The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-14 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

ADM-
7. or, the Clouds of the Mind. By- G. P. R.

James andfaunscll B. Field. Boone.
Independent of any claim that this hook has to
public favour from the intrinsic merit (:0' its composi-
tion, it has that of novelty. We learn from the pre-
face that the authors, while enjoying a summer tour
in New England, were struck with the idea of writ--
log a prose work of fiction, in emulation of Beaumont
lad Fletcher. The authors state that—
" Each has contributed as nearly as possible an equal
Portion with the other to the work, and that there is not
chapter, not a page in the whole work on which each
hand and each mind ban not laboured. If, as possibly
Will be the case, the curiosity of some individuals may
be lit ululated to inquire which portions are to be attri-
buted to the one author, which to the other, wo fear we
can aff,ird them no further indication than that which
their own knowledge of either of the men or their habits
(f thought may :apply. And yet we will venture to add
that this clue may very frequently lead them wrong, as
it is more than probable that the sentiments and
opinions of the one may, in many instances, bo attributed
by the reader to the other."
This is an error into which one would be very
likely to fall ; for, without being previously aware
of the double authorship, the reader would, in all
Probability, believe the work to have emanated from
one Pen. Thus far great praise is
.due to Mes...rs. James
and Field, but as regards their joint production we
cannot but regret that they should have been at the
Pains which they evidently have to produce a work of
fiction inferior to one which either might have singly
produced. Undoubtably there are passages of decided
merit and well-written descriptions to be found, but
we cannot overlook the uncalled for introduction of
incidents and persons in no way connected with the
thread of the story, and the no less extraordinary
way in which they are i
disposed of. The plot is re-
markably simple. Adrian s a young man of good
family, possessed of great abilities, but who likewise
entertains some very vague notion with regard to the
difference between man and the brute creation, and
conceives that mankind differ from o another in in-
tellect and understanding according to the length of
their pedigree and the pureness of the blood of their
ancestors ; he nevertheless falls in love with the
daughter of a fisherman, whilst he is engaged in the
unpleasant occupation of dredging for the dead body of
afriend who has been drowned. Time wears on,
and while the youth is wavering between
love and pride, the father of his beloved is killed in
It piratical brawl, in which the hero of the tale is in
aome way implicated, and over the dead body of the
father Adrian makes a proposal of marriage to the
maid, to whom he has never before even hinted his
admiration. She eagerly accepts him, but discovering,
ft short time after marriage, that although he tenderly
loves her, he is ashamed of the fisherman's daughter
I,la. a wife, she writes a touching farewell and leaves
him ; btu discovering, soon afterwards, that she is
'Sprung from some ancient family, she returns to her
husband to find that he has overcome his pride, and
Would rather have received her back as the fisher-
14cn, 8 daughter than as a princess. Such is the tale
tit "Adrian," which, be its success what it may, at least
disproves an old proverb as far as works of fiction are
concerned, viz., that "Two heads are better than one."

'LARET AND OLIVES. By Angus B. Reach.

Bogue.
As we expected from the title, Mr. Reach gives us
all account of the countries in which grapes and olives
abound ; in fact, just a sketch of his rambles through
the h sout of France and the Pyrenees. In the very
commencement the author gives us the following
Pleasing intelligence
Alt sensible readers will be gratified when I state
that I have not the remotest intention of deseribing the
lir4leology of Bordeaux or any other town whatever.
Whosoever wants to know the height of a steeple, the
length
of an aisle, or the number of arches in a bridge,
!Ist betake themselves to Murray and his compeers. I
'will try and sketch living, and now and then historical
I'll'3oe—to move gossippingly along in the byewa) s
'Viler than the highways—always more prone to give a
Rood legend of a grey olctle than the correct mea-
surement of the height of the towers, and always seeking
to bring up as well as I can a varying, shifting picture,
yell throned with humanity before the reader's eye."
And ill this he keeps his word ; the book throughout
1: diversified with anecdotes and legends of every
with light sketches of the country, and the
'lnners, customs and superstitions of the inhabitants
of the various districts through which he passed.
There is an amusing history of the grape and the
vintage, and scenes in which the author was both an
-Ye-witness and an actor. Of his first initiation into
the
Plucking of the grapes he gives the following
nd ISing account
There are no idle spectators at a vintage; all the
rid must work, and so I speedily found myself with a
In the
pair of scissors in my hand cutting off the bunches
the midst of an uproarious troop of young men, young
ti4"3, and children. At first I was dainty in my selec
ri°tl of the grapes to
e.©
chosen, eschewing the under-
thi)! and the over.ripe. A damsel beside me observed
fill°. From her woolly hair and very dark but merry
Martinique
I imagined her to have a touch of Guadeloupe or
blood. Cut away,' she said. every grape
it boes wine.' • Yes, but the caterpillars.' They give
rite riYes, but the snails." 0, save the snails for
said a little girl, holding out her apron full of
'ai utd shells. What do you want with them?' I in-
fr4e• .rneci. l. Boil them and eat them,' said my juvenile
I looked askance. You can't think how nice
berY.,are with vinegar,' said the mulatto girl. I remem-
bered '" our owe appetite for periwinkles, and said nothing,
t added my mite of snail flesh to the collection."
The
surprise of the author at the appearance of the
Landesis shepherd on stilts, and the Bey of Arcachon
well depicted—together with the superstitions and
to
ends of the Landes, their primitive mode of living,
d
the pertinacity with which they adhere to the
--I,"ge3 of their forefathers. It is but lately that they
-ve been induced to milk their cows, being under
thethey
belief that Landes cows never gave milk, nor were
th persuaded even when the cow was milked before
eir eyes, say leg—
" les that one may have a little, but Landes cows
Rive no milk. "
On
e of the principal objects of Mr. Beach's stopping
„,
" Age was to visit Jasmin, the pleasant poet of Pro-
,"
en ce And Languedoc—the "Last of the Troubadours."
J
,Blnin's songs and rural epics are written in the patois
al
t• "
e country, and that patois is the still almost un-
altered Lan.ue d Or—the tongue of the chivalric
estrelsy of yore. But Jasmin is a Troubadour in
another sense than availing himself of the tongue
of rnenestrels, he is a Troubadour in reality, for
although he publishes his songs, and is such a favourite
with the people that he might live in affluence, yet he
.
not touch a farthing of the money so obtained,
but distributes it in public charities, preferring to
gain his livelihood in the bumble condition of a coiffeur
and barber ; nevertheless, his self-esteem is great, he
is of opinion that God only made four Frenchmen
poets, viz., Corneille, Lafontaine, Beranger, and Jas-
min: After narrating the peculiarities of this extra-
ordinary man, the author remarks :
might hardlyhavrdly know when my interview with Jasmin
tiro of talk? ended for he seemed by no means likely to
ing, and his talk was too good, and too curious
not to be list*,
ha let ua for 'a
nrd to with interest; but his sister, who
ligdncef that there m oment, coming back with the intel-
w
the shop. I hastily t„kas quite
e a gathering of customers in
my hand like a vice, end y leave, the poet squeezing
immediatelyonr thereafter dashing
into all that appertains
nag irons, scissors, razors,
and lather with just altom
h._ arent energy and en-
thusiasm as he flung into
petry and language." rhapsodical discourse on

FRANK FORESTEICs-----F—
-STATES
ING OF THE UNITEIpH AND FISH-
Henry William Herbert.
a fulln
In this interesting work the angler will find • ......y
an complete description of all the
those which afford sport and require sgkliset:pnofi,isthaedr(dbire•ersets:
in their capture) of N orth America,
Who some time ago published "Field
United States," has been very particular ass in.. the
correctness of this volume, and has cited some of the
,t!:103
first piscatoral naturalists to support his opinions,
The work is embellished with upwards of forty highly
'oislaed illustrations, and concludes with some excel?:
lent advice, not only as regards the capture of the
isil but the all-important one of cooking him. This
r,:ok, although it may afford amusement to the casual
"el% is more particularly intended for the sports-
-11.'", to whom, whether at home or abroad, we trust
t may be of service.

ENGLAND AND
SUBMARINE TELEGRAPH BETWEEN
IRELAND.—There are now three projects in the field for this
P,llrPose, two of them bein in connexion with the Electric.
'telegraph Company, who have a choice of routes, one of
about 64 miles between Holyhead and Kingstown, and_
'pother of 21 miles between Portpatrick on the coast of
entland and Donaghadee. The latter will require 44 miles
_'BB of wire than any other route, and will consequently be
carried out at half the time and cost, and be completed, it is
"Pected, before June.
"BATH BY DROWNING,—About a quarter past ten
li°'elock on Monthly night, a holiday visitor to Woolwich,
.stl'led. Josiah Cooper, of 5, Ernest-street, Whitehorse-lane,
Wel'neY, when attempting to go on board the Essex, Noah
oolwich railway steamer, lying alongside Roff's Pier, fell
to
the river Thames, and was drowned, and the body has
tw°, been found. The deceased was a young man about
1,1:,,n,tY-two years of age, having brown hair, and dressed in
etilc shooting coat end vest, with cord trowsers and Bin-
tker boots. His brother was so grieved and excited when
4 ue accident took place that it was with great difficulty
1141 be restrained from jumping into the water, when
both Would have been drowned, owing to the darkness of
thea night,
of cpdn informs us that the Elder Brethren
Trinity House, under date of the 6th instant, have
Shall an order that every pilot cutter under their direction
thad 11,_ave a log-book, which shall be regularly produced to
state e,cmmissioners at the outports periodically, and shall
a,i,lue following particulars :—The date of year, month,
the position of pilot cutter at noon and at mid-
' Dee.i't; the name of vessel boarded or spoken with; her rig ;
,;. liPn` 1111; lo to; name of the master ; where from ; where
positiion of the vessel boarded or spoken with ; the
ipn,ll
and its force ; name of the pilot by whom boarded or
q 1" and remarks. We consider this order both impor-
tant, necessary, and useful in sundry respects; and, further-
' bettei it will tend to bring forward the young pilots to be a
urt 14-informed class of men than those now retiring from
' 14tInitiag but Wativorthy wad udwuri 01)107.

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