The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-14 00:00:00

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correct, if her book contain nothi, ..‘ J.,
at least vraisemblable—if its heree -ex -,_
n:e io its
pages," they are • characters such as - c:rtainly
might have existed; if they are not pi). tylits, they
might have been ; and herein lies their great aurae-
;ion. For instance, when we regard with wondering
admiration the master-pieces of srs; where the figures
seem to live and breathe upon the canvas, what is it
that elicits that wonder and admiration ? Is it the
beauty of the features, the grace of the figure, the
magnificence of the apparelling ?—No, but the ex-
pression which beams upon those features, the motion
visible in that figure, the folds in which the drapery
falls—it is not the symmetry of the form but the life
which animates it Real living beings are before us,
et we are told the painting is purely imaginative—
:;ranted, yet it is true nevertheless. The picture
itself may be ideal, but its component parts are real,
and even in the combination, reality has been studied.
Individuals may not have been copied, but nature has
been followed—portraits have been taken, " not of
the man, but of mankind." So it is with works of
fiction (so called) their adherence to nature is their
greatest me, it, and it is this adherence to nature for
which Miss Alitferd's works are chiefly conspicuous.
The heroes and heroines of her " sketches, taken
separately, have each an individual character,
clearly defined; while in portraying the various
groups in which they are mingled, or in chronicling
the adventures in which they take part, by a careful
attention to trifling minutia, by the introduction of
numerous descriptions, short anecdotes, ani appar-
ently irrelevant particulars, an air of probability is
given to the whole, a general impression of truth is
conveyed—in the same way as the faithful delinea-
tion of every trifling object in the back-ground invests
the pictures of Wilkie with such an air of reality.
The sketches contairai in this volume are of varied
character—varied as regards matter, for the same easy
natural manner pervades them all. We have descrip-
tions of the town itself, and of its principle inhabi-
ants from the " Belles of the ball-room," "the
-Ihsent member," down to "Mrs. Tcnakins, the
Chessemonger," and Stephen Lane, the butcher," the
most interesting individual in the whole book.
Stephen Lane is a conspicuous character. in Belford,
conspicuous by his gigantic appe.arance, good heart,
and love of Radicalism and Reform " all the

Tories hated Mr. Lane."
" With that vast breadth of chest and limb assigned,
So oft to men who suttjugate their kind."
He " pushed broad-shouldered on " at the
head of the Reformers of Belford, denounc •
ins, every municipal abuse, and encounter-
ing very determined opposition. Ile had a
hard and desperate struggle to maintain, he found
(as all reformers must find) how strong is the force
of old established evil. However he prospered, he was
himself " invested with a little brief authority" as
parish overseer, and then being placed in a situation
t-o carry out his own plans, he found (as many a
minister has done before) how much more difficult it
Is to practise than_ to preach. The difficulties of the
good butcher are excellently well dt sc ibed, as are
also the many traits of his generosity and good-
heartedness. But not only are the characters of the
townspeople of Belford given ; the volume is rendered
more interesting by the relation of many of their his-
tories, and those of strangers who had visited them;
,f the latter are "The old Emigre" and the " Young
-4eulptor," perhaps the most beautiful of all the
,letches, both somewhat mournful; but both full of
feeling and full'of interest.

CHRISTMAS in the OLDEN TIME, or the WAS-
SAIL BO II L. By John Mills.
- The name and appearance of this little volume are
quite in keeping with the season. There is some-
thing attractive in the title, bringing before us, as it
does, the genial festivities which were once wont to
celebrate Christmas —the gathering in the great ball,
the performance of time-hallowed ceremonies, the
unaffected mirth, the contagious hilarity—above all,
the truly Christmas custom (alas how transient in
duration) the mingling together of itich and poor, of
high and low, with neither pride on the one hand, nor
fear on the other, to raise an impassable barrier be-
tween them ;
" The heir, with roses in his shoes,
That night might village partner choose.
Christmas gambols oft could cheer
The poor man's heart for half the year."
To chronicle the doings of such a time, we could
hardly desire a more fitting writer than John Mills,
not only because in his " Old English Gentleman,"
and other works, he manifests a great partiality for
old customs—old English customs—but because his
writings are more or less filled with kindly and gene-
rous sentiments, and pervadel with genial and sym-
pathetic tone, indispensable requisites for a Christ-
mas book. Consequently, in taking up this little
volume, we felt assured that its contents would
be as much in accordance with its name
as is the cheerful hue of, its gold-be-
decked binding, or the green holly wreath
wound around the title-page—nor in this re-
spect have we been disappointed, although
,front
some defects in the construction of the tale, eur ex-
pectations have not been wholly realised. The au-
thor has avowedly had two ohj,cts in view, he wished
to give us a Christmas moral tale, and also to exhibit
" the sports and pastimes of the olden time at this
festival period of the year." Both objects are excel-
lent in themselves, but they have not been well
interwoven, or rather they have not been inter-
woven at all. The book commences and concludes
with a desci iption of a Christmas festival in olden
times, and the moral tale is introduced only as a
story narrated at this same festival, and the fact of
its narrator being also its hero, somewhat diminishes
from its romance. Nevertheless, the story itself is
good enough, and conveys a good moral lesson, il-
lustrating, by an only too common example, the
rapid progress of crime, and the fact of one fault,
however trivial its nature, leading the way to many
of a far more serious character. An industrious and
virtuous youth, first indulging in harmless recreation
at the alehouse, is gradually led astray by the cor-
rupting influences of ititensperance and evil company,
till his character and situation gone, he is reduced to '
beggary, turns poacher, and is led to the very brink
of crime. The moral of this tale is most obvious;
the interest is somewhat heightened by slight
touches of the supernatural, but this very ad-
dition, which is intended to render it more
of a Christmas tale, somewhat diminishes its effect,
because it invests it with an 'air of improbability.
Not that we object to the introduction of super-
natural agents (in such a tale) but only to the
manner of their introduction. Part of the story is a
dream, awl part a very incredible reality, but so con-
fused is the distinction between the two, that we con-
clude the book without hardly knowing which is
which. The poachers adventures are narrated.. witk
much
n into
betrayedllsl
sl
elemenfreto.Te hand
scenevig oiun'r here
w; b
ieht
they elysAi
rei
and where, although sur-
raonuanmdebdusbhyotfhge
from ruin, is very vividly .portrayed, and is full
aemneemkeye,Pethrey, by a bold move, escape
of
interest. The style of the whole volume is, very
simple and unaffected
and
truthful ; and suggestive reflections are occa-
sionally to be met with ; among others, on a man
observing that he " can't " do a thing proposed, he is
answered, " Can't! pshaw 1 Man can do more than
he ever has done, and will, when he thinks he ' can."
And again—" Unless we profit by our sufferings, un.
less the pains and penalties with which the past be
chequered teach us to avoid that rock-ribbed- shore
where so many human hopes and joys are
wrecked and shattered, of what avail are ,they ?
Trials and heart-aches are not ordained for the
mere purposes of temporary anguish ; but as
impressions from the hand of stern experience, in-
tended to warn the wayfarer from the hidden shoal
and quicksand. 'He who heeds them not must 'perish."
When the evil spirit under the guise of a friendly
stranwer stands at the elbow of the unfortunate hero
urgine him in further sin, be tells him that he has
only come to him because he has been summoned—
summoned not by mysterious incantations, but by
• "unheeded warnings, broken resolutions, repeated
crimes, and postponed repentance, which are, all and
each, welcomes." " Men's tongues oftener conceal
their thoughts than give expression to them," he con-
tinues, "and, therefore, in wor Is I put little trust. It
is by their works I judge whether my presence be
desired or not." In his description of Blindman's
1341 Mr. Mills has plagiarised (almost to the very

selection and arrangement of the expressions) from a
passage in the " Christmas Carol" of Boz—where
old Scrooge is carried by the spirit of the present to
the drawing-room of his nephew. As inculcating
virtue and good fellowship this little book is right
welvome it skill not detract from the fame which the
author has already acquired by his " Old .rnglish
Gentleman."

THE ILLUSTRATED MUSICAL AL MANACK.
Edited by F. W. N. Bayley.
Cheapness has latterly become so essential in lite-
rature that an extraordinary number of publications
have been issued so ephemeral in character, so mere-
tricious in appearance, and so meagre in talent as to
threaten the deterioration of public taste. This is
lamentably apparent in those productions which may
be styled " seasonable." Annuals, almanacks, Christ-
mas stories, Easter offerings, and the like, are espe-
cially remarkable in this particular. There is so
much competition nowadays in the boob trade as well
as elsewhere that a vast number of periodicals have been
palmed upon the people having no higher claim open
attention than showy decorations, evanescent merits,
and moderate price. It is refreshing, therefore, when
anything appears possessing intrinsic excellence as
well as external beauty—real ability as well as posi-
tive cheapness—elegance as well as novelty. " The
Musical Almanack" is an exquisite production.
Without any puffing, without any adventitious as-
sistance, without a vain- glorious announcement of
any description, it has been published, and its extra-
ordinary amount of talent must necessarily ensure for
it every success. Its lavish embellishments by the
first draughtsmen' and its musical compositions by the
first composers of the day, demand the very highest
praise. Among the illustrators are —Phiz (the
inimitable Hablot Knight Browne), Kenny
Meadows (the Shaksperian), Doyle Weigall,
Hine (the most comical of the caricaturists
in outline,) Hammerton, Warren, and Crowquill.
Among the musical composers are—Balfe, Wallace,
Alexander Lee, Crouch, Hatton, and Florimel. With
such contributors, guided by the enterprising origi-
nator of the publication, Mr. F. W. N. Bayley, it
is not surprising that " The Illustrated Musical Al-
manack " is immeasurably beyond anything of a
similar kind hitherto produced. Taking the songs
in succession :—" Her Heart is the Prize I will
gain ;" written, in four sharps, by Florimel,
is a sprightly and agreeable air, with an
accompaniment of most appropriate simplicity,
The embellishment by " Phiz ' is right fanciful,
from the centre group, where the gallant is
pledging the health of his mistress in a bumper, to
every separate figure in the margin. "The Lay of
the May," by Wallace. This charming song, in A
fiat, is daintily conceived. Throughout the music is
most happily illustrative of the words, and both are
graceful, almost beyond measure, The concluding
bars of the first verse are a felicitous adaptation of the
idea : _

" Oh, laugh at the winter gone ! Mine is a melting eye,
Smiling at frost till its heart is lost,
And its ice goes weeping by."
In the concluding verse again there is a freshness and
delicacy which is imbued with the very essence and
spirit of May. The engraving of " May," by Kenny
Meadows is a masterpiece. " I then will breathe my
vow," by Hatton, a love song in G major, beginning
with an allegretto movement, possesses no marked
originality, but is singularly pleasing nevertheless.
" Love and Prayer," in B flat, by Balfe, may be
almost regarded as a sister melody to " The light of
other days." The pathos for which the former
writings of our eminent composer are so gene-
rally remarkable, is the pervading characteristic of the.
present, and the words themselves by F. W. N. Bayley,
are fraught with sentiment. The most exquisite
ballad in the collection, however, the gem of the
entire book—the picture by Phiz—the poetry by
Bayley—the music by Crouch—is "My Heart will
be broken for Erin." This is written in three sharps,
commencing dolce, espressico, as the very title itself
would suggest. Every break, every note, every pause,
has a beauty of its own ; they s3em to be the veritable
utterances of a breaking heart. The abrupt swelling
and fallirig of the melody, the transition from force to
feebleness, from the crescendo to the piano, from the
lamentuvole to the declumato, from the espressico to
the lamentavole again, are all done with infinite art,
and yet, be it said, with infinite nature. Crouch has,
if possible, exceeded all our expectations in this
delic:ous ballad; he has given us here a companion to
his " Kathleen Mavourneen," that song which, deli-
vered in a musical voice and uttered by Irish lips, has
such a ravishing melody. " Hearts may warm the
winter," by Alexander Lee, in the key of D major,
is doubly welcome, first as an addition to the many
delightful compositions of Lee, and, secondly, as pe-
culiarly appropriate to this festive and domestic
season. The frontsplece, by that distinguished
artist, " Phiz," entitled " Love is a Sly
Boots," is the most highly finished drawing we re-
member to have met with from his pencil. Without
any disparagement to his confrores, it is immeasur
ably the best illustration in the almanack. Those
who only know " Phiz " through his masterly little
etchings to the works of Charles Dickens, %%ill he
amazed at the exceeding grace and delicacy of this
drawing; the grouping is admirable; the counte-
nance of the damsel with the white plume in her hat
is beautiful—no wonder love is a sly-boots! It
would be impossible to do justice to the profusion of
facetious embellishments and fanciful conceits scat-
tered over the pages, both by the draughtsman and
the editor, without encroaching to an impossible ex-
tent upon our columns. We must allude, however, to
the extravagant caricature of the Prime Minister and
Sir Robert Peel, the former being represented as
squalling at the hig!lest pitch of his voice, "Robert,
toi que faime !" The preservation of the likeness
upon the distorted face is one of the drollest things
imaginable. Mr. F. W. N. Bayley merits every
commendation for the admirable manner in which he
has performed the very arduous duties of editorship.
The almanack would be cheap at six times its price.
It is the most beautiful and valuable gift book for
1847 yet published.

FRENCH PLAYS.—ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.
Lessee. Mr. John Mitchell.
THIS EVENING
Will be performed the favourite Comedy of LE CODE DES
FEMMES. Paul Fauvel, M. Rhozevil ; Mignonet, M. Tourillon ;
Romain, M. Pagenier ; Louchon, 31. Priston; Emma, Millie. Angelo ;
Femme de Chambre, Mdlle. Leyden
To be followed by the first Act of Moliere's celebrated Comedy of
LE BOURGEOIS GENTILIIOMME. M. Jourdan', M. Perlet ;
Mdlle. Brohan.
After which a new Comedy, entitled LES TROIS CRISPINS
on, La Familia Poisson. Raymond Poisson, 31. Perlet ; Marianne
Brohan.
To conclude with the popular Vaudeville of UN MONSIEUR ET
UNE DAME. Un Monsieur, M. Dumery ; Une Dame, Mdlle.
Broban ; Une Aubergiste, Madame Dumery.
Boxes, Gs.; Pit, 3s. 61. ; Stalls, 35.; Gallery, 2s. Doors opened at
nall-past Seven, and the performances commence at Eight.