The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-07 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

CRUIKSHANK'S FAIRY LIBRARY.
lop o' my Thumb and the Seven League Boots,
Edited and Illustrated by George Cruikshank,
D. Bogue.

Glorious news for the Nursery ! A Fairy Li-
brary edited and illustrated by George Cruikshank !
Why, that simple announcement sounds like the
most pretentious of all puffs preliminary. Wel-
come, therefore, must we accord perforce to this
new adventure of our Hogarth of the etching-
needle. From the specimen before us we cannot
but augur admirably as to its successful develop-
ment. " Hop o' my Thumb" gives promise of
marshalling a long and gorgeous procession—a
procession of the inimitable heroes of the romance
of childhood. The dainty little mannikin heralds
the way, we cannot but conjecture, to an extended
succession of the worthies of the fables of infancy,
the inhabitants of the beautiful fairyland of youth.
After he has passed by, we shall expect to see
trooping before us, in rapid sequence—Jack with
the speckled seedling of the magic Bean-stalk—
Tom (named like Hop o' my) Thumb, peeping out
of the crust of the royal pasty—Jack them doubt-
able Giantkiller, trailing at his heels the cadaverous
head of the grizzly Blunderbore ! Together with
a protracted series of similar phantasies—familiar
to us all as "household words"—the golden nug-
gets picked up by each in the familiar diggings of
dreamland—the shells, and pebbles, and pre-
cious stones washed on shore with us at our
first landing on the terra firma of existence. What-
ever the charm of the dear old stories in their
original simplicity, when unadorned by the blazon-
ries of illustration—those charms are enhanced
by the pencil of Cruikshank to a delectable and
scarcely resistible fascination. If we could ever feel
disposed to question the accuracy of the poet's dic-
tum, that " men are but children of a larger
growth," we must acknowledge our doubts in the
matter, dissipated by our sense of the attractions
compacted into the thirty pages of this delightful
little gem of a publication. Grandfather White-
head was never more of a child, with his pocketful
of toys and playthings, than the man (we don't
care who he may be) who turns over these leaves of
"Hop o' my Thumb," edited and illustrated by
George Cruikshank. Supposing him (the reader)
to be the veriest curmudgeon imaginable, we
would augur that, before he puts down the
first volumette of the " Fairy Library," the
down-turned corners of his sardonic mouth will
be twisted up into a grin, that the corrugations
of his brow will be smoothed away into a beaming
hilarity of countenance, and that for once in a
way he will think lovingly of the good old days of
his boyhood—somewhat as we may suppose old
Ebenezer Scrooge did in the phantom school-
room of the second stave of " The Christmas;
Carol," when he cried out, " Why, it's Ali Baba !
It's dear old honest Ali Baba ! Yes, yes, I know.
One Christmas time, when yonder solitary child
was left here all alone, he did come, for the first
time, just like that. Poor boy ! And Valen-
tine," said Scrooge, "and his wild brother Orson
there they go ! And what's his name who was
put down in his drawers asleep, at the gate of
Damascus ; don't you see him ! And the Sultan's
groom turned upside down by the genii ; there he
is upon his head ! Serve him right. I'm glad
of it. What business had he to be married to the
Princess." Precisely as it was with Ebenezer
Scrooge it is with us in glancing over these
storied pages of the " Fairy Library," illu-
minated into even more than their wonted
lustre by the light of the pictorial additions
from the hand of our incomparable and inexhaus-
tible George Cruikshank. There the " old familiar
faces" flit by, one after another, and not only faces
but figures, and many of them genuine " figures of
fun," too--conjured again before us by the wizard-
skill of the congenial illustrator. It is not extra-
vagant to say that a fresh interest is imparted to
these fairy legends, by the exquisite fancy and the
ingenious inventiveness of the etching needle of
Cruikshank. We say this, however, exclusively in
commendation of the artist's labours in the present
instance as an illustrator. For honestly we would
venture to whisper in his ears that we have a grim
little crow to pluck with him in reference to his
conduct as editor of "Hop o' my Thumb." As
conscientious critics, we can't for the life of us
countenance the liberties taken here and he
there
by our. daring innovator with that text which m
)..
should have deemed sacred from any such presu I
tuous tampering with its integrity.
at least, is
is all very well, vegetarianism, in theory, Temperan.e
really delightful, and we cannot brave-
eyed,
but respect your
enthusiasm about the former, merry-ik ! But
spoken, large-hearted Georg Cru
the nursery legend
it can scarcely be toleratedh thaticle for the diffusion of
should be rendered the
such crotchets, and for their more effectual enforce-
ment.ll er4 e are to him for the enter-
prise which has pour
Indebted as forth_from the press so
many bewitching
effusion!, we cannot conceive
that "Hop o' myThumb" is the appropriate place
for an eulogistic allusion to its excellent publisher,
editor ventures the remark (p. 25),
that where the
Hop, who was very fondof '
of Seven '
that "little reading,
had book published by that •
had read a story about a pair
League
capital Boots, in
book-
seller and worthy man, Mr. David t
ogue, of 86,
Fleet-street." Nay, veteran and enthusiastic Free-
traders though we are, we cannot even in that par-
ticular admit the propriety of
an allusion at pa/re
29 to the admission of
must inevitably be distasteful foreign corn duty free, which
must to the agriculturists
in bib and tucker,
the boy farmers,• or juvenile
entered our state
;lough of this,. however—we have
y protest against the rash inter-
polations of the editor in the original text of " Hop
o' my Thu
b,
genial —ahem !—and now turn we with a
air to the six etchings from his hand in his
other capacity as illustrator. The title-page is the
epitome of it all—the hovel above, with the five
brothersslumberingin while is ••
lantly observant at the edge of the coverlid—the
forest below, where the six are lost by their
unnatural parents ...• on either hand the gi-

gantic boots constituting as a pair the most
appropriate supporters. There the Ogre, as he
'appeared when about to swallow Hop at a
gulp—with a mouth so gluttonously cavernous !
There the said giant, ricochetting in his creaky
boots high up in the clouds, bound after bound
over the mountains ! There Hop relieving him of
the same boots in which the Ogre sleeps profoundly
with a snore that (looking at the picture) is all but
audible ! There a triple etching in one, showing
the escape from the wood, the escape from the
Giant, and the arrival at home ! And, lastly, a
limning of Hop, in hisultimate glory, presentingthe
seven-league boots to , the King—a Lilliputian
bowing by the side of the bowing boots of Brob-
dignag. Everything in all this—more were
scarcely possible in this respect, to our mind at
least, by way of panegyric—is worthy of the droll
and graceful pencil of George Cruikshank.

La crime. Translated from the French by Frances
Langan. C. Dolman.

A charming little story inculcative of good is
this domestic history of " Lazarine." The heroine
of the tale exemplifies in her life the blessedness of
duty once understood, and when understood re-
ligiously fulfilled. As intimated in the dedication
to a private friend, "as a testimony of respect and
gratitude," the volume is a translation from the
French--a translation which introduces the Eng-
lish reader to the pleasant group ofimaginary
beings there collected together among them
Count St. Arnould, honest old William, his Baugh
ter Veronica, naughty little Valerie, and, above
all, the. kindly but at first mistaken Lazarine. An
exquisitely appropriate motto from "Proverbs"
appears upon the title-page :—" Many daughters
have gathered together riches: thou hast surpassed
them all : favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain :
the woman that feareth the Lord she shall be
praised." Beautiful words, -Which aptly indicate
the moral of this ingenious narrative—an effusion
at once of the heart and of the imagination.

The New Stamps.—Tilsley's Treatise on the Stamp

Laws. New edition. -Stevens and Norton.

It is not our habit to pass in review the literary
productions of members of the legal profession on
subjects within their ordinary practice, and we
should not, therefore, make any reference to the
new edition of the work by the Assistant-Solicitor
of Inland Revenue, just issued, had not our atten-
tion been directed to that portion which relates to
the new bill and receipt stamps. Anything au-
thentic upon this subject the public will be glad
at this juncture to make themselves acquainted
with ; and, although in a work not intended for
popular reading, little can be expected that will be
useful to the general public, yet, in the absence of
more detailed information, we gladly avail our-
selves of such as we can glean, and, therefore, ex-
tract the following, under the head of " Bills of
Exchange and Promissory Notes :"
"The stamp duties on promissory notes remain un-
touched by the recent acts, with one exception noticed
under that head ; but an important alteration has been
made in the duties on certain bills of exchange.
"By the 16 and 17 Vic., c. 69, the duties on all drafts
or orders for the payment of money to the bearer or to
order on demand, are repealed, and a duty of one penny
is imposed, in lieu, upon every such draft or order for
the payment of money of any amount.
"And it is provided, that all documents or writings
usually termed letters of credit, or whereby any person
to whom any such document or writing is, or is intended
to be delivered or sent, shall be entitled, or be intended.
to be entitled to have credit with, or in account with,
or to draw upon any other person for, or to receive from
such other person any sum of money therein mentioned,
shall be deemed and taken to be hills, drafts, or orders
for the payment of money within the intent and mean-
ing of that Act, and of any Act or Acts relating to the
stamp duties on bills, drafts, or orders, and be charge-
able with the stamp duties imposed thereby.
" The exemption in favour of cheques on bankers re-
mains as before. These cheques are drafts payable to
bearer on demand ; but every such cheque, to entitle it
to the exemption, must be issued within fifteen miles of
the place of business of the banker upon whom it is
drawn ; the place where it is issued being correctly
specified ; and the date that of the day on which it is
issued, or some previous day. Unstamped cheques
thus drawn and issued may circulate at any place, how-
ever distant.

"It was well known that a practice prevailed of issu-
ing cheques beyond the prescribed distance, involving
the drawer, and the banker knowingly paying any such
cheque, in a penalty of 1001., and the party receiving it
in payment or as a security, in a penalty of 2014 and
one reason for the reduction of the duty to an almost
nominal amount, was, to enable persons, at a trifling
expense, to conform to the strict law ; and by the means
of adhesive stamps to do so with greater convenience ;
thus at the same time not only avoiding liabilities in
themselves and others, but putting forth good and valid
documents, available to any persons into whose hands
they may intentionally be placed. It will be observed,
that such cheques wherever issued may, if stamped with
this duty, be made payable to order ; the banker, how-
ever, is relieved from proving the indorsement.
"All drafts or orders, whatever form they may assume,
payable on demand to bearer, or to order, and stamped
with the new duty, are subject to all the incidents of
ordinary bills of exchange, and may therefore be trans-
ferred or negotiated ; and a receipt for the contents in-
dorsed upon any such draft, when paid, requires no
stamp.

"Another inducement for substituting a dui; of this
amount was the hope of putting an end to the irilegular
system of issuing unstamped letters of credit. Docu-
ments falling within this description are unquestionably
bills of exchange ; and the Court of Common Pleas has,:
as will presently be seen, somewhat recently so decided;
but seeing that the practice of issuing them without
stamps had become general, and that their illegality was
a point not commonly believed, it was not thought pro-•
per by the authorities to interfere with them whilst the
late duties existed, and until some enactment specially
declaring them to be chargeable had passed the Legisla-
ture ; the case now, however, assumes a different aspect,
and the law will doubtless be rigidly enforced.
"Three rates of duties are chargeable on drafts or
orders, viz.:—

" On drafts or orders for the payment of any sum of
money to the bearer, or to order on demand.
"On drafts or orders for the paymea to the bearer or
to order otherwise than on demand, bnt not exceeding
two months after date, or sixty days after' sight, of money
amounting to 40s. or upwards.
"And on drafts or orders for the payment to the
bearer or to order at any time
t
eexceo 4
exceeding either of
_the
periods last-mentioned, amounting
"A draft in general terms, notp y s ecif gs. or upwards.
itmeof
payment, is payable on demand ; and a draft not made
laryable to bearer or to order, is, if delivered to the payee
0)
to any person in his behalf, chargeable with the same
duty, according to its tenor, as if made payable to bearer
or to order.
"Letters of credit are for the most part not transfer-
able ; and it is well that all under 51. should be so ; it
being unlawful to issue any negotiable bill of exchange
for a sum under 205.; and all negotiable or .transferable
bills for 20s. or upwards, and less than Si. being re.,
gulped to be issued, and endorsed with certain forma-
lities ; that is to say—the name and residence of the
person to whom or to whose order any such bill is pay-
able, must be specified ; it must bear date before or on
the day of drawing or issuing, and not after ; it must be
made payable within twenty-one days after date, and
not be transferable or negotiable after the time limited
for payment ; every indorsement must be made withim
the same time, and bear date on the day it is made, and
specify the name and residence of the indorsee ; and ea
signing of the bill and every indorsement must be at-
tested.
" It will be noticed that no stamp duty is chargeable
on drafts for sums not amounting to 408., except under
the late act, which imposes the duty of one penny on
drafts coming within the terms specified, whatever the
amount may be.

havem merely to
a to
de on ho-
" PROMISSORY NOTES.
4
etsiiireabAlecttspofrelfBesrotoantidiislBhse3ad
alteration respecting the subject of charge under it.
Bills of Exchange have been dealt with by the 16 arid
2rVe i tthat is
d
17 Vict., c. 59, in a manner to affect, no doubt exten-
sively, the practical operations relating to them ; and
the association ~i'..,ween bills and notes is so intimate a
to give rise to a belief that the same law must neces-a
1 s a r,T' i,l) lio extend
observationt,o both.that no alteration has been made
in the duties on promissory note must receive one qua-
the head Receipts in the 55 Geo. 111.,
oo filea,t4on, is.
an
Under
exemption from the receipt stamp duty of
liBi
receipts for money deposited.in the hands of any banker,
to he accounted for on demand, with the words added
.But if with interest,ha see Promissory Note.' On re-
for money deposedd in thehands of
ferring to thati t will
any
bnkr, thata e r, e:ehi
which
s
iteh
shall contain any agreement or memorandum importing
that interest
shall be paid for the money, are to be
deemed promissory notes within the meaning of the Act.
No reference is made in the 16 and 17 Vict., 59, to
this head of promissory note, but an exemptionc. will be
found, under the head Receipt, of receipts given for
money depOsited in the hands of any banker to be ac-
counted for, whether with interest or not ; and as such
receipts were, before, chargeable with duty as promissory
notes and not as receipts, the intention of the Legislature
was to extend the exemption to the promissory note duty.

"RECEIPTS.

"The whole of the duties on receipts have been re-
pealed by the 16 and 17 Vict., cap. 59, and one uniform
duty of a penny has been granted, in lieu, upon all
receipts for money amounting t 0,21. or upwards. This
duty of one penny is not extended to any document that
was not chargeable before, whither by reason of any
express exemption or otherwise; but besides the ex-
emption of bankers' receipts for money deposited with
them to be accounted for with interest, there has been
added (by the 16 and 17 Victati: .632 s. 9) to the pre-
vious exemptions that of reo foreland tax, assessed
taxes, and property and income,

Lord John Russell comes to Chesham.-place to-day
from Pembroke Lodge, to attend' the Cabinet Council.
The noble lord, during his recent retirement at the Duke
of Argyll's romantic seat at Roseneath, is understood to
have been much occupied with preparing his new Re-
form Bill, for which abundant statistics were furnished
him' and which ministers intend to introduce to Parlia.
meat soon after the commencement of the maim