The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-16 00:00:00

LITERATURE

A Mother's Trial. By the author of " The Dis-
cipline of Life," &e. 1 vol. Hurst and Blackett.
The authoress of this tale has long been favour-
ably known to the public by her pleasing stories
of domestic life. Her style is simple and effective,
and though a tinge of melancholy generally per-
vades• her writings it only serves to render them
more faithful portraitures of the course of daily
life. A high tone of feeling and elevation of prin-
ciple are always apparent in her writings, and she
strongly maintains the doctrine which gave the
title to one of her earliest works, that life is a
discipline, a school, and not a playground. The
story before us is exceedingly simple in its con-
struction, with very little plot, and no romance
whatever; nevertheless it is pleasingly written
and interesting in its character. The mother,
whose trial is the subject of the story, has four
sons, the eldest and youngest df whom become
soldiers and scarcely appear in the tale. She is
the wife of Lord Middleton, a landed proprietor,
but the daughter of a very estimable clergyman,
who died about the time of the birth of her third
son. She, consequently, felt a strong desire that
the child should, when he grew up, take her father's
place, and this wish she cherished through life.
Harry, the son, was a fine, high-spirited boy, of
quick and impetuous feelings, indifferent to study,
but devoted to his mother, whose idol he
was. She early told him of her wish that
he should be a clergyman, to which be
readily agreed; but when he grew older, and
went to college, he was tormented by doubts as to
his own fitness for the office, and by his reluctance
to abandon many pursuits which his lively and
pleasure-loving nature rendered attractive to him,
which he could not think compatible with clerical
dignity. After spending some time in miserable
perplexity he found a friend, whose advice and
example enabled him to make a final decision, and
he resolved to gratify his mother, and to follow the
secret pleading of his own heart. After spending
some years in preparation he was ordained, and
entered the parsonage near his home, which had
been prepared for him by his adoring mother. But
Lady Middleton, though seeing the realisation of
her darling hope, after so much doubt and anxiety,
was not happy. A cloud weighed upon her be-
loved son, and she began to fear he regretted his
profession. After some time, unable to bear the
suspense, she questioned him, and he confessed that
his secret wish had long been to become a mis-
sionary. His mother, though heart-broken at the
prospect of the separation, agreed to his wishes,
and even helped [him to surmount the obstacles to
their fulfilment. Meanwhile the second son,
influenced by his brother's self. sacrificing disposition,
forsook the profession he had chosen and became
a clergyman, in order to compensate for his
mother's disappointment. He entered the pleasant
parsonage, and Harry, after some years of foreign
labour, came home to die. Such is the substance
of the tale, which is told with simplicity and feel-
ing. It points out strongly the danger of making
idols, and the certainty of disappointment attending
a cherished plan. Lady Middleton's desire, though
natural, was suffered to grow to dangerous strength,
and brougfit its own punishment. But we cannot
agree with the authoress in thinking that a de-
ference to maternal wishes should induce a con-
scientious man to undertake the heavy responsi-
bilities of the clerical office. In " Clare Abbey"
she makes the hero enter the Church solely from a
wish to please his mother, and however great the
respect due to parental authority, or the considera-
tion justly due to the wish of a loving mother, a
man of high principles and right feeling would
require a stronger inducement to enter a profession
which, if conscientiously followed, demands the
devotion of a life. We commend the work before
us to those who prefer the records of home trials
and struggles to the excitement of romance or,the
chronicles of fashionable existence.

Sixteen Years of an Artist's Life in Morocco, Spain,
and the Canary Islands. By Mrs. Elizabeth
Murray. 2 vols. Hurst and Blackett.
These attractive volumes are the work of one who
is eminent among our female artists in water-colours.
She has now proved that she can wield her pen as
well as her pencil, and has given us some lively
and pleasantly-written records of her acquaintance
with localities rarely visited by lady tourists. Being
of an adventurous disposition, and perfectly un-
trammelled by circumstances, she resolved, at the
age of eighteen, to visit some of those countries
which could gratify her love for the picturesque
and beautiful. She accordingly started for Cadiz
and Gibraltar, but changed her mind on her route,
and proceeded to Tangiers. After residing some
time in the Silent City she married the gentleman
who filled the post of English Consul there. She
was consequently an inhabitant of Tangiers for
many years, and is able to give her readers full and
particular accounts of the internal arrangements
and domestic customs of the Moorish families.
Though possessing few of the conveniences of a
European dwelling-place, her taste and skill en-
abled her to invest her African abode with some of
the comforts and attractions of home; but, never-
theless, they found Tangiers dreary and mono-
tonous, until its tedium was unpleasantly varied
by the French bombardment. During that period
the Consul's family took refuge in an English
vessel, and it was a matter of great satisfaction
to them when Mr. Murray was appointed consul
at the Canary islands. They took up their abode
in Santa Cruz, the chief town in Teneriffe, but
Mrs. Murray soon extended her travels about the
island, and arranged an expedition to explore the
wonders of the Peak. Her accounts of the place
and people are given in an animated and pleasing
style, and from the small number of travellers who
have given any description of the Canaries, they
have the freshness of novelty. The details of the
manners and customs of the Guanches or aboriginal
inhabitants, who are now extinct, will interest the
ethnblogist and attract the curious. She mingles
the anecdotes and legends current among the island-
ers with her more didactic descriptio thens,ir an
j u
oui
sr
int ee yd
fgrievme s them Tang
iaenr
sa
tgor et ehaeb lce a Nn' aarrileetsyt. e
Otrnavellersv
Spain. The land of old romancte.satinedasuttahteolryesloveli-
ness deeply impressed the
her account of her visit to the Peninsula records
many interesting criticisms on works of art and
architecture. Altogether it is an attractive and
entertaining
.work, unpretending in its style and
character, being very much what it professes to be,
the record of the impressions produced on a mind
of taste and intelligence, by a residence in foreign
and remarkable lands.

Confidences. By the author of " Rita." 1 vol.

Smith and Elder.

Those who were entertained last year by the
perusal of " Rita" will be gratified by the appear-
ance of a successor. They will not be disappointed
in this work, for it is of a superior class to many
fictions of the day, and evidences a thoughtful
mind. The story is related in a series of letters,
but it does not follow the fortunes of any one family
in particular, but relates the various occurrences of
the village during the period referred to, and the
manner in which they affected the various inhabi-
tants. There is much to interest in some of the
personages mentioned. The old admiral is a fine
character, and his sudden death is related in an
impressive manner. His three daughters are well
described, each in her peculiar style. Vanda, the
youngest, is the most decided character in the book,.
and her sad fate imparts a melancholy tinge to the
conclusion of these records. The passage which
relates her flight is of exciting interest. There is
great force in the arguments urged against the
course she pursued, and her unhappy life and awful
death point a solemn warning to those who are, like
her, easy to persuade after the fashion of their fancies,
but impossible to influence in the way of wisdom if
contrary to their inclination. This simple story(
may well serve to amuse and instruct, and the
elevating tone of its sentiments cannot fail to secure
for its author sympathy and respect.

Miriam Copley. By J. C. Jeaffreson, author of
Crewe Rise," &c., &c. 3 vols. Hurst and

Blackett.

This is a very strange story, and one that cannot
be considered pleasing, although it displays consi-
derable ingenuity. Miriam Copley and Stephen
Watson are the chief characters, and certainly their
lives are sufficiently momentous to afford ample
details for a narrative. The career of Watson is
ablyave
d, sekeenttcihneude,but it is not natural that he should
h
at the age of seventy, to prosecute
his suit with Miriam. With regard to the heroine,
the author evidently intended her for a fine cha-
racter ; but he has failed in his portraiture. There
is too much of the spirit of revenge apparent in her
nature to attract sympathy for her sufferings, and
whenever any one conducts themselves towards
others with such asperity, the inevitable result
must be that they make enemies, and preclude the
possibility of forming friendships. Lord Ufford is
of a pleasing disposition, but weak and wavering.
However, the reader who has studied the sentiments
of Miriam and her rival in dexterity, will not be
too severe on those of a more genial if less striking
nature. Charles Millicent is a peculiar man, but
his conduct is not unlikely, considering his visionary
ideas, and one is prejudiced in his favour in conse-
quence of his manly demeanour in regard to
Miriam. Caroline Ufford is the only really pleasing
sketch introduced. From first to last she never
fails to impress the mind with her gentle and gra-
cious qualities. Beside of the vehement heroine this
is the more strikingly manifested, and her sorrows
are borne with such resignation that all must feel
for her. Geraldine Plumetop is one of
the sue-

cesses of the book. She is admirably delineated,
and appears almost life-like. This work will be
desirable for those who like the mysterious, and
are pleased with peculiar characters.