The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-17 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

The Wife's Temptation ; a Tale of Belgravia.
By the authoress of " The Sister of Charity.'

2 -17 ols. Westerton.

This story is very well written, and though
some might suppose from the title that it alluded
to the fate of one who had strayed from the paths
of rectitude, such is no way the case. Rhoda, the
heroine, is a very unhappy and persecuted lady,
but one whose character was excellent, and whose
conduct towards her unworthy husband was very
exemplary. The passages which refer to her
stormy existence are painful to peruse, and it is a
relief to the mind when she at last is released from
the burden of the life she had found so painful and
so wearisome. The narrator of the story- is a
female friend of Rhoda's, and she was enabled to
be of great service to her, although from the com-
bination of unhappy circumstances the unfortunate
lady was so situated that no friendship could do more
than temporarily alleviate her sufferings. The pri-
mary cause was too great, and also too irremediable.
Yet the short and sad career of Rhoda was not wholly
wasted; she left a memory behind which could not
fail to be pleasing. The last words said of her offer
a welcome tribute to those who have pursued the
right course in darkness, but over whose latter end
a light has shone. "As it is, Rhoda can never be
dead to those she loved. Her thoughts, her pure
unvarnished intelligence, can never depart from
them. She cannot grow old ; ever fresh in the
beauty of holiness, she will pass on to their chil-
dren's children" Besides the record of Rhoda, we
meet with a very complicated narrative of some
persons who figure prominently in these pages.
Of these Aurelia is sketched with consummate skill.
She is certainly not a portrait often appearing
in society ; but, considering her race and her strange
culture, perhaps her extraordinary description is
not so improbable as at first sight it might appear
to some to be. Therese, her aunt, is of a darker,
wilder nature, and her actions being dictated by
the suggestions of revenge and jealousy, it is
not to be wondered at that her history
contains so many dark doings. Vavasour is a pecu-
liar character, rather wayward and uncertain at
first, but he had a great deal to contend with, and
after some years he improved greatly. It is satis-
factory to notice his engagement with Aurelia.
There is something in the latter which suited even
better with the disposition of Vavasour than his
early choice, Rhoda, and it proved her pure and
gentle nature that she first suggested the desir-
ability of the union. This work may be regarded
as a successful attainment of its endeavour to por-
tray those hidden sorrows that lie beneath the
surface of a glittering exterior, and to reveal some
of those wrongs which the world looks upon with
an indifferent eye, but whose consequences are sad
and awful. If some of the scenes here are exag-
gerated, the general style is powerful and effective;
and the remarkable nature of some of the person-
ages imparts a brilliancy and vigour to the story,
which combines a good purpose, with the attrac-
tions of an interesting fiction.

Narrative of a Walking Tour in Brittany. Ity J.
Mountency Jephson, F.S.A. Lovell Reeve;
Henrietta-street.

Pedestrian excursions have come into favour of
late years, especially with those authors who like to
give the world some account of their travels on
their return norm. This mode of journeying enables
them to become acquainted with the local traditions
and manners of the people, to visit the byeways
and shady retreats which lie out of the track of the
railroad or diligence. The volumes written by these
enterprising travellers are generally well worth
perusal, since they have a freshness and novelty
about them not always to be found:in the works of
those who have made their acquaintance with the
places described, according to the more orthodox
mode. Pleasant volumes of this kind have already
been written about France, but in addition to the
vivacity and entertainment of the book itself, the
one before us has an additional attraction to the
reader of cultivated taste. It is illustrated after a
novel fashion, being accompanied by a series of
stereographs, taken under the able superintendence
of Mr. Lovell Reeve. These are sold separately
from the book, and•can be obtained in any number.
The complete set includes ninety, and, to judge
from the specimens we have seen, they are excel
lent, and give a vivid idea of the places taken. Mr.
jephson, in his lively introduction, tells us that he.
inhabits a county notorious, even in England, for
its murky atmosphere. The evil spirits of ague and
depression were busy around him. He found the
ordinary routine of his duties irksome and mono-
tonous, and in order to brace and invigorate mind
and body he resolved on a five weeks' pedestrian
tour in Brittany. Having mentioned his project
to his friend Mr. Lovell Reeve, that gentle-
man was immediately struck with the idea
that an account of this expedition illustrated
with stereoscopic views would prove interest-
ing. He therefore resolved to go by the same
route, though it was necessary for him to sub-
mit to the inconveniences of a hired carriage.
With the aid of a professional photographer he
made the beautiful series .of stereographs which
accompany this volume, and which bring before the
reader the curiously-dressed peasantry, the ancient
architecture, and the rural views of that quaint
old province which preserves its individua-
lity even among the levelling influences
in-
the nineteenth century. Mr. Reeve has
terspersed the work with notes on his ste_reo-
graphic tour, telling us how and where
most of his views were taken, the difficulties at-
tending them, and describing the surrounding
scenes. The prose part is not
illustrations. R is pleasantly written, lively and
discursive. The author, though of the clerielii
profession is singularly free from prejudiw or in-
tolerance, and conversed as amicably with the
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pretres and abbes as any of their own faith. He
took especial care, however, to avoid theological or
controversial discussions, an example a good many
nearer home Ni ould do well to imitate. The old
legends and ballads of the peasantry telling of
King Arthur or the days of chivalry greatly inte-
rested him, and besides scattering rough transla-
tions through the work, he has appended a chapter
on the national music of Brittany. Among the old
tales lingering among the peasantry is one, that St.
Malo was a Scotchman, whose piety raised him
to the rank of Bishop, and produced his canoniza-
tion. The harsh sounding Macleod was softened in
the southern tongue to Malo. Mr. Jephson enjoyed
the advantage of witnessing a wolf hunt, and makes a
comparison of the two modes of hunting—English
and French—which will be attractive to sports-
men. He mingled freely among the people and
made many friends, though he seldom shared the
dignity of his companions in the carriage. On one
occasion he joined them to save time, but the party
were delayed by the driver forgetting to pay the
post dues, which the author complains of, as more
vexatious than our turnpikes, as the accidental
omission of the French dues renders the traveller
liable to a fine. The author's opinion of the cha-
racter of the Breton peasantry is favourable to
them. In speaking of their fetes and festivals he
laments that such things have entirely died out
among the English labouring classes. He makes
some very just remarks on the refining influence
of harmless recreation, and the undeniable fact that
without some culture of the imagination the whole
moral system deteriorates. He attributes the
superiority of the Breton cottager over the English
peasant in morality, politeness, and general cul-
tivation to " the popular poetry, the village fes-
tival, the habit of meeting his fellow-men for
social enjoyment, and the due admixture of recrea-
tion with hard work." Altogether the view he
gives us of this peculiar peasantry is an attractive
one. They struggled long for their independence,
and many years of civil war was the result. The
duchy. of Brittany was finally merged in the
French Crown by the Duchess Anne, twice Queen
of France, as wife of Charles VIII. and of Louis
XII. " But even now," says our author, di the
people preserve their original language, their pecu-
ar customs, and their national affections. _ A

Breton is not altogether a Frenchman ; and when
all France pronounced for atheism and anarchy;
Brittany held fast to her religion and her laws.'
We commend this volume to all who love the re-

.... _
cords of a pleasant tour, or the descriptions of an
original and attractive populace, whose names
have mingled in history, romance, and song, while
the lovers of art cannot fail to be gratified by the
series of illustrative stereographs. Both together
they serve to realise vividly the scenery and people
of that quaint old province, which has been the
birthplace of many French celebrities, from Du
Guesclin to Chateaubriand.

A Tour in Dalmatia, Albania, and Montenegro.

By W. F.,Wingfield. Bentley.
This work was written while the author was
residing in a retired town of Southern Austria, and
details his impressions of a tour in Dalmatia,
Albania, and Montenegro. He has endeavoured to
describe clearly the condition of Christians in a
Turkish provinc^, and to draw attention to the
Sclave nationalities on the eastern shores of the
Adriatic. In carrying out these ideas he also
aimed at making a pleasant volume which should
attract the intending traveller. In this object he
has certainly succeeded, for his volume is full of
useful information, and written in a clear and
sensible style. The Sclave races are not to be
overlooked in a consideration of European na-
tionalities, and this account of them in their homes
by the Adriatic is not uninteresting or unimportant
to the political philosopher. A historical sketch
of Ragusa is given at the conclusion, and the
reader will find in it an interesting summary of the
rise and fall of that republic. It will be remem-
bered that from this spot Marshal Marmont took
his dukedom under the First Empire. The author,
having devoted some study and consideration to
the subject of this ancient republic, purposes to
give to the public a more lengthened account of it
should his present attempt meet with sufficient
encouragement.

The Latter Days of Jerusalem and Rome. By
Dominich M'Causland, LL.D. Bentley.
This work is the production of one who has
evidently devoted much time and labour to the
subject, but, nevertheless, we cannot but regret the
trouble he bas taken with it. It is an attempt to
find in the present state of Jerusalem and Rome
the fulfilment and explanation of some of those
mysterious passages in the Apocalypse, which have
baffled so many commentators. We deprecate
strongly any attempts to elucidate such inscrutable
prophecies by an application of the letter of them
to the political troubles of our own time. Such
treatises only provoke controversy and disputation,
encourage intolerance and a presumptuous spirit,
and must necessarily be most aggrieving to those
who share our Christianity though not our form of
faith. The middle chapters of the Revelations have
always been a favourite subject with the many
expositors of prophecy, but it would be wiser for
them to remember the warning, "It is not for you
to know the times and the seasons," and to forbear
such attempts to explain what is probably intended
as metaphorical imagery, by a direct applica-
tion to practical things. We regret that the
author, who is, no doubt, a conscientious and able
man, should have turned his attention to such all
unprofitable subject.

The Poetical JVorks of _Edmund Spenser. Vol. 111.
James Nichol, Edinburgh.
Mr, Nichol's handsome edition of the poets jo
progressing satisfactorily. The works of Spenser
have reached the third volume, and the modernised
words and explanatory notes greatly assist the
reader in following its magic mazes.

THIS DAYS MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

A portion of Monday's unsold supply of English wheat
was on sale here to-day, but the receipts fresh, both from
Essex and Kent, wore limited. The attendance of both
town and country millers was small, and the demand for
all kinds of wheat of home produce was heavy a the en
treme, at almost nominal currencies.
There was scarcely any demand for foreign wheat. In
prices, however, no quotable change took place. The
ports are liberal.
Scarcely any English barley was at market, and the show
of foreign was limited. On the whole, the trade ruled
steady, at late rates.
In malt very little was passing/ on former terms.
Oats changed hands to a fair extent, at Monday's de.
cline.
In beans and peas scarcely any business was doing, and
flour was very dull.
ARRIVALS THIS WEEK
Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
English...... 1,890 I ; 1,220 ti 1,140 f 980
Irish .
gn....... 2,690
Forei ......13,410 6,580 i 11,720 7,310 aka
bla

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