Minor  groups — such  as  those  children's  books  which
now  first  began  to  be  written,  and  which  included  the  im-
Minor  groups,  mortal 1  Sandford  and  Merton  ;  as  the  abortive
Vathek.  historical  novels,  which  failed  of  life  by  reason
of  the  inability  above  noticed  ;  as  the  beginnings  of  the
"  fashionable  "  kind,  and  the  riff-raff  of  the  "  Minerva
Press" — need  not  detain  us  ;  while  it  would  be  impos-
sible to  deal  with  individuals  like  Cumberland's  Henry,
an  odd,  not  quite  brainless,  but  of  course  unsuccessful
attempt  to  double  back  on  Fielding,  or  with  the  works
of  Mrs.  Opie,  Charlotte  Smith  and  others.  In  fact,
most  of  these  belong  as  much  to  the  nineteenth  as  to
the  eighteenth  century,  and  throw  forward  rather  than
backward  in  character.  Only,  before  concluding  the
chapter  with  more  general  considerations,  one  must
allow  oneself  the  pleasure  of  a  word  or  two  more  on  that
almost  entire  and  perfect  chrysolite  Vathek.  Descrip-
tion and  praise  of  it  would  be  equally  superfluous  ;

1  This  word  is  not  used  in  the  cant  ironical  sense.  Sandford  and  Merton  is  un-
commonly good  reading  for  "those  who  know,"  and  we  shall  see  it  again  (-v.  inf.
p.  267).  With  regard  to  Vathek  no  one  should  fail  to  supplement  the  old  texts
with  the  "Episodes"  recently  published  by  Mr.  Lewis  Melville.
