88S The Literary Treasures of Longleat. 



suited to the appetite of book-lovers of every species. I say " every/ 9 

 because there are several varieties of book-lovers. Some like books 

 for the old title-pages, some for the black letter, some for the illus- 

 trations, some for the bindings, and now and then a few for the 

 contents. There are some of the most valuable works printed by 

 Caxton, Wynkyn de Worde and other early brethren in the trade : 

 and a very early edition, in black letter, of Chaucer, whose first editor, 

 by the way, was William Thynne, uncle to the builder of the very 

 house in which you are assembled. A little volume called "Thealma " 

 bears the autograph of tc Iz. Wa." — Izaac Walton, the fisherman : 

 and another book, a folio edition of Diogenes Laertius, which 

 belonged to Bishop Ken and contains on the fly-leaf a Latin sentence 

 in his (very rare) handwriting, has been so constantly inquired 

 for and inspected by the good bishop's admirers that the binding 

 is broken with frequent opening. 



Then there is a very fine copy of a work called " Halstead's Gen- 

 ealogies." This is a " History of the Mordaunt Family," (including 

 that of others, as the Mauduits of Warminster,) printed under a 

 fictitious name, in 1685 ; a work of which probably not more than 

 twenty-five copies were printed, as only seventeen are known, one of 

 which a few years ago sold for £240. Also a fine copy of Richard 

 Grafton's Bible, 1541. This appears to have been a present from 

 some Royalty to Sir J. Thynne, the builder of Longleat, and in it he 

 has written on the fly-leaves entries of the births, deaths and marriages 

 in his family. Having seen the fine room you will easily understand 



But if precedency of death doth barre 



A fourth place in your sacred sepulchre 



"Under this carved marble of thine owne 



Sleep, rare Tragedian Shakespeare, sleep alone. 



That unto Us and others it may bee 



Honor hereafter to bee layd by thee." 



Below the verses another (also old) hand has written "graphice scribis." 



These verses were composed by William Basse, and were very popular, being 

 the earliest Elegy on Shakespeare. It was found in a MS. written after the 

 year 1621, entitled "Basse his Elegie on Poett Shakespeare who died in April, 

 1616." The lines, somewhat varying from the above, are printed in the Journal 

 of the British Archaeological Association, 1862, p. 281: where Mr. J. 0. Halli- 

 well, the contributor, observes that W. Basse had probably expected a cenotaph 

 to be ereoted to Shakespeare in Westminster Abbey. 



