Among the millions of events in this world which cross and re-cross one
another, remarkable coincidences must often occur; and a case exactly
similar to that at the Mazarin Library, happened about the same time
in London, at the French Protestant Church, St. Martin's-le-Grand. Many
years ago I discovered there, in a dirty pigeon hole close to the grate
in the vestry, a fearfully mutilated copy of Caxton's edition of the
Canterbury Tales, with woodcuts. Like the book at Paris, it had long
been used, leaf by leaf, in utter ignorance of its value, to light the
vestry fire. Originally worth at least L800, it was then worth half,
and, of course, I energetically drew the attention of the minister in
charge to it, as well as to another grand Folio by Rood and Hunte, 1480.
Some years elapsed, and then the Ecclesiastical Commissioners took the
foundation in hand, but when at last Trustees were appointed, and the
valuable library was re-arranged and catalogued, this "Caxton," together
with the fine copy of "Latterbury" from the first Oxford Press, had
disappeared entirely. Whatever ignorance may have been displayed in the
mutilation, quite another word should be applied to the disappearance.
The following anecdote is so _apropos_, that although it has lately
appeared in No. 1 of _The Antiquary_, I cannot resist the temptation of
re-printing it, as a warning to inheritors of old libraries. The account
was copied by me years ago from a letter written in 1847, by the Rev. C.
F. Newmarsh, Rector of Pelham, to the Rev. S. R. Maitland, Librarian to
the Archbishop of Canterbury, and is as follows:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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