Ancient Libraries.

other in Corpus Christi Library , Cambridge—are seen to he destitute of ornament . M . Cahier considers Ireland was known as the Isle of Saints and learned men so early as the 5 th century . Numbers of students went from the Continent there to learn Greek and Latin , and many | nionasteiies , with their libraries , were established at various p laces on the Continent hy Irish monks—at Brabant , Verdun , Ratishon , Wurzburg , Erfurth , Cologne , Vienna , Bobbio , in Italy , & c , which were called " Monasteria

Seotorum , " and some of which still exist . During the Carlovingian period there was a complete inundation of Irish scholars over the whole Frank Empire . " These ancient libraries were by no means confined to the liturgies , psalters , lectionaries , acts of martyrs , homilies , catechisms , and versions of the sacred Scriptures , they contained very generally copies of the works of profane writers upon history , philosophy , and poetry . There were commonly two libraries attached to a church or convent—one

within the sacred building , consisting of ecclesiastical and ascetic writings , the other kept separate , and without the walls , for secular writings . From the curious catalogue of the library at York , written in Lathi verse , in the 8 th centuiy , and attributed to Alcuin , then the keeper , who was afterwards engaged hy Charlemagne to collate the text of the Bible . M . Cahier gives a long quotation showing that secular authors were sedulously collected and preserved , in which , among many lines , including names of the Fathers and writers of the Church , occur these :

" Historic ! veteres , Pompeius ! Plinius , ipse , Acer Aristoteles , rhetor quoqne Tullius ingens . " It may be well to note here that the existence of such libraries have been often gravely snubbed and perversely and ignorantly undervalued . But as the writer of this interesting work points out , and as is well shown by the reviewer , " to York and the neighbouring libraries of Durham and Beverlyas well as others in Englandgreat

, , numbers of manuscripts were sent from all parts of the Continent to he transcribed and for safe preservation . But , unfortunately , as M . Cahier laments , this only afforded the barbarous Danes the opportunity that Caligula wished for , of destroying a multitude at a single blow . We may rejoice , at any rate , over some few splendid examples still preserved in our universities and museums , such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and others in the British Museum , the Book of Kells in Trinity College , Dublin , the Gospels of

MacDurnan in Lambeth Palace Lihrary . The list of libraries destroyed hy fire hi barbarous times in England alone is a long and sad one indeed ; but M . Cahier insists that it was not only in the dark ages that libraries were destroyed or dispersed . He reminds us that at the suppression of the monasteries Leland , the librarian of Henry VIII ., speaks of Peterborough lihrary , with its 1700 MSS . ; of the Cistercian library in London , 129 ft . long , well filled with hooks ; and that of Wells , so large as to have 25 windows on each side . But in this list we find the names of many towns which have , we fear , long lost all traces of their libraries—Abingdon , St . Albans , Abergavenny , Jarrow , Malmesbury , Shrewsbury , & c . "

We are also well reminded that in addition to much interesting matter on all these "various heads , much information is given to us in M . Cahier ' s work . " In reference to the discipline and management of the schools and the ' Scriptoria , ' in which the copying was carried on , M . Cahier quotes Ordericus Vitalis , the well-known monkish chronicler of the 13 th century , who states that in the Abbey of St . Evroul , at the end of the 11 th century , many children and young people were taught to read and write under strict rules , and that the Abbot himself prepared the wax tablets on which they

wrote . Parchment was too costly and paper was not invented , so that those tablets were used like our modern slates by those who were learning to write , and the surface was easily renewed by melting . Vellum and parchment were Highly valued , and reserved only for the expert writers . In the ' Rouleaux des Morts' of the Monastery ° f Nieul-sur-Autize , an enthusiastic calligraphist had written : " Vilior est humana caro quam pellis ovina : Extrahitur pellis et scribitur intus et extra ; Si raoriatur homo , moritur caro , pellis et ossa ,. "