f the last century, with a few
words on the philanthropic publisher of St. Paul's Churchyard. A paper
read at a meeting of the Sette of Odde Volumes, Friday, January 8,
1886." Herein we find a very sympathetic account of John Newbery and
gossip of the clever and distinguished men who assisted him in the
production of children's books, of which Charles Knight said, "There is
nothing more remarkable in them than their originality. There have been
attempts to imitate its simplicity, its homeliness; great authors have
tried their hands at imitating its clever adaptation to the youthful
intellect, but they have failed"--a verdict which, if true of authors
when Charles Knight uttered it, is hardly true of the present time.
After Goldsmith, Charles Lamb, to whom "Goody Two Shoes" is now
attributed, was, perhaps, the most famous contributor to Newbery's
publications; his "Beauty and the Beast" and "Prince Dorus" have been
republished in facsimile lately by Messrs. Field and Tuer. From the
_London Chronicle_, December 19 to January 1, 1765, Mr. Welsh reprinted
the following advertisement:

[Illustration: "BLUE BEARD." ILLUSTRATION FROM "COMIC NURSERY TALES." BY
A. CROWQUILL (G. ROUTLEDGE. 1845)]

[Illustration: "ROBINSON CRUSOE." ILLUSTRATION FROM "COMIC NURSERY
TALES." BY A. CROWQUILL (G. ROUTLEDGE. 1845)]

"The Philosophers, Politicians, Necromancers, and the learned in every
faculty are desired to observe that on January 1, being New Year's Day
(oh that we may all lead new lives!), Mr. Newbery intends to publish the
following important volumes, bound and gilt, and hereby invites all his
little friends who are good to call for them at the Bible and Sun in St.
Paul's Churchyard, but those who are naughty to have none." The paper
read by Mr. Welsh scarcely fulfils the whole promise of its title, for
in place of giving anecdotes of Newbery he refers his listeners to his
own volume, "A Bookseller of the Last Century," for fuller details; but
what he said in praise of the excellent printing and binding of
Newbery's books is well merited. They are, nearly all, comely
productions, some with really artistic illustrations, and all marked
with care and intelligence which had not hitherto been bestowed on
publications intended for juveniles. It is true that most are
distinguished for "calculating morality" as the _Athenaeum_ called it, in
re-estimating their merits nearly a century later. It was a period when
the advantages of dull mo