Lawlor — Primate Ussher^s Library before 164-1 ■ 261 



make way for B press-marks, in Nos. 8, 31, 63, to make way for C 

 press-marks. It appears further, that C is later than B, for in Nos. 42, 

 74 the B press-mark is struck out in favour of the C press-mark. And 

 we have evidence that additions were made to the collection in the 

 interval between the writing of B and C.^ B, therefore, dates from a 

 time when A had ceased to be in use. That is to say, it is subsequent 

 to the date of our fourth list — Feb. 16ff . And, C is still later. I 

 do not know on what basis the date (1620) given for B in the 

 Catalogue of Manuscripts rests, but if I have reasoned correctly, it is 

 certainly too early by at least twenty years. The two manuscripts 

 comprised under C (No. 5 = D. 1. 4 and No. 6 = D. 1.3) are described 

 in the Catalogue as respectively the Catalogue of the Trinity College 

 Library in 1664 and the Catalogue of Ussher's Library, as given 

 to Trinity College, Dublin, in 1666 (written in 1667). With the 

 latter description and date I have no quarrel. In 1661, a com- 

 mittee of three persons was appointed by the Irish House of Commons 

 to transfer Ussher's Library, then at Dublin Castle, to Trinity 

 College, and to draw up a Catalogue of it.^ The Commons, in a 

 rash moment, further ordered that the catalogue, when completed, 

 was to be inserted in the Journal of the House, an order which, as 

 we might expect, does not appear to have been obeyed. It appears 

 probable that there was some delay in transferring the books, and that 

 Trinity College did not receive them till 1666.^ There seems to be 

 nothing to hinder us from believing that MS. D. 1. 3 is the very 

 catalogue prepared after the arrival of the books, in compliance with 

 the order of the Commons. But if so, both the description and the 

 date of its fellow must be incorrect. I have already shown that 

 D. 1. 4 is copied from D. 1. 3. The copy was made not later than 

 1669 — the year of the death of John Steame, one of the Restoration 

 Fellows, whose name appears on a fly-leaf. I am inclined to suppose 

 that, D. 1. 3 having been prepared for presentation to the House of 

 Commons, a transcript (D. 1. 4) was immediately afterwards made 

 from it for the use of readers in the Library. The date of C may 



1 See p. 253, note ^ (No. 38). 



^ Book of Trinity College, p. 150 ; Stokes, Worthies of the Irish Church, p. 26 sq. 

 When I wrote, in the latter place, that it was not known whether the Catalogue 

 had been made, I was not aware of the existence of the two manuscripts now 

 under discussion. 



2 This I infer from the statement in Browne's Catalogue, quoted by Abbott, 

 Book of Trinity College, p. 151. 



E.I. A. PROC, SEE. HI., VOL. VI. X 



