious volumes by Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, and Pynson, cannot fail to attract the admiring attention of those fond of black-letter curiosities. In this case is the only copy known of "The Fifteen O's." " Thiese prayers tofore wreton ben enpreted bi the co- maudementes of the moste hye & vertuous pryn- cesse our liege ladi Elizabeth by the grace of God Quene of Englonde & of Frauce, & also of the right hye & most noble pryncesse Margarete Moder vnto our souerayn lorde the kyng, &c. IT By their most humble subget and seruaut William Caxton." Printed in Westminster Abbey, about 1490. The prayers contained in this unique little volume are called " The Fifteen O's,'' from the fact of its con- taining that number of prayers, with others in Latin, commencing with the exclamation O ; they are com- mon in the manuscript Horse of the fifteenth cen- tury, and have frequently been reprinted both in the original Latin and in English ; Caxton's version being, possibly, the earliest. This beautiful pro- duction of England's first printer, affords one of the Collected by George III. 47 best specimens of early English typography that is anywhere to be found. It differs in style from every other production of Caxton's press, as each page is surrounded by an ornamental border. The woodcut of the crucifixion, which appears on the reverse of the first leaf, exhibits considerable artistic merits, and was subsequently used by Wynkyn de Worde, and also by Pynson, in several of their publications. The volume, of which it forms a part, is in the original binding, and contains certain tracts printed by Caxton's successor, Wynkyn de Worde. It was purchased of the late Mr. William Pickering in 1851. I may mention that permission was given by the Trustees in 1869 to reproduce this rare volume in photo-lithography by Stephen Ayling, who has done so much to promote this modern process of repro- duction. By the side of the above are other rare specimens of our great printer, as for example : Le Fevre. " Le Recueil des Histoires de Troves." Printed by Caxton, about 1470. This book is considered to be the first work printed abroad by Caxton, and the first book printed in French. Purchased in 1844. Le Fevre. " Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye." Printed abroad by Caxton, in 1471. The first book printed in English. From the library of King George III. " The Game and Playe of the Chesse." Printed by Caxton, in Westminster Abbey, in 1474. The first edition of this work, and the first book printed in England. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. 48 The King s Library, Thomas Grenville. " A Book of the Chesse mo- ral ysed." Printed by Caxton in Westminster Abbey, about 1480. The second edition of the Game and Playe of the Chesse. The first book printed in England with woodcuts. From the library of King George III. Chaucer. " The book of the Tales of Cauntyrburye." Printed by Caxton in Westminster Abbey, about 1476. The first edition of this work. Only two perfect copies known, the other being in the library of Merton College, Oxford. From the library of King George III. " The Ryal Book ; or, a Book for a Kyng." Printed by Caxton, in West- minster Abbey, in 1484. From the library of King George III. ^Esop. " The subtyl historyes and Fables of Esope." Printed by Caxton, in West- t minster Abbey, in 1484. With woodcuts. The first English version of these Fables. Purchased in 1 844. The copy belonging to the Royal Library was re- tained by King George IV., when he presented that collection to the nation, and is now at Windsor. " Meditacions sur les Sept Pseaulmes Penitentiaulx." - " Les quatre derrenieres choses." Printed (abroad ?) by Caxton. Unique. The last mentioned unique specimens of the earliest productions of the printing press in England were discovered not long since by Mr. Winter Jones, the present Principal Librarian ; of which an interesting account may be seen in a letter addressed by that gentleman to the late Sir Henry Ellis, and printed in vol. xxxi. of " Archaeologia" for 1846. Another re- Collected by George III. 49 markable volume in this case is " Bartholomseus de Glanvilla. De proprietatibus rerum." Translated into English by John Trevisa. Printed by Wynkyn de Worde, at Westminster, about 1495. This is the first book printed on paper of English manufacture, made at Hertford by John Tate ; the first paper-mill having been set up there in the reign of Henry VII. Bequeathed by the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks. By the side of these are two volumes of special interest: Watton. "Speculum Xpristiani." Printed by Wilhelmus de Machlinia, in the city of London, about 1480. From the library of King George III. " Dives and Pauper." The first book printed by Pynson, at Temple Bar, London, in 1493. From the library of King- George III. And near them are : " Exempla Sacrse Scripturae." Printed at St. Albans in 1481. From the library of King George III.; and the Book of St. Albans, entitled " The Bokys of Haukyng and Huntyng, and also of Cootarmuris." Written by Dame Juliana Barnes or Berners, Prioress of Sopwell Nunnery, near St. Albans. Printed in St. Albans Abbey in 1486. (Described in Bibl. Spencer, iv. 373.) Said to be the finest copy known of this very rare book. Be- queathed by the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville. In speaking of these choice specimens of early English printing, I am proud to say that the library of the British Museum, as might have been expected, contains the greatest number of books printed by Caxton that have ever been brought together. It E 50 The King's Library, includes among its treasures as many as eighty-eight productions from his press. Of these no less than eleven are unique. It is rather singular that out of ninety-four works enumerated in Mr. Blades' ad- mirable " Life and Typography of William Caxton," no less than thirty-three are known to us only by single copies, or by fragments. Mr. Blades re- marks : " If more than one third of Caxton's issue has been nearly destroyed, how numerous may have been the editions of which we shall probably never learn the existence." One of the most interesting cases contains books with autographs, among which may be mentioned those of Lord Bacon; Michael Angelo; Lord Burgh- ley ; Charles I., when Prince of Wales; Robert De- vereux, Earl of Essex ; Katharine Parr, last wife of Henry VIII. ; Ben Jonson, on a presentation copy to John Florio of the first edition of his " Volpone ; " Martin Luther, dated 1542, in the first volume of the copy of the German Bible, printed at Wittenberg in 1541 : the same copy was afterwards in the pos- session of Melancthon, who, in 1557, wrote a long note on the fly-leaf of the second volume by its side. Here also may be seen the autograph of our great Puritan poet, John Milton, on a copy of the " Phaeno- mena" of Aratus, printed at Paris in 1559 ; and near to it the now famous " Epitaph," on a fly-leaf of the first edition of his poems, printed in 1645, and which by many is considered to be not only a production hitherto unprinted from the pen of our great poet, Collected by George III. 5 1 but also in his own handwriting. Professor Morley of the London University had the honour of bringing this beautiful little poem to light. The copy of Milton's poems in which it occurs belongs to the collection of George III. In the same case may be seen the autograph of Sir Isaac Newton, and that of Voltaire ; a copy of Dean Swift's correspondence 1724-31, with manuscript notes by Sir Walter Scott ; Waller's poems, 1668, with his autograph dedication in verse, to " Hir Royal Highness " the Duchess of York. A proof-sheet of one of Moore's melodies,- " The valley lay smiling before me," with autograph corrections by the author, will be looked at with interest by those who love a poet who has done so much to delight our firesides by his imperishable songs. In the same case with these, and other equally in- teresting autographs, may be seen a copy of the Ninety-five Theses or Propositions, against the doctrine of Indulgences and other points, which the lion-hearted Luther posted on the doors of the Church of Wittenberg, on the 3ist of October, 1517, and upon which he challenged all the world to dispute with him in the University. By the side of this memorable document, which issued in the Refor- mation, may be seen a copy of the brave Reformer's appeal to a General Council from the proceedings commenced against him at Rome and elsewhere, by order of the Pope. Here too may be looked at, an order of the 52 The Kings Library, Council of State, appointing Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector, dated Dec. 16, 1653 ; and near it a pro- clamation of Charles II., ordering the suppression of the " Defensio pro Populo Anglicano," and of the " Iconoclastes," by Milton, who is therein stated to have fled from justice : dated Aug. 13, 1660. Let all our young men, and young women too, go and see these national documents for themselves, and read these precious volumes, and see how much we owe to this great man, not only as a poet, but also for his eloquent and patriotic writings in defence of the people and the right of freedom of speech. It is so true, that : " The words of fire that from his pen Were flung upon the fervid page, Still move, still shake the hearts of men, Amid a cold and coward age. His love of truth, too warm, too strong For hope or fear to charm or chill ; His hate of tyranny and wrong, Burn in the hearts he kindled still." The typographical and literary curiosities in an adjoining case are worthy of a careful examination; They contain, among other treasures, rare and costly tracts relating to the early discoveries of Columbus. The Letters of Columbus on the discovery of America are very rare and intensely interesting. Here also is the only remaining fragment of the first edition of Tyn- dale's translation of the New Testament, printed at Cologne in 1525, three thousand copies of which were struck off but so completely destroyed that this is be- Collected by George III. 53 lieved to be the only portion of the work remaining. It is also the earliest specimen of a printed version of the Scriptures in English. A beautiful fac-simile of this unique fragment has just been edited and pub- lished by Mr. Edward Arber, so well known for his careful and marvellously cheap series of " English Reprints " of some of the gems of our early English literature. In this case, abounding in first editions, are spread out to the admiring gaze of book-lovers, the earliest edition of the " first Reformed Prayer- Book of Edward VI." printed in 1549. Here also is the finest copy known of the first collected edition of the Bard of Avon's plays. The title reads : " Mr. William Shakspere's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Printed by Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, London, 1623." The dedication is to William, Earl of Pembroke, and Philip, Earl of Montgomery, signed by John Heminge and Henry Condell, the editors, and two of the principal actors of Shakspere's plays ; the lines facing the portrait are by Ben Jonson ; the portrait by Martin Droe- shout. Here also are the first editions of his " Romeo and Juliet," 1597 ; the unique " Venus and Adonis" of 1602; the " Sonnets," 1609 ; and the " Merry Wives of Windsor," 1619. The "Sonnets" was purchased in 1845 ; the other two were be- queathed by David Garrick. The heading "William Shakspere" in the Mu- seum general catalogue fills two folio volumes, and contains probably the most reliable mass of bib- 54 The Kings Library, liographical information relating to the works of our great dramatist that is anywhere to be found. There are eighteen hundred and thirty-eight entries in the general catalogue, which, with twenty-three in the Grenville library, make a total of eighteen hundred and sixty-one. An index to the two volumes of the catalogue, comprising the Shaksperian col- lection, will refer the reader at once to anything he may be in search of. Waltonians may see the -first edition of the " Com- plete Angler," 1652 ; and by its side the first edition of Milton's " Paradise Lost," 1667, a splendid copy from the Grenville Collection. Daniel Defoe is represented by the first edition of " Robinson Crusoe," dated April, 1719. I should be glad to be able to say that the first edition of the " Pilgrim's Progress," by John Bunyan, was included among these literary treasures, but only one copy of this edition is known, which forms part of the private library of Mr. H. S. Holford, of Weston Birt 'House, Tetbury, Gloucestershire. This unique little volume was discovered some years since in a nobleman's library ; and, judging from its appearance, had never been read. It is clean and perfect, and in the original binding. Mr. George Offor, who has done so much to elucidate the life and writings of Bunyan, tells us that he spent twelve months in editing the valuable reprint of this first edition of 1678 for the Hanserd Knollys Society. This reprint, issued in 1847, con- tains the literal text of the original ; and the capital Collected by George III. 55 letters, words in italics, and punctuation are retained. The second edition of this wonderful work, published in 1678, and the third, published in the following year, are very rare, and are both to be found in the National Library. The reader will be interested to know that there are no less than a hundred and seventy-five various editions in our own language of the " Pilgrim's Pro- gress" in the Museum library, as well as twenty- nine copies of the work in other languages, including Arabic, Bengalee, Danish, Dutch, French, Gaelic, German, Maori, the peasant dialect of Norway, Oriya, modern Greek, and Russian. The entries in the general catalogue under the heading of Bunyan are five hundred and forty-eight. The Museum library contains seventy- two editions in English of " Paradise Lost ;" while there are fifty- two editions in other languages, including Armenian, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Latin, and Swedish. This enumeration does not include the poem as it is found in Milton's collected works. The total number of entries in the general catalogue, together with- those in the Grenville cata- logue, under John Milton, is six hundred and thirty- one. Of" Robinson Crusoe" the library contains seventy- four editions in English ; and twenty-six in other languages, including Danish, Dutch, French, Gaelic, German, Latin, New Zealand, Polish, Spanish, and Turkish. The total number of entries in the gene- 56 The King s Library, ral catalogue under Daniel Defoe and " Robinson Crusoe," together with those in the Grenville cata- logue, is four hundred and eighty-six. It may not be known to some of my readers that the first edition of " Robinson Crusoe " appeared as a serial, forming numbers 125 to 289 of " The Original London Post, or Heathcot's Intelligence; being a Collection of the freshest Advices, Foreign and Domestick." The first number appeared on Wednesday, October 7, 1719, and the last number on Wednesday, October 19, 1720. Of " Paradise Lost," and the " Pilgrim's Progress," it were superfluous to speak; of the one, nothing since the Book of Job is so majestic and musical ; while in the other, no man since the days of the Apostles has been so successful in winning the atten- tion of the popular mind to matters of the supremest value, or spoken to the universal heart in accents of tenderer sympathy or with more thrilling tone. Mr. John Forster, in his interesting volume of " Bio- graphical Essays," has said of the masterpiece of Defoe : " ' Was there ever anything written by mere man but this,' asked Dr. Johnson, ' that was wished longer ?' It is a standard piece in every European language ; its popularity has extended to every civi- lized nation. The traveller Burckhardt found it trans- lated into Arabic, and heard it read aloud among the wandering tribes in the cool hours of evening. It is devoured by every boy ; and as long as a boy remains in the world, he will clamour for ' Robinson Collected by George III. 57 Crusoe.' It sinks into the bosom while the bosom is most capable of pleasurable impressions from the adventurous and the marvellous ; and no human work, we honestly believe, has afforded such great delight. Neither the ' Iliad' nor the 'Odyssey,' in the much longer course of ages, has excited so many to enterprise, or to reliance on their own powers and capacities. It is the romance of solitude and self- sustainment ; and could only so perfectly have been written by a man whose own life had for the most part been passed in the independence of unaided thought, accustomed to great reverses, of inexhaus- tible resource in confronting calamities, leaning ever on his Bible in sober and satisfied belief, and not afraid at any time to find himself alone, in commu- nion with nature and with God. Nor need we here repeat what has been said so well by many critics, that the secret of its fascination is its reality." It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the three last-named books, " Paradise Lost," the " Pilgrim's Progress," and " Robinson Crusoe," the most popular books in the English language, were all written by N onconformists. In this interesting case is the " Assertio septem Sacramentorum," by Henry VIII., printed at London in 1521 by Pynson. It is the first edition of this celebrated work, for which Pope Leo X. conferred upon the king the title of " Defender of the Faith." Near to this is a magnificent copy, on vellum, of " The Great Bible," dated April, 1540. This is called the second edition of Cranmer's Bible, 58 The Kings Library, but it is the first revised by him, and having his preface. The arms of the unfortunate Earl of Essex, which were inserted in the title page of the first edition ( r 539)> were cut out after his execution. This beautiful copy was a presentation to Henry VIII., as is shown by the manuscript inscription on the reverse of the fly-leaf : " This Booke is presented unto your most excellent highnesse by youre loving, faith- full, and obedient Subject and dayle Oratour, Anthonye Marler, of London, Haberdassher." This splendidly printed work is described in Anderson's " Annals of the English Bible," vol. ii. pp. 131 and 142 ; and is from the old Royal Collection. Here also is a little Horace printed at Paris in 1828 by Henri Didot, in the smallest type ever produced, called by the printer, " Caractere Microscopique." Our dramatic friends will be glad to see here a play- bill on chamois leather, printed on board H.M.S. " Assistance," off Griffith's Island, Arctic Regions, in the winter of 1850-51, headed " Royal Arctic Theatre," as an illustration of how the noble fellows who braved an Arctic winter amused themselves in those dreary icy solitudes. The typographical and literary curiosities in this case will amply repay any time that may be spent upon them by book-loving visitors. The specimens of bookbinding, in Case XIV., are very beautiful, and represent some of the choicest specimens of the art by Grolier and Roger Payne, as well as some magnificently embroidered covers that evince the taste and patience of the ladies under Collected by George III. 59 whose fair hands they grew so beautiful. In this case is a " Concordance, or Harmony of the Four Evangelists," illustrated expressly for Charles I. by Nicholas Ferrar and his family, at the Protestant Nunnery, Little Gidding, Huntingdonshire, in 1635 ; and bound by Mary Collet, one of Mr. Ferrar's nieces. A copy of Scotch Acts of Parliament, printed at Edinburgh, 1566, and bound for Mary Queen of Scots, whose arms are on the cover, will delight our northern visitors ; while every Englishman and Anglo-Saxon will linger over the beautifully bound copy of " The Gospels in Anglo-Saxon and English," printed at London in 1571. This latter is a presen- tation copy from John Foxe, the Martyrologist, who edited the work, to Queen Elizabeth, to whom the book is dedicated. This exquisite specimen of the binder's art was bequeathed by the Rev. C. M. Cra- cherode, to whom the nation is indebted for so many precious volumes contained in our national library. Near these volumes is a sumptuous copy of Arch- bishop Parker's "De Antiquitate Britannicae Eccle- sise," printed at London in 1 572 ; and which is remark- able not only for being clothed in embroidered velvet as a present from the Archbishop to Queen Elizabeth, but also from its being the first book " privately printed" in England. This Elizabethan volume is from the old Royal Collection. I have but glanced at some of the more remark- able volumes exhibited in these cases, a careful study of which will be as great a treat as any lover of books and bookbinding can possibly desire. The 60 The King s Library, other cases in the King's Library, containing speci- mens of the earliest productions of the printing press in Germany and the Low Countries, Italy, and France, are equally interesting ; but writing as I do, principally for English readers, I have spoken more particularly of the books, either remarkable as being printed in England, or for their close and intimate connection with some of our chief historical person- ages. The specimens of block printing before the invention of moveable metal types, may be seen in the two cases in the Grenville Room. Little idea of the value of these comparatively rude specimens of printing can be gained from looking at them ; when, however, such rarities come into the book-market, it is astonishing what large sums will be paid for them by those who are collecting such luxuries of biblio- graphy. The doors at either end of this magnificent room are of a size commensurate with the grandeur of the apartment, and are ornamented with bronze. The inscriptions over them, one in Latin, the other in English, state that THIS LIBRARY COLLECTED BY KING GEORGE III. WAS GIVEN TO THE BRITISH NATION BY HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY GEORGE IV. IN THE THIRD YEAR OF HIS REIGN A.D. MDCCCXXIIL Collected by George III. 61 There is, unhappily, some doubt, however, as to the correctness of the above inscription as a whole ; it is said that this splendid collection of books, brought together at the sole expense of George III., was not "given to the British nation by His Most Gracious Majesty George IV." A Committee of the House of Commons reported April 18, 1823, that the " strongest gratitude " was due from the nation for " this act of munificent liberality, and His Majesty's disposition to promote the science and literature of the country." Having taken some pains to ascertain the correct- ness of this matter, and as it is rather a grave sub- ject, I prefer to state the results of a somewhat careful investigation in the words of one who had ample opportunities of learning the real history of the case, and who says : " The secret history, we believe, to have been this. George IV. having some pressing call for money, did not decline a proposi- tion for selling the library in question to the Em- peror of Russia. The late Mr. Heber, the biblio- grapher and famous book collector, having ascer- tained that the books were actually booked for the Baltic, went to Lord Sidmouth, then Home Secre- tary, and stated the case, observing ' what a shame it would be that such a collection should go out of the country ;' to which Lord Sidmouth replied, ' Mr. Heber, it shall not;' and it did not. On the remon- strance of Lord Sidmouth, of whose manly and straightforward character George IV. was very pro- 62 7^he Kings Library, perly in awe, the last of the grand monarques pre- sented the books to the Museum on the condition that the value of the roubles they were to have fetched should be somehow or other made good to him by ministers in pounds sterling. This was done out of the surplus of certain funds furnished by France for the compensation of losses by the Revolution. But his ministers, on a hint from the House of Commons that it was necessary to refund these moneys, had recourse, we are told, to the droits of the Admiralty." I am indebted to the " Quarterly Review " for this extract from an article written by the late Mr. Richard Ford, author of the " Handbook for Tra- vellers in Spain," and other works. It is to be regretted that some few of the rarest books in this grand collection did not come to the Museum with the library. Among these may be mentioned particularly the two celebrated Caxtons, entitled " The Doctrinal of Saypence," on vellum, " Westmestre, 1489;" and "The subtyl historyes and fables of Esope. Westmynstre, 1484." These rare volumes from the press of our first printer, enrich the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. It is well that they are in such safe custody, and still, in a sense, national property. A copy of the last-men- tioned work, being the first English version of these fables, was purchased in 1844, and is one of the choicest gems in the library. It only remains for me to say, at the close of this very imperfect sketch of the King's Library, and of Collected by George III. 63 some of the interesting volumes exhibited to the public contained therein, that the architect of this royal apartment was Sir Robert Smirke, and that no less a sum than ,140,000 was expended upon the building and furniture of the room. In conclu- sion, I cannot do better than quote the words of its first librarian, Sir Frederick Barnard, "that this library will be a perpetual monument of the muni- ficence, judgment, and liberal taste of its Royal Founder, and will, so long as it continues together, remain a splendid ornament," if no longer "to the throne," yet to the National Museum, "and a per- petual benefit to learning." CHAPTER V. THE PARLIAMENTARY ENQUIRY INTO THE CONDITION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1835-36; AND THE ROYAL COMMISSION OF 1848-49. the spring of 1835, while my col- leagues and myself were quietly pro- ceeding with our transcription of the catalogue, the officers in the depart- ment of printed books, and indeed throughout the entire establishment, were in a great state of excite- ment in consequence of the parliamentary enquiry that was going on at the House of Commons on the condition, management, and affairs of the British Museum. A good deal had been said about the Museum from year to year in the House of Com- mons, when the grant was asked for, and no small amusement was occasioned by Mr. Cobbett, when he affirmed that all sorts of wrong doings were going on at " the old curiosity shop in Great Russell Street," that " the public money was wasted, and that the establishment was in the hands of a few clergymen Parliamentary Enquiry. 65 who kept poor curates to do their clerical work at their fat livings, while they were living in idleness and luxury at the Museum." Mr. Benjamin Hawes, the member for Lambeth, was the chief mover in this parliamentary committee, and among the members who composed it, thirty- two in all, were the names of Dr., now Sir, John Bowring ; Mr., now Sir, Emerson Tennent ; Mr. Ridley Col borne ; Mr. Ewart ; Mr., afterwards Sir, Sotheran - Estcourt ; Mr. Bonham Carter ; Mr. Bingham Baring ; Mr. Spring Rice, afterwards Lord Monteagle ; Lord Stanley ; the late Earl of Derby ; Lord John, now Earl Russell ; Lord Francis Egerton, afterwards Earl of Ellesmere ; Lord Sandon, afterwards Earl of Harrowby ; Lord Morpeth, afterwards Earl of Carlisle ; Sir Philip G. Egerton ; and Sir Robert Harry Inglis. A committee formed of such men could not but have the confidence of the country, and such an enquiry was sure to issue in many improvements in the management and development of the in- stitution. Mr. Hawes had, in 1833, moved for, and obtained, a parliamentary paper of great interest, containing " Accounts of all sums received and expended on account of the British Museum ; of bequests, dona- tions, and contributions made ; of sums paid for printing catalogues and other . publications ; of the number of printed books and manuscripts in the library ; of the number of librarians and other officers 66 Parliamentary Enquiry. employed from 1821 to 1833.; and copy of all statutes and rules for the British Museum, now in force." This interesting paper contained in itself a large amount of valuable information, and was made the basis of the enquiry that extended through the ses- sion of 1835-6, the outcome of which, with the appen- dices, forms two goodly folio volumes. The evidence of Sir Henry Ellis, at that time Principal Librarian, the Rev. H. Baber, Mr. Panizzi, and the Rev. Josiah Forshall, then keeper of the manuscripts, and secre- tary to the Board of Trustees, opened up a fund of information relating to the library which has led to the most important results. The library at this time was in a very unsatisfactory state ; the number of volumes, including the collection of George III., being not much over 200,000 ; there were large and important deficiencies in every branch of literature, while there was no regular annual grant from the House of Commons by which these deficiencies could be supplied. The sum voted for the library by Parliament at this period was only about 200 or ^300 per annum. No parliamentary enquiry into the affairs of the British Museum had been made for many years, consequently a vast amount of information was now elicited which otherwise would never have seen the light. A searching and thorough investigation was very much needed ; and many subjects were freely discussed, some of which were not of the pleasantest nature to the parties more immediately concerned, Parliamentary Enquiry. 67 but the discussion of which nevertheless has issued in the happiest results. This important enquiry led to great alterations in the system of management, and gave the first impulse to many improvements which have subsequently taken place in the entire establishment. It also opened the way for the increased development it has recently undergone. The report of this committee to the House of Commons was made in the latter part of the session of 1836 ; and among other things recommended was one that was read with pleasure and anxious expec- tation by every official in the Museum. It was to the effect : " That it is expedient that the Trustees should revise the salaries of the establishment, with a view of obtaining the whole time and services of the ablest men, independent of any remuneration from other sources ; and that when such scale of salary shall have been fixed, it shall not be competent to any officer of the Museum paid thereunder, to hold any other situation conferring emoluments or entailing duties." The latter clause of this important and much needed recommendation was the chief reason of the resignation of Mr. Baber, who, in addition to the keepership of printed books, had held a valuable living, conferred upon him by the Crown for the eminent services he had rendered to Biblical litera- ture, in editing the "Codex Alexandrinus." He was a man of extensive learning, and great energy of character, which made him an efficient and valuable 68 Parliamentary Enquiry. officer in the public service. He was also my earliest friend and patron at the Museum, and took a kindly interest in my career up to the time of his death, which took place March 28,. 1869, at the ad- vanced age of 94. The trustees, however, did not carry out this last- named recommendation in the case of those in the establishment at the time ; inasmuch as the late Rev. Thomas Hartwell Home, the eminent Biblical critic, of whom I shall presently speak, continued to hold his appointment in the Library, and I was myself also allowed to retain the appointments I held as collector under the Copyright Act for Trinity College, Dublin ; and for King's College, Aberdeen. Other similar in- stances might be named, but I must observe that all future appointments were made subject to this neces- sary condition. The evidence given before this select committee, of which Mr. Sotheran Estcourt was the chairman, is full of information relating to all matters connected with the Museum; and is especially amusing and instructive to those who are interested in the library. The two volumes have many a time occupied my morning hours very pleasantly, and have enabled me to take a more intelligent view both of the institution at large, and of the library in particular, than could be obtained from any other source. These volumes contain some curious particulars as to the management, which would seem almost to justify, to some extent, the strong remarks I have quoted from Mr. Cobbett. Parliamentary Enquiry. 69 The patronage, for example, as to the appointments (with the exception of that of the Principal Librarian, which by the statutes rests with the Crown), though virtually in the gift of the three principal Trustees, viz. the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, and the Speaker of the House of Commons, was for a number of years exercised almost entirely by " the Primate of all England." The revelations of Mr. Forshall upon the subject of patronage are highly amusing and proved unmistakably the necessity for the investigation. Previous to this committee almost all the subordinate appointments were bestowed upon antiquated footmen and elderly butlers, who might have been provided for by their noble masters in- stead of being introduced into the public service. No examination as to educational fitness was re- quired in those days, and at the time I entered the Museum almost every attendant there was of the class referred to. As these men have all passed away, there is now no fear of wounding tender feel- ings by such a statement. I am happy also to affirm that for the work required of them a more intelli- gent and better class of men than the present atten- dants of the Museum generally, and more especially those in the departments of Printed Books, the Reading Room, the Manuscripts, the Maps, and the Prints, will not be found in any of our public offices. I may be permitted also to say that one of the distinguishing characteristics of Mr. Panizzi was, the faculty of selecting suitable men of humble rank to jo Parliamentary Rnquiry. fill posts of higher grade whenever they became vacant. I am ready to admit that he was a strict and rigid disciplinarian ; but, at the same time, I most unhesitatingly affirm my settled conviction, from long experience and somewhat close observation, that he was a man of singular kindness of heart to those who served under him, and especially whenever domestic trouble or sickness overtook them. He did, moreover, both as Keeper of the Printed Books, and subsequently as Principal Librarian and Secretary, far more than any of his predecessors to benefit those who had the good fortune to be his subordinates. Many instances occur to me of men who entered the British Museum in humble positions, but who have, through efficiency and good conduct, been promoted to posts they never anticipated, and who never would have obtained their present position but for the powerful influence of Mr. Panizzi. He invariably, as I have said, looked out for efficient men in the lower ranks to fill vacant places, rather than allow them to be awarded to outsiders, whose chief qualification, in many instances, was, that they could count upon noble patronage. If the public service is to be efficiently carried on, it should, in my humble opinion, be borne in mind, that men who have filled sub- ordinate positions with ability, are, for the most part, better fitted by this training for the fulfilment of more important offices than men newly brought in, it may be, " with all their blushing honours fresh upon them " from our academic halls of learning, but Parliamentary Enquiry. 7 1 lacking the experience which service in a lower grade gives. I would not for a moment have it to be believed that I underrate superior mental training. A man cannot know too much for any situation in life; but I have seen instances of men who have passed with honour the examinations of the Civil Service Commissioners, who have manifested little or no aptitude for the special work to which they have been appointed. That the Civil Ser- vice Commissioners have introduced a better class of men into the public offices is unquestioned, but I cannot help thinking that a supplementary examination by the head of the department where the appointment is vacant, would be only an act of justice to the man who is responsible for the manner in which the work is performed. It would, moreover, be an advantage to the new-comer, who would not find himself, as is frequently the case, put to do a kind of work for which he has neither fitness nor liking. The authorities at the Museum have sometimes come into collision with the Civil Service Commissioners, and there are some interesting letters upon this subject to be found in a parliamentary paper, issued in 1866, entitled, " Copies of Corres- pondence between the Civil Service Commissioners and the Principal Librarian, respecting the examina- tion of candidates for situations in the British Museum." As an instance of the evil just referred to, I may mention that an assistant in one of the departments 72 Parliamentary Rnquiry. proved so totally unfit for the work that he was advised to resign ; advice with which he complied rather than run the risk of being dismissed for in- competency, as he certainly would have been on a report to the trustees from the head of his department. This gentleman, after his resignation, printed a pamphlet, and circulated the same among the Trustees and others, complaining of his own resignation ; and charging the head of his department, as well as the Principal Librarian, with partiality, injustice, etc. Under the present system an incompetent person may acquire & prima facie claim to be retained in the service of the Trustees, on the ground of the certificate accorded to him by the Civil Service Commissioners. On the other hand valuable services have been lost to the Museum from the refusal of a certificate by the Commissioners, against whose decision there is no appeal. Those who are interested in this matter will find the question discussed with great ability in the parliamentary paper above referred to. Mr. Panizzi was several times examined before the Select Committee of 1835-36, and on these occasions he stated his views regarding the improvement of the library most freely and forcibly, suggesting many im- provements which were afterwards effected. He also visited the Continent, for the purpose of personally inspecting the management of foreign libraries ; and with the view of aiding the inquiry, he collected a vast mass of highly interesting and important parti- culars respecting them, which may be seen in the Parliamentary Enquiry. 73 appendices attached to the Report and evidence. The whole extends over more than fourteen hundred printed folio pages, and forms, with the evidence elicited by the Royal Commissioners, which occupies about the same space, the most valuable and reliable mass of information on the Museum that is anywhere to be found. Much of the evidence relates to per- sonal matters only, but even these portions are very amusing, and serve to relieve the heaviness of some of the more dry and statistical (though not the less valuable on that account), materials that were collected. The committee, in their report to the House of Commons, recommended several alterations in the management of the Museum, some of which were afterwards adopted by the Trustees. They state, with reference to the "elected trustees"- which honour is considered the blue-ribbon of literature, and which is only conferred upon distinguished men, " The committee think it very desirable that the trustees should take steps to ascertain whether some of those whose attendance has been most infrequent, might not be willing to resign their trusteeships ; that in future, it be understood, that any trustee here- after to be elected, not giving personal attendance at the Museum, for a period to be fixed, is expected to resign his trusteeship ; being, however, re-eligible upon any future vacancy." The sixth resolution was : " That the extension of the collections which has taken place, and the still Parliamentary Enquiry. greater extension which may be looked for, render a further division of departments necessary ; and that at the head of each department there be placed a keeper, who shall be responsible for the arrange- ment, proper condition, and safe custody of the collection committed to his care." Another resolution, affecting a large class of the community, was : " That it is desirable that the hours during which the Museum shall be open on public days, be hereafter from ten o'clock until seven throughout the months of May, June, July, and August ; and that the Reading Room be opened throughout the year at nine o'clock in the morning." It also recommended : " That it is desirable that the Museum be hereafter opened during the Easter, Whitsun, and Christmas weeks, except Sundays and Christmas Day." Another very important resolution was : " That the committee are well aware that many of the altera- tions, which they have suggested, cannot be carried into effect, except by increased liberality on the part of Parliament, both with respect to the establishment of the Museum, and also to a much greater extent, for the augmentation of the collections in the different departments ; but they confidently rely on the readi- ness of the representatives of the people to make full and ample provision for the improvement of an esta- blishment which already enjoys a high reputation in the world of science, and is an object of daily increas- ing interest to the people of this country." One of Parliamentary Enquiry. 75 the concluding resolutions deserves to be recorded : " Resolved, That the committee, in the alterations which they have suggested, do not mean to convey a charge against the trustees, or against the officers of the Museum, whose talents, good conduct, and general and scientific acquirements are universally admitted ; and they are aware, that where imperfections exist in the collections, those imperfections are mainly attri- butable to the very inadequate space hitherto avail- able for their exhibition, and to the limited pecuniary means at the disposal of the trustees ; and they are of opinion that the present state of the British Museum, compared with the increasing interest taken in it by all classes of the people, justifies them in recommendations contained in the above resolu- tions." It will be seen that the inquiry had afforded Sir Henry Ellis, Mr. Baber, Mr. Panizzi, and others connected with the Museum, an opportunity of urging the desirability of an increased grant from the national revenue. The best proof that this Parliamentary inquiry of 1835-6 was needed, is to be found in the changes that have since been effected by the Trustees, in ac- cordance with the recommendations of the committee. The increased annual grants of public money suffi- ciently attest the interest felt by Parliament in the affairs of the Museum, From that time to the present the spirit of the House of Commons has been manifestly in its favour, and any proposals for 76 Parliamentary Enquiry. the extension of the national collection on the part of the Trustees and the Treasury have met with welcome and encouragement. My readers will feel that Mr. Hawes, the first mover in obtaining this select committee, and the honourable and right honourable gentlemen who so efficiently seconded and co-operated with him in these inquiries, are deserving of the gratitude, not only of the Museum officials, but also of the country generally. Although twelve years intervened between the Parliamentary inquiry and the Royal Commission that was appointed in 1848 to inquire into the affairs of the British Museum, I have thought it better to include what I have to say about them, so far as relates to the Department of Printed Books, in one chapter. Thirty-six years have elapsed since the first of these imperial investigations took place, and as many as twenty-three since the Royal Commis- sioners broke in upon the every-day monotony of the Institution. There is one feature in these parlia- mentary inquiries that is not always thought of, namely, the immense amount of trouble and labour that is required on the part of the Secretary, and other heads of departments, to furnish the necessary data for the investigations. My father was accountant to the Museum at the time of the Select Committee of 1835-6, and I know that his labour and anxiety were very great in preparing financial and other returns that were asked Parliamentary Enquiry. 77 for, in order to put the committee in possession of all the facts necessary for the successful prosecution of their work. The Royal Commission was appointed to inquire into the whole management of the Museum, but its labours were principally confined to the Department of Printed Books, and chiefly directed to questions connected with the catalogue. Some of the most eminent men, both literary and political, were in- cluded among the Royal Commissions. The chair- man was the late Lord Ellesmere, who, as Lord Francis Egerton, had acted as a member of the Select Committee of 1835-6, and was perfectly con- versant with the affairs of the Museum. The other members of the Commission were Lord Seymour, now Duke of Somerset ; Lord Canning, afterwards Governor-General of India; Dr. Stanley, Bishop of Norwich, distinguished for his love of science as well as literature; Lord Langdale, elected trustee of the Museum, and head of the Registration and Con- veyancing Commission, who is referred to by Mr. Edward Foss in his " Biographical Dictionary of the Judges of England" in these terms "A man of higher principle, greater integrity, more fixed in his purpose to do right, more unwearied in his attempts to discover truth, more regardless of self, and with a kinder nature, it would be difficult to find. Whether in the capacity of an advocate, a judge, a legislator, or in the sacred seclusion of private and domestic life, he secured the admiration, the respect, and the Parliamentary Enquiry. devoted affection of all ; " Andrew Rutherford, Lord Advocate of Scotland, an astute lawyer, an able judge, and an accomplished scholar ; Mr. Joseph Hume, member for Montrose, and the able advocate of everything to benefit the people ; Samuel Rogers, the poet; Mr. Richard Monckton Milnes, now Lord Houghton ; and Mr. Shaw Lefevre, the able speaker of the House of Commons, whose elevation to the peerage as Viscount Eversley every one rejoiced at. A Royal Commission, composed of such dis- tinguished men as I have just named, could but carry with it the entire confidence of the country. Mr. Payne Collier, so well known for his devoted- ness to literature, and who had been acquainted with the Reading- Room of the Museum for forty years, was appointed secretary to the commission, and this august board, by royal warrant and authority, held their first meeting on Saturday, July 10, 1847. I well remember this first meeting of the commis- sioners at the Museum, when Mr. Panizzi left his quiet study in our department to confront in the committee-room, the apartment used by the Trustees for their meetings, and by them placed at the disposal of the royal inquisitors, the host of hostile forces that were opposed to him. As what I have to say will more particularly be confined to the printed book depart- ment, I may remark that Mr. Panizzi had not only opposed to him a large number of gentlemen who attended the Reading- Room, as well as some power- ful opponents connected with the press, and members Parliamentary Enquiry. 79 of the House of Commons, but also some of his brother officers in the institution, who had not quite relished the fact of seeing a foreigner rise to such a position as " Keeper of the Printed Books," and who were not a little jealous of the high social position attained by him. For many years of my official life, I was daily in immediate contact with this gentle- man, and witnessed the stream of distinguished men, of every shade of politics, and from all parts of the Continent, as well as those belonging to our own country, who sought intercourse with him. I question much if any man in the country had a larger circle of friends, among whom may be included prime- ministers, chancellors of the exchequer, bishops, judges, generals, poets, historians, philosophers, ma- thematicians, musicians, physicians, lawyers, em- perors, and kings. A man so courted by the highest names in the realm, and with an individuality and honesty that prevented him from appearing to be what he was not, was sure to have many enemies. He, however, was quite equal to the occasion, and one of the first things the evidence before the commissioners dis- closes is the following statement from him : " I have a request to make of the commissioners, which is, that they will examine the complainers. I had the honour of laying before the commissioners the names of parties complaining. I want those gentle- men who make complaints anonymously to come to this table and state the facts that they have to com- 8o Parliamentary Enquiry. plain of, and I pledge myself to answer their com- plaints ; I shall be very sorry if they do not make their complaints here." This was throwing down the gauntlet as a public man could only do who believed in himself, and in the line of conduct he had pursued. This challenge was very extensively accepted, and Mr. Panizzi was thus enabled to explain his motives and justify his proceedings to the full satisfaction of the commis- sioners. It is most amusing to read the various charges brought against the library and its librarian. Had there been only one side of the question, it would have been abundantly evident that the worst abuses were allowed at the Museum, and that the most incompetent men were placed over it. The library, however, came in for the largest share of the abuse, and its librarian was the best-abused man of the establishment. Complaints poured in upon the commissioners that the library was not at all what it ought to be ; that the Reading-Room regulations were anything but what literary men could desire ; and that all this was chargeable upon a man, who, because he was a foreigner, ought never to have been placed at the head of the national library. The commissioners encouraged every comer, and perhaps wasted too much time in listening to many of their complaints. Among the more conspicuous men who entered the lists as opponents of the administration of the library, may be mentioned, Mr. Thomas Carlyle, a Parliamentary Enquiry. 81 name which is always held in respectful admiration by every lover of books ; Mr. George Soane, a de- scendant of the founder of the Museum ; Mr. Bolton Corney, an eminent literary critic ; Mr. G. L. Craik, editor of the " Pictorial History of England," and author of " Sketches of the History of Literature and Learning in England," the " Romance of the Peer- age," and numerous other works ; Mr. Desborough Cooley, author of " The History of Maritime and Inland Discovery" in Lardner's "Cabinet Cyclo- paedia ; " Mr. Charles Tomlinson, a popular writer on science and other kindred subjects ; Mr. Hudson Turner, who complained among other things that he was annoyed by a peculiar insect indigenous to the Reading-Room ; and Mr. Payne Collier, the secre- tary to the commissioners. The most formidable opponents of the management of the Printed Book Department were, however, to be found among the brother-officers of the Keeper, in the person of the Rev. Josiah Forshall, the secretary to the trustees ; Sir Frederic Madden, the keeper of the Manuscripts ; and Dr. Gray at the head of the Natural History Department. Mr. Collier and Dr. Gray addressed pamphlets to the commissioners " printed for pri- vate distribution only" in which they embodied in a more systematic and permanent form their several charges against the Keeper of the Printed Books. I would only now further remark upon this delicate subject, that these pamphlets, as well as the oral evi- dence of the gentlemen before the commissioners, will G 82 Parliamentary Enquiry. furnish most amusing reading to those who desire to be more fully acquainted with the affairs of the Museum. To meet the complaints of the public was what Mr. Panizzi was most anxious to do ; but to be attacked in the form of privately-printed pamphlets addressed to the commissioners ; and especially by one, who, for the time being, was their own servant, was, to say the least of it, a most indelicate procedure. The letters addressed to the Earl of Ellesmere, the chair- man of the Royal Commission, by a brother officer in the establishment, induced Mr. Panizzi to appeal to the trustees, who recommended him to maintain an entire silence with regard to these pamphlets, and to leave the vindication of himself to them. The publication of Mr. Collier's pamphlets was a most unjustifiable proceeding, inasmuch as, being secretary to the commissioners, he had access to all the papers and communications of every kind that were addressed to them, and in his official capacity was moreover present at all their deliberations. No record exists, as far as I am aware, of any action in the matter being taken by the commissioners, so far as Mr. Collier is concerned. As to the other pamphlets alluded to, they were left by Mr. Panizzi entirely in the hands of the trustees. Mr. Collier's first privately printed pamphlet is en- titled " A Letter to the Earl of Ellesmere, qn the sub- ject of a new Alphabetical Catalogue of the Printed Books in the British Museum." It is dated 1849, and contains, at the outset, some highly flattering re- Parliamentary Enquiry. 83 marks upon the Keeper of the Printed Books, He says : " It would be impossible, perhaps, to find in the three kingdoms a single individual to whom such a duty [as that of preparing a catalogue] might with more confidence, on most accounts, be entrusted : few men have so wide and accurate an acquaintance with literature ; he has industrious habits of business, energy, acuteness, promptitude, and decision. Therefore, in opposing anything he may have stated, I am aware of the disadvantages under which I labour, from my own comparative in- sufficiency, and from the well-founded reliance placed by others on Mr. Panizzi's learning and abilities." Mr. Collier, in this letter, advocates a printed in preference to a manuscript catalogue, but takes exception to some of the rules upon which the new catalogue had been constructed. In Mr. Collier's evidence before the commissioners he had animadverted in no measured terms upon errors in this catalogue ; one of which he stated was such that the cataloguer who committed it " was unfit for his duty." The instance referred to may be seen at length in Question 9737 of the printed evidence. Mr. Panizzi's answer to this charge is as follows : " Now the original title of the book is in the handwriting of Mr. Garnett, my colleague, and I am very happy that I have an opportunity of stating to the commissioners that Mr. Garnett knows of English literature as much as Mr. Collier, and a great deal more on other subjects." 84 Parliamentary Enquiry. I may add, in explanation of Mr. Panizzi's words " a great deal more on other subjects," a quotation from a writer in the " Quarterly Review," who says : " Mr. Garnett was a most excellent classical scholar, thoroughly versed in German and all cognate litera- ture, one of our few good Anglo-Saxon scholars, well acquainted with Italian, French, and Spanish, and their dialects, and conversant with several Oriental languages." Mr. Collier says of himself, in his pamphlet, " Born of parentage which has been, more or less, literary during not far from two centuries, I have been myself, all my life, an industrious and ardent lover of letters. For the last thirty years, [this was written in 1849, and Mr. Collier is still living and engaged upon literary work] my name has been, for better or worse, before the world, and I speak from an experience of even longer duration ; I speak, too, from the most solemn conviction." No one can doubt who reads this letter of Mr. Collier, that he was earnest and zealous in what he advanced, but he had a host of men as distinguished as himself, who were opposed to a printed catalogue. Mr. Collier printed "a supplementary letter" upon the subject, which left the matter, however, still unsettled ; and it is to be regretted that so much time and angry feeling should have been expended upon this knotty question. The volume in the national library in which these letters of Mr. Collier are contained, comprises others upon the Parliamentary Enquiry. 85 same subject, the whole forming an interesting con- tribution to this confessedly difficult question. If I might venture an opinion upon so controverted a subject, I would simply say, that to print a catalogue of everything contained in the national library would, in my humble judgment, be a waste of public time and money ; but at the same time it would, I think, be a great boon to all lovers of books if they could purchase at a comparatively small sum, printed lists of particular branches of literature ; so that a student should go to the national library fully prepared as to what he is desirous of reading. If English literature were first dealt with, our own countrymen would derive an immediate advantage ; and in these times of national education I am convinced that the sale of such a series of publications would more than compensate for any amount of trouble and cost that would be re- quired in their compilation. I have been repeatedly asked by readers, coming for the first time to the Reading- Room, for cata- logues of this nature ; and I should rejoice to know that facilities for a more thorough acquaintance with the rich stores to be found in the Museum library, upon every subject, were within the reach of the humblest and poorest of students. I would, how- ever, say that a reader in pursuit of any particular study will always find ready and able assistance from the superintendent of the Reading- Room. The great essayist and historian, Mr. Thomas 86 Parliamentary Enquiry. Carlyle, was examined by the commissioners at some length, and his evidence before them is not the least interesting of the sayings of this remarkable man. He complained of the bad ventilation of the Montague Place Reading- Room, and of the noise there; he remarks that "The jostling you are subject to, and the continual want of composure, were entirely fatal to any attempts on my part to study there ; and I should say it was impossible for any one who had any delicate subject of study, to make any progress in it I never do enter the room without getting a head-ache what I call the Museum head-ache and therefore I avoid the room till the last extremity. I may add that I am rather a thin-skinned sort of student, and sensible to these inconveniences more than, perhaps, most other students; but such has been the uniform fact for many years past, and accordingly I frequent the establishment as little as possible." Mr. Carlyle would have no such complaint to make of the new Reading- Room, where the ventilation is complete, and where there is ample space allotted for every reader, and, as far as noise is concerned, the readers glide about on the kamptulicon as silently as shadows. It has been more than once remarked to me by new readers that this noiselessness has had a strange spectral effect upon them at first. As far as space is concerned a man could hardly want more in his own private library than that which is marked out for him at the Museum Reading- Room, while the chair Parliamentary Enquiry. 87 provided for him is not to be surpassed by any upholsterer in the United Kingdom. On Mr. Carlyle being questioned as to the cata- logue, he replied : " I should consider that it was necessary to have a printed catalogue that you might take home with you, and consult at your leisure, and see what book you wished to have to study ; and in so large a collection as this I should consider that there ought to be catalogues of specific subjects, which you could buy and take home with you. . . . Those specific catalogues ought to be circulated over Great Britain, so that a studious man might be able to ascertain what books he could get here when he came to London." On being asked whether he had found the requi- site helps in materials for history Mr. Carlyle parti- cularly mentioned the Thomason collection of tracts ; he remarks, " They are called the King's Pamphlets ; and in value, I believe, the whole world could not parallel them. If you were to take all the col-lections of works on the Civil War, of which I have ever heard notice, I believe you would not get a set of works so valuable as those." The entire evidence of this distinguished man is very interesting, and will well repay an attentive perusal. Mr. Carlyle has not had occasion to make use of the Reading- Room of late years. I heard, quite incidentally, a short time since from a lady who attended the Reading- Room, some twenty years ago, that she used to receive the most gallant attentions 88 Parliamentary Enquiry. from the great essayist whenever she met him at the Museum. These attentions were not on account of any personal acquaintance with Mr. Carlyle, but were rendered to her as a lady in pursuit of literary in- vestigations. I remember, with honest pride, that I had the honour of looking out from the " Thomason collection" referred to by this original and subtle thinker, many of the tracts that were embodied by him in his " Cromwell's Letters and Speeches, with Elucida- tions." Mr. Payne Collier, in his evidence before the commissioners, advocated a printed catalogue. He stated that he had paid considerable attention to the subject of the catalogue, and admitted the existence of difficulties, but denied that there were any that could not be overcome. He considered the " rules" by which the Catalogue was compiled far too nume- rous and too stringent ; that more should be left to the discretion of cataloguers. He thought that twenty, instead of ninety-one rules would have been quite sufficient for every practical purpose ; and that Mr. Panizzi in preparing the new catalogue had studied his own reputation more than the wants of literary men. Those of my readers who are in- terested in the subject of cataloguing will find much that is amusing in the evidence of the Secretary to the Commission, who has distinguished himself as a literary critic, and is well acquainted with our Eliza- bethan and early English literature. I may add, Parliamentary Enquiry. 89 in justice to this gentleman, that he had the kindliest feeling towards the subordinates in the library, what- ever he may have thought of the Keeper of the Department. It would be pleasant to myself, and perhaps in- teresting to the reader, if I were to continue extracts from some of the more remarkable men examined by the commissioners, but it would prolong this chapter to an undue and tiresome length. I should, how- ever, mention that while the keeper of the printed books had many that were opposed to him, it is only just that I should name some eminent men who came forward on the occasion to testify to the commis- sioners their admiration of Mr. Panizzi as a man of letters, and to the masterly manner in which he had conducted the affairs of his important department. Among these may be included Mr. John Wilson Croker, the Secretary to the Admiralty, and so well known as one of the ablest contributors to the " Quar- terly Review;" Dr. Maitland, Librarian at Lambeth Palace ; Mr. Peter Cunningham, an able critic and author of the " Hand-book to London," and other popular works; Dr. Cureton, the "Royal Trustee" of the Museum, and one of the ablest Oriental scholars of the day ; Professor De Morgan, no less distinguished as a bibliographer than as a mathe- matician ; Mr. Hallam, the historian, and an elected trustee of the Museum ; Mr. W. R. Hamilton, a trustee of the Museum and one deeply interested in all matters relating to public institutions for the 90 Parliamentary Knquiry. instruction of the million ; Mr. Adolphus Asher, the eminent bookseller of Berlin, whose knowledge of all the Continental libraries was probably not to be surpassed. To these must be added the names of Mr. Edward Edwards, so well known for his exertions to esta- blish free libraries for the people, and the author of several works relating to libraries, and also of general literature ; Mr. (afterwards Serjeant) J. H. Parry, who spent the early years of his life in the library of the British Museum, gave also some valuable evidence as to the conduct of the Department of Printed Books, and the administrative talents of the Keeper. The commissioners expressed their admiration at the manner in which Mr. Panizzi met and answered every one of the many and minutest charges brought against him. He was examined by the commis- sioners no less than eighteen times ; his evidence is a rich treat of practical good sense and straightforward point. In their Report at the close of the enquiry, the commissioners affirmed, that " Whatever be the judgment formed on points at issue, the minutes of evidence must be admitted to contain frequent proofs of the acquirements and abilities, the manifestation of which in subordinate office led to Mr. Panizzi's promotion to that which he now holds under circum- stances which in our opinion, founded on documen- tary evidence, did credit to the trustees of the day." The trustees who met to consider the report of Parliamentary Enq^liry. 91 the commissioners expressed their satisfaction at the general approval accorded to them. This graceful expression on the part of the trustees, embodied in a parliamentary paper, was penned by the late Sir Robert Peel, and the manuscript draft of it was found about his person after his fatal accident. At the meeting referred to, there were present : His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, in the chair ; the Marquis of Westminster, Lord Steward ; the Earl Cadogan ; Viscount Mahon (now Lord Stanhope) ; Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London ; the late Sir Robert Peel ; the Right Hon. Henry Goulburn ; the Right Hon. Thomas Babington Macaulay (afterwards Baron Macaulay) ; the Right Hon. Sir David Dundas ; Sir Robert Harry Inglis ; Dr. Paris, President of the Royal College of Phy- sicians ; Mr. Hallam ; and Mr. William Richard Hamilton. The first resolution passed at this Special General Meeting of the trustees was as follows : "Resolved, That a committee be named to take into considera- tion the report of the commissioners appointed to inquire into the constitution and management of the British Museum, for the special purpose of reviewing the several observations and suggestions contained in the report which refer to the administration of the affairs of the Museum, and of stating their opinion to the trustees with regard to such observations and suggestions." Another of the resolutions stated : "It is satisfactory also to the trustees to learn, that 92 Parliamentary Enquiry. although the commissioners in their report bring prominently forward what they think 'fatal objections to the existing scheme of government,' they admit that some of the trustees have shown the deepest in- terest in, and devotion to, ' the success of the esta- blishment/ that those trustees by whom the business of the Museum has been mainly conducted, ' deserve deep thanks for the services they have rendered,' and have so conducted themselves as to induce the com- missioners to state in strong terms the obligations under which they have laid the country." Another paragraph reads: "The trustees have been glad to find that with regard to that department of the Museum which is perhaps of the greatest importance, and to which the attention of the public has been most directed, namely, the Department of Printed Books, the commissioners are convinced of the fact, that, ' among the magnificent establishments of Europe no national library exists which has afforded, or affords, so large a measure of accommo- dation to readers of all classes, as the library of the British Museum under its existing management. Willingly assigning, with the commissioners, all due praise to the zeal, the assiduity, and the intelligence which the officers and assistants of the library have devoted to the execution of the various orders of the trustees, the trustees hope that they may consider the fact adverted to by the commissioners in respect to the superior accommodation given by the library of the Museum to all classes of readers, as a confirma- Parliamentary Enquiry. 93 tion of the impression of the commissioners that a deep interest in the success of the national establish- ment has been felt by those trustees by whom the business of the Museum has been mainly conducted. While the trustees make these remarks on certain portions of the Report, they are fully prepared to weigh with due attention the several observations made by the commissioners." The concluding paragraph of this able and elegant paper, drawn up by the lamented statesman who took so deep an interest in the affairs of the Museum, as one of the great educational institutions of the country, is as follows : " The best proof which the trustees can give of the spirit in which they have received the report of the commissioners, and of their earnest de- sire to rectify whatever may be found justly open to censure, and to improve whatever may be capable of improvement, is the resolution which they have this day adopted, to appoint a committee to consider the several suggestions contained in the Report, with a view to the adoption of such of them as shall appear to the general board "calculated to promote the satis- factory administration of the affairs of the Museum, and the widest dissemination of the benefits which it is designed to confer." The following trustees were appointed a committee to take into consideration the remarks and sugges- tions made by the commissioners : The late Marquis of Lansdowne ; the late Earl of Aberdeen ;. Earl Cawdor ; Earl Stanhope ; the late Dr. Blomfield, 94 Parliamentary Enquiry. Bishop of London ; the present Earl of Derby, then Lord Stanley ; the late Sir Robert Peel ; Mr. Goul- bourn, well known for many years as Chancellor of the Exchequer ; Sir David Dundas, who has always been most devoted in his uninterrupted attendance at the Museum on every occasion ; Lord Macaulay, who, in the latter period of his life, spent the greater portion of his time in the King's Library, at work upon his immortal " History of England ;" Sir Robert Harry Inglis, whose attendance at the Museum was almost as regular as that of any of the officers; Mr. Hallam, who had used the library from the com- mencement of his eminent historical labours ; and Mr. William Richard Hamilton, who was second to none of those I have mentioned in devotedness to the affairs of the Museum. This committee presented their report to the general body of trustees on the 29th of May, 1850, recommending, among other things, that " The standing committee shall not hereafter be an open committee, but shall consist of such trustees only as shall be specially named for the purpose by the general board." " That the standing committee shall consist of a determinate number of trustees, and shall be appointed annually at the general meeting that, according to the statutes of the Museum, takes place on the second Saturday of May." Another recom- mendation was that " The standing committee will be at liberty to appoint a sub-committee of its own body, for the preparation of the annual estimates Parliamentary Enquiry. 95 and the consideration of any other business connected with the financial concerns of the Museum." These recommendations may be found at length in a Parliamentary paper, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, June 7, 1850, where also may be seen how far they were adopted by the general board of trustees. The principal alterations effected by the Report of the commissioners as adopted by the trustees was that " There shall be four general meetings of the trustees at the Museum in every year, namely, upon the second Saturday in February, May, July, and December." " A general meeting must consist of seven trustees at the least." " Special general meetings may be summoned by the secretary, upon receiving notice to that effect from any two of the trustees." " There shall be a stand- ing committee consisting of the three principal trustees and of fifteen trustees to be annually ap- pointed." "The said committee shall have power to affix the seal of the corporation to any application to Parliament for money, and also to the memorial to the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, requesting payment of the same." They are also to inquire, as they shall think fit, into the conduct of all the officers and servants ; to receive any scheme or proposal for the better ordering or managing the Museum, or any part of it, as also any complaint of neglect, or of disobedience to, the orders of the general meeting or committee ; and to give such directions therein as shall seem expedient." 96 Parliamentary Enquiry. One of the concluding alterations adopted under the new regulations was that "Any trustee elected subsequently to May 13, 1837, who shall not give personal attendance at any of the meetings of the trustees for a period exceeding twelve months, is expected to resign his trusteeship, or to assign such reasons for his absence as may be satisfactory to a general meeting of the trustees." It will be seen that this important inquiry of the Royal Commission was not without its fruit. Its labours came to a close on June 26th, 1849, having been almost entirely confined to the Printed Book Department, and chiefly directed to questions con- nected with the catalogue. The Report of the Com- mittee of Trustees says : " It may be naturally expected that a commission which has given, wisely and necessarily given, every facility for complaint, and has extended its inquiries over the period of a century, and the wide range of investigation which is embraced by nearly eleven thousand questions, may have discovered some occasional omissions and some errors of judgment on the part of the trustees." The trustees could well afford to make such an admission when ' witnesses of high character and unexception- able authority ' examined before the commissioners testified abundantly to the patriotic zeal and ability exercised by them in the management of the great national institution under their care. The latter quote in their report the testimony of an American gentleman, who, visiting Europe for literary purposes, Parliamentary Enquiry. 97 one of which was the special object of ' seeing and enquiring into the management of public libraries,' observes : ' In my opinion the British Museum library is by far the best regulated library in the world. The books are more faithfully guarded, and the public are more promptly supplied, than in any other library with which I am acquainted.' They add : " In the opinion of the commissioners, it is fair, and if fair only just, to the trustees and to their librarian, to quote this general verdict." They also stated they had no desire that any change should take place in the Board of Trustees, but that an executive council,, to be composed of a chairman, four members elected by the trustees, and two named by the Crown, the chairman and the two royal members receiving a salary, should be entrusted with the whole patronage and management of the Museum. I need scarcely remark that no such organic change as this has been adopted, nor has any measure been submitted to Parliament on the subject. Should the reader think that I have taxed his patience unnecessarily in this chapter, I would re- mind him that the mass of materials to be gone through before it could be written fills four thick folio volumes closely printed, consisting altogether of nearly three thousand pages. I would only remark, in conclusion, that it is one of the peculiar characteristics of our country, that institutions like the British Museum, supported out H 98 Parliamentary Enquiry. of the public revenue, should be open to the strictest possible examination. Great public advantage has resulted from the authoritative enquiries spoken of in this chapter ; and I humbly think that the men who were the means of bringing them into existence, and of conducting them to a successful issue, deserve the best thanks of their countrymen, and of the whole civilized world. CHAPTER VI. RESIGNATION OF THE REV. H. H. BABER; APPOINTMENT OF MR. PANIZZI; RETIREMENT OF THE REV. H. F. GARY; APPOINT- MENT OF THE REV. RICHARD GARNETT, MIS EARLY DEATH ; SOME ACCOUNT OF THE REV. THOMAS HARTWELL HoRNE, AND HIS WRITINGS; AND THE FIRST APPOINTMENT OF MR. WINTER JONES, THE PRESENT PRINCIPAL LIBRARIAN. HE Rev. H. H. Baber, having spent thirty busy years in the service of the trustees, began to feel that the repose and quietude of a country rectory was more attractive than the anxiety and toil that would be involved in carrying out the recommenda- tions of the Parliamentary Committee of 1835-6, as contained in their report relative to the augmenta- tion and development of the library on its removal from Montague House to the new building. He accordingly laid his resignation before the trustees and retired to his rectory ; and as a clergyman was as successful in the discharge of his sacred duties in his parish as he had been for so many years in the national library. ioo Officers in the Library. The resignation of Mr. Baber made an important vacancy in the library of the Museum, and the appointment of his successor was the occasion of much angry feeling among certain parties more immediately concerned, and was made the subject of free criticism by the public press. Mr. Gary was at this time assistant-keeper of the printed books, and very naturally expected to succeed Mr. Baber in the keepership of the department. The great literary attainments, accurate scholarship, and high character of Mr. Gary fully entitled him to the promotion he sought ; but unhappily the state of his health, occasioned mainly by grief at the recent loss of his wife, was such, that it was deemed by the trustees, upon public grounds only, not advisable to confer upon him the appointment that he coveted and deserved ; and his junior in the library, Mr., now Sir Anthony Panizzi, was preferred to the chief place in the department. Mr. Gary, as might have been expected, was most acutely affected by the loss of the appointment, and addressed an able, though rather angry, letter of earnest remonstrance to Lord Chancellor Cottenham, which was published in the " Times" of July 18, 1837. This dignified and indignant letter is a good specimen of the style of Mr. Gary, and can be read only with pain by those who knew and respected him as an elegant scholar, and a most amiable man. Mr. Gary's remonstrance was in vain, though great efforts were made by his admiring friends to obtain for him the appointment. Officers in the Library. 101 Success not attending these efforts, Mr. Gary sent to the trustees his resignation, feeling it due to him- self not to continue in office after what he considered his just claims to promotion had been neglected. His resignation was a subject of sincere regret to all with whom he had been associated. I had myself received from him during the brief period that I was under his direction, very many kindnesses, and I always consider it among the greatest privileges of my official history to have passed the first years of my Museum life under the direction of a gentleman, not only so eminent as a scholar, but so amiable as a man, as to merit the epithet applied to him by his friend Charles Lamb, as "the pleasantest of clergymen." I shall not soon forget with what pleasure I read his " Ode to General Kosciusko," published as early as 1 797 ; and his beautiful " Sonnets and Odes," published in 1 788, while he was yet a young man. Few names fall more pleasantly on the ear, or linger more lovingly in the memory, than that of Mr. Gary : he was a link between the present and the past ; and as the friend of Coleridge, Wordsworth, Southey, Dyer, Charles Lamb, Thomas Campbell, Tom Moore, and a host of other distinguished men of a past generation, he will be remembered for many years. Mr. Gary removed from the Museum in the autumn of 1837 to a house in Park Street, West- minster. Shortly after his retirement he undertook IO2 Officers in the Library. to edit a series of the English poets to be published in a cheap and popular form. He fulfilled this duty, for which he was so eminently qualified, by editing the poetical works of Milton, Dry den, Pope, Young, Thomson, and Cowper, prefixing to each a short biographical notice. He wrote at this time a work entitled " The Early French Poets ; a Series of Notices and Translations, with an introductory sketch of the History of French Poetry ; " and also, " Lives of English Poets from Johnson to Kirke White, de- signed as a continuation of Johnson's Lives." Mr. Gary's fame, however, chiefly rests on his translation of Dante's Divine poem, of which great work, Lord Macaulay says : " I turn with pleasure to Mr. Gary's translation. There is no other version which so fully proves that the translator is himself a man of poetical genius. It is difficult to determine whether the author deserves most praise for his intimacy with the language of Dante, or for the extraordinary mastery over his own." Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd, in his " Final Memo- rials of Charles Lamb," speaking of Mr. Gary, re- marks, that he was a man " whose sweetness of disposition and manner would have prevented a stranger from guessing that he was the poet who had rendered the adamantine poetry of Dante into Eng- lish with kindred power." Mr. Gary's beautiful " Lines to the Memory of Charles Lamb," and the graceful " Epitaph " inscribed on the monument of his quaint and genial friend at Edmonton, will endear Officers in the Library- 103 him not only as " the pleasantest of clergymen," but as one who belonged to a noble band of English writers who have left behind them literary, treasures that will be valued while our language lasts. In 1841 Mr. Gary was rewarded with a pension from the Civil List of ^200 a year, from the hand of Lord Melbourne. This eminent man was born Dec. 6, 1772, and died in the little village of Wil- lesden, near London, on the i4th of August, 1844 ; his remains were laid beside those of Samuel John- son and Addison in Westminster Abbey. As the appointment of Mr. Panizzi to the keeper- ship of the Printed Books was so freely discussed by the public press, it is only just to that gentleman to say in reference to this important event in his history, and also in that of the National Library, that he did not apply to the principal trustees for the vacant ap- pointment until he had ascertained from Mr. Gary himself fadA. they had determined not to appoint him. It was only when it became a question whether a stranger should be appointed to the post, that Mr. Panizzi laid before the trustees his claims, which were recognized by his appointment to the keepership of the department. Mr. Panizzi entered upon his new duties in July, 1837, and found ample employment for all the strength and energy of a young and vigorous mind. The printed books were to be removed from Mon- tague House to the new library, occupying the ground floor of the north wing of the new building ; 1O4 Officers in the Library. the different catalogues of the collection under his charge, which had been drawn up at different times, and on various plans, were to be revised and reduced to one catalogue, compiled on one general plan, and additions were to be made to the library on a larger scale than heretofore. To suggest, organize, and superintend all these new arrangements involved a vast amount of labour, but it was found that the new keeper was fully equal to any demands that might be made upon him. Mr. Gary's resignation led to the appointment of the Rev. Richard Garnett as assistant-keeper of the printed books. This gentleman was a man of kin- dred spirit to Mr. Gary, and was happy in his asso- ciation with Mr. Panizzi, who esteemed him very highly. Robert Southey, speaking of Mr. Garnett, says that " He was a very remarkable person ; he did not begin to learn Greek till he was twenty, and he is now, I believe, acquainted with all the European languages of Latin or Teutonic origin, and with sundry Oriental ones." Another whose own attain- ments enabled him to speak with some authority on the subject, said, " Mr. Garnett was not a mere lin- guist, but a man of varied and profound learning. His published " Philological Essays," edited by his son, who has written a very interesting memoir pre- fixed to that volume, will sufficiently attest this fact. A better opinion of his varied learning can perhaps be obtained by the perusal of the able articles he contributed to the " Quarterly Review." Officers in the Library. 105 Mr. Garnett held his appointment at the Museum for twelve years, and his comparatively early death was much lamented. Seldom has a man left behind him so fragrant a memory ; his name is ever men- tioned by those who were his colleagues, or those who held subordinate appointments under him, with affectionate respect He was born in 1789, died in 1850, and was buried at Highgate Cemetery. A son of Mr. Garnett has been my colleague for many years, and has already distinguished himself as an author, as well as made for himself many friends in the Museum by his amiable qualities and superior literary attainments. Among the few who formed the permanent staff in the library at the time I entered the service of the trustees, must be mentioned the Rev. Thomas Hart- well Home, the well known author of the popular and useful work entitled, " An Introduction to the Critical Study of the Scriptures ;" an invaluable help to all who are desirous of becoming acquainted with the Bible. This justly celebrated work, the pro- duct of seventeen years of the author's life, was pub- lished in 1818 in three volumes, and soon attracted the attention of all Biblical scholars both in England and America. Several editions were called for, and it became a text-book in the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge ; it was adopted also as a standard work in our Nonconformist Colleges, and exten- sively used in the theological institutions of the United States and Canada. io6 Officers in the Library. The laborious work in question was compiled and published by Mr. Home while he was yet a layman of the Church of England; but soon after its issue in 1818 he applied for ordination in the Church. In 1819 the late Dr. Howley, at that time Bishop of London, ordained him, and he became a clergyman, which had been the object of his ambition for many years. The University of King's College, Aberdeen, had conferred upon him the honorary degree of M. A. in 1818 ; and in 1829, having successfully passed through the prescribed academical studies at the University of Cambridge, he earned his B. D. with so much ability as to make for himself a lasting reputation in that hall of learning for sound scholar- ship and extensive acquirements. Mr. Home commenced his clerical labours as curate of Christ Church, Newgate Street. He after- wards accepted the appointment of reader at Wei- beck Street Episcopal Chapel, Marylebone, which he retained till 1833. It was during this period that Dr. Blomfield, the successor to Dr. Howley in the see of London, presented him with an honorary pre- bendal stall in St. Paul's Cathedral, as a proof of the high estimation in which he held his Biblical labours. Soon after this, in 1833, his former patron Dr. Howley, who had been transferred to the see of Canterbury, presented him with the rectory of Saint Edmund the King and Saint Nicholas Aeon, in the city of London, where he laboured as a hard working parish priest till his death, a period of twenty-eight years. Officers in the Library. 107 His connection with the library of the British Museum commenced in 1824. He, with the late Mr. Tidd Pratt and others, was engaged to make a classed catalogue of the books which then formed the national library. After some years of plodding labour the project of a classed catalogue was found to be fraught with so many difficulties that it was abandoned. He continued to be employed as an assistant-librarian upon a new general alphabetical catalogue which is now in progress, and which will at no very distant period be completed, as far as it is possible to complete a work that is annu- ally receiving additions of some twenty thousand volumes. Before his connection with the Museum he was for many years librarian of the Surrey In- stitution. Mr. Home was a most industrious man, and made a careful use of every leisure minute of his time. When not engaged in his Museum and clerical duties he prepared many useful works for the press ; no less than forty-five productions were written by him. His great work on the Scriptures passed through ten large editions during his lifetime, nine of which were " carefully revised throughout " by his own hand, and the work had grown from three to five portly volumes. The edition edited by the author in 1846 is a noble monument of the industry and erudition of a man who will long be gratefully remembered for the aid he has given to thousands in the intelligent understanding of the sacred oracles. io8 Officers in the Library. After ten years a new edition of the work was called for in 1856, but the age and physical infirmities of the venerable man rendered him unequal to the la- bour of bringing the work up to the advanced state of theological science that was requisite. The duty of editing was, therefore, committed to two of the most eminent Nonconformist Biblical critics of the day, who made such alterations and additions as they deemed necessary in order to adapt the work to the latest discoveries in Biblical and theological science. I have myself derived such valuable assistance from Mr. Home's great work on the Scriptures that it would gratify me much to quote from the writings of divines and others their estimate of the value of this, in many respects, unique production. I shall, however, content myself by citing one extract from " Lowndes' Bibliographer's Manual of English Litera- ture," who, in speaking of this work, describes it as " the most important theological publication of its kind that has appeared in this or any other country for years. It contains a mass of geographical, historical, bibliographical, and critical information on Biblical literature, collected with great assiduity, judgment and research, and is well deserving of the high encomiums it has received from all denomina- tions of Christians." Among those of his works which may be men- tioned as next in importance to his " Critical Introduc- tion to the Scriptures," is his able " Catalogue of the Officers in the Library. 109 Library of Queen's College, Cambridge," published in 1827; his "Introduction to the Study of Biblio- graphy," published in 1814 ; and his " Outlines for the Classification of a Library," published in 1825. His bibliographical attainments were very extensive, and no account of the National Library should omit honourable mention of his able labours in the compi- lation of the catalogue. He was always held in the highest respect by his colleagues at the Museum, who not only looked up to him as a patriarch in literature, but loved him as a man. He was genial and com- municative to all, courteous in manners, and good- natured in his actions, and especially mindful of the younger men, to whom he was fond of imparting his large stores of information. On his retirement from the Museum, he bequeathed for the use of his fellow-workers all his bibliogra- phical books of reference, which he had purchased from his private purse, and which had been his working tools for so many years. Our venerable friend died at his residence in Bloomsbury Square on the 2 /th of January, 1862, in the eighty-second year of his age. One of the gentlemen on the original staff in the National Library during its sojourn at Montague House was Mr. Winter Jones, the present principal librarian. Mr. Jones is the son of the late Mr. John Jones, for some years editor of the " Naval Chro- nicle and European Magazine." He was educated at St. Paul's school, and studied for the chancery 1 10 Officers in the Library. bar, but entered the public service as an assistant in the library of the British Museum in April, 1837, under Mr. Baber's administration of that depart- ment. Mr. Jones was, from his first introduction to the National Library, engaged upon the preparation of the new alphabetical catalogue. On the resignation of Mr. Baber, and the consequent promotion of Mr. Panizzi, he rendered the most efficient help in all the arrangements connected with the removal of the library from Montague House, and also in the pre- paration of the rules for constructing the new cata- logue. Having remained senior-assistant in the library for many years, he became assistant-keeper at the death of Mr. Garnett in 1850. On the pro- motion of Mr. Panizzi to the office of principal librarian in 1856, he was made keeper of the printed books. His promotion was hailed with gladness by every one in the department, as he had justly en- deared himself both to his colleagues and subor- dinates by his friendliness and courtesy to every one around him. He brought the same careful and conscientious and unobtrusive persistency to his new duties, that had long distinguished him as an assistant ; and laboured most unremittingly in car- rying out the great work of perfecting the National Library, and keeping it in its proud position among the public libraries of the world. On the retirement of Mr. Panizzi in 1866, Mr. Jones received from the Queen the appointment of Officers in the Library. 1 1 1 principal librarian, and continues to administer the responsible duties of that high and honourable posi- tion with the impartiality, efficiency, and courtesy that had before distinguished him in the department where he had spent so many happy years of his life. Mr. Jones has not only served the trustees as a public servant, but he has done some good service as a literary man. He edited for the Hakluyt Society, of which he was a member from its forma- tion, and one of whose chief officers he is, " Divers Voyages touching the Discovery of America," printed in 1850; and "The Travels of Nicolo de' Conti in the East, translated from the Italian of Poggio Bracciolini," issued in 1858. He translated for the same Society " The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema in Egypt, Syria, Arabia Deserta, and Felice, in Persia, India, and Ethiopia, A. D. 1503-8," printed in 1863. I may add that in addition to the duties of prin- cipal librarian, as such, there has long been attached to that office the laborious and responsible work of secretaryship to the board of trustees ; to discharge which he must attend all their meetings, make minutes of their proceedings, take the chief charge of all records and other documents connected with the business of the trust, as well as attend to a variety of other matters involving an amount of anxious care and extensive daily correspondence that is unremitting and exhausting. Some idea may be formed of the character and responsibility of this high and arduous office from the fact that the man who holds it gives 112 Officers in the Library. securities for the due discharge of his office, to the amount of 10,000 ; that is to say, his own bond for 5,000, and two other securities in a joint and several bond to the amount of ,5,000. CHAPTER VII. REMOVAL OF THE LIBRARY FROM MONTAGUE HOUSE, WITH BRIEF NOTICES OF ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY STAFF. H E removal of the printed books from Montague House to the library pre- pared for their reception in the north- west wing of the new building was effected in 1837. The arrangements were such as not in any way to interfere with the supply of books to the Reading Room, but the removal involved a considerable amount of labour. It was found that the existing working staff of the department was not by any means equal to the requirements needed to carry out Mr. Panizzi's plans for the re - arrangement of the books in the new library, and the revision of the catalogues of the various collections under his charge. This being the case, he applied to the Trustees for the necessary additional help, and several gentlemen were at once engaged as " temporary assistants." One of these was Mr. Thomas Watts, who at that i 1 1 4 Removal of Library time was well known in the Reading Room for his linguistic attainments, and extensive knowledge of general literature. Another of these gentlemen was Mr. George Bullen, the compiler of the " Catalogue of Books in the possession of the British and Foreign Bible Society," and the author of " The Story of Count Bismarck's Life." Mr. Bullen afterwards became a permanent assistant in the library, and subsequently one of the assistant-keepers of the department, to which was added the superintendence of the Reading Room. He is well known for his bibliographical knowledge, as well as for his high classical attainments, and was spoken of by Mr. Panizzi, in his evidence before the Royal Com- mission, as " one of my best assistants." Mr. Bullen prepared the article " Aristotle," which is one of the ablest entries in the new catalogue, and an admirable exemplification of what a good alphabetical catalogue should be. Those who make use of the Reading Room will testify as to his readiness and ability to help any reader who may apply to him for infor- mation in his literary researches. Mr. Bullen is also known for his critical acumen as displayed by his numerous contributions to the periodical press. Mr. Nicholas Simons was another of the gentlemen who afterwards became permanently attached to the library staff, where he was very highly esteemed to the day of his retirement, in June, 1870. Mr. Simons is known to the literary world by his industrious and careful elucidation of the question as to the author- ship of " Junius." from Montague House. 1 15 Mr. Serjeant Parry, the present well-known advo- cate, was also one of the temporary-assistants, and was engaged afterwards for some years upon the new catalogue before leaving the service of the Trustees in June, 1843, f r tne f ar more lucrative and pro- minent attractions of the Bar. Mr. Parry was one of those who aided Mr. Panizzi, in concert with Mr. Winter Jones, Mr. Watts, and Mr. Edwards, in framing the rules for compiling the new catalogue. Mr. Edward Edwards, afterwards first librarian of the Manchester Free Library, was another of the little band of worthies who have done so much by their quiet and unobtrusive labours at the British Museum, to make our national library what it now is, and who are justly entitled to grateful remembrance. Mr. Edwards is the learned author of many in- teresting and valuable works on public and private libraries. His " Lives of the Founders of the British Museum, with notices of its chief Augmentors and other Benefactors, 1570 1870," recently published, is a work abounding in interesting and valuable details connected with the national library. He is also known as the biographer of Sir Walter Raleigh, and as the careful editor of one of the Chronicles recently issued under the auspices of the Master of the Rolls. Mr. Edwards retired from the Museum in August, 1846, but is still an almost daily visitor in the Reading Room, where he has ample oppor- tunities for pursuing his favourite studies. To Mr. Watts, however, must be assigned the 1 1 6 Removal of Library first and foremost place among these now well-known men. His almost unparalleled knowledge of lan- guages, and his vast and varied acquaintance with the literature of each, have won for him a lasting name, not only in connection with the library of the British Museum, but also throughout the whole literary world. Upon the removal of the library from .Montague House, Mr. Watts was selected by Mr. Panizzi to classify and arrange the books before they were placed upon the shelves of the new library, so that every book passed through his hands. This gave him a comprehensive and exact acquaintance with the contents of the library at that time, and enabled him to note numerous deficiencies that were after- wards embodied in a celebrated Parliamentary Paper drawn up by Mr. Panizzi as a ground and basis for asking for a special grant of ,10,000 for ten years, to supply these deficiencies, for the purpose of making our National Library what it ought to be among the other great libraries of Europe. Mr. Watts entered upon his work with all the ardour and earnestness of one who thoroughly loved his employment ; and as he was endowed with a marvellously retentive memory, he appeared never to forget anything that he had either seen or read, and he became at once a breathing cyclopaedia and a living catalogue. Since the foregoing pages were written this dis- tinguished man has been removed by a sudden and from Montague Hotise. 1 1 7 unlooked-for death. I shall therefore be allowed to speak of him with greater freedom than I otherwise should have done, though in the order of my narra- tive some things may be a little out of place as to dates. It was my happiness and privilege to have been associated with Mr. Watts for more than thirty years, and to have served under him when he became Keeper of the Printed Books, during the few later years of his life. I remember perfectly well the morning, the i /th of January, 1838, that Mr. Watts entered upon his duties in the British Museum. A portion of the library, comprising the collection of the Rev. Mr. Cracherode and Sir Richard Colt Hoare, had been removed from Montague House ; the Keeper of the department was busily engaged in arranging and placing the beautiful volumes of the Cracherode collection on the shelves of the new library, and it was given to me to explain to Mr. Watts the mode of attaching the press-marks to the books in their new locality. It soon became apparent that Mr. Watts's great knowledge of languages and books would be of immense value in the classifica- tion of the library, and within a few weeks of his entering the department the duty of arranging and classification was wholly transferred to his hands, as the Keeper had other urgent duties to discharge. Some men whose great attainments make others feel more keenly their own deficiencies, cease after a while to produce this impression, from the fact that 1 1 8 Removal of Library a knowledge of their scholarship and intellectual powers is obtained, but this was not the case with Mr. Watts ; the intercourse of every-day life gave opportunities for the development of his vast stores of knowledge in such a way as to make one think they were well-nigh inexhaustible. Great as were his intellectual attainments, they were combined with so much simplicity and homeliness of character, together with such a genial honest heartiness of manner, that the humblest of his colleagues, and the most timid among the readers, were never made to feel their ignorance when they sought information from him. Nothing could possibly have been so gratifying to Mr. Watts as to have the handling of every book as it came from Montague House, and here his marvel- lous memory served him and others in almost an un- precedented manner. He appeared never to have forgotten a single book that passed through his hands, and always remembered its exact locality in the library. From the period of his first engagement in 1838, he continued to classify and arrange all the additions that were made to the collection from year to year, and this important duty was most carefully performed till 1857, when the new Reading Room was opened, and Mr. Watts was appointed its first superintendent. It is believed that no fewer than 400,000 volumes passed under his eye during the nineteen years that were devoted by him to the arranging and classifying of the new acquisitions ; from Montague House. 1 19 and out of this very large number of books upon every conceivable subject, and in all the dialects of the world, he could instantly point out the press and shelf of more than a hundred thousand. Mr. Watts's acquaintance with books was not, however, confined to title-pages, or to the several languages in which they were written, but he was well read in the litera- ture of the various countries they represented. In addition to the duty of classification and arrange- ment, he was entrusted with the laborious task of looking carefully over the various catalogues from all parts of the world, and drawing up from them lists of desiderata to be submitted to the Keeper of the De- partments for purchase. Adverting to this part of his duty, Mr. Watts remarked, in a letter addressed by him to Mr. Panizzi in 1861, and published in a Parliamentary Paper in 1866, that, " In the course of the ten years, from 1851 to 1860 inclusive, the number of separate works ordered at my suggestion cannot have been less than 80,000, and to select these orders required the examination of at least 600,000 titles of books in Greek and Latin, in French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, in Ger- man, Swedish, Danish, and Dutch, in Russian, Polish, Bohemian, and Hungarian. I have also had occasion to prepare lists of desiderata in Welsh, Ice- landic, and Chinese, and I had the pleasure of drawing up under your inspection the first large list of American orders which was ever sent across the Atlantic from the Museum. A collection 1 20 Removal of Library. of Icelandic books, presented by Sir Joseph Banks, which had been in the library for more than sixty years, and some twenty or thirty Russian books, which had found their way into the King's and Banksian Libraries, were first catalogued by me." As I shall have occasion to speak particularly of Mr. Watts, further on in my narrative, I will only add here, that Mr. Panizzi found in him one of the most valuable assistants by whom he was surrounded ; and that his future career in the department fully justified the hopes that were entertained concerning him by those who were associated with him from his first engagement at the Museum. CHAPTER VIII. THE GRENVILLE LIBRARY, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF ITS TREASURES. HE year 1847 was a notable one in the annals of the library of the British Museum. In that year a large and valuable collection of Liturgies and Liturgical books, made at great cost, and collected with religious care, by the Rev. William Maskell, was purchased for the National Library. The large collection of Chinese books belonging to Mr. Mor- rison, the son of the eminent Chinese scholar and missionary, amounting to 11,500 volumes, was pur- chased by government in this year, and presented to the British Museum. The crowning addition to the department was, however, the munificent bequest of the Grenville Library. About a year and a half before Mr. Grenvi lie's death, that worthy gentleman promised Mr. Panizzi to bequeath his library to the British Museum, and on the 28th of October, 1845, by a 122 The Grenville Library. codicil to his will, he carried out this noble purpose. There is no doubt whatever as to the fact that the Keeper of the Printed Books at this period was the man, more than all others, who induced Mr. Gren- ville to present his magnificent collection of books to the British nation. In speaking particularly of its value and importance, I cannot do better than to make a free use of Mr. Panizzi's very able summary of that unique presentation. With the exception of the collection of His Majesty George III., the library of the British Museum has never received an accession so important in every respect as that of the Right Hon. Thomas Gren- ville. It is impossible to give any adequate idea of its magnificence in a single chapter of such a book as this : to appreciate it fully the volumes must be seen and examined at leisure, and the more it is examined the more it will be appreciated. Formed and pre- served with the exquisite taste of an accomplished bibliographer, with the learning of a profound and elegant scholar, and the splendid liberality of a gen- tleman in affluent circumstances, who employed in adding to his library whatever his generous heart allowed him to spare from silently relieving those whose wants he alone knew, this addition to the National Library places it in some respects above all libraries known ; in others, it leaves it inferior only to the Royal Library at Paris. An idea may be formed of the literary value of Mr. Grenville's library by referring to its pecuniary value ; it consists of The Grenville Library. 123 20,240 volumes, forming about 16,000 works, which cost upwards of ,54,000, and would realize now in the market a much larger sum. It is believed that the binding of this sumptuous collection cost more than ,56,000, so that the money value of such a presentation amounted to .100,000. It is utterly impossible within small limits to give anything like a full and correct idea of such a collec- tion of books, but a few single volumes may be men- tioned as specimens of the whole. That one of the editors of the " Adelphi Homer" would lose no opportunity of collecting the best and rarest editions of the prince of poets would naturally be expected. yEsop, a favourite author of Mr. Grenville, occurs in his library in the rarest forms ; there is no doubt that the series of editions of this author in the library is unrivalled. The great ad- miration which Mr. Grenville felt for Cardinal Ximenes, even more on account of the splendid edition of the Polyglot Bible, which that prelate caused to be printed, than of his public character, made him look upon the acquisition of the Moschus, printed at Alcala, a book of extreme rarity, as a piece of good fortune. Among the very rare editions of the Latin Classics, in which the Grenville Library abounds, the unique complete copy of Azzoguidi's first edition of Ovid, is a gem well deserving parti- cular notice, and was considered, on the whole, by Mr. Grenville himself, the boast of his collection. The Aldine Virgil of 1505, the rarest of the Aldine 1 24 The Grenville Library. editions of this poet, is the more welcome to the British Museum as it seems to supply a lacuna; the copy mentioned in the catalogue of the Royal Col- lection of George III. not having been transferred to the National Library. The rarest editions of our English poets claimed and obtained the special attention of Mr. Grenville. Hence we find in his library not only the first and second edition of Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales," by Caxton, but the only known copy of a hitherto un- discovered edition of the same work printed in 1498, by Wynkyn de Worde. Of Shakspere's collected dramatic works, the Grenville library contains a copy of the first edition, which, if not the finest known, is at all events surpassed by none. His strong religious feelings, and his sincere attachment to the Church of England, no less than his knowledge and mastery of the English language, concurred in making him eager to possess the earliest, as well as the rarest editions, of the translations of the Scriptures in the vernacular tongue. He succeeded to a great extent ; but what deserves particular mention, is the only known frag- ment of the New Testament in English, translated by Tyndale and Roy, which was in the press of Quentell at Cologne, in 1525, when the translators were obliged to interrupt the printing, and fly to escape persecution. This precious fragment, as I have before remarked, is exhibited in one of the cases in the King's Library, and no Biblical student or book-lover should omit to look for it. The Grenville Library. 1 25 The History of the British Empire, and whatever could illustrate any of its different portions, was the subject of Mr. Grenville's unremitting research, and he allowed nothing to escape him deserving to be preserved, however rare and expensive. Hence his collection of works on the divorce of Henry VIII. ; that of voyages and travels, either by Englishmen, or to countries at some time more or less connected with England, or possessed by her ; that of contem- porary works on the gathering, advance, and defeat of the "Invincible Armada ; " and of the writings on Ireland, are more numerous, more valuable, and more interesting, than in any other collection ever made by any person on the same subjects. Among the voyages and travels, the collections of De Bry and Hulsius are the finest in the world ; no other library can boast of four such fine books as the copies of Hariot's Virginia in Latin, German, French, and English, of the De Bry series ; and it was fitting that in Mr. Grenville's library should be found one of the only two copies known of the first edition of this work, printed at London in 1588, wherein an account is given of a colony which had been founded by his family namesake, Sir Richard Greinvile. Conversant with the language and literature of Spain, as well as with that of Italy, the works of imagination by writers of those two countries are better represented in his library than in any other out of Spain or Italy ; in some branches, better even than in any single library in the countries themselves. 1 26 The Grenville Library. No Italian collection can boast of so splendid a series of early editions of Ariosto's Orlando, one of Mr. Grenville's favourite authors, nor indeed of such choice romance poems. The copy of the first edition of Ariosto is not to be matched for beauty ; of that of Rome, 1533, even the existence was unknown. A perfect copy of the first complete edition of the Morgante Maggiore, of 1482, was also not known to exist before Mr. Grenville succeeded in procuring his copy of that work. Among the Spanish romances the copy of that of " Tirant lo Blanch," printed at Valentia in 1490, is as fine, as clean, and as white, as when it first issued from the press ; and no second copy of this edition of a work professedly translated from English into Portuguese, and thence into Valencian, is known to exist, except in the library of the Sapienza, at Rome. But where there is nothing common, it is almost depreciating a collection to enumerate a few books as rare. It is a marked feature of this library, that Mr. Grenville did not collect mere bibliographical rarities. He never aimed at having a complete set of the editions from the press of Caxton or Aldus ; but Chaucer and Gower by Caxton were readily purchased, as well as other works which were de- sirable on other accounts, besides that of having issued from the press of that printer ; and when possible, select copies were purchased. Some of the rarest, and these the finest Aldine editions, were purchased by him for the same reason. The Horae, The Grenville Library. 127 in Greek, printed by Aldus in i6mo, in 1497, is a volume which, from its language, size, and rarity, is of the greatest importance for the literary and reli- gious history of the time when it was printed. It is therefore in Mr. Grenville's library. The Virgil of 1501, is not only an elegant book, but it is the first printed with that peculiar italic, known as Aldine, and the first volume which Aldus printed " forma enchiridii," as he called it ; being expressly adapted to give poor scholars the means of purchasing for a small sum the works of the classical writers. This also is therefore among Mr. Grenville's books ; and of one of the two editions of Virgil, both dated the same year, 1514, he purchased a large paper copy, because it was the more correct of the two. It was the merit of the works, the elegance of the volumes, the "genuine" condition of the copy, &c., which together, induced Mr. Grenville to purchase books printed on vellum, of which he collected nearly a hundred. He paid a very large sum for a copy of the Furioso of 1532, not because it was "on ugly vellum," as he very properly designated it, but be- cause, knowing the importance of such an edition of such a work, and never having succeeded in pro- curing it on paper, he would rather have it on expen- sive terms and in " ugly vellum " than not at all. By the bequest of Mr. Grenville's library, the col- lection of books printed on vellum, now at the British Museum, and comprising those formerly presented by George II., and the Rev. Mr. Cracherode, is believed 128 The Grenville Library. to surpass that of any other National Library, ex- cept the King's Library at Paris, of which Van Praet justly speaks with pride, and all foreign competent and intelligent judges, with envy and admiration. In justice to the Grenville Library, the list of all its vellum books ought to be named. As this cannot be done within reasonable limits, some only of the most remarkable shall be mentioned. These are : The Greek Anthology of 1494 ; the Book of Hawking of Juliana Berners of 1496 ; the first edition of the Bible known as the ''Mazarine Bible," printed at Metz about 1454; the Aldine Dante of 1502 ; the first Rationale of Durandus of 1459 ; the first edition of Fisher on the Psalms, of 1508; the Aldine Horace, Juvenal, Martial, and Petrarca, of 1501; the Livy of 1469 ; the Primer of Salisbury, printed at Paris in 1531 ; the Psalter of 1457, which supplies the place of the one now in the library of Windsor Castle, which belonged to the collection of George III., before it was transferred to the British Museum; the Sforziada, by Simoneta, of 1490, a most splendid volume even in so splendid a library ; the Theurdank of 1517; the Aulus Gellius and the Vitruvius of Giunta, printed in 1515, &c. The Aulus Gellius is in its original state, exactly as it was when presented to Lorenzo de' Medici, afterwards Duke of Urbino, to whom the edition was dedicated. Not the least remarkable circumstance connected with this collection is the uniformly fine condition and splendid binding of every one of its volumes. The Grenville Library. 129 In this respect it surpasses every other private collection of equal extent. Volumes from the De Thou, the Grolier, and such other collections, were of course preserved untouched ; the original binding when either good, or not beyond the skill of the best workmen to repair, was always retained ; in all other cases, if not worthy of the rest of the volumes on the shelves of this library, the binding was immediately removed, and another in a handsome, and generally in a magnificent style, suitable to the book, was substituted and stamped with the Gren- ville arms. No account of the Grenville library should omit the beautiful production of Julio Clovio : this, though neither a " printed book " nor a " manuscript," is per- haps the art-gem of the collection. It is described in the Grenville catalogue as : " Twelve most exquisite paintings upon vellum by Julio Clovio, representing the victories of Charles V. folio. Bound in purple velvet in a blue morocco case/' Julio Clovio was a celebrated painter, born at Croatia in 1498, and died in 1578. In 1556 an eminent engraver, Martin Hemskerk, executed by his master hand twelve plates of the victories of Charles V. from designs of an artist by the name of Coccius. Philip II. had tapestry made of these designs, and commissioned Julio Clovio, at that time in Italy, to paint them upon vellum. These most exquisite paintings remained in the Royal Library of the Escurial till the invasion of Spain by the French, K 130 The Grenmlle Library. and have retained all the original brilliancy and freshness of their rich colouring. Dr. Dibdin, in his " Bibliographical Decameron," gives a very care- ful and detailed description of this most beautiful volume. He says of* it, " a more lovely and in- teresting (and at the same time generally unknown) treasure can scarcely enrich the cabinet of the most illustrious collector." Each subject of these twelve exquisite miniature pictures of which the most power- ful magnifying glass only reveals the perfection, has a title or prefix in the Spanish language, intro- duced within an arabesque border of consummate taste. Dr. Dibdin concludes his elaborate account by calling it " a volume, which, all things considered, certainly acknowledges no superior." A catalogue of Mr. Grenville's library, containing the finest books, was prepared and printed by the eminent booksellers, Messrs. John Thomas Payne and Henry Foss, in 1842 ; the second part, com- prising the remainder of the collection, was printed by the Trustees of the British Museum in 1848 ; the whole forming a complete catalogue, with a few manuscript additions, of the entire collection. " During his lifetime," remarks Mr. Panizzi, " Mr. Grenville's library was most liberally rendered accessible to any person, however humble his con- dition of life, who could show the least cause for asking the loan of any of his precious volumes. By bequeathing the whole to his country, Mr. Grenville has secured to literary men, even after his death, The Grenville Library. 131 that assistance, so far as relates to the use of his books, which he so generously bestowed on them in every way during his long and dignified career, the career of a man of high birth, distinguished for uniting to a powerful and cultivated intellect, a warm and benevolent heart." This noble collection on coming to the British Museum in 1847, was, by direction of the Trustees, placed in the room now appropriated to its reception, which was originally intended for the Manuscript Department, but which seems, from its size, to have been made expressly to contain this munificent be- quest. It is, moreover, the first apartment leading from the Entrance Hall, and is a suitable introduction to the literary treasures beyond. These magnificent books were arranged and placed on their shelves by Mr. Brenchley Rye, the present Keeper of the Printed books. In the table-cases in the room are exhibited some of the earliest and rarest specimens of block-printing : the bust of Mr. Grenville is the graceful offering of Sir David Dundas to the memory of one he loved and honoured. CHAPTER IX. THE FOUNDER OF THE GRENVILLE LIBRARY, HIS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LIFE. N conducting friends and visitors through the Grenville library, and pointing out some of the more precious volumes it contains, I have frequently been asked: "Who was Mr. Grenville?" The fact that such a man " lived and moved and had his being" in this busy world is scarcely within the recollection of the present generation : his name and character are, however, well remembered in the highest circles of British society are familiar to the minds of men who enjoyed, or could admire learned leisure and intellectual refinement to the minds of those, also, who feel interested in the events of that period which extends from the middle of the Ame- rican war, to the brief and hollow truce called the Peace of Amiens. In proceeding to give some account of this vene- rable and eminent man it will not be necessary to The Grenville Library. 133 bestow much time upon the subject of his ancestry. " He was," says a high authority, " the great uncle of the present Duke, and brother to the first Marquis of Buckingham, the rolls of whose pedigree display a line of progenitors in every respect worthy of that high station in the peerage to which the favours of successive sovereigns have raised the house of Grenville." The Right Honourable Thomas Grenville, was born in 1755, and, therefore, had reached at the time of his death in 1846, the extraordinary age of ninety-one. In youth and early manhood, we are informed, he displayed evidences of intellectual vigour far beyond that which falls to the lot of ordinary men ; and as the son of one who had been a minister of .the crown, he took his seat in the House of Commons under the most favourable auspices. His exterior was eminently prepossessing, and his oratory graceful and fluent. Lord Rocking- ham reposed unbounded confidence in his talents for debate, diplomacy, and the general business of government. Charles James Fox rejoiced in his co- operation, and thought him a man of the highest order of mind ; while William Pitt dreaded his hostility, and sought his alliance. So highly did Mr. Fox esteem his talents, that if the celebrated Indian Bill brought in by that minister had proved success- ful, Mr. Grenville was to have received from him the appointment of Governor-General ; and when the American War approached its close, Mr, Grenville 1 34 Founder of the was selected by the English minister as Plenipoten- tiary on the part of this country, to negotiate the terms of peace with Dr. Franklin and Mr. Ver- gennes, the latter being considered the ablest negotiator in Europe. The course pursued by Mr. Fox with reference to the French Revolution alienated many members of his party, and among that number was Mr. Grenville. His talents as a diplomatist were so universally acknowledged that the earliest possible opportunity was taken of securing these rare qualities for the service of his country. He was accordingly soon after selected as " Minister Extraordinary to the Court of Berlin," with a view of engaging the Prussian monarch to unite with England and her allies in resistance to the wild aggressions of the French Republic. In those days it was not so easy to get to Berlin as now, and a very interesting account of the perils by water encountered by Mr. Grenville, in attempting to reach that Court, may be seen in a small pamphlet in the Grenville library entitled : " A narrative of the loss of H. M. S. Proserpine, compiled by John Wright, First Lieu- tenant. London, 1 799, 8." The mission to Berlin, however, was a failure, and Mr. Grenville returned to England to resume his parliamentary duties. Mr. Grenville afterwards filled the office of First Lord of the Admiralty, which was the most pro- minent position to which he attained as a public servant. His tenure of office was a very brief one, only lasting for a few months. The manner in which Grenville Library. 135 he retired from that high position on the change of administration, is so remarkable and rare, that I am sure my readers will be gratified by its recital, as a noble example of true patriotism in a public man. It is related by Mr. Tucker, the Secretary to the Admiralty, in his " Memoirs of Earl St. Vincent," that on the change of administration that great naval hero immediately resigned his command as Admiral of the Fleet ; and we learn from the same source with what dignity and grace Mr. Grenville on the same occasion retired from the Admiralty. Mr. Tucker says : " As soon as the fate of the Cabinet was decided, Mr. Grenville sent for the author's father and said ' Mr. Tucker we are all going out :' after a short silence of surprise, ' Very well, sir,' replied the Secretary, ' I'll fetch your book in a moment.' ' For what ?' enquired the Minister. ' That you may select those whom you may wish to promote before you go.' ' Mr. Tucker,' said Mr. Grenville, ' I'll not make one promotion in any line ; no, not for my brother ; send for a blank com- mission for a Commander-in-Chief ;' which Mr. Grenville then signed in blank, and directed to be transmitted to Lord St. Vincent, to be by him filled up with whatever name he pleased ; ' which/ Mr. Grenville added, ' was due to him from the situation he held in the Fleet, and that the country owed it to him.' Mr. Tucker endeavoured to argue the point by stating ' how many of Mr. Grenville's friends had been relying upon him for promotion, how many 1 36 Founder of the years they had waited for the opportunity, and how many might elapse before he had again the power.' Mr. Grenville replied : ' Had I remained in office, I should gladly have promoted them as the service would permit ; but I have no idea of saddling the country with two or three hundred pensioners, for it would be little else, because, forsooth, I am removed from the Admiralty. No, no, Mr. Tucker, that shall never be said of me.' ' An example which it had been well for our country, if succeeding statesmen had followed ; but which is nothing more than consistent with Lord St. Vincent's sketch of him who exhi- bited it. " He was," said his Lordship, " the truest patriot, the most upright man, the most faithful, straightforward servant of the public that I ever met with in any situation. He is also the most amiable, most delightful person : such are the First Lords of the Admiralty which this country wants." The public life of Mr. Grenville may be said to have reached its close when the ministry, of which his brother was the head, made way in 1807 for the re-admission of the Tories. He was in Parliament altogether for nearly thirty years : in 1798 he was made a Privy Councillor. When he was no longer wanted in the service of his country he was glad to withdraw from public life, that he might devote his leisure to a further cultivation of classical literature, and to an indulgence of that intellectual luxury and personal ease in which the greater part of his after life was spent. Grenmlle Library. 1 37 One of his contemporaries, in a little volume published in 1807,' says of him : "This respectful senator stands high in public estimation : he is well acquainted with men, books, theory, and practice. To a sound natural understanding he has united a close, judicious attention to business, and is decidedly one of the best informed members of the House of Commons. His oratory is not shining or brilliant, but delivered in the language of a gentleman and a scholar. Mr. Grenville is one of the few in the late minority who has preserved an uniformity of con- duct ; he has been steady in his principles, open and undisguised in his sentiments : his opposition has always been uniform, unmixed with that pliant tone of flexibility, or crooked duplicity, so prevalent in many of our versatile senators. He is an able and honest statesman, equally the- friend of government and of the people ; not actuated by the delusive show of popularity, nor influenced by the caprice of party, but nobly fired with a sense of justice, and animated in the cause of truth and public virtue." It is not to be wondered at that a man so distin- guished in public life should be equally attractive in the social circle. He was a man, not only of noble birth and noble intellect, but also an accomplished scholar and a thoroughbred gentleman. Mr. Gren- ville, on retiring from public and official life, sur- 1 Portraits of the late and present administration faithfully drawn. By W. Green, A. M. 1 38 Founder of the rounded himself with books and friends throughout the third of a century, within that happy, active re- tirement in which he ended his days. His, however, was not a seclusion from the world at large : no man enjoyed more than he did the intercourse of private society, or entertained a wider circle of friends with a more bounteous hospitality, at once liberal and refined. In the quietude of his rare and splendid library he heard, as from afar, the din of political conflict, and contemplated, without joining in, the acts of Ministers and Oppositions which divided parliamentary interests during the Regency, the reigns of George IV., William IV., and Queen Victoria. Mr. Grenville's dinner-parties included most of the celebrities of his day. The Archbishops of York and Canterbury, Drs. Harcourt and Howley ; with the witty prebend of St. Paul's, Sidney Smith ; the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland ; Lord and Lady Ellesmere ; Dr. Blomfield, the Bishop of London ; Sir Henry Halford ; Lord and Lady Harrowby ; Lord and Lady Cawdor; Earl and Countess Stan- hope, the Marquis and Marchioness of Westminster, Samuel Rogers, and Mr. W. R. Hamilton ; Sir Charles Bagot ; Mr. Hallam ; Lord Lansdowne ; the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk ; Earl Russell ; Thomas Babington, afterwards Lord, Macaulay ; Lord and Lady Fitzallan ; Lord Powis ; Mr. Charles W. Wynn ; Sir David Dundas ; Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone ; Lord and Lady Lyttleton ; Mr., now Sir Grenmlle Library. 139 / Anthony, Panizzi ; Dr. Robert Ferguson ; Lord and Lady Delemere ; and a host of other worthies were found, on different occasions, around his hospitable board. Such an assemblage could rarely be seen as at these elegant and recherche dinners at Hamilton Place, except, perhaps, at Holland House. Mr. Grenville's dinner-hour was generally at 6 p. M., and he was a great stickler for punctuality : when the hour came he walked into the dining-room and sat down at once to the table, whether all his guests were assembled or not. Some amusing instances not unfrequently occurred of guests who, for various reasons, came late. The present Lord Delemere, then Mr. Hugh Cholmondeley, a nephew of Mr. Grenville's, was half-an-hour late on one occasion, and begged his uncle to excuse him, as he had been delayed in the midst of a flock of sheep in Park Lane. The excuse, which was a veritable one, so amused his uncle, that he always related it to any- one who came late. I have heard his favourite and faithful servant say that, such was his love of punc- tuality, that when he went into his sleeping apart- ment to call him in the dark winter mornings at seven, his master would strike his repeater-watch to be sure that his valet had kept his time. The witty prebend of St. Paul's, who was rarely absent from Mr. Gren- ville's dinner-parties, often turned to good account some of the domestic traits of his right honourable host. On one occasion he was invited to dine with 1 40 Founder of the Mr. Grenville on a day that he had himself a dinner- party : his reply to Mr. Grenville's invitation was in the following characteristic terms : " My dear Sir, On the 23rd (if you will allow me to bring thirteen people to dinner) I shall be most happy to dine with you; but, as I can hardly calculate upon such ex- panded hospitality, I must, I fear, decline your kind invitation, and try to entertain my thirteen in Green Street. Very truly yours, SIDNEY SMITH." I may include another characteristic note from this genial clergyman, which is found in one of the volumes in the Grenville Library a copy of Lucan printed by Aldus a present from the facetious canon. It is as follows : (< In looking over my library (soon look'd over) I found this book ' 1515, the Year of Aldus's Death.' I know nothing of biblio- graphy, except that I respect very highly one of our greatest bibliographers, and beg him to accept this book if it have any value, and to fling it into the fire if it have not." Mr. Grenville, during the later years of his long and useful life, seldom left his own home ; he de- lighted in his library, and was never tired of making bibliographical researches to illustrate more fully some of its precious treasures. He would take his cambric handkerchief and wipe the choice and beau- tiful bindings with as much gentleness and care as if he were drying the tear from a maiden's cheek. The little notes attached to all the more rare volumes were carefully written by his own hand, and are most Grenville Library. 141 religiously preserved, not only on account of being in his own well-known writing, but also for their bibliographical value. Very few men knew more of old black-letter books than Mr. Grenville, and time never appeared to hang heavily upon his hands while he pored over their attractive pages. In a codicil to his will, dated in October, 1845, he expresses himself thus : " A great part of my library has been purchased from the profits of a sinecure office given me by the public, and I feel it to be a debt and a duty that I should acknowledge this ob- ligation by giving that library, so acquired, to the British Museum for the use of the public." Mr. Grenville's evenings were spent with his friends at his own residence : a quiet dinner at four, and a game of whist afterwards, was the almost daily history of his later life. He entrusted the invitations to these dinners to a faithful servant, who was a great favourite with his master, and who lovingly and dutifully attended to his wishes with the reve- rential affection of a son. William H olden seldom or never left his kind old master for an hour ; he was always at his elbow to do his bidding, and in his arms he died. Early in the year 1846 Mr. Grenville began to evince unmistakeable evidences that his days were numbered " Autumn's falling leaf foretold the old man he must die." He retained his faculties to the last day of his long and honourable life ; was every morning dressed by 1 42 Founder of the his faithful attendant, and assisted into his library, where he spent much of his time in reading. Jeremy Taylor, Bishop Sherlock, and Dr. Blomfield, Bishop of London, were his favourite religious authors. The Bible was the book, perhaps, of all others, that he knew most about ; it shed its hallowed light around the venerable and patriarchal man when heart and flesh began to fail, and the evening shadows began to lengthen. Mr. Grenville's gradually declining health was a beautiful illustration of the inimitable picture preserved to us in the book which he loved above all others "If a man live many years, and re- joice in them all ; yet let him remember the days of darkness ; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity. . . In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low : also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail .... or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern : then shall the dust return to the earth as it was ; and the spirit shall return unto God who Grenville Library. 143 gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher ; all is vanity ! " * On the morning of the 1 7th of December, 1846, Mr. Grenville was dressed as usual, and helped into his arm-chair. He took up a volume of " Sherlock's Discourses," which was always lying on his table, and began reading aloud to his trusty servant a sermon from the words, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!' Numbers xxiii. 10. He commenced to read in a clear and distinct voice, and with peculiar solemnity, the opening paragraph, which, as it was the last he ever read, will, I am sure, be interesting to my readers : " There is something very affecting in these words, and apt to engage us upon the first hearing, to become parties to the good wish contained in them. Whatever our pre- sent thoughts, views, and inclinations are, yet, when our eyes are called off from the prospects of the world, and fixed upon the last point of life, and we stand, as it were, beholding ourselves under the arrest of death, and just ready to expire, we want no arguments to direct our choice to what is best for ourselves. These circumstances carry conviction with them ; and how indisposed soever we are to live the life of the righteous, we are willing to die his death, and that our last end should be like his." While reading this significant and appropriate passage, his voice faltered and his eye grew dim ; 1 Ecclesiastes xi. 8 ; xii. 3-8. 144 The Grenville Library. he handed the book to H olden, and desired him to proceed with the sermon : before another paragraph was ended the venerable head began to droop, the volume was laid aside, and it was seen that " the silver cord " was loosening, and the " golden bowl " was about to be broken. His old friend and physi- cian, Dr. Ferguson, was soon by his side, but it was only to see him die. Reclining in his chair, with the strong arm of his good and faithful servant around him, he gently passed away. He was born 3ist December, 1755, and died December 17, 1846; he was never married. Lady Delemere and the Dowager Duchess of Suther- land were most assiduous in their kindly and tender visitations to the last; the latter noble lady, and Sir Anthony Panizzi, called upon him on the day of his death. Mr. Grenville's remains rest by the side of his brother, Lord Grenville, at Burnham, Bucks. I should not omit to mention it was the desire of Mr. Grenville that his faithful servant William H olden should accompany his library to the British Museum. The Trustees of that institution acceded to the request ; and I may add that the splendid volumes which were so prized by Mr. Grenville are as religiously cared for and preserved, now that they have become a part of the national library, as when they formed the principal attraction in the well-known residence at Hamilton Place. CHAPTER X. THE CHARTIST DEMONSTRATION OF THE IOTH OF APRIL, 1848, AND HOW IT AFFECTED THE BRITISH MUSEUM. HE year 1848 was an eventful one in the history of Europe; and the loth of April in that year will long be remembered as a great field-day of the British Constitution. We heard of " thrones, and principalities, and powers " that had stood firm for centuries, and which seemed to bid defiance to any demonstration of popular opinion, either moral or physical, melting away like wax, and vanishing " like the baseless fabric of a vision." And there were certain indications in the political atmosphere of our own country, that made thoughtful and observant men a little apprehensive. A " monster petition " to the House of Commons had been prepared by the council of what was called the "Chartist Convention," demanding in no measured terms the incorporation into the British Constitution of " the six points" of that celebrated document. L 146 Chartist Demonstration. Some of my younger readers may like to be informed, and my older ones to be reminded, that " the six points" were i. Universal suffrage; 2. Vote by ballot; 3. Annual parliaments; 4. Payment of representatives ; 5. Abolition of members' property qualification ; 6. Equal electoral districts. To the petition were attached no fewer than 5,700,000 signatures. It was determined that this document should be confirmed at a public meeting to be held on Kennington Common on the loth of April ; and then that it should be carried through the principal streets and thoroughfares of London and presented in the House of Commons by Mr. Fergus O'Connor, Member for Nottingham, and who sat for Cork from 1832 to 1835, one of the chief members of the Chartist Convention. It had been stated in the " Northern Star," the official organ of the Chartist movement, and of which paper Mr. O'Connor was proprietor and editor, that one of the Liverpool members of the Convention a Mr. Matthew Somers had said with rapturous delight that in case any attempt should be made to suppress the demonstration, " an organization existed in England to burn London, Liverpool, and the other Babylons of England, and massacre the loyal inhabi- tants." We were told also, by the same official organ, that 200,000 men were to march through London on the day above-named, and take up their station on this new Runnymede Kennington Common. Chartist Demonstration. 147 The morning of the eventful day arrived, and a revolution was prophesied without fail before sunset. The Charter was to be hoisted into the constitution as easily as the bundles of parchment into the House of Commons. Such, in brief, was the state of things outside the British Museum at the time referred to : some very strong observations were made by various members of the convention as to the wealth of London, etc. great swelling words of vanity but these are happily forgotten. At the same time those who were responsible for the preser- vation of the public peace, and all lovers of order, were fully prepared to take every possible precaution to prevent these misguided men from doing injury to life and property ; and it was well understood that any demonstration of " physical force " .would be instantly and effectually put down. Certain references had been made to the British Museum as containing great treasures, and when it is considered that one department alone, that of the coins and medals, is estimated to contain public property to the amount of about ,3,000,000 sterling, to say nothing of the priceless literary and art- treasures contained in the National Museum, it would have been highly reprehensible not to have taken every possible precaution to defend such a place from any attack that might be made upon it by a lawless and infuriated mob. My recollections of this eventful period are very vivid ; and it may not be uninteresting to my readers 148 Chartist Demonstration. if I attempt to recall a few particulars relating to the British Museum on this memorable day. Sir Henry Ellis, the Principal Librarian, and in that capacity at the head of the establishment and responsible for its safety, called a council of his brother officers of the various departments to decide upon the best means of defending the Museum from any possible attack that might be made upon it. The official programme of the day's proceedings issued by the convention stated that the "Western division" of the Chartists was appointed to meet in Russell Square. The close proximity of this place to the Museum made it the more necessary that every one connected with the establishment should be on the alert, and be prepared for any emergency. The late Sir Robert Harry Inglis, one of the most active and efficient of the Trustees, who re- sided in Bedford Square, was most unremitting in his attendance at the Museum for some days pre- vious to the loth, and rendered the most valuable assistance in procuring the necessary material aid from the Government. All the persons employed upon the establishment, either in the various depart- ments or as artizans at work upon the building, were sworn in as " special constables," making in all two hundred and fifty. The magistrates who attended to swear in constables were the late Mr. James Whiskin, and Mr. Tidd Pratt. I remember a little pleasantry occurred as the names were called over preparatory to the swearing-in. A colleague named Chartist Demonstration. 149 Grabham, to whom I have before alluded in our department, furnished a good deal of fun on his name being shouted out, and Mr. Whiskin remarked that it was a capital name for a special constable. Colonel Rowan and the late Sir Richard Mayne were communicated with, and rendered valuable help. Sir John Burgoyne sent Major Baron of the Royal Engineers to suggest the best means of barricading, and to place the force at hand in the best positions for defending the Museum in case of an attack. The military force consisted of fifty-seven rank and file, and two officers, the latter being Captain Hamilton and Lieut. McEwen. To this must be added twenty pensioners from Chelsea College. Fifty muskets with proportionate ammunition were supplied from the Ordnance Office, as well as cut- lasses and pikes for from two to three hundred persons. Provisions for three days were laid in, and we all left our homes and our families on the morning of the loth of April determined, if necessary, to defend the establishment against any foe at the risk of life and limb. Business, of course, was entirely suspended, and every entrance to the Museum but that in Great Russell Street, was closed and strongly barricaded. An additional military guard was posted at the Lodge, and no one was allowed to enter the precincts of the place but those officially connected with it. Some of the younger men among us were under a good deal of excitement at the bare thought of not only wielding a truncheon, but possibly being 150 Chartist Demonstration. called upon to use a cutlass, shoulder a musket, or handle a pike. It must be remembered that all this took place long before the Volunteer movement came about, so that perhaps our skill in the use of these weapons was not then so near the military standard as it would be now. But Mr. Fergus O'Connor or any of his confederates would have found rather a warm reception, if they had ventured to force their way into the Museum. While due praise must be accorded to Sir Henry Ellis for his earnest activity on the occasion, yet everybody felt that by common consent Mr. Panizzi was really the commander-in-chief of the garrison. His great administrative talents were brought to bear, and to him mainly were the Trustees and the public indebted for the efficiency and firmness displayed upon the occasion. He was everywhere, looking personally into all that was taking place, and encouraging us all with the motto : " England expects that every man this day will do his duty." He sent out scouts constantly to bring in authentic accounts of what was going on outside : all sorts of rumours prevailed, and one or two, who before the event took place, were loud in their protestations of devotedness to the Museum, and willingness to lay down their lives in its defence, began to funk and to " look unutterable things." It is one thing to turn pale and grasp a truncheon or a cutlass with a firmer grip, and with a silent deter- mination at any cost to do one's duty and quite Chartist Demonstration. 151 another so to shuffle about as to convince the most casual observer that one would gladly get out of the affair at any cost, so that personal risk be avoided. Mid-day came and our eyes were gladdened by well-spread tables laden with cold beef and bread, to which were added a tankard of good beer for each man : some complained that the beef was rather tough, and that the beer was not so good as it might have been, but every one gave practical proof of their appreciation of these creature-comforts by making a complete clearance of the tables, and the only thing needed to complete the banquet was a cigar, or a pipe of tobacco. This last indulgence was not to be obtained, as smoking is a thing strictly forbidden within the precincts of the Museum. The afternoon wore on, and we heard only the murmur of the many voices from the gathering in Russell Square. We knew that it was the intention of the Government to prevent the procession making its way to the Houses of Parliament with any menace of intimidation ; and that every possible preparation had been made to support the civil power by the military, if such a dire necessity arose. The Duke of Wellington was Commander-in-Chief at the time, and every lover of order felt that " the hero of a hundred fights " was not any the less doing his duty in heading the troops, if necessary, against a lawless and infuriated mob, than when he successfully confronted the First Napoleon on the plains of Waterloo. Happily, however, no booming 152 Chartist Demonstration. of cannon was heard by us, and the firmness and determination of the Government, had its proper and legitimate influence upon the infatuated men who had so madly dreamed of revolution, and per- haps, of confiscation. In the course of the afternoon tidings were brought that the meeting on Kennington Common had taken place ; that there were about 20,000 assembled ; that Mr. Fergus O'Connor and other members of the convention had addressed the meeting ; that not the slightest disturbance was made, and that every thing went off quietly. We remained, however, at our posts at the Museum till late in the evening, when it was thought that those of us who had left anxious wives and little children tremblingly waiting at home, might be spared, and we were accordingly released from the state of siege. It is easy enough after the event to smile and say that the threatened something was imaginary, and that such precautions were unnecessary and that it was only to be a " moral " display of the power of the people ; but it was seriously felt that such a multitude as was expected to assemble for the purpose of carrying out the pre-concerted plans of the Convention was not to be trusted. Good and honest men at their daily work can safely be left to pursue " the even tenour of their way " without let or hindrance ; but these men from the provinces, as well as those residing in London, had been aroused and goaded on by leaders who had no intention probably of breaking the peace, but who had, nevertheless, excited Chartist Demonstration. 153 them to the highest pitch of endurance against the imagined wrongs under which they were supposed to be labouring. I cannot but believe that some of the disaffected sons of Erin were at the bottom of it all. These men some of them fine noble fellows- calling themselves Chartists would have liked to reduce England to the same state as their own poor bleeding country. Fenianism and the miscreants of the Clerkenwell catastrophe tell us most unmistakably what would be the state of things if such men were to pass unpunished and be left at large. While I say this, let it not for a moment be imagined that I am opposed to any constitutional means that may be adopted to influence Parliament. I was a member of the Anti-Corn Law League, and was rarely absent from any of the meetings held in London for the repeal of that pernicious measure. I have never hesitated to avow myself the humble advocate and helper of every movement to widen the basis of our constitution believing, as I do, with Henry, Lord Brougham, that " the fundamental maxim of liberty has been solemnly recognized in the face of all the world, that all power is from the people ; and that they have a right to choose their government, and dismiss their rulers for misconduct. While the people bear the burdens of the state they must, as of right, share in its government ; and to effect reform all good men must unite." I fully, and without the smallest mental reservation, believe in and accept as my own the utterances of this great and patriotic man addressed to the 154 Chartist Demonstration. Liverymen of London, and afterwards written out by himself and placed in the hands of the Election Committee for Westminster. I also glory in the fact that no less a man than the Right Hon. William Ewart Gladstone, Her Majesty's First Lord of the Treasury, and Prime Minister of Eng- land, said in a speech delivered in the House of Commons, that " Every man who is not presumably incapacitated by some consideration of personal unfitness, or of political danger, is morally intitled to come within the pale of the constitution." These just sentiments of the eminent men from whose lips they fell, were uttered not in the heat of debate, but are the thoughtful utterances of those who have deeply studied the important subject; and to me they are especially interesting as coming from men who have adorned the honourable and illustrious roll of Trustees to the British Museum. My first appointment at the Museum bears the signature of Lord Brougham, then Lord High Chancellor of England ; and it has been my happiness, on more than one occasion, to serve in a very humble capacity the great man who now wields the destinies of England, when in former years he was accustomed to visit the national library. I have been led thus frankly to avow my political opinions, not vauntingly, but as the result of the thinking and observation of one past the meridian of life when " Life's strong lights and shadows seem Soft as the visions of a. dream ;" Chartist Demonstration. 155 and am ready, at any risk, to take part in everything calculated to adapt our institutions to the growing re- quirements of our times. But it must be equally understood, that I am a lover of order, and would enroll myself at any time under the banner of those who would put down insurrection, and protect the rights of property. The victory of the loth of April, 1848, was not a triumph over Chartism itself, as some of its " points " have already become incorporated into our " statutes of the realm ;" but it was a magnificent and sublime manifestation of self-government, and a protest against anarchy and plunder, as things that an Englishman abhors and abominates. London, and indeed all the world, saw on that memorable day how really insignificant and powerless is any faction that dares to threaten and intimidate the Legislature. Those misguided men found every street a rampart, and every house a castle against them. After all their parade of a military procession, when they had marched here and there, and round and about, they experienced that all their threats and intimidations were vain, and they themselves were in the position of one of Thomas Ingoldsby's heroes, who saw that : " Nought could be done nought could be said ; So my Lord Tomnoddy went home to bed." No thoughtful and observant Englishman could have entertained any doubt as to the demonstration London would furnish on such an occasion before the world. As might have been expected the metropolis 1 56 Chartist Demonstration. presented a firm, peaceful, and majestic union of all classes in defence of constitutional liberty and order. Roused by an insult, rather than an alarm, yet warned by many examples of the calamity which an hour might bring forth, no fewer than a hundred thousand men of peace, from every walk and con- dition of life, stood up for the supremacy of law; and chiefly for that free and uncontrolled exercise of legislative discretion by which our constitution has so often resisted and survived the alternate encroach- ments of royal and anarchical despotism. England on that memorable day gave a grand and instructive proof how much her strength excels that of vast armies, and her liberty that of specious republics. It was well said at the time that " for the sake of a spectacle so sublime, and at this moment so pre- eminently instructive to Europe, we may easily endure the menace that has provoked it." It should be remembered that there were 1 50,000 special constables, a large proportion of whom were composed of the working classes, spontaneously enrolled against this physical-power movement, and thus testifying to its dangerous and reprehensible character. All these trustworthy men of every party took an oath to defend the peace, and were ready to wield a truncheon, or, if needful, to grasp a sword, in its defence. I preserve my constable's staff, pro- vided for me by the government on the occasion, and I am as proud of it as any Field Marshal may be of his baton. Chartist Demonstration. 157 Good citizens, however, must not often have to provide against such a threatened revolution, nor must London be reduced to a state of siege every time a band of misguided men threaten either " moral " or " physical " demonstrations. Almost the entire population of the metropolis was obliged to suspend its ordinary occupations, and lose a day to industry and improvement. The military move- ments, and other necessary preparations were not without serious outlay, but perhaps the event was worth the cost, though we do not want another. If such things occurred often, it would indicate " some- thing rotten in the state of Denmark," and we must seek a cheaper, less troublesome, and more summary way of suppressing, and putting down such a nuisance. Let us, as citizens, avoid the crimes that have destroyed famous nations, and preserve and transmit to coming centuries the great inheritance we have received from a noble ancestry. Our country is worthy of our love, and worthy of our pride. My own motto is : " Be England what she will, With all her faults, she is my country still." CHAPTER XI. THE COPYRIGHT ACT, AND ITS SPECIAL RELATION TO THE LIBRARY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. HERE are few things that tend more to the diffusion of literature than the protection of literary men, by giving them a legal property in the printed productions of their brain. Throughout the entire compass and variety of the products of human labour, not one is more exclusively individual than intellec- tual work. In the fabrication and production of almost all other property, the materials are supplied, directly or indirectly, by the natural treasures of the earth or the water ; and man does but co-operate with nature in furnishing the article. But a poem, a history, an oration, or a treatise of any description, as well as an oratorio or a simple song set to music, or a painting or an engraving, is the offspring of the brain, and as much the private property of its author as gold in the Bank of England, or merchandize of any kind in the markets of the world. Though the The Copyright Act. 159 abstract right to the products of intellectual labour is so just and indisputable, it is however among the latest rights of property recognised in a community, since the subject of it, the product itself, is only the result of a somewhat advanced state of civilization. Another reason probably for its not attracting more practical attention is its abstract and incorporeal nature, and also in many cases the extreme difficulty of exactly defining and identifying it, and deciding what is an infringement of this right of property. The question, whether an author has, of common right and independently of any special statute in his favour, a property in the products of the labour of his mind, as unquestionable and absolute as any other producer has in those of the labour of the hands, has been frequently discussed in our courts of law, and there are some memorable and celebrated cases that might be referred to. My purpose, how- ever, in this chapter, is more especially to show the relation of the various copyright acts that have been passed to the library of the British Museum, and also to indicate some of the difficulties that surround the subject. One of these difficulties that meet the law-makers is, the term or length of time during which an author is to hold the right of exclusive property in his lite- rary productions. By the statute of 8 Anne, c. 19, authors had an exclusive copyright " for the term of fourteen years and no longer." Notwithstanding the limitation of the right to that term, by the statute, it 160 The Copyright Act. had been held in divers cases subsequently decided, that the property of the author, or that of his repre- sentatives, continued after the expiration of the fourteen years; and accordingly, in 1739, Lord Chancellor Hardwicke granted an injunction against a person, not the original proprietor, for printing Milton's " Paradise Lost," the title to the copyright of which was derived by the proprietor, under an assignment by Milton, seventy-two years before. In the case relating to the copyright of Thomson's " Seasons," three of the judges, namely, Lord Mans- field, and Justices Aston and Willes, were of opinion that the exclusive right of property continued after the expiration of fourteen years from the first pub- lication, as limited by the statute of Queen Anne, and such was the decision of the court. By a law passed in the 54th year of George III. chapter 156, an author was entitled to an exclusive copyright in his work for twenty-eight years, and, if he was living at the end of that period, it was con- tinued during his life. The present Copyright Act, passed in the 5 & 6 of Victoria, chapter 45, which came into force on the ist of July, 1842, gives the exclusive right to the author and his assigns for the life of the author, and for seven years after his death, and should such term expire before the end of forty- two years from first publication, the copyright shall endure for such term of forty-two years. It also provides that a book published after the death of an author shall enjoy copyright for forty-two years. The Copyright Act. 161 In a late case, " Jarrold v. Hey wood," Vice-Chan- cellor James delivered judgment for the defendant, whose counsel argued that, " every book published is published for the use of the whole world ; that every one may use it to add to his store of know- ledge, to enlarge and rectify his perceptions, to sug- gest to him ideas and thoughts, to correct his con- clusions, to furnish him with principles and facts, and to aid him in making just deductions from the one, and inductions from the other. Nor is a man the less entitled to do this because he is himself to write on the same or a similar subject ; nor is such a writer precluded from learning method, or style, or manner, or obtaining illustrations, or rhetorical ornament, or acquiring any other art or grace of literary compo- sition from any previous work." One would imagine that what has been just cited would give pretty free scope for a writer's use of the labours of those who have gone before him in the path, of literature. It is, however, somewhat amusing to hear our American friends talk of the rights of literary or intellectual property. They tell us that, " neither the Roman nor the common law, the foundation of the modern jurisprudence of all civilized nations, know such terms as ' intellectual ' or ' literary property ; ' neither are they found in the positive laws of modern times; that they are not well-defined legal terms, but are merely accepted by common consent as terms expressive of certain ideas, and have been established to a certain extent by M 1 62 The Copyright Act. usage. Consequently, the right so denominated, has no established position in the legal code, which would so limit or define it as to put it on an equality with other acknowledged rights vested by law in indi- viduals." They tell us further that, " the term ' pro- perty' itself is, in fact, only applicable to material substances, over which the owner has a perfect and exclusive control, of which he can at his pleasure dispose, and which he can alter or destroy at will." These qualities, they coolly affirm, " do not apper- tain to what is termed literary or intellectual pro- perty. A person's ideas or thoughts are his intellec- tual property only so long as they remain unuttered and unknown to others ; but the moment he commu- nicates them to the public by speech, designs, writing, or any other mode, they cease to be his exclusive property, and belong thenceforth to the community at large." They define the term "intellectual pro- perty " as " a man's thoughts and ideas, as long as they are not made public. The creations of. the poet, the results of philosophical experiments, the ideas of the inventor, the patterns of the manufacturer or designer, are all intellectual property until made the common property of everybody by verbal or written description, design, model, or any other mode. Once published and the poet has no legal claim upon his poem ; neither has the chemist upon his discoveries, neither the inventor upon the benefits of his inven- tion ; nor the designer upon his patterns ; all these thoughts and ideas cease to be the property of the The Copyright Act. 163 individual, and become by publicity the property of the many." As far as books are concerned, our American friends remark that " few works are really the intel- lectual property of the authors. Most of them merely recount facts and thoughts which were previously announced or expressed by others, consequently they are already common property, and are now again communicated in another form. Our century is rich in works on the natural sciences, but few of them contain anything not already discovered by the fer- tile brain of a Humboldt, a Cuvier, a Linnaeus, and other great thinkers. The majority are merely repro- ductions of the intellectual property of these great discoverers in science. The standard historical works of Macaulay, Bancroft, Motley, and Prescott contain no new facts, but only present in a new shape a narrative of events previously known to mankind, and consequently are common property. So, also, with the works of poets and novelists ; they enlarge on themes either from history or upon such subjects as are brought under their notice by observation of men and life in their various phases. Very little intellectual property is found in any modern work, but instead, reproduction, i. e. representation of old facts and thoughts in a new dress." Such is a specimen of the way in which some of our transatlantic brethren view the productions of our great writers ; and make free use of them to fill their shops with our best books, and enrich them- 164 The Copyright Act. selves at the cost of our hard-working thinkers and writers. It should never be lost sight of in the con- test that is raging on both sides of the Atlantic be- tween rival publishers, who claim certain exclusive rights of publication in the works of alien authors, that an English writer has at present no rights what- ever in the United States of America. It may, however, be stated in the words of Lord Westbury, that " there is no better criterion of the progress of a nation in civilization and intellectual cul- ture than the respect and protection afforded by its laws to works of literature and art works which were the noblest possible addition to the wealth of a country, but the production of which was greatly dependent in modern times at least on the protection given to men of genius. Such works, moreover, as pos- sessing the essential attributes of property, ought surely to enjoy the protection extended to other species of property he could indeed imagine nothing which had a more complete title to be considered property than works of literature and art, for they were the pure creation of mind. These creatures of mind were more valued and respected in other coun- tries than in our own ; in England literature and art were protected in the most imperfect and grudging manner." The noble and learned lord continues "No attempt was made in England to give, or rather create, copyright until 1714; nor as regarded works of art until 1735. In 1714, literary copyright for fourteen years was established ; this was afterwards The Copyright Act. 165 extended to twenty-eight years, or for the life of the author; and in 1842, thanks to Mr. Justice Talfourd and Lord Stanhope, to forty-two years, or to seven years beyond the author's life, whichever happened to be the longer period. In 1862 protection was given to paintings, engravings, and photographs for the author's life, and a period of seven years afterwards." Such are the just and enlightened sentiments of a man not only eminent for his legal knowledge, but equally distinguished for his taste for art. The quo- tations with which I have enriched my pages are from a speech by Lord Westbury in the House of Lords, April 30, 1869, on introducing the " Fine Arts Copyright Consolidation Bill (No. 2)." We have nine or ten different statutes in the law of copyright ; and these statutes might be gathered together, made consistent with each other, and embodied in one con- solidated act. Lord Westbury's Bill provided that authors should have a copyright in their works for the term of their natural lives, and for thirty years subsequently. The proposed bill did not interfere with the rights of the Trustees of the British Museum under the Act of 1842, respecting the de- livery of books to that institution. The bill, on its second reading, was referred to a select committee, comprising most of the learned and literary mem- bers of the House of Lords, and will, it is to be hoped, at no distant time, become incorporated in our national statutes. 1 66 The Copyright Act. I fear, however, that I have dwelt too long on the " Copyright Act " as it relates to authors, and must, therefore, turn to the practical way in which it affects the library of the British Museum. I have before mentioned that my father was collector of publica- tions claimable under the " Copyright Act," which appointment he received from the Archbishop of Canterbury on the 28th of January, 1834. He held the appointment, and faithfully discharged its duties, from that date to his death in 1847, when the duty was transferred to Mr. John Colly er Knight, a clerk in the secretary's office at the time, and author of " The Pentateuchal Narrative vindicated from the absurdities charged against it by the Bishop of Natal," and other works on biblical criticism. The Keeper of the Printed Books, strangely enough, had then nothing whatever to do with the act but to receive the publications when they were transferred to the library from the secretary's office. The royal com- mission appointed to enquire into the management and affairs of the Museum rectified many of the anomalies that existed there up to that time ; and, among other alterations effected by that commission, was this, that the Keeper of the Printed Books should henceforth have the entire management and control of the provisions of the " Copyright Act " relating to the delivery of publications at the British Museum. Since the death of my father, in 1847, I had often looked wistfully at the office of receiver of copyright The Copyright Act. 167 publications ; but, as it was a post not connected with the library department, I had no chance of suc- ceeding to it. I felt that I possessed some qualifica- tions for this duty, having not only been connected with the bookselling trade from my earliest days, but, having already discharged the office of collector for two of the privileged libraries entitled to publications under the Act, namely, King's College, Aberdeen, and Trinity College, Dublin, for more than ten years, so that I was fully acquainted with all the practical details of the work. As soon as a fitting opportunity presented itself, the Keeper of the Printed Books, Mr. Panizzi, with- out any application on my part, very kindly recom- mended me to the Trustees for the appointment, and promoted Mr. Knight to be an assistant in the library in the preparation of the new catalogue, a work for which he was admirably adapted, not only from his acquaintance with the classic languages, of which he had been a teacher for many years previously to his connection with the Museum, but also for his know- ledge of general literature. The work was most congenial to me, and the posi- tion the appointment gave me in the library was in advance of that which I had before occupied. The salary of the receiver at that time (March, 1854) was but a few pounds a year more than I received in my former position in the library ; but the hours of attendance were lessened, and my annual vacation increased. I gave myself to the discharge of my 1 68 The Copyright Act. new duties most heartily and unreservedly ; I was fond of the work, as well as desirous of evincing gratitude for my promotion, to the head of my depart- ment, who had selected me for the office. I may here take occasion to remark, for the encouragement especially of younger colleagues, that I never sought any of the promotions which have been successively conferred upon me. I have tried, for nearly forty years, to do the best I could, in whatever work I was engaged, and I have always found my humble labours both recognized and rewarded. It is interesting to trace the origin and character of that portion of the statute law of England relating to copyright. It appears that the first obligation to give copies of a work to any party was imposed by the 13 & 14 Car. II. c. 33, s. 17, by which it was enacted, " That every printer shall reserve three printed copies, on the best and largest paper, of every new book printed or reprinted by him with additions, and shall, before any public vending of the same book, bring them to the Master of the Company of Stationers, and deliver them to him, one whereof shall be de- livered to the Keeper of His Majesty's Library, and the other two shall be sent to the Vice-Chancellors of the two Universities respectively for the use of the public libraries of the said Universities." The 17 Car. II. c. 4, continued this statute, with the following additions : " The Master of the Stationers' Com- pany shall send them (the copies) to the libraries ten days after receiving them ; and if the printer shall not The Copyright Act. 169 deliver the copies, or the Master of the Stationers' Company shall not remit them within ten days, then they shall forfeit each ^5, besides the value of the books, the same to be recovered by His Majesty and by such University," &c. This act was allowed to expire in May, 1679; but it was revived by the i Jac. II. c. 17, for seven years, and, further, to the end of the next session of Parliament; and then again by the 4 W. & M. c. 24, s. 15, for a year from Feb. 13, 1692, and thence to the end of the next session of Parliament ; when, after a disagreement and a conference between the two Houses, the Lords having yielded, it was allowed to expire at the end of the session, that is, on the 25th of April, 1694. Such was the state of the law when it was dis- covered that literary property was openly and fre- quently pirated ; a remedy was called for, and urged upon the Legislature in 1703, 1706, and 1709. On the nth of January, 1709, a bill was introduced by Mr. Wortley, whether for securing the property to the rightful owners, or for giving them that property, is not quite clear. The bill was entitled, " A Bill for the encouragement of learning, and for securing the property of copies of books to the rightful owners thereof ; " which title, when the bill passed the Com- mons, was altered to " An Act for the encouragement of learning, by vesting the copies of printed books in the authors, or purchasers of such copies, during the time therein mentioned." This is the 8 Ann. c. 19 ; the fifth section of which enacted : " That nine copies 170 The Copyright Act. of each book or books, upon the best paper, that from and after the loth day of April, 1710, shall be printed and published as aforesaid, or reprinted and published with additions, shall, by the printer and printers thereof, be delivered to the warehouse- keeper of the Company of Stationers for the time being, at the Hall of the said Company, before such publication, for the use of the royal library, the libra- ries of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the libraries of the four universities in Scotland, the library of Sion College in London, and the library commonly called the library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh respectively ; which said warehouse-keeper is hereby required, within ten days after demand by the keepers of the respective libra- ries, or any person or persons by them or any of them authorized to demand the same copy, to deliver the same for the aforesaid libraries." In order to evade this act, publishers entered only the title of a part, or a volume of any work, as it was generally understood that the claims could be en- forced only as to the part or volume entered, and that the nine copies of no other volume or part could be claimed : the act saying that the right was given to books printed and published " as aforesaid," which words, it was contended, were to apply to such books only as were entered at Stationers' Hall, according to the second section of the said act. With a view to remedy this evil, advantage was taken of the op- portunity which was offered by the passing of the The Copyright Act. 171 15 George III. cap. 33, for securing to the Univer- sities and the Colleges of Eton, Westminster, and Winchester the perpetual copyright of the works be- longing to them. The sixth section of that act acknowledges that the fifth section of the 8th of Anne, quoted above, had been eluded ; after reciting it, it enacts, " that no one shall be subject to the penalties in the statute of Queen Anne for printing a book without the consent of the author, unless the title of the copy of the whole, and every volume be entered in the register of the Company of Stationers, and unless nine copies shall be actually delivered to the warehouse-keeper, for the use of the several libraries in the said act (of Anne) mentioned." This enactment was supposed to show that the legis- lature considered the act of Anne to imply nothing more than that the printer was obliged to send to Stationers' Hall nine copies of such books only as the proprietor had entered, and not of any other book which had not been so entered. After the union with Ireland, the works of English writers having been till then reprinted in that country with impunity, and vice versa, it was thought requi- site to extend the copyright of authors over the whole of the United Kingdom ; on the gth of June, 1801, a bill was brought in for that purpose, and a clause in- troduced, with the object of giving to the library of Trinity College, Dublin, the same right with that already enjoyed by the English and Scotch Univer- sities. In the progress of this bill through the Upper 172 The Copyright Act. House, an addition of another copy for the King's Inns, Dublin, was made. The sixth section of this statute (41 George III. cap. 107), enacts, "That in addition to the nine copies now required by law to be delivered to the warehouse-keeper of the Com- pany of Stationers, of each and every book and books which shall be entered in the register book of the said company, one other copy shall be in like manner delivered for the use of the library of the College of the Holy Trinity, of Dublin, and also one other copy for the use of the library of the King's Inns, Dublin, by the printer of every such book as shall hereafter be printed and published, and the title to the copy- right whereof shall be entered in the register book of the said company." This strengthened the general impression, that no printer was bound to deliver any copy of a book the title of which had not been entered at Stationers' Hall. In an action, however, brought by the University of Cambridge against Bryer, the question having arisen, and a case being drawn up for the opinion of the court, it was held that the University of Cambridge (and so the other bodies who had a right to it) was entitled to a copy of every book, whether or not it had been previously entered at Stationers' Hall. This decision, with the augmentation of the number of copies to be delivered, thus increased from three to eleven, gave rise to considerable dissatisfaction, and enlisted the feelings of the public to a great extent in favour of authors and publishers, who were The Copyright Act. 173 deemed heavily taxed, and in an unfair manner, to the great discouragement of learning, by acts of Par- liament passed expressly for its encouragement. A committee of the House of Commons having col- lected evidence as to what could be done to remedy this state of things, an act was passed on the 2 9th of July, 1814 (54 Geo. III. c. 156), by which the de- livery of the copies to the eleven corporations speci- fied in the 41 Geo. III. c. 107, was ordered to be effected within one month after the book had been demanded in writing of the publisher, which demand was to be made within twelve months of the time of publication ; with this proviso, that any action under this act was to be brought within twelve months from the day of the offence, or else be void. This act has been recently so far modified by the 5 and 6 Viet. c. 45, as to make it binding on every publisher, to deliver a copy of every book to the British Museum, within one, three, or twelve months from the day of publication, according as it is published in London, any other part of the United Kingdom, or any part of our Colonial possessions. It will now be easy to estimate the advantages which the National Library has derived from the law of copyright. Before the 8th of Anne the Copyright Act was only occasionally in force, and did not answer its end. We learn from Bentley, that when he became Keeper of the Royal Library, he found that the law had not been observed, and that nearly a thousand volumes were at one time due to it, which 174 The Copyright Act. he obtained by applying to Stationers' Hall. The books, however, were not better supplied subsequently to this, for it is mentioned in a document printed, it would seem, between 1714 and 1717, and then ex- isting unbound in the Royal Library, that nearly the same number as stated by Bentley to have been claimed and obtained by him about the year 1694, were successfully collected and added to the royal collection under the statute before mentioned. In the same document, also, it is stated, that neither purchase nor binding took place "for the last 60 years." This very curious and important document, by which it is proved that the Royal Library was intended for the public, deserves to be known, and may be found in the Appendix (D) to a Parliamentary Paper ordered by the House of Commons to be printed, 27th March, 1846, entitled, "Copy of a Representation from the Trustees of the British Museum to the Treasury, on the subject of an enlarged scale of expenditure for the supply of Printed Books, with Treasury minute thereon." At a comparatively recent period, when a collector was specially employed to demand copies due to the Museum, in pursuance of the 54th Geo. III., although more works were obtained than titles were entered at Stationers' Hall, the law was still evaded in a scan- dalous manner. On this subject, as far as the Museum is concerned, it is only necessary to refer to Mr. Baber's evidence before the Committee of the House of Com- mons in 1836. In the course of his examination Mr. The Copyright Act. 175 Baber said : " With respect to the number of articles that are entered at Stationers' Hall, taking the year 1835, there were 931 articles entered at the Hall, and 2,263 which they would have cheated us of, if we had not had a collector to obtain them. The money value of the books entered was ^317. 165. 88;i. From this time the number of articles delivered began steadily to increase, and the publishers in London, as well as in the provinces, began to be fully aware that the administration of the Act was now in the hands of a man who would see that the rights of the Trustees were properly attended to, and also that the students in the Reading Room should no longer have any just cause of complaint at not finding in the library works to which the British Museum was en- titled under the Copyright Act. It is not to be wondered at that publishers who had systematically neglected to comply with the pro- visions of the Act, should endeavour to raise an out- cry among members of the trade, as well as with the general public, against the man who had the mis- fortune to be obliged to appear against them from time to time before a justice of the peace, in order to compel their compliance with the requirements of the The Copyright Act. 1 79 statute. It has been truly observed by an eminent legal authority, 1 in a communication that appeared in one of our leading literary organs relating to the matter, that " If an Act of Parliament gives the public certain rights, no one is justified in complaining if those rights are enforced, least of all should those be considered obnoxious to blame who are bound by their duty to enforce them. What would be said of the officers of the British Museum were they to allow the rights of the public to be lost or to become obsolete ? Indeed, what is said by those who do not find any particular copyright book they may want in the Library of the Museum ? They say, the book is due under the Copyright Act, and you have neglected your duty in not enforcing its delivery. When the delivery of books is enforced, do the same people say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant ?' I fear not. ... If it be desirable that a copy of every publication in the United Kingdom should be de- posited in the British Museum, there are but two courses by which this object can be attained : gra- tuitous delivery by the booksellers, or purchase out of the public purse. At present the former course is that ordered to be adopted by Act of Parliament, and it is extremely ill-advised to use the mildest terms to attempt to evade that order, and then to vilify the officer whose duty it may happen to be to enforce obedience to it. "It has been said that the mode of enforcing com- : _ _ : r 1 Mr. Serjeant Parry. 180 The Copyright Act. pliance has been harsh and severe, looking to the trifling value of the books claimed. The proceedings themselves, however, show that this charge is not well founded ; every defaulter has been warned be- fore being summoned, most of those summoned have been defaulters of long standing, and to a very con- . siderable extent. And as to the question of value, Mr. Panizzi and the solicitors to the Trustees have repeatedly stated at the hearings before the magis- trates, that books of small price have been purposely selected as the subjects of informations, in order that the penalties might fall as lightly as possible on the offenders. It is hardly fair that considerations of this kind should be misconstrued into oppression. But the summons acts in a two-fold manner, not only as a warning to the person against whom the informa- tion is laid, but also to others who may be in arrear ; and I am told that after every conviction there is an influx of deliveries from other booksellers, each of whom may very naturally anticipate that he may be the next person summoned. I understand that not long ago one publisher alone delivered no less than a hundred and fifty-three articles on the morning on which the conviction of another defaulter appeared in the newspapers. I also look to such a record as that of the Copyright Office of the British Museum, con- ducted as the business of it now is, as affording most curious and interesting particulars of the development of the publishing trade of the United Kingdom." SuN 1866, Mr. Panizzi began to feel in- dications of the need of repose after the earnest and unflagging application of all the powers of his active mind in the service of the public for a period of thirty-five years. The same energy and ability which marked his career as Keeper of the Printed Books charac- terized him as Principal Librarian. Many subjects out of the ordinary routine of his duties had de- manded his attention, of which the most important was the question of space for the constantly growing collections. Although the new Reading-Room and its adjuncts had done much towards making pro- vision for the increase of the Library, the other departments remained as much inconvenienced by want of room as before. Further Appointments, etc. 249 Mr. Panizzi, in his evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1835-6, expressed his opinion that it would be for the advantage of the Museum, and of Natural History, that the collections then under the roof of Montague House, should be separated, and the portion relating to Natural History be removed elsewhere. This opinion he always con- scientiously maintained, and repeatedly urged ; and a plan, which he drew, embracing alterations and additions to the present Museum building, to adapt it for the collections of art and literature after the re- moval of those relating to Natural History, was gene- rally approved of by the Trustees and the Govern- ment. The principle of separation had thus been adopted by a majority of the Trustees, and also by the Government, but the sanction of the House of Commons had not yet been given to it. It depended upon that decision whether the study of Natural History should be worthily promoted in this country, or be cramped and checked by retaining the col- lections which are necessary for its development as a portion of the great National Museum, where there is no room for them, instead of giving them a ca- pacious home of their own. It has, however, now been definitely decided that this separation shall take place, and the plans for the new Museum of Natural History to be erected at Kensington, have been prepared and accepted by the Government and the House of Commons, and in a few years the building will be ready for the recep- 250 Further Appointments, etc. tion of the fine collections that are now crowded in the galleries of the British Museum. It will be a great loss to the present establish- ment when the day comes that Professor Owen, the Superintendent of the Natural History Department, and his staff, take their departure from the British Museum for Kensington. The world-known Hun- terian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons, and the most distinguished physiologist and com- parative anatomist of our day, is not more illustrious for his great scientific attainments than for the cour- teous and kindly manner in which he treats every one at the British Museum, and especially those who occupy the humbler positions in the establishment. Professor Owen, though a man of the highest order of intellect, and one whose name has long been of European and world-wide celebrity, is at the same time so gentle and affable in his unvarying simplicity and amiableness of character, that you almost forget his intellectual greatness while you are conversing with him. When he takes the Directorship of the new Museum at Kensington, he will leave behind him in Great Russell Street many who, while they gratefully remember his brilliant career as a natural philosopher, and how much he has added to the fame and useful- ness of the British Museum, will yet think of him much more for the many social qualities that have distinguished him in his daily intercourse with those who had the honour and privilege of holding inter- course with him. Further Appointments, etc. 251 Upon Mr. Panizzi's resignation being laid before the Trustees, they recommended him for super- annuation to the favourable consideration of the House of Commons, who adopted their recom- mendation in the following resolution, which I copy from Hansard's " Parliamentary Debates," of 27th July, 1866 : " In consideration of the long and very valuable services of Mr. Panizzi, including not only his indefatigable labours as Principal Librarian, but also the service which he rendered as architect of the new Reading- Room, the Trustees recommend that he should be allowed to retire on full salary after a discharge of his duties for thirty-four years." On this resolution becoming known, Mr. Sydney Smirke, son of Sir Robert Smirke, R.A., (architect to the Trustees for the erection of the commence- ment of the new building, in which office he was succeeded on his death by his son) wrote to the " Times" denying that Mr. Panizzi was the architect of the Reading- Room, and claiming that honour for himself. To this Mr. Panizzi replied through the same organ in the following terms : " SIR, My impressions of the facts connected with the erection of the new Library and Reading- Room at the British Museum differ somewhat from Mr. Smirke's. I never claimed to be the architect of that building ; what I claim is, to have originated a plan which has been ably carried out by Mr. Smirke and Mr. Fielder, under my own eyes and constant super- intendence, even to its minutest details. My object 252 Further Appointments, etc. was to provide a useful building, fit for the reception of a great Library, and for the comfortable accom- modation of a large number of readers. I believe, I have succeeded, and I am amply rewarded by the praise bestowed on me during more than ten years without any objection on Mr. Smirke's part." Mr. Panizzi has always had his detractors, as is the case with every successful man of more than ordinary ability, but on the other hand, his superior merits have as frequently been acknowledged. I am glad in illustration of this to quote from an able article in the "Quarterly Review." 1 "To this dis- tinguished foreigner England owes a debt of lasting gratitude. By his learning, his sagacity, his energy, and his firmness, he succeeded, in the face of great opposition, in noting and supplying the enormous deficiencies in the numerous different classes of works, and in perfecting the complicated arrangements which so vast a collection entailed. It is doubtful whether any man in Europe possessed the peculiar combina- tion of powers for his position in an equal degree the knowledge, the bibliographical lore, the adminis- trative talent, the undaunted perseverance, and the ability to expound and enforce his views. He has rendered the Library one of the finest in the world." The same Review in a subsequent article upon the British Museum, says 2 : 1 Vol. civ. p. 206. * " Quarterly Review," vol. cxxiv. pp. 161, and 178, 9. Further Appointments, etc. 253 "In 1852 the idea of constructing the Reading- Room was conceived by Mr. Panizzi, and about 1858 the building issued forth, full grown, from the brain of the British Museum Jupiter, armed at all points against criticism the largest, best built, best lighted, best arranged, and really the most beautiful apartment the world has yet seen. Moreover, the only structure erected in London, within the memory of man, which has escaped censure." * ' * " We may be permitted to advert more particu- larly to a distinguished name which is indissolubly connected with the fame and fortunes of the British Museum, and to which frequent mention has been made in this article. Like a self-satisfied people, as in some respects we are, we have been apt to merge our pride in the possession of Mr. Panizzi, as the head of this National Institution, in the admiration of our own good sense in having placed him there. One result of those public commissions, one compen- sation for their frequent fruitlessness, is the faithful record they incidentally preserve of the individuality of such men as Mr. Panizzi. In these answers before his peers better than in any writings, speeches, or notes of conversation, posterity will trace the power, judgment, clearness, firmness, and even the wit of the great magnate of learning, who has borne the Museum through stormy times on his Atlas-like shoulders." On its becoming known that Mr. Panizzi was about to retire from the office of Principal Librarian, 254 Further Appointments, etc. a subscription was at once set on foot in the Library to present him with some fitting testimonial of the high appreciation of the manner in which his manage- ment of the department had been discharged. It was decided that a portrait of the late Keeper should be painted by a distinguished artist, and Mr. Panizzi accordingly was good enough to give Mr. George Frederick Watts, R.A., several sittings in order that it might be executed forthwith. This portrait when finished was exhibited in the Royal Academy, in 1868, and is considered to be a good likeness, though to those of us who knew Mr. Panizzi in the prime and vigour of his life, it seems deficient in the ex- pression of his earnest and intellectual face. Of this presentation portrait, Mr. Algernon Swin- burne says, in " Notes on the Royal Academy Ex- hibition, 1868:" "I know not if even Mr. Watts has ever painted a nobler portrait than this of Mr. Panizzi ; it recalls the majestic strength and depth of Maroni's work ; there is the same dominant power of hand and keenness of eye, the same breadth and subtlety of touch, the same noble reticence of colour." Another art-critic, Mr. W. M. Rosetti, says of the same picture in the work above-named : " That this is about the finest portrait of the year, need scarcely be specified, Mr. Watts being its author. It was presented to Mr. Panizzi by the officers of the British Museum on his retirement, and happily ex- presses, in the sitter, great powers of work, long in active exercise, and now in well earned repose." Further Appointments, etc. 255 On his final retirement from public life, Mr. Panizzi addressed the following letter to his suc- cessor in the Principal Librarianship : " British Museum, i6th July, 1866. DEAR JONES, I cannot leave the Museum and close my official connexion with those whom I have had the honour and pleasure of serving the Trustees with for so many years, without returning to all and each of them, individually, my warmest thanks for the efficient help which I have received from them in the discharge of my duties. " Although conscious of having at all times acted to the best of my ability, and only for the advantage of the Museum, and of those connected with it, I wish to add that if I have ever given unnecessary pain to any one I regret it most sincerely, and trust that credit will be given to me for having been uni- formly influenced solely by a sense of duty. " Allow me to request that you will bring this communication to the individual knowledge of every person in your department. I shall always take the warmest interest in their future happiness, and shall never cease to feel the sincerest regard for them. " Believe me, Dear Jones, " Yours truly, "A. PANIZZI." Mr. Panizzi has been so much occupied in pro- 256 Further Appointments, etc. viding literary materials for others that he has had little leisure for literary labours himself. His works, however, are : i. An Elementary Italian Grammar, 1 2 mo. London, 1828. 2. Extracts from Italian Prose Writers, 12 mo. London, 1828. 3. Orlando Furioso di Bojardo, Orlando Furioso di Ariosto, with an Essay on the Romantic Narrative Poetry of the Italians, Memoirs, and Notes ; 9 vols. 8vo., London, 1830-34. 4. Sonetti e Canzoni di Bojardo, edited with Notes, 4to. London, 1835 ; printed for private circulation. 5. On the Supply of Printed Books from the Library to the Reading- Room, 8vo. London, 1 846 ; printed for private circulation. 6. A Short Guide to that portion of the printed books [in the British Museum] now open to the public, i2mo London, 1851. 7. Che era Francesco da Bologna? i6mo. London, 1858 ; an Essay to prove that Fran- cesco da Bologna, the artist who cut the types for Aldus, was the celebrated painter Francia : printed for private circulation. 8. Le prime quattro edizioni della Divina Commedia ; letteralmente ristampate per cura di G. G. Warren, Lord Vernon ; edited by A. Panizzi ; fol. London, 1858. He has also con- tributed articles to the " Quarterly," " Edinburgh," " Foreign Quarterly," and " North British" Reviews. The honorary degree of D C.L. was conferred upon Mr. Panizzi by the University of Oxford : the honour of Knighthood was offered to him some years since, but was then respectfully declined. He was, however, gazetted on the 27th July, 1869, as, Sir Further Appointments, etc. 257 Anthony Panizzi, K.C.B. On leaving his official residence at the British Museum, he removed to Bloomsbury Square, where he now resides, sur- rounded by some of his much-loved books, and numerous friends, enjoying the rest and leisure so well earned, and so much needed, after his lengthened and eventful life spent in the public service " Where may he live to crown A youth of labour with an age of ease." No little anxiety was felt at the British Museum, and in the Library especially, as to the vacant ap- pointment of Principal Librarian. Mr. Jones had been acting more than once as " Assistant- Principal- Librarian" during the necessary absences of Sir Anthony Panizzi, and therefore, in the department of Printed Books, it was feared that we should lose our much esteemed keeper; and yet the wish was naturally a strong one, that Mr. Jones should succeed to the chief office in the Museum. Some few months intervened between the resignation of Sir Anthony and the appointment of his successor, and when it was known upon whom had fallen the selection of the principal Trustees and the Royal favour, the congratulations were most hearty and unanimous. In Mr. Jones we knew we should have a kind and courteous chief; and one, who, while he administered with even-handed justice the affairs of the Museum, would never be forgetful of the claims of the depart- ment where he had spent all his previous official life, and the staff of which cherished towards him s 258 Further Appointments, etc. so much respect and esteem. Some years have now passed since that event took place ; and it is the general fueling, not only in the Library, but in the entire establishment, that the high duties of the station could not be discharged with greater ame- nity and efficiency than by the present Principal Librarian. On Sir Anthony Panizzi's promotion to the Prin- cipal Librarianship in 1857, Mr. Watts was made one of the Assistant Keepers of the Department of Printed Books. By an order of the Trustees, dated March 28th of the same year, it was directed that the senior Assistant- Keeper in the Library should be transferred to the chief superintendence of the new Reading-Room ; that the preservation of the books used by the readers, as well as the preservation of order in the room, should be mainly entrusted to him, as well as the enforcement of all the necessary regulations respecting the readers and the servants of the Trustees connected with the room. In addi- tion to these duties, he was directed, " above all, to afford every assistance in his power to readers in their pursuits." This was a great boon to the readers, but no small loss to Mr. Watts, and also to our department, as he was of necessity taken from his work of arranging and placing the new acqui- sitions in the Library, so that from that source he was cut off from gaining information through per- sonal inspection of the many thousand volumes annually added to the collection. The readers had, Further Appointments, etc. 259 however, for six hours every day "the services of a gentleman whose intimate acquaintance with the Museum collections, extensive knowledge of his own and foreign countries, and acquirements as a linguist rarely to be met with, rendered him peculiarly fitted to carry out the chief objects of the Trustees." The very numerous applications made to Mr. Watts as superintendent showed the importance of the ap- pointment, and with what judgment the Trustees acted in the selection of their officer. Some of the inquiries made of Mr. Watts were rather amusing : he once told me that the first question put to him by a reader, on taking his seat in the room, was, as to where he might find the best and most authentic illustration of Noah's ark. Mr. Watts's promotion to this office was very popular, not only within the precincts of the Mu- seum, but also throughout the literary world at large. One of the leading organs of the press, in announc- ing the appointment of Mr. Watts, remarked : " Every frequenter of the Reading- Room, and, indeed, every one who is at all acquainted with our national library, will be glad to hear of the appoint- ment of one so thoroughly fitted for the post as Mr. Watts. From the time when he entered the service of the Museum in the year 1838, he has been zealously occupied in watching over the interests of the Library, and enriching its stores. One of the first linguists of the day, and acquainted with the literature of almost every nation, Mr. Watts has been 260 Fitrther Appointments, etc. able to select the best books published in every part of the world, and thus to give to our national library a cosmopolitan character to which no similar esta- blishments abroad can pretend. In every other respect also in zeal, in activity, in courtesy to all with whom he is brought into contact every one who has ever had occasion to consult him in the Reading-Room, must feel that Mr. Watts is eminently qualified for the appointment he has received." The especial object of Mr. Watts was from the first directed to the carrying out the plan commenced by Mr. Panizzi, and continued by Mr. Jones, to make the national library of England the foremost in the world. He had stated this in a letter addressed to the Principal Librarian, before quoted, and printed by order of the House of Commons, in which he says : " The object which has been kept in view during the last three-and-twenty years has been to bring together from all quarters the useful, the elegant, and the curious literature of every language ; to unite with the best English library in England or the world, the best Russian library out of Russia, the best German out of Germany, the best Spanish out of Spain, and so for every language, from Italian to Icelandic, from Polish to Portuguese. In five of the languages in which it now claims this species of supremacy, in Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Danish, and Swedish, I believe I may say that with the exception of perhaps fifty volumes, every book that has been purchased by the Museum within the last Further Appointments, etc. 26 1 three-and-twenty years, has been purchased at my suggestion. I have the pleasure of reflecting that every future student of the less-known literatures of Europe will find riches where I found poverty ; though, of course, the collection in all these lan- guages together forms but a small proportion of the vast accumulations that have been added to the Library during your administration and that of your successor." On Mr. Watts's elevation to the Headship of the department, he continued his exertions to enrich the Library from every available source, as his prede- cessors had done, so far as the funds that were granted by Parliament would reach. Mr. Watt's career as keeper was, however, a very brief one. In the Autumn of 1869 he reluctantly left the Museum to take his annual vacation, in company with his brother and sister, for a tour in South Wales. Though he was passionately fond of natural scenery, and thoroughly enjoyed the freedom from official life and the enforced rest it gave him, yet such was his devotedness to his duties, that he had always to make a great effort to divest himself of them, not- withstanding that the uninterrupted pressure of pre- siding over a department such as that of the printed books in the British Museum, might well make a man long for the much-needed rest and refreshment of a vacation. As he was naturally a very communicative man, it was always a great treat to hear from him an account 262 Further Appointments, etc. of his vacation rambles. His conversational powers were of no ordinary kind, and as he made himself thoroughly acquainted with the different places he visited, it delighted him to recount his travels. I remember his spending a vacation in Scotland, and remaining for some time in the immediate neighbour- hood of Abbotsford, that he might leisurely visit every spot connected with Sir Walter Scott. Few men had a higher veneration for the great novelist and poet than Mr. Watts, and his marvellous memory could in an instant reproduce, not only any incident in the novels, but also all the more beautiful passages from the poems of this popular writer. Mr. Watts was emphatically a good talker. I recollect hearing him once remark that he could not get on very well with Thomas Carlyle, as the great thinker would never afford him an opportunity to talk in return. It is much to be regretted that good talkers very rarely can be patient listeners. Mr. Watts's last vacation tour was suddenly in- terrupted by an accident that he met with in alighting from a carriage at the door of the Crown Hotel at Bridgnorth. He sustained, what was considered a slight injury to his right leg. But though it was not supposed to be of a serious character, it was needful for him to remain at Bridgnorth under medical treatment for about ten days. Finding, however, that the in- jury did not yield to rest, and to the best medical aid that could be obtained in the neighbourhood, he returned to London, and summoned an eminent Fiirther Appointments, etc. 263 member of the medical profession, who ascertained that he was suffering from inflammation of the femoral vein, called plebitis. No serious consequences were apprehended, and it was thought that by entirely resting the injured limb, and abstaining from all mental labour, he would soon be able to resume his official work. On the morning of the 8th of Sep- tember, 1869, he was pronounced by the doctor to be progressing favourably towards recovery ; but at mid-day he was taken suddenly with an attack of heart-complaint that baffled medical skill, and about three o'clock in the afternoon he died. The sad event, so sudden and unlocked for, caused great sensation throughout the Museum, especially in the Library and Reading- Room. His remains were laid beside those of his mother, whom he was most devotedly attached to, at High- gate Cemetery, on the I5th of September; followed by some near members of his own family. A nu- merous assemblage of his colleagues, and many of the daily visitors to the Reading- Room, gathered around the grave. I very much regret that I was at the time too far away from London to mingle with my colleagues in this last token of dutiful respect to one whom I had known and loved for so many years. I am glad to quote, from the columns of the " Daily Telegraph," a notice, from one who knew him well, of the funeral of the late lamented Keeper : - " The remains of Mr. Watts were yesterday de- 264 Further Appointments, etc. posited at Highgate Cemetery, by the side of the mother for whom he had always entertained a pecu- liarly deep devotion. The hearse left the British Museum at half-past one o'clock, and was met at the Cemetery by a numerous assemblage of the col- leagues of the much-lamented gentleman. Among these were Mr. George Bullen, who succeeded Mr. Watts in the responsible office of Superintendent of the Reading- Room ; Dr. Birch, the erudite Keeper of Egyptian antiquities ; and Mr. Campbell Clarke ; while the burial service was read by the Rev. Frederick Laughlin, one of the librarians in the department over which the deceased gentleman presided with so much well-directed zeal. The members of Mr. Watts's family who were present we forbear even to mention ; but the attendance of so many of the employes who have been under his rule, and of the readers who have been benefited by his instruction, was too significant a proof of the esteem in which he was held to be altogether unnoticed. It is probable that no living man has so many claims on the gratitude of litterateurs. The makers of books who daily throng the Reading- Room were indebted to Mr. Watts for very much of the informa- tion for the want of which their books must have been left unmade. Having acquired a mastery of between thirty and forty languages, he held the keys wherewith to unlock stores of knowledge that must always remain closed to the great mass of mankind ; and carrying out the Horatian maxim to its fullest Further Appointments, etc. 265 extent, he took the liveliest interest in all that interested his fellow-men. It was his generous sympathy that endeared him to all the honest natures with whom he came in contact. His courtesy and his knowledge were equally at the service of all comers. The humblest of students were certain to receive from him ample instruction ; the poorest of applicants could rely upon being listened to with ready, natural courtesy. In Mr. Watts, the British Museum has lost the best-informed and the most zealous of its many able and industrious servants." For a time it could scarcely be realised that one who had been so recently among us could be gone for ever. Only a week or two previously, he had given me his usually friendly greeting as I left for my vacation ; and on returning to my duty, and looking into the well-known study with its vacant chair, I felt that I had lost one of the best friends I had in the library ; one who was at all times accessible to give any information respecting books that I might require, and who also took an almost brotherly interest in all that concerned me. I have many a time talked with him upon the subject of the volume upon which I am now engaged, and he always en- couraged me to proceed with it, with the promise that he would help me in any way he could. It is much to be regretted that so eminent a man as Mr. Watts should have left behind him, in a tan- gible form, comparatively little of his great learning and profound acquaintance with men and books. No 266 Further Appointments, etc. reference to political, historical, or religious events occurred that he did not immediately recollect all the data and circumstances connected with it, together with anecdotal stores that made him a most com- panionable man. His valuable time and extreme good nature were sometimes taken advantage of, during his presidentship of the Reading-Room, by those whose frivolous enquiries could have been as well answered by any one of the subordinate officials in the room. The real students, however, always found in Mr. Watts such a combination of vast and varied knowledge as is rarely or ever to be met with in any one man. I have occasionally seen him snub a pretentious empty-headed coxcomb as he deserved : when men of this character have pom- pously paraded the little they knew, they have been made to feel their ignorance and shallowness in accordance with their deserts. It is not generally known, even by the admirers of Mr. Watts, that he was no mean poet in addition to his other qualifications. His poetical contributions to the " Gentleman's Magazine" and other periodi- cals were not unfrequent ; and those who are inter- ested in this phase of his career will find gratification in reading some of his productions in verse that may be found in a work by his old schoolmaster Mr. Lymington, entitled " The Rhetorical Speaker," with the initials " T. W." attached to them. Having ventured to speak thus freely of one whom I feel it no small honour to have been connected Further Appointments, etc. 267 with for so many years, and to have served under as my chief for so brief a period, I shall conclude this chapter by recounting a few biographical incidents in the career of Mr. Watts, with some quotations from the many public testimonies to his eminent abilities made at his lamented death. Mr. Thomas Watts was born in London, in 1811, and at an early age was sent to an academy in the neighbourhood of Finsbury Square, kept by a Mr. Lymington. There he studied the usual branches of English education, to which in time were added Latin, Greek, and French. He was always remark- able for his fondness for reading, and he carefully studied every book that came in his way. Not only did he read, but he composed at that early period with great facility tales, essays, and verses, some of which found their way into print. He became, by universal consent, the poet of the school ; and after he left, his old master, who was an accomplished elocutionist, frequently called upon him to contribute a piece for recitation on the annual speech-day. At a very early age he contributed articles to various periodicals ; among others, he was the writer of " Notes by a Reader," published in 1830, in a work entitled " The Spirit of Literature." Our young author was not contented with making considerable progress in the languages named, but was induced,, by his unconquerable love of acquiring knowledge, to master Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, which were speedily followed by the study of Ger- 268 Further Appointments, etc. man, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic. He then turned to the Oriental tongues, and assisted by his prodigious memory and natural power of master- ing any subject he took in hand, he possessed himself of Hebrew, Arabic, Turkish, and Chinese. Not contented with these extraordinary lingual acquire- ments, he became a proficient in Russian, Polish, and Hungarian, which languages he could read with perfect fluency. He was also intimately acquainted with Welsh, Gaelic, Irish, and Bas Breton. One of the most interesting of his few published writings is " A Sketch of the History of the Welsh Language and Literature,'' re-printed from Charles Knight's " English Cyclopaedia," a copy of which he kindly gave me with his "cordial regards." His " Essay on the Hungarian Language" made him a member of the Hungarian Academy ; and his " History and Description of the British Museum," in the Cyclo- paedia before-named, is a most interesting and exhaustive production. All the languages that have been mentioned had been acquired by Mr. Watts before his appointment in the Library of the British Museum. He had been a daily student in the Reading- Room for many years, and was well known to Mr. Cates, the Superinten- dent of the room at that time, as one of the best scholars that attended there. It was Mr. Cates who introduced Mr. Watts to Mr. Baber, the Keeper of the Printed Books before Mr. Panizzi ; Mr. Baber purchased, at his recommendation, a small collection Further Appointments, etc. 269 of Russian books at a sale, and accepted Mr. Watts's offer to catalogue them as a volunteer. It was in this way that Mr. Watts was introduced to the notice of Mr. Panizzi, and this led to his appointment in the Library. Mr. Watts carefully studied the two large folio volumes containing the "Evidence and Reports of the Select Committee on the British Museum in 1835-6," and wrote shortly after this, for the " Mechanics' Magazine" some able comments upon them, which embodied several valuable suggestions for the improvement of the Museum Library. It was in the pages of this magazine that Mr. Watts proposed a new Reading- Room, which I have before alluded to. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to furnish a complete list of Mr. Watts's literary productions, as many of them were published under different names and initials, in a variety of periodical publications, comprising Biographical Dictionaries, Reviews, and Magazines. He was the writer of more than a hundred biographies of eminent men, Russian, Hun- garian, and Bohemian, in the " English Cyclopaedia," and contributed largely to the " Biographical Dic- tionary," published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. He was also a frequent contributor to the " Transactions of the Philolo- gical Society," of which he was for many years a member. The article there " On the English Language," is a particularly interesting paper, con- 270 Further Appointments, etc. taining an account of the origin and construction of our native tongue, and the probability of its becom- ing, at no very distant period, the spoken language of the entire world. The same volume of Transactions contains a notice from the pen of Mr. Watts " On Dr. Russell's Life of Cardinal Mezzofanti," which will well repay an attentive perusal, and will remind the reader that the writer himself was almost as great a linguist as the wonderful man of whom he speaks. I feel painfully conscious of having given but a very inadequate delineation of the character of a truly great and good man ; I would, however, only further add, that being possessed of a good private income, in addition to his official salary, which was never large, no one in misfortune ever appealed to him for help and was sent empty away. To my own knowledge he repeatedly sought out cases where, from unlooked- for calamity, some inadequately remunerated fellow- labourer in the Library needed aid, that he might render timely assistance in the most liberal and un- obtrusive manner. Notices of Mr. Watts appeared in the " Times," " Athenseum," " Pall Mall Gazette," and many other journals, at the time of his lamented death ; some particulars of which I have embodied in the pre- ceding account. I will, however, conclude this somewhat lengthened chapter by a couple of ex- tracts from the many tributes to his memory that crowded the columns of the periodical press, and Further Appointments, etc. 27 1 from journals that are not very likely to be known to general readers. The first is from the " Boston Daily Advertiser," an American paper, and is as follows : " If we were asked to point out three men in England to whom American literature is especially indebted, Mr. An- tonio Panizzi, Mr. Winter Jones, and Mr. Thomas Watts, of the British Museum, would be the first- named. It is to their foresight, energy, and liberal spirit that there are to be found in the Library of the British Museum to-day, three, if not four times as many American books as in any other library in Europe, or perhaps even in America Soon after 1843, when Mr. Panizzi, aided by Mr. Jones and Mr. Watts, drew up his famous report on the deficiencies of the British Museum in the lite- rature of the several countries of the world, it was found that though every English book might in time be acquired, yet the book's wanted from all parts of the world, in all languages, would soon outnumber and dwarf the English department. It was therefore thought desirable to give especial attention to the collection of American books, as if they were English ; that is, to procure them all. In 1843 a few American books were purchased, but probably at that time the whole collection of American books in the Library did not exceed a thousand volumes, nor was there at any time any just idea of the vast amount of books that had even then been produced in the United States." 272 Further Appointments, etc. "In 1845 a report on American books was drawn up, comprising a list of some ten thousand volumes not in the Library. Measures were at once taken for purchasing the entire list, and from that day to this the American department has been filling up so rapidly that now there are probably not less than a hundred thousand volumes of American books, and books relating to our country, in the British Museum, including especially all the more bulky and costly works, and not excluding pamphlets and the uncon- sidered trifles of the day. This noble work, begun by Mr. Panizzi, and steadily carried on by Mr. Jones for nearly ten years, has been pressed on by Mr. Watts during his brief administration of about three years. In 1856 the Trustees sanctioned the printing of the catalogue of the American department, which, when completed, will go far towards a history of American literature. . . Mr. Watts was the first superintendent of the new Reading- Room, a living, breathing, and answer-giving index to the vast Library of a million volumes within. He had seen the Library grow from 250,000, and as he had placed most of the authors as they arrived, none knew so well as he who they were, and where they were to be found. He held this post for nearly ten years, when, on the retirement of Mr. Panizzi in 1866, Mr. Jones succeeded to the office of Principal Librarian and Secretary to the Trustees, and Mr. Watts was soon after promoted to be the Keeper of Printed Books." Further Appointments, etc. 273 I make no apology for the length of the preceding quotation, as it not only is a just tribute to Mr. Watts, but it is also an American's estimate of our National Library, and as such will be valuable in helping the reader to grasp the idea, and in a measure to under- stand the vast importance of the particular depart- ment which it has been my object to illustrate. The other, and it is my last, quotation on this subject, is from " Triibner's American and Oriental Record," and concludes in these just and eloquent words : " There are probably few among the students, English and foreign, in the habit of using the Library during the time of Mr. Watts's tenure of office who have not had occasion to admire his vast bibliographi- cal knowledge ; or to congratulate themselves on the kindness and courtesy with which he placed it at their disposal. The late Mr. Watts was indeed a librarian among librarians, and he possessed the rare virtue of subordinating any pre-possessions of his own for some particular department of literature to the general wants of a great library, especially of one like that of the British Museum, intended by its founder to represent the literatures and sciences of all ages and of all nations in a uniform and impartial manner. And it is probably not too much to assert that, conjointly with Mr. Panizzi and Mr. Winter Jones, he helped by his intelligence, care, and unremit- ting labour, to raise the National Library to the high rank it now holds among the principal libraries in the T 274 Further Appointments, etc. world. But Mr. Watts was not solely a bibliographer, and a librarian : he was also a ripe scholar, a philo- logist, and a linguist. His knowledge extended over the whole range of Indo-European languages. . . . The country has lost in Mr. Watts a faithful servant, the circle in which he moved a kind friend, and the public an adviser ever ready to oblige and help." CHAPTER XV. CATALOGUES AND CATALOGUING IN THE LIBRARY OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM. T is not my intention to open a discus- sion on the question of Cataloguing, as that is confessedly one of the most difficult subjects connected with a large library. Should the reader be desirous of becoming enlightened upon this controverted part of the science of bibliography, he may be referred to such authori- ties as Audifreddi, Magliabecchi, Kayser, Van Praet, Hayn, Panzer, and Barbier. The evidence given before the Select Committee on the British Museum in 1835-36, and also that elicited by the Royal Com- missioners in 1848-49, contains an immense fund of information on the vexed question by such men as Sir Henry Ellis, Mr. Baber, Mr. Panizzi, Rev. Josiah Forshall, Dr. Maitland, Professor De Morgan, Pro- fessor Owen, Mr. Wilson Croker, Dr. Olinthus Gre- gory, Dr. Cureton, Mr. Bolton Corney, Mr. William Desborough Cooley, Mr. Hudson Turner, Mr. 276 Catalogues and George Soane, Mr. Henry Hallam, the author of the "Constitutional History of England" and the " Intro- duction to the Literature of Europe;" Mr. Thomas Carlyle, Sir Harris Nicolas, Mr. Payne Collier, Mr. Edward Edwards, Mr. Asher, of Berlin, Mr. Ser- jeant Parry, and a host of others ; all of whom have given much thought to the art of Cataloguing, and where the reader will find the question discussed in every possible phase. My object is rather to furnish such of my readers as may not already know the plan of cataloguing adopted in the National Library, with some brief account of the extent of those cata- logues, and of what is projected by the Trustees to make these needful accompaniments to a library as helpful as possible to those who consult them. The Museum Catalogue has been a subject of frequent discussion in the public press for many years. Articles of great ability have appeared upon the question in the " Edinburgh," " Quarterly," " North British," and other literary journals ; not unfrequently has it been the subject of discussion in the House of Commons ; and " Punch " has many times pointed his fun at the magnitude to which the Catalogue of the Museum has grown, and the pro- bable period when it may be completed. To those, however, who have looked a little beneath the surface, and have thought at all upon the subject, the question has assumed a more serious aspect, and it has been acknowledged to be a very difficult task to catalogue a large collection of books Cataloguing. 277 so as to make them most available to those who may be desirous of consulting them. As far back as 1824, the late Mr. Hartwell Home was appointed by the Trustees to superintend the preparation of a classed catalogue of the Library of the British Museum. He was ably aided in his work by the late Mr. Tidd Pratt, Sir Frederic Madden, and others ; but in 1834 his labours and those of his colleagues upon the classed-catalogue were suspended, and the Rev. Mr. Baber, the Keeper of the Printed Books at that period, was directed by the Trustees to prepare a plan for an alphabetical catalogue. A lengthened and voluminous corres- pondence on the subject will be found in the " Ap- pendices " to the Reports of the Select Committee before referred to, and also in those of the Royal Commission. On the appointment of Mr. Panizzi to the Keeper- ship of the Library, and its removal from Montague House to the new building, this question again came up, and the Trustees were determined forthwith to print a catalogue. Mr. Panizzi called around him, from his department, some of the best qualified men, to assist him in the formation of rules for the compi- lation of this difficult work. He has himself told, in his evidence before the Royal Commissioners, how this little band of bibliographers applied themselves to their work, which resulted in the production of a code of rules for cataloguing that may challenge comparison for the minute accuracy of the details, 278 Catalogues and and also for the comprehensiveness of their scope. These rules have been objected to by some on ac- count of their number, but it should be remembered how many were the contingencies to be foreseen and provided for in cataloguing so large a library by different hands. Very rarely has it happened that additions or corrections have had to be made to these rules ; and when this has occurred, it has only been in relation to some minor details which in the formation of the code did not come up for discussion. No man of modern times has given more attention to the subject of catalogues than Mr. Panizzi ; and any one who will take the pains, and have the pa- tience, to read his evidence before the two Parlia- mentary inquiries, so often referred to in this volume, will gain for himself a fund of information upon the point that will make him grateful to this " Napoleon of Librarians" for his profound knowledge of this particular subject. It will also have the effect of making him speak with becoming modesty upon what has been considered by some to be one of the sim- plest and easiest things in the world that of making a catalogue to a library. Mr. Panizzi says, in his " Letter to Lord Elles- mere " " Deeply impressed as I am myself with the difficulties often alluded to [in reference to the work of making a catalogue], I am still more im- pressed with the difficulty of communicating to others an equal sense of those difficulties." The late Pro- fessor De Morgan, who to his great attainments as a Cataloguing. 279 mathematician, was not less eminent as a biblio- grapher, says : " I am perfectly satisfied of this, that one of the most difficult things that one can set him- self to do, is to describe a book correctly." Such a remark would almost provoke a smile from those who have not thought upon the subject, or tried their hands at the work ; but the learned Professor's assertion is supported by the additional statement that, in the famous catalogue of the library of the most famous seat of learning in the world the Bodleian Library at Oxford "for one entry which is unobjectionable, there are two at least which con- tain inaccuracy, confusion, or incompleteness." All who are acquainted with the evidence on the Museum Catalogue, given before the Royal Commissioners, will remember Mr. Payne Collier's experiment in quick cataloguing, which was to have confounded the Museum Bibliographers. It resulted in proving to him and the Commissioners that in his twenty-five titles that he had volunteered to furnish, as a speci- men of what could be done to expedite the work of completing the Catalogue of the National Library, there were no less than thirteen different kinds of error, and an average of two blunders in each title. The titles referred to were by Mr. Panizzi put into the hands of Mr. Winter Jones, at that time the senior assistant in the Library, for examination. Mr. Jones, in his report to Mr. Panizzi upon these speci- men titles, said " that they contained every error that possibly could be committed." Mr. Collier was made 280 Catalogues and to acknowledge that, so far as he was concerned, the literary world would not have gained much had he succeeded in convincing the Commissioners that the catalogue he proposed would be the best that could be adopted. I may here take occasion to remark that frequent complaints have been made from time to time of the slow progress in the com- pletion of the Museum Catalogue. I venture to say, from the observation of nearly forty years of what others have done during that period and those men of acknowledged ability that the work of cataloguing such a library is one of the most difficult duties that have ever fallen to the lot of public servants. We are told that Cardinal Borromeo no mean authority in any question relating to books, was so convinced of the difficulties of cataloguing a library as it ought to be done, that he forbade, upon pain of excommunication, the cataloguing of the celebrated collection of books founded by him at Milan. Mr. Panizzi went into the subject of cataloguing fully before the Royal Com- missioners; his evidence alone fills some eighteen closely-printed folio pages, with an enumeration of the difficulties which he and his staff laboured under in their gigantic work. He concludes by saying that " I have only been able to mention some of the most striking difficulties, and those of the most common occurrence." I would take occasion to remark that among those who have from 1824 been engaged upon the Cata- logue of the Museum Library, there have been, and Cataloguing. 28 1 now are, men of the most extensive acquirements, men eminent for learning, some of whom are distin- guished as authors as well as bibliographers who have laboured on with unobtrusive patience and persistency in the performance of a great work that is not under- stood by the uninitiated, and is not at all calculated to bring upon them the admiration or applause of the million nor even the just appreciation of those lovers of books for whom they are specially working. If any one will take the pains to read and digest care- fully the ninety-one rules upon which the Museum Catalogue is framed, they will be impressed with some sense, both of the difficulties of the work, and the pains that have been taken to exemplify one most important characteristic of those rules, namely, " ful- ness and accuracy." It should also be known that, however well quali- fied a man may be by a liberal education and superior ability, it requires something like an apprenticeship to the work before he is fully competent to the task of revising the titles of his colleagues with a view of ascertaining that they have been executed in accord- ance with the rules. I would say, also, from my own personal knowledge, that the formation of those rules was a work of great deliberation and much anxious thought. I remember well when they were under consideration, and how anxiously some of us, who knew what was going on, looked for the result of their lengthened consultations. Mr. Panizzi himself says of this little coterie : 282 Catalogues and " When we drew up these rules, easy as it may seem, my assistants and myself worked all the day long for weeks ; we never went out of the library from morn- ing to night. We worked the whole day, and at night too, and on Sundays besides, to submit the rules, from time to time, to the Sub-Committee of Trustees." The alphabetical arrangement was considered to be the best that could be adopted, and that the title of every book should be expressed in as few words as may be necessary, to exhibit to the reader all the author meant to convey in the titular description of his work. It should, however, be borne in mind that the alphabetical arrangement is to be supplemented and perfected by an index of subjects. The Trustees having confirmed the rules in accord- ance with which the catalogue was to be compiled, it was necessary for them to decide as to whether it should be printed or in manuscript. After frequent meetings upon the subject, they decided, in 1838, upon printing a full catalogue to that date, and in 1841 the first volume, containing the letter A, was completed, and issued to the public for sale. It must be stated that Mr. Panizzi was, from the first, opposed to the printing of the catalogue, but as the Trustees decided other- wise, he recommended that no portion of it should be issued before the whole was ready for the press. There are many objections to printing a catalogue of a library which, like that of the Museum, is annually receiving accessions to the amount of twenty or Cataloguing. 283 thirty thousand volumes. If the catalogue had been printed entire up to the period decided on by the Trustees (1838), it is at once evident that only such books as formed the national collection at that period would be included in it, and that the immense acces- sions, since accumulating, must of necessity have formed a supplementary volume ; so that in time there would be a succession of supplements, which to throw them into one continuous series, would involve a large expenditure and a vast amount of trouble. I may mention that not only was Mr. Panizzi always opposed to printing the catalogue, but that this opinion is for the most part shared by those in the Library who have given the largest amount of thought to the subject, and whose experience ought to go for something. To print the title of every single article, including such minor matters as religious leaflets, poetical effusions on single sheets, ballads from the Seven Dials, and a host of other insignificant trifles that come pouring into the Library under the Copyright Act, and from other sources, seems hardly to be advisable. At the same time I have often thought that special catalogues of the books illustrative of each branch of history, litera- ture, science, etc., would be very useful to students desirous of reading upon these particular subjects ; and they might be printed in such a form and issued at such a price as to be within the reach of all. Spe- cial catalogues of rare books, or of books printed on vellum, or prior to a certain date, would be invaluable 284 Catalogues and to those who would never have the patience or the time to seek them out for themselves from the great mass of volumes forming the general catalogue. The catalogue as at present compiled constitutes, perhaps, the highest and most extensive of existing authorities for the forms of all kinds of names, his- torically or in any other way known. It contains an unequalled mass of information as to the authorship of anonymous works, which may be considered to form not less than one-third of the whole of literature. So valuable is this vast fund of information to biblio- graphers and collectors of books, that if any large first-class library were now to be commenced, it would be an immense saving of bibliographic labour were the parties forming such a library to obtain a tran- script of the new general catalogue now in the Reading- Room as a work of reference. The great mass of books are common to all large libraries, which being the case, the bibliographers of the British Museum have in reality catalogued for the most part all other considerable collections. The printing of the catalogue was suspended shortly after the appearance of the first volume, in consequence of the repeated representations made to the Trustees by Mr. Panizzi that it would be un- advisable to proceed further. One of the objects of the Royal Commissioners was to enquire into the cause of this suspension ; they approved of the course taken, and since that period the catalogue has con- Cataloguing. 285 tinued in manuscript, all the new accessions being dealt with on the same principles. It may be well to inform those of my readers who have never seen the Catalogue of the Museum of some of the mechanical arrangements relating to its formation. When the title of a book has been written and duly revised, the next process is to place it, according to the subject, on one of the shelves, that it may receive its distinctive press- mark. One chief thing " in the arrangement of a library which is ever increasing, is to give a book when it is acquired a press-mark which will never require to be altered, and at the same time to provide that the classes of books shall be kept to- gether. In the Museum Library a plan of great simplicity and lasting value has been adopted. Instead of the presses being numbered consecutively, as for example, i to 100, there are gaps left in some such order as i, 20, 40, 60, etc. ; by which plan the classification of the books can be kept up, by adding a number to a new press that may be fitted up for the reception of acquisitions. This plan also allows shiftings of entire presses without alteration either of the press-marks or of the position of the books on the shelves, and admits also of incorporating, to an almost indefinite extent, new acquisitions or par- ticular classes as they are acquired. The only thing necessary to the working of this plan is, that all the presses in a library should be of the same height, breadth, and depth, which is not the case altogether 286 Catalogues and in the Museum, as the original part of the new library was fitted up before the adoption of this system. An- other great advantage of this plan is, that it allows of a perfect classification of arrangement, and, as it were, furnishes to those who have access to the books, a classed catalogue of the same. This simple and beautiful arrangement is claimed by the late Mr. Watts as his invention ; but something similar had been used before in the press-marks of the maps and drawings in the King's Library Collection. Mr. Watts' plan was commenced in the Long- Room by the side of the King's Library. The presses in that room amounted to about 600 ; but in numbering, a range of numbers was assumed from 3,000 to 12,000. The numbers from the beginning ,of 3,000 to the end of 4,000 were assigned to Theology ; from 5,000 to 6,000 to Jurisprudence ; from 7,000 to 8,000 to Philosophy, Science and Art; from 9,000 to 10,000 to History; from 11,000 to 12,000 to General Lite- rature. This plan of Mr. Watts's, which is known by the name of " the elastic system," if adopted in any large library, has other advantages besides those that have already been named. When, for instance, the books in the Long- Room were removed to the Iron- Library that surrounds the Reading-Room, no altera- tion of press-marks being required, an immense saving of time was effected. Whereas, on the removal of the books from Montague House to the New Library, before this plan was adopted, the press-mark of every book and of each separate tract (of which sometimes Cataloguing. 287 there are more than a hundred in a volume) was re- quired to be altered, and alterations to be made in the copies of the Catalogue, both in the Reading- Room, and also in that for general use in the Library. With this system no difficulty is found in moving presses of books from one locality to another : it is a mere question of manual labour, and is effected at the Museum by the men who are engaged to dust the books and to perform other duties of that nature. As the books in the Museum, when they are placed upon the shelves, are classed according to their re- spective subjects, it was suggested by Mr. Watts, whose special duty it was for many years to carry out this arrangement, that " if one copy of the title- slips of the books thus placed and marked, was ar- ranged in the order of the press-marks instead of that of the authors' names, it would ipso facto produce a rough classed catalogue ; and thus a problem which had been thought insoluble would be solved in the simplest manner." The special duty of arranging the Library, though commenced by Mr. Panizzi, was, on Mr. Watts's appointment, transferred to that gentleman. Mr. Watts performed this office for nearly twenty years, during which period every book that was acquired by the Museum passed through his hands for the purpose of classification. It is believed that more than 400,000 volumes were examined and classified by Mr. Watts during the period that he was so engaged. This duty was subsequently discharged 288 Catalogues and by Mr. Rye, the present Keeper of the Printed Books ; it is now performed by Mr. Garnett. As I am speaking of technical matters it may be as well to mention the process adopted at the Museum with reference to the large acquisitions that are daily added to the Library. When a book comes to the Museum, whether under the provisions of the Copyright Act, or by purchase, or by donation, the first process is to impress a distinctive stamp upon the same. This stamp is impressed upon the back of the title-page and upon all the plates or maps that may be contained in the work ; the date when it was acquired is put upon the last page. In addition to this, it was recently ordered by the Trustees that the words " British Museum " in large letters, should be impressed upon both sides of the covers of all the books of reference in the Reading- Room, in order that they may be at once seen to be the property of the Trustees, and thus prevent the possibility of their being removed by mistake of the reader, or sold without stripping off the binding. The stamps upon the inside of the book are im- pressed in different colours, indicating how each particular volume is acquired, as for example, the Donations are stamped, yellow ; the Purchased, red ; and those delivered under the Copyright Act, blue. By this simple arrangement, every book in the vast collection tells its own tale as to its mode of acquisi- tion. The stamp is moreover of consequence in a legal point of view, inasmuch as it indicates the exact Cataloguing. 289 date on which a book was received at the Museum. I should mention also here that it has been the custom for many years to bind all the wrappers with the work on its completion, so that magazines, and other periodical publications will present to future generations the exact appearance they did when they were issued. Mr. Watts mentions that "an eminent Spanish bibliographer, who was visiting the Museum a few years ago, complained of the unsightliness of this practice in regard to some modern Spanish books he was examining, and it was pointed out to him that the covers in that case contained a portion of infor- mation which occurred nowhere else, and which was thus preserved for perpetual use. Struck with the circumstance which he had overlooked before, he declared that on his return home he would take care to adopt the plan in his own books, and to mention it elsewhere ; for that otherwise it was likely that the British Museum would in a few years contain unique copies of most of the books which it imported from Spain." I may mention that as four copies of the title-slips are wanted, they are produced by the simultaneous transcription on the principle of the " manifold writer " by a class of "junior assistants," under the superin- tendence of Mr. E. A. Warren, who was selected for that special office by Mr. Panizzi, and who still, with the assistance of Mr. Aldrich, performs the duties of his office, under the direction of the Keeper of the Printed Books. This particular work involves u 290 Catalogues and a considerable amount of care and ability, as it is necessary that the transcripts should be exact copies of the title-slips prepared by the cataloguer ; and as they are written in almost all the languages of the earth the reader of them must have no small know- ledge as a linguist. Mr. Warren is known among the members of the Civil Service as one of the Managing Committee of the " Supply Association," and also, as a Director of the " Civil Service Benefit Building Society." These title-slips are written on very strong and thin transparent paper, and having been mounted by the binder (for the sake of additional strength) on a thicker description of the same paper, are then laid down three or four to a leaf on thick cartridge paper, which afterwards is bound up, form- ing the volumes of Catalogue which stand in the Library and Reading- Room. Being pasted only by the upper and lower edges to the cartridge pages, the slips are easily removed by the insertion of a paper- knife at either of the unpasted ends, whenever it is necessary to incorporate additional title-slips from time to time. These slips may be taken up and re- inserted twenty times or more. As the idea of printing the catalogue entire has been abandoned for many years, the process I have attempted to describe is the more important. I venture to say, after some thought upon the subject, that it appears to me that to print the catalogue of the National Library in its entirety would be a useless expenditure of public money, inasmuch as there are Cataloguing. 29 1 in the collection a vast amount of ephemeral publica- tions and broadsides amounting to some hundreds of thousands, which, however necessary to be preserved to show to future generations the literature of former ages, are certainly not worth printing, to swell such a catalogue as that of the Museum to a magnitude that would be unwieldy, and for all bibliographical and practical purposes, all but useless. To print a ca- talogue of the national collection to any given period would be incomplete, and in five or ten years it would be obsolete. I have sometimes thought, however, that in these days of modern improvement in the art of typography, some simple means might be devised of making an exact and accurate copy of the titles as they are written and revised by the cataloguers in a more permanent form, so that the titles might be used for more purposes than at present. The late Mr. Watts suggested that the title-slips, when once written, might be utilized in a variety of ways. He says : " It seems to be generally assumed that the title-slip, or title-card for a book, when once written, is only available for some particular form of catalogue, that it must necessarily be arranged in the order indicated by the heading, and no other. A moment's examination of the question will show that this opinion is by no means well founded. Take, for instance, the following a specimen of one of the Museum 'title-slips,' or written 'billets,' describing a book : 292 598. i- Lingard (John). History of England. 9 vols. London, 1819-40. 4to. The mysterious ' 598. i.' to the left is what is called the ' press-mark,' that is, the indication of the locality in which the book stands. The use for which this title-slip was originally written was, that it might be placed in the alphabetical order of the author's name, ' Lingard/ and thus form a component part of the great alphabetical catalogue of the authors' names. But, in addition to such a catalogue as this, the interior management of a large library impera- tively requires another, which is generally termed a hand-catalogue, but might more appropriately be called a shelf-catalogue a list which indicates all the books of the library in the order in which they stand on the shelves, so that if a volume be missing, there may be the means of ascertaining what it is. In the recent part of the Museum building, a shelf-catalogue presents another advantage of some moment. As the books are classed on the shelves, those who consult the shelf-catalogue of the presses which are assigned to the history of Spain, the topography of Switzerland, the science of Pneumatics, or any other subject, find assembled the titles of all the books on that subject of recent acquisition which the Museum possesses ; they find, in fact, in the shelf-catalogue, a sort of rough-classed catalogue." The success of the new arrangement led Mr. Watts to suggest, in 1855, a further extension of the principle. "The Cataloguing. 293 name of a book is often remembered, without re- membering the name of the author. This is so often the case with regard to plays and novels, that in the catalogues of circulating libraries intended for prac- tical use, the name of the book is generally taken by preference." To meet this want Mr. Watts pro- posed "to arrange a copy of the title-slips in the alphabetical order of the words which immediately follow the author's name. Thus, the ' Rejected Addresses ' of Horace and James Smith would be found in one catalogue in the order of the word ' Rejected,' while in the other they would figure under the name of the Smiths. To search for any- thing in the present Museum Catalogue amid the names of the multitudinous Smiths, is in itself so tedious a task that the book would certainly be in general looked out with much more ease under its own title ; and it may be added that as some of the editions were published with the authors' names, and some without, the proposed catalogue would have the advantage of assembling them all under ' Re- jected Addresses,' an advantage which would be extended to all books in the same semi-anonymous predicament. All ' Histories of England,' all ' Stran- gers in London/ etc. would be brought together, whatever might be the names of the authors." Mr. Watts further remarks that "A fourth copy of the title might be used to make a fourth catalogue, of a kind analogous to that of early books in Panzer's 4 Initia Typographical In this catalogue the title- 294 Catalogues and slips would be arranged in the alphabetical order of the places of printing, and those of the same place of printing would be arranged chronologically. To local antiquaries, or to local inquirers of any sort, this would be a material assistance. It might be seen at once, without difficulty, what books the Museum contained printed at Norwich, or St. Al- ban's, or Aberdeen, or Belfast ; or, to take a wider range, at the Cape of Good Hope, or Madras, or Melbourne. By looking at Pesth, or Lisbon, and a few other sub-divisions, it might be ascertained with ease what were the latest accessions in Hungarian or Portuguese literature. With Paris and London, under which the entries would be excessively nume- rous, the gain would be great. A reader might trace the gradual progress of printing in London from Wynkyn de Worde onwards ; might look up what books were issued in the first year of the Reforma- tion, in that in which Shakspere came to London, in those of the protectorate of Cromwell, or in that of the Revolution. Macaulay would have found in a body all the plays, and the ballads, and the non- juring divinity, and the political pamphlets, that were poured forth in town in 1688; and then, turning to the volume of Dublin, all the products of that stormy year in Ireland. There is hardly a literary man who would not have some desire of this kind to gratify, and to many it would present, ready to their hand, a mass of materials on various historical sub- jects, which they would otherwise scarcely think of Cataloguing. 295 looking for. This kind of information is at present inaccessible, except at the expense of tedious re- search. That valuable, but very imperfect book, Cotton's ' Typographical Gazetteer,' might be at once corrected with ease in a hundred passages. Such would, it is supposed, be the benefits of this new method of making use of the duplicate title-slips of the Museum. If, instead of four copies of the title- slips, there were twenty (which might be cheaply produced by the aid of printing or lithography), other catalogues might be evolved. There might be lists of all the accessions to the Museum, in the order of their arrival. There might also be cata- logues of books arranged according to the languages in which they were written, so that those who only sought English books need not turn over page after page of Latin or French titles; and those who sought for German or Russian might at once find what they sought. There might also be special catalogues of particular classes : of English plays, or English novels, or books on vellum, or books with autographs. In short, without any additional cataloguing, the mere 'shuffling of the cards,' or title-slips, the merely different arrangement of them by ordinary hands, might produce a variety of catalogues, which would secure to every reader a number of different ways of looking for any parti- cular book, or class of books, he was in search of." Mr. Watts goes on to remark and I make no apology for these quotations from so eminent an 296 Catalogues and authority containing, as I believe they do, hints of great practical value : " Were the title-slips thus put in print, kept standing in type, and a catalogue occasionally issued of, for instance, the books added to the Museum which were printed in the years from 1851 to 1860 inclusive, the list thus formed would be of much value. It would be the most copious list of English, Scotch, and Irish books of the period em- braced. In the so-called London Catalogues much is passed over that is issued in London, plays and Quakers' books, and Roman Catholic, and Sweden- borgian, and Mormonite literature, Reports of Chari- ties and Societies, Catalogues of Exhibitions, and numerous other kinds of publications, including of course privately printed books, many of which come to the Museum as presents. In addition to this, there would be a select list of all the principal publi- cations of Europe, from Lisbon to St. Petersburg ; and of America, from Montreal to Buenos Ayres. Such a list of about 100,000 volumes, published within ten years, would not only be an interesting memorial of the progress of the Museum, but a useful handbook to the lover of bibliography." I attach very great value to these hints of Mr. Watts, which may one day be turned to good account, inasmuch as there are no insuperable difficulties con- nected with the plans that he has suggested. I have conversed with him many times upon these and kindred themes, and was always a delighted listener to anything that he advanced. Though he was so Cataloguing. 297 great a scholar, and so extensively read in the litera- ture of all countries, he was singularly simple and attractive to men younger and less learned than himself. Nothing pleased him more than to talk with those who were interested in the study of books and everything connected with a library. How I wish that I could reproduce some specimens of his " Table-Talk." He was a man full of anec- dote, and there was a vernal freshness in his con- versation of which you never tired. I have not unfrequently found myself lingering at his side after he had told me some good story, and " thought him still speaking, still stood fix'd to hear." I should not omit to mention that the Bodleian Librarians in 1859 abandoned the idea of keeping up the printing of their catalogue, and that they adopted the Carbonic-system as it is practised at the Museum. The librarians of most of the large libraries where additions to the collections are made, have visited the Library of the Museum to see the practical working of the carbonic process. Mr. Charles Tuckett, the Bookbinder to the Museum, to whose care is confided the various processes of mounting, laying down, binding, etc., of the new general cata- logue, can furnish any particulars as to the mechani- cal parts of the carbonic mode of preparing title- slips for the catalogue. I may add that Mr. Tuckett has been connected with the binding estab- lishment at the Museum from 1830, and that he is one of the best authorities in the art of bookbinding 298 Catalogues and in this country. Mr. Tuckett commenced the publication of a work illustrative of his ancient and honoured handicraft, that has employed the heads as well as the hands of some of the best promoters of art that the world has had. Only two parts ever appeared of the work in question, which is entitled, " Specimens of Ancient and Modern Binding, selected chiefly from the Library of the British Museum, with an Introduction, containing the History of Book- binding from the Earliest Period to the Present Time." The two parts that were published have been for some time " out of print," and it is to be regretted that such a work should not be completed. It will be interesting to my readers to be informed of the number of the catalogues in the Reading- Room that represent the Department of Printed Books, including that of the Maps and Charts and Print-Room. They are as follows : Catalogue of the Printed Books, 1813 1819. 8vo. 7 Volumes. Interleaved, with the accessions to 1846 in Manuscript. Folio . . . 82 Catalogue of Printed Books, Letter A. 1841. Folio i New General and Supplementary Catalogue in Manuscript . . i, 437 Indexes to various long headings . . 20 List of the Books of Reference in the Reading- Room. 1871. 8vo. .... i Interleaved, with additions in Manuscript Folio i Catalogue of the Hebrew Books, compiled by Joseph Zedner. 1867. 8vo. ... i Cataloguing. 299 Catalogue of the Hebrew Books, Interleaved, with additions in Manuscript . . 6 Volumes. Catalogue of Prints and Drawings, Political and Personal Satires. Vol. I. 1870. 8vo. i King's Library Catalogue. 1820-29. Folio . 5 Catalogue of Maps, Prints, Drawings, etc., in the King's Library. 1829. Folio . i Catalogue of Charts, etc., in the King's Library. Folio i Catalogue of Pamphlets in the King's Library. Folio ....... 9 Catalogue of the Grenville Library. 1842-48. 8vo 3 Interleaved, with additions in Manu- script. Folio 7 Catalogue of Maps, Charts, etc., Manuscript. Folio 144 Catalogue of Music, Manuscript. Folio . . 126 Catalogue of Pamphlets, etc., published during the Civil War and Commonwealth, called the "Thomason Collection ;" Manuscript. Folio ....... 12 Catalogue of Newspapers, Manuscript. Folio and 410 4 Catalogue of English Novels, Romances, etc., Manuscript. Folio. 1837 . . . i Total .... 1,870 Large as this number may appear, the above com- putation does not include the numerous catalogues representing the various collections comprised in the Department of Manuscripts, particulars of which will be found in the " Handbooks " of Mr. Sims and Mr. Nichols. I have endeavoured to give my readers some account of the catalogues and cataloguing as it exists 300 Catalogues and in the Museum. I remember somewhere to have read the remark that " we should as soon think of writing an architectural essay on the Chinese Wall, as of reviewing the new catalogue of the British Museum." My object has not been to criticise either the code of rules upon which the catalogue of the Library has been compiled, or the manner in which my colleagues have done their work. I leave that to other and abler hands ; and would only refer in conclusion to one individual who has been very prominent before the public in connexion with this great work, and who has been assailed, in every possible way by all sorts and conditions of men, and in publications of every kind. Mr. Panizzi was for some years looked upon as a kind of Italian ogre, placed in the Library of the Museum to maintain foreign refinements against English common sense. Year after year did a portion of the public press make him the object of personal attack, simply from the fact of his being a foreigner. The eminent Librarian's exertions were not always sweetened by the approval of those in whose behalf they were made. The question of the revisal and re-adjustment of the catalogue led to much discussion. Some wished things to remain as they were ; some objected to the plan upon which it was determined that the new catalogue should be drawn up ; some, again, objected because they could not get books which did not exist ; and those who knew nothing about the matter were the greatest objectors of all. Cataloguing. 301 At the same time it should be remembered that he has had his defenders. One has said : " The plain truth is that Mr. Panizzi is simply a very efficient public officer, who, besides his qualifications as a man of letters, has learned by experience and special study of the subject, how to preserve, aug- ment, and catalogue a library." I would remind the reader of the great value of a good catalogue. Without such a help, of what value would the million or more volumes, now forming the National Library, be to those who are hungering and thirsting after knowledge. Cicero has said that "Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to continue always a child. If no use is made of the labour of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge." Next to a good library, therefore, is a good cata- logue ; and I conclude by one extract from the Report of the Royal Commissioners before referred to. They say : " We have had occasion, in the course of our inquiry, to ascertain the prevalence, among many persons, of an impression which attri- butes to that gentleman [Mr. Panizzi] not only the adoption of a plan for a catalogue, of which those parties, on various grounds presently to be noticed, disapprove, but also the delay of which they complain in the execution of the plan so adopted. It becomes incidentally our duty to do him justice in these particulars. From what we have already stated, it will appear that, with respect to the system and form 302 Catalogues and Cataloguing. of the catalogue, whatever be its defects, Mr. Panizzi can be charged with nothing further than the constant approval and acceptance of one leading principle, that of fulness and accuracy, suggested on high authority, adopted by an able superior and pre- decessor in office, indicated by the statutes of the Museum, and enforced by the deliberate sanction of the Trustees, and the recommendations of a Parlia- mentary Committee." CHAPTER XVI. A FEW STRAY NOTES AND FRAGMENTS. REMEMBER, when at school, there was written up over the master's desk, in large letters, " Order is heaven's first law" ; and having spent almost the whole of my life in a library where " there is a place for everything," I have been somewhat at a loss, while engaged upon these pages, as to where I should put certain little matters that have occurred to me to mention, and which I have thought would not be with- out interest to the reader. It is this that has deter- mined me to devote a chapter of my volume to a few stray notes and fragments. I will commence by contrasting the Museum at its commencement with what it is now ; and by offering a few remarks upon the mode of admission to the collections as seen by visitors then, and that which obtains at the present time. The British Museum at its foundation consisted 304 Stray Notes of three departments only the Printed Books, the Manuscripts, and the Natural History. It is at present divided as follows : Secretariat ; Printed Books ; Maps and Charts ; Manuscripts ; Prints and Drawings ; Coins and Medals ; Egyptian, Greek, and Roman Antiquities ; Oriental Antiquities ; Eth- nography and Mediaeval Antiquities ; Zoology ; Palaeontology ; Mineralogy ; and Botany. When the Museum was first opened to the public it was provided by the Statutes and Rules of the Trustees that " admission to such studious and curious persons who are desirous to see the Museum" should be obtained by means of " printed tickets, to be delivered by the Porter upon their application in writing, which writing shall contain their names, con- dition, and places of abode, also the day and hour at which they desire to be admitted." This list was to be submitted every night to the Principal Librarian, or in his absence to another officer of the Museum, who, if he considered the parties admissible, was " to direct the Porter to deliver tickets to them according to their said request, on their applying a second time for the said tickets," observing, however, that not more than ten tickets were delivered for each time of admission. The applicants who were thus favoured were, on producing these privileged tickets, allowed three hours of inspection of the Museum, spending one hour in each department, and being taken in charge by a different officer for each. We learn from the and Fragments. 305 first 'Synopsis/ or official guide to the Museum, published in 1808, that on the first four days of the week, a hundred and twenty persons may be ad- mitted to view the Museum, in eight companies of fifteen each : no mention, however, is there made as to the necessity of previously obtaining tickets. In 1810 the " Synopsis" shows a great advance : it states that "According to the present regulations the Museum is open for public inspection on the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of every week (the usual vacation excepted), from ten till four o'clock, and all persons of decent appearance who apply between the hours of ten and two are imme- diately admitted, and may tarry in the apartments without any limitation of time, except the shutting of the house at four o'clock." It is also interesting to see the number of visitors to the entire collection at different periods. I copy from the annual returns, as follows : From May, 1807, to May, 1808 13,046 From March, 1817, to March, 1818 .... 50,172 From Christmas, 1827, to Christmas, 1828. . . 81,228 From Christmas, 1837, to Christmas, 1838 . . . 266,008 From Christmas, 1847, to Christmas, 1848 . . . 897,985 From Christmas, 1857, to Christmas, 1858 . . . 649,691 From Christmas, 1867, to Christmas, 1868 . . 576,292 In 1850 the numbers were just above a million; in the following, or " Exhibition year/' when multi- tudes flocked from all parts of the world to the first Crystal Palace, the visitors to the Museum num- x 306 Stray Notes bered 2,527,216, a multitude approaching to the present population of London. The greatest num- ber that ever entered the Museum in one day was on the Boxing-day of Christmas, 1858, when there were more than 42,000. It is no small matter for congratulation that with this immense tide of visitors the only serious act of destruction of the Museum property that has ever occurred, is the breaking of the Portland Vase, in 1845. That was the act of a madman, and this most beautiful specimen of handi- work has been so wondrously restored by the late Mr. John Doubleday, of the department of anti- quities, that it is even now one of the most valuable relics of art in the Museum. Looking at the Museum as a means of popular instruction, it has frequently occurred to me that the people, that is, the great mass of human beings among us who are waiting to be educated, and glad to be taught, that there is not so much done for them at this great seat of learning as there might be. It has been highly gratifying, however, of late years to find that arrangements have been made for making the collections themselves a text-book for popular instruction. As there is no lecture-hall at present connected with the British Museum, the saloons and galleries have been turned into places of instruction, and it has done me good to witness a considerable number of members of " The Work- ing Men's Club and Institute" gathered in the Geological Gallery to listen to Professor Owen's and Fragments. 307 lucid explanations of the wondrous specimens of bygone ages that are there preserved. The eloquent Professor has been followed by a humbler, but not less devoted student in geology, Mr. Henry Wood- ward, an assistant in the Mineral and Fossil Depart- ment, one who has not only a large amount of scientific knowledge, but has, moreover, a hearty sympathy with working men. Mr. Woodward is editor of the " Geological Magazine," and is a frequent con- tributor to the scientific and literary periodicals of the day. The Egyptian antiquities have been explained in like manner by Dr. Samuel Birch, the accomplished keeper of that department, of whom the late Chevalier Bunsen remarks, in a letter to his son, published in his " Life," that " Birch is a member of the Institut de France," (which even Grote is not yet.) De Rouge, in his admirable commentary of 1858 upon the Stele in the Louvre (of Rameses X.) calls Birch "le maitre," and Lipsius declares that Birch alone was capable of such a review as he has made of the " Book of the Dead." Mr. Charles Newton and Mr. Augustus Franks have also promised to give popular explanations of the Greek and Roman antiquities, and the Stone- age collection. Other departments would be equally interesting, and I know that there are men connected with them who are not only eminently qualified to impart instruction in this agreeable form, but who sincerely sympathize with the intelligent inquiring multitude. 308 Stray Notes Another subject of interest is, " What class of books should be rejected in a national library ?" Dr. James, the first librarian to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, having repeatedly solicited Sir Thomas Bodley to be allowed to purchase plays for the library, received this answer from that great book-collector : " I can see no good reason to alter my opinion as to excluding such books as almanacks, plays, and an infinite number that are daily printed, of very unworthy matters and handling." Just before Sir Thomas Bodley gave this reply, with reference to what he called " riff raff," Christopher Marlow published his " True Tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke, and the Death of good King Henrie the Sixt," a copy of which was purchased for the Bodleian Library some years since by the late Mr. Roddfor ^131. It may be found stated in a Parlia- mentary Paper, issued early in the present century, that one of the libraries entitled to publications under the Copyright Act laid aside, as not worthy of a place on its shelves, the earliest works of Percy Bysshe Shelley, Sir Walter Scott, Mr. Opie, William Wordsworth, M'Culloch, the political economist, and Lord Brougham. Among these rejected books may also be particularly mentioned : " The Antiquary," Professor Wilson's " City of the Plague," Charles Dibdin's " Songs," Owen's " History of the Bible Society," Wordsworth's " Odes," and his " Letter to a Friend of Burns," Cobbett's publications, " Jameson on Minerals," the " Edinburgh Medical and Surgical and Fragments. 309 Journal," the " Siege of Corinth," Shelley's " Alastor," Lord Brougham's " Speech on Agricultural Distress," M'Culloch's " Essay on the National Debt," and Beethoven's Musical Compositions. These, and many other works, were rejected in one year. So much for leaving to any one person the discretion to select. While, however, the selection for a large library should not be dependent only upon the will of a librarian, or even of a library committee, it must be admitted that a library, if not judiciously gathered, may be increased enormously, not so much by the treasures of literature, as by its worthless dregs. It has been well said, that " a moderate apartment may receive all the noblest monuments of human thought and knowledge, though ' the world itself could not contain all the books that should be written ' for the varied intercourse of society. The great productions of literary genius are borne onwards with the stream and are imperishable ; the whims and fashions of the hour sink to the bottom, and can only be rescued from total oblivion by those who have the courage to dive down to the accumulated rubbish of past ages." It is known by all who are acquainted with our National Library, that its first and noblest character- istic is its universality. Mr. Panizzi once remarked that, " in the matter of selecting purchases, the proof that he had done well was that everybody was dis- satisfied." The bulk of a library, after all, is not the true standard of its importance : a collection, such as that contained in the Museum, formed, as it has been, 3io Stray Notes . partly by donations of magnificent and special collec- tions, partly from current English literature delivered under the Copyright Act, and partly by a large and judicious expenditure of public money, is far more valuable than one made up to twice its numerical strength by merely gathering books from any source in order to increase its magnitude. In looking back over the memories of the past, I should like to record the names and writings of some who have left the service of the Trustees, and who were once my colleagues in the Library. The name that occurs to me first is Mr. James Logan, F.S.A., who came to the Library in December, 1838, and was engaged in the transcription of the catalogue. Mr. Logan, as his name indicates, is a Scotsman, and, like most of his countrymen, is a man of keen discernment and quick intelligence. His genial wit, and Scottish antiquarian lore, made him a most agreeable companion. He is the author of several valuable works, among which may be specially named " The Scottish Gael ; or, Celtic Manners as preserved among the Highlanders," and " The Clans of the Scottish Highlands, with Descriptive and Historical Memoranda of Character, Mode of Life," &c. Mr. Logan wrote the descriptive letter-press to " Mr. Jan's Gaelic Gatherings;" and also an "Historical Introduction to Mackenzie's Sar-Obair nam Bard Gaelach." He retired from the Museum in July, 1840, and has since devoted himself entirely to lite- rary work. Mr. Logan is the father of the " Gaelic and Fragments. 3 1 1 Society," and is one of the oldest " Readers " at the Museum, having obtained his ticket of admission to the Reading- Room as far back as 1821. Though considerably advanced in life, he preserves much of his youthful energy and intellectual power, and may be seen almost daily in the Reading-Room poring over some ancient tome with untiring industry and application. The mention of Mr. Logan reminds me of another name that would do honour to the next edition of the Robert Chambers's " Biographi- cal Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen." It is that of Mr. John Kesson, a native of Aberdeen, who joined our ranks in the autumn of 1838. The Aberdonians have a name for shrewdness, so much so, that they are deemed by Englishmen, and even by their own countrymen, to be descendants of one of the lost Ten- Tribes. At all events, it is notorious that no modern Jew could ever gain a footing in what is called the "Granite City." I doubt whether my friend Kesson inherited any of the natural shrewdness in worldly matters, attri- buted to his fellow citizens. He never made a fortune, nor, in this respect, improved the advantages that some considerable share of native talent had given him. During a friendship that extends over more than thirty years, I have often remarked to him that, if I had possessed his brains, and he a little more of my application to matters pertaining to common every-day life, which, after all, is " the prime wis- dom," our relative positions might have been very 312 Stray Notes different. He had all the talent and attainments that would have fitted him for a high position ; and I know not any man among all my acquaintance that could have taken a higher stand in the ranks of modern literature, either as a journalist or as an author, than John Kesson. Like most of his country- men, he had an adaptivity, and could turn his head or hand to anything. He has often told me, that in his young days he has herded cattle, driven a horse and cart, sold oatmeal and tenpenny nails, made himself useful as a lawyer's clerk, studied divinity, written sermons for lame preachers, and preached many also, written not a little poetry, some of which is beautiful exceedingly, mended his own coat, and once contrived to sole his own shoes. He taught mathematics, and, had some reputation as a lampoonist the latter accomplishment sometimes bringing him into unplea- sant acquaintance with the cudgel. The vicissitudes of his life have been various, but I must remember that I am not his biographer in full. Before he came amongst us at the Museum he had been for some years private secretary to the late Mr. Joseph Hume, M.P., where he drank of the political well of Radicalism pure and undefiled. I remember how, in my early years at the Museum, we have discussed politics and poetry together, till only a sense of duty has brought us back to the work we were, or ought to have been, engaged upon. I half suspect that, like myself, he has modified con- siderably his political creed ; and that if he has not and Fragments. 3 1 3 become sagely conservative, thought and observation have in a great measure corrected and chastened some of the theories of his younger days. At the time to which I refer, the British Museum was in a state of chronic grumbling about pay and promotion, and Kesson was thoroughly coached to lay the grievances of a large class of my colleagues before Joseph Hume (always the champion of the oppressed and the helper of the helpless), with a view to their redress. I recollect some narrow escapes we had during the necessary agitation of the salary question, but there is always considerable risk in ventilating any movement of this kind, and those who take a foremost part in such matters are pretty sure to get into bad odour with " the powers that be." However, I am happy to say that this was not wholly the case, as far as the Library was concerned, for, to his ever- lasting honour be it said, Antonio Panizzi was always our faithful friend and most powerful ally in the efforts that were made to increase our then miserable salaries. Joseph Hume said more than once that the Museum staff was the worst paid of any of the public institutions of the country ; and it was mainly to the exertions of him and to Mr. Panizzi, that we are indebted for a change for the better. Kesson could draw up memorials, write paragraphs for the daily journals, work out finan- cial statistics with the readiness of a Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his colleagues will always re- member with gratitude his able help, and more 314 Stray Notes especially the influence he exercised with the great political economist and reformer to whom I have just adverted. It was while he was a transcriber in the Library that Kesson turned his attention to the living lan- guages. Dissatisfied with the mechanical drudgery of copying the titles of books which he did not understand, he set to work resolutely, and, unaided by any master save that of books, he acquired a knowledge of the French, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, and other tongues, which he was afterwards able to turn to useful account. He has published several translations from the Ger- man and Danish, and an independent work entitled " The Cross and the Dragon ; or, the Fortunes of Christianity in China : with Notices of the Christian Missions and Missionaries, and Some Account of the Chinese Secret Societies." He is also the author, in conjunction with the late Mr. Richard Scott of the Secretariat, of " A Complete Guide to the British Museum," a work that was published anonymously in 1843, and has been out of print for many years. His knowledge of languages and facile use of his pen introduced him to the proprietors of the " Critic," the " Literary Gazette," and the " New Quarterly Review," to which periodicals for many years he contributed articles and reviews of foreign litera- ture. He has since playfully observed that he buried all the three of these once widely-circulated and well-known serials, having edited the last number and Fragmen ts. 315 of each. At one time he was London correspondent to the " Manchester Examiner," when his political sketches were received with considerable favour. He retired from the Museum in 1857, and went to reside in Paris, where he wrote occasional letters to the " Morning Star," the " Daily Telegraph," and other newspapers ; and, in conjunction with a friend, fur- nished tidings to Australia, Bombay, Singapore, Hong- Kong, and other distant regions. Mr. Kesson returned to London a few years since, and his knowledge of bibliography, acquired in the National Library, recommended him to the authori- ties of the South Kensington Museum, when he was employed with others in preparing the " Universal Catalogue of Books on Art," a most useful work, which has been published at the expense of the nation in two thick quarto volumes, and in the pre- face of which my friend has honourable mention. One can scarcely envy his dry and tedious labours upon this valuable reference-book of art, involving as it did the twice reading over carefully and critically 80,000 titles in almost all languages. Mr. Kesson is now engaged at the South Kensing- ton Museum in the compilation of a catalogue of the 1 3,000 printed volumes bequeathed to the nation by the late Mr. Alexander Dyce, the eminent critic and author. He had always the reputation of work- ing conscientiously upon whatever he was engaged, and he will no doubt fully realise the expectations of those who have apportioned to him this pleasant and 316 Stray Notes particular work. I may mention that my friend's abilities were thought highly of by the authorities at the Museum, and especially by the late Mr. Watts, who recognised in Kesson a man of kindred powers ; and further, that he was, and still is, very highly esteemed by all his late colleagues. Dr. Frederick Henry Trithen was another gentle- man who was for a short time an Assistant in the Department of Printed Books. He was a Swiss by birth, though, from having been removed to Russia while a child, he became so familiar with Russian every-day life, and so conversant with the literature of that country as to be thought a native. Dr. Trithen was little more than a year in the Library ; he was appointed an Assistant in 1844 and resigned in 1845 : during that brief period he made many friends, who. admired him as much for his social qualities as for his bibliographical and literary attain- ments. In 1848 Dr. Trithen was elected Professor of Modern Languages at the University of Oxford. He was a contributor to the " Biographical Dic- tionary," published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Mr. Francis Espinasse became an Assistant in the Library in May, 1843, and resigned in March, 1846, preferring a literary life to what he considered the bondage and drudgery of those who plodded on in such work as the completion of the general catalogue. Mr. Espinasse is a good scholar and an able jour- nalist. On retiring from the Museum he devoted and Fragments. 3 1 7 himself to the preparation of the " Life and Times of Voltaire," the first volume of which was published in 1866. The succeeding portion of this important work is looked for with much interest by the admirers of this great writer, who has had the good fortune to find a biographer in every way qualified to do justice to his character, and also to his multitudinous and pro- found writings. Mr. Espinasse was for some time edi- tor of the Edinburgh " Witness;" he is an acute writer, and is a master of invective. He is a daily student in the Reading -Room, and though no longer officially connected with the Library, he has not a few friends at the Museum. I may mention a little essay upon a great subject from his pen, on " What Reading and Writing have Become," which may be found in a volume published in 1850 by the Lancashire Public School Association. Mr. Coventry Patmore, the author of " The Angel in the House," was for many years an Assistant in the Department of Printed Books ; he commenced his career in the Library in November, 1846, and resigned on account of ill health in January, 1866. Mr. Patmore is chiefly known as the author of the work above named, which has gone through two editions ; but he has also published another volume, entitled " Tamerton Church Tower, and Other Poems;" and a third called "Faithful for Ever." Mr. Pat- more's writings have been more popular in the United States than in England, although he has been placed by some in a high rank among our living poets. He 318 Stray Notes is the editor and compiler of one of the most popular of the " Golden Treasury Series," published by Messrs. Macmillan, entitled " The Children's Gar- land from the best Poets." Mr. Patmore was characterised with a little of that reserve which accompanies the poetic temperament, but he was highly esteemed by his colleagues in the Library, and has left behind him among his late fellow- workers many friends. Nathaniel Hawthorne says of Mr. Patmore in his " Passages from the English Note- Books :" " He is a man of much more youthful aspect than I ex- pected ... a slender person to be an English- man, though not remarkably so had he been an American ; with an intelligent, pleasant, and sensible face, a man very evidently of refined feelings and cultivated mind. . . . He is very simple and agreeable in his manners ; a little shy, yet perfectly frank, and easy to meet on real grounds. His ' Angel in the House ' is a most beautiful and original poem a poem for happy married people to read together, and to understand by the light of their own past and present life ; but I doubt whether the generality of English people are capable of appreciating it." Another genial friend, who was for many years in the Library, was Mr. Edward Bellamy, son of the gentleman well known to the world as the author of so many popular songs, and secretary to the " National Club." Mr. Bellamy joined the Library staff in April, 1846, and was engaged chiefly in the and Fraginen ts. 319 duties of transcription, of which he grew weary, and resigned in October, 1852. Since his retirement from the Museum, this gentleman has found freer scope for his abilities in a commercial capacity, where the remuneration is more in unison with the work performed than it would have been had he remained in the National Library. The Rev. Joseph Benjamin M'Caul, a son of the late Dr. Alexander M'Caul, the learned Professor of Hebrew at King's College, was an Assistant in the Library before his preferment in the Church obliged him to resign his appointment. Mr. M'Caul commenced his career in the Museum in March, 1851, and was engaged upon the compilation of the general catalogue. He is the author of several works, among which may be named a " Memorial Sketch" of his father, "Sermons on the Ten Com- mandments," " Reminiscences of the Rev. T. H. Home," and " Bishop Colenso's Criticism criticised." The last named production was a severe and caustic attack upon the heretical bishop, whom I cannot but think deserved more considerate treatment at the hands of his opponents than he received. The science of Biblical criticism, like all other sciences, is progressive; and there is little to be feared from investigations into the credibility and authenticity of the sacred writings, where the inquiry is pursued with a becoming reverence, and an earnest desire to further the interests of truth. A friend of my own, who was well qualified both 320 Stray Notes by learning and a profound lover of the Bible, to speak upon such a subject, remarked to me in a letter at the time, that " It is a pity that Colenso published the arithmetical part of his book without the other, and, as I am informed, stronger and better portions. It is rather dreary reading, and has made people feel puzzled and savage, without gaining as much fair consideration for the difficulties which it really does advance as they deserve. I would rather give the bishop a word in his ear, than a box on it. A few of the bangings he has received might be well applied to those people who rave about the Bible and its inspiration, but are most inconsistently, and indeed, discreditably igno- rant of its contents. It is only people truly spiritual that will ever let criticism have fair play, and yet have no fear of it. Such person^ feel that the veracity of God shines with heavenly brightness through the inaccuracies, real and supposed, of Jewish Chroniclers." 1 Another clerical friend, who retired from the ser- vice of the Museum that he might attend more exclusively to his duties as a clergyman, was the Rev. Adam Clarke Smith. This gentleman came to the Library in January, 1844, and was engaged upon the general catalogue ; he. retired from the 1 The Rev. T. T. Lynch, author of "The Rivulet;" "Me- morials of Theophilus Trinal ;" " Lectures in aid of Self-Improve- ment;" "Essays on some of the Forms of Literature;" "The Mornington Lectures;" &c. and Fragments. 32 1 service in August, 1846. Mr. Smith, . after his retirement from the Museum, laboured for six years as curate of St. Andrew's, Holborn, and afterwards became Vicar of St. John's, Middlesborough, York- shire. He is a very devoted clergyman, and has left behind him in the Library many friends. He published a " Farewell Sermon" on his preferment to Yorkshire; and another in 1867 on the "Union of Nonconformists with the Church," a well-in- tentioned proposition, but one that is, I think, never likely to be realised. Mr. William Hughes, F.R.G.S. was for a time employed as an assistant in the Library to catalogue the Geographical collection, before Mr. Major's con- nection with that particular department. Mr. Hughes came to the Museum in 1841, and resigned in Decem- ber, 1843. He is the author of a host of standard books on geography, among which may be named " The Geography of British History," " Geography of England and Wales," " Geography of Scotland and Ireland," " Treatise on the Construction of Maps," Class Books of Modern and Physical Geography, and many others. He is the editor of " Maunder's Treasury of Geography," and author of the " Text Books to Philips' School- Room Maps ;" the " Aus- tralian Colonies," in the " Traveller's Library," several of the volumes in " Gleig's School Series," " The Illuminated Atlas of Scripture Geography," and " Bible Maps," were also prepared by this gentle- man, whose labours in his profession are unremit- Y 322 Stray Notes ting. Mr. Hughes is still living in the prime of life, and visits the Reading- Room occasionally. Mr. Edward J. Ranken and Mr. Charles Bruce were also for some years assistants in the Library the former resigned in 1862, and the latter in 1866. Mr. Bruce is an able Sanscrit scholar, and published in 1865, " The Story of Nala and Damayanti," which he translated from the Sanscrit text. This fine poem is replete with beautiful passages, and shows that the translator is himself dowered with the true poetic power. He published also " The Story of Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot of the Lake," after the German of W. Hertz, a love story that I have lingered over many a time, and which contains some exquisite poetry. In speaking of some of the resignations that have taken place during my period of service, I cannot but be reminded of the retirement of Mr. Charles Cannon, to whom I have before alluded, and whose removal from the Library to the Secretariat was a great loss to the Printed Book Department. In 1866, by Mr. Morris's retirement from the post of translator to the Foreign Office, Mr. Cannon suc- ceeded to that appointment. In a Parliamentary Paper, ordered to be printed in the same year, I find a report from the Principal Librarian to the Trustees upon the retirement of Mr. Cannon, a passage from which I must be allowed to quote : " In submitting Mr. Cannon's resignation to the Trustees, Mr. Panizzi cannot refrain from an expression of his and Fragments. 323 sincere regret that the Museum is thus about to lose the services of a gentleman who for more than twenty-one years has proved himself to be a most valuable and efficient assistant, and that his connec- tion with the Museum should cease in consequence of a higher rate of emolument being offered in another department of the public service for qualifi- cations which are equally needed in the British Museum, and are not easily supplied." I can only add to this high testimony to the merits of Mr. Cannon, that his retirement from among us was a matter of very sincere regret ; as he was not only a man of considerable ability, but was also highly respected for his social qualities. It was my original intention to include in this volume a list of all the works that have been written by those who have been officially connected with the Library. I find, however, that they are so numerous that they would extend my book beyond reasonable limits. I still hope in the future to amuse myself in leisure hours in collecting as complete a list as I can of everything that has been published by men who have held appointments at the British Museum. I shall speak in a subsequent chapter of the resig- nation of Mr. Thomas Oliphant, in connexion with the Musical Collection. I have yet to mention the names of a few who were associated with me for many years in the duties of the Library, but who, from age and infirmities, 324 Stray Notes have sought the retirement they have so justly earned. I allude particularly to Mr. Daniel Buck- land, Mr. William Leach, and Mr. George Byard. Mr. Buckland's first appointment in the Museum dates as far back as the i6th of December, 1825. He was before this connected with the family of the elder Mr. Disraeli, the author of the " Curiosities of Literature," and other charming volumes ; and the father of the distinguished statesman, who is an elected Trustee of the Museum. I have heard him say, with honest pride, that he has carried a Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Prime Minister on his back when a boy, many a time, and I know that he watched his career as a statesman and an author with the interest of one who knew and loved him. Mr. Buckland and Mr. Leach, like myself, served under the Keepership of Mr. Baber, Sir Anthony Panizzi, Mr. Winter Jones, Mr. Watts, and Mr. Rye, and they have only recently retired from the service with the good wishes of all who for so many years were pleasantly associated with them. Mr. Leach and Mr. Byard were both old and faithful servants of the Trustees, and have rendered good service to the country for the pension they respectively enjoy. Mr. Leach has the honour of being the father and founder of the " British Museum Attendants' Mutual Life Assurance Society," which has rendered sub- stantial aid to many a widow at a time when such help is most welcome. Mr. Byard had presented to him a handsome silver cup as a mark of respect, and and Fragments. 325 in recognition of his long services in connexion with the same society. A number of men not officially connected with the Museum Library, but who have had much to do with it in supplying books to enrich its shelves, belong to a class that I am particularly interested in booksellers. Born almost in a bookseller's shop, and connected as I have been through my entire life with ' the gentle craft,' I must be allowed to mention a few names that occur to me. Mr. Thomas Rodd was a bookseller that I found almost in daily converse in the Library when I came to the Museum. All the purchases made at book-sales were obtained through the agency of this literary gentleman, who possessed probably more bibliographical knowledge of old English literature in particular, and of old books in general, than any other member of the trade. Many a time have I seen Mr. Rodd take from his pocket a precious little volume that he had secured for the Library, and hand it to the Keeper, who would rejoice, as only those do, who have a passion for collecting rare volumes. Mr. Rodd was always on the look-out for choice copies of curious books, and his presence at the Museum drew around him a little band who looked upon an old book added to the collection with very much the same kind of feeling that is experienced when a new bantling is introduced into a family circle. Mr. Rodd, at his death, was succeeded by the late Mr. William Pickering, as purchaser for the Library. This gentleman is well 326 Stray Notes known to book-buyers, as the publisher of " Aldine Editions " of most of the masterpieces of English literature, and there issued from his establishment in Chancery Lane some of the best books that have adorned the shelves of the National Library. This gentleman never passed a book-stall anywhere with- out overhauling its contents with a keen and searching eye for rariora, and he was not unfrequently re- warded by finding some curious volume in the pos- session of a man who was completely ignorant of its real market-value. These findings are not so fre- quent now-a-days as formerly, for bibliography, like all other sciences, has made considerable progress, and second-hand booksellers are pretty well up as to the real value of any rarity that may fall into their hands. Mr. Rodd died very suddenly in 1849, and Mr. Pickering in 1854. At the death of Mr. Pickering, Mr. William Boon became the Agent for the Museum at book-sales, and gave the Library the benefit of his valuable services till his death, which also was sudden, in November, 1869. Mr. Boon was succeeded in this special duty by a nephew, who has been connected with his uncle's business from his youth, and whose knowledge of rare and curious books is very considerable. Messrs. Burthes and Lowell, the well-known Foreign Booksellers, of Great Marlborough Street, have for more than a quarter of a century supplied the Library with French literature. I have the pleasantest recollection of the late Mr. Lowell, who and Fragments. 327 was a personal friend both of my father and myself. Mr. Lowell's father was an eminent Baptist minister at Leicester, and a friend of the Prince of Modern Preachers, who laboured for many years in that place the late Robert Hall. Mr. Barthes, senior, was a perfect model of a Frenchman, in courtesy and gentlemanly bearing. Both these gentlemen have long since passed away, but they are succeeded by sons who take as lively an interest in the affairs of the Library as did their worthy predecessors. The late Mr. Alexander Black, of the firm of Black and Armstrong, supplied the German perio- dical literature to the library almost to the day of his death. Mr. C. F. Molini and Mr. Peter Rolandi, Italian booksellers in London, were both eminent in their particular way, and were highly esteemed by Mr. Panizzi and his successors. The late Mr. Adolphus Asher, bookseller of Berlin, was a man of mark in his profession. He was introduced to the Library in 1841. His know- ledge of continental libraries, and their respective collections, was extensive and profound. He was an accomplished scholar ; a sharp, penetrating, and skilful man of business ; and one of the most kind- hearted specimens of our common humanity that it has been my good fortune to meet. His evidence before the Royal Commissioners will fully bear me out in what I have said as to his literary attain- ments, and I can, from my own experience and observation, assert his kindliness and generosity as a 328 Stray Notes man. Mr. Asher, when on his continental travels, which extended throughout Europe, made it his special object to look out and procure for the Library rare and out-of-the-way books. His intimate and varied knowledge of bibliography made him capable of recognizing in an instant anything that was valu- able in this respect Mr. Asher could speak Russian, and read Bohemian and Polish, as well as being con- versant with Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, Danish, and other languages. He was bookseller to the libraries at Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Upsala, the King's Library at Stockholm, Halle, Bonn, Griefswald and Konigsberg; and furnished books occasionally to the library at Co- penhagen, and to the Imperial Library of Paris. He supplied the Museum Library with Sclavonic and Scandinavian works ; also Hungarian, Danish, Swedish, Bohemian, Servian, Illyrian, Modern Greek, and Icelandic ; as well as books from Spanish America, and from Spain and Portugal. On one of his annual visits to the British Museum, he obtained permission from Mr. Panizzi for me to employ my vacation in the examination of these books with the various catalogues of the Museum to ascertain what works were wanted. At the time of which I am speaking my income was small, and the requirements of my family many, so that I was glad to appro- priate my annual vacation for a great many years to this particular work. Those who are at all conver- sant with the duty referred to, will understand me and Fragments. 329 when I say that such work during the summer months, when the Library was open from nine in the morning till seven in the evening, was most wearisome and exhausting. Mr. Asher always rewarded me liberally for the work, and it is true this considerably sweetened the otherwise irksome and responsible task. I regret, however, that this selling of my holidays had a prejudicial effect on my health. Mr. Asher has been dead for some years, but the business is still carried on in the same name by Mr. Albert Cohen, a gentleman in every way qualified to succeed the eminent man I have been speaking of. My late esteemed colleague, Mr. Zedver, pre- sented me some time since with an excellent litho- graphic portrait of Mr. Asher, which I value very much. I should not omit to mention, in connection with booksellers, the firm of Messrs. Payne and Foss ; the late Mr. Thomas Thorpe, of Piccadilly ; and Mr. Lilly, who has so recently been removed by death. All these gentlemen were eminent men in their particular classes of literature, and all have rendered no small service in adding to the national collection much that was both rare and valuable. I have reserved to the last one name which should never be omitted from any History of the Library of the British Museum. It is that of Mr. Henry Stevens, the well-known and eminent American bibliopolist. 330 Stray Notes Mr. Stevens, in an article that appeared in an American paper, on the occasion of the death of the late Mr. Watts, says of himself, that " In 1845 a young man from Vermont drifted into the Museum, introduced by Mr. Jared Sparks. He had taken a degree from Yale, had heard Story lecture, and was a good deal interested in American literature and history." My own acquaintance with Mr. Stevens dates from the period referred to by him of his coming to the Library. At the time mentioned I well remember going through the greater part of the lists which he furnished, not only for the purpose of ascertaining that the works offered for sale were not already in the Library. Next to the literature of my own country, and especially that of my native county Kent, I have had no greater pleasure than in going over the English portions of the books supplied to the Museum in former years by Mr. Stevens. It has always appeared to me that our American brethren take a wider range in their literature than we do : they write upon every con- ceivable and inconceivable subject ; and I have not unfrequently lingered somewhat over my work that I might dip into some of the more curious books that have thus passed through my hands. I must not, however, dwell upon these pleasant recollections of bygone days, but will inform my readers, as briefly as I can, of a few particulars of the gentleman I am speaking of. and Fragments. 331 It should be understood that Mr. Stevens is not only a book-collector, but a bookseller; though he is perhaps more intimately acquainted with American literature than any living man, and also well informed as to the literature of other nations. By a reference to Allibone's " Critical Dictionary of English Litera- ture of British and American Authors," a most valuable work, it will be seen that Mr. Stevens is the author of a great many works upon general subjects. His chief attention, however, has been devoted to American bibliography, and it is perhaps by the valuable works he has produced upon this interesting subject that he will be known chiefly to posterity. We learn from the bibliographical work just re- ferred to, that my friend, for so I am pleased to regard him, is the son of Mr. Henry Stevens, first president of the Vermont Historical and Antiquarian Society, who is spoken of by a countryman as " the father of a large family, a farmer, an innkeeper, a mill- owner, an antiquarian, and a book-collector. He was a liberal and public-spirited citizen, a disin- terested politician, an impartial justice, an indus- trious representative in the State Legislature, an obliging postmaster, a promoter of agriculture, and an advocate of temperance. A kind neighbour, he pastured the widow's cow, protected the fatherless, and annually supplemented his minister-tax with one load of hay, and two bushels of white beans." Mr. vStevens, the younger, was born at Stevensville, in 33 2 Stray Notes the state of Vermont, August 24, 1819; studied at Middlebury College in 1838 and 1839, and at Yale College 1840 to 1843, when he graduated B.A., and entered the Cambridge Law School, spending a year there in 1843. He removed to London, as he himself has already informed us, in 1845, w i tn the view of purchasing rare and valuable books ; and has from that time remained chiefly in London, devoting no small part of his time in adding to the collection of American books in the British Museum, and also in enriching many libraries, both public and private in the United States, by his selections from foreign markets. I may mention a few of the more important bibliographical works that Mr. Stevens has com- piled, and I cannot do better than to name, first of all, those that relate to the library that has formed the subject of this volume. In 1859 Mr. Stevens published catalogues of " American," " Canadian," " Mexican and other Spanish American, and West Indian" books in the Library of the British Museum. He also in the same year issued a catalogue of American Maps in the Library. He had in 1853 published a catalogue of his own English library. In 1857 he sent forth his "American Nuggets, Bibliotheca Americana; or a Descriptive Account of my Collection of Rare Books." To these I may add his " Catalogue Raisonne of English Bibles, New Testaments, Psalms, and other parts of the Scriptures from the earliest editions to the year and Fragments. 333 1850." Between 1847 and 1857 more than ^30,000 worth of Bibles in all languages were collected, collated, and passed into the libraries of the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and to many private collections, by Mr. Stevens. One of the most important works issued by Mr. Stevens is entitled " Historical and Geographical Notes on the earliest Discoveries in America, 1453-1530." The valuable bibliographical and historical information contained in this volume will require a careful re- vision of our whole course of study in early American geography and history. The latest work from the industrious and prolific pen of Mr. Stevens is " Bibliotheca Historica : or, a Catalogue of 5,000 Volumes of Books and Manu- scripts relating chiefly to the History and Literature of North and South America," &c., forming the larger proportion of the extraordinary library of his late father. This work, says an American critic, " is crammed from title to colophon with notes sug- gestive, descriptive, and historical." In the explana- tory and interesting preface to this volume, which is a beautiful specimen of American typography, Mr. Stevens says that it has been his endeavour in the compilation of this work to " erect an appropriate and affectionate memorial to one whose memory to him is dearer than can well be expressed on cold marble. He has aimed, therefore, to achieve for his parent a pious monument that, in warm and comfortable libraries, long after his books have been 334 Stray Notes dispersed, and the sale forgotten, may be referred to by intelligent bibliographers of American history, and be consulted by antiquaries with interest and respect. " I may add that Mr. Stevens's books published in this country are printed at the " Chiswick Press," the typography of which is unrivalled. My friend has " G. M. B." attached to his name, which means " Green Mountain Boy;" and he is also a F.S.A. I may also add that Mr. Stevens teems with infor- mation in everything connected with America, and that he is one of the most agreeable and instructive of my many bookselling friends. I should hardly think, in speaking of the men not officially connected with the Museum, of omitting the name of Mr. John Harris, who styles himself an "artist, lithographer, and copyist." Mr. Harris is the son of an artist, and was himself educated for the same profession. He began to draw when he was only seven years old : in 1 8 1 1 he was introduced to Fuseli, and commenced his labours as a student in the Royal Academy. Mr. Harris is not so much distinguished as an artist as he is famous for his wonderful fac-simile reproductions of early wood- engraving and block-printing to supply deficiencies in imperfect books. In this curious art he is pro- bably unrivalled, and the specimens that he has produced after Faust, Schoeffer, Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde, Pynson, and other early printers, are marvellous and unique. Some of the handsomest and Fragments. 335 and rarest volumes in the libraries of Lord Spencer, Mr. Grenville, the British Museum, and other col- lections, have been made complete by the "cunning" of his " right hand ;" and some of the leaves that he has supplied are so perfectly done that, after a few years, he has himself been puzzled to distinguish his own work from the original, so perfect has the fac-simile been, both in paper and typography. I remember upon one occasion that a question arose as to a certain copy of a rare book in the national collection being complete. The book was sought out and carefully examined by Mr. Panizzi, assisted by Messrs. Jones and Watts ; and after a fruitless search, page by page, the consultation ended in a summons to Mr. Harris himself to point out the leaves that he had supplied. It was only after some considerable search that the artist was able to detect his own handiwork. This circumstance led Mr. Panizzi to obtain an order from the Trustees, that in future all additions made to a book in fac-simile should be marked as being so in a note at the bottom of the page, to prevent the possibility of subsequent librarians being imposed upon. A complete list of all the books completed by Mr. Harris in fac-simile would be a curious and valuable document. He has told me that he supplied on one occasion the 97th folio of a rare edition of the " Spanish Chronicle of Don Rinaldu's," where he had no perfect copy to make it from, but parcelled out the words from a later edition of the work. The artist received 1 2 336 Stray Notes as a reward for this difficult undertaking. One of the most beautiful specimens of his skill in imitating early wood engraving is to be found in the map he reproduced to complete the copy of the Coverdale Bible in the Grenville collection. Another marvel of the same character may be seen in the frontispiece to the Great Bible of Henry VIII. of the date of 1539. It would be interesting to mention other instances of his skill, but I forbear, lest I should weary the reader and fill my book too much with matters only cared for by a few. Some exquisitely beautiful specimens of Mr. Harris's work as an illuminator may be seen in a vellum copy of the Magna Carta, preserved in the National Library. He executed the principal illustrations to " Dibdin's Bibliotheca Spenceriana," and also those in " Petti- grew*s Bibliotheca Sussexiana." Not long since Mr. Harris presented me with a fac-simile reproduction of a letter from the late. Duke of Sussex, who, it will be remembered, was a great book-collector, addressed to George Anson, Esq., Treasurer to H.R.H. the late Prince Consort, and which I shall present to the reader, as it confirms the statement I have advanced of Mr. Harris's peculiar accomplishments. It is as follows : " MY DEAR ANSON, " The bearer of these lines is Mr. Harris, a very ingenious man, who repairs manuscripts and imitates old books in a way quite surprising, so as to and Fragments. 337 make it impossible to observe them from the original. Should Prince Albert want his services, I can strongly recommend him to his attention and pro- tection, having experienced much advantage from his services in my library. Truly yours, AUGUSTUS FREDERICK. Kensington Palace, September igth, 1841. Mr. Harris commenced his labours in the Museum Library as early as the year 1820. I very much regret to add that he has been obliged for some years entirely to abstain from his professional work, owing to the almost total failure of sight. Mr. Harris is a " Mason," and is a resident of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and their Widows, at Croydon, Surrey. He retains much of his mental vigour, and is as cheerful as a boy : his declining years are brightened by Christian hope, and though his natural light is darkened by long application to work that tried the visual organs and has dimmed their lustre, he is a most companion- able man, full of interesting anecdotes and pleasant references to literary men and great book-collectors, and looking, in the calm assurance of an unfaltering faith, as a devout and humble Christian man, to a world of light where, as I think, his particular talents will be developed after a fashion that he probably never imagined. Mr. Harris has lately presented me with a copy of " Lines on the Fiftieth Anniversary 338 Stray Notes and Fragments. of the Wedding Day of John and Mary Harris, 1 3th February, 1870 ;" and " Lines on the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution," published in aid of the Free- masons' Life Boat Fund, and written in his 8oth year. Having made frequent reference in these pages to the governing body of the Institution of which I have had the honour to speak, I may mention that, in addition to the Official and Family Trustees of the British Museum, there are a certain number which are elected from time to time as vacancies occur from death. It has always been a distinguished honour for any of our public men to be elected a Trustee, and I subjoin a list of the present members of the Board from that source, in the order in which they were chosen. They are as follows : Sir David Dundas, Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Duke of Somerset, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, Earl Russell, Right Hon. William Ewart Gladstone, Right Hon. Spencer Horatio Walpole, Viscount Eversley, Sir Thomas Phillips, Bart, Right Hon. Benjamin Disraeli, Right Hon. Robert Lowe, Duke of Argyll, and Dr. Wilberforce, Bishop of Winchester. The late Mr. Grote, the eminent historian, was an elected Trustee. CHAPTER XVII. IN MEMORIAM. * S I look back over a period of nearly forty years, and recall the names of those who successively held official station in the British Museum during the early part of my life, and with whom I have been more or less associated, how few of them remain ! " The old familiar faces " are almost all gone : the dead come thronging on the memory from the mist of years, and it is far easier to count the living that are left behind than those who have passed away. The first and foremost name that occurs to me is that of my father, who introduced me to the Museum in 1835, as a youth of eighteen. Mr. Mawer Cowtan was the son of a Kentish yeoman, and was born at Boughton-under-Blean, a pretty little village on the old London road, about six miles from Canterbury. From a family register, most carefully chronicled and preserved in an old bible, I find that my grandfather, Robert Cowtan, was born in 1739, and was twice 34 In Memoriam. married : his death is duly recorded in the family register : " aged seventy-two years, five months, and twenty days," April 22, 1812. My father was the third son of the second marriage, and was born in 1782. My father received a plain commercial education at the best school in the neighbourhood, and was at an early age apprenticed to Mr. William Bristow, a bookseller at Canterbury, who combined with that business an extensive printing establishment. Several local publications were printed and published by his master, and amongst others that might be named are " Hasted's History of Canterbury," and the second edition in octavo of the same writer's famous " His- tory of Kent." The author's beautiful copy of the first edition of his work is in the Grenville Collection, and contains some additional plates, which are very scarce, with a list of them in the handwriting of Hasted, and his signature attached. Both these valuable local histories have been long " out of print." The first edition of the " History of Kent " has now become so rare that whenever a copy turns up at a sale, book-collectors will give a large sum for the handsome volumes. My father's master was also the printer, publisher, and editor of the " Kentish Chronicle," and was also a member of the Corpora- tion, or as it is now termed, the Town Council. At the expiration of his apprenticeship, my father had become so valuable to his master that he took him at once into partnership. Shortly after this he In Menioriam. 341 was elected a member of the corporation, and so popular was he as a citizen, that he was chosen Mayor of the city of Canterbury the same year : an incident, I believe, without precedent in the corporate annals of that ancient city. On the death of his partner, which occurred in 1 808, my father succeeded to the business, and for many years conducted the editorial department of the " Kentish Chronicle." He was afterwards a second time elevated to the office of chief magistrate, and continued an active member of the corporation till his removal from Canterbury in 1834. It is not too much to say of my father, with refer- ence to his official career as a magistrate, that he gained the respect and esteem of all classes by his frankness and amiability, and not less by his desire at all times to temper justice with mercy. Concerning his character as a master, I may quote from one who served his apprenticeship to him, and who afterwards became editor of one of the most influential and popu- lar of our metropolitan weekly journals, the " Weekly Dispatch/' In the obituary notice from the pen of that gentleman, Mr. Joseph Wrightson, it is recorded of my father that, "It might be truly affirmed that to his numerous workmen he was indulgent to a fault ; and those who were reared by him to the business of a printer, loved him as a parent and a friend." In 1832 the late Dr. Howley, a man of singular meekness and gentleness, visited Canterbury in his official capacity as " Archbishop and Metropolitan of 34 2 In Memoriam. all England.'' As his grace's visits were " few and far between," it was the custom of the corporation on these occasions to pay to him all the respect and attention due to his exalted station and character. The Mayor and other members of the corporation prepared a banquet at the Guildhall of the ancient city, to which they invited the clergy of the diocese and their families, with the wives and daughters of the several members of the corporation, to meet his grace the Archbishop on his arrival. Popular feeling, at the time referred to, was very strong at Canterbury against those who had in any way opposed the passing of the Reform Bill, and it was well known that the venerable Archbishop was by no means friendly to that great measure. The feeling of the majority of the people in favour of that bill was decidedly against the clergy, who were almost to a man strenuously opposed to any extension of the suffrage. The good people at Canterbury, who were in favour of progressive reforms, were determined to let his grace, as the representative of the Church, know unmistakeably their feelings upon the matter. Long before the amiable prelate was expected on the day referred to, the streets were crowded by respect- ably-dressed people, who talked in groups of the politics of the period, and spoke in not the most measured tones as to the feeling of the people towards the clergy and their mitred representative who was expected to be their visitor and guest. Some of the. more excitable and impatient of the In Memoriam. 343 reformers, tired of waiting inactive in the streets, started for Harbledown, a small suburb just out of Canterbury on the London road, for the purpose of meeting the good prelate, and of giving him some foretaste of what he might expect to receive on his arrival in the city. The great mass of the people had, however, as- sembled in the High Street, which is in the immediate vicinity of the Guildhall. When his grace's carriage drew up in front of that building he was greeted with a torrent of hisses, howlings, and groans, and this was followed by a tremendous volley of mud, rotten eggs, and stones, which fell in a shower around the carriage of the Archbishop. The few constables that were on duty at the time were utterly unable to hold the crowd in check, or put down the disturbance, and matters began to assume a very serious aspect, inasmuch as the cry was raised to drag the venerable prelate from his carriage. My father was one of the magistrates present on the occasion, and was waiting with other members of the corporation to welcome the Archbishop to the banquet prepared for him. I was a boy standing among the crowd in front of the Guildhall, and watching the proceedings with considerable interest. My father, seeing the great danger of the aged pre- late, immediately advanced with head uncovered to the door of his grace's carriage. This bold proceed- ing on the part of my father rather increased the tumult and incensed the crowd of excited reformers, 344 In Memoriam. who appeared determined to drag the prelate from his carriage and inflict summary vengeance upon him. I well remember the quiet, meek, and gentle look of the Archbishop, as well as my apprehension for the safety of my father, who was cool, dignified, and perfectly self-possessed. My father grasped the handle of the carriage-door, and commanded those who surrounded the carriage to desist from such cowardly and disgraceful conduct. The coolness and courage displayed by my father had the effect of keep- ing back some of the ring-leaders ; he persuaded his grace not to alight, but to drive at once to the Deanery. My father instructed the coachman to drive to the Deanery in the Cathedral precincts, and the outriders, by the aid of their horses and long whips, managed to cut a passage through the excited multitude for the carriage. Unfortunately, the visits of the Archbishop to Canterbury were so rare, that neither the coachman nor the outriders knew the way to the Deanery, and in the confusion turned into a street, St. Margaret's, directly opposite to that which they should have taken, namely, Mercey Lane, which was the direct route to the Deanery. The mob ran pell-mell after the carriage with furious cries and threats, when one of his grace's footmen, who was born near Canterbury and who knew the city well, directed the coachman to make a dttotir, and the venerable prelate reached the Deanery in safety. Immediately on his arrival at the Deanery, the Archbishop dispatched a messenger to thank my In Mentor iam. 345 father for his conduct on the occasion, and on the following day the Dean waited upon him to say that His Grace would have come in person to thank him, but for the fear of exposing both him- self and my father to the insults and abuse of a low and brutalised mob. Some correspondence appeared at the time in the Canterbury papers relating to this shameful and disgraceful outrage. A correspondent of the "Globe" newspaper made some remarks condemnatory of my father for his interference on the occasion, which produced a reply, in which he vindicated his conduct as a magistrate and a peaceful citizen ; and cleared himself from the aspersions cast upon him by the writer in that journal. Those who are interested in such matters, may see his letter in the impression of the " Globe " for August nth, 1832. I ought to mention that my father was a decided liberal in politics, and that he was actuated entirely in the part he took on this occasion by a sense of public duty. An address, signed by nearly all the respectable inhabitants of Canterbury, repudiating in very forcible language the conduct of the mob, was presented to the Archbishop, in which His Grace was assured that he held a high place in the affec- tionate respect of the citizens and gentry of the city and neighbourhood. The reply of His Grace was all that could be desired, and so the matter ended. In 1834, my father retired from business and resigned his magistracy. Dr. Howley hearing of 346 In Memoriam. this, presented him with the appointment of Col- lector of publications under the Copyright Act, in the British Museum, to which was added shortly after the office of Accountant. He held these ap- pointments until his death. He was laid aside from duty only a few days by an attack of influenza, and died gently, as an infant would fall asleep, on January 29, 1847, aged 65 years. How my father discharged his official duties at the Museum I may be permitted to show by quoting from a letter of the Rev. Josiah Forshall, the Secretary to the Trustees, who says : " For nearly thirteen years Mr. Mawer Cowtan was employed here under my direction ; and his punctual attention to his duties, obliging manner, and general amiability of dispo- sition gained him, not merely my own personal respect, but that of every officer of the Museum.'' I have already spoken at large in preceding chapters of Mr. Baber, Mr. Cary, and Mr. Hartwell Home, and the name that next occurs to me is that of Mr. John Williams. When the library of George III. was transferred to the Museum, attached to it were Mr. Nicholas Carlisle, for many years secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, Mr. William Arm- strong, Mr. John Glover, and Mr. John Williams. Mr. Glover, who was a fellow-apprentice with Mr. Williams, held also the appointment of " Librarian in Ordinary" to William IV., and subsequently to Her Majesty Queen Victoria. It was my happiness In Memoriam. 347 to be associated with these gentlemen in the early days of my official life; but they have all been removed by death. Pleasant recollections are con- nected with all, but to one of them, Mr. Williams, I was particularly attached, and there grew up between us a friendship that only terminated at his death. When I came to the Museum as a youth (I was then the youngest on the establishment), this good man took quite an affectionate interest in me. He was dressed in the old quaint suit of black, with knee- breeches and gaiters. His manners were such as to attract the admiration of every one around him, and his influence upon his colleagues was of the most genial and gentle character. Mr. Williams was an eminently devout man, without a particle of cant or humbug, and a conscientious member of the Church of England. I was a Nonconformist, but this did not in any way interfere with our friendship, but rather tended to cement it, as he was a man of liberal and catholic opinions, and one of the best practical illustrations of Christianity in daily life that it has been my good fortune to meet with. His care of the books in the Royal Library was most observable. He handled the precious volumes in such a way as to impress the younger men with a becoming sense of their value, and was never weary of des- canting on their respective merits. I learnt from him that he was introduced to the King's Library, then located at Buckingham House, 348 In Memoriam. as early as 1796. As I have before observed, he and Mr. Glover were apprenticed to Mr. Armstrong, the Royal Bookbinder at that period, and they con- tinued to work together under that gentleman for many years. Mr. Williams, as I have already stated, came to the Museum with the royal collection of books in 1828, and soon gained the respect of all. In 1848, a handsome tea-service was presented to him, through the hands of Mr. Panizzi, the Keeper of the Printed Books, in recognition of his long and faithful labours. On this happy occasion all in the Department came forward to express their admira- tion of the good man. I well remember the pleasant evening many of us spent at his pretty little cottage home at Bayswater, a few days after this presenta- tion, and to commemorate the event, when dancing, a little speech-making, some good old jovial songs, and a substantial supper, made the " fine old English gentleman " so merry, that it was long after mid- night before we could get away from his happy family. He died in 1856, universally regretted, and deservedly esteemed by all who knew him. It was my privilege to visit him in his last brief illness. I always found him calm and happy, and full of thank- fulness for the many mercies of a long and active life. That life had been, as I have said a beautiful em- bodiment of Christianity, and as I stood by his bed- side to take a last farewell of one who had not only given me kindly counsel, but had exemplified in his In Memoriam. 349 every-day life the virtues he recommended, the words came to my mind : "To live, that when thy summons comes to join The innumerable caravan, that moves To the pale realms of shade, where each shall take His chamber in the silent halls of death, There go, not like the quarry slave at night, Scourged to his dungeon; but sustain'd and soothed By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch Around him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." I would not by any means omit the name of a lady who was kind to me from the morning of my first engagement in the Library : I allude to Mrs. Mary Bygrave, the Housekeeper, or, as she is termed in the Parliamentary Returns, " Chief- Housemaid." This lady entered upon her duties as early as the 1 8th of March, 1799, and on my first connection with the Museum I was a special favourite of hers. She had spent thirty and three years in the service of the Trustees, and though somewhat advanced in life, she still retained the remains of a beauty that must once have been very bewitchingly attractive. From my being the youngest man at that time in the Museum, she was particularly pleased with little attentions paid to her. I remember presenting her one summer morning with a moss-rose bud, when I remarked that at one time it would have done for an emblem of herself. She told me, with a woman's pride, that she was once rather attractive, at least the young fellows told her so. Her husband was one of my colleagues 350 In Memoriam. in the Library, and entered the Museum on the 24th of March, 1810. He, too, was a gentleman of the bygone age, and retained the fashion of wearing a black dress-coat, knee-breeches, black stockings, and shoes with bright buckles. Mr. Bygrave, Senior for he had a son and a grandson in the Library, was one of the most active old men that I ever met with. I have seen him dance a minuet most grace- fully when he was eighty years old, and he would ascend a ladder to reach a book from the topmost shelf of a press with as much quickness and agility as the youngest of us. This worthy pair lived in the eastern wing of old Montague House, abutting upon Great Russell Street. I was not unfrequently invited to take a cup of tea with them, and was delighted to listen to the anecdotes they were so fond of telling, relating to the early history of the Museum. These friends of my youth have long since passed away : the grandson, Mr. St. John Bygrave, was one of the most amiable of my col- leagues; he died of consumption in the prime of manhood. As I look down the Parliamentary Return of names in our own department, I am mournfully reminded of " the days that are no more." Sir Henry Ellis, Mr. Baber, Mr. Gary, Mr. Nicholas Carlisle, Mr. Armstrong, Mr. Glover, Mr. Hartwell Home, Mr. Thomas Yeates, Mr. John Graham, Mr. Charles Coke, Mr. Gates, and a host of others, are all gone. A glance at the names in the other de- In Memoriam. 351 partments at the time I entered the Museum tells the same sad story. The Rev. William Cureton became Assistant- Keeper of the Manuscripts on the 3rd of August, 1837 : he was before this Assistant- Librarian of the Bodleian, Oxford. Mr. Cureton was an accomplished scholar and a most amiable and unassuming man. He had given much attention to Arabic, and pub- lished various works in that language. The acquisi- tion of the Syrian Manuscripts during his librarianship gave him an opportunity that might not have occurred for ages, of turning to the advantage of learning his knowledge of Syriac. He resigned his appointment at the Museum in 1850, on receiving preferment in the Church, and in 1859 was appointed by the Queen " The Royal Trustee " at the Museum. Dr. Cureton was on terms of the closest friendship with Mr. Panizzi, and was a man of kindred energy and power. He met with a severe railway accident, and died from the shock to the nervous system. Mr. John Holmes succeeded Dr. Cureton as Assistant-Librarian in the Manuscript Departments; he had been an Assistant since the 1 5th January, 1830, and had given valuable evidence in catalogues before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1836. Mr. Holmes was a most learned referee in all matters relating to heraldry and pedigrees, as well as being well versed in general literature. I should not omit the name of Dr. Rosen, an eminent Sanscrit, Arabic, and Syriac scholar, editor 352 In Memoriam. of the " Radices Sanscritae," and many other valuable works, who was an Assistant in the Manuscript De- partment for some years previous to his death in 1837, and was at the same time Professor of Orien- tal Languages at the London University. There is a fine bust of Dr. Rosen in the Manuscript De- partment. Mr. Kcenig, for so many years the Keeper of the Natural History, and Mr. Childers, the Assistant- Keeper in the same department a splendid specimen of the gentleman and scholar are all dead long, long ago. Mr. Robert Brown, the greatest botanist of the age, for many years Keeper of Sir Joseph Banks' Botanical Collection, and the companion of Captain Cook, the navigator, in his voyages round the world, must be added to the number. Mr. John Joseph Bennett, his accomplished and amiable Assistant, who on Mr. Brown's death succeeded to the Keepership of the department, has but recently retired. Mr. Bennett entered the service of the Trustees on the 2Oth of November, 1827, and was one of the most able and highly esteemed officers in the Museum. He still retains much of his former intellectual power, and has gone away from his much-loved work with the good wishes of all who knew him. Mr. Bennett has been succeeded in the Keepership by Mr. William Carruthers, who was enrolled on the 25th of August, 1859, as an Assistant in the department of which he is now the Keeper. Mr. Edward Hawkins, the Keeper of the Anti- In Memoriam. 353 quities, and Mr. Charles Frederic Barn well, the Assistant- Keeper, are also numbered with the dead. Mr. William Young Ottley was Keeper of the Prints when I first knew the Museum. He followed Mr. John Thomas Smith, so well known as the author of " Nollekins and his Times," and other works. Mr. Ottley was succeeded by Mr. Henry Josi, and he again by Mr. Carpenter, who has died within the last few years. One of my earliest friends at the Museum was Mr. George Reid, of the Print Room, the father of the present Keeper of the Prints. Mr. Reid entered the service of the Trustees on the 28th of February, 1831, having been presented with his appointment by Dr. Howley, Archbishop of Canterbury, by whom he had been employed as an artist for many years. He belonged to a Scotch family, who were located at Dunkeld for some generations, but was born at Folkestone in Kent, on the day that the battle of the Nile was being fought under Lord Nelson, August ist, 1798. His father held an appointment at Dover Castle during the war with France. Mr. Reid was educated as an artist, and for many years practised as a teacher of drawing. He married at the early age of twenty. Being a good draughtsman, he was engaged upon illustrating many popular works of the day ; among which may be mentioned " Churchill's Medical Botany and Zoology. He was for several years draughtsman for the Horticultural Society, by the members of which he was very highly esteemed, A A 354 I H Memoriam. both as an eminent artist and for his many genial social qualities. On receiving his appointment, Mr. Reid was told by the Archbishop that it was only " a stepping-stone" to something better, and there is little doubt but that he would have succeeded to the Curatorship of the Print Room when the Keeper- ship was vacant in 1845 by the death of Mr. Josi, but he was in bad health at the time and died shortly afterwards. This honour was, however, reserved for his son, who has so worthily followed in the footsteps of his father, and who has already done much to popularize the increasingly interesting department, by making its treasures more available to students, and by printed catalogues of its principal contents, so that artists everywhere may know what to seek in their visits to the Print Room. It is a matter of no small congratulation that I have not to include the Keeper of Zoology, Dr. John Gray, in the long list of names that have passed away. Dr. Gray's appointment is dated the 2ist of December, 1824. He is not only eminent as a Zoologist, but he is also the author of numerous works on the various branches of Natural History, as well as a constant contributor of papers to almost all the literary and scientific journals of the day. Dr. Gray took an active part in the formation of the Zoological, Entomological, Geographical, Microscopical, and Pa- laeontological Societies. He is also a Fellow of the Royal, the Linnsean, Geographical, and the Geological Societies, and an Honorary Phil. Dr. of the Uni- /;/ Memoriam. 355 versity of Munich, for having formed " the largest zoological collection in Europe." In the same department is Mr. George Robert Gray, the brother of the above, who has held office since the i6th of September, 1831. This distin- guished naturalist, like his brother, is a most industrious and energetic man, and is well known as an author both in England and on the Continent. His magnificent work, " The Genera of Birds," in three volumes folio, is a splendid monument to his ability and industry, and is styled by Sir W. Jardine, "a ready index to the whole subject of ornithology." This gentleman is still in the prime of life, and is very highly esteemed at the Museum. Mr. George Tamouelle, and Mr. Daniel Cooper, both assistants in the Natural History Department during the first years of my official life, have long ago been gathered to their fathers. Mr. Adam White, an assistant in the same department, entered the service of the Trustees the same year as myself. This gentleman was born at Peebles, and came to London quite a youth. I remember him making his first appearance at the Museum in a short jacket, which, together with his ruddy and youthful appear- ance, gained for him the epithet of " the boy White." He was a most ardent and where is the Scotchman who is not ardent 1 ? worker in his chosen science, that of entomology, and has published several able works on the subject. He is also the author of " A Popular History of Mammalia/' and many other 356 In Memoriam. interesting works. Mr. White's ill health obliged him to leave the Museum some years since. He is now a resident in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and is able to pursue his favourite studies with almost as much ardour and resoluteness as formerly. It was my good fortune to form a friendship with Mr. White, on his first coming to the Museum, which has con- tinued uninterrupted till the present day. Another of my earliest and dearest friends was Dr. Samuel P. Woodward, whose connection with the Museum commenced but a few years subsequent to my own. This gentleman was a son of Mr. Samuel Woodward, of Norwich, the author of " The Norfolk Topographer's Manual/' and other works. He had always a fondness for natural history studies, and left the British Museum for a while to assist in managing the affairs of the Geological Society at Somerset House. He returned to the service of the Trustees in September, 1848, as an assistant in the Geological branch of the Natural History Department, where he laboured till his lamented death in 1865: He was a man of delicate health, and in the summer of that year he went with his family to Herne Bay, a quiet watering-place in Kent, to recruit his strength. He wrote to me on the afternoon of June igth, in which last letter he said, " The worst feature of my case is the extremely feeble and reduced condition at which I had previously arrived quite 'played out,' as the little Yankee vagabonds say." The same night he died from hemorrhage from the lungs.. On In Memoriam. 357 the day Dr. Woodward first came to the Museum our friendship commenced a friendship never inter- rupted till his sad and sudden death. Dr. Wood- ward is the author of " A Manual of the Mollusca," which has become a class-book on the subject of which it treats. He contributed articles to the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom, and was a frequent contributor to most of the literary and scientific periodicals of the day. One of the names that I am not likely soon to forget is that of Leopold James Lardner, who died in November, 1855. His special work in the Library was to superintend the transcription of the Catalogue (a duty now discharged by Mr. Warren), all the entries for which were copied under his direction by the junior assistants elsewhere referred to. The Supplementary Catalogue in manuscript of the additions, in Mr. Lardner's time, numbered about three hundred ; the number of volumes yearly added to the Library averaging about 20,000, and the entries of which compose this Catalogue were only a portion of those of which Mr. Lardner corrected the transcription, a labour analogous to that of correcting for the press. To execute a task of this nature with efficiency, demands, in addition to other requisites, an extensive knowledge of languages ; and in this respect, as in others, Mr. Lardner's qualifications were high. He was well acquainted with Greek and Latin, with Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, and in a slighter degree with Danish. He was frequently 358 In Memoriam. engaged m executing translations from the modern languages for the Foreign Office. In addition to these, he spoke Dutch, French, and German, not merely with the ordinary readiness and precision of a gentleman and a scholar, but with such entire fluency and, as was remarked, with such fulness of idiom, and with such perfect command of accent, that in each he was taken for a native. Mr. Lardner was born in Holland, of English parents, in 1816. His education was received, and much of his after-life was passed in that country and Germany. In Holland he was for some years esta- blished as private tutor in the family of Mr. Jacob Van Lennep, the celebrated poet and novelist, known as the Walter Scott of Holland. Mr. Lardner entered the Museum in 1846, where he appeared to have fallen exactly into his proper sphere of action. Punctual, ingenious in detail, interested in a hundred different matters, patient of interruption, eager to oblige, he was popular, both among colleagues and subordinates, for the liveliness of his conversation and the amenity of his manners. A serious illness in the summer of 1854 left his health in a very precarious state, and he died on the 24th of November, 1855, and was buried in the upper part of Highgate Cemetery, where maybe seen a memorial stone erected to his memory. Another friend to whom I was much attached, was Mr. Louis Augustin PreVost, who died in April, 1858. The Library of the British Museum, in In Memoriam. 359 addition to its other treasures, contains one of the largest collections of Chinese books in Europe. The work of cataloguing these was for some years en- trusted to Mr. PreVost. This difficult branch of the Printed Book Department is now performed by Mr. Douglas, who is a most valuable acquisition to the Library. He has spent many years in China, and is a pupil of Mr. Summers, one of the most eminent Chinese scholars in Europe. Mr. PreVost was born at Troyes, in Champagne, on the 6th of June, 1796. He came to England in 1823, as tutor in the family of Mr. Ottley, afterwards Keeper of the Prints in the British Museum, and he never quitted this his adopted country afterwards. He married in 1825 an English wife; and in 1854 he lost his only son, one of the devoted men, fighting under the assumed name of Melrose, among the foremost of the English Light Cavalry, at the deadly but immortal " charge of Balaklava.'' Having had myself three brothers in the 1 6th Lancers, who took part in the Campaign of the Sutledge, two of whom had died in India, I could most fully sympathise with Mr. and Mrs. Provost in the loss they had sustained in their son. In doing so I could but con- gratulate them in having a son who took part in that glorious charge, which Lord Raglan said, "was perhaps the finest thing ever attempted," and of which General Bosquet remarked, " It is splendid; but it is not war." Mr. Kinglake, in his eloquent work, " The Invasion of the Crimea, spends a 360 In Memoriam. hundred and thirty-eight pages in describing this heroic act of British valour that only lasted twenty minutes. I cannot deny myself the pleasure of quoting one passage from Mr. Kinglake, who says of this brilliant page in the history of the army : " Half-forgotten already, the origin of the Light Cavalry Charge is fading away out of light Its splendour remains. And splendour like this is some- thing more than the mere outward adornment which graces the life of a nation. It is strength strength other than of mere riches, and other than that of gross numbers strength carried by proud descent from one generation to another strength awaiting the trials that are to come." Having always a pre- dilection for the army, I almost envied the man who had a son to take part in that never-to-be- forgotten feat of arms. Oh ! " Honour the brave and bold ! Long shall the tale be told, Yea, when our babes are old How they rode forward." To return, however, to my departed friend. For many years of his residence in England, Mr. Prevost was a teacher of languages, and one of his pupils was Charles Dickens. Much of Mr. Prevost's time was spent in the Reading-Room of the British Museum, in following up a study which had for him an irresis- tible fascination the study of languages in general, and which he pursued to a great extent, though in a somewhat peculiar manner. He almost invariably In Memoriam. 361 took for his earliest reading in any language he studied, a portion of the Scriptures, by his previous knowledge of the meaning of which he was enabled to decipher the text, and master the general structure of the unknown tongue. The language to which he applied himself with peculiar fondness was Chinese ; but in the course of years, most of the languages of Europe, many of Asia, and even some of Polynesia, were made in succession the objects of study. French, English, Italian, German, and Latin were the five most familiar to him ; and he was also well acquainted with some of the Celtic and Sclavonic languages. Like many of his countrymen he was remarkably fond of the Ossianic Poems, and for many years made a practice of reading them through in Gaelic every twelve months. In general he took more interest in the structure of a language than in the literature which it recorded. By the almost unintermitted labours of a life-time he became finally acquainted, more or less perfectly, with upwards of forty languages. His remarkable acquirements led to his engagement at the British Museum towards the close of 1843 ; and for the fourteen years which followed, he was chiefly occupied in the cataloguing of the Chinese books ; while his services were also often called in requisition in the case of several of the obscure languages of Europe and Asia. The mild and unassuming manners of Mr. Prevost endeared him to all his colleagues. He was re- garded by the late Mr. Watts with peculiar in- 362 In Memoriam. terest and admiration. The long train of mourners that followed him to the grave at Highgate Cemetery, on the 3Oth of April, 1858, was entirely composed of friends from the British Museum. I must also record the recent departure from among us of Mr. Isaac Bern Hain Pinto, who was born in Morocco, and who was many years an assistant in the Library. Mr. Pinto was an excellent Hebrew and Arabic scholar, and was much esteemed by his colleagues. He died at Boulogne, November 23, 1870, at the age of 63 years. There are yet two names that I have not men- tioned in this chapter, and that I would not by any means omit : the one is Mr. Edmund Bach, whose connection with the Library commenced on the 2nd of January, 1838. This'gentleman had, previously to his appointment at the Museum, been an assistant in the establishment of Messrs. Black and Armstrong, foreign booksellers. He was well acquainted with modern German literature, and was also possessed of considerable bibliographical attainments, which made him a valuable addition to the Library-staff. In addition to these qualifications, Mr. Bach was a most amiable man, and enjoyed the good opinion and sincere friendship of every man in the department. He was born in Germany, and had spent all his life among books. The only work he published was one entitled, " The Poems of Schiller explained, with a Glossary elucidating the Difficulties of Language, Con- struction, Historical, and other Allusions." Mr. Bach Memoriam. 363 sickened and died, 2ist October, 1848, while in the prime of life. Those who knew him as a colleague will not soon forget his good tempered face and genial companionship. The other name that I would mention is that of Mr. Frederick Lawrence, who entered the Library as an assistant in December, 1846, and who died also very suddenly, at the early age of forty-six, on the 25th of October, 1867. Mr. Lawrence was engaged in the compilation of the general catalogue, but he left the Museum in May, 1849, for the purpose of devoting his talents to the legal pro- fession. He was subsequently called to the Bar, and practised successfully as a barrister in the Oxford Circuit. During this time he was a frequent contri- butor to the periodical press, and the author of a " Life of Henry Fielding; with Notices of his Writings, his Times, and his Contemporaries," published in 1855. I would recommend those of my younger friends who are interested in the works of this great novelist, to read Mr. Lawrence's book, as it will give them a far better understanding of the different characters so inimitably pourtrayed than can be obtained with- out such assistance from the works themselves. Mr. Lawrence was always much interested in all the social and political questions of the day. He was Chairman of the Garibaldian Committee ; was a member of " Our Club," in Covent Garden, and also of the " Arundel Club," in Salisbury Street, Strand. He was thus well-adapted for illustrating this depart- 364 In Memoriam. ment of literature, while the frequent allusions to the times and contemporaries of Fielding require just such a work as Mr. Lawrence has supplied. It was my privilege to enjoy the friendship of this gentle- man, not only during his connection with the Library, but also to the time of his lamented decease. He is interred at the Kensal Green Cemetery. I am reminded also of the loss the Library sus- tained in the early removal by death of Mr. Charles Mitchell, Mr. H. Neustein,and Mr. Charles Thanisch, with all of whom pleasant recollections are connected. All these gentlemen died before they had arrived at the meridian of life. In this chapter of my Memories, I must be per- mitted specially to speak of one, who, though not on the Library-staff, was so intimately connected with it, as to exert much influence upon its management, and also upon its growth and development. He was, moreover, exceedingly kind to my father in his official relationship, and was my friend and counsellor when I needed such help not a little. The Rev. Josiah Forshall's connection with the British Museum commenced in 1824, as Assistant Keeper in the Department of Manuscripts. In 1828 he was promoted to the Keepership of the depart- ment, and appointed Secretary to the Trustees. It was in this latter office that he exerted a great influence, not only upon the general affairs of the Museum, but upon the Printed Book Department in particular ; and it is as Secretary and adviser of the In Memoriam. 365 Trustees, that he is brought prominently forward in some important periods in the history of the Library. He was, moreover, so remarkable a man that I am sure my readers will be glad to have the particulars about him that I have been able to obtain. I may add also, that, as far as my knowledge goes, no bio- graphical notice of this gentleman has ever appeared in print, so that what I have been able to collect may aid some future writer who shall be disposed to follow up the subject. Josiah Forshall was the eldest son of Samuel Forshall, Esq., and was born at Witney, in Oxford- shire, March 29th, 1795. He received the rudiments of education at the Grammar School, Exeter; but the death of his mother, before he had completed his tenth year, led to the removal of the family into Cheshire, and in consequence young Josiah was deprived of the advantages which he might have obtained by remaining at Exeter School. When nearly four years had been spent, partly at private schools, and partly at the Grammar School at Chester, his father went to reside in Wales, and young Forshall remained at home for four years, as much perhaps from the want of any sufficiently good school in the neighbourhood as from delicacy of health. After studying for a few months with a private tutor, the Rev. Joseph Dale, he entered as a commoner at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1814. At this time his knowledge both of the classics and of mathematics was very moderate, owing to the many 366 In Memoriam. interruptions to his earlier studies, and the slight assistance he had been able to obtain ; but after ma- triculation his progress in these was remarkably rapid. Being, however, anxious to take his degree, in the earliest possible term, he was unable to make up for past disadvantages, so far as to read the number of books requisite for a first class in classics. He took his B. A. degree in 1818, obtaining a first- class in mathematical honours, and a second in literis humanioribus. There were only two men with him in the first class Walter Henry Burton and Edward Greswell. Between the former of these and Mr. Forshall the closest friendship subsisted. Mr. Burton died at the early age of twenty-seven, not without giving proofs of uncommon ability by the publication of a work entitled " An Elementary Compendium of the Law of Real Property," which has passed through as many as eight editions, and is still a well-known and authoritative book on the subject. The Rev. Edward Greswell, now Vice-President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, has a world-wide reputation for his theological writings. Mr. Forshall's habits of close observation, as well as great retentive powers, were about this time tes- tified to by a fellow-collegian, the Rev. John Williams, M.A., who said of him, " That on whatever subject Mr. Forshall conversed, that subject a hearer would suppose to have been his special study," an opinion which those who knew Mr. Forshall in after-life will In Memoriam. 367 hardly call exaggerated. After taking the degree of M.A., he was elected Tutor and Fellow of his college. In 1824, as already mentioned, he received the appointment of Assistant- Keeper of Manuscripts in the Library of the British Museum; and in 1828, that of Keeper in the same department, and Se- cretary to the Board of Trustees. In this year also, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1837, the increasing duties of the Secretaryship made it necessary that it should be a separate and distinct appointment. At that time Mr. Forshall ceased to be connected with the Manuscript Department, and was succeeded in the office of Keeper then by Sir Frederic Madden. From 1837 till the day of his resignation he gave himself most unreservedly and heartily to his duties as Secretary, and obtained by his great administrative ability and winning courtesy, such a power and influence with the Trus- tees, as made him the principal in all movements bearing upon the condition and management of the Museum. Mr. Forshall's removal from the Manuscripts was considered a great loss to that department, as he was a most efficient Keeper. The study of manuscripts was one exactly congenial to his taste for critical investigations, and it may well be a matter of regret that he was not allowed to continue his researches on these or kindred subjects, to the advantage of the literary public, instead of applying himself wholly to 368 In Memoriam. the duties of the Secretaryship, which involved such an amount of anxious thought and so constant a strain upon his active intellect that his health gave way, and he was obliged to retire from the service. Mr. Forshall's publications during his connection with the Manuscript Department were as follows : " Catalogue of Manuscripts in the British Museum," three Parts, 1834-40, folio; " Catalogus Codicum MSS. Orientalium qui in Mus. Brit, asservantur," Part I. ; " Codices Syriacos et Carshunicos amplec- tens," 1838, folio; "Description of Greek Papyri in the British Museum," Part I. 1839, quarto. There was one notable exception to the monoto- nous routine of Mr. Forshall's official life. A portion of many days during a period of twenty-two years was devoted to the collation of the Wycliffite versions of the Scriptures. This important work was under- taken in conjunction with Sir Frederic Madden as a voluntary service to the University of Oxford, and a most valuable contribution to Biblical literature. It was handsomely printed at the Clarendon Press, Oxford, in 1850, in four quarto volumes, and was entitled, "The Holy Bible; containing the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocryphal Books, in the earliest English versions made from the Latin Vulgate by John Wycliffe and his followers. Edited by the Rev. Josiah Forshall, F.R.S., etc., and Sir Frederic Madden, K.H., F.R.S., etc." Those only who have been engaged upon similar work can at all estimate the immense amount of In Memoriam. 369 patient care and persistent attention that such an undertaking demands. A considerable portion of their unofficial hours of leisure during twenty-two years was spent by the editors upon this great work. We learn from the interesting preface to the work, written, we believe, by Mr. Forshall, that, " The versions now for the first time printed in an entire form, may be regarded as the earliest in the English language, which embrace any considerable portion of the Holy Scriptures. These versions were widely circulated in England from their completion in the latter part of the fourteenth century until their place was occupied by the editions of the reign of Henry VIII. In the interval between 1382 and 1526 they diffused a great amount of Scriptural truth, and supplied to the opponents of the Papal system the most effectual means of exposing its abuses and errors, and thus laid a deep foundation for the re- forms of the 1 6th century. This splendid edition of the Scriptures is a noble monument to the learning, erudition and labour of the editors, and the version has done much to illustrate the history and structure of the English language. In 1829, Mr. Forshall was appointed Chaplain to Foundling Hospital, which appointment he held for many years, and only resigned shortly before his death. I have often heard him speak with pleasure of the several duties connected with this work at the Foundling Hospital, which were a most congenial change from the hard and often vexatious employment B B 370 In Memoriam. at the Museum. Living as I did for some years in the neighbourhood of Queen Square, Bloomsbury, I was a frequent attendant at the attractive services at the Foundling on Sundays. There are few places, besides our Cathedrals, where the beautiful service of the Church of England is so well performed as at the Chapel of this Hospital. The sermons of the Rev. J. W. Gleadall, the morning preacher there, were among the best I have ever heard. They were adapted not only to the capacity of the youngest of his interesting little auditors, but supplied at the same time religious nutriment and thought to those more advanced in years. After his resignation of the office of Secretary, to the British Museum, Mr. Forshall lived almost en- tirely secluded from society. His mornings were for the most part devoted to the care of the Foundling children, and the supervision of their studies, and I have reason to know that the time so spent included some of his most pleasant hours. The afternoons and evenings were given to quiet reading and writing. During this period, he published the Gospels of St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John, ar- ranged in parts and sections, with titles and sum- maries of contents, and marginal notes of time and place, with a preface to each Gospel. These were intended for the use of schools and young students. The preface to the Gospel of St. Luke was recom- mended by one of the examining Chaplains to be studied by candidates for Holy Orders. The special In Memoriam. 371 object of these prefaces was to caution readers of the Bible against what the writer considered the scep- tical tendencies of modern Biblical criticism. I am glad to possess a copy of one of these Gospels, that of St. John, which Mr. Forshall presented to me shortly before his death, and in which he has written my name. About two years before his death too late in life to give more than a specimen of what he might have done had he lived a few years longer Mr. Forshall commenced an edition of the received Greek text of the New Testament, in avowed opposition to the texts of Tischendorf, Alford, Luchman, Tregelles, and others of what is called the advanced school of Biblical criticism. To this work he devoted the most minute and careful attention, and upon it he brought all his great knowledge of manuscripts to bear ; but he was taken away before more than twelve chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel had been finished. These were published after his death, but without any preface or prolegomena by the author. The effect the work was intended to have on the criticism of the Greek text could not of course be realised by this fragment. Fragmentary, however, as the work done was, it excited considerable attention on its publication, amongst men distinguished by their efforts in the same direction. One cannot help regretting that Mr. Forshall was not spared to explain fully the principles on which his criticism proceeded, and the 372 In Memoriam. full reasons for his opinion of the comparative value of the manuscripts quoted by him in this unfinished work. The want of such explanations deprives the critical notes of the clearness and decisive character which they would otherwise possess, and renders them open to erroneous interpretation by hostile critics and partial examiners. Mr. ForshalPs other publications are : "A Funeral Sermon on S. C. Cox, Esq., Treasurer to the Foundling Hospital, London, 1841, 8vo. ;" " Sermon preached at the Chapel of the Foundling Hospital," in Epiphany, 1860, London, 1862, 8vo. ; "The Lord's Prayer, with various Readings and Critical Notes," London, 1864, 4to. ; and a Pamphlet on the " British Museum : Mis-representations of Her Majesty's Commissioners exposed," London, 1850, 8vo. It is, however, with respect to Mr. Forshall as he appeared^ at the British Museum that I have more particularly to speak. Every one at all conversant with the affairs of the Museum during the long period that Mr. Forshall was connected with the establishment must admit that he was one of the chief movers in all that was done of an administrative character. Mr. Forshall was essentially a conserva- tive, and steadily and conscientiously opposed to many of the various plans that were suggested for what was termed "Popularizing the British Museum/' This being the case, he opposed with all the ability that he possessed the project for separating the /;/ Memoriam. 373 Literary from the Scientific portions of the collection, and many other alterations that were suggested. A reference to the evidence he gave before the Com- mittee of the House of Commons of 1835-6, as well as that which followed before the Royal Commission, will bear me out in the opinion that he was one of the ablest men in the service of the Trustees, and knew how to put his views before others with con- summate skill and ability. As a special pleader, on behalf of the Trustees, no man could have mar- shalled his facts more skilfully, or carried out their wishes more ably. He possessed the entire confi- dence of the Trustees, and may be considered a fair exponent of the opinions of most of them, although there were some notable exceptions. The publica- tion of the pamphlet on the British Museum was only the first of a series ; but the subject was one on which Mr. Forshall could not dwell, without its pro- ducing injury to his health, and it was therefore abandoned, and the able Secretary and accomplished Keeper of the Manuscripts retired from the Museum to recruit his impaired health, and give himself up entirely to his duties at the Foundling Hospital, and to the quiet pursuit of his literary studies. I must be permitted to say that, although Mr. Forshall's views as to the development and manage- ment of the affairs of the British Museum are, for the most part, entirely opposed to my own opinions upon the matter, yet I believe him to have been most conscientious in his resistance to the tide of 374 I H Memoriam. popular opinion that was setting in as to adapting the great National Museum more to the require- ments of the age. I am certain that the Trustees never had a more faithful servant than was Mr. Forshall : and all under his control will testify to the extreme amiability and refined courtesy with which he treated his subordinates. I could myself speak of several acts of very great kindness received at his hands, and more than once has he offered me advice and counsel that were most valuable, and rendered generous help that has made his memory to me most fragrant. Mr. Forshall's bad health interrupted his studies again/and he died on the i8th of December, 1863. I have endeavoured in the space at my command to record my humble opinion of what Mr. Forshall was at the British Museum ; and I am glad of the oppor- tunity of being able to close this brief biographical sketch of him by an eloquent extract from the sermon preached at the chapel of the Foundling Hospital on the occasion of his death, by his colleague the Rev. J. W. Gleadall, M.A., and which I regret has never been printed, in which he says : " Let me pause a moment here, and refer to the somewhat sudden departure from among us of our late Chaplain, who had served this Institution so well and so faith- fully for many years, and had been for a great number of those years my own most estimable col- league in the duties of this place. "I do not wish to speak of his natural talents, In Memoriam. 375 cultivated with diligent study and great success, his knowledge of languages, or his extensive theological learning, of which, as of his industry, his edition of Wycliffe's Bible is an illustrious monument, for these things will avail him little now. But let me notice his earnest and unpretending piety ; his regard above all things for the truth of that God who trieth our reins and searcheth the heart ; and his anxiety to prove him- self a devoted servant and minister of our common Saviour, in the way he discharged himself of his responsibilities here. It was beautiful to observe the gentleness and tenderness with which he treated childhood how he watched over the budding forth of its intelligence, its moral peculiarities, its passions, its character how he studied its capacities, and adapted his instructions to its ignorance, its weak- ness, its carelessness, and its infirmities. Nor can I abstain from all mention of the disinterestedness and nobleness of his nature in the relations that existed between him and myself; how he consulted the wishes and convenience of his colleague how per- fectly ready he was to do, or let me do, according to circumstances and emergent necessities, and without the least personal or selfish consideration, whatever appertained to our duties in this house. " He is gone, and I lament his loss and respect his memory, as all who knew him must. I do not enter the domestic circle I touch not the sorrows of the house over which death hath cast its shadow. But let those near and dear to him take comfort from the In Menioriam. fact, that, if over any, assuredly over him, may those consoling words be confidently spoken ' We commit his body to the earth in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life.'" CHAPTER XVIII. THE DEPARTMENTS OF MAPS, ETC.; MANUSCRIPTS; PRINTS AND' -DRAWINGS. >T will be remembered that I have al- ready spoken in my chapter on the Library of George III., of the fine collection of maps and charts that form part of that library. These and also those in the Manuscript Department, forming part of the Egerton Collection, together with the maps in the General Collection, are now all under the Keepership of Mr. Richard Henry Major, it having been found ne- cessary by the Trustees that the Geographical collec- tions should all be included together, and be made a separate and distinct department. Mr. Major entered the service of the Trustees January, 1844, as an Assistant in the Library, to catalogue the Geographical collections. He was for many years Honorary Secretary to the Hakluyt Society, whose affairs he had the chief task of ma- naging, as well as being himself the editor and 378 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, translator of many of its valuable volumes, in particular of "Columbus's Letters," "Herberstein's Russia," " Early Voyages to Terra Australis," and " India in the Fifteenth Century." He is also more recently known as the biographer of " Prince Henry the Navigator," a work replete with new and inter- esting information, relating to the history of geogra- phical discovery. The year before last, Mr. Major made the acquisition of a photograph fac-simile of the most beautiful mappemonde that ever was made. It was executed in 1457-9 by Fra Mauro in Venice, at the expense of Alfonso V. king of Portugal, and at the instance of his nephew, Prince Henry the navigator. I may mention that in recognition of the value of his biography of Prince Henry, the present King of Portugal made Mr. Major an officer of the Order of the Tower and Sword, and sent him, as a special compliment, the collar of the order in gold. On account of the mappemonde before referred to, a medal was struck in honour of Fra Mauro by the Republic of Venice, describing him as " Cosmographus incomparabilis." The rarest gems of cartography in the Museum are those with which Mr. Major has connected his own name by making out of them important new history in connection with our knowledge of the progress of geographical discovery. For example, among the manuscript maps in the Museum we have the Dauphin mappemonde, undated, but about 1530, the mappemonde of Jean Rotz of 1542, and that of Prints and Drawings, etc. 379 Pierre Desceliers of 1550, from all which Mr. Major has demonstrated that Australia was discovered (though by whom not known, but he thinks probably, and almost certainly, by the Portuguese) before 1530. There is also in the collection an anonymous manuscript map, not original, but which Mr. Major has found to be a copy from Teixeira, on which is laid down Australia with a legend on the north part showing that it was discovered in 1601, by a Portu- guese named Manoel Godinho de Eredia, a date earlier by five years than the earliest authenticated discovery previously known, viz., that by the Dutch ship, the Duyfhen, in 1606. Mr. Major's notice of this transferred the honour of the discovery of Australia from Holland to Portugal, and the late King Dom Pedro V. who had been intending to give him a decoration in recognition of his previous work on " Early Voyages to Terra Australis," then said, " Now Mr.' Major shall have the Tower and Sword," that being the highest Order the King had to confer ; and accordingly he bestowed on him the Knighthood of that Order. There is also in the Geographical collection a photograph copy of a famous atlas made at Venice in 1436 by Andrea Bianco, who afterwards was employed on Mauro's map. One of the points of interest in this atlas is, that it is the earliest that contains the full delineation of the island of Antillia, supposed to have been America. There has re- cently been added to the collection a photograph fac- 380 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, simile (made expressly for the Trustees) of the Portulano Medicco in the Laurentian Library at Florence. It is of the date of 1351, and is the earliest collection of maps known which throws any light on the history of Medieval geographical dis- covery. From this rare and curious collection, com- bined with collateral documents, Mr. Major has for the first time shown that the Madeira Islands which had previously been supposed to have been first discovered by Prince Henry's navigators in 1418-20, were discovered, together with the Azores, a hundred years earlier, by Portuguese ships under Genoese captains. The aggregate number of the Maps in the General Collection (not including those belonging to the King's Library or the Manuscript Department) is rather a difficult matter to ascertain. From the best information I have been able to procure, the num- bers may be put down as over 50,000 in the General Collection, besides which there are about 20,000 in the Manuscript Department. It is to be hoped that money will be liberally granted to this growingly important department of the Library, to enable Mr. Major to make a collec- tion of fac-simile copies of all the early known MS. mappemondes illustrating the history of geogra- phical discovery, so as to afford materials for students to prosecute their investigations in this highly in- teresting field of literature. The Department of Manuscripts is quite separate Prints and Drawings, etc. 381 and distinct from that of the printed books ; but is, of course, included in the Library, and forms a very important part of the National Collection. Those who are desirous of particular information as to the contents of this department, may consult either Mr. Edwards's book on the " Founders of the British Museum," or the more portable " Handbook" of Mr. Sims. I have before mentioned in my account of the Library as I found it in 1835, under whose direc- torship the department was at that period, and an account of the number of manuscripts contained therein. Mr. Edward Augustus Bond is now the Keeper of the Manuscripts. He entered the service of the Museum in December, 1838, as an assistant in the same department. Mr. Bond has edited for the Government the " Trial of Warren Hastings;" and for the Hakluyt Society " Russia at the close of the Sixteenth Century," comprising " The Russe Commonwealth," by Dr. Giles Fletcher, and "Sir Jerome Horsey's Travels," now first printed entire from his manuscript in the British Museum. Mr. Bond is also the author of several interesting articles in the " Archseologia." Dr. Charles Rieu and Mr. Edward Thompson are the present Assistant Keepers. These gentlemen are ably seconded by Messrs. Le- vein, Hamilton, Scott, Birch, and Sims. Dr. Rieu has published some Latin dissertations on Arabic poets, has edited Sanscrit works, and is Professor of Oriental languages at University Col- 382 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, lege. Mr. Levein and Mr. Hamilton have published works on history. The former is one of the best classical scholars in the Museum, and was formerly Professor of Greek in the University of Glasgow. He is also a frequent contributor to " Punch" and other periodicals of a kindred character. Mr. Sims, as I have before observed, is author of the popular " Handbook to the Library of the British Museum," a second and fuller edition of which excellent work is in great request. He is also the compiler of an " Index to the Pedigrees and Arms contained in the Heralds' Visitations at the British Museum," and of a " Manual for Geologists." The latter work con- tains most valuable and reliable information where to find any particular fact of a genealogical nature that may be needed. These two last-named works are classed among the books of reference in the Read- ing Room, and are among the most valuable of the unofficial publications to be found in that room. One of these works has been so much used as to be entirely worn out, and another clean copy of the same has been purchased to supply its place. I almost think that this worn-out copy of the work in question should be presented to the compiler, as a memento of the industry and intelligence of one of the most useful members of the Museum Staff. Mr. Sims entered the Manuscript Department as early as May, 1841, and is himself a living index to the treasures around him. In the " Handbook" above referred to, the total number of volumes in each Prints arid Drawings, etc. 383 collection is thus stated : The Egerton MSS, 1,613; the present number, 2,125 volumes: the additional MSS. as 14,976; they are now (in 1870), 28,554 volumes. In the same work the number of Charters is: Additional, 8,014, and 456 Rolls; and that of the Egerton 102 Charters and no Rolls ; the present numbers are : Additional, 18,100, and those of the Egerton, 139. It would not become me to speak of the great value of the venerable and priceless documents com- prised in the Department of Manuscripts. I may, however, quote the opinion of an eminent foreign authority, Dr. Pertz, Librarian of the Royal Library at Berlin, who says of this neighbouring department that " the number of manuscripts acquired since 1827 is very great ; the establishment obtains infor- mation of every important sale on the Continent, and it is easy to perceive that if affairs continue in their present course, every important manuscript in Europe, that is not already locked up in fiscal collec- tions, or does not become so, will, in the course of another century, become the property of the British Museum." It is to the Rev. Josiah Forshall that the eminent German Librarian refers, and students owe a large amount of gratitude to that gentleman, who from 1827 to 1837 was at the head of this depart- ment. His successor, Sir Frederic Madden, also did very much to increase the value of the collection. Since his resignation, and the consequent promotion of Mr. Bond to the Keepership, everything has been 384 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, done, with the money at his disposal, to enrich the department. Every visitor to the Library will linger in the Manuscript-Room over the interesting autograph letters, original charters, Oriental manuscripts, spe- cimens of ornamental bindings, early biblical manuscripts, historical deeds and papyri, seals, etc., that are displayed in the cases there. On the left side as you enter the room from the Grenville library, are autographs of great and distin- guished men and women, divided into three sections: i. English and foreign eminent men and women ; ii. English and foreign sovereigns ; in. Miscel- laneous. In the first division may be seen original letters from Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Erasmus, Cranmer, Wolsey, Sir Thomas More, John Knox, Sir Walter Raleigh, Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, Sir Philip Sidney, Lord Burghley, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, Lord Bacon, John Hampden, Prince Rupert, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, William Penn, Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Isaac Newton, and John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. In an adjoining case are letters from Ludovico Ariosto, Michael Angelo, Buonarotti, Albert Durer, Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Galileo, Descartes, and Von Leibnitz; while near them may be seen, beside those of the celebrated Frenchmen Racine, Corneille, Moliere, Despreaux, and Voltaire, those of our own honoured country- Prints, Drawings, etc. 385 men, Matthew Prior, Jonathan Swift, Joseph Addison, John Dryden, and William Hogarth. Close at hand are the well-known autographs of William Pitt, Ed- mund Burke, Charles James Fox, George Washing- ton, Benjamin Franklin, George Gordon, Lord Byron, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, and Horatio, Viscount Nelson. The last is a particularly interest- ing letter from the great naval hero on the eve of the battle of Trafalgar, and addressed to Lady Hamilton, telling her that the enemy's combined fleets were coming out of port, and that he hoped to live to finish his letter. This interesting letter is dated on board the "Victory," igth October, 1805. It was continued on the following day, but was left unfinished. A few lines are added by Lady Hamilton, stating that this last letter was found open on Lord Nelson's- desk after the battle of the 2ist October. By the side of this memorable letter of Lord Nelson is a small box made from a splinter of the " Victory," knocked off by a shot in the battle of Trafalgar, and containing a portion of the Admiral's hair. T|je compartment devoted to autographs of Eng- lish and foreign sovereigns comprises original do- cuments with the signatures of Edward IV., Ed- ward V., Richard III., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Edward VI., Lady Jane Grey, as queen this last is dated from the Tower of London, loth July, 1553, and is signed, " Jane the Queene." In the same case are the signatures of Mary and Elizabeth, by the side of two c c 386 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, of Mary, queen of Scots. One of these is a summons to a nobleman, to attend at a general assembly of the Scottish army at Leamington, dated Edinburgh, ist October, 1565, with the signatures of " Marie R."and Henry R.", the latter being that of Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, the King-Consort. The other is a letter in French from the unhappy queen to William Cecil, Lord Burghley, praying him, on account of her long captivity, to intercede for her with Queen Elizabeth ; it is dated at Sheffield, 2ist November, [1579], and signed, " Vottre entierement bonne amye, Marie R." In the same compartment are autographs of James I., the two Charleses, and Oliver Cromwell : that of the latter is a letter from the great Protector to Sir Thomas Fairfax, informing him of his recovery from sickness, dated [London] yth March, 1647. Close to these are letters of James II. William III. Queen Anne, James Stuart the Pretender, and those of the I. II. and III. Georges ; with those of Charles V. as king of Spain, Francis I. king of France, Philip II. king of Spain, Catharine de Me- dicis, queen-dowager of France, and mother of Henry III. ; Henry IV. king of France, Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, Louis XIV. king of France, Peter I. czar of Russia, Charles XII. king of Sweden, Fre- derick II. king of Prussia, Louis XVI. king of France, Catherine II. empress of Russia, Napoleon Buonaparte, when officer of artillery, dated Ajaccio, 24th June, an I. [i 793], and another by the same hand Prints, Drawings, etc. 387 as emperor of the French, dated Bologna, " 2 Messi- dor, an 13" [2ist June, 1805]. The " Miscellaneous " collection is exceedingly interesting ; the first and foremost of which is the original mortgage deed, by which "William Shake- speare, of Stratford-upon-Avon, gentleman," and others, grant on lease to Henry Walker, citizen of London, a dwelling-house, within the precincts of " the late Black Fryers," for the term of 100 years, at a peppercorn rent ; with a proviso for the determination of the lease on the 2Qth September following. The document is dated nth March, 10 Jac. i 1612, [1613]. Four labels with seals are attached, on the first of which is the signature "W m " Shakspe re ." Attached to the first two labels are seals bearing the initials, H. L., probably belonging to Henry Lawrence, ser- vant to the scrivener who prepared the lease. In a frame near the above is a grant from the poet, Edmund Spenser, styled "of Kilcolman, Esq." to a member of the Roche family, of the custody of the woods of Balliganin, &c., in the county of Cork. The admirers of Milton may see the original articles of agreement, dated 27th April, 1667, between John Milton, gent, and Samuel Symons, printer, for the sale of the copyright of " a poem intituled ' Paradise Lost'" This agreement is signed "John Milton," with his seal of arms affixed ; and is doubly interesting from the fact of its having been presented to the Museum by Samuel Rogers, Esq., in 1852. Another glazed frame close by contains a sketch of the battle of 388 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, Aboukir, with the following attestation in the corner : " This was drawn by Lord Viscount Nelson's left hand, the only remaining one, in my presence, this Friday, February i8th, 1803, at No. 23, Piccadilly, the House of Sir William Hamilton, late ambassador at Naples, who was present. Alexander Stephens." Near this, in the handwriting of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, is an enumeration of the cavalry under his command previous to the battle of Waterloo, 1 8th June, 1815. In the case a little to the right of these national literary curiosities is a small Manual of Prayers in English, written on vellum, with miniatures ; believed to have been used by Lady Jane Grey on the scaf- fold, 1 2th February, 155^. This precious little volume in the original binding contains, on the mar- gin, some lines in the handwriting of this doomed lady, addressed to Sir John Gage, Lieutenant of the Tower, and to the Duke of Suffolk, her father. Next to this is another little volume hardly less interesting ; it is a collection of texts of Scripture in French, to establish the cardinal doctrine of justification by faith, made by King Edward VI., with a dedicatory epistle to his uncle, the Duke of Somerset. The whole is in the handwriting of the godly king, and was most probably compiled by him in 1547 or 1548, when this young royal theologian was only ten or eleven years of age. By the side of this is another small volume of prayers or meditations composed originally in English, by Queen Katherine Parr, and Prints, Drawings, etc. 389 translated into Latin, French, and Italian, by Queen Elizabeth, when Princess. It is entirely in her own handwriting, and is a beautiful specimen both of her learning and piety : the volume is on vellum, in a silk binding, embroidered with silver ; with a dedica- tion to her father, King Henry VIII. Near this truly regal little volume is the original draft, in French, of the will of Mary, Queen of Scots, partly in the handwriting of Nau, her secretary, but with corrections and many additions in the handwriting of the Queen ; it is dated at Sheffield Manor, in York- shire, February, 1577, and is in folio. In this case is BA2IAIKON AQPON, or Book of the Institution of a Prince; written by James I., for the instruction of his son, Prince Henry, in the King's autograph. This is a volume from the old Royal Library, in the original binding of crimson velvet, with the King's initials and the arms of Scotland, in gold : it is in folio. Another volume in this case is from the old Royal Library, entirely in the handwriting of Charles I. when Prince, and was presented by him to his father James I. as a new year's gift. It consists of a selection of passages from the classical Latin poets, entitled, " Florum Flores, sive Florum ex veterum Poetarum floribus excerptorum Flores," and is in quarto. Other interesting autographs are in the same case, one or two of which I must mention. There is a copy in this case of Ben Jonson's " Masque of Queenes," represented at Whitehall, February 2nd, 1609; in the handwriting of the 390 Departments of Maps, Manuscript s y author, with a dedicatory address to Prince Henry. This is one of the best specimens of penmanship I have ever seen, and is a strange contrast to that of his great friend and brother poet and actor, William Shakspere. The volume is in quarto and from the old Royal Library. By its side is an " Album Ami- corum" of Christopher Arnold, Professor of History at Nuremberg, containing autographs collected in the year 1649-72 ; including a sentence in Greek, signed by the author of " Paradise Lost," " Joannes Miltonius," and dated London, iQth November, 1651. It is an oblong duodecimo, and is from the Egerton collection. Here also may be looked at the original Diary and Note-book kept by John Locke, during 1679, partly whilst at Paris, and partly in England. It is in octavo, and was purchased in 1845. I must not omit to mention a volume of the ori- ginal draft of Pope's Translation of the Iliad and Odyssey in his own handwriting, and for the most part written upon the backs of letters addressed to himself. The numerous corrections and interlinea- tions in this interesting MS. show the labour spent upon the translation, and how that which reads so flowingly in print looks so unreadable as it came from the pen of the poet. This volume is in quarto, and was presented by Mrs. Lucy Mallet, in 1766. The volumes around this are each such curiosities in literature and so valued by my countrymen, that I should not forgive myself if I omitted them from this fragmentary chapter. One is the first part of the Prints, Drawings, etc. 391 corrected draft of "A Sentimental Journey through France and Italy," by Laurence Sterne, M.A. [i 767] ; in the author's handwriting. It is a small quarto, from the Egerton collection. The second is the ori- ginal draft of Dr. Johnson's Tragedy of " Irene," acted at Drury Lane in 1 749 ; in the handwriting of the great lexicographer, poet, and essayist. It is in octavo, and from the library of George III. A third is the autobiography of Robert Burns, in a letter addressed to Dr. John Moore, dated Mauchline, 2nd August, 1787; with a postscript dated Edinburgh, 23rd September of the same year. This is in quarto, and from the Egerton collection. The fourth of these precious volumes is the autograph manuscript of " Kenilworth," by Sir Walter Scott, corrected for the press, in the neat and readable hand of the great novelist. It -was written between September, 1820, and January, 1821 ; and is in quarto from the Eger- ton collection. The last of these national relics is a leaf of the rough autograph draft of the twenty-fifth and concluding chapter of Lord Macaulay's " History of England " : a page that no one can look at without o r o a mournful regret that the accomplished author should have been removed before he had completed his delightful task. This valuable fragment was pre- sented by Lady Trevelyan, in 1861, and is in folio. The collection of original charters is very curious, and to the student of our early English History will be a great treat. The oriental manuscripts in the centre of the room, comprise some of the rarest and 39 2 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, most beautifully illuminated specimens anywhere to be seen. Attached to each of them is a short de- scriptive account, so that they all tell to the enquiring visitor their own tale. The ornamental bindings in these cases are also very choice and elegant. The illuminated manuscripts exhibited in the " North Table-case," in the middle of the room, deserve particular attention, and are far beyond my powers of description. The early Biblical Manu- scripts, including a volume of the celebrated Codex Alexandrtnus, containing the Greek Text of the Scriptures, written in uncial letters on very thin vellum, probably at the commencement of the fifth century, presented to Charles I. by Cyril, Patriarch of Constantinople, from the Old Royal Library, will be sure to be an object of attraction. So will a fine old volume of the Vulgate Latin Text of the Bible, as revived by Alcuin, Abbot of Tours, by command of the Emperor Charlemagne, between 796 and 800 A.D. The present copy was probably written about the year 840, and is adorned with large miniatures, and numerous initial letters in gold and silver. This venerable volilme is in large folio, bound in velvet, with gilt bosses and clasps. The Pentateuch (written in Hebrew, on brown African goatskins, 89 feet in length by 26 inches in width), in a fine square uni- form character, without points or spaces, probably of the fourteenth century, gives one the exact picture of the sacred books as they existed in olden times. The Historical Deeds and Papyri, and the Great Prints, Drawings, etc. 393 Seals of the Sovereigns of England, will convince any of my readers that the Manuscript Department is not less interesting than that of which it has been my particular object to speak. The Print Room, though a separate and distinct department, as is the case with that of the manu- scripts, and also of the maps, is still so inseparably connected with the Library that I shall devote a few pages to some account of the treasures deposited there. For the nucleus of the collection of prints and draw- ings in the British Museum, the nation is indebted, in the first place, to the munificence of its illus- trious founder, Sir Hans Sloane. Mr. Richard Payne Knight and the Rev. Clayton Mordaunt Cracherode claim also special notice, as donors to this particular department. The collection has been occasionally enriched by additions obtained by special grants of money from Parliament, such, for example, as the " Sheepshanks and Cunningham Collections," and also the " Lawrence Drawings," purchased at the sale of the Woodburn Collection. These, with the addition of an annual grant of public money, have enabled the successive custodians to form an assem- blage of the choicest works of art, which, in the opinion of those who are fully competent to judge, is superior to any other collection of all the Early Schools, as well as some of the modern, that are to be found either at home or abroad. In speaking of this kindred department to our 394 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, own, perhaps I cannot do better than attempt, in the small space I have at my command, a brief summary of some of the various schools of art that are there represented. The reader will, of course, consider what I say as but a fragmentary and very imperfect account of one of the most valuable and interesting portions of the National Collection. The Print Room is rich in Drawings of the Italian School by Raphael, Michael Angelo, Correggio, and specimens of the earlier great artists, particularly those of Giovanni Bellini. Illustrations of the in- vention of engraving on metal, and the earlier examples from the printing - press are numerous. There are some fine examples by the Italian workers in niello, consisting of engraved silver plates, sulphur casts, before paper was used, as well as the impres- sions on paper from niello work. The collection of nielli and sulphur casts in the Print Room is well known to be the finest in the world. The Prints of the early Florentine and other schools, 1460-1 500, are numerous. The collection comprises a nearly com- plete series of the works of Marco Antonio Raimondi, his scholars and followers. The Etchings of the school of Caracci are so fine that all the Continental collec- tions combined would not equal that in the Museum. Modern works of this school are well represented. The German School comprises in Drawings a fine series by Hans Holbein, Albert Diirer, Peter Vischer, Grun, Burgenair, Altdorfer, and Rottenhamer. The Prints include an almost unique collection of speci- Prints, Drawings, etc. 395 mens on copper and wood of the i5th century by Bocholt, Merlin, Schongauer, Albert Dtirer, and his immediate followers, such as the Behams, Altdorfer, and Aldergrever, as well as a fine collection of modern prints and etchings. The Dutch and Flemish Schools in Drawings are represented by a large collection of upwards of thirty cases consisting of specimens by the best masters, Rembrandt, Ostade, Bakhuyzen, Van de Velde, Berghem, Paul Potter, Cuyp, etc. ; while the Prints of this school comprise a fine collection of the works of Lucas van Leyden and the Brothers Wieux. The collection of Etchings of this school in the Museum is the largest that was ever formed. The Drawings representing the French School comprise a wonderful collection of sketches by Claude ; while the Prints and Etchings of this school contain a fine series by Jacques Callot ; the Etchings by Claude are particularly fine. The Museum is not rich in early French Prints, but the present Keeper is endeavouring to supply this defi- ciency. The Print Room is, however, very complete in modern French Prints, and in what are styled Painters' Etchings. The Spanish Collection is good, but not very extensive. It contains, however, some beautiful examples of Velasquez and Murillo. The Prints and Etchings of this school are improving under the present Keeper. The collection already comprises a good series of the Etchings of Francesco Goza. 396 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, I now come to what is to myself, and probably also to most of my readers, the most interesting por- tion of the prints and drawings the English School. I regret that, like some other things relating to home, the collection of drawings of this particular school has been until recently comparatively neg- lected. I would say, however, in explanation, that this deficiency was not from any lack of interest on the part of previous keepers, with reference to this particular branch of art, as they were compelled to devote the funds at their disposal to the purchase of more pressing necessities, which, if not secured when they turned up in the market, probably never would have been obtained at all. Before the advent of the present Keeper, the English School was not at all adequately represented, save and except by a goodly number of the works of Hogarth and Sharp, with the prints after Reynolds, Lawrence, and the Early English Portraits, but beside these little else was to be found. It must not be considered, however, that the English Collection now to be found in the Print Room is unworthy of our country, or of the great institution that represents its Art -treasures. In Drawings the National Collection now is rich in possessing an almost unrivalled number of early paintings in water colours, particularly by Girtens. The collections of the works of the three great English engravers, Sir R. Strange, William Woollett, and William Sharp, are extraordinarily fine and pro- bably complete. The same may be also affirmed of Prints, Drawings, etc. 397 the Hogarths. The collection of Prints after the English masters is now tolerably good, and is being annually increased by thousands. The English Etchings are very numerous and interesting. The satirical portion of this important school is as near perfection as possible, as will be seen by a re- ference to the catalogue of that section of the national collection, now in course of publication. I should not omit to mention, in speaking of the Eng- lish school, that the Print- Room contains a very in- teresting collection of playing-cards, from their first invention ; and I may add that the series of prints illustrating Foreign History, arranged chronologically, is particularly rich. I have before observed that the Print- Room has been enriched from time to time by large purchases of valuable collections ; and I should not omit to mention that there have been some truly noble and munificent bequests to this department. Among the more important additions acquired by purchase may be named a sulphur of the celebrated Pax by Maso Finiguerra, of the Assumption of the Virgin, of the date of 1452, purchased in 1835 for two hundred and seventy guineas. In 1836 the department was greatly enriched by the purchase of the Sheepshanks collec- tion of Dutch etchings for the sum of ,5,000. This was spoken of by Mr. Josi, in his evidence before the Select Committee of the House of Commons in the same year, as more perfect than any similar collection existing either at Vienna or at Paris, or Amsterdam. 398 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, The entire collection embraces almost a thousand engravings and drawings, bound in thirty-two vo- lumes. In the early years of this department the sum annually apportioned to purchases was very small, and totally inadequate. Before the Select Committee inquiry in 1835-6, the annual grant to the Print- Room only amounted to about ,250 : this, however, has been considerably increased, sometimes to ,1,200 or ,1,500, and occasionally to ,2,000. Special grants, as I have before observed, have been made for the acquisition of extraordinary collections, such, for example, as that made by the late Mr. Sheep- shanks. Some magnificent donations have been made to the Print- Room from time to time; among which may be particularly named, in addition to that which formed the foundation of the whole, by Sir Hans Sloane, the fine collections bequeathed by Mr. Payne Knight, Mr. Cracherode, Mr. Charles Towneley, the Earl of Elgin, Mr. Fairholt, Mrs. Winston, Mr. Cromek, Mr. J. H. Anderdon, and others. I must mention that in this department is to be seen one of the most wonderful specimens of carving in stone that can be imagined. The subject of this unique specimen of art is the Birth of John the Baptist, and the artist is Albert Durer : the work is in alto-relievo, dated 1510. It formed a part of the Payne Knight collection, and cost that gentleman ,500. There is also in the Print-Room a copy of Pennant's "History of London," illustrated with prints and drawings, in Prints, Drawings, etc. 399 fourteen volumes folio, made by the late Mr. Cole at a cost of ^7,000, who bequeathed it to the Museum. In 1853 a fine collection of original drawings, made by Sir William Gell, amounting to more than eight hundred, were bequeathed by the late Hon. R. Keppel Craven. The most valuable bequest to this department that has been made since that of the Cracherode, is the munificent one recently added, of the late Mr. Felix Slade. This almost unrivalled collection is probably worth little less than ,20,000. It is described in the Parliamentary Return of 1869 in the following terms : "No acquisition of the kind approaches it in rare and choice specimens of etchings and engravings, wherein nearly every artist of distinction is repre- sented." Of Etchings, the Museum collection can boast of possessing some of the finest in the world. I must be allowed to mention two by way of specimens, pretty much in the same sense as Dean Swift took about with him among his friends on one occasion a couple of bricks out of some houses he had for sale, as samples of what his houses were built of. One of these choice specimens is Rembrandt's " Christ healing the Sick," which is the finest of all his etchings, and known among art students as " The Hundred-Guil- der Piece." It is believed to be the most elaborate pieceof pure etching-work that has ever been produced by human hands. Two copies of this precious and al- most priceless work of art, in what is termed the " first 400 Departments of Maps, Manuscripts, state," are to be found in the Museum collection, both of which were bequests included in the Soane and Cracherode collections. Only eight impressions, in the finest state, are known to exist. The last copy that came into the market was sold in 1867, at the sale of Sir Charles Pryce, for the sum of ^1,180. The collection includes several copies of this print in other states, which do but serve to enhance the value of those in the rarer and more perfect form. The other etching, by the same great master, is the celebrated " Portrait of Ephraim Bonus, an eminent Jewish physician of Amsterdam": it is in what is called the " first state, with the black ring," in the finest possible condition ; only three other copies being known to exist The Print- Room has been, and is still, next to the department of Printed Books, the most attractive to me of any other in the Museum ; and I regret that I have not the space at my command, to speak more worthily of such pleasurable and priceless treasures. The Print- Room was a subject of examination both by the Select Committee of 1 835-6, and also sub- sequently by the Royal Commissioners. The latter, in their Report, speaking of this collection, said : " With respect to the department of Prints and Drawings, the Commissioners are able to speak of its condition and management with very unreserved approbation." I have before mentioned that its present Keeper Prints, Drawings, etc. 401 is one of my oldest Museum friends ; and I trust that the funds placed at his disposal by Parliament, and the space allotted to him for exhibiting some of the contents of the departments for the purpose of edu- cating the eye of future artists, may be such as he desires and deserves. D u CHAPTER XIX. A CONCLUDING GLANCE AT THE NATIONAL LIBRARY. r IR THOMAS BROWNE remarks that " they do most by books who could do much without them ; and he that chiefly owes himself to himself is the substantial man." How far this may be true is for every lover and maker of books to decide. Robert Southey says, in one of his later works, that he should never have written so much, had he lived near to such a library as the British Museum, as he should have felt it to be his duty to read and examine carefully everything within his reach before trusting himself to printing his thoughts. For my own part I have sympathy with William Ellery Channing who says : " God be thanked for books. They are the voices of the distant and the dead, and make us heirs of the spiritual life of past ages. Books are the true levellers. They give to all who will faithfully use them, the society, the spiritual presence of the best Concluding Glance at the Library. 403 and greatest of our race. No matter how poor I am no matter though the prosperous enter not my humble dwelling; if the best writers take up their abode with me, I shall not pine for want of com- panionship ; and may become a cultivated man, though excluded from what is called the best society of the place in which I live. The great use of books is to rouse us to thought, to turn us to questions which great men have been working on for ages, to furnish us with materials for the exercise of judg- ment, imagination, and moral feeling, and breathe into us a moral life from spirits nobler than our own." These pages have been a source of amusement and recreation to me in early mornings when I have watched for the breaking of the day, with a feeling that none can understand who have never expe- rienced it, the pleasure of seeing the first thin streak of light upon the horizon growing gradually and silently, until " the grey dawn dapples into day." I remember somewhere to have read that- " Happy is the man who is an early riser ! Every morning comes to him with a virgin's love, full of bloom, and purity, and freshness. The youth of nature is con- tagious, like the gladness of a happy child. I doubt if any man can be called old so long as he is an early riser." If the reader be a lover of nature as well as of books, and is an early riser, he will feel with me that there is no beauty like that of the morning. Every 404 A Concluding Glance creature rejoices and receives a new life, and is ani- mated with renewed strength and youthful vigour. " But who the melodies of morn can tell ; The wild brook babbling down the mountain side, The lowing herd, the sheepfold's simple bell ! The pipe of early shepherd dim descried In the lone valley ; echoing far and wide, The clamorous horn along the cliffs above ; The hollow murmur of the ocean tide, The hum of bees, the linnet's lay of love, And the full choir that wakes the universal grove." To turn, however, from nature to books, I may remind my readers what old Richard de Bury, in " Philobiblon," says, in words that find an echo in many a heart. " In books, we find the dead as if alive ; in books, we foresee things to come ; in books, warlike affairs are methodized ; in books, the laws of peace are manifested. All things are corrupted and decay with time. Saturn ceaseth not to devour his offspring, and oblivion covereth the glory of the world. But God hath provided for us a remedy in books, without which all that were ever great would have been forgotten. To books, how easily, how secretly, how safely, may we expose the nakedness of human ignorance, without putting us to shame. These are the masters who instruct us with- out rods, without anger, or without reward ; if you approach them they are not asleep ; if you interrogate them they do not hide themselves ; if you mistake them they never murmur ; if you are ignorant they do not laugh at you. Oh, books ! alone liberal and at the National Library. 405 making liberal, who give to all who ask, and emanci- pate all who serve you." Some one has remarked, that : " the gradual is a great disenchanter ;" but when I have been thinking of the library of the British Museum I have often felt like one standing upon the banks of a great river, whose source hides far away up in some mountain solitude, and whose waters are fed by almost innu- merable tributary streams until it broadens and deepens and rolls on majestically a " silent highway" in the fulness and amplitude of its ever increasing flow. One is sometimes in danger of forgetting how this great library has been accumulated and has grown to its present magnitude. Its librarians, of late years, have brought into it the best books, upon every conceivable subject, from all parts of the civilized world, and have worked ably and heartily to make those literary treasures as avail- able as possible. When I entered the service of the Trustees books of a sceptical tendency were excluded, though many of them might have been obtained under the provisions of the Copyright Act. I remember that one of the first things done by Mr. Panizzi, on his appointment to the Keepership of the Printed Books, was to purchase a large collection of books upon Socialism and Infidelity, that ought to have been secured under the Copyright Act, but which my father, as collector, was instructed not to demand for the library. 'It is well that the later custodians of the national library have not been 406 A Concluding Glance actuated by the same narrow and contracted predi- lections, as one chief object of anything pretending to be a national library should be to include within its walls everything that can in any way elucidate questions that are discussed in books, and that influence society. The distinguished foreigner who for so many years was at the head of our departments, was not unfre- quently taunted with the charge that he would favour foreign literature in preference to our own. I can say, from my own personal knowledge, that never was a more false accusation preferred against any public man. Mr. Panizzi was ever on the look-out for gems of early English typography, and was always glad of any suggestions on the subject, from whatever source they might come. Every " sale catalogue" that appeared in England, on the Con- tinent, and in America, was thoroughly sifted ; and the deficiencies in the library were supplied from every available source. Books on Theology always took the precedence ; and now there is no library in the world where there can be found such an assemblage of Bibles, in all languages, printed in all countries, Missals, Liturgies, in European and Oriental languages, editions of the fathers and school- men, Protestant Reformers and Divines, and works on Church History, as are included in the catalogue of the British Museum. Next in importance follow Law and Jurisprudence, comprising not only works on Roman Law, and the at the National Library. 407 history of this great branch of knowledge, but especi- ally including books on purely English Law, in which the library is particularly rich. Independent of the historical interest which these works possess, they are of general importance, as the rights and pretensions of the temporal and ecclesiastical powers are examined and canvassed with much learning and independence. The collection of Roman or Civil and Public Law, Modern Foreign Laws, and Colonial Laws, are also now worthy of the nation. Philosophical works follow, including Logic and Metaphysics, Education, Mathematics, Astronomy, of which the library possesses some works which are very rare and valuable. The Royal Library con- tains some remarkable volumes on the Natural Sciences ; while the Banksian Collection alone has been thought of such importance by the Trustees and the Librarians that ever since that collection was transferred to the Museum, considerable sums have been expended towards keeping it complete, and fully abreast of the progress making in this branch of knowledge. Works on Medicine follow upon the Natural Sciences ; and the importance of the Medical Schools in London, particularly of late years, has been con- sidered a sufficient cause for buying largely important foreign works, however expensive, so as to afford the teachers and professors the means of imparting the knowledge of recent discoveries, and of the latest improvements ; and to the students the means of 408 A Concluding Glance profiting by the instructions of the various medical schools. Musical bibliography has, of late years, occupied a more prominent position in the national library than formerly. The collections of Sir John Hawkins and Dr. Burney are rich, so far as relates to the writers in the history and theory of the art, which formed the particular study of those two authors, yet till very recently many works on musical composition in general were not to be found in the Museum library. These have been supplied and the collection of modern English music is now rapidly increasing, both from the Copyright Act and also by purchase. So recently as 1843, the works of Handel and Mozart, as well as those of Beethoven and Rossini, were not to be found in 'the library. Mr. Oliphant did much, during the time he was connected with the Museum, to call attention to the importance of making the collection of Music something like what it ought to be. Many of his suggestions were acted upon by Mr. Panizzi, and they have been followed out by the several keepers by whom he has been succeeded. As might have been expected, the Royal Library possesses an excellent collection of illustrated works on Architecture, and on the Fine Arts in general. Of late years, much attention has been paid to this subject, and the collection has been augmented by the acquisition of valuable and expensive modern publications, that have added much to the value of at the National Library. 409 this branch of literature, as well as those of Painting and Sculpture. History is well represented in all its branches of Antiquities and Numismatics : Heraldry and Gene- alogies ; Geography in general, Voyages and Travels ; British and Irish History and Topography ; North American History; Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Ger- man, Dutch, Scandinavian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese, Italian History and Topography. The collection of works on universal or general Biography is vastly extensive. Literary History has also been a subject of special attention. In Grammars and Dictionaries the library of the British Museum is undoubtedly rich, and probably unequalled : and it is almost needless to observe that the collections in English Literature are not only highly important, but certainly not to be surpassed. Mr. Panizzi said many years since : " With respect to English litera- ture (or indeed any branch of English knowledge or science), the British Museum ought to afford every assistance, and the want of any English book in such an institution ought to be a rare occurrence, and to be lamented." The object he always kept in view was, to make the library in his charge complete in every department, and at the same time accessible to the public on the easiest terms. The literature of other countries has never been lost sight of. Until 1837 Russian literature was a total blank in the British Museum. In that and the following years, acquisi- tions of valuable Russian works took place, and to A Cone hiding Glance these have been added most of the important works issued in that great country. The foundation for a good Polish collection was laid by the present of Prince Czartoryski, and much has been done in later years to make the collection of Polish books the best of any library out of Poland. The Library acquired in 1870 valuable additions in Hungarian, Polish, and Chinese books ; a large collection from the libraries of the suppressed monas- teries in Portugal. The National Library includes now not only the earliest books printed in Hungarian, but also the best collection of books published in Hungary and Poland, as well as many rare books not now to be found in either of those countries. The late Mr. Watts gave especial attention to the Sclavonic and Hungarian literature. " The Museum is now believed to possess," says Mr. Watts, " the best Russian library in existence out of Russia; the best Hungarian out of Hungary ; the best Dutch out of Holland; in short, the best library in every European language out of the territory in which that language is vernacular. The books are in every case the standard books of the language, the laws, the histories, the biographies, the works on topography and local history, the poets and novelists in most esteem in short, all that moulds and paints the life and manners of a nation ; and which now a student of any European language need travel no farther than to the Reading-Room of the Museum, to see and make use of." at the National Library. 4 1 1 I may mention that the supply of current Russian and Sclavonic literature is now specially attended to, under the directorship of Mr. Rye, by Mr. G. W. Porter, the recently-appointed Assistant- Keeper in the library. Mr. Ralston, who, to superior bibliographical know- ledge and general scholarship has added the particu- lar study of the Russian language and literature, is well qualified to follow in the steps of Mr. Watts, in the interest he took in everything connected with that great country. His recently published transla- tion of the Fables of Krilof, as well as the interesting papers that have appeared in " Good Words," will sufficiently prove how well acquainted he is with Russian literature. The collections of Oriental, Classical, Romaic, Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese literature, are now worthy of the countries they represent, and are every day increasing ; the collection of early French literature is particularly so. Among the books forming the library of the Kings of England from an early period, presented to the British Museum by George II., there are some very rare and valuable specimens of the contemporary Parisian press which Henry VII. seems to have taken pleasure in collect- ing. Of the Verard press it has been already ob- served that the Museum can boast of the finest collection of volumes on Vellum that is to be found anywhere. Henry's successors did not, as is sup- posed, continue ,to collect with the same spirit. A 412 A Concluding Glance gentleman living in Paris was prevailed upon, some years since, to sell to the Trustees a copy of the French " Recueil de Histoires de Troyes," the first book printed in the French language, and in all pro- bability by Caxton when abroad. The copy formerly in the collection of George III. now forms one of the gems at the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. Of the Transactions of Academies mention must be made, as considerable attention has been bestowed upon this department. The King's Library comprises a large and valuable collection of Transactions of Academies, but in early years, with the exception of what was bequeathed by Sir Joseph Banks, no col- lection of such publications was to be found in the general library. Of late years great efforts have been made to supply the deficiencies, with the view of completing the sets already in the Museum, and of adding new series. While connected with the Copy- right Office, I was enabled to fill up some gaps that were found in several imperfect sets of this valuable and important class of books. Some of the sets are unfortunately not now complete. The two copies of the " Philosophical Transactions of the Royal So- ciety," in the Royal and Banksian collections, do not form, even when put together, a perfect and complete set of a work, which, at the time of its commence- ment, was the only one of the kind in the British dominions. The collection of Periodical Publications in the Museum is one of such importance as to be scarcely at the National Library. 413 second in value to any other in the library. The collection in the King's Library is of great value. With respect to Periodical Publications, including Newspapers, very much depends upon their being secured at the time of publication. It is difficult to obtain a back number even of the " Times" or "Daily Telegraph" a short time after the day of issue, so that it is of paramount importance that these ephe- meral works, containing the best history of our own times, should be without gaps or imperfections. No- thing is more disagreeable to a lover of books than to find on opening a volume a memorandum of the binder that the work is incomplete ; and it may happen in the case of newspapers that the number or numbers that may be wanting can never be supplied. Great care has been taken to make the sets of periodicals published in our own country as complete as possible, but still much difficulty arises when back numbers are allowed to be passed over too long. I can testify, from my own experience, that the matter of " imper- fections" was the most vexatious and unpleasant of all the duties I had to perform as Receiver of Publi- cations under the Copyright Act. It is still more difficult to complete imperfect sets of foreign periodi- cals, especially where the number of them is so numerous, and the places of publication are scattered over the whole civilized world. One section of periodical publications, of late years risen to a degree of importance formerly unknown, is that of newspapers. The King's Library contains no 414 ^4 Concluding Glance collection of these publications. In the collection of Tracts on the English Revolution are to be found several scarce numbers of newspapers, or of what was then tantamount to them, but bound up and classed according to the events to which they relate, and not in a complete series. A few more, very ancient, formed part of the Sloane Collection. The foundation of the Collection of Newspapers in the General Library was that of Dr. Burney, already mentioned, in which some of an early date are in- cluded, as well as some relating to the English revo- lution, which had escaped even Thomason's diligence. A few of the imperfect sets have been added to, but some have been completed. The collection of news- papers purchased of Dr. Burney, large as it is, is very incomplete. These Newspapers comprised many of the earliest genuine specimens extant, and there are few things more interesting in the British Museum than the contemporary newspapers which describe, for ex- ample, the trial and execution of Charles I. Those who suppose that leading articles are a comparatively recent invention may be surprised to find in the newspapers of 1649, leading articles written in a truly Miltonic vein, and advocating the execution of that unhappy monarch. Mr. Watts discovered that a newspaper in the Museum, which was supposed to be the earliest of all newspapers, " The English Mer- curic," of 1588, is an entire fabrication. Those who are interested in such matters may read Mr. Watts's at the National Library. 4 1 5 able " Letter to Antonio Panizzi on the reputed earliest Newspaper," where the question is lucidly discussed, and the forgery demonstrated. Since the year 1818, the London Newspapers have been sent to the Museum from the Stamp Office at Somerset House, but not, as I have before observed, till three years after their publication. In 1832 the Museum began to receive those published in the English provinces ; and subsequently those published in Scotland and Ireland. The absence of the Colonial Newspapers is still a very lamentable defect, inasmuch as there is no probability of securing, by any means, complete sets of these most ephemeral, and, for that very reason, most valuable publications, as con- taining materials for the future historians of the Colonies. The importance of newspapers, and par- ticularly of English newspapers, as records of passing events, and documents from which future historians will have to derive many of the particulars of the transactions now^taking place, does not require to be dwelt upon. The importance, also, of possessing the principal leading journals of Europe and America is so apparent, that it is to be hoped our National Library will before long number among its contents complete sets of the greater portion of them. The newspaper press of France, Germany, Italy, and other parts of the Continent, is now pretty fairly represented. I have before mentioned that the National Library includes among its other treasures a large collection 416 A Concluding Glance of Hebrew and Chinese books ; the former com- prises no less than 10,000 volumes. A handsome catalogue of the Hebrew Collection was published by the Trustees in 1867, and is a valuable record of the finest Hebrew Library in the world. No un- initiated person can form any idea of the great labour, minute care, patient and laborious research, and vast amount of learning that had to be bestowed upon the compilation of such a catalogue. It com- prises the whole range of Hebrew literature of all ages and of all countries. Theology and Philosophy, Mathematics and Philology, History and Belles-lettres, Physical Sciences and the Golden Art of Song, are equally represented in it. Anacreon and Byron, Horace and Cicero, Lucian and Goethe, Shakspere and Sadi, Tasso and Ossian, are here found in the sacred language. The leading " Talmud " which my colleague, Mr. Emanuel Deutsch, so popu- larised in a late number of the " Quarterly Review," as to make that periodical run through many edi- tions, and from which it has been translated into most of the European languages occupies more than ten pages of this catalogue, including every edition from that of 1483 to the present time. Many of the volumes in the Hebrew Library are printed upon vellum and coloured paper, and not a few are unique. The compiler of this catalogue is Mr. Joseph Zedner, who was many years an assistant in the library, and who through age and ill-health has lately at the National Library. 417 retired from the service of the Trustees. Mr. Zedner is a profound scholar, and has left behind him a host of friends who are justly proud of having had so dis- tinguished a bibliographer, and such an acute intellect, united with so much that was unostentatious and amiable, among them for so many years. Mr. Watts says of this gentleman, that he " has in his ' Answahl Historischer Stiicke/ a collection of extracts from Hebrew historians of all ages, from the Talmud to Mendelssohn not only shown his intimate acquaint- ance with Hebrew literature, but shown also that this is but a part of his acquirements/' Mr. Zedner has returned to Germany with the good wishes of every one who knew him. The Chinese Collection of books in the Museum is large and valuable, and comprises Religious, Clas- sical, Historical, and Topographical works; as well as a large collection of books which may be classified as belles-lettres, and also not a few devoted to the subjects of Education and Science. Her Majesty the Queen, in 1843, presented nearly four hundred volumes of Chinese works. In Chinese literature the library may be considered at least on a level with any other in Europe; and no opportunity is lost of procuring specimens of the Mongolian, the Mantchoo- Tatar, and other languages of Eastern Asia. As I have already observed, this valuable collection was partially catalogued by Mr. Louis Prevost, who has been succeeded in the office of Cataloguer by Mr. Robert Douglas, an able Chinese scholar. E E 418 A Concluding Glance The library was for many years totally deficient in Oriental works, with the exception of a few be- queathed by Mr. Fowler Hull. The East India Company, some years since, presented a collection of the several editions published at the company's expense. Of later years some extensive purchases have been made. The collection of books in Oriental languages in the library is very considerable. It is intended to make these books more accessible to readers, by incorporating them in a separate cata- logue. The collection of Sanscrit literature is now nearly completed ; while that of the Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Hindustani is progressing. When the catalogue is completed, it will be found to contain almost every work of importance ever printed in those languages. Care is also taken, at the same time, to collect books in all the other languages and dialects spoken through the wide dominion of our Indian Empire. The gentleman who now catalogues the Oriental works is Dr. Haas, an accomplished German scholar. Reference has already been made in the former part of this work, to the literature of the English language in the United States. Large orders were sent out to America as early as 1839. At the present time the number of American books in the Museum is greater than in any library of the United States. A separate catalogue of these books has been com- piled by Mr. Henry Stevens, the gentleman who has at the National Library. 419 had the largest share in procuring them, and to whom literary men are under no small obligations for his unremitting and intelligent exertions to render the National Library as complete as possible in this important branch of English bibliography. I have before remarked that the Lords of the Treasury, in a Minute dated the i6th January, 1846, concurred with the Trustees of the British Museum in considering it of great importance that the collec- tion of books in the library should be rendered as complete as possible. And considering the number of visitors to the library (generally not less than about 70,000 persons in a year), and the extent to which all literary labour, with the expense consequent upon it, is diminished by the facility of reference to a complete collection of the best works on all subjects, their lordships were of opinion that they could not better promote the general interests of the public than by sanctioning an increase of the grant annually made to the Trustees for the purchase of books. They accordingly recommended Parliament to in- crease the grant to ; 10,000 annually, for the purchase of books of all descriptions, so as fully to give effect to the views of the Trustees, grounded upon Mr. Panizzi's Memoir of the Library, before referred to. It is from this liberal Parliamentary source that the several keepers of the printed books have been enabled to enrich the National Collection so as to make it what it now is. 420 A Concluding Glance In these days of cheap literature it may be well to remember that in early times books have brought fabulous prices. Jerome ruined himself by buying a copy of the works of Origen. A large estate was given for a Treatise on Cosmography by Alfred the Great, in the year of grace 872. Two hundred sheep and five quarters of wheat have been ex- changed for a single Homily in the ijth and i4th centuries. A magnificent Livy, printed by Sweynheim and Pannartz about 1469, the only copy known to exist on vellum, forming one of the gems in the Grenville Collection has had a curious history, and has realized a large money value. The reader will thank me, I am sure, for giving the history of this beautiful volume from a note attached to the title-page, in the hand- writing of Mr. Grenville, who says of it : " By the arms upon the first page this fine book appears to have been printed for Pope Alexander VI. when Vice-chancellor of the Roman See, and Governor of the Monastery of Soubiaco, when these printers (Sweynheim and Pannartz) took up their abode, and introduced the art of printing into Italy. This volume was afterwards in the Benedictine Library at Milan, from whence, at the French Revolution, it was sold to the Abbate Canonici at Venice, and was pur- chased from him by Edwards the bookseller, at whose sale it was bought by Sir Mark Sykes in 1815 for ^903. At Sir Mark's death it was bought by Payne, and sold by him to Mr. Dent for ^525 ; and at the National Library. . 42 1 at Mr. Dent's death was again bought by Payne and was sold to me." The "Decameron, 1471," was bought at the sale of the Duke of Roxburgh's books in 1812, by the Duke of Marlborough for ,2,260. In our own times an illustrated copy of Macklin's Bible has produced five hundred guineas. I have sometimes caught a glimpse of a curious and beautifully written manu- script volume kept by Mr. Grenville under special lock and key, containing an account of all the more remarkable books that he purchased, with the sums paid for them. Very interesting particulars might be obtained from this volume, which came to the Museum with the munificent gift of the Grenville collection, but is not included in the catalogue of the same, and is in the special custody of the Keeper of the Printed Books. Allusion has already been made in this volume to the collection of Music, which has, during the last ten years, been more than doubled. In 1859 the cata- logue of music consisted of fifty-seven volumes ; it has now grown to a hundred-and-five volumes of composers and titles of vocal works, and twenty-one volumes of names of authors whose words have been set to music. Before Mr. Panizzi came to the keepership of the department there had been accumulating in the Museum a large collection of music, a part of which was of importance, and a still larger portion not wholly useless ; but, as there was not even a list of it, E E 2 422 A Concluding Glance no one could tell exactly of what it consisted. The Trustees were, moreover, especially urged by the indefatigable Keeper, to increase this collection, and to render it useful to the public. A catalogue of what was already in the Museum was necessary, and a gentleman was appointed by the Trustees to make one under the direction of the Keeper of the Printed Books. The gentleman selected for this duty was Mr. Thomas Oliphant, Secretary of the Madrigal Society, and author of " Musa Madrigalesca," who catalogued the music both in the printed book and the manu- script departments from 1841 to 1850. In the latter year he retired from the Museum ; he may be con- sidered the poet of the Court, for which he writes verses on festal occasions. Mr. Oliphant has been a most industrious man, and has given all his life to the study of music ; more especially to that branch of musical bibliography in which he may be considered to have no living equal Madrigals and Old English Songs. From a list of his voluminous publications now lying before me, I find that he has arranged and edited no less than a hundred and eighty-nine Mad- rigals, Glees, Old English Songs, Duets, &c., as well as a hundred and seventy-two German, Italian, French, and Swedish songs. Mr. Oliphant has rendered great public services as a caterer for the musical visitors to the Crystal Palace, and now lives in honourable retirement. I had the pleasure of numbering him among my most at the National Library. 423 cordial friends, during his connection with the British Museum, and not unfrequently spend a quiet hour with him now. He was one of the most genial and cheerful colleagues in the Department of Printed Books ; full of anecdotal lore of musicians and com- posers of days gone by, and could tell as good a story as any man I ever listened to. I wish he could be persuaded to give the public the benefit of his great experiences, and vast knowledge of everything con- nected with Music and the Drama ; the reminis- cences of such a man would afford a rich treat to general readers, as well as be valuable as a book of reference to the profession of which he is so great an ornament. Mr. Oliphant was followed in the cataloguing of the Music, by M. Von Bach, an accomplished musician, who did not remain very long in the service of the Trustees, and returned to Germany some years since. He was succeeded in the work by Mr. Eugene Roy, who entered the service of the Museum as early as April, 1841, and who has recently been appointed one of the Assistant- Keepers in the Department of Printed Books. Mr. Roy's services in the general library were too valuable to allow of his continuing to cata- logue the Music, so that he returned to his old work of preparing the alphabetical catalogue of the printed books. Mr. Roy was succeeded by Mr. Campbell Clarke, who became a servant of the Trustees in April, 1852, and was for some time Honorary Secretary to 424 A Concluding Glance the " Philharmonic Society;" and also Musical Cor- respondent to the " Daily Telegraph," the " Sunday Times," and other journals. Mr. Clarke was obliged to retire from the Museum in June, 1870, on account of ill-health. My old friend and colleague in the Copyright Office, Mr. Kemp, was for a time engaged in cataloguing the Music, until the failure of my health obliged me to leave the Copyright Office, the duties of which are very harassing, and entail constant anxiety, for the more quiet and pleasant work of cataloguing the English books in the general library. Mr. Kemp has been a musician all his life-time, and is an able violinist. He entered the service of the Trustees as far back as March, 1837, and was for some years in the Secretariat, under Mr. Forshall, before he was transferred to the department where he now so worthily labours. The gentleman at present engaged upon the Music Catalogue is Mr. Charles Evans, who came to the Museum in October, 1858, and was for some years em- ployed upon the work of transcription before taking the duties of a cataloguer. Mr. Evans is a good musician, and above all, he is an ardent lover of the work upon which he is engaged. Several rare madrigals and other ancient musical works, chiefly English, have been purchased. Among modern books added to this collection, may be mentioned the works of Handel, by Arnold ; one of twenty-five copies on large paper, subscribed for by George III. ; and the at the National Library. 425 works of Palestine, recently published at Rome. It is to be hoped that the Musical Collection will before very long be on a par with the other departments of the National Museum. Some idea may be formed of the vast increase to the library subsequent to Mr. Panizzi's elaborate Report on the Department issued in January, 1845, to which reference has frequently been made in these pages, and which is moreover one of the most valuable of all the interesting Parliamentary Papers that have been printed by order of the House of Commons, by a reference to the statement of Mr. Winter Jones, who, in his " Guide to the Printed Books," dated February, 1858, remarks that " The library has been twice counted ; the first time on the 25th of July, 1838, when the number of printed volumes was found to be 235,000; and again, on the 1 5th of December, 1849, at which period they had increased to 435,000. They are now," he adds, " in 1858, about 550,000, and the annual increase is not less than 20,000 volumes." We learn from a Parliamentary Return that the number of volumes in 1821 was 115,925 ; in 1832, the number had grown to 21 8,000 ; the increase being chiefly made up by the King's Library, the Colt Hoare Collection, and other smaller donations, with some also that were purchased. On my coming to the Museum in 1835, the number of volumes in the library was about 230,000 ; at the time I am now writing they have grown to more than a million A Concluding Glance volumes. It is difficult fully to realise the magnitude of such an assemblage of books ; and it is only by walking quietly through the several apartments in which they are contained, that one can arrive at the conclusion that our National Library is one of the largest and the finest collection of books in the world. It is amusing to compare the staff of the library now with what it was when I entered the Museum. At that time the library staff numbered twenty-two ; at present the number is upwards of a hundred. The total number of officers, assistants, attendants, etc., including all the departments, on the 2ist May, 1835, was seventy-nine ; in 1870 the number had increased to three hundred and twenty-two. When I entered the service of the Trustees I was the youngest man on the establishment : now only six of the original staff remain. They are, Dr. John Gray, the eminent naturalist, whose first appointment is dated 21 December, 1824; Mr. George Robert Gray, his no less distinguished brother, whose first appointment dates 16 September, 1831 ; Mr. Thomas Butler, the Assistant-Secretary, who entered the service of the Trustees the same year as myself, and whose appointment dates n April, 1835 ; Mr. Henry Marshall, so well known in the Reading Room, dates his first employment as early as the 26th of January, 1835 ; and Mr. Schofield, at present the Senior- Attendant in the Library, who entered the Museum the same day as myself. It has been my great honour during my connexion at the National Library. 427 with the British Museum, to serve under the follow- ing gentlemen as Keepers of the Printed Books : the Rev. Henry Harvey Baber, Sir Anthony Panizzi, Mr. Winter Jones, the present Principal Librarian, the lamented Mr. Thomas Watts, whose recent death is an irreparable loss ; and the present Keeper, Mr. Brenchley Rye, whose introduction to the Museum as a young man I well remember. I have had for my colleagues and associates some dis- tinguished names in modern English literature. I am, I trust, duly sensible of the great privilege such associations have been to me. And now my pleasant and agreeable work of com- piling this volume is at an end. There is something solemn and affecting in leaving the work and the place which you have been accustomed to frequent for many years ; all your surroundings have become a part of yourself. And yet it must be so, whether you are a strong robust man of iron frame, full of nervous power and energy, or one with a more fragile and delicately-adjusted organization, upon whose mental and physical system contact with the world, and the wear and tear of life, have done their work, the time must come when you must relin- quish it all. I am conscious, painfully conscious, how imperfect has been my account of the great library by which I have been surrounded, and how very imperfectly I have attained to what I intended when I sat down to the task. When we cannot do what we would, we must be content to accomplish what we can. 428 Concluding Glance at the Library. Whatever may be my future lot, it is not for me to determine ; whether my remaining days may be few or many, happily, is hidden from me. I cannot, however, write these concluding lines without congra- tulating myself in having held a position, although but a humble one, in the Institution of which the eloquent author of " Ecce Homo" has said: " One of the greatest seats of learning in England is the British Museum ; one of the most brilliant of learned bodies is the staff which is employed by the State to take charge of that vast National Collection." " What is writ, is writ. Would it were worthier." PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND WII.KINS, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. REC'D 1 1