The History of the Sixteen Wonderful Old Women[211] came too late for Mr. Day:
“There was an Old Woman from France
Who taught grown-up Children to dance,
But they were so stiff,
She sent them home in a miff,
This sprightly Old Woman from France.”
While Mr. Edgeworth was “explaining” poetry to children, and later, when Young Reviewers were being taught to “dissect poems”,[212] the Pedlar was still singing for truant minds. If he knew nothing of poetry, at least he knew enough to let it alone; and his songs were good to dance to, which every child knows is an excellent thing in songs.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The Tatler, No. 95.
[2] See [Appendix A. I.] Note on these and other romances.