The Sun.
London, England, 1856-07-07 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

On Foot through Tyrol. By Walter. White.
Cliapman and Hill, Piccadilly.
Mr. White is a tourist in the true and sensible
acceptation of the word. He is, we presume, en-
dowed with the supreme blessings of health and
strength, and we also presume is not overburthoned
with either time or money for luxurious or frequent
" holiday making." On the trinity of these cir-
cumstances he starts, with his knapsack and staff
only, for a fortnight's trip through the beautiful
and romantic land of the Tyrol—scorning the mo-
dern facilities of boat and rail, except on particular
occasions. A tourist of Mr. White's intelligence
and perception does wisely in thus choosing the
manner of travelling which affords the most ample
opportunities of seeing, hearing, and comparing all
about him. Monks, peasants, soldiers, officials,
and artisans are all portrayed with graphic deli-
neation by him. Mountains, lakes, valleys, towns,
and villages are freely described in an artist-like
tone, which literally refreshes the reader, and sets
him longing to experience such scenes ani feelings
as the following extracts convey :
" It is delightful to walk down a valley on a breezy
morning, when the sun shines brightly, and grass and
flowers and drooping branches twinkle with dewdrops,
and the damp shadows slant across the road, and the
sky rounds the landscape in with a blue deeper and more
transparent than we ever see overhead in our own
island-home. The trees increase in number and variety;
cultivation becomes more fruitful ; the river widens and
brawls down a succession of rapids and cascades, where
in places the rocky sides come so near together as to leave
space only for the road. Now a hamlet ; now a village ;
now a few scattered hovels, and meadows in which the im-
paled haycocks look like tall beehives* * *."
•
" The Rosanna, which we saw yesterday a wimpling
brook, is here a thundering cataract, heard afar. Down
it shoots to a hundred feet below the road, there to meet
an island and hiss and rage in deeper plunges. A torrent
leaps in on the right, falling on a rock from which it re-
bounds in a graceful foaming curve to the river. I sat
down under the shade of a clump of firs opposite to gaze on
a ecene that fascinated the eye as well as the ear ; and
gratified another sense by-the wild strawberries that grew
plentifully on the bank. There is something to me inex-
pressibly refreshing in the mighty roar of a river after
months of the roar of a great city."
• *
"I took the footpath again, and in another half-hour
dropped down upon Mals—Markt-Mals, as runs the in-
scription over the entrance, denoting the place to be some-
thing between avillage and a town. Just within, a foun-
tain exhibits a strange combination of the useful with the
sacred ; behind the trough stands a life-size Christ, want-
ing the legs, pouring out a stream of water from an iron
pipe inserted in its left side, at which a boy was drinking.
there women came to fill their bucket; and wayfarers and
cattle to quench their thirst ; and, under the circum-
stances, there seemed to me a risk of that familiarity
which breeds contempt. In another street the tall cross
bore the Virgin, in addition to its usual burden, with
seven daggers sticking in her heart.
a
"Having time to spare, I halted here two hours, and
strolled into all the nooks and corners of the place. The
churchyard lacks that which to an English eye is poorly
replaced by attempts at ornament—green sward ; but con-
tains some showy tombs, their railings tipped with gilt
hearts, and death s heads painted of a bone col at the
corners. The most frequent emblems are an hour-glass or
broken taper. Marble tablets are numerous on the walls ;
and others of tin, similar in appearance to coffin-plates,
with rows of little pendants hanging loose, that swing to
and fro in the breeze; and a hinged central piece coveting
a shallow recess, in, which, when open, appears a painting
of the deceased, led to glory by an angel. A few had, be-
sides, the whole family of survivors, in their ordinary
dress, kneeling, and with eyes fixed on the aerial travel-
lers." •
Mr. White gives a very interesting sketch of the
life of Andreas Hofer the Tell of the Tyrol, which
we regret is too long to be transferred to our pages.
We must content ourselves with this morsel of in-
formation relative to a " real " patriot :
" A short disthnce beyond St. Martin, a pretty village
that dazzled me with whitewash, I came to a wooden
house on the right, which bears on its front a large
emblazoned coat-of-arms, with the sign of the Crown
(Krone). A projecting gallery forms at once a portion
and outlet to each floor, from whence you may look down
on the shed which, decorated by targets and overshadowed
by trees, stands between the house and the river. You
hear the rustling of leaves, the plash of a fountain, and the
swift roar of the stream. That house was the birth-place
of Hofer."

" There are relics here, too. Those targets, hanging in
the shed, were his. From the numerous bullet-holes near
the centre, you may infer what chance a Frenchman had
at a hundred yards from his rifle. You may read his
name and that of his wife in the blazonry of the sign :
ANDRE VON HOFER UND ANNA VON HOFER, geb. LADURNER. His
corpse was ennobled while it lay in the grave at Mantua,
in 1818: hence the prefix von. You see the chamber and
bed in which he slept ; on the wall hangs a crayon portrait
of his comely daukhter, an.ctone of his last letters, written
in a homely but firm hand. There are an old press, is
which his clothes were kept, his green coat, and other gar-
ments, his girdle, and hat, beating the words Ober-coin-
mandant von Tirol."

" Hofer's wife died in 1536 ; two of his three daughters
were mailed in, Passeyr; rill are now dead. His son,
Johann von Hofer, who had little of the father about him
besides the name, and his grandson, were taken care of by
the Court at Vienna ; and some of the family connexions
were provided for by being put in charge, as already men-
tioned, of Schloss Tyrol ."

While closing the volume, we can but hope that
Mr. White may spend his next vacation in a way
as pleasaiat to himself and as gratifying to the
public.

Diana Wynyard. By the author of "Alice
Wentworth." 3 vols. Hurst and Blackett.
It must be acknowledged by every one that the
author of this novel possesses in a remarkable de-
gree the power of planning and designing the plot
of a story. There is a great skill apparent through-
out, and though the incidents are neither nume-
rous nor extraordinary, the interest is kept al.ve
to the end. Nothing can be more natural than
the character and conduct of Edward, one of those
good-natured dud easy tempers, who are universal
favourites, and yet nevertheless contrivi to
become very often a torment to themselves and
others. Edward Boscowen was incapable of a
mean or dishonourable action, but he did not
control himself. He was placed in a very awk-
ward position, it is true, socially, though by good
management and straightforward conduct many
perverse things might have been satisfactorily ad-
justed, instead of fuel being added to the fire by
his selfish, careless, and obstinate demeanour. To
hesitate is to be lost, ought to have been graven on
his memory as the watchword of his life, for his
ideas of expediency and present ease required vigo-
rous treatment, not unwise indulgence. Clara
Wood was a sweet, gentle creature, deficient in
many requisities for her position, but at the same
time deserving of better treatment. Had Edward
at first confessed their marriage he would have
begun with obstacles, it'is true ; but the excite-
ment of his new position, and his strong attach-
ment to Clara, would have been some counterba-
lance to the vexation and annoyance. But the
hesitating and slumbering fit came over him. He
must wait for this to happen, or delay lest that
should occur, all the while time was hastening on,
and in its flight undermining the enthusiastic de-
votion that was to be eternal, and discovering
faults and deficiencies in a being who had been pro-
nounced perfect. Perfect in her very ignorance of
the world, in her artless and unstudied ways, in
her implicit confidence in him, and accordance with
all his plans, it is certain that only a placid,
almost a weak,, character would have agreed to so
absurd an arrangement ; but the very virtues of
Clara that won his regard were calculated to mar
her happiness afterwards. Her husband required
rousing, not soothing. She yielded to one caprice
after another, till he grew weary of her compliance
at last, and regarded her as insipid and trifling.
An unequal union with regard to position should,
to be at all successful, contain in itself advantages
that are superior to the accidents of birth or for-
tune. The one here referred to had none. When
once Edward's triumph at having disregarded the
social prejudices he so scoffed at was over, he was
indifferent to the sweetness of temper, elegance of
manner, and even affection for himself, that Clara
displayed. Meanwhile another sufferer was made
by his marriage. Diana Wynyard, in' every re-
spect as different to Clara as may well be imagined,
was involved in, the intricacies of the mysterious
affair, till her life was rendered a complete torment
to her. She was generous in the extreme, and
gave the promise unhesitatingly, which afterwards
cost her so dear, of never betraying the secret she
surprised of Edward and Clara's attachment. This
was not prudent, though she was in a delicate posi-
tion, as' the only prospect of fortune that Edward
had at all in the world was that of his grandfather
leaving him something. This relative had an in-
superable dislike to unequal marriages, and there-
fore Diana felt that she might hereafter be accused
Of ruining his hopes without achieving any definite
good. To complete the chain of trying circum-
stances by which Diana was surrounded, was the
fact of her own attachment to Clement Aylmer, a
friend of Edward Boscowen's, who was of a most
jealous and sensitive nature. Edward was the
brother of DianaJa sister's husband. Hence, as
she resided with her sister, and Edward was a con-
stant visitor, they were often together. Aylmer
mistook their friendly relations towards each other
for a closer tie, and many were the misconstruc-
tions that arose. The secret was too well, to be
wisely kept of the secret union ; therefore, many
besides the jealous Aylmer were deceived by the
conduct of Diana and Edward. The subsequent
dilemmas into Which the latter was plunged were
only natural. from his hasty and ungovernable
temper, as well as his persisting in following the
suggestions of his capricious and volatile disposi-
tion. The winding-up of the story is ably
arranged,
and brings forward in a favourable view many se-
condary personages, as, for instance, James and
Julia Boscowen, who, instead of doing like many
others, would have done in their place, leaving
things to chance, being too offended to interfere in
consequence of not being told sooner, busied them-
selves to the utmost: in offices of kindness and good-
will, to pectlliarly callectloz at ma i a j4lloture,