Whoe’er this book, if lost, doth find,
I hope will have a generous mind,
And bring it to the owner,—me,
Whose name they’ll see page fifty-three.
The curious warning subjoined—paradoxical in view of the improbability of any honest friend pilfering—has descended to our times from the days of black-letter printing:—
Steal not this book, my honest friend,
For fear the gallows be your end;
For if you do, the Lord will say,
Where is that book you stole away?
Another often met with is this:—