The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-03
HARVARD'S RARE BOOKS
Precious Memorials of Great
Authors in Her Library.
Famous Old Volumes and Manu-
scripts That Have Found Their
Way Across the Sea-NiIton. Gray,
Pope, Dryden, Bunyan, Johnson.

scripts That Have Found Their
Way Across the sea-MiIton, Gray,
Pope, Dryden, Bunyan, Johnson.
CAMBRIDGE. Mass. March Though
not much spoken OF, the steady aequisi-
ton, by private collection and public Ii
braries. of rare and valuable books and
manuscripts from England and the Con-
tinent is one of the straws that show
which way the wind of civilization is
blowing. Once over here, moreover-the
Shakespeare Folios and the Gutenberg
Bibies--they never go back They are lost
to the Old World, apparently, forever.
The latest notable American purchase
of this kind is the Rant collection, one
part of which-the Scandinavian section
has come to Yale, and the second, deal
ing with the age-long conflict between
West and East in Eastern Europe and in
Western Asia, to Harvard. In both these
specialties the Riant collection was noted
throughout Europe. The Harvard section,
to speak only of that, is full of rare and
beautiful volumes. A copy of Tasso's
Jerusalem Delivered for example, con-
tains annotatIons said to be in the poets
own handwriting.
But one need not stop with the Rant
booksSin an enumeration of the treasures
| owned by Harvard by which Europe is
the poorer and America the richer. The
Tasso Just referred to is only one of
| many such personal volumes on the Har-
ward shelves. One particularly interest
| ing collection comprises the books used
| by Carlyle in writing his biographies of
| Oliver Cromwell and Frederick the Great.
| and bequeathed by him to the University
| in token of his kindly feeling toward
America and Americans. The explana-
ton of his gift as given in his will is in
teresting:
Having with good reason, ever since
my first appearance in literature, u va
ricty of kind feelings, obligations, and
regards toward New England. and in
deed long before that, hearty good
Will. real and steady, which still con-
tinues, to America at large, and recog-
nizlns with gratitude how much of
friendliness, of actually credible human
love, / have had from that country and
what immensities of worth and capa-
bility | believe and partly know to be
lodged, especially in the silent classes
there. / have now after due consultations
as TO the Possibilities, the eXcuSaDliltleS
of ii, decided to fulfill a fond notion that
has been lowering in my mind these
many years; and | do therefore, hereby
could not borrow. but had to buy and
gather; that is, in general whatever of
them are still here which l used in writ
ing on Cromwell and Frederick, and
which shall be accurately searched for
and parted from my other books, to the
president and fellows of Harvard College,
city of Cambridge, State of Massachu-
sets as a poor testimony of my respect
for that alma mater of many of my
trans-AtIa ntic friends, and a token of
the feelings above indicated toward the
have reason to be confident that the Har-
ward authorities will please to accept this,
my little beqUest and deal with 1t and
order and use it. as to their own good
Judgment and kind fidelity shall seem fit
test A certain symbolical value the be-
quest may have. but of intrinsic value as
a collection of old books it can pretend
to very little"
Carlyle had ascertained through Emer-
son that the gift would be acceptable. In
letters to Concord he refers TO my poor
Falstaff regiment of books or my wild
ow's mite of a bequest; and speaks of
the intention as for long years having
lowered in my thoughts as thing |
should like to do When the arrange
ment had been made he wrote that he was
''piously thankful that poor little within.
which had long lain fOndly in my heart,
had realized itself.
The books are full of notes. "a fool
ish cobblement' is his curt comment In
one. In another he writes: II used to
think this book of some responsibility;
II seems no better than the others: here
abouts there is error in almost every
line OF it." Throughout it is Carlyle in
his most characteristic vein.
Another collection in the Harvard IL
brary that contains more than its share
of precious memorials of Old World life
and literature is that left to the college
by Charles Summer. First editions, man
uscripts. annotated copies, early printed
books abound in it Here, for instance,
is a Plautus owned by DR.. Johnson, and
bearing his autograph on the title page.
Before Johnson's day ii had belonged to
the famous scholars Isaac and Merle Cas-
aubon, father and son, and its pages are
enriched with the notes of the former.
Another volume is a Pindar, dated 1920
which belonged to John Milton. The mar
gins throughout bear his manuscript
notes in Latin and Greek, and at the end
he has added an alphabetical index, occu-
pying two closely written pages, of all
the authors cited. with references to the
different places where they are mentioned
in the annotations.
Aiiiuns autograph does not occur in
this volume, but may be found IN the
pages of an autograph album or visitors
book kept according to custom common
in the sixteenth century. by a Neapolitan
nobleman, Camillus Cardoyn by name.
who resided I'm Geneva from 1903 to 1870 |
where Milton, apparently. visited him.
Another autograph in this same album
among the hundreds which it contains, is |
that of Thomas Wentworth, the unfortu-
nate Earl of STAFFORD Miitons sigma