1

2 LIFE OF HOLBEIN.

and in the fish-market of the same town, aDance of peasants, and Death's dance. Thesepieces were exceedingly striking to the curious;and Erasmus was so affected with them, thathe requested of him to draw his picture, andwas ever after his friend. Holbein, in themean time, though a great genius and fineartist, had no elegance or delicacy of man-ners, but was given to wine and revellingcompany; for which he met with the follow-ing gentle rebuke from Erasmus. WhenErasmus wrote his " Moriae Encomium/' or" Panegyric upon Folly," he sent a copy ofit to Hans Holbein, who was so pleased withthe several descriptions of folly there given,that he designed them all in the margin; andwhere he had not room to draw the wholefigures, pasted a piece of paper to the leaves.He then returned the book to Erasmus, whoseeing that he had represented an amorousfool by the figure of a fat Dutch lover, hug-ging his bottle and his lass, wrote under it," Hans Holbein/' and so sent it back to the