The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-12 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Malvern; or, the Three Marriages. By Mrs.
Hubback, authoress of the " Wife's Sister,"
and "May and December." 3 vols. Skeet.

This is a light and pleasing story, with plenty of
variety in the incidents, and a number of charac-
ters to form the dramatis personae. Flora Denys
is a charming heroiue, and her vivacity and spirit
give a grace to the scenes and impart a life and
energy to the proceedings. The plot is skilfully
arranged and devised. The reader is allowed to
perceive its purport at an early stage of the narra-
tive, and is thus enabled to foretell and picture the
retributive justice that is at hand to denounce the
offender and confound his schemes and projects.
Astley Boyle is a striking portraiture. Determined
and resolute, he offered a remarkable contrast to
the wily man and the crafty woman who were lay-
ing snares to entrap him, and forming all sorts of
devices to ruin his hopes and mar his career.
Although he was in himself proof against them in
a great measure, it was otherwise with Miss Denys,
to whom be was much attached, and she was nearly
entrapped by the deceivers. However, fortune
favoured the right side at last, and the most satis-
factory part of the tale is that in which Louisa
Grant is caught in the toils she had wound round
others. If it is possible to suppose one situation
more truly overwhelming than another for a
criminal, it must have been the state to
which Louisa Grant had reduced herself. She had
outwitted her friend Miss Denys, she bad sup-
planted Astley Boyle in the favour of his uncle,
and she had inveigled Mr. Boyle the milionmile
into a union with her. After all these triumphs,
what was the result? As they left the altar the
wealthy man was arrested fir a swindler and a for-
gerer. The real uncle of Astley had died at the
Cape, and the fictitious one was his servant, who
had skilfully contrived to pass himself off for the
genuine Mr. Boyle. The fraud was discovered by
the ingenuity of a lawyer, who happened to be at
Malvern at the time, and discovered some discre-
pancies between the accounts of uncle and nephew.
There was great disparity between the then and
now Mr. Boyle. In Australia he had promised to
provide for his nephew ; he decided to repossess
himself of the old place formerly belonging to the
family, and to do various things of minor import-
ance, but which testified that his interest and
affections were fixed on his first and early home,
from which he had been an alien for forty
years. It may be imagined that there was
more than pecuniary disappointment for Astley
in meeting with so uncongenial a nature as that
which distinguished hislong.looked-for uncle,and the
feeling of coldness was returned with full force by
the new corner. He manifested the most decided
aversion to his nephew from the outset, and soon
toll him to follow his example and work for him-
self. This Astley was quite capable of doing ; but
it is not an incentive to exertion to be urged to the
task by one who has pledged himself to provide for
you. In the bitterness of his mind against injus-
tice and deceit no wonder he turned a willing ear
to the hints of the lawyer, who suggested that this
ruthless man was not in reality at liberty to tor-
ment and trifle with his feelings, and that the
wealth so lavishly promised and so churlishly with-
held, was now Astley's own. Excited by the idea,
and impressed with the reasonableness of the re-
marks, he set out, and after some trouble and great
exertion the wretch was unmasked. Astley's ge-
nerosity prompted him to save Louisa Grant from
the consequences of her cupidity and treachery,
but he failed ; and no one could regret his doing
so, for it is to be questioned if she was not as great
a culprit as the partner of her malice and
There are some interesting persons also mentioned,
particularly Mrs. Newton, who, by her kindness
and good sense, effected a great deal of good in the
circle she moved in. Annie Carden is a romantic
girl, who, with great enthusiasm and excitability
of nature, was led astray in many of her ideas and
notions from nervous sensibility and want of expe
rience. Mr. Clarke, Mr. Hamilton, and some
others, form an agreeable society to be acquainted
with ; their various adventures and misfortunes
combine to create an attractive and entertaining
picture of social existence.

Returns of Agricultural Produce in Ireland in
1854. Returns of Tillage, 1855.

These returns, collected and compiled under the
superintendence of the Registrar-General, have
been presented, by Royal command, to both Houses
of Parliament. The task of collection, the reader
may be aware, is confided to the constabulary and
metropolitan police, who are countenanced by, and
receive assistance from, the boards of guardians, the
clergy, and individuals of influence in the various
districts. The returns for 1855 are not complete.
The former comprise—let, tillage ; 2d, stock ; 3d,
scutching mills ; and 4th, weeds ; to which are
added, by way of appendix, rates of produce, re-
turned by poor law guardians, and sundry tables.
Under the first head the area under the various
crops and the classifications of holdings are given.
From this we gather that the area under tillage
was less by 126,341 statute acres in 1854 than in
1853, when the number was 5,696,951 acres, the
greatest relative decrease having taken place in the
provinces of Munster and Connaught, and the least
in Leinsler and Ulster, the only three in which
there was an increase being Down, Dublin, and
Wicklow. Wheat, it would appear, had increased
84,388 statute acres, while the ' breadth under
oats, barley, pease, kc., had diminished 174,039
acres, showing a total decrease on cereal growth of
89,651 statute acres. With regard to green crops
there has been a steady increase since 1849, the
return now being 1,404,518 acres. The return
of the extent of land under potatoes shows a con-
siderable increase. The number of holdings in
1854 was greater than in 1853 by 4,733, the in-
crease extending to every class, farms above 15 and
not exceeding 30 acres excepted. The number of
holdings above one acre in extent in :reared
in the county of Mayo by 956. It is no-
ticeable, however, that the increase has prin-
cipally taken place in the larger classes. The
rates of produce (compiled from reliable informa-
tion by sub-inspectors of Constabulary in their re-
spective districts) show an increase in oats of nearly
a barrel per acre, and an average decrease in pota-
toes of 10 2-10th barrels per acre. The quantity
of tool grown to each person in Ireland is com-
puted at 733 lbs. (corn, beans, and peas), an increase
of 33 lbs. per head over that of the preceding year.
The return of stock shows an increase, as also the
scutching mills ; that of weeds is less satisfactory.
The return of tillage for 1855 remains in some mea
sure to be confirmed, the returns for portions of
certain districts not having come in, the figures,
consequently, have been set down as identical with
those of 1854. They may be regarded, however,
as substantially correct. From these returns we
gather that there has boon an increase over the
preceding year on cereal crops of 87,293 acres, on
green crops of 25,513 acres, on meadow and clover
of 53,873 acres, and a decrease on flax to the ex-
tent of 54,297 acres, which, when deducted from
the above, leaves a gross increase in the extent of
land under crops of 112,382 acres. The decrease
on potatoes amounts to 8,131 acres ; the increase
on turnips, 37,327 acres. In conclusion we may
express a hearty desire that similar returns were
forthcoming in this country. Every care appears
to have been taken in compiling them, and what
is wanting to complete accuracy, we feel assured,
has not been withheld by the Registrar-General,
on whose supervision they reflect the highest credit.
The return for the present year, we may remark,
will dissipate a good deal of apprehension in con-
nection with the coming spring.

Sanitary Reform, and Sanitary Reformers. Ed-

ward Stanford.
Those who are familiar with the history of sani-
tary progress in this country have not to learn
what we feel bound to state for the guidance of
others, that between the officials of the Board e f
i
Health, and certain eminent engilneaeursti
authorities to
who have
been called upon by various loca
l
furnish plans for the drainage,Sc., nd a b ap-
of their respec-
tive towns, there has long exist
the inter and
va
former in-
parently irreconcileable feud;
on alterations
riably objecting to,
being made in the plansand insisting
for, and thelatter
the said objections
not less invariably pronouncing so
oc
theorieson which they were based
frivolous, and the
eer could give his assent
ouch as no practical engineer
and it being further un-
to. This being premised,
derstood that two plans for the drainage of Lon-
don, in conneclion with the purification of the
the metropolitan public—one
Thames, are. beforeo ___
f Messrs. Bazalgette and Hayward
the productx.!nh
the most eminent engineers, and
and approved
the other of Mr. y Ward, a Commissioner of Sewers
and successor to Mr. Chadwick, we proceed to
notice the brochure before us. The object of the
writer, so far as we can gather, is to show
that the history of the Board in connection with the
drainage is a history of ignorant presumption,
costly failure, and untrustworthy reports , and
that if we aro to have really effective and economi-
cal drainage we must not seek it at the hands of
mere amateurs, whose statements cannot be relied
on, but of engineers of skill and experience, who
carry with them the suffrages of the profession. In
pursuance of this real or supposed design, the
writer indicates what is required for effective
sewerage, &c., reviews the operations and theories
of the officials of the Board of Health, and, hav-
ing lucidly explained the nature of the plan of inter-
ceptionoots and that advocated by Mr. Ward, dissects
the latter or "Combined Plan, ' and, fairly or other-
wise, contrasts it with the other, to
disadvantage—bringing to bear on the subject a
ertinent
large mass of testimony and a variety of p