726 



LIBRARY. 



Library of 

 Trinity Col- 

 lege, Cam- 

 bridge. 



Library of 

 Sir Joseph 



Hanks. 



Libmy. British Museum, is just about being concluded, in se- 

 N "Y" W ' veral octavo volumes. These libraries are open daily, 

 and, on a suitable recommendation, any person is in- 

 troduced to study in the reading room ; but no manu- 

 script may be copied without special permission. There 

 are several other libraries in London belonging to pub- 

 lic bodies : That of Sion College, an institution for 

 education of the clergy, is entitled to a copy of every 

 book published in the kingdom. 



The different colleges of the universities of Oxford 

 and Cambridge have libraries of various extent, of which 

 the Bodleian collection is said to be the most ample in 

 Britain. This was instituted towards the close of the 

 reign of Queen Elizabeth, by Sir Thomas Bodley, who 

 collected 12<H rare manuscripts, which were afterwards 

 increased to 6818, independent of 18.98 in the Ashmo- 

 lean museum. A catalogue of part of those relating to 

 oriental history, was executed by 3. Uri, a Hungarian, 

 and published in a folio volume 1 in 1787. The printed 

 works are numerous and valuable. 



The library of Trinity College, Cambridge, is exten- 

 sive, and contained in a large apartment, floored with 

 black and white marble. Here, among other literary 

 curiosities, are some of Milton's poems, in his own 

 writing. A valuable collection of manuscripts, by 

 Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, is deposited in the 

 library of Corpus Christi college, several of which are 

 ascribed to the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. 



Two private collections in England demand notice ; 

 the one from use, the other from curiosity. The first 

 is the library of Sir Joseph Banks, comprehending eve- 

 ry department of natural history, together with a copi- 

 ous collection of the transactions of learned societies ; 

 and its value is enhanced by an excellent catalogue, 

 according to the most scientific and systematic arrange- 

 ment, in five octavo volumes. The second is the li- 

 fcibrary of brary of the Earl of Spencer, amounting to 45,000 

 the Earl of volumes, and which is understood to be the most ex- 

 Spencer, tensave belonging to any individual in the united king- 

 dom. It was founded chiefly on that of Count Re- 

 vicsky, a foreign nobleman, who addicted himself 

 to the collection of works of a very peculiar descrip- 

 tion, and contains an unexampled assemblage of those 

 illustrating the origin and progress of typography. 

 Here are several books consisting of impressions from 

 wood on blocks, previous to the invention of metallic 

 types ; thus exhibiting the earliest specimens of stereo- 

 type, so lately revived. In some, engraved figures 

 constitute the principal part, to which is annexed a 

 small proportion of text, and only one siile of the leaf 

 is employed. Such is the Ars memorandi notabilis per 

 Jiguras, supposed to have been thrown off previous to 

 the year 1430, which consists of a number of rude cuts 

 of the principal events recorded in the Gospels, with 

 text on the opposite page ; Ars moriendi, of which the 

 subject is a sick man in bed,, surrounded by grotesque 

 and hideous figures of devils and angels. Something 

 monstrous or absurd was the fashion of the time, as 

 we see in sculptures of various kinds; and, in the for- 

 mer work, St. Luke is represented by a bull standing 

 on his hind legs, while St. Mark is introduced as a ram- 

 pant lion ; Hutoria Veleri.i el Novi Testament!, sen 

 Biblia pauperum, is previous to the year 1450, but 

 which some have considered the earliest specimen of 

 block printing. Besides these and others denoting the 

 infancy of the art, the Spencerian library contains a 

 fine collection of early printed and scarce Bibles ; as 

 the Mazarine Bible, ranked between 1450 and 1455 ; 

 oe, supposed the work of Albert Pfister, anterior to 



1 460 ; Fust and Schcefter's Bible, 1162; that by S wey- Library; 

 heym and Pannartz, 1471; a Dutch .Bible, H77; 'V-'' 

 Prince Radzivil's Bible in Polish, and those, in the dif- 

 ferent European languages. Here are seerrthe Latin 

 Psalter of Fust and Schoeffer of 1457, being the first 

 printed book to which a date is affixed ; and another of 

 nearly equal rarity, of 1459. Many of the earliest edi- 

 tions of the classics, beautiful copies on vellum, and 

 the works of all the celebrated printers of the 15th 

 century, add to the value of the collection. An accu- 

 rate opinion of the nature, value, and importance of 

 these, to persons who consider science as secondary to 

 the medium of imparting it, may be formed from" the 

 laborious catalogue of Mr. Dibdin, in foifr royal octavo 

 volumes, which at once carries the reader back to the 

 earliest ages of the typographic art in every variety. 



The library of the university of Edinburgh consists Library of 

 of about 50,000 pn'nted volumes, and a few manuscripts, tlie L T niver- 

 An abbreviated catalogue of the medical books, includ- *.'.'![. 

 ing some on natural history, together forming the most 

 complete part of the collection, is published in an octa- 

 vo volume. The library is under good management, 

 and the respective demands of the numerous readers 



are expeditiously supplied. The advocate's library in Advocates' 

 Edinburgh, was founded in l6SO, by the exertions of library. 

 Sir George Mackenzie, and now consists of about 

 80,000 printed works, and 1000 volumes in manuscript. 

 Its most copious subjects are the national history, Greek 

 and Roman antiquities, and jurisprudence in general. 

 Among the manuscripts, there is a fine copy of Mar- 

 tial's Epigrams, in perfect preservation, which has 

 been ascribed to the ninth century ; the most ancient, 

 in so far as we are aware, that is known to exist. This 

 work is written in double columns, on 108 leaves of a 

 peculiar kind of vellum, such as is not in use at pre- 

 sent, in the small Roman character, with the titles of 

 the epigrams in rustic capitals. Instead of the uniform 

 division of syllables, the words frequently run into, 

 and are united with each other, as in the most ancient 

 manuscripts, or being irregularly divided, the first syl- 

 lable is annexed to the word preceding, while the last 

 is prefixed to that which is subsequent. The ancient 

 mode of punctuation is particularly exhibited among the 

 capitals. Here are, besides, a fine copy of Valerius 

 Maximus on vellum, dated 1398, which merits colla- 

 tion; and fragments of several other classics, as Juve- 

 nal, Persius, and Ovid, of considerable antiquity. In 

 the advocates' library are preserved thirteen of the char- 

 tularies, or volumes of records of the different religi- 

 ous houses of Scotland, which escaped the general de- 

 struction in which the edifices themselves were involv- 

 ed, in promoting the reformation of religion ; a folio 

 volume of music for the service of the cathedral of. 

 Scone, written in the sixteenth century ; several papal 

 bulls and original charters. The records of the reli- 

 gious houses are particularly valuable, from ascertain* 

 ing the ancient owners of property, which is often im- 

 portant in legal proceedings, illustrating the antiqui- 

 ties of the country, and from presenting a greater num- 

 ber of writings of the twelfth and thirteenth century, 

 than are elsewhere collected together. Law, and sub- 

 jects of national history, occupy the great bulk of the 

 manuscripts, which are of very unequal value. There 

 are a few works of old English history, numerous let- 

 ters of distinguished individuals, including one in the 

 handwriting of Queen Mary, and several of foreigners. 

 The printed books in the advocates'library en.brace eve- 

 ry department of science and literature, except theolo- 

 gy and medicine., of which there are only some leading 





