The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-05 00:00:00

rim SUl', LONDON, SATURDAY 'EVENING, NOVEMBEIr 5, 1.864.

LITERATURE.

Harrison Ainsworth's New Romance.

In the November number of Bentley's Miscellany
the author of " Windsor Castle," " The Tower of
London," " Old St. Paul's," " Guy Fawkes,"
" Saint James's," and of how many other world-
famous fictions, ranging from " Rookwood" to the
" Constable of the Tower," from " Jack Shepherd'.
to the " Lord Mayor of London"—begins, with all
his wonted animation, a new Historical Romance !
The vivacity of Mr. Ainsworth's imagination seems
in truth, to be inexhaustible. He has barely had
time to conclude the unravelling of his last plot,
when he is hard at work again." weaving the warp
and weaving the woof" of another ! And still to the
last, as Et the first, his selection of his theme turns
out, when we come to look at it, in every respect,
most felicitous. His skill in choosing an incident,
an epoch, or a personage for particular delineation
by his hand-of-cunning as that of a recognised
Master among Historical Romancists, we have al-
ways regarded as very remarkable. It amounts,
this conspicuous skill in selection, to
nothing less than a gift, and a gift, too, it
should be said, of a most exceptional character.
Hardly cyan we take up tha commencement of any
new serial historical romance from the hand of
Harrison Ainsworth- without marvelling that the
subject of his choice should never have suggested
itself to his predecessors in the same picturesque
department of literature. And here, in the
opening chapters of his new tale (half fact, half
fiction) presented to the readers of Bentley's
Miscellany, in thecurrent number of that periodical,
is precisely a case in point. The wonder indeed
here is that the subject of Mr. Ainsworth's new
historical romance has been left intact for his
selection. In all history it is, as a love incident,
one of the most romantic that could well have been
imagined. True no doubt that " The House of
Seven Chimneys" relates only to the adventures of
Jack and Tom Smith ! But—under those soubriquets
who are the historical personages referred to ?
Jack Smith turns out to be the travelling name of
no less interesting a historical character than King
Charles the First of England, when heir apparent.
Tom Smith, his Highness's companion, proving to be
that luckiest, handsomest, haughtiest of Court Fa-
vourites, George Villiers, Marquis and afterwards
Duke of Buckingham. The exploits here adventured
upon by Babie Charles and Steenie being none
other than their renowned journey incognito to
Madrid in quest of the Infanta's hand for the
love-sick Prince of Wales ! Surely—as happy a
theme for a historical romance as any yet thought
of—even by William Harrison Ainsworth ! Surely
—a marvel, now we come to think of it, a very
marvel never before to have been dreamt of, as
such, by any historical romancist prior to this popu-
lar celebrant of our public buildings and still more
popular idealiser of our highwaymen ! In the open-
ing instalment of his new fiction, Mr Ainsworth
vouchsafes us, in the November number of Bentley,
no more than a couple of chapters. But they are
chapters, these two, most propitious, as introductory
• to a narration giving rare promise of enthralling
interest. Even in the initial chapter, tke
chief personages of the tale are introduced,
Here is Mr. Ainsworth's brilliant pencilling of the
hero of it—