The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-12
OLD BOUKSIN INDIANAPOLIS.
Strange and Quaint Volumes Printed
Two and Three Hundred Years Ago.
Some of the Literary Curiosities Owned in
/ This City-An Indiana Bishop Who Walked
and Read Almost necessarily.

are carefully kept in glass cases and only taker
cat upon rare occasions. One of these bears OF
Its title page the words. 1.-The History of the
Life, Reign and Death of Edward Second, Kinf
of England and Lord of Ireland. with the Rise
and Fall of his Great Favortes, Galveston and
the Spencers Written by E. F. tFaulconbridge
n the year 1927, and printed verbatim from the
original at the Angel, in Westminster Hall
$780," Another. presented to the library by
Mrs. Elizabeth Eaglesfeld, is the "Synonymia
Latinogrmca, DR.. Martini Rulandi, Geneva
typis Iacobi Stoer MDCXLvI' fl646 There is
curious little volume, Pindar in Greek and
Latin, printed by Henry Stephens, at Paris, in
1866. Two volumes, not so old, but curious and
AL the more valuable that they are English and
historical bear the title, britannia, or Choro-
lard, together with the Adjacent Islands, writ
Zen in Latin by William Camden, Clarencieux,
King at Arms, and translated into English with
Additions and Improvements" Camden died in
1923. The books are translated by Edward
Gibson, Bishop of London and bear date lof
1922. They were presented to the library by
Judge G. c. Hines. who also presented at the
same time q strange old law book. It bears the
title La Grsunde Abridgement de Sir Robert
Brooke" and was published in London in 1886.
It is in black letter French, and has quaint chap
ters on sanctuare, taile able and prior, chal-
lenge, seisin, auncient desmesne, cerciorare,
ayde del roi, etc. A volume of Seneca, printed
at Paris in 1887 once the property of John B. Dill
ION, by whom it was given to the late Rev. E. T..
Fletcher, was by the latter presented to the
library. One of the most interesting volumes is
that presented by Mr. and Mrs. John s. New
man. 1t is Virgil, in French, bearing the title,
''Les Oevvres de Virgile traduites en- prose ct
dedices au Roy par NJ. de Marolles Able de
Villeloin, 1649." The illustrations are remarka-
bly, fine and the engravinss are from the BURN
of Melan The oldest book In the collection,
also presented by Rev. e. T. Fletcher, makes q
nne showing of the ravages of the book worm.
There are nearly sixty holes the size of pin
head or larger, eaten entirely through the book,
covers and ALL It is German black letter,
printed at Basic in 1921, and contains 199 SER
mons, being the work Of DR.. J. Tauler, doubt
less famous disputant in his day, and bears the
title in quaint old German text, 'Joannis Tau
Ieri desheilige lerers Predig, fast fruchtbar zu
elm recht Christlichen leben.'
The State Library has few old books. One
OF these. In Greek and Latin, is Thucydldes'
history of the Peloponnesian war, printed at
Chalons, France, In 1888 The oldest book, pre-
scented to the library by Francis x. Bachmeyer,
was printed at Bamberg Bavaria, In 1872 and
Is, therefore. within few months of 375 years
Old 1t Is splendid specimen of blackletter,
and bears the title "Statuta Diocesana sine
Synodalia Reverendissimi In Christie PATHS
Illustrisqz Principis ct dui Domin Johanis Del ct
Apticeseds Gratia Administrators Ratisponen
tint In
English law book of 1742 is worth looking at.
1t is called 1.-THE Law of Arrests in both Civil
and Criminal Cases." The criminal law of that
day was savage and administered with relent-
less severity. Two hundred and twenty-three
offenses were recognized as capital This book
describes itself to be necessary for sheriffs
under-sheriffs, sheriffs baiiiffs, coroners, JUS
tees OF the peace, mayors and baiiffs of cities
and towns, constabes, etc, as we'll as debtors
creditors prisoners and all private persons"
Grand larceny is here defined as "a Iarcenious
and fraudulent taking and carrying away, by
man or woman, the meer personal goods of
another, above the value of twelve pence not
from the person or by night, in the house of the
owner aud is death" Death for stealing any
thing above the value of "a cents! Petty larceny
was when the goods stolen did not exceed the
value of twelve pence" and the punishment was
whipping. The other old books at the State Lii
brary are Welsh Bible the date of which can
not be determined, and 1.-The Guardian" ISL.
Ex- Mayor Csven has a number of literary
curiosities, chiefly old law books He has law
dictionary Explaining the Rise. Progress and
Present State Of the British Law" by T. e.
Tomlins, 1897; two large folos law dictionary
by t. Cunningham, published at Dublin in 1854;
Reports of Edward Bulstrode of the Inner
Temple, His Highness' Chief Justice Of North
Wales, London" 1851 and "a Booke of Entries, "
London. 1914. This is in black letter, Latin and
Norman French, by Edward Coke and contains
perfect and approved presidents Of counts dec
infOrmatiOnS
barres, replications, ETC.. This book is contem-
poraneous with and contains the kind of law cur
rent in Shakspeares time, and to which he so
lightly referred, especially in MERRY Wives of
Windsor"
Jacob P. Dunn, jr., has q number of old
books, among them volume s'by John Harris,
A. NJ, and Fellow of the Royal Society, Re-
marks on some late papers relating to the Uni
yerssl Deluge, and to the Natural History of the
Earth, London, 1897" There are few school
boys now sixteen years old who do not know
more about the geologic formation of the earth
than this Fellow of the Royal Society of nearly
200 years ago. Another old book is Cicero,
beautifully printed and bound, bearing date
1543
There are more old books at the house OF
Bishop Chatard than at any other place in the
city, but the volumes being chiefly upon relig-
ious topics, and for the most part sermons and
disputations. do not excite the interest they may
have done 300 years ago. Among these are the
Paris in 1861: Maldonati's Commentaries on the
Four Gospels, Paris, l6l5. There are the dis
putations of Bellarmine, who was the most
learned man in the Catholic Oh urch, produced
BY the religious conflict of the Reformation. These
are in several great folios. There are
the works Of Thomas Aquinas four large vol
umes printed in Venice in $780, Altogether
there hundred more volumes of dispu-
tations, acts of councils. lives Of the fathers,
etc, from two hundred to nearly three hundred
years old. Among these, in six large volumes,
are 1.-THE Lives of the Saints by Aloysius Lipo-
mani, printed in 1873, which chow the ravages
of the bookworm to good advantage. There is a
Douay Bible, 1890, which is inscribed by Bishop
Flaget of Louisville, For the use Of the mis-
sionary at Vincennes," which was when Indiana
belonged to the Catholic diocese of Kentucky.
Perhaps the greatest human bookworn that
ever lived in Indiana was Simon Gabriel Brute,
first Bishop of Vincennes. Bishop England OPP
posed his nomination the ground that DR..
Brute was too great friend of books to be made
bIshOn for the wildarnass ar pincannAa Whan