The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-13 00:00:00

THE MIRROR.

The Mirror of this month opens with an admi-
rably written critique on " Tancred," in which the
writer has solved the riddle as to the meaning of this
dazzling work, which has puzzled all the critics.
"Itis a joke in three volumes." The writer of this
notice is evidently one who has lived in the East, and
studied the habits, manners, and customs of the
Orientals, and it-would be well for Air. Disraeli that
he should attend to the suggestions which this writer
offers to him. The following passage is well worth
his serious attention. It opens up to him a field, in
which he may reap perennial laurels.
"On one point we strongly sympathise with the
writer ; we allude to the earnest solicitude he feels for
the emancipation of the Jews throughout the world.
This is a feeling which does him honour. From the re-
spectable position he occupies, it is gratifying to behold
him descend, even in the pages of fiction, to hold com-
munion with the humble Israelite in Hounsditch who,
surrounded with the noise and turmoil of this world's
business, celebrates there the traditional Feast of Taber-
nacles. No passage in the whole work has touched us
like that. With your Tancreds and Fakride...lis, with

your Dukes of BeHimont, your Sidonias, and Lords
Eskdale, we feel no sympathy whatever ; but with the
humble Jew, who, in conformity with the practice of his
forefathers, and in obedience to laws which he still be-
lieves to be divine, purchases his willow boughs, and
builds his simple bower, in the ciairt of his dingy and
dusky house, our heart most pleasurably and strongly
yearns. We respect him for his obedient piety, however
mistaken, and are persuaded that with so much firmness
and fortitude, so much love of immeniorial traditions, so
much veneration for rites, handed down from father to
son through a period If four thousand years, this obscure
and isolated man must possess much goodness of heart,
and great capabilities of civilisation. Why will not Mr.
Disraeli cut his lords and his visionaries, and give us a
novel of humble and simple Jewish life, no matter
though the hero were an old-clothtsman ? We should
readily accompany him in his adventures, and sit down
by his poor quiet fireside, provided the mist of rhetoric
(lid not hide it entirely from our eyes, with as much
pleasure as we now feel fatigue in watching the evolu-
tions of a dreary and fashionable aristocrat like Tancred.
We are weary of j we's, weary of dukes and lords,
weary of all manner of finery, of malachite tables, and
worlds of gilding, and drap-ry, and stuff. Give us the
plain thing, homely humanity, just us Gbd has made it,
whether it be in the shape of a Jew or a flat-nosed
Frank. We love it ever) where, and under all disguites.
That Mr. Disraeli loves it too we believe, from the good,
hearty, honest way in which he relates the story of the
Baroni family, whose adventures we read with particular
pleasure, till we came to the conclusion, where we were
ridiculously told, they comprised nearly all the existing
celebrities of Europe. It is this very peculiarity we com-
plain of throughout Mr. Disraeli's woi k, the tierce hanker-
ing after monopoly, the desire to heap all great and good
qualities to the Jews, and churlishly to deny them to
the rest of the world. We shall set Mr. Disraeli a
better example, by admitting all he claims for his
countrymen, except the monopoly. We think it full
time that all distinctions should cease between them
and the rest of our fellow-citizens, that they should be
admitted everywhere and to everything, and that people
should learn to look on them altogether as brethren
differing from us in certain points of faith, but still
children of Adam, and therefore entitled to our respect
and affection, and this may at length be said to be the
prevalent feeling. No one now feels disposed to perse-
cute a Jew. And a-propos of the name, let Mr. Disraeli
stick to it, and not seek to substitute in its place, the
more sonorous appellation of Hebrew. Jew was once
a term of roifroach—and is so still in some quarters—
but let those who own it live out the prejudice. Time
reconciles us to everything ; has reconciled political
parties to the names of Radicals, Whigs, and Tories,
and will gradually strip everything offensive from the
name of Jew. But such novels as Tancred' are
by no means calculated to facilitate this process ; their
effect, so far as they have any, being to irritate, and
give force to prejudice, by making extravagant demands
on our credulity and simplicity, which it is not likely
that we shall ever be in the humour to grant,"

The novel of the "Miser's Well " is continued, and
increases in interest. The poor, despised, penny- a-
liner Wilson, bids fair to become a person of import-
ance. Mr. Percy St. John, in this novel, is no mean
rival of Eugene Sue. Mr. Sealy contributes some
graceful translations from Petrarch, and Mr. J. A.
St. John gives us a delightful Eastern tale, entitled
" Tbe Money Bags" "The Eagle's Nest" is con-
tinued, and we have also an excellent article on the
"Curiosities of Azores." Mr. Ileraud contributes
an excellent paper on "People of Character," and
Dr. Farquharson a beautiful pastoral, entitled " The
Tuscan Girl." This is an excellent number of the
Mirror.