Sir
Symonds D'Ewes had endeavoured by his will, which he modelled upon that
of De Thou, to preserve undispersed through the ages to come the
'precious library' bequeathed in a touching phrase 'to Adrian D'Ewes, my
young son, yet lying in the cradle.' Notwithstanding all his bonds and
penalties the event which he dreaded came to pass. Harley had advised
Queen Anne to buy a collection that included so many precious documents
and records: the Queen, wishing perhaps to rebuff her minister, said that
it was indeed no merit in her to prefer arts to arms, 'but while the
blood and honour of the nation was at stake in her wars she could not,
till she had secured her living subjects an honourable peace, bestow
their money upon dead letters'; and so, we are told, 'the Earl stretched
his own purse, and gave L6000 for the library.' Peter Le Neve spent his
life in gathering important papers about coat-armour and pedigrees. He
had intended them for the use of his fellow Kings-at-Arms; but it was
said that he had some pique against the Heralds' College, and so 'cut
them off with a volume.' The rest went to the auction-room: 'The Earl of
Oxford,' said Oldys, 'will have a sweep at it'; and we know that the cast
was successful. As for John Bagford, the scourge of the book-world, we
have little to say in his defence. In his audacious design of compiling a
history of printing he mangled and mutilated about 25,000 volumes,
tearing out the title pages and colophons and shaving the margins even of
such priceless jewels of bibliography as the Bible of Gutenberg and those
of 'Polyglott' Cardinal Ximenes.
Pages:
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123