206 The Dance of Death.

Pour ce qu'il fault que maine tout affin ;

Je nay parent, amy, frere ou affin

Que ne face tout rediger en pouldre,

Et suis de Dieu ad ce commise affin,

Que Ton me doubte autant que tonnant fouldre.

Some of the editions are ornamented with cuts, in whichDeath is occasionally introduced, and that portion of thework which exclusively relates to him seems to have beenseparately published, M. Goujet 1 having mentioned that hehad seen a copy in vellum, containing twelve leaves, withan engraving to every one of the stanzas, twenty-three innumber. More is unnecessary to be added, as M. Peignothas elaborately and very completely handled the subjectin his interesting " Recherches sur les Danses des Morts."Dijon, 1826. 8vo.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Errors of various writers who have introduced the subject ofthe Dance of Death.

O enumerate even a moiety of these mis-takes would almost occupy a separatevolume, but it may be as well to noticesome of them which are to be found it.works of common occurrence.

Travellers. —The erroneous remark cof Bishop Burnet and Mr. Coxe havebeen already adverted to. See pp. 70,118, and 123.

Misson seems to regard the old Danse Macabre as thework of Holbein.

The Rev. Robert Gray, in " Letters during the course ofa Tour through Germany and Switzerland in the years 17 91and 1792," has stated that Mechel has engraved Rubens sdesigns from the Dance of Death, now perishing on thewalls of the churchyard of the Predicant convent, whereit was sketched in 1431.

1 Biblioth. Fran<j. torn. x. p. 436.