I may here mention that I possess a copy of an extremely rare work relating to Robert Greene, which has only lately become known, viz.:
"Greene's Newes both from Heaven and Hell. Prohibited the first for writing of Bookes, and banished out of the last for displaying of Connycatchers. Commended to the Presse by B. R." (Barnabee Rich) 4to. bl. lett. Lond. 1593.
Concerning the great rarity of this interesting tract, which was unknown to the Rev. A. Dyce when publishing his edition of Greene's works, your readers may see a notice by Mr. Collier in his Extracts from the Registry of the Stat. Comp., vol. ii. p. 233., apparently from the present copy, no other being known.
THOS. CORSER.
Stand Rectory.
THE DUTCH MARTYROLOGY.
(Vol. iii., p. 443.)
Besides the copy of the above work mentioned by your correspondent J. H. T., several others are known to exist in this country. Among them I may mention one in the library of the Baptist College, Bristol. My own copy was supplied by a London bookseller, who has likewise imported several other copies from Holland, where it is by no means a scarce work.
The second illustrated edition was published twenty years after the decease of Van Braght. The first edition, without engravings, now before me, appeared in 1660, which was the edition used by Danvers. But Danvers does not appear to have known its existence, when the first edition of his treatise came out in 1673. The "large additions" of his second edition in 1674, are chiefly made from the work of Van Braght.
The original portion of Van Braght's work is, however, confined to the first part. The second part, The Martyrology, strictly so called, is of much earlier date. Many single narratives appeared at the time, and collections of these were early made. The earliest collection of martyrdoms bears the date of 1542. This was enlarged in 1562, 1578, 1580, and 1595. This fact I give on the authority of Professor Müller of Amsterdam, from the Jaarboekje voor de Doopsgezinde Gemeenten in de Nederlanden, 1838 en 1839, pp. 102, 103.
An edition, dated 1599, of these very rare books is now before me. It has the following curious and affecting title: