The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-24 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

HARRISON AINSWORTH'S ROMANCES.
r°l4. Xlll. and X/ V.—The Lancashire Witches.
2 Vo/s.
With these two volumes the cheap republication of
illa•Ainsworth'a romances has been brought to a
Cmclusion. Fourteen volumes, in every respect
eautifully " got up," and comprising, besides other
shorter and less popular productions, his ten most
little
fictions, have yielded to the subscribers a
little library of romance. By a very appropriate str-
teangement the last work contained in the series, the
outnow lying before us for consideration, is the very
the scene of which lies principally in the native,
°suety of the novelist, among " the:woods and wilds,' we
I°llY presume to have been familiar to his childhood.
Pendle Forest has been selected by him for the head-
shire
quarters of the heroes and heroines of his " Lae-
Witches," that tale wierd and marvellous.
.et
nY more explicit reference to the work here
3
noticaed would be scarcely short of an impertinence,
teitceFeing that the merits of the narrative are by this
it tolerably well known to the majority of the
th,, esclers of imaginative literature. The excellence of
Tr: Cheap edition of Harrison Ainsworth's ro-
...abeee
the " has been practically acknowledged by
°
,Public through the extraordinary rapidity
ill' its circulation—several of the earlier vo-
eslllea being already, be this time, wholly out of
Irseint. It is consequently with pleasure that we ob-
eli.e sh announcement intimating their speedy re-
production in an improved form, each volume to be
_eusatisfactory
printed ia uniform type throughout. The fact must
to the rotnancist, inasmuch as it
affords a very visible testimony that the cheap edi-
-41'1:3 has tended to extend his popularity among the
rialisest in this manner to advance most mate-
real his already large reputation. Among the
ten en of Harrison Ainsworth it is obviously un-
of iststry to remark upon the prominent peculiarities
different. genius as a novelist. With others it may be
;a. It may be as well, for example, to remind them
Ica : in the very selection of his subjects our romancist
eenad, racy of
its ••!h°wll that his genius is essentially national inf
the soil, growing as it were out o
war of his patriotism. In this manner, for
associations
he has flung the fascinating and fantastic
17,ciatione of his fancy over the palatial balls of Eng-
Wailsi of the Tower of
7!—•ling his own memory with the venerable
an(' of W. London, of St. James's Palace,
Windsor Castle, and summoned again into
'"istene
cleared Cathedral
'e the vanished pinnacles of Old St. Paul's
before its mouldering ruins had been
sa awaY for the foundatioa of the present
witiideretructure. In " Rockwood," again, the
ginatioaund mysterious creatures of the ima.
by . were redoubled in their awfulness
roccu heir, intimately blended with every-day
evenr!eneese_
e a bolder venture than was ever made
m her most daring movements by the genius of
;'ertsh Incom
Radcliffe. " Crichton," the marvellous story
atparable" was told with a power and
stilitY which but few writers of fiction could have
uketnptud ; and
this, as well as other works of the
~8.11 line from the same hand, was profusely embel-
,.c with snatches of song and ballad, which, from
eisler Peculiar combination of grace and vigour, have
le itlarrison Ainsworth in the ranks of our first
hind4iets.
;Jack Sheppard," a work altogether of its
?tree seized the popular imagination with a
wat calumny and vituperation have in
mind Sttempted to shake off—preientiug to the
nietlis eye" of the reader one of those powerful
n.rt=st criminal and lugubrious in its nature, in the
ee;eiciug of which, in another way, Hogarth has in-
is ere his name with immortality. A grand raora'
era --wn in the narrative of the housebreuker, and
cry' forith a terrible power—yet for the sake of a
has bees°illa scouted as pernicious in its tendency and
the ens in its character. Perhaps the finest of all
th ci°lll in this Rembrsendt-like gallery of romance
the es °tie Which we have not yet particularized,
hew.'avourite of its author, the beautiful and
these Thing' story of the " Miser's Daughter" With
he, Ica his subjects, William Harrison Ainsworth
va contrived to win himself a popularity which in no
1143: Rives token of its diminution. On the contrary,
ptbl ey
among
mfluen to be increasing
pereei e as a romancist appears
the masses—insomuch that we
,engtur well for the reception of the reprint of his pre-
°leap republication.
11; a Novel. By the Author of " The Ogiluies.'
The 3 Vols. Chapman and Hall.
kir authoress of " The Ogilvies" found many ad-
esris for her first novel. The story was not a
ae-eng One, but the character of the impassioned
paate-e`-„rtue was depicted with so much force and ap
te:-"t' truthfulness as to render her history most in •
difeees,tng• and to a certain extent attractive. A very
pen, rat heroine has now engaged the same powerful.
Inetead of the violent and selfish Katherine
deformed
gni.e7t We have the gentle, devoted Olive,
111—e .s°n) but gifted in intellect, and richly endowedek
stVlet- 3'Et greater blessings—a loving heart and ame
ib slin,jet spirit. The beautiful character of Olive
steZ'estely drawn and effectively developed. The
first eer oe Olive, a silly, thoughtless woman, who at
e recoils in horror from her infant when she dis-
ej,vee,rs its deformity, and. afterwards depends with a
tett-like submission upon her strong-minded,_
tlfieehearted daughter, is well described. The
stern, characteristics
• tent The which, to our thinking,
vilitente ; Ogilvies," are, however, to some extent
r ; " Olive." The artist, to whose teaching thed
ett-ectne owes so much, is somewhat repulsive,
mind of
wotigh the character and alternations of min
siereeed, (the hero) are portrayed with con
%pee-7'e Power, there is something in his story,n
and the fact of his position—a clergyman
Nithinan .infidel—which, although of course
the the limits of possibility, is not in harmony with
tn's%Ye must
lieesYmpathies and tastes of the generality of readers.
not expect too much. Few canwritersskieh
eantilmhe opposite characteristics ; and a pen
w
PewErlully describe strong emotions may Ptu-
a
to 5' be deficient in softness. The author of " Olive,
thowever, can occasionally infuse into her drawing
the 7 t°4°lles of nature which give an attraction to
tnbogieother of
the eaSt attractive theme. The sister of the artist,
Harold, the old Scotch aunt, an.dn
Ulive
of the characters introduced
," are so attractive and asek melte so
to
se us regret that the authoress shouldnatural eve
She to astonish and to pain her readers, when
can so easily fascinate and delight them.

the
Lillie Oraih. -- ----,-_-_,
21IANCE of the PEERAGE. By G.
That truth is Vol.lll. . Chapman and Hall.
in the
i..3_,,,v completed stranger than fiction is verified
a_torange and interesting tvents recorded in this work,
bY the publication of the third volume.
rtoh!ther regarded only as a collection of romantic.e
eh Lies,
or as a supplemental and most attractive
4g T---. to the history of Great Britain,
itzgr:n_ -dr;:atraik, is
by ne?,l 11°,,Tatice of the Peerage," as unfolded
at once a most interest-
bu ii stories in
useful contribution to historical litera-
of. h.' It'ulong the most conspicuous and attractive
this third volume, is that of Anne
"hie e" of Monmouth and Buceleuch, to whom thed
,ivhoast minstrel" recited his memorable "lay," an.
duetieontaisfortunes are commemorated in the intro

she had known adversity,
,-,hough born of such a high degree,
4..,11 Pride of power and beauty's bloom,
414C1 Wept o'er Monmouth's bloody tomb."

Ca4II3,:B4aSINATION AT VERSAILLES. —On Sunday,
to the
P Prren, of the Ist regiment of Carabiniers, stationed
big etltes Ecuries at Versailles, passed an inspection of
terrot TpanY, and severely rebuked one of the soldiers, named
oefor' hav ng his arms in good order; and, as the day
threat„'l ,man had not appeared at muster, the captain
aim, in the event of his again offending, to re-
pave from the first class of the, regiment, and to de-
faee, ;"itn of a place he held in the fencing school. Grut
ane,..,''nß that the captain had conceived hatred against him,
his l'astreatin him with injustice on that account,. loaded
Distoi g
the and waited for the captain on a staircase. When
Distercrtunate officer appeared the man discharged the
and thllght in hif, breast. The captain fell to the ground,.
the eo,?ugh every assistance was afforded to him he died in
.rse
Bt. of a few hours. The assassin made no attempt atd
always ee, and was secured ; his conduct in the regiment had
been ood
>haL,kt, g
been aroused
POWDER MAGAZINE.—PubIic attention
otx ers'Mtroused to the extremely unguarded and danger
Swan ien:ltion of the powder magazine at Laudore, near
powder " This magazine, which contains a store. of gun-
ous This
to nearly six tons, is situated in danger-
'sh• proxim•
which diqa ity to the South Wales Railway, from
kero tit °nIY a few yards, and it is nightly passed by au-
den us workmen bearing lighted torches, and often carrying
ine geerous
, combustibles. The danger, however, is greatly
ther,,'e,u at the present time, from the fact that there is in
any.")°' a hole nearly half a yard square ; and should fire by
tore' the communicate with the interior through this aper-
' the consequences would be fearful to coatemplate.
,OISNWALL RAILWAT.—We hear that this
iw,ct will be forthwith achieved, and that arrangements are
piolti II:141611g by which the existing Cornwall Railway Com-
ir,o4,Will tendedout their railway from Plymouth to Fal-
", as in when their Act was obtained.
fl,irt.'r-ilXliaprLosioN or A MAIL BAG.—An accident of a
nature, and likely to have been attended by great
Londonevenience, occurred to the Canterbury letter-bag from
t le
Nvh Canterburyntaonda night. On arrival at Dover (whither
mailY is conveyed), it was thrown on the
setni),. en a sudden and violent explosion took place, re-
Llog the firing of a rocket ; and, on opening the bag, it
ti:_s discovered that the contents were on fire, but, owing to
pjkt.ight manner in which the letters and papers were
ev'er'd, few were burnt, the fire smouldering more. How-
was inany were scorched and blackened. A box, which it
th,-rs.uPPosed occasioned the explosion, was detained. for fur-
wasinqY. Whatever it was that caused the accident, it
thro evident that the explosion arose from the bag being
t wn 11P, which brought the combustible into forcible con-
aCt--Icentish Observer.
TATS OF TRADE.-3dANCHESTER,
.THURSDAY.---
'sr..
laa,!rei- no decided change in the yarn market since foes
tio'r: e same features continuing to appear, the slight altera-
ingtorices favouring the buyers as before ; notwithetand-
net for some manufacturers are still well engaged; if itwere
loodtaliis the dullness of the market would be felt more.
V! _g there ia a little more inquiry since Tuesday, but
intwo no cbsugs is prices.