viii, 276pp, [4]. With an engraved frontispiece, a further four engraved plates, and two terminal leaves of publisher's advertisements. Original publisher's blue cloth, stamped in gilt and blind. A trifle marked, spine lightly sunned. Near contemporary inked ownership inscription of Thomas Barnard to head of browned title page. The second edition of a selection of miscellaneous educational anecdotes by Priscilla Wakefield (1751-1832), English Quaker philanthropist and author, known for her moral writings for children. Wakefield assures readers she wishes to avoid the 'dry precepts' they may be used to, insisting she must 'retain the native cheerfulness of my disposition', and that her 'bill of fare will consist of great variety' - a promise that rings true, considering the slightly bizarre range of disconnected subjects found within, both minutely specific and broadly general. Among them, Wakefield discusses 'Surnames', 'Maria Antoinetta', 'Grotto of Antiparos', and 'True and False Gre