The library of Richard Farmer, D.D., sold by Mr. King in May 1798, was a peculiarly interesting one, as containing a rich collection of early English poetry, of which he was one of the earliest purchasers. Although he employed agents to purchase for him, he was not very liberal, and is said to have made a rule not to exceed three shillings for any book. The number of lots in the sale was 8199, and thirty-six days were occupied in selling them. The total amount of the sale was £2210, and the library is supposed to have cost Dr. Farmer in collecting about £500. Dr. Farmer (1735-1797), author of the famous “Essay on the Learning of Shakspeare,” and for two-and-twenty years Master of Emanuel College, Cambridge, was a curious character, who was said to have loved three things--old port, old clothes, and old books. It was further said that there were three things which nobody could persuade him to do, viz., to rise in the morning, to go to bed at night, and to settle an account. He is said to have imbibed his passion for collecting books from Dr. Askew. Dr. Parr, who composed his Latin epitaph, wrote of him-- “How shall I talk of thee, and of thy wonderful collection, O rare Richard Farmer?--of thy scholarship, acuteness, pleasantry, singularities, varied learning, and colloquial powers! Thy name will live long among scholars in general, and in the bosoms of virtuous and learned bibliomaniacs thy memory shall ever be enshrined! The walls of Emanuel College now cease to convey the sounds of thy festive wit; thy volumes are no longer seen, like Richard Smith’s ‘bundles of stitcht books,’ strewn upon the floor; and thou has ceased in the cause of thy beloved Shakespeare to delve into the fruitful ore of black letter literature. Peace to thy honest spirit; for thou wert wise without vanity, learned without pedantry, and joyous without vulgarity.” Dr. Farmer at one time proposed to have had a catalogue taken of his library, to which he intended to have prefixed the following advertisement-- “This Collection of Books is by no means to be considered as an essay towards a perfect Library; the circumstances and the situation of the Collector made such an attempt both unnecessary and impracticable. Here are few publications of great price which were already to be found in the excellent Library of Emanuel College; but it is believed that not many private collections contain a greater number of really curious and scarce books; and perhaps no one is so rich in the antient philological English literature.--R. FARMER.” FOOTNOTES: [46] “Memoir of William Oldys,” 1862, p. 101. [47] _Reliquiæ Hearnianæ_, 1869, vol. iii. p. 159. [48] _Ibid._, p. 160. [49] Nichols’s “Literary Anecdotes,” vol. v. p. 490. [50] Wanley’s “Diary,” Lansdowne MS., 808, _quoted_ Nichols’s “Literary Anecdotes,” vol. i. pp. 91-92. [51] Ibid., vol. ii. p. 106.