BOOKS OF SECRETS. 13 



secrets almost disappear, but there are more on strictly practical subjects. 

 The term " secrets " is dropped, though it may occur in the course of a title. 

 But the titles now become of prodigious length and take the form of a table 

 of contents. They may have been handy for the readers of a hundred and 

 fifty or two hundred years ago, but they try the patience of the bibliographer 

 of the present time, who has to copy them. As might be expected too the 

 books are not attractive. There is a pretence at ornament which is not 

 only unnecessary, but is ugly. 



There was a second flood of manuals of legerdemain, with the name of 

 H. Dean. At first the books were well enough, but as time went on the 

 issues became so bad that some were illegible. 



Directions for the ladies and the good wives were supplied in such works 

 as "The whole Duty of a Woman," "The complete Housewife," which, more 

 by merit than looks, managed to reach the fifteenth edition, "The Com- 

 plete Family Piece," which, in a duodecimo of six hundred pages, with an 

 overwhelming title-page for length and detail, gives a history of the active 

 side of country life in England a hundred and seventy years ago, and "The 

 Lady's Companion, or an infallible Guide to the Female Sex." "The 

 Young Ladies School of Arts " dealt with the refinements rather than the 

 necessities of daily life and is the converse of " The Farmers Wife or the 

 complete Country Housewife." This last contains directions about poultry, 

 about the preparing of pork, bacon and sausages, making wine, cyder, perry, 

 mum, mead, and so on, directions for the dairy, etc., etc., and then the 

 author blossoms into rhyme, like Mascall in his book on cattle : 



Instructions full and plain we give 



To teach the Farmer's wife 

 With satisfaction how to live 



The happy country life. 



There were other books on the fine arts : " The Handmaid to the Arts" 

 is mostly about painting ; "Valuable Secrets concerning Arts and Trades" is 

 also largely about painting though other topics are included. There are at 

 least half a dozen editions of this book. "The School of Wisdom " contains 

 a survey of the arts in general. All these books have ponderous title-pages 



