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    to obtain for their sons what they regarded as the best tuition , now induced her to receive as her own peculiar pupils several little boys , to whom she condescended to teach the first rudiments of literature Thomas Den man y Esq ., now a distinguished member of the legal profession and of the House of Commons , was

    committed to her care before he had accomplished his fourth year . Sir William Gellj the zealous explorer of the plain of Troy , was another of her almost infant scholars ; and it was for the benefit of this

    younger class that her Hymns in Prose for Children were written . "—Pp . xxix . xxx . '' Meantime Palgrave School was progressively increasing in numbers and reputation ; and several sons of noble families were sent to share in its

    advantages ; of whom may be named the late amiable and lamented Basil Lord Daer ( a favourite pupil , ) and three of his bro thers , including the last Earl of Selkirk two sons of Lord Templetown , Lord More , Lord Aghriin , and the Honourable Augustus Phipps : these , who were par lour boarders , enjoyed most of the benefi of the conversation and occasional in-|

    structions of Mrs . Barbauld ; and all , it is believed , quitted the school with sentiments towards her of high respect and attachment . "—Mem . p . xxxi . It is generally known that Mrs Barbauld was a contributor to Dr .

    Aikin ' s justly popular book for children , " Evenings at Home ; " but her biographer remarks that her share in this work has generally been supposed much greater than it was . Of the ninety and nine pieces of which it consists , fourteen only are hers , viz .

    The Young Mouse ; The Wasp and Bee ; Alfred , a Drama ; Animals and Countries ; Canute ' s Reproof ; The Masque of Nature ; Things by their Right Names ; The Goose and Horse ; On Manufactures ; The

    Flying-fish ; A Lesson in the Art of Distinguishing ; The Phoenix and Dove ; The Manufacture of Paper ; The Four Sisters . In a new edition , Miss Aikia says , wil 1 be added , Live Dolls . ( Mem . pp . xxxvi , xxxvii . )

    Ihe biographer thus describes Mrs . Barbauld ' s closing days : we extract the passage , amongst other reasons , for the valuable tribute of respect which it contains to the memory of Mrs . John Taylor , of Norwich :

    < incident worthy of mention henceforth occurred to break the uniformity of her existence . She gcive up all distant journeys ; and , conliucd at home to a

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    , I [ narrow circle of connexions and acquaint . ) ance ,. she suffered life to slide away , as it were , at its own pace , Nor shook the outhasting sands , nor \ bid them stay .

    " An asthmatic complaint , which was slowly undermining her excellent constitution , more and more indisposed her for any considerable exertions either of muni or body ; but the arrival of a visitor had always the power to rouse her from a state of languor . Her powers of

    conversation suffered little declension to the last although her memory of recent circumstances became somewhat impaired . Hei disposition—of which sensibility was not in early life the leading feature—now mellowed into softness , pleasingly exhibited

    , - ; - t > [ " Those " tender tints that only time can give . Her manners , never tainted by pride—^ which with the baser but congenial affeo tion of envy was a total stranger to her bosom—were now remarkable for their extreme humility : she spoke of ever )

    one not merely with the candour and forbearance which she had long practised , but with interest , with kindness , with an indulgence which sometimes appeared but too comprehensive ; she seemed reluctant to allow , or believe , that any of her fellow-creatures had a failing , while she

    gave them credit gratuitously for many virtues . This state of mind , which , with her native acuteness of discernment , it must apparently have cost her some struggles to attain , had at least the advantage of causing her easily to admit of such substitutes as occurred for those

    contemporary and truly congenial friendships which , in the course of nature , were now fast failing her . She lost her early and affectionate friend , Mrs . Kenrick , in 1819 . In December 1822 , her brother sunk under a long decline , which had served as a painful preparation to the final parting . A few months later , she lost , in the excellent Mrs . John Taylor ,

    of Norwich , perhaps the most intimate and most highly valued of alL her distant friends ; to whose exalted and cndearhiff character she bore the following wellmerited testimony in a letter add ressed to one of her daughters : i most

    " Receive the assurance of my affectionate sympathy in those feelings with which you must now be contemplating the loss of that dear woman , long the object of your respect and aflcction ; nor indeed yours only , but ot : il who knew her . A prominent part <> im

    f those feelings , however , must be that - t dear object of them is released from suii ferine , has finished her task and entered

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    486 Review *—Mrs * Barbauld ' s IVorhs .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1825, page 486, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2539/page/32/