The royal library of Berlin is the modern representative of the electoral library, founded in 1650. It has bad the honour of receiving the attention of Frederick the Great, the account of whose proceedings with it is a record of weak caprice which may tax even the admiration of Mr. Carlyle. Its augmentations have been more gradual than those of Munich and Dresden, and its progress has been accelerated instead of diminished during late years, under the administration of Dr. Pertz. A collection of Sanserit manuscripts, a collection of Aldines, and above all a collection of German literature—the Meusebach library of 36,000 volumes, have much increased its value. The number of volumes is now stated at over 500,000.
The university library at Gottingen is remarkable for the novelty of the grounds upon which it attained its celebrity. Founded with the university itself, in 1734, it already contained from" 50,000 to 60,000 volumes, when Meyne went to Gottingen, in 1763,and from that period it began to manifest the effects of the industry and learning which as its librarian he began to devote to it. With a liberal but not profuse expenditure, judiciously directed, he produced, in the course of a few years, a library in which every kind of research, literary or scientific, might be pursued with a success beyond that attainable in other libraries, because this collection had been brought together by system and most other collections by chance. Whenever the university of Gottingen was mentioned, the library was sure to be mentioned with it. ]t was the silent and permanent Professor which drew the most students to Gottingen. Its arrangements with regard to cataloguing and otherwise were cited as all but perfect, and a diligence was expended upon them which certainly claimed admiration, even if in some cases carried to excess. Of late years its fame is not quite so bright as formerly. Statements have varied as to its numbers : an official return made to the English Foreign Office in 1850 gives the number of volumes as about 350,000, counting as a volume cornea as such from the bands of the binder, whether containing a pamphlet of a few pages or fifty such pamphlets.
There is also an important library at Stuttgard, belonging to the King of 1Virtemberg,•and stated to contain in 1860 upwards of 200,000 volumes, including the Largest, collection of Bibles in the world : and an interesting library at Wolfenbiittel, formed by the Dukes of Bruns wick, one of whom, in the latter part of the 17th century, fonnd his chief pleasure in writing the catalogue. Every part of Germany abounds with libraries, of interest from their antiquity or their curiosity, of all or which some mention will be found in Dr. Jnlius Petzholdt's often reprinted 'Handbuch der Deutschen Bibliotheken; in which he also gives lists of the hooks written respecting them, their catalogues, &c. The libraries of Germany, compared with others in the principal countries of Europe, have been remarkable for their com prehensive character. When the Italian libraries chiefly consisted of Italian books, the Spanish libraries of Italian and Spanish„ the French of Italian, Spanish, and French, the English of Italian, Spanish, French, and English, all with the addition of the classics,—the Gernian consisted of all these Languages, with the addition of German. It is in German libraries also that are most frequently to be found the leading volumes of the secondary languages of Europe, but they are not remarkably rich in this point of view. There is no large collection of Russian, apparently, in any German library, with the exception of that of GOttingcn, in which one was commenced but not adequately continued.
The other countries of continental Europe must be passed over on the present occasion with very brief notice. The libraries of Belgium are mostly of recent formation, a great destruction. among the old collections having taken place at the time of the French Revolution, Voisin, the historian of the Belgian libraries, states states that the Jesuit libraries alone numbered more than 800,000 voLmes in Belgium at the time of the dissolution of the order, and that in 1840 the whole number of books in the public libraries was less, amounting altogether to little more than 700,000. A royal library was first founded at Bnissehs in 1836, by the purchase of the collection of 60,000 volumes belonging to Van tiulthem of Ghent, an amateur who had formed an unequalled collection of hooks on Belgium, and the sale of whose library presented an opportunity whiCh the government wisely deter mined Dot to let escape.
In Holland, the library at the Hague is larger than that of Amsterdam but the Dutch collections in general are of less extent and importance than might have been expected. Denmark is remarkable among the smaller countries of Europe for the spirit and sagacity which it has dis played on the subject of libraries. The royal library of Copenhagen far Surpasses every other collection in Scandinavia in numbers and interest. It is chiefly formed, like the Dresden collection, of the amalgamation of' two private librarica—those of Count Thott, an eminent collector, and of Suhm, the most popular historian of Denmark. The collection. of Thott was not acquired entire, but at the sale of his library of 120,000 volumes, the largest private collection ever formed in Denmark, the rural library, to which 'owe of him eholemt works had been previ?usly bequeathed, bought to the extent of 01,547 volumes, at an amazingly low price. This war about 1792 ; and nearly at the same tuna an agreement war formed with Suhm, who was old and childless, that after his death his collection should be added to the royal collection, In coodderation of a moderate annuity, which by his death fell in in two years, This added another 100,000 volume. to the library, and Osecel it in that high position which it has since maintained. Accord ing to the' Nordisk Conventations-Lexikon;,published at Copenhagen in 1858, it then contained about 450,000 volumes of printed books and 20.000 of manuscript& The university library in Copenhagen con tained at the same time about 200,000 volume' ; and there was a third hbrary in the same city, founded by the will of General Classen in 1796, and much toed, since the measure had been adopted of confining it to ono subject only, that of natural history.. Sweden is very inferior in the matter of libraries to Denmark : the principal library is that of the university of Ups's!, which is said in the' Stockholm Conversations for 1857 to contain 130,000 volumes of printed books and about 7000 manuscripts. The royal library of Stockholm only dates beck to the time of Charles X. of Sweden, as his predecessor, Queea Christina, when ales left the country on her abdication, took tho then royal library with her, and it is now in the Vatican at Rome. The Stockholm library amounted hi 1857 to 100,000 volumee of printed Looks and between 4000 and 6000 manuscripts, and is now (1860) about to be removed from the royal palace, where it has outgrown its apartments, to a new building which has been erected for it from the designs of a German architect.