Bath in its relation to Literature. 



evident from the titles of the ponderous folios. An original 

 catalogue, beautifully written on large pages of vellum, con- 

 tains many such books as Walton's "Polyglott," Poole's 

 " Synopsis," "Legenda Aurea," Stillingfleet's " Origines," and 

 Clarendon's " History of the Rebellion.'' It also indicates 

 the kind of donors, amongst whom were the Duchess of 

 Monmouth, wife of the unfortunate Duke, who gave Jeremy 

 Taylor's works ; William Prynne, by whom and his publisher 

 30 volumes of his works were given ; Sir Lancelot Lake, Sir 

 William Waller, and Bishop Ken. The venerable prelate 

 bequeathed to the library 160 volumes, chiefly Spanish and 

 Portuguese. After his death they were brought from Long- 

 leat — where he was long an honoured guest of the Marquis 

 of Bath. 



Small as the collection is, and unfortunately 



Abbey Library. , . , ^ . , 



little used, it has yet a certain historical value. 

 It shows the relation of Bath to Literature in the seventeenth 

 century. Alas, that no similar testimony exists as to an 

 earlier period ! How invaluable would have been the MSS. 

 belonging to the Bath Monastery if they had been preserved, 

 and what a flood of light might have been thrown by them 

 on the events of a thousand years. Even as late as 1539 

 Leland saw, amongst the remains of the monastic library, 

 gifts from King Athelstan, translations from the Arabic, 

 poems of the middle ages, Roman classics, and works on 

 various sciences. At one time there was a proposal that the 

 old books now in the vestry of the Abbey, being so little 

 used, should be sold and the proceeds applied to some 

 modern object. Let no such idea ever be revived; take 

 them by all means, with the consent of the authorities, from 

 the dingy room in which they are hidden ; place them where 

 they may be sometimes studied, and always admired, as 



