The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-03-29

romance department, but that the qualification in facimile of the rare
 manuscripts and early printed books of Professor Gayley's carefully chosen | list would prove a great stimulus to
 American scholarship. It should lead directly, in several fields, to an in-
 crease in the efficiency of seminary
 work in our universities, Professor
 Gayley's project" said a member of the Latin department, lis one with which I am haeartily in sympathy. If a library could be formed containing facsiniiles of all manuscripts and rare editions of works in all languages on all subjects, the place of its location would become at once our best univer- sity for graduate study in history and | literature. But unfortunately the size and cost of such a library would, I fear, prevent it's acquisition in any time short of the millennium. How ever, Professor Gayley's proposes to
 begin with few especially famous manuscripts and to add to the number of facimiles with every year as the
 means should be at hand. This, of
 course, is entirely possible, and every
 work so reproduced represents a de- cided gain. for knowledge in general
 and for American scholars in parti- cular. It is, to be sure. almost certain, that many of the libraries of Italy and of small towns elsewhere would refuse
 to allow facsimiles of their treasures to be made. I remember, when visiting the library of St. Gall. that I was told that they had refused one million, live hundred thousand francs for their famous manuscript of the Nibelun-
 genlied and that they never allowed it to leave the library; persons who wished to study it must come there. Yet enough famous works could doubt less be found in the great libraries of England, France and Germany to
 keep the proposed library bureau husy with reproductions for a long time to
 eome.". Another member of the faculty who has worked upon manuscripts in
 several continental libraries and has
 also used photographic reproductions, some of them obtained at his own ex- pense, expressed himself as follows:
 '',The persons who, in my opinion, will
 be most benefited by Professor Gayley's scheme; if it is ever put in operation,
 are not experts, but the graduates of our. universities. The veteran spe- cialists would find their account in it also, llofidoubt, but not to the same
 extent, for the manuscript which the specialist wants reproduced is. fre-. quently a manuscript that nobody else i knows or cares about. But it is. other ! wise with the young and eager gradu- ate who. has his suprs to win. The conn.,
 mon run of literary manuscripts is i good enough for him. To such a per- 1 son a. photograph is as serviceable as
 the original-more so, in fact, for it
 gives him opportunity to work at his leisure, under healthful conditions, in a good light, and under the guidance
 of instructors who understand him who will see, that he does not waste his time in misdirected effort. The time will come when it will seem as absurd
 for a young graduate to go abroad
 just to examine well-known manu- script--I set aside, the obvious advant- ages to be derived from foreign travel --as it would for a pupil in the primary grade to round the world in order to