The Sun.
London, England, 1858-02-17 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Stage arui the Company. By Mrs. Ilubbaek,
author of " The Wife's Sister," dm 3 vols,
Skeet.

The niece of Miss Austen may claim some atten-
tion in the literary world by right of her relation-
ship to one so eminent among the novel writers of a
past generation. Her own talents, however, en-
able her to maintain the position ,to which she ori-
ginally aspired in right of her gifted kinswoman.
Without competing with " Sense and Sensibility," or
" Pride and Prejudice;" or eclipsing "Emma," and
" Mansfield Park," in their life-like delineations of
character, and vivid pictures of domestic life, Mrs.
Hubback's works always evince considerable inge-
nuity in the plot, and are written in a pleasing and
finished style, that succeeds in rendering the book
agreeable and the characters interesting. The plot
of the present story may certainly lay claim to a
considerable degree of originality, if not of proba-
bility ; but the legitimate domains of fiction are
extensive, and she seldom exceeds them. The
events of the tale are supposed to take place some
years ago, before "the rapid car" had extinguished
the race of stage coaches ; and the first chapter in-
troduces us to a heroine in a dilemma, without the
preliminary delays. Sidney Elliot, one of the
heroines, is returning home in a stage ciach, which
is stopped by the snow, and the travellers are forced
to take refuge in a little wayside house. She for-
tunately discovers an old playmate return-
ing from a long voyage in one of the
outside passengers, and she also makes the ac-
quaintance of a college friend of her brother's in an
inside traveller. But it is not probable that a
young lady of Sidney's sensible and lady-like
nature would have so readily made friends with a
perfect stranger, although the circumstances were
peculiar, and she had previously heard his name.
The chief characters in the story are Geraldine,
Sidney, and Harold Elliot, Mark Foster, the
sailor, Mr. Methuen, the passenger before alluded
to, and Colonel Borlase, the brother of one of the
young people's guardians, whom Geraldine marries
without any previous acquaintance to avoid the
poverty to which a lawsuit has reduced them.
The adventures of Harold occupy the chief por-
tion of the first volume ; the second details
the law suit, which is very ingeniously arranged,
and the third is almost entirely devoted to the dif-
ficulties in which Colonel Borlase and Geraldine
entangle themselves, chiefly through the friendly
agency of Mr. Methuen. Bkiney is the most at-
tractive character, though all are well describcd,
and, as will be seen, there is considerable variety
in the incidents. The name of the work is
derived from the introductory adventure of
the stage coach and its occupants, and not from
any connection with theatrical affairs. It is a
decided improvement on Mrs. Hubback's former
works, and is likely to enhance her reputation as a
writer of pleasant fiction.

We have authority to state that her Majesty has
appointed to receive the addre-ses of the two Houses of
Convocation on Friday next at 3 o'clock.
COURT OF BANKRUPTCY.—The amount on account of
bankrupts' estates paid in by official assignees and others
in the year 1856 to the credit of the Accountant-General
of Bankruptcy was 1,111,5941.; and the amount paid in
from proceeds of sale of stock from the Bankruptcy
Fund account 47,3121. The amount paid out was, by
the L-rd Ckancellor 60,0001., and by the commissioners
300,695/. On the dividend account there was 811,9641.
tran-ferred, and 753 1641 paid. On the chief registrar's
Recount, 77,0431. was paid in by official assignees, and
16,927/, by the Commissioners of Inland Revenue. The
net balances on the Ist of January, 1357, were 127,4691.
on the General Account and Bankruptcy Estates,
1,384,578/. stock on the Bankruptcy Fund account,
5771. cash and 6,110/. stock on the Unclaimed DiviJend
account, and 13,8941. cash and 65,882/. stock to the
Chief Registrar's account.
AUSTRALIAN RAILWAY RETURNS.—On former occa-
sions we have alluded to the extraordinary receipts of
some of the railroads in Victoria. By the present
official returns from that colony we find that the traffic
receipts on the Melbourne and Llebson'e Bay line for the
week ending 3d December last amounted to 2,1E61. IE4,
7d., while on the following week, ending the 10th th.y,
they were 1,485/ lls. 6d. ; giving thus an average
weekly return of 1,8221 15s. The entire length of this
line, being culy a mile arid a half, gives a total return of
1,3671. 6s. 31. per mile per week, while English lines
average only 471. per iris per week. The dividend
declared on Ist Decernbr last, was at the rate of 14 per
cent, per annum. The St. Kilda line also exceeded the
sanguine expectation of the proprietors ; the carriage
accommodation, although large, having proved quite
insufficient to meet the increasing passenger traffic. The
Geelong and Melbourne line, being only partially opened,
the returns are not published, thou g'.l coeeidered satis•
factory ; it was fully expected to be highly remunerative
when completed to Melbourne, and with projected lines
as feeders, to be as successful as any other railway
undertaking in the colony.-3lmov Journal, Feb. 13.