The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-15 00:00:00

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SPAP . ,
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-"ITERATURE.
1761Z'
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Marion Leslie. Ey the Rev. T. Beati;eise:a,-4:14
Hurst and Blackett. /.-ns $l-"tY
Choosing his characters, fk.tliq moiat Pa;klfrolfl4l
the lower ranks in Scotlanielie author has aimed
at giving a true feature of life under such an aspect,
and by clot ly following nature he has produced an
interesting and readable book. The scene of the
tale is a primitive fishing village called Loan-
head, situated on that part of the Scottish coast,
which "is washed on three sides by the waves of
the German Ocean ;" and it begins by describing
the excitement of the inhabitants at the approach
of a vessel to the bay on a stormy evening in July.
This excitement is greatly increased when a man is
seen to descend into the sea and make for land.
" Sometimes the sw
inimer seemed to be gaining the
mastery over the waves;
they could see him rising
at times on their crusted _-...heees, like a black speck,
and then diving like a gin. 'as pne of more than
ordinary size threatened to carry X'l out tc set..
More than once he had been borne on the-buarmit
of a wave so close to the shore that the; ceuid
almost discern his features. The wave broke en/ the
sandy beach with a loud roar, and the water came
rushing on, with a hissing sound, to the spot where
the fishermen stood. But the swimmer had been
left behind. Wave after wave had struck him as
he neared the shore, and the vantage ground which
he had gained in a quarter of an hour over his
deceitful foe was .lost in a few minutes. Still he
never lost heart, and, though he met with many a
rebuff, he perceptibly gained ground. They could
see him at times dashing aside the long hair from
before his face, as he rose above the surface of the
waves— a sure proof that he had not lost his pre-
sence of mind, and was perfectly at home in the
watery element. At length one mighty wave bore
him to the beach; they could see the stranger striving
to clutch the sand, and to resist- the force
of the retreating wave. In vain. He was sucked,
back into the boiling abyss, and borne out some dis-
tance before the succeeding wave overtook him."
This adventurous swimmer proves to be the hero of
the story, Ninian Kynoch, who had just returned
from a whaling voyage, and was impatient to greet
his friends, not the toast important among whom is
the pretty Marion Leslie, who gives the tale its
name. Although she has been brought up by
Ninian's father, who, from his contempt for rough
weather, is known as " Stormy Jack," she is more
nearly related to the Laird of Inverchewan, being,
in fact, his niece, though not recognised by him, in
consequence of her father, who had mysteriously
disappeared before her birth, having married below
his station. The sudden death, however, of the
Laird's only son, brings her into prominence, as
she is then heiress to the estate ; and she is accord-
ingly adopted by the Leslie family, and sent to
France to complete her education. At this change
in her position, Ninian, who is deeply in love with
her, is in despair, till his sister reminds him that
he may raise himself to her level by study, and he
accordingly leaves the sea and determines to be-
come a minister. For this purpose he first, by the
aid of a drunken schoolmaster, grounds himself in
the classics, paying for his instruction in fish, and
then proceeds to a Scottish university. His career
there is a successful one, and he gains
several prizes; but that for which he espe-
cially fought and laboured, the love of Marion,
is denied him. She had seen while in France, and
" fancy free," a certain Lord Nairn, who with a
goodly presence combined a startling catalogue of
vices. Struck with Marion's beauty, however, and
still more with the fact of her being an heirese,
he
determines to make her his own ; and, following
her to Scotland, he succeeds in winning her hand, and
at the same time by getting all the property in his
power he ruins her too confiding uncle. But his villany
does not prosper. He dies of delirium trenzens, and
Marion returns sad and widowed to her uncle's
house. Meanwhile Ninian has met, since his dis-
appointment, with many adventures, the least
agreeable of which is that of his being arrested,
shortly after Marion's return, for the murder and
Irobbery of his uncle, a notorious usurer. Of course
he protests his innocence, but appearances are so
much against him that the magiitrates have no op-
tion but to commit him; and so clear is the cir-
cumstantial evidence that his acquittal scorns
scarcely possible. But Marion sets to work on his
behalf, and as the chief witness against him, the
disreputable schoolmaster before mentioned, is on
bad terms with his wife, she so intluences,the latter
as to induce her to confess, at the last moment, her
husband's guilt, and, what is of more importance,
to indicate certain unequivocal proofs of it. Of
course after this there is little more to be
done. Ninian is honourably acquitted—Marion
joyfully takes him for a second husband, and
as the old usurer had left him heir to all his
property, they pass the rest of thoh, days, not in a
cottage with poverty and discontent, but in the
castle of Inverchewan, surrounded with all that
heart can wish. Moreover, to complete the general
joy, Marion's father, who since his disappearance
had lived as merchant in foreign parts, returns
amiable, generous, and wealthy. The tale, as this
brief sketch will indicate, contains considerable
variety of incident. The characters are nicely dis-
criminated, and the description of student life at a
Scottish university possesses peculiar interest.

MR. COBDEN, M.P., AT BLA6KBU.RN.

Mr. Cobden visited Blackburn on Wednesday
last, to carry out the proposition which he has made
to the Manchester Central Executive Committee.
The hon. gentleman arrived here by the 10,16 train
from Manchester, and was cordially received at the
railway station by the ex-mayor and several other
active members of the local relief committee. The
chief object of his visit was to ascertain for himself
the measures which are adopted here to relieve the
needy, and to see the effects of their operation,
especially such as had for their especial object the
employment of the young of both sexes. Imme-
diately on his arrival he was conducted to the Soup
Kitchen Industrial School, and the several sewing
and educational classes connected with the various
religious bodies. He also visited the Town Hall,
and examined the store-room of the committee,
from which they are about to begin the free dis-
tribution of a large collection of second-hand and
new clothing which has been purchased and con-
tributed. It was also explained to tho inember
for Rochdale that the large assembly room of the
hall was kindly lent by the authorities for the
purposes of sewing classes connected with the
parish and four other churches, but as the females
do not generally occupy the hall on Wednesdays, it
being somewhat inconvenient, he did not witness
the interesting sight of 560 young women engaged
in sewing, knitting, darning of straw, plaiting, 8.7 c.,
there carried on by the factory girls. Mr. Cobden
next accompanied the ex-Mayor to his cotton manu-
factory, &c., and proceeded by the 12 20 p.m. train
to Livesey, an adjoining township, in which there
are many unemployed, and made all necessary in-
quiries there respecting the relief of the destitute.
With all these visits he expressed himself much
pleased with the efforts made by the army of volun-
tarists having the cause of humanity at heart. The
hon. gentleman was made acquainted with the de-
termination of the relief committee to that week
allow ls. per head to every young man over 14
years for attending any of the numerous :schools
now opened to them free of cost ; also of their re-
solution to assist any denomination in procuring
suitable tutors for the unemployed. Just as the
member for Rochdale was preparing to leave for
the railway station, the Ewood Bridge fife and
drum band came up, followed by a. troop of unem-
ployed young men attending the various educational
classes opened for their benefit, and accompanied
him to the station, loudly cheering.

A case of hardship is reported from Rochdale.
Twenty-five of the operatives there were summoned for
non-payment of poor-rate, and the magistrates,. who said
they could do nothing
the way, of excuse without the
irl
rate. Ono man, a sample of the
issued distress warrants against
consent of the guardians,
a family of six, that he was working for
all who had not paid thelot, said he had
20 IN a week, that he got from the guardians Sd a week'
and a little meat and bread from the soup kitchen, This
Wail al he had,