The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-19 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Bokinga. A Novel. By Morton Rae. With
Illustrations. Second Edition. Hookilem and
Sons.

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70 1

Whoever Morton Rae, the author of " Bokinga,"
may be—he or she has manifestly the merit of a
very curious originality. Young or old, male or
female, girl or stripling, the writer of this eccentric
fiction has the advantage, at any rate, of being
altogether unhackueyed in authorcraft. The nar-
rative possesses, indeed, a veritable claim to its
title being Novel, beyond all doubt, in the majority
of particulars. Morton Rae we recognise at once
as a nom de plume. CG Bokinga" we accept at once
as a volume penned in undisguised defiance
of all the root-laws of what certain critics de-
light in designating the sthetics of literature.
It has already secured to itself the glory of a
" second edition," and would for that reason,
if for no other, be entitled to, at least, some cur-
sory examination. Turning over the twenty-eight
chapters in which the story is told, it would be
difficult for even the most desultory reader not to
perceive through whatever faults of style may be
apparent to the more discerning or the more fasti-
dious, that the writer evinces considerable inge-
nuity in the arrangement of the plot, or, to speak
differently, in the entanglement or involution of
the incidents therein described in rapid succession ;
and with this, moreover, no inconsiderable or
incommendable skill in the delineation of the va-
rious characters introduced. Whatever may per-
chance be theother peculiarities in the phreno-
logical development of the author of " Bo-
kinga," it might be readily conjectured that
conspicuous among the intellectual organs of Mor-
ton Rae would be found on inquiry those exceed-
ingly useful organs to the romancist, the organs of
constructiveness. However this may be, the tale
here told has the double merit already mentioned,
the twofold advantage of novelty in plot and in
character. Together with these twin attractions,
however, it has the pervading blemish of exaggera-
tion. Its style is distorted by over-intensity. Beyond
which, moreover, the language in which the book is
written is in a great part matter of uncertainty. It
cannot be doubted for a moment that it was in French
Beckford originally wrote his oriental romance of
" Vathek," any more than that it was in English
Goldsmith wrote his domestic story of the " Vicar
of Wakefield." But here and there it is difficult
to discover, from these pages, to which language
the reader is most indebted for the charm of Mor-
ton Rae's descriptions. Throughout the book the
different illustrations scattered among the letter-
press are accompanied by a word or two in the
graceful tongue of our Gallic neighbours by way,
we presume, of more elegant explanation. As
thus—"L'ame s'envole," or again "Le Printemps,"
or yet again " Les Confidences." While repeatedly,
in the text itself, the ear is soothed by the melody
of the same mellifluous accents, as where we are
told that the children had only " tea and tar-
tines," that some gentleman was "a faineant
of sixty," or that some lady was the " belle of the
creme de la creme," or that the votaries of fashion
were candidates for "admission into its vie de
daces." However, turning to the story itself,
and not to the mere manner of its narration.
Bokinga is the name not of a person, but of an '
estate—the estate of one Sir Anthony Fielding.
The scene opens, at the first chapter, in the boudoir
of the Countess of Wolverton. The master of
Bokinga is there received with the cordiality due
to the Mich old cousin of the Earl and Countess.
Especially due to him, seeing that Sir Anthony is
not merely aged and wealthy, but also childless—
being actually, at the time when the novel com-
mences, in search of an heir to his enormous posses-
sions. Leigh Hunt years ago described George IV.
as " an Adonis of sixty," on a memorable occasion
in 'the columns of the Examiner. Morton Rae
significantly depicts Lady Wolverton as a " Venus
of forty-five." She is worse, wonderfully worse,
than an ordinary lady of fashion, or woman of the
world, or managing mamma, being vain, heartless,
selfish, and hating her children beyond all known
precedent, and, let us hope, beyond all discoverable
experience. Her children are four—Lord Calder,
heir to the earldom, Julian, his younger brother,
the beautiful Lady Marion, and the plain, or rather
(her mother thinks) ugly Lady Christina. Chris-
tina, by reason of her uncomely features, becomes
despised and neglected—her mother greeting her
with the exclamation, " Oh, mon Dieu qu'elle
eat laide, cette affreuse Christine." Julian
for the same reason is either contemned or over-
looked. Lord Calder, on the contrary, leads " a
life of perfect dolce far niente"—a favourite because
of his handsome countenance. Lady Marion, like-
wise, being distinguished for her loveliness, is
petted to an extravagance. The Earl, the father
of these four incongruous personages, from first to
last appears a mere nonentity—introduced but as a
dull specimen of the aristocracy. Around the for-
tunes of his children are grouped the other charac-
ters of the narrative. Scarcely anything is seen of
Lord Calder—that is to say, at least, comparatively.
Julian is sent abroad as an attaché, and while still
abroad dies, having previously married the Countess
of Chaumont. Marion elopes with Captain
Evelyn Staunton, and, dying some years after-
wards, leaves him a widower not altogether
inconsolable. Christina, plain, reserved, and re-
pulsive, is adopted by Sir Anthony Fielding
as heiress to his estates, and on his demise succeeds
to them at once, and immediately takes possession.
Christina continues to live throughout the story at
Bokinga, in sad and unbroken spinsterhood. Here
is the description of Bokinga as it appeared when
its master was Sir Anthony :
" The avenue leading to this deserted mansion was
grown over with grass, in the flower garden roses and
chickweed, jasmine and nightshade grew together in
happy confusion, the placid lake which was once the
glory of the park was now choked up with dirt and
filth, and emitted stagnant odours. All was devastation,
all was desolate. It seemed as though years must have
elapsed since the foot of man had trodden this
wilderness.
Here is the mention made of it afterwards when its
mistress was the Lady Christina :
"The grounds were laid out anew, flowers bloomed
in rich profusion in the gardens, the hot houses teemed
with the rarest exotics, the pellucid lake again became
the pride of Bokinga. Beauty and happiness seemed
once more about to reign over that desolate spot, yet he
who had been its inmate had lived alone ; she who was
to be its inmate was alone. But how different had been
the nature of those two beings. He cared not so that
he trod life's dull round un-noticed—forgotten. She,
haughty and ambitious, paused as she wandered through
the grounds, musing how she should array her name in
glory, chiefly regretting that—weak woman as she was,
there were but few paths open to her high ambition."
As the principal figure on the canvas, the owner of
the estate the name of which has given its title to
the narrative, commands the chief attention of the
reader, and at the very outset of the novel is thus
curiously depicted :--
"Christina Calder was plain—no that is scarcely the
word for her. Plain savours too much of insignificance ;
the most soulless features are plain, but there never yet
was an ugly face on which might not be traced a passion.
Separately, each of Christina's features were well formed,
her finely chiselled nose a sculptor might have taken for
a model, her flashing, speaking eyes were brilliant, the
haughty curl of her lip alone showed the impetuosity
of her character, but there was a repelling, harsh je ne
sail quoi about her whole countenance that was un-
pleasing. Pride—determination of purpose—was the
prominent expression there. As she shook back her
dark raven hair she was a fit subject for a painter's re-
presentation of midnight, not as it softly smiles in the
sunny lands of the sweet south, but in the murky
Boeotian atmosphere of northern climes, when black
ponderous clouds announce the coming storm. There
was no melody in her voce; it was marked with autho-
rity as that of Hecate when summoning her subjects to
attend her nocturnal court."
On taking possession of her noble park and her
fine old mansion, the mistress of Bokinga
is described as (somewhat consoled by her abun-
dant wealth for her lack of beauty) gazing on the
deserted grounds and rambling buildings, and, as
she does so, murmuring to herself mein ein—adds
the footnote, " the memorable words engraved on
the goblet of Charlemagne." During the progress
of the narrative, considerable uncertainty is created
in the mind of the reader by the coincidence that
both Marion Calder and Julian Calder, before
dying, leave behind them—each—two children.
Christina suddenly introduces to the notice of the
wondering gossips near Bokinga—the babblers and
scandalmongers of the village of Thornton—a little
girl and a little boy, whom she has brought back
with her after a brief and hurried journey to the
continent. For a long while it almost appears that
these mysterious orphans are the offspring of the
Lady of Bokinga's sister—the wife of Evelyn
Staunton. Ultimately it proves, however, that
they are the children of Julian, the favourite
brother of Christina. Their names, Shaftoe and
Mildred Calder—the latter variously mentioned as
the story goes onward, as " Little Millie," or
as "La Princesse. Under the sobriquet of
"La Princesse," the picture of Mildred Calder
appears in the volurae as its frontispiece. Follow-
ing up the main thread of the plot through all its
sinuous windings and bewildering entanglements,
we come at length to the information of the where-
abouts and identity of the children of Marion and
Evelyn Staunton _only, however, in time enough
to see the boy expire, and to find his sister,
Marie Dubois, taken to Paris u dner one Allen
Willmott's protection. Without continuing to
trace out still further the course of the tale,
and the sequence of the incidents subsequently
described, it must here be especially mentioned
LONDON, BRIGHTON, AND SOUTH COAST RAILWAY.— that in connection with the two marriages already
Traffic return for the week ending June 17,
214,852 2 6 particularised, the marriage of Marion with Cap-
passages in this
1854 tam Staunton and the marriage of Julian with the
Corresponding week last year 13,622 4 4
Total of the half-year to this date, 1854 280,446 2 1 Countess of Chaumont, there are
Total of the hail-year to_this date, 1803 20,133 13 7 novel of Bolcioga" which demand from ug our