The Press.
London, England, 1858-11-13 00:00:00

THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 13, 1858.

1114

with advantage, for, although the sentiments
expressed are placed in the mouth of the suicide's
foster-nurse, there is nothing to show that Mr.
Neale himself rejects the childish idea of connect-
ing natural phenomena with moral causes. Our
readers shall judge for themselves:—

They buried him in -- chutchyard. The day was
bright, and calm, and beautiful. It was autumn with its
latest smile. The funeral procession was long, and its
appointments handsome. But none present at the cere-
mony will readily forget it. The moment the corpse
reached the precincts of the graveyard the aspect of the
day changcd. It blew ; it rained; it hailed; it thundered;
it lightened ; the bearers quailed under their burden,
and were with difficulty persuaded to proceed. All of
them referred the tempest to their lifeless load. Some
connected it with his wretched end : others with his
fearful opinions. Was it so ? Were the spirits of the air
unwilling that the infidel's re nains should rest in hallowed
ground ?

2. If modern American tale-writers fairly de-
lineate the tone of society on the western shores
of the Atlantic, it will bear no comparison with
that which still happily prevails in the mother-
country, notwithstanding our alleged decadence.
The first thing that strikes an English reader is
the total ignorance of the most elemental scrip-
tural doctrines, and the absence of all moral and
religious training, invariably ascribed to the
affluent classes—and not to them only, but to
every section of the community. The common
remark of heroes and heroines whenever they
fall under afflictions is that they were never
taught to pray, or made acquainted with the
primary articles of the Christian faith. That the
dwellers in the backwoods should be too earnestly
and incessantly engaged with the struggle of life
to bestow much thought on things spiritual may
be a subject for regret, but hardly one for sur-
prise. The same excuse, however, cannot apply
to the wealthy inhabitants of the flourishing cities
on the seaboard, with whom the employment of
time is a greater puzzle than an acted charade.
We read without much astonishment that, in
some remote settlements of the far West, the
name of the Deity is never pronounced save as
an intense or idle exclamation, and that the reli-
gion of Christ is no more professed than that of
Mohammed. It is startling, however, to learn
that the same dull apathy exists in the most re-
fined and accomplished circles in the great sea-
port towns. Not less unaccotsntable is the ex-
traordinary rapidity of the transition from utter
infidelity or indifference to enthusiastic and fer-
vent faith. In Miss Roe's novel, the chief in-
strument of conversion is a stray leaf of the Old
Testament containing the third chapter of Pro-
verbs, treasured up by Henry Thornton, the hero
of the tale, but constantly falling into the hands
of all sorts of people. The proselytizing powers
of this dirty little scrap of paper are nothing
short of miraculous. A fast young gentleman,
taken home in a state of intoxication, reads it for
the first time in his life, and straightway re-
nounces his giddy companions and all the plea-
sant vices to which he had previously been
addicted. A strange being, the book-keeper in
a general store, casts his eye upon the page, and
is brought forthwith to a serious frame of mind.
A banker dismisses Henry for insubordination,
because the young gentleman has some scruples
about going to the post-office on the Sabbath,
but the magic leaf is placed before him, his con-
science is awakened, and Henry becomes—well,
we must not anticipate the unravelling of the
plot. Henry Thornton himself is a model
young man. Men, women, and children
all take a great fancy to him, and imme-
diately become good Christians. One of his
latest converts, however, is his lady-love, who
requires all manner of suffering, both mental and
corporeal, before she can be roused to feel a
lively interest in religious matters. While yet
benighted she is sorely puzzled to discover the
meaning of a note sent to her through the post-
office. " It had neither name nor address; but in
" a plain neat hand was written, or rather painted
" with a pen, simply the word Mizpah.' "
Luckily she happens to be staying with a gentle-
man who is familiar with the Bible, and therefore
able to refer her to ch. xxx. v. 49 of the Book of
Genesis. He further declares it to be "a beau-
" tiful idea, and with more meaning to it, and
" conveying the sentiments of true friendship more
" forcibly than would many pages such as friends
" commonly address to each other." Absent
lovers, separated from one another by cruel fate,
will do doubt feel grateful to Miss Roe for a hint
that may spare them the trouble of reading and

writing interminable pages of rhapsody. Ad-
mirers of what may be called " adolescent "
literature will probably think well of this appa-
rently characteristic sketch of American manners,
though perchance they may smile at the quaint
idioms and expressions that here and there meet
the eye. It may be new to them to hear a carriage,
or a dog-cart, called an " establishment," or a
country lawyer addressed as "Esquire" So-and-
so. They may also " feel more like laughing "
when their physician recommends them to " give
a little sling" to a sister in extreme peril of
death. These are peculiarities, but they will
assuredly not deter them from being " true to
the last," or from reading from the first to the
final page.
3. " Emma de Lissau," if an authentic tale, as
the preface asserts, can be nothing else than the
autobiography of a young Jewess, subjected to
cruel persecution in her own family on account of
her sincere conversion to Christianity. The nar-
rative is decidedly interesting from the insight it
furnishes of Jewish interiors, but at times
tediously wiredrawn, as if the writer took a
painful pleasure in recalling the minutest recol-
lections of her cruel and unmerited sufferings.
Her delineations of Jewish character, we suspect,
are only too truthful, and exhibit the modern
Hebrews, even of the better class, in no pleasing
light. They appear to have lost none of the
vices that have flourished among Asiatics of all
races and in all ages. False, cruel, rapacious,
and bigoted, they are still as essentially Oriental
as were their forefathers in the days when there
were kings, judges, and prophets in Israel. Be
this as it may, we recommend a perusal of Emma
de Lissau's experiences of life among the Jews to
all who take an interest in the conversion of that
ancient people.

4. In the character of an English governess of
a religious temperament, Miss M'Crindell has
written a pleasing description of life at Gibraltar,
for the benefit of juvenile readers. Some per-
sons, indeed, may object to the frequent recur-
rence of scriptural quotations, and, from an
artistic point of view, they certainly do mar the
general effect of the story. But, on the other
hand, they are never introduced profanely, and
may possibly induce very young people to attach
a real and present meaning to what they are very
apt to regard as something of the past and not
of universal application. The following sketch
of the motley population of Gibraltar may be
taken as a fair specimen of the descriptive portion
of this "tale of real life" :
Vint miuht almost fancy yourself in the midst of a
masquerade, whilst perambulating its streets, so great is
the ‘itriety, so singular the contrast of the countenances,
costumes, and languages, that at every step captivate your
attention. The Jew, with a countenance much more
marked than his brethren in England, and rendered
more remarkable by his long beard, shaven head, and
Oriental costume, consisting of a loose !garment, with
hanging sleeves, fastened by a broad red girdle—the
Moor, in his capacious li3ke, of striped or other woollen
stuff, his turban arid yellow slippers—the Spaniard, dis-
tinguished by his high conical hat, and his cloak in all
seasons—the Greek, in his picturesque embroidered jacket;
and dress of many colours—the Portuguese, with Ins
deeply•brorzed complexion, and the Italian with his
sparkling eyes—all mingled in strange confusion with the
light, careless bearing of the Frenchman, anti the grave,
thoughtful countenance of the Englishman. But the step
of the latter, though composed, was the step of a master,
and his eye, as it glanced at the surrounding fortifica-
tions, and marked the proud array of his country a military
uniform, seemed to beam with the conscious triumph of
power and undisputed sovereignty.

Our next extract refers to a superstitious legend
credited in the lonian Islands :
The Greek Church is quite as fertile in legends and
miracles as the roman, anti the following story may, I
think, vie with any of them in absurdity. A very devout
woman was in the constant practice of giving money to the
priests, to procure masses for the souls in purgatory. Her
husband, who was not of the same mind as herself, fre-
quently took possession of the money which she intended
to devote to this purpose ; in order, therefore, to secure it,
she adopted the expedient of burying it in a particular spot
in her garden, till she found au opportunity of giving it
into the hands of the priest. This she did fur some time,
successfully, but one day her hoard was stolen, whether
by her husband or any one else I know nut, and abe could
no longer deposit it there with safety. She afterwards
planted a pomegranate tree or this spot, and it sprang up
with most miraculous rapidity, and, thiaigli it was out of
season, was soon loaded with beautiful truit. She sent
some of the finest pomegranates as a present to the bishop,
and the right reverend father, on opening one of them,
found in every seed a human soul, which had been rescued
from purgatory by the masses purchased with the good
woman's money, and now flew away towards heaven, on
being released from their confinement

The plot, if such it can be
.called, is extremely
meagre, but it is. evidently intended merely as a
vehicle for a familiar account of 6ibraltar and
its environs.

5. Last, and least in size, though not in merit,
is a child's book in bright blue covers, relieved
with golden letters. Though quite improbable,
this is really an interesting and well-written tale,
with touches of dry humour that conjure up a
complacent smile. Mrs. Abel, the good-natured
but not particularly judicious governess, "with
" the funny twinkling little eyes and the thick,
" soft, old-fashioned, flaxen curls, reposing in two
" hu„.(re masses on the forehead," is a capital
sketch. The small laugh with which she com-
mences her somewhat incoherent sentences, her
odd sort of trot, and her huge straw bonnet with
yellow bows, all help to "make up" the cha-
racter and complete the identity. There is
something approaching to humour in the account
of her descent from the haystack ; and when
little Grace is restored to her parents, the excited
governess seizes " an unfortunate schoolboy who
" had the ill-luck to be standing near at the
" moment, and began kissing and embracing him
" with such energy that he never got over it,
" but remained an idiot for life." The pathetic,
however, is the chief element in this clever re-
cital of romantic adventures, and will draw many
a sympathetic tear from youthful eyes.

The Reigning Beauty. By Georgiana Lady
Chatterton. Three Vols. London : Hurst
and Blackett.
A. IT Tlalell
nlOy:She
xaorlfrdteissmp publishers, bwlihs hicehr
considerables
elapses
lwape se
su
dissatisfaction
safe
nnaodcti
coocesncaao
thes'n
f
their books appear, in the various papers to
which they forward them. In the case of a
work of profound thought or abstruse science the
vanity of an author may easily take refuge in the
supposition that some difficulty is experienced in
obtaining the services of a critic competent to do
justice to his production ; in the case of a novel
such a consolation must, we fear, be precluded.
I hose most interested may rely on it that when
a novel is not noticed at once it is because it is so
uninteresting or so ill written that the reviewer
finds excessive difficulty in getting through it.
Really good works of fiction, it may be observed,
never hang on hand; nor, indeed, do tho,e
which are hopelessly and atrociously absurd.
The first we are eager to read; the others present
such salient points as to afford, in many cases,
most unintentional amusement, and render it a
comparatively easy task to form a judgment of
them. There is, however, a class of novels of
which the quality is wholly negative—which are
neither exciting nor ridiculous—which provoke
neither pleasure, horror, astonishment, nor incre-
dulity ; which arc simply one dead level of
tedious mediocrity—the fen country of fiction, in
which you have no chance, certainly, of being
drowned, and yet are never thoroughly dry; and
to which the common expression of "wading;'
through a book is therefore peculiarly applicable.
Such a task as this is naturally put off as long as
Possible, and thus it is that certain volumes
encumber what it is the fashion to call "our
library table " for weeks or months together.
Upon ours, the " Reigning Beauty " has exer-
cised her sway for, certainly, a considerable time,
and, during the periods when we have paid our
court to her, with much the same effect that the.
wand of Ilermes exercised over the faculties of
Argus.—Lady Chatterton's story is of that kind
which appears probable or not according to the
amount of skill and delicacy employed in working
it out. Her plot shows smile invention, and
might with more judicious treatment have proved
interesting, but instead of bestowing her elliet
attention on its clear and complete elaborat ion,
she has introduced a number of subordinate
characters who bewilder the reader without help-
ing to develop the main action, and who have im
independent interest to warrant the space devoted,
to their exhibition. The story is told tor the
most part in an autobiographical limn, but
ttihc
apparently, proving rather unmanageable,
clumsy expedient is resorted to of makin; one of
the other characters write a diary and tbrwari
hi,
to the supposed narrator—a plan which has t
effect of involving the reader in hopeless con-
fusion. There is some attempt at discriminationt
of character as regards the female perso,nages,
ihc chic
the male ones are thorough failures.

rho have very little to do with the story,
'ibed with unnecessary minuteness, while
ger, who are of more importance, are
/much alike that we don't think even the
ladies with whom they respectively pair off
Id would know one from the other. The
Itogether weak, washy, and tedious.

: her Resources and her Public Men.
J. dc Cordova.

•dire on Texas. By J. de Cordova.
Philadelphia : Crozet.

guide-book for emigrants to Texas is
in only one particular, and that is a
dedication to Mr. Bright. if the countries of
World be one-half as delectable as they
usually represented, it is a marvel that the
ern hemisphere still continues to be inhabited
marvel, indeed, hardly to be accounted for,
• endowing mankind with a sort of feline
tent to the haunts of early youth. It
admitted, however, that Mr. J. de Cor-
tploys as sober colours as could fairly be
1 from a "general land-agent," who
his " attention exclusively to the location
land-script, the investigation of land titles,
-obdivision and sale of lands, and the col-
of debts." Within the limits of a
volume this gentleman has contrived to
every kind of information likely to be
a settler in the State of Texas, to which
added brief biographical notices of sixteen
,markable men, with whose names we were not
'ously acquainted. According to Mr. J. de
'a, the State of Texas is truly a pleasant
. land flowing with milk and honey, though,
sagaciously observes, the cow must first be
I and the honey gathered before either of
rural dainties can well be enjoyed. Though
ig the seaboard, the interior of Texas is
tied as beautifully undulating, and in
a very considerable elevation is attained.
soil is exceedingly rich, and improves by
ploughing. The products of this favoured
are as varied as they are excellent. On
same spot maybe grown in succession splendid
of wheat, rye, oats, millet, cotton, tobacco,
sugar, and there is reasonable expectation
.ae and brandy of no ordinary quality will
long be produced. Merino sheep already
on the prairies in large flocks, while
can be raised at less cost than a chicken
, other place in the United States." One
stage, however, attributed to the salubrious
of this fine country may possibly be
ltly appreciated according to the tempera-
each individual settler. More children,
told, are born in Texas in proportion to
tulation than elsewhere, and more in pro-
. are raised to adolescence. But notwith-
iding this "fulness of the quiver," this shady
of " olive-branches," the population is
cery limited. In 1850, when the last census
taken, it consisted of no more than 154,034
. and 58,161 coloured people. During the
eight years, however, these numbers have
s augmented, through the combined effects
immigration and the aforesaid fecundity of the
ilitants. Thus, against 21,715 electors in
`sere were 57,178 in 1857. It is probable,
that more importance may now be
ted to the exercise of the suffrage than at an
Period of the settlement, but, even when
allowance has been made for this circum-
, we may justly infer that the population
nearly doubled itself since 1850. The com-
himself is fully sensible of the value of a

Remember (he exclaims) that the destinies of nations
let ended upon a single vote. If the question was
What caused the Mexican war? the answer would
annexation of Texas. What gave us California,
.rid New Mexico ? Whct placed Zachary Taylor in
Presidential Chair? And last, although not least,
nay save our glorious Union ? The same answer to
these inquiries must be given :—The annexation of
But how was this annexation of Texas consum•
Ry ONE VOTE in the United States Senate;
was cast by Mr. Hannegan of Indiana ! How was
iannegan elected as Senator? By the vote of Mr.
ilson Marsh, of Stanton county, Indiana! What
ty had Mr. Marsh, by which he was sent so forts-
to the Legislature? ONE VOTE,—which was the
Ajority he received.
single vote rendered no small service in the
lug debate on the King's speech in 1685,
James 11. was foiled in his insidious attempt

exempt Roman Catholic officers from the pro•

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