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 have taken its rise in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
The reason why however the life of Whittington should have been chosen
as the stock upon which this folk-tale should be grafted is still
unexplained. Some have supposed that he obtained his money by the
employment of "cats," or vessels for the carriage of coals; but this
suggestion does not appear to be worthy of much consideration.

It is said that at Newgate, which owed much to Whittington, there was a