442
NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. x. DEC. 5, wit
Regicides/' to which I recently devoted a
series of sixteen articles in ' N. & Q.'
On Monday, 20 Dec., 1641, the House of Commons took notice of Walker's fraud. There is the following entry in the ' Commons' Journals ' (ii. 349) :
" Die Luna?. 20 Decembris 1641. Tho. Bates did witness that one H. Walker did make a book, entituled ' A terrible outcry against the loytering exalted Prelates,' and that he does daily make books ' ejusdem farinse.' Resolved upon the Question. That one H. Walker shall be sent for as a delinquent by the Serjeant at Arms attending this House, for being the author, as it is affirmed, of the pamphlet entituled ' A terrible outcry against the loytering exalted Prelates' ; and the making and printing of this book and other books made by the same author is referred to the Committee for Printing, the which Com- mittee is revived as to this businesse only."
The result was not recorded, but I think that this was Walker's first important fraud. The House probably considered his misuse of Prynne's name to be his sole offence. Bishops were not popular.
J. B. WILLIAMS.
(To be continued.)
A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THOMAS
HOLCROFT.
(See ante, pp. 1, 43, 83, 122, 163, 205, 244, 284, 323, 362, 403.)
1794. " The Adventures of Hugh Trevor. By Thomas Holcroft. | 'Tis so pat to all the tribe | Each sicears that was levelled at me. \ Gay. | Volume I. London : Printed for Shepperson and Reynolds, No. 137, Oxford -street. 1794." Duodecimo. I., p.l.+2+viii + 1-250 ; II., p.l. _j_2 + l-208 ; Hi., p.l.+2 + 1-249 pp.
" The Adventures of Hugh Trevor. By Thomas Holcroft. | 'Tis so pat to all the tribe | Each swears that was levelled at me. \ Gay. | Volume IV. London : Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-row ; and Shepperson and Reynolds, No. 137, Oxford-street. 1797." Duodecimo. IV., p.l. +2 + 1-214 ; V., p.l.+2 + 1-216 ; VI., p.l. +2 + 1-204 pp.
The letterpress of these six volumes is so similar that all apparently came from the same printer. The novel was issued as above, three volumes in 1794, and the remain- ing three in 1797. "The End" comes at the close of the sixth volume, and the third closes " End of Vol. III.," so that, aside from context, we may judge the additional volumes to have been part of the original plan, and not a sequel. If the written in- scription on a fly-leaf appearing in every volume of one set I have seen can be trusted, which I must doubt, since we never can be absolutely accurate in dating any MS. notes of this sort, a certain " John
Arden " acquired all six volumes in " 1799."
I have examined one or two copies with
similar title-pages, signature by signature,
and believe them all from the same type.
" The Adventures of Hugh Trevor. By Thomas- Holcroft. ' Tis so pat to all the tribe \ Each cries thai was levelled at me. | Gay. | The Third Edition. Volume I. London : Printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-row. By Thomas Davison, White-Friars. 1801." Duo- decimo. I., 2 + 1-294; II., 2 + 1-312; III., 2 + 1-250; IV., 2 + 1-273 pp.
This is the whole thing reset. Its four title-pages bear the signature of " Francis. Wrangham 1805." I am quite in doubt whether to accept the statement " Third Edition " at its face value, not having seen and verified the second edition. If we are- to trust these names and dates as indicative- of dates of purchase, which I hesitate to do, we find that the 1794-7 edition was not sold out by 1799, and that the 1801 edition was not sold out by 1805. Shall we then believe that a second edition was printed and sold between 1799 and 1801 ? I am rather inclined to think that the publishers took advantage- of the double date of issue, and assumed that 1794 and 1797 might stand for separate- editions. That would make their 1801 edition a third. Such would be my inter- pretation of " The Third Edition " ; but I would rather find a bona fide second edition, it would simplify matters.
In the library of the Boston Athenjieum there is what is presumably a " second edition," which I have not been able to- examine. It is in storage for some months during rebuilding operations.
There is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (249. S. 315.) what is listed as a " second edition," but on examination I find the first three volumes to be printed on blue paper thus :
" The Adventures of Hugh Trevor. By Thomas Holcroft. | 'Tis so pat to all the tribe \ Each swears that was levelled at me. \ Gay. | The Second Edition. Volume I. London : Printed for Shepperson and Reynolds, No. 137, Oxford-Street. 1794.'* Duodecimo. I., 2 (title)+i-viii+l-250 ; II., 2 (title)+l-208 ; III., 2 (title) + l-249 pp.
The other three volumes are identical with those previously listed, and bear no indica- tion of being a " second edition." I believe that the " second edition " was a new issue of the first three volumes to go with the continuation, for those who had not been buyers in 1794 might be induced to purchase a 6-vol. novel completed in 1797 far easier than to purchase three volumes in continua- tion of a story which they had not seen. The "second edition" was, then, only
