PN 1055 
 .1135 
 1880 
 Copy 1 
 
£C£ssc aeaaseggagfig sssase »ra 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 8 
 
 ^a/7. P.N..L0..5..5' 
 5Ae// -.--^ FA 3iT_ 
 
 
 S UNITED 
 
 STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 • I 
 
 

 
WKttK^tmmm 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE NEW REPUBLIC." 
 
 Every Man His 
 Own Poet. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 A. WILLIAMS & CO., PUBLISHERS. 
 
 <-...' - -■ 
 

 By the Author of " The 'Little Tin Gods-on- Wheels." 
 
 THE 
 
 CONFESSIONS OF A FRIVOLOUS GIRL. 
 
 A' STORY OF FASHIONABLE LIFE. 
 By ROBERT GRANT. 
 
 With Vignette Illustrations by L. S. Ipsen. i6mo. Cloth. Elegant. $1.25. 
 jgp* Tenth Thousand. 
 
 " Mr. Robert Grant has written airesh, original, and amusing society 
 novel." — Boston Advertiser. 
 
 " It is bright, witty, and full of ' go ; ' and underneath its assumed 
 frothiness there is a strong undercurrent of sound sense." — Boston 
 Transcript. 
 
 >l His present work will introduce him to every, circle where polite 
 literature is appreciated. Though a young author, we can hardly recall 
 a book that betrays less immaturity than that which he has just given to 
 the public. ... A more pleasing piece of wcrk has not been in the 
 book market for many months, and whatever the author does in the 
 future, this has made his reputation. ' : — Boston Post. 
 
 " As a picture of the flirt of the period, it is brilliant, amusing, and 
 strikingly true to nature. The reputation of Mr. Grant cannot but be 
 enhanced by this entertaining little story." — Boston Saturday Evening 
 Gazette. 
 
 " Very rarely have the follies and affectations of society been written of 
 in such a fresh way. • . . The picture of life in society is very perfect." 
 — New Haven Palladium. 
 
 "It is eminently readable and exceedingly clever. . . . Mr. Grant's 
 study of the frivolous girl's character as it transpires through her own 
 narrative, is an excellent piece of artistic delineation." — G. P. Lathrop 
 in Boston Sunday Courier. 
 
 "The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl' is the greatest social literary 
 hit of t lie year — Chicago Times. 
 
 " It is a charming little novel." — Springfield Republican. 
 
 " 1 he passages from the heroine's diary are written in a style of true 
 feminine verbosity, so cleverly it is difficult to believe them the product 
 
 of a masculine pen The descriptions of Newport are so well done 
 
 as to suggest a comparison with the picture of the ' Gingerbread rair' in 
 Dandets ' Kings in Kxile'." — Chicago Dial. 
 
 '• The picture of the ' Frivolous Girl ' is not only a very charming and 
 attractive one, but will be recognized by every reader who has seen much 
 pf society misses, as astonishingly like. . . . His character-drawing is, 
 in general, excellent ; he has clearly been a close and cool observer of 
 iv and its heroes and heroines. . . . The book gives promise of 
 better things from the same skilful pen; nor in Saying this do we mean 
 there is any thing crude in it ; for the impression loft is, that it is, for a 
 young author, an unusually finished and artistic production." — George 
 M. Tuwi.k /';/ Literary II orld. 
 
 A. WILLIAMS & CO., Publishers, Boston. 
 
jp^^anlifettw jto#* 
 
 OK, 
 
 THE INSPIRED SINGER'S RECIPE BOOK. 
 
 BY A 
 
 NEWDIGATE PRIZEMAN. 
 
 Nuper ventosa isthaec et enormis loquacitas animos juvenum ad magna 
 Burgentes veluti pestilenti quodam sidere afflavit. — Petronius. 
 
 FIRST AMERICAN, FROM TH 
 ENLARG 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 A. WILLIAMS AND COMPANY, 
 
 283 Washington Street. 
 NEW YORK : BRENTANO'S LITERARY EMPORIUM, UNION SQUARE 
 
 1880. 
 
 7h 
 

 University Press: 
 John Wilson & Son, Cambridge. 
 
NOTE TO AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 -*o*- 
 
 This brochure (which is now generally attributed to 
 W. H. Mattock, the author of " The New Republic"), 
 is reprinted by its American publishers simply with a 
 view of supplying the demand which they have had for 
 it; and which demand, notwithstanding their facilities 
 as importers of English books, they have been unable to 
 satisfy. 
 
 It may be proper to state that it achieved in England 
 a certain amount of popularity long before the appear- 
 ance of " The New Republic." 
 
 Boston, December, 1878. 
 

INTRODUCTION. 
 
 have attempted in former times a 
 work of this description, would have 
 seemed, we cannot deny, to savor 
 either of presumption or of idiocy, or more 
 probably of both. And rightly. But we live 
 in times of progress. The mystery of yester- 
 day is the common-place of to-day ; the Bible, 
 which was Newton's oracle, is Professor Hux- 
 ley's jest-book ; and students at the Univer- 
 sity now lose a class for not being familiar 
 with opinions which but twenty years ago 
 they would have been expelled for dreaming 
 
of. Everything is moving onward swiftly 
 and satisfactorily ; and if, when we have made 
 all faiths fail, we can only contrive to silence 
 the British Association, and so make all 
 knowledge vanish away, there will lack noth- 
 ing but the presence of a perfect charity to 
 turn the nineteenth century into a complete 
 kingdom of heaven. Amongst changes, then, 
 so great and so hopeful — amongst the dis- 
 coveries of the rights of women, the infalli- 
 bility of the Pope, and the physical basis of 
 life, it may well be doubted if the great 
 fathers of ancient song would find, if they 
 could come back to us, anything out of the 
 way or ludicrous in a recipe-book for concoct- 
 ing poetry. 
 
 Some, indeed, object that poetry is not 
 progressive. But on what grounds this as- 
 sertion is based, it is not possible to conjecture. 
 
Poetry is as much progressive as anything 
 else in these days of progress. Free-thought 
 itself shows scarcely more strikingly those 
 three great stages which mark advance and 
 movement. For poetry, like Free-thought, 
 was first a work of inspiration, secondly of 
 science, and lastly now of trick. At its first 
 stage it was open to only here and there a 
 genius ; at its next to all intelligent men ; 
 and at its third to all the human race. Thus, 
 just as there is no boy now, but can throw 
 stones at the windows which Bishop Colenso 
 has broken, so there is scarcely even a young 
 lady but can raise flowers from the seed stolen 
 out of Mr. Tennyson's garden. 
 
 And surely, whatever, in this its course of 
 change, poetry may have lost in quality, is 
 more than made up for by what it has gained 
 in quantity. For, in the first place, it is far 
 
pleasanter to the tastes of a scientific genera- 
 tion, to understand how to make bad poetry 
 than to wonder at good ; and secondly, as the 
 end of poetry is pleasure, that wa should make 
 it each for ourselves is the very utmost that 
 we can desire, since it is a fact in which we 
 all agree, that nobody's verses can please a 
 man so much as his own. 
 
9 
 
 OF THE NATURE OF POETRY. 
 
 OETRY, as practised by the latest 
 masters, is the art of expressing 
 what is too foolish, too profane, or 
 too indecent to be expressed in any other way. 
 And thus, just as a consummate cook will 
 prepare a most delicate repast out of the most 
 poor materials, so will the modern poet concoct 
 us a most popular poem from the weakest 
 emotions, and the most tiresome platitudes. 
 The only difference is, that the cook would 
 prefer good materials if he could get them, 
 whilst the modern poet will take the bad from 
 choice. As far, however, as the nature of 
 materials goes, those which the two artists 
 work with are the same — viz., animals, yege- 
 
10 
 
 tables, and spirits. It was the practice of 
 Shakespeare and other earlier masters to make 
 use of all these together, mixing them in vari- 
 ous proportions. But the moderns have found 
 that it is better and far easier to employ each 
 separately. Thus Mr. Swinburne uses very 
 little else but animal matter in the composi- 
 tion of his dishes, which, it must be confessed, 
 are somewhat unwholesome in consequence ; 
 whilst the late Mr. Wordsworth, on the con- 
 trary, confined himself almost exclusively to 
 the confection of primrose pudding and flint 
 soup, flavored with the lesser celandine, and 
 only now and then a beggar-boy boiled down 
 in it to give it a color. The robins and 
 drowned lambs which he was wont to use, 
 when an additional piquancy was needed, 
 were employed so sparingly that they did not 
 destroy in the least the general vegetable tone 
 
11 
 
 of his productions ; and these form in conse- 
 quence an unimpeachable Lenten diet. It is 
 difficult to know what to say of Mr. Tennyson, 
 as the milk and water of which his books are 
 composed chiefly, make it almost impossible 
 to discover what was the original nature of 
 the materials he has boiled down in it. Mr. 
 Shelley, too, is perhaps somewhat embarrass- 
 ing to classify ; as, though spirits are what he 
 affected most, he made use of a large amount 
 of vegetable matter also. We shall be, prob- 
 ably, not far wrong in describing his material 
 as a kind of methyllated spirits, or pure psy- 
 chic alcohol, strongly tinctured with the barks 
 of trees, and rendered below proof by a quan- 
 tity of sea-water. In this division of the 
 poets, however, into animalists, spiritualists, 
 and vegetarians, we must not be discouraged 
 by any such difficulties as these; but must 
 
12 
 
 bear in mind that, in whatever manner we may 
 neatly classify anything, the exceptions and 
 special cases will always far outnumber those 
 to which our rule applies. 
 
 But in fact, at present, mere theory may be 
 set entirely aside ; for although in case of 
 action, the making and adhering to a theory 
 may be the surest guide to inconsistency and 
 absurdity, in poetry these results can be ob- 
 tained without such aid. 
 
 The following recipes, compiled from a 
 careful analysis of the best authors, will be 
 found, we trust, efficient guides for the com- 
 position of genuine poems. But the tyro must 
 bear always in mind that there is no royal 
 road to anything, and that not even the most 
 explicit directions will make a poet all at 
 once of even the most fatuous, the most sen- 
 timental, or the most profane. 
 
13 
 
 EECIPES. 
 
 HE following are arranged somewhat 
 in the order in which the student is 
 recommended to begin his efforts. 
 About the more elaborate ones, which come 
 later, he may use his own discretion as to which 
 he will try first ; but he must previously have 
 had some training in the simpler compositions, 
 with which we deal before all others. These 
 form, as it were, a kind of palaestra of folly, 
 a very short training in which will suffice to 
 break down that stiffness and self-respect in 
 the soul, which is so incompatible with mod- 
 
14 
 
 ern poetry. Taking, therefore, the silliest and 
 commonest of all kinds of verse, and the one 
 whose sentiments come most readily to hand 
 in vulgar minds, we begin with directions, 
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN ORDINARY LOVE POEM. 
 
 Tae^ two large and tender human hearts, 
 which match one another perfectly. Arrange 
 these close together, but preserve them from 
 actual contact by placing between them some 
 cruel barrier. Wound them both in several 
 places, and insert through the openings thus 
 made a fine stuffing of wild yearnings, hopeless 
 tenderness, and a general admiration for stars : 
 Then completely cover up one heart with a 
 sufficient quantity of chill churchyard mould, 
 
 
15 
 
 which may be garnished, according to taste, 
 with dank waving weeds or tender violets: 
 and promptly break over it the other heart. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A PATHETIC MARINE POEM. 
 
 This kind of poem has the advantage of 
 being easily produced, yet being at the same 
 time pleasing, and not unwholesome. As, too, 
 it admits of no variety, the chance of going 
 wrong in it is very small. Take one midnight 
 storm, and one fisherman's family, which, if 
 the poem is to be a real success, should be as 
 large and as hungry as possible, and must 
 contain at least one innocent infant. Place 
 this last in a cradle, with the mother singing 
 over it, being careful that the babe be dream- 
 ing of angels, or else smiling sweetly. Stir 
 
16 
 
 the father well up in the storm until he disap- 
 pears. Then get ready immediately a quan- 
 tity of cruel crawling foam, in which serve 
 up the father directly on his reappearance, 
 which is sure to take place in an hour or 
 two, in the dull red morning. This done, a 
 charming saline effervescence will take place 
 amongst the remainder of the family. Pile 
 up the agony to suit the palate, and the poem 
 will be ready for perusal. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN EPIC POEM LIKE 
 MR. TENNYSON. 
 
 {The following, apart from its intrinsic utility, forms m 
 itself a great literary curiosity, being the original directions 
 from which the Poet Laureate composed the Arthurian Idyls.) 
 
 To compose an epic, some writers instruct 
 us first to catch our hero. As, however, Mr. 
 Carlyle is the only person on record who has 
 
17 
 
 ever performed this feat, it will be best for the 
 rest of mankind to be content with the near- 
 est approach to a hero available ; namely, a 
 prig. These animals are very plentiful, and 
 easy to catch, as they delight in being run 
 after. There are, however, many different 
 kinds, not all equally fit for the present pur 
 pose, and amongst which it is very necessary 
 to select the right one. Thus, for instance, 
 there is the scientific and atheistical prig, who 
 may be frequently observed eluding notice 
 between the covers of the " Westminster Re- 
 view;" the Anglican prig, who is often 
 caught exposing himself in the " Guardian ; " 
 the Ultramontane prig, who abounds in the 
 " Dublin Review ; " the scholarly prig, who 
 twitters among the leaves of the "Academy; " 
 and the Evangelical prig, who converts the 
 
 heathen, and drinks port wine. None of 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 these, and least of all the last, will serve for 
 the central figure, in the present class of 
 poem. The only one entirely suitable is the 
 blameless variety. Take, then, one blame- 
 less prig. Set him upright in the middle of 
 a round table, and place beside him a beauti- 
 ful wife, who cannot abide prigs. Add to 
 these one marred goodly man; and tie the 
 three together in a bundle with a link or two 
 of Destiny. Proceed, next, to surround this 
 group with a large number of men and wo- 
 men of the nineteenth century, in fancy-ball 
 costume, flavored with a great many very 
 possible vices, and a few impossible virtues. 
 Stir these briskly about for two volumes, to 
 the great annoyance of the blameless prig, 
 who is, however, to be kept carefully below 
 swearing-point, for the whole time. If he 
 once boils over into any natural action or 
 
19 
 
 exclamation, he is forthwith worthless, and 
 you must get another. Next break the wife's 
 reputation into small pieces ; and dust them 
 well over the blameless prig. Then take a 
 few vials of tribulation and wrath, and empty 
 these generally over the whole ingredients of 
 your poem: and, taking the sword of the 
 heathen, cut into small pieces the greater 
 part of your minor characters. Then wound 
 slightly the head of the blameless prig ; re- 
 move him suddenly from the table, and keep 
 in a cool barge for future use. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A POEM LIKE MR. MATTHEW 
 ARNOLD. 
 
 Take one soulful of involuntary unbelief, 
 which has been previously well flavored with 
 self-satisfied despair. Add to this one beauti- 
 
20 
 
 ful text of Scripture. Mix these well to- 
 gether ; and as soon as ebullition commences, 
 grate in finely a few regretful allusions to 
 the New Testament and the Lake of Tiberias, 
 one constellation of stars, half-a-dozen allu- 
 sions to the nineteenth century, one to Goethe-, 
 one to Mont Blanc, or the Lake of Geneva ; 
 and one also, if possible, to some personal 
 bereavement. Flavor the whole with a mouth- 
 ful of "faiths " and " infinites," and a mixed 
 mouthful of " passions," " finites," and " yearn- 
 ings." This class of poem is concluded, 
 usually, with some question, about which 
 we have to observe only that it shall be im- 
 possible to answer. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE AN IMITATION OF MR. BROWNING. 
 
 Take rather a coarse view of things in gen- 
 eral. In the midst of this place a man and a 
 
21 
 
 woman, her and her ankles, tastefully arranged 
 on a slice of Italy, or the country about Por- 
 nic. Cut an opening across the breast of 
 each, until the soul becomes visible, but be 
 very careful that none .of the body be lost 
 during the operation. Pour into each breast 
 as much as it will hold of the new strong wine 
 of love ; and, for fear they should take cold 
 by exposure, cover them quickly up with a 
 quantity of obscure classical quotations, a few 
 familiar allusions to an unknown period of 
 history, and a half-destroyed fresco by an 
 early master, varied every now and then with 
 a reference to the fugues or toccatas of a 
 quite-forgotten composer. 
 
 If the poem be still intelligible, take a pen 
 and remove carefully all the necessary parti- 
 cles. 
 
22 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A MODERN PRE-RAPHAELITE POEM. 
 
 Take a packet of fine selected early Eng- 
 lish, containing no words but such as are 
 obsolete and unintelligible. Pour this into 
 about double the quantity of entirely new 
 English, which must have never been used 
 before, and which you must compose your- 
 self, fresh, as it is wanted. Mix these to- 
 gether thoroughly till they assume a color 
 quite different from any tongue that was ever 
 spoken, and the material will be ready for 
 use. 
 
 Determine the number of stanzas of which 
 your poem shall consist, and select a corre- 
 sponding number of the most archaic or most 
 peculiar words in your vocabulary, allotting 
 one of these to each stanza ; and pour in the 
 other words round them, until the entire 
 poem is filled in. 
 
23 
 
 This kind of composition is usually cast 
 in shapes. These, though not numerous — 
 amounting, in all, to something under a dozen 
 — it would take too long to describe minutely 
 
 here ; and a short visit to Mr. 's shop, in 
 
 King Street, where they are kept in stock, 
 would explain the whole of them. A favor- 
 ite one, however, is the following, which is of 
 very easy construction. Take three damozels, 
 dressed in straight night-gowns. Pull their 
 hairpins out, and let their hair tumble all 
 about their shoulders. A few stars may be 
 sprinkled into this with advantage. Place 
 an aureole about the head of each, and give 
 each a lily in her hand, about half the size of 
 herself. Bend their necks all different ways, 
 and set them in a row before a stone wall, 
 with an apple-tree between each, and some 
 large flowers at their feet. Trees and flowers 
 
24 
 
 of the right sort are very plentiful in church 
 windows. When you have arranged all these 
 objects rightly, take a cast of them in the 
 softest part of your brain, and pour in your 
 word-composition as above described. 
 
 This kind of poem is much improved by 
 what is called a burden. This consists of a 
 few jingling words, generally of an archaic 
 character, about which we have only to be 
 careful that they have no reference to the 
 subject of the poem they are to ornament. 
 They are inserted without variation between 
 the stanzas. 
 
 In conclusion, we would remark to begin- 
 ners that this sort of composition must be 
 attempted only in a perfectly vacant atmos- 
 phere ; so that no grains of common-sensd 
 may injure the work whilst in progress. 
 
25 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A NARRATIVE POEM LIKE 
 MR. ROBERT MORRIS. 
 
 Take about sixty pages-full of the same 
 word-mixture as that described in the preced- 
 ing ; and dilute it with a double quantity of 
 mild modern Anglo-Saxon. Pour this com- 
 position into two vessels of equal size, and 
 into one of these empty a small mythological 
 story. If this does not put your readers to 
 sleep soon enough, add to it the rest of the 
 language in the remaining vessel. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A SPASMODIC POEM LIKE 
 MR. ROBERT BUCHANAN. 
 
 This is a very troublesome kind of poem 
 to make, as it requires more effort and strain- 
 ing than any other. You are yourself also 
 one of the principal ingredients ; and it is 
 
26 
 
 well? therefore, to warn you, before you use 
 yourself for this purpose, that you will be 
 good for nothing else after you have done so. 
 The other ingredients, which, like those of a 
 quack medicine, are mostly gathered under 
 the moon, or in a planetary hour, must be 
 first prepared as follows. 
 
 For a poem of a hundred lines (enough to 
 satisfy one person) take ten verses-full of 
 star-dew, twenty-five verses-full of the tides 
 of night, fifteen of passion-pale proud women, 
 well idealized, five of starry ice-crystals, ten 
 of dank grass and night-shade, fifteen of 
 aching solitude, and twenty of frost-silvered 
 mountain peaks, bubbling runnels, and the 
 sea. Into these put the moon, with stars ad 
 libitum; and sprinkle the whole over with 
 broken panes of a Grub-street garret window. 
 This done, your next step is to prepare your- 
 
27 
 
 self. The simplest way is to proceed as 
 follows : 
 
 Take yourself, and make eyes at it in the 
 glass until you think it looks like Keats, or 
 the " Boy Chatterton." Then take an in- 
 finite yearning to be a poet, and a profound 
 conviction that you never can be one, and 
 try to stifle the latter. This you will not 
 be able to do. The aim of the endeavor is 
 to make the conviction restive. Then put 
 the two together into yourself ; and the con- 
 viction will immediately begin to splutter, 
 and disturb you. This you will mistake for 
 the struggles of genius, and you will shortly 
 after be thrown into the most violent con- 
 vulsions. As soon as you feel these beginning, 
 jump into the middle of your other ingre- 
 dients ; your movements will before long 
 whip them up into an opaque froth, which 
 
28 
 
 as soon as you are tired out and become 
 quiet, will settle, and leave your head pro- 
 truding from the centre. Sprinkle the whole 
 with imitation heart's-blood, and serve. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A SATANIC POEM LIKE 
 THE LATE LORD BYRON. 
 
 ( This recipe is inserted for the benefit of those poets who 
 desire to attain what is called originality. This is only to be 
 got by following some model of a past generation, which has 
 ceased to be made use of by the public at large. We do not, 
 however, recommend this course, feeling sure that all writers in 
 the end will derive far more real satisfaction from producing 
 fashionable, than original verses ; which two things it is i?npossi- 
 ble to do at the same time.) 
 
 Take a couple of fine deadly sins ; and 
 let them hang before your eyes until they 
 become racy. Then take them down, dissect 
 them, and stew them for some time in a 
 solution of weak remorse ; after which they 
 are to be devilled with mock-despair. 
 
29 
 
 HOW TO MAKE A PATRIOTIC POEM LIKE 
 MR. SWINBURNE. 
 
 Take one blaspheming patriot, who has 
 been hung or buried for some time, together 
 with the oppressed country belonging to him. 
 Soak these in a quantity of rotten sentiment, 
 till they are completely sodden ; and in the 
 mean while get ready an indefinite number 
 of Christian kings and priests. Kick these 
 till they are nearly dead ; add copiously 
 broken fragments of the Catholic church, 
 and mix all together. Place them in a heap 
 upon the oppressed country; season plenti- 
 fully with very coarse expressions; and on 
 the top carefully arrange your patriot, gar- 
 nished with laurel or with parsley ; surround 
 with artificial hopes for the future, which are 
 never meant to be tasted. This kind of 
 poem is cooked in verbiage, flavored with 
 
30 
 
 Liberty, the taste of which, is much height- 
 ened by the introduction of a few high gods, 
 and the game of Fortune. The amount of 
 verbiage which liberty is capable of flavoring, 
 is practically infinite. 
 
31 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 E regret to have to offer this work to 
 the public in its present incomplete 
 state, the whole of that part treat- 
 ing in detail of the most recent section of 
 modern English poetry, viz., the blasphemous 
 and the obscene, being completely wanting. 
 It was found necessary to issue this from an 
 eminent publishing firm in Holywell Street, 
 Strand, where, by an unforeseen casualty, 
 the entire first edition was seized by the 
 police, and is at present in the hands of the 
 Society for the Suppression of Vice. We 
 
32 
 
 incline, however, to trnst that this loss will 
 have but little effect ; as indecency and pro- 
 fanity are things in which, even to the dull- 
 est, external instruction is 'a luxury, rather 
 than a necessity. Those of our readers, 
 who, either from sense, self-respect, or other 
 circumstances, are in need of a special train- 
 ing in these subjects, will find excellent pro- 
 fessors of them in any public-house, during 
 the late hours of the evening ; where the 
 whole sum and substance of the fieriest 
 school of modern poetry is delivered nightly ; 
 needing only a little dressing and flavoring 
 with artificial English to turn it into very 
 excellent verse. 
 
A LIST OF BOOKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 
 
 283 WASHINGTON STREET, BOSTON. 
 
 ATKINSON. Our National Domain : A Graphical and Statistical 
 Chart- By Edward Atkinson. Printed in colors and enclosed between hand- 
 some board covers. 50 cents. 
 *** The Boston Daily A dvertiser says it is a beautiful supplement of a large map 
 
 of the United States, and a good ornament for the school-room, the counting-house, 
 
 and the library. 
 
 SgiP" it can be obtained, if desired, mounted on rollers and varnished, suitable for 
 
 hanging on the wall. Price $1.25. 
 
 ATKINSON. What is a Bank? What Service does a Bank 
 
 Perform ? By Edward Atkinson. 8vo. Pamphlet. 25 cents. 
 
 BUGBEE. Local Self-Government in England and the United 
 States. By James M. Bugbee. Pamphlet. 25 cents. 
 
 BUTTS. The New Business-Man's Assistant, and Ready 
 
 Reckoner, for the use of the Merchant, Mechanic, and Farmer, consisting of 
 Legal Forms and Instructions indispensable in Business Transactions, and a great 
 variety of Useful Tables. By I. R. Butts. i vol. i2ino 132 pages. 50 
 cents. „ 
 
 *** It would be difficult to find a more comprehensive compend of business forms 
 and facts, for every-day use, than this valuable Assistant 
 
 COLBY. Agatha: A Romance of Maine in Blank Verse. By 
 
 John Stark Colby. Small 4to. Pamphlet. 50 cents. 
 
 ELLIS. The Evacuation of Boston, with a Chronicle of the 
 
 Siege. By George E. Ellis, LL.D , author of " The Life of Count Rumford," 
 
 &c, &c. With steel engravings, full-page heliotype facsimiles, maps, &c. 
 
 1 vol., imperial 8vo- $3.00 
 
 *** A monument of historical research and industry, worthy of the reputation of 
 its distinguished author. It should be in every American library, small or large. Only 
 a few copies now remain. 
 
 EMERSON. Soteria; or the Science of Salvation. By Rev. 
 
 W. Emerson. 148 pages. i6mo. Cloth, 50 cents ; paper, 25 cents. 
 
 GODDARD. Newspapers and Newspaper Writers in New 
 
 England, 1787-1815. By D. A. Goddard, editor of Boston Daily Ad- 
 vertiser. 8vo. Pamphlet. 30 cents. 
 
 GRANT. The Confessions of a Frivolous Girl. A Story of 
 
 Fashionable Life. Edited by Robert Grant, author of "The Little Tin Gods- 
 on-Wheels." With vignette illustrations by L. S. Ipsen. i6mo. Cloth, extra, 
 $125. Tenth thousand. 
 
 *** A love story, charmingly bright and original, wrought in an exquisitely unique 
 manner from the polished and satirical pen of the author of " Little Tin Gods." 
 
HOWE. Science of Language; or Seven-Hour System of 
 Grammar. By Prof. D. P. Howe. Pamphlet. 50 cents. -$oth thousand. 
 
 HUBBARD. Summer Vacations at Moosehead Lake and 
 
 Vicinity. A Practical Guide-book, by L. L. Hubbard. With maps and twenty 
 
 beautiful photograph illustrations done in Heliotype. i6mo. Cloth. 114 pages. 
 
 ,$1.50. Paper covers, 50 cents. 
 
 * m * A wonderfully interesting book, full of valuable hints and suggestions for the 
 sportsman and intending tourist, conveyed in a graphic and lively manner. Un- 
 doubtedly the best guide-book, from a literary point of view, ever issued in America, 
 and as practical as well written. The cheap edition is illustrated with wood en- 
 gravings instead of heliotypes. 
 
 KING. The War-Ships and Navies of the World. Containing 
 
 a Complete and Concise Description of the Construction, Motive Power, and 
 Armaments of Modern War-Ships of all the Navies of the World, Naval Artillery. 
 Marine Engines, Boilers, Torpedoes, and Torpedo- Boats. By Chief-Engineer 
 J. W. King, U. S. Navy. 1 vol. Hvo. 500 pp. 64 Full-page Illustrations. 
 #7.00. 
 
 KNAPP. My Work and Ministry, with Six Essays. By Rev. 
 W. H. Knapp. i6mo. 327 pages. £1.50. Third edition. 
 
 LAIGHTON. Poems by Albert Laighton. Frontispiece. i6mo. 
 
 Gilt. 125 pp. #£.00. 
 
 'the author is a native of Portsmouth, N. H., and this little volume is of special 
 interest to natives of that ancient city. 
 
 LEIGH. Modern Cotton Spinning- By Evan Leigh, C.E. 2 
 
 vols. Quarto. Profusely illustrated. Second and enlarged edition. Price 
 #30.00. 
 
 LITTLE. Early New England Interiors. By Arthur Little. 
 
 A Volume of Sketches in old New-England places. Thick oblong quarto, $5.00. 
 
 *#* "To those far distant, unfamiliar with the nooks and corners of New England, 
 and prone to consider the work of Puritanical colonists, noticeable only for its lack of 
 taste, and conspicuous for green blinds and white painted walls, this work will be a 
 revelation.'' — Boston Daily Advertiser. 
 
 MALLOCK. Every Man His Own Poet; or, The Inspired 
 
 Singer's Recipe Book. i6mo. Paper. Price 25 cents. Blue cloth, limp, gilt 
 
 edges, 50 cents. Fifth thousand. 
 
 *#* "' The condensed satire, the searching wit of the author's introduction, and his 
 pretended critical sketch of ' The Nature of Poetry,' it would be difficult for any 
 wriier of the day to match. The take-off ceases to be nonsense, and becomes a refine- 
 ment worthy of Goldsmith at his best. . . . These jeux d'esprit were the work, as we 
 now learn, of Mr. Mallock, the author of The New Republic.' " — G. P. Lathrop, 
 in Boston Courier. 
 
 *#* A most enjoyable piece of satire, witty, clever, and refined. In society its 
 success, here and abroad, has been immense. 
 
 MINOT. The Diary of a Bird. Freely translated into Human Lan- 
 guage by H. D. Mi not, author of the "Land-Birds and Game- Birds of New 
 
 England." Illustrated- Small quarto. Paper. 25 cents. 
 
 * w * The author's elaborate work on the Birds of New England has won for him 
 an enviable reputation as an ornithologist of the first order This appeal on behalf of 
 the feathered tribe from one who knows and loves them so well cannot fail to be read 
 with interest. 
 
 PEABODY. Esthetic Papers, edited by Elizabeth P. Peabody. 
 
 1 vol. Svo. Pamphlet. 248 pages. S2.00 Boston, 1S49. 
 
 *** A rare pamphlet of which but a few copies remain for sale. It contains early 
 papers by Emhrson, Hawthokne, Parkb Godwin, ThoRBAU, and others. 
 
 PREBLE. A History of the Flag of the United States of 
 
 America and of the Naval and Yacht Club Signals Seals, and Arms, and prin- 
 cipal National Songs. Willi a Chronicle of the Symbols, Standards, Banners, 
 and Flags of Ancient and Modern Nations. 11 y Rear Admiral Geo. Henry 
 Preble, U. S. Navy. 1 vol. 8vo. Price $8.00. 
 
 I 
 
t 
 
 "•*„> An entertaining work of immense value and research. It is one that should 
 find a place in all public and social libraries and State and Government offices, and will 
 be found useful to shipmasters, pilots, yachtsmen, historical artists, as a work of refer- 
 ence. It will comprise six hundred and fifty royal octavo pages of text, and be illus- 
 trated by ten full-page colored plates of flags, and two hundred wood engravings of 
 flags, maps, autographies of our national songs, &c. 
 
 ROBINSON. History of Fifth Regiment, M.V.M. By Frank 
 T. Robinson. Illustrated, i vol. Svo. 238 pages. $2.00. 
 
 ROLLO'S JOURNEY TO CAMBRIDGE. A tale of the Ad- 
 ventures of the Historic Holiday Family, at Harvard under the new regime. 
 With twenty-six illustrations, full-page frontispiece, and an illuminated cover of 
 striking gorgeousness, by Francis G. Attwoou. i vol. Imp. Svo. Limp. 
 London toy book style. Price 50 cents. Third and enlarged edition. 
 
 " It is a travesty of the ' Rollo Books,' and is one of the brightest, neatest 
 pieces of travesty we have seen for many a day." — Boston Transcript. 
 
 '* The style, the subject headings, the questions at the end of each chapter, all 
 burlesque Jacob Abbott's old-fashioned books to perfection." — Boston Herald. 
 
 " All will certainly relish the delicious satire in both text and illustrations." — 
 Boston Traveller. 
 
 "A brilliant and witty piece of fun." — Chicago Trilnne. 
 
 " The artists' illustrations rival the text in cleverness, and the whole is highly 
 amusing." — New York Nation. 
 
 TOWER. Modern American Bridge Building. Illustrated. 
 1 vol. 8vo. Cloth. $2 00. 
 
 WHEELWRIGHT. A New " Chance Acquaintance." A Trifle 
 served up on Twelve Plates, by J. T. Wheelwright. Illustrated by F. G. 
 Attwood. i2mo. Paper. 25 cents. 
 
 *** A Boston jeu d* esprit in verse. Very clever and witty. 
 WHITEFIELD. The Homes of our Forefathers. Being a 
 
 collection of the oldest and most interesting buildings in Massachusetts- From 
 original drawings in colors by E. Whitefield. With Historical Memoranda. 
 1 vol., oblong quarto, cloth neat, gilt edges, bevelled, $5.00. 
 
 *#* The object of this book is to preserve and hand down to all future posterity 
 representations of the Homes of their Forefathers. It has been done well and faith- 
 fully, ably seconded by some well-known historical writers. 
 
 WINES. The State of Prisons and of Child-Saving Institu- 
 tions in the Civilized World. By E. C. Wines, D.D., LL.D. 1 vol. 
 Large Svo. 719 pages. $5.00. 
 
 ***A vast repository of facts, and the most extensive work issued in any lan- 
 guage, on matters relating to prison discipline and penal justice. 
 
 WORCESTER. History of Hollis, New Hampshire. By S. 
 
 T.Worcester. Maps and Engravings. Svo. 394 pages. $2.50. 
 
 WRIGHT. Insurance and Self-Insurance. What is meant 
 by Chapter 232 of the Acts of 1880. By Elizur Wright. Price 25 
 cents. 
 
 VILLE. High Farming without Manure. Six Lectures on Agri- 
 culture. By George Ville. Published under the direction of the Massachu- 
 setts Society for the promotion of Agriculture. i6mo. 108 pages. Price 25 cents. 
 *** A wonderfully cheap edition of a famous book. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or mailed postage paid on receipt of price. 
 
 A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 
 
 PUBLISHERS, BOSTON. 
 
By the Author of "A Frivolous GirL" 
 
 THE 
 
 LITTLE TIN GODS-ON-WHEELS ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 SOCIETY IN OUR MODERN ATHENS. 
 
 "The Little Tin Gods" has had a run of popularity far exceed- 
 ing any college production brought out in America, and society, 
 keenly alive to the fact of the scarcity of the peculiar talents and 
 still scarcer delicate touch so necessary to have for the making of a 
 successful jeu d'esprit of the kind, has taken the author under its 
 special charge. At a recent ball in this city, the walls of the rooms 
 were decorated with selections from the poem, printed on satin 
 silk, an honor flattering enough to have turned even the head of 
 the lamented Praed, had he received such homage from his 
 admirers. 
 
 The popularity of the poem is not confined alone to Boston; 
 society in New York has taken it to its heart with a degree of 
 enthusiasm which it seldom extends to a literary production 
 emanating from the Hub. Amongst the fashionable circles of 
 other cities, the polished and oftentimes keen and telling witti- 
 cisms of the clever poem have made it as well known as in the 
 city of its birth. 
 
 " This is a really witty take-off on the swells and belles, written 
 in easy verse, and illustrated with outline drawings as humorous 
 as Thackeray's." 
 
 " ' A trilogy after the manner of the Greeks,* satirizing Boston 
 society in a dashing and very comical way. ' The raving beauties 
 and the tin gods are very sweet to each other's faces, but the most 
 venomous backbiters ; ' and the beauties become savage in an abu- 
 sive chorus, ending with this awful suggestion : — 
 
 " ' When we assemble to sew for the indigent, 
 Trust us to tinker the little tin monsters. 
 
 "The 'Mount Desert Pastoral,' which follows the 'trilogy,' is 
 also a clever skit." 
 
 "The sketch is sharp and realistic; one laughs heartily over 
 almost every page of the audacious ' trilogy.' " 
 
 %* For sale by all Booksellers, or sent by mail, on receipt of 
 50 cents, by 
 
 CHARLES W. SEVER, Publisher, 
 
 University Bookstore, Cambridge, Mass. 
 
Fresh, Neat, and Artistic. 
 
 JIG'S HANDBOOK OF BOSTON. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 "HARVARD AND, ITS SURROUNDINGS." 
 
 King's Handbook of Boston, issued from, the press December 15, 
 1878, is the largest, most complete, and best printed book of its class 
 over issued in Boston. Great care was exercised in its compilation ; 
 and especial pains were taken with its typography. It contains 
 about 275 pages of descriptions of the prominent and interesting 
 features of Boston. The illustrations comprise 125 steel, photo, 
 and wood engravings, heliotypes, and albertypes. 25 of the illus- 
 trations are full pages in size, and include views of the New 
 Post Office, when completed; the New English High and Latin 
 School, when completed ; the Museum of Fine Arts, when com- 
 pleted ; the Public Library, the City Hall, the City Hospital, the 
 Hotel Brunswick, the Boston Common, the Public Garden, the 
 Boston Water Works, the Club Houses, the Monuments, Statues, 
 and Fountains, the Great Fire of 1872, the Quarrel of Winthrop 
 and Dudley, the Arrest of Andros, the Boston Herald Building, 
 the Boston University School of Medicine, the New England Mu- 
 tual Life Insurance Building, the South Boston Iron Works, the 
 Simmons Building, Macullar, Williams, & Parker's Establishment, 
 the Forest Hills Cemetery, the New "Old South" Church, the 
 New Trinity Church, and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The 
 smaller illustrations include many views that have not yet appeared 
 in books about Boston. 
 
 King's Handbook of Boston was designed for a standard work, 
 and the design has been carried out so faithfully in every partic- 
 ular that it will undoubtedly find a place in the libraries of thou- 
 sands of families, where a book of its class has long been heeded. 
 
 The book is neatly bound in cloth covers, is printed on heaw 
 tinted paper, and is published at the low price of $1.00 per copy. 
 
 A. WILLIAMS & CO., Publishers, 
 
 28-3 Washington Street, Boston. 
 

 ENGLISH PUBLISHERS' DEPOT. 
 
 A. WILLIAMS & CO., 
 
 FOREIGN & AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS, 
 
 AND PERIODICAL DEALERS, 
 
 Hare always on hand the best works in all classes of litera- 
 ture, including 
 
 HISTORY, DRAMA, 
 
 BIOGRAPHY, FINANCE, 
 
 TRAVEL, POLITICAL SCIENCE, 
 
 FICTION, THEOLOGY, 
 
 POETRY, LOCAL HISTORY. 
 
 Many of them in fine bindings, suitable 
 
 For the Collector and Gentleman's Library. 
 
 Special attention is also called to their very complete 
 assortment of 
 
 AGRICULTURAL, MECHANICAL, MEDICAL, 
 AND SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. 
 
 Send for Catalogue. 
 
 283 WASHINGTON STREET, COR. SCHOOL STREET, 
 BOSTON. 
 

I 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 027 249 358 3