EZRA ABBOT. 489 



contents. It was the first work of the kind ever done in this country ; 

 and it attracted such attention as to make an era in catak)guing, wliich, 

 through him, took its place among the liberal arts. The reputation, 

 thus accruing to him led to his appointment in 1856 as Assistant 

 Librarian in Harvard University, with the special charge of the 

 cataloguing department. To liiin is due the double system of card 

 catalogues, in which every book is represented by a full descriptive 

 card in the alphabetical list of authors, and by one card or more in the 

 alphabetical list of subjects, — the subjects so covering the entire 

 ground, and their divisions and subdivisions so distinctly marked 

 that those who are engaged in any particular investigation can ascer- 

 tain in a very brief space of time precisely what help the library can 

 furnish. This system is extended to all important articles in periodi- 

 cal literature, so that whatever is to be found on the shelves is brousfht 

 under the easy command of the student or inquirer. These cata- 

 logues can of course admit of the insertion of new cards without any 

 disturbance of those previously in place. The method adapts itself to 

 indefinite increase ; and a million of books micht be catalosfued in rows 

 of drawers that would occupy much less floor-room than is needed for 

 the desks that sustain the huge, profusely interleaved, and ultimately 

 overcrowded volumes that perform the same service for the British 

 Museum. Mr. Abbot, as a librarian, by no means confined himself 

 to his official duty, stringent as were its claims. He was reputed to 

 possess such knowledge of books as no one else had ; and no person 

 engaged in any important investigation failed to resort to him for 

 authorities and their comparative value. It was found much more 

 satisfying and profitable to consult a living and always accessible cata- 

 logue, than to turn over cards in their cases. It was at an early period 

 of Mr Abbot's connection with the library that he prepared the biblio- 

 graphical index appended to Alger's " History of the Doctrine of a 

 Future Life," probably the most complete list of works on eschatology 

 ever made, and a monument of research and erudition in its kind 

 unsurpassed, if not unequalled. 



These cares and labors might have seemed sufficient for one life. 

 But time well filled is elastic, and working hours multiply with the 

 drafts made upon them. Mr. Abbot was all this while pursuing his 

 Biblical studies with unbated zeal. While he was profoundly versed 

 and skilled in hermeneutics, textual criticism became his specialty. 

 This, of necessity, brought him into correspondence and intimate 

 intercourse with the leading scholars in that department in this coim- 

 try and in Europe ; and his judicial habits of mind, his entire freedom 



