The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-10 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Such is Life ; Sketches and Poems. By Doubleyou.
Second Edition. Samuel Eyre. Bou eerie-fitreet.
This little work is one of a class that bas become
very popular during late years. Perhaps it is the
absence of effort that renders it a favourite with
writers and readers. If it isnot possible for it to reach
the dignity of an epic poem, or excite the thrilling
interest aroused by a great master-fiction, it is at
least secure from a fall from the top of Mount Par-
uassus, or from provoking a smile when the reader
should be in tears of sympathy. Unprejudiced
readers must own that these melancholy results ara
by no means uncommon, and that though the old
poet's advice that

" He who aims the sky
Shoots higher far than he that means a tree,"
may be true of the guiding principles of life, it is
scarcely so in literature, and the consequence is too
.)ften the same as that attending the efforts of the
philosopher in " Rasselas," who, in trying to ex-
ceed his natural powers made a very undignified
descent. Manufactured wings will not carry
an author or a poet very far, and the
wise man will prefer to keep on level ground. The
scenes and incidents of daily life, the little adven-
tures of au omnibus ride, or a country excursion
can furnish thoughts and pictures to beguile a
leisure hour, as this little volume very successfully
testifies. The author draws pleasant home pictures
with little satiric touches and occasional glimpses of
deeper feeling. The following extract exhibits both
liese qualities in the companion portraits of a
schoolmaster and his wife—
" Our master, Dr. Bounce, was a self-contained human
abstraction, and at the same time he was an awful reality.
It was said that he had never had a friend—or rather
whispered, for not much was said about the Doctor--
and I should think truly, for there was that repulsive
something in his manner which seemed to raise, so to
speak, an impalpable barrier between himself and his
fellow. He was an angular, heavy-browed, harsh,
cruel, black-visaged, unrelenting man, who bad written
a work upon ' The Persecution of the Early Chris-
tians.' This work was, alas I read regularly in
the school ; and it always seemed to me when
I thought of his ideas, and measured them with
his actions—(he was powerful in action, as our backs
could bear witness) that he viewed Christianity,
as it were, from afar ; as though he fancied that too
close a familiarity might diminish respect. ' Distance
lends enchantment to the view.' Past and present are
distinct, so are preaching and practice. Only come
town in the morning a few minutes after the fixed time
and he would soon show you the difference, in his
estimation, between an early Christian and a late one.
l am not competent to pronounce an opinion as to the
literary worth of the Doctor's great work, but if long
and unremitting practical experience can empower an
author to grasp his subject and treat it with success, I
can readily understand his writing one upon `The
Persecution of Youthful Christians.' I always thought
the period chosen for the work was admirably suited to
the writer, since those early times were, sad to sago
somewhat rancorous and savage. But the fact of hill
being an author added materially to our awe of the many
and his austerity and taciturnity aided his reputation for
power and thought, as is frequently the case with marl
a great..small man, in this great-little world of ours.
" Mrs. Bounce, the Doctor's ' good lady,' was Plea-
Qant, good-looking, and naturally kindly; but Was
painfully repressed, kept down, and schooled by her
lord. When I consider her lonely life amidst many,
her worst of all solitude amidst a crowd, and remember
how her really laving nature would peer and peep out
timidly, in gentle looks, and gentle acts, in unlooked-for
kindnesses and indulgences, coming at unlooked-for
times and periods—but always when be happened to be
absent—l quite understand how, undemonstrative as she
was, she universally inspired a sort of quiet liking and
respect. The truth is, the poor matron was full of the
tender memory of an only child, of whom she loved to
talk on all possible occasions ; and was particularly and
markedly kind, as we frequently noticed, to motherless
boys. The anchor of her affections was with the little
bark that had early gone down, and her heart was buried
with it. In the cold, shallow bosom of the Doctor,
there was neither depth nor "holding-ground." The
anchor of a woman's affections could neither sink nor
fasten there.
There is a consolation attached to the death of a little
child that does not, and cannot belong to any other such
loss. It is impossible for the heart to analyse, attfirst,
o
a great new grief, but when Time, the Conyrer, , has
joofhthme pthriececlaessae
dame,
tf
from
m little
th the
angel
doneof a l i
thtilte scoho
itihdi,n gthat
o rgkr,,
ai
tt
ask, at
heea eiroesels
pretty treasure has been tons here, we have the certainty
Tollf
EthßeE gtrealterreapiloyssethesiinokn
in which she spoke of her loss, felt all this, almost with.
2t
hai ss poorit were,dam
out knowing clearly what it was that she felt. And
what a Thought, reader, to elevate and purify the pos-
sessor—l have lost a child on earth : I have gained an
angel in heaven !

The poetry in the work is occasionally good, but the
author's talents seem more to fit him for proie
wilting. The poetry is occasionally a little too
ambitious for its quality, and this can never be said
of the prose. The following verses are forcible and
well expressed ; they are from a poem on Lamar
tine's address to the mob in 1848 :

"Oce of Time's mightiest &oh was voicb.l then,
And over Matter Mind stood Victor-brow'd !
- The Sword may scoff! we see in true great men,
The Ideal with power to rule the Real endow'd.
"Too may great to tread Strife's shamble-path,
And rice on Falsehood into temporal poser ;
Too really great to fear a Mob's mad wrath,
And great enough to rule that awful hour 1
"Through him Life's Sacred Temple then was spared,
And wanton bloodshed and remorse were saved ;
Yet, had their Cause, for God and Right declared,
His Eagle spirit any odds had braved.
"Such acted poems shine in History's word !
A spirit once prepared to do or die—
Within the Mortal the Eternal stired

Ras ccnquered more than half its victory."
' The most industrious reader cannot always be
studying standard works, or even lighter books of
many volumes. A little work like the present is
very acceptable to fill up the crevices, and that it
is so is proved by the ready demand for a second
edition. We anticipate meeting the author again in
some higher walk of literature, for that he has,
talent and feeling are evidenced by his pages. }lir
is not deficient in observation, but he must 13( 9
careful that his taste for the humorous does no t
lead him too far ; for, while the value of tru s
humour is readily admitted, nothing is mot 0
wearisome than trying to be funny, and into thi
many writers of the present day degenerate. W 3
can recommend this little work for those who wisht
to pars an hour pleasantly, and its spirit is not -at
all unsuitable for the coming holidays.

Outram and Havelock's Persian Campaign. By*
Captain G. R. Hunt, 78th Highlanders. Edited
By G. Townsend. Routledge.
The mere title of this book would bo sufficiene
to secure it an immediate circulation. At a period.
wi en the country is watching with the deepest
anx'ety the struggles and perils of these two brave
men and illustrious generals, a record of their pre-.
vious exploits and victories togetr cannot fail to
be highly interesting. This interest is heightened
in the present instance by the fact that the author
of this little volume,. himself a soldier, has lately
fallen in the discharge of his duties. A summary
of Persian history, with an account of our various;
differences with that country, and an inquiry into,
the cause of the late war, is prefixed to the narrative,:
by Mr. Townsend, author of "RUssell's Modern.
Europe Epitomised." This information will be.
useful at the present moment to many readers,.
As the volume is of moderate size, and the type
large, the reader must not expect to fincl"miuute or:
elaborate details, but the work will probably b
the more popular, as it gives a clear and compre.
hensive outline of the various events. It has seved
ral illustrations' and is likely to be a popular and:
successful work.