Higgledy-Piggledy

Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen presents us with his usual Christmas contribution in the shape of six stories in a volume bearing the title of ‘Higgledy-Piggledy.’ In the ‘Crone of Charing’ we have a real witch of the older kind who victimizes an honest carrier, puts life into milestones and sign-posts, scoffs at Justices of the Peace, and despises constables. ‘The Squirrel and the Hedgehog’ is a tale of woodland life, whilst ‘The Pig of Cheriton’ relates the adventures of a camel who was captured by fairies, and only released (under the directions of the pig) by certain difficult and curious methods, one of which required the silence of a respectable female for a longer period than females (respectable or not) are won’t to remain silent. In ‘The Mermaid’s Boy’ a lost prince receives a marine education at the hands of the sisters of the sea; and in ‘Prince Merimel,’ the ‘Faun of the Capitol’ and other statues, appear in a totally new character. The last tale is ‘Billy’s Story,’ which may be left to speak for itself. Includes nine illustrations from original images by Richard Doyle engraved on wood by G. Pearson. —Notes on Books, 1875