of _Fraser's Magazine_, is described by Thackeray as one of
the publisher Cundall's books, bound in blue and gold,
illustrated by Frederick Taylor in 1847. According to
Thackeray this chap-book tale was written by Fielding.
Speaking of the passage, "The giant roared hideously but Tom
had no more mercy on him than a bear upon a dog," he said:
"No one but Fielding could have described battle so." Of the
passage, "Having increased his strength by good living and
improved his courage by drinking strong ale," he remarked:
"No one but Fielding could have given such an expression."
The quality of the English of this chap-book is apparent in
the following sentence, taken from Ashton's version: "So Tom
stepped to a gate and took a rail for a staff."

In regard to their literary merit the chap-books vary
greatly. Some evidently are works of scholars who omitted to
sign their names. In the collection by Ashton those
deserving mention for their literary merit are: _Patient
Grissel_, by Boccaccio; _Fortunatus_; _Valentine and Orson_;
_Joseph and His Brethren_; _The Friar and the Boy_; _Reynard
the Fox_, from Caxton's translation; _Tom Hickathrift_,
probably by Fielding; and _The Foreign Travels of Sir John
Mandeville_.

1708-90. Chap-Books. Printed by J. White, of York,
established at Newcastle, 1708. These included: _Tom
Hickathrift; Jack the Giant-Killer_; and _Cock Robin_.

1750. _A New Collection of Fairy Tales_. 2 vols.

1760. _Mother Goose's Melodies_. A collection of many
nursery rhymes, songs, and a few old ballads and tales,
published by John Newbery. The editor is unknown, but most
likely was Oliver Goldsmith. The title of the collection may
have been borrowed from Perrault's _Contes de ma Mere
l'Oye_, of which an English version appeared in 1729. The
title itself has an interesting history dating hundreds of
years before Perrault's time. By 1777 _Mother Goose's
Melodies_ had passed the seventh edition. In 1780 they were
published by Carnan, Newbery's stepson, under the title
_Sonnets for the Cradle_. In 1810 _Gammer Gurton's Garland_,
a collection, was edited by Joseph Ritson, an English
scholar. In 1842 J.O. Halliwell issued, for the Percy
Society, _The Nursery Rhymes of England_. The standard
modern text shoul