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His book
collections.
TheSecrtt
Iwl
r. k,
XVI SOME NOTICE OF THE
for him to join in business in town. To aid him he often
LOMB the right had to use a large magnifying glass. One day he discovered
through'study. t n ' s astonishment and regret, that he was totally
one eye, a calamity produced by his intense labour
Mind of
these ancient rolls, and by the use, probably, of the largo
lens. He never knew when the loss of his eye occurred,
Miid it was thus a comparatively small misfortune ; but it
kept him ever after in terrible fear of losing the other.
This proves the wisdom of President Jefferson, of the
United States of America, who called upon his son to
observe " How much pain have evils cost us that never
"
For it may be truly said, that when Mr.
happened !
Haliday died, his fingers held the pen, as he was engaged
on a pamphlet concerning the sanitary condition of Kingstown
when he retired from his study to his bed and died in a
few hours.
It was this defect of his eyes, that made the dark corner
of his study suitable to his sight.
He had one of the largest and best private collections of
historical works on Ireland, if not the best in the kingdom.
I have not ascertained, at what time he began to collect the
works on Irish history ; but one would imagine, it must
have been at a comparatively early period, for it would take
years to bring together such a body of pamphlets and broad-
sides as he was possessed of, being things only obtainable
occasionally and by long watching.
Every auctioneer of books, of course, sent him his cata-
logue of sale ; but besides this, he had most of the waste-
paper sellers of Cook-street and elsewhere, to bring him any
old books, papers, or broadsides, that came to them. With
these they would wait on him at his residence Arran-quay,
or at the Bank of Ireland, or the Ballast Board.
At auctions it was his custom always to buy through a
< 'in missioned agent, as the price would be raised against him
if In; appeared in person, hut of course he insju-Hnl the
books previously. In his collection, was the celebrated