Fifty-five MSS. and printed books, chiefly Oriental, were purchased in this year from the library of Dr. Thomas Greaves, Deputy-professor of Arabic, who died May 22, 1676. It appears from the list in Bernard's Catalogue that sixty-five volumes were purchased, but that ten of these were never sent. With Greaves' own books were obtained also the MSS. of Richard James, of Corpus Christi College, nephew of Thomas James, the first Librarian, which had come into the possession of his friend Greaves upon his death in Dec. 1638. These amount to forty-three volumes, entirely written by James himself, in a large bold hand; they consist chiefly of _Collectanea_ bearing on the history of England from various MSS. Chronicles, Registers, and early writers, particularly with reference to the corruption of the Church and clergy before the Reformation, and in opposition to Becket. A full list of their contents, drawn up by Tanner, is given at pp. 248-253 of Bernard's Catalogue. The price paid for the books bought out of Greaves' library was £55. Fifteen shillings were paid, as appears from the accounts for the year, for the carriage of a whale from Lechlade, which, strange to say, had been caught in the Severn, and was presented by William Jordan, an apothecary at Gloucester[139]. Ten shillings were also paid for a 'sea elephant.' [138] Parts of MSS. 4 and 5, which had been stolen from the Library, were recovered, in 1720, in the manner recorded in the following entry in the Benefaction Book: 'Vir doctissimus Joannes Georgius Eckardus, bibliothecæ Brunsvicensis præfectus, pro singulari sua humanitate, folia quammulta MSS. Dictionarii Fr. Junii, continentia sc. litteras F. et S., a nequissimo quodam Dano jam olim surrepta, propriis sumptibus redemit et Bibl. Bodl. ultro restituit.' Some further portions of Junius' papers (including some which had formerly been in the Library) are recorded to have been given in 1753 by the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College. [139] In the Benefaction Book this gift is assigned to the year 1672. A.D. 1680. [See A.D. 1665.] Sir W. Dugdale gave copies of his own works. Two hundred coins were given by Dr. George Hickes. A.D. 1681.