The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-27 00:00:00

LITERATURE

Acquitted : a novel. By Mrs. Gordon Smythies, author
of "Cousin Geoffrey." 3 vols. Tinsley Brothers.
This is one of the most attractive novels we have yet
seen from the pen of the accomplished author of " Cousin
Geoffrey." The opening scene, in a poor fisherman's
cottage, is very effectively described. There, amid
the roaring of the tempest without, poor Nat Lynn
and his wife are weeping over the death of their little first-
born. Very tenderly and naturally is the little homescene
depicted, what follows is of a more romantic character.
The poor fisherman at last tears himself away from the
sorrowing mother, and going along the beach almost im-
mediately after, discovers portions of a wreck cast ashore
by, the storm, and a little child still retaining signs of life.
He takes the motherless child to the child-
less mother, and with joy and gratitude the
little stranger is adopted in the fisherman's cot.
We do not propose to reveal the mysterious
history of the supposed Mary Lynn : it can-
not but prove attractive to the lovers of romance. Mrs.
Gordon Smythies, however, does not rely upon the sen-
sational element (of which the terrrible Dan Devrill is a
fitting representative). The story of " Acquitted"
has higher claims to our attention. We cannot
more accurately explain the purpose of the book
and the meaning of the title than by giving
the interpretation in the words of the writer.
" Without venturing," observes Mrs. Gordon Smythies,
in the closing pages of her story, "to dwell long
in a novel on that Highest Court, at whose bar we shall
all be one day judged, and from which there can be no
appeal, we, in justification of our title, venture to
remind. our readers that, even as far as this life is
concerned, we are, from our childh3od to our graves,
on trial before two counts—the inner one of conscience
(that solemn secret tribunal, from the verdict of which
none can escape) and the public one which, whether we
call it opinion," society,' or the world,' is all-im-
portant to the many, and is really disregarded by none."
Paul Penrhyn, the impoverished master of Penrhyn
Manor, a well-meaning, weak-minded man, who oan
never say " No, " is over-persuaded by the arti-
fices of one Sligo Downy into embarking a sum
of trust money in a bubble speculation. The unfortunate
trustee is heart-broken at the failure of the enterprise,
but happily the secret becomes known to his young son
Paul, who, abandoning all ambitious dreams, takes a
post in a merchant's office, and devotes himself to the
repayment of his father's debt ere the defalcation shall be-
come known. How he struggles and how he succeeds we
shall not say; the story is full of interest and is very forcibly
told, and it is a happy day when the poor father by
the self-sacrificing exertions of his noble-minded son finds
himself " acquitted" of the crime in which his culpable
weakness had involved him. Contrasted with the eager
active career of the enterprising Paul Penrhyn,
the touching story of the youthful Jasper Ardennes,
slowly sinking into an untimely grave will be read with
a melancholy interest. It is depicted by one who, as the
very touching dedication to Dr. Hastings reveals to us,
has experienced all the agony of hopes and fears that
wring the hearts of those who watch the fading away of the
victims of that deadly, and so often to the very last delu-
sive disease, consumption. The death scene of the gentle
Jasper Ardennes,which softens even his iniquitous father,
will be perused with especial interest. " Acquitted " may
certainly be regarded as the best novel from the pen of
the author of "_Cousin Geoffrey."
Eastern Pilgrims : the Travels of Three Ladies. By
Agnes Smith. Hurst and Blackett.
This very interesting book records the travels of three
adventurous ladies, who journey to the East unaccom-
panied by friend or brother, unattended even by courier or
maid. The three ladies, however, prove themselves equal to
the occasion. They agree at the outset to a division of labour.
" Violet makes herself responsible forthe management of
hotels, and for the direction of the party in general ;
Edith examines the accounts ; Agnes studies the guide
book and sketches routes for the approval of her com-
panions." Thus prepared they depart from Lon-
don on a dull morning of August 1868, and
proceed via Ostend to Munich, thence to Con-
stantinople, Cyprus, Alexandria, Asouan, Cairo,
and Jerusalem. They visit many places of interest in the
Holy Land, tarrying by the Jordan and the Dead Sea,
and return by Damascus to Greece, admire the Bay of
Salamis, pause by the field of Marathon, and finally
return by Venice and Corfu, vic2 Basle and Paris, to London.
From this brief sketch of the route it will be seen
that the travels of the three fair pilgrims are
not deficient in the materials of interest. Every little
incident likely to amuse the reader, even chance conver-
sations that illustrate the manners and customs of the
various people with whom they mingle, are
set down by the lively pen of the fair chroni-
cler, Agnes Smith. One peculiarity of these
Pilgrims is somewhat remarkable. They let us know in
every word and look that in their travels they aspire not
to learn, but to teach. We must confess that at the outset we
were not prepossessed by the idea of a journey to Jeru-
salem in company with a traveller who could exclaim
about those who are eager to go to the Holy
Land, "As we were not taught in our
youth to worship any particular spot of earth,
we can hardly understand what benefit they
expect to derive from visiting it." On arriving at Jerusa-
lem, however, different sentiments prevail, notwithstand-
ing the critical spirit with which every detail is investi-
gated.

A Journey to Rome and Back. By William Evill. One
vol.. pp. 164. Edward Stanford.
As a well-looking fellow-mortal is said to carry a letter
of recommendation in his face, so might it be said, in
regard to this daintily-apparelled volume, that it entices
the reader to dip into it from the mere allurement of its
external appearance. We have yielded to the
temptation, and have found the author a very
delightful and exhilarating eompanion. The title
of the work grows upon us from the lettering on the
back when examined edgeways—the designation of the
book there, being simply as we have given it above, viz.,
" A Journey to Rome and Back." Turning tolit, as it is
elegantly expanded upon the upper side of the
volume when displayed to view as a table-
book, we read the additional words "With
an account of the Opening of the (Ecumenical Council."
While, still further, on looking to the title-page, we read
yet more, as follow :—" And glances at Milan, Florence,
Naples, Pompeii, and Venice." Enough, surely ! But it
cannot be said—enough and to spare ! For having readthe
book through from cover to cover—of itself an
eulogium from any reviewer—we could certainly not spare
Mr. Evill's always animated, oftengraphic, and more than
once or twice really eloquent descriptions (among others) of
the Cathedral at Milan, of the galleries at Florence, of the
grand piazza at Naples, of the ghostly, silent ruins at Pom-
peii, and of the gliding gondola-life and the gorgeous art-
treasures at Venice. Any more than we could spare
his account of the wonderful pageantry of
the papal functions in Rome and of the
marvellous masterpieces in sculpture and painting
scattered among her palaces and basilicas. The author
at once puts himself upon the best possible terms with his
readers in the very opening passages in which, with a
good deal of quiet humour, he describes the discomforts
attendant upon his journey's commencement. He has an
intense appreciation of the ludicrous, and an instant eye
for its detection. His description of the clock at
Strasbourg, his account of the Yankee who had gone
" right along" by Mount Ceniss (Mr. Evil himself
having crossed the Alpine barrier of North Italy by the
glorious Splugen, which he very finely describes), his
record of the dilemma in which he found himself near the
Mala, seated among his luggage, somewhere
in the middle of Europe, and in the blackness
of midnight, these and a variety of other incidental sketches,
touched off with a flying pen, one cannot possibly read with-
out being, interrupted every now and then with a burst of
laughter. The vis comics is the "go" or chic of the whole
narrative. Yet, for all that, the finest passages in the hook
are those where our author is at his gravest. His casual de-
scription of the catacombs, for example, is, in a mere page or
two, singularly impressive. Sunset on the Lake of Como,
the white marble glories of Milan Cathedral, the pano-
ramic view of the Alps, with which he was favou red from
the summit of that exquisite edifice, the dream-like life
of decaying Venice, the awful spectral ruins of Pompeii,
the sumptuous magnificence of St. Peter's, of St. Paul
Without the Walls, of St. John Lateran, and of the other
grand basilicas, the solemnizing grandeur of the
Coliseum —these and kindred themes the author of
this radiant little book expatiates upon in words expressive
of enthusiastic, but most appreciative admiration. With
many of the most vitally important conclusions he arrives at,
we have no sympathy whatever. But we regard the evident
sincerity of his own convictions with the profoundest re-
spect. As a graphic delineator of the superb scenery and
the renowned cities through which he made this winter
journey during the season of last November and Decem-
ber, he has acquitted himself admirably well—the style
in which the whole book is penned being as fresh and ani-
mated as the very external look of it seems to give a pro-
mise of beforehand.