Page:The Complete Works of William Makepeace Thackeray Vol.20.pdf/18

viii term, but they were, none the less, written with youthful readers in mind. Indeed, in his Prelude to the latter story he explains the origin of it in connection with a child's party. The Kickleburys on the Rhine was published at Christmas, 1850, and The Rose and the Ring has its preface dated December, 1864.

The first serious poetical work of Thackeray's to be printed appears to have been The Chronicle of the Drum, and to most readers it will remain as the most effective, regarded purely as a piece of literature. It was published first as an accompaniment to The Second Funeral of Napoleon, in 1841. The other ballads and poems were printed chiefly in Fraser and Punch. Mr. Trollope tells a little anecdote regarding The Crystal Palace: "In writing this, Thackeray was a little late with his copy for Punch; not, we should Bay, altogether an uncommon accident to him. It should have been with the editor early on Saturday, if not before, but did not come till late on Saturday evening. The editor, who was among men the most good-natured, and I should think the most forbearing, either could not or in this case would not insert it in the next week's issue, and Thackeray, angry and disgusted, sent it to The Times. In The Times of next Monday it appeared,-very much, I should think, to the delight of the readers of that august newspaper." The few Earlier Poems which we have added to the authorized collection of Thackeray's poems were for the most part his contributions to The National Standard, his unlucky youthful venture, in 1833.

The collection of Tales, with which this volume closes, is drawn from the posthumous edition of his writings issued