The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-14 00:00:00

ILLUSTRATED DITTIES OF THE

OLDEN TIME.

If we say that this volume is as graceful in its exe-
cution as the homely ditties which it celebrates are
popular, what higher praise can we bestow ? For
those " Ditties" are the dear old rhymes that are
" household words" to us all, that are breathed as a
lullaby over the royal cradle, and are familiar
words in every nook and alley, in village
and town throughout the length and breadth
of the land. Critics may cavil at their
strange rhymes and uneven metre, and may find
some difficulty in accounting for their universal power
of fascination, but, indefinable though it be, that
fascination is inseparable from these old ditties which
call up the dear delights of childhood, and awaken
the silent tones of loving lips. Cowper would not
enter on his list of friends the man who would set
foot upon a worm, and we must confess that we should
feel little sympathy for the wiseacre who would be
ashamed of owning a predilection for the nursery
rhymes. Few such there are, and few conse-
quently will do othernise than greet with a
loving admiration this most charming book,
which combines the rival attractions of art and nature,
appealing tc the e 3 e and to the taste as effectually by
means of its admirable engravings as it does to the
heart by its well-known rhymes. . With all the
luxurious accompaniments of paper as thick as vel-
lum, and large clear type, and fanciful adornments,
we recognise our homely friends of other days—

" Ding, thing, btll,
Pussy's in the well."

" Hush-a-by, baby," " Sing a sorg of sixpence," &c.,
&c., and above, and beside, and below the letter-press
(in the old missal fashion) are most beautiful and
graceful illustrations. The felicity with which
the various subjects have been treated is
only equalled by the exquisite grace of design
and delicacy of finish visible in every page. The
drawings are from the pencil of a lady, and were
originally designed for the amusement of her little
daughter ; that amusement has now been placed
within the reach of a larger circle of children, and
not of children only, for this most elegant work is
equally well fitted for the drawing-room, the study,
or the nursery. Let it not be said that the drawings
are too good for the theme, that "anything would
do" for a child's picture-book. Such an error is a very
common and a very grievous one. It is especially essen
tial that a youthful mind and on unformed taste should
be6ome early habituated with what is beautiful and
pure. First impressions are most momentous, and a
wise parent will consider a few extra shillings well
bestowed in order that "the children's picture-book"
may elevate their taste, while it delights their fancy.
T. such these " Illustrated Ditties" will be a wel-
come boon, and to all who love the reminiscences of
childhood, and to all who admire artistic talent, we
cordially commend it. It is impossible to transfer a
picture to our columns, or a specimen of one page
would be a sufficient corroboration for all we have
said.

GENEVIEVE. By Alphonse de Lamartine.
A graceful translation of this very charming story
has just been contributed by A. R. Scoble to Mr.
Bohu's cheap and popular library. Originally pub-
lished in fuielleton of the Constitutionnel, and since
then reprinted in a separate form and distributed
largely among the French population, "Genevieve"
has enhanced among the masses the celebrity of its
illustrious author, already renowned in so many de-
partments f literature, as an historian, a poet, a
publicist, a dramatist, a writer of travels, essays, and
romances. Gladly, therefore, may we welcome
"Genevieve" amongst us, now that the volume has,
with the assistance of Mr. Scoble, been accurately
translated into our vernacular language, and now that,
through the instrumentality of Mr. Bohn'a well-known
enterprise, it has been offered to the purchaser at a
nsignificant. In penning his
price so comparatively i
last fiction M. de Lamartine had in view the reali-
zation of a long-cherished determination, and one
which may not improbably revolutionize the whole
system of popular literature. lie wished to inau-
gurate a style of composition such as would prove
attractive to the vast bulk of the community ' • writing
books not for the perusal of the educated, but for
that of the uneducated; addressing himself, not to the
well-to-do man of leisure and of letters, but to the
working classes generally, to the lowest order of
tradesmen, to the poorest sections of the multitude;
to the peasant, the mechanic, and the domestic ser-
vant; to the inhabitants of the cottage and the
dwellers in the kitchen. For the first notion of this
project he acknowledges himself indebted to
the person to whom '.Genevieve " is inscribed,
namely, "To Mademoiselle Keine Garde, dress-
maker, and formerly a domestic servant. at Aix, in
Provence." Those who may feel surprise at the
peculiarity of this deejeation will find their curiosity
satisfied by the account given by M. de Lamartine
himself in his " Preface," an account detailing the
circumstances of the visit paid in 1846 to the poet-
statesman by the poor sernpstress of Provence, at
the time when the former was sojourning in the vici-
nity of Marseilles, writing his famous Histoire des
Girondins. Of the literary occupation last men-
tioned it is very finely and characteristically said by
M. de Lamartine, " I was writing the history of one
revolution, totally unconscious that another revolu-
tion was already looking over my shoulder to seize
my pages almost before I had done writing
them, and to place anotber drama of
France, not under my pen, but within my
hand." Engaged thus profitably for his own fame
and for the service of his country, the historian was
one day surprised by the visit of Reine Garde, who ;
had come all the way from Aix to Marseilles on pur-
pose to see a man of such great and pure celebrity.
Lamartine himself gives us, in the preface to " Ge-
neviese," a graphic description of their conversation