The Sun.
London, England, 1871-02-02 00:00:00

MAGAZINES FOR FEBRUARY.

Blackwood. —The whole tone of Blackwood for February
is portentous. It is like the trumpet call of the Conser-
vative Opposition immediately before the reassembling of
Parliament. Maga's bearing towards the Prime Minister
especially is " pronounced" and uncompromizing. The
" Political" of Ebony has been "at him," so has Cor-
nelius O'Dowd, otherwise Charles Lever, so has the con-
tributor of a kindred set of reflections entitled " New
Year's Musings." Mr. Gladstone is declared to be a
failure. His position, the whole position of his Govern-
ment, is, indeed, described as, imminently perilous.
Judging from the tone of their monthly organ the Conser-
vative Opposition means mischief. Miching Malecho is
clearly their motto. They are, no doubt, prepared to
avail themselves to the very utmost of any opportunity
that may present itself to them. Gladstone's misfortune
will be Disraeli's opportunity. The defection of the
extreme Liberals below the gangway is what they are
manifestly looking forward to now that Bright has left
the Cabinet, and Stansfeld has not been advanced, and
Mundella has been altogether overlooked, and Fawcett is
angrier than ever with the Premier, for many reasons
best known (as the phrase is) to himself. A second instal-
-1 ment of " Fair to See," is given, and the first instalment
I of another new serial story called " Frank Marshall'
'rho latter is clearly from the hand that wrote the caustic
lines in the January number of Maga, entitled " This
Morning's 2 into in the Temple," the same hand that has
here contributed from the same address, the inspiriting
national song, " Wake, England, Wake I "—the'best part
of which ditty is the ringing couplet constituting the

refrain.
Belgravia.—The editress is at once indefatigable and
inexhaustible. The closing contribution of the number
for February is the last instalment of her penultimate
novel called " Fenton's Quest." The opening contribu-
tion is the first instalment of her latest, called " The
Lovels of Arden." Although it is merely the commence-
ment of a new narrative, we are already interested. Miss
Braddon certainly understands the chief art of a story-
teller, that of captivating the attention of the reader.
Time has not yet paled, nor has custom faded, her variety
both of incident and of character. Chapter I. begins as
tales so often do nowadays, at a railway station; but
contrary to the ordinary run of fictions, the
first chapter is absolutely restricted to what occurs
within the narrow compass of a first-class railway
carriage. Heroine and hero, if we mistake not, are hero
introduced to our notice and to each other. Clarissa
Lovel is the name of the former ; of the latter's identity
we are not yet informed. As for Clarissa's father,
Mr. Lovel, late of Arden Court (which he has sold),
now of Mill Cottage, he bears a horrible resemblance to
the most detestable of all the characters described by
Disk ens—the selfish, arrogant, intolerable, insolent, invalid,
Mr. Bray, the father of Madeline. The reader abhors
him thoroughly. Sala has a paper on the Prussians in
Paris, retrospective-and anticipative. Walter Thornburg
begins a new series of gossipping articles about London,
entitled, " All Round St. Paul's." There is a ghost
story. There is the usual padding, and there are —what
we cannot affect to admire—the customary Belgravia

illustrations.
The Gentleman's Magazine. —As charming a paper as vio3
have read for a long while opens the new number of the
Gentleman's Magazine for February. It is a memorial
chapter, by R. H. Horne, on the Guild of Literature and
Art, and the famous Private Theatricals by which its
establishment was inaugurated. A delightful essay of -a
similarly retrospective character was contributed a month
or two since by the same veteran writer to the pages of
Macmillan. These recollections of his, however, in the
Gentleman's Magazine are immeasureably better. Thep
recall to mind very painfully the havoc made by death
since the foundation of the Guild among the brilliant
group of authors and artists who were ite
originators and promoters. Two only of the artists--
Topham and Tenniel ; four only of the authors, Lora
Lytton, Mr. John Forster, Mr. Charles Knight, and gr.
Horne himself still survive. Maclise, Stanfield, Leech,
Egg, Stone are all gone—gone, too, are Dickens, Lemon,
Costello, Bell, Jerrold. Several capital anecdotes are
told here delightfully. Not an incident worth
relating is overlooked. We, who remember per-
fectly well those inimitable programmes, linger grate'
fully over Mr. Horne's revival of our recollections.
Only at one part, and then quite incidentally, is hie
memory in any
way at fault, namely, where in descant'
ing upon the plot of the chief drama enacted at these
theatricals, he talks of the flowers thrown at Sir
Geoffrey's window as having been love signals from Lora
Wilmot to the heroine, whereas in the last act it is clir
tinctly intimated that they are yearning tokens of affec-
tion thrown to her estranged husband by Lady Thornsids•
Reading these otherwise most accurate reminiscences, we
recall to mind, as though we had witnessed them but yes-
terday, various characters in Lord Lytton's exquisite
comedy of " Not so Bad as we Seem ; or, Many Sides to
a Character"—Augustus Egg's David Fallen, Dougle9
Jerrold's Shadowy Softhead, John Forster's Harchness,
Mark Lemon's Sir Geoffrey Thornside, Robert Bell s
Paddy O'Sullivan, R. H. Home's Colonel Flint, Ducllo
Costello's Earl Loftus, Frank Stone's Duke of Middlesa
and the Lord .Wilmot of the incomparable Charles Dicker
Remembering how nearly all the members of that radiilll
company have vanished, the retrospect here given has el
exquisite pain about it mingled with many a delightTo
and cherished recollection. We are grateful
Mr. Homo for a memorial chapter like this,
chapter worthy of reperusal and of after preservatioeci
From the closing words of the contribution, we are Pot
to know that later on he will have something to say ann
the wonderful afterpiece, " Mr. Nightingale's Diary,
which Charles Dickens gave so many simply peerless
personation, a kind of Mrs. Gamp, a sort of Sam Welleii
, a stone deaf old man, and a variety of other marvelloui)sio
realised characters. There are two or three other adnino
papers in the number—notably one on " Charles 110,
t at his Desk," and a serio-comic tale about an
Irish Flo
• porter wonderfully well told by Colonel Richards,
running over with tears and laughter. Altogether , jo
February number of the old-new Gentleman's Ma 966.5110.
worthy of an organ that has a whole century's repute'

METROPOLITAN FREE HOSPITAL, DEVONSHIRE-S(2°l
CITY.—The Right Hon. the Lord Mayor has kindly collsetit y
to preside at the anniversary festival of this excellent Oba-
on Thursday, April 27, 1871.
WANDERING WEEDS.—It is stated that there
now no less than 214 weeds which have been introdne,e'i.
into the United States from foreign countries, and rtlitti
pally from England. As a proof of the rapiditY -tbe
which useless plants are accidentally brought over isli
seas, it is said that in 1837 there were only 137 f°ll6o
weeds known in this country. As far back as, as
a curious little volume, called " New Bilg,hicil
Rarities," gave a list of twenty-two plano,"Aisil
the author considered had ' sprung up since the riiti 00
had kept cattle in New England. The author 1061-°ylie
the " plantain," which, he says, the Indians Coll
~
of
" Englishman's foot," as though produced by the treau,, it
the white settlers. The common " yellow toad fl'ss' of
is stated, was originally introduced into the provincal 0
Pennsylvania as a garden flower by a Mr. 115iisteit104,
Welshman, residing in Philadelphia, from w11°19; it
derived the name of " Ra,nstead weed." In 1753 th'6 o)4'
had overrun the pastures in the inhabited part of re° tile
vania, and was the cause of bitter complaints f
agriculturists of that day. Chickweed, it is stated' sisr 1103
troduced in 'South Carolina as food for canary bin sof,
in ten years spread for upwards of 50 miles, 511,1 c sty
occupies the outposts of civilzation. The " Scotch ti ,_,,0
is said to have been brought to America by a
who carried with him a bed stuffed with thistle &io tll_,
clelm, iee
which seine seed remained. Feathers being diet'? oa
new country were substituted for the down, wgej e):.
soon emptied out, and the seed spring LIP ''', 00;
country with thistles. Another account says scow of 11,
siastic Scot introduced the thistle as all emblen,'_coolo
country, which soon made itself at home and b'
co
Ledger.
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