London, Printed by J. W. for G. Conyers at the
Golden Ring in Little Britain, 1697.

In black-letter, with wood-cuts. The history of these very popular tales has been given by Mr. Wright, in the preface to his edition of the Seven Sages, 1845. A small abridged version, of twenty-four pages, was circulated during the last century as a penny-history. Kirkman said, in 1674, that this collection is "of so great esteem in Ireland, that next to the horn-book and knowledge of letters, children are in general put to read in it, and I know that only by that book severall have learned to read well, so great is the pleasure that young and old take in reading thereof." firmation of this, may be adduced a passage in the In conIrish poem called the Rivalry of O'Rourke, written by Hugh MacGowran about the year 1712, which has been translated by Swift and Wilson :

Then rose a big fryar

To settle them straight,
But the back of the fire
Was quickly his fate;
From whence he cry'd out,

Do ye thus treat your pastors?
Ye, who scarcely were bred

To the Seven Wise Masters.

5. THE FAMOUS, PLEASANT, and Delightful HisTORY OF PALLADINE OF ENGLAND: discoursing of honourable adventures, of knightly deeds of arms and chivalry: interlaced, likewise, with the love of sundry noble personages, as time and affection limited their Desires. Herein is no offence offered to the wise by wanton speeches,

or encouragement to the loose by lascivious matter. 12mo. London, c. 1690.

This is called on the title "the second edition”, but it originally appeared in 1588, and another edition was published in 1664, 4to. In November, 1587, it was entered unto Edward Alde, "upon condytion that he get yt orderly authorysed and allowed to the print when yt is translated into Englyshe". The English translation was entered in 1595, to Valentine Symmes, and again, in August 1596, to John Danter. The present is a reprint of the 1664 edition, and contains a short preface by the printer, T. Johnson. The romance was translated by Anthony Munday from the French, "Histoire Palladienne traitant des gestes et genereux faits d'armes et d'amours de plusieurs grands princes et seigneurs, specialement de Palladien; mise en Françoys par Claude Colet," 8vo. Paris, 1573. The 1588 edition is entitled, "The famous pleasant and variable Historie of Palladine of England, discoursing of honorable Adventures, of Knightly deedes of Armes and Chivalrie: enterlaced likewise with the love of sundrie noble personages, &c. Translated out of French by A. M., one of the Messengers of her Majesties Chamber. At London, Printed by Edward Allde for John Perin." It is censured by Meres in his Palladis Tamia, 1598, f. 268.

6. OF THE FAMOUS AND PLEASANT HISTORY OF PARISMUS, the valiant and renowned Prince of Bohemia, in two parts: containing his triumphant battels fought against the Persians, his love to the

beautiful Laurana, the great Dangers he passed in the Island of Rocks, and his strange Adventures in the Desolate Island: containing the Adventurous Travels and noble chivalry of Parismenos, the Knight of Fame, with his love to the fair Princess Angelica, the Lady of the Golden Tower, 12mo. Black-letter. Printed at the Lookingglass on London-bridge, n. d.

With a wood-cut frontispiece, containing portraits of Laurana and Parismus. This romance, which was exceedingly popular, was written by Emanuel Foord. Douce had two editions; one printed in 1696, 4to. and another, the seventh, dated 1724. Gifford, in his Autobiography, says that at the age of fifteen, “I had read nothing but a black-letter romance, called Parismus and Parismenus, and a few loose magazines." This romance was abridged, and constantly printed as a penny history at Aldermary Church-yard, and other places. I have the fifth edition, with numerous cuts, dated 1713. It was entered on the books of the Stationers' Company, by Creed, in November 1597, and published the following year under the title of "Parismus, the renowned Prince of Bohemia, his most famous, delectable, and pleasant History, conteining his noble battailes fought against the Persians, his love to Laurana, the King's daughter of Thessaly, and his strange adventures in the Desolate Island." In 1599, appeared, "Parismenos, the second part of the most famous delectable History," &c. This had been entered to Thomas Creed on October 25th, 1598: "Parismenos, the Triall of true Friendship, conteininge the

second part of the History of Parismenos, otherwise called the second parte of the Castle of Fame."

7. THE HISTORY OF GEORGe a Green, Pindar of the Town of Wakefield, his Birth, Calling, Valour, and Reputation in the Country: with divers pleasant as well as serious Passages in the Course of his Life and Fortune. Illustrated with cuts. Sm. 8vo. London, Printed for Samuel Ballard at the Blue-Ball in Little Britain, 1706.

The wood-cuts in this book are greatly superior to most of the specimens met with in similar productions, as may be judged from the frontispiece here copied. There is a curious early MS. of this prose history in the library of Sion College, which may be the original whence the present edition is taken, for the preface says, "As for the history itself, it's very easie to observe, by its phraseology and manner of writing, that 'tis not very modern, but that the manuscript must at least have been as old as the days of Queen Elizabeth. It's lodged in a publick library in the city of London, from which a copy was taken, and is now made publick, with no other alteration than such as were necessary to make the sence tolerably congruous." George a Green is thus noticed by Drunken Barnaby :

Straight at Wakefield I was seen a,

Where I sought for George a Green a,
But could not find such a creature ;

Yet on a sign I saw his feature,

Where strength of ale had so much stirr❜d me,

That I grew stouter far than Jordie.

This volume contains 109 pages, exclusive of frontispiece, title, epistle dedicatory "to the Steward and other the Gentlemen and Inhabitants in the Town and Lordship of Wakefield in the West-Riding of the County of York," signed by N. W., the preface, and one leaf containing a list of "books printed and sold by Samuel Ballard at the Blue-Ball in Little Britain." George a Green is mentioned in Gayton's Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixote, 1654, p. 21: "Had you heard of Bevis of Southampton, the Counter-scuffle, Sir Eglamore, John Dory, the Pindar of Wakefield, Robin Hood, or Clem of the Cluff, these no doubt had been recommended to the Vatican without any Index Expurgatorius or censure at all."