The Sun.
London, England, 1856-09-17 00:00:00

LI a RATURE.

Arthur Brandon. 2 Vole. Hurst and Blackett.
This work possesses spirit and originality, thoug,ll
the plot is not particularly pleasing, and the style
is too often wanting in refinement and elegance',
We are introduced to a large and varied circle 0'
acquaintances ; some of them, however are more
ludicrous than agreeable. Among thisnumber is°
lady whose violent- manners and brusquerie ha"
caused her friends to transform 'her name of Mrs'
Bedford Lumley into Mrs. Bedlam, and, of coursed
they are constantly making mistakes, a%
c-lling her by the wrong name. A very 0131)°,61.,,
character is the unhappy Mrs. Pyncher, wucte
refined feelings are perpetually receiving severe
shocks from her husband, the Major, who
markable for nothing but his dingy appearance;
and five polka-loving daughters. The hero le
poor artist, who is abandoned by his avaricious
father, and obtains a precarious livelihood by 111°
profession. The motto of the book is taken frees
Locksley Hall, " Cursed be the social ties that
„
warp us from the living truth," and refers to scr°,,'
of the often discussed topics of social prejudice an
injustice. To add to the cruelty of Arthur's father '
conduct, he had obtained possession of
bond which secured to his son the 011:"
of eight thousand pounds, left to him by
his grandfather. After many years this is restol,n,
to him in consequence of his father's marriage
an heiress, who herself presents him with the moil
of which he was so unjustly deprived. The nl°,l
agreeable part of the story refers to Nests and
Nelly, two friends and companions. The first 16
the object of Arthur's vain attachment ; howeyerj
after some time, the lady changes her mind, and
all ends well. Nelly becomes the wife of another
artist, a devoted friend of Brandon's • but she dies
before the conclusion. Her husband is a philo.
sopher, who, inheriting a fortune of fifteen thou-
sand a year, resigns two-thirds of it, as he considers
no man is justly entitled to more than five
thousand per annum. The reader will feel
disposed to forgive him his eccentricities, in consi-
deration of his being one of the few interesting
characters in the book.- The author, in pursuit of
variety we suppose, has surrounded his principal
figures with such a crowd of second-rate characters,
almost all vulgar or unprepossessing, that the lm'
pression produced by the dramatis personcr is any'
thing but agreeable. Those who like caricatures
better than portraits will probably be attracted 11,
this very feature, and this class of readers will find
plenty to gratify their love of the humorous.
There are some parts of the story that aro real)"
well written and interesting; it is therefore a mater
of regret when the writer allows the humorous t°
degenerate into the vulgar, and force of expression,
end in want of refinement. t The descriptions or
Italy are pleasing And attractive. Several char
ters at the end are employed in them, as the
story
opens at Rome and ends there, though the scene
in the interim changes to England. No want of
character, variety, and incident is apparent in tlif
tale, but there is sometimes a want of taste an"
connection. The force and energy of the writer's
opinions on the cause he has taken up, the gr°-
tesqueness and absurdity of some of his characters,
and the occasional touches of pathos and interest, I
will no doubt render it attractive to many nove
readers, though it cannot be ranked high among
recent works of fiction.

•
ELOPEMENT EXTRAORDINARY.—On Thursday, about
12 o'clock,,a labouring nian, about 35 years of age, "g 1
observed to walk along our quays travel-stained an
tired. He had walked barefooted all the way froul
Magherafelt in search of a truant and unfaithful wife,
who bad eloped on the previous day with a young n 3"
in the neit.thbourhood, taking with her two of her child•
nu and 4/. in in:iney, the property of her deserted hue
band. He had ascertained that they left Randalstosva
for Belfast by the railway at 5 p.m., and he expected
that they would make their escape across the Channel to
elude his detection. On inquiry being made by the har-
bour constables it turned out that his wife, her pars
mour, and the chrdren left in the Glasgow boat the pie
vious evening. The poor man then called on a gentle
man in town, who kindly supplied him with money to
carry him home.—Banner of Ulster.

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