The Sun.
London, England, 1856-12-18 00:00:00

LITER AT U HZ.

Clover Cottage ; or, I Can't Get In. By the
i Author of " The Falcon. Family," 4:0., &c.
i Chapman and Hall, Piccadilly.
i We accept this little volume with smiles and
thanks. It is of simple, yet somewhat original
construction ; and will help to pass away a dark
long evening very pleasantly. The incidents and
I interest lie in the futile endeavours of Mr. Wind-
fall, a generous, sensitive gentleman, to get resi-
dential possession of Clover Cottage, a perfect
" love" of a place, lately left him by his godmother;
which said cottage the said godmother had tent to
a clever and pretty little widow, Mrs. Wily. The
widow is, of course, reluctant to experience the
fate of her first parent, and be turned out of Eden
—so adroitly parries all Mr. Windfall's attempts at
ejection, wail Cupid draws up Articles of Peace,
ratified by the seal of Hymen.. With the acces-
saries of a dinner-loving friend, an honest lawyer,
a village Poet Laureate, -a lady confidante, and a
few other scene-shifters, the drama is fairly sus-
tained and agreeably concluded. Clover Cottage
is thus rhapsodically described by "Florio," the
sentimental minstrel, who strikes his " wild
guitar " whenever a pic-nic or holiday feast is in
the ascendant. On the strength of this extract it
may be imagined that the book is very read-
able :

" Imagine the rosiest, cosiest, sunniest, honeyist,
liest and doveliest, balmiest, and lamb-lest, neatest, sweet-
! est, and completest cot, cottage, nest, nook, den, hermit-
I age, or whatever else there is at once snug and beautiful
1 in all the world—imagine that, and you have Clover before
your mind's eye as perfectly as it was a picture by Gains-
borough.'
" Or figure to yourself, if you prefer it, an extract made
by Atkinson or Rowland from as many charming rural re-
treats as there are perfumes that go to the composition of
" mulles fleurs." Clover was nut so much cottage as otto,
or concentrated essence of cottage. It was just the bonny
thing that blab would choose to tickle your fancy with, if
she wanted to drive you cottage-mad. You know that
form of insanity ? The Sylvios and Pastorellas are very
subject to it at tender ages, and the fit generally comes on
when the 'young May moon is beaming, so that there is no
question of its being a form of lunacy, though one of the
mildest.
" Clover, you must know, had the most powerful natu-
ral orchestra that ever ravished the human ear. Black-
birds thrushes, larka, linnets, finches, and doves, in short
all the Sweet Unpaid, sang, piped, warbled, and cooed
the livelong day in'the woods and meadows that encom-
passed it ; and the moment night came, the nightingale—
melodious roue—turned it into day again with his inces-
sant nocturnal performances. Moreover, combining sub-
stantial comforts with airy delights, this fortunate spot
could boast of the happiest family circlet of cows and
calves, kids aad rabbits, pigs and guinea-pigs, lambs, lamb•
kins, and lambkinets, that ever bleated or grunted, frisked
or capered, nibbled or browsed. Then its flower-garden,
which hung on a southern slope, was a wilderness of sweets
and a blaze of colours ;'to what can I compare it but a
variegated robe suspended in the sun, or an eastern carpet
on which my lady's maid has spilled a whole casket of
odours ? The kitchen-garden was the flower-garden re-
peated or prolonged, with the necessary substantial differ-
ence of containing all manner of delicious fruits and escu-
lent roots and herbs, from the melting peach to the hot
horse-radish, which grew, let me tell you, at a prudent.
distance from the monkshood. The side of the dell oppo-
site to the garden was not covered with green velvet, but
with a smooth verdant turf that looked as like green vel-
vet as possible ; and finally, down in the bottom of this
romantic hollow, ran, sparkling and foaming, a stream
abounding with trout of the finest flavour, while across it
was flung a rustic bridge, uniting the two sides of the
valley, and completing the loveliest picture in the loveliest
shire of the loveliest country in Europe."

STABBING BY A YOUNG GENTLEMAN.

At the Borough 13,nci yesterday (says the Brighton
' Gazette of this day)—present A. Bigge, Esq , and Lieut.-
Colonel Fawcetti—Charles Henrich, a young gentleman,
19 years of age, the son of Lady Henrich, who is now
staying in Brighton, was charged with wilfully stabbing
Julia 13iondell Paine, a young woman, who from -the
nature of the wound she received was unable to attend
the examination, a certificate to that effect having been
sent from the hospital.
Mr. Lamb appeared for the prisoner.
Policeman Harley stated—This morning, about a
quarter before one, I saw the prisoner come oat of the
Volunteer public-house. He said to me, "Hallo, old boy,
I think I know you ; I have seen you before ;" and I
said, "Yes, I believe you have." He said directly,
" I have been to the Casino to-night, and if I had
Knight ,here, who keeps the Casino, I would stab him
to the heart," and he then showed me a knife. It is a
long-bladed clasp knife, opening with a spring back.
I said, " You must be joking ; you cannot mean that ;
give me the knife." I took the knife out of his
hand, and closed it, and I gave it to him, and told him
to put it into his pocket. As soot as I gave it to him
he opened it again, and said, " carry this home in
my hand open, and the first person that interrupts me
I'il stab him." Julia Paine was standing close behind
us at the time. She had come along the New-road by
the Pavilion wall. He said, " Hallo, old girl, how are
you getting on," making use of obscene language at the
same time. She replied, "I don't know you, sir." The
prisoner got the knife open in his hand, and he made a
stab at her, and said, "How would you like this ?" It
was an underhand stab. In a moment she said, "Oh,
you have murdered me." She then put her hand inside
of her dress, and when she took it out again it was
covered with blood. Finding that she was seriously
wounded in the grain, I told the prisoner I should take
him into custody on the charge of wilfully stabbing the
girl. He said nothing further than that he would go
with me to the ball, when I said I should take him there.
I brought him to the Town-hall, and a man and woman
who were passing by came with the girl to the ball.
Mr. Penfold, the surgeon, saw the girl at the ball, and
she was afterwards taken to the hospital. I was dressed
in policeman's clothes. When he threatened Knight I
thought it an idle boast, otherwise I should not have
given him back the knife, after I bad first taken it from
him. I saw no enmity on his part. Be was not so
drunk but what he could walk as well as I could. He
stabbed the girl before I had a chance to take the knife
from him again, otherwise I should have done so. He
did not attempt to move after he had made this thrust.
Colonel Fawcett—Was there any expression of regret
after be had wounded the girl ? No, not in the least ;
the more the other way, for he seemed to exult in it.
Mr. Henry Penfold, surgeon to the police force, stated
that he was called to the Town-hall about two o'clock
this morning, and found the girl, Julia Blondell Paine,
in apparent alarm and pain. He found a punctured
wound situated a little above and to the outside of the
centre of the left groin. The wound was a fresh one, but
it was not then bleeding. He did not think it advisable
to make any further examination, as it was highly dan-
gerous in that situation. The wound was about three-
quarters of an inch in width. The wound was perpen-
dicular. The clothes were saturated with clotted blood.
Conceiving she was in danger, he took her in a cab to
the hospital, and left her there in the care of the house
surgeon. He thought a deep-seated artery might have
been wounded, or that the covering of the bowels might
have been injured.
The Bench ultimately decided upon remanding the pri-
soner till Saturday.
Mr. Lamb applied to have the prisoner admitted to
bail, but the application was refused.