The Sun.
London, England, 1860-10-22 00:00:00

rights and privileges of their respective nation- which your inexperience cannot show you, pause
and thing that Netta is no fictitious character, her
alities. Within six months from the period of the
publication of the abovementioned Imperial mani-
'
story no mere creation of the author's brain, but the
festo the Hungarian Diet, which will be a so-called
sts.tior
arait and history of one out of hundreds of wil-
g.
"Coronation Diet," is to meet at Pesth. As the a.ughters brought to shame and grief, and
bringing all belonging to them to shame ar.d grief
middle and lower classes in Hungary have ac- by a unblessed and unholy marriage." Frivolous
quired political rights which they had not for- . as was her character and faulty as were her actions
merly, new electoral laws will be necessary, but there is something touching in the description pf
the Government has resolved not to meddle in the Netta's last
had days.
inThe fearful trials she had un-
dergone ameasure affected her reason, and
, matter. The Cardinal Primate of Hungary andwhen her
the " a state
Court Chancellor" will convoke certain found her she was in a
te most painful to behold, from the over-pressure
of mental disquietude on a brain n
number of notables of different ranks and classes, over strong and
and the Assembly will have to draw up an else- on feelings never properly kept in subjection. One
toral law, which shall be in accordance with the ne- happy thing for her she never knew the extent of
cessities of the times. As it is nowhere said that her husband's crimes. She fancied that he had
only plunge recklessly into debt, and did not
the Hungarian Diet shall not have the right of now he was. arraigned.. as a felon. She was laid
legislation, it must be supposed it will, as was for- •
to rest in the simple churchyard in the village
merly the case, have the privilege of preparing where she should have dwelt in sweet simplicity
draughts of laws, and of sending them to the Cen- after her brief and gaudy course in foreign lands
tral Government for acceptance. The so-called and great cities. Meanwhile while her spirit
"Bur gerliches Gesetz-Buch" (civil and criminal sought the rest of the weary, far other scenes
dawned on her husband, who was convicted and
codes) is to remain in force in Hungary. A " iTudex condemned. Happily for him, his brother-in-
Curzce" (highest judicial employe in the kingdom), law Rowland, the clergyman, contrived to exert
and a " lavernicus" (the controller of the revenue) some influence upon him, and when at last he left
will be appointed by Government, as also 52 ~ Ober- him on board the convict ship he felt some hope,
gespanne" (lord-lieutenants of counties), each of some latent trust that even in the dark life of
of a convict some better days might be in store for
whom will receive from the State a salary of 5,000 his wretched relative than when he was high in
florins per annum. • position and rolling in wealth. Itowland is the
The Reichsrath will be considerably reinforced, most superior of the characters here sketched.
and probably by means of representatives of the Firm, upright, and consistent, he was still gene-
middle classes. It will, as heretofore, be a consulta- rolls, kind, and sympathising. He was not one of
those really pious and well-intentioned individuals
tive body, but it will be allowed to exercise a direct
who do more mischief than good by their bigoted
control over the finances. As the Hungarians have notions and overbearing dictation. No one will
now regained their ancient rights, they will doubt- ever attend to serious subjects because they are
less consent to send representatives to the Reichs- threatened into them, and well would it be for the
_
rath, which is likely eventually to become a politi cause of Christian charity and the welfare of all
c.hurches and sects, if more and
calbody of the very highest importance. The organic
like Rowland Protheroe abounded sters.
He wasteachers placed
laws for the Germany.nd Slavonic provinces will be •
in a fitting sphere, in the centre of a large and
given by means of Imperial autograph letters, which squalid population, among whom it would have
will probably be addressed to the different Stadt- been cruel, as well as utterly useless, to be other
holders. The bases- of the provincial statutes, than sympathising. Owen, the other son of David
which are almost sure to be received with a very ill Protheroe, was a fine specimen of a sailor ; and, as
somelone in the story observed, it did seem singu-
grace, will be equality between the different na-
arat two such brothers should have such a
tionalities and equal political rights. The inhabi- foolishthat sister: e wen was hardly worthy of Gladys,
tants of the German provinces and of Gallicia, who however, but he had the merit of thoroughly appre-
have hitherto been his Majesty's most loyal sub- ciating her. David Protheroe is by 'no means a
jects, are likely to become very difficult to manage, perfect man. He exhibited many angry and sus-
icous tra of sosd it is not all to
as they consider themselves entitled to exactly the
p hisi credit toits havedi peprsistedition, iann refusing hisat consent
same rights and privileges as the Hungarians. to his son's marriage with Gladys because he did
The change of system will naturally lead to a not prove her parents to have been of genteel birth.
change in some of the Ministerial departments. The Such a being as Gladys was a blessing to any house
Ministry of the Interior will be done away with, she dwelt in, still more to the home she fixed herself
and a Ministry of State formed for all the provinces in. Miss Gwynne is a young lady who interests one
in sp of man faults b h genuine great
nia. the empire excepting Hungary and Transylva-
natur eite , andher her kind intentiony ers. She did great
nia. Count Coluchowski will be at the head of the service to many, altnough she marred the effect of
new Ministry of State, and have seat and voice in much that she accomplished through her hasty
the Cabinet, as he is determined to sacrifice his temper and indomitable pride. She learned wisdom.
principles rather than quit office. You may per- in the great school of life. After her father's second
iage she lost positio of heiress, and went
haps recollect that he a short time ago was the
tomarr reside with herthe governess,n who had married Mr.
avowed opponent of the Hungarians, because they
Jones, the fellow curate of Rowland. She was in.
claimed privileges "which could not be granted the constant presence of suffering, sin, and sorrow,
without endangering the principle of the unity of such as she never dreamed of, much less beheld in
the empire." The Hungarian and Transylvanian her luxurious home in Wales, and amid her father's
" Hof-Kanzleien" (Court Chanceries) will be re-
prosperous tenants, whose means were limited but
established, and their chiefs will have the title of sufficient for their wants. She could hardly return
from a morning spent in watching over the death-
" Hofkanzler," with seat and voice in the Cabicet. bed of starvation, surveying the fruits of sin, where
The Ministry of Justice will be abolished. The the children were trained in vice by their aban-
First President of the Supreme Court of Justice will doned parents, to indulge in the reveries of pride
be the highest judicial authority in the realm, and and vainglory that had filled the thoughts and
have seat and voice in the Cabinet. The Ministry swelled the heart of the heiress in her father's
for Ecelesiastical Affairs and Public Instruction grand parks. She was at last united to Rowland,
whom sh e had refused
asbeneath her in her days
will also be abolished, as mere matters of adminis- . of pride, but whom she afterwards learned to con-
tration will be cared for by the official organs of the sider far above her in all that could make a fellow
different confessions. A Government Commission creature honoured in this world, or fitted for the
(probably a revival of the defunct " Studien-Hof next. Thus at the last a fair vista of peace
Commission") will have the superintendence of the and prosperity seemed to open on the old farm of
Glenarvon. True, " a mournful memory of the dead
schools. The affairs of the Pesth and Cracow Uni- was with them in the glades," as they thought of the
versities will be regulated without delay, and the beauty of their hose laid low; but they had the
former will soon cease to be an exclusively calm retrospect of her last quiet days with them,
Roman Catholic establishment. The Cracow which had soothed the bitterness of the anguish
University will doublers regain its ancient pri-
that arose at the thought of her disgrace in having
been united to a felon, and which had softened the
vileges, which it ought never to have been de-
grief at the reflection that she had run away from
prived of, as they are guaranteed by a Euro- their home. Also the teaching of Rowland had
peen treaty. Before closing my letter, which is assured them in language more potent than earthly
necessarily written against time, I must inform you consolations, to refresh the weary spirit and heal
that oral proceedings will be introduced in all the the broken heart, that theirs was the bright hope
courts of justice, which are to be opento the public. to meet her again where their home could be no
more invaded by temptation, or assailed by sorrow.
So many troops have recently been sent to and This work contains much in its varied and exciting
fro in the empire, that the managers of the different pages to fascinate the interest while it awakens the
railroadcompanies have resolved to represent to the attention of the reader. We see how human nature
Government that it is impossible, without losing is the same everywhere. It is character that is the
money, to convey the soldiers, artillery, ammuni-
granddistinction between mortals, not where they
live nor how they were brought up. No fine lady
tion, and supplies at the present prices. Full a year
intent on airs and graces could have had a daughter
ago your attention was directed to the advantageous more resembling her than the country maiden
N
position occupied by the Austrians on the right Netta, whose mother, simple Mrs. Protheroe, was
bank of the Po, and I now learn that they are in- as devoid of artifice as any one could be. Again,
Rowland was superior to many of higher rank
clined to make the most of it. When at Ravens
when he went. to
.Londen ;
.his mind was in
King Victor Emmanuel told the Syndicus that the
advance of his family and friends, and culture
Austrians about six weeks ago allowed a famous
developed the great resources within him
opportunity for doing mischief to escape them. His Howel, though brought up in an obscure village,
Majesty, doubtless, alluded to the moment when proved himself as apt a scholar in craft, deceit, and
his troops were on their way to the Marches. cunning as if he had been born and bred in the
purlieus of any city—among the haunts of knavery
and vice. Some of the second-rate persons are
admirably pourtrayed in some cases, as, for instance,
the Simpsons, who so providentially came to the
rescue of Howel and his cousin at their runaway
marriage, and imparted an eclat to the affair that
made them consider themselves quite enrolled
among the elite members of ton. Lady Mary
Nugent, who married Mr. Gwynne, is a finished
specimen of a woman of the world. Her tact stood
her in good stead through life ; no one was more
sensible of this than her step-daughter, Winifred—.
herself so lamentably deficient in that respect.
Lady Mary's daughter did not inherit her mother's
milliner with her beauty, and it is well shown what
a difference arose in consequence. Lady Mary kept
every one alive and animated, even if they did not
care a straw for her or even disapproved of her.
Mrs. Vaughan, on the other hand, quite irritated
by her insipidity and nonchalance. Mrs. Jones,
the governess, is a very estimable person, and she is
one of those who in no way remarkable, yet
make themselves more missed in a house than
many much more gifted and attractive.
Mr. Jonathan Protheroe, the vicar of Llanfawr, is
quite a character in his way, with his extraordinary
propensity to decipher old relics and descant on all
kinds of archaeological and mediaeval knowledge.
On the whole, " Gladys, the Reaper," will be found
a most superior style of book, and all readers who
wish to behold real life exemplified will do well to
peruse its stirring and sparkling pages. It has
mingled in its varied scenes and described in its
glowing passages all the chief events that mark
the progress of human life, representing in those
accounts the several phases under which the same
events affect different persons. The last sentence
aptly epitomises the work—" The wedding wreath,
the christening robe, the shroud. Again the wreath
and the robe. Such has been our tale, and such is
life."

* The Emperor will be crowned as King of Hungary.

LITERATURE.

Gladys, the Reaper. By the author of " Simpli-
city and Fascination." Three Vols. Bentley.
This is a very delightful work, and one well cal-
culated to impress powerfully and to influence
rightly by its touching narrative and by its lofty
spirit. The heroine is one of those gentle and yet
resolute characters. that more than any other can
create real and salutary changes in the lives of
others. Their consistency claims respect, their ten-
derness wins the affections, while their soft sympathy
penetrates to the hardest and coldest natures, and
their bright faith pierces the gloom of dark unbelief
with the glory of the day-spring from on high.
Mr. and Mrs. Protheroe might well have said that,
in receiving a stranger, they entertained an angel
unawares, for it is impossible to over-estimate the
services she was the means of rendering to the
family in which she found shelter when struck down
by sickness as she wandered a penniless orphan on
the highway of the world. There are many per-
sons met with in this tale, and some of them are
represented in a very striking manner. Howel
Jenkins is the very impersonation of a spendthrift
of the most dangerous class ; he possessed the
attraction of handsome looks and a general fascina-
tion of manner that few could resist. He was en-
tirely destitute of principle, and, moreover, he
laboured under the overwhelming disadvantage of
having been neglected in his youth and kept in an
almost penniless state, his father being a miser, as
may be conjectured when this young man came sud-
denlyinto the possession of an enormous fortune he
grew reckless. It was this unhappy and misguided
man that Netta Protheroe, the beauty of the village,
chose for her husband in defiance of the commands,
prayers, and entreaties of her parents, her friends,
and well-wishers. On a beautiful autumn morn-
ing the young girl stole at daybreak from her
father's farm to meet her unworthy cousin. Th
life led by this thoughtless couple is a sad epitome
of the existence of thousands, and ably illustrates
the downward path ever trodden by the gamester
and,the reckless speculator. Rowel's giddy
step
was over in a few years ; led on from
he consummated his crimes by forgery,
step
dtowsheenp
the day of detection arrived he fled heancountry
td
sentenced
only to be brought back as a felon
to transportation. Netta meanwbrilrhad often re-
crlit September
pented the journey she took thathiehi
was the one
morning. Howek loved her, wise
blackened heart
redeeming point in his otherbwut
he acted as if he
and perverted disposition ;
hated her, for some time. She was flighty and he
was jealous ; she was too silly and trifling to
match with his superior acquiremeats and ready
lost temper continually,
wit, hence he
establishment in Belgra-
and the
dwelt the two cousins, brought
splendid
via, where farm, and in a common shop,
up respectivelY in
Jenkins amassed his thousands) con-
(where Griffy
but a household that dwelt in
tained anything
The sturdy farmer, David Protheroe, would
unity,
unication with his daughter, although
hold no comm
Mrs. Howel Jenkins were settled in a
Mr. and
farm in his own immediate vicinity. Once only
did poor Mrs. Protheroe see her daughter from the
period when she ran away till she was brought
home in poverty and misery to die. The occasion
of their meeting was at the birth of Netta's only
child. The Llanfawr bells were pealing merrily to
celebrate the birth of the daughter of the master
of " Plas Abertervey." " But whilst they were
ringing, the mother of the little daughter was ap-
parently about to depart for that other country
where bells shall no longer ring out the old and
ring in the new," welcome the babe, or speed the
spirit of the dead." In the absence of Howel, the
doctor took upon himself the responsibility of send-
ing for the mother of Netta. Painful as was the
meeting, it was satisfactory. Netta recovered to
linger on for some years of trial, and learned how
hard a fate she had brought upon herself. It is
truly said here, " Pause, then, and think all you
iyoung women who may be meditating a similar
course even whilst reading this story, or
may be at issue with your parents, be-
cause their experience onewA them a picture

Lievereux. Vol. 11. By Sir E. B, Lytton. Black-

wood-and Sons.
The completion of "Devereux" by the issue of
the twelfth volume of this beautiful Library Edi-
tion of Sir Bulwer Lytton's Novels, now being
published from month to month, volume after
volume, by the Messrs. Blackwood and Sons of
London and Edinburgh—places entire in the hands
of the subscribers the first of the six of Sir Edward's
Historical Romances. Subsequently, in due succes-
sion, will appear "The Last Days of Pompeii,"
after that " Rienzi," then " The Siege of Grenada,"
afterwards " The Last of the Barons," and, finally,
closing the second of the Four divisions of the
Library Edition, "The Last of the Saxon Kings,
Harold." In " Devereux," the completion of which
we have now lying before us, we have, as it Were,
evidence of the second phase of this Protean genius
as a Romancist. His initial work as a Novelist—
when "Devereux" first appeared—had been before
the public but little more than a twelvemonth.
That initial work—(counting the suppressedbeen thecelebrated
volum e
of "Falkland" as nothing)—had
history of Henry Pelham, the Gentleman. An ela-
borate jeu d'esprit, sparkling, effervescing, run-
ning over with wit • and pleasantry—the
ebulition of high animal spirits. In vivid
contrast to which " Devereux" the next
season made its appearance—much, doubtless, to
the surprise of those who had scrutinised the refined
humour of the gay gentleman of fashion. For cer-
tainly no two works could have been well more
dissimilar than "Pelham
Devereux"—the
velist, inh and
hei s plots, or in the latter, by the way, evidencing thus early in Bul-
writer's astonishing
power%veen-
tanglementr's ea
ofr eera a
constructiveness
s an
complication of the incidents to be
recounted, and of the varied fortunes to be un-
ravelled. In these respects, indeed, "Devereux,"
though Sir Edward's second production as a ro-
challenge comparison even with
invention, " My Novel" and
thosemati c emwarsitteeir, ,
p mayes f
What will he do with it." The elaborately con-
structed plot of " Devereux" manifesting quite as
remarkable powers in this particular as either of
those two ingeniously constructed fictions of Pisis-
tratus Caxton writing, though Sir Edward
Lytton has done in the latter capacity, from the
fullness of his lengthened and varied literary
experience.