The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-03 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

(From the Manchester Guardian.)
We are glad to be enabled to state, that, since yes-
terday week, there has been a very palpable improve-
ment in our market, both as regards yarn and goods,
and an extensive business has been done,—in some few
cases, at a trifling advance, especially in fine 27-inch
printing cloth, and in yarns suitable for the East India
market, but generally at the prices of yesterday week.
The purchases for the East Indies, which have been to
a considerable extent, arc, we presume, chiefly specu-
lative, in anticipation of favourable advices by the over-
land mail, now nearly due ; and the improvement in
goods may be ascribed, in a great degree, to the ac-
counts brought by the President of the improving state
of business in America. On the whole, though prices
continue miserably low, there was a more cheerful and
buoyant feeling in the market yesterday than has been
experienced for some months past ; and a gradual and
steady improvement appeared to be confidently anti-
cipated.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, Nov. 30. We
have had a rather brisk demand for goods to-day, cspe-
eially for the coarser kinds of flannels ; but there is no
improvement in prices. In the wool market there is no
change, either in demand or price.
HUDDERSFIELD MARKET, DEC. .—Contrary to ex-
pectation, we have to report a somewhat animated mar-
ket to-day. Some heavy sales were made in woollens
for shipping, and the demand for the home trade was
tolerable. The news brought by the President, and
other arrivals fram America, has had a favourable
effect. Prices are firmer, both in the raw material and
manufactured go,ds. Little change for the better has
taken place in the warehouses, which are generally slack
of business ; and while some mills are full of work,
I others are doing very little.
-

SALE OF THE LATE MR. BARON
BOLLAND'S LIBRARY.

The ninth day's sale, on Friday, at Evans's of the
extensive, curious, and valuable library of the late Hon.
Baron Boliand, again attracted considerable attention,
and called forth flinch competition among the collec-
tors of curious or rare editions of works. Many of the
books brought remarkably high prices, in some in-
stances two and three times over the large amounts
given for them by Baron Bolland, showing that the bi-
blionzania, which was rather checked by the supplies af-
forded by the tremendous sales of the late Mr. Heber's
almost endless libraries, is quite as animated as ever.
The following account of the sale of two productions
of Shakspeare on Saturday will be found amusing
Lot 1,722 [Shakspeare. 1—" Melbanke's Philoti-
tnus, Warre betwixt Nature and Fortune," interspersed
with poetry ; rare, very fine copy, in green morocco
gilt leaves. 1583. This curious work is dedicated to
Philip, Earl of Arundel. In it mention is made of
110111C0 and Juliet, an additional proof of the popularity
01 the story in England long before the appearance of
Shakspeare's play, which is supposed to have been writ-
ten in 1596. Haslewood gives a very interesting ac-
count of " this uncommonly rare work," in the " Bri-
tish Bibliographer," vol. ii. page 438 to 447-8/. l2s.
Lot 2,138, Shakspeare's " Venus and Adonis." Third
edition. Excessively rare. Imprinted at London, by
R. F. (Richard Field.) For John Harrison. 1596.
The poem of " Venus and Adonis" was the first com-
position of our immortal bard, as we learn from his de-
dication to Lord Southampton. Ho calls it" the first
heire of my invention." The poem acquires an addi-
tional interest from the circumstance of Shakspeare
having published only two of his compositions—namely,
" Venus aad Adonis," and " The Rape of Lucrece."
There is a motto from Ovid prefixed to it :
" Villa miretur vulgus, mihi flavus Apollo,
Pocula Castalia plena minstret aqua."
Dr. Farmer has not adverted to this circumstance in his
admirable essay on the learning of Shakspeare ; hut his
selecting this motto seems to confirm Ben Johnson's as-
s,!rtion of his having nt least " small Latin," as there
was no English translation of Ovid's " Amores" at that

period.
The lot appeared to have aroused extraordinary in-
terest. It called forth singularly animated and perse-
vering biddings, and a price that must gladden the heart
of every old book-collector, while it could not fail to
be most consoling and tranquillising even to the
manes of Heber, As this small book, there, being
only 26 or ::7 leaves, of the width of our columns, fetched
such a prodigious price, it may be grateful to the
eyes of all those affected therein to note the progress