ts (like Architecture, Law, and
Early Science) which usually engage the attentions of those whose
businesses lead, or have at one time led, them to those things. Some of
the booksellers specialise in such works, and the older books on
Freemasonry cannot be said to be of frequent occurrence in the ordinary
booksellers' catalogues. The finest extant library of Masonic books in
the English tongue is said to be at the Freemasons' Hall, in London, but
it is accessible only to Freemasons. A catalogue of it was privately
printed by H. W. Hemsworth in 1869, and more recently by W. J. Hughan in
1888; a supplement to this last appeared in 1895. The Masonic books at
No. 33 Golden Square were also catalogued by Hemsworth (1870), and more
recently by Mr. Edward Armitage--quarto, 1900.

[Sidenote: French Revolution.]

27. The mention of books on the French Revolution at once conjures up the
name of that indefatigable collector and cabinet minister, John Wilson
Croker. During his period of office at the Admiralty he amassed there
more than ten thousand Revolutionary books, tracts, and writings; and
when the accession of the Whigs drove him from his home there, he sold
his entire library to the British Museum. But neither change of
government nor loss of income could cure the fever of collecting and six
years later he had amassed another collection as large as the first. This
also was purchased by the Museum authorities. Before he died he had
garnered a third collection as large as the two previous ones put
together, and this also found a home in Bloomsbury. A 'List of the
Contents' of these three collections was published by the Museum
authorities in 1899. Croker's magnificent collection of letters and
writings on the same period was sold for only L50 at his death; it went
_en bloc_ to the library of Sir Thomas Phillips at Middle Hill.

[Sidenote: Gardens.]

28. What book-lover does not love a garden? 'God first planted a garden:
and indeed it is the purest of human pleasures. It is the greatest
refreshment to the spirits of man,' wrote Bacon. Whether it be the
tranquil beauty of an old-world pleasaunce or the peaceful occupation of
gardening that appeals to the temperament of the bibliophile, certain it
is that the book-lover is invariably a lover of the garden also. To him
the very mention of stone moss-grown walks, a sundial, roses, and green
lawn conjures up a vision of delight. To talk of those who wrote of
gardens would be t