The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-26 00:00:00

THE NE ER DO-WELL.

The elderly gentleman bent over towards the chairman,
and whispered something in his ear. Mr. Hurst shook his
head, and gave sign for the prisoner to be removed.
" I ax yer pardon, sur," said Broddick, turning to the
bench as he was about to leave the dock, "but I 'ope you'll
make it less. I'll take my oath, I hadn't intended to get
into trouble; fur—fur you see, when my wife lay a doyin',
last winter, your young lairdy (I ax yer pardon, sur), like
as made me promise as how I wouldn't goo out with my
gun ony more; but, ye see, ',aim% hed no work but chance
jobs since frost set in, and the bairns was well nigh clem-
med, and so, ye see—"
" Taking all these matters into consideration," inter-
rupted Mr. Hurst, highly scandalised at the introduction
of his granddaughter's name into this low business, " I see
no reason whatever for altering the sentence just passed.
I sit here to administer the laws of the land, and by those
laws--"

" Then damn the laws o' the land, say I !" exclaimed
Broddick, striking his fist on the rail before him. " I didn't
expect much mercy fro' you, Measter Hurst, and ain't got
it. Y'are a bard-hearted old chap, and allus was." And
the man broke out into an abusive strain that quickly
caused any sympathy his case had excited amongst the
hearers to vanish, and quite took away all the poetry from
his position. He was a vulgar offender enough, in truth,
this rough, heavy-browed clodhopper. All the eloquence
of the bar could not have flung an air of romance over him
and his offence. _ _

" For you gross behaviour and contempt of court, Ishall
sentence you to two months' further imprisonment, making
six months in all," said Mr. Hurst; "and I hope that at
the expiration of that-time you will return to society im-
proved by the lesson now taught you."
Which shcwed Mr. Hurst to be of a hopeful turn of
mind. •
" Six months be it, then," cried the man ; "and if yar
be livin', Parson Hurst, this time six months, yar shall see
me agen, and hear a bit more o' my mind, as sure as yar
sit there. If owt goes wrong wi' my bairn; it's at yar
hands I'll seek them, so help me God !"
He raised his fist and shook it threateningly at the bench.
" Remove tho prisoner instantly," said Mr. Hurst to the
constable, boiling with anger.

At the end of six months Broddick more than keeps
his word, This one hasty decision on the part of the

magistrate is the main occasion of the downfall of
his life-long ambition. Without giving any more
examples of the earnest manner and animated style
in which this book is written, we have said enough
to assure our readers they will find abundant mat-
ter of interest in " Gilbert Rugge," nor will the
time spent on its perusal be thrown away.

A Casual Acquaintance. A Novel founded on Fact.
By Mrs. Duffus Hardy, author of " The Two
Catherines." Two Vols. Sampson Low, Son,
and Marston.

If a young heiress is imprudent enough to accept
a casual acquaintance as her affianced husband, of
course it is only reasonable to expect that she may
be deceived. If, again, a clever romance writer is
kind enough to undertake to amaze us with a highly
sensational novel, it is only reasonable to allow that
her story, even if "founded on fact," should par-
take of the nature of that truth which is " stranger
than fiction." Both these very reasonable supposi-
tions are to the very letter fulfilled in
the novelette now before us. Maude Ver-
non, the young, beautiful, fascinating heiress,
refusing a crowd of mercenary suitors, turning from
the devoted Arnold Elmore, the companion of her
youth, deaf to the advice and protestations of her
maternal counsellor, engages herself to Raoul St.
Pierre, a clever intriguer, a man of many aliases
and more crimes. The wonderful skill with which
M. St. Pierre, under the pseudonym of Dr. La
Belle, contrives to get rid at once of an unnecessary
wife and an obnoxious rival, by murdering
the one and laying the guilt on the
other, is a contrivance which does infinite
credit to the dexterity of the actor and the inge-
nuity of the author. "It is as well to be hung for
a sheep as a lamb," is an old saying, and hence if
we are to have something sensational, it is as
well to have it sufficiently strong. The authoress
of " A Casual Acquaintance" has distinguished her-
self among her literary compeers by the clever
audacity of her railway murder. The whole details
are very skilfully arranged. The great resemblance
between the twin sisters (which reminds us a little
of the Woman in White and her half sister, Lady
Glyde) is quite within the limits of probability, but
it is too much in the same book to have a case of mis-
taken identity occurring in consequence of the great
resemblance of Dr. La Belle and Raoul St. Pierre.
What, however, has probability to do with a sensa-
tional novel ? For a work of that class it is enough to
say that " A Casual Acquaintance" is cleverly con-
trived and sufficiently interesting.

The White Favour. A Novel, in Three Volumes.
By Henry Hon, Author of the " The King's
Mail." Sampson Low, Son, and Marston.
The romance of history is always most enthralling.
From childhood upwards, the stories

" Beloved as Fable and Believed as Truth,"
are ever the most attractive. The author of " The
White Favour," however, at the outset of his nar-
rative repulses our historical sympathies. He
tells us that his work has " no pretension to histori-
cal accuracy," he has only endeavoured "to surround
the story by an atmosphere of the period, without too
great an adherence to historical detail." With this
we might be contented, but in the very next sentence
he goes on to say, " The presumed separation of
Ratcliffe from his wife, and his supposed residence
in England, are, of course, at variance with
acknowledged facts !" If so, why introduce them ?
" These points, if conceded," he adds, "the book
may be found sufficiently correct to answer the pur-
pose of a work of fiction." In a work of fiction it
matters little what is " correct," and it is not essen-
tial to novels, historical or otherwise, that real per-
sonages should fill their pages ; but if history be
introduced it should not be falsified, and avowedly
"at variance with acknowledged facts." This is a
mistake on the part of Mr. Holl. He is quite suffi-
ciently ingenious in arranging a plot or in
describing a character, to introduce incidents
of his own invention, without interfer-
ing with the accuracy of real events. Apart from
this blemish, he has given us a very interesting
novel. The melancholy death of the proud Countess
of Newburgh, in a miserable lodging, in the begin-
ning of the first volume, has a companion picture
in the tragic fate, in the end of the third volume, of
her ill-fated husband, Charles Ratcliffe, the would-
be Earl of Derwcntwater. The characters of Rat-
cliffe and his staunch friend, worthy Richard Hor-
ton, are well drawn and attractive throughout. The
vicissitudes which befall the lonely heroine are roman-
tic, but the details of her dangerous imprisonment are
almost revolting. Her escape and her flight are
full of interest, and it is a relief to the reader when
the hopeless fugitive is discovered and protected by
one all-conscious of the holy right he has to protect
her. Some of the minor characters, such as Luke
Basset and his clever, unscrupulous wife, are well
described. The period relates to the momentous
struggles of the " White Horse" and the gallant
Pretender. But the main actors in the strife do not
appear upon the stage. As Pope was said to have
published " a pretty Poem—a very pretty Poem, but
not Homer —so the author of the " White
Favour" has given us an interesting tale—a very
interesting tale—but, avowedly by his own showing,
not History.

Runnymede and Lincoln Fair; a Story of the Great
Charter. By J. G. Edgar. Illustrated by Robert
Dudley. One vol., pp. 328. S. 0. Becton.
This is one of Mr. Edgar's spirited historical
romances, and it is elegantly got up and profusely
illustrated. Almost every chapter is embellished
by some spirited sketch, and by heraldic headings
and tail-pieces by H. W. Rogers. The frontispiece
is a beautifully-coloured picture of King John,
surrounded by his barons signing Magna Char ta.
Miss Crosby's Matchmaking.

A Novel. Edited by

Maine O'Hara. One vol. S. 0. Beeton.
A very pleasant, lively record of worthy Miss
Fanny Crosby's matchmaking machinations, which,
unlike such manoeuvres in general, tend to the satis-
faction of herself and all parties concerned, so that
the last chapter is triumphantly headed " And if
they don't live happy, that you and I may."