The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-03 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

THE MAGAZINES.
Blackwood.—Unconsoled for the absence from
Maga of the long-accustomed instalment of Sir
Bulwer Lytton's masterpiece, we turn almost in-
curiously to the lighter contributions contained,
in lieu of that familiar favourite, in the pages of our
contemporary. Candidly, however, through all
our feelings ,of disappointment at the non-appear-
ance of any further chapters of "My Novel,"
there, creeps out a sense of pleasure at the con-
tinuation of the serial entitled "Lady Lee's
Widowhood." It is, moreover, with no merely ordi-
nary gratification that we notice this month the
commencement of a new fiction, under the name
of " John Rintoul ; or, the Fraoment of the Wreck."
It is with delight that we lacome its initial pas-
sages ; it is with a sort of glow that we hail their
publication. And why ? Because we recognise in
it—we cannot fail to recognise in every sentence of
it—the same gentle hand that penned some
months ago the dear little story of the sor-
rows and adventures of blue-eyed " Katie Stew-
art." Yes, we feel convinced of this—we feel
satisfied of having detected the paternity (or ought
we not rather to say the maternity ?) of the author-
ship. " John Rintoul " will constitute a compa-
nion picture to " Katie Stewart "—a picture (each
of them) as minutely finished as a Dutch Interior,
with all the sparkle and freshness of a landscape by
'Constable. The narrative which is here begun in
this goodly-March number of Blackwood promises
the same exquisite delicacy of treatment which we
did not fail to applaud in its graceful and winning
predecessor. ' The meaning of the rather odd title
is explained already in this first instalment. John
Rintoul's father and younger brother are lost
one windy night in spring in the little sloop
the " Euphemia "—all that is found to tell the
tidings of the wreck is a fatal fragment of
it picked up by the bereaved hero of the
fiction, himself the skipper of the ill-fated
Euphemia. Several other characters besides the
two Johns (Pere et Fits) and Patie Rintoul are
admirably drawn and charmingly grouped together.
There is the elder John's wife Kirstin, and the
younger John's wife Euphie : and there is Euphie's
sister Agnes loving and beloved by the shipwrecked
Patie Rintoul ; and there is Auntie Ailie, other-
wise Mrs. Plenderleath—and the wee bairn Johnnie
—and a cluster of other equally natural characters.
Only at the very close of " Part I." is the reader,
let into the secret that Patie Rintoul—supposed to
have been irretrievably lost by his disconsolate
relatives—has, in fact, been saved from the wreck
on that fatal night of March by a Dutch smuggling
brig, the " Drei Bruderen." Out of such an inci-
dent it is easy enough to foresee the construction
of a romantic plot, very alluring when the fiction is
told by a writer so winning in manner as the
author of " Katie Stewart." A really delightful
naumnenbter"oCflußblsackanwdoodel, uthbebisctosn,'-'
for himself an opportunity
indecorum of such dances as
ttog
or
ipc es sibnn sui
vPt
oePt
rhigneht ghc
against
gearlrentnesmaking
ta
hkien g
the waltz, the polka, and the galop. Another oppor-
tunity he makes for himself, and one of a very dis-
similar kind—being one, in fact, which enables him
to " have at" Sir Charles Wood for that now noto

rious speech of his at Halifax, by which, as Maga
very justly observes, he "stultified himself as a
man, and disgraced himself as a Minister of the
Crown." The writer adds, very sensibly, that the
Emperor Napoleon 111. "is quite competent to
conduct his own affairs ; and, at all events, requires
no adyiee from so very imbecile a quarter." There
is a curious and rather interesting chapter in Maga
on "The Vegetable Kingdom"—a subject suggested
by Lindley's work so entitled, and by Schleiden's
" The Plant, a Biography." We are indebted to
another contributor for an insight, into Dr.
Neigebaur's recent " Rambles in Southern
Sclavonia," —in the course of which, we
are told that " Bern was a junak (hero), and a very
skilful leader Perczel, a hot-blooded church-
breaker—Messaros, an old sergeant in general's
liniforra=Kossuth, a man who knew what he
wanted, but not how to do it, and who dealt more
in fine words than in wise counsels." There is
subsequently in Maga an amusing critical glance at
some recent volumes by MM. Gautier, Mery, and
Nerval, the review being headed "A Trio of French
Tourists." The blunders made by one of these
same tourists (M. Mery), when speaking of Eng-
land, are something delightful as here pointed out
by Blackwood. He talks, for instance of Edgar-
road in London, of the Adelphi fishmarket, and of
somebody who " took in the Sun, merely to read
the fourth page, containing the advertisements,
like all the English !! !" After this comes an ar-
ticle on " Peace and War," already referred to in
our leading columns ; and, finally, an argument on
" The Malt Tax," which is the theme of the " po-
litical" for the March number of Blackwood.

• Fraser.—The first article in Fraser is very inte-
resting to all critics, and those devoted to literary
analysis. It is entitled " Shakespeare and the
New. Discovery," and after recording some inte-
resting facts, perhaps not generally known, it
quotes several specimens of a work recently disco-
vered by Mr. Collier—a copy of Shakespeare's plays
which appeared in 1632, which contains MS. altera-
tions and corrections innumerable. It is supposed
that these emendations 2xe the work of some ma-
nager .or actor, as stage. directions are intro-
duced, and long speeches or scenes are struck out
as if unsuited for performance. But it is evident
the corrector must have continued his alterations
from admiration of the work, and a desire to im-
prove its imperfect arrangement. The quarto
edition of Troilus and Cressida, published in 1609,
before representation, contained the following ex-
traordinary address to the reader :—" Eternal
reader, here you have a new play, never clapper-
clawed by the palms of the vulgar." The
writer justly observes, this was obviously
not written by the author of the plays.
The different readings of various passages given
are very entertaining and curious. The singu-
lar tale of " Hypatia" is continued, and we pre-
sume approaches its conclusion, as the present
number chronicles the death of the heroine. The
" Personnel of the New Ministry" presents us with
the following striking and original view of political
inconsistency :
"In assuming office under the Minister whose later
life had been spent in opposing his foreign policy, Lord
Palmerston evidenced, at least his magnanimity ; while
in thus presenting England to the eyes of foreign powers,
at a serious crisis, as not disunited on the question of
her foreign policy, he gave unequivocal proof of his self-
sacrificing patriotism."

The chief remaining papers are a curious article on
fish, and " The proposed New National Galleries
and Museums."

Bentley' s Miscellany.—" Aspen Court " is the pro-
minent feature in this magazine. Three chapters
are given. "Demetrius the Impostor" is an incident
in Russian history. There is a melancholy story,
entitled " The Sculptor of the Black Forest," which
describes the ill success attending a young Gernian
aspirant for fame in Paris. "My New-Year's
Eve," and "Papa's Consent," are two comic tales,
which do not possess more than ordinary merit.
Mrs. Moodie gives us a tale of the prairie, founded
on fact, " The Well in the Wilderness." An Eng-
lish family, emigrating to America, imprudently
take up their abode in an uninhabited spot, near a
forest, which contains a dark swamp. The well,
which is their only supply of water, is situated
there. Some time after their arrival, the
two children are seized with fever, and while suf-
fering from thirst exclaim eagerly for water. The
mother ventures alone to the well, but does not
return. Her husband, coming from his work, and
finding her missing, goes in search of her, and dis-
covers a panther devouring her bones. • It is, in-
deed, terrible to think this tragedy is drawn from
real life. " Random Recollections of Campaigns
under the Duke of Wellington" are continued, and
recount the battles of Fuentes d'Onor and Albuera,
with several other military adventures. There is
an article on elephants, giving us many zoological
anecdotes. Some verses, entitled " A Valedic-
tion," are pleasing, though possessing no striking
originality.

The Dublin University.—The first subject claim-
ing the reader's attention is one replete with in-
terest. Under the title of " The Crown Matrimonial
of France," we are presented with a list of the
Queens who have worn that diadem since the days
of Charlemagne. " Uneasy lies the head that
wears a crown" is indeed exemplified here, as will
be seen from the following epitome :
" And now have we not laid before you a black cata-
logue of those who have worn the Crown Matrimonial'
of France. Out of sixty-seven Royal and Imperial
consorts, there are but thirteen on whose names there is
no dark stain ofsorrow or of sin. Of the others, eleven
were divorced, two died by the executioner, nine died
very young, seven were soon widowed, three were
cruelly traduced, three were exiles, thirteen were
bad in different degrees of evil ; the prisoners
and the heart-broken make up the remainder. All
those who were buried at St. Denis were denied the
rest of the grave : their tombs were broken, their coffins
opened, their remains exposed to the insults of a revolu-
tionised populace, and then flung into a trench and co-
vered with quick lime. Does history show any parallel
to this list of Queens and Empresses in any civilised
country ? "

In " Lectures at Mechanics' Institutes, a high
eulooium is passed on Lord Carlisle and Lord Bel-
fast, for their praiseworthy efforts to ameliorate
their fellow-subjects. The Right Hon. J. Napier,
M.P., is here introduced to our notice in the
"Portrait Gallery." An account of his laborious
life and signal successes is compiled for' the in-
formatiou of the reader, vhigh i derv,

ing of regard, as it renders a just tribute '
to merit, talent, and energy. " Sir Jasper
Carew" is continued in two chapters, which termi-
nates the history of the trial, broken off last
month at so critical a juncture. At the apparent
close of the proceedings a new witness appears,
who declares that he himself killed the man, sup-
posed to be murdered by another, and instantly
fell down dead from excitement, his health having
been previously shattered. " Spring Time Flowers
contains several excellent verses, thereby continuing
the usual merit of this publication in this respect.
" The Daffodil" is a very pleasing and graceful
lyric. The best, perhaps,"is "Nature's Teachings."
Three of the verses are here given :

" NATURE'S TEACHINGS.
" Oh ! ye flowers blooming
In your golden beds,
Wild and unassuming,
Lifting your fair heads ;
Or your bright forms spreading
In the meadows wide,
And rich perfumes shedding
Where glad streamlets glide ;
Though-boasted not in story,
Each of you outvies
The regal pomp and glory
Of Solomon the Wise.

" Oh ! ye billows rolling
In your power and pride,
Beyond man's controlling
Onward ye will glide.
Underneath you slumber,
In a dreamless sleep,
High hearts without number,
Hidden by the deep.
Yet will cease your power,
Mighty, though it be ;
In God's appointed hour
There shall be no more sea.

" Oh ! ye bright stars gleaming
From yon lofty sphere,
In your splendour beaming
On us mortals here,
Deeming it your duty
Darksome paths to light,
Shining in your beauty,
' Watchers of the night :'
They who are forgiven,
They whose faith endures,
Shall yet wear in heaven
Brighter crowns than yours."

The New Monthly.—Several new characters are
introduced by Mr. Ainsworth in the course of the
new (being the third) instalment of his old English
story of " The Flitch of Bacon ; or, The Custom
of Dunmow." Foremost among them is honest,
roysteriug Squire Monkbury—the lord of the manor
of Dunmow—familiarly known as the Squire
throughout the neighbourhood—as Alfred Tenny-
son sings of his " double" in " The Princess"—
" A fine, broad-chested, genial Englishman."

Besides the Squire, there are his boon companions
the Vicar of Dunmow, hight Doctor Sidebotto
and the old huntsman, Paul Flitwick. Captain
Juddock " comes out " gloriously as the narrative
advances. He carols another of his jovial Baccha-
nalian ditties over a bowl of punch—a song
entitled " The Wine-Drinker's Declaration"—and
more than this he in asigles poor unfortunate little
Jonas Nettlebe,d into a wager that he won't ob-
tain the Flitch, he (the Captain) betting him (the
landlord) 10,0001. against 501. that he cannot—by
any possibility—when it comcs to the oath--save
his bacon ! There is great fun in the progress of
the tale, and a promise of still greater when the
plot becomes a little more developed. Conspicuous
among the lighter contributions to the New
Monthly for this present March is a story of " A
Roial Whim," taken from the German of Wilhelm
Meinhold, an author tolerably well known in this
country as the writer of " The Amber Witch."
A brief but by no means superficial account is given
of the " New Arctic Expedition," in a paper duly
notifying the extraordinary circumstance that there
will be no less than sixteen ve.sels (exclusive of
the Prince Albert) this summer in the Arctic
Regions ! Cordially do we exclaim with the writer,
from our heart—" Heaven protect them in their
labour of love, and grant them success " Dudley
Costello has again, this month, another of his odd,
droll, quizzical contributions—an extravagance
called by him (rather vulgarly) " The New Norman
Conquest ; or, How Paul Brioche meant to have
pitched into us." The New Monthly fa.iatic follows
up his former rant by what he calls " The Sequel to
A Word to England."' In addition to a great
many other articles, not here mentioned, there will
be found, towards the close of the magazine, an in-
telligent and very readable paper on " Sir William
Hamilton," partaking as much of the character of
a criticism as of a biography.

Ainsworth.—ln this month's number we meet
with a goodly array of romantic tales. " Madeline
Vernar" is a very unfortunate young girl, who
was deceived by the attentions of a heartless man
into believing herself the object of his regard. Too
late she discovers he was trifling with her, and
went home to die of a broken heart. Notwith-
standing this instance of Mr. Perc.eval's wont of
principle, we are astonished at being informed at
the conclusion of the tale that " his soul may still
be presented pure before its God"—a most ill-
judging remark this, to hold out crime in such
false
i colours. The unfortunate Florence Hamil-
ton s again brought before our notice. She is at
present is the enjoyment of a momentary calm, but
the mistakes of the well-meaning Mr. Harly are
very ludicrous. He persists in sending Pemberton
to converse with Florence instead of Gertrude.
" Was it a Ghost ?" is a most extraordinary tale of
a haunted house—a murderconunitted—a difference
in the number of windows inside and outside of the
house, in consequence of the room where the
corpse was kept being blocked up and con-
cealed by the furniture. "In Change"
things certainly do not change for the bet-
ter, as there are misunderstandings on all
sides, beginning with a party waiting for dinner,
and concluding by a friend being roused at an un-
necessary early hour to listen to countless grie-
vances. " Sketches of Venice" conveys a melan-
choly idea of the inhabitants of the " Queen of the
Adriatic." A graphic description is given of a
gondola scene, in which an attempted assassination
is prevented by the skill and address of the gondo-
lier. Altogether, to the lovers of the marvellous,
the romantic, and the amusing, this collection will
prove very attractive and fascinating. The inde-
fatigable author of " The Days of Margaret of
Parma" has commenced a new story, " Nicholas
Hamel."

Bleak House. No. XIII. By Charles Dickens.
—Confusion still continues to be the quality princi-
pally observable in the new fiction of our English
Cervantes. Not a syllable this month about Esther
Summerson, or rather from Esther Summerson—
for we must not forget that her chapters are auto-
biographical. No—the number before us is alto-
gether restricted to the chapters penned by hor
nameless interlocutor. It is divided—in scene—
between Cook's-court, Lincoln's-inn-fields, and
Chesney-wold : in time—between night and morn-
ing, or light and darkness : in personal interest—
between the Smallweeds and the Dedlocks, Guppy
and Tulkinghorn. The most telling incident de-
scribed in the present number is that which takes
place in the Long Drawing-room at Chesney-wold,
when Mr. Tulkinghorn recounts to the assembled
company, in her hearing, the story of Lady Dedlock
—of course, as of another person altogether. The
lady has an interview that night with the
sly and mysterious attorney. Hablot Browne, by
the way, has this month a graceful sketch of the
Long Drawing-room, being a sort of companion
etching to the one given by him the other month
of " The Ghost's Walk." It is to that same Long
Drawing-room that Dickens refers, in the only pas-
sage in the present instalment worthy of the incom-
parable author of " David Copperfield." It is where
he is describing the effect of the sunset upon the
family pictures. " A dense Justice in a corner is
beguiled into a wink"—he says—" down into the
bosom of a stony shepherdess there steals a fleck of
light and warmth, that would have done it good a
hundred years ago. One ancestress of Volumnia,
in high-heeled shoes, very like—casting a shadow
of that virgin event before her full two centuries—
shoots out into a halo and becomes a saint." Rick
is evidently getting more and more involved in
the toils of that horrid vampire of a Vholes, who
has a father in the Vale of Taunton, and three
raw-faced daughters in an earthy cottage, situated
in a damp garden at Kennington.

The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Re-
view.--" The. Masters of the Roman World durin
the happiest years of the Human Race," is the title
of the first article in this periodical ; and it indeed
appears true, as the writer of it asserts, that the
time in question has no right to be thus styled.
The five emperors who then held
grineastucinceartieorsn.
throne were neither the " world's
northe
epateadne foessoloisrl:lAy
nsutorrnieusn-
their own." Nero did not ke
jan was addicted to drink,
Tra-
dered the conquests of hilisaa dr9 to his word,
ronwdasa contourn 3 rpe
tnfoonr
es] latui tcYt i o nrin gMhTsr ewuisoAureliusked
wifein is
labei
her atrocious proceedings,
these remarks, At the conclusion of
we are informed of the extraordi-
n"aTryheoGriuglnistaonf, othr °Rose Garden of Sadi,"
'shop of Rome, Callistus. 1
a pleasing account of the Oriental author Sadn
whose works it •
redated by the English
bear
appreciated
.1 ls tO be regretted, have not_ ey
•
impress of
the. graceful flowing stYI
- from tho chap-
ter the East. The fol
ter othe ' '
n 4 manners of Kings :"--
lowing story is
" They relate that once, during A.
they were preparing for Mishirvananthe
as roast meat. There was n • g expedition,
hnnAirsnt some game
d they
slave to a. Tillage to bring now' dispatched a
0 salt' mishirvan. Mid, tPay
.public. pot.