The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-18 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

LIT ERA 'PURE.
LIVES OF THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND.
Library Edit:c.m. Vols. 1., IL, 111., IV. By
Agnes Strickland. Colburn and Company.
It le quired very remarkable courage to adventure
upon the companion of the volumes here rep.inting
in an edition eminently calculated to extend their
popula&y and confirm their reputation. Fortu-
nately for the students in cur historical literature, the
various qualities which were essential for th© due
accomplishment of such an undertaking mere found
combined in the intellect of Agnes Strickland. Her
resolution in carrying out the original design has
been unsurpassed by any ether of her capacities as an
historical writer, if we may except the most brilliant
merit of her productions generally, that of a consci•
entions and unimpassioned truthfulness. Among the
impartial annalists who have recorded the deeds of
bygone generations, whether in modern times or in
the days of antiquity, she cccupies a conspicuous and
honourable position. Nor can the prejudices of par-
tizAnship, or ire fanaticism of sectarianism, deny
to her the admiration due to that veracity.
Beyond the distinguishimr qualities here par-
ticularized, Miss Strickland possessed, from
the outset another, peculiarly admirable cf its
kind, and one which, under any cirurnstances,
must have rendered some degree of success inevitable.
She cherishes a genuine love for her occupation ; she
has an enthusiasm in the prosecution of her enter-
prise ; she has an evident delight in turning :over the
mouldy manuscripts of the riled :weal period, and ex-
tracting from them a store of unexpected revelations.
Indeed she herself has told us repeatedly, in the words
of Beaumont, that her hand has opened " the trea-
sures of antiquity laid up in old historic scrolls,"
though without adding how eagerly she has done so,
or with what earnest assiduity she has conducted her
antiquarian investigations. The singularly merito-
rious manner in which these " Lives of the Queens of
England" have been brought to a state of completion
is, by this time, tolerably well known to the majority
of readers : in fact, the celebrity of the work has been
recognised not only in this country, but by the more
discerning men of letters throughout Christendom.
It has risen even now to the dignity of a classic, and
may be regarded as having achieved for itself
a triumph over every opposition. The fact of
Miss Strickland's popularity as an historian, or rather,
we should possibly say, as an historical biographer,
has been sufficiently attested by the variety of compi-
lations of a similar character which her " Lives of
the Queen of England" have called into existence.
Besides her own new serial, the "Lives of the Queens
of Scotland," now being issued at intervals from the
este blishment of the Messrs. Blackwood, there have been
kindred volumes dedicated by other writers respec-
tively to the Kings and the Princesses of England.
Like most imitations, however, these works have by
no means equalled in any one particular the extraor-
dinary production originating that class of composi-
tions, the work which is here announced as again in
course of publication. Half of the present reprint
has already appeared, the edition before us
being intended for completion in eight volumes,
newly revised, and very considerably augmented.
Anxious to impart to them every reasonable attraction
and every desirable embellishment, the publishers have
arranged to have each memoir accompanied by a portrai,
of the queen whose history is recounted, no matter
whether endowed with the royal diadem or with the
crown matrimonial. Added to all this the augmen-
tations above mentioned comprise references to all the
important collections brought to light since the ap•
pearance of earlier impressions. These references,
combined with the engraved likenesses first particu-
larized, likenesses, it would seem, taken from
euthentic sources, sources in every instance duly
and properly verified, cannot, we feel assured, but
secure a wide and enlarging popularity to every
successive volume of the republication. Apart from
all adventitious interest, the "Lives of the Queen's of
England," if issued in a form the most scrupulously
unadorned, must by necessity have commanded the
heartiest welcome from the community. With the
decorations specified they must inevitably prove most
acceptable. They extend in point of time over a
period of no less than 652 years, and
relate the fortunes and misfortunes of several
illustrious dynasties. Beginning at the death,
in 1066, of Edward the Confessor, they traverse
the whole of the subsequent portion of our chrono•
logy down to the accession, in 1714, of George the First
of the house of Brunswick. Among the renowned
women depicted in the series are four queens who
wore the royal crown of England, and no less than
thirty who wore the crown matrimonial. " What
changes," exclaims their biographer herself in the
very exordium of her preface—" what changes--
what revolutions—what scenes of civil and religious
strife—what exciting tragedies are not involved in
the details of these four-and-thirty lives!" In the
histories of these memorable women we behold mir-
rored before us some among the most marvellous
epochs in the career of humanity. We see the days
of feudalism revived from the dust of centuries, with
the throng of barons and of serfs, each alike, in the
majority, of instances ignorant of all that knowledge
upon which has since been built up the fare of civili-
zation. We wander again through the gorgeous
realms of chivalry, again we listen with rap-
ture to the incalculable witcheries of romance,
hearing the echoed music that flowed of old
from the harp of the bard and the lyre of the
troubadour. We follow Richard once more into the
crusades, that strewed with blood and glory the con-
secrated soil of Palestine. We accompany anew our
Edwards and our Henrys through the numerous
battles by which they strove to blend in one the
dems of France and England. Having
thus far in the sequence of these astonishing records—
records of heroism and of criminality—we arrive in
due course at the terrible conflict between the partizans
of the red and the white roses—the roses of York and
of Lancaster, that terrible and deadly contention
which ended at length in the extinction of the once
glorious and puissant dynasty of the Plantagenets.
Upon the consequent accession of the house of Tudor
we watch again the pulling down of the execrable
system of feudality, and the building up of a new
hierarchy and the modelling of new principles of
ecclesiastical government. Scarcely have we Rer-
ceived the completion of these remarkable enterprises
than we begin to recognise the commencement of the
great effort of the middle classes to vindicate their poll-
tical rights and social privileges, the struggle subvert-
ing monarchy for a time, and replacing it by a demo-
cratic institution entitled a Commonwealth. Scarcely,
again, have we seen the republican form of administra-
tion established in the realm than we see this in its
place exchanged for a military despotism, and the
military despotism in its turn leading in the end to the
permanent restoration of the monarchical form of
government. Through these wonderful vicissitudes
of fortune we come by gradual stages to the demo-
cratic reaction which was inevitable under the cir-
cumstances—a reaction which produced the deposition
of James 11., the last Catholic Sovereign. Subse-
quently to the Revolution of 1688, we arrive at what
Miss Strickland pithily mentions as the time of "the
Dutch reign, the era of continental wars, standing
armies, national debt, and universal taxation." As
the crowning point of the series, we have the close of
the reign of Anne and the accession of the House of
Brunswick: Such are the personages and the occur-
rences which Agnes Strickland has described in
these remarkable biographies, her heroines being those
four-and-thirty queens, of whom M. Guizet has said,
" Great events have acted on them, and they have
acted according to events." How reverently the
historical writer who has undertaken this task has
brought it to a conclusion, may be perceived by
reference to her own very beautiful acknowledgment,
whereas, he observes,.' The hope that the Lives of the
Queens of England' might be regarded as a national
work, honourable to the female character, and gene-
rally useful to society, has encouraged us to the com-
pletion of the task, and we should be undeserving of
the popularity with which this work has been
honoured, if we could look upon it with apathy, but
we regard it as God's blessing on our labours and
their sweetest reward." That reward she has as-
suredly obtained, and upon its first acquisition we
hastened to offer Miss Strickland our felicitations.
The proof that she has obtained it is the fact of the
present reprint—ll reprint which has now half of it
appeared—the fourth volume under consideration
eomprising the whole of the masterly biography of
Queen Elizabeth.

RAVEN SCLIFFE ; a Novel. 3 Vols. By the
Author of " Emilia Wyndham." Colburn.
The authoress of " Emilia Wyndham" can hardly
fail to interest and fascinate her readers even when,
as in this instance, she selects a gloomy and unpleas•
ing theme. Her manner is so earnest, and her belief
in the reality of the events which she narrates is so
apparently genuine, that instead of regarding her
works as the fictions of her own brain, we are apt to
look upon them as real histories, of which she is
merely the recorder. To say this of any novelist is
to accord no mean commendation, and of Mrs.
Marsh we can affirm so much in all conscientiousness.
But, admiring her as we do, and justly appre-
ciating her powerful talents, we must confess that
" Ravenscliffe," while in some respects it has fas•
cinated us, has on the whole disappointed us. The
story is melancholy throughout, even to monotony,
but the principal characters are well conceived.
The chief purpose of the work, and its most re-
deeming feature, is the delineation of the stern
and morose Randal Langford. The natural faults
of his temperament have been augmented by an ill-
judged education, and Randal, while yet a youth, is a
complete misanthrope—" a perfect Timm), not nine-
teen." But however austere his disposition, his heart
is sensitive, and his live for the gentle Eleanor
Wharncliffe, for a time converts the misanthrope into
an affectionate and happy man. For a time only.
The disappointment of this affection—a disappoint-
ment peculiarly cruel and trying in its circumstances
embitters all the genial feelings of his

heart, and reduces him to worse than his former
desolation. " Ravenbcliffe" is not half concluded
when this incident tikes place, but, although
the remAindim of the work introduces new charac-
ter 4, and, in fact, a new etory, the main pur-
pose is still the same, and oily with the con-
cluding pages of the third volume does the history
of Randal become complete, and the moral of the
story receive its full development. Viewed in this
bearing, as we have said, " R ivenscliffe" presents re-
deeming features, The character of Randal is well
pourtrayed, and the vicissitudes to which such un-
governed passions as his must necessarily subject
their possessor are skilfully and forcibly depicted.
Still the theme is mournful and its accessories are
melancholy to an extreme. Eleanor Wharncliffe, the
heroine, is painted in that graceful and charming
manner which Mrs. Marsh so frequently employs
in the portraits of her heroines. The nature of
Eleanor is weak and vacillating; not endowed with suf-
ficient firmness to d..) right or wrong, she sacrifices
her own happiness and the happiness of others. Speak-
log of the deplorable state to which this weak tem-
perament reduces her heroine, Mrs. Marsh reminds
us that Angela (the heroine f one of her former
delightful romances) was naturally weak and timid
as Eleanor, but the strong religious principles which
ruled her heart supported and directed her. In
Eleanor, who is without this strength, she has at-
tempted, and very successfully, to show the misery
that may be wrought by a weak mind, although ac-
companied by a loving heart and well-meaning inten-
tentions, if unsupported by principle. In this endea-
vour, also, as we have said, Mrs. Marsh has been most
successful. Having thus awarded to the authoress
of " Ravenscliffe " the praises which are her due, we
have another, and a serious fault to find with her,
namely, the theological remarks and discussions
introduced into the pages of " Ravenscliffe." 'We
have the greatest objection to such topics so intro-
duced. Practical and not theoretical religion is
what we look for in works of fiction. Let the
novelist show us how Christians ought to live, and
not remind us, unhappily, how Christians (so called)
can quarrel. One passage in this portion of " Ra-
venscliffe " has surprised us considerably, coming from
a writer of such benevolence as the author of " Emilia
Wyndham," namely, a passage in which she arrogates
to herself a power appertaining only to the great
Searcher of Hearts, and pronounces a large body of
Christians to be, many of them, secret infidels. Sorry
are we to find such remarks coming from such a writer,
and we earnestly entreat the authoress, whose talents
we so justly appreciate, and whose works we so
greatly admire, to leave these topics for other pens,
and to employ hers, as she so well can, in showing the
beauty of virtue and the misery of vice. We en-
treat of Mrs. Marsh to give us again a novel like her
enthralling "Emilia Wyndham," like her powerful
" Norman's Bridge," like her charming "Angela,"
or her fascinating " Old Men's Tales," or her " Wil-
mingtons." Glad as we always are to -welcome her
productions, we shall be doubly glad to welcome one
possessing the attractions but free from the faults of
" Rave nscliffe."

ON THE CLASSIFICATION AND MA-
NAGEMEAT OF CRIMINAL LUNATICS.
By John Charles Buy/mill, M. 8., London; Super-
intendent of the Devon County Lunatic Asylum.
Dr. Bucknill has, in the shape of a letter addressed
to Samuel Trehawke Kekewich, Esq., the chairman
of the visiting justices of the Devon ounty Lunatic
Asylum, given to the public his opinions on the sub-
ject of the treatment of criminal lunatics, a subject
which will occupy the attention of Parliament in the
course of the ensuing session. The great abilities and
the very extensive experience of Dr. Bucknill as su-
perintendent of the Devon County Lunatic Asylum
entitle his opinions on this subject to most attentive
consideration, and accordingly, without at all
pledging ourselves to the, support of all the
opinions which Dr. Buckuill has propounded,
we recommend his pamphlet to the atten-
tive study of all those who may be called upon
to take part in the discussion of any measure which
may be proposed for a reform in the laws relating to
this subject. Dr. Bucknill proposes among other
alterations that the fact of a lunatic having been tried
for a crime should not alone be sufficient to constitute
a distinction in his classification, but that all lunatics
of criminal propensities, whether they may have ben
tried or not, shall be separated from those whose de-
lusions are of a harmless nature. This is a suggestion
of very great importance, and one which we should
wish to see carried out. We think we perceive that
Dr. Bucknill, in common with almost every medical
man who has written on this subject, is inclined to
advocate the release of criminal lunatics on too easy
terms. Be it recollected that the primary object of the
incarceration of a criminal lunatic is to secure the
safety of society, and the cure of the person who has
violated the laws is, however important, still subor-
dinate to the one great object, and that, therefore,
criminal lunatics should not be too hastily released ;
indeed we are inclined to think that they should never,
under any circumstances, be wholly freed from re-
straint.

FALKENBURG.

By the Author of " Mildred

Vernon." Co- Mum. 3 Vo is

This is a tale of the Rhine. The principal charac-
ters are English, with the exception of Waldemar
Falkenburg, the hero, and a young artist, Wilhelm
Norberg. The career of the latter is very ably
sketched. At first he has more of the affectation of
superiority than the evidence, but, led on and incited
by his passion for the beautiful, and by his ado-
ration of Lilian Cameron, his genius bursts forth
from its trammels, and he attains a renown almost
unparalleled in musical composition. Helen Mac-
lave is the only really estimable character in the
work, and it is to be regretted that her fate is not
equally fortunate. Falkenburg, the hero, is a strange
individual, his disposition veering between the mean
and the exalted. By turns hea debases himself to
the lowest pleasures, or seeks todevote: himself heart
and soul to his country's cause. Unfortunately his
ambition cannot be gratified. He can find nothing
worthylof his mind,:and he is at last:most:unsatisfacto-
rily united to the vain and selfish Lilian Cameron.
The scene is at first in Germany, the characters are
afterwards introduced in a London season, and finally
they return to Friederichstadt. There are several
other points of interest in the narrative, and a great
deal of under play is carried on by the Grantleys
and their designing friends. There is throughout a
vigour and expression of style which is not often met
with in works of fiction, and the author displays great
knowledge of society both at home and abroad.

THE MONTH. By Albert Smith and John Leech
Messrs. Albert Smith and Leech have provided " a
feast of fun" for Christmas parties in the present
month. As a specimen we give the following
" Song for the Times :"
CAB !
AlR—Trab, trab, trab.
A cab I lives by driving,
And well I makes it pay—
A business nice and thriving,
I drives with my old grey.
With lots of blessed tongue,
And simple force of lung.
Cab! cab! gab! cab! I knows my game,
And swindles old and young.
Cab! cab! &c.

The beaks has took the trouble
To regulate our fares;
But if we charges double
'Taint them—you see—as cares.
'Taint nobs in cabs as pass,
But what they call the mass.
Cab! cabl cab! cab! so on we goes,
And does the Middle Class.
Cab! cab! &c.

It's grconhorns from the country;
As best I likes to drive;
Their 'rithmetic I on try,
And multiplies by five,
Or women folk who dare
To offer simple fare.
Cab! cab! cab! cab! they're easy done,
You've only got to swear.
Cab! cab! &o.

I sometimes meet with rum 'une,
I'm quite polite to such;
Folks often talk of summons,
It seldom comes to much!
What's every one's affair,
Is no one's—you're aware.
Cabl cab! cab! cab! to lose their time
The folks don't seem to care.
Cab! cabl &c.

When opposition's talk'd of,
On rules of justice plann'd,
Our profits to be baulk'd off,
My pals and I won't stand.
The driver's heads we smash,
And through their panels dash.
Cab! cabl cab! cab! to interfere
With wasted rights is rash.
Cab! cab! &c.

Then on we'll go, like winking,
Till some one puts us down,
The dread of women shrinking,
The thieves of half the townl
They'll stop us—l dare say;
But—till they find a way—
Cab! cab! cab! cab! like Jolly dogs,
By Jove! we'll have our day.
Cab! cab! &c.

THE FAIR CAREW ; a Novel, in 3 vols. Smith

and Elder.

There is an attracting interest in these volumes,
although the tale is simple and the style has nothing
uncommon. Their merit consists in the true delinea-
tion of the characters, and the natural consequences
which follow from the events. The heroine, Selby,
is a charming creation. Placed in the most trying cir-
cumstances that could possibly exist, surrounded
by many conflicting claims, with an unprin-
cipled father and a scheming mother, she con-