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Historical and Biographical Essays (2); Biographical: Daniel De Foe. Sir Richard Steele. Charles Churchill. Samuel Foote
Historical and Biographical Essays Biographical Daniel De Foe Sir Richard Steele Charles Churchill Samuel Foote - 2 Author:John Forster Volume: 2 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1858 Original Publisher: J. Murray Subjects: Great Britain History / Europe / Great Britain Literary Criticism / General Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no il... more »lustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: The children then reappear to complete a domestic interior, which, at a time when wit had no higher employment than to laugh at the affections and moralities of home, could have arisen only to a fancy as pure as the- heart that prompted it was loving and true. The noisiest among them is Mr. Bickerstaff's godson, Dick, in whose conversation, however, though his drum is a little in the way, this nice gradation of incredulity appears, that, having got into the lives and adventures of Guy of Warwick, the Seven Champions, and other historians of that age, he shakes his head at the improbability of jEsop's Fables. But the mother becomes a little jealous of the godson carrying off too much attention; and she will have her friend admire little Mrs. Betty's accomplishments, which accordingly are described; and so the conversation goes on-till late, when Mr. Bickerstaff leaves the cordial fireside, considering the different conditions of a married life and that of a bachelor, and goes home in a pensive mood to his maid, his dog, and his cat, who only can be the better or the worse for what happens to him. But the little story is only half told. Having for its design to show that the pleasures of married life are too little regarded, that thousands have them and do not enjoy them, and that it is therefore a kind and good office to acquaint such people with their own happiness, he with it connects the solemn warning to be d...« less