spiration from nature to be found busily engaged in the conduct of the tale, and whispering softly to the young heart that 'There's music in the sighing of a reed, There's music in all things, if men had ears, Then earth is but an echo of the spheres.'* Thus the budding fancy of the child finds its way, under the guidance of fiction, to the contemplation of what is natural and true, and takes unto itself a moral from sources the quality of which cannot be questioned. It demands no very violent effort of imagination on a writer's part to convince a young reader that lying is bad and vicious; there is no need to load the picture with extravagant colouring; and he will as readily learn it from 'Lightsome's' scales as from the disobedient boy who ate the forbidden apple, and told a falsehood to hide his fault. If there are two roads, one bright, sunny, and cheerful, and the other dark, gloomy, and uninviting, by which the same end may be attained, should there be a moment's hesitation as to which to select? The young love to hear the birds sing, to see the flowers bloom, to bask in the sun, to live in an atmosphere of universal happiness and plenty. This is the sort of realm wherein they like to wander :: 'It was a village up in the sky, so far away that I cannot remember its name, and so high up above clouds that, coming back, I forgot my way thither. But high up and far away as it may be, it was such a fine place when you got there! It had big trees and little houses. Such a many many birds all singing together, and no fruit on the trees that was not as ripe as ripe could be. Boxer tops grew on all the hedges, and cricket-bats in the wood. The outside leaves of the summer cabbages were kites with splendid tails; and when the sweet peas had done blossoming, they bore pods full of the most beautiful streaky marbles. There was a large holly-bush in the corner close by the pump; it never had any red berries on it, to speak of, but come round Christmas-time was so full of dolls, all dressed in muslins and silks, that, if you didn't gather them as soon as they were ripe— before breakfast-time in the morning-they were sure to tumble off, and break their pretty noses. As for the rose-bushes. " But here we must stop, confessing that never before was there so beautiful and happy a place as Lightsome's beautiful village, where the roses were so large, and the people so clean, that they never wanted washing. When once Master Tom or Miss Kitty have struck up an acquaintance with a place like this, it is hard work to induce them to quit it, even for a short time, * Byron. Fairy Tales. 147 and return to the dull region of earth, where, in order to sustain life, a more generous and substantial diet than 'early dew and 'honey from the flowers' is necessary. Entranced and spellbound, they are lost in wandering along the pleasant paths of the land of enchantment, till they regard eating and drinking as barbarous and vulgar institutions, and prefer gardens growing like Mistress Mary's With silver bells and cockle shells, And hyacinths all of a row,' to those which produce such vulgar and material things as cabbages and potatoes. There can be no doubt that fairy stories are held in very high estimation by our young people, more so, perhaps, than any other kind of juvenile literature. The sorrows of poor, ill-used Cinderella,' the trials and troubles of 'Snowdrop,' the long rest of the 'Sleeping Beauty,' the wondrous adventures of Tommelise,' or the queer vagaries of the 'Yellow Dwarf,' afford an endless fund of healthy and hearty amusement. They will read each of these, and we do not know how many more into the bargain, over and over again, without a sign of impatience or weariness, even till they can repeat them by heart to an admiring circle in the nursery. Speaking of fairy tales, as a class, we can most conscientiously say that they are well worthy the affectionate favour in which they are regarded, and are instruments not only of amusement, but of instruction, that no parent need fear to employ. With some very rare exceptions, their tone is pure and refined, and in every respect suited to the freshness and innocence of the budding imagination: they transport it at once to a new world, where it is greeted with all that beauty and brightness and happiness wherein it so delights, and is fed with the daintiest fare. Nor is it surprising that children like for awhile to quit the region of tempting jam-cupboards, and weak-minded heroes and heroines who cannot resist its seductions, and to take flight to the territory of those busy, agreeable little people, the fairies, concerning whose position on the map geography is silent; though we shrewdly suspect that, if applied to, Hans Christian Andersen could inform us; for the intimate and acute knowledge he displays of their habits and customs could have been gained only by a long sojourn amongst them, and a close and careful study of their national character and institutions. We wonder what he would say to an assertion such as this about his tiny friends :*- Fairies, you know, have not got hearts, but only a hollow place in their bosoms, where their hearts ought * Down Amongst the Fairies.' 'to be,' when he has introduced us to so many, who have been perfect models of tenderness and love. Surely this is a calumny that he would not hesitate to refute with indignation and scorn! Of course, as everywhere else, there are wicked and cruel fairies, who work all sorts of mischief and injury to deserving mortals; but they are always few and far between, and have their shameful machinations miserably exposed and defeated in the end, to the satisfaction of every right-minded reader. In fact, it is rather an advantage than otherwise that they do exist, as without them there would be no opportunity for those that are virtuous and good to counteract their evil influences, and to join the hands of the handsome and long-suffering prince and the beautiful princess, so that they may live happily together ever afterwards. And thus reaching the almost unvarying conclusion of every fairy tale, we are reminded that we ourselves must draw on to a close. Obviously, it would have been impossible for us to consider the wide domain of juvenile literature in any other than a very general way. Its limits are wide asunder as the poles, its varieties so numerous, that the space at command would have been wholly inadequate to enable us to individualise, much less to criticise them; for it must be remembered that, while the books which are written for men and women do not require that the author should consult the probable age and intelligence of those who are likely to be his readers, those which are intended for the young must be graduated according to the mental and imaginative development of that particular section of juveniles, whose vote and interest they aim at securing. Thus, the names of Kingston, Ballantyne, and Mayne Reid are associated with stirring stories of adventures by land and sea, which are dear to schoolboys; while Tom Brown,' the Rev. Mr. Adams, and a host of others ejusdem generis, are identified with books that are equally cherished by them. These represent a distinct class, just as Mrs. Alfred Gatty, Hans Christian Andersen, Mary Howitt, and others in their way, devote their attention to the amusement of young children. There are books and books-for boys, for girls, for young ladies, for hobbledehoys, all of which undoubtedly belong to juvenile literature; there are many of them as good as good can be, and a considerable number that deserve no better fate than to be put behind the fire. The larger proportion may be digested with pleasure and profit; the minority, if they ever happened to ind a circulation, would, through their own intrinsic badness, destroy themselves. We have sought, in the course of the preceding observations, to distinguish between those kinds of children's books which are worthy the title, and those which, Utilitarianism. 149 It under a fraudulent assumption of the name, terrify the opening imagination and expanding mind of the young reader with false and sickly Bogeyisms! There are many of the former description we would gladly have mentioned; there are not a few of the latter sort we have purposely omitted. In the one case, with the increasing taste for literature among the juvenile portion of society, merit is sure to obtain a hearing; in the other, the proper criticism is, to abstain from any notice of their existence. One word, and but one word, of the periodicals for the young, of which Aunt Judy,' 'Merry and Wise,' and 'Routledge's Magazine for Boys,' stand in the front rank. is not too much to say that each of these, in its own peculiar province, is unapproachable, and satisfies the requirements of those for whose edification it is intended. Taken together, they are highly creditable specimens of the juvenile literature of the day, and irresistible evidence of the improvement in tone and style, that has of late taken place in the writing for the young, which used too often to be done in a sadly negligent and slipshod style. Although it is a dangerous passage to quote, lest our own shortcomings may be called into account, it would be well if some authors of children's books would remember that, ' when self-interest inclines a man to print, he should consider that the purchaser expects a pennyworth for his penny; and has reason to asperse his honesty if he finds himself ' deceived.'* ART. VI. (1.) Utilitarianism. By JOHN STUART MILL. Reprinted from Fraser's Magazine.' 2nd Edition. London: Longmans. 1864. (2.) Leviathan on the Matter, Form, and Power of a Commonwealth. By THOMAS HOBBES. London. 1651. (3.) Bentham's Deontology. E. T. BOWRING. 1834. (4.) Bishop Butler's Sermons preached at the Rolls Chapel. Edinburgh. 1835. 'FROM the dawn of philosophy the question concerning the 'summum bonum, or, what is the same thing concerning the 'foundation of morality, has been accounted the main problem in speculative thought.' With these words Mr. Mill opens his Essay on Utilitarianism, which may fairly be taken as very powerfully representing the most enlightened and comprehen * Shenstone. sive form of that popular doctrine. In his second chapter Mr. Mill proceeds to give a very clear definition of what the term Utilitarianism means. This system implies that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. 'Pleasure and freedom from pain are the only things desirable 'as ends; and all desirable things (which are as numerous in the 'utilitarian as in any other scheme) are desirable either for the 'pleasure inherent in themselves, or as means to the promotion of pleasure and the prevention of pain.' A popular misconception of this scheme noticed by Mr. Mill is, that if you suppose life to have no higher end than pleasure, you degrade man to the level of the brute: the followers of Epicurus were accordingly likened to swine by the assailants of his doctrine. When thus attacked, however, the Epicureans have always answered, that it is not they, but their accusers, who represent human nature in a degrading light; since the accusation supposes human beings to be capable of no pleasures except those of which swine are capable. Human beings have faculties higher than the animal appetites, and when once made conscious of them do not regard anything as happiness which does not include their gratification. And there is no known Epicurean theory of life which does not assign to the pleasures of the intellect, the feelings, the imagination, and the moral sentiments, a much higher value as pleasures than to those of mere sensation. But Mr. Mill proceeds to argue that the utilitarian standard is not the agent's own greatest happiness, but the greatest amount of happiness altogether.' The standard of morality may be defined, the rules and precepts for human conduct, by the observance of which an existence exempt as far as 'possible from pain, and as rich as possible in enjoyments, 'both in point of quantity and quality, might be secured to all 'mankind; and not to them only, but so far as the nature of things admits, to the whole sentient creation.'* Now, this is broad and comprehensive indeed. I must again repeat,' says Mr. Mill, what the assailants of utilitarianism seldom have the 'justice to acknowledge, that the happiness which forms the 'utilitarian standard of what is right in conduct is not the 'agent's own, but that of all concerned. As between his own and that of others, he is required to be as strictly impartial as a disinterested and benevolent spectator. In the golden 'rule of Jesus of Nazareth we read the complete spirit of the 'ethics of utility-to do as one would be done by, and to love 'one's neighbour as oneself, constitute the ideal perfection of Page 17. |