The Sun.
London, England, 1833-06-18 00:00:00

only on George (a captain in the navy, with a
purse as lean as his mother's) into the retirement
of a small country village, where she becomes
acquainted with a hard-drinking, mutton-fisted,
double. jointed, sporting squire, by name Har-
bottle. This fellow, who is inordinately
rich, has married a most amiable young
woman (sorely against her will), whose
favourite female confidant is a Miss Emma
Lovell, daughter of the parish clergyman.
Of course Captain Sherringham, in the course
of his:visits to the Squire's, meets this fair damsel,
and equally, as a matter of course, falls vehe-
mently in love with her, as all Mr. Hook's.
heroes invariably do somewhere about the sixth
chapter of the first volume. While this little
love affair is " progressing," news reaches the
Captain and his mother, Lady Frances Sher-
ringham, that the head of their house, Lord
Weybridge, has suddenly been drowned at Malta,
together with his whole family. The Captain is
consequently elevated to the Peerage; hurries off to
London to make necessary arrangements, and
so forth ; and while there, gets entangled in the
snares of a certain intriguing Duchess, who
destines him for one of her daughters. The
poor Parson's Daughter is therefore neglected
—for it seems to form no part of Mr. Hook's
sentimental theory, that, in affairs of the
heart, poverty should bear away the palm from
wealth and title—until, after a reasonable inter-
val, just as the new Peer is on the eve of
matrimony with the Duchess's daughter, the
untoward discovery is made that he is no
Peer at all, for that the rightful Lord had
escaped a " watery death." This brings mat-
ters to a crisis. Captain Sherringham in-
stantly remembers that he has somewhat dis-
courteously jilted poor Emma Lovell, who has
been bewailing his fickleness at the Parsonage
and hastens to make the amende honorable by
marrying her. And so ends the tale. In ad-
dition to this, there is a sort of underplot in
which the Squire's wife, Fanny, and a certain
sentimental young gentleman named Harvey,
are the chief characters, and which enables the
author to develop the jealousy and brutality of
Squire Harbottle. Of all Mr. Hook's nu-
merous creations, we know of none more ad-
mirably portrayed than this. It is drawn to
the life ; dashed off at a heat ; and in spirit,
consistency, and breadth of humour, may al-
most—and we know not that we can give it
higher praise—vie with Fielding's immortal
Squire Western. We like it the better, that it
is utterly free from the cant, with which nine
out of ten novelists bedaub their country gentle-
men. When unswayed by prejudices—as is
the case in this instance—no living author
draws character more effectively than Mr. Hook.
He is a stern painter,—but this is to his credit,
for it is a guarantee for his fidelity. His Doctor
Macgopus,, a pedantic, disputatious, matter-of-
fact Scotchman, is an amusing caricature, no-
thing more. It is a creation of the fancy, rather
than a sketch from nature. The " woman kind,"
as Jonathan Oldbuck would call thein,are modelled
in strict accordance with the dogma of Pope
that " most women have no characters at all."
We must, however, except from this censure
Lady Frances Sherringham, who is the decayed
dowager all over. Mr. Hook has etched her
with an evident relish for his task—such as in-
fluenced him when he painted that matchless
full-length (which is equal to anything in Scott)
of Sir Frederick Brashleigh.

DREADFUL STORM.-TEN VESSELS

LOST OFF BLACKPOOL.

This place was visited on Tuesday and Wednesday last
by the most severe storm ever witnessed here. Oa Tues-
day evening the storm commenced with unrelenting fury,
and continued without intermission until Wednesday
evening. Ten vessels have become a prey to the destruc-
tive element, hut it was attended without loss of life to
nine of the above; but one vessel was observed to suds
denly disappear on Wednesday about the Knott End, and
all on board perished. The following are the vessels
wrecked :—The brig Hope, in ballast, bound from Liver-
pool to North America for timber ; the Martha of Lime-
rick, bound from Limerick to the above place, with salt,
a total wreck ; a Liverpool vessel, laden with coals,
stranded, but has suffered so much injury that it is more
than doubtful but that she will become a complete wreck;
a large fishing boat, Captain J. Dimmer, of Southport, all
to pieces ; the sloop Elizabeth, of Annan, bound from
Liverpool to the east of Scotland, laden with salt. A stern
of a vessel, marked " D E.E., port of Belfast," and a
boat, the stern of which is marked " Donaghadee, Andw.
Smirk," have been washed up, which vessel is supposed
to be lost off this coast ; an Italian vessel, at Litham,
crew saved, laden with iron, expected to go to pieces; a
vessel sunk upon the Horse Bank, crew saved, with the
exception of one man.
About four o'clock a boat was observed from the shore,
which was expected to go to pieces every instant, at the
time the sea was running mountains high ; this boat
landed upon the shore, and the men escaped. She proved
to be a small Irish boat, manned by two men, and, accord-
ing to the recount given, was proceeding from one part of
Ireland to another with a cargo of potatoes, when she MSS
driven out to sea, and was left totally at the mercy of the
winds and waves, knowing not what course to steer.
How the boat could live during Tuesday and the greater
part of Wednesday is surprising to all. There are several
more casualties off the coast, but the above are all of
which we could gather any particular intelligence with
regard to accuracy. It is, however, to be feared that
the result will prove a melancholy one, as the crews of
the above vessels observed several more standing out to
sea which were never expected to withstand the storm.
All the shore for miles round is entirely covered with
huge pieces of some unfortunate vessels, the crews of
which have met with a watery grave. During the vio-
lence of the gale two new houses of South Shore, near
Blackpool, ware blown down. The damage done to the
gardens in this part of the country is immense. The sur-
ounding country was entirely overflowed with water, the
rain during Tuesday absolutely descending in torrents.—
Lancaster Gazette.

A memorial has been prepared, to be sub•
mitted to his MAJESTY, praying his sanction to build
another theatre, the cost of which should not exceed
:35,0001., plans and e,timates having been prepared by
competent persons, which insure its completion at that
price The money is to be raised in 1001. shares.

It is reported, upon good authority, that Mr.
and Miss FANNY KEMELE have, by their united perform.
ances in America, cleared 12,0001.

SHERIDAN KNOWLES takes his benefit at
the Olympic on Thursday night, when, it is to be hoped,
the unaccountable neglect shown to the author of the
Hunchback will be made amends for to the author of the
Wife of Mantua. Let tho'e who are wholly apathetic,
in regard to the fate of the national drama, he insensible
to the interest of this occasion. Numerous, they are, no
doubt—too numerous—and of that class, who, had they
but their ark, could see with indifference Old England her-
self submerged in the Atlantic. But not as yet—not as yet
—are they our majority, and to the latter we do trust that
an appeal will not be now made in vain, by the man who
has laboured so well to support and regenerate the stave,
which gave Britain immortality in the works of SitAK-
MARE. In accordance with the example of his great
predecessors of the buskin, Mr. KNOWLES will, On his be-
nefit night, appear in a character very different from tho‘e
of the line which he has chosen to pursue—in Lubin, in
the farce of the_ Quaker.