tion which that nobleman
had partly formed himself, and partly inherited from his father-in-law,
Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, the possessor of a fine library at
Nonsuch, comprising a number of manuscripts and many printed volumes
which had belonged to Archbishop Cranmer. Henry's first care after the
acquisition of the books was to have them catalogued, and in his Privy
Purse Expenses for the year 1609 we find the following entry: 'To Mr.
Holcock, for writing a Catalogue of the Library which his Highness hade
of my Lord Lumley, L8, 13s. 0d.' He also unfortunately had the volumes
rebound and stamped with his arms and badges, a step which must have
destroyed many interesting bindings. Henry only lived three years to
enjoy his purchase, but during that time he made many additions to it.
Edward Wright, the mathematician, who died in 1615, was his librarian,
and received a salary of thirty pounds a year. As Henry died intestate
his library became the property of his father, and passed into the royal
collection which was given to the British Museum by George II.

Prince Rupert also appears to have inherited to some extent the love
of books possessed by his grandfather James I. and his uncle Prince
Henry, for he formed a well-selected library of about twelve hundred
volumes, of which a catalogue is preserved among the Sloane manuscripts
in the British Museum.[1]

[Illustration: HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES.]

King Charles I., although he bought some books, and had a number of
valuable volumes given to him by his mother, can hardly be classed with
the royal book-collectors. He had a greater inclination to paintings and
music than to books, and it is said that he so excelled in the fine
arts, that he might, if it were necessary, 'have got a livelihood by
them.' One very precious addition to the royal library was, however,
made during his reign: the famous _Codex Alexandrinus_, which Cyril
Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, in 1624 placed in the hands of Sir
Thomas Roe, the English ambassador to the Porte, as a gift to King
James, but which did not reach England till four years later, when that
sovereign was no longer alive. The royal library, which had narrowly
escaped dispersion in the Civil War, was largely increased during the
reign of Charles II., and at his death the works in it amounted to more
than ten thousand. A love of books can scarcely be attributed to
Charles, and although he certainly caused some important addition