The Sun.
London, England, 1835-04-15 00:00:00

LI

SKETCHES OF A SEA-PORT TOWN,
3 Vols. Bentley. London. 1835.
Mr. Chorley has here got hold of a good subject,
fertile in novelty, and abounding in opportunities for
incident and description. That he has worked it out
in a master-spirit we will not say, but at any rate he
has written three very readable volumes, which will
serve, as well as most others of the season, to amuse
an idle hour. Their prominent feature is the strong
relish for external nature which they everywhere deve-
lope. Mr. Chorley paints landscapes, with the prac-
tised skill of the artist, combined with the fervour of
the poet. The chrystal streamlet murmurs in his
pages—we hear the merry matin songs of the birds,
and the crisp rustling of the wind through the trees.
In this heartfelt love of nature he reminds us of Miss
Mitford, though he cannot sketch the minutia of cha-
racter like her ; nor make them appear as the real,
bon'd fide Indigetes of the place in which he plants
them. His personages for the most part might just as
well belong to the metropolis—to a cathedral or mar-
ket-town, or even to a village, as to a sea-port town.
But bating this defect, Mr. Chorley's volumes are very
light, agreeable reading. The best tale in them is
" Parson Clare," which displays in portions proofs
of very considerable power, and which would have been
still more effective had more pains been taken with the
analysis of the clergyman, Mr. Herbert. But it is too
much in mere outline—evidently unintentional on the
part of the author—and too fragmentary in all that
s essential to the proper keeping up of the propriety

of nature.

LODORE.—Bentley ; London, 1835.
This tale possesses one recommendation, which is
by no means of frequent occurrence among the fictions
of the day. It excites attention at the threshold. The
very opening chapter prepares us for a mystery. Mrs.
Shelley does not stand dallying with her subject, but
plunging into it at once, with a bold confidence in her
powers, introduces us to the hero, Lord Lodore, in
something of the same abrupt and startling manner
that imparts such a charm to Byron's Lara. In this
respect she is the reverse of her celebrated relative, the
author of Caleb Williams. He seldom begets an in-
terest for his personages, till the reader has half con-
cluded his tales ; and even then is not always success-
ful—chiefly by reason of his metaphysical abstractions
—in awakening the requisite degree of attention ; but
Mrs. Shelley puts our curiosity on the mettle from the
very first moment she gives us an insight into the na-
ture of her hero's character. He comes stalking be-
fore us in a sort of dim twilight, with nothing but an
imposing outline visible ; but even this first vague
glance we obtain of him, is enough to convince us
that he is one whom it is worth while to know more
about. Mrs. Shelley introduces us to Lord Lodore
among the woods of the Illinois, where, it seems, he
has taken refuge, with one only companion, from some
deep and inscrutable sorrow which he would fain, but
cannot, even in the depths of an American solitude;
forget. This companion is his daughter Ethel, whose
portrait is thus sketched, with a grace, tenderness, and
delicacy unattainable by our sterner sex :
" Her earliest feeling was love of her father. She would
sit to watch him, guess at his thoughts, and creep close, or re-
cede away, as she read encouragement, or the contrary, in his
eyes and features. Except him her only companion was her
servant ; and very soon she distinguished between them, and
felt proud and elate when she quitted her for her father's side.
Soon, she almost never quitted it. Her gentle and docile dis-
position rendered her unobtrusive, while her inexhaustible
spirits were a source of delightful amusement. The goodness
of her heart endeared her still more; and when it was called
forth by any demand made on it by him, it was attended by
such a display of excessive sensibility, as at once caused him
to tremble for her future happiness, and love her ten thousand
times more. She greiv into the image on which his eye doated,
and for whose presence his heart perpetually yearned. Was be
reading, or otherwise occupied, he was restless, if yet she were
not in the room; and she would remain in silence for hours,
occupied by some little feminine work, and all the while
watching him, catching his first glance towards her, and obey-
ing the expression of his countenance, before he could form
his wish into words. When he left her for any of his longer
excursions, her little heart would heave, and almost burst with
sorrow. On his return, she was always on the watch to see,
to fly into his arms, and to load him with infaritine caresses.
" There was something in her face, that at this early age
gave token of truth and affection, and asked for sympathy.
Her large brown eyes, such as are called hazel, full of tender-
ness and sweetness, possessed within their depths an expression
and a latent fire, which stirred the heart. It is difficult to de-
scribe, or by words to call before another's mind, the picture
so palpable to our own. The moulding of her cheek, full just
below the eyes, and ending in a soft oval, gave a peculiar ex-
pression, at once beseeching and tender, and yet radiant with
vivacity and gladness. Frankness and truth were reflected on
her brow, like flowers in the clearest pool ; the thousand name-
less lines and mouldings, which create expression, were replete
with beaming innocence and irresistible attraction. Her small
chiselled nose, her mouth so delicately curved, gave token of
taste. In the whole was harmony, and the upper part of the
countenance seemed to reign over the lower, and to ennoble
it, making her usual placid expression thoughtful and earnest ;
so that not until she smiled and spoke, did the gaiety of her
guileless heart display itself, and the vivacity of her disposition
give change and relief to the picture. Her figure was light
and airy, tall at an early age, and slender. Her rides and
rambles gave elasticity to her limbs, and her step was that of
the antelope, springy and true. She had no fears, no deceits,
no untold thought within her. Her matchless sweetness ol
temper prevented any cloud from ever dimming her pure love-
liness : her voice cheered the heart, and her laugh rang so
true and joyous on the ear, that it gave token in itself of the
sympathizing and buoyant spirit, which was her great charm."
The cursory sketches of the scenery of the Illinois,
and more especially the highly-finished descriptions
of the occupations of the father and daughter—of the
soul-absorbing affection of the one, and the filial love
and reverence of the other, will remind the reader ol
the opening stanzas in Campbell's " Gertrude of
Wyoming." Yet the imitation—if imitation indeed
it may be called—is no servile one; for truth and
pathos, springing up warm from the heart, abound
quite as much in the prose of the novelist, as the verse
of the poet. We shall not mar our reader's pleasure
by any elaborate analysis of the plot of Lodore ;
enough to say, that it is the history of one whose
feeling has ever out-run his judgment; whose means
throughout life have been applied to disproportioned
ends ; and who pays the penalty of such an ill-regu-
lated temperament in an utter bankruptcy of hope and
happiness. This moral, though not remarkable for
originality, is worked out with consummate skill.
The reader is not put to unnecessary pain in its en-
forcement ; but is taught, as he progresses, that, if
rightly estimated, this world gifbrds the materials of
quite as much joy as grief. In delineating female
character, Mrs. Shelley is eminently successful, though
perhaps her tone is a little too elevated—particularly
as respects " Ethel," who partakes rather over much
of a beautiful idealism. But "Lady Lodore" is a
ably sustained personage throughout, inheriting the
strength equally with the weak ness of her sex. We
have little doubt the tale will be popular, if only
from the uniform polish of its style, which flows on like
some broad, steady stream, smooth, and without a
wrinkle on its surface.

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25f. 40c.
82f. 50c.
56%
101

TEN YEARS IN SOUTH AFRICA, 2 VoLs.
Bentley, London, 1835.
Mr. Moodie is a traveller who has seen much ser-
vice in his time, and is no niggard of the information
with which his experience has furnished him. His
present volumes show the hardy adventurer, to whom
no vicissitudes come amiss. He has even been trod-
den under foot by an enraged elephant, in the heart of
an African wood—an anecdote which be recounts
with a sang-froid that proves he thought it quite a
common-place affair, scarcely descrying more than a
passing mention. Thirty years ago a work like this
would have procured for its author a celebrity little in-
ferior to that which Bruce acquire d after his return
from the fountains of the Nile. But now we
think nothing of books of Voyages and Travels
--all of us being, in a certain sense of the term,

cosmopolites, and as such, accustomed to strange
matters—unless cannibals abound in every page, and
sliips' crews are wrecked on unexplored lands in every
chapter. But though Mr. Moodie details no marvels--
unless the unavailing assault and battery made on him
by an elephant, who had it all her own way for an hour
or so, be considered one—yet his volumes will
be welcome to the reader, from the ample materials
which they supply respecting the condition of our more
recent colonies in South Africa. The climate there,
it seems, is by no means inhospitable ; the soil, is
tolerably well watered ; the opportunities of living in
comfort less stinted than would be imagined ; and the
face of the country remarkable, if not for boldness, at
least for graceful and picturesque beauty. But it must
not be concealed that the wild elephants are sad
plagues ; perpetrating a world of mischief; addicted to
all manner of bad habits—vagabondising, without the
fear of the tread-mill before them, in all directions
and resolutely refusing to take any hint short of a bul'
let from a blunderbuss. Our experienc'ed traveller
details his adventures (in the way of bunting) with
these pertinacious nuisances, with considerable spi-
rit, and apparently -without any attempt at exai,"
geration. But the most amusing part of his
volumes is that which describes the character of
the old Dutch settlers at the Cape, and through'
out its vicinity. These have all the merit of freshness,
and call to our mind Geoffry Crayon's racy sketches
of the same piquant oddities.

FINESSE. 3 Vols. Bentley. London. 1835.
We conclude that this is the production of a female
pen, first from the nature of the incidents, and more
especially of the conversations, which in the opening
chapters show much of that minute power of observased
tions on trifling matters which Jane Austin posses
in such perfection, and which none but a woman call
adequately display ; and secondly, from the dexterous
h
manner in which the female Finessers are drawn. Te
tale sets out with much archness and spirit, but begins
the
to flag, with the introduction of a Miss Mush on
but t
stage, who is a sort of a country-town gossip, _
whose trite common-places the writer knows not lvr
to impart whim or humour. There is no character Su
common, yet none so difficult to draw, as that of a Pr°.
vincial Bore. The authoress of " Pride and Mu;
dice" is the only one of late days that we know °
who has mastered the difficulty. Her Bores are irre'
sistible, from the ludicrous unconsciousness they Ps'
Who ler
sess, of their utter dullness and fatuity.
gets the inimitable Mrs. Norris, country born and
bred, with her long stories about her neigh,
bours ; and her good opinion—as in duty she„
bound to entertain—of the clergyman of the ?fr. s.ss'
simply because he is one " having authority ?"
Mush is no bore of this description. She is Sinlof
it
dull and prolix, with no better or more naive tra
hers
character to set her off. We neither laugh with po
nor laugh at her ; but listen to her chit-chat with
en,
other feeling, than an ardent wish that she would °P
the drawing-room door, and walk out. Luckily, she.*
not unduly prominent in these volumes, for assorrio
we should never have got through them. They wevitb
have been our death, from excess of ennui. of
the mention of this failure, we drop our censnrereo
" Finesse." It is a lively tale—though the auth°a
is too much addicted to moralizing—not del°loosl
satire, nor barren of incident. The happiest and f the
consistently maintained characters, are those ti all
two sisters, Ellen and Maria Forrester, who, wit Ale
N 55
their little " finessing," are really a very 10siesby
couple. But why, in alluding to these " twitt- speak
the Zephyrs blown apart," does the authora-ss .f lo
so contemptuously of " romps ?" A " rom ',
1001
be young and pretty, is worth a whole boardi.ne riot'
of grave sentimental misses, who affe et
trl toy
brn
ness and decorum, with " Don Juan" t,s for
der the sofa pillow. We have a great fal4eb i 5
" romps." True, they are apt to quiz on
bad ; and laugh when they should look gra ve'a girls/
is worse ; but they are, in the main, fine-he;
and make capital wives. We protest, therei koc, 'pod
the authoress's rebuke of these laughing, ,V;iadsl
er
creatures, and hope in her next edition able
:e it.

The Grampian Hills are still clothed in, sn°
EXTRAORDINARY UNDERTAKINC 1.4
known Member of Parliament, who represen Is tic- Daernot,
agricultural constituency in the Emerald Isl 07 “;„,ie wog
himself for a considerable sum, to hop on t bousoa be
two hundred and fifty feet, in thirty successiN 7°,,.;:pm.arf
equal to si feet for each hop. The feat is to b O 11";-rsorc'
the course of next week, and is considered an el'
sporting undertaking. rter
ell sil
The celebrated lion Nero has, it seemso -ebablY,)
ing under " a severe bilious attack 1" We shalt.-Pr°e Sae •
hear of a tiger's " nervous headach," or a " dystslP-
tO It
byfe
Among intended improvements none Se'e'-bicl'Ec44
more failed in their object than the alteration ,'tll6
lately taken place in the periods of holding the dire°
arid country Sessions. Thus we have the Easter io
year occurring a fortnight before Easter, and dntinceficin,
of holding the Assizes ; and Easter Term co.ori;
Passion week, making business take the place • g
.„‘
one week, and of relaxation in the next.
11,/". t
On Saturday an inquest was held at girlfaer
Hospital on the body of Hannah Simpson, a fine. IV'
only sixteen, nurserymaid in the family of Dr. otliao*:
Harley-street, Cavendish-square. On Tuesday leiltg„e4;l3
ter heard violent screams in the kitchen, and ott pctcelOr
stairs he was shocked at discovering the girl 'enetiot,
flames. Mr. Riodore seized some pieces of n' se'Peedolti,c
throwing them over the poor sufferer, succeeded I„dingo
ing the flames, but not before the poor girl vl•'7,• Ace
burnt. She died on Thursday. Verdict, i 5
Death." ,the .1J
~4111.0 Ofielt
TOKEN FLOWERS INTERPRETED.' dor;
something very pleasing in the idea of enduirhl 1; fro elictitt
sentiments appropriate to their forms, colours a %Paao atileea
and thus making them the means of conveyin' A(0,11 Deed,
impressions to another, of which even the grea'stof 10-4,111,
of spoken or written words is incapable. All ti povOto
most admirably effected in a little volume, latO each
entitled " The Language of Flowers ;" not °nil °dill°,
flower is the attribute given, but the combinatio, of :4
one group renders the present of a nosegay as. ' 11Y
4
as it is of fragranceand beauty. f Ael," 0 tiler
FINE SENTENCES IN HOOKER.---.- --.4°00-ee t)
" Ecclesiastical Polity," says—The time will CO '-reCeil,co i(1
words, uttered with charity and meekness, shall scrit'
more blessed reward than three thousand voluou '5 e
CO,
disdainful sharpness of wit.
all)
To DESTROY THISTLES, FE,RN, ,0,1; fie
00T. —A gentleman having occasiQn to null tjaotnoilvitie
portion of land lately, the carts bearing. the I a of petit,
through a field that appeared one entire be
tots 00011.4
thistles :it was observed that wherever the c tbd
thistles were completely destroyed. He then /0 jay, °joy fat.
field with a cast-iron roller in the latter end of r‘ perfri• $4l
in the beginning of June. This field has be,' '35. 1":00
from thistles ever since. The expense was it1Y.6.0 5 A
Fern and coltsfoot have been exterminated to itc"
if
with the most complete success. veio je
EDUCATION.We spend millions a r
the working classes down when they are in iglWrr- e
01
prove and make them happy would surely sei'etl
trifling cost.—Agric. and Indust. Magazine. Pr ef
THE APPROACHING EPPING /ZUNI' efseo Aij
weeks past the livery-stable keepers 'nave been bo )5,
in proving the soundness, wind, and limb of the Fort ortlii
have engaged to intrust to the heroes of EPPirtey ?n,Oegil
ej
the riding-schools have been filled with C°c- order teo
who have recently made visits to Hyde_park in v Atiiiid!, of
deer, to enable them to identify th© Epping stag,
catch a glimpse of him on Monday, the 20th 1
ye
have read nothing lately but " Daniel's an a sce_gy rt eOO
" Beckford on Hunting." The precaution
eu_e(
whether a stag is a bird or a beast has beconle; goicP
since a Lord Mayor of London, who, ia ista) ‘g?
times" headed the Epping Hunt, made a 'II ,eff
„Jo
poet has thus recorded : 1, bob -;
"My Lord he takes a staff in hand to beat acne .041
I must confess it was a work he ne'er had dt'ne °'/`,s
A creature bouncing from a bush, which glad% so- s; et,
My Lord he cried ' a stag ! a stag !' but it pravw
FUNERAL OF A DRAGOON 11°14,4„g t0,,,t fel
brated " crack" horse, called " Jack," belonye woe
Royal Irish Dragoons, after a period of servic day. oatlO
dmeeant ht obfe
2n 4g years, died in thee bdarrargaocokoonasslelruebtseie,
with each other on the loss of their old fav°,tio jacl‘•
Constitution.
pay a tribute of respect to the memory 01 dtetl',l,,,ctfl/4*