The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-03-30

LOHuOn, Marcn 23.-l eStefuay went
down to the British Museum again,
and wandered through the two great
libraries there. the Grenvile and the
Kings library. There was much to
look at there, enough indeed to take
ones time for days, but | had only a
half day for 1t, so | looked at the most
important things the longest and just
glanced at the lesser wonders | spent
great deal of time over the beautiful
illuminated manuscripts in the Gren-
vile. some of which are very, very old
indeed, having been done way back in
the tenth. eleventh and twelfth centur-
les | have often read of these old works,
and in many old novels and stories we
read of the ancient monks sitting all
day long at their desks and writing and
stenciling away SO laboriously at these
venerable works.
The leaves of these books are of veil
lum, which is almost as thick as paste
board sometimes and the queer illumin-
altions about the text of the works are
wonderful things to have been done by
the hand alone. Their bindings are
heavy and thick, some being done in
old leather and some in ivory and jew
els and all of them in the queerest,
heaviest manner possible. There We're
vulgates and other old Bibles and
scriptures and psalters. all most won
derfui to see and enjoy.
In the Autograph Room.
/ passed from there to the autograph
room beyond, where l fingered long
OVER the autographs of some of the most
f1mnIIS npnnla pf history rbnra
the signatures of the Plantagenet kings.
Tudor, Henry the Eighth. and of Eliza
beth. and Of James First. The Charleses
and Cromwells We're there also under
letters of their own writing. and the
ugly old Georges had their fingers in
the pie as We'll, several of their old let
tiers being there.
OF course all good and loyal Britishers
come and gaze adorngly upon the
handwriting of their beloved Victoria
which is here displayed in the following
letter, written fifty-seven years ago.
before her coronation, to the bishop
whose duty it was to officiate at the
affair. Here it is:
Right Reverend Father I'm God We
greet you well. Whereas the Goth day Of
June next is appointed for the solemnity
of our royal coronation, these are to will
and command you TALL excuses set aside)
10 make your personal attendance on us,
at the time above mentioned. furnished
and appointed as to your rank and quality
appertaineth, there to do and perform such
services as shall be required and belong
unto you, whereof you are not to fail
And SO We bid you most heartily. fare
well. Given at our court of st. Jamess the
DC Of S,,t ~. .
our reign. Victoria r."
Other Notable Autographs.
Peter the Great had a Characteristic
letter there, in Russian, and about ship
building. 60 which his autograph is
appended. Frederick the Great. OF
Prussia. is also represented by an auto
graph letter. as is Napoleon Bonaparte
as Well To pass from these royal peo-
pleto others just as good and sometimes
even better, there are letters of Sir Wal
ter Raleigh. Goethe, Schiller, Voltaire,
Rousseau, Moliere and numbers of
other writer's, besides some from the
great statesmen of England in all times
While looking among these | came
across an autograph letter Of George
Washington, written to the Earl of
Buchar, partly on the principles which
should guide the then young United
States, viz: ITO be little heard of in the
great world of politics" II be-
lieve 1t is the sincere wish of United
: America to have nothing to do with the
political intrigues or squabbes of E!u-
fopean nations; but on the contrary
70 live in peace with all inhabitants of
The earth, and this | am persuaded
they will do If rightfully il can be done
To evince that our views are
expanded, I take the liberty of sending
You the plan of our new city washing
tom, situate about the centre of the
Union of these States, which is designed
for the permanent seat of the gov
ernment, and We are at this moment
deeply engaged and far advanced in
extending the navigation of the river
Potomac) on which it stands, and the
branches thereof, through tract of as
rich country-for hundreds of miles
as any in the world.
"(Signed) George Washington"
Autographs Of Musicians.
There were in this room, a number
OF musical autographs, too. / looked
long and longingly at the original score
that is a portion of it-of Mendels-
sohn's 'As Pants the Hart" and also
the song Adelaide" just as Beethoven
wrote it years and years ago. There
was music there by Mozart, Handel
Hayden and Wagner. each in the com
poser's own hand and really more than
you could bear to hear about-auto-
graphs Of everybody noted. There was
George Eliots manuscript of Adam
Bede. and some poetry In the hand
writing of sanity old Cardinal New
man; Scotts manuscript of Kenil-
worth, the manuscript of some poems
of the lovely Keats, Chaucer's Canter.
bury Tales and even John Wycliffe's old
Bible were there, the last two 50 printed
In the funniest, crooked letters and with
the oldest old English sentences, that !
simply stood and laughed over them in
delight.
An Antiquatcd Papyrus.
The earliest manuscript of any por-
ton of the Bible at present known to
be In existence Is there also, on papyrus,
and is very brown with age having
been printed or rather written in the
third or fourth century, and was found
among the rubbish of an old convent
exhumed at Thebes. 1t Is very small,
there being only portion of the Psalms
remaining of the original roll
There were thousands and thousands
of things in this room, each one inter
estng enough to tempt one to hours Of
study over it; but | had to make the
most of my weekly halliday sightseeing
and q N N CGnn IN into tho Il inu'c Hlra ar,y
which Is a magnificent collection he
queathed to the British nation by one
of the Georges. 1t Is another sort Of
collection than the Grenville, though
quite as interesting, and it Is here that
] had my first sight OF any copies of the
Talmud and of the Koran, many ele-