In D'Israeli's recent Work, the Amenities of Literature, there is an excellent article upon Skelton, which contains many acute and original observations. Speaking of the Skeltonical Verse, D'Israeli says, "In the quick-returning rhymes, the playfulness of the diction, and the pungency of New Words, usually ludicrous, often expressive, and sometimes felicitous, there is a stirring spirit, which will be best felt in an audible reading. The velocity of his verse has a carol of its own. The chimes ring in the ear, and the thoughts are flung about like wild Coruscations." See vol. 2, p. 69 to 82. Octavo.
Mr. Heber had written in his Copy, "Mr. Malone has a copy bought at Dr. Farmer's Sale, (now in the Bodleian Library,) but I know of no other." We may add, those two copies, and the present, are the only perfect copies known.
"Foure Sonnets written by Henrie Constable to Sir Philip Sidneys Soule" are prefixed. These have not been reprinted in the subsequent editions. Only three other copies of the first edition of this elegant and valuable Treatise are known. One of which is in the British Museum, and one in the Bridgewater Library.
The Third Part of Mr. Chalmers's library—abundantly rich in Scotch literature, and containing much valuable illustration of theHistory of Printing in Scotland, will probably quickly succeed the publication of this Work. Mr. Chalmers had frequently expressed to me his intention as well as inclination to give a complete History of theScotish Press; and if the materials collected by him find their way into his native country, it is to be hoped that some enterprising spirit, like that which animates the present Librarian of the Signet Library, will find sufficient encouragement to bring them before the public. I bargain for aQuarto.
Menalcas(whose fame expands more largely in theBibliographical DecameronandReminiscences) was my old and "very singular good friend" the Rev.Henry Joseph Thomas Drury, Rector of Fingest, and Second Master of Harrow School; second, because he declined to become thefirst. His library, so rich and rare in classical lore—manuscript as well as printed—was sold by Mr. Evans in 1827. The catalogue contained not fewer than 4729 articles. The bindings, chiefly in Lewisian calf and morocco, were "de toute beauté;" and the "oblong cabinet" sparkled as the setting sunshot its slanting rays down the backs of the tomes. Of this catalogue there were 35 copies only printed upon writing paper, for presents.
This library was strikingly illustrative of the character of itslateowner; for it is little more than a twelvemonth since he has been called away from that numerous and endearing circle, in the midst of which I saw him sitting, about a twelvemonth before his departure—the happiest of the happy—on the day of the nuptials of his youngest daughter but one, with Captain Beavan. His books were in fine condition throughout—gaily attired in appropriate bindings of calf or morocco, as the character and condition might be. His love of old classicalManuscriptswas properly and greatly beyond that of printed books: but each class was so marked and identified by his calligraphical MS. notes, that you were in a moment convinced his books were not purchased for the mere sake of gorgeous furniture. So entirely were his classical feelings mixed up with his Library, that he prefixed, over the entrance door of his oblong cabinet, in printed letters of gold, the following lines—of which the version is supplied from the "Arundines Cami," edited by his eldest son, the Rev. Henry Drury.
IN MUSEI MEI ADITU.
OVER THE THRESHOLD OF MY LIBRARY.
They were part and parcel of theOwnerhimself. His mind was traceable in many a fly leaf. His latinity was perspicuity and accuracy itself. He was, in all respects, a ripe and a good scholar; and the late Provost of Eton (The Rev. Dr. Goodall) told me, on an occasion which has been, perhaps, tooemphasisedin certain bibliographical pages,[476]that "England could not then produce a better Greek metrical scholar than his friend Henry Drury." What was remarkable, he never assumed anex Cathedrâposition in society. In bringing forward or pressing quotations, whatever fell from him, came easily and naturally, but rarely. Accustomed for many years to be the favourite of theHarrovians, he never affected the airs of the pedagogue. How hecouldcriticise, sufficiently appears in an article on theMusæ Edinburgensesin an early number of the Quarterly Review.
[476]Bibliographical Decameron.Dr. Goodall always appeared to me toaffectirascibility upon the subject alluded to. The contents might have been published at Charing Cross.
[476]Bibliographical Decameron.Dr. Goodall always appeared to me toaffectirascibility upon the subject alluded to. The contents might have been published at Charing Cross.
Yet this may be considered secondary matter; and I hasten to record the qualities of his heart and disposition. They were truly Christian-like; inasmuch as a fond and large spirit of benevolence was always beatingin his bosom, and mantling over a countenance of singular friendliness of expression. He had thepowerof saying sharp and caustic things, but he used his "giant-strength" with the gentleness of a child. His letters, of which many hundreds have fallen to my lot, are a perfect reflex of his joyous and elastic mind. There was not a pupil under his care who looked forward to aholidaywith more unqualified delight thanhe; and when we strayed together beneath, or upon the heights of, the Dover Cliffs (where Ilastsaw him, in the summer of 1840) he would expatiate, with equal warmth and felicity, upon the Abbey of St. Rhadagund, and the Keep of Dover Castle. Our visit to Barfreston Church, in the neighbourhood, can never be effaced from my mind. His mental enthusiasm and bodily activity could not have been exceeded by that of the Captain of Harrow School. He took up my meditated "History of the Dover" as if it were his own work; and his success, in cause of subscription, in most instances, was complete.
And now, after an intimacy (minutely recorded in myReminiscences) of thirty-three years, it has pleased God to deprive me of his genial and heart-stirring society. His last moments were of those of a Christian—"rooted and built up" inthatbelief, which alone sustains us in the struggle of parting from those whom we cherish as the most idolised objects upon earth! It was towards sun-set that I first paused upon his tomb, in the church-yard, near the summit of Harrow Hill. For a few moments I was breathless—butnotfrom the steepness of the ascent. The inscription, I would submit, is too much in the "minor key." It was the production of hiseldest son, who preferred to err from under-rating, rather than over-rating, the good qualities of his parent. For myself—
On the death of Mr. Drury, his small library, the remains of his former one, was sold by auction; and those classical books, interleaved, and enriched with his manuscript notes, brought large prices. One manuscript, of especial celebrity—Childe Harold—given him by the Author, his pupil, Lord Byron—became the property of its publisher, Mr. Murray; who purchased it upon terms at once marking his high sense of the talents of the author, and his respect for the family where it had been placed. It may be doubtful whether the autograph of any poem, since Paradise Lost, would have obtained a larger sum—had it been submitted to public sale.
Rinaldo.—Rinaldo was the late Mr.Edwards; of the sale of whose library an extended account will be found in my Decameron. It remains, briefly, but emphatically, to remark, that of all the book heroes, whose valorous achievements are here recorded,twoonly have survived the lapse of thirty years. Lethalfof another similar course of time roll on, and where will theSurvivorsbe? If not at rest in their graves, they will in all probability be "sans teeth, sans eyes, sans everything:"—at least, very far beyond "the lean and slippered pantaloon." Leaving my surviving friends to fight their own battles, I think I may here venture to say, in quiet simplicity and singleness of heart, thatbooks, book-sales, and book-men, will then—if I am spared—pass before me as the faint reflex of "the light ofother days!" ... when literary enterprise and literary fame found a proportionate reward; and when the sickly sentimentality of the novelist had not usurped the post of the instructive philologist. But enough ofRosicrusis.
CONSTANTIA LABORE ET
ThisPart embraces theHistory of Literature, in the formation of Libraries, from the Conquest to the commencement of the reign of Henry VIII., and undoubtedly contains much that is curious and instructive. Two new characters only are introduced:LorenzoandNarcottus. The former was intended to represent the late Sir Masterman Mark Sykes, Bart.: the latter, a William Templeman, Esq., of Hare Hatch, Berkshire. Sir Mark Sykes was not less known than respected for the suavity of his manners, the kindness of his disposition, and the liberality of his conduct on all matters connected withbooksandprints. A long and particular account of his library, and of many of his book-purchases, will be seen in the third volume of theBibliographical Decameron; and at pages 321, 373 of myLiterary Reminiscences. His library and his prints brought, each, pretty much the same sum: together, £60,000—an astounding result! Sir Mark is the last great bibliomaniacal Sun that has shed its golden, as well as parting, rays, upon a terribly chap-fallen British public! Mr. Templeman, represented as Narcottus, was a great Chess-player: and although Caxton's "Game at Chess" is a mere dull morality, having nothing to do with the game strictly so called, yet he would have everything in his library where the word "Chess" was introduced. In the words of the old catch, he would "add the night unto the day" in the prosecution of his darling recreation, and boasted of having once given a signal defeat to the Rev. Mr. Bowdler, after having been defeated himself by Lord Henry Seymour, the renowned chess-champions of the Isle of Wight. He said he once sat upon Phillidor's knee, who patted his cheek, and told him "there was nothing like Chess and English roast beef."
The notice of poor George Faulkner atpage 199—one of the more celebrated book-binders of the day, is amplified at page 524 of the second volume of the Decameron; where the painful circumstances attending his death are slightly mentioned. He yet lives, and lives strongly, in my remembrance. Since then, indeed within a very few years, the famousCharles Lewis—of whose bibliopegistic renown the Decameronic pages have expatiated fully—has ceased to be. He was carried off suddenly by an apoplectic seizure. His eldest son—a sort of "spes altera Romæ," in his way—very quickly followed the fate of his father. The name ofLewiswill be always held high in the estimation of bibliopegistic Virtuosi. But the art of Book-binding is not deteriorating: and I am not sure whetherJohn Clarke, of Frith Street, Soho, be not as "mighty a man" in his way as any of his predecessors. There is a solidity, strength, and squareness of workmanship about hisbooks, which seem to convince you that they may be tossed from the summit of Snowdon to that of Cader Idris without detriment or serious injury. His gilding is first rate; both for choice of ornament and splendour of gold. Nor is his coadjutor,William Bedford, of less potent renown. He was the great adjunct of the late Charles Lewis—and imbibes the same taste and the same spirit of perseverance. Accident brought me one morning in contact with a set of the New Dugdale's Monasticon, bound in blue morocco, and most gorgeously bound and gilded, lying upon the table of Mr. James Bohn—a mountain of bibliopegistic grandeur! A sort of irrepressible awe kept you back even from turning over the coats or covers! And what aWork—deserving of pearls and precious stones in its outward garniture! "Who was the happy man to accomplish such a piece of binding?"[477]observed I. "WhobutJohn Clarke?"—replied the Bibliopole.
[477]Good binding—even Roger-Payne-binding—is gadding abroad every where. At Oxford, they have "a spirit" of this description who loses a night's rest if he haplessly shave off the sixteenth part of an inch of a rough edge of an uncut Hearne. My friend, Dr. Bliss, has placed volumes before me, from the same mintage, which have staggered belief as an indigenous production of Academic soil. At Reading, also, some splendid leaves are taken from the sameBook. Mr. Snare, the publisher, keeps one of the most talented bookbinders in the kingdom—from the school of Clarke; and feeds him upon something more substantial than rose leaves and jessamine blossoms. He is a great man for a halequin's jacket: and would have gone crazy at the sight of some of the specimens at Strawberry Hill. No man can put a varied-coloured morocco coat upon the back of a book with greater care, taste, and success, than our Reading Bibliopegist.
[477]Good binding—even Roger-Payne-binding—is gadding abroad every where. At Oxford, they have "a spirit" of this description who loses a night's rest if he haplessly shave off the sixteenth part of an inch of a rough edge of an uncut Hearne. My friend, Dr. Bliss, has placed volumes before me, from the same mintage, which have staggered belief as an indigenous production of Academic soil. At Reading, also, some splendid leaves are taken from the sameBook. Mr. Snare, the publisher, keeps one of the most talented bookbinders in the kingdom—from the school of Clarke; and feeds him upon something more substantial than rose leaves and jessamine blossoms. He is a great man for a halequin's jacket: and would have gone crazy at the sight of some of the specimens at Strawberry Hill. No man can put a varied-coloured morocco coat upon the back of a book with greater care, taste, and success, than our Reading Bibliopegist.
ThisPart is a copious continuation of the History of Book Collectors and Collections up to the year 1810. There is nothing to add in the way ofcharacter; and the subject itself is amply continued in the tenth day of theBibliographical Decameron. In both works will be found, it is presumed, a fund of information and amusement, so that the Reader will scarcely demand an extension of the subject. Indeed, a little volume would hardly suffice to render it the justice which it merits; but I am bound to make special mention of the untameable perseverance, and highly refined taste, of B.G. Windus, Esq., one of my earliest and steadiest supporters; and yet, doth he not rather take up a sitting in theAlcove—amongstIllustrators of fine Works?
The Cave of Despair
THE CAVE OF DESPAIR.
Drawn by J. Thurston.—Engraved by Robert Branston.
A wordonly:—and that respectingIllustrated Copies. Leaving Mr. Windus in full possession of his Raphael Morghens, William Woollets, William Sharpes, &c.—and allowing him the undisturbed relish of gazing upon, and pressing to his heart's core, hisgreyTurners—let me only introduce to the reader's critical attention and admiration theopposite subject, executed by the late Mr. Branston, and exhibitingThe Cave of Despairfrom Spenser's Fairy Queen. The figures were drawn on the blocks by the late J. Thurston, Esq.
UndertheIllustration-Symptom of Bibliomania, a fund of amusing anecdote, as well as of instructive detail, presents itself. We may travel in a carriage and four—from morn 'till night—and sweep county after county, in pursuit of all that is exquisite, and rare, and precious, and unattainable in other quarters: but I doubt if our horses' heads can be turned in a direction better calculated to answer all the ends in view than in front of
RAVENSBURY LODGE, LOWER MITCHAM,
Ravensbury Lodge
the residence of the late proprietor of this work. There we once beheld such a copy of the best of all existingEncyclopædias—that of the late Dr.Rees—as is no where else to be found. It was uponlargeandfinepaper—bound in fourscore volumes—with separately executed title pages, in a style of pure art—andillustratedwith not fewer thanten thousand extra plates. Thereader may, and will, naturally enough, judge of the wide, if not boundless, field for illustration—comprehending in fact (as the title of the work denounces) the circle of all knowledge, arts and sciences; but he can have no idea of themannerin which this fertile and illimitable field is filled up, till he gazes upon the copy in question. Here then was not only areading, but agraphic,Library in itself. Whatever other worksprofuselydilate upon was hereconcentrated—and deeply impressed upon the mind by the charm, as well as the intelligence, of graphical ornament. You seemed to want nothing, as, upon the turning over of every leaf, the prodigality of art ennobled, while it adorned, the solidity of the text. You have kept your horses already waiting three hours—and they are neighing and snorting for food: and you must turn them into the stable for suitable provender—for the owner of this production would tell you that you had scarcely traversed through one-third of the contents of the volumes. He orders an additional fowl to be placed on the spit, and an extra flagon of Combe and Delafield's brightest ale to be forth-coming: while his orchard supplies the requisite addenda of mulberries, pears, and apples, to flank the veritable Lafitte. You drink and are merry. Then comes the Argand Lamp; and down with the Encyclopedistic volumes. The plates look brighter and more beautiful. There is no end of them—nor limits to your admiration. Be it summer or winter, there is food for sustenance, and for the gratification of the most exquisite palate. To contemplatesucha performance, the thorough-bred book-votary would travel by torch-light through forty-eight hours of successive darkness!...: But the horses are again neighing—for their homes. You must rouse the slumbering post-boy: for "The bell of the church-clock strikesone."
P.S.—The late Mr.Walmsley—who employed me to print this present edition—narrowly watched all our movements, and was much gratified by the appearance of the work, so far as it had gone before his death—frequently urged me to append a short account of the progress of our art during the last thirty years—i.e. since the publication of the former edition ofBibliomania.
The subject is too diffuse for a mere note: and during the life-time of so many able printers as now exercise their calling in the metropolis, it would be invidious to particularize eminence in our profession (whereas among our immediate predecessors it is, perhaps justto say that there were onlytwoprinters of great celebrity, the lateMr. Bulmerand my late father). I shall therefore merely mention some events which have had such influence on our art as that the case is now very different to what it was thirty years ago, when the good execution of printing at once testified to the skill and industry of the printer—as he could command neither goodpresses,types, norink, &c.—paper being then almost the only matter to be had in perfection.
We havenowexcellent and powerful iron presses—Stanhopes, Columbians, Imperials, &c.Thenthe celebrated specimens of typography were produced bymiserablewooden presses. We havenowink of splendid lustre, at a fourth of the cost of fabricationthen—for both Mr. Bulmer and my father were perpetually trying expensive experiments—and not always succeeding: our ink is now to be depended on forstanding, it works freely, and can be had at reasonable prices at the extensive factory of Messrs.ShackellandLyons, Clerkenwell, who made the ink used for this work.
There are several eminent engineers who make the best of presses. Ourlettermay safely be pronounced, if not perfect, as near perfection as it will ever reach—and while the celebrated type-foundries of Messrs.Caslon, Chiswell Street, and Messrs.Figgins, West Street, are within the reach of the metropolitan printers, there can be no excuse for failing to execute good printing on the score of inferior type.
The substitution of theinking roller, instead of the cumbrous and inconvenient old balls, has much eased the labours of the pressman and facilitated the regularity of colour. The inking roller at the hand press was adopted, and offered to the printers generally, by my friend, Mr.Applegath, shortly aftersteam-printingwas introduced by my father—about which so much has been said in periodical publications, &c., that it is needless here to enlarge on the subject—more especially as it is principally applicable to work of inferior character, newspapers, reviews, magazines, &c.; and, further, it is not a very tempting subject to the son of him who was led to devote the energies of the latter years of his active life, and the well-earned fortune which his great typographical celebrity had secured, to the adoption of a mode of printing which, how much soever it may benefit newspaper proprietors and others—certainly has done any thing but benefit his family; and has thus added another instance to the many on record of the ill success attending the patronage of inventors.
B. Bensley.
Woking, Surrey, June18, 1842.
FINIS.
SEVENTH CENTURY.
Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury,165Benedict, Bishop, Abbot of Weremouth,165,166Venerable Bede,166
EIGHTH CENTURY.
Ina, King of the West Saxons,166Alouin, Abbot of Tours,167
NINTH CENTURY.
Scotus Erigena,168King Alfred,169,170King Athelstan,170St. Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury,171
ELEVENTH CENTURY.
King Canute,172Ingulph, Abbot of Croyland,172Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury,173Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury,173,174Giraldus, Archbishop of York,174
TWELFTH CENTURY.
Herman, Bishop of Salisbury,175Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury,175-177
THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
Giraldus Cambrensis, Bishop of St. David's,178,179Roger Bacon,180-183
FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
King Edward the First,183King Edward the Third,184Richard de Bury, Bishop of Durham,185-187
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
John Boston,189,190John Plantagenet, First Duke of Bedford,190,191Thomas Cobham, Bishop of Worcester,192Robert Rede, Bishop of Chichester,192Humphrey Plantagenet, First Duke of Gloucester,193Sir Walter Sherington,194John Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester,198George Neville, Archbishop of York,200King Henry the Seventh,202,205,206
SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
The Earl of Surrey—Sir Thomas Wyatt,14King Henry the Eighth,215-217John Colet, Dean of St. Paul's,14,218-220Sir Thomas More,220-222Erasmus,222-224Cardinal Wolsey,225-228Robert Wakefield,235John Leland,242-246John Bale, Bishop of Ossory,246,247Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury,248,249Queen Elizabeth,249-254Roger Ascham,254,255William Cecil, First Earl of Burleigh,256Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury,257-261Dr. John Dee,261,265Captain Cox,266Sir Robert Cotton,267-269Sir Thomas Bodley,270-278
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
King James the First,281Thomas Coryate,281Henry Peacham,282Robert Burton,286John, Lord Lumley,287Henry Hastings,287-288John Clungeon,288John Ward,289The Ferrar Family,289-292Elias Ashmole, Windsor Herald,292-296William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury,297,298Henry Dyson,302Richard Smith,302,303Dr. Seaman,304Francis North, Lord-Keeper,309Hon. and Rev. John North, D.D.,310Anthony à Wood,312-315Francis Bernard, M.D.,316,317
EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
John Fell, Bishop of Oxford,317,318John More, Bishop of Ely,318Samuel Pepys,320John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough,321Prince Eugene,322Narcissus Luttrell,323Edward Wynne,323Henry Herbert, ninth Earl of Pembroke,324,325John Bagford,326-331John Murray,331Thomas Britton,331-333Thomas Hearne,333-336John Anstis, Garter King of Arms,337Rev. John Lewis,338-340Joseph Ames—William Herbert,340Thomas Baker,341-343Lewis Theobald,343Thomas Rawlinson,343-346Humphrey Wanley,346Robert Harley, First Earl of Oxford,347-354Thomas Osborne,354,355John Bridges,362Anthony Collins,363Michael Maittaire,363Richard Mead, M.P.,364-367Martin Folkes,367-369Richard Rawlinson,369-371John(Orator)Henley,371-373General James Dormer,375James West,376Thomas Martin,384-386Serjeant William Fleetwood,386Anthony Askew, M.D.,387-391John Ratcliffe,392,393Hon. Topham Beauclerk,394Rev. Thomas Crofts,396-398Mark Cephas Tutet,399,400Richard Wright, M.D.,401John Henderson,402William Fillingham,403Major Thomas Pearson,403-406Rev. Michael Lort, D.D.,411-413Right Hon. Denis Daly,414,415Charles Chauncy, M.D. }Nathaniel Chauncy,}416,417John Munro, M.D.,417Rev. Richard Southgate,419George Mason,419-423Rev. Richard Farmer, D.D.,423-427George Steevens,427-440John Strange,441John Woodhouse,441George Galway Mills,447John Wilkes,447,448Joseph Ritson,448Rev. Jonathan Boucher,450William Petty, First Marquess of Lansdowne,450,451Rev. John Brand,452-454Isaac Reed,454-456Alexander Dalrymple,458Richard Porson,458,459John Maddison,459Emperor John Alexander Woodford,459Richard Gough,460Rev. Benjamin Heath,460,554-561
LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED OR REFERRED TO:—CRITICISMS ON THEIR INTRINSIC VALUE BEING OCCASIONALLY INTRODUCED IN THE FOREGOING PAGES.