The Sun.
London, England, 1828-12-18 00:00:00

' shall be the last mile I will go with him, even in
imagination, and though a Suttee or a Marmion suc-
cession be the consequence of my idleness, I have
a good mind, by way of re-action, to institute Mar-
mion Clubs, but as I know not the name of the
hero writing from the Exeter Institution, I will class
him with his worthy compeer (the Dean, alias the
Miller), and wishing the party joy of such advocates
say " Charge, Chester, charge,"`son, Stanley, on,"
are the last words of

Kent, Dec.ls, 1828.

LITERATURE.

THE CASTILIAN.

MARMIONt.

.BY. THE AUTHOR OF "0,03)R2 ARIAS."-LONDON, 1828

To those who are fond of a tale replete with

incident and adventure, showy, descriptive,
chiralrous, and so far as hiqory is concerned,
tolerably correct, we recommend the "Castilian."
The scene is laid in Spain during the reign of
Don Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile ; a

period cotemporary with the magnificent rule of
Edward 111., and his gallant son the Black
Prince, over England. The selection of this
epoch, full as it is of the wildest romance,
argues great judgment on the part of the au-
thor. We really wonder that it has never yet
been attempted by Sir Walter Scott. Our
regrets, however, on this head, are diminished
by the consideration that it could scarcely be in
better hands than those of the author of Gomez

Arias. In his detail of incidents this gentle-
man is very fortunate. He perpetually varies his
events, which throng upon each other in rapid
succession, yet produce neither confusion nor in-

coherence. Scarcely is one person °lithe stage,
ere another comes on ; but unfortunately no one.
individual, if we except -Don Pedro, who is an
ably conceived sketch, tarries sufficiently long,
to enable us to become acquainted with him,
and take an interest in his fortunes.. Bertrand
Du Guesclin, the Black Prince, Sir J. Chandos;
—the flower of English chivalry—Don Enrique,
Count of Trastamara, the illegitimate brother
of Don Pedro, and usurper of his kingdom ;
these great names, some of which are imperishable,
are brought before our eyes and disappear with
the evanescent rapidity of the figures in a magic
lanthorn. This is a defect ; we should be
taught to take an interest in such characters, and
not merely have them catalogued among the
other items Of a work of fiction. Bating this
error, which few will feel inclined to judge
harshly, the Castilian, as we before observed, is
a'work of prOmise and talent. It abounds in
stirring incidents, among which we may mention
the Battle of Najara, (is not the orthography
of this word somewhat affected ?) which is
characterised by energy and dramatic talent.—
There is alto an animated sketch of the entrance
of a democratic party, under the guidance of El
Tuerto, the butcher, -into Seville. Haying
spoken thus favourably of the author's descrip-
tive powers, it is but fair that we should subjoin
a specimen : we select accordingly the sketch of
Don Pedro in an obscure hovel, just after his
dethronement ; when one knight only, Don
Ferran de Castro (who is alluded to in the ex-
tract) is found faithful to him :
" Indeed, the place where the caprice of fortune as well
as Lis own errors bad compelled hint now to seek refuge,
coriesponded well with his present personal appearance.
It was a slight, low, miserable hovel, illumined by the
glimmer of a single rancid, and rendered doubly unto-
Imitable by the thousand apertures through which the
wind made the.most unceremonious entrance. The whole
of the' furniture consisted •of . the solitary little table and
stool, bath occupied by the king, and a crazy bench by the
fire. . tire. too, from the peculiar construction of the
chimney, had the advantage of dispersing its own smoke
for the benefit of. the guests,. not a single whiff being
squandered away in the air above; all which, together
with the strong smell of oil, that proceeded from the iron
&Wen, so clefeily handled by the fisherman's daughter,
contributed to give no agreeable impression to Ferran de
Ca4tro, as he entered the obeCure and Miserable tenement.
Upon his arrival,- Don Pedro turning with rather a stern
and distant manners—

" Beshrew thy heart for a loiterer, Ferran," he cried;
raethought thou too had'st played me false."

" My liege,". proudly returned the Castilian, " a thought
so derogatory to my well proved fidelity, could not be har-
boured by your hie,tives."

" Thriiait a full hour later than it was agreed upon,"
retorted the king ; " and for the knight of fidelity, as-
suredly such neglect is not in good keeping with his cha-
racter ; but I will save you the trouble of franaing excuses.
I pardon you for this time, in consideration of its being
one of the fiiir sex to whom you have been devoting your
time : you are in love, Sir, and report speaks highly of your
mistress; you need therefore say no more, for Don Pedro,
amongst the many follies and crimes laid to his charge,
was never accused of being a knight recreant,—of want of
gallantry to the ladies. And now, my faithful knight,
will you partake of my dainty supper ? Come, Sir
Knight, for by San Fernando, this fish is good enough. for
a king ; and I am sure his highness of Trastamara himself
would find it deserving of his delicate and loyal palate,
however illegitimate his taste on other points may be."
He delivered these words with a painful effort at gaiety ;
then fixing his expressive eyes on the earthen plate, he
muttered with an energetic but low voice, " The bastard !"
--a revulsion of feeling contracted his brow, and dashing
his clenched fist fiercely against the table, with a burst
of anticipated triumph and revenge, he wildly exclaimed--
. But my day will come, se Heaven keep him in life
only a few months longer !"'

The dark damsel who wa& bringing a fresh supply of
the homely fare, al.►rmed at the sudden exclamation of the
king, and at the violence of his manner, stood still in
v►sible' consternation, which bz-ing observed by Don
Pedro, he suddenly.relaxed into a subdued, tone, and re-
peated, " Yes ! ►oy day will come ! but in the meantime
let us have some more fish."

" Eh, my good Morena," he then aaded, taking the
plate from the girl, and looking her in the fare, " thou
art such a clever hand at fryiug fish, that a poet in the
kitchen of the, Alcazar would not be undeservedly eon•
(erred upon thee : my faithful knight, does not this tempt
you to eat a morsel ?"

" I humbly thank yon, my liege, but I must decline
your invitation."

" What ! Last thou lost thy appetite, as well as thy
mistress? that is a double calamity, in sooth : eh, Sir !
think not so much of her, and a little more of thyself; be
of good clwer, take example by me : if we compare losses,
mine will be found the heaviest. Supposing you have
lust a mistrtss, a fine and virtuous woman may be met with
elsewhere ; but where," he exclaimed with impressive
eagerneas, " where shall I find such a kingdom as Castile ?"
" But, Senori you do not consider it lost;" observed
Ferran. .

" Lost !" re-echoed Don Pedro, "by San Fernando,
no ! Could the conviction that it were irrevocably lost
be impressed upon my mind, thinkest thou Don Pedro de
Castile would tamely submit
to fly before the cured
usurper ? No ! 1 live and reserve myself to abide my
time : —aye !" he 'continued, fiercely raisin g his voice,
'• Castile shall see me again ; and woe to those rebels, woe !
Cruel they have called me, and cruel shall they end me !"
The 'characters of the Castitiali 'are but so-so.
They are far too full of chivalry, and too barren
of nature. They are either all perfection, or
else diametrically the reverse ; which is a very
childish way of manufacturing characters.
.The
author should look more into himself, and less
into history, for his materials ; in this respePt
reading will give a plausible foundation, but per-
aonal experience only will rear the goodly
structure of humanity. Of his numerous etch-

ings, if we except Don Pedro, the best is that
of Pimiento, an old' Spanish Major Domo in
the family of a tirne,serving Castilian Grandee.
This Quixotic old domestic, whose mind is
stored with the recollections of his country's
chivalry, and who bears down all opposition by
a dogged appeal to the times of Bernardo del
Carpi° and the Cid, is ably conceived and exe=
cuted, even with the recollection of Cervantes
before the reader's .mind. In politics the au
thor, as uceesarily belongs to a novelist so
fond of chivalry and romance, has a strong mo-
narchical tendency. lie seems to believe in the
right divine of kings to govern wrong"
unhesitatingly subscribes to the opinion of
Beaumont and Fletcher, that—
Thcire's not the least limb growing to a king
But carries thunder in it,"

Upon this principle his Liberals are all under-
written or indirectly vilified, as the reader cannot
fail to observe who peruses the chapter descrip-
tive of the entrance of Doti Enrique's advanced
guard into Seville. Singularly 'enough, how-
ever, though the author apologises for not hav-
ing drawn Don Pedro in ,sufficiently• black
colours, yet, his very first chapter, within the
brief compass of a dozen pages, he has con-
trived to make him a tyrant, a murderer, an
adulterer, a fratricide, and even obliquely to in-
sinuate that he poisoned his wile. Really, after
this flattering accumulation of virtues, an apology
for Don Pedro's morals might, we think, be dis-
pensed with. A passage of precisely the same
character,
,occurs in the 12th book of Gibbon's
immortal history, where that sarcastic philoso-
pher, observing on the character of Pope John,
the 22d, dryly adds•—'c At the trial of this
discreet ecclesiastic, his judges resolved to sup-
press the graver charges, so the Vicar of Christ
was only accused of rape, incest, blasphemy,
sacrilege, and murder." This is high authority,
and will, we suppose, reconcile the author of the
" Castilian" to the implied sarcasm of his apo
logy for Don Pedro.

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL INFLAINE, 77TH
REGIMENT.-The.spirited conduct and shining abilities of
this gallant Officer, promised, bad he been spared, to ren-
der him eligible for a high rank in his profession. When
quite a youth, he was wounded at Seringapatatn, which
he concealed till the affair in which he was engaged was
over ; and, notwithstanding that he lost a leg at Ciudad
Roderigo, in Spain, he continued doing duty with his Regi-
ment, of which he lately purchased the Lieut.-Coloneley,
and vent in command of it to the West Indies, where he
died on the 9th of October last, justly and universally re-
g ret ted. —Edin urgh Observer.

Our anticipation .that the Ball for the Spa-
nish and Italian Refugees would produce a considerable
sum, has been fully realized, there being a balance, after
paying all expellees, 'of 12%/. Brighton has thus set tt first
example in the country, •but it will no doubt be speedily
followed: a fancy ball is talked of at Cheltenham ; and
many others will doubtless take place. Alight not some-
thing also be effected by amateur theatrical performances ?
If some members of the fashionable world would enter into
such a plan, we are certain that it might be rendered ex.
ceedingly productive. The idea is ♦ery likely, tvt, think,
to be carried into effect by the amateurs of Cheltenham.
For what has been already done here, the benevolent pro.
motels of the measure deserve the highest praise.—Brigh.
ton Gazette.

We. learn from a source of undoubted au-
thority, that a circumstance of the most painbil dmcription.
has just occurred in Turkey to.two young Englishmen, of
noble family, whose names firr obvious reasons we suppress.
By way of frolic, it is supposed, they had most impru-
dently got admission into a harem, a feat of which few
Europeans can boast, but being quickly discovered, the
fearful option was offered them of swallowing poison, or
submitting to a horrible operation. One chose the former,
and having swallowed the deadly contents of a cup, in-
stantly dropped down dead. The other having less nerve,
took the other alternative, and accordingly underwent the
operation, after which he was turned out, the Mustn't-
mans Lavin in addition slit his nose, and cut of his.ears.
When the accounts left Turkey; he was lying in a most
deplorable condition ; and his death was hourly expected.
—Brighton Gazette.

The excavations at our Canal being com-
pleted, the water was let in on Friday night last, about
twelve o'clock ; and at noon the following day..several
veasels and coal lighters were drawn up at the quay.—
Exeter Alfred.

CHILDREN ACCIDENTALLY BURNT IN
MONMOUTHSHIRE, DNC. 18625.,--The Curate of Caer-
went has had his feelings remarkably interested within the
Last few days by the circumstances above alluded to. The
first accident occurred to a boy in a neighbouring parish,
who died the sane evening,. An early day was fixed for
the interment, but the highly respectable clergyman who
would have officiated happening to be engaged, the Curate
of Caerwent undertook the duty for bins. On the morn-
ing of the funeral, a parishioner of his own (a girl be-
longing to the Sunday whoop was also accidentally burnt,
and died in two days ! From the coincidence of the cir-
cumstances, the Curate was requested to attempt an im-
provement of the events by an .address to the congregation
of Caertvent church at the interment of the last body, on
Sunday, the 7th instant. The Curate is induced to think
that a better improvement of the two accidents would be
made if the Christian public should feel sufficiently inte-
rested to assist his village school (consisting of about fifty
children), for which he has not hitherto solicited aid from
any one locally unconnected with the district. The intention
of the Curate of Caerivent is to publiSh in a few days a
brief sr:count-of poor Elizabeth, with the Address.. If the.
work should pay the expellee of publication, the author
will have no right to complain. He trusts, under the
Divine blessing, that this hook may be useful to other
children; and should a sec.md edition be called for, so as
to yield any profit, he pledges himself to apply the same
entirely for the benefit of his " little flock.".—From a Cor-
respondent of the Times.

The late disastrous gales have been extremely
fatal both in human lives and property. We are sorry to
learn that the Ocean, Cant, of this place, from Riga to
Arbroath, with flax, suffered dreadfully in the North Sea;
and we are afraid that, to the numerous losses recorded to-
day, we may have to add many others.. The Ocean left
Blensound, Norway, with the Flora, of Dundee, and four
others, on Sunday, the 30th ult. On the Tuesday follow-
ing the wind blew hard from the south-west; by four
o'clock the gale increased,:the sea running dreadfully high,
when the Captain was under the necessity of heaving the
vessel to, under Muse-reefed main-topsail and fore-topmast
staysail. At nine o'clock a sea broke on board, broke the
glass of the cabin skylight, and half filled the cabin. Im-
mediately after another heavy sea struck and stove the
stern-boat, broke the davits, and all went away. The
vessel continued to lay to easy until midnight ; but during
the Captain's watch (from midnight until four) it began
again to blow tremendously, with a heavy sea. Leaving
the men composing the watch sitting to windward of the
companion door, the Captain retired below for a few mi-
nutes, but had hardly been seated when a tremendotta sea
struck the vessel, then about 100 miles westward of the
Naze, and laid Ler on her beam-ends. On arousing the
rest of the crew, and getting on deck, Captain Cant was•
i
shocked to find none but the boy on board ; when nstant4
the cries of a man overboard saluted his ears, h provedto be the carpenter, whom the drawback of the sea had
thrown towards the vessel; and having got hold of the Ise
main chains, he was thus snatched from the jaws of death ;
but we are sorry to add, that John Philips, belonging to
anti
Ipoirleisaevne4gdoanesy,iinzitlelasgaieltlf
South Shields, and Peter .Janson, a Swede, met a we.4,ecy
grave. Had not the Captain gone below at th.f..! cute,
had not the boy taken the precaution, _;l4 the early pout
of
the watch, to fasten himself bx a i;o0., there is every pro-
mbaoblilllietnyt.th4at4aexivi4hio).lietteiev,et),Bsocul
the stern 1?o?..t long-1)0M tigpte-a %;,; leeward, with
ite stern post awl keel twisted out—the cook-house also to
leeward—studsail, &e. and part of the chain cable over-
board—mostly all the bulwarks on the leeeide and part of
the weather side gone, and much other damage. On Fri
day, the weather got better, and the Ocean reache4 Mon-
trose on the morning of the 7th instt.,..*Riiirose Review.