The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1883-03-11
LITERARY TREASURES.
Thc Ashburnbam Library and Manu-.
scripts Co he Soda Family That
Goes Rack Co tho COuuuest-ChnrIea
TITO EIrst,s RInnnN ShrnmH.


Goes Rack 60 tho COuquest-ChnrIe,
The Firsts bloody Shroud.
LONDON, February H.
lou will doubtless have noticed the pro
posed sale Of the Ashburnham collection of mann,
ser, , TO te British Museum and perhaps Gre nov
| The anxiety which is displayed In tho ''hghcr 81
llieaty circles In England that this collection should
NOT be allowed TO leave the country following In tn,
wake Of tho Hamilton collection. Tho price asked
ior Tie Ashhurnham manuscripts " about $500 oUo,
aud the trustees Of the British Museum cherish the
pleasing hope that somehow or other they win I've
able to induce tho House OF Commons to give them
nus amount. doubt 1t, bat In any case Lord ASH
nunhan Is sure to get the price he asks, and already
he has received two oiIorF, not only for tho mauu-
scripts but lot the books In his faers lihrary-fot
VI was principally his father who brought all these 10.
Cether 10 viii matter 1ittIe take it, 10 Iotd sb.
hutuham whether the money which lie receives Ion
nus manuscripis ~ German, American, or English,
government 1n opportunity Of buying them there
Would nave been no peace for him IN England Tot
some time TO come. lie may watch the progress,
OF the controversy with Indifference.
u Is not to he denied that there IS sort " mania
Just now Tor ''selllnC on.' heard the other day
thlt ihe celebrated auctioncefS Christie n Manson,
have been lately overwhelmed with offers Of private
galleries and libraries, most ~ which not good
enough for this fastdious firm Ia touch. 10 was ma
doubt, the high prices recorded ut the Sunderland
sale which brought about this feverish haste to run oil
10 the auctionccr. When the owners of libraries
Heard ot single book being sold for 81, $50 tsay
price fetched hya copy Of Pctrarch In the
sunderland colcctlun-thoy very naturally began to
lhiug or other FOR which the cOgnpsrruff would be
likely TO run mad. The hcauty VI II was that q man
might have great prize In his cupboard or bookcase
without knowing II. No one at Blcnhelm ever
suspected the value OF the rerarch above alluded to
uhtll II was taken Into the aucton-room. The Duke
on Marlborough know nothing about It, and even the
clever and orudlte compiler Of the catalogue for the
sale never dreamt for moment that this pettarclt
OF the year Ass would be knocked down after tfron
Tic bldding,n for ST. $50. The book contained six Old
copper plate engrayngs by an italian engraver whose
very name IS unknown, ON the auctOneer's table
n nh Itl
competitors, found out these plates aud bid against
each other for the prize-the smaller bidders being
knocked out OF tho running at early stage OF the
proceedings After this u Is not surprising that the
Duke of Hamilton should make up his mind to have
clean sweep OF his books, furniture, and pictures aud
the amount he has already realized must have Justified
his determlDation, ut least In his own eyes.
a few years ago there was ~ similar rush to sell
81 blue china At private sale sOmew here In MAY
Fair few blue aud white plates and vases brought
such extraordinary prices that the particulars were
reported IN the newspapers, and everybody went
about talking of the lucky nnd which Mrs. - had
made. out came ''blue and whlten from every
closet In England. MIR. Gladstone, shrewd and bust
ness Ike In the management OF all things relating
his own aalrs, brought his out In the very height
the excitement and made about the best prices of the
ilme. rake advantage OF the topmoSt wave and ride
III upon it-such Is the Gladstonian motto. applicable
To politics or TO porceain and very good motto 1t IL
lnr All who mean to get on In the world. After a
time the supply became greater than the demand and
experienced auctioncers aud dealers warned their ci
ents against hammering too hard ut an unwilling
market. Hut "biue and white ~ sim comtnands n
good price, ami hne specimens would doubtless bring
US lnuch as eNer-morc even, perhaps, than scarce
book.
mat so few persons have ever It, The old Earl
was very peculiar man, caring little or nothing for
The companonship of his fellow COR womeu) and
passing his life In the society Of his books In his
Client seat Of Ashburnham, about four or Ave miles
from Battle lie was not popular Of course for al
though II Is popular saying that ian Engshman's
honss Is his CASTLE VI does do to he rigorous In
carrying out the proverb. No stranger was ever al
lowed 10 enter Ashburnham House; no fox-boundg
ma mar
mitted to hold their meetings this Interesting aud
historic spot-for such II is and such 1t must always
be- since the park has been IN the possession of the
Ashhuinhains for about 500 years. I do not believe
lhn there are six families In England which have been
settled In one place Tor so long period. The Ne
villes now represented by the Maiqulsof bergayenny
nave held Fridge Park-asO In the county OF Sussex
Tor upwards OF 500 years, but the Ashburnhams st
retain the writ Issued by Harold to Bertram lie rs
bnrnham calling upon him to issue forth with his
forces and help TO resist the advance of william tho
norman. Whether or not this document Is to he sold
with the rest of the manuscripts am unable TO saw
IN the guide books II has generally been stated that
the writ Gun lately " In tie possession of the
family, hut II am not mistaken II Is at Aslburnha
Today although cannot positively testify that have
seen IL. Three years or SO ago | was conducted
through the rooms where all the books and manu-
scripts are Kept, aud then saw many wOndrous OBJ
Jccts; so many In fact, that my breath was taken
clean away, and left the house with about as clear
an idea OF what was inside 1t as Aladdin must have
had of the number of pearls, diamonds and sapphires
which he had seen In the enchanted cave on his first
VISIT remember seeing copy of the PentateuCll
OF the NTH century, and several very early and rare
manuscripts OF the " Dvna Commedia. - hut IL Ia
Impossible, in few hours, to do more than glance
over the cases which contain many hundreds of
b1oks aud manuscripts, every of which Is worthy
oi The very best attention which man could hestOw
upon IL IN awhole month. who would not try to
1--WE up 10 copy Of the rentateuch of the NTH
century II he only had 1t?
To tell the truth, when I at Ashburnham |
was Immensely taken with the relies of Charles L.
which were either given by the King himself TO John
hshbnrnllam on tho scarold-as was the ease with
his watcl-or handed to the unlucky monarch's
faithful squire after Tile execution this way the
shirt aud SILK drawers of the King passed to John
AGhburnham, aud were taken from whitehall ia His
house IN sussex, where they have ever since re-
manned, except for AN Interval when they We're
placed IN the adjoining parish church for safety.
pace-he outer case Of the Kings watch was stolen
and 10y and hy the shirt would have been carried of
III little strips by the British AIRY and his Jemimn;
by the late Edl wisely had the articles moved back
To the house. Now they are left under glass, and
the glass ease is put inside au ancient trunkn itself
cnri0sty-and both are always locked. The shirt
ana the sheet IN which the Kings body wrapped
when It was taken down from the scaiToll. were
oncS stained with blOodin fact the Old servants I'm
the house remembered seeing them In that condition
Unfortunately the ata Countess of Ashburnhaln
iancied that the linen would look more CONNIE il rant
II 1t Were clean and white, therefore she sent
II 10 The laundry and had IL i0GShGd wonder how
the Old lord liked that when lie came To hear oft II
was scotch ady who performed this cat--a daughter
OF George iiaiie, of Jerviswood and the SCOTCH rs
we all know, are a remarkably clean race Yer one
may lie latlohed for wishing that the Kings shirts
ana drawers had been allowed TO remain In the state
IN which John AShbnrnham received them from the
hands Of the cXecuiuncr on the aOth of January 1919
From one point OF view IL Is Il pity to see these
unique cOllections pass from the families which
brought them together hut this mere sentimental
regret What good did All these manuscripts and
hooks do To any one in the lifetime the late Lord
Ashhnrnham! lie derived pleasure from them, let
us hope, but 1t was pleasure of rather selfish kind
1hey VIII he far more useful when dennsIted I'm "A
library where all men of learning will be free to con
suit them. Regarded from a strictly commercial as
psrt, ne owners OF these collections are probably wel
advised 10 selling at the present moment. The mar
Ret Is sun III state 10 absorb all that Is brought it,
ana II family circumstances make money more neces.
sary than books, the hooks must go 1t is scarcely
too much 10 assume that tho Ashburnhaln library
would bring at least ZOO 0NO at Christie \ Menson's
Now, this is good round sum Of money, especially
III days when land Is declining III yalue when rents
are not being paid, when landed property is being
threatened by the prOiearia and the Legislature and
when We seem 10 be entering upon another disastrous
era of storms and Hoods shutting All prospect of
even moderately good harvest for $751; H.. j.
j. - ia The World.