The Sun.
London, England, 1866-04-13 00:00:00

of the tale and of Walter Blake.

narrates to us her own very distressing experiences,
The first chapter of the first volume—" the small

black cloud"—gives us a description of the Heroine's
childhood, and discloses the existence of a mystery
of shame. Colonel Brackenbury, the father of the
ITornino., is a tsingUlarly isclfiml.. cc aentleman.
Mrs. Brackenbury, who is described as something
pure and gentle and saintly in the extreme, con-
fesses to her daughters when they arrive at woman-

hood that she is " one on whom all honest women
look with loathing and contempt—a mother be-
fore she was a wedded wife—a hypocrite who kneels
before the altar of God while yet the brand of
sin is on her forehead. At this appalling announce-
ment one laughter shrinks from her mother
with disdain, but the Heroine still con-
siders her to be possessed of every virtue.
Painful as is the situation, it is rendered absolutely
revolting when the details of the iniquitous history
come from the hand of a child, a daughter. Another
' glimpse of the horrors of her father's gay career is
revealed to us by our Heroine, when she gives a full
account of the irruption into the presence of the
terrified children of a mad woman whose appearance
is most senstional. " Her face was seamed and
scored with the marks of some accident, and her
upper lip was drawn tightly from the gum, leaving
exposed a row of teeth, which gave to the unfortu-
nate possessor an air of almost wild-beast ferocity."

A servant addressing this miserable object is " in

terrupted by the strangest noise. It began by a
croak and ended with a howl, so prolonged and
wretched that the shriek of the bird of night was
cheerful and tame when compared with it." This mad
woman escaped from a lunatic asylum, and shortly be-
fore, a fair and innocent lady, is another victim of
Colonel Brackenbury's intrigues. Some dreadful
accident had robbed her of her beauty, and her
lover, and her wits. The fair historian of her
parents' evils doings does not spare even her
dearly-beloved mother. We are introduced to a
Sir Dillwyn Warwick, the most revolting character
in the book—one of the most disgraceful creations
that any novel writer has ventured to introduce to
his readers. Colonel Brackenbury and Sir Dillwyn
are a well-matched pair. The colonel introduces
the baronet to his family, and while Cora and her
sister are each ambitious to win his attention, the
unfortunate Heroine overhears the visitor declare his
affection to her mother, and the pure minded, peni-
tent lady, while avowing that she reciprocates his
passion, adds that she is now unfortunately married
to the gentleman whose name she had borne so long.
Can anything more revolting be imagined than
a daughter listening to such a conversation,
and revealing it ! The tardy marriage of
the parents of the Heroine proves to be a
fact. The colonel inherits a peerage, and his
youngest son becomes his lawful heir, to the in-
tense disgust of his elder children. This incident,
as all readers will readily recognise, has its parallel
in a famous peerage case of our own day. After
all we have said we have only given a glimpse of a
few, and these not the worst, of the disgusting
situations in these volumes. Among a family of
poor cousins of the Heroine is one young lovely girl
named Isabel. After leaving her in the country in
the bosom of her family, the Heroine, later on,
going to visit her married sister and make the ac-
quaintance of a new nephew, is astonished to
recognise the young Isabel as the wet-nurse of the
baby, and to learn from the lips of the wretched
girl that her betrayer is the Heroine's brother, the
brother also of the lady whose child she is engaged
in nursing ! We have, assuredly, said enough to
satisfy our readers of the disagreeable nature of
Walter Blake's heroine and her revelations. We
have not patience to pursue the story further or to
narrate the particulars of the heroine's elopement
with Sir Dillwyn, and the shameful cheat to
which he subjects her, a cheat which, neverthe-
less, she richly deserves. How after all her
miseries and misdemeanours she still continues to
be a Heroine in the eyes of Walter Blake no one but
imagine.
We concoctor of this amazing history can
We have bestowed so many words upon a book
which really does not merit such trouble, only to
enter yet again our protest against this very un-
worthy and objectionable style of romance.

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REPRESENTATION OF SANDWICH.—Lord Clarence
Paget having announced his intention to resign his seat
for the borough of Sandwich, Deal, and Walmer, prepara-
tions are being made for an election, and both Liberals
and Conservatives aro very active. Lord Amberley and
Mr Brassey are mentioned as the Liberal candidates. Mr.
C. Caspar, who was unsuccessful at the last election, hue
entered the geld in the CohgerTative interest.