The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE

Meg. By Mrs. Eiloart. Three Vols. llurst and
Blackett.
Mrs. Eiloart is making rapid progress as a novel
writer. The opening chapter of this new story re-
veals powers for which we had hardly given her
credit. There is a simple pathos about the vivid
description of the deathbed of poor Joe and the
desolation of the unfortunate Meg which at
once arrests the reader's interest and atten-
tion. The succeeding chapters do not entirely
fulfil thee expectations. We do not particularly
admire the strong-minded female professor of art
who engages Meg as a model for her pupils, but
who herself finding no joy in any " thing of beauty,
revels in the ugliness of a hideous " Boadic3a
—a masterpiece of art and horror that is to
transmit the name of its delineator to future ages.
We have rather too much of this extremely vulgar
dame, and her yet more vulgar, lunch-loving
mamma ; but the next episode in Meg's chequered
career is, indeed, singularly offensive, and we are
amazed that the taste of the authoress did not pre-
vent its introduction. We are the more
earnest in our condemnation of its errors be-
cause we so cordially recognise the abilities mani-
fested by Mrs. Eiloart in her, new production. It
was a noble motive that prompted the authoress to
select as the heroine of her story one out of the
ranks of the very lowest and most ignorant, and,
consequently, the most degraded of the inhabitants
of this great Christian city. Very tenderly is the
poor, ignorant Meg treated by the hand of her his-
torian, but very outspoken in its dire truthfulness
is the narrative of her life of sin and shame. When
we first meet her, in that masterly first chapter to
which we have alluded, weeping by the death-boa
of poor Joe, the whole situation excites the reader's
mingled commiseration and indignation at the
revelation of such destitution and such depravity,
so much ignorance and so much misery,
here unfolded to our view by a skilful
hand. \Veen, however, later on we find Meg
still in" ignorance," according to her biographer,
installed as the mistress of the artist to whom she
had sat as a model, and for whom she entertains
not the smallest particle of affection—then it is
that, as we have said, we do marvel at the sin-
gular want of discretion and good taste that
could induce Mrs. Eiloart to introduce such a
situation, so described, into such a work as this---3
work written, as we feel assured, from the
highest motives and for the best of pur-
poses; a work, moreover, dedicated to her
own young daughter. For the rest, the
awakening of Meg to a sense of her degradation,
her resolute reformation, her devoted sacrifice----all
this is very powerfully and very beautifully told.
The situation of the unconscious sisters is also veil
cleverly designed, and on closing the book (having
eased our mind as regards one particular episode)
we again congratulate the author of " JohnnY
Jordan" upon the rapid development of her literal
powers.

A Girl's Romance. One Vol. Edmonston and

Douglas.
A charming little tale is this, very simple and
unpretending, and yet containing in one little
volume matter of as much interest as may be found
in many a work of three times its dimensions. l'Ve
will not destroy the little romance by attempting
to analyse it, it is well worthy a perusal. The
closing chapter in which imagination gives way W
reality, and little Janet at length understands her
own heart—

" And all her falser self
Slipt from her like a robe,"
;. 'rho lituto suene in which
Robert Bligh flies to the rescue of th:i drowning
Lyinington conies upon the reader with an effect
which the most skilful novelist might be proud to
accomplish. We very heartily felicitate the
writer of this little romance, and if this is a first
essay in novel-writing, we may predict for 1301
much future success.

Songs and Verses. By an Old Contributor to
" Maga." Blackwood and Sons.
The readers of Blackwood will be glad to fled
some of their old favourite " verses, social and
scientific," reproduced in this elegant little volume.
It is enough to mention some of the titles of these
verses to recall them at once to our pleasant remear
brance. Who, for example, does not remember
44 Gaiter" and 44 Monboddo," and the delightftl,l
temperance song, " I'm very fond of water;
in every verse of which the author expatiating uP°rl
his devotion for aqua pura as the best beverage for
breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper, &c., continually
arrests himself to exclaim—

" But I forgot to mention,"
and tells us how he invariably qualifies the water
into tea, or beer, or wine, or brandy, or gin!

Tales from the Diary of a Sister of Mercy. °a°
vol. By C. M. Brame. Burns, Oates, and C 0;
A very interesting series of tales, most of them
a very sensational, but all of a very instructive cba'
racter, are here collected—" The Double gar:
riage," " The Fatal Accident," " The Gambler
.°
Wife," " The Besetting Sin," and others of a siolt::
lar description. 46 The Priest's Death" is a pathetit'
little story of one of those many unrecorded niarti.r3
who meet death in the most malignant form Willie
ministering by the sinner's death-bed.

Biographies and Miscellaneous Papers of Washingo"
Irving : Collected and arranged by Pierre Wl"'
One vol. Bell and Dalby. of
In this volume are collected scattered writings a
Washington Irving, which 'he had himself intencie
to publish in a united form. His nephew, l‘ir'
is
Pierre Washington, has very happily fulfilled
intention, and the many admirers of the author
°
the " Sketch Book" will find much to interest theme
in the papers here collected. The legend of eci.io;
and the chronicles of Fernando the Saint, ocellllot
the chief part of the volume. Among the minor
sketches- there is a charming account of the you a
ful Margaret Davidson, the sister of the well-kue!to
Lucretia Davidson, who, like her sister, learneu
lisp in numbers, and who also, like her, expired
the early morning of her life--
"Rose elle a vecu ce quo vit la rose,
L'espace d'un matins'

Camilla. By Madame de Gasperin. Edulo°°l4-
and Douglas.
This Mae tale, translated from the French, re;
cords the struggles of a girlish heart, in the bittney
conflict of love and duty, and the heroine, as
others have done before her, finds that bylosing.'
she in reality, ultimately gains all. The elle Illy
little extravagant, but the little work is eviaelia
written with the effusion of a French writer
as
French woman.

Groombridge's Annual Reader. By Mark Al'tuP#
Gower. Groombridge and Sons. ad'
This very excellent volume is designed as a r of
ing book for schools, and contains a reperio.
all the principal events of the year 1866-1.1.0 -
The French Exhibition, the execution of iNI°I the
Tian, Abyssinia and the captives, Mr. PeabodPstil.
lions of the Nelson Monument, the visit of tbe
has
tan, and every other theme of interest vihichhao
attracted attention during the past year, are
considered in a brief but explicit manner.
Char
The Paris Exhibition. By Eugene Rimmel•
man and Hall.
Fr •
Another of Eugene Rimmel's elegant 0.-3 r to
° ,rea
art is this very attractive memorial of tbeA red
Paris Exhibition of 1867. Beautifully boa
tenlorip,l
gracefully and abundantly illustrated with Picie, tbi9
representations of the chief articles ex bibs
little volume affords at once a history of the
'ion and an exposition of its contents.

re'
Utter
no,nl
3g
le is
10001
aed 6

.otol3l

re3i
,
486'.
the
,0,3 501-
01 1133
ha°

Cl)

t°
Loss
, r 3
;14