in _Blackwood's_; _The
English Mail Coach_ and _The Vision of Sudden Death_, in 1849. Among
other papers contributed to _Tait's Magazine_, the _Joan of Arc_
appeared in 1847. During the last ten years of his life, De Quincey
was occupied chiefly in preparing for the publishers a complete
edition of his works. Ticknor & Fields, of Boston, the most
distinguished of our American publishing firms, had put forth,
1851-55, the first edition of De Quincey's collected writings, in
twenty volumes. The first British edition was undertaken by Mr. James
Hogg, of Edinburgh, in 1853, with the co-operation of the author, and
under his direction; the final volume of this edition was not issued
until the year following De Quincey's death.

In the autumn of 1859 the frail physique of the now famous
Opium-Eater grew gradually feeble, although suffering from no definite
disease. It became evident that his life was drawing to its end. On
December 8, his two daughters standing by his side, he fell into a
doze. His mind had been wandering amid the scenes of his childhood,
and his last utterance was the cry, "Sister, sister, sister!" as if in
recognition of one awaiting him, one who had been often in his dreams,
the beloved Elizabeth, whose death had made so profound and lasting an
impression on his imagination as a child.

* * * * *

The authoritative edition of _De Quincey's Works_ is that edited by
David Masson and published in fourteen volumes by Adam and Charles
Black (Edinburgh). For American students the _Riverside Edition_, in
twelve volumes (Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston), will be found
convenient. The most satisfactory _Life of De Quincey_ is the one by
Masson in the _English Men of Letters_ series. Of a more anecdotal
type are the _Life of De Quincey_, by H.A. Page, whose real name is
Alexander H. Japp (2 vols., New York, 1877), and _De Quincey
Memorials_ (New York, 1891), by the same author. Very interesting is
the brief volume, _Recollections of Thomas De Quincey_, by John R.
Findlay (Edinburgh, 1886), who also contributes the paper on _De
Quincey_ to the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_. _De Quincey and his
Friends_, by James Hogg (London, 1895), is another volume of
recollections, souvenirs, and anecdotes, which help to make real their
subject's personality. Besides the editor, other writers contribute to
this volume: Richard Woodhouse, John R. Findlay, and John Hill Burton,
who has given under th