One effect of Mezzofanti’s appointment as librarian was to separate him somewhat from his sister and her family. He occupied thenceforward the apartments of the librarian in the Palace of the University. But he still continued towards them the same affectionate protection and support. Hitherto he had himself in part superintended or directed the education of his nephews, and especially of his namesake Joseph, a youth of much promise, whose diligence and success fully requited his uncle’s care. Joseph had made choice of the ecclesiastical profession; and, although falling far short of his uncle’s extraordinary gift, he became an excellent linguist, and was especially distinguished as a Greek and Latin scholar; so that his uncle had the satisfaction, when his own increasing occupations compelled him to diminish the number of his pupils, of finding the young Minarelli fully competent to undertake a portion of the charge. His first public appearance at the Academy after he entered upon his new office, was for the purpose of reading, (July 11th, 1815,) a paper “On the Wallachian Language and its Analogies with Latin;”—a subject which has engaged the attention of philologers and historians from the days of Chalcocondylas, and which involves many interesting ethnological, as well as philological considerations.[367] As we shall find him, a few years later, astonishing a German visitor by his familiarity with this out-of-the-way language, it is worth while to note this essay, as an evidence that here, too, his knowledge was the result of careful study, and not of casual opportunity, or of sudden inspiration. For a considerable time after he took charge of the Library, he seems to have been much occupied by his duties in connexion with it. The only letter which I have been able to obtain about this period, one addressed to Pezzana, March 5th, 1816, is entirely occupied with details regarding the library; and M. Manavit mentions that he not only obtained from the authorities a considerable addition to the funds appropriated to the purchase of books, but, moreover, devoted no trifling share of his own humble resources to the same purpose.[368] In the course of a few months, too, he was quite at ease in his new pursuit; and the familiarity with the contents of the library, and even of the position of particular books upon its shelves which he soon possessed, would, in a person of less prodigious memory, have been a subject of wonder. His nephew, Cavaliere Minarelli of Bologna, was present on one occasion when Professor Ranzani, while passing an evening in the librarian’s apartments, happened to require some rare volume from the library; and, though it was dark at the time, Mezzofanti left the room without a light, proceeded to the library, and in a few moments returned with the volume required.