Derbyshire, as a good working collection:--

Rollin's Ancient History.
Universal History (Ancient).
Puffendorf's Introduction to History.
Vertot's History of the Knights of Malta.
Vertot's Revolutions of Portugal.
Vertot's Revolutions of Sweden.
Carte's History of England.
Present State of England.
Geographical Grammar.
Prideaux's Connection.
Nelson's Feasts and Fasts.
Duty of Man.
Gentleman's Religion.
Clarendon's History.
Watts's Improvement of the Mind.
Watts's Logick.
Nature Displayed.
Lowth's English Grammar.
Blackwall on the Classicks.
Sherlock's Sermons.
Burnet's Life of Hale.
Dupin's History of the Church.
Shuckford's Connection.
Law's Serious Call.
Walton's Complete Angler.
Sandys's Travels.
Sprat's History of the Royal Society.
England's Gazetteer.
Goldsmith's Roman History.
Some Commentaries on the Bible.

It is curious to notice in both these lists how many of the books are now
quite superseded.

In another place Boswell tells us what were Johnson's views on book
collecting. "When I mentioned that I had seen in the King's Library
sixty-three editions of my favourite _Thomas a Kempis_, amongst which it
was in eight languages, Latin, German, French, Italian, Spanish, English,
Arabick, and Armenian, he said he thought it unnecessary to collect many
editions of a book, which were all the same, except as to the paper and
print; he would have the original, and all the translations, and all the
editions which had any variations in the text. He approved of the famous
collection of editions of Horace by Douglas, mentioned by Pope, who is
said to have had a closet filled with them; and he said every man should
try to collect one book in that manner, and present it to a Publick
Library."

Dr. Johnson's notion as to the collection of editions which are alike
except in the point of paper is scarcely sound, but it has been held by a
librarian of the present day, as I know to my cost. On one occasion I was
anxious to see several copies of the first folio of Shakespeare (1623),
and I visited a certain library which possessed more than one. The
librarian expressed the opinion that one was quite sufficient for me to
see, as "they were all alike."

The possessor of a Private Library can act as a _censor morum_ and keep
out of his collection any books which offend against good morals, but this
_role_ is one which is unfit for the librarian of a Pu