Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/42

 explorer of the plain of Troy, was another of her almost infant scholars; and it was for the benefit of this younger class that her Hymns in Prose for Children were written, in which it was her peculiar object (to use her own words in the preface) "to impress devotional feelings as early as possible on the infant mind," "to impress them, by connecting religion with a variety of sensible objects, with all that he sees, all he hears, all that affects his young mind with wonder or delight; and thus, by deep, strong and permanent associations, to lay the best foundation for practical devotion in future life."

None of her works is a fairer monument than this, of the elevation of her soul and the brightness of her genius. While discarding the aid of verse, she everywhere bursts forth into poetry;—while stooping to the comprehension of infancy, she has produced a precious manual of devotion,