on to the fourth room--in the centre of which is a large raised bronze
ornament, representing Apollo and the Muses--surrounded by the more eminent
literary characters of France in the seventeenth century. It is raised to
the glory of the grand monarque Louis XIV. and the figure of Apollo is
intended for that of his Majesty. The whole is a palpable failure: a
glaring exhibition of bad French taste. Pegasus, the Muses, rocks, and
streams, are all scattered about in a very confused manner; without
connection, and of course without effect. Even the French allow it to be
"mesquin, et de mauvais goût." But let me be methodical. As you enter this
fourth room, you observe, opposite--before you turn to the right--a door,
having the inscription of CABINET DES MEDAILLES. This door however is open
only twice in the week; when the cabinet is freely and most conveniently
shewn. Of its contents--in part, precious beyond comparison--this is the
place to say only one little word or two: for really there would be no end
of detail were I to describe even its most remarkable treasures. Francis I.
and his son Henry II. were among its earliest patrons; when the cabinet was
deposited in the Louvre. The former enriched it with a series of valuable
gold medals, and among them with one of Louis XII., his predecessor; which
has not only the distinction of being beautifully executed, but of being
the largest, if not the first of its kind in France.[18]
The specimens of Greek art, in coins, and other small productions, are
equally precious and select. Vases, shields, gems, and cameos--the greater
part of which are described in Caylus's well-known work--are perfectly
enchanting. But the famous AGAT of the STE. CHAPELLE--supposed to be the
largest in the world, and which has been engraved by Giradet in a manner
perfectly unrivalled--will not fail to rivet your attention, and claim your
most unqualified commendation. The sardonyx, called the VASE of PTOLEMY, is
another of the great objects of attraction in the room where we are now
tarrying--and beautiful, and curious, and precious, it unquestionably is.
Doubtless, in such a chamber as this, the classical archæologist will gaze
with no ordinary emotions, and meditate with no ordinary satisfaction. But
I think I hear the wish escape him--as he casts an attentive eye over the
whole--"why do they not imitate us in a publication relating to them? Why
do they not put forth something similar to what we have done for our
_Museum Marbles_? Or rather, speaking more correctly, why are not the
_Marlborough Gems_ considered as an object of rivalry, by the curators of
this exquisite cabinet? Paris is not wanting both in artists who design,
and who engrave, in this department, with at least equal skill to our
own."[19]
Let us now return to the Books. In the fourth book-room there is an opening
in the centre, to the left, nearly facing the bronze ornament--through
which, as you enter, and look to the left, appear the upper halves of two
enormous GLOBES. The effect is at first, inconceivably puzzling and even
startling: but you advance, and looking down the huge aperture occasioned
by these gigantic globes, you observe their bases resting on the ground
floor: both the upper and ground floor having the wainscots entirely
covered by books. These globes are the performance of Vincent Coronelli, a
Venetian; and were presented to Louis XIV. by the Cardinal d'Etrées, who
had them made for his Majesty. You return back into the fourth room--pace
on to its extremity, and then, at right angles, view the fifth room--or,
comprising the upper and lower globe rooms, a seventh room; the whole
admirably well lighted up from large side windows. Observe further--the
whole corresponding suite of rooms, on the ground floor, is also nearly
filled with printed books, comprising the _unbound copies_--and one
chamber, occupied by the more exquisite specimens of the presses of the
_Alduses_, the _Giuntæ_, the _Stephens_, &c. UPON VELLUM, or on _large
paper_. Another chamber is exclusively devoted to large paper copies of
_all_ descriptions, from the presses of all countries; and in one or the
other of these chambers are deposited the volumes from the Library of
_Grolier_ and _De Thou_--names, dear to Book-Collectors; as an indifferent
copy has hardly ever yet been found which was once deposited on the shelves
of either. You should know that the public do not visit this lower suite of
rooms, it being open only to the particular friends of the several
Librarians. The measurement of these rooms, from the entrance to the
extremity of the fifth room, is upwards of 700 feet.
Now, my good friend, if you ask me whether the interior of this library be
superior to that of our dear BODLEIAN, I answer, at once, and without fear
of contradiction--it is very much _inferior_. It represents an interminable
range of homely and commodious apartments; but the Bodleian library, from
beginning to end--from floor to ceiling--is grand, impressive, and entirely
of a bookish appearance. In that spacious and lofty receptacle--of which
the ceiling, in my humble opinion, is an unique and beautiful piece of
workmanship--all is solemn, and grave, and inviting to study: yet echoing,
as it were, to the footsteps of those who once meditated within its almost
hallowed precincts--the _Bodleys_, the _Seldens_, the _Digbys_, the _Lauds_
and _Tanners_, of other times![20] But I am dreaming: forgetting that, at
this moment, you are impatient to enter the _MS. Department_ of the Royal
Library at Paris. Be it so, therefore. And yet the very approach to this
invaluable collection is difficult of discovery. Instead of a corresponding
lofty stone stair-case, you cross a corner of the square, and enter a
passage, with an iron gate at the extremity--leading to the apartments of
Messrs. Millin and Langlès. A narrow staircase, to the right, receives you:
and this stair-case would appear to lead rather to an old armoury, in a
corner-tower of some baronial castle, than to a suite of large modern
apartments, containing probably, upon the whole, the finest collection of
_Engravings_ and of _Manuscripts_, of all ages and characters, in Europe.
Nevertheless, as we cannot mount by any other means, we will e'en set
footing upon this stair-case, humble and obscure as it may be. You scarcely
gain the height of some twenty steps, when you observe the magical
inscription of CABINET DES ESTAMPES. Your spirits dance, and your eyes
sparkle, as you pull the little wire--and hear the clink of a small
corresponding bell. The door is opened by one of the attendants in livery--
arrayed in blue and silver and red--very handsome, and rendered more
attractive by the respectful behaviour of those who wear that royal
costume. I forgot to say that the same kind of attendants are found in all
the apartments attached to this magnificent collection--and, when not
occupied in their particular vocation of carrying books to and fro, these
attendants are engaged in reading, or sitting quietly with crossed legs,
and peradventure dosing a little. But nothing can exceed their civility;
accompanied with a certain air of politeness, not altogether divested of a
kind of gentlemanly deportment.
On entering the first of those rooms, where the prints are kept, you are
immediately struck with the narrow dimensions of the place--for the
succeeding room, though perhaps more than twice as large, is still
inadequate to the reception of its numerous visitors.[21] In this first
room you observe a few of the very choicest productions of the burin, from
the earliest periods of the art, to the more recent performances of
_Desnoyer_, displayed within glazed frames upon the wainscot. It really
makes the heart of a connoisseur leap with ecstacy to see such
_Finiguerras, Baldinis, Boticellis, Mantegnas, Pollaiuolos, Israel Van
Meckens, Albert Durers, Marc Antonios, Rembrandts, Hollar, Nanteuils,
Edelincks, &c._; while specimens of our own great master engravers, among
whom are _Woollet_ and _Sharp_, maintain a conspicuous situation, and add
to the gratification of the beholder. The idea is a good one; but to carry
it into complete effect, there should be a gallery, fifty feet long, of a
confined width, and lighted from above:[22] whereas the present room is
scarcely twenty feet square, with a disproportionably low ceiling. However,
you cannot fail to be highly gratified--and onwards you go--diagonally--and
find yourself in a comparatively long room--in the midst of which is a
table, reaching from nearly one end to the other, and entirely filled
(every day) with visitors, or rather students--busied each in their several
pursuits. Some are quietly turning over the succeeding leaves, on which the
prints are pasted: others are pausing upon each fine specimen, in silent
ecstacy--checking themselves every instant lest they should break forth
into rapturous exclamations!... "silence" being rigidly prescribed by the
Curators--and, I must say, as rigidly maintained. Others again are busied
in deep critical examination of some ancient ruin from the pages of
_Piranesi_ or of _Montfaucon_--now making notes, and now copying particular
parts. Meanwhile, from the top to the bottom of the sides of the, room, are
huge volumes of prints, bound in red morocco; which form indeed the
materials for the occupations just described.[23]
But, hanging upon a pillar, at the hither end of this second room, you
observe a large old drawing of a head or portrait, in a glazed frame; which
strikes you in every respect as a great curiosity. M. Du Chesne, the
obliging and able director of this department of the collection, attended
me on my first visit. He saw me looking at this head with great eagerness.
"Enfin voilà quelque chose qui mérite bien vôtre attention"--observed he.
It was in fact the portrait of "their good but unfortunate KING JOHN"--as
my guide designated him. This Drawing is executed in a sort of thick body
colour, upon fine linen: the back-ground is gold: now almost entirely
tarnished--and there is a sort of frame, stamped, or pricked out, upon the
surface of the gold--as we see in the illuminations of books of that
period. It should also seem as if the first layer, upon which the gold is
placed, had been composed of the white of an egg--or of some such glutinous
substance. Upon the whole, it is an exceedingly curious and interesting
relic of antient graphic art.
To examine minutely the treasures of such a collection of prints--whether
in regard to ancient or modern art--would demand the unremitted attention
of the better part of a month; and in consequence, a proportionate quantity
of time and paper in embodying the fruits of that attention.[24] There is
only one other curiosity, just now, to which I shall call your attention.
It is the old wood cut of ST. CHRISTOPHER--of which certain authors have
discoursed largely.[25] They suppose they have an impression of it here--
whereas that of Lord Spencer has been hitherto considered as unique. His
Lordship's copy, as you well know, was obtained from the Buxheim monastery,
and was first made public in the interesting work of Heineken.[26] The copy
now under consideration is not pasted upon boards, as is Lord Spencer's--
forming the interior linings in the cover or binding of an old MS.--but it
is a loose leaf, and is therefore subject to the most minute examination,
or to any conclusion respecting the date which may be drawn from the
_watermark_. Upon _such_ a foundation I will never attempt to build an
hypothesis, or to draw a conclusion; because the same water-mark of Bamberg
and of Mentz, of Venice and of Rome, may be found within books printed both
at the commencement and at the end of the fifteenth century. But for the
print--as it _is_. I have not only examined it carefully, but have
procured, from M. Coeuré, a fac-simile of the head only--the most essential
part--and both the examination and the fac-simile convince me... that the
St. Christopher in the Bibliothèque du Roi is NOT an impression from the
_same block_ which furnished the St. Christopher now in the library of St.
James's Place.
The general character of the figure, in the Royal Library here, is thin and
feeble compared with that in Lord Spencer's collection; and I am quite
persuaded that M. Du Chesne,--who fights his ground inch by inch, and
reluctantly (to his honour, let me add) assents to any remarks which may
make his own cherished St. Christopher of a comparatively modern date--
will, in the end, admit that the Parisian impression is a _copy_ of a later
date--and that, had an opportunity presented itself of comparing the two
impressions with each other,[27] it would never have been received into the
Library at the price at which it was obtained--I think, at about 620
francs. However, although it be not THE St. Christopher, it is a graphic
representation of the Saint which may possibly be as old as the year 1460.
But we have tarried quite long enough, for the present, within the cabinet
of Engravings. Let us return: ascend about a dozen more steps; and enter
the LIBRARY OF MANUSCRIPTS. As before, you are struck with the smallness of
the first room; which leads, however, to a second of much larger
dimensions--then to a third, of a boudoir character; afterwards to a fourth
and fifth, rather straitened--and sixthly, and lastly, to one of a noble
length and elevation of ceiling--worthy in all respects of the glorious
treasures which it contains. Let me, however, be more explicit. In the very
first room you have an earnest of all the bibliomaniacal felicity which
these MSS. hold out. Look to the left--upon entering--and view, perhaps
lost in a very ecstacy of admiration--the _Romances_ ... of all sizes and
character, which at first strike you! What _Launcelot du Lacs, Tristans,
Leonnois, Arturs, Ysaises_, and feats of the _Table Ronde_, stand closely
wedged within the brass-wired doors that incircle this and every other
apartment! _Bibles, Rituals, Moralities_, ... next claim your attention.
You go on--_History, Philosophy, Arts and Sciences_ ... but it is useless
to indulge in these rhapsodies. The fourth apartment, of which I spake,
exhibits specimens of what are seen more plentifully, but not of more
curious workmanship, in the larger room to which it leads. Here glitter,
behind glazed doors, old volumes of devotion bound in ivory, or gilt, or
brass, studded with cameos and precious stones; and covered with figures of
all characters and ages--some of the XIIth--and more of the immediately
following centuries. Some of these bindings (among which I include
_Diptychs_) may be as old as the eleventh--and they have been even carried
up to the tenth century.
Let us however return quickly back again; and begin at the beginning. The
first room, as I before observed, has some of the most exquisitely
illuminated, as well as some of the most ancient MSS., in the whole
library. A phalanx of _Romances_ meets the eye; which rather provokes the
courage, than damps the ardor, of the bibliographical champion. Nor are the
illuminated _Bibles_ of less interest to the graphic antiquary. In my next
letter you shall see what use I have made of the unrestrained liberty
granted me, by the kind-hearted Curators, to open what doors, and examine
what volumes, I pleased. Meanwhile let me introduce you to the excellent
MONSIEUR GAIL, who is sitting at yonder desk--examining a beautiful Greek
MS. of Polybius, which once belonged to Henry II. and his favourite Diane
de Poictiers. M. Gail is the chief Librarian presiding over the Greek and
Latin MSS., and is himself Professor of the Greek language in the royal
college of France. Of this gentleman I shall speak more particularly anon.
At the present moment it may suffice only to observe that he is thoroughly
frank, amiable, and communicative, and dexterous in his particular
vocation: and that he is, what we should both call, a hearty, good fellow--
a natural character. M. Gail is accompanied by the assistant librarians MM.
De. l'EPINE, and MÉON: gentlemen of equal ability in their particular
department, and at all times willing to aid and abet the researches of
those who come to examine and appreciate the treasures of which they are
the joint Curators. Indeed I cannot speak too highly of these gentlemen--
nor can I too much admire the system and the silence which uniformly
prevail.
Another principal librarian is M. LANGLÈS:[28] an author of equal
reputation with Monsieur Gail--but his strength lies in Oriental
literature; and he presides more especially over the Persian, Arabic, and
other Oriental MSS. To the naïveté of M. Gail, he adds the peculiar
vivacity and enthusiasm of his countrymen. To see him presiding in his
chair (for he and M. Gail take alternate turns) and occupied in reading,
you would think that a book worm could scarcely creep between the tip of
his nose and the surface of the _Codex Bombycinus_ over which he is poring.
He is among the most short-sighted of mortals--as to _ocular_ vision. But
he has a bravely furnished mind; and such a store of spirits and of good
humour--talking withal unintermittingly, but very pleasantly---that you
find it difficult to get away from him. He is no indifferent speaker of our
own language; and I must say, seems rather proud of such an acquirement.
Both he and M. Gail, and M. Van Praet, are men of rather small, stature--
_triplicates_, as it were, of the same work[29]--but of which M. Gail is
the tallest copy. One of the two head librarians, just mentioned, sits at a
desk in the second room--and when any friends come to see, or to converse
with him--the discussion is immediately adjourned to the contiguous
boudoir-like apartment, where are deposited the rich old bindings of which
you have just had a hasty description. Here the voices are elevated, and
the flourishes of speech and of action freely indulged in.
In the way to the further apartment, from the boudoir so frequently
mentioned, you pass a small room--in which there is a plaster bust of the
King--and among the books, bound, as they almost all are, in red morocco,
you observe two volumes of tremendously thick dimensions; the one entitled
_Alexander Aphrodiæsus, Hippocrates, &c._--the other _Plutarchi Vitæ
Parallelæ et Moralia, &c._ They contain nothing remarkable for ornament, or
what is more essential, for intrinsic worth. Nevertheless you pass on: and
the last--but the most magnificent--of _all_ the rooms, appropriated to the
reception of books, whether in ms. or in print, now occupies a very
considerable portion of your attention. It is replete with treasures of
every description: in ancient art, antiquities, and both sacred and profane
learning: in languages from all quarters, and almost of all ages of the
world. Here I opened, with indescribable delight the ponderous and famous
_Latin Bible of Charles the Bald_--and the religious manual of his brother
the _Emperor Lotharius_--composed chiefly of transcripts from the Gospels.
Here are ivory bindings, whether as diptychs, or attached to regular
volumes. Here are all sorts and sizes of the uncial or capital-letter MSS--
in portions, or entire. Here, too, are very precious old illuminations, and
specimens--almost without number--admirably arranged, of every species of
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL VIRTÙ, which cannot fail to fix the attention, enlarge the
knowledge, and improve the judgment, of the curious in this department of
research.
Such, my dear friend, is the necessarily rapid--and, I fear, consequently
imperfect--sketch which I send you of the general character of the
BIBLIOTHÈQUE DU ROI; both as respects its dead and its living treasures. It
remains to be seen how this sketch will be completed.--- and I hereby give
you notice, that my next letter will contain some account of a few of the
more ancient, curious, and splendid MANUSCRIPTS--to be followed by a second
letter, exclusively devoted to a similar account of the PRINTED BOOKS. If I
execute this task according to my present inclinations--and with the
disposition which I now feel, together with the opportunities which have
been afforded me--it will not, I trust, be said that I have been an idle or
unworthy visitor of this magnificent collection.
[16] [Mons. Crapelet takes fire at the above passage: simply because he
misunderstands it. In not one-word, or expression of it, is there any
thing which implies, directly or indirectly, that "it would be
difficult to find another public establishment where the officers are
more active, more obliging, more anxious to satisfy the Public than in
the above." I am talking only of _dress_--and commending the silk
stockings of Mons. Van Praet at the expense of those by whom he is
occasionally surrounded.]
[17] So, even NOW: 1829.
[18] In the year 1814, the late M. Millin published a dissertation upon
this medal, to which he prefixed an engraving of the figure of Louis.
There can indeed be but one opinion that the Engraving is unworthy of
the Original.
[For an illustration of the _Medallic History of France_, I scarcely
recollect any one object of Art which would be more gratifying, as
well as apposite, than a faithful Engraving of such a Medal: and I
call upon my good friend M. DU CHESNE to set such a History on foot.
There is however another medal, of the same Monarch, of a smaller
size, but of equal merit of execution, which has been selected to
grace the pages of this second edition--in the OPPOSITE PLATE. The
inscription is as follows: LUDOVICO XII. REGNANTE CÆSARE ALTERO.
GAUDET OMNIS NATIO: from which it is inferred that the Medal was
struck in consequence of the victory of Ravenna, or of Louis's
triumphant campaigns in Italy. A short but spirited account is given
of these campaigns in Le Noir's _Musée des Monumens Français_, tome
ii. p. 145-7.]
[19] ["And it is Mr. DIBDIN who makes this confession! Let us render
justice to his impartiality on this occasion. Such a confession ought
to cause some regret to those who go to seek engravings in London."
CRAPELET, vol. ii. p. 89. The reader shall make his own remark on the
force, if there be any, of this gratuitous piece of criticism of the
French Translator.]
[20] [And, till within these few months, those of the REV. DR. NICOLL,
Regius Professor of the Hebrew Language! That amiable and modest and
surprisingly learned Oriental Scholar died in the flower of his age
(in his 36th year) to the deep regret of all his friends and
acquaintances, and, I had well nigh said, to the irreparable loss of
the University.]
[21] ["This observation is just; and it is to be hoped that they will soon
carry into execution the Royal ordonance of October, 1816, which
appropriates the apartments of the Treasury, contiguous, to be united
to the establishment, as they become void. However, what took place in
1825, respecting some buildings in the Rue Neuve des Petits Champs,
forbids us to suppose that this wished for addition will take place."
CRAPELET, p. 93.]
[22] [M. Crapelet admits the propriety of such a suggested improvement; and
hopes that government will soon take it up for the accommodation of
the Visitors--who sometimes are obliged to wait for a _vacancy_,
before they can commence these researches.]
[23] [Mons. Crapelet estimates the number of these splendid volumes (in
1825,) at "more than six thousand!"]
[24] [M. Crapelet might have considered this confession as a reason, or
apology, sufficient for not entering into all those details or
descriptions, which he seems surprised and vexed that I omitted to
travel into.]
[25] _An enquiry into the History of Engraving upon Copper and in
Wood_, 1816, 4to. 2 vol. by W.Y. Ottley. Mr. Ottley, in vol. i. p. 90,
has given the whole of the original cut: while in the first volume p.
iii. of the _Bibliotheca Spenceriana_, only the figure and date are
given.
[26] _Idée générale d'une Collection complette des Estampes. Leips._
1771. 8vo.