The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-02 00:00:00

'AltB.

A Lenten Journey in Umbria mvid the :Marches.
By Thomas Adolphus Trollope. Chapman and
Italy, as regards European tourists, cons fists of
two parts,—the first comprising the capital cities,
and so much of the country as is discernable froM
the high roads, and the second the districts witichl
lying intermediate and filled with towns once
flourishing and spots historically memorable, are
yet, from the difficulty of access and inferiority of
interest to the beaten track, scarcely ever visited'
Nor for the ordinary tourist would they repay the
trouble. The capitals alone will absorb all the t
timos e
he has to spare. In them are contained the
precious works of art, and in their vicinity will be
For
found some of the most charming scenery.
such a one, then, to hunt about for tenth-t°
r
cities would be sheer folly ; but with an EoglisAll
resident in Italy, who may have leisure at command,
the case is different, and we scarcely know 0131
way of spending a few months more pleasantlYl °r
profitably, in exploring the wrecks of the numer°ll,s
towns which still cling to the sides of the Italian II"
or nestle in the valleys. The record of such a °liar
we find in Mr. Trollope's " Lenten Journey,
a
we have to thank him for directing attention t°
district much of which is in these days almost un;
known. Umbria and the Mar elms comprises, °ll
readers are doubtless aware, the d; strict lying b;
tween the ancient Etruria, of which Florence .a
now the capital, and the Adriatic. is travulerseof
by the main chain of the Appenines ; is fl d
streams, the Arno and Tiber both rising tileres 6111 t,
it contains endless diversity of hill and dale. Ste;he
ing from Florence, Mr. Trollope proceeded i°;,:;t3
first place to Arezzo, and thence diverged to 1-1";•,‘
di Castello. He puts up at inn there, called- 's
Cannoniera, formerly one of the five large P.9'l°e;l
of the illustrious Vitelli family, concerning /lin
he says, " And what palaces they were ! tueh.e
days every house that is, or that professes to het
residence of a gentleman, is in Italy called by 111
test' a palace. But the five palaces of the Vite
were palaces, indeed! And there they are Or,
The stones of them preaching not only 8%
mons on the trite text of Sic transit Oristi
mundi,' but also the most eloquent lectures
vis
the art of government,' on all the leuie
of political economy, and the principles which boll
the rise and fall of nations. A more reelancuo
sight than these squalid wrecks of spleod,;ss
can hardly be conceived. And the splendoli,rbeie
no mere vulgar display of material wealth. I ro
Vitelli in their remote little city amid the vinelillot
and corn fields of the high valley of the Tiber of
have been lovers of art, and bountiful patrone °foie
school of artists who flourished under their 00
and died out when it was over. And 13,ertebeir
mildewing crumbling walls are the traces w.
works—in some cases much more than the Wei
sharing in in the doom of universal decay and Deei to
From Citta di Castello Mr. Trollope proceedeuo,
Gubbio over a road all but impassable. Thell thigh
ing south he visited Perugia and Assisi ; after et
he made his way to the Adriatic coast, toucile.°4o
Ancona, rested a night at the little republic otP of
Marino, and returned to Florence
abi
by viale 0%,
Bologna. He thus covered a very considercer
tent of ground, and saw Italiar, life under $ isaot
paratively unsophisticated aspect. Not ilifaaotee
interesting part of the volume consists of
orde° 00
taken from the old chroniclers, and sif and
insight into the amenities of medifeval 14e .
;0
those interested in Italian history or art ill
the work suggestive as well as entertaining'

Normanton. By A. J. Barrowcliffe. 1 vol. O'"'"
Elder, and Co.
Aiming at pre-Raphaelite minuteness of detail,
ts
notoB
°
the author has produced a work which, if
very ambitious order, shows at least careful sto;
of nature and considerable constructive power. ,05,0,
action is supposed to be comprioed within fice u,,0t0
and the title designates the village
take place. Zilla Woodthorpe, the het;s icroinll'ugh
where
e the el; A
" miller's daughter," and to bar coe, ;off
Hastings and Mark Woodthorpe, she is gsPecoil
te
" dear." The former, fortuneless, is about
to,
for India, and to the latter, possessed of a good i).n
smoothperty. the course of true love seems likely.
0004
in the extreme, But their positions 1":
0
become reversed. Mark is arrested on s
charge of poaching, and then falls under the go'o
suspicion of being the seducer of the gstnekeePe t*
daughter, whose life he had saved on her atteo3:ol‘,
ing self-destruction in the canal. His friends Ibio
coldly on him, and even Zilla's confidence dos
is almost shaken. Moreover, at this critical
moment a miser dies, and leaves the bulk ia
his fortune to Hugh, whilst the milAlerog.hteo
difficulties, and nothing but bie
saps bid
union with Hugh seems likely t°. e
from ruin. But if it is right tile': virtue
fiction should have its trials, so, also, it 'B4 etsuoss
thatH it should meet its reward. The gaP:l33,e t bsf
Hugh turns out to be the seducer, and. A 8 -11ont
the enraged gamekeeper; his victim dies by potstolY
and Mark, whose innocence is now manileas 03' ost,
tains the prize which of all others be wishe too 1°
the hand of Zilla. The execution of th: t o de°
clever, the characters are well drawn, o.l3",ittli
scriptions of scenery are truthful and Pleaga-
•rdlifti

The Double Prophecy; or, trials of thf,4-
By William Carleton. 2 vols. putil. boil
This tale has a double claim on our attentioo,,,eoltv
the author's last work, owing to his declining.; ot°
(as stated in the dedication), whilst its `` italtoott°
line and general facts" are " true ; " and t,}e, 0 ti,iv
chosen is—" Truth is strange—stranger ..c",.fielan''
tine The scene is laid in the North of '-rr'1300340
where the father of the heroine, called '• 1)10
Brindsley, of good character and eduosti°l3ol ipto
humble circumstances, resided. Having fg'lleot tc
difficulties he enlisted as a soldier, and WA - 1301
India, being forced to leave his wife behil'"h to i'
three months after his departure, gave /31.1 rt 05:
daughter. So beautiful was this girl til2e' sheft 055'
cinated all who beheld her. .6 We remeinber/0014
the author, " having seen her when she vcti°,-01
eight. or nine years of age, and, upon anothe-ip ii°:
mon, when she was sixteen ; and we soleine; 106'
sure our readers that the impression otbittl‘
view we hact of her was such as makes nabs rib°
back from the Vei7 idea of attempting NiITV
tohsseibmlen,aat and, for
ft
tthhheeirn.fgorilanehnhote; case, descrii;tion can do notiliatg;eitilef
highest ideal uhlit;irrneaa;ttiol;:bc,ertt,ts
conception of bewail, or or
taken from our knowledge of natur° ~,oeiget
art, could enable us to reach any notion that
We dar toi
of the standard which she presented•
therefore, attempt wl
we can say is, that the light of youth and boareo4
a portrait, and oath
shell Wit''f
seemed to emanate like effulgence from her fa 1l
the glory of her eye to stand alone and unpar :der
among women." Such being her charms, no Is: coo
she counted many admirers, though the 011400
who made any impression on her was a Lientweigy
Clinton, belonging to a wealthy family in the
rag off
bourhood, and whose mother wishing to breesed
the attachment persuaded Mrs. Brindslel t 1400
her daughter to a dressmaker in Armagh. prey 503
Maria
to this, however, we must mention that a ueti- cop'
dumb fortune-teller had written a predieti°l2, ii, De
(as the heroine is named) Nvb`c
not 10
efoelrdnejang up and sealed with strict injunction° EV
open •
produrct till after her marriage. The sensatiooatio
place,
aensdin Armagh is similar to that in her 0
0013 t
she here once more meets with Lined
Clinton, whose offer of marriage she reieet,'„ieg
melancholy
consequently shows every syn3ptonos °I 4°B is
mad. To avoid such a cats boo
mother gives her consent, Maria is sent to 0, pe
in g school in London to finish her edueation;ing to
there refuses the hand of an earl ; then rettirdieti°/If
Ireland she and Clinton are married, the wren'see beg
is read and found to be " You will be a A tbei
yl and •
two titles, one great, the other greater, hie b blo Do
then proceed to India, where Clinton, for
part
of t
very, is made Knight of the Bath, and ... o's'
prophecy thus comes true. Soon after tliPi
os to
' "dog retur, hi
ever, he is killed in action, his wi . r (oos,, blO
Ireland, meets her former titled admire ,
ots
the death of his father, a marquis) he rePe, is fal'
offer, she accepts it, " the double proplion
filled, and thus the tale ends.

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