House; "A thousande fyve
hundredth fortye and foure," no printer's name, mark, or
date, 4to. Here begynneth a lytell propre Jest, called
Cryste Crosse me spede, a b c. 1 11 6

2274. Chaucer's Work; first edition, _emprentyd by Caxton_,
folio, _in russia_. 47 15 6

2280. ---- Troylus and Creseyde, _printed b [Transcriber's
Note: by] Caxton_, folio. 10 10 0

2281. ---- Booke of Fame, _printed by Caxton_, folio. 4 5 0

2297. Gower de Confessione Amantis; _printed by Caxton_,
1483, folio, _in morocco_. 9 9 0

2282. The Bokys of Haukyng and Hunting; _printed at Seynt
Albons_, 1486, _folio: fine copy in morocco_. 13 0 0

And here farewell POETRY!

1678. The Booke of the moste victoryouse Prynce, Guy of
Warwick. _Impr. by W. Copland_, 4to. 1 1 0

1683. The Historye of Graunde Amoure and la bell Pucel, &c.
_Impr. by John Wayland_, 1554, 4to. 1 2 0

1685. The Historye of Olyver of Castylle, &c. _Impr. by
Wynkyn de Worde_, 1518, 4to. 1 12 0

1656. The Booke of the Ordre of Chyvalry or Knyghthode.
_Translated and printed by William Caxton_; no date, a fine
copy in russia, 4to. 5 5 0

(Shall I put one, or one hundred marks--not of admiration
but of astonishment--at this price?! but go on kind reader!)

2480. The Boke of Jason: _emprynted by Caxton_, folio. 4 4 0

2481. The Boke of Fayttes of Armes and of Chyvalrye,
_emprynted by Caxton_, 1489, folio. 10 10 0

2582. Thystorye, &c., of the Knyght Parys, and of the fayre
Vyenne, &c. 1485, fol., _translated and printed by Caxton_.
14 0 0

[Illustration: CAXTON.]

But why should I go on tantalising the S----s, H----s,
S----s, R----s, and U----s, of the day, by further specimens
of the _enormous_ sums here given for such _common_ editions
of old ROMANCES? Mr. George Nicol, his majesty's bookseller,
told me, with his usual pleasantry and point, that he got
abused in the public papers, by Almon and others, for his
having purchased nearly the whole of the Caxtonian volumes
in this collection for his Majesty's library. It was said
abroad that "a Scotchman had lavished away the king's money
in buying old black-letter books." A pretty specimen of
_lavishing_ away royal money, truly! There is also another
thing, connected with these _invaluable_ (I speak as a