the alteration in progress.  The insurances were made in the “Lancashire” and “Yorkshire” offices, the buildings for L10,000, the Reference Library for L12,000, the Lending Library for L1,000, the Shakespeare Library for L1,500, the Prince Consort statue for L1,000, the models of Burke and Goldsmith for L100, and the bust of Mr. Timmins for L100, making L25,700 in all.  The two companies hardly waited for the claim to be made, but met it in a most generous manner, paying over at once L20,000, of which L10,528 has been devoted to the buildings and fittings, nearly L500 paid for expenses and injury to statues, and the remaining L9,000 put to the book purchase fund.  In the Reference Library there were quite 48,000 volumes, in addition to about 4,000 of patent specifications.  Every great department of human knowledge was represented by the best known works.  In history, biography, voyages, and travels, natural history, fine arts, all the greatest works, not only in English, but often in the principal European languages, had been gathered.  Volumes of maps and plans, engravings of all sorts of antiquities, costumes, weapons, transactions of all the chief learned societies, and especially bibliography, or “books about books” had been collected with unceasing care, the shelves being loaded with costly and valuable works rarely found out of the great libraries of London, or Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, or Glasgow.  Among the collections lost were many volumes relating to the early history of railways in England, originally collected by Mr. Charles Brewin, and supplemented by all the pamphlets and tracts procurable.  Many of those volumes were full of cuttings from contemporary newspapers, and early reports of early railway companies, and of the condition of canals and roads.  Still more valuable were many bundles of papers, letters, invoices, calculations, etc., concerning the early attempt to establish the cotton manufacture in Birmingham at the beginning of the last century, including the papers of Warren, the printer, and some letters of Dr. Johnson, and others relating the story of the invention of spinning by rollers—­the work of John Wyatt and Lewis Paul—­long before Arkwright’s time.  Among the immense collection of Birmingham books and papers were hundreds of Acts of Parliament, Birmingham Almanacs, Directories (from 1770) most curious, valuable, and rare; a heap of pamphlets on the Grammar School, Birmingham History, Topography, and Guides; the political pamphlets of Job Nott and John Nott, some of which were the only copies known, the more ancient pamphlets describing Prince Rupert’s Burning Love (date 1613) and others of that time; reports from the year 1726 of the several local learned institutions; an invaluable collection of maps; programmes of the Festivals; and copies of all the known Birmingham newspapers and periodicals (some being perfect sets) etc., etc.  Of all the host not more than 1,000 volumes were saved.