In an early French translation, the text of this work of Erasmus is embellished with some of the woodcuts belonging to Brandt's "Ship of Fools," which, it need hardly be remarked, are altogether inappropriate, but the "Praise of Folly" was detained to receive illustrations from a more distinguished pencil. A copy of the book came into the hands of Hans Holbein--it may possibly have been presented to him by the author--and Holbein took so much interest in it, that he amused himself with drawing illustrative sketches with a pen in the margins. This book afterwards passed into the library of the University of Bâle, where it was found in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and these drawings have since been engraved and added to most of the subsequent editions. Many of these sketches are very slight, and some have not a very close connection with the text of Erasmus, but they are all characteristic, and show the spirit--the spirit of the age--in which Holbein read his author. I give two examples of them, taken almost haphazard, for it would require a longer analysis of the book than can be given here to make many of them understood. The first of these, our cut No. 137, represents the foolish warrior, who has a sword long enough to trust to it for defence, bowing with trembling superstition before a painting of St. Christopher crossing the water with the infant Christ on his shoulder, as a more certain security for his safety during that day. The other, our cut No. 138, represents the preacher, Lady Folly, descending from her pulpit, after she has concluded her sermon. [Illustration: _No. 138. Preacher Folly ending her Sermon._] CHAPTER XIV. POPULAR LITERATURE AND ITS HEROES; BROTHER RUSH, TYLL EULENSPIEGEL, THE WISE MEN OF GOTHAM.--STORIES AND JEST-BOOKS.--SKELTON, SCOGIN, TARLTON, PEELE.