The Sun.
London, England, 1864-12-16 00:00:00

To these delightful retreats he invited his choice friends to
kill the trout.
Beyond this, the rocks rise precipitously out of the bed
of the river, as if they had plotted to cut ofl its retreat.
But the Warfe is not to be out-generaled.
It has cut its way through the ranks of the enemy in a
narrow sluice known as the "Leap," some twenty feet deep,
in the bottom of which it foams defiance, and with a hol-
low, cavernous roar dashes madly onward, impatiently
spreading itself out, beyond, in a large expanse, fringed by
a mossy award. The valley gradually widens, and the
oak forest sweeping over inviting slopes casts its green shade
upon the self-congratulating stream, that sparkles as if with
sentient joy in having escaped from the turmoil and oppo-
sition of the gorge above.
A few of the radiant phrases, scattered by Mr
Bellew, with an till rent hand, through these
volumes, will help to indicate at 01103 the spark-
ling vivacity of his manner—a vivacity lending
a charm to a style that is never dull, that is
often witty, that abounds at every turn with
humorous descriptions. Let us particularise—
by way of example—His mention of " the Georgian
Era, when any taste seenrcd unknown in England
except bad taste !" His definition of Froissart as
" that prototype of Special Correspondents." His
crowning commendation of one of the noble
north-country moors, where, " had Daniel
Lambert been trained upon them he never
would have become the distinguished person
into whom he developed !" His grotesque
mention of the urn above a London citizen's
tomb, looking for all the world like " a petrified
wine-cooler 1" His hint of a certain proclivity
of his towards Muscular •Christianity, when talking
of certain " ebulitions of temper that commonly and
healthily end in a round with the fists!" His de-
lightful setting aside of those" insipid picl:ures of
singing charity girls or ecstatic little boys in
immaculate surplices and picturesque heads of
hair!" His disdain of our wretched funereal
pomps, where he speaks of " being neighed and
pranced into one's grave by entire animals !" As
we have given one of Mr Bellew's out-door sketches,
let us here give one of his brilliant little interiors.
A KITCHEN FOR A DUTCH PAINTER.
It was hung round with ornaments not brighter to look
at than useful to use, tin saucepans and copper stewpans,
which, with the rows of plates and dishes on the shelves,
the stoneware jugs and basins on the dresser, the duck on
the spit turning before the blazing fire, and the slices of
apple and the ribbons of paring on the table, would have
constituted a picture in a Dutchman's eye, worthy the
minute pencil and elaborate finish of a Gerard Dow.
A garden-scene to match—both by reason of its
beauty and of its brilliancy—is the following .
The Colonel had just discerned the peacocks displaying
their plunarnrge in the lower terraces, and his mastiff sun-
ning himself on one of the steps, sthon he was made aware
by a chorus of barking that his approach had been dis-
covered, for with a tumultuous rush, down each staircase,
came dogs of very various descriptions; the glossy King
Charles, the silken Maltese, the delicate Italian greyhound,
the grim-featured pug, the long-coated Stye, and the sleek
black-and-tan terrier.
As exemplars of his widely contrasting manner,
in the delineation of his dlftrent characters, take
first of all. this graceful portraiture of the heroine
of the tale, Mabel
She had then attained her full stature, and looked com-
mandingly as she swept along, resembling the figures of
angels seen in Flaxman's drawings, "trailing clouds of
glory as they come,"
The thin material of her dross falling in graceful folds
about her lithe figuredisplayed its proportions to the greatest
advantage.
The horrlble fashions of a later date were not then in-
vented, which disfiyiore a woman, and mar the outline that
nature has dictated and art accepted as the Beautiful.
And neat, as a vivid contrast to the foregoing,
this incidental humorous limning ofan aged dandy—
The Honourable Archibald Cavendish was well-known
in Rotten Row, at the Opera, and elsewhere in fashionable
life. He was indebted to the Burlington Arcade for his
hair, to Bund-street fur his whiskers, to Cavendish-square
for his teeth, and to various other well known localities for
other artificial attractions; and, at the age of sixty-five, the
restorers of faded humanity there carrying on their several
vocations, flattered him with the assurance that he made
up admirably for a man of forty.
Occasionally the Rev. Mr. Bellew rather startles
us, we will confess: as where he asks gravely," Why
should Lady Godiva no longer ride into Coventry ?"
Hardly ever does he condescend to such worn-out
tricks of style as where he begins one of his chaps
ters—

'1 he Royal Grammar School of Launcester was a vene-
rable building, with a venerable Head Master, having
venerable tunas end desks, and adjoined the yard of the
venerable church,

Rarely do we find him tripping (even typo•
graphically, without an erratum) as when quoting—
.

" Quando corpus mozietur
Fee, u 4 animo donetur
Paradisi gloria."
Instead of "ut aninu9 donetur." Besides whicb, a
Catholic Priest would hardly require to turn to his
breviary in order to read a familiar verse like that i❑
the'` S abat Mater." Dr. Clifford—the priest who
is described as doing this—is, by the way, it should
be said, one of the most charmingly delineated of
all the characters introduced by Mr Bellew into his
novel. In the outlines, and in some of the colours
of this portraiture, there is a hint of a resemblance
to Dr. Lingard, the Historian of . England.
Blount Teenpes'," let ns say, in conclusion
is chiefly remarkable for its abundant display of
►ife-like personages, of all grades and conditions,
many of them described with a rare and delightful
humour. The lady inhabitants of Hampton Court
Palace—particularly among them a sort of fat
cousin-german of Elia's whist-playing Mrs. Battle,
of immortal memory—are pourtrayed with a drol.
lery in its way quite inimitable. The Baronet, the
Colonel, the Goal Chaplain, the Lawyer's Clerk
Creevy, the Busso Profundo, the Shirleys, the junior
partner Trigg,the senior partner Probyn,theßrothers
Blount and Geoff.-ey, the fair young heroine Mabel,
all are admirably clever, real, life-like delineations.
Mr Bellew late, in this first Venture of his, fairly
made a hit as a Novelist. And, upon his having
done so, we may fairly, both as Reader and as Critic,
frankly offer him our congratulations.