260 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



not in the College Library. Moreover, the second list is in Ussher's 

 writing, and the borrowers of books, whose names are recorded in it 

 and in the fourth list were, for the most part, either relations or 

 personal friends of the Archbishop.^ 



And lastly, the date of at least one of the lists fits in with what 

 is known of his life at the period. In September, 1635, he writes 

 to Dr. Ward,^ complaining of his weariness after attendance at 

 Parliament, at the memorable Convocation of that year, and at the 

 Divinity Acts and Summer Commencements at Trinity College. "1 

 am now at last," he adds, "retired from Dublin to my old place, 

 where I begin at length, redire in gratiam cum veteribus amicis." 

 With his " old friends," no doubt, he continued in peace for some 

 time, and we are not surprised to find that he made a list of such of 

 them as were missing five months latter, Peb. 20, 163|-. But more 

 remarkable is the occasion to which we may refer the fourth list. 

 Ussher preached before the Irish Parliament in March, 16|f. " Im- 

 mediately after," Dr. Elrington tells us,^ "he went over to England 

 with his family, intending to remain for a considerable time, in order 

 to piu'sue his literary labours in London and Oxford " — as it proved, 

 never to return. It was natural that before starting upon his journey, 

 he should cause a " recension" of his library to be made : the fourth 

 list is dated Feb. 18, 16-|f. It is not in the Primate's hand. But 

 we know that at the time his chaplain. Dr. Mcholas Bernard, was 

 acting as his librarian.* By him, therefore, in all probability, the 

 list was penned.^ 



We must now return to our catalogues. The question is an 

 obvious one — How came it that the press-marks in these catalogues 

 are all different ? In order to find an answer to this question, we 

 must endeavour, in the first place, to fix as closely as possible the 

 dates of the catalogues B and C. 



It is easily shown that both B and C are later than A. The A 

 press-marks have a line drawn through them in I^os. 36, 39, 59, to 



1 See Notes on second and fourth lists. - Works, xvi., p. 9. 



3 Works, i., p. 207. * Ih., p. 231, note ^ quoting Bernard's Life, p. 94. 



■^ A conjecture which is made more prohahle if I rightly understand "Mj- 

 Lord," in the fourth list, as indicating Archbishop Ussher. Ussher undertook 

 his iourney to England, no doubt, with a view to the researches necessary for his 

 Dissertation on Ignatius and Polycarp, which appeared four years later. It is 

 significant, therefore, that G. 5. 16 is one of the eleven books marked " my Lord." 

 See above, p. 221, note ^^. Only two others can be identified — C. 1. 7, and H. 1. 

 18, in the third list. 



