The Sun.
London, England, 1854-02-16 00:00:00

THE LAW OF SETTLEMENT.

The Newcomee. No. V. By W. M. Thackeray.
Another instalment of The Newcomes scarcely
advances one step in the story, but it does infinitely
better than that—it developes yet more delightfully
the character of our glorious and beloved Colonel,
one of the most exquisite of all the creations of
Thackeray, and one destined henceforth, we do
believe, to be among the " bright particular stars"
of our imaginative literature. In the fifth volume
there are four chapters—one in which " Colonel
Newcome sings his last song ;" another, in which
" Park-lane" is described about the fashionable
hour for breakfast ; another, about certain " Old
Ladies," and about one young one too, meaning
the charming little 'Ethel, the girl-heroine ; and
yet another, in which we are told how " Mr.
Sherrick lets his house in Fitzroy-square," the
Colonel, Mr., and Mrs. Binney, and Clive being
the new occupants. The description of the dinner
is admirable from its naturalness throughout—
particularly in regard to the after-dessert speaking,
when the eloquent Honeyman " gasped out a few
incoherent remarks in reply," and when Major-
General Sir Thomas de Boots acknowledged the
toast of his health "in a confusion almost amount-
ing to apoplexy." Clive's wrathful tossing of a
glass of wine in the face of that impudent little
coxcombical numskull Barnes is so much to our
satisfaction that we almost regret his forced apology
the next morning, except for inasmuch as it is at
the instance of his noble-hearted father, and brings
out yet more brightly and bravely the Colonel's
nobility of nature, his sweetness of temper, his per-
fect manliness and magnanimity. Closing the num-
ber, we think only of the Colonel, we think only of
that portrait representing " a man rather bald, with
hair touched with grey, with a large moustache, and
a sweet mouth half smiling beneath it, and melan-
choly eyes !" And of how Clive shows that por-
trait of their grandfather to his children, " and
tells them that the whole world never saw a nobler
gentleman."

Reginald Lyle ; or, 'The Race for Gold. By Miss
Pardoe. 3 vols. , Hurst and Blackett.
From a very ancient and often-introduced sub-
ject Miss Pardoe has contrived to frame a some-
what novel and unprecedented story. The chief
character is an old man who has amassed consider-
able sums in India, and returns, laden with his
wealth, to the country he left poor and destitute.
He left friendless also ; but on his reappearance in
England he suddenly finds himself surrounded by
affectionate and anxious relatives. He, however,
is too wary to be caught in any snare, however
subtle or adroit might be the planners of it. In-
deed, so much did the fear of being deceived prey
upon his mind that he erred in the other extreme,
and mistook the character and misinterpreted the
conduct of the only upright and praiseworthy of
his male relations, the young Octavius Lyle.
Penelope, the sister of Mr. Reginald Lyle, the mil-
lionnaire, was the female exception to the rule of
evil-doing among his family. She, although.very
poor herself, contrived to lend a helping hand to
assist her unfortunate young nephew, and by her
encouragement and support enabled him to fight
the hard battle of life that was before him. Other
friends and sympathisers lie met with in time.
Mr. Trevor, the head clerk of Mr. Brunton, who
was Reginald Lyle's lawyer and confidential ad-
viser, was a very ardent advocate of his cause ;
yet although eventually this complicated connec-
tion of his friend with head-quarters brought
fortune and favour to Octavius, for some time
it was anything but an apparent advantage to
him. It would be unfair, both to the authoress and
readers, to detail the plot in all its intricacies, andnd
to follow all the ins and outs, the windings
turnings of an eventful career, like the one beforet
arranged,us, of Octavius. But as the book is it
will not detract from the interest of its remarks in
the final scene. Mr. Reginald Lyle attains the
object of his wishes ; but the scene is laid—where ?
On the bed of death. The mighty power, that
even riches cannot circumvent, asserted its right,
and the man of wealth—vast even for the Indies
to have enriched him with—was poor at the last
hour ; for his were all the treasures of earth, and,
in his anxiety lest moth, or rust, or thieves should
take them away, he had neglected to form any at-
tachments to his fellow-creatures, that would only
have grown stronger when his hold on life was be-
coming weaker, and that would have given him a
possession in the world which the grave could not
have buried. A moral could be derived from the
cupidity and falsehood of the two worldly men
who each, in his turn, exaggerated the state of his
affairs and prospects, in the hope of elevating them-
selves in the eyes of their kinsmen. The chamber
of death, the presence of one so soon to stand in
the world where all secrets are known, did not
deter them. The most effective point is where
the shrewd, cautious Lancaster is about to
speculate in sending out Octavius from Eng-
land ; he offers him a hundred pounds in order
to prevent his having any chance of obtaining
his uncle's thousands. Fortunately the plan was
overturned, but at the last the old man authorises
his lawyer to give a cheque of one hundred pounds
to the benevolent man who came forward to help
the orphan in distress. Mrs. Staunton is also an
impressive person. The race for gold is indeed a
hard one, as it is chronicled here. All must be of
opinion that Reginald Lyle himself did not en-
dure half the fatigue during the years he gained
his fortune beneath the suns of India as did his