s.'

The catalogue of the library of the Benedictine monastery of Christ
Church, Canterbury, in the Cottonian Collection, British Museum, and
printed for the first time at length in Edward's 'Memoirs of Libraries'
(i. 122-235), is a remarkable list of the most extensive collection of
books at that time in this country. It was formed at the end of the
thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century. This library was
well furnished with works in science and history, and particularly so
with the classics--Aristotle, Cicero, Lucan, Plato, Suetonius, Seneca,
Terence, and Virgil. The extreme probability is that London was the
highway through which the greater part of this and other early libraries
passed. If, early in the fifteenth century, the book-hunter in London
possessed few opportunities of purchasing books, he would have found
several very good libraries which were open to his inspection. There
was, for example, a very considerable collection in the Franciscan
monastery, which once stood on the site now occupied by Christ's
Hospital, Newgate Street. The first stone of this monastery was laid in
October, 1421, amid much pomp, by the then Lord Mayor, Sir Richard
Whittington, who gave L400 in books. It was covered in before the winter
of 1422, and completed in three years, and furnished with books. From
Stow's 'Survey' we learn that one hundred marks were expended on the
transcription of the works of Nicholas de Lira, to be chained in the
library, and of which cost John Frensile remitted 20s. One of the
chained books, 'The Lectures of Hostiensis,' cost five marks. From
another source we learn that a Carmelite friar named John Wallden
bequeathed to this library as many MSS. as were worth 2,000 pieces of
gold.

Anthony a Wood refers to the oft-repeated charge of the
book-covetousness of the mendicant friars, which, in fact, was carried
to such an extreme 'that wise men looked upon it as an injury to laymen,
who therefore found a difficulty to get any books.' Of the same period,
there is a very curious anecdote in Rymer's 'Foedera' about taking off
the duty upon six barrels of books sent by a Roman cardinal to the Prior
of the conventual church of St. Trinity, Norwich. These barrels, which
lay at the Custom-house, were imported duty free.

Neither the book-hunger of the mendicant friars, nor the difficulties
which surrounded the importation of books, appears to have militated
greatly against the growing passion. We hav