The Express.
London, England, 1857-05-28 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Du Romany Rye. By Gamma Beettow. John
Murray, Albemarle-street.
These volumes are published as a sequel to
" Leeson," abook that created amusation a few years
ago, partly on amount of the previous literary reputa-
ble of be abhor, and partly from the character of
*AI r?J its eccentric treatment. A consider-
di e at eve of the two volumes before us win-
d* ele aback upon all those critics who have
beil awboby to tibsent from Mr. Barrow's pe-
se/he Vim& He less been attacked, he tells us,
" halm be is a geedkwan and a scholar, and has
not lb pewee bell also the courage to write
WOW Web i" and be thus prosseds to illustrate
hie paismissis to the tithe be Aim by showering
Ornara Ow =set nanwesuriti abatis aeon tho heads of
" A certain set of individuals," we
bas a.l, kites attacked • Lavamgro' with much viru-
lent, sad mho' ee' but Ow/ arevipers," and it is
Barrow's intention to ',had them up by their
and show the amiss wriggling, with blood
awi haw sgrawriag *OM their Woken jaws." Mr.
Dwiew peshwes,
labia raw peculiarities,
a liking far tie arab of the prize.
stag, and the amowsuab of the
l n and the ocek-plt but we as
tablimetedllerty to Met that ft weald be mere far
in a " goatiewo and Naar" to retain swan
ferwalthe desagaptribpstia his wr=sl
sad wit to which we
expert to hear haw of those British
&Asters whose las ogises, or from the
wandering tinkers, whose nomadic life he describes,
and whose " pleasures" it is Lavengro's ambition to
abate. We say this in all good feeling to Mr.
Borrow,ksowing him to boa man of great and varied
attainments; though it is to be regretted that a little
smodsety has not been added to his other endow-
ments. " To= son is • clever young man," said an
University Tutor to an inquiring father ; " indeed he
is a very clever young man ; but"—and here came an
ominous shake of the head—" he is by no means the
clever young man be thinks himself." And the
game may be said of the eccentric author whose first
and best work was " The Bible in Spain," and
whose last mid worst is decidedly "The Romany
Bye."
ha Mr. BOTIVIeII fictions for fictions they
tttare—we Ind • similarity to our old novel-
shape of nearly all the adventures taking
vim SI ISM or upon the roads, and also in their
ammiest tess—a coarseness that the " learning
MIA labialise& page is thickly bespattered cannot
sitsgstlm 11/001/11. But here all comparison with
&IN great masters of fiction must end.
Of powerful writing there is a plenty; but
at skilful delineation of English character as
it saints or did exist we have little or none. It is Mr.
iserow that we hear talking under whatever dis-
pels* ObtaSs or dress it may please him to aasume.
Fir a Partridge, Adams, Black George, Squire
Wesley Towwouse, or Trulliber, we look in vine
sal is their place we are presented with brown-faced
It':who talk philosophy while they mend ket-
with a tall fair-hatred Amazon, w.ho lives in a
Ilksiread-easy fashion with a young gentleman who
bee opened shop in the farriery line in a secluded
dingle—a lady described as all beauty and grace one
moment, and giving • fellow a "drubbing" the next.
" Lor :" exclaims one of her admirers, " how, With
her right band, she fibbed MC, whilst she held me
sawail the neck with her left arm." Then we have
• handtical "man in black," who is a coarse
arkature drawn by the band of prejudice, and
a variety of landlords, horsedealers, ninnies,
jockeys, and ostlers—all talking very cleverly,
but not at all, we should imagine, as gipsies,
jot keys, and ostlers are in the habit of talking. These
conversations, with sundry digresoknv miggested by
the antipathies of the author, make up • book full,
lan war are informed in the Appendix, of the
MOM wiedom, which only envy, hatred, and all
emehmitahleneas upon the pert of the critics prevent
them from finding out.
" The Homuny, Rye," though in a lesser degree
than " Lavengroe contains much powerful writing;
scene of the descriptions are excellent. Here is
era et an inn of times gone by :
The fen, of which I hadbecome an inhaLitant, was a place
▪ tidlalto life and bustle. Travellers of all doseriptions,
bong tio =dine] peisin woe coutinuilly stopping at it;
sad to semi to tbetr walk osi minisccr to their convisi-
enssm army of memo% of or description or other, wee
leg* ;. waiters, cliosolosside, grooms. poatiliona, shoe-
_lloolll4 KUiIkOMI, IS what uot, for them was a barber
alo‘Wr-elsow, obi hoi lean at tans,'i and talked French
milk 'limiting signal Lin French sounding all the better,
as as asseels mesebes as tho cockney. Jacks eneked
theilehme belt mead spits, on which lcep Joints of
sod god sod mid before thin great big dave. Tiro
waasilmbgipaiddewsstain. mid eon shor
dog of dotes, arks of • Coming, air," owl .11=1'to saap
tido way, seism" &mks eighteen hours of tho fonr-and-
twisty. Truly a coming place for life and butte was this
can. And often fn after Ms, when lonely and melancholy, 1
have called up the time I spent there, and never failed to
become cheerful from the recollection.
The ostler of this: inn, who, by the way, is one
of the hest abereeters in the book, thus described :

A- Tsgeir asseiarwei list old maw ; he was a York- ,
11161111111111
_link bet bed asat a great deal of life in the ,
vicinity at LEM% no white, co the death of his paresis,
who WM very peer mils, he went at • vary early age.i
Aosagst ether pion- aim he had served as ostler was a I
eel La at Newirov, meek tntquented4ecliwaymen,
Epistle
whim istle we nee dud sf eerie y those of ,
Imijawlassebwr, woe, be oak was n mai rider ; sad on
Ile semi, ef test earthy I half regretted that the
old bed net ism be lealina, sad I had not formed his
sersakilensi PM dm ins I wee thinking of writing the
Ilk at the mid Abide, net doubting that with his molar-
ma I mid have praises* a leek at lout ea ismarkablo as
the WI and sainteres of that eagraly imaginary parsonage,
Weheis, _berwersr, I wmama; and when-
ever aliewlisre's Mb stet error balm the pablic—ad my
11= its se this It km not yet
Ike Ma ais which it libisalFth;
la al Abeam er amid 1111, kr which Isar work sea
lamed AM &mists lest kw mai ikm has besn•
rr=demi oil kimliashirwmer, ear talking al
, wield good riam se Aber•
agrt eseisly vial,
bider le Mama
Fa=mirsigeitadonia Piliting whe yea a pal
el • mg enjoyed • sew is ang, and early
se misibikkos his own. I lensed himi la est both
me enamors at the Heasiew he, end that he bed
kgeri►isek with then la die ears-r. Rs sal Piot
nem weld inks IMO )9115 or
mar • OMB "eat;'- ilmtlailiertiM l=ilismt wadi
anyeks let dabble Most thew; thmethey one Ankis,
ceisliot to
smelts end MM. the agile Of thek
pieWsomeas ; wad of taie pmt of his bailee
the aN men- Mad, ad said, la • simehat leer wise,
that ups the while they win right in dap is, mil QM
mime • mein bed me weds to he sidle bosom •
he beil ray wee le go the MY beg,
lel 'weft morylowly skid at Mt; the
arm et malagasemplimed,
niestedi if he wee tain, were alkeld M bar Mosso
lost he amid pot el md net Oak aseste aims
=WM era the saes; whims ymis mid mkt
Imingeshired Isy • male& pthi•virogel mil would
embed* spiel him MI Oa trot
tat safe_ ltrgessia two Mil
Ilejsysi listimpow, 10111•111ftris dishindeiellows ths
my, wile Moil Ile sae moth Ike .Whessad
hod
the m' rode% talled bud sesomkroha
eye. by the resear es thewaskos, amp* elm
wine them ems rad dm their baser, iswassold
M Mid*" aid bonged with me PM pity as sea sate
mead, Yew asorrod. "There is maks like going ths
*Sal toff b•
mid " sed if ewe l hem • high.
have dm so • l amid bese
=s were oak; sad, newer, girdles base red
most To awry lower with them years Waft, mew-
tim a the espenieef your own semielt as I have known
kiss do, why lis lie pea& . . .
'Si it isr intiorwel my land be. Make, who
domed to be yemintd • einidmildermt et as aid eader's
alsersiee ; "St Is as ren wry the wile* I larsokag, sad
may, after pole • knew he. tremble; but we reorder
bred bighwaymen well de it."
There is capital writing to be found in the Apron
dig, which occupies nearly a fourth of the book, the
chapters upon gentility being eepecially good. The
chapter upon ' Foreign Nonsense," contains much
that is truc,and more that is absurd ; bat the author's
attack upon the Scottish nation in general, and
Sir Walter Scott in particular, becomes harmless
from it. violence. But with all his aatipadkim,"
Mr. Borrow's course is the tame. lie km at
the mouth, brandishes his arms and hurl all
kind of tongue-mieviles at his opponents. "Sc. of a