The Sun.
London, England, 1865-05-08 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

historic Pictures. By A. Baillie Cochrane, M.P.
Two Vols. Hurst and Blackett.
Mr. Cochrane disclaims any personal merit in the
composition of this work, save perchance that of a
judicious selection of its materials. That commen-
dation the grateful reader will very readily accord
to him, together with a pleasant recognition of the
very agreeable manner in which these " Historic
Pictures"—old friends with new faces—have been
here portrayed. The first subject selected for these
historic contemplations is entitled the " Spanish
Marriages," the name being in one instance some-
what of a misnomer, namely, in the first of the in-
cidents selected, which refers, not to " the Spanish
marriage," but to the proposal of a Spanish marriage
of Charles I. when Prince of Wales. The romantic
expedition of Prince Charles and the gay Duke of
Buckingham to the Spanish Court to judge of the
attractions of the proposed Infanta has again and
again been the favourite theme for the romance
writer, more especially that momentous dallying at
Paris, where Charles first beheld his future consort,
Henrietta Maria, and the Duke of Buckingham was
enthralled by no less a personage than the French
Queen herself. Even a " twice-told tale" like this
is invested with a new interest, placed as it is by
Mr. Cochrane in a series, as it were, of dissolving
views, in which we find this expedition of Charles I,
in 1623, succeeded by ad account of the nuptials of
Louis XIV and Maria Theresa in 1660 ; and that
again followed by the startling contrast of another
Franco-Spanish alliance, entitled simply " A Mar-
riage at Kingston, 1864" referring, of course, to
the recent union of the Count de Paris with the
Princess of Montpensier. This latter ceremony,
celebrated by the last heirs of a fallen house, is
naturally a more fitting subject for painters' art or
poets' fancy, than are the more magnificent incidents
to which some other of these pictures are devoted.
The longest and the most interesting, perhaps be-
cause the least familiar, historical episode commented
on in these volumes is the history of the Abbe De
Ranch, the reformer of La Trappe. The history of this
remarkable man, from the worldliness of his earlier
days, when a great man among the great, to the
marvellous ascetism of his after-life, is very vividly
and powerfully portrayed. Very striking is the
incident, when as a youthful Churchman rich in
sinecures he returns to his gorgeous mansion, and
the thought strikes his heart that either the Gospel
must be false, or that he, the owner of this mag-
nificence, must be among the doomed. Such a
thought cannot lie idle in such a heart as De Ranas.
Very effectually has Mr. Cochrane followed the
struggles of the doubting, irresolute heart until
after hours and days of agony the sequel is thus
tenderly and beautifully told :
AFTER THE STORM.
" The hours sped on, and darker and darker seemed to
gather the clouds over the waters ; but one morning, after
a night of great mental disturbance, when the storm had
been raging without, and the old trees were rocked in the
violence of the gale, the wind suddenly sank to rest, and
the morning dawned peaceful, calm, and still ; the light
vapour rose from the ground, as it were the earth's incense
to the splendour of the morn. Do Rance rose, he tells us,
his heart inundated with an immense joy; he opened his
window, and the glory of the heavens and the perfume of
the valley soothed him into a dream of happiness ; he ex-
perienced that fulness of life which all mon are susceptible
of at moments. All around him seemed to abound with
love, life, and repose ; down the skirting showers the sun
had fallen on the hill-side. It was one of those moments
in which the heart cannot contain its gratitude. The laud
of promise had been discovered ; tho castaway saw the
beacon light across the waste of waters, the small voice
within whispered peace, the voices of the morning pro-
nounced their blessing. In this frame of mind de Rance
entered the chapel ; brightly the sun shone through the
painted windows, and beautiful was the reflection on the
marble pavement. It was the occasion of a fête in a vil-
lage in the neighbourhood. On the altar were placed
flowers, the freshest_and sweetest of the season. Every-
thing seemed to harmonise with his ideas and sympathise
with his feelings. A new youth, a new faith, a new life
possessed him."
A kindred picture to that beautiful thought of
Beattie's " Hermit :” -
Darkness and doubt are now flying away ;
No longer I roam in conjecture forlorn,
So breaks on the traveller, faint and astray,
Tho bright and the balmy effulgence of morn."
Another episode from French history—the tragic
fate of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette—concludes
the second volume of these historic pictures. The
recently published correspondence of that unfortu-
nate Queen gives a fitting occasion to this article,
which is (necessarily) very interesting. For his
very agreeable companionship, not to say guidance,
in these pleasant bye-ways of history, the reader of
" Historic Pictures" closes the volume with a grate-
ful reminiscence of their author.

The Curate of Sadbrooke. 3 vols. Hurst and

Blackett.

This is a very earnest, thoughtful book, above
the average rank of a novel, and, we much fear,
also above the average taste of most novel readers.
The Curate of Sadbrooke is one of those gifted, but
seemingly unhappy men, who are before their time,
who recognise truths to which the multitude are
blind, and who, to carry out a principle, or to en-
force a conviction, are willing to devote their lives,
and to sacrifice every selfish inclination. Such a
man is the hero of this novel. Here, in the fol-
lowing extract, is at once a glimpse of his anxieties
and of his ambition. He has, with infinite diffi-
culty, suceeeded in commencing a poor boys' school,
and he has just been assisting in the distribution of
a charity, partly organised by himself, but which is
productive of much discontent and disappointment :