7 JUNE 1862, Page 23

CHHI)IIEN'S BOOKS.*

Ltaccity is a great kill-joy ;—and too much of a good thing will injure the best of us. Solomon preached on that text with eloquent iteration. The tones of his wisdom, "so musical, so melancholy," sounding from the centre of that far-off civilization, find a clear and mocking echo in the hearts of well-to-do Gentiles in our quite different social and political conditions. When we have time to pause amid the hurry and turmoil, which is not living but the wearing away of our lives, then we may hear within us the burden of the Jewish king's complaint—"vanitas vanitatum." without seeming profane, we can scarcely intimate a thought • 24 Owunlinother's Budget of Stories 055 Songs. By Francis Froeling Broderip. ERNI-Room .0,i, By Georgione M. Craik. Our Sodom or clnexclotes of the BritOh Nary. 1,5 W. 01. 0. Kingston. (Griffith and Ferran.) rn.finn004 Jonfnel, 44 Search of Ogres. By Bolme 1.ee. Children's Sayings. By Carolina Had(ey. (Smnn, Vidor, and Co.) E.O. rink.. By Ms. Edeo,s. Piccalilli: a Mixture. By Gilbert Percy. The Life of Peter Parley, By Frank Frs..., (Sampson Lon and Co.; .The Boy's Country Book. By William Horn., (N. NV. BennetL) Romantic Passages in English History. By May knr......15. (James Hogg.) Arthur Merton: a story for the Young. By Mrs. J. west. tesess wan And 004 which has often occurred to us on this subject ; nevertheless, we will rely on the Christian charity of our readers, and express it. Solomon was very old when he wrote the Book of Ecclesiastes, and perhaps his sayings ; these are not quite so wise as those earlier ones, which gained him the reputation of being the greatest sage that ever lived. And we may, perhaps, justly look upon much of that sorrowful and contemptuous wisdom as a sort of qftermatli from a rich soil, which had yielded the finest crop in the world at the first hay-making season. At all events, we cannot support our Christian faith by such philo- sophy as this. To fight the good fight in this world we used a nobler battle cry than " Vanilas vanitatain 1" This truth comes home to us all sometimes, when we are wearied, or weak, or angry, and say within ourselves, " Why do I do as much to so little purpose ?" "Why can I not make to myself a life apart from the herds—a better and a higher life—scorn- ing their ignoble pleasures and stupefying luxuries ?" A few may have the power and the will to do this, but they have to pay the penalty. A fixed sense of superiority to all around —a voluntary isolation, neither giving nor asking sympathy, does not lead a man to the greatest wisdom, but to the greatest mad- ness. Less extreme examples than that of Simeon Stylites will suggest themselves to the observing mind. We do not make the circumstances of time and place in which wears called into being; and the ditty for us to do is not to set ourselves in opposi- tion to the inevitable conditions of our existence here, butts educe as much good from them as we can. It is idle to sigh because our generationsis not so simple and primitive as a former and perhaps a happier one. We cannot unlearn suddenly the use of comforts and hinnies that our forefathers for several generations have been learning, and which comes to us as a second nature. To make even the little children among US as simple in their pleasures, as ignorant of superficial general knowledge of sciences and arts as those of two hundred years ago, is past praying for. It is as much out of nature to leave them so, "As though a rose sbould shut and be a bud again."

Let us, then, take the world as we find it, for our children as we do for ourselves ; and if they must be familiar with indulgences that tend to enervate the soul—let us help them to counteract that tendency, and yet get a wholesome pleasure out of their luxuries. They will never value too highly those things which their parents regard with indifference.

One of the things which seems to la a very doubtful advantage of the present time is the abundance of children's books. They are too many by half—by the worse half. The better half are more than enough to delight them. To do that, properly, story books should be doled out sparingly throughout the year, not thrown in heaps into their laps at Christmas and other high. tides and holidays.

"He that feasts every day, feasts no day," says Jeremy Taylor. It may be a good thing to feast every day ;—in which ease we should leave off pretending that it is a feast—a treat— something out of the common. But to make up his mind to the condition of permanent festivity is not possible to man—he is not constituted for it. To be always "au comb's du bonheur," would make him miserable ; and without being positively tired of ease and gaiety, he will reason himself into work because it is more satisfactory. Children instinctively do this. They are very soon satiated with all luxuries for the mind, as well as for the body—and the best among them return very soon to pleasures which involve self-exertion ; toys which they make themselves, and books which require an exercise of thought and imagina- tion. They do not like the books which are purposely made very easy to understand—in which there is no difficulty for their intelligence, and they have only to sit still and receive without an effort all the things which are poured forth by the author. Children are keenly sensible of the truth of Mr. Carlyle's remark, "that it is not exhilarating to man to be pumped into like a bucket." Very few of them will stand it, if you leave them free agents in the matter. Even the most heavenly minded little Christian would be justified in complaining that "Arthur Merton " is a dull and perfectly uninteresting book. Speaking as one of the profane, who judge of books as books sod not as goods to suit the taste of evangelical purchasers, we are bound to say that Mrs. J. Webb has published a bad book of a bad sort. The mixture of the sentimental worldly novel and the lowest sort of tract, as special literature for young persons is always bad ; and "Arthur Merton" is a choice specimen of the class. He is a shockingly godly young man, who, by reason of his delicate health, is made an idol and a preacher among his

relations and friends—fortunately he dies of consumption at the end of the book,—an undue portion of which is taken up with his last illness and death-bed scenes—the "great sensation bits" of

such works. His sisterGrace during that exciting period is engaged to marry a glorious young parson of the nouveau regime, who is also a very good match, in a worldly sense, for the pomps and vanities when they are not mainly artistic and amusing, are always very dear

to the hearts of the over-righteous. This young clergyman and Grace and the precious hero pervade the book. A very pious old

woman is also brought forward on several occasions to praise God

and "the gentry." It is really a relief to escape from these strictly religious people into the society of the reprobate and rich elder brother of Arthur and Grace, who is introduced to us as "an

accomplished and agreeable man" with this italicised qualifi- cation But Sir Edwin was a man of this world—he sought the things which are seen, and are temporal,' and he totally neglected those things' which are not seen, and are eternal."

We have only to add further concerning this little book that it is all like this in tone, and that it is grammatical. But it is quite unfit for general reading, out of the sadly large class in which it is meant to sell.

These "Romantic Passages in English History," by May Beverly, are pretty enough, and show some attention to what is generally accepted as historical truth.

The story of Raltere's' founding St. Bartholomew's Hospital is, we presume, written from Mr. Morley's book, and is very fairly done. The story of the end of Simon de Moutford, Earl of

Leicester, might have been improved as a romantic tale by a second part embodying the old tradition which makes his son to

have survived the Battle of Evesham, and to have become in his old age the "Seely Blind Beggar of Bednal greene." The story of Catherine of Aragon's marriage with Arthur Tudor and all about it is very pretty and romantic, but we fear that it would not stand a historical criticism.

If we may trust our memory in so pleasant a matter, this new "Boy's Country Book" is the dear old one with which we were whilom so familiar. It is the same, only got up with less ex- pense than the old one. In its present cheap form it is quite pretty enough for any boy who is able to enjoy its contents. Mr.

Howitt's descriptions of country delights and occupations are very good, and will not easily be superseded with the young. Quakerism is quite in abeyance here, and the natural boy is allowed free play even with his fiats on fitting occasions. The carnal boy is enmity against non-resistance.

We have to beg pardon of the friend and admirer of Mr. Peter Parley for having long believed, upon report, that that gentleman was an old lady of a maritime and masculine turn of mind. We learn, though not for the first time, from this little volume, that the real name of this old-established writer of children's books was Samuel Goodrich, and that be was a native of New England. His life, as narrated here, is one that will not fail to charm every

adventurous lad. It is well written, and contains a great deal of useful matter in the way of comment on and descriptions of the many celebrated persons and places Mr. Goodrich saw in the comae of his life. It is decidedly a book to be bought for a godson intended for the sea or the colonies.

Piccalilli is a pretty-looking and well-illustrated little volume of tales—all fanciful, but none of them of decided merit, even as

fancy work. "Snow-Flakes" is equally fanciful, and in every way cleverer. Miss M. B. Edwards does not condescend to persons of low estate in the world of mind. She evidently thinks her company as good as herself w hen she writes for children, and her verses are pretty, and (as we have already learned by experience) admirably suited to an audience of little ones of both genders.

This last observation is also true of Caroline Hadley's "Children's Sayings," which is written by one who knows the true nature of children, and can give a fair transcript of that nature

in her little sketches. To object to them because they all have a direct and moral purpose, is the exaggeration of a canon of art-

criticism, which is not properly applicable here. The fables of

&sop and La Fontaine are delightful to children because the sharp-cut moral can be found out by-themselves in the fable.

They read the Moral at the end—as they would the printed answer to a riddle, to make doubly sure that they have guessed it aright. No little child will think these sketches "thy "because of the evident moral. They are like the events of their daily life, out of which they learn moral meanings, and act on them with more or less success.

" Tufiongbo in Search of Ogres" cannot be called a continua- tion of the last year's "Adventures of Tufiongbo." It would be

so " i4 like the crab, he could go backward." But the present book begins with the birth of this remarkable Fairy Prince, and gives us an account of his youth and the sowing of his innocent wild oats. It will be eagerly sought by the young folks who have made his acquaintance since he was a mature elf.

"Our Sailors," is a well-selected series of anecdotes of naval acts of valour during the reign of Victoria. Some of these have gained the Victoria Cross for their authors. It is a record of inspiriting facts, yell suited for boys.

Miss Craik's "Playroom Stories" are well characterized by their title. They are of various kinds—very natural, and very super- natural, and all are calculated to amuse little boys and girls.

Mrs. Freeling Broderip, and her brother, Mr. Thomas Hood, have made a very 'successful effort to charm imaginative children in their "Grandmother's Budget." It is sure to please children of a larger growth as well, and may be introduced into a small family party. at this season with a certainty of gratifying people of all ages, by its humour and its refined feeling. Those who seek to give a little pleasure to children will find the means of doing so among the above list of new books.