The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-23 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Relly Carew. By Marguerite A. Power. 2 vols.
Saunders and Otley.
This is a very interesting story, that is written
with great spirit, and exhibits considerable know-
ledge of character. Tile scene is chiefly laid in
Ireland, and the authoress evidently possesses a
vast amount of information regarding that country
and its inhabitants. The description of Mademoi-
selle Reuonard is a very admirable one. She is
exactly the sort of person that insinuates herself
into the concerns of a fatiiily,And exerts a dire in-
fluence on all who are unfortinate enough to come
within the sphere of her machinations. " The Fox,"
as she was-familiarly styled in the neighbourhood,
had an arduous undertaking before her, but she
never rested from her toils until she gained a para-
mount influence that nothing could destroy. Mr.
O'Dell was a very weakanan, wha, being irresolute
himself, looked up with respect to one who seemed
always settled and fixed in her opinions on any
subject, and was endowed with sufficient determi-
nation to cope with all 'difficulties, and being trou-
bled with no scruples of conscience, and disturbed
by no tenderness of feeling, could do and dare every-
thing. He himself, to cap him justice, shrank from
anything that would injure others, or even wound
their feelings, but was inconsistent enough to let
others perform the cruel task that he declined to
execute in propria persona. His wife was a very
giddy woman, who was destitute of any idea that
was nut centred on self. She took no interest in
her home, and cared nothing for her daughter
Nelly, the unfortunate heroine of this story. Her
misery may be imagined, when her life commenced
under the auspices of such parents and with thg
fatal infliction of " The Fox," for her governess.
The years which intervened between the arrival of
that hateful woman and her installation as mistress
of Coolmore, having married Mr. O'Dell almost
immediately after his wife's death, instead of being
the happy ones that are the appanage of early
youth to a girl like Nelly, were wretched in the
extreme. It was to escape from her dreaded step-
mother that she consented to marry Mr. Carew,
whom she disliked, but Nelly was of a timid
nature, and threats and subterfuges were alike
employed to force her compliance. As might be
supposed, she exchanged a temporary slavery for
an enduring one, for she too quickly discovered
that she had bound herself to one who was in every
way different to herself. She gained none of the
advantages of position that the importance of Mr.
Carew's family had led her friends to expect would
be hers ; for Erle Carew disgusted his father with
his unworthy conduct till he disinherited him, and
the sums of money which the elder Carew for some
time bestowed on his unhappy daughter-in-law
were wrenched from her by the greedy and unscru-
pulous gamester. Her life was one long night of
sorrow, until roused to madness by the cruelty of
her worthless husband, she left with her faithful
attendant and infant son, during one of his many
absences, to seek • a shelter with some valued
friends in Ireland. Her sister-in-law, Mag-
dalen, is a very pleasing character, one
whose gentleness and graciousness formed a
striking contrast to the diSpositions of her father
and brother. There is something refreshing to the
reader, who is worn out with the wickedness of one
and the self-indulgence of the other, to quit for a
moment the contemplation of Sophie Renouard and
Erle Carew, and dwell on the refined excellence and
holy resignation of Magdalen. Those who desire
to read an exciting sketch of an eventful life of
suffering will be pleased with this new work of
Miss Power's, and it will doubtless be successful in
the novel-reading world from its brilliancy of de-
scription its vigour of style, and able delineation
of character.

Women Artists of all Ages and Countries. By Mrs.
Ellet, author of "Pioneer Women of the West."
Bentley.

In her preface to this interesting volume, Mrs.
Ellet observes that she never met with any work
on female artists except a little volume published
at Berlin. She has supplied the deficiency in a
very able manner, though, from various reasons,
many of her sketches are brief and incomplete.
She has consulted numerous authorities of high re-
pute, including Vasari, Descampes, and Fiorillo.
The biographies of Rosa Bonheur, Felicie Fauveau,
and Harriet Hosmer, three living celebrities of our
own time, are condensed from the Englishwoman's
Journal. The sketches of many of the American
ladies are prepared from materials furnished by
themselves or their friends. Mrs. Ellet extends
her researches to the• earliest times of which there
is any record of art. The first female artist, whose
name she mentions, is the daughter of Dibutades,
who is said to have been the inventor of portraits,
by her charcoal sketch on the wall of her lover's
Grecian profile. She continues her record through
the earlier ages of Glteece and Italy, and brings us
down to the time when German and Flemish art
attained celebrity. She devotes several chapters to
the eighteenth century, which witnessed an illus-
trious band of feminine artists ; and her concluding
pages are chiefly occupied with the American cele-
brities of the time, the biographies of Rosa
Bonheur, the famous painter, and Harriet Hosmer,
the pupil of Gibson. Many of her readers
will doubtless be surprised at the number and
varied abilities of these female artists. It
proves how mush the powers of women have
been underrated in this particular. It is
curious to notice how few have had the advantages
of early training, and the numbers who have dis-
covered their talent as it were accidentally. Mrs.
Ella has added but few comments; she has sup-
plied the facts and dates but has not attempted to
do more than sketch the outline of the artist's
career. She says in her preface, "No attempt has
been made in the following pages to give elaborate
critiques, or a connected history of art. The
aim has been simply to show what woman has
done, with the conditions favourable or unfavour-
able to her efforts, and to-give such impressions of
the character of each distinguished artist as may be
derived from a faithful record of her personal ex-
periences. More may be learned by a view of the
early struggles and trials, the persevering industry,
and the well-earned triumphs of the gifted, than by
the erudite or fine spun disquisition. Should the
perusal of my book inspire with courage and resolu-
tion any woman who aspires to overcome difficul-
ties in the achievement of honourable independence,
or should it lead to a higher general respect for the
powers of women and their destined position in the
realm of art, my object will be accomplished." We
commend this work to the perusal of all who have
been discouraged in the pursuit of their vocation,
and it will also prove an attractive volume to those
feminine readers who, though unable to share in
the triumphs of their more gifted sisters, have the
intelligence to appreciate and sympathise with
their efforts.

The Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England. John Murray. No. XLIII.
This valuable journal, which is published half-
yearly, has commenced the twentieth volume, which
is a sure proof of its standard character. It opens
with tables of statistics shoWing the fluctuations of
the temperature, the state of public health, the
prices of provisions, and the weekly average of
wheat for the half-year. The first article is
a Report upon the Preservation of Timber, by
the Professor of Chemistry in the Durham
University. At the conclusion of his report '
he makes some suggestions for adoption on rail.
ways. A prize essay on the Agricultural condition
of the Channel Islands, by Mr. Le Cornn, of Jer-
sey, gives an interesting account of the state of
their cultivation, and the condition of farmers'
stock, market priers,, &c. Papers on Beet-root
Distillery, the Allotment System, American Im-
plements, and the Influence of Climate on Cultiva-
tion, are among the remaining subjects. There is
is also a valuable prize essay, by J. Algernon
Clarke, on the important subject of the application
of steam power to the cultivation of land. The
writer discusses the various inventions, improve-
ments and difficulties connected with agricultural
steam machinery, and gives a concise summary of
progress in this particular. The award of prizes
by the Royal Agricultural Society is giTen in
full.