The Sun.
London, England, 1856-03-28 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Life's Chances. A Novel. 3 vols. Newby.

This is a very complicated story, and is cer-
tainly ingeniously constructed and elaborately
worked out, which renders it of interest in perusal ;
but all the circumstances attending its chief points
are painful. In some cases especially the position
of the heroine is a most unfortunate one. The wily
and unscrupulous Marinette was the cause of all
the misery and misunderstanding which enveloped
the careers of the unhappy Rita and her husband,
the ill-fated Lord Delamain. She is aptly repre-
sented as heartless in regard to pity or feeling, but
possessed of violent passions, which, when excited
by -neglect or successful rivalry against her, she
turned with relentless fury on all, more desirous
of confounding her false friend than her open
enemy. The manner in which such an accomplished
actress in the dark role of life's drama could cir-
cumvent an unsuspecting, generous young man
like Delamain is easily understood, and she pur-
sued her triumph in every way. It is a relief to
turn from the wicked set among which Marinette
figured to the calm dignity with which the heroine,
Margarita, supported herself in very trying circum-
stances. She had not the opportunity of retiring
from the world, as she ardently desired ; and was
compelled, to gain her living, to enter on its busiest
and gayest scenes. But though in them, she was
not of them ; and all testified to the high character
of the gifted vocalist on the Italian stage when she
made her debut. It was not till after many years
of sorrow and suffering, to which actual afflictions
in the ordinary course would have been as nothing,
that the plots were discovered, and Lord and Lady
Delamain enabled to seek what repose could be
obtained for their much-tried spirits and perplexed
and harassed minds. It is evident that much of
their trouble arose from their imprudence, and
Lord Delamain's from his former weakness; but
they are nevertheless to be pitied for the miseries
entailed on them by a crafty spirit. Many other
characters are met with, and the scene is changed
from England to Italy. Altogether, a great deal
of variety is displayed in the work, and the peculiar
mystery hanging over it to the last, almost, will hold
out an attraction to the admirers of the marvels of
romance ; and whatever blame may be attached to
M
argarita for imprudence, her character is anin-
teresting and admirable one for a heroine.

Syria and the Syrians. By Gregory M. Wortabet.
2 Vols. Madden, Leadenhall-street.

The chief point which will induce the reader to
regard these volumes with interest, is the fact that
they are the production of a Syrian. The author
is a native of Bayroot, and, after having passed
several years in visiting Europe, Africa, America,
and different parts of Asia, returned to his own
country for a short time. He became impressed
with the necessity of laying before the British
public, whom he considers to be the most interested
in Eastern affairs, a truthful account of the posi-
tion of their fellow Christians in Palestine, and of
the general management of the Turks and 11Iithom-
inedans in religious matters. His object, he tells
us, is not so much to entertain the reader as to
arouse a deeper interest in Syria, and to awake the
sympathies of the English nation fora people whom
ho considers it to be their duty as Christians, no
less than their interest as a nation, to elevate and
instruct. It must not be imagined, however, that
the work before us consists of nothing but social
and religious reflections. The writer has contrived
to combine the expression of his views with an
agreeable narrative of his travels and adventures,
and enlivens the more didactic portions of his
work with the descriptions of customs, habits, and
national peculiarities usually met with in the pages
of books of travels. In the present instance we
have a guarantee for the authenticity of his details
of the domestic life of the Syrians in the fact that
he is himself a native of that country, though his
long travels and acquaintance with other countries
has removed the prejudices of an inhabitant.
With respect to the much-disputed Turkish ques-
tion, the writer considers the maintenance of
Turkey a vital point to the interests of England,
and ho considers this object will be much more
easily attained by strengthening Turkey and ena-
bling her to support herself than by always fighting
her battles and settling her difficulties. He also
considers that the existence of the Turkish empire
can only be secured by enlisting the feelings of
its Christian subjects in its behalf, and this can
never be done until the civil distinctions are re-
moved and the law which decrees the death of every
Moslem convert abolished. The writer is deeply
imbued with religious feelings, and the greatest
pleasure lie derived from his visits to the scenes
described was in tracing the spots mentioned in
the Sacred Writings. It was painful to him, as it
must be to every Christian, to witness the desecra-
tion of the Holy Places. The church of St. John
is now a mosque, and Antioch, the city where the
Christians first received that name, has not one place
of Christian worship. The members of that faith
meet in a large cave a little out of the town. The
author describes the fanatacism of some of the
Moslems as very great, and asserts that it is only
their fear of the English that keeps them in check.
On hearing of the Russian aggression the Mahome-
dans of Syria resolved to rise en masse and exter-
minate the Christians, until they heard that
England and France, two Christian powers, had
leagued themselves with Turkey. This terrible
spiritof fanaticism is especially strong iu Damascus,,
because it is considered a holy city and called
" the gate of Mecca." The author apologises in
his preface for any inaccuracies that may be found
in his work, by stating that they were printed very
rapidly and consequently unrevised, and he en-
treats the indulgence of the reader for his educa-
tion and national style of expression. This will
no doubt be afforded, though we doubt if any dif-
ference could be detected in the style or idiom of
the work, which we commend to the notice of all
desirous of becoming acquainted with Syrian life
and manners, and the position of Christians under
the Turkish rule, without sharing all his political
opinions or coinciding in his conclusions.