Note 370 — The Drawing Room. (continued 2)

The reader will be pleased to consult the account of Earl Pembroke, p. 325, ante, where he will find a few traits of the bibliomaniacal character of Anstis. He is here informed, from the same authority, that when Anstis "acquainted Bagford that he would find in Rymer a commission granted to Caxton, appointing him ambassador to the Duchess of Burgundy, he (Bagford) was transported with joy." Of Hearne he thus speaks: "I am ashamed that Mr. Hearne hath made so many mistakes about the translation of Boetius, printed at Tavistock; which book I had, and gave it to the Duke of Bedford." But in another letter (to Lewis) Anstis says, "I lent this book to one Mr. Ryder, who used me scurvily, by presenting it, without my knowledge, to the Duke of Bedford." There are some curious particulars in this letter about the abbey of Tavistock. Anstis's Order of the Garter is a valuable book; and will one day, I prognosticate, retrieve the indifferent credit it now receives in the book-market. The author loved rare and curious volumes dearly; and was, moreover, both liberal and prompt in his communications. The reader will draw his own conclusions on Anstis's comparative merit with Lewis and Ames, when he reaches the end of the second note after the present one.