The Sun.
London, England, 1819-03-11 00:00:00

[PRICE SEVENPENCT',

LITERARY REVIEW.

A TRAVELLER'S TALE OF THE LAST CENTURY.
By "ELIZABETH ISABiLiA Srishict, Author of " Letters
front .the North Highlnds.," and
_" The Curate and his
Daughter." In three Volumes.

It is alwaysa pleasing task to trace the clevelope..
ment, or record the soccessittl progress,•of female
talents. It k therefore with plecoliar satisfactionthat
we announce the Publication of a New Novel by
Miss SrRNCe, which, if we have any pretensions to
critical sagacity, must considerably augment -the'
reputation of the ingenious Author. As a No-'
velist nod a Tonrist thii• has long been.cele-
bratcd; but had we no other acqUaititance with
her pen than what we hare derived from the perusal
of the present wink, we should not hesitate to class
her with those few writers who have done honour'
to their sex';' not metrly-:by an exhibition of their
literary powers, but by the meritorious object to
which those powers have uniformly been directed;
not only becans&therhcive written iri a manner to
extort applause, but because they have written
only to inculcate sound principles, and, inspire'
virtuous. and exalted sentinieuts. in the Travel-.
ler's Tale, the Atithor,has been fortunate enough
to disguise the lahoar and conceal the skill em-
ployed in its construction ; although coneeived
in the spirit of romance, and well calculated to
illustrate the fatal tendency of unbridled passion,
it dkelaims all . pretensions to the language of
romantic exaggeration, or to that marvellous re- '
dundance of invention which entirely overlooks
sense and nature. It is no other than a plain do-
mestic story, related with such plausible, such
unpretending simpliCity, that the suspicion of in-
vention is removed, and the recollection of fiction
-suspended; the materials are well se:ected and
happily combined; but the charm of he Traveller's
Tale is to be traced to the rapidity, the -directuess,•
with which the narrative proceeds, without ob-
struction from episodes or superfluous characters.-
The Dramatis Persona are few, b'ur most judi-
ciously chosen to facilitate the'progress of the
action ; the interest, concentrated in one object,
never flags, nor, to use a theatricariiilusion, is the
stage ever left to vacancy. •It must, however, be -
admitred, that Miss SPENCE has sometimes di-
gressed, when, in conducting her heroine through
some of the most beautiful scenes in Devonshire
and Northandy, she has not resisted the fenipta-
don to exercise her well-known talent for pictu•
resque description ; but for this occasional aber-
ration, we apprehend, that she may rather expect
acknowledgments than reproaches ; and iittle
should we admire the taste of that Reader who
could not not wish her sentimental sketches extend-

ed, not merely because they are more'vivid, more
faithful, than those presented by other Tourists,
hut because their extension, and the Author's
plan, might have prolonged the pleasure to be
derived horn the perusal. of these agreeabLe vo,
lourie,,,—We shall not forestall the pleasure of the
Reader hy any Extracts which night leshen the
interest of the story.

PA RLI ENTARY PAPERS.

BANK NOTES.

By'an accolott of the ammint of Bank' No►ec
anti Bank I'ost Bills in circulation from the 25th
Jan. 1819, to thelst inst. it i4ppears, that on the
27th Jan. the amount was 27,176,5801.. and on
the Ist March-24,991,410/ being 2,185,1701. less
at the latter period than at the former.