The Sun.
London, England, 1837-08-24 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

KINDNESS IN WOMEN. 3 Vols,
Bentley, London, 1837.
These volumes, which are the production of Mr.
Haynes Bay.ly, consist of two tales ; the first of
which, entitled " Kate Leslie," is by far the best.
There are scenes of passion and of deep pathos in this
story, for which—judging of the author by his " But-
terfly" ballads, and mere drawing-room
ballads—we
Were wholly unprepared. The character of the chief
personage, George Hanson, a youth naturally of
warm and friendly feelings, but perverted, and ren-
dered a heartless libertine, by the erroneous system of
education pursued towards him by a vain, extravagant
mother, is consistently maintained throughout, and in-
culcates a moral not the less serviceable, because it
dies not happen to be wholly original. From the
-vividness and distinctness with which this Roue is
pourtrayed, especially in the earlier scenes of his
career, where he is just about to launch into life with
all the advantages that a handsome person, specious
address, and good fortune can confer upon him, we
suspect that Mr. Bayly had some living original in
Isis eye- In the earlier portions of the tale we find
him located at the Rectory of Mapleton, and attached,
as a boy, to the daughter of the clergyman, Kate Les-
lie. This attachment continues uninterrupted up to
the period when he has completed his eighteenth year, '
When it is broken in upon by his falling in love with
the daughter of a provincial actor, whom he seduces,
and, as a matter of course, deserts, leaving her father
to die broken-hearted in a lunatic asylum. The whole
of this episode—for it is nothing but an episode, and
somewhat irrelevant too—is told with considerable
skill and spirit, and reminds us of some of the more
impassioned scenes in that clever tale " Violet,"
whi.ch vie reviewed in The Sun two or three months
iLtlee. On Kate Leslie's becoming acquainted with
the Profligate conduct of her lover, she instantly
strives her utmost to discard him from her mind ; and
being something better than a mere die-away drawing-
room belle, she succeeds, though, of course, not without
many a desperate struggle with her feelings ; and at the
"Mmencement of the second volume, we find her pre-
Paring to bestow her hand on a high-minded, but el-
derly gentleman, by name Ibbotson, who had been for
The
years her father's chief assistant at his school.
'the day for the ceremony is fixed ; the wedding-
Mdresses are completed ; and the peaceful village of
apleton is all on the qui vice ; when most unex-
pectedly, Kate's first love, George Hanson, makes his
appearance; and, by dint of his respectful attentions,
and explaining away, in the most sophistical manner,
his conduct towards the actor's daughter, succeeds in
obtaining the hand and heart of Miss Leslie, which,
tinder such " untoward" circumstances, the generous
Ibbotson will not think of claiming. The married
WCouple live some years happily together in South
ales--for George is, to all intents and purposes, a
reformed rake—when it is most unluckily discovered
that he has another wife living, who finds him out, in
the neighbourhood of Clifton, and by her haughty and
insulting conduct, succeeds in driving Kate and her
_Child from home. George is now in agonies ; his last
_hope of peace and domestic happiness is vanished, and e is fast wearing on to his grave, a prey to the keenest remorse, when his first wife dies ; and he, having once
again reconciled himself to Kate, expires shortly after,
a penitent, in her arms. Such is a slight and hurried
sketch of the main incidents in this tale, which, though
somewhat loosely constructed, is full of interest, and,
in particular, deserves
praise for the skilful way in
which its characters are
drawn.
housekee per, and
Old Mrs. Podd, the
an admirably humble companion of the Leslies, is
conceived sketch ; and so also is that of
thea
d shy,
nervous,
econ but noble-minded Rector. The
tale is broadly humorous throughout, but is
heither better nor worse than the generality of such
Performances. As a favourable specimen of the au-
thor's manner, we subjoin his description of the Rector
of Mapleton :

" Mr. Leslie was very tall, very thin, and very bald : he
was of course dressed in black, and his habiliments on week
days were none of the newest : his knee-breeches were
loose, and tied with ribbon in long bows that hung down
What was nominally the calf of his leg ; his black silk stock-
ings were of the very coarsest texture ; and his thick square-
toed shoes came up high on the instep. He had a habit—
tot an uncommon one, we believe—of pushing up his spec-
tacles on his forehead when he wished to see people dis-
tinctly : when perusing his book, they were invariably on
his nose ; but when he wished to interrogate a pupil, or in-
spect a visitor, he pushed them up, as if, instead of aiding,
they impeded his sight ; and, clasping his two hands behind
his back, he opened his light grey eyes very wide, and stared
at the object before him. He was exceedingly nervous,
and generdily silent ; the sound of his own voice seemed to
startle 'film. When circumstances roused him so far as to
make him undertake the formation of a sentence, his cou-
rage failed him before he got half through it, or a misgiving
tame over him that he should not express himself clearly.
To a stranger, his peculiarities were ludicrous ; but to the
very few who knew him well, and remembered what he
once had been, it was melancholy to observe the nervous
want of reliance on his own powers, the absence of mind,
band the utter incapability of feeling interested about per-
ns present and immediate occurrences. This arose from
e prostration of a once sanguine mind, and a gloomy habit
of brooding over past visions of happiness, all of which had
!aded in disappointment. The best years of his life had
n wasted in the sickness of the heart which is prover-
vially the result of " hope deferred ;" and when at length
.t blameless and rational enjoyment of life, shared with the
long-tried and dearly-loved companion of early choice,
Zleemed within his grasp, he found hirn.elf a widower, alone
the world, possessed indeed of a moderate competence,
I2ut deprived of her for whoss: sake he had so long desired
and so exulted when
was obtained."

THE RbyAL VICTORIA GATE.
The following is an outline of the address to the Queen,
" the opening of the Royal Victoria Gate in Hyde Park,
delivered by the Duke of Sussex, on Monday last :
4tlßust ft MADAM—May it please your Majesty, your Majesty's
, predecessor, our revered monarch King William
'V., whose blessed memory
will ever be cherished so long
41a there exists a loyal subject and true Briton in this
IP"PPtIntrY,, ever alive to the comfort, improvement, and hap-
sa of his people, had been graciously pleased in the
atst
k,... Year of his reign to command that a new gate should
-',' oPened from Hyde Park into the Uxbridge-road, for
tLie convenience of the population now settled and con-
Fjegaliog on the north side of this
great mes
he work has been completed since his Majesty'stro dempoilise.,
*ben it was the will of Providence to place you, Madam,
1;11i"L tile throne of these realms. The proud recollection
°' we, who live in the very neighbourhood of these
evarka, and in the vicinity of Kensingtonardens, do, and
fe
_cr shall, entertain of your Majesty having been born and
4ueated, and having constantly resided, in the Palace of
St.4laingt°,ll, until you removed to the Queen's Palace in
010,4 tnea s-park upon assuming the reins of Goverment,
jes;" us anxious to perpetuate these events by your Ma-
81:•:.'.allowing the gate to be called by your Royal name.
1 11'..l'id such be your Majesty's gracious will and pleasure,
4te further to petition that you will confirm the act by
te4l_ 9deseending to be the first to pass through ' The Vic-
inarla Gate,' and I will now proceed, as ranger of the Palk,
Itlktaly to unlock it—as the key has been in my possession
tll'''sr since the proper authorities have delivered it into my
i:4dl. t°clY, to prevent any person from trespassing upon the
, before your Majesty has honoured the place by driv-
C thmugh it yourself."

a 121. e Chevalier isse 0 .it Russian Char
Attaires, was former] g
at
St. Petersburthe foreign department
g. y attached to He keeps up a small establishment, as
it is
terY uncertain how long he will remain here.
General Evans, the Member for Westminster, re-
ained at Clonmel during the election, and Mr. Poulett
..homso, President of the Board of Trade, also arrived
there on his tour through the South.
, The Duke and Duchess of Bedford will be ex-
6rernel
the r• •
gay at the Doune during the autumn. Among
/119n!wants expected are the Duke and Duchess of Rich-
d and other branches of the Lennox family, Marquis
Abereorn, Lord. Boringdon, Mr. Balfour, Mr. and Mrs.
S
Ellic e, Earl
pener, &e
a The Earl and Countess of Rosslyn have left L0n-
..,0n . for their seat in
.Yorkshire, but owing to the recent de-
ttnaiisne of Lis father in Jar,kary last
a party this season , ', the Ea wt no
E 1 'll t enter-
,