here were mainly historical, and arranged in divisions corresponding to periods and epochs in the world's history.
Here for instance in the section of Modern History, and in that division devoted to the Formation of Distinct Nationalities were Longman's "Lectures on English History," Michelet's "History of France," Brougham's "England and France Under the House of Lancaster," Edgar's "Wars of the Roses," Kirk's "Charles the Bold," and scores of other histories proper, to say nothing of Botta's "Dante," Campbell's "Life of Petrarch," and similar works throwing light on men and manners between 1300 and 1490 A. D. The shelves belonging to "The Age of the Great Discoveries" were loaded with Major's "Life of Prince Henry of Portugal," Irving's "Life and Voyages of Columbus," and "Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus," Prescott's "Ferdinand and Isabella," Ranke's and D'Aubigné's histories of the Reformation, Prescott's "Conquests of Mexico and Peru," and all those other standards which tell of men and events from 1490 to 1530. The system was perfect; the manner in which it was carried out, wonderful.
