couple of morning's application, in the Public Library of Stuttgart, have
enabled me to bring forward for your notice. A word or two, now, for the
treasures of the ROYAL LIBRARY, and then for a little respite. The Library
of his Majesty is in one of the side wings, or rather appurtenances, of the
Palace: to the right, on looking at the front. It is on the first
floor--where _all_ libraries should be placed--and consists of a circular
and a parallelogram-shaped room: divided by a screen of Ionic pillars. A
similar screen is also at the further end of the latter room. The circular
apartment has a very elegant appearance, and contains some beautiful books
chiefly of modern art. A round table is in the centre, covered with fine
cloth, and the sides and pillars of the screen are painted wholly in
white--as well as the room connected with it. A gallery goes along the
latter, or parallelogram-shaped apartment; and there are, in the centre,
two rows of book-cases, very tall, and completely filled with books. These,
as well as the book-cases along the sides, are painted white. An
elaborately painted ceiling, chiefly composed of human figures, forms the
graphic ornament of the long library; but, unluckily, the central
book-cases are so high as to cover a great portion of the painting--viewed
almost in any direction. At the further end of the long library, facing the
circular extremity, is a bust of the late King of Würtemberg, by Dannecker.
It bears so strong a resemblance to that of our own venerable monarch, that
I had considered it to be a representation of him--out of compliment to the
Dowager Queen of Würtemberg, his daughter. The ceiling of this Library is
undoubtedly too low for its length. But the circular extremity has
something in it exceedingly attractive, and inviting to study.
In noticing some of the contents of this Library, I shall correct the error
committed in the account of the Public Library, by commencing here with the
MANUSCRIPTS in preference to the Printed Books. The MSS. are by no means
numerous, and are perhaps rather curious than intrinsically valuable. I
shall begin with an account of a _Prayer-Book, or Psalter,_ in a quarto
form, undoubtedly of the latter end of the XIIth century. Its state of
preservation, both for illumination and scription, is quite exquisite. It
appears to have been expressly executed for Herman, and Sophia his wife,
King and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia--who lived at the latter end of the
twelfth century. The names of these royal patrons and owners of, the volume
are introduced at the end of the volume, in a sort of litany: accompanied
with embellishments of the Mother of Christ, Saints and Martyrs, &c.: as
thus: "_Sophia Regina Vngariæ, Regina Bohemiæ_"--"_Herman Lantgrauius
Turingie, Rex Vngariæ, Rex Bohemiæ_." In the Litany, we read (of the
_latter_) in the address to the Deity, "_Vt famulu tuu_ HERMANNV
_in tua misericordia confidente, confortare et regere dignter:_" so
that there is no doubt about the age of the MS. In the representations of
the episcopal dresses, the tops of the mitres are depressed--another
confirmation of the date of the book.
The initial letters, and especially the B before the Psalms, are at once
elegant and elaborate. Among the subjects described, the _Descent into
Hell_, or rather the Place of Torment, is singularly striking and
extraordinary. The text of the MS. is written in a large bold gothic
letter. This volume has been recently bound in red morocco, and cruelly cut
in the binding.
Of course, here are some specimens of illuminated _Hours_, both in
manuscript and print. In the former, I must make you acquainted with a
truly beautiful volume; upon the fly leaf of which we read as follows: "I 3
F, RT, lo _Fortitudo Eius Rhodum tenuit Amadeus Graff^{9} Sauoia_." Below,
"_Biblioth: Sem: Mergenth_:" then, a long German note, of which I
understood not one word, and as M. Le Bret was not near me, I could not
obtain the solution of it. But although I do not understand one word of
this note, I do understand that this is one of the very prettiest, and most
singularly illuminated Missals, which any library can possess: broad
margins: vellum, white as snow in colour, and soft as that of Venice in
touch! The text is written in a tall, close, gothic character--between, as
I should conceive, the years 1460 and 1480. The _drolleries_ are
delightfully introduced and executed. The initial letters are large and
singular; the subject being executed within compartments of gothic
architecture. The figures, of which these subjects are composed, are very
small; generally darkly shaded, and highly relieved. They are numerous. Of
these initial letters, the fifth to the ninth, inclusively, are striking:
the sixth being the most curious, and the ninth the most elaborate. The
binding of this volume seems to be of the sixteenth century. This is as it
should be.
But, more precious than either, or than both, or than three times as many
of the preceding illuminated volumes--in the estimation of our friend * * *
would be a MS. of which the title runs thus: "_Libri Duo de Vita_ S.
WILLIBROORDI _Archiepiscopi autore humili de vita_ ALCUINI _cum prefat. ad
Beonradum Archiepiscopum. Liber secundus metrice scriptus est_."[17] Then
an old inscription, thus: "_Althwinus de vita Willibrordi Epi_." There can
be no doubt of this MS. being at least as old as the eleventh century.
The PRINTED BOOKS--at least the account of such as seemed to demand a more
particular examination, will not occupy a very great share of your
attention. I will begin with a pretty little VELLUM COPY of the well-known
_Hortulus Animæ_, of the date of 1498, in 12mo., printed by _Wilhelmus
Schaffener de Ropperswiler,_ at _Strasbourg_. The vellum is excellent; and
the wood cuts, rather plentifully sprinkled through the volume, happen
fortunately to be well-coloured. This copy appears to have come from the
"_Weingarth Monastery"_, with the date of 1617 upon it--as that of its
having been then purchased for the monastery. It is in its original wooden
binding: wanting repair. Here are a few _Roman Classics_, which are more
choice than those in the Public Library: as _Reisinger's Suetonius_, in
4to. but cropt, and half bound in red morocco, with yellow sprinkled edges
to the leaves--a woful specimen of the general style of binding in this
library. _Lucretius_, 1486: _Manilius_, 1474: both in one volume, bound in
wood--and sound and desirable copies. _Eutropius_, 1471; by Laver; a sound,
desirable copy, in genuine condition. Of _Bibles_, here is the Greek Aldine
folio of 1518, in frightful half binding, cropt to the quick: also an
Hungarian impression of the two Books of Samuel and of Kings, of 1565, in
folio--beginning: AZ KET SAMVEL: colophon: _Debreczenbe_, &c. MDLXV: in
wretched half binding. The small paper of the _Latin Bibles_ of 1592, 1603.
And of _Greek Testaments_ here are the first, second, fourth and fifth
editions of Erasmus; the first, containing both parts, is in one volume, in
original boards, or binding; a sound and clean copy: written upon, but not
in a _very_ unpicturesque manner. The second edition is but an indifferent
copy.
The following may be considered _Miscellaneous Articles._ I will begin with
the earliest. _St. Austin de Singularitate Clericorum_, printed in a small
quarto volume by _Ulric Zel_, in 1467: a good, sound, but cropt copy, along
with some opuscula of _Gerson_ and _Chrysostom_, also printed by Zel:
these, from the Schönthal monastery. At the end of this dull collection of
old theology, are a few ms. opuscula, and among them one of the _Gesta
Romanorum:_ I should think of the fourteenth century. The _Wurtzburg
Synod_, supposed to be printed by Reyser, towards the end of the fifteenth
century; and of which there is a copy in the Public Library, as well as
another in that of Strasbourg. To the antiquary, this may be a curious
book. I mention it again,[18] in order to notice the name and seal of
"Iohannes Fabri,--clericus Maguntin diocesz publicus imperiali auctoritate
notarius, &c. Scriba iuratus"--which occur at about one fourth part of the
work: as I am desirous of knowing whether this man be the same, or related
to the, printer so called, who published the _Ethics of Cato_ in 1477?--of
which book I omitted to mention a copy in the Public Library here.[19]
Bound up with this volume is Fyner's edition of _P. Niger contra perfidos
Iudæos_, 1475, folio. Fyner lived at Eislingen, in the neighbourhood of
this place, and it is natural to find specimens of his press here. The
_Stella Meschiah_ of 1477, is here cruelly cropt, and bound in the usually
barbarous manner, with a mustard-coloured sprinkling upon the edges of the
leaves. _Historie von der Melusina:_ a singular volume, in the German
language, printed without date, in a thin folio. It is a book perfectly _à
la_ Douce; full of whimsical and interesting wood cuts, which I do not
remember to have seen in any other ancient volume. From the conclusion of
the text, it appears to have been composed or finished in 1446, but I
suspect the date of its typographical execution to be that of 1480 at the
earliest.
I looked about sharply for fine, old, mellow-tinted _Alduses:_--but to no
purpose. Yet I must notice a pretty little Aldine _Petrarch_ of 1521, 12mo.
bound with _Sannazarius de partu Virginis_, by the same printer, in 1527,
12mo.: in old stamped binding--but somewhat cropt. The leaves of both
copies crackle lustily on turning them over. These, also, from the
Weingarth monastery. I noticed a beautiful little Petrarch of 1546, 8vo.
with the commentary of Velutellus; having a striking device of Neptune in
the frontispiece: but no _membranaceous_ articles, of this character and
period, came across my survey.
I cannot, however, take leave of the Royal Library (a collection which I
should think must contain 15,000 volumes) without expressing my obligations
for the unrestricted privilege of examination afforded me by those who had
the superintendance of it. But I begin to be wearied, and it is growing
late. The account of the "court-levee," and the winding up of other
Stuttgart matters, must be reserved for to-morrow. The watchman has just
commenced his rounds, by announcing, as usual, the hour of _ten_--which
announce is succeeded by a long (and as I learn _metrical_)
exhortation--for the good folks of Stuttgart to take care of their fires
and candles. I obey his injunctions; and say good night.
[1] See vol. ii. p. 421.
[2] [Of this PORTRAIT, which may be truly said to enrich the pages of the
previous edition of the Tour, a more _liberal_ use has been made
than I was prepared to grant. My worthy friends, Messrs. Treuttel,
Würtz, and Richter were welcome to its republication; but a _third
edition_ of it, by another hand, ought not to have been published
without permission. The ORIGINAL of this Portrait has ceased to exist.
After a laborious life of fourscore years, the learned Schweighæuser
has departed--in the fullest maturity of reputation arising from
classical attainments; to which must be added, all the excellences of
a mild, affable, christian-like disposition. As a husband, a father,
and a friend, none went before him: no one displayed these domestic
virtues in a more perfect and more pleasing form. As a Greek Scholar
and Commentator, he may be said to rank with Hemsterhusius,
Wyttenbach, and Heyne. He was equally the boast of Strasbourg and the
glory of his age. Never was profound learning more successfully united
with "singleness of heart," and general simplicity of character. He
ought to have a splendid monument (if he have it not already?) among
his Fellow Worthies in the church of St. Thomas at Strasbourg. PEACE
TO HIS ASHES!]
[3] For the first time, my bill (which I invariably called for, and
settled, every day) was presented to me in a printed form, in the
_black letter_, within an ornamented border. It was entitled
Rechnung von Gottlob Ernst Teichmann, zum Waldhorn in Stuttgart. The
printed articles, against which blanks are left, to be filled up
according to the quantity and quality of the fare, were these:
Fruhstuck, Mittag-Essen, Nacht Essen, Fremder Wein, Ordinarier Wein,
Verschiedenes, Logis, Feuerung, Bediente. I must be allowed to add,
that the head waiter of the Waldhorn, or _Hunting Horn_, was one
of the most respectably looking, and well-mannered, of his species. He
spoke French fluently, but with the usual German accent. The master of
the inn was coarse and bluff, but bustling and civil. He frequently
devoted one of the best rooms in his house to large, roaring, singing,
parties--in which he took a decided lead, and kept it up till past
midnight.
[4] [The late Duchess of OLDENBURG.]
[5] See vol. ii. p. 356.
[6] [This Public Library is now pulled down, and another erected on the
site of it.]
[7] In one of these copies is an undoubtedly coeval memorandum in red ink,
thus: "_Explicit liber iste Anno domini Millesio quadringentissimo
sexagesimosexto_ (1466) _format^{9} arte impssoria p venerabilem
viru Johane mentell in argentina_," &c. I should add, that,
previously to the words "_sexagesimosexto_" were those of
"_quiquagesimosexto_"--which have been erased by the pen of the
Scribe; but not so entirely as to be illegible. I am indebted to M. Le
Bret for the information that this Bible by Mentelin is more ancient
than the one, without date or place, &c. (see _Bibl. Spencer_, vol. i.
p. 42, &c.) which has been usually considered to be anterior to it. M.
Le Bret draws this conclusion from the comparative antiquity of the
language of Mentelin's edition.
[8] This was the _second_ copy, with the same original piece, which I
had seen abroad; that in the Library of the Arsenal at Paris being the
first. I have omitted to notice this, in my account of that Library,
vol. ii. p. 156-7, &c.
[9] [Both volumes will be found particularly described in the _Ædes
Althorpianæ_, vol. ii. p. 285-290.]
[10] Lord Spencer has recently obtained a PERFECT COPY of this most rare
edition--by the purchase of the library of the Duke di Cassano, at
Naples. See the _Cassano Catalogue_, p. 116.
[11] A very particular description of this rare edition will be found in
the _Bibl. Spencer_, vol. ii. p. 141.
[12] See the _Bibliographical Decameron_, vol. i. p. cxcviii.
[13] See vol. ii. p. 73.
[14] See _Ottley's History of Engraving_, vol. i. p. 86; where a
fac-simile of this cut is given--which, in the large paper copies, is
coloured.
[15] See vol. ii. p. 134-5.
[16] The SFORZIADA: See the Catalogue of his Library, no. 7559.
[17] The prologue of this metrical life begins thus:
_Ecce tuis parui uotis uenerande sacerdos
Cor quia de vro feruet amore mihi
Pontificis magna wilbroodi et psulis almus
Recurrens titulis inclyta gesta tuis
Sit lux inferior strepitant cum murmure rauco
illius egregi^{9} sermo meus meritis_
This life consists of only 11 leaves, having 23 verses in a full page.
It is printed in the _Lect. Antiq. of Canisius_, vol. ii. p. 463;
and the prose life is printed by _Surius_ and by _Mabillon_.
[18] Before described in the _Bibl. Spenceriana_; vol. IV. p. 508.
[19] The book in question has the following colophon:
_Hoc opus exiguum perfecit rite iohannes
Fabri: cui seruat lingonis alta lares.
Ac uoluit formis ipsum fecisse casellis.
M.cccc.lxxcii de mense maii_.
The _s_ is very singular, being smaller than the other letters,
and having a broken effect. This copy, in the Public Library at
Stuttgart, is not bound, but in excellent condition.
LETTER II.
THE ROYAL PALACE. A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NEGOTIATION. DANNECKER THE SCULPTOR.
ENVIRONS OF STUTTGART.
The morrow is come; and as the morning is too rainy to stir abroad, I sit
down to fulfil the promise of last night. This will be done with the
greater cheerfulness and alacrity, as the evenings have been comparatively
cooler, and my slumbers, in consequence, more sound and refreshing. M. LE
BRET--must be the first name mentioned upon this occasion. In other words,
the negotiation about the _two Virgils_, through the zeal and good
management of that active Head-Librarian, began quickly to assume a most
decided form; and I received an intimation from Mr. Hamilton, our Chargé
d'Affaires, that the King expected to see me upon the subject at the
"circle"--last Sunday evening.
But before you go with me to court, I must make you acquainted with the
place in which the Court is held: in other words, with the ROYAL PALACE of
STUTTGART. Take away the gilt cushion and crown at the top of it, and the
front façade has really the air of a royal residence. It is built of stone:
massive and unpretending in its external decorations, and has two wings
running at right angles with the principal front elevation. To my eye, it
had, at first view, and still continues to have, more of a Palace-like look
than the long but slender structure of the Tuilleries. To the left, on
looking at it--or rather behind the left wing is a large, well-trimmed
flower-garden, terminating in walks, and a carriage way. Just in front of
this garden, before a large bason of water, and fixed upon a sort of
parapet wall--is a very pleasing, colossal group of two female
statues--_Pomona_ and _Flora_, as I conceive--sculptured by Dannecker.
Their forms are made to intertwine very gracefully; and they are cut in a
coarse, but hard and pleasingly-tinted, stone. For out-of-door figures,
they are much superior to the generality of unmeaning allegorical marble
statues in the gardens of the Thuilleries.
The interior of the palace has portions, which may be said to verify what
we have read, in boyish days, of the wonder-working powers of the lamp of
Aladdin. Here are porphyry and granite, and rosewood, and satin-wood,
porcelaine, and or-molu ornaments, in all their varieties of unsullied
splendor. A magnificent vestibule, and marble staircase; a concert room; an
assembly-room; and chamber of audience: each particularly brilliant and
appropriate; while, in the latter, you observe a throne, or chair of state,
of antique form, but entirely covered with curious gilt carvings--rich,
without being gaudy--and striking without being misplaced. You pass
on--room after room--from the ceilings of which, lustres of increasing
brilliance depend; but are not disposed to make any halt till you enter a
small apartment with a cupola roof--within a niche of which stands the
small statue of _Cupid_; with his head inclined, and one hand raised to
feel the supposed-blunted point of a dart which he holds in the other. This
is called the Cupid-Room, out of compliment to DANNECKER the sculptor of
the figure, who is much patronised by the Queen. A statue or two by Canova,
with a tolerable portion of Gobeleine tapestry, form the principal
remaining moveable pieces of furniture. A minuter description may not be
necessary: the interiors of all palaces being pretty much alike--if we put
pictures and statues out of the question.
From the Palace, I must now conduct you to the "circle" or Drawing
Room--which I attended. Mr. Hamilton was so obliging as to convey me
thither. The King paid his respects personally to each lady, and was
followed by the Queen. The same order was observed with the circle of
gentlemen. His Majesty was dressed in what seemed to be an English uniform,
and wore the star of the Order of the Bath. His figure is perhaps under the
middle size, but compact, well formed, and having a gentlemanly deportment.
The Queen was, questionless, the most interesting female in the circle. To
an Englishman, her long and popular residence in England, rendered her
doubly an object of attraction. She was superbly dressed, and yet the whole
had a simple, lady-like, appearance. She wore a magnificent tiara of
diamonds, and large circular diamond ear rings: but it was her _necklace_,
composed of the largest and choicest of the same kind of precious stones,
which flashed a radiance on the eyes of the beholder, that could scarcely
be exceeded even in the court-circles of St. Petersburg. Her hair was
quietly and most becomingly dressed; and with a small white fan in her
hand, which she occasionally opened and shut, she saluted, and discoursed
with, each visitor, as gracefully and as naturally as if she had been
accustomed to the ceremony from her earliest youth. Her dark eyes surveyed
each figure, quickly, from head to foot--while ...
"_Favours_ to none, to all she _smiles_ extends."
Among the gentlemen, I observed a young man of a very prepossessing form
and manners--having seven orders, or marks of distinction hanging from his
button-holes. Every body seemed anxious to exchange a word with him; and he
might be at farthest in his thirtieth year. I could not learn his name, but
I learnt that his _character_ was quite in harmony with his _person_: that
he was gay, brave, courteous and polite: that his courage knew no bounds:
that he would storm a citadel, traverse a morass, or lead on to a charge,
with equal coolness, courage, and intrepidity: that repose and inaction
were painful to him--but that humanity to the unfortunate, and the most
inflexible attachment to relations and friends, formed, equally,
distinctive marks of his character. This intelligence quite won my heart in
favour of the stranger, then standing and smiling immediately before me;
and I rejoiced that the chivalrous race of the _Peterboroughs_ was not yet
extinct, but had taken root, and "borne branch and flower," in the soil of
Suabia.
When it came to my turn to be addressed, the king at once asked--"if I had
not been much gratified with the books in the Public Library, and
particularly with two _ancient editions_ of Virgil?" I merely indicated an
assent to the truth of this remark, waiting for the conclusion to be drawn
from the premises. "There has been some mention made to me (resumed his
Majesty) about a proposed exchange on the part of Lord Spencer, for these
two ancient editions, which appear to be wanting in his Lordship's
magnificent collection. For my part, I see no objection to the final
arrangement of this business--if it can be settled upon terms satisfactory
to all parties." This was the very point to which I was so anxious to bring
the conference. I replied, coolly and unhesitatingly, "that it was
precisely as his Majesty had observed; that his own Collection was strong
in _Bibles_, but comparatively weak in Ancient _Classics_: and that a
diminution of the _latter_ would not be of material consequence, if, in
lieu of it, there could be an increase of the _former_--so as to carry it
well nigh towards perfection; that, in whatever way this exchange was
effected, whether by money, or by books, in the first instance, it would
doubtless be his Majesty's desire to direct the application of the one or
the other to the completion of his _Theological Collection_."
The King replied "he saw no objection whatever to the proposed
exchange--and left the forms of carrying it into execution with his head
librarian M. Le Bret." Having gained my point, it only remained to make my
bow. The King then passed on to the remainder of the circle, and was
quickly followed by the Queen. I heard her Majesty distinctly tell General
Allan,[20] in the English language, that "she could never forget her
reception in England; that the days spent there were among the happiest of
her life, and that she hoped, before she died, again to visit our country."
She even expressed "gratitude for the cordial manner in which she had been
received, and, entertained in it."[21]
The heat had now become almost insupportable; as, for the reason before
assigned, every window and door was shut. However, this inconvenience, if
it was severe, was luckily of short duration. A little after nine, their
Majesties retired towards the door by which they had entered: and which, as
it was reopened, presented, in the background, the attendants waiting to
receive them. The King and Queen then saluted the circle, and retired. In
ten minutes we had all retreated, and were breathing the pure air of
heaven. I preferred walking home, and called upon M. Le Bret in my way. It
was about half past nine only, but that philosophical bibliographer was
about retiring to rest. He received me, however, with a joyous welcome:
re-trimmed his lamp; complimented me upon the success of the negotiation,
and told me that I might now depart in peace from Stuttgart--for that "the
affair might be considered as settled."[22]