The Press. — London, England, 1856-01-26 00:00:00

~- JANUARY 26, 1856. the bush of about sixty acres, and she was astonished, after travelling over miles of the roughest country, to come suddenly upon a mansion " the very perfection of elegance and " comfort" : The very house seemed to smile a welcome; and seldom have I met a more cordial one than I received from Mrs. Forrest, the kindly and graceful hostess, who met me at the door, her pretty simple dress of pink and white muslin contrasting strangely with the charred stumps which were in sight, and the long lines of gloomy bush which stood out dark and sharp against the evening sky. " Will yon go into the drawing•room ?" asked Mrs. Forrest. 1 was surprised, for I had not associated a drawing-room with emigrant life in Canada; but 1 followed her along a pretty entrance lobby, floored with polished oak, into a lofty room, furnished with all the elegances and luxuries of the mansion of ar. affluent Englishman at home, a beautiful piano not being wanting. Tile emigrants and their guest used to breakfast at seven, after which the host went to his farm. Dinner at twelve ; and in the afternoon the authoress and the gentleman used to take long rides over the surrounding country—then glorious with the autumnal beauty of the forest. L► the evening bagatelle or reading aloud—and sometimes " one or two very agree " able neighbours came in " For the word dinner substitute luncheon, and we have as complete a picture of English life as if the scene were in Hampshire. Occasionally, also, formal morning calls are undergone, and in the winter time evening parties are frequent. On occasions when any extraordinary labour is to be performed, there is held what is termed " a bee." There are " thrashing bees," and " apple bees," and "shelling bees," where the pens are shelled and barrelled ; " quilting bees," where the Canadian quilts are fabricated ; and "'logging bees," when a portion of ground is to be cleared of its stumps. These are always festive occasions. Some eight or ten of the neighbours associate together, and come in to dinner, black (from the dust of a peculiar Canadian weed), hot, tired, hungry, and thirsty. They eat as no other people eat, and set all our notions of the separability of different viands at defiance. At the end of the day they have a very substantial supper, with plenty of whisky, and, if everything has been satisfactory, the convi vial proceedings are prolonged till past midnight. Does the reader know ,what "a muffin" is? IVe should guess not : There are some notions which must be unlearned in Canada. or temporarily laid aside. At the beginning of winter, which is the gay season in this Paris of the New World, every unmarried gentleman, who chooses to do so, selects a young lady to be his companion in the numerous amusements of the time. It does not seem that anything more is needed than the consent of the maiden, who, when she acquiesces in the arrangement, is called a " notffla,"— for the mammas were " muffins " themselves in their day, and cannot refuse their daughters the same prhilege. The gentleman is privileged to take the young lady about m his sleigh, to ride with her, to walk with her, to dance with her a whole evening without any remark, to escort her to parties, and be her attendant on all occasions. When the spring arrives, the arrangement is at an end, and I did not hear that an engagement is frequently the result, or that the same couple enter into this agreement for two successive winters. Probably the reason may be, that they s , e too much of each other. This most agreeable arrangement is soon appreciated by ♦isitors : A gentleman, who had just arrived from England, declared that " Quebec was a horrid plnce, not fit to live in." A few days after he metthe same individual to whom he had made this uncomplimentary observation, and confided to hint that he thought Quebec "the most delightful place in the whole world; for, do you know," he said, " I have got a muffin." The Englishwoman pays a high compli ment to the beauty of the Canadian young ladies : The eyes are invariably large and lustrous. dark and pensive, or blue and sparkling with vivacity. They dress in exquisite taste ; and, with a grace peculiarly their own, their manners have a fascination and witchery which is perfectly irresistible. In the account of Lower Canada, or Acadia, we have an admirably-drawn comparison be tween the two extremes of character exhibited by the inhabitants of this province and the Northern States of the Union : the one still living the life of Evangeline—moral, sober, and contented, caring nothing for progress, ani seeking only the happiness sought by their fathers the other, sacrificing home enjoyments, pleasure. ant health itself to the one desire of the acquisition of wealth. Daruig speculations fail ; the struggle in unnatural competition with men of large capital, or dishonourable dealings. wears Out at last the ocertasked frame—life is spent in a `chid—death summonses them, and finds them unprepared. Everybody who has any settled business is overworked. Voices of men crying for relaxation are heard from every Tarter, yet none dare to pause in this race which they so TIIE PRESS. madly run, in which happiness and mental and bodily health are among the least of their considerations. All are spurred on by the real (.r i.naginary necessities of their position, driven along their headlong ,course by avarice, ambition, or eager competition. With one mote extract, too amusing to be omitted, we must pass on to Miss Murray. Scene—an American breakfast ; Actors—a gentleman and two young ladies : Miss, it's feeding time, I guess ; what will you eat ?" " You're very po-lite : what's the ticket ? " " Chicken and corn fixings, and pork with onion-fixings." " Well, I'm hungry some ; I'll have some pig and fixings." The swain retired, and brought a profusion of viands, which elicited the remark, " Well, I guess that's substantial, any. how." The young ladies' appetites seemed to be very good, fur I heard the observation, " Well, you eat considerable ; you're in full blast, I guess." " Guess I am: its all-fired cold, and I have been an ererlastin long time off my feed." A long undertoned conversation followed this interchange of civilities, when I heard the lady say in rather elevated tones, " You're trying to rile me some ; you're piling it on a trifle too high." Well, 1 did want to put up your dander. Do tell now, where was you raised?" "In Ken tucky." " I could have guessed that; whenever I sees a spleederiferous gal, a kinder gentle goer, and high stepper, I says to myself, That gal's from old Kentuck, and no mistake." 2. The Hon. Miss Murray has taken a lady like lounge through the countries described, apparently under the impression that nothing was of much importance, excepting perhaps their botanical or geographical produce. She meets with remarkable men, but only tells us that they helped her to a very fine specimen of Primula Mistassinica. She visits celebrated localities, but sees nothing in them beyond gneiss, greenstone, and slaty rocks. Long fellow and Washington Irving, and the town of Lexington—in some respects the most interesting spot in America—are thus sum marily dismissed. The same nonchalance extends to everything. The prospect of her own death, or the sight of another's, affect her little : But in a few minutes afterwards we were brought to a standstill, and looking out. saw adreadful accident. Either from intoxication or insanity, a tine-looking young man, apparently not more then twenty-three, had placed himself on the rail just at a curve, so that the engineer had no time to pull up, though he did his best; the poor wretch was cut in two, and expired immediately. AU the people evinced great feeling and kindness; the corpse of the poor stranger was taken up, and we proceeded. I found the Exchange a comfortable hotel, end the sister of Dr.Oibson, of Baltimore, soon came to me with her married daughter: they took me to their home, and I passed a pleasant even ing, Mr. J. being so kind as to walk back at night with me through the still and unfrequented streets. The smash of a steamer by which she is travel ling only gives occasion to notice the absurd alarm of her attendant :—" Poor R. could not " get over the fright." Her enthusiasm on other subjects is equally small. The Canadian ladies are " pretty and interesting," but tbat is all we are told. She hears one morning at Toronto what the ringing of bells had signified the night before—namely, the news of Alma and the supposed fall of Sebastopol—but it doesn't seem to concern her much. If the reader will compare her account of these pro ceedings with those of the Englishwoman, he will appreciate our remarks. As a set-off against all this, Miss Murray has some singularly sensible observations on the slave trade ; and her remarks on the morbid activity of American life, thoroughly tallying with those of the Englishwoman, deserve to be quoted : Of course, it must be borne in mind that no rules are without exception ; hut, oh, the haggard, anxious, melan choly, restless, sickly, hopeless faces I have seen in the Northern ' States—in the railcars, on the steam-boats, in the saloons. and particularly in the ladies' parlour. There is beauty of feature and complexion with hardly any indr viduslity of character. Nothing like simplicity, even among children after ten yews of age—hot-house, forced, impetuous beings, the almighty dollars, the incentive and only guide to activity and appreciation. _ .. . ~, Miss Murray decidedly prefers the south to the north. In conclusion, we may state that her volumes are unusually free from affectation or sentimentalism on any subject ; and, al though she lacks the forcible and sprightly style of her sister authoress, she has produced a work that may be perused without fatigue. STORY-BOOKS. Fon the sake of convenience, we divide a number of single•volume b )010., lately received, into tales of fiction and tales of travel and aflventnre. Christian Metrille (1) is one of those stories that appeal to a very limited audience. It is (1.) ChriAtian Mr bilk. fly We Author of "Mathew Paxton.' Loudon Bogue. -- V 89 the history of a young man, who, being tempted into infidelity at college, is so horrified when he comes to reflect upon his condition that be flies to America. Having there recovered his peace of mind, he returns to England, marries, and is happy, and has also the satisfaction of converting on his death bed the man who had years before seduced himself. Christian Melville is his sister, and as an isolated portrait is ably done, but she does not help the action of the story in the slightest degree. The whole tale is indeed powerfully written, and we have no doubt., with a certain section of the public, will b very popular. But in our opinion these ex agge r a ted pictures of mental anguish are of little service to the cause of religion ; and it is much to be questi9ned whether any original of Halbert Melville could be found among the young men of the present day Walter Forsyth, too, the t, mpter, with Hs glittering, malicious eye, is rather an obsolete character. Of Dorothy (2) we can speak in terms of much less qualified commendation. It is an exceedingly interesting story, and we should imagine written by a lady. It is something between the style of Mrs. Marsh and Miss Sewell ; and w.' do not often find a better drawn character than that of Dorothy Mowbray. In all the characters there is displayed considerable knowledge of human nature, and shrewd observation of those trifles which, in the ordinary intercourse of the world, form our only clue to the dispositions of those we meet. The dialogue is uncommonly sprightly and natural, and the scenes in which Dorothy endeavours to check the forwardness of her admirer, Robert Selby, are singularly clever. The only ill managed circumstance in the book is Colonel Mowbray's second marriage, which seems to us to answer no purpose, and to be very little in accordance with the colonel's character as displayed in the earlier portions of the story. Wesubjoin a specimen of Miss Dora's conversation:— " Have you been riding a great deal, Dora ?" " About as much as usual." " If you rode earlier, I should have a chance of seeing you." " You may as well wish that the courts at later, and agitate for a law reform. It is just as likely to happen." But, Dora," said Robert, persuasively, " I wonder you do not sometimes ride later in the afternoon, when Rotten•row is the gayest Else* I know, quite full of riders." _ _ " Mr. Robert Selby included. Rut as papa and I ride for exercise, and not for society, we are not inclined to alter oor hours." " And so," said Robert, dolefully, "you do not miss me in the least? Do you remember that happy time when I passed my summer holidays at Chudleigh, and we went out riding together?" " Did we?" said Dora, carelessly. " Oh, now I remem ber, you took possession of Lanee's pony, and quite spoiltd its mouth." Robert tried another subject. " I suppose, Dora, there is no chance of my meeting you at Lady Wentworth's ball, on Thursday?" " Not the slighest." " I►o you never intend to go out at all ?" " Yes ; I intend to go out riding at half-past ten to'. morrow.'• " You know what I mean, Don. Do you never intend to go into society ? " '• I suppose we are in society now," said Dorothy. " Yes, and /am very happy," said Robert, venturing to move one step nearer. His cousin drew back, with an air of proud disdain. "Are you?—then I recommend you to go to Lady Wentworth's ball. by all means I ant not so much grati- fied with this taste of society as to feel inclined to repeat the attempt." Alfred Leslie (3) is written with considerable spirit, and is, we daresay, a faithful portraiture of Glasgow university life. A few blunders on the subject of universities in general we can fairly over look, as it is not likely a student of Gla.sgow should know more of Oxford and Cambridge than students of the latter would know of Glasgow. We think there is great promise about "Alfred Leslie"; and if the author would learn to modify a certain prone ness to flippancy, be would be qualified to rank high among the storytellers of the day.. We should add that the illustrations are excellent, and the female faces remarkably pretty. The Chronicles of Camber Castle (4) is a mediaeval tale, in which romantic adventures form the staple of interest., rather than description of character or views of society. There is no very glaring improbability in it. There are the usual materials of romance, the foundling hero (p. 12), the beautiful heroine (p. :24), the villain (p. 43), the dungeon (p. 99, the escape (p. 101), and the happy marriage (p. 111). Considering that Camber Castle is a ruin, for the sake of which we believe few travellers turn from their route, the author has suc ceeded in investing it with some degree of interest, and those who are still in what may be called "the G. P. It. James phase" of fiction will pass a plea sant enough hour in turning over its pages. (2.) Doi Gay. A'f ale. London :J. W. Parker and Sou. rs.) Alfred Leslie. A Story of t.laz.gow Life. Glasgow Thomas Murray. (4.) The Chronicles of Camber Castle. A Tale of the Reforma tion. London; liatchard.