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    and -we shall come to the beginning sooner than we shall to the end . ' . " Miss Lloyd laughed good hutnouredly : indeed , she never got through half a dozen sentences without ft laugh : it had been her chief amusement all ht r life long , and had kept her in health and spirits under * anety of circumstances which would have crushed a less buoyant nature . She had the kindest heart in the World , and the most notable fingers ; with a real genius for receipts and nothin much to

    remedies , that delighted in g so as give illnesses with good things , and cure them with detestable ones Before her guests could remonstrate , she had dived Into a cupboard , full to the brim with old China and preserves , and covered the little table with homemade cakes and marmalade , and fruit , and raspberry viqegar , and currant wine , and pressed these luxuries on them with such earnestness and anxiety , they were forced to accept , whether agreeable or not , the stream of conversation flowing on the while . to think about this terrible

    " * Well , my dears , only fire ! Shocking , wasn ' t it ? And so unexpectedly too , ' added she ( as if fires ever came by appointment ); ' yet I won ' t say that , for it was somehow expectedyou'll laugh , Miss Julia , when I tell you — but the moment they began to meddle with that fire-engine said I to David , " Take my word for it , Davy , " I said , " shall hear of somebody burnt tonight ; . " These were my identical words , as he'll tell you—I was sure of it : the engine had been left quiet all this time , and not a stick caught fire ; but directly it was pulled about we had half a dozen cottages blazing at once . ' "

    But , although Eastbury gives evidence of talent , it also gives evidence of insufficient culture . In a second attempt , we counsel Miss Drury to restrain her religious tendencies within a healthier , truer sphere , and to confine herself to the observation and pourtrayal of country life as it is . A little rigour also should be exercised upon her style ; such words as " visioning" may be tolerated in what Disraeli wittily calls the American language , and " talented" will do for those " geniussed " gentlemen who write with ease , and are read with extreme difficulty ; but they do not greatly adorn English composition .

    In all respects , as we said , Merkland is very superior to th e tale we have placed beside itsuperior , indeed , to the vast majority of novels . It seems to us many a long day since we read a work of such unmistakeable power and eloquence ; and we scarcely know where to point , out of Scott , to such a portrait as that of the descendant of the " Black Douglas" : a fine , stern , prejudiced , loving , independent old woman , with such strength of

    character that her prejudices and failings only seem to give her the extra charm of being thoroughly human . For it is perfectly true what Quintilian says about our delighting in the very faults of some people , while the virtues of others are distasteful to us ; and Mrs . Catherine Douglas , with her national feelings , her scorn of the Southron and foreigner , and her stern , peremptory manner , only becomes more delightful the more we know of her .

    There is a slowness in the movement of the story , and a want of novelty and verisimilitude in the story itself , which will prevent this work achieving the success it deserves ; but the hand which drew Mrs ; Catherine and , in a lower order , Marjory Falconer , Christian Lilie , and Mrs . Rosa will surely one day redeem its noble promise . The style is admirable ; full of vigour , breadth , and poetic grace . Some of the scene-paintings show } i faculty of expression which belongs only to poetic minds . To tell you the story would be to create a false impression of the book . The story is the least attractive part ; but it is the vehicle of fine things , which is what Bayes , in the Rehearsal , declares to be the true aim and purpose of a plot .

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    HOLIDAY HOOKS . Foil some years there has been a decided and healthy reaction in favour of those fairy tales and imaginative works for children which hud been banished for " useful information" and " moral " talea . Mr . Cundall the publisher ban been active in thin cause , and has produced a great variety of charming works—old and new—for the inexhaustible delight of Young Kngland . The love of " facts " i less encouraged than the exerciHe of the imagination and emotions , —and are not . they " facts " ? Knowledge— " useful" or otherwise—in i \ h nothing in the culture of the mind compared with the active development of the faculties . In Home ex-, quisite verflCH Voltaire has pleaded for fairy tales :- — " On tt banni \ c » demons « t 1 «? h ( 6 y . n ; Htiim la raJBou 1 » 'h prucrii 6 toufli £ uti jjS ^ S rA ^^™' " << huih i \ rintiipidiu ' i ; K . <^ yi ^ 3 HBI MwBBffitmfcA """ ' t ' erreur a son me . rite ! " ; , 5 !| MM | fikjpfcj « nBl ? ritH when tho error i . s the wan' / - ( ^ JiinPi ^ w % M ^ ra ^ fancy , and not the wandering V ^ ' ^ yj ^ T tStMtW ^ Wn W ^^ t imagination hw its truthn and

    kindness and tenderness meet with the reward , while hia brothers reap what they sow . There is a true legendary tone sounding through the whole . The South-West Wind is capital j and the description of the three perilous ascents up the mountains to the Golden River is written with a fairy quill . The story itself , the beautiful writing , and the pleasant unforced moral will make this book an universal favourite . If Richard Doyle has not equalled himself in the illustrations , he has surpassed all forerunners in his Jack and the Giants ( Cundall and Addey ) the most

    imaits logic as well as reason . Who shall say , for example , that Mr . Rushkin ' s new fairy tale , The King of the Golden Biter ( Smith and Elder ) , is not as true as a cyclopaedia ? Quite a dainty book it is , with many illustrations by Richard Doyle ( not among his best , by the way ) , and as delightful to Us " elders " as to the young . The scene is laid in Styria—wild and enchanting . The actors are three brothers , and two gentlemen of a supernatural order . The brothers , Hans and Schwartz , are griping , brutal , avaricious fellows , who treat their cadet Gluck like a juvenile Cinderella ; but his

    ginative and artistic representation of those giants who thrilled our youth . Not in mere sizethough that is well indicated—but in the heavy limbs and lumpish faces do we recognize the veritable bulky brutes whom Jack destroyed . Look at that monster with two heads , or look at that grand and gloomy figure reclining on the rock , dwarfing the trees , and ask yourself whether Richard Doyle must not be lineally descended from the very youth that slew the giants , and has had handed down to him the very awe and thrill which first shook the nerves of his ancestor .

    In a very different style is Mrs . Myrtle ' s Pleasures of the Country ( Cundall and Addey ) , a series of pleasant simple stories , relating to rural delights , with eight illustrations by Gilbert . The stories are charmingly told , and we observe that they please " mama" almost as much as the children . The Professor ' s Wife ( J . W . Parker ) is one of Berthold Auerbach ' s felicitous tales which depict German life more truthfully than those of any other writer . What a dear simple soul 13 Lorlie , the landlord ' s daughter 1 And how well matched with that young artist whom she marries and follows to

    court ! No , not well matched ; for now her trials begin , and she reads a bitter chapter in the book of life . Her ignorance , which was a charm in the Black Forest , becomes a disgrace in a city . She is out of her element among her husband ' s friends . He perceives it ; his love declines j he runs into dissipation ; leaves his wife to her lonely sorrow , and finally obliges her to quit him for ever , and carry her wounded heart back again to her quiet village home . Truth , simplicity , and pathos give this little book a rare excellence .

    Let us also recommend for its pleasant writing and healthy moral Miss Maceroni's Magic Words ( Cundall and Addey ) , with capital lithographs by Wehnert . For younger children the two volumes of prose and verse , Christinas Harries , and Silver Blossoms ( Dean and Son ) , may also be recommended ; while our young ladiea , iluent in their French , will be p leased with the pretty Atmanach des Dames et des Demoiselles ( W . Jeffs ) , and its varied illustrations , and with the Alrnanach des Fleurs ( W . Jells ) , and its instructions in the language of flowers .

    But , for a real treasury of amusement , to be thumbed by incessant relays of devouring readers , Merry Tales for Little Folk ( Cundall and Addey ) is the best . It jh a collection the most various , from " This is the House that Jack Built , " to the wonders of 1 ' errault , Madame D'Aulnoy , and ( Jrimin . The Htory of the "Three Bears" i « taken from the Doctor ; the story of the " Ugly Duck and the Eleven Wild Swans" from Andersen ; while " Jack and the Bean Stalk , " " Beauty and the Beast , " et id ornnt ; genus , are always welcome . More than u hundred ilhhstralionn enrich this glorious little book , which , by the way , we have the greatest difficulty in borrowing from its readers in the nursery for the purpose of this notice !

    Having disposed of amusement , let us now nay u word on Mr . ( jleig ' s School Series ( Longman and Co . ) , the first book of which in u " lliutory of England , " and which will be followed by others if the prcHcnt nuceeed . It in , in many respects , an excellent child ' s hiwtory , written no as to engage attention , ami fix the subject in the memory . Tins plan ib this : the first fifty pageH are written in words of one syllable ; throughout tho next fifty the longest word comprises only two tsyllabJe-H ; and ho on at a prourcHnivo rate till , in the cloning

    chapters , the language is suoh ae it usually is in popul&t works . This is somewhat needlessly executedwhat is the use . for example , of dividing such words as " into , " " other , " " seven , " and so on , to make them monosyllables ; thus — * ln-to , " oth ^ r , " " seV-ett" ? But there is one point in Mr . Gleig ' s book which involves far more seriaus charges * At page 306 there is a table , illustrating the Descent of Henry IV ., with the reference { see page 56 ) . On referring to page 56 , we find nothing whatever about Henry IV . Is it a misprint ? By no means . For Ott turning to the little Outlines of

    History , published by J . W . Parker , under the Direction of the Committee of General Literature and Education for Promoting Christian Knowledge , we find this very table , and tfiat ^ bears the reference to page 56 ! The six tables printed at the end of Mr . Gleig ' s History are taken verbatim from this Outline * of History , and taken without a word of acknowledgment 1 What the etiquette of Literature may have to say to such appropriations is one thing ; but we cannot help noticing the suspicion which Mr , Gleig thus draws upon his book by so careless a procedure , as not even to alter the reference so as to make it available to his own pages . For school-books accuracy is the first of qualities .

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    BENNETT ' S POEMS . Poertis . By W . 0 . Bennett . Chapman and Hall How is a man to know that he is not a poet born ? In these days , when thousands have the " accomplishment of Verse / 5 and write better poems than two-thirds of what finds its place amidst those dreary volumes of British Poets " which no gentleman ' s library should be without , "—when reasonable versification , pretty images , and quaint conceits come at bidding , and men write poems really not unreadable nor uncommendable , —how is the ambitious youth to know whether he is one of the thousand , or one in a thousand ? He writes , and admires what he writes ; hay , more— -he gets admiration from others ; for , as Boileau said of his day , " Ainsi qu ' en sots atiteurs

    Notre siCcle est fertile en sots admirateurs ! " and a select circle of friends , with here and there an obliging critic , crown the aspirant with bays . How , we repeat , is the self-interrogating author to decide upon his own claims , if he happen to be modest enough to suspect them ? The question is not easy to answer ; but nothing is much more certain to our minds than that , in the present day , no poet could pass unperceived , and that , unless he speedily produce an effect ; unless his verses live in the memory ,

    " Et par lc prompt eflet d ' nn sel rOjomssant Devenir quelqucfois provcrbes en naissant ;" unless he is quoted and talked of when not actually in court , so to speak ( and there is no such compliment as quotation—it outweighs tons of eulogy ) , he may rest assured that he is either behind or before his age—the latter a , most unlikely case ! The volume of verse before us has suggested these remarks . Mr . Bennett has a very respectable talent for writing verse ; but he is unquestionably one of the thousand . He writes well enough to make it an elegant amusement for himself , but bis lines will never live in the memory of his contemporaries ; There is one poem in the collection which is worth volumes of the rest , simply because it is the expression of real feeling and real observation . We have so often insisted on the idleness of men ' s " snatching their subjects out of the air , " instead of re-shaping their experience in forma of beauty , that wo need not again recur to it ; but we may point to the following poem in confirmation : — " HA BY MAY . " Cheeks HH soft ub . Inly penchea ; l > i |» H wIioho dewy nc . uilel lenchiH l ' opi > ii ' H pjilem-BH ; ruuml large eyes Jivrr firctit with new surprise . ; MlnuUis filled with Hhiidclexa jjladnePH ; l \ l inuloy jiihI an brimmed tvilli nadnem ) ; Happy ainilcb and mtiliii ^ ciicn ; Crown and litutfliH and tearful rycn ; l , ii ; hl .: i mid . nhiulmvH , nwilier borne Tbiin on windHWept Autumn eorn ; Kver muni new liny notion . Making every limb nil motion ; CJntclilngH up ofle ^ H and arum ; Tlirowini ^ H buck ninl Hinall alarmx ; Clutching Jhii / fr-N ; xtrniffhtciiivr ) jerks ; Twining font whuae . aav . h toe . winks ; liiekings up ami xtraiuing risingi ; Motlier ' it ever-new hiirpriHin ^ H ; llandi all wants anil looks all wonder At ull Iliintra the heiivcnu under :

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    16 3 M __ **« _ > £¥ ? . [ Saturday ,

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), Jan. 4, 1851, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1864/page/16/