ind--

"Whittington, back return."

which is then amplified into--

"Turn againe, Whittington,
For thou in time shall grow
Lord Maior of London."

In T. H.'s _History_ (see p. 11) we have--

"Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London."

In the later chap-book version this is altered into--

"Turn again, Whittington,
Lord Mayor of great London."

It will be seen that the special reference to the fact that Whittington
was three times Lord Mayor is not to be found in either the ballads or
the chap-books.

In the _Life_, by the author of _George Barnwell_ (1811), however we
read--

"Return again, Whittington,
Thrise Lord Mayor of London."

And in _The Life and Times of Whittington_ (1841)--

"Turn again, turn again, Whittington,
Three times Lord Mayor of London."

In the early version of the _History_ by T. H. the fanciful portions are
only allowed to occupy a small portion of the whole, and a long account
is given of Whittington's real actions, but, in the later chap-book
versions, the historical incidents are ruthlessly cut down, and the
fictitious ones amplified. This will be seen by comparing the two
printed here. Thus T. H. merely says (p. 6) that Whittington was
obscurely born, and that being almost starved in the country he came up
to London. In the later chap-book the journey to London is more fully
enlarged upon (p. xxxiii.), and among those at Whittington's marriage
with Alice Fitzwarren the name of the Company of Stationers not then in
existence is foisted in (pp. xlii.) It does not appear in T. H.'s
_History_.

In many other particulars the later chap-book which contains the story
as known to modern readers is amplified, and thus shows signs of a very
late origin.

With regard to the three fictitious points of Whittington's history
mentioned at the beginning of this preface, the first--his poor
parentage--is disposed of by documentary evidence; the second--his
sitting on a stone at Highgate hill--has been shown to be quite a modern
invention; and the third--the story of the cat--has been told of so many
other persons in different parts of the world that there is every reason
to believe it to be a veritable folk-tale joined to the history of
Whittington from some unexplained connection. None of the early
historians who mention Whittington allude to the incident of the cat,
and it is only to be found in popular literature, ballads, plays, &c.
The story seems to hav