New-York tribune., 1886-05-02
MRS. LEICESTER'S SCHOOL.
A DELIGHTFUL BOOK BY CHARLES AND
MARY LAMB
MRS IFICEsTER's SCHOOL, and Other Writings In
Pro,e and Verse. BY CHARLES LAMB WIN intro
dnrton and Notes by ALFRED ANGER LIMO PIP

Jnctions which have indeed been collected BEFORE
,et are not so generally known that their rcpublica
fjon can be regarded rs an unmportant lnc'ucu' VI
his ed!torial enterprise. "Mrs. Leicester Schooi
was book of stories. for children by Ohir'os ",''
Mary Lamb. the sister furnishing seven ou' Vi '''C
ten tales composing 1t. "lhe AuNcn'"'
I1vsses'" which follows next i'll the present pup
Gcation. was written 10y Charles Lamp lor "vu-
win. Jnvenile Library after the manner Oh ihc
aT,les from Shakespeare" 1t was prose render
;ro Of tbe Odyssey not from the Greek but from
Chaomop,s translation. Like Mrs. Leicester
Sohool which vas also n contribution TO GodWln
Iibrarv il has often been reprinted but we lear
that at the present day 1t is not often read Inc
two story books ill half the volume before US the
rest of il contains the miscellaneous essays Has-
ments verses, squibs. etc. which were hrst
collected by Mr. J. f. Babson, OF Boston, ana
pubshed in The Atlantic Monthly IN looS' anu
afterward in book form under the title Eliaha'
Mr.. Anger. who makes cordial acknowledgment
of the labois of his predecessor, adds nothing 10
Mr. Bahson's discoveries, and takes the RESPONSE
hlitv of snppressing a few pieces which our
countrvman thought it his duty TO rescue from
their long oblivion.
The result of all this glear ing is dehSh'lu
book Nobody will expect to find Lamp oeS'
writing in such medley of scraps and remaihuers'
but even in the trtes there are passages whioh DO
o,bor bu,norist c,nld have equalled. flashes OF
s.otime,,, and drpllery which Ella himself did not
often surpass. The editor quotes characteriStl'
cally cXtravagant letter of Walter savage Lahu"r ;
about Mrs Lecester's School We may n"
share tie old poets transports over that P'e'S
p.eee of fiction; but we can love II lor IFS s"oe
smnlicity. its gen;lcness its true feeling. Its
freouent wit It's lnimitahle compound OF the chill
like and the poetic spirit. " The young iao.es at
hnwcu school" whose histories are related by
themselves i'm these charming pages, were not IKE
the vouuc ladies who Vex the souls OF teacheIs III
onr advanced DAYS Miss Manners, Miss VIII
,crs Miss Ann WIthers, Miss Margaret
Green and the rest of tho LITTLE company
drew around the play-room hre ON theN nIS'
evening at Amwcl. to get acquainted Win one
another by telling stories. Ii was plan OF theii
excellent teachers. "Will YOU allow me, ladies'
said that kind ard Judicious person, to persuade
Won t. amuse yourselves in this way Nhat a
pleasant picture ahs Is o. the polite ana prlm niue
maids in their nice frocks, complying so sWceti!
with the invitation of their sympathetic mistress
What an air Of gcnfilty distinguishes the decorous
group, We fear that New-lork girls would hout
tbc.e oll.fashioned young ladies; but perhaps the
st,lisb. sclf-pos,essed and spirited, pupils OF our
uetrouoritup scmnares would be none the worse
to, tile instruction III the good manners dochty
md slmple ladyhood which were taught at AmWelI
School. Charles Lamb used to INSIST tbat Ms
ssrcs share of these stories was much better lhal
Li, own. That was too generous pialse; oul an
Marv Lambs contributions to the book are
beautiful and one of them " The Young Mahom-
etan" is quite in Chariess finest VEN. lie
neglected little girl rambling about large Ola
family mans'on," where no company ever disturbed
The portcntous dulncss penetrating into Su.tc Of
,o,m. Who's. shutter, were never opened. studying
-trin ap1p at lqsf SDI
1i.iously invading a deserted library, where she
find, the ancient volume which persuadcs her that
Sic oucut TO he Nlahpmetan-all this fancy Is
character site of Llla and II is carried out WIN
ex0ulsitc aclicacy and artistic Tetccnoe Ihe
Fathers Wedding Day which Landor especially
admiled. and " The Sailors Uncle" are singulaIy
beantlf.l tales and /" The Changclmg, more
elaborate than any Of the Others is highly
dramatic. Charles's three stories have the unmls-
taxable mark of his hand The witch Aunt Is
his own mixture of the grote>qne and the natural
"The sea Voyage" is touching little sketch But
our f,yorite is First Gong to Church. which in
delracv and exactness OF description and refine
ment of feeling could hardly be excelled Whore
di2 til, dear old bachelor and old maid learn Sc
nuch abont the mind and heart of a chIldi They
uust have read il in their own hearts, which age
never touched.
The Adventures Of Ulysses" told Will
SPLENDID vivacity and enough OF the poetry o
Homer and Chapman still rings in the sinewN
Transcription to make the story good reading 10
both old and young. Even the sprouting bar
iarians of our public schools who are now str.k
for shorter hours. cudgelling the " scabs' who vii
hot Join tie Schooboys' Union, and boycottini
game, of marbles and ball. even these riotous littl
ruffans mi 1ht condcsren to the stirring tale o
Ulysses: aud it would teach them something bette
than "The Young Scapcrs," or The Boys 0
Iarataria" "What shall we do with our bows
is question which thousands of parents ar
asking: and an irFitated public Is much inclined L
answer "Whip them" wiser reply would be
Look alter their books" For our part we belIev
that no reading would be more wholesome AM
acceable to our young folks than the stories o
Charles and Mary Lamb.
In the miscellaneous pieces we come upon enter
tainmeut of another sort. Here, among othe
things are essays of so rare favor that we ca
imagine 10 reason-except il be that they ar
mostly short-why they should have been over
looked in the earlier collections The paper or
.Guy Faux > is not all of the best quality bun tn
roUception with which it closes namely, tn
success of an attempt to blow mp Parliament, a.
adjournment in the air. sine die, the benches mount
ing" the Chair first, and then the benches" It'll
the awful seat of order becomes fixed constella
ton next to Cassiopcias chair, the Speakers vii
takes IT'S place near Berenicc's curls and St Pete
at Heavens wicket no. not st. Peter,-St Stephen
with open arms, receives his wn"-this whimsey
with its consequences, is deciOusly treated. w
could only wish that the puns had not been SO care
fully underlined, as if had not the wit to Sc
them
little paper @On the Antiquities arising froI
Proper Names" although it cannot be cale,
obscure since Mr. Babson drew it out Of an oil
periodical, we must be pardoned for copyin
because it suggests Instructive contrast with
certain well-known effort of American humoI
Which author has made the finer use OF the incou
gruity upon which the anccdote turns our reader
shall decide for themselves:
How oddly il happens that the same sound sha
euggcst to the minds of two persons hearing
ideas the most Oppostei | was cOnversing, fe'
NcIr .lncc with :. Xnnng friend upon the snblect Q