The heraldical and genealogical books belonging to the original Arundel Library were given, at the date of the first transfer of the bulk of the collection to the Royal Society, to the Heralds’ College. They still form an important part of the College Library, and they include valuable materials for the history of the family of Howard.
CHAPTER V.
THE COLLECTOR OF THE HARLEIAN MSS.
‘A soul supreme, in each hard instance tried,
Above all pain, all passion, and all pride,
The rage of power, the blast of public breath,
The lust of lucre, and the dread of death.—
Pope, Epistle to Robert, Earl of Oxford, in the Tower.
‘Whether this man ever had any determined view besides that of raising his family is, I believe, a problematical question in the world. My opinion is that he never had any other.... Oxford fled from Court covered with shame, the object of the derision of the Whigs and of the indignation of the Tories.’—Bolingbroke, Letter to Sir W. Wyndham.
The Harley Family.—Parliamentary and Official Career of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford.—The Party Conflicts under Queen Anne.—Robert Harley and Jonathan Swift.—Harley and the Court of the Stuarts.—Did Harley conspire to restore the Pretender?—History of the Harleian Library.—The Life and Correspondence of Humphrey Wanley.
Book I, Chap. V. The Collector of the Harleian MSS.