sten seems destined to the longest lease of life and the widest
circle of readers. De Quincey's work, especially his artistic
presentation of his thrilling dreams, has many admirers.

[Illustration: CHARLES LAMB. _From a drawing by Maclise_.]

The _Essays of Elia_ of Charles Lamb (1775-1834) still charms many
readers. For over thirty years he was by day a clerk in the India
House and by night a student of the Elizabethan drama and a writer of
periodical essays, suggestive of the work of Addison and Steele.
Lamb's pervasive humor in discussing trivial subjects makes him very
delightful reading. His well-known _Essays of Elia_ first appeared in
the _London Magazine_ between 1820 and 1833. The peculiar flavor of
his style and humor is shown in his _A Dissertation upon Roast-Pig_,
as one of the most popular of these _Essays_ is called. Lamb relates
how a Chinese boy, Bo-bo, having accidentally set his house an fire
and roasted a litter of pigs, happened to acquire a liking for roast
pig when he sucked his fingers to cool them after touching a crackling
pig. It was considered a crime to eat meat that was not raw; but the
jury fortunately had their fingers burned in the same way and tried
Bo-bo's method of cooling them. The boy was promptly acquitted. Lamb
gravely proceeds:--

"The judge, who was a shrewd fellow, winked at the manifest iniquity
of the decision, and when the court was dismissed, went privily
and bought up all the pigs that could be had for love or money. In a
few days his lordship's town house was observed to be on fire. The
thing took wing, and now there was nothing to be seen but fires in
every direction. Fuel and pigs grew enormously dear all over the
district. The insurance offices one and all shut up shop. People
built slighter and slighter every day, until it was feared that the
very science of architecture would in no long time be lost to the
world. Thus this custom of firing houses continued, till in process
of time, says my manuscript, a sage arose, like our Locke, who made
a discovery that the flesh of swine, or indeed of any other animal,
might be cooked (_burnt_ as they called it) without the necessity of
consuming a whole house to dress it. Then began the rude form of a
gridiron."

[Illustration: BO-BO AND ROAST PIG. _From a drawing by B.
Westmacott_.]

Other enjoyable essays are _Old China_, a lovable picture of his home
life with his sister, _Dream Children_,