into which at the Revolution
were collected the remains of the libraries of the religious houses of
the district. France's Dissolution came at a time when many eyes were
open to the possible value of ancient books, and strings could be
pulled and influence exercised to stem the unreasoning fury that said:

We'll pull all arts and learning down,
And hey, then, up go we!

It is easier, also, to rescue books than buildings. The Revolutionists
tore down a cathedral, and it is gone; but books are portable and,
moreover, do not burn or tear or drown easily, especially vellum MSS.;
and when the first hurricane of idiocy had blown over they were very
likely found, rather dustier than before, still on their shelves.

Nowadays our methods are more effective, of course; but I have said as
much about that as I can bear.

If, then, one took a map of France and marked down the principal abbeys,
one would have a fair _prima-facie_ indication where to look for their
MSS. From Corbie, you would say, they went to Amiens, from Citeaux to
Dijon, from Bec and Mont St. Michel to Avranches, and so on. This would
be right, but there are exceptions. Corbie, a specially important
library, is one.

When in 1636 the French under Louis XIII. regained that territory from
the Spaniards, the precarious situation of its treasures was recognized,
and 400 select MSS. were taken to Paris. The Reformed Benedictines of
the Congregation of St. Maur had done much at Corbie for the
preservation of the books, and they now petitioned that the Corbie MSS.
might not be alienated from the Order, "n' ayant personne qui soit si
jaloux de conserver l'heritage de leurs peres que les propres enfants."
The petition was successful, and the MSS. were placed in the Abbey of
St. Germain des Pres at Paris. This was in 1638. In 1791, during the
Revolutionary troubles, there was a fire at the abbey, and in the
confusion a batch of early books was stolen. These came into the hands
of a Russian envoy, Dubrowsky, and most of them, if not all, are (or
were until a more recent Revolution) in the Imperial Library at
Petrograd. The rest, still a great collection, were drafted out of St.
Germain into the National Library in 1795-96. Meanwhile a large number
(including some very important books) had remained at Corbie, and these
did go to Amiens in or about 1791.

But before 1636 Corbie MSS. had begun to stray from home. One fairly
clear case seems to be that