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The Library by Andrew Lang
page 38 of 124 (30%)
This Libri was an Inspector-General of French Libraries under Louis
Philippe. When he was tried, in 1848, it was calculated that the
sum of his known thefts amounted to 20,000 pounds. Many of his
robberies escaped notice at the time. It is not long since Lord
Ashburnham, according to a French journal, "Le Livre," found in his
collection some fragments of a Pentateuch. These relics had been in
the possession of the Lyons Library, whence Libri stole them in
1847. The late Lord Ashburnham bought them, without the faintest
idea of Libri's dishonesty; and when, after eleven years, the
present peer discovered the proper owners of his treasure, he
immediately restored the Pentateuch to the Lyons Library.

Many eminent characters have been biblioklepts. When Innocent X.
was still Monsignor Pamphilio, he stole a book--so says Tallemant
des Reaux--from Du Monstier, the painter. The amusing thing is that
Du Monstier himself was a book-thief. He used to tell how he had
lifted a book, of which he had long been in search, from a stall on
the Pont-Neuf; "but," says Tallemant (whom Janin does not seem to
have consulted), "there are many people who don't think it thieving
to steal a book unless you sell it afterwards." But Du Monstier
took a less liberal view where his own books were concerned. The
Cardinal Barberini came to Paris as legate, and brought in his suite
Monsignor Pamphilio, who afterwards became Innocent X. The Cardinal
paid a visit to Du Monstier in his studio, where Monsignor Pamphilio
spied, on a table, "L'Histoire du Concile de Trent"--the good
edition, the London one. "What a pity," thought the young
ecclesiastic, "that such a man should be, by some accident, the
possessor of so valuable a book." With these sentiments Monsignor
Pamphilio slipped the work under his soutane. But little Du
Monstier observed him, and said furiously to the Cardinal, that a
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