"l'amour," "omnia vincit amor," and "luxury." Oblong, 11 by 8-1/2.

An etching from a drawing by Van Venne of Death preaching from a charnel-house to a group of people. His text book rests on the figure of a skeleton as a reading desk. It is prefixed to Mr. Dagley's "Death's Doings," mentioned in p. 157. Oblong, 5-1/2 by 4-1/4.

Mr. Dagley, in the second edition of his "Death's Doings," p. 9, mentions a print of "a man draining an enormous bowl, and Death standing ready to confirm the title of the print, "the last drop."

An etching by Dagley, after Birch, of Baxter, a famous cricketer, bowled out by Death. Below, his portrait at full length. Oblong, 9 by 7.

"Sketches of the celebrated skeletons, originally designed on the long wall between Turnham-Green and Brentford." Etchings of various groups; the subjects, billiards, drafts, cards, dice, toss, and pitch. Oblong, 18 by 11.

"Humorous sketches of skeletons engaged in the various sciences of Singing, Dancing, Music, Oratory, Painting, and Sculpture." Drawn by H.

Heathcote Russell as a companion to the skeletons copied from the long wall at Brentford. Published 3d June, 1830. Same size as the preceding print.

A lithographic print of a conjurer pointing with his magic wand to a table on which are cups, a lanthorn, &c. In the back-ground, the Devil running away with a baker, and a group of three dancing Deaths. Below, birds in cages, cards, &c. Oblong, 8 by 6.

A small modern wood-cut of Death seizing a lady at a ball. He is disguised as one of the party. Underneath, "Death leads the dance."--_Young--Night 5._

From "the Christian's Pocket Magazine." Oblong, 2-1/2 by 1-1/2.

A design for the ballad of Leonora, by Lady Diana Beauclerc. A spectre, as Death, carrying off a lady on horseback, and striking her with his dart.

Other Death-like spectres waiting for her. Oblong, 11-3/4 by 9.

A small modern engraving of Death presenting a smelling bottle to a fainting butcher with one hand, and with the other fanning him. The motto, "A butcher overcome with extreme sensibility, is as strangely revived."

A modern halfpenny wood-cut of several groups, among which is a man presenting an old woman to Death. The motto, "Death come for a wicked woman."

An oval etching, by Harding, intitled "Death and the Doctor." Upright, 4-1/2 by 3-1/2.

A modern etching of Death striking a sleeping lady leaning on a table, on which little imps are dancing. At bottom, "Marks fecit." Oblong, 4 by 3.

An anonymous modern wood-cut of Death seizing a usurer, over whom another Death is throwing a counterpane. Square, 4 by 4.

An etching, intitled "the Last Drop." A fat citizen draining a punch-bowl.

Death behind is about to strike him with his dart. Upright, 8-1/2 by 6-1/2.

In an elegant series of prints, illustrative of the poetical works of Goethe, there is a poem of seven stanzas, intitled "Der Todtentanz," where the embellishment represents a church-yard, in which several groups of skeletons are introduced, some of them rising, or just raised, from their graves; others in the attitude of dancing together or preparing for a dance. These prints are beautifully etched in outline in the manner of the drawings in the margins of Albert Durer's prayer-book in the library of Munich.

Prefixed to a poem by Edward Quillinan, in a volume of wood-cuts used at the press of Lee Priory, the seat of Sir Egerton Brydges, intitled "Death to Doctor Quackery," there is an elegant wood-cut, representing Death hob-and-nobbing with the Doctor at a table.

In the same volume is another wood-cut on the subject of a dance given by the Lord of Death in Clifton Halls. A motley group of various characters are dancing in a circle whilst Death plays the fiddle.

In 1832 was published at Paris "La Danse des Morts, ballade dediee a Madame la Comtesse de Tryon Montalembert. Paroles et musique de P.

Merruau." The subject is as follows: A girl named Lise is admonished by her mother not to dance on a Saturday, the day on which Satan calls the dead to the infernal _Sabbat_. She promises obedience, but whilst her mother is napping, escapes to the ball. She forgets the midnight hour, when a company of damned souls, led by Satan, enter the ball-room hand-in-hand, exclaiming "Make way for Death." All the party escape, except Lise, who suddenly finds herself encircled by skeletons, who continue dancing round her. From that time, on every Saturday at midnight, there is heard under ground, in the church-yard, the lamentation of a soul forcibly detained, and exclaiming "Girls beware of dancing Satan!" At the head of this ballad is a lithographic print of the terrified Lise in Satan's clutches, surrounded by dancing, piping, and fiddling Deaths.

About the same time there appeared a silly ballad, set to music, intitled "the Cork Leg," accompanied by a print in which the man with the cork leg falling on the ground drops his leg. It is seized by Death, who stalks away with it in a very grotesque manner.

CHAPTER XV.

_Initial or capital Letters with the Dance of Death._

It is very well known that the use of initial or capital letters, especially with figures of any kind, is not coeval with the invention of printing. It was some time before they were introduced at all, a blank being left, or else a small letter printed for the illuminators to cover or fill up, as they had been accustomed to do in manuscripts; for, although the art of printing nearly put an end to the occupation of that ingenious class of artists, they continued to be employed by the early printers to decorate their books with elegant initials, and particularly to illuminate the first pages of them with beautiful borders of foliage or animals, for the purpose of giving them the appearance of manuscripts.

It has more than once been most erroneously asserted by bibliographers and writers on typography, that Erhard Ratdolt, a printer at Venice, was the first person who made use of initial letters about the year 1477; for instances are not wanting of their introduction into some of the earliest printed books. Among the latter the most beautiful specimen of an ornamented capital letter is the B in the Psalter of 1457, of which Dr.

Dibdin has given a very faithful copy in vol. I. p. 107, of the Bibliotheca Spenceriana. This truly elegant letter seems to have been regarded as the only one of its kind; but, in a fragment of an undescribed missal in folio, printed in the same type as the above-mentioned Psalter, there is an equally beautiful initial T, prefixed to the "Te igitur"

canon of the mass. It is ornamented with flowers and foliage, and in both these precious volumes there are many other smaller capitals, but whether printed with the other type, or afterwards stamped, may admit of some doubt. This unique and valuable fragment is in the collection of the present writer.

As the art of printing advanced, the initial letters assumed every possible variety of form, with respect to the subjects with which they were ornamented. Incidents from scripture and profane history, animals of every kind, and the most ludicrous grotesques, constitute the general materials; nor has the Dance of Death been forgotten. It was first introduced into the books printed at Basle by Bebelius and Cratander about the year 1530, and for one or the other of these celebrated printers an alphabet of initial letters was constructed, which, in elegance of design and delicacy of engraving, have scarcely ever been equalled, and certainly never exceeded. Whether they were engraved in relief on blocks of type or printer's metal, in the manner of wood-cutting, or executed in wood in the usual manner, is a matter of doubt, and likely to remain so. They may, in every point of view be regarded as the chef d'oeuvre of ancient block engraving, and to copy them successfully at this time might require the utmost efforts of such artists as Harvey, Jackson, and Byfield.[134]

A proof set of this alphabet, in the possession of the present writer, was shown to M. De Mechel when he was in London, on which occasion he stated that he had seen in the public library of Basle another proof set on a single sheet, with the inscription "Hans Lutzelburger," who is elsewhere called _formschneider_, or block-cutter, of which he has written a memorandum on the leaf containing the first abovementioned set of proofs.

M. de Mechel, with great probability, inferred that this person was either the designer or engraver of the alphabet as well as of the cuts to the "Historiees faces de la mort," on one of which, as already stated, the mark [monogram: HL] is placed;[135] but to whomsoever this mark may turn out to belong, certain it is that Holbein never made use of it.[136] These letters measure precisely 1 inch by 7/8 of an inch, and the subjects are as follow:

A. A group of Deaths passing through a cemetery covered with sculls. One of them blows a trumpet, and another plays on a tabor and pipe.

B. Two Deaths seize upon a pope, on whom a demon fastens, to prevent their dragging him along.

C. An emperor in the clutches of two Deaths, one of whom he resists, whilst the other pulls off his crown.

D. A king thrown to the ground and forcibly dragged away by two Deaths.

E. Death and the cardinal.

F. An empress sitting in a chair is attacked by two Deaths, one of whom lifts up her petticoat.

G. A queen seized by two Deaths, one of whom plays on a fife.

H. A bishop led away by Death.

I. A duke with his hands clasped in despair is seized behind by Death in the grotesque figure of an old woman.

K. Death with a furred cap and mantle, and a flail in his right hand, seizes a nobleman.

L. Death in the habit of a priest with a vessel of holy water takes possession of the canon.

M. Death behind a physician in his study lays his hand on a urinal which he is inspecting.

N. One Death lays hold on a miser, whilst another carries off his money from a table.

O. Death carries off a terrified monk.

P. Combat between Death and the soldier.

Q. Death very quietly leads away a nun.

R. Death and the fool who strikes at him with his bauble.

S. Exhibits two Deaths, one of whom is in a very licentious action with a female, whilst the other runs off with an hour-glass on his back.