The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-12 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Only Child. By Lady Scott. Two Vole.
Hurst and Blaokett.
This is a story well adapted to the large clan of
genuine novel readers, who do not seek for any
striking originality or vivid portraiture, but like
a tale with love and sorrow properly mingled, with-
out being very critical as to the plot or the style.
In the present instance the work has additional
attractions, as it deals freely with the members of
fashionable circles, and its hero is the heir apparent
to a dukedom. The principles upheld are doubt-
less excellent, but the self-sacrifice described, cer-
tainly did not produce any beneficial effects, neither
was it an inevitable necessity. There are some
striking improbabilities in the plot, but it is not a
work to be criticised severely, as it is admirably
adapted to amuse and entertain the lovers of light
literature, being perfectly harmless in its moral tone,
and presenting no remarkable faults to be objected
to. The hero, the grandson of a duke, is left, by
the early death of his father, an orphan at eight
years old, under the guardianship of Dr. Burgess,
the rector of the parish. Dr. Burgess is a conscien-
tious man, and devotes himself to the welfare of
his pupil. Ho has one daughter, a little girl of
great beauty, named Brenda, who is unfortunately
deprived of her mother's care just as she is most in
need of it. As might be supposed, notwithstand-
ing the precautions of Dr. Burgess, an attachment
springs up between the young people but he be-
comes furious at the idea, dismisses his ward in
anger, and makes his daughter write a cold and
decided refusal. Lord Ellesley, the ward, leaves
the neighbourhood, and yi,•lding to the manceuvres
of a clever heiress, marries her. Brenda is nearly
broken-hearted by her father's conduct, and his
illness and death add to her misfortunes. How-
ever,:to relieve her father's mind, she agrees to
marry the physician who atten led him. There is
another love affair pending with the curate of the
parish. Seven years are now supposed to elapse,
and we anj introduced to all our old friends, mov-
ing in faihionable circles. Brenda, now Mrs. Carey,
has forgotten her old troubles in herde,mesticduties.
Her husband has become the lion of the clay. Lord
Ellesley, now Duke of Arran, is miserable enough,
with a wife 'who spends her own fortune and his
too, and comforts herself with. Oth.-r
characters reappear in different positions ; and
after some time the Duchess kills herself with an
overdose of her favourite stimulant, Dr. Carey
sinks uuder'brain fever, and the novel reader wil.

naturally suppose that the two old lovers are to be
united. ._But it is not so. It is Brenda the
second, who is the second Duchess of Arran,
the daughter of Lord Ellesley's first love,
and "the secret of Brenda, the elder, went
with her to her grave." There are other epi-
sodes in the tale which serve to diversify it.
Whether the sacrifice was necessary—whether Dr.
Burgess might not have' left it to the young man's
grandfather to decide for him—whether a di, ect
fitheitood is ever a duty, together with a few other
questions of like nature, will very probably arise
in Vue mind of the reader ; but the conflict of duty
and inclination is a favourite point, and no objec. ion
can he raised to the intentions of the writer. Those

who wish for a light and agreeable narrative, inter-
spersed with sketches of fashionable life, will very
probably be entertained and grattfi,.'d by this
ueyel.

The Student's Blackstone. By Robert Malcolm
Kerr, LL.D. John Murray.
Recent events have directed public attention to the
legal rights of British subjects, and have shown that
some acquaintance with the exact state of the law is
a very desirable knowledge, the utility of which is
not confined to lawyers alone. Statesmen and po-
liticians, as well as many in less ambitious spheres
of life, will often find this volume a valuable re-
ferenee, while in ordinary business transactions an
acquaintance with the legal rights of master and
servant, guardian and ward, corporations, Jsc.,
will be of great practical service. Mr. Robert
Kerr has previously issued a new and compendious
edition of the great legal authority, adapted to the
present state of the law. He is therefore
necessarily familiar with his subject, and
amply qualified for the difficult task of
selection and condensation. He tells us in the
preface that " The Student's Blackstone contains
all those portions of the commentaries which relate
to the British Constitution and the rights of per-
sons. Those branches of the law only have Lean
excluded with which, although desirable, it is
not equally necessary that every one should be
acquainted ; while such alterations and additions
have been made as were necessary. as well to adapt
the work to the present state of the law, as to make
the present volume complete in itself." The chief
additions male by the editor are the introduction
of the rights of the parent State with re-
spect to its colonies ; an abstract of the
articles of union with Ireland, and the changes
introduced into the Parliamentary constitu-
tion by the Reform Act of 1832. Se has also
inserted a succinct account of the origin, jurisdic-
tion, and procedure of numerous courts of justice.
With regard to omissions, the greater portion of
the preliminary dissertation on ttie study of the
law has bten left out, as being no longer of service ;
but the interesting portion relating to the snuggles
between the civilians and lawyers during the first
two centuries after the 0, nquest will be met with
in tee body of she volume. We commend the work
to the attention of these who desire to familiarise
th

.einselves with the nature of English law, unen-
cumbered by legal technicalitLes, and divested of
alllabstrusenes and superannuated forme.

Tits Royal Princesses of England. By Mrs.
Matthew Hall, author of " The Queens before
the Conquest." Routledge.
Mrs. H4ll, the able authoress of " the Queens
before the Conquest," which forms such an admi-
rable introduction to Miss SrricklAnd's celebrated
work, has given us another volume of Royal
biographies. The subject she has selected is an
interesting one, and she has chosen a period which
has not, we believe, been treated of before. She
commences her history where most other chroniclers
have ceased, with the reign of George the First.
She contrives to render the memoirs interesting by
the introduction of little personal anecdotes and
traits of character which preserve individuality
even among the state that enclosed the families of
the Georges. It is a pleasant readable little volume
embellished with a portrait of the Princess Frede-
rick William.

Memoirs of James, Marquis of Montrose. By
James Grant, author of "The Romance of War,"
&c. Routledge.
Au interesting memoir of Montrose has been
given to the public by the clever author of "The
Romance of War." The life of his subject affords
him every opportunity for combining the excite-
ment of romance with the authority of history. lie
traces the marquis's career through all its changing
vicissitudes, from his birth in the ancient burgh of
Montrose, "to the scaffold and the doom." All
readers of Professor Aytoun's spirited lays will
remember the one on " The Execution of Mon-
trose,"—

There was glory on his forehead,
There was lustre in his eye,
And he never walked to battle
More proudly than to die.
It will readily be imagined that the subject is one
which affords full scope for the author's pecUliar
powers and he renders it justice. He has compiled
an interesting and valuable work, which will gratify
many readers, whether among the descendants of
the Cavaliers or Covenanters.

MAIN DRAINAGE AND SEWAGE INTER-
CEPTION OF THE METROPOLIS.

A meeting of the delegates appointed by the vestries
and district boards of the metropolis was held yesterday
at the London Coffee-house, Ludgate-hill, to take into
consideration the whole of the subjects relative to the
main drainage of the metropolis, and adopt such mea-
sures in reference thereto as they may consider expe-
dient. The chair was taken by Mr. John Ware.
The following resolutions were agreed to :-1. "That
in the opinion of this meeting, consisting of legally-con-
stituted representatives of the ratepayers of the metro-
polis, it is right and expedient to require proof of the
sanatory necessity, the ultimate beneficial result, and
the financial economy of any scheme for the main drain-
age and sewage interception-of the metropolis, before
further steps be taken towards practically carrying into
execution the 135th section of the Metropolis Local
Management Act, 1855.
2. "That it being admitted that the improvement of
'tile bed a- d banks of the Thames within the metropolis
is highly desirable, and this meeting believing that such
improvement, if properly designed and executed, would
increase the navigable and commercial capabilities of the
river, and tend to remove any malarious influences now
liable to arise from its waters or its banks, considers
the outlay of the large sum of money proposed to be
expended for the interception of the sewage from the
river within the metropolitan area as icupelitic and
unnecessary."
A committee was thee appointed to carry the resolu-
tions into effect, after which a vote of thanks
_wae
passed to the chairman, and the meeting separated.

THE HIGHLAND BORDERERS.—Forty recruits (says
the Inverness Courier) have joined head-quarters since
the 107 volunteers joined their several corps. The
officers of the regiment are apparently taking into con-
sideration the measures suggested by the commissioners
for improvieg the sanitary condition of the army, -
by
na
varying the cooking of the dinners of the men. Instead
of boiled meat constantly, as the rule is, the nienhteaave
had their dinners baked at least once this week, Fort
George being one of the few stations where public ovens
are established for the use of the troops,