Northamptonshire. He was educated at Westminster School,
proceeding thence to Christ Church in 1768. Previously to his final
retirement into the country, he lingered with much affection about the
haunts of his youthful studies. He carried so many volumes about with
him in his numerous and capacious pockets that he appeared like a
walking library, and his memory, particularly in classical quotations,
was equally richly stored. This is one side of the picture. This is the
other side, in which we get a view of the man-about-town collector in
the person of Alexander Dalrymple (1737-1808), the hydrographer to the
Admiralty and to the East India Company: 'His yellow antiquarian chariot
seemed to be immovably fixed in the street, just opposite the
entrance-door of the long passage leading to the sale-room of Messrs.
King and Lochee, in King Street, Covent Garden; and towards the bottom
of the table, in the sale-room, Mr. Dalrymple used to sit, a cane in his
hand, his hat always upon his head, a thin, slightly-twisted queue, and
silver hairs that hardly shaded his temple. . . . His biddings were
usually silent, accompanied by the elevation and fall of his cane, or by
an abrupt nod of the head.'

[Illustration: _Michael Wodhull, Book-collector._]

The Osterley Park Library, sold by order of the seventh Earl of Jersey
at Sotheby's in 1885, was commenced in the last century, the original
founder being Bryan Fairfax, who died in 1747. His books came into the
hands of Alderman Child, who was not only a book-collector, but
inherited Lord Mavor Child's books. The fifth Earl of Jersey married
Mr. Child's grand-daughter in 1804. Two mighty hunters of the old
school may be here briefly mentioned--John Towneley and Michael Wodhull,
the poet, both of whose collections were dispersed in several portions,
partly at the beginning of the present century, and partly within quite
recent times. The founder of the 'Bibliotheca Towneleiana' was for a
long period of years an ardent collector, his favourite studies being
English history, topography, and portraits. The great gem of his
collection was the splendid 'Vita Christi,' gorgeously ornamented with
full-page paintings, and with miniatures superbly executed in colours,
heightened with gold, by Giulio Clovio, in the finest style of Italian
art. This MS. was executed for Alexander, Cardinal Farnese, and
presented to Pope Paul III. It was purchased abroad by a Mr. Champernoun
for an inconsiderabl