g iij in octaves. It begins on signature a ij,—and most probably had never 66 a regular title page, with the cut of a knight"-as Herbert intimates. The copy of this work in the British Museum has, I believe, been considered to be unique.

30. THE RYAL BOOK; or a Book for a Kyng. Reduced in to englisshe at the request and specyal desyre of a singuler frende of myn a mercer of lodon the yere of our lord м. iiij. lxxxiiij. Folio. (Type No. 5.)

Of this book, which was unknown to Ames, I have seen five copies; and where the margin is broad and unstained, such copies afford a very favourable specimen of Caxton's press. Herbert's account of the work is short, but correct. The subjoined specimen* is the only addition which it has been thought proper to introduce to the reader's notice: it is sufficiently curious.

66

The Royal Book, or Book for a King, in which ben comprised the x. Commandments, the XII. Articles of the Faith, the vII. deadly

They that live after their jollity will hold company with fools: such folk can not, may not, ne will not, hold ne keep measure ne reason. They that live after hypocrisy be they that be martyrs to the devil: such hypocrites have two measures: for the two devils that torment the hypocrite be much contrary that one to that other. That one saith, eat enough, so that thou be fair and fat: that other saith, thou shalt not, but thou shalt fast, so that thou be pale and lean, to the end that the world hold thee for a good man; and that it may appear that thou doest much penance. Now it behoveth that the hypocrite have ii measures; one little and one great: of which they use the little measure tofore the people, and the great measure they use so that no man can see them. They retain not the true measure that be avaricious. In such manner as the mouth will; which is the lady of the house and commander. Then between the belly and the mouth of the glutton be three disputacions. The belly saith, I will be full; the mouth saith, I will not be full; the belly saith to him, I will that thou eat, and take enough, and dispend largely the mouth saith, I shall not, I will that thou restrain thee!-and what shall the sorry caitif do which is servant to his two evil lords? Two measures make the peace. The measure of the belly in an other man's house good and large; and the measure of his mouth in his own house sorrowful and over scarce." Sign. f. j. recto.

sins, the VII. Petitions of the Paternoster, the vII. Gifts of the Holy Ghost, the VII. Virtues," &c. "Here followeth the table of the rubrics of this present book, intitled and named Royal, which speaketh first of the x. Commandments." This table contains the heads of 161 chapters. At the end :

"This book was compiled and made at the request of King Philip (le Bele) of France. In the year of the incarnation of our Lord ì,cc,lxxix, and translated or reduced out of French into English by me William Caxton, at the request of a worshipful merchant and mercer of London; which instantly required me to reduce it for the weal of all them that shall read or hear it, as for a special book to know all vices and branches of them, and also all virtues by which well understonden and seen may direct a person to everlasting bliss. Which book is called in the French le livre Royall, that is to say, the Royal Book, or a Book for a King. For the Holy Scripture calleth every man a king which wisely and perfectly can govern and direct himself after virtue; and this book sheweth and ensigneth it so subtilly, so shortly, so perceivingly and so perfectly, that for the short comprehension of the noble clergy and of the right great substance, which is comprised therein, it may and ought to be called well by right and quick reason above all other books in French or in English, The BooK ROYAL, or the BOOK FOR A KING; and also by cause that it was made and ordained at the request of that right noble King Philip le Bele, King of France, ought to be called Royal, as tofore is said. Which translation or reducing out of French into English, was achieved, finished, and accomplished the xiij day of September, and in the second year of the reign of King Richard the Third."

As to the original French work, I find no account of either a MS, or a printed edition of it, in De Bure; in the Catalogues of Gaignat and La Valliere; or in the Dict. Anon. of Barbier, Caxton most probably translated it from a MS. The volume is a thin folio, with printed initials, and has a few rude cuts. The leaves are unnumbered, but they extend to sign. u. 9, in octaves, except the first and

last, which have only six leaves. A fine copy is in the possession of his Majesty, [from the Bibl. West. n°. 1875,] the Marquis of Blandford, and Lord Spencer. There are three copies of it in the public library at Cambridge [A B. 10: 27. 29. 59.]. Mr. John Ratcliffe had an imperfect copy, to which was subjoined another imperfect work, said to be printed by Caxton, called "POLITICK ADMONITIONS AND OBSERVATIONS FIT FOR GREAT MEN TO PERUSE." See Bibl. Ratcl. n°. 1661. What this latter work is, I have never been able to ascertain : most probably it is not printed by Caxton.

31. A BOOK OF THE NOBLE HYSTORYES OF KYNGE ARTHUR and of certeyn of his knyghtes. Whiche book was reduced in to englysshe by syr Thomas Malory knyght and by me deuyded into xxi bookes chapytred and enprynted, and fynysshed in thabbey Westmestre the last day of Juyl the yere of our lord м.cccc.lxxxv. Folio. (Type No. 4.)

This title is gathered from the prologue and colophon; there being no title “ at full length," as Mr. Burnett* supposed, prefixed to the edition. Of all the productions of Caxton's press, the present is probably the most curious, amusing, and scarce; and is well called by Oldys, the printer's "capital work this year." Lewis + does not appear to have ever seen a copy of it; and I suspect that Oldys has taken his account from the imperfect description of Ames, who has extracted, with many errors, what he considered to be, Caxton's proheme or preface, and mentions " a wooden cut to each book❞— whereas there is not a single cut throughout the volume.§ Herbert

Specimens of English Prose Writers, vol. i. 247.

+ Biogr. Britan. vol. iii. 372, note Q.

+ Life of Caxton, p.96.

§ I incline to think that some one sent Ames an account of EAST's edition of the romance of King Arthur, which edition agrees, in the prologue, with the phraseology adopted by Ames, and contains "a wooden cut to each book."