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ditto in front of ditto and dittoes. Small child (sex uncertain) with a cheertul fre i nightshirt shouts in front of hreplace and throws up arms, The girls (assuming it to be a boy in the nightshirt) are the more clearly distin- guished by the addition i ecach case ot a woman with white apron, mcb cap, and outstretched arms, and a kettle on the hob—em- bellishmentsdenied to the boys, who have to take their chancce as best they can with two fen- ders, a set of fire- irons, and a wooden chair between them. The simi- larity of the two girls" adventures is relicved shightly by the introduction 1n one casze of a cat with stiff fegs, galloping, with much prudence, away from the disaster. But therc 1s a complete and irredeemable uni- formity about the whole set m one respect — there 1s no suggested cause for the accidents, unless the boys and girls have deliber- ately shoved their clothes into the fire, in order to make an 1nstructive warning tor grand- father's piceture- book. It 18 notice- able that the artist |} has had some diffi- fj; ) culty in sctting fire | to the first boy's g trousers with a
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cffect, owing to the awkwardness of the garments for the pur- pose. The girls’ skirts arc inhnitely better sutted to the expert- ment. The title to the series of pictures 1s spread out among them, and cnds with the substitution of a stonificant hicroglvphic tor the word * fire,” consisting of cer- tain very heree Hames in a sctting of very solid smoke, arising from the combustion of nothing whatever.
We have already mentioned the goody-goody books of erandfather’s time, with their solemn pictures ot virtuous clders n high coat - collars and swallow - tails, and more or less virtuous youths in concertina hats and puffy white trou- crs, The adven- tures of Tommy Merton, Harry Sandtord, and the respectable My, Barlowin the many editions 1 which the book was print- cd, were the occa- ston of many such pictures, and the first halt of this century was greatly distinguished by the mmmense nam- ber of serious lhittle books 1ssued with cutswherein blame- less and omniscient tutors lecturced solemn little boys on things 1n general. Here 1sa cut trom one ot these, wherein the worthy tutor,whose