The Sun.
London, England, 1855-01-22 00:00:00

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LITEIIAVUI:A

k Antipodes ; or, The New Existence. A tale
real life. By a Clergyman. 3 vols. Hurst
and Blackett.
This work has certainly the advantage of being
different from every-day novels. It is seldom that
so practical and useful a narrative is met with. It
does not aim at being pleasing or fascinating, it
has no wonderful events, and no celebrated charac.
ters to distinguish its pages. Its interest is con-
siderable, however, from being true and natural.
All the most important circumstances are prow
bable, and whether it is malice, envy, or passion,
that dictates the actions, there is nothing extrava•
gant or exaggerated to be met with. The hero tells
the history of his early years, which were full of
trouble, anxiety, and sorrow, chiefly caused by his
own ill conduct and bad management. It is true
he had many adverse circumstances to contend
against, but he did not manfully and energetically
confront danger, but yielded to temptations, sunk
under trials, and gave way to despair in every
emergency. One disappointment led to another, he
was unsuccessful at college from one cause and
another, the most influential one being the evil
effected by Hartley, with whom he constantly
associated. When lie came home he was desirous
of obtaining a curacy, but found it difficult ; ho
was then rendered indifferent to his worldly con-
cerns by the unlooked-for and surprising mar-
riage of a lady to whom he was greatly attached
with an old schoolmaster of his. After roaming
about in wild despair, instead of rousing himself
to forget his trouble in work, and turn his
thoughts to doing good to others, as was peculiarly
befitting one of his sacred calling, he took to one
stimulant after another. First he smoked to ex
cess, which completely exhausted him, and then he
was led into the more dangerous practice of drink-
ing. After some time, however, he was fortunate
enough to become possessed of a curacy, and he set
out accordingly for his new habitation. Here with
circumspection and care he might have done well,
although he was not placed in a very pleasant neigh-
bourhood, but his worst enemies (and he made
many by his want of foresight) could not have
wished him to act more foolishly and more un-
warily than he did. He persisted in throwing
away advice, and in going to the house of one who
always set snares for him. After many confusions
he was compelled to give up his position as curate,
at the time when he might have been rector, with
other testimonials to his conduct than he had
earned. He came home, and a dreary period fol-
lowed ; ho felt himself in a false position, although
he had not met with any public disgrace, and he
could hardly bear to walk the streets of his
native town, or look his neighbours in the face.
At length he resolved on never drinking or smoking
again, and, in order to insure a fulfilment of
that vow, he joined the Temperance Society,
which was then celebrating a feast in his vicinity,
although it is not likely that general or unqualified
assent will be accorded to the praises here lavished
on the institution, it is certain that for such as
Rechab, it was the best and wisest thing he could
do to become a member of it. He thus put away
all power of falling into his old habits, which,
hitherto, lie had not been capable of doing. From
that time he was a different being ; his course was
clear, and his work, which was soon given to him
when his character changed, was zealously and
meritoriously performed. The sketch of Lord
Rolle is rather strange, but not inconsistent with
his life and disposition. The crafty Whittle and
the time-serving Blackwells,are naturally described.
The style is simple, and though, as must be sug-
gested by the subject, some painful scenes appear,
there is interest throughout, and satisfaction is ex-
perienced in the concluding portion of the story.
The thoughts are elevated, and the principles ex-
cellent, and it is certain that if all who are as un-
fortunately situated as Rechab were to follow his
example, it would be conducive,as is here observed,
"to their best interests in time, and when time
shall be no more."

Hildred, the Daughter. By Mrs. Newton Cross.
land. Routledge.
Mrs. Newton Crossland is well known as an
authoress of a superior style. She has already
produced several pleasing domestic stories, and the
present is one of her most successful attempts. It
is not, as the name would seem to imply, a story
of ancient days,. but one of modern and every-day
life. The heroine, a young and lively girl, without
any very strong principles to guide her, the only
child of a wealthy parent, finds herself suddenly
placed in a very trying and painful position. She
becomes aware that the large sum of money her
father has allotted to her cannot honestly be called
his own. It is the property of a French nobleman
who at the time of the Revolution had confided it
to the care of his friend while waiting for an op-
portunity to make his escape. He perished by the
guillotine, and nothing having been heard of his
infant child, Mr. Layton did not trouble himself to
mak. luquiries, but very quietly appropriated the
money and set it aside as his daughter's portion.
It is in this awkward and perplexing situation that
poor Hildred finds herself, and to add to her diffi-
culties the has just been engaged to a worldly-
minded and selfish lover, to whom, however, she
is deeply attached. How she extricates herself
from her troubles, and bow her character becomes
elevated and refined through suffering we will leave
reader to discover. It is a book especially
suited f9r the perusal of the young, as it supplies
them with higher motives of action than is usually
found in works of fiction. We congratulate Mrs.
Crossland on her conti;bution to the Christmas
library.

A Tour round my Garden. Translated from the
French of Alphonse Karr. Routledge.

This delightful and instructive little work is
translated from the French of Alphonse Karr, and
contains a variety of information respecting the
wonders of nature, combined with a little
timely sarcasm on the follies of mankind, with
a few reflections interspersed. The writer pays a
visit to a friend who is about to make the tour of
the world. He sees him depart with sorrow and
envy at his superior fortune. But being struck
with the lovely views which the sunset presents to
him, lie begins to reflect that equal advantages are
within his own reach, and exclaims, " I also will
make a voyage ; I will see new and extraordinary
things ; I also will have something to tell. Make
you the tour of the world, I will make the tour of
my garden." Something to tell ho certainly has,
and very charmingly he has told it. The transla-
tor wisely endeavouring to preserve, as much as
possible, the originality of the book, has preserved
most of the allusions to national manners and cus-
toms. The little scenes and sketches introduced
are very pleasing, and the reader fully sympatkisea
with the poor hermit's horror of the intrusive friend
who comes, uninvited, shoots his favourite black-
bird, and chases his pointer over his beloved gar-
den. Before the author has half finished his
journey his friend returns from his long voyage.
We trust the pleasure ho derived from it mayshortly
induce him to record the adventures of another.

A Dozen Pair •f Wedding Gloves. James Black-

1900-d.

A lively and entertaining little volume contain-
ing six stories of varied degrees of interest. They
are not all comic, however, " Briarly Farm"
threatens to conclude in a very tragic manner, but
fortunately the wheel of fortune turns unexpectedly
and the lovers aro made happy. It is a pleasing
and simple collection of stories, and has already
reached a second edition. The author promises
his friends a packet of wedding cards which will
no doubt be equally meritorious and successful,

nol ts oao ut t
01 e d
Rome Stories. Collected by the Brothers Grimm.
e.
tal Te
sh
hi si
cah new
possess t r a n
greatog
oe sme
m favouriteendaton aui
common in these days—they are simply fairy tales
and nothing more. It is now so usual to improve
and alter our dear old friends, the nursery tales,
that we may expect soon to find Tom Thumb tra-
velling by rail, and Cindrella in leather shoes.
These stories are not our own national ones, they
are translated from the German, and the chief
portion of them, it is said, were told to the Messrs.
Grimm by the peasantry. They possess the usual
compound of extravagance and imagination, of
sense and nonsense, which is to be found in most
German legends. In some of thorn we must admit
the nonsense largely predominates ; but no one can
be always wise, and, in the midst of the scientific,
political, and historical essays, treatises, rudiments,
and abstracts, it is refreshing to turn to a volume
which has no pretensions except to amuse.

The Courrier de l'Eure states that Mine. Bodisco,
wile of the ex-governor of Eon-lir-sum], now living as $
prisoner of war at Evreux, has just been safely delivered
of
,a sun.
Euxinr, Capt.
THE MAILS. —SOUTHAMPON, Jan. 20.-7:The Penin-
su'ar and Oriential Company's steamship
J. \Veeke, sailed this a!ternoon with the heavy portion
of the India and China mails. She has on board 61
first•class and 29 second•elags passengers,, a, tnong whom
tleb eel iv'. Mr. Lieut. Dickenson,
arc Lady Jackson, Colonel Nall, Colonel luih r, Lieut.•
eColonel n 11d Ie
ie. s sEueai
1.,n e Mt, aaj onid•
C the
Coelle. The
Euxine hai on freight, specie fur Malta and Alexandria
amounting, to 50,9101., and for India and China, 1,9431.,
bsteesaimdesshaiptuPlalrgaennae,rdaul ecTitoli. The Royal Mail Company's
the West India mails on the
16th ult., has not yet vrrived. The cause of her deten-
tion is supposed to be a disarrangement in her ma-
chinery or a want of coal at St. Thomas's. The Iberia,
with the Peninsular
mails, is looked for about the 25th
inst., and the Indus, with the India and China mails, is
expected to arrive on or about the 23d inst.