[359] These are the words of Lord Keeper North's Biographer: "There are of Law-Books, institutions of various sorts, and reports of cases (now) almost innumerable. The latter bear most the controversial law, and are read as authority such as may be quoted: and I may say the gross of law lecture lies in them. But to spend weeks and months wholly in them, is like horses in a string before a loaden waggon. They are indeed a careful sort of reading, and chiefly require common-placing, and that makes the work go on slowly. His Lordship therefore used to mix some institutionary reading with them, as after a fulness of the reports in a morning, about noon, to take a repast in Stamford, Compton, or the Lord Coke's Pleas of the Crown and Jurisdiction of Courts, Manwood of the Forest Law, Fitzherbert's Natura Brevium; and also to look over some of the Antiquarian Books, as Britton, Bracton, Fleta, Fortescue, Hengham, the old Tenures Narrationes Novæ, the old Natura Brevium, and the Diversity of Courts. These, at times, for change and refreshment, being books all fit to be known. And those that, as to authority, are obsoleted, go rounder off-hand, because they require little common-placing, and that only as to matter very singular and remarkable, and such as the student fancies he shall desire afterwards to recover. And, besides all this, the day afforded him room for a little History, especially of England, modern books, and Controversy in Print, &c. In this manner he ordered his own studies, but with excursions into Humanity and Arts, beyond what may be suitable to the genius of every young student in the law." Life of Lord Keeper Guildford, pp. 18, 19. North's Lives, edit. 1754, 4to.

His brother, Dr. John North, was a still greater Helluo Librorum; "his soul being never so staked down as in an old bookseller's shop." Not content with a superficial survey of whatever he inspected, he seems to have been as intimately acquainted with all the book-selling fraternity of Little-Britain as was his contemporary, Richard Smith; and to have entered into a conspiracy with Robert Scott[360]—the most renowned book vender in this country, if not in Europe—to deprive all bibliomaniacs of a chance of procuring rare and curious volumes, by sweeping every thing that came to market, in the shape of a book, into their own curiously-wrought and widely-spread nets. Nay, even Scott himself was sometimes bereft of all power, by means of the potent talisman which this learned Doctor exercised—for the latter, "at one lift," would now and then sweep a whole range of shelves in Scott's shop of every volume which it contained. And yet how whimsical, and, in my humble opinion, ill-founded, was Dr. North's taste in matters of typography! Would you believe it, Lisardo, he preferred the meagre classical volumes, printed by the Gryphii, in the italic letter, to the delicate and eye-soothing lustre of the Elzevir type—?

[360] "Now he began to look after books, and to lay the foundation of a competent library. He dealt with Mr. Robert Scott, of Little-Britain, whose sister was his grandmother's woman; and, upon that acquaintance he expected, and really had from him, useful information of books and their editions. This Mr. Scott was, in his time, the greatest librarian in Europe; for, besides his stock in England, he had warehouses in Francfort, Paris, and other places, and dealt by factors. After he was grown old, and much worn by multiplicity of business, he began to think of his ease and to leave off. Whereupon he contracted with one Mills, of St. Paul's Church-yard, near £10,000 deep, and articled not to open his shop any more. But Mills, with his auctioneering, Atlasses, and projects, failed, whereby poor Scott lost above half his means: but he held to his contract of not opening his shop, and when he was in London (for he had a country house), passed most of his time at his house amongst the rest of his books; and his reading (for he was no mean scholar) was the chief entertainment of his time. He was not only an expert bookseller, but a very conscientious good man; and when he threw up his trade, Europe had no small loss of him. Our Doctor, at one lift, bought of him a whole set of Greek Classics in folio, of the best editions. This sunk his stock at that time; but afterwards, for many years of his life, all that he could (as they say) rap or run, went the same way. But the progress was small; for such a library as he desired, compared with what the pittance of his stock would purchase, allowing many years to the gathering, was of desperate expectation. He was early sensible of a great disadvantage to him in his studies, by the not having a good library in his reach; and he used to say that a man could not be a scholar at the second-hand: meaning, that learning is to be had from the original authors, and not from any quotations, or accounts in other books, for men gather with divers views, and, according to their several capacities, often perfunctorily, and almost always imperfectly: and through such slight reading, a student may know somewhat, but not judge of either author or subject. He used to say an old author could not be unprofitable; for although in their proper time they had little or no esteem, yet, in after times, they served to interpret words, customs, and other matters, found obscure in other books; of which A. Gellius is an apt instance. He courted, as a fond lover, all best editions, fairest character, best bound and preserved. If the subject was in his favour (as the Classics) he cared not how many of them he had, even of the same edition, if he thought it among the best, either better bound, squarer cut, neater covers, or some such qualification caught him. He delighted in the small editions of the Classics, by Seb. Gryphius; and divers of his acquaintance, meeting with any of them, bought and brought them to him, which he accepted as choice presents, although perhaps he had one or two of them before. He said that the black italic character agreed with his eye sight (which he accounted but weak) better than any other print, the old Elzevir not excepted, whereof the characters seemed to him more blind and confused than those of the other. Continual use gives men a judgment of things comparatively, and they come to fix on that as most proper and easy which no man, upon cursory view, would determine. His soul was never so staked down as in an old bookseller's shop; for having (as the statutes of the college required) taken orders, he was restless till he had compassed some of that sort of furniture as he thought necessary for his profession. He was, for the most part, his own factor, and seldom or never bought by commission; which made him lose time in turning over vast numbers of books, and he was very hardly pleased at last. I have borne him company at shops for hours together, and, minding him of the time, he hath made a dozen proffers before he would quit. By this care and industry, at length, he made himself master of a very considerable library, wherein the choicest collection was Greek." There is some smartness in the foregoing observations. The following, in a strain of equal interest, affords a lively picture of the bookselling trade at the close of the 17th century: "It may not be amiss to step a little aside, to reflect on the vast change in the trade of books, between that time and ours. Then, Little-Britain was a plentiful and perpetual emporium of learned authors; and men went thither as to a market. This drew to the place a mighty trade; the rather because the shops were spacious, and the learned gladly resorted to them, where they seldom failed to meet with agreeable conversation. And the booksellers themselves were knowing and conversible men, with whom, for the sake of bookish knowledge, the greatest wits were pleased to converse. And we may judge the time as well spent there, as (in latter days) either in tavern or coffee-house: though the latter hath carried off the spare hours of most people. But now this emporium is vanished, and trade contracted into the hands of two or three persons, who, to make good their monopoly, ransack, not only their neighbours of the trade that are scattered about town, but all over England, aye, and beyond sea too, and send abroad their circulators, and, in that manner, get into their hands all that is valuable. The rest of the trade are content to take their refuse, with which, and the fresh scum of the press, they furnish one side of a shop, which serves for the sign of a bookseller, rather than a real one; but, instead of selling, dealing as factors, and procure what the country divines and gentry send for; of whom each hath his book factor, and, when wanting any thing, writes to his bookseller, and pays his bill. And it is wretched to consider what pickpocket work, with help of the press, these demi-booksellers make. They crack their brains to find out selling subjects, and keep hirelings in garrets, at hard meat, to write and correct by the great (qu. groat); and so puff up an octavo to a sufficient thickness, and there's six shillings current for an hour and a half's reading, and perhaps never to be read or looked upon after. One that would go higher must take his fortune at blank walls, and corners of streets, or repair to the sign of Bateman, Innys, and one or two more, where are best choice and better pennyworth's. I might touch other abuses, as bad paper, incorrect printing, and false advertising; all which, and worse, is to be expected, if a careful author is not at the heels of them." Life of the Hon. and Rev. Dr. John North. North's Lives, edit. 1744, 4to., p. 240, &c. At page 244, there is a curious account of the doctor's amusing himself with keeping spiders in a glass case—feeding them with bread and flies—and seeing these spiders afterwards quarrel with, and destroy, each other—"parents and offspring!"

Lis. "De gustibus—" you know the rest. But these Norths were brave bibliomaniacs! Proceed, we are now advancing towards the threshold of the eighteenth century; and the nearer you come to it, the greater is the interest excited.

Lysand. Take care that I don't conclude with the memorable catalogue-burning deed of your father! But I spare your present feelings.

All hail to the noble book-spirit by which the Lives of Oxford-Athenians, and the Antiquities of Oxford University, are recorded and preserved beyond the power of decay![361] All hail to thee, Old Anthony a-Wood! May the remembrance of thy researches, amidst thy paper and parchment documents, stored up in chests, pews, and desks, and upon which, alas! the moth was "feeding sweetly," may the remembrance of these thy laborious researches always excite sensations of gratitude towards the spirit by which they were directed! Now I see thee, in imagination, with thy cautious step, and head bowing from premature decay, and solemn air, and sombre visage, with cane under the arm, pacing from library to library, through gothic quadrangles; or sauntering along the Isis, in thy way to some neighbouring village, where thou wouldst recreate thyself with "pipe and pot." Yes, Anthony! while the Bodleian and Ashmolean collections remain—or rather as long as Englishmen know how to value that species of literature by which the names and actions of their forefathers are handed down to posterity, so long shall the memory of thy laudable exertions continue unimpaired!

[361] The name and literary labours of Anthony Wood are now held in general, and deservedly high, respect: and it is somewhat amusing, though not a little degrading to human nature, to reflect upon the celebrity of that man who, when living, seems to have been ridiculed by the proud and flippant, and hated by the ignorant and prejudiced, part of his academical associates. The eccentricities of Wood were considered heretical; and his whims were stigmatized as vices. The common herd of observers was unable to discover, beneath his strange garb, and coarse exterior, all that acuteness of observation, and retentiveness of memory, as well as inflexible integrity, which marked the intellectual character of this wonderful man. But there is no necessity to detain and tantalize the reader by this formal train of reasoning, when a few leading features of Wood's person, manners, and habits of study, &c., have been thus pleasingly described to us by Hearne, in the life of him prefixed to the genuine edition of the History and Antiquities (or Annals) of the University of Oxford. "He was equally regardless of envy or fame, out of his great love to truth, and therefore 'twas no wonder he took such a liberty of speech, as most other authors, out of prudence, cunning, or design, have usually declined. And indeed, as to his language, he used such words as were suitable to his profession. It is impossible to think that men, who always converse with old authors, should not learn the dialect of their acquaintance—an antiquary retains an old word, with as much religion as an old relick. And further, since our author was ignorant of the rules of conversation, it is no wonder he uses so many severe reflections, and adds so many minute passages of men's lives. I have been told that it was usual with him, for the most part, to rise about four o'clock in the morning, and to eat hardly any thing till night; when, after supper, he would go into some by-alehouse in town, or else to one in some village near, and there by himself take his pipe and pot," &c. "But so it is that, notwithstanding our author's great merits, he was but little regarded in the University, being observed to be more clownish than courteous, and always to go in an old antiquated dress. Indeed he was a mere scholar, and consequently must expect, from the greatest number of men, disrespect; but this notwithstanding, he was always a true lover of his mother, the University, and did more for her than others care to do that have received so liberally from her towards their maintenance, and have had greater advantages of doing good than he had. Yea, his affection was not at all alienated, notwithstanding his being so hardly dealt with as to be expelled; which would have broken the hearts of some. But our author was of a most noble spirit, and little regarded whatever afflictions he lay under, whilst he was conscious to himself of doing nothing but what he could answer. At length after he had, by continual drudging, worn out his body, he left this world contentedly, by a stoppage of his urine, anno domini 1695, and was buried in the east corner of the north side of St. John's Church, adjoyning to Merton College, and in the wall is a small monument fixed, with these words:

H.S.E.
antonius wood, antiquarius.
ob. 28 Nov. Ao. 1695, æt. 64."

In his person, he was of a large robust make, tall and thin, and had a sedate and thoughtful look, almost bordering upon a melancholy cast. Mr. Hearne says, in his Collectanea MSS., that though he was but sixty-four years of age when he died, he appeared to be above fourscore; that he used spectacles long before he had occasion for them, that he stooped much when he walked, and generally carried his stick under his arm, seldom holding it in his hand. As to the manner of his life, it was solitary and ascetic. The character which Gassendus gives of Peireskius, may, with propriety, be used as descriptive of Mr. Wood's. "As to the care of his person, cleanliness was his chief object, he desiring no superfluity or costliness, either in his habit or food. His house was furnished in the same manner as his table; and as to the ornament of his private apartment, he was quite indifferent. Instead of hangings, his chamber was furnished with the prints of his particular friends, and other men of note, with vast numbers of commentaries, transcripts, letters, and papers of various kinds. His bed was of the most ordinary sort; his table loaded with papers, schedules, and other things, as was also every chair in the room. He was a man of strict sobriety, and by no means delicate in the choice of what he eat. Always restrained by temperance, he never permitted the sweet allurements of luxury to overcome his prudence." Such, as is here represented, was the disposition of Mr. Wood: of so retired a nature as seldom to desire or admit a companion at his walks or meals; so that he is said to have dined alone in his chamber for thirty years together. Mr. Hearne says that it was his custom to "go to the booksellers at those hours when the greater part of the University were at their dinners," &c. And at five leaves further, in a note, we find that, "when he was consulting materials for his Athenæ Oxon., he would frequently go to the booksellers, and generally give money to them, purposely to obtain titles of books from them; and 'twas observed of him that he spared no charges to make that work as compleat and perfect as possible." Hearne's Coll. MSS. in Bodl. Lib., vol. ix., p. 185. The following letter, describing Wood's last illness, and the disposition of his literary property, is sufficiently interesting to be here, in part, laid before the reader: it was written by Mr. (afterwards Bishop) Tanner to Dr. Charlett.

"Honoured Master,