“A few months ago I wanted a search made of the time of Charles I in one of the most interesting registers in a large town (which shall be nameless) in England.  I wrote to the custodian of it, and asked him kindly to do the search for me, and if he was unable to read the names to get some one who understood the writing of that date to decipher the entries for me.  I did not have a reply for a fortnight, but one morning the postman brought me a very large unregistered book-packet, which I found to be the original Parish Registers!  He, however, addressed a note with it stating that he thought it best to send me the document itself to look at, and begged me to be good enough to return the Register to him as soon as done with.  He evidently wished to serve me—­his ignorance of responsibility without doubt proving his kindly disposition, and on that account alone I forbear to name him; but I can assure you I was heartily glad to have a letter from him in due time announcing that the precious documents were once more locked up in the parish chest.  Certainly, I think such as he to be `Enemies of books.’  Don’t you?”

Bigotry has also many sins to answer for.  The late M. Muller, of Amsterdam, a bookseller of European fame, wrote to me as follows a few weeks before his death:—­

“Of course, we also, in Holland, have many Enemies of books, and if I were happy enough to have your spirit and style I would try and write a companion volume to yours.  Now I think the best thing I can do is to give you somewhat of my experience.  You say that the discovery of printing has made the destruction of anybody’s books difficult.  At this I am bound to say that the Inquisition did succeed most successfully, by burning heretical books, in destroying numerous volumes invaluable for their wholesome contents.  Indeed, I beg to state to you the amazing fact that here in Holland exists an Ultramontane Society called `Old Paper,’ which is under the sanction of the six Catholic Bishops of the Netherlands, and is spread over the whole kingdom.  The openly-avowed object of this Society is to buy up and to destroy as waste paper all the Protestant and Liberal Catholic newspapers, pamphlets and books, the price of which is offered to the Pope as `Deniers de St. Pierre.’  Of course, this Society is very little known among Protestants, and many have denied even its existence; but I have been fortunate enough to obtain a printed circular issued by one of the Bishops containing statistics of the astounding mass of paper thus collected, producing in one district alone the sum of L1,200 in three months.  I need not tell you that this work is strongly promoted by the Catholic clergy.  You can have no idea of the difficulty we now have in procuring certain books published but 30, 40, or 50 years ago of an ephemeral character.  Historical and theological books are very rare; novels and poetry of that period are absolutely not to be found; medical and law books are more common.  I am bound to say that in no country have more books been printed and more destroyed than in Holland.  W. MULLER.”