The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-08 00:00:00

THE RAILWAY REGISTER.

The present number brings the third volume to a con-
clusion. This valuable record of railway statistics is
now the sole property of Mr. Hyde Clarke, who edits
the Register, and who has amalgamated with it the
Railway Portfolio. In addition to the usual information
regarding the railway proceedings of the month, the pre-
sent number contains a valuable parer on " Atmospheric
Propulsion,"4by Mr. Smith, of Toronto, Upper Canada.
Mr. Smith proposes an entirely new plan of atmospheric
propulsion, combining the advantages of propulsion by
exhaustion, as used in what are commonly called atmo-
spheric railways, and propulsion by compression, as re-
commended by Mr. Nickells. Mr. Smith's proposals are
most ingenious, and are well worthy the attention of
engineers.

We have not rect•ived either the New Monthly or
Ainsworth's for the present month.

LITERATURE.

MEMOIRS OF A FEMME DE CHAMBRE.

A Novel, in 3 Yds. By the Coun'ess of Blessington.

This is a very amusing and interesting tale, or rather
aeries of tales—the history of the heroine being only
the connecting link to the histories of the numerous
personages, of all classes and all characters, with whom
The was, at various times, engaged. Following her
career as governess, or femme de chambre, among the or-
dnary or the vulgar, the exclusive or the refined, we
mingle with all ranks. Varying groups are brought
befmre us, and all are portrayed en maitre. With e.
tendency to exaggerate or even to caricature, which only
renders her descriptions the more piquant, Lady Bless -
ington presents us with a series of graphic portaits; and
it 'rem the absence of one entire plot the work loses the
concentrated interest of an ordinary- three-volumed novel,
the deficiency is more than compensated by the amuse-
ment afforded by the separate fragments, and the bril-
liant vivacity of the whole. The most entertaining por-
tion is decidedly the last, where Selina becomes femme
de chambre and compagne de voyage to Lady Caldersfoot,
a (melt-imagined) authoress of celebrity.
It was hardly to be supposed that such a character
would- have been drawn by the pen of one an authoress
herself, but its very exaggeration is its safety. It is of
course unreal—it is of course impossible—but yet it is
most amusing. Poor Lady Calderfoot, so conscious of
her own abilities, so completely blind to her own de-
fects, our smiles accompany her through all her vagaries;
whether walking in the streets, conspicuously dressed,
she fondly believes the observation she attracts is due,
not to her garments, but to her genius; or, again, when
she favours the captain of the steamer with a sure pre-
ventive to sea-sickness, let him tuy her books for the
benefit of his passengers—the consequent elevation of
mind will maintain bodily equilibrium, or when she in-
sists that the French Douaniers shall let her boxes pass
unsearched, because such a favour was voluntarily ac-
corded to Sir Walter Scott. Perhaps the bitterest mor-
tification of the unhappy lady is when calling incognita
at the circulating libraries, she finds her books uncared
for and unread. Such a disappointment will not, most
certainly, await Lady Blessington should she be inclined
to make a like attempt.

LLEWELYN'S HEIR; or IVORLH WALES. A
Novel. In 3 Vols.
In giving these volumes to the public, the avowed ob-
ject of the authoress is " to offer to the world a true
picture of the men and women of the land of Llewelyn—
their customs, manners, and superstitions, as they ex-
isted during the last century,"--and this object she has
very satisfactorily accomplished. Regarding this work,
not as a novel, but as a picture of Wales and the Welsh,
it is worthy of attention, and will be read with interest.
The habits and manners of the simple children of the
mountains, their rough pastimes, their superstitious
ceremonies, but, above all, their genuine warmth, sim-
plicity, and kindness, are portrayed with singular mi-
nuteness, are dealt with con amore. Among sundry
craps of information, we learn the origin of the well-
knawn " Welsh rabbit." The famous national dish of
toasted cheese, when accompanied with toast steeped in
strong ale, was called " the rare bit," and hence our
present definition . Judging from these volumes, it
appears that the people of North Wales, a hundred
years ego, were in many respects as ignorant of our
luxuries and refinements as are the North Indians of
the present day. We have an amusing account of the
dismay and discomfort experienced by a mountain
family, on first riding in a coach, and the astonishment
of a rustic Welshman. on seeing the lamps which lighted
the metropolis, when he shrewdly enough exclaimed
" What bad consciences the people of London must
have, or else surely they would not be so much afraid of
being in the dark.
If, as It picture of Wales, this work fulfils its object.
as a tale, as a novel,
it is singularly- deficient. De-
ficient especially in two great properties, both of which
are essential—one or other of which is indispensable—
t a work of this character—interest and probability.
We forgive the absurdities of the wildest romance
because it attracts, it enchains our attention ; or, again,
we pass over many a dull commonplace, because the
whole has something of vraisemblablc, of zoal. But the
interest of Llewelyn's heir is confined to the Welsh, as
a people—little is left for the heroes and heroines. There
is no story, no plot, save the slender thread which serves
to connect the delineations and descriptions (which, after
all, are the main object of the work) um il the close of the
third volume, where, in its turn, probability isdone away
with. Llewelyn's heir having joined the Duke of Marl-
borough's army, is supposed to be dead, his eldest sister
(a most unnatural character) takes possession of his in-
heritance. On his return, some years after, she refuses
to restore it, anctwith her knowledge and approbation he
is murdered. Most of the dramatis personce are sum-
marily disposed of, and she is left alone with her ill-
gotten riches.

FOREST HILL ; A TALE OF SOCIAL LIFE

IN -1830-1831. 3 Vols.

If Forest Hill be the
first work of its author, we an-
ticipate much from
his
hereafter. In any case, frag-
mentary portions of is
book assure us, he is capable of
producing something far better as a whole. True and
beautiful thoughts, original ideas, are scattered about
with profusion, and a tone of good. feeling pervades it
all. Nor are the characters deficient in interest—and
yet there is something amiss, there is evidently some-
thing wanting. This is, perhaps, owing to an absence
of unity or concentration in the plot, or
perhaps to the incongruous materials of which it is com-
posed, Ostensibly for the sake of illustrating social life
in 1830, the author has, most unnecessarily and most
unfortunately, intermingled private affairs of private
English individuals with plots and conspiracies of secret
societies abroad—a theme literally foreign to the subject.
Had he wished to touch upon politics, for which he is
apparently not unsuited, he should have advanced th
story a year or two , and told of social life during
the great struggle at home ; then, a la bonne hdeu, it
would have been well enough. But as it Is,
accord •the
public and private affairs do not
an-ai hc
rallu-
sions to Italy and introductions to Cbo
interesting in themselves, and details r
and
of English domestic life, however a a
°lisiode
gin elemselves,
'owever
lineations
are quite incompatible.
hero is an American, andTthoe affairs
ff to the confusion, the
airs of his country are,
of course, occasionally, though not
has evidently a great
leaning towardsnot prominently, brought
upon the tapis. The author
and strong republic,"
yet he does little "thecr youngecit to its inhabitants by the
selection he has made.
Philip.Verdnne, who is
c4appro-
priately described as unstable as water," is another
Waverley or Vivian—another of those unhappy beings
doomed by an unfortunate organisation " to see

the right, and yet the wrong pursue." He
involves himself and all around him in ap-
parently inextricable confusion ; yet, nevertheless,
all ends well. One great object of this work,
which is decidedly of a moral and even religious ten-
dency, is to lead us to place reliance upon Providence ;
the third volume, concluding with the appropriate text,
" Men see not the bright light in the clouds, till the
wind passeth and cleanseth them." The following
specimens will show the political opinions of the
writer :

" Men of large landed property, who live only for them-
selves, who stickle for the privileges of their position, without
casting a thought upon its duties, will not long be tolerated.
There is a Catholic spirit abroad amongst us, both socially
and politically; we are learning to think more of the human
race. To do good in an extended scale, we must look, not
upon men in masses, but regard each individual amongst
them as one of a like nature with ourselves. *
The next great European revolution will call upon
men to account for the abuse of riches. The last
punished fearfully a breach of the great trust of
power. Then let each man of family and wealth lead
the van in social improvement; and that the less fortunate
may pardon him the prosperity which God has given him, let
him seek to promote a feeling of kindness between his own
order and the poor. To do this, let him keep his heart warm
towards others. Let there be amongst all men a reciprocity
dfiayerc which,e
of good. Who knows how far the influence of one solitary
pass passions
needs of both
no p
softena t
of kindness, as between man and man, may extend to
dreadful day
olh ) patties,
e to el mu
st
come? oer et great
, aunsdt
come? Men feel as individuals,and it is
truism, that every mesa, be it mob or be it nation, only of
such materials is composed. * •
" The old world politicians of 1815 tr •
ed to squeeze back
the young serpent into its cast-off skin i
must have taught them it would wriggle.itslmon sense
free! Shall
kings and congresses put new wine into old bottles, and trust
that it will not ferment there? *
" The oak and the elm are the aristocracy of the forest.
Poplars represent the foreign adventurer. The walnut,
beech, and chesnut, the middle class of gentry; while lower
in the social scale we find the. apple, cherry, damson-tree,
or pear. Thus far our analogy holds good, though hardly
for the very poor. Perhaps these may be best typified in
our present state of society by the waste undergrowth of an
American forest, serving tiy their decay to nurture the more
fortunate plants which rear their heads above them."

Our author seems rz-ther addicted to finding similes
for elevated subjects, among the well-known and com-
mon-place matters of every day life—as, for instance,
" Imagination, like the Polytechnic, has its dissolving
views." Again, where he speaks of " the telescope of
faith "—an expression singularly felicitous (for does not
Faith, like the telescope, make the things of distance
appear near ?) and yet the comparison hardly accords
with the due dignity of the subject. Our lady-readers
will not admit the justice of the following sentiment:—
" It requires an excess of moderation and patience to talk
with a woman on the object of her love. We are most of
us at such times so provokingly cpinionated ! Our pride and
our affection so guard all avenues to the ' fort of reason,'
that very little effect can be produced by the most disciplined
attack of the besieger. Unless, indeed, a bomb falls in that
powder-magazine—a woman's vanity. Then the explosion
takes place within the walls, and pride and affection both
perish amid the ruins."