Chapter XXIV: Part V: =The Drawing Room.= (7)

[Footnote 363: As I have already presented the public with
some brief account respecting BISHOP FELL, and sharpened the
appetites of Grangerites to procure rather a rare portrait
of the same prelate (See _Introd. to the Classics_, vol. i.,
89), it remains only to add, in the present place, that
Hearne, in his _Historia Vitæ et Regni Ricardi II._, 1729,
8vo., p. 389, has given us a curious piece of information
concerning this eminent bibliomaniac, which may not be
generally known. His authority is Anthony Wood. From this
latter we learn that, when Anthony and the Bishop were
looking over the _History and Antiquities of the University
of Oxford_, to correct it for the press, Fell told Wood that
"WICLIFFE was a grand dissembler; a man of little
conscience; and what he did, as to religion, was more out of
vain glory, and to obtain unto him a name, than out of
honesty--or to that effect." Can such a declaration, from
such a character, be credited? BISHOP MORE has a stronger
claim on our attention and gratitude. Never has there
existed an episcopal bibliomaniac of such extraordinary
talent and fame in the walk of _Old English Literature_!--as
the reader shall presently learn. The bishop was admitted of
Clare Hall, Cambridge, in 1662. In 1691, he became Bishop of
Norwich; and was translated to Ely in 1707; but did not
survive the translation above seven years. How soon and how
ardently the passion for collecting books possessed him it
is out of my present power to make the reader acquainted.
But that More was in the zenith of his bibliomaniacal
reputation while he filled the see of Norwich is
unquestionable; for thus writes Strype: "The Right Reverend,
the Lord Bishop of Norwich, the possessor of a great and
curious collection of MSS. and other ancient printed pieces
(little inferior to MSS. in regard of their scarceness) hath
also been very considerably assistant to me as well in this
present work as in others;" &c. Preface (sign. a 2) to _Life
of Aylmer_, 1701, 8vo. Burnet thus describes his fine
library when he was Bishop of Ely. "This noble record was
lent me by my reverend and learned brother, Dr. MORE, Bishop
of Ely, who has gathered together a most valuable treasure,
both of printed books and manuscripts, beyond what one can
think that the life and labour of one man could have
compassed; and which he is as ready to communicate, as he
has been careful to collect it." _Hist. of the Reformation_,
vol. iii., p. 46. It seems hard to reconcile this testimony
of Burnet with the late Mr. Gough's declaration, that "The
bishop collected his library by plundering those of the
clergy in his diocese; some he paid with sermons or more
modern books; others only with '_quid illiterati cum
libris_.'" On the death of More, his library was offered to
Lord Oxford for 8000_l._; and how that distinguished and
truly noble collector could have declined the purchase of
such exquisite treasures--unless his own shelves were
groaning beneath the weight of a great number of similar
volumes--is difficult to account for. But a public-spirited
character was not wanting to prevent the irreparable
dispersion of such book-gems: and that patriotic character
was GEORGE I.!--who gave 6000_l._ for them, and presented
them to the public library of the University of Cambridge!--

"These are imperial works, and worthy kings!"

And here, benevolent reader, the almost unrivalled
_Bibliotheca Moriana_ yet quietly and securely reposes. Well
do I remember the congenial hours I spent (A.D. 1808) in the
_closet_ holding the most precious part of Bishop More's
collection, with my friend the Rev. Mr. ----, tutor of one
of the colleges in the same University, at my
right-hand--(himself "greatly given to the study of books")
actively engaged in promoting my views, and increasing my
extracts--but withal, eyeing me sharply "ever and anon"--and
entertaining a laudable distrust of a keen book-hunter from
a rival University! I thank my good genius that I returned,
as I entered, with clean hands! My love of truth and of
bibliography compels me to add, with a sorrowful heart, that
not only is there no printed catalogue of Bishop More's
books, but even the FINE PUBLIC LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY
remains unpublished in print! In this respect they really do
"order things better in France." Why does such indifference
to the cause of general learning exist--and in the 19th
century too? Let me here presume to submit a plan to the
consideration of the syndics of the press; provided they
should ever feel impressed with the necessity of informing
the literati, of other countries as well as our own, of the
book treasures contained in the libraries of Cambridge. It
is simply this. Let the books in the Public Library form the
substratum of the _Catalogue Raisonné_ to be printed in
three or more quarto volumes. If, in any particular
department, there be valuable editions of a work which are
_not_ in the public, but in another, library--ex. gr. in
Trinity, or St. John's--specify this edition in its
appropriate class; and add _Trin. Coll., &c._--If this copy
contain notes of Bentley, or Porson, add "_cum notis
Bentleii_," _&c._: so that such a catalogue would present,
not only _every_ volume in the _Public Library_, but _every
valuable_ edition of a work in the whole University. Nor is
the task so Herculean as may be thought. The tutors of the
respective colleges would, I am sure, be happy, as well as
able, to contribute their proportionate share of labour
towards the accomplishment of so desirable and invaluable a
work.]

The opening of the 18th century was also distinguished by the death of a bibliomaniac of the very first order and celebrity. Of one, who had, no doubt, frequently discoursed largely and eloquently with Luttrell, (of whom presently) upon the rarity and value of certain editions of old _Ballad Poetry_: and between whom presents of curious black-letter volumes were, in all probability, frequently passing. I allude to the famous SAMUEL PEPYS;[364] Secretary to the Admiralty.

[Footnote 364: "_The Maitland Collection of Manuscripts_ was
ever in the collector's (Sir Richard Maitland's)
family."--"His grandson was raised to the dignity of Earl of
Lauderdale." "The Duke of Lauderdale, a descendant of the
collector's grandson, presented the Maitland Collection,
along with other MSS., to SAMUEL PEPYS, Esq. Secretary of
the Admiralty to Charles II. and James II. Mr. Pepys was one
of the earliest collectors of rare books, &c. in England;
and the duke had no taste for such matters; so either from
friendship, or some point of interest, he gave them to Mr.
Pepys,"--who "dying 26 May, 1703, in his 71st year, ordered,
by will, the PEPYSIAN LIBRARY at Magdalen College,
Cambridge, to be founded, in order to preserve his very
valuable collection entire. It is undoubtedly the most
curious in England, those of the British Museum excepted;
and is kept in excellent order." Mr. Pinkerton's preface, p.
vii., to _Ancient Scottish Poems from the Maitland
Collection, &c._, 1786, 8vo., 2 vols. I wish it were in my
power to add something concerning the parentage, birth,
education, and pursuits of the extraordinary collector of
this extraordinary collection; but no biographical work,
which I have yet consulted, vouchsafes even to mention his
name. His merits are cursorily noticed in the _Quarterly
Review_, vol. iv., p. 326-7. Through the medium of a friend,
I learn from Sir Lucas Pepys, Bart., that our illustrious
bibliomaniac, his great uncle, was President of the Royal
Society, and that his collection at Cambridge contains a
_Diary_ of his life, written with his own hand. But it is
high time to speak of the black-letter gems contained in the
said collection. That the PEPYSIAN COLLECTION is at once
choice and valuable cannot be disputed; but that access to
the same is prompt and facile, is not quite so indisputable.
There is a MS. catalogue of the books, by Pepys himself,
with a small rough drawing of a view of the interior of the
library. The books are kept in their original (I think
walnut-wood) presses: and cannot be examined unless in the
presence of a fellow.--Such is the nice order to be
observed, according to the bequest, that every book must be
replaced where it was taken from; and the loss of a single
volume causes the collection to be confiscated, and
transported to Benet-college library. Oh, that there were
_an act of parliament_ to regulate bequests of this
kind!--that the doors to knowledge might, by a greater
facility of entrance, be more frequently opened by students;
and that the medium between unqualified confidence and
unqualified suspicion might be marked out and followed. Are
these things symptomatic of an iron or a brazen age! But the
bibliomaniac is impatient for a glance at the 'forementioned
black-letter treasures!--Alas, I have promised more than I
can perform! Yet let him cast his eye upon the first volume
of the recent edition of _Evans' Collection of Old Ballads_
(see _in limine_, p. ix.) and look into the valuable notes
of _Mr. Todd's Illustrations of Gower and Chaucer_,--in
which latter, he will find no bad specimen of these
_Pepysian gems_, in the exultation of my friend, the author,
over another equally respected friend--in consequence of his
having discovered, among these treasures, a strange, merry,
and conceited work, entitled "_Old Meg of Herefordshire for
a Mayd-Marian; and Hereford Town for a Morris-daunce, &c._,"
1609, 4to., p. 273. EX UNO DISCE OMNES. The left-handed
critic, or anti-black-letter reader, will put a wicked
construction upon the quotation of this motto in capital
letters: let him: he will repent of his folly in due time.]

Now it was a convincing proof to me, my dear friends, that the indulgence of a PASSION FOR BOOKS is perfectly compatible with any situation, however active and arduous. For while this illustrious bibliomaniac was sending forth his messengers to sweep every bookseller's shop from the Tweed to Penzance, for the discovery of old and almost unknown ballads--and while his name rung in the ears of rival collectors--he was sedulous, in his professional situation, to put the _Navy of Old England_ upon the most respectable footing; and is called the _Father_ of that system which, carried into effect by British hearts of oak, has made the thunder of our cannon to be heard and feared on the remotest shores. Nor is it a slight or common coincidence that a spirit of book-collecting, which stimulated the _Secretary_ of the Admiralty at the opening of the 18th century, should, at the close of it, have operated with equal or greater force in a _First Lord_ of the same glorious department of our administration. But we shall speak more fully of this latter character, and of his matchless collection, in a future stage of our discussion.

While we are looking round us at this period, we may as well slightly notice the foundation of the _Blenheim Library_. The DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH[365] was resolved that no naval commander, or person connected with the navy, should eclipse himself in the splendour of book-collecting: but it was to PRINCE EUGENE that Marlborough was indebted for his taste in this particular; or rather the English commander was completely bitten with the bibliomaniacal disease in consequence of seeing Eugene secure rare and magnificent copies of works, when a city or town was taken: and the German Prince himself expatiates upon the treasures of his library, with a rapture with which none but the most thorough-bred bibliomaniacs can ever adequately sympathise.

[Footnote 365: The LIBRARY AT BLENHEIM is one of the
grandest rooms in Europe. The serpentine sheet of water,
which flows at some little distance, between high banks of
luxuriant and moss-woven grass, and is seen from the
interior, with an overhanging dark wood of oaks, is
sufficient to awaken the finest feelings that ever animated
the breast of a bibliomaniac. The books are select and
curious, as well as numerous; and although they may be
eclipsed, in both these particulars, by a few rival
collections, yet the following specimen is no despicable
proof of the ardour with which MARLBOROUGH, the founder of
the Library, pushed forward his bibliomaniacal spirit. I am
indebted to Mr. Edwards for this interesting list of the

ANCIENT CLASSICS PRINTED UPON VELLUM IN THE BLENHEIM LIBRARY.

Apoll. Rhodius 1496
Augustinus, _de Civ. Dei_ _Spiræ_ 1470
A. Gellius, _Romæ_ 1469
Aug. _de Civ. Dei_ _Jenson_ 1475
Biblia Moguntina 1462
Bonifacii Decretalia 1465
Ciceronis _Rhetorica_ _Jens_ 1470
---- _Epist. Fam._ _Spiræ_ 1469
---- _Officia_ _Mogunt_ 1465
---- ---- 1466
---- _Tuscul. Ques._ _Jenson_ 1472
_Clementis Const._ _Mogunt_ 1460
---- _Fust. s.a._
Durandus 1459
Horatius Landini 1482
---- Epist. 1480
Justinian _Mogunt_ 1468
Lactantius _A Rot_ 1471
Lucian _Florent_ 1496
Petrarca _Spira_ 1470
Plinius _Jenson_ 1472
Quintilian _Campani_ 1470
Sallustius _Spira_ 1470
V. Maximus, s.a.
Virgilius _Spira_ 1470

The present MARQUIS OF BLANDFORD inherits, in no small
degree, the book-collecting spirit of his illustrious
ancestor. He is making collections in those departments of
literature in which the Blenheim Library is comparatively
deficient; and his success has already been such as to lead
us to hope for as perfect a display of volumes printed by
_Caxton_ as there is of those executed by foreign printers.
The Marquis's collection of _Emblems_ is, I believe, nearly
perfect: of these, there are a few elegantly printed
catalogues for private distribution. Lysander, above,
supposes that Marlborough caught the infection of the
_book-disease_ from PRINCE EUGENE; and the supposition is,
perhaps, not very wide of the truth. The library of this
great German prince, which is yet entire, (having been
secured from the pillage of Gallic Vandalism, when a certain
emperor visited a certain city) is the proudest feature in
the public library at Vienna. The books are in very fine old
binding, and, generally of the largest dimensions. And,
indeed, old England has not a little to boast of (at least,
so bibliomaniacs must always think) that, from the recently
published _Memoirs of Eugene_ (1811, 8vo., p. 185), it would
appear that the prince "bought his fine editions of books AT
LONDON:"--he speaks also of his "excellent French, Latin,
and Italian works, well bound"--as if he enjoyed the
"arrangment" of _them_, as much as the contemplation of his
"cascades, large water-spouts, and superb basins." _Ibid._
Whether Eugene himself was suddenly inflamed with the ardour
of buying books, from some lucky spoils in the pillaging of
towns--as Lysander supposes--is a point which may yet admit
of fair controversy. For my own part, I suspect the German
commander had been straying, in his early manhood, among the
fine libraries in _Italy_, where he might have seen the
following exquisite _bijous_--

_In St. Mark's, at Venice._

Apuleius 1469 }
Aulus Gellius 1469 } PRINTED UPON VELLUM.
Petrarca 1479 }

_In the Chapter House at Padua._

Ciceronis _Epist. ad Atticum_ _Jenson_ 1470 }
Quintilian _Jenson_ 1471 }
Macrobius 1472 }
Solinus _Jenson_ 1473 } PRINTED UPON VELLUM.
Catullus 1472 }
Plautus 1472 }
Ovidii Opera _Bonon._ 1471 }

The public is indebted to Mr. Edwards for the timely supply
of the foregoing bibliographical intelligence.]

Ever ardent in his love of past learning, and not less voracious in his bibliomaniacal appetites, was the well known NARCISSUS LUTTRELL. Nothing--if we may judge from the spirited sketch of his book character, by the able editor[366] of Dryden's works--nothing would seem to have escaped his Lynx-like vigilance. Let the object be what it would (especially if it related to _poetry_) let the volume be great or small, or contain good, bad, or indifferent warblings of the muse--his insatiable craving had "stomach for them all." We may consider his collection as the fountain head of those copious streams which, after fructifying the libraries of many bibliomaniacs in the first half of the eighteenth century, settled, for a while, more determinedly, in the curious book-reservoir of a Mr. WYNNE--and hence, breaking up, and taking a different direction towards the collections of Farmer, Steevens, and others, they have almost lost their identity in the innumerable rivulets which now inundate the book-world.

[Footnote 366: "In this last part of his task, the editor
(Walter Scott) has been greatly assisted by free access to a
valuable collection of fugitive pieces of the reigns of
Charles II., James II., William III., and Queen Anne. This
curious collection was made by NARCISSUS LUTTRELL, Esq.,
under whose name the Editor usually quotes it. The
industrious collector seems to have bought every poetical
tract, of whatever merit, which was hawked through the
streets in his time, marking carefully the price and date of
the purchase. His collection contains the earliest editions
of many of our most excellent poems, bound up, according to
the order of time, with the lowest trash of Grub-street. It
was dispersed on Mr. Luttrell's death," &c. Preface to _The
Works of John Dryden_, 1808: vol. i., p. iv. Mr. James
Bindley and Mr. Richard Heber are then mentioned, by the
editor, as having obtained a great share of the Luttrell
collection, and liberally furnished him with the loan of the
same, in order to the more perfect editing of Dryden's
Works. But it is to the persevering book-spirit of Mr.
EDWARD WYNNE, as Lysander above intimates, that these
notorious modern bibliomaniacs are indebted for the
preservation of most of the choicest relics of the
_Bibliotheca Luttrelliana_. Mr. Wynne lived at Little
Chelsea; and built his library in a room which had the
reputation of having been LOCKE'S _study_. Here he used to
sit, surrounded by innumerable books--a "great part being
formed by an eminent and curious collector in the last
century"--viz. the aforesaid Narcissus Luttrell. (See the
title to the Catalogue of his Library.) His books were sold
by auction in 1786; and, that the reader may have some faint
idea of the treasures contained in the _Bibliotheca
Wynniana_, he is presented with the following extracts:

LOT 2 A parcel of pamphlets on poetry, 8vo. £2 0_s._ 0_d._

3 Do. Tragedies and Comedies, 4to. and 8vo. 3 13 6

4 Do. Historical and Miscellaneous, 4to. and 8vo. 1 1 0

5 Poetical, Historical, and Miscellaneous, folio 1 4 0

11 Do. giving an account of horrid Murders, Storms,
Prodigies, Tempests, Witchcraft, Ghosts, Earthquakes, &c.,
_with frontispieces_ and _cuts_, 4to. and 8vo. 1606 1 14 0

12 Do. Historical and Political, English and Foreign, from
1580 to 1707 2 0 0

13 Do. consisting of Petitions, Remonstrances, Declarations,
and other political matters, from 1638 to 1660, during the
great Rebellion, and the whole of the Protectorate: _a very
large parcel, many of them with cuts_. Purchased by the
present Marquis of Bute 7 7 0

14 Do. of single sheets, giving an account of the various
sieges in Ireland in 1695-6; and consisting likewise of
Elegies, Old Ballads, accounts of Murders, Storms, Political
Squibs, &c. &c., _many of them with curious plates_, from
1695 to 1706. Purchased by the same 6 16 6

Lots 23-4 comprised a great number of "_Old Poetry and
Romances_," which were purchased by Mr. Baynes for 7_l._
9_s._ Lot 376 comprehended a "_Collection of Old
Plays--Gascoigne, White, Windet, Decker, &c._," 21 vols.:
which were sold for 38_l._ 17_s._ Never, to be sure, was a
precious collection of English History and Poetry so
wretchedly detailed to the public, in an auction catalogue!
It should be noticed that a great number of poetical tracts
was disposed of, previous to the sale, to Dr. FARMER, who
gave not more than forty guineas for them. The Doctor was
also a determined purchaser at the sale, and I think the
ingenious Mr. Waldron aided the illustrious commentator of
Shakspeare with many a choice volume. It may be worth adding
that Wynne was the author of an elegant work, written in the
form of dialogues, entitled _Eunomus_, or _Discourses upon
the Laws of England_, 4 vols., 8vo. It happened to be
published at the time when Sir William Blackstone's
_Commentaries on the Laws of England_ made their appearance;
and, in consequence, has seen only three editions: the
latter being published in 1809, 2 vols., 8vo.]

Why have I delayed, to the present moment, the mention of that illustrious bibliomaniac, EARL PEMBROKE? a patron of poor scholars, and a connoisseur, as well as collector, of every thing the most precious and rare in the book-way. Yet was his love of _Virtû_ not confined to objects in the shape of volumes, whether printed or in MS.: his knowledge of statues and coins was profound;[367] and his collection of these, such as to have secured for him the admiration of posterity.

[Footnote 367:

The reader will find an animated eulogy on this great
nobleman in Walpole's _Anecdotes of Painters_, vol. iv.,
227; part of which was transcribed by Joseph Warton for his
variorum edition of Pope's works, and thence copied into the
recent edition of the same by the Rev. W.L. Bowles. But
PEMBROKE deserved a more particular notice. Exclusively of
his fine statues and architectural decorations, the Earl
contrived to procure a great number of curious and rare
books; and the testimonies of Maittaire (who speaks indeed
of him with a sort of rapture!) and Palmer show that the
productions of Jenson and Caxton were no strangers to his
library. _Annales Typographici_, vol. i., 13. edit. 1719.
_History of Printing_, p. 5. "There is nothing that so
surely proves the pre-eminence of virtue more than the
universal admiration of mankind, and the respect paid it by
persons in opposite interests; and, more than this, it is a
sparkling gem which even time does not destroy: it is hung
up in the Temple of Fame, and respected for ever."
_Continuation of Granger_, vol. i., 37, &c. "He raised
(continues Mr. Noble) a collection of antiques that were
unrivalled by any subject. His learning made him a fit
companion for the literati. Wilton will ever be a monument
of his extensive knowledge; and the princely presents it
contains, of the high estimation in which he was held by
foreign potentates, as well as by the many monarchs he saw
and served at home. He lived rather as a primitive
christian; in his behaviour, meek; in his dress, plain:
rather retired, conversing but little." Burnet, in the
_History of his own Times_, has spoken of the Earl with
spirit and propriety. Thus far the first edition of the
Bibliomania. From an original MS. letter of Anstis to Ames
(in the possession of Mr. John Nichols) I insert the
following memoranda, concerning the book celebrity of Lord
Pembroke. "I had the book of Juliana Barnes (says Anstis)
printed at St. Albans, 1486, about hunting, which was
afterwards reprinted by W. de Worde at Westminster,
1496--but the EARL OF PEMBROKE would not rest till he got it
from me." From a letter to Lewis (the biographer of Caxton)
by the same person, dated Oct. 11, 1737, Anstis says that
"the Earl of Pembroke would not suffer him to rest till he
had presented it to him." He says also that "he had a later
edition of the same, printed in 1496, _on parchment_, by W.
de Worde, which he had given away: but he could send to the
person who had it." From another letter, dated May 8, 1740,
this "person" turns out to be the famous JOHN MURRAY; to
whom we are shortly to be introduced. The copy, however, is
said to be "imperfect; but the St. Albans book, a fair
folio." In this letter, Lord Pembroke's library is said to
hold "the greatest collection of the first books printed in
England." Perhaps the reader will not be displeased to be
informed that in the _Antiquities of Glastonbury_, published
by Hearne, 1722, p. LVIII, there is a medal, with the
reverse, of one of the Earl's ancestors in Queen Elizabeth's
time, which had escaped Evelyn. It was lent to Hearne by Sir
Philip Sydenham, who was at the expense of having the plate
engraved.]

While this nobleman was the general theme of literary praise there lived a _Bibliomaniacal Triumvirate_ of the names of BAGFORD, MURRAY, and HEARNE: a triumvirate, perhaps not equalled, in the mere love of book-collecting, by that which we mentioned a short time ago. At the head, and the survivor of these three,[368] was Thomas Hearne; who, if I well remember, has been thus described by Pope, in his Dunciad, under the character of Wormius:

But who is he, in closet close ypent,
Of sober face, with learned dust besprent?
Right well mine eyes arede the myster wight,
On parchment scraps y-fed, and WORMIUS hight.

[Footnote 368: The former bibliomaniacal triumvirate is
noticed at p. 217, ante. We will now discuss the merits of
the above, _seriatim_. And first of JOHN BAGFORD, "by
profession a bookseller; who frequently travelled into
Holland and other parts, in search of scarce books and
valuable prints, and brought a vast number into this
kingdom, the greater part of which were purchased by the
Earl of Oxford. He had been in his younger days a shoemaker;
and for the many curiosities wherewith he enriched the
famous library of Dr. John More, Bishop of Ely, his Lordship
got him admitted into the Charter House. He died in 1716,
aged 65; after his death, Lord Oxford purchased all his
collections and papers for his library: these are now in the
Harleian collection in the British Museum. In 1707 were
published, in the Philosophical transactions, his Proposals
for a General History of Printing."--Bowyer and Nichol's
_Origin of Printing_, pp. 164, 189, note. It has been my
fortune (whether good or bad remains to be proved) not only
to transcribe, and cause to be reprinted, the slender
Memorial of Printing in the Philosophical Transactions,
drawn up by Wanley for Bagford, but to wade through
_forty-two_ folio volumes, in which Bagford's materials for
a History of Printing are incorporated, in the British
Museum: and from these, I think I have furnished myself with
a pretty correct notion of the collector of them. Bagford
was the most hungry and rapacious of all book and print
collectors; and, in his ravages, he spared neither the most
delicate nor costly specimens. He seems always to have
expressed his astonishment at the most common productions;
and his paper in the Philosophical Transactions betrays such
simplicity and ignorance that one is astonished how my Lord
Oxford, and the learned Bishop of Ely, could have employed
so credulous a bibliographical forager. A modern collector
and lover of _perfect_ copies, will witness, with
shuddering, among Bagford's immense collection of
title-pages in the Museum, the frontispieces of the
Complutensian Polyglot, and Chauncy's History of
Hertfordshire, torn out to illustrate a History of Printing.
His enthusiasm, however, carried him through a great deal of
laborious toil; and he supplied in some measure, by this
qualification, the want of other attainments. His whole mind
was devoted to book-hunting; and his integrity and diligence
probably made his employers overlook his many failings. His
handwriting is scarcely legible, and his orthography is
still more wretched; but if he was ignorant, he was humble,
zealous, and grateful; and he has certainly done something
towards the accomplishment of that desirable object, an
accurate GENERAL HISTORY OF PRINTING. The preceding was
inserted in the _first edition_ of this work. It is
incumbent on me to say something more, and less declamatory,
of so extraordinary a character; and as my sources of
information are such as do not fall into the hands of the
majority of readers, I trust the prolixity of what follows,
appertaining to the aforesaid renowned bibliomaniac, will be
pardoned--at least by the lover of curious biographical
memoranda. My old friend, Tom Hearne, is my chief authority.
In the preface to that very scarce, but rather curious than
valuable, work, entitled _Guil. Roper Vita D. Thomæ Mori_,
1716, 8vo., we have the following brief notice of Bagford:
§. ix. "Epistolas et Orationes excipit Anonymi Scriptoris
chronicon; quod idcirco Godstovianum appellare visum est,
quia in illud forte fortuna inciderim, quum, anno MDCCXV.
una cum JOANNÆ BAGFORDIO, amico egregio ad rudera Prioratûs
de Godstowe juxta Oxoniam animi recreandi gratia,
perambularem. De illo vero me prius certiorem fecerat ipse
Bagfordius, qui magno cum nostro moerore paullo post
Londini obiit, die nimirum quinto Maij anno MDCCXVI. quum
jam annum ætatis sexagessimum quintum inplerisset, ut è
litteris intelligo amici ingenio et humanitate ornati
Jacobei Sothebeii, junioris, qui, si quis alius, è
familiaribus erat Bagfordii. Virum enimvero ideo mihi quam
maxime hâc occasione lugendum est, quod amicum probitate et
modestia præditum amiserim, virumque cum primis diligentem
et peritum intercidisse tam certum sit quam quod
certissimum. Quamvis enim artes liberales nunquam
didicisset, vi tamen ingenii ductus, eruditus plane evasit;
et, ut quod verum est dicam, incredibile est quam feliciter
res abstrusas in historiis veteribus explicaverit, nodosque
paullo difficiliores ad artis typographicæ incunabula
spectantes solverit et expedierit. Expertus novi quod
scribo. Quotiescunque enim ipsum consului (et quidem id
sæpissime faciendum erat) perpetuo mihi aliter atque
exspectaveram satisfecit, observationis itidem nonnunquam
tales addens, quales antea neque mihi neque viris longe
doctioribus in mentem venerant. Quidni itaque virum magnum
fuisse pronunciarem, præcipue quum nostra sententia illi
soli magni sint censendi, qui recte agant, et sint vere boni
et virtute præditi?"--_Præf._ pp. xxi., ii. In Hearne's
perface [Transcriber's Note: preface] to _Walter
Hemingford's_ history, Bagford is again briefly introduced:
"At vero in hoc genere fragmenta colligendi omnes quidem
alios (quantum ego existimare possum) facile superavit
JOANNES BAGFORDIUS, de quo apud Hemingum, &c. Incredibile
est, quanta usus sit diligentia in laciniis veteribus
coacervandis. Imo in hoc labore quidem tantum versari
exoptabat quantum potuit, tantum autem re vera versabatur,
quantum ingenio (nam divino sane fruebatur) quantum mediocri
doctrina (nam neque ingenue, neque liberaliter, unquam fuit
educatus) quantum usu valuit," p. ciii. The reader here
finds a reference to what is said of Bagford, in the
_Hemingi Wigornensis Chartularium_; which, though copious,
is really curious and entertaining, and is forthwith
submitted to his consideration. "It was therefore very
laudable in my friend, Mr. J. BAGFORD (who I think was born
in Fetter-lane, London) to employ so much of his time as he
did in collecting remains of antiquity. Indeed he was a man
of a very surprising genius, and had his education (for he
was first a shoe-maker, and afterwards for some time a
book-seller) been equal to his natural genius, he would have
proved a much greater man than he was. And yet, without this
education, he was certainly the greatest man in the world in
his way. I do not hear of any monument erected to his
memory, but 'twas not without reason that a worthy
gentleman, now living in London, designed the following
epitaph for him:

Hic. Sitvs. JOANNES. BAGFORDIVS.
Antiquarivs. Penitvs. Britannvs.
Cujvs. Nuda. Solertia. Aliorvm.
Vicit. Operosam. Diligentiam.
Obiit. Maii. v. A.D. M.DCC.XVI.
Ætatis [LXV.]
Viri. Simplicis. Et. Sine. Fvco.
Memoria. Ne. Periret.
Hunc. Lapidem. Posvit....

"'Tis very remarkable that, in collecting, his care did not
extend itself to books and to fragments of books only; but
even to the very _Covers_, and to _Bosses_ and _Clasps_; and
all this that he might, with greater ease, compile the
History of Printing, which he had undertaken, but did not
finish. In this noble work he intended a Discourse about
_Binding Books_ (in which he might have improved what I have
said elsewhere about the ancient Æstels) and another about
the _Art of making Paper_, in both which his observations
were very accurate. Nay, his skill _in paper_ was so
exquisite that, at first view, he could tell the place
where, and the time when, any paper was made, though at
never so many years' distance. I well remember that, when I
was reading over a famous book of collections (written by
John Lawerne, Monk of Worcester, and now preserved) in the
Bodleian Library, Mr. Bagford came to me (as he would often
come thither on purpose to converse with me about
curiosities) and that he had no sooner seen the book, but he
presently described the time when, and the place where, the
paper of which it consists, was made. He was indefatigable
in his searches, and was so ambitious of seeing what he had
heard of, relating to his noble design, that he had made
several journies into Holland to see the famous books there.
Nor was he less thirsty after other antiquities, but, like
old John Stow, was for seeing himself, if possible (although
he travelled on foot), what had been related to him.
Insomuch that I cannot doubt, but were he now living, he
would have expressed a very longing desire of going to
Worcester, were it for no other reason but to be better
satisfied about the famous monumental stones mentioned by
Heming (_Chart, Wigorn._, p. 342), as he often declared a
most earnest desire of walking with me (though I was
diverted from going) to Guy's Cliff by Warwick, when I was
printing that most rare book called, _Joannis Rossi
Antiquarii Warwicensis Historia Regum Angliæ_. And I am apt
to think that he would have shewed as hearty an inclination
of going to Stening in Sussex, that being the place
(according to Asser's Life of Ælfred the Great) where K.
Ethelwulph (father of K. Alfred) was buried, though others
say it was at Winchester," &c. "Mr. BAGFORD was as
communicative as he was knowing: so that some of the chief
curiosities in some of our best libraries are owing to him;
for which reason it was that the late _Bishop of Ely_, Dr.
MORE (who received so much from him), as an instance of
gratitude, procured him a place in the Charter-House. I wish
all places were as well bestowed. For as Mr. Bagford was,
without all dispute, a very worthy man, so, being a despiser
of money, he had not provided for the necessities of old
age. He never looked upon those as true philosophers that
aimed at heaping up riches, and, in that point, could never
commend that otherwise great man, Seneca, who had about two
hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling, at use in
Britain; the loan whereof had been thrust upon the Britains,
whether they would or no. He would rather extol such men as
a certain rector near Oxford, whose will is thus put down in
writing, by Richard Kedermister, the last abbot but one of
Winchcomb (_Leland Collect._ vol. vi., 168), in the margin
of a book (I lately purchased) called _Hieronymi Cardinalis
Vitas Patrum_, Lugd. MCCCCCII. 4to. Nihil habeo, nihil
debeo, benedicamus Domino. Testamentum cujusdam rectoris,
juxta Oxoniam decedentis circiter annum salutis, 1520." "Nor
was Mr. Bagford versed only in our own old writers, but in
those likewise of other countries, particularly the Roman.
His skill in that part of the Roman history that immediately
relates to Britain is sufficiently evident from his curious
letter, printed at the beginning of Leland's Collectanea.
That he might be the better acquainted with the Roman
stations, and the several motions of the soldiers from one
place to another, he used to pick up coins, and would, upon
occasion, discourse handsomely, and very pertinently, about
them; yet he would keep none, but would give them to his
friends, telling them (for he was exemplarily modest and
humble) that he had neither learning nor sagacity enough to
explain and illustrate them, and that therefore it was more
proper they should be in the possession of some able
persons. He would have done any thing to retrieve a Roman
author, and would have given any price for so much as a
single fragment (not yet discovered) of the learned
commentaries, written by Agrippina, mother to Nero, touching
the fortunes of her house, which are (as I much fear) now
utterly lost, excepting the fragment or two cited out of
them by Pliny the elder and Cornelius Tacitus; as he would
also have stuck at no price for a grammar _printed at
Tavistock_, commonly called =The long Grammar=. When he went
abroad he was never idle, but if he could not meet with
things of a better character, he would divert himself with
looking over _Ballads_, and he was always mightily pleased
if he met with any that were old. Anthony à Wood made good
collections, with respect to ballads, but he was far outdone
by Mr. Bagford. Our modern ballads are, for the most part,
romantic; but the old ones contain matters of fact, and were
generally written by good scholars. In these old ones were
couched the transactions of our great heroes: they were a
sort of Chronicles. So that the wise founder of New College
permitted them to be sung, by the fellows of that college,
upon extraordinary days. In those times, the poets thought
they had done their duty when they had observed truth, and
put the accounts they undertook to write, into rhythm,
without extravagantly indulging their fancies. Nobody knew
this better than Mr. Bagford; for which reason he always
seemed almost ravished when he happened to light upon old
rhythms, though they might not, perhaps, be so properly
ranged under the title of ballads," &c., pp. 656-663. Being
unable to furnish a portrait of Bagford (although I took
some little trouble to procure one) I hope the reader--if
his patience be not quite exhausted--will endeavour to
console himself, in lieu thereof, with a specimen of
Bagford's epistolary composition; which I have faithfully
copied from the original among the _Sloanian MSS._, no.
4036, in the British Museum. It is written to Sir Hans
Sloane.

_From my Lodgings_, July 24, 1704.

WORTHY SIR,

Since you honoured me with your good company for seeing
printing and card-making, I thought it my duty to explain
myself to you per letter on this subject. Till you had seen
the whole process of card-making, I thought I could not so
well represent it unto you by writing--for this I take to be
the first manner of printing. In this short discouse
[Transcriber's Note: discourse] I have explained myself when
I design to treat of it in the famous subject of the Art of
Printing. It hath been the labour of several years past, and
if now I shall have assistance to midwife it into the world,
I shall be well satisfied for the sake of the curious. For
these 10 years past I have spared no cost in collecting
books on this subject, and likewise drafts of the effigies
of our famous printers, with other designs that will be
needful on this subject. If this short account of the design
of the whole shall give you any satisfaction, I shall esteem
my pains well bestowed. Hitherto, I have met with no
encouragement but from three reverend gentlemen of Bennet
College in Cambridge, who generously, of their own accord,
gave me 10 pound each, which is all I ever received of any
person whatsoever. It may indeed be imputed to my own
neglect, in not acquainting the learned with my design, but
modesty still keeps me silent. I hope your goodness will
pardon my impertinence. I shall be ready at all times to
give you any satisfaction you desire on this subject, who
am,

Honoured Sir,

Your most humble Servant to command,

JO. BAGFORD.

_For the Worthy Sir Hans Slone_ [Transcriber's Note:
Sloane].

And now it only remains to close the whole of this
BAGFORDIANA by the following unique communication. One of
Bagford's friends sent him this letter with the subjoined
device:--"_For my Lovinge friend Mr. Jno. Bagford._--You
having shewed me so many rebuses, as I was returning home, I
thought of one for you--a bagge, and below that, a fourd or
passable water." (_Harl. MS._, no. 5910.)

I wish it were in my power to collect information, equally
acceptable with the foregoing, respecting the above-named
JOHN MURRAY; but Hearne, who was his intimate friend, has
been very sparing in his anecdotes of him, having left us
but a few desultory notices, written chiefly in the Latin
language. The earliest mention of him that I find is the
following: "Verum illud præcipue mentionem meretur, quod
mutuo accepi, schedula una et altera jam excusa, á JOANNE
MURARIO Londinensi, rei antiquariæ perscrutatore diligenti,
cui eo nomine gratias ago." "Denique subdidi descriptionem
fenestrarum depictarum ecclesiæ parochialis de Fairford in
agro Glocestriensi, è schedula quam mutuo sumpsi ab amico
supra laudato Johanne Murrario, qui per literas etiam
certiorem me fecit è codice quodam vetusto MS. fuisse
extractum. Neque dubito quin hic idem fuerit Codex quem olim
in ecclesia de Fairford adservatum surripuisse nebulonem
quempiam mihi significavit ecclesiæ ædituus, vir simplex,
necnon ætate et scientia venerandus." Præf: p. XXII. _Guil.
Roperi Vita Thomæ Mori_, 1716, 8vo., edit. Hearne. There is
another slight mention of Murray, by Hearne, in the latter's
edition of _Thom. Caii. Vindic. Antiq. Acad. Oxon_, vol.
ii., 803-4--where he discourses largely upon the former's
copy of _Rastel's Pastyme of People_: a book which will be
noticed by me very fully on a future occasion. At present,
it may suffice to observe that a perfect copy of it is
probably the rarest English book in existence. There is a
curious copper plate print of Murray, by Vertue, in which
our bibliomaniac's right arm is resting upon some books
entitled "_Hearne's Works, Sessions Papers, Tryals of
Witches_." Beneath is this inscription:

_Hoh Maister John Murray of Sacomb,
The Works of old Time to collect was his pride,
Till Oblivion dreaded his Care:
Regardless of Friends, intestate he dy'd,
So the Rooks and the Crows were his Heir._

G.N.

Of the above-mentioned THOMAS BRITTON, I am enabled to
present a very curious and interesting account, from a work
published by Hearne, of no very ordinary occurrence, and in
the very words of Hearne himself. It is quite an unique
picture. "Before I dismiss this subject, I must beg leave to
mention, and to give a short account of, one that was
intimately acquainted with Mr. Bagford, and was also a great
man, though of but ordinary education. The person I mean is
Mr. THOS. BRITTON, the famous _Musical Small Coal Man_, who
was born at or near Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire.
Thence he went to London, where he bound himself apprentice
to a small coal man in St. John Baptist's Street. After he
had served his full time of seven years, his master gave him
a sum of money not to set up. Upon this, Tom went into
Northamptonshire again, and after he had spent his money, he
returned again to London, set up the _small coal trade_
(notwithstanding his master was still living) and withall,
he took a stable, and turned it into a house, which stood
the next door to the little gate of St. John's of Jerusalem,
next Clerkenwell Green. Some time after he had settled here,
he became acquainted with Dr. Garenciers, his near
neighbour, by which means he became an excellent chymist,
and perhaps, he performed such things in that profession, as
had never been done before, with little cost and charge, by
the help of a moving elaboratory, that was contrived and
built by himself, which was much admired by all of that
faculty that happened to see it; insomuch that a certain
gentleman in Wales was so much taken with it that he was at
the expense of carrying him down into that country, on
purpose to build him such another, which Tom performed to
the gentleman's very great satisfaction, and for the same he
received of him a very handsome and generous gratuity.
Besides his great skill in chymistry, he was as famous for
his knowledge in the _Theory of Music_; in the practical
part of which Faculty he was likewise very considerable. He
was so much addicted to it that he pricked with his own hand
(very neatly and accurately), and left behind him, a
valuable collection of music, mostly pricked by himself,
which was sold upon his death for near a hundred pounds. Not
to mention the excellent collection of PRINTED BOOKS, that
he also left behind him, both of chemistry and music.
Besides these books that he left behind him, he had, some
years before his death, sold by auction a _noble collection
of books_, most of them in the _Rosacrucian Faculty_ (of
which he was a great admirer): whereof there is a printed
catalogue extant (as there is of those that were sold after
his death), which I have often looked over with no small
surprize and wonder, and particularly for the great number
of MSS. in the before mentioned faculties that are specified
in it. He had, moreover, a considerable collection of
musical instruments, which were sold for fourscore pounds
upon his death, which happened in September 1714, being
upwards of threescore years of age; and (he) lyes buried in
the church-yard of Clerkenwell, without monument or
inscription: being attended to his grave, in a very solemn
and decent manner, by a great concourse of people,
especially of such as frequented the Musical club, that was
kept up for many years at his own charges (he being a man of
a very generous and liberal spirit) at his own little cell.
He appears by the print of him (done since his death) to
have been a man of an ingenuous countenance and of a
sprightly temper. It also represents him as a comely person,
as indeed he was; and withal, there is a modesty expressed
in it every way agreeable to him. Under it are these verses,
which may serve instead of an epitaph:

Tho' mean thy rank, yet in thy humble cell
Did gentle peace and arts unpurchas'd dwell;
Well pleas'd Apollo thither led his train,
And music warbled in her sweetest strain.
Cyllenius, so, as fables tell, and Jove,
Came willing guests to poor PHILEMON'S grove.
Let useless pomp behold, and blush to find
So low a station, such a liberal mind.