G. J. WHYTE-MELVILLE

Although as an authority on matters sporting Whyte-Melville stands alone, it is yet impossible, with the best will in the world and with all the respect due to his personal chivalry and courage, to regard him in the rÔle of novelist as anything but absurd.

His books, where they deal with the science and the joys of hunting, have the vivid appeal that only delighted conviction can give; but as fiction, as readings of life adequately expressed in English prose, they are negligible and often ludicrous.

Whyte-Melville, the sportsman, is a figure of dignity and inspiration; Whyte-Melville, the social novelist, is Ouida in breeches. That the breeches are of perfect cut may not disguise the conventional swagger of the legs they cover. The ways trodden by this author in his search for character and incident are the exclusive ways of Victorian landlordism. Their pavements are thronged with fair ladies and brave gentlemen, while in the roadway crowd the lower orders—some mildly criminal, some a little comic, but the majority joyous in their privilege to serve the brilliant purpose of their betters. The antics of these humble creatures are watched with kindly patronage by those to whom wealth and pleasure are a normal birthright. Conversing among themselves, heartily but with elegance, the Guardsmen and squirelings of the fashionable clubs find time to exchange gracious greeting with their poorer neighbours, whose uncouth speech strikes quaintly pleasant on their cultured ears. An instruction is given; half a sovereign changes hands; a cap is dutifully touched. God willed that of His creatures some be rich and others poor; let the former bear themselves honourably and remember (when not otherwise engaged) the duties of their station; let the latter be happy in the lot to which Providence has called them.

But genial condescension to his dependants is not the only or even the main business of the Whyte-Melville gentleman. His life has two absorbing interests—horses and ladies. To a point these interests merge. With identical expertise he takes the points of a fine girl and of a blood mare. The former in her drawing-room, the latter in her stable, await in gleaming beauty his appreciative caress. At their point of ultimate usefulness, however, femininity and horseflesh part company. The latter is the hero's ally, the former his quarry in the chase; and while his adventures on horseback are told with the zest and knowledge of real authority, his exploits in lady-killing have the tedious unreality of a tale only half imagined and not a quarter lived.

It is for the falseness of his emotional writing that Whyte-Melville challenges comparison with Ouida. And, the comparison made, one is bound to concede victory to the latter. Both deal in the passions of the nobly born; but while the woman has at least the courage of bad taste, the man, fettered by good form, achieves no taste at all. Whyte-Melville's novels, like Hamlet, are full of quotations. He is the father of novelette; the wellspring of clichÉ. His lovely ladies are not women nor his gallants men: they are the dummies of suburban melodrama, exquisitely gowned, faultlessly tailored, mouthing the phrases of drawing-room passionates, but, even as dummies, failing to achieve that semblance of gilded sin that is their only purpose.

Nevertheless, despite their ineptitude, the books of Whyte-Melville compel a curious and obscure respect. Respect for what it were hard to say, for his written word is his own deadliest accuser. Sentences might be chosen almost at random from the novels of social life that would prove his possession of every fault possible to a novelist and to a writer of prose. And yet, through the screen of their fatuity, one has glimpses of the personality of the author himself—a personality at which one may make mock, but only with affection. This country gentleman turned novelist was an upright, guileless creature, hard riding, generous hearted, as unconscious of his innate snobbery as of his natural modesty, conventional because unaware of any world or school of thought beyond the narrow limits of his own. His pictures of England are as dull and as unreal as the pretty garden scenes in water-colour produced by county ladies to this day; but both the painter of these lifeless pictures and the comfortable amateurs responsible for horrid views of moorland and herbaceous border command a sort of wistful admiration. There is something so clean and easy and contented in the mentality from which these books and drawings spring that, if only it were not so stupid, so impenetrable to variety of idea, its passing might well be looked on with regret. Whyte-Melville's qualities, like those of the type he represents, are more obscure than his defects. The class of country gentleman to which he personally belonged is rapidly disappearing; when it is gone we shall wonder a little perplexedly why we miss it. It was so easy to ridicule, so pathetically a target for mockery and persecution. In our greater wisdom we have shot it to pieces, riddling its obtuse selfishness, its bland complacency, with the bullets of reforming zeal. But something fine will have perished with it, something indefinable but leaving a sense of gap, to remind us that destruction is never quite the discriminating triumph that iconoclasts claim for it in advance.

This, then, is one contemporary view of Whyte-Melville's novels, whose only demonstrable virtue is their sportsmanship. One may quote from Market Harborough, from Riding Recollections, even from the social stories, passages of speed and exhilaration, passages of unaffected wisdom and perception, descriptive of the hunting that, next to honour, he loved best of all that life could offer. In opposition may be printed page after page of stilted rhetoric, mawkish humour, the falsest of sentiment, the most wanton elaboration of noun and adjective. But after all quotation is done and a balance struck, there will still remain the elusive quality that gave character to the class from which the author came, an essence of breeding and tradition that no phrasing can crystallize, that vanishes in the moment of its expression. For this spiritual quality Whyte-Melville is admirable; for his literary faults he is unreadable. Such, in a nutshell, is the judgment of one reader who cannot excuse a book stupidity and pretentiousness for the sake of isolated passages of hunting lore, but seeks to appreciate in the character of a social generation that is fading fast, a distinction that to all seeming will fade with it.

There are, however, readers of other kinds, and for their sake and because among our grandmothers and our aunts the stories of Whyte-Melville were avidly admired, a summary classification of his books shall be attempted.

He began as a writer of autobiographies, of the part-fashionable, part-sporting, part-knockabout kind, the tradition of which came down from the eighteenth century, through Frederick Marryat, to a dozen writers of the hard-drinking, riotous forties. Digby Grand (1853) and Tilbury Nogo (1854) are essentially novels of this type, while in Kate Coventry (1856) the author merely adapts the recipe to the needs of a girl heroine. The Interpreter (1858) strikes a note of its own, for the scenes in the Crimea and in Turkey were drawn from the writer's experience and give a convincing picture of the period and its happenings. Apart from them, however, the book is an ordinary first-person record of the social wanderings of a young Englishman of family.

Between the second and the third of the books above mentioned had appeared General Bounce (1855), a transitional novel, not wholly apart from those that preceded it, but halfway to a place among the stories of contemporary love-making and sport, of which the author was to produce a lengthy list. These novels of English society contain much of the most repellent of Whyte-Melville's work, although many have refreshing interludes of hunting and scenes on the racecourse or in the stable that will endear them to specialists in the genre, if they cannot reconcile others to the artificial tedium of the love stories and the clumsy contriving of the plots. Here are the titles of the social novels:

Next in numerical importance are the costume novels, beloved of an earlier generation, but to the critical modern reader the poorest of poor stuff, so compact of Wardour Street, of hollow sentiment, and of forced, dÉmodÉ attitude as to be intolerable.

Holmby House (1860)

(A tale of the Civil War with a strong bias in favour of the Cavalier party),

The Queen's Maries (1862)

(A romantic tribute to Mary, Queen of Scots),

The Gladiators (1863)

(A novel of Rome and JudÆa at the time of Christ),

Cerise (1866)

(An eighteenth-century tale),

Sarchedon (1871)

(A novel centring round the figure of Semiramis),

Sister Louise (1876)

(A novel of seventeenth-century France),

Rosine (1877)

(A novel of the French Revolution).

There remain two books of purely sporting significance, and Katerfelto.

Market Harborough (1861), the pride of the Pytchley, is hardly a novel. It is a string of hunting and horse-dealing episodes into which Whyte-Melville threw all that he had of science and of enthusiasm. Riding Recollections (1878) are what their name implies. It is not for any but the expert to criticize these books, which are held in some quarters to be essential textbooks to a hunting education. Katerfelto (1875) will also escape comment here, but for a different reason. Among my childhood memories this Exmoor tale glows adored, uncriticized. How will it read to-day? To put it to the test frightens me. I dare not open it.

1850

HORACE: Odes, Epodes and Carmen SÆculare Translated into English verse by G. J. Whyte Melville Esq., late Coldstream Guards. London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., Stationers Hall Court. 1850. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5½ × 8½). Pp. (viii) + 120. Dark green cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Yellow end-papers.

1853

DIGBY GRAND: An Autobiography. By G. J. Whyte Melville. London: John W. Parker and Son, West Strand. 1853. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4? × 7¾).

Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 303 + (1).

Vol. II. pp. iv + 312 + (4). No half-title. Publishers' advertisements, paged 1-4, occupy pp. (313) to (316).

Red cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in February, 1853. The story appeared serially in “Fraser's Magazine.”

1854

TILBURY NOGO: Or Passages in the Life of an Unsuccessful Man. By the author of Digby Grand. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1854. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4? × 8¾).

Vol. I. pp. iv + 310 + (2).

Vol. II. pp. (ii) + 348.

No half-titles. Brown cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in June, 1854. The story appeared serially in “The Sporting Magazine.”

1855

GENERAL BOUNCE: Or The Lady and The Locusts. By G. J. Whyte Melville. London: John W. Parker and Son, West Strand. 1855. 2 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).

Vol. I. pp. viii + 296 + (4). Advertisement of Digby Grand occupies verso of half-title. Publishers' advertisements, numbered 1 to 4, occupy pp. (297) to (300).

Vol. II. pp. iv + 278 + (2). No half-title. Publishers' advertisements occupy pp. (279) to (280).

Pale brown cloth, gilt. Pale brick end-papers.

Note—Although dated 1855 this book was actually published in December, 1854. The story appeared serially in “Fraser's Magazine.”

1856

KATE COVENTRY: An Autobiography. Edited by G. J. Whyte Melville, author of Digby Grand. Originally published in “Fraser's Magazine.” London: John W. Parker and Son, West Strand. 1856. 1 vol. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4? × 7¾). Advertisement of books by the same author occupies p. (323) and publishers' list p. (324). Scarlet ribbed cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Chalk-blue end-papers.

Note—This book was published in October, 1856.

THE ARAB'S RIDE TO CAIRO: A Legend of the Desert. By G. J. Whyte Melville. Illustrated and Illuminated by Mrs. Wolfe Murray. Seton & Mackenzie, Edinburgh. Houlston & Stoneman, London. 1 vol. Fcap. 4to (6? × 8¼). Pp. 14. Red cloth, full gilt, blocked in gold, or green morocco, full gilt, tooled in gold and black. Yellow end-papers.

Notes—(i) This volume was published in January, 1857.

(ii) It is hardly a book in the ordinary sense, consisting, as it does, of 14 pp. of stout card printed on one side only. Each page is printed in three or more colours, vaguely after the style of an illuminated MS. Pseudo-gothic lettering is used throughout, and the whole volume is typical of the Victorian table book at its most ornate.

1858

THE INTERPRETER: A Tale of the War. By G. J. Whyte Melville, Author of Digby Grand, General Bounce etc. etc. Originally published in “Fraser's Magazine.” London: John Parker and Son, West Strand. 1858. 1 vol. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7?). Pp. iv + 431 + (1). No half-title. Publishers' catalogue, 8 pp., bound in at end. Red cloth, gilt, blocked in black, uniform with Kate Coventry. Chocolate end-papers.

Note—This book was published in January, 1858.

1860

HOLMBY HOUSE: A Tale of Old Northants. By G. J. Whyte Melville. Author of Digby Grand, The Interpreter etc. Originally published in “Fraser's Magazine.” London: John Parker and Son, West Strand, 1860. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).

Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 325 + (3). Pp. (i) and (ii) precede frontispiece and form technically a half-title, but p. (i) is not printed as such. Publishers' advertisements occupy pp. (327) and (328).

Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 344 + (4). No half-title. Publishers' advertisements, numbered 1 to 4, occupy pp. (345) to (348).

Frontispiece in coloured lithograph to Vol. I., printed separately. Red-brown cloth, gilt. Chocolate end-papers.

Note—This book was published in March, 1860.

1861

MARKET HARBOROUGH: Or How Mr. Sawyer went to the Shires. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1861. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7½). Pp. viii + 312. Olive-green cloth, gilt. Yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in April, 1861.

1861

GOOD FOR NOTHING: Or All Down Hill. By G. J. Whyte Melville. Author of Digby Grand, The Interpreter, Holmby House etc. Originally published in “Fraser's Magazine.” London: Parker, Son and Bourn, West Strand. 1861. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7?).

Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 298 + (2). Publishers' advertisements occupy p. (299).

Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 265 + (3). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp. (267) and (268).

No half-titles. Maroon cloth, gilt. Chocolate end-papers.

Note—This book was published in December, 1861.

1862

MARKET HARBOROUGH: Or How Mr. Sawyer Went to the Shires. 4th Edition. INSIDE THE BAR: Or Sketches at Soakington. By the author of Digby Grand etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1862. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7½). Pp. iv + 393 + (3). Buff cloth, printed, in red and black. White end-papers, of which the first inside front is printed with publishers' advertisements.

Note—This volume is the first edition of Inside the Bar. It was published in April, 1862.

1862

THE QUEEN'S MARIES: A Romance of Holyrood. By G. J. Whyte Melville, Author of Digby Grand, The Interpreter, Holmby House, Good for Nothing etc. London: Parker, Son and Bourn, West Strand. 1862. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7?).

Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 304.

Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 254 + (2). Publishers' advertisements occupy p. (255), and 8 pp. advertisements, printed on text paper but numbered 1 to 8, are bound in at end.

No half-titles, but in Vol. II. 2 pp. blank precede title. Violet cloth, gilt. Chocolate end-papers.

Note—This book was published in July, 1862.

1863

THE GLADIATORS: A Tale of Rome and JudÆa. By G. J. Whyte Melville, author of Digby Grand, The Interpreter, Holmby House, The Queen's Maries etc. London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts and Green. 1863. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).

Vol. I. pp. iv + 324.

Vol. II. pp. iv + 305 + (1).

Vol. III. pp. iv + 291 + (1).

No half-titles. Red embossed cloth, gilt, blocked in gold and blind. Pale chocolate end-papers.

Note—This book was announced for publication by Parker in November, 1863. In January, 1864, it appeared over Longmans' imprint, but dated 1863. Whether any copies are in existence with a Parker imprint I do not know; if so they are the real first edition.

THE BROOKES OF BRIDLEMERE. By G. J. Whyte Melville. Author of The Gladiators, Digby Grant (sic), The Interpreter, Holmby House, The Queen's Maries etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1864. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4? × 7¾).

Vol. I. pp. (iv) + 293 + (3).

Vol. II. pp. (iv) + 307 + (1).

Vol. III. pp. (iv) + 293 + (3). Publishers' catalogue, 36 pp., and dated October, 1864, bound in at end.

No half-titles. Red cloth, gilt. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published on October 29, 1864.

1866

CERISE: A Tale of the Last Century. By G. J. Whyte Melville, author of The Gladiators, Digby Grand, The Brookes of Bridlemere etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1866. 3 vols. Ex. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7¾).

Vol. I. pp. iv + 309 + (3).

Vol. II. pp. iv + 301+ (3).

Vol. III. pp. iv + 318 + (2).

No half-titles. Magenta cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale cream end-papers.

Notes—(i) This book was published in April, 1866.

(ii) Cerise was rapidly reprinted, and it is curious to report that copies of the third edition exist with publishers' catalogue at the end of Vol. III. dated March, 1866—i.e., prior to the book's first publication. The first edition contained no catalogue.

1868

THE WHITE ROSE. By G. J. Whyte Melville, author of Cerise, The Gladiators, Brookes of Bridlemere etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).

Vol. I. pp. vii + (i) + 262 + (2).

Vol. II. pp. vii + (i) + 263 + (1).

Vol. III. pp. vii + (i) + 252.

Red-purple cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in February, 1868.

1869

BONES AND I: Or The Skeleton at Home. By G. J. Whyte Melville. Author of The Gladiators, Cerise, Digby Grand etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1869. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (4¾ × 7?). Pp. iv + 287 + (1). No half-title. Brown cloth, gilt. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in June, 1869.

1869

SONGS AND VERSES. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1869. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½). Pp. vii + (i) + 136. Errata slip inserted at p. 1. Dark red cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Pale yellow end-papers.

Notes—(i) This book was published in September, 1869.

(ii) The author revised and added to the poems in this book on several occasions after its original publication. Strictly speaking, any new edition which contains even one fresh poem may rank as a first edition, and collectors of Whyte-Melville, who are also purists, may therefore be advised not to pass over any one of the first six or seven editions of Songs and Verses without satisfying themselves that no fresh matter distinguishes it from its predecessors.

1869

M. OR N. “Similia Similibus Curantur.” By G. J. Whyte-Melville. Author of Digby Grand, Cerise, The Gladiators etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1869. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).

Vol. I. pp. vi + 312 + (2).

Vol. II. pp. vi + 313 + (3). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp. (315) (316).

Light brown (or brown) embossed cloth, gilt, blocked in blind. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published on October 15, 1869. I do not know which shade of binding is the earlier.

1871

CONTRABAND: Or A Losing Hazard. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. Author of Digby Grand, Cerise, The White Rose etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1871. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7?).

Vol. I. pp. vi + 307 + (1).

Vol. II. pp. vi + 281 + (1).

Bright blue cloth, blocked in gold and blind. Yellow end-papers.

Note—Although this book is dated 1871, it was actually published in December, 1870.

1871

SARCHEDON: A Legend of the Great Queen. By G. J. Whyte Melville. Author of The Gladiators, Holmby House, etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1871. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7?).

Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 289 + (1).

Vol. II. pp. (vi) + 270.

Vol. III. pp. (vi) + 251 + (1).

Bright blue cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Pale chocolate end-papers.

Note—This book was published in July, 1871.

1872

SATANELLA: A Story of Punchestown. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1872. 2 vols. Sm. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7¼).

Vol. I. pp. vii + (i) + 260.

Vol. II. pp. vii + (i) + 267 + (1).

Lithographed frontispiece to each volume printed separately and one other similar illustration in vol. ii. Red (or maroon) cloth, blocked in black and gold. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in June, 1872. I do not know which shade of binding is the earlier.

1873

THE TRUE CROSS: A Legend of the Church. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. Author of The Gladiators, Sarchedon etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1873. 1 vol. Cr. 8vo (4? × 7?). Pp. (iv) + 241 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated January, 1873, bound in at end. Green (or chocolate) cloth, blocked in black and gold. Pale yellow end-papers.

Notes—(i) This book was published in March, 1873.

(ii) Copies in red-brown cloth, gilt, without decorative blocking, are of later issue, although they sometimes contain a catalogue of the original date. Which shade of the original binding is the earlier, I do not know.

1874

UNCLE JOHN: A Novel. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. Author of Market Harborough, The Gladiators, Kate Coventry, Satanella etc. etc. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1874. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7?).

Vol. I. pp. (viii) + 267 + (1).

Vol. II. pp. (viii) + 236.

Vol. III. pp. (viii) + 218 + (2).

Green cloth, blocked in black and gold. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in August, 1874.

1875

KATERFELTO: A Story of Exmoor. By G. J. Whyte-Melville, author of Digby Grand, Cerise, Uncle John etc. With Illustrations by Colonel Hope Crealocke, C.B. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1875. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5? × 8?). Pp. (iv) + 291 + (1). No half-title. Publishers' catalogue, 34 pp., dated November, 1874, bound in at end. Twelve illustrations in lithograph, printed separately. Dark red cloth, blocked in gold. Pale yellow end-papers.

Note—Although dated 1875, this book was actually published in December, 1874.

1876

SISTER LOUISE: Or The Story of a Woman's Repentance. By G. J. Whyte-Melville, Author of Digby Grand, The Gladiators, Katerfelto. With Illustrations by Miriam Kerns. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1876. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5? × 8?). Pp. xii + 268. Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated December, 1875, bound in at end. Eight illustrations, roughly lithographed. Green cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Chocolate end-papers.

Notes—(i) Although dated 1876, this book was actually published in December, 1875.

(ii) Copies without catalogue and with yellow end-papers are probably of a subsequent issue.

1877

ROSINE. By J. G. [sic] Whyte-Melville, Author of Cerise, Katerfelto etc. etc. With illustrations by Miriam Kerns. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly, 1877. 1 vol. Demy 8vo (5¾ × 8?). Pp. (vi) + 266. Publishers' catalogue, 36 pp., dated December, 1876, bound in at end. Eight illustrations. Magenta cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Very dark green end-papers.

Notes—(i) Although dated 1877, this book was actually published in December, 1876.

(ii) Copies in maroon cloth, gilt, blocked in black but without other decoration on side save a simple rectangular frame are of later issue.

RIDING RECOLLECTIONS. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. With Illustrations by Edgar Giberne. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1878. 1 vol. Ex. Cr. 8vo (5¼ × 7?). Pp. xii + 251 + (1). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated November, 1877, bound in at end. Eight illustrations, being photographs from drawings pasted on to thin card. Dark brickish-red cloth, blocked in black and gold. Yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in April, 1878.

1878

ROY'S WIFE: A Novel. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1878. 2 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7?).

Vol. I. pp. vi + 299 + (1).

Vol. II. pp. vi + 310.

Olive-brown cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Cream end-papers.

Note—This book was published in July, 1878.

1879

BLACK BUT COMELY: Or The Adventures of Jane Lee. By G. J. Whyte-Melville. London: Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly. 1879. 3 vols. Cr. 8vo (5 × 7½).

Vol. I. pp. viii + 303 + (i).

Vol. II. pp. viii + 304.

Vol. III. pp. viii + 292 + (4). Publishers' advertisements occupy pp. (293) to (296). Publishers' catalogue, 32 pp., dated December, 1878, bound in at end.

A four-page slip of publishers' advertisements should be found inserted between the front end-papers of Vol. I. This slip predates the catalogue in Vol. III. Blue-grey cloth, gilt, blocked in black. Yellow end-papers.

Note—This book was published in January, 1879.

[?1879 or 1880]

THE BONES AT ROTHWELL: A Lecture delivered by the late Captain Whyte Melville, being an account of the remarkable bone cavern beneath Rothwell Church. Price 1d. Rothwell, printed by Ed. Chamberlain, 3 Market Place. (Quotation from Gray's Elegy heads title-page and wrapper.) 1 vol. Cr. 8vo. 16 pp. White paper wrappers, printed in black. Outside back wrapper occupied by printer's advertisements.

Note—This is the text of a lecture delivered by Whyte-Melville on January 3, 1862, to the Moulton Religious and Useful Knowledge Society, and printed in the “Northampton Mercury” for January 11 of the same year. When first the pamphlet above described was issued I cannot be certain, but R. B. Wallis, in a booklet published in 1888, and entitled All About the Rothwell Bones, speaks of the lecture as obtainable in pamphlet form from Chamberlan of Rothwell. Certainly, therefore, the publication predates 1888, and I have ventured above on the date of the year following Whyte-Melville's death because it seems possible that the lecture was first issued in pamphlet form to combine the interest in the Rothwell Bones with that likely to be created in Whyte-Melville by his decease. The clumsiness with which Whyte-Melville is spoken of as “the late,” but at the same time given the rank of “Captain” instead of that of “Major,” implies a hasty reprint from the file of the “Northampton Mercury,” by someone aware of his death but careless of the military rank to which he finally attained.

The colour of the paper wrapper varies with different issues. In addition to a white copy, as above described, I have seen one in a pale yellow cover.