The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-11 00:00:00

LITERATURE.
TEE LITER ITURE AND ROMANCE OF
NORTHERN EUROPE. By William and
Nary flowitt. 2 Vols. Colburn.
English readers have long been deeply indebted to
Mr. and Mrs. Howitt fur an introduction to the de-
lightful novelists of the north, as the many admirers
of Miss Bremer and Christian Andersen will grate-
fully bear witness. In order to add to the obligations
which they have already conferred upon us, those
indefatigable authors have now presented us with a
Most charming and valuable work, by means of which
the great majority of the English reading public will
be for the first time, and to their surprise no &nib',
Made acquainted with the rich stores of intellectual
Wealth long garnered up in the cold and barren re-
gions of Scandinavia. No less surprising to that
same majority will be the opening chapter of
this work, in which the "great praise and mar-
vel of the Anglo-Saxon name" is set aside,
and those characteristics of the English race which
have given rise to our conquests and our colonies,
which have rendered us paramount on the:. see, and
which have extended our empire " far as the breeze
can bear the billow's foam," are traced by logical and
Convincing arguments, not to our Anglo-Saxon, but
to our Mulish ancestors !—a lingering 'indication of
" the old Norse fire in our veins." If ever " the
child is father to the man," say the authors of this
work, the old. Sea Vikings, remarkable for their in-
domitable enterprise and their love of martial and
maritime glory, are the ancestors of the English race,
a race compounded of the British, tho Roman, the
Anglo-Saxon, and the Scandinavian. If, therefore,
according to the arguments here so ably advanced
(and to which we refer the curious reader)—if to our
Scandinavian ancestors we are indebted for some of
our most valued national characteristics, it certainly
behoves us to take some little interest in their intel-
lectual history. That interest will be abundantly
excited by a glance at these records of their literature
and romance. From the famous Edda (grandmother),
a collection of traditions, songs, and legends, whose
origin is lost in the darkness of antiquity, down to
the novels of Miss Bremer and Baronets Knorring,
the prose and poetic writings of Denmark, Norway,
Sweden, and Iceland, are here introduced to us in a
planner at once singularly comprehensive and concise.
It is no dry enumeration of names, but the very
Marrow and spirit of the various works
displayed before us. We have a collection of old
ballads, always fascinating to old and young ; we
have ancient fairy-tales, in which (another proof of
our ancestry, say the authors,) we find the germs of
many of our national fairy tales. We have scenes
from plays, and selections from the poets, with
most attractive biographies of these and other
great men. The sorrowful story of Evald,
the romantic adventures of Beggeman, the
various vicissitudes, strange or ludicrous, melan-
eunlY and triumphant, which marked the careers of
their fellow-labourers, alternately excite the pity and
admiration of the reader, the necessary consequences
(according to the theory of Violante) of any contem-
plation of the heroic. The songs and ballads
are, we imagine, translated by Mrs. Howitt,
and those who are familiar with the
exquisite beauty and simplicity of her poems will
aaarcely need any assurance of the charm of these
translations. In the chapter on the modern novelists
of the north, many of whom are so well appreciated
I,n England, we are informed, that when the Howitts
hod translated " The Neighbours," the first of Miss
.irerner's works introduced into England, they could
find no publisher willing to undertake it. The public,
Raid they, were already sick of French and German
translations. So confident, however, were the trans-
lators that Miss Bremer would find favour in Eng-
land, that they undertook the publication on their
°lru account, but, although the success
more than fulfilled their expectations, they
aped little profit by the adventure, for so great
as Miss Bremer's popularity that every fresh trans-
lation of her works was altered, and reprinted, and
Published in a cheap form almost as soon as it ap-
peared. As an evidence that these translations were
taken from the Howitts, they mention f,the fact that
nne of them, of which they had altered the title, was
reprinted in the cheap edition, not with the original
name, but with that which they had bestowed upon
it ! However it may have been with translations, it
cannot possibly happen in the work before us that
those will reap who have not sowed. The laborious re-
search, and the nice discrimination revealed by these
volumes, can be attributed to no others than the inde-
fatigable Howitts, who by this work have increased
our obligations by rendering us more familiar with
the rich " literature" and beautiful " romance" of
II Northern Europe."

HE ADVENTURES OF A BEAUTY.
By Mrs. Crowe, author of " Lilly Dawson," 6-c.
Colburn. 3 vols.
Doubtless many who read the title of this book
Will Presume that it chronicles the career of some
court paragon, of some reigning belle, some star of
the season. They will fancy bright visions of ball
and banquet, and picture to themselves fascinating
d"tails of the luxurious life of refined magnificence.
)311t the fact is otherwise. No splendour, no riches,
110 rank attend the heroine. Born of humble
Parents, bred in a cottage, only half-educated, and
Surrounded by misfortunes, her course of existence
differs widely from that ideal of delight that
the
are wont to foreshadow as hovering over
lbo flowery path of youth and loveliness. But
truth arid nature triumph here over the charms of
female
and the lures of art. Were the archives of
hove
beauties disclosed without gloss or reservation,
4.11pv few names would be written on the bright side
of the page of those endowed with the fetal gift of
personal attraction. While, on the contrary, could a
la be found for half of those whose grace has
n their ruin, even in a virtuous life alone, whose
hearts have been broken, while their every wish was
considered of paramount importance, and who have
°II their deathbed fully verified the sad exclamation,
—all is vanity, and whose last words have de-
clared that each envied crown was one of
Of such is Agnes Crawfurd. Her story is
,"Ply interesting, the incidents are not real in
0931 n, but in their carrying out much of the strange
and
unusual occurs. ricis is not a tale that will lose
attraction by here describing it, inasmuch as the first
chapter
i_ sees its heroine at the altar of her parish
tcuarch, married in the stillness of night, with only
"'go witnesses to the heir of the grand domains in the
neighbourhood, the `. Hall," to which in her childish days
She had been taught to look up to as the object of awe
and reverence. This was not a union of affection on
either side. Lionel Grosvenor was possessed of a
Passing passion for the lovely maiden, heightened in
Intensity by her reserve and dignity. She was led
"ray by his exalted station and fascinating manners,
haver before having been attached ; therefore she
consented to an honourable engagement with one she
aid not love. Retribution was in store for both. Mr.
Grosvenor was dangerously wounded, and carried
abroad by his fond parents, who were totally uncon-
scious of his marriage. Agnes went to London, and
had to support herself
too proud to urge with great difficulty, being
e ciaim. s he did not acknowledge.
leanwhiie her despicable husband was again mar-
ried abroad to en heiress, again without loving the
object of his choice, thus
of heaven and earth
for violating the laws
no single reason
or purpose. Ho trusted
the amour P
privaterstcon
his andfi correctly, in
ropre of
wrha_o
'Would have endured any
naehein vame
wtuife'l
ther than bring the notice of the public to
011 such a delicate and sacred subject.
Besides, she
Wisely concluded that she would not gain
the dear-
est wish of her heart, to accomplish which had been
her great reason for marrying, namely, that of enter..
ins the elite of society, by branding her name with
the revolting details of a public trial. Pride was the
,11,lin by which she fell ;" but pride was the virtue by
woich she sustained her fall with dignity, with
4race andwith heroism. The subsequent events are
cc, tnpl
icated. Th son of Agnes was stolen by indi-
viduals not concerned in her fortunes at all ; but the
Occurrence favours the wish of Watson, the cousin of
t'ion el Grosvenor, and the heir to the title of the
family, if no sons are left. The child of the second
marriage is, of course, illegitimate. The crowning
Point of interest is when, after the death of Lionel,
there, are left living two wives and two sons, the law-
fatts! child lbst, and the unlawful of most delicate health.
atson calculated his chances whether the first
'Would be discovered, or if it was better to trust to the
Second
_ dying, the world believing him the true heir
° 'Lis grandfather's title. He likewise planned to
make proposals of marriage to either widow,
:45 in another way eecuring the wealth.
ii-"4 last, he resolved to choose the second ;
et Called on Lady Georgina, and told her
ster-inslaw the fatal truth of the first len-
gagement, but promised to keep it secret (he was one
~,,iftbe witnesses) if Lady Georgina would become his
Grosvenor
However, the unfortunate second,' Lady
\,,,lBvenor was not informed of this, and when she
la told afterwards of the melancholy position of her-
el tell, and child, she instantly went abroad to bury her-
-11 in seclusion. Meanwhile the friends of Agnes
Cbeen very busy in her behalf, several facts had
oen brought to light, and her true priority was re •
%Plv sr the
itied. Her child was found, and restored to her
lapse of four years' absence. Thus her sins
she:: indeed heavily visited, and she had a right to
13,,".loyment at last of her dearly-bought grandeur.
adverxity had purified her character, and in the
at e
hapter we leave her only prizing the elevation of
4114
Ler and the wealth of mind, as in the first we found
pride
Of ,slc4ring but for the pomp of power and the
Vitee.

Of 'RR PRICE or IRON.—At an adjourned meeting
ironmasters of South Wales, held on Tuesday, at
tooti-„lse7B Hotel, the following decision was come to unani-
alth:Y That a general reduction of the make of iron,
tyletlEh in itself` desirable, does not appear to this meeting
pit b4XiStbag circumstances, to be capable of Wing carried
Y kraugeonnt at tlic present Unit."