Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-02-10

'so ,.r,, ia now In the possession OF MI
c,;ashv Mr. Gssby is himself lhe 'cum oil CONS '''"-
,ss;on far hooks which an ample fortune anu ill
m ,isu,e have enabled him TO ga'liy 10 excess ' 0'D'
h,,,,, we euspcci choice and valuable co"ec''o "
,oor a. ,o he found In any private library IN inc oh'e
We can understand the zes win which' IN l"e ''o"s
,",,os,on he rcvves his recollection OF MIR Rando'phS
| magnificent library;
rur RANDOLPH LIBRARY ,,.,
| 'i'' NonroLK JAS. 1924
nor sirI comply chccrlusy with your ques. " s
beh' ~ ,n NJ The library of the late John nancopn'
you eo" 49, -, he period OF his death; but as a"l cur
snGn a. ~ n.inly upon my memory the account mus
PIE ;Iu hc n,eacre and unsatisfactory one h en,uS
Of The library prepared ey an Snc record
a uss,bc and The only sembance OF catalogue a.
No" hicb is contained in the account OF sass maui
oy On d ,he rcade asav than aid him IN approaching
bs v W ." The original collection ,;,or,,rroo.
"e an nnhIc men devoted asmuch lime 10
Few OF our alnh II was from his books that he derived his
, ' ioh while spending his summers IN ms soIatY
s.e So hanks of the Staunton. His reading emoaceh al'
the finest productions Of o"noke IN the number and
IT,, bonE. in ls richness In the department OF nlslo
~ md that of Virginia especially, and IN o'n hnes "i
ire nearly fquaIed as 1t ought TO have done na o, ou'
S ~ Wss,oye which is known to Us by l!s catalogue
IN the Franklin Library al PhiladeIrh'a ona etea.
~ surpassed The more modern one Oh haPn IL, o"'1aons
n and decply do regret that, like both inc co.ecuoue
hosee.i a IL has been scattered TO the winds Whatever
Nnstra1ed on history colonial ana STATE, os "an ~,
to find its shelves aud Randolph ns,r,yc ,Jucta
I'D HOOKS of travels in America which he had mel WIN
ebrosJ bat that gem among aniquaTlane, ue T course
cor6s NJ hc Virginia Company, in manuscript o epu
coz S In vejnn which was purchased it is said BY or
for Col Byrd the eldest at The sale OF me Far, Vi p
ampton and had been studied and markeu w nh
r. tho cnmniIston of their respective histories neso w
'e nrs suhstau,ially bound In veum and embrace
the nerod from the settlement of the colony 10 he year
lucy Si hnc he Sookpa,p Of Cawsons There YVES Bur,
goyne's account OF his unfortunate campaign, VI us of
of the Oaks forge, which, oy e in the original
and in The English translation the la''e Nv h,,
Randolph and the travels OF Capt Sm,n moi , h in
founder of the Colony, OF whose WORK ne ihu tl' a. ~
edition in small folio but Capt j. b. D. Smith, an 0ieel VI
the British army, and sometime planter w a"u uEoanns
which Randolph pronounced WIN ee'.a.n ar ey,aot
Tho ,une account of our ancient lna!ietS
h had NOT only the great historical works OF Inc
in all their ample proportions bat the t[ac.s nu
.hch fhs contest about Wing and Tory Tor century nav
called forth On this shel were the CIaiisnan emu aH Nh
Saccheyete; on tha, Catos Letters and Pr hins; ,c
man of ,ne'wosd Randolph IKE rsncsd the hear, CT
dirioe. and like a sturdy scholar was only Wiling
his religion from master rands OF Tie cnutsh In,son
StiIlopheet South Sherlock, jef1my Taylor. -; g.
ware there: .he udcous Hooker" alone was ""r.s, W.
In those days il hard 10 pick up copy o, e @ Raj
tlca Polity; and beside heee, in ihe,r cehs
and Doddriipe dissenters though they were "'o3.our'
Pascal and Boseuct-I do remember Masshl'h-fep'e
sented the eoqueuce and piety OF the ri*ncn: .;r, =
In his summer house which one story ana QUIT III
the French s,ye he KEEP, great bulk OF his library on
shelves bu. in the smaller house IN S!cs ne "susiy p
were two of books, one OF wh's" 10 raich'at nc
would allow no dust enter nor The ieh! OF Tue Suu'
save when il was wanted for use. And in this IA
yorile case were contained sonic precious BOOKS 10
appropriate but magnificent binding lnete was ..ne
snienid edition of Gibbons Miscellaneous Writings,
pushed BY Lord Sheffield his literary executor In hve
volumes adorned with elegant ensravln%s lHee 100 %ee
the cbarac;eriscs-not the Baskerville ed!tion which
photographers far the beauty OF rs type ana pans
but the edition OF 1927, with the designs Sy Toeln "sn
Shaftesbury in the intervals Of MS su"elnE " IN
ease which was to consgn hin 10 an carl? grave 10
foreign land amused himself in inventns an" Of ne sns
racterstcs had copies There 100, was oio "on
tagne in three royal OF the Engsh ansialoh's
pages here aud there showing the touch OF his pencil
dressed more saudily than became the Venetaou M
while another part Of the library was nne a. IN
ORIGINAL Chaucer was in his antique gatp as wen 90
modera one; Gucciadip in oil his iare. popnrons
and Bolnebo&e, who had pronounced ,nc , Thcre
s t;ranpers Biographical History OF Enslanc WIN
cnn,nua0n In volumes; the Memoirs OF Co! utsh
go hv his lovely and intellectual widow, presenting one
nd most touching pictures OF tho Cromwell.
Ia, s,n and marked by the penc! oil Randolph again ana
n nc If he delighted To its pages anu ADORNED
saaDt engraving of the Colonel and of the author
md "bravc Ricrafts's lively porInltuIes OF te
the Commonwealth the life Of Reelga ey UnSt, N,,ure
Essays and his celebrated Treatise OF Human Natue,
which he anhor writing in the placid evening OF MS NE
tells US "fe dead born from the press ltanaopn Iu h.u
had written scrap history and many other capt
tai books all English editions elegantly bound aha' III e
bibiographer's phrase tall copies. ,;a,, ..,o
In the other case books OF very dine'en I"'e
which came Unexpectedly the visitor VINO o'a noI
know Mr. Randoph's peculiar tastes of ihelc WIS .o
British Sporting Magazine unh h uafS the British
Stud Book in Of volumes and 9lnef "o!k s
apper,aning horses dogs and sports whc h on v tue
lowest shelf near the floor the Records o! inc VIZ
gniu Company already spoken OF, and loho n3mel, VI
great age bound in venm Over the fireplace OF inc Ioo,
which held hs avorlte case, was haflengh OF himSG
laken when he was about twenty five, fine painting oy
Stuart, and 10 strong contrast win MS latest poia ~
Harding. And ought 10 add there was aso suspeiasu
from lis wallis portrait Of gallant Decatur who aitet
focine nnhr the mos imminent dangers In defence OF his
country fell in private iend on the fatal heo OF %
burp and in whose honor Randolph pronounced an euoe
UNI in The House OF Representatives brief indeeo ou sur
| passngy eloquent . o
beheld ON shelves a connected series OF parliament
tary debates In many lumes, journals oil tho Honse
of REPRESENTATIVES and of the Senate, and come
bound volumes of newspapers of early date one oil them
The two famous numbers Decius attributed TO
Mr. Randolph aud which designed 10 explain ana &C.
tend his political in eeceding from the ranks OF inc
republican party 1906 Turning 10 the room on the ;t
YOU came into the general collection OF MS DOCKS
and began the examination in good earnest In sptc OF MS
early disadvantages, Mr. Randolph always cherished ioVe
Of his Latin and certain extent his Greek aieo ana
among his books were not only the common Lan anu
Greek classics in fine editions, and the pest ansons OF
them In prose and verse; but modern LAIN "'iters Oh s
genius or the Greek Testament he mad many CO.
PIES of from their antiquity others dsln
cuhed by the beauty of their typography well as by the
purity Of their text Among the modern Latin writer's were
the works of Buchanan in two folio Volumes containing OF
course his celebrated Psalms and ALSO if mistake not the
poems Of Johnston another Scolcman Of genius and The
rival of Buchanan In sacred song. But the gem Of his mo-
dern Lanity that admirable collection OF histories
|
Ezevrs, and The text books oil the who
nourshed during tho century which closed in 1850
" TO the end Of The century The fifty volumes OF work
were there. He had bought them OF Van Tetroode when
he in Holland There was Hoboes nc C'oc lneteaved
and cammed nnnctlions but evidently by some oih
er hand and the Leviahan, OF course. He was rich In
grammars the Westminster the Por, Royal The larger Rud.
dman and great many others; and his dictionaries EN-.
braced Bailey Sheridan johnson in oio ainsworth in
ouarto Schreveius Donucgan Hecdcus Facccolatl and
and Focein though of the TWO last am not certain but
the number legion and all In good repair and as there
were occasionally duplicates among them, il Is probal he
bought them for sudden service when absent om his books
or with q view Of presenting copy 10 some promising
YOUTH as he was wont 10 Go.
In all Thai could illustrate the topography Of Europe and
lis hstory the ehape of hooks MAPS Charts and
ings his library was abundant In tho OF his pol
cal life he had seen the rise and fall Of NaPocon and ne il
was hs provncc study the life of that remarkable man,
so he had about him all the Of tracing his career from
his island cradle his island grave He bad the true bib
Geographic love of fine copy of the best edition, and in
opening his noble edition OF Baye in the original you
found il 10 be the edition pronounced by Bfune In his Ma
nue du Librc to be the best And far from Bayle OF
which he also had the English translation in five volumes
BY Des Mazeauy which contains the admirable lie OF the
great critic was WATTS noble work, The Bbiotheca rann
ca yet in boards He skiulsh Of Northern editions
and instead OF The American reprints OF The Enburg the