82 The Dance of Death.

concerning an artist who, by the poet's compaiative viewof him, is placed on the same footing with Holbein, andprobably of the same school of painting, no particularsof his life or works have been discovered. It is clearfrom Borbonius's lines that he was then living at Lyons,and it is extremely probable that he might have begun thework in question, and have died before he could completeit, and that the Lyons publishers might afterwards haveemployed Holbein to finish what was left undone, as wellas to make designs for additional subjects which appearedin the subsequent editions. Thus would Holbein be soconnected with the work as to obtain in future such noticeas would constitute him by general report the real inventorof it If then there be any validity in what is here statedconcerning Reperdius, the difficulty and obscurity in thepreface to the Lyons edition of the Dance of Death in1538 will be removed, and Holbein remain in possessionof a share at least in the composition of that inestimablework. The mark or monogram ff A on one of the cutscannot possibly belong to Holbein, but may possibly bethat of the engraver, of whom more hereafter.