It was a dilletante age for books. It was the first wake up after a long, long sleep. Men were only just beginning to understand the value of the treasures they possessed, and the mysteries of first editions, tall copies, &c., were just coming to light. Old libraries were searched, and their secrets were exposed. I think they over-valued their old books; as a proof, they do not fetch so much now. For instance, take the "Valdarfer Boccaccio," printed in 1471. This book was in the library of the Duke of Roxburghe, and at the sale thereof fetched, on June 17, 1812, the enormous sum of £2,260. It was purchased by the Marquis of Blandford. He afterwards sold it, on June 16, 1819, to Messrs. Longman and Co., at the reduced price of £875, and on December 7, 1881, Mr. Quaritch bought it for £585. At the same sale the Duke of Devonshire bought a Caxton, "The Recuyell of the historyes of Troye," for £1,060. People other than those infatuated called it bibliomania, and so I think it was. The foundation of the celebrated Roxburghe Club took place on that _dies mirabilis_, the 17th of June, when the number was limited to twenty-four, and they dined annually afterwards, the great toast of the evening being always, "The memory of the immortal Valdarfer." Here is a curious Advertisement, May 11, 1814: "A SHABBY OLD MANUSCRIPT, to be seen at No. 15, Noel Street, Berwick Street, Soho, is, perhaps, one of the greatest Curiosities now existing; not so much for its Antiquity, though conjectured to be of the 13th or 14th Century, for it has no date, or any striking peculiarity either in the Character or spelling, as on account of the subject, and the extraordinary nature of its contents. The Proprietor of this singularly curious and interesting document, a gentleman of high literary attainments, would, under certain limitations and restrictions, dispose of a Correct COPY for 200 guineas. Mere curiosity may, however, be gratified with a sight of the original, and of the heads of its principal contents, for a One Pound Bank of England Note, or twenty shillings good and current money." In Science great strides were being made; they were emerging from the slough of ignorance, and treading the right path at last; and, although they cannot boast either of the scientists, or the discoveries, of the Victorian era, yet an age that could produce a Humphrey Davy and a David Brewster brought forth two famous men.