LIBRARY. 



725 



v. the formation of a library, which, in 1 791, amounted to natural history, were purchased, some years ago, by an 



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100,000 volumes, contained in an edifice constructed 

 of wood. There were then 9000 Bibles, of all editions, 

 nd in all languages ; and the royal owner still required 

 3000 copies, which we believe he afterwards acquired, 

 to render his collection complete. The university of 

 Prague has a library consisting of 130,000 printed vo- 

 lumes, and 8000 manuscripts, deposited in a quadran- 

 gular building, nearly 250 feet in length by 150 in 

 width. It contains a complete collection of Polyglot 

 Bible* ; rd among the manuscripts are a copy of Jus- 

 tin, on vellum, of the 13th century, in good preser- 



intelligent Scotch bookseller, and carrie'd to Edinburgh. > T"" 

 Copenhagen had also to boast of one of the most ex- 

 tensive private libraries of modern times, in the col- 

 lection of Mr. Suhm, well known by his taste in north- 

 ern antiquities. It consisted of 60,000 printed vo- 

 lumes, besides manuscripts procured at great cost. 



The king's library in Stockholm is said not to ex- Sweden. 

 ceed 20,000 volumes and 500 manuscripts. A copy of 

 the Evangelists, written on purple vellum, and suppo- 

 sed to belong to the ninth century, is commonly called 

 the codex avrcus, from the quantity of letters in gold. 



vation ; one of Pliny, also on vellum, written by order The library of the university of Upsal, containing 



of the magistrates of the city in 1350, beautifully exe- rn """ 1 : J - f - 



cuted, and well preserved ; and a table of logarithms, 

 in the handwriting of Tycho Brahe. 



There are few celebrated libraries in Poland, as may 

 be expected from the political distractions of that coun- 

 try. What U called the King's Library, at Warsaw, 

 doe* not exceed 20,000 volumes, most of which are mo- 

 dern. A manuscript, in three folio volumes, with 1 72 

 fine drawing*, describe* the antiquities dug up at Vel- 

 leia, between 1760 and 1765. The university of Cra- 

 cow ha* a library, in which are 4000 manuscripts ; and 

 among them is seen a Latin Encyclopaedia, in a large 

 folio volume, written by Paul of Prague, in 1459. 

 A more valuable and extensive collection, called the 

 Zaluski Library, or Library of the Republic, was 

 formed, and devoted to the public by two brothers of 

 that name in 1 7 \~>. But no funds were appropriated, 

 either for it* enlargement or suitable preservation. Ori- 

 ginally the Zaluski library consisted of 300,000 vo- 

 lumes, comprising 52,000 duplicates. By the sale of 

 these, and from other circumstances, the collection was 

 supposed, in 1791, not to exceed 200,000 volumes, 

 while it* value wa* not proportioned to its size. But 

 it suffered many depredation*, and at length was sent 

 by General Suwarrow to St. Petersburg in 179-5, where 

 it wa* deposited in three elegant apartments, and open- 

 ed for the use of the public in 1812. It wa* formerly 

 divided into five general classes of literature; but, ac- 

 cording to the recent work of M tiller, half its contents 

 are theology ; and the portion embracing jurisprudence 

 i* distinguished according to languages. The same au- 

 thor obwrrvet, that this is the only public library in the 

 capital of the Russian empire. The library of the Aca- 

 demy of Sciences, which some time ago exceeded 40,000 

 volume*, wa* founded with 2500 taken by Peter at the 

 siege of Mittau. It contains numerous diplomatic pa- 

 pen of the reign of that prince, and the most exten- 

 sive collection of Chinese works in Europe, amounting 

 to C800 different treatise*, of which there is an exact 

 r.-ttalogue ; some Japanese manuscript', and several of 

 the Mongols and Thibet The original MS. instruc- 

 tions), in the handwriting of the late empress, to pre- 

 pare new code of law* for her vast empire, is preser- 

 ved in fine bronze vase, which is always placed on 

 the table during the sittings of the academy : Mullcr 

 Tableau ; Bacmoistcr Ettai. 



Previous to the late siege of Copenhagen, the royal 

 library exceeded 130,000 printed volumes, and 3000 

 manuscript*, all contained in a gallery 252 feet long, 

 nd other apartment*. Among the manuscripts is an 

 imperfect copy of Livy, ascribed to the sixth century ; 

 bout 25O treatises collected by Niebuhr during his 

 interring travels in the East ; and four large volumes 

 f painting! of plant*, on vellum, from nature, by the 

 celebrated. Madame Mcrian. A large portion of the 

 duplicate* of tbi* library, particularly those relative to 



50,000 volumes, is possessed of a manuscript of stiii 

 greater celebrity, also a copy of the Evangelists, 

 written in gold and silver letters, on 187 leaves of 

 vellum, but wanting the beginning and end. The ma- 

 nuscript is ascribed to Ulphilas, bishop of the Goths, 

 who flourished under the Emperor Valens, about the 

 year 370. Junius, and also Ihre, have published dis- 

 sertations regarding it. 



The principal libraries in Great Britain, are the Royal Britain. 

 Library, those of the British Museum, Oxford, Cam- 

 bridge, and the Advocates' Library in Edinburgh. It 

 is calculated that the royal library amounts to 80,000 

 volumes, which have been acquired chiefly by his pre- 

 sent Majesty. The library of the British Museum, British mu- 

 which is now considered the national deposit of litera- seum. 

 ture, has been composed of various others, successively 

 obtained, and is chiefly valuable for its numerous manu- 

 scripts. These are principally formed of the collections 

 made by Sir Robert Cotton, who was born in the year 

 1 570, and by the Earl of Oxford, who died in 1 741 . The 

 library of the former was put under sequestration in the 

 reign of James, owing to the appearance of a political 

 pamphlet falsely ascribed to the owner, because a cop}-, 

 under another name, was discovered among its contents. 

 It was purchased for the use of the public in 1701, and 

 annexed by statute to the British Museum in 1753. 

 This library originally consisted of 9.58 volumes of ma- 

 nuscripts, which were reduced to 86l by fire in 1731. 

 A complete catalogue, lately published by order of go- 

 vernment, in one volume folio, embraces 26,000 ar- 

 ticles, which, in general, relate to British history. 

 The Harleian MSS. amounted to nearly 8000 volumes 

 at the death of their noble owner. Now they exceed 

 10,000 volumes, besides above 40,000 original rolls, 

 letters patent, signs manual, &c. for the most part rela- 

 lating to great Britain and Ireland. It is difficult to 

 form a correct idea of this copious collection without 

 actual examination. There are numerous ancient MSS. 

 of the classical authors: such as a fragment of the 

 .Kneid, and a copy of Quintilian, of the ninth cen- 

 tury ; two copies of Terence, and one of Homer and- 

 Ovid, of the tenth ; and a copy of Sallust of the ele- 

 venth. Here are about 300 manuscript Bibles and 

 biblical books, in Hebrew, Chaldee, Greek, Arabic, 

 and Latin ; nearly 200 volumes of writing* of fathers 

 of the church ; numerous missals, breviaries, and litur- 

 gies ; an extensive collection relative to the topography 

 and antiquities of Great Britain ; many volumes of ori- 

 ginal letters from celebrated natives of the island and 

 foreigners ; works on the arts and sciences among 

 which is a tract on the steam engine, with plans, dia- 

 grams, and calculations, by Sir Samuel Morland, who 

 styles himself master in mechanics to Charles II. A 

 catalogue of the Harleian MSS. has been recently pub- 

 lished by order of government, in four volumes folio; 

 one in an abbreviated form, of the printed books in the 



