in the
possessor.' A writer in the _Athenaeum_ of December 29, 1855, a few days
after the poet's death, describes the library as 'lined with bookcases
surmounted by Greek vases, each one remarkable for its exquisite beauty
of form. Upon the gilt lattice-work of the bookcases are lightly hung in
frames some of the finest original sketches by Raphael, Michelangelo,
and Andrea del Sarto; and finished paintings by Angelico da Fiesole, and
Fouquet of Tours.' Among the treasures of the library were the MSS. of
Gray, in their perfect calligraphy, and the famous agreement between
Milton and the publisher Simmonds, for the copyright of 'Paradise Lost.'

[Illustration: _Samuel Rogers's House in St. James's Place._]

[Illustration: Sam{l} Rogers]

Tom Moore the poet, and his friend and fellow-countryman, Thomas
Crofton Croker, were both book-collectors. The library of the former
was, in 1855, presented by his widow to the Royal Irish Academy, 'as a
memorial of her husband's taste and erudition.' Croker's books, which
were dispersed after his death, contain an exceedingly curious
book-plate, either indicating the possessor's residence, 'Rosamond's
Bower, Fulham,' or '3, Gloucester Road, Old Brompton,' the various
learned societies to which he belonged, with the additional information
that he was founder and president (1828-1848) of the Society of
Novimagus. Charles Dickens, Thackeray, W. Harrison Ainsworth (the
collection of the last was sold at Sotheby's in 1882, and realized L469
19s. 6d.), and Charles Lever were not book-collectors in the usual sense
of the word.

[Illustration: _Alexander Dyce, Book-collector._]

Among the more notable literary men who were also book-collectors of
this period, whose libraries are still preserved intact, are Alexander
Dyce and John Forster. Their collections, now at South Kensington, are
perhaps more particularly notable for the extraordinary number of books
which were once the property of famous men. Mr. Dyce, who was born in
Edinburgh, June, 1798, and died in 1869, bequeathed to the Museum 14,000
books, whilst the library of his friend and executor, John Forster
(1812-1876), contained upwards of 18,000 books, in addition to a number
of autographs, pictures, etc. The more interesting books of a 'personal'
nature in these two libraries are the following: Drayton's 'Battaile of
Agincourt,' 1627, a presentation copy to Sir Henry Willoughby, with
inscription in Drayton's autograph; a French co