[Footnote 283: Speaking of the public library of Oxford, at this period, Hearne tells us, from a letter sent by him to Thomas Baker, that there was "a chaplein of the Universitie chosen, after the maner of a Bedell, and to him was the custodie of the librarye committed, his stipend--cvi_s_. and viii_d_. his apparell found him _de secta generosorum_. No man might come in to studdie but graduats and thoes of 8 years contynuance in the Universitie, except noblemen. All that come in must firste sweare to use the bookes well, and not to deface theim, and everye one after at his proceedings must take the licke othe. Howers apoynted when they shuld come in to studdie, viz. betwene ix and xi aforenoone, and one and four afternoone, the keper geving attendaunce: yet a prerogative was graunted the chancelour MR. RICHARD COURTNEY to come in when he pleased, during his own lieffe, so it was in the day-tyme: and the cause seemeth, that he was CHEIFFE CAWSER AND SETTER ON OF THE LIBRARYE." _Curious Discourses by Eminent Antiquaries_; vol. ii., p. 410., edit. 1775.]

[Footnote 284: See page 114, ante. When Lysander talks, above, of the reign of Henry the Seventh being the "AUGUSTAN AGE for BOOKS," he must be supposed to allude to the facility and beauty of publishing them by means of THE PRESS: for at this period, abroad, the typographical productions of Verard, Eustace, Vostre, Bonfons, Pigouchet, Regnier, and many others ("quae nunc perscribere longum est") were imitated, and sometimes equalled by W. de Worde, Pynson, and Notary, at home. In regard to _intellectual_ fame, if my authority be good, "in the reign of Henry VII.

Greek was a stranger in both universities; and so little even of Latin had Cambridge, of its own growth, that it had not types sufficient to furnish out the common letters and epistles of the University. They usually employed an Italian, one Caius Auberinus, to compose them, whose ordinarry [Transcriber's Note: ordinary] fee was twentypence a letter." (MSS. in Benet College Library, lib. P. p. 194,) _Ridley's Life of Ridley_, p. 22. "Greek began to be taught in both universities: quietly at Cambridge, but ('Horresco referens!') with some tumult at Oxford!" _ibid._]

PHIL. Before we proceed to discuss the bibliomaniacal ravages of this age, we had better retire, with Lorenzo's leave, to the DRAWING-ROOM; to partake of a beverage less potent than that which is now before us.

LORENZ. Just as you please. But I should apprehend that Lysander could hold out 'till he reached the Reformation;--and, besides, I am not sure whether our retreat be quite ready for us.

LIS. Pray let us not take leave of all these beauteous books, and busts, and pictures, just at present. If Lysander's lungs will bear him out another twenty minutes, we shall, by that time, have reached the Reformation; and then "our retreat," as Lorenzo calls it, may be quite ready for our reception.

LYSAND. Settle it between yourselves. But I think I could hold out for another twenty minutes--since you will make me your only book-orator.

LORENZ. Let it be so, then. I will order the lamps to be lit; so that Lisardo may see his favourite Wouvermans and Berghems, in company with my romances, (which latter are confined in my satin-wood book-case) to every possible degree of perfection!

LYSAND. Provided you indulge me also with a sight of these delightful objects, you shall have what you desire:--and thus I proceed:

Of the great passion of HENRY THE VIITH for fine books, even before he ascended the throne of England,[285] there is certainly no doubt. And while he was king, we may judge, even from the splendid fragments of his library, which are collected in the British Museum, of the nicety of his taste, and of the soundness of his judgment. That he should love extravagant books of devotion,[286] as well as histories and chronicles, must be considered the fault of the age, rather than of the individual. I will not, however, take upon me to say that the slumbers of this monarch were disturbed in consequence of the extraordinary and frightful passages, which, accompanied with bizarre cuts,[287] were now introduced into almost every work, both of ascetic divinity and also of plain practical morality. His predecessor, Richard, had in all probability been alarmed by the images which the reading of these books had created; and I guess that it was from such frightful objects, rather than from the ghosts of his murdered brethren, that he was compelled to pass a sleepless night before the memorable battle of Bosworth Field. If one of those artists who used to design the horrible pictures which are engraved in many old didactic volumes of this period had ventured to take a peep into Richard's tent, I question whether he would not have seen, lying upon an oaken table, an early edition of some of those fearful works of which he had himself aided in the embellishment, and of which Heinecken has given us such curious fac-similes:[288]--and this, in my humble apprehension, is quite sufficient to account for all the terrible workings in Richard, which Shakespeare has so vividly described.

[Footnote 285: Mr. Heber has a fine copy of one of the volumes of a black-letter edition of Froissart, printed by Eustace, upon the exterior of the binding of which are HENRY'S arms, with his name--HENRICVS DVX RICHMVNDIae. The very view of such a book, while it gives comfort to a low-spirited bibliomaniac, adds energy to the perseverance of a young collector! the latter of whom fondly, but vainly, thinks he may one day be blessed with a similar treasure!]

[Footnote 286: The possession of such a volume as "_The Revelations of the monk of Euesham_" (vide vol. ii., of the new edition of _Brit. Typog. Antiquities_), is evidence sufficient of Henry's attachment to extravagant books of devotion.]

[Footnote 287: It is certainly one of the comforts of modern education, that girls and boys have nothing to do, even in the remotest villages, with the perusal of such books as were put into the juvenile hands of those who lived towards the conclusion of the 15th century. One is at a loss to conceive how the youth of that period could have ventured at night out of doors, or slept alone in a darkened room, without being frightened out of their wits! Nor could maturer life be uninfluenced by reading such volumes as are alluded to in the text: and as to the bed of death--_that_ must have sometimes shaken the stoutest faith, and disturbed the calmest piety. For what can be more terrible, and at the same time more audacious, than human beings arrogating to themselves the powers of the deity, and denouncing, in equivocal cases, a certainty and severity of future punishment, equally revolting to scripture and common sense?

To drive the timid into desperation, and to cut away the anchor of hope from the rational believer, seem, among other things, to have been the objects of these "ascetic" authors; while the pictures, which were suffered to adorn their printed works, confirmed the wish that, where the reader might not comprehend the text, he could understand its illustration by means of a print. I will give two extracts, and one of these "bizarre cuts," in support of the preceding remarks. At page 168, ante, the reader will find a slight mention of the subject: he is here presented with a more copious illustration of it. "In likewise there is none that may declare the piteous and horrible cries and howlings the which that is made in hell, as well of devils as of other damned. And if that a man demand what they say in crying; the answer: All the damned curseth the Creator. Also they curse together as their father and their mother, and the hour that they were begotten, and that they were born, and that they were put unto nourishing, and those that them should correct and teach, and also those the which have been the occasion of their sins, as the bawd, cursed be the bawd, and also of other occasions in diverse sins. The second cause of the cry of them damned is for the consideration that they have of the time of mercy, the which is past, in the which they may do penance and purchase paradise. The third cause is of their cry for by cause of the horrible pains of that they endure. As we may consider that if an hundred persons had every of them one foot and one hand in the fire, or in the water seething without power to die, what _bruit_ and what cry they should make; but that should be less than nothing in comparison of devils and of other damned, for they ben more than an hundred thousand thousands, the which all together unto them doeth _noysaunce_, and all in one thunder crying and braying horribly."--_Thordynary of Crysten Men_, 1506, 4to., k k.

ii., rect. Again: from a French work written "for the amusement of all worthy ladies and gentlemen:"

De la flamme tousiours esprise De feu denfer qui point ne brise De busches nest point actise Ne de soufflemens embrase Le feu denfer, mais est de Dieu Cree pour estre en celuy lieu Des le premier commencement Sans jamais pendre finement Illec nya point de clarte Mais de tenebres obscurte De peine infinie durte De miseres eternite Pleur et estraignement de dens Chascun membre aura la dedans Tourmmens selon ce qua forfait La peine respondra au fait, &c. &c. &c.

_Le passe tempe de tout home, et de toute femme_; sign. q. ii., rev.

Printed by Verard in 8vo., without date: (from a copy, printed upon vellum, in the possession of John Lewis Goldsmyd, Esq.)--The next extract is from a book which was written to amuse and instruct the common people: being called by Warton a "universal magazine of every article of salutary and useful knowledge." _Hist. Engl. Poetry_: vol.

ii., 195.

In hell is great mourning Great trouble of crying Of thunder noises roaring with plenty of wild fire Beating with great strokes like guns with a great frost in water runs And after a bitter wind comes which goeth through the souls with ire There is both thirst and hunger fiends with hooks putteth their flesh asunder They fight and curse and each on other wonder with the fight of the devils dreadable There is shame and confusion Rumour of conscience for evil living They curse themself with great crying In smoak and stink they be evermore lying with other pains innumerable.

_Kalendar of Shepherds. Sign G. vij. rev.

Pynson's edit., fol._

[Illustration]

Specimens of some of the tremendous cuts which are crowded into this thin folio will be seen in the second volume of the new edition of the _Typographical Antiquities_. However, that the reader's curiosity may not here be disappointed, he is presented with a similar specimen, on a smaller scale, of one of the infernal tortures above described. It is taken from a book whose title conveys something less terrific; and describes a punishment which is said to be revealed by the Almighty to St. Bridget against those who have "ornamenta indecentia in capitibus et pedibus, et reliquis membris, ad provocandum luxuriam et irritandum deum, in strictis vestibus, ostensione mamillarum, unctionibus," &c.

_Revelaciones sancte Birgitte; edit. Koeberger, 1521, fol., sign. q., 7, rev._]

[Footnote 288: See many of the cuts in that scarce and highly coveted volume, entitled, "_Idee Generale d'une Collection complette d'Estampes_." Leips. 1771, 8vo.]

LIS. This is, at least, an original idea; and has escaped the sagacity of every commentator in the last twenty-one volume edition of the works of our bard.

LYSAND. But to return to Henry. I should imagine that his mind was not much affected by the perusal of this description of books: but rather that he was constantly meditating upon some old arithmetical work--the prototype of Cocker--which, in the desolation of the ensuing half century, has unfortunately perished. Yet, if this monarch be accused of avaricious propensities--if, in consequence of speculating deeply in _large paper_ and _vellum_ copies, he made his coffers to run over with gold--it must be remembered that he was, at the same time, a patron as well as judge of architectural artists; and while the completion of the structure of King's college Chapel, Cambridge, and the building of his own magnificent chapel[289] at Westminster (in which latter, I suspect, he had a curiously-carved gothic closet for the preservation of choice copies from Caxton's neighbouring press), afford decisive proofs of Henry's skill in matters of taste, the rivalship of printers and of book-buyers shews that the example of the monarch was greatly favourable to the propagation of the Bibliomania.

Indeed, such was the progress of the book-disease that, in the very year of Henry's death, appeared, for the first time in this country, an edition of _The Ship of Fools_--in which work, ostentatious and ignorant book-collectors[290] are, amongst other characters, severely satirized.

[Footnote 289: Harpsfield speaks with becoming truth and spirit of Henry's great attention to ecclesiastical establishments: "Splendidum etiam illud sacellum westmonasterij, magno sumptu atque magnificentia ab eodem est conditum. In quod coenobium valde fuit liberalis et munificus. Nullumque fere fuit in tota Anglia monachorum, aut fratrum coenobium, nullum collegium, cujus preces, ad animam ipsius Deo post obitum commendandam, sedulo non expetierat. Legavit autem singulorum praefectis sex solidos et octo denarios, singulis autem eorundem presbyteris, tres solidos et quatuor denarios: ceteris non presbyteris viginti denarios." _Hist. Eccles. Anglic._, p. 606, edit. 1622, fol.]

[Footnote 290: The reader is here introduced to his old acquaintance, who appeared in the title-page to my first "_Bibliomania_:"--

[Illustration]

I am the firste fole of all the hole navy To kepe the pompe, the helme, and eke the sayle: For this is my mynde, this one pleasoure have I-- Of bokes to haue great plenty and aparayle.

I take no wysdome by them: nor yet avayle Nor them perceyve nat: And then I them despyse.

Thus am I a foole, and all that serue that guyse.

_Shyp of Folys_, &c., _Pynson's edit._, 1509, fol.]

We have now reached the threshhold of the reign of HENRY VIII.--and of the era of THE REFORMATION. An era in every respect most important, but, in proportion to its importance, equally difficult to describe--as it operates upon the history of the Bibliomania. Now blazed forth, but blazed for a short period, the exquisite talents of Wyatt, Surrey, Vaux, Fischer, More, and, when he made his abode with us, the incomparable Erasmus. But these in their turn.

PHIL. You omit Wolsey. Surely he knew something about books?

LYSAND. I am at present only making the sketch of my grand picture.

Wolsey, I assure you, shall stand in the foreground. Nor shall the immortal Leland be treated in a less distinguished manner. Give me only "ample room and verge enough," and a little time to collect my powers, and then--

LIS. "Yes, and then"--you will infect us from top to toe with the BOOK-DISEASE!

PHIL. In truth I already begin to feel the consequence of the innumerable miasma of it, which are floating in the atmosphere of this library. I move that we adjourn to a purer air.

LYSAND. I second the motion: for, having reached the commencement of Henry's reign, it will be difficult to stop at any period in it previous to that of the Reformation.

LIS. Agreed. Thanks to the bacchanalian bounty of Lorenzo, we are sufficiently enlivened to enter yet further, and more enthusiastically, into this congenial discourse. Dame nature and good sense equally admonish us now to depart. Let us, therefore, close the apertures of these gorgeous decanters:--

"Claudite jam rivos, pueri: sat prata biberunt!"

[Illustration]

[Illustration: The striking device of M. MORIN, Printer, Rouen.]

PART V.

=The Drawing Room.=

HISTORY OF THE BIBLIOMANIA, OR ACCOUNT OF BOOK COLLECTORS, CONCLUDED.

Some in Learning's garb With formal hand, and sable-cinctur'd gown, And rags of mouldy volumes.

AKENSIDE; _Pleasures of Imagination_, b. iii., v. 96.