[337] "The Anatomie of Abuses: contayning a discoverie, or briefe summarie of such notable vices and imperfections as now raigne in many Christian Countreyes of the Worlde: but (especiallie) in a very famous Ilande called Ailgna:" &c. Printed by Richard Jones, 1583, small 8vo. Vide Herbert's Typographical Antiquities, vol. iii., p. 1044, for the whole title. Sir John Hawkins, in his History of Music, vol iii., 419, calls this "a curious and very scarce book;" and so does my friend, Mr. Utterson; who revels in his morocco-coated copy of it—"Exemplar olim Farmerianum!" But let us be candid; and not sacrifice our better judgments to our book-passions. After all, Stubbes's work is a caricatured drawing. It has strong passages, and a few original thoughts; and, is moreover, one of the very few works printed in days of yore which have running titles to the subjects discussed in them. These may be recommendations with the bibliomaniac; but he should be informed that this volume contains a great deal of puritanical cant, and licentious language; that vices are magnified in it in order to be lashed, and virtues diminished that they might not be noticed. Stubbes equals Prynne in his anathemas against "Plays and Interludes:" and in his chapters upon "Dress" and "Dancing" he rakes together every coarse and pungent phrase in order to describe "these horrible sins" with due severity. He is sometimes so indecent that, for the credit of the age, and of a virgin reign, we must hope that every virtuous dame threw the copy of his book, which came into her possession, behind the fire. This may reasonably account for its present rarity. I do not discover it in the catalogues of the libraries of Pearson, Steevens, or Brand; but see Bibl. Wright, no. 1390.

But admitting even that Stubbes had drawn his arrow to the head, and grazed the skin of such men as Bodley and Cotton, the wound inflicted by this weapon must have been speedily closed and healed by the balsamic medicine administered by Andrew Maunsell, in his Catalogue of English Printed Books.[338] This little thin folio volume afforded a delicious treat to all honest bibliomaniacs. It revived the drooping spirits of the despondent; and, like the syrup of the renowned Dr. Brodum, circulated within the system, and put all the generous juices in action. The niggardly collector felt the influence of rivalship; he played a deeper stake at book-gambling; and hastened, by his painfully acquired knowledge of what was curious and rare in books, to anticipate the rustic collector—which latter, putting the best wheels and horses to his carriage, rushed from the country to the metropolis, to seize, at Maunsell's shop, a choice copy of Cranmer's Bible, or Morley's Canzonets.[339]

[338] This Catalogue, the first publication of the kind ever put forth in this country, is complete in two parts; 1595, folio: first part containing 123 pages, exclusive of three preliminary epistles: the second, 27 pages; exclusive of three similar introductory pieces. The first part is devoted entirely to Divinity: and in the dedicatory epistle to Queen Elizabeth, Maunsell tells her majesty that he thought it "worth his poor labour to collect a catalogue of the divine books, so mightily increased in her reign; whereby her majesty's most faithful and loving subjects may be put in remembrance of the works of so excellent authors," &c. The second part is devoted to a brief account of books in the remaining branches of literature, arts, sciences, &c. Maunsell promised to follow it up by a third part; but a want of due encouragement seems to have damped the bibliographical ardour of the compiler; for this third part never appeared: a circumstance which, in common with the late Mr. Steevens, all bibliomaniacs may "much lament." See the Athenæum, vol i., 155; also Herbert's Typographical Antiquities, vol ii., p. 1137. A copy of this volume has found its way into the Advocates' Library at Edinburgh; Cat. Adv. Libr., vol ii., p. 99. Ruddiman, who was formerly the librarian of this latter valuable collection, had probably read Hearne's commendation of it:—namely, that it was "a very scarce, and yet a very useful, book." Bened. Abbat., vol. i., p. liv. Mr. Heber possesses a curious copy of it, which was formerly Herbert's, with the margins filled with his MS. addenda.

[339] "Of the translation appointed to bee read in churches, in Kinge Henry the 8, his daies," printed in the largest volume, 1539. "Tho. Morley, Bachiler of Musique, and one of her Maiestie's Royal Chappell, his Conzonets, or little short songes to three voyces. Prin. by Tho. Est. 1593. 4to." See p. 10., pt. i., p. 17, pt. ii., of Maunsell's Catalogue; but let the reader consult [p. 248], ante, concerning this "largest volume" of the Holy Scriptures.

Let us, however, not forget that we have reached the reign of James I.; a monarch who, like Justinian, affected to be "greatly given to study of books;"[340] and who, according to Burton's testimony, wished he had been chained to one of the shelves of the Bodleian library.[341] Of all literary tastes, James had the most strange and sterile. Let us leave him to his Demonology; but notice, with the respect that it merits, the more rational and even elegantly cultivated mind of his son Prince Henry;[342] of whose passion for books there are some good evidences upon record. We will next proceed to the mention of a shrewd scholar and bibliomaniac, and ever active voyager, ycleped Thomas Coryate, the Peregrine of Odcombe. This facetious traveller, who was as quaint and original a writer as old Tom Fuller, appears (when he had time and opportunity) to have taken special notice of libraries; and when he describes to us his "worm eaten" copy of Josephus's Antiquities,[343] "written in ancient Longobard characters in parchment," one cannot but indulge a natural wish to know something of the present existence of a MS. which had probably escaped Oberthür, the last laborious editor of Josephus.

[340] "Greatly gyuen to study of bokys:" Rastell's Chronicle, or Pastyme of People, p. 28, edit. 1811, 4to.

[341] The passage is somewhere in Burton's Anatomy of Mechanoly. But I cannot just now, put my finger upon it.

[342] The works of King James I. (of England) were published in rather a splendid folio volume in the year 1616. Amongst these, his Demonology is the "opus maximum." Of his son Prince Henry, there is, in this volume, at the top of one of the preliminary pieces, a very pretty half length portrait; when he was quite a boy. A charming whole length portrait of the same accomplished character, when he was a young man, engraved by Paas, may be seen in the first folio edition of Drayton's Polyolbion: but this, the reader will tell me, is mere Grangerite information. Proceed we, therefore, to a pithy, but powerful, demonstration of the bibliomaniacal character of the said Prince Henry. "In the paper office, there is a book, No. 24, containing Prince Henry's privy-purse expences, for one year," &c. The whole expense of one year was 1400l. Among other charges, the following are remarkable:

£s.d.
17th October, paid to a Frenchman, that presented a book 4100
20th October, paid Mr. Holyoak for writing a Catalogue of
the Library which the Prince had of Lord Lumley		}8134

&c. &c. &c.