The Sun.
London, England, 1861-02-18 00:00:00

1858.

The Cravens of Beech Hall.. By Mrs. Francis
Guise. 2 yols. Hurst and Blackett.
This is a romantic story, but it is not of the light
and trifling style which often characterises that class
of nov, ls. There is much to give rise to reflection in
the characters here pourtra) ed. Mary, the heroine,
is very well drawn as a weak woman. She was
very lovely and fascinating, the type of what many
admire as all that is graceful and gentle in her sex,
but when any trial came she proved wanting in
force of character, and at last in consequence of
her want of firmness she marred the whole pros-
pect of her life. The story opens in a very striking
manner. At the outset Mr. Craven, of Beech Hall,
dies suddenly, leaving Mary, his beautiful young
wife,with two children. Richard Craven, the squire's
brother, is sent for. He is a peculiar man—not
deficient in feeling in moments of great affliction,
hut cold and hard in the ordinary relations of life.
There had been a slight coolness between the
brothers, as Richard did not approve of the mar-
riage with one so young and volatile as Mary
However, when informed of the sudden death of
his brother, Richard was struck with horror, and
as he journeyed to the house of mourning the
events of his daily life were for a moment set aside
to think of more solemn subjects. " For a time
the remaining brother felt how shadowless were
the objects to which he had directed his energy
and devoted his thoughts. What would it matter
now how he had toiled and laboured for his riches
if he were to change places with the brother who
no longer moved master of those broad lands." The
various circumstances that attended the carrying
out of the instructions of the -will of Mr. Craven
are very ingeniously described. Edgar Manly was
a ward of the elder Mr. Craven, and that gentle-
man had most unfortunately named him as guardian
to his children. To complete the confusion, he had
left the estates entirely at the disposal of Marv, to
leave at her death to whom she pleased, if she was
not married again. If so, she lest all interest in
them, and had only an allowance paid to her. It
was a very unwise scheme for one so weak as Mary;
and as Edgar Manly was most unprincipled, the
result was disastrous. He easily obtained her con-
sent to speculating with the money, and then be-
came so involved that affairs were very serious. He
had long been attached to Mary, and the widow
soon forgot the memory of her first husband,
who had been much older than herself, in the pre-
sence of one so attentive as Manly. The end of
their wiles and contrivances was that they were
privately married. This wretched union was
effected under the most inauspicious circumstances..
The dismal gloom of a November morning had
already damped the spirits of the trembling bride
when, in the midst of the service, a most direful
presage occurred, at the moment when they came to
the words " Mary, wilt thou have this man for thy
wedded husband," a single stroke of the bell caused
a general start, and the bride gave a faint cry. The
curate paused, and looked angrily at the clerk,
" Tell that man to wait ; did you not let him know
there was a wedding here this morning ?" The clerk,
looking angry, also hurried down the aisle, but be-
fore he could reach the belfry, another solemn
stroke announced that a funeral would succeed these
dismal nuptials. It was not, however, repeated,
but those two sad strokes rang in Mary's ear for
many a day after, recalling the shudder and dis-
may with which she heard them." At the conclu-
sion of the service the dreadful scene was renewed.
"The tolling bell was now quicker in its measure ;
as the bridal party passed over the threshold, a
coffin and its bearers stood there ready to enter.
The men looked with some pity on the bride, as
she, pale and agitated, almost touched the pall with
her dress ; a quiet heart at rest from sorrow and
toil and many an ache lay within that silent home.
It had reached its final earthly station, there to be
laid aside with the many which die and are forgotten.
Strange contrast to the beating anxious one who
meets it on the threshold of the new life begun this
morning, dreary now with its thousand cares and
gloomy prospects,—and the newly-married pair
passed away into the dull streets, whilst the slight
interruption being over, the body which had gone
the way of all mankind was borne forward
to meet the advancing priest, with the beauti-
ful words of the funeral service on his lips."
As may be imagined, it was a dark life which fol-
lowed for Mary. She thought that her marriage was
only to be kept secret for a short time, until Edgar
had arranged the affairs of the estate, as he said
that he could not allow Richard Craven to assume the
place of guardian while all was so deranged.
When remarried Mary ceased to be her children's
guardian, and the post was filled by their uncle.
The wily deceiver had other ends to compass, when
once he had entangled Mary in his toils she was
lost for ever to all peace and prosperity in this
world. He contrived to deceive her into making a
will, leaving all the property to him, having given
her a solemn promise that he would destroy the
document when he had shown it to some of his
business connections from whom he wished to obtain
securities. The last scene of the tragedy was
enacted when the thief turned murderer and gave
poison to his unhappy wife, in so cunning a manner
that it was supposed by the household she had
destroyed herself. Though this crime was not
made known, he did not long reap the result of
his iniquitous scheme of robbing the orphan chil-
dren of the man who had been a father to him
in his desolate boyhood. His marriage was dis-
covered, and the will was rendered null and
void, as Mary had no power to dispose of the
estates, which had ceased to be hers the moment
she was married a second time. The unhappy
wretch could not survive the consequences of de-
tection, and hurrying away on the pretext of mak-
ing his plans, he committed suicide, and thus
ended a fearful career. Before she paid the for

eiture of her life the unfortunate Mary under

went much misery. Rumour was busy with her
name, as strange reports transpired concerning
Captain Manly's constant presence at Beech Hall.
The ultimate consequence of the scandal was,
that at a public ball in the neighbourhood, to
which Mrs. Craven took her beautiful young
daughter to be introduced to the world, that gay
and glittering world refused to recognise the
mother of the debutante. It was well for the
suffering orphans that they had other homes to
go to, for their father's place was no longer theirs.
First, the usurper held sway, and then the
sad havoc he : had made on that fair pro-
perty by his extravagance rendered it necessary
to shut it up for a time. Harry was taken care of
by his maternal great uncle, Mr. Clifton, an eccen-
tric old man, who was much attached to the youth.
Amy at first refused to leave her mother's home,
but at last she was married to her cousin, Charles
Craven. After so many stormy scenes and sad
events, a fair picture of peace and prosperity is
presented to the gaze of the reader at the conclu-
sion of the tale. " And so farewell to them all,
with their late sorrows and present joys, wishing
them good speed on the journey of life, wishing
that its blessings may touch and soften their hearts,
and its trials strengthen and improve their charac-
ters. With some of that group the sands of life
have nearly run out, whilst with others they have
just commenced to drop. Time will come when the
survivors of those now assembled on the terrace of
Beech Hall will look back at the trials and sorrows
which those walls witnessed, and almost believe
them to have been a hideous dream. So do events,
as we distance them, fade away from our view
until we almost cease to remember them in the
excitement of our daily lives, and in the hurrying
progress we are making onwards." This narrative
will prove an attractive subject of perusal to those
who like an exciting novel, where the interest is
sustained throughout, and wherein they meet with
skill in discernment and talent in description of
character. " The Cravens of Beech Hall" contains
much to entertain and charm in its varied per-
sonages and eventful scenes, while the chief actors
in the scene are most admirably pourtrayed—one
in his deceitful nature becoming vicious, and the
other in her weak mind leading her to error.
Some of the minor sketches, as Miss Thelwall
and her brother, are effectively introduced, and
altogether these voiirnes are a successful attempt
to demonstrate some important and interesting
phases of life and types of human character.

The Medical Missionary in China : a Narrative of
Twenty Years' Experience. By Wm. Lockhart,
F.R.C.S., F.R.G.S., of the London Missionary
Society. Hurst and Blackett.
At the present time this work
lis u that
acceptable, when the subject of. C peculiarly
in every one's thoughts. It w.lll teinfaoundpthat this
at care, and is
volume has been prepared w h
ce,garned the utterance
the result of matured experieint
hat he does know, having been
of one who speaks
lwand of which he writes. In the
for 20 years
preface we arc
pages have been
nold that "the object ith w which these
written is to show that a medical
in a heathen land has a power-
missionary's wor 1- , .
ful influence in affecting the minds of the people
mong whom he may labour, and that such work
I's very valuable in giving facilities for the more
direct preaching of the gospel." It will be a source of
satisfaction to many that the author has considerL
it desirable to dilate upon the general manners and
habits of the people of this enormous empire, and,
as we may rely upon the correctness of the data
here given, the study cannot but prove a profitable
one. The Chinese are an educated people and
think highly of learning, and it is here asserted
that " the education, such as it is, which
\ has pre-
vailed amongst the people has proved one of their
national safeguards.mai C
nshintoa is
th i ths
day e oldest empire in
the world. She re
flourishing a great and
kingdom, having seen the rise and