THE DANCE OF DEATH.

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own day. In 1825, W. Carlton Wright published a scries of fifty-two engravings of 'a Dance of Death, and here occurs anunpardonable blunder. The title-page sets forth the work as "TheDance of Death of the celebrated Hans Holbein, in a series offifty-two Engravings on Wood by Mr. Bewick : with letter-pressillustrations." The excellent letter-press, however, is copiedwholesale from an edition of Hollar announcing that " the plates,which appear to have been but little used, have been till latelypreserved in a noble family, and impressions from them are oncemore presented to the public, without the slightest alteration, whilea foot-note explains that " in the present edition, however, it wasfound necessary that the plates should be retouched, etc.," whereasthe " plates " are " blocks " in " Bewick's" best manner. One ofthe most notable minor instances of this literary slovenlinessappears at the outset, in the letter-press describing the " MortaliumNobilitas,'' (a mock heraldic emblazonment of a death's head upona shield, et cetera). There are two supporters of the shield,concerning which the letter-press runs: "the two figures areprobably intended for supporters, and represent the dress of theSwiss nobility of the sixteenth century." If so, that nobility musthave realized Sidney Smith's desire—of being attired but in hisbones—for u Mr. Bewick's " cuts are skeletons entirely unattired !

This scarcely finishes the account of errors in connection withthis publication. The cuts for the most part previously appearin Wright's magazine, the Portfolio, 1824, (and on the Portfolio's thinsoft paper the cuts appear to great advantage). In that mait is announced, on the 7th of August, that now were to be pre-sented certain beautiful engravings " by the first Wood Engraverthat ever this Country produced— Bewick," and later onallusion is made to u the celebrated Bewick/' Now these

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