Europe, told me, that he had seen and described the contents of more cabinets than any one had done before him; and that he had made twelve voyages all over Europe and Asia Minor, expressly for that purpose.

M. d'Auzout, who is a celebrated mathematician, and very curious and skilful in architecture, having passed seventeen years in Italy, again expressed himself in very extraordinary terms of commendation concerning the banqueting house at Whitehall. It was, he said,

to Avignon, he met two physicians, of whom he demanded.
assistance. One advised purgations, the other emetics. In
this uncertainty he took neither, but pursued his way to
Lyons, where he found his ancient friend, the famous phy-
sician and antiquary, Dufour, to whom he related his ad-
venture. Dufour first asked him, whether the medals were
of the higher empire? He assured him they were. Dufour
was ravished with the hope of possessing so rare a treasure;
he bargained with him on the spot for the most curious of
them, and was to recover them at his own expence. Do
the following lines of the Dunciad, to which the above is a
note, refer to Dufour, under the name of Mummius?
Speak'st thou of Syrian princes? traitor base!
Mine, Goddess! mine, is all the horned race.
True, he had wit, to make their value rise;
From foolish Greeks to steal them was as wise.
More glorious yet, from barb'rous hands to keep,
When Sallee rovers chac'd him on the deep.
Then taught by Hermes, and divinely bold,
Down his own throat he risqu'd the Grecian gold,
Receiv'd each demigod with pious care,

Deep in his entrails-I rever'd them there,
I bought them shrouded in that living shrine,

And, at their second birth, they issue mine.-iv.—377.

the most regular and finished piece of modern architecture that he had seen on this side of the Alps; adding that he could not sufficiently praise it, and that the architect, Inigo Jones, had a true relish of what wasnoble in the art.

CHAP. V.

OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARIES, AND THE LITERATI.

LET us now leave the private houses, and visit the public libraries, and such individuals as are more particularly connected with the history of literature.

M. l'Abbé Drouine, at the college de Boncourt, has several rooms well furnished with books, in one of which is a large collection of catalogues of books, and of such persons as had given any account of authors. These amounted to three thousand in different languages. He said, that for eighteen years he had studied the history of books with the greatest application. His catalogue of authors was in four thick folio volumes, disposed alphabetically under family names, and which amounted to 150,000. He had besides, alphabetical memoirs of the authors and their works, and a chronological catalogue.

a

The king's library is at present in a private house, having been removed from the Louvre; but it is designed for the Palace de Vendosme, one side of that

• The title of the book was "Index alphabeticus omnium scriptorum, cujusque facultatis, temporis et linguæ."

a considerable number of Roman and Egyptian antiquities; among which, were lamps, pateras, and other vessels belonging to the sacrifices; a sistrum, with three loose and running wires across it; a great variety of Egyptian idols, one of which was of black touchstone, two or three feet long, with hieroglyphics on its front.

I was shewn the very magnificent apartment of M. Huygens', who fell into an incurable melancholy. The first symptom of his malady was his neglecting his studies, and passing away his time in playing with a tame sparrow. It is certain that health of body and mind, and even life itself, are only to be preserved by relaxation, and unbending the mind by innocent di

versions.

Pere Hardouin took me to the library of the college of Clermont, which consists of two long galleries well furnished with books; the windows are on one side only, with tables under each, very commodiously placed for reading and writing. The books are ar▪ ranged according to their sizes, and their titles, being in gold letters on their backs, enable them to be found

• An instrument used in battle by the Egyptians, not unlike a kettle-drum.

Christian Huygens, a very eminent Dutch mathematician and astronomer. He was induced by a pension from the French government to reside at Paris, which he did for fifteen years, until the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and the consequent persecution and slaughter of the protestants. This bloody business, involving the fate of so many of his friends and countrymen, brought on Huygens a settled melancholy, exasperated perhaps by his sedentary habits, and put a period to his life.

with great facility. At one end of the upper gallery is a very large tableau, an original of Nicolo. The subject of it is the massacre of Agamemnon; it is extremely commendable that, in this picture, in the midst of such fury, and such variety of murders, and half naked figures, not one indelicate posture is to be seen.

The library of the Grand Jesuits, near the gate of St. Antoine, is a very fair gallery of great length and breadth, well furnished with books, and at the very top of the house, where they not only find that books keep much more dry and sweet than below, but that the light is always clear and unintercepted. Pere Daniel, who is the keeper of this library, shewed me a Vestal of copper, which was found at Doe in the country of la Foret; and a very perfect Roman ten pound weight, of red copper, on which was inscribed, Deœ Sec. P. X. Also a small square stone urn, or tomb, well carved, and thus inscribed:

D. M.
Supplicio

Noto. Adeste
Superi.

M. l'Abbé de Villiers accompanied me to the choir of the Abbey of St. Germain's, and to the Library. In this I saw the psalter, as is believed, of St. Germain, who lived in the sixth century. It is certainly very ancient, being a large quarto of fine purple vellum; on it are written the psalms in large capi

• Which may be thus translated:

The habitation of the dead. To Supplicius Notus. May the Gods be propitious!