The Sun.
London, England, 1853-09-01 00:00:00

and Esther Surnmerson. The latter is resigned by
good John Jarndyce with a magnanimity eminently
noble, and therefore wonderfully characteristic.
Mr. Guppy, subsequent to this resignation, attempts
on his part also an act of magnanimity by proposing
anew to Esther in the presence of his friend with
the whiskers, and of his incomparable mother
with the elbows and the chuckle. Then the
great cause of d arndyce and Jarndyce is ac-
tually brought to a conclusion though when
everything is thought to be conducted to a satis-
factory settlement, it is found (an old tale enough)
that the entire property is swallowed up by costs—
plums dropped into the insatiable maws of Vholes
the pimpled and Kenge the conversational.
Richard, poor Rick, has died in consequence.
Ada has thereby been widowed. Charley has mar-
ried a miller. George, after reclaiming the fraternal
affections of " the iron man," has enlisted in the
household brigade of Sir Leicester. Caddy's baby
turns out to be deaf and dumb—her husband
Prince goes lame—her father-in-law, degenerated
into the apoplectic Mr. Turveydrop, still solaces
the west-end by displays of his Deportment. How
all this is told is something admirable—the author's
power of su3tained pathos and elaborated drollery
betraying in no one instance the faintest tokens of
exhaustion. Nothing, indeed, can be nobler than
Mr. Jarndyce's explanation ending with the words
" and, before God, it is the brightest day iu all my
life"—as nothing could be more solemn, more
touching, or more beautiful, than the record of
poor Rick's death—" He slowly laid his face down
upon her bosom, drew his arms closer round her
neck, and with one parting sob began the world.
Not this world, 0 not this ! The world that sets
this right." Compare with this the exquisitely
ludicrous description of the conduct of Mrs.
Guppy, when her son's offer is rejected by
Mr. Jarndyce in the name, and on behalf of,
Esther Summerson : and you have another of those
marvellous illustrations of the versatility of our
author's genius, of his equally facile command of
our tears and our laughter. Mrs. Guppy, in truth,
we take to be " a sketch" quite as delicious in its
way as the memorable hero of the chops and pud-
ding, the "friendly waiter" in " David Copper-
field." Who that has once read either, in connec-
tion with the context, can resist roaring over the
description ? " Nothing seemed to astonish Mr.
Guppy's mother so much, or to make her so very
indignant, as our not getting out. ' Why don't
you get out ?' said Mrs. Guppy. ' What are you
stopping here for ?" Mother, interposed her son,
always getting before her and pushing her back
with one shoulder, -as she sidled at my guardian,
' will you hold your tongue ?" No, William,' she
returned, I won't. Not unless he gets out, I
won't !' " Reading it, one seems to 101 l in
" Rabellais' easy chair"—a-laughing. Altogether
the effect produced on the reader's mind by the
closing chapters of "Bleak House"—notwithstand-
ing the pathos of the death of poor Rick Carstone--
is reallyto the utmost extent exhilarating. Scarcely
any one among the various characters introduced
in the course of the narrative but comes in, before
" the end," for some agreeable passing word of
commemoration. Of Deportment, meaning of
course old Mr. Turveydrop, we are told " He is
still constant in his patronage of Peepy, and is un-
derstood to have bequeathed him a favourite French
clock in his dressing-room—which is not his pro-
perty." While "as to Tom, Charley's brother," ob-
serves Esther, " / am really afraid to say what he
did at school in cyphering, but I think it was
Decimals." Thus delightfully and in the gayest
humour are we brought to the concluding sentence
of a fiction to which we are indebted (as ever with
these serial tales of Boz) for many happy recollec-
tions. Gratefully as to the past and hopefully as
to the future, we close the volume with a benison
to its author, a cordial God-speed, and the kind-
liest Farewell.

THE COMET.