Directors  pay  more  attention  to  this
library,  which  had  now  developed  by
slow  accretions  of  about  sixty  years  into
a  decent  collection.  About  1714  they
wrote  to  the  officers  at  the  Fort  as
follows :  "  We  understand  that  the
library  in  Fort  St.  George  is  worthy  of
our  notice  as  consisting  not  only  of  a
great  number  of  books  but  of  a  great
many  that  are  choice  and  valuable,  John
Dolben,  Esquire,  and  Master  Richard
Elliot  and  others  having  made  a  present
of  their  books  (which  were  considerable)
to  the  library,  besides  other  augmenta-
tions it  hath  lately  received  from  the
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Know-
ledge. We  therefore  recommend  the
care  of  the  library  to  our  President  and
Ministers,  etc.  We  order  our  Ministers
to  sort  the  said  books  into  proper  classes
and  to  take  a  catalogue  of  them  to  be
kept  in  the  library,  of  which  they  shall
deliver  a  copy  to  our  President  and  send


Chapter
IV.
IN   INDIA


93


a  copy  home  to  us ;  and  we  desire  our
President  to  order  two  of  our  servants
together  with  our  Ministers  to  examine
the  books  by  the  catalogue  once  a  year,
that  is  to  say,  some  few  days  before  the
vestry  is  held,  and  make  their  report  at
the  vestry.  It  would  be  proper  also  to
put  our  Chop  (stamp)  on  the  said  books,
etc." ■  This  order  came  at  the  right
moment,  for  the  library  at  Fort  St.
