1 [Several Notes in this volume having reference to MONS. CRAPELET, a Printer of very considerable eminence at Paris, it may be proper to inform the Reader that that portion of this Tour, which may be said to have a more exclusive reference to France, usually speaking--including the notice of Strasbourg--was almost entirely translated by Mons. Crapelet himself. An exception however must be made to those parts which relate to the King's Private Library at Paris, and to Strasbourg: these having been executed by different pens, evidently in the hands of individuals of less wrongheadedness and acrimony of feeling than the Parisian Printer. Mons. Crapelet has prefixed a Preface to his labours, in which he tells the world, that, using my more favourite metaphorical style of expression, "a CRUSADE has risen up against the INFIDEL DIBDIN."

Metaphorical as may be this style, it is yet somewhat alarming: for, most assuredly, when I entered and quitted the "beau pays" of France, I had imagined myself to have been a courteous, a grateful, and, under all points of view, an ORTHODOX Visitor. It seems however, from the language of the French Typographer, that I acted under a gross delusion; and that it was necessary to have recourse to his sharp-set sickle to cut away all the tares which I had sown in the soil of his country. Upon the motive and the merit of his labours, I have already given my unbiassed opinion. A Here, it is only necessary to observe, that I have not, consciously, falsified his opinions, or undervalued his worth. Let the Reader judge between us.

A Vide Preface.

2 [They have now entirely lost the recollection, as well as the sight, of them.]

3 ["The Parisians would doubtless very willingly get rid of such a horrid spectacle in the streets and places of the Metropolis: besides, it is not unattended with danger to the Actors themselves."--CRAPELET.]

4 ["And will continue to be so, it is feared--to the regret of all Frenchmen--for a long time. It is however the beginning of a new reign. The building of some new Edifices will doubtless be undertaken. But if the King were to order the finishing of all the public Buildings of Paris, the epoch of the reign of Charles X. would assuredly be the most memorable for Arts, and the embellishment of the Capital." CRAPELET. 1825.]

5 [It is now completed: but seven years elapsed, after the above description, before the building was in all respects considered to be finished.]

6 [A most admirable view of this Market Place, with its picturesque fountain in the centre, was painted by the younger Mr. Chalon, and exhibited at Somerset House. A well executed print of such a thoroughly characteristic performance might, one would imagine, sell prosperously on either side of the channel.]

7 [This building, which may perhaps be better known as that of the Opera, is now rased to the ground--in consequence of the assassination of the Duke de Berri there, in February, 1820, on his stepping into his carriage on quitting the Opera. But five years were suffered to elapse before the work of demolition was quite completed. And when will the monument to the Duke's memory be raised?--CRAPELET.]

8 [It is now entirely demolished, to make way for a large and commodious Street which gives a complete view of the church of St. Stephen. CRAPELET.]

9 The views of it, as it appeared in the XVIth century, represent it nearly surrounded by a wall and a moat. It takes its name as having been originally situated in the fields.

10 [Two years ago was placed, upon the top of this small lantern, a gilt cross, thirty-eight feet high: 41 of English measurement: and the church has been consecrated to the Catholic service. CRAPELET. Thus, the criticism of an English traveller, in 1818, was not entirely void of foundation.]

11 [Our public buildings, which have continued long in an unfinished state, strike the eyes of foreigners more vividly than they do our own: but it is impossible to face the front of St. Sulpice without partaking of the sentiment of the author. CRAPELET.]

12 [Louis XVIII.]

13 [read and understand GRAHAME.]--Mr. Grahame is both a very readable and understandable author. He has reason to be proud of his poem called the SABBATH: for it is one of the sweetest and one of the purest of modern times. His scene however is laid in the country, and not in the metropolis. The very opening of this poem refreshes the heart--and prepares us for the more edifying portions of it, connected with the performance of the religious offices of our country. This beautiful work will LIVE as long as sensibility, and taste, and a virtuous feeling, shall possess the bosoms of a British Public.

14 See the note p. 20, ante.

15 It is now completed.

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.

27 Since the above was written, the RIVAL ST. CRISTOPHER have been placed side by side. When Lord Spencer was at Paris, last year, (1819,) on his return from Italy--he wrote to me, requesting I would visit him there, and bring St. Christopher with me. That Saint was therefore, in turn, carried across the water--and on being confronted with his name-sake, at the Royal Library ... it was quite evident, at the first glance, as M. Du Chesne admitted--that they were impressions taken from different blocks. The question therefore, was, after a good deal of pertinacious argument on both sides-- which of the two impressions was the MORE ANCIENT? Undoubtedly it was that of LordB Spencer's.

B [The reasons, upon which this conclusion was founded, are stated at length in the preceding edition of this work: since which, I very strongly incline to the supposition that the Paris impression is a proof--of one of the cheats of DE MURR.]

28 He died in 1824 and a notice of his Life and Labours appeared in the Annales Encyclopèdiques.

29 "M. Dibdin may well make the fourth copy--as to size." CRAPELET, p. 115.

30 Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. p. xxxi.

31 Earl Vivian, and eleven monks, in the act of presenting the volume to Charles.

32 Vol. i. p. lvi.-vii.

33 The present Emperor of Russia.

34 A very minute and particular description of this Missal, together with a fac-simile of the DUKE OF BEDFORD kneeling before his tutelary SAINT GEORGE, will be found in the Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. p. cxxxvi-cxxxix.

35 For an account of these ancient worthies in the art of illumination, consult the Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. p. cxlii.-clxiv.

36 See the OPPOSITE PLATE. [The beautiful copy of the Original, by Mr. G. Lewis, from which the Plates in this work were taken, is now in the possession of Thomas Ponton, Esq.]

37 [It was bought at Sir Mark's sale, by Messrs. Rivington and Cochrane. See a fac-simile of one of the illuminations in the Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. p. clxxix.]

38 Vol. i. p. ccxx-i.

39 See Bibl. Spenceriana, vol. iv p. 421.

40 The fac-simile drawing of this portrait, by M. Coeuré--from which the print was taken, in the previous edition of this work--is also in the possession of my friend Mr. Ponton. See note, page 79 ante.

41 The words "del lac" are in a later hand.

42 What is rather singular, there is a duplicate of this book: a copy of every illumination, done towards the beginning of the sixteenth century; but the text is copied in a smaller hand, so as to compress the volume into lxviij. leaves. Unluckily, the copies of the illuminations are not only comparatively coarse, but are absolutely faithless as to resemblances. There is a letter prefixed, from a person named Le Hay, of the date of 1707, in which the author tells some gentleman that he was in hopes to procure the volume for 100 crowns; but afterwards, the owner obstinately asking 200, Le Hay tells his friend to split the difference, and offer 150. This book once belonged to one "Hector Le Breton Sievr de la Doynetrie

43 In his meditated Catalogue raisonné of the books PRINTED UPON VELLUM in the Royal Library. [This Catalogue is now printed, in 8vo. 5 vols. 1822. There are copies on LARGE PAPER. It is a work in all respects worthy of the high reputation of its author. A Supplement to it--of books printed UPON VELLUM in other public, and many distinguished private libraries, appeared in 1824, 8vo. 3 vols.--with two additional volumes in 1828. These volumes are the joy of the heart of a thorough bred Bibliographer.]

44 The measurement is necessarily confined to the leaves--exclusively of the binding.

45 See the Art. "Roman de Jason"

46 [There are, now, ten known perfect copies of this book, of which six are in England. M. Renouard, in his recent edition of the Annals of the Aldine Press, vol. i. p. 36, has been copious and exact.]

47 [Since bound in blue morocco by Thouvenin.]

48 [This anecdote, in the preceding Edition of the Tour, was told, inaccurately, as belonging to the Caxton's edition of the Recueil des Hist. de Troye: see p. 102 ante. I thank M. Crapelet for the correction.]

49 Bibl. Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 107, &c.

50 [The finest copy in the world of the second edition, as to amplitude, is, I believe, that in the Bodleian library at Oxford. A very singular piece of good fortune has now made it PERFECT. It was procured by Messrs. Payne and Foss of M. Artaria at Manheim.]

51 Nine years ago I obtained a fac-simile of this memorandum; and published an Essay upon the antiquity of the date of the above Bible, in the Classical Journal, vol. iv. p. 471-484. of Mr. J.A. Valpy. But latterly a more complete fac-simile of it appeared in the Catalogue of Count M'Carthy's books.

52 "Iste liber illuminatus, ligatus & completus est per Henricum Cremer vicariu ecclesie sancti Stephani Maguntini sub anno dñi Millesimo quatringentesimo quinquagesimo sexto, festo Assumptionis gloriose virginis Marie. Deo gracias. Alleluja."

53 [This copy having one leaf of MS.--but executed with such extraordinary accuracy as almost to deceive the most experienced eye--was sold in 1827, by public auction, for 504l. and is now in the collection of Henry Perkins, Esq.]

54 Bibl. Spenceriana; vol. i. p. 85-89.

55 Bibl. Spenceriana; vol. i. p. 103-4; where there is also an account of the book itself--from the description of Camus. The work is entitled by Camus, The ALLEGORY OF DEATH.

56 This subject is briefly noticed in the Bibliographical Decameron, vol. i. 371; and the book itself is somewhat particularly described there. I think I remember Lord Spencer to have once observed, that more than a slight hope was held out to him, by the late Duke of Brunswick, of obtaining this typographical treasure. This was before the French over-ran Prussia.

57 See Bibl. Spenceriana; vol. iii. p. 129, vol. iv. p. 500.

58 Vol. iii. p. 484.

59 [I had said "De Rome"-- incorrectly--in the previous edition. "M. Dibdin poursuit partout d'un trait vengeur le coupable Derome: mais ici c'est au relieur CHAMOT qu'il doit l'addresser." CRAPELET; vol. iii. p. 268.]

60 [The very sound copy of it, upon paper, belonging to the late Sir M.M. Sykes, Bart. was sold at the sale of his library for 100 guineas.]

61 That sigh has at length ceased to rend my breast. It will be seen, from the sequel of this Tour, that a good, sound, perfect copy of it, now adorns the shelves of the Spencerion Library. The VIRGILS indeed, in that library, are perfectly unequalled throughout Europe.

62 [There is a fine copy of this very rare edition in the Public Library at Cambridge.]

63 [Fine as is this book, it is yet inferior in altitude to the copy in the Public Library at Cambridge.]

64 [There was another copy of this edition, free from the foregoing objections, which had escaped me. This omission frets M. Crapelet exceedingly; but I can assure him that it was unintentional; and that I have a far greater pleasure in describing fine, than ordinary, copies--be they WHOSE they may.]

65 [Not so. There was another copy upon vellum, in the library of Count Melzi, which is now in that of G.H. Standish, Esq. I know that 500 guineas were once offered for this most extraordinary copy, bound in 3 volumes in foreign coarse vellum.]

66 Vol. ii. p. 11: or to the Bibliotheca Spenceriana; vol. iv. p. 385.

67 Now in Lord Spencer's Collection.

68 Vol. i. p. 281-2.

69 [To the best of my recollection and belief, the finest copy of this most estimable book, is that in the Library of the Rt. Hon. Thomas Grenville.]

70 [The finest copy of this valuable edition, which I ever saw, is that in the Public Library at Cambridge.]

71 See Bibl. Spenceriana; vol. i. page 272.

72 [I had called it a UNIQUE copy; but M. Crapelet says, that there was a second similar copy, offered to the late Eugene Beauharnais.]

73 [It is the Edition of Verard, of the date of 1504. The copy looks as if it had neither Printer's name or date, because the last lines of the colophon have been defaced. See Cat. des Livr. Iniprim. sur Vèlin de la Bibl. du Roi. vol. iii. p. 35. CRAPELET.]

74 At page 599, &c.

75 [See Cat. des Livr. sur Vélin, vol. iv. No. 236.]

76 Vol. iii. p. 176.

77 [Mr. Hibbert's beautiful copy, above referred to, is about to be sold at the sale of his library, in the ensuing Spring; and is fully described in the Catalogue of that Library, at p. 414: But the fac-simile portrait of Francis Sforza, prefixed to the Catalogue, wants, I suspect, the high finished brilliancy, or force, of the original.]

78 [Not so: see the Introduction to the Classics , vol. 1. p. 313. edit. 1827 The only known copy of the first volume, UPON VELLUM, is that in the Library of New College, Oxford.]

79 See the Bibliographical Decameron; vol. iii. p. 165.

80 [The only ENTIRELY PERFECT copy in Europe, to my knowledge, is that in the library of the Right Hon. Thomas Grenville.]

81 [The only copy of it in England, UPON VELLUM, is that in the Royal Library in the British Museum.]

82 [It seems that it is a production of the GIUNTI Press. Cat. des Livr. &c. sur Vélin, vol. ii. p. 59.]

83 [I learn from M. Crapelet that this book is a Lyons Counterfeit of the Aldine Press; and that the genuine Aldine volume, upon vellum, was obtained, after my visit to Paris, from the Macarthy Collection.]

84 [I had blundered sadly, it seems, in the description of this book in the previous edition of this work: calling it a Theocritus, and saying there was a second copy on large paper. M. Crapelet is copious and emphatic in his detection of this error.]

85 [I thank M. Crapelet for the following piece of information--from whatever source he may have obtained it: "The library of Henri II. and Diane de Poictiers was sold by public auction in 1724, after the death of Madame La Princesse Marie de Bourbon, wife of Louis-Joseph, Duc de Vendome, who became Proprietor of the Chateau d'Anet. The Library, was composed of a great number of MSS. and Printed Books, exceedingly precious. The sale catalogue of the Library, which is a small duodecimo of 50 pages, including the addenda, is become very scarce." CRAPELET; vol. iii. 347.

My friend M. GAIL published a very interesting brochure, about ten years ago, entitled Lettres Inedites de Henri II. Diane de Poitiers, Marie Stuart, François, Roi Dauphin &c. Amongst these letters, there was only ONE specimen which the author could obtain of the united scription, or rather signatures, of Henry and Diana. Of these signatures he has given a fac-simile; for which the Reader, in common with myself, is here indebted to him. Below this united signature, is one of Diana HERSELF--from a letter entirely written in her own hand. It must be confessed that she was no Calligraphist.

86 [My friend Mr. Drury possessed a similar copy.]

87 It may not be generally known that one of the most minute and interesting accounts of this assassination is given in Howell's Familiar Letters. The author had it from a friend who was an eye-witness of the transaction.

88 As for the "singeing."--or the reputed story of the greater part of them having been burnt--my opinion still continues to be as implied above: I will only now say that FORTUNATE is that Vendor who can obtain 25l. for a copy--be that copy brown or fair.

89 [My friend, the late Robert Lang, Esq. whose extraordinary Collection of Romances was sold at the close of the preceding year, often told me, that THE ABOVE was the only Romance which he wanted to complete his Collection.]

90 Page 164, ante.

91 [Because I have said that M. FLOCON was "from home" at the time I visited the library, and that M. Le CHEVALIER was rarely to be found abroad, M. Crapelet lets loose such a tirade of vituperation as is downright marvellous and amusing to peruse. Most assuredly I was not to know M. Flocon's bibliographical achievements and distinction by inspiration; and therefore I hasten to make known both the one and the other--in a version of a portion of the note of my sensitive translator: "M. Flocon is always at work; and one of the most zealous Librarians in Paris: he has worked twenty years at a Catalogue of the immense Library of Ste. Geneviève, of which the fruits are, twenty-four volumes--ready for press. Assuredly such a man cannot be said to pass his life away from his post." CRAPELET, vol iv. p. 3, 4. Most true--and who has said that HE DOES? Certainly not the Author of this Work. My translator must have here read without his spectacles.]

92 Editiones Italicæ; 1793. Præf.

93 Vol. i. p. 63-7. It is there observed that "there does not seem to be any reason for assigning this edition, to a Roman press."

94 See page 116 ante

95 See page 139 ante.

96 See page 145 ante.

97 [Now the property of the Right Hon. T. Grenville; having been purchased at the sale of Mr. Dent's Library for 107l.]

98 M. Crapelet doubts the truth of this story. He need not.

99 [See the account of M. Barbier, post.]

100 It is on a small piece of paper, addressed to M. Barbier: "Cherchez dans les depôts bien soigneusement, tous les ouvrages d'ANDRE CIRINE: entr'autres ses De Venatione libri ii: Messanæ 1650. 8vo. De natura et solertia Canum; Panormi, 1653. 4to. De Venatione et Natura Animalium Libri V. ibid, 1653. 3 vol. in 4to.--tous avec figures gravées en bois. Peut être dans la Bibl. des Théatres y étoient-ils. Je me recommande toujours à M, Barbier pour la Scala Coeli, in folio, pour les Lettres de Rangouge, et pour les autres livres qu'il a bien voulu se charger de rechercher pour moy." ST. LEGER.

101 The Abbé Hooke preceded the abbé Le Blond; the late head librarian. The present head librarian M. PETIT RADEL, has given a good account of the Mazarine Library in his Recherches sur les Bibliotheques, &c. 1819, 8vo.; but he has been reproached with a sort of studied omission of the name of Liblond-- who, according to a safe and skilful writer, may be well considered the SECOND FOUNDER of the Mazarine Library. The Abbé Liblond died at St. Cloud in 1796. In M. Renouard's Catalogue of his own books, vol. ii. p. 253, an amusing story is told about Hooke's successor, the Abbé Le Blond, and Renouard himself.

102 Bibl. Spenceriana, vol. i. p. 3, &c. and page 154 ante.

103 When Lord Spencer was at Paris in 1819, he told MM. Petit Radel and Thiebaut, who attended him, that it was "the finest copy he had ever seen." Whereupon, one of these gentlemen wrote with a pencil, in the fly-leaf, "Lord Spencer dit que c'est le plus bel exemplaire qu'il ait vu." And well might his Lordship say so.

104 Bibliomania, p. 50. Bibliographical Decameron, vol. ii. p. 493.

105 Mons. Petit-Radel has lately (1819) published an interesting octavo volume, entitled "Recherches sur les Bibliothéques anciennes et modernes, &c. with a "Notice Historique sur la Bibliothéque Mazarine: to which latter is prefixed a plate, containing portraits in outline, of Mazarin, Colbert, Naudé and Le Blond." At the end, is a list of the number of volumes in the several public libraries at Paris: from which the following is selected.

ROYAL LIBRARY	Printed Volumes about	350,000
	Ditto, as brochures, &c.	350,000
	Manuscripts	50,000
LIBRARY OF THE ARSENAL	Printed Volumes	150,000
	Manuscripts	5,000
LIBRARY OF ST. GENEVIEVE	Printed Volumes	110,000
	Manuscripts	2,000
MAZARINE LIBRARY	Printed Volumes	90,000
	Manuscripts	3,500
LIBRARY OF THE PREFECTURE (Hotel de la Ville)	Printed Volumes	15,000
---- ---- ---- INSTITUTE	Printed Volumes	50,000

This last calculation I should think very incorrect. M. Petit Radel concludes his statement by making the WHOLE NUMBER OF ACCESSIBLE VOLUMES IN Paris amount to One Million, one hundred and twenty-five thousand, four hundred and thirty-seven. In the several DEPARTMENTS OF FRANCE, collectively, there is more than that number. But see the note ensuing.

106 [Mons. Crapelet says, 60,000 volumes: but I have more faith in the first, than in the second, computation: not because it comes from myself, but because a pretty long experience, in the numbering of books, has taught me to be very moderate in my numerical estimates. I am about to tell the reader rather a curious anecdote connected with this subject. He may, or he may not, be acquainted with the Public Library at Cambridge; where, twenty-five years ago, they boasted of having 90,000 volumes; and now, 120,000 volumes. In the year 1823, I ventured to make, what I considered to be, rather a minute and carefull calculation of the whole number: and in a sub note in the Library Companion, p. 657, edit. 1824, stated my conviction of that number's not exceeding 65,000 volumes, including MSS. In the following year, a very careful estimate was made, by the Librarians, of the whole number:--and the result was, that there were only.... 64,800 volumes!]

107 Now, numbered with THE DEAD. Vide post.

108 [The translation of the whole of the concluding part of this letter, beginning from above, together with the few notes supplied, as seen in M. Crapelet's publication, is the work of M. Barbier's nephew.]

109 [For M. Barbier Junior's note, which, in M. Crapelet's publication, is here subjoined, consult the end of the Letter.]

110 See pages 65-7 ante.

111 [This conclusion is questioned with acuteness and success by M. Barbier's nephew. It seems rather that the MS. was finished in 781, to commemorate the victories of Charlemagne over his Lombardic enemies in 774.]

112 [This restoration, in the name of the City of Toulouse, was made in the above year--on the occasion of the baptism of Bonaparte's son. But it was not placed in the King's private library till 1814. BARBIER Jun.]

113 [Now complete in 8 volumes--at the cost of 80,000 francs!]

114 [The latter was the true guess: for M. Barbier died in 1825, in his 60th year.]

115 It was published in 1821. In one of his recent letters to me, the author thus observes--thereby giving a true portraiture of himself--"Je sais, Monsieur, quelle est votre ardeur pour le travail: je sais aussi que c'est le moyen d'être heureux: ainsi je vous félicite d'être constamment occupé." M. Barbier is also one of the contributors to the Biographie Universelle,116 and has written largely in the Annales Encyclopédiques. Among his contributions to the latter, is a very interesting "Notice des principaux écrits relatifs à la personne et aux ouvrages de J.J. Rousseau." His "Catalogue des livres dans la Bibliothéque du Conseil d'Etat, transported to Fontainbleau in 1807, and which was executed in a handsome folio volume, in 1802, is a correct and useful publication. I boast with justice of a copy of it, on fine paper, of which the author several years ago was so obliging as to beg my acceptance. [From an inscription in the fly-leaf of this Catalogue, I present the reader with a fac-simile of the hand-writing of its distinguished author.]

116 [I "ALONE am responsible for this Sin. Suum Cuique." BARBIER, Jun.]

117 [These volumes form the numbers 1316 and 1317 of the Catalogue of M. Barbier's library, sold by auction in 1828.]

118 [Consult Bibl. Barbier: Nos. 1490, 1491, 1861.]

119 [The agreeable and well instructed Bibliographer, to the praises of whom, in the preceding edition of this work, I was too happy to devote the above few pages, is now NO MORE. Mons. Barbier died in 1825, and his library--the richest in literary bibliography in Paris,--was sold in 1828. On referring to page 197 ante, it will be seen that I have alluded to a note of M. Barbier's nephew, of which some mention was to be made in this place. I will give that note in its original language, because the most felicitous version of it would only impair its force. It is subjoined to these words of my text: "Be pleased to go strait forward as far as you can see." "L'homme de service lui-même ne ferait plus cette rêponse aujourd'hui. Peu de temps après l'impression du Voyage de M. Dibdin, ce qu'on appelle une organisation eut lieu. Après vingt-sept ans de travaux consacrés à la bibliographique et aux devoirs de sa place, M. Barbier, que ses fonctions paisibles avoient protégés contre les terribles dénonciations de 1815, n'a pu régister, en 1822, aux délations mensongères de quelque commis sous M. Lauriston.

Insere nunc, Meliboee, pyros; pone ordine vites!

J'ai partagé pendant vingt ans les travaux de mon oncle pour former la bibliothéque de la couronne, et j'ai du, ainsi que lui, être mis a la retraite au moment de la promotion du nouveau Conservateur." CRAPELET, vol. iv. p. 45.

I will not pretend to say what were the causes which led to such a disgraceful, because wholly unmerited, result. But I have reason to BELIEVE that a dirty faction was at work, to defame the character of the Librarian, and in consequence, to warp the judgment of the Monarch. Nothing short of infidelity to his trust should have moved SUCH a Man from the Chair which he had so honourably filled in the private Library of Louis XVIII. But M. Barbier was beyond suspicion on this head; and in ability he had perhaps, scarcely an equal--in the particular range of his pursuits. His retreating PENSION was a very insufficient balm to heal the wounds which had been inflicted upon him; and it was evident to those, who had known him long and well, that he was secretly pining at heart, and that his days of happiness were gone. He survived the dismissal from his beloved Library only five years: dying in the plenitude of mental vigour. I shall always think of him with no common feelings of regret: for never did a kinder heart animate a well-stored head. I had hoped, if ever good fortune should carry me again to Paris, to have renewed, in person, an acquaintance, than which none had been more agreeable to me, since my first visit there in 1818: But ... "Diis aliter visum est." There is however a mournful pleasure in making public these attestations to the honour of his memory; and, in turn, I must be permitted to quote from the same author as the nephew of M. Barbier has done....

His saltem accumulem donis, et fungar inani
Munere....

Perhaps the following anecdote relating to the deceased, may be as acceptable as it is curious. Those of my readers who have visited Paris, will have constantly observed, on the outsides of houses, the following letters, painted in large capitals:

MACL:

implying--as the different emblems of our Fire Offices imply--

"M[aison] A[ssurée] C[ontre] L'[incendie]:"

in plain English, that such houses are insured against fire. Walking one afternoon with M. Barbier, I pointed to these letters, and said, "You, who have written upon Anonymes and Pseudonymes, do you know what those letters signify?" He replied, "Assuredly--and they can have but one meaning." "What is that?" He then explained them as I have just explained them. "But (rejoined I) since I have been at Paris, I have learnt that they also imply another meaning." "What might that be?" Stopping him, and gently touching his arm, and looking round to see that we were not overheard, I answered in a suppressed tone:--

"M[es] A[mis] C[hassez] L[ouis]."

He was thunderstruck. He had never heard it before: and to be told it by a stranger! "Mais (says he, smiling, and resuming his steps) "voila une chose infiniment drole!"

Let it be remembered, that this HERETICAL construction upon these Initial Capitals was put at a time when the Bonaparte Fever was yet making some of the pulses of the Parisians beat 85 strokes to the minute. Now, his Majesty Charles X. will smile as readily at this anecdote as did the incomparable Librarian of his Regal Predecessor.

120 [A young stranger, a Frenchman--living near the mountainous solitudes between Lyons and the entrance into Italy--and ardently attached to the study of bibliography-- applied himself, under the guidance of a common friend--dear to us both from the excellence of his head and heart--to a steady perusal of the Bibliographical Decameron , and the Tour. He mastered both works within a comparatively short time. He then read A Roland for an Oliver--and voluntarily tendered to me his French translation of it. How successfully the whole has been accomplished, may be judged from the following part--being the version of my preface only.

OBSERVATION PRELIMINAIRE.

"La production de M. Crapelet rappelée, dans le titre précédent, sera considérée comme un phénomène dans son genre. Elle est, certes, sans antécédent et, pour l'honneur de la France, je desire qu'elle n'ait pas d'imitateurs. Quiconque prendra la peine de lire la trentième lettre de mon voyage, soit dans l'original, soit dans la version de M. Crapelet, en laissant de coté les notes qui appartiennent an traducteur, conviendra facilement que cette lettre manifeste les sentimens les plus impartiaux et les plus honorables à l'état actuel de la librairie et de l'imprimerie à Paris. Dans plusieurs passages, où l'on compare l'éxécution typographique, dans les deux pays, la supériorité est décidée en faveur de la France. Quant a l'esprit qui a dicté cette lettre, je déclare, comme homme d'honneur, ne l'avoir pas composée, dans un systême d'opposition, envers ceux qu'elle concerne plus particulièrement.

"Cependant, il n'en a pas moins plu à M. Crapelet, imprimeur de Paris, l'un de ceux dont il y est fait plus spécialement l'éloge, d'accompagner sa traduction de cette lettre, de notes déplacées et injurieuses pour le caractère de l'auteur et de son ouvrage. Par suite probablement du peu d'étendue de ses idées et de l'organisation vicieuse de ses autres sens, ce typographe s'est livré a une séries d'observations qui outragent autant la raison que la politesse, et qui décèlent hautement sa malignité et sa noirceur. Les formes de son procédé ne sont pas moins méprisables que le fond. Avec la prétention avouée de ne répandre que partiellement sa version,

(Voulant blesser et cependant timide pour frapper)

il s'est servi de ses propres presses et il a imprimé le texte et les notes avec des caractères et sur un papier aussi semblables que possible à ceux de l'ouvrage qu'il venait de traduire. Il en a surveillé, a ce qu'on assure, l'impression, avec l'attention personelle la plus scrupuleuse, en sorte qu'il n'est aucune epreuvé égarée, qui ait été soumise à d'autres yeux que les siens. Il a prit soin, en outre, d'en faire tirer, au moins, cent exemplaires, et de les répandre. C Comme ces cent exemplaires seront probablement lus par dix fois le même nombre de personnes, il y aurait eu plus de franchisé et peut-être plus de bon sens de la part de M. Crapelet à diriger publiquement ses coups contre moi que de le faire sous la couverture d'un pamphlet privé. Il a fait choix de ce genre d'attaque; il ne me reste plus qu'à adopter une semblable méthode de défense: si ce n'est, qu'au lieu de cent exemplaires, ces remarques ne seront véritablement imprimée qu'a trente six. Ce procédé est certes plus délicat que celui de mon adversaire; mais soit que M. Crapelet ait préféré l'obscurité à la lumière, il n'en est pas moins évident que son intention a été d'employer tous ses petits moyens, a renverser la réputation d'un ouvrage, dont il avoue lui-même avoir à peine lu la cinquantième partie!

"Par le contenu de ses notes, on voit qu'il a cherché, avec une assiduité condamnable, a recueillir le mal qu'il me suppose avoir eu l'intention de dire des personnes que j'ai citées, et cependant, après tout ce travail, a peine a-t-il pû découvrir l'ombre d'une seule allusion maligne. Jamais on ne fit un usage plus déplorable de son tems et de ses peines, car toutes les phrases de cette production sont aussi obscures que tirées de loin.

"Il est difficile, ainsi que je l'ai déjà observé, de se rendre compte des motifs d'une telle conduite. Mais M. Crapelet n'a fait part de son secret à personne, et d'après l'échantillon dont il s'agit ici, je n'ai nulle envie de le lui demander.

T.F.D.

"J'avais eu d'abord l'intention de relever chacunes des notes de M. Crapelet, mais de plus mûres réfléxions m'ont fait connaitre l'absurdité d'une telle enterprise. Je m'en suis donc tenu à la préface, sans toutefois, ainsi que le lecteur pourra s'en appercevoir, laisser tomber dans l'oubli le mérite des notes. Encore un mot; M. Crapelet m'a attaqué et je me suis défendu. Il peut récommencer, si cela lui fait plaisir; mais désormais je ne lui répondrai que par le silence et le mépris."

C "M. Crapelet, en sa qualité de critique, a mis ici du raffinement; car je soupçonne qu'il y a eu au moins vingt cinq exemplaires tirés sur papier vélin. C'est ainsi qu'il sait dorer sa pillule, pour la rendre plus présentable aux dignes amis de l'auteur, les bibliophiles de Paris. Mais ces Messieurs ont trop bon gout pour l'accepter.

121 Bibliomania; p. 79. Bibliographical Decameron; vol. i. p. xxii.

122 See the Bibliographical Decameron; vol. ii. p. 20.

123 [Consistently with the plan intended to be pursued in this edition, I annex a fac-simile of their autograph.]