The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-14 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 14, 1849

LITERAT URE.

SHIRLEY; A Tale. By Currer Bell, Author of
Jane Eyre." 3 Vols.
The readers and the admirers of " Jane Eyre "
and the terms are almost synonymous—have been ex-
pecting with considerable interest a new work by
Currer Bell. " Shirley" makes its appearance ac-
companied by all the advantages and disadvantages
attendant upon the second effort of a successful writer.
All who admired "Jane Eyre" will read "Shirley,"
and all who read " Shirley" will institute a strict
comparison between that work and its fortunate pre-
decessor. Happily for " Shirley" it will lose nothing
by the comparison. The same features which, not-
withstanding their sometimes revolting accompani-
ments, rendered " Jane Eyre" so attractive, are to be
met with abundantly in " Shirley." Foremost among
these is the style—the peculiar style, so fresh, so
vigorous, and so emphatic. So emphatic that the
meanest incidents are rendered impressive as realities ;
sa vigorous as at times to be positively startling,
and so new and fresh that it differs from the language
of ordinary novels as the keen breeze of the mountain
differs from the soft atmosphere of the hot-home. So
it was in " Jane Eyre," so it is in " Shirley." As a
specimen of this energetic and animated style, take
the following remarks, which are almost at the very
commencement of the first volume. We give them
merely as a specimen of a peculiar style, almost too
flippant, perhaps, in this individual instance :
" Of late years, I say, an abundant shower of curates
has fallen upon the north of England; but in eighteen-
hundred-eleven-twelve that affluent rain had not de-
scended; curates were scarce then: there was no Pasto-
ral Aid—no Additional Curates' Society to stretch a
helping hand to worn-out old rectors and incumbents,
and give them the wherewithal to pay a vigorous young
colleague from Oxford or Cambridge. The present
successors of the apostles, disciples of Dr. Pusey and
tools of the Propaganda, were at that time being hatched
under cradle-blankets, or undergoing regeneration by
nursery.baptism in wash-hand-basins. You could not
have guessed by looking at any one of them that the
Italian-ironed double frills of its net cap surrounded the
brows of a pre-ordained, specially-sanctified successor
of St. Paul, St. Peter, or St. John; nor could you have
foreseen in the folds of its long night-gown the white
surplice in which it was hereafter cruelly to exercise the
souls of its parishioners, and strangely to nonplus its
old-fashioned vicar by flourishing aloft in a pulpit the
shirt-like raiment which had never before waved higher
than the reading-desk.
"Yet even in those days of scarcity there were curates;
the precious plant was rare, but it might be found. A
certain favoured district in the West Riding of Yorkshire
could boast three rods of Aaron blossoming within a
circuit of twenty miles. You shall see them, reader.
Step into this neat garden-house on the skirts of Whin-
bury, walk forward into the little parlour—there they
are at dinner. Allow me to introduce them to you:—
Mr. Donne, curate of Whinbury; Mr. Malone, curate of
Briarfield; Mr. Sweeting, curate of Nunnely. These
are Mr. Donne's lodgings, being the habitation of one
John Gale, a small clothier. Mr. Donne has kindly in-
vited his brethren to regale with him. You and I will
join the party, see what is to be seen and hear what is
to be heard. At present, however, they are only eating;
and while they eat we will talk aside."
The story of " Shirley" is almost wholly devoid of
intricate plot or abundance of incident. It serves
merely as the framework for a group of striking
portraits, and as the occasion for the delineation—
and a most exquisitely natural delineation it is—of
various phases of human passion. To reveal the plot
of a novel is generally unfair, for it puts an end to
the curiosity of the reader ; but to reveal the plot of
"Shirley"would be harmless, for it is not the plot but the
manner in which it is worked which renders this
novel so attractive. The characters of the heroines,
Shirley Keeldar and Caroline Helstone, are especially
felicitous. Shirley, the chief heroine, is just of age,
and consequently the independent mistress of great
wealth and large estates. Somewhat spoiled, perhaps,
by the peculiarity of her position, she is proud and
wilful, but withal graceful in her wilfulness and
womanly in her pride. Louis Moore, the impoverished
son of a once wealthy family, half foreign, half
English, is a tutor in the house of Shirley's uncle.
This Louis Moore 'is the hero of Shirley's romance.
His character does not appear very attractive, perhaps,
on account of the painfully embarrassing position in
which he is placed. Loving Shirley, he is too proud
to woo the wealthy Miss Keeldar, and she, on her
part, is too proud to give the smallest token of encou-
ragement unsought. The situation is well imagined
and marvellously well described. Alluding to an
interview with Shirley, Louis Moore writes thus:—
" She could not hear me speak so unmoved, and she
was moved. It was right—l meant to move her. She
could not answer me, nor could she look at me. I should
have been sorry if she could have done either. Her
cheek glowed as if a crimson flower, through whose
petals the sun shone, had cast its light upon it. On the
white lid and dark lashes of her downcast eye trembled
all that is graceful in the sense of half-painful, half-
pleasing shame.
" Soon she controlled her emotion, and took all her
feelings under command. I saw she had felt insurrec-
tion, and was waking to empire—she sat down. There
was that in her face which I could read ; it said, I see
the line which is my limit—nothing shall make ms pass
it. I feel—l know how far I may reveal my feelings,
and when I must clasp the volume. I have advanced to
a certain distance, as far as the true and sovereign and
undegraded nature of my kind permits—now here I stand
rooted. My heart may break if it is baffled; let it break
—it shall never dishonour me—it shall never dishonour
my sisterhood in me. Suffering before degradation !
death before treachery!
"I, for my part, said, If she were poor, I would be
at her feet. If she were lowly, I would take her in my
arms. Her Gold and her Station are two griffins, that
guard her on each side. Love looks and longs, and
dares not. Passion hovers round, and is kept at bay.
Truth and Devotion are scared. There is nothing to lose
in winning her—no sacrifice to make—it is all clear gain,
and therefore unimaginably difficult.'"
Yet the continuation of this scene, however truthful
it may be, considering the peculiar character
of the actors, is not quite pleasing. There
is not enough of the softness of love in it to temper
the ungenial pride of the penniless lover, too proud
to open his lips, and the wealthy maiden, "who
would be wooed, and not unsought be won." We
were about to quote a passage illustrative of our
meaning, but on second thoughts we refrain, and
leave the revelation of the denouement to the readers
of " Shirley." The following passage will give a
correct idea of the peculiar character of the proud
and yet gentle Shirley. She has been for some time
pale and apparently unhappy, but she persists in de-
claring that nothing ails her. At last the tutor,
grown anxious, entreats her to confide in him, and,
like a submissive child, the imperious heiress obeys.
She tells that the following accident had befallen
her :

" I suppose we each find an exception in the one we
love, till we are married,' suggested Caroline.
" I suppose so: and this exception we believe to be
of sterling materials ; we fancy it like ourselves; we
imagine a sense of harmony. We think his voice gives
the softest, truest promise of a heart that will never
harden against us: we read in his eyes that faithful
feeling—affection. I don't think we should trust to
what they call passion, at all, Caroline. I believe it is
a mere fire of dry sticks, blazing up and vanishing: but
we watch him, and see him kind to animals, to little
children, to poor people. He is kind to us likewise—
good—considerate : he does not flatter women, but he
is patient with them, and he seems to be easy in their
presence, and to find their company genial. He likes
them not only for vain and selfish reasons, but as we
like him—because we like him. Then we obser►e that
he is just—that he always speaks the truth—that he is
conscientious. We feel joy and peace when he comes
into a room: we feel sadness and trouble when he leaves
it. We know that this man has been a kind son, that
he is a kind brother: will any one dare to tell me that
he will not be a kind husband?'
" My uncle would affirm it unhesitatingly. "He will
be sick of you in a month," he would say.'
" Mrs. Pryor would seriously intimate the same.'
" ' Mrs. Yorke and Miss Mann would darkly suggest

ditto.'
" ' If they are true oracles, it is good never to fall in

,ove.'
" a Very good, if you can avoid it.'
" ' I choose to doubt their truth.'
" I am afraid that proves you are already caught.'
" Not I : but if I were, do you know what sooth-
sayers I would consult?'
" Let me hear.'
" Neither man nor woman, elderly nor young : the
little Irish beggar that comes barefoot to my door; the
mouse that steals out of the cranny in the wainscot;
the bird that in frost and snow pecks at my window for
a crumb; the dog that licks my hand and sits beside my
knee.'
" Did you ever see any one who was kind to such
things?'
" • Did you ever see any one whom such things
seemed instinctively to follow, like, rely on?'
" ' We have a black cat and an old dog at the Rectory.
I know somebody to whose knee that black cat loves to
climb ; against whose shoulder and cheek it likes to
purr. The old dog always comes out of his kennel and
wags his tail, and whines affectionately when somebody
passes.'
" And what does that somebody do?'
" He quietly strokes the cat, and lets her sit while
he conveniently can, and when he must disturb her by
rising, he puts her softly down, and never flings her from
him roughly; ho always whistles to the dog and gives
him a caress.'
" ' Does he. It is not Robert?'
" • But it is Robert.'
" ' Handsome fellow!' said Shirley, with enthusiasm :
her eyes sparkled.
" Is he not handsome? Has he not fine eyes and
well cut features, and a clear, princely forehead?'
"' He has all that, Caroline. Bless himl ho is both
graceful and good.'
"' I was sure you would see that he was: when I
first looked at your face I knew you would.'
"' I was well inclined to him before I saw him. I
liked him when I did see him : I admire him now.
There is a charm in beauty for itself, Caroline; when it
is blent with goodness there is a powerful charm.'
" ' When mind is added, Shirley.'
" Who can resist it?'
" Remember my uncle, Mesdames Pryor, Yorke,
and Mann.'

" Remember the croaking of the frogs of Egypt !
He is a noble being. I tell you when they are good,
they are the lords of the creation—they are the sons of
God. Moulded in their Maker's image, the minutest
spark of His spirit lifts them almost above mortality.
Indisputably, a great, good, handsome man is the first of
created things.'
" Above us?'
" I would scorn to contend for empire with him—l
would scorn it. Shall my left hand dispute for prece•
deuce with my right?— shall my heart quarrel with my
pulse?—shall my veins be jealous of the blood which
fills them?'
" Men and women, husbands and wives, quarrel hor-
ribly, Shirley.'
" Poor things!—poor fallen, degenerate things! God
made them for another lot—for other feelings.' •
" But are we men's equals, or are we not?'
" Nothing ever charms me more than when I meet
my superior—one who makes me sincerely feel that he
is my superior.'
" ' Did you ever meet him?'
6" I should be glad to see him any day: the higher
above me, so much the better: it degrades to stoop—it
is glorious to look up. What frets me is, that when I
try to esteem, I am baffled: when religiously inclined,
there are but false gods to adore. I disdain to be a
Pagan.'

Miss Keeldar, will you come in? We are here at
the Rectory gates.' "
Shirley does not make her appearance until the
close of the first volume, yet the first volume is not
the least interesting of the three. It is rendered
attractive lsy the exquisitely natural presence of
Caroline Helstone, whose heart-history is detailed
with a simple tenderness and pathos quite affecting
from its apparent truthfulness. Robert Moore, the
brother of the Louis above mentioned, is a Yorkshire
mill-owner of a somewhat stern and determined
character. Being half a foreigner, he is regarded
with little kindness by his neighbours, and in his zeal
for progress, being a patronof all new inventions in
machinery, he is an object of indignation to the
majority of the workmen. Beneath his outward
austerity Robert's better nature occasionally peeps
forth, never more visibly than when in presence of
Caroline Helstone, the rector's niece, and his own dis-
tant relation—the gentle, tender, devoted Caroline,
who comes daily to take her lesson in French from
Hortense Moore, and who almost daily contrives to I
find greater pleasure in the society of Hortense's
brother Robert. The time in which these
incidents took place was during the Peninsular
war. The " orders in Council," the object of the
taillowners' abhorrence, which closed foreign ports
against British manufactures, were reducing Robert
to the verge of ruin. To make money was in his
case almost a duty, seeing that it was his purpose to
restore the credit of his family, ruined by his father's
unsuccessful speculation. Robert, therefore, must not
marry unless he can meet with an heiress, and accord-
ingly he woos Shirley Keeldar. Before this proceeding
he has, perhaps thoughtlessly, trifled with his little
loving cousin—hence the sorrow which overwhelms
poor Caroline. This portion of the narrative is invested
with a vivid air of reality—e. g., Caroline has been
passing a happy evening at the cottage of the Moores.
She repeats the poem of " La Jeune Captive"—
" Caroline, beginning in a low, rather tremulous voice,
but gaining courage as she proceeded, repeated the sweet
verses of el:limier; the last three stanzas she rehearsed
well.

" I heard a panting sound ; a dog came running up
the lane. I know most of the dogs in this neighbour-
hood ; it was Phoebe, one of Mr. Sam Wynne's pointers.
The poor creature ran with her head down, her tongue
hanging out ; she looked as if bruised and beaten all
over. I called her; I meant to coax her into the house,
and give her some water and dinner; I felt sure she had
been ill-used. Mr. Sam often flogs his pointers cruelly.
She was too flurried to know me; and when I attempted
to pat her head, she turned ad snatched at my arm.
She bit it so as to draw blood, then ran panting on.
Directly after, Mr. Wynne's keeper came up carrying a
gun. He asked if I had seen a dog, I told him I had seen
Phoebe.

" You had better chain up Tartar, ma'am,' he said,
' and tell your people to keep within the house, I am
after Phoebe to shoot her, sad the groom is gone another
way. She is raging mad.'
" Mr. Moore leaned back in his chair, and folded his
arms across his chest; Miss Keeldar resumed her square
of silk canvass, and continued the creation of a wreath of
Parmese violets.
" And you told no one, sought no help, no cure; you
would not come to me ?'
" I got as far as the school-room door; there my
courage failed; I preferred to cushion the matter.'
"' Why ? What can I demand better in this world
than to be of use to you ? '
" ' I had no claim.'
" Monstrous I And you did nothing?'
"' Yes; I walked straight into the laundry, where they
are ironing most of the week, now that I have so many
guests in the house. While the maid was busy crimp-
ing or starching, I took an Italian iron from the fire, and
applied the light scarlet glowing tip to my arm; I bored
it well in; it cauterized the little wound. Then I went
up• stairs.'

I daresay you never once groaned?
" I am sure I don't know. I was very miserable
Not arm or tranquil at all, I think;
T there was no calm in
my" m'
inhtie was calm in your person. I remember lis-
tening the whole time we sat at luncheon, to hear if you
moved in the room above; all was quiet.'
I was sitting at the foot of the bed, wishing Phosbe
had not bitten me.'
'‘' And alone! You like solitude.'
"' Pardon me.'
" You disdain sympathy.'
" Do I, Mr. Moore?'
With your powerful mind, you must feel indepen-
dent of help, of advice, of society.'
" So be it—since it pleases you.'
" She smiled. She pursued her embroidery carefully
and quickly; but her eyelash twinkled, and then it glit-
tered, and then a drop fell.
" Mr. Moore leaned forward on his desk, moved his
chair, altered his attitude.
" If it is not so,' he asked, with a peculiar, mellow
change in his voice, how is it, then?'
"'I don't know.'
" You do know, but you won't speak; all must be
locked up in yourself.'
" Because it is not worth sharing.'
" Because nobody can give the high price you re-
quire for your confidence. Nobody is rich enough to
purchase it. Nobody has the honour, the intellect, the
power you demand in your adviser. There is not a
shoulder in England on which you would rest your
hand for snpport—far less a bosom which you would
p,,rinit to pillow your head. Of course you must live
alone.'

" Moore listened ai first with his eyes cast down, but
soon he furtively raised them: leaning back in his chair,
he could watch Caroline without her perceiving where his
gaze was fixed. Her cheek had a colour, .her eyes a
light, her countenance an expression, this evening, which
would have made even plain features striking; but there
was not the grievous defect of plainness to pardon in her
case. The sunshine was not shed on rough barrenness;
it fell on soft bloom. Each lineament was turned with
grace; the whole aspect was pleasing. At the present
moment—animated, interested, touched—she might be
called beautiful. Such a face was calculated to awaken
not only the calm sentiment of esteem, the distant one
of admiration; but some feeling more tender, genial,
intimate: friendship, perhaps—affection, interest. When
she had finished she turned to Moore, and met his eye.
" Is that pretty well repeated?' she inquired, smil-
ing like any happy, docile child.
" I really don't know.'
' Why don't you know? Have you not listened?'
4" Yes—and looked. You are fond of poetry, Lina?'
" When I meet with real poetry, I cannot rest till I
have learned it by heart, and so made it partly mine.'
" Mr. Moore now sat silent for several minutes. It
struck nine o'clock: Sarah entered and said that Mr.
Helstone's servant was come for Miss Caroline.
" Then the evening is gone already,' she observed;
' and it will be long, I suppose, before I pass another
here.'
" Hortense bad been for some time nodding over her
knitting; fallen into a doze now, she made no response
to the remark.
" You would have no objection to come here oftener
of an evening?' inquired Robert, as he took her folded
mantle from the side-table, where it still lay, and care-
fully wrapped it round her.
" I like tto come here; but I Imo no desire to be in-

I ecru live alone, if need be. But the question is not
how to live—but how to die alone. That strikes me in
a more grisly light.'"
A conversation between the two heroines, Shirley
and Caroline, throws still further light on the chi-

ratter of the former. This conversation, which ap- trusive. lam not hinting to be asked: you must under-
' i pears really the simple and natural discourse of two stand that.'
girls, is one of many proofs that, whether or no I" ' Oh! understand thee, child. You sometimes
Currey Bell be a trge
_appellation, " Shirley" is the
; lecture me for wisrich, hing to be Line; but if I were
rich, you should live hero always: at any rate, you should
I work of a woman's pen. live with me wherever my habitation might be.
"' I often wonder Shirley, whether most men re-
" ' that would be pleasant; and if you were poor—
! semble my uncle in their domestic relations; whether T
ever so poor—it would still be pleasant. Good night,
it is necessary to be new aid unfamiliar to them, in
romised to walk with you up to the Rectory.
eorder to seem agreeable or esti2lable in their eyes ; '
and whether it is impossible to their Itatures to retain
though I wished
every day.'
licrlt.p'
" ' I know you did; but I thought you had forgotten,
and I hardly knew how to remind you
a constant interest and affection for tiaO2e they see
I taondd,oaist.Faßnnayt wisocuoldmye',otuhelirkeeistnoogonl'ecLlstitiys—a cold night;
"' I don't know : I can't clear up your doubts. .i.
ponder over similar ones -myself sometimes. But, to " ' Here is you muff—don't wake llortense—come.t
tell you a secret, if I were convinced that they are " The half mile to the Rectory was soon traversed.
necessarily and universally different from us—fickle,
They parted in the garden without kise, scarcely with a
soon petrifying, unsympathizing I would never
pressure of hands; yet Robert sent his cousin in excited
did root I
love me should not like
it to
was weary of me, a find out that whatnd I loved
that
and joyously troubled. He had been singularly kind to
, that
her that day: not in phrase, compliment, profession; but
whatever effort I might make to please would hereafter
in manner, in look, and in soft and friendly tones.
be worse than useless, since it was inevitably in its
" For himself, he came home grave, almost morose.
nature to change and become indifferent. That dis-
As he stood leaning on his own yard gate, musing in the
covery once made, what should I long for ? To go
watery moonlight, all alone—the hushed, dark mill before
away—to remove from a presence where my society
hire, the hill-environed hollow round—ho exclaimed
gave no pleasure.'
" ' But you could not, if you were married.' abruptly:—
" ' No, I could not—there it is. I could never be my " `This won't do! There's weakness—there's down-
own mistress more. A terrible thoughtl—it suffocates ,
right ruin in all this. However, be added, dropping his
voice, ' the phrerzy is quite temporary. I know it very
me! Nothing irks me like the idea of being a burden
and a bore—an inevitable burden—a ceaseless bore ! well: I have had it before. It will be gone to morrow.'"
And it was gone to morrow.. After an evening
.of
Now, when I feel my company superfluous, I can com-
fortably fold my independence round me like a mantle, blissful meditation, the unconscious Caroline repairs
and drop my pride like a veil, and withdraw to solitude. the next morning to the cottage (for her lesson), her
If married, that could not be.' heart full of happiness at the thought of meeting
"' I wonder we don't all make up our minds to remain Robert. She does meet him :
single,' said Caroline :' we should if we listened to the "Arriving in sight of the white house, and within hear-
wisdom of experience. My uncle always speaks of ing of the thundering mill and its rushing water-course,
marriage as a burden; and I believe whenever he hears the first thing she saw was Moore at his garden gate.
of a man being married, he invariably regards him ass There he stood, in his belted Holland blouse, a light cap
fool, or, at any rate, as doing a foolish thing.' covering his bead, which undress costume suited him:
" ' But, Caroline, men are not all like your uncle : he was looking down the lane, not in the direction of
surely not—l hope not.' his cousin's approach. She stopped, withdrawing a little
" She paused and mused. behind a willow, and studied his appearance. .
. .

" He has not his peer,' she thought; he is as hand.
some as he is intelligent. What a keen eye he has
What clearly cut, spirited features—thin and serious, but
graceful! Ido like his face—l do like his aspect—l do
like him so much! Better than any of those shuffling
curates, for instance—better than anybody: bonnie
Robert!'
" She sought bonnie Robert's' presence speedily.
For his part, when she challenged his sight, I believe he
would have passed from before her eyes like a phantom,
if he could; but being a tall fact, and no fiction, he was
obliged to stand the greeting, He made it brief: it was
cousin-like, brother like, friend-like, anything but lover-
like. The nameless charm of last night had left his
manner: he was no longer the same man; or, at any rate
the same heart did not beat in his breast. Rude disap-
pointment! t
shheeeasgaewr
agnidrlfwelotu
iltd.
s
it was difficult to turn her eyes from his eyes. till his
hniptaoo dtiwnbabt believe
effil
ecdsiuhnal atttrhtpoleecawershoi ttashesnciolgrme eaAwtththbi though
hand from his, till he
efirgs
like a kind pressure;
more and fonder than
tlhooakt scoohlawdelecoxmpree.ssed something
" A lover masculine so disappointed can speak and
urge explanation, a lover feminine can say nothing: if
she did the result would be shame and anguish, inward
remorse for self-treachery. Nature would brand such
demonstration as a rebellion against her instincts, and
would vindictively repay it afterwards by the thunder-
bolt of self-contempt smiting suddenly in secret. Take
the matter as you find it: ask no questions; utter no
remonstrances: it is your best wisdom. You expected
bread, and you have got a stone; break your teeth on it,
and don't shriek because the nerves are martyrized: do
not doubt that your mental stomach—if you have such
a thing—is strong as an ostrich's—the stone will digest.
You held out your hand for an egg, and fate put into it
a scorpion. Show no consternation: close your fingers
firmly upon the gift; let it sting through your palm.
Never mind: in time, after your hand and arm have
swelled and quivered long with torture, the squeezed
scorpion will die, and you will have learned the great
lesson how to endure without a sob. For the whole
remnant of your life, if you survive the test—some, it
is said, die under it—you will be stronger, wiser, less
sensitive. This you are not aware of, perhaps, at the
time, and so cannot borrow courage of that hope. Na-
ture, however, as has been intimated, is an excellent
friend in such cases; sealing the lips, interdicting utter-
ance, commanding a placid dissimulation : a dissimula-
tion often wearing an easy and gay mien at first, settling
down to sorrow and paleness in time, then passing away
and leaving a convenient stoicism, not the less fortifying
because it is half-bitter.

. .
" But what has been said in the last page or two is
not germane to Caroline Helstone's feelings, or to the
state of things between her and Robert Moore. Robert
had done her no wrong: he bad told her no lie; it was
she that was to blame, if any one was: what bitterness
her mind distilled should and would be poured on her
own head. She had loved without being asked to love
—a natural, sometimes an inevitable chance, but big
with misery.

" Robert, indeed, had sometimes seemed to be fond of
her—but why? Because she had made herself so pleas-
ing to him, he could not, in spite of all his efforts, help
testifying a state of feeling his judgment did not approve,
nor his will sanction. He was about to withdraw de-
cidedly from intimate communication with her, because
he did not choose to have his affections inextricably
entangled, nor to be drawn, despite his reason, into a
marriage he believed imprudent. Now, what was she to
do—to give way to her feelings, or to vanquish them?
To pursue him, or to turn upon herself? If she is weak,
she will try the first expedient—will lose his esteem and
win his aversion; if she has sense, she will be her own
governor, and resolve to subdue and bring under guid-
ance the disturbed realm of ber emotions. She will
determine to look on life steadily, as it is; to begin to
learn its severe truths seriously, and to study its knotty
problems closely, conscientiously."

The readers of " Jane Eyre " failed to recognise the
authoress, but no one who peruses the touching
narrative of Caroline's sorrows and struggles—a
narrative too long to be quoted here, and too beau-
tiful to suffer us to mar it by curtailment —will doubt
for a moment that a woman's heart has dictated this
revelation of a woman's sufferings. Apart from the
interest attaching to the two love stories, the dangers
and difficulties of the enterprising mill-owners, unro-
mantic though they be, are full of attraction. The
scene in which we are first introduced to Robert
Moore is well described. He is waiting with more
anxiety than he is willing to confess for the arrival of
some waggons containing new machinery. It has
been threatened by men, thrown out of work by the
new improvements, that all such machines shall be
destroyed, but Moore perseveres. The hours pass
and the waggons do not arrive. At last their rum-
bling sound is heard. Moore goes out to meet them;
he can hardly distinguish them in the darkness, "Is
all right, Joe Scott ?" he exclaims. No answer. "Is
all right ?" he asks again, and this time a loud
voice replies, "Ay, all raight, divil, we've
smashed em !" Written, as it is, in an
earnest, unaffected, and impressive style, and
abounding, as it does, with most masterly delinea-
tions of human passion, " Shirley " cannot fail to be
successful. Its influence on the heart is good ; it
gives exercise to some of our best emotions ; yet
" Shirley" is not quite faultless. We have, it is true,
no such repulsive hero as Mr. Rochester, yet the pro-
minent features of all Currer Bell's heroes are stern
and hard—at least they seem so by the side of the all-
attractive and most womanly heroines. Robert Moore
is perhaps an exception ; his character is delicately and
naturally drawn. We are loth, however, to dwell on the
faults of a book which has pleased us so much as
" Shirley." Its author is evidently endowed with a
tender heart and a thinking brain, and will confer
yet further obligations on the reading public. As
" Shirley " is an improvement on " Jane Eyre," in
some particulars, warmed with a greater glow of
human tenderness ; so we doubt not that the next
production of Currer Bell will again be an improve-
ment in some respects on " Shirley "—in some
respects only, for in others " Shirley "is perfect.

[Anv-EnnsEarENT.j. —The Observer of Sunday
next, Nov. 18, will give the fullest particulars of the
Execution of the Mannings , with his Confession, and
all other matters connected therewith. The Observer
of Sunday, Oct. 28, which gave 22 columns of the
trial, is again reptinting, and copies, at sixpence each,
csa be had all this month of November. The extensive
publication of the Observer commeeces at four o'clock
on Sunday morning, in time for all the early railways.
A sixpence, inclosed to Mr. Clement, jun., 170, Strand,
will insure a copy of either dated Observer, by return of
post, to any part of the United Kingdom.
STATE OF TRADE.—MANCHESTER, TUESDAY.—
There has been a degree of excitement in the market
to-day, owing to the arrival of the Niagara steamer,
with dates from New York to the 31st ult., and in reply
to letters hence of the 13th ult., showing an excited
cotton market in Liverpool, with advanced prices of
to per lb. Cotton has advanced in New York I- to I
cent, and no better estimates of the crop are given than
have before appeared. Some of the larger producers
here do not offer their stocks; others require further
advances, the general result being that there has been
more disposition on the part of buyers to do business,
particularly in cloths, at rates which could not have been
conceded last market day. There appears to be very
large orders for cloth in the hands of buyers, but at pre-
sent limited producers will not accept. Heavy cloths do
not improve. Upon the whole, the feeling is healthy
and firm, and the opinion that higher rates must prevail
gains ground.
'PAIN, Nov. B.—SNOW STORM.--On Monday last,
we had the first unmistakeable sign of an approaching
winter, for the day was very rainy—and we had showers
of snow also in abundance. On Tuesday it snowed
the whole day without intermission ; and yesterday
morning, the whole ground was covered with it to the
depth of about six inches. The mails from the North
and south have been irregular since Monday in conse-
quence; and yesterday, the coach from the south did
not arrive till about four o'clock. To-day it is still
very frosty, but we hope that the snow will soon dis-
appear.
HIGHLAND STOCK FOR ENGLAND.--A few days
ago, a lot of ten very fine three year-old Highland slots
were shipped at Findhorn per North Star steamer, from
the stock of Dunphail, the property of Major Cumming
Bruce. The stock had been purchased tor the Right
Hon. Charles Shaw Lefevre, Speaker of the House of
Commons.—North Britishililail.
CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.--Traffic for
the week ended Nov. 11,18-19 :—Coaching traffic, 904/.;
parcels,_ &c., 534; goods, cattle, &c., 4134; steam-boats,
$41.; Mold, 484—Total, 1,60i4

road, St. James's, Bermondsey; one in Walwertb,
and one in Lambeth. A death from apoplexy, on
which an inquest was held, occurred in Huntin'gdon-
street, Hoxten. The deceased was a woman of 65,
who for the last four years had lived in an under-
ground cellar, which is only 11 feet in length, 8 feet
6 inches in width, 5 feet 9 inches in height, and sunk
5 feet 7 inches below the surface of the street! A
small window scarce gives light or ventilation, and
" the walls," says the registrar, " are so damp that
you might brush the water from them."
The mean daily reading of the barometer was above
30 inches on the last three days of the week. The
mean of the week was 29.732. The temperature on
the last three days was considerably higher than the
average of the same days in seven years. The mean
of the week was 50 2 degrees, which is higher than
the average by 4.1.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH
REPUBLIC AND THE ARMY AND NAVY
CLUB.
The members of the Army and Navy Club re-
ceived on Thursday last a superb piece of Gobelins
tapestry, a present from the Preaident of the French
Republic, with the accompanying letter from the
French Ambas3ador

" Hertford-house, Nov. 5.
"Monsieur,—Le Prince Louis Napolem Bonaparte,
Pre,ident de la P6publique PrancAise, m'a chart.,6 de
voui informer de son intention d'ofFrir au Nouveau Club
de l'Artnea et de la. Marine un tapis des Gobelins. Le
Pieddent de la R6publique aime a esrfrer quo Messieurs
les membres du Club voudront bien l'accepter comme
un temoignage des excellens souvenirs qu'il a conserlei
de son tejour en Angleterre et des precieuses relations
qu'il a t-u le plaisir d'y entretenir avec plusieurs officiers
de l'Arn: ba et de la Flotte de Its Grande Bretagne.
" Vous pourrez, Monsieur, faire prendre ce tapis chez
MM. Hindley et Sons, 134, Oxford-street.
" Recevez, Monsieur, I'assurance do ma consideration
distinguee.

" E. DROUYN DE LIIYS
" Monsieur le S6ere.taire du Nouveau Club
de l'Artr‘a et de la Marine."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Six,—lf public executions are justifiable on the
ground of their teaching "a grand moral lesson," how
comes it to pass that in some parts of her Majesty's
dominions they are always concealed from the
public gaze ? I was in Sydney at the time
of the execution of the Norfolk Island
pirates--I saw the wretched men in their cells the
Sunday before they suffered, I saw the gallows
erected in the prison yard ; but no one was
permitted to sue the last scene except those whose
duty called them to the spot. I state a fact—l offer
no opinio❑ ; hut I again ask, if executions are adapted
to teach morals to mankind, why are they shrouded
from the view in a country where the state of morals
is certainly more depressed than it is in Grea
Britain and Ireland ?
London, Nov. 12, 1849.

A TRAVELLER.

FROM THE LONDON GAZETTE
OF TUESDAY.
DIVIDENDS.
At the Court, Basinghall-street.
R. H. Moore, Paternoster-row, bookseller and pub-
sher, Dec. 6, at half-past twelve—W. M. Nobbs,
Maiden-lane, hotel-keeper, and Upper Seymour-street,
Euston-square, chemist and druggist, Dec. 8, at eleven—
J. T. Übsdell, Exbury, Hampshire, brickmaker, Dec. 8,
at eleven—H. Bramley, New City-chambers, City, in-
surance broker, Dec. 6, at one—H. Hall, Lamb's Con-
duit street, ironmonger, Dec. 8, at half-past eleven—A.
Atkins, Finsbury-square, merchant, Dec. 6, at twelve—
A. Macdonald and A. Campbell, Regent-street, St.
James's, army agents and bankers, Dec. 6, at one—C. J.
J. Turner, Bucklersbury and Old Jewry, auctioneer and
surveyor, Dec. 5, at twelve—J. B. Hamilton, Grange-
walk, Bermondsey-square, wnolesale confectioner and
Italian warehouseman, Dec. 5, at twelve—lt. Daw, Jun.,
Launceston, Cornwall, linendraper, Dec. 5, at half-past
eleven—J. G. Ufford, Holloway, common brewer, Dec. 5,
at one—J. H. Garrood, Thornham Magna, Suffolk,
grocer and draper, Dec. 5, at one—S. Leon, Rathbone-
place, tailor, Dec. 5, at eleven—J. King and J. F. King,
Wells-row, Islington, builders, Dec. 5, at eleven—J.
Williams, Hampstead-road, builder, Dec. 6, at eleven—
W. Blacknell, Plumstead, Kent, baker, Dec. 6, at eleven
—F. Macqueen, Macao, China, merchant, Dec. 5, at
half-past one—G. Staight, Skinner-street, Snow-hill,
cutler, Dec. 5, at half-past twelve—J. Cottin, Bread-
street, City, merchant, Dec. 6, at twelve—L. S. Butler,
Ludgate hill, and City-road-basin, stationer and coal
merchant, Dec. 6, at half-past eleven.
In the Country.
A. Twnstall and J. W. Cash, Bristol, oil merchants,
Dec. 6, at eleven, at the Court, Bristol—S. Mayfield,
Leamington Priors, Warwickshire, upholsterer, Dec. 12
at twelve, at the Court, Birmingham—J. L. Norton
Birmingham, stationer, Dec. 12, at twelve, at the Court
Birmingham—J. Hewitt, Liverpool, merchant, Dec. 6I
at eleven, at the Court, Liverpool—T. Turner, D. Brade,
and C. Schwind, Liverpool, merchants, Dec. 6, at eleven
at the Court, Liverpool. ,
PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS.
Elizabeth Aydon and T. W. Ferguson, Newcastle-
upon-Tyne, grocers, 2s. 2d., on Saturday, Nuv. 17, or
any following Saturday, between ten and three, at the
office of Mr. Wakley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
M. Burton and B. Shaen, Manchester, cotton spinners
205., on Tuesday, Nov. 27, or any subsequent Tuesday,
between eleven and one, at the (Alice of Mr. Fraser,
Manchester.

T. %les, Gloucester, grocer, ld., on Wednesday,
Nov. 14, or any subsequent Wednesday, between twelve
and two, at the office of Mr. Acraman, Bristol.
J. B. Sanger, Bristol, cabinetmaker, 25., on Wednes-
day, Nov. 14, or any subsequent Wednesday, between
twelve and two, at the office of Mr. Acraman, Bristol.
P. Vaughan, Brecon, scrivener, 4d., on Wednesday,
Nov. 14, or any subsequent Wednesday, between twelve
and two, at the office of Mr. Acraman, Bristol.
NOTICES OF CERTIFICATES.
At the Court, Basinghall-street.
J. S. Story, St. Alban's, Bedfordshire, banker, Dec.
7, at twelve—W, Garrod, Hackney, draper, Dec. 5, at
eleven.

In the Country.
J. Lloyd and G. Lloyd, Brinnington, r Cheshire,
builders, Dec. 7, at twelve, at the Court, Slanchester—T
Oakes, Kingswinford, Staffordshire, ironmaster, Dec. 5
at 12, at the Court, Birmingham—J. Jones, Kingswin
ford, Staffordshire, iron master, Dec. 5, at twelve, at the
Court, Birmingham—G. Webb, Tamworth, Staffordshire,
wine merchant, Dec. 5, at twelve, at the Court, Birming-
ham—A. Webb, Wakefield, Yorkshire, seed merchant,
Dec. 6, at eleven, at the Court, Leeds.
CERTIFICATES GRANTED.

W. T. Creech, Brighton, licensed victualler, certificate
of the third class, after 21 days from Nov. B—T. Parfre-
meat, King-street, Holborn, bootmaker, certificate of the
first class, after 21 days from Nov. 9—W.
Colcock, James-street, Covent-garden, after 21
days from November 9—H. N. Dale, Liver-
pool, stock and share broker, certificate of the first class,
after 21 days from Nov. 9—W. Husler, Leeds, stone-
mason, certificate of the third class, after 21 days from
Nov. B—A. Denoon, Adam's-court, Old Broad•street,
City, merchant, certificate of the second class—G.
Munro, Birmingham, hackneyman and coach proprietor,
certificate of the first class, after 21 days—G. Nye, Maid-
stone, Kent, certificate of the second class—W. Boucher,
Bristol, bed, mattress, and bedstead-manufacturer, after
12 months from May 26—J. Spikins, Regent-street,
Westminster, certificate of the third class, after 6 months
from Jan. 9—C. Nixon, Birmingham, picture frame
maker, certificate of the first class.
PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED.
J. Hussey and W. G. Coles, Crewkerne, Somerset-
shire, attorneys and solicitors—J. Dean, J. N. Slater,
and J. Cronkshaw, Haslingden, Lancashire, cotton spin-
ners and manufacturers—M. Shaw and W. B. Robinson,
Stoneferry, near Hull, coal merchants and licensed vic-
tuallers—J. Rhodes and E. Hayes, Leeds, share brokers
—W. Hargreaves, jun., and J. Kennedy, Bradford, York-
shire, railway founders—J. .Phillips and G. Hunt, Bir-
mingham, wood button makers—E. Platte and W. Whit-
teron, Manchester, brewers—J. Rennie, J. Logan, and A.
Duncan, Newport, Monmouthshire, contractors—W. S.
Kelsall, E. C. Buxton, R. Hoare, and T. S. Kelsall, London,
Manchester, and Calcutta, commission-merchants and
agents (as far as regards W. S. Kelsall)—M. Spencer andW.
Spencer, Coventry, ribbon-manufacturers—J. Field and
G. J. Powell, Cross-street, Hatton-garden, bookbinders
—W. Bilby and C. Harness, Gresham-street, City,
agents and warehousemen—J. Spiller, S. W. Browne,
and C. B. Mogg, Bridgwater, Somersetshire, millers—
G. Gates and G. Gates, jun., Steyning, Sussex, brewers
—G. Collins and J. Lees, Birmingham, brick and tile•
makers—F. Cosslett, J. Cosslett, and S. Morgan, Caer-
leon and Newport, Monmouthshire, and Cardiff, Gla-
morganshire, railway contractors—J. Townsend and J.
Shackleton, lladinmill, near Littleborough, woollen-
manufacturers—T. Peet and 11. F. Peet, Nottingham,
lace-manufacturers—F. Taylor, J. J. Bibby, J. Bibby,
H. Willyams, H. J. Nevill, and A. Druce, copper-
smelters, St. Helen's, Lancashire (as far as regards F.
Taylor).

INSOLVENT PETITIONERS.
James Fawcett, Liverpool, grocer.
William Killon, Liverpool, hairdresser.
Theophilus Jonas Sutton, Liverpool, merchant's clerk.
Andrew Irwin Birrell, Liverpool, commission agent.
Thomas Augustus Vesey, Haleswortb, Suffolk, brazier.
Robert Morris, Poulton-cum-Seacombe, grocer.
Henry Simmons, Awre, Gloucestershire, railway fore-

man.
Charles Simmons, Newnham, Gloucestershire, railway
gauger.

SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS.
D. Hume, Costerton Mains, near Blackahiels, farmer,
zo meet Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, at two, within Cannon's
Commercial Temperance Hotel, Edinburgh.
W. Connell, jun., Greenock, cordage manufacturer, to
meet Nov. 20 and Dec. 13, at twelve, within the TontMe
Hotel, Greenock.
D. Graham, Edinburgh, grocer, to meet Nov. 19 and
Dec. 10, at two, within the Railway Station Hotel, Edin-
burgh.
F-

_READFUL _ IRE AT CIRENCESTER.—An alarm-
ing conflagration took place at about a quarter before
six o'clock this morning at Cirencester, on premises
occupied by Mr. Daniel Thomas, hatter, Cricklade-
street, and which could not be subdued until after the
entire stock had been destroyed. Both Mr. Thomas and
his wife were severely burnt, and, in consequence of the
fierceness with which the flames raged, narrowly escaped
with their lives. The disaster appears to have arisen
from a spark falling from a candle npon some paper
while Mr. Thomas was packing up a quantity of goods
for Fairford fair. We understand that the stock was
insured.—Cheltenham Journal of yesterday.

BOUTHILLIER.
The League had been called" together, to meet" at
Toronto on the Ist of November, to take into consi-
deration matters of importance. The plan proposed
to be pursued by the League is said to be as follows :
"Every branch of the League, in all the constituen-
cies in Canada, is to agitate in its respective location, so
as to induce its representative in the provincial Parlia-
ment to vote for the introduction of a Bill authorizing
the assembling together of the people of Canada, by
means of delegates, in convention, for the purpose of
determining on what changes in the Constitution aro
necessary, and, having done so, a measure in accord-
ance with their views is to be brought into Parliament,
and, when carried, sent home for consideration to
England. It is for this purpose that the convention of
delegates of the British American League is to meet. A
union of the North American provinces will also be con-
sidered."

A slight but unimportant disturbance had occurred
at Quebec.

We have Mexican advices to the sth of October,
but they contain no intelligence of importance.
The Washington correspondent of the New York
Tribune states that the result of an interview which
lately took place between Mr. Rives, the United
States Minister to France, and Lord Palmerston,
leaves little doubt of such an adjustment of the matter
as will throw the Nicaragua route open to all nations
on an equal footing.
The steamship Crescent City had arrived at New
York from Chagres, with advices from that port to
the 17th ult. Sbe left Kingston, Jamaica, on the
20th ult. We have no later intelligence from the
gold mines. Panama remained healthy.

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.
NEW YORK, OCT. 31.
Money Market—The Stock market since the last
steamer had had buyers, and the quotations have nearly
all improved. Demand for Government Stocks has
been large for remittance to England and the Continent,
and at advancing prices. The amount of Government
and State securities by this steamer we estimate at
300,000 dollars.

In exchanges the market is a little softer. The supply
of these had somewhat increased by the movement in
cotton and produce. The demand is moderate, and first-
class sterling sold at 10/, which is about the top of the
market. The leading drawer reduced his buying price
per cent. Francs at 5.22 i to 5.20, and firm.
Cotton—On the 27th, on receipt of letters by Europa,
buyers came freely forward, and 3,430 bales were sold
at an improvement of / cent., establishing the improve-
ment for the week of Ito cent. and quotations of the
highest point of the seuson. Yesterday the sales reached
3,000 bales, and to-day, 260 bales, at extreme prices.
The unfavourable advices from the 4th giving a new
impetus to the demand, the market closes with a good
inquiry, being easier to sell than purchase at the quota-
tions.

Breadstuffs—The lower grades of flour hava declined
61 to 12i cents. per barrel, being in plentiful supply.
Ihe price of the better kinds was steady. The stock in
store was moderate for the season. We are continuing
to receive Canada flour and wheat in bond, but in
moderate quantities. Sales have been made largely of
flour at 4601 dollars to 475 dollars per barrel, and wheat
at 104 to 105 in bond.
Iron—The market is quiet, and we quote Scotch pig
19 dollars to 19 dollars 50 cents., cash; 20 dollars to 21
dollars six months, at which further sales of 1,000 tons
have been made. Inferior sold at 19 dollars 50 cents.
six months.

NEW ORLEANS, OCT. 26, P.M.—There has been a
good demand for cotton to day, and the market is
without change from yesterday. The operations are
partly for export. Sales of today embrace 4,000
bales, including middling qualities at 9kc. to &lc.
Dealers are anxiously waiting the Europa.
OCT. 27, A.M.—The news by the Europa was re-
ceived here last evening, and made public this morn-
ing. The advices being considered highly favourable,
holders advanced their prices but as the market has
not fairly opened it would be difficult to give a correct
line of the same. Freights to Liverpool are declining,
and are quoted Ic. for cotton.

AMERICAN NEWS.
ARRIVAL OF THE NIAGARA.
LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY, Nov. 13.
We have just to haul one week's later intelligence
from New York and the British American possessions,
per the steam ship Niagara, which left New York
on the 30th ult., and Halifax on the 2d instant, and
arrived here a few minutes since. Although work-
ing only one engine, the ether having been disabled
during the outward passage, the Niagara has made
the run in 124 days.
The Niagara has brought 30,000/. in specie on
freight.
The Europa, Captain Lott, hence, arrived at Boston
on the 25th ult.
The Hibernia, Captain Stone, hence for New York,
was spoken by the Niagara on the evening of the 21
inst., off Sambro' Head.
Beyond the intelligence from the West India
islands, which will be found elsewhere, the advices
are totally uninteresting.
From Canada we have the confirmation of the
rumoured change in the seat of Government from
Montreal to Toronto.
The following is the official notification :
" Crown Lands-uflici., 111 mitre al, ()c . 2S.
" Mr. Mayor,--After mature duliberit;ion upon the
address of the Legislative Assembly, dated the 19th of
May last, in favour of holding the seat of Government
alternately at Toronto and Quebec, and on considera-
tion that nothing has since occurred to diminish the
weight of the reasons which gave rise to that address,
the Governor-General in Council has coma to the de-
termination of acquiescing in the desire of the Legisla-
tive Assembly.
" This decision necessarily causes the removal of the
seat of Government to one of the two cities.
" It has been determined that the new arrangement
shall commence by the immediate removal of the Go-
vernment to Toronto, there to remain till the expiration
of the present Parliament, after which it will be trans-
ferred to Quebec for the four following years.
" For these reasons, I am commanded by his Excel-
lency the Governor-General to notify to the corporation
of Quebec, in accordance with the subsisting contract,
that in one year from this date the Government will
again take possession of the public edifices now in charge
of the said corporation.—l have the honour to be, Sir
your obedient servant,