Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-08
GHOSTS HOVER NEAR
ROYAL AUTOGRAPHS.
Haverford Has Noteworthy COL
lection of Signatures of
Noted Persons
RANKS THIRD IN WORLD:

Shades of dead kings. specters of van
ished geniuses. and the ghosts Of past
celebrities foregather nightly in the sun
less silence Of the massive vault al
Haverford College where are kept thou
sands Of original letters and manu-
scripts which constitute the priceless
autographed collection of the late
Charles Roberts. the gift of his widow
to the college in his memory
Shroudcd in heavy black hangings are
swinging panels containing the signed
| letters and documents Of the worlds s
great figures. pcnncd by hands that in
many cases have been stillcd for ccn-
| turies. while thousands of other papers
lie. each in its separate folder, in classi-
fed files.
| There is among them letter written
in sprawling. childish hand by n Young
princess of England 20 her mother from
Windsor Castle.
Madame. it runs. II long to come
to London to see your Majesty. for it -
verc cold here at Windsor. My sister
Anne has a great co.de. She thanks
you for sending her q cloak. for she had
| great need of it. Pity us nil in this
cold place. and keep me still in your
Mujestics' favor. who rs Your Mnjcsties..
most humble and obcdient daughter and
servant. Mary
1t was written by the little daughter
! Of james lT. who was later to reign as
Queen Of England with her husband,
William Holland.
There is a long letter in execrable
Swedish script by Gustavus Adolphus,
a mandate signed at the top with Queen
Eliznbeth's studied flourish, the Grabbed
signature of Henry VIII. the imperial
'N' of Napoleon. the indeciphcrablc
signs manual Of Ferdinand and Isabella.
together with numerous regal scrawls
from the hands of Louis NJ. MI. XVI.
XVIII. and others of the same line.
A personal missive of Marie Antoin-
cite in quaint French lies side by side
with an angularly pcnncd letter of Anne
of Austria, while near at hand is Il
prim note of Queen Victoria. The names
Of Philip of Spain. Charles l, Maria
Therese. Henry VII, and other mon
great profusion.
a letter from Benjamin Franklin to
friend. having to do with the virtues
of Scottish rhubarb as medical remedy
lies next to report written by Israel
Putnam during the Revolution. ex-
pressing great pleasure in the heavy
losses of the enemy during the battle of
Princeton.
In this remarkable collection. which
Is one of the three most valuable in
existence. there are two complete sets
of signatures of signers of the Declara-
ton Of Independence. together with
specimens of the signatures of virtually
every great man in. the Nations his
tory. The letters Of Washington and
Lincoln are particularly valuable.
Lafayette, Adams, Jay. Robert Nor
ris. Jefferson, Patrick Henry, all are
there, and many others. too, and the
roster of British statesmen is hardly
less complete, from Burleigh to Glad.
stone.
Great names in literature and phi.
losophy, penncd by their owners them
selves are to be found in great quantity.
All the American poets and men of let
tcrs from Hawthorne. Poe and Irving
to Walt Whitman are included; while
the signatures of the English. French
and German literary gcniuses present an
imposing array.
From Francis Bacon, through Dry.
den. Samuel Johnson, Pope. Tcnnyson,
Keats, Dickens. Lamb and all the great
roster Of English letters the eye travels.
and turning finds original manuscripts
of Victor Hugo. La Fontaine, Goethe,
Schiller and countless others.