Produced by David Widger from page images generously provided by the Internet Archive MERRIE ENGLAND IN THE OLDEN TIME By George Daniel “Dost thou think because thou art virtuous there shall be no more cakes and ale?” Shakspere. In Two Volumes. Vol. I. London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street. 1841 [Illustration: 0008] [Illustration: 0009] “Merrie England in the Olden Time” having found favour with the Public in “_Bentley's Miscellany_,” puts forth new attractions in the present volumes. It has received numerous and important corrections and additions; the story has been illustrated by those eminent artists Messrs. Leech and Robert Cruikshank; and fac-similes, faithfully executed by that “cunninge” limner Mr. Thomas Gilks, of rare and unique portraits of celebrated Players, Jesters, Conjurers, and Mountebanks, (preserved only in the cabinets of the curious,) exhibit “lively sculptures” of once popular drolls and wizards that shook the sides and “astonished the nerves” of our jovial-hearted and wondering ancestors. To supply the antiquarian portion of Merrie England, a library and a collection of prints and drawings of a highly curious and _recherche_ character have been resorted to; and, though the task of concentrating and reducing into moderate compass such ample materials has not been an easy one, “The labour we delight in physics pain.” This, and a large share of public approval, have made it a “labour of love.” In that part which is purely fiction the _characters_ can best speak for themselves. Canonbury, Oct. 1841. MERRIE ENGLAND IN THE OLDEN TIME. INTRODUCTION.