monasteries; so that the
books which he describes as having seen in many places,
purposely visited by him for inspection, may have been
destroyed in the conflagration of religious houses."
_Jugemens des Savans_; vol. ii., pt. i., p. 71, edit. 12mo.
It is from Trithemius, after all, that we have the only
_direct_ evidence concerning the origin of printing with
metal types: and the bibliographical world is much indebted
to Chevelier (_L'Origine de l'Imprimerie de Paris_, 1691,
4to., pp. 3-6.) for having been the first to adduce the
positive evidence of this writer; who tells us, in his
valuable _Chronicon Hirsaugiens_ (1690, 2 vols. folio), that
he received his testimony from the mouth of Fust's
son-in-law--"ex ore Petri Opilionis audivi,"--that
Guttenburg [Transcriber's Note: Gutenberg] was the author of
the invention. The historical works of Trithemius were
collected and published in 1601, in folio, two parts, and
his other works are minutely detailed in the 9th volume of
the _Dictionnarie [Transcriber's Note: Dictionnaire]
Historique_, published at Caen, in 1789. Of these, one of
the most curious is his _Polygraphia_: being first printed
at Paris, in 1518, in a beautiful folio volume; and
presenting us, in the frontispiece, with a portrait of the
abbe; which is probably the first, if not the only
legitimate, print of him extant. Whether it be copied from a
figure on his tomb--as it has a good deal of the
_monumental_ character--I have no means of ascertaining. For
the gratification of all tasteful bibliomaniacs, an
admirable facsimile is here annexed. The _Polygraphia_ of
Trithemius was translated into French, and published in
1601, folio. His work _De Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis_,
Colon, 1546, 4to., with two appendices, contains much
valuable matter. The author died in his 55th year, A.D.
1516: according to the inscription upon his tomb in the
monastery of the Benedictines at Wirtzburg. His life has
been written by Busaeus, a Jesuit. See La Monnoye's note in
the _Jugemens des Savans_; _ibid._

[Illustration]]

LIS. I will set his works down among my literary _desiderata_. But
proceed.

LYSAND. With what? Am I to talk for ever?

BELIN. While you discourse so much to the purpose, you may surely not
object to a continuance of this