Page:The reign of George VI - 1763.djvu/100

 no sooner begun to build than he sent connoisseurs through all Europe to collect paintings, statues, rarities, books, and manuscripts, and in these commissions he spared no expense. He even dispatched Ambassadors to Constantinople, and throughout all Asia, to make collections, and always choosing the properest men for executing his commands, he succeeded better than any Monarch that ever attempted to tread in his footsteps. The palace of Stanley thus became the repository of all the curiosities which the world afforded. No wonder his palace became so celebrated, and drew such numbers of foreigners into England, when the collection of pictures and statues it contained were almost equal in value, and number of capital pieces, to what remained throughout all Europe; and his library contained above thirteen hundred thousand valuable books and manuscripts.