"6, Charterhouse Square, Sept. 23, 1849 .

"Dear Sir,—The Epistle of Paulus Manutius (Epl. lib. iv.) in which he very highly commends a 'Commentariolus' by the person to whom he writes, was certainly addrest to Dudithius. The Epistle is the 13th of the 4th Book, and it begins, as Bock has noticed, with the words,' Ita mihi optata contingant ut commentariolo tuo nihil unquam legi eruditius, nihil sanctius,' &c. Bock states that in the Edition which he used (which I do not possess) the name of Dudithius is not given, (p. 296,) and at p. 322 he adds, that he found the name restored in the Leipzic Edition of 1720, 'ex antiquissimis editionibus.' As, however, Bock had never seen the most ancient Edition of the Epistles of Manutius, and is thus but an authority at second-hand, I can confirm, past all doubt, the correctness of the restoration by Krause, in his Edition of 1720, of the name of Dudithius to this and several other letters addrest to him by P. Manutius; and I do this on the authority of the Edition of 1561, printed by Manutius himself, being the third, containing only 5 Books; which edition I possess among many others. In the 4th Book are twelve epistles in succession, the address to the first of which,' O dulcem reditum,' is 'Andrese Duditio Sbardellato, Patavium;' and that to each of those which follow,'Eidem, Patavium.' Of these the letter ' Ita mihi' is the seventh.

"I have the 1st Edition, 1558,• a very thin volume, (not divided into Books,) in which these Letters had not appeared. The 2nd Edition• I have not seen. The 3rd, 1561,• which I possess, I prize very much, as containing names supprest in the subsequent Editions, until they were restored in that of Leipzic, 1720. This Edition I have not seen; but I have a Leipzic Edition of 1707, from the same press, (J. H. Klosius,) in which the work of commentary and restoration is begun. It was, no doubt, the precursor of that of 1720, which I should be very glad to obtain.

"It is remarkable that though in the Edition of 1707 twelve letters in Book iv. (from No. 7 to 18, and 47) are printed without the name of Dudithius, to whom they were addrest; yet, further on, in the 6th Book, the Editor, J. Kirchmann, seems to have obtained some fresh light, for upon Letter xxii. he has the following note: (the letter has this head, 'episcopo creaio:' on which he remarks) 'Nomen Dudithii est omissum: quia Dudithius hie postea abdicavit se episcopatu, et religionem evangelicam amplexus,' &c. [The letter is dated Jan. 1564.]

"Eleven of these Letters in Book iv. are inserted in a Collection printed by H. Stephens, Paris, 1581, the name of Dudithius being given in full, as in the 3rd Edition, Venet. 1561.

"Some of these are also given by Reuterus in his Life of Dudithius, as addrest to him by P. Manutius.

"The statement of Sandius that there were Letters from Dudithius in the Collection of P. Manutius is erroneous; and Bock properly corrects him, T. I. p. 322. The Letters in the Collection are all written by P. Manutius, and not to him. Perhaps Sandius was misled by Frisius's Epit . Bibl. Gesnerianse; he speaks with doubt, and adds 'ni fallor.'

"I find that not only is the name of Dudithius supprest, in all the Aldine Editions after the 3rd, 1561, in the letters addrest to him, but even in those written to other persons, and in .which he is alluded to in terms of the highest praise. And though Manutius inserts in the Edition of 1569 (where it appears for the first time) his letter of congratulation to him (1564) on his being made a Bishop, yet he suppresses his name. That Dudith was the person is evident from the contents of the letter.

"I observe that in the Edition of 1569 and those subsequent, other names are supprest besides that of Dudith (such as Valdez, Lambinus, and Vergerius). I shall perhaps pursue the investigation for the benefit of Bibliographers, as the 'Lettere Volgari' furnish similar instances. McCrie alludes to this subject, p. 294. Religious differences were doubtless the cause.

"I have mentioned above that the letters to Dudith were not included in P. Manutius's 1st Edition. The 2nd Edition I have not seen, and therefore cannot say whether they first appear in that, or in the 3rd, in which they are given with the name, which, in all subsequent Editions, is omitted, its place being supplied by asterisks .

"I send this to prevent delay. If anything further should occur to me, I shall be happy to communicate it. Meanwhile, I remain, dear Sir, Yours most truly,

"The Rev. R Wallace. Richard Taylor.

"P.S. You will find in Bock, T. I. p. 261, a reference to the Letter from the illustrious Printer, congratulating Dudith on his promotion to a Bishopric, and on his conduct at the Council of Trent.''

• "All three from the press of the Aldi."