The Press.
London, England, 1856-03-15 00:00:00

SATURDAY,

of the myriads of fancies floating in her mind thus be
available? She would compose, publish, earn money
some day call papa, show him her hoard, beg him to take
it. and, never owning whence it came, raise the building.
Spire and chancel, pinnacle and buttress, rose befcre her
eyes—and she and Norman were standing in the porch,
with an orderly,religious population, blessing the unknown
benefactor who had caused the news of salvation to be
heard among them.

Just six hundred pages later we arrive at a descrip-
tion of the manner in which this idea is brought to
pass. There is " the pierced spire," and "the rich
creamy stone " and the porch " copied from the
west-door of the Minster," and the "high pitched
roof," and the oak beams " like the ribs of a ship,"
and " the painted glass windows " with " legendary
saints." Ethel contributes a window from her
savings—the church building design has made a
" woman of her." The children have a workshop,
where they can " illuminate texts on zinc scrolls for
the church," and one of the little boys is brought up
in the way he should go by being taught to make a
model of it. That power of pathos which distin-
guishes this writer is brought out to advantage in
many passages of the book, which it is impossible to
read without being deeply touched; but the spirit of
the whole seems to us too strongly tinctured with
the sentimentalism of religion, and not hearty
enough to represent the genuine nature of high-
coloured, active, buoyant youth. With great talent
for fiction, the writer's composition is so often tinged
with a simulation of cloistered sanctity as to ap-
proach perilously near to the " namby-pamby." Senti-
ment is a poor substitute for principle; nor can the
prettinesses of ecclesiastical decoration ever satisfy
an earnest mind and craving heart. The greater
portion of the book is made up of dialogue, and this
is skilfully managed and always appropriate. The
passages representing domestic affliction are so
delicately written, that they will probably counter-
balance the heavier portions of the narrative, and
maintain the author's popularity with the class
which admires the spirit, and is satisfied of the use-
fulness, of this style of fiction.

The Food of London. By George Dodd. London:
Longmans.
MR. DODD has given us a very interesting and
agreeable volume, in which amusement is pleasantly
blended with instruction. We have all the newest
statistics on the consumption of food in the metropo-
lis, and the latest economical and sanitary theories,
combined with picturesque sketches of markets,
shops, and taverns, both in the olden and present
time. We have also much curious information con-
cerning the price of commodities in the middle ages,
and sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, extracted
from various sources. But we should say the most
interesting part of his work to the general reader
will be the history of the various London markets.
Three of these, Billingsgate, Smithfield, and Covent-
garden, are of extreme antiquity. Fish were sold
in the first (said to be named after Belin, King of
the Britons) eight hundred years ago, and cattle in
the second seven hundred years ago; while Covent-
garden, though it did not become a market till much
later, existed as the convent garden of the monks at
Westminster as early as 1222, " and there has
" probably never been a week during a period of six
"centuries anti a half in which this plot of ground
"did not contain fruit, flowers, and vegetables."
Under the head of " Vegetables " we have a brief
sketch of the market gardens which encircle London
on three sides with their rich belt of highly forced
vegetation. In his chapter on " Beverages,"
Mr. Dodd tells us what, doubtless, many of our
renders will be surprised tc hear, that the con-
sumption of beer, wine, and spirits is very much less
in proportion to the population than it was a century
ago.

By Ruricola. London Lovel
Reeve.