The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-29 00:00:00

DAY EVENING, OCTOBER ,

LITER ATITRE.
GISELLA. Three Vols. By the Author of "Second
Love."
On the appearance of " Second Love," we augured
the production of still better things by its author,
when his style was more mellowed by practice and
his fruitful imagination more modulated in its pro-
fusion. Our anticipations are being fulfilled.
" Gisella " is a bolder venture than its predecessor,
seeing that it is a fiction extending over three post
octavo volumes instead of over one and a half. And
inasmuch as the interest is equally well sustained,
without any of that exaggerated passion which occa-
sionally marred the naturalness of " Second Love "
reminding one more of the blue-lights and gun-
powder of a melodrama than of the spontaneous
sparkle of a vaudeville, or the unforced pathos of a
tragic-comedy—" Gisella " is a work more calcu-
lated
to enhance the reputation of its writer as a
novelist. Let him persevere, without frittering his
powers away in periodicals, without emulating G.
P. R. James or C. P. de Kock in multiplicity of
compositions, and without contenting himself with
such a lazy renown as that acquired by the volup-
tuousa Be,c, kford in penning the single tale of
" Vheck
—and he may inscribe his name among
the most successful romancists of his generation.
He hast already
many of the fundamental qualifica-
tions—a teeming fancy, a playful and voluble dic-
tion,
a ready idea of character, i felicitous combina-
tion of incident, and a capacity for painting scenery in words, and stenographing dialogues with the skil-
fulness of a reporter. In these particulars both
" Second Love " and " Gisella " are remarkable,
but the latter is especially so. A new region—
unharrowed by the hack storytellers of the
circulating libraries—is opened, and the reader enters
upon the narration, in consequence, with an agreeable
sense of freshness. Hungary is that region, and we
call it new to the world of novels advisedly, notwith-
standing the
_previous publication several years
ago of the " H
o ungarian Brothers ;" for in spite
f the graceful
to sketches of country and cus-
wasms there given by Miss Porter, Hungary
has then only presented as in a glimpse, and
lain fallow ever since. From the prefatory pre-
s.'entation prefixed to " Gisella" it would appear that
the author has qualified himself to become a painter
of Hungarian scenes and a describer of Hungarian
habits, by a sojourn in that Austrian dependency,
while resident on the domaia of Herrnine, Countess
Rasoumoffsky, née, De .Marczibanyi—a personage,
whether or not, of a resemblance in identity with
Citizen Herman Melville, late the visitant of Typee
and Omoo. Already the lovers of fictitious narratives
have been charmed by translated novelties from Swe-
den, such as the books of Miss Bremer, or others from
Denmark, such as those of Hans Christian Andersen.
Romance readers seem to have flown in despair to the
banks of the Zuider Zee and the Baltic, from the
bloody besoms of de Balzac, and the blind murderers
of Eugene Sue. They will surely rejoice, therefore,
when they are conveyed away in fancy to a land so
historic and picturesque as Hungary, not on the kite
of a translator but upon the wings of an ori-
ginal writer. Into Hungary then the reader
is conveyed instanter on the opening of the
first chapter, and there his imagination continues to be
while pfvusing the supplemental notice at the close
of the last volume. The scenery is Hungarian, the
characters are Hungarian, the costumes, the manners,
and the incidents are peculiarly Hungarian. At the
very outset of the story we have descriptions, for ex-
ample of a mirage on the waste plains or Puszta, of a
hurricane of sand, and of a thunder-storm on the
Danube, each depicted with peculiar vividness. Im-
mediately before the hurricane commences we are
introduced to Aladar, the hero, and Gisella, the
heroine of the tale. The first is a splendid idealism
of the peasant noble of Hungary, and in his fortunes
the principal interest of the story is concentrated.
About Gisella, on the other hand, there is thrown
such a mystery at the commencement and such a dis-
appointing annoyance at the termination of the work,
that we are rather curious as to her vicissitudes and
disposition than inspired with admiration in her be-
half. As we are solicitous that many of our readers
should themselves enjoy the gratification we have ex-
perienced in reading this second novel by the author
of " Second Love," we will abstain from a practice
for which we entertain ip the abstract a singular dis-
relish, namely, that of analysing the plot of the piece,
and giving a crude synopsis or skeleton of the inci-
dents. It necessarily diminishes the interest of the
work to whomsoever might examine it subsequently.
The chief points of attraction in " Gisella " are the
scenes laid in the Greek monastery, among
the banditti, in the hovel of the Jew
Balthazar with the " porcelain-blue eyes," in
the lonely mansion of the Countess, and along
the perilous journey to Vienna. Unhappily we are
just now impelled to devour with a double curiosity
the passages relating to the principal peril of that
Journey—namely, the prevalence of the cholera in
Germany during 1831—from its re-appearance in
those countries during this very autumn, and its
gradual advance westward towards ourselves. The
author has here seized a theme such as Sue had al-
ready introduced into his " that Errant," and
Bulwer in his " Rienzi," and Ainsworth in his " Old
St. Paul's," and Horace Smith in his " Brambletye
House." Among the other characters depicted in
" Gisella," the most worthy of mention are those of
Irma, the sister of Aladar, Ilka, the idiot girl, Pe-
tike, the pot-binder, Paprika, his dog, Sobri or
Shubry, the robber, Black Hallo, his associate, Bro-
ther Achacius, and the Archimandrid, The Archi-
mandrid is the demon of the story—a sort of Arbaces,
the Egyptian, with more of his malice and cunning,
and less of his sublime audacity and genius. Petike
is a droll fellow enough, and a good fellow to boot,
but his drollery is carried rather to exaggeration—
like that of an extra-comic gentleman in a farce.
Ilka, again, is certainly the most precocious imp of a
child, and the most sagacious and inspired idiot con-
ceivable. Sobri is, however, to us the gem of the
book. The introduction of this celebrated free-
booter would have redeemed the rest of the work, had
the residue been indifferent instead of excellent.
Sobri—and who, some may ask, is Sobri ? Sobri or
Shubry is no creation of the fancy, but a reality and
an existence—a robber who, in truth, " merited the
name of the Hungarian Robin Hood." Here is the
first outline of his appearance :
" He was a fine striking•looking young fellow, of
wild and rigorous aspect ; the character of his bold and
rough, but eminently handsome, face, wore a strange
mixture of the brightest sunbeams of a joyous humour
with the shades of melancholy. He was attired after
the fashion of the country; but the skirts of his spread-
ing white trousers were embroidered with the gayest
colours in worsted, and adorned with long coloured
fringe ; and the ends of his long wide shirt-sleeves,
which hung through the arm-holes of his dark open
waistcoat, glittering with a quantity of bright, flat,
metal buttons, were likewise decorated with embroidery.
A white short cloak, or szur, fancifully adorned with
patches of bright cloth, in flowers and arabesques, about
the collar, rims, and pocket-hole slits, the sleeves of
which, bound up at the extremities, showed that they
were never meant for use, was slung in Hussar fashion
over one shoulder, A broad hat, the brim of which was
turned up on all sides, and laced with a Vandyked band
of what might have been once yellow lace, was stuck
jauntily on his head, and surmounted by a few wild-
goose feathers and artificial flowers, which raised their
heads from behind the brim, like a nosegay out of a
spreading vase. From beneath the hat, his thick. curl-
ing black hair streamed down in masses, and contributed,
with his long wire-drawn mustachios, to give a greater
air of wildness to his whole appearance. To his boots
were attached very long spurs of bright, well-cleaned
metal, which he clanked together sonorously, as he
knocked his heels with a lively movement, in speaking.
On the table he had laid a whip, the handle of which
was short, but the lash immeasurably long, and attached
by several small rosettes of leather strips of various
colours. The tobacco bag, which was stuck into the
leather girdle that tightly bound his waist, and gave an
appearance of extraordinary width to his broad chest,
was likewise embroidered in silks with the gayest
flowers. A short pipe was stuck between his teeth, and
jerked upwards with a sort of protrusion of the under jaw,
in such a manner as not to prevent his speaking without
removing it. As he addressed the travellers, he was
bott
empleloyed
wine in passingh over his head a flat round gourd' or
back."
of , whic hung by a coloured cord upon his

In a subsequent passage the author observes o:
Sobri

" Among the many characters assumed by this singular
ai individual, vi ind ut
this
s dress, , that
of
that
the celebrated
the
herdsmanh r
robber
h ethe plains
this
en
hfs
ewr
Tay: one of the most frequent ; and it was underw
known among the common people, over whom he
exercised, far and wide, an influence scarcely less great
than that which he possessed over his gang ; undeith
form it was that he was generally described in popular
story. But so various and delusive were the disguises
he was accustomed to assume, with marvellous versa- '
tility, of all ages and even of all ranks of men, that for a
long time it was a matter of dispute in the journals of
the day, and even among those who had seen him, con-
versed with him, and migt have been supposed to know
him well, whether he was young or old, well-formed or
broken down, tall or short, of peasant birth and manner,
or of better education. To the people, Sobri was the
Haroun al Raschid of their song and legend—to some,
the demon of darkness—to others, an angel of light—to
all, the fantastic hero of wild romance."
He re-appears in various parts of the tale afterwards,
and, among other disguises, in that of a grizzled old
tinker. As a corollary to what we have already re-
marked about this renowned bandit, and as an ap-
propriate specimen of the manner in which the writer
can depict a thrilling incident, we give the following
account of the escae, in a boat, at night, across the
Danube, when the river was vigilantly guarded by
the sanitary officers, for the purpose of preventing the
diffusion of the cholera :
" The storm, which had broken over the heads of the
fugitives in the boat, had already well nigh spent its
violence. Although the wind blew as blows the wind of
the thunder-cloud down the stream, yet its force was not
sufficient to offer any very material impediment to
,the
efforts of the two hardy men who plied the boat across
the river; and none of the small party were disposed to

murmur against the storm which had covered the
' heavens with darkness, thus becoming a blessing to
them, not a curse, as the only means that could have
rendered the reaching the other bank of the Danube in
concealment, a matter of possibility. The lady Gisella
sat crouched at the bottom of the boat—her hands folded
over her breast—her spirits rising with the danger—
her courage high—her trust in Providence. The two
men stood, each at his long oar, directing the boat
partially against the current of the stream, in order to
reach the point immediately opposite, which was above
the village already mentioned, and an isolated spot. The
violence of the rapid Danube is, however, always great:
the wind added to the force of the current; and in spite
of the vigorous exertions of the two men, it soon became
evli,'.ent that they were drifting much further down the
stream than was their intention. The same flash of
lightning that had discovered the boat to the watchers
on the shore which they had left, showed the toiling men
that they would be shortly upon the point of running
against one of those boat-mills, so peculiar to "the
Danube, which are anchored on the stream, in the
neighbourhood of every village on its banks. On this
occasion the one they approached lay above the village
which it was their effort to avoid. The horses plunged,
scared at the flash of lightning; but the lady Gisella,
with that courage which formed a part of her character
in moments of emergency, rose, seized the reins at their
heads, and endeavoured to pacify them with those
manoeuvres of a ready horsewoman, which formed part
of her Hungarian education. The broad flare of light,
however, which had showed them the hulk of the
anchored mill, revealed the boat, at the same time, to a
guard stationed upon it.
" ' Boat a-head! Whence come ye?' shouted a voice
from the mill.
" ' Pull a-head, man, and with all your power!' said
the robber, in a low voice, to AntaL
" ' Boat a-head!' cried the guard ugain. 'lf you do
not speak, I fire!'
" Almost at the same instant the man upon the mill
fired. The bullet whizzed past the boat, and splashed
into the water close by the lady's side.
" ' Pull! pull!' cried Sobri once more.
" But at the same moment they became faintly visible
to a body of soldiers upon the bank; and several shots
were fired from the shore by the guards, put upon the
alert by the report of their comrade's musket: again,
however, the fugitives remained untouched in the dark-
ness, by the firing of the random shots.
" In spite of the struggles of Sobri and the driver, the
boat now drifted violently against the mill. But with
his ever ready presence of mind, the robber, at the very
moment the shock was felt, calling to Antal to hold on by
the hull of the mill-boat, sprang upon its deck. Before
the guard could again load his weapon, the robber had
his grasp upon his throat, and flung him violently on
his back. The next moment his hand was upon the
soldier's mouth, and his knee upon his chest.
" ' Utter another word—make another struggle—and
you are a dead man,' he cried; ' the road is not many
miles long from the edge of this hulk to the rushing
stream, which will stop your bellowing for ever.'
" At the noise of the bustle occasioned by this inci-
dent, another adversary came forward in the person of
the miller, who issued from the interior of the mill-cabin.
Before this second person could utter any shout or cry, a
pistol was drawn from Sobri's breast, by the hand which
was free, and pointed at his head.
" ' And this for the second, if he-make but a sign to
alarm the guard upon the shore !' said the robber, ' or
dare to stir from this spot.'
" The unhappy miller remained as if spell-bound at
this sudden danger.
" ' What is it? where is the boat?' shouted a voice
from the shore.
" ' Now speak ! tell them that it has drifted down the
stream,' whispered the robber, pointing his pistol at the
miller's head.
" The man obeyed in trembling voice.
" ' Louder!' said Sobri, with menacing gesture.
" The man again obeyed.
" ' Were there many persons on board?' shouted again
the voice from the shore.
" ' Tell them you saw several,' oommanded the robber.
" The miller echoed the prompting of the man who
held a pistol at his face.
"A command was heard to be given to the guards
upon the shore, to scour immediately down the stream
towards the village, and prevent the landing of the party
in the boat, that was thus supposed to have run further
down the stream.
" After giving time to the soldiers on the banks to
vacate their post upon the opposite shore, Sobri dropped
his pistol.
" ' You may shout now. They will not hear you,' he
said to the trembling miller: ' but I would advise you
not; for you may still have a bullet through your brains.'
" Then, tearing violently asunder the shirt-sleeve of
his arm which held down the soldier's head, he bound it
about the fellow's mouth ; with equal promptitude and
force, he turned round the struggling man, undid his own
leather girdle, and fastened the arms of the guard behind
him. De rose, dragged the man into the interior of the
cabin, and flung him down ; then, seizing the shaking
miller, he thrust him also into the interior of the mill,
locked the door upon his prisoners, and flung the key
from him into 'the water.
" ' Now, man, now put forth all your force. Pull up
against the stream ; the coast is clear for the time,' he
cried to Antal, as he again dropped into the boat.
" The rain that fell from the last outpourings of the
storm dashed around the men as they now again struggled
violently to head the stream. But their efforts were re-
warded with better success. Presently they ran against
the shore, at some distance above the mill. Sobri sprang
upon the bank, drew up the ferry-boat by its chain,
spiked the chain firmly to the ground, and, after ad-
vancing a little inland to reconnoitre, returned to say, in
a low cautious voice, that they might risk the landing.
The carriage and horses were drawn upon land by the
united efforts of Sobri and the driver. The lady
followed.
" ' Now, let it really drift down the stream, that it
betray not our place of landing,' said the robber, as he
again loosened the boat. He gave it a violent shove
with his foot ; and it was soon floating down the
current.

" Now wrap your cloak firmly about you, sweet
ady,' said the robber, as he handed Gisella into the
carriage. This is a rude journey for so frail and
sweet a flower. The road lies along the river's banks.
On with you, then. Hurry forward, but not so as to ex-
cite suspicion or alarm. You possess a good passport,
as I heard from that bold youth : you need no longer
then have any fear. Should you meet with any other
patrol, put on a bold face: they have no right to hinder
your further progress. Heaven guide and prosper you!
And now, indeed, farewell—farewell for ever!'
" But now Gisella stretched forth her hand, without a
thought who or what was the man before her, except
that he had again been her preserver ; and now the
robber, yielding to an impulse he no longer could resist,
bent over it to imprint a kiss upon it. Was it a tear
from the robber's eye, or but the moisture from the
heavens? But Gisella's hand was wet.
" Generous man!' exclaimed the lady, in broken
voice.
" A deep sigh responded to her. The carriage drove
on: and the robber was immediately lost to sight in the
darkness.
" It was the last Gisella ever saw of that extraordinary
man. In after years the journals of the day were again
filled with his exploits in the woods of Bakony, his
daring deeds, and his escapes. His ultimate fate was
never clearly known. His band was cut in pieces, at
last, by a troop of Schwarzenberg lancers; and the body
of a young man of striking and remarkably handsome
exterior was found among the slain. But none could
ever tell whether it was that of the famous Sobri. The
people believe that he still exists, and will again appear,
to be their protector and their friend. By some it is con-
fidently asserted, that he has retired into obscurity, and
lives an honest life, as a peasant farmer. Another vague
report asserts, however improbably, that he has been
positively recognised, under the robe of a Benedictine
monk, in the monastery of Tihany. His fate thus
remains in the obscurity of that romance which shed so
strange a halo over his whole existence."
Sobri is only introduced: in the third volume, and
yet his character leaves a more lasting impression
upon the memory than that of any of the other per-
sonages, not even excepting Gisella and Aladar. Of
the style of the composition we could speak more in
commendation were it not disfigured by such mongrel
words as "martyrized" (p. 288, III.), and "artificious-
ness" (p. 43, II.) Sometimes a thought is condensed
into a brief sentence, as where it is remarked " What
a beautifying influence has hope alone, when it springs
up like a fresh fountain from the desert of misfor-
tune." More generally, however, a single thought is
dilated :over many pages. The principal merits of
the composition altogether are the newness of the
descriptions, and the rapid variation of the incidents.
In these respects " Gisella" is a phenomenon among
the novels of this season.

COURT CIRCULAR.
WINDSOR, THURSDAY.—The Queen will hold a
Privy Council on Saturday next, at one o'clock, at the
Castle.
The Queen and Prince Albert took their usual
early walk to-day.
The Royal Family took walking and pony exercise
in the Slopes.
Prince Albert enjoyed the sport of shooting this
morning. His Royal Highness was attended by the
Earl of Morley, Mr. J. R. Ormsby Gore, General
Bowles, and Colonel Seymour.
Lord John Russell arrived at the Castle this even-
ing, on a visit to her Majesty.
The Royal dinner party at the Castle this evening
is expected to include her Royal Highness the Duchess
of Kent, his Excellency M. Van de Weyer, the Mar-
quis and Marchioness of Lansdowne, Lord John
Russell, Lady Anna Maria Dawson, Baroness de
Speth, Lady Vernon, Rev. James Prince Lee, Mr.
G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, Miss L. Dawson
Darner, Rev. F. Anson, and Lieut.-Colonel Crau-
furd (commanding Grenadier Guards).
The band of the Royal Horse Guards attend during
dinner. Her Majesty's private band will afterwards
attend in the Castle.

The Duke de Broglie, French Ambassador, had an
interview with Earl Grey yesterday, at the Colonial-
office. Sir Robert Horsford had also an interview
with the Noble Earl yesterday.

SECESSION FROM THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH.`.
The Rev. Mr. Chirol, Curate of St. Paul's, Knights-
bridge, was yesterday received into the Church of Rome,
at St. Mary's, Chelsea. The Right Rev. Mr. Wiseman
officiated at the ceremony, attended by several clergy
the Roman communion. Mrs. Chirol, and Mrs.
Chi of
rol,
sen.,, the lady and mother of the Reverend Gentleman,
made their profession of obedience to the Roman Ca-
tholic Church at the same time.