The Sun.
London, England, 1858-04-08 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Mervyn Clitheroe. No. IX. By W. Harrison:
Ainsworth.
The curiosity of the reader is by this time piqued
almost beyond endurance, as to the posnible i esult
of the intricate plot of Mervyn Clitheroe. Accord-
ing tea scarcely credible intimation of Malpas Sale's,
at the close of the new number before us, the true
will of old Uncle Moberly—making Mervyn his
heir, and depriving Malpas of his otherwise secure
inheritance—is destroyed. The confusion, indeed,
in the story is by this time worse confounded. Mrs.
Mervyn is said to be dying. Apphia is apparently
denied to the hero by a rash promise extorted
from her by her mother, Mrs. Brideoake. It seems
uncertain whether John will live to espouse Ora
—and dubious even yet, to some extent, as to th•
match really coming off after all between the ami-
able elderly spinster (sister of old Hazy), and
Cuthbert Spring, the merry gentleman. Three
more instalments of the serial will clear
up all uncertainties and will doubtless bring
the tale to a happy conclusion. In which event
poetical justice demands for Malpas the most igno-
minious expt.sure, for Powliall something worse
than a sousing in the horse-pond, and for Phaleg,
°tied, and Pennivah a collective punishment
little short of transportation. As for Mrs. Bride-
oake, it is to be hoped that her pride, if not
her neck may be broken somehow opportunely.
Everybody, of course, reco4nises the father of the
hero in the officer who makes his appearance with
the old batchelor friend at Mervyn's rural fete--
Colonel Clitheroe, for some unimaginable reason,
masquerading for a while under the psuedonym
f Major Atherton. We look forward to the
acknowledgment of his identity with pleasant anti-
cipations.

ST. JAMES'S BALL.—The Vocal Association corn.
meneed a , erica of six aubscr ption concerts last night
iii this new and i-plendni ball.
c!astshiecaLltoaspteerfoofmn:lrsr:
The programme,
s,-.1 cted entirely from the corks of Mendelssohn, was
ffit
tc) ime n,
,tis
tor:all:ins:nit:
one of the highest ex,!ellence—i,uch, indeed, as might
have been expected from t'36
Benedi,q. Th, re was a nernraeormo,ouonsugiaer,d)f et
1e(01
„Li y,
I...liiri
nElt:ugr:,vreit
le, n,:-1.
f tt,e day C neva', of tin. rfin, d de,crip.ion are
calculated to e, taf hall t! a r+-pu e cf the Vocal Asso;
eiatTon ; c r.l it is to be Loped that n.thing of a
'cry in • Itrior cal.bre tray be encouraged in St. James'
1141, of which,7, I
teine eni,ittlaoirp)oliir;,wisipllehn:avbelejumtordeiafiscoan•
tions are t_
to b, lir ''"'l•

GREAT
WESTERN OF CANADA RAILWAY COMPANY.—
Tae half-yearly gentral meting of shareholders in this
company was held at the London Tavern, Bishop gate-
street, ye ter-lay ; Mr. Robert Gill. chairman of the
Board of Directors, in the chair. The report stated
,hat the traffic for the past bali-year, as compared with
ro?resp-ti(liog l,rriod of 1857, wed a decrtase of
82 2481. 3,. 8,1., Which is .A.ly 12 5241. 6s 5 f. lees than
evi 11+ six le Alter 5.,, .e diseussi,n, the
r. port was unanimously adopted. A dividend of 54 per
cit. was then declared payable on April 28th, on all
shares registered in the London books on March 22nd.