The Youth's Magazine; or, Evangelical Miscellany 1807. Title-page image engraved by Brook. Photograph and text by Siobhan Lam. Courtesy of the John Hay Library, Brown University. [This image may be used without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose.]
The title page reads: "Printed by H. Teape, Published and sold by W. Kent, No. 116, High Holborn. Also by A. Johnstone, Edinburg. Wiulson & Spence, York. M. Richardson, Manchester. Hazard, Bath, and by all other Booksellers in Town and Country. Kent of London seems to have been the publisher and the others listed merely booksellers who carried this periodical.
The frontispiece from The Youth's Magazine illustrates "The Reformation; or, The History of Miss Mancel." which was published in June 1807. Eliza Mancel, the only daughter of fond wealthy parents, although "endowed by Heaven with a very beautiful person, a fine capacity, and a very retentive memory" was alas burdened with a "badness" of temper (meaning she was passionate and spoiled) (198). After alienating all her friends and family, Eliza becomes ashamed of her behavior, but she fails to better herself until she asks her parents for "advice and directions" (200). This is what she is doing in the frontispiece, she throws herself at her parents' feet and implores their pardon for her behavior at which point her "humble and ingenuous confession rekindled all the latent sparks of love in the bosoms of her parents" (200). While her mother is incapacitated by her feelings, Mr. Mancel teaches Eliza to look to God. From then on, Eliza Mancel is utterly good and pious, all her friends and family love and admire her — apparently to the extent that lady visitors will not leave the Mancel house until Eliza has presented them with a glass of wine or bit of cake. Having reformed Eliza, the narrator quickly finishes the tale, noting that she grows old and dies happy then admonishes his readers to remember to check their tempers and beware of gaining evil habits that may be hard to reform later. In true evangelical fashion, this is rather high-handed, and finally ends with a short gospel, Luke 18: "God be merciful to me a sinner." The piece is signed E.T.
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References
The Youth's Magazine; or, Evangelical Miscellany. Ed. William Lloyd. London: W. Kent, 1807.
Last modified 2 August 2007