The Sun.
London, England, 1824-06-11 00:00:00

LITERARY NOTICE.

ROSALVIVA, or The DEMON DWARF; a Romance,
in T, ,
nreeVolumes ; by GRENVILLE FLETCHER, Esq.,
Author " RIIODOHALDI."

In balancing the comparative merits of Authors,
the critic has a somewhat arduous, and, perhaps,
difficult task; we are always grieved when
we are compelled to censure, and pleased when
we are permitted to praise. These volumes, we
perceive from the title-page, are the the second
effort of Mr. FLETCHER,III the " fiery fields" of ro-
mance, and certainly they are highly creditable to
his talents. He appears to us to be a young man
with strong feelings and a vivid imagination, his
mind well stored with romantic ideas, and an
acute observer of human nature. Rosalviva, the
heroine of the piece, is a highly coloured and
strong picture of the victim of ungovernable
passions; perhaps she is more poetically than
faithfully drawn, but this is an error into which
most young authors are led by the influence of
enthusiasm. Leontini (the Demon Dwarf) is a
character of a very opposite description. Ile is
first introduced to us as the favoured lover of
Rosalviva, but is soon superseded in her affections
by Paoli Golfieri, his bosom friend, whose false-
hood and infamy are gradually developed. Suf-
fering both insult and injury from his false friend
and faithless mistress, Leontini retires from the
world, and under the disguise of the dwarf Val-
froni, becomes the confidant of Rosalviva and of
Paoli ; and at length bursts on them both in his
proper character; when Rosalviva, stung to
frenzy at the failure of her schemes and the
triumph of Leontini, puts a period to her own
miserable existence. The first meeting between
the Comptessa and the Demon Dwarf is thus
pourtrayed :
" The soft glow of a Sicilian sky, in the
middle of its most exhilirating season, had one
evening invited the Comptessa to enjoy the mild-
ness of the refreshing breezes of the almost sleep-
ing Mediterranean for a greater length than was
lice customary habit. The rippling current had
borne her little bark, which was conducted by
one attendant, to a considerable distance along
the lake (which branched from the port of Pa-
lermo through a winding track of some length)
before she observed the interval which had caused
it. Her reflections were at length disturbed by
the mellow tone of a lute ; the sound struck
upon her ear with amazement and rapture ;
the boat was stationary ; the echo of the waters
near to the cavity, from whence seemed to proceed
the harmony, conveyed a gratification to the mind
of the listener of sweetest sensibility. The se-
renity of the evening aided the beauty and re-
liniment of the scene, and the Comptessa in-
dulged for several moments in a kind of ex-
tatic silence. After the melodist had repeated
the strain of a soft canzonet with much taste and
feeling, the voice in notes of beautiful tone and
richness swelled into a delightful air, of which
the Comptessa distinctly caught the following
stanzas * * * * * *—" The pleasure of tine mo-
ment was too great to be parted with in silence,
and quitting the boat, which was fastened to the
projecting shore, she essayed to seek the
retreat of the minstrel. The eminence which
rose before her pourtrayed a wild but pleas-
ing sketch of nature; and as the crimson
tints of the setting sun rested upon its sum-
mits, it gave appearance to some kind of build.
ing, whose basis lay buried in the deep and
woody inclosure beneath. Rosalviva pursued
the track that tended to give the most ready
access to the half-desolated retreat. The thick
intervening branches of the chesnut and pine
waved over the path in clusters that almost de-
fied penetration, and it was with considerable
difficulty that she proceeded further. Attaining
the extent of her path through an opposite and
sloping direction, the Gothic remains of an edi-
fice, which, in the opinion of Rosalviva, had ori-
ginally been of a religious order, precluded fur-
ther communications, and she paused in an inter-
mission of breathless anxiety for the renewal of
the minstrel's harmony. There was an agree-
able variety in the suspension of those moments,
which served to lull tine mind into a melancholy
yet pleasing calmness. Rosalviva gazed upon the
surrounding scenery with feelings of mingled
pleasure and sublimity. The softened streaks of
the declining sun were attaining their more dusky
hue ; its beams still hung upon the distant pros-
pect, deepening, as they seemed to lose them-
selves in the wide expanse of tine Mediterranean,
over whose blue surface the white sail of the gon-
dalier was seen floating, till it progressively be-
came lost from observation. Tho eye of the
Comptessa alternately surveyed each intervening
object, and almost forgot the seclusion of the
moment. The silence of the spot conveyed to
Rosalviva a thrill of singular sensation as to the re-
sult of her researches. Pursuing the direction of a
partly dilapidated colonade, she was led to the en-
trance of a kind of cemetary,through whicha streak
of light from the horizon broke through an oppo-
site cavity, and by its aid Rosalviva more dis-
tinctly reviewed the extent of the ruin. Sine
passed its mouldering fabric, and,entering a nar.

row portal, was again within sight of the waters
which rolled beneath her. A small grot or ca-
vern projected itself from the acclivity, and
thence she believed had issued the notes of the
minstrel. She paused—the shadow of a human
being met her eye—it retired—her footsteps
seemed to linger where she then remained, and
while her ruminations were buried in conjecture,
the disturbance of the trees near to her broke the
reverie, and turning her eye in astonishment,
the Dwarf Valfroni stood beside her." The long
dialogue which follow is written in elegant and
forcible language ; and the scene thus concludes :
" The eyes of the Dwarf seemed to convey more
than usual brilliance as he smiled upon her, and
while Rosalviva witnessed their expression, her
soul cherished a kind of delight and animation,
1 from which she derived unspeakable pleasure.
" Since, then, our wishes and ideas assimilate so
closely, Signor Dwarf, their correspondence must
not be at distant periods; you will give me to
hope that the Castelli di Romagno shall be con-
sidered at all times open to your visits, and
familiar to your uses ; suppose, for its first
change, you favour me with its acknowledg-
ment in the evening of to-morrow ?"—" With
grateful pleasure," answered Valfroni, and
he respectfully kissed her hand. He careful-
ly conducted her from the declivity to the
shore, and, unmooring the boat, waved his hand
in repeated adieus, as the moonlight, breaking
from the heavens, lighted the Comptessa from the
rocky eminence."
Our limits will not allow us to extract other
passages : therefore must refer our readers to
the volumes themselves, which will afford much
pleasure to the lovers of Romance: