The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-03 00:00:00

LITERATURE.
THE OLD HALL; or OUR HEARTH AND

HOMESTEAD-. By John Mills. 3 Yu/4..
Mr. John Mills is well known to the lovers of the
chase, and all who take interest in good old English
sports. His readers might embrace a yet wider
circle, for the genuine tone of kindly feeling, the
b?rhely pathos, and unaffected sincerity that pervade
Ts writings, are well calculated to find favour with
the multitude. Holding the rank of sporting novels,
his works abound in admirable sketches of country
(ife, but they have another and a higher recommen-
ati°ll ; they appeal to some of the deepest send-
"tents of the heart, they tend to strengthen the do-
Inestie affections, and increase the happiness of home,
P°urtraying it in its natural character, as the centre
Olin comfort, the empire of love and kindness. The
401,d. Hall," hears great resemblance to the " Old
I,_
,711141 Gentleman;" some of the characters are very
Initar, but we are glad to see them again, and wel-
Nile them as old friends. We have here another
era
mPie of the old country squire—the delight of
friends, and the father of the poor; we have the same
Perfect delineations of huntsmen and whippers-in,
though we do not find an equal to Tom Bolton; the same
ell of an old country house, the scene of hospitality
and
kindness; a capital illustration of warm-hearted
:InPlieity, in the person of honest John Hardy ; a
eq. good likeness of sweet Mistress Caudle, and
Inierous minor characters, all interesting from their
taise adherence to nature. The whole narrative con-
"many stirring anecdotes of the chase, and accounts
4, sporting. of every description, written with great
`Vour and minuteness, full of variety and amusement.
i T 0 the lovers of the country this work will be
niraluable, while the inhabitants of town may find a
(1 ,4,fresilifig change in contemplating occupations so
j'erent from their own. Before quitting this sub-
ect We must observe, Mr. Mills makes some remarks
.uout taking farewell of his readers : if such be his
alntent'
may it be like the farewell of a successful
iT.ti°,r, repeated over and over again, "always ending,
t,!' beginning:, We hope soon to meet him again
41 the field ;" en attendant, if he pleases, we wi'
h him farewell.
710

EVENTFUL EPOCH. A Novel, by Nicholas
Michell 3 Vole.
Th' This work does ample justice to its title ; it refers
R ,
i'eeci, to an eventful epoch—the period of the
iZeach Revolution : that great struggle forms the
Eris of the story, but we find little concerning
fee'arneel the author's object being to pourtray the
De,,,lnas of the English during that momentous
—e.01:1, and in this he has been very successful. Truly
Eras that an eventful epoch for England as well as
ht„ance; every breeze that crossed the Channel came
',tined with the aspirations of liberty ;
sent English
re Pie felt the magic- of the spell, the ments of
e..egom found an echo in their hearts ; the cruel ex-
avlses to which fury drove the French, checked their
VPathies to a great degree, yet was the lesson not
fro
itl
the people felt their power, and if they forbore
tesi
using it, the very consciousness made them
the, oppression, and warned their rulers of
anger of arbitrary legislation. The author o
eiarwork before us is evidently a high Tory, an
es "Ire enemy to the whole revolution ; anxious to
ee,• L•
s t his antipathy to the republican clubs formed
to England on the model of the French, he yet pauses
d 0
Justice to individual partizans, and introduces
y° la very interesting character, Walter Pellew, a
lite' of ardent temperament, hitherto devoted to
petrature ; burning with the love of freedom, the im.:
aeill;°sitY of his nature urges him to the extreme,
h'llB' to be a martyr to the cause he loves so well ,
ei"iesnrtis the calmer wisdom of sober-minded friends
hist whole soul is engrossed with one idea. The
aeiteerY of this patriotic rebel and his fond, devoted
The l forms a most interesting portion of the work.
blwhole story is full of variety, well calculated to
Lease the general reader. The hero, Archer Clive,
ebtaer!buth of noble family, and high premise ; he
tion 4 Parliament at an early age, and excites atten-
tub by an admirable speech on the slave-trade in
see'll3°r
t of Mr. Wilberforce, and this at a time when
his conduct was deemed insane. Being deprived of
kt.rtune, he proceeds to study the law with great
displays extraordinary
and fortitude, and when he gains " his own" he
tiorkaYs extraordinarygenerosity towards hisenemies.
br of an outline of the " fortunes of Archer Clive,".
witie sketch of a very interesting story, written
with a considerable degree of spirit, an
is any passages of fine feeling and tenderness. It
th`gavened by passing glimpses of the great men of
h "ay, more especially Edmund Burke, whom the
k„Z° Meets, without knowing, in a stage•coach, be-
ring the acquaintance by praising his remarks on
oePrench Revolution, no doubt to the great delight
a.lle unsuspected author. Interesting as a work of
these volumes are also valuable as serving to
atrate a period of modern English history rarely
-iebra.
ch._rated by the pen of the novelist. The various
.....(;facters are pourtrayed with great force and vigour
mat of the heroine is of peculiar beauty.
Wist
1478 AND MODERN INSTANCES.
The auti, 2 Vols, By Thomas Cooper.
Proved b. .00r of these two little volumes has already.
bitirl4B pt.o:soef
the If to be a poet of no ordinary capacities,
Publication of a prison rhyme, entitled "Th.
Suicides ; he now, however, advances
lathi to consideration as a writer of prose fictions.
liter,bf the most admirable productions in our native
to the have been germinated amidst scenes which
unge~il unphilosophical mind were apparently of an
tioriapal or dispiriting character, and men have occa-
tlißait'Y called into being works breathing purity and
eecorl in every line, while they themselves have been
Thus..coin
by debasing and degrading influences.
his his dungeon, did the Earl of Surrey permitterea "Pnation to wanton in an idealizing and unfet-
-41 tibertY ; thus Burns, at the ploughshare, wove
4%144Y-dreams into verse, and wrought himself a
lenee.ll.-Place for ever in futurity ; thus, when a pri-
reace; ",d Sir Walter Raleigh chronicle the occur-
jestae- bYgone times; and thus, in a thousand other
of ei;eea) has the human intellect risen above the force
ever hseurnstances scatheless and uncramped. What-
it he TaY be the predominating bias of a man, whether
Ineeti:r,aetiOn or for thought, that bias will ever find a
la o„°' accomplishing its purpose; once implanted
13 icionzatatuhriee: it can never lie dormant, its course
that h The bias of Thomas Cooper is—
Lrn,ust write ; it appears to be his " other
be galtthper.ativnelnd of
second nature; its commands are
to him, and these commands could not
his„bsayed even by the walls of Stafford gaol;during
ph, confinement for conspiracy." In issuing his
for ,:gatory of Suicides" to the world, he acted well,
copiobears the impress of a generous heart and a
,vint fancy ; in publishing his present work,
all st? Saws and Modern Instances," we think with
thiaieference to himself, that he has acted somewhat
that Y and unwisely. Nature has gifted him, and
eati abundantly, with all the exigencies and qualifi-
lit:an,s of a poet, but in aiming at another sphere in
he hnlure, as in the present instance, we conceive
" outstepped the dictates of prudence. That he
you observant eye, and no mean perception of the.
evie°,llB‘, Phases of character in his fellow man, is
,for by several passages in the volumes before us ;
Intellect'
in the papers headed " Raven Dick, the
e oi, Who Scratched the Bull," an I "The
poual Lever that lacked a Fulcrum ;" but that
then ssesss the capability of adequately pourtraying
,f,rorat tPhia-s. es of -society is not at all to be deduced
Lee Qua ryes
paps. In speaking of Charles Dickens,
reratteh rlerlY Review, some years back, very justly
valgar e‘,l that his delineations of low life are never
ttetrie out are, on the contrary, fraught with ex-
11°t begraane and elegance; this praise, however, can
'asse, warded to the delineations of the humbler
went given by Mr. Cooper in these three-and-
"°
Y sketch 'throughout over-
, eter,, es. They retain an
eiote of the .
a'e thee, subject which is being described; they
41.11 e; stra selves in a palpable lowliness of metaphor,
tie-Y Rler-ng Poverty of language. Besides these
(lhir nlg defects on the part o.f our
incorrigible
he has
4 anothert' of a far more incorrigible and in-
el°4 witt nature : in attempting to endue his descrip-
Fret t •
aee h a air of " naturalness" to which in his
ultad slae: n,stensibly aspires, all the common-places
ndiee„,? Phrases in
ew,hitista•neesf. this
flentebe7h are vogue now-a-days among the
interlarded with almost every other
intolerable blemish we will give a
leng.the conan.---
114.-I`P a • anY was large, well-dressed, and from the
,steaus ePPearance of the numerous leather port-
, A ,
*at t change of
ha 6. ne' seesih, heat suits was purchased (for the lad
.
It:which te to be fooled into the kichshaw dandy
eororae Cockney recommended"), &T.
etpoiai innsreiai gentic_,
wen even at the first-rate corn-
k (lotet cut it quite so fat," &c.
ofe'9aciated ; c'orrtiraer
was completely flummuxed and jfab-
her 8:e Jonathan was
would say, he was struck all
stluft! tact, the&c, man he could plainly see was up to
4Jet
rattled 'll lacked •
as:''Y I the young ladies thumped and
selecteease are but e'
Work -at rend° few of the obnoxious vulgarisms,
porti that it wo T, and constitute a blemish in the
dbet;nb of bea,.,11.114 require a very considerable pro-
sech"ls we would to obliterate. In all future pro-
hes, ,;neretricio eid recommend Mr. Cooper to avoid
Poet
seein us and mistaken efforts at " natural-
nt els 8. that the
Poet he ke, render
his Y more particularly, than any-
his 8 alreed present work a failure. As a
at_
nrearier_, y excited the admiration and regard
clehri3s btuot he has not as yet advanced any
popularity as a prose writer.

4 ,SNIPxs """.........—.....„..
Zarp,e nunizib LoNbox.--During the last fortnight
vti4oliq, wii4eitt.
wandsworthoneo
oil ii;4l °f these bird:
csinipes have visited the outskirts of the raystar ctates approaching frost.
and
e been aho ux Battersea-fields
‘li4r° 44(atr:ELbreConiviLMARBET, JAN. 2.—We have
t(.,,,,,17 water4l3l3l, s ofo all grain, owing to contrary winds and
(it,,','tice of 13n..4,„.t, ?„tours, .
mar,ket to day there was a good at-
toifil)tiolls or, --, and a tau- business was. transacted in all
f:, freel,,,
~ wheat at fully last week's ices Good barks
ooh ill vi'llifid.,,common sorts in fair request without alters-
vAto au g,;.,,,Jieana in good demand and but few ofrering.
ming *Ach :Atka doom Malt 44 bvtie•