_Statius_ of 1502, _Asconius Pedianus_, 1522. _Cicero de
Officiis_, 1517, and _Leonicerus de Morbo Gallico_--with the
leaf of errata: wanting in the copy in St. James's Place. But perhaps
rarer than either, the _Laurentius Maoli_ and _Averrois_,
each of 1497--intended for _presents_. But Mr. Stoeger had
forgotten these intended presents--and _charged_ them at a good
round sum. I considered his word as his bond--and told him that honest
Englishmen were always in the habit of so considering the words of
honest Germans. I threatened him with the return of the whole cargo,
including even the beloved _Greek Hours_. Mr. Stoeger seemed
amazed: hesitated: relented: and adhered to his original position. Had
he done otherwise, I should doubtless have erased the epithet
"honestissimus," in all the copies of the sale catalogue above alluded
to, which might come within my notice, and placed a marginal
emendation of "avidissimus."
[69] It may be a novel, and perhaps gratifying, sight to the reader to
throw his eye over a list (of a few out of the fifty articles) like
the following:
_Flor. Kreutz.
Liber Moralizat. Biblic. Ulm_. 1474. Folio. Fine copy 11
_Biblia Vulg. Hist. Ital. Venet._ Giunta 1492. Fol. 8
_Horatius. Venet._ 1494. 4to. Fig. lig. incis. 11
_Cronica del rey don Iuan_. _Sevilla_. 1563. 4to. 11
_Breviarium. Teutonicè_. 4to. In MEMBRANIS. A
most beautiful and spotless book. It contains
only the Pars Hyemalis of the cathedral service. 11
_Dictionarium Pauperum_. _Colon_. 1504. 8vo. 1
_Pars quart. Ind. Orient. Francof_. 1601. 5 30
_Fabulæ Æsopicæ_. _Cura Brandt_. 1501. Folio.
Perhaps a matchless copy; in original binding
of wood. Full of cuts 55
Thirteen different opuscula, at one florin each;
many very curious and uncommon 13
The Lord's Prayer and Creed--in the German
language--printed by "_Fricz Crewsner_," in
1472: folio: _broadside_. Perhaps UNIQUE 22
The florin, at the time of my residence at Munich, was about 1s. 9d.
[70] [However severely I may have expressed myself in a preceding page
(105) of the general condition of this huge Inn, yet I cannot but gaze
upon the subjoined view of it with no ordinary sensation of delight
when I remember that the three-windowed room, on the first floor, to
the right--close to the corner--was the room destined to be graced by
the BOOK TREASURES above mentioned. This view may also serve as a
general specimen of the frontage of the larger Inns in Bavaria.]
[Illustration]
[71] [All the _book-world_ has heard mention of THE LINCOLNE NOSEGAY,
--a small handful of flowers, of choice hues, and vigorous stems,
culled within the precincts of one of the noblest cathedrals in
Europe. Neither Covent Garden at home, nor the Marché aux Fleurs at
Paris, could boast of such a posey. I learn, however, with something
approaching to horror, that the Nosegay in question has been
counterfeited. A _spurious_ edition (got up by some unprincipled
speculator, and, I must add, bungling hand--for the typographical
discrepancy is obvious) is abroad. Roxburghers, look well to your
book-armouries! The foe may have crept into them, and exchanged your
steel for painted wood.]
[72] There is something so hearty and characteristic in the Director's last
letter to me, that I hope to be pardoned if I here subjoin a brief
extract from it. "M. Schérer vient me quitter, et m'annoncer que votre
départ est fixé pour demain. Jamais maladie--auxquelles, heureusement,
je suis très rarement exposé--m'est survenu aussi mal-à-propos qu'à
cette fois-ci. J'avois compté de jouir encore au moins quelques jours,
après mon rétablissement, de votre entretien, et jetter les fondemens
d'une amitié collegiale pour la future. La nouvelle, que M. Schérer
m'apporte, me désole. J'avois formé le plan de vous accompagner pour
voir quelqu'uns de nos Institutions rémarquables, principalement _La
Lithographie_, "Vana Somnia!" Votre résolution de quitter Munich
plutôt que je n'avois pensé, détruit mes esperances. N'est-ce-pas
possible que vous passiez par Munich à votre retour de Vienne? Utinam!
Combien de choses restent, sur lesquelles j'esperais de causer et de
traiter avec vous! "I bono alite: pede fausto."
[Autograph]
[The author of this Letter is NO MORE!]
[73] See the note, p. 157 ante.
[74] This Engraving appears in the _Ædes Althorpianæ_, vol. i. p. 246.
On my return to England, it was necessary to keep up a correspondence
with the amiable and intelligent character in question. I make no
apology, either to the reader, or to the author of the Epistle, for
subjoining a copy of one of these letters--premising, that it relates
to fac-similes of several old copper cuts in the Public Library at
Munich, as well as to his own engraving of the above-mentioned
portrait. There is something throughout the whole of this letter so
hearty, and so thoroughly original, that I am persuaded it will be
perused with extreme gratification:
_Munich, 17 May, 1819._
Dear and Reverend Sir;
I am a good old fellow, and a passable engraver; but a very bad
Correspondent. You are a ... and minister of a religion which forgive
all faults of mankind; and so I hope that you will still pardon me the
retardation of mine answer. I am now 65 years old, and have never had
any sickness in mine life, but I have such an averseness against
writing, that only the _sight_ of an ink-horn, pen and paper,
make me feeling all sort of fevers of the whole medicinal
faculty;--and so I pray that you would forgive me the brevity of mine
letters. Following your order, I send you jointly the first proof
prints of those plates still (already) finished. The plate of that
beautiful head of an English artist, is not yet so far advanced; but
in about six weeks you will have it--and during this time, I expect
your answer and direction to whom I shall deliver the whole. I wish
and hope heartily that the fac-similes and portraits would be
correspondent with your expectation.
I hold it for necessary and interesting, to give you a true copy of
that old print--"_Christ in the lap of God the Father_." You'll
see that this print is cutten round, and carefully pasted upon another
paper on a wooden band of a book: which proves not only a high respect
for a precious antiquity, but likewise that this print is much older
than the date of 1462--which is written in red ink, over the cutten
outlines, of that antique print. You may be entirely assured of the
fidelity of both fac-similes. Now I pray you heartily to remember my
name to our dear Mr. Lewis, with my friendliest compliments, and told
him that the work on _Lithography_ is now finished, and that he
shall have it by the first occasion. In expectation of your honorable
answer, I assure you of the highest consideration and respect of
Your most obedient humble Servant,
[Autograph]
[75] [This GRAPHIC WORTHY now _ceases to exist_. He died in his
seventy-first year--leaving behind, the remembrance of virtues to be
reverenced and of talents to be imitated.]
[76] [Another OBITUARY presses closely upon the preceding--but an Obituary
which rends one's heart to dwell upon:--for a kinder, a more diligent,
and more faithful Correspondent than was Mr. Nockher, it has never
been my good fortune to be engaged with. Almost while writing the
_above_ passage, this unfortunate gentleman ... DESTROYED
himself:--from embarrassment of circumstances!]
LETTER VII.
FREYSING. LANDSHUT. ALTÖTING. SALZBURG. THE MONASTERY OF ST. PETER.
_Salzburg; Golden Ship, Aug. 23, 1818._
MY DEAR FRIEND;
If ever I wished for those who are dear to me in England, to be my
companions during any part of this "_antiquarian_ and _picturesque_ tour,"
(for there are comparatively few, I fear, who would like to have been
sharers of the "_bibliographical_" department of it) it has been on the
route from Munich to this place: first, darting up to the north; and
secondly, descending gradually to the south; and feasting my eyes, during
the descent, upon mountains of all forms and heights, winding through a
country at once cultivated and fertile, and varied and picturesque. Yes, my
friend, I have had a glimpse, and even more than a glimpse, of what may be
called ALPINE SCENERY: and have really forgotten Fust, Schoeffher, and
Mentelin, while contemplating the snow-capt heights of the _Gredig_,
_Walseberg_, and _Untersberg_:--to say nothing of the _Gross Klokner_,
which raises its huge head and shoulders to the enormous height of 12,000
feet above the level of the sea.
These be glorious objects!--but I have only gazed; and, gazed at a distance
of some twenty or thirty miles. Surrounded as I am, at this moment,--in one
of the most marvellous and romantic spots in Europe--in the vicinity of
lakes, mountain-torrents, trout-streams, and salt-mines,--how can you
expect to hear any thing about MSS. and PRINTED BOOKS? They shall not,
however, be _wholly_ forgotten; for as I always endeavour to make my
narrative methodical, I must of necessity make mention of the celebrated
library of INGOLDSTADT, (of which Seemiller has discoursed so learnedly in
a goodly quarto volume,) now, with the University of the same place,
transferred to LANDSHUT--where I slept on the first night of my departure
from Munich.
A secret, but strong magnetic power, is pulling me yet more southerly,
towards _Inspruck_ and _Italy_. No saint in the golden legend was ever more
tortured by temptation, than I have been for the last twenty-four hours ...
with the desire of visiting those celebrated places. Thrice has some
invisible being--some silver-tongued sylph--not mentioned, I apprehend, in
the nomenclature of the Rosicrusian philosophy, whispered the word ...
"ROME ..." in mine ear--and thrice have I replied in the response...
"VIENNA!" I am therefore firmly fixed: immoveably resolved ... and every
southerly attraction shall be deserted for the capital of Austria: having
determined to mingle among the Benedictin and Augustin monks of
_Chremsminster_, _St. Florian_, and _Mölk_--and, in the bookish treasures
of their magnificent establishments, to seek and obtain something which may
repay the toil and expense of my journey.
But why do I talk of monastic delights only in _contemplation_? I have
_realized_ them. I have paced the cloisters of St. Peter's, the
mother-convent of Austria: have read inscriptions, and examined ornaments,
upon tombstones, of which the pavement of these cloisters is chiefly
composed: have talked bad Latin with the principal, and indifferently good
French with the librarian--have been left alone in the library--made
memoranda, or rather selected books for which a _valuable consideration_
has been proposed--and, in short, fancied myself to be thoroughly initiated
in the varieties of the Bavarian and Austrian characters. Indeed, I have
almost the conceit to affirm that this letter will be worth both postage
and preservation.
Let me "begin at the beginning." On leaving Munich, I had resolved upon
dining at Freysingen, or _Freysing_; as well to explore the books of Mr.
Mozler, living there--and one of the most "prying" of the bibliopolistic
fraternity throughout Germany--as to examine, with all imaginable
attention, the celebrated Church to which a monastery had been formerly
attached--and its yet more celebrated _Crypt_. All my Munich friends
exhorted me to descend into this crypt; and my curiosity had been not a
little sharpened by the lithographic views of it (somewhat indifferently
executed) which I had seen and purchased at Munich. Some of my Munich
friends considered the crypt of Freysing to be coeval with Charlemagne.
This was, at least, a very romantic conjecture.
The morning was gray and chill, when we left the _Schwartzen Adler_; but as
we approached Garching, the first stage, the clouds broke, the sun shone
forth, and we saw Freysing, (the second stage) situated upon a commanding
eminence, at a considerable distance. In our way to Garching, the river
Iser and the plains of Hohenlinden lay to the right; upon each of which, as
I gazed, I could not but think alternately of MOREAU and CAMPBELL. You will
readily guess wherefore. The former won the memorable battle of
Hohenlinden--fought in the depth of winter--by which the Austrians were
completely defeated, and which led to the treaty of Luneville: and the
latter (that is, our Thomas Campbell) celebrated that battle in an
_Ode_--of which I never know how to speak in sufficient terms of
admiration: an ode, which seems to unite all the fire of Pindar with all
the elegance of Horace; of which, parts equal Gray in sublimity, and
Collins in pathos.
We drove to the best, if not the only, Inn at Freysing; and, ordering a
late dinner, immediately visited the cathedral;--not however without taking
the shop of Mozler, the bookseller, in our way, and finding--to my
misfortune--that the owner was absent on a journey; and his sister, the
resident, perfectly ignorant of French. We then ascended towards the
cathedral, which is a comparatively modern building; at least every thing
_above_ ground is of that description. The CRYPT, however, more than
answered my expectations. I should have no hesitation in calling it
perfectly unique; as I have neither seen, nor heard, nor read of any thing
the least resembling it. The pillars, which support the roof, have monsters
crawling up their shafts--devouring one another, as one sees them in the
margins of the earlier illuminated MSS.
The altar beneath Our Lady's chapel was a confused mass of lumber and
rubbish; but, if I were to select--from all the strange and gloomy
receptacles, attached to places of religious worship, which I have seen
since quitting the shores of my own country--any ONE SPOT, in preference to
another, for the celebration of mysterious rites--it should be the CRYPT of
the CATHEDRAL of FREYSING. And perhaps I should say that portions of it
might be as old as the latter end of the eleventh century. From the
foundation, we ascended to the very summit of the building; and from the
top of the tower, had a most extensive and complete view of the plains of
_Hohenlinden_, the rapid _Iser_, and the gray mist of Munich in the
distance. I was much struck with a large bell, cast about fourscore years
ago; the exterior of which was adorned by several inscriptions, and rather
whimsical ornaments. Having gratified a curiosity of this kind, my
companion and valet left me, for a stroll about the town; when I requested
the guide (who could luckily talk a little bad French) to shew me the
LIBRARY belonging to the monastery formerly attached to the cathedral. He
told me that it was the mere relics of a library:--the very shadow of a
shade.
Indeed it was quickly obvious that there were certain _hiatuses_ upon the
shelves--which told their own tale pretty readily. The books, once
occupying them, had been taken to Munich. The room is light, cheerful, and
even yet well garnished with books: most of them being in white forel or
vellum binding. There were Bibles, out of number, about the beginning of
the sixteenth century; and an abundant sprinkling of glosses, decretals,
canon law, and old fashioned scholastic lore of the same period.
Nevertheless, I was glad to have examined it; and do not know that I have
visited many more desirable book-apartments since I left England. In my way
to the inn, I took a more leisurely survey of the collection of Mr. Mozler:
but his sister had not returned from vespers, and I was left absolutely
alone--with the exception of a female servant; who, pointing to the
book-room above stairs, as the supposed fittest place for my visit, betook
herself to her culinary occupations. Since the sight of the premises of the
younger Manoury at Caen,[77] I had never witnessed such a scene of
darkness, lumber, and confusion:--yet I must do Mr. Mozler the justice to
say, that there was much which might have repaid the toil of a minute
examination. But I was pressed for time: and the appetites of my travelling
companions might be sharpened so as to stand in need of an immediate attack
upon the cotelette and wine.
We dined as expeditiously as ever the Trojans or Grecians did, on expecting
a sally from the foe. The red wine was, I think, the most delicious I had
then drank in Germany. A little before six, we left Freysing for
_Moosburg_: a ten mile stage; but we had not got a quarter of a league upon
our journey, when we discovered, to the right, somewhat in our rear, a more
complete view of the Tyrolese mountains than we had yet seen. They appeared
to be as huge monsters, with overtopping heads, disporting themselves in an
element of their own--many thousand feet in the air! It was dusk when we
changed horses at _Moosburg_: and the moon, then pretty far advanced
towards the full, began to supply the light of which we stood so much in
need. _Landshut_ was our next and final stage; but it was unlucky for the
first view of a church, of which the tower is considered to be the highest
in Bavaria, that we were to see it at such a moment. The air of the evening
was mild, and the sky was almost entirely covered by thin flaky clouds, as
we pushed on for Landshut. On our immediate approach to it, the valet told
us that he well remembered the entrance of the French into Landshut, on
Bonaparte's advance to Munich and Vienna. He was himself in the rear of the
assault--attending upon his master, one of the French generals. He said,
that the French entered the further end of the town from that where we
should make our entrance; and that, having gained a considerable eminence,
by a circuitous route, above the river, unobserved, they rushed
forward--bursting open the barriers--and charging the Austrians at the
point of the bayonet. The contest was neither long nor sanguinary. A
prudent surrender saved the town from pillage, and the inhabitants from
slaughter.
On entering Landshut, without having caught any thing like a determined
view of the principal church, we found the centre of the principal street
entirely occupied by booths and stalls, for an approaching fair--to take
place within a few following days. The line of wooden buildings could
scarcely extend less than half a mile. We drove to the principal inn, which
was spacious and _tolerably_ clean; bespoke good beds, and found every
appearance of comfort. I was resolved to devote the next day entirely to
the PUBLIC LIBRARY--attached to the University, brought hither from
Ingoldstadt. Of course I had been long acquainted with the general
character of the early-printed books, from the valuable work of
Seemiller;[78] and was resolved to make especial enquiry, in the first
place, for the Aldine duodecimo of the _Greek Hours_, of which you have
already heard so much. I carried with me a letter to Professor SIEBENKEES,
the Head Librarian. In short, I anticipated a day of bibliographical
"joyaunce."
I was not disappointed in my expectations. The day was as beautiful
without, as I found it profitable within doors. The Professor was all
kindness, and was pleased to claim a long and intimate acquaintance with
me, through certain works which need not be here mentioned: but it would be
the height of affectation _not_ to avow the satisfaction I felt in
witnessing a thoroughly cut-open, and tolerably well-thumbed copy, of the
_Bibl. Spenceriana_ lying upon his table. I instantly commenced the
examination of the library, while the Professor as readily offered his
services of assistance. "Where are your _Aldine Greek Hours_ of 1497?"
observed I. "Alas, Sir, that book exists no longer here!"--replied the
Professor, in a melancholy tone of voice, and with an expression of
countenance which indicated more than was meant by his _words_.
"Nevertheless, (rejoined I) Seemiller describes it as having been at
Ingoldstadt." "He does so--but in the conveyance of the books from thence
hither, it has _somehow_ disappeared."[79] Again the Professor _looked_
more significantly than he _spake_. "What is invisible cannot be
seen"--observed I--"and therefore allow me to take notes of what is before
my eyes." "Most willingly and cheerfully. Here is every thing you wish. The
more you write, the greater will be my satisfaction; although, after Paris
and Munich, there is scarcely any thing worthy of particular description.
But ere you begin your labours, allow me to introduce you to the several
rooms in which the books are contained."
I expressed great pleasure in complying with the Professor's request, and
followed him into every apartment. This library, my dear friend, is placed
in one of the prettiest situations imaginable. Some meandering branches of
the Iser intersect and fertilize considerable tracts of meadow land;
equally rich in colour and (as I learnt) in produce: and terminated by some
gently swelling hills, quite in the vicinity of the town. The whole had a
perfectly English aspect. The rooms were numerous, and commanded a variety
of views. They were well lighted by side windows, and the shelves and
wainscots were coloured chiefly in white. One small hexagonal closet, or
cabinet, on the first floor--(as is indeed the whole suite of apartments)
caught my fancy exceedingly, and won my very heart. The view before it, or
rather from three of its six sides, was exhilirating in the extreme. "Here
Mr. Professor, quoth I, (gently laying hold of his left arm) here will I
come, and, if in any spot, put together my materials for a _third_ edition
of the BIBLIOMANIA." The worthy Professor, for a little moment, thought me
serious--and quickly replied "By all means do so: and you shall be
accommodated with every thing necessary for carrying so laudable a design
into execution." It was a mere bibliomaniacal vision:[80] dissipated the
very moment I had quitted the apartment for another.
I shall now give you the result of my examination of a few of the rarer and
early-printed books in the PUBLIC LIBRARY of Landshut. And first of
MANUSCRIPTS. An _Evangelistarium_, probably of the tenth century, is worth
particular notice; if it be only on the score of its scription--which is
perfectly beautiful: the most so of any, of such a remote period, which I
have ever seen. It is a folio volume, bound in wood, with a stamped
parchment cover of about the end of the fifteenth century. They possess a
copy of the _oldest written Laws of Bavaria_; possibly of the twelfth--but
certainly of the thirteenth century. It is a duodecimo MS. inlaid in a
quarto form. No other MS. particularly struck my fancy, in the absence of
all that was Greek or Roman: but a very splendid _Polish Missal_, in 8vo.
which belonged to Sigismund, King of Poland, in the sixteenth century,
seemed worthy of especial notice. The letters are graceful and elegant; but
the style of art is heavy, although not devoid of effect. The binding is
crimson velvet, with brass knobs, and a central metallic
ornament--apparently more ancient than the book itself. This latter may
have been possibly taken from another volume.
Of the _Printed Books_--after the treasures of this kind seen (as the
Professor intimated) at Paris and Munich--there was comparatively very
little which claimed attention. They have a cropt and stained copy of
Mentelin's _German Bible_, but quite perfect: two copies of the _supposed_
first _German Bible_, for one of which I proposed an exchange in a copy of
the B.S. and of the _Ædes Althorpianæ_ as soon as this latter work should
be published. The proposition was acceded to on the part of the Head
Librarian, and it will be forwarded to the honest and respectable firm of
John and Arthur Arch, booksellers; who, previously to my leaving England,
had requested me to make something like a similar purchase for them--should
a fine copy of this German Bible present itself for sale.[81]
Here I saw Mentelin's edition of the _De Civitate Dei_ of _St. Austin_: and
a good sound copy of the very rare edition of _Mammotrectus_, printed by
_Helias de Helie_, in 1470: a beautiful copy of _Martin Brand's Psalter_ of
1486, printed at Leipsic, in 4to. in a large square gothic type; and a
duplicate copy of the Leipsic Psalter of the preceding year, printed by
_Conrad Kachelovez_, in 4to. which latter I obtained for the library in St.
James's Place. There were at least ten copies of the early Block Books; of
which the _Ars Memorandi_ and the _Anti-Christ_ (with extracts inserted in
the latter from the B.S.) appeared to be the more ancient and interesting.
But I must not forget to mention a very indifferent and imperfect copy of
the _Latin Bible of Fust_, of 1462, UPON VELLUM. A few leaves in each
volume are wanting. Here too I saw the _Pfarzival_ of 1477 (as at
Strasbourg) printed in a metrical form.