...ruled by the literary element from which it sprang, yet it was a fervent enthusiasm, and the accessions to his Spanish library between 1846 and 1852 were greater than in any other years. He says to Perthes , Besser, and Mauke, February 24, 1846, when sending them a catalogue marked for purchases: I am willing to pay high prices for them,—not des prix fous, as the French say,—but I am willin...