“When Mr. Grenville was pleased to inform Mr. Panizzi that his collection would become the property of the Trustees, he informed him also of his wishes, which he would express, and which Mr. Panizzi took on himself to say would be undoubtedly attended to by the Trustees, as much as if they were conditions attached to his bequest—
1st. That the whole of his collection should be kept together and unbroken.
2nd. That the remainder of his catalogue should be printed.
The Trustees are aware that there are two volumes of the catalogue printed. It was compiled by Messrs. Payne & Foss, who have the manuscript in slips of the whole. It occurred to Mr. Panizzi that the cheapest and shortest way of carrying the second wish of Mr. Grenville into execution would be to purchase the manuscript titles, and with this view Mr. Panizzi had a conversation with Mr. Foss, who, at his request, has made the proposal specified in the accompanying letter.
Mr. Panizzi is of opinion that Mr. Foss’s terms ought to be accepted, in which case the unprinted part of Mr. Grenville’s catalogue might be sent to press almost immediately, and the whole completed in an uniform manner.
Mr. Panizzi thinks that it is very desirable to accept this proposal for the sake of economy and despatch. If the Trustees will allow him to treat with Mr. Foss he thinks he, perhaps, might obtain some slight modification of the terms now suggested.”
Panizzi showed the practical affection he had for his friend by his presentations of rare and expensive books from time to time; these were accompanied by letters, and Mr. Grenville invariably attached them to the volume.
I hope you will do me the honour of placing in your library a Latin poem, by one Thomas Prati, printed at Treviso about 1475, on the martyrdom said to have been suffered in that year by one _Simon_ or _Symeon_, at the hands of the Jews of Trento. The event seems to have created a great sensation at the time, and even at a much later period its truth has been the subject of learned investigations.
It may be true that a boy was murdered at Trento in March 1475, but that he fell a sacrifice to the Jews hatred of our religion, is as incredible as it is unproved. So late as about a hundred years ago, a dissertation was inserted in the 48th volume of Calagierò Raccolta d’opuscoli, page 409 (De cultu Sancti Simonis—the martyr has been canonized and his life and miracles are chronicled in the Acta Sanctorum Pueri Tridentini et Martyris apud Venetos). That dissertation, written to prove the _truth_ of the story, seems to me conclusive against it.