- --I UlOU U ATEIt TUIS UAY.|1886-06-15|The Western Mail

- --I UlOU U ATEIt TUIS UAY.

Detailed Lists, Results and Guides

A VISIT TO THE SALUSBURY LIBRARY. I [l)7 OCB SPECIAL COMMISSIONER.] A p&tagraph fn our is«ue of Friday last orieflf announced the fact that the collection of books and MSS. formed by Mr. K. R. 0. Salusbury had been purchased in trust for tho Univeisity College of Soulh Wales and Monmouth- shire. Thinking our readers iniglit like to have a notion of what the collection was really like, we at once despiitelied, on & special micbion a mem- ber of our staf fpossessing a bibliographical know- ledge second to few in '.he country, with In- structions to examine und report upon the condition and value of tho library. "It is barely possible to imagine," he writes, "a lovelier country or a lovelier morning, and to one who had been mewed up among tho noise and butl., the smoke and scaffolding of a town given over to mercantile competitionand the speculative builder, the quiet "d clo,mlitiess of the Ir.ire old city of Chester,' as Albert Smith has termed it, brought a MII8e of relief and of repose which was truly refreshing. After a meal—for which I was In pretty good ti-im-and a wash-up at the (irosvenor/ behold me ready to accompany Mr. Ivor James, the Registrar of tho University College, to Glanaber/ which, however, we did not reach until dark, my introduction on the wny to Mv. W. Evans, the official receiver through whose hands the Salusbury estate has just p issed, necessitating a talk und a cup of tea, both of which, Ir. Evans being a cap ittl conversationalist and cordially and unaffectedly hospitable, wo enjoyed immensely. It was here that I tirllt learned the history of the negotiations for the pur- chaso of the Library, and, Inasmuch as I thiuk it an interesting one, I shall proceed to give it without further preface or delay. It. seem?,then, that on tho day tiie deputa- tion from Cardiff waited upon Lord Spencer it was communicated to the Registrar its a great stcret by a well-known North Watian with whom ho duwd in London that the Salusbury collection was in the inaiket, and might probably be bought at a low I,rlc" On his return to Cardiff Mr. James had ft talk Wilh Professor Powel, whom he got to make some inquiries of the official receiver. Meeting with an encouraging reply, the Registrar laid the facta btfore tho College Council, the members of whih, Iwwever, decided that the purchase of the library was hot within their pro- vince. rrvfe.;sor I',¡weland the Hc;¡lslrar tb.re. upon took the matter into their own hands, waited upon a number of noblemen and gentlemen interested in the College and In South Wales generally, with a result so promising that negotiations were Immedilltdy enlered inlo for tho purchaic. Professor Powel visited Chester, saw the books, and returned with a quite satisfactory 1,,),t The library, ba &i, at *(ilanuber' in it. illte".1 rity, and its (U'quiition would be a national advan- tage, while its loss would be a oationalc ilamity, Ir. James thereupou visited Manchester, di8CC}\erd the ends of tho strings, waited upon tho :.1e..rs. Uroome, Murray, and Co., the tru?mottte estate, rdurnl'd to Cardiff, and, on tho a,i?i?e of JIIr.11 J. UowcU, tho well-known draper of St. Mary- | street, requisitioned tiie services of Mr, Hugh Howl..nd, manning partnH in Ihe firm of Sparrow^ liardwick, and Co., of Manchester, and a wholc- | souled Welshman. "Th negotiations became exceedingly difficult. In cün8t><¡uellc@ apparently of the limited knowledge possessed by tho trustees of the nature and extent of tho library. Tho "um a*ked for it was tweaiy- fivo times the one mentionoll to the Registrar in London its that for which the books might be got. Mr. James, after interviewing the Committee of Inspection without being ftblo to (]tl "ny uuiLle:3 Rod remaining 801D1) dYd in Chester with no better result, went and placed the matter iinre. servediy in the hands of Mr. llu11 Row land. The next step was to obtain a guarantee for tho purchase money, and it is satisfactory to note that this was promptly forthcoming. Lord Hute, through Sir Wilham Thomas Lewis, intimated lilsreadiness to give ISDO. Lord Aberdaro guaranteed one-fifth of the purchase money; Mr, Lewis II.IVi_, Ferndale, guaranteed tI fifth and gavo a toolli the Mayor of Cardiff guaranteed a fifth; Ir. George Griffiths guinnLeed a tenth, with a hint of a heavier guarantee, it necessary, and gave L100 towards the purchase; Nfr. J. Howell gave ilOO Dr. Price, £50 Mr. John Duncan, U5, with a guarantee of £ 50; while Alderman and Sheri if fvan, of London, in hi usually munificent way when | a nitional object I. concerned, answered :—* I don't know what you wilnt mo to do in the mauer of a guarantee, whether it is for two thousand or | twenty thousand pounds, but I intend to and his interviewers, knowing his word to be us good as his bond, went aw iy perfectly content. The oilier guarantors were tho Mes,r8. John Cory, Richard Cory, and Lewi* Williams, who each held himself responsible for a tenth. These were all waited on,und,amply saIL11!.J with the as^utances of support thus obtained, tho negotiators made arrangements for tilt) udviLnce of 11w money by the National Provincial Rank, whose manager, h Kingston, met thetn in the mftst friendly and htKTil way. 11"11." t'lte <¡u."li.}J1 of actual pay-1 ment c une up there was 1\ pleasant little contest., between Mr. Howell and Mr. ltowl tnd its to wnose khould be the cheque lhat would make the Col.egc right with tho lrU6ltH! lf. Howell 8lil his own lon-it was (or l) nice fittlj UU1. IAlid. there are various reasons fur not iiiiiiiiiig-but Mr. Rowland i in Mediately returned it wilii the intima- tion lhat the cheque must be lis, or twenty thousand Manchester men would know the reason, or something to lhat lYect. I could enlarge here. 1 could ted your r.J"r.. very ^ood story or two affecting (aoJ details of the negotiations. One, indeed, i almost too good to lot al p. It was communicated to me by tue obliging lady manager of the 1 Grosvenor/ and had reference to Mr. James's pertimcity in cou- cealing his identity from all inquirers, and the near shave ha had of being taken for one oi Mr. Parnell's frinJucroo Lhe Atlantic (tlit3 1(1:jsvrnor I is a great place for Americans: the 4 Autocrat of the Ureakfast Table' aod his daughter Were there quite recently), only, fortunately, lie curried a yellow instead of » black Gladstone bag. Some bit of strategy I guessed to be necessary—Mr. James himself, when 4.'IliQII\1 ün the poinl, would answer only WHI1 au owlld, wink—f >r various reasons. Hingor anJ AOerystwith College*, tho Calvinistic 1.:tIlJJI>t Colegj at Una, Mr. Simuel Smith, M P., the inevitable American, of couise, and (so a little bird whispered to IU) Sir Watkin Wilhlll09 Wynn were all in the lield, or meant to be, and a little wariness was, therefore, indispensable, But I must really hurry on to •Glanaber,' winch is the ua uo given to a roamy. but r.ot architecturally beautiful, house standing in its own grounds, olino.it withiu a stone's throw of the dirty village of Siltney, with tho towers of Katon Hall ju.t visible on the one side, und Uawarden Wood, with Moei I Faiumau nnd a grand Welsh tnouncuia ridge on tho othef, And very charming grounds these of 'GUuaber' are. For a house of the urue sizu, 1 never .tI\V anything to compare to the tenuis lawn and the finely-wooded vista of which you havo a view from the dining-room window, Heautifui a. these are, however, it was not ia his grounds Mr.Salusbuiy to;k delight. Huriedamong his books, it is esiJ, Its was never seen in the grounds frequently for six mouths together. Mr. Salusbury, who was brought up to thu Parliamen- tary liar, where he practised s.roe time with marked success, i. lineally descended iron William 8"I.sburr, the lir,t 11.,ln,I,Ltor of the New Testament into Wel*h, in 1557,! and it is a somewhat 8¡n)lul¡\r fact, or coincidence, I whichever you like to call it, that In married the dKuhter of Dr. Arthur Jones, of Hangor, a lineal Ot:IICDd4Ut. of Dr. Mvrg,U1, tiie first. VVVish truns- latorofthe Hiole, i,? 13aa. His lihr try has been bought in t, u.t lor xale to g,tilfy Ilia claims of I io:?e who b"va guaranteed the purchase money, nnd then in perpetuity, for the u. of Ihe UUlver- sity College of outh Wales an! Monmouthshire. II was caltJ Uy tf,. S?lu?b?,y the Weiaii -1?d Horder Counties Library. An extnet or two I. have obtained from the Transactions and Pro" j ceedlngs of tho Second Annual Meeting of tho Library Association of the United Kingdom, held at Manchester on the 23rd, £ 4th, and 25th cC September, 1679/ will give your readern better than I can a notion of the nature and extent of the library itself. Thus at p. 53 I find it stated that Perhaps the most remaikablo collection of this kind, however, is that o( llr. g. K. G. Salisbury, of Ulan Aber, Chaster, formerly M.P. for that ehy» who has n special library ùr aooul ¡!3.'JOO volumes or aU .,Irll referring to Wales aud the fonr bvrlier countU-t of Cheshire, (Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Monmouth- .b. Mud IIIOIUJjll more lhan 100 foho volumes i f cuttings, original letwrs, »nd .P. UhutrallV8 o! tl,! t.W,g, pt,y and history of tbe sixteen sulres. The fur- !t°?? St ?*< M?t'?'o hn b«n tbe ptrM.Mt t*b'Mr of nMr?htH«!ehtury.BuftrttCh<tturt!tfMM<rn<.t. It contains neariy every printed wo. k telatlug lo the unly or ubh.!Md by natives of it. Again, t p. 147 of the appendix ?cu,. the passage :— B. R. G .h..bury, E.g.. Glanabet, Cbeeipr,-Walet, m nd the four border eu?UM ?' ChMhtre. Bhrep?.rt? HM?r-i.h'?. and Monmoutl." ?? ab.uu 16.000 volntn«-s of all suits rcf«rrln«» ,T w ?,tl p ?f L??,k. 1;, IV,I, 11 l i Welshman bunks on <?.hh.. s!?"?' <hh?.t..dM.)nm.ut!.?.irt..n.tt,y,?,?;< oo.n?tt.. ?'Mprh.t.n?r..i,nd .L' '? r.?., ? .)„ Pr.c)p.y.u M., 1 "a «(<?? ?".?<:<. ?tutthMn??) ?uti'i.hfd ?. i' tothtt,??iM2..n.).n.:rt th.n :00fo?o '?'?"' cutting,. orlKln.l lei ten, and wr.|,i r»„i 8, lU- II };I:)'i III':f': II mnt unit All l?,, k, <witl, thli. pl^ <1"1 :tÎit1"to :I:I 'c::It¿t 1b;;I;{o ).Mt)p?f.-<<tLyM.u!!M.y),),°" )L hM ??, ? I Of hi ?tn ? .11 pulili<)ie.l work, dowi, I. It*. ,„.i uf r, f.r.?.h. f ooltocll. |a,T ••ouml many *iltlon, which >r« nol nol'c*! .„ hV?!" til, labour of iinc r l"'t « criturr. Hlnvrl T, e.i ly w.rk. I ?It en. Iw,n di. I lir.riM of tn. l.u si Tllornn, Jones, of ilniblgn, Arthur Joie,. „i )t.r.)'.rr.m.hy,,ftb.?t,?,'°'? I"?.yd (t11. R? rd -( Kdw.rl P.rry, of U,«»t,r.J H.g "??. ,}td W..h1 IOIUllqUMY. bo ChMliir. I, o"?nht.? by ??. ? 1: kt;e¡tllI ? ;iy' wJlrcuon. The catalogue of the collection I found to coctain 12346 entries, arranged in chronological order The undated books and pamphlets number 1,403 The first printed book (No. 1,404 in the catalogue is dated 1508, and I counted of the sixteenth century 5o, "c tho seventeenth 633, and of u* eighteenth 2 475 volume*. Ir Salu-bury's pl.. was to collect every eJilion of a work he couid 1.7 hold "f. Thus 1I..re are in the library 2g editions of Uaxter's 'Saint's Rest,' fourteea of tiie same author's C,, If. dating from early in the seventeenth century Properly utilised at its new location, the library "ill be the means of dispelling many pet h..toric.,1 theories. 1,. s?up..?,y be ;,?,lg?d.f when I "y ,?Rt it ranges flow Acts of Parliament such &$ tUt of Newport nnd Caerleon in Ille sixteenth century down to the simple Rhodd Maui,' published tins year, The controversies of the seveptoemb century are remarkably weil ropresented; tha library being rich in the works of Vavasour Powell, John Penry, William Lrbery, of Caidiff Walter Cradock, Wroth, of Llanvaches, John IAIltls, Glasgrug, and otlfcrs. Of topographical and musical works, tli.,ra is a splendid selection. All tho county histories aro Brecon shire/ Meyrick's 4 CarJî;"nshjl'e.. Coze's' on; mouthshire.' &c all the publications of the H'eMi MSS. Society, Willis's 'Cotl'edlal. tile ogion'j all the heraldries from 'Lewyi Dwon and John Guillcm, all the Ribles, all tlie Testa- ments, all tho Psalms, all the Prayer-books ever issued; all tho o'¡ili, of holy George Herbert and of his, possibly, moro brilliant, though unrt sceptical, brother, the Lord Ujrbert ofCherbury; all those of Owen's Epigrams Geoffrey of Moo. moo tit's' Briunnico of 1517, superb samples oftile chroniclers Speede, Uall, Uollin.hed.nJ olllero; tile • Itinerary of old John Lc land, the workior GiralJu, C<lllJbrt'¡',¡" &c. ¡ 1'ennant's Tours/ of COU!18 with tli.it ol!,c.j much less knowo workofUii* distinguished trave/ier, his 'iirifisii BirJ. ane Quadrupeds,' a magnificent production, usual!; credited to the Cymmrodorion, but brought out at Pennant's cost, to Penoanl's ruin, The collection contains, with a few excep- tions, all tho books tlmt are mentioned in lj'Jw/'wd.' l:¡b!wgrllphy' "nd a great many mo»e. For example, whereas the tirat entry in Rowlands is the 'Ueibl'of 1546, tiie tirst here,as your readers will have akeadv observed, is dated 1503. Rowlands makes no mention of sucli booki as 1(,c.>1.d,"s' 1'0\II'8Y to Knn"kde' (1551), Gnver's 'Confess* Atn-intis 1 (15541, R'?corde'i •Omlo of Knowledge'(1553), the samo 8ulhor'. WliOt'0..e of Wilte' (157), and a whole host of things which (Ilive neither tiie time nor thenpac* to transcribe. I should not, perhap,omit to mention 1"hom. 4 11 i>to?ie of 111\1ie,' or which Rowland. makes no notice, but of which there are here two copies. William Thomas, a native of Wales, wai made Clerk of the Council to Kdward Vf., April 19 15*9. Ho was afterwards presented to the living 01 Presteign, and executed at Tyburn May 13, 1554. 44 As I have just intimated, tiiore lire things in Rowland* not to be found here, but they are not many, Thus Ihe Salesbury M Dilionary" or 1546, of which th^re is, I believe, n very good copy of wl,i,.I. i-, I ?,y g,)"j ?opy at is n.)t lierf?. !Neither is the and for this very good reason, that the only trace extant of this extraordinarily scarce work istobe found In a gl is< c isi) at the back of the resding- room of the dritish Museum. Itis simply s frag- ment of six or seven quarto leaves in a type which compares wdi with tuat of the early Vienneseaad Mdane.se piinters—a bit of bibliographical hitory I may 6. pardoned (. introducing when 1 ..y Ith"l I ,"n not aware it has eve" b.fore been pub- 1:.IId, It,?wl a. ivo. three ?diti..s .1 Silesbury's Testament which I could not find here. Thinking tho matter over, however. I aw inclineJ to believe that this can bo explained, They could not have bean editions at s/1 hUL morely *o many il:J$U61' of ont) edition, to wild ufro.-h title-page w.ia "dJeJ a8 Iho bh<?ets were said H.e work of Salesburu was mo.t pl,tiwo,Ll?y attempt to brin, b,kt c i?rg?, that vern&eu, lar kn.I?J4. of theological trm., which they Nd lost, and the recovery of which he "w would put them in closer touch wi ll the people to whoM ppiiiuial wants they wero appointed t,) minister. "I said just now that all the Testaments Wert here. I must qualify the statement in one very important particular. Ti,P g"m of the collectioa is C""SP'èU)U by iL? absenco. I refer ta the first hle,bnrv New Ti?,itam?L I inquired, in what must have been a toea of aluw and disappointment, what hid become of it, and -,A told th"t it was in tho hinds of the nmcial receiver who w; und r instructions from the trustees "f the eswlte to return it to Ir, Salusbury, who wished to retui" it ns a heirl,1OID nnd a memento of his ancestor, the translator. Now, I understand that when ilia library comes to Cardiff it will be apeci illv and permanently designated tho Salusbury Collect ion. I, therefore, would strongly urge upon the trustees and upon Mr. Salusbury himself that located with its fellows tirf volume will perpetuate his name aod memorv nllldllUora effectively than it can possibly do io the private possession of his descendants. It is the volume or all others which will give the Silushury .tl\lIIp to the whole collection, and minus which, as I remarked to the receiver, the collection will have the appearance p( j¡,wlng had an eye tooth knocked out. I liaJ the pleasure or examining the book at the ottdal receiver's rooms on Saturday. It is a perfect copy, with the exception or II torn hit of title-p^gs, "hhh ha been adiniribly restored, and is hrrmo- ingly bound in whole Morocco, To my knowMgt there are July four other suclicopiii, in existence, and tht-y are to bs found in tiie Rrilisli :1" U'II. the Rodieian, the Peniarth, and tile IIrep@o Collections. The book, dated October 7,1567, purports to have been 'ImpnateJ at London by H»*nry Denlum, al tho costes aod charges of Humfrey Toyewhose grandmothst od wilt) were Carmirthnnshire womn-" dwell- ing in Paule's Churchyard at tho eigne of tf* 1I,'llI\et:' I took some pains, and I trost net with ut ultimate effect, to impress upon Mr, Evans tlie importance of getting this book with ths others \.0 Cardiff, anJ I had the satisfaction or notingth.it. he I h0rollloly agreed with me, U I have onlv t,) add, in conclusion, that lli, are in excellent condition, mny or them, hko the jSilesbury Testament just noted, having be" | recently hound in a mo^t sumptuous manner, wliiU J many o'hers—a ?till o?.. vuluablo considerate with the b'"llopel.t-I'etl tho original binding& There were I hre" packers working and sleeping oO I "a premises while I was there, and those* witlt the Registrar In constant 1Il(e&),lolnce, niay bt depended on ror getting the books oft with popper desp .tch, To still further prepare tll. Molsii public for Q proper estimation of the tre,ul inas acquired, I,t to remark that I ('OU"t wvui bound and fiN unhounJ foJlU V'lumes of a M.S. C4!:¡lngue of the collection in %fr. Stlu*bur)'s handwriting. If I have failed in the attempt t > convey an adequate idea of th« ringe and variety of the col- h'C(lurt, let In" supplement it with tlt( picIU:-Cl1. fict following: Taking up a volume of ths •Victr of Wakefield,' I Slid to those standing by me, *Now, howin the world does Mr. Salusbury connect Goldsmith with Wales or the Horder Counties, 1 winder?' N.) ono coull tell until I openeJ the book, and there, on the titl«* page, was the simple, but abuodant, explanation. Tlie novel had prefixed to it, 4 An Account of the author's lifo, including original anecdotes communicated by the Rev. J. Kvans autitor of the Juvenile Tourist," MGeog iphical Grammar, &-c., These facts, and a conversion I subse- quently had on Chester platform with that incooi" parable vVelsh orator," IIwf., Mõn," wllo had re- peatedly acted as Mr. Salusbury'a emissary in the work of collection, gave the finishing touches to a conviction which had beeo steadily growtal upon me from the moment I first put foot lnqitle I Giinahtir I that, in aecuring this library, • service of the first importance had heen rendered to the cause of Welsh learning and Welsh lit- ruture."

Welsh Newspapers

The Western Mail

14 articles on this Page