The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-16 00:00:00

_~`

LITERATURE.
THE DALTONS; or, Three Roads in life'
No. I. By Charles Lever. old.
Welcome once aguin to flurry Lorrequer,
sn
favourite, ever genial and good-humoured. 1a,,tt.,-;)
griieraily :Teething, can be augured,
ur inditierent, from the first number of a work d.es.,
tined to be divided into twenty similar instaluietil
Yet from the three chapters of the present oinc-,
mencement we should be disposed to predict 10,PPtc,
consequences. Already has Mr. Lever contrivea,,
invest the principal characters of the narratifest
namely, the Daltons themselves—with an inter at
that secures for them our sympathies in%
either good, vtii
the very outset. And this without r°Bli" s
them the unnaturally perfect creatures °f 0
mere romance. Old Dalton, beggated
improvidence, and exiled from his native land, Ire's od
has faults enough to make him strictly humantjlifor
yet good qualities enough to enlist our regal'', in,
him instanter. Frank Dalton, his only son, s'ris
ling, though a haughty, self-sufficient fellow
sod
manner, is at heart actuated by many noble ter,
generous impu!ses. Ellen Dalton, his elder sis bf
though deformed and melancholy, bewitches usher
her pervading gentleness ; and Kate Dalt°ll'
younger sister, though vein and volatile., exercw.
by her wit and beauty an irresistible fag' n'
nom Even old Andy, the huntsman, tubis
front extreme senility, and monkey -like in out
appearance, contrives to obtain some share in .03,
sympathies by his attachment to a fallen and /of
poverished family. The scene opens, after the fel...
season has closed, at the fashionable German viti
ing place of Baden-Baden. Our first intervieWie,
with three late sojourners at the Hide' de Kr*"
one a young man named Albert Jekyl, Aped ty
Scotch soldier, named colonel Haggerstone, 813 or -
third, already mentioned, that is to say, no I°ll issid
sonage than old Dalton. It is characteristica"fjoadf
of Colonel Haggerstone "his voice 505 Who,
sharp, and ringing; the voice of a ton naked •
when he said a thing, would not brook being
to repeat it." One Sir Gilbert Stafford 0011"e'0.
wealthy baronet, whose fortunes are sonsebeviirsi
tangled with those of the Daltons, driven 1)0%0 .
rough weather encountered in the mountains, ttirri st,
at the hotel, where the three gentlemen areLstilOvt*
versing. The completest sketch in the nutnuert est
ever, is that of the figure, character, and deP°rAtinorf
of the little toy-maker, Hans Racjkle. The -II
not tittiP;
promises to make a grotesque but
pleasant addition to the family group t'f# -14
Daltons at Baden. The present -instalmeP'o s,i.
the story closes with the departure of Frok;,,°e
foot journey to Vienna, where he has to reee;,,,-rsil
cadetship in the Austrian service through the in `he' rg-
of his father's uncle, Count Dalton Von Aller?-09:
" Phia" has contributed two charming etchinee r!' •
of Hans inveighing against the " Horrors of ,
and another of " The Farewell Kiss." It is betjvuell
fully said by the author, when speaking of the prk
• 513-
of Ellen Dalton—" Oh! if the utterings beret:
devotion never rise to heaven or meet acceptance tWho
they at least bring balm to the spirit of 111'; 00
syllables them, building up a hope whose fououtr:
are above the casualties of humanity, and O,',,Pair
courage that mere self-reliance never gave. 1-:;;01(
cidental mention of a blackleg called ``
Matthews " (p. 4) causes us to marvel whether
Gill
pig-headed person of obtuse perceptive feoult'e-se
of
charge Mr. Lever with an intentional insult lOf tbo
the best comic actors on the English stage, ';e is
same way that some of our testy contemporar'esso'
; h .
the sister country charged Mr. Thackeray Wit-„,)sir
dering Miss Hayes, the Irish songstress. The
ation would be sufficiently ridiculous.
.HALF-IIOURS WITH THE BEST •
Ati"ht
TRORS. Part 1. Edited by Charles
One of the most valuable and brilliant serielefisails I
issued from the press, we are satisfied tbst P
adl
hours will also prove, if it has not sirpteof
proved, one of the moat popular. Everytescp
instalment combines seven " half-hour', at'
" half ,hour" being a quotation from the 9001'
tered and voluminous productions of the ow
authors of our own and of other countries. rotes
nately, some are poetical and some P for
the seventh extract, namely, one suitablohol
perusal on Sundays, being of so emtPlie
or religious character. Thus we have a coat di'
tive chaunt from George Herbert, an eloquent all,
quisition from Hooker, a fragment from Roberts vOO
one of the immortal epistles of Pascal, or an 1%01
the "measures and offices of friendship" by de'be- te •
Taylor. Each quotation has a brief but coroPireio
sive note, biographical and critical, prefixed. 111.'y of
this manner we turn at one time to the " Ilietst° COP'
Perkin Warbeck," as recounted by Lord -po
and at another, read the " Death of the the
of Gaston de Foix," as told by hgre
fine old chronicler Froissart. Here vie ddi:
Canning's great " Speech at Plymouth," there
son's famous papers on "Sir Roger de Coverioi
Now Charles Lamb complains of " The Dee" ;
Beggars," and now Wordsworth sines
a the tea'
of '. The Good Lord Clifford." WhainaloWP:ttils,
the yearly volume will comprise speciment„-fe
writings of more than three hundred of
authors who have ever written. We trtis'oly
Knight may not restrict to twelve months the
tiun of this most excellent periodical.

THE INITIALS. A Novel. 3 ras.olo%
An English traveller, one Mr. flamiltol,,,;-0
the tour of the continent, pauses at an hotel.; of°
varia, discontented and ennuye, tired of „kJ- ,tero
society, and not knowing whither to bend Oa, t
At this very moment arrives, most opporti!dnboteA"
letter addressed to " Mr. Hamilton,".at the Pt,/ ar
The letter is signed with the initials- A..„70'0,0'
seems to come from a friend of a Mr. klarn',,,o 03,1';
viting.. him to join a party at Senn. Withinre—vdeods;
g!viogs as to whether the epistle is really
himself, yet delighted with such a prospect 'if ititatieth
venture, the traveller proceeds to obey the i° to the
Such is the incident which gives its title is the
novel. It is only important inasmuch as 1t otber •
means of introducing the hero to the ate
personages a the narrative. Nurneroug be
his mistakes and disappointments befit 0,02
can encounter the genuine A. Z., And b
that is accomplished he discovers, as might have
expected, that he is not the invited Mr. '..°""091-0'
As a picture of Bavarian life this book le n'ore
lightful, the domestic scenes and charactereet 1.0
vested with a charming actuality, and and oel:
guidance of the fascinating A. Z. and her 3130Pfl
husband, the reader, in company with fia.°)lottee":"
made acquainted with the diverting difficulties, Pei"
ing an Alpine hunt, and the equally interest"el?
culiarities of a most interesting and primitive 0 Tl's
peasantry. " Bavaria (writes the author.
goo
Initial") is not likely to be soon again (if pre
tranquil and happy as when these pages Iv:
written; then the most intelligent peasant not
have refused to leave his waltz, 11;.' `Ol 6Pto'
beer, or his joyous jiidel, for the saae ea
newspaper that ever was printed, or eitossti
hear a political discussion between the schle
and the parish priest. Great is the chati•gbt',4"
has taken place in this respect." Its very ~:anee",/,
and
dd
omnossttoinnast,urbaoltlhy dtorawwnn
adnedlinoeoantniotrnys,ofotfhed-teroolp°;',
in general, and Bavaria in particular, imParigetch-:
culiar attraction to " The Initials." In these toilet;
and also in the pourtrayal of individual ie"-If t"f
the author evinces very considerable skil",f
insignificant details which form the contents b-oat
of the chapters resemble a " much ado 'll.ololy
thing," the irresistible manner in which rie,lifor,
on in their perused is a most convincing lu.":„, Welfi
author's great ability. As regards the et°'ci' in °fir/
with many elements of interest, it is matte OA',
eyes, as we suspect it will be in those itshoil
novel-readers, by the disagreeable character 0, roan,.
Among the amiable, good-hearted, delightful goy orfr
Bavarians here introduced to us, our country
pears to be little better than a cold-hearted, ; it ino:.
ticient coxcornb—a character which (whatevrerotaeo9
be in a moral point of view) is in a hero 01 orioo
far worse than the possession of far 0101esisterie.
faults. The heroines of the tele are tvo vie a
unlike and as affectionate as any two sisters ev_so lifer
Crescentz, the younger, is almost a child
.1° rot
quite a child in the frankness and gluettoge
affectionate disposition, while Hildegarde,
ivv"toachlop
trait is sketched with a delicate and naasterlYsad
reserved and proud in demeanour, but ever veil !e
her real character gleams through the that of
se
reveals a greater depth of feeling than d°e9ourpasol
more demonstrative Crescentz. Hamilton, ado
ono.,
le temps, makes love to Crescent; but! a
surprised by the warmth with which his °,6 he 1.%
affection is repaid, coolly tells her that Tager P-4, a
younger son, and too poor to think of o:2' ,hts,"
so she had better dismiss him from her thoelred
tree e
then, while she is weeping over this 11.nelrarrie.
went, transfers his attentions to
incidents °n
e_o3
style of the narrative and all the incld.en.E!going
ear°,
most
.Interof the hos!'
ratters of " The Initials" being
most attractive, with the solitary excepqouthat isi
our only regret in perusing the tale o,is noticu
mysterious billet fell into the hands of t"
Mr. Hamilton.

THE HAND
guidance of p t
of GOD in HISTORY' -0 " °
frequentlyes of
his
Happy are h Read, A. 211: speC itil
the.
tiovad
the who, believing in
rovidence
the terms
and un "luck" and "chance." If any thoue to
vicissitupdrejudiced inquirer looks back uP°°t no'
exclude trona the clic abtfat
he lamented, and would have
he amazed at perceiving bow frt-cl
~orld
matters givnn the "„ 01l
personal experience he will :eatlf
to alter at the time, have proved'ultimatelf 000
for the best." The planets do not fretaof
with a greater. ex,actitwle. , Butli- "31arn.0841„
than is visible in the arrangement of.'t fie.- 1,14 OP
chance aff sirs of life. The volume now begets„-Ite
American work, was written for the purPo9e -