Dickens probably wrote or rewrote portions of the following section of 'Two Chapters on Bank Note Forgeries: Chapter II': from 'Some years ago -' (p. 619) to the conclusion.
Dickens may also have rewritten portions of the following passages: the opening paragraph; from 'This then, O gentlemen' (p. 618) to 'Bank of England:' (p. 619).
For a discussion of the Dickens-Wills attributions, see note to 'Valentine's Day at the Post-Office.'
Some of the material in this article is based upon the two-volume third edition of The History of the Bank of England (1848) by John Francis (1811-1882). A presentation copy of this work was in Dickens' library. Dickens seems to have consulted the author as well as the book. On 2 August 1850, he had written to Francis: 'I beg to thank you for the book you have so kindly lent me.... I think I know the pamphlet about Patch to which you refer.'
'Two Chapters on Bank Note Forgeries: Chapter I' by W. H. Wills had appeared in Household Words on 7 September 1850.

Harry Stone; © Bloomington and Indiana University Press, 1968. DJO gratefully acknowledges permission to reproduce this material.