VII
In the preface to The Adventures of Ulysses, Lamb says: “This work is designed as a supplement to the Adventures of Telemachus”; and in a letter to Manning (1808) he says it is “intended as an introduction to the reading of Telemachus”.
Fénélon’s Télémaque (1699) which, like his Fables and Dialogues des Morts, was written for his pupil, the grandson of Louis XIV, was translated into English in 1742. It is a kind of sequel to the fourth book of the Odyssey, describing the further adventures of Telemachus in search of his father. Fénélon turned his “adventures” into a moral tale, and Lamb, in his preface, also lays stress on the moral of his book.
At the back of the third edition of Mrs. Leicester’s School is a list of “new books for children”, published by M. J. Godwin, at the Juvenile Library, Skinner Street. Many of these are school texts, some by Godwin, writing under his pseudonym of “Edward Baldwin”. Others include the Tales from Shakespear; the Adventures of Ulysses; Poetry for Children; Stories of Old Daniel; Dramas for Children, from the French of L. F. Jauffret; Mrs. Fenwick’s Lessons for Children (a sequel to Mrs. Barbauld’s); and Lamb’s Prince Dorus.
Stories of Old Daniel, which has been attributed to Lamb, has the alternative title “or Tales of Wonder and Delight”. It contains “Narratives of Foreign Countries and Manners”, and was “designed as an Introduction to the study of Voyages, Travels and History in General”: a sufficient proof that Lamb had nothing to do with it.
The passage in “Susan Yates” runs thus:
“Sometimes indeed, on a fine dry Sunday, my father would rise early, and take a walk to the village, just to see how goodness thrived, as he used to say, but he would generally return tired, and the worse for his walk.”
Mr. Lucas points out that Charles Lamb’s father came from Lincolnshire, and that the saying was probably his.
Isaac Taylor, the father, was the author of several moral and instructive tales for youth.
Jefferys Taylor, the brother of Jane and Ann, wrote Æsop in Rhyme (1820); Harry’s Holiday (1822); and other books for children.
(a) Some of Mrs. Sherwood’s most popular books were: Little Henry and his Bearer (her first book) c. 1815; The History of Henry Milner (4 parts) 1822-1836; The Little Woodman and his Dog Cæsar (1819).
Many of the chap-books were written for stock illustrations.
(b) Mrs. Cameron, Mrs. Sherwood’s sister, was also a prolific writer of children’s chap-books; but these are undistinguished in style and matter. (See B. M. collections under title: “Cameron’s Tales”.)
The introduction to Mrs. Sherwood’s version of The Governess states that “the little volume was published before the middle of the last century, and is said to have been written by a sister of the celebrated Fielding”.
Mary Elliott (afterwards Mrs. Belson), a Quaker, wrote many other tales for children. Among these are: Precept and Example (c. 1812); The Modern Goody Two Shoes (c. 1818); The Adventures of Thomas Two Shoes: “being a sequel to the Modern G. T. S.” (c. 1818); The Rambles of a Butterfly (1819); Confidential Memoirs, or the Adventures of a Parrot, a Greyhound, a Cat and a Monkey (1821).
Priscilla Wakefield, another Quaker, was the author of Mental Improvement, The Juvenile Travellers and other instructive books.