Isis unveiled, Volume 2 (of 2), Theology

Mr. Stephens has no superior in the peculiar style of illustration which is most effective in bringing out the spirit of Æsop’s Fables, and in this volume he has given us fifty-six full page cartoons, brimming with droll humor, reciting the Fables over again, and enforcing their morals just as effectively as was done by the words of Æsop himself. The illustrations are among the finest specimens of art ever produced in this country, and the volume as a whole is most creditable to American artistic skill.

Or, Ten Days’ Entertainment. Now fully translated into English, with Introduction by Thomas Wright, Esq., M.A., F.S.A. Illustrated by Stothard’s Engravings on Steel, and the 12 unique plates from the rare Milan Edition. One volume, thick 12mo, cloth extra, $3.50, or handsomely bound in half polished Levant morocco, gilt top, $5.50.

Being a collection of Merry Ballads and Songs, old and new, fitted to all humors, having each its proper tune for voice and instrument. An exact and beautiful reprint of this very scarce work. Small paper, 6 vols., crown 8vo, bds., uncut, $15.00. Large paper, 6 vols. crown 4to. Only a few printed. Bds., uncut, $24.00.

“But what obtained Mr. D’Urfey his greatest reputation was a peculiarly happy knack he possessed in the writing of satires and irregular odes. Many of these were upon temporary occasions, and were of no little service to the party in whose cause he wrote; which, together with his natural vivacity and good humor, obtained him the favor of great numbers, of all ranks and conditions, monarchs themselves not excluded. He was strongly attached to the Tory interest, and in the latter part of Queen Anne’s reign had frequently the honor of diverting that princess with witty catches and songs of humor suited to the spirit of the times, written by himself, and which he sang in a lively and entertaining manner. And the author of the Guardian, who, in No. 67. has given a very humorous account of Mr. D’Urfey, with a view to recommend him to the public notice for a benefit play, tells us that he remembered King Charles II. leaning on Tom D’Urfey’s shoulder more than once, and humming over a song with him.

“He appears to have been a diverting companion, and a cheerful, honest, good-natured man; so that he was the delight of the most polite companies in conversations, from the beginning of Charles II.’s to the latter part of King George I.’s reign; and many an honest gentleman got a reputation in his country by pretending to have been in company with Tom D’Urfey.”—Chalmers.

Or, The Muses’ Recreation, 1656; Wit Restor’d, 1658; and Wit’s Recreation, 1640. The whole compared with the originals; with all the Wood Engravings, Plates, Memoirs, and Notes. A new edition, in 2 volumes, post 8vo, beautifully printed on antique laid paper, and bound in antique boards, $4.00.

∵ Of the Poets of the Restoration, there are none whose works are more rare than those of Sir John Mennis and Dr. James Smith. The small volume entitled “Musarum Deliciæ; or, The Muses’ Recreation,” which contains the production of these two friends, was not accessible to Mr. Freeman when he compiled his “Kentish Poets,” and has since become so rare that it is only found in the cabinets of the curious. A reprint of the “Musarum Deliciæ,” together with several other kindred pieces of the period, appeared in 1817, forming two volumes of Facetiæ, edited by Mr. E. Dubois, author of “The Wreath,” etc. These volumes having in turn become exceedingly scarce, the Publishers venture to put forth the present new edition, in which, while nothing has been omitted, no pains have been spared to render it more complete and elegant than any that has yet appeared. The type, plates, and woodcuts of the originals have been accurately followed; the Notes of the editor of 1817 are considerably augmented, and indexes have been added, together with a portrait of Sir John Mennis, from a painting by Vandyke in Lord Clarendon’s Collection.

In all Ages and all Lands. A Philosophical History and Lively Chronicle of the Stick as the Friend and Foe of Man. Its Uses and Abuses. As Sceptre and as Crook. As the Warrior’s Weapon, and the Wizard’s Wand. As Stay, as Stimulus, and as Scourge. Translated and adapted from the French of Antony Réal (Fernand Michel). 1 vol., 12mo, extra cloth, red edges, $1.50.

The above work condenses in a lively narrative form a most astonishing mass of curious and recondite information in regard to the subject of which it treats. From the bludgeon of Cain to the truncheon of the Marshals of France, from the budding rod of Aaron to the blazing cane of M. de Balzac, the stick, in all its relations with man since first he meddled with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, is shown here to have played a far greater part in history than is commonly imagined. It has been the instrument of justice, it has been the tool also of luxury. It has ministered to man, its maker, pleasure as well as pain, and has served for his support as well as for his subjugation. The mysteries in which it has figured are some of them revealed and others of them hinted in these most entertaining and instructive pages, for between the days of the society of Assassins in the East and those of the society of the Aphrodites in the West, the Stick has been made the pivot of many secret associations, all of them interesting to the student of human morals, but not all of them wisely to be treated of before the general public. The late Mr. Buckle especially collected on this subject some most astounding particulars of social history, which he did not live to handle in his own inimitable way, but of which an adequate inkling is here afforded to the serious and intelligent reader.

Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving-men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700. With their Ages, the Localities where they formerly Lived in the Mother Country, Names of the Ships in which they embarked, and other interesting particulars. From MSS. preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty’s Public Record Office, England. Edited by John Camden Hotten. A very handsome volume, crown 4to, 700 pages, elegantly bound in half Roxburghe morocco, gilt top, $10.00.

Described in the Life of Meriton Latroon, and other Extravagants, comprehending the most Eminent Cheats of both Sexes. By Richard Head and Francis Kirkman. A fac-simile reprint of the rare Original Edition (1665-1672), with Frontispiece, Fac-similes of the 12 copper-plates, and Portraits of the authors. In Four Volumes, post 8vo, beautifully printed on antique laid paper, made expressly, and bound in antique boards, $6.00, or Large Paper Copies, 4 vols. 8vo, $10.00.

∵ This singularly entertaining work may be described as the first English novel, properly so-called. The same air of reality pervades it as that which gives such a charm to stories written by DeFoe half a century later. The interest never flags for a moment, from the first chapter to the last.

As a picture of the manners of the period, two hundred years ago, in England, among the various grades of society through which the hero passes in the course of his extraordinary adventures, and among gypsies, beggars, thieves, etc., the book is invaluable to students.

Or, An Exact Collection of the choicest Poems and Songs relating to the late Times, and continued by the most eminent Wits; from Anno 1639 to 1661. A Fac-simile Reprint of the rare Original edition (London, 1662), with Frontispiece and Engraved Title-page. In 2 vols. post 8vo, printed on antique laid paper, and bound in antique boards, $4.00; or Large Paper Copies, $6.00.

∵ A very rare and extraordinary collection of some two hundred Popular Ballads and Cavalier Songs, on all the principal incidents of the great Civil War, the Trial of Strafford, the Martyrdom of King Charles, the Commonwealth, Cromwell, Pym, the Roundheads, etc. It was from such materials that Lord Macaulay was enabled to produce his vivid pictures of England in the sixteenth century. To historical students and antiquaries, and to the general reader, these volumes will be found full of interest.