The Sun.
London, England, 1862-04-03 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Country Gentleman. By Scrutator, author of
"The Master of the Hounds," &c. 3 vols.
Hurst and Blackett.
Scrutator is a name already known in the lite-
rary as well as in the sporting world, since the
present is by no means the first of his novels,
while his volumes on the horse and hunting are
s'candard works in the sportman's library. The
fatter class of readers, indeed, may be somewhat
disappointed at finding so much of " The Coun-
try Gentleman" occupied by the development of
the story ; 'but as descriptions of the hunting
field and sporting incidents are plentifully inter-
sperse'i, the work will be more attractive to the
general public than if it were exclusively devoted
to Scrutator's peculiar forte. Many exciting
" runs" are chronicled, while the adventures and
misadventures of eager and ambitious tyros fur-
nish amusement to the reader. Will Lane, the
huntsman, is a prominent character, to whom his
Mal Charley, the whipper-in, forms a strong
contrast. Will Lane resembles one of the old sport-
ing figures Sohn Mills used to draw, both in the
'uprightness of his character, and in the importance
he attaches to all connected with the pastime,
-which is to him the most serious business of life.
In the earlier portion of the book we are intro-
duced to Aiphonso Shuttleworth, the son and heir
of a wealthy parvenu speculator, who is desirous
of adding to his other glories that of distinction
in the hunting fields Unfortunately his abilities
are not on a par with his ambition, and a disas-
trous collision is the result, which occasions a
serious accident t 3 Will Lane. Indeed, he never
wholly recovers from its effects, and becomes,
towards the close, very uneasy lest he should be
deprived of his cherished office. This evil is
averted by an alteration in the Mastership of the
Hounds—old Mr. Knightley resigning it to his
second son, Edmund, instead of to his heir, who,
from mingled haughtiness and indifference, is no
favourite with the hounds and their guardians.
The exploits of a German Baron, who borrows a
spirited hunter from an English friend, and after
being con.siderably shaken and startled, becomes
unexpectedly and unintentionally the winner of
the brush, are amusingly narrated. The after
part of the story is romantic and eventful enough
to suit any lover of fiction, and the heroines are
as -varied in attractions and characters as they can
easily be. Edmund Knightley, the hero of the
hunt, is also the favoured knight in the graces
of the heroine. He is not without rivals, one
of them being a dangerous competitor, for he
nearly throws himself, and the lady who rejects
him, into a lake. His chivalrous project is brought
to an abrupt conclusion by the timely appearance
of Edmund, and he afterwards sends a very neces-
sary apology. The history of Lady Agnes is one
of the most striking features of the tale, and the
mistake as to her supposed death is very skilfully
Jsept up. Her husband is an unprincipled fortune-
hunter, and the wilful disobedience of Lady Agnes
brings its own punishment. The fall of the
shuttleworths is not difficult to foresee, and cer-
tainly the hunt has not much to regret in
his absence. Aaron White, the old Squire, is
another able portraiture, while many minor
figures fill up the canvas. Altogether, Scrutator's
new work is readable and entertaining, and will
especially attract any reader who takes an interest
in field sports.

Dolan South; or, an Englishman's Experience at
the Seat of the American War. By S. Philips
Day. 2 vole. Hurst and Blackett.
The author of these volumes filled the post of
special correspondent to the Morning Herald dur-
ing ttie late struggle, and in that capacity visited
both North and South. His sympathies are de-
cidedly with the latter, and the reader must there-
fore be prepared for a considerable amount of par-
tiality. The Northerners are entirely in the wrong
throughout, and their antagonists are entirely in
the right—chivalrous, patriotic, and benevolent.
Without contradicting the writer's assertions, we
may safely conjecture that the sayings and doings
of neither party are wholly free from blame, as in-
deed it is scarcely likely they would be in an inter-
necine war. To most of us in England neither party i
appears very heroic. The North has lost our sym-
pathies •, while, whatever allowance we may make
for the difficulties attending abolition, it is impos-
sible for us to uphold the principle of slavery. We
prefer, therefore, not to enter upon Mr. Day's opi-
nions of the relative merits of the contending
parties, but to regard his work as an animated pic-
ture of scenes and cities which have lately acquired
so much interest in the eyes of Europeans. The
description he gives of the origin of the rival popu-
lations of North and South accounts in a great
measure for their distinctive characteristics. The
differences between them he considers to be irre-
concileable. " From the earliest period," he says,
" strong antagonisms have existed between the
Northern and Southern sections of the American
continent. The two races have been aliens in
blood, religion, sentiment, pursuits, and politics ;
and no Englishman who has travelled through both
portions of the country can fail to perceive 'the
strong contrasts which obtain in the manners, cus-
toms, and habits of the people." lie gives sketches
of the principal men of the Confederacy, and his
work is embellished with the portraits of President
Davis and Gen. Beauregard. Here is an account
of the origin of the term

LYNCH L) W.
The term Lynch law originated thus. An officer of the
American Revolution, named Col. Charles Lynch, brother
to the founder of Lynchburg, took up his residence at
Staunton, in the south-west part of Campbell county. At
that time the country, being very sparsely inhabited, was
infested by a lawless band of desperadoes. On the princi-
ple that desperate diseases require desperate remedies, the
Colonel apprehended some of the marauders, and by the in-
fliction of summary punishment dispensed with the neces-
ity for any superfluous legal ceremony. For many years
afterwards the practice of " Lynching" was followed up,
and became applied to mere cases of suspicion of guilt, not
admitting of regular proof. "In 1792," observes `Fist, in
his Life of Henry, "there were many suits on the south side
of James River for inflicting Lynch's law."
In his rambles he came upon the native spot of the
" drink divine," which Longfellow joyously cele-
bra*.es—,

VINEYARDS.
In the immediate vicinity of Camp Clay—called after the
eminent Kentuckian general and statesman—l came upon
the famous vineyards of Nicholas Longworth, a
millionaire,
who some half century ago entered Cincinnati, a poor
friendless boy, at the time when this important anufac-
:turing and hog-raising city comprised but a few log huts.
Here the celebrated Catawba wine is produced, very simi-
lar in colour and flavour to that I have drank at Asti, in
Yrance, where it is largely made, and by which name it is
,designated. I was informed that the cellars of the success-
ful grower contained no less than 300,000 of champagne,
betides an immense quantity of dry wines in wood. Nicholas
Longworth first introduced grape-growing into Ohio, when
lee procured " cuttings" from all parts of the world.

The insubordination and dissension common among
the Northern troops is a frequent subject of com-
ment. The battle of Bull's Run is of course de-
scribed at full length, and it seems that many of the
men engaged in that immortal struggle threw all
the blame on their officers. Disputes between regi-
ments also existed, and the day after the author;s
:arrival in New York, a serious affray occurred at the
Broadway Barracks. The matter was hushed up,
and the dissentients removed to a distance. Similar
evils, it is said, exist in the Southern army, where
the establishment of court-martials has been found
TeCessary. The want of respect shown by the men
to their officers is a result we presume of the na-
tional democratic tendency, but is certainly calcu-
lated to lead to serious evils. Still it is impossible
to accept this writer's representations uncondition-
ally, since they are manifestly an ex parte statement
and incline all one way. The account of Mr. Pay's
wanderings are graphic and interesting, and his
position gave him opportunities of observation not
allowed to many. As a very favourable picture of
the‘ Southerners and their cause, the work will
" acceptable to all who favour their party, but we
trust there are few Englishmen who will agree with
/11.• Day in his reflection that after all there is no
13‘111 Bleat evil in slavery.

Passage, ,
Mrs. urlen the Life of a Fast Young lady. By
ols. nuY;,author of " The Gambler's Wife." 3'
This is a brilliant
Illaelcett.
example to thos,,la_ll._%tale, which furnishcs a striking
are giddy and thoughtless,
and a solemn Nvatowinno
those who act without
principle. Carolieult9
which
is a very apt deli-
neation of her class,
to
vu,.naately. '
only too prevalent ,neon is a class of late years
thing so detrimental
ruinz or comfort in the
rhere is no-
social circle, nothing so
eila of fast pro-
the individual herself as thi3
sytitto the welfare of
preach
true colours
ceedings. No novelist can depict
too strongly; no moralist can
that against it, it, and the astonishing success sternly
lowed its introduction the more detnand:_
outcry to he raised against it, and a eej_i_gorons
resistance to be employed to level its power7tanted
line Eversfield was not badly disposed, but her
good intentions did not profit her at all, as she soon
lost the fitful fancy of kindness, and the transient
emotion of repentance passed away. Her sister
Geraldine was a striking contrast, gentle, gracious,
and benevolent. She was the exact opposite to her
wayward and imperious companion. Sir Hector
was a fine old soldier, who was greatly to be pitied
for the conduct of his daughter. Lady
Julia, . her
.mother,,is-well described as a peevish discontented
invalid. She was totally unfit to cope with her
ungovernahle daughter, and the weakness of one
Parent, as- much as the particularity of the other,
conspired to render the career of Caroline more
unsteady.
fa,_, .... She,. ,despised her mother,. and her
Lurrnhe
, considered too fidgettrAts.ineLtimo,,,.and ;
at another too naspspioions to' note her conduct.
Norman Lip,vieu Is a very strange young man; he

certainly had the excuse of having been goaded
into frenzy by the treatment he had received.
Linda is a nice character, but it is hardly likely she
would have agreed to so strange a marriage. How-
ever this remarkable proceeding turns out to be
the happiest portion of the story, as when the
gloomy valley had been passed through the hapless
wanderers emerged into pleasant pastures and
fertile meads. Lord and Lady Curraghmore are
very ably depicted, and the conduct of her ladyship
in particular is very smartly shown. She reaped
a sad harvest in her plans for her children—plans
which were totally devoid of all consideration, and
in which the only object was to further her ideas
of wealth and power. All her plots and projects
crumbled away ; as a house on the sands they fell
never more to rise. One daughter, whom she in-
sisted en marrying to a man she hated, died shortly
after ; the other daughter ran away with some
penniless adventurer. Her son, in his turn, failed
her in her magnificent matrimonial speculations.
He was united to Linda, whom she detested. Her
various misfortunes at last seemed to effect what
the benefits strewed upon her path and the bless-
ings lavishly bestowed by Providence had not done.
The heart that hardened when her children stood
by her hearth, in the freshness of youth, and the
morning of life, was crushed by the overwhelming
calamities that befell her. The gentle Linda
effected what the violent ones of the earth can
never do. She restored peace and harmony to the
distracted householed into which she had entered
as member by her strange marriage. The final
picture of their house is a pleasing one, and the
reader is well pleased to leave them there in the
full frnition of happiness that must be too bright
to last long so unclouded and serene. It would be
agreeable to take a parting glance while the sur-
face is so smooth and the aspect so pleasing. But
we are reminded that where the shadow of sin has
fallen, there must the trail of the serpent be found,
and there must the curse inevitably rest. The last
passage records the home of Caroline, and draws a
picture of her future life such as it is likely to be
during the long years that await her on her pas-
sage to the grave. A sad account will be that
• which is rendered up by that bright and beautiful
young creature. She who entered on life so happy
and so fortunate is left at last alone, in every sense
of the word. She married a man who was a most
disgraceful character, in spite of every warning,
and in defiance of every endeavour on the part of
her friends and family to interfere and prevent the
dreadful calamity. Caroline was, however, of that
style who will have their own way. She persisted
in sowing the whirlwind, and she was compelled
to reap the storm. Still, with all her faults, one
feels regret at her sad fate, and cannot but
coincide with the hope ultimately expressed, that
at evening-time there might be light, and that
Caroline Lady Glendinnon might at last obtain in
her latter days that respect and esteem which had
never been her portion in the bright but deceitful
days of her early life ; also that, better still, hers
might be that inward peace which would alone
impart hope to her troubled breast, and give to her
harassed mind the blessed promise of an ultimate
abode where the wicked cease from troubling and
th© weary are at rest. These "Passages in the
Life of a Fast Young Lady," are deserving of
notice, as they cannot fail to afford entertain-
ment, while they impart some useful and desirable
hints to the class which is so ably described in
these volumes. Few of the wilful or heedless
among them but would pause were their wrong-
doing once fairly set before them, and thus the
authoress may be congratulated upon her success
in her endeavour to pourtray a distinguishing cha-
racteristic of modern society.