The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-11 00:00:00

BTIN, LONIMNI Wf44I)VE'SDAyiPVENIN(4, APRIL 11. 18

.! A E M A ti] S

LITERATURE.

(THIS DAY.)

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RAILWAYS.

The Quicksands of Fashion. By Mrs. Martin
Lucas. 3 vols. Newby.
This work may certainly lay claim to some ori-
ginality of plot and a great variety of incident. It
is somewhat in the old-fashioned style of inter-
cepted letters, deep-laid plots, and attempted mur-
der. The story is very complicated ; but its chief
object would appear to be to show the evils result-
ing from a love of gambling. The effects of this
absorbing passion in the Bonville family are ter-
rible. The innocent suffer with the guilty ; and
the fair heroine, Cordelia, is involved in great mis-
fortunes and misery, owing to the deceit and
treachery which had their rise in a love of gambling.
In the Champrdowne family its effects are not less
fatal ; and in the story of the heroine's aunt, Cla-
rissa Bonville, fearful calamities result from it.
Cordelia herself, though a gentle and pleasing
character, brings all her misfortunes upon herself
by her foolish confidence in her unprincipled
brother, and her weakness in yielding to his wishes
as to her marriag'. The Lady Gwendoline, her
evil genius, is a somewhat exaggerated portrait.
The story is nct very probable ; but the readers to
whom the excitement of suspense is agreeable will
find it exactly calculated for them ; for it is impos-
sible in the middle' of Elie second volume to form a
guess at the conclusion. There is no paucity of
characters or incidents ; indeed they are somewhat
crowded. The writer, appearing fearful of
dwelling too long on any point, hurries the
reader through quite a perplexing gallery
of portraits and narrative of events. Thus the
astonishing fact of Cordelia's unexpected marriage
is related to us in one or two pages, leaving the
admirers of the rival hero in dismay. Cordelia,
after many years of suffering and temporary loss
of reason, at length triumphs over all the slander
and jealousy which had wrought her so much sor-
row, and is repaid for her many trials by peace and
happiness. It is scarcely fair to entitle the work
" The Quicksands of Fashion," for the vices here
shown forth are less the crimes of society than of
- Such perrsono- a. Ralph Rruivillo,
Lionel Champerdowne, and Sir John Morton must
in any station have been a disgrace to themselves
and a source of misery to others ; while if Cordelia
had exercised her own judgment and sense of right
and wrong, instead of placing dependence on the
words of those whom there was every reason to
doubt, she might have 'safely traversed more dan-
gerous paths without being engulphed in the
"quicksands" which threatened to overwhelm her.
One point we must object to. We were in hopes
that the plan of murdering inconvenient husbands
and wives was going -out of fashion ; and though
the virtues and patience of Cordelia deserve a re-
ward, still the invention of the authoress might
have devised some other method. Those who look
for high moral aims and skilful delineation of cha-
racter may not find these volumes equal their ex-
pectations, but to the ordinary novel reader they
will no doull afford amusement and excitement of
a varid kind.

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Weitn

Married Women,. By the author of "Broomhill."
3 vols. Newby.
This is a pleasing tale of domestic life, written
with much feeling and ability. In the author's
previous work she traced the varying fortunes of
two sisters, and the heroines of these volumes are
also sisters. There is a great variety of characters
introduced, and no paucity of events, but they are
all simple and natural, without any extravagance
of incident or style. Diana Gresham, the chief
bharacter, immediately excites the reader's interest
from her high principle and unselfishness of dispo-
sition. Mildred is also very attractive, though far
inferior to her sister in intellect ; her warm heart
and affectionate nature are quite sufficient to gain
her many friends. She is one of the principal
" married women" whom the book portrays. Her
husband is much older than herself, of au irritable
temper, and somewhat neglectful of his wife, who,
however, regards him with the most perfect devo-
tion. Her difficulties and perplexities arising from
her youth and inexperience, and Captain Glenny's
neglect, are, however, brought to a speedy close.
Before she is nineteen, Captain Glenny is struck
by paralysis, and becomes an invalid for life—so
poor little Milly is transformed into a careful
nurse ; and we are left to hope that Captain
Glenny's disposition may improve by suffering,
which, however, doeS not seem very probable.
We cannot sympathise with Milly in her romantic
affection, as her husband froth the first displays
very little feeling, and is not a very attractive per-
son. Her elder sister Diana is engaged to her cousin
Lionel with the conditional consent of their parents.
He goes abroad to travel for two years. At the
end of that time information is received by his-agEn-
nished family ne Is urarriea to a lady he met
at Paris. Indignatibn and surprise are felt on all
sides ; but Diana bears her trial nobly, and, is re-
warded by the attainment of peace of mind. Her
feelings are of course deeply wounded, for her af-
fection for her cousin was sincere; but after several
years and events she at length meets with a Mr.
Mohun, to whom she is at the close of the story
united. Her cousin is not so fortunate. After his
marriage it appeared lie was not so greatly to blame
as all had at first thought, but had acted from a
mistaken sense of honour; and, misled by wily and
nupriecTled acquaintances, he imagined it his duty
to warty one whom be regarded with profound in-
difference, and hose bad qualities did not appear
too late. His melancholy fate excites the read-
er's interest, for he c ‘rtainly was the greatest suf-
ferer from his mistaken conduct. A number of
minor characters appear and sustain the interest of
the story, though those already alluded to are the
chief perfotnwrs. Florence, the wife of Lionel, is
a most unpleasing person, and forms a strong con-
trast to the other married women, who are all
pleasing and feminine sketches. The story is in-
teresting and the style agreeable, and. the reader
will derive both pleasure and profit from its
perusal.

The Westminster Review. April, 1855.
John Chapman.
The number opens with " Memoirs of the Court
of Austria," a very interesting and amusing ar-
ticle. Theke commence with the reign of the gay
and eccentric Maximilian, elected Emperor of Ger-
many, in 1493, and are brought down to the abdi-
cation of Ferdinand I. in 1848. A review of
" Dwden and his Times" follows----a paper of high
literary merit., deserving, indeed, of publication in
a separate form. The life and times of glorious
John have perhaps never been more skilfully por-
trayed. Of the same class is a review of " Victor
Hugo and his Writings," a showy pleasing paper,
but by no means equal to the, former. The re-
maining articles are of a political character. Chief
among these is " Our Army, its Condition, and
its Wants," an able and elaborate paper on a
sub-
ject possessing a strong and immediate public in-
terest. Of the civil administration of the army, it
is remarked, "never were a bankrupt's accounts in
such disorder." - With respect to its military ad-
ministration, the author, while pointing out cer-
tain of its defects, asserts that there never was a
greater mistake than the notion that commissions
were (with the eye/I/Ain/1 of the Guard) the
DenDerty of the aristocracy. ~ The system actually--
is said to be one of nepotism and •baokstairs in-
fluence. " Old Square-toes of the Service," we
are told, beats the " Duke of Rottenborough" at
getting commissions ! He has known the Military
Secretary forty years, and on his last command
took his official friend's son as aid-de-camp. The
writer, however, admits that it will not pay the
middle classes to take up the army as a profession.
An important admission. The buying and selling
of commissions, to a certain extent, meet with his
approval. Finally, after a caution against hasty
measures of reform, he suggests, as a transition
measure, that one-third of the commissions should
be the reward of merit, that both officers and men
should be better paid, and that the commission of
every man who dies in the service should be sold
for the benefit of his family. "Lord Palmerston
as Premier," forms the subject of an article by no
means wanting in gleams of political shrewdness and
good sense. The writer simply believes of Lord.
Palmeriton that he is the man to make a good
peace, and then give up the ghost as Premier. In
other respects; his faith in his lordship is nil.
Besides.the above, there is an article on the " Re-
organisation of the Court ;"Service. and another on
the "Administrative Example of
le United States"
—the latter in a section of the review open for the
first time to independent writers, i.e., writers
whose views agree with the general purposes of the
review, but differ on special points from those
of the 'editor's. A larger space than usual is de-
voted to "'Contemporary Literature."
• Ch

The welt and its Episcopal Coriuption in Wales .
Au Appeal to the Peoplel of England, by the
Rsw. W. Morgan.
This most aulacious
of
fbeit Hardwieke.
to • parsons wants England
" relievo".—that. is positively the word—the
Church in -Wales of her bishops l--call] them mum-
mery bislip3!—talks of "sanctified rapine"—Lhints
at the possibility, if the appeal .is riegleo9,l, of
Wales teaching the 'English democracy the way to
deal with State bishops—and on the wii&e
we are inclined to flunk, the truth! For if tver
' there was an episcopal body of which the people
had reason to complain. and the State to be
ashamed, it is that iu Wales. Only think of four
bishops with four peerages, four palaces, and in-
Comes little short of twenty thousand I:K.,r annum,
together .with au enormous amount of patrenaats—
unable every man of them, a short timQ ago, to
examine a clergyman in the language of their flocks;
and out of these four two ~,
utterly jrr
11,46..,41.0e1v.„..64 norant of what
the 1244011A_:": rem