LIFE OF ARCHBISHOP SANCROFT. 73 



It appears to have been his constant habit to 

 transfer to his common-place books, with the 

 most persevering industry, copious extracts 

 from the printed or manuscript works which he 

 perused. He also carefully preserved all the 

 papers relating to the various business in which 

 he was engaged, laying by the letters addressed 

 to him as well on private as on public topics, 

 and in many instances keeping copies of the 

 letters written by himself. In addition to this, 

 he appears to have been a diligent searcher after 

 original letters of distinguished persons, and 

 documents relating to public transactions, ec- 

 clesiastical and civil, for the purpose of trans- 

 ferring them into his collections. The conse- 

 quence is, that the MSS. which he left behind 

 him are extremely voluminous. It has been 

 said that no person ever transcribed so much 

 with his own hand : it is certain that he dis- 

 played a patient industry of research which has 

 not often been exceeded; and, as his collections 

 were made with judgment as well as industry, 

 they abound with much valuable and important 

 matter.* 



* In the Harleian Collection in the British Museum, besides 

 three volumes of letters written to Dr. Sancroft at different 

 periods of his life, and from persons of all descriptions^ are 

 thirteen volumes (numbered 3786 — 3798) of miscellaneous col- 

 lections made by him, relating to a great variety of subjects^ 



