The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-04-04
A Glimpse at the Handwrit-
ing of Great Hen.
THE PECULIAR AUTOGRAPHS
Curfosities in iterature-The First
Bfbie-The First Book Printed
in Europe.
LoSDos, March IS, 1856.

>
curiosities 1t must be very entertain
ing to the student of character by means
OF chIrography. Not only does the col
lection of autographs include those of
many sovereigns and potentates, out
also those of many persons Of en.inence
in Great Britain as well as some of in
diyidials OF foreign nationality. In
this collection. at least, that caste which
is believed TO be the curse OF the living
IS, to all appearances, obliterated as
thoroughly as the grave IS said to do it,
for the names of men famous for their
| intellectual attainments attract no less
attention than do those of wide reputa-
ton because of birth and because OF the
victories of arms. The preservation of
these autographs and their accessibility
for the inspection of the admiring and
the curious, is desirable as affording an
opportunity for observing the develop
ment (perhaps evolution" would be
the better word. in this evolving age) in
the character of penmanship during the
period this collection embraces down to
the present time. Here in Ibis own
hand wripe-write il hisself''-as We
read of Columbus in The Innocents
Abroad >" are TO be seen the names of
men famous over the civilized world.
Francis Bacon, Il work in his own hand,
with signature attached; Erasmus. the
scholar and reformer: Martin Luther.
his name being IN the Wittenberg Bible
of 1871 as we'll as his ninety-five Theses
against the Indulgence of 1917; Sir
Walter Raleigh; Sir Thomas More;
VIM. Penn, sir Isaac Newton, Micbae,
Angelo, the second coming of Italians;
Paul Rembrandt. Jos. Addison. Dry
den, Dean Swift. the great Pitt, George
Washington, Lord George Gordon, in
letter deciing the purchase of a yacht
which had been rendered him, the sig
nature being Noel Byron" Edmund
Burke. a plain hand; Charles J. Fox.
the great statesman, orator and gam
bier; Oliver Cromwell writes plain,
straight hand, easily read John Milton,
the signature being TO the deed OF sale
OF Paradise Lost" Locke; DR.. John
son. in addition 10 whose autograph Is
shown in his own hand. the original
draft OF his tragedy OF Irene; :" Thomas
Darlington Macauiey. besides whose sig
nature Is the manuscript OF the con-
GLIDING chapter of his history of Eng
land The original draft OF Sir Walter
SCOTS "KenilWorth" is with his sigma
ture; il gives evidence of very little
alteration, while the writing of Macauley
shows q great deal of change. Robert
Burns name is to his autobiography
Lawrence Sterne, the erratic minister
and author OF "Tristram Shandy;"
Alexander Pope's "Iliad." which bears
evidence of such painful revision that
It cannot be hkened unto anything
known; an autograph production OF
Edmund Spencer; Wellington's name
appears TO a note in which he gives the
number of cavalry under his command
just previous to the battle Il Waterloo.
MendelssOhn, y. p. Schubert, l.. Van
Beethoven, w. \. Mozart (whO l see is
yet accounted the greatest composer
that lived). F. J Hayden, G. A. Rossini.
Sir Ii. Bishop, Godfred Handel and
Meyerbeer are the names of eminent
composers whose autographs are scruti-
nized by the curious. The original
manuscript OF several of the produc-
tons OF these composers can be viewed
by the interested, side by side with
which are also displayed books showing
the progress made in musical notation,
many OF which are superbly bound and
beautifully illuminated. One is also NJ
tracted By a number of magnificentiy
embossed and vellumed works with il
luminated,bordersc containing songs and
prayers in metre and interspersed be
tween which are lines OF music. The
last letter written by Charles Dickens IS
here also; the signatures are also shown
OF Bulwer Lytton, DR.. Jeremy Taylor.
George Whiteield, the great preacher;
Johann Wolfgang Won Goethe; Ben
Jonson, 20 Rare Ben JonsOn;" Melan-
cthon. the refOrmer; Tasso. Voltaire.
/ Catherine Parr, John Knox, Sir Phillip
| Sydney, the soldier, who while lying
wounded on the field and furnished with
/ thirst, waived tie prUiiered water to a
I poor private WHO lay near him and
craved it; Hampden, Sir Christopher
| Wren, Ariosto, Calico. Racine,
Moliere; Calyin's name is to an
autograph production; Cardinals VOL
/ sey and Cranmer and Thomas GRAY,
with the original draft of his "Elegy
| Written in a Country Churchyard." IL
seems singular, but 1t is nevertheless
fact, that everything about the edifices
which contain either the "reminiscences
| or bones OF the great dead. though con-
stantly thronged with the living, sug
geSts the presence OF a power for disso-
luton which cannot be escaped. which
Obtrudes itself everywhere, and which
gives marvellous emphasis TO the
words OF the poem that are shown on
the open page:
Thu boast OF hersIdFy. the pomp OF power.
Aud al that beauty, all that wealth eer
i. gave.
Awaits alike the inevitable hour, T.
The paths OF glory lead but 70 the grave
Forgive. We proud, the involuntary fault.
II memory to these no trophies raise
Where, through the long drawn ais c aud
fre.ted vault
The peeiiny anthem swells the song o.
praise
Can stored urn % animated bust
5sck to its mansion cin the feeiius
breath.
Can hOnor's voice provoke the silent dust,
or hstt'rv soo-he the dun cold ear OF
dezfh7"
Among the autographs of soverigns are:
Richard III Henry VIII. Anne Boleyn.
Jane Gray. Queen Mary, and her will:
I TsaN nv 49, I.