The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-29 00:00:00

Shirley Brook's New Serial Story.

Sooner or Later. By Shirley Brooks. No. I.
Bradbury and Evans.
The sparkling novelist of " The Silver Core
and " Aspen Court" here commences in dashiel
style a new serial story under the antithetical title 0.
"Sooner or Later." But that George Du .I.laurier is
with his pencil almost as clever and humorous a cow
tributor to Punch as Shirley Brooks is with his Pell
—that pen, by the way, which scratched off to the
life those delightfully cantankerous Naggletons---we
should have been disposed to regret very much the
disappearance, as Mr. Brooks's illustrator, of Johlir
Tenniel,
,the most gifted draughtsman, to 0110
thinking, among all our comic illustrators. 1913,,
peculiarity, however, about " Sooner or Later'
as a shilling monthly serial story, we cannot htl"
direct attention to at once, and that regretfully"
namely, the exceptional circumstance of its con-
taining only one embellishment. This one, how'
ever, is clever enough, and not unworthY
Du Maurier—" Is it a Fatal Case?" being the title
of it. As yet it is impossible of course to conicei
ture in any way what will be the probable drift ,
the story. Magdalen Conway, the heroine, thous t
frequently mentioned already in the narrative, has li°
once yet made her appearance. The hero, her avo:
anted lover, Ernest Dormer, has appeared certaiwP
but that is all—for, even now, though he has 313:
peared, and has also spoken a little, we are never;
scarcely acquainted with him. It is in
vivacity of the give-and-take of the club-house t 3
at the dinner table of the Octagon, and afterwards
'.
iu the smoking-room, that Shirley Brooks shines la
this initial number of " Sooner or Later." here
►
for example, is a fragment of one of these saill
club-house conversations : vu
"Going to ask us whether we are disengaged, as ir,
want to give us another dinner, Samuel ?" said

Wigram. fo3
" Pas si bgte," was the editor's gracious reply, as 110 _
and lit a little meerschaum.

" What did you do with the Reverend Grafton ?"
"Mr. Grafton accompanied me to my apartraent6 ;oect
cepted my humble hospitality for the night, and delArM,
for his provincial residence on the following morel
etr
replied Mr. Mangles, with affectation of a didactic 5,83111
1 should like to know what he said about the club,
remar "
Hke Launcesn. e
sad to
id it was very conveniently situated, and that the
architecture, though unpretending, was effective."

"Don' be a humbugLwas he scared?" bot
"Ho did not say so. He may have been scandaliseu, - 0
he did not say that either," replied Mr. Mangles.
reason may have been that ho was indisposed to be el.O
cal, at night, and that he went away beforo I was 11,,Pf
11
the morning. Ring, Wigram. Some iced water, an -

last edition of The Sun," he added, to the waiter.
wish y°4
" There's no news," said Launceston. " I wis.'"
wouldn't bring the newspapers up here." ‘,l
"My dear Charles," replied Mr. Mangles, quietly,
have tho greatest regard for you as an institution, litito
have no confidence in your ability to say whether tilers 0
or is not any news. You probably mean that the
no telegram stating whether Preposterous or .flippoP° not
.„
that'
have has won the Witlers' Cup at Muckton. I a`-
interested in that national event. I want to see what, al
have been doing in the house at the morning
" I wish the house was—well, I wish the house was 14.
said Mr. Wigram. oa
" Are you serious ?" said Mr. Mangles. " " ,-tt At
earth can the house bo to you ? I hardly suppossu
you knew of its existence. What do you think it allj
,pbe
" It is keeping me from leaving England, that's
governor has some notion that ho ought not to stir 1:1
the prorogation. You see," he added filially "it is his got
session, and ho may be excused for thinking, rasi3lal
awfully important." oocl
" And then these swells wonder that the misgover
talk of a revolution," said the editor.

" Swells yourself !" retorted Henry Wigrara, o 05'
rising from his chair, and becoming oratorical on t"e,hia'
1 think that a revolution would be a very good jOlll
lam not in the least afraid of ono. I wish we had
a
strong Committee of Public Safety."
" Catalina in shiny boots." feac°
"Very well, and he begs leave to abuse your Pr,-,),Tou
for a minute. I tell you I should like to see it. v01(1
believe that a strong Government of practical lueu `v.tb°ll3l
allow the present state of things to go on ? Du Y°lioate4
that I should have had to sit in a Hansom for 2° ,- .005
in a block at Temple-bar this morning, with inoustrigtierias
gathering thick and close around me, everybody hilt scliall
everybody else, and all the traffic brought to a ha'
minutes are made of gold ?"

6,
vio scoria

" Wigram in earnest !" said Launceston. - -
is at an end."
" Wigram is in earnest," continued that elegant 1,711)1-
gentleman, who had quite forgotten to be P enstve;
Hove that such a committee would take London
kick all the boards, and vestries, and beadles into in' re-
space, and would do no end of good. I would get
volution myself, if I could." tole,
And so on. The conversation at the dioner ,agolf
especially, is sparkling with wit, repartee, 031;--;ai-
espieglerie, and all the cracker bon-bons cu'rif its
mated table-talk--but to afford any notioo
excellence in these respects would require.l,:prae'
moment and in this place, what is unluckily
ticable, a, rather lengthy quotation.