130 OXS AND MANUSCRIPTS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 



305 



Danube, a description of a highway- 

 man, an announcement of a grand 

 cockfight between two persons of 

 honour, and an advertisement of- 

 fering a reward for a stray dog. 

 The whole made \ip two pages 

 of moderate size. Whatever was 

 communicated respecting matters 

 of the highest moment, was com- 

 municated in the most meagre and 

 formal style. The most important 

 parliamentary debates, the most 

 important state trials recorded in 

 our history, were passed over in 

 profound silence. In the capital 

 the coffee-houses supplied in some 

 measure the place of a journal. 

 Thither the Londoners flocked, as 

 the Athenians of old flocked to 

 the market-place, to hear whether 

 there was any news. There men 

 might learn how brutally a Whig 

 had been treated the day before in 

 Westminster Hall, or what horrible 

 accounts the letters from Edin- 

 burgh gave of the torturing of 

 Covenanters." In 1690 there were 

 nine London newspapers published 

 weekly. In Queen Anne's reign, 

 in 1709, they had increased to 

 eighteen, including one daily paper. 

 In the reign of George I. there 

 were three daily, six weekly, and 

 ten three times a-week. The col- 

 lection of newspapers in the Mu- 

 seum was commenced by Sir Hans 

 Sloane. The Burney Collection 

 was added to these in 1818, at the 

 cost of 1000. This department 

 of the library is now supplied 

 by the Commissioners of Stamps, 

 who forward to the Museum the 

 copies deposited in their ottice by 

 the publishers. 



There are two extensive collec- 

 tions of music in the library, one 

 of which belonged to Dr. Charles 

 Burney, the composer, and father 

 of Madame D'Arblay, the novelist ; 

 and the other to Sir John Hawkins. 

 The Rev. Dr. Burney, son of the 

 composer, and a ripe scholar, left a 

 library which was purchased for 



the British Museum at the expense 

 of 14,000. Sir Joseph Banks' li- 

 brary of natural history, Garrick's 

 dramatic collection, Musgrave's ex- 

 tensive biographical collection, four 

 collectionsof French political tracts, 

 belonging to the period of the first 

 Revolution, and a similar collection 

 of political pamphlets published 

 in England during the civil wars 

 of Charles the First's time, are 

 amongst the notable features of the 

 library. 



Amongst the manuscripts, not 

 the least curious we saw, was the 

 Basilicon Doron of King James the 

 First, in his own hand-writing a 

 treatise on the art of government, 

 addressed by the King to his pro- 

 mising son Prince Henry, who 

 died young, and showing (what 

 was by no means peculiar to " the 

 wisest fool in Christendom") how 

 much easier it is to speculate plau- 

 sibly, than to rule well. There are 

 many manuscripts here which had 

 found their way into the ancient 

 royal library of England, at the 

 period of the breaking up of the 

 monastic institutions of this coun- 

 try, and some of these documents 

 retain upon their blank leaves the 

 maledictions denounced upon those 

 who should alienate them from the 

 places where they were deposited. 

 One of the most ancient manu- 

 scripts is the " Codex Ahxandri- 

 nm, ' written in uncial characters 

 on vellum, in four quarto volumes, 

 and supposed to be the oldest ex- 

 isting Greek manuscript of the 

 Bible in existence, dating betwixt 

 the fourth and sixth centuries. It 

 was a gift to Charles the First 

 from the Patriarch of Constanti- 

 nople. There are several early 

 copies of the Latin _;. ]> Is. one 

 written about the year 800, spin 

 didly illuminated, and believed to 

 have onco belonged to the Vener- 

 able Bede. A collection of MSS. 

 formed by the first Marquis of 

 Lausdownt}, cost the British Pnr- 

 u 



