The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-09 00:00:00

LITERATURE,

Maiden Sisters : a Tale. By the author of
"Dorothy." Parker.
Written in a simple style, there is much to charm
in the stories of this author. The one before us is
very melancholy, and the reader naturally feels in-
dignant at the authors of such needless suffering as
the unfortunate young heroine endured. Ellen
Kerr was indeed to be pitied, chiefly for having
had her education so wofully neglected, and her
mind, which was not naturally strong, totally un-
prepared and unfiaed for struggling with the
world. The conduct of her elder sister was indeed
a crime. She knew that the young girl she tyran-
nised over, however yielding and helpless she then
seemed, would one day have to take her place as a
responsible member of society, and her sin was a
grievous one, in stifling all expressions of feeling, and
in destroying all efforts at self-knowledge. There
must be a fearful reckoning on the great day of ac-
count against those who pervert their powers to
such unworthy ends, and thus trifle with the soul
that is to live for ever. Norah is a delightful char-
acter—the only really estimable one in the family ;
for, in consequence of the crushing system employed,
Ellen's energies were so paralysed, that we can
hardly form an opinion of her real capabilities, and
she appears almost a nonentity, not daring to assert
an opinion of her own, and occasioning sorrow to
others and misery to herself by her weakness and
cowardice. Col. Oliphant has some striking quali-
ties, but he is hasty and suspicious, and he was very
much to blame at the last for sacrificing his own
happiness, and still more that of Ellen, to false
pride and offended dignity, when he might have
reflected that Anne Kerr was his enemy, and she
was sure to tyrannise over her young sister. It is
not surprising-, considering her delicacy of consti-
tution, that the continued sufferings and the
harassing recollections should have done the work
of the destroyer, and sent the persecuted young girl
to an early grave. It was not likely that the har-
dened heart of Miss Kerr should be alive to any
kindly feelings of regret ors ympathy, at such sor-
row, so meekly borne, and. so fair a life un-
timely withered, but in the still times that
will intervene in the most busy life,
her conscience must have risen up in judg-
ment against her, for her actions admitted
of no palliation. Lord John Oakleigh
is a weak, irresolute man, who might have
created great m'schief had not Ellen been so
straightforward and true. Cecil, his sister, is a
charming character, with no pretentions, and she
maintains her ascendancy over the regard when we
find her no fashionable acquaintance of the hour
—but a true friend, and under no very pro-
mising circumstances. A sad page from life's his-
tory is here placed before us, and it will interest
some from its pleasing style and natural descrip-
tions. The spirit with which the author is actuated
is a noble reverence for the pure and the good, and
thus the work possesses a merit apart from its at-
tractivqbstory, in its skilful delineation of social
evils, arising from prejudice and pride, and may be
regarded as a successful attempt to combine in-
struction with amusement.

Hanworth.

Originally_ published in Fraser's

Magazine. J.W. Parker.
Those who have read this tale in the pages of
Fraser's Magazine will be glad to meet it again in
a more connected form.. It is a story of English
social life very pleasantly told. The characters
are varied and cleverly drawn, their individuality
is pre served, and many of them are lifelike. The
two chief characters, Margaret and Edith, though
attached friends, become unconscious rivals, and
the unimpressionable hero, who has defied the
attractions of all fair heroines, unfortunately makes
a mistake in his selection, and receives a comewhat
ungenerous rebuff. The two friends are the most
prominent figures in the .te en e, but there are many
others. Lord Hanworth himself is an, attractive
character in spite of his want of penetration, and a
slight degree of self-satisfaction. Mr. Stirling does
not divide the interest appertaining to the hero at
all. Mr. and Mrs. Charlton, the poet and his wife,
are charming. characters, and Mr. Vernon is a
quaint and original portrait. Sir Simon Howell,
the prosy and pompous country gentleman, is ably
sketched, and his wife is a fair sample of a cor-
rect and mediocre woman of the world. Lady
Middleton, her spirited friend, is a sketch often
met with in the pages of fiction, as well as in
society. Many minor figures are introduced, such
as the lady who enjoyed her friend's troubles, and
who fill up the scene. The story is an interesting
one, though depending more upon the develop-
ment of character than the excitement of events.
The conclusion is a little too abrupt, and the reader
would have been more satisfied if it had seemed
less hurried. It is agreeable volume, nevertheless,
showing some knowledge of life and character, and
will add pleasantly to the shelf of fiction in many
a library.