The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-21 00:00:00

LITER I TUBE.

The Cousins' Courts*: By John R. Wise.
2 vols. Smith and Elder.
Without any pretence or affectation, here is II
very readable work, which possesses many attracr
tive features, and presents some scenes that, it n°,!
new to the pages of a novel, are given with The
spirit that they forcibly impress the reader. DI
hero, Reginald Neville, is a fine, high-spirited
youth, who was early left an orphan, and whose
father's cousin and mother's brother, vied with each
other as to who should be the most heartless la
demeanour towards him. The scenes in whist
Reginald and his cousin Minnie appear are DO
charmingly pourtrayed, and seem to breathe tbe
freshness and beauty of the rural retreats they s°
delightfully describe. Minnie is the best C 1
ratter in the book. Her portraiture is Per
feet, as the representative of a gay sri t
gladsome maiden, to whom earth offers her faires
gifts of youth, beauty, health, and affluence, and
whom heaven sheds its choicest blessings- of kin
friends, a happy home, and freedom from en,ret:
There is something refreshing in such a light
hearted damsel wandering through the high's
of this weary working•day world, and though the
picture is too bright to last, and even while 0,;
read clouds arise to shadow her path ; while ohs?.
in the glad sunshine of her peerless youth, 111inin
Neville is a fascinating heroine. The two selnstiii
men, Aston Neville and Colonel Ancaster, are illst
skilfully described. Astos, is a mean and despicslrt
man, who is totally destitute of any fine feeling
high principle. The colonel was the higher grs'
of the two : he possessed more manly sentiniero
but the blindness of his prejudices and the tyraesl
of his actions rendered him obnoxious to society
and he affords a good specimen of what intolerancil
and arrogance will perform. The cruelty vfllic.,6
chaiacterises the conduct of some haughty 31,1'6
ladies is cleverly satirised in the case of 0,0
unhappy Miss Garland, and the sad state
troy
the she is reduced typifies only too tril
the condition of thousands who in tba,
prosperous land are compelled to resort to the 11;
remunerative drudgery of needlework, owing tcirol
sinful barriers raised by a prejudiced society agoll3o,
their employing themselves in a more suitable In to
ner. An effective passage is that which referso
the search ineffectually made for her by Itegintd
He supposed, at ono moment, that she had perisuo
among the unhappy tribe who seek a shelter in
dark waters from the darker path of life. 0144
holding the corpse, whose description resenlure,
the object of his search, Reginald found, to his ed
lief, that she was not Miss Garland. As he ro
on the sad spectacle, he thought, " Who else niir
seek this medicine before sunrise—some other
ter of her wretched family ? Kindly oh Thenity
dost thou receive them into thy bosom! When
sea and the rivers shall give up their dead+
most wretched and most miserable will be thn3of
Life at college has been often described in 'Word
this class, but there is a vivacity in the details 51
with in these pages that imparts a freshness to o)
oft-recurring tale. Altogether, " The Couslo/
Courtship" is a very ably written and aniusio
work, which will surely serve to wile away an to
hour, at the same time that it suggests thoegAl
which may well occupy our graver moments,'
engage our serious attention.

Quakerism, Past and Present. By T. Step'l67
Rowntree. Prize Essay. Smith and Eldei,l'fv
The Peculium. By Thomas Hancock: ;
Essay. Smith and Elder.
These two volumes consist of two essays 0" P,
causes of the decline of the Society of Friendtrd
the year 1858 a liberal and enlightened meniu`tti
the society offered a prize of 100 guineas Ord
first essay and 50 guineas for the second eel;
the subject, expressing his regret that althelliqi'
population of the kingdom has more than dotlac,
itself during the last fifty years, the soci.4bi
which he was a member had decreased in 11111/301
since that time, he desired that the causes .y 0
origin of this decay should be boldly inquired ,of
The adjudicators of the prize he selected Ivit..llio
gular liberality of feeling from those who we V,OOO,
members of the society, and the names of his
judges testify the sincerity and impartialitloo
which he wished the subject to be discussed. a
were the Rev. F. D. Maurice, the late Prr 10,
Nichol, and the Rev. C. Pryce, of Gre.vesena• fie
illness of the late lamented Professor and 'los
other causes have occasioned some delay' 'fie
length the decision was made, and the 110,14
awarded to the two essays before us. As th,,,eeso,4
dicators had some difficulty in assigning fibs
place, the donor with great generosity inung.th o'l
raised the second prize to an equality Ifbititi°l/1
first. The number and quality of the eontrld theli
appears to have been highly satisfactory, rirtili
specimens are well worthy of thoughtful Piet.°
It appears that since 1800 the number o.* tPt;t
has decreased one-fourth, ana tray
n
is at the present time ,only
every eleven hundred of the pops
of the United Kingdom where there II
once one in every one hundred and t_`:,4.o'
Tho causes may easily be found in the proct
education, enlightenment, and toleration; hair
increasing dislike to narrow doctrines ancl,Feefl,
saical rigidity ; in a better perception that wo
good and perfect gift cometh from above,l"iitliet'l
intellect or affection, art or science;; and A 00,:,
sense of the claims and capabilities 01, tor
human feelings and necessities, as opposed 0011
asceticism and intolerance of earlier times.bioil
two essays, both clear, luminous, and 1113 f
regard the subject from different points °`i Pty;
The first sympathises with the fundaments
ft)
ciples of Quakerism, while granting
ciencies and decadence. The other openly or, 0,
its isolation and " formalism of no f0r11154,
asserts that its decay is natural and int,,;(4,
and a subject of rejoicing rather than 01 —OO%l
ing. At the same time, he would impres!,,oo!A
Quaker that there are fewer obstacles
supposes to his union with the Church. osiiis:
the tolerance and elevation above all PI tb°`
which distinguishes this essay, he retnifibretil
who look with scorn on their Dissentiog „pal
" that the Separatist mentioned in the ucc/'4.`
casting out devils in the name of the
when the Apostolical College could not Cot 011
out." The other essay, " Quakerism, F.° 0
Present," is also extremely liberal in torletript/
sentiment, rejecting entirely the Quaker d°ca
if the negation of the human intellect ATI
arts. Both these volumes are well worthy to
attentive perusal, and can scarcely fail to 1°
the thoughtful and unprejudiced reader.