upwards of one hundred and forty thousand
printed books and pamphlets, and ten
thousand manuscripts, we are, indeed,
awestruck; and the more so as we are also told
that this marvel not only read, but, what is
more wonderful still, remembered. His
power of mental retention must have been
truly astounding. Innumerable anecdotes
are told about his memory, not a few of
which sound almost incredible.

Thus, it is related of him that he could
not only quote at pleasure entire passages,
but could tell from what page of a specified
edition, what chapter, and even from what
paragraph it was excerpted, the date and
place of publication, publisher, printer, size,
and number of editions. It was not without
great truth that Pater Angelo Finardi
anagrammatised his name, Antonius
Magliabechi, into "Is unus bibliotheca magna."

Immense as his store of information must
necessarily have been, he never wrote a
line himself, yet, notwithstanding, the
republic of letters owes much to him. It
was through his mediation that some valuable
books were republished and amended,
and the origin of several contemporary
works are due to his valuable aid. Isaac
D'Israeli says that Magliabechi ought to
have composed the Curiosities of Literature.

Nor did he selfishly keep his vast
knowledge to himself. He was always ready to
aid others in the acquirement of learning,
and his willingness and amiability in such
matters knew no bounds. From far and
near his assistance was called in requisition;
he was looked upon as a perfect
oracle, a walking encyclopædia, and he was
never known to refuse aid to an applicant
at his storehouse of erudition. The
treasures of his library, and later that of
the Grand-Duke of Tuscany, which was
entrusted to him, were at the disposal of
every searcher after knowledge. The only
condition he imposed upon inquirers was,
that they should not disturb him during
the hours of the day when he was busy at
work. In the evening, his doors, which he
kept jealously locked all day, were thrown
open to his friends, and he was ready to
meet querists. But in order that he might
not be uselessly kept from his books, he
had had a hole made in his door, through
which he could observe all approaching
visitors, and if he did not choose to see
them, he would refuse admittance.

His life was an uneventful one. Self-
taught, he raised himself from the ranks
entirely by his own exertions. His father's
name was Magliabechi, or del Magliabecco,
so called from a little place in the Mugells,
a Florentine territory. He died early,
leaving his son to the care of his mother,
who caused him to be initiated in the Latin
language; but then, changing her
determination as to his future, brought him to
the workshop of Comparini, one of the
best Florentine goldsmiths, where she
bound him as an apprentice, after he had
received elementary drawing lessons from
the painter Rosselli. Hating his enforced
profession, he devoted all his spare
moments to literary pursuits, and his spare
money to the purchase of books, which he
read on the sly, greatly to the displeasure of
his mother, who looked on this as waste
of time. A priest, named Andrea Tosi,
used often to come into the goldsmith's
shop, and talk to the lad of sixteen about
books. Being struck by his quick replies
and evident power of comprehending and
absorbing what he read, observing also
that Magliabechi cared more for books
than for his own profession, he encouraged
him to study, and assured him that he
would learn Latin and all the sciences
speedily.

Edwards (Memoirs of Libraries) gives a
different account of Magliabechi's origin,
alleging him to have been servant to a
dealer in vegetables, a theory also taken
up by Joseph Spence, who asserted that
he had received his information from a
Florentine who had known Magliabechi's
family intimately. But since Fabroni and
the Chevalier François Marmi, both
intimate friends and biographers of Magliabechi,
give the other account, it seems
probable that their version should be more
correct than a mere hearsay one.

On the death of his mother, when he
was forty years old, Magliabechi threw up
his occupation of jeweller, and devoted
himself entirely to the work of his
inclination. Michael Ermini, at that time
librarian to the Grand-Duke of Tuscany,
assisted him greatly; ultimately he became
his successor in that eminent post. Cosmo
the Third was then Prince of Tuscany. He
had ordered Marmi, one of his favourites,
to bring him all his books within a convenient
part of his palace, so as to be near
his sitting-rooms, and it was then that
Magliabechi was first enabled to display
his vast knowledge of literature, and in
course of time obtained the post of librarian.
This rise in the social scale did not
alter his prescribed course of life; he was
plain and simple even to squalor, as he had