Page:Hannah More (1887 Charlotte Mary Yonge British).djvu/154

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HANNAH MORE.

scribed what she was doing for Louis Philippe; but though the request was a command, it was a curious thing to publish for everyone's reading the line of study and training recommended for the royal child.

The book was finished and published anonymously in 1805, dedicated to Bishop Fisher of Exeter, who had just been appointed tutor to the Princess. It was written with great care and consideration, and is full of excellent practical good sense applicable to women in every station, especially in the chapters on the study of history and the choice of books.

Among "books of amusement," the foremost of her selections is Don Quixote. "Wit," she quotes, "is gay, but humour is grave. It is a striking illustration of this opinion that the most serious and solemn nation in the world has produced the work of the most genuine humour." After this, she recommends the tales most removed from resemblance to ordinary life, such as the Arabian Nights and Pope's Odyssey, and she has a separate section on Shakespeare, together with Potter's translations of the Greek tragedians. Her chapters on the "Arts of Popularity," and on "Zeal for Religious Opinions no Proof of Religion," are excellent; and though we cannot read the summary of English history without being amused at the different light since cast on characters and events, we feel that it comes from a high-minded and sensible woman, well read in the best literature