Page 488, Summer Friends.
By Mary Lamb. This poem was sent by Robert Lloyd to his wife in April, 1809, as being one of the poems which Mary Lamb was writing for Poetry for Children. It was not, however, included in that collection.
Page 488. A Birth-day Thought.
This poem is printed by Mylius in his First Book of Poetry. In the edition of 1811 the initials M.L. are appended; in later editions, C.L. Hence it is included here. But we have no proof that M.L. stands for Mary Lamb, or C.L. for Charles Lamb; although the coincidence would be very striking if they did not.
Page 489. The Boy, the Mother, and the Butterfly.
These verses, which have not before been collected with Lamb's
writings, exist in an album which belonged probably to Thomas
Westwood, son of the Lambs' providers at Enfield. They are signed
Charles Lamb and dated October 9, 1827, at Enfield Chase.
* * * * *
Page 490. PRINCE DORUS, OR FLATTERY PUT OUT OF COUNTENANCE.
Apart from the internal evidence, which is very strong, I think, the only reason for attributing this tale to Charles Lamb is an entry in Crabb Robinson's diary for May 15, 1811: "A very pleasant call on Charles and Mary Lamb. Read his version of Prince Dorus, the Long-Nosed King." In his reminiscences of Lamb and others (in MS.) Robinson said, under 1811: "C. Lamb wrote this year for children a version of the Nursery Tale of Prince Dorus. I mention this, because it is not in his collected works and like two vols. of Poems for Children likely to be lost. I this year tried to persuade him to make a new version of the old Tale of Reynard the Fox. He said he was sure it would not succeed—sense for humour, said L., is extinct." What particular version of the story was used by Lamb we cannot tell, but in a little book called Adventures of Musul; or, The Three Gifts, printed for Vernor & Hood and E. Newbery in 1800, "The Prince that had a Long Nose" is one of the tales. Lamb's version does not call for annotation.