ERASMUS. 73 



" With wood-cuts ?" 



" With only one, the large printer's mark of Denidel." 



" What's the date ?" 



"No date." 



" What's the poetry ?" 



By this time we were in the library, and before I an- 

 swered I hunted up a memorandum I had given Philip 

 when I first noticed the book in my own library, and read 

 it to the Doctor : " De casa Natalitia Jesu et paupere 

 puerperio sive virginis Marie Carmen noviter emendatum. 

 Title-page has Denidel's book-mark ; follow two pages of 

 a letter of Erasmus to Boethius, dated at end, Scriptum 

 ruri tumultuarie sexto Idus novembres; nineteen pages 

 of seven different short poems by Erasmus ; and at the end 

 a statement that this is a corrected edition, the former hav- 

 ing contained errors. This occurs in the colophon: 'Ali- 

 tor et impressor presentis codicis almi sistantur rutilo 

 post sua fata polo.'" " Now, Doctor, if you can find any 

 account of that book in any bibliography, or any life of 

 Erasmus, let me know about it, won't you ?" 



"Of course I will. Does Ehrard mention it?" 



" No. But the whole science of bibliography is in its 

 infancy. Men copy one another instead of making per- 

 sonal examinations. It's astonishing how much history 

 is a repetition of old stories that never had any authority." 



" What do you know about bibliography ? You talk as 

 if you were a dealer in old books. You have a few lots 

 of old wood-cut illustrations, well enough in their way, but 

 you are lamentably ignorant of old books. The science 

 of bibliography is more nearly a complete science than 

 any I know of. It is true there is no one work that will 

 answer all your purposes, but — " 



" No, nor any ten works. But let that pass. John has 



