I have said something about the local of this Public Library, and of its being situated in the market-place.[6] This market-place, or square, is in the centre of the town; and it is the only part, in the immediate vicinity of which the antiquarian’s eye is cheered by a sight of the architecture of the sixteenth century.  It is in this immediate vicinity, that the Hotel de Ville is situated; a building, full of curious and interesting relics of sculpture in wood and stone.  Just before it, is a fountain of black marble, where the women come to fetch water, and the cattle to drink.  Walking in a straight line with the front of the public library (which is at right angles with the Hotel de Ville) you gain the best view of this Hotel, in conjunction with the open space, or market place, and of the churches in the distance.  About this spot, Mr. Lewis fixed himself, with his pencil and paper in hand, and produced a drawing from which I select the following felicitous portion.

[Illustration:  Drawing]

But to return to the Public Library.  You are to know therefore, that The Public Library of Stuttgart contains, in the whole, about 130,000 volumes.  Of these, there are not fewer than 8200 volumes relating to the Sacred Text:  exclusively of duplicates.  This library has been indeed long celebrated for its immense collection of Bibles.  The late King of Wuertemberg, but more particularly his father, was chiefly instrumental to this extraordinary collection:—­and yet, of the very earlier Latin impressions, they want the Mazarine, or the Editio Princeps; and the third volume of Pfister’s edition.  Indeed the first volume of their copy of the latter wants a leaf or two of prefatory matter.  They have two copies of the first German Bible, by Mentelin[7]—­of which one should be disposed of, for the sake of contributing to the purchase of the earliest edition of the Latin series.  Each copy is in the original binding; but they boast of having a complete series of German Bibles before the time of Luther; and of Luther’s earliest impression of 1524, printed by Peypus, they have a fine copy UPON VELLUM, like that in the Althorp Library; but I think taller.  Of Fust’s Bible of 1462, there is but an indifferent and cropt copy, upon paper; but of the Polish Bible of 1563, there is a very fine one, in the first oaken binding.  Of English Bibles, there is no edition before that of 1541, of which the copy happens to be imperfect.  They have a good large copy, in the original binding, of the Sclavonian Bible of 1581.  Yet let me not dismiss this series of earlier Bibles, printed in different languages, without noticing the copies of Italian versions of August and October 1471.  Of the August impression, there is unluckily only the second volume; but such another second volume will not probably be found in any public or private library in Europe.