Sacramento daily record-union., 1880-12-07
STORIES OF BIBL1oK1Eprs.

6lOhl60 Of 0l6blV0xA6G
Many eminent characters have been
Biblioklepts. When Innocent x. was still
Monsignor Pamphilio he stole book-so
SAYS Taflemant des Reaux-from Du Mons
tier, the painter. The amusing thing is
that Du Monster himself was book thief
He used to tell how he prigged book OF
which he had long been in search from
stall on the Pont Neuf but, says Talle-
mant fwhom Janin does not seem to have
consulted), there are many people who
don't think it stealing to steal book un-
less you sell it afterward. But Du Mons
tier took less liberal view where his own
books were concerned. The Cardinal Bar
berini came to Paris as legate, and brought
in his suite Monsignor Pamphilio, who after
ward became Innocent X. The Cardinal
paid visit to Du Monster in his studio,
where Monsigner Pamphilio spied, on a
table, 81 Historic du Concile de Trente =
the good edition, the London one. What
pity" thought the young ecclesiastic,
that such man should be, by some ac-
cident, the possessor of so valuable
book" With these sentiments Monslgner
Pamphilio slipped the work under his sou.
tame. But little Du Monster observed
him, and said furiously to the Cardinal
that holy man should not bring thieves
and robbers in his company. With these
words, and with others of violent and
libellous character, he recovered the HIs.
tory of the Council of Trent, and kicked
out the future Pope. Amelot de la Hous'
sale traces to this incident the hatred borne
by Innocent X. to the Crown and people of
France.
Among royal persons Catherine de
Medici. according to Brantome, was a
Biblioklept. "The Marshal Strozzi had a
very fine library, and after his death the
Queen. Mother seized it, promising some
day to pay the value to his son, who never
got a farthing of the money The Ptole
mics. too. were thieves on large scale. A
department of the Alexandrian library was
called 6" The Books from the Ships, and
was filled with rare volumes stolen from
passengers in vessels that touched at that
port. True, the owners were given copies
of their ancient MSS, but the exchange, as
Aristotle says, was an involuntary" one,
and not distinct from robbery.
The great pattern of Biblioklepts, man
who carried his passion to the most regret
able excesses, was a Spanish priest, Don
Vincente, of the convent of Pobla in Ara
gon. When the Spanish revolution de-
spoiled the convent libraries, Don Vim
cente established himself at Barcelona,
urder the pillars of Los Encantes, where
are the the stalls of the merchants OF
bric-a-brac and the seats of them that sell
books. In gloomy den the Don stored
up treasures which he hated to sell.
Once he was present at an auction where
he was outbid in the competition for rare,
perhaps unique, volume. Three nights
after that the people of Barcelona were
awakened by cries of Fire !" The house
and shop 0f the man who had bought
'Ordinacions per los Gloriosos Reys de
Arago" were blazing. When the fire
was extinguished the body of the
owner of the house was found, with
pipe in his blackened hand and
some money beside him. Every
one said, "He must have set the house on
fire with spark from his pipe" Time
| vent on, and week by week the police
found the bodies of slain men, now in the
street, now in ditch, now in the river.
There were young men and old, all had
been harmless and inoffensive in their lives,
and-all had been bibliophiles. A dagger
in an invisible hand had reached their
hearts; but the assassin had spared their
purses, money and rings. An organized
search was made in the city, and the shop
of Don Vincente was examined. There,
| in hidden recess, the police discovered
the copy of "0rdinacions per los Glorlosos
Reys de Arago," which ought by rights to
have been burned with the house of its
purchaser. Don Vincente was asked how
he got the book. He replied in quiet
voice, demanded that his collection should
be made over to the Barcelona Library,
and then confessed long array of crimes.
| He had strangled his rival, stolen the Or
dinacions, and burned the house. The slain
men were people who had bought from him
books which he really could not bear to
part with. At his trial his counsel tried to
prove that his confession was false, and
that he might have got his books by honest
means. It was objected that there was in
the world only one book printed by LAM
bert Palmart in 1882, and that the prisoner
must have stolen this, the only copy, from
the library where it was treasured. The
defendants counsel proved that there was
| another copy. In the Louvre that there-
fore there might be more, and that the de-
| fendant's might have been honestly pro-
cured. Here Don Vincente, previously
callous, uttered an hysterical cry. Said
the Alcalde: cat last, Vincente you be-
gin to understand the enormity of your
office ?'' All, Signor Alcalde, my error
was clumsy indeed. If you only knew how
| miserable 1 am - eff human justice
proves inhexible there is another justice
whose pity is inexhaustible. Repentance
is never too late" "Ah, Signor Alcalde,
| my copy was not unique!' With the
story Of this impenitent thief we may close
the roll of Biblioklepts. Re-
viaw.