Many volumes were given about this time by Bodley, which had been collected in Italy by Bill, the London bookseller, who was employed by Sir Thomas to travel on the Continent as his agent for this purpose. The famous copy of the French _Romance of Alexander_ (now numbered Bodl. 264) must have been one of the MSS. given by Bodley himself at the commencement of his work, as it is found entered in the printed Catalogue of 1605, but does not occur in the Benefactors' Register. It is decorated with a large number of beautiful paintings on a chequered background of gold and colour; but its special interest lies in the illustrations at the foot of about half the pages, which exhibit the most quaint and grotesque representations of customs, trades, amusements, dress, &c., of the time. Some of these were engraved by Strutt; and four specimens, together with one of the larger miniatures illustrating the text, are given by Dibdin in his _Bibl. Decam._ vol. i., where, at pp. 198-201, he discourses, in his own peculiar fashion, on the merits of the volume. A notice of the book may also be found in Warton's _Hist. of Engl. Poetry_, edit. 1840, vol. i. p. 142. At f. 208 is the following colophon, which is of much interest, as affording evidence that the work of the painter occupied upwards of five years:-- 'Che define li romans du boin roi Alixandre, Et les veus du pavon, les accomplissemens, Le Restor du pavon et le pris, qui fu perescript Le xviii^e ior de Decembre, lan M.ccc.xxxviii. Explicit iste liber, scriptor sit crimine liber, Xpristus scriptorem custodiat ac det honorem. (_In gold letters._) 'Che liure fu perfais de le enluminure au xviii^e jour dauryl. Per Jehan de grise, Lan de grace, M.ccc.xliij.' This is followed by a continuation (of later date) of the romance, in Northern-English verse, on seven leaves[24]; and lastly, by a French Romance of the 'grant kaan à la graunt cite de Tambaluc.' A scribe's name is given in the following lines on f. 208, but in a hand apparently not that of any part of the book:-- 'Laus tibi sit Christe, quoniam liber explicit iste. Nomen scriptoris est Thomas Plenus Amoris[25].' The earliest owner's name occurring in the volume is that of 'Richart de Widevelle, seigneur de Rivières,' recorded in an inscription on the cover at the end, which proceeds to say that 'le dist Seigneur acetast le dist liure lan de grace mille cccclxvi. le premier jour de lan a Londres.' Rivers' own autograph follows ('Ryverys'), with some words in French, written in a perfectly frantic scrawl. Subsequent owners were 'Gyles Strangwayes' and 'Jaspere Ffylolle' (whose signatures are engraved by Dibdin, _ubi supra_), and 'Thomas Smythe[26].'