The Sun.
London, England, 1869-10-15 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The L icar's Courtship. Three Vols. By Waller
Thornburg. Hurst and Biackett.

A novel from the graceful pen of the biographer
of Turner, the lyrist of the Cavaliers, and the
author of so many charming works, cannot fail to
prove attractive to the reading public. The ad-
mirers of Walter Thornbury will not be disap-
pointed in this, his latest e.: say as a novelist. The
style of the narrative, though still betraying some
few instances of that careless haste conspicuous, here
and there, in the former productions of its author
—and which can hardly be regarded as matter of
surprise considering the extraordinary rapidity with
which he has penned his now voluminous produc-
tions—is animated and interesting throughout-
The descriptions of country scenery are vivid
and picturesque in the extreme, being all of
them pictures worthy of an imagination accus-
tomed to regard nature with a painter's Ore.
The Vicar, Arthur Beauflower, the hero of
" the Courtship," and of the novel, to which it
gives its name, is introduced to us as a frank, open-
hearted, high-spirited gentleman, and during the
early part of the story he -very happily responds to
that description. In the crisis of his fortunes,
however, he is represented as acting in a manner
totally at variance with his antecedents. Going 1213
to London on a hasty visit from his country vicar-
age he is entrusted with some rare and valuable
jewels by a virtuoso friend, who is anxious to have
them conveyed in safety to the metropolis. Bciag
at the time grievously tormented by certain college
debts, and sorely in want of money, our high-
spirited Vicar is induced to offer his friend's jewels
in pledge to a Jew money lender; and, moreover,
being duped by the said Jew into the belief that
one of the jewels is worthless, and has been
destroyed while undergoing a test as to
its real value, the hapless Beauflower con-
gents to purchase a fabricated imitation of the
same in order to palm it off upon his friend as the
original article intrusted to his possession. such
an act of deception is utterly at variance with the
character of Beauflower, and the crime of the hero
is assuredly in this delineation of his history "worse
than a crime—a mistake." We will not reveal all
further the incidents of the plot, incidents which
sustain its interest throughout. The heroine /0
very charming character, very amiable and loveable
as a heroine should be, while equally attractive i°
a different way is the lively and vivacious Mi:
Beauflower, the Vicar's sister. The very grea
...
variety of characters introduced on the scene, the";
various peculiarities being cleverly discriminatel
and vigorously poutrayed, constitutes a very gre9
feature in " the Vicar's Courtship." We hale
noticed, it is true, what we cannot but think an
error in the delineation of the character of Arthc7:
Beauflower, but we have found very much to a
mire, and very much to commend in this new 311';
brilliant novel from the practised hand of Wel"
Thornbury.

Our Common Insects.. By Mrs. E. W. Cox. Se'

cond Edition. Robert Hardwicke.
We are not surprised to find Mrs. Cox's " First
Steps to Entomology" already in a Second Edition:
There is so much interesting information conveYn.'
with so much simplicity and clearness to be found le
thislittle volume, that it is well calculated to been°
a general favourite with all seeking acquaintance
with the insect world. The wonders of the
telescope, amazing as they are, are hardly so 111,erh;
vellous as those revealed by the microscope-
worlds of life around us are, if rightly viewed, a slim;
ject for the consideration alike of moralist and
philosopher. The curiosities of insect life, even as ree
vealed in the charming volume now before US, era
striking indeed. Pictorial illustrations are scatterebo
over the pages; the graceful dragon-fly and to
a
homely beetle, moths and spiders, silk worms
grasshoppers, flies and butterflies, are here to
cil
found depicted with life-like fidelity by the petog
of the artist and the pen of the authoress. A 6tyo
motto to the history of the insect world might ut:efo
been taken from a poem of Eliza Cook's—"lliiot
nothing in vain," in which, after reminding us h"log
"from the mite to the mammoth there's nc:4
in vain," the poetess happily exclaims
"We know they all come from the Infinite gaud, 20
And shall man in his littleness dare to ask—W"-,eo,
Although these words are not quoted in her 040,
they express the reverent feelings with livilinh!: of
Cox has studied and expounded these mysterle'
the World of Nature.

BANK OF FRANCE.

14'
PARIS, Oct.
0.08
V
The following is the return of the Bank of - r or,
for the week ending to-day, together with the c